Business

Elon Musk on Friday showed off the latest version of a humanoid robot that the world’s richest man said could one day eliminate poverty. An Optimus prototype wheeled on stage during an annual Tesla AI Day presentation was mounted to a small platform. The robot, which remains a work-in-progress, waved to the audience and raised its knees. “Our goal is …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan on Friday amended foreign exchange regulations to enhance transparency in the transactions between exchange companies. The central bank said the amendment was aimed at promoting documentation and transparency in foreign exchange transactions. As per the revised regulations, exchange companies, their franchises and exchange companies of ‘B’ category are required “to settle Pakistan rupee consideration …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday announced a cut of around five per cent in the prices of all petroleum products for the next fortnight. The relief, which has been extended after a tacit nod from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was announced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at a news conference after consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.   …

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has asked the government to end taxes on electricity and take steps to minimise high losses, low recoveries and centralised control of power companies to improve governance. In its State of Industry Report 2021-22 submitted to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the government on Friday, the power sector regulator pointed …

KARACHI: The arrival of imported onions has failed to bring any price relief for consumers who are paying up to Rs180 per kg as compared to Rs80 before floods in Sindh and Balochistan. Onions are arriving from Egypt, Turkey and China via Dubai as the government has allowed duty-free imports from all over the world, except India. Heavy monsoon rains …

The PKR continued to recover for the sixth consecutive session on Friday, gaining Rs1.18 against the dollar in the interbank market. The local currency closed at Rs228.45 per dollar, up 0.52 per cent from yesterday’s close of Rs229.63, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.     Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said the PKR’s value started improving after …

Weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ending on September 29 increased to 30.62 per cent year-on-year, mainly because of a drastic rise in the prices of essential food items, including tomatoes and onions, and fuel. However, the inflation figure was far below the record high of 45.5pc measured for the week that ended on September 1. …

Oil prices were little changed during Asian trade on Friday, though headed for their first weekly gain in five weeks, underpinned by a weaker US dollar and the possibility that Opec+ may agree to cut crude output when it meets on Oct 5. Brent crude futures for November, which expire on Friday, inched down 13 cents or 0.15 per cent …

Facebook-parent Meta put out word to employees on Thursday that it will freeze hiring to cut costs as it endures tough economic times, The Wall Street Journal reported. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg revealed a planned pause in hiring during a weekly all-hands meeting, the Journal reported, saying the move came as the social media titan planned to cut expenses by at least 10 per …

KARACHI: In little over a year after US multinational e-commerce giant Amazon opened to merchants from Pakistan, the country has retained its place among the top three nat­ions selling a range of products worldwide while using the digital platform. While briefing the Nat­io­nal Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce on Thursday, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) officials also sounded confident …