Latest Developments

Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Q1 Results Today Live: BEL, Coal India, Tata Power, Canara Bank, Indus Towers, Coforge, HUDCO, Godfrey Phillips to announce Q1 results, Tata Consumer, Hindustan Zinc, IDFC First Bank & KFin shares gain, Shriram Finance, Zen Tech, Shakti Pumps decline

Two investors are working together with analyzing the stock data graphs in the paper and viewing the data on the laptop screen. | Photo Credit: wutwhanfoto Sensex gained 584.05 pts or 0.77% to 76,643.82 at 9.16 am after positive opening at 76,608.98 from the previous close of 76,059.77; and Nifty 50 was up 154.75 pts or 0.65% to 23,922.20. Ramco Systems shares hit the 10% lower circuit at ₹710.95 today, marking the biggest single-day fall since July 2022. Revenue grew modestly by 7.5% YoY to ₹173 crore, the slowest in recent quarters. EBITDA fell 11.7% YoY with margins shrinking to 14.4% (lowest in six quarters) due to a 23% rise in other expenses and lower other income. Despite a healthy unexecuted order book of $152.3 million and progress on AI initiatives, the weak quarterly performance triggered heavy selling. The stock is still up 25% YTD in 2026. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Q1 Results Today Live: BEL, Coal India, Tata Power, Canara Bank, Indus Towers, Coforge, HUDCO, Godfrey Phillips to announce Q1 results, Tata Consumer, Hindustan Zinc, IDFC First Bank & KFin shares gain, Shriram Finance, Zen Tech, Shakti Pumps decline
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Russian supply disruption poses fresh risk to India’s August crude imports; Red Sea remains the second key variable

India’s crude oil imports in August face a fresh risk from Russia, with uncertainty mounting over crude loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk following Ukrainian attacks on key export infrastructure. The volume of imports during the month will also depend on the safe passage of Saudi Arabian barrels through the Bab el-Mandeb (BeM) strait. While refiners and traders do not expect an outright supply disruption, they warn that slower deliveries, higher freight costs and shrinking discounts on Russian crude could inflate India’s oil import bill, particularly at a time when the rupee remains weak against the US dollar. Russia has emerged as India’s largest crude supplier over the past three years, accounting for as much as 50 per cent of the country’s imports as refiners increasingly relied on discounted Urals crude after Western sanctions. Any disruption to these supplies therefore carries outsized implications for Indian refiners, many of whom have reconfigured their sourcing around Russian barrels. “As we speak, there are two developing scenarios important to track. First, crude oil (Urals grade) loadings from Novorossiysk port considering attacks by Ukraine on the Sheskharis terminal. Besides, traders are not offering discounts for September loadings. So, barrels will be there, but there will be a price,” said a trade source. According to Kpler, the key uncertainty is whether Russia can sustain export volumes amid continued Ukrainian attacks on its upstream and downstream infrastructure. Russia’s crude exports in July have already declined by around 400,000 barrels per day month-on-month. Sheskharis, Russia’s largest crude export terminal, accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the country’s seaborne crude shipments. The concern for India is less about physical availability than pricing. If Russian exporters trim discounts or shipments, Indian refiners will either have to pay more for Russian crude or replace some of those barrels with costlier cargoes from other suppliers, pushing up procurement costs and the country’s import bill. The second variable is the continuing threat by Houthi rebels to Saudi Arabian crude exports transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait. “The threat has already impacted supply from there. Although the Saudis are using Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal on the Mediterranean coast, it also increases costs,” the same source said. According to Equirus Securities, tankers can avoid the Bab el-Mandeb by taking alternative routes through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, but doing so could add nearly a month to voyage times. Longer journeys keep vessels tied up for extended periods, reduce tanker availability and significantly raise freight and insurance costs. Freight and insurance charges, which averaged $4-5 per barrel before the conflict, have now climbed to $13-15 per barrel. An official with a domestic refiner said the expectation is that both Russian and Saudi barrels will continue to be available, but logistics are becoming increasingly “tricky”. “Saudi Arabia usually supplies crude through VLCCs, but bypassing the traditional Red Sea route and exporting via Sidi Kerir adds to both voyage time and transportation costs,” the official said. The geopolitical tensions have already begun influencing global oil prices. According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, mounting concerns over disruptions to Red Sea shipping helped push Brent crude futures above $100 per barrel on July 23.

