Wellness Financial News

batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves. These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import taxes on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers. The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of tariffs is more precarious than during his first term. U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers. Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time — remember “shrinkflation?” — and ones that exist too far down the supply chain for them to see. The changes may help minimize price increases yet won't be enough in every case to offset them completely.

Banaskantha Collector Mihir Pravinkumar Patel said that most of the deceased workers were residents from the Dewas and Harda districts in Madhya Pradesh. The Collector confirmed that the identification process of the victims has been completed, and their bodies are being sent back to their native places with the support of local administrations. Speaking to the media here, Patel said, «Majority of the deceased workers were from Dewas and Harda district of MP. The minister (Chouhan Nagar Singh), senior officers, and local administration officers from MP arrived here last night. The families of the deceased were also present at Deesa Civil Hospital yesterday.» «After completing the identification process of the 10 people from the Dewas district in the presence of their family members, the deceased were sent to their native land in ambulances. A local administration team from the Harda district has also reached Deesa Civil Hospital. After the identification process, the eight deceased from the Harda district will also be sent to their native place,» he said.

Visa has offered Apple roughly $100 million to take over the tech giant's credit card partnership from Mastercard, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Visa has made a bold push to secure the Apple Card, offering an upfront payment typically reserved for the largest card programs, WSJ reported. Visa declined to Reuters' request for comment.

property investments. One such individual, who runs a business that can be managed remotely, recently shared a unique strategy—buying property in Dubai and using its rental income to fund a rental home in India. The dilemma arises from the high cost of property in South Delhi, where homes in prime locations cost ₹5-7 crore. Although financially capable of buying a home outright, the buyer feels that the value for money in Delhi’s property market is unappealing. Instead, a relative suggested purchasing real estate in Dubai, which offers better returns and additional benefits like a Golden Visa for investments exceeding AED 2 million (approximately ₹4.6 crore). A ₹5 crore property in Dubai can yield rental returns between 5-8%, generating ₹25-40 lakh annually. After taxes, this translates to ₹1.7-2.56 lakh per month. In contrast, renting a similar property in South Delhi costs only around ₹1-1.2 lakh per month, based on a rental yield of 1.5-2.5%. This means the investor could cover rent in Delhi while still pocketing ₹1-1.5 lakh monthly from the Dubai investment.

Shiv Chanani of Baroda BNP Paribas MF shared a measured outlook for the equity markets in a conversation with ETNow. He emphasized that while aggregate valuations have become more reasonable, the market is expected to stay selective and bottom-up in nature.

Swiggy shares will be in focus on Wednesday after the food and grocery delivery firm received an assessment order from the Income Tax Department for unpaid dues of Rs 158.25 crore. The tax demand pertains to the fiscal year 2022, during which Swiggy did not pay tax on cancellation charges paid to merchants and interest income from an income tax refund, the company said.

KEC International will be in focus on Wednesday after the company announced that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,236 crore in both domestic and international markets. According to an exchange filing, the company’s Transmission & Distribution (T&D) business has secured new orders for projects in both India and the Middle East. These include transmission line and substation orders in the UAE and Kuwait, as well as a substation order from a private TBCB player in India.

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong expressed his optimism about the future of China-India relations as the two nations celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties and believes the two nations will advance bilateral relations. In the event titled, 'Riding the East Wind, Setting Sail Anew and Opening a New Chapter in China-India Relations' the Chinese envoy expressed great pleasure for the presence of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to join on the 'commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishement of China-India diplomatice relations.' «Today, the leaders of China and India exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that both sides should view and handle China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and seek ways for neighboring major countries to get along in peaceful coexistence, mutual trust and mutual benefit as well as common development,» he said. «Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that the meeting between the two leaders in Kazan was instrumental in laying out a roadmap for our bilateral relations returning to a stable, predictable and amicable path. Progress in our bilateral relations will contribute not only to global stability and prosperity but also to the emergence of a multi-polar world,» he added. Highlighting both nations' ability to navigate challenges and continue growing, he affirmed, «Over the past 75 years, despite weathering ups and downs, China-India relations have always surged forward like the Yangtze and the Ganges. One learns from the past in order to understand the future, and follows the right path to go far.»

