Latest Developments

Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex jumps 521 points, Nifty closes above 24,400 on banking, realty gains

Equity benchmarks ended higher for the fourth straight day on Monday, led by strong buying in blue-chip banking, realty and defence counters amid subdued crude oil prices, easing geopolitical tensions and growing expectations of a less hawkish stance from the USFederal Reserve. Asian and European markets showcased mixed trends. “The calmness in the West Asia region and hopes for a relatively steady corporate earnings season kept investor mood optimistic, although overall sentiment remains cautious,” Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, said. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, continued softness in crude prices would support inflation, the current account balance, oil marketing companies’ profitability, and overall macro stability. He noted that financials gained on expectations of healthy private bank earnings, autos benefited from strong volume trends and improving demand outlook, while realty remained supported by resilient housing demand. BSE Sensex rose 521.16 points, or 0.67 per cent, to close at 78,285.07, after hitting an intraday high of 78,398.06. NSE Nifty 50 gained 159.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 24,430.35. In the last four trading sessions, both the benchmarks have gained over 2 per cent each. The broader market also participated in the rally, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ending in positive territory. On the sectoral front, realty, consumer durables, auto and oil & gas outperformed, while media, PSU banks, IT and cement closed lower. Defence stocks outperformed after the Defence Acquisition Council approved capital acquisition proposals worth ₹52,000 crore. Zen Technologies, Dynamatic Technologies, Paras Defence and Data Patterns outperformed. In the midcap segment, Dixon Technologies, Radico, Hitachi Energy and GE Vernova T&D gained between 3 per cent and 7 per cent. Groww, MCX, Bank of India, Suzlon and Bank of Maharashtra were among the top losers. In the small-cap space, Swan Corp, Manappuram Finance, Welspun Corp and Aegis Logistics advanced, while Zensar Technologies, Ola Electric and Pine Labs weighed on the index. Market breadth remained neutral. A total of 3,462 stocks were traded on the NSE, of which 1,578 advanced, 1,769 declined, and 115 remained unchanged. 146 stocks reached 52-week highs, and 41 hit 52-week lows. In addition, 114 stocks hit the upper circuit and 99 hit the lower circuit. Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza, said management commentary, future guidance, crude oil prices, foreign investor flows and global interest rate expectations are likely to drive market direction. He added that until earnings provide greater clarity, stock-specific movements are expected to dominate.

Sensex jumps 521 points, Nifty closes above 24,400 on banking, realty gains
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Engineers from 4 countries & India’s young workforce help launch CG Semi’s OSAT facility in Gujarat

More than 75 engineers packed their bags and relocated to Gujarat from the Philippines, South Korea, the United States and Malaysia to help build CG Semi’s ₹7,500-crore Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility at Sanand. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the plant, making it only the third semiconductor facility in India to commence commercial production in the past five months. On the shop floor, these engineers now work alongside young women from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala, many of whom had never stepped outside their villages before travelling to Malaysia for specialised semiconductor training. Together, they embody two ends of India’s semiconductor story—global expertise flowing into the country and a first-generation manufacturing workforce being trained to produce chips destined for markets across Japan, the United States and Europe. “Over 75 of our colleagues moved to Gujarat from the Philippines, South Korea, the United States and Malaysia. They came here not merely to build a factory but to help build India’s capability,” said Vellayan Subbiah, chairman of CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd, whose subsidiary CG Semi has developed the facility in partnership with Japan’s Renesas Electronics and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics. For Subbiah, the project’s significance lies as much in capability-building as in manufacturing. “It is deeply symbolic that our first shipment is going to global customer Renesas Electronics, our Japanese partner,” he said. “Our partner Renesas taught us what being truly world class means. Their qualification standards were tough. Very tough. By meeting those standards, we not only earned the trust of our customers but also confidence in what advanced Indian manufacturing is capable of achieving,” he added. The chips packaged at the Sanand plant will find their way into automobiles, scooters and industrial equipment before being exported to Japan, the United States and Europe, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The minister also highlighted the workforce behind the facility. “Daughters from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala will be working as operators at the plant. Some of them stepped out of their villages for the first time and went to Malaysia for training,” he said. Spread over 75,000 square feet, the newly inaugurated facility has the capacity to package about 300 million semiconductor units annually. Right next to it, a second plant spanning nearly one million square feet is already under construction and is expected to increase capacity to four billion units a year. For PM Modi, the plant is also evidence of a semiconductor ecosystem beginning to take shape. Within months of Micron Technology, Kaynes and now CG Semi commencing commercial production in Sanand, the region is beginning to resemble the manufacturing clusters that transformed countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China. “Step by step, brick by brick and chip by chip, the Semicon India programme is catching pace,” the Prime Minister said, adding that semiconductor clusters eventually attract suppliers of chemicals, testing laboratories, equipment service companies, chip designers and startups. Modi said the back-to-back commissioning of semiconductor facilities by Micron, Kaynes Semicon and now CG Semi in Sanand marks the emergence of a semiconductor manufacturing cluster in India. Such clusters, he said, create a multiplier effect by attracting suppliers of specialty chemicals, testing laboratories, equipment maintenance companies, chip design firms and startups, gradually building an integrated semiconductor ecosystem rather than standalone manufacturing units. “Today chips are being packaged here; tomorrow specialised companies will come... This is the strength of a cluster,” he said. CG Semi’s facility adds to the rapid build-out of Gujarat’s semiconductor ecosystem under the India Semiconductor Mission. The state has secured six major semiconductor projects involving investments of about ₹1.24 lakh crore. Besides CG Semi, Micron Technology and Kaynes Semicon have already commenced commercial production at their OSAT facilities in Sanand, while Suchi Semicon’s pilot OSAT plant is operational in Surat. Tata Electronics is constructing India’s first commercial semiconductor fabrication (fab) facility at Dholera, and Crystal Matrix has received approval to set up the country’s first commercial mini and micro-LED display fabrication and packaging unit at Dholera SIR. 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.

