04-02-2022

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022
8
OPEC+ backs another modest oil output
hike despite surging prices
First Security Islami Bank Ltd. donated 60pcs Oxygen Concentrators to Feni250 Bed General
Hospital and Chhagalnaiya Health Complex, Feni for the Treatment of Covid-19 Patients. Chief Guest
Nizam Uddin Hazari, MP, Shamsul Karim Mazumder, Head of FSIBL Cumilla Zonal Office, Dr.
RafikusSalehin, Civil Surgeon,Feni, Prof. Dr. Sahedul Islam Kauser, President, BMA, Feni, Dr.
Mohammad Robyat Been Karim, Upazila Health & Family Planning Officer, Chhagalnaiya, Fenialong
with other officials were participated in the program.
Photo : Courtesy
LONDON : Top oil-producing
countries led by Saudi Arabia and
Russia announced another modest
increase in output on Wednesday
despite soaring crude prices and
geopolitical tensions rattling the
markets, reports BSS.
The 23-nation OPEC+ group said in
a statement that it will increase
production by 400,000 barrels per
day in March, the same amount as in
previous months.
The group, which includes the 13
members of the Saudi-led
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their
10 allies, including Russia, has
resisted US pressure to further boost
production to tame prices.
OPEC+ said in its statement
following a ministerial
videoconference that the decision was
made "in view of current oil market
fundamentals and the consensus on
the outlook".
The alliance's prudent approach
dates back to the spring of 2021 as
demand recovered after drastic 2020
cuts in the face of the Covid-19
pandemic.
The announcement Wednesday
"was hardly surprising, as the group
has rigidly followed this approach
since it was first agreed upon, even in
December when oil prices plunged
following the emergence of Omicron,"
said Edward Gardner, commodities
expert at Capital Economics.
"What matters going forward is
whether OPEC+ can keep up with its
planned production increases," he
said.
Oil prices hit seven-year highs in
January, with the main international
crude contract, Brent, topping $90.
Prices are now hovering under $90.
Victoria Scholar, an expert at
Interactive Investor, said she expected
"further gains" due to solid demand
and "drip-feed production increases"
by OPEC+.
OPEC+ is already struggling to meet
its quotas with some members, such
as Angola and Nigeria, unable to scale
up their production and others, such
as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates, unwilling to do so, said
Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank.
In December, the total volume of
OPEC+ output increased by only
90,000 barrels per day, far short of
the 400,000 target, according to a
survey by the Bloomberg news agency.
Russia was complying with its
commitments, Moscow's energy
minister, Alexander Novak, told
Rossiya 24 television.
But there were "a number of
uncertainties" weighing on demand
while the coronavirus pandemic was
still ongoing, he said.
The market has been further
boosted by soaring geopolitical
tensions plaguing stalwarts of oil
production-Russia, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates on
Monday intercepted another ballistic
missile launched by Yemen's Huthi
rebels, the latest attack on the Gulf
country, which is part of a Saudi-led
military coalition.
In Europe, tensions between
Moscow and Western allies are at
their highest point since the Cold War
after Russia massed troops on its
border with Ukraine.
Nintendo raises profit forecast
but cuts Switch sales outlook
TOKYO : Nintendo raised its full-year net profit
forecast Thursday, citing strong performances
by recent game releases, but it again cut its
sales target for the Switch owing to global
supply chain problems.
The Japanese giant posted its highest-ever
annual profit in 2020-21, buoyed by a surge in
interest as the coronavirus pandemic forced
people to seek indoor entertainment.
Even as restrictions ease, Nintendo said it
expects to post a 400 billion yen ($3.5 billion)
net profit at the end of the fiscal year in March,
up 50 billion yen from its forecast in
November. The Kyoto-based firm also hiked its
sales forecast for the year to March 2022 to 1.65
trillion yen, from a previous estimate of 1.60
trillion yen.
It now says it hopes to sell 23 million units of
its Switch console in this fiscal year, a further
downward revision from the 24 million it
announced in the previous quarter.
"In regard to business risk, the extended
impact of both Covid-19 and the global
semiconductor shortage creates a state of
continued uncertainty, with the possibility of
future impact on production and shipping,"
Nintendo said in its earnings release.
"While these and other unforeseen risks
exist, we continue to take all necessary
measures in conducting business."
Nintendo has faced persistent speculation
about its plans for a new version of its Switch
console, which was first released in 2017.
But it offered few clues on Wednesday,
saying only it would "continue to convey the
appeal of the three models and work to further
expand the install base".
It said it has now sold more than 100 million
units of the various Switch consoles, including
the handheld-only Switch Lite, released in
2019, and Switch OLED with upgraded
graphics and memory that came out in October
2021. For the nine months to December,
Nintendo logged a net profit of 367.4 billion
yen, down 2.5 percent from the same period a
year earlier, when virus lockdowns prompted
huge demand for video games.
While restrictions may no longer be keeping
so many people at home, the pandemic
experience has had residual effects on the
gaming market, said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst
at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo.
Closing Ceremony of JBL Subordinate Bond IV was held on 2nd February,
2022 at Jamuna Bank Tower. UCB Investment Ltd. is the Lead Arranger of
this issuance. Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed, MD & CEO, Jamuna Bank Ltd.,
Tanzim Alamgir, MD & CEO, UCB Investment Ltd., MD Rahmat Pasha, MD
& CEO, UCB Stock Brokerage Ltd. and S M Rashedul Hasan, MD & CEO,
UCB Asset Management Ltd. were present in the event. Other senior officials
from respective organizations were also present to celebrate this
thriving moment. UCB Investment Ltd, one of the leading and fast-growing
investment banks in the country; had a tremendous year despite the
unprecedented COVID 19 outbreak. The company was mandated to
arrange around BDT 6,000 Crore just in one year, in which it has completed
around 80% of the fund raising in very short span of time. The dynamic
team of UCB Investment is endeavoring to accomplish all the transactions
successfully.
Photo : Courtesy
Turkey inflation surges to near 20-year
ANKARA : Turkey's annual inflation rate in
January reached its highest level since April
2002, official data showed Thursday, after a
currency crisis decimated people's purchasing
power.
Consumer prices surged by 48.7 percent
from the same period in January last year, up
from an annual rate of 36.1 percent in
December, according to the Turkish statistics
agency. The reading came out just days after
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed the
head of the state statistics agency for the fourth
time since 2019.
Turkish media reported that Erdogan was
unhappy with agency data showing inflation
reaching the highest level since his Islamicrooted
party stormed to power two decades
ago, complicating his path to re-election in
2023. Former agency chief Erdal Dincer had
only been in the job for 10 months. He was
replaced by Erhan Cetinkaya, who was vicechair
of Turkey's banking regulator.
Independent data collected by Turkish
economists suggested that the annual rate of
inflation rose to more than 110 percent in
January.
Erdogan staunchly opposes raising interest
rates, which he believes cause inflation-the
exact opposition of conventional economic
thinking. He admitted on Monday that Turks
would "have to carry the burden" of inflation
for "some time".
"God willing we have entered a period where
each month is better than the previous one," he
added. Turkey has suffered from persistently
high inflation for years, experiencing two
currency crises since 2018.
The second last year came after Erdogan
orchestrated sharp interest rate cuts that put
them far below the rate at which prices were
rising, eroding Turks' purchasing power and
the value of their savings.
Metlife named to
world's most admired
companies list by
Fortune Magazine
MetLife on Thursday
announced that it has been
named to Fortune
magazine's 2022 list of the
"World's Most Admired
Companies." Eight life
insurers were included in the
annual report card of the
best-regarded companies, a
press release said.
To identify companies that
have the strongest
reputations across
industries, Fortune partners
with Korn Ferry to survey
industry executives,
directors, and analysts on
nine categories, from
investment value and quality
of management to social
responsibility and ability to
attract talent.
"We are pleased to be
named one of the most
admired companies in the
life insurance industry," said
MetLife President and CEO
Michel Khalaf. "Our people
are proud to live our purpose,
deliver for our customers,
and make a positive
difference in our
communities. This
recognition belongs to
them."
Additional details about
the rankings are available at
Fortune.com.
Nokia posts strong
profit after
'transformational'
2021
HELSINKI : Finnish telecoms
giant Nokia reported a solid
increase in profits in 2021 on
Thursday and issued a
confident outlook for the
coming years as sales rose
despite supply problems.
"I would like to call it a
transformational year," CEO
Pekka Lundmark told
reporters after the group
posted a net profit of 1.6
billion euros ($1.8 billion),
driven by a 1.6 percent
increase in sales to 22.2 billion
euros.
