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Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Indians should control lab-grown diamond ecosystem: Amit Shah

Shah asked the industry to ensure that the entire ecosystem and manufacturing chain of lab-grown diamonds remain firmly in Indian hands. | Photo Credit: th-online Administrator Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Indians should control the lab-grown diamond ecosystem, adding the country possesses necessary infrastructure and capabilities. “In terms of volume, the market for lab-grown diamonds is poised to expand to nearly 50 times the size of the current diamond market. This represents a huge opportunity,” Shah said, speaking after presenting the 52nd India Gem & Jewellery Awards in Mumbai. “As the era of lab-grown diamonds dawns, we possess the infrastructure, capabilities, capital, and, most importantly, entrepreneurs like you,” he said. Shah asked the industry to ensure that the entire ecosystem and manufacturing chain of lab-grown diamonds remain firmly in Indian hands, whether it involves manufacturing machinery, producing the diamonds, crafting jewellery, developing brands, or opening showrooms for Indian companies across the globe. India's gems and jewellery trade with the world spans almost 6,000 years, Shah said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made people feel confident that India will be ahead of all other countries in all the spheres on August 15, 2047, Shah said. “In 2014, India was rated among the ‘Fragile Five’, but today it is ranked among the top five,” he said. 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.

Indians should control lab-grown diamond ecosystem: Amit Shah
Europe
The Guardian

Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’

The Dutch central bank says it has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada. Photograph: Mike Groll/APView image in fullscreenThe Dutch central bank says it has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada. Photograph: Mike Groll/APNetherlandsDutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’Bank says gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily and the move will allow it to respond more rapidly in a ‘crisis situation’ The Dutch central bank says it has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily than those held in New York and Ottawa. “This makes it the quickest for DNB to deploy in a crisis situation,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. “With this step, we have improved the deployability of the gold reserves. We assume that we will never need to deploy the gold, but it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” said DNB’s president, Olaf Sleijpen. The total Dutch gold stock amounted to 612.4 tonnes and was valued at €72.2bn ($83.7bn) at the end of 2025, said the DNB. Before the deployment, the Dutch bank held 31.3% of its gold in New York and 19.7% in Ottawa. The share of gold held in London increased from 18.1% to 32.1%. The bank still holds 30.8% of its gold in the Netherlands. The transfer was carried out partially by buying and selling and partly by physically transferring gold, the bank said. The bank moved more than 27 tonnes of physical gold from the US and Canada to Zeist. The same quantity of gold was moved from Zeist to London, preventing the melting down of gold bars. “By combining buying and selling and physical transport, the risks associated with physically moving a large quantity of gold have been spread,” the DNB said.

Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’
North America
CNBC Finance

The 'choose your own adventure' earnings: Why retailers are handling tariff refunds so differently

Tariff refunds have muddied retailers' earnings reports in recent weeks as Wall Street struggles to parse through the confusion. Most major retailers applied for refunds after the Supreme Court ruled in February that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize President Donald Trump to impose the tariffs. That money began flowing in during the second quarter, as retailers saw major boosts to their profits. For the most part, those returns have helped companies offset cost inflation and prop up margins, especially as they face cost pressures like the rising price of fuel. But the way those retailers have reported those refunds and incorporated them into their earnings has differed greatly, leading to confusion about how to read the strength of their results and their future outlooks. "These trails aren't always clean in terms of finding the right way to apply, in a fair sense, the rebate to prices," Bryan Eshelman, a managing director in the retail practice at consulting firm AlixPartners, told CNBC. Eshelman said there are two factors at play with how retailers handled the refunds. Determining where the extra money goes depends largely on the retailer's price position in the market, where more value-driven companies are likely to apply funds to keep prices lower and "proclaim that to the marketplace," he said. The tariff refund situation has been further complicated for companies depending on whether they are the importer of record for the products, which determines who gets the refunds, Eshelman said. Much of what's sold in stores isn't necessarily imported by the retailer, or U.S. manufacturers may be the ones receiving rebates for raw materials. "There's also just the reality of record-keeping internal to retailers and whether or not they easily have a way to attribute the rebate directly back to a product that was already sold," he said. "It's not a simple task." Some retailers chose to explicitly say they were dedicating their extra cash to lowering prices on products for consumers. Home Depot saw its gross margin increase 0.3% in its fiscal second quarter compared with the prior year, driven by its tariff refund. The company said it received $730 million in tariff refunds during the period, using roughly $685 million of that money to reduce the cost of goods sold. Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said on a call with analysts that those funds represent "the vast majority" of what the company was expecting to receive. Walmart took a similar route. CFO John David Rainey told CNBC last week that the company was eligible to receive roughly $2.9 billion in tariff refunds and has yet to get back just under $100 million of that total. Its gross profit for Walmart U.S. grew 1.6% from the boost. He told CNBC that the company plans to use those funds to lower prices for consumers, and shoppers and investors will see the impact during its current fiscal third quarter.

