President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that fuel prices will be lowered at select gas stations in the Philadelphia area just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, as he boasted that oil and gas prices are dropping.

On Friday, Freedom Fuel Network will be lowering gas prices at 25 stations across the Greater Philadelphia Area, according to Trump.

“As we approach America’s 250th Birthday, I am pleased to announce that a VERY smart Retailer, located throughout the Northeast, is stepping up, and wishing the People of Philadelphia a ‘Happy Birthday!’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said Freedom Fuel Network is “taking the lead” and urged other retailers to follow.

BESSENT WARNS GAS STATIONS ‘WE’RE WATCHING’ AS TRUMP DEMANDS IMMEDIATE PRICE CUTS

“They are doing this because they love the U.S.A. We are proud to celebrate America’s 250th Birthday in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Birthplace of our very special, one-of-a-kind Declaration of Independence,” he wrote.

“America has never been stronger than it is now, and Gas Prices will soon be back to the Record Low Prices Americans enjoyed at the pump before our very successful ‘excursion’ in Iran. Happy Birthday America!” the president continued.

He said that fuel prices are dipping, but not at the rate he would like to see.

“Just as I promised, Oil Prices are plummeting FAST, and Gas Prices at the pump are dropping too, but not as fast as they should be,” Trump said.

This comes after the president demanded on Monday that gasoline retailers lower their prices “IMMEDIATELY!” Last week, he threatened a federal price-gouging investigation against them.

Trump argued in his Monday post that gas prices are still “too high” despite a dip in crude oil futures to near levels seen before the recent U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, and urged retailers to target an average gas price of around $2.50 per gallon, which would be less than the roughly $3-per-gallon national average seen before the conflict, depending on the date and source.

“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!” he said on Monday.

“Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number, and California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline. Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government,” he added.

TRUMP ALLEGES GAS PRICE GOUGING, CALLS FOR DOJ INVESTIGATION

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to Trump’s post on Monday by blaming the president for high fuel prices.

“REMINDER of what Trump said on March 12: ‘When oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,’” the governor’s press office wrote.

In another post, the press office wrote: “The GOP-enabled Iran war has now forced a growing $63 billion in extra fuel costs on Americans nationwide — that $243.14 per California household so far this year.”

The current national average for gas is $3.847 per gallon, with some states such as California exceeding $5 per gallon, according to AAA. AAA listed California’s average at $5.414 per gallon and Pennsylvania’s average at $3.986 per gallon on Wednesday.

Police in Singapore have seized a multi-million dollar luxury home that was allegedly bought using proceeds from smuggling Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The property last changed hands for 55 million Singapore dollars (£32m; $42.5m), with at least two-thirds of its purchase price allegedly funded by illicit earnings, authorities said on Wednesday.

The home was seized as part of a probe into the alleged illegal trade in servers containing highly sought-after advanced Nvidia chips, which are subject to US export controls.

The US Department of Justice has previously flagged Singapore as a key transit hub to conceal illegal shipments to China.

The police said an order was in place to stop the property being sold during the investigation.

Located a short walk from Singapore’s famous Botanic Gardens, the property sits in a prime district of the land-scarce city-state.

Wei Zhaolun, who is also known as Alan Wei, will be charged with money laundering for allegedly using around 38 million Singapore dollars of criminal proceeds to fund the purchase of the house, police said.

He is the chief executive of Aperia Group, which sells servers and other tech hardware to businesses. The BBC has contacted Aperia Group for comment.

Authorities have also seized around one million Singapore dollars held in bank accounts.

The police said a total of four people, including Wei, have been charged since February 2025 over fraud and other alleged crimes linked to the case.

The individuals allegedly placed orders for servers from global suppliers under the pretence that they would be used by companies they worked for.

Authorities have not said where the servers were shipped to.

The police said the servers in the case were bought from three suppliers – Dell, Super Micro Computer and Asus. The BBC has contacted the three companies for comment.

If convicted of fraud, the four, who face multiple charges, could face jail time of up to 20 years.

