Certain

• Mamata Banerjee is leading a two-hour sit-in protest today from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Y-channel in central Kolkata. • The demonstration focuses on urban issues, specifically the demolition of illegal buildings and the eviction of hawkers encroaching on roads. • The event marks Banerjee's first public appearance since the Trinamool Congress suffered a landslide defeat in the recent Assembly elections.

• Indian benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, declined on Monday with the Sensex dropping over 500 points and the Nifty falling 0.7%. • The downturn was driven by rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in West Asia, and uncertainty surrounding Iran-US relations, despite strong performance from IT stocks like Infosys and TCS. • Market pressure is further compounded by sustained Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) selling, inflation worries, and potential risks associated with the monsoon.

• Stock markets remained rangebound as investors weighed uncertainty regarding Iran talks and a series of artificial intelligence developments. • Alphabet's Class A shares fell 2.2% following the announcement of a massive investment program, which includes $10 billion in backing from Berkshire Hathaway under CEO Greg Abel. • In a significant industry milestone, AI startup Anthropic, the developer of Claude, has confidentially filed for an IPO, beating rival OpenAI to the first step of going public.

• Global stock markets rallied driven by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, specifically following an IPO filing by AI firm Anthropic. • Conversely, oil prices and bond yields declined due to instability in US-Iran talks and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. • In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI index experienced high volatility, swinging lower after reaching a record high as major tech stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fluctuated.

• Asia-Pacific stock markets mostly declined on Tuesday as investors reacted to renewed uncertainty surrounding peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. • Significant losses were seen in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.32% and the Topix fell 1.14%, while South Korea's Kospi plummeted 1.92% and the Kosdaq sank 3.13%. • Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also retreated by 0.71%, though Hong Kong's Hang Seng and mainland China's CSI 300 managed marginal gains of 0.13% and 0.1%, respectively.

Social Democratic leader secures third consecutive term as prime minister amid crisis in ties with Donald Trump over GreenlandDenmark’s Social Democratic leader Mette Frederiksen said on Monday she has agreed to form a centre-left coalition government, maintaining her grip on power amid a crisis in ties with Donald Trump over Greenland.The deal to form a minority cabinet gives Frederiksen a third consecutive term as prime minister, ending months of uncertainty after a March election in which 12 parties won seats in the Danish parliament. Continue reading...

Inflation can be tolerated above 2% target for now ‘given context of softness in real economy’, governor saysBusiness live – latest updatesThe Bank of England is in no rush to raise interest rates while the outcome of the Iran war remains uncertain and the UK’s growth rate stays weak, the governor, Andrew Bailey, said.In a signal that borrowing costs will remain at 3.75% at least during the summer, Bailey said it was tolerable for inflation to stay above the Bank’s 2% target during the current crisis. However, that would change if a more permanent increase in prices began to take effect. Continue reading...