Category: bussines

SEATTLE: Intended for use by a Chinese airline, a Boeing jet landed back at the planemaker’s US production hub on Sunday, a victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by President Donald Trump in his global trade offensive. According to a Reuters witness, the 737 MAX, which was meant for China’s Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 6:11pm (0111GMT). It was painted with Xiamen livery. The jet, which made refuelling stops in Guam and Hawaii on its 5,000-mile (8,000km) return journey, was one of several 737 MAX jets waiting at Boeing’s Zhoushan…

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Japan is considering relaxing automobile safety rules for imports as part of its tariff negotiations with the United States, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday. Japan has been hit with 24% levies on its exports to the US although these rates have, like most of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, been paused for 90 days. A 10% universal rate remains in place, as does a 25% duty on cars, a mainstay of Japan’s export-reliant economy. As Japan and the US use different safety standards, Tokyo sees room for easing rules on…

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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday departed for the United States (US) to attend the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring 2025 meetings. The finance minister will meet senior officials of the WB and the IMF while attending these key meetings scheduled for April 21–26. During his visit, Aurangzeb will also meet with the finance ministers and counterpart leaders of China, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Meetings with senior officials of the US State and Treasury Departments are also part of…

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WASHINGTON: Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have become the front-runners to win a key part of US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence shield, according to six people privy to the subject. The sources stated Musk’s satellite and rocket company is collaborating with drone manufacturer Anduril and software developer Palantir to bid on building important components of Golden Dome, which has attracted a lot of attention from the growing number of defence-related technology startups in the sector. In his January 27 executive order, Trump cited a missile attack…

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ISLAMABAD: Days after Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) posted its first annual profit in over 20 years, the government announced on Thursday it will invite expressions of interest next week for the airline’s sale. Authorities have been seeking to sell a 51-100% stake in the debt-ridden airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme. Its failed attempt to privatise the PIA last year received a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million. The Privatisation Commission…

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In a major achievement on the economic front, Pakistan’s current account recorded a surplus of $1.2 billion in March 2025, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. According to brokerage firm Topline Securities, the March surplus, the highest ever on record for a single month, compares with a $363 million surplus recorded in the same month a year earlier and a deficit of $97 million in February 2025. This takes the cumulative surplus for the first nine months of FY25 to $1.86 billion, a…

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Miftah Ismail, former finance minister, has lambasted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government for practically introducing a “mini-budget under the garb of development projects for Balochistan” via its decision to deny the masses relief in petroleum prices. Speaking on Geo News‘ programme “Geo Pakistan,” Miftah — a former PML-N leader — indulged in a scathing criticism of the Shehbaz government for maintaining the fuel prices and deciding against passing the benefit of lower fuel prices in the international market to Pakistanis. “You don’t need anything else […] you can utilise the provincial government’s funds as…

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The stock market staged a strong recovery on Thursday, as improved macroeconomic indicators and easing global pressures helped restore investor confidence. The positive sentiment was boosted by a credit rating upgrade from Fitch and falling global oil prices. The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 116,901.13, up 881.03 points, or 0.76%, from the previous close of 116,020.10. The index hit an intraday high of 117,216.02, marking a gain of 1,195.92 points, or 1.03%. The session’s low was recorded at 115,818.07, representing a modest dip of 202.03 points,…

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Stock markets worldwide dropped sharply on Wednesday as US-China trade tensions escalated, triggering a flight to safe assets and record-high gold prices, Reuters reported. New US licensing restrictions targeting sales of Nvidia and AMD’s AI chips to China sent shockwaves through global markets. Nvidia warned the move could cost $5.5 billion, with its shares plunging almost 7%. The global MSCI stock index fell 1.5%. In the US, the Dow slid 1.7%, the S&P 500 lost 2.2%, and the Nasdaq dropped 3.1%. “Capital markets remain caught between news about new tariffs and, on…

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CHICAGO: The US central bank has said it is pausing any changes to interest rates, as concerns grow that rising tariffs could drive up inflation while weighing on economic growth. US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the Fed would wait for more data on the economy’s direction before changing interest rates, and characterised recent market volatility as a logical reaction to the Trump administration’s dramatic shifts in tariff policy. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our…

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