War Financial News

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.For the last few years, Jerome Powell would walk past a portrait of Arthur Burns on his way to his office, addressing him silently.I’m not going to be you.Burns, the Fed chair under Richard Nixon, embodied two failures: He allowed inflation to get out of control, and he yielded to a president who wanted lower interest rates.Powell faced both hazards—inflation and presidential pressure—and more during his eight years as chair. The Fed won broad credit for its novel pandemic response, took a share of the blame for the high prices that followed and confounded predictions by bringing inflation down without a recession.

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.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: The government's push for flex-fuel vehicle rollout is facing a classic chicken-and-egg stalemate.Automakers aren't ready to commit to producing vehicles that run on high ethanol blends until the fuel is widely available. Oil marketing companies, on the other hand, are unwilling to invest in storing and supplying blends such as E85 and E100 until there are enough such vehicles on the road, according to three people aware of the development.The government is in talks with automakers and oil marketing companies to resolve the deadlock, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity.Unlike standard vehicles, flex-fuel vehicles can run on petrol or any petrol-ethanol blend.

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.Despite the ongoing market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties, India remains firmly at the centre of global emerging market allocations, said Rahul Malhotra, region head of emerging markets and member of the global wealth management committee at Julius Baer Bank. Investors are likely “to start looking at India more actively again” by the end of the September quarter, he told Mint in an interview.Malhotra said investors remain positive on India, although many are currently in a wait-and-watch mode due to the geopolitical tensions, oil price risks, and broader macro developments.“Are we continuing to see interest in India? The short answer is yes,” he said.Malhotra added that while investors had become accustomed to 25-30% returns in recent years, such gains are not sustainable indefinitely and expectations will need to normalize over time.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When President Trump arrives in Beijing this week for a summit with Xi Jinping, the Iran file will likely be on the agenda—whether or not either leader wants it there.Just last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made his first trip to Beijing since the war began, a visit timed to land days before Trump’s plane touches down. The choreography was hardly subtle. Tehran wanted to remind Washington that Iran still has a friend in the world’s second-largest economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.FINANCE IS PEPPERED with jargon that doesn’t make much sense: “investment-grade bonds” (unlike those other, uninvestible ones), “forward guidance” (as opposed to the backward kind), “convexity adjustments” (translation: your trader wants more money) and so on. Still, it can be exasperating to hear an investment adviser sagely recommend “quality” stocks, as if without their wisdom you would seek out dross.In fact, now is the moment to do just that. An eccentric conclusion to draw, you might think, as the world’s rules-based order breaks down, its dominant superpower attacks enemies with impunity and vital shipping lanes are blocked by war.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India’s smaller airlines are bearing the brunt of the West Asia conflict, with Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet reducing international departures by nearly 60% in April and so far in May, even as larger carriers IndiGo and Air India cut overseas departures by about 21% during the same period.SpiceJet’s international departures fell 59% to 305 during April and May, while Akasa Air’s dropped 57% to 136 and Air India Express recorded a 56% decline to 1,818 departures, according to data compiled by UK-based aviation analytics firm OAG and reviewed by Mint.In contrast, IndiGo and Air India saw comparatively smaller reductions of 21%, with departures falling to 6,574 and 4,059, respectively.Taken together, international departures from India’s five largest airlines are down 30% in April and May to 12,892, with seat counts also down an identical 30% to 2.6 million, OAG data showed.The sharpest reductions have been on West Asia routes — among the most lucrative overseas markets for Indian low-cost carriers. Air India Express had the highest exposure to the region in terms of daily departures from India, followed by SpiceJet and Akasa Air.“Smaller airlines operate narrow-body planes on short-haul international routes, with Middle East (West Asia) destinations being the most lucrative.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Every month, Mint’s Plain Facts gives you an update on key global data to help you thread together the biggest developments worth paying attention to. The accompanying analysis and charts explain how each story is creating ripples on the global stage, where it is headed in the coming weeks, and whether it could have an impact on India.After months of steady cooling, consumer prices are rising once again as the escalating war in West Asia continues to disrupt energy markets and global supply chains.The inflationary shock is most severe in import-reliant Asian economies.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The global situation in the oil market has been steadily worsening. This is putting a huge stress on India. India's petroleum consumption depends on 85% of imported crude oil.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Indian equities have spent the past year lurching from one shock to another. Just as investors adjust to one trigger, another upends sentiment—from tariff threats and geopolitical flare-ups to relentless foreign investor selling and slowing earnings growth.The latest blow has come from the war in West Asia, which has once again rattled markets already struggling to sustain momentum.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s inflation in April climbed to a 13-month high of 3.5% from a year earlier, driven by food prices. Though this was only marginally higher than March’s 3.4% reading and undershot economists’ expectation of a 3.8% print, there isn’t much relief to draw, given the rising trajectory of price levels. Commodity and freight costs have risen in the wake of supply disruptions caused by the war in West Asia, making food costlier.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An ex-convict who is missing part of his right arm and has two titanium plates in his head, Vyacheslav Kudryashev might not seem like the best soldier to put in the vanguard of a military offensive.But for four days last year, he was at the tip of Russia’s spear, trying to pierce Ukraine’s defenses in the kind of infantry assault that is yielding meager gains and heavy losses for Russian troops.After more than four years of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin is far from achieving his goal of dominating Ukraine and facing mounting criticism at home. Russian forces are struggling to advance on the battlefield despite some 25,000 wounded and dead a month, say Western officials and military analysts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Since the start of the West Asia war and the sharp 44% rise in crude oil prices, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been steadily selling Indian shares, pushing total outflows in less than five months close to last year’s record level.FPIs have sold cash shares worth ₹2.28 trillion in calendar 2025 through 11 May — just ₹120 billion short of the record ₹2.4 trillion secondary market outflows seen in the whole of 2025, according to depository and exchange data.Of this, ₹1.85 trillion — over four-fifths of total outflows — came between March and 11 May alone, underscoring investor concerns about the impact of elevated crude on India’s macroeconomic fundamentals and corporate earnings if the war drags on.Recognizing the economic threat from sustained high oil prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated an appeal to citizens to conserve fuel and curb gold purchases on Monday.The West Asia war, which began on 28 February, has lifted crude 44% to $104 a barrel as of 11 May.With India importing around 90% of its daily crude requirement of 5.5 million barrels, the oil shock threatens to widen the current account deficit.The pressure is visible in the currency markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The U.S. and Iran are locked in a diplomatic stalemate over issues that have bedeviled the two sides for years, as the conflict settles into a gray zone that is neither war nor peace.The cease-fire is entering its second month and, despite sporadic violence, has now lasted almost as long as the fighting which preceded it. There is little to indicate that either the U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.DUBAI—The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter said, casting the Gulf monarchy as an active combatant in a war in which it has been Iran’s biggest target.Its military is well-equipped with Western-made jet fighters and surveillance networks. And the attacks suggest the country is now more willing to use them to protect its economic power and growing influence across the Middle East.The strikes, which the U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: After halting new cooking gas connections and extending refill booking periods, oil marketing companies (OMCs) are turning to tax data to weed out ineligible beneficiaries of the direct benefit transfer scheme for LPG (DBTL), even as high energy prices raise the possibility of a fuel price hike.Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp.