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The U.S. government's human resources agency is rushing to shut down and drastically shrink entire departments in what sources familiar with the actions say will serve as a template for a second wave of mass layoffs in the federal bureaucracy. The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the personal information of millions of past and current government workers, has eliminated its entire 40-strong procurement team and gutted a group overseeing the handling of sensitive employee data within the agency, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources, who asked to speak anonymously out of fear of reprisals, said the process to begin targeting career civil servants at OPM will serve as a model for the next phase of new and more sweeping layoffs across government agencies. A spokesperson for OPM did not respond to a request for comment. Eliminating career employees, who make up the vast majority of the 2.3 million-strong civilian government workforce, is viewed as key to the next phase of the downsizing effort by tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, the sources said. Layoffs across the government by DOGE to date have largely been implemented through voluntary resignation and the firing of probationary employees, who do not enjoy the same job protections as career staff. That has accounted for the elimination of about 95,000 jobs. The next phase could see the targeting of hundreds of thousands more. The latest firings at OPM are being carried out by so-called reductions in force and are targeting mostly career workers. Roughly 50 OPM employees were let go via this process in the last 10 days, one of the two sources said. Reductions in force, or RIFs, are the primary formal process by which agencies generally lay off staff during reorganizations. They usually involve a complicated and lengthy process that can last from months to a year in which agencies have to justify why they are targeting career employees, who are also given a notice period in which they can appeal the decision. Separately, a source inside the General Services Administration, in charge of government real estate, received an email from a superior on Monday announcing that reductions in force will begin at that agency this week. Reuters has seen a copy of the email. But OPM, which is acting as the command center for efforts by President Donald Trump and Musk to shrink the civil service, is moving unusually quickly to take out career employees with ostensibly strong protections earned over years or decades on the job, the two sources familiar with the matter said. One of the sources said the timeline was being "rushed" to show other agencies what could be done. Another source familiar with the firings inside OPM said that new managers had told some staff that would be the model moving forward. At OPM some of the career workers being laid off under the RIF process were almost immediately locked out of the agency's computer system and sent home on paid administrative leave for 60 days, one of the three sources told Reuters. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order telling agencies to come up with new plans to fire federal workers. The order said agencies can only hire one new employee for every four that leave. Trump has tasked Musk with drastically cutting the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy. Both men argue it is bloated and inefficient and costs U.S. taxpayers, who mostly fund it, too much of their hard-earned wages. In addition to the procurement team and the group focused on protecting employee data - which has been halved to eight employees - OPM has also eliminated a communications team of about 20 people and a diversity, equity and inclusion team of seven via the RIF process, one source said.

Mumbai: Brokerages Bernstein and Jefferies said the recent decline in Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) shares, driven by concerns over Tesla's likely entry into the country, is a buying opportunity for investors. Goldman Sachs said the stock in the past has returned 23% over 12-month periods following instances of a 15% drop.M&M shares, which rose 1.5% to close at ₹2,710.5 on Monday, have shed 15.3% since February 7."This dip is an opportunity, and M&M's broad product linkages with autos and agri make it a fundamentally sound investment," said Bernstein in a client note. "The stock remains our top pick for its capital allocation model and longer investment horizon."118542994The brokerage has a price target of Rs 3,650 on the stock, implying an upside of nearly 35% from Monday’s closing level. Goldman’s and Jefferies’ price targets of Rs 3,800 and Rs 4075 suggest gains of 40% and 50% respectively. Jefferies said the impact of Tesla’s entry on M&M would be limited in the near term citing the gap in vehicle prices and the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy which offers lower duty only on limited volumes for high-priced vehicles. According to the brokerage, the automaker is a better investment case than Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor because of stronger industry demand tailwinds, improving market share across tractors and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and lower valuations. Among the top blue-chip performers in recent times, M&M shares have gained nearly 240% in the past three years against the 35% advance in the Nifty and the 98% surge in the Nifty Auto Index. Goldman said in the past 10 years, M&M returned an average of 36% over 24-month periods on the heels of a 15% stock price decline from the peak. Bernstein said Tesla’s potential entry into India impacts sentiment but does not alter M&M’s core demand.

