Category: 3. Business

ISLAMABAD: The government has issued a show-cause notice to Spud Energy Limited, Frontier Holdings Limited, and their parent company, Jura Energy Corporation, over an alleged change in ownership and control without prior government approval.

The Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions under the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) said the companies may have violated petroleum rules by not informing the authorities of the transaction.

The notice, dated July 18, 2025, states that Phoenix Exploration sold its 73.3 percent stake in Jura Energy to IDL Investments Limited, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm, on March 6, 2025. The transaction was not disclosed to the directorate before or after the deal. The DGPC said it learned about the transaction through a third-party letter on May 2, 2025.

The government requires prior approval for any change in company ownership or board membership to ensure that no individual from countries considered hostile to Pakistan, such as India or Israel, gains control. The DGPC said companies holding petroleum rights must disclose shareholding changes, new capital issues, and changes in corporate structure under Rule 68(d) of the 1986 rules and Rule 69(d) of the 2001 rules.

The notice said these obligations were not met.

The directorate has demanded full documentation from the involved companies within 30 days, including the shareholding structure of IDL, Phoenix, Jura Energy, PetExPro, Frontier Holdings, and Spud Energy, both before and after the transaction. It has also asked for information on new board appointments, voting rights, tax filings, transaction value, and whether capital gains or withholding taxes were paid in Pakistan.

DGPC has requested an explanation of how the 2025 deal differs from a similar 2012 case when it issued a no-objection certificate for Frontier Holdings’ change in control from Jura Energy to Eastern Petroleum Limited of Mauritius. The notice warned that failure to respond within the deadline may result in action, including the cancellation of petroleum rights.

The companies can also appear before the directorate for a personal hearing.

In response, Jura Energy said the sale of its shares by Phoenix to IDL was completed on March 6 and publicly disclosed as required by the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company said the sale of shares did not result in a change of control in the operating company since PetExPro remains the parent.

In a letter to the Ministry of Energy, Jura argued that under the 1986 rules, approval from the government of Pakistan is not required in this case. It said the transaction complies with all Pakistani regulatory requirements and does not violate any laws.

The technology industry, the original epicenter of AI adoption, is now seeing many of its own workers displaced by the very innovations they helped create. Employers, racing to integrate AI into everything from cloud infrastructure to customer support, are trimming human headcount in software engineering, IT support, and administrative functions. The rise of AI-powered automation is accelerating layoffs in the tech sector, with impacted employees as high as 80,000 in one count. Microsoft alone is trimming 15,000 jobs while committing $80 billion to new AI investments.

But labor market intelligence firm Lightcast is offering a ray of hope going forward. Job postings for non-tech roles that require AI skills are soaring in value. Lightcast’s new “Beyond the Buzz” report, based on analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, shows that these postings offer 28% higher salaries—an average of nearly $18,000 more per year. The Lightcast research underscores the split in tech and non-tech hiring: job postings for AI skills in tech roles remain robust, but the proportion of AI jobs within IT and computer science has fallen, dropping