The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants external financing commitments fulfilled from friendly countries before it releases bailout funds, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday. The lender has been negotiating with Islamabad since early February to resume $1.1 billion in fun
India's cabinet is set to adopt a gas panel report this week, which has recommended capping the price for most local gas at $6.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in April, two sources said on Monday. India last year set up the panel, led by energy expert Kirit Parikh, to review India's g
Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday signed a free trade pact into effect, reducing or removing tariffs on about 96 per cent of goods traded between the nations, Israel's Foreign Ministry said. The countries first reached the agreement last May, promising to boost bilateral trade after th
Ukraine expects to yield 45 million tonnes of grain and legumes in 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday. "As in the previous year, Ukraine will be fully provided with grain and food," Shmyhal was quoted as saying by the government press service, reports Xinhua. In particular, Ukraine
Fitch Ratings on Friday cut Argentina's foreign currency rating to ‘C’ from ‘CCC-’ citing an ‘imminent’ default after the country ordered public sector bodies to sell or exchange their holdings of some sovereign dollar bonds. A presidential decree said on Thursd
Russia's middle class will shrink as social inequality grows over coming years, an economic study conducted by Russian experts suggested, as sanctions against Moscow and limited growth potential scupper development prospects. The study, published this week, presents four possible scenarios for how
Working against the clock to stop a developing banking crisis, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had until sunset on Sunday, March 12, to come up with a plan to calm the US economy. She quickly turned to someone who had been through the fire before, and on a much larger scale: Hank Paulson. Paulson
Banking stocks tumbled in Europe on Friday with heavyweights Deutsche Bank and UBS Group pummelled by worries that the worst problems in the sector since the 2008 financial crisis are not contained, while stress indicators in the currency and bond markets flash warning signs. In a third day of los
Pakistan is drafting a fuel pricing scheme aimed at helping the poor, the petroleum minister said, a programme that some economists fear could hinder a crucial International Monetary Fund pay out needed to prevent economic collapse. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif first announced the government's pl
Argentina's annual inflation rate tore past 100 per cent in February, the country's statistics agency said on Tuesday, the first time it has hit triple figures since a period of hyperinflation in 1991, over three decades ago. Inflation over 12 months clocked in at 102.5 per cent in the second mont
Sri Lanka will receive the first tranche of about $330 million from the International Monetary Fund in the next two days, and, going forward, disbursements would be tied to reviews that take place every six months, an IMF official said on Tuesday. The IMF on Monday said its executive board approve
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced a new plan to promote an open and free Indo-Pacific, promising billions of dollars in investment to help economies across the region in everything from industry to disaster prevention. The plan he announced in New Delhi is seen as Tokyo's bi
Top central banks, faced with the risk of a fast-moving loss of confidence in the stability of the financial system, moved on Sunday to bolster the flow of cash around the world. In coordination with central banks elsewhere, the US Federal Reserve offered daily currency swaps to ensure banks
