ARN Media faced a blistering investor backlash at its annual general meeting after revealing the axing of The Kyle & Jackie O Show and wider fallout cost the company about A$26 million in lost advertising revenue due to “brand safety” concerns. Shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the company’s remuneration report—more than 90% opposed CEO Michael Stephenson’s A$1.1 million fixed pay—putting executive pay and governance under review and exposing the board to potential unrest if further proxy strikes follow. Chair Hamish McLennan was re‑elected but faced sharp questioning and said he would personally invest A$500,000 to signal confidence. ARN’s share price has plunged roughly 50% over the past year to around A$0.26, leaving market capitalisation near A$75–80 million. The company is also embroiled in duelling legal actions with former hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson over contracts collectively worth about A$200 million, with claims filed in federal court. Management said many lost advertisers may return only slowly as brand and consumer expectations shift.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 10–11 urged Indians to avoid non-essential gold purchases for a year as part of a wider appeal to conserve foreign exchange amid rising global energy prices and Middle East tensions. Modi also asked citizens to cut fuel use, limit overseas travel and support domestic goods. The calls come as crude oil surged and the rupee weakened toward the mid-90s per dollar, putting pressure on India’s import bill and foreign-exchange reserves. RBI data show reserves around $690.7 billion with recent weekly declines led by falls in gold and foreign-currency assets. India imports roughly 700–800 tonnes of gold annually (domestic output is negligible), making bullion one of the country’s biggest import items after oil. World Gold Council data for Q1 2026 show total gold demand rose to 151 tonnes and, for the first time, investment demand (82 tonnes) exceeded jewellery demand (66 tonnes). Industry reports also cite falling monthly import volumes and operational factors — including customs GST questions — that have reduced shipments and given policymakers temporary relief.

On May 11, 2026, Indian jewellery shares tumbled after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to refrain from buying gold and gold jewellery for one year to help conserve foreign exchange. Jewellery names including Sky Gold & Diamonds, Senco Gold, Thangamayil, Kalyan Jewellers and Titan fell sharply in intraday trade, with declines reported up to 12% (Sky Gold) and major listed peers down 6-10%. Benchmark indices also pulled back — the Sensex was down roughly 1-1.3% and the Nifty slipped below 24,000 — as selling spread across consumer-facing stocks. The comments came amid rising crude and gold prices, a weaker rupee and concerns over India’s gold import bill (reported at $71.98 billion in 2025-26) and a widened trade deficit. Analysts and traders said the appeal hit demand sentiment for the sector that relies on wedding and festival purchases and raised the risk that policymakers might consider import measures if external pressures persist. Titan reported strong FY26 jewellery revenue growth but investors are pricing potential near-term demand disruption and policy uncertainty.

Britain could shed about 163,000 jobs in 2026 as the economic fallout from the Iran war pushes up energy and commodity costs, according to the Item Club’s regional outlook published in May 2026. The independent forecaster expects UK employment to fall by 0.4%, with manufacturing- and construction-dependent regions such as South Wales (‑5,700) and the Humber (‑2,800) hit hardest. Major cities' retail and hospitality sectors are also forecast to weaken, with projected job losses of 25,000 in London, 12,500 in Birmingham, 9,800 in Leeds and 6,200 in Glasgow. The conflict has driven oil prices higher, contributing to inflationary pressures globally (including a rise in China’s producer prices) and prompting market moves: UK gilt yields and borrowing costs rose in early May and sterling fell against the dollar. The Bank of England has warned unemployment could rise toward 5.6% under a downside scenario. The government has signalled support measures for manufacturers and reiterated plans to cut business energy costs while pursuing clean power targets.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 10 appealed for broad behavioural measures to conserve fuel and foreign exchange as global energy prices surge amid the West Asia conflict. Speaking in Hyderabad, he urged citizens to prioritise work‑from‑home and virtual meetings, use public transport, car‑pool, and electric vehicles, delay non‑essential foreign travel and avoid buying gold for a year. Modi also called for lower edible‑oil consumption, a 50% cut in chemical fertiliser use by farmers and a shift to natural farming and solar irrigation. The appeals come as crude prices spiked after disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on India’s import bill, state oil firms and foreign exchange reserves; markets reacted with a sharp fall in equities and a weaker rupee. The government later sought to head off panic buying, saying fuel and essential stocks were adequate. Opposition leaders criticised the appeals as an admission of policy failure. Economists say the move aims for voluntary demand moderation to ease import pressures while leaving formal pricing or fiscal measures on the table.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher said on May 11 that the ECB may need to raise interest rates soon if the inflation outlook does not improve significantly. Speaking to Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Kocher noted that energy prices have been pushed up by the conflict involving Iran and cautioned against presuming the ECB’s next move ahead of its June 11 policy meeting. He defended the decision to hold off on an April hike but said a near-term tightening could become unavoidable if energy costs remain elevated. Kocher warned that prolonged high energy prices could raise the risk of second‑round inflation effects via wages, although he observed that there have not yet been many wage negotiations since the war began. He also said the conflict has jeopardised recoveries in Germany and Austria and that a stagflationary outcome cannot be ruled out even as the labour market remains resilient.