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Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: Premium economy gets pricier in 2026

I’ve often thought of Samsung’s FE (Fan Edition) series as the smartphone equivalent of flying premium economy. You get some of the trappings of a business class cabin, like extra legroom and a better menu choice, yet it’s still not as luxurious as the front of the cabin. Flight fares are scaling new highs in 2026 thanks to rising fuel costs: economy fares on most days are now higher than what we used to pay on premium economy seats back in 2025. The smartphone industry has run into headwinds of its own, with increased RAM and input costs forcing brands to increase prices across the board. Cut to 2025, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE debuted at a launch price of ₹59,999, serving as a bridge between Samsung’s A series smartphones and the flagship S25 series. The S26 FE has just dropped at a launch price of ₹79,999, a significant 33 per cent year-on-year jump. It’s an increase necessitated by the times, and it raises a more important question: who’s the FE series for? If there’s a moment of truth in the journey of a smartphone, it’s that second when you first hold a smartphone that you’ve seen on your Instagram feed or a commercial. It’s a moment that the S26 FE won in my experience. It felt even better in my hand than I anticipated. It’s a tough win for most smartphone brands, because it combines multiple variables such as tactile finishes, ergonomics and the overall fit and finish. The FE is marginally thicker and heavier than the Galaxy S26+. It felt lighter in my hand than the 193 g heft in the spec sheet. You won’t miss a Galaxy S series device when it comes to design. The S26 FE is crafted with a durable Armour aluminium frame complemented by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on the front and the rear of the device. Samsung has opted for a glossy back (the S25 FE featured a matte finish) that plays out well in the pistachio colour variant that we checked out. You might encounter fingerprints and smudges in the darker colourways – Blueberry and Graphite. The ingress protection also puts the S26 FE in a premium band with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The S26 FE retains the same display that we saw on last year’s S25 FE. You get a gorgeous 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display (1080 x 2340 pixels) with a 120 Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1900 nits. Colours are vibrant and the display offers good visibility across lighting conditions. I watched an episode of the French show Summer ’36 on Netflix, and the display captured the mood of the French Riviera in the 1930s with excellent colour reproduction. It supports high-definition streaming and HDR content on Netflix. The dual speaker setup is also similar to the S25 FE and offers a well-balanced audio experience. The rear camera is one area where the gap between the flagship S26 (and S26+) is more obvious. This is particularly true in the case of lowlight images and ultrawide shots. The 50MP primary lens does a great job, particularly in optimal light. The 8MP telephoto lens produced good results up to 3x. The S26 FE also scores on the portrait camera front with clear background separation. I’d recommend switching to night mode when you shoot in low light rather than shooting with the standard mode. The camera also benefits from Samsung’s camera tools like My FanCam and Photo Assist. The S26 FE delivers images and videos that are good enough for your social media feed, but you might need one of Samsung’s flagships if you are looking to go pro mode. At the heart of the S26 FE is an Exynos 2500 chipset built on a 3 nm process, complemented by 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. It’s one of the key upgrades over the S25 FE that is powered by an Exynos 2400 4nm processor. This new chipset impacts everything from battery life to everyday performance. The device consistently notched up scores above 7400 in our Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark test that puts it in a league below the flagship S series. This is one of the areas where the S26 FE lives up to its branding as a bridge device with a performance that should please most everyday users and also work for gamers. The device runs on One UI 9 that is built on Android 17. Samsung offers 7 generations of OS updates, which is a great feature at this price and in line with the update policy of its flagship smartphones. Battery life is quite solid too; it should be a one-day battery for most users with extensive screen time. The 4900 mAh battery powers up in quick time with support for 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The device offers the convenience of reverse wireless charging via Samsung’s Wireless Power Share. Samsung’s FE smartphone for 2026 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. There are a couple of iterative upgrades (like the processor) and some surprising downgrades over the S25 FE, like the USB data transfer (down from USB 3.2 Gen 1 to USB 2.0). The S26 FE hits the right notes on the design and display front with a rear camera that won’t let you down. While there’s a lot to like about this smartphone, the 20,000 price hike over last year’s FE is bound to create conundrums for customers. Should you spend the extra money and buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 for a better camera and performance? Should you look for last year’s S25 or S25 FE that are still quite future-proof? While the S26 FE sticks to the same script as some of Samsung’s recent FE devices, the smartphone industry dynamics in 2026 make it a challenging market for the S26 FE. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: Premium economy gets pricier in 2026
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Broker’s call: IRCTC (Buy)

