“The thinking now is to basically get small wins, small successes here and there, instead of these mega projects,” says Abdullah. “Like, for example, the Red Sea island resort of Sindalah could be one small win that they can promote, which is basically a very traditional style of resort, which can still be presented as part of the vision, instead of the likes of The Line and The Cube. And so they can say, ‘these represent the basis of Neom, and we didn’t have to have the whole thing’.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., warned Sunday that artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics could replace American workers and even damage children’s social development if the technology is controlled by billionaires prioritizing profits over people.

Speaking at a “Fight Oligarchy” rally in Maine, the Vermont independent argued that AI could deepen economic inequality and worsen an ongoing mental health crisis among young people.

“Kids are lonelier and lonelier,” Sanders said. “I do not want the next generation to have as their friends AI bots. I want them to have other kids, other human beings as their friends.”

Sanders said artificial intelligence and robotics are poised to become “the most transformative economic revolution in the history of this country” and warned that the technology could eliminate jobs across multiple industries.

WORKERS FACE GROWING ‘AUTOMATION ANXIETY’ AS TECH LAYOFFS SURGE, AI ADOPTION ACCELERATES

“What is the function of AI and robotics?” Sanders asked the crowd. “It is to replace human labor.”

The senator pointed to automation in manufacturing and the future expansion of driverless vehicles as examples of looming disruptions to the workforce.

“Truck drivers and cab drivers, Uber drivers, Lyft drivers, etc. will be losing their jobs in the not too immediate future,” Sanders said.

META SHIFTS 7,000 WORKERS INTO AI ROLES AS LAYOFFS, MANAGER CUTS LOOM

While Sanders acknowledged AI could provide benefits, including reducing the workweek while maintaining wages, he argued the technology must be regulated to ensure it benefits workers rather than wealthy tech executives.

“What we have got to do is make sure that AI and robotics work for all of the people, not just the billionaires who are developing that technology,” he said.

Sanders also warned about the potential societal impacts of artificial intelligence, including misinformation and growing social isolation among children.

EXPERT SAYS MASSIVE AI INVESTMENT IS ‘LAYING THE GROUNDWORK’ FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

“If AI undermines our democracy by putting stuff on screens in which you cannot tell truth from fiction, that’s a bad thing,” Sanders said.

The senator specifically criticized Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming corporate leaders are prioritizing profits over workers as AI rapidly expands.

“These guys are in it for the money,” Sanders said. “They want more wealth and more power, and they do not care what happens to workers.”

The remarks came during Sanders’ latest stop on his nationwide “Fight Oligarchy” tour, which has focused heavily on wealth inequality, corporate power and opposition to President Donald Trump.

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During the speech, Sanders also accused billionaires and superPACs of trying to “own and control the United States Congress” and called the U.S. political system increasingly dominated by wealthy interests.

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ET Intelligence Group: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries recorded double-digit growth in revenue and net profit for the March quarter; however, operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA margin) was under pressure due to higher investments and lower milestone income from products. It is expected to stay range-bound given continued spending on specialty launches and higher research and development (R&D) expenditure. The proportion of R&D expenses in revenue hit an eight-quarter high of 6.7% in the March quarter.

The company expects revenue growth to moderate in FY27. After clocking 11.9% top line growth in revenue at ₹58,220.1 crore in FY26, growth is likely to slow down to high single-digit for FY27. The pipeline across dermatology, oncology and metabolic therapies, along with new launches and the proposed Organon acquisition, will be key growth drivers. The stock’s current P/E at 38.6 is at a premium to the three-year and five-year average P/Es of 35 and 32 respectively. That may limit the upside for the stock in the medium term amid pressure on profitability and a likely slowdown in revenue growth.

In the March quarter, EBITDA margin contracted 160 basis points year-on-year to an eight quarter low of 27.1%. The company expects the margin to remain range-bound in the near term amid temporary expenses which are expected to normalise over the coming quarters. It also anticipates R&D spends to remain elevated at about 6-7% of sales for FY27 given the focus on innovative therapies.
The domestic formulation (DF) segment remained strong, with the company continuing to outperform the broader industry for two consecutive years, driven by new launches and market share gains in existing products. This momentum is expected to sustain, supported by a robust product pipeline and expansion into high-growth segments such as GLP-1 therapies. The US formulations segment declined marginally in the March quarter and could remain subdued in the near term dragged by pricing pressure and erosion in the base portfolio. The recovery is expected to be gradual, supported by new product launches, pipeline approvals and capacity additions over time.

