Latest Developments

Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Traders are most positive on US dollar since February 2025

The positioning signals a build-up in bullish sentiment for the currency, as the US-Iran war supports its status as a haven. NEW YORK – Traders turned the most optimistic on the US dollar in more than a year as the war in the Middle East supports the currency’s status as a haven. Hedge funds, asset managers and other speculators accumulated US$27.8 billion (S$35.7 billion) worth of bets that the dollar will strengthen as at June 9, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data released on June 12 and compiled by Bloomberg. It is the most since February 2025. The positioning signals a build-up in bullish sentiment for the world’s primary reserve currency, which has risen since the war broke out in late February, showing a strong sensitivity to a surge in oil prices. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar is up about 1.6 per cent since the US and Israel attacked Iran, also supported by haven buying and strong US economic data. “The fundamental picture continues to point in the bullish direction for the dollar,” said Alex Cohen, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of America. Speculative traders have been holding bets on a stronger US currency for the past 13 weeks, according to the CFTC data. That marked a shift from before the war, when traders had about US$22 billion of wagers tied to a weaker greenback. The CFTC’s figures offer investors a glimpse into sentiment in the US$9.5-trillion-a-day foreign exchange market, showing how hedge funds and asset managers are positioned using derivatives. In the latest data, leveraged funds also boosted their negative bets on the Japanese yen to the most since 2017. That positioning comes as the currency trades around 160 versus the dollar, a level seen earlier this year when Japanese officials intervened to support it. BLOOMBERG

Traders are most positive on US dollar since February 2025
Europe
BBC Business

'No dead ends': What the Dutch can teach us about tackling youth unemployment

A landmark report last month found Britain is grappling with a youth engagement crisis - with nearly one in eight 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neet). Alan Milburn, the former health secretary who authored the report, warned one in six young people could become Neet within five years unless urgent action is taken. He identified that the Dutch approach was one the UK could learn from. The Netherlands has one of the lowest Neet rates in the world, at 4.9% among 18 to 24-year-olds. The equivalent figure in the UK is 15.1%. So can the UK learn from a Dutch system that is designed around a simple principle? "No dead ends" is the philosophy which underpins Dutch education and youth employment policy - every stage of a young person's journey is designed to lead somewhere. Under Dutch law, it is compulsory for children between five and 16 to attend school - then they must stay in education or training until they either secure a qualification or turn 18. One of the Netherlands' key tools for cutting school dropout rates is through the kwalificatieplicht (qualification requirement). The system is controversial, with critics warning that early streaming can disadvantage some children and be detrimental to a young person's self-esteem. Across the UK, young people can leave school at 16, but after that the rules vary. In England, they must stay in education or training until 18, through full-time study, an apprenticeship or part-time learning alongside work. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there is no equivalent legal requirement, although schools and public agencies still encourage young people to stay in education or training. At 10 years old, Amelie was told to choose the vocational VMBO track at high school. She says this took a toll on her confidence - in the Dutch school system the VMBO track is not the most academic route.

'No dead ends': What the Dutch can teach us about tackling youth unemployment
Asia
The Economic Times

IFCI, HFCL among 14 stocks that rallied up to 50% in just one month - Do you own any?

While the headline indices moved at a calm pace, the real action was happening beneath the surface. Over the past month, the benchmark BSE Sensex climbed around 2.5%, and the BSE 500 mirrored the same gain. However, hidden inside the BSE 500 was a burst of momentum, as nearly 92 stocks delivered double-digit returns. Even more striking, 14 of them turned into market sprinters, rallying between 25% and 50% in just a single month. It was a reminder that while the index walked steadily, several individual stocks were already running a marathon at sprint speed. (Data Source: ACE Equity) In the past one month, the stock surged 49% from Rs 675 to Rs 1,007 and is currently close to its 52-week high of Rs 1,017. In the past one month, the stock jumped 42% from Rs 63 to Rs 90. Its 52-week high stands at Rs 96. In the past one month, the stock gained 35% from Rs 445 to Rs 602. The stock’s 52-week high is Rs 732. In the past one month, the stock rallied 32% from Rs 899 to Rs 1,184. Its 52-week high stands at Rs 1,257. In the past one month, the stock advanced 31% from Rs 1,546 to Rs 2,023. The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs 2,420. In the past one month, the stock climbed 29% from Rs 70 to Rs 90. Its 52-week high stands at Rs 118. In the past one month, the stock rose 28% from Rs 148 to Rs 190. The stock’s 52-week high is Rs 209. In the past one month, the stock gained 28% from Rs 1,013 to Rs 1,298. Its 52-week high stands at Rs 1,333. In the past one month, the stock rallied 28% from Rs 3,841 to Rs 4,914. The stock’s 52-week high is Rs 5,042. .In the past one month, the stock surged 27% from Rs 12,645 to Rs 16,080. Its 52-week high stands at Rs 16,475. In the past one month, the stock moved up 27% from Rs 289 to Rs 366. The stock’s 52-week high is Rs 531.

