More than a third of British parents (35 per cent) would rather their child start a business than go to university this autumn, according to research from Virgin StartUp published ahead of A-level results day on Thursday.

The survey of 1,000 British parents with children aged 13 to 21 found that 85 per cent would support their child starting a business, while 87 per cent would like to see entrepreneurial skills such as financial literacy and problem-solving taught in schools.

The findings come as more than 840,000 students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland prepare to receive their results, and as figures from the Office for National Statistics show more than one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training.

Against that backdrop, 41 per cent of parents surveyed believe a university degree is less important for building a successful career than it was 20 years ago. The reasons cited most often were the high cost of education and corresponding debt (63 per cent), the fast-evolving job market (56 per cent) and more widely understood routes to success outside of university (54 per cent).

Three in five parents (63 per cent) say they are already fostering an entrepreneurial spirit at home. The most common approaches were helping children learn about saving money (60 per cent), encouraging them to invest their savings (40 per cent), teaching them about profit, costs and pricing using a simple budget (36 per cent) and encouraging them to sell old toys or belongings (33 per cent).

Two-thirds of parents (66 per cent) said the most important thing is that their child enjoys what they do, while 52 per cent believe their child is more entrepreneurial than they were at the same age. Almost six in 10 (59 per cent) believe entrepreneurship is a more attractive career option than it was two decades ago.

More than half (54 per cent) believe today’s job market makes entrepreneurship a more attractive option, and 62 per cent say advances such as social media and AI have made it easier for young people to start a business straight out of school.

The research also points to gaps in support at home. Only 57 per cent of parents would feel confident advising their child on starting a business, and 59 per cent of children have not considered or discussed starting a business with their families.

Andy Fishburn, managing director of Virgin StartUp, which supports early-stage business founders, said: “At Virgin StartUp, we’re aiming to inspire the next generation of founders by making entrepreneurship feel like an accessible career option.

“We are seeing more young people nowadays thinking about starting a business rather than going through the traditional academic route. AI is really levelling the playing field, increasing access to advice and skills, but entrepreneurship is also just a great way to build something on your own terms, which is a powerful draw for the younger generation.”

Virgin StartUp recently hosted a ‘Dragons’ Den’-style competition with 40 London students, in collaboration with social impact lifestyle brand Leiho and the Social Enterprise Academy. The students took part in workshops with Virgin StartUp’s business advisers on how to develop their ideas into viable businesses.

Parents also see a role for schools. Of the 87 per cent who agreed entrepreneurial skills should be taught in school, the top priorities were financial literacy (52 per cent), problem-solving (48 per cent) and better communication skills (43 per cent). Two-thirds said they wish they had been encouraged to be more entrepreneurial when they were at school.

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Shares of Jubilant Pharmova dropped nearly 6% to the day’s low of Rs 908 on BSE after the company reported a decline of 45% year-on-year (YoY) in consolidated profit to Rs 56 crore in the first quarter ended June.

According to a filing with the exchange, the reported profit decreased YoY due to lower operating profitability and increase in depreciation for Line 3 in Spokane.

The revenue went up 17% on yearly basis to Rs 2,229 crore against Rs 1,901 crore in the same time period a year ago on the back of strong performance across all business segments, with CDMO Sterile Injectables delivering particularly robust growth.

The total income jumped 18% to Rs 2,249 crore against Rs 1,913 crore in Q1FY26. The other income for Q1’FY27 includes grant income of Rs 5.6 crore for Line 3, which shall continue for more than 20 years and upto 30 years.

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EBITDA decreased YoY, particularly due to unavailability of SPECT products in Radiopharmaceuticals & negligible third party revenues and higher operating expenses including incremental remediation cost at CMO Montreal.
“We are pleased to announce revenue of Rs. 2,229 Cr. for Q1’FY27, which reflects a solid growth of 17% on YoY basis. Revenue growth is broad based across all our business segments, but particularly strong in CDMO Sterile Injectables on the back of technology transfer revenues from the new & third line. EBITDA for the quarter stands at Rs 268 crore,” said Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman and Hari S Bhartia, Co-Chairman & Non-Executive Director, Jubilant Pharmova.Segmental business performance

Radiopharma: Radiopharmaceuticals Q1’FY27 revenue grew by 19% to Rs. 322 Cr. and EBITDA for the period stood at Rs. 110 Cr. EBITDA margins decreased YoY due to unavailability of certain SPECT products. By H2’FY27, all the SPECT Radiopharmaceutical products are expected to be available. Radiopharmacy Q1’FY27 revenue grew by 17% YoY to Rs. 700 Cr. on the back of an increase in volume from certain PET products. EBITDA for the period grew by 19% to Rs. 12 Cr.

