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Aster DM Healthcare on Wednesday said its promoters have reduced their share pledge from 99 per cent to 41 per cent after completing a debt refinancing transaction from top-tier global financial institutions. As part of the refinancing process, the new lenders — JP Morgan, HSBC, and Barclays — provided fresh funding, enabling Aster DM Healthcare promoters to refinance its existing loans at better terms as well as loan-to-value, the company said in a statement. «The reduction in Aster's pledged shares is a significant testament to our financial strength as promoters, especially in light of the volatile global market conditions,» Aster DM Healthcare Founder and Chairman Azad Moopen said.

Thomas Kierans was stopped by a reporter in St. John’s, Nfld., on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Regarded around town as somewhat of a local treasure, he was dressed in a tan winter coat, a colourful knit scarf and a newsboy-style cap, and he was asked about some of his equally colourful and yet never realized ideas for mega-scale infrastructure projects.

The European Union launched countermeasures on Wednesday against new U.S. metals tariffs, with plans to impose its own duties on up to €26 billion (US$28.3 billion) worth of American goods.

Pension funds that were buoyed by soaring stock markets and growing economies that helped produce double-digit returns last year are now being challenged by the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada that is spilling out globally.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ASK Investment Managers, one of India’s largest portfolio management services (PMS) funds, has focused on high-quality, high-growth, Indian entrepreneur-owned companies that prioritise earnings growth, capital efficiency and strong management, Sunil Rohokale, co-founder, CEO & managing director of ASK Asset & Wealth Management Group told Mint. ASK’s flagship Indian Entrepreneur Portfolio, with ₹11,908.74 crore in assets under management (AUM), has delivered 5.78% returns over the past year and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.84% over the past five.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI : Automobile and ancillary sectors remain caught in the FII-selling storm that has been ravaging Indian stock markets for over six months. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued selling automobile and auto component stocks for the seventh month in February by offloading shares worth $454 million.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the IndusInd Bank board to propose names of two external candidates for the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating officer, according to sources familiar with the matter. This development comes after the banking regulator last week approved a one-year extension for Sumant Kathpalia’s reappointment as CEO. Kathpalia’s term, originally set to end on March 24, 2025, will now conclude on March 23, 2026. RBI & IndusInd Bank did not respond to an email query seeking clarification.

«If we do make a higher low than the low that we made last time and then manage to move up from there, that would be a very-very positive sign for the overall market,» says Rohit Srivastava, Founder, Strike Money Analytics & Indiacharts. Yes, we just tend to get happy too soon, too quick when you look at the markets, a mild bit of rebound, and you are really pretty enthused and kicked about it thinking that maybe things are actually turning for better. Once again, a down day now. Rohit Srivastava: I do think things are turning for better. If you look at the last two-three days of price action in India and across Asia, what you will really witness is that most of the markets are resilient in the face of US-based news flow and volatility, which is partly because a lot of the selling in India and Asia was already going on since the month of October. In some parts of the world, even since June and July. So, many of the markets had already corrected. The US stock market is the last one to correct. Whatever the reasons may be, but if we just put it in the broader light of what has been happening, if there was a correction overdue in the world, it happened in other world markets first and it is happening in the US last and so that is why you are not seeing such a big impact of the US volatility now.

Asking a supplementary during Question Hour, Manish Tewari of the Congress said national security and energy security have to go hand in hand. He claimed the mixed renewable energy project will run up to one kilometer of the International Border (IB) and noted that as per security protocol, any big infrastructure project should be at least 10 km away from the IB. He asked whether any relaxation was granted to the proposed project. The government asserted that nods and licences to any proposal are granted after obtaining clearances from the Centre, the state and relevant agencies.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. While equities have been sliding since late 2024, gold has been on a tear. The run-up in gold prices means the union government faces a much higher liability on payouts in its sovereign gold bond (SGB) scheme, which was introduced in 2015 and raised funds in 67 tranches.

employee benefits to address evolving workforce needs and attract talent amid a changing employment landscape. Organisations are now focusing on flexible health insurance, mental health support, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures, according to The Future of Benefits 2024 report by Mercer Marsh Benefits. The report, accessed by TOI's Rupali Mukherjee, highlights a 300% rise in companies offering flexible health insurance over the past five years. These plans now include coverage for parents, siblings, wellness programs, and financial planning tools. The study analysed data from over 10,000 policies and more than 600 benefit evaluations across 14 industries. Employees are increasingly seeking more control over their benefits, driving demand for customisable insurance and wellness schemes. The banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector offers the highest sum insured, followed by pharmaceutical and IT/ITES/e-commerce industries. Notably, 73% of IT/ITES/e-commerce firms offer insurance covering employees, spouses, children, and parents/in-laws by default, compared to 64% in pharma and 54% in manufacturing, the report noted.

