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Bengaluru’s water tariff is set to increase by one paisa per litre, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday. Defending the Congress government amid the BJP’s protests over rising costs, he accused the opposition party of being «anti-farmer» for opposing the milk price hike, which he said was meant to help farmers. The BJP launched a statewide 'day and night' protest on Wednesday, accusing the Congress government of burdening the public with price hikes. The party highlighted increased milk and diesel prices, higher power tariffs, and rising bus and metro fares as key concerns.

Donald Trump on Wednesday is set to announce the most expansive US trade restrictions in a century, at a stroke upending the postwar global trading system and posing difficult-to-predict economic risks. The administration’s plans to impose what Trump calls reciprocal tariffs have left investors, executives, government officials and consumers around the world guessing what lays ahead when he takes the podium at the 4 p.m. White House Rose Garden event. Deliberations are coming down to the wire, with the size and scope of new levies still being discussed Tuesday. Also Read: As tariff clock counts down, Trump is still up for 'a good negotiation' The lack of details so far on the structure, size and targets of the levies have left the world “flying blind” heading into the big announcement day, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. chief economist Rob Subbaraman. “The Trump administration’s proposed reciprocal tariffs mean different things to different people,” he wrote in a recent note to clients. While a direct approach means the US matching the levies that other nations impose on US goods, “we suspect the criteria for US reciprocal tariffs will be much broader than that, and indeed more difficult to quantify.”

Shriram Finance shares will be in focus on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the company’s 100% acquisition of Shriram Overseas Investments from Shriram Investments Holdings. Additionally, the central bank has cleared the appointment of Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, and Parag Sharma, Managing Director & CFO, as Directors on the board of Shriram Overseas Investments, subject to compliance with specified conditions.

Ghibli-inspired AI images, OpenAI's Sam Altman has issued an important update for the users, saying that the new releases from the company are likely to be delayed, stuff to break, and for service to sometimes be slow as it deals with capacity challenges. «We are getting things under control, but you should expect new releases from openai to be delayed, stuff to break, and for service to sometimes be slow as we deal with capacity challenges. Working as fast we can to really get stuff humming; if anyone has GPU capacity in 100k chunks we can get asap please call!» said Altman in a post on X.

Asian stocks edged lower as traders grapple with how to position themselves in the countdown to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement. A regional gauge declined as indexes in Japan and South Korea dropped at the open. Treasury yields advanced after a multi-day drop as traders weighed the odds of Federal Reserve policy easing.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SoftBank Group has agreed to lead a funding round of up to $40 billion in OpenAI. It’s a deal which should boost the value of Microsoft’s stake in the ChatGPT maker but raises the bar for the successful conversion of OpenAI into a for-profit company.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The US has once again raised objections to India’s trade policies, including key initiatives meant to support local manufacturing, casting a shadow on ongoing negotiations between the two nations for a bilateral trade agreement.

finished steel imports during the first 11 months of the financial year, which began in April, stood at 8.98 million metric tons, marking a 15.8% year-on-year increase, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday. India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, became a net importer in 2023/24, a trend that has continued with rising shipments from China, South Korea and Japan. Last month, India recommended a 12% temporary tax on certain steel products for 200 days, known as a safeguard duty, in an attempt to curb imports. South Korea was the biggest exporter of the alloy to India during April-February, with shipments reaching 2.6 million metric tons, up 7.1% year-on-year, the data showed. Finished steel imports from China totalled 2.4 million metric tons, down 5.3% year-on-year, while imports from Japan reached 1.9 million metric tons, marking a nearly 70% year-on-year increase, the data showed.

OpenAI on Monday said it raised $40 billion in a new funding round that valued the ChatGPT maker at $300 billion, the biggest capital-raising session ever for a startup. The infusion of cash comes in a partnership with Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group and «enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further,» the San Francisco-based company said in a post on its website. «Their support will help us continue building AI systems that drive scientific discovery, enable personalized education, enhance human creativity, and pave the way toward AGI (artificial general intelligence) that benefits all of humanity,» the company said.

The comments came after the three countries held their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday, seeking to facilitate regional trade as the Asian export powers brace against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China, and China is also interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, said in a post on Weibo. All three sides agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation and engage in more dialogue on export controls, the post said. During Sunday's meeting, the countries' trade ministers agreed to «closely cooperate for comprehensive and high-level» talks on a South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement deal to promote «regional and global trade», according to a statement released after the meeting.