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) continues to strengthen its digital moat by leveraging its exclusive position in online railway ticketing and evolving into a broader mobility platform. E-ticketing penetration reached about 89 per cent of reserved bookings in FY26, indicating a strong digital adoption. The company benefits from a large user base, providing multiple opportunities for monetisation through convenience fees, payments, advertising and cross-selling of travel services. The ongoing premiumisation of passenger travel, driven by a rising AC mix (about 51 per cent) and increasing adoption of Vande Bharat trains, further enhances revenue potential through higher convenience fee realisation. In addition, IRCTC’s proposed unified travel platform is expected to integrate rail, air, hotel, bus and tourism services into a single ecosystem, improving customer engagement and retention. These initiatives are expected to drive margin expansion over the medium-term. Optionality: The launch of unified travel portal, final approval of the payment aggregator license. Key risks: Government regulations, deepening UPI penetration, execution risk in new initiatives, and Rail Neer capacity constraints & operational risks. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Broker’s call: IRCTC (Buy)
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s shrimp exports up 1% in July, cross 80,000-tonne mark

India’s shrimp exports have registered a 1 per cent increase for seven months in CY26, with July reaching a record 81,674 tonnes, up 8.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), higher than expectations of 80,000 tonnes. A report by InCred Research said that exports during the first seven months of CY26 reached 4,55,489 tonnes, up 1 per cent y-o-y. This reverses the marginal decline recorded in the first half and confirms an improving volume trajectory. With the US market potentially normalising and India gaining share in the UK and EU, CY26 remains on track for record export volumes and value, the report said. The July data provides a stronger signal than the first-half numbers. More importantly, the strong July print has pushed the cumulative CY26 trajectory into positive y-o-y territory. The sequential improvement is becoming increasingly visible: the year started on a softer note, but monthly export momentum strengthened materially through June and July. “Our CY26 thesis remains intact: Indian shrimp exports are tracking towards record volumes and value,” InCred Research said. The latest data suggests that the Indian supply cycle is expanding at the margin rather than weakening, with cumulative export volumes now back in positive y-o-y territory. The key question now shifts from whether Indian exports can return to record levels to how much further the monthly run rate can expand. This is particularly relevant as India continues to build its presence in the UK and EU, while the US market could provide an additional leg of growth, said Nitin Awasthi of InCred Research. According to KN Raghavan, Secretary General of Seafood Exporters Association of India, the positive growth trajectory of the shrimp export sector stands as proof of its core strength and resilience. Exporters have been looking to diversify from “one species, one product, one market” towards “many species, multiple products, and different markets”. This has led to increased exports of black tiger shrimp which has good acceptance in East and South East Asian markets, more focus on value added products and added thrust on exports to EU, UK, Russia, Vietnam and China. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

India’s shrimp exports up 1% in July, cross 80,000-tonne mark
North America
Yahoo Finance

The S&P 500 Trades at 25x Earnings. This Dividend ETF Is Beating It With Stocks Trading at Much Lower Valuations

