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The Economic Times

High conviction picks! Prabhudas Lilladher sees up to 40% upside potential in these 16 stocks

PL Capital in its latest 'Strategy' report listed out as many as 16 stocks as its 'High Conviction' picks, although it trimmed its Nifty 50 target to 26,449 amid rising inflation, El Nino impact and other headwinds, while noting that markets are unlikely to significantly correct further and breach the recent lows. PL Capital has a target price of Rs 2,226 apiece for the shares of Bharti Airtel. This implies an upside potential of 25% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the telecom major have fallen around 2% in one week but gained 2% in one month. However, the stock is down over 15% in 2026 so far. Britannia Industries has been assigned a target price of Rs 6,441 per share by PL Capital. This implies an upside potential of 30% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the FMCG major have risen nearly 1% in one week but declined more than 5% in one month and 15% in 2026 so far. PL Capital has a target price of Rs 1,825 apiece for the shares of ICICI Bank, implying an upside potential of 39% from the private lender’s previous closing price. The shares of the company have jumped around 5% in one week and 4% in one month, but are down over nearly 2% in 2026 so far. Kotak Mahindra Bank has been assigned a target price of Rs 480 apiece by PL Capital. This implies an upside potential of 22% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the private lender have jumped 3% in one week and one month, but have fallen around 11.5% in 2026 so far. PL Capital has a target price of Rs 4,632 apiece for the shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T). This implies an upside potential of 20% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the engineering and construction major have fallen nearly 2% in one week and one month, and are down over 6% in 2026 so far. Shriram Finance has been assigned a target price of Rs 1,200 per share by PL Capital. This implies an upside potential of 35% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the NBFC have fallen around 3% in one week, 9% in one month and 13% in 2026 so far. PL Capital has a target price of Rs 5,161 apiece for the shares of Titan Company. This implies an upside potential of 28% from the stock’s previous closing price. The shares of the Tata Group company have fallen around 5% in one week, but recorded marginal gains in 2026 so far. Apart from the 7 large-cap stocks listed above, PL Capital also named 9 small and mid-cap stocks among its high conviction picks. These are Ajanta Pharma (target price: Rs 3,400 apiece), CESC (target price: Rs 216 apiece), DOMS Industries (target price: Rs 2,883 apiece), HealthCare Global Enterprises (target price: Rs 820 apiece), Ingersoll-Rand (target price: Rs 4,934 apiece), Jindal Stainless (target price: Rs 821 apiece), JSW Infrastructure (target price: Rs 342 apiece), KEI Industries (target price: Rs 5,660 apiece) and Rainbow Children's Medicare (target price: Rs 1,615 apiece). (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

High conviction picks! Prabhudas Lilladher sees up to 40% upside potential in these 16 stocks
Europe
BBC Business

Elon Musk's SpaceX raises $75bn ahead of record stock market debut

SpaceX has raised $75bn (£56bn) from financial firms ahead of it becoming a publicly traded company on Friday, in what is expected to be the highest-value stock listing in history. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the space exploration and artificial intelligence (AI) company said it had sold $75bn in shares priced at $135 each. The share price matches the estimate SpaceX gave last week, leaving the firm's expected initial stock market value to be nearly $1.8tn. At that value, chief executive Elon Musk - already the richest man in the world - is set to become the world's first trillionaire. Once shares start trading, their value could rise or fall depending on how many shares are made available for sale, and how strong the demand is for those shares. If the company's shares sell at or above $135 when trading opens on Friday, SpaceX will immediately become one of the most valuable public companies in the world. However, it is up to investors to decide if they think the shares are worth that much. Interest in acquiring a stake in SpaceX among investment funds and individuals, often referred to as "retail investors," is increasingly expected to be high. Certain financial analysts have already set target prices for the shares above SpaceX's $135 estimate, including the global brokerage Oppenheimer which said on Thursday it expects the company to hit $190 a share. The public price for a share in the company is ultimately decided through what is essentially an auction on the open stock market. Tom Mueller, who was the first official employee of SpaceX and is now the founder of Impulse Space, told the BBC's Michelle Fleury that "it's unbelievable" to see what the company has become. Mueller left SpaceX in 2020 and maintains a considerable financial interest in the firm.

Elon Musk's SpaceX raises $75bn ahead of record stock market debut
Europe
BBC Business

Why the economics make this the craziest World Cup ever

Football World Cups are rarely completely politics-free but never has the beautiful game navigated a geopolitical high-wire act of this kind. The main host is at war with a participant, whose team must commute in on match days from another country. Add to that the quite astonishing coincidence of the US, Canada and Mexico, the three co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, being in the midst of an epic trade war. Indeed, in the period in between the opening ceremony at the Estadio Azteca, and the final in New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, the three will be renegotiating the USMCA, the North American free trade area. Donald Trump is extremely focused on the tournament, its sponsors and the impact from his return to the White House last year. The US president has even joked that his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election had the great benefit of allowing him to return for this World Cup, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. After renewed hostilities between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Trump was rather direct in calling for an end to attacks. And as the minutes ticked down towards the tournament's kick off on Thursday night, he appeared to call off new air strikes and seemingly promised that a deal to end the war was close at hand. Earlier in the day he had vowed to hit Iran "very hard". As ever with Trump, much can change very quickly. He has already controversially accepted a Peace Prize from FIFA, before initiating the war with Iran that has led to a significant global energy and economic shock. There is even a chance the US and Iran could play each other in the knockout stage on the weekend of the US' 250th independence celebrations. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, has previously called for ceasefires during World Cups. If the World Cup helps quicken the pace of moves to de-escalate, there could be a material impact on energy prices, supplies and the world economy. Whether the World Cup can actually influence the world's major economic conflict, who knows. But make no mistake - there is another part of the economic jigsaw that is happening right in front of the eyes of football fans worldwide. It's a complete shakedown of football's economics and also one of the most visible examples of how some of the world's major economies increasingly operate. "Football is nothing without the fans," the legendary late former Scotland World Cup manager Jock Stein once said. Some fans however at the globe's biggest party will have paid previously unheard-of amounts for what may turn out to be dead rubber games, while forking out roughly the normal ticket price just for the commuter train to get to the stadium. Witness the New Jersey Transit train ticket - normally $12.90 return, but $100 for the tournament. The fans are being squeezed like never before because this is a very different tournament economic model to what has gone before. For a start, it is largely taking place in borrowed American football stadiums (a quarter of the games are in Canada and Mexico), with the US oval ball sport leaving its mark, perhaps indelibly. This tournament turns the beautiful game into the bountiful game, for organisers FIFA. This could be the most impactful World Cup ever in economic terms, but not for the conventional reason of driving economic activity among the host nations or sparking feel-good spending among those back home in countries that enjoy a good run. Instead, it is a case study of what is known as the K-shaped economy within the world's traditional advanced economies - where different groups within society experience very different financial outcomes - which when plotted on a graph show one line going diagonally upwards (as on the letter K) and another diagonally downwards (again as on the letter K). And it is based on a type of attempted economic revolution in the pricing mechanism that clearly does value a certain type of fan more - those on the diagonally upwards line of that graph. It's important to say FIFA has a very different view of things and stresses those bountiful ticket revenues will be redistributed Robin Hood-style to develop football in the world's poorest nations.

Why the economics make this the craziest World Cup ever
North America
CNBC Economy