Allergy Immunotherapy : As the sole supplier of Venom in the US, we are expanding the overall market by increasing customer awareness. In Q1’FY27, revenues grew by 18% to Rs. 214 Cr., driven by strong growth in the US & outside US markets. EBITDA grew by 5% to Rs. 66 Cr. EBITDA margins reduced YoY due to lower production.

CDMO Sterile Injectables : Q1’FY27 revenue grew by 34% to Rs. 496 Cr. due to incremental revenue from Line 3. EBITDA for the period stood at Rs. 45 Cr. EBITDA margins were lower YoY due to negligible third-party revenues & higher operating expenses including incremental remediation cost at Montreal facility.

CRDMO : In Q1’FY27, the Drug Discovery business revenue grew by 8% to Rs. 174 Cr. EBITDA for the period grew by 43% to Rs. 45 Cr. EBITDA margins expanded by 630 basis points to 26%. In the API business, revenue for Q1’FY27 stood at Rs. 135 Cr. EBITDA for the period stood at Rs. 19 Cr. Revenue and EBITDA margins decreased YoY due to the industry wide pricing pressure.

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Generics : In Q1’FY27, the Generics business revenue grew by 4% to Rs. 173 Cr on the back of launch of 2 new products. EBITDA for the period stood at Rs. 4 Cr. EBITDA margins decreased YoY due to change in product mix. Looking ahead, we are preparing to launch multiple products in FY27 to drive revenue growth & profitability.

Proprietary Novel Drugs : The global clinical trials for our lead programs, Phase I/II trial for JBI -802 for Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) and other Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) and Phase I trial for JBI -778 for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and high-grade Glioma are actively enrolling patients and progressing in line with our expectations

While sharing the Vision 2030, the company expects the revenue to reach 2x from FY24 to FY30. EBITDA margin is expected between 23% to 25% by FY30.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

SYDNEY — Shares in Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd surged more than 17% Tuesday after the company disclosed that South Korea’s Hanwha Group had offered to buy its United States operations for up to $1.2 billion, as the defense conglomerate looks to deepen its push into the American shipbuilding market.

The stock closed up 17.45% at $4.51, after touching an intraday high of $4.59, on volume of more than 10.3 million shares, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.9 billion. The move marked Austal’s best intraday jump since mid-February and made it the top gainer on the benchmark ASX 200 index for the session.

Hanwha Defense USA offered to acquire Austal’s U.S. entities and operations for between $1.05 billion and $1.20 billion, according to the company’s disclosure. Austal’s board said the proposal deserved further evaluation and granted Hanwha a four-week due diligence period to firm up its offer, while cautioning there was no certainty the process would ultimately result in a completed deal.

Austal specifically noted that the proposal did not include any publicly traded shares in Austal itself, nor any of its core Australasian shipbuilding operations, meaning the company’s Australian defense manufacturing business and broader ASX-listed structure would remain intact regardless of the outcome of discussions over the U.S. unit. The company said its sovereign shipbuilding mandate and high-performing Australasian business would continue to generate value for shareholders independent of any transaction involving its American operations.

Hanwha already holds a substantial stake in Austal through a combination of direct share ownership and a cash-settled equity swap arrangement. Austal said Hanwha owns a 9.9% direct stake in the company alongside a swap arrangement covering a further 9.9%, effectively giving the South Korean group economic exposure to roughly one-fifth of Austal’s total shares outstanding. Hanwha increased its position from an initial 9.9% stake after receiving approval from Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers in December 2025, following a review by the country’s Foreign Investment Review Board. That approval was granted subject to conditions governing Hanwha’s access to and storage of sensitive information, as well as restrictions on its board nominations.