The 'choose your own adventure' earnings: Why retailers are handling tariff refunds so differently
North America
Yahoo Finance

TNL Mediagene Announces 1-for-8 Share Consolidation

TNL Mediagene Announces 1-for-8 Share Consolidation TMX Newsfile Thu, September 3, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT 6 min read ^IXIC +0.45% TNMG -3.34% Tokyo, Japan--(Newsfile Corp. - September 3, 2026) - TNL Mediagene (NASDAQ: TNMG) (the "Company"), a technology and digital media company providing AI-driven advertising, marketing technology, content commerce and data analytics solutions, and operating multi-language digital media brands across Asia, today announced that it will implement a 1-for-8 share consolidation (also known as reverse stock split) of the Company's ordinary shares (the "Share Consolidation"). The Company's ordinary shares will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the existing ticker symbol "TNMG" and are expected to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis with a newly assigned CUSIP number of G8924F139 when the market opens on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The Share Consolidation is intended to increase the per-share trading price of the Company's ordinary shares to assist in regaining compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Additionally, the Share Consolidation is intended to enhance the Company's attractiveness to a broader range of institutional investors, particularly among institutions that require a minimum share price for investment. On August 25, 2026, the Company's shareholders approved a share consolidation ratio within a range of consolidation of up to 1-to-10 at the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders and authorized the Board of Directors of the Company to determine and execute the final ratio and exact date. The Company's Board of Directors subsequently approved the final share consolidation ratio of 1-for-8 on August 27, 2026. When the Share Consolidation becomes effective, every eight (8) shares of the Company's issued and outstanding ordinary shares will be combined into one (1) issued and outstanding ordinary share. No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the Share Consolidation. All fractional shares will be rounded up to the next whole share. The Share Consolidation will affect all shareholders uniformly and will not affect any shareholder's percentage ownership interest in the Company (except to the extent that the Share Consolidation would result in any of the shareholders owning a fractional interest). Computershare is acting as transfer and exchange agent for the Share Consolidation. Registered shareholders who hold ordinary shares are not required to take any action to receive split-adjusted shares. Shareholders who own shares via a broker, bank, trust or other nominee organization will have their positions automatically adjusted to reflect the Share Consolidation, subject to such organization's particular processes, and will not be required to take any action in connection with the Share Consolidation. Headquartered in Tokyo, TNL Mediagene (NASDAQ: TNMG) is a technology and digital media company providing AI-driven advertising, marketing technology, content commerce and data analytics solutions, and operating multi-language digital media brands across Asia. Formed in May 2023 through the merger of Japan's Mediagene Inc. and Taiwan's The News Lens Co., Ltd., the Company combines advertising and marketing technology platforms with a portfolio of established digital media brands to deliver integrated solutions for the evolving digital landscape. The Company's technology offerings include AI-driven advertising, marketing and digital studio services, content commerce, and advanced data analytics capabilities. These solutions are supported by the Company's well-established multi-language digital media brands in Japanese, Chinese, and English, spanning business, technology, lifestyle, and culture, which provide audience engagement and first-party data. Known for its appeal to younger audiences, and high-quality content, TNL Mediagene has approximately 480 employees with offices in Japan and Taiwan. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to TNL Mediagene. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or TNL Mediagene's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," "target," "aim," "seek" or the negative or plural of these words, or other similar expressions that are predictions or indicate future events or prospects, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's ability to satisfy the conditions of the Panel's decision and to regain and maintain compliance with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements, and the potential delisting of the Company's securities from Nasdaq. Any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including strategies or plans, are also forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this communication or elsewhere speak only as of the date made. New uncertainties and risks arise from time to time, and it is impossible for TNL Mediagene to predict these events or how they may affect TNL Mediagene. In addition, risks and uncertainties are described in TNL Mediagene's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks and uncertainties set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in TNL Mediagene's FY2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on April 30, 2026, as may be supplemented or amended by the TNL Mediagene's Reports of a Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. These filings may identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. TNL Mediagene cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this communication will prove to be accurate. There may be additional risks that TNL Mediagene presently does not know or that TNL Mediagene currently does not believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by TNL Mediagene, its directors, officers or employees or any other person. Except as required by applicable law, TNL Mediagene does not have any duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements in this communication or elsewhere after the date of this communication. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing the views of TNL Mediagene as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/312767

TNL Mediagene Announces 1-for-8 Share Consolidation
Asia
The Economic Times

SIF AUM tops Rs 31,000 crore in August; hybrid long-short funds account for 69% of inflows

