War Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Oil marketing companies’ (OMCs) strong March-quarter (Q4FY26) results hide the heavy losses they are incurring due to higher crude oil prices. Brent crude now trades over $100 per barrel, up from about $70 per barrel before the West Asia war began.Efforts to soften the blow are still not enough to cushion the impact of crude price surge.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Homegrown advertising group RK Swamy Ltd is betting on its integrated marketing model to drive growth over the next few years, combining media, creative and other advertising services even as the ‘Big Four’ agency networks increasingly separate those businesses.“We never did disaggregated media and creative [although] that was an option 20 years ago,” Shekhar Swamy, MD and group CEO of RK Swamy Ltd told Mint in an interview.“How can you disaggregate the two? The media function holds a lot of data, and then when media and creative walk separately, it creates a lot of tension. This is not a sensible model for a client.”RK Swamy’s clients include Magicbricks, Polycab, and several government institutions and PSUs such as LIC.The company reported a 15% jump in annual revenue for FY26 to ₹351.73 crore, while profit before tax and exceptional items rose 30% year-on-year to ₹32.2 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Policy formulation will see challenges mount in 2026-27 as the effects of the West Asia war unsettle India’s growth picture. The high price of oil has exposed its vulnerability, with the reverberations of every policy action or non-action likely to influence other parts of the economy.Let’s start with monetary policy first. The regime of low interest rates is over and the decision that India’s central bank must take is when—and by how much—to raise its repo rate.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is looking to accelerate its government fleet electrification programme via its clean energy agency to central ministries, state governments, public sector banks, and autonomous bodies—widening a drive that has so far hardly made a dent in a vehicle fleet of over 800,000 units.Led by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central clean energy agency, the expansion plan will offer state governments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) a leasing-based 'EV as a Service' model that eliminates purchase costs and provides charging infrastructure and maintenance. The model, launched in 2024, will help circumvent the two big barriers to fleet electrification: high capital outlay and logistical complexity.“CESL is also reaching out to public sector banks, central/state governments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, etc., to align with the government’s larger vision of reducing fossil fuel dependence, lowering operational fuel costs and accelerating clean mobility adoption across public institutions,” a CESL spokesperson told Mint.The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for increased use of electric vehicles (EVs), and as the finance ministry directed all public sector banks, insurance companies and financial institutions to switch to EVs as part of an austerity programme.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s efforts to diversify LPG supplies have gained momentum after state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) made its first-ever spot purchases from the American market, a top company official said, as the country seeks to reduce dependence on West Asia amid ongoing conflict in the region.The development assumes significance as India imports 60-65% of its annual liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) requirement of 33 million tonnes, with nearly 90% of these imports sourced from West Asia, making it vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions amid the ongoing US-Iran tensions in the region.Although the mobilization period from the US is about 45 days, cargoes from North America would ease supply crunch faced by the world's second-largest LPG importer, said VRK Gupta, director (finance) at BPCL."For the first time, BPCL has procured 2 US cargoes of LPG on spot purchase basis which have arrived in the month of May 2026. Hence, even if it takes about 90 days (to and fro), cargoes from the US will ease the supply scenario," Gupta told Mint in an interview.These are very large gas carriers (VLGC), with a capacity of 45,000-48,000 tonnes.BPCL’s LPG business accounts for about 28% of the country’s liquefied petroleum gas market, covering 93.5 million cylinder connections.LPG is a sensitive issue in the country as it is used for cooking by nearly 340 million households.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Last week, US President Donald Trump’s historic two-day meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, the first in Beijing at this level since 2017, ended without a commercial breakthrough despite the presence of a high-powered technology delegation of 17 American CEOs, including Elon Musk of SpaceX and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. China did not respond to US overtures, including the potential sale of Nvidia’s cutting-edge H200 chips to Chinese entities that the Joe Biden administration had blocked and Trump administration reversed. US officials dismissed a lack of business progress as immaterial.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.We have all been in meetings that “could have been an email,” so why not have a jury trial that could have been an AI prompt?“Is Elon Musk able to sue OpenAI for breach of contract?” we might have asked an artificial intelligence (AI) model before the three-week circus at a federal court in downtown Oakland, California. “No,” should have been the AI model’s answer.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Petrol and diesel prices have increased by nearly ₹4 following back-to-back price hikes over the past week. With crude oil prices still above $100 and no end in sight to the conflict in West Asia, at least two independent analysts have said retail fuel prices will have to increase by ₹13-20 per litre to curb the losses of oil companies.Mint explains why more fuel price hikes are probably on the way and what it means for consumers.The simple reason is that oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Committed occupancy levels – office spaces where leases have already been signed with tenants but are yet to commence – for key listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) exceeded the 90% mark in FY26. Management executives at Reits are largely upbeat on demand prospects, providing room for occupancy improvement.Embassy Office Parks REIT sees occupancy rising to 92-93% and Brookfield India Real Estate Trust pegs it at 96%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India Inc’s debate over work-from-home is returning on a call from prime minister Narendra Modi as part of a strategy to deal with the repurcussions of the West Asia war. This comes at a time artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs and productivity expectations, while macroeconomic pressures—from currency weakness to tighter cash visibility—add a new layer of urgency for chief executives.Mint reached out to Dr Ram Charan, feted global advisor to CEOs and boards, for his views on the tough choices CEOs need to make. Dr Charan, formerly a board member at Hindalco Industries, dwelled on work from home, top CEO worries, how AI will reshape the workplace, and how workers can retrain themselves.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A trader couldn’t hope for better timing.Moments before President Trump postponed strikes on Tehran’s energy infrastructure in a morning social-media post on March 23, a spasm of trades hit the market during off-hours. More than $800 million worth of U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A weekslong selloff in government bonds has intensified in recent days, threatening to drive up borrowing costs across the globe and knocking some momentum out of what had been a furious stock rally.With bond prices sliding, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a key benchmark for mortgage rates and other borrowing costs, reached as high as 4.687% Tuesday, its highest intraday level since January 2025.The yield on the 30-year U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Policy planners expect some repayment stress to affect small-ticket loans disbursed under two flagship government schemes—PM SVANidhi Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana—in the next few quarters as a fallout of the war in West Asia, according to three people aware of the issue.The PM SVANidhi Scheme provides working capital term loans to urban street vendors, while the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana funds micro enterprises and small businesses. Many of the loan beneficiaries of these schemes are vulnerable to economic disruption and rising living costs.“We are expecting some stress in the PM SVANidhi Scheme portfolio as it directly caters to street vendors, who form an important part of the informal urban economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: As the domino effect of the West Asia war builds inflationary pressures across the economy, Zydus Wellness Ltd sees a larger share of its growth coming from price increases rather than higher sales volumes in the coming quarters. The consumer wellness firm said rising packaging, freight and input costs are beginning to influence pricing decisions, reflecting the broader pressure on consumer-facing businesses.“While growth is driven by volumes, there will also be a value component, as there is some level of inflation,” chief executive officer Tarun Arora told Mint in an interaction on Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Elon won.Well, technically, he didn’t. A jury on Monday sided with Sam Altman and OpenAI, and their arguments that the statute of limitations had run out for Elon Musk to bring his whole “stole-a-charity” claims against his former AI lab partner-turned-corporate rival.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.KYIV—Ukraine’s military has wrestled Russia’s much-larger army almost to a halt in recent months, having gained a tactical and technological edge.This summer will test whether it can turn that slender advantage into a strategic turning point.Fast-improving Ukrainian drone capabilities are hurting the invaders’ logistics behind the battlefield, and pounding oil infrastructure and military targets deeper inside Russia.“We are not only holding the line, but we are also increasing pressure,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in April. Russia’s monthly casualties now exceed its army recruitment, he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—President Trump said he would hold off on a planned U.S. attack on Iran at the request of Gulf leaders to make room for negotiations with Tehran over a prospective deal to end the war.In a social-media post on Monday, Trump said he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The arrival Tuesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing will mark a watershed moment for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, one that he has pursued since taking power in 2012—and bet his country’s future to achieve.Welcoming Moscow’s ruler just days after President Trump’s motorcade swept out of the Chinese capital represents, for Xi, a vindication of 14 years of relentless economic competition with the U.S. and his strategic embrace of the Kremlin through the Ukraine war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.America has reportedly extended the waiver of its sanctions on purchases of Russian crude oil by another 30 days, just days after it expired. This reduces uncertainty over India’s oil imports from Russia, even as New Delhi has made it clear that India’s oil-buying is not affected by third-party impositions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) slashed some of their bearish positions in Nifty and Bank Nifty derivatives, while also turning buyers in the cash market, on hopes of a rebound in Indian equities amid elevated oil prices.FPIs were net buyers of shares worth a provisional ₹2,813.69 crore on Monday, according to BSE data, helping the market pivot from deep intraday losses to end in the green.Nifty recovered 333 points from its intraday low of 23,317.10 to close at 23,649.95, up 0.3% from Friday’s close.Alongside FPI inflows, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹2,682.12 crore, as per provisional exchange figures.The rebound was driven not just by institutional cash buying, but also by FPIs squaring off short index call positions and trimming short hedges in Nifty and Bank Nifty futures on Monday.FPIs cut short call positions by a sharp 42,153 contracts, taking cumulative net shorts to 214,366 contracts — implying expectations among some of a bounce on Tuesday, which coincides with weekly Nifty expiry, per NSE data.Additionally, long-term foreign funds reduced their bearish Nifty and Bank Nifty futures positions by 6,641 contracts to a cumulative 209,866 contracts.On balance, traders sold 134 Nifty puts against 100 Nifty calls expiring Tuesday, up from 97 puts sold against 100 calls on Friday.The higher proportion of puts sold relative to calls indicates optimism about a rally of at least 1% from Monday’s close, according to NSE data.Based on NSE options data, Nifty could test 23,800 on Tuesday.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bengaluru: India’s listed office real estate investment trusts (Reits) are building artificial intelligence-resilient, GCC-driven tenant portfolios as they focus on expansion through acquiring premium assets and increasing occupancy in FY27.Reits have emerged from a strong year with good leasing and increased demand from global capability centres (GCCs). The publicly listed office Reits in the country—Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (Biret) and Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT)—have seen their net operating income, occupancy levels and distribution grow in FY26.Bagmane Prime Office REIT was the fifth and latest to list in May.