Lena Dunham recently stepped out to lead a rally for trans rights just outside the US Capitol. The 38-year-old feminist advocate made a rare appearance in Washington DC on March 31. The rally was hosted by the Christopher Street Project for the Trans Day of Visibility, People magazine reported.

Mahua Moitra to make representation to the Securities and Exchange Board of India for seeking transparency and investor awareness in the financial markets by mandating public disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) details as well as portfolio holdings of alternative investment funds (AIFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). A Bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna while refusing to entertain the Moitra’s petition gave liberty to her to make representation to Sebi. Once representation is made, it shall be considered in accordance with law, the apex court said The MP told the SC that the rapid expansion of AIFs and FPIs in India's financial markets has given rise to serious transparency concerns. “Unlike Mutual Funds (MFs), which are subject to stringent public disclosure norms, AIFs and FPIs operate under opaque structures, raising risks of market manipulation, money laundering, and tax evasion,” she said. The lack of public disclosure norms on AIFs and FPIs pose severe risks to financial stability, market integrity, and economic sovereignty, she said. Given the increasing role of AIFs and FPIs in India's financial markets, regulatory transparency is crucial to protect the interest of market stakeholders, especially the retail investor, ensuring market stability and preventing financial malpractices through circumvention of the law, the petitioner said.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday that its manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.0 last month from 50.3 in February. A PMI reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 10.2% of the economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PMI slipping to 49.5. Manufacturing started turning around at the beginning of the year after a lengthy recession triggered by the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to tame inflation. But the nascent recovery appears to have been snuffed out by President Donald Trump's barrage of tariffs. Trump, since returning to the White House in January, has announced and delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico for what he alleges is their role in allowing the opioid fentanyl into the U.S., set import taxes on goods from China for the same reason, launched hefty duties on imports of steel and aluminum and slapped a 25% levy on imported cars and light trucks. Trump promised to announce global reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, which he has dubbed «Liberation Day.» He sees tariffs as a tool to raise revenue to offset his promised tax cuts and to revive a long-declining U.S. industrial base.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), confirmed the development in a post on X. “Today, due to the financial year closing, some of the banks are facing intermittent transaction declines. The UPI system is working fine, and we are working with the concerned banks for necessary redressal,” NPCI said.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday asked the government to immediately start the decadal census as well as caste census, saying a large number of people are being left out of welfare schemes due to the delay. Expressing concern over the delay in conducting the decadal census during the Zero Hour in the House, the senior Congress leader said India has been conducting a census every 10 years since 1881. It was conducted even during wars, emergencies, or other crises. He recalled that back in 1931, a caste census was conducted along with the regular census. Right before the 1931 census, Mahatma Gandhi had said that just like 'we need periodic medical checkups to assess our health, a census is the most important checkup for a nation', Kharge stated. He said the census is a crucial exercise and involves a large number of people who collect data not just on population but also on employment, family structures, socio-economic conditions, and several other key aspects.

Kalpraj Dharamshi, Veteran Investor in conversation with Ravi Dharamshi, CIO, ValueQuest Investment. Kalpraj says to keep up with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, one had to eat, breathe, and live in the markets. He did not suffer fools gladly. He could attack one’s opinions viciously and one had to be able to stand one’s ground. He did not like yes-men around him and till the end, there were no yes-men around him. Kalpraj says Radhakishan Damani is a rarest of rare gems. He has been a successful speculator on the long side as well as on the short side. He figured out all the concepts of investing which we read about from Warren and Charlie and all these Peter Lynch's of the world and in a very desi earthy way. Ravi Dharamshi: How was the market when you joined back in the 1980s? Kalpraj Dharamshi: I joined the market in mid-80s, late 80s, the market. There was only one exchange, which worked for two hours. There was only one index, which was the Sensex. And the day I joined, the Sensex was around 550 or something. As soon as I joined, there was a bear market. VP Singh came out with the Budget and from February of 1986 to the end of 1987, we had a bear market and the Sensex went down to 390.

