Extreme Financial News

Kazam EV Tech, which offers several charging products and services for electric vehicles, said on Monday that it raised $8 million in a funding round led by Vertex Ventures. Existing investors like Avaana Capital and Alteria Capital, among others, also participated in this round, the company said. Kazam plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its tech and product teams, increase its offerings and expand its market presence. The firm had raised about $11 million before the latest round, according to data from Tracxn.

The United States is speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of nuclear reactors to supply carbon-free electricity

Pakistan Army chief Gen Asim Munir on Thursday warned against attempts to create chaos in the cash-strapped country, saying the armed forces will foil any such move and safeguard national integrity. His remarks came after many teasing comments appeared on social media, often comparing Pakistan's situation with that of Bangladesh where a popular uprising swept away a government which had won a landslide electoral victory. «If someone tries to create chaos in Pakistan, by God, we will stand before him. No power in the world can harm Pakistan because this country is built to last,» Gen Munir was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the army's media wing. Addressing a conference of Islamic clerics here, the army chief reiterated the military's dedication to preserving peace and stability in the country.

₹1,700—23% less than ₹2,300 in the same period a year ago. This, the IDC report said, occurred “due to price cuts to clear inventory, and discounts and offers by brands." Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst for wearable devices at IDC India, said that the stagnation in the market partly occurred in anticipation of the festival period. “Several new model launches by incumbent brands are expected during the upcoming festive season, which may help in arresting this decline.

Left Front rule in Bengal had just got over at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. It was sometime in June 2007. CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu, well into his 90s, had long delivered his speech but showed no signs of departing the dais although supporters had already started leaving the tightly packed venue. That wasn't usual, given the grand old man's failing health and his limited public appearances. Shortly afterwards, the stalwart was seen engrossed in an animated discussion with then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his frown apparent even from a distance. Biman Bose, then Left Front chairman and secretary of the party's state unit, soon joined what looked more like a debate than a conversation. Again extremely unusual, given a deadpan Basu's demeanour in public rarely bordered on the jittery and the party hardly ever exhibited its differences outside the closed doors of its Alimuddin Street headquarters.

heatwaves have become more frequent and intense, emerging as a significant contributor to heat-related deaths. Researchers said that this underscores the urgency of recognising their impact and severity. In the study, published in the journal Nexus, the researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University analysed six available heat wave indices, including the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index and Canada's humidex. WBGT index was first developed in the 1950s by the US military to prevent heat-related illnesses in training camps.

In a meeting held today (7 August) with local leaders in Hakodate, Uchida described the policy interest rate of 0.25% as «significantly low» and argued to continue monetary easing in accordance with the current rate due to «developments in financial and capital markets at home and abroad being extremely volatile». His statement came two days after the Japanese stock market suffered its largest one-day decline on Monday (5 August), amid investor fears that the US was heading for a recession. Japan's Nikkei 225 index nosedived at the time by almost 13%, having dropped 5.9% before the we...

Around the world, endgames are looming in four high-stakes political, environmental and military disputes. The results will resonate well beyond the immediate protagonists.

India has been significantly increasing its renewable energy capacity in recent years, but when demand for electricity surges, it still goes back to its most trusted source of power

Manish Gunwani, Head-Equity, Bandhan AMC, says while they own PSUs, they do not trust any single PSU too much, because the government has a habit of changing regulations periodically. So, they have a string of pearls in select PSUs, 1-1.5% kind of holdings. Gunwani says Bandhan AMC’s bigger overweights right now are healthcare, internet, and telecom on the defensive side and real estate, power, and capex-related stocks on the cyclical side. What do you make of the construct of the market? We had a scary fall on Monday and looks like a lot of collateral damage has already been done. Manish Gunwani: I would prefer to be a bit cautious. A lot of returns are being made in cyclical sectors and tactically it is because of valuations and the Indian rupee has also outperformed a lot. Also, given the election result, the policy focus is still to be seen. So, overall, in a bull market, there are periods where one needs to be tactically cautious. We will go through some consolidation. I do not expect any big drawdown because liquidity looks fine.

«So, the last two days was a very good buying opportunity. Today, intraday, we may be seeing a little bit of selling, but I think things have stabilised here. Most global markets have started to rebound and we should be heading higher from here,» says Rohit Srivastava, Strike Money Analytics. Last two days, sell-on-rally is the kind of market we have seen. Are you representing the bulls who have been struck? Or are you from the bear side? Whom do you represent today? Rohit Srivastava: I think the last two days, we have a complete bunch of readings, which are extremely oversold. We have our own proprietary swing indicator, which reached a reading of 3 on Monday and our average swing which reached a reading of 11.

