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One analyst called it the biggest announcement of the day: Berkshire won’t make an offer for full control of Occidental Petroleum Corp., the energy firm it has spent months boosting its wagers on.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a new framework for testing the IT systems used by market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges, clearing corporates and depositories. The MIIs will undertake system testing, functional testing, and application security testing, which need to be approved by the Standing Committee on Technology of the respective institutions. The identified software bugs, issues or defects should be remediated immediately, while policies and procedures on the use of third-party systems or software codes should be established. MIIs will have 30 days to submit the testing framework of all their IT systems.

Like always, investors world over are looking forward to the meeting as Buffett and his good old friend Charlie Munger, who is the vice chairman of the world’s 6th most valuable company, will answer a plethora of questions from stakeholders.

Similarly, Options also have expiry (Monthly and weekly), and the Extrinsic value of Options becomes Zero. Just like in the case of cars, the premium keeps dropping exponentially every day.

Regulating finfluencers, or online advisors, will be a challenge for SEBI, says Dhirendra Kumar, CEO of Value Research. Finfluencers have gained influence thanks to technology and the democratisation of the media. To address the issue, they should disclose their relationships with stakeholders, says Kumar. However, it will be challenging to separate those with competence from those with malafide interests. He urges investors to assume they could be fooled and to seek rationale and explanation before investing in a financial product.

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A further correction in US markets could impact India, and the health of the US financial space presents challenges. However, Indian markets have managed to reverse flows for FIIs recently, providing support for the market. Small-cap banking names are likely to be challenging. Meanwhile, there remains concerns around commercial real estate in the US. HDFC twins fell 6% each last Friday, but financials remain attractive as the economy grows, and the sector is expected to lead the economy higher.

MSCI will reduce the foreign inclusion factor (FIF) for Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission during index review exercise later this month, citing free float at 14% and 10%, respectively. The FIF for ACC, Ambuja Cements, Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and SEZ, and Adani Power will remain the same. This move was initially set for February 2023 index review but was changed following the Hindenburg Research report accusing the Adani Group of indulging in stock price manipulation through shell companies.

The recent collapse of three major US banks suggests that the financial sector may be facing a deeper crisis than anticipated. Valuation expert Aswath Damodaran believes that more US banks are at risk, particularly those that have grown significantly in recent years. Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, this collapse was triggered by searching for high growth and ignoring basic principles, which resulted in a major asset-liability mismatch. Damodaran predicts that the crisis will accelerate consolidation, but maintaining profitability will be challenging for banks, leading to drops in profits. The crisis also highlights the need for regulatory changes to address issues such as duration mismatches and high concentration of deposits.

The government-led deal fueled optimism that the worst of the banking sector turmoil might be over, prompting a recovery in risky assets. The dollar index topped 102 levels after the ISM Manufacturing PMI in the US rose to 47.1 in April 2023, along with signs of elevated price pressures, as input costs rebounded in April.