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The abortive effort to sell the state-owned Rupali Bank to a Saudi prince has pushed the bank’s shareholders to a worrying situation as they fear slump in the bank’s share price once its trading resumes.
   ‘I bought shares of the bank at Tk 2800 each,’ said Md Motahar Hossain, a Dhaka-based investor. ‘Now, I fear a heavy financial loss as the bank’s disinvestment process has failed.’
   The government on Monday rescinded a deal with Saudi prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud to sell off 93.26 per cent shares in Rupali Bank for $458 million following his non-compliance to pay the money and take over the bank.
   The Dhaka and the Chittagong stock exchanges, however, have kept the trading of the bank’s shares suspended.
   With the suggestion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bourses kept it halted since November 5 last year because of volatility in the bank’s share price following confusing reports on its disinvestment.
   Motahar said he purchased the Rupali Bank shares hoping huge capital gains after its expected sell-off to the Saudi prince.
   ‘We expect that the government will do something in the present situation.’
   A group of stock market analysts, however, opined that the shares of Rupali Bank should be offloaded through the stock exchanges. Currently 6.74 per cent shares of the bank are listed with the bourses.
   Rupali Bank share was traded at meagre Tk 500 on June 24, 2006 and it jumped to Tk 2,597.50 when the sell-off process continued in the late 2006. On October 16, 2007, the bank’s share price jumped to Tk 3124.50 from Tk 1986.75 on October 9. The share price dropped to as low as Tk 1,297 as on June 13 last year due to delay in handing over the ownership of the bank to the Saudi prince. It, however, closed at Tk 2904.25 on the day before the bourses halted its trading.
   Volatility in Rupali Bank share price prompted the stock exchanges to halt its share trading on a temporary basis for several times before the November 5 suspension.
   Analysts said uncertainties in the handover process instigated various rumours in the market about the fate of the bank’s sale to the Saudi prince, the highest bidder, causing volatility in its share prices since the disinvestment negotiation started.
   Another Dhaka-based investor Md Habibur Rahman said investors, who bought shares of Rupali Bank at inflated prices and held, were passing anxious time ahead of the resumption of the bank share trading.
   A senior SEC official Tuesday said the commission would take decision over the resumption of the bank’s share trading after getting government communique on the scrapping of the deal.

The finance adviser, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, said Saturday the main economic indicators all pointed to a stable situation prevailing in the country.
   The adviser spoke to reporters following a pre-budget meeting at the Chittagong Circuit House.
   ‘Considering increased loans, progress in the middle indexes, an increase in imports and exports and increasing wages, it looks as if the economy is stable,’ said Azizul.
   The adviser pointed to surveys carried out by various agencies around the country that indicated workers wages had recently seen significant increases.
   Azizul said recent comments made by Regulatory Reforms Commission chairman Akbar Ali Khan who claimed a silent famine was prevailing in the country were his own and did not reflect the wider opinion.
   The finance adviser said the upcoming budget would see greater emphasis placed on maintaining recent growth, poverty alleviation, social security and increasing revenue collection to reduce dependency on foreign aid.
   ‘The budget will be prepared with an eye on developing the lives of those on the fringes of society,’ he said.
   In the pre-budget discussion the adviser had said special attention would be paid to checking increasing regional disparity in Bangladesh.
   Azizul claimed the caretaker government had been successful in achieving some ‘fundamental goals’ during its tenure.
   ‘Every year poverty levels are reduced by two per cent, which is worthy of comment in the context of the current global situation,’ Azizul said.
   The adviser said this year’s budget had not been prepared with advice from the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.
   ‘This government will not take any external advice that goes against the country’s interests.’
   The finance adviser conceded that Annual Development Programme implementation had been sluggish over the last few years.
   ‘I have directed the officials concerned to increase the speed of implementation for ADP projects.’
   The adviser said the caretaker government would present the next budget in the absence of an elected parliament, and the opinions of a wide cross section of society would be taken into consideration.
   He said Bangladesh was near the bottom of the list of countries in terms of revenue collection and the upcoming budget would focus on remedying the situation.
   Acting Chittagong mayor Manzur Alam urged the adviser to include a number of city corporation projects in the ADP.
   Alam said the corporation’s lump sum allocation had been reduced over the last few years, and had now dropped to Tk 19 crore from Tk 30 crore.

