Business
AI firm Anthropic valued at $183bn after $13bn raise – The Times of India
Anthropic has closed a deal to raise $13 billion from investors in a new funding round that nearly triples its valuation to $183 billion, including dollars raised – a larger-than-expected haul that makes the AI company one of the most valuable startups in the world. The financing, one of the largest to date for an AI company, was led by investment firm Iconiq Capital alongside co-leads Fidelity Management and Research and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Other participants in the round included Singapore’s GIC, Insight Partners, and Qatar Investment Authority.
MUMBAI: Uncertain political and economic environment, combined with weakness of the dollar and rising industrial demand for silver pushed gold and silver prices to record levels on Tuesday, both in the international and domestic markets.Gold broke above the Rs 1.5 lakh/10gm mark for the first time while silver traded above the Rs 3 lakh/kg mark, both all-time highs in domestic markets. In global markets, on New York Commodity exchange, gold breached the $4,700/ounce (Oz) mark for the first time while silver neared the $100/Oz mark as it traded above the $95 level.“Bullion prices are being driven purely by US President Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland,” said Avinash Gupta, vice-chairman of All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the announcement of a new Fed chief could come as early as next week. “If that happens, interest rates may fall, fuelling a further surge in gold and silver prices,” Gupta said.
Business
EU-India On Verge Of Historic Trade Pact: Why The Pact Is Called ‘Mother Of All Deals’, How It Will Transform Global Economy
EU-India Trade Deal: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said negotiators had made substantial progress, with only final steps remaining before both sides can seal what she described as a potentially historic agreement.
The European Union (EU) and India are moving closer to finalising a free trade agreement, which could rank among the largest economic pacts ever attempted, hinted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
Her statements pointed to a deal, which has been years in the making and now appears to be approaching a decisive phase. “There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement. Some call it the mother of all deals, one that would create a market of 2 billion people, accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP,” she said, as describing the EU’s push to diversify trade ties and reduce strategic vulnerabilities.
Why This Agreement Carries Global Weight
The proposed pact carries a scale that few trade agreements can match. A formal economic bridge between one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and a bloc that is central to global commerce would change supply chains at a moment when countries are re-evaluating how and where they trade.
For Brussels, India has emerged as a key partner in its effort to reduce dependence on China and broaden engagement with economies seen as reliable and long term. For New Delhi, access to the EU’s 27-member market, its second-largest trading partner, would support export growth and strengthen India’s push to climb higher in global manufacturing and services.
Talks Back In Fast Lane
Discussions on an India-EU free trade agreement began in 2007 and then lost momentum for almost a decade. The discussions were revived in 2022, backed by fresh political commitment on both sides. Since then, negotiations have advanced along with the India-EU Trade and Technology Council, a forum established to align cooperation on critical technologies, digital rules and supply-chain resilience.
This parallel engagement has helped narrow regulatory differences and expanded the scope of talks beyond tariffs, giving negotiators room to address newer economic realities.
Why The Deal Is Moving Fast
Geopolitical developments are adding urgency. The EU is moving to diversify away from concentrated dependencies, and India is positioning itself as a central player in redesigned global supply networks.
Trade numbers highlight the momentum. Goods trade reached 124 billion euro in 2023, and services trade, led largely by digital and IT services, is estimated at 60 billion euro. Officials on both sides believe a comprehensive agreement could unlock far greater potential, especially in clean energy, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and digital services.
Issues Still On The Table
Optimism from Davos has not erased the remaining challenges. European negotiators continue to seek tariff reductions on automobiles, wines and spirits, sectors India has traditionally protected to shield domestic industries.
India is pressing for improved conditions for the movement of skilled professionals, an issue that is sensitive within the EU because visa and mobility policies differ across member states.
Sustainability standards, access to public procurement and regulatory alignment are also under discussion. These issues are politically sensitive; and therefore, von der Leyen stressed that “there is still work to do”.