The world’s best-performing yet most volatile market is set to debut its first ever single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this week, tools that have the potential to amplify gains and losses.

Linked to chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the products will seek to deliver twice the daily moves of the two stocks, both central to the global artificial intelligence trade.

Analysts expect the ETFs to draw strong demand from the nation’s more than 14 million retail investors. Such enthusiasm, however, risks exacerbating volatility at a time when 5% intraday swings in the Kospi have become increasingly common.

“The ETFs will intensify the existing problem – the concentration risk,” said Jung In Yun, CEO at Fibonacci Asset Management Global in Singapore. “This poses a structural problem for longer-term investors as the volatility of the index will remain elevated, making it difficult to navigate the Korean market.”

Leveraged exchange-traded products offer investors a chance to make outsized gains on indexes, stocks, bonds or commodities by using derivatives and swap contracts to bet on the underlying assets. They can also exacerbate swings in heavily traded names, as issuers often need to rapidly buy or sell assets to keep the funds aligned with their promised leverage ratios.

Korean investors have shown a voracious appetite for such products in recent years, seeking to capitalize on the global AI boom that also propelled the Kospi. The benchmark has more than tripled since the end of 2024, fueled by a surge in chipmakers and the nation’s push to improve shareholder returns.
Leveraged ETFs tied to the Kospi, as well as Hong Kong-listed ETFs linked to Korean chipmakers, have already proven wildly popular among Korean day traders. They have also poured money into US-listed leveraged semiconductor funds. That, in fact, is a key driver behind the launch of single-stock leveraged ETFs in the nation. Regulators, who had hitherto barred such products over concerns about their high-risk nature, are now seeking to lure back retail flows.At about $1.3 billion, year-to-date inflows into a Hong Kong-listed two-times leveraged product tied to Samsung’s shares have exceeded those for similar products tracking US tech heavyweights such as Tesla and Microsoft.

Mumbai: Retail and high networth traders have piled on bets in stock futures at record levels, encouraged by the bullish momentum in mid and smallcap stocks and the Nifty’s range-bound moves.

Their net open positions in stock futures – calculated as a net of long or bullish and short or bearish bets on stock futures were at 28.57 lakh on Friday, slightly lower than Thursday’s record open position of net 28.59 lakh, as per data from NSE.

“The client side, consisting of retail and HNI players have shown record activity in stock futures trading, as the headline indices have been moving in a narrow range, limiting index trading opportunities,” said Chandan Taparia, head of technical and derivatives research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The Nifty has remained in a broad range of 22,300-24,800 since the start of the West Asia conflict in late February. After dipping in March, the index has recovered some of its losses and is still 5.8% down since the conflict. The Nifty Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250 are up 3% and 5.6% respectively, since late February.

Taparia said midcap and smallcap indices have been outperforming the Nifty and Sensex, with several stocks touching all-time highs and seeing strong trading activity.

“While benchmark indices continue to be impacted by FII selling and geopolitical uncertainty, mid and smallcap stocks are being driven more by domestic factors, which is leading to higher participation in stock futures in these segments.”
Stocks with highest build-up
Retail traders, whose positions make a majority of these volumes, are riding the momentum, said Vipin Kumar, AVP- derivatives and technical research at Globe Capital Market.
“During the last week of March and the first week of April 2026, we saw record net long open positions by clients and record net short positions by FIIs in Index futures. But right now, the lack of momentum (rangebound trading) in indices is causing this shift by retail clients from index futures to stock futures,” he said.

Foreign investors, who usually bet on index futures in India, have largely remained short or bearish on the headline indices since the start of the year. The Long Short Ratio of foreign portfolio investors, a measure of their bullish bets versus bearish, was at nearly 14% on Friday, showing they remain predominantly pessimistic.

Elevated trading volumes among domestic individual traders come despite the attempts by the government and the capital markets regulator to tamp down activity in the local futures and options market.

The government had raised the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures to 0.05% from 0.02%, a 150% increase.

“Higher volatility typically leads to higher trading activity. This is why, despite a higher STT, we are seeing increased trading activity and higher open positions by participants,” said Kumar.

That said, their net open positions in index futures, stock and index options are still lower than the levels seen in late 2024 and early 2025.

“This could be because stock options are not as liquid as futures and key traders avoid options due to theta or time decay, which reduces the value of options as one moves close to expiry,” said Taparia.