Author: i2wtc
Asif accuses Taliban of dragging Afghanistan into new conflict to protect rule, wartime economy’Poisonous’ statements by Afghan officials hint at growing discord within Taliban leadership: Asif Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that, if necessary, Pakistan could defeat the Taliban regime and set an example for the world. Commenting on the failed talks in Istanbul, Khawaja Asif said the Afghan Taliban regime had repeatedly sought negotiations with Pakistan through “brotherly countries”, and Pakistan had accepted the offer in the interest of peace. He added that some “poisonous” statements by Afghan officials suggested growing discord and duplicity within the Taliban leadership,…
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: The S & P 500 flipped between positive and negative Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a December interest rate cut was not a foregone conclusion. Powell’s comments came during his post-Fed meeting news conference and after central bankers decided to reduce rates by a quarter-point for the second time this year. There were two dissenters: Fed Gov. Stephen Miran voted for a half-point cut, while Kansas…
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald TrumpSergey Bobylev | Kent Nishimura | ReutersA high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could yield a breakthrough in the quarrelsome trade relationship between the two economic superpowers.But while both the Trump administration and Beijing are projecting optimism ahead of the sit-down, specifics about the summit remain unclear — and some experts are skeptical of the White House’s confidence.Phil Luck, director of the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he was expecting an outcome that is “relatively minor, relatively vague” and “not awe…
A man holds a sign reading “SNAP Feeds Families,” as food aid benefits will be suspended starting November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, during “A Rally for SNAP” on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., October 28, 2025. Brian Snyder | ReutersNearly 42 million Americans are days away from missing their monthly food stamp check as the government shutdown enters its 28th day.The Trump administration has said funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will not be distributed if the federal government is still shut down on Nov. 1. With little movement…
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve on Oct. 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the artificial intelligence boom is different from the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s.”This is different in the sense that these companies, the companies that are so highly valued, actually have earnings and stuff like that,” Powell said, during a news conference following the Fed’s two-day policy meeting. AI investments in data centers and chips are also…
Sargodha AQI 344, Faisalabad 296, Multan 287, Gujranwala 274, Kasur 257, Sheikhupura 245School children walk across a railway track engulfed in dense smog in Lahore. Photo: AFP Air pollution levels across Punjab have once again reached alarming heights, with Lahore topping the list of the world’s most polluted cities on Wednesday. According to global air monitoring agency IQAir, the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 403 in the morning — a level deemed “hazardous” to human health. In comparison, India’s capital, New Delhi, registered an AQI of 235. Data from the Punjab Environment Department revealed that air…
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., wears a pair of Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMeta continues to sink money into the metaverse, anchored by virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.The company reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said that the Reality Labs division recorded an operating loss of $4.4 billion while generating $470 million in sales during the period. Wall Street was expecting Reality Labs to post an operating loss of $5.1 billion on $316…
A customer carries a Chipotle bag in San Francisco, California, US, on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations and cut its same-store sales forecast for the third straight quarter.Chipotle is expecting its full-year same-store sales to shrink by a low-single digit percentage in fiscal 2025. That’s a big change from February, when the burrito chain was projecting same-store sales would grow by a low- to mid-single digit percentage.CEO Scott Boatwright said the company is seeing “consistent macroeconomic pressures.” Traffic fell by 0.8%, the third straight…
Bill McDermott, chief executive officer of ServiceNow Inc., during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesServiceNow reported third-quarter results on Wednesday that blew past Wall Street’s estimates, with the company also approving a five-for-one stock split.Shares rose 4%. Here’s how the company did versus LSEG estimates.Earnings per share: $4.82 adjusted vs. $4.27 expectedRevenue: $3.41 billion vs. $3.35 billion expectedThird-quarter subscription revenues, which account for the bulk of the enterprise software company’s sales, totalled $3.3 billion and surpassed a $3.26 billion estimate…
Meta AI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. PHOTO:REUTERS Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Commerce, appreciated Meta’s collaboration in strengthening Pakistan’s digital economy. He stated that Pakistan is among South Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies, noting that over 75,000 IT graduates enter the market annually. Kamal noted that exports of IT and IT-enabled services had risen by 18% to reach $3.8 billion, while in the first quarter of the current fiscal year alone, IT exports grew by 21% to $1.06 billion. He said the National E-Commerce Policy 2.0 is being finalised, targeting a $20 billion market by…