Trade Financial News

saffron supplies from Iran amid increasing geopolitical tensions in West Asia is benefitting Indian producers and traders of the spice, one of the costliest in the world. Prices of Indian saffron, which is cultivated in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, have increased by more than 20% at the wholesale level and about 27% in retail stores in the past month, producers and traders said. The best quality Indian saffron is now selling for Rs 3.5-3.6 lakh a kg in the wholesale market, compared with Rs 2.8-3 lakh before the start of the latest strife in West Asia, they said. It can cost as high as Rs 4.95 lakh a kg in retail, or the price of nearly 70 grams of gold at Friday’s rate of Rs 72,633 for 10 grams.

Lightweight jewellery, along with gold and silver coins, accounted for the bulk of the demand on Akshaya Tritiya this year, according to industry executives, as gold prices hovered about 20% higher year-on-year for the day that is considered auspicious to buy gold. Market leader Tanishq said it expects up to 20% year-on-year increase in Akshaya Tritiya sales value, driven primarily by lightweight jewellery priced between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh, similar to other jewellers such as Joyalukkas, Senco Gold & Diamonds and Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart also cashed in on the opportunity, delivering gold and silver coins within 10 minutes. Most of them claimed demand was surging but declined to mention absolute or growth figures.

Hond has reported that its profit for the fiscal year through March jumped 70% as its vehicle sales grew and a weak yen buoyed overseas earnings

Polish farmers have marched through downtown Warsaw to protest the European Union’s climate policies and to oppose the pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk

James “Jim” Simons, a renowned mathematician and pioneering investor who built a fortune on Wall Street and then became one of the nation’s biggest philanthropists, has died at age 86

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes on Friday: Sweetgreen, Natera rise; Collegium Pharmaceutical, Akamai fall

The Biden administration is planning to announce new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China

A European naval force has detained six suspected pirates after they opened fire on an oil tanker traveling through the Gulf of Aden

from Chinese spying. The Kansas House's top GOP leader accused Gov. Laura Kelly of “apathy" toward serious national security threats from China and other nations declared by the U.S.

Jim Simons, the mathematician-investor who created what many in finance consider the world’s greatest moneymaking machine at his secretive firm, Renaissance Technologies, has died. He was 86.

Today, Bitcoin is trading at $60,620, marking a 4% decrease over the last 24 hours. The cryptocurrency’s recent uplift is attributed to dovish economic data from the U.S., hinting at possible Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Trading volume on major cryptocurrency exchanges has experienced a significant decline in April, coinciding with Bitcoin’s retreat from its all-time high.

tariff concessions under its proposed free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the five-member Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Engineering goods, electronics and agriculture are expected to benefit from the agreement and the government asked the industry to identify restrictions, if any, that they face in the five members of the EAEU including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. «The two sides have met and discussed initiating formal talks for the pact,» an official said, adding that in the light of this development, inputs have been sought from industry on barriers and products in which the country wants to achieve self-reliance. New Delhi's concerns stem from the fact that India's exports to the union in April-January FY24 were $3.7 billion while imports were $51.7 billion due to crude oil imports from Russia. Moreover, the bloc has signed free trade pacts with China, Vietnam, Serbia and Iran, which could impact Indian industry's competitive position in any of the EAEU markets.

Simons Foundation chair Marilyn Simons, he gave billions of dollars to hundreds of philanthropic causes, particularly those supporting math and science research and education. In 1994, they established the Simons Foundation, which supports scientists and organizations worldwide in advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences," the foundation said in a press release.

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever as the WNBA prepares to open one of the more-anticipated seasons in league history. A Fever championship would have bookmakers sweating. They are the biggest liability at BetMGM Sportsbook, with nearly half the betting tickets on the Fever, who open the season Tuesday at the Connecticut Sun.

Wales First Minister Vaughan Gething on Friday said he held a «candid meeting» with Tata Steel on the issue of expected job losses at the company's Port Talbot plant in South Welsh. The First Minister, who is on a visit to India as part of the trade mission, also expressed hope that the Indian steel major, which has a «positive reputation», would take the same approach for the workers at the Welsh plant. Last month, Tata Steel announced to proceed ahead with its plans to close down the two furnaces at the plant and replace them with electric furnaces as part of its plans to go green in steel manufacturing. The proposed move could affect some 2,500 jobs in the next 18 months. But trade unions have opposed the move, and some 1,500 workers have reportedly voted in favour of an industrial action.

Jim Simons, a mathematician who founded the most successful quantitative hedge fund of all time, passed away on Friday in New York City, his foundation announced on its website.

Novavax Inc. shares surged after the company signed a $1.2 billion licensing agreement with Sanofi that includes commercializing a combined Covid-19 and flu shot. Novavax will receive $500 million in upfront payments as well as a further $700 million if all development, regulatory and launch milestones are met, according to a statement Friday. Novavax, which will receive tiered royalties on any vaccine sales, said Sanofi is also taking a minority equity stake of about 5% in the US company.

FIU) called for blocking web addresses of a number of global crypto firms which were not registered in the country, over concerns that some of them may be misused for money-laundering. On Friday, FIU said that it has lifted Kucoin’s suspension after the exchange paid a fine of around $42,000, and is processing Binance’s application. “We are yet to decide on the quantum of fine to be levied on Binance, and the process is likely to take some time," said Vivek Aggarwal, director of FIU, which comes under the finance ministry.

Decentralization has led to the emergence of hundreds of new altcoins, NFTs, and stablecoins with varying use cases. Among these new crypto are WAX and MATIC, two exchangeable tokens that are a must-have for anyone looking to invest in blockchain.

Dover, DE, USA, 10 May 2024 — ChainGPT , the AI-powered Web3 infrastructure providing a diverse suite of tools and services, announces the exclusive IDO launch of its latest launchpad project: Wisdomise AI , an all-in-one AI-powered crypto advisor and investment assistant. With the support of ChainGPT Pad’s IDO launch pad, Wisdomise AI is set to launch its $WSDM token on May 13, advancing its vision of bringing AI-powered investment and wealth management services to a broad range of investors.