Business
India opposes China-led IFD pact’s inclusion; flags risks to WTO framework and core principles – The Times of India
India on Saturday said it has strongly opposed the China-led Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement being incorporated into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework, flagging concerns over its systemic implications, PTI reported.The issue was raised at the ongoing 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the WTO in Yaounde, Cameroon, where Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said such a move could weaken the institution’s foundational structure.“Incorporation of the IFD agreement risks eroding the functional limits of the WTO and undermining its foundational principles,” Goyal said in a social media post.“At #WTOMC14, drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi ji’s philosophy of Truth prevailing over conformity, India showed the courage to stand alone on the contentious issue of the IFD Agreement and did not agree to its incorporation into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 Agreement,” he said.Annex 4 of the WTO Agreement contains Plurilateral Trade Agreements that are binding only on members that have accepted them, unlike multilateral agreements which apply to all members.Goyal said that as part of WTO reform discussions, members are deliberating on guardrails and legal safeguards for plurilateral agreements before integrating any such outcomes into the framework.“In view of the systemic issue at hand, India showed openness to have good faith, comprehensive discussions and constructive engagement under the WTO Reform Agenda,” he added.India had also opposed the pact during the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi.The Investment Facilitation for Development proposal was first mooted in 2017 by China and a group of countries that rely significantly on Chinese investments, including those with sovereign wealth funds. The agreement, if adopted, would be binding only on signatory members.
Business
Middle East crisis: Jubilant FoodWorks reports some Domino’s outlets affected by LPG shortage – The Times of India
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd (JFL), which operates Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin Donuts in India, has reported constraints in LPG cylinder supplies across parts of its store network due to the ongoing West Asia war, according to ET.In a filing to the BSE, the company said, “Operational impact at this stage is limited and being actively managed. The company is taking several steps to conserve LPG and working overtime to move to alternate energy sources like electricity and piped natural gas (PNG).”It added that it is in continuous touch with oil marketing companies to track developments and respond to the evolving situation. “The company is in constant engagement with oil marketing companies (OMCs) to remain apprised of the latest developments and plan operational responses accordingly, given the rapidly evolving nature of the situation,” the filing said.The company noted that it is closely monitoring the situation as supply disruptions persist.The impact is being felt across the restaurant industry, with several chains facing similar challenges due to LPG shortages.On March 10, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) had advised its five lakh members to consider shorter operating hours, reduce items requiring long cooking times or deep frying, and adopt fuel-saving measures such as using lids while cooking, in view of supply constraints linked to the Gulf war.
Business
Russia sells reserve gold for first time in 25 years to fund Ukraine war deficit: Report – The Times of India
Russia has begun selling physical gold from its central bank reserves for the first time in 25 years, as the government seeks to plug a widening budget deficit driven by sustained military expenditure, according to a report by Berlin-based news outlet bne IntelliNews.Regulatory data show that between 2022 and 2025, Russia sold gold and foreign currency worth over RUB 15 trillion ($150 billion), followed by an additional RUB 3.5 trillion ($35 billion) in just the first two months of 2026, the report noted. In January alone, the Central Bank of Russia sold 300,000 ounces of gold, followed by another 200,000 ounces in February.The move marks a significant shift in reserve management. Earlier, gold transactions were largely notional, involving transfers between the Ministry of Finance and the central bank without physical movement of bullion. In recent months, however, the central bank has started selling actual gold bars into the market.As a result, Russia’s gold holdings have declined to 74.3 million ounces, the lowest level in four years. The disposal of 14 tonnes in January and February is the largest two-month sale since the second quarter of 2002, when 58 tonnes were offloaded in a single tranche.The sales come as Russia’s fiscal position comes under increasing strain. The government ended 2025 with a budget deficit of 2.6 per cent of GDP, compared to an initial projection of 0.5 per cent, Berlin-based bne IntelliNews report noted. Economists estimate the actual deficit could be closer to 3.4 per cent, with some payments deferred to 2026 to limit the reported gap.Pressure on the budget has intensified as oil prices weakened in the second half of the year and US sanctions tightened, reducing the contribution of oil and gas tax revenues to about 20 per cent of total revenues — roughly half of pre-war levels.The decision to sell gold has also been influenced by the sharp rise in bullion prices to above $5,000 per ounce. This surge has pushed Russia’s international reserves to over $809 billion as of February 28, including around $300 billion of assets frozen in the West, according to the Central Bank of Russia. Of this, gold reserves alone are valued at about $384 billion.Russia currently holds more than 2,000 tonnes of gold, making it the world’s fifth-largest sovereign holder, according to World Gold Council data. The country had built up these reserves over the years to reduce dependence on dollar-denominated assets, especially after sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and further tightened after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Since 2022, the Ministry of Finance has relied on multiple funding channels to manage budget pressures. These include drawing from the National Welfare Fund, which still holds around RUB 4 trillion, increasing issuance of domestic OFZ treasury bonds, and raising value-added tax rates, which account for about 40 per cent of government revenues.The shift to selling physical gold suggests that Russia is now tapping its liquid reserve buffers more directly, underlining the growing fiscal strain as the conflict in Ukraine continues into its fourth year.
Business
Pricy airfare, airport chaos test travelers’ willingness to fly this year
Travelers wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images
TOKYO/NEW YORK — Genevieve Price considers herself a great flight hacker.
