A three-day Bangladesh single country trade and tourism fair will begin in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on December 4.
   Dhaka International Exhibition Company Limited and Palli Bangla Unnayan Shahajogita Sangstha will jointly organise the ‘Bangladesh Single Country Trade and Eco Tourism Fair 2009’ at Merdeka Square (Independent Square) in Kuala Lumpur.
   Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammad is expected to inaugurate the exhibition while civil aviation and tourism minister GM Quader will attend the event as special guest, said a DIEC release on Saturday.
   A total of 70 manufacturing, service and tourism organisations of Bangladesh will display their products and services at the fair.
   The main attraction of the fair is to launch vote campaign for the Sundarbans to nominate it as one of the seven wonders of nature in the world.A 20-member cultural team will also perform at the fair while leading Bangladeshi businessmen will be awarded by Global Economist Forum. A 14-member all party organising committee, headed by Bangladesh high commissioner in Kuala Lumpur AKM Atiqur Rahman, has been formed to make the upcoming fair a success.
   Business enterprises interested to take part in the fair may contact DIEC at 62/1, Puran Paltan, Dhaka (Tel: 9558318-9).

Limestone import through the Chela River route has remained suspended since Friday as Chhatak Limestone Importers and Suppliers Group went on an indefinite strike following an attack on their agents by the extortionists.
   Local sources said a gang of extortionists, numbering 15-16, attacked and injured some agents of the importers at Chairgaon in Doarabazar upazila of Sunamganj on Thursday evening as they refused to pay them toll.
   Later, Chhatak Limestone Importers and Suppliers Group at an emergency meeting decided to enforce an indefinite strike demanding arrest of and punishment for those responsible for the attack.
   They vowed to continue the shut down until the authorities took steps to stop criminal attack and extortion on the river routes.
   The striking importers also demanded to open Sonali Chela route to import limestone by trucks.
   A case was filed in connection with the attack.

The subscription of initial public offering of Provati Insurance Company Limited begins today.
   The insurance company is offering 9 lakh ordinary shares of Tk 100 each totalling Tk 9 crore, according to the IPO prospectus of the company.
   The subscription of the company’s IPO will close on November 19 for local investors. For non-resident Bangladeshis, it will close on November 28.
   Provati Insurance Company was incorporated on January 31, 1996 as a public limited company and was granted certificate for commencement of business on March 31, 1996.
   The company’s authorised capital is Tk 20 crore and pre-IPO paid up capital Tk 6 crore.
   In fulfilment of the conditions of licence by the chief controller of insurance, the company is raising its paid up capital to Tk 15 crore by way of the IPO.
   AAA Consultants and Financial Advisers Ltd is the manager to the issue.

Governor of Bangladesh Bank Atiur Rahman has said the country would march forward towards economic development through providing farmers and weavers with more small credit.
   ‘We want to help farmers and weavers at the grass roots level by providing them with small credits to attain the target of economic development of the country,’ he told a rally of farmers and weavers here.
   He was speaking as the chief guest at the rally organised by National Bank Limited at the Chandidasgati Memorial High School ground in Sirajganj on Friday.
   The governor said the farmers, weavers and others boosted their production in fields and factories and for their collective efforts the country’s foreign exchange reserve reached over 1,000 crore US dollar.
   ‘We want to maintain this upward trend of the reserve in future,’ he added.
   The present government has formulated a new agriculture loan policy, he said adding, ‘We should march forward according to the new loan policy.’
   The fates of small weavers and farmers would be changed, if we provide them with credit by changing loan distribution policy for rich people, he added.
   The governor urged the management of both nationalised and private banks to come forward and provide more loans to weavers to change their lot.
   The rally, presided over by chairman of the National Bank Mohammad Moazzem Hossain, was addressed, among others, by managing director of the bank Abdur Rahman Sarker, farmers and weavers Mohammad Altaf Hossain, Nurul Islam, Nilufar Zaman and Ismail Hossain.
   Later, the governor distributed Taka 9,000 each among 10 small weavers in the rally.
   Meanwhile, the National Bank has distributed Taka one crore among 350 weavers and Taka two crore among 450 farmers in different areas of Sirajganj district.

Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates airline, has unveiled Eid-ul-Azha special packages for travels to Dubai enabling Bangladeshi travellers to take advantage of the Eid holidays.
   The package starts from $957 per person for a stay of four days/three nights. The package to the vibrant city of Dubai includes economy class Dhaka-Dubai-Dhaka air ticket, accommodation at four-star Avari Dubai Hotel on twin-sharing basis with American breakfast, room taxes and service charges, return private car airport transfers, as well as meet and assist at Dubai International Airport.
   The package, however, will not include $54 airport departure tax per ticket.
   The offer is valid for packages purchased before November 20, 2009.
   Outbound travel must commence between November 20 and December 10, 2009.
   To ease the holiday planning process, Emirates Holidays will also facilitate visas at an additional cost of $75 per person for those booking the Eid-ul-Azha package.

