Finance
Pakistan signs $4.5bn Islamic finance deal
Pakistan has entered into term sheets with 18 commercial banks for an Islamic finance facility amounting to PKR1.275tn ($4.5bn) to assist in alleviating the growing debt within its power sector, as reported by Reuters.
The financing will address unpaid bills and subsidies that have severely constrained the industry and impacted economic stability.
The banks involved in the financing facility are Meezan Bank, HBL, the National Bank of Pakistan and UBL.
The government, which holds ownership or control over much of the country’s power infrastructure, faces a liquidity crisis that has stifled supply chains, deterred investment opportunities and intensified fiscal burdens.
This issue remains a central concern under Pakistan’s ongoing $7bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
Efforts to bridge the financial void have met challenges due to limited budgetary leeway and high-cost legacy debts complicating resolution endeavours.
The newly structured facility benefits from a concessional rate based on three-month KIBOR – the benchmark rate banks use to price loans – minus 0.9%. These terms have been endorsed by the IMF.
Existing liabilities incur higher costs, including surcharges for late payments imposed on independent power producers at rates up to KIBOR plus 4.5%, alongside older loans marginally exceeding benchmark rates.
To repay the loan, the government plans to allocate PKR323bn annually towards loan amortisation, maintaining a ceiling of PKR1.938tn over six years.
Power Minister Awais Leghari stated: “It will be repaid in 24 quarterly instalments over six years and will not add to public debt.”
The financing agreement is in line with Pakistan’s broader objective to phase out interest-based banking by 2028, as Islamic finance presently represents approximately one-quarter of total banking assets in the nation.
In December 2024, ADB approved a loan of $200m loan to upgrade Pakistan’s power distribution infrastructure.
The initiative seeks to improve the efficiency of distribution companies and guarantee the reliable supply of electricity.
Finance
Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help
A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined.
The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers.
This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam.
She has received offers from China’s two leading universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.
Han’s accomplishment is particularly remarkable given her family’s impoverished circumstances.
Her mother suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine, preventing her from working. Her father, who earns a living through farming and odd jobs, serves as the family’s sole provider. Han also has a younger sister.
Finance
UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a landmark review on Monday that proposes recommendations to regulate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial decisions made by consumers.
The review, titled the Mills Review, anticipates that both consumers and firms will start delegating “more financial decision-making to AI systems,” including for agreements, initiating transactions, and executing decisions “within agreed parameters.” One of the key findings of the review outlined that while AI can help bridge advice gaps and “support growth,” there remain risks “associated with fraud, cyber security, and consumer harm.” Conducting the review, Sheldon Mills highlighted that “AI can also amplify risks: bias, discrimination, exclusion, opaque decision-making (particularly when multiple AI models interact), misleading or hallucinatory advice and erosion of consumer trust.”
The review stated that presently, one in five adults in the UK are “already open to AI making decisions for them,” particularly when decisions feel “complex or high stakes.” It found that roughly 26 percent of the population “trust general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial advice” with little awareness that such platforms provide no “formal routes to recourse” or protections.
Overall, the Mills Review identified four areas that it anticipates will be impacted by AI in the financial sector: “the transformation of firms,” “new consumer journeys,” “a reshaped competition landscape,” and “amplified financial crime and cyber risk.” The FCA projected the shift in how consumers and firms consult AI to take place by 2030.
The Mills Review put forth seven “priority” recommendations to be considered by the FCA Board. It recommended that any transitions to autonomous AI models be monitored and that regulatory frameworks and perimeters be adapted and secured. The review called for the strengthening of “system-wide coordination and oversight,” the scaling up of the FCA’s AI Lab to enable it to support AI models and innovation for agentic finance, and an “AI-enabled agentic supervisory model” to be built and adopted. Finally, it recommended that a trusted “public-interest AI-enabled financial capability service” be developed.
The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.
Finance
Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approved a one-year audit contract capped at $131,750 plus $225 per hour during a virtual meeting Monday, along with a new finance director job description.
The contract is with Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants, an Atlanta-based firm, and covers the 2025-26 fiscal year and the restatement of the 2024-25 fiscal year and ancillary services through FY 2029-2030. The work is set to be completed by Nov. 15.
The board approved the contract in a 5-0 vote.
Audit contract details
Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the cost is already accounted for in the district’s budget.
“And is actually less than we expected given our current situation — we were thrilled with the bid,” Koch said.
Koch said she believes this is Mauldin & Jenkins’ first school district audit in Kentucky, but that the firm works with school districts of more than 100,000 students throughout the Southeast.
“Quite frankly when I spoke to the folks at KDE they were thrilled because we’re running kind of short of auditors who want to do school district audits — so all around I think this was a win-win for everyone,” Koch said.
New finance director position
The board also approved a new job description for the position of Director of Finance. Acting Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford said the title will replace two associate director positions.
“Which will not only save the school district money but it’s also going to streamline our work and align internal controls to make room for a more efficient unit,” Bradford said.
Koch said the position will be posted as soon as possible following the board’s approval.
Closed session
The board went into closed session for more than an hour to discuss pending investigations that could lead to employee discipline. When the board returned, it took no action and adjourned the meeting.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
-
Boston, MA6 minutes ago
Can’t afford Boston’s priciest restaurants? Try these instead. – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO9 minutes agoCity of Denver says images of piling waste a case of illegal dumping
-
Seattle, WA14 minutes ago14-year-old dies in electric motorcycle crash at Seattle bike park
-
San Diego, CA21 minutes agoSerial sex abuser sentenced to over 300 years for crimes against young relatives
-
Milwaukee, WI24 minutes ago13 Things to Do in Milwaukee This Weekend: July 9-12
-
Atlanta, GA29 minutes agoAtlanta City Council member proposes citywide heat safety plan as temperatures climb
-
Minneapolis, MN36 minutes agoI-394 traffic shift between Minneapolis and St. Louis Park starts on Wednesday
-
Indianapolis, IN39 minutes agoIndiana officials call for action after 2 children die in retention ponds