Spot silver was down more than 2% at $56.35 on Thursday. A day earlier, it had slumped 9.1% to $56.41, its lowest level since November 2025, before recovering to close at $57.71.
Silver is now trading at less than half of its all-time high of $121 an ounce touched in January. The sharp decline comes as precious metals have come under pressure during the Iran-Israel conflict and amid growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates later this year.
Fed rate hike worries – The biggest trigger behind silver’s slide has been growing expectations of higher US interest rates. Traders have ramped up bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes this year after the US central bank adopted a hawkish tone at its latest policy meeting, while concerns over inflationary pressures linked to the Iran-Israel conflict have continued to linger.
Investors are also awaiting US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Thursday, for further clues on the monetary policy outlook.
Risk premium gone – Silver prices have remained under pressure as tensions between the United States and Iran eased following a 60-day agreement aimed at addressing key issues, including Tehran’s nuclear programme. The deal helped ease fears of a broader Middle East conflict, reducing the safe-haven demand that had supported precious metals in recent weeks.
While geopolitical uncertainty would typically support silver, analysts say the metal is currently being driven more by macroeconomic factors, particularly rising bond yields and expectations surrounding US monetary policy.
Rising bond yields – An increase in yields has added to the pressure on silver prices. Unlike bonds, silver does not generate any interest or income. As yields on government securities rise, investors can earn better returns from fixed-income assets, making non-yielding assets such as silver relatively less attractive.Higher yields also tend to strengthen the US dollar, which can further weigh on precious metals by making them more expensive for buyers using other currencies. As a result, investors often shift funds from gold and silver into interest-bearing assets, leading to weaker demand and lower prices for precious metals, especially during periods of sustained increases in yields.
Historic rally cools – The sharp correction follows a historic rally in precious metals over the past several months. Gold and silver hit record highs in late January, with gold climbing to about $2,200 an ounce and silver touching about $121.
The rally was driven by a combination of factors, including interest rate cuts, President Donald Trump’s tariffs, international tensions and rising demand for metals from technology-related industries. That momentum has now faded as investors reassess the outlook for interest rates, inflation and global economic growth.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
How do you view this victory of Narendra Modi and the BJP? And how will it impact the Indian economy?
We want India to do well. This election has ensured that there’s political stability for the next five years. A decisive leadership would mean tougher decisions, and no good governance is possible without tough decisions. The BJP-led NDA has a clear mandate to take bold and innovative decisions. International politics is not about zero-sum game and while India would economically engage other powers, EU has the potential to drive growth in India. EU is already the single biggest trading partner as a bloc, and is the single largest source of FDI for India as a bloc. We are ready to meet India’s needs in the fields of technology and funds.
You have interacted with Modi when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister. How do you rate him as a leader of modern India?
As a former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, I had interacted with various leaders worldwide and I can say that Mr Modi is among the best. He has clarity of thought and clear vision of governance and that’s what India requires. He also has a very clear understanding of the challenges before the country. He is a good listener as well as a good talker and can engage in enriching discussions. No Prime Minister would like to have communal strife on his record, and I am certain that he would not allow any communal tensions in India. His priority is to boost the economy and he has his eyes set on that.
Where do India-EU relations go from here? What are the priority areas for India-EU and what’s the future of Free Trade Agreement that’s being negotiated for many years now?
Negotiators from India and European Union are on the job to conclude the FTA. The proposed agreement will lead to greater openness. In the past, EU held discussions with the BJP on the FTA. We take Mr Modi’s speech on economic issues on February 27 as a positive. I have no doubt that the FTA will benefit India. We hope that there will be progress in FTA before the next India-EU Summit at Brussels.
Operator
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Cavco Industries, Inc.’s First Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Earnings Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder. Today’s program is being recorded.
And now I’d like to introduce your host for today’s program, Mark Fusler, Corporate Controller and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Mark Fusler
Director of Financial Reporting, Investor Relations & Corporate Controller
Good day, and thank you for joining us for Cavco Industries First Quarter Fiscal Year 2027 Earnings Conference Call. During this call, you’ll be hearing from Bill Boor, President and Chief Executive Officer; Allison Aden, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Paul Bigbee, Chief Accounting Officer.
Before we begin, we’d like to remind you that the comments made during this conference call by management may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about our future or expected business and financial performance and are not promises or guarantees of future performance, their expectations or assumptions about Cavco’s financial and operational performance, revenues, earnings per share, cash flow or use, cost savings, operational efficiencies, current or future volatility in the credit markets or future market conditions.
