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Tuesday,15-September-2026
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Global markets plunge again as interest rate hikes fuel recession fears

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 The global rout in stock markets, cryptocurrencies and other risky assets has gathered pace amid growing concern that out-of-control inflation, rising interest rates and slowing growth could combine to tip the world into recession.

Share prices fell in Asia on Friday at the beginning of what was likely to be another torrid day for investors spooked by the US Federal Reserve’s decision this week to raise interest rates by the largest margin for almost 30 years, the Guardian reported.

Other leading central banks such as the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank have followed suit, the latter in its first hike for 15 years, sending economists scrambling to revise their forecast for growth downwards.

Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management in Hong Kong said: “No central bankers worth their weight would put inflation-fighting credentials on the line and import higher energy inflation via a weaker currency.”

Despite the Bank of Japan announcing on Friday that it was sticking to its ultra-loose monetary policy, he added the rate rises eleswhere were a “highly ominous signal for stock market investors… the global race to hike rates is nowhere near the finishing line”.

Many believe that the US may be in recession by next year, raising the prospect of a wider global slump, the Guardian reported.

Shares in the world’s biggest economy have suffered their worst start to a year for 60 years with the S&P 500 benchmark index down 23 per cent since January after losing another 3.25 per cent on Thursday.

Analysts at JP Morgan said the state of the S&P 500 “implies an 85 per cent chance of a recession”.

The falls, mirrored on the Dow Jones average, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and UK and European markets, did nothing to boost confidence in Asia Pacific.

The Nikkei in Tokyo was off 1.65 per cent and was on track for its worst week of losses for two years, as was India’s main Nifty index.

In Sydney, the ASX200 was down 2 per cent on Friday, The Guardian reported.

The cryptocurrency rout also shows no sign of abating with bitcoin down 7.8 per cent and ethereum 8.45 per cent worse off.

In addition, the Financial Times reported that the Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which has $10 billion under management, failed to meet margin calls this week amid the slide in crypto values.

Business

Meta to report child safety cases to India’s I4C cybercrime portal (Lead)

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New Delhi, Sep 15: Meta will directly report child safety matters to India’s Cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the US-based technology giant said on Tuesday.

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India over the alleged circulation and promotion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through advertisements on Instagram.

The government has said the online safety of children is a fundamental principle for every social media platform operating in India and remains non-negotiable, according to government sources. The commitment by Meta is being seen as a first step towards strengthening safeguards for children on social media platforms, they added.

Meta — in a statement on the ongoing issue — said protecting children on its platforms is a priority and that it is committed to working with the government to ensure perpetrators of such crimes are held responsible.

“To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cyber crime portal managed by I4C,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Social media platforms can be used to circulate or facilitate access to CSAM and other forms of child exploitation.

Reporting such cases to law enforcement agencies would help ensure that such incidents are not dealt with solely through platforms’ internal content-moderation systems.

The government has stressed that more needs to be done and that discussions are continuing with other social media platforms to proactively identify and remove harmful content.

It has also warned that action could be taken against platforms that fail to adopt adequate proactive measures to protect children online.

The development comes amid growing global scrutiny of social media platforms over risks to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content and online abuse.

In India, social media platforms are governed by the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which prescribe due-diligence obligations for intermediaries.

Meta had faced scrutiny after an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that Facebook and Instagram carried paid advertisements featuring child sexual abuse material this year, including AI-manipulated images of real children.

The investigation also found more than 300 advertisements featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material on Meta’s platforms.

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Business

Indian equities open higher defying weak global cues

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Mumbai, Sep 15: Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Tuesday despite global markets remaining under pressure amid elevated US bond yields and crude oil prices.

Sensex opened at 75,369.63, up 587.87 points or 0.79 per cent, while Nifty began trading at 23,576.15, higher by 178.05 points or 0.76 per cent. The gains were led by information technology stocks as Nifty IT index jumped more than 4 per cent, while the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index rose nearly 2 per cent.

Other sectors, Nifty FMCG gained 0.72 per cent, while Nifty Auto rose 0.31 per cent. Media, energy and private banking indices were also marginally higher.

In contrast, Nifty Metal fell 0.58 per cent, while Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank and Nifty MidSmall Financial Services declined 0.52 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Nifty Pharma fell 0.37 per cent, while cement, healthcare, consumer durables and realty indices also traded lower.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Grasim Industries, BEL, Shriram Finance and InterGlobe Aviation were top losers which declined between nearly 1 per cent and 1.67 per cent.

“Global equity markets will be under pressure from the US 10-year yield hitting the psychological 5 per cent mark. The macro scenario will continue to be under pressure from rising crude prices,” according to market experts.

The continuing boom in the initial public offering market and the outperformance of the broader market were also cited as positives for domestic equities, according to market experts.

On the Nifty’s technical outlook, the expert said the pullback from the 23,260-23,000 region suggested the index was attempting a swing higher after approaching oversold territory, they said.

“This mean reversion move could potentially aim for 23,720,” the experts said, while cautioning that failure to clear 23,515, or a direct fall below the 23,260-23,000 region, could bring the 22,600-21,800 range into focus.

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India‑UAE ties grow into a model for BRICS collaboration: Report

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New Delhi, Sep 14: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India are broadening a strategic and economic partnership that serves as “an effective model of cooperation within BRICS,” a new report has said.

The partnership is built on a foundation of historic ties, shared interests and major projects that promote trade, investment and logistics connectivity between markets, the report from Gulf Today said.

“The growing UAE-India partnership, reflected in expanding trade, increasingly integrated logistics corridors and cooperation in investment and innovation, provides a practical model of the UAE’s role within BRICS,” the report said.

Further, the partnership also proves UAE’s commitment to exchanging expertise and perspectives and building more integrated and sustainable economic partnerships.

Bilateral trade reached $101.25 billion in FY26, marking the second consecutive year in which trade between the two countries exceeded $100 billion. The UAE and India have set a target to raise bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032.

The partnership is being advanced through initiatives such as Bharat Mart, the Virtual Trade Corridor and cooperation under the India‑Middle East‑Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

“These initiatives are helping strengthen supply chain integration and create new routes for trade and investment flows between the two countries and global markets,” the report noted.

The UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operational since 2022 was hailed as the first agreement of its kind concluded by the UAE. The agreement has bolstered the flow of goods, services and investment and expanded opportunities for the private sector in both countries.

United Arab Emirates and China were the largest destinations within BRICS, together accounting for 88.50 per cent of India’s electronics exports to the grouping.

The number of Indian companies registered as active members of Dubai Chamber reached 85,841 by the end of June 2026 after 7,579 new Indian firms joined in the first half of the year, marking a year‑on‑year increase of 15 per cent, another report said.

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