Here is why blue chip stocks have kept falling

Market leaders, including Grameenphone and Square Pharmaceuticals, which experienced significant gains on the bourses after the August change in the political regime, endured sharp corrections in recent sessions.Experts say the companies having the ability to influence the index had witnessed...

BR decides in principle to build new corridor connecting Ctg

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has decided in principle to develop a new route from Dhaka to Cumilla through Narayanganj, aiming to reduce travel distance and time with the port city of Chattogram.Agreed in principle, the new alignment is expected to reduce...

When violence becomes the new norm

Post-revolution period is a highly testing time. Because it is a transition period, counter forces try to hit back when the administration is yet to consolidate and remains at its most vulnerable. But this commonly held perception at times may...

Life after Trump 2.0

Vindicating his name, Donald Trump trumped all predictions made about the presidential election being on knife-edge and going down to the wire. The landslide victory scored by him left pollsters and media pundits red-faced because they had anticipated nothing like...

Tapping the youth's potential

In a country like Bangladesh, where about 30 per cent of the population is young, the future doesn't just depend on them - it rests entirely in their hands. Not a single sphere of life exists where hopes are not...

Sonali Bank urges govt to issue TK 60b bonds

Sonali Bank PLC has requested the government to issue bonds worth Tk 60 billion to settle outstanding loans of the sugar mills and Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) with the proceeds, officials said.They said the state-owned bank has...

Agrani Bank suspends new lending till Dec

Agrani Bank has decided to suspend fresh loan approvals till December this year with the aim to improve its financial health, the lender's chairman has said."No new lending will be approved in the fourth quarter of the 2024 calendar year,"...

A Vice President, a President & talk of murder

Politics can sometimes lead to deep worries in societies. It throws up the unexpected, the unforeseen and leaves common people wondering about what is happening or why it is happening. Politics is certainly aimed at promoting public welfare through its...

The art of negotiation: corporate life and beyond

Negotiation is a part of our everyday life, whether in a corporate boardroom or just trying to decide at home. The key to successful negotiation isn't about who "wins" or "loses." Instead, it's about finding a solution that works for...

DMTCL moves to amend law to take full control of metro rail

The metro rail company has drafted an amendment to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Act 2015, without its authority to do so, apparently to take control over all kinds of its activities. Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) as the regulator...

ERL 2nd unit freed from S Alam's clutches

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 26: The project to build Eastern Refinery Limited's (ERL) second unit is finally free from the grip of the controversial S Alam Group as the interim government has cancelled the conglomerate's proposal to be a partner in the...

Writs filed with High Court challenging govt decision

At least 11 writ petitions have been filed with the High Court challenging the government decision not to proceed with the solar power plants awarded under "Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010". Joules Power Limited,...

Govt warned of rice shortage amid market instability

The home ministry has warned the government about the possible shortfall of rice due to volatile global market, rising dollar price, soaring production cost and recent floods. Exploiting the issues, unscrupulous traders is destabilising the rice market by hoarding it,...

Project witnesses no progress in a year after ECNEC nod

The Mongla port jetty construction project makes no headway since its approval by the government more than one year ago allegedly due to India's interference using its influence on the ousted Sheikh Hasina government.The Executive Committee of the National Economic...

Interim govt needs to navigate competing priorities skillfully

The abrupt collapse of Sheikh Hasina regime has already sent shockwaves through Bangladesh's geopolitical relations, but Donald Trump’s election victory is further intensifying the country's strategic challenges. With alliances, economic interests, and regional stability at risk, the interim government must...

A thriving market needs policy against long-term bank borrowings

The potential of the country's capital market has largely been unexplored in business financing because of policies that support easy, unregulated access to loans from the banking sector. In consequence, the equity market has remained stunted for decades while the...

Gen Z will know the truth

About a year ago on December 11 2023, The Hill, a US political newspaper and digital news channel, published a report headlined, 'Why is Gen Z so pro-Palestine and anti-Israel?' What was the basis of such claim by this report?...

Tackling unemployment

The domain of employment generation in Bangladesh is mostly confined to a few traditional and informal sectors. The major players in the area are agriculture, services, consumer goods production, readymade garments, wage-based labour, and overseas employment. Besides, there are some...

National Tea out of production as workers demand arrears before joining work

Production at the state-run National Tea Company (NTC) has remained suspended for nearly three months as workers have abstained from work for non-payment of wages. Wages of around four months are due as the company suffers an acute shortage of...

Why potato registers record price

People would have received the news with total disbelief had it not been in a country that has ceased to surprise them, shock them, overwhelm them so far as the market volatility is concerned. Yet the soaring of price to...

Interim govt. should get enough time

A recent survey conducted by a research body under the Voice of America (VoA), a US-based international broadcasting agency, about the public's view concerning various issues including the time the incumbent interim government of Bangladesh should take to hold the...

Comparing Sheikh Hasina with major third world despots

Ever since her 16-year regime crumbled in a mass uprising last August, Sheikh Hasina has been labeled a 'fascist,' 'despot,' 'autocrat, ''dictator,' and so on. While these terms are not synonymous, they all capture the essence of her authoritarian rule,...

Agrivoltaics for sustainable agriculture and green energy

The sun is the ultimate source of energy in all its forms. Plants convert sunlight into chemical energy (food) through the process of photosynthesis. The fossil fuels that we use today come from dead plants and animals, which also derive...

BR to appoint consultant for new Kalurghat Rail-Road Bridge project

A consultant for the construction of the new Kalurghat Rail-Road Bridge project in Chattogram is set to be appointed by Bangladesh Railway (BR) within February next year, while the tender for the appointment will be floated on December, according to...

Bangladeshi youths bringing diversity in the US

While you're researching studying abroad, the United States knocks at the door with its unmatched dedication to diversity. What does diversity mean in an educational environment? The US embassy's third session on"Alumni Talk: American Diversity through Bangladeshi Voices," which took...

Addressing liquidity crunch a top priority

The reconstituted board of Social Islami Bank has introduced a series of strategic measures, prioritising the resolution to address the ongoing liquidity constraints as quickly as possible, said bank Chairman M. Sadiqul Islam. "Addressing the liquidity problem is our top...

A village engulfed by pollution

Environmental pollution by industrial wastes continues unabated everywhere. Wherever we cast our eyes we encounter the same damaging process. Wastes discharged by a large number of industries in Gazipur, Narayanganj and other major industrial hubs continue to pollute land, air...

Loyalists and apologists of fallen regime

The dramatic change in Bangladesh's political landscape during the first week of August this year has yet to be accepted by some at home and abroad. It is a harsh reality that a bloody mass uprising ultimately compelled the authoritarian...

Reading history for pleasure, and also for knowledge

Everyone needs to read history, and some need to study history. It is because we all need to know some chronicles of primary history of the world, the main previous events of the world, so we can put many developments...

Dhaka . . . when we knew it as Dacca

There are all those times when I go looking for Dacca as I knew it ages ago. It was a time when Dhaka was spelt as Dacca and yet we pronounced the word in the Bengali way. I will confess...