Author: Finance for Sight

BEIJING: China came out in support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, at a G20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday, while U.S. allies rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on the war, scrapping a campaign to isolate Moscow with a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine. Trump on Wednesday then denounced Zelenskiy as a “dictator,” prompting statements of support for the Ukrainian…

Bank of Khyber (BoK) has formally initiated its transition into a full-fledged Islamic bank, the bank shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday. “The bank has initiated the process for conversion from conventional to Islamic bank,” BoK said. The development comes as Islamic banking in Pakistan has seen significant growth over the past two decades, driven by strong demand, regulatory support, and Shariah-compliant financial solutions. The industry has expanded rapidly, with both full-fledged Islamic banks and conventional banks offering Islamic banking windows to cater to a growing customer base. Bank of Khyber’s profit…

WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Thursday it has ordered a pause on all of its media subscriptions as part of government-wide efforts by the Trump administration to cut spending it deems as unnecessary. President Donald Trump has put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of a government downsizing team, DOGE, that has swept through federal agencies searching for spending cuts as part of Trump’s overhaul and shrinking of the US government. “The Department has paused all non-mission critical contracts for media subscriptions that are not academic or professional journals,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement emailed…

European shares were steady on Thursday as gains in industrials and materials were offset by declines in heavyweight sectors such as energy and healthcare. The pan-European STOXX 600 index held its ground at 552.47 points. The benchmark index logged its worst day so far in 2025 in the previous session. The industrial goods and services sector rose 0.6%, led by a 5.4% jump in Schneider Electric after the electrical equipment maker forecast a bigger-than-expected rise in its 2025 profit margin. Siemens gained 1.1% after the engineering company said it was selling a 2% stake in healthcare subsidiary Siemens Healthineers, raising…

ISTANBUL: Six migrants drowned while another 27 were rescued by the coastguard when their boat started sinking off the western coast of Turkey, the interior minister said on Wednesday. The incident took place before dawn just south of the seaside resort of Izmir in the waters separating the Turkish coast from the Greek island of Samos, which lies just 15 kilometres (nine miles) away. “The bodies of six lifeless illegal immigrants were fished out of the water,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, adding that the coastguard had rescued 27 others, one of whom was detained on suspicion of…

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee topped gains among major Asian currencies and settled at a one-week high on Thursday, aided by dollar sales from foreign banks and softness in the greenback. The rupee closed at 86.66 against the U.S. dollar, up 0.3% on the day. It was the best performer among regional peers that rose amid gains in the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. While U.S. President Trump’s remark that a new trade deal with Beijing is possible lifted the yuan, the yen hit its strongest level in more than two months as investors ramped up bets on further rate hikes…

TEHRAN: Faced with myriad problems including gridlocked traffic and a sinking earth surface in its current capital, Iran is considering a drastic solution — moving it to an altogether different location on the Gulf of Oman. Though the idea of moving the capital has cropped up on various occasions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the proposals were repeatedly shelved as unrealistic due to the massive financial and logistical hurdles. But reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has recently revived the idea, citing Tehran’s growing challenges. These include traffic snarls, water shortages, resource mismanagement, extreme air pollution, as…

KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling was firmer on Thursday on the back of dollar inflows from charities and offshore investors who participated in this week’s Treasury bond auction, traders said. Uganda shilling steady, bias on the firming side At 0911 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,662/3,672, from Wednesday’s closing rate of 3,670 /3,680.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday that he was talking to China about TikTok as the United States seeks to broker a sale of the popular app. TikTok returns to Apple, Google app stores

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand firmed slightly in early trade on Thursday, recouping some of the previous session’s losses as focus shifted from a delay in the national budget to the first meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Johannesburg. At 0812 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4925 against the dollar , about 0.2% stronger than its previous close. The local currency slipped on Wednesday after a last-minute postponement of the budget due to disagreements within the country’s coalition government over a proposal to hike value-added tax (VAT). President Cyril Ramaphosa said the cabinet would work together to deliver a new budget,…