Latest news with #446
New Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Andhra govt removes Kadapa mayor over violation of rules
VIJAYAWADA/KADAPA: The Andhra Pradesh government has removed Kothamaddi Suresh Babu from the Kadapa Mayor post, accusing him of violating municipal rules to benefit his family's business. In its order ( 446) on Wednesday, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department claimed Suresh Babu violated the GHMC Act, 1955, by awarding civil works contracts worth Rs 55.64 lakh to Vardhini Constructions, a company owned by his wife, Jayasree, and son, Amaresh. The controversy kicked off when Kadapa MLA Madhavi Reddappagari filed a complaint with the Vigilance and Enforcement Department, flagging what she called 'huge irregularities' in Kadapa's municipal contracts. The department's probe revealed that Vardhini Constructions, registered as a Class-V category contractor in 2023, bagged 10 projects under Suresh Babu's watch. Seven of these, including laying CC roads and desilting storm drains in the 12th and 29th divisions, were completed, netting Rs 33.65 lakhs. Three other contracts, like CC road works in Buddayapalli, are still pending. The State government says this setup breaches Section 22-1(h) of the GHMC Act, which forbids elected members or their kin from having stakes in municipal contracts, labelling it a clear conflict of interest. Suresh Babu, a YSRCP leader in his second mayoral term since 2021, got a show-cause notice on March 24, 2025. In his May 7 response, he claimed he didn't know about the contracts, which were under Rs 10 lakhs and handled by the Municipal Commissioner, not the council.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India's edible oil stocks fall to five-year low on weak palm oil imports
India's edible oil stocks in ports and pipelines dipped to a five-year low of 1.35 million tonnes (mt) as on May 1, 2025, due to a sharp drop in April palm oil imports that fell to their lowest in four years, data from the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) showed. The last time India had lower than May 1, 2025 stocks in ports and pipelines was back on 1 May 2020, when it had stocks of around 0.91 mt. Depleted stocks may mean India will increase imports of palm oil and soyoil in the coming months, supporting Malaysian palm oil prices and US soyoil futures, news agency Reuters said. India's palm oil imports in April fell by 24.29 per cent from March to 321,446 tonnes, the SEA said. 'Low stocks do not mean that edible oil supplies are inadequate in the country. Stocks and imports have also dropped as mustard seed crushing is going on in full swing in the country, which is why domestic supplies are good,' said BV Mehta, executive director of SEA. The low stocks and low imports have come at a time when edible oil inflation in April 2025 as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had soared to 17.4 per cent, marking the sixth successive month of double-digit inflation — a pace not seen since March 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict had just begun. 'The high edible oil prices are due to the fact that the landed price of crude palm oil in Mumbai ports, which is the benchmark, is still at around $1,100 per tonne, though it has softened since March,' Mehta said. Last year, during the same time, the landed price of crude palm oil was less than $1,000 per tonne. He said another reason for the high retail price of edible oils is that oil meals demand from the livestock industry has gone down, which is why millers are not able to bring down the retail price of edible oil. 'When a miller crushes oilseeds, he gets his revenues from selling edible oils and oil meals (to the livestock sector). Now when demand for one (oil meals) has gone down sharply, the pressure is on the other to compensate for the falling margins,' a trader said. Oil meals demand from the livestock industry has come down due to high supply of DDGS (Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles), which is a by-product of ethanol production. With India producing over 5 billion litres of ethanol, the production of DDGS has gone up manifold. 'Rapeseed meal and rice bran meal are used for cattle feed while soymeal is used by the poultry sector. Demand for all of them has gone down due to DDGS,' Mehta said.
Arab Times
27-04-2025
- Business
- Arab Times
Blocking the bad, securing the good
KUWAIT CITY, April 27: While the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) set the monthly tariff and rental value for international transit circuits for internet services, it required all licensed telecommunications and internet companies to connect their networks to its internet and communications portal under its privacy protection standards. CITRA confirmed in a decision issued by acting Chairman Sheikh Athbi Jaber Al-Sabah, that through this decision, it can regulate and supervise the telecommunications sector, advance it, protect the interests of users, and ensure that licensed companies take all the necessary technical measures to block materials, websites, programs or other contents proven to have violated the laws of Kuwait, or anything which affects public order and public morals. The newspaper obtained a copy of the decision, stating that 'the monthly tariff for transit circuits in Kuwait for a 10G capacity circuit will be rented at KD458 and KD1,832 for a 100G capacity circuit.' The decision stipulates that if the commitment is for 15 years with one-time payment of the rental value, the 10G capacity will be rented at KD54,111 and KD216,446 for a 100G capacity circuit. On the other hand, Sheikh Athbi Jaber Al-Sabah also issued a decision regarding the tariff for international leased circuits for Internet services through international submarine and land cables and the interconnection tariff (retail sale). He said the rental value tariff will be KD133,848 for additional capacity subscriptions for international leased circuits for Internet services for a capacity of (10G) STM64; if a commitment is made for one year with a one-time payment of the rental value, while for the environmental connection, the capacity and duration will cost KD111,540 and this applies to additional subscriptions, not the existing ones. He revealed the decision states that the additional capacity subscriptions included in the tariff mentioned in this decision may be sold to end users, whether individuals or companies (retail sale). 'The decision prohibits selling them to companies licensed as Internet service providers or providers, following the Ministry of Communications' decision, the CITRA Law, and the regulations and decisions issued in this regard,' he said. The decision regulates the work between the Internet and the communications portal of CITRA and local telecommunications and Internet networks. It requires telecommunications and Internet companies and those licensed to manage, establish or operate a telecommunications network or Internet service to provide communications to the public and information or content providers to connect the network they use to the Internet and the communications portal of CITRA per the privacy protection standards set by the authority.
