Somalia tops list of world's most unstable nations

FT Syndication ServiceLONDON: Somalia has for the first time been ranked as the most unstable country in the world, while Israel has fallen into the ranks of the 60 weakest states, according to an annual assessment of the world's most...

MySpace sprucing up home page

MYSPACE plans to begin remodeling its home on the Web Monday, simplifying how users navigate the site and design their personal profiles."This is a pretty big overhaul for us," said Steve Pearman, MySpace's senior vice president of product strategy. "We...

news digest

with London concertLONDON, Jun 28 : A star-studded cast of artists were celebrating Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday with a giant concert in London Friday in support of his global AIDS campaign. Queen, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox were among the...

BCIC to boost output of its fertiliser factories

Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will overhaul its six factories at a cost of over Tk 10 billion to produce an additional 0.5 million tonnes of urea fertiliser.The corporation has decided to modernise the factories as the government has raised...

Career comeback programme gains momentum in Asia

Christopher Cheung first experienced problems with his vision last May. At that time, he thought it had something to do with his eyes, perhaps deteriorating myopia.After a few visits to the doctor, Mr Cheung realised it was actually a brain...

World's rich scale back exposure to property

FT Syndication ServiceLONDON: Rapid growth in emerging markets enabled the world's richest people to shrug off the credit crisis last year and expand their assets by more than 9.0 per cent to $40,700bn, an authoritative study of global wealth has...

Story of Palassey is not simply black and white

The 251 remembrance day of the Battle of Palassey was observed recently in Bangladesh. Some newspapers brought out special supplements on the occasion of the event in 1757 that marked the beginning of the end of self rule in the...

Liquidity crisis in banking sector

Liquidity in any commercial bank and financial institution reflects its overall financial position. In fact, liquidity condition largely depends on fund management. The management of all financial institutions usually lend out their 'deposit' money as a part of their business...

Japanese price rises fuel fears on growth

JAPANESE consumer prices surged to another 10-year high in February while unemployment rose, squeezing Japanese disposable incomes and intensifying concerns that economic growth in the country is fading out.Core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, rose a faster-than-expected 1.0 per cent...

How to see the world economy through two crises

TWO storms are buffeting the world economy: an inflationary commodity-price storm and a deflationary financial one. Last week I argued that exchange-rate regimes were a link between these distinct events. This week, let us look at how to sail on...

Post-Soviet syndrome: The independence-seeking statelets

The communist revolution in the first half of the twentieth century followed by the second world war created what was called communist Eastern Europe with Soviet Russia as if its family head. It also marked a kind of political division...

Optimistic thoughts amid descending gloom

There are solar panels on the grounds of the Spanish prime minister's 18th century palace, and abstract art on the walls. The rooms are modern, uncluttered and bathed in Madrid's bright morning sunlight."This is the image of Spain we want...

Nissan decides to enter Indian market

NEW YORK, June 27: Japanese automakers who had so long resisted the lure of such a massive and expanding market have now shed their shyness and planning big investments in India. Nissan Motors in collaboration with giant French automaker Renault...

NBR starts tax motivational campaign from July 1

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will launch a countrywide programme from July 1 to encourage people having taxable income for payment of tax.People having small but taxable earning at Thana level will be brought under the motivational programme to...

India: Dance, dance, dance away the blues

"I have learnt to fly through dance," says Nasima Khatun, as she performs in a production called 'Expressions'. Her co-dancer, Sabita Debriath, invites the audience to respond. "Dance has taught me to dream: We come to you -- to dream."...

A deep sea port at Chittagong to boost exports

THE caretaker administration needs to revive its initiative to build a deep sea port off Chittagong to meet the growing export-import trade needs of Bangladesh.A review of growing trade of Bangladesh would make it obvious why Bangladesh felt the need...

Forex reserve crosses $6 billion mark again

The country's foreign exchange reserve crossed the US$6.0 billion mark once again Thursday thanks to disbursement of soft loans by multilateral donor agencies and a robust growth in remittance."We have been able to cross the six billion dollar mark for...

WTO calls meeting on impasse

The head of the World Trade Organisation has called a meeting of ministers for late July in a high-risk attempt to rescue the beleaguered Doha round of global trade talks.Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO, last Wednesday told ambassadors in...

Mittal seeks one more year to renew investment proposals

The UK-based Mittal group has sought the government's permission to renew its $2.9 billion investment proposals for a further one year period, said a senior official Thursday.He said the UK based group sought permission of the government as its Memorandum...

Human trafficking in Bangladesh

HUMAN trafficking has spread slavery to every continent and most countries. It goes on a par with the drugs and illegal arms trade ad is one of the most profitable forms of illegal activity.Bangladesh is a source as well as...

Asian nations fight currency depreciation

SOUTH Korean authorities last Tuesday sold as much as $1.0bn to shore up the won, according to currency traders in Seoul, underlining concerns in several Asian countries about weakening currencies in the face of oil-fuelled inflation.With inflation last month at...

developments in the region and abroad

KATMANDU, JUNE 26 (AP): Nepal's prime minister announced hislong-delayed resignation Thursday, clearing the way for theformation of a new coalition government led by former communist rebels.Girija Prasad Koirala made the announcement at the Constituent Assembly, elected in April to rewrite...

Bangladesh economy towards autarky

THE question is whether or not the economy of 150 million pairs of working hands can attain that goal. Have not the incumbent and the recent past governments led us to uncertainties? It is a sordid commentary on our state...

Waging the war against drug

Drug abuse is a very long-standing and pervasive social scourge. The newspapers and the electronic media everyday carry reports on how the law enforcers are successfully busting drug rackets and seizing huge quantities of various kinds of drugs. One often...

Pentagon opts against sledge hammer

FT Syndication ServiceWASHINGTON: US military commanders were quick to tout General Ashfaq Kiyani as "his own man" after he replaced Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, as the country's army chief of staff last November.The Pentagon hoped Gen Kiyani would develop...

China lessons for business schools

Many opted for joint EMBA programmes, but it has not all been plain sailing.Cass Business School at City University in London, for example, has suspended its EMBA, which it ran in Shanghai, after enrolling just two classes. The school is...

corporate watch

Premium Securities Limited, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Member No 181, had withdrawn one of its authorised representatives, Gul Afroza Dilruba, with immediate effect.Spot market tradingBD Online: The shares of BD Online Limited will be traded in the spot market and...

US presidential campaign 2008

IN the background of the long, historic US-led terror wars in Afghanistan and Iraq killing thousands of innocent Muslims since the Sept 11 event, the US is undergoing a long poll campaign season to elect a new president to take...

No move yet to develop alternative energies

IN paper there is policy in Bangladesh to raise power output by 10 per cent using renewable or alternative sources. This policy of the power ministry has been the outcome of its failure to set up new conventional power generation...

DoF moves to formulate nat'l shrimp policy

The Department of Fisheries (DoF) has sent a proposal to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock for preparing a National Shrimp Policy (NSP) to ensure growth of the country's shrimp industry, official said Wednesday.DoF has taken the initiative to ease...