Three largest shipbuilding companies in Bangladesh have got export offer of ship buildings of about Tk 2000 crore within three months, which shows a huge potentiality in this sector.
   This was told by KM Mahmood Ur Rahman, managing director of Highspeed Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, at a press conference held at the Purbani Hotel on Saturday.
   Highspeed, the country’s oldest shipbuilder, on March 11 singed a memorandum of understanding with Hollander Scholtens (HS), Groningen, the Netharlands for construction of eight numbers of MPC (ICE Class) vessels in phases with a cost of Tk 600 crore ($87m), he said at the press conference.
   The eight ships, each of 4500-tonne capacity, will be built in phases, which is expected to begin in December, he said.
   Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited, based at Meghnaghat, and Western Marine in Chittagong have already bagged rest of the order of Tk 2000 crore since the country emerged as new global destination of shipbuilding last year, he said.
   Mahmood said this new shipbuilding efforts will open new avenue for earning foreign exchange through export of new ships.
   ‘Bangladeshi Shipyards have acquired a lot of experiences in the field of shipbuilding. Our cost of production is highly competitive compared to other foreign shipyards and this advantage has been realised by the foreign ship owners, who are now placing orders to Bangladesh Shipyards,’ said Mahmood.
   Urging the government to give proper attention and assistance to the sector, Mamood said it would be necessary for the government to allow them to import all kinds of capital machinery for setting up new heavy shipyards and also allow them bonded ware house facilities for import of all raw materials through green channel.
   If government gives enough incentives to the shipbuilding sector, it will be able to contribute substantially in the national economy, generating employment in line with readymade garment sector, he said.
   Among others, project management consultant (Hollander Scholtens) Jacob Gnodde, Nick Dowling, president of Bangladesh Dutch Chamber of Commerce JF Oldenhuinzing, managing director of FastGrowth Holdings Limited, Mashiur Rahman and head of department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering of BUET Khabirul Haque Chowdhury attended the press conference.

Thailand will step up from being a manufacturer of low-tech pickup trucks when it starts to assemble the Toyota Camry Hybrid in the near future, said a top Toyota engineer.
   According to The Straits Times, Yasuyuki Kawamoto, chief engineer of the Thai-made Corolla Altis, said in Singapore that Toyota would be assembling its Camry Hybrid in Thailand.
   The hi-tech petrol-electric model is currently available only in the United States, where the popularity of hybrid models has risen dramatically over the years due to their low fuel consumption and environmental friendliness.
   Kawamoto said this would happen ‘within the lifetime of the current Camry model’, which was launched two years ago and is due to be replaced in 2011. ‘In the future, we will do all our planning for Asian models in Thailand. Currently, we still do it in Japan,’ he said.
   The Camry is one of the most popular mid-sized sedans in Thailand, competing against the Honda Accord and Nissan Teana.
   The Camry Hybrid will likely be built at Toyota’s Gateway plant in Chachoengsao province, which is one of Toyota’s ‘green’ plants that produces passenger cars including the Corolla Altis and Vios.
   According to Toyota Motor Thailand, the final decision to assemble the Camry Hybrid lies with the parent company in Japan.
   ‘We are still in the study phase for this project and that’s why we brought in a fleet of Prius hybrid cars to test the market last year,’ said company spokesman Kij Mahajuntakarn.

The US president, George W Bush, on Saturday renewed his push for making tax cuts adopted earlier in his administration permanent, arguing they are important to help the ailing US economy.
   ‘Members need to make the tax relief we passed permanent, reduce wasteful spending, and open new markets for American goods, services, and investment,’ Bush said in his weekly radio address.
   Last month, Bush signed into law a 168-billion-dollar stimulus package designed to bolster the sagging economy. But economists argue its effects remain to be seen.
   Tax rebate checks are due to start arriving in US consumers’ mailboxes in around two months, in a move intended by the White House to boost spending.
   But Bush warned Congress against overreacting to economic problems and taking measures like artificially propping up housing prices.
   ‘When you are steering a car in a rough patch, one of the worst things you can do is overcorrect,’ the president said. ‘That often results in losing control and can end up with the car in a ditch.’

