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The board of directors has finalized July 10, 2026, as the record date to determine shareholder eligibility for the dividend pay-out, which will be distributed within 30 days of the conclusion of the AGM if approved View More
Pakistan's efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East are driven by the need to avoid a spillover across its borders. View More
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) greets US Vice President JD Vance prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026, as part of high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict. A new round of negotiations over the Middle East war was set to kick off on June 21, 2026 with Iranian negotiators arriving in the Swiss host city hours ahead of US Vice President JD Vance, even as Tehran said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again over Israeli attacks in Lebanon. (Photo by URS FLUEELER / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)Urs Flueeler | Afp | Getty Images Pakistan's role as a peacemaker in the Iran war, which undermined the security of the Gulf countries and affected multiple economies through energy price shocks, has raised its diplomatic profile across the world and garnered high praise from U.S. leadership.Though the war has stressed Islamabad's economy, its resolve to bring an end to the conflict is primarily driven by the need to avoid a spillover across its borders while fostering warm ties with the U.S., experts said.Pakistan shares a 900-kilometer border with Iran and is home to the world's second-largest Shia population, after Iran. In March, following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, protests erupted in Karachi and Islamabad, leading to the deaths of more than 20 people, according to multiple media reports. "Pakistan, perhaps more than any other country outside the Middle East, was highly vulnerable to the effects of the war," Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, told CNBC in an email.The country not only has economic ties with the Gulf countries, but also has a "mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabiaâone that it wouldn't want to have to invoke, given that it didn't want to get dragged into the war," he said."Pakistan had an especially strong incentive in seeing the war come to an end," he added.On Sunday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance credited Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, chief of Pakistan's Defence Forces, for their efforts in the peace process. "I have talked to Field Marshal Munir more than I have talked to anyone in the last three months," Vance said, adding that he would not have been at the peace talks without the "statesmanship" of Munir.Even Trump, in an interview last week with Axios, called Munir a "great man."Given the significance of the peace deal, experts said Pakistan will certainly want to leverage its mediation role for economic benefit, particularly in its dealings with allies in Washington and the Gulf. But support is likely to come in the form of favorable loan terms from Arab states or security aid from the U.S, rather than investment commitments, they said.In the last few years, the country's economy has been under stress, leading to repeated bailouts from the International Monetary Fund. Economic woes "Pakistan's number one problem is that the economy is in terrible shape," said Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, South Asia practice head at Eurasia Group. The country is on its 24th loan from the IMF due to" perpetual internal problems" and is not seen as a "favorable investment destination," he added.Pakistan has traditionally run large fiscal and external deficits, with a resultant rise in public debt. In the decade leading up to the pandemic, a study by the Atlantic Council found Pakistan to be one of only five developing economies, out of a sample of more than 60 countries, whose interest payments consumed more than 40% of its annual revenue intake. A ratio of more than 25% for a prolonged period is unsustainable, it said.But not much has changed. In the financial year ending June 2027, the country's interest-to-revenue ratio is projected to be 39.1%, substantially above the median 12.1% of its peers, Fitch Ratings said in a report.Even before the Iran war started, multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble, Shell, Caltex, and Eli Lilly were leaving Pakistan. Average incomes had stagnated for almost seven years, which led to weak domestic demand, as per local media reports.Rising global energy prices have worsened the situation. Pakistan imports 85% of its fuel and almost all its liquefied natural gas supply from the Middle East and had to resort to austerity measures to soften the impact of price rises. On Saturday, following the progress on the peace deal, the austerity measures had been lifted, according to local media reports.But the disruptions from the conflict have already led to double-digit inflation in the country of 11.7% in May, squeezing households' purchasing power, according to Oxford Economics in a report earlier this month. Inflation is expected to remain in double digits through September, it added.The economic research firm has lowered its household consumption growth forecast to 1.2% in 2026 from 2.2% previously, and cut its estimates for economic growth by 60 basis points to 2.1% for the year.The IMF has