Business

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the threat of Pakistan defaulting on its debts was “now over” and that a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would happen “soon”. Addressing a delegation of Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) in Islamabad, the premier said his government had successfully managed to save the country from default. He …

NEW YORK: Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday revised its outlook on the US banking system to “negative” from “stable”, citing heightened risks for the sector after the rapid unraveling of SVB Financial Group fuelled fears of contagion. Bank runs at Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Capital Corp and Signature Bank have deteriorated the operating environment for the sector that is now …

ISLAMABAD: In a significant step aimed at facilitating cotton farmers, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday appro­ved its support price at Rs8,500 per 40 kilograms. The prime minister while chairing a meeting of the Agriculture Task Force directed the authorities concerned to place the matter before the Econo­mic Coordination Commit­tee on priority. He urged the provinces to ensure the implementation …

KARACHI: The rupee remained under pressure on Monday in both interbank and open markets against the US dollar mainly due to uncertainties linked with the revival of the IMF programme. The State Bank of Pakistan reported the dollar price appreciated by 84 paise to Rs281.61. The exchange companies, which deposit their surplus dollars in banks, quoted the dollar price at …

KARACHI: Dark clouds continued to hover over the auto sector as overall sales of cars, vans, pickups and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) posted a 73 per cent year-on-year drop in February to 5,762 units which is the lowest monthly sales number after 4,500 units in May 2020. During the first eight months of the fiscal year, overall sales shrank by …

KARACHI: Foreign investors have come out with all guns blazing against the Board of Investment and other “relevant ministries” for turning a blind eye to their plethora of problems, including the holdup in dividend repatriation. The representative body of more than 200 largest multinationals operating in Pakistan has written a letter — seen by Dawn — to the prime minister, saying they’ve …

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden declared the US banking system “safe” and vowed stiffer bank regulation, after US regulators were forced to step in with a series of emergency measures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, threatening to trigger a broader crisis. “Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. Your deposits will be …

Pakistan must pursue a more ambitious plan to tap its variable renewable energy (VRE) — solar and wind power — potential to significantly increase its share in the country’s energy mix than the one planned in the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) 10-year Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) prepared last year. In its analysis of the IGCEP 2021-22, …

ISLAMABAD: The government has tightened its fiscal controls by restricting the federal and provincial entities to ensure that all their assignment accounts for development projects and non-development expenditures are opened and operated only through the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), which would be treated as part of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the federal government. To conduct this exercise …

The World Inequality Report 2022 shows a very dark picture of inequality around the world. The report discusses four types of inequalities: income inequality, wealth inequality, gender inequality, and carbon inequality. The world wealth and income data show a very high level of inequality around the world, where the share of the bottom 50 per cent of the world population …