Latest news with #Baweja
India Today
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Harman Baweja: Taking the helm
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated May 12, 2025)Nine years back, with his acting career in doldrums and his father Harry Baweja having suffered a stroke, Harman Baweja found himself facing a choice which was both a challenge and an opportunity—step up and take the reins of the family-run film studio. In 2025, he is finally reaping the fruits of it as the marital drama Mrs., featuring Sanya Malhotra, produced and co-written by Baweja, became a streaming sensation, amassing 500 million views since its release in February, as per ZEE5. Validation has come his way, as has the expectation to deliver another sleeper has the pandemic to thank for his career-defining moment. 'I'd be writing 12 hours a day, and at one point my sister would be like 'who are you writing all this for?' A lot of what we are producing now comes from stories and ideas written in that spell,' he says. It's also when he realised the studio needed to veer into a different, new direction, one adapted to the fast-evolving industry. Says Baweja, 'We constantly talk about big and small films when, in fact, it's the film's budget that's big or small. What we should be focusing on is, 'Is my story big enough?' We need to do everything to support that and push the envelope.'Baweja has just wrapped up a discussion with four writers, which, in industry parlance, is now referred to as a writers' room. 'It was called a writing session back in the day. What has now become methodology was instinctive for the earlier generation,' he says. Baweja is familiar with it because he began his cinematic journey shadowing his father after having studied and subsequently dropping out of both UCLA and the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in the US. Six months shy of 21, he had already produced his first film, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai, which marked the directorial debut of Hansal Mehta. Incidentally, it was Mehta who'd bring Baweja back in the public imagination by casting him as a top cop in Scoop (Netflix).advertisement Acting, with which he has had a less-hit-more-miss affair, isn't his priority for the moment. 'It has to be something that's just wow, fun and unique and doesn't take too much of my time,' he says. Instead, he's more content playing a behind-the-scenes role, writing, developing a gamut of films from his two offices in Andheri, and being a family man by spending time with his two kids. The aim, he adds, as a producer is to hit 'the sweet spot', marrying commercial sensibilities with creative the 2025 slate is a rom-com, Dil Ka Darwaza Khol Na Darling, featuring Jaya Bachchan, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Wamiqa Gabbi; and Nouva Noor, a prequel to the animated Punjabi film Chaar Sahibzaade. Also going into production soon is an Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari-directed feature with Sonakshi Sinha and Jyotika. Now, the question is not if but when he steps into the director's chair. 'Not too far,' he quickly says. 'I have my two stories ready. Whenever I am up for it, I will jump into it.'Subscribe to India Today Magazine
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tariff pause takes away bad outcomes — but this UBS strategist says investors should still sell rallies.
Strategists and advisers have been at pains to convey the message that financial markets aren't out of the woods after President Trump's rally-inducing tariff pause on Wednesday. Thursday's stock futures action suggests the same, with the Dow industrials down sharply in early action. Our call of the day from UBS's top strategist Bhanu Baweja, advises investors to sell any rallies until more is known about what tariffs will do to growth, saying it's 'always possible' that the S&P 500 SPX could slip below 5,000. Investors are shunning America. This wealth management giant says, actually, U.S. stocks are attractive. 'This is not in my tolerance level': I inherited a $600K portfolio from my father. Should I move it all into bonds? 'Are we out of our minds?' My husband and I are in our 70s. Should we use $600K of our savings to buy our dream home? Punishing bond-market selloff likely forced Trump's 90-day tariff delay: former J.P. Morgan chief strategist Stock-market extremes are the norm now. 'The key is to not get emotional.' The stock market is not exactly stuck, because it will likely see support from commodity trading advisors, who follow systemic trading strategies and will probably start buying as volatility dips, while exchange-traded flows will also provide some support, Baweja told MarketWatch. 'So people have been buying the dip all the time and I would expect that will continue as well,' he said, but added that the bank's 6,400 year-end target for the S&P 500 SPX is under review. In a note to clients that published on Thursday, the strategist explained how Trump's tariff pause caused a hefty thinning of so-called left tail risk, that is, the result of unpredictable and extreme events that can lead to market crashes and significant losses for investors. 'The administration rapidly changed its mind before a bear market was established and before any funding problems could emerge and create secondary feedback loops,' Baweja wrote. But even those reduced tariffs are going to 'imply a serious hit to growth We expect negative earnings, revisions to continue and create a headwind for the market. We don't expect the highs to be tested and would recommend selling rallies until we learn more,' he said. The strategist is arguing that the stock selloff prior to Wednesday's rally wasn't properly 'pricing in the economic hit' from last week's tariff announcements. He said consensus was calling for S&P 500 earnings growth of 11.2% in 2025 and 12.4% for the next 12 months, but argued that's inconsistent with a recession and collapse in domestic demand tariffs would have caused. 