Gautam Gambhir is set to accompany the India 'A' team on their tour of England ahead of the senior team's five-Test series starting June 20, TOI's Arani Basu has reported. This comes in the backdrop of Gambhir's aim to closely assess the reserve player pool during a period devoid of international fixtures for the Indian team. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) currently lacking a designated coach for developmental teams, it remains to be seen whether Gambhir will serve solely as an observer or if VVS Laxman, the BCCI's Head Cricket, will take on a more hands-on role. This marks a significant shift as it will be the first instance of a senior team coach traveling with the India 'A' squad. Sources revealed that Gambhir has been actively developing a roadmap that spans across formats, focusing on preparation for the 2027 ODI World Cup, as well as the World Test Championship and the 2026 T20 World Cup. «Gambhir has been in discussions with the BCCI since he returned from Australia. He has expressed his desire to travel with the India 'A' team to get a clearer view of the reserve pool,» a BCCI source told TOI.

«The situation here is very tense in the sense that the administration continues to go back and forth on tariffs and so there is no clear vision of what is really happening,» says Peter Cardillo, Spartan Capital Securities. For emerging markets, is it too late to get bearish and for US market, is it too early to get bullish? Can I put it this way? Peter Cardillo: Well, the tariff situation is impacting the global markets and if this continues here in the States, then it is safe to say that the global markets, especially the emerging markets, will continue to act accordingly.

Global markets have endured some severe volatility this month as the president looks to ramp up pressure on global partners by imposing or threatening hefty duties on their goods, citing huge trade imbalances.

Anand Mahindra is all praise for Tara Prasad. Taking to X on Tuesday, the billionaire gushed about the Indian-American figure skater, praising her for her considerable accomplishments. Dropping a video of Tara in her element on the skating rink, the Mahindra Group Chairman praised her for making India proud. “Apparently Tara switched her U.S. citizenship to an Indian one in 2019 and has since been our national skating champ three times. Well done, Tara. I hope you are in the vanguard of athletes who give India a noticeable presence in winter sports. I know you narrowly missed out on a spot in the last Winter Olympics but have your sights set on the games in ‘26. We’ll all be rooting for you. Go chase that dream,” the comment read.

Varun Goel, Senior Fund Manager, Mirae Asset Investment Managers, says the lending space definitely looks attractive, both banks and NBFCs. Secondly, export-oriented sectors, be it IT and pharma, should do well. There has been a significant depreciation in the rupee, which will definitely boost the margins of a lot of these exporting companies. Low-ticket discretionary items in India should also show a good bounce back as the benefit of tax cuts start showing the impact. So, there are a lot of sectors which should see good earnings growth coming back in FY26 and they are selectively participating in those spaces. How are you assessing the market construct right now with so many moving parts at play? The US equity market correction has just begun. We are seeing a reversal in the dollar as well, which typically has never been the case because in a risk of a scenario, you actually see the dollar hold up. But that is not really the case right now and of course, emerging markets are a bit of a divided construct as well, if you will. Varun Goel: As far as Indian markets are concerned, a cyclical slowdown has been playing out for the last six to nine months and it appears that growth is incrementally going to get better.

Chirag Mehta, CIO, Quantum AMC, says small and midcaps are still a bit expensive and there could be some more current downsides because of the high valuations that prevail in those segments. From a largecap perspective, some pockets of opportunity are starting to emerge. But on a broader basis, there could be some more downside from here on and would give a good opportunity to deploy further into the markets. Mehta also says in the case of IT, on a holistic basis, there could be near-term jitters, but from a medium to long-term perspective, we are still comfortable with what Indian IT services can deliver. What is your take on the markets right now? We are seeing of late that India is witnessing a bit of a recovery, but it is the global peers that are under pressure. Has the majority of the selling for Indian markets already happened and maybe it is time to look out for some of the opportunities in this market or do you believe that there could be some more pain in store? Chirag Mehta: Yes, India was doing well in terms of economic growth over the last two years on a relative basis and also the market was reflecting that. But markets got carried away in terms of valuations that they were prevailing in across the segment and more so in the mid and smallcap segment given the flows to that segment were very high.

Trump's tariff wars. Ukraine said on Tuesday it is willing to accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, a deal that Washington will now put to Moscow.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India has long been counted among the world’s top importers of arms. So, any slip in our worldwide rank grabs attention.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners expects artificial intelligence (AI) to disrupt its investment roadmaps, with a disproportionate share of its new $350 million India-dedicated fund likely to flow into opportunities in this new-age technology that promises to transform businesses.