The 35-year-old naturopathic doctor based in San Diego usually buys basic economy tickets when she visits her family in New Jersey and then uses her Alaska Airlines frequent flier status to pick a seat, something that’s usually not allowed for those no-frills fares.
“I like to travel a lot,” Price told CNBC at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, where she was returning from Rome.
But Price said she has her limits, and is planning to cap the spending she does on future flights, such as no more than $900 to Rome, where her partner is from.
Consumers’ willingness to fly is being put to the test this spring as soaring fuel prices are leading to higher airfares. Cathay Pacific, SAS, Finnair and others are among the carriers that have already raised fares.
Travelers also have to contend with hourslong airport security lines in the U.S. because of the second government shutdown in half a year that’s hitting the Transportation Security Administration, leaving many frustrated.
Fuel and fares
Fuel at major U.S. airports was going for $3.98 on Wednesday, up nearly 60% since before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
The conflict has meant crisis for the aviation industry, particularly in the Middle East, where airspace closures have forced carriers to cancel flights and take longer and costlier routes.
Airlines will brief investors starting early next month on the longer-term impacts, but they immediately started raising airfare or increasing fuel surcharges on tickets to help cover the rising costs.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told reporters at a company event in Los Angeles this week that airfare could go up 20% this year. Customers appear willing to keep booking even though carriers are passing those high fuel costs along to travelers, he added.
Other airlines have also said demand has held up.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told a JPMorgan industry conference earlier this month that demand has remained strong in recent weeks and that the airline is “well-positioned” to recapture the spike in fuel from its own sales.
U.S. airlines have seen solid demand for years. International travel has been a strong point, particularly for high-end leisure travel, which has brought so many visitors that governments from Japan to Spain have taken steps to reduce overtourism, while locals have protested.
But airline executives said they will prune flights if demand falls.
“We’re certainly going to be nimble in terms of capacity to make sure that supply and demand stay in balance,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said at the JPMorgan conference.
United, for its part, is preparing for fuel prices to remain elevated through next year and is cutting about 3 percentage points off of its capacity in off-peak travel times, like midweek and redeye flights, Kirby told employees this month.
Fares up
Some of the higher fares are already here.
Fares for flights across the Atlantic from the U.S. were going for $1,059, with three weeks advanced purchase, up 26.5% from the prior week, according to a Deutche Bank note on Monday.
Domestic routes, including transcontinental flights and flights to and from Hawaii, were also up, the report said.
Mary Jean Erschen-Cooke, a nurse from Cuba City, Wisconsin, who was setting out earlier this month from Tokyo on a 10-day trip through Japan with her husband, Paul, said she has a host of domestic U.S. family trips this year.
“We haven’t booked our flights, but we should,” she said, adding that she and her husband would consider driving for one of them. She noted that gasoline prices are also up, which will affect driving.
Security snarls
The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Along with higher airfare, travelers are facing challenges at airports this spring.
TSA officers have been working without regular pay since Feb. 14 because of an impasse in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Nearly 500 TSA officers have quit, according to DHS and elevated call-outs have left airports short-staffed.
That’s led to long security lines at major airports around the U.S., including in Houston, New York, and Atlanta. Wait times have exceeded three hours in some locations — longer than some of the flights those airports offered — as lines have snaked through terminals and outside of airports.
Elizabeth Leddy, a 38-year-old classical pianist based in New York, said she flies several times a year. The long security lines, which were running nearly 90 minutes at LaGuardia Airport for TSA PreCheck flyers on Friday, could be a deterrent for her doing that in the future.
Leddy said that if the security line was three to four hours long, “I feel like I could just drive.”
DHS has blamed Democrats for the closure, which has become the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history. As of Friday afternoon, the Senate had passed a potential deal to end the shutdown, thought its fate was unclear.
President Donald Trump separately said he would sign an order to get the more than 50,000 TSA officers paid. TSA officers will start getting paychecks as early as Monday, DHS said Friday.
The Trump administration this week sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to several U.S. airports, though DHS hasn’t specified what their duties are. ICE officers, who also sit under the DHS umbrella, are still getting paid during the partial shutdown.
ICE officers were seen at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Friday morning watching security lines.
“Even if this manages to slightly reduce wait times (we’re still reading about terrible wait times, so we’re far from big improvement), ICE presence could cause some individuals to fear traveling and upset TSA workers not getting paid,” Bernstein said in a note on Thursday. “Seems possible passenger throughput softens over the coming days and TSA screening YoY growth for this week turns slightly negative.”
-
Business1 week agoFlipkart group CFO to leave co amid IPO plans – The Times of India
-
Fashion1 week agoChina’s textile & apparel exports surge 17% to $50 bn in Jan-Feb 2026
-
Sports1 week agoRating Adidas’ 2026 World Cup away shirts: Argentina, Spain, Mexico and more
-
Sports1 week agoAmerican Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti thanks Trump for Army-Navy game executive order
-
Tech1 week ago
The Corsair 4000D RS PC Case Keeps Your System Cool
-
Tech1 week agoGamers Hate Nvidia’s DLSS 5. Developers Aren’t Crazy About It, Either
-
Business4 days agoProperty Play: Home flippers see smallest profits since the Great Recession, real estate data firm says
-
Business1 week ago‘Marriage penalty’ in Washington state’s new millionaire tax stirs debate
