Iran Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian automakers are beginning to feel the operational strain of the West Asia conflict, with companies flagging supply bottlenecks, longer shipping times and rising costs, even as domestic demand remains resilient.Early signals from industry executives suggest the impact is weighing far more on supply chains than on demand, which has so far held up. The spillover is beginning to feed into production and exports, pushing up costs that companies are gradually passing on to consumers.At the centre of the strain is the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint that has seen vessel movement fall sharply amid repeated disruptions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Consensus earnings estimates for the fourth quarter of FY26 point to double digit growth, albeit at a lower level than the previous quarter due to the impact of the West Asia war and a high base effect, says Satish Ramanathan, chief investment officer-equity at JM Financial Asset Management Company in an interview. Leading companies may emerge better given superior pricing power.Asked whether it is time for foreign portfolio investors to return to Indian equity markets, Ramanathan reply was: “…we believe Indian equity markets are now reasonable as regards valuations and are poised to benefit from a diversified economy and domestic market.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is planning to roll back a significant number of quality control orders (QCOs) imposed on input materials, aiming to ease compliance burdens and support manufacturing amid US-Iran war-led disruptions.The exercise, being led by the consumer affairs department, will be completed in phases, and all line ministries have been asked to identify products that could benefit from the removal of quality controls, said two government officials familiar with the discussions.“The proposed rollback is expected to focus on input materials where domestic capacity remains limited or where mandatory certification has disrupted supply chains,” said the first government official, on the condition of anonymity.The move follows a NITI Aayog committee recommendation to ease QCOs to augment manufacturing and ensure the availability of raw materials at affordable rates.“As recommended by NITI Aayog, we have asked line ministries to identify all such QCOs that can be withdrawn without impacting quality and domestic industry,” said the second official, also on the condition of anonymity.This official, however, maintained that some important QCOs will be introduced, if needed, to protect against substandard imports of finished goods or raw materials.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.If you want proof that multilateralism is limping and hobbling, all you have to do is look at the latest ministerial of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held last month. The talks ended without any consensus over a global trade deal, adding yet another episode to years of paused global trade agreements.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Big banks in America have ridden a dealmaking boom that has helped drive demand for corporate loans and pulled record-breaking fees from the wild swings in financial markets. But the most surprising and intriguing news so far in the past week’s earnings parade of the US financial sector was the diverging fortunes of bond traders at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.The war in the West Asia has created a huge amount of uncertainty since the American and Israeli attacks on Iran began at the end of February, but mergers and acquisitions still got done and US commercial and industrial loans jumped by the most in more than three years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Hostilities in West Asia may have eased, but oil prices remain well above pre-war levels. Though prices have stayed below $100 a barrel since the ceasefire announcement, conflicting signals from the US and Iran are keeping markets volatile.Mint looks at the near-term outlook.Yes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Watching TV news or listening to most consumers, you’d think the jump in oil prices since the start of the Iran war will send inflation spiraling skyward.Most economists, meanwhile, expect that the impact of higher energy costs on inflation will be relatively trivial. Some even invoke the infamous T word: “transitory.”The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, even after crude’s 10% selloff on Friday on news that Iran said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Inflation won’t skyrocket, as it did in 2022 to a four-decade peak north of 9%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It has been an eventful week – once again dominated by developments around the US-Israel-Iran war.Iran said on Friday (17 April) that the Strait of Hormuz is open. The announcement came almost simultaneously from US President Donald Trump (via Truth Social) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (on X).“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In previous decades, propaganda for murderous Middle Eastern regimes tended to be unpersuasive. As American forces rolled into the Iraqi capital in 2003, Saddam Hussein’s information minister, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, stood on a roof and claimed that “Baghdad is safe…the infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gate.” He added that God was “grilling their stomachs in hell”. Behind him, television audiences could see Iraqi soldiers fleeing for their lives.In today’s Gulf war, astonishingly, a murderous dictatorship appears to be winning the propaganda battle against the land of the free and the home of Hollywood.