Gold Saturday scaled a new peak of Rs 13,110 per ten grams on the bullion market here on persistent buying by stockists on the back of firm global trend.
   Silver prices also shot up to an all-time high of Rs 25,225 per kg on sustained industrial demand coupled with rising trend in international market.
   Gold futures extended historic highs in New York yesterday as the metal functioned as a safe haven and alternative currency, while the US dollar continued to weaken and fresh credit-market turmoil emerged.
   Most-active April gold rose $5.70 to settle at $999.50 an ounce after extending its reach to $1,009 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
   Follow-through buying from the continued credit and subprime linked financial problems at major firms supported gold, a dealer said.
   Comex May silver rose 23.5 cents to settle at $20.655 an ounce.
   In the local market, standard gold (99.5 purity) firmed up by Rs 80 per ten grams to Rs 13,110 from Rs 13,030 previously and pure gold (99.9 purity) moved by the same margin to Rs 13,170 from Rs 13,090.
   Silver ready (.999 fineness) shot up to Rs 25,225 from Rs 25,020 previously, showing a rise of Rs 205 per kilo.

The High Court is scheduled today to hear several cases regarding disputed candidatures in the election to the executive board of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
   The higher court will hear a writ against the candidature of federation president hopeful MA Rouf Chowdhury.
   Chowdhury’s candidature was okayed by the federation’s arbitration tribunal lastly but its general body member Osman Gani went to the High Court against Chowdhury.
   According to the revised election rules of the apex trade body, Chowdhury is not eligible to contest in the current election as he had been elected to the board of the federation for three consecutive terms, Gani stated in his petition.
   The High Court is also scheduled to give its ruling on separate cases regarding candidatures of four others, who are vying for directorship posts at the board.
   MA Rouf Chowdhury on Saturday told New Age that he would arrange a press conference in the city at 2:00pm today to express his observations regarding cases and forward his election manifesto.
   Chowdhury’s counterpart Annisul Huq announced his manifesto on Thursday.
   The polling, to choose directors, is scheduled for March 17 and its office bearers’ election will be held on March 19.

Government Saturday announced it has approved 18 foreign direct investment proposals that will bring in Rs 1,553.26 crore, including Rs 560 crore by Essar Capital Limited.
   The finance ministry approved the proposals at a meeting held on March 7.
   Among the approved proposals, Essar Capital Limited would invest Rs 560 crore to acquire the status of holding company for downstream investments. Cyprus-based Melbrook Ltd would bring in an FDI of Rs 125 crore for changing its status from operating company to operating cum holding company.
   Redington India Limited would bring in Rs 195 crore by way of foreign equity by holding company, while Ortel Communications would effect a compulsory convertible for Rs 60 crore.
   JSW Energy would induct FDI of Rs 63.23 crore in a holding company through IPO. The government has, however, rejected four FDI proposals. These were from Red Fort India Realty Fund, Azorim International Holdings Ltd, Wadhwa Associates Realtors and Xcel Telecom Pvt Ltd.
   Seven proposals have been deferred, including those from Singapore-based Singtel Australia Pte Ltd, and KNOX Holding Pte Ltd. Singtel’s proposal was to set up long distance telephony services.

Japan’s Hitachi Ltd said Friday it expected to spend a second straight year in the red, incurring a net loss of 700 million dollars as its flat-screen television business slumped.
   Hitachi revised its forecast of a 10 billion yen profit for the year ending March 31, saying it now expected a group net loss of 70 billion yen (700 million dollars).
   The company said it expected operating losses of 112 billion yen at the digital media and home-use devices division due to ‘prolonged drops in market prices of flat televisions and lower-than-expected sales of large-screen models.’
   It will book a total of 56 billion yen in restructuring charges from its loss-making plasma panel and plasma TV business, a statement said.
   Hitachi said it would also write down a deferred tax asset of some 62 billion yen after reassessing the profitability of its digital media and consumer electronics division, which covers the flat TV business.
    ‘Because a massive appreciation of the yen and falling share prices may severely affect consumer sentiment ... we feel it is wise to take the necessary accounting measures at this point to lighten the financial burden on our balance sheet,’ chief financial officer Toyoaki Nakamura told a press conference.
   The dollar slumped below the key 100 yen level Thursday for the first time in 12 years, threatening to cut into Japanese export earnings.
   Competition is also fierce among Japanese consumer electronics manufacturers, and plasma television sales have been falling behind those for liquid crystal displays, a rival high-definition technology.
    ‘While we continue to face steep price declines of our flat TVs, we now want to improve the profitability (of the business) by boosting our sales outside the Hitachi group, including sales to Chinese assembly makers,’ Nakamura said.
   Pioneer Corp said last week that it was giving up on producing plasma panels. The move left Hitachi and industry leader Matsushita, the maker of the Panasonic brand, as the only Japanese firms left in the business.
   Hitachi had blamed last year’s loss largely on the one-off factor of repairing faulty turbines it had supplied to two nuclear plants and projected a return to the black this year.

