News

The silent squeeze

In the wake of recent economic reforms, Pakistan has seen encouraging signs of macroeconomic recovery. Inflation is on the decline, the rupee has remained relatively stable, and remittances have picked up. The government’s fiscal discipline, supported by timely decisions around interest rate management, energy pricing, and the International Monetary Fund-programme compliance has helped rebuild con

Pakistan’s remittance per expat lags behind peer nations

Despite projected remittance inflows of $38 billion in the current fiscal year (FY25), Pakistan’s per expatriate remittance remains significantly lower than that of peer countries. “Although remittances have grown at a compound annual rate of 6.1 per cent from 2013 to 2023, per expatriate remittance remains low in comparison to other countries in the region,” said a report released by the Polic

US president agrees to delay EU tariffs until July 9

US President Donald Trump backed away on Sunday from his threat to slap 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union next month, agreeing to extend the deadline until July 9 for talks between Washington and the 27-nation bloc to produce a deal. Trump on Friday said he was recommending a 50pc tariff go into place on June 1 because of frustration that talks with the EU were not moving q

Budget features bold measures for ‘strategic direction’

Promising simplified tax returns for the salaried class, Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­ng­zeb on Monday pledged that the up­co­ming federal budget would int­ro­duce “bold measures” to steer the national economy in a strategic direction and make available whatever support is required by the armed forces. Talking to journalists after an event organised by the Pakistan Banks Association and Karan

Monitoring system for sugar sector

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has decided that a data collection and monitoring mechanism will be established to ensure transparency and efficiency in the sugar sector. The decision was taken during a meeting on Monday to review and assess the current situation of sugar stocks. The system will be instrumental in accurately tracing the production and yield of sugarcane acro