SIF strategies have received a total inflow of Rs 7,699 crore in August compared to Rs 4,922 crore in July. They have received Rs 30,028 crore since October 2024, according to a report by ValueMetrics. The report further highlights which SIF strategy contributes the most to the total inflows or SIF landscape. Here is a detailed breakup. Hybrid Long-Short Funds have received a total inflow of Rs 4,113 crore in August. Since October 2024, it has received an inflow of Rs 18,939 crore and contributes 69% to the total SIF flow. There are 11 schemes under this strategy with 58,441 folios and as of August 31, 2026, the total AUM is Rs 19,670 crore. Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Funds have received a total inflow of Rs 2,433 crore in August. It has received a total inflow of Rs 6,052 crore since October 2024 and contributes 20% to the total SIF flow. There are seven schemes under this strategy with 42,902 folios and as of August 31, 2026, the total AUM is Rs 6,289 crore. Equity Long-Short Funds have received a total inflow of Rs 593 crore in August. It has received a total inflow of Rs 3,325 crore since October 2024 and contribute 11% to the total SIF flow. There are 11 schemes under this strategy with 23,556 folios, and as of August 31, 2026, the total AUM is Rs 3,450 crore. Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Funds have received a total inflow of Rs 558 crore in August. It has received a total inflow of Rs 1,667 crore since October 2024 and contributes 6% to the total SIF flow. There are three schemes under this strategy with 9,404 folios, and as of August 31, 2026, the total AUM is Rs 1,720 crore. Sector Rotation Long-Short Funds received an inflow of Rs 2 crore in August after witnessing an outflow of Rs 2 crore in July. It has received a total inflow of Rs 45 crore since October 2024 and contributes 0% to the total SIF flow. There is one scheme under this strategy with 640 folios, and as of August 31, 2026, the total AUM is Rs 46 crore. SIF assets stood at Rs 31,175 crore in Aug 2026, marking a 34.5% on-month rise. The category recorded positive inflows of Rs 7,699 crore during the month, driven by hybrid and equity-oriented investment strategies. Three new investment strategies under the equity-oriented category were launched, collectively mobilising Rs 1,420 crore.

SIF AUM tops Rs 31,000 crore in August; hybrid long-short funds account for 69% of inflows
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Subbarao for charging for UPI transactions

Former RBI Governor D. Subbarao and others at the release of the book ‘Cashless Nation: How UPI Changed Everything’ authored by Santanu Paul and B. Sambamurthy, in the city on Saturday. | Photo Credit: th-online Administrator Former Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao has made the case for introducing charges on some Unified Payments Interface transactions, arguing that although UPI is free to its users, operating the system involves costs that must ultimately be borne by someone. While acknowledging the powerful argument that levying charges might force millions of informal and unorganised sector participants to exit and return to cash, he argued that leaving transactions free would discourage banks from innovating and maintaining systems. “I believe that we should charge for them, because the user should pay,” he said. He pointed out that if users do not pay, banks will distribute the burden across all customers, which could result in lower interest on fixed deposits and costlier loans. He said the government could adopt a calibrated approach, beginning with charges on high-value transactions before considering wider application. Speaking at the launch of the book ‘Cashless Nation’, authored by Santanu Paul and B. Sambamurthy, he addressed three critical contemporary challenges surrounding the digital payment ecosystem – transaction pricing, gender parity, and the credit gap. On gender parity in using UPI transactions, the former RBI Governor observed that while UPI has narrowed the gender gap, it has not closed it. Noting that half the Jan Dhan Yojana accounts are held by women, he pointed out that women carry out less than a quarter of UPI transactions. He said that even when women have access to mobile phones, they often lack the privacy, confidence, or agency to use the platform. Highlighting the credit gap as possibly the most critical issue, he said that the true concept of financial inclusion was never just holding an account or transferring money, but accessing the formal financial sector to obtain credit to expand businesses and improve livelihoods. Stating that attending to the working capital needs of such people was not enough, he said that data, paired with artificial intelligence, must enable banks to assess a borrower’s capacity and willingness to repay, unlocking long-term investment credit. Highlighting the role of the ‘JAM trinity’ (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and the mobile phone), Subbarao observed that while each was significant on its own, their simultaneous arrival created a breakthrough in financial inclusion. 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.