All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could affect Cavco’s actual results and could cause its actual results to differ materially
Kate Middleton has become one of King Charles III’s most trusted family members, with royal watchers pointing to a shared cancer diagnosis and years of steady public service as factors that have deepened the bond between the king and the Princess of Wales.
Katie Nicholl, a royal correspondent for Vanity Fair and co-host of the podcast “The Royals Uncensored,” said the princess has consistently proven her value to the institution since marrying into the royal family. “I think Catherine, the Princess of Wales, has always been a very valuable asset to the royal family,” Nicholl told Fox News Digital. “She is the commoner who married into the royal family … [She has made] a seamless transition into that unique world of royalty. It’s not easy … There’s a huge amount of sacrifice that goes into being a member of the royal family.” Nicholl added that Kate has handled that sacrifice with composure. “Catherine’s had to give up a huge amount, and yet she does it all with a great deal of grace and dignity, always with a smile,” Nicholl said. “So she is absolutely the monarchy’s greatest asset.”
The relationship between Charles and Kate has grown notably closer following parallel health struggles both experienced beginning in 2024. Buckingham Palace announced the king’s cancer diagnosis that year, and Charles shared in December 2025 that his treatment would be scaled back in 2026. Kate revealed her own cancer diagnosis in March 2024, shortly after the king’s announcement became public. She completed chemotherapy that September and announced in January 2025 that she was in remission.
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard said the king has drawn inspiration from watching Kate navigate her illness. “King Charles sees enormous value in Princess Catherine,” Chard told Fox News Digital. “Not just as the wife of his heir, but as the cornerstone of the monarchy itself. He genuinely loves his ‘darling’ daughter-in-law. His face lights up when he is with her. They share similar interests, and they have shared a similar cancer journey, one that has created a deep bond and understanding that goes beyond duty.”
Chard said the late Queen Elizabeth II had recognized Kate’s value to the institution well before Charles ascended the throne. “The late queen saw it too,” Chard said. “She recognized Catherine’s superpowers early on — her ability to listen, find solutions and bring calm to difficult situations.” Chard also framed Kate’s role within Charles’s broader approach to his reign. “King Charles fundamentally views his time on the throne as stewardship,” she said. “He sees himself as the caretaker of the institution and is acutely conscious of preparing the next generation. Collaborative preparation between the king and his heir is essential. Having Princess Catherine as the wife of his heir, Charles has struck gold.”
Royal author Sally Bedell Smith, in previous comments to People magazine, described the relationship in more personal terms. “He has always had a very strong bond with her,” Smith told the outlet, adding that Kate is “like the daughter he never had.” Smith said Charles shares a protective instinct toward Kate with his son, Prince William. “He shares with William an impulse to protect her,” Smith said. “They are in this together, Kate and the king.”
When Kate’s diagnosis first became public, Buckingham Palace said Charles was “so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as he did.” Author Christopher Andersen has separately written that the king stood by Kate’s side during her treatment “to lend his cherished daughter-in-law moral support.”
Kate has continued advocacy work tied to her cancer experience in the time since her recovery, including a recent charity fundraising climb of the three highest peaks in the United Kingdom for the Royal Marsden hospital. Nicholl said that effort has strengthened public support for the princess. “Thankfully, despite a serious health issue, she has overcome that,” Nicholl said. “We’ve just seen her climb the three highest peaks in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Marsden. She’s turning her experience into something positive, and I think that’s earned her a great deal of respect among the British public, along with a lot of love and affection. People are very much behind her and William.”
Chard echoed that sentiment, describing Kate’s broader connection with the public. “Princess Catherine connects with people in a way that restores faith in the monarchy,” Chard said. “She has learned every aspect of the institution over many years and has blended in carefully without fuss. Princess Catherine is central to the institution’s success, and King Charles knows this.”
Royal commentators say Kate’s steadiness has taken on added significance as the working royal family has grown smaller in recent years. Prince Andrew stepped back as a working royal in 2019 amid his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Charles has since formally stripped him of his princely title and HRH style. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California.
Royals commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the king’s appreciation for Kate extends to her partnership with William. “Naturally, King Charles recognizes the value of Kate, who is indeed the monarchy’s greatest asset,” Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. “We should add, ‘together with her partnership with William and their family.’ While we praise Catherine’s many strengths, William is the future king. She will one day be queen consort. They see themselves as a close-knit couple.” Fitzwilliams also pointed to Kate’s support for William amid reported tension over how to handle Harry. “William is currently at the center of reports that he and the king differ over how to handle Prince Harry, in particular,” Fitzwilliams said. “As she showed when the Sussexes met with the king and Queen Camilla, she fully supports William’s approach.”