Indian expats, including those at the CXO level ,looking to relocate to India primarily from the US, UK and Canada over the last year, recruitment agency Randstad India told ET. However, Randstand did not quantify the size of the surge of Indian expat applicants. The manufacturing industry is expected to double in size over the next five years from employing around 2.5 to 3 million people to around 5 million by around 2030, Yeshab Giri, Chief Commercial Officer, Operational Talent Solutions at Randstad India, told ET. Government emphasis with big ticket incentives in addition to benefiting from the China plus one strategy has seen the electronics manufacturing sector in particular opening up more opportunities for these expats. The government boosters are seen aiding local manufacturing to get stronger.

component sub-assemblies that go into making a mobile device, a senior official told ET. This is part of a big upcoming incentive scheme to develop a local ecosystem for electronic components. Sops will be linked to a combination of production, capex and employment generation, given the government's renewed focus on job creation. «This will set the new template for the manufacturing sector,» said the official. China's value-add is currently in the range of 30%. India's target is to have 25-30% value add in about seven years, the official added.

Water that was released from the Chilcotin River landslide in B.C.’s Central Interior is now reaching the Fraser River.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal joined the other NDA MPs from Assam to call on PM Narendra Modi. Speaking on the occasion, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “We are extremely inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji that has explored many possibilities of the rich region of the Northeast to become the growth engine of India’s next economic growth. Today, under Modi Ji’s visionary leadership, the region is making remarkable strides in transformational progress be it in transport, business, social sector, infrastructure among others. There was a time when we had to fight for one bridge over Brahmaputra and today, under Modi ji, five new bridges are being constructed. Under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji, the possibility of Northeast is being harnessed to empower next economic resurgence. Northeast has full potential to become hub of production and business of the South East Asia and Guwahati is going to be the lynchpin of this economic possibility, unlocking immense potential of the Northeast.” During the meeting, the MPs thanked the Prime Minister for the last 10 years that has been transformational for the state marking a new era of peace, progress and prosperity.

US stock futures rose on Monday as some buyers waded into the market, following a three-day global selloff that was fueled by fears of a US economic slowdown and extreme tech-sector valuations. 

The Economic Survey of 2023-24 has a distinct tone of defensiveness. While it has done well in identifying the multitude of challenges facing the country, it has not fully addressed the deep underlying causes that have led to India’s vulnerability, especially in the face of growing nationalism and climate change.

«So, while there are technical factors like the yen carry trade or the lack of confidence in the AI theme with the returns not commensurate with the investments that are being made in AI, etc, those are probably technical issues related to the market which is triggering some foreign selling,» says Rajesh Bhatia, CIO, ITI MF. The one question that everybody wants to have an answer for is how much should one be having the confidence that it is the kind of uptick that we are seeing on Nifty 50 today, the kind of gains that we are seeing today, how much is that giving you the confidence that yes, we are over the global selloff or do you believe that in the near term there are some more risks that could be there in the room? Rajesh Bhatia: Well, look at it this way. Among the strongest markets in the world today has been the Indian market.

Indian consumers prefer human customer service support when shopping online, according to an EY report. While 61% consumers find AI driven product recommendations extremely beneficial, data breaches are the primary cause for concern among Indian online shoppers. 84% consumers have made purchases based solely on the recommendations or promotions of influencers as per the recent EY Future Consumer Index (FCI), which included responses from 1,000 Indian participants within a worldwide poll.

«I do not think that is the only thing that is going on. Though, I think what has happened here is the market was extremely buoyant and arguably priced for something approaching perfection when it got a bit of a wake-up call that the economy was slowing down from last Friday's non-farm payrolls number in the US,» says Arnab Das, Global Macro Strategist-EMEA, Invesco. So, you heard what Jim Rogers, the commodity guru, has had to say, and he says this has been long overdue and these kind of conditions are brought on by a lot of leverage across markets around the world. Do you agree? Do you think that the kind of factors that influence the markets are going to take them down even further? Arnab Das: Well, I think it is certainly a risk. I think there has been a big build-up in public sector leverage in the US and many other countries, particularly in the West, as a result of the pandemic and to some extent, the war in Ukraine. And I think that has been a factor in keeping growth so high and in generating a boom in investment, construction, manufacturing renaissance of sorts in the US. I do not think that is the only thing that is going on.

Water has begun moving through the dam formed on the Chilcotin River by a giant landslide, but the warning from officials is a stern one.