Business
India’s crude shuffle: How Iran’s Hormuz chokehold rerouted oil imports from Gulf to Russia
Iran’s Hormuz chokehold has reshaped India’s oil purchase pattern, with a sharp drop in Gulf supplies this month pushing refiners towards Russia and smaller producers to keep supplies steady. So far in March, crude imports into the country are down 23% compared to February, according to shipping data and analyst estimates cited by ET. The…
US taps emergency oil reserve, releases 45 million barrels to tame war-driven price hike
In a bid to cool rising oil prices amid the ongoing Middle East crisis the Trump administration has begun releasing crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), lending 45.2 million barrels to energy companies in its first round. The volume released so far represents just over half of the 86 million barrels the administration had…
Weight-loss therapy costs set to be lower by up to 90%
NEW DELHI : Weight-loss therapy costs are set to reduce substantially by up to 90%, with generic versions of injectable semaglutide are expected to hit pharmacy shelves from March 21. The move kicks off one of the most closely watched price wars in the high-stakes obesity and diabetes drug market.This is in the wake of…
Flipkart group CFO to leave co amid IPO plans
BENGALURU: Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart on Thursday said its group chief financial officer Sriram Venkataraman is quitting the firm as the company prepares for its next phase of growth and a potential public listing.Venkataraman will remain with the company for a period to ensure continuity and a smooth handover, Flipkart said. During this transition, Ravi…
Premium petrol up Rs 2 per litre amid global oil spike
NEW DELHI: Feeling the pinch of a surge in global crude prices, oil marketing companies on Friday increased the retail price of 95-octane premium petrol by nearly Rs 2 a litre and jacked up the rates of industrial diesel by Rs 22 a litre.At the same time, IndianOil, the country’s largest fuel retailer vowed to…
India diversifies LPG supplies, imports 176k tonnes from US
NEW DELHI: India’s weekly LPG imports fell to 265,000 tonnes in the week to March 19, from 322,000 tonnes on March 5. West Asia inflows declined to just 89,000 tonnes in the week to March 19, the lowest share since Jan 2026, according to S&P Commodities At Sea (CAS).The report, however, added that alternative regional…
$44 billion acquisition: US jury finds Elon Musk ‘misled’ Twitter shareholders in 2022
A federal jury in San Francisco has found Elon Musk liable for defrauding Twitter (now X) investors in 2022 by disparaging the company in an effort to secure a lower purchase price for the platform, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.Jurors concluded that Musk intentionally misled shareholders by claiming the social media company—later renamed X—had an…
Gold price prediction amid US-Iran war: What’s the gold rate outlook for March 20, 2026?
Gold price prediction today (AI image) Gold price prediction today: Gold prices are range-bound and highly volatile in the current scenario, says Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.Gold futures on MCX are trading near ₹1,46,900 after witnessing a sharp decline followed by a recovery bounce. The price action indicates consolidation…
Strait Of Hormuz: An alternative route to Strait of Hormuz? Iran sets up ‘corridor’, offers ships safe passage for a price
Strait of Hormuz (AP image) Iran has introduced a ‘safe shipping corridor’ that allows selected vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz via a route inside its territorial waters, as tensions in the region continue to disrupt global maritime traffic.The corridor is being offered only to ships that receive prior approval from Iranian authorities,…
Govt clears Rs 20,000 crore credit guarantee scheme for MFIs; funding access in focus
The government has approved a limited-period Rs 20,000-crore credit guarantee scheme aimed at easing fund flow constraints faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs), according to a PTI report.The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Microfinance Institutions-2.0 (CGSMFI-2.0) will cover loans disbursed by member lending institutions (MLIs), including banks and other lenders, to non-banking finance company-MFIs and MFIs till…