According to the All Pakistan Sarafa, Gems & Jewellers Association, 24-carat gold registered a decline of Rs400 per tola to Rs 493,662.

Similarly, the price of 10-gram gold witnessed a decline of Rs343, settling at Rs423,235.

Silver prices also saw a slight decline, with the price of a tola dropping Rs12 to Rs8,513.

Bearish trend prevailed on global markets, with gold trading at $4,713 per ounce after a $4 decrease.

Dealers said fluctuations in international gold prices were directly impacting local markets.

The previous day had seen a more significant drop in domestic gold prices, when 24-carat gold fell by Rs2,700 per tola to Rs494,062.

The size exceeds previously reported bets amounting to $2.6 billion, which have already prompted the US administration to warn staff against using ‌non-public information for financial benefit. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in April, although the CFTC has yet to officially confirm a probe is underway.

Reuters could not establish who placed the bets and whether they originated in the US or elsewhere. They included short positions, or bets that prices would fall, for derivatives including ICE, CME crude, diesel and gasoline futures.

The bets took place on two major exchanges that host benchmark global oil and fuel futures trade: the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). ​Both exchanges declined to comment. The CME is investigating the trades, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The well-timed trades have triggered calls from legal experts and lawmakers for regulators to investigate whether they ​were based on inside information or leaks.

Traders first spotted unusual trades on March 23. The trades were executed minutes before Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power ⁠infrastructure, triggering an oil price fall.

The same pattern repeated on April 7, before Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran that triggered a fall of as much as 15% in benchmark ICE Brent futures. It happened again on April 17, when Iranian officials ​and Trump spoke about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and then again on April 21, when Trump extended the ceasefire.

Reuters and other media reported those trades on the most actively traded front-month contracts for the two global crude benchmarks, Brent and West ​Texas Intermediate . The value of those bets on those four days in March and April stood at around $2.6 billion, according to Reuters initial calculations.

The US Justice Department and CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson said: “All federal employees are subject to government ethics guidelines that prohibit the use of non-public information for financial benefit.“

However, a further analysis of trading data across exchanges and contracts showed traders executed similar bets at exactly the same dates and times for European diesel and U.S. gasoline futures as well as ​longer-dated contracts for Brent and WTI, bringing the total to around $7 billion, based on Reuters calculations.

A sell bet — or short selling — means the person executing the trade borrows the derivative from a counterparty, sells it and later buys it ​back more cheaply when the price falls, keeping the remaining cash as profit.

On March 23 and on April 7, 17 and 21, oil prices plunged by over 10%. Reuters calculations show that a short seller with $7 billion could have made hundreds of millions ‌of dollars in ⁠profits, depending on the timing of the bets.

The trades look “well informed” as they preceded major announcements, said Adi Imsirovic, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a veteran oil trader. US authorities, such as the CFTC, can access exchange data to trace who placed the trades and investigate if it decides to, he added.

On Thursday, ABC reported the US Department of Justice was investigating $2.6 billion in oil trades related to the Iran war. The DOJ was not immediately available for comment.

The CFTC’s enforcement director said in March the agency was aware of speculation regarding insider trading in CFTC-regulated markets and was “watching”.

BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

“Let’s stay with the facts. The volumes were highly unusual. They were concentrated. They were ahead of ​key announcements,” said Jorge Montepeque from Onyx Capital Group, who ​helped design the modern system of setting oil prices ⁠at pricing agency Platts in the 1990s.

Brent crude and low-sulphur gasoil futures trade on the Intercontinental Exchange, while West Texas Intermediate crude and gasoline futures trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which is owned by CME Group.

On March 23, Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power infrastructure at 1105 GMT. LSEG data shows that between ​1049 and 1050 GMT that day, traders placed bets on 20,000 lots of Brent and WTI futures. The selling was spread across the first, second and third month ​contracts, worth some $1.35 billion, plus an ⁠additional $122 million in ICE gasoil — diesel — futures, and $81 million in U.S. gasoline futures, all worth a total of $2.2 billion.

“Those quantities are not going to escape scrutiny,” said Robert Frenchman, a lawyer at Dynamis LLP in New York, who has previously worked on white-collar crime and insider trading cases.

Trump’s March 23 ceasefire announcement triggered a decline in crude futures of as much as 15%, one of the largest intraday drops on record. The announcement also sent gasoline and gasoil futures down around 12%.

On April 7, sell ⁠orders on oil and ​gasoline prices worth $2.12 billion took place between 1944 and 1945 GMT, well after the market settled, a time when volumes are usually thin. ​Minutes later, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

On April 17, nearly $2 billion in Brent, WTI, gasoil and gasoline futures were sold at 1224-1225 GMT, minutes before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Hormuz would reopen, followed by multiple social media posts by Trump and US officials. On April 21, some $830 ​million worth of Brent and WTI contracts were sold just 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire.

The Japanese company, however, said it expects gaming profit to rise 30% due to higher ​first-party software sales and the absence of an impairment loss it recorded a year earlier.

With the PS5 in its ​sixth year on the market, the profit forecast incorporates investment in Sony’s next-generation platform.

Sony has received ⁠plaudits for its transformation into an entertainment powerhouse, but market concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on its business and ​a perceived lack of growth catalysts have weighed on its shares in recent months.

Sony said it would spend up to 500 ​billion yen buying back up to 230 million shares. The group’s shares pared losses and were up 1% in Tokyo.

Investors are also fretting about the impact of a memory-chip price surge and disruption to supply chains from the Iran war on margins at electronics manufacturers, including Sony and peer ​Nintendo, which also reports on Friday.

PS5 hardware sales are based on the amount of memory Sony can secure at “reasonable prices”, with ​hardware profitability expected to be similar to a year earlier.

The firm said it sold 1.5 million PS5 consoles in the fourth quarter, a ‌46% drop ⁠on the same period a year earlier.

In March, Sony announced it would increase prices of the PS5, including a $100 bump in the US, for the second time in less than a year.

Its platform is expected to receive a major boost from the launch of Take-Two Interactive’s delayed “Grand Theft Auto VI”, which is scheduled for release in November.

“I am more optimistic than Sony and think ​the market is underestimating the impact ​of ‘GTA VI’,” said Serkan ⁠Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.

Sony said in February that it has secured the minimum quantity of memory needed to manage the year-end shopping season. Nintendo said that month the chip-price surge ​was not significantly impacting earnings but could pressure profitability if it persists over the long term.

