Author: Supriya Jena

  • UltraTech Acquires Stake in Star Cement: What Investors Should Know

    UltraTech Acquires Stake in Star Cement: What Investors Should Know

    UltraTech Cement, the largest cement company in India, recently decided to buy about 8.69% of Star Cement. This deal could cost them up to Rs 851 crore (which is a lot of money!). They plan to buy 3.70 crore shares at a price of Rs 235 each, paying in cash.

    This purchase values Star Cement at around USD 150 for every tonne of cement they can produce, based on their current capacity. Star Cement is strong in the Northeast part of India and has a plant in Meghalaya along with four other grinding units. They plan to increase their production capacity to 25 million tonnes by 2030.

    After this news, ICICI Securities, a company that gives financial advice, changed its recommendation for Star Cement from “buy” to “hold.” They worry about possible future mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the cement industry because of this deal. Many people also own shares of Star Cement, which increases speculation about more financial activity.

    Star Cement’s stock price fell a bit on Monday but UltraTech’s stock rose slightly. ICICI Securities believes the high valuation and possible changes in ownership make it a cautious investment right now. Star Cement’s earnings grew in the last fiscal year, reaching Rs 2,910.66 crores

  • INS Tushil Ships Off to Strengthen India-Morocco Naval Relations

    INS Tushil Ships Off to Strengthen India-Morocco Naval Relations

    The Indian warship INS Tushil, led by Captain Peter Varghese, visited Casablanca, Morocco, on December 27, 2024. During this visit, Captain Varghese met with Brigadier General Ahmed Kartouf, who is in charge of weapons in the Casablanca area, along with other senior Moroccan military leaders. They talked about ways to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Royal Moroccan Navy.

    The Indian Navy shared updates on this meeting through their official social media post, mentioning that they discussed important matters of mutual interest and ways to improve their teamwork at sea. The team on the INS Tushil even took part in fun activities such as yoga and a friendly volleyball game with the Moroccan Navy.

    This visit is significant because it helps build closer maritime and diplomatic ties between India and Morocco. The Indian Ministry of Defence highlighted the importance of working together, especially since three Indian Navy ships visited Casablanca in the last year, helping to build trust and collaboration.

    INS Tushil was recently commissioned on December 9, 2024, in Russia. It is manned by a dedicated crew of 250 people. As the ship sails back home to Karwar, it will engage in joint exercises with other friendly navies, further promoting India’s strong presence in maritime affairs. This visit by INS Tushil is a step forward in enhancing the relationship between India and Morocco, a country known for its important position along both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, similar to India’s strategic maritime location.

  • Deadly Fire at Bangkok Hotel: 3 Tourists Killed as Safety Concerns Rise

    Deadly Fire at Bangkok Hotel: 3 Tourists Killed as Safety Concerns Rise

    A fire broke out at the Ember Hotel on Khao San Road in Bangkok, a famous spot for tourists. Sadly, three foreign visitors lost their lives in the fire, and several others were hurt. Police Colonel Sanong Saengmanee shared this news with the Associated Press.

    The fire started on the fifth floor of the six-story hotel late Sunday night. One person was found dead at the hotel, and two others died later in the hospital.

    At the time of the fire, 75 people were staying at the Ember Hotel. Seven people were injured, including two Thai citizens and five foreigners.

    Firefighters managed to control the flames, and they are still figuring out what caused the fire.

    Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said it is important to focus on safety, especially now that New Year’s Eve celebrations are coming up, which will include fireworks and other activities around the city.

  • Indian Stock Markets Open Lower: Key Insights for Investors”

    Indian Stock Markets Open Lower: Key Insights for Investors”

    Indian Markets Open Lower
    Indian stock markets, the Sensex and Nifty50, started the week slightly down on Monday. This drop was due to big companies like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and Infosys losing value. At around 9:17 am, the BSE Sensex was down by 105 points (0.13%) at 78,593, while the Nifty50 decreased by 27 points (0.11%) to 23,786.

    In the Sensex group, companies such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, and State Bank of India were struggling. However, some companies like Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Zomato, and ITC saw gains.

    One particular stock, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, rose by 4% because it decided to sell bad loans worth Rs 355 crore for Rs 52 crore. On the other hand, Ola Electric shares dropped nearly 5% after two important executives announced their resignations.

    Looking at sectors, the Nifty Auto and Oil & Gas companies were down by more than 0.5%, leading to a weak market overall. Indices for Banking, IT, Metals, PSU Banks, Realty, and Consumer Goods declined slightly as well, dropping between 0.1% and 0.3%.

    Expert Opinions
    Analysts are cautious as investors move from 2024 to the New Year. Concerns about the future, especially with the changes in the U.S. market and political landscape, make experts worried. Dr. V K Vijayakumar from Geojit Financial Services noted that market prices are high, so any bad news might lead to further drops. IT and banking stocks have held up well due to their fair prices. Therefore, it’s wise for investors to stay alert as we head into 2025.

    Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking pointed out a “warning sign” in the daily chart for Nifty 50: an inverted hammer candle. This means people might be selling off their shares after a recent jump in price. Immediate support levels are around 23,600 and 23,500, which could be places where the market might bounce back. If the Nifty breaks above 24,000, it could rise further up to 24,400 and 24,600.

  • Indian Workers Boost Israel’s Construction Amid Workforce Shortage”

    Indian Workers Boost Israel’s Construction Amid Workforce Shortage”

    Wearing safety gear like belts, helmets, and work boots, Raju Nishad climbs the scaffolding at a construction site in Beer Yaakov, central Israel. He is one of many Indian workers helping to build new homes and buildings, stepping in for Palestinian workers who cannot come to Israel after a serious attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

    Before this attack, many workers on this site would be speaking Arabic, but now you hear Hindi, Hebrew, and even Mandarin. The Hamas attack started a big and deadly war, not just involving Hamas but also other groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Huthi rebels in Yemen. However, Nishad, 35, is not scared. He feels safe and says, “There’s nothing to be afraid of here.” Even when air raid warnings go off, they quickly find shelter and then go back to work.

    Many people, like Nishad, earn a lot more money in Israel than they do in India—sometimes three times as much! Nishad says he is saving for his family’s future and wants to invest wisely. In the past year, about 16,000 Indian workers have come to Israel, and many more are expected soon.

    India is doing well economically and has a lot of people looking for jobs. Many Indians have worked in Israel for years as caregivers or in IT. But now, there is a need for more Indian workers in construction too. Samir Khosla, from a staffing service in Delhi, has already brought over 3,500 workers to Israel and hopes to send even more.

    In Tel Aviv, some Indian workers are living together in a small apartment and have learned to cook their favorite spicy foods from home. Suresh Kumar Verma, 39, is also working in construction and believes that making good money is important for the future of his family.

    However, researchers in Israel say there are still not enough Indian workers to replace the Palestinians who used to work in construction. Before the war, around 80,000 Palestinians and 26,000 foreign workers were employed in this sector. Now, there are only about 30,000 foreign workers, which is much lower than before. This shortage can cause delays in building homes, especially for a growing population in Israel.

  • Pushpa 2: The Rule Box Office Success & Upcoming Films Challenge”

    Pushpa 2: The Rule Box Office Success & Upcoming Films Challenge”

    Pushpa 2: The Rule,” starring Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, and Fahadh Faasil, is doing really well at the box office! The movie is almost a month old, and as of its fourth weekend, it has earned over ₹1156.85 crore in India, according to Niftystat.

    This past Sunday, the movie made ₹15.5 crore. In its first week, “Pushpa 2” scored a huge ₹725.8 crore, followed by ₹264.8 crore in the second week and ₹129.5 crore in the third week. However, the weekend before, its earnings dropped to single-digit figures for the first time.

    Going forward, we have to wait and see if “Pushpa 2” will keep up its impressive numbers since it has little competition until the festival of Sankranthi.

    Upcoming Releases for Sankranthi:
    A lot of new Telugu and Tamil films are coming out in January. Shankar’s “Game Changer,” starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani, hits theaters on January 10. Bobby’s “Daaku Maharaaj” with Balakrishna and Bobby Deol will release on January 12, and Anil Ravipudi’s film “Sankranthiki Vastunnam,” featuring Venkatesh, will come out on January 14.

    Overall, “Pushpa 2: The Rule” has been a box office champion, but we’ll see if it continues to shine as more movies are released!

  • “Jeju Air Plane Crash: 179 Lives Lost in Tragic Incident”

    “Jeju Air Plane Crash: 179 Lives Lost in Tragic Incident”

    A Jeju Air plane was flying from Bangkok, Thailand to Muan, South Korea when it crashed while landing on Sunday. There were 181 people on board, and sadly, 179 of them lost their lives. Only two people, both flight attendants, were rescued from the wreckage.

    The plane had just made its first landing attempt at around 9:00 AM when the control tower warned the pilot about birds near the runway. Shortly after, the pilot sent out a distress call, known as a mayday, as the plane tried to land again without its wheels down. Dramatic videos showed the plane skidding on the runway, trailing smoke, before it crashed into a wall and caught fire.

    Investigators are looking into what caused the crash, and they think it might have been due to the birds or bad weather. One official mentioned that the runway is long enough for this type of aircraft, so that probably wasn’t the issue.

    Bird strikes are when birds hit airplanes during flight. They can be dangerous, especially if birds get sucked into the engines. One famous bird strike happened in 2009 when a U.S. Airways plane landed safely in the Hudson River after birds hit its engines, which was called the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

    Before this incident, Jeju Air had an excellent safety record. This was their first deadly accident. The last significant air disaster in South Korea was in 2002 when 129 people died after a plane hit a hill. South Korea’s aviation safety record is strong overall, although there have been some tragedies in the past

  • Aussie Bowlers Make History in Fourth Test: A Thrilling Comeback!”

