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Accel has closed a $550 million early-stage fund for India as part of a coordinated $3.5 billion global fundraising effort across four separate vehicles. The new India fund, which is Accel's ninth for the country, was oversubscribed and closed within weeks despite the firm retaining more than 50% of its previous $650 million India vehicle. Accel does not expect to begin deploying capital from the new $550 million fund until 2027, continuing instead to draw from its earlier pool of dry powder. The broader $3.5 billion raise also includes an $1.35 billion global expansion fund, alongside $800 million dedicated to the US and another $800 million for Europe and Israel. While the US and European funds grew from their prior vintages, the new India fund is $100 million smaller than its predecessor.

Oilprice.com reports that state-controlled Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) is finalizing feasibility studies for two new strategic petroleum reserve facilities in Bikaner and Bina. India's current maximum reserve capacity covers only eight days of national oil demand, exposing the world's third-largest crude oil importer to severe supply shocks following disrupted crude flows at the Strait of Hormuz. To counter this vulnerability, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is leading a project to build a storage site in Mangaluru capable of holding 1.75 million metric tons of oil, or about 13 million barrels. Half of this new capacity will serve strategic reserves while the remainder supports ONGC's commercial operations. The Indian government instructed ONGC to build and fill the new site with an estimated investment of $1.6 billion.

According to cnbc.com, the U.K. economy expanded by 0.4% in the second quarter following a 0.6% expansion in the first, keeping the country on track to record the strongest growth among G7 nations for a second straight quarter. Business investment increased by 1.7% in the second quarter, beating a Reuters poll consensus forecast of a 0.5% decline. Deutsche Bank chief U.K. economist Sanjay Raja noted that the figures pushed the annualized growth rate for the first half of the year to 2%. However, the International Monetary Fund warned in April that the ongoing conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran threatens to hit the U.K.'s growth harder than any other rich nation due to high exposure to energy imports and oil and gas reliance. Treasury modeling presented to Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggests growth could slow to 0.3% next year if disruptions on the Strait of Hormuz persist. While private sector performance has displaced government spending as a primary growth driver, economists caution that concentration in the services sector and vulnerability to energy price spikes leave the economy exposed.