Prime Finance and Investment Limited, a full-fledged merchant bank, recently signed an agreement with Confidence Salt Limited to manage its proposed initial public offering.
   Md Akter Hossain Sannamat, managing director of Prime Finance and Investment, and Quadi Shahidul Islam, managing director of Confidence Salt, signed the issue management agreement through a function in the Dhaka city, said a press release.
   PFI consultant AKM Nozmul Haque, senior vice-presidents Moin Al Kashem and Md Ahsan Kabir Khan, vice-president Rezaul Haque and Confidence Salt deputy general manager Sadiul Islam, among others were present on the occasion.

The price of wheat has more than tripled during the past 10 months, making Americans’ daily bread — and bagels and pizza and pasta — feel a little like luxury items. And baked goods aren’t the only ones getting more expensive: Experts expect some 80 per cent of grocery prices will spike, too, and could remain steep for years because wheat and other grains are used to feed cattle, poultry and dairy cows.
   ‘It’s going to affect everything ... impact on every section of the grocery store,’ said Michael Bittel, senior vice president of King Arthur Flour Co. in Norwich, Vt.
   Consumers such as Maria Cardena feel trapped by the prices. She said the bread she buys has jumped from 69 cents a loaf to $1.09 in recent weeks.
   ‘You have to buy it,’ said the 29-year-old mother from Lubbock, Texas. ‘You can’t go without it. Everything has gone up.’
   The wheat market has been pushed higher by a combination of agricultural, financial and energy issues.
   Poor wheat harvests in Australia and parts of Europe and the U.S. have caused China and other Asian countries to buy up more American crops, which are especially attractive because of the weak U.S. dollar.
   At the same time, the American crop is shrinking because of federal incentives to grow corn for ethanol. And skyrocketing gas prices make it costlier to get any wheat to market. Those same pressures have also made it more expensive to supply feed grains for livestock.
   At Bob’s Red Mill flour company, wheat flour has typically been subject to retail price adjustments every five years. Now those increases are happening almost monthly.
   ‘You look at the price and you say, ‘Oh, my gosh,’‘ said Dennis Gilliam, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the company in Milwaukie, Ore. ‘It keeps climbing every day.’
   Wheat historically trades at $3 to $7 a bushel.
   But this week, futures of spring wheat — which produces the flour used in hearth breads, rolls, croissants, bagels and pizza crust — were close to $18 a bushel on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. They climbed as high as $24 in late February.
   Consumers pay an additional penny on wheat products for each dollar the price-per-bushel increases. ‘It’s a huge impact,’ said Steve Mercer, spokesman for U.S. Wheat Associates, an industry group.
   White bread cost an average of 85 cents a pound in 1998 and $1.03 in February 2006. The price rose to $1.32 a pound last month, according to federal data.
   And that’s on top of overall food price increases of 4 per cent last year and an additional 3.5 to 4.5 per cent expected this year, according to federal data. Most years see 2.5 per cent increases.
   During the past few months, the price of cereals and baked goods has risen nearly 6 per cent over the same time last year, federal officials reported.
   Consumers can try to minimize costs by buying fewer wheat products, but the nation’s bakers, pizzerias and other flour-dependent industries don’t have that luxury.
   Panera Bread Company is paying more than double what it paid for wheat in 2007 — an additional $26.5 million this year, according to its latest earnings report.
   At Kraft Foods Inc., producer of Ritz crackers and Chips Ahoy cookies, the cost of commodities including wheat were up 9 per cent last year, or about $1.3 billion. Spokeswoman Lisa Gibbons called that unprecedented and said the company doesn’t expect prices to ease anytime soon.
   The company has offset most of those costs by finding savings elsewhere, such as switching its Miracle Whip sandwich spread from glass to cheaper plastic bottles.
   At the online baked goods retailer 1-800-Bakery.com, the price of wheat has meant a hiring freeze and curbing low-profit products. So far, those measures have been enough to avoid price increases. But Stephen Pazyra, the company’s chief executive, said prices will go up unless there is relief soon.
   Sometimes the only option is to bake less.
   Four months ago, Tony’s Old Fashioned Bakery in Midland, Texas, was paying $7.50 for a 25-pound bag of flour. This week the cost was $23 a bag — for a company that uses 25 to 30 bags a week.
   To stretch their dollar and flour, Carmina Aguilar said her family’s bakery is making fewer pastries for display and stopped taking many last-minute orders.
   Meanwhile, some consumers are taking the opposite path — baking more. King Arthur’s Bittel said that while store-bought bread is running between $3 and $5, a home baked loaf will cost about 60 cents.
   That’s up from 40 cents from a year ago, but Bittel said his company nevertheless has seen growing sales of bread-making machines.
   Some experts said wheat prices may be close to topping out. But whether prices come down, and when, is a guessing game.
   Global wheat stocks have hit a 30-year low following seven of eight years in which world consumption exceeded production. Federal projections show America’s supplies at their lowest levels since the late 1940s.
   Earlier this week, representatives of the U.S. baking industry went to Washington to ask the Bush administration and Congress to address the record wheat prices.
   Lee Sanders, senior vice president of the American Bakers Association, said her group isn’t asking for a wheat export moratorium, which countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Argentina have enacted. But the industry does want export policies reviewed to ensure domestic bakers have enough affordable flour.