Engineers from 4 countries & India’s young workforce help launch CG Semi’s OSAT facility in Gujarat
Europe
BBC Business

What's happening to petrol prices now oil is back to pre-Iran war levels?

Image source, Maskot/Getty ImagesByFaarea Masud, Alex Daniel and Michael Race, Business reportersPublished2 March 2026Updated 26 June 2026Motorists in the UK are already seeing cheaper fuel prices after the US and Iran struck an agreement to end their war, with further falls expected in the coming weeks. When the conflict began on 28 February, fuel costs jumped as the war significantly disrupted the production and transportation of energy across the Middle East. However, in recent weeks they have dropped and the framework deal reached between the US and Iran has sent them to their lowest point since the first days of the war in early March. Motoring group the AA has said it expects pump prices to fall further and "the timing is perfect for the start of the summer holidays". Meanwhile rival group the RAC has said price reductions "should be faster and greater, particularly for diesel". Crude oil is a key ingredient in petrol and diesel, which means that higher wholesale costs make filling up a car more expensive. Analysts say every $10 (£7.53) increase in the oil price pushes up pump prices by roughly 7p a litre. Since the war began, the price of a barrel of Brent crude – the global benchmark for wholesale oil prices – has been very volatile. Before the conflict, Brent was about $70 a barrel, but the conflict saw it peak at above $120. The price has been slipping in recent weeks and after the framework deal was signed it fell to around $76 a barrel. It has continued to drop and at one point fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February. According to the RAC, the price of petrol reached an Iran war peak of 159.53p a litre on 28 May, while diesel's highest price during the conflict was 191.54p a litre on 15 April. Since 28 May, the price of petrol has come down. The RAC said that on Friday, 26 June show the average price of petrol had fallen 2p in a week to 151.98p and diesel by 4p to 168.64p. The RAC says it now costs £83.59 to fill up a 55-litre family car with petrol and £92.75 for diesel, However, this is still £10.50 and £14.40 respectively more than it did at the end of February before the conflict began.

What's happening to petrol prices now oil is back to pre-Iran war levels?
North America
CNBC Finance

