A business trip can look efficient on a calendar: fly overnight, land in the morning, meet the client after lunch. In reality, the gap between “arrived” and “ready” can be enormous.

After little sleep, dry cabin air, airport queues, and a rushed hotel check-in, the first hour in the conference room may feel less like a negotiation and more like damage control.

That is why business travel is not only about the lowest fare or fastest route. It is about protecting your energy for the presentation, interview, factory visit, or partnership meeting ahead.

For a frequent business traveler, the flight is part of the working day.

Why Your Seat Choice Matters On Long-haul Flights

A short flight is one thing. Long-haul flights are different. Once a journey lasts eight, ten, or twelve hours, small comfort compromises add up.

Jet lag disrupts the body’s internal clock, especially when traveling east. The CDC recommends arriving at least two days before an important event when possible. That is not always realistic, but it explains why landing at 8 a.m. should not automatically mean booking a major meeting at 10 a.m.

You cannot change the time zone or cabin conditions. You can make smarter choices about sleep, space, and scheduling.

Why premium economy is worth considering

Business class is excellent when the budget allows it, but the fare difference is hard to justify on every trip.

That is where premium economy can make sense.

Premium economy generally offers a wider seat, more legroom, greater recline, and a smaller cabin than standard economy. It is not business class. Still, on an overnight route, the difference between being able to shift position comfortably and spending ten hours in a tight seat can be substantial.

KLM’s Premium Comfort cabin is one example. The airline describes it as a separate cabin with wider seats, added legroom, increased recline, a footrest, and a larger entertainment screen. Depending on the aircraft, the cabin has 21 to 28 seats.

For a business traveler, this is less about luxury and more about reducing avoidable friction before an important day.

Travel situation	Economy	Premium economy	Business class
Two-hour daytime flight	Usually enough	Optional	Rarely necessary
Eight-hour flight with work after landing	Can be tiring	Often a smart upgrade	Best for demanding schedules
Overnight flight before a major meeting	Higher risk of poor sleep	Strong value option	Ideal where budget permits

The right choice depends on the traveler. Someone leading a workshop hours after landing may value the upgrade far more than someone with a full day to recover.

Calculate the Upgrade Differently

Instead of asking, “Is premium economy worth the extra money?” ask, “What does arriving tired cost me?”

Say an upgrade costs $350 on a ten-hour flight. That is $35 per flight hour. For leisure travel, the answer may still be no. For a client-facing trip where you need to present, negotiate, or make decisions shortly after landing, the calculation changes.

A better seat will not win a deal for you. But better sleep, more room to move, and a calmer cabin may reduce the chance that you arrive distracted, stiff, or unable to focus.

One common mistake is comparing ticket prices without comparing the full itinerary. A cheaper fare with a long layover, poor connection, and early arrival can be more expensive in real-life terms than a slightly higher fare with a smoother schedule.

Business Travel Tips For Arriving Sharper

1. Avoid landing immediately before the important event. Build in a buffer whenever the meeting has real consequences.
2. Pick an aisle seat for daytime flights. Easy movement may matter more than a window view.
3. Choose a window seat when sleep is the priority. You are less likely to be disturbed.
4. Plan hydration and food. Bring water and avoid relying on alcohol for sleep.
5. Check the aircraft, not only the airline. Cabin layouts and seat features can vary by route.

The Point Is Not To Fly Expensively

An economy can be right for a quick trip or a journey followed by a rest day. Business class can make sense before a critical meeting. Premium economy often sits in the practical middle: enough extra space and calm to make long-haul flights more manageable without moving into the highest fare bracket.

Before booking, look beyond the ticket price. Consider when you need to perform, how much recovery time you have, and whether the cheaper option creates a false saving.

A flight does not close the deal for you. But arriving clear-headed, prepared, and physically comfortable gives you a better chance to do your best work once the meeting begins.