The Enforcement Directorate Monday said it has "accomplished" the process to restore assets worth Rs 3,339 crore to the victims of an alleged ponzi scheme that was perpetrated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and some other states. The case pertains to Agri Gold group of companies which is alleged to have collected deposits from around 19 lakh customers with a total of 32 lakh accounts in the name of real estate investment with a promise of "high returns" or a residential plot, the federal agency said in a statement. A money laundering probe was initiated by the ED in this case in 2018 taking cognisance of "several" police FIRs registered in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The ED found that the Agri Gold group ran a "fraudulent" collective investment scheme in the guise of real estate business, for which more than 130 companies were floated. "These companies used to collect deposits as 'advances for plots' from depositors, without commensurate land being available with the company. By adhering to this business module, the accused lured lakhs of gullible persons and got deposits from them," it said. These funds were later "diverted" to various industries like power, energy, dairy, entertainment, health (ayurvedic), farm land ventures, etc., "without the knowledge" of the depositors and the companies "defaulted" in returning the deposits either in cash or in kind as agreed upon, the agency said. It was found that "thousands of commission agents were engaged by the Agri Gold group to lure people and they managed to collect around Rs 6,380 crore from more than 32 lakh investor accounts," the ED claimed. The agency also attached assets worth Rs 4,141.2 crore during the course of investigation, arrested three persons and filed two chargesheets. The ED said it filed a restitution application in December, 2024 under Section 8(8) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before a special court in Hyderabad for release of movable and immoveable properties attached by it to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Andhra Pradesh so that such attached properties could be restored to the victims of the Agri Gold Ponzi schemes under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act of 1999. The court, on February 21, allowed the ED petition for restitution thereby paving the way for "restoration" of attached assets to the victims. The Hyderabad office of the ED has "successfully accomplished" the process of restitution of attached properties worth Rs 3,339 crore (value of properties at the time of attachment). The present market value of these properties is expected to be more than Rs 6,000 crore, the ED said. The attached assets for which restitution has been allowed by the court include more than 2,300 parcels of agricultural lands, residential and commercial plots and apartments as well as an amusement park in the name of 'Haailand' at Chinnakakani in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Out of the total 2,310 attached immovable properties, 2,254 are in Andhra Pradesh, 43 in Telangana, 11 in Karnataka and two in Odisha, the ED said.

Gold prices rose Rs 350 to trade near a record high at Rs 89,100 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday amid firm global trends, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity had closed at Rs 88,750 per 10 grams on Friday. Gold of 99.5 per cent purity increased Rs 350 to Rs 88,700 per 10 grams from the previous close of Rs 88,350 per 10 grams. "Gold traded with a modest gain on Monday as geopolitical and trade tensions continued to provide a safe haven demand to hedge against uncertainty," Saumil Gandhi, Senior Analyst of Commodities at HDFC Securities, said. Last week, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity hit fresh peaks of Rs 89,450 and Rs 89,050 per 10 grams, respectively. However, silver traded flat at Rs 1 lakh per kg. Further, Gandhi highlighted that the US dollar has provided an additional boost for the precious metal. The dollar index fell for the third week in a row and is trading lower amid mixed US macro data. Meanwhile, in futures trade on the MCX, gold contracts for April delivery appreciated Rs 118 to Rs 86,128 per 10 grams. "Gold traded within a range, posting minor gains, supported by Comex gold holding above USD 2,925. Rupee weakness provided additional support to MCX gold," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst -- Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said. Comex gold futures for April delivery quoted higher at USD 2,954.71 per ounce in the overseas markets. Globally, spot gold also rose USD 5.50 to USD 2,941.55 per ounce. "Gold prices continue to hover near all-time highs as the dollar weakens amid escalating geopolitical and economic uncertainty," Abans Holdings' Chief Executive Officer Chintan Mehta said. The precious metal's rally is expected to persist as safe-haven demand remains strong, with central banks worldwide continuing to accumulate gold to hedge against economic volatility and policy uncertainty, Mehta added. On the other hand, silver futures in the Asian market hours quoted 0.43 per cent lower at USD 33.20 per ounce. According to Kotak Securities, traders are closely monitoring the upcoming Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data release to further understand the US Federal Reserve's policy trajectory, as it directly impacts bullion's investment appeal.