An influential group of British lawmakers on Saturday called for an end to BAA’s stranglehold over British airports, arguing that the operator’s monopoly, particularly in London, had stifled competition.
   ‘There is room for more competition, especially between London airports,’ said Gwyneth Dunwoody, chairwoman of the lower House of Commons transport oversight committee.
   BAA, owned by the Spanish construction group Ferrovial, operates seven British airports: Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in London; Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland; and Southampton, on England’s south coast.
   About 1,700 aircraft take off from its British airports every day — the equivalent to one every 30 seconds — and it handled 150 million passengers between March 2007 and February this year, according to the firm’s website.
   Dunwoody said BAA had the lion’s share of air travel into and out of Britain and its future was ‘of central importance’ to the country. But she added: ‘Ending BAA’s common ownership will encourage airports to compete for traffic.
    ‘The committee firmly believes that increased competition is possible and could have huge benefits for both airlines and passengers.’
   The committee’s report said the company had to answer ‘serious questions raised over mismanagement of resources and failure to plan adequately for contingencies which were far from unexpected, let alone inconceivable’.
   That included strikes and ‘terrorist incidents’, it said.
    ‘Our criticism of BAA is that it should have predicted the predictable and planned accordingly,’ it added.

Cuba looked set Friday to respond to mounting pressure for change with what would be the first meaningful economic reform since Raul Castro took over as president last month.
   Government officials and a communist party newspaper said Friday that Cuba was expected to legalise the sale of computers, microwaves, DVDs and other appliances soon, so long as sales are in state-run stores that only take hard currency.
   The reforms would come after ailing Communist stalwart Fidel Castro, now 81, handed power to his brother Raul, 76, in Febuary, after almost 50 years in power. Raul Castro has pledged to do away with unspecified restrictions unpopular with Cubans.
   An article in the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma warned Friday that there was ‘concern’ over expectations that some planned measures could solve ‘built up domestic needs.’
   It said only hard work, savings and greater productivity would do the trick in the Americas’ only centralized economy.
   But the author, legislator Lazaro Barredo, confirmed some measures would take effect soon, such as ‘access (for Cubans) to tourist facilities, and the sale of appliances’ such as computers.
   Domestic trade ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expected the reforms soon though nothing official had been announced yet.

The near-collapse of US investment giant Bear Stearns and its Federal Reserve bailout on Friday heightened fears that the worst is not over for the spreading global credit crunch.
   Bear Stearns, among the hardest hit by the collapse of the US subprime, or high-risk, mortgage market, said it was getting an emergency loan from JPMorgan Chase backed by the Federal Reserve after its liquidity position had ‘significantly deteriorated.’
   The Fed meanwhile pledged ‘to provide liquidity as necessary to promote the orderly functioning of the financial system,’ a statement that highlighted concerns about the credit squeeze and its wider impact on the banks.
   Traders said Bear Stearns’s need for emergency funds spooked investors as a credit crunch sweeps Wall Street and concerns mount that a housing slump and rising job cuts could push the US economy into a recession.
    ‘Obviously, the Bear Stearns story rapidly gave rise to worries that it might not be the only firm with similar problems,’ said Gregory Drahuschak, analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott.
   The Bear Stearns news ‘has sent reverberations throughout all markets worldwide, not only because this is another ‘too big to fail’ scenario, but also because it has strong implications for a domino effect in the already weakened financial services industry and beyond,’ added Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Iran has called for Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras to become more active in its oil sector as a way of countering Western pressure, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported Friday.
   The daily quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Alireza Sheikh Attar, as saying: ‘We are neither pressuring nor imploring its participation in Iran. But we can’t just sit around waiting.’
   He added that Iran has the second-biggest oil and gas reserves in the world and ‘Petrobras knows how much can be done in Iran.’
   Petrobras is a recognized world leader in deep-sea drilling, and it has said recent vast petroleum finds could propel Brazil among the ranks of OPEC members.
   Sheikh Attar said ‘the ball is in Petrobras’ court,’ while recognizing that Brazil may be subject to ‘pressures from its northern neighbors’ — code for Iran’s arch-foe, the United States.