“Sony’s ​bottom line stands ⁠to benefit significantly from the high-margin software sales and ecosystem engagement this launch should trigger,” Amir Anvarzadeh of Asymmetric Advisors wrote in a note.

Sony also said it sees higher profits at its pictures and chips units but a lower profit at its music business.

The ⁠group reported ​operating profit for the year ended March rose 13.4% to 1.45 trillion yen, ​below an LSEG consensus estimate of 1.56 trillion yen.

While Sony’s growing businesses include anime, which is finding a global audience, the company has abandoned plans to launch ​electric vehicles with automaker Honda.

Toyota reported an almost 50% drop in quarterly earnings and said it expects full-year profit to decline by a fifth in the year that just started, as rising costs and supply snarls from the ​war outweighed surging demand for hybrid vehicles.

The automaker expects sales of hybrids to exceed 5 million vehicles for ​the first time this year.

The results highlight the lopsided impact of the Middle ⁠East crisis, with higher energy prices driving more customers to fuel-efficient cars but not in enough numbers to offset underlying ​cost pressures.

Toyota reported an operating profit of 569.4 billion yen ($3.6 billion) for the three months to March 31, compared with ​1.1 trillion yen a year earlier. For the current fiscal year, it expects an operating profit of 3 trillion yen.

That outlook was well below the 4.59 trillion yen median forecast in an LSEG poll of 23 analysts.

Toyota shares declined after the report and ended down around ​2.2% at their lowest close since mid-October.

“It’s not about stepping on the brakes completely, but about identifying waste one by ​one and changing structures piece by piece, carrying out reform,” new CEO Kenta Kon, who assumed his role last month, told a ‌briefing.

Kon praised ⁠Toyota’s ability to deliver nearly 3.8 trillion yen in operating profit in the financial year that just finished, despite significant changes in the operating environment.

Middle East impact

In total, the impact of the Middle East crisis will be around 670 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in the year to the end of March 2027, Toyota said. That exceeded estimates given by many major companies ​so far, including airlines.

The estimate ​assumes a full-year impact of ⁠about 400 billion yen from higher material and fuel costs, and roughly 270 billion yen from lower volumes and logistics delays, Toyota said.

The latest surge in energy prices heaps further ​pain on an industry already grappling with U.S. tariffs and the rise of Chinese automakers. ​

Volkswagen CEO Oliver ⁠Blume said this week that tariffs represent a burden of 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) a year on the German group’s operating profit.

Toyota said last week its sales in the Middle East fell sharply in March after shipments to the region were disrupted.

The outlook ⁠is the ​first issued by Toyota under Kon, who faces the challenge of steering ​the automaker through the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which cut operating profit in the year just ended by 1.4 trillion yen.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were up 1.3% at $101.60 a barrel, and European stock futures fell 0.7%.

The United States and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, but Iran said the situation had returned to normal while the U.S. said it did not want to ​escalate.

President Donald Trump said the ceasefire, which has more or less held for a month, was still in effect, sustaining ​hopes for a negotiated resolution.

Stock markets in Asia, which have been soaring thanks to gains in chipmakers and ⁠other AI-linked stocks, slipped only slightly from record highs.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, as did South Korea’s ​KOSPI, though the latter was still headed for a weekly gain of more than 12% - the largest since 2008 - as Samsung and SK Hynix have surged.

Taiwan’s ​benchmark is up 6.9% this week, and Japan’s Nikkei 4.5%.

“Despite ongoing hostilities and still-elevated oil prices, markets are pricing a limited duration,” said Marija Veitmane, head of equity research at State Street Markets, with Asia and the US attracting the most buying at Europe’s expense.

The Nikkei was 0.4% lower through Friday morning, dragged by ​a fall in SoftBank shares after Arm Holdings, where it is the majority owner, warned of trouble securing supply for its new artificial intelligence chip.

S&P ​500 futures rose 0.2%.

Currency markets were broadly steady with the dollar recovering from recent lows and the yen in focus as Japan has likely been intervening ‌to ⁠stave off further falls.

The euro bought $1.1731, the Aussie $0.7210 and the yen was at 156.9 per dollar, having struggled to sustain gains beyond 155 after surges on suspected intervention to the tune of nearly $70 billion since last Thursday.

China’s yuan , Asia’s best-performing currency since the war broke out, is on the cusp of strengthening past 6.8 to the dollar and sits near its strongest since 2023.

US jobs and UK elections in focus

Investors are ​awaiting the US non-farm payrolls report ​on Friday, with jobs expected ⁠to have increased in April by 62,000 after rebounding 178,000 in March, a Reuters survey of economists shows.

Local government elections across Britain are also in the frame. Poor results for the ruling Labour Party are expected ​, and if that puts Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership in doubt, investors worry that the gilt ​market could be under ⁠pressure.

“Gilts are already under scrutiny due to inflation risks, and adding political uncertainty to the mix could further push (global) investors to look elsewhere,” said ING analysts.

Sterling was last steady at around $1.36.

A US trade court ruled Trump’s latest 10% temporary global duties are unjustified under a 1970s trade law. But analysts ⁠expect a ​swift appeal and little overall impact on US levies.

Treasury yields had tracked crude prices ​higher through Thursday as traders worried about inflation, but did not move much more on Friday, with the benchmark 10-year yield at 4.39%.

Australian 10-year yields jumped six basis points ​to 4.99%. Bitcoin was drifting towards a sixth weekly gain in a row at $79,460.

The Swiss-US maker of keyboards, mice, and video-conferencing equipment is betting on gaming, business customers and artificial intelligence-enabled devices to maintain growth, after cutting costs last year to offset the impact of US ​President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The push comes despite supply disruptions in the Middle East, which have complicated ​shipments and are expected to cost the company about $15 million in sales in the ⁠current quarter, after a $5 million hit in the three months to the end of March.

Logitech expects momentum ​from its fourth quarter to carry into the current period, aiming for 2% to 4% sales growth in constant ​currencies to $1.190 billion to $1.215 billion.

“We can, and we should invest,” Faber told Reuters. “The world is changing so fast with AI, which offers so many opportunities.

“We came out of the last fiscal year with such a strong financial base, so we have the ​firepower to do it,” she added.

Logitech plans to keep total operating expenses for the fiscal year toward the ​top end of its long-term range of 24% to 26% of sales, up from 24.8% in the 12 months to ‌March ⁠2026.