Because the current proposal is centered on Austal’s U.S. operations rather than the parent company or its Australian assets, the potential transaction would not require scrutiny from Australia’s foreign investment regulator, according to reporting on the disclosure. Instead, the deal would need to clear a separate set of approvals from U.S. government agencies, given Austal’s extensive contracts with the U.S. Navy and the sensitive nature of its shipbuilding programs for the American military.

Alongside news of the offer, Austal disclosed that its U.S. business was expected to post an operating earnings loss of roughly 175 million Australian dollars for the 2026 financial year, reflecting higher losses on its shipbuilding programs. That would leave the broader Austal group with an operating loss of approximately 113 million Australian dollars for the year, compared with earnings of 113.4 million Australian dollars a year earlier. Despite those losses, the company said it retained a robust balance sheet, with cash at bank of 312 million Australian dollars as of June 30 and a net cash position of 185 million Australian dollars.

Hanwha’s offer follows its 2024 acquisition of the Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, a deal that marked the South Korean conglomerate’s initial entry into U.S. commercial shipbuilding and signaled its broader ambitions to expand within the American defense manufacturing sector. A spokesman for Hanwha Defense USA said the company has made it a priority to significantly contribute to revitalizing American shipbuilding and is exploring a range of options to expand its footprint in the United States.

The offer for Austal’s U.S. unit comes as Australia pursues a broader military modernization push amid heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, including concerns tied to Taiwan and the South China Sea, a backdrop that has drawn growing international interest toward Australian defense contractors and shipbuilders. Austal, considered Australia’s largest shipbuilder, designs and constructs vessels for both commercial and military customers, including long-running contracts to build littoral combat ships and other vessels for the U.S. Navy through its Alabama-based operations.

Austal is scheduled to release its full 2025-26 financial year results on August 29, a report that is likely to provide further detail on the performance of both its U.S. and Australasian operations as the due diligence period with Hanwha proceeds. Hanwha has not yet publicly commented further on the specifics of its offer beyond the initial disclosure.

With the four-week due diligence window now underway, investors are likely to watch closely for further updates on the negotiations in the coming weeks, particularly given the regulatory complexity involved in any transaction covering sensitive U.S. defense shipbuilding assets. Tuesday’s sharp share price reaction reflected significant investor optimism that a deal, if finalized, could unlock substantial value from Austal’s struggling U.S. operations, even as the company emphasized that its core Australian business would remain unaffected by the outcome.

Mat Ishbia made a fortune by running the largest mortgage lender in the country. He used his wealth to buy the NBA’s Phoenix Suns for $4 billion in cash and to build a mansion in Michigan with a trampoline park and rock-climbing wall.

The businessman surprised investors last week when he revealed that an ill-timed wager had left his company, United Wholesale Mortgage, with a $600 million hole. The Pontiac, Mich., company said it was suspending its common-stock payouts and getting financing from Oaktree Capital Management, a lender to distressed companies. Shares tanked 35%, leaving them down about 70% this year.

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Shares of Aarti Pharmalabs extended their post-earnings rally, gaining 33.4% over two days to trade at Rs 896.05 during Tuesday’s session. The stock has risen after the company reported strong June-quarter results, with consolidated profit surging 65.4% year-on-year and revenue increasing 38.7%.

Strong revenue and profit growth drive earnings

Aarti Pharmalabs reported consolidated revenue from operations of RS 535.79 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, marking a 38.7% year-on-year increase compared to RS 386.19 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Total consolidated income reached RS 536.25 crore, up from RS 386.96 crore a year ago.
Consolidated net profit after tax (PAT) jumped 65.4% year-on-year to RS 76.14 crore against RS 46.03 crore reported in Q1 FY26. Basic earnings per share (EPS) expanded to RS 8.40 from RS 5.08 in the base quarter. Profitability was further supported by a turnaround in its joint venture, Ganesh Polychem Limited, which contributed RS 7.41 crore to the net profit share compared to a loss of RS 1.80 crore in the same period last year.

