ESCALATION IN W. ASIA
Oil tops $100 after Houthi attack on 2 Saudi tankers
New York: Crude oil climbed above $100 a barrel on Thursday, reaching their highest level in nearly two months, after Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, adding to concerns over global supply disruptions from a near-halt in trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures rose $6.64, or 7 per cent, to $100.71 a barrel at 10.52 am ET (1452 GMT), exceeding $100 for the first time since late May. The global crude oil benchmark has risen nearly 40 per cent this month and was in technically overbought territory for a ninth day in a row, the first time since September 2023.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $5.18, or 6 per cent, to $92.01, trading above $90 for the first time since June 11. Both contracts were up for the fifth straight day.
”The (Saudi tankers) attack has sent world crude oil prices higher and into a higher gear as the ramifications of yet another chokepoint for crude oil trade originating from the Middle East is constricting trade,” said Tim Snyder, chief economist at Matador Economics.
SAUDI TANKERS HIT
Yemen’s Houthis have opened a new front in the Iran war by targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after stating they would impose a naval blockade on shipments from Saudi Arabia.
Houthi militia attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in a military operation, the group said on Thursday, with a Saudi news agency later confirming that one of the two vessels was ablaze after an assault while sailing in the Red Sea.
Goldman Sachs said Brent might exceed $120 a barrel in the fourth quarter and average $100 next year if the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted through 2027, with further upside if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Suez Canal also suffer persistent disruption.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an oil tanker caught fire after an explosion while attempting to follow a mined route in the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman and that two others had turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed” while US actions continued in the region, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.
Iranian strikes on vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz have resulted in a drop in non-Iranian oil tankers traversing the waterway. At the same time, the reintroduction of a US naval blockade targeting Iranian ports has likely resulted in Iranian oil loadings falling to zero from 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day at the start of the month, Giovanni Staunovo, a UBS analyst, said.
As a result of fewer shipments exiting the strait, loading activity within the Gulf has fallen to 2.5 million bpd over the past seven days, compared with 6 million bpd over the past 30 days, he added.
Reuters
China clings to austerity despite sharper economic dip
China’s public spending plunged last month by the most since October, suggesting the government tightened fiscal policy further despite increasing calls for more support as economic growth slips.
A broad measure of expenditure tumbled 11.9 per cent in June from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Ministry of Finance data released Wednesday. By contrast, broad fiscal revenue gained 1.8 per cent.
That took the broad deficit in the first half to 4.57 trillion yuan ($675 billion), 13 per cent less than a year earlier. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates the “negative fiscal impulse” in April-June contributed more than 40 per cent of the sequential decline in real economic growth from the first to second quarter.
China’s fiscal pullback has put a drag on overall investment, with economic expansion weakening more than expected in the second quarter. A shift toward looser policy is still likely as top officials call for faster deployment of pro-growth measures that have already been approved to ensure the economy expands enough to meet Beijing’s annual target of 4.5-5 per cent.
The slowdown in fiscal expenditure “appears to be an intentional fine-tuning of the spending pace after strong first-quarter growth,” Standard Chartered Plc. economists including Ding Shuang wrote in a Wednesday note. “The government retains sizeable fiscal headroom within the budget framework approved in March,” they said.
The Ministry of Finance said it will continue to carry out what it called a “more active” fiscal policy, according to a statement made in a video clip released as part of its quarterly briefing.
Among other steps, it said officials will “push for all existing policies to be rolled out on the ground and look to “reasonably accelerate the pace of spending,” along with stronger expenditure aimed at improving people’s wellbeing.
The ministry also pledged continued backing for “the expansion of effective investment.” That phrase hints at the government’s continued focus on quality projects to avoid wasteful investment — an approach that’s presented a hurdle for faster spending.
Infrastructure spending under the general public budget, the largest among the government’s four books, fell almost 9 per cent in April-June from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the ministry’s numbers. Meanwhile, the government’s combined expenditure on education, healthcare as well as social security and employment rose 4.9 per cent in the period.
Bloomberg News
No discounts on Russian oil for Sept deliveries: BPCL
Rishi Ranjan Kala New Delhi
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) said on Thursday that traders have stopped offering discounts on Russian crude oil for delivery in September 2026. The development comes as Houthi rebels have threatened to block the Bab al-Mandab Strait and have attacked vessels carrying Saudi crude, pushing Brent prices past $100 per barrel on Thursday.
