Global growth is in the process of stabilising as the drag from central bank rate hikes fades and falling inflation boosts households' incomes, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday, marginally raising its outlook for this year. The world economy was projected to grow 3.2% both this and next year, the OECD forecast, nudging up its 2024 forecast from
The Business Confidence Index (BCI) in Pakistan decreased by one point to 50.0 in September 2024, according to the latest Business Confidence Survey (BCS) conducted by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in collaboration with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). The decrease in confidence was driven by declines in both the Industry and Services sectors. Specifically, the confidence i
A Senate committee on Wednesday approved amendments to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act, requiring commercial banks to lend in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan equal to 60% of the deposits being raised from the two underdeveloped provinces. The amendment was proposed after it was revealed that cumulative lending in these provinces amounted to just 1.33% of the total bank lending, ev
The minister for industries and the minister for petroleum are locked in a row over sugar export with the latter recommending a halt to shipments whereas the former pushes for making exports in violation of a government decision. The retail price of sugar has exceeded the benchmark set by the government, which makes it binding on the industries ministry to stop exports but it continues to be in
The Pakistani currency depreciated by Rs0.05 to Rs277.85 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, as uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board's final approval for a $7 billion loan programme later in the day impacted the currency market on Wednesday. In the open market, however, the rupee gained Rs0.12 day-on-day to close at Rs280.33 per dollar, increasing b