Singapore-based tech companies, Luxuriate Your Life and three firms under the Aperia Group, also face charges in what the police say is the first instance of corporate entities being prosecuted under these investigations.

The BBC has been unable to reach Luxuriate Your Life for comment.

The police said it holds a “zero-tolerance stance towards such offences” and will act against anyone who violates Singapore’s laws to protect the country’s integrity as a trusted global business hub.

The US and Singapore have cracked down on the illegal shipping of Nvidia chips since Washington restricted their export in 2022 over concerns that they could be used by the Chinese military.

Authorities in Singapore said in 2025 that servers containing chips under US export controls were believed to have been shipped via the island-state.

The US has since approved the sale of some of Nvidia’s semiconductors to China, under certain conditions.

SEATTLE — The United States men’s national team carries its highest momentum in a generation into Monday night’s Round of 16 clash against Belgium at Lumen Field, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side will have to navigate the elimination bracket without leading scorer Folarin Balogun, who received a controversial red card in Wednesday’s 2-0 round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina that will keep him out of the Seattle fixture.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with Fox providing English-language broadcast coverage and Telemundo and Peacock carrying Spanish-language feeds for the nation’s largest sporting event in Seattle since the 2026 tournament was awarded to the United States, Canada and Mexico as co-hosts.

The American victory over Bosnia was built around Balogun’s third goal of the tournament and a strong second-half performance that validated the tactical approach Pochettino had maintained throughout the group stage. Christian Pulisic returned to the starting lineup after missing time with a calf injury sustained in the team’s tournament opener, a significant boost that reunited him with Balogun in the starting eleven for the first time with full fitness. Together they gave the American attack a dimension that had been partially constrained through the group stage’s final two matches, and the result left the United States having won their group for the first time since 2010.

But Balogun’s red card late in the Bosnia match now forces Pochettino to reorganize his attack for what could be the most important American World Cup match in a generation. Ricardo Pepi is the most likely replacement to lead the line Monday, a striker with strong club form who gives the USMNT a physical presence and the ability to hold the ball with his back to goal even if he lacks Balogun’s movement and finishing instincts.

Belgium’s path to Seattle was considerably more difficult. The Red Devils edged Senegal 3-2 in extra time in their Round of 32 match, a grueling 130-plus minutes that required Romelu Lukaku to come off the bench and provide a momentum-shifting contribution for the second consecutive game. The result advanced Belgium but raised real questions about the team’s fitness heading into Monday’s match, with an extra 30 minutes of effort on top of 90 already in their legs compared to the United States’ more controlled victory.

Belgium’s squad, widely acknowledged to be the final chapter of a golden generation that promised so much and delivered relatively little at major tournaments, features Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois among several players expected to be making their final World Cup appearances. The group was third place in 2018 in Russia but suffered a humiliating group-stage exit at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, a failure that deepened the sense of unfulfilled potential surrounding one of Europe’s most individually talented squads of the past decade. This tournament represents a final opportunity to reverse that narrative.

The recent head-to-head record technically favors Belgium, who beat the United States 5-2 in a friendly played in March, but several American analysts and reporters covering the tournament have cautioned against reading too much into that result given the personnel changes, fitness developments and tactical adjustments that have characterized Pochettino’s side since that friendly took place. Belgium’s performances at this tournament have been uneven even by the standards of a team that reached the Round of 16, and the American camp is confident the March result does not reflect the current state of either team.

Pochettino has made a point throughout the tournament of keeping his squad deeply prepared, including the decision to rest several key players for the group-stage match against Turkey, a calculation that now pays dividends with fresher legs for Belgium, who had no such luxury in their grueling extra-time victory against Senegal. The contrast in energy levels heading into Monday’s match has been one of the more frequently cited factors in analytical breakdowns of the fixture.

Tactically, the match sets up as a clash between the United States’ aggressive, high-energy pressing style built around midfielders Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie and Belgium’s attempt to use De Bruyne’s playmaking and Lukaku’s physical presence to control tempo and find space in transition. Pochettino’s system has emphasized explosive, positional wing play from Alex Freeman on the right and Antonee Robinson on the left, with Pulisic and Sergino Dest capable of combining with Pepi through central channels in Balogun’s absence.

