As sanctions bite, Putin ally gets into apples

As U.S. and European sanctions piled pressure on Russia earlier this year, the Kremlin hit back with an unusual weapon: apples. From Aug. 7 Russia banned imports of fruit from various countries that supported sanctions, including Poland, which has been...

China looking at deal with US to recover dirty assets

China is looking at signing an agreement with the United States to target assets illegally taken out of China by corrupt officials, a newspaper said on December 29, as the government tightens the screws in its anti-graft battle. China has...

Amid hacking tensions, South Korea proposes resuming talks with North

South Korea proposed on December 29 to resume stalled talks with North Korea, an overture that comes amid heightened diplomatic tension after Seoul's key ally the United States blamed the North for a cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. North Korea...

In Jakarta, that sinking feeling is all too real

The Ciliwung River flows from a volcano south of the Indonesian capital, through the heart of one of the world's most densely populated cities and almost into Jakarta Bay. Almost, because for the final mile or so of its course,...

Decoding the deficit: Current account dynamics

After more than two years of riding on current account surplus, we fell back to a deficit in September, 2014. A slump in exports, coupled with a hike in imports, was the main reason behind the negative current account balance....

Stocks return to green amid shutdown

Stocks returned to the green territory today (Monday) after three sessions’ fall as investors took position on selected large-cap stocks despite country-wide shutdown enforced by BNP led 20-party alliance. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went...

Stocks open positive amid volatility

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading on Monday, the 2nd session of the week, amid volatility. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 1.85...

Passport-seekers in quandary

Passport became costlier for people seeking to go abroad as the government began collecting 15 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on passport-issuance fees from Sunday. Those who came on the day for the important service were found in a...

Banks asked to exercise caution

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has instructed the commercial banks to be more careful while opening and maintaining accounts of the domestically influential people, officials said. Influential people means individuals who are or have been entrusted domestically with prominent public functions,...

Swedish parties in eight-year deal to avert snap polls

Sweden's three-month-old minority centre-left government announced a deal with the opposition on December 27 to sideline the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who hold the balance of power in parliament, and avert a fresh election. Sweden's normally stable politics were thrown into...

As US troops return to Iraq, more private contractors follow

The U.S. government is preparing to boost the number of private contractors in Iraq as part of President Barack Obama's growing effort to beat back Islamic State militants threatening the Baghdad government, a senior U.S. official said. How many contractors...

Syria ready to discuss Russia peace plan talks, opposition dismissive

Syria said on December 27 it was willing to participate in "preliminary consultations" in Moscow aimed at restarting talks next year to end its civil war but the Western-backed opposition dismissed the initiative. Two rounds of peace talks this year...

Performance of ministries, divisions to be assessed

The government is set to monitor and evaluate different ministries/divisions' Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aiming to increase efficiency further in budgetary spending. Under the move, the cabinet division will sign a performance agreement with ministries/ divisions soon. Presently, every ministry/division...

The Dan Mozena affair

The US Ambassador Dan Mozena left Bangladesh after completing his tour of duty without a farewell call on the Prime Minister. This has caused a major wave not just in the diplomatic circles but also in the political circles in...

Loan restructuring: Will it help?

At the end of September last, top 20 borrowers owed Tk 430 billion to the banking sector, accounting for nearly 9.0 per cent of the sector's total outstanding loan. One of them, reportedly, having diverse business interests alone owes Tk...

Shifting priorities towards East

There has been a discreet shift in the government's foreign policy with an eastward bias. Bangladesh borders India and Myanmar on three sides except the south with the Bay of Bengal. India surrounds Bangladesh from three sides and the position...

Nine listed cos raise more than Tk 19.80b through rights

A total of nine listed companies raised more than Tk 19.80 billion, including premium, in the outgoing year from the stock market through right shares. The figure shows a whopping 998 per cent growth compared to previous year. According to...

Shifting priorities towards East

There has been a discreet shift in the government's foreign policy with an eastward bias. Bangladesh borders India and Myanmar on three sides except the south with the Bay of Bengal. India surrounds Bangladesh from three sides and the position...

Loan restructuring: Will it help?

At the end of September last, top 20 borrowers owed Tk 430 billion to the banking sector, accounting for nearly 9.0 per cent of the sector's total outstanding loan. One of them, reportedly, having diverse business interests alone owes Tk...

The Dan Mozena affair

The US Ambassador Dan Mozena left Bangladesh after completing his tour of duty without a farewell call on the Prime Minister. This has caused a major wave not just in the diplomatic circles but also in the political circles in...

Swedish parties in eight-year deal to avert snap polls

Sweden's three-month-old minority centre-left government announced a deal with the opposition on December 27 to sideline the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who hold the balance of power in parliament, and avert a fresh election. Sweden's normally stable politics were thrown into...

As US troops return to Iraq, more private contractors follow

The U.S. government is preparing to boost the number of private contractors in Iraq as part of President Barack Obama's growing effort to beat back Islamic State militants threatening the Baghdad government, a senior U.S. official said. How many contractors...

Syria ready to discuss Russia peace plan talks, opposition dismissive

Syria said on December 27 it was willing to participate in "preliminary consultations" in Moscow aimed at restarting talks next year to end its civil war but the Western-backed opposition dismissed the initiative. Two rounds of peace talks this year...

Stocks end lower for third day amid thin trading

Stocks went down for the third running sessions today (Sunday) with turnover dipping below Tk 2.0-billion-mark again as investors remained reluctant to make fresh investments ahead of year closing. The market opened with a negative note and the downward trend...

DSE, CSE down at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw downward trend in early hours of trading on Sunday, the opening session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 25.73 points or...

Housing gloom pervades the supply lines

The prevailing sluggish business trend in the housing and real estate sector has left an adverse impact on its backward linkage industries as the demand for their products and prices have fallen while production costs have gone up. Former acting...

Customs duty on 4,610 products reduced for SAFTA members

Customs duty (CD) on a total of 4,610 products have been reduced for SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) member-countries under an agreement to bring down the tariff rates to the range between zero and five per cent by 2016....

ICB gets Tk 2.16b from govt for rights shares

The state-run ICB (Investment Corporation of Bangladesh) has received Tk 2.16 billion from the government for subscription of the company's rights shares, officials said. "We received the cheque of Tk 2.16 billion on Wednesday last from the Ministry of Finance...

Evicting hawkers from city\\\'s footpaths

The government has once again decided to keep city's footpaths free from hawkers. Announcing the government decision, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on December 21 last that a drive to evict hawkers from footpaths will be launched...

Locals elbow out overseas consultants in foreign loan negotiations

Local consultants are now taking the lead in mediating foreign loans in a welcome shift of role-play in consultancy which used to be done by overseas agents, industry-insiders said. Experts, however, said the local consultancy boom has helped enhance negotiation...