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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A weekslong selloff in government bonds has intensified in recent days, threatening to drive up borrowing costs across the globe and knocking some momentum out of what had been a furious stock rally.With bond prices sliding, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a key benchmark for mortgage rates and other borrowing costs, reached as high as 4.687% Tuesday, its highest intraday level since January 2025.The yield on the 30-year U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s efforts to diversify LPG supplies have gained momentum after state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) made its first-ever spot purchases from the American market, a top company official said, as the country seeks to reduce dependence on West Asia amid ongoing conflict in the region.The development assumes significance as India imports 60-65% of its annual liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) requirement of 33 million tonnes, with nearly 90% of these imports sourced from West Asia, making it vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions in the region.Although the mobilization period from the US is about 45 days, cargoes from North America would ease supply crunch faced by the world's second-largest LPG importer, said VRK Gupta, director (finance) at BPCL."For the first time, BPCL has procured 2 US cargoes of LPG on spot purchase basis which have arrived in the month of May 2026. Hence, even if it takes about 90 days (to and fro), cargoes from the US will ease the supply scenario," Gupta told Mint in an interview.These are very large gas carriers (VLGC), with a capacity of 45,000-48,000 tonnes.BPCL’s LPG business accounts for about 28% of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas market, covering 93.5 million cylinder connections.LPG is a sensitive issue in the country as it is used for cooking by nearly 340 million households.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Air India is cutting domestic and international capacity this summer, flying up to 5% fewer flights on domestic routes and nearly 40% less on international corridors compared with a year ago, as a depleted fleet, surging jet fuel costs, and war-related airspace closures squeeze the Tata Group carrier.The airline and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express together offered roughly 9.24 million domestic seats in April and May, down from 9.71 million a year ago, even as India's largest carrier, IndiGo, expanded domestic capacity 6% to 23.04 million seats and newcomer Akasa Air grew 9% to 1.63 million seats, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG reviewed by Mint. Seats are a measure of capacity for airlines.The move reflects pressures that analysts say have pushed Air India's network strategy into what one expert calls ‘survival mode’.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A trader couldn’t hope for better timing.Moments before President Trump postponed strikes on Tehran’s energy infrastructure in a morning social-media post on March 23, a spasm of trades hit the market during off-hours. More than $800 million worth of U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: India's benchmark equity indices ended little changed on Tuesday as gains in information technology (IT) stocks, aided by a stronger dollar, were offset by weakness in banking shares, while investors awaited greater clarity on the prospects of a US-Iran deal.The Nifty 50 fell 0.14% to close at 23,618, while the BSE Sensex slipped 0.15% to 75,200.85.Nine of the 16 major sectors advanced. Broader markets outperformed, with the small-cap index rising 1.2% and the mid-cap index gaining 0.9%.Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)GSFC: Buy above ₹179, stop ₹168 target ₹198(Multiday)VBL: Buy above ₹518, stop ₹490 target ₹570 (Multiday)POWERGRID: Buy above ₹301, stop ₹285 target ₹337 (Multiday)Indian equities extended their decline on 19 May, as continued selling in metal, oil-linked, PSU bank and realty stocks weighed on sentiment, while persistent rupee weakness added to market pressure.The Sensex fell 160.73 points, or 0.21%, to close at 75,237.99, while the Nifty declined 46.10 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 23,643.50.Market breadth remained weak, with 2,381 shares dclining against 1,631 advances, signalling broad-based pressure across sectors.The Nifty Metal index dropped nearly 2%, while PSU Bank, Realty and Oil & Gas indices also ended sharply lower.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—President Trump said he would hold off on a planned U.S. attack on Iran at the request of Gulf leaders to make room for negotiations with Tehran over a prospective deal to end the war.In a social-media post on Monday, Trump said he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The arrival Tuesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing will mark a watershed moment for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one that he has pursued since taking power in 2012—and bet his country’s future to achieve.Welcoming Moscow’s ruler just days after President Trump’s motorcade swept out of the Chinese capital represents, for Xi, a vindication of 14 years of relentless economic competition with the U.S. and his strategic embrace of the Kremlin through the Ukraine war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As the West Asian crisis broke out late February, Sunil JhunJhunWala, managing director and co-founder of Tiruppur-based Techno Sportswear Pvt. Ltd, an active wear brand, moved fast.The disruption to the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he rightly surmised, would affect the supply of polyester filament yarn (PFY)–a raw material derived from crude oil—which he imports from China.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Rural-linked companies reported their strongest volume-led recovery in years in the March quarter (Q4FY26), driven by low inflation, healthy farm incomes and rising non-farm employment from infrastructure spending. Aggressive government welfare spending further boosted rural consumption across staples and discretionary categories.But experts warn the recovery may already be approaching its first major stress test.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Indian currency has been experiencing sharp depreciation amid the West Asian crisis, driven largely by rising energy prices and moderating capital flows. That said, the weakness of the Indian rupee has been a persistent concern over the past year, even before the conflict began. It has depreciated by about 11% over the past year, with about 5% of this value loss having occurred after the US-Iran war began on 28 February.The main concern for the rupee is India’s weak balance-of-payments position.