FRANKFURT, June 16 (ABC): European Central Bank policymakers called an emergency meeting on Wednesday, as more indebted eurozone states have come under pressure from rising borrowing costs. A week after a regular gathering, the governing council will hold an “ad-hoc meeting” to discuss “current market conditions,” an ECB spokesperson said. The ECB drew a line under years of ultra-loose monetary …

SYDNEY, June 16 (ABC): Australia’s new centre-left government submitted new, more ambitious, emissions targets to the United Nations Thursday, seeking to end a decade of footdragging on climate change. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised the country’s 2030 emissions reduction target to 43 percent, saying it “sets Australia up for a prosperous future, a future powered by cleaner, cheaper energy”. Australia’s …

NEW YORK, June 16 (ABC): Wall Street stocks welcomed aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to counter inflation, while European equities also gained following an emergency central bank meeting to address fallout from monetary tightening. The US central bank raised the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points, bigger than the telegraphed 0.5-percentage-point increase after economic data in recent days …

KARACHI, June 16(ABC): The increase in petroleum prices and hopes of the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme helped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remain in the green on Thursday. The stock market started in the red but soon the bulls staged a comeback and held a firm grip during the session. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed …

WASHINGTON, June 16(ABC): The Federal Reserve announced the most aggressive interest rate increase in nearly 30 years, raising the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday as it battles against surging inflation. The Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee reaffirmed that it remains “strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 per cent objective” and expects to continue …

KARACHI, June 15(ABC): The bulls dominated the trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained over 300 points. The stock market managed to stay in the green throughout the day and closed on a positive note. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,438.79 points with a gain of 384.11 points or …

HONG KONG, June 15(ABC): Asian equities were mixed Wednesday with investors nervously awaiting a Federal Reserve interest rate decision that has taken on greater significance since a forecast-busting inflation report sent shockwaves through world markets. Trading floors saw a sea of red at the start of the week after data showed US consumer prices soared at their fastest pace in …

ISLAMABAD, June 15(ABC): Ten ships of edible oil will arrive in Pakistan in the next two weeks from Indonesia and Malaysia. After successful negotiations of Pakistani delegation that visited Indonesia, it was agreed between the two countries that Indonesia will provide 2.5 million metric tons of edible oil to Pakistan on urgent basis. According to a statement released today by …

ISLAMABAD: Additional measures will be needed to bring Pakistan’s budget for FY2022-23 in line with the key objectives of its International Monetary Fund programme, the lender’s resident representative in Islamabad said on Monday. Pakistan unveiled a 9.5 trillion Pakistani rupee ($47 billion) budget for 2022-23 on Friday aimed at tight fiscal consolidation in a bid to convince the IMF to restart much-needed …

ISLAMABAD, June 14(ABC): Director General, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Eugene Zhukov here on Monday apprised the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail about the Country Partnership Strategy for Pakistan 2021-25, which is aligned with the government’s development vision. He was talking to finance minister during a meeting, which among others were also attended by Country Director ADB, Yong …

HONG KONG, June 14(ABC): Equity markets tumbled again Tuesday to extend a global rout fuelled by fears of recession, with the Federal Reserve preparing to ramp up interest rates as inflation shows no sign of slowing. Panic has swept through trading floors since data on Friday showed US consumer prices rising at their fastest pace in a generation owing to …

OTTAWA, June 14(ABC): Canada’s jobless rate inched down to a new record low after adding more jobs than expected in May, and wage growth picked up steam, official data showed on Friday, bolstering the case for an even larger rate increase next month by the central bank. Canada added a net 39,800 jobs in May, entirely in full-time work, beating …

COLOMBO, June 14(ABC):  Crisis-hit Sri Lanka announced weekly fuel quotas for motorists on Sunday, as an acute shortage worsened and longer queues formed outside the few pumping stations still operating. Energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was struggling to finance oil imports, while consumption had shot up due to shortages of electricity and liquefied petroleum gas. …

