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.

Activist investor Aspex Management has increased its holding in German food-delivery group Delivery Hero to about 15% after buying a roughly 5% stake from Prosus for about €335 million (€22 per share), Reuters and other outlets reported on May 11, 2026. The deal was priced at a roughly 10% premium to Delivery Hero’s closing price on the prior trading day and about 22% above the 30‑day volume‑weighted average. Prosus’s remaining holding falls to about 16.8% as it continues a mandated sell-down tied to its takeover of Just Eat Takeaway.com; EU antitrust regulators have required Prosus to cut its stake below 10% by late summer. The transaction follows a prior sale of 4.5% to Uber in April. News of the trade sent Delivery Hero shares up roughly 7%. Aspex has publicly urged the company to withdraw from whole regions and has called for replacement of CEO Niklas Östberg, increasing pressure ahead of Delivery Hero’s annual general meeting on June 23, where Prosus-managed shares cannot be voted by the seller.

Blackstone will acquire Greek e-commerce platform Skroutz from CVC Capital Partners Fund VII in a deal valuing the company, including debt, at about €635 million ($747 million), the firms said on May 11, 2026. CVC is set to double its initial investment through the sale. Skroutz’s founders will sell part of their holdings but retain a stake and management will remain in place, with George Chatzigeorgiou continuing as CEO. The transaction follows CVC’s other Greek investments, including the recent sale of a majority stake in insurer Ethniki. Timing and regulatory approvals were not disclosed; industry reports indicate closing could occur in the second half of 2026 pending approvals. The acquisition expands Blackstone’s footprint in European e-commerce and digital marketplace assets and positions Skroutz for further scale-up under new ownership.

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.

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.

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.

Elon Musk has publicly endorsed Warren Buffett’s decade‑old proposal to bar sitting members of the U.S. Congress from reelection whenever the federal deficit exceeds 3% of GDP, reigniting debate as the national debt approaches $39 trillion. Musk responded on X to a resurfaced clip of Buffett’s 2011 remark — “I could end the deficit in five minutes” — with comments such as “100%. This is the way.” Prominent investors and officials including Ray Dalio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have signalled support for stricter fiscal rules, while the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has warned average interest rates on the debt could outpace growth by 2031. The U.S. federal debt is roughly $38.9–$39 trillion (about 124% of GDP), with weekly interest costs reported above $22 billion and annual interest exceeding $1 trillion. Advocates argue automatic political consequences would force fiscal restraint; critics say the idea faces severe constitutional, legal and practical hurdles and could prompt abrupt austerity or political churn. Some lawmakers have introduced bipartisan measures to target a 3% deficit limit, and Senator Mike Lee has helped reframe the conversation by circulating the clip and drafting related language.

LONDON, May 11, 2026 — A two-week trial opened at London’s High Court on Monday as online fast-fashion rival Shein accused U.S.-listed Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, of copyright infringement “on an industrial scale.” Shein says Temu used thousands of photos taken by Shein staff to advertise copies or near-identical versions of Shein’s own-brand clothing, alleging the conduct was intended to secure an unfair market advantage. Temu has dropped its defence to Shein’s claims over roughly 2,300 photographs, according to Shein’s lawyers, and has counter-claimed for damages after an injunction required it to remove thousands of listings. Temu denies the wider allegations, saying Shein’s litigation is aimed at stifling competition; it has also accused Shein of breaching competition law by tying suppliers to exclusive deals, a separate strand of litigation due at trial next year. The London case is part of parallel litigation in the United States and comes as regulators tighten cross-border e-commerce rules — including the removal of a U.S. low-value parcel exemption and an EU change due in July — that could affect both companies’ low-price business models.

Billionaire retailer Mike Ashley has publicly admitted arranging covert surveillance that captured former JD Sports chair Peter Cowgill meeting Footasylum boss Barry Bown in a Bury car park in 2021. In a Financial Times interview published in May 2026 Ashley said he employed people to record the encounter, conceding “maybe I shouldn’t have been in the bushes”. The footage was later leaked to the Sunday Times and became central to a Competition and Markets Authority probe into JD’s planned acquisition of Footasylum, leading to fines of about £4.6m and Cowgill’s removal as executive chair. The takeover was ultimately blocked by the CMA. Cowgill has said he respects Ashley as an operator but not his tactics, calling the admission vindicating and suggesting the revelation is embarrassing for the CMA and JD’s board. Ashley, who retains a 73% stake in Frasers Group, framed his actions as part of fierce commercial rivalry and defended his record in retail.

