Tuesday, August 25
Test prep startup Unacademy has amended its employee stock option plan, significantly shortening the exercise window for former employees.Earlier, employees who left the company had up to 10 years to purchase the stock options they had earned during their tenure. Under the revised policy, they must now do so within 30 days of leaving the company.In an email to former employees, Unacademy said its board has approved a one-time 30-day window from the effective date of the amended plan, allowing exited employees to purchase all the stock options they had earned.“As per applicable tax laws in India, any exercise of your vested options, will trigger an immediate tax liability on you,” it said. The company said the valuation used for exercising ESOPs is based on its latest assessment conduct
European shares closed at a record high on Friday, driven by defence and insurance stocks, as investors turned optimistic with just a handful of trading days left before the end of the year after a selloff earlier this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.4% to 587.50, a day after logging its best one-day performance in more than three weeks and ending the week up 1.7%. The index is on track for its best annual performance since 2021, aided by falling interest rates and global investors diversifying from premium-valued U.S. technology stocks. Major regional markets were also higher, with Germany's DAX up 0.4% and London's FTSE 100 gaining 0.6%. Aerospace & defence stocks led sector gains, with heavyweight banks adding 0.8%. British lenders Standard Chartered, Barclays an
Oil prices edged up on possible disruptions from a U.S. blockade of Venezuelan tankers as the market waits for news about a possible Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Brent futures rose 65 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $60.47 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 51 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $56.66. That put Brent and WTI down about 1% this week after both crude benchmarks fell about 4% last week. In other energy markets, a recent drop in U.S. gasoline futures to a four-year low cut 321- and gasoline crack spreads, which measure refining profit margins, to their lowest since February. "The (oil) complex is posting small gains in holding above lows established earlier this week as it awaits further guidance regarding Ukraine/Russian peace talks as well as
The US Justice Department has begun releasing a long-awaited cache of records from its investigations into the politically explosive case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein -- though much of the material remained heavily redacted.Among the trove released Friday are numerous photographs depicting former Democratic president Bill Clinton and other luminaries, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, in Epstein's social circle.The sweeping blackouts across many of the documents -- combined with tight control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump's administration -- stoked skepticism over whether this disclosure will silence conspiracy theories of a high-level cover-up.In one example, a 119-page document labeled "Grand Jury-NY" is entirely redacted. Also, seven pages
