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India's ESG and returns attract global investors
According to fund managers who spoke at the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association's conclave held in Mumbai, India has a'maturing market where foreign investors who consider environmental, social and government (ESG) issues are confident about dedicating more of their portfolio. They cite India’s size, the improving outlook for returns and the advancement of ESG standards as the key differentiators. Since 2010, India's SEBI, the market regulator, has expanded the scope of ESG-related regulations. The detailed Business and Sustainability Reports are now mandatory for India's top 1,000 listed companies. Ralph Keitel of responsAbility Investment in Zurich, who spoke at the conclave, said that "India has clearly earned its space" when it comes to allocations by global investors. Keitel stated that "Fifteen or?20 years back, India was a great place, but the returns were slower." He also sees the case for India as being stronger in the near future. Investors said that the appeal of the country is based on its relative strength at a moment when global allocations across China, United States and other emerging markets are being reassessed. According to the International Monetary Fund, India's economy will grow by 6.5% during fiscal years 2024-25 as well as 2025-26. Neha Grover is the South Asia Lead for Private Equity for IFC. She said that ESG impact - having a positive impact on communities - adds value. Grover said that India is one of the best emerging markets for exits. This is supported by a growing IPO pipeline. Keitel, from ResponsAbility Investments, also mentioned climate-related business opportunities as an area of'special interest'. He cited sectors like solar panels and mobility. He added that as incomes increase, environmental pressures intensify. (Writing by Urvi Dugar and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
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Hot metal production and demand from China are increasing.
Iron ore futures reversed previous losses on Tuesday. This was due to a?anticipated increase in hot metal production as construction activity resumes?in China and spurs demand for feedstock. The May contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange traded 0.26% higher, at 784 Yuan ($113.95). As of 0715 GMT, the benchmark April iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was up 0.76% at $103.85 per ton. After March 11, the government will lift production restrictions for the duration of the annual parliamentary session, which is expected to lead to an increase in demand for steelmaking raw materials. Steel demand typically increases in March, as construction resumes amid warmer temperatures. Customs data released on Tuesday showed that China's imports of iron ore grew by 10% in the first two month of 2026, compared to a year earlier. This was due to a stronger export from Australia, whose major supplier, and boosted domestic demand. During the same time period, hot metal production increased by 1.2% compared to a year ago, while steel exports decreased by 8.1%. According to Mysteel, the amount of iron ore that arrived at 47 Chinese ports increased between?March 2-8. Due to disruptions on the 'Strait of Hormuz,' iron ore destined for Middle East is being diverted to China. Iron ore shipments to Australia and Brazil, two of the world's largest iron ore producers, also declined week-on-week between March 2-8. This could limit further price declines. Coking coal and coke, two other steelmaking ingredients, also lost ground on the DCE. A report by Guoyuan?Research stated that coking coal and coke closely follow energy prices and have therefore risen and fell in tandem with crude oil. Steel benchmarks at the 'Shanghai Futures Exchange' mostly fell. Rebar fell 0.42%, while hot-rolled coils retreated by 0.18%. Wire rod also dropped 1.91%. Meanwhile, stainless steel grew by 0.82%.
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Mike Dolan explains how oil shocks and financial stress are often mutually reinforcing.
