Business

LONDON: Further signs of a cooldown in the eurozone economy emerged on Friday, weighing on expectations that the European Central Bank will start raising interest rates this year. Inflation across the 19-country currency union fell in December to an eight-month low in the wake of the recent slump in oil prices. And a closely watched survey found that the eurozone …

MUZAFFARGARH: Sugarcane farmers have been waiting for the release of their payments for the last three weeks from the Tandliawala Sugar Mills. Earlier, when the crushing season started in the second week of December, the district administration claimed that mills were bound to release cane payments within two weeks. The other two mills in the district — the Fatima Sugar …

LAHORE: Power crisis in Punjab worsened on Saturday after most of the gas-fired power plants stopped generation, leaving millions of consumers with no option but to face unprecedented loadshedding during chilly weather. The major power distribution companies (Discos)– Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) –started observing frequent outages without any …

LONDON: The US dollar has recently appreciated to its highest level in real terms since the start of 2017 and before that September 2003. Dollar appreciation weighed on oil prices in 2018 as prices in some non-dollar currencies hit record levels earlier in the year and dampened consumption growth. Yet there are signs that the dollar’s rise may be coming …

LAHORE: The power house of 969MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) was shut down on Saturday due to inspection. The unit would remain closed for 29 days until Feb 2 because of inspection, and is expected to resume power generating operations from Feb 3 onwards, according to official sources. “The project is now due for a thorough inspection of the electro-mechanical …

SINGAPORE: Pakistan LNG is seeking five liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery over March to April, a tender document showed on Thursday. The cargoes are for delivery over March 3 to 4, March 17 to 18, April 2 to 3, April 13 to 14 and April 26 to 27. Offers are due by Jan 30 and the tender is …

KARACHI: Foreign currency dealers have asked for legal protection while meeting with the Finance Minister Asad Umar and Director General Federal Investigation Authority (FIA). Exchange companies complained that they were being harassed by the FIA officials ever since Pakistan was included in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) greylist of countries with counter-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering deficiencies. Following the …

ISLAMABAD: A Senate Panel on Thursday demanded Rs9 billion collected for construction of multi-billion dollar Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams to be diverted for development of a series of small dams in Balochistan to support agriculture and livestock sectors and create job opportunities. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms presided over by Senator Agha Shahzaib …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday invited Turkish businessmen and investors to invest in various fields and industries in Pakistan, including construction, tourism and exploration of natural resources. Addressing the Turkish business fraternity at the Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birligi in Ankara, the prime minister said the Belt and Road Initiative of China would bridge communication gap between Pakistan …

KARACHI: The Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) collected Rs267 billion during the first six months of current fiscal year up 14 per cent from the Rs233bn recorded during the same period last year. However, MCC Port Qasim collected customs duty worth Rs89bn during the first half of current fiscal year up 24.78 per, according to official sources. During the period under …