RS 149-crore capex plan for CDMO expansion

Alongside earnings growth, investor confidence received a boost from the Board of Directors approving a capital expenditure plan of RS 149 crore to construct a new Intermediate Block. The facility will add 405 KL of manufacturing capacity to meet rising demand from contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) partners and intermediate clients.
The expansion project is targeted for completion within one year and will be funded through a combination of internal accruals and borrowings.

Board restructuring and leadership transition

The board also approved restructuring of its senior leadership, taking effect from October 1, 2026, subject to shareholder approval. Shri Rashesh C. Gogri will transition from Non-Executive Director to Managing Director, while Smt. Hetal Gogri Gala will move from Managing Director to Executive Director.
Following the board changes, the company reconstituted key governance bodies, including the Audit Committee, the CSR Committee, and the Stakeholders Relationship Committee.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Forget drug pipelines and clinical trials. These days, every healthcare trader has to be a part-time AI specialist just to keep up. That’s because what matters most to large-cap pharma and health insurance stocks right now is the momentum of the artificial-intelligence boom.

For years, healthcare and semiconductor stocks weren’t particularly tied to each other. They would sometimes drift in the same direction, but the relationship was loose. That changed in recent months, with the VanEck Semiconductor Exchange-Traded Fund (SMH) and the State Street Health Care Exchange-Traded Fund (XLV) moving into negative correlation, according to FactSet data. In other words, they increasingly go in opposite directions: when chips sell off, healthcare has tended to catch a bid. 

Intercontinental Hotels Group saw overall growth slow

The owner of Holiday Inn has seen revenues at its Middle Eastern operations take a significant hit as the Iran conflict hit the region’s tourism sector.

Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) revealed its revenue per available room in the Middle East fell by 19 per cent in the three months to June, following a two per cent decline in the preceding quarter.

The fallout from the Iran conflict dented the group’s overall revenue across its Europe, Middle East and Asia region, with growth slowing sharply from 5.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year to just 0.6 per cent in the second.

IHG, which also owns the Crowne Plaza and Vignette Collection hotel brands, warned shareholders that it is contending with “ongoing impacts from the Middle East conflict, including some wider disruption to international travel flows”.

However, the group noted that the Middle East accounts for just five per cent of its global market. “We continue to expect these [impacts] to be fully offset by growth in demand elsewhere,” it stated, as reported by City AM.

“This demonstrates the strength of IHG’s business model which is strategically diversified and resilient,” said Elie Maalouf, IHG’s chief executive.

IHG reported a welcome trading uplift from the FIFA World Cup this summer, which contributed one per cent revenue growth to its performance in the Americas region in the three months to June. The hotels group has witnessed its US market growth gather pace in recent months, climbing from 3.6 per cent in the first quarter to 5.4 per cent in the second.

“This uptick reflected supportive trading conditions across all demand drivers as a result of a stronger US economy,” the firm said.

In the three months to June, the FTSE 100 firm recorded revenue growth of 3.1 per cent in the UK, 2.3 per cent across continental Europe and six per cent in East Asia and the Pacific.

IHG saw total revenue climb seven per cent to $1.3bn (£928m) in the year to June, while pre-tax profit dipped nine per cent to $578m (£428m).

The group achieved record levels of new site development in the first half of this year, with close to 200 hotel openings during the period. IHG currently operates 7,100 hotels across the UK, with a further 2,400 in the pipeline.

IHG revealed it is channelling significant investment into AI, reporting an eight per cent rise in gross costs to $12m over the past three months, attributing the increase to its expanding use of the technology in back-office functions as well as across its websites and apps.

Shares in the group dropped 2.5 per cent to 151p in early trading.

Mars Bars are made by US company Mars, Incorporated.

The manufacturer also owns several other chocolate brands including Celebrations chocolate tubs, Galaxy, Hotel Chocolat, M&Ms and Maltesers.

It also owns non-chocolate brands including Dreamies, Hubba Bubba, Pedigree and Whiskas.

The company was founded in 1883 by Frank C Mars, from Minnesota, with his mother Elva teaching him how to hand-dip chocolate.

Mars Bars were first made by hand in Slough, Berkshire in 1932 and are still made in the town.

A Mars spokesperson said: “Over the last 35 years, we have made a number of updates to our bar sizes and pack formats to reflect consumer demand, alongside considering wider external factors such as manufacturing costs and the price of cocoa.”

