Author: admin

Mat TrewernBBC News, ManchesterBBCMark Wrigley said he felt “let down” by the governmentA bar owner has said he fears many small businesses are at risk of being “killed off” by a cocktail of rising costs.Mark Wrigley, who runs Atlas Bar in Manchester city centre, said he was worried that measures announced by the government in the Autumn budget would “wipe out” already struggling firms.Employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions and the National Minimum Wage increase in April.A Treasury spokesperson said the government was determined to “kickstart economic growth”, for example by “permanently cutting business rates” and “capping corporation tax for the…

As Pakistan seeks to strengthen its economic ties with the European Union (EU), Finance and Revenue Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb met with EU Ambassador Dr Riina Kionka to discuss the future of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) facility. According to a statement released by the Finance Division on Friday, the two sides discussed a range of matters of mutual interest, particularly on strengthening business and investment ties between the EU and Pakistan. During the meeting, Aurangzeb expressed appreciation for the EU’s support for Pakistan, particularly the importance of the GSP+ facility. “He highlighted that GSP+ has been a…

Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited (GATM), one of the country’s largest textile mills, announced plans to establish four wholly-owned subsidiaries to undertake specialized textile operations under sustainable practices. The listed company disclosed the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday. “The company’s management is desirous to explore avenues to expand and improve the company’s business and operations in an evolving environment, including conducting textiles operations under sustainable practices as per the requirements of customers, and transitioning operations towards renewable energy sources to potentially replace fossil fuel-based power dependency,” read the company’s circular disclosed to the…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 21 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee saw marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.06% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 280.21, a loss of Re0.16 against the greenback. On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 280.05. Internationally, the US dollar was broadly firmer on Friday with the euro pulling further away from a five-month peak as markets grappled with escalating global trade tensions and risks of a sharp economic downturn. Sowing more volatility across markets, US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Europe with a 200% tariff…

WASHINGTON: US automaker Tesla has warned that it and other major American exporters are exposed to retaliatory tariffs that could be leveled in response to President Donald Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs. The Tesla comments reflect those of many U.S. businesses concerned by Trump’s tariffs, but is notable because it is from Tesla. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has been leading the White House effort to shrink the size of the federal government. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has been leading the White House effort to shrink the size of the federal…

NEW YORK: Oil prices rebounded on Friday after a more than 1% loss in the previous session as investors weighed the diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war that could bring back more Russian energy supplies to Western markets. Brent crude futures were up 73 cents, or 1.04 %, to $70.61 a barrel at 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT), after settling 1.5% lower in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.27 a barrel, up 72 cents, or 1.08%, after closing down 1.7% on Thursday. Prices are set to end the week more or…

NEW YORK: Oil prices rebounded on Friday after a more than 1% loss in the previous session as investors weighed the diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war that could bring back more Russian energy supplies to Western markets. Brent crude futures were up 73 cents, or 1.04 %, to $70.61 a barrel at 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT), after settling 1.5% lower in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.27 a barrel, up 72 cents, or 1.08%, after closing down 1.7% on Thursday. Prices are set to end the week more or…

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 442 points on Friday. The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 115,730.98, following by some selling that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 115,162.69. At close, aided by late-session buying, the benchmark index settled at 115,536.17, up by 441.93 points or 0.38. “KSE-100 Index extended its gain as expectation that Pakistan will clear it first review of $7bn IMF EFF bailout programme continue to garner investor interest,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report. Top positive contribution…

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points during the opening hours of trading on Friday. At 9:20am, the benchmark index was hovering at 115,705.29 level, an increase of 611.06 points or 0.53%. Buying momentum was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PSO, SSGC, MEBL, HBL and UBL traded in the green. In a key development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs7,346 billion during the first eight months…

Real estate accounts for the largest share of endowments, valued at AED10 billionThe value of endowment assets in Dubai has risen to AED11.1 billion ($3 billion) in 2024, a 9 percent growth compared to the previous year, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said.“Dubai’s strategy to expand endowment assets has raised the total number of endowments to 1,043, while the number of donors has grown to 578,” Sheikh Hamdan said, affirming that Dubai remains…