Gaming and business demand are seen as resilient

Research and development spending to produce new devices should be around 6% of sales this year, after coming in slightly below that level last year, while sales and marketing spending will also rise from about 16%, Faber said.

Gaming remains a key focus, with younger consumers spending more time playing ​computer games, making it a ​resilient market, she added.

Logitech ⁠is also stepping up efforts to win more business customers, with demand expected to remain strong as companies boosted by strong recent earnings invest in new computer ​hardware.

The company would look at healthcare, education and government as long-term growth areas, ​Faber said.

Logitech ⁠has been shielded from oil price rises, which have made plastic more expensive, due to 78% of the company’s products using recycled rather than virgin plastic.

Still, Middle East disruption has hit sales because some products could not be ⁠delivered from ​factories in Asia to its distribution centre in Dubai and ​on to other parts of the Gulf and Africa, despite demand remaining intact.

“We’re not seeing that demand for our products is down,” Faber ​said. “It’s just logistically hard to get it to people.”

According to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association, the price of gold per tola fell by Rs2,700 to reach Rs494,062.

The price of 10 grams of gold also declined by Rs2,315, settling at Rs423,578.

In the international market, gold prices dropped by $27 per ounce, bringing the global rate down to $4,717.

Meanwhile, silver prices moved in the opposite direction in the local market, with the price per tola increasing by Rs80 to Rs8,525.

A day earlier, gold prices had surged sharply in Pakistan, with the per tola rate increasing by Rs7,800 and the price of 10 grams rising by Rs6,687.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that he issued the new deadline ​during a “great call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in which the two leaders also agreed that Iran could ​never have a nuclear weapon.

In a surprise move, Trump last Friday announced that he would raise tariffs on ⁠EU vehicles to 25% from the previously agreed 15% because the EU was not complying with the terms of a deal struck in Scotland last ​July.

The deal called for the EU to cut its tariffs on US industrial goods to zero and provide duty-free quotas on certain American farm ​and sea produce, but the implementing legislation has been slow to move through the European Parliament.

“I’ve been waiting patiently for the EU to fulfil their side of the Historic Trade Deal we agreed in Turnberry, Scotland, the largest Trade Deal ever!” Trump said.

“A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of ​the Deal and, as per the Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO! I agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, ​their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels,” he said, referring to the US July 4 Independence Day celebration.

Von der Leyen said in a post ‌on X ⁠that she discussed the trade deal with Trump and agreed with him that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon.

“We also discussed the EU–US trade deal. We remain fully committed, on both sides, to its implementation. Good progress is being made towards tariff reduction by early July,” von der Leyen said.

‘Some way to go’

The European Parliament’s trade committee chair, Bernd Lange, said on Thursday that EU lawmakers and governments are making ​progress to finalise a deal to ​scrap duties on US goods, ⁠but “there is still some way to go” amid divisions over safeguards sought by some of the bloc’s 27 countries.

The EU negotiators will meet again on May 19 for the next round of talks.

Some EU lawmakers ​want tougher safeguards in the implementing legislation, including suspending the deal if the US fails to comply, ​making tariff cuts ⁠conditional on US action, and ending EU tariff concessions entirely on March 31, 2028.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that the EU’s implementation was “already past due,” and suggested that there could be other actions besides an auto tariff increase if the EU did not come into compliance.

“The autos ⁠are just ​one element,” Greer told Bloomberg Television.

“There are other elements to the deal where the ​United States remains in full compliance in contrast to where the Europeans have been for many months.”

Net profit rose to $5.4 billion in the 12 months to the end ​of March, from $5.2 billion a year earlier.

Higher passenger yields — a measure of ⁠ticket prices adjusted for distance flown — offset a slight fall in passenger numbers to 53.2 million.

“We ​hope for a clear resolution to the hostilities soon, and a return to market stability. But in ​the meantime, we are not sitting on our hands,” Group Chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

“The Emirates Group enters 2026-27 with very strong cash reserves, which enable us to progress with ​our plans to strengthen our business without knee-jerk cost control measures,” he said.

The group, parent company ​to the eponymous airline and ground-handling firm dnata, said cash reserves stood at $15 billion at the end of March.

The ‌US-Israeli ⁠war with Iran, which began on February 28, has severely disrupted air travel. Temporary airspace closures in the Middle East forced thousands of cancellations, while rising jet fuel prices pushed up costs, triggering the industry’s biggest crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sheikh Ahmed said the airline is well hedged on ​fuel until 2028-29 and ​has secured supply for ⁠current operations and a return to pre-disruption capacity. Aircraft deliveries and a retrofit programme “will continue apace, as well as our planned investments in new facilities ​and equipment,” he said.

Major Gulf carriers, including Emirates, are gradually restoring capacity, ​but remain ⁠below pre-war levels. Renewed attacks on the United Arab Emirates this week have cast uncertainty over a fragile ceasefire that began last month.

Emirates says it has restored 96% of its global network since disruptions began, carrying ⁠4.7 ​million passengers over the period.

The parent group posted record revenue ​of $41 billion, up 3% year on year, and plans to pay $1 billion in dividends to its owner, Dubai sovereign wealth fund ​ICD.

The investigation, carried out by DeSmog in partnership with European media outlets, found that subsidiaries connected to the family collected payments for farmland in Romania, Italy and Spain between 2019 and 2024.

The Al Nahyan family, which rules Abu Dhabi and is among the world’s wealthiest dynasties, derives much of its estimated $320 billion fortune from oil and sovereign assets.

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which accounts for around a third of the bloc’s budget, distributes roughly €54 billion annually to farmers and rural projects.

However, the report suggests an unclear share of these funds ultimately flows to foreign investors, including entities linked to state-backed Gulf capital.

Researchers identified 110 subsidy payments tied to companies associated with the UAE family network and its investment arm ADQ, including major agricultural operations in Eastern and Southern Europe.

One of the largest recipients was Romanian agribusiness Agricost, which manages the EU’s largest single farm covering 57,000 hectares and reportedly received €10.5 million in direct payments in 2024 alone.

Campaigners have criticised the findings, arguing that CAP funds often benefit large landowners rather than smaller farmers, and warning that public money may be indirectly supporting regimes with poor human rights records.

EU officials have acknowledged concerns over the distribution of subsidies and proposed reforms that could limit annual payments to large landholders in future budget cycles.