Her visit to India early next week is expected to be crucial. Diplomats view the trip as a chance to settle the most difficult questions at the political level and provide clear direction to negotiators. The timing is important, coming ahead of a planned India-EU leaders’ meeting later this month, where both sides aim to show tangible progress and possibly point to a breakthrough.
Why The Deal Matters
A final agreement would stand among the EU’s most consequential trade achievements in recent years and strengthen India’s integration into global supply chains.
It would strengthen flows of goods, services and investment, offer more predictable market access, expand cooperation on technology and standards and send a strong signal of strategic alignment at a time when global trade is being changed.
A combined market representing nearly a quarter of global GDP would immediately place the EU-India pact among the most influential trade agreements in the world, with ripple effects far beyond Europe and South Asia.
Jonathan Josephs,Business reporterand
Nick Edser,Business reporter
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe European Parliament is planning to suspend approval of the US tariffs deal agreed in July, according to sources close to its international trade committee.
The suspension is set to be announced in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday.
The move would mark another escalation in tensions between the US and Europe, as Donald Trump ratchets up his efforts to acquire Greenland, threatening new tariffs over the issue on the weekend.
The stand-off has rattled financial markets, reviving talk of a trade war and the possibility of retaliation against the US for its trade measures.
Shares on both sides of the Atlantic were lower on Tuesday, with European stock markets seeing a second day of losses. In the US, the Dow Jones was down 1.3% in midday trading, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.5% and the Nasdaq was 1.7% lower.
On the currency markets, the US dollar also fell sharply. The euro climbed 0.7% against the dollar to $1.1731 while the pound rose by 0.2% to $1.346.
Borrowing costs also rippled higher around the world, as the biggest sell-off of long-term government debt in months drove up yields on 30-year bonds in markets including the US, UK and Germany.
Trade tensions between the US and Europe had eased since the two sides struck a deal at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.
That agreement set US levies on European goods at 15%, down from the 30% Trump had initially threatened as part of his “Liberation Day” wave of tariffs in April. In exchange, Europe had agreed to invest in the US and make changes at on the continent expected to boost US exports.
The deal still needs approval from the European Parliament to become official.
But on Saturday, within hours of Trump’s threat of US tariffs over Greenland, Manfred Weber, an influential German member of European Parliament, said “approval is not possible at this stage”.
The EU had put on hold plans to retaliate against the US tariffs with its own package targeting €93bn ($109bn, £81bn) worth of American goods while the two sides finalised the details.
But that reprieve ends on 6 February, meaning EU levies will come into force on 7 February unless the bloc moves for an extension or approves the new deal.
French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron was among those urging the EU to consider its retaliatory options, including the anti-coercion instrument, nicknamed a “trade bazooka”.
Washington’s “endless accumulation” of new tariffs is “fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty,” he said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
American response
Also speaking in Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated his warning to European leaders against retaliation, urging them to “have an open mind”.
“I tell everyone, sit back. Take a deep breath. Do not retaliate. The president will be here tomorrow, and he will get his message across,” he said.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned that the US would not let retaliation go without response.
“What I’ve found is that when countries follow my advice, they tend to do okay. When they don’t, crazy things happen,” Greer said, in remarks reported by the Agence France-Presse.
The US has previously expressed impatience with European progress toward approval of the deal amid ongoing disagreements over tech and metals tariffs.
The US and the 27-nation European Union are each others’ single biggest trade partners, with more than €1.6tn ($1.9tn, £1.4tn) in goods and services exchanged in 2024, according to European figures. That represents nearly a third of all global trade.
When Trump started announcing tariffs last year, it prompted threats of retaliation from many political leaders, including in Europe.
In the end, however, many, opted to negotiate instead.
Only China and Canada stuck by their threats to hit American goods with tariffs, with Canada quietly withdrawing most of those measures in September, concerned they were damaging the Canadian economy.
In a speech in Davos on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged “middle powers” to unite to push back against the might-makes-right world of great power rivalry that he warned was emerging.
“When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating,” he warned. “This is not sovereignty. It is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination.”
Looming in the background of the trade tensions is a pending Supreme Court decision over whether many of the tariffs Trump announced last year are legal.
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