Russian supply disruption poses fresh risk to India’s August crude imports; Red Sea remains the second key variable
North America
CNBC Finance

Lucid dismisses report that it is weighing filing for bankruptcy or going private after shares plunge

Lucid Motor stock fell more than 40% at one point and trading was halted for volatility multiple times Tuesday amid speculation that the company is considering new options. The stock recovered some of its intraday losses and closed the day 16% lower, trading for $4.62 a share. A site focused on electric vehicles called EV reported Tuesday Lucid was considering going private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to the site, the company asked AlixPartners to review those options and deliver its findings to Lucid's board before its next meeting. The report from EV also said AlixPartners had encouraged the board to further restructure in the U.S. and Europe and to focus on the Gravity SUV. AlixPartners said it had no comment on the report. Lucid said in a statement that "the rumors are completely false." "The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today," the company said in a statement." Our focus is on improving execution, strengthening operations, and positioning Lucid to realize the full potential of its technology, products, and innovation. AlixPartners is assisting us in that and nothing else and has not recommended bankruptcy to management or the Board." Lucid has been facing an increasingly challenging market amid slower-than-expected adoption of EVs and changing regulations under the Trump administration, including the elimination of a $7,500 federal incentive for purchasing an EV. The EV maker, which is heavily backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said last month that it was laying off 18% of its U.S. workforce as part of a cost-savings plan. Earlier this month, Lucid missed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter delivery results. The company's new CEO Silvio Napoli announced a shake-up of the company's leadership team at the time to "simplify the company's structure." Lucid in May suspended its production guidance as Napoli said he would be evaluating the company's business decisions, adding that it needs to lower its "elevated inventory" of vehicles. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

Lucid dismisses report that it is weighing filing for bankruptcy or going private after shares plunge
Europe
The Guardian

US gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of Hormuz

A driver pumps gas at an Exxon station on 10 July 2026 in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA driver pumps gas at an Exxon station on 10 July 2026 in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesStrait of HormuzUS gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of HormuzDiesel tops $5 a gallon as regular gas reaches almost $4, nearly a dollar and a quarter more than a year ago The average price of diesel fuel in the US has increased again to more than $5 a gallon, according to the AAA, and the average price of gas is almost $4, returning to their highs before the June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. It’s a reminder to consumers and truckers of the costs of the Iran war and the unpredictable rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran. A year ago today, the AAA says, the average price for a gallon of diesel was $3.72, almost a dollar and a quarter less than it is now. Earlier this week, Iran declared the strait of Hormuz shut, after both Iran and the US claimed to be the guarantors of safe passage through the strategic waterway. Then the US announced it was imposing a blockade on all ship traffic to or from Iranian ports. Diesel price hikes, the AAA says, lead to rising costs across the board. “The impact is universal,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. “Everything gets to the retail consumer by diesel-burning truck.” The renewed diplomatic uncertainty and new US and Iranian airstrikes are driving prices higher both at the pump and on the international wholesale markets. The price of a barrel of oil stands at about $81. That’s still down from the highs during the most intense part of Trump’s war in Iran but wholesale prices recently have been driven by erratic news from the White House. On Monday, the president suddenly announced the US would take over the strait and charge 20% of the value of any cargo going though the waterway, but then dropped the plan. The AAA’s Sinclair said price hikes are happening because of the reality of production declines and the public commentary by the White House as well. Trump, he said, “puts in on [the] 20% [transit fee] and then it’s gone. So much of this is happening on whim that’s its really impossible. The markets respond to whim. This is a market subject to rumors and other kinds of activities rumor or imagined.”

US gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of Hormuz
Europe
The Guardian

How Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran war

Harold Hamm, co-founder and chairman of Continental Resources, speaks in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year. Photograph: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenHarold Hamm, co-founder and chairman of Continental Resources, speaks in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year. Photograph: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesUS newsHow Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran warFracking billionaire Harold Hamm is co-chair of a non-profit that has aggressively pushed for US energy dominance Tycoon Harold Hamm is one of the US’s most successful oilmen, the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers who hit it rich as a “wildcatter” and pioneered fracking techniques that drove the shale boom in 2008 that reversed declining US oil production. Donald Trump describes him as a “long time” friend and is said to have called him his “original oil guy” behind closed doors. The Continental Resources founder has also faced scrutiny from climate advocates and groups and some Democratic lawmakers over his influence on Trump and role in pushing him to go all in on planet-heating fossil fuels and gut climate rules. While Hamm was a key figure behind the lifting of the 40-year-old US crude oil export ban in 2015, a lucrative move for his company, in recent years advocates have mostly tracked Hamm’s influence at home. For instance, the 80-year-old helped organize the infamous Mar-a-Lago private fundraiser in 2024 at which Trump is reported to have asked oil executives for $1bn to help him get back into the White House. Hamm has donated more than $2m to Trump’s three presidential campaigns and an untold amount to help finance his new ballroom project. But less attention has been paid to Hamm’s hardline views on Israel, Iran and US energy markets, which Trump echoed while justifying the war on Iran he launched in February and to downplay its impact on US oil and gasoline prices. Hamm has been warning for years that Iran poses a threat to Israel and the US, championing the importance of US oil production in the context of the Middle East, while helping strengthen US ties with Israel. In a 2018 essay he co-wrote for the National Review, Hamm argued that “Iran perpetuates the virulent rhetoric that has fueled” antisemitism and that “Iran must pay for its constant attempts to destabilize the Middle East.” In the essay he also predicted the US would be “capable of providing enough oil to help stabilize the global market, no matter what happens in countries such as Iran” and that “[n]o longer is it the case that the flow of oil to the United States will be stifled if the Strait of Hormuz is shut down.” Central to Hamm’s foreign policy push has been the Council for a Secure America (CSA), a Reagan-era non-profit he relaunched in 2012 and of which he remains co-chair. View image in fullscreenVessels in the strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on 30 June 2026. Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/ReutersThe New York City-based non-profit, which declared Iran a “looming existential threat” in its founding mission statement is made up of US oil executives, former Israeli officials and former White House officials, including an intellectual architect of the Iraq war. CSA’s founding statement also argues: “America can be energy dominant, and when that takes place, our national security will be strengthened, freeing ourselves of foreign energy dependence.” Registered as a public charity, CSA is legally barred from devoting a substantial part of its activities to lobbying or from campaigning for a candidate. It has described its purpose as educating “key audiences on the importance of domestic energy production and technologies to American and Israeli mutual national security interests”. CSA’s annual reports show that in the 30 months between Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the council held at least 300 briefings with lawmakers of both parties and their staff.

How Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran war
Europe
BBC Business

