News in Short

• SBI has announced a cut in MCLR rate or marginal cost of funds-based lending rate by 10 bps across all tenors, effective from December 10th.
• With this cut, home, car and other retail loans of SBI linked to MCLR will get cheaper.
• After the latest cut, SBI's one-year MCLR comes down to 7.90% per annum from 8.00% per annum.
• This is the eighth consecutive cut in MCLR by SBI this fiscal. MCLR rates are based on the bank's own cost of funds.

• Arms sales rose by nearly five percent worldwide in 2018 in the global market, according to a new report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
• US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 percent of the market, or a turnover of $246 billion, up 7.2 percent on the previous year.
• Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 percent of the market, just ahead of the United Kingdom on 8.4 percent and France on 5.5 percent.

• Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi, hasbeen crowned Miss Universe 2019 in Atlanta, US. She won the title by defeating Puerto Rico and Mexican participants.
• Indian representative, Vartika Singh couldn’t qualify into the Top 20 of the contestants and crashed out.

• A volcano has erupted on white island, a popular tourist destination near New Zealand.
• It is estimated that about 20 tourists are trapped on the island.
• White Island is situated about 50 kilometers (30 miles) offshore from mainland New Zealand.
• The island is also known by the indigenous Maori name Whakaari.

• Finland's ruling Social Democratic Party council voted to name Sanna Marinto take over the government's top post from incumbent Antti Rinne.
• Marin, a 34-year-old transport minister and lawmaker will become Finland's youngest prime minister ever and its third female government leader.
• Marin has been the party's vice chairwoman, a lawmaker since 2015.
• The new government will still have a comfortable majority of 117 seats at the 200-seat Eduskunta, or Parliament.