The Swiss franc fell to near two-year lows against the euro early on Thursday, after an influential think tank signalled on Wednesday that economic growth may begin to level off in the second half of the year.
China's yuan weakened against the dollar on Thursday for the second consecutive day as more domestic import and export firms bought dollars, dealers said.
The dollar slipped on Thursday, succumbing to profit taking after scoring gains earlier this week on the Federal Reserve's signal that it is not quite finished raising interest rates.
The dollar crept lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits on the prior day's sharp gains, when the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates and hinted more could be in the pipeline.
The Hong Kong dollar was trapped in a narrow range on Thursday after hitting a one-week low in the previous day, while short-dated money rates softened in a market flush with liquidity.
Most Asian currencies rose on Thursday, following the Japanese yen as the dollar gave up gains it made after the Federal Reserve's 15th straight rate rise this week, with the Thai baht strengthening the most.
The Australian dollar staged a recovery from 18-month lows on Thursday, darting above 71 US cents as investors caught short by a sharp slide this week covered their positions.
Graeme Smith's unhappy season of Test cricket continued when he was forced to withdraw from the third and final Test against Australia starting at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday because of a finger injury.
Russia's Maria Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals of a 6.9 million-dollar WTA and ATP Hardcourt Tournament here on Wednesday, the fourth seed ousting compatriot Anastasia Myskina 6-3, 6-3.
Phil Mickelson spent two days practising at Augusta National for next week's Masters, but he will focus on defending his title here when the PGA BellSouth Classic tees off Thursday.
Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq praised Shoaib Malik after the opener's 148 not out saved the first test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Pakistan, set 458 to win, lost only four wickets in 121 overs as Malik masterminded a brilliant rearguard action with hi
Players who dive to win penalties or simulate injury in a bid to get opponents booked could soon face disciplinary action based on video reviews of their actions, it emerged on Thursday.
Shoaib Malik ground out a big maiden Test century under pressure to help Pakistan draw the opening match against Sri Lanka after being set a mammoth target to win.
Sri Lankans voted on Thursday in local government elections widely seen as a litmus test of the popularity of President Mahinda Rajapakse's hard-line Marxist allies that could affect a fragile peace process.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday called for greater co-operation and understanding between Islam and the West, which he said would help in the fight against global terrorism.
Brazil's first astronaut, Marcos Pontes, blasted off Thursday on an 11-day mission into space aboard a Soyuz rocket launched from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome.
The father of Indian soap operas, who kept television viewers spellbound in the days before cable with long-running shows about ordinary people, died here early Thursday, a report said.
Joshua Bolten, the incoming White House chief of staff, wants Treasury Secretary John Snow replaced with someone who can present the administration's message more forcefully, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Archaeologists have found a hall in a pharaonic tomb in the southern city of Luxor they said could yield important information on how ancient Egyptians dug their tombs.
Gunmen ambushed and killed eight workers from Iraq's main oil refinery in the northern city of Baiji on Thursday, police said. One worker was also wounded when their minibus was stopped at a roadblock after they left work for the day. The gunmen, some of
American journalist Jill Carroll was freed in Baghdad on Thursday, nearly three months after being kidnapped in the city. "I'm just happy to be free. I just want to be with my family," Carroll, wearing a headscarf, told Baghdad Television, adding she had
International peace mediators said on Thursday the new Hamas-led Palestinian government had failed to commit itself to peace and warned that aid would inevitably be affected.
Thousands of Thai protesters marched on the offices of the country's election commission Thursday demanding the last-minute cancellation of this weekend's polls.
Danish Muslims started legal proceedings on Thursday against the newspaper which first printed blasphemous images of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), accusing it of blasphemy and intentionally insulting Islam.
Sterling hit a fresh seven-month low against the euro on Thursday as the single currency's overall strength prevailed due to growing expectations for a European Central Bank rate hike in May.
The euro built on earlier gains against the dollar on Thursday, supported by expectations that the European Central Bank will next raise interest rates in May, and a perception that US interest rates may be peaking soon.
The cost of insuring debt from General Motors' financing arm against default fell on Thursday, after a newspaper report raised hopes the automaker was nearing a sale of a majority stake in the unit.
The cost of insuring debt from General Motors' financing arm against default fell on Thursday, after a newspaper report raised hopes the automaker was nearing a sale of a majority stake in the unit.
South Korean shares rose in thin trade on Thursday, led by steel makers such as POSCO amid expectations for a recovery in profits, while higher oil prices lifted oil refiners including SK Corp.
US blue chip stocks fell on Thursday, as Treasury yields rose to the highest level in nearly two years after data showed stronger inflation than previously thought going into the new year.