Promoters of Reliance Industries increased their stake in the company by 0.5%, according to latest shareholding data of June quarter available with the exchanges. As per the last update, promoters including Mukesh Ambani, wife Nita and three children, Isha, Akash and Anant, hold about 50.48% in the company as of June 2026, compared with 50% in the preceding March quarter.

Any increase in promoter shareholding is seen by investors and wider market participants as renewed confidence in the company’s long-term prospects.

Shares of Reliance have had a difficult year so far, with the stock erasing about Rs 3.53 lakh crore in investor wealth. The stock fell over 6% in the year-to-date period.

The purchases were made within the limits permitted under Sebi regulations, which allow promoters to gradually increase ownership without triggering a mandatory open offer, subject to prescribed thresholds.

According to a PTI report, market purchases by the promoter group would have cost Rs 8,500-9,000 crore.

Also Read: Investors are watching Jio but Mukesh Ambani-led RIL’s Q1 surprise may come from refining
As of June quarter, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, wife and three children hold 1.61 crore shares, or 0.12% stake. His mother K D Ambani holds 3.14 crore shares, or 0.24%. Rest of the shares are held through promoter group entities with Srichakra Commercials LLP holding the largest at 10.93%. Devarshi Commercials LLP, Karuna Commerfcial LLP, and Tattvam Enterprises LLP hold 8.06% stake each.The move comes at a time when Reliance continues to invest heavily across its retail, digital, new energy, and consumer businesses while pursuing long-term growth opportunities.

The increase is unlikely to have any immediate operational impact but could be interpreted positively by investors as an expression of promoter conviction in Reliance’s earnings trajectory and future capital allocation plans.

What led to RIL share price fall this year
The company missed profit estimates in the last few quarters, with retail earnings slowing and the oil and gas segment hit by weaker output and softer price realisations. Retail margins were also affected by festive discounting, investments in hyper-local delivery startups and the impact of new labour codes.

The oil-to-chemicals business, which has long been Reliance’s biggest earnings engine, has faced its own questions. Reuters Breakingviews said in April that Reliance shares had underperformed the broader market as the Iran conflict weighed on refining, while windfall taxes, high freight costs and Chinese competition were among the concerns for the business.

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

Dr. Bill Conerly connects the dots between the economy and business decisions. He has the unique combination of a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and over 30 years’ experience helping companies adapt to changing economic conditions. He has worked in economics and corporate planning at two Fortune 500 corporations and at a major bank, where he was senior vice president. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.   Companies have used Dr. Conerly’s expertise to help with decisions regarding capital expenditures, inventory levels, expansion into new markets, pricing, business models and financial structure. Dr. Conerly is an on-line contributor to Forbes.com and the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2016) as well as Businomics (2007). He had been interviewed on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, CNN and CNBC. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.

A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off Mexico’s Pacific coast near the town of Puerto Madero on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey, triggering concern over a possible tsunami along the country’s southern coastline.

The quake occurred at 7:48 a.m. Pacific time, centered approximately 44 miles, or 71 kilometers, west-southwest of Puerto Madero, a coastal town in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas near the border with Guatemala. According to the USGS, the earthquake struck at a relatively shallow depth of about 6.2 miles, or 10 kilometers, a factor that can amplify shaking closer to the epicenter and increase the likelihood of triggering tsunami activity in offshore events.

The earthquake’s offshore location and shallow depth placed it within a seismically active stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coastline, a region where the Cocos tectonic plate subducts beneath the North American plate, producing some of the country’s most significant seismic activity. Puerto Madero and the broader Chiapas coastline have experienced numerous earthquakes over the years given their position along this active subduction zone, which has historically generated some of Mexico’s largest and most destructive quakes.

As of Friday afternoon, detailed information about the earthquake’s broader impact remained limited. According to a report from GV Wire, no additional information beyond the earthquake’s preliminary magnitude and location was immediately available following the event. Reuters, citing the USGS, confirmed the magnitude 7.4 reading and the quake’s depth of 10 kilometers, while noting the event had prompted a tsunami threat assessment for the surrounding coastal region.

