News Archives for Business & Finance - 2025-03-20

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Business & Finance - 2025-03-20

Business & Finance

Global debt exceeds $100 trillion as interest costs surge, OECD says

Rising interest costs leave borrowers face tough choices

Published 20 Mar, 2025 11:00pm

Business & Finance

EPBD endorses early cotton sowing strategy as ‘economic game-changer’

The Economic Policy and Business Development (EPBD) has released an analysis endorsing early cotton sowing as a...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:33pm

Markets

Pakistan formally accepts WTO’s agreement on fisheries subsidies

Pakistan's acceptance brings to 94 total number of WTO members that formally accepted Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Seventeen more formal acceptances needed for agreement to come into effect

Published 20 Mar, 2025 09:51pm

Stocks

Foreign selling in Indian stocks continues unabated in first half of March

Foreign selling of Indian stocks continued in the first half of March, with information technology and consumer...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 09:03pm

South Asia

X sues Modi’s government over content removal in new India censorship fight

NEW DELHI: India’s IT ministry has unlawfully expanded censorship powers to allow the easier removal of online...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 09:00pm

Commodities

Wheat down 2-6 cents, corn up 1-4, soybeans down 3-5

CHICAGO: Following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:47pm

Commodities

Cocoa steadies as traders wait for more data on demand

LONDON: Cocoa futures traded on the ICE exchange steadied on Thursday as investors weighed concerns over prospects...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:42pm

USA

US current account deficit narrows in fourth quarter

WASHINGTON: The U.S. current account deficit contracted in the fourth quarter, but the improvement could be...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:38pm

Stocks

Wall St trips as tariff concerns resurface; Fed boost short-lived

US stock indexes dropped on Thursday, as worries about the repercussions of an ongoing global trade war resurfaced,...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:32pm

Stocks

Sri Lanka shares end higher as IT, financial stocks rise

CSE All Share index settled up 1.67% at 15,662.93

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:28pm

Commodities

London copper hits five-month high breaking above $10,000/t mark

LONDON: London copper prices hit a five-month high on Thursday breaking above a major psychological mark of $10,000...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:26pm

Commodities

Asia rice: Thai prices hit over two-year low, Indian rates steady at 21-month low

Thai rice export prices fell to a more than two-year low this week, weighed down by weak demand and rising supplies,...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:22pm

Stocks

Gulf bourses end mixed on geopolitics, Fed outlook

Stock markets in the Gulf ended mixed on Thursday as regional tensions escalated, but there were some signs of...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:18pm

Money & Banking

BoE warns on ‘economic uncertainty’ as rate held

LONDON: The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at 4.5 percent Thursday, as it warned of “a lot of economic...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 06:28pm

Markets

SBP-held foreign exchange reserves increase $49mn, now stand at $11.15bn

Total liquid foreign reserves of country stand at $16.02 billion

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 10:51pm

Companies

RWE cuts investments by more than a fifth as US market ‘impossible to predict’

ESSEN, GERMANY: Germany’s RWE on Thursday warned of lower profit this year and said it would cut planned investments...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 04:48pm

Companies

Allianz and Jio Financial reach initial deal for India insurance business

Reliance group-owned Jio Financial Services has reached a preliminary agreement with Germany’s Allianz SE to form an...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 04:45pm

Companies

Air India in talks for dozens of new widebody jets from Airbus, Boeing, sources say

NEW DELHI/PARIS: Air India is exploring a fresh multi-billion dollar order for dozens of widebody jets from Boeing...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 04:40pm

Stocks

Indian shares jump as Fed’s rate cut outlook bolsters sentiment

Indian shares rose for the fourth straight session on Thursday, buoyed by the prospect of two rate cuts by the...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 04:28pm

Markets

National Savings Schemes: CDNS increases profit rates on majority of its instruments

The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has increased profit rates on several of its National Savings...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 10:40pm

Commodities

Palm gains higher on Dalian, surveyors’ export data

JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures closed up for the second straight session on Thursday, supported by the strength...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 04:25pm

Business & Finance

Countries holding largest gold reserves: US, Germany, Italy lead the way

China, India dominate Asian reserves as gold rally continues
Pakistan is 49th on list with 64.7 tonnes as of January 2025

Published 20 Mar, 2025 03:59pm

Bullion Rate

Gold gains further Rs1,800/tola to hit fresh record high in Pakistan

Gold prices continued to soar in Pakistan in line with their increase in the international rates. In the local...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 10:52pm

Statistics

Pakistan inflation expected to fall below 1%, says brokerage house

Pakistan headline inflation is expected to remain between 0.5-1% in March 2025, the lowest monthly year-on-year...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 09:06pm

Stocks

European shares edge higher ahead of key central bank decisions

European shares nudged higher on Thursday, supported by real estate and energy stocks, as investors braced for a...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 01:40pm

Commodities

Copper hovers near more than five-month high on anticipated US tariffs

SHANGHAI: Copper prices on the London Metals Exchange hovered near their highest levels in more than five months on...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 01:35pm

Forex

South African rand slips ahead of interest rate decision

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand weakened early on Thursday, ahead of a much anticipated interest rate decision by...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 01:15pm

