Latest Developments

North America
CNBC Finance

‘Arsenal of democracy’: Jamie Dimon announces $24 million effort to boost American shipbuilding

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday announced a $24 million effort to help revive American shipbuilding, his latest move under the bank's $1.5 trillion security project aimed at bolstering industries critical to U.S. economic and national security. The figure includes $18 million in loans and $6 million in grants to finance a new submarine manufacturing facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard being built by Rhoads Industries, expand lending to maritime-related small businesses and strengthen regional suppliers, JPMorgan said. "The arsenal of democracy has been reignited," Dimon told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin. "People said it couldn't happen, but here you have Hanwha shipbuilding at the Philadelphia Navy Yard," Dimon said, naming a South Korean conglomerate with a U.S. vessel-making subsidiary. The announcement comes as rising geopolitical tensions, including wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, spur governments to rearm and reinvest in domestic industrial capacity. Last year, JPMorgan launched a $1.5 trillion initiative to finance sectors it considers critical to U.S. economic and national security, including shipbuilding. The firm announced an expansion of the program into Europe this year. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

‘Arsenal of democracy’: Jamie Dimon announces $24 million effort to boost American shipbuilding
North America
CNBC Finance

Morgan Stanley posts record quarterly revenue and profit as equities trading surges 69%

Morgan Stanley on Wednesday posted record revenue and profit for the second quarter, driven by a 69% surge in equities trading revenue. The company said profit jumped 58% from a year earlier to $5.58 billion. Revenue climbed 27% to $21.35 billion. Like at peers Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, a massive beat in equities trading drove the quarter's outsized results. Heightened activity fueled by the global artificial intelligence boom propelled JPMorgan and Goldman to beat estimates for equities trading by a combined $4.4 billion, while investment banking at the two firms topped estimates by a combined $1 billion. Equities trading revenue at Morgan Stanley hit a record $6.3 billion, roughly $1.9 billion more than analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had expected. The firm cited strength across the equities franchise and "notable strength in Asia," another recurring Wall Street theme as the AI trade spreads globally. Meanwhile, fixed income trading rose 13% to $2.46 billion, essentially matching the consensus estimate, on good results in credit trading. "Active markets and consistent execution across all three regions drove exceptional results for our integrated firm," CEO Ted Pick said in the release. Investment banking revenue surged 58% to $2.44 billion, about $270 million more than analysts had expected, on additional completed mergers, initial public offerings and related equities deals, and rising debt issuance. Revenue in the firm's giant wealth management division climbed 14% to $8.86 billion, about $146 million more than expected, as asset levels were buoyed by the rising stock market and growth in deposits and lending. Revenue in investment management, the firm's smallest division, rose about 6% to $1.65 billion thanks to rising asset values, essentially matching the estimate. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Morgan Stanley posts record quarterly revenue and profit as equities trading surges 69%
Europe
The Guardian

New York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenas

New York Times newspaper office building seen in Manhattan, New York, on 26 October 2022. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenNew York Times newspaper office building seen in Manhattan, New York, on 26 October 2022. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesUS justice systemNew York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenasJournalists who had reported on security concerns around the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, received summons The New York Times on Wednesday filed a motion to quash subpoenas the justice department served journalists who reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, teeing up a significant court fight over press freedom and the government’s ability to force reporters to identify sources. “As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish the Times for its coverage. They violate the constitutional rights of the Times and its journalists. We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter,” David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice-president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. The filing was made under seal in the southern district of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The subpoenas, some of which were delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices. The subpoenas sought to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week after they reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One. The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400m to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a Nato summit in Turkey last week. The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns. The justice department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are”. “We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said after the Times reported it had received the subpoenas. “But [the] DoJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.” The justice department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks. Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

New York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenas
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

India ask its seafarers not to take Hormuz voyages

A man looks at a container ship in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai, India, on May 6, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas) NEW DELHI: India has ordered shipowners, ship managers and recruitment companies not to deploy the country's seafarers on vessels undertaking trips through the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed fighting in the region. India is the world's third-largest supplier of seafarers, with more than 300,000 sailors working across global shipping fleets, according to government data. "No deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages involving passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders," the Directorate General of Shipping said in an order issued late Wednesday. Two Indian seafarers have been killed in attacks on vessels in the region over the last three days, as tensions escalate in the Middle East, and multiple people died previously, according to government data. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Recent attacks on vessels have increased the risks faced by seafarers and commercial ships operating in the conflict-affected area "significantly", the shipping regulator said. "In view of the heightened security situation in the Persian Gulf region ... the Directorate considers it necessary to adopt enhanced precautionary measures to safeguard the interests of Indian seafarers serving on board ships operating in the region," the order said. It also directed masters of the vessels to ensure that they are sufficiently vigilant about the security situation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and adjoining waters, and called for continuous monitoring of navigational warnings. New Delhi also lodged a strong protest with Iran, summoning its deputy ambassador over one of the deaths on Tuesday. More than 15,000 Indian seafarers are still stranded on the west of the Strait of Hormuz, said Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India. "We can stop the new sets of crews from joining in those areas. But what about those thousands of seafarers who are still trapped in those deadly seas and under the threat to their lives? What is the government doing to take them out?", Yadav told Reuters.

