The FDA approved a new ingredient for sunscreen that’s been in use in Europe for years. Dr. Jon LaPook has more details.

The FDA approved a new GLP-1 drug from Eli Lilly. Dr. Jon LaPook breaks it down.

Coal India Limited’s board on Monday gave an in-principle approval to divest up to 35% stake in its subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). The board also approved up to a 25% stake sale in another wholly-owned subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL).

In a meeting held today, the board approved the divestment of up to 25% of equity shares held by CIL in SECL through an Offer for Sale (OFS), along with the issuance of fresh equity shares aggregating up to 10% of the post-issue paid-up equity share capital, in one or more tranches, through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) or through other permissible market routes.

The board of CIL also approved the divestment of a 25% stake in MCL via OFS in one or more tranches through an IPO or other permissible market routes in the domestic market.

The board had already approved their listing on the exchanges through separate circular resolutions of December 23, 2025.

The company said that it will communicate about its decision to the Ministry of Coal (MoC) for onward submission to DIPAM. The proposed listings will remain subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.

SECL is amongst the highest coal producing subsidiary company of Coal India and its coal mines are spread across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

SECL operates 60 coal mines, of which 35 coal mines lies in Chhattisgarh State, while rest 25 coal mines are situated in Madhya Pradesh state. And of these 60 no of coal mines, 40 mines are worked by underground method of mining while rest 20 no of mines are opencast mines.Meanwhile, Mahanadi Coalfields is Miniratna company carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1992 with its headquarters at Sambalpur.

Coal India shares today ended nearly 3% lower on the NSE at Rs 455.25.

The Nifty stock has outperformed its benchmark with returns of 12% over a 1-year period compared to approximately 4% fall in the heartbeat index.

Coal India shares are currently trading above their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of Rs 434 and Rs 399, respectively, according to Trendlyne data.

The state-owned company reported a 16% year-on-year (YoY) decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 7,166 crore in the third quarter. The company has declared third interim dividend at Rs 5.5 per share for the financial year 2026. Revenue from operations in the December quarter fell 5% YoY to Rs 34,924 crore. This compares with Rs 36,858 crore in the last year quarter.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that has been shifting into a Bitcoin treasury role, moved this week to shore up its balance sheet and add more BTC to its vault.

The company cleared a plan to raise up to about $137 million through a mix of new shares and stock acquisition rights aimed at buying Bitcoin, supporting its income business tied to BTC, and cutting some debt.

Reports say the fundraising will be done mainly with select overseas investors rather than a public share sale.

Metaplanet’s Capital Mix

According to filings, Metaplanet plans to issue 24.53 million new common shares at 499 yen apiece, which would bring in roughly 12.24 billion yen immediately.

In addition, the company will grant stock acquisition rights that could raise more money if exercised, taking the total potential haul to about 21 billion yen (roughly $137 million).

Reports note the share price for the offering sits a little above recent trading levels, but investors still reacted nervously.

In a filing Thursday, Metaplanet announced it will offer 24.5 million common shares, each priced at 499 JPY.

A Push To Buy More Bitcoin

Metaplanet has been piling up BTC for a while. As of late December 2025, the company held about 35,102 Bitcoin, based on public updates.

The new funds are meant to let it keep buying while also giving breathing room for its Bitcoin income operations — those are businesses that try to earn fees or returns from BTC activity rather than from hotels or other old lines of business. Some of the cash will also go toward paying down borrowings tied to its recent credit facility.

Metaplanet's current Bitcoin holdings. Source: Bitcoin Treasuries

Market Response And Risks

Stock traders pushed Metaplanet shares lower after the news, with the price slipping several percent during the session on concerns over dilution and the short-term impact of the issuance.

The company has faced sharp swings before: it booked a large non-cash impairment late in 2025 after Bitcoin’s fall, a hit that trimmed reported equity by a big sum and highlighted how tied the firm is to BTC prices. That accounting loss does not mean the coins were sold, but it did spook some investors.

Why This Matters

Reports say Metaplanet is trying to balance growth of its Bitcoin stash with steps to make its finances less fragile. The move shows a bet that holding more BTC and building services around it can pay off, but the plan also exposes shareholders to more swings in crypto markets.

For some investors, the chance to back a focused Bitcoin treasury is attractive. For others, the same bet looks risky, especially when big paper losses can show up on financial statements even while the firm holds the same coins.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Capital markets regulator Sebi has decided to change the way closing prices of shares are calculated in the equity cash market. Instead of using the average price of trades in the last 30 minutes of trading, exchanges will move to a new system called the Closing Auction Session (CAS).