Are you a parent missing out on £27 a week? Here's how to check

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoThousands more parents could receive £27 a week by remembering some paperwork shortly after their baby is born. Child benefit is an allowance that helps with the cost of bringing up children. It is currently worth £27.05 a week for the first child, and £17.90 a week for each subsequent child. Official data shows that parents of nearly a third of children eligible for child benefit do not make a claim before their baby's first birthday. Payments can only be backdated for three months, meaning some families could be missing out on hundreds of pounds in the fog of new parenthood. The annual publication of the most popular baby names could serve as a reminder to some parents that there are other pieces of official paperwork to complete. In order to receive child benefit, which is paid every four weeks, one parent should make a claim, external. That parent will also get National Insurance credits towards their state pension. Child Benefit can be claimed 48 hours after the baby's birth is registered but can only be backdated for up to three months from the date HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives the claim. More than 6.8 million parents received child benefit in the year to August 2025, according to HMRC data, external. But only 69% of them claimed the support before their baby's first birthday, meaning thousands of families may not getting what they are entitled to receive. The tax authority said that many of them may have chosen not to claim, owing to restrictions on high-earning parents receiving the benefit. Under the High Income Child Benefit Charge, external, payments start to reduce if one parent earns £60,000 a year. They stop entirely when one of you earns £80,000. There were 585,396 babies were born in England and Wales last year, according to the Office for National Statistics - which has said that, in 2025, Olivia held the top spot for the 10th year in a row for girls' baby names and Muhammad topped the list for boys' names for the third year running.

Are you a parent missing out on £27 a week? Here's how to check
Europe
BBC Business

My fitness tracker knew I was pregnant before I did

ByAshitha NageshPublished4 hours agoRavika was celebrating her birthday on holiday with her husband when she got an unusual alert from her fitness tracker. Her Oura ring flagged that her health score was poor. Her heart rate had gone up, her body temperature was elevated and her heart rate variability (HRV) had dropped. Yet Ravika felt completely fine. When the stats hadn't improved a week later, the 34-year-old solicitor from the West Midlands did some research online and found a community of women who all said their fitness trackers had been giving them signs they were pregnant, based on the data the trackers had collected. It was another week before Ravika had a positive pregnancy test. But following some cramping and a notification on her phone telling her that her body appeared to be under significant strain, she went to the doctor and was told she'd need to return 10 days later for further testing to find out if the pregnancy was healthy. The wait was agonising - and led to her anxiously checking her fitness tracker stats, waking up at 4am every night "just to refresh my app to see if my stats were still low, if my temperature was still elevated. I was holding on to hope that it was a viable pregnancy". The stats, she said, became an "obsession" - but "for me it really did feel like a life or death situation". For many women, the first sign that they might be pregnant is a period that doesn't arrive when expected. This is around the same time it's possible to take a pregnancy test. With the exception of some tests that claim to be able to detect a pregnancy early, most aren't able to spot the change in hormones until the first day of a missed period. But Ravika is one of hundreds of women who are reporting online that they are seeing the signs earlier than this, through the data on their fitness trackers. Fitness trackers - including smart rings, smart watches and chest-mounted trackers - have surged in popularity in the UK. According to YouGov research, 36% of British adults in January 2026 owned and used a fitness tracker - nearly twice the proportion in July 2019. Finnish-US company Oura has the highest sales in the smart ring market, which also includes India-based Ultrahuman, and Hong Kong-based RingConn. One of the key signs of pregnancy is a change to body temperature - which means trackers that can monitor body temperature are popular with those trying to conceive. In a typical cycle, a woman's body temperature will be elevated until just before her period comes, when it drops sharply. In early pregnancy, body temperature usually stays high. If a fitness tracker measures body temperature, it can pick up on this early symptom.

My fitness tracker knew I was pregnant before I did
North America
CNBC Economy

World Cup gave bars and restaurants a needed boost as consumers flash warning signs, Fed says