Experts covering the tournament for USA TODAY offered split predictions. Nancy Armour and Jim Reineking both backed the United States 2-1, with Armour noting Belgium had looked beatable throughout the tournament and Reineking citing potential tired legs for Belgium after extra time. Richard Morin predicted a more comfortable 3-1 American victory, arguing that Belgium’s vulnerabilities would be exposed even without Balogun in the lineup. Victoria Hernandez picked Belgium 2-1, suggesting Lukaku would continue providing the decisive spark that has carried the aging squad this far and that losing Balogun would prove a significant enough blow to tip the match in Europe’s favor.

The stakes are clear for both franchises. A United States victory would send the co-host nation to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, the last time the Americans advanced past the Round of 16 in a major tournament. The potential quarterfinal opponent would be the winner of Spain or Austria versus Portugal or Croatia, a prospect that would pit the United States against one of Europe’s most decorated football nations at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

For Belgium, defeat would close the book on the country’s most celebrated generation of players, ending a chapter that began with enormous promise in the late 2000s and that their supporters and football analysts alike have long agreed underperformed at successive major tournaments relative to the extraordinary individual talent the nation produced across that period.

Monday’s match in Seattle has the ingredients of one of this World Cup’s defining encounters, even if the absence of Balogun introduces a level of tactical uncertainty for the United States that the team did not face going into Wednesday’s round of 32 fixture.

KPIT Technologies came under heavy selling pressure after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance for FY27, with the stock plunging nearly 17% yesterday as investors reacted to a slower growth outlook. The company’s expectation that the second quarter will mirror the first has also dampened hopes of a quick recovery, prompting analysts to reassess earnings expectations.

Commenting on the market reaction, Kunal Bajaj from Choice Institutional Equities said, “The price reaction has been pretty aggressive today. This is on the back of the guidance for Q1 FY27, and the company has also indicated that Q2 FY27 is expected to be on similar lines as Q1.”

European OEMs Delay Spending
According to Bajaj, the slowdown stems from reduced spending by major European automakers, which are becoming more cautious after making significant investments in electric vehicles. Profitability pressures, particularly from rising Chinese competition, have led customers to delay project approvals and capital allocation.He said, “European OEMs have invested aggressively in the EV space, but profitability pressures have made them more selective in capital allocation. Order books remain healthy, but deal-to-revenue conversion is slowing as project approvals and ramp-ups get deferred.”

Growth Recovery Now Expected to Be Gradual
The weaker guidance has forced analysts to trim their revenue expectations. Bajaj noted that while the Street had anticipated a sequential decline, the company’s outlook suggests an even steeper slowdown, making a strong recovery in the second half less likely.
He said, “The company’s guidance implies around a 4.5% to 4.8% quarter-on-quarter decline, which is much lower than our estimates. We now expect FY27 to be much more gradual than we had anticipated earlier.”Margins Also Face Pressure
The slower revenue trajectory is also expected to impact profitability. Analysts have revised both revenue and EBITDA margin estimates lower, reflecting weaker operating leverage.

Bajaj said, “We have lowered our FY27 revenue estimates by around 6% and cut EBITDA margin estimates by nearly 150 basis points.”

Pressure May Extend Across the ER&D Sector
The cautious demand environment is expected to affect other engineering R&D companies with automotive exposure, including Tata Elxsi, Tata Technologies and LTTS. Although margins could remain supported by cost discipline and favourable currency movements, growth is likely to stay subdued.

According to Bajaj, “Companies with automotive exposure are expected to have subdued performance going forward. We expect FY27 to be a gradual and moderate year for the ER&D sector.”

AI Is a Positive, But Not Enough to Offset Weak Demand
While artificial intelligence is helping companies improve implementation and move towards solution-led offerings, Bajaj believes it cannot fully offset weak client spending in the near term. He expects meaningful growth to shift into the next financial year.

He said, “AI is helping in terms of implementation, but there is also a deflationary impact. Overall, we expect FY27 to remain a pressured year, with growth now deferred to FY28.”

