Author: Finance for Sight

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $35 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $11.20 billion as of February 14, data released on Thursday showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $15.95 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $4.75 billion. The central bank did not specify a reason for increase in the reserves. “During the week ended on 14-Feb-2025, SBP reserves increased by US$ 35 million to US$ 11,201.5 million,” it said. Last week, SBP foreign exchange reserves decreased by $252 million.

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan passenger train derailed Thursday after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island’s worst such wildlife accident, police said. The express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo, when it hit the herd crossing the line before dawn. “The train derailed, but there were no casualties among the passengers,” police said, adding that wildlife authorities were treating two elephants who survived the crash. Police and railway personnel examine a derailed train at Habarana in eastern…

FRANKFURT: The European Central bank on Thursday reported a record loss in 2024 after it had aggressively hiked eurozone interest rates in response to soaring inflation. The ECB lost 7.9 billion euros ($8.3 billion) last year, the second-straight year the Frankfurt-based institution has been in the red. In 2023, the central bank was down 1.3 billion euros, its first loss since 2004 after an extended period of relatively low borrowing costs. The figure for 2023 would have been similar to last year’s had the ECB not deployed all the 6.6 billion euros set aside to soak up losses. The ECB…

SEOUL: North Korean state media on Thursday criticized the United States for a nuclear submarine deal with Australia under the AUKUS partnership signed in 2021, calling it a “threat to regional peace.” A commentary carried by KCNA said Washington should be wary of consequences for what it said were nuclear alliances, naming AUKUS and the trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan. Australia just made its first $500 million payment to the U.S. under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal. Under AUKUS, Australia will pay the United States $3 billion to boost the capacity of the U.S. submarine industry, and Washington…

The Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the rupee settled at 279.46, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback. The rupee had closed at 279.47 on Wednesday. Internationally, the yen firmed and the US dollar held steady on Thursday as investors pondered what US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff agenda would mean for the global economy and how it could affect the interest rate outlook for major central banks. Geopolitics also loomed large after Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator” amid talks to end the…

BEIRUT, LEBANON: Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by Hezbollah after a bruising war with Israel. Nasrallah’s death nearly five months ago in a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs left Hezbollah supporters in disbelief and sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the region. The country will stop for Sunday’s funeral, to be held at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Camille Chamoun sports stadium on the capital’s outskirts. Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to…

SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks dropped on Thursday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff threats, though losses were limited as analysts said the rally in Chinese stocks, driven by the DeepSeek breakthrough, still has momentum. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index ended the session down 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was flat, as Beijing left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 1.6%, dragged by a sharp correction in technology stocks. Markets in Asia wobbled after Trump said he would announce tariffs related to lumber, cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals “over the…

SEOUL: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at a Seoul court on Thursday for the first hearing of his criminal trial over insurrection charges, during which his lawyers demanded his release from jail. TV footage aired by local broadcasters showed justice ministry vehicles leaving the Seoul Detention Centre where Yoon is being held before arriving at the court where lines of police buses were parked outside to ensure security. The court heard a bid by Yoon’s lawyers to cancel his detention as they argued that the insurrection probe had been conducted in an illegal manner, and that there…

India’s benchmark indexes closed marginally lower on Thursday as a pullback in financial services on concerns over a likely hike in bank deposit insurance coverage offset gains in metal companies. The Nifty 50 ended the day 0.09% lower at 22,913.15, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.27% to 75,735.96. After slipping to their lowest since early June on Friday, the benchmarks have been little changed this week. While the recent correction has hit stocks with lofty valuations hard, it has also lowered valuations for some quality companies across the market, said Arun Malhotra, founder and CIO at CapGrow Capital. On the…

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/ WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the United States without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump made the remarks to reporters on Air Force One and said “it’s possible” for the U.S. and China to have a new trade deal. A conversation or interaction between Xi and Trump is seen as crucial to a potential easing or delay of trade tariffs. “We’ll have, ultimately, President Xi, we will have everybody coming (to the U.S.),” Trump said while also speaking about others leaders visiting the United…