A fresh rash of bid talk around banks and a surge in mining stocks after results from Kazakhmys powered the FTSE 100 index back above the 6,000 level on Thursday after big losses at the start of the week.
Alison Sy dreams of massive cargo ships docking at her automated grain handling facility in the northern Philippines after it opens in May or June. The grains port, the biggest of three such terminals in the country, has ambitions to become a transhipment
Turkey's Istanbul Gold Exchange (IAB) is aiming to increase volumes and offer new investment vehicles as it moves to 24-hour electronic trading, the bourse chairman said.
Cotton futures ended higher Thursday on combined trade and speculative buying as the market kept be grinding its way higher on the back of robust demand for the fibre, analysts said.
London sugar futures closed little changed after a session dominated by structural activity, profit taking and light producer selling ahead of the London sugar trade dinner on Thursday evening, traders said. Benchmark May settled up $1.20 at $479.20 per t
London Metal Exchange (LME) copper and zinc lifted the complex higher on Thursday by charging up to new record highs on fund buying, dealers said. "It is go-go-go for the end of the quarter and end of the month - you just can't stop it," a fund source sai
Records tumbled in precious metals markets on Thursday as gold raced to a new 25-year peak, platinum hit a record high and silver spiked to its highest in more than 22 years.
Coffee futures prices rallied more than 4 percent to a two-week high on Thursday, fuelled by robust fund and speculative buying amid surging prices in other commodity markets, traders said.
Benchmark cocoa futures rose about 1.5 percent to end at the loftiest price in two weeks, bolstered by speculative buying in London's cocoa market together with a flagging dollar, traders said on Thursday.
Raw sugar futures finished at a 7-week high Thursday on commodity fund buying as the market built momentum to eventually surpass the 25-year highs it set last month, brokers said.
Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade climbed to 2-week highs early on Thursday, following a surge in outside markets, especially gold, which notched a fresh 25-year peak, traders said.
Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were higher early on Thursday on a rebound from recent declines and strength in outside markets, notably gold, traders said.
US copper futures extended their recent gains early on Thursday, hitting new records in early business, with a firmer precious metals market and some end-of-the-quarter fund buying underpinning the red metal, sources said.
Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose early on Thursday in a technical bounce, following the metals markets to higher ground, traders said.
Precious metals rocketed to fresh multiyear peaks on Thursday morning in New York, powered by fund buying across a range of commodities that was driven by positive market outlooks and thoughts of even higher prices.
Precious metals rocketed to fresh multiyear peaks on Thursday morning in New York, powered by fund buying across a range of commodities that was driven by positive market outlooks and thoughts of even higher prices.
Precious metals rocketed to fresh multiyear peaks on Thursday morning in New York, powered by fund buying across a range of commodities that was driven by positive market outlooks and thoughts of even higher prices.
The 16th Vietnam international trade fair, Vietnam Expo-2006, will be held from April 5-9. More than 200 companies from 14 countries, including Pakistan, will participate in the fair.
A Singaporean hunter has paid 55,000 dollars for hunting a rare goat Markhor with bow and arrow, but later had to gun down after the animal escaped his arrows in the rugged terrain of Chitral, WWF sources said.
The Punjab government is spending more than Rs 1.3 billion on equipping social security hospitals with ultra-modern machinery and construction of social security hospitals in the province.
The State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) has disbursed Rs 15 million death claims cheques among 66 claimants, the heirs of the victims of October 8 earthquake here.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli has urged the need for national unity and coherence to make the country strong and prosperous as visualised by the leaders and workers of independence movement.
The government is planning to open five more universities in the country and a huge amount has been allocated for this purpose. Minister for Manpower Ghulam Sarwar Khan, while talking to PTV said, the government had decided to set up a network of educatio
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has given charge of additional ministries to Education Minister Lieutenant General Javed Ashraf Qazi (Retd) and Information Technology Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has given charge of additional ministries to Education Minister Lieutenant General Javed Ashraf Qazi (Retd) and Information Technology Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.
Minister for Interior Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Thursday said no human trafficking case was reportedd in the quake affected areas He said this while launching the "Counter Trafficking Campaign in the Earthquake Affected Area" funded by the government of
Pakistan launched long term bonds to test its growing economic worth in the international capital market, which proved very successful as foreign investors gave overwhelming response by investing 800 million dollars in the bonds.
Pakistan launched long term bonds to test its growing economic worth in the international capital market, which proved very successful as foreign investors gave overwhelming response by investing 800 million dollars in the bonds.
Global Credit Solutions (GCS Group) head office located in Melbourne, Australia, has advised a number of its clients in China, who have been exporting to India and Pakistan, to take care with regards to payments of accounts.
