COST Financial News

By Susan McArthur

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Voltas Ltd expects strong demand in the upcoming summer season despite the high base of last year and expects to continue to outperform the industry. This was a key takeaway from the company’s recently held analyst day meeting.

Taking to LinkedIn, Elliot Rosenberg shared how a daring move he made 12 years ago changed his life for the better. He explained that while most personal finance experts emphasize strategies such as budgeting expenses, making long-term investments, and establishing multiple income streams to achieve financial independence and early retirement, he recognized a significant challenge: the high cost of living in America. Although inflation played a role in rising expenses, he believed that the real issue lay in “lifestyle creep.” In many social circles, there seemed to be an unspoken expectation to maintain a costly social life—frequenting upscale restaurants, purchasing event tickets, indulging in shopping sprees, or joining expensive recreational clubs. The pressure to sustain these expenditures often dictated friendships and social acceptance.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Shares of steel producers such as SAIL Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, and JSW Steel Ltd are in focus after the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended a safeguard duty on steel imports amid rising global protectionism. The DGTR’s proposal, submitted to the finance ministry, suggests a 12% duty on most steel grades for 200 days, with exemptions for imports priced above $675 per tonne for hot-rolled coil (HRC), $824 per tonne for cold-rolled coil (CRC), and $964 per tonne for coated steel.

Spooked by generative AI's sudden advance, governments initially scrambled to develop guardrails, as major tech companies rapidly integrated the technology into their products. Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has shifted focus toward accelerating AI development at all costs, pushing aside concerns about the models suffering hallucinations, producing deepfakes, or destroying human jobs.

Since China's DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley by releasing AI models comparable to its U.S. competitors but developed at a fraction of the cost, Chinese investors have been on the lookout for the next domestic startup with the potential to upend the global tech order. Some have pointed to Manus. The company went viral on X a few weeks ago by releasing what it claimed to be the world's first general AI agent, capable of making decisions and executing tasks autonomously, with much less prompting required compared to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.

Warren Buffett, true to form, remains unmoved — sticking to his decades-old view that gold is an unproductive asset with no place in a value investor’s portfolio. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman has famously dismissed gold as an unproductive asset that generates no cash flows or economic value — unlike businesses that reinvest profits or commodities like silver with extensive industrial utility.

The applicant, accustomed to virtual interviews where notes and prepared questions are easily accessible, struggled in the face-to-face setting. They admitted to being too nervous to think of questions on the spot and were unsure if bringing notes was appropriate. Additionally, a health condition made the experience even more challenging. Reflecting on the rejection, the job seeker acknowledged that failing to ask questions may have signaled disengagement, even if unintentional. The post was shared on Reddit, which drew a lot of comments.

That something, the mandarins reckoned, could only be a government-backed investment option that allowed investors to earn some cash while speculating on the price of their best-loved commodity — without actually having to buy it. But the officials forgot a cardinal rule. If a trade looks too good to be true, it probably is. As it’s becoming painfully evident now, India’s 10-year-old sovereign gold bond program is just a $13 billion naked short position for the government, an albatross around its neck at a time when bullion prices have gone parabolic and show no sign of subsiding. It’s the taxpayers who are on the hook for paying that money to bondholders. This wasn’t how the program was supposed to run. The special debt, it was decided, would pay a 2.75% coupon (reduced later to 2.5%), and the investment itself would be measured in grams of gold. Upon redemption eight years later, investors would be given the prevailing market value of the metal in rupee terms.

But, but, but… India’s obesity problem is no small fry, and Big Pharma is racing to cash in. With Eli Lilly launching Mounjaro ahead of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, weight-loss drugs are heating up the market. Meanwhile, PM Modi has waved the red flag on India’s rising obesity crisis— 440 million people could be obese by 2050! This is “huge and scary.” With the economic burden projected to hit a staggering $838.6 billion by 2060 eating up 2.5% of India's GDP. Is India ready for the weight-loss drug wave?

«As far as other two-wheelers are concerned, by and large, they are doing reasonably well. We have to keep focusing from long-term on Bajaj. I do not see much of a problem there,» says Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Group Chairman, Inditrade Capital. Want to get your view on this entire auto space because today we have news flow coming in from Ola Electric on one end. On the other side, over the last couple of days, we have seen major auto players announcing price hikes that they will be rolling in from next month. How much do you think this price hike could aid the bottom line of these auto companies for FY25 and what is the outlook on the sector in general? Sudip Bandyopadhyay: The auto price hikes are definitely good news as far as the industry is concerned. Obviously, it kind of shows that there is demand, that is how the manufacturers are taking the risk of hiking prices.

