Football frenzy and flags

Flags carry the high-voltage passion of a particular group of people. Be it a religious sect, a political outfit, a sports club or any other organisation. But above everything else the national flag is a representation in colour and shape...

What causes child labour and how to curb it

There are different views among academics regarding factors that cause child labour. Some vigorously advocate that demand factors are responsible for child labour; some argue that supply factors are responsible for child labour; and some say that social and cultural...

Is the current form of anti-formalin drive enough?

The ongoing anti-formalin drive in the capital city can be termed 'not enough'. The drive is limited to checking formalin-tainted fish, fruits and vegetables entering the city, but those contaminated with other chemicals remain untraced. This is because the persons...

Place of auditors and CAs in Finance Bill 2014

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has presented the Finance Bill 2014 along with the budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 in the Jatiya Sangsad. The budget has been announced amid both applause and critical analysis on the part of the...

Corporate governance: Developing and enforcing ethical standard

Corporate governance is a critical issue in so far as business is concerned --- particularly in the financial sector. The system employed to direct and control a corporation is referred to as 'corporate governance' that defines the rights and responsibilities...

CMAs empowered to audit alongside CAs

Some provisions in the proposed Finance Bill 2014 allowing cost and management accountants (CMAs) apart from chartered accountants (CAs) to audit financial matters of individuals have evoked mixed reaction from professionals and experts. CAs have sharply opposed the proposed provisions...

Is this the demise of Tiki-Taka?

The golden days of "Tiki-Taka" seem to have been over! The era of Spanish national team under their manager Vicente del Bosque, which was quite famous for their short passes and quick movements, their possession of and needling the ball...

In search of one\\\'s roots

In his seminal novel "Roots" Alex Haley discovers, through painstaking research, his genealogical link to African heartland Gambia. The book unfolds an inhuman and tragic tale of slavery and establishes in bold strokes the Afro-American history. Haley's search for his...

Curbing use of formalin in fruits

Invisible formalin now appears visible everywhere. Cops with rifles are seen at entry points of Dhaka city seizing fruits infected with formalin. Police officials show up on TV channels and unfold their opening innings, throwing away a few truck-loads of...

BD skies beckon EPIC Air, US-Bangla

Two more new private airlines are set to take to the skies of Bangladesh soon taking the advantage of the growing demand on the domestic front. With long-term planning to operate flights on international routes, the US-Bangla Airlines and the...

Stocks inch down amid choppy trading

The stock market inched down on Thursday with sluggish turnover as late hours selling pressure wiped off early gains.The market opened higher like previous few sessions, but could not sustain. At the end of the session, DSEX the prime index...

Choppy trading

The prices of most of the shares on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hours of trading amid see-saw on Thursday, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index...

Life in jail for formalin

Anyone found in illegal possession or selling formalin will have to spend life in prison, according to one provision of a law in the making, as the government moved to curb the curse of poisoning of the food chain with...

Pvt sector\\\'s foreign loans rise ten times

Borrowing funds from overseas sources by private-sector entities has shot up more than ten times in just three years with the country's banking systems glutted with idle money. Borrowers and experts have attributed such a steep rise in overseas borrowings...

Country\\\'s overall imports set to rise in months ahead

The country's overall imports particularly for industrial sector are expected to rise significantly in the near future with the implementation of different infrastructure projects including the Padma Bridge. "We expect that the overall imports, particularly for industrial sector, will increase...

Verification module to detect use of false TIN in getting services

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is set to introduce a verification module from July 1, 2014 to check fake Taxpayers Identification (TIN) holders obtaining services from public and private entities. The module will help the service providing authorities, including...

No export thru’ Pangaon ICT yet

No export has so far been made through the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (ICT), as the time factor offsets different facilities offered to the port users to interest them. Officials said during the last seven months since its inauguration, 236...

Ukraine crisis: Russia retaliates

Russia has dealt a severe blow to Ukraine by stopping gas supply to the hostile neighbouring nation. This has further complicated the Ukraine crisis. The development followed the failure of last-ditch talks hosted by Ukraine to end a dispute over...

Stocks close flat amid sluggish trading

Stocks closed flat Wednesday with sluggish trading activities as the investors remained cautious amid gloomy market sentiment. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended at 4,340.46 points, gaining 1.59 points or 0.03 per cent from previous...

DSE, CSE open positive

The prices of most of the shares on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) rose in early hours of trading on Wednesday amid slow trade. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 15,13 points...

Fruit prices soar in city amid anti-formalin drive

The ongoing crackdown on use of formalin in fruits has seriously disrupted the supply chain of seasonal fruits, thus raising their prices significantly, traders said. According to them, the supply of seasonal fruits, including mango, litchi, jackfruit and jambul etc,...

Thai contractor selects Chinese firm to resolve financial problem

The Thai contractor of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) has selected a Chinese partner to resolve its long standing financial problem for constructing the 26-kilometre-long expressway under public-private-partnership (PPP). President of Italian-Thai Public Development Ltd Premchai Karnasuta who arrived in...

Scope of investing untaxed money in T-bonds set to go

The opportunity for declaring undisclosed income through investment in Treasury bonds is set to be scrapped from the upcoming fiscal year (FY) while other two options, investment in flats and voluntary declaration, will remain unchanged, sources concerned said. The issue...

The contribution of foreign consultants

The challenges faced by national consultants working for development projects in Bangladesh face were discussed by this scribe in an article published in the Financial Express on June 07 last. In that article the international consultancy scenario was deliberately avoided...

Prospects of fisheries

Global warming, sea-level rise and a series of resultant changes in the coastal, as well as the inland aquatic environment should no longer be taken as mere conjectures of some scientists; these are now appearing more and more as stark...

When the dream of overseas jobs turns into a nightmare

The recent incident in the Bay of Bengal in which five Bangladeshis were killed is no accident.  They were among 318 in a trawler who were trying to reach Malaysia illegally and were killed when Myanmar's human traffickers fired at...

Euro zone robust output boosts second-quarter GDP growth hopes

Euro zone industrial output rebounded with a twice-as-strong as expected monthly rise in April thanks to energy and non-durable goods production, official data showed on Thursday, pointing to an acceleration of economic growth in the second quarter. Output in the...

DSE turnover dips below Tk 3b-mark

The market closed lower for third running session on Tuesday with turnover on the prime bourse dipped below Tk 3.0 billion-mark amid apparent lack of clear indications and gloomy market sentiment. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange...

Transfer pricing law to be made effective from July 1

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to introduce transfer pricing regulations from July 1, 2014 in a bid to check tax avoidance by multinational companies. The Transfer Pricing Law, approved through the Finance Bill-2012, remained in process of...

BD should graduate to multiple-producer status

Bangladesh should graduate from its position as labour-intensive single product-producing country to a producer of technological-based diversified goods for doubling the Japanese investment through brining in clean technologies. Japanese Ambassador Shiro Sadoshima gave the suggestion, assuring that his country is...