US stocks got a lift Friday from strong corporate news and data showing a rise in global trade flows, helping Wall Street cap a second straight week of solid gains.
   The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 73.00 points (0.72 per cent) to close at 10,270.47, rebounding from its first loss in seven sessions on Thursday and giving the blue chips a weekly gain of 2.46 per cent.
   The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 18.86 points (0.88 per cent) to 2,167.99 and the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6.24 points (0.57 per cent) to 1,093.48.
   Momentum was helped by results late Thursday from Disney, which reported a quarterly profit of $895 million that was down 25 per cent from a year ago but better than expectations.
   Other firms, including retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, and Agilent Technologies also delivered solid results.
   ‘Positive earnings offset a weaker than expected reading of consumer confidence,’ said Scott Marcouiller at Wells Fargo Advisors.
   Disappointing the market was the University of Michigan survey on consumer sentiment, whose index fell to 66.0 from 70.6 in October, and caused the market to waver. A separate report showed the US trade gap rose to $36.5 billion.
   Although a higher trade deficit is normally negative, the data ‘is being viewed by the market in a positive context given its underlying message conveying a pickup in global trade,’ said Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com.
   Other analysts pointed out that a higher deficit would lead to lower US economic activity and a possible downgrade to gross domestic product.
   ‘The widening deficit is a warning that as US domestic demand increases, imports will bounce more than exports,’ said economist Nigel Gault at IHS Global Insight.
   ‘That means that the trade deficit will keep widening, and that trade will be a drag on growth.’
   Among stocks in focus, Disney rallied 4.78 per cent to $30.44 after the media-entertainment giant beat most forecasts for quarterly earnings, helped by strong results from its broadcast units. In retail, JC Penney leapt 6.19 per cent to $31.21 after the discount chain reported earnings shy of expectations but said it improved profit margins and kept its guidance forecasts for the coming months.
   Specialty retailer Abercrombie & Fitch surged 10.66 per cent to $40.68 after its forecast-beating results.
   Agilent rallied 4.3 per cent to $28.61 dollars after the maker of electronic testing equipment reported profits better than market forecasts and raised its guidance.
   Dow component McDonald’s added 2.27 per cent to $63.58 after upbeat comments from its executives about growth targets.

World oil prices fell Friday as the market focused on high levels of US petroleum inventories and other signs of a tepid recovery from the global recession.
   New York’s main contract — light sweet crude for delivery in December — dropped 59 cents from Thursday to close at 76.35 dollars per barrel.
   In London, Brent North Sea crude for December settled down 47 cents at $75.55 a barrel.
   Even though some financial markets are encouraged by signs of economic improvement, independent oil analyst Ellis Eckland said: ‘There is a lot of concern about the US economy; there are concerns that unemployment is going to be high for many years.’
   Jason Schenker at Prestige Economics said the market ‘remained under pressure from yesterday’s surprisingly bearish inventory numbers.’
   This is a strong indicator ‘that supply is up and abundant,’ he said. The US Department of Energy said American crude oil reserves surged 1.8 million barrels in the week ending November 6, more than the 200,000 barrels anticipated by the market.
   US gasoline or petrol stockpiles unexpectedly jumped by 2.5 million barrels while distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, rose by around 300,000 barrels.
   Markets gave a lukewarm response to news that the recession was over in Europe, with data showing Friday 0.4 per cent growth in the euro area and 0.2 per cent the European Union as a whole in the past quarter.
   ‘The message is that the recovery has begun, but the upswing will be a moderate and gradual affair as domestic demand will remain lacklustre,’ said Fortis economist Nick Kounis.
   Mike Fitzpatrick at MF Global said there are not yet concrete signs of increased energy demand.
   ‘Actual demand for commodities will not begin to grow significantly until there is evidence of sustained job growth, and as long as ‘virtual’ demand dominates, markets will be lulled into trading ranges or panicked into violent corrections,’ he said.

