A Xiaomi executive warned that smartphone prices will continue to rise in 2026 as the global chip shortage persists. Company data show the average replacement cycle has stretched from 9–12 months in 2017 to about four years, influencing development priorities for new devices such as the Redmi Note 17. The company said wider use of financing options is also reshaping how consumers buy phones as prices climb.

A 1% rise in the Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar, driven by FCNR deposit inflows, has weighed on rupee-denominated gold and silver prices. India’s spot gold fell 4% over eight trading sessions to ₹1,54,884, while silver also dropped 4% to ₹2,35,456. Over the same period, U.S. spot gold slid 3% to $4,523 an ounce, pointing to broader weakness in global bullion prices. The pullback ahead of the festive season is influencing consumer buying behaviour, with some holding off purchases amid uncertainty.

US Central Command said it struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships. CENTCOM said the strikes permanently disabled M/T Downy near Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask. It also said M/T Kylo was destroyed in the Gulf of Oman, and no losses have been reported.

Crypto ETF products have recorded more than $1.20B in net inflows, signaling sustained demand for major digital assets such as bitcoin. The latest wave of allocations has further boosted bitcoin buying interest. It suggests investors are still actively adding exposure to digital assets at current levels. Overall, strong demand through crypto ETFs indicates that optimism around bitcoin’s next move has not faded.

Robinhood chose to roll out its global crypto services on Ethereum via Arbitrum rather than Solana. The decision highlights that institutions prioritize ecosystem maturity and security, not just low costs. Solana recently saw a validator-offline incident affecting 29% of staked SOL that was not recorded on its status page, while its H1 2025 revenue was 95% tied to priority fees and Jito tips and its H1 2026 network revenue fell 87% year over year. By contrast, Arbitrum surpassed 10M daily transactions within two weeks of mainnet and launched with tokenized U.S. equities, Uniswap and Chainlink, underscoring the scaling capacity of Ethereum’s L2s.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net inflows totaling $986.8 million over the week. The figures indicate strong demand for Bitcoin investment products. The data cover multiple Bitcoin ETFs listed in the United States and show a notable shift of funds into these funds during the week.

Foreign investors returned to Indian equities in August, with net FPI inflows exceeding $3.2 billion, the strongest monthly inflow since September 2024, led by Consumer Services, Financials and Healthcare. HSBC estimates that if global funds move back to a neutral allocation, as much as $25 billion could flow into India. Supportive factors include Q1 GDP growth of 7.8%, better-than-expected corporate earnings and a stable rupee, which could help sustain foreign inflows.

The US added 162,000 jobs in August, beating market expectations and reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s view that the labor market remains stable. The stronger-than-expected data revived concerns that the Fed could raise interest rates later this month. President Donald Trump again publicly urged the central bank to cut borrowing costs.