AFP, WASHINGTON  - Swiss banking giant UBS joined Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and other major banks Friday as US regulators announced it had agreed to buy back 18.6 billion dollars' worth of stressed securities.

Decision to take effect after govt. nod

Staff Correspondent

Knitwear manufacturers have announced a special allowance for workers—20 percent of their basic salary—to help them cope with the rising cost of living in a gesture that will need clearance by the government.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices dove to $115 a barrel on Friday, driven lower by a huge jump in the U.S. dollar, signs of moderating demand around the world and the burgeoning belief that commodities may have peaked.

AP, LONDON -- The U.S. dollar was higher against other major currencies in European trading Friday. Gold fell.

Desk Report

Share of physical health costs inflicted by domestic violence against women accounts for 4.1 percent of the country's GDP, according to a study by private research organisation Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Struggling home finance giant Fannie Mae Friday reported a massive second-quarter loss of 2.3 billion dollars, more than three times analysts' estimates.

Online submission of export, import accounts from this month

Staff Reporter

The first phase of automated taxation system was launched at Chittagong Customs House Friday, with the online submission of export and import accounts by selected firms, officials said.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices resumed their descent Friday, dropping briefly below $116 a barrel as a huge jump in the U.S. dollar and expectations of slowing global demand offset supply concerns over a sabotaged pipeline in Turkey.

AP, NEW YORK -- The dollar soared Friday as concerns about the deteriorating euro zone economy gripped investors, who concluded European central banks are done with interest-rate increases. The dollar also gained from the sell-off in commodities.

AP, VIENNA, Austria -- Concerns that tension over Iran's nuclear program could lead to conflict propelled oil prices upward Thursday to near $120 a barrel, halting a four-week slide.

Dhaka, Aug 7 (bdnews24.com) - The central bank has forecast that the rate of inflation will drop after the Aman harvest as bumper production is expected this season.

NEW DELHI, Thu Aug 7, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - India's annual inflation topped 12 percent for the first time in 13 years in late July, and analysts said it was yet to peak and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was not done with monetary tightening.

NEW YORK, Thu Aug 7, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Retailers posted disappointing July sales results on Thursday as shoppers ran out of extra tax rebate cash and tentatively began their back-to-school shopping.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON- The Federal Reserve held US interest rates steady on Tuesday, expressing concerns about both economic growth and inflation and indicating it is in no rush to push borrowing costs higher.

Agency

Dhaka stocks closed higher for a second day on Wednesday, driven by insurers, non-bank financial institutions and power companies.

Businessmen have assured the government that the price of edible oil will remain stable during the month of Ramadan, an adviser said Wednesday, bdnews24 reports..

Desk Report

Japan has pledged US $ 7 million in donation through the UN's World Food Programme to provide food assistance to the ultra-poor, the Japan embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

Agency

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$ 829.5 million in remittance in July – the previous highest remittance of $ 808.7 million came in March 2007 – edging the foreign exchange reserves to near $ 6 billion.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices fell below $118 a barrel Wednesday after the government reported bigger-than-expected jumps in supplies of crude oil and distillates, suggesting high energy prices are still eating into demand.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON- Consumer prices jumped at the sharpest rate in more than a quarter century during June, and consumers coping with soaring costs received their smallest income gain in a year, the government said on Monday.