Washington signaled it will resist protectionism as it copes with the economic downturn, announcing Saturday that the US will join a free-trade area with other Pacific Rim nations.
   Leaders attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore had expressed concerns that the US, the world’s biggest economy, might turn inward as it grapples with high unemployment and other urgent domestic priorities.
   President Barack Obama, speaking in Tokyo before departing for the meetings in Singapore, announced that the US would participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, joining Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. The news drew loud applause at the APEC forum, and gave a boost to proposals to create a broad free-trade area spanning the 21-member forum.
   APEC, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, was created to promote greater trade and integration among Pacific Rim nations. Its scope since has expanded to encompass a wide range of issues, including climate change, energy and food security, and politics.
   In a surprise move, Peru’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country’s president, Alan Garcia, will leave early, missing meetings Sunday, to handle a spy case involving fellow APEC member Chile.
   The global economic crisis — the most severe since the 1930s — is the clear focus of this year’s forum. While the worst appears over, the recovery has so far been fragile and risks still remain, leaders said.
   Chinese president Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other leaders discussed new growth strategies following the financial meltdown. They are expected to push for faster progress in World Trade Organisation talks on trade liberalisation and in crafting a global agreement on responding to climate change.
   Free-trade areas will help create American jobs, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in Singapore.
   ‘We believe that a high-standard, regional trade agreement under the Trans-Pacific Partnership can help bring home to the American people the jobs and economic prosperity that are, in fact, the promise of a global trading society,’ Kirk told business and government leaders on the sidelines of the APEC forum.
   Kirk urged APEC members to work closely with the US in stimulating recovery in a ‘balanced’ way.
   ‘This means the United States needs to consume less, and produce and export more, while many of our APEC members with surpluses should seriously consider the need to increase their consumption and imports,’ he said.
   He emphasised American willingness to expand economic ties across the Asia-Pacific region and the key role the US plays in helping to lead global efforts toward freer trade.
   ‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’ he said. ‘If we work together to rise above this downturn, we can lift up all our economies and all our peoples.’
   Hu on Friday cited China’s efforts to fire up demand at home through improved social services, tax cuts and other consumption-friendly policies, to make the world’s third-largest economy less reliant on exports.

US President Barack Obama came under fire Saturday from Asia-Pacific leaders for backsliding on free trade at a regional summit devoted to driving the world economy out of crisis.
   ‘President Obama is facing severe political constraints that run counter to free trade,’ Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, complaining about US foot-dragging on full implementation of the NAFTA pact for North America.
   ‘The cruel paradox is that within a global economy, what really kills companies is inefficiency and lack of competition. Therefore protectionism is killing North American companies,’ he said in a speech in Singapore.
   ‘So I think this has to do with the fact that the US government is under strong political pressure that really is not being counteracted from the political perspective’ of the Obama administration.
   The US Congress has turned even more sour on free trade after the worst economic crisis since World War II. One landmark pact with South Korea is languishing and critics say the White House has done little to revive it.
   The US economy is perking up but unemployment has breached 10 per cent and economic leaders, including the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, warned in Singapore that protectionism could choke off recovery.
   Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said controversial tariffs enacted by his government to shore up ailing industries were temporary and urged his regional colleagues to ‘do anything we can to refrain from protectionism in any sphere’.
   The warnings came as a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum began. Obama arrived later in Singapore to join the 20 other leaders, after a visit to Tokyo.
   In a speech in the Japanese capital, Obama reaffirmed a US commitment to finally concluding the World Trade Organisation’s Doha round of talks—a long-running bid to tear down barriers to global commerce.
   And he said the United States was interested in an obscure trade pact that leaders say could become the nucleus for a massive trans-Pacific free-trade zone covering 2.6 billion people.
   ‘The United States will also be engaging with the Trans-Pacific Partnership countries with the goal of shaping a regional agreement that will have broad-based membership and the high standards worthy of a 21st century trade agreement,’ he said.
   The TPP now involves Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. Australia, Peru and Vietnam have expressed interest in joining, and Obama’s remarks were the clearest so far about Washington’s plans.
   ‘The US announcement is a significant statement of its intent to the Asia-Pacific region,’ Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said.
   ‘Importantly, it provides the critical mass essential for this initiative to go forward.’
   Obama meanwhile called for ‘balanced and sustained’ growth around the world in the post-crisis phase, pressing Asian exporters including China to wean themselves off US consumers and build up their own demand.