'The growth hit is still substantial and it's not priced in,' he said. Assuming just 10% universal tariffs and 50% on China, domestic demand hits could be big enough to bring earnings growth to low single digits or flat, repeating a warning he gave a couple of days ago. Investors will get the first clues on tariff pain when big Wall Street firms such as BlackRock BLK and JPMorgan JPM kick off earnings season on Friday. The strategist is also not sure the Fed could ride to the rescue of a growth fallout. After messaging problems in 2022, he said the Fed is likely to 'err on the side of being reactive rather than proactive.' That's as the 90-day reprieve on tariffs is no guarantee they won't be raised again. 'We expect uncertainty to negatively impact economic activity,' he says. Baweja told MarketWatch that the bank is not abandoning stocks altogether and is 'buying all the defensive sectors.' Those include interest-rate sectors such as utilities, REITS and 'some parts of consumer staples or consumer discretionary that we are comfortable with.' Outside of stocks, he said they're buying bonds, 'particularly the belly of the interest rate curve,' like the three-to-five year sector, though he thinks it's too early to buy credit. They are also buyers of gold GC00. 'Oil has seen a significant fall, but we are very happy to buy gold. We've been enamored with gold for the better part of the last few years, and we continue to like it,' the strategist said. Read: The stock market may be soaring, but here's where the sellers are likely waiting U.S. stocks DJIA SPX COMP are lower in early trading, shrugging off softer CPI data, while the 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y BX:TMUBMUSD02Y is inching higher. Gold GC00 is above $3,140. Key asset performance Last 5d 1m YTD 1y S&P 500 5456.9 -3.77% -2.54% -7.22% 5.74% Nasdaq Composite 17,124.97 -2.70% -2.97% -11.32% 5.90% 10-year Treasury 4.294 26.10 2.10 -28.20 -30.10 Gold 3131.9 -1.83% 6.40% 18.66% 33.14% Oil 61.8 -12.61% -8.70% -14.01% -28.35% Data: MarketWatch. Treasury yields change expressed in basis points Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern. Consumer prices fell for the first time since the pandemic in March. Weekly jobless claims came in below expectations at 223,000. The monthly federal budget is due later in the day. U.S. Steel's stock X is down 11% after Trump spoke out against the takeover bid from Japan's Nippon Steel JP:5401. Constellation Brands stock STZ is tumbling on a disappointing forecast as the beer and winemaker says it's looking to save money. CarMax KMX stock is dropping after the used-car retailer posted disappointing results. Amazon AMZN CEO Andy Jassy's annual letter to shareholders discussed the high cost of AI chips. Reports say the company has canceled orders for multiple products from vendors in China and other Asian countries. And Dell DELL has cut or trimmed laptop discounts amid tariff tensions. China's leaders are expected to meet Thursday to discuss economic stimulus to combat U.S. tariffs. Read: Here's Ray Dalio's advice on how Trump can reach a trade deal with China A whole crop of Fed speakers is ahead, kicking off with Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan at 9:30 a.m Trump wants dozens of new trade deals. Can Washington's trade machine handle the load? 'WTF, who's in charge?' Horsford berates U.S. trade rep as Trump makes tariff announcement' As U.S. buyers cancel orders, Chinese factories say no more discounts. Vanda Research has created a Retail Capitulation Index (RCI) to illustrate, since 2020, when investors have caved to market stress and stopped buying stocks. That's as they note record-buying dip-buying from those investors since 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements just over a week ago. They determined that true, broad-based retail capitulation has happened only when the RCI crosses above the 70th percentile threshold. Their takeaway: 'Even prior to Trump's tariff U-turn, retail investors remained well short of capitulating. The glass-half-empty interpretation is that if this rally turns out to be a mere bear market bounce, the risk of further downside remains on the cards.' Also read: Retail investors started to favor S&P 500 put options. Then the market surged. These were the most active tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.: Ticker Security NVDA Nvidia TSLA Tesla GME GameStop AAPL Apple TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing INFY Infosys AMZN Amazon PLTR Palantir Technologies AMD Advanced Micro Devices NIO NIO No tariffs for nuclear warheads. How the 'worst baseball game of all time' turned out. Trader Joe's mini tote bags are back, get in line. For more market updates plus actionable trade ideas for stocks, options and crypto, . Bond-market chaos is fueling concerns about a crisis. Here's what you need to know. Investors show up for 30-year Treasury bond auction despite tariff-driven volatility Treasury yields are surging despite market chaos. This isn't normal — and it worries Wall Street. 'She has been telling him lies': My sister convinced my father to sign everything over to her. What can I do? 'I'm stuck': I'm a single mom with a 6-year-old child. What can I do to earn money fast? Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UBS Strategist Warns S&P 500 Could Drop 8% as Consumers Weaken
