The Indian National Congress, the country’s main opposition group, called for the resignation of the country’s oil minister because of his alleged links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Hardeep Puri , a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, exchanged emails with the late financier about meetings in New York, according to documents released by the US Department of Just...
The Indian National Congress, the country’s main opposition group, called for the resignation of the country’s oil minister because of his alleged links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Hardeep Puri , a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, exchanged emails with the late financier about meetings in New York, according to documents released by the US Department of Justice. Puri has denied he had any “meaningful” ties with Epstein. Rahul Gandhi , leader of the opposition in the parliament, highlighted Puri’s emails with Epstein this week. Pawan Khera, a spokesman for the party, said Thursday the minister should step down because of those links. Congress lawmakers held a protest outside the parliament building on Friday, the Press Trust of India reported. “Mr Puri, you will have to resign. Your name has been highlighted in the scandal,” Khera said in a video message posted on X Thursday. “He kept a professional and personal relationship with Epstein.” Puri met Epstein about three or four times over a period of about eight years in New York, his office said in an emailed response to questions Friday. Puri was India’s representative at the United Nations from 2009 to 2013, and then worked at the International Peace Institute and the Independent Commission of Multilateralism from 2014 to 2016. He met Epstein as part of official business, his office said. There are only a “handful” of references to Puri in the Epstein files and “none of them have even a sliver of any wrongdoing,” his office said. “There was no “relationship” in any meaningful sense of the word between Hardeep Singh Puri and Jeffrey Epstein,” it added. After initial contact between the two men, “it became clear that their frequencies did not match, and Mr Puri distanced himself from Epstein,” his office said. “This is evidenced by how their correspondences grew few and far in between.” Widening Scandal The Epstein scandal has drawn in several high-profile individuals on Wall St...
⚽ Latest news, previews and updates before the weekend ⚽ Ten things to look out for in the FA Cup | And email Niall Another grand old club currently without a manager are Blackburn Rovers . BBC Sport and others are reporting that Michael O’Neill is set to take over at Ewood Park – but will also continue in his Northern Ireland role for the World Cup playoffs, and this summer’s finals if they quali...
⚽ Latest news, previews and updates before the weekend ⚽ Ten things to look out for in the FA Cup | And email Niall Another grand old club currently without a manager are Blackburn Rovers . BBC Sport and others are reporting that Michael O’Neill is set to take over at Ewood Park – but will also continue in his Northern Ireland role for the World Cup playoffs, and this summer’s finals if they qualify. Blackburn’s current interim manager is the former Northern Ireland international Damien Johnson, and he will reportedly stay on as part of O’Neill’s coaching staff. Rovers sacked Valérien Ismaël on 2 February, with the club mired in the Championship relegation zone. Continue reading...
urfinguss/iStock via Getty Images President Donald Trump is planning to roll back some tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. Trump imposed up to 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports last year, later expanding the levies to goods made from those metals, including home appliances. His administration is now reviewing the ...
urfinguss/iStock via Getty Images President Donald Trump is planning to roll back some tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. Trump imposed up to 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports last year, later expanding the levies to goods made from those metals, including home appliances. His administration is now reviewing the list of goods subject to the tariffs and plans to exempt some products, halt the list's expansion, and launch more targeted national security probes into specific items. Officials in the Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative's office believe the tariffs are hurting consumers by raising prices for products like canned food and beverages, sources told FT . Canada, Mexico, the EU and the UK could stand to benefit if Trump decides to ease tariffs on steel and aluminum goods. The Trump administration already exempted several food products from tariffs to help bring down grocery prices. The affordability crisis will be at the top of voters' minds ahead of the midterm elections in November. "There is political concern over affordability," UBS' Paul Donovan noted. "While tariff increases have increased consumer prices, tariff reductions do not necessarily reduce consumer prices." More on tariffs U.S. signs trade deal with Taiwan, cuts tariffs to 15% Markets will be looking for signs of tariff bleed in January CPI U.S. importers bear the brunt of tariffs, NY Fed says House votes to end Canada tariffs as six Republicans defy Trump
A Japanese Lesson For Troubled Britain Authored by Daniel McCarthy via The Epoch Times, The contrast between America’s great island allies on opposite ends of the world couldn’t be more drastic. Japan has just given its commonsense conservative prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, a two-thirds supermajority in the national legislature’s Lower House; her Liberal Democratic Party took the highest proport...