Near-Term Recovery Remains Uncertain
Although KPIT management has expressed confidence about stronger sequential growth by the fourth quarter of FY27, Bajaj remains cautious, citing macroeconomic uncertainty and restrained customer spending.

He concluded, “Clients are still in wait-and-watch mode. We expect gradual spending rather than strong incremental spending, so H2 FY27 may not be as strong as we had expected earlier.”

ATLANTA — Harry Kane delivered one of the most dramatic rescues of his international career Wednesday, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes to give England a 2-1 comeback victory over Congo DR at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and book a round of 16 berth against Mexico in Mexico City.

A Brian Cipenga goal in the seventh minute had put Congo DR ahead in what appeared to be one of the tournament’s biggest potential upsets, and for long stretches of the match it seemed England might fall short as Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi produced a string of remarkable stops. But Kane headed home a 75th-minute cross from substitute Anthony Gordon before smashing in a brilliant 86th-minute winner from the edge of the box, sparking celebrations on the England bench and from thousands of fans inside the stadium.

The winning goal was Kane’s 84th for the England national team and his fifth of this World Cup, a tally bettered at the tournament only by Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, both of whom have six. Kane now has 13 career World Cup goals, one more than Pelé managed across three tournaments.

England will now travel to the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for Sunday’s round of 16 matchup against Mexico, who defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday to end their own four-decade wait for a World Cup knockout victory. The prospect of facing Mexico on their own turf, in a stadium where El Tri have lost just twice in 89 competitive matches, loomed large in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s escape.

England coach Thomas Tuchel will have significant work to do between now and Sunday. Wednesday’s performance exposed defensive vulnerabilities and attacking inconsistencies that were barely papered over by Kane’s match-winning brilliance. The opening goal came far too easily, with Cipenga arriving completely unmarked at the back post to receive a simple ball over the top and finish past Jordan Pickford at his near post. Right back Djed Spence was exposed in a two-on-one situation, with center back Ezri Konsa out of position and powerless to intervene.

England were a shambles in the opening exchanges after the goal, losing their defensive shape and on three separate occasions passing the ball directly out of play under minimal pressure. Their first shot of any description did not arrive until the 30th minute, the longest they have had to wait to register a shot in a World Cup match since 1996.

The hydration breaks that are customarily booed by supporters proved unexpectedly significant in shifting the match’s momentum. On both occasions they were taken, England visibly improved after Tuchel used the pause in play to gather and reorganize his group. The first break helped England steady themselves and create five major chances before halftime, ending the first half with an expected goals figure of 1.3 after their dismal opening phase. The second produced a similar effect in the second half as England were beginning to drift again, with the fear of a historic embarrassment growing with every passing minute.

Congo DR should have put the match beyond England before the turnaround. Yoane Wissa was left completely unmarked inside the penalty area before the interval but somehow found the post from just a couple of yards out, a miss that ultimately proved decisive. Mpasi also denied Jude Bellingham with an excellent reaction save as the midfielder attempted to find the equalizer.

England felt they were denied a penalty just before halftime when Mpasi collided with Kane as the striker burst through on goal. Referee Adham Makhadmeh waved away the strong appeals from Tuchel and the English players, and post-match VAR review analysis suggested the non-award was incorrect, with independent analysts widely agreeing England deserved the spot kick.

The breakthrough eventually came when Tuchel’s substitutions changed the game’s dynamics. Gordon and Bukayo Saka were introduced in the 60th minute, and it was Gordon’s precisely weighted cross from the right that Kane met with a clever header to equalize, the striker’s movement across his marker showcasing the intelligent positional instincts that have defined his best moments for both club and country throughout his career.

The winning goal was even more impressive. Kane worked space at the edge of the penalty area through sharp footwork, created a shooting lane and finished with devastating power, giving Mpasi no chance and sending England through despite themselves.