However, BPCL has already contracted crude oil supplies for July and August 2026 and has booked a couple of cargoes for delivery in September. In a post-results analyst call, VRK Gupta, Director (Finance) at BPCL, stated, “Till August we have completed the deals, including Russian Urals and ESPO. September offers are coming. We have to wait, maybe next one week, we will come to know what will be the discount scenario”. He noted that while markets saw a brief period of stability in June, recent developments have changed the outlook.
RED SEA RISKS PERSIST
“Based on recent issues in the Red Sea route, there may be certain issues in terms of a couple of cargoes, but otherwise we have sufficient crude oil till August 31, 2026. Maintaining 30 days of crude also. September window has opened. A couple of cargoes we have booked. Maybe in the next 7-10 days, we will complete the deals for September. No visibility beyond September,” Gupta said.
Regarding the navigation of the West Asia conflict during Q1 FY27, Gupta explained that disruptions in tied-up term crude volumes led BPCL to proactively optimise its crude sourcing by increasing spot crude purchases. The spot percentage rose to almost 69 per cent in Q1 FY27, up from 44 per cent in the same quarter the previous year.
“We diversified our crude sourcing outside of the Hormuz, exploring multiple geographies, including increasing..."
The ‘meme-first’ approach of Gen Z activism
The ongoing youth movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party’s ‘meme-first’ approach, leveraging visual platforms such as Instagram, is playing a key role in gaining traction among Gen Z. Followers of the movement have been sharing their experiences and opinions often through reels and short videos posted especially on platforms such as Instagram. After posting its first Instagram post on May 17, CJP garnered nearly 3 million followers within the first 78 hours.
As of Thursday, its follower account had swelled to as much as 25.6 million followers on the platform, garnering strong engagement and views. Founded by Abhijeet Dipke as a satirical joke, post the remarks made by the Chief Justice of India, CJP’s Instagram account has more followers than BJP and the Congress on the platform.
KEY ROLE
Observers and experts believe this radical, different approach, compared with traditional political campaigns, is playing a key role in the movement, resonating with Gen Z. It perhaps also indicates that as Gen Z comes of age, political discourse is expected to play out even more on visual storytelling-led platforms such as Instagram.
“The current movement owes its origins to digital natives who have played off the CJI’s remark to create an identity for themselves through the Cockroach Janta Party. This is radically different from traditional political campaigns or even the IAC movement in 2011. Using the cockroach meme, they have been able to reach out to young audiences who saw the irony and self-deprecating humour and joined the bandwagon. A bit similar to what was seen in the US with the take-off of the term ‘deplorables’ in 2016 US Presidential Election,” said business strategist Lloyd Mathias.
“As digital natives, they have mastered the ‘meme-first’ politics with their followers sharing visuals, banners, memes, reels and comments laced with humour and satire, which resonate well on platforms like Instagram. This is very unlike traditional political parties which are all about staid speeches, slogans and amplifying leaders’ voices,” he added.
Mathias pointed out that it is an “internet-first movement”. “Activism has usually been seen as a serious business. Gen Z is resonating with the irony, sarcasm and visual storytelling approach. This is more of an internet-first movement,” he noted.
Meenakshi Verma Ambwani New Delhi
UP IN ARMS. CJP activists continued their protest, seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Thursday.
Egg prices crack a new record as heat, feed costs bite
Egg prices have climbed to an all-time high in Namakkal, India’s largest egg-producing hub, as a prolonged summer, lower production and soaring feed costs tighten supplies. This comes amid robust demand.
Industry stakeholders say the supply-demand mismatch could keep prices elevated in the coming weeks, while warning that shortages of key poultry feed ingredients, such as soybean meal and maize, pose a longer-term challenge.
The National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) revised the farmgate procurement price to a record ₹6.65 per egg on July 13, surpassing the previous high of ₹6.4 recorded on December 23 last year. Since July 16, the NECC has maintained the procurement price at ₹6.8 in Namakkal. Eggs are retailing at up to ₹8 apiece in many markets and ₹8.50-9 in parts of Kerala.
SUMMER’S IMPACT
After last year’s peak, prices eased before beginning a steady climb from June. The farmgate price rose from ₹5.7 on June 1 to ₹6.8 by mid-July. Industry representatives said the impact of the scorching summer is being felt now because birds entering the market were hatched during the peak heat period.
According to NK Saravanakumar of KL Poultry Farm, while Namakkal has the capacity to produce around nine crore eggs a day, the actual output is currently about six crore, reflecting the impact of weather and rising production costs.