Given the earthquake’s offshore epicenter and its magnitude exceeding 7.0, tsunami warning centers typically move quickly to assess whether the event has generated hazardous waves capable of affecting nearby coastlines. Earthquakes of this size and depth along Mexico’s Pacific coast have historically triggered tsunami advisories covering not only the immediate area near the epicenter but also more distant coastal regions across Central America, given the broad geographic reach that tsunami waves generated by strong offshore earthquakes can achieve.

The region around Puerto Madero and the broader Chiapas coastline has a documented history of significant seismic activity. The area sits within a zone capable of producing earthquakes exceeding magnitude 8.0, including a devastating magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck off Chiapas’s Pacific coast near the Guatemalan border in September 2017, an event that ranked among Mexico’s strongest earthquakes of the past century and generated measurable tsunami waves along the coast, prompting evacuations in coastal communities including Puerto Madero itself at that time. That 2017 earthquake ultimately caused dozens of deaths across southern Mexico and extensive damage to homes, hospitals and other infrastructure in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco.

Friday’s earthquake adds to a long list of moderate-to-major seismic events that have struck the Puerto Madero region in recent years, reflecting the area’s position within one of the most seismically active zones in North America. The broader subduction zone responsible for generating earthquakes along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast has produced quakes capable of causing significant damage and loss of life in the past, underscoring the ongoing seismic risk facing communities throughout Chiapas and neighboring Guatemala.

Given the preliminary nature of early earthquake reporting, seismologists typically caution that initial magnitude estimates can be revised as more data becomes available in the hours following a major seismic event. It remained unclear as of Friday afternoon whether Friday’s magnitude 7.4 reading would be adjusted, and authorities had not yet released detailed information regarding any casualties, structural damage, or the formal status of tsunami warnings for coastal communities in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter.

Mexico’s National Seismological Service and civil protection authorities typically issue guidance to residents in coastal areas following significant offshore earthquakes, often recommending evacuation from low-lying coastal zones as a precautionary measure while tsunami risk is assessed, even in cases where a full tsunami warning is not ultimately issued. Communities along the Chiapas coast, including Puerto Madero and the nearby town of Tonalá, have in the past been subject to such precautionary evacuations following major offshore earthquakes in the region.

The earthquake occurred amid a broader stretch of active natural disaster coverage across the globe this week, according to Reuters’ environmental reporting, which has also tracked wildfires, drought and storm activity across Europe, flooding-related evacuations in China’s Zhengzhou region, a landslide in southwestern China’s Chongqing that killed at least eight people with dozens more still missing, and severe storm damage in both France and Chile.

Residents and authorities in southern Mexico were expected to continue monitoring the situation closely in the hours following Friday’s earthquake, particularly given the region’s history of major aftershocks following significant seismic events. Aftershock sequences following earthquakes of this magnitude can continue for days or even weeks, occasionally including secondary shocks strong enough to cause additional damage to structures already weakened by the initial quake.

As information continues to develop, agencies including the USGS and Mexico’s national seismological and civil protection authorities are expected to provide updated assessments regarding the earthquake’s precise magnitude, depth, and any associated tsunami risk to coastal communities in Chiapas and neighboring Guatemala. Given the earthquake’s offshore location and its occurrence in a historically active seismic zone, officials in the region are likely to maintain heightened monitoring of coastal areas in the immediate aftermath of the event.

Global product engineering and digital services firm Tata Technologies Ltd on Friday reported a 6.2 per cent rise in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 180.75 crore during the June quarter.

The company had posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 170.28 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, Tata Technologies Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter was at Rs 1,664.63 crore as compared to Rs 1,244.29 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses in the fourth quarter were higher at Rs 1,459.38 crore as compared to Rs 1,080.11 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Tata Technologies CEO and Managing Director Warren Harris said, “The demand environment remains constructive, reflected in healthy activity across our strategic growth areas, a robust pipeline of large opportunities, improving deal conversion, and greater visibility across key customer programs.”

