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IMF to assess Pakistan’s flood spending, budget agility | The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in Pakistan’s recent devastating floods and announced that its second economic review mission will also assess the disaster’s impact on the economy, as well as the financial requirements for recovery and reconstruction.
According to sources, the IMF team will evaluate whether Pakistan’s fiscal policies and emergency measures are sufficient to deal with the crisis.
“The mission will assess whether the FY26 budget, its spending allocations and emergency provisions remain sufficiently agile to address the spending needs necessitated by the floods,” said Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan.
Read More: IMF’s nod sought for power relief to flood victims
The review will also examine the 2025–26 budget, its expenditure allocations, and relief provisions to determine how effectively they meet the urgent needs arising from the floods.
The government had already approached the IMF for relief measures following the destruction, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suspended electricity bill collections for August from consumers in flood-hit areas.
He directed distribution companies to comply immediately, adding that payments already made by affected consumers would be adjusted in their next bills.
The flash floods have killed 972 people so far, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
The floods have destroyed crops, livestock and homes across Punjab province and are now pushing into Sindh, threatening fresh food inflation and deeper hardship in the cash-strapped South Asian nation.
State bank of Pakistan is expected to keep its key rate at 11% on Monday, as policymakers weigh inflation risks from crop losses against a slowing economy. An analyst estimated agricultural damage could shave up to 0.2 percentage points off growth this year, with reconstruction-led demand offering only partial offset.
It is noteworthy to mention that an IMF mission is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on September 25 to begin talks for the release of the third loan tranche of $1 billion, subject to the completion of the second review of the economy. The IMF team will remain in Islamabad until October 8.
With additional input from Reuters
Business
Delta and United call on Congress to immediately end government shutdown, pay air traffic controllers
A Delta Airlines plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines called on Congress Thursday to reopen the U.S. government and pay air traffic controllers, with Delta urging senators to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution.”
U.S. air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown drags on through a fourth week with no end in sight while Republican and Democratic senators remain at an impasse.
“Missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian had warned earlier this month that the airline could see impacts from a prolonged shutdown.
Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with the lobby group Airlines for America, whose members include Delta, United, American Airlines and others.
United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters outside the White House that Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution, adding that the shutdown is putting stress on the economy.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, joined by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaks to reporters outside the White House on Oct. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are essential employees who are required to work through the shutdown even though they are not receiving regular paychecks.
The missed paychecks come as controllers grapple with a longstanding staffing shortage. There are 3,800 fewer fully certified controllers than the FAA’s target, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
“These additional distractions will compound the existing risks in an already strained system,” Daniels said in an opinion piece in The Hill on Tuesday.
“Every day the shutdown continues, the National Airspace System becomes less safe than it was the day before, as the controllers’ focus shifts from their critical safety tasks to their financial uncertainty,” he said.
The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open.
Democratic senators are insisting that Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies before they will vote for funding to reopen the government.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that a four-week shutdown would cost the economy at least $7 billion by the end of 2026. A six-week shutdown would cost the economy $11 billion, and an eight-week shutdown would cost $14 billion, according to CBO estimates.
Flights have been delayed at several U.S. airports over the past month but the severe disruptions that preceded the end of the longest-ever shutdown, between late 2018 and early 2019, have not occurred.
— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
MUMBAI: The Rs 6,632-crore initial public offering for Billionbrains Garage Ventures that runs the digital financial services company Groww, is set to open on November 4 and close on November 7. At the upper end of the Rs 95-100 price band for the IPO, the company is valued at nearly Rs 62,000 crore. The shares are to be listed on NSE and BSE around November 12.Of the total offer size, Rs 1,060 crore will accrue to Groww while a bunch of existing shareholders, mostly private equity players, would get Rs 5,572 crore in total by offloading part of their stakes.Established in 2017, the Bengaluru-based fintech company offers a host of financial and investment products such as stocks, derivatives, mutual funds, IPOs, bonds to retail investors through its digital platform. The company’s aim is to offer all types of financial and investment solutions to its customers.
The FTSE 100 extended its winning run to nine, recouping early hefty falls, despite fresh problems for advertising group WPP.
The FTSE 100 index closed up just 3.92 points at 9,760.06, another record close.
The FTSE 250 ended down 171.99 points, 0.8%, at 22,276.28, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.09 points, 0.4%, at 769.80.
WPP plunged 17% as it warned performance in the year-to-date was at the “low-end of expectations” as it cut the company’s outlook.
The London-based advertising agency firm said revenue in the third quarter fell 8.4% to £3.26 billion, and was down 3.5% on a like-for-like basis.
Revenue less pass-through costs slumped 11% to £2.46 billion, falling 5.9% like-for-like.
