Author: Finance for Sight

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made “a very promising statement” on a possible Ukraine ceasefire, but added that “it wasn’t complete.” Trump’s comments came after Putin said he backed the idea of a 30-day ceasefire but had serious questions about it that he wanted to discuss with his US counterpart. “He put out a very promising statement but it wasn’t complete,” Trump, who was meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House, told reporters when asked about Putin’s remarks. “I’d love to meet with him or talk to him. But…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 20 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee saw marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 280.05, a loss of Re0.08 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 279.97. Internationally, the US dollar rebounded slightly on Thursday thanks to a rise in US Treasury yields, though currencies traded in tight ranges as investors struggled to determine the impact of an escalating global trade war on US inflation and growth. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened further tariffs on European…

CHARLEVOIX: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Canadian counterpart Thursday as part of the highest-level US visit to Washington’s northern neighbor since threats launched by President Donald Trump, whose trade war and bid for a Ukraine ceasefire dominated a Group of Seven meeting. Canada, the current president of the club of powerful economies, is gathering G7 foreign ministers for three days of talks inside a rustic hotel in snow-covered Charlevoix, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Once broadly unified, the G7 – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – has…

The government has reduced the buyback rate for net metering electricity to Rs10 per unit from previously Rs27 per unit, attributing the decision to “significant increase in the number of solar net-metering consumers, with associated financial implications for grid consumers”. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, approved a set of amendments to the existing net-metering regulations aimed at reducing the “growing financial burden on grid consumers”, according a statement from the Finance Division. “As part of the approved changes, the ECC has revised the buyback…

NEW YORK: Two days before US agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and Palestinian activist asked his wife if she knew what to do if immigration agents came to their door. Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife of more than two years, said she was confused. As a legal permanent resident of the US, surely Khalil did not have to worry about that, she recalls telling him. “I didn’t take him seriously. Clearly I was naive,” Abdalla, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant, told Reuters in her first media interview. US Department of Homeland Security agents handcuffed her…

ANKARA: Turkiye has emerged as a key potential partner in restructuring European security, diplomats and analysts say, as Europe scrambles to bolster its defence and find guarantees for Ukraine under any forthcoming ceasefire deal urged by the United States. European countries have been unsettled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war, which has upended Washington’s policy, halted Russia’s isolation with possibility of rapprochement, piled pressure on Kyiv after disastrous talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy and endangered transatlantic ties. Analysts say Europeans’ push to maintain Ukraine’s military capabilities and agree security guarantees, while boosting its own…

Positive momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 115,000 level amid a gain of over 1,000 points during intra-day trading on Thursday. At 12:20pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 115,104.63 level, an increase of 1,020.10 points or 0.89%. Buying was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including MARI, OGDC, PPL, HUBCO, ARL, PSO, SSGC, HBL, MCB and MEBL traded in the green. On Wednesday, PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 closed marginally lower after the index failed to…

GAZA CITY: Hamas praised Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels Wednesday after they announced they would resume attacks on Israeli-linked shipping, calling it a demonstration of “true commitment” to the Palestinian cause. “It is a true commitment of support for our Palestinian people and their resistance, and it exerts real pressure to break the unjust siege on Gaza,” Hamas said in a statement. The Houthis, who hold the Yemeni capital Sanaa and swathes of the Red Sea coast, announced late Tuesday that they would resume attacks following the expiry of their deadline for Israel to stop blocking aid deliveries into Gaza. The…

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose 2% on Wednesday, as U.S. government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories, though investors kept an eye on mounting fears of a U.S. economic slowdown and the impact of tariffs on global economic growth. Brent futures settled $1.39, or 2%, higher at $70.95 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $1.43, or 2.2%, to $67.68 a barrel. U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels in the latest week, U.S. government data showed on Wednesday, which was less than the 2-million barrel rise forecasters had expected. U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 5.7…

DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected holding negotiations with the United States over a nuclear deal, as a letter was delivered from U.S. President Donald Trump calling for such talks. Last week, Trump said he had sent the letter to Khamenei proposing nuclear talks, but also warned that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal”. The letter was handed over to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates. While Araqchi and Gargash were meeting, Khamenei told…