At present, the closing price of a stock is based on the volume-weighted average price of trades between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm. Sebi said this method can sometimes distort prices, especially for large orders placed near market close. Globally, most major markets already use an auction-based system to decide closing prices.

Under the new framework, CAS will run for 20 minutes from 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm on all trading days. The session will have separate phases for calculating a reference price, order entry, and order matching. Orders will close randomly in the last two minutes to prevent manipulation.

Initially, CAS will apply only to stocks that have derivatives contracts. For other shares, the existing VWAP-based method will continue for now. The reference price for the auction will be calculated using the VWAP of trades between 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm. If there are no trades in that window, the last traded price of the day will be used.

During CAS, both market and limit orders will be allowed, but stop-loss and iceberg orders will not be permitted. The closing price will be discovered through an equilibrium price mechanism, which selects the price at which the maximum volume can be matched. If multiple prices qualify, Sebi has laid out clear rules to pick the final closing price.

Sebi said the change will make closing prices more transparent and reliable. This is important because closing prices are used for derivative settlement, index calculation, and mutual fund NAVs. The regulator also noted that CAS will help passive funds and large investors execute trades at fair prices with lower impact costs.

Along with CAS, Sebi has also aligned the pre-open auction session with the new framework. The pre-open session will remain 15 minutes long, from 9:00 am to 9:15 am, with defined phases for order entry and matching, and random closing in the last two minutes.The new closing auction system will be implemented from August 3, 2026, while changes to the pre-open session will take effect from September 7, 2026. Stock exchanges and clearing corporations have been asked to update systems, strengthen surveillance, and issue detailed operating guidelines ahead of rollout.

Sebi said these changes are aimed at improving price discovery, protecting investors, and bringing Indian markets closer to global best practices.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first-ever GLP-1 pill for obesity from Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk, a landmark decision that health experts say could open up treatment access to more patients.

Novo Nordisk said it expects to launch the pill in early 2026. The Danish drugmaker said starting in early January, the starting dose of 1.5 milligrams will be available in pharmacies and via select telehealth providers with savings offers for $149 per month.

That’s the same price that cash-paying patients can access the starting dose of the pill on President Donald Trump’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, under a deal Novo Nordisk struck with his administration last month. Trump’s site also launches in January.

Novo Nordisk did not say how much higher doses of the drug would cost, but said additional information on coverage and savings options for eligible patients will be available at that time as well.

Shares of Novo Nordisk gained roughly 10% in extended trading Monday.

The FDA’s approval also clears the pill for use to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as death, heart attack or stroke, in adults with obesity and established cardiovascular disease, according to Novo Nordisk. That’s consistent with the approval label of the company’s blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, which shares the same active ingredient, semaglutide.

“What we’ve learned through years of research is that having an oral option really kind of opens up, activates and motivates different segments to seek treatment,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, told CNBC ahead of the approval. “To have that conversation with their doctor to see if this is something that might be right for them.”

“That’s what we’re excited about — to be able to give people an option and make sure we have access and ease of access like we have been doing with our injections,” he continued.

It’s unclear exactly how many people are using GLP-1s in the U.S., especially for obesity in particular. But around 1 in 8 adults said they were taking a GLP-1 drug to lose weight or treat another chronic condition as of November, according to a poll from health policy research organization KFF.

The move gives Novo Nordisk a head start over its chief rival Eli Lilly, which is currently the dominant player in the market and is racing to launch its own obesity pill. Pills are the next battleground for the two drugmakers, which established the booming GLP-1 space that some analysts say could be worth roughly $100 billion by the 2030s.

Wall Street thinks there’s plenty of room for pills in the market, with Goldman Sachs analyst saying in August that pills could capture a 24% share — or around $22 billion — of the 2030 global weight loss drug market.

In a note Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said the approval of Novo Nordisk’s pill gives the company a “much-needed win in light of recent challenges maintaining incretin market share dominance.”

Incretins refer to treatments that mimic gut hormones such as GLP-1. Eli Lilly earlier this year gained the majority share of the market thanks to its blockbuster obesity injection Zepbound, which has shown to be more effective than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.

“Novo will likely benefit from first-mover advantage, capturing patients with a preference for convenience and comfort provided by an oral dosing regimen,” Seigerman said. But he also noted that the market is “rapidly evolving with competitive assets in development” and an approval for Eli Lilly’s pill, orforglipron, “just around the corner.”

The approval is based on a phase three trial that followed more than 300 adults with obesity but not diabetes.