A convoy of hundreds of workers and supporters of the Pakistan Peoples Party will proceed to Garhi Khuda Bux, Larkana on April 2 to participate in the 27th death anniversary of the PPP founding leader, late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, being observed on April 4.
With regard to national unity I have a suggestion, which is to introduce the regional language of one province in other provinces at least at the school level. For instance 'Pashto' can be taught in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Similarly 'Sindhi' can be
I am a student of first year in Karachi University. But from the start of semester, many students, including myself, do not get the required books in the main library as well as in the central library or the book bank.
Muhammad Ali, a legend of the Pakistan film industry, has passed away leaving behind a vacuum which could hardly be filled. Besides being an outstanding movie star, he had been a passionate philanthropist looking after orphaned children and such instituti
Wang Zhanguo can't remember the last time it rained. "I think it rained once or twice last year, but I'm not sure," said Wang, a Muslim who lives in China's bleak, remote north-western region of Ningxia. "It definitely rained the year before that," he add
Peeling facades, abandoned buildings and potholed lanes in Istanbul's trendy Beyoglu mask a housing market boom which is tempting foreigners to invest in the city and doubling the price of a Bosphorus view.
Corporate governance is about promoting corporate fairness transparency and accountability. It is the system by which companies are directed and controlled.
The commerce secretaries of Pakistan and India, who led the latest round of the Joint Study Group (JSG) talks in Islamabad, tried to project much optimism at a press conference on Tuesday, saying they were extremely satisfied with what they were able to a
Human resource development is a key factor in the progress of a nation, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has rightly stressed the importance of developing Pakistan's "human capital" to achieve scientific and economic advancement.
A meeting of the KESC City Co-ordination Committee, presided over by Director Customer Services Jamil Gul Shaikh, was held at KESC head office to review the final arrangements for ensuring smooth power supply during Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH).
The Annual General Council of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) will meet on March 31, 2006 at 10:30 am at Karachi, said a press release of the APNS issued here on Thursday.
The officers of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) Enforcement Cell of the Customs Preventive Collectorate has recovered and seized two handbags containing 2,000 counterfeit/pirated optical discs from a passenger who was travelling for Nairobi via Dubai bo
Set to become Pakistan's biggest property show "International Property Exhibition and Conference (IPEC)" will be held at the Expo Centre here from June 16 to 18, according to the organisers, Events Unlimited (Pvt) Ltd.
The Chairman of Al-Tuwariqi Group of Companies, Saudi Arabia, Dr Hilal Hussain Al-Tuwariqi, has announced a donation of 100,000 dollars for the internal decoration of Mazar of Quaid-e-Azam.
The JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd (JCR-VIS) has assessed the Meezan Islamic Fund's (MIF) performance ranking for the period ended December 31, 2005 at 'MFR 4-Star', which denotes 'good performance' vis-à-vis other open-end stock funds, said a press re
The JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd (JCR-VIS) has assessed the Meezan Islamic Fund's (MIF) performance ranking for the period ended December 31, 2005 at 'MFR 4-Star', which denotes 'good performance' vis-à-vis other open-end stock funds, said a press re
Ahmad Waqar, Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Resources, on Thursday advised the petrol pump owners and dealers to formulate proposals to address their concerns arising due to the recent rationalisation of margins calculation.
The Sindh government in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will hold "Mai Kolachi" show from July 14 to 17, 2006 in the Karachi Expo Center.
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Haroon Farooki has impressed upon the European Union to provide a level playing field and an early grant of GSP plus status to Pakistan.
The Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd has achieved the highest ever pre-tax profit of Rs 1,278 million and after tax profit of Rs 1,163 million while gross premium of Rs 6,682 million was the highest in the history of the Company. EPS of Rs 14.08 was also rec
The Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd has achieved the highest ever pre-tax profit of Rs 1,278 million and after tax profit of Rs 1,163 million while gross premium of Rs 6,682 million was the highest in the history of the Company. EPS of Rs 14.08 was also rec
The latest close of key indices on major world stock exchanges and the London closing values of the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and gold bullion (previous day's closes in brackets).
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has inked the Head of Terms (HoT) with Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited. The HoT would lead to a General Sales Agreement (GSA) between the two companies, for the supply of natural gas for a 10-year period, with the option to ex
Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Sikandar Hayat Bosan has said that great potential existed for further improving the trade volume between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Soyem of Tayyaba Khanum, wife of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Executive Director Farhat Saeed, will be held on Friday, March 31, at D-58, Block-I, Clifton, Karachi, between Asr and Maghrib prayers.