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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other energy companies are speeding up their searches for new oil-and-gas prospects—far away from the perils of the war in the Middle East.Exxon recently outlined a potential plan to pump up to $24 billion into Nigeria’s deep-water oil fields, while Chevron expanded its footprint in Venezuela. BP bought stakes in oil blocks off the coast of Namibia, and TotalEnergies signed an exploration deal with Turkey.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India's top private lenders, led by HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, reported strong growth numbers in the quarter just gone by but have turned cautious on business prospects in fiscal 2027 as the West Asia war and consequent economic disruptions stoke uncertainty.While domestic demand trends have been robust so far, war-related tensions cloud visibility on future growth and lending, especially to small and medium enterprises and export-oriented companies.HDFC Bank’s loans grew 12% on year to ₹29.6 trillion as at the end of March 2026, whereas deposits were 14% higher at ₹31 trillion. On its post-earnings media call Saturday, managing director and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan stated that it would be difficult to predict the future pace of growth given the war even though expansion is expected to continue.“The trajectory is the right path in terms of positive momentum and we shall calibrate that as we get more clarity from the macro indicators over a period of time,” Jagdishan said, adding that so far the impact from the geo-political situation has been minimal.Jagdishan said bank clients have seen a certain level of disruption but what is really encouraging is their resilience.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Opportunistic investors who traded for only a single day constituted almost a whopping one-fourth of the 35.8 million active retail investors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) last fiscal year, data in the bourse's monthly Market Pulse issue showed.Even when aggregated, investors trading up to 10 days constituted 69% of the total active retail base. This reveals a "highly skewed, long-tailed pattern, where bulk of investors trade only a handful of days in a year, while a very small proportion participates regularly," according to NSE's Economic Policy & Research Department (NSE EPR), which prepared the data.In absolute terms, those trading for just one day stood at 8.43 million investors, comprising 24% of the total individual investor base of 35.84 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Nifty 50 and Sensex rose over 1% last week, extending gains a week before—their strongest in over five years—but the pace has now moderated. On Friday, both indices closed about 0.65% higher, with the Nifty at 24,353.55 and the Sensex at 78,493.56. With signs of stability emerging, we should look at stock-specific action.IRCON(Cmp ₹154.69)Why it’s recommended: Triveni Turbine (TRITURBINE) is a leading India-based manufacturer of industrial steam turbines up to 100 MW, specialising in design, manufacture, and custom-engineered back-pressure and condensing steam turbines.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Earlier this year, the government issued a much-awaited update to the methods by which it measures national income and gross domestic product (GDP).According to the government, key reforms to the way GDP is calculated “include revising the base years of GDP and price indices, strengthening the measurement of the informal and services sectors, improving labour market statistics, adopting advanced survey methods and technology, and enhancing transparency…”Based on the new methodology, India’s GDP grew 7.2%, 7.1% and 7.6% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms in FY24, FY25, and FY26, respectively, compared to the 9.2%, 6.5% and 7.4% growth rates last estimated using the old methodology. In absolute terms, GDP is now lower than previously pegged: at current prices (not adjusted for inflation), India added ₹345.47 trillion in economic output in 2025-26, not ₹357.14 trillion as believed using the old technique.