Nintendo’s shares plunged in Tokyo on May 11 after the company announced price increases for its Switch 2 console and issued a cautious outlook for the new fiscal year. Shares fell roughly 8% intraday, trading around 7,020–7,181 yen. Nintendo said the Switch 2 will rise by 10,000 yen to 59,980 yen in Japan from May 25 and will increase by about $50 to roughly $500 in the U.S. from Sept. 1. The firm now forecasts selling about 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the coming year, down from roughly 19.9 million in the prior year, and expects fiscal‑year net profit to drop about 27% to ¥310 billion with revenue down about 11% to ¥2.05 trillion. Nintendo cited strong first‑year demand, higher memory‑chip costs and the price hikes as reasons. Analysts and investors expressed concern over a limited slate of blockbuster first‑party titles beyond scheduled releases such as Yoshi, Star Fox and Splatoon Raiders. President Shuntaro Furukawa pledged to boost the software lineup to “enhance ownership value.”

Cerebras Systems said it will lift the size and price range of its upcoming initial public offering after intense investor interest, with the company considering a new range of $150-$160 a share and increasing the offering to 30 million shares from 28 million. At the top of the range the offering could raise about $4.8 billion, up from roughly $3.5 billion under original terms. The move follows reports that orders exceeded available shares by more than 20 times as the chipmaker prepares to set final pricing on May 13. Sunnyvale, California-based Cerebras makes specialized processors aimed at AI inference workloads and has secured customers including Amazon and OpenAI. The IPO would be the largest global listing so far this year, according to Dealogic, and is being led by Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays and UBS. The company previously shelved a 2024 IPO amid scrutiny over a revenue pact with UAE firm G42; that partnership later cleared a U.S. national security review.

MUMBAI, May 11 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee tumbled past 95 to the dollar on Monday as a spike in crude oil prices after a breakdown in U.S.-Iran peace talks and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for foreign exchange conservation unnerved traders. The currency fell about 0.75% to 95.1850, while the Nifty 50 index slid more than 1% and the 10-year benchmark yield rose 5 basis points to 7.03%. Brent futures jumped roughly 4% to about $105.7 a barrel in Asian trade. Traders pointed to dollar sales by state-run banks likely acting for the Reserve Bank of India to cushion the rupee, though interventions were intermittent and may not prevent further weakness if oil stays elevated. Since the Iran conflict began in late February, the rupee has lost over 4%, the Nifty is down about 5% and sovereign yields have climbed nearly 40 basis points. Analysts warn higher oil will widen India's import bill, lift inflation and strain current account balances, while regional currencies also weakened between 0.3% and 1% on the day.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged to record highs on May 11, 2026, driven by a broad rally in large-cap chipmakers amid AI-driven demand and firm tech gains on Wall Street. The index rose as much as 5.05% intraday and closed up about 4.3% at 7,822.24 after briefly topping 7,876.60, triggering trading curbs and a five-minute buy-side “sidecar.” Samsung Electronics jumped over 5–6% and SK Hynix gained double digits, with both hitting all-time highs. Combined market capitalisation of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ topped 7,000 trillion won (roughly $4.75 trillion) for the first time. Early-May trade data showed exports up about 43.7% year-on-year in the first 10 days, with chip exports surging roughly 150% to a record level, reinforcing momentum. Retail investors led net buying while foreigners were net sellers. Yields moved modestly, with short-term yields ticking up and the 10-year benchmark broadly steady. Analysts warned of concentrated gains in a handful of semiconductor and large-cap names and flagged potential short-term volatility despite bullish longer-term estimates from some institutions.

More than 600 current and former OpenAI employees sold a combined $6.6 billion of company stock in a single coordinated transaction in October 2025, according to reportings based on Wall Street Journal coverage. The sales averaged roughly $11 million per person; about 75 participants took the maximum permitted amount of $30 million after OpenAI raised its internal limit from $10 million to $30 million in response to investor demand. The liquidity event was structured as a tender offer and was the first opportunity for many staff who joined after ChatGPT’s launch, owing to a two‑year waiting requirement. Some sellers directed proceeds into donor‑advised funds for tax and philanthropic reasons. The move is being described as one of the largest employee stock sales in tech history and has been linked to rising rental pressures in San Francisco. Executive equity remains highly concentrated: reports note large paper stakes for some founders and senior figures, while OpenAI’s CEO is reported to hold no personal shares under the organisation’s original structure. The transaction underscores significant wealth generation inside private AI firms ahead of any IPOs.