A simple dividend ETF built from the S&P 500 is quietly outpacing the broader index this year, and the reason has less to do with yield than with where value stocks have been hiding in plain sight. This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. Starting valuations have historically been one of the more useful predictors of long-term stock returns. Personally, I prefer measures such as free cash flow yield because earnings can be influenced by plenty of accounting adjustments, exclusions, depreciation policies, and other moving parts. Still, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio remains a useful yardstick for quickly assessing how much investors are paying for corporate profits. Right now, the S&P 500 trades at roughly 25 times earnings. That’s not necessarily outrageously expensive, but it’s certainly not cheap either. Fortunately, getting broad exposure to the index remains inexpensive. The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) charges just a 0.02% expense ratio. But according to Testfolio, SPYM had returned 12.34% cumulatively year to date through Sept. 1, while the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) returned 17.03%. That dynamic fits with the broader resurgence in large-cap value stocks we’ve seen this year. SPYD is technically a high-dividend ETF, but its methodology also functions as a fairly straightforward value screen. Here’s why I like this ETF as a contrarian pick. SPYD tracks the S&P 500 High Dividend Index, which starts with an already well-established universe: the S&P 500. That means its potential holdings have already passed the index’s requirements surrounding market capitalization, liquidity, and positive earnings. From there, the methodology is remarkably simple. It identifies the 80 S&P 500 constituents with the highest dividend yields and builds its portfolio from those stocks, with quarterly rebalancing. A high-dividend screen naturally captures some characteristics associated with value investing. Dividend yield is calculated by comparing a company’s annual dividend with its share price. Assuming the dividend remains constant, a falling share price mechanically increases the yield. That means high-yield screens frequently gravitate toward companies trading at depressed valuations. Some may simply be mature, cash-generating businesses that investors have overlooked. Others may be facing legitimate problems, which creates the classic risk of a dividend yield trap if earnings deteriorate and management eventually cuts the payout. SPYD accepts that risk rather than applying a complicated quality overlay. In exchange, investors get a very inexpensive portfolio. The ETF charges a 0.07% expense ratio and currently offers a 4.28% 30-day SEC yield. One drawback is tax efficiency. Unlike some dividend ETFs, SPYD doesn’t exclude real estate investment trusts (REITs). In fact, real estate is currently its largest sector allocation at 24.26%. REIT distributions frequently include income that doesn’t qualify for the lower qualified-dividend tax rates, making SPYD potentially less tax efficient in a taxable brokerage account than dividend strategies that specifically exclude them. The valuation difference between SPYD and the broader market is considerable. According to State Street, SPYD’s portfolio currently trades at a P/E ratio of 17.06. Put simply, investors are paying an average of roughly $17.06 for every $1 of earnings generated by the companies in the portfolio. Compare that with approximately $25 for every $1 of earnings from the S&P 500. SPYD therefore provides exposure to large-cap U.S. stocks at a substantially lower earnings multiple while simultaneously producing a much higher dividend yield. That valuation gap helps explain why SPYD has performed so well during this year’s rotation toward value. Whether the outperformance continues will depend heavily on whether that rotation has further to run. Historically, SPYD has experienced long stretches of underperformance when growth stocks were leading the market, and a high yield alone doesn’t guarantee superior total returns. For investors looking to make a contrarian value bet, however, I think SPYD has a lot going for it. You’re paying only 0.07% annually, getting a 4.28% SEC yield, and buying an S&P 500-derived portfolio at a much lower valuation than the broader index. There are also no derivative overlays, leverage, or complicated income gimmicks involved. SPYD simply owns 80 of the highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500. If value stocks continue their winning streak, that’s a straightforward way to participate.

The S&P 500 Trades at 25x Earnings. This Dividend ETF Is Beating It With Stocks Trading at Much Lower Valuations
North America
CNBC Economy

U.S. reveals import ban on slew of Canadian goods as trade war escalates

The White House said it would ban imports of Canadian motorbikes and a slew of other products starting later this month as diplomatic and trade relations with Ottawa continue to fray. U.S. President Donald Trump used a string of executive orders late Monday to announce bans on Canadian whey products and molasses, non-alcoholic beer, and a slew of alcoholic drinks including malt beer, wines, cider, whiskies, vodka and other spirits. Larger-capacity motorcycles and mopeds will also be banned. The import restrictions, which largely replace tariffs of 50%, are due to take effect on Sept. 29, 2026. The U.S. also announced that tariffs on other Canadian products would be modified and extended from Sept. 15, including the addition of all-terrain vehicles and animal hides, and the removal of rock salt and cement. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the moves were a "natural consequence of Canada's continued discriminatory treatment of crucial American exports." It was announced on the same day that Canadian tariffs on CA$27.6 billion of U.S. imports came into effect, targeting more than 700 goods across steel, dairy, farm equipment, pulp and paper, electronics and more. Ottawa previously said those tariffs were a "dollar for dollar" response to the 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on its own goods in August, after trade talks collapsed spectacularly just before the Aug. 21 deadline. The two sides have continued to blame one another for the failure to reach a deal, and accused the other of unfair practices that harm their domestic workers. Trump has accused Canada of disadvantaging U.S. exports through its policies in the auto, alcohol and dairy sectors, highlighting the U.S.' trade deficit in goods, and threatening to hit cars, trucks and auto parts with a 50% tariff from Jan. 1, 2027. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an August address that the "narrow merchandise trade deficit only exists because the U.S. buys so much of its energy from us," and flagged that Canada is the biggest consumer for U.S. cars and steel. On Tuesday, Carney said Canada's tariffs would "come with a cost" but were necessary to protect businesses, workers and communities. The existing tariffs apply to a relatively small portion of the $715.5 billion trade in goods between the countries, but economists have warned of an immediate blow to small- and medium-sized businesses and of the risks to growth from further escalation.

