Bitcoin close to $70,000, “memecoins” worth billions of dollars, a blockbuster Wall Street listing and a sweeping Chinese crackdown: 2021 was the wildest yet for cryptocurrencies, even by the sector’s volatile standards. Digital assets started the year with a stampede of cash from investors large and small. And bitcoin and its kin were rarely out of the spotlight since, with the language of crypto becoming firmly entrenched in the investor lexicon. Here is a look at some of the major trends that dominated cryptocurrencies this year. 1/Bitcoin: Still no.1 The original cryptocurrency held its crown as the biggest and most…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia’s high performance chief Ben Oliver said that a decision on head coach Justin Langer’s future would be made after the completion of the Ashes series, with the coach’s contract set to expire in mid-2022. Langer’s leadership was criticised amid player discontent in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup but he steered Australia to victory over New Zealand in the final and has guided them to an unassailable 3-0 lead over England in the ongoing Ashes series. “We made a commitment prior to the start of the summer that we’d be really focused on the World Cup…
SYDNEY: Former England all-rounder Adam Hollioake has joined the team’s coaching staff, who have been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak ahead of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia. The match is due to start on Tuesday in Sydney with Australia having already retained the Ashes, leading the five-Test series 3-0 with two Tests to play. Hollioake will work with his old Surrey team-mate Graham Thorpe, who is in charge of the England team while head coach Chris Silverwood isolates in Melbourne after a family member tested positive for Covid-19. Seam bowling coach Jon Lewis, spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel and…
CALANGUTE: A statue of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has caused a stir in the southern Indian state of Goa, with locals accusing officials of insensitivity for honouring a sports star from the region’s former colonial power. Protesters with black flags gathered at the site after the statue was unveiled this week in the town of Calangute. They expressed anger that authorities had shunned Indian sports stars and chosen a player from Portugal, which granted Goa independence in 1961. Micky Fernandes, a former Indian international player who is from Goa, said the choice was “hurtful” and a “hangover” from Portuguese rule.…
NEW DELHI: India opener K.L. Rahul has been named captain for the three-match One-day International series in South Africa with newly appointed skipper Rohit Sharma still unavailable due to injury, the Indian board’s (BCCI) selectors said on Friday. Rohit, who replaced Virat Kohli as India’s white-ball skipper earlier this month, picked up a hamstring injury during a training session in Mumbai ahead of the South Africa tour. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be vice-captain for the series. Fellow seamer Mohammed Shami has been rested while Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja remain unfit. “We decided that Rohit should work on his…
CENTURION: South African wicket-keeper/batsman Quinton de Kock announced on Thursday his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. The shock announcement from De Kock, 29, came just hours after he was part of the South African team beaten by 113 runs in the first Test against India at the SuperSport Park. De Kock said he remained committed to playing international limited-overs cricket. Twice named as South African Cricketer of the Year, De Kock said in a statement that he wanted to spend more time with his family. It had already been announced he would miss the second and third Tests…
KARACHI: In the third consecutive open market operation (OMO) in as many weeks, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday injected cash into the money market for an unusual 63-day period. The SBP provided banks with Rs604 billion liquidity against the offered amount of Rs963bn. It injected Rs330bn at 9.87 per cent for seven days in addition to providing Rs274bn at 9.88pc for 63 days through the OMO, a tool that the central bank uses to regulate the short-term cost of money by trading government debt securities with commercial banks. The latest OMO follows the two OMOs held on…
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs2.920 trillion in the first half of the current fiscal year (6MFY22), exceeding the target of Rs2.633tr by Rs287 billion, provisional data compiled by the tax body showed on Friday. The 6MFY22 collection witnessed a growth of 32.5pc when compared with Rs2.204tr the FBR collected in the same period of FY21. Month-on-month, the revenue collection in December rose by 18pc to Rs600bn. However, it missed the Rs617bn target set for the month. But an official announcement of the FBR said that these figures would further improve after book adjustments have been taken…
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Ashfaq Ahmed on Friday admitted that it was difficult for the government’s economic team to defend withdrawal of Rs343 billion sales tax exemptions on the plea that these were mostly meant for the elite of the country. “I found it difficult to defend or defer the withdrawal of these exemptions during our negotiations with the IMF,” responded Mr Ashfaq while replying to a question at a news conference to explain salient features of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 on Friday at FBR headquarters. The top taxman went on to say that the current exemptions…
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday approved the continuation of untargeted subsidy on five essential food items at Utility Stores outlets for only one month — January 2022. The decision was taken at a meeting of the ECC presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin. December 31, 2021 was the deadline for the untargeted subsidy on wheat flour, sugar, vegetable ghee, pulses and rice effective from July 1, 2021. The ECC approved a proposal of the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) for revision of customer pricing and mark-up subsidy period under Tier-I of…
