Latest news with #FI
Business Recorder
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Trade with Iran, Afghanistan without EIF, FI waivers will remain difficult: SBP
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has stated that establishing formal banking relationships with Iran and Afghanistan and facilitating trade with these countries will remain difficult without waivers for the Electronic Import Form (EIF) and Financial Instruments (FI), sources in the Ministry of Commerce told Business Recorder. According to sources, due to the absence of active banking ties (correspondent import arrangements) with Afghanistan and Iran, and given the unique nature of trade with these neighbouring countries, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), in consultation with relevant stakeholders, had earlier decided to waive the EIF and FI requirements to facilitate trade. However, SBP previously raised concerns over potential misuse of this facility, as these transactions are settled outside the formal banking system. To mitigate these risks, the SBP emphasized the need for additional controls within the WEBOC and Pakistan Single Window (PSW) systems. These controls would help ensure that only genuine importers, exporters, and traders benefit from the facilitation. The SBP further maintained that such waivers or exemptions should be limited strictly to non-sanctioned goods of Iranian and Afghan origin. Barter trade with Iran, Afghanistan: Senate panel assails MoC for proposing permanent EIF exemption The SBP reiterated that without the EIF/FI waivers, trade with Iran and Afghanistan would remain difficult unless formal banking channels are established. It recommended that a policy-level decision on this issue should be made by the federal government, specifically the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet. The SBP also suggested operationalizing barter trade arrangements with both countries as a more secure alternative to granting waivers, which could lead to misuse via informal financial channels. The import and export of goods to and from Pakistan are regulated by the Ministry of Commerce through the Import Policy Order (IPO) and Export Policy Order (EPO), respectively, under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950. As per sources, Para 3 of the IPO and EPO allows imports and exports through all modes of payment in line with foreign exchange regulations and procedures prescribed by the SBP. It also permits barter trade arrangements. Foreign exchange policy in Pakistan is governed by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. Under this Act, the SBP issues directions and instructions to banks regarding foreign exchange transactions. While Chapter 13 ('Imports') of the SBP's Foreign Exchange Manual outlines the regulations related to imports, it does not contain specific instructions for imports from Afghanistan and Iran. Chapter 12 ('Exports') of FEM contains instructions regarding exports from Pakistan. However, some specific instructions related to exports to Afghanistan are outlined which include: (i) instructions for exports to Afghanistan against settlement in PKR and in convertible currencies, which was implemented since EPO 2000, as per MoC SRO 137(1)/2002 of March 7, 2002 ; and (ii) in view of peculiar nature of trade with Afghanistan, the banks are allowed to accept cash convertible currencies brought over their counter by the exporters and convert the same at the prevailing exchange rate applicable for normal export proceeds for credit to the PKR account of the of the exporter. It has been proposed that the requirement for the issuance of certificate of origin should be mandatory for the goods coming from Iran and Afghanistan through land routes, as import from other countries can be settled through the normal banking channels. This requirement should apply to all goods imported from Iran & Afghanistan. There is no justification for goods of non-Iranian origin - such as those originating from China, Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong, Malaysia etc. to be imported/routed through these countries. There are no restrictions for importing the goods directly from the aforementioned countries and import from them can easily be made through normal banking channels directly. Routing all transactions through the normal banking channels from these countries will not only improve the visibility of trade transactions but will also discourage usage of informal channels for settlement. Earlier in 2023, FBR & MoC had issued four SROs aimed at regulating Afghan Transit Trade by imposing ban on certain items (which were smuggled back into Pakistan and had no demand in Afghanistan) as well as imposing 10% processing fee etc. 'It seems that some of these restricted items are being brought into Pakistan through Iran, to avoid / circumvent MoC's restrictions,' the sources concluded. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Insider
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
