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Pvt sector credit growth slumps to 16.55pc in Dec

Amid lack of investment in industrial sector, the private sector credit growth in December slumped to around 16.55 per cent year-on-year, much below 18.30 per cent target set by the contractionary monetary policy of the Bangladesh Bank for July-December, 2012. In such a tricky investment situation, the central bank announces today yet another tight monetary policy for January-June period setting... Full story

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47 textile millers may face legal action in US

Forty-seven Bangladeshi textile millers may face legal action by American cotton traders because of contract defaults. The legal action threat has come as the Bangladeshi millers and millers of some other countries have allegedly either cancelled their forwarding... Full story

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SME entrepreneurs blame tax officials for corruption

Businessmen of small and medium enterprises on Wednesday blamed the tax officials for corruption and said they could not enjoy tax benefits provided by the government due to such graft. At a seminar on value-added tax benefits for the SME sector, they also demanded that the National Board of Revenue should increase the minimum and maximum limit of turnover for small industries for imposing turnover tax. Full story

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Stocks decline on profit-taking sales

Dhaka stocks declined on Wednesday with a lower turnover after six straight sessions on the up as the investors went for sell-offs to make profits. DSEX, the newly introduced benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock... Full story

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FBCCI requests US not to scrap facility

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday submitted its proposal to the office of United States Trade Representative for hearing on GSP facility for the Bangladeshi products on the US market. Full story

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Mobile cos asked to cancel subscription after end of campaign

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in a directive on Wednesday asked all mobile phone operators to disconnect the promotional offer services once the campaign period is over. Full story

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China’s looming worker shortage threatens economy

China’s demographic timebomb is ticking much louder with the first fall in its labour pool for decades, analysts say, highlighting the risk that the country grows old before it grows rich. The abundant supply of cheap workers in the... Full story

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Vietnam’s state sector a ‘cancer’ in economy

Opaque, corrupt, inefficient — Vietnam’s state-run companies are used to criticism, but now they stand accused of creating a systemic economic crisis which the communist regime cannot fix. Full story

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US court rejects Apple’s bid to raise damages in Samsung case

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co did not wilfully infringe on some of Apple Inc’s patents, a US federal court has ruled, foiling Apple’s attempt to ratchet up the $1.05 billion in damages it was awarded last August by a US jury, reports Reuters. Full story

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Shell partly responsible for Nigeria spills, says Dutch court

A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell can be held partially responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, saying the company should have prevented sabotage at one of its facilities. Full story

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Japan PM shrugs off global criticism over latest stimulus steps

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waded into the growing global debate about currency wars for the first time on Wednesday, shrugging off criticism that Tokyo was trying to intentionally weaken the yen with its monetary ... Full story

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Toyota to recall 7,52,000 Corollas in US for airbag problems

Toyota Motor Corp will recall 1.1 million cars globally for defects, including 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles in the United States to fix airbags that could be deployed inadvertently, the automaker said on Wednesday. Full story

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Bharti Airtel bids for Myanmar licence

Bharti Airtel, India’s top mobile phone operator, has bid for a telecoms licence in Myanmar as part of plans to expand in overseas markets, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Myanmar government earlier this month... Full story

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Any currency war could put India in a tough spot

Finance Minister P Chidambaram says premature to say Japan’s move to weaken yen constitutes a currency war, but urged Asian countries who are looking to stem volatile inflows to avoid depreciations of their currencies, reports Reuters. Full story

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Business confidence in Italy rebounds

Business confidence rose in Italy this month, the national statistics agency said on Wednesday, with its closely-watched index rising to 79.7 points from 75.6 points in December. Businesses in the manufacturing, construction, services... Full story

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US growth seen braking as inventories, government weigh

The US economy likely grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years in the fourth quarter as businesses added less stock to their warehouses and government spending fizzled, setting it up for a difficult start in 2013. Full story

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Eurozone, EU economic confidence firms

Business leaders and consumers in the eurozone sent signals in January that the clouds of economic gloom are lifting slightly, marking the third-month running of firming optimism, data from the European Commission showed on Wednesday. Full story

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European equities mostly slip before Fed announcement

European stock markets mainly fell on Wednesday as the US Federal Reserve prepared to make its latest monetary policy decisions, but the euro jumped above $1.35 on bright eurozone confidence data, traders said. Full story

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Yen slips on Japan finance minister comments

The yen slipped further Wednesday after Japan’s finance minister issued a stern denial over claims Tokyo was manipulating the currency, as traders eye a Fed meeting wrapping up later in the day. In afternoon... Full story

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Oil prices mixed in Asian trade

Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade on Wednesday after hitting multi-month highs on the back of upbeat housing data in the United States, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in... Full story

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