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US-China talks resume as Trump hails ‘total reset’ in trade relations

Talks between top US and Chinese officials resumed for a second day on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism over the negotiations aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post following the first day of talks in Geneva on Saturday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a

IMF wants cut in auto tariffs

The local auto industry and its suppliers are facing uncertainty ahead of the FY26 budget as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reportedly pressuring the government to rationalise auto tariffs and permit the commercial import of used cars. The IMF believes the auto sector is highly protective, and there is a need to rationalise tariffs to improve competitiveness and efficiency to benefit

PSDP spending in 10 months stands at paltry 41pc

The government only managed to spend around 41 per cent of the development funds allocated for the fiscal year despite the passage of 10 months, the planning ministry has said. The development spending stood at Rs448.6bn in the first 10 months (July-April) of fiscal year 2025, accounting for less than 41pc of Rs1.1 trillion revised budget allocation for the whole year. The lack of spending s

PSX takes record plunge amid security unrest

Bloodbath continued on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the second straight day as the index suffered the largest-ever plunge, causing almost Rs820 billion loss to equity investors on Thursday after India launched drone attacks in major cities, including Karachi and Lahore. The market capital had lost Rs1.3 trillion in value in three sessions as jittery investors preferred to exit the mark

Uptick in SBP reserves

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $118 million to $10.332 billion for the period ending on May 2, announced the central bank, without disclosing the source of this inflow. Bankers believe the rise was due to the SBP’s buying of dollars from the interbank market. It has a target of $14bn by the end of this fiscal year on June 30. The country’s ove