HONG KONG, June 13(ABC): Markets tumbled in Asia on Monday and the dollar rallied as part of a global rout fuelled by a forecast-beating US inflation print that ramped up bets on a more aggressive campaign of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Fresh Covid outbreaks in Shanghai and Beijing have also seen authorities reimpose containment measures soon after lifting them, …

KARACHI, June 13(ABC): The Pakistani rupee (PKR) continued taking a beat from the US dollar on Tuesday in intraday trade as it has lost 1.65 rupees. The greenback was being quoted around 204 against the local currency compared to Rs202.35 in the previous session close in the interbank market. Meanwhile, the KSE 100-index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) also …

ISTANBUL, June 12 (ABC): Turkish consumers on Saturday was struck by the third round of fuel price hike in a week, as a volatile Turkish currency took its toll on the economy, which relies largely on imports. The per liter gasoline price rose by 2.18 liras (about 0.12 U.S. dollars) to nearly 28.5 liras across the country, Birgun daily reported, …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 12 (ABC): Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) Mian Kashif Ashfaq Sunday disclosed that for the first time Pakistan’s exports to Italy exceeded its imports from the country – depicting upward trends in promotion of bilateral trade between the two countries. Talking to a delegation of exporters and importers led by honorary Investment Consular and Tourism Ambassador …

QUETTA, Jun 12 (ABC): The test flight from new Gwadar International Airport would be started from December this year as the construction work on site has been expedited, an official of Gwadar Development Authority said. The new $246m greenfield Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) being built at an area of 4,300 acres would be made operational before the deadline which was …

KARACHI, June 12(ABC): In view of the high dollar demand for import payments ahead of fiscal year-end, traders say that the local currency is expected to remain on the back foot in the next week. The local currency was volatile, having swung between 200.06 to a new record low of 202.83 per dollar during the outgoing week. It closed at …

TEHRAN, June 12(ABC): Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation plan in Tehran as the two countries, among the world’s top oil producers, grapple with US sanctions that are crippling their exports. The signing ceremony, carried by Iranian state TV, was overseen by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro and took place at the Saadabad Palace …

KARACHI, June 12(ABC): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has extended the last date for exchanging old banknotes of Rs10, 50, 100 and 1,000 till December 31, 2022. The central bank extended the last for exchanging old banknotes of Rs10, 50, 100 and 1000 for one year. The people can exchange the old banknotes from any of the SBP offices …

WEB DESK, June 12(ABC): The price of US gasoline averaged more than $5 a gallon for the first time on Saturday, data from the AAA showed, extending a surge in fuel costs that is driving rising inflation. The national average price for regular unleaded gas rose to $5.004 a gallon on June 11 from $4.986 a day earlier, AAA data …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): The government has allocated Rs 600 million for four ongoing and new schemes of the Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Division for the fiscal year 2022-23 under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP). The budgetary allocation included Rs 319.612 million for one ongoing project and Rs 280.388 million for three new schemes, according to a budgetary document …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Friday approved $300 million in financing to support Pakistan in upgrading rural roads to provide safe and reliable access to schools, health facilities and markets in the most vulnerable districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KPRAP) will provide safe and affordable transportation to …

HONG KONG, June 11(ABC): Markets extended a global sell-off Friday after the European Central Bank laid the groundwork to join others in a programme of interest rate hikes, while attention turns to the release of key US inflation data. After a largely positive start to the week, Asian investors tracked their US and European colleagues in selling up as they …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Government on Friday has increased income tax threshold (per year) from Rs600,000 to Rs1.2 million. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has unveiled the federal budget with a total outlay of Rs9.5 trillion in the National Assembly. The proposal about income tax effectively means there will be no income tax on individuals earning up to Rs100,000 a month. Major …

WASHINGTON, June 11(ABC): US consumer prices accelerated in May as gasoline prices hit a record high and the cost of food soared, leading to the largest annual increase in nearly 40-1/2 years, suggesting that the Federal Reserve could continue with its 50 basis points interest rate hikes through September to combat inflation. The faster-than-expected increase in inflation last month reported …