Google Inc. will loosen its control over millions of copyright-protected books that will be added to its digital library if a federal judge approves a revised legal settlement addressing the earlier objections of antitrust regulators.
   The concessions, filed late Friday in New York federal court, come two months after the U.S. Justice Department balked at Google’s original agreement with authors and publishers, warning the arrangement could do more harm than good in the emerging market for electronic books.
   Google, the Internet’s search leader, is hoping to keep the deal alive with a series of new provisions. Among other things, the modified agreement provides more flexibility to offer discounts on electronic books and promises to make it easier for others to resell access to a digital index of books covered in the settlement.
   Copyright holders also would have to give more explicit permission to sell digital book copies if another version is being sold anywhere else in the world.
   The changes are just the latest twist in a class-action lawsuit filed against Google four years ago by groups representing the interests of U.S. authors and publishers. The suit alleged Google’s ambition to make digital copies of all the books in the world trampled their intellectual rights.
   Google negotiated a $125 million truce nearly 13 months ago only to be attacked by a brigade of critics who protested to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, who must approve the agreement before it takes effect. The financial terms of the settlement remain intact, including a promise to give 63 per cent of all sales proceeds to participating authors and publishers.
   Among other complaints, the opposition said the plan would put Google in charge of a literary cartel that could illegally rig the prices of electronic books — a format that is expected to become increasingly popular.
   In echoing some of those concerns, the Justice Department advised Chin that the original settlement probably would break laws set up to preserve competition and protect copyright holders, even if they can’t be located.
   The concessions didn’t go far enough to satisfy one of the most strident opponents, Open Book Alliance, a group that includes Google rivals Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
   ‘Our initial review of the new proposal tells us that Google and its partners are performing a sleight of hand,’ said Peter Brantley, the Open Book Alliance’s co-chairman. ‘Fundamentally, this settlement remains a set-piece designed to serve the private commercial interests of Google and its partners.’

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hopes to conclude negotiations on Russia joining the World Trade Organisation WTO in 2010, he said in comments released by the Kremlin on Friday.
   ‘WTO accession remains on our agenda: we hope to conclude talks in 2010,’ Medvedev said.
   Medvedev stressed the importance of accession to Russia, a key global supplier of oil and gas, as well as to its trading partners.
   ‘Russia will continue to be a reliable source of energy and other raw materials. As such, we will remain dependent on the economic well-being of our customers and countries that provide transit services for Russia’s exports,’ he said.
   ‘This is why Russia will continue its efforts to promote a legally binding agreement on international energy co-operation,’ he said in a special article for The Economist magazine which was released by the Kremlin.
   Medvedev said Russia, in need of modernising often dilapidated industrial machinery, would ‘remain large importers of new equipment, technology and services.’
   ‘In other words, Russia sees itself as part of the global trade system, and wants to build stronger, more friendly and comfortable relations with all our partners.’
   Russia is the sole remaining major economy not to be integrated in the WTO system. Tortuous talks on joining started in 1993, but the United States called Russia’s accession into question after its war with Georgia in August 2008.
   In June this year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that Russia wanted to join at the same time as former Soviet satellites Belarus and Kazakhstan, with all three countries forming their own customs union.

Microsoft organised a seminar on ‘empowering the Bangladeshi developers’ at the IDB auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday.
   Marcos Pinedo, director of South-East Asia DPE Lead of Microsoft APAC HQ, and Feroz Mahmud, country manager of Microsoft Bangladesh, spoke on the occasion, said a news release.
   The seminar was attended by over a hundred software developers.
   The seminar covered the many initiatives and programmes with emphasis on the new version of application life cycle management system, visual studio team system 2010 and windows azure (cloud computing).

Mobile phone operator Aktel has signed an interconnection agreement with two interconnection exchange operators-Getco Telecommunications Limited and M and H Telecom Limited.
   Aktel managing director and chief executive officer Michael Kuehner, Getco Telecommunications Limited chairman and managing director KM Khaled, and M and H Telecom Limited managing director Mustafizur Rahman signed the agreement at a ceremony in Dhaka on Wednesday, said a news release.
   Under the agreement, Aktel will forward and receive its traffic from/to other ANS operators as well as IGW operators for international traffic via the ICX operators.

BRAC organised chicks and feed marketing dealer conference, 2009 at its training and resource centre at Savar in Dhaka recently.
   Managing director of BRAC Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali was present as chief guest at the function, said a news release.
   At the conference, BRAC vowed to facilitate the poultry farmers and dealers in every way possible to enrich poultry farming.
   Two new products – ‘BRAC Diamond’ and ‘BRAC Diamond Plus’ – were introduced on the occasion. The products will be available in the market from December this year.

Paul J Heytens, the newly appointed country director of Asian Development Bank, recently visited the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation and held a meeting with the chairman of SMEF, Aftab ul Islam.
   Managing director of the foundation Momtaz Uddin Ahmed and financial management officer of ADB MM Zillur Rahman were also present on the occasion, said a news release. They exchanged ideas on capacity building, women entrepreneurship, poverty elevation, income/ job generation, co-ordination, monitoring system, encouragement and the process of providing necessary assistance and guidance for the SME development and promotion.