As many hospitals are planning to double their capacity over the next three to five years, Shibani Kurian, Head — Equity Research and Fund Manager, Kotak Mahindra AMC, estimates that the growth of hospital companies will outpace that of diagnostics and pharmaceutical companies. In this interview with ET Markets, Kurian also talks about investing in pharma stocks amid Trump's tariff threats. Edited excerpts from a chat:

The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor with a crewed aircraft built to enter combat alongside drones. The plane's design remains a closely held secret, but would most likely include stealthiness, advanced sensors and cutting-edge engines. Lockheed and Boeing are competing for the winner-take-all engineering and manufacturing development contract, worth more than $20 billion. The winner will eventually receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders over the contract's multi-decade lifetime. For Boeing, a win would mark a sharp reversal of fortunes for a company that has struggled on both the commercial and defense sides of its business; a loss could be devastating. A victory for Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense contractor, would keep its high-end offerings — it also makes the stealthy F-35 — on an upward trajectory. An Air Force spokesperson and Boeing and Lockheed representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The data came in the wake of Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's warning, made after its decision to keep interest rates steady on Wednesday, that rising food costs and stronger-than-expected wage growth could push up underlying inflation. The increase in the core consumer price index (CPI), which strips away the effect of volatile fresh food costs, compared with a median market forecast of a 2.9% gain. That kept core inflation above the BOJ's 2% target for the 35th straight month. It slowed from the previous month's 3.2% rise due largely to the resumption of subsidies to curb fuel costs, government data showed on Friday. A separate index that excludes the effects of both fresh food and fuel costs, closely watched by the BOJ as a broader price trend indicator, rose 2.6% in February from a year earlier after climbing 2.5% in January. It was the fastest year-on-year increase since March 2024, when it rose 2.9%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The billionaire-led Berkshire Hathway earlier this week disclosed it had increased its shareholding in Japan’s five biggest trading houses. The Omaha-based conglomerate hiked its stake in Mitsui to 9.82%, in Mitsubishi to 9.67%, in Itochu to 8.53%, in Marubeni to 9.3% and in Sumitomo to 9.29%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Businesses across the country have five months to adopt stricter norms to reduce their environmental impact, by crafting clear policies, setting sustainability goals, and adopting eco-friendly practices in daily operations. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has tightened standards for so-called environmental management systems (EMS), internal company systems to minimize impact and improve performance on the environmental front.

There was an oft-repeated message in Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's press conference on Wednesday: Tariffs will raise consumer prices.

Eli Lilly on Thursday introduced its globally popular anti-diabetes and obesity drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in India, kicking off a raft of planned launches in this therapeutic area over the next few months. At the starting dose of 2.5 mg, the drug will cost Rs 14,000 a month, a company official said. The 2.5 mg vial and 5 mg vial will be available at Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,375, respectively. A spokesperson said as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a prescription-based product, the treatment plan is determined by a healthcare professional and varies for each individual. Eli Lilly will sell only Mounjaro for both obesity and diabetes in India unlike Zepbound, which is the prescribed obesity drug in the US. The key ingredient tirzepatide is the same for both brands. «The dual burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rapidly emerging as a major public health challenge in India,» Winselow Tucker, president and general manager, Lilly India, said in a statement. «Lilly is committed to collaborating with the government and industry to promote awareness and improve the prevention and management of these diseases.»

Warner Bros. on Thursday revealed the first teaser for One Battle After Another, most recent work from gifted screenwriter and director Paul Thomas Anderson. Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, and Teyana Taylor, this gunslinging thriller is scheduled to be released in theatres on September 28, 2025. The teaser offers us an exciting glimpse into the compelling plot of the movie. DiCaprio's character features in the opening shot of the teaser sipping a drink as gunshots resonate behind him. The teaser intensifies with shots of Sean Penn's character dragging a screaming young woman through an alleyway. Meanwhile, gunfire rings out in the distance. The clip then closes with DiCaprio's character, now older with a goatee, while he is muttering, «Just when you think you got a handle on things.”

Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint, a strict regimen designed to slow and even reverse biological ageing. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Max shared that after nearly two years on the programme, his biological age had dropped from 28 to 18. According to him, 90% of his biomarkers are now within optimal ranges. “Almost 2 years on @bryan_johnson's Blueprint: in 2023: always tired, carb-loading, night owl habits. In 2024: turned things around, focused on health & longevity. 2025: 10 YEARS YOUNGER biologically (18 vs 28) with 90% of all biomarkers in optimal ranges,” he wrote. The claim quickly gained traction, drawing curiosity and scepticism in equal measure.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged, with major economies on both sides of the Atlantic confronting a nasty mix of faltering economic growth, rising inflation and President Trump’s trade threats. The BOE left the rate at 4.5% on Thursday, matching the Federal Reserve’s move a day earlier.