Ashwani Kumar made a dream start to his IPL career for Mumbai Indians, delivering a standout performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in MI’s first home game of the season at Wankhede Stadium. The left-arm seamer returned with figures of 4/24, the best by an Indian debutant in IPL history. He also became the first Indian bowler in a decade to take a wicket with his very first ball in the tournament. The pacer, known for his expertise in death overs, was snapped up by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction.

«We believe that in such kind of situations where you still have a lot of uncertainties, markets generally tend to give a lot more weightage to the near-term earnings,» says Shiv Chanani, Baroda BNP Paribas MF. This is the first day of the new financial year. In fact, we are coming out of a month of extremes. March was a month of extremes. We saw extreme lows and then a great recovery coming in, in the second half of the month. So, today, of course, what is playing out really is the threat from the reciprocal tariff from Trump. But generally, now, is there some bit of comfort as far as market valuations are concerned? Are you constructively more optimistic about the markets going ahead? Shiv Chanani: So, as you rightly said, that it is a bit of a contrast right now where we are seeing a bit of operating environment which is uncertain. I mean, of course, tomorrow being the so-called Liberation Day, we do not know really what is coming out of that.

Mahua Moitra's petition seeking transparency and investor awareness in India's financial markets. The MP is asking for transparency by mandating public disclosure of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO) details as well as portfolio holdings of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). The rapid expansion of AIFs and FPIs in India's financial markets has given rise to serious transparency concerns. Unlike Mutual Funds, which are subject to stringent public disclosure norms, AIFs and FPIs operate under opaque structures, raising risks of market manipulation, money laundering, and tax evasion, said Moitra. «Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), a statutory body, regulates the securities markets in India. As part of its mandate, SEBI oversees the operations of Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) in India. SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 and SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2019 have been enacted for the regulation of AIF's and FPI's in India,» the petition stated. «However, while Mutual Funds (known as 'Collective Investment Schemes') are subjected to strict public disclosure norms (under SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations 1996 & SEBI Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) Regulation 1999, etc.), there are virtually no public disclosure norms for both AIFs as well as FPIs in India,» according to the MP's petition.

Ryan Rickelton was left gobsmacked after witnessing Suryakumar Yadav execute his trademark shot, something he is not willing to pull off anytime soon. During the Mumbai Indians encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede on Monday, Suryakumar made his presence felt with a pulsating cameo towards the end. In a low-scoring encounter, Mumbai were asked to chase down 117 by the Knight Riders. Rickelton had done most of the job by the time Suryakumar arrived at the crease. On his second delivery of the night, Suryakumar effortlessly unleashed his trademark shot. Without wasting much time, he got across the line and scooped it over the fine-leg boundary straight into the stand. «I just said to Quinny that SKY is a joke, stuff that I can't do, stuff that I can't dream of. He has played that shot many a time, I'm not going to try it but I'm glad that he is in our team,» Rickelton said after the match.

Donald Trump’s tariffs. Some are confident that whatever is announced on Wednesday will not hurt them; others are genuinely uncertain how to manage if they can’t export to the US. The pharmaceutical industry — which is well known globally for churning out generic drugs that are the backbone of many countries’ health systems — should be particularly worried. Over 30% of Indian pharma exports go to the US, and it provides an even larger proportion of earnings. Trump has promised, in the past, that levies on pharma imports would begin at 25%, similar to what he imposed on cars recently. But the president seems to have walked that back more recently, perhaps because the administration is uncertain of the consequences of a sharp rise in the price of off-patent drugs.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The tax relief provided in the Union budget takes effect from 1 April. Taxpayers can now expect more money left in their hands.

Desco Infratech will debut on the BSE SME platform on Tuesday. Ahead of the listing, the GMP was at around Rs xx, indicating a premium of % over the issue price. However, this could change depending on the sentiments in the secondary market. The company will use the IPO proceeds, Rs 31 crore to be precise, for funding of capital expenditure requirements towards setting up of a corporate office in Surat, purchase of machinery, working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.