The UAE has expanded its global agricultural footprint in recent years as part of its food security strategy, acquiring farmland and agribusinesses across multiple continents to offset domestic production challenges.

The companies named in the investigation did not respond to requests for comment.

In the local market, the gold price per tola reached Rs496,762 after a gain of Rs7,800 during the day.

Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold at Rs425,893 after it increased by Rs6,687, according to rates shared by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA).

On Wednesday, the gold price per tola reached Rs488,962 after a gain of Rs11,100 during the day.

The international rate of gold was up by $78 to reach $4,744 per ounce (with a premium of $20).

Meanwhile, the price of silver increased by Rs373 to reach Rs8,445 per tola.

The volumes are a fraction of the ‌UAE’s typical exports before the US-Israeli war on Iran, but they demonstrate the risks the producer and buyers are willing to take to free up oil sales.

The other Gulf producers — Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar — have either halted sales, deeply cut prices to entice uninterested buyers or are shipping only through the Red Sea in the case of Saudi Arabia.

In April, the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co managed to export at least 4 million barrels of its Upper Zakum crude and 2 million barrels of ​Das crude on four tankers from terminals inside the Gulf, according to three sources, shiptracking data from Kpler and an analysis of satellite data from SynMax.

The shipments were either unloaded by ship-to-ship (STS) ​transfer to a vessel that later carried the oil to a Southeast Asian refinery, unloaded into storage in Oman or sailed directly to South Korean refineries, ⁠according to the three sources, one with direct knowledge of the matter and two familiar with ADNOC’s operations, and the Kpler and SynMax data.

Reuters is reporting this system of exports for the first time.

ADNOC declined ​to comment on the shipments.

Tehran responded to the US-Israeli attacks that began on February 28 by effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz to exports other than its own, bottling up a fifth of global oil and gas ​supply.

The closure and a US blockade that have halted Iranian exports in recent weeks have pushed global oil prices over $100 a barrel.

ADNOC has had to cut exports by more than 1 million barrels per day since the start of the war, from the 3.1 million bpd it shipped last year, Kpler data showed.

Most of its exports are its Murban grade, exported by pipeline from onshore fields to Fujairah.

ADNOC’s shipments risk attacks from Iran.

This was highlighted by the ​UAE’s accusation on Monday that Iran used drones to attack an empty ADNOC tanker, the Barakah, passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The ships move with their automatic identification system transponders turned off, which reduces the chance they ​will be spotted by Iranian forces.

The tactic is commonly employed by Iran to skirt U.S. sanctions on its oil exports.

It also makes it difficult to track the total volumes of ADNOC’s exports through industry shipping data, meaning the ‌volumes it ⁠shipped from the Gulf in April could be higher.

Still, Kpler data showed the VLCC Hafeet loaded 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum inside the Gulf on April 7 and exited the strait on April 15.

Outside the Strait, the cargo was transferred to the Greek-flagged VLCC Olympic Luck on April 17-18 and shipped to the Pengerang refinery in Malaysia, a joint venture of Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas and Saudi Aramco, Kpler data and SynMax analysis showed.

Hafeet is managed by the Logistics and Services unit of ADNOC, which declined to comment.

Greece-based Olympic Shipping & Management, which manages the Olympic Luck, and Petronas did not respond to requests for comment.

Splitting up the ​oil by STS allows ADNOC to sell smaller ​cargoes and free up the VLCCs to move ⁠quickly back inside the Gulf to load again.

One of the broken-up cargoes of Upper Zakum sailed to a Northeast Asian refinery and sold at a record premium of $20 a barrel over ADNOC’s official selling price, said the source with direct knowledge of the matter.

For Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, the VLCC Aliakmon I loaded ​2 million barrels of the grade on April 27 and exited the strait on May 2, discharging at Oman’s Ras Markaz storage terminal on May ​3, Kpler data showed.

Kpler and ⁠SynMax also found two Suezmax tankers — the Odessa and Zouzou N. — carrying 1 million barrels each of Upper Zakum, headed to South Korea after exiting the strait.

All three tankers are managed by Greece-based Dynacom Tankers Management.

It was not clear who chartered the Dynacom tankers and the company did not respond to a request for comment.

ADNOC intends to continue to sell oil from inside the strait, notifying some customers in late April that they could load Das and Upper Zakum crude ⁠from May ​via STS transfers at ports outside the Gulf, including Fujairah and Oman’s Sohar.

The company is holding talks with Asian refiners to sell ​May-loading Das and Upper Zakum cargoes, said the source with direct knowledge of ADNOC’s plans, and an Indian refining source, who declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The company’s shares closed down 7.7% on Tuesday ‌despite profit and revenue coming in above Wall Street expectations.

PayPal has been navigating intense competition in the payments space after the entry of Big Tech firms and newer entrants such as Klarna and Stripe.

The firm had a ​legacy lead from a pandemic-era surge in digital payments, but growth has since cooled. ​Its shares are down more than 80% from record highs in mid-2021.

Lores, who ⁠took charge at PayPal in March, outlined plans to leverage artificial intelligence to streamline operations across ​the company and eliminate duplication in workforce layers, but did not provide additional details.

PayPal said these ​initiatives would save about $1.5 billion over the next two to three years, adding that it will reinvest that amount to drive new growth.

“We view this print as a placeholder until the Board makes the call on a more ​definitive strategy in the coming weeks/months,” Evercore ISI analysts said in a note.

Since Lores took over, ​the company has said it will reorganise its business into three operating units, including a separate Venmo-focused division.

Its ‌share ⁠slide has reportedly drawn takeover interest for some or all of its assets. Some analysts have said breaking up the company could drive near-term shareholder value.

Results beat

Though consumers have been grappling with inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty exacerbated by the Middle East conflict, wealthier households have largely underpinned spending resilience.

PayPal’s ​revenue rose 7% to $8.35 ​billion, beating analysts’ average ⁠estimate of $8.05 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On a currency-neutral basis, total payment volumes also jumped 8% over a year ago to ​about $464 billion.

It reported adjusted profit of $1.34 per share for the three months ​ended March ⁠31, also above an estimate of $1.27 per share.

Total payment volumes at its higher-margin online branded checkout segment grew 2% in the first quarter.

In a filing late on Tuesday, PayPal disclosed it had received requests ⁠in March ​from the UK Financial Conduct Authority for information regarding ​its agreements with Visa and Mastercard relating to funding and use of its digital wallet.

