Latest Developments

Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Bengaluru’s start-up ecosystem: Aiming for global top five by 2030

The latest global start-up ecosystem report has brought both validation and a clear roadmap for Karnataka’s digital growth. With Bengaluru firmly holding its position among the top 15 start-up hubs globally and ranking second in Asia for its ecosystem cluster performance, the focus has now shifted to sustaining this momentum. BV Naidu, Chairman of the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), weighs in on what the report signifies, the critique surrounding talent and funding, and why a copy-paste blueprint from Silicon Valley will not work for India. How do you view the findings of the latest report, particularly regarding areas of improvement and what has already been achieved? We have been engaging with this report for the last two years. Whenever such a report comes out, it becomes a little benchmark for us to see how well we are performing, what needs to be improved, and where we are doing well. I look at this report more as a reflection of what we are doing right and what needs to be improved. Over the past year, we have maintained our global ranking more or less at the same level, which is a significant achievement. In Asia, we are number two in cluster performance, which signals very well. If you look at the specific parameters contributing to this ranking, we scored nine out of ten on the performance of the overall cluster. Secondly, in terms of R&D, we did much better than Silicon Valley regarding patents and the overall R&D ecosystem. These are areas where we have performed remarkably well on a global scale. The report highlights some gaps as well. Where does the ecosystem need to step up? There are two or three areas we need to further improve. One is local market access for start-ups, which we will be focusing on moving forward. The second is funding access, which we are continuously working to improve. However, the report gave us a score of four out of ten for talent. We need to look closely at what exactly made them give such a low marking for talent, compare it with what was there last year, and focus heavily on that this year. Improving talent and local market access will be key to helping us scale up further. Bengaluru’s software engineer salaries remain significantly lower than global standards. Is affordable talent still an advantage, or does it risk a brain drain where people relocate for better pay? The talent is affordable, but the situation globally is changing. I just came back from Silicon Valley, and the situation is not that great there either. Our quality talent availability in India, even though they are paid less, remains competitive to global wages—even if it is much lower than global averages. With everything we have put in place over the last few years, we have done well and will continue to do well. I do not see this causing a major problem for our ecosystem.

Bengaluru’s start-up ecosystem: Aiming for global top five by 2030
Europe
The Guardian

How do people in the US describe customer service in 2026? ‘Debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh’

Illustration: Guardian Design/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreen Illustration: Guardian Design/Getty ImagesConsumedConsumer affairsHow do people in the US describe customer service in 2026? ‘Debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh’We asked people in the US about their customer service battles and hundreds responded on the financial and emotional costs Guardian readers from across the US wrote in to tell us about their battles with big companies, and the time, expense and emotional toll exacted by businesses they say are prioritizing the bottom line over all else. Readers’ main complaint is not that it is impersonal, it’s that it doesn’t work for anything but the most basic customer service tasks, like checking balances, changing addresses or making payments, things most customers are doing online anyway. About one in 10 of the reader responses we have received so far called out automated chatbots as endless doom loops, a massive time suck, and steep hurdle to resolving product problems and fraud claims. “It’s the bots. Daily battle with stupid, useless, brain-dead bots on the phone, trying to reach a human being to learn or explore or resolve some damn thing,” wrote a communications professor from a university near Boston. “Infuriating, exhausting, debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh.” After that, frustrations with telecom overcharges and installation, declining product quality everywhere from tractors to garden hose accessories and pantry staples, and struggles with finance companies and health insurance coverage topped the list. Many readers cited overlapping company failures that created nightmare scenarios: hundreds of dollars lost, days spent trying to rectify mistakes, scrambles over Thanksgiving dinner and health-threatening lapses. When her local CVS said at the last minute it would not be able to fill a daily prescription for six weeks, Melanie Cooley, an Arizona educator, tracked down a pharmacy that had it in stock in another state, and arranged for it to be shipped to Indianapolis, where she would be traveling. The express delivery arrived days late, then went to the wrong mailbox. “It took almost three weeks and assists from friends and family in three different states to get one bottle of pills,” she wrote. “I spent an extra $50 on top of my co-pay to get the meds to me.” She was off the medication for two weeks. CVS said: “Our pharmacy teams make every effort to ensure patients have access to the medications they need.” Carol Murdock, a former healthcare executive in Nashville, said she spent an entire day trying to reach a human to resolve a fraudulent $629 charge on her AT&T bill for a phone line she doesn’t own. “I think this is their entire goal. Exasperate consumers until they give up. It is maddening,” she said. The bill is still outstanding, she added. AT&T did not reply to requests for comment. One California tech employee told the Guardian she spent days trying to get a Rebel baby stroller rerouted to a new city via FedEx after it didn’t show up when promised. Multiple phone calls, emails, contradictory information from two companies and additional charges later, she resorted to asking a friend to bring it on a flight. “What stands out is not a single mistake, but the amount of time required to navigate a fragmented customer-service system,” she wrote. Rebel told the Guardian it was “continuously looking for ways to ensure our customers receive clear, timely support when these situations arise”.