The winger positions created concern throughout the match. Both Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford worked industriously but produced little in the way of end product. Rashford had a two-minute spell in the second half where he forced a save and struck the side netting, but he grew visibly frustrated as the match progressed and England remained goalless. Madueke struggled to find any way past Congo DR’s well-organized defensive block. Saka, whose minutes are being carefully managed as he deals with an Achilles problem, and Gordon made more of an impact after coming on, but Tuchel will need more from his wide players against Mexico, who were outstanding in their own round of 32 victory.

The fitness of both Reece James and Jarell Quansah ahead of Sunday’s match adds to Tuchel’s defensive headaches. Both players are in fitness races to be available for the Azteca, leaving England’s already fragile backline in uncertain shape heading into what shapes up as the tournament’s most daunting away-ground assignment.

Mexico ended a 40-year World Cup knockout drought with their win over Ecuador and are unbeaten in 10 World Cup games played at the Azteca. Their first half against Ecuador on Tuesday was close to perfect, and England will have taken note of how thoroughly Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez dismantled the South Americans before they had any foothold in the match. A repeat slow start of the kind England produced against Congo DR would likely end their tournament well before the final whistle in Mexico City.

Wednesday’s escape bought England another chance, and with Kane in this form the country will retain belief in whatever situation presents itself on Sunday. But Kane cannot continue to single-handedly rescue England from their own defensive deficiencies every time they face a team with pace and organization, and Mexico represent a considerably greater test than anything England have faced so far at this tournament.

But experts say the platforms cannot hide behind software glitches.

“I blame StubHub 100%,” said Scott Friedman, co-founder of the Ticket Talk Network, who has already compiled more than 600 consumer complaints from this tournament alone.

“Fifa is no angel. Their ticket tech is absolutely terrible. It’s like software out of 1999,” he added.

While StubHub maintains that it strictly prohibits speculative ticketing on its platform, industry watchdogs and frustrated users widely believe the practice remains rampant.

Some sellers are also feeling the crunch. One seller in Austin told the BBC he lost $2,600 after listing a legally purchased Fifa Marketplace ticket on StubHub. Though he sold it for $1,200 and sent it to the platform’s auto-generated e-mail address, StubHub cancelled the sale for “non-fulfilment” – withholding his payout and charging him a $1,400 penalty fee.

For the average consumer, fighting back against a big corporation can seem like an impossible uphill battle.

Bradford Clements, an attorney who currently represents clients with over $2.4m in claims against StubHub, the majority of which are not related to the World Cup, notes that the company’s complex dispute process often forces regular fans seeking redress to give up entirely.

“People don’t understand that StubHub’s name of their game is to intimidate you, defer you, and deny you,” Clements told the BBC, also citing legal dispute notices that were mailed to the company but returned.

StubHub declined to comment on Clements’ accusation.

It remains unclear how many people have had problems with tickets bought on StubHub or other ticket resale sites. Hundreds of fans have been complaining online, while one report suggested thousands have had their tickets cancelled.

A StubHub spokesperson said it was increasing its capacity to source replacement tickets for affected customers and that every order was backed by its FanProtect Guarantee, meaning that if customers don’t get the tickets they ordered, or comparable or better replacement ones, they will get a refund.

However, the fine print means little to fans who are out thousands in non-refundable travel.

As the World Cup moves into the high-stakes rounds, industry watchdogs warn the cancellation crisis may intensify, leaving more families stranded outside stadium gates with little to show for an experience meant to last a lifetime.

Additional reporting by Osmond Chia

India’s equity markets are heading into a crucial earnings season at a time when macroeconomic conditions have turned increasingly supportive. Brent crude has slipped below the $70-a-barrel mark, the rupee has stabilised, and foreign institutional investor (FII) selling has moderated. Yet, despite these favourable factors, the spotlight remains firmly on the information technology sector, where investor sentiment continues to be clouded by slowing growth and uncertainty around artificial intelligence (AI).

Speaking to ET Now, Aditya Kondawar from Complete Circle Consultants, said the IT sector has endured an extended period of valuation correction, driven by weak sentiment and conflicting narratives around AI.

“Like we have a chef’s special every week in a restaurant, we have a casualty every week in the IT sector. Unfortunately, the whole sector has gone through a very bad phase of derating, negative news, and a lot of positive and negative commentary coming out,” he said.

