Global Economy
Gold sprints to record high in global market
Gold hit an all-time high on Thursday, steered by uncertainty surrounding the US election and expectations of more interest rate cuts by major central banks, while spotlight shifted to a slew of US data.
Japan’s exports fall for first time in 10 months
Japan’s exports fell for the first time in 10 months in September, data showed on Thursday, a worry for policymakers as any prolonged weakness in global demand may complicate the central bank’s path to exit years of ultra-easy monetary policy.
Almost 40% of World Bank's recent climate funds unaccounted for: Oxfam
An Oxfam audit found that as much as $41 billion in climate finance could not be found "between the time projects were approved and when they closed."
ECB set to cut rates again as inflation cools
After cutting rates twice already this year, including at their last meeting in September, policymakers initially signalled a preference to wait until December to cut again
China to almost double support for unfinished housing projects
Housing minister Ni Hong said Beijing will "increase the credit scale of white-list projects to four trillion" yuan ($562 billion) by the end of the year
Chinese firm Jidalai to invest $5.85 million in Adamjee EPZ
The company will annually produce 70 million pieces of pullers of zippers
Why women risk losing out in shift to green jobs
Closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math would accelerate the green transition while making it more inclusive
'Age of Electricity' coming as fossil fuels set to peak: IEA
Demand for oil, gas and coal is still projected to peak by the end of the decade, possibly creating a surplus of fossil fuels, the IEA said in its annual World Energy Outlook
Oil price slips
Oil prices slipped on Monday as investors continued to focus on the situation in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts are intensifying in an attempt to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Russian and Chinese firms ink deals in various sectors
Chinese and Russian companies attending a regional conference in northeastern China signed a raft of cooperation deals on Monday in sectors ranging from manufacturing and logistics to e-commerce and agriculture, Chinese state media reported.
Chinese retailers offer deep iPhone 15 discounts
Chinese e-commerce platforms including JD.com, PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and Alibaba’s Taobao are offering big discounts on Apple’s latest iPhone 15, with some going for up to 1,501 yuan ($205.14) below the retail price.
Sri Lanka inflation eases to 0.8% in Sep
Sri Lanka’s consumer price inflation rate eased to 0.8 percent year-on-year in September from 2.1 percent in August, the statistics department said on Monday.
Shipowners benefitting little from taka depreciation
The devaluation of taka has increased competitiveness of Bangladesh’s oceangoing ships
Asia shares slip on Middle East woes, higher yields
Asian shares hit one-year lows Monday as the risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East clouded sentiment in a week laden with data on U.S. growth and inflation as well as earnings from some of the world's largest tech companies.
US budget deficit widens
The US budget deficit has widened to $1.7 trillion, government data showed on Friday, in a development that could add pressure on President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection in 2024.
China may further cut its US debt holdings
China may continue to cut its US debt holdings amid global worries over shrinking liquidity and safety risk of the assets and the country’s ramped-up efforts to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, experts said last week after reviewing the latest data from the US Treasury Department.
Dhaka-Kolkata cruise will now set sail on Nov 20
MK Shipping Lines is planning to operate a cruise from Dhaka’s Sadarghat to Howrah of Kolkata, starting off on November 20.