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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.
Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is exploring cement concrete roads over bituminous ones due to a surge in bitumen prices and supply disruptions from the West Asia conflict. He also highlighted the potential of domestically produced bio-bitumen from rice straw and other biowaste to reduce imports and save foreign exchange. View More
The report mentioned that realisation during the fourth quarter rose 2% quarter-on-quarter, supported by regional price increases of around ?15 per bag following a steep correction in Q3FY26 View More
Ambuja Cements plans to add new capacity after reaching optimal utilization. The company aims to reach 119 million tonnes capacity by fiscal year-end. Recent acquisitions and organic expansion are part of this strategy. Despite cost pressures from global events, the company achieved record revenue and profit in FY26. Structural changes are also underway to improve efficiency. View More
MUMBAI: Ambuja Cements will consider adding fresh capacities once it reaches optimal utilisation levels, said the Adani Group-owned company. The company however retained its target of boosting capacity to 119 million tonne by this fiscal year-end, from 109 million tonne last year. “Capacity expansion is being pursued in a calibrated manner, our focus is consciously shifting towards stabilising newly commissioned capacities and improving utilisation across the existing base, with further capacity additions being pursued more gradually once optimal utilisation is achieved,” said Vinod Bahety, chief executive. The company achieved around 70% utilisation level in FY26 . “More important than the capacity number is the capability it reflects: our ability to conceive, execute, commission and stabilise multiple projects with repeatable outcomes while operating a national manufacturing and distribution system at scale,” Bahety said in a letter to shareholders accompanying the company’s FY26 annual report. The Adani Group forayed into the world’s second-largest cement market in 2022 through its twin acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd for more than $10 billion. At the time, the conglomerate had guided for doubling annual capacity to 140 million tonne by FY28. Live Events Following a series of acquisitions since 2022 – including Sanghi Cement, Penna Cement Industries, and Orient Cement – and organic expansion, the company further raised its production target to 155 million tonne recently, before pruning its growth ambitions. In FY26, Adani Cement’s consolidated revenue from operations and profit after tax scaled an all-time high, but earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell from the year before. EBITDA margin also fell to 18% for the year from 23% in FY25. Cost of materials as well as power and fuel costs also saw a 100 basis points increase. “Developments such as the West Asia conflict resulted in increases in oil and energy costs, coupled with immediate inflationary pressures,” said Bahety. “These factors resulted in sustained cost pressures, particularly in fuel, logistics and input costs which intensified towards the close of the year and are expected to continue in the near term.” During the year, Ambuja Cements completed the amalgamation of Sanghi Industries and Penna Cement. It is currently in the process of amalgamating ACC and Orient Cement with itself. “Yet the deeper change underway goes beyond corporate consolidation,” said Bahety. “Structures are being flattened, cross-functional silos reduced, and decision-making moved closer to the market.” .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)
BP's board on Tuesday announced the removal of Manifold due to "serious concerns" relating to governance standards, oversight and conduct. View More
In this articleBPFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Albert Manifold, chief executive officer of CRH Plc, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Ousted BP Chairman Albert Manifold has rejected "lies" relating to his conduct, saying he "pushed hard and challenged people directly" during his brief tenure at the British oil supermajor. BP's board on Tuesday announced the removal of Manifold due to "serious concerns" relating to governance standards, oversight and conduct.Multiple media outlets reported that Manifold, the former boss of Irish building materials giant CRH, had acted aggressively with different colleagues during his nearly eight months at BP, citing anonymous sources.In a scathing response issued on Thursday, Manifold said that while he does accept the board's decision to remove him as chairman, he did not accept "that lies can be told about me, nor that anyone should be allowed to hide behind anonymity when commenting on my time at bp."Manifold said he felt that his priorities of simplifying the business, driving change on costs and strengthening the energy major's balance sheet were not always shared by everyone, but "there is a considerable distance between driving an organisation with urgency and the characterisation of my conduct that is now being put about." He added that no one at the company had raised any issue about his conduct with him during his time as BP chairman. Manifold dismissed media reports suggesting he wished to exercise a more executive role at the London-listed company as "nonsense," saying he had only been to BP's head office in London on approximately 13 days in 2026. He signed off his letter by describing BP as a company "with a great future," saying that CEO Meg O'Neill, Chief Financial Officer Kate Thomson and their executive colleagues were "among the finest people I have worked with."A BP spokesperson said the company noted the comments of its former chair. "We stand by the statement we have made. We have a duty of care to all our employees, particularly those impacted by his behavior," the spokesperson said in an email to CNBC. Shares of BP traded 0.4% lower on Thursday morning. Investor rebellion The announcement of Manifold's departure from BP came as a surprise to many analysts and investors earlier in the week, with the company currently in the midst of a fundamental strategic reset. BP is pivoting back to oil and gas and away from renewables.Former Woodside Energy boss Meg O'Neill is leading this transformation, having taken the reins as CEO at the start of April.Amanda Blanc, senior independent director at BP, thanked Manifold's contribution to BP's ongoing transformation but said the board had been "surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable."BP appointed Ian Tyler as interim chair following Manifold's dismissal, noting that a succession process for a permanent chair is set to get underway. watch nowVIDEO2:4402:44BP board suffers investor rebellion over climate and governance issues at AGMSquawk Box Europe Just last month, Manifold suffered an investor rebellion at BP's annual general meeting. A majority of 81.8% of shareholders voted in favor of electing Manifold following a contentious decision to block a proposal put forward by Dutch activist group Follow This.Board members require 50% of the vote to be elected, and they typically receive close to 100% support. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
