producer price index

India's booming smartphone market faces a critical repair challenge. While a strong informal repair sector offers affordability, modern devices demand upgraded solutions. The author advocates for formalizing this ecosystem by providing genuine parts and tools, enabling assisted repairs, and embracing modular designs. This approach is crucial for reducing e-waste, creating jobs, and building consumer trust in India's unique consumption model.

The UK has capped interest on student loans at 6% for 2026–27 to stop inflation from pushing debt up too quickly. It offers some relief, but only at the margins. Repayments stay the same, balances remain, and the system itself is untouched. For Indian students, it changes little—they are mostly outside this framework anyway.

How Hormuz disruptions, benchmark volatility and refinery economics are testing India's energy resilience — and why the government moved to shield every pump in the country

Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a significant transformation across key sectors between 2017 and 2026, marked by substantial infrastructure development, agricultural growth, and advancements in power, IT, and women's empowerment. The state has expanded its expressway network, boosted agricultural output, and improved health and education facilities, showcasing a comprehensive development journey.

Experts had said that fears of oil prices stoking inflation were unlikely to push the Federal Reserve toward raising interest rates at this week’s meeting. hile markets and economists had earlier anticipated that the next move would be a rate cut, that conviction has weakened since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

Richard Bookstaber, a financial analyst and former hedge fund and US Treasury insider who wrote A Demon of Our Own Design, the book that foreshadowed the 2008 financial crisis, warns that today’s financial system is even more fragile. Private credit, AI-driven tech, stock concentration, and geopolitical tensions form a tightly linked network where shocks spread quickly. Unlike past crises, risks now arise from the physical world, energy, semiconductors, and supply chains, beyond the reach of traditional financial tools.

Despite Middle East tensions, gold prices are falling globally and in India. High US interest rates, a strong dollar, and inflation fears are driving investors to seek higher yields elsewhere. Profit-taking after a historic rally and festival-time selling in India are also contributing to the downturn.

Get ready for pricier flights as Middle East tensions escalate, driving up jet fuel costs significantly. Experts warn of inevitable fare hikes, especially on long-haul international routes, with some airlines already adjusting prices. Travelers are advised to book early and remain flexible to mitigate rising costs.

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