Regional & International Economy

Oil prices hit their highest levels in more than seven years Tuesday, driven in part by hopes of a global economic recovery that would ramp up demand. Stock markets however headed south, with US Treasury yields surging on expectations the Federal Reserve will have to unveil several interest rate hikes …

Bangladesh needs to shift its product concentration to sectors like plastics and light engineering so that it can gradually move upwards in its industrialisation pathway, Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said yesterday. As Bangladesh will upgrade from being the 43rd largest economy to 25-26th by 2030, greater foreign direct …

The net sales of national savings certificates plunged by 47.36 per cent year-on-year in the July-November period of the current fiscal year 2021-2022. The government’s budgetary and taxation measures have turned out to be the discouraging factors for the people to buy the high-interest bearing savings tools. The year-on-year net …

The economic ties between Bangladesh and the US are stronger than ever now even despite the severe fallout of Covid-19, according to a top official of the US embassy in Dhaka. Both countries carried out some extraordinary business deals even when the coronavirus outbreak was at its peak as well …

The government has decided to increase the cash incentive on sending remittance to 2.5 percent from the existing 2 percent in order to encourage sending remittances through legal channels. The decision, which came into effect from today (January 1, 2022), is expected to improve the overall living standards of common …

Indonesia has banned coal exports in January due to concerns that low supplies at domestic power plants could lead to widespread blackouts, a senior official at the energy ministry said on Saturday. The Southeast Asian country is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal, exporting around 400 million tonnes in …

The standing committee on Manpower and Skill Development of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) today said that businessmen are concerned over manpower export syndicate. They called upon the government to provide a policy in order to stop the increase in plane ticket fares. At the meeting, …

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated $4.1 million in technical assistance to help agri-food value chains and rural economies in Asia and the Pacific recover from the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. The Green and Resilient Rural Recovery through Agri-Food System Transformation in the Asia and Pacific Region program will assess …

Europeans have been living with euro banknotes and coins for 20 years now, but many still point the finger at the single currency for covertly driving up consumer prices — despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. “The euro is a catastrophe, it’s catastrophic,” says Maria Napolitano, a 65-year-old Italian …

Vietnam reported economic growth for 2021 of just 2.58 per cent on Wednesday, beating a 30-year low set last year as the pandemic continues to take a toll. The communist state has long been a success story among Asian economies, posting growth of seven percent in 2019. But shutdowns caused …