Burma exchange rate scam

The UN has admitted losing about $10m (£5m) to the Burmese regime while delivering emergency aid to the country in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis because of a distorted official exchange rate, reports The Indepdent.

The UN's senior humanitarian aid official said it had suffered the "significant" loss because the junta enforced an artificial exchange rate that was at least 15 per cent lower than the genuine rate.

Colombo, July 30 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Leaders of South Asia, home to a fifth of humanity, meet this weekend at a summit aiming to boost trade and reduce poverty but a wave of deadly bombings in India, its biggest member, means terrorism could dominate the agenda.

Jonathan Lynn and Doug Palmer

GENEVA, July 30 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Marathon talks on a new global trade pact collapsed on Tuesday as the United States and India refused to compromise over a proposal to help poor farmers deal with floods of imports.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON - US President George W Bush on Wednesday signed into law a housing rescue plan passed by Congress as foreclosures rise and property values slump, including emergency backstop credits for the big mortgage lenders.

REUTERS, NEW YORK- Billion-dollar bankruptcies are at their highest in five years only half way through 2008, according to bankruptcy filing tracker BankruptcyData.com.

REUTERS, GENEVA- Marathon talks on a new global trade pact collapsed on Tuesday as the United States and India refused to compromise over a proposal to help poor farmers deal with floods of imports.

Bdnews24.com

Indices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange ended lower for a third day due to a decline in blue-chips.

A fall in share prices of insurers, banks and mutual funds also influenced Wednesday's trading.

Tariffs

The Guardian

Last-ditch talks to salvage a deal in the seven-year Doha round of global trade negotiations broke down dramatically in Geneva last night, after India, China and the US fell out over measures to protect poor farmers.

The National Board of Revenue Wednesday launched a service centre for taxpayers on Topkhana Road for Dhaka tax zone-7, NBR said in a statement, reports bdnews24.com.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices are slightly higher, hovering near $123 a barrel, after the government reported that U.S. gasoline supplies fell unexpectedly last week while crude stockpiles fell less than expected.

AP, LONDON  -- The U.S. dollar was narrowly mixed Wednesday against other major currencies in European trading. Gold prices fell.

AP, HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe will knock 10 zeros off the country's hyper-inflated currency next month, making 10 billion dollars one dollar, the nation's central bank governor said Wednesday.

Initial public offering

Staff Correspondent

Grameenphone, the country's largest mobile phone operator, submitted its prospectus for an initial public offering to the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.

GP's chief financial officer Arif Al Islam handed the prospectus to SEC chairman Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi.

Forget cola, lemonade or beer – Japanese people sweltering in the summer heat now have a new canned drink to quench their thirst – made out of eels, reports AP.

AP, NEW YORK -- Starbucks says it is cutting almost 1,000 non-store jobs by July 29 as part of its bid to re-energize the brand and boost its profit by cutting costs.

AP, TOKYO -- Japan's economy showed more signs of deterioration as government data revealed Tuesday that the unemployment rate inched up and consumers tightened their purse strings amid rising food and oil prices.

REUTERS, GENEVA- A clash between the United States and two big emerging markets, China and India, over cutting farm and industrial tariffs threatened to derail more than a week of work to salvage a world trade deal.

The Guardian

Ryanair will slash fares by 5% over the winter after abandoning plans to raise ticket prices amid fears that cash-strapped passengers will be turned away by costlier flights.

The average fare at Europe's largest budget carrier will fall from €42 (£33.30) to around €40, reversing a pledge to raise them by €2 in the other direction.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON- The number of miles driven on US highways in May fell a record 3.7 percent, or by 9.6 billion, from last year because of soaring fuel costs, the US Transportation Department said Monday.

REUTERS, KABUL- Corruption in Afghanistan is hobbling efforts to combat the booming opium trade with powerful drug lords evading justice by simply making a telephone call to friends in high places, a United Nations official said on Monday.