New chief executive Cindy Rose acknowledged that recent performance was “unacceptable” and pledged to take action to address this.
“There is a lot to do,” Ms Rose said, adding, “we are optimistic, energised and confident that we’re building the right plan”.
It is the latest in a series of troubled days for WPP investors with shares down 63% in the last 12 months.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended little changed.
Stocks in New York were mixed with a 9.7% fall in Meta Platforms weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, the S&P 500 index was 0.3% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8%.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, forecast increased investment and higher operating costs ahead after a third quarter distorted by a hefty tax provision.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told investors he feels the right strategy is to “aggressively front-load building capacity”.
Investors also weighed hawkish comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell who pushed back against market pricing for another interest rate cut in December.
Mr Powell, speaking after the Fed cut rates by a quarter point at its October meeting, said a reduction in December was not a “foregone conclusion” and a cut should not be assumed.
JPMorgan analyst Michael Feroli said: “By Powell’s standards, these were unusually blunt remarks.”
While Bank of America said Mr Powell pushed back “stridently” against market pricing of a December cut and drove the message home “several times” during the press conference.
The US rate call came ahead of central bank meetings in Japan and Europe.
The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged, decided by a seven to two majority vote.
In a statement released by BoJ following the monetary policy meeting, it said interest rates were held at 0.5%, matching consensus cited by FXStreet.
“High uncertainties still remain regarding the impact of trade and other policies on economic activity and prices at home and abroad,” the BoJ said in a statement following the decision.
While in Europe, the European Central Bank left rates on hold for a third meeting in a row stating its outlook for inflation is broadly unchanged.
The decision by the Frankfurt-based lender leaves the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility unchanged at 2.00%, 2.15% and 2.40% respectively.
The widely expected decision is the third hold in succession by the ECB, following similar outcomes in July and September.
Prior to the hold in July, it had cut for seven meetings in a row.
Deutsche Bank Chief European economist Mark Wall said “despite the US tariffs, despite all the various sources of uncertainty, the European economy continues to eke out some growth”.
“Economic ‘resilience’ is keeping the ECB doves in check, and the policy pause on the rails,” he said.
Mr Powell’s comments put the dollar on the front foot and pushed bond yields upwards.
The pound was quoted at 1.3149 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, lower compared to 1.3236 dollars on Wednesday.
The euro fell to 1.1565 dollars from 1.1660 dollars.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 154.11 yen, higher compared to 152.10 yen.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.09%, widening from 4.00% on Wednesday.
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.64%, stretched from 4.57%.
Back in London, lender Standard Chartered rose 1.9% after stating it expects to reach its return on tangible equity target in 2025 instead of by 2026.
Chief executive officer Bill Winters said progress was broad-based and highlighted strong double-digit growth in Wealth Solutions and Global Banking, alongside good momentum in Global Markets.
On the FTSE 250, Computacenter gained 5.0% as it said it performed strongly in the third quarter with continued momentum in North America, improvements in the UK, and a return to growth in Germany.
Ithaca Energy and Harbour Energy rose 4.6% and 3.3% respectively after a report in the Financial Times said the UK Government could scrap its windfall tax on the oil-and-gas sector one year earlier than planned.
Meanwhile, conditional dealing in lender Shawbrook Group began in London.
Shares closed at 396 pence, well above the 370p offer price, giving it a market value of just over £2 billion.
Unconditional dealing on the London Main Market will begin on Tuesday next week.
TT Electronics was a star performer, soaring 59% after accepting a £287 million takeover approach from Cicor Technologies.
Bronschhofen, Switzerland-based Cicor develops, and manufactures electronic components, devices, and systems.
Woking, England-based TT, which also manufactures electronic components, said the cash and shares offer values each share in TT at 155p.
Brent oil was quoted at 64.92 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, up from 64.52 dollars late on Wednesday.
Gold was little changed, trading at 3,998.00 dollars an ounce against 3,997.24 dollars on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Airtel Africa, up 6.4 pence at 274.8p, Auto Trader, up 15.2p at 808.8p, Centrica, up 3.3p at 179.8p, Standard Chartered, up 28.0p at 1,544.0p, and GSK, up 31.0p at 1,783.0p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 61.7p at 298.85p, JD Sports Fashion, down 3.32p at 95.0p, Whitbread, down 80.0p at 2,967.0p, Segro, down 14.4p at 699.7p and Burberry, down 26.0p at 1,280.0p.
Friday’s global economic calendar has Canada GDP data, eurozone inflation figures and the Chicago PMI in the US.
There are no significant events scheduled on Friday’s UK corporate calendar.
– Contributed by Alliance News
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