Business

Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI) The ruling Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress on Saturday termed as "disappointing" the Union budget, claiming that it did not offer much to the "highest tax-payers" Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Opposition BJP in Maharashtra hailed the Budget 2020- 21, saying it strengthens the economy and makes provision for the welfare of all.

Hyderabad, Feb 1 (PTI) The Union Budget proposals are 'totally disappointing' and the Centre has shown discrimination towards Telangana by imposing substantial cuts in funds to be released to the state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said here on Saturday.

He said the Centres allocations in the budget may have an adverse impact on the development of Telangana, "which is a progressive state."

BEIRUT, Feb 2 (NNN-NNA) – A Lebanese official, said that, the country’s tourism sector has suffered a loss of 700 million U.S. dollars, since the beginning of nationwide protests in the country, the online independent newspaper, Elnashra, reported.

“If the situation remains the same, this sector will totally collapse by the summer,” said Jean Beyrouthy, head of the Federation of Touristic Syndicates, adding, the sector is a very important source of revenue for Lebanon.

MUSCAT, Feb 2 (NNN-ONA) – Bank Muscat, a leading financial institution in Oman, reported a net profit of 185.55 million Omani riyals (481.96 million U.S. dollars) in 2019, the bank said in an official statement.

The net profits increased by 3.3 percent in 2019, from 179.63 million riyals in the previous year, said the statement.

The operating expenses of the bank amounted to 195.93 million riyals, compared to 190.34 million riyals in 2018, registering an increase of 2.9 percent, it added.

01 Feb 2020; MEMO: Israel has imposed a ban on the import of agricultural products from Palestine, local media reported on Friday.

“[Israeli] Defense Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Friday that Israel would implement a ban on importing agricultural products from the Palestinian Authority,” according to Israeli daily Jerusalem Post.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Services of public sector banks were impacted on Saturday as nation-wide strike by employee unions entered its second day.

The strike call has been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) to press for wage revision pending since November 2017.

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced cuts in personal income tax, extended tax benefits for affordable housing and gave relief to companies on payment of dividend in the Union Budget for 2020-21 as the government looked to boost consumption to bring the economy out of the worst slowdown in 11 years.

SEOUL, Feb 1 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s export kept falling for 14 straight months through Jan, on the lowered number of working days, caused by the Lunar New Year holiday, a government report showed today.

Export, which takes up about half of the export-driven economy, amounted to 43.35 billion U.S. dollars in Jan, down 6.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The outbound shipment continued to slide for the 14th consecutive month, since Dec, 2018.

CAIRO, Feb 1 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, reached an agreement, over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Nile River, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said, the foreign ministers and water resources ministers of the three countries, issued a joint communique of reaching a deal on the controversial dam, Ethiopia is building on the Nile River.

LONDON, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Kingdom has officially left the European Union (EU) after 47 years of membership and a tough and complicated Brexit negotiations the past few years.

The BBC reported that the event, which officially took place at 11pm London time was marked with both partying by the Brexiters and candlelight vigils in Scotland and protests by those who had been against leaving the EU.