US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose 200 per cent tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from European Union countries, in retaliation against the bloc’s planned levies on US-produced whiskey. Trump has launched trade wars against competitors and partners alike since taking office, wielding tariffs as a tool to pressure countries on commerce and other pol
Amid worsening economic struggles confronting Pakistan, yuan-denominated financial instruments are likely to offer opportunities to the country to restructure its debt and drive green infrastructure initiatives. This was the crux of a high-level webinar, Panda Bonds: Mobilising Sustainable Investments for Pakistan’s Renewable Energy Future, on Thursday. It was organised by the Sustainable Devel
The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $152 million to $11.097 billion due to external debt repayments during the week ended March 7, announced the central bank on Thursday. The reserves declined despite SBP’s large-scale buying of dollars from the banking market, reflecting the pressure of external debt repayments.The country’s total liquid foreign
Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has sought a rational taxation regime to facilitate the growth of the information technology industry. In its budget proposals for 2025-26 on Thursday, the association demanded an end to the disparities in taxation between local salaried employees and the remote employees of the companies. The income tax for local employees ranges up to 35 per cen
In yet another knee-jerk reaction to curb renewable energy growth through solar net metering amid high grid electricity costs, the government on Thursday reduced the buyback rate by two-thirds to Rs10 per unit and scrapped net billing. The decision, applicable to new net-metering consumers, was taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, presided over by Fin