US retail gasoline and diesel prices are soaring as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran constrains oil and fuel exports, which could be a political test for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead ​of midterm elections in November.

Tax the rich. Trash the tariffs. End monopolies. Such are the rallying calls of many of today's most heated economic debates. They could also come straight from the pen of revered economist Adam Smith, hailed by some as the "father of capitalism" and others as an early progressive.

Shipments of garments for Zara owner ​Inditex and other major clothing retailers are stranded at airports in Bangladesh and India, according to three manufacturers, ‌as the conflict in the Middle East forces airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways to cancel flights.

Bangladesh’s stock market today recorded its steepest single-day decline in six years amid concerns over energy supply linked to the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran in the Middle East.

Non-food inflation also rose during the month, reaching 9.01 percent from 8.81 percent in January

The DSEX plunged 2.75 percent to 5,096.65 as of 12:30 pm

Bangladesh has made striking gains in educating its women. Universities and colleges now turn out more female graduates than ever before, nearly half of all students.

Businesses involved in wrongdoing must be brought under the law, but genuine entrepreneurs should be allowed to run their operations without obstruction, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Deposit growth in banks hit a five-year high at the end of December 2025 -- owing to a gradual recovery in confidence among savers.

bKash alone handled Tk 20,000 crore in remittances last year. While the growth was substantial, the amount of remittance sent using MFS was only 5 percent of the total.

There is considerable hype on social media about a big turnaround in the balance of payments (BoP) under the interim government.

Eight leading economists meet with Bangladesh Bank governor

The following is a recap of those major stories as covered by Star Business

China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.

106 return daily flights operating by Saturday

Md Ahsan Ullah, adviser to the Bangladesh Bank governor, has resigned from his post, citing discomfort following an incident of a “mobocratic nature” at the central bank headquarters.

Rising food and service costs are eroding household purchasing power, particularly for lower-income groups whose consumption baskets are more heavily weighted toward essentials, according to the latest monthly economic update by the General Economics Division (GED).

Authorities have shut five of the country’s six urea fertiliser factories as a precaution amid fears of gas supply disruptions caused by the widening war in the Middle East and Iran’s closure of the Hormuz Strait, a key global energy route.

Depositors of five merged Islamic banks staged a demonstration in front of the headquarters of Bangladesh Bank yesterday, demanding the return of their deposits and the cancellation of a proposed “haircut” on their funds.

China set its annual growth target at 4.5-5 percent on Thursday, its lowest figure in decades but at the centre of plans to tackle sluggish consumption and a flagging property market.