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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: ASK Alternates, part of the Blackstone-backed ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group, has launched its second private credit fund with a target corpus of ₹2,500 crore, including a ₹1,500 crore greenshoe option, a top executive at the company said.The new fund will continue ASK’s performing credit strategy, targeting 14-16% gross internal rate of return (IRR) by investing in market-leading businesses backed by reputed Indian promoters, global private equity, and sovereign wealth firms, Shantanu Sahai, head of private credit at ASK Alternates, told Mint.It is expected to invest in 12-15 transactions spread across infrastructure, healthcare, manufacturing, industrials, renewables, specialty chemicals, auto components and financial services – sectors that are considered high priority by the government. “This gives us a favourable policy environment as well as interest from offshore capital pools,” Sahai noted.The company's second fund will follow a similar strategy to the first.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For over two decades, an Oman-based NRI has called Muscat home, building a career in a country that levies zero personal income tax.In India, he filed his tax returns dutifully, claimed NRI status and availed the concessional rates that came with it, including the 5-20% flat tax on interest and dividend income, which would otherwise be taxed at slab rates for residents. It was meant to be a watertight benefit under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA).Then, last year, the income tax department came knocking.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A chart is haunting Silicon Valley. The profits of big cloud-computing firms (Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle) are rising inexorably. Yet the amount of cashflow they generate after capital spending is falling.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bitcoin die-hards think they’ve found the hot new thing.Some longtime crypto enthusiasts are souring on bitcoin as it goes mainstream, frustrated that it no longer provides the privacy they value. Others are disenchanted with how politicians and celebrities are suddenly embracing bitcoin—or they’re just fed up with the token’s slumping price.Now, bitcoin’s early evangelists are getting behind another digital token: Zcash.Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are among the bitcoin pioneers betting big on the so-called privacy token, which lets users shield their transaction details.Zcash’s emphasis on anonymity reminds some of crypto’s early days, when privacy was championed as a ticket to personal freedom.“It feels like bitcoin circa 2013,” said Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group and Grayscale Investments, which set up the first publicly traded bitcoin fund.Catch all the Technology News and Updates on Live Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India stands at a unique economic crossroads. It possesses massive household wealth that remains largely disconnected from its industrial engine. While the nation’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) grapple with a staggering credit gap estimated at about $310 billion, Indian households are sitting on an estimated 34,600 tonnes of gold valued at roughly $3.8 trillion as of June 2025 as per a Morgan Stanley report.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Gold may be a “barbarous relic,” as John Maynard Keynes once observed, but it remains the relic of choice among central banks. Emerging-market central banks have been loading up on gold reserves ever since the 2008 global financial crisis, more than doubling their holdings. Does the anomalous behaviour of gold prices since the outbreak of the war with Iran call this strategy into question, or is something else going on?Gold’s allure derives from its reputation as a safe haven and inflation hedge.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre's move to lower royalty rates on oil and gas produced in the country is a sharp contrast to its decision to impose a windfall tax during the earlier bout of oil price surge in 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine war began. The West Asia war is causing sharp volatility in oil prices, besides exposing supply-chain vulnerabilities, and seems to have prompted the government to provide greater incentives to encourage domestic production.The share prices of state-owned producers Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: India’s cement makers are bracing for a prolonged margin squeeze as rising fuel, freight and packaging costs, triggered by the West Asia conflict, test pricing power amid signs of demand softness.Companies are responding with fuel substitution, long-term sourcing contracts and efficiency measures, but analysts say these steps are unlikely to fully offset near-term cost pressures as construction activity slows.A Mint analysis of the top five cement companies shows three reported a year-on-year decline in fourth-quarter profits (Q4FY26) as higher input costs weighed on earnings.At the same time, executives and analysts say the sector’s ability to protect margins will depend on how far price hikes and operational efficiencies can offset structurally higher fuel and logistics costs.India’s largest cement maker, UltraTech Cement, said scale and procurement strategy are helping cushion the impact.“There are several measures…diversifying our sources of procurement, identifying newer opportunities to deal with the situation, and entering into long-term fuel contracts, which are now turning beneficial for us,” chief financial officer Atul Daga said during a post-earnings interaction on 27 April, after the company reported March-quarter earnings that beat expectations on stronger volumes and tighter cost control.The strong performance came despite escalating costs. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) climbed 21% to ₹5,600.3 crore, surpassing analyst estimates of ₹5,277.2 crore.Energy expenses, which account for more than a quarter of total costs for cement makers, have risen as the West Asia conflict pushes up crude oil and related fuel prices.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It’s the best of times. It’s the worst of times. Charles Dickens wasn’t an economist, not by far, but his immortal lines in A Tale of Two Cities perfectly captures India’s macroeconomic dilemma today.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The hedge-fund herd was early to see opportunity in the stocks of chip makers and other artificial-intelligence hardware companies. Those bets just delivered stock-picking funds their best month in over two decades.Steve Cohen’s Point72, Whale Rock Capital Management and Seligman Investments are among the hedge-fund firms that posted strong returns in April thanks in part to rallies in semiconductor stocks and those of related equipment makers.That helped make April the best month for stock-picking funds since December 1999, according to an industry index compiled by research firm PivotalPath, with a gain of 6.5%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shiladitya was at the top of his game. A star in sales and marketing at a leading FMCG company, he was known as a maverick. He launched products using unconventional strategies that others dismissed — but they worked.While his persona was legendary and he was earning quite well, his wealth creation did not reflect the swagger he brought to everything else!We see many “Shiladityas” in our practice.