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Economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised cash-strapped Pakistan's economic outlook, downgrading its projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2025 to 3%, down from 3.2% forecasted just three months ago, according to a media report on Saturday. The adjustment comes amid a broader global economic assessment presented in the IMF's "World Economic Outlook Update: Global Growth Divergent and Uncertain", The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The IMF's revised projections also indicate that Pakistan's GDP growth will remain at 4% in 2026. However, the latest downgrade reflects ongoing economic challenges in the country, although the IMF did not provide specific reasons for the revision. This latest revision mirrors the forecast made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month, which also adjusted Pakistan's growth forecast to 3% for the fiscal year 2024-25, up from a previously projected 2.8%. Both institutions have cited challenges faced by Pakistan's economy but h

Updated On: 18 Jan 2025 | 4:18 PM IST

Freelancers in the United States contribute significantly to the country's economy, with earnings totalling approximately $1.27 trillion in 2023

Updated On: 12 Jan 2025 | 10:31 PM IST

GDP grew 7.55 per cent in the fourth quarter, the fastest quarterly growth in more than two years, the General Statistics Office said in a report

Updated On: 06 Jan 2025 | 9:34 AM IST

Finance minister Rachel Reeves announced 40 billion pounds ($50 billion) of tax rises on Oct 30, the most of any budget since 1993

Updated On: 06 Jan 2025 | 8:34 AM IST

Argentina's sovereign bonds climbed on Friday's announcement. Benchmark notes due in 2035 touched a session high before paring gains

Updated On: 04 Jan 2025 | 1:32 PM IST

Diljit Dosanjh announced that he won't perform in Chandigarh again until there is better infrastructure, highlighting event management and infrastructure woes seen in Delhi and other cities as well

Updated On: 03 Jan 2025 | 11:04 AM IST

The Finance Ministry sees the economy now growing 1.8 per cent in 2025 after expanding 2.1 per cent last year, it said in a statement on Thursday

Updated On: 02 Jan 2025 | 9:32 AM IST

State-run oil marketing companies have reduced prices for 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders and aviation turbine fuel across major metros

Updated On: 01 Jan 2025 | 9:34 AM IST

But stress tests show GNPA ratio of banks may rise under baseline scenario

Updated On: 31 Dec 2024 | 12:33 AM IST

He noted that RBI's focus remains steadfast on maintaining the stability of financial institutions and, more broadly, systemic stability while preserving financial stability to support higher growth

Updated On: 30 Dec 2024 | 4:18 PM IST

In 2023, the US was the leading source country for investments in Israel with $24 billion followed by France with $3.7 billion, India with $1.2 billion and the UK with $1.1 billion

Updated On: 25 Dec 2024 | 6:36 PM IST

The British economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year, according to downwardly revised official figures Monday, in another blow to the new Labour government that has made growth its number one mission. In its latest revision of the July to September period, the Office for National Statistics said the British economy showed no growth against the previous estimate of 0.1%. The agency partly blamed the reduction on fresh survey data showing weaker trading across bars and restaurants. The reduction has prompted critics to say that Labour talked down the economy on taking power on July 5 for the first time in 14 years when it described its economic inheritance from the previous Conservative administration as being the worst in generations. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves promised to turbocharge economic growth after Labour won the July election but has now seen the economy stall over the three months to September, while official figures earlier this month also pointed towards a 0.

Updated On: 23 Dec 2024 | 4:16 PM IST

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the casino hub of Macao to diversify its economy as he swore in the former Portuguese colony's new government on Friday at an event marking the 25th anniversary of its handover to China. New Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai Macao's first leader born in mainland China vowed to address the territory's unbalanced and uncoordinated economic development. Since its 1999 handover, the city of 687,000 has transformed from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into the world's largest gaming hub, drawing hordes of tourists from mainland China. The casino boom has improved living standards, but authorities are concerned that the semi-autonomous city's economy is unhealthily dependent on the industry. Some young people say the tourism-dominated economy has limited their career options and the city's diversified development. Critics say years of easy money from tourists have discouraged local businesses from innovating and improving, with many residents rely on ...

Updated On: 20 Dec 2024 | 12:42 PM IST

Pakistan's central bank on Monday further reduced the key policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent from 15 per cent amid improvement in inflation. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 200 bps to 13 per cent, effective from December 17, 2024. It said that the decision was helped by the continued decline in food inflation as well as the phasing out of the impact of the hike in gas tariffs in November 2023. However, it added that core inflation, which stood at 9.7 per cent, was proving to be sticky, whereas inflation expectations of consumers and businesses remain volatile. The MPC also noted that the current account had remained in surplus for the third consecutive month in October 2024, which, amidst weak financial inflows and substantial official debt repayments, helped increase the foreign exchange of the central bank to around $12 billion. The committee also said global prices had remaine

Updated On: 16 Dec 2024 | 6:13 PM IST

Asia's third-largest economy grew a softer 5.4 per cent last quarter, but easing inflation is expected to spur demand among private sector firms

Updated On: 16 Dec 2024 | 11:01 AM IST

Gross domestic product shrank 0.1 per cent month-on-month in October, as it did in September, the Office for National Statistics said

Updated On: 13 Dec 2024 | 1:41 PM IST

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday expressed confidence that India's economic growth by end of this fiscal will be back on track despite global uncertainties. He said that this year also India will be the world's fastest growing economy. "We had an election in the first quarter and during the election, obviously policy making and decisions on next steps of growth or infrastructure spending does slow down and there is a lag effect. "But from what the initial numbers for this quarter, the third quarter show, the festive spending, the rebound in rural growth, the way banks are now seeing traction back again, the way infrastructure spending has come back on track, I think by the time we close the year in March, we will be back on track," Goyal said at Times Network's India Economic Conclave here. The minister was replying to a question whether the 5.4 per cent GDP growth in the July-September quarter of this fiscal worries him. The latest government data showed ..

Updated On: 12 Dec 2024 | 1:13 PM IST

India will require an investment of USD 2.2 trillion for infrastructure development to become USD 7 trillion economy by 2030, Knight Frank India said on Thursday, while stressing on the need of radical measures to encourage private participation in this area. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India released a report, 'India Infrastructure: Reviving Private Investments', which mentioned that "an estimated investment of USD 2.2 trillion into infrastructure development is imperative to support India's GDP size to expand to USD 7 trillion by 2030." To achieve an economic size of USD 7 trillion by 2030, India's economy is required to grow at a CAGR of 10.1 per cent between 2024-2030, it added. Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said, "Strong impetus on infrastructural development and increased budgetary allocation by government has led to India's ranking in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) improve from 54 in 2014 to 38 in 2023." In the last few years, he said, there has been .

Updated On: 12 Dec 2024 | 12:58 PM IST

Sitharaman said that intergenerational debt is mounting on countries, and it is important for the government and industry to work together to manage debt at the national and sub-national levels

Updated On: 11 Dec 2024 | 11:11 PM IST