U.S. reveals import ban on slew of Canadian goods as trade war escalates
Europe
BBC Business

We managed to get jobs after uni - here's how we're keeping them

ByLizzie AsanteBusiness reporterPublished16 September 2026, 00:14 BSTUpdated 3 hours agoGetting a new job is tough and when you've secured it you want it to go well. Here, four recent job starters share their tips on what helped them have a smooth transition and survive the first few days. Sarisha Ganesan, 22, graduated from Loughborough University in June and started in a graduate role in marketing last month. Her role is fully remote so to prepare for her first day, she emailed co-workers in advance asking what to expect. "I got to meet everyone virtually in the morning meeting, we went around and did mini introductions," she says. "There's loads of meetings throughout the day and regular call check-ups," she says. Sarisha's tip on navigating the first few weeks is to let your manager and wider team know if you get stuck on tasks or if the workload becomes excessive. "Let everyone know where you are with tasks to avoid them having to chase you up. "They don't expect you to know everything so make sure to communicate with them if things become unfamiliar or if you feel like you have too much on your plate and need a hand," she says. Oliver Walker graduated from the University of Liverpool in May and one week later started a graduate role working on social media campaigns for a marketing agency. "I didn't have much time to prepare and went into it very unknown. There was very little time to do research on the responsibilities that came with my role," he says. He did some "company stalking" to learn more about the organisation itself so he didn't go into it "completely blind".

We managed to get jobs after uni - here's how we're keeping them
North America
Yahoo Finance

‘Sounds Like a 14 Year Old’: Dave Ramsey Rips Husband Sinking 80% of Pay Into Pokemon Cards

A 35-year-old man routes most of his paycheck into a stack of cardboard he calls a portfolio, and his wife has resorted to keeping separate bank accounts just to cover groceries. Dave Ramsey had thoughts, and the math backing him… This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. On a Ramsey Show call this week, a 27-year-old from Arkansas named Lisa laid out an arrangement that stopped the hosts cold. She and her 35-year-old husband keep separate bank accounts, she explained, because “if we combine our money, he would spend 80% of it.” Where does 80% of his paycheck actually go? Pokemon cards. He calls the $33,000 stack his “portfolio.” Dave Ramsey’s response was blunt: “Sounds like a 14 year old.” He followed up: “It’s not an investment and it’s not a portfolio. It’s a habit.” He compared the collection to Beanie Babies and told Lisa that “the number of millionaires that I met became millionaires due to Pokemon cards is really close to the number zero.” The stakes for anyone in Lisa’s shoes are concrete. When one spouse routes the majority of a household paycheck into a speculative collectible, the family loses far more than retirement contributions. It runs a leveraged bet on one narrow secondary market, with the grocery money as the backstop. A hobby becomes a habit when it consumes a share of income that would otherwise fund fixed obligations or long-duration compounding. 80% of a paycheck routed into cardboard is single-asset concentration in a market where price discovery happens largely on one venue: eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY | EBAY Price Prediction). eBay’s most recent quarterly report noted its AI card-scanning tool has processed over 80 million cumulative scans, and Trading Card listings now pull pricing from Card Ladder indexes. Useful for buyers and sellers, but it also means the “book value” of a $33,000 collection is whatever the next eBay bidder decides to pay, minus fees. Now the opportunity cost. When a spouse routes 80% of a paycheck into a single collectible for two straight years, that is the majority of take-home pay that never touches an index fund, a 401(k) match, or a mortgage principal. Whatever dollar figure that represents for a given household, the same money dropped into a broad U.S. equity index over the identical window would have compounded at the market’s pace rather than at the whims of grading-service population reports. That is where co-host George Kamel drew blood. Kamel mocked the collector defense: “Look at the track record of Pokemon over time. And it’s better than the S&P 500.” So test it. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) rose roughly 37% over the two-year window this husband was accumulating. To match that, the $33,000 pile has to clear roughly what an equivalent index position would clear today, net of listing fees, grading costs, and the illiquidity of moving each card individually. The single factor separating an investment from a habit is whether you can convert the asset back to cash at a knowable price. Public equities clear in seconds at a quoted bid. A graded Charizard clears when someone on eBay decides to bid. eBay’s Q3 FY2026 U.S. GMV rose 24% year over year to $11.7 billion, and eBay Live GMV grew roughly 8x year over year, so the venue is real and expanding. Depth and stability are different things. Beanie Babies had depth in 1998, too. A $33,000 index position bought two years ago could be sold with a market order in one click at zero commission. A $33,000 Pokemon binder from the same date requires individual listings, grading fees that can run tens of dollars per card, eBay final value fees, shipping, and the patience to wait for a buyer per SKU. If a collector cannot show closed-comp sale prices totaling the claimed value, the “portfolio” is a stated number rather than a marked-to-market one. Kamel also flagged the pattern. He recalled a previous caller, an 18-year-old who claimed $600,000 in Pokemon cards. After that clip aired, he said, “the subculture of Pokemon people came after us,” insisting the card market beats the index and that critics simply have not studied it. The rebuttal is easy: show the trades. Collectibles can be fun. They can occasionally appreciate. They cannot substitute for an actual investment plan, and no amount of subculture defense changes the closed-sale receipts.

