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The rules-based international trade system is in danger, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday, amid spiralling debt, heavy tariffs and financial insecurity for emerging nations.Guterres said too many countries were trapped in a debt crisis, spending more money on servicing creditors than funding health and education."Global debt has soared. Poverty and hunger are still with us. The international financial architecture is not providing an adequate safety net for developing countries. And the rules-based trading system is at risk of derailment," Guterres said at the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva.Guterres said trade and development was facing a "whirlwind of change", with three-quarters of global growth now coming from the developing world, services trade surging and new technologies boosting the global economy.However, geopolitical divisions, inequalities, conflicts and the climate crisis are limiting progress, the UN secretary-general said.'In turmoil' Furthermore, US President Donald Trump's administration has slapped wide-ranging tariffs on other nations, triggering trade tensions around the globe.Guterres acknowledged that "protectionism might be, in some situations, inevitable", but, he stressed, "at least it should be rational".The UN chief warned that developing countries "continue to be short-changed", with uncertainty rising, investment retreating and supply chains "in turmoil"."Trade barriers are rising, with some least developed countries facing extortionate tariffs of 40 percent, despite representing barely one percent of global trade flows," he said."We see a rising risk of trade wars for goods", while "military expenditure trends show that we are increasingly investing more in death than in people's prosperity and well-being".Faced with these hazards, Guterres outlined four priorities for international action: a "fair global trade and investment system", financing for developing countries, technology and innovation to stimulate the economy, and aligning trade policies with climate objectives.Guterres said 3.4 billion people were living in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education.He called for lower borrowing costs and risks, and quicker support for countries facing debt distress.Meanwhile global financial institutions need reforming so they better represent the needs of developing countries, he added.The UN chief was set to launch later Wednesday the Sevilla Forum on Debt, aimed at tackling debt problems in developing countries by unlocking financing for developing countries, strengthening the ability to mobilise domestic funding, leveraging more private finance and tripling the lending power of multilateral development banks.Guterres praised efforts to close the digital divide between wealthy and poor nations and ensure that technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain become accessible to all countries, "not just rich ones".

Tech Mahindra’s (TechM) stock has lost nearly 10% over the past three months. The ET Infotech index fell by 5% during the period. The company’s lacklustre performance on the bourses was despite its better than expected financial numbers for the September quarter. The stock is under pressure due to concerns over delay in project ramp ups and short term challenges pertaining to the US policy decisions on tariffs and H1B visa. Analysts have lowered the earnings expectations by 2-6% for FY26 and FY27 and have reduced the 12-month target price by 5-9% after the result announcement to factor in the concerns.Over the past few quarters, the company under the leadership of Mohit Joshi who took charge as the CEO in December 2023, has shown consistent improvement in the operating margin (EBIT margin) and deal wins. The EBIT margin has expanded by 100 basis points sequentially to 12.1% in the September quarter. It has nearly doubled after hitting a low of 6.1% in FY24. The company has a target of achieving 15% margin by FY27. While it is on track, the headwinds in terms of delay in project rollouts and delay in discretionary spending by clients may reduce the pace of margin improvement in the near term. This has made the company’s task to meet the targeted profitability in another six quarters challenging. Therefore, a delay of a quarter or two in achieving the margin guidance cannot be ruled out.The total contract value (TCV) of deal wins has also been improving since the June 2024 quarter. The company clocked $816 million in TCV for the latest September quarter compared with $809 million in the previous quarter and $603 million in the year-ago quarter. It had closed FY25 with a TCV of $2.6 billion compared with $1.9 billion in the prior year, reflecting the rising momentum in fetching new business.Despite a bulging order book, TechM’s quarterly revenue collection has remained at around $1.6 billion over the past six quarters. This shows the impact of weak client sentiment on project ramp ups.“The demand environment is uncertain because of the potential threat of recession from the world’s largest economies,” mentioned Axis Securities in a report, adding that the rising subcontracting cost and cross-currency headwinds may impact operating margins negatively. The broking firm has increased the revenue estimate for FY26 by a modest 1% to Rs55,669 crore but has reduced the net profit estimate by 2% to Rs5,096 crore, citing the near term challenges.On average, analysts have reduced the 12-month price target for TechM’s stock by 7% to Rs1,651. The stock was traded at Rs1,448.3 at the end of Tuesday’s special trading session on the BSE, reflecting an upside of 14%.

