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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A COURT IN Hangzhou, AI capital of China, ruled in late April that companies cannot fire their staff and replace them with artificial intelligence. This may come as a relief to plenty of people in a metropolis that is home to Alibaba, one of Chinese tech’s mightiest titans, with a total payroll of 128,000 employees. It is also good for Hangzhou’s commercial landlords, who have little use for AI agents and are desperate for human desk jockeys.China’s dazzling skylines are worryingly lifeless.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tamil Nadu and Kerala are among India’s most socially advanced states, with new governments ready to take charge. They are faced with a more complex challenge than many parts of the world that are still grappling with basic developmental deficits.How do they maintain prosperity, create more economic resilience and generate the next wave of opportunity?The numbers tell a powerful story.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Despite betting on VFX-driven, high-budget spectacles to lure audiences in droves to cinemas, Bollywood has largely been unable to crack the visual effects game.This was particularly evident in the recent criticism of the trailer for the first instalment of the mega-budget, two-part Ramayana franchise. The major criticism was that despite a reported ₹4,000 crore production budget, the visual effects seemed artificial and video game-like, and that they appeared ‘too digital’ and lacked soul.Experts said not only are Indian movie budgets much lower than in Hollywood, but Indian studios and producers also often handle visual effects in a rushed manner during post-production.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It’s almost a clash of ideologies. On the one hand, you have Sennheiser with the HDB 630, leaning into its audiophile roots with a focus on precision, tuning, and comfort, while on the other, the AirPods Max 2 doubles down on Apple’s ecosystem magic, seamless switching, and computational audio wizardry.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian IT’s mid-tier firms are narrowing the gap with the industry’s six largest players in terms of incremental revenue, even as growth slows across the board amid AI disruption and demand uncertainty.Coforge, Mphasis and five similar companies saw growth moderate, but the rate of decline in new business in FY26 was slower than that of the country’s six largest software exporters, which include the likes of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys.Together, these seven mid-tier companies, each with annual revenue between $1 billion and $2 billion, added $1.1 billion in new business in FY26, down from $1.25 billion in FY25. In comparison, the six largest firms, with annual revenue in a range of $5-30 billion, added $1.9 billion, down from $2.28 billion in FY25, according to a Mint analysis of company filings.This suggests that mid-tier tech firms are closing the gap with larger peers in incremental business.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Until recently, artificial intelligence was a welcome tailwind for U.S. growth.We’re beyond that now. AI is more like a hurricane-strength weather system making itself felt across the entire economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Elon Musk is dissolving his artificial-intelligence company, xAI. That sounds alarming, but it amounts to corporate restructuring ahead of his rocket company’s record-setting initial public offering.Now, SpaceX is the entity that will vie for AI supremacy with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Alphabet.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Sona Comstar expects Chinese carmakers expanding manufacturing outside their home market to open up new business opportunities for the company, a senior executive said. The auto parts maker believes Chinese electric vehicle companies setting up plants in Europe and other regions could benefit suppliers, such as itself, which already have a presence overseas.On the other hand, an opportunity to build business in China will require companies to sacrifice their margins and profitability, a reason for its exit from a proposed joint venture with Chinese parts maker Jinnaite Machinery that had been announced in July 2025, Sona Comstar group chief executive and managing director Vivek Vikram Singh told Mint.“When Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) set up factories outside is when our opportunity truly arises in the driveline business," Singh said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US-based FMC Corporation, a global agricultural sciences company, on Thursday said it has signed an agreement to sell its India commercial business to IPO-bound Crystal Crop Protection Ltd, a crop solutions company in New Delhi, for about $252 million.“FMC’s innovative portfolio, blockbuster brands and future pipeline give us an opportunity to provide Indian farmers access to innovative products,” Crystal’s chairman and managing director, Ankur Aggarwal, said in a statement. He added that the deal is aimed at accelerating innovation across both chemical and biological domains of crop protection.FMC will continue to receive all cash generated from the ongoing operation of the India business until closing, primarily through monetization of working capital.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Jung Da-yun didn’t quite like what she saw in the mirror. Her ears weren’t big enough.She booked a visit to a South Korean clinic offering “elf ear” injections.For about $70, a plastic surgeon injected the ridged cartilage of her ears with a hyaluronic-acid filler that caused her ears to perk up.