I've run a financial independence podcast for 9 years. Here are 4 mistakes I see early retirees make all the time.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brad Barrett, who hosts the ChooseFI podcast. Business Insider has verified his professional history. My journey to financial independence, or FI, started when I got my first job. I began my career at one of the big accounting firms. I was fortunate enough to live at home with my parents, and I tried to save around 90% of my income when a lot of my friends began getting apartments alone or buying fancy cars. I've always been a bit frugal and never cared much about impressing other people. I saw saving and making sacrifices, like moving to Virginia instead of living in New York City, as a service to the life I wanted in the future. I retired from my full-time job in 2015, when I was 35. I then began a travel and reward points website and later launched ChooseFI, which has been downloaded 70 million times since 2017. FIRE, or Financial Independence Retire Early, is a cute acronym, and we used it a lot in the early days. But it doesn't matter whether you are working full time, part time, or are completely retired. It's all about financial independence — reaching a point where we can control the only thing that matters in life, which is our time. From the countless questions I get from listeners or those who read our newsletter, there are four common mistakes I see early retirees make that keep them unsatisfied post-FI: 1. They're retiring from something One broad category of mistakes I see involves people simply not having ideas of what they want to do in their post-work life. In the 2013-2017 timeframe, FI was about getting to a number as quickly as possible, and little else mattered. It's getting better, but there needs to be a mindset shift to: "I'm not running away from a job, but I'm running toward a life that I want to live." If it were just about reaching a number on a spreadsheet for me, and then I woke up the next day expecting it to be the greatest life ever, I would've been really disappointed. 2. They don't experiment enough I suggest people don't have an arbitrary number of hobbies for post-retirement. Instead, they should experiment and keep an open mind. You could make plans to travel around the world on a sailboat for the rest of your life, and within a month, you could get seasick and have to stop. But that's not failure — it's just an experiment. Retirement can be decades long. You may be really active in the early years post-work and do things like climb mountains and walk the Camino, but you maybe can't do that at 85. This is a mistake I also made in my journey. I got very busy with raising two young daughters, and I didn't experiment enough. I didn't do a great job of leaning into what I love, including small things like watching soccer, and I'm trying to fix that now. 3. They don't take pride in being FI Lots of people have a hard time talking about hitting FI because there is a degree of others' not understanding or jealousy. I've seen people avoid talking about it completely or making up some type of job, like "I'm consulting from home." Honesty is really important, and there should be a significant sense of pride attached to being FI. Just being able to say, "Hey, I worked hard at this. I saved for the most important thing to me, which was my own time freedom." There's a way to communicate that with empathy, and it may lead to other people also taking an interest in FI. If you're volunteering at Habitat for Humanity on a Tuesday at 10 a.m., and people ask you why you aren't working, you can talk about it. 4. They wait too long to quit The "one more year" syndrome is a mistake I still see. It's when people delay quitting their jobs or moving onto something new because they're worried their retirement nest egg isn't big enough. Most of the time, it's more than enough, and people are being too conservative. People don't understand the finite nature of their lives. If we are really lucky, we get eight or nine decades on this planet, and even fewer with good health. Every day that you work longer than you have to is a day that you're not doing something with the only resource you can't get back — your time.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brad Pitt Finally Opens Up About Finalizing Messy Divorce From Angelina Jolie
Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt has kept pretty quiet since officially finalizing his divorce from Angelina Jolie in December 2024—but that's finally changed. The couple, who share six children (Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16), spent eight long years in a messy back-and-forth before finally wrapping things up for good. So, how does Pitt feel about it? Turns out, it didn't really change much for him. Pitt recently sat down to talk to about his starring role in the upcoming movie FI. He's teaming up with Damson Idris and Lewis Hamilton in what they hope will be the greatest racing movie ever made. But when interviewer Dennis Riley got a bit more personal and asked, 'Does anything feel different now that the divorce is finally finalized?," Pitt's response took us by surprise. Pitt, who hasn't addressed the issue of finalizing the divorce before, responded direct and to the point, making it clear he has no interest in revisiting the topic: 'No, I don't think it was that major of a thing. Just something coming to fruition. Legally.'The actor who has been dating 35-year-old Ines de Ramon (Pitt is 61) since 2022, though they didn't make it official until 2024 when they appeared together at a Formula 1 event. PEOPLE reported shortly after that the couple is living together in Los Angeles. While Pitt has spoken positively about Ines and their relationship, it doesn't seem like wedding bells are in their future. Sources have reported that Pitt has no interest in getting married again anytime soon, if ever. Brad Pitt Finally Opens Up About Finalizing Messy Divorce From Angelina Jolie first appeared on Parade on May 28, 2025