Combined with our ongoing investments in AI, disciplined focus on operational efficiency, and continued portfolio diversification, he said, “We believe we are well positioned to deliver strong double-digit organic revenue growth in FY27.”
The company said it secured a USD 100 million strategic partnership with Tenneco, covering engineering, digital, and business process transformation, leveraging AI and automation to drive greater efficiency, scalability, and business outcomes across the delivery model.

Further, a leading Japanese automotive OEM has selected the company for a full vehicle engineering programme, reinforcing our end-to-end vehicle engineering credentials, marking a scaled entry into the Japanese market while strengthening our Asia footprint, it added.

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday cautioned regulated entities and listed companies against an emerging cyber fraud known as the “Boss Scam”, in which fraudsters impersonate chief executives or other senior officials to trick finance teams into transferring funds.

The advisory follows an alert from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which has flagged a rise in CEO/MD impersonation fraud targeting organisations through email, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and other social media platforms.

According to Sebi, fraudsters impersonate senior executives and send messages or make calls directing subordinates to urgently transfer money to specified bank accounts. In some cases, fraudsters use artificial intelligence tools such as voice cloning and deepfake video calls to make the impersonation appear genuine.

The regulator said another method involves sending a compressed ZIP file containing malicious software. Once the file is opened on a Windows device, the malware hijacks active WhatsApp Web sessions, allowing fraudsters to gain access to the victim’s account and send payment instructions to finance or accounts personnel.

In some instances, cybercriminals may also alter the contact list on a compromised device, saving their own number under the name of the CEO or Managing Director to deceive employees into executing fund transfers, Sebi, said.

“Fraudsters are targeting CEOs or high-ranking officials via email or WhatsApp by impersonating them. The communication through email/WhatsApp/Microsoft Teams/other social media platforms with their subordinates or counterparts, directs them to carry out instructions given to them resulting in transfer of funds to fraudsters,” Sebi said in a statement.
The regulator advised listed companies and regulated entities to independently verify requests received through WhatsApp, email or social media by directly calling the concerned senior official.It also asked organisations not to transfer funds solely on the basis of instructions received through social media platforms and to avoid installing executable files without first verifying the sender’s identity.

Further, Sebi urged entities to log out of inactive WhatsApp Web sessions and immediately report cyber fraud incidents by calling the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or through the Cyber Crime portal.

The regulator said it issued the advisory after I4C observed an increasing trend of cybercriminals targeting high-ranking officials and finance executives through CEO or MD impersonation schemes to fraudulently obtain fund transfers.

Apple briefly reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company on Friday, edging past Nvidia in market capitalization for the first time in more than a year, as investors reassessed the pace and payoff of massive spending across the artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.

Apple shares climbed to an all-time high of $334.99 in early trading Friday, lifting the company’s market value to approximately $4.88 trillion. Nvidia, meanwhile, saw its shares fall more than 3% in early trading, pulling its market capitalization down to roughly $4.84 trillion. The two companies traded the top spot back and forth throughout the session, with Nvidia’s value dipping as low as $4.84 trillion at one point while Apple hovered near $4.88 trillion, before the positions shifted again later in the day.

The milestone marks the first time Apple has surpassed Nvidia in market value since April 2025, ending a run of roughly 15 months during which Nvidia had held the title of the world’s most valuable company. Nvidia first claimed the top spot in June 2025, when it overtook Microsoft, and went on to become the first publicly traded company in history to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization in October of that year. Apple, notably, also crossed the $4 trillion market cap threshold for the first time that same month, driven by strong iPhone sales.

