Category: Business

The most important business news, explained in a young, easy to understand way. News that affects young career professionals.

  • Twitter blames Musk for $270 million Q2 loss

    Twitter blames Musk for $270 million Q2 loss

    The social media company’s latest quarterly earnings figures offered a glimpse into how the social media business performed during months-long negotiation with billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over whether he will take over the company.

    The company lost $270 million in the April-June period after revenue slipped 1 per cent to $1.18 billion, reflecting advertising industry headwinds, as well as uncertainty over Musk’s acquisition bid.

    The number of daily active users rose 16.6 per cent to 237.8 million compared with the same period a year before.

    Twitter chalked up the gains to “ongoing product improvements and global conversation around current events.”

    Twitter’s legal battle with Musk to fulfil his April promise to purchase the company for $44 billion has overshadowed its most recent sales figures. To close the deal, Twitter last week sued Musk, and now the two parties are preparing for a trial in October.

    Twitter announced that it wouldn’t hold its customary quarterly earnings conference call or publish a shareholder letter due to the impending acquisition.

    Beginning with the April 4 disclosure that Musk had purchased a sizable stake in the company, opening the door for his takeover bid later that month, Twitter experienced a turbulent three months during the April-June fiscal quarter. Shortly after Musk publicly tweeted his concerns about Twitter and its employees and gave the impression that he was reconsidering his position, the relationship quickly grew strained.

    Musk’s actions and his “repeated disparagement of Twitter and its personnel,” according to Twitter, created uncertainty that was bad for the company’s operations, staff, and stock price.

    Musk wanted to wait until next year due to the complexity of the case and his demands for more of Twitter’s internal data about how it counts fake and automated “spam bot” accounts, which he’s cited as a key reason for trying to terminate the deal. It called for an expedited trial so the company could continue with important business decisions.

    Before the opening bell on Friday, shares were reduced by 2 per cent.

    The trial was postponed this week by the judge, who agreed with Twitter that too much delay could harm the company irreparably. Unless Musk and Twitter resolve the case prior to that time, it will be heard in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, which hears numerous high-profile business disputes.

    On Friday, Elon Musk retaliated against Twitter for partially attributing its second-quarter revenue shortfall to the uncertainty surrounding the pending $44 billion acquisition of the Tesla CEO by the social media behemoth.

    “I’m rubber, they’re glue,” Musk tweeted. 

    According to Musk, Twitter is “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the agreement and “appears to have made false and misleading representations” when it accepted Musk’s acquisition offer on April 25.

    Musk announced last month that he would be terminating the agreement. Musk disputes Twitter’s internal estimates that less than 5 per cent of its users are made up of spam and fake accounts.

  • Exports of leather garments witness 10.15 per cent increase

    Exports of leather garments witness 10.15 per cent increase

    Owing to a partial recovery of international orders and government support programmes, Pakistan’s non-textile exports increased by 25.85 per cent year over year to $12.46 billion in the preceding 2021–22.

    The value-added sectors are primarily driving overall growth in the non-textile sector. According to data produced by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, the non-textile sector has not yet received full orders to pre-Covid levels.

    Despite lockdowns in several nations, three industries—leather clothing, medical equipment, and engineering goods—maintained growth in export revenues in FY21.

    Exports of leather clothing increased by 10.15 per cent and those of leather gloves by 10.60 per cent in the value-added leather industry. In contrast, raw leather exports rose by more than 28.50% over the previous fiscal year.

    One of the major producers of surgical instruments worldwide is Pakistan. However, well-known brands resell these instruments in western nations. Because of this, the export value of these goods is still extremely low.

    In FY22, surgical tool exports experienced a 1.29 per cent decline. Pharmaceutical exports, however, decreased by 0.49 per cent.

  • Offices of illegal housing society sealed by CDA

    Offices of illegal housing society sealed by CDA

    The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) Planning Wing sealed the management offices of an illegal housing society along the Islamabad Expressway on Thursday, preventing the sale, acquisition, and transfer of plots.

    Since neither the layout design for this housing society was approved nor the management received an NoC, the planning division of the CDA has already declared all stages of this housing society to be illegal.

    Along with physically shutting the office, CDA’s Director of Regional Planning also issued a letter in this regard, according to The News.

    According to the letter, despite warnings about the housing society’s management’s illegal behaviour, the management proceeded to sell and transfer plots, which prompted the authorities to take enforcement action.

    Due to violations of the CDA Ordinance 1960, ICT Zoning Regulations 1992, and ICT Building Control Regulations 2020, the housing society’s offices have been sealed.

    The PTCL, Islamabad Electric Supply Company, and Sui Gas Northern Gas Company have also been advised by the CDA planning wing not to offer their services during all stages of the private housing society.

    A dozen unauthorised housing societies in the Rawalpindi district were also sent notifications by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) in a similar development.