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Income is up at company which runs Sligo BID
In 2023 the company's income was €564,080 and this was increased to €614,052 for the year ending 2024. However, annual expenditure increased from €538,596 to €715,770 which was an annual increase of €176,814 Other operating income was down from €24,075 in 2023 to €10,320 which was a decrease of €13,775. This meant the company had an annual operating deficit of €91,759 as opposed to a deficit of €48,902 for 2023 which is an increase of €50,857. And the retained surplus at the start of the financial year was €209,617 as opposed to €160,715 for 2023 which is an increase of €48, 452 over the year. The retained surplus at the end of the financial year was €117,858 as opposed to €209,617 for 2023 which is an increase of €48,452. Meanwhile, the net assets of the company declined from €209,617 to €117,858 which is a decrease of €91,759. Wages and salaries for a staff of five increased from €133,359 to €152,254 for 2024 which is an increase of €18,895. The company has nine directors and none are paid. Trade debtors amounted to €113, 739 as opposed to €138,366 in 2023 which is a decrease of €24,6d27 And trade creditors amounted to €123,152 as opposed to €112,756 in 2023 which is an increase of 9,396. ADVERTISEMENT The main source of income for the company is the BID levy on businesses which amounted to €391,539 as opposed to €396,764 in 2023. Sligo County Council contributed a total of €71,822 which also included a payment for the Christmas Lights and rent contribution. Sligo Summer Festival yielded €10,000. The Ambassador Programme brought in €44, 853 and the GWS electricity came to €3,284. FI contribution-provision of tourist centre brought in €30,000 and a salary for a night time advisor came to €59,554. Total income came to €614,052. On the expenditure side the big figure is a total of €239.190 for events, festivals and existing town initiatives as opposed to a figure of €123.374 for 2023 which is an increase of €115, 916. Another headline figure is a total of wages and salaries which came to €152,254 as opposed to €133,359 for 2023 which is an increase of €18,895. Other expenses included Sligo Tidy Towns €30,000, Living Wall €20,430, Christmas Events €46,585, Love Sligo Gift Card, €30,802, St Patrick's Festival €38,354, Blooming Sligo €5,560. The total expenditure was €715,770 as opposed to €538,596 in 2024 which is an increase of €176,814.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Fiserv (FI) Stock Crashed Yesterday
We recently compiled a list of the Traders Flee These 10 Stocks Today. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) stands against other stocks that crashed yesterday. Wall Street's main indices ended mixed on Thursday as investors continued to digest a series of first-quarter earnings and key economic data. Among the three indices, only the Nasdaq registered losses, down 0.18 percent. In contrast, the Dow Jones grew by 0.65 percent while the S&P 500 rose by 0.41 percent. Meanwhile, 10 companies registered hefty losses during the session, battered by a flurry of negative news, missed estimates, and a weak outlook for the rest of the year. In this article, let us explore the 10 companies that lag in performance and identify the reasons behind their decline. To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume. A programmer coding on a laptop in the center of a creative workspace. Shares of Fiserv Inc. fell by 16.19 percent on Thursday to close at $159.13 apiece as investor sentiment was dented by announcements that its Clover point-of-sale platform is expected to remain flat. According to Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) Chief Finance Officer Robert Hau, growth from its Clover platform is expected to be 'generally similar' due to its existing clients converting to the Clover gateway platform last year, which is not repeatable. "So we had a gateway that was non-Clover for clients that we converted over to the Clover Gateway... that doesn't repeat this year," he said. Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) is a multinational company providing financial technology and services to clients such as solutions for banking, global commerce, merchant acquiring, billing and payments, and point-of-sale. In the first quarter of the year, the company said attributable net income grew by 16 percent to $851 million from $735 million in the same period last year. Revenues increased by 5.06 percent to $5.130 billion from $4.883 billion year-on-year. Overall, FI ranks first on our list of stocks that traders flee today. While we acknowledge the potential of FI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at .