He noted that while some AI companies claim automation could significantly reduce human involvement, others are now acknowledging that such expectations may have been overly optimistic.

“On one end, we have a lot of AI companies saying that they can completely make processes obsolete and, on the other hand, we also have some AI companies saying that the initial presumptions that one AI model can actually replace five humans are completely false,” he said.

According to Kondawar, the increasing costs of computing power, memory chips, and energy are also changing the economics of AI deployment.
“In fact, we have heard from many leaders that AI is becoming more costly and costly as the power of compute, the cost of compute, the cost of memory chips, and the cost of power keeps going up,” he said.KPIT‘s Valuation Reflects Weak Sentiment
Kondawar believes the market may have already priced in much of the near-term weakness for automotive software major KPIT Technologies. He pointed out that KPIT’s valuation has compressed sharply from its long-term historical average despite only a modest decline in revenue guidance.

“KPIT’s seven-year, eight-year average PE is closer to 50 and today, the stock trades at a PE of 22,” he said.

While the company has guided for around a 1% decline in dollar revenue, Kondawar said investors should also consider the sharp depreciation of the rupee over the past year, which supports earnings in rupee terms. He expects earnings to improve significantly over the medium term.

“As per a few good brokerage estimates, KPIT can actually report a 50% jump in its net profit from the 600 crores that they did last year to almost 900 crores in the next two-three years,” he said.

Based on those projections, he believes the stock’s forward valuation appears considerably more attractive.

Growth Recovery Expected From Second Half of FY27
Kondawar cited brokerage estimates, including those from JPMorgan, which project KPIT’s profit after tax to reach around ₹920-930 crore by FY29. He explained that these forecasts assume the first half of FY27 remains challenging before business momentum gradually improves.

“The report basically presumes that growth will basically start coming back from H2 FY27,” he said.

He attributed the current weakness primarily to slower demand from two key automotive clients, BMW and Volkswagen, both of which have been facing operational challenges in Europe.

According to Kondawar, the expectation is that projects concluding at present will eventually be replaced by new programmes, supporting a recovery in growth over the coming years.

India’s Macro Picture Remains Supportive
Despite concerns surrounding IT earnings, Kondawar believes India’s broader macroeconomic environment has become considerably more favourable.

Lower crude oil prices, currency stability, improving debt inflows, and easing FII selling have created conditions that could support corporate earnings across sectors.

“When crude is below 70, all the stars align for India,” he said.

However, he stressed that the upcoming June quarter earnings season will ultimately determine whether companies are able to translate these macro tailwinds into stronger profitability after reporting robust results in the March quarter.

Auto and Consumer Themes Continue to Stand Out
Beyond IT, Kondawar remains constructive on India’s consumption story, particularly automobiles, auto ancillary companies, and agile consumer businesses.

He highlighted strong vehicle sales growth across leading manufacturers, including Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki, alongside robust guidance from component makers.

“Auto, auto ancillaries are the top of the pack for us in consumption,” he said.

He also pointed to structural improvements within India’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, where established companies are expanding into newer product categories while acquiring digital-first brands to remain competitive.

“The fact that a lot of legacy FMCG companies are now getting more agile,” he added.

Electric Vehicle Adoption Strengthens Long-Term Outlook
Kondawar also sees India’s automobile industry benefiting from a multi-year structural growth cycle driven by rising passenger vehicle demand and increasing electric vehicle (EV) penetration.

Passenger vehicle sales are expected to rise further this year, while EV adoption has accelerated steadily over the past few years.

“The penetration now stands at 7% as of June end and we may even end up reaching some 10% by the end of this year,” he said.

He believes these trends create opportunities across original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), component suppliers, and related industries, although stock selection remains critical.

Changing Consumer Behaviour Creates New Opportunities
Kondawar also highlighted organised retail as a long-term beneficiary of rising disposable incomes and increasing formalisation of consumption.

Using Trent’s value-fashion brand Zudio as an example, he said organised retailers are attracting millions of first-time shoppers entering malls across India.