FEED INFLATION
The production shortfall has been compounded by a sharp rise in feed costs. Saravanakumar said maize prices had increased to ₹28 per kg from ₹23 over the past three months, while soybean prices had risen to ₹71 per kg from ₹45, prompting some producers to cut output.
Vangili Subramaniam, President of the Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers’ Cooperative Society, said soaring input costs had squeezed farmer margins despite higher egg prices. Higher temperatures have also reduced bird productivity and pushed up broiler prices. Farmgate chicken prices are currently around ₹150 a kg, while retail prices in several markets have climbed to ₹250 a kg.
Ricky Thaper, Joint Secretary, Poultry Federation of India, said as the sector continues to expand, long-term availability of soybean meal and maize is becoming a growing concern. Naveen Pasuparthy, Deputy Chairman, CLFMA of India, noted that soybean meal has jumped to around ₹67,000 a tonne from ₹39,000-40,000 during March-April.
The industry flagged a shortage of around 1.5 million tonnes of soybean meal before the arrival of the new crop. Since feed accounts for 65-70 per cent of poultry production costs, ensuring adequate supplies is critical to keeping eggs and chicken affordable. Industry associations have urged the Centre to allow limited import of genetically modified soybean meal during the lean season.
ROBUST DEMAND
Despite higher prices, consumption remains firm. Subramaniam said chicken remains far more affordable than mutton, which costs over ₹750 a kg. "Over the past decade or so, prices of chicken have not increased as compared to mutton, which has tripled," he said.
Crisil expects improved realisations from higher prices and steady demand to lift the Indian poultry industry’s revenue growth by around 10 per cent this fiscal, though volatility in feed costs and bird flu outbreaks remain key risks.
Gayathri G Chennai (With inputs from Prabhudatta Mishra in New Delhi; Vishwanath Kulkarni in Bengaluru; Sajeev Kumar in Kochi; TE Raja Simhan and Subramani Ra Mancombu in Chennai)
Vijay’s final act Jana Nayagan opens to fan frenzy
Real life drama meets reel life script as crowds dance their way into theatres
The release of Jana Nayagan, Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay’s final act at the movies, was met with intense fan frenzy and celebrated in the State’s iconic style of hero worship.
Diehard Vijay fans thronged theatres at 8 am and danced their hearts out in front of large banners of the actor placed outside. Inside, the scenes were similar as cinegoers erupted with cheer when Vijay’s name flashed on the screen, this time with the additional title of “Honourable CM of Tamil Nadu”.
With this, the movie became the first film with a sitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister as lead actor since 1977-78, when MG Ramachandran’s movies were released after he took office. The film marks the end of Vijay's years-long movie journey, leaving many fans teary-eyed.
MUCH AWAITED
The advance booking response for Jana Nayagan reflected exceptional anticipation, according to Ashish Saksena, COO — Cinemas, BookMyShow. Over 1.2 million tickets were sold on the platform, with Tamil bookings accounting for 97 per cent of the total.
Chennai leads the demand, followed by Coimbatore and Bengaluru, with strong momentum across key South Indian markets. Saksena noted that with over 3 lakh nationwide advance tickets sold, the film underscores the enduring appeal of the theatrical experience. Cinépolis India reported 100 per cent occupancy in its Coimbatore and Chennai cinemas, with surges also seen in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The movie had previously got stuck over film certification issues. While awaiting clearance, Vijay pivoted fully to politics and unexpectedly became the State’s Chief Minister.
The screenings in Tamil Nadu had a festive atmosphere, attended by various government leaders, including N Anand (Minister for Local Administration), K G Arunraj (Health Minister), and A Srinath (Minister for Fisheries). Titled Jana Nayagan (meaning people’s leader), the film mirrors the actor’s rise to power this year with numerous politically loaded moments.
Yaash Raju, a Chennai-based professional who attended the first show, remarked, “The story didn’t work for me, but the emotions did”. Another fan described the film as “Thalapathy’s farewell party from movies,” stating that the sentiment meant more than the script itself.
Sindhu Hariharan Chennai
SWANSONG. Fans celebrate the release of Jana Nayagan, the final movie of Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay, at Albert theatre in Chennai on Thursday.
PVR INOX swings to black with net profit of ₹56.5 crore, revenue up 11.9%
Leading multiplex chain PVR INOX reported a consolidated net profit of ₹56.5 crore in the June quarter compared to a net loss of ₹54.5 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. Consolidated revenue from operations grew 11.9 per cent to ₹1,622.2 crore on the back of a broad-based and balanced growth witnessed in terms of the box office collections.