Israel's prime minister toughened his stance Wednesday by declaring that his country is in charge of its own security and isn't an American protectorate as he prepared to discuss progress on Gaza's fragile ceasefire agreement with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks ahead of his meeting with Vance appeared aimed easing public concerns that the presence of an envisioned international security force in Gaza could limit Israel's ability to strike in the devastated territory to thwart future threats. "We are not a protectorate of the United States. Israel is the one that will decide on its security," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office as he headed into the meeting.Speaking to reporters before the meeting's start, Vance acknowledged that the road to peace is strewn with huge hurdles but at the same time tried to maintain the buoyant tone he sounded Tuesday on his arrival to Israel."We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel. That's not easy," Vance said. "There's a lot of work to do, but I feel very optimistic about where we are."Vance is also meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. He is accompanied by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law.Questions abound on next steps of ceasefire planUncertainty remains over the deployment of an international security force in Gaza and who will govern the territory. Vance said Tuesday officials are brainstorming on the composition of the security force, mentioning Turkey and Indonesia as countries expected to contribute troops.Britain is also sending a small contingent of military officers to Israel to assist in monitoring the ceasefire.As Vance's meetings got underway, Israel said it completed the identification of the bodies of two more hostages that were handed over by the Red Cross to the Israeli military in Gaza on Tuesday. Authorities identified the deceased hostages as Arie Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar who were killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants, which triggered the two-year war.Since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel. Another 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element to the ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, the burial of 54 Palestinians is set for Wednesday at a cemetery in Deir al Balah, Gaza. The bodies were displayed outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis ahead of the burial. Funeral prayers for PalestiniansDozens of people, some carrying Palestinian flags, gathered outside the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for funeral prayers over the bodies of 54 Palestinians clad in white shrouds.The unidentified bodies were among 165 that Israel sent back to Gaza last week. They will be transported to Gaza's central city of Deir al-Balah for burial.A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies bore "evidence of torture" and called for an investigation.Israel has not provided identification for the bodies or explained their origins. They could include Palestinians who died during the Oct. 7 attacks, detainees who died in custody or bodies that were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.So far, authorities in Gaza have identified 52 of the returned bodies, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.Charity says an armed group took over its Gaza facilityA top Palestinian nongovernmental organization that offers mental health services to people in Gaza said Wednesday that there had been an "armed raid and brutal takeover" of one its facilities in the territory last week. The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme said an "armed group" it didn't identify stormed the facility in Gaza City on Oct. 13, seized the building, expelled guards by force and put up their own families there. "This blatant attack and serious crime represents a flagrant violation of all laws and norms," the group said. It was unclear why the organization waited more than a week to report the takeover, but it said that although it had made immediate requests for authorities to intervene, there had been no "concrete action" to return the facility "despite repeated promises to evacuate."They urged Palestinian authorities to act immediately and called on countries sponsoring the ceasefire to "intervene decisively."Israelis to bid farewell to a Thai hostage killed on Oct. 7, 2023Israelis were set on Wednesday to bid farewell to a Thai farmworker whose body will be repatriated to his native Thailand later in the day. Sonthaya Oakkharasri was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and his body was held in Gaza until it was returned last weekend.A statement by the Families' Headquarters for the Return of the Abductees said a gathering will be held at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to pay last respects to Oakkharasri, calling him a "devoted father and farmer who dreamed of establishing his own farm."In the 2023 attack on Israel that started the war, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people as hostages.The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

India's smartphone market grew 3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter of the calendar year 2025, reaching 48.4 million units shipped, as per the latest research from Omdia, which cautioned that despite early momentum, gains are unlikely to sustain into a strong year-end. The modest growth was driven by a wave of new launches in July and August, retail incentivisation and an earlier festive season that pulled forward inventory flows, Omdia said. Vendors filled the channels with new stocks in expectation of a high-demand festive period. India's smartphone market rose 3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q3 2025, touching 48.4 million units shipped, Omdia said in a release. Put simply, shipped units refer to devices that have left the factory premises and been sent to channel or distributors, for sale in the market. "With limited organic demand, Q3's momentum was largely sustained through incentive-led channel push rather than pure consumer recovery," Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Omdia, noted. According to Omdia, vivo (excluding iQOO) extended its lead in the market with 9.7 million units shipped (20 per cent market share), while Samsung ranked second with 6.8 million units (14 per cent market share) followed by Xiaomi in the third spot, narrowly overtaking OPPO (excluding OnePlus), with both vendors shipping 6.5 million units. Apple returned to the top five with 4.9 million units, with incremental growth driven by smaller tier cities. Apple posted its highest-ever shipments in India in Q3, securing 10 per cent share, Chaurasia said. "Smaller cities drove volumes through aspirational demand, aggressive festive offers and wider availability. While older iPhones 16s and 15s drove major shipments under discount-led upgrades, the iPhone 17 base model gained traction supported by a strong iPhone 12-15 install base upgrades. Looking ahead, Apple will aim for Pro-model upgrades and deepen its ecosystem to drive long-term value," Chaurasia added. On the Q3 smartphone market scorecard, Omdia noted that vendors reallocated marketing budgets to high-impact retail incentive programs that rewarded sell-through, ranging from cash-per-unit bonuses to tiered margins and dealer contests with rewards such as gold coins, bikes, and international trips. Such incentives motivated distributors and retailers to absorb higher inventory ahead of the festive season. At the same time, vendors intensified consumer-facing schemes, from zero-down-payment EMIs, micro-instalment plans, bundled accessories and extended warranties, to drive conversions. However, inventory concerns loom for the October-December period. "Despite early momentum, Q3's gains are unlikely to sustain into a strong year-end," says Chaurasia, who believes that while government-led reforms such as GST reductions on large appliances lifted overall retail sentiment, smartphone-specific demand recovery remains limited. "Urban consumers continue to delay upgrades due to employment uncertainties and rising cost sensitivity, despite better product availability and financing schemes. As a result, sell-out traction lags behind shipment growth, raising concerns of inventory build-up in Q4, especially after November," Chaurasia said. Rural demand, in contrast, has been relatively stable, but insufficient to offset cautious urban sentiment. "For full-year 2025, we continue to expect a modest decline, reflecting a fragile recovery cycle that remains highly sensitive to economic tailwinds and channel correction dynamics," Chaurasia added.