Wholesale prices rose 1.1% in May, more than expected, on surge in energy

Wholesale prices rose more than expected in May, indicating that pipeline inflationary pressures are percolating higher, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The producer price index, a measure of final demand costs, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% on the month, putting the 12-month wholesale inflation rate at 6.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly move of 0.7%. The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since November 2022. The monthly gain matched the April increase. However, excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI accelerated 0.4%, compared with the consensus view of 0.5%, indicating that rising fuel prices are causing much of the inflationary burden. Taking out food, energy and trade services, the PPI accelerated 0.8%, the biggest one-month move since March 2022. On a 12-month basis, the core excluding trade services rose 5.1%, the most since October 2022. Most of the acceleration in the PPI — nearly 80% — came from a 2.8% surge in final demand goods prices, the biggest increase ever in a data series going back to December 2009. In turn, 80% of that rise came from a 10.7% jump in energy. Gasoline prices rose 23.4% at the wholesale level, the BLS said. Another significant contributor, on the services side, came from portfolio management fees, which increased 4.8% during a strong May for the stock market. The report comes a day after the BLS reported that headline consumer price inflation surged to 4.2% in May, boosted largely by a surge in energy prices due to the Iran war. However, monthly readings indicated a less severe shock, with core prices rising just 0.2%, putting the 12-month reading at 2.9%. Still, the current state of inflation is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee releases its next interest rate decision Wednesday, and market pricing is indicating a near 100% probability of a hold. Beyond that, traders are pricing in no chance of a cut through the year and a better than 60% probability that the next move will be a hike, likely coming in December. Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank voted to raise benchmark rates by a quarter percentage point in an effort to head off the inflation surge. Few if any Fed officials have expressed an interest in similar tightening, instead advocating a patient approach to see whether the energy supply shock wears off and inflation heads back to the U.S. central bank's 2% target. Correction: This article has been updated to correct that wholesale prices rose more than expected in May. An earlier version mischaracterized the comparison.

Wholesale prices rose 1.1% in May, more than expected, on surge in energy
North America
CNBC Finance

Elections advertising spend for 2026 expected to reach record high, outpacing presidential years

The 2026 midterm election cycle could surpass the 2024 presidential cycle to reach record advertising spend for any U.S. election, according to a new report from advertising intelligence company AdImpact. This year's races are projected to reach $11.6 billion in ad spend, making it the most expensive cycle ever and eclipsing the $11.2 billion spent on ads for the 2024 election between now-President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, AdImpact estimates. The new projection is a $795 million increase from a previous projection made last year. The midterm cycle is set to be more intense than previous cycles, with Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. The 2022 midterm cycle drew $8.9 billion in ad spend, according to AdImpact. If the projection holds, the 2026 ad spend would be 30% higher than the last midterm election. "From record-setting races and surging party committee war chests to a competitive landscape that continues to expand, all indicators point to 2026 being the most expensive political advertising cycle in history," the report read. AdImpact said it expects $5.6 billion to be spent on broadcast, $1.4 billion on cable, $2.6 billion on connected TV and $1.68 billion on digital. Advertising remains a key revenue driver for media companies, with sports, live events and news attracting the most spending. Elections, particularly those that are hotly contested or in battleground states, often bring in some of the highest ad revenue for the owners of local broadcast stations across the country. Broadcast TV remains one of the largest forces in political advertising, according to the report, comprising nearly half of the total cycle spending and driven almost entirely by state races. States seeing the largest spend overall include California, Texas, Michigan and Ohio. Michigan, Ohio and Texas all feature competitive Senate races, while California has an expensive governor's race. AdImpact estimated that through June 1, political ad spending has reached $4 billon, a 46% increase over the same point in the 2024 presidential election cycle. "Much of that surge is driven by a concentrated set of high-profile, high-dollar contests that materialized earlier in the cycle than is typical," the report read. Politicians are also relying more heavily on digital spending across platforms like Facebook, Google, Snapchat and X, expected to spend $1.6 billion in that category during the cycle, according to AdImpact. Within the election categories, the Senate has seen a notable increase in projected political spend, expected to draw nearly $3.4 billion, with one of the most expensive races being Texas' Senate primary, the report said. Republicans hold 53 U.S. Senate seats compared with Democrats' 45. The Senate's two independents caucus with Democrats.

