The Guardian Online

Is it over? Was that the oil shock? Can we relax, sit back and expect our energy bills and prices at the pumps to tumble? It is true that the price of oil is down. In early July, the price peaked at $147 a barrel. Yesterday it hit $106. A fall of almost 30% in two months suggests the old rule that "nothing cures high prices like high prices" may finally be working in the oil market.

FBCCI urges govt

Staff Correspondent

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has blamed the price hike of essential goods on the wholesale traders at Karwan Bazaar and urged the government to rein them in.

ERC says

Staff Correspondent

Power tariffs might not be increased until January for the small-scale users, but gas prices might, the chairman of Energy Regulatory Commission has said.

AP, NEW YORK  -- Oil prices sank below $106 a barrel Friday as a jump in the U.S. unemployment rate signaled to traders that Americans might keep paring back their energy use to save money.

Bdnews24.com

Grameenphone's parent company Telenor ASA issued a statement Thursday on the allegations of child labour and unfit working conditions that emerged earlier this year over its operations in Bangladesh.

REUTERS, LONDON- The dollar slipped across the board on Thursday as traders locked in profits from its dramatic gains in past weeks, while investors awaited interest rate decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

AP, NEW YORK  -- Wall Street tumbled Thursday on more disappointing economic news -- retailers posted sluggish back-to-school sales reports and the government said the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits spiked last week. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 200 points.

AP, WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, the government said Thursday, reversing three weeks of declines.

AP, MOSCOW -- BP PLC and its billionaire Russian partners in the joint venture TNK-BP have agreed on a deal that forces out its embattled CEO and signals an end to a bitter struggle for control of the Russian-British company, officials said Thursday.

AP, LOS ANGELES -- Toll Brothers Inc. said Thursday it swung to a loss in its fiscal third quarter as weak demand for new homes forced the luxury builder to mark down the value of its land and unsold homes.

AP, SEATTLE -- The workers who assemble The Boeing Co.'s commercial planes and some of its key components prepared to vote Wednesday on the company's ''best and final'' contract offer, with union leaders recommending they reject the deal and go out on strike.

AP, BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal SA said Wednesday it would jointly develop a manganese mine in South Africa in a deal worth $432.5 million.

REUTERS, TOKYO- The dollar soared to an 11-month high against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday as more investors rushed to dump currencies like the euro and Australian dollar on a souring global economic outlook.

REUTERS, HONG KONG- Coca-Cola Co will pay $2.5 billion for Chinese juice maker Huiyuan, triple its value, strengthening the world's leading drinks maker's hold on a booming market in the biggest foreign takeover in China.

REUTERS, SAN FRANCISCODell Inc is poised to announce a new mini-laptop computer later this week, a source familiar with the company's plan said on Tuesday, confirming a Wall Street Journal story.

REUTERS, MUMBAI- Tata Motors Ltd said it had suspended work at the Singur plant in West Bengal where it planned to make the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car, because of violent protests and was evaluating alternate sites.

AP, DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. says its August sales dropped more than 26 percent as U.S. economic woes and high gas prices continued to batter the auto industry.

Violent clashes erupted in West Bengal today after India's top motor manufacturer announced it had ceased production of its revolutionary new 'Nano' car, report agencies.

The Nano, which is known in India as the 'One Lakh Car' (one hundred thousand rupees or £1250), is expected to be the cheapest mass market family car in the world when it goes on sale later this year.

REUTERS, BANGKOK- Asia will continue to deliver strong growth in the mobile phone market due to sustained demand from China and India, the world's two biggest markets of such services, industry officials said.

Oil prices were little changed at just above $109 a barrel Thursday as investors waited for a weekly U.S. crude inventory report to see if slowing economic growth has cut demand., reports AP.