Taiwan's broadest measure of money supply, M2, is growing at its fastest pace in four years, the central bank said on Monday, underscoring forecasts of strong economic expansion this year.
Australian stocks ended weaker on Monday as shares in index heavyweight News Corp slipped and some major resource stocks also lost ground in quiet holiday-thinned trade.
South Korean shares fell 1.7 percent on Monday, led by Hynix Semiconductor Inc and Hyundai Motor Co, as fears over a fresh outbreak of Sars in China dented appetite for stocks across most of Asia.
Taiwan stocks closed lower on Monday as worries over the re-emergence of Sars in China fuelled selling in tech shares like TSMC, offsetting optimism that local listed firms would report improved quarterly profits.
Leading Hong Kong shares tumbled two percent on Monday amid rekindled Sars fears and as Beijing's determination to cool its red hot economy bruised China plays.
China's shares held steady on Monday as investors sought bargains in airlines stocks which had been hit by fears over a return of the deadly Sars virus.
Thai stocks ended near a four-week low on Monday after four straight days on the retreat as a fresh outbreak of Sars in China weighed on overall investor sentiment, analysts said.
Philippine stocks closed lower on Monday, led down by telecom issues PLDT and Globe Telecom, as investors took profits after the market's 3.3 percent rise last week.
Singapore shares dipped on Monday, mirroring other regional markets, as the resurgence of Sars in China sparked selling in banks and China-focused stocks such as food firm Want Holdings.
Sri Lankan stocks closed higher on Monday, with market interest focused on NDB Bank Ltd as parent company National Development Bank Ltd continued to boost its stake.
Malaysian shares ended lower on Monday, with bank stocks losing ground after the central bank launched a new interest rate system allowing lenders to price their own retail loans, opening up the sector to competitive pricing.
US stocks stuck close to unchanged in quiet trading on Monday, as investors sifted through a slew of earnings and awaited the release of economic indicators later this week for more clues on the economy.
Franco-German drug-maker Aventis SA was at the centre of attention in the bond markets on Monday, with its bonds trading lower as it accepted a bid from Sanofi-Synthelabo that is seen as pressuring credit quality.
Franco-German drug-maker Aventis SA was at the centre of attention in the bond markets on Monday, with its bonds trading lower as it accepted a bid from Sanofi-Synthelabo that is seen as pressuring credit quality.
Leading UK shares sputtered to a flat close on Monday after a mainly higher session, dragged back by drugs shares ahead of results in the sector this week, although Rolls-Royce bounced on order hopes.
The Australian dollar managed to steer clear of being sucked into a sharp euro sell-off on Monday with local activity thinned by a holiday for ANZAC Day in most parts of Australia.
The Swiss franc traded in narrow ranges early on Monday after a weekend Group of Seven meeting sprung no surprises, traders said, adding the market's focus was on when US and Swiss interest rates might rise.
The dollar rose to a five-month high against the euro on Monday as the market shrugged off the outcome of a Group of Seven (G7) meeting and returned its focus to the chances of a near-term rise in US interest rates.
The Hong Kong dollar edged lower against the US currency on Monday, and discounts on Hong Kong dollar forwards narrowed on the back of underlying weakness in the local stock market and concerns over slower fund flows into Hong Kong in the near term.
Sterling climbed nearly one percent on the dollar on Monday and gained on the euro after weekend comments from a Bank of England policymaker emboldened investors betting on higher British interest rates.
The dollar rose to its highest in five months against the euro on Monday, bolstered by recent upbeat US data after a weekend Group of Seven meeting put no obstacles in its recovery path.
Travelling with his tent and a team of female bodyguards, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi visits Brussels on Tuesday in a rare visit to Western Europe that marks another retreat from pariah status.
Britain's most senior police officer inspected on Monday the site of the car crash that killed Princess Diana and spawned a host of conspiracy theories.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday it was giving a massive boost to aid for Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, to turn it into one of the relief agency's largest operations in the world.
A coalition of non-government organisations (NGOs) on Monday denounced human rights violations in Iraq and urged all warring parties to respect international conventions aimed at protecting civilians.