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The market is betting on peace in the war with Iran while riding the relentless surge in tech stocks.Asia markets rumbled again on Thursday as Japan returned from its extended spring holidays and the Nikkei 225 roared nearly 6% higher on the opening day of trading.That takes the regional benchmark close to a 25% gain for the year, well outpacing the 11.4% advance recorded for the tech-focused Nasdaq and the 8% rise for the S&P 500.Not much has changed on the ground, or in the Strait of Hormuz, this week apart from sentiment, which seems tied to reports of a near-term deal between the U.S. and Iran that will end two months of hostilities and reopen the world’s busiest oil and energy conduit.Crude prices have slumped more than 12% over the past two sessions, with Brent futures falling below the $100 a barrel mark, on hopes of a near-term agreement that will lead to longer, more detailed peace talks between Washington and Tehran.But with stocks now more than 16% higher than their late March trough, and the first-quarter earnings season largely finished, the mood on Wall Street is expected to switch quickly.Jobs data on Friday could put the final nail in bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut this year, while crude prices and Treasury bond yields remain elevated enough from their prewar starts to suggest inflation will continue to echo through the world’s largest economy well into the fall.The war may be nearing its end, but the cleanup in certain markets will continue.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran had just opened up e-visas for Indian travellers, but ours quickly got rejected. I read on forums that it was common to get an e-visa rejection, no reasons given. So we set about charting the archaic, long-winded route to get a physical visa at the embassy: get a visa code through an Iranian travel agency, file an application with travel documents at the Iranian consulate in Mumbai and submit medical test results for TB and HIV.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The third gulf war should, in theory, be a huge blessing for big oil. In January most analysts had expected Brent crude, the global oil-price benchmark, to average $60 a barrel in 2026. It ended the first quarter at $118; refined products have risen faster still.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s merchandise trade deficit was about $333 billion in 2025-26, 17.5% wider than the previous year’s. Reducing import dependence is critical and gold stands out as a major item in this context. As the world’s second-largest gold consumer, the country imported nearly 803 tonnes in 2024-25 but produced just 1.6 tonnes (0.2% of demand); last year’s figures would be comparable.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For years, companies have been looking to replicate the smooth conversational experience of ChatGPT with artificial-intelligence agents and chatbots on their websites. Now some are finding there might be value in cozying up to ChatGPT itself.OpenAI in recent weeks has seen a surge in businesses publishing so-called ChatGPT apps, including rollouts from Starbucks, Little Caesars Pizza and Wyndham Hotels last month.These apps are a way for users to engage with brands directly inside the ChatGPT interface, getting answers and advice on products and services.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.KKR-backed InCred Holdings Ltd, primarily operating through its material subsidiary InCred Finance, has filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator.The initial public offering (IPO) size is likely to be around ₹3,000 crore and value the firm at up to ₹15,000 crore, two people aware of the matter told Mint.The offering comprises a fresh issue of equity shares totalling ₹1,250 crore and an offer for sale of up to 99 million shares from existing investors, as per the updated DRHP filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).Shareholders participating in the process include KKR India Financial Investments Pte, MNI Ventures, MEMG Family Office LLP, and V’Ocean Investments Ltd.The company said it may also consider a pre-IPO fundraise of up to 20% of the fresh issue size, which comes up to ₹250 crore, and then reduce the fresh issue size proportionately.The Mumbai-based firm, which had ​confidentially filed draft papers in November 2025, intends to use the net proceeds to increase InCred Finance's capital base, specifically to strengthen tier-I capital and support onward lending.Founded by former Deutsche Bank AG executive Bhupinder Singh in 2017, InCred Holdings now operates as a holding company for the same.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Banks are at their peak performance in India. Credit growth is faster than nominal GDP growth, world-class digital platforms have arisen and regulations have been supportive. Return on assets reached a milestone 1.4% and gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to a 13-year low in fiscal year 2024-25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.At 65, Vijaya Chakravarty thought she was ready to retire. After a long career as a landscape designer, the idea of slowing down seemed natural. But retirement, as the 72-year-old writer and nature educator says, turned out to be less of an ending and more of a reinvention.Today, retirees like Chakravarty are moving beyond quiet sunset years and turning decades of experience into second income streams.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The usage gap in India’s flagship financial inclusion programme has widened further, with inactive zero-balance accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) surging to 26% at 143.83 million at state-run banks, while falling to 36% at 6.3 million at private banks as of March 2026.The total PMJDY accounts across state-run and private banks stood at 581.8 million, with deposits reaching ₹3.02 trillion by early April 2026. State-run banks had 449.8 million accounts, while private banks held 20.8 million.This spike in inactive accounts has been broad-based across public sector banks, which had 112.4 million dormant PMJDY accounts, or 21% of the total, at the end of March 2025.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The weak performance of Indian shares hasn’t just dampened wealth creation, it has also put India’s stock market at risk of being overtaken in terms of capitalization by the bourses of smaller economies. Catching up fast are Taiwan and South Korea; the former’s market cap is now about $4.6 trillion, within sniffing distance of India’s $4.9 trillion, and South Korea’s is at about $4.2 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Investors’ pursuit of the companies supplying key materials to the artificial intelligence build-out is powering an epic rally in shares of chip makers. Other companies caught in the frenzy include a 175-year-old glass manufacturer, a heavy machinery giant and Japan’s leading maker of toilets.The AI trade has boosted stocks’ record run, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.5% to new highs on Wednesday after signs of progress on a Middle East peace deal and strong earnings from Advanced Micro Devices.