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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It’s odd to see Zach Galifianakis being sweet.A uniquely gifted comedian with significant acting range — from The Hangover movies to the Baskets TV series — Galifianakis has, in recent years, become known for the insulting and underprepared interviewer persona he puts on for his YouTube series Between Two Ferns. On it he asked Barack Obama how it felt to be the last black President (“Seriously?” Obama responded) and told Brad Pitt, “You play a lot of people that are Nazi hunters, which is weird to me.” “Why do you say that?”, Pitt asked.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a market crowded with occasionwear labels, standing out can be difficult, especially for brands working with traditional textiles and embroidery techniques.But in five years, ITRH has established itself through its use of crafts such as kalamkari, chikankari, Madhubani and gota weaving, combining traditional techniques with contemporary silhouettes and a more maximal aesthetic. Its embellished jaal dupatta worn by actor Kareena Kapoor Khan last year, for instance, has become one of the label's most recognisable signatures. Earlier this year, ITRH, which now has a sub-brand ITRH Two that offers more modern pieces, made its international debut at the Dubai Fashion Week.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It has been a bruising week for the news cycle, starting with gunfire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and ending with a geopolitical jolt from the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).Let’s begin with Washington.President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and other senior officials were rushed to safety after shots were heard outside the venue hosting the annual gathering of journalists and political leaders.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Federal Reserve’s internal debate over interest rates has turned a corner. Officials are no longer arguing about when to resume cutting.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.From India and New Zealand formally signing a free trade agreement (FTA) to India once again becoming a net exporter of finished steel, the index of industrial production (IIP) easing to a five-month low in March, freshers facing disruptions in job offers,and gender disparity in India’s boardrooms — here is a compilation of this week's news in numbers.India and New Zealand formally signed a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday after completing the negotiations in just nine months in December 2025, making this one of the fastest trade deals ever concluded. The deal carries a $20 billion investment commitment from Wellington over the next 15 years, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said.The FTA will grant duty-free access to all Indian exports to New Zealand, spanning 100% of tariff lines.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mapusa market, especially on Fridays, throbs with activity. It’s the day when smaller businesses set up their stalls in this market in north Goa, selling trinkets, gifts and other odds and ends. At the heart of it is the enclosed municipal market, which has its usual assortment of vegetable sellers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Last month, France did something that would have been unimaginable a few years ago; certainly before the outbreak of the Ukraine war, when US-led sanctions cut Russia off from the Swift payment system, the main messaging network that enables secure international financial transactions, and froze more than $300 billion of its assets. Its central bank, the Bank of France, pulled out its remaining gold reserves held in New York. Admittedly, no central bank today relies on gold to back its currency.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Lose weight quickly, and it often shows up on the face first. As fat disappears, the skin can sag, accentuating signs of ageing.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equities ended the holiday-truncated week only marginally higher, as stalled talks between the US and Iran and president Donald Trump's rejection of Tehran's proposal to remove the blockade of Hormuz pushed crude prices to a three-year high of $126 per barrel.Still, benchmark indices posted their best monthly show in nearly three years in a relief rally, as investors piled into beaten-down stocks after US and Iran announced a ceasefire early in April following more than a month of conflict.Surging crude prices pushed the rupee to a record low of 95.32 against the US dollar, sparking concerns that a fragile West Asia truce could unravel, intensifying inflationary and margin pressures. The weakening currency also accelerated foreign outflows, further dampening market sentiment.The Nifty 50 slipped 0.3% to 23,997.55, while the Sensex fell 0.8% to 76,913.5 on Thursday amid geopolitical concerns.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has set an ambitious target of increasing its average revenue per user (Arpu) by almost 50% to ₹150 in the current fiscal year. This after a recent annual review flagged concerns “regarding the stagnation of core business revenue” of the state-owned telecom operator, according to the meeting document seen by Mint.The target was set at a review meeting of BSNL with communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on 23 April.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.That Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has a network of 300,000 ‘influencers’ at work for its marketing department, as declared in April by Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez, has quickly become a PowerPoint talisman. In a world where entire industries sometimes change direction through choreography rather than conviction, that’s an evocative figure. Indian marketing has always had a weakness for the large gesture.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equity benchmarks rebounded on Wednesday, 29 April, with the Nifty 50 rising 181.95 points, or 0.76%, to close at 24,177.65, reclaiming the 24,000 mark. The Sensex advanced about 0.73% to end near 77,446.Sentiment was supported by optimism around fourth-quarter earnings, led by Maruti Suzuki and an improvement in global risk appetite, even as tensions in West Asia persisted.Gains were led by FMCG and auto stocks, with the Nifty FMCG index up 1.75% and the Nifty Auto index rising 1.15%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Over the past few weeks, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks have drawn renewed investor attention. Traditionally, the sector, alongside IT, has been seen as a defensive play during market volatility.The Nifty FMCG index has rallied sharply since early April 2026.