The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), finalized in May 2026, aims to harmonize digital trade, e-commerce, data governance, and cybersecurity across 11 diverse nations. Once signed and implemented, DEFA could significantly boost the region’s $2 trillion digital economy by simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing compliance costs, particularly for small businesses. The pact future-proofs by including emerging technologies like AI. DEFA’s success hinges on inclusive implementation and national legislation, with the potential to make ASEAN a unified digital market and a global “digital lighthouse” for responsible digital policy.

ASEAN is building a $2 trillion economy with more than 680 million consumers, but its digital market remains fragmented. DEFA is an attempt to turn ASEAN’s 11 national markets into something closer to one regional digitally-savvy market. Uniquely, it was negotiated by members ranging from Singapore’s advanced economy to Vietnam’s one-party system, making it a compelling test of inclusive governance.

Building consensus and ensuring inclusion

Consensus has been built into the region’s DNA since the ASEAN Charter, signed in November 2007, codified the region’s diplomatic rules and listed the key principles and purposes of the group. But members can also opt out of certain commitments – ASEAN minus X – which allows countries to operate at different readiness levels. This flexibility may be criticized by some as a weakness, but it allows progress among countries with very different starting points.

Participants in DEFA negotiations may or may not use the ASEAN minus X formula, but its availability provides room for nations that need support and time. Consultative discussions and capacity-building are particularly important for smaller businesses seeking to reap DEFA’s benefits.

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Harald Fotland
Chief Executive Officer

Good morning to all of you, and welcome to Odfjell’s presentation of our second quarter results. We will follow an agenda, which should be well known to all of you. I will take you through the highlights, and then my colleague, Terje Iversen, will present our financial performance. And finally, I will conclude this presentation with an operational review, market update and the prospects going forward.

So if we then turn to the highlights, we start with safety. We have seen a very volatile environment this quarter, but I’m still very satisfied to report that our strong safety performance continued throughout the quarter. I’m equally happy to say that our 4 Odfjell vessels that were trapped inside the Middle East Gulf have all safely left the region. And this is due to a fantastic cooperation between the people on board our ships and also onshore on different locations. We are presently not considering to send vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

If we then turn to our financial performance, we delivered time charter earnings of USD 195 million. This is up from USD 167 million in the previous quarter. Our average time charter earnings per day was USD 29,486. This is also up from USD 27,232 in the first quarter. And this reflects the stronger spot market that we have observed during the quarter. Our EBIT was USD 69 million. This compares to USD 46 million. The net result contribution from Odfjell Terminals was USD 1.8 million, which compares to USD 2.3 million in the previous quarter.

And summarized, this concludes a net result of USD 54 million in

Takeshi Sano
Representative Executive Officer, President, Director & Global CEO

Good morning, and good afternoon. This is Takeshi speaking. Thank you for joining Dentsu’s Fiscal Year 2026 Second Quarter Earnings Call. Today, Shigeki, our Global CFO, and I will be giving the presentation. I will begin with a business and strategic update, followed by an overview of our consolidated financial results by Shigeki. Then I will provide an update on our midterm management plan before opening the floor for Q&A. Please refer to our English website for today’s materials.

I will explain our performance for the 3 months of the second quarter. As we anticipated in February, consolidated organic growth was broadly flat, while operating margin was 11.9%, slightly above expectations.

By region, Japan exceeded expectations, delivering strong organic growth of 5.4%, making its 13th consecutive quarter of solid growth. Notably, net revenue reached a record high. Americas was slightly below expectations with an organic decline of 6.9%. Creative continued to be significantly affected by client loss in the previous year. However, with SG&A expense control in place, operating margin was as expected.

EMEA was in line with expectations, recording flat organic growth, while Media maintained positive growth.

Operating margin improved year-on-year to 13.2%. APAC was also in line with expectations. The second quarter’s organic growth improved to broadly flat from an organic

O’Connor noticed the impact on his father and brother when the family made the switch from beef to dairy farming two years ago.

“It is a lot different – it’s rigid – you start milking in the morning, you have to milk in the evening. There’s not as much flexibility,” he said.

He also became more conscious of the paperwork and level of compliance involved in running a dairy operation.

Farmers in Northern Ireland work an average of 65 hours a week.

O’Connor said there was “a whole side of farming that the general public don’t see”, where farmers have late nights alone, completing jobs on the farm or filling in paperwork.

The app was developed with the idea of giving farmers more time with their families by making the business more manageable.

A campaign – the Empty Table – has been launched with the app to raise awareness of the effort that goes into producing food.

“I love to solve problems,” O’Connor said.

“So I wanted to set up FarmFlow to sort of solve problems on our own farm and try and make it more efficient.

“I love keeping things on time and stuff.”

UK retail sales fell 0.5 per cent in July as shoppers cut back during record temperatures, according to the Office for National Statistics, reversing the rise recorded in June at the start of the warm summer and the Fifa men’s World Cup.

The monthly fall was in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. June’s increase was revised down from 1 per cent to 0.7 per cent, and July’s drop wiped out that gain.

Over a rolling three-month period, sales volumes are up 1.1 per cent, the ONS said.

Spending on clothing, footwear and household goods all fell in July. Excluding petrol and diesel, sales volumes recorded a larger 0.9 per cent monthly contraction. Pump prices rose in July after the end of a US-Iran ceasefire pushed up global oil costs.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said British consumers had ramped up spending on sports merchandise, fans and outdoor products.

Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon, a consultancy, said consumer spending would be squeezed in the coming months as energy costs drove inflation towards 3 per cent. Annual consumer prices rose by 2.9 per cent in July, up from 2.6 per cent in June.

Sandra Prince, head of consumer at Lloyds, said the warm weather meant more spending had been directed to retail parks and online shopping rather than the high street.

“After an extended spell of warm weather across large parts of the UK, many households will already have bought what they need for the season, while lines of popular summer products come to an end. The boost from the World Cup that came to an end in the first half of July also meant fewer opportunities to capitalise on the warmer conditions,” Prince said.

“For retailers, as the summer peak slows down, attention is now turning to the opportunities the autumn could bring to keep consumers engaged.”

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

Goodluck India shares opened at Rs 493.20 apiece on the NSE on Friday, compared with Thursday’s closing price of Rs 1,439.40. On an adjusted basis, however, the stock was down only around 4%, trading at about Rs 471 apiece.

All about Goodluck India’s bonus issue

Goodluck India in July announced its maiden bonus issue in a 2:1 ratio. Under the proposal, eligible shareholders will receive two bonus equity shares of a face value of Rs 2 each for every one equity share held as of the record date, which will be announced separately.

A bonus issue consists of free shares distributed by a company from its reserves and is often seen as a sign of strong financial health and growth prospects. While the issue of bonus shares increases the total number of outstanding shares, it does not change the company’s market capitalisation. However, it can improve liquidity and affordability, allowing more investors to add shares of the company to their portfolio.

Can you buy Goodluck India shares today and be eligible for bonus issue?

Only shareholders who hold Goodluck India shares in their demat accounts on the record date will be eligible for the bonus shares. Under India’s T+1 settlement cycle, shares bought one trading day before the record date are generally settled in the investor’s demat account in time to qualify for the corporate action.

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Therefore, if Friday is the record date, Thursday was the last day to buy Goodluck India shares and still be eligible for the bonus issue. Buying the shares on Friday would not make an investor eligible for the bonus shares.
Also read | Bonus issue alert! Last day to buy Goodluck India shares for 2:1 bonus reward

How will dividend payout be impacted?

Goodluck India in May had announced a final dividend of Rs 3 per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, subject to shareholders’ approval. In view of the 2:1 bonus issue, the company announced that its board has now adjusted the final dividend amount to Re 1 per share.

The company has declared 27 dividends since March 2003 and has a dividend yield of 0.51% at the current market price, according to data on Trendlyne.

Goodluck India share price

Goodluck India shares have gained around 7% over the past week but declined 9% in the last month. The stock is up more than 33% so far in 2026.

Over the longer term, the stock has delivered returns of 29% in one year, 148% in three years and 422% over five years.

Also read | Stock split alert! Last day to buy multibagger TD Power Systems shares to be eligible for 1:2 split

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

The gains came after silver prices rose for a third straight session. MCX silver jumped Rs 13,000 per kg to Rs 2,45,158, supported by a weaker dollar and efforts by the U.S. Treasury Department to keep longer-term yields under control. The U.S. dollar was headed for a weekly decline, making dollar-priced commodities more affordable for holders of other currencies.

On the global stage, Hindustan Zinc ranks among the leading silver producers, with annual output of 22.5 million ounces — ahead of Grupo Mexico’s 12.1 million ounces and not far from top players such as Fresnillo at 52.5 million ounces and Newmont at 28 million ounces. The company also operates in the lowest quartile of the global zinc cost curve and has a mine life of about 25 years.

Silver may have lost some of its shine after a stellar run earlier this year, but the white metal continues to lead all major asset classes on a five-year annualised return basis. Despite investors booking profits after silver surged to $122 in January amid soaring oil prices and renewed concerns over interest rate hikes, the metal has delivered a five-year CAGR of 27%.

Will silver bounce back again?

Fundamentally, silver continues to enjoy strong tailwinds. Demand from sectors such as solar energy, electric vehicles and electronics remains robust, while supply-side constraints support its constructive medium- to long-term outlook. That said, its higher volatility cannot be ignored. Experts suggest a staggered accumulation strategy may be more prudent, allowing investors to balance its higher return potential with the need for risk management.

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“We reiterate investing in silver over supportive fundamentals and market uncertainties. Any decline in prices due to a dollar rally or easing of tensions provides an opportunity to accumulate or invest in silver,” Tata Mutual Fund said in a report.
The report added that corrections after a sharp and extended rally are natural and do not weaken the long-term bullish outlook for precious metals. In silver’s case, the structural fundamentals remain firmly in place despite the recent pullback.

Hindustan Zinc Q1

The Vedanta Group company reported a 145% year-on-year (YoY) surge in net profit to Rs 5,469 crore for the first quarter of FY27.

Its revenue from operations rose around 77% YoY to Rs 13,747 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 7,771 crore reported in the same period last year. Total expenses increased by over 33% YoY to Rs 6,749 crore during the quarter, which ended on June 30, 2026.

The Vedanta Group company’s net profit margin improved to 40% in the April-June quarter of FY27, from 37% in the previous quarter (Q4 FY26) and 29% in the year-ago period (Q1 FY26). Operating margin, meanwhile, increased to 52% during the quarter under review.

The metal major’s net worth also more than doubled year on year, rising around 108% to Rs 23,587 crore at the end of the June quarter of FY27. Its debt-to-equity ratio stood at 0.32 times, as against 1.19 times in Q1 FY26.

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