Banks lag behind in farm loan disbursement target
Stocks soar on IMF loan release
Dhaka stocks soared on Thursday with its turnover crossing Tk 1,000-crore mark after four months as the investors became optimistic following release of $1 billion extended credit facility from International... Full storyPharma manufacturers demand duty exemption on raw materials
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have demanded the National Board of Revenue should provide exemption of duty and value-added tax on imports of raw materials for producing vaccines, insulin anti-cancer... Full storyPlan underway to import 1.5m bales of cotton from India
As India imposes frequent ban on cotton export, the government has planned to sign a deal with the neighbouring country to import 1.5 million bales of cotton to keep the country’s textiles sector unhurt. Full storyWorld trade growth to slow: WTO
World trade growth will slow for a second year to 3.7 per cent in 2012 but ‘severe’ downside risks could drive it further below the 20-year average of 5.4 per cent, the World Trade Organisation forecast on... Full storyDaulatpur Jute mills goes into production next week
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation has stepped up efforts to resume trial production in Daulatpur Jute Mills from next week after it remained closed for nine years. Full storyEgypt expects to sign IMF loan by May 15
Egypt’s government expects to sign a deal for a $3.2 billion (2.4 billion euro) loan from the International Monetary Fund by May 15, finance minister Mumtaz al-Said said on Thursday. Full storyOPEC holds oil demand forecast
OPEC left its 2012 oil demand forecast unchanged on Thursday but cautioned that it now expects slower global economic growth, notably because of the eurozone debt crisis. Current high prices were unjustified, driven by... Full storyUS February trade gap shrinks
The US trade gap shrank in February on the back of an unexpected drop in imports, mainly from China, according to commerce department data released Thursday. The trade deficit fell to a seasonally adjusted $46 billion, from... Full storySony to cut 10,000 jobs, turn around TV business
Faced with mounting losses, Sony Corp. said Thursday it will slash 10,000 jobs, or about 6 per cent of its global workforce, and try to turn around its money-losing TV business over the next two years. Full storyAfghanistan to sell scandal-hit bank in June
Afghanistan plans to sell the Kabul Bank in June, two years after seizing it from its former owners who pushed it to the brink of collapse by taking illegal loans, an official said Thursday. Renamed ‘New Kabul Bank’ since being taken over... Full storyAsian stocks rebound
Asian markets rebounded on Thursday after a three-day sell-off as renewed fears over eurozone debt were soothed with the European Central Bank indicating it could step in if needed. Full storySkoda Auto posts record sales
Skoda Auto, a Czech brand German auto giant Volkswagen, said on Thursday that first-quarter sales rose by 11.8 per cent from the level at the same time last year to a record of 242,700 cars, with a boost from China and India. Full storyOil prices lower in Asian trade
Oil prices slipped in Asian trade on Thursday, with weaker US energy demand and fears the eurozone debt crisis could re-ignite casting a shadow over the market, analysts said. Full storyEuro firms as risk appetite rises on strong data
The euro firmed against the dollar and yen in Asian trade Thursday as risk appetite grew on strong Australian jobs data and easing fears over Europe’s debt problems. The single currency bought $1.3136 and 106.28 yen in Tokyo... Full storyEconomy picking up, exports better: Japan
Japan’s government stuck to its assessment that the economy is slowly recovering on Thursday but raised its view on exports, saying overseas shipments are showing signs of stabilising on a moderate pickup in the United... Full storyPC sales beat expectations, China growth slowing
