Haque Specialized Group's News

Asian markets slipped in muted trading Friday amid worries over US trade policies that may affect regional economies. A stronger yen weighed on Japan's exporters, reports AP. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.2 per cent lower to 19,339.56, while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.5 per cent to 2,097.05. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.7 per cent to 5,742.70.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng stood at 23,959.91, down 0.6 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.4 per cent to 3,238.27. The Dow added 34.72 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 20,810.32. The S&P 500 index rose 0.99 points to 2,363.81. The Nasdaq composite lost 25.12 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5,835.51.  Benchmark US crude oil futures shed 15 cents to $54.30 a barrel. It rebounded 86 cents to $54.45 a barrel in New York overnight.  Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, fell 11 cents to $56.71 a barrel in London. The dollar dropped to 112.89 yen from 113.26 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.0571 from $1.0554.....

Published at: 2017-02-24 00:00:05

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed Awami League lawmakers to project before the people a Canadian court verdict that labelled BNP as a terrorist organisation. The prime minister gave the directives while addressing a meeting of AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) in Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban’s Treasury Bench room on Thursday evening.  Sheikh Hasina, also the Leader of the House and AL president, asked the party MPs to highlight Canada's Ontario Superior Court judgment that dismissed an international bribery case linked to the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, meeting sources said. The prime minister suggested the lawmakers to take preparation for the next parliamentary polls and project the development activities that took place in the last three and a half years.  She also advised them to maintain the unity of the party and increase involvement with the grassroots leaders and workers. – source BSS  ....

Published at: 2017-02-24 00:00:05

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has said that educational institutions must become centres of cultivating values, as well. He was speaking as the chief guest at the 15th founding anniversary of a private university- Bangladesh University- at the Krishibid Institute on Thursday. A person needs a life inspired by higher values, the minister said, adding the goal of education is to create enlightened human beings. – source BSS  ....

Published at: 2017-02-24 00:00:05

US oil prices fell on Friday after government data released late in the previous session showed stockpiles rose last week for a seventh straight week. US West Texas Intermediate CLc1 fell 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $54.33 a barrel by 0323 GMT, having closed up 1.6 per cent in the previous session.  The CLc1 was on track for a weekly gain of about 1.8 per cent, which would be its strongest so far this year. Brent crude LCOc1 was trading down 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $56.46.  The contract rose 1.3 per cent cents in the previous session to settle at $56.58, and was on track for a weekly gain of about 1.1 per cent. US crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose by 564,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 17, up for a seventh week, although below analysts' expectations for an increase of 3.5 million barrels, the EIA said.  The OPEC and producers including Russia have pledged to cut production by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to tackle a global glut that has kept prices depressed since 2014, according to Reuters.....

Published at: 2017-02-24 00:00:05

The annual value of European Union (EU) agri-food exports reached a new record in 2016 with the biggest increases reported to the United States and China, official data showed Thursday. The value of the bloc's agri-food last year stood at 130.7 billion euros (138 billion US dollars), up 1.7 billion euros on 2015, said the European Commission, which monitors trade development. The biggest increases in annual exports were to the United States and China, up 1.26 billion euros and 1.06 billion euros respectively, the Commission said. At the same time, the value of EU agri-food imports went down 1.5 per cent to 112 billion euros, leading to an increase of the EU agri-food trade surplus to 18.8 billion euros, up from 15.3 billion euros in 2015, data showed. The agri-food sector accounted for 7.5 per cent of total EU exports in goods in 2016 and 6.6 per cent of all imported goods were agri-food products, said the Commission, according to Xinhua.....

Published at: 2017-02-24 00:00:05