Bangladesh will require to spend US$ 1.8 billion in road, ports and land port infrastructures to develop functional transit routes for transit traffic prior to its introduction among the South Asian countries, estimates a new study, reports UNB. Of the amount, about US$ 257 million is needed for transit…

AFP, SHANGHAI: China's currency devaluation is a step in the long march to a more open regime for the yuan, analysts say, but authorities will need to further loosen their controls to promote long-term growth. The central bank on Tuesday unveiled a near two percent devaluation of the yuan, saying…

Broad index at the country’s premier bourse, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed the week 55 points lower than the previous week as the investors stayed in the sideline monitoring market capitalisation, reports UNB. The daily average turnover at the DSE was Tk 619.97 crore, a down by Tk 207.52 crore…

AFP, SINGAPORE: Oil prices looked set for their seventh weekly fall in Asia yesterday, with US crude tumbling to fresh six-year lows as investors worried a global supply glut is set to last. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery dropped 24 cents to $41.99 in afternoon trade,…

AFP, ATHENS: Greek lawmakers finally voted through the country's third international bailout yesterday after a bitter all-night debate, hours before European finance ministers were due to meet to approve the deal with Germany digging in its heels. As Eurogroup ministers gathered in Brussels to rubberstamp…

AFP,  NEW DELHI:  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious reform agenda has stalled with crucial bills stuck in India's parliament, which ended its latest session this week in bitter uproar. After sweeping to power 15 months ago in a landslide election victory, Modi's right-wing…

AFP, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's ringgit currency suffered one of its worst one-day declines yesterday, falling to a fresh 17-year low in a protracted slide blamed on concerns over low oil prices and political uncertainty. The ringgit has declined more than 25 per cent over the past year and it weakened…

AFP, BRUSSELS: Growth in the 19-nation eurozone slowed slightly in the second quarter to 0.3 percent, coming in at the bottom end of analyst forecasts, official data showed Friday. The economy had expanded 0.4 percent in the three months to March, continuing a modest recovery. But recent data has shown…

AFP, KIEV: Ukraine and its biggest creditors failed to strike a deal Thursday on the second day of talks aimed at finding a workable solution for keeping the ex-Soviet country from hurtling into default. A brief joint statement issued by Ukraine's finance ministry and the Ad-hoc Committee of Noteholders…

AFP, FRANKFURT: The German economy, Europe's biggest, grew by 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2015, fractionally faster than in the preceding three months, but slightly short of analyst expectations, official data showed yesterday. German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.4 per cent…

AFP, TOKYO: The dollar dipped against the yen and euro Friday after getting a lift from a solid US retail sales report that boosted expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike as early as next month. In Tokyo, the greenback changed hands at 124.38 yen, easing from 124.43 yen in US trading, while the…