News

Stocks lose 254 points on profit-taking

The stock market suffered mild losses on Tuesday as jittery investors opted to take profits amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation reported that stocks closed lower due to a decline in global equities, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to maintain the key policy rate amid inflationary pressures f

Amazon to invest $233m in India to expand operations infrastructure, improve tech

Amazon will invest more than $233 million in India in 2025 to expand and update its operations infrastructure, develop new technology for its fulfilment network and improve delivery safety, it said on Thursday. The investment builds on top of Amazon’s prior investments for the creation of an operations network to deliver to all serviceable PIN-codes in the country, it added. In June 2023, th

Legal issues delay appointment of PSQCA head

The Ministry of Law and Justice has advised the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to resolve legal obstacles before proceeding with the appointment of the director general (DG) of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) — a post that has remained vacant for over two years due to recurring controversies. According to sources, the Prime Minister’s Office recently retu

SBP reserves rise by a meagre $46m

The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reser­ves increased by $46 million during the week ending June 13. According to data released on Thursday, the reserves now stand at $11.721 billion, still significantly short of the $14bn target set for June 30. This leaves the central bank with a shortfall of $2.279bn and only 10 days remaining to bridge the gap.Given the limited time, it

Budget 2025-26: Era of amnesty schemes is over, says Aurangzeb

The parliamentary committees on Thursday rejected the government’s proposal to impose a carbon levy on petroleum products, terming it an undue burden on the public, whereas the finance minister stressed that “the era of tax exemptions and amnesty schemes is over”. However, they approved new taxes on high-value pensions and the income of international athletes. The carbon levy became a focal