SINGAPORE: Oil prices slipped on Friday but remained within touching distance of three-month highs as fears over new COVID-19 lockdown measures in Shanghai outweighed solid demand for fuels in the United States, the world’s top consumer. Brent crude futures for August were down 77 cents, or 0.6%, at $122.30 a barrel as of 0448 GMT after a 0.4% decline the …

KARACHI, June 10(ABC): Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves continued the downtrend as the total amount held by the country dropped to $15.2 billion, the latest data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed Thursday. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $15,176.5 million as of June 3, after the reserves declined by $594.9 million or 3.77%, compared …

LIMASSOL, June 09(ABC): Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday affirmed the B3 long-term deposit ratings of five Pakistani banks. As part of the same rating action, Moody’s has changed the outlook on the banks’ long-term deposit ratings to negative from stable. The rating agency has also downgraded the long-term foreign currency Counterparty Risk Ratings of three of these five banks to …

WASHINGTON, June 09(ABC): The World Bank slashed its growth estimate for the global economy to 2.9 percent, 1.2 percentage points below the January forecast, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has caused a severe downturn. “The world economy is expected to experience its sharpest deceleration following an initial recovery from global recession in more than 80 years,” the …

ISLAMABAD, June 09(ABC): The country’s economic growth rate has reached 6% against the target of 4.8%. According to the outlines of the National Economic survey  the economic growth was higher than the target while the inflation exceeded the target of 8%. The growth rate of inflation is more than 13% and the growth rate in agriculture was 4.4% while in …

HONG KONG, June 09(ABC): Asian markets fell Thursday as a rally in oil ramped up inflation fears, with top officials warning of more pain to come as the Ukraine war continues to push prices up and put further pressure on the global economy. Buyers on Wall Street were in retreat again after data showed US crude and gasoline stockpiles sank, …

NEW YORK, June 09(ABC): Oil prices jumped over 2% to a 13-week high on Wednesday as U.S. demand for gasoline keeps rising despite record pump prices, while expectations that China’s oil demand will increase faced growing supply concerns in several countries, including Iran. Iran said it was removing two International Atomic Energy Agency surveillance cameras at a uranium enrichment facility …

ISLAMABAD, June 09(ABC): The incumbent coalition government is all set to present its first “pro-people, business-friendly and progressive” budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 in the Parliament on June 10 (Friday), with a special focus on fiscal consolidation to contain the budget deficit. The budget would be presented by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail. The budget has …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): The coalition government, which came into power just months ago, may unveil over Rs9 trillion budget. Sources privy with the development, said that a major chunk of the new budget will be spent only on debt servicing of Rs3523 billion and Rs1586 billion will be allocated for defense. The finance ministry will have to borrow over Rs4 …

LAHORE, June 08(ABC): Punjab government on Tuesday prepared first draft of development budget in which it was proposed to allocate Rs640 billion in the development budget. According to the details, it has been recommended to allocate up to 35% of the budget for South Punjab and it was also proposed to start 13 mega development projects in Punjab while development …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal Tuesday said that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved Rs 250 billion Chashma Right Bank Canal (lift cum gravity), and referred with recommendation to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further approval. Addressing a press conference, the minister said, the project that was lingering on …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed an increase of Rs 12,50 per tola and was sold at Rs 143,250 on Tuesday against its sale at Rs 142,000 the previous day in the local market. The price of 10 gram 24 karat and 22 karat gold also increased by Rs.1072 and was sold at Rs.122,814 …

HONG KONG, June08(ABC): Asian markets rallied Wednesday, building on a hearty performance on Wall Street and helped by the reopening in China, though analysts continue to warn of near-term volatility caused by surging inflation, rising interest rates and the Ukraine war. Equities have enjoyed some respite in recent weeks from a painful sell-off caused by central bank monetary tightening — …