Global stocks were poised to endure another rocky session on Tuesday as concerns around President Donald Trump’s looming tariff rollout continued to whipsaw markets. Shares in Australia, Japan and South Korea opened higher while US equity-index futures dropped in early Asian trading. The S&P 500 climbed for the first time in four sessions, though US shares still notched their worst quarter compared to the rest of the world since 2009. As equities bounced, bonds moved away from session highs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India's electric vehicle (EV) battery makers could face collateral damage from the Trump tariffs, as foreign manufacturers unload cheap batteries here just as the local companies were ramping up production. India’s fast-growing EV market could absorb the diverted supply and drive down costs for local automakers, experts said, adding that also spells trouble for companies such as Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd, Exide Industries Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd and Ola Electric Ltd, which are investing billions to build battery plants.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump has imposed a stiff 25% tariff on imported cars, trucks and parts that go to make them. The move, ostensibly, is to revive domestic manufacturing.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Indian markets could open up to 1% lower on Tuesday after the Eid holiday, suggests weekly options data, as bears are likely to return ahead of US President Donald Trump’s 2 April deadline for reciprocal tariffs. Trump's comments on the weekend dragged South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei down by 3-4% on Monday, while Germany's Dax and France's CAC traded 1% lower at the time of writing.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Japan plans to recruit 50,000 youths from Assam within the next five years. During his on-going three-day visit to the districts of Biswanath and Sonitpur, Sarma has inaugurated several projects and laid foundation stones for forthcoming developments in Biswanath. Among these initiatives, he inaugurated a newly constructed Automated Vehicle Fitness Testing Station, built at a cost of Rs 11.50 crore, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

The seven Aberdeen strategies are: abrdn Emerging Markets Equity Enhanced Index; abrdn American Equity Enhanced Index; abrdn European Equity Enhanced Index; abrdn Japan Equity Enhanced Index; abrdn World Equity Enhanced Index; abrdn UK Equity Enhanced Index and abrdn Asia Pacific Equity Enhanced Index. aberdeen seeks to merge two MyFolio fund ranges All seven track different indices including the S&P 500, FTSE All Share and several MSCI ones: MSCI Europe ex UK, MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan, MSCI Emerging Markets, MSCI Japan, and MSCI World. Among the reasons cited by RSMR for the ...

Japan's economy could lose as much as $1.81 trillion in the event of a long-anticipated megaquake off its Pacific coast, which could trigger devastating tsunamis, the collapse of hundreds of buildings and potentially killing about 300,000 people, a government report said on Monday. The expected economic damage of 270.3 trillion yen, or nearly half of the country's total gross domestic product (GDP), was up sharply from the previous estimate of 214.2 trillion yen as the new estimate accounted for inflationary pressures and updated terrain and ground data which have expanded anticipated flood areas, the Cabinet Office report showed. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the government sees about an 80% chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake along a tremulous seabed zone known as the Nankai Trough. Under the worst-case scenario, based on a potential magnitude 9 earthquake in the area, Japan is likely to see 1.23 million evacuees or 10% of its total population. As many as 298,000 people could die from tsunamis and building collapses if the quake occurs late at night in winter, the report showed. The trough is off Japan's southwest Pacific coast and runs for approximately 900 km (600 miles), where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Eurasian Plate. The accumulating tectonic strains could result in a megaquake roughly once in 100 to 150 years.

Shin'ichirô Watanabe, is set to premiere on Adult Swim on April 6. The series features an intense storyline about a special task force hunting a scientist who created a dangerous drug. The animation is handled by MAPPA, and action scenes are choreographed with input from ‘John Wick’ director Chad Stahelski.

Before visiting India, Welder admitted he had certain preconceived notions about the country’s public transport. “Before coming to India, the stereotypes about public transport in the country were demolished or old buses and trains and noisy tuk-tuks and rickshaws,” he wrote, caling Indian public transport better than Western Europe's. However, after using the metro, he was impressed by its world-class features and even compared it to some of the best systems globally.

Shriram Finance Ltd, the flagship company of diversified conglomerate Shriram Group, is set to cross Rs 3 lakh crore in assets during the next financial year starting April 1 with loan growth of 15 per cent. «We expect 15 per cent credit growth for FY26 if the GDP grows at 6.5 per cent. Usually, loan growth is more than 2 times of the GDP. Higher the GDP growth, higher is the demand for loan,» Shriram Finance executive vice chairman Umesh G Revankar told PTI. Asked about the asset book target, he said, it should cross Rs 3 lakh crore in FY26 and this financial year would close over Rs 2.5 lakh crore. Shriram Finance would end the current financial year with 18 per cent credit growth although the guidance was 15 per cent, he said, adding, the company has exceeded its target.

Lower-income buyers will suffer another blow from expected hikes in used car prices as demand surges and supply shrinks. New cars priced under $30,000 are already rare as the average new-vehicle price approaches $50,000. The only way automakers can eke out profits on economy cars, analysts say, is to build them in nations with lower manufacturing costs. A Reuters review of data from two auto research firms found just 16 models with an average sticker price less than $30,000 and only one, Toyota's Corolla, that is assembled in the United States. All others are made in Mexico, South Korea, or Japan. Slapping a 25% tariff on these low-end cars may force price increases that make them unaffordable to their target market or cause some automakers to abandon them entirely, industry analysts said.