Gas supply will remain suspended at Muslim Mor of Bhairab Bazar to Kuliarchar area in Kishoreganj district for 9 hours from 8 am to 5 pm on Tuesday (Feb 28) due to emergency tie-up works for all kinds of consumers, said the TItas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited. During the period, the consumers at the adjacent areas may experience low pressure in gas supply as well, Titas Gas said, regretting the temporary inconveniences of its customers.

Renowned economists and businesses opined that the Russia-Ukraine war, related supply crises, and LDC graduation would be the key challenges to the upcoming budget of the country. They said production disruptions, supply hindrances, and economic problems related to increasing import costs will have to be identified in the next budget. Speakers said these at ‘The Business Post’ roundtable discussion on ‘Economic Challenge and the Upcoming Budget for FY23’ held at the ‘Business Post’ auditorium on Saturday. Besides, internal economic capacity will have to be increased to face the global economic pressure. At a time, increasing government and private investment, creating employment opportunities, and boosting the social safety net along with other facilities need to be addressed in the upcoming budget of the next fiscal year, they said. A B Mirza Azizul Islam, former finance adviser, caretaker government, was present at the roundtable as the chief guest. The Business Post Editor Mohammad Golam Sarwar presided over the roundtable while its Executive Editor Nazmul Ahsan moderated the programme.    In his speech, Mirza Azizul Islam said, “The main challenge of the budget is to control the inflation. The global unstable situation is the source of the present inflation. The fuel prices have soared due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While inflation creates because of global reasons, it would not be resisted by internal policy. In this case, the next budget should focus on how much safety they can provide to the affected. For this, social safety might be increased. However, needy people are always deprived of the facilities. Opportunists embezzle the social safety fund. This fund is also not adequate. That’s why; allocation in the social safety net should be increased in the next budget.” Pension should be dropped from the social safety net, he asserted. He said, every year, the size of the budget becomes small in the revised budget. The capacity of expenditure should be increased as Bangladesh expenses the lowest amount in South Asia. Mirza Azizul also raised the question about the size and number of the budget. The senior economist said the amount of expenditure will decrease if revenue does not increase. The tax-GDP ratio in Nepal and India is 22 percent while 15 percent in Pakistan. It should be increased by a 10 percent ratio in Bangladesh. The government gives pressure on those who submit tax returns regularly although half of the total TIN (Tax Identification Number) holders do not submit a tax return. It should also be investigated, he added.      Mirza Azizul said at present the unemployment rate is more among the educated people. The upcoming budget should address the issue because the investment in the private sector remained stagnant in the last decade. In this case, funding and capital market problems should also be resolved.   Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Research Director Khondokar Golam Muazzem said the supply chain system has been disrupted during the post-Covid period. At the same time, expenditure also increased. The economic impact is prevailing in the country for the hike of fuel and its supply due to the Russian-Ukraine war.    At present, the challenge is the ‘balance of payment’. Export increased in the country but the cost of imports is higher than the export amount. Only remittance and foreign loans can level this ratio. The foreign exchange market will remain unstable in the upcoming days. The central bank should take logical measures to stabilize the money market. The price of the dollar is higher in the kerb market. If the central bank does not take action in this regard, remittance through hundi will be increased, he added. Former chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abdul Majid said, “We need to target a three-year rolling system. The ADP has implemented 45 percent in nine months, and the rest in three months. The next budget should have suggestions and the opportunity to introduce changes in this regard.” Also read: Debapriya wants more allocation for social safety in next national budget

Apple shook off supply shortages that have curtailed production of iPhones and other popular devices to deliver its most profitable holiday season yet. The results posted Thursday for the final three months of 2021 help illustrate why Apple is looking even stronger at the tail end of the pandemic than when the crisis began two years ago. At that point, Apple’s iPhone sales had been flagging as consumers began holding on to their older devices for longer periods. But now the Cupertino, California, company can’t seem to keep up with the steadily surging demand for a device that has become even more crucial in the burgeoning era of remote work. Read Vivo showcases tech trends for 2022 “IPhone has never been more popular,” Apple CEO Tim Cook crowed during a conference call with analysts. The company’s Mac computers and, to a lesser extent, iPads also continue to proliferate. With the iPhone leading the way, Apple disclosed it now has more than 1.8 billion devices worldwide now in use. Apple’s inability to fully satisfy the voracious appetite for iPhones stems from a pandemic-driven shortage of computer chips that’s affecting the production of everything from automobiles to medical devices. But Apple so far has navigated the shortfalls “in almost Teflon-like fashion,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a Thursday research note. That deft management enabled Apple to report iPhone sales of $71.63 billion for the October-December period, a 9% increase from the same time in the previous year. READ: Apple iPad 9th Generation 2021 Review: Is it a value-for-money device? Its shares gained more than 5% in Thursday’s extended trading after the Apple’s fiscal first-quarter numbers came out. The supply issues looming around Apple’s devices have magnified the importance of the company’s services division, which is fueled by commissions from digital transactions on iPhone apps, subscriptions to music, video streaming and repair plans. The up to 30% commissions Apple collects from apps distributed through its exclusive app store have become a focal point of a fierce legal battle that unfolded in a high-stakes trial year, as well as proposed reforms recently introduced in the U.S. Senate seeking to down the company’s barriers preventing consumers from using alternative payment systems. Read Samsung Electronics' revenue hits record high in 2021 For now, though, the services division is still booming. Its revenue in the past quarter hit $19.52 billion, a 24% increase. Apple is widely believed to be maneuvering toward another potentially huge money-making opportunity with the introduction of an augmented reality headset that would project digital images and information while its users interact with other physical objects and people. True to its secretive form, the company has never said it is working on that kind of technology. But Cook has openly shared his enthusiasm for the potential of augmented reality in past public presentations, and reiterated that point during Thursday’s conference call. READ: Apple iPhone 13 Review: Know the upgrades and new features “We see a lot of potential in that space, and are investing accordingly,” he said in response to a question. Some analysts believe the long-rumored headset could finally roll out later this year — unless it’s delayed by supply shortages.