SYDNEY - The Australian government expects to seal free trade agreements with Indonesia and Hong Kong by year’s end, its trade minister said on Friday. Concluding the two agreements would wrap years of talks, which in the case of Indonesia have dragged on since 2010, stalling along the way as diplomatic tensions between the two sides flared. “I think by...
Netflix shares plunged Monday after the leading streaming television service said subscriber growth fell short of expectations in the recently ended quarter. Membership in the quarter grew 5.2 million to a total of 130 million, matching the same period last year but a million shy of what Netflix had forecast, according to a letter released along with earnings figures. Netflix...
Pakistani Rupee hit all time low losing 5.7 pc of its value against US dollar, traded at record high of Rs128.26 in interbank trading on Monday, Newsone reported The greenback gained Rs 6.5 in a single day, while this was fourth time that Pakistani rupee faced a serious blow in its value against Dollar since December. In the open market...
BEIJING - China could open its economy if it wishes, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday in Beijing, as Beijing comes under growing pressure over its industrial policies amid an escalating trade war with Washington. Playing host to Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need to uphold free trade and multilateralism...
BEIJING - European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday China, the United States and Russia had a duty not to start trade wars and called on the three countries to reform the World Trade Organization. He said there was still time to prevent conflict and chaos. Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker are in Beijing to meet Chinese...
BEIJING - China’s property investment posted its weakest growth in six months in June as developers faced fresh curbs and tighter funding conditions, with sales also slowing, in a sign one of the economy’s key drivers was losing steam. Growth in real estate investment, which mainly focuses on residential but also includes commercial and office space, cooled to 8.4 percent...
LONDON/NEW YORK - The world’s biggest oil traders are counting hefty losses after a surprise doubling in the price discount of U.S. light crude to benchmark Brent WTCLc1-LCOc1 in just a month, as surging U.S production upends the market. Trading desks of oil major BP (BP.L) and merchants Vitol [VITOLV.UL], Gunvor [GGL.UL] and Trafigura [TRAFG.UL] have recorded losses in the...
China's surplus with the United States hit a record last month, data showed Friday, adding to brewing tensions between the economic superpowers as they stand on the brink of an all-out trade war that Beijing warned would have a "negative impact" globally. The figures come after the two sides exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods and...
TOKYO: Oil prices fell on Wednesday, with Brent dropping by more than $1 at one point, after US President Donald Trump threatened to levy new trade tariffs on China. The spectre of tariffs on a further $200 billion worth of Chinese goods sent commodities lower along with stock markets, as trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies intensified. Brent...
KARACHI: The securities and exchange commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Tuesday has removed Pakistan stock exchange chairman Hussain Lawai from post. According to a notification, SECP has directed the Pakistan Stock Exchange to remove Hussain Lawai from the chairmanship of the Exchange and appoint a new chairman of the Board. On Friday Lawai was arrested by the FIA in connection...
KARACHI: The local bourse witnessed its lowest level in the current year after the benchmark KSE-100 index shed 1,010 points to touch 39,256 points. The accountability court's July 6 verdict that sentenced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to eleven years in prison along with a fine of £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the Avenfield properties reference, has stirred investors....
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's next government, to be chosen in a July 25 election, faces growing fears of a balance of payments crisis with speculation it will have to seek its second IMF bailout in five years, analysts say. The central bank is running down its foreign reserves and devaluing the currency in a bid to bridge a yawning trade deficit, and...
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy Syed Ali Zafar announced to slash prices of petroleum products with effect from Sunday. In a statement released on Saturday, the minister said that the federal government has decided to reduce petroleum prices in order to provide relief to the general public. “Sales tax rates would be reduced from 17% to 12% for Motor...
BEIJING/WASHINGTON: The United States and China exchanged the first salvos in what could become a protracted trade war on Friday, slapping tariffs on $34 billion worth of each others’ goods and giving no sign of willingness to start talks aimed at a reaching a truce. Duties on a range of Chinese goods imported into the United States took effect on...
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remains under pressure for the whole week and the trend on Friday was not different as the index at the close of first session lost 129 points to 40109 points. Bouncing back on a last minute, KSE-100 Index closed today at 40284.14 points as compared to 40238.81 yesterday with a positive change of 45.33...
ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar ordered the relevant stake holders to find the way out so that the prices of petroleum prices decrease. Chief Justice was heading a three member bench hearing the recent surge in petroleum prices. Expressing concern at yet another Rs7.5 hike in the price of petroleum, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar asked...
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khan Hasham Bin Saddique and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani have agreed to enhance the trade ties commensurate with their long-established strategic ties in the region. Both sides also agreed to undertake mutual efforts in the coming months to enhance Pakistan-GCC ties...