Haque Specialized Group's News

A unit of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin has exceeded the value of an ounce of gold for the first time. It closed at $1,268 on Thursday while a troy ounce of gold stood at $1,233, reports BBC. The current high is being attributed to surging demand in China, where authorities warn it is used to channel money out of the country. The past months' surge is a major reversal for Bitcoin, which plummeted in value in 2014 after the largest exchange collapsed. The value of Bitcoin has been volatile since it was first launched in 2009, and many experts have questioned whether the crypto-currency will last. Earlier this year, Chinese authorities cracked down on Bitcoin trading in an attempt to stop money flowing out of the country illegally. But the closer scrutiny from Beijing only briefly sent the currency lower. After it had soared to record highs in January, it has since picked its steady rise in value. How Bitcoin works Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency. Yet like all currencies its value is determined by how much people are willing to exchange it for. To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution. For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoins. To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of new Bitcoins are produced each day. There are currently about 15 million Bitcoins in existence. To receive a Bitcoin, a user must have a Bitcoin address - a string of 27-34 letters and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual post-box to and from which the Bitcoins are sent. Since there is no register of these addresses, people can use them to protect their anonymity when making a transaction. These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets, which are used to manage savings.....

Published at: 2017-03-03 00:00:05

Asian shares slipped Friday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen later in the day.  South Korea's Kospi fell 1.3 per cent on worries that deployment of a U.S. missile defence system will hurt ties with China, its largest trading partner. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.5 per cent to 19,463.66 while South Korea's Kospi sank 1.3 per cent to 2,074.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.6 per cent to 23,581.09. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 per cent to 3,217.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.9 per cent to 5,727.00. Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries were also lower. US stocks pulled back from record highs on Thursday as pushed down by banks and other financial companies. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.5 per cent to 21,002.97.  The S&P 500 index fell 0.6 per cent to 2,381.92. The Nasdaq composite index slid 0.7 per cent to 5,861.22. Benchmark US crude added 6 cents to $52.67 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.22, or 2.3 per cent, to close at $52.61 a barrel on Thursday.  Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 2 cents to $55.10 a barrel. The dollar fell to 114.13 yen from 114.42 yen. The euro rose to $1.0520 from $1.0508, according to AP.....

Published at: 2017-03-03 00:00:05

A suspected neo JMB member was killed in a reported gunfight with police at Jamnagar in Sherpur upazila early Thursday, reports UNB. The deceased has been identified as Amijul alias Al Amin Rony, chief of neo JMB of northern region and son of Nurul Islam, a resident of Bujrum Radharampur village in Godagari upazila of Rajshahi. Tipped off, a police team conducted a drive in the area when Amijul along with his associates had been there around 3:00 am, said Sonatan Chakrabarty, additional superintendent of police. Sensing the law enforcers' presence, they opened fire on them, forcing the police to fire back that triggered a gunfight. Amijul was caught in the line of fire and injured while his associates managed to flee the scene. Amijul was taken to Bogra Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. Police sent the body to the hospital morgue for autopsy. The law enforcers also recovered one pistol, one magazine and two bullets from the spot. Amijul was wanted in a number of cases, the ASP added.....

Published at: 2017-03-02 00:00:05

Three people, including two women, were killed and 22 others injured as a bus plunged into a roadside ditch on Rangpur-Dinajpur highway in Pirganj upazila headquarters early Thursday, reports UNB. One of the deceased was identified as Nurjahan, 35, wife of late Tariqul Islam of Chirirbandar upazila in Dinajpur district. Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge of Pirganj Police Station, said the Thakurgaon-bound bus of 'Rupashi Paribahan' from Dhaka fell into the ditch around 5.30am after its driver lost control over the steering, leaving two women dead on the spot and 23 others injured. The injured were admitted to the upazila health complex where a young man succumbed to his injures around 9.00am.....

Published at: 2017-03-02 00:00:05

A Chandpur mobile court on Wednesday sentenced six fishermen to 18 months' imprisonment for catching jatka (hilsa fry) from the Meghna River in Haimchar upazila for defying a ban on fishing, reports UNB. The convicts are Dulal Mizi, 30, Akhter Hossain, 21, Saheb Ali, 32, Bashir Bhuiyan, 27, Monir Hossain, 26, and Shahid Ullah, 28, all residents of Gobindapur village in Sadar upazila. Abu Hasnat Mohammad Mainuddin, executive officer of Haimchar upazila, said a team of river police conducted a drive on the river in the upazila and arrested the six fishermen while catching jatka. Later, the arrestees were produced before the mobile court, led by executive magistrate Abu Hasnat Mohammad Mainuddin, which sent them to jail. The government imposed the ban for two months --March and April -- on catching all kinds of fish in the Meghna and Padma rivers.....

Published at: 2017-03-02 00:00:05