COST Financial News

03.02 / 12:27

markets COST UPS Citi Platform Metro beautiful Inside the battle for Bharat: How startups are cracking the rural retail code

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For years, grocery shopping was an exercise in disappointment for Venkataramanan Reddy, a 58-year-old farmer living near Rayachoty, a town of 1.25 lakh in Andhra Pradesh’s Rayalaseema region. At the small neighbourhood stores he relied on, the quality of products, especially staples such as lentils, was poor, even as prices remained high.

03.02 / 10:53

markets COST security Trade performer International PB Fintech shares get the cold shoulder despite decent Q3 performance

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PB Fintech stock fell around 6% on Tuesday despite the company’s decent performance on key parameters in the December quarter (Q3FY26). Among the positives, revenue rose 37% year-on-year to ₹1,771 crore, driven by growth in core online revenue and new initiatives revenue.

03.02 / 10:53

markets COST UPS Manufacturing Research Trade country India-US trade deal boosts prospects of Indian cable & internet gear makers

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The India-US trade deal announcement has lifted investor sentiment around Indian cable and internet gear makers such as Sterlite Technologies Ltd (STL), HFCL Ltd, RR Kabel Ltd, Polycab India Ltd and Havells India Ltd, amid expectations of improved US export prospects and margin recovery after earlier tariff-related pressures, analysts said.

03.02 / 10:07

markets COST UPS Hyundai wellness Tough ride for Creta, muted GST gains: How Hyundai is navigating a rocky road

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s December quarter (Q3FY26) results drew a lacklustre reaction from the Street. While Ebitda margin was flat year-on-year at 11.2%, unit economics improved slightly.

03.02 / 09:53

COST UPS Waves CEO Trade Experts International India-US trade deal sparks fresh wave of optimism in Indian IT

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BENGALURU : The shares of India’s largest information technology (IT) services firms—Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd—jumped as much as 4% in morning trade as investors stamped their seal of approval on the India-US deal.

03.02 / 09:53

COST UPS Provident Cooper Analysis Universities country Engineers India in talks to develop Guyana's first oil refinery, says CMD Vartika Shukla

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Engineers India Ltd (EIL) is in talks with the government of Guyana to help build its first oil refinery, CMD Vartika Shukla said in an interview, a step that could deepen energy ties between India and the South American country. EIL plans to offer project management and consultancy services for the proposed refinery.

03.02 / 06:59

markets COST Strategy Analysis Universities show gatherings Systematic transfer plan: Wealth creation or insurance strategy?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. I lost money through the systematic transfer plan (STP). I would have been better off had I invested a lump sum," said a disgruntled Ayush, who had recently invested in an equity mutual fund via an STP.

03.02 / 05:01

COST UPS Booking Gap trends show Profiles India’s high credit-deposit ratio: Is the banking system overstretched or just efficient?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of scheduled commercial banks reached 81.75%—the highest level recorded since 2000-01—on 31 December 2025. Usually, a high CD ratio is a positive indicator as it means that banks are deploying funds efficiently in loans.

03.02 / 04:41

COST Citi Provident PwC Healthcare Experts hospital Why hospitals are targeting health insurance buyers

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As India seeks to deepen health insurance adoption, a few companies are combining treatment and care with medical coverage, promising improved outcomes and lower premiums. Non-life insurance premiums, including health coverage, are expected to grow at an annual average rate of 13–15% in the medium, according to PwC.

02.02 / 12:23

markets COST Manufacturing Strategy economy Coherent Features Ficci director general: The budget isn’t a list of announcements but a coherent plan to strengthen India’s economy

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The budget reaffirms a defining feature of India’s economic strategy over the past decade: growth anchored in reform, investment and macroeconomic credibility. Rather than announcing isolated measures, it presents a coherent growth compact built on multiple pillars to strengthen its foundations while adapting to a complex global environment.

