Business

New Delhi: Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, who held the title of the world’s richest person from 2013 to 2017, has faced a significant decline in his net worth in 2025. After consistently remaining in the top 10 billionaires, Gates saw his net worth drop by $41.3 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, leaving him with $117 billion and ranked 16th globally. Gates is the only billionaire among the top 30 to have suffered such a major loss in net worth this year. Over the years, the title of the world’s richest has shifted among several global business leaders. From Carlos Slim of Mexico (2009–2012) to Warren Buffett in 2008, followed by Jeff Bezos for four years, Elon Musk in 2022, Bernard Arnault in 2023, and Musk reclaiming the top spot in 2024. Curren...

New Delhi: Silver has emerged as the surprising outperformer in 2025, recording a 115% surge this year, its best performance since 1979. In contrast, crude oil prices have fallen by 44%, marking the worst year for the commodity since 2020. Recently, silver prices crossed ₹2 lakh per kilogram in India, while the international rate hovered around $65 per ounce. Meanwhile, WTI crude traded at $55.93 per barrel and Brent crude at $59.71 per barrel. This marks the first time since 1980 that silver has outpriced crude oil. A Remarkable Shift:In mid-2022, WTI crude was approximately 5.5 times more expensive than silver. Since then, silver prices have soared 206%, while crude has declined 44%. This year will go down as one of the worst for crude oil in the post-pandemic era and one of the be...

Indian equity markets extended their losing streak for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, weighed down by sustained foreign fund outflows, a sharply weaker rupee, and global uncertainties. Both benchmark indices—the Sensex and the Nifty 50—ended firmly in the red, while the rupee slipped to an all-time low against the US dollar. Sensex, Nifty End Lower The BSE Sensex fell 533 points, or 0.63%, to close at 84,679.86, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 167 points, or 0.64%, to settle at 25,860.10. Market sentiment remained cautious amid concerns over global trade dynamics and currency volatility. Among Sensex constituents, Axis Bank, Eternal, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finserv were the top laggards, registering losses between 2% and 5%. Axis Bank tumbled nearly 5% afte...

Even as Indian equity markets witnessed sharp selling pressure for the second consecutive session, shares of A-1 Limited continued to buck the trend, closing at the upper circuit for the third straight trading day. While the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 533 points on Tuesday after declining in the previous session as well, A-1 Limited’s stock surged 5% to close at ₹2,055.10. The Ahmedabad-based chemical trading and logistics company has been attracting strong investor interest following key corporate announcements aimed at improving liquidity and rewarding shareholders. Bonus Issue and Stock Split Drive Rally A-1 Limited (formerly A-1 Acid Limited) recently informed the BSE that it has fixed December 31, 2025, as the record date to determine shareholder eligibility for a 3:1 bonus is...

In a bold move set to intensify competition in India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) has relaunched the iconic SIL food brand, nearly 75 years after its original debut, with a refreshed portfolio of value-driven products. Backed by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, the relaunch signals the company’s aggressive push to expand its footprint in the packaged food segment. The revived SIL brand has been introduced with highly competitive pricing, including noodles starting at ₹5, tomato ketchup priced at just ₹1, and mixed fruit jam beginning at ₹22. Reliance says the products combine global-quality standards with affordability, positioning SIL as a strong challenger to established FMCG giants such as Maggi in instant noodles and Kis...

Foreign investors’ cautious stance on Indian equities is hard to miss. This year, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold roughly ₹152 crore worth of shares every trading hour. Yet, despite this massive outflow, the Indian stock market has remained remarkably resilient, thanks to strong domestic participation. Record Hourly Outflows by FIIs FIIs, often considered the lifeblood of Indian markets, have been aggressively selling in 2025. According to reports from ET, FIIs have offloaded over ₹2.23 lakh crore of shares in the secondary market so far this year. Broken down, this equates to around ₹900 crore in sales per trading day—or approximately ₹152 crore every trading hour. Despite this consistent selling pressure, benchmark indices like the Sensex have largely held their gr...

New Delhi, 15 December 2025: Cryptocurrency adoption in India is accelerating, and small towns are emerging as major contributors. According to CoinSwitch’s 2025 report, investment in crypto is no longer limited to metro cities—smaller towns are rapidly catching up. Surprisingly, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat lag behind in both individual and state-level investments. Uttar Pradesh Tops the ChartsUttar Pradesh has now become the leading state for cryptocurrency investments, contributing 13% of India’s total crypto transactions. This surpasses Maharashtra (12.1%) and Karnataka (7.9%). Tier-2 cities accounted for 32.2% of CoinSwitch users, while Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities contributed 43.4%, meaning smaller towns and semi-urban areas now drive over 75% of India’s crypto activity. Bitcoin...

New Delhi, 15 December 2025: Elitecon International Ltd, a leading tobacco and smoking products manufacturer, hit the upper circuit on Monday, continuing its spectacular run in the stock market. The stock surged 5% shortly after market opening and was trading at ₹114.84 by 2 PM, marking over 20% gains in the past five trading sessions. Remarkably, the stock has been hitting upper circuits for six consecutive days. What Triggered the Surge?The latest rally comes after Elitecon secured a major export order worth ₹883 crore from UAE-based company UV International Trade FZE. Under this deal, Elitecon will supply cigarettes, premix sheesha, hookah tobacco, smoking mixtures, and other tobacco-related products. The contract includes a one-year lock-in period and ensures consistent export volum...

New Delhi, 15 December 2025: Silver continues its impressive rally as prices jumped sharply on Monday, gaining over ₹6,000. On the MCX, March delivery silver touched ₹1.99 lakh per kg by 3 PM, marking a more than 3% increase during the day. Last week, silver had briefly crossed the ₹2 lakh mark per kg before witnessing some volatility and profit-booking. Gold also saw upward movement, with February delivery gold rising ₹1,700 to ₹1.35 lakh per 10 grams by afternoon. The surge in precious metals comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, pushing the dollar index to a two-month low of 98.32. This move provided support to both gold and silver globally, driving prices to multi-month highs. Silver’s Stellar 2025 PerformanceThe year 2025 has been excepti...

New Delhi: Consumers may have to pay more for LED televisions starting January, as rising memory chip prices and a weakened Indian rupee are expected to push TV prices up by 3-4%. This development poses a significant challenge for TV manufacturers, who rely heavily on imported components. Rupee Depreciation Adds PressureThe Indian rupee recently crossed the ₹90-per-dollar mark for the first time. Only around 30% of an LED TV is manufactured domestically, while critical components like open cells, semiconductors, and motherboards are imported. With the rupee weakening, the cost of these imports rises, directly impacting retail prices. Memory Chip Shortage Intensifies the ProblemThe global memory chip shortage, driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI servers, ha...