Author: i2wtc
Record $32.5bn forward external payments add pressure amid weak FDI and portfolio outflowsState Bank of Pakistan. Photo: File The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%, marking the ‘fourth’ consecutive time the rate has been held steady. The decision reflects a cautious approach as the central bank balances support for a fragile economic recovery with internal and external risks, despite calls from the business community to cut the rate to reduce borrowing costs and stimulate growth. In a meeting conducted today, the cautious stance is aimed at…
Artificial intelligence startup Mercor announced on Monday a new Series C round that values the company at $10 billion, a fivefold increase since its last raise in February.The company said in a blog post that it raised $350 million in a round led by Felicis, which also led its $100 million Series B round, with participation from Benchmark, General Catalyst, and new investor Robinhood Ventures.The new investment will feed into three focus areas: Expanding the company’s talent network, advancing its matching systems between experts and training opportunities, and providing faster delivery.Founded in by three Thiel Fellows, the company initially started…
The Power Division has clarified that NEPRA’s recent review of K-Electric’s multi-tier tariff protects Karachi electricity consumers, countering claims that the decision is against them. Previously, K-Electric’s (KE) could adjust unpaid dues into consumer bills arbitrarily. Under the new NEPRA directive, inclusion in tariffs is allowed only if KE proves dues could not be recovered, preventing arbitrary per-unit increases. KE consumers will continue to receive subsidies, but excess profits from inefficiency are now curtailed. Profit returns linked to the dollar have been removed, and future contract renewals with IPPs may reduce KE’s plant profit margins. Read: ‘Decision on KE tariff…
Klaudia Radecka | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesAirbnb wants to block parties this spooky season.The travel and home rental platform said Monday that it will utilize its anti-party technology this Halloween weekend. The tech factors in the length of a stay, the distance from a guest’s location, property type and timing of a booking to block reservations deemed “higher risk.””We lead the way in proactive measures to reduce the risk of unauthorized parties, and our heightened technology for Halloween is one important layer in a comprehensive suite of policies and tools to support hosts, guests and local communities, and promote responsible…
Auto “in office” status could influence how Pakistani organisations manage attendance The collaboration platform Microsoft Teams is set to introduce a new feature that will automatically update a user’s work location status. For example from “working remotely” to “in the office” when their device connects to a predefined company Wi-Fi network or specific desk-connected peripheral. According to official documentation from Microsoft Corporation, organisations can enable “automatic detection of work location” via two signals: connection to a wireless network or to a desk peripheral such as a monitor. The documentation adds that the wireless-network detection option is “currently in preview”. By default, the…
The largest union representing federal workers on Monday called for Democrats in Congress to end the ongoing government shutdown by voting for the stopgap funding measure that Republicans have proposed.”It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, wrote.”No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today,” said Kelly, whose union represents more than 800,000 federal and District of Columbia government workers.”Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for…
A drone photo taken on Oct. 22, 2025 shows a view of Zhangbei Bay in Rizhao, east China’s Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)JINAN, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) — In recent years, Shandong Province has launched initiatives to build beautiful bays through nearshore pollution control, marine ecosystem protection, and coastal environment improvement.The overall quality of the marine ecology here has continued to improve, and six bays across the province have been recognized as outstanding examples of “beautiful bays” by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.A drone photo taken on Oct. 20, 2025 shows a view of Yellow River Estuary in Dongying, east China’s…
ISLAMABAD: In the realm of economics, numbers are meant to illuminate truth. Yet, in Pakistan, they increasingly cast shadow. From trade balances to growth rates, official statistics have become a battleground of narratives, where figures are not merely data points but instruments of persuasion. Misrepresentation of economic and trade accounts is no longer a peripheral concern; it is a systemic malaise undermining policy, investor confidence, and public trust. Misrepresentation in Pakistan’s economic reporting assumes several guises. Firstly, the inflated growth narratives; official communiques often trumpet GDP growth while glossing over structural weaknesses. Adjustments in base years and selective inclusion of…
Shareholders must vote to pay Tesla CEO Elon Musk almost $1 trillion, or he might not stay, Board Chair Robyn Denholm warned in a letter Monday.”Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become,” Denholm wrote ahead of Tesla’s annual meeting on Nov. 6.The shareholder vote for Musk’s pay and other proposals closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 5.Musk is key to the future of the EV maker as it moves beyond being “just another car company,” with a bigger focus on Full Self Driving and Optimus,…
Qualcomm announced Monday that it will release new artificial intelligence accelerator chips, marking new competition for Nvidia, which has so far dominated the market for AI semiconductors.The AI chips are a shift from Qualcomm, which has thus far focused on semiconductors for wireless connectivity and mobile devices, not massive data centers.Qualcomm said that both the AI200, which will go on sale in 2026, and the AI250, planned for 2027, can come in a system that fills up a full, liquid-cooled server rack.Qualcomm is matching Nvidia and AMD, which offer their graphics processing units, or GPUs, in full-rack systems that allow…