Author: Finance for Sight

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities made ‘significant progress’ toward reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on the first review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), said IMF mission chief Nathan Porter in a statement Saturday. An IMF team, led by Nathan Porter, visited Islamabad and Karachi from February 24 to March 14, 2025, to hold discussions on the first review of Pakistan’s economic program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and on a possible new arrangement under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). At the conclusion of the discussions, Porter issued the following statement:…

WASHINGTON: An American Airlines Boeing jet caught fire after landing at Denver International Airport in Colorado on Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard, the airliner said, according to local media. All passengers were safely evacuated from the plane but 12 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Denver International Airport said in a post on social media platform X. Dramatic video images widely shared on social media showed billowing smoke around the jet on the ground near the terminals and passengers standing on a wing as emergency services…

WASHINGTON: The US Senate appeared closer Friday to avoiding an economically damaging government funding shutdown after the Democrats’ top leader shied away from a major confrontation with President Donald Trump, prompting backlash from the left. Democrats are smarting over Trump’s radical spending cuts which have shredded entire sections of government and seen Congress largely bypassed in what critics say is an unconstitutional exercise of power by the White House. Many in the party argue that refusing to back the Republican bill funding the US government for another six months would be a chance for Democrats to demonstrate opposition to the…

Gold prices soared to a fresh record high in Pakistan on Friday in line with their increase in the international rates. In the local market, gold price per tola reached Rs314,000 after a single-day rise of Rs4,700. As per All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), 10-gram gold was sold at Rs269,204 after it registered an increase of Rs4,030. On Thursday, gold price per tola increased by Rs2,800. Similarly, the international rate of gold also increased on Friday. As per APGJSA, the rate was at $2,988 per ounce (with a premium of $20), an increase of $46 during the day.…

BEIJING: China and Russia stood by Iran on Friday after the United States demanded nuclear talks with Tehran, with senior Chinese and Russian diplomats saying dialogue should only resume based on “mutual respect” and all sanctions ought to be lifted. In a joint statement issued after talks with Iran in Beijing, China and Russia also said they welcomed Iran’s reiteration that its nuclear programme was exclusively for peaceful purposes, and that Tehran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy should be “fully” respected. In 2015, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions…

Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 442 points on Friday. The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 115,730.98, following by some selling that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 115,162.69. At close, aided by late-session buying, the benchmark index settled at 115,536.17, up by 441.93 points or 0.38. “KSE-100 Index extended its gain as expectation that Pakistan will clear it first review of $7bn IMF EFF bailout programme continue to garner investor interest,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report. Top positive contribution…

Russia will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region if Kyiv tells them to surrender, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump urged him to avoid a “horrible massacre” there. Ukraine denied its men were encircled, describing that as a Russian fabrication, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the situation “very difficult”. Trump, in a social media post, said he had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who he said were “completely surrounded” and vulnerable. “I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared.…

OTTAWA: Ex-central banker Mark Carney was formally sworn in as prime minister of Canada on Friday, putting him in a position to fight tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump that could devastate the trade-dependent Canadian economy. In the presence of Governor General Mary Simon, the personal representative of King Charles, who is Canada’s head of state, Carney took the oath of office. He reshaped his cabinet with a view to dealing with Washington, and cut several ministerial positions that he inherited from his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is moving to the international trade portfolio and will be…

NEW YORK: Oil prices rebounded on Friday after a more than 1% loss in the previous session as investors weighed the diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war that could bring back more Russian energy supplies to Western markets. Brent crude futures were up 73 cents, or 1.04 %, to $70.61 a barrel at 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT), after settling 1.5% lower in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.27 a barrel, up 72 cents, or 1.08%, after closing down 1.7% on Thursday. Prices are set to end the week more or…

DUBAI: Hamas said on Friday it agreed to release an American-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, after receiving a proposal from mediators to continue negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal. Hamas said in a statement that it responded “positively” to the proposal that was presented on Thursday to resume negotiations. It will also release the bodies of four other dual nationality hostages, it said without giving further details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days sought…