    Aussie Bowlers Make History in Fourth Test: A Thrilling Comeback!”

    In Melbourne, on December 29, Australian bowlers Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland created a special record during the fourth Test match against India. They survived 50 balls together in both innings, becoming only the second pair to achieve this!

    The Indian bowlers tried hard to win the match. After Australia found itself struggling at 91/6, the lower-order batsmen made a fantastic recovery, reaching 228/9 by the end of day four, leading India by 333 runs.

    In the first innings, Boland and Lyon helped Australia score 474 runs. Together, they added 19 runs while facing 51 balls before Lyon got out. In the second innings, they did even better! After struggling to 91/6, they put on 55 more runs while facing 110 balls. Boland did well to defend, scoring 10 runs off 65 balls, while Lyon played aggressively, scoring 41 runs off 54 balls.

    Previously, the first pair to survive so many balls was Pakistan’s Afaq Hussain and Haseeb Ahsan in 1961.

    As for the match, Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. Key contributions came from Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72), and Steve Smith, who scored his 34th Test century with 140 runs.

    Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were the top bowlers for India. India struggled early but an excellent partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal (82) and Virat Kohli (36) helped stabilize the innings. Later, Washington Sundar and Nitish played beautifully to help India reach 369 runs.

    In their second inning, Australia faced more pressure but Labuschagne (70) and skipper Pat Cummins (41) helped the team recover again.

    This Test match continues to keep fans on the edge of their seats!

  • Kashmir Returns to Normal After Heavy Snowfall: Latest Updates”

    Kashmir Returns to Normal After Heavy Snowfall: Latest Updates”

    Normal life is coming back to Kashmir after the heaviest snowfall of the season. On Sunday, flights started again, and many roads were cleared for vehicles. This snowfall, which started on Friday evening and continued into Saturday, caused a lot of problems for people living there.

    In Punjab and Haryana, the weather is still quite cold, with temperatures lower than normal. In Himachal Pradesh, some high places saw fresh snow, especially in Kalpa and Kufri. Areas like Narakanda and Keylong also received new snow early Sunday.

    In Rajasthan, a few eastern areas had light rain, and many places were covered in dense fog. Some parts had very chilly weather conditions. The Jammu and Kashmir government worked swiftly to fix services that were disrupted by the snowstorm. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah praised the hard work of teams clearing the snow and restoring power.

    By Sunday morning, flights were again taking off from the Srinagar International Airport after safety checks. The important Srinagar-Jammu highway reopened for cars after being closed for a day. However, drivers should be careful, especially between Banihal and Qazigund where the roads are slippery. Some key routes like the Mughal Road and Sinthan Pass still remain closed due to heavy snow.

    In Punjab and Haryana, thick fog made it hard to see in the morning. Many places in Haryana experienced harsh cold, with daytime temperatures in cities like Ambala and Hisar only reaching about 13 to 15 degrees Celsius. Amritsar and Ludhiana in Punjab were slightly warmer, hitting around 16 to 17 degrees.

    Meanwhile, in Delhi, the temperature reached 18 degrees Celsius, which is a bit lower than usual. The lowest temperature was reported at 13 degrees Celsius, which is warmer than usual for this time.

    In Rajasthan, Kota had light rain, but the western areas of the state remained dry. The hottest place in Rajasthan was Barmer, reaching 24.5 degrees Celsius.

  • Panamanian President Refutes Trump’s Claims About Chinese at Canal”

    Panamanian President Refutes Trump’s Claims About Chinese at Canal”

    Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino, has strongly rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claims that Chinese soldiers are “operating the Panama Canal.” Trump made these comments on his social media platform, saying that Panama is taking unfair advantage of the US while suggesting that Chinese soldiers are controlling the canal and making the US pay millions for repairs.

    President Mulino called Trump’s statements “nonsense” and insisted that there are no Chinese troops in Panama. He said that anyone in the world is free to visit the canal and see for themselves. “What [Trump] is saying is not true. It doesn’t exist,” Mulino added.

    The President also reminded everyone that the canal is owned by Panama. “The canal belongs to Panamanians,” he stated, making it clear that there will be no discussions about changing this fact.

    In 2017, Panama started a friendly relationship with China after cutting ties with Taiwan. Mulino described this partnership as good for both countries. His comments come just after Trump said he would appoint a politician from Florida, Kevin Marino Cabrera, as ambassador to Panama. Trump believes Cabrera will represent the US well in Panama.

    At a recent conference, Trump even threatened to take control of the canal because he feels Panama is charging too much. Mulino responded firmly, saying, “The independence of our country is not up for discussion.” Trump also criticized Canada’s and Mexico’s actions, saying they hurt US interests.