While the FIFA World Cup provided a tourism boost to host cities, its positive impact was mitigated by economic weakness seen elsewhere, according to a Federal Reserve report released Wednesday. The soccer tournament, which the U.S. co-hosted, has fetched median admissions prices topping $900, according to TicketData. Yet the latest edition of the Fed's Beige Book — a recap of regional conditions published eight times a year — indicated that the event wasn't necessarily catalyzing broader economic growth. The Boston Fed reported that city hotel bookings related to the World Cup were initially softer than expected. But these hotels saw stay levels rise to meet forecasts after the hotels lowered prices for rooms. Bars in the Massachusetts city reported higher beer sales connected to the tournament. Some Boston watering holes reportedly ran out of beer when Scottish fans descended on the city. The Boston Fed's coverage region saw more visitors from Canada than it did last summer. Still, it said those levels were still far lower than historical averages, a trend that's specifically hit towns in coastal Maine and northern Vermont. Some restaurants and bars in New York City said sales were "strong" as a result of match-viewing events, the New York Fed said. However, other eateries said they had fewer international visitors, with Canadian foot traffic specifically down. The Canadian government has reported fewer citizens crossing the U.S. border following President Donald Trump's tariff policy rollout and sovereignty threats. It's part of a bigger push among residents of the Great White North to spend money on services and products within their country. New York City had hotels reporting higher occupancy and prices per room from the tournament, according to the New York Fed. But the bank reported some mid-tier attractions are seeing softness, while a department store said an increase in foot traffic from the tournament didn't result in higher sales. In cities hosting World Cup matches tracked by the San Francisco Fed, tourist volumes came in high. Yet in other markets, locals pulled back spending on restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Overall, the San Francisco Fed said, demand for consumer and business services "slowed somewhat on net." Across the board, the Fed said growth in consumer spending was capped as rising oil prices led them to cut back elsewhere. Several regions observed consumers looking for cheaper alternatives to products or decreasing discretionary spending to save money, according to the report. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

World Cup gave bars and restaurants a needed boost as consumers flash warning signs, Fed says
Europe
The Guardian

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor

The Gordie Howe international bridge, will link Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. Photograph: Dax Melmer/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe Gordie Howe international bridge, will link Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. Photograph: Dax Melmer/ReutersBusinessDemocrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donorDelay seen as move to protect interests of Matthew Moroun, the owner of nearby Ambassador Bridge and a Trump donor The Trump administration for months blocked a $4.7bn publicly owned bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a move critics allege is a quid pro quo for a billionaire Donald Trump donor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe international bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor was initially scheduled for early June but was abruptly cancelled amid dispute between US and Canadian officials. On 10 July, Canada announced it reached a deal with the US, and the bridge will open on 27 July. The delay was heavily scrutinized by Democrats, including Rashida Tlaib, a US representative, who said the Trump administration blocked the bridge’s opening as a favor to a donor who owns a nearby bridge. Canada paid for the Howe’s construction, and it will be jointly owned and operated by Michigan and the Canadian government. It was first set to open earlier this year after eight years of construction. The new deal requires US government approval if toll fees are lowered below regional averages, according to media reports. Previously, the Canadian government set toll prices, but the Trump administration seemed set on protecting a nearby bridge owned by Matthew Moroun, a son of the late transportation and real estate scion Manuel Moroun. The younger Moroun owns the nearby Ambassador Bridge, which is North America’s busiest international crossing, and has for decades fiercely opposed plans for the new bridge because he stands to lose business. As many as 3m trucks cross the Detroit River via the Ambassador bridge annually, and Moroun collects up to $100 on each. But the 93-year-old bridge is often heavily congested with truck traffic that causes extremely long delays that slow and frustrate businesses conducting international trade. The delays have gotten so bad that many truckers and others use a nearby tunnel, or a bridge in Port Huron an hour to the north. The bridge has also been cited for safety violations in recent decades and its narrow lanes are considered a danger for first responders. The Howe was envisioned as a symbol of the US and Canada’s close bond, but instead has become a representation of US foreign relations dysfunction. Moroun has capitalized; over the last two decades, his family has mounted multi-prong attacks against the new plans, and is a prolific campaign donor at the state and federal level. Moroun donated $1m to a Trump political action committee (Pac) in January, and in February received a meeting with Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary. Hours later, Trump on Truth Social threatened not to open the Howe. June’s deadlines for an opening passed. The appearance of a political favor has drawn bi-partisan criticism and an investigation from the House oversight committee members Robert Garcia and Tlaib, whose district includes south-west Detroit, where both bridges sit. A letter the Congress members sent to Moroun accuses him of trying to “derail the project”.

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor