WASHINGTON: Worldwide supply chain disruptions are driving price increases and draining momentum out of the economies recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the IMF warned on Tuesday. The ongoing hit from the pandemic and the failure to distribute vaccines worldwide is worsening the economic divide and darkening prospects for developing nations, the IMF said in its … Read more
KARACHI: The consumer sector companies listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded an increase of 92 per cent in profits during the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, a statement said on Wednesday. The consumer sector comprises discretionary, staples and pharmaceutical businesses. Among them, the discretionary business posted the biggest recovery with Rs7 billion … Read more
WASHINGTON: Washington has called about 30 nations together on Wednesday and Thursday to boost the international fight against ransomware, a senior White House official said, noting that Russia was not invited. The United States has been hit, especially in the first half of 2021, by a series of ransomware attacks that have seen cyber-extortionists seize … Read more
KARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Tuesday rejected the decision to restore the powers of the Inland Revenue (IR) officers for recovery through freezing of bank accounts without prior information, a statement said. KCCI president Muhammad Idrees said: “The business community of Karachi rejects the decision with an appeal to Prime … Read more
ISTANBUL: The Turkish currency weakened to a record low of 9.03 against the US dollar on Tuesday, amid concerns over the central bank’s recent monetary policy. In September, the Turkish Central Bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points, and reduced the policy rate (one-week repo auction rate) from 19 per cent … Read more
KARACHI: The sales of locally-manufactured cars registered a sharp increase of 58 per cent in September 2021 due to lower tax rates and rise in the auto financing, analysts said on Tuesday. According to the data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama), the automobile industry saw an increase of 58 per cent in … Read more
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s manufacturing sales in August grew 6.8 per cent year on year to 126.5 billion ringgit (about 30.32 billion US dollars), Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said on Tuesday. The growth in sales value for the month was driven by the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products subsector which rose 31.4 per cent; … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee hit another low of 171.04 in the interbank foreign exchange market on Tuesday, as the demand for the foreign currency for external payments remained unabated, dealers said. The exchange rate witnessed a decline of 30 paisas in rupee value, compared with the previous day’s closing of Rs170.74 against the greenback in the … Read more
LONDON: British airline EasyJet on Tuesday predicted that annual losses would narrow and declared the recovery was ‘underway’, helped by rising passenger numbers and easing Covid travel restrictions. The pre-tax losses will drop between £1.14 billion and £1.18 billion ($1.55 billion and 1.61 billion, 1.34 billion euros and 1.39 billion euros) in the year to September … Read more
PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday announced a plan worth 30 billion euros ($35 billion) to re-industrialise France, saying the country should reclaim its crown as a global leader in innovation. Speaking at the Elysee Palace six months before a presidential election and a month ahead of a UN climate Summit, Macron said France had taken … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of China to Pakistan Nong Rong has said that the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were benefiting the local communities in Pakistan and providing thousands of jobs to them. The power plants at Thar Block-II had so far provided over 1,838 jobs to the locals, he said and expressed the hope … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The new Gwadar International Airport, the $246 million Greenfield airport, being built at an area of 4,300 acres of land, would be operational by September 2023. According to the official source, the passenger terminal building of the project would be completed by June 2023; work related to air traffic control by March 2023, while … Read more
QUETTA: The previous governments are responsible for inflation and unemployment in the country, a government official said. Addressing a ceremony of Young Parliamentary Forum and Foundation for Education Awareness on the subject of public hearing on local government, National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri said: “In the holy month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, we should study … Read more
KARACHI: The National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), the only licensed clearing house in Pakistan, has substantially reduced the security deposit requirement, a statement said. NCCPL, which acts as the Central Counter Party in respect of all trades and transactions carried out at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, as part of its continuous endeavour to … Read more
WASHINGTON: US pharmaceutical giant Merck on Monday applied for emergency use authorisation of its oral anti-Covid drug in the United States, a major step towards finding a simple pill to treat the disease. Merck has submitted the application for molnupiravir, which it said earlier this month was shown to reduce hospitalisations by 50 per cent. … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market remained under pressure on Monday, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to take a combination of measures, including allowing adjustments in the exchange rate and further tightening of monetary and fiscal policies to curtail the rising current account deficit, dealers said. An analyst at Pearl Securities said … Read more
STOCKHOLM: Three US-based academics on Monday won the Nobel Economics prize for research on the labour market using “natural experiments”, or observational studies that have revolutionised empirical research in the field, the jury said. Canadian-American David Card, Israeli-American Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American Guido Imbens shared the prize for providing “new insights about the labour market” and … Read more
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s commerce minister Tipu Munshi has termed China a “great friend” of Bangladesh and emphasised enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, especially boosting the trade ties in the days to come. “There is no doubt that China is a great friend of Bangladesh and they play a big role in our development efforts,” … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has eased conditions for renewable energy solution providers under its refinance scheme. Now, all the renewable energy investment entities (RE-IEs) interested in installing renewable energy projects/solutions are allowed to avail refinance under category III of the scheme. An RE-IE is a business entity, including vendors and suppliers whose … Read more
KARACHI: Health equity and the use of technology are central to preventing epidemics of non-communicable diseases (NCD), stated Aga Khan University’s AKUPI-NCD project director Dr Zainab Saeed. “The epidemic of NCD presents an extraordinary crisis for the world.” In a statement issued on Monday, she revealed that AKU will partner with Duke University to address … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan leading dates exporters and processors participated in a live session organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Trade and Investment Wing, Jakarta on October 6, 2021, a statement said on Monday. The virtual interactive session was attended by Muhammad Hassan, ambassador of Pakistan to Indonesia, Minister for Trade and … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee closed down 21 paisas against the dollar on Monday, owing to higher import payments on the first day of the week, dealers said. The exchange rate ended at Rs170.74 against the dollar, compared with last Friday’s closing of Rs170.53 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the demand for the … Read more
KARACHI: The Pak-Qatar General Takaful (PQGTL) recently signed an agreement with Cometinsure (an online aggregator) to promote Takaful products online, a statement said on Monday. Muhammad Raza, head of operations, PQGTL, and Muhammad Sufyan Bedi, operations manager of Cometinusre, signed the agreement along with senior officials of both companies. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Muhammad … Read more
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday that he plans to establish two new settlements in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. “The goal of the Israeli government is to double the communities in the Golan Heights and establish two new settlements,” Bennett said during a conference in the Golan, a region internationally recognised as … Read more
KARACHI: A variety of speakers shed light on the climate crises confronting Pakistan at a two-day conference which recently concluded in Karachi, with experts highlighting the fact that climate change was actually a security challenge for the country and needed to be dealt with accordingly. The Centre for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the … Read more
TEHRAN: Iran on Monday called on European countries to guarantee an existing nuclear deal that the parties are set to revisit during a planned resumption of talks in Vienna. “The European capitals, including Berlin, have been passive spectators,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. “We therefore expect all parties, when they arrive in Vienna, … Read more
The Sindh High Court directed the provincial government and State Life Corporation to settle the insurance claims of provincial government employees or their legal hires within a month. The directions were issued by a two-judge bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar while hearing multiple identical petitions. Sindh government provides its employees group insurance under Sindh … Read more
LAHORE: The government should take the business community into confidence before devising trade and investment-related policies, an official said on Saturday. Talking to delegations of the All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APPMA) and Anarkali Traders Association, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Mian Nauman Kabir stressed the need for devising policies after due … Read more