Royals expert Hilary Fordwich said Kate’s steadiness has translated into measurable public goodwill. “It’s not at all surprising King Charles and Princess Catherine have bonded,” Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “One can tangibly feel the public also values her wonderful assets from the reception she always receives when in public, as well as in opinion polls. She has become indispensable and has won the public’s trust.” Fordwich attributed that trust in part to how Kate handled her illness. “She handled the strain of her cancer battle with dignity, without any indication of self-pity.”
Operator
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Bombardier Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Please be advised that this call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the discussion over to Mr. Francis Richer de La Fleche, Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations for Bombardier. Please go ahead.
Francis Richer de La Fleche
Vice President of Financial Planning & Investor Relations
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Bombardier’s earnings call for the second quarter of 2026. I wish to remind you that during the course of this call, we may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the financial performance of the corporation. There are risks that actual events or results may differ materially from these statements. For additional information on forward-looking statements and underlying assumptions, please refer to the MD&A. I’m making this cautionary statement on behalf of each speaker on this call.
With me today is our President and Chief Executive Officer, Éric Martel; and our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Bart Demosky, to review our operations and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
I would now like
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Foreign companies looking for incentives under the scheme may have to invest Rs 500 crore over four years, while the threshold for domestic firms is likely to be around Rs 20 crore for five years, the source who did not wish to be named said.
“Meity (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) will take the Cabinet approval of the detailed guidelines soon and is hopeful of rolling out the scheme from next financial year. The incentive outlay is likely to be around Rs 7,500 crore,” the source said.
The government has announced a cumulative production linked incentive of Rs 2 lakh crore for 10 sectors to encourage domestic manufacturing after seeing traction of global giants like Apple’s contract manufacturers, Samsung etc for the scheme in the mobile devices segment.
According to mobile devices industry body ICEA, India has the potential to scale up its cumulative laptop and tablet manufacturing capacity to over Rs 7 lakh crore by 2025 through policy interventions.
Scaling up laptop and tablet PC manufacturing can take the share of India in the global market to 26 per cent from 1 per cent at present.
Besides, it will generate 5 lakh new jobs and lead to a cumulative inflow of foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 5.5 lakh crore and investment of over Rs 7,300 crore by 2025.
Worries that heavy investments in AI infrastructure may be taking too long to pay off rattled global markets this month and led to doubts about companies at the center of Wall Street’s rally in recent years.
“There were worries that Amazon’s spending was just moonshot spending, that it’s irresponsible spending, and (CEO) Andy Jassy just put those fears to bed,” said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The PHLX chip index gained, but it remains down over 20% from its June 22 record high close. Apple tumbled after warning that supply constraints would hurt growth, adding to worries that recent iPhone price hikes would weaken consumer demand.
Apple’s slump kept the S&P 500 technology index down, despite gains in other tech stocks. Microsoft added to gains after surging over 15% on Thursday in its biggest one-day percentage gain since 2008 after it forecast stronger-than-expected cloud growth. Monolithic Power Systems rose after forecasting third-quarter revenue above estimates.
According to preliminary data,
Analysts on average expect S&P 500 aggregate second-quarter earnings to soar 48% from a year ago, with AI-related stocks accounting for much of that growth, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Strong earnings forecasts and a recent decline in share prices have left the S&P 500 trading at about 20 times expected earnings, just above its 10-year average of 19 times, according to LSEG data.
The S&P 500 is near flat in July while the Nasdaq has fallen about 3%. Both indexes are up about 9% in 2026.
The S&P 500 equal-weighted index was on track for its fourth straight month of gains, thanks to its limited exposure to heavyweight AI-related stocks that have underperformed for much of that time. Three Federal Reserve officials who dissented at the Fed’s policy meeting this week in favor of an interest rate hike called on Friday for immediate action to bring inflation down to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target.
The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, rose 5.4 basis points to 4.28% but is down slightly for the week. Markets are pricing in a 65% chance of a rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting, according to CME FedWatch, down from 82% a week ago but up slightly from 63% on Thursday. Domain registrar GoDaddy dropped after narrowing its annual revenue forecast.