The Standard Chartered Bank has signed an agreement with the Pacific Motors Ltd and the Hyundai Motors Bangladesh Ltd in the Dhaka city on Monday.
   Under this agreement, Standard Chartered will offer special interest rates to customers purchasing Nissan vehicles from Pacific Motors Ltd and Hyundai vehicles from Hyundai Motors Bangladesh Ltd by availing Auto Loan facility from the bank.
   Tarek Reaz, head of mortgage and auto of Standard Chartered, and AJ Siddiqul, executive vice-president of Pacific Motors and managing director of Hyundai Motors Bangladesh Ltd, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.
   Solaiman Ali, vice-president of Pacific Motors, and Shah Shuja Bin Jabber, senior business manager, mortgage and auto of Standard Chartered Bank, were also present.

Mobile phone operator Grameenphone recently signed an agreement with the Daffodil Group to provide communication facilities under its business solutions package.
   Sayeduzaaman, chief operating officer of Daffodil Group, and Yasir Azman, additional general manager of Grameenphone Ltd, signed the deal on behalf of their respective organizations, said a press release.
   Belal Ahmed, public relations officer, Nazimuddin Sarker, administrative officer, of Daffodil Group, and Ehatasham Haider, group manager, Tasmiya Munmun, account manager, of Grameenphone were present at the signing ceremony.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday fully restored Liberia’s IMF status and approved 900 million dollars in immediate financial support to the impoverished African country.
   The IMF said its executive board agreed ‘to fully normalize financial relations after more than two decades of protracted arrears’ by Liberia to the 185-nation institution.
   The decisions also enabled the IMF to pledge financial support of some 952 million dollars to Liberia.
   The executive board’s decisions allow an immediate disbursement to Liberia of some 900 million dollars, while the remaining 52 million will be drawn in six installments.
    ‘Liberia reached an important milestone today in normalizing its financial relations with the IMF by clearing its long overdue financial obligations,’ said Murilo Portugal, IMF deputy managing director.
   He said bridge loans by the United States helped Liberia clear its arrears to the IMF while other countries contributed to the financing package.
   The suspension of Liberia’s rights to use IMF aid was lifted after overdue obligations to the IMF were cleared through a bridge loan amounting to 888 million dollars.
   The approved IMF financial support includes a 391-million-dollar, three-year arrangement under a poverty reduction and economic growth loan and a 561-million-dollar arrangement in support of the an economic program covering 2008-2010.
   The IMF directors also agreed that Liberia had taken the steps necessary to reach a qualifying point under its Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program.
   The IMF said that a separate news release regarding the deliberations on its HIPC qualifications will be issued jointly with the World Bank following consideration of them by the Bank’s executive board, which was expected early next week.

