The Indian rupee snapped a five-session winning trend to end slightly weaker against the dollar. It closed at 45.4350/4400 per dollar, down from Tuesday's 45.4050/4150, which was the highest close since November 13, 2003.
Sterling hit two-month highs against the euro on Wednesday as signs grew that euro zone policymakers were worried by the single currency's recent strength.
The dollar extended its gains on the euro on Wednesday, pulling further off this week's record low as the market weighed European concerns about the greenback's drop against apparent US nonchalance.
Amlak Finance, a unit of Dubai's property group Emaar said on Wednesday it would sell a 55 percent stake worth 412.5 million dirhams ($112 million) in an initial public offering at the weekend.
Hungary's new Finance Minister Tibor Draskovics said on Wednesday the government's official target for the forint was out of touch with reality just months before the country hopes to tie the currency to the euro.
The world's top steel maker Arcelor said on Wednesday it would invest nearly 15 million euros ($19.1 million) in a steel-sheet processing centre in Slovakia, confirming earlier comments by government officials.
Cingular Wireless's interest in acquiring AT&T Wireless Services Inc has intensified and it has the backing of its two parent companies to fund a purchase, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
US investment bank Lehman Brothers said on Wednesday it has launched a European asset-backed security (ABS) index, giving secondary market indications of high-grade bonds secured mostly by bank loans.
US investment bank Lehman Brothers said on Wednesday it has launched a European asset-backed security (ABS) index, giving secondary market indications of high-grade bonds secured mostly by bank loans.
Kuwaiti investment firm al-Mal Kuwaiti Company on Wednesday signed a deal to issue 15 million dinars ($51 million) in three-year floating-rate bonds, state news agency KUNA reported.
Kuwaiti investment firm al-Mal Kuwaiti Company on Wednesday signed a deal to issue 15 million dinars ($51 million) in three-year floating-rate bonds, state news agency KUNA reported.
Mitsubishi Motors has asked DaimlerChrysler and other shareholders for a $940 million capital increase, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, but that amount would go only a little way towards solving its problems, analysts said.
European Union president Ireland said on Wednesday it would have preferred the European Commission not to have launched legal action in a dispute over the application of budget rules to France and Germany.
Japan's Sanyo Electric Co said on Wednesday it aims to boost its digital camera and cellphone handset sales by up to 50 percent by 2005/06 to hit its operating profit target of 160 billion yen ($1.51 billion).
Japan's Sanyo Electric Co said on Wednesday it aims to boost its digital camera and cellphone handset sales by up to 50 percent by 2005/06 to hit its operating profit target of 160 billion yen ($1.51 billion).
Strong demand for laptop computers and mobile phones with cameras is set to give Singapore's electronics suppliers a lift when they report fourth-quarter performances, analysts said.
Feasibility studies on tying together a network of pipelines that could carry natural gas to Austria from Iran have received EU funds, the general manager of OMV in Iran said on Wednesday.
Italian police seized documents from a Citigroup unit on Wednesday as prosecutors checked if anyone at the US bank helped Parmalat dupe investors who poured billions of euros into the now insolvent food group.
The United States is plunging deep into a record trade deficit for 2003, data showed Wednesday, but unexpectedly bright November data raised hopes for the year ahead.
China, the world's top steel importer, has slapped hefty import duties on high-grade metal used by the booming auto and shipbuilding sectors, protecting Chinese players as they ramp up capacity to plug a domestic shortfall.
China's Ministry of Finance is getting ready to write off its 41 billion dollar stake in two big state-run banks to prepare the large lenders for stock-market listings, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
The new Iraqi dinar, which has replaced bills bearing Saddam Hussein's face, are being traded on the Egyptian black market, official newspapers said here Wednesday.
Trade Minister Francois Loos said France's trade surplus in 2003 would be roughly half that in the previous year and warned that the country's businesses could not for ever reduce margins because of the strong euro.
Japan's current account surplus soared in November, data showed on Wednesday, but the rise was mostly due to a slump in imports as exports also declined.
Bahrain's premier urged Indian businessmen Wednesday to use the Gulf state as a regional business base and to invest in the country's information technology, tourism and other sectors.
Euro zone politicians and central bankers further underlined their worries about the euro's rise on Wednesday as debate heated up on whether top world finance ministers should discuss exchange rates at a key meeting.
The British bank Abbey National announced plans Wednesday to transfer 400 call-centre jobs to India, joining a rush of firms looking to take advantage of the subcontinent's low-paid but well-educated workforce.
US benchmark Treasury yields fell to three-month lows on Tuesday, touching the important 4 percent level and promising to drag mortgage rates down and support the housing market.
US benchmark Treasury yields fell to three-month lows on Tuesday, touching the important 4 percent level and promising to drag mortgage rates down and support the housing market.
