Friday, March 20
Swiss bank UBS posted on Wednesday a forecast-beating 56% surge in net profit on strong performances from its wealth management and investment banking divisions, and announced plans for more share buybacks. The world's largest wealth manager intends to repurchase at least $3 billion of shares in 2026, the same amount it bought back last year, and aims "to do more." The amount of additional buybacks was subject to further clarity around the future regulatory regime for banking in Switzerland, it said. Swiss authorities have proposed stricter capital rules for the country's remaining big bank since UBS bought ailing Credit Suisse in 2023 in a state-engineered emergency takeover. How the final regulations will be shaped remains unclear, but shares in UBS have risen since early Decemb
New Delhi: The Swedish furniture retailer Ikea's Indian arm reported a marginally lower revenue of Rs 1,749.5 crore for the year ended March 2025 compared to the previous year.Ikea’s losses have widened with net loss touching Rs 1,325.2 crore in FY25, compared with Rs 1,299.4 crore a year earlier, as the retailer is still firmly in investment mode, the near-term challenge will be to rein in losses and improve operational efficiency as scale builds up.IKEA, which opened its first India store in 2018 in the southern city of Hyderabad and plans to open more stores and increase sourcing locally. It will also start selling online in several places in Tamil Nadu.IKEA India, incorporated in 2013 and part of the Ingka Group, has been steadily building its physical and online presence across majo
The software sector was jolted overnight with what analysts are calling a “SaaSpocalypse” — a sudden and severe selloff triggered by new artificial intelligence tools unveiled by US AI startup Anthropic. The episode has sharpened investor fears that AI is no longer merely helping software companies but may now begin replacing them.So, first, what exactly is this new tool?Anthropic has expanded its enterprise AI platform, Claude Cowork, by launching 11 new plugins aimed at automating a wide range of professional tasks. Claude Cowork is an agentic, no-code AI assistant built for corporate users, allowing companies to automate workflows without writing software. The new plugins are designed to handle tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis functions. The most recent addit
Gold and silver futures opened higher for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, pushing commodity-based ETFs up by as much as 9% during the period. Prices were supported by rising geopolitical tensions after the US military reported shooting down an Iranian drone near one of its aircraft carriers. Bargain buying at lower levels and a softer US dollar also lent support to gold prices.Edelweiss Silver ETF, Kotak Silver ETF, Mirae Asset Silver ETF, Zerodha Silver ETF and Tata Silver ETF gained up to 9% on Wednesday.The Wealth Company Gold ETF surged up to 8%, followed by Kotak Gold ETF, Mirae Asset Gold ETF, and Bandhan Gold ETF, which rallied upto 7%. Nippon India Gold ETF, the largest fund in the category based on the assets managed, gained 5% in the mentioned time frame to a day’s h