Gold prices topped 1,000 dollars for the first time and oil futures rocketed to a record high 111 dollars this week as the dollar plunged to all-time lows against the euro.
   Investors dived into commodities as they sought a haven amid fears of a US recession and global economic slowdown. Investment in gold and oil is also seen as a hedge against future rises in inflation.
   Since the commodities are priced in dollars, a tumbling greenback makes gold and oil cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, encouraging demand.
   The euro struck a record-high 1.5688 dollars Friday after US investment giant Bear Stearns announced it was being baled out because of liquidity problems and following weak US consumer confidence data, traders said.
   Oil: Oil prices enjoyed another record-breaking run this week as traders sought refuge from turbulent stock markets and the dollar’s downwards plunge.
   New York’s light sweet crude jumped to a record high 111 dollars per barrel on Thursday. London’s Brent oil hit an historic 108.02 dollars Friday.
   ‘The dollar story, inflation concerns and fears of slower growth in the US are still dominating news headlines,’ said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
   Oil has rocketed 90 percent over the past year as the market is driven by tight supplies, geopolitical concerns in key producer nations and strong demand from China and India.
   Prices have gained about nine percent in value since the start of 2008, accelerating after the OPEC crude exporters’ cartel held output at current levels last week.
   The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries also on Friday left unchanged its estimate for growth in world oil demand this year.
   OPEC said while high prices and mild winter weather would brake demand in major industrialised countries, the market for crude would be strong elsewhere.
   ‘World oil demand in 2008 is forecast to grow by 1.2 million barrels per day to average 86.97 million bpd, unchanged from our previous’ estimate, the organisation said in its March monthly report.
   By Friday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, was at 109.30 dollars, up from 105.42 dollars a week earlier.
   Brent North Sea crude for April jumped to 106.59 dollars from 105.42 dollars.
   Gold: Gold prices soared to a record high 1,007.40 dollars per ounce on Friday as the dollar slumped to record lows versus the euro.
   ‘The gold-favourable environment continues to evolve positively for the metal, with expectations of further Fed rate cuts and inflationary concerns boosting safe haven buying,’ said analysts at Barclays Capital.
   Gold has risen by about 17 percent so far this year, underscored also by supply problems in South Africa, the world’s largest producer.
   Gold has been on an upward trend since the start of January when the yellow metal jumped above 850 dollars per ounce, smashing a 28-year-old record.
   Global demand for gold is also surging owing to increased jewellery purchases in China and India
   On the London Bullion Market, gold stood at 1,003.50 dollars per ounce at Friday’s late fixing, up from 972.50 dollars a week earlier.
   Silver jumped to 21.07 dollars per ounce from 20.22 dollars.
    Platinum: Platinum prices rose but failed to forge new heights a week after striking an historic peak of 2,301.50 dollars per ounce.
   ‘The platinum market is projected to record a hefty deficit this year, further depleting the low level of above-ground inventories and thus exposing prices to further upside potential,’ said analysts at Barclays Capital.
   On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum climbed to 2,107 dollars per ounce at the late fixing Friday from 2,082 dollars a week earlier.
   Palladium gained to 512 dollars per ounce from 506 dollars.
   Base Metals: Tin reached a fresh historic high of 20,700 dollars per tonne on supply disruptions and strong demand as the dollar weakened.
   ‘New record highs on oil also gave the complex some strength,’ said BNP Paribas analyst David Thurtell.
   ‘Mine costs will be pushed higher as the cost of running heavy equipment surges,’ he added.
   By Friday, copper for delivery in three months eased to 8,490 dollars per tonne on the London Metal Exchange from 8,495 dollars a week earlier.
   Three-month aluminium fell to 3,156 dollars per tonne from 3,198 dollars.
   Three-month nickel dropped to 32,850 dollars per tonne from 33,175 dollars.
   Three-month lead rose to 3,101 dollars per tonne from 3,090 dollars.
   Three-month zinc slid to 2,608 dollars per tonne from 2,630 dollars.
   Three-month tin jumped to 20,700 dollars per tonne from 19,299 dollars.
   Grains And Soya: Wheat prices reached a record closing high of 12.82 dollars per bushel Wednesday in Chicago on tight supplies and strong demand.
   By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for May delivery had risen to 11.73 dollars per bushel from 11.05 dollars the previous week.
   May-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — fell to 13.55 dollars from 14.08 dollars.
   The price of maize for May delivery gained to 5.55 dollars per bushel from 5.47 dollars a week earlier.
   On LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price per tonne of wheat for November delivery rose to 160.50 pounds from 158.75 pounds a week earlier.
   Cocoa: Cocoa prices hit the highest point for 28 years in London at 1,525 pounds per tonne.
   ‘A strike over pay by dock workers at ports in the Ivory Coast continued, bringing to a standstill export shipments from the world’s biggest cocoa producer,’ said analysts at Barclays Capital.
   By Friday on LIFFE the price of cocoa for May delivery advanced to 1,473 pounds per tonne from 1,394 pounds a week earlier.
   On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the May cocoa contract jumped to 2,879 dollars per tonne from 2,507 dollars a week earlier.
   Coffee: Coffee prices advanced in London and New York.
   By Friday on LIFFE, Robusta for May delivery had risen to 2,673 dollars per tonne from 2,507 dollars a week earlier.
   On the NYBOT, Arabica for May delivery rose to 151.45 US cents per pound from 149.90 cents.
   Sugar: Sugar prices gained.
   ‘The rally looks to have been sparked by further weakness in the dollar,’ noted analysts at Czarnikow.
   By Friday on LIFFE, the price per tonne of white sugar for May delivery advanced to 355 pounds from 349 pounds a week earlier.
   On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for May delivery spiked to 13.34 US cents per pound from 13.25 cents.