The reversal in fortunes between the two technology giants reflects a broader shift underway across markets this year. Apple shares have surged 22% in 2026, outperforming the broader market as investors have rewarded the company’s approach to artificial intelligence and its comparatively modest capital spending model, even as businesses across the technology sector commit unprecedented sums toward AI infrastructure buildout. Nvidia, by contrast, has gained just 7% so far this year and has largely sat on the sidelines as Wall Street’s attention has pivoted toward the memory chip and infrastructure stage of the data center buildout, a shift that has instead benefited memory stocks such as Micron Technology, which crossed $1 trillion in market value in May, and SanDisk.

A significant driver behind Apple’s rally came Thursday evening, when HSBC upgraded the stock to a Buy rating from Hold, raising its price target to $366 from $260, a level Apple’s stock had not traded at since April. Analyst Erwan Cote-Colisson wrote in a note cited by multiple outlets that Apple has reached what the firm characterized as an operational turning point. He noted that Apple can largely avoid the debate swirling around excessive capital expenditure among AI infrastructure companies, since Apple invests only about 2.5% of its estimated 2026 sales in capital spending, compared with roughly 39% among major hyperscale cloud providers. Cote-Colisson added that Apple is well positioned to leverage its installed base of 2.5 billion active devices through its forthcoming revamped Apple Intelligence platform, including a new agentic version of Siri expected to launch later this year, which he said could drive additional device demand. “This AI boost comes at the right moment, when we think Apple has one of its most innovative product pipelines in place,” Cote-Colisson wrote.

HSBC’s bullish case also rested in part on Apple’s upcoming hardware roadmap, which the firm views as unusually strong. That pipeline includes the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max expected this fall, an iPhone Air slated for April 2027, and what HSBC described as the most significant upcoming release: a book-style foldable phone. Apple also received government approval this week to roll out its Apple Intelligence features in China, another development that has contributed to recent investor optimism around the stock.

Not all of the news swirling around Apple this week has been strictly financial. A separate report from the Financial Times indicated that Apple has sent legal letters to roughly 40 former employees now working at OpenAI, expanding an ongoing trade-secrets investigation. That outreach follows a lawsuit Apple filed last week accusing OpenAI of recruiting key engineers in order to obtain confidential hardware and product-development information, a dispute that has added a legal dimension to the broader competitive tension between the two companies as both push further into AI-driven consumer hardware.

Nvidia’s pullback this week has coincided with a broader retreat across semiconductor stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen nearly 19% from its all-time highs, and chip stocks were on pace for their worst weekly performance in more than a year as of Friday’s session, according to reporting from Quartz. Nvidia’s own market capitalization has shed roughly $900 billion since peaking at $5.7 trillion on May 14, even as Apple added more than $500 billion in value over the same stretch, climbing from approximately $4.35 trillion in mid-May. As recently as two months ago, Nvidia’s valuation exceeded Apple’s by roughly $1.35 trillion, underscoring how quickly sentiment has shifted between the two companies.

Looking ahead, both companies have upcoming earnings reports that could further shape investor sentiment. Apple is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter results on July 30, following a second-quarter period in which revenue rose 17% to $111.2 billion on the strength of a 22% jump in iPhone sales. Nvidia is expected to report its own second-quarter results in late August.

Market strategists have framed Friday’s shift as part of a broader rotation within the AI trade, as investors move away from rewarding companies purely for the scale of their AI infrastructure spending and instead favor companies demonstrating a clearer path toward turning AI investment into actual profit. Apple’s relatively conservative capital spending approach, paired with substantial free cash flow generation, has positioned the company favorably in that emerging narrative, even as questions remain about how quickly its AI-driven product features will translate into a meaningful upgrade cycle across its massive installed device base.

With Apple’s valuation now approaching the $5 trillion threshold Nvidia first crossed last year, the rivalry between the two companies for the title of world’s most valuable business appears likely to remain closely contested in the weeks ahead, particularly as both companies prepare to report earnings that could reshape investor expectations heading into the back half of the year.