The brands winning with World Cup advertising may not be the sponsors

As people around the world tune into this summer's World Cup, some of the brands generating the most buzz aren't even official sponsors of the tournament. The list of official sponsors for this year's World Cup, hosted in cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, include global household names like Adidas, Coca-Cola and Qatar Airways. But even before the tournament began, the spotlight fell on companies like Levi Strauss & Co., Taco Bell and Texas-based convenience store chain Buc-ee's. Some have garnered traction on social media for their creative marketing strategies, while others have benefited from organic customer response with the influx of international players and fans. McDonald's celebrated the tournament with limited-time menu items and cups. Taco Bell leaned into a new campaign to support fans in celebration or support depending on the outcome of a match. According to marketing research firm WARC Media, advertising spending on this year's World Cup tournament is expected to reach $10.5 billion. That's just below spending for the 2018 World Cup, hosted by Russia, which totaled roughly $12.6 billion. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNBC that World Cup advertising spend increased 42% week over week in the days leading up to the first game. The firm tracked that Taco Bell and Duracell have both increased their advertising spend in the past few weeks, though the top 10 World Cup advertisers by spend over the past three months have been sponsors or broadcast partners of the event. According to market research firm Meltwater, in the ramp-up to the World Cup, non-sponsor brand collaborations generated nearly double the engagement of official sponsors, reaching roughly 61 million engagements versus just 33 million. The firm told CNBC that while sponsored advertisements led in volume, distribution and creative quality helped propel non-sponsors to higher engagement, with the most social media engagement coming from TikTok. Since the tournament began, non-sponsor brands have surpassed 57,000 mentions on social media versus just over 43,000 for official sponsors, the company said. "A big takeaway from this World Cup is that you don't need an official sponsorship to own the cultural moment anymore," Meltwater CEO John Box told CNBC. "The brands that will win the next tournament aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets, but instead the ones who are set up to see what's trending in real time, the creativity to connect it back to your brand, and the speed to act before the moment passes." According to Meltwater, Coca-Cola and Adidas accounted for half of all sponsor mentions in the buildup to the tournament. But in the final 11 days before the first match on June 11, McDonald's became the clear winner, with engagement share rising from 2.6% to 23%. Of the non-sponsors, Lego accounted for 82% of the top 50 most engaging non-sponsor posts across social media platforms, Meltwater said. The construction toy company's World Cup campaign delivered 12 times the sponsor average in the days leading up to the tournament.

The brands winning with World Cup advertising may not be the sponsors
North America
Yahoo Finance

Enphase Just Found A New Story To Tell

The solar sector’s sudden bursts of volatility often have less to do with immediate product shipments and more to do with the market’s hunger for a new narrative. Look no further than the dizzying, counterintuitive price swings of Enphase Energy (ENPH) over a single 72-hour window. On Thursday, June 18, 2026, the stock rocketed up 9.4% in a single session, outperforming the S&P 500 amid a broad rally across solar names, right as the company announced it had begun shipping its most powerful commercial microinverter yet, the GaN-based IQ9S-3P™. Yet, just days later on Tuesday, June 23, the script completely inverted: the stock tumbled nearly 9.9% on a sharp “sell the news” macro pullback, even though Enphase had just formally launched its next-generation IQ9N™ microinverter for the U.S. residential market. Following that sharp drop, the stock remained flat, absorbing the volatility to close the June 25 session at $47.21. On the surface, this aggressive back-to-back hardware rollout looks like a straightforward operational win. However, the rapid whiplash between a single-day near-double-digit leap and an immediate post-launch correction points to a deeper dynamic. Does an upgraded hardware portfolio running on cutting-edge gallium nitride architecture truly justify that kind of market volatility, or was the market chasing a completely different story beneath the surface? An Unexpected AI Angle Look a little closer, and you’ll find the real story. The same day the stock spiked, analysts at Barclays upgraded the stock, but only from Under Weight to Equal Weight, a move to the sidelines rather than a full-throated buy call, with the price target lifted to $51 from $30. They pointed to Enphase’s emerging solid-state transformer (SST) business as “a credible entry point into the evolving data center power stack,” estimating a U.S. addressable market of roughly $2 billion a year by the late 2020s. Suddenly, a familiar solar tech company was being discussed in the same breath as AI data center power — and in this market, even a neutral-rated nod to that theme carries weight. This new story arrives at a critical time. The company’s revenue over the last twelve months is actually down 1.6%. While that’s an improvement over its recent history, it’s hardly the explosive growth investors once prized. The market was hungry for a new reason to get excited, and the prospect of powering the AI revolution is a compelling one. The IQ9S-3P™ Commercial Microinverter launch provided the tangible news hook, but the SST roadmap provided the vision. The subsequent drop on June 23, however, serves as a harsh reality check. Short-term traders quickly used the residential IQ9N™ launch as a liquidity window to lock in profits, exposing the friction between a years-away theoretical opportunity and immediate financial performance. Now, the burden of proof sits entirely on Enphase. The company must prove it can successfully convert an investment bank’s theoretical data center blueprint into actual, high-margin enterprise dollars, or risk its stock remaining tethered to a sluggish domestic solar recovery. Chasing single-name moves is its own kind of risk, whether you are trying to time a sudden tech rally or watching how traditional energy giants manage unexpected operational headwinds—as explored in The Number That Could Test Exxon Mobil Stock. The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio takes the other side of that bet: 30 quality names, sized and re-balanced with discipline, and a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the three major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000.

