ISLAMABAD, JULY 31: In another move away from its long-standing ultra-loose monetary policies, the Bank of Japan raised its main interest rate on Wednesday for just the second time in 17 years. The central bank said in a statement that it had abandoned its unconventional negative rate policy, which was intended to spur economic development, and had instead set an interest rate of 0.25 percent, up from about zero to 0.1 percent. Following a two-day policy meeting, it made its decision, which sent the yen temporarily into a brief bull market before it fell to levels over 153 per dollar.…
Author: Mawadat Fatima
ISLAMABAD, JULY 31: Pakistan’s “C” short-term rating and “CCC+” long-term sovereign credit rating have been confirmed by Standard & Poor (S&P Global Ratings). The long-term rating has a steady outlook. The rating agency stated, “Our transfer & convertibility assessment remains at ‘CCC+.” It went on to say that the steady outlook weighs the risks to Pakistan’s fiscal performance and external financial situation over the next 12 months against the likelihood of ongoing support from bilateral and multilateral partners. If Pakistan’s external indicators suddenly worsen or if fiscal deficits increase to a point where they surpass the financing capability of the…
ISLAMABAD, JULY 31: Data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) shows that by the end of June 2024, there were 192.53 million cellular users, up from 192.32 million at the end of May 2024. According to data from the regulator, Pakistan had a rise in 3G and 4G customers from 133.26 million at the end of May 2024 to 134.87 million by the end of June. Cellular tele density, or the number of connections per 100 people in the nation, was constant at 79 percent by the end of June, while Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration rose from 55.07…
ISLAMABAD, JULY 29: The World Test Championship (WTC) Finals are rapidly approaching, and Pakistan must win seven of their next nine matches to qualify, which puts significant pressure on the cutoff percentages. Australia and India are currently ranked highly in the World Test Championship; to qualify for the finals, they must both win 58% of their matches. This raises the stakes for the remaining competitors, who must surpass either Australia or India with a victory percentage of at least 60%. West Indies have a difficult journey even if they are still in the hunt. They can only win up to…
ISLAMABAD, JULY 29: The US government is trying to construct the fastest computer in history, with the Department of Energy (DOE) leading the race. Their goal is to defeat Frontier, their record-breaking apparatus. By the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028, the next supercomputer, named Discovery, should be completed and three to five times faster than Frontier. Currently residing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is Frontier, the champion. With 8,699,904 cores, this beast can process data at an astounding 1.3 ExaFLOPS. Since May 2022, it has held the top spot. However, the US is aiming for Discovery,…
ISLAMABAD, JULY 29: Today in the Finance Division, the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program, Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan, met with Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, the federal minister for finance and revenue. An outline of the Prime Minister’s young Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme was given by Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan. This program encourages young entrepreneurship by offering business loans through Commercial, Islamic, and SME banks on easy terms with lower markups. Aurangzeb appreciated the program and recognized it as a valuable scheme for supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He expressed support for the initiative, highlighting its role in…
ISLAMBAD JULY29: Major Chinese phone manufacturer Vivo has said that it would begin producing mixed reality (MR) headsets in 2025. This follows the company’s discussion at the recent Imaging Festival in China about the direction of phone cameras. After stating earlier this year that MR is the upcoming great thing in mobile technology, Vivo’s vice president Hu Baishan has officially revealed the company’s plans to release its first MR headgear. Vivo is hardly a newcomer to the world of designer eyewear. In 2019, they released its first AR glasses, which required a 5G phone in order to function. Like Apple’s…
ISLAMBAD JULY 29: The upcoming September release of the new iPhones won’t coincide with the completion of Apple’s new AI features, dubbed Apple Intelligence. it will be included in a software update that launches in October. This week, Apple will release fresh test versions of its iPhone and iPad software to software developers, giving them a first peek at this AI technology. Only more recent Apple devices with powerful CPUs, like the A17 and M series, will be able to use the AI. Apple’s new AI features will also work on some older iPhones and iPads. But there’s bad news…
ISLAMBAD JULY29: Pakistan’s imports from China increased by 24% in FY24, the fiscal year that follows 2023–2024. With $14.51 billion in imports from China in FY24, Pakistan’s imports from China increased by 24% over the previous fiscal year. However, Pakistan’s exports to China were a pitiful $2.56 billion in FY24, indicating a distinct advantage China had in bilateral commerce. Pakistan’s largest export market was the US, where exports brought in $5.29 billion for the nation. Still, compared to FY23, exports to the US increased by just 0.9 percent in FY24. Conversely, the United States’ imports fell by 28% to a…
ISLAMBAD JULY 29: In the fiscal year 2023–2024, foreign corporations repatriated $2,215 million in earnings and dividends, a 6.7x YoY increase from $331 million during the same time the previous year. As a result of the backlog being cleared, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) claims that this is the largest profit and dividend repatriation seen since FY18. This was the biggest repatriation high in the previous six years. During June 2024, the repatriation of profits and dividends in Pakistan increased by 23.1x YoY to 414.5 million. The Financial Business sector had the highest payments on total foreign investments, totaling $638.6 million…