North Korea urgently needs medical aid to treat victims of its huge train blast, UN officials said on Monday after aid workers described children writhing in pain, their blackened faces stitched with twine.
Australian soccer officials have ordered an investigation into the cancellation of women's match after a player refused to take off her Islamic headscarf.
Thousands of protesters Monday urged the opposition to declare Nepal a republic as party leaders set conditions for talks with King Gyanendra to end nearly a month of demonstrations.
Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway has made no decision on sending a team here following a request from President Chandrika Kumaratunga to help revive talks with Tamil Tiger rebels, a spokeswoman said.
A roll-call of former British diplomats blasted Tony Blair on Monday and said it was time for the prime minister to start influencing America's "doomed" policy in the Middle East or stop backing it.
Horst Koehler, the leading candidate to become Germany's next president in May, has accused the United States of arrogance in its foreign policy and of pursuing a failed strategy in Iraq, media reported on Monday.
Venting anger at Greek Cypriots for rejecting a UN plan to reunite their island, the European Union vowed on Monday to help the minority Turkish Cypriots, who backed the plan, escape economic isolation.
Israel organised celebrations Monday to mark the 56th anniversary of its creation amid tight security, as the intifada cost the life of another teenage Palestinian stone-thrower in the Gaza Strip.
Three key ministers have spurned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's appeal to help shore up sagging support for his Gaza pullout plan in a crucial party referendum, political sources said on Monday.
The United States urged its allies on Monday to speed up an expansion of Nato's peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan as signs emerged of a surge in guerrilla activity, even in the capital, Kabul.
A landslide in southern Kyrgyzstan on Monday killed 33 people and injured 19 others, the emergency ministry in the mountainous Central Asian country said.
Nato will only consider a wider role in Iraq if a string of conditions are met including a US handover to a "credible" government in Baghdad, secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday.
US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday discussed efforts to craft a new UN resolution to cover Iraq's shift to self-rule, the White House said.
China's parliament on Monday dashed the hopes of Hong Kong people to elect directly their leaders in polls in 2007 and 2008, reinforcing Beijing's full control over democratic progress in the territory.
US forces in Iraq threw down a gauntlet to fighters from both main Muslim communities on Monday, threatening imminent assaults on two key towns if guerrillas do not accede to their demands.
Two men and a woman held following a major anti-terrorism operation across northern England last week have been released without charge, police said on Monday.
China is conducting emergency safety checks at Sars laboratories nation-wide after a leak in Beijing spawned a web of infection that led to the first reported death from the virus since a major outbreak last year.
The cotton farmers have been advised to cultivate double quantity of cotton plants by mid of June to get better per acre production, official sources told APP here on Thursday.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Monday said the Hong Kong business community has appreciated that Pakistan's economy was improving and heading towards the path of progress.
Science and Technology Minister In-charge Dr Atta-ur-Rahman on Monday said that efforts of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would usher in technological era in the country soon.
Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind has said there is a strong need to adopt technologies that use water judiciously and for this creation of awareness is pre-requisite.
Azad Jammu Kashmir achieved a major breakthrough in the automobile field after the Toyota Azad Motors launched the latest Daihatsu Coure automatic car first of its kind here.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Chairman Syed Ali Gilani on Monday reiterating Kashmiris' stance conveyed the message to the world community that elections in Indian occupied Kashmir could not be a substitute to Kashmiris' legitimate right to self-
I happen to reside at "Afshan Apartment" adjacent to Falcon House School, Sana Street, Karachi, off Nazareth Road, which area is situated in very close proximity to the office of your esteemed daily.
While each day witnesses new vistas in scientific and environmental development, the problems, worries, prices, rates, duties and taxes keep on escalating too.
US newsrooms, more geared toward rooting out scandal than generating it, are emerging from a torrid 12 months that severely dented press credibility and dethroned a brace of high-profile editors.
The success of modern enterprises depends on the adoption and implementation of good management practices that inter alia seek to protect the interests of stakeholders.
In the works at the UN is a mischievous resolution, drafted by the US and supported by four other permanent UNSC members and nuclear powers - Britain, France, Russia and China - and opposed by a number of non-aligned nations, including Pakistan, Malaysia
Speaking at the Brookings Institute the other day, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, who is in Washington these days for the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, reiterated the economic achievements of the government over the last four years.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has demanded over Rs 3.5 billion from the government to undertake mega projects in the Federal Capital in 2004-05, official sources told Business Recorder here on Monday.