IFCI, HFCL among 14 stocks that rallied up to 50% in just one month - Do you own any?
Europe
BBC Business

Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with children

Ryanair is being investigated by the UK's competition watchdog over charges it imposes on parents to sit next to their child on flights. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was looking into whether the airline's policy, which the watchdog said typically led to a fee of £8 each way, was "unfair" under consumer law. It said Ryanair's terms and conditions state a parent must sit with their child if aged between two years and 11, and this is done through what the airline calls a "mandatory family seat" that the parent must pay a fee for. Ryanair called the investigation "bogus" and insisted its family seating policy "fully complies with all relevant laws". The CMA is looking at whether the airline's "approach to seat reservations may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules – and will investigate to determine whether or not this practice is in line with consumer law". The watchdog said it understood that Ryanair was the only major airline flying from the UK to impose such a charge. It said other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free. The CMA added that its investigation had just started, and it had "reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law". Ryanair said adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee, "but can select reserved seats beside them for up to four children on the same booking FREE OF CHARGE". "This means that parents travelling with children pay for only one (adult) reserved seat but pay nothing for the four other reserved seats for their children travelling with them," it added. "This bogus CMA investigation is a failed effort by the Starmer Govt to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD [Air Passenger Duty] which would immediately deliver lower fares for all consumers and growth for the UK aviation, tourism and wider economy. "Ryanair looks forward to disproving these false CMA claims during this bogus investigation."

Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with children
Europe
BBC Business

World Cup expected to be the biggest betting event in history

The Fifa Men's World Cup is set to be the biggest betting event of all time, with more than $50bn (£37.4bn) in wagers placed globally. The tournament will see punters place bets worth around $500m per match, according to a forecast by financial services firm Macquarie. The expected $50bn total would be a major increase from the $35bn of wagers placed during the 2022 World Cup, which was held in Qatar. Gambling awareness groups warned almost all punters lose money in the long-run, and that those betting during the World Cup risk being encouraged to try more addictive forms of betting. Macquarie analyst Chad Benyon said the expected surge in gambling revenue is primarily due to an expansion of the number of teams at this year's tournament, from 32 to 48. As a result, there will be more than 100 matches over the six-week schedule, compared with the 64 played in Qatar in 2022. The favourable time zones of hosts the US, Canada and Mexico will also boost global viewership, Benyon added, fuelling demand among punters in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Another driver of the increase is the growing sports betting market in the US, with around 65% of the population now able to gamble on sports, up from 40% in 2022. It means this is the first World Cup on which a majority of the US can place bets. But Benyon warned the tournament could be a flash in the pan for betting giants if they cannot convert one-off punters into "repeat, multi-sport bettors". He added that those with casino platforms on their website stand to benefit most from the surge. Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, warned that "hundreds of thousands of people across the world, especially young men, will suffer life-changing debt and financial distress" because of gambling during the World Cup games. Bernal said: "99 out of 100 sports bettors lose money in the long-term... the business model for commercialised sport gambling operators is completely based upon the people who have been turned into addicted gamblers, an addiction that causes victims to die by suicide at a rate unlike any other."

World Cup expected to be the biggest betting event in history
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex, Nifty rise for 4th session on easing crude ahead of US Fed outcome; defence, bank stocks shine

Equity benchmark indices extended their winning streak to a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, marking their longest rally in two months, as easing crude oil prices and optimism around the proposed US-Iran peace framework boosted investor sentiment. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, the market’s upward momentum was supported by softer bond yields, a firmer rupee and continued weakness in crude oil prices. He said easing geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have kept crude prices under pressure, helping maintain positive investor sentiment despite mixed global cues ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision. The BSE Sensex settled 347.14 points, or 0.45 per cent, higher at 77,155.62 after touching an intraday high of 77,218.99. The Nifty 50 advanced 96.55 points, or 0.40 per cent, to close at 24,085.70 after hitting a high of 24,108.20. Both the benchmarks soared 4-4.5 per cent in the last four sessions. Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory at PL Capital, noted that Brent crude remaining below $78 per barrel has significantly improved India’s near-term inflation outlook, supported corporate margins and strengthened macroeconomic stability. Kasat added that investors remain focused on the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting under Chair Kevin Warsh. Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices, with the midcap index rising 0.52 per cent and the smallcap index gaining 0.79 per cent. Volatility index declined 1 per cent to 13.19. Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said, “reflecting the improvement in investor confidence, India VIX declined to a three-month low, signalling a significant reduction in near-term uncertainty and risk aversion.” Market breadth remained positive. Of the 4,443 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,404 advanced, 1,876 declined and 163 remained unchanged. As many as 133 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 56 hit 52-week lows. Sectoral performance remained mixed, with defence, consumer durables, PSU banks and metal stocks emerging as the top performers, gaining 1-4 per cent. Defence stocks rallied after India recorded its highest-ever defence production and exports in FY26. IT shares also advanced 0.85 per cent ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, with the Nifty IT index reclaiming the 29,000 mark during intraday trade. On the other hand, auto, realty, pharma and healthcare indices ended in the red. Among Nifty 50 stocks, Trent, Bharat Electronics, Hindalco and Eternal led the gainers. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles was the biggest laggard despite Jaguar Land Rover projecting double-digit medium-term revenue growth. Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, ONGC and Axis Bank were among the other major losers.