been pushing Pakistan to make structural reforms that include rebuilding international reserve buffers, broadening the tax base, strengthening competition, and raising productivity. The government does not earn tax revenues from a large chunk of economic activity. The military in Pakistan accounts for a fifth of the country's economic activity as it produces everything from cereals to cement, but this output does not contribute to tax revenues, explained Chaudhuri, adding that large landowners also do not pay tax on their income. The military plays an influential role in Pakistani politics, and its backing is critical for ruling governments. In 2024, Sharif secured the support of the military to keep his government in power, according to the Financial Times.Shariff represents the interests of the landowning class, while Munir looks out for the interests of the military, said Chaudhari. Until Pakistan can fix some of its economic fundamentals, the U.S. administration's warm words are not going to translate into action. "Trump has increasingly shown how he values transactional relationships, and Pakistan just doesn't have anything to offer," he said. watch nowVIDEO4:0604:06Secretary Rubio on his way to reassure Gulf allies, might be a tough sellAccess Middle East Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Premium cement and higher trade sales are supporting realizations, but rising fuel costs, weak pricing power and looming capacity additions are clouding earnings prospects. View More
This year could see a major drive to everyday essentials, a growing category for the e-commerce giant's annual shopping event. View More
Amazon 's four-day Prime Day event this week could reveal something more important for the e-commerce giant than just a big sales number. Wall Street will be watching to see if Amazon can further cement itself as consumers' to-go destination for everyday essentials at a time when inflation-weary shoppers are focused on value. Prime Day kicks off at 12:01 a.m. PT on Tuesday (or 3:01 a.m. ET) and runs through June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday (or 2:59 a.m. ET on Saturday). In addition to tons of deals across more than 35 categories, Amazon is putting an extra incentive on its underpenetrated grocery category â offering an additional 10% off sale items for Prime members. During the online shopping event, media and commerce research firm Emarketer estimates that Amazon's U.S. Prime Day sales will rise 7.1% year over year to $15.6 billion. That number would account for more than 60% of all the retail sales in the United States for those four days. Not to be outdone, Walmart , Target , Best Buy , and other retailers are launching competing promotions. This is the second year of the four-day Prime Day format. The event started as a single day in 2015, moved to two days in 2019, and went to four days in 2025. It has also been going earlier and earlier in recent years to capture more of the lull in summer shopping, for which the event was created in the first place. By pushing the Prime Day timeline earlier each year, Sky Canaves, analyst at Emarketer, posited that the move is "a way to test whether Amazon can expand the types of purchases consumers make during Prime Day." Amazon has typically focused on selling in categories that it dominates, such as consumer electronics and other big-ticket items. But in recent years, with elevated inflation sending consumer sentiment to historic lows, there has been a "pronounced shift in terms of the categories that shoppers buy," Canaves explained. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, accelerated to 4.2% year-over-year growth in May, the highest level in three years. It was driven largely by higher energy costs tied to the Iran war. (At the time, Jim Cramer was on record , saying oil prices should come down when the war ends. That is what is happening now, but won't show up in the economic numbers for a while.) Higher prices put additional pressure on household budgets and increase consumers' appetite for discounts and value. There has been a lot more "budget consciousness," Canaves said. The Prime Day shopper has become more interested in deals on everyday essentials, and groceries, as well as personal care, and beauty items. It's these "smaller ticket items that they will use Prime Day to stock up on," the Emarketer analyst added. It's a trend that is supported by recent consumer surveys. According to an April survey by marketing platform Omnisend, 53% of respondents cited steep discounts as their primary motivation for shopping Prime Day. The survey found 55% of U.S. consumers plan to participate this year, up from 45% last year, while 66% expect to spend the same amount or more than they did during the previous event. "A lot of people are using Prime Day strategically," Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend, said. "Their plan is to stock up on everyday essentials while there are discounts available." Canaves said Prime Day's growing focus on household staples corresponds with Amazon's increasing investment in fresh and perishable grocery items, categories that have gained traction as Amazon expands same-day delivery capabilities. Unlike electronics purchases, groceries and essentials are a "big hook" for consumers, Canaves said, adding that such items encourage repeat purchases. Amazon already has a strong foothold in those categories. Canaves noted that some of the top-sellers during recent Prime Days have included energy drinks, Liquid I.V. hydration products, and consumables, alongside Amazon's own devices. As the years pile up, Prime Day has become less about adding new members and more about increasing the value existing members get from their Prime subscription, Canaves said. That's because of a pretty good problem to have. Emarketer estimates there are currently almost 190 million Prime users in the U.S., which represents more than 86% of all of the online U.S. buyers. "Once you get to that point, it's very hard to grow because the market is almost saturated with members â almost everyone has access to the Prime account," Canaves added. Amazon has targeted younger consumers through discounted membership programs, cashback offers, and promotions aimed at college and back-to-school shoppers. According to Emarketer, GenZ and millennial Prime members are more excited than older generations about the event's move from July to June and tend to be drivers of spend for Prime Day. This year's Prime Day will also be an opportunity for Amazon to highlight Alexa for Shopping, a personalized AI assistant that can create personalized deals and product recommendations based on a user's shopping history and preferences. The tool is available to customers on the shopping app and website. Bank of America called Alexa for Shopping "a key tool for discovery and tracking deals during Prime Day," in a June 18 preview note of the online shopping event. Analysts believe Alexa will be "an essential tool in protecting direct traffic for Amazon, as well as enabling higher conversion rates and driving incremental spend on the platform." They forecast Alexa can generate more than $200 billion by 2035 and $20 billion of incremental retail profit. The bank has a buy rating on Amazon and a $310 price target. Bottom line Prime Day is a strategic event for Amazon to strengthen customer loyalty, and more so today, drive recurring purchases in higher frequency categories like grocery and everyday essentials. Rather than being a short-term boost for sales, the goal is for Amazon to get deeper customer engagement in the essentials category. The stock has been an underperformer, delivering gains of 1.7% year-to-date, in a market that seems to be unfavorable to the megacaps spending billions of dollars on their AI infrastructure buildouts. The S & P 500 has increased 9% in 2026. We hope Amazon doesn't make an equity raise, as Alphabet did with its $85 billion stock sale to fund its AI buildout. At 27 times forward earnings, Jim said he's "very worried about" Amazon's valuation. At the same time, however, there are reasons to stay positive. Its cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has seen accelerating growth with incredible margins. If oil prices continue to come down, that should give a boost to its retail business, given that high fuel costs are a big input cost for the company and a deterrent for consumers. We have a buy-equivalent 1-rating and $300 price target on Amazon stock. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AMZN, GOOGL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
The technology is designed to cut emissions, lower fuel consumption and increase the use of renewable electricity in cement manufacturing, with the potential to reduce coal consumption to zero, while enabling the flexible use of alternative fuels View More
Ambuja Cements, an Adani Group company, is partnering with UK's Leilac Limited to pilot a groundbreaking low-carbon cement production method at its Gujarat plant. This initiative will test Leilac's innovative carbon capture and electric heating technology, aiming to slash emissions and fuel use. If successful, the project could become the world's largest industrial-scale carbon capture facility, significantly advancing Ambuja's net-zero goals by 2050. View More
Ambuja Cements , the Adani Group-owned cement maker, has partnered with UK-based clean technology company Leilac Limited to develop a commercial-scale low-carbon cement production pathway at its Sanghipuram plant in Gujarat's Kutch district, marking a significant step in the company's decarbonisation plans . The companies said they will jointly undertake a commercial demonstration project at Ambuja's 6.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) Sanghi cement plant to evaluate Leilac's carbon capture and hybrid electric heating technology. The technology is designed to reduce emissions, lower fuel consumption and increase the use of renewable electricity in cement manufacturing. The project comes as cement manufacturers globally face mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions from one of the most carbon-intensive industrial sectors. Unlike many other industries, a substantial portion of cement emissions arise from the chemical process involved in clinker production, making carbon capture a critical decarbonisation lever. According to the companies, the technology could enable a production pathway where coal consumption is reduced to zero while allowing greater flexibility in the use of alternative fuels. It also seeks to capture process-related carbon dioxide emissions that are otherwise difficult to eliminate. If the demonstration proves successful, the facility could be expanded by seven to eight times, enabling the capture of more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The companies described the proposed facility as potentially the largest