Author: Aruna Kaim

The current West Asia friction involving the US, Israel, and Iran is nothing more than a temporary speed bump for India’s massive industrial engine. Speaking on Saturday at the tenth convocation of IIM Nagpur, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal brushed off short-term global anxieties, predicting that the Middle East crisis would resolve within the next two months. Jindal emphasized that corporate India is looking far beyond temporary geopolitical flashpoints, driven by pristine balance sheets and long-term domestic demand. The Long-Term Play: Corporate Capex Rising Despite global oil shocks and volatile markets, Indian industries are planning on timelines spanning 20 to…

Global financial markets experienced a significant risk-on shift as investors reacted to potential diplomatic breakthroughs in the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. Wall Street indexes closed sharply higher, while safe-haven U.S. Treasury yields pulled back from recent peaks, reflecting a collective sigh of relief across trading desks. A Slant Toward Diplomacy The primary driver behind the market’s positive turn was a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who noted that the United States has observed “some progress” toward a diplomatic framework with Tehran, though he cautioned that substantial work remains. While Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson tempered expectations by emphasizing…

European equity markets rallied to their highest levels in over a month, fueled by a powerful combination of artificial intelligence optimism in the technology sector and mounting hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. AI Momentum Sparks Tech Rally The primary engine behind the market’s upward trajectory was the technology sector. Buoyed by blockbusting global demand for artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturers and broader tech hardware firms notched significant gains. Investors shrugged off lingering macro concerns to double down on businesses deeply embedded in the global AI supply chain, sparking a widespread sectoral lift across continental bourses. Macro Winds:…

Britain’s premier stock index, the FTSE 100, successfully halted a painful four-week losing streak, finding a lifeline in a wave of cooler economic data that alleviated pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to aggressively raise interest rates. The blue-chip index rallied 2.65% over the course of the week, offering much-needed respite to investors who have been grappling with domestic political friction and global macroeconomic strain. Slower Data Calms the Hawks The turnaround was triggered by a sequence of “dovish” economic indicators that signal a cooling UK economy, effectively reducing the central bank’s urgency to tighten monetary policy: Waning Inflation…

In an era where market swings are swift and sharp, sticking to the crowd is a reliable way to get average—or disastrous—results. Legendary value investor Michael Price built his career on a different philosophy: contrarian value investing. To survive market volatility and generate steady, long-term returns, Price believed investors need to stop looking at stocks as tickers and start looking at them as businesses. Here is the breakdown of his tactical approach to navigating market turbulence. 1. Capital Allocation & The Cash Trap While holding cash feels safe during a downturn, Price warns against holding excessive amounts of it. Too…

Most equity investors mistake any upward movement for a healthy recovery. In a highly volatile environment, that mistake can become incredibly expensive. Right now, global selling pressure is hitting emerging markets hard, and India is no exception. While headlines focus on large- and mid-cap stocks with a projected 25% upside over the next year, the immediate reality on Dalal Street is a tug-of-war: positive news briefly pushes the Nifty and Sensex higher, only for persistent selling pressure to drag them right back down. With crude oil prices hovering at elevated levels, this high volatility is here to stay. To protect…

Most financial red flags make a lot of noise. Structural asset manipulation, however, does exactly the opposite—it stays completely silent. Instead of showing up as blatant, illegal violations like fake invoices, the biggest risk on Indian balance sheets hides in plain sight. It buries itself inside management growth assumptions, discount rates, and the clever grouping of assets. Because these maneuvers technically fall within accounting rules, they never trigger standard violation alerts. They remain completely invisible to anyone who only reads the headline numbers. The Trap of “Management Judgement” Corporate financial statements are rarely as black-and-white as they appear. A substantial…

The current market environment presents a classic investor’s dilemma: distinguishing between short-term noise and long-term business fundamentals. With a steady stream of geopolitical updates—where mid-week peace talks briefly push indices into the green, only for weekend escalations to trigger sharp sell-offs—the mental toll on retail investors is heavy. However, market veterans consistently emphasize that the key to wealth creation is ignoring the day-to-day fluctuations of major benchmarks and focusing entirely on the operational health of individual businesses. When your entire portfolio seems to be trading in the red, the best strategy is to look at objective quantitative metrics rather than…

A new report by management consulting firm Praxis Global Alliance highlights that the general insurance industry in India remains burdened by structurally high expense ratios. The primary culprit is an over-reliance on intermediary-led distribution models, which keeps the cost of acquiring and maintaining customers stubbornly elevated. The report notes that intense competition among insurance providers to secure intermediary mindshare and wallet share prevents commission payouts from naturally cooling down. The Renewal Trap: Why Costs Don’t Drop over Time In a mature insurance landscape, the cost of retaining an existing customer is supposed to be significantly lower than acquiring a new…

Global underwriter Everest Group has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Colombian insurance subsidiary, Everest Compañía de Seguros Generales Colombia S.A., to American International Group (AIG). The divestment represents the latest step in Everest’s ongoing strategic overhaul, designed to sharpen its corporate focus on high-margin global reinsurance, wholesale insurance, and specialty markets. Part of a Broader Retail Exit The Colombia transaction follows a clear pattern of offloading international retail insurance footprints to maximize competitive advantages elsewhere. It directly succeeds two other major portfolio realignments by Everest: The sale of its global Commercial Retail Insurance renewal rights to AIG.…