The 10th parliamentary election took place in Bangladesh on January 5 amid widespread boycotts, violence, vote rigging and without much fanfare. While the ruling Awami League claimed victory, it is hard to imagine a scenario where this election - where the fate of 154 parliament seats out of 300 were decided before a single vote was cast - could bring stability to this increasingly important country.
The Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, came to power in 2008 with a two-thirds majority. While opportunities abounded for the Awami League to start a new era of politics in Bangladesh, it willfully wasted every chance to do so. The Awami League’s fall from grace over ...
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about all the sanctions taken against the pro-Islamist newspaper Dainik Inqilab. In the space of a few hours last week, its print edition was suspended, all of its printing equipment was seized or sealed, and three of its journalists were arrested.
“It is wrong for a newspaper to publish false information but the sanctions must not be disproportionate,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The application of the Information and Communication Technology Act to this case and the measures taken against the newspaper are totally excessive”.
Tea prices in Bangladesh rose at the weekly auction on Tuesday on strong demand for quality leaf, although sales dropped for the large quantity of poor grade supplies on offer, brokers said.
At the latest auction, Bangladeshi tea fetched an average of 198.43 taka ($2.55) per kg against 196.93 taka in the previous auction held on Jan. 15, an official from National Brokers Limited said.
"Buyers are ready to pay higher price for good quality tea, but higher supplies of poor grade tea pulled down overall sales v...
DAILY INDICATORS
Tuesday Previous
Taka/US $ (inter-bank) 77.75-77.75 77.75-77.7525 Call money rate (inter-bank) 06.50-08.00 05.50-08.10 Dhaka Stock Exchange index 4,584.63 4,550.48
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MONTHLY
CURRENT PREVIOUS Growth in: Consumer price index (BBS) Change yr/yr (pct) Dec. 7.53 7.15
M2 supply (bln taka) (BB) Nov. 6,425.75 6,403.17 Forex reserves ($bln)(BB) Dec. 18.07 17.11
Exports(FOB) ($mln)(BB) Nov. 2,21...
DAILY INDICATORS
Monday Previous
Taka/US $ (inter-bank) 77.75-77.7525 77.75-77.75 Call money rate (inter-bank) 06.25-08.00 06.25-08.10 Dhaka Stock Exchange index 4,550.48 4,519.36
---------------------------------------------------------------
MONTHLY
CURRENT PREVIOUS Growth in: Consumer price index (BBS) Change yr/yr (pct) Dec. 7.53 7.15
M2 supply (bln taka) (BB) Nov. 6,425.75 6,403.17 Forex reserves ($bln)(BB) Dec. 18.07 17.11
Exports(FOB) ($mln)(BB) Nov. 2,2...
DAILY INDICATORS
Sunday Previous
Taka/US $ (inter-bank) 77.75-77.75 77.75-77.7525 Call money rate (inter-bank) 06.25-08.00 05.50-08.00 Dhaka Stock Exchange index 4,565.40 4,519.36
---------------------------------------------------------------
MONTHLY
CURRENT PREVIOUS Growth in: Consumer price index (BBS) Change yr/yr (pct) Dec. 7.53 7.15
M2 supply (bln taka) (BB) Nov. 6,425.75 6,403.17 Forex reserves ($bln)(BB) Dec. 18.07 17.11
Exports(FOB) ($mln)(BB) Nov. 2,212.44 2,119.20 Imports(FOB) ($mln)(BB) Oct. 2,751.00 2,658.00 -----------------...