    New Metro City, Smart City, Prism Town, Capital Valley, Life Residencia, Seven Enclave, Manan City, Lake View City, Faha Fatima, Park Zameen Town, Hawks Melbourne City, and Kashmir Valley have all received notices from RDA’s Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering (MPTE) Directorate.

    The Punjab Private Housing Schemes and Land Subdivision Rules 2010 were used to issue the notices. These societies have been requested by the RDA to produce mortgage deeds, surrender deeds, and NOCs. Otherwise, they will be the target of legal action.

  • Hyundai-Nishat announces a hefty price hike following KIA

    Hyundai-Nishat announces a hefty price hike following KIA

    Hyundai-Nishat Motors raised the pricing of its Tucson variants by Rs1.1 million, citing the decline in the currency as the primary cause, following Lucky Motor Corporation’s price increases for its KIA-brand vehicles.

    After an increase of Rs1.1 million price increase for the c, the Hyundai Tucson FWD model is now offered for Rs6.89 million. The price of the AWD version has increased by Rs1.1 million to Rs7.39 million.

    According to a sales representative, the company would accept reservations upon full payment, and delivery is anticipated to occur in August and not take longer than 60 days.

    Prior to that, Lucky Motor announced an increase in the prices of its KIA-brand vehicles starting on July 19, with the rise reaching as high as Rs1.1 million.

    The corporation said that the ongoing depreciation of the rupee versus the dollar was to blame for their need to raise pricing.

    “Kia and Hyundai have taken the initiative to increase car prices but the rest of the automakers will follow too,” said Sunny Kumar, Research Analyst at Topline Securities.

    “The last pricing most of the carmakers did was when the dollar stood at Rs185. It has now crossed Rs225. The price hike was imminent and announcements from other automakers could be expected anytime now.”

    According to Brecorder, the CEO of Lucky Motor Corp, Asif Rizvi, acknowledged that the auto sector primarily employs imported materials and that localised parts also contain a large percentage of foreign components while speaking on the sidelines of the Peugeot 2008 launch in March.

  • ADB projects Pakistan’s economy to ‘recover slightly’ in FY23

    ADB projects Pakistan’s economy to ‘recover slightly’ in FY23

    In FY2023, Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to modestly improve due to structural changes, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

    According to the bank’s most recent Asian Development Outlook Supplement, Pakistan’s GDP growth is predicted to decrease in FY22 (which ends on June 30, 2022), as a result of fiscal tightening measures taken to control rising demand pressures and contain external and fiscal imbalances.

    As the country’s inflation surged from 12.3 per cent in December 2021 to 21.3 per cent in June 2022, the bank slightly lowered Pakistan’s inflation for FY22 and dramatically for FY23.

    “In addition to the effects of elevated global energy and food prices, the government’s efforts to revive the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has meant raising power tariffs and withdrawing subsidies in the oil and power sectors,” said ADB.

    In comparison to Sri Lanka, which boosted its policy rate by 950 basis points over the previous six months, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has upped interest rates by 525 basis points since January 1. This also makes it one of the most active central banks in the region.

    The ADB also reduced its 2022 growth prediction for Asia and issued a warning that things could become worse as a result of the conflict in Ukraine and supply chain disruptions that are expected to drive up costs.

    Read more: Pakistani rupee plunges to Rs227 against US dollar at midday trading

    Although Covid-19’s effects had subsided, the region was now dealing with the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, lockdowns in China, and aggressively raised interest rates, according to the Manila-based lender.

    The bank reduced its 2022 growth prediction to 4.6 per cent to reflect the decline in developing Asia, which runs from Kazakhstan in Central Asia to the Cook Islands in the Pacific.

    South Asia’s economy is anticipated to grow less than the projected rate of growth in the Asian Development Outlook 2022.

  • Pakistani rupee plunges to Rs227 against US dollar at midday trading

    Pakistani rupee plunges to Rs227 against US dollar at midday trading

    On Thursday, the rupee’s decline against the US dollar reached an all-time low of Rs227 in the interbank market.

    Experts blame the losses on political unrest and the fact that the dollar is bolstering against other currencies as well, according to DAWN. On Wednesday, the rupee had a closing value of Rs224.92.

    According to the Foreign Exchange Association of Pakistan (FAP), the local currency fell by Rs2.08 to Rs227 versus the US dollar when the session started today at 10:57 AM.

    According to experts, the country’s political unrest had reduced investor confidence, which had caused importers to worry and “unnecessarily” buy dollars from the market. He claimed that as a result, there was an increase in the interbank market’s demand for dollars.

    Furthermore, over the past week, the dollar’s value had increased against over 40 currencies, including the British pound and the Japanese yen, which had an impact on the local market’s use of the rupee, according to Bostan.

    After reaching Rs211.93 on June 22, the local currency climbed to Rs204.56 in the first week of July. When the country’s staff-level agreement with the international lender was reached on July 15, it briefly appreciated but again continued to depreciate against the US dollar.