India ask its seafarers not to take Hormuz voyages
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s social security network expands to 100 cr citizens: Mansukh Mandaviya

India’s social protection coverage has expanded to over 100 crore citizens in 2026, up from 25 crore in 2015, said Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The steep rise in the social protection coverage in a decade is largely due to the government bringing into the fold informal and unorganised sector workers, who comprise nearly 90 per cent of the total 50-crore workforce. Previously the government’s focus was mainly targeted at formal workers. Mandaviya, in a post on X on Wednesday, flagged the landmark validation of the country’s social security coverage by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “India breaches 1 billion mark in Social Protection Coverage!” Mandaviya wrote on X, thanking ILO Director-General Gilbert F Houngbo “for acknowledging India’s efforts towards expanding social protection coverage”. In a video message at the BRICS Labour & Employment Minister’s Meeting in Hyderabad on Wednesday, DG Houngbo said, “According to ILO running estimates, India’s social protection system now reaches 1 billion people. This milestone offers lessons that can be shared through South-South cooperation.” Mandaviya, in another post on the social media platform, attributed to the leadership of PM Narendra Modi for steep rise in the social protection coverage, from 19 per cent in 2015 to 68.4 per cent in 2026. This brought more than 100 crore citizens under the umbrella of social protection framework, he wrote. As per the data shared by the Minister in that tweet, the social protection coverage doubled in between 2019 to 2022 if compared with percentage increase recorded in other years from 2015 to 2026. This was a culmination of government’s rapid policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat) Healthcare scale-up -- followed by a thrust toward digitising the informal workforce, with the launch of the e-Shram portal. On the contrary, the two year period between 2025 to 2026 witnessed social security coverage hike of just 6.38 per cent which is considered as stablisation of the intiative after the exponential growth. The social security coverage between 2015 to 2019 was at 28.42 per cent while it was 31.76 per cent in 2022 to 2025, as per the calculations on the basis of the Ministry’s statistics. The two-day 12th BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting ended on Wednesday, with member countries adopting a set of declaration, including to advance social security and formalisation of labour markets. Member States have agreed to commend the collective efforts in expanding social protection coverage, the Ministry of Labour and Employment stated. Members shall endeavour to progressively expand social protection coverage from existing levels as per nationally determined levels, based on respective circumstances, priorities, and capacities, the Ministry added. 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.

India’s social security network expands to 100 cr citizens: Mansukh Mandaviya
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Tamil Nadu to conduct first phase of Census 2027 in August; self enumeration to begin Friday

The Directorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu announced that it will conduct the first phase of the India’s 16th National Census in the State over the course of a month starting from August 1, 2026. Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, Sundaresh Babu, Chief Principal Census Officer, Tamil Nadu said that the first phase will involve Houselisting and Housing Census. For the first phase, citizens can also opt for the self enumeration using the government portal from July 17 to July 31, 2026. “This is a foundational stage where we collect essential information regarding the household details. It will include 33 questions on household amenities, drinking water, sanitation, electricity internet connectivity, cooking fuel and other factors. The phase will serve as a framework for the deeper population census in the second phase scheduled for February of 2027,” he said. Meanwhile, Babu added that for the first time, the entire enumeration process will be 100 per cent digital with all the data collection to be done digitally, including by physical enumerators who will record the data on a mobile app instead of the paper based records of the past. “We have assigned 200-250 households for each enumerator. They have been selected from different government departments and have been given three full days of training for this process. Every six enumerators will have one supervisor, ” he said. Tamil Nadu has about 1,026 charges- the operational units used to organize and conduct the population count. Each charge will be led by a Charge Officer or Sub-Division Officer. Babu added that about 20 States have already completed phase one of the census and are preparing for phase 2. 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.

