The challenge of reviving the jute industry

BANGLADESH faces the challenge of reviving its jute industry. Strangely though as the jute mills in Bangladesh was closed down one after another, new jute mills, almost in the same numbers, was set up across the border.The government needs to...

Businesses seek more time

The move by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to install electronic cash registers (ECRs) at shops and service providers from the first day of the next calendar year (2009) to help check value added tax (VAT) evasion is facing...

Gas supply shortage hits fertiliser production

Insufficient gas supply has been adversely affecting fertiliser production in the state-run factories during the past one week, said officials Sunday.They said inadequate gas supply has resulted in a decline in the production which was reduced by 10-20 per cent...

IMF warns of threat to poorer nations

FT Syndication ServiceLONDON: The rise in food and oil prices could "severely weaken" the economies of up to 75 developing countries, including Pakistan and Indonesia, the International Monetary Fund said in its first broad assessment of the crisis.Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF...

HC issues stay order against SEC directive on recasting Z-category cos

The High Court issued a three-month stay order against a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directive on recasting the board of directors of Z-category companies which expired June 3 last.It also asked the commission to reply within four weeks as...

The need for alternative of oil

EVER since man discovered oil as a source of energy, the importance of and the demand for oil has only increased. The emergence of oil not only saw the gradual demise of the 'coal age', but its effectiveness as a...

Inflation puts pressure on emerging economies

THE emerging economies, for so long the success story of the markets, have suffered a jolt this year.Until the start of 2008, they had outperformed US and European markets amid talk that they had decoupled from the main western economies,...

corporatewatch

Mercantile Bank: Toufique Rahman Chowdhury, Khurshida Ahmed and MS Ahsan, all sponsors of the bank, have reported that they have completed their sale/buy of 10,000 shares, 5,000 shares and 15,000 shares respectively of the bank at the prevailing market price...

Learning English and CLT approach: A Bangladeshi perspective

AT present English has become the common language of the world. It has become the working language of almost a quarter of the global population. Most of the international trade and commerce, scientific research, publication, interrelation, higher studies are based...

Ranks of the unemployed are swelling

There were no good tidings on the economic front to greet the Americans on the Independence day. The economy is becoming gloomier by the day. The other crucial player in the global economy, the European Union (EU), did not have...

Egg prices jump

Egg prices in Dhaka retail markets jumped by Tk 19-Tk 20 per dozen Saturday, following supply shortage as some of the larger poultry farms are not being able to produce enough to meet the demand, an industry official said.According to...

About reforms of TPOs

THE role of Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in a country for pursuing private sector led economic growth cannot be ignored if the government of the day really means business. Its the bounden responsibility of the TPOs to put forward their...

Implications of reducing subsidies

EVEN well before the present upsurge in the oil price when it was substantially lower, the costs of subsidies to be borne by the government in financial year 2007-08 from buying oil at international prices and then marketing it within...

Some banks resort to aggressive banking to hide NPL situation

The excess liquidity in the banking sector has fallen by Tk 14.56 billion, or 13.49 per cent, to Tk 93.37 billion over a period of past four months, ending on April 30, 2008, due to higher credit growth particularly in...

Creating resolve for the triumph of the good

IT may be asked whether Bangladeshis, having successfully applied their political consciousness to establish Bangladesh, have been equally successful in using the same consciousness to develop their country in the economic and social sense. The well researched answer to such...

Search for the beauty in physical laws

From the philosophers of antiquity to the theological school of the Middle Ages to the modern theorists working at the edge of scientific research had only one thought in their minds-to provide a contradiction-free and consistent explanation of the world.The...

Back to politics as usual

In January--a political lifetime ago--there were two presidential candidates who scored above the rest on the matter of authenticity: Barack Obama and John McCain. Indeed, 65 percent of Democrats thought that Obama says "what he believes most of the time,"...

Global economy reeling under twin strains

NEW YORK, July 2: It is widely acknowledged now that the global economy is reeling under the twin strains of acute food shortage and soaring price of oil. The debacle in America's subprime lending has added to the woes. Or...

Titas stock bids go dry

The state-run gas distribution company Titas failed to sell any single share of it on its debut trading day as it ignored the best prices offered by the investors causing resentment among them.This is the first ever incident in the...

news digest

Iraq war at 4,113As of Tuesday, July 1, 2008, at least 4,113 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military...

Lessons to be learnt from the financial crisis

"We told you so." The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has long warned of the dangers of unrestrained credit growth and asset price inflation. In this year's annual report, the last to be prepared under the direction of William White,...

corporatewatch

Islami Bank: Islamic Economics Research Bureau, one of the corporate sponsors of the bank, has reported that it has completed its sale of 200 shares of the bank at the prevailing market price through stock exchange as announced earlier.Social Investment...

sports digest

backstroke world recordOMAHA (Nebraska), July 2: Aaron Peirsol lowered his own 100m backstroke world record with a time of 52.89sec in the final Tuesday at the US Olympic swimming trials. Peirsol had set the previous record of 52.98sec on March...

Bangladeshi companies can compete to build abroad

Bangladesh now has the capacity to build big, bridges to cross the rivers, power plants, or state-of-the-art industry and high-end infrastructure. Once it was hard to believe.The 2nd and 3rd bridges on the Buriganga and a number of new five-star...

Decisions of the EC

THE Election Commission (EC) has taken some decisions which were not initially supported by many political parties. Views of the EC in respect of many issues are opposite to the position taken by the political parties. Although the Commission has...

Swiss bank makes no secret of secrecy

NEW YORK, July 1: Tax evasion is a global phenomenon. So is stashing ill-gotten wealth in off-shore banking. The government leaders in Bangladesh often say that they are seeking repatriation of stolen money kept in foreign banks, They frequently say...

Essar still eager to set up steel plant in any location

Indian conglomerate Essar alongwith its Bangladeshi partners have renewed their willingness to invest $500 million for setting up a steel plant in any location in the country where power supply can be ensured, said an official Tuesday.The Indian steel producer...

How oil burst the American bubble

THE economic bubble that lifted the stock market to dizzying heights was sustained as much by cheap oil as by cheap (often fraudulent) mortgages. Likewise, the collapse of the bubble was caused as much by costly (often imported) oil as...

Chaos in the transport sector of capital city

WITH the increase in the size of the population and the number of surface transport, the traffic movement becomes difficult in a mega-city. That's why the city planners and transportation engineers of other cities have been engaged in solving this...

In support of constituency demarcation

THE Election Commission (EC) has recently redemarcated parliamentary constituencies. Preparation of the voters roll and delimitation of constituencies are vital responsibilities of the EC, which it has been doing or is in the process of doing. The voters' roll is...