March 25 Bhanu Baweja, chief strategist at UBS (UBS, Financial) Investment Bank, warns that the S&P 500 might drop another 8% as U.S. consumers show signs of fatigue. He points to weakening consumer sentiment that will pressure risky assets. Indicators such as employment expectations, spending outlook, and consumer confidence signal growing risks ahead. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with UBS. Baweja expects the S&P 500 to fall to around 5,300 points as analysts cut profit estimates for the next three to four months. Even though the S&P 500 recently bounced to a two-week high, concerns loom over the economic fallout from U.S. tariffs set to kick in on April 2. U.S. equity futures trade weaker in premarket on Tuesday as investors remain cautious amid President Trump's unpredictable trade policy and unclear exemptions. Bajwa said that the slowing U.S. economy, once brushed off as a joke, now feels real. He links this slowdown to reduced immigration and a lack of extra fiscal stimulus. Analysts trim their earnings forecasts for the S&P 500 in 2025 from 12.5% to 9.5% growth. This forecast shows fragility and warns of volatility. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UBS Top Strategist Sees Consumer Slowdown Hitting the S&P 500
(Bloomberg) -- The chief strategist at UBS Investment Bank said the 'visibly tiring' US consumer is set to further pressure stock prices, setting the stage for another 8% slump in the S&P 500. They Built a Secret Apartment in a Mall. Now the Mall Is Dying. Why Did the Government Declare War on My Adorable Tiny Truck? Chicago Transit Faces 'Doomsday Scenario,' Regional Agency Says LA Faces $1 Billion Budget Hole, Warns of Thousands of Layoffs Libraries Warn They Could Be 'Cut off at the Knees' by DOGE Bhanu Baweja said indicators such as employment expectations, spending outlook and consumer confidence are all flashing warning signs. He expects the S&P 500 to drop as low as 5,300 points as analysts cut profit estimates for the next three to four months. While the S&P 500 has bounced back to a two-week high in recent days, there's still plenty of concern about the economic impact of sweeping US tariffs that are planned for April 2. US equity futures dipped on Tuesday with investors wary about President Donald Trump's erratic trade policy and confusing exemptions. 'If you said to someone three months back that the US economy is going to slow down, you would have got laughed out of the room,' Baweja said in an interview from London. 'Now all of a sudden the lack of immigration and the lack of incremental fiscal love is manifesting in the data.' Some market forecasters at firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISI have said the worst of the downturn was likely behind them, citing metrics from investor sentiment and positioning to favorable seasonality. Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to rise 9.5% in 2025, compared with 12.5% projected at the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. UBS's Baweja said estimates are likely to be reduced further. Bullish Bonds He also said he has a more positive view on bonds than in the past, since the slowing economy is tempering any inflationary fears. Baweja said two-year US Treasuries are more attractive than 10-year ones since the former is more likely to benefit from interest rate cuts. In his view, the long-end may lag because of shrinking foreign demand for US government debt. 'I'm not saying the 10-year blows up — you don't have a Liz Truss moment — but it is bad enough that even as the Fed is cutting in the front end, the long end lags, so your cost of equity doesn't decline,' he said. 'That's going to be a drag on earnings.' --With assistance from Sagarika Jaisinghani. Google Is Searching for an Answer to ChatGPT The Richest Americans Kept the Economy Booming. What Happens When They Stop Spending? A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World How TD Became America's Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers Tesla's Gamble on MAGA Customers Won't Work ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fortune Fried Chicken: Gunpowder founder to launch Thai gai tod restaurant
On May 2, Gunpowder and Empire, Empire founder Harneet Baweja will open a Thai fried chicken restaurant in Spitalfields Market, called Fortune Fried Chicken. Its branding, a splash of bright blue, yellow and red, is meant to mimic the street vendors of Bangkok, Baweja says. Heading the kitchen will be Jane Alty, best known for being the co-founder of Peckham's longstanding Thai favourite the Begging Bowl. Fortune will be her first project since she left the Peckham restaurant last year. Alty had previously cooked at Bibendum, Racine and David Thompson's Nahm. The restaurant, which will be for walk-ins only, will offer takeaway as well as dine-in service. Thai fried chicken, which originates from Bangkok, differs from other battered chicken owing to its preparation. The chicken is marinated overnight in a blend of soy, fish sauce, garlic and coriander, and then is lightly coated with rice flour. From there, it is deep-fried slowly, and is known for its delicate, crisp skin. In Fortune, guests will watch the chicken be prepared in front of them, on traditional tamarind wood chopping boards, and will be offered the choice to have the meat hand-pulled off the bone or not. It will then be topped with golden garlic and served with sticky rice and a fresh som tam papaya salad. Besides the fried chicken, the restaurant will also offer a chicken burger with tamarind sesame glaze, spicy green papaya salad and mayo, which will be served in a soft potato bun. Five hundred of these will be given away free during the restaurant's soft launch on April 30, which will be followed by 50 per cent off the menu on May 1. Baweja said of the new project: 'Every time I visit Bangkok, my first stop is always for Thai fried chicken. Each vendor has their own take on it and I've spent years searching for the perfect version. 'After months in the test kitchen, we've perfected our recipe and Spitalfields Market feels like the perfect location to bring it to life.' Fortune Fried Chicken will open for soft launch on April 30, opening fully on May 2, in Spitalfields Market, E1 6AA. For more information, follow @fortunefriedchicken