The central banks are watching the Iran oil shock with hawk-like eyes. Even if the main concern is inflation, it is not the only one. The worst case scenario for top policymakers would be that the crude price spike proves to be a breaking point in multiple financial stress fractures. Already, the central banks are being challenged by the surge in oil prices due to supply disruptions caused by more than a week of "war" in the Middle East. It's an age-old debate whether oil price spikes, which raise inflation and inflation expectations, ultimately hurt household and business finances to the point that they lower demand and prices. Then there is 'the toxic scenario, where they both do this. This leaves policymakers in a dilemma of whether to prioritise 'taming inflation? or supporting consumers and jobs. Hawks argue that if you act quickly to reduce prices, the impact on demand will be lessened. This is especially true for central banks where maintaining price stability is their main or sole goal. Others propose "looking through" volatile prices, similar to what central banks did after the pandemic, but with hindsight. All of this is based on a blizzard "ifs" - how the policy was set up before the shock. It also includes the possibility of government subsidies, energy price caps and the length of the conflict. These uncertainties may lead you to wait and watch events and the markets for a while before making any conclusions. There's also another factor that most central banks consider, and it is called financial stability. BOND MARKET TERMITES Senior officials are concerned that the mega-macro disruptions in energy, inflation rates, currencies, and interest rates could expose some of the trends and excesses they have been watching in financial markets. Some people are worried about the possibility of a perfect hurricane. Watchdogs are aware of many issues, but four in particular stand out. They usually involve "shadow banks", which are outside the traditional banking system. Asset managers are lending directly to businesses through private credit funds, which now exceed $3 trillion in value. What happens in these vehicles when a shock occurs is still unnerving to many, even without the public spotlight of traditional bank lending or bond market pricing. Regulators are concerned that the lack of transparency may cause investors to rush out of these funds. This could have ripple effects on borrowers, and ultimately for banks, who still finance or manage most of these vehicles. The rising percentage of government debt financed by hedge funds is a source of concern. Since years, there has been growing concern about their activities in the vital securities repurchase markets, also known as repo markets, and in today's massive U.S. government bonds arbitrage trades that exploit small differences between futures and cash pricing. These players can smooth out government funding, but they also expose the economy to significant shocks. In January, the G20 Financial Stability Board focused on repos, and warned of the possible impact to sovereign bonds of a sudden deleveraging from cash borrowers. The Financial Stability Board also highlighted the risks of a counterparty risk that was not adequately priced, with no haircuts often on sovereign bonds used for repos. Last year, more than $16 trillion of repo backed with government bonds were outstanding. About 60% of this was in America. The accumulation of stablecoins, which are crypto tokens that are pegged to dollars or other currencies by using "assets held in reserve", and the fact that they have become major holders of sovereign bonds is also a cause for concern. The $300 billion market is set to grow further. Any disruption to this ecosystem, or run on tokens could cause a unwinding of the assets and bonds backing them. Meanwhile, they could rob banks out of their deposits. It's also worth mentioning the long-standing concern of savers and investors about?the highly concentrated and overvalued artificial intelligence universe. What impact might the Middle East war have on all these fragile states? The behaviour of regional oil wealth and sovereign funds is one obvious example. Another is a traditional rush for dollar cash over paper or physical assets. The two main ways would be an increase in equity volatility and a change in interest rates due to a rise in energy prices. In the last week, we have seen the rumbles of this second scenario with the?increase in government borrowing rates as well as the jolts that central banks felt when they adjusted their interest rate horizons. The disturbance is not yet at destabilising levels. Since this type of financial stability has become a part of the remit of all central bankers, one wonders how they would cope with an event of this magnitude. Another question is whether these financial risks could work against a strong and decisive response by the central bank to any inflation threat. The Ukraine invasion and its inflation and interest rate shocks did not cause too many problems, at least after a couple of years with poor asset returns. However, there was the 2023 U.S. regional banking shakeout. There are no two shocks alike, but triple-digit oil prices and the pressure to act by central banks are not likely to go unnoticed. The opinions expressed are those of the columnist, author. This column is a great read! Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
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Leading British horses have a stellar start to the Cheltenham Festival
The New Lion, Lulamba and other horses will compete for a piece of the $6.70 million prize pool at the opening of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday. The festival, which attracts 200,000 racegoers over four days, is estimated to be worth 274 million pounds to the local economy, boosting local hotels, restaurants and pubs. William Hill predicts that 450 million pounds of bets will be placed in Britain. Guinness will be sold by the gallon at a price of 30 pence less. For those who are at the core of the sport it's all about the horses, and if this year's crop can rival the Irish. The golden age of British jump racing, when Paul Nicholls of Somerset and his horses such as dual Gold Cup-winner?Kauto Star or 18-times successive hurdle winners Big Buck's dominated the field, is now almost 20 years old. Willie Mullins has continued to dominate since then. His team of 113 winners have earned him the title of leading trainer 12 times. This year's team is no less dangerous, backed by wealthy owners such as former Barclays executive Rich Ricci or businessman J.P. McManus. Mullins pick for the?most prestigious jump race is Gaelic Warrior, who appears set to be favourite in Friday's Gold Cup feature. This race has eluded owner Susannah Ricci so far. Majborough, the favourite in Wednesday's Queen Mother Champion chase is Mullins' pick for jump racing's?most prestigious race. Skelton, Ben Pauling and Grey Dawning will be taking on Mullins in the 625,000 pound Gold Cup along with Harry Redknapp's King George VI Chase champion The Jukebox Man. The battle lines will be drawn first in the opening race of Tuesday's Grade 1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle when Mullins' Mighty Park faces British hope Old Park Star, a three-time winner and 2/1 favourite, trained by Henderson. Henderson has not hidden the fact that a Seven Barrows win on Tuesday will be a huge boost to the team, and set a positive tone for the rest of the week after Constitution Hill was ruled out. Henderson also runs the highly-anticipated Lulamba for the Arkle Novices Chase and Jangobaie for the Gold Cup. BULLISH BRITISH If Britain also won Tuesday's main race, the?450,000-pound Champion Hurdle, in which Mullins prolific mare Lossiemouth battles with Skelton’s The New Lion in a two-horse contest, Irish nerves could start to jangle. Skelton is sending his biggest team ever to Cheltenham. He has lined up 30-35 horses. Skelton is confident about some of the biggest British winners but he said his chances to win the top trainer award at the festival were "a possibility...not a probability." "I thought about it, because I am a competitive bugger. But the reality is that Willie will lead trainer,"? he said to the Racing Post Sunday. "With some luck, we could be behind him with a few other trainers." Ireland has been the winner of the Cheltenham Prestbury Cup, which is awarded to the nation with the most champions, in nine out of the last ten years. Cheltenham’s opening day is also important for British racing. It's in the spotlight because of governance issues with its regulator and recent moves made by gaming companies to cut sponsorship due to higher taxes. Cheltenham also wants to recover from the lower ticket sales of recent years. CEO Guy Lavender has tried to remedy this by lowering Guinness prices to 2022 levels, reducing restrictions in drinking areas, and reintroducing Ladies Day every Wednesday. Lavender said that "there is no doubt" that all businesses in the leisure sector are working harder to differentiate their products and services from those of competitors. The British racing industry continues to offer a great day out, and last year we saw the total attendance at all 60 racecourses surpass 5 million for the first time in 2019. Lavender said he is "very optimistic" about the ticket sales, which are up from last year. He said, "We're definitely going in the right directions."
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Wall Street Journal, March 10,
These are the most popular?stories from the Wall Street Journal. ? The accuracy of these stories has not been verified by the site. Rio Tinto has said that it is currently in negotiations with Mongolia regarding the Oyu Tolgoi mine, which is one of the largest deposits of?metal required to build data centers and electric vehicles. Shell agreed to sell Jiffy Lube?to Monomoy Capital Partners in a $1.3billion deal. Shell announced that the sale included Jiffy Lube, the?franchisee Premium Velocity Auto, and a network of stores operated by independent franchisees. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are supporting a new drone firm Powerus, which is trying to fill the gap left by the ban of 'new Chinese drones' in the U.S. Sturm 'Ruger stated that 'Beretta seeks to gain control over the company by acquiring discounted shares and obtaining excessive governance rights. - ?Anthropic filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration for ?designating the artificial-intelligence company a ?security threat and ?trying to cancel its federal contracts, bringing the battle between the two sides to the court system.
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Oil prices plunge as Trump and Iran trade barbs, while Asian stocks rise
In Asian trading, Tuesday, after U.S. president Donald Trump said the Middle East conflict could "end soon," stocks rallied and oil prices plummeted. The Iranian military's defiant declarations that it would fight on were enough to dash hopes for a quick resolution. In a choppy trading environment, MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 2.8% and pared losses since the beginning of the war. Brent crude futures dropped as much as 11 percent to below $88.05 a barrel when trading resumed before reducing their decline to 6.6%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, after a Monday rebound. Trump's remarks brought a burst optimism, which contrasted with the events in Iran. Hardliners rallied around the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khmenei, and the Revolutionary Guards announced that a blockade on oil exports would continue until U.S. attacks and Israeli attacks ended. On Monday, the global markets were thrown into turmoil by conflicting signals: initially, oil prices spiked while stocks fell on Wall Street before rebounding after Trump's remarks?and new reports that Washington might soften sanctions against Russian energy. Tony?Sycamore is a market analyst with IG in Sydney. "However, the taming down of Trump's rhetoric from demanding total surrender to declaring that the mission is'very completed' is a welcomed development and should help to settle nerves at least for today's Asian session." ASIAN STOCK MARKETS REBOUND After Monday's decline, investor confidence has risen amid signs that retail investors are taking more risks. Japan's Nikkei rose 2.7% while South Korea's Kospi soared up to 6.6%, before paring back gains. After futures increased by more than 5% the Korea Exchange halted programme trading for 5 minutes. China's CSI 300 index rose by 1.1%, after data from customs showed that exports grew faster in January and February. This keeps the second largest economy in the world on track to surpass its $1.2 trillion record trade surplus. Iran's military warned that it would increase its missile attacks as a further show of defiance. Trump stated in a Truth Social post that if Iran did anything to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz they would be hit TWENTY times harder than they had been so far. U.S. Treasury Bonds recovered after the Monday spike in oil prices caused an inflation fear and fuelled expectations of central banks in Europe tightening policy later this year. Analysts from BlackRock Investment Institute wrote: "Market pricing suggests weeks of disruptions and not days or even months." Market pricing suggests that a stagflationary event is possible, but not certain. According to CME Group's FedWatch, traders are betting on when the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates. The first cut is not expected until July. Analysts from ING stated that bond yields are still at "troubling levels". Expect nominal yields to drop for a while on a reverse trade. In a note to clients, they warned: "Don't expect bonds to rally dramatically structurally." Remember, we have to overcome clear 'inflation' impulses, and that the economy may be down, but it is not out. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six major peers, was flat on Tuesday, after a drop that reversed all its gains from the previous week on Monday. Gold rose 0.8% to $5,177.96 and remained within its trading range of the previous week. Cryptocurrencies remained in the same range as they have been since February 1. Bitcoin increased 1.4%, to $69,976.73, and ether rose 0.9%, to $2,043.86. (Reporting and editing by Gregor Stuart Hunter, Shri Navaratnam, and Jamie Freed).