Malaysian shares ended lower for a third straight day on Wednesday with investors booking their gains, but oil and gas firms were boosted by news of PSC Industries' interest in Sudan's oil market.
Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Wednesday, weighed down by ratings adjustments on banking powerhouse HSBC, although gains in ports-to-telecom conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa helped trim losses.
US stocks fell on Tuesday after lacklustre quarterly scorecards from some marquee technology companies dampened the mood, and skittish investors locked in profits on recent gains.
Jakarta stocks rose 1.8 percent on Wednesday to their highest close ever, helped by buying in blue chip companies and a further decline in the interest rate on central bank certificates (SBI).
Singapore shares finished mixed on Wednesday as the market locked in profits in banking stocks like DBS Group but positive sentiment remained toward technology counters like Creative Technology.
Sri Lankan stocks closed slightly up Wednesday, dragged higher by Sri Lanka Telecom - the country's biggest stock - but political concerns still overshadow the market, dealers said.
Philippines stocks rose 1.2 percent on Wednesday, lifted by bargain-hunting on select blue chips led by food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp and leading conglomerate Ayala Corp.
Thai stocks ended down on Wednesday as investors locked in profits for a second day, but strong gains in brokerage shares ahead of earnings announcements limited the fall.
Tokyo's Nikkei average ended little changed on Wednesday after a slew of brokerage upgrades spurred late buying in Sony Corp and other technology shares, offsetting worries about the strong yen and falls on Wall Street.
Taiwan stocks ended at a 20-month high on Wednesday in a broad-based rally, as foreign investors snapped up financial issues like Cathay amid general optimism over the economy in 2004, analysts said.
India's key share index rose for a second straight day on Wednesday to a fresh closing high, bolstered by expectations that companies will post healthy quarterly earnings and attract more foreign investment.
Stocks held slim gains in late trading on Wednesday, as investors nibbled at wireless carriers and other selected stocks, but the market was mostly treading water with results from a few technology bellwethers due after the bell.
Most small euro zone countries' bond yield premiums relative to German benchmarks are likely to remain around current levels in 2004 unless Germany and France are penalised for breaking European budget rules, analysts said.
Leading UK shares closed higher on Wednesday, supported by a batch of positive trading updates and hopes of fresh merger activity as insurer Prudential confirmed it was in sale talks over its Egg unit.
Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes was slightly injured in a road accident Wednesday while touring his parliamentary constituency in the eastern state of Bihar, he told reporters.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), battling to eradicate polio world-wide by the end of the year, confirmed on Tuesday that the disease had resurfaced in Cameroon and Benin.
Afghanistan's Supreme Court Wednesday protested against the lifting of a ban on women singers on state television, saying the practice was un-Islamic and should not be repeated.
A lawyer for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday that he hoped a corruption trial that was frozen in June would resume soon and end in an innocent verdict in time for this year's European elections.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun apologised on Wednesday for a political funding scandal that has embroiled close aides, but declined to address his own role in the case until a prosecution investigation is completed.
Romanian President Ion Iliescu warned against his Balkan country relaxing European Union entry efforts ahead of this year's elections, saying Romania could not afford to compromise its greatest post-communist goal.
Angola on Wednesday angrily rejected a report by a human rights group that said $4 billion in oil revenues had vanished from state coffers between 1997 and 2002, calling it an attempt to tarnish its image.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday he hoped to visit Iraq to lift the morale of Japanese troops he is sending to help rebuild the country.
Sri Lanka faced a fresh constitutional battle Wednesday after the president's move to give herself an extra year in office was rejected by the government as "arrogant, arbitrary and capricious."
A British royal shooting party has apologised to a local school, after children watched in horror as pheasants were blasted out of the sky and fell yards from their playground, the headmistress said on Wednesday.
A British activist who had been in a coma since being shot by Israeli troops while acting as a so-called human shield has died nine months after the shooting, his family said on Wednesday.
US President George W. Bush on Wednesday will announce a dramatic new effort to return to the moon and eventually send a mission to Mars, which critics say is a costly extravagance that also raises concerns over US military aims in space.
The pilot of a French helicopter and one of his two passengers were killed Wednesday when the craft hit cable-car lines in the French Alps, ski resort officials said.
At least 31 people died and another 30 were injured in two traffic accidents as China's huge population started packing buses, trains and planes for the journey home for the Lunar New Year holiday.
War is devastating health standards around the world as resources are deflected from fighting disease, health activists said here Wednesday ahead of a top anti-globalisation forum.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday Tokyo may partially lift its ban on arms exports to take part in a joint missile defence programme with the United States.
China is firmly opposed to US weapons sales to its diplomatic arch-rival Taiwan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said on Wednesday moments before meeting America's top general.