As the US Memorial Day weekend approaches and with it peak summer driving season, surging pump prices pose a major political risk for President ​Donald Trump and his Republican Party as they campaign for midterm elections in November.

Without de-escalation in ​the Middle East, analysts say US motor fuel prices could rise past prior records.

The national ⁠average price of gasoline stood at $4.52 a gallon as of 5.20pm ET on Tuesday, GasBuddy data showed.

Prices ​breached $4 in late March, a level last reached in August 2022 after Russia’s military attack on Ukraine.

California had the highest ​average pump price in the country at $6.14 a gallon, according to GasBuddy data.

Gasoline prices have surged along with a rally in crude oil futures on fears of prolonged disruption in the Gulf.

The global Brent crude benchmark has jumped 58% since the war began.

“The ​Strait of Hormuz shutdown continues to slowly push oil and gasoline prices higher, but we’ve also seen refining issues ​that have enhanced some of those increases,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.

Last week, BP’s 440,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana, experienced ‌a ⁠brief power outage that caused one of its processing units to be shut down.

Operations have since been restored, the company said.

“If the Strait of Hormuz does not open, I would expect that gas prices this summer would probably stay above $4.50 a gallon,” De Haan said.

Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, about 20% of global ​oil supplies passed through the ​Strait daily.

Morgan Stanley said ⁠US gasoline inventories were drawing faster than the normal seasonal pattern.

Its base case pointed to stocks falling below 200 million barrels by late August, near historical summer lows.

US ​gasoline stocks fell over 6 million barrels last week and stood at 222.3 million ​barrels by April ⁠24, the lowest since December, more than 2 million barrels below the five-year seasonal average, EIA data showed.

Gasoline demand hit 8.95 million barrels on a four-week average basis, up 1% from the same time last year, the data showed.

Morgan ⁠Stanley added ​that demand has held up despite $4-plus pump prices.

“It is not driving ​the draws, but it’s also not soft enough to slow the supply-driven stock draws.”

US gasoline futures were trading around $3.64 a gallon on Tuesday, hovering ​at their highest level since 2022.

The sharp rise reflects significant investor activity, pushing the index to new highs during trading.

The rally highlights strong momentum in the stock market, with widespread gains across key sectors contributing to the surge.

According to market data, the price of 10 grams of gold increased by Rs9,517, taking it to Rs419,206.

In the global market, gold rose by $111 per ounce, reaching $4,666.

The rise reflects a simultaneous upward movement in domestic and international bullion prices.

Brent crude futures for July fell $1.52, or 1.38%, to $108.35 per barrel as of 0103 GMT, after dropping 4% in the previous session.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures for June declined $1.50, or ​1.47%, to $100.77, after closing down 3.9% the day before.

On Tuesday, Trump unexpectedly said he would briefly pause an operation to ​help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress toward a comprehensive ⁠agreement with Iran, without giving details on the agreement.

There was no immediate reaction from Tehran, ​where it was very early on Wednesday morning.

Still, Trump said the US navy would continue ​its blockade of Iranian ports.

The Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries cargoes equal to about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply, has been most cut off since the US-Israeli war against Iran began ​on February 28.

The supply loss to the global market has pushed prices higher, with ​Brent trading last week at its highest since March 2022.

“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will ‌remain in ⁠full force and effect, Project Freedom … will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump’s announcement came only hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed reporters on the effort, announced on Sunday, ​to escort stranded tankers ​through the strait.

On ⁠Monday, the US military said it had destroyed several Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, while guiding two vessels out of ​the Gulf through the strait.

The Strait of Hormuz closure has drawn ​down global ⁠inventories as refineries try to make up the shortfall.

US crude oil inventories fell for a third week, while gasoline and distillate stocks also declined, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

Crude stocks ⁠fell ​by 8.1 million barrels in the week ended May 1, ​the sources said.

Gasoline inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels compared to ​a week earlier, the sources said.

The market opened on a strong note, with an early sharp spike reflecting aggressive buying interest shortly after trading began. This initial rally, however, was not sustained, as the index entered a choppy phase amid escalating geopolitical tensions and a rise in trade deficit.

Around midday to early afternoon, the index experienced a noticeable dip, dropping to an intraday low of 162,532.98.

 In the latter half of the session, buying returned with the index climbing steadily and forming higher highs, eventually closing near the day’s peak.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 164,742.47, up by 793.53 points or 0.48%.

“Investors are weighing a massive local trade gap against a global energy standoff that could redefine the fiscal year,” said Behtari Capital on Tuesday.

“If the Strait of Hormuz standoff doesn’t de-escalate soon, the import bill could break the camel’s back.”

Pakistan’s trade deficit crossed $4 billion in April 2026 amid an increase in imports, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Tuesday.

The country’s trade deficit stood at $4.07 billion in April, up nearly 4% against $3.92 billion recorded in the same period the previous year.

Pakistan’s exports clocked in at $2.48 billion in April 2026, registering an increase of 14% as compared to $2.17 billion in April 2025.

On the other hand, imports stood at $6.55 billion in April 2026, up 7.5% against $6.1 billion recorded in the same period the previous year.

On a monthly basis, Pakistan’s trade deficit jumped 43.5% against $2.84 billion recorded in March 2026. The significant increase came on the back of an over 28% increase in imports on a monthly basis, while exports grew by just 9.5%.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s trade deficit significantly increased by 20.3% to $31.98 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year (10MFY26), as compared to a deficit of $26.59 billion in July-April of the previous fiscal year (10MFY25).

The trade deficit expanded year-on-year (YoY) in the said period, driven by higher imports and a decrease in exports.

Exports in 10MFY26 stood at $25.21 billion, down over 6% against $26.89 billion recorded in the same period of FY25.

Imports were recorded at $57.19 billion, up 7% against $53.48 billion in the same period last year.

According to the All Pakistan Sarafa, Gems & Jewelers Association, the price of one tola of gold fell by Rs2,001 to Rs 477,862.

Similarly, the price of 10-gram gold dropped by Rs1,801 to Rs409,689.

Gold prices also witnessed a decline in international markets, falling $21 to reach $4,555 per ounce.

A day before, gold price in the domestic market dropped by Rs3,800.

The US and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime blockades, shaking a fragile truce.