Subbarao for charging for UPI transactions
North America
CNBC Finance

Southwest to debut airport lounges in four cities, with more to come

Southwest Airlines on Wednesday unveiled plans for its network of airport lounges that it's been hinting at for months. The carrier said its first lounges would debut in Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Honolulu; and Nashville, Tennessee. It said construction has already begun at those airports and it expects to open those locations in late 2027. The airline is partnering with Chase on the effort, saying it wants to build on that company's Sapphire Reserve Lounge Network. "Our lounges will be a natural extension of that experience, offering Customers a place to relax and experience the Southwest brand in a new way," Tony Roach, Southwest executive vice president, said in a statement. "The introduction of a lounge network represents a strategic investment in Rapid Rewards and deepens our 30-year partnership with Chase." The airline said customers can get into its lounges with a new, premium Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card that Chase will issue. It said the card will launch next year, but didn't provide any additional details about how much it would cost. Southwest said it's planning to open seven more lounges over the next several years "across high-demand business and leisure markets." CEO Bob Jordan has been talking about the airline getting into lounges for months, telling CNBC in December that it was "actively pursuing" the possibility of having a network of locations. "I think lounges would be a huge, next benefit for our customers," Jordan said at the time. Southwest's move comes as carriers from Delta Air Lines to JetBlue Airways — along with credit card companies like American Express, Capital One and Chase — have been building airport lounges to reel in and retain higher-spending consumers. Southwest, which carries more customers domestically than any other airline, has drastically changed its business model over the past year and a half. It got rid of its famed open seating in favor of assigned seats and started charging customers to check bags to increase revenue as pressure ramped up from activist Elliott Investment Management. 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.

Southwest to debut airport lounges in four cities, with more to come
North America
CNBC Finance

Ford's production of highly profitable Super Duty trucks hits 20-year high as it recovers from supplier fires

DETROIT — Ford Motor is increasing production of its crucial F-Series trucks after fires at an aluminum supplier severely impacted output over the past year. The automaker confirmed Wednesday to CNBC that production of its large, highly profitable "Super Duty" trucks last month hit a 20-year high, while output of F-150 pickups reached their highest level in two years. Ford's F-Series trucks — which include the F-150 and larger "Super Duty" models such as F-250, F-350 and F-450 — were severely impacted by the supplier issues due to their large aluminum bodies and other components. The Detroit automaker has spent the past year helping aluminum supplier Novelis get the impacted plant in Oswego, New York, back up and running following fires in September and November of last year. The increases in production mean an influx of pickups are expected to arrive on dealership lots over the coming weeks and months, according to Rob Kaffl, Ford's head of U.S. sales. "We're increasing production. Dealers will start seeing in the next 30, 60, 90 days that ramp-up in production," Kaffl said Wednesday. "We have a healthy chain of in-transit and in-system." Ford said Super Duty production was more than 39,000 units in August, for its best month since March 2006, while F-150 production was its highest since August 2024. The Ford Pro business is led by sales of the automaker's Super Duty trucks that range from the F-150 to commercial trucks and chassis cabs. The increase in the supply of pickup trucks comes as Ford experienced its eighth consecutive month of year-over-year U.S. new vehicle sales declines in August. The automaker reported Wednesday that sales were down 10.3% for the month compared with a year earlier. "Our gross availability of products coming in, I would say, is returning back to normalcy – the normal levels our dealers would have," Kaffl said. Ford said Wednesday F-Series sales remain off 10.9% through August compared with a year earlier, including a 1.2% decrease last month. Ford dealers currently have a roughly 40 days' supply of pickup trucks, which is about half of what the industry has typically considered a healthy level for those vehicles. Kaffl reiterated that Ford is targeting a days' supply of the trucks of between 50 days and 60 days, compared with historical industry levels of 75 to 90 days.

Ford's production of highly profitable Super Duty trucks hits 20-year high as it recovers from supplier fires
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

MSE facilitates India’s first tokenised corporate bond under SEBI’s Demat 2.0 pilot

Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSE) has facilitated the country’s first tokenised corporate bond issuance under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) Demat 2.0 pilot, a regulatory sandbox initiative aimed at modernising India’s debt market infrastructure. The bond was issued by IIFL Finance Ltd through MSE’s Electronic Bond Platform (MSE EBP), with Trust Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd serving as the arranger. The issuance marks the first instance of a corporate bond being issued natively on a distributed ledger in India, with ownership records held with statutory depositories and settlement conducted in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The pilot was launched at Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai on September 11 by SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey and Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra, alongside key stakeholders from market infrastructure intermediaries, financial markets, and the fintech ecosystem. The initiative operates within existing regulated market infrastructure and is designed to deliver faster settlement, greater transparency, and wider market access in India’s corporate bond segment, areas where the debt market has historically faced structural friction. MSE Managing Director and CEO Latika S Kundu described the pilot as an important step in shaping India’s debt markets, noting that tokenisation combines technology with established market infrastructure to improve efficiency and security in capital formation. The Demat 2.0 framework signals a broader regulatory push to bring blockchain-based instruments into India’s mainstream financial markets under supervised conditions. 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.

MSE facilitates India’s first tokenised corporate bond under SEBI’s Demat 2.0 pilot