Asian investors drifted Wednesday after a two-day advance with focus on the Federal Reserve’s crucial policy meeting, which comes against a backdrop of heightened inflation fears fuelled by an expected surge in economic activity this year.

The country’s ballooning foreign exchange reserves may come under stress if the infrastructure projects to be bankrolled by the excess external capital are not monitored properly, experts warn.

Prime Bank has introduced PrimePay, a service doing away with branch visits by enabling corporate clients to instantly make VAT, excise and import payments from anywhere, anytime and receive SMS and email confirmations.

Chinese companies targeted by a sweeping investment ban imposed by former President Donald Trump are considering suing the US government after a federal judge on Friday suspended a similar blacklisting for Beijing-based smartphone maker Xiaomi.

European car registrations fell in February, industry data showed on Wednesday, as coronavirus lockdowns and accompanying uncertainty across Europe took a toll on sales.

The coronavirus pandemic initially brought the global economy to a halt but business adjusted, with the more nimble taking advantage of the move online while others struggle to find a way forward. Here are some of the economic winners and losers of the Covid era so far:

Japanese exports fell much faster than expected in February as US and China-bound shipments weakened, a source of concern for the world’s third-largest economy as it tries to prop up growth.

BMW expects at least half of its sales to be zero emission vehicles by 2030, setting a more conservative target than some rivals in the race to embrace cleaner driving.

Global oil demand will return to pre-pandemic levels in two years and reach record heights by 2026 unless governments take swift action to meet climate goals, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Indian mills have contracted to export 4.3 million tonnes of sugar so far in the 2020/21 season ending on Sept. 30, a trade body said on Wednesday, as a rally in global prices to a four-year high and an export subsidy makes overseas sales lucrative.

Uber on Tuesday said it is granting its UK drivers worker status, with benefits including a minimum wage -- a world first for the US ride-hailing giant.

The tea industry in Sylhet has been revitalised by recent rains that came after a dry winter season. Around 30 millimetres of rain was recorded in Sylhet on March 8-10, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

Tea processing factories are being set up in Panchagarh in increasing numbers in keeping with the fast-expanding cultivation of the popular beverage in northern districts.

Foreign minister Abdul Momen today urged visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to sign the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh for harnessing trade potentials between the two South Asian nations.

Bangladesh Business and Disability Network (BBDN) and Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on March 16, jointly organised a webinar on “Disability Inclusive Skills & Employment Opportunities in the Private Sector”.

The World Bank today approved $200 million to help Bangladesh provide support and services to low-income urban youth impacted by Covid-19 and returnee migrant workers in order to improve their earning opportunities.

Brac has recently signed a partnership agreement with six local peers for improving economic conditions at the grassroots.

An “in-house feasibility study” of Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) has come to the fore for all the wrong reasons, having cost a project an excess Tk 629 crore and four years’ delay.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s legal team sought to admit more evidence contesting the US government’s account of her fraud case in a Canadian court on Monday, promising it was the final attempt days after the judge threw out similar evidence.

Protests by townspeople outside South Korean steelmaker Posco’s plant in western India will be called off because the company has agreed to meet some demands, paving the way for Posco to resume shipments to automakers, a local politician leading the agitation told Reuters on Monday.