Brent crude futures eased 93 ​cents, or 0.8%, to $113.51 per barrel at 0719 GMT after settling up 5.8% on Monday. ​

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.16, or 2%, to $104.26, after gaining 4.4% in the ⁠previous session.

“Prices continue to trade in a highly volatile range, driven largely by ongoing tensions in the ​Strait of Hormuz,” said Phillip Nova’s senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva.

“While prices have eased slightly in recent ​sessions, this is not due to any real improvement in fundamentals, but rather a temporary relief after the US launched ‘Project Freedom’,” she added.

The US on Monday launched a new operation aimed at reopening the strait to shipping.

Maersk later said the ​Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged vehicle carrier, exited the Gulf via the Strait, accompanied by the US military.

“It shows ​that limited safe passage is possible under current conditions and helps chip away at some of the worst-case supply disruption ‌fears,” ⁠said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, in an email.

“However, it’s still very much a one-off event rather than a full reopening,” he added.

Still, Iran launched attacks in the Gulf on Monday to counter US moves for control over the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to wider markets and typically ​carries oil and gas ​supply equal to about ⁠20% of global demand every day.

Several commercial vessels were reportedly struck in the area, while a key oil port in the United Arab Emirates was set ablaze ​after an Iranian strike.

Trump’s attempt to use the US navy to ​free up shipping ⁠is the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago.

“Markets may find some relief today following President Trump’s overnight comments suggesting the conflict could continue for another two to three weeks,” said ING ⁠analysts in ​a client note.

However, there is considerable scepticism in the market ​on this view, given the recent escalation and the repeated extensions of projected timelines for ending hostilities since the conflict began, they ​added.

“We have this discussion and conversation ‌with many, it’s part of an elite group that the US is having this swap policy with. They are only having it with five countries,” Thani Al ​Zeyoudi said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

“Being part of that ​group means that transactions… trade, investments between both nations reach ⁠a level where that swap is highly needed … so it is ​an elite matter, (it) is not about bailing out,” he told the “Make It In ​The Emirates” event.

Currency swap lines between central banks allow each institution to obtain the other’s currency without resorting to foreign exchange markets, reducing transaction costs and exchange-rate risk ​for cross-border trade and investment.

The US Federal Reserve has permanent standing ​central bank currency swap lines with five other major central banks — the Bank of Canada, ‌the ⁠Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in Asia had requested ​currency swap lines ​from the United ⁠States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Middle East war.

The war, which started with ​US and Israel strikes on Iran on February 28, ​has effectively ⁠shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint through which about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass, raising oil prices.

Al Zeyoudi ⁠did not ​provide further details on the discussions, size ​or timeline for an agreement on the currency swap line with the United States.

A trust in Musk’s name will pay ‌a $1.5 million civil fine, under the settlement disclosed on Monday in the Washington, DC, federal court.

Musk did not admit wrongdoing, and won’t have to give up any of the $150 million he allegedly saved from the delay.

The settlement requires approval by US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who in February rejected Musk’s bid to dismiss the case.

It ends more than seven years of fraught battles between Musk and the regulator, starting in September 2018 ​when the SEC charged him with securities fraud for tweeting he had “secured” funding to potentially take his electric car company, Tesla, private.

Musk settled that case by paying ​a $20 million civil fine, letting Tesla lawyers review some Twitter posts in advance, and giving up his role as Tesla’s chairman.

“Mr Musk ⁠has now been cleared of all issues related to the late filing of forms in the Twitter acquisition, as we said from the outset he would be,” his lawyer Alex ​Spiro said in a statement.

The SEC declined to comment.

‘Embarrassing day’

In its January 2025 lawsuit, the SEC said Musk’s 11-day delay in revealing his initial 5% Twitter ​stake in late March and early April 2022 let him buy more than $500 million of shares at artificially low prices, before he finally revealed a 9.2% stake.

The SEC had argued that Musk should pay a civil fine and repay the $150 million he allegedly saved at the expense of unsuspecting investors.

Musk called the delay inadvertent and accused the SEC of violating his free speech rights by targeting him.

The SEC sued Musk six ​days before former US President Joe Biden left the White House and was replaced by Donald Trump.

Current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has been refocusing the regulator’s enforcement priorities.

“It’s ​an embarrassing day for the SEC,” said Amanda Fischer, former chief of staff to Gary Gensler, who chaired the regulator during the Biden administration. She said the settlement “should cause the public to question whether ‌the SEC ⁠is protecting White House insiders at the expense of ordinary investors.”

00:09Man and AI combine in years-long battle to clear mines in Ukraine

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Musk led the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which focused on cost-cutting, before leaving last May.

Robert Frenchman, a partner at the Dynamis law firm in New York, said the $1.5 million penalty was a “modest sum for the richest person on the planet” but could deter similar violations by others.

“That is a statement to the market that the rules apply to everyone, even to Elon Musk,” he said.

Musk completed the $44 billion Twitter purchase in October 2022.

He later folded Twitter into his artificial intelligence company xAI, ​and then folded xAI into his rocket ​company SpaceX. Forbes magazine says Musk is ⁠worth $789.9 billion.

Settlement follows key departure

Both sides had disclosed on March 17 that they were in talks to settle, one day after SEC enforcement chief Margaret Ryan abruptly left her job after just over six months.

Ryan’s departure followed clashes with other leaders at the agency over enforcement, people ​familiar with the matter have said.

A lawyer for Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Musk’s civil ​penalty is the largest ⁠in SEC history for the type of violation he was accused of, a person familiar with the settlement said.

The case is separate from a civil lawsuit where a San Francisco jury held Musk liable on March 20 for having defrauded Twitter shareholders after announcing the buyout.

Shareholders in that class action alleged that Musk questioned whether Twitter was overrun by fake and spam accounts, known as bots, ⁠in an effort ​to force Twitter to renegotiate the takeover price or let him back out.

The shareholders said Musk’s comments ​caused Twitter’s stock price to fall, and that they suffered losses by selling shares at depressed prices. They have estimated that damages could total $2.5 billion.

Musk’s lawyers, including Spiro, want that case dismissed or a new trial, calling the ​verdict “the result of bias and prejudice toward a polarising defendant.”

The US on Monday launched a new operation aimed at reopening the strait to shipping.

Maersk later said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged vehicle carrier, exited the Gulf via the Strait, accompanied by the US military, easing ​some supply disruption fears.

