In this article XAU= MANAPPURAM-IN MUTHOOTFIN-IN USB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT This report is from this week's "Inside India" newsletter, which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse — Subscribe today Hello, I am Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of Inside India — your one-stop destination...
In this article XAU= MANAPPURAM-IN MUTHOOTFIN-IN USB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT This report is from this week's "Inside India" newsletter, which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse — Subscribe today Hello, I am Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to the latest edition of Inside India — your one-stop destination for stories and developments from the world's fastest growing large economy. This week, I unpack what's driving the rapid surge in gold‑loan growth in the world's second‑largest bullion market. Loans against gold are a multibillion‑dollar industry in India, powered by households holding $5 trillion in bullion. Enjoy! Any thoughts on today's newsletter? Share them with the team. The big story Indian households are sitting on a mountain of gold. They own more than 34,000 tons of the yellow metal, as per a Morgan Stanley report from October last year, with Kotak Mahindra Bank pegging its value at about $5 trillion. That vast reserve is now powering one of the fastest-growing lending segments in India. As other forms of consumer credit slow, gold loans have surged, driven by tighter banking rules for unsecured loans, a sharp rally in global gold prices, improved access, and perhaps a rising financial stress among households. While about 90% of Indian households' hoardings are still lying idle, according to Shripad Jadhav, business head of gold loans at Kotak Mahindra Bank, gold-backed lending is beginning to reshape India's retail credit landscape, even drawing some global investors. Global private equity firm Bain Capital has made a bold bet on loans against gold, with plans to acquire up to 41.7% stake in Manappuram Finance, India's second‑largest gold loan provider. The deal, approved by the Reserve Bank of India last month, signals how international investors see opportunity in the country's most traditional but underutilized asset. In December last year, Japanese financia...
LINE MAN Wongnai CEO Yod Chinsupakul says his Thai tech start-up, which connects customers and suppliers through food delivery, groceries and ride-hailing, hopes to fund new acquisitions with its initial public offering. He speaks with Haslinda Amin on "Insight with Haslinda Amin." (Source: Bloomberg)
LINE MAN Wongnai CEO Yod Chinsupakul says his Thai tech start-up, which connects customers and suppliers through food delivery, groceries and ride-hailing, hopes to fund new acquisitions with its initial public offering. He speaks with Haslinda Amin on "Insight with Haslinda Amin." (Source: Bloomberg)
Emerging market equities and currencies fell for the first time this week as oil prices surged after attacks on some of the Middle East’s most important energy facilities. MSCI’s EM Index declined 2%, the most since March 9, while a similar gauge for emerging currencies fell 0.6%, set for its lowest level this year. The Thai baht, Philippine peso and Malaysian ringgit led the drop in currencies Th...
Emerging market equities and currencies fell for the first time this week as oil prices surged after attacks on some of the Middle East’s most important energy facilities. MSCI’s EM Index declined 2%, the most since March 9, while a similar gauge for emerging currencies fell 0.6%, set for its lowest level this year. The Thai baht, Philippine peso and Malaysian ringgit led the drop in currencies Thursday. The moves followed Iran’s attacks on a major LNG site in Qatar, one of several energy assets it pledged to target following strikes on the Islamic Republic’s giant South Pars gas field. The worsening war situation is raising concerns around inflation, hitting investor sentiment globally. “EM assets remain under pressure as the war in Iran continues,” Goldman Sachs strategists including Kamakshya Trivedi write in a note, adding “as the conflict has extended, fundamental factors such as terms of trade and earnings sensitivities have started to play a larger role.” Philippine peso fell past the record low 60-per-dollar level after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Wednesday signaled that its FX intervention would be only to temper large swings, instead of defending a current level. This comes after BSP said on Monday that it had intervened earlier as the currency approached that key level. Bank Indonesia also said that it will keep stabilizing the rupiah in offshore markets, even as onshore markets have been closed since Wednesday due to the Eid al-Fitr holiday, and will only reopen next Wednesday. Meanwhile, Moody’s Ratings raised Bolivia’s rating to Caa3 from Ca with a positive outlook, following a pledge by the government it will be able to meet dollar bond coupon payments this month.
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Micron Obliterates Wall Street's Q2 Targets On AI Data Center Business 9:15 AM ET Micron smashed estimates for its fiscal second quarter and with its outlook on continued strong AI data center business. Micron... 9:15 AM ET Micron smashed estimates for its fiscal second quarter and with...
Micron Obliterates Wall Street's Q2 Targets On AI Data Center Business 9:15 AM ET Micron smashed estimates for its fiscal second quarter and with its outlook on continued strong AI data center business. Micron... 9:15 AM ET Micron smashed estimates for its fiscal second quarter and with...