Enphase Just Found A New Story To Tell
North America
CNBC Finance

Rise in memory chip costs puts pressure on retailers of laptops and smartphones

As the global artificial intelligence race accelerates, memory chips are getting more expensive. As a result, costs of some consumer electronics are beginning to rise for retailers and consumers alike. Memory storage, known as RAM, is crucial for all computing devices, including phones, tablets and laptops. The cost of chips has been rising due to a supply shortage driven largely by massive demand for AI data centers. Companies such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Google have been scrambling to secure RAM for their chips. Apple on Thursday announced it's raising its prices on MacBooks and iPads — passing along the rising cost of memory to consumers — with the potential for more price hikes down the road. The memory shortage is an "unprecedented challenge," the company said in a statement. Incoming Best Buy CEO Jason Bonfig said on a call with reporters earlier this month that the company expects its computing division will be the most affected by price hikes. "We did see some staggered price increases in Q1, so moving to Q2, we do expect [average sale prices] to increase and units from an elasticity perspective to be impacted," Bonfig said. "We did bring in more inventory in Q1, which you can see on our balance sheet, which does help us to mitigate it." Soaring memory costs are expected to reduce global personal computer shipments by 10.4% and smartphone shipments by 8.4% in 2026, according to Ranjit Atwal, a senior director analyst at Gartner, citing February research. Gartner also projected that PC prices will increase by 17% and smartphone prices will grow by 13%, compared with 2025 levels. "What's happening this time around, compared to previous times that memory prices have gone up, is the extent with which prices of memory is increasing," Atwal said. "Secondly is the length of time that we think prices will remain high. ... This one is looking like it won't be until the end of 2027 before we get to any type of regional pricing." While the price increases may not be immediately apparent in stores, Atwal said, it's inevitable that the demand will outpace the supply. Some retailers pulled forward inventory in the first quarter in anticipation of the rising prices, he added, but that cushion can only last so long. "It will catch up with everyone," he said. "You end up in a point where you just have no control over what you can do. You have to pass it on, and that's the difference now versus where we were before. The market's more mature as well, so there's an expectation that people are going to buy up anyway." Consumers might not even be aware of the price hikes, Atwal said. Most people upgrade their laptops after four or five years and may not even remember what they previously paid or what the specifications of their old models were, he said. That gap may lead to a somewhat "delayed impact" on consumer behavior, Atwal said, but the eventual effect is bound to hit them soon. So far, Bonfig said, Best Buy isn't seeing any indication that consumers are pulling forward purchases or even that the rising memory costs are affecting their budgets.

Rise in memory chip costs puts pressure on retailers of laptops and smartphones
Europe
BBC Business

We had packed lunches every day for 10 years and retired at 40

Every winter, Alan and Katie Donegan would avoid turning on the heating at their home in the south of England. "Instead, we wore extra layers and used hot water bottles - we turned it into a game," says Alan. "It wasn't suffering, it was strategy." While the couple admit that others thought they were "extreme" or "mad" to put so much emphasis on not spending money, Alan explains that they were "laser-focused on buying freedom". By "freedom" he means early retirement, which the Donegans managed to achieve seven years ago when Alan was only 40, and Katie just 35. The two rarely had takeaways and always took packed lunches to work. "We were £40,000 better off over 10 years from just that one lunch habit," says Alan. "We even charged our phones while out and hunted for discarded Nectar [supermarket] vouchers. You can decide if that's crazy or genius, but it worked." Alan had worked as a landscape gardener before launching a training and life-coaching business, while Katie was an actuary, or risk assessor, for a financial firm. Aside from their good incomes, their extreme saving habits meant they were able to retire early - and they put as much money as they could possibly afford into investments. "Every pound we invested was a step closer to the life we wanted," says Katie. They quit work after their savings hit £1m. Alan and Katie are part of a small but growing global movement called Fire, which stands for "Financially Independent, Retire Early". From a little-known concept 15 years ago, there are now almost a million members of the main Fire discussion board on social media site Reddit, and mainstream financial institutions now publish numerous guides on the topic. The central tenet is that you live extremely frugally during your working life, so that you can retire as soon as possible.