Unable to shake off credit market angst, Wall Street turns its attention to an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting where policymakers will attempt to restore market confidence.
   Confidence was shaken again in the past week as investment giant Bear Stearns said it had gained emergency funds from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and rival bank JPMorgan Chase to shore up its stretched finances.
   Market participants said Bear Stearns’ woes, triggered by mounting losses from mortgage-backed securities, and ongoing economic worries will likely spur the Fed to cut US interest rates at a policy meeting on Tuesday.
   Most economists expect the US central bank to cut its key short term federal funds interest rate, but opinion is divided over the size of a possible cut. Analysts believe it will be between 50 and 100 basis points, marking a significant reduction in borrowing costs.
   The Fed has slashed its fed funds rate by 225 basis points to 3.00 per cent since September in a bid to shore up economic momentum which is being threatened by a multiyear housing slump, a credit crunch, rising jobs cuts and skyrocketing crude oil prices.
   Despite such turmoil, the stock markets mostly posted modest gains in the past week.
   The leading blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.48 per cent for the week ended Friday to close at 11,951.09 points, although the index is down 10 per cent for the year to date.
   The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished the week unchanged at 2,212.49 while the broad-market Standard Poor’s 500 index gained 0.40 per cent to 1,288.14.
    ‘We are projecting that the FOMC will vote to reduce the federal funds rate by 75 basis points on March 18. There is an outside chance of a deeper 100-basis-point cut, given turbulent conditions in financial markets,’ economists at Global Insight said in a briefing note.
   Market participants expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to unleash another rate cut in the hope it helps the economy avoid a recession, although many analysts say the economy has already fallen into a downturn.
   Traders said the Fed’s Tuesday meeting will gain the most market attention in the coming week which will also see a flurry of economic reports released, including surveys on housing starts, producer price inflation and some forward-looking economic indicators.
   Housing starts are expected to moderate to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 995,000 properties in February compared with 1.0 million in the prior month as the housing downturn shows no sign of abating.
   Construction on new homes has plummeted by over 27 per cent in the past 12 months amid a widespread housing slump which has triggered financial problems for major banks such as Bear Stearns which own big portfolios stuffed with mortgage securities.
   Headline producer price inflation (PPI) is expected to rise 0.3 per cent in February following a 1.0 per cent gain in the prior month while the core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen rising 0.2 per cent against a rise of 0.4 per cent in January.

China keen to invest in Bangladesh
China is keen to invest in fabric manufacturing industry in the country’s EPZs and establish Textile and Apparel Trade Centre with a view to contributing to balancing bilateral trade tilted heavily towards china. A 17-member delegation of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles showed the interest during a meeting with senior officials of Export Promotion Bureau in Dhaka recently. CCCT vice-chairman Cao Xinyu and EPB vice-chairman Shahab Ullah co-chaired the meeting Wednesday, said a press release. Cao Xinyu mentioned the purposes of the CCCT delegation’s visit to Bangladesh. These are promoting communication and cooperation between Chinese and Bangladesh textile, apparel and ancillary industries, exploring the possibility of investing in the fabric manufacturing and study the market for Chinese fabrics and establishing Textile and Apparel Trade Centre in Bangladesh. Shahab Ullah urged the delegation to come forward to invest in Bangladesh particularly in the textile and apparel sector with a view to easing chronic trade imbalance with China referring to FY 2006-07’s total export of $92.99 million and import of $2537.16 million to and from China.
— UNB

GM recalls 200,000 sedans over fire risk
General Motors Corp is recalling 207,542 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans over a risk they could catch fire, and warned their owners not to park the cars in garages until they are fixed. The automaker said Friday it is recalling the 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Grand Prix GTP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 engines. During hard braking, drops of oil can leak from the engine onto the exhaust manifold, and fires can start if the oil gets hot enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site. GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said the problem has caused 267 vehicle fires and six injuries, five of them minor and one moderate. It also has caused 17 fires in structures, GM said.
— AP