U.S. chip giant AMD and Korean AI startup Upstage said Thursday that they have expanded their strategic collaboration to accelerate next-generation AI development and support Korea's sovereign AI push, as AMD steps up its presence in the region.The announcement follows a meeting in Seoul between Upstage CEO Sung Kim and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su, where the two leaders discussed broader cooperation...
U.S. chip giant AMD and Korean AI startup Upstage said Thursday that they have expanded their strategic collaboration to accelerate next-generation AI development and support Korea's sovereign AI push, as AMD steps up its presence in the region.The announcement follows a meeting in Seoul between Upstage CEO Sung Kim and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su, where the two leaders discussed broader cooperation to drive AI innovation.AMD and Upstage have been strategic partners since AMD joined Upstage's 62 billion won ($41.3 million) Series B bridge investment last year.Under the expanded collaboration, Upstage will deploy AMD's Instinct MI355 accelerators based on a multiphase road map over the next year, leveraging its GPUs to enhance its large language models (LLMs) and document processing engines.The deployment will also support the development of a sovereign AI model as part of the Korean government-led AI foundation model project. Upstage has advanced to the second round of the project, alongside SK Telecom and LG AI Research.Through the partnership, AMD and Upstage aim to strengthen Korea's domestic AI ecosystem while diversifying the nation's sovereign AI infrastructure, the companies said.Upstage said the collaboration, powered by AMD's GPU, is expected to play a key role in advancing its LLMs and building the country's sovereign AI model.“Pairing that with domestic infrastructure gives us the foundation to make Korea a genuinely competitive force in global AI,” Kim said.AMD CEO Su said she has chosen Upstage as its partner as the startup is at the forefront of AI innovation in Korea.“This collaboration brings together AMD Instinct GPUs and ROCm open software with Upstage's expertise to advance Korea's sovereign AI capabilities, and deliver the performance, efficiency and open ecosystem needed to accelerate AI innovation,” she said.“We requested that AMD invest heavily in Korea,” Kim said after the meeting with Su. “This means receiving GPUs cheaply and quickly. To prev...
Nomura Head of Wholesale and Chairman of Investment Management Christopher Willcox believes the Bank of Japan is more likely to hike rates in April. He speaks with Haslinda Amin on "Insight with Haslinda Amin." (Source: Bloomberg)
Nomura Head of Wholesale and Chairman of Investment Management Christopher Willcox believes the Bank of Japan is more likely to hike rates in April. He speaks with Haslinda Amin on "Insight with Haslinda Amin." (Source: Bloomberg)
A costly Metaverse bet of the company Poll Do you think Meta's decision to focus Horizon Worlds primarily on mobile will attract more users? Yes, it will reach more users No, it reduces the VR experience Meta’s steps to streamline Quest experience Meta Horizon Worlds: By March 31, 2026, Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer appear in the Store on Quest. Also, Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaij...
A costly Metaverse bet of the company Poll Do you think Meta's decision to focus Horizon Worlds primarily on mobile will attract more users? Yes, it will reach more users No, it reduces the VR experience Meta’s steps to streamline Quest experience Meta Horizon Worlds: By March 31, 2026, Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer appear in the Store on Quest. Also, Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay worlds will no longer be available in VR. You can still jump into your other favorite worlds in VR until June 15, 2026, after which the Horizon Worlds app will be removed from Quest, and Worlds will no longer be available in VR. After June 15, you can jump into all your favorite mobile-optimized worlds on the Meta Horizon mobile app. Meta Horizon Hyperscape Capture (Beta): By March 24, 2026, viewing Hyperscape captures is moving out of Horizon Worlds. Your existing captures will remain viewable within the Hyperscape Capture (Beta) app and the companion Preview app, which are available in your Quest app library. You can continue capturing new Hyperscapes, but sharing, inviting, and co-experiencing Hyperscapes with others will no longer be supported. Meta Horizon Plus (MH+) Perks: By March 31, 2026, Horizon-specific perks — including Meta Credits, Digital Clothing, Avatars and In-World Purchases — will be removed from the subscription. Your core MH+ gaming benefits and monthly games will not be affected,” said Meta. Watch Mark Zuckerberg SCOLDED During Senate Hearing Over ‘Vile’ Social Media Content; ‘You've Blood...' Mark Zuckerberg SCOLDED During Senate Hearing Over ‘Vile’ Social Media Content; ‘You've Blood...' Nearly five years after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed Horizon Worlds as “the next frontier” for the Facebook-parent, the company has announced that it is now shutting down the virtual reality social network for Quest headsets. In a community blog post, Meta noted that the Horizon Worlds app will be removed from the Quest store at the end of March...
A blizzard brought New York to a standstill on 23 February, with schools across the city closed. Restless young people without anywhere to go began to gather in Washington Square Park, summoned by Instagram chatshow Sidetalk, which wanted to stage an almighty snowball fight. A sea of young men in ski goggles gathered, armed with phones in one hand and balls of ice in the other. Cannonballs of snow...