How do people in the US describe customer service in 2026? ‘Debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh’
Europe
BBC Business

Fed holds US interest rates steady as uncertainty over Trump's Iran deal remains

The Federal Reserve held US interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75% after Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the central bank. Fed governors were split on whether to keep rates steady or increase them in a bid to tame inflation, which has been pushed up by the US-Israel war in Iran. US President Donald Trump pushed Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, to cut interest rates, and made clear he expected Warsh to fulfill his demand for cuts. But, with inflation running at an above-target 3.8%, and uncertainty surrounding Trump's deal to end the war with Iran, the Fed's rate-setting committee unanimously decided to kept rates steady. In a statement backed by its 12 members, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said: "Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East. Productivity growth and capital investment are strong. "Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little." The Fed's statement on Wednesday represented a marked change in the central bank's communication style, one of Warsh's key promises for his tenure. He was a sharp critic of how the Fed has communicated its decisions in the past, arguing it should say less while getting on with the job. Its most recent statement, released in April, was almost 350 words, while Wednesday's update was just 132. "The Committee will deliver price stability," it concluded. The Fed's update also removed a statement hinting that it was leaning towards lowering interest rates in the future. And nine of the 18 central bankers who participated in the FOMC's rate-setting process predicted an interest rate hike this year, while just one said they expected a cut. The remaining eight predicted rates will stay the same, according to the closely watched "dot-plot" grid of central bankers' expectations released alongside the decision. Warsh did not offer a projection of his own for the "dot-plot", which he opposes, but said he encouraged his colleagues to go ahead with it.

Fed holds US interest rates steady as uncertainty over Trump's Iran deal remains
North America
CNBC Economy

Three Iranian tankers exit U.S. blockade for first time in months as shipowners eye Hormuz in 'wary disbelief'

At least three Iranian tankers carrying nearly five million barrels of crude oil have exited the U.S. Navy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in the first such outbound shipment in two months, as shipowners cautiously reposition ahead of a U.S.-Iran deal signing in Geneva on Friday. Two supertankers named Diona and Hero 2 — both owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company and under U.S. sanctions — made it through the U.S. Navy blockade perimeter, carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, according to shipping data provided by Kpler. A third Iran-linked tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Iranian crude exited the blockade line on Wednesday, according to Kpler. "Their apparent departure from the blockade suggests that other Iranian-trading tankers are also preparing to resume trading," said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward. The U.S. and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday to end the nearly four-month war, with a formal signing ceremony to take place on Friday in Geneva. The pact, whose details have not been disclosed, is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and waive sanctions on Iran's oil sales. Washington would allow Tehran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel once the agreement is signed this week, in exchange for Iran's commitment to curb its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil flowed before the war, has been effectively shut for the duration of the conflict. The U.S. Navy has blockaded Iranian ports, and Iran has targeted vessels linked to nations it deemed adversaries, stranding hundreds of ships and disrupting global energy flows. The prospect of a reopening prompted some shipowners — battered by months of surging freight costs and war-risk insurance premiums — to begin repositioning vessels toward Gulf ports in anticipation of a surge in restocking demand, while most are more cautious and continued to hold back. "The maritime sector is treating the news with something closer to wary disbelief than celebration," said Lloyd's List Intelligence. Insurers are holding firm on high war-risk premiums, demanding "solid evidence" that the waterway will remain safe, Lloyd's analysts said. "While a pause in hostilities will free stranded mariners and boost tanker and bulk markets, the sector sees this as a fragile reprieve rather than a return to normality," the analysts said in a client note on Tuesday. But some very large crude carriers (VLCC) owners are looking to gain a "first-mover advantage," positioning tankers toward the Middle East Gulf, while others plan to hold back, according to Lloyd's. Dozens of VLCCs are sailing from the South China Sea and across the Indian Ocean toward the United Arab Emirates ports, where at least 30 ships were already at anchor, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward on Wednesday.

