Tuesday, August 18
Venezuela's interior minister Diosdado Cabello said late on Wednesday that 100 people died in the U.S. attack which removed President Nicolas Maduro from power on Saturday.Caracas have not previously given a number for those killed, but the army posted a list of 23 names of its dead. Venezuelan officials have said a large part of Maduro's security contingent was killed "in cold blood," and Cuba has said 32 members of its military and intelligence services in Venezuela were killed.Maduro's wife Cilia Flores, detained alongside him, suffered a head injury during the U.S. raid, Cabello said, and Maduro an injury to his leg.Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who Cabello praised during his weekly show on state television as "courageous
The Nifty Metal Index fell sharply on Thursday as profit booking and global commodity rebalancing triggered a correction after a strong rally, said Aditya Welekar, AVP, Axis Securities.According to Welekar, metal stocks had rallied sharply in recent months with valuations pricing in a near-perfect bull-case scenario. “Any pullback in underlying commodity prices was bound to lead to a correction in stock prices,” he said, adding that recent rebalancing in global commodity indices, including gold and silver, led to technical corrections across commodities and spillover volatility in metal stocks.Fed rate outlook adds to near-term volatilityAnother key factor weighing on metals is uncertainty around US Federal Reserve rate cuts. Strong US services data and mixed labour market signals have
With the Union Budget 2026-27 just weeks away and Brent crude hovering near $60 a barrel, JM Financial is urging investors to pick their oil and gas bets carefully. The brokerage has reiterated buy ratings on Oil India and ONGC, while warning of fiscal risks for state-run oil marketing companies, maintaining a sell on HPCL and reduce calls on IOCL and BPCL, citing potential excise-duty hikes that could offset gains from low crude prices.JM Financial said subdued crude prices could continue to support near-term marketing margins for OMCs but cautioned that the government could use the upcoming Budget to claw back revenue gains through higher excise duties on petrol and diesel. “OMCs’ blended auto-fuel GMM of ~INR 8.2/ltr (vs. historical GMM of INR 3.5/ltr) implies INR 3-4/ltr scope for