A blizzard brought New York to a standstill on 23 February, with schools across the city closed. Restless young people without anywhere to go began to gather in Washington Square Park, summoned by Instagram chatshow Sidetalk, which wanted to stage an almighty snowball fight. A sea of young men in ski goggles gathered, armed with phones in one hand and balls of ice in the other. Cannonballs of snow flew across the sky. Others backflipped off snowmen or wrestled on the snow. The scene was of good-natured pandemonium. “But it started getting chaotic once people were throwing gigantic blocks of ice. That’s when I left,” says Gabriella Yankovich who stopped by on her lunchbreak. “Boys being boys.” Within an hour, there were 911 calls about teens climbing a park building and pelting those inside, and the New York police department increased its presence in the park. But the dozen or so officers received an icy reception. They were swarmed and pummeled with snowballs. Social media was later flooded with images of snow raining down on officers. “They try shutting us down but we’re still out here, and we’re still lit,” shouts one participant in Sidetalk’s highlights reel of the event. Shortly after, police released a statement that multiple officers had been injured and taken to hospital “in a stable condition”. The Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the largest New York police union, said the snowball fight was “unacceptable and outrageous” and called for arrests. “All of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack.” Many did – with a stonefaced seriousness that didn’t match the playful tone of mostly school-aged children whose only weapon was ice. The police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, called the incident “disgraceful” and “criminal”. The governor, Kathy Hochul, said throwing anything at a police officer is unacceptable, while the city comptroller, Mark Levine, urged that the behavior “absolutely cannot be normalized”. But New York’s mayor, Zohra...
Timing is everything in modern warfare, where even a nanosecond’s delay can make the difference between hitting or missing a target in a coordinated drone or missile attack China may now have taken a major step forward in this field with the mass production of the world’s smallest atomic clock – something the researchers behind it say could transform drone warfare, underwater navigation and battle...
Timing is everything in modern warfare, where even a nanosecond’s delay can make the difference between hitting or missing a target in a coordinated drone or missile attack China may now have taken a major step forward in this field with the mass production of the world’s smallest atomic clock – something the researchers behind it say could transform drone warfare, underwater navigation and battlefield communication. Developed by a research team led by Professor Chen Jiehua from Wuhan University’s Satellite Navigation and Positioning Technology Research Centre, the clock only loses a second every 30,000 years, according to the official newspaper Changjiang Daily. Advertisement The device measures just 2.3 cubic cm (0.14 cubic inch), less than one-seventh the size of the leading US models and about the size of a fingernail. “Even if traditional atomic clocks are miniaturised, the minimum volume limit is still several hundred cubic centimetres and the minimum power consumption is at least several watts,” Chen told the newspaper. Advertisement According to Chen, the US has produced a 17 cubic cm product, but his team’s clock has a comparable performance even though it is much smaller.
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: Israel has escalated by attacking Iran’s South Pars gas field — retaliation is underway. Inflationary pressures were intensifying ahead of the war. The Fed isn’t moving (rates) , and Jay Powell isn’t moving either. Market results : yields up , stocks down, crude at a fresh high for the year. For DeepSe...
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: Israel has escalated by attacking Iran’s South Pars gas field — retaliation is underway. Inflationary pressures were intensifying ahead of the war. The Fed isn’t moving (rates) , and Jay Powell isn’t moving either. Market results : yields up , stocks down, crude at a fresh high for the year. For DeepSeek, read OpenClaw , AI’s latest Sputnik moment. AND: Some songs about claws . A Certain Uncertainty “The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain.” That assessment, impossible to challenge, was all the Federal Reserve had to say about the escalating war in the Gulf. More or less everyone agreed, and the words contributed to a hugely difficult day on world markets. Escalating Warfare The key news of the last 24 hours is Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field. This is an escalation, attacking oil production facilities for the first time. Depriving Iran of natural gas might help to force it into submission — but it also risks enduring interruptions to supply, and gives Iran an incentive to retaliate against the many energy production facilities in the region, which has started with an attack on a huge LNG facility in Qatar . Oil prices ramped up: One-month Brent crude futures haven’t quite reached their high from the brief spike after Mojtaba Khamenei was announced as new supreme leader last week in a move interpreted as a sign that Iran was digging in for a long conflict. But futures for oil three months hence are back to $100, and have returned to last week’s high. The market is explicitly pricing a longer and more severe rise in prices. A Do-Nothing FOMC In financial markets, nothing matters more than the Fed. The Federal Open Market Committee met Wednesday afternoon and left rates unchanged (as universally expected), with one dissent from the manically dovish Trump appointee Stephen Miran. The governors updated their projecti...