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Varanasi, also commonly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi , is a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 320 kilometres (199 mi) southeast of state capital Lucknow. It is regarded as a holy city by Buddhists and Jains, and is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu Cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India
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Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, after private sector hiring in the U.S. hit its lowest level in over two years, raising concerns that trade policy uncertainty could be weighing on the superpower's economy.
A report from payrolls processing firm ADP showed that payrolls rose only 37,000 for the month, less than the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and below the consensus forecast of 110,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.39% at the open while the Topix lost 0.63%.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.75%, while the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.28%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day flat.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 23,666 pointing to a flat open. HSI had closed at 23,654.03 in the previous session.
Investors will be keeping a close watch on Indian markets as the Reserve Bank of India starts its two-day policy meet, with markets expecting the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 5.75% on Friday.
— CNBC's Pia Singh, Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Dalio warns against trying to lower interest rates 'unnaturally'
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said on "Squawk on the Street" that the U.S. government debt situation is "urgent" but that lowering interest rates will not necessarily help ease the situation.
"You can't unnaturally lower interest rates without a negative consequence. ... You don't get richer by lower interest rates or printing money," Dalio said.
One of the consequences of higher Treasury yields is that new debt issued by the U.S. government has higher annual payments than the bonds issued during low-yield periods.
Dalio also said that we are moving into a period of "greater than normal risk" and that investors should have a diversified portfolio while generally de-emphasizing debt assets. That could include 10% to 15% of a portfolio in gold, Dalio said.
"I think it's going to be a good asset, but it also is a diversifying asset," he added about gold.
The hedge fund manager is currently promoting his new book titled "How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle"
— Jesse Pound
English (US)