In that study, a 25-milligram dose of Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide helped patients lose up to 16.6% of their weight on average after 64 weeks, according to results from the trial presented at a medical conference in 2024. That weight loss was 13.6% when the company analyzed all patients regardless of whether they stopped the drug.

The pill appears to be slightly more effective than an experimental oral drug from Eli Lilly, which is still waiting for FDA approval.

But unlike Novo Nordisk’s pill, Eli Lilly’s treatment is not a peptide medication. That means it is absorbed more easily by the body and does not require dietary restrictions. People who take Novo Nordisk’s pill have to wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking each day.

Moore said the prices of the pill get costs closer to what some people are paying for unapproved, compounded versions of branded GLP-1s, some of which are still being illegally mass-marketed and sold in the U.S.

Patients flocked to the cheaper copycats when Ozempic and Wegovy were in short supply over the last two years due to skyrocketing demand, or if they didn’t have insurance coverage for the costly treatments. During FDA-declared shortages, pharmacists can legally make compounded versions of brand-name medications. But the agency earlier this year determined that the shortage of semaglutide is over, barring the practice in many cases.

“It continues to be alarming and disturbing for us,” Moore told CNBC, referring to illegitimate ingredients that are imported into the U.S. illegally and used by some compounding pharmacies to create copycat versions of branded GLP-1s.

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a disbursement of SDR150.5 million (about US$206 million, equivalent to 26 percent of quota) for Sri Lanka under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). 

This emergency support will help address urgent balance-of-payments and fiscal pressures arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah, which hit the country on November 28, the IMF said in a statement.

The Sri Lankan authorities remain committed to their economic reform program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The cyclone hit when the Fifth Review under the EFF was nearing completion. 

Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how IMF-supported program can best support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts while preserving objectives and policy priorities, the Fifth Review has been deferred. An IMF mission team will visit Sri Lanka in early 2026 to resume discussions.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

“Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic cyclone, claiming more than 600 lives and affecting millions more. Flooding and landslides have displaced more than 100,000 people, destroyed critical infrastructure, and devastated livelihoods across the country. The disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs. The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the RFI will help address these pressures. 

The government responded swiftly with a package of relief measures, supported by strong fiscal overperformance in 2025. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka stands ready to provide liquidity support to the financial system if needed.

While recovery and reconstruction needs will be substantial, the authorities remain committed to maintaining fiscal prudence to safeguard fiscal and debt sustainability. All emergency spending will be executed in full compliance with the Public Financial Management Act and supported by enhanced monitoring and regular public reporting in line with transparency and accountability standards. The Central Bank will continue to refrain from monetary financing of the budget.

The cyclone struck as Sri Lanka is emerging from a deep economic crisis and the IMF-supported reform program under the EFF is bearing fruit. Sustained adherence to the reform agenda has underpinned a robust economic recovery, price stability, substantial revenue-based fiscal consolidation, and progress rebuilding foreign exchange reserves. Nonetheless, the economy remains vulnerable and GDP has not recovered to its pre-crisis level.

“The authorities and IMF team maintain close engagement and will resume discussions at the earliest possible juncture. The IMF stands with the people of Sri Lanka during this difficult time and will continue to support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.”

Telecom major Bharti Airtel’s board of directors on Thursday approved first and final call of Rs 401.25 per share on 39.23 crore outstanding partly paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs 5 each. The shares were issued by the company on a rights basis following a September 22 Letter of Offer.

The board has set the record date on February 6, 2026 to determine the eligibility of the holders of the partly paid-up equity shares who are liable to pay the amount due on the First Call.

The Call payment period will commence on March 2, 2026 and end on March 16, 2026.

Any trading in the partly paid-up equity shares of the company on the stock exchanges will be suspended with effect from February 6.

As per the objects of the issue, the proceeds from the Call on the partly paid-up equity shares will be utilised primarily for pre-payment/repayment of borrowings including accrued interest and general corporate purposes.

The filing said that following the pre/repayment of the borrowings and along with its organic cash generation, the company’s India Operations will likely become effectively net debt-free in the near term except for DoT liabilities and Finance Lease Obligations.

Shares of Bharti Airtel today ended the day with cuts of 0.8% at Rs 2,092.05. The stock has had a strong run on the D-Street, delivering 29% returns in the past 12 months.The stock is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of Rs 2,069.1 and Rs 1,909.3, respectively, according to Trendlyne data.

The company had reported an 89% YoY growth in its consolidated Q2 net profit at Rs 6,792 crore versus Rs 3,593 crore in the year ago period. Its revenue form operations in the quarter stood at Rs 52,145 crore, which was up 26% over Rs 41,473 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)