We had packed lunches every day for 10 years and retired at 40
Europe
BBC Business

South Korea unveils $880bn chip and AI investment plan

South Korea has unveiled plans for at least $880bn (£666bn) of investments to build out the country's chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the coming years. It is part of the country's so-called Three Mega Projects to develop new chip production hubs, data centres and robotics technology. The plan is aimed at rejuvenating the economies of areas outside the capital Seoul, President Lee Jae-myung said on Monday. It comes as regional rivals like Taiwan, China and Japan are investing heavily in chip factories and other technologies as the AI boom pushes up demand for semiconductors. "We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country," Lee said. "Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centres are the triple axis for a great leap forward." Lee announced the plans in a televised event alongside the leaders of Samsung and SK Hynix, the country's two largest chipmakers. Lee also announced plans to build other AI infrastructure hubs outside of Seoul, where most of the country's advanced factories are currently concentrated. Earlier, Lee said in a statement that the project was a matter of "survival" for the country to address the decline in rural areas due to the concentration of industries in Seoul. "Now, we must break this long-standing cycle of discrimination and marginalisation - not only for the sake of justice and equity, but also to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth," he wrote. Samsung and SK Group, which count the likes of AI chip giant Nvidia among their customers, have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the surge in spending on AI infrastructure. US tech giants - including Google, Amazon and Meta - said they will spend $650bn into the technology this year. SK Hynix's stock market valuation topped $1tn in May, driven by the boom in AI data centres.

South Korea unveils $880bn chip and AI investment plan
North America
CNBC Finance

Estrogen patches are hard to find, and it may not be resolved any time soon

Estrogen patches are in short supply as demand for the menopause medications skyrockets, and it could take at least a year for manufacturers to catch up. Prescriptions of estrogen patches have increased 162% over the past two years, according to data from HealthVerity. Already rising demand was turbocharged last fall when the Food and Drug Administration removed a more than 20-year-old black box warning discouraging women from taking hormone replacement therapy. Manufacturers are struggling to keep pace. Three types of patches are in shortage, according to data from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which relies on reports from healthcare providers. The FDA, using a different methodology, hasn't declared a shortage of estradiol. "You can get them, but it takes a lot of time and effort when we're all so busy at this time of our lives," said Dr. Susan Loeb-Zeitlin, director of the Women's Midlife Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. Doctors across the country describe the difficulty their patients are experiencing to find hormone replacement therapies, particularly estrogen patches. When asked how much time she spends trying to help people find the medication, Dr. Francesca Turner, a doctor in Iowa, just laughs. "Between my nurse, patients' pharmacists and myself, we are doing this pretty much every day trying to figure out how to navigate this for our patients," Turner said. Doctors prescribe estrogen to treat the symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and brain fog, which occur when a woman's body produce less of the hormone. Estradiol is the most potent type and is commonly administered through a patch that gradually releases the hormone on the skin to help ease physical and mental symptoms of menopause. Doctors prefer giving estrogen topically because it's considered a safer option than orally, Loeb-Zeitlin said. For more than two decades, the FDA advised women to avoid treating menopause with estrogen because a 2002 study called the Women's Health Initiative suggested it could put women at greater risk of breast cancer and other conditions like dementia. Later analyses found the participants in the study were older than most women starting hormone replacement therapy and the risks of taking it were overstated. The FDA reversed course last fall and said it would work with companies to remove references to the risks in the labels of the medications. By then, interest had already rebounded. Doctors credit prominent voices like Oprah Winfrey and social media users for shining a light on menopause, the life-altering symptoms that some women experience and how hormone replacement therapies can help. "The demand has actually come from more of the community of women saying within their groups or communities that they are still suffering," said Dr. Jessica Shepherd, chief medical officer of Hers. "This was much more brought about by social media, where people are really able to air their voice, and you see a lot of celebrities that were talking about their journey as well." Seeing the momentum, Hers, part of the telehealth provider Hims & Hers that's best known for offering erectile dysfunction drugs and GLP-1s, about a year and a half ago decided to get into the perimenopause and menopause business, Shepherd said. Interest in the program has tripled since the company introduced it in October, the company said. Prescriptions of all types of estrogen have risen 78% over the past two years, according to data from HealthVerity. The patches have proven particularly popular, with prescriptions more than doubling to 1.6 million in May from 594,000 in June of 2024, HealthVerity found. They now account for 44% of all estrogen prescriptions.

Estrogen patches are hard to find, and it may not be resolved any time soon