Foreign Adviser says

Staff Correspondent

Remittance from Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia reached $92.44 million in fiscal 2007-08, soaring nearly nine fold from the previous year, said foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury on Saturday.

Reuters, New York,Sep- Oil inched higher on Friday as Hurricane Ike neared the Texas Coast, shuttering a quarter of US crude oil and refinery production and threatening the nation's energy hub with a 20-foot (six-meter) wall of water.

REUTERS, NEW YORK/LONDON- Gold ended sharply higher on Friday, as the dollar fell on weak U.S. retail sales data and as Hurricane Ike, a potential catastrophe, moved toward the southwestern United States.

AFP, WASHINGTON  - The US trade deficit rose by a worse-than-expected six percent in July to 62.2 billion dollars on high oil prices and surging Chinese imports, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

AP, BAGHDAD -- France's Total said Thursday that Iraq has ended negotiations to develop an oil field in southern Iraq, one of six reported cancellations of no-bid contracts with Western oil companies.

AP, WASHINGTON  -- Government data show new applications for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week as the struggling economy continues to take a toll on workers.

AP, WASHINGTON  -- The Defense Department has again delayed plans to award a $35 billion contract for Air Force refueling planes, handing a victory to defense contractor Boeing Co. and leaving the politically charged decision for the next president.

AP, NEW YORK -- Stocks retreated Thursday as investors dumped shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and other financial names over worries it is becoming harder for them shore up their balance sheets.

Wall Street's latest unease about the financial sector follows Lehman's announcement Wednesday that it plans to sell its investment management unit and spin off its commercial real estate assets.

The Guardian Online

The World Bank has quietly cancelled a "model" oil pipeline agreement with Chad after revenues meant to be spent on schools and hospitals were instead used to consolidate President Idriss Deby's grip on power.

The innovative deal, signed in 2000, was supposed to ensure that the oil wealth in one of the world's poorest and most corrupt countries was not wasted.

Staff Correspondent

Nine companies are vying to operate Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services in Bangladesh.

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

REUTERS, HONG KONG/SINGAPORE- Asian shares fell about 1 percent and US Treasuries dipped on Wednesday on fears about Lehman Brothers' ability to raise capital, demonstrating Washington's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week had not fixed the credit crisis.

Wants WB to oversee it

Staff Correspondent

Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam on Wednesday said the World Bank should oversee the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) formed to support government initiatives to adopt to climate changes.

WB report reveals

Desk Report

Bangladesh has reduced the cost of starting a business by almost 50 percent, according to a World Bank report launched on Wednesday.

Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, on an official visit to the Netherlands, has urged European and Dutch business houses to take advantage of the "market-friendly liberalised rules of Bangladesh", the foreign ministry said Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Bdnews24.com

Shareholders of Grameenphone, Telenor and Grameen Telecom reiterated their continued commitment to the success of Grameenphone and to the ongoing IPO process.

Reuters, London- Brent crude oil prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in five months Tuesday on expectations that OPEC would leave formal output targets unchanged and as Hurricane Ike's threat to US Gulf of Mexico energy infrastructure receded.

Staff Correspondent

Speakers at a seminar have called for greater access to land for the rural poor, arguing that it would increase farm output and strengthen economic growth in rural areas.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices slipped below $104 a barrel Tuesday for the first time since early April as traders bet that Hurricane Ike would miss critical Gulf Coast oil installations and in Vienna, Saudi Arabia's oil minister signaled OPEC won't cut production.

REUTERS, KARACHI- An early rally in Pakistani stocks fizzled out on Monday despite hopes that a presidential election over the weekend would reduce uncertainties, as investors want to see concrete action to bolster the economy.