Author: i2wtc

The European Union has plans to step up its defense spending in a big way — but some leaders want it to go even further as geopolitical tensions heighten.The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, earlier this month proposed measures that could bring about 800 billion euros ($867 billion) in new defense spending. These measures have yet to be approved by the various EU capitals, but have been enough to boost EU defense stocks since the plan was announced. The current measures are “an important step in the right direction,” but “maybe we need to be more ambitious,” Greek…

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Listen to article The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its bullish momentum on Thursday, achieving an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index crossing the 119,421.81-point mark during intra-day trading The stock market is currently experiencing a positive movement, with the current index up by 689.71 points, reaching 118,663.73, reflecting a 0.58% increase during the day. The market reached an all-time high of 119,421.81 points today, while the lowest point recorded so far was 118,525.00. The trading volume stands at 268,125,313 shares, with a total value of Rs20,221,788,995. The market is still open, and the final performance will be determined once it closes.…

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Omar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesAppetite for ether ETFs has been tepid since their launch last July, but that could change if some of the regulatory wrinkles holding them back get “resolved,” according to Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock.There’s a widely held view that the success of ether ETFs has been “meh” compared to the explosive growth in funds tracking bitcoin, Mitchnick said at the Digital Asset Summit in New York City Thursday. Though he sees that as a “misconception,” he acknowledged that the inability to earn a staking yield on the funds is likely one…

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Boxing was included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics programme after a unanimous vote from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, ending years of doubt over the sport’s Olympic future. The IOC last month granted provisional recognition to World Boxing in a major step towards the sport’s inclusion in the LA Games and today’s decision ensured the sport’s Olympic presence would continue. “I thank you for the approval of having boxing back. We can look forward to a great boxing tournament,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. The boxing competition at the Paris 2024 Games was run by the IOC…

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Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., from left, Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary, walk on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, March 14, 2025.Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCommerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged the public to “buy Tesla” stock, a highly unusual promotion by a Cabinet member of a company whose current investors have suffered a sharp slide in share price since December.Lutnick’s touting of Tesla shares Wednesday night came as CEO Elon Musk oversees the highly controversial DOGE effort to slash the federal workforce for the…

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Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected sales as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse underperformed analysts’ projections.The restaurant company blamed weather for the sales slowdown and maintained its full-year forecast, lifting investors’ confidence that the rough quarter was a blip.Darden shares rose 6% in morning trading.Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: $2.80 adjusted vs. $2.79 expectedRevenue: $3.16 billion vs. $3.21 billion expectedDarden reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $323.4 million, or $2.74 per share, up from $312.9 million, or $2.60 per share, a year earlier.Excluding costs…

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Listen to article ISLAMABAD: The government has accepted the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s major demand to completely open its economy to foreign competition by slashing the effective average import tariffs by one-third to just 7.1% over five years, particularly to open up the highly restricted automobile sector. The minerals and auto sectors will be the two key areas for economic liberalisation under the IMF umbrella, said government sources. Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province is rich in minerals. With the fresh understanding reached on Tuesday, Pakistan and the IMF have inched closer to a Staff-Level Agreement, a prerequisite for presenting the country’s case to…

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Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed vows peaceful approach via dialogue amid recent fears about possible war between the neighbours.Ethiopia’s prime minister says his country will not seek conflict with longtime rival Eritrea over access to the Red Sea, amid recent fears about possible war between the neighbours. “Ethiopia does not have any intention of engaging in conflict with Eritrea for the purpose of gaining access to the sea,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Thursday, according to a post by his office on X . Although access to the Red Sea was an existential matter for landlocked Ethiopia, Abiy’s government wanted…

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A “For Sale” sign outside of a home in Atlanta, Georgia.Dustin Chambers | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSales of previously owned homes in February rose 4.2% from January to 4.26 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Industry analysts had expected a drop of 3%.Sales were 1.2% lower compared with February of last year.This count is based on closings, so contracts signed in December and January, when mortgage rates were rising and briefly held in the 7% range on the 30-year fixed. Rates today are in the high 6% range.”Home buyers are slowly…

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* In 2014, China initiated the strategy of coordinating the development of the national capital of Beijing and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province.* Over the past decade, the region has undergone a significant transition, shifting from reducing excessive capacities to fostering high-quality development.* In 2024, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei recorded respective GDP growth rates of 5.2 percent, 5.1 percent and 5.4 percent, bringing the region’s total economic output to 11.5 trillion yuan.BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) — As the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region enters its second decade in 2025, it has witnessed a significant milestone.For the first time…

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