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Ukraine said on Friday that Russia had launched a "massive attack" on the capital Kyiv, triggering power cuts as a minister warned that Moscow was also striking hard at the national energy grid."The capital of the country is under an enemy ballistic missile attack and a massive attack by the enemy strike drones," the Ukrainian air force said, urging Kyiv residents to remain in shelters. AFP journalists in Kyiv heard several powerful explosions in the city and experienced power outages at their homes in different districts of the capital.Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian forces had targeted "critical infrastructure" and wounded at least nine people, five of whom were taken to hospital."The left bank of the capital is without electricity. There are also problems with water supply," Klitschko said on the Telegram platform.The Ukrainian energy minister, Svitlana Grynchuk, said Russian forces were "inflicting a massive strike" on the grid."Energy workers are taking all necessary measures to minimise the negative consequences," Grynchuk said on Facebook."As soon as security conditions allow, energy workers will begin clarifying the consequences of the attack and restoration work," she said.Russia also hit the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia with at least seven drone strikes, wounding at least three people, according to Ivan Fedorov, the head of the regional military administration.Russia has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Moscow was seeking to "create chaos" by hitting energy facilities and railways.Ukraine has stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory in response, a tactic that Zelensky said was showing "results" and was pushing up fuel prices in Russia.bur-mjw/tc

National Stock Exchange (CEO) Ashish Kumar Chauhan lost 16 months salary in the infamous Harshad Mehta scam but it served as a formative lesson for him on financial discipline and the dangers of excessive leverage. The CEO on Friday told NDTV Profit how he lost Rs 50,000 early in his career when his monthly salary was just Rs 3,000.Recounting the ordeal, Chauhan said that he started working in 1991 and invested in stock markets without fully understanding the risks.It was a period when India's balance of payments crisis occurred, forcing the much-needed economic reforms which among other things, also opened financial markets to private investors.These liberalisation measures created both opportunities and risks for early market participants, Chauhan said.The Harshad Mehta scam - a major financial scandal in India happened in 1992, involving manipulation of the stock markets using fraudulent banking receipts and loopholes in the banking system. Mehta, a stock broker, artificially inflated stock prices by diverting funds from banks.“It took me a long time to recover and repay the loss,” NDTV Profit reported quoting Chauhan.He advised investors to avoid over-leveraging and trading in instruments they do not understand, which includes the complex derivatives segment. “Leverage is the ultimate risk,” Chauhan said.The CEO explained why individuals run a higher risk of losing money in the markets. While companies can access bankruptcy processes in India, individuals have no such protection, leaving them vulnerable for years, he said.He recommended that investors secure basic financial safety first—buying a home, taking insurance, and holding fixed deposits—before committing 5–10% of their net worth to the stock market.Chauhan also warned against short-term speculative trading. “Buying in the morning and selling in the afternoon is not investing,” he said.He noted that while derivatives are sophisticated instruments he helped introduce to Indian markets, they are best suited for investors who thoroughly understand their complexities. He also underscored the growing maturity of Indian investors, pointing out that the sustained popularity of systematic investment plans reflects their enduring confidence in capital markets despite past financial scandals.Chauhan's advice comes in the backdrop of several measures now being taken by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to mitigate the risks of speculative trading. This includes curtailing weekly expiries to one per exchange increasing lot sizes of index derivatives.The regulator is also working on ways to deepen the domestic ash markets. (Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Even when foreign institutional investors (FIIs) flood Indian IPOs with billion-dollar bids, they aren’t really making much money, said Samir Arora, founder and fund manager at Helios Capital Management. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Arora argued that despite headline-grabbing oversubscriptions, “FII investors don’t really make any serious money,” citing currency conversion losses, funding costs, and the mechanics of allocation that erode returns.“It is pertinent to point out that when in an IPO the FII quota is oversubscribed 100 odd times, FII investors don’t really make any serious money,” Arora said. “This is because on a bid of 100 dollars he will get shares worth 1 dollar. If that stock goes up 40% he makes 0.4 dollars on a 100 dollar bid.”Arora explained that the economics get worse once currency conversions are factored in. “When FII puts in a bid of US$100 he has to convert US$100 into INR and then convert back US$99 worth of INR back to US$ and that will take away around 0.2,” he said. A further weakening of the rupee, he warned, could wipe out any notional profit on the allocated shares.For context, the Indian rupee has been hovering near its record low for most of this week at around 88.6850 per U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index rose more than 1.5% for the week, its strongest showing since November 2024.Borrowed money, shrinking marginsAdding to the pressure, most foreign investors don’t keep idle cash on hand for such bids. “Also few FIIs have US$100 lying around in cash so they normally borrow that money for 4-5 days and have to pay financing cost on that (or give up on the interest for that period),” Arora noted.He added that while hedge fund managers track these expenses meticulously, many traditional long-only fund managers “don’t even know all the costs they incur when they ask their back office to make these bids so life goes on.”Arora’s comments come amid a flurry of big-ticket listings in India’s primary market. LG Electronics India’s IPO saw an eye-popping 54.02 times subscription this week, while Tata Capital’s public offer drew bids worth $1.24 billion, underscoring the strong global appetite for Indian equities despite tight valuations and a volatile currency.Also read | Explained: Reliance Industries is India’s most valuable company but why isn’t it No.1 in Nifty50 weight?(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday said Kabul will send diplomats to India as part of step-by-step efforts to improve bilateral relations.Muttaqi made the significant announcement at a media briefing hours after holding extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.He also assured New Delhi that Afghan soil will not be allowed to carry out any activities that could be detrimental to its interests.Muttaqi said Kabul will soon send its diplomats to India. Till now, the Afghan missions in India have officials who were largely appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government.India has not yet recognised the Taliban set up and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul.