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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to release $1.3 billion to Bangladesh in June, after completing a fourth review of its $4.7-billion loan programme and a key breakthrough in talks on exchange rate reforms, the country’s finance ministry said.

The funds, covering both the fourth and fifth tranches, had been held up as the IMF pressed for greater exchange rate flexibility, particularly the adoption of a crawling peg mechanism.The fourth review in Dhaka in April was followed by further discussions during the Bank-Fund Spring Meetings in Washington DC that month, focused on critical reforms in revenue management, fiscal policy, and the foreign exchange regime.

“After carefully reviewing all the issues … both parties have agreed on the revenue management, currency exchange rate and other reform frameworks,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

With completion of a staff-level agreement on the fourth review, the IMF is expected to release $1.3 billion set for the fourth and fifth installments together by June, it added.The government has also dissolved the National Board of Revenue (NBR), replacing it with two divisions under the finance ministry, to meet a key IMF condition.

One division will handle tax policy with the other managing tax collection and administration, aiming to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability, the government said.In addition to the IMF funds, the government expects budget support of $2 billion from development partners, the finance ministry added.

These bodies include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Japan, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, it added.

Bangladesh turned to the IMF in 2023 for the $4.7-billion bailout as its foreign reserves were pressured by a global surge in commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, straining its ability to pay for key imports of fuel and gas.

The South Asian nation previously received $2.3 billion across the first three tranches.An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took office in August after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina following deadly protests.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has announced an alliance with SMFG India Credit (SMICC) to offer consumers custom auto retail financing solutions for commercial vehicles of the brand. Both brands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) specifically targeting consumers of the Maruti Suzuki Eeco Cargo and Super Carry models.

The arrangement was officially established during a ceremony that was graced by high-ranking officials from both firms, such as Partho Banerjee and Nobutaka Suzuki representing Maruti Suzuki, together with Swaminathan Subramanian and Ajay Pareek from SMFG India Credit.

Speaking on the partnership, Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “At Maruti Suzuki, customer delight remains to be our top priority. Our partnership with SMFG India Credit adds to our continuous efforts in aiding customers with easy, flexible, and personalised financing options for Super Carry and Eeco Cargo.”The Super Carry has a special place in the hearts of fleet owners and drivers with its exceptional load carrying capacity & power, while the Eeco Cargo’s versatile combination of comfort and utility makes it a preferred choice. By leveraging SMFG India’s robust and wide network, customers can expect seamless, tech-driven, end-to-end financing experiences,” he added.

Sharing his thoughts on the alliance, Ajay Pareek, Chief Business Officer, SMFG India Credit, said, “We are excited to offer top-class credit solutions to Maruti Suzuki customers as one of their retail vehicle financing partners. This collaboration aligns with our aim of becoming the preferred lending partner of choice for millions of Indians.”He added, “Our tailor-made product offerings extend beyond auto retail financing and we are well poised to empower every Indian to achieve financial freedom, through easy and accessible loans. Keeping this as one of the cornerstones for progress, we are focused on partnering with top OEMs across key sectors. We are thrilled to ink this partnership with Maruti Suzuki and look forward to jointly serving their customers across the country.”

The Pakistan government is reportedly planning to borrow USD 4.9 billion from international banks to meet its external financing needs and strengthen its foreign exchange reserves. This comes after the International Monetary Fund, earlier this month, authorised the “immediate disbursement” of a billion-dollar bailout to the South Asian nation’s troubled economy.

Islamabad’s strategy is to secure USD 2.64 billion in short-term loans from international commercial banks at expected annual interest rates between 7 per cent and 8 per cent without strict conditions or performance benchmarks, according to a report by ARY News.

Additionally, the government is seeking USD 2.27 billion through long-term borrowing arrangements from commercial banks, the report said.As part of the plan, Islamabad is reportedly in touch with four major international banks. This includes a proposal to obtain USD 1.1 billion from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), along with USD 500 million each from Standard Chartered Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank. Moreover, a commercial guarantee is also being sought for a USD 500 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to a report by news agency ANI. 

The additional funding is reportedly part of Islamabad’s broader strategy to meet Pakistan’s external financing needs, which are driven by large debt repayment obligations and limited access to global capital markets, as well as to strengthen its foreign exchange reserves. The Pakistani federal government has reportedly fallen short of its economic growth target for the fiscal year 2024-25, achieving a growth rate of just 2.68 per cent against a projected 3.6 per cent, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources from Pakistan’s National Accounts Committee.

This was reportedly revealed during a National Accounts Committee meeting in Islamabad, chaired by the Secretary Planning.

The report said that Pakistan’s economic output reached USD 411 billion, with per capita income increasing to USD 1,824.

Sector-wise performance varied, with agriculture growing by 1.8 per cent during the first three quarters, while the industrial sector declined by 1.14 per cent. Notably, the services sector posted a strong growth of 39 per cent between July and March, as per ARY News.

Columbia University’s dependence on foreign students for its core revenue is proving to now be its Achilles heel. The Trump administration’ aggressive tactics against immigration are draining the university of its finances.