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Trump says he will escalate the strikes if Iran continues its oil blockade.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Tuesday that they will not allow "one single litre" of oil to be shipped out of the Middle East as long as U.S. attacks and Israeli attacks continue. This prompted a warning by?President Donald Trump, who said the U.S. could hit Iran harder if it blocks exports from this vital energy producing region. The increased rhetoric did not stop the sharp decline in crude prices or the rally in global stocks that followed after Trump expressed his confidence in an end to hostilities as soon as possible, even after Iran named Mojtaba Khmenei its new supreme ruler in a defiance signal. Trump claimed on Monday that the United States has inflicted severe damage to Iran's military. He also predicted the conflict will end much sooner than the four-week timeline he set out. However, he did not specify what victory looks like. Israel claims that its goal in the war is to topple Iran's clerical system. U.S. officials say Washington's main goal is to destroy Iran’s missile capability and nuclear program, but Trump said that the war could only end with a compliant Iranian regime. According to Iran's U.N. Ambassador, at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have been killed and thousands injured since the U.S. launched an air and missile strike across Iran in late February. Trump warned that U.S. strikes could increase if Iran attempted to block tanker traffic through Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is responsible for one-fifth of world oil supplies. Trump stated at a Monday news conference that "we will hit them so badly that they or anyone else helping them will never be able to recover that part of the world." IRAN SAYS THAT IT WILL DETERMINE THE END OF WAR The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran said that it would not permit any oil to be exported from the region as long as the United States or Israel continued their attacks. According to state media, a spokesperson claimed that Trump's remarks were "nonsense". In a subsequent Truth Social post Trump reiterated his warning. He said that if Iran did anything to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz they would be hit by the United States of America a whopping TWENTY times harder than they had been hit so far. Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister, said that Iran is unlikely to continue negotiations with the U.S. citing what he called a "bitter" experience with previous talks. "After three rounds, the American delegation in the negotiations said that we had made significant progress. They still decided to attack. "I don't believe that talking to Americans would be on the agenda anymore," he told PBS in an interview. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed by the war, preventing tankers from sailing for over a week. Producers have also had to stop pumping oil as storage facilities are filling up. Mojtaba Khmenei was appointed on Monday, which seemed to end hopes for a quick end to war. Oil markets surged and share markets plummeted, but then swung in the opposite direction after Trump predicted a "quick end" to war and reported reports of possible sanctions being eased on Russian energy. Trump announced that after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin he would waive oil-related restrictions on "some countries" in order to ease the shortage. Multiple sources claim that this could lead to a further relaxation of sanctions against Russian oil. This could complicate attempts to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. Sources said that other options could include the release of oil from strategic reserve or restricting U.S. imports. Brent crude futures dropped more than 10% after rising as high as?29% Monday, their highest level since 2022. Global stock markets have also rebounded. In the United States, the price of gasoline is a major political issue. Voters are concerned about rising prices ahead of November's midterm elections when Trump and his Republicans will be trying to maintain control of Congress. A poll conducted by /Ipsos on Monday revealed that 67% of Americans believe gas prices will rise in the next few months. Only 29% of Americans approve of the war. One Los Angeles driver called the current gas prices "horrible". They're expensive, high, and just plain?high. You sometimes have to decide between gas and things you need. OIL REFINERY HIT Tehran was engulfed in black smoke following an attack on an oil refinery. This was an increase in attacks against Iran's energy supply. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization's chief, warned of fire hazards contaminating "foods, water and air". Turkey reported that NATO air defences shot down a?ballistic missile fired by Iran and entering Turkish airspace. This is the second incident of this kind in the war. Iran has not yet responded to the report. Israel's military announced that it has launched new attacks on central Iran, and also struck Beirut in Lebanon. Israel said this after Hezbollah, a militia supported by Iran, fired across the border. Five Iranian women's soccer players who sought asylum in Australia due to fear of persecution in their homeland were granted humanitarian visas. Canberra has also committed to sending military surveillance aircraft and missiles to United Arab Emirates in order to defend them against Iranian attacks.
