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India Gazette
20-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Indian Banks are better prepared now to handle financial stress now: Fitch Ratings
New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): Indian banks have shown a marked improvement in their risk profile and asset quality, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings. The global rating agency noted that this progress has led to upgrades in the Viability Ratings (VRs) of several large Indian banks. Fitch said the recent VR upgrades reflect stronger underwriting standards, better loan diversification, improved asset quality, and stronger buffers to absorb losses. The upgrades signal that Indian banks are better prepared to handle financial stress than in the past. It said, 'The recent upgrades of Indian banks, Viability Ratings (VRs) reflect improved risk profile and asset quality'. In March 2025, Fitch upgraded the VRs of Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, and Bank of India. All three banks are rated at BBB-/Stable for Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and bb- for Viability Rating. In April 2025, Bank of Maharashtra and ICICI Bank Limited also saw their VRs upgraded. Bank of Maharashtra holds a BBB-/Stable IDR and a bb- VR, while ICICI Bank stands out with a BB+/Stable IDR and a bb+ VR--the highest among the nine large Indian banks rated by Fitch. Despite these improvements, the report expects the Issuer Default Ratings of these banks to remain unchanged. This is because these ratings are largely based on the expectation that the Indian government (rated BBB-/Stable) will provide extraordinary support if needed. Therefore, the improvement in banks' internal strength does not directly affect the IDRs. The report also pointed out that some banks, like Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank, continue to face constraints on their VRs due to high growth appetite and risks related to newly issued loans. However, if these banks can sustain their recent financial improvements, Fitch may consider upgrading their VRs as well. After the recent upgrades, all nine large Indian banks rated by Fitch now fall within the 'bb' category in terms of Viability Ratings. This indicated a moderate level of financial strength, with ICICI Bank leading the pack due to its better performance, lower risk appetite, and more stable track record. (ANI)
Engadget
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Spreadsheet puzzles, metatextual platformers and other new indie games worth checking out
Welcome to our first weekly roundup of indie game releases, news and trailers. It's impossible to cover the indie scene completely comprehensively — dozens of games hit Steam alone every single day. There are so many indies we'd love to highlight, but we don't have the time to cover each individually. Our goal is to shine a spotlight on the games that grab our attention each week, one way or another. (Feel free to email me about your projects too!) This time around, we've got a spreadsheet-based puzzler, a pirate hack-and-slash title that was first announced 22 years ago, two solo-developed games and more. Comedy puzzle game SpreadCheat has an early '90s/Windows 3.11 vibe and a Clippy-style assistant that definitely won't get annoying. Along with trying to Excel (I'm so sorry) at bending the rules of spreadsheets to solve brainteasers, you can venture into side quests like cleaning up viruses. I'm not sure I'll try this one myself, as math has no place in my video games (except for you, Balatro , you're cool), but the concept is intriguing. SpreadCheat is out now on Steam. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. From solo developer Andrea Cavuoto, Spear sounds a little like the movie Free Guy in that it's up to a non-player character to save the day. After a critical error deletes the hero of his game and threatens the existence of his reality, an NPC named Default has to step up. Default uses a makeshift spear to solve puzzles, battle foes and traverse the environment in this action-platformer. Spear is out now on Steam. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Captain Blood is very much a throwback. It's a hack-and-slash game that looks straight out of the PS2 era (albeit with more refined visuals). Perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise, since the game was first announced in 2003. In fact, the original pitch was to make an old-school God of War, but with pirates. After several reboots, the game was canceled when the original publisher went bust. Legal issues prevented the developers from releasing the game themselves. SNEG later secured the rights to Captain Blood and over two decades since it was revealed, the game has formally been released. It's had mixed reviews, but I'd like to check it out all the same. That title is pretty great too. Captain Blood is out now on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC and macOS. We covered this one a few weeks ago, but here's a quick reminder that Geoguessr is now on Steam in early access. The Steam version was supposed to arrive in April, but it landed on May 8 instead. Nevertheless, it should now be easier for you to play the geography guessing game on Steam Deck. Elsewhere, Among Us 3D is out, while the super-charming Little Kitty, Big City has made its way to PS4 and PS5. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Another game from a solo developer, Zefyr: A Thief's Melody looks like a blend of The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker , '90s Final Fantasy and one of my favorite games of the last few years, Tchia . Mathias Fontmarty says it took 12 years to make this stealth adventure. Who wouldn't want to explore a world on the back of a giant turtle? Zefyr will hit Steam on June 2. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. It's always worth keeping an eye on whatever Devolver Digital is up to and this past week, the publisher revealed Botsu . It feels like another spin on Fall Guys , albeit with voxel-based robots. Botsu , which is from developer Peculiar Pixels, is slated to arrive between July and September. A Steam demo is available now. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. However you slice it, virtual reality is still a relatively niche market, so it's always welcome to see games make the transition from VR to 2D formats (still side-eyeing you, Half-Life: Alyx ) and perhaps find a wider audience. Survios is (Xeno)morphing Alien: Rogue Incursion into a PS5 and PC game. The studio says the flattened version, Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition, will have full HD, 60 fps gameplay. It's set to arrive on September 30.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
From the suburbs to the stage: 2 of this year's Juno nominees for best country album are rooted in B.C.
About five years ago, Tyler Joe Miller says he was "swinging a hammer," working as a carpenter and house painter, and just starting to break into the Canadian country music scene. On Christmas Day 2019, he released his first single, Pillow Talkin', and his first EP came out the following year later. Miller has since been nominated for several Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs), including Songwriter of the Year in 2023. Now, he's nominated for Country Album of the Year for his latest EP, Going Home, at the 2025 Juno Awards. "This stuff is crazy," he told Gloria Macarenko, the host of CBC's On The Coast. "It still blows my mind that this is something that I get to do for a living." WATCH | Tyler Joe Miller's What Good Is a Memory: Miller is on the shortlist with Alberta stars Brett Kissel and MacKenzie Porter, Ontario's Josh Ross — who is up for five awards this year — and fellow British Columbian Dallas Smith. While Miller grew up in Surrey, he and Smith both put down roots in Langley, B.C. — a community outside the hustle and bustle of Vancouver, where country-loving souls can enjoy the rural surroundings and, in Miller's case, raise some chickens. "[There's] something in the water," Smith told Stephen Quinn, the host of The Early Edition. "I mean, the city's motto was where city meets country, right?" His self-titled album, released in late 2023, is a Juno contender this spring and was already nominated for Album of the Year at the 2024 CCMAs. Smith hasn't always been a country king; in fact, his career started in 1999 as the frontman for Default, a Canadian rock group that released four albums over eight years and won a Juno for Best New Group in 2002. But he said he's always loved country music. "I'm a big believer in a good song is a good song." WATCH | Dallas Smith's How Do You Miss Me: Smith recently played the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., a dream for any country musician. "It was incredible," he said. "To actually get the invite from the Opry … it's quite an amazing, humbling experience." Miller spent some time in Nashville himself recently, writing new songs and shooting a music video. Upon his arrival home, he went to Aldergrove to pick up some chicks — baby chickens, that is. "We moved to a property here [and] it had like a kind of an old chicken coop that needed some fixing up, so I spent the last little bit fixing her up, and we're putting the run in pretty soon here," Miller said. "We're kind of learning how to take care of chickens now, I guess." Now, the two Langley-based artists will face off on Sunday at the 2025 Juno Awards, where they're up against some stiff competition. "I'll just take an Uber down," Smith said with a laugh. "I'm looking forward to it. I mean, the Junos aren't here very often, so I'm going to enjoy that and enjoy it being in my backyard."