  • Netflix introduces ‘add a home’ feature to prevent password sharing

    Netflix introduces ‘add a home’ feature to prevent password sharing

    Netflix has opposed password sharing for a while now since it allows multiple users to watch their favorite seasons on an account while paying only one subscription fee.

    It had previously signaled about restricting the sharing of passwords, but users were convinced that it wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, Netflix is now testing a feature to charge additional users.

    Users can purchase additional ‘homes’ to share their Netflix account with by using the ‘add a home’ feature. Although there is an additional monthly fee for each home Rs670 ($2.99) on top of your regular subscription fee, this fee is still significantly less than the price of a full Netflix subscription, allowing a few households or users to save some money on Netflix.

    Additionally, you can use the feature to watch Netflix while travelling on a tablet, laptop, or phone. According to Netflix, a new setting will soon be available that will allow users to manage where their accounts are being used and to instantly remove any additional homes.

    The feature will go live on August 22nd, according to Netflix. When a user shares their account with another household, Netflix points out that it will not automatically add homes and charge a fee; instead, users will be prompted to add homes and consent to the additional fee.

    Read more: Netflix subscriber count drops by 1 million

    The feature’s use is subject to a few restrictions. Depending on its tier, a particular account may only be able to add so many additional “homes”: A second home may be added to a Basic account, a Standard account, two, and a Premium account, three.

  • Govt to distribute 100,000 laptops under Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme

    Govt to distribute 100,000 laptops under Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme

    About 100,000 students enrolled in government universities and colleges will soon receive free laptops as part of the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, according to the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Youth Affairs, Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

    She said in a Monday interview with APP that the programme will only award young people with high-quality laptops based on their merit.

    “These laptops will be provided to all Ph.D. and postgraduate students, while the top performers in undergraduate programmes will also be included in the scheme,” she said.

    The SAPM claimed that the laptop program’s allotted quota for Balochistan students has been doubled, along with quotas for students who are disabled and 50 per cent of the program’s allotted quota for women. Prime Minister Skilled Programme will provide skills and information technology training to up to 100,000 youth.

    She claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) government launched the Prime Minister Youth Program in 2013, which had six steps for empowering youth.

    Khawaja rejected the impression of closing the Prime Minister Youth Loan Scheme terming it wrong, and added, the restructuring of this program has been done under which the loan limit has been revised.

    “Now the youth will be provided interest-free loans up to Rs500,000, while loans from Rs500,000 to Rs7,500,000 will be provided on easy terms,” she told APP.

    She emphasised the urgent need to provide these youth with skills education in line with market needs by stating that 20 lakh graduates enter the market each year after completing their education.

  • Dubai retains its position as top FDI tourism destination in the world

    Dubai retains its position as top FDI tourism destination in the world

    Dubai has continued to lead the world in luring foreign direct investment (FDI) into the tourism industry in 2021.

    The emirate attracted Dh6.4 billion ($1.7 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) over 30 projects in the last year, placing it at the top of the list for FDI capital, projects, and job creation in the tourism sector, according to The Financial Times’ FDI Markets data.

    The Dubai FDI Monitor report, released by the Dubai Investment Development Agency, states that these new projects and investments resulted in the creation of 5,545 new jobs over the course of the year.

    “Dubai’s rank as the top FDI destination for tourism is a testament to the sector’s resilience and stability. It reaffirms the sector’s role as a key economic driver that offers international investors confidence and an exceptional opportunity for stable and sustainable returns,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said on Twitter.

    As the city strives to become the most popular travel destination in the world, Dubai attracted more than 7.28 million foreign overnight visitors in 2021, an increase of 32% from the previous year.

    The goal of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, which will be created with the merger of the tourism and economy departments, is to attract 25 million visitors to the city by the year 2025.

    To streamline government organisations, keep up with quick changes, and maintain Dubai’s business and tourism sectors’ competitiveness, the merger was achieved.

    “The newly-formed department seeks to support the economic and tourism transformations taking place in the emirate. It will adopt the same competitiveness and efficiency of the private sector and work together with it on various development projects,” said Sheikh Hamdan.

    In spite of the inflationary environment, business activity in the private sector grew steadily in June, expanding at the quickest rate in three years.

    Its highest reading since June 2019, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Dubai Purchasing Managers’ Index increased to 56.1 in June from 55.7 in May.

    The main engine of growth in the emirate continued to be the travel and tourism industry.

    As travel restrictions around the world continued to loosen, businesses in Dubai, the commercial and touristic centre of the Middle East, reported a noticeable increase in tourism-related business activity. This solidified Dubai’s position as a major travel hub.

    Prior to that, Dubai became the first Middle Eastern location to receive the coveted Michelin star, further solidifying its position as a top culinary and travel destination. Eleven restaurants in total received awards for outstanding dining.