He added that companies catering to this expanding consumer base are well positioned to benefit from India’s evolving consumption landscape.

A Structural Consumption Story
While acknowledging that investors need to remain selective, Kondawar believes India’s consumption-driven sectors continue to enjoy strong structural tailwinds even as the IT sector navigates a difficult transition.

“Right from clothing to your consumer staples to even automobiles trends are quite strong in India,” he said.

Summing up his long-term outlook, he added: “We used to say that sectors like automobile are tactical in nature but as we have seen over the past five, six, seven years they are quite secular in nature. This is a mega cycle of sorts.”

Andrew Bailey has told business leaders that cutting interest rates is “off the table at the moment”, a clear signal that the Bank of England will keep the cost of borrowing on hold when its rate-setters meet at the end of the month.

The Governor said that while financial markets had spent the early part of the year betting on further reductions, the war in Iran had forced policymakers to press pause. Speaking at the European Central Bank’s annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, Mr Bailey put it bluntly: “There was an expectation that we would cut rates this year. That was off the table in March, and it’s off the table at the moment.”

For the millions of small and medium-sized firms that have spent the past 18 months waiting for cheaper credit, it is an unwelcome message. Markets now expect the Bank to sit tight on Bank Rate at 3.75 per cent for the remainder of the year, leaving overdrafts, asset finance and commercial mortgages pricier for longer.

Mr Bailey was at pains to stress that the pause is not a hawkish turn. He confirmed he had chosen not to back any increase so far this year, pointing to mounting evidence that both the economy and the jobs market are losing momentum.

“We’ve got a softening economy, so we’re seeing a softening labour market, we’re seeing some softening of activity,” he said. “We had that before the hostility broke out in the Gulf.”

That is the awkward bind facing Threadneedle Street. On the domestic evidence alone, the case for loosening policy is building. But the surge in oil and gas prices triggered by the conflict threatens to push inflation higher, and the Bank is unwilling to add fuel to that fire. By holding in March, Mr Bailey noted, the Bank had already taken “that loosening off the table”, with mortgage rates climbing by a full percentage point as a result.

The stance echoes the caution the Bank flagged earlier in the summer, when it warned of “elevated” global uncertainty after leaving rates on hold. It also chimes with the mood among firms themselves, with business confidence weakening as the Middle East conflict drags on.

The members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, who set rates, “will be looking at all the evidence again” when they convene on July 30, the Governor said. At their last meeting on June 18, they voted 7-2 in favour of holding at 3.75 per cent, a decision confirmed in the Bank’s own June monetary policy summary.

What is keeping policymakers awake is not the headline number but what economists call the second-round effects, the risk that a one-off energy spike becomes baked into wages and everyday prices. “We’re very focused on the risks of pass-through of the energy prices to indirect effects, and things like food prices and the second round effects,” Mr Bailey said. “We obviously don’t want inflation to become embedded.”

Inflation stood at 2.8 per cent in May, comfortably within touching distance of the 2 per cent target. But it is now forecast to climb back towards 4 per cent later this year as the Iran war feeds through to the cost of energy for households and firms alike. That trajectory would have been all but unthinkable in the spring, when markets were pricing in a steady procession of cuts. The shift has been dramatic enough that some analysts have gone as far as to suggest the Bank could raise rates as the oil shock from the Middle East war drives inflation fears.

There is a peculiarly British wrinkle in all this. Because the UK’s energy price cap resets only every three months, the impact of soaring wholesale gas prices on the inflation figures is delayed rather than immediate, a lag that makes the Bank’s job of reading the runes even harder.

In May, the regulator Ofgem raised the cap on annual household energy bills by £221 to £1,862 following the surge in oil and gas prices. That new price cap took effect on July 1 and runs until September 30, meaning the full inflationary hit is still working its way through the system.

For SME owners, the practical takeaway is a hard one: the cheaper borrowing many had penciled into their 2026 cash-flow plans is not coming any time soon, and rising energy costs will squeeze margins on both sides of the ledger. The 30 July decision is unlikely to bring relief. On current form, the best businesses can hope for is that the Bank does not blink the other way.

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