The United States is concerned about the growing influence of security services in Russia, which has complicated co-operative programs designed to keep nuclear materials from extremists, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
Fuelled by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's blasts at the Bush administration, the US Senate's leading liberal Democrat on Wednesday accused the Republican White House of breaking faith with Americans by forcing them into an unnecessary war with I
At least 21 US troops have committed suicide in Iraq, a growing toll which represents one in seven of American "non-hostile" deaths since the war began last March, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Germany no longer rules out making a military contribution in post-war Iraq and would be ready to send medical evacuation helicopters to the war-torn country, the daily Die Welt reported in an advance copy of its Thursday issue.
Iran's embattled President Mohammad Khatami Wednesday stood by a dramatic threat to lead a mass resignation of reformists, vowing he would reverse an attempt by hard-liners to bar his allies from next month's crucial elections.
Iran's supreme leader moved on Wednesday to haul the Islamic republic out of one of its worst ever crises, ordering powerful conservatives to revise their massive blacklisting of reformists ahead of next month's parliamentary elections.
Major Japanese toy-maker Takara said Wednesday it is to sell a machine that helps people to have sweat dreams by providing a relaxing fragrance, slow music and key words while they sleep at night.
New Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called Wednesday on the alliance's member states to do even more to fill shortfalls in resources for the Nato-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
Iran's foreign ministry on Wednesday bluntly warned the United States not to interfere in the Islamic republic's electoral spat, after Washington slammed a move by hard-liners to disqualify reformists from next month's polls.
We are at the doorstep of cyber supremacy that came along with increasing economic pressures, greater security concerns, and well-informed consumers with a great sense of consumerism.
AFACT is the Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. It's a non-profit, Non-governmental organisation that is open to participation from the representatives of member countries and experts from private sectors within the Asia-
Pakistan is a cash based society and paying habits are not expected to be changed in near future. We believe that this transformation of majority of consumer's habit to pay the utility payment using an electronic method will take a long time of around fiv
The Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and E-Business (AFACT) is a regional Non-Governmental organisation working in collaboration with the United Nation Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) since last 14 years in Asi
Since the last decade or so, payment systems have been receiving substantial attention from governments and central banks around the world. From the point of view of governments, an efficient payment system facilitates industrial and economic development
I take this opportunity to congratulate the organisers of E-Business 2004 and welcome the delegates from member countries of AFACT to participate in the event in Karachi.
I am pleased to welcome overseas delegates from various parts of the world to attend e-Business 2004 event at Karachi. I hope that this event would bring experience of East Asia and European countries to Pakistan and professionals involved in e-Business a
It is a matter of great satisfaction that Business Recorder is bringing out a supplement on the occasion of E-Business2004 international conference and exhibition with the support of E-Commerce Resource Centre Pakistan and of the State Bank of Pakistan,
The Punjab government will set up a commemorative complex in the city to highlight different aspects of Pakistan Movement, and create awareness among the masses about the sacrifices offered by their elders for an independent homeland for Muslims of the su
A survey, conducted on the website by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), has revealed that 91 percent people are in the favour of re-opening Khokhrapar border with India.
The major component of Pakistani troops assigned the mission for restoration of peace under the aegis of United Nations in war ravaged Liberia left here on Wednesday on a specially chartered UN aircraft.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government will receive Rs 730 million from Wapda as royalty, net profit and water use charges of Mangla Dam annually into four equal instalments on quarterly basis from this month.
There was a high probability of the 1424 Zilhij moon being sighted in Pakistan on the evening of Friday (January 23), as also in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, North and South America, said Pakistan Academy of Sciences.
About 2 million tonnes citrus fruit is produced annually across the country, said Senior Scientific Officer, National Agricultural Development Centre, Dr Hafeez-ur-Rehman on Wednesday.
Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi on Tuesday called on Governor Arnold Schwaznegger of California, during which state of Pak-US relations, expansion of economic co-operation and welfare of Pakistani-Americans were discussed.
The Pfizer, Pakistan has announced to continue its grant for free treatment of the kidney patients at the Kidney Centre here under the National Dialysis Treatment Services (NDTS).
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) would launch a programme to facilitate public sector universities and degree awarding institutions of the country with access to scientific instrumentation, HEC sources said on Wednesday.
Pakistan has for the first time entered world market in metals by exporting substantial quantity of blister copper from Saindak Gold Copper Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Balochistan province, reports PPI correspondent.
In the mainly Shia neighbourhood of Shula in Baghdad, Sheikh Ahmad Dulaimi discards his white ammamah or turban, the symbol of Sunni Muslim clergy, when he walks in the teeming streets.
During the regime of late Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, Pakistan was gaining momentum in industrial growth as well as financial stability in all segments of life.
The Government of Punjab has shown a new resolve to address the problem of encroachments on state land. The province's Colonies Minister, Manzar Ali Ranjha, told a press conference on Thursday that a comprehensive strategy is being evolved to have the sta
Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali has returned from a one-day visit to Kabul, which he described as a "great success". In a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and later at Chaklala airport on his return, the Prime Minister spelt o