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The shift towards passive investing is one of the defining trends of this decade. According to NSE Indices’ Nifty Passive Insight report, released in March, assets under management (AUM) in passive schemes stood at ₹14.84 trillion as of end of February, up ninefold from ₹1.63 trillion in 2020.The passive universe now spans 677 schemes and 54 million folios, with 67% of AUM in equity, and more than half of that benchmarked to the Nifty 50.The foundation traces back to Nobel laureate William Sharpe, who argued in his 1991 paper The Arithmetic of Active Management that, after costs, the average actively managed dollar must underperform its passive counterpart.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s mid- and small-cap stocks are seeing a clear shift in ownership patterns, with retail investors and mutual funds stepping in as key buyers even as foreign investors continue to cut exposure.A Mint analysis of shareholding trends across BSE mid-cap and small-cap companies shows that while ownership churn remains widespread, the direction of flows differs sharply across investor groups.Data as of 31 March 2026 suggests that domestic flows are increasingly shaping these segments, cushioning the impact of foreign selling. However, the nature of participation also highlights a divergence in risk appetite, particularly between retail investors and institutional money.In the mid-cap universe, retail investors remained selective.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India's weakest monsoon forecast in 26 years hasn't rattled Dalal Street much, raising the risk that investors are underpricing pockets of stress.The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) first estimate pegs 2026 rainfall at 92% of the long-period average (LPA), flagging chances of below-normal precipitation. Amid persistent foreign investor outflows, elevated crude prices and patchy earnings, monsoon risks are being seen as incremental.However, experts caution that a weak monsoon could choke farm cash flows, dampen rural credit demand, and sour asset quality before broader consumption trends buckle.Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with exposure to vehicle loans and micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) financing in rural markets are most closely aligned with the monsoon cycle.Unlike fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables, and autos—which can cushion rural weakness through premiumization and urban demand—these lenders' books are directly tied to farm incomes.The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) expects rabi crop income to grow just 0.8% year-on-year in FY26 due to low food inflation, down from almost 11% last year and well below the above-8% annual trend seen since FY16.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a shift from the ‘growth at any cost’ era, IT services industry leaders like Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd are increasingly avoiding low-margin contracts, preferring to sacrifice top-line revenue to protect their bottom lines from the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).The change comes as generative AI begins to affect the traditional outsourcing model. By automating tasks that previously required thousands of engineers, AI is compressing deal values and forcing firms to choose between hyper-competitive, low-yield work and more lucrative, automated services.The impact of this selectivity is already showing up in the books.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For those who have faced a shortage of small-value notes and coins in their wallets, the next three months could bring a change.India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), is looking to install dozens of cash and coin dispensers by the end of June, as it leads an initiative by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease access to low-denomination paper money and coins.The state-owned lender plans to install 60 such machines in markets and other high-traffic areas where demand for change is high, according to four people familiar with the development and a document seen by Mint.The rollout will cover branches with currency chests in cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Amravati, Chandigarh, Vellore, and Shimla, among others. The idea is to cover 13-14 states, the person said.“If the bank sees usage pickup at these machines, it will gradually increase the number.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Gender parity in India Inc.’s boardrooms remains distant, and the gap is widest among younger women entering the director pipeline, official data show.A Mint analysis of ministry of corporate affairs data up to January 2026 shows women accounted for 32.5% of more than a million director identification numbers (DINs) issued over the past two years. But in the 18-30 age group, their share dropped to 26%, or roughly one in four of the 339,000 DINs issued, compared with 73.92% for men.DIN—an eight-digit identifier required to serve on company boards—helps track an individual’s involvement across multiple companies, though it does not guarantee a board seat.Representation improved with age.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Stock market recap: Indian equity benchmark indices ended the week on a sombre note, with the Nifty 50 falling 275.10 points, or 1.14%, to close at 23,897.95, while the BSE Sensex dropped nearly 983 points to settle at 76,681.29.Friday's session was marked by a clear risk-off tone as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, pushed Brent crude back above $105 a barrel.Sector-wise, IT stocks led the decline, with the Nifty IT index tumbling 5.29% after disappointing Q4 guidance from heavyweights such as Infosys triggered a broad-based sell-off in technology names.Market breadth remained sharply negative, with an advance-decline ratio of 863:2429, indicating nearly three stocks fell for every one that gained.Volatility also picked up, with India VIX rising 6.3%, suggesting markets may remain in a consolidation phase as investors contend with persistent global headwinds and the ongoing earnings season.Buy: Vardhman Textiles Ltd (current price: ₹590)Buy: RBL Bank Ltd (current price: ₹321)Nifty 50 performance on 24 AprilIndian equities ended lower on 24 April, with the Nifty 50 declining 275 points, or 1.14%, to close at 23,897.95, reflecting sustained selling pressure through the session after an early dip. Market breadth remained decisively weak, with 863 stocks advancing against 2,429 declines, signalling broad-based risk aversion.Sectorally, the sell-off was led by IT, which dropped about 5.3%, likely on global growth concerns and currency moves.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The microdrama sector is poised for a major disruption following the launch of Tadka by JioHotstar and Fatafat by Amazon MX Player. According to industry experts, these media giants are operating with budgets 10 to 15 times larger than those of early-stage companies.