Pakistan Crop Protection Association (PCPA), the leading organisation of local pesticide manufacturers, has demanded of the government to chalk out special plan for creating awareness among the farming community regarding proper use of the latest agricult
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has asked the Home Department to explain as to why the government has allowed district Nazim Lahore to issue NOC for holding fairs in the city in violation of the Local Government Ordinance.
Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union has demanded of the government to hold referendum in Wapda so that Wapda workers can elect their collective bargaining agent (CBA).
The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has called upon the government to abstain from constituting Faisalabad bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
A member of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has filed a petition in Lahore High Court (LHC) against Interior Minister, Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat and others.
Punjab government is establishing Punjab Institute of Preventive Ophthalmology at King Edward Medical College (KEMC) Lahore at a cost of Rs 45.12 million out of which provincial government has provided Rs 22.09 million while equipment worth Rs 23.03 milli
The Federal Minister for Education Zobaida Jalal has said that no tax must be levied on private schools and asked the Punjab government to review its policy in this regard.
The Irish educational mission representing 11 colleges and institutions from Ireland arrived here on Monday. The mission will meet its Pakistani counterparts and hold talks with them, to promote joint educational activities between the two countries.
Central leader of PML-N Muhammad Pervaiz Malik MNA has asked the government to abstain from creating any hurdle in return of Shahbaz Sharif to Pakistan.
Gold Art Promotion Council Pakistan (GPCP) President, Muhammad Ahmad has called for bringing necessary amendments in the export policy for gem and jewellery.
Punjab Information Technology Minister, Abdul Aleem Khan has said that software development was a high growth industry and formed a major segment of the vast IT markets.
Wapda Chairman Tariq Hameed has assured all kind of support to the Alternate Energy Board (AEB) saying that the authority would purchase power produced through alternative sources.
All potential investors who have submitted their EoIs for the purchase Faletti's Hotel at Lahore have been invited to attend a pre-bid conference, for better understanding of the bidding process, on April 27, 2004, to be held under the chairmanship of Sal
For the first time since partition, Pakistan Railways (PR) has inducted 65 new Chinese container wagons into its goods carriages fleet as a part of its ongoing modernisation on Monday.
The issue of the blacklisted and suspected units has been taken up by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) in its proposals for 2004-05 Federal budget.
There has been a large-scale slump in the vegetable ghee market due to a number of undesirable concessions granted by the government to the importers of edible oil in Fata and Pata areas.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has asked Director-General, Rangers, to arrange supply of 150 water tankers to the people of Baldia to tide over water shortage persisting there for a long time.
The payphone card operators have moved a budget proposal to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) demanding total withdrawal of withholding tax from all telecom services along with inclusion of specific provisions to eliminate arbitrary and unilateral interp
Pakistan and Saudi Arab tax experts here on Monday completed discussion on 19 articles pertaining to convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation, out of 25, during a daylong meeting held in the Central Board of Revenue (CBR).
The Indian trade leaders have expressed worry over the alarming decline in apparel exports to the US and Canada in recent months, which has fallen by 23.63 percent and 25 percent respectively.
Export Promotion Bureau has received the following Trade Enquiries from abroad. Interested Pakistani parties dealing in the under mentioned items can obtain further details from the addresses given or from EPB Head Quarters and its Regional/Sub-Regional O
A six member Turkish Defence Delegation, led by Vecdi Gonul, Minister for National Defence of the Republic of Turkey, is arriving on a five-day official visit to Pakistan on Wednesday.
The Pakistan Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association (PSRMA), Karachi circle, has demanded that fixed tax facility allowed in Lahore should be made applicable uniformly throughout the country.
The Pak-Arab Fertilisers Employees Union (CBA) has appealed to President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, and Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz not to dispose of profit-oriented units on throw-away prices.
Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro on Monday said the nation desperately needs scholars and professionals to establish country's identity and competence in the world.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan has said that with participation of the youth, Pak-China friendship will strengthen further and produce far better results in the coming future.