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.There is a particular kind of Indian investor I have come to admire over the years—disciplined, patient, and largely immune to fads. They began a few SIPs decades ago, quietly added to them, never panicked during crashes, and never chased the hot sector of the moment.They built real wealth—not through brilliance, but through consistency and time. Their family will be materially better off because of what they did.And yet, when such a person dies, what often follows is a scene their careful investing was never meant to produce.A spouse who knows money exists somewhere but cannot say where.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.China is making strides in open-source artificial intelligence. Eighty percent of developers worldwide who use open-source AI tools are building with Chinese models, according to an estimate by our colleague Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Research from our firm and OpenRouter shows a significant increase in the use of Chinese open models last year, reaching in some weeks a high of 30% of all AI usage.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Srinagar: A prized forest delicacy among the world’s most expensive mushrooms is collapsing in the wild even as scientists in Kashmir say they may have found a way to cultivate it.Gucchi, or morel mushroom, has seen output fall sharply across Jammu and Kashmir—from around 2,000 quintals in 1991 to just 88 quintals in 2018—as erratic snowfall, shifting rainfall patterns and forest degradation disrupt the fragile ecological conditions it depends on.It is primarily found in the foothills and forested belts across districts including Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Anantnag, Bandipora, Kupwara and Pulwama.In Kashmir’s higher forests, collectors describe damp pine floors layered with decaying needles and logs—exactly the moisture-rich microhabitat where the mushroom once emerged reliably in spring. That seasonal rhythm, they say, has become increasingly erratic.At the same time, global competition is intensifying, with countries such as China advancing morel cultivation techniques and putting additional pressure on prices.Now, researchers at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K) say they have successfully standardized cultivation of Gucchi under controlled greenhouse and open-field conditions, a breakthrough in a species long considered nearly impossible to farm.“This is a game-changing breakthrough,” said SKUAST-K vice chancellor Nazir Ahmad Ganai.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The trailing impact of disruptions related to goods and services tax (GST) and recent policy changes dulled the March quarter for life insurers. HDFC Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India's second and third largest private life insurers respectively, reporting softer growth and lower margins in what is usually their strongest premium season.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Angel One’s shares jumped over 10% on Friday to ₹322 after its March-quarter (Q4FY26) results offered relief following a difficult stretch. Net revenue from operations rose 37% year-on-year to ₹1,014 crore, while operating margin expanded to 42% from 32%, aided by operating leverage.The rebound comes after a prolonged adjustment to tighter regulations that dragged revenues lower in the nine months to December.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When Sam Altman was briefly fired, then rehired as OpenAI CEO in 2023, the company’s board of directors had fretted over what little they knew about his personal investments and whether they posed potential conflicts.A newly formed board pledged to fix the problem, but it never went away. As OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, hurtles toward a planned initial public offering this year, valued at around $850 billion, the question persists—how to determine whether decisions serve the company’s best interest or Altman’s.He recently asked OpenAI to lead a funding round for Helion after the nuclear-fusion startup fell behind on promises of a breakthrough energy source and began to run short on cash.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank will kick off the banking sector’s March-quarter earnings season on Saturday, with brokerages expecting a stable performance but watching closely for management commentary on margins, growth and macroeconomic risks from the West Asia war.For HDFC Bank, the spotlight will be on leadership developments following the exit of former part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty on 18 March. Chakraborty had resigned with immediate effect from the board, citing “certain happenings and practices within the bank” that were “not in congruence” with his personal values and ethics, prompting questions on oversight and internal controls at trhe country's largest private bank.Following his resignation, HDFC Bank, in a late-night announcement, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved the appointment of board member and HDFC Group veteran Keki Mistry as an interim part-time chairman for three months from 19 March.

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.Stock market recap: Following a strong relief rally in the previous session, Indian equity benchmarks consolidated on Thursday, April 16, 2026, as investors paused to assess the durability of easing geopolitical tensions. The Nifty 50 closed marginally lower at 24,196.75, down 34.55 points (0.14%), while the Sensex ended about 80 points lower, mirroring the cautious tone.Despite the slight dip in headline indices, broader market sentiment remained resilient, as reflected in a healthy advance-decline ratio of 2:1, with 2,147 stocks advancing and 1,089 declining.Among sectors, Nifty Metal led gains with a 1.53% rise, followed by IT and Media, which saw buying interest on supportive global cues.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Only a few years ago, AI seemed like merely a nice toy: a chatbot that simulated intelligence by assembling complete sentences in response to users’ prompts but that ultimately wasn’t much more sophisticated than an advanced search engine. Yet now, it has proven to be an incredible tool that can perform tasks I never thought would be possible in my lifetime. For example, I have used AI to locate online datasets, manipulate them, carry out statistical tests and produce polished tables and charts, complete with sensible commentary on what the results mean, how they relate to academic literature and the strengths and weaknesses of the analysis.

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

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equities caught a strong bid on Wednesday, with both the Nifty 50 and the S&P BSE Sensex rallying nearly 2%, as easing tensions in West Asia lifted investor sentiment. The mood turned distinctly risk-on amid growing signs that the conflict may be approaching a resolution.As per reports, US President Donald Trump suggested the war is “close to over,” even hinting at a second round of face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan in the coming days.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many informal migrants who had returned to their villages during the covid lockdowns stayed back after the pandemic ended, which led to an increased share of India’s employed population working on farms. Disrupted supplies of affordable cooking gas in wake of the Iran conflict have restarted a slow but worrying reverse migration of informal workers to villages.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As investors gauge the full impact of the West Asia war on crude oil-led inflation, another problem seems to be emerging. The India Meteorological Department and private forecaster Skymet Weather Services predict rainfall in the June-September monsoon season may fall short of the long-term average.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vikram Sarabhai, when pressed on why a poor country should spend on space research, offered an elegant rebuttal. He said that we are not in competition with economically advanced nations. We are endeavouring to apply the most advanced technologies to the real problems of humankind.