Britain’s economy contracted unexpectedly for a second month running in May, official data showed on Friday, compounding worries at home for finance minister Rachel Reeves as the nation navigates growing global turbulence. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.1 per cent after a 0.3 per cent dr
The global destruction of wetlands, which support fisheries, agriculture and flood control, may mean the loss of $39 trillion in economic benefits by 2050, according to a report by the Convention on Wetlands released on Tuesday. Some 22 percent of wetlands, both freshwater systems such as peat lan
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were coming, while offering fresh details on planned duties on pharmaceuticals. Trump announced the pact with Indonesia, a relativel
Natural disasters across China in the first half of 2025 brought direct economic losses of 54.11 billion yuan ($7.55 billion) and affected more than 23 million people, an official from the emergency response ministry said on Tuesday. A powerful earthquake in Tibet, deadly landslides in the southwe
Pakistan’s central bank is preparing to launch a pilot for a digital currency and is finalising legislation to regulate virtual assets, Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Wednesday, as the country ramps up efforts to modernise its financial system. Central banks globally are exploring the use of
Sri Lanka has the right balance of monetary policy at the moment, and domestic inflation is expected to turn positive around next month, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor P. Weerasinghe said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's inflation, which was minus 0.6 per cent year-on-year in June, is expected to rea
Japan on Tuesday expressed its regret over US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25-percent tariff on Japanese goods from Aug. 1, while stressing that bilateral negotiations will continue, local media reported. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa spoke with U.S. Commerce Secr
Colombia and Uzbekistan have joined the New Development Bank (NDB), expanding the membership of the multilateral lender commonly known as the BRICS Bank, the institution's president, Dilma Rousseff, announced here Saturday. The announcement came at a press conference held after the 10th meeting of
The dollar held gains on Friday after President Donald Trump got his signature tax cut bill across the final hurdle and pressure mounted on countries to secure trade deals with the United States. The greenback rallied from multi-year lows against the euro and British pound hit earlier in the week
US and India trade negotiators were pushing on Wednesday to try to land a tariff-reducing deal ahead of President Donald Trump's Jul 9 negotiating deadline, but disagreements over US dairy and agriculture remained unresolved, sources familiar with the talks said. The push comes as Trump announced
Global stocks hit an intraday record on Monday on hopes US trade negotiations with key partners would continue to progress, while the dollar declined and was set for its worst first-half performance in more than five decades. Canada halted its digital services tax targeting US technology firms jus
The dollar wallowed near its lowest in nearly four years against the euro on Monday as market optimism over US trade deals bolstered bets for earlier Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The greenback also languished near a four-year low versus sterling and a more than decade trough to the Swiss fr
China has rolled over $3.4 billion in loans to Islamabad, which together with other recent commercial and multilateral lending will boost Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves to $14 billion, a finance ministry source said on Sunday. Beijing rolled over $2.1 billion, which has been in Pakistan's ce
