There\\\'s a hole in the bucket

The government injected Tk 41 billion (4,100 crore) into the four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs)-Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali-to make up for their capital deficit caused mainly by mismanagement, corruption and the latest financial scam. The Sonali Bank got Tk...

Pakistan sets target at 40,000 MW of electricity through nuclear plants by 2050

China has committed $6.5 billion to finance the construction of a major nuclear power project in Pakistan's port city of Karachi as it seeks to strengthen ties with its strategic partner, Pakistani officials said. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif broke...

Stocks see sharp rise for 2nd session

Stocks witnessed sharp rise Wednesday for the second running session with turnover hitting 3-week high despite countrywide shutdown as investors put funds on equities amid hope for ending the political crises. The market started in a positive note in the...

Stocks see upward trend at opening

The prices of most of the stocks on both bourses - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)- witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading Wednesday amid prevailing uncertainties in political arena. After 30 minutes of trading,...

Farm size and arbitrage: Transition to large-scale commercial paradigm

Formal economic theories tell us that if information diffusion is perfect, then arbitrage by market actors will correct the price difference among markets. That means price difference is only an information asymmetry problem in those theoretical treatments.  If information is...

Building infrastructure for economic development

Infrastructure plays an important role in economic growth and development. It creates employment opportunities, contributes to poverty alleviation and ensures technology transfer in any country. Various analyses on the impact of infrastructure on economic growth and development have established strong...

India polls: Litmus test for Congress

India goes to national elections from mid-April this year. Voting this time is going to be a litmus test for the ruling Congress and its allies. The polls are becoming quite interesting since opposition leader Narendra Modi, prime ministerial nominee...

Addressing urban poverty in Bangladesh

More than half of the world's people live in cities where approximately 25 to 30 per cent of Bangladesh population inhabits the urban areas. Over 90 per cent of urban growth has been occurring in the developing world with an...

Battery-run hazardous rickshaws ply roads at will, none there to stop them

Although battery or motor-operated rickshaws have been proven to be unsafe for passengers, its number has been increasing alarmingly in the capital in the recent days owing to the authorities' apathy. At least five ministries are responsible for checking the...

MoF sets new conditions

The state-owned specialised banks will not be allowed to open new branches further unless 80 per cent of their existing branches are found to be making profit, sources said. The ministry of finance (MoF) recently passed this message on to...

It\\\'s time to keep fingers crossed

Businesses, particularly their representative bodies, generally raise alarm in the case of prolonged and violent political troubles. In Bangladesh, major political troubles had originated from poll-related differences among political parties and the ongoing one does also have the same origin....

A sweet Asian fruit tempts the troubled soft drink industry

An obscure melon once cultivated by Buddhist monks in China to sweeten tea could give the $8.0 billion U.S. diet soda industry a shot at winning back consumers concerned about artificial ingredients. You won't find monk fruit in any of...

Gorby versus Thatcher: How the USSR charmed Britain\\\'s Iron Lady

Britain shed light on Mikhail Gorbachev's audacious bid to save the ailing Soviet Union late last week, publishing previously secret documents showing his attempt to forge better ties with the West during the depths of the Cold War. Gorbachev, whose...

ACI Agribusinesses vows to provide complete, innovative solution

ACI Agribusinesses, a business division of the Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Ltd, is working to provide complete and innovative solution to the problems of farmers, enabling them to achieve 'prosperity', not only 'food security', through the agriculture. "We are doing...

MFs below face value, NAV

The market prices of more than 75 per cent listed mutual funds (MFs) are being traded below face value over last two years despite the regulatory move to make the MFs attractive to investors. The maximum MFs are also being...

DSE turnover rises 44.76pc

Stocks returned to the green Tuesday, a day after normal correction with improving turnover as a section of investors took fresh position anticipating short-term rally in coming days. However, the presence of investors on the trading floor was thin because...

Stocks open with positive note

The prices of most of the stocks on both bourses - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)-- witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading Tuesday amid uncertainties in political arena. However, the presence of investors on...

Euro zone - reasons to be wary in 2014

Last year was the least tumultuous for the euro zone since Greece revealed a vast hole in its books back in 2009. The consensus is that 2014 will be just as calm - a view held by some who were...

E-payment yet to help large taxpayers

The government's effort to facilitate taxpayers with the e-payment system is yet to gain momentum, as large taxpayers are unable to avail the facility due to absence of account transfer system. The e-payment system, inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina...

Revenue collection from land ports falls by 90 per cent due to political turmoil

Country's revenue collection from land ports has fallen drastically in recent times as Indo-Bangla trades have almost come to a halt due the ongoing hartals and blockades, officials said. All customs officials at the land ports expressed the fear that...

Light engineering sector left in the lurch, despite its prospects

The growing light engineering industry's current turnover worth Tk 200 billion could be ten times more if the sector is supported by the government, sources said. Products manufactured by more than 50,000 small and medium light engineering factories are saving...

Grim forebodings for the economy

The 2014 began neither with any better outlook nor any new enthusiasm, but with a burden of debts on the economy of Bangladesh. The last days of 2013 passed off not amid exuberance over the national election but with the...

Economic forecasting and population

In economic models, population is often a variable determining the size of an economy. The economic forecasts often consider a large population a determinant of a large GDP of a country. Current forecasts of potential GDP in emerging countries also...

Stocks return to red

Stocks returned to the red Monday after four sessions’ gaining streak with turnover hitting two-month low as most investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ policy amid prevailing political uncertainties. The presence of investors on the trading floor was low because of ongoing blockade...

Stocks see upward trend at opening

The prices of most of the stocks on both bourses - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)-- witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading Monday, maintaining the previous session’s uptrend. However, the presence of investors on...

Ministries asked not to include fresh projects in RADP

The government has asked the ministries and departments concerned not to include any fresh or unapproved projects in the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, officials said. The ministries and departments have already started...

Sales of land-plots hit decade-low

The sales of land-plots across the country dropped to the lowest level in a decade in the just-concluded calendar year (CF) due mainly to the lack of buyers' trust in sellers and the ongoing confrontational politics, industry insiders said. The...

Govt to examine progress in factory safety, labour welfare tomorrow

The government will review tomorrow (Tuesday) the progress achieved so far in ensuring workplace safety and labour welfare with a view to revival of the generalised system of preferences (GSP) in the United States (US) market, sources said. Three government...

Higher growth in exports buoys BDT up vs dollar

Bangladesh Taka (BDT) appreciated by more than 2.50 per cent against the US dollar in the just-concluded calendar year 2013, thanks to a higher growth in exports despite the domestic adversities. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 77.75-Tk 77.77...

Manipulation involving low-cap stocks

The stock market saw a mayhem in the final months of 2010 when the bubble created by skilful manipulators had burst. Losing investments worth billions of Takas, aggrieved investors took the street and clashed with law enforcers. The government of...