Meghan Markle is looking to resolve a brewing public dispute with lifestyle icon Martha Stewart directly and privately rather than let it escalate further, according to people familiar with the situation cited in recent celebrity media reports.

The disagreement traces back to a wide-ranging interview Stewart gave to PEOPLE magazine, published around her 85th birthday, in which she recounted attending a dinner party in California where Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was also a guest. Describing the encounter, Stewart said the two exchanged only a few words but that she understood Meghan “had just gotten back from the palace” and had been discussing the trip with others at the gathering.

The comment drew immediate attention given the timing. Meghan, Prince Harry and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, had recently traveled to the United Kingdom for a family visit with King Charles III at Highgrove House, his private residence in western England, marking the Sussexes’ first UK family visit together since 2022. Buckingham Palace had described the reunion as strictly private at the time and said no further details would be released, making Stewart’s account of Meghan discussing the visit at a social gathering notable to royal watchers.

That account was quickly disputed, however, by the person who hosted the California dinner. Speaking to PEOPLE, the unnamed host pushed back directly on Stewart’s version of events, saying they had sat next to Meghan throughout the dinner and that the characterization of what happened was simply untrue. According to the host, Meghan did not go into detail about the European trip and instead only remarked in passing that her family had a great time, a far more limited account than the impression left by Stewart’s original remarks.

Sources close to Meghan echoed that pushback in subsequent reporting, with one insider telling PEOPLE that Stewart appeared to be “confused” about what had actually been said at the dinner. Despite the dispute, another source close to Meghan reportedly stressed that she remains a fan of Stewart’s despite the friction created by the interview.

For her part, Stewart has shown no indication of backing away from her original account. According to the celebrity outlet Naughty But Nice, a source close to Stewart indicated she has no plans to retract or revise her comments and continues to stand by her recollection of the conversation.

That has reportedly left Meghan weighing how best to handle the disagreement without letting it spiral into a larger public controversy. According to an insider cited by Naughty But Nice, Meghan would rather talk to Stewart directly than let this become a bigger thing, with the source adding that Meghan wants to clear the air and does not want the disagreement to linger publicly.

The dispute follows other recent comments from Stewart about Meghan that have drawn attention in entertainment media. In the same PEOPLE interview, Stewart also weighed in on Meghan’s now-canceled Netflix lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan,” suggesting the transition from actress to member of the royal family to television lifestyle host didn’t naturally follow. That remark came after separate comments Stewart made in a 2025 interview with Yahoo News Australia, in which she said she did not know Meghan well and hoped she “knows what she’s talking about” when it comes to authenticity in her lifestyle brand.

Some reports have suggested the comments landed particularly hard given the contrast in how Stewart discussed Meghan compared with how she has spoken about other celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, whom Stewart has praised in prior interviews. According to one source, the shift in tone between Stewart’s comments about Paltrow and her comments about Meghan felt calculated and struck a nerve that Meghan has had difficulty shaking since the interview’s publication.

Meghan and Stewart are not strangers to each other’s broader social and professional circles. According to PEOPLE’s reporting, Stewart met King Charles herself in April, when both attended the King’s Trust Global Gala in New York City, illustrating the overlapping social spheres the two women occasionally share despite their reported tension.

Coverage of the situation has also drawn comparisons to how Meghan has handled similar celebrity-related speculation in the past. In an earlier instance, actress Gwyneth Paltrow addressed rumors involving Meghan in a lighthearted moment captured on social media, with Meghan, who was reportedly seated nearby at the time, appearing unbothered and later sharing the clip herself. Commentary on the current situation has suggested Meghan may be hoping for a similarly low-key resolution with Stewart, though unlike the Paltrow episode, Stewart has so far continued to stand firmly behind her original account rather than walking it back.

As of now, neither Meghan nor Stewart has issued any public statement directly addressing the dispute, and the situation remains characterized largely through anonymous sourcing in celebrity media reports rather than on-the-record comments from either party. Whether the two women speak privately, as sources suggest Meghan hopes to do, remains unconfirmed, leaving open the question of how, or whether, the disagreement will ultimately be resolved