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Dozens of world leaders were discussing how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a videoconference on Friday when a murmur went up among the presidents and prime ministers. Aides off-screen began furiously tapping their shoulders and passing them notes.In the middle of the meeting, led by France and Britain, President Trump declared on social media he had reached a breakthrough with Iran and the strait would be fully reopened.Foreign leaders, aware that Trump has declared victory before, stayed on the line and kept planning.The details of the coalition meeting, described by several officials on the line, underscored the mix of head-spinning confusion and cautious optimism that has gripped foreign leaders and financial markets over Trump’s efforts to strong-arm Iran into a peace deal.For several hours on Friday, through a series of interviews and social-media posts, Trump insisted he got most of what he wanted from Iran after launching a war against the U.S.’s largest Middle Eastern rival: A full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, falling oil prices, a promise from Iran that it would give up its supply of enriched uranium, and commitments for Iran to halt its support for proxy terror groups in the region.Trump’s optimism had followed a social-media post by Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, declaring the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” during the cease-fire.Then walk-backs began.Mahmoud Nabavian, a conservative lawmaker and member of Iran’s negotiating team, rebuffed Trump’s announcement that the strait was fully open.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Last week’s euphoria on Dalal Street appears to have cooled, even as global indices outperformed Indian benchmarks. While optimism around US–Iran peace talks lent support, investor activity remained selective, driven more by stock- and sector-specific bets than broad-based momentum.The Nifty 50 and Sensex rose over 1% this week, extending gains after last week’s near 6% surge—their strongest in over five years—but the pace has now moderated.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are set to report a largely steady March quarter, with demand holding up despite a complex operating environment. However, a volatile mix of commodity swings, geopolitical tensions and emerging inflationary pressures is beginning to cloud the outlook, even as companies rely on calibrated pricing and cost controls to protect margins.Large listed players such as Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ITC Ltd, Nestle India, Dabur, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and Marico Ltd are expected to reflect these cross-currents in their March quarter earnings, which will kick off later this month.“FMCG companies will be able to maintain a status quo in the domestic market this quarter,” said Ankur Bisen, senior partner and head of retail, consumer products, food and e-commerce sectors at consulting firm The Knowledge Company.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.China’s economy got off to a solid start in 2026, with its GDP growing 5% in the first quarter, according to official data released on Thursday. This exceeded the expectations of economists and struck the top-end of the 4.5-5% growth aim set by Beijing for the full year. Driving the expansion were China’s robust exports for the quarter, although its March shipments faced severe headwinds.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Trump administration spent months demanding the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. This week, two people with close ties to the White House said waiting to move makes some sense.Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, speaking at an economic forum in Washington, D.C., said Thursday he is reconsidering his rate cut outlook for the year, trimming his projection from four cuts to potentially three and acknowledging the inflation picture had become more complicated even before war with Iran began.The remarks came just days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also took a slight turn from his earlier stance on monetary policy.Cuts should come eventually, Bessent said at a Washington conference, but waiting for clarity on the Iran situation makes sense.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An intensifying U.S. naval blockade of Iran is aimed at inflicting such severe economic pain that Tehran will be compelled to quickly submit to Washington’s demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear ambitions.With crude exports from Iranian ports effectively stopped up, the country will be deprived of a large chunk of its oil revenues.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Trends test our patience while the lower levels are being held . The road ahead looks challenging, but we will slowly and steadily conquer it.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BE GRATEFUL FOR small mercies. The ceasefire between America and Iran holds. Talks that began in Islamabad last weekend may soon resume.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.George R.R. Martin offers an insightful verdict on leadership through Tywin Lannister of Game of Thrones. His grandson King Joffrey, seated on the Iron Throne, screams in frustration: “I am the King.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Two data releases on 13 April held important messages for the government on ensuring food security and shielding the livelihood of citizens. First, inflation estimates released by India’s ministry of statistics for March suggest food inflation is rising faster than overall inflation. Second, early monsoon forecasts point to a high likelihood of deficient rains in 2026.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.ROME—As President Trump’s rift with Europe widens, he is casting even his political friends into the chasm.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has spent the past year trying to act as a bridge while Trump tussled with other European leaders over tariffs, Ukraine and Greenland.Trump, who previously called Meloni a “great leader,” now says he is shocked by her refusal to send forces to help open the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Iran war. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday.The abrupt breakdown of their political friendship shows how the middle ground is disappearing between a White House that is demanding loyalty from its allies and a Europe where voters and governments increasingly view the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iranian leaders have portrayed the current cease-fire as a victory against an overwhelming U.S. and Israeli onslaught.