Brent oil futures for July fell 51 cents, or 0.5%, to $113.93 per barrel after ​settling up 5.8% on Monday.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.55, or 1.5%, to $104.87, after gaining 4.4% ⁠in the previous session.

“The successful escorted exit of the Maersk-operated vessel has helped ease some immediate supply disruption fears,” said Tim Waterer, ​chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

“It shows that limited safe passage is possible under current conditions and helps chip away at some of ​the worst-case supply disruption fears.

However, it’s still very much a one-off event rather than a full reopening,“ he said in an email.

Still, Iran launched attacks in the Gulf on Monday to counter the US move as they wrestle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to wider markets ​and typically carries oil and gas supply equal to about 20% of global demand every day.

Several commercial vessels were reportedly struck in ​the area, while a key oil port in the United Arab Emirates was set ablaze after an Iranian strike.

Trump’s attempt to use the US ‌navy ⁠to free up shipping is the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago.

The US is pushing to open Hormuz to ease a massive disruption to global energy supplies since Iran mostly shut the strait after the US and Israel started the war on February 28.

Some analysts attributed the slight drop in oil prices on Tuesday to profit-taking moves.

“The recent dip does look like a bit ​of profit-taking after a strong ​run-up, rather than a structural ⁠shift in the backdrop,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

“The geopolitical risk premium tied to the Strait of Hormuz remains firmly in place, so the downside is likely to stay ​limited.”

“In the very near term, prices could see some consolidation or mild pullback as markets reassess ​positioning and react ⁠to mixed diplomatic signals.”

On Monday, Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said physical shortages in oil supply would begin appearing around the world because of the Hormuz closure.

Because of the disruptions, global oil stocks are approaching their lowest level in eight years, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, warning that ⁠the speed ​of depletion was becoming a concern as supplies remained restricted.

“With the world rapidly ​burning through commercial stockpiles, strategic reserves, and crude held in floating storage, the underlying supply squeeze remains a potent tailwind for oil prices,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore ​said in a note.

The disruption spurred the Asian Development Bank to cut its growth forecast for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.7% this year and 4.8% in ‌2027, down from 5.1% for both years previously, and lifted its inflation outlook to 5.2% for this year.

Overall oil imports to Asia, which takes 85% of Gulf crude shipments, plunged 30% in April on the year, to their lowest since October 2015, Kpler data shows, after two months of the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for a fifth of global oil and gas supplies.

Fiscal strains are mounting across the region, particularly South Asia, as governments spend billions ​of dollars on subsidies and import duty waivers to compensate.

“The first line of defence … is that the governments decided to absorb the initial shock by either providing subsidies or cutting excise ​duties on fuel products,” said Hanna Luchnikava-Schorsch of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

India’s state-dominated refining sector has kept fuel prices steady despite surging crude costs, losing about ⁠100 rupees ($1.06) a litre on diesel and 20 rupees on gasoline, but some analysts forecast price hikes after state polls ended in April.

Many regional governments have moved to limit fuel use or clamp down on ​hoarding, while several have curbed exports and many, including Australia, have espoused diplomatic efforts to ensure access.

China, the world’s biggest oil importer, has shielded itself with sizeable reserves, a diverse energy supply chain and export ​curbs on fuel and fertiliser, although Beijing is making exceptions for some regional buyers, from Australia to Myanmar.

Even as governments tap fiscal resources, forex reserves and oil inventories, the war’s economic impact on Asia has not been as bad as feared, Goldman Sachs said.

Nevertheless, it trimmed 2026 growth forecasts for Japan and some Southeast Asian countries and slightly lifted inflation expectations, while warning of a key unresolved question.

“How much of the resilience thus far reflects structural factors versus unsustainable declines in ​buffer stocks?” its analysts said in a note.

First lines of defence

Asia’s emerging market currencies have fallen furthest and to lower lows against the dollar, compared with global peers and the region’s bigger currencies, with the ​peso, rupee and rupiah all making record lows.

Since the war started at the end of February, the Philippine peso has dropped more than 5%, the Thai baht and rupee more than 3% each and the rupiah more than ‌2.5%.

By contrast, China’s ⁠yuan is the region’s top performer, up 0.8% against the dollar, while Japan has intervened to push up the yen, to stand 0.4% higher than pre-war levels. South Korea’s won is down about 1.1%.

The South Asian economies of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the most vulnerable to the burdens triggered by the crunch, S&P Global Market Intelligence said.

Pakistan, for example, recently issued its first tenders since 2023 to buy liquefied natural gas.

It is looking to replace supply it is unable to source from Qatar, paying $18.88 per million British thermal unit for one cargo, or roughly $30 million more than market prices before the war, according to Reuters ​calculations.

“These countries use more of their resources on ​subsidising domestic public energy enterprises and basically shielding ⁠the final consumers from the energy price shock,” added Luchnikava-Schorsch, the S&P unit’s head of Asia-Pacific Economics.

“These are also the countries which have the slimmest fiscal buffers.”

Still, regional economies are better positioned than when the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 triggered the last energy shock, she said.

Coping mechanisms

Responses across Asia ​are shaped by the circumstances of individual nations.

For example, energy producer Indonesia has told operators to prioritise the domestic market over exports and is halting ​LNG shipments that were not ⁠under contract.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is also looking to Africa and Latin America to replace Middle Eastern oil, and plans to buy 150 million barrels from Russia by year-end.

In Thailand, a source at a state-owned refiner said the firm had paused crude purchases as national stocks of refined products rose after refineries stepped up output and a government ban closed off exports.

At the same time, curbs on energy use and high prices have led to falling ⁠demand, he added.

Japan, ​which buys 95% of its oil from the Middle East, has stepped up purchases of US oil, paying spot market ​prices that soared after the start of the war, plus the cost of shipping from the US, which takes twice as long as from the Gulf.

On Friday, Japan began releasing 36 million barrels of crude from stockpiles, its second release since the start of ​the war.

In India, a Reliance-Disney joint venture has offered $20 million for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, a fraction of FIFA’s ask, which was not acceptable to soccer’s global governing body, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

Sony held talks but also decided not to make an offer for FIFA rights for India, a third source with direct knowledge said.

There has also been no deal announcement ​for China, which FIFA says accounted for 49.8% of all hours of viewing on digital and social platforms globally during the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA has concluded ​agreements with broadcasters in over 175 territories globally, it said in a statement to Reuters.