Sensex, Nifty rise for 4th session on easing crude ahead of US Fed outcome; defence, bank stocks shine
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Western disturbances keep North-West India wet as monsoon falters

Western disturbances may spark a wet spell over North-West and Central India (in green) and flare-up over North-East (dark brown and yellow) while a fresh monsoon pulse approaches Kerala and onward into Bay of Bengal (blue, purple), per outlook valid until Sunday. | Photo Credit: www.tropicaltidbits.com Western disturbances continue to stream into North-West India, exploiting the monsoon’s sluggish advance from the south and delivering unexpectedly healthy rainfall totals well ahead of its normal onset in the region. The contrast is most evident in the desert state of Rajasthan, where rainfall has ranged from excess to large excess even as the monsoon struggles to regain momentum after its delayed onset over Kerala. North-West has recorded 5 per cent above normal rainfall so far this season. Within the region, West Rajasthan has posted a surplus of 20 per cent, while East Rajasthan leads with an impressive 80 per cent. The Delhi-Haryana-Chandigarh subdivision has also recorded abundant rainfall, registering a 38 per cent surplus. Most other sub-divisions remain in the normal category, with East Uttar Pradesh the lone deficient region at -28 per cent. The picture is different elsewhere. Central India, comprising Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, is running a cumulative deficit of 61 per cent. East and North-East India are also lagging, with -43 per cent, while the South Peninsula is -14 per cent, though still within the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) normal range. The wet spell over North-West India is likely to persist over the coming days as well. A causative fresh western disturbance has anchored itself over North Pakistan and induced a cyclonic circulation to form over south Punjab, enhancing rainfall prospects across the region. A successor disturbance is waiting its turn, too. According to IMD, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall is expected over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad for next six days, with another spell likely on Tuesday. Isolated to scattered rainfall is forecast over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and East Rajasthan for seven days; Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi for six days; Punjab for five days from Thursday, as well as for parts of Uttar Pradesh during the period. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, gusty winds, thunder squalls and dust storms are also likely across several parts of the region. Supporting the activity is a truncated seasonal trough extending from Punjab to Bihar through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In addition, a series of cyclonic circulations positioned along the disturbance’s eastward track could reinforce the system as it gradually weakens, helping sustain rainfall activity. 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.

Western disturbances keep North-West India wet as monsoon falters
Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI plans stock market debut, intensifying investment race with Anthropic

OpenAI, the company behind popular chatbot ChatGPT, has become the latest artificial intelligence (AI) giant to reveal plans to sell shares to the public through a stock listing. Its decision had been expected for months, but the company's announcement comes exactly one week after rival AI firm Anthropic said it was planning to go public, too. OpenAI said on Monday it had made a confidential filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) at some point in the future. Its plans are the latest in a wave of heavy-weight IPOs, alongside Anthropic and billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, which is set to debut on the Nasdaq on Friday. SpaceX is targeting a share price which would value the company at $1.75tn (£1.3tn). Announcing its IPO plans on Monday, OpenAI said: "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company." The three firms all have a "vast need for cash", said Sunil Krishnan from Aviva Investors, and "no-one wants to be last" in the game to go public, he told the BBC's Today programme. He said that the firms are making huge investments in their AI infrastructure including on chips, and training their AI models, which all come at massive expense. OpenAI and Anthropic, the maker of the chatbot Claude, are focused on AI work and have been fierce rivals essentially since Dario Amodei co-founded the latter company five years ago. He did so after leaving OpenAI over disagreements with Sam Altman, the co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI. Today, the companies compete for users, corporate customers, investors, and have in recent months been jockeying with private valuations inching toward $1tn. OpenAI's most recent valuation from private investors came in at $852bn. Anthropic's most recent valuation hit $965bn.

OpenAI plans stock market debut, intensifying investment race with Anthropic
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Iran to give up nuclear weapons, US to lift sanctions: Here’s what’s in the final draft of the peace deal

A senior Iranian official told Reuters a final draft ​of the memorandum of understanding with the ‌US covered a range of issues ​from Tehran’s nuclear work ⁠to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and US waivers on oil sanctions, with a final ‌deal to be discussed in the 60 days following agreement by ‌the two sides. 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.

Iran to give up nuclear weapons, US to lift sanctions: Here’s what’s in the final draft of the peace deal