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A Ukrainian special-forces sniper claimed a world record in late 2023 with a shot that hit a Russian officer almost 2½ miles away.These days Vyacheslav Kovalskiy has a new job: supporting drone pilots. He hasn’t been out to shoot in more than a year and a half.Small drones that are cheap and can be rigged with explosives have changed the face of warfare in Ukraine, pushing some traditional military roles down the billing. Spotters who call in artillery strikes are no longer needed.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Kevin Warsh was approved by the Senate as the next chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon, inheriting an economy reckoning with persistent inflation and an increasingly divided group of policymakers.The chamber confirmed him with a vote of 54-45, almost entirely along party lines. Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman was the lone crossover.The vote came just days before Jerome Powell’s term as chair expires Friday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BEIJING—President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reunited on Thursday morning in Beijing, kicking off a summit centered on improving their economic relationship, as the war in Iran and U.S. commitment to Taiwan loom.Speaking inside the Great Hall of the People, both leaders projected optimism for two days of talks.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Air India on Wednesday announced that it would suspend or reduce flights on more than two dozen international routes between June and August, citing airspace restrictions and record-high jet fuel prices. Notably, the government recently increased jet fuel prices for international services while keeping them unchanged for domestic flights. The idea was to keep the bulk of India’s air traffic shielded from the rise in crude oil prices.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: The Indian rupee is sliding from one record low to another, but economists say assigning a precise trajectory to the currency has become increasingly difficult amid the US-Iran war and the resultant crude oil shock.On Wednesday, the Indian currency hit another all-time low of 95.80 per US dollar before closing at 95.66 against its previous close of 95.68, according to data provided by Bloomberg. While the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention trimmed some losses on Tuesday, traders believe the central bank is not intervening as much in the currency market.A Mint poll of 10 banks, brokerages and economists showed the Indian rupee is expected to weaken further through the year, with most forecasts for end-2026 clustering in the 96-98 per dollar range.Amid heightened volatility, only five respondents were willing to offer a near-term forecast, projecting the currency in a broad range of 94.5-96.5 against the US dollar over the next two weeks to one month.Most economists expect the rupee to depreciate 3-4% in the current financial year if crude prices remain elevated.“Currently, it seems that the rupee is trying to head towards 96.5 levels.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker, expressed caution about the industry’s growth in FY27, saying the true impact of the West Asia war on fuel prices and consumer sentiment is yet to be seen.The Mumbai company said it expects single-digit growth for the industry this fiscal year after retail sales grew 12% in FY26, crossing a million units for the first time as the goods and services tax (GST) cuts in September 2025 boosted consumer sentiment.Management’s comments came after the company reported a 5% dip in consolidated net profit in FY26 to ₹3,030 crore on Wednesday evening. Without a ₹1,428-crore loss on investments due to its equity stake in Tata Capital, which was listed during the fiscal year, the company’s profit grew by 9% to ₹4,458 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For strict institutional gatekeepers, Billboard has been quite lax about allowing fake artists on its charts. By November, several AI performers were featured, including country music’s Breaking Rust and R&B’s Xania Monet.It’s the kind of casual absurdity that AI music startups like Suno are hoping will become, well, casual. “The technology finally allows for billions of people to be creative, to have the fruits of their labor, to feel fulfillment in a different way,” Suno co-founder Mikey Shulman told Forbes in April.But the inclusion of those fruits—AI creations—on the music charts is an existential emergency signal, raising logistical questions for the music industry.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Buying a home is the largest financial commitment most Indians will make. Choosing the right lender matters as much as choosing the right property. Today, that choice sits between banks and housing finance companies (HFCs), a specialised category of NBFC, and each serves a genuine purpose for different kinds of borrowers.As of May 2026, banks offer floating-rate home loans starting from 7% for eligible borrowers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The markets regulator has proposed easing physical settlement rules for select agricultural commodity derivatives to boost liquidity and participation in a market that has struggled with weak volumes and operational hurdles.In a Tuesday consultation paper, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) proposed a phased framework under which some agri commodity contracts can initially trade as cash-settled contracts before transitioning to mandatory physical delivery.Mint explains:Sebi has recommended allowing exchanges to launch or revive select agricultural commodity derivatives contracts as financially settled products in the initial phase, before mandatorily shifting them to physical settlement once they meet predefined thresholds. These thresholds could include average daily traded volume, open interest levels or a maximum period of two years, whichever is earlier.The proposal marks a shift from the regulator's current framework, under which physical delivery is the preferred mode of settlement for commodity derivatives contracts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In his recent public addresses, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to reduce the use of imported oils—both crude and edible—as part of broader austerity measures aimed at conserving foreign exchange. The appeal comes amid a widening current account deficit (CAD) and a weakening rupee.But what does the conflict in West Asia, a key hub for crude oil and natural gas production, have to do with cooking oil? The answer lies in interconnected commodity markets and India’s heavy dependence on imported edible oils. Mint explains:PM Modi urged households to cut cooking oil consumption by about 10%, arguing it would benefit both public health and the national economy.