BUSINESS
Equity indices up in early trade; Sensex rises 250 pts
At 9.55 a.m., Sensex was 0.5 per cent or 251 points up at 53,674 points, whereas Nifty 0.4 per cent or 59 points up at 16,072 points. Among the stocks, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports, and Dr Reddy's were the top five gainers among the Nifty 50 companies, while Shree Cements, Asian Paints, Power Grid Corporation of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank were the top losers, NSE data.
Vishal Garg-led Better.com fires workers in US, India in mass layoff
Indian-American CEO Vishal Garg-run digital mortgage company Better.com on Wednesday started laying off thousands of employees in the US and India who received severance cheques in the payroll app. The layoffs were meant to be announced by the company on Wednesday, but one employee told TechCrunch that "they accidentally rolled out the severance payslips too early."
Rising nickel prices put a spanner in Musk's dream of affordable EVs
The rising nickel prices, owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have thrown a spanner in Elon Musk and other automakers' dream of introducing affordable electric cars soon. Nickel prices surged as much as 111 per centAon Tuesday during the Asian trade to breach $100,000 per tonne.Reports said that the rising raw materials costs have hampered Musk and other automakers' plans to introduce more affordable electric vehicles (EVs).
Ukraine war, FII sell-off push gold price to Rs 55K per 10 gm
The fears of supply shortages due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict along with robust demand has kept prices higher. Sanctions on Russia, which is a major producer of gold, is expected to reduce the supply. Besides, a sell-off in equity markets by FIIs has triggered a rush for safe haven investment. The FIIs net sold Rs 8,142.60 crore worth of equities. Last week, MCX gold prices had increased sharply by 4.66 per cent to Rs 52,559 levels.
Metal Mayhem: EV, steel industry to take hit over soaring nickel prices
Production of batteries for electric vehicles as well as stainless steel, paint and alloy-based industries are expected to take a hit, as prices of a key raw material -- nickel -- have zoomed over 100 per cent in the past few days. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has triggered the shortage which in turn led to a massive spike in prices. On Tuesday, nickel prices surged as much as 111 per cent to trade briefly above $100,000 a tonne.
Ukraine war will have impact on Indian economy: Sitharaman
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war will certainly have an impact on the Indian economy, Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitaraman said on Tuesday. "Prices of crude oil prices are rising due to the Ukraine crisis and the Central government is looking up parallel sources," she said. Oil marketing companies fix oil prices based on a 15-day average.
Big four consultancy firms withdraw from Russia & Belarus
The big four consulting firms -- Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PwC -- have announced they were ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. A spokesperson for KPMG International said that they have a responsibility, along with other global businesses, to respond to the Russian government's ongoing military attack on Ukraine.
Integrity of Budget numbers under threat as oil prices spike
The basic assumption in formulating the Budget that the crude oil prices will remain in the range of $ 75-80/barrel, has become unrealistic, not long after the Budget was presented. However, the breaking of war between Russia and Ukraine has created grave uncertainty and poses a serious threat to both growth and stability. The war has driven the prices to USD 130/barrel; this is likely to have a significant impact on transportation and energy costs and the manufacturing output, Rao said.
Sri Lanka allows currency to devalue
The bank said that it will closely monitor the emerging macroeconomic and financial market developments, both globally and domestically, and will stand ready to take further measures as appropriate, Xinhua news agency reported. The aim is to achieve stability in inflation, the external sector, the financial sector, and real economic activity, according to the bank. In that context, greater flexibility in the exchange rate will be allowed to the markets with immediate effect.
Staggered petrol hike expected as crude still above $125
A staggered rise in domestic transportation fuel prices are expected soon as Brent Crude oil price remains above $125 per barrel. At present, India imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. It is estimated that the high crude oil prices will raise prices of domestic transportation fuels in the range from Rs 10 to Rs 32 per litre.
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