Author: admin
This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial.China’s top economic officials are holding a press conference on Thursday afternoon as part of the “two sessions”, the country’s annual policymaking meetings.The leaders of the National Development and Reform Commission – Beijing’s top economic planner – the ministries of finance and commerce, China’s central bank and its main securities regulator are expected to attend.At the opening session of China’s national legislature on Wednesday, Premier Li Qiang…
Driven by institutional buying and expectations of a further rate cut, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong comeback, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,450 points on Thursday. Buying was witnessed throughout the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 113,871.21. At close, the benchmark index settled at 113,713.17, amid a gain of 1,459.41 points or 1.30%. Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including PRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, HBL, NBP and UBL traded in…
Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 15 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the rupee settled at 279.82, a gain of Re0.05 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 279.87. Internationally, the euro extended four-month highs to the US dollar on Thursday, following a surge in European bond yields on Germany’s proposed 500 billion euro ($539.85 billion) infrastructure fund and overhaul in borrowing limits. The greenback wallowed near a four-month trough against a basket of major peers as US President Donald…
Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 15 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the rupee settled at 279.82, a gain of Re0.05 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 279.87. Internationally, the euro extended four-month highs to the US dollar on Thursday, following a surge in European bond yields on Germany’s proposed 500 billion euro ($539.85 billion) infrastructure fund and overhaul in borrowing limits. The greenback wallowed near a four-month trough against a basket of major peers as US President Donald…
Year-on-year, foreign inflows have more than doubled from $890 million in FebruaryForeign inflows into GCC equity markets were strong in February 2025, with a net inflow of $2.47 billion, marking a sharp acceleration from $939 million in January, a new report said on Thursday.The UAE led with $2.47 billion in inflows, followed by Saudi Arabia at $352 million and Kuwait at $304 million. Qatar saw outflows of -$212 million, while Oman recorded a significant outflow of -$446 million.Year-on-year, foreign inflows have more than doubled from $890 million in February. This momentum is part of a broader acceleration, as cumulative foreign…
Year-on-year, foreign inflows have more than doubled from $890 million in FebruaryForeign inflows into GCC equity markets were strong in February 2025, with a net inflow of $2.47 billion, marking a sharp acceleration from $939 million in January, a new report said on Thursday.The UAE led with $2.47 billion in inflows, followed by Saudi Arabia at $352 million and Kuwait at $304 million. Qatar saw outflows of -$212 million, while Oman recorded a significant outflow of -$446 million.Year-on-year, foreign inflows have more than doubled from $890 million in February. This momentum is part of a broader acceleration, as cumulative foreign…
Ministers, facing potential cuts of billions of pounds from the welfare budget, have announced plans to use 1,000 work coaches to help the long-term unemployed into work.The coaches are already employed by job centres but will be redeployed to focus on tackling economic inactivity, said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).It said the staff would provide personalised and “intensive” support to thousands of sick and disabled people.But the Resolution Foundation, a think tank focused on people on low incomes, said only a tiny percentage would actually find a job.The coaches will offer tailored employment support to people on health-related…
• AGP says IMF worried over delay in audit process• PAEC says purchases made for nuclear power plant were ‘transparent’• Rs312bn fraud foiled, claims Langrial; PAC wonders if FBR operating as ‘private entity’ ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament while examining audit objections concerning the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Federal Board of Revenue on Wednesday voiced dissatisfaction over systemic and procedural shortcomings resulting in losses worth billions to the exchequer. During the session held under the chairmanship of Junaid Akbar, irregularities amounting to Rs1.15bn were identified in the spot procurement for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, according…
The sector’s rapid growth is on track to reach 5 percent of GDP two years ahead of scheduleFor the first time in its history, Saudi Arabia’s non-profit sector has exceeded SAR100 billion ($26.7 billion) in economic contribution, accounting for 3.3 percent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Prospects for the Non-Profit Sector 2025 report by the King Khalid Foundation.The report highlighted key contributions within the sector: Awqaf accounted for SAR48 billion, according to the General Authority for Awqaf, while non-profit organizations contributed SAR47 billion in spending, based on data from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).…
WASHINGTON: During his wide-ranging and eventful first speech to Congress, President Trump lashed out at India — among several other countries — for imposing what he called “very unfair” tariffs on American goods, and announced that from April 2, he would respond with reciprocal tariffs. Trump specifically criticised India’s 100pc tariff on American automobiles — grouping it with China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil — all of whom, he claimed, have exploited the US with excessively high tariffs for decades. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for years. Now it’s our turn,” Trump declared. He…