Tamil Nadu to conduct first phase of Census 2027 in August; self enumeration to begin Friday
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

JSW MG expects 80% of total sales to come from NEVs

With new energy vehicles (NEVs) picking up on the Indian roads, especially after the West Asia crisis and cut in GST rates last year, JSW MG Motor India is planning to launch more NEVs in the market, which is expected to contribute 80 per cent of its overall sales this year, a top official has said. Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, JSW MG Motor India, told businessline that since the GST cut to 5 per cent for EVs last year, the sales have grown multifold for the whole industry and it was not only tier-I cities, but also tier-III and IV towns, where the sales are picking up. “The amount of conversation on EV cars has gone up in the last 6-12 months. Earlier, a year or two ago, one would not have asked. We have 50 per cent of sales coming from tier-I cities and the rest from tier-II, III and beyond,” he said adding that JSW MG sold around 40,000 units of NEVs last year, which was a growth of 12-13 per cent over previous year. For the industry also, Mehrotra noted that in the overall passenger vehicle industry, EV penetration was only 3.8 per cent in January this year and in June, it was over 8 per cent. “Given the growth that we are seeing today, we have already increased our headcount by almost 40 per cent at the plant to cater to the third shift that got added. We will invest ₹3,000-4,000 crore in expansion of the plant to 1.20 lakh to 3-lakh units per annum and new products development, and this year we will spend ₹1,300-1,400 crore out of that total amount,” he said while declining to comment on where the funds would come from. Meanwhile, the company unveiled a new platform called ADAPT (Advance Drive Architecture Platform Technology), under which it will launch four different vehicles in the NEV portfolio in the next one year. Designed as a future-ready modular architecture, MG ADAPT will support electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and range extender electric vehicles (REEVs), bringing multiple energy solutions together on a single intelligent platform. Mehrotra added the company would bring in the products in the shape of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) as of now. 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.

JSW MG expects 80% of total sales to come from NEVs
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

AP Minister Nara Lokesh apologises to Amara Raja, seeks fresh investments

Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT & Human Resources, Nara Lokesh, has on Thursday apologised Jayadev Galla, Co-founder and Chairman, of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility. Previously Andhra Pradesh based company had shifted its headquarters and investments to Telangana during the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government in Andhra Pradesh when it was in power during 2019-24. For over four decades, Amara Raja has been more than just one of Andhra Pradesh’s greatest industrial success stories. It has created world-class manufacturing, generated thousands of jobs, and carried the name of Chittoor and Andhra Pradesh across India and the world, Lokesh said. “The harassment your company endured under the previous government should never have happened. An entrepreneur who chose to build in his home state deserved encouragement, not intimidation. It pains me that a company born in Andhra Pradesh had to look beyond our borders for its next chapter of growth,’’ the AP Minister said. Inviting Amara Raja back to Andhra Pradesh, Lokesh said: “As we rebuild trust, Andhra Pradesh is once again open for enterprise. We hope Amara Raja’s biggest chapters will still be written in the state where its journey began. Our doors, and our hearts, will always remain open. Best wishes on your new Telangana facility,’’ he said. On Wednesday Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies commissioned its Customer Qualification Plant (CQP) at its Giga Corridor in Mahbubnagar, Telangana with an investment of ₹500 crore. 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.

AP Minister Nara Lokesh apologises to Amara Raja, seeks fresh investments
Asia-Pacific
Channel NewsAsia

Singaporean arrested in Bali after woman found dead in rental unit

Preliminary police investigations indicate that the suspect, acting out of resentment, allegedly assaulted the victim by strangling her for about 15 minutes. A Singaporean man has been arrested in Bali after a woman was found dead in a rental unit, Indonesian police said on Jul 16, 2026. (Images: Instagram/Polresta Denpasar) A Singaporean man has been arrested in Bali after a woman was found dead in a rental unit, Indonesian police said on Thursday (Jul 16). The suspect, identified only by the initials MZ, was arrested in less than three hours by a joint police team, according to a post on the Denpasar police's official Instagram account. The victim, a 26-year-old woman from Central Java, had been in a relationship with the suspect for about a year, a police spokesperson said. Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect, acting out of resentment, allegedly assaulted the victim by strangling her for about 15 minutes, he added. Citing immigration records, the spokesperson noted that the man visited Bali as a tourist and had overstayed since 2025. The victim's body was discovered by her younger brother, who visited the unit after being unable to contact her, Indonesian news site Detiknews reported. According to the outlet, he arrived at the rental unit and noticed a foul odour coming from the property. He reportedly asked the suspect where his sister was but received no response. The suspect fled on a motorcycle, after which the victim's brother discovered his sister's body. Another witness, identified only as DP, told police she had only recently begun dating the suspect after meeting him at a billiards outlet where she worked in Denpasar, CNN Indonesia reported. She said she had also noticed the odour when she visited the rental unit. When she later questioned the suspect about the smell, he allegedly became angry, according to the news outlet. CNA has contacted Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information on the arrest.

Singaporean arrested in Bali after woman found dead in rental unit