NBC Sports
15-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Celtics vs. Nets Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for March 15
It's Saturday, March 15, and the Boston Celtics (48-19) and Brooklyn Nets (22-44) are all set to square off from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Celtics are currently 25-7 on the road with a point differential of 9, while the Nets have a 5-5 record in their last ten games at home. Boston won both meetings by 4 and 25 points this season. This is the third of four meetings this year. Boston won six of the past seven games, including their previous outing against Miami by double-digits. Brooklyn is 1-9 over the last 10 games and coming off a six-point loss to Chicago. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts. Game details & how to watch Celtics vs. Nets live today Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025 Time: 6:00PM EST Site: Barclays Center City: Brooklyn, NY Network/Streaming: Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game. Game odds for Celtics vs. Nets The latest odds as of Saturday: Odds: Celtics (-602), Nets (+446) Spread: Celtics -11.5 Over/Under: 214 points That gives the Celtics an implied team point total of 111.93, and the Nets 105.95. Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports' Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more! Expert picks & predictions for Saturday's Celtics vs. Nets game 'These teams split ATS this season, while the Celtics are 2-0 on the ML, and I think this game goes in Boston's favor. The Celtics rested a handful of players against Miami and won that game by double-digits. I think they will have some of those guys back and can win this game by double-digits too before they meet again on Tuesday.' Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals. Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today's Celtics & Nets game: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Boston Celtics on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Brooklyn Nets at +11. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 214. Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today's calendar! Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Celtics vs. Nets on Saturday The Celtics have won 17 of their last 20 matchups against Eastern Conference Atlantic Division opponents The Over is 8-5 in the Celtics' matchups against Eastern Conference Atlantic Division teams this season The Nets have covered the spread in 4 of their last 5 home games against teams with winning records The Nets have covered the Spread in 7 of their 11 matchups against Eastern Conference Atlantic Division teams this season If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: - Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) - Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) - Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) - Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
Reuters
06-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
As US chip darlings struggle, some bet on software as next big AI play
March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. chip stocks were the biggest beneficiaries of last year's artificial intelligence investment craze, but they have stumbled so far this year, with investors moving their focus to software companies in search of the next best thing in the AI play. Tariff-driven volatility and a dimming demand outlook following the emergence of lower cost AI models from China's DeepSeek have shifted the spotlight away from semiconductor shares. Several analysts see software's rise as a longer-term evolution as attention shifts from the components of AI infrastructure. There has been a pretty clear rotation in part due to DeepSeek, the semiconductor outperformance last year and restrictions on U.S. chip exports to China, said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. "Investors are looking for the next three-to-five-year stories ... those companies that are going to benefit from what Nvidia has already done." The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX), opens new tab has dropped 5.6% this year, while industry heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab has slumped nearly 13%. In contrast, some software companies have rallied, with Atlassian (TEAM.O), opens new tab, CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD.O), opens new tab, Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O), opens new tab and Cognizant (CTSH.O), opens new tab up between 7% and 19%. Exchange-traded funds tracking software companies have also notched inflows. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has pulled in over $1.87 billion this year through February 28, according to Morningstar data, compared with more than $1 billion in outflows each for the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX.O), opens new tab and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH.O), opens new tab. The inflows to the IGV fund have already outpaced last year's total net inflows of $446 million, VettaFi data showed. The iShares and VanEck chip ETFs pulled in $2.46 billion and $6.55 billion, respectively, in 2024. The shift is a natural progression for AI investing as the use cases for the technology are primarily in software, said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. LPL, an investment advisory firm, favors software over chips. Morgan Stanley also favors software companies as adoption of AI tech increases. "The second stage of the innovation cycle is when people start utilizing products and that's when the software companies start getting paid ... we're now starting to see the ascendancy of the software part of the equation," said Keith Weiss, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley. The shift comes as investors question how much longer chips can maintain 2024's rate of growth, when many software companies underperformed. DeepSeek 's lower-priced chatbot highlighted how competition will drive down profits for direct-to-consumer AI products and enterprise software companies may find it easier to monetize new technology, said Brian Mulberry, portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, who has trimmed holdings of Nvidia since last June. Semiconductor stocks have also been affected by an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war. DIVERGENT TRENDS Analysts who spoke to Reuters named companies including Palantir (PLTR.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab and Salesforce (CRM.N), opens new tab as favored software plays. However, performance of these stocks has diverged sharply this year. Palantir, which sells AI software to companies, has rallied. Microsoft and Salesforce are down 4.9% and 12.6%, respectively, hit by a broader selloff in U.S. stocks and as AI returns have yet to meaningfully show up on corporate balance sheets. Morgan Stanley's Weiss said it could take until 2026 for those returns to benefit some companies. Valuations are still expensive, with Microsoft and Oracle trading around 27 and 23 times forward earnings, respectively, compared with Nvidia's 24.6, according to data compiled by LSEG. Still, some investors are willing to play the long game. "We don't need more Nvidia chips, we need applications," said Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
