25-10-2021

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021
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Bank Asia has arranged a virtual Breast Cancer awareness program titled 'Myths of Breast Cancer' for all
female employees of the bank on the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2021. Tania Nusrat
Zaman, Director of the Bank, graced the program as Chief Guest. Dr. Poovamma C.U and Dr. Raghavendra
Babu both from Cytecare Cancer Hospital, Bangaluru, India, was the Resource Persons of the awareness
program. The program was held on 23 October 2021 in collaboration with Cytecare Cancer Hospital with
the support of MediAider Ltd. Suresh Ramu, CEO of Cytecare Cancer Hospital and Sheikh Shaer Hasan,
Chairman, MediAider Ltd., were also present at the program.
Photo: Courtesy
UK warns of ‘gaps’ with EU as talks to
solve N.Ireland Brexit issues resume
LONDON : Talks between
Britain and the European
Union to resolve problems
with the Brexit agreement
regarding Northern Ireland
will move to London next
week with the UK
government warning on
Saturday that "substantial
gaps" remained, reports
BSS.
A negotiating team from
the European Commission
will travel to London on
Tuesday "for several days of
intensive discussions",
according to a statement
issued by London on
Saturday. British minister
David Frost and EU
Commission Vice President
Sefcovic are due to meet for
talks at the end of the week
to "take stock and assess
progress so far".
London added that talks
over the previous days had
been "constructive" but that
"substantial gaps" remain.
Brussels has put forward a
raft of proposals to try and
ease tensions within the
loyalist community over the
Northern Ireland Protocol,
the part of the Brexit deal
that deals with the British
province.
The proposals include
Desperate for employees, US
businesses struggle to hire
NEW YORK : To keep the
taps at his recently opened
beer tasting room flowing,
Peter Chekijian had no choice
but to ask his main
employees to come in seven
days per-week, reports BSS.
The staffing shortage has
also kept Chekijian from
realizing his goal of brewing
beer on site, since he can't
find contractors to finish
installing tanks he requires.
"That's been a big issue of
getting people to actually
finish up the job," said
Chekijian, who co-founded
the small Twin Fork Beer
Company in New York state.
Even as millions of
Americans who lost their jobs
to the Covid-19 pandemic
have returned to work,
companies nationwide report
they're still struggling to hire
employees in recent months.
More than 10 million jobs
were unfilled as of the end of
August, according to
government data. The labor
force participation rate,
which measures the US
economy's active workforce,
was 61.6 percent in
September, compared to 63.3
percent before the pandemic.
The causes of the short
staffing are myriad, from
continued fears of
contracting Covid-19,
particularly among people
who live with elderly family
or children, to early
retirements and objections
over work-life balance and
low wages.
And while the government
throughout the pandemic
offered
generous
reduced customs checks and
paperwork on British
products intended for
Northern Ireland, which
loyalists complain are
driving a wedge between
Belfast and London and
building momentum for the
republican push for a united
Ireland.
Despite moving on
customs checks, the
European Union has said it
will not accept London's
demands for an alternative
arbitrator to settle post-
Brexit trade disputes
involving Northern Ireland.
As a result, Britain is
threatening to trigger the
protocol's Article 16, which
provides both parties with
unilateral power to take
action if they believe the
agreement is causing
"serious economic, societal
or environmental difficulties
that are liable to persist".
"There's been plenty of
speculation about
governance this week but
our position remains
unchanged: the role of the
European Court of Justice in
resolving disputes between
the UK and EU must end," a
British government source
said in Saturday's statement.
unemployment benefits to
keep people who lost their job
financially sound, their
expiration last month hasn't
yet caused hiring to increase.
The employee shortages
come as restaurants and
entertainment venues reopen
amid as more Americans get
vaccinated, and ahead of the
uptick in business around the
holiday season.
With "so many employers
trying to hire so many people
at the same time, it creates
that imbalance," said Aaron
Sojourner, an economist at
the University of Minnesota.
Employers who spoke to
AFP told of mad scrambles to
attract applicants by offering
higher wages and other
perks.
Chekijian has put out ads
looking for employees and
attended job fairs with offers
of time off, benefits packages
and salaries as generous as he
can manage, but still can't
find the people he needs.
"It's been shockingly slow,"
he said. "It's definitely
affecting what we're trying to
do in terms of growing our
business." The biggest
American retailers are hiring
staff ahead of the holiday
season, with Amazon and
Walmart both recruiting
150,000 people, Target and
UPS taking on 100,000 and
FedEx 90,000.
Logistics company GXO is
looking to hire 9,000
employees for the busy
season over the next two
months, and its head of
human resources Maryclaire
Hammond said "finding
"We need to see real
progress soon rather than
get stuck in a process of
endless negotiation because
the issues on the ground in
Northern Ireland haven't
gone away.
"Whether we're able to
establish that momentum
soon will help us determine
if we can bridge the gap or if
we need to use Article 16 to
safeguard the Belfast (Good
Friday) Agreement".
That agreement ended
decades of violence between
republicans who want a
united Ireland, and loyalists
who want it to remain part of
the United Kingdom.
Designing the protocol
was a major source of
friction in Britain's drawnout
divorce from the EU
after it voted to leave the
bloc in 2016.
Both sides say they want to
preserve peace and stability
by avoiding a hard border on
the island of Ireland, which
is split between EU-member
the Republic of Ireland and
the UK province.
To achieve this, Northern
Ireland was given unique
status as a member of both
the UK and the EU single
market.
people has been a huge
issue."
"There is a massive
competition for talent at all
levels, there is an absolute
war," she said in an interview.
GXO is particularly short
on material handlers and
forklift operators, and has
paid for billboards and social
media advertisements and
organized job fairs to attract
applications.
It has upped its pay by $3 to
$5 per-hour in the past eight
months and offered hiring
incentives and a benefits
package including health
insurance, retirement
contributions and college
tuition assistance.
But Hammond said getting
people to stay is even trickier.
"The current workforce is
pretty fickle, happy to
change," she said. If a
warehouse nearby pays even
slightly more, employees will
move there.
The company has tried to
make workers feel
comfortable, even going so
far as to hand out burritos at
some warehouses.
"Offering very good
burritos in the mornings, it
sounds silly, but things like
that really motivate people,"
Hammond said.
It has also tried to find ways
around the worker shortages
by increasing automation in
its warehouses by 40 percent
this year.
Staci Weinsheimer is
looking for a full-time
administrative job and feels
that the market is finally
turning in her favor.
Picasso masterpieces
fetch $108.9 million
at Sotheby's auction
LAS VEGAS :Eleven
masterpieces by Pablo Picasso
fetched $108.9 million at a
Sotheby's auction in Las
Vegas on Saturday, reports
BSS.
The works went under the
hammer at the Bellagio hotel
and casino, known for its
extensive art collection, ahead
of what would have been the
Spanish painter's 140th
birthday.
The jewel in the crown of
MGM Resort's auctioned
collection was "Femme au
beret rouge-orange"
("Woman with a red-orange
cap"), one of the last portraits
by the artist of Marie-Therese
Walter, who he began an
affair with when she was 17
years old, and inspired many
of his most celebrated works.
It sold for nearly $40.5
million after a starting price
was estimated at $20-30
million.
"Painted in January 1938,
the portrait of his beloved
muse Marie-Therese Walter
stands as a crowning
achievement amid one of
Picasso's most inspired and
productive periods,"
Sotheby's said in a Tweet.
Two iconic portraits from
the last years of the painter's
life were also sold: "Homme et
enfant" ("Man and child") --
for $24.4 million-and "Buste
d'homme" ("Bust of Man") --
at $9.5 million-which sold
below its estimated starting
price of 10 million.
Sabbia Hossain
Becomes CPA
from Canada
Daughter of S. A. M.
Hossain, proprietor of Victor
Electronics, former Vice
Chairman & Director of
Standard Bank Ltd and
Rahela Hossain, Sponsor
Director of Prime Insurance
Company ltd; Sabbia
Hossain has been certified
as Chartered Professional
Accountant (CPA) by the
Chartered Professional
Accountants, Ontario Board,
Toronto, Canada, a press
release said.