‘Sounds Like a 14 Year Old’: Dave Ramsey Rips Husband Sinking 80% of Pay Into Pokemon Cards
Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but 'should trust' AI firms

OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks people should have more faith in his company and others like it to do the right thing when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) development amid rising public concerns about all the risks. "The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it's the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this," Altman said on Tuesday during a conference in San Francisco. However, Altman noted that people were justified in their fears around AI, as the capability of the tools has progressed rapidly. "It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to for [us] to imagine how this could go wrong," he said. "I think the world is right to be afraid of this." Altman's comments came during an appearance at an annual conference hosted by software firm Salesforce. It was the first time he had spoken publicly since a post went viral last week by a researcher who quit the AI firm Anthropic. The researcher claimed AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked. A handful of other AI executives and experts responded by saying they agreed with the assessment, though they didn't explain how they came to their conclusions or how exactly AI could accomplish such a thing. The fervor over the claims has led to more scrutiny of AI development in recent days, and in response, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of all AI development to slow, external and urged governments to regulate the industry. The post was applauded by Altman, as well as co-founder of Google's DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Elon Musk, owner of social media site X and AI assistant Grok. By Tuesday, more AI leaders were voicing support for self-regulation rather than government involvement. Altman said that he felt AI companies like his own were capable of essentially regulating themselves. "We will get it right, I'm very confident in our company's and industry's ability to do this safely," Altman said, adding that he was sure that they would "keep alignment and safety way ahead of capabilities" and if they couldn't, they would "slow down or stop".

OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but 'should trust' AI firms
Europe
BBC Business

State pension likely to top £13,000 a year as UK wage growth slows to 3.9%

Image source, Getty ImagesByEmer Moreau, Business reporter and Kevin Peachey, Cost of living correspondentPublished15 September 2026, 07:12 BSTUpdated 53 minutes agoThe state pension is expected to top £13,000 a year, reigniting the debate about its long-term affordability and generational fairness. The full, flat-rate state pension is expected to rise by £488 a year in April, based on the latest official earnings figure released on Tuesday. The so-called triple lock pension policy guarantees that the state pension will increase by either average wage growth, inflation or 2.5% - whichever is highest. Labour made a manifesto pledge to keep the triple lock until 2029, however economists have warned about the cost of the policy ahead of the Budget although pensioner groups say many people still face poverty in old age. The triple lock was designed to ensure the value of the state pension was not overtaken by the increase in the cost of living or the incomes of working people. Although the state pension age is rising to 67, the cost to the government has risen considerably too. Forecasts suggest state pension spending, already at £154bn this year, could go up by a further £600m a year by 2029-30. The policy is "crazy," Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, told the BBC. The triple lock is creating a "ratchet effect" where "pensioners' living standards grow even faster than just a typical worker," she added. "Pensioners have seen living standards grow three times more than typical workers over the last 20 years." Jonathan Cribb, deputy director of Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank, said: "Each increase in spending builds upon the last and so the long-run cost is substantial but very uncertain." The state pension is expected to match wage growth in the next calculation and is likely to be higher than the rate of inflation. Average wage growth, including bonuses, stood at 3.9% between May and July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), external, down from 4.2% between April and June.

State pension likely to top £13,000 a year as UK wage growth slows to 3.9%