Three Iranian tankers exit U.S. blockade for first time in months as shipowners eye Hormuz in 'wary disbelief'
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

The fine print in insurance policy nobody reads until it matters 

Recent cases in which policyholders’ claims were denied serve as a stark reminder that insurance is not a promise to pay every claim. Sign up for ST InvestMe and unlock the full access to exclusive insights and financial literacy courses today. SINGAPORE – Insurance is meant to be a safety net. Many assume that once premiums are paid, medical and accident bills will be taken care of – but reality can be messier. Recent cases in which policyholders’ claims were denied serve as a stark reminder that insurance is not a promise to pay every claim. It is a promise to pay claims that fall within the policy’s terms. This technicality can leave policyholders facing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected out-of-pocket costs. This distinction was thrown into sharp relief when a Singapore court delivered a rebuke to NTUC Income – now Income Insurance – over its handling of claims related to Ko Wah, an elderly victim of an accident. Ko, who was 78 when he was knocked down by a van, suffered severe brain injuries requiring multiple operations, and became bedridden and permanently mentally incapacitated. He died five years later in October 2024. The court awarded more than $417,000 in damages to his son, who had sued on behalf of Ko’s estate for damages for pain and suffering, loss of amenities arising from injuries in the accident, loss of pre-trial earnings, medical expenses and further expenses. In issuing the judgment, deputy registrar Kim Bum Soo chided NTUC Income for its “wholly unreasonable behaviour”, citing “unfounded objections” to some claims and “casually impersonal stonewalling”. Kim said: “Their position was that the late Mr Ko had been comatose the entire time and could not have appreciated any pain and suffering at all.” He also noted that despite being given “an explicit opportunity” to explain their insistence “on such an unyielding and apparently unreasonable position”, NTUC Income “simply declined to explain themselves”. Often, insurance disputes involve how policy terms are interpreted. This happens when you and your insurance company disagree about whether your policy covers a specific claim or situation. The company says it will not pay for it, even though you believe it should.

The fine print in insurance policy nobody reads until it matters 
North America
CNBC Economy

UK inflation holds steady at 2.8% in May

U.K. inflation held at 2.8% in May, slightly below expectations, official figures showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had been expecting the annual inflation rate to rise to 3% in May. Inflation cooled to 2.8% in April, but the drop — attributed to a change to the U.K.'s regulated energy price cap — was expected to be short-lived. The price cap is due to rise by 13% later this summer, when energy costs will hit a 2-year high. The U.K.'s May print fell below the euro zone's 3.2% reading for May, and well below the U.S. May inflation rate of 4.2%. Britain's Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that transport had been the biggest contributor to rising prices in May, partially offset by falling food and non-alcoholic drink prices. Surging prices of air fares, which were up 10.3% month-on-month, as well as motor fuel and sea fares lifted transportation costs for Britons in May, the ONS said. Analysts said the timing of the Easter holiday this year may have contributed to rising fares. Meanwhile, the price of gasoline rose by an average 0.6 pence (0.8 U.S. cents) per liter between April and May. In the same period a year earlier, average gasoline prices fell by 2.1 pence. Average prices rose to their highest since November 2022, when energy prices spiked in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At its most recent meeting, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep its key interest rate at 3.75%. Policymakers said at the time that "monetary policy cannot influence energy prices" in reference to the impact of the U.S.-Iran war, which has kept oil and gas prices elevated for months amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Markets are pricing in a 95% chance that the Bank of England holds rates steady at its next meeting on Thursday, LSEG data shows — but traders are expecting the central bank to hike interest rates by the end of this year. Scott Gardner, investment strategist at J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, said in a note on Wednesday morning that the latest data "will provide some hope that any rebound in U.K. inflation could be short-lived." Over the weekend, the U.S. and Iran announced a framework deal to bring their nearly four-month war to an end, with both U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian officials saying the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened after the agreement is signed in Geneva later this week.

UK inflation holds steady at 2.8% in May
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Why $94,100 homes remain unsold in Malaysia

Facade of housing in Bukit Bintang. According to Napic, a total of 14,201 completed residential units worth $869 million remained unsold as of the first quarter of 2026. Recent data from Malaysia’s National Property Information Centre (Napic) has exposed a profound structural contradiction in the country’s residential property market. Far from a simple housing shortage, the nation is wrestling with a growing property overhang that highlights a widening disconnect between developer-led supply and the realities of household purchasing power. According to Napic, a total of 14,201 completed residential units worth RM2.77 billion (S$869 million) remained unsold as of the first quarter of 2026. Crucially, these properties account for 43.3 per cent of Malaysia’s total property overhang, with the vast majority concentrated in high-density economic hubs like the Klang Valley, Johor and Perak. This data shatters a long-held real estate assumption. For years, conventional wisdom dictated that any property priced below the RM300,000 threshold would find immediate mass-market demand. The current reality proves otherwise. The rising property overhang is no longer simply a question of headline affordability. It is a deeper crisis of product mismatch, location flaws, financing barriers and speculative development assumptions. To understand why homes priced at RM300,000 and below remain stagnant on the market, the industry must look past the headline price. True affordability is determined by a household’s net monthly cash flow, not just the initial purchase price. Several structural factors explain this inventory accumulation. While a RM280,000 apartment sounds accessible, the true cost of ownership is often burdensome for lower- and middle-income households. Beyond the mortgage, buyers must secure upfront capital for down payments, legal fees, stamping fees and moving costs.

