Business360

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee strengthened by 55 paisas against the United States (US) dollar at the start of week’s trading in the inter-bank currency market on Monday. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 154.04 against the greenback as compared to Friday’s closing rate of Rs154.59. Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today: https://t.co/KFmyKZoLcJ pic.twitter.com/swkJIOfOkV — SBP (@StateBank_Pak) March 29, 2021 The local currency has gained considerable ground on the back of improved foreign exchange reserves, current account surplus, higher remittances besides less demand of dollar due to the ongoing pandemic. The rupee has recovered more than Rs12 during the last seven months since it touched an all-time low of Rs168.43 last year in August. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a go-ahead to the release of the third tranche of around $500 million to Pakistan, reviving the $6 billion programme after it remained derailed for

Visa said on Monday it will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network, the latest sign of growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry. Visa has launched the pilot program with payment and crypto platform Crypto.com and plans to offer the option to more partners later this year, it said. The USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin cryptocurrency whose value is pegged directly to the U.S. dollar. Visa’s move comes as major finance firms including BNY Mellon, BlackRock and Mastercard have embraced some digital coins, sparking predictions that cryptocurrencies will become a regular part of investment portfolios. Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk said last week that customers can buy its electric vehicles with bitcoin, marking a significant step forward for the cryptocurrency’s use in commerce. “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seein

CAIRO: The stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week was re-floated on Monday and is currently being secured, Inchcape Shipping Services said, raising expectations the vital waterway will soon be reopened. The ship was successfully re-floated at 4.30 am local time and was being secured at the moment, Inchcape, a global provider of marine services said on Twitter. Ship-tracking service VesselFinder has changed the ship’s status to under way on its website. The 400-metre (430-yard) long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early on Tuesday, halting shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. At least 369 vessels were waiting to transit the canal, including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told Egypt’s Extra News on Sunday. Egypt’s Leth Agencies tweeted the ship

Suez Canal salvage teams were alternating between dredging and tugging on Sunday to dislodge a massive container ship blocking the busy waterway, while two sources said efforts had been complicated by rock under the ship’s bow. Dredgers working to dislodge the stranded vessel have so far shifted 27,000 cubic metres of sand, to a depth of 18 metres (19.7 yards), and efforts would continue around the clock according to wind conditions and tides, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered preparations for the possible removal of some of the ship’s 18,300 containers, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told Egypt’s Extra News. Any operation to lighten the ship’s load would not start before Monday, an SCA source said, as salvage teams try to take advantage of high tides before they recede next week to manoeuvre the ship free. The 400-metre (430-yard) long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high

Amid rising number of Covid-19 cases, the federal government was considering suspending the operation of all passenger trains throughout the country, ARY News reported on Sunday, citing sources. According to sources, Pakistan Railways will allow 50 percent occupancy of passengers instead of 100% occupancy in trains from March 30. Currently, passenger trains are running with 70 percent occupancy throughout the country as per the new restrictions imposed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in the wake of the third wave of the pandemic. Sources said that 50percent of passengers trains will be shut down by the end of the upcoming week and the government can suspend the operation of all passenger trains if the Covid-19 situation does not improve. The final decision regarding suspension of train operation will be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) banned on Sunday both indoor and outdoor gatherings across the country.

ZURICH: Deutsche Lufthansa’s unit Swiss could announce additional job cuts in the second quarter as the pandemic crimps air travel, its chief executive told Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick. Last October, Swiss announced 1,000 job cuts through attrition over two years. The company has about 9,000 staff “From the 1,000 announced positions, we completed 500 of the job cuts through the end of 2020,” Dieter Vranckx told the newspaper. “How many additional positions we will potentially have to cut is something I can answer only in the second quarter. We’re in the middle of the analysis.” Like most of the travel industry, Swiss is expecting less business travel in the future as companies will likely use more video conferencing rather than in-person trips even once the coronavirus crisis subsides. Switzerland’s 1.5 billion Swiss franc ($1.60 billion) state credit guarantee for the airline is currently sufficient, Vranckx said. “For now, it’s enough,” he said, adding that planes flying now

Bahrainis can now start their e-stores for free under the supervision of the ministries of Labour and Social Development or Industry, Commerce and Tourism, local media reported. Bahrain’s Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister while chairing the cabinet meeting issued a directive to allow Bahrainis who sell via the internet two options to choose between. Option one is to join the “step” programme for productive families without any fees under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development. Option two is to join the “Sijili” programme dedicated to virtual commercial activities under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, according to Bahraini media, quoting BNA News Agency. Under both options, Bahraini entrepreneurs can take advantage of the package of benefits allocated to commercial enterprises, including subsidies, financing, and competitive bidding programmes. In a bid to help keep retailers in busines