Author: Lucas

Experts say the industry began improving early this year as trade normalised and import–export activities picked up, boosting LC openings 26 November, 2025, 10:30 pm Last modified: 26 November, 2025, 10:35 pm Representational image. Photo: Collected”> Representational image. Photo: Collected General insurers in the country posted solid year-on-year profit growth in the July-September 2025 quarter, buoyed by a sharp recovery in marine insurance and stronger income from investments, particularly government securities. Industry insiders said marine insurance, which accounts for nearly 60% of general insurers’ business, continued to regain stability as import and export activities normalised. Higher interest rates on government…

OSAKA/TOKYO — Japan’s Kansai Electric Power and a Kawasaki Heavy Industries-backed company will begin joint hydrogen procurement in Australia as early as 2030, looking to learn from past failures by … Source link

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Vanguard said Wednesday’s Budget has cleared the path for the asset management giant to buy more UK government bonds, as chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising plans were given a warm reception by gilt investors.“We feel comfortable to come back to the UK market and add gilt exposure,” said Ales Koutny, head of international rates at the world’s second largest asset manager. UK borrowing costs, which are the highest in the G7, should now begin to close the gap with those in other big…

MUMBAI: Platinum jewellery is likely to have record sales in India, with growth of as much as 15% in 2025, after rising gold prices encouraged customers to buy alternative ornaments, Vaishali Banerjee, India and Middle East managing director and head of global market development at Platinum Guild International, told Mint in an interview. Platinum jewellery sales will end this year 12-15% higher, above the average annual growth rate of about 10% in India, where gold still dominates heavily, Banerjee said. A run-up in gold prices has helped shift consumers to buying ‘bi-metal’ jewellery—platinum jewellery with some gold in it. However,…

JPMorgan’s stock market strategists think 2026 will be another good year for US investors. The firm’s equity strategy team, led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, set a year-end price target of 7,500 for the S&P 500 in 2026. Should the Federal Reserve continue cutting interest rates, however, the bank thinks the S&P 500 could surpass 8,000 in the year ahead. “Despite AI bubble and valuation concerns, we see current elevated multiples correctly anticipating above-trend earnings growth, an AI capex boom, rising shareholder payouts, and easier fiscal policy (i.e. OBBBA),” the firm wrote in a note to clients published Tuesday. “More so, the…

The Serbian government is preparing an amendment to the country’s budget law that will allow it to nationalize the Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) refinery, majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, if no third party offers quickly emerge. Last week, NIS submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to continue operations until negotiations for an ownership change conclude.”One of the amendments that will be submitted will be the one that will foresee the circumstance that at some point we will take over NIS,’’ said Ana Brnabic, a close confidante of Serbian…

Money expert Martin Lewis has issued a warning to savers following the Autumn Budget being revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves this afternoon.Two new savings taxes will be introduced following the Budget which will hit people with savings, including Cash ISAs, Martin has revealed today.Taking to X following Labour’s Budget plan being made public on Wednesday, Martin said: “There are big changes coming to savings. All of these happen in April 2027. The big one is that the Cash ISA threshold will be cut, from you being allowed to put in £20,000 per tax year to you being only allowed to…

Story Homes and Taylor Wimpey have acquired Hazelhurst Farm and plan to deliver 330 homes on the site between them. Peel Land secured hybrid consent for 400 homes at the 60-acre Worsley site earlier this year. Story will build the first 155 homes as consented and Taylor Wimpey is working up a revised application for another 175, taking the total proposed to 330, a reduction of 70 compared to the approved proposals. Overall, the project would provide a mix of one- to six-bedroom homes with 20% affordable provision on site. Additional financial contributions of £15.3m have been committed to secure…

Political Tension Index Reveals Continued Fragile Global Sentiment and Unrelenting Instability New sentiment data released by Permutable reveals trade policy, leadership events and public controversy are fuelling a persistent wave of political negativity – with major implications for markets and risk exposure. London, UK, 09 July 2025 –  Permutable, a leader in market sentiment data intelligence, has released a new 12-month analysis from its Political Tension Sentiment Index, showing that global political sentiment has remained overwhelmingly negative – driven by sustained trade conflicts, high-profile leadership events, and frequent diplomatic flashpoints. The Index, which leverages advanced machine learning to track sentiment across thousands…

OQ Group of Oman subsidiary OQ Refineries and Petroleum Industries LLC (OQ RPI) has let a contract to Worley Ltd. to deliver design and engineering services for a project to decarbonize the operator’s 198,000-b/d integrated refinery at Sohar, in Oman’s region of Al Batinah, about 230 km northwest of Muscat. As part of the contract, Worley will provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for the project’s components, which include a range of initiatives seeking to maximize heat recovery and improve energy efficiency of the refinery’s existing operations, the service provider said on Nov. 26. Worley’s Oman-based team will execute…