Why $94,100 homes remain unsold in Malaysia
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

As Jio Platforms eyes record IPO, what are India’s biggest share offerings?

An IPO by the National Stock Exchange of India is likely to be worth about US$3.3 billion (S$4.3 billion). MUMBAI – Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Platforms filed regulatory papers for an initial public offering (IPO) on June 19 that sources said would raise about US$3.8 billion (S$4.9 billion), making it the country’s biggest-ever stock offering. Another IPO that is in the pipeline – by the National Stock Exchange of India – is likely to be worth about US$3.3 billion. Hyundai, the world’s third-largest automaker and India’s fourth-biggest passenger vehicle maker, raised 278.7 billion rupees (S$3.8 billion) in October 2024 in what is currently India’s biggest-ever IPO. The manufacturer’s South Korean parent sold a 17.5 per cent stake in a pure offer-for-sale, where existing shareholders sell shares and no new capital is raised. Jio Platforms is expected to use a similar approach, with the company’s major investors set to dilute their stakes. The government pocketed roughly 205 billion rupees from selling a 3.5 per cent stake in India’s largest insurer and biggest domestic financial investor, a far cry from its initial target of up to US$12 billion. Paytm, an Indian fintech firm, raised 183 billion rupees in November 2021 in a mix of a fresh share issue and an offer for sale. Ant Group reduced its stake to 23 per cent from 28 per cent and SoftBank’s Vision Fund pared its holding to 16 per cent. Paytm lost more than 27 per cent on its debut, the biggest listing-day drop in Indian IPO history at the time. The Tata Group’s financial services arm raised 155 billion rupees in October 2025, with Tata Sons and IFC among those selling in the offer for sale component alongside a fresh issue. The IPO was the largest-ever by a non-banking financial company in India. The shares listed at a slight premium of 1.23 per cent. South Korean parent LG Electronics offloaded a 15 per cent stake in its Indian unit, a maker of refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and televisions, in a pure offer for sale issue, netting 116 billion rupees in October 2025.

As Jio Platforms eyes record IPO, what are India’s biggest share offerings?
Europe
The Guardian

Trump’s Department of Labor claims without data that states defrauded government

Keith Sonderling in Bangor, Maine, last month. Photograph: Taylor Coester/ReutersView image in fullscreenKeith Sonderling in Bangor, Maine, last month. Photograph: Taylor Coester/ReutersUS taxationTrump’s Department of Labor claims without data that states defrauded governmentActing secretary Keith Sonderling threatens to withhold administrative funds from states for first time in history Keith Sonderling sent letters to 53 states and US territories demanding action to “combat waste, fraud, and abuse” within the unemployment insurance program, threatening to withhold administrative funds from states for the first time in history. “We are officially putting governors on notice,” said the acting US secretary of labor. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars – no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.” The agency did not provide data on fraud or alleged fraud in unemployment systems, but highlighted three Democrat-led states – California, New York and Illinois – and made claims about each. They say California owes $20bn to the federal government for a loan during the Covid-19 pandemic. California has struggled paying off the loan, as they did with a similar federal loan received during the 2008 economic recession, due to the current set-up of how employers are taxed to fund unemployment. The unemployment payroll tax system in California has been unchanged since 1984 at a taxable wage ceiling of $7,000 on a worker’s wages and maximum tax rate of 5.4%, leaving the state with insufficient funds to cover its unemployment reserve while legislators on both sides of the political aisle have been working to try to resolve the issue. The Department of Labor also claimed that New York loses an estimated $2m a day in unemployment insurance fraud and improper payments, but did not differentiate between the two. They also cited that Illinois had improper payments of $320m, at a rate of 14%. Improper payments are not fraud, rather are most often cited as due to antiquated technology, with an estimated improper payment rate of 14.9% across the US. While New York, California and Illinois have high improper payment rates compared with the rest of the US, several Republican states also have leading improper payment rates. Florida is reporting a 36.43% improper payment rate, more than double the rate in California at 16.85%, based on data from 2021 to 2024. “Fraud is still a problem and it hasn’t gone away since the start of the pandemic but this press release is part of the problem, why the fraud isn’t going away,” Michele Evermore, senior fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance, told the Guardian. She noted that states should be able to seek help from the US Department of Labor instead of being blamed solely for the issue – with threats. “No state wants to pay fraudulent benefits to criminal actors,” she added. “It should be an all of government, all of society response, instead of calling out governors they have a political beef with. It’s not the right way to soberly and stoically deal with a problem that everybody faces.” “I will essentially cut off the states’ administrative funds and then they won’t be able to administer this unemployment insurance due to the fraud,” said Sonderling, who then claimed Democratic governors are the states with the highest fraud, without citing any evidence or data to substantiate the claim.

Trump’s Department of Labor claims without data that states defrauded government