Bullion Rate

Gold scales record peak as Fed signals two rate cuts in 2025

Gold climbed to an all-time high on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve signaled two possible interest rate cuts this...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 12:57pm

Commodities

Proposed US port fees on China-built ships begin choking coal, agriculture exports

LOS ANGELES/CARLSBAD: President Donald Trump’s plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding using massive fees on China-linked...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 12:43pm

Currency

Pakistan to legalize cryptocurrency to attract foreign investment, Bilal tells Bloomberg

As Pakistan moves to formally recognize cryptocurrency, Bilal bin Saqib, the country’s newly appointed crypto...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 10:50pm

Companies

TRG Pakistan shares may drop to Rs64-68 per share post Greentree’s tender: report

A research firm has projected that TRG Pakistan’s share price may fall in the range of Rs64-68 per share after the...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 04:49pm

Business & Economy

PM Shehbaz seeks stronger economic ties with KSA

As part of his four-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif engaged in a...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 04:49pm

Stocks

Slide in Chinese shares hampers Asian markets despite Fed optimism

SINGAPORE: Asia shares were hobbled by weakness in Chinese markets on Thursday and struggled to build on Wall...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:28am

Stocks

China, HK stocks decline as investors turn cautious after strong gains

HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned wary of short-term volatility after a...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:22am

Energy

Asia’s sour crude demand set to rebound late second quarter, support Mideast prices

SINGAPORE: Asia’s sour crude demand is set to rebound from late in the second quarter as refiners return from...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:21am

Stocks

India’s benchmarks set to open higher as Fed maintains rate-cut forecast

India’s benchmark indexes are poised to open higher on Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve maintained its rate-cut...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:19am

Stocks

Banks lift Australia shares after Fed’s Powell comments calm tariff jitters

Australian shares advanced 1% on Thursday, led by banks after the US Federal Reserve hinted it would reduce...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:18am

Stocks

South Korean stocks track Wall Street to 1-month high after Fed keeps rates unchanged

The benchmark KOSPI added 14.66 points, or 0.56%, to 2,643.28

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:16am

Stocks

Rupee remains largely stable against US dollar

Currency hovers at 280-281 level in inter-bank market

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 04:55pm

Mutual Funds

India bond yields may see slow downward move after Fed decision

MUMBAI: Indian government bond yields may inch lower in early deals on Thursday as US Treasury yields dipped after...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:14am

Forex

Indian rupee to rise on drop in US yields after Fed tweaks balance sheet runoff

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee is likely to strengthen further on Thursday boosted by the dip in US Treasury yields after...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:10am

Forex

Australian dollar dragged by soft jobs data, kiwi fails to get GDP boost

SYDNEY: The Australian dollar fell on Thursday after a soft jobs report narrowed the odds of a rate cut in May,...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:09am

Forex

Dollar wobbles as Fed soothes market nerves with rate cut projection

SINGAPORE: The dollar was softer on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated interest rate cuts were likely...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 10:08am

Energy

Oil prices rise after US issues new Iran-related sanctions

HOUSTON: Oil prices rose on Thursday after the U.S. issued new Iran-related sanctions, data showed a...

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 08:53pm

Stocks

KSE-100 slips below 119,000 but still closes at another record high

Positive news flow from energy sector, IMF fuel buying rally

Updated 20 Mar, 2025 11:10pm

Industry

Budget FY26: PBF submits proposals to MoF

KARACHI: President of the Pakistan Business Forum (PBF), Khawaja Mahboob Rahman, has submitted budget proposals for...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 08:03am

Companies

Clean farmer financing: FFC signs MoUs with leading banks

ISLAMABAD: Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) has partnered with four leading banks to provide clean financing of up to...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 08:00am

Business & Finance

SBP likely to unveil initial ‘green taxonomy policy’ draft by month-end

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is set to unveil the initial draft of the National Green Taxonomy Policy...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:49am

Agriculture and Allied

Karandaaz Pakistan launches digital financing for agri challenge

KARACHI: To improve financial access for Pakistan’s smallholder farmers, Karandaaz Pakistan, an impact investment...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:29am

Business & Finance

Cos issuing shares with differential rights: SECP issues consultation paper eliciting public inputs

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has a proposed policy framework for the ...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:26am

Industry

Businessmen invited for Bangladesh Investment Summit

KARACHI: Bangladesh has extended an invitation to Pakistani businessmen to participate in the Bangladesh Investment...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:24am

Industry

Trade obstacles: SAPM offers unwavering support to PBC

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Haroon Akhtar Khan, Wednesday, while acknowledging the ...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:22am

Industry

PDA seeks reduction in hefty GST on dairy products

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Dairy Association (PDA) has urged the government to reduce general sales tax (GST) on dairy...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:21am

Business & Finance

Pakistan secures major breakthrough in rice exports to Kenya

KARACHI: In a significant diplomatic and trade achievement, Pakistan has successfully negotiated a reduction in the...

Published 20 Mar, 2025 07:17am

Money & Banking

Dollar higher ahead of Fed decision; lira lurches lower

NEW YORK: The dollar rose across the board on Wednesday, bouncing back from multi-month lows as traders eyed the...