Author: Finance for Sight

Pakistan’s apparel exports have achieved a historically high level of $6.2 billion during the first eight months of the current financial year 2024-25, registering a growth of around 19% compared to the same period last year. The figures were disclosed to Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan during an internal meeting at the Ministry of Commerce with Shakeel Ahmed Mangnejo, Special Secretary, Commerce and Mudassar Raza Siddiqi, Director General (Textile). According to a statement released by the commerce ministry on Saturday, Siddiqi apprised the minister that Pakistan’s textiles and apparel industry has remained resilient in the face of global…

KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces on Friday, dealing a major blow to the paramilitaries who responded with deadly drone attacks. State television had broadcast scenes of fighters celebrating in the palace, before three of its journalists and a number of army personnel were killed in a drone strike, an army source reported. They were “covering the army retaking the Republican Palace” when an RSF one-way attack drone struck the complex, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Information Minister Khalid al-Aiser said state television’s producer, video journalist and driver…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 23 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, depreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 280.26, a fall of Re0.03 against the greenback. On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 280.23. Internationally, the US dollar was on the front foot against major peers on Friday after its best single-day performance for three weeks with the Federal Reserve indicating no rush to cut interest rates. The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars remained on the defensive after steep slides on Thursday as worries…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump denied media reports on Thursday that his billionaire ally Elon Musk would receive a “top-secret briefing” on Washington’s strategy in a potential war with China. The reports, first published by The New York Times, fanned concerns about the SpaceX and Tesla chief’s influence in the White House as an unelected tycoon who has become Trump’s closest advisor. Democrats have blasted Trump for handing administration policy to Musk, the president’s cost-cutter-in-chief, despite him undergoing no background checks and heading companies with government contracts worth billions. According to the Times, Musk was set to receive a briefing…

UNITED NATIONS: The United States told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that the Palestinian group Hamas was to blame for the deaths in the Gaza Strip since Israel resumed hostilities there. “Hamas bears full responsibility for the ongoing war in Gaza and for the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have been avoided had Hamas accepted the bridge proposal that the United States offered last Wednesday,” acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the 15-member council. Israel effectively abandoned a two-month-old truce three days ago, and has resumed its aerial bombardment and ground campaign, saying it wanted…

After hitting record high in the previous session, gold prices fell in Pakistan on Friday, in line with their decline in the international market. In the local market, gold price per tola reached Rs318,800 after a single-day fall of Rs2,000. Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold at Rs273,319 after it registered a decline of Rs1,712, as per All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA). On Thursday, gold price per tola increased by Rs1,800 to hit then all-time high of Rs320,800. The international rate of gold also increased on Friday. As per APGJSA, the rate was at $3,031 per ounce (with a…

GENEVA: Last year was the deadliest year for migrants, with nearly 9,000 people dying worldwide, the United Nations said on Friday, calling the “tragedy… unacceptable and preventable”. “At least 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2024,” the fifth year that numbers have reached record highs, the UN’s migration agency said. “The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable,” said Ugochi Daniels, the deputy director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating,” Daniels said. “The actual number of…

CHICAGO: Following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Friday. Wheat – Steady to up 2 cents a bushel Wheat futures firm on technical buying and short covering following three sessions of declines. Gains capped by tepid U.S. export demand and a firmer U.S. dollar. Actively traded CBOT May wheat hit overhead chart resistance at its 20-day moving averages in overnight trading. CBOT May soft red winter wheat was last up 1 cent at $5.58-1/4 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter…

LONDON: The closure of Britain’s Heathrow Airport is set to affect the global aviation system for days at a cost of tens of millions of dollars, experts say, posing questions about why better contingency planning was not in place at the hub. Experts were in shock at the scale of the outage, which has not been seen since the Icelandic ash cloud of 2010, as they tried to estimate the cost and breadth of the repercussions caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation that knocked out the airport’s power supply and its back-up power. The chaos delivered a…

Britain’s competition regulator fined four sports broadcast and production companies about 4 million pounds ($5.2 million) on Friday for sharing sensitive information about fees for freelance camera operators and sound technicians. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said five companies – Sky, BT, IMG, ITV and the BBC – admitted “to breaking the law” after “colluding” on pay rates for freelancers. BT, IMG, ITV and the BBC were given a discount on penalties since they assisted the regulator in the case, while Sky was exempted because it notified the regulator before it began its investigation, the regulator said. IMG did…