Govt earnings from DSE mark 28pc rise in August

The government's revenue earnings from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rose 28 per cent month-on-month in August on the back of rising turnover value. Analysts said on the back of rising turnover value, the government earnings from the premier bourse...

MoF asks entities to submit report on progress by Sept 30

The State Owned Enterprises (SoEs) have been asked to submit report on the latest progress of offloading shares in the capital market by September 30 this year. The instruction came Sunday at a meeting held at the ministry of finance...

\'Gourmoti\', a new variety of mango, about to sweep Rajshahi markets

RAJSHAHI, Sept 4:  'Gourmoti', a late variety of mango developed through natural pollination of flowers of Langra and Ashina mangoes is going to sweep markets of Rajshahi within next couples of years. Gourmati, unlike other late varieties of mangoes, is...

Money laundering hinders growth

The richer nations of the world have long been pushing a misplaced perception that they were keeping the poorer countries alive by providing necessary assistance including employment for their poorer working people. Seemingly it was credible as resources are likely...

Banyan tree under arrest for 118 years

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. If this observation made by Shakespeare in his masterpiece "Hamlet" is axiomatic, human characters also never fail to surprise their own species. Unfortunately for...

Of power tariff and \'system loss\'

The Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), formerly known as Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA), according to a news report, unearthed pilferage of around 111 million units of electricity by 62 industrial units, commercial establishments and residential houses over a period...

Africa\'s future growth: Role of Asia

Weaker global outlook and the impact of Brexit have created uncertainty around growth prospects. The impact weighs heavy on world economic outlook with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicting advanced economies will grow by only 0.2 per cent from 1.9...

The unavoidable costs of helicopter money

The long-running debate about the advisability of so-called helicopter money has changed shape, as new ideas emerge about the form it could take - and questions arise about whether it is already being dropped on some economies. What hasn't changed...

Iran\'s pistachio farms are dying of thirst

The pistachio trees at the village in southern Iran are long dead, bleached white by the sun -- the underground water reserves sucked dry by decades of over-farming and waste. The last farmers left with their families 10 years ago,...

Deal with oil giant helps near-extinct whale recover

A decade ago, there were just 115 western gray whales left in the world, and their feeding grounds near Russia's Sakhalin Island, north of Japan, were being drilled for oil. These massive whales, known as Esrichtiius robustus, faced a host...

How social media reputation could secure a loan

Traditional banking in Africa has failed - 80 per cent of the continent's 1.2 billion people do not have a bank account or access to formal financial services. So mobiles and web-based services are stepping in to fill the gap....

Iran\'s pistachio farms are dying of thirst

The pistachio trees at the village in southern Iran are long dead, bleached white by the sun -- the underground water reserves sucked dry by decades of over-farming and waste. The last farmers left with their families 10 years ago,...

Deal with oil giant helps near-extinct whale recover

A decade ago, there were just 115 western gray whales left in the world, and their feeding grounds near Russia's Sakhalin Island, north of Japan, were being drilled for oil. These massive whales, known as Esrichtiius robustus, faced a host...

How social media reputation could secure a loan

Traditional banking in Africa has failed - 80 per cent of the continent's 1.2 billion people do not have a bank account or access to formal financial services. So mobiles and web-based services are stepping in to fill the gap....

Most axle load control machines inoperative

The authorities are yet to make axle load control machines functional. As a result, important roads and highways across the country are being damaged heavily due to plying of overloaded vehicles. The Roads and Highways Department formulated an axle load...

Taxing OMS obstructs food rationing to the poor

Food ministry finds taxing dealers' commission as an obstacle to smooth open market sale (OMS) operation meant for distribution of some essentials at subsidised prices among the poor. The ministry has written to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for...

US-Bangladesh ties in a newer height

US Secretary of State John Kerry was on a nine-hour visit to Dhaka on August 29 to tell Bangladesh that his country wants to share the country's fight against militancy. Both the countries agreed to increase cooperation between their intelligence...

Employment status and well-being of rural households

In rural Bangladesh, a great challenge is to tackle the low pay, poor-quality jobs that are unrecognized and unprotected by law, widespread underemployment, the absence of rights at work, inadequate social protection, and the lack of representative voice. There remains...

Mongla port to waive 50pc store rent of stranded cars

The Mongla Port Authority (MPA) has agreed to give 50 per cent waiver on storage rent charge to vehicles remaining stranded for years because of dispute over customs duty, officials said. Until late August, some 1,696 reconditioned vehicles remained undelivered...

Stocks finish lower for two weeks

Stocks finished slightly lower for the second week in a row that ended Thursday as investors opted for profit-booking on some large-cap stocks ahead of Holy Eid-ul-Azha festival. Analysts said the large-cap stocks were under selling pressure, especially during the...

Tk 1.95b project to boost fruit output

The government has taken up a Tk 1.95-billion project to help boost the production of local varieties of fruits to meet their growing demand, officials said. The main aim of the project is to narrow the gap between supply and...

Sales of refrigerators go up sharply in city markets

Sales of refrigerators have marked a significant rise in different city markets ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha, business insiders have said. According to them, the demand for various kinds of refrigerators especially deep and no frost ones has increased two...

Let the planet be safe for children at least

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have long used children in war. One 14-year-old bomber on a bicycle hit the Kabul NATO base in 2012 killing six people. Two years later in 2014 a teenager blew himself up at the French cultural...

The perils of food animal drug abuse

The use of antibiotics in food animals for growth promotion and disease prevention may cause antibiotic resistance in humans and animals, resulting in treatment failure when needed. These problems are also increasing due to the misuse of antibiotics as growth...

The discourse on education in developing countries

A report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says, "One in four young people in developing countries is unable to read a sentence, which means poor quality education has left a "legacy of illiteracy" more widespread...

When cell phone becomes cause of death

Yet another tragic death from sheer callousness! Is it suicide by default? Incidents of young men and women getting knocked down by trains when they walk on railway tracks as they talk over cell phones oblivious to the danger are...

The impact of capital shortage in banks

Banks' capital shortage has far-reaching impact on our growing financial industry and the country's economy as a whole. Even this will cause severe negative effects in our domestic market and international arena as well. Capital shortage will weaken banks' resilience...

An opportunity for Egypt and the IMF

The Egyptian authorities and International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff have struck a deal. If the IMF Board agrees this month, Egypt will receive a $12 billion loan to support the implementation of economic reforms. The primary objective of the three-year...

Bangladesh poor in innovation

Innovation is increasingly becoming global. The developed or rich countries are much ahead of the developing or poor countries as they make huge investment on education, research, science and technology. Nevertheless, the developing countries have also made some progress. Headed...

Four SoCBs to give Tk 5.65b loans to buy rawhides

Four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) are set to provide around Tk 5.65 billion as loans among tanners to help them purchase rawhides of sacrificial animals during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. Officials of the SoCBs said they will provide such seasonal loans...