The company said that Q1 FY27 marked a strong start of the year with a broad-based growth across metros as well as tier-2 and tier-3 markets across a wider set of successful mid-scale films across languages.
Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Ltd, told businessline that this was the fifth consecutive quarter of growth for the company. He indicated that the strong first quarter of the fiscal reflects a structural strength and the company is now net cash positive.
He added that while Hindi cinema held its ground during the quarter, Hollywood movies found success from non-franchise titles while regional cinema delivered multi-fold growth. “It indicates whether films are big, small, regional, English or Hindi, consumers are coming back to watch them on the big screen. We can see this in the growth in admissions. We recorded 36.6 million admissions which was a year-on-year growth of 8 per cent. Average ticket price also grew by 8 per cent and spends per head grew by 9 per cent,” Bijli noted.
‘PREMIUM FORMATS’
Bijli said the company remains on track to open 100 new screens during FY27. “We are committed to enhancing premium formats as that enables us to offer a differentiated experience to consumers. Out of the 100 screens that we will add, about 20 per cent will be in the premium formats,” he added. Bijli said that nearly 64 per cent of the new screen additions will be done on an asset-light model.
“From a net debt of ₹14,304 million at the time of the merger, the company turned net cash positive during the quarter, with net cash of ₹807 million as of June 30, 2026. This gives the company complete strategic flexibility to pursue its capital-light growth agenda funded through internal accruals,” the company added in its financial earnings statement.
Bijli noted that the content pipeline for the remainder of FY27 is a strong mix of franchise films, star-led tentpoles and content-driven titles across languages.
Meenakshi Verma Ambwani New Delhi
Modi vows fast-track courts to punish exam leak culprits
SUPPORTIVE STANCE. Govt reaching out to protestors, Opposition to diffuse crisis
Our Bureau New Delhi
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowing on Thursday to set up fast-track courts for “swift and stringent punishment” to those involved in exam leaks which pushed agitated students to participate in the Jantar Mantar protest, the government intensified attempts to diffuse the crisis by repeatedly reaching out to the Opposition as well as the protestors for having discussions in Parliament and outside with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) functionaries, respectively.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!” the Prime Minister posted on X early on Thursday. “We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks. I have directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps in this regard,” he said in his direct outreach to youth, two days after he reacted for the first time on the issue, calling it a “grave sin” at the NDA parliamentary party meeting.
Modi also stated in the social media post that this is part of a series of steps the government had taken to hold paper leak culprits accountable. “This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students. Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” he promised.
Protestors and the CJP functionaries rejected Modi’s proposal, sticking to their demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying that the court trial could follow.
As a response to the PM, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke shared an image of Pradhan bearing the caption, “Hi, my name is nothing”. The CJP reiterated, “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign” while its national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka welcomed Modi’s response but said it came after nearly one-and-a-half months of protests and did not answer the central question behind the repeated paper leaks.
CONCERNS RAISED
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi came out in support of the protesting students, with a post on X. Seconding their “anxieties and concerns” regarding the examination system as “genuine”, Joshi criticised the police crackdown against the protesting students, especially girls, calling it “merciless”.
GENUINE WORRIES
“It is painful to see young students from different parts of the country assembled for days on the streets of New Delhi. Their anxieties and concerns regarding the examination system are genuine and must be handled with empathy and a desire to find a lasting solution,” Joshi said in his post.
Trouble-shooters from the government, Union Ministers JP Nadda, Kiren Rijuju and Jitendra Singh, were busy at work to break the stalemate between the ruling dispensation and the combined front of protestors and the Opposition.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijuju said the government is hopeful of finding a resolution through discussions with the Congress and other Opposition colleagues, especially since the Prime Minister had made it abundantly clear on Thursday that steps were being taken to safeguard the lives and security of the students and the youth.
Speaking to reporters, Rijiju reiterated his earlier charge that he had reached out to Opposition members across party lines to facilitate a structured debate. But the Opposition began offering “excuses” to stall proceedings.
TALKS LINED UP
Parallelly, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the Central government had reiterated its commitment to dialogue, stating that it had extended multiple formal invitations to student representatives for discussions.
“I would like to appeal to the students and young friends participating in this protest to come forward for a dialogue. Our doors are open,” he said, making a “humble appeal” on behalf of the government.
He said the discussion with the protesting students’ representatives will be held under the leadership of Union Health Minister and senior BJP leader J P Nadda.
Parliament proceedings remained stalled for the fourth day on Thursday with the Opposition unwilling to budge on its demand for the sacking of Pradhan from the Union Cabinet.
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