Your soap, shampoo, detergent are about to cost a little more

Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the company behind Lux, Dove, Lakme, and a lot more in your bathroom cabinet, is raising prices by 2-5%. Reason: geopolitical tensions in West Asia have sent crude-linked input costs spiralling, squeezing margins on everything from packaging to surfactants.

But even with the price hikes, HUL just posted its strongest volume growth in 15 quarters at 6%. Net profit jumped 21.3% to ₹2,994 crore, beating analyst estimates comfortably. So, consumers are still buying. The question is how long that holds.

When everyday essentials like detergent and shampoo get pricier, do people trade down or simply buy less? HUL’s CFO Niranjan Gupta is betting on low elasticity—these are daily necessities, after all.

Home Care takes the biggest hit from input costs, followed by personal care and beauty. The company is also quietly adjusting fill levels, meaning your pack might look the same but contain slightly less. Worth checking the fine print. Read the full report by Neethi Lisa Rojan.

THE MAIN STUFF

Musk takes OpenAI to court

What started as a Twitter spat has landed in federal court, and the stakes are high. Elon Musk, OpenAI Inc.’s co-founder-turned-rival, is suing another co-founder and CEO Sam Altman for $150 billion, calling the company a “stolen charity” that abandoned its non-profit roots for commercial glory.

Is he wrong, though? OpenAI went from an open research lab to an $850-billion juggernaut backed by Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., and SoftBank. That’s quite a journey from ‘AI for humanity’. The verdict could fundamentally redraw how the world’s most powerful AI companies are built, funded, and governed. Read on.

The surprising price of Ozempic nobody talks about

Weight-loss injections are flying off shelves across India, but nobody warned patients about what happens to their face.

Doctors are seeing a surge of new cosmetic clinic visitors, not for vanity, but because rapid fat loss is leaving faces hollow, sagging, and older-looking. 3-4 in 10 GLP-1 users are showing signs of “Ozempic face”.

With semaglutide now off-patent and 50-90% cheaper versions flooding the market, this is only getting started. The real worry is an unlicensed beauty industry already rushing in to “fix” what the injections left behind. Read more.

Is India’s stock market in a bubble?

India’s Buffett Indicator, market cap as a percentage of gross domestic product, just hit 137.7%—the highest since the 2007 bull-run peak. Alarm bells? Maybe. But experts say the context is very different this time.

Unlike 2007’s leverage-fuelled frenzy, today’s balance sheets are cleaner, retail participation is deeper, and more of India’s economy is formally listed. That changes the math considerably. Still, HSBC and JPMorgan have downgraded Indian equities, citing stretched valuations and earnings pressure. Read on.

BSNL wants to earn 50% more per user

BSNL has set itself a target to grow average revenue per user from ₹101 to ₹150 this fiscal. That’s a near-50% jump for a company whose core business revenue barely grew 3% last year.

The math is tricky. Either users spend significantly more, or active subscriber base shrinks, and analysts suspect it’s more of the latter. Meanwhile, Jio sits at ₹214 and Airtel at ₹259. Now, without meaningful tariff hikes or a genuine network leap, this target looks like a stretch. Read more.

The barefoot ‘mango’ scientist of India

Kongara Ramesh never finished school. Yet, this 72-year-old from Andhra Pradesh has created mango varieties that defy science, co-authored international research papers, and treated over 165,000 patients—all for free. His crowning achievement? Amrutham: a mango you can freeze skin-on, peel like a banana, and eat like an ice lolly.

In a country that loses enormous export potential due to mangoes’ short shelf life, that’s quietly revolutionary. Earlier this year, he lost his 40-acre farm overnight. His response was, “I will start afresh.” Read on.

🔢 NEWS IN NUMBERS

25%: The month-on-month order volume growth in India for Amazon Now, the e-commerce giant’s quick delivery arm, according to CEO Andy Jassy.

₹2,994 crore: The consolidated net profit reported by Hindustan Unilever for Q4 FY26, up 21% from ₹2,475 crore in the same period last year.

$25 billion: The estimated cost of the US military campaign in Iran, as disclosed by a senior Pentagon official, with most of the spending attributed to munitions.

₹1,89,991 crore: The amount pulled out by foreign portfolio investors from Indian equities so far in 2026 amid global uncertainties and tight liquidity.

₹289 crore: The amount for which Bain Capital sold a ~1% stake in Emcure Pharmaceuticals via open market transactions on the NSE.

1.33%: India’s domestic air passenger traffic growth for FY26, the weakest pace since the pandemic recovery, and down sharply from over 7% in FY25, per DGCA data.

37.5%: Morgan Stanley’s revised investment rate forecast for India as a percentage of GDP by FY30, up from 36.5% earlier.

AROUND THE WORLD

• Powell won’t leave. The Fed won’t cut. Warsh will have to deal with both.
• US pitches new coalition to get ships moving via Strait of Hormuz
• Big tech strikes gold with AI, but at a steep cost
• Retirees, here’s what a Warsh Fed could mean for you
• A glimpse into cybersecurity’s AI-driven future

CHART OF THE DAY

LOUNGE RECOMMENDS

Mango takes over summer menus

The Mango Medley Brunch puts the spotlight on mango, moving between savoury and sweet with ease—think mango chilli prawns with a mild kick, grilled chicken finished with a mango glaze, and mango basil noodles that lean fresh and herbaceous while still feeling familiar.

The brunches revolve around a distinct theme, drawing on seasonal produce and varied cuisines that are ideal for a laid-back afternoon with family and friends. Read more.

WHAT THE FACT

EU’s historic expansion

On this day in 2004, the European Union welcomed 10 new member states in its largest-ever single expansion, bringing Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia into the fold.

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