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MORNING BID CENTRE NEWSLETTER - Trump says war is "very complete" - Iran's ideas are different
Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The White House announced that things will soon be back to normal. The global stock market has largely maintained the relief rally which?followed?Monday’s wild swings. However, fears are resurfacing after Iran announced that it would increase its missile attacks. Markets were initially buoyed by President Donald Trump’s claim that the war against Iran is "very complete" - and "could be over soon". This was despite Iranian hardliners rallying behind their new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khmenei, and stating that they would continue to blockade oil. Iran's military shattered the hopes of markets within hours after Trump's remarks. Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared that "we are the ones who determine the end of war". The exchange was brought back to the familiar pace with Trump threatening to strike Iran "TWENTY times harder than they've been hit so far." Brent crude futures dropped as much as 11 % to a low of $88.05 a barrel before reducing their decline to just 4.8%. The stock market has largely held its ground despite signs of risk-taking from retail investors. The Nikkei225 in Japan jumped by 2.1% while the Kospi in South Korea soared up to 6.6%. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose 2.2% to trim losses since the beginning of the conflict. The rally continued in the early European trade, with DAX German futures gaining 1,0% and FTSE Futures gaining 0.4%. The U.S. equity markets were less active, however. S&P 500 futures?EScv1 fell 0.5%, reversing Monday's gains. Data released on Tuesday showed that China's export growth accelerated in January-February. This puts the second largest economy in the world on track to surpass its $1.2 trillion record trade surplus by 2026. Vietnam's Trade Ministry said that it is again encouraging local businesses to encourage employees to "work from home" - this time to "save on fuel", amid supply disruptions and prices spikes caused by the Iran War. The following are the key developments that may influence Tuesday's markets: Earnings of the company Oracle, Volkswagen, Persimmon, Kohl's Economic Events Germany's trade balance for January Debt auctions: Germany: 2-year government debt
India takes steps to combat rising copper supply risks
Two government sources and an unpublished draft document state that India held internal discussions about its vulnerability to a tightening copper market. It also plans to discuss how to secure supply from countries with abundant resources during ongoing trade talks.
Sources and documents indicate that New Delhi also considers measures to boost domestic refined-copper output, including by attracting foreign investment.
The document that was reviewed stated that India imports over 90% of the copper concentrate it needs. This dependency will increase to 97% in 2047. The document reviewed by estimates that India produces 573,000 tons of refined Copper annually, but the demand is around 1.8 millions tons. Imports are needed to fill this gap.
Sources and the document said that India could approach global giants like Chile's Codelco (the world's biggest copper producer) and Australian miner BHP for the purpose of setting up copper smelters or refineries in India.
Codelco refused to comment while BHP and federal Ministry of Mines didn't respond to emails asking for comments.
Sources said that Indian state firms may invest in overseas mining operations run by Codelco or BHP, in exchange for taking part in the development in India of copper infrastructure.
India's imports of copper have increased since Vedanta closed its Sterlite Copper Smelter in 2018. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, India imported 1.2 millions metric tons (or 4% more) of copper than a year ago.
'RESOURCE NATIONALISM'
The document explained the strategies that are likely to be used in bilateral trade agreements. It stated that India was seeking to include an extensive "copper section" in its ongoing negotiations for free trade with Chile and Peru to secure copper concentrate supplies.
It said that while tighter copper supplies from major exporters like Indonesia have restricted India's options for sourcing, Chile and Peru have already made long-term agreements with major global purchasers such as China, further limiting India's choices.
Document: The government wants Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, a state-owned company, to also secure strategic minerals from abroad and explore copper resources in Chile, Peru Australia, Mongolia and other countries.
It said that India's supply chain could be more susceptible to disruptions if the leading mineral resource suppliers resort to "resource nationalism".
China placed export restrictions in April on rare earths, which squeezed supply of minerals that are used in electronics, weapons and consumer goods.
The document stated that this trend indicates "an urgent need for foreign assets acquisition". Reporting by Neha arora, Editing by Mayank bhardwaj and Jan Harvey
(source: Reuters)