Business

Washington/New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed retaliatory trade actions against India and certain other countries that have imposed or are considering equalisation levy/digital services tax on e-commerce companies.

It has issued notices seeking public comments on proposed trade actions against six countries, including India.

Islamabad, Mar 27 (PTI) The World Bank has signed agreements with Pakistan to provide USD 1.336 billion worth of assistance to boost the cash-strapped country's foreign exchange reserves and help support social sector programmes.

Mumbai, Mar 26 (PTI) The country's foreign exchange (forex) kitty rose USD 233 million to USD 582.271 billion in the week to March 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

The overall reserves had risen USD 1.74 billion to USD 582.04 billion in the previous reporting week.

The increase in the overall reserves during the reporting week was largely on account of a swelling of the foreign currency assets, which rose USD 157 million to USD 541.18 billion.

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) The 12-hour 'Bharat bandh' called by farmers protesting the three agri laws was a "big success", the Samkyukta Kisan Morcha said on Friday, and claimed that shutdown was observed in many parts of the country, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar.

However, there was minimal impact in Delhi with no report of disturbance in the metro and road transport services, and major markets of the city remaining open during the day.

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday dismissed any possibility of imposing another lockdown in Delhi, saying it was not a solution to check the spread of the coronavirus that is again surging rapidly.

Jain said there was a logic behind the lockdown enforced earlier as nobody knew then how the virus propagates.

"It follows a 14-day cycle -- between a person catching the infection and recovering from it. Experts said the virus will die if a lockdown is imposed for 21 days," Jain told reporters.

25 Mar 2021; MEMO: According to a financial estimate issued by a prominent banking institution, the losses incurred by Egypt after the Suez Canal was blocked by the Ever Given cargo ship are estimated at about $400 million per hour.

According to Lloyd's List calculations, westbound traffic is worth about $5.1 billion per day and eastbound traffic roughly $4.5 billion.

According to navigation data collected by Bloomberg, 185 vessels are currently waiting to cross the canal.

26 Mar 2021; MEMO: A state of popular anger has prevailed in Kuwait following the discovery of Israeli food products being sold in local markets after it was imported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kuwaiti activists circulated on social media a photo of the Israeli-made hummus which they said was being sold in Kuwaiti cooperative societies after being imported from the UAE.

25 Mar 2021; MEMO: A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a "beached whale" sent new shockwaves through global trade today as officials stopped all ships entering the channel and the salvage company said it may take weeks to free, Reuters reported.

Ismailia (Egypt), Mar 26 (AP-PTI) A giant container ship remained stuck sideways Friday in Egypt's Suez Canal, as authorities race to free the vessel and reopen traffic in a crucial East-West waterway for global shipping.

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula.

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) Protesters squatted on railway tracks at 44 locations across Punjab and Haryana on Friday as part of the Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions protesting against agri laws, leading to disruption of rail traffic.

A railway spokesperson said four Shatabdi trains have been cancelled, 35 other passenger trains were detained and the movement of 40 goods trains was affected by the protests.