Elections advertising spend for 2026 expected to reach record high, outpacing presidential years
North America
CNBC Finance

SpaceX soon-to-be millionaires are set to spend big on luxury homes, watches and private jet travel

The SpaceX IPO is expected to mint thousands of new millionaires and multiple new billionaires. While current and former employees won't be able to sell their shares right away, some are already planning how to spend their windfall. That newfound wealth could have a ripple effect across the luxury property markets near SpaceX's office hubs and boost spending on watches, private jet charters and other status symbols, experts told CNBC. Real estate agent Gerard Bisignano said he has recently received inquiries from several longtime SpaceX employees looking for homes in the South Bay area of California. They range in age from their mid-30s to early 40s, he said. "They seem to be in a state of disbelief themselves that they're suddenly going to be able to, in some examples, buy a home for their parents. They're going to have all this discretionary income that they can really do what they want," said Bisignano, a partner at Vista Sotheby's. SpaceX's California office is a short drive away from the wealthy coastal communities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Palos Verdes Estates. Bisignano said he expects many SpaceX employees to snap up high-end homes in the area. He noted there was a similar buying spree in the neighborhoods around the Facebook headquarters after that company's initial public offering in 2012, with home values there jumping 21%. Bisignano said he also anticipates an influx in interest for second homes in other scenic California locales like Mammoth Lakes, Palm Springs and Tahoe. Texas real estate agent Gary Dolch said he's seeing similar interest from SpaceX employees in the greater Austin area, with SpaceX's Bastrop campus located roughly 30 miles from downtown Austin. Some plan to buy soon after taking a margin loan, while others are waiting for the IPO lockup period to end, he said. Prospective homebuyers' tastes run the gamut from luxury condos on Lake Austin or Lake Travis to 1,000-acre ranches farther from the city, Dolch said. He added that he's optimistic that the IPO will boost the luxury market in Austin, which has softened over past three to four years. "It feels like we're on the verge of the next wave in Austin's expansion fueled by this tech run," he said. The newly wealthy rarely stop their spending spree at a dream home, Bisignano said. He expects buyers to vie for homes with four-car garages to fit their brand new Ferraris. And while sports cars are a popular choice, luxury watches are a more practical status symbol for every day use. Paul Altieri, founder and CEO of Bob's Watches, said a watch is often the first luxury purchase after a major liquidity event. He said customers usually opt for Rolexes as they are instantly recognizable. Models like the Daytona, GMT-Master II and Submariner are most popular, he added.

SpaceX soon-to-be millionaires are set to spend big on luxury homes, watches and private jet travel
North America
CNBC Economy

ECB hikes interest rates for first time since 2023 as Iran war ramps up energy costs

The European Central Bank announced a quarter-point rate hike on Thursday, bringing its key interest rate to 2.25% as the Iran war continues to blow inflation off target. Markets had been pricing in a near-100% chance of the ECB raising rates by at least 25 basis points ahead of its June Governing Council meeting, according to LSEG data. The ECB's Governing Council said the decision had been made in a bid to ward off inflationary pressures generated by the U.S.-Iran war. "The war in the Middle East is generating inflation pressures, and the decision to raise rates is robust across a range of scenarios mapping out how the shock might evolve and affect the medium-term outlook for the euro area," it said in a statement announcing the decision. The central bank also raised its inflation forecasts, saying it now expects headline inflation in the euro zone to average 3% in 2026 before cooling to 2.3% next year and 2% in 2028. It said the outlook had been altered in response to expectations of higher energy prices, which are expected to feed into the cost of food, goods and services. Economic growth forecasts, meanwhile, were revised downward for this year and next year. The ECB now expects growth in the euro zone to average at 0.8% in 2026, 1.2% in 2027 and 1.5% in 2028. Officials said the growth outlook had been trimmed to reflect "a more pronounced impact of the war on commodity markets, real incomes and confidence." Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated that the war in the Middle East is generating inflation pressures. "The outlook remains uncertain, with upside risks for inflation, and downside risks for economic growth. We are not pre-committing to a particular rate path," she said. "The full implications of the war for medium-term inflation and growth will depend on the intensity and duration of the energy price shock, as well as the scale of its indirect and second-round effects." The Iran war — which recently crossed the 100-day mark — has caused a global energy price shock, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz waterway and destruction of energy production facilities in the Middle East have created severe supply constraints. A fragile ceasefire remains in place, but tensions have escalated between Washington and Tehran in recent days.