A Japanese Lesson For Troubled Britain Authored by Daniel McCarthy via The Epoch Times, The contrast between America’s great island allies on opposite ends of the world couldn’t be more drastic. Japan has just given its commonsense conservative prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, a two-thirds supermajority in the national legislature’s Lower House; her Liberal Democratic Party took the highest proportion of seats of any party since World War II. It’s an enormous vote of confidence not only in Takaichi’s economic agenda but also for her willingness to get tough with China. Beijing’s mouthpieces have called Takaichi an “evil witch,” with China’s consul general in Osaka threatening, “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off” in response to Takaichi’s indication Japan would aid Taiwan against an invasion. Such incendiary language didn’t intimidate Takaichi—nor, it turns out, Japan’s voters. Yet even as Japan was rallying to its courageous prime minister, China was inflicting humiliation on America’s closest European ally. Communist authorities in Hong Kong—which was a British colony until 1999—have just sentenced the businessman and free-speech champion Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison. The 78-year-old Lai, who holds British citizenship, will die behind bars under that sentence, but China isn’t worried about the UK’s reaction as long as Keir Starmer is prime minister there. Just last month, the British government approved Beijing’s plans to build a vast new “mega-embassy” in London at the site of the former Royal Mint Court. CNN notes that Xi Jinping has taken a personal interest in the complex and brought it up in his very first call with the then-newly elected Starmer in 2024. Not that a larger presence for the People’s Republic of China in the very heart of London is the Labour government’s only recent concession: Starmer has worked tirelessly to hand over the Chagos Islands, a British territory in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, an African island nation with ...
AI infrastructure stocks are dramatically outperforming, fueled by hyperscaler data center buildouts and surging demand for optical networking equipment.
AI infrastructure stocks are dramatically outperforming, fueled by hyperscaler data center buildouts and surging demand for optical networking equipment.
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis I previously covered Illinois Tool Works ( ITW ) last month, and the stock has delivered a good double-digit return since then versus flat performance by the S&P 500 ( SPY ). Moving forward, I remain optimistic about ITW's growth prospects. ITW's revenue outlook is positive, with the short-cycle industrial market continuing to show early signs of r...
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis I previously covered Illinois Tool Works ( ITW ) last month, and the stock has delivered a good double-digit return since then versus flat performance by the S&P 500 ( SPY ). Moving forward, I remain optimistic about ITW's growth prospects. ITW's revenue outlook is positive, with the short-cycle industrial market continuing to show early signs of recovery and the company seeing strengthening orders and backlogs. In addition, the company's customer-backed innovation initiatives continue to gain traction, and its product line simplification drag is reducing, which should also structurally improve the company's growth profile. On the margin front, the company should benefit from operating leverage and continued cost benefits from enterprise initiatives. While ITW trades at a modest premium vs historical levels, I believe this valuation is justified, given structural improvement in growth profile, good execution, and early phases of cyclical recovery. Overall, I find risk-reward attractive and continue to rate the stock a buy. Recent Financial Performance ITW reported USD 4.1 billion in revenues in Q4 2025. This was up 4.1% Y/Y on a reported basis and 1.3% year over year organically. Segmentwise, all segments except construction products reported positive revenue growth in the quarter. Automotive OEM segment revenue grew 6% year over year, with China showing good strength. In the Food and Equipment segment revenues were helped by good growth in the services business, while the equipment business was flat. In the Test and Measurement/Electronics segment, the electronics business was flat due to tough Y/Y comparisons, while the test and measurement business saw a three percent year-over-year growth. In the Welding segment, equipment and filler metals showed good strength, while consumables were flat. In the Polymer and Fluid segment, the company benefitted from new product launches in the automotive aftermarket. The Specia...
Cleaning up his act through a court-ordered community service in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the first Singaporean convicted of littering under Malaysia’s stricter law had a simple message for others: follow the rules and do not litter. Mohamed Nuh Qurasaini Kayat, 25, performed the community clean-up work in the heart of Malaysia’s capital, near the famous Dataran Merdeka, along with three others. He...
Cleaning up his act through a court-ordered community service in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the first Singaporean convicted of littering under Malaysia’s stricter law had a simple message for others: follow the rules and do not litter. Mohamed Nuh Qurasaini Kayat, 25, performed the community clean-up work in the heart of Malaysia’s capital, near the famous Dataran Merdeka, along with three others. He told reporters that he was in Kuala Lumpur to catch the new year celebrations and fireworks and was...