industrial-scale project of its kind globally. Live Events The partnership forms part of Ambuja Cements' broader strategy to achieve its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-validated net-zero target by 2050. The company is also investing in nearly 1 GW of captive renewable energy capacity and expanding waste heat recovery systems to support the electrification of cement manufacturing. "The cement industry's transition to a lower-carbon future will require bold thinking, technological innovation and collaboration across the value chain. Our partnership with Leilac reflects our commitment to evaluating next-generation technologies that can reduce process emissions while improving energy efficiency and supporting long-term sustainable growth," said Karan Adani, Director, Ambuja Cements. Daniel Rennie, Chief Executive Officer of Leilac Limited, said the collaboration aims to demonstrate a commercially viable and scalable pathway for low-carbon cement production. "Together, we aim to demonstrate an economic, replicable and future-proof solution for the global cement industry," Rennie said. Industry experts view carbon capture as one of the key technologies required for the cement sector to meet long-term climate goals, particularly as process emissions account for a large share of the industry's carbon footprint. Ambuja Cements currently has a cement manufacturing capacity of 109 MTPA across 24 integrated plants and 22 grinding units. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Dalmia Bharat optimistic about cement industry growth, expects demand to expand at a CAGR of 6-7% over next few years View More
North Korea may use the summit as an opportunity to press for economic concessions or Beijing's "tacit recognition" of its nuclear status, analysts say. View More
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2025. Huang Jingwen | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang is set to start on Monday, as Beijing tests its influence over a neighbor pulled increasingly into Russia's orbit.The two-day trip will be Xi's first to North Korea in nearly seven years and he is expected to hold talks with leader Kim Jong Un. In a commentary published in North Korea's state newspaper ahead of his arrival, Xi pledged "unwavering" friendship and vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple areas, including the military."North Korea has more leverage vis-a-vis China compared to June 2019, when Xi last visited Pyongyang," said Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow at the Stimson Center's Korea Program, citing deepened military ties with Moscow, advances in its nuclear program, and an improved economy in recent years. North Korea is expected to use the summit to press for economic concessions, and potentially even for Beijing's tacit recognition of its nuclear status â something Russia is believed to have privately conceded, Lee added. China has publicly opposed Pyongyang's nuclear tests in the past, but its current stance is ambiguous and "the North Koreans seem set on clarifying that during Xi's visit," she said. Kim has sought to forge closer military and trade ties with Moscow, dispatching troops to fight in the Ukraine war while continuing to build up his nuclear capabilities in defiance of UN sanctions. That partnership has given Pyongyang new leverage, analysts said. "Xi wants to counterbalance all of the Russian influence over North Korea as a result of their military cooperation in the war in Europe," said Victor Cha, president of the geopolitics and foreign policy department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "China does not like anyone else having more influence on Pyongyang than they do."The two leaders last met in September when Kim visited Beijing for a Chinese military parade, along with other foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin. The trip is Xi's first overseas visit this year as the Chinese leader curtailed his international travels after the pandemic and hosted incoming leaders in Beijing instead. For Beijing, China is likely to seek Pyongyang's alignment on Taiwan and push back against what it views as Japan's increasingly assertive defense posture, Lee said, adding that managing escalation risk on the Korean peninsula is also a core objective.Ahead of Xi's visit, North Korea unveiled a new facility for uranium enrichment, with Kim announcing plans to bolster the country's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate," signaling Pyongyang's ambition to cement its status as a nuclear weapons state."The fact that Xi has decided to make his first overseas trip of 2026 to North Korea reflects the level of significance that Beijing attaches to the attempt to shore up ties," said William Yang, Crisis Group's senior analyst for Northeast Asia.Some analysts believe Xi may also be carrying a message from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has signaled willingness to resume diplomacy with Kim. North Korea, however, has insisted Washington drop its denuclearization precondition before any talks begin. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday it hopes Xi's visit will "play a constructive role in addressing issues related to the Korean Peninsula." The country's minister of unification Chung Dong-young said last month that a possible Pyongyang-Washington summit could be on the agenda of this week's summit. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.