About 40 per cent of Columbia University’s student pool consists of international students. Students pay $70,000 plus in tuition, but international students bring to the university what Trump froze in its federal research funds two months ago – $903.1 million.

Columbia University ranks third in the US for international students, however, it is proving to be difficult each passing day with Trump’s hardline immigration policies.

Although the Trump administration was embroiled more furiously with Harvard University, it leaves Columbia also vulnerable to the White House because of its makeup.It’s a large chunk of their student population that is differentially paying higher prices than domestic students. I’m sure it’s a very serious concern of theirs,” said Jordan Matsudaira, a former deputy education undersecretary from the Biden administration. “They have a massive endowment, but there are restrictions on how much of it they can spend from year to year.”

Apart from Columbia, there’s New York University and Northeastern University, as a destination for international students in the year 2023-2024 school year. As for NYU, which Barron Trump attends, anti-Israel protests have not drawn much attention. According to a report by Politico, international students are “looking for an exit route”, the graduate student who spoke to the publication, cited Ranjani Srinivasan, a doctoral candidate from Columbia who left for Canada after her student visa was revoked.

“I am getting ready, having a visa to go to Canada because what happened to Ranjani might happen to me and I might need to leave overnight,” the student said.Amid Trump’s immigration policies and turmoil regarding research spending, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a half-billion-euro “Choose Europe for Science” plan, this month, to attract foreign researchers.

The Trump administration came close to revoking visas of more than 1,600 international students as of May 7, but many of those revocations have been reversed after judges issued restraining orders.This is going to deter foreign students from coming to the United States,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), whose district neighbors Columbia. “And they’re going to go to China …and they’re going to stay in China and contribute to the economy there.”

However, some Republicans feel that fewer students coming to wealthy institutions like Columbia University will not make much of a difference as “they’re all paying the same private school tuition rate,” Diane Auer Jones, an Education Department official during the first Trump administration, said.Some people also feel that the growing anti-semitism should be curbed in the campuses and “get back to what our college experience should be” Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) said, he added, “to be productive, to understand our country and respect our culture. If that’s not happening they need to go back home,”

He was the man who knew all the secrets – of vaults, villas, and the prince himself. Now, he is the headliner in a scandal unravelling in one of Europe’s most secretive and storied royal families.

For more than two decades, Claude Palmero was the man behind the scenes handling the finances of Monaco’s royal family. Trusted implicitly by Prince Albert II and his sisters, Palmero managed everything from investment portfolios to private expenses. That trust now lies broken amid allegations of financial mismanagement and serious wrongdoing.

The trouble began quietly, as these things often do. In 2023, French authorities, conducting routine checks, noticed irregularities in the accounts linked to the royal family. What seemed like minor discrepancies soon ballooned into a full-scale investigation. Behind the glittering facade of Monaco’s wealth, Palmero’s financial dealings were coming under intense scrutiny.

Prince Albert and his sisters, once confident in Palmero’s stewardship, decided to act. They filed criminal complaints accusing their longtime financial manager of breach of trust, theft, forgery, and money laundering. For the prince, this was a personal betrayal.In private messages later made public and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Prince Albert wrote directly to Palmero, “I am now more or less obliged to speak out… to ‘blow the whistle’ a little bit to signal the end of recess and try to reassure many people here at home.”

Documents uncovered show that Palmero had full control over a large portion of the royal family’s money.

One particularly sensitive case involved a secret transfer of $15.9 million in 2018 to Nicole Coste, the prince’s former lover and mother of his child.

According to Palmero’s notes, this was done in secret. He wrote that the prince requested complete confidentiality so “this situation would not become known to his wife.”The money trail didn’t stop there. Over the years, Palmero made several transfers for private expenses, for staff, residences, and other costs, many from accounts not officially recorded.

Nearly $800,000 in private expenses slipped through the cracks. A $795,000 suspicious transaction came to light, which Palmero claimed was reimbursement for years of off-the-book expenses he covered for the Prince’s private life.Palmero had been mixing his own investments with the prince’s funds. At one point, the combined capital managed by Palmero exceeded $113 million.

When questioned by investigators, Palmero blamed the Prince. “He now pretends that for 22 years he knew nothing about the state or management conditions of his own assets? He is the sovereign of a state! Either he is lying or he should step down,” he said.

Prince Albert had earlier admitted to being detached from the financial details. In a 2021 interview, he said, “It was great to know what it feels like to earn a paycheck… Not that I don’t get paid in Monaco, but I don’t really see my paycheck.”This distance may have allowed Palmero’s activities to go unnoticed for years.

The scandal also affected the prince’s charitable plans. A planned $2 million donation from Prince Albert to Amherst College, his alma mater, was delayed. The delay stemmed from the difficulty of liquidating some of Palmero’s investments, restricting the prince’s access to funds.

The royal family has taken steps to address the situation. The prince’s legal team, in a statement to the WSJ, said, “The prince has taken all necessary decisions and measures to address the issues… The matter is now in the hands of the judiciary.”

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