ECB hikes interest rates for first time since 2023 as Iran war ramps up energy costs
Europe
BBC Business

'I was employee number one': SpaceX co-founder reacts to firm's market debut

Tom Mueller was the first employee at SpaceX, a company he co-founded with Elon Musk in 2002. Now, more than two decades later, the company is about to make its public market debut, with an estimated worth of more than $1.8 trillion. Peruvian police officers disguised themselves as 2026 World Cup mascots to break into the home of a suspected drug dealer - and football fan. Football fans gathered at a FIFA World Cup watch party at Niagara Falls for the Canadian and USA teams' opening matches. All three leaders of the North America host nations have missed the tournament opening matches. The BBC spoke to US fans at the Fifa Fan Festival in Los Angeles ahead of the team's match against Paraguay. The former footballer was joined by his wife Victoria Beckham and their children, as well as actor Tom Cruise. Bosnia-Herzegovina fans attending the team's game in Toronto, Canada spoke to the BBC about how costly their trip and seats were. Severe weather has torn through the midwest, destroying homes, disrupting flights, and knocking out power for thousands across the region. Translink apologised, saying "it was prioritising keeping staff, passengers, and the wider public safe". The clip subsequently went viral, something co-headteacher Paul Bailey says took them by surprise. The eyewitness footage shows bright orbs in the sky over an undisclosed location in the northeastern US.

'I was employee number one': SpaceX co-founder reacts to firm's market debut
North America
CNBC Finance

How family offices are investing in the final frontier beyond SpaceX

The investment firms of billionaires including ex-eBay President Jeff Skoll and AutoZone's Pitt Hyde are set to reap rewards from SpaceX's IPO this Friday. However, while SpaceX's profile eclipses that of nearly every other private space company, family office investors told CNBC that they see other opportunities in the sector even for companies without Elon Musk's name attached. Moreover, they said they view space-related startups as opportunities to invest in infrastructure and defense rather than flashy bets on space exploration. Gary Lauder, a cosmetics heir turned venture capitalist, has invested in SpaceX through a special purpose vehicle and two venture funds. He told CNBC he was attracted to the strength of its Starlink satellite technology, not the prospect of space tourism. Much of Lauder's early investing was in telecommunications, and he took a seminar in satellite communications in the early '90s. "I never dreamed of being an astronaut," he said. "It's just an important mode of communication." Jason Blanck, an investor who started his namesake family office in 2024, said he is interested in the picks and shovels of space, like mission-critical hardware and data networks. "I think the public markets are focused heavily on debating rocket launch cadences, costs around flight development, but from my perspective and where I sit, managing permanent family capital, the real narrative has actually quite evolved," he said. Robin Lauber's Infinitas Capital invested in SpaceX in early 2025 through a secondary offering. He cited Musk's track record and the success of Starlink as reasons to put money in. Lauber also noted the valuation was "reasonable" compared with the more than $1.75 trillion expected now. He told CNBC that Infinitas would have sold some shares before the initial public offering had it found a willing buyer at the right discounted valuation. Lauber is open to selling locked-up shares at a discount to recover the initial cost of investment and seeing how the other shares fare. Looking forward, Lauber is weighing more investments in European space companies such as Isar Aerospace, a German launch service provider. He is also considering participating in a new fund by Alpine Space Ventures, which counts a SpaceX alum as a founding partner. Investing in space-related firms was unpopular not so long ago, according to Jon Kutler of Admiralty Partners. He spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy before becoming an investment banker specializing in aerospace and defense in the early 1980s. He left Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1992 to start his own investment firm in order to focus more on the sector to the chagrin of his then-boss, Bruce Wasserstein. ""He told me I was an idiot because the Cold War was over and there was going to be no more spending in the defense industry," Kutler said. "People had extrapolated that to be the end of the defense industry, but if you look over the history of mankind, we're just not a very peaceful species. To me, it seemed ludicrous to declare an end to defense spending, and I was willing to bet against that with my own capital and my own time."

How family offices are investing in the final frontier beyond SpaceX