02.02 / 11:11

COST UPS Platform Strategy Sustainability reports Features Mint Explainer: Why quick commerce wants planned buys even as margins come under pressure

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BENGALURU: Quick commerce platforms are pushing shoppers to buy in bulk to lift order values, but analysts warn the discount-heavy tactic may deepen, not solve, their profitability challenge. Swiggy Instamart and Zepto are doubling down on bulk-purchase and planned-order features, betting that nudging customers to buy more per order will raise average order values (AOV) and improve unit economics.

02.02 / 10:49

COST awards Justice Courts International Delhi HC clears way to hear Centre’s $2.31-bn recovery appeal against RIL

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : A division bench of the Delhi high court on Monday agreed to hear the Centre’s plea seeking to recover around $2.31 billion from Reliance Industries Ltd and its partners in the nearly three-decade-old Panna-Mukta and Tapti offshore oilfields dispute. The bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Madhu Jain rejected RIL’s objection that the Centre’s appeal was not maintainable.

02.02 / 10:49

markets COST Platform economy show recommendations Updates How AI is rewriting consumer commerce in China

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China’s consumer recovery has been slower and more uneven than policymakers hoped, but one part of the economy is moving fast anyway: artificial intelligence. As demand growth falters and traditional stimulus offers only limited lift, China’s biggest consumer platforms are leaning into AI not as a moonshot, but as a practical tool to stabilize margins, reshape competition, and extract more value from each transaction.

02.02 / 10:13

markets COST security Research Trade Experts STT hike: Why derivative traders will dump futures for options

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The proposed increase in the securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives from the next fiscal could drive a shift in trading from futures to options, where the hike in the levy is comparatively lower, experts said. This could partly offset the estimated 10-15% dent in derivative volumes, according to some of them.

02.02 / 09:27

markets COST Gap security Strategy Trade How will the STT hike on F&O trades affect arbitrage and other funds?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Budget 2026 increased transaction costs in the derivatives market by hiking the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options trades. While the increase is small in absolute terms, it has material implications for arbitrage funds, which depend on cash-futures spreads.

02.02 / 09:27

COST UPS wellness Cycling show track Rate cuts are done. Liquidity is now the real challenge for RBI

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After the Union Budget, all eyes are now on India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) ahead of its final rate decision for this fiscal year (FY26). After repo rate cuts totalling 125 basis points (bps), the rate-cutting cycle is expected to now conclude, and policymakers may shift focus from the cost of funds to the quantum of liquidity.

02.02 / 06:53

COST Digital Platform trends social recommendations Online protocol: If you’re not a bot, submit your proof-of-personhood to establish it

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Here we are in the third decade of the 21st century, and the internet has an identity crisis. For years, we worried about anonymity, privacy and whether our passwords were strong enough.

02.02 / 02:29

COST UPS Target economy Trade testing India’s budget doubles down on a tried and tested formula—with debt reduction as a distant target

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India kept calm and carried on this fiscal year, with a GST spur for retail offtake, an urgency for foreign trade deals and a few tariff tweaks for factory-cost relief making up the bulk of our response to trade adversity. That spirit prevails in India’s budget for 2026-27 too.

02.02 / 00:47

markets COST Strategy economy Trade shock How China emerged stronger than ever amid US tariffs—and what India can learn from it

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Few questions are as revealing today as how the world’s two largest economies—the US and China—differ in their economic approaches. In Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future (2025), Dan Wang offers a useful lens.

02.02 / 00:47

markets COST UPS security Sustainability Trade shock The prospect of better returns will overshadow the budget’s securities transaction tax hike

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The government’s goal of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires India to sustain high growth over a long period of time. Union Budget 2026-27 operates within a framework that India has articulated for itself: of bringing down the government’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio on a sustainable basis.

02.02 / 00:47

markets COST Provident Sustainability trends Trade recommendations Stock recommendations for 2 February from MarketSmith India

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Stock market update: In a historic special Sunday session coinciding with the Union Budget 2026, Indian equity markets witnessed a volatile sell-off amid a hike in the securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives, which dampened sentiment.

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