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The diplomatic stalemate between the US and Iran has spiralled into one of the most severe energy crises in modern history. The failure to secure a breakthrough agreement has left the global energy market reeling from an unprecedented supply shock, with policymakers appearing as helpless as cats chasing the shadows of birds overhead.The West Asia conflict and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a historic drain on global oil inventories, which plunged by 246 million barrels across March and April alone.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Well, the first days are the hardest daysDon’t you worry anymore‘Cause when life looks like Easy StreetThere is danger at your door —Uncle John’s Band by Grateful DeadPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent austerity appeal is like an official acknowledgement that trouble is brewing in India’s economy. His exhortations seemed like a signal to all stakeholders that the time has come to talk about the Iran war’s direct and indirect effects.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Coal is making a comeback.Countries around the world are returning to the highly polluting but reliable source of power after the Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and cut off around 20% of global liquefied natural gas supplies.Taiwan is restarting idled coal-fired power plants and South Korea boosted the amount of electricity it generated from coal by more than a third last month. In Europe, Italy has put its coal plants on standby as it girds for a prolonged energy shock.Spot coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, a key supplier to Asia, have jumped 12% since the war started.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Through the dotcom bust, the 2008 crisis, demonetization, the Covid crash, the Ukraine war, and every oil shock in between, my answer in this column has been almost monotonously the same. Stay the course. Don’t react to the news.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IT WAS A tale of two summits. Meeting in China for the first time since 2017, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping committed to stabilising relations and suggested that they had reached new agreements on trade and other areas.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US President Donald Trump’s description of his China visit as “very successful” and “unforgettable” may be as self-congratulatory as his claims of victory over Iran.Trump, in his own telling, had a successful stay in Beijing during a presidential visit that came after nearly a decade and at a crucial juncture in American diplomacy.Having painted himself into a corner by underestimating a sanctions-hit Iran, which now has the world economy in a chokehold through the Strait of Hormuz, he was clearly hoping to secure the Asian giant's help in ending the impasse, not just for favourable economic deals.He claimed to have concluded several trade deals, including an order for 200 Boeing jets that could rise to 750 if the aircraft maker performs well. China also agreed to purchase 400-450 engines from General Electric, he added.Except there were no mentions of these by his host, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump described as an “incredible guy” to Fox News reporters on 15 May while returning home.In fact, his 14 May meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People suggests he may have been told, politely, that he no longer holds all the cards.A Chinese readout said Xi noted that “transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia carried out multiple strikes against Iran after their countries were attacked by the regime in the early days of the war, showing the depth of the Gulf states’ involvement in the conflict and how much the region’s geopolitics have been transformed.Before the war, strikes by the Gulf states on their large and heavily armed neighbor and rival for power in the Middle East would have been unthinkable. But new details have emerged that give a clearer picture of how directly they fought in the war, upending a careful balance the countries had sought to achieve.The U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The war in Iran has triggered the largest oil-supply disruption in modern history.The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is forcing governments to redefine energy security for an age of geopolitical fragmentation—one in which resilience depends not only on how much oil the world produces, but where it flows, who can get it and which countries are able to absorb the shock when it is interrupted.Nearly 15% of global oil supply has been removed from the market. Crude prices remain elevated above $100 a barrel after initially spiking higher. They will very likely move sharply higher as inventories run dry.But while the oil market is global and rising costs are felt everywhere, the consequences are not evenly distributed.Asia has been hit first and hardest.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.U.S. stocks have been on a tear, with the S&P 500 rising nearly 20% from the lows of late March and plowing past risks linked to surging oil prices, rising inflation, and the Iran war.Tech stocks have been scorching, with the Nasdaq rising nearly 30% from its March 30 nadir, powered in part by an astonishing gain of nearly 70% for an index of chip stocks and a 25% surge in the value of the Magnificent Seven.But developments in the options market are starting to raise questions about the strength of the spring rally and its staying power into the summer months.Similar questions arose five years ago during the demise of meme stocks, which got that name because they rise and fall with social media buzz and not business fundamentals.Meme stocks often suffer from what’s called a “gamma squeeze,” triggered in part by the buying of call options.Call option buyers have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase underlying shares at a certain price in the future.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the decades since China joined the world economy, U.S. presidents have traveled to Beijing with a predictable list of demands: stop stealing American intellectual property, don’t force technology transfer, open your markets. Donald Trump followed the script on his previous visit in 2017.Whether he does so again this week, it would be pointless.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Having DISCOVERED the costs of tariffs, President Donald Trump has now discovered the costs of war. On March 9th he declared that his campaign against Iran would be over “very soon”, sending oil prices, which had peaked at nearly $120 a barrel the day before, crashing to nearly $80 (before the war they had been $70).