Business

KARACHI: Despite mounting pressure on banks to go digital, the number of e-commerce transactions declined in the first half of the current fiscal year while the total e-banking value in the first quarter also dipped. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday issued both the first and second quarterly reports on the Payment System for 2022-23. The reports reflect …

Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday the social media company is “roughly breaking even”, as most of its advertisers have returned and its aggressive cost-cutting efforts have started bearing fruit after massive layoffs. Musk, in an interview with BBC broadcast live on Twitter Spaces, said Twitter has about 1,500 employees now, a sharp decline from “just under 8,000 …

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CWDP) on Tuesday cleared three development projects of Rs76.5 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. The meeting of the CDWP presided over by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal through a video link from Saudi Arabia, approved two projects of about Rs7.1bn and cleared another project of Rs69.4bn for formal approval by the Executive Committee …

ISLAMABAD: Hinting at entre­nched high inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for Pakistan’s economic growth rate for the current fiscal year to just 0.5 per cent, with inflation going beyond 27pc and the unemployment rate increasing to 7pc. This showed an unambiguous deterioration of economic fundamentals over the last six months since October when the …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — An investigation is underway after a man riding a bicycle was shot and killed on Houston’s East End on Tuesday night, according to police. The Houston Police Department said officers responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of Chartres Street just before 8 p.m. According to HPD, a man was riding a bike down the street …

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on expectations of potential economic stimulus by China, healthy demand in the rest of Asia and a drop in US crude stockpiles. Brent crude futures rose 64 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $84.82 a barrel at 0557 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained 67 cents, or 0.8pc, to $80.41 a barrel. Data …

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ordered that the status quo be maintained with respect to the attempt by a Turkish investor to buy more than 51 per cent shares and control of Tri-Star Power Ltd, a publicly listed electricity producer. The power producer said on Monday the court order follows the suit it filed for a permanent injunction against …

KARACHI: The export-oriented businesses of Pakistan are unlikely to sustain the burden of additional billions of rupees amid the withdrawal of subsidised electricity, restricted imports, all-time high-interest rates, and the rupee’s devaluation against the US dollar. President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said the private sector in Pakistan is under enormous distress and …

KARACHI: The US dollar appreciated by Rs2.44 to Rs287.09 against the rupee in the interbank market on Monday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported the dollar settled at Rs287.07 while the exchange companies quoted the closing price at Rs289.10 for the interbank market. The market remained normal with continued stress for importers to open letters of credit. However, the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan on Monday asked China to expedite the process for implementation of the first phase of $10 billion Mainline-1 (ML-1) — the 1,872km railway track along with associated facilities from Karachi to Peshawar — and $2bn Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) as agreed between the leadership of the two nations in November. Pakistan “requested strong support of National Development and …