President Donald Trump on May 10-11, 2026 renewed a high-profile push for federal procurement to prioritise U.S.-made goods, telling agencies on Truth Social that "ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BUY AMERICAN — NO EXCUSES." The administration said it is tightening enforcement of existing "Made in America" statutes, seeking to curb the use of waivers that allow purchases of foreign products and to crack down on false "Made in America" claims. In March the president signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission to step up enforcement against misleading origin labels; the administration says it will coordinate procurement and enforcement agencies and is reviewing longstanding exceptions used in infrastructure, defence and specialised buys. Officials have not announced immediate changes to waiver criteria or new formal rulemaking; administration action could take the form of internal guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, tougher agency reviews of waivers, or referrals for enforcement. The move echoes earlier Trump-era orders and ties into broader efforts to encourage reshoring of automotive and industrial production through procurement leverage and investment conditions.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration is "open to all ideas" to ease rising pump prices, including temporarily suspending the federal gasoline tax, in interviews broadcast May 10-11. The administration’s comments come as the national average for regular gasoline reached $4.52 per gallon, up more than 50% since the start of the conflict with Iran, according to AAA. Wright declined to predict whether prices could hit $5 per gallon and reiterated that any tax pause involves trade-offs. Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation in March to suspend the federal gas tax through October; several states including Georgia, Indiana and Utah have already enacted temporary state tax breaks. The White House has also released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, waived some regulations to boost refinery output and briefly launched then paused a naval escort operation aimed at reopening transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Analysts note a federal tax holiday would require congressional approval and, based on prior estimates, would reduce prices at the pump by only about 10–16 cents per gallon while straining Highway Trust Fund revenues.

President Donald Trump said on May 10, 2026 that he still wants to visit the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox to personally verify the nation’s gold holdings. In an interview on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson, Trump repeated comments first made in early 2025 — when Elon Musk and some Republican lawmakers also questioned whether the gold remained in the Kentucky vault — saying “they steal a lot” though he did not specify who he meant. The U.S. Mint reports Fort Knox holds about 147.3 million fine troy ounces of gold, historically valued on the books at $42.22 per ounce and worth roughly $700 billion at market prices. Treasury officials have said the depository is audited regularly; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in 2025 that “all the gold is present and accounted for.” Fort Knox, built in the 1930s, remains tightly restricted to visitors; public inspections have been rare, with limited access provided to select officials and delegations in past decades.

A MarketWatch Moneyist column (May 10–11, 2026) addressed whether a healthy 66‑year‑old homeowner with no debt should invest $100,000 in S&P 500 index funds for a five- to seven‑year horizon. The writer says the investor already has 50% of her portfolio in the S&P 500 and that a financial adviser endorsed investing more. The columnist cautions that at this age the investor must weigh risk tolerance — a 40% market decline could be hard to recover from without longer time to replenish savings — and suggests strategies including dollar‑cost averaging, diversification into total market and international funds, and avoiding withdrawals during market downturns. He also highlights tax and estate planning opportunities such as timing Roth conversions during lower‑income years. The column notes recent U.S. market strength, led by tech and semiconductor gains, while flagging headwinds including oil weakness and rising mortgage rates. Historical returns are cited but the piece stresses there are no guarantees.

Saudi Aramco on May 10-11 reported a sharp rise in first-quarter earnings even as its CEO warned the global oil market had been deprived of about 1 billion barrels over roughly two months. The state giant said adjusted net income rose about 25-26% year-on-year to roughly $32.5-$33.6 billion (126 billion riyals), beating analyst estimates, and declared a Q1 base dividend of $21.9 billion. Chief Executive Amin Nasser attributed the disruption to Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US‑Israel–Iran conflict, saying reopening shipping lanes would not immediately normalise markets and that a prolonged curtailment could push normalisation into 2027. Aramco has maximised flows on its East‑West Pipeline (reported at 7 million barrels per day capacity), routing crude to the Red Sea to partially offset lost Gulf shipping. Company statements and market data also show production cuts of about 2 million bpd and higher realised prices, with Brent trading around $100 a barrel, underscoring elevated price and supply volatility.