Business

The upsurge of the rupee against the US dollar continued on Wednesday with the local currency gaining 49 paisa compared to the previous close on the back of $499 million inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a Eurobond issue of $2.5 billion. Tuesday’s closing rate was Rs153.09 while the dollar was being quoted at Rs152.60 during early trade …

The rupee appreciated by over 93 paisa, or 0.61 per cent, against the US dollar in the first 30 minutes of trade at the interbank on Tuesday. The dollar was being quoted at Rs153.10 at 10:05am compared to the previous day’s close of Rs154.0379. Having gained Rs5 or 3.27pc against the dollar in March alone, the rupee is currently at …

ISLAMABAD: Pending conclusion of a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry, the government has missed the deadline for payment of first instalment of about Rs85 billion to about 19 independent power producers (IPPs) required under an agreement signed on Feb 28. “Practically this is default on part of the government because it has not paid committed funds in time,” said a …

KARACHI: The stock market witnessed bloodbath on Monday as investors dumped shares, panicked by the sinking values as the country was rocked by the third wave of Covid-19. After five months, the KSE-100 index lost more than 1,000 points in a day to plunge by 1,090 points, or 2.39 per cent, to close at 44,432. A sum of Rs192 billion …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Textile Industry on Monday sought permission from the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet to lift ban on import of cotton and cotton yarn from India in a bid bridge raw material shortfall for the value-added textile sector, Dawn has learnt from official sources. The import of these raw materials will lead to partial revival of …

ISLAMABAD: After a gap of three decades, the supply of water from Rawal Dam to Islamabad has been restored. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Monday started receiving two million gallon per day (mgd) which is being stored in a treatment plant near the sports complex. “We are very happy today as finally the supply of water from Rawal Dam …

There is no way for Pakistan to insulate from consequences if famine strikes Afghanistan, a neighbouring country with which it shares a long porous border. Currently, Pakistan itself is struggling with a fragile economic recovery and Covid-induced alarmingly high poverty and unemployment rates. The relevant authorities, at both tiers of the government, acknowledge the need to collectively assess the critical …

ISLAMABAD: An audit of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) for the year 2019-2020 has revealed that 9,756 employees are working in the organisation’s 42 regions against the sanctioned or authorised strength of 7,662. The auditors recommen­ded an independent inquiry into the matter to fix responsibility. According to the audit report, 2,094 extra emplo­yees are an extra burden on the already …

The rupee picked up where it left off on Friday, gaining an additional 42 paisa against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback was quoted at below the pre-pandemic level of 154.24 (March 6, 2020). The dollar was being quoted at 154.15/154.20 (11:30 PST) compared to Friday’s closing value of Rs154.58. The US dollar had lost 42 paisa against the …

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday summoned chief financial officers (CFOs) and heads of sales of eight major sugar groups in connection with the ‘speculative price-hike’ of the sweetener. “The FIA has summoned the chief financial officers (CFOs) and heads of sales of PTI’s Jahangir Tareen’s JDW Sugar Mills for April 2, Maryam Nawaz and Sharif family’s Chaudhry …