The results follow a string of
quarterly earnings surprises
for the network equipment
maker, which has been
flagging in the race for the 5G
network equipment market
against Sweden's Ericsson
and China's Huawei.
Since taking the helm in
2019, Lundmark has overseen
a wide-ranging restructuring
and cost-cutting programme,
with savings invested into
developing new, more
competitive products.
The moves are widely seen
as having paid off, with Nokia
predicting a comparable
operating margin of between
11 and 13.5 percent for 2022,
following 12.5 percent in
2021.
The Takterchala Bazar Branch of Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd. distributed Blankets among winter hit
& poor people in Tangail District recently as a part of CSR activities of the Bank. The Manager of
Takterchala Bazar Branch of the Bank Md. Al Amin Mondol distributed Blanket among the winter
hit people. Among others the Local businessmen and the Prominent People were also present in the
Blanket distribution ceremony.
Photo : Courtesy
Tasty Treat receives best food stall trophy
The country's popular
fast food retail brand
'Tasty Treat' received the
gold trophy under the
food stall category at the
26thDhaka International
Trade fair (DITF) 2022.
The organizers,
Ministry of Commerce
and Export Promotion
Bureau (EPB), gave the
award to Tasty Treat for
eye-catching stall,
receiving
consumersappreciation
through its services and
playing important role to
the overall success of the
fair.
Textiles and Jute
Minister GolamDastagir
GaziBirProtik, Commerce
Minister TipuMunshi and
FBCCI President Md.
Jashim Uddin handed
over the trophy at the
conference room of the
newly built Bangabandhu
Bangladesh-China
Friendship
Center
Exhibition
(BBCFEC)
FRANKFURT : Record eurozone
inflation will feed a tense debate within
European Central Bank over whether to
raise interest rates when its policy-setting
governing council meets on Thursday,
with the bloc under pressure from supply
disruptions and high energy prices,
reports BSS.
Inflation unexpectedly rose to 5.1
percent in the euro area in January,
figures from Eurostat showed on
Wednesday, the highest value since
records for the currency club began in
1997.
While its counterparts in the United
States and Britain are laying the ground
for rate hikes in the near future, the ECB
has so far expressed little interest in
raising borrowing costs this year.
ECB President Christine Lagarde has
repeatedly said that a tightening of
monetary policy in 2022 was "very
unlikely", but the surge in inflation will
embolden critics who say action should
come sooner.
atPurbachal on Monday.
Ibrahim Khalil, Head of
Business at Tasty Treat
said, "We received very
good response which was
beyond our expectation.
Generally, visitors
areworried to receive
standard food with
reasonable price at the
fair. We are happy to
meet their expectations
through our food stall and
they liked our products
including fried rice, fast
food, chicken and
Mexican items at the fair."
He also added that, 'We
Any change of course was unlikely "for
the time being", said Fritzi Koehler-Geib,
chief economist at the German public
lender KfW.
But the pressure would increase on the
ECB "in the course of the year to consider
interest rate steps earlier than previously
announced".
Markets are betting that the Frankfurtbased
institution will hike rates before the
year is out and will be scouring Lagarde's
planned remarks at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT)
for any indication of a change in thinking
within the ECB.
The ECB must tread a fine line between
the "falling necessity to continue
stimulating the economy and actually
bringing higher inflation down", said
Carsten Brzeski, head of macro at the
ING bank.
The eurozone economy reached its precoronavirus
pandemic level in the fourth
quarter of 2021, but tightening too
quickly could threaten to derail the
recovery.
were worried for this
DITF because it has been
organized for the first
time at outskirts of
Dhaka. But the organizers
organized the event
peacefully. We are so
much hopeful fornext
DITF at the venue."
Fresh inflation record creates headache for ECB
The surge in inflation in Europe has
been driven by a range of factors, but
mostly on the supply side rather than the
demand side, where the ECB has fewer
levers to effect change.
Widespread shortages of raw materials
and key components-everything from
wood to semiconductors-have weighed
on production and added to the upward
pressure on prices. In addition, energy
prices have spiked, hitting multi-year
highs towards the end of last year.
In Europe, the market has become
captive to rising tensions between
Moscow and the West over the massing
of Russian troops on the border with
Ukraine.
Any escalation in the conflict could
cause prices to shoot up further.
ECB executive board member Isabel
Schnabel also warned that the process of
weaning Europe off fossil fuels could
"lead to inflation remaining higher for
longer".