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The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week despite three dissenting votes from Fed governors who would’ve preferred the central bank hike rates to help rein in stubbornly-high inflation, they explained on Friday.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed panel responsible for monetary policy moves, on Wednesday voted 9-3 to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, where it has remained throughout 2026 so far.
The three dissenting votes were cast by Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan – each of whom raised concerns about inflation persisting above the central bank’s 2% target and said they would’ve preferred raising the federal funds rate by 25-basis-points.
Inflation trended lower in June but remains elevated from the energy price shock caused by the Iran war earlier this year, with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, up 3.7% in June compared with a year ago.
FED POLICYMAKERS LEAVE RATES UNCHANGED AMID ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY
Inflation has remained stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target, with energy prices pushing it higher over the course of this year. (Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who was leading his second FOMC meeting since being confirmed as the central bank’s leader, acknowledged the importance of returning inflation to 2% to restore price stability even as he said that he thinks holding rates steady was “especially prudent at these uncertain times.”
“Not one of my FOMC colleagues is under any illusion, we have begun a new chapter, and we understand that the five-plus years of inflation above target cannot be cured in nine weeks, or by a single month of modest price decreases. This Fed will not waver. Our credibility rests on performing our duties and delivering on our responsibilities,” Warsh said.
Here’s a look at key points made by the three dissenting FOMC members in their explanations of why they would’ve preferred the central bank hike rates at this week’s policy meeting.
FED’S FAVORED INFLATION GAUGE SHOWED PRICES PULLED BACK IN JUNE
Logan explained that inflation “does not appear to be on course to sustainably achieve” the Fed’s 2% target, adding that, “Every month of above-target inflation compounds the strain on the budgets of American families and businesses.”
“Even after accounting for productivity gains and temporary supply shocks, inflation appears to be trending toward the mid-2’s, not all the way to 2%, and the risks are to the upside,” Logan explained. She also noted the labor market is “solid and perhaps strengthening,” which eases concerns about the maximum employment component of the Fed’s dual mandate.
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said that inflation doesn’t seem to be returning to its 2% target. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
She added that conditions in the labor and financial markets, as well as consumer spending trends, suggest that “monetary policy is not restraining the economy. Without any policy restraint, inflation will likely continue to trend above target until there’s an unanticipated shock.”
“The FOMC cannot count on unanticipated shocks to achieve its goals and can always adjust policy if unanticipated shocks occur. Modest action in the near term would reduce the likelihood of needing to take sharper action later,” Logan said in explaining her preference for a rate hike.
FED CHAIR KEVIN WARSH SAYS CENTRAL BANK HAS ‘NO TOLERANCE’ FOR ELEVATED INFLATION
Kashkari discussed the similarities and differences between the current inflationary cycle and what the U.S. experienced in the 1970s with a series of successive supply shocks affecting commodities, food and energy markets; to the contemporary inflation caused by the pandemic, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and trade tension leading to higher tariffs.
While central bankers half a century ago initially thought they faced a single supply shock that could “look through” because it would pass on its own, they ultimately determined they needed to raise rates to curb the inflationary pressures, Kashkari explained.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it wouldn’t be hard to pause or reverse rate hikes if needed. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
“The economy today is in a much better place than it was then: unemployment is lower and inflation is much lower. But to manage against the risk that high inflation could become entrenched, I would rather tighten policy incrementally as we gather more data on the path of inflation and employment,” he wrote.
“If inflation remains elevated, in my view, a potential series of small policy moves would be better than waiting and eventually concluding that even bolder actions were necessary,” Kashkari said. “On the other hand, if inflation durably fades, a strategy of small policy steps would allow the FOMC to slow or pause subsequent adjustments without unnecessary impact on the real economy.”
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Hammack wrote that she is “not confident” that inflation will return to the Fed’s 2% target on its own, saying that the time is right for the central bank to take action to lower inflation as the “longer that high inflation persists, the more challenging and costly it can be to bring it back down.”
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a 25-basis-point rate hike. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She noted that while energy price shocks have driven much of the inflation this year, she’s hearing from businesses in her Fed district that pricing pressures are “broadening rather than fading, and consumers are expressing despair over persistently higher prices.”
“Given the stability of the labor market, with the unemployment rate near my estimate of maximum employment, I view high inflation as the more pressing problem,” Hammock explained.
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“A higher federal funds rate would help restrain economic activity and reduce inflationary pressures. I preferred to move at our recent meeting because I did not see the current policy stance as appropriately restrictive,” she wrote.
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