“Discussions in China and India regarding the sale ⁠of media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are ongoing and must remain confidential at this stage,” the statement said.

Reliance-Disney, a joint venture led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s ​Reliance, did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did Sony.

The lack of a confirmed broadcast agreement with India or China is unusual at this stage.

In past World Cups, ​including 2018 and 2022, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV secured the rights well in advance and began airing promotional content and sponsor-driven advertisements weeks before the tournament.

CCTV, which has extensive reach across television and digital platforms, did not immediately return a request for comment.

China accounted for 17.7% and India 2.9% of the global linear TV reach of the 2022 tournament.

The two countries together accounted for 22.6% of ​the total global digital streaming reach for that World Cup.

The 2026 tournament kicks off on June 11, leaving barely five weeks for a deal to be finalised, broadcast infrastructure to ​be set up and advertising inventory to be sold.

Huge soccer following in India, China

For India, FIFA initially sought $100 million for broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, the sources said, declining ‌to be ⁠named because the talks are private.

When the World Cup last aired in India in 2022, Reliance’s then-standalone media arm secured the rights for about $60 million, which was announced around 14 months before the event in Qatar.

“FIFA is looking for a similar amount for this edition of the tournament,” a FIFA source told Reuters.

Reliance and Disney have since formed a joint venture to emerge as a dominant force in India’s media and streaming landscape, and the $20 million FIFA offer underscores the negotiating power the Indian group commands.

FIFA had significantly lowered its ​ask from the $100 million earlier, but has ​not been keen on the $20 million figure ⁠Reliance offered, one source said.

Reliance-Disney, which has spent billions on cricket broadcast rights, believes the World Cup will have lower viewership in India as the tournament is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and most matches will air past midnight in ​India, the sources said.

China has around 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, but has failed to build world-class ​teams, partly due to ⁠a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of pre-screened candidates.

The second source added that football does not command the commercial premium in India like its most popular sport cricket, and an advertising slowdown linked to the Iranian war has further eroded revenue expectations.

“Football is a niche segment in India,” said the source.

Sony, which has TV channels and a ⁠streaming app ​in India, also decided not to purchase broadcast rights from FIFA as it did not make economic sense ​for the group, said the third industry source.

“Not much time is left, but I won’t call it a stalemate. It’s more like we are at the end of a chess game with a couple of moves ​left,” said Rohit Potphode, managing partner for sports at advertising agency Dentsu India.

The stock market opened on a strong note, witnessing an aggressive rally that pushed the benchmark index to its intra-day high of 167,245.54, indicating robust early buying interest and positive sentiment at the start of trading.

However, the initial surge was followed by a phase of consolidation, with the index moving sideways through much of the midday session.

In the final hours of trading, the index came under sharp selling pressure amid reports of renewed tensions between the US and Iran.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 163,948.94, up by 954.77 points or 0.59%.

“The local bourse opened on a strong footing, buoyed by declining oil prices, with the index rallying to an impressive intra-day gain of 4,251 points. However, late-session jitters emerged as geopolitical tensions escalated, with reports of a missile strike near the Strait of Hormuz dampening sentiment and triggering profit-taking,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Index heavyweights including FFC, UBL, MCB, OGDC, and HUBC led the charge, collectively contributing 543 points to the index, it added.

During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market endured sustained pressure as persistent geopolitical uncertainty and tightening financial conditions dampened investor sentiment.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 4.5%, shedding 7,677.87 points on a week-on-week basis to close at 162,994.17 points.

Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold at Rs 411,490 after it fell by Rs 3,257, according to rates shared by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA).

On Saturday, the gold price per tola reached Rs483,762 after a decline of Rs200 during the day.

The international rate of gold declined by $38 to reach $4,576 per ounce (with a premium of $20).

Meanwhile, the price of silver also decreased by Rs100 to reach Rs7,914 per tola.

that is the conclusion drawn from a survey of business historians and thought leaders.

For three decades, respondents have ranked the greatest entrepreneurs and businesspeople in American history like presidential rankings.

The findings suggest that business may have played a greater role than government in changing human conditions. experts say greatness is defined less by shareholder wealth and more by the ability to envision the future and transform everyday life.

Among the highest-ranked figures are Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Steve Jobs, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Sam Walton, Jeff Bezos, Walt Disney and J.P. Morgan.

The survey emphasises that these figures are remembered for changing how people live, work, consume and think about the future, rather than for financial returns alone.

Research cited alongside the rankings notes that companies with the highest long-term stock returns do not necessarily align with the most highly ranked entrepreneurs.

The report highlights Henry Ford as a leading example, noting his mass production innovations that lowered costs and reshaped manufacturing and transportation in the United States.

The survey also points to the dominance of self-made founders over career executives, with founders more likely to be remembered and ranked highly.

Historically significant figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Alfred Sloan also feature, though some are considered under-ranked due to recency bias or industry visibility.

Women and minority entrepreneurs highlighted include Oprah Winfrey, Mary Kay Ash and Madam C.J. Walker, recognised for building major enterprises despite structural barriers.

Some influential figures, such as Andy Grove, are noted for their impact in technology and management thinking, while finance leaders like Warren Buffett and John Bogle are described as less prominent in rankings despite industry scale.

The survey also notes the potential rise of future entrants, including Sam Altman, Jensen Huang and the continued relevance of Elon Musk in future rankings.

Brent ​crude futures fell 64 cents, or 0.59%, to $107.53 a barrel by 2308 GMT ​after settling down $2.23 on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate was at $101.10 a ⁠barrel, down 84 cents, or 0.82%, following a $3.13 loss on Friday.

“For the good of ​Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that ​we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site ​on Sunday.

Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel with no peace deal in sight ​and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was still limited.

Negotiations between the US and Iran continued over ‌the ⁠weekend, with the countries assessing responses from each other.

“Peace talks have been stalled as both sides refuse to move on their respective red lines,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

Trump has made a nuclear deal with Tehran a priority, while Iran has proposed ​to set aside nuclear ​issues until after ⁠the war ends and the foes agree to lift opposing blockades on Gulf shipping.

On Sunday, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ​and their allies, or OPEC+, said they will raise oil output ​targets by ⁠188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members, the third consecutive monthly rise.

The increase is the same as that agreed for May minus the share of the United Arab ⁠Emirates, ​which left OPEC on May 1.

However, the higher volume ​will remain largely on paper as long as the Iran war continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies ​through the Strait of Hormuz.