Prior to this, she
completed her Master of
Accounting (MAcc) from a
famous university; Schulich
School of Business, Toronto,
Canada. Currently she is
working as Chief Financial
Analyst in a reputed
Financial Organization in
Toronto, Canada.
Sabbiainvokes for blessing
of her relatives, teachers,
friends and well-wisher of
Noapara, Rawzan,
Chattogram and all over
Bangladesh .
China’s
natural gas
output up
7.1 pct in
September
BEIJING:China saw an
increase in its natural gas
output in September, official
data showed, reports BSS.
The country's natural gas
output totaled 15.7 billion
cubic meters last month,
rising 7.1 percent year on
year, according to the
National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS).
The volume rose 15.2
percent from that in
September 2019, putting the
two-year average growth at
7.3 percent.
In the first nine months,
China's natural gas output
amounted to 151.8 billion
cubic meters, increasing
10.4 percent from a year
earlier, the NBS
said.Imports of natural gas
rose 22.7 percent from a
year earlier to 10.62 million
tonnes in the same period.
Two PET-CT machines and
One cyclotron machine with
radio chemistry facility at
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University
(BSMMU) campus and 1
PET-CT machine has been
installed at the Institute of
Nuclear Medicine and Allied
Sciences (INMAS) located
on the campus of Dhaka
Medical College. The
machineries were installed
under the project titled
"Establishment of PET-CT
with Cyclotron Facilities" of
The National Institute of
Nuclear Medicine and Allied
Sciences (NINMAS) under
the Bangladesh Atomic
Energy Commission.
Government of the People's
Republic of Bangladesh,
Minister, Ministry of Science
and Technology, Architect
Yeafesh Osman, inaugurated
the PET-CT and Cyclotron
facilities on 24th October
Sunday morning as the chief
guest, a press release said.
Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujib Medical University
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr.
AKM Mosharraf Hossain
was present as a special
guest on the occasion.
WASHINGTON:The US
Federal Reserve on Thursday
announced stricter
investment rules for officials
of the central bank following
recent controversies over
trading activities, reports
BSS.
The rules would prevent
Fed officials from holding
individual stocks, prohibit
trading during times of
unusual market stress,
require pre-approval of
trades, and more frequent
disclosure of trading activity
to "help guard against even
the appearance of any conflict
of interest," the Fed said.
"These tough new rules
raise the bar high in order to
assure the public we serve
that all of our senior officials
maintain a single-minded
focus on the public mission of
the Federal Reserve," Fed
Chair Jerome Powell said in a
statement.
Powell, who is awaiting
word whether he will be
appointed to a second term,
became the target of criticism
this week after disclosure
documents showed he pulled
$1 million to $5 million out of
a stock index in October
2020, just before a sharp
China to expand property tax
trial to check speculation
BEIJING : China is set to expand pilot
property tax reforms, state media reported,
as the government battles real estate
speculation in the world's second-biggest
economy, reports BSS.
China's housing market took off after key
1998 reforms sparked a building boom on
the back of rapid urbanisation and wealth
accumulation.
But as prices soared, so did worries about
wealth disparity and the resulting potential
for social instability.
China's top legislature, the National
People's Congress Standing Committee, on
Saturday approved the latest plan to
promote "rational housing consumption",
according to the official Xinhua news
agency.
Under the five-year pilot scheme, Xinhua
added, property tax will be levied on all
types of real estate, excluding some rural
homes. Further details, such as its start date
and target areas, are expected to be
disclosed at a later date.
The announcement comes with President
Xi Jinping pushing for more "common
prosperity" in China aimed at spreading
wealth more evenly.
In 2011, authorities started trials in
Chairman of Bangladesh
Atomic Energy Commission
Prof. Dr. Md. Sanwar
Hossain presided over the
meeting. Member of
Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission (Biology) Prof.
Dr. Ashok Kumar Pal,
Director of National
Institute of Nuclear
Medicine and Allied
Sciences (NINMAS) Prof.
Dr. Shamim Mumtaz
Ferdousi Begum, Ministry of
Science and Technology,
various institutions of
US Fed announces stricter
investment rules for
central bank officials
single-day drop in the US
market.
Two other senior officials
resigned recently following
disclosures that they had
traded individual stocks last
year, as the Fed was working
to shore up the economy
amid the pandemic crisis.
A Fed official told reporters
staff are working on the
details of the new investment
rules, including the criteria
for what is considered
"unusual market stress."
But the volatility during the
pandemic crisis last year
would certainly fall under that
definition which would be
subject to a temporary
trading ban, the official said.
Powell announced the
review of existing rules
governing investments last
month after reports that
Dallas Fed President Rob
Kaplan and the Boston Fed's
Eric Rosengren profited from
sales of individual stocks last
year.
The Fed official said the
goal of the review was to
materially tighten existing
rules, which already subject
central bankers to a trading
blackout 10 days before the
monetary policy committee
Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission, authority of
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University and
about 300 guests from
different hospitals were also
present on the occasion.
Speaking as the chief
guest, Minister for Science
and Technology Architect
Yeafesh Osman said, "With
the help of Bangabandhu's
daughter, we have been able
to set up a state-of-the-art
medical device, Cyclotron
and PET-CT." Through
meetings.
They currently are barred
from holding bank stockssince
the Fed regulates banksand
now will be prohibited
from holding agency
mortgage-backed securities, a
class of bond the central bank
has been buying in large
numbers during the
pandemic to help prop up the
American economy.
Some central bankers may
have to divest some of their
holdings to comply with the
stricter requirements, the
official said.
Under the new regime,
officials will have to provide
45 days advance notice for
purchases and sales of
securities, obtain prior
approval, and hold
investments for at least one
year.
And in addition to annual
disclosure reports, officials,
including senior staff, will be
required to report any trades
within 30 days.
After their trading activities
came to light, Kaplan left his
post on October 8, while
Rosengren moved his
already-scheduled retirement
up by several months to
September 30.
Shanghai and Chongqing targeting highend
private residential properties for
taxation.
There have been talks to expand such
taxation, but localities have been reluctant,
worried it will drag down property values
and dampen demand for land, a key source
of local government revenue, state-run
tabloid Global Times said Saturday.
China's real estate sector is in troubled
waters, with home sales slumping 16.9
percent on-year in September and deeply
indebted property giant Evergrande
battling a liquidity crisis.
Some analysts believe, however, the latest
tax move is aimed at preventing prices from
rebounding to earlier levels.
"The chances of a national tax being
implemented are much higher now," said
Mark Williams of Capital Economics last
week as reports emerged that a plan was
being stalled.
Opposition to the tax from insiders was
not new, he added, given that correlation
between Communist Party membership
and ownership of multiple properties is
"probably fairly high" . "But demographics
mean the 25-year property boom is ending,"
he said.
"Inauguration of Cyclotron and PET-CT
Facilities at BSMMU Campus
which the science and
technology sector in the
government took a step
forward in establishing the
first PET-CT technology in
the country. It is a great
innovator in the
development of the country.
We are working relentlessly
to take the science and
technology sector forward.
With cyclotron facilities,
PET-CT continues to make
Fed's Powell says
'premature' to up
rates despite
inflation risk
WASHINGTON : Despite a
risk that high inflation in the
United States could persist,
it would be "premature" to
raise borrowing rates and
risk slowing the economic
recovery, Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell said
Friday, reports BSS.
The US central bank chief
acknowledged that supply
constraints and shortages
that have caused prices to
rise sharply are "likely to last
longer than previously
expected, likely well into
next year."
But at the Fed "we need to
be patient," Powell said
during a panel discussion
organized by South Africa's
central bank.
The Fed is "on track" to
begin to pull back on its
massive monthly bond
purchases, which would be
completed by mid-2022, he
said.
But "it would be
premature to actually
tighten policy by raising
rates now with the effect and
intent of slowing job
growth."
Policymakers are expected
to announce the slowdown
of bond buying at the central
bank's policy meeting early
next month, but the
benchmark lending rate is
forecast to remain at zero at
least until late next year.