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Three people were killed and 20 others injured in a head-on collision between two buses at Ashulia Bazar on Bapail-Abdullahpur highway in Savar upazila on Thursday morning. Abul Hossain, inspector of Savar traffic police, said the Dhaka-bound bus of 'Eagle Paribahan' collided with another bus of 'Anando Super' in the area, leaving three people dead on the spot and 20 others injured. Further details of the accident are still awaited. The injured were admitted to different hospitals in Ashulia; according to UNB.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

A six-story tannery building under construction in northern India collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least five workers, injuring 17 and possibly trapping up to 30 others, reports AP. District administrator Kaushal Raj Sharma said the army and the National Disaster Response Force was clearing the massive rubble and searching for the missing workers. Sharma said the rescuers removed five people alive from the rubble and have also recovered five bodies. He said the operation was continuing through the night. Twelve others were injured while working at the site. Three of injured have been hospitalised, he said. The building came crashing down in Kanpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh state. The accident site is 95 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Lucknow, the state capital. Sharma said the building belonged to Mehtab Alab, a politician from the regional Samajwadi Party, which governs Uttar Pradesh state. Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorised extra floors. In 2013, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in Mumbai caved in.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

Asian markets wavered and the dollar lost some steam Thursday after the Fed kept its key lending rate on hold as expected at its latest policy meeting. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.7 per cent to 19,008.00 while South Korea's added 0.1 per cent to 2,080.61. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.6 per cent to 23,188.86. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 per cent lower to 5,647.60. Markets in mainland China were closed for the final day of a weeklong holiday. US stocks were little changed on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1 per cent to close at 19,890.94. The S&P 500 eked out a tiny gain to end at 2,279.55.  The Nasdaq composite added 0.5 per cent to 5,642.65. The dollar eased to 112.72 yen from 112.98 yen in late trading Wednesday. The euro crept up to $1.0789 from $1.0778. US crude oil futures slipped 30 cents to $53.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.07, or 2 per cent, to close at $53.88 a barrel on Wednesday.  Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, lost 22 cents to $56.58 a barrel in London, according to AP.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

Asian shares inched up to four-month highs while the dollar was finding its feet on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve stuck to its mildly upbeat economic view but gave no hint of accelerating rate hikes. While strong economic data from the United States and elsewhere have underpinned risk assets, uncertainty and concerns over US President Donald Trump's policies have markets on edge. "With many of his cabinet members still not approved, including (incoming Treasury Secretary Steven) Mnuchin, Trump's occasional remarks and tweets are the only guidance markets can get from the new US administration at the moment," said Shuji Shirota, head of macro strategy group in Tokyo at HSBC. "For the time being, markets will continue to be driven by what Trump will say. It's Trump-on, Trump-off, rather than risk-on, risk-off," he added. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose as much as 0.6 per cent at one point to hit its highest level since mid-October, with Seoul shares hitting highs last seen in July 2015. But gains were not broad-based, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipping 0.2 per cent and Singapore shares down 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei also slipped 0.3 per cent on the dollar's fall. On Wall Street the picture was also mixed. The S&P 500 stabilised after a four-day losing streak, but it would have been in negative territory without a 6.1 per cent rise in Apple following strong earnings. US shares have been hit by worries that Trump's tough stance on refugees and immigration could stem inflows of talent to the US labour market and raise geopolitical tensions. On Wednesday the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in its first meeting since Trump took office. While painting a relatively upbeat picture of the US economy, its statement gave no firm signal on the timing of its next rate move as Fed policymakers are still awaiting clarity on the possible impact of Trump's economic policies. Nor was there any hint on whether it plans to trim its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, an increasingly hot topic among the Fed's policy circle. Following the Fed, US interest rate futures pared losses to stand little changed, pricing in two rate hikes this year. Only about 20 per cent chance of a move in March is priced in, down from about 30 per cent about a week ago. The 10-year US Treasuries yield stepped back to 2.479 per cent from Wednesday's high of 2.518 per cent. "We've been expecting the Fed's next rate hike to come in June and there was nothing from the Fed indicating a hike in March," said HSBC's Shirota. That dented the dollar, which had been recovering earlier on a raft of solid US economic data, including The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index of manufacturers surging to two-year highs and strong hiring data from ADP National Employment Report. The euro stood at $1.0778, having bounced back from Wednesday's low of $1.0730, edging back toward $1.08125, Tuesday's eight-week high touched after comments from a Trump adviser that Germany is benefiting from a "grossly undervalued" euro. The dollar traded at 113.28 yen, having slipped from Wednesday's high of 113.95 yen. "The dollar looks capped despite strong US data. Concerns about Trump's policy are outweighing," said Ryuta Taketomi, manager of market trading at Resona Bank. Trump also lashed at Japan and China earlier this week, saying they are engaged in currency devaluation. The British pound hit a 1 1/2-month high of $1.2680 on Wednesday as solid UK economic data and greater political certainty over the Brexit process encouraged a trimming of big financial bets against the currency. The Bank of England, due to issue inflation report later in the day, is expected to stick to a neutral policy stance. Signs of strong UK growth have financial markets already pricing in a 40 per cent chance of higher official interest rates this year. The dollar's index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 99.75, having slipped almost 4 per cent from its 14-year high of 103.82 set on Jan 3. The Australian dollar jumped 0.8 per cent to a near three-month peak of $0.7648 after data showed surging commodity prices helped the country post its biggest trade surplus on record in December. In commodities, crude oil futures eased after official data showed US crude and gasoline stockpiles rose sharply, although signs that OPEC and other producers are holding the line on output cuts are helping support prices. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 per cent to $56.59 a barrel after settling up $1.22 in the previous session.  ....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04

The dollar slipped on Thursday, edging back toward recent lows after the Federal Reserve disappointed investors hoping for a more hawkish policy stance. The Australian dollar rallied after data showed that nation had booked a record trade surplus last month. The Aussie gained 0.6 per cent to $0.7620, after earlier scaling $0.730, its loftiest peak since November 2016. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a trade surplus of A$3.51 billion ($2.68 billion) in December, handily outpacing forecasts of A$2.2 billion. The Fed on Wednesday presented a relatively upbeat view of the US economy at its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office. The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major rivals, edged slightly lower to 99.607, back toward a more than seven-week low of 99.430 plumbed on Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was buying 113.03, down 0.2 per cent though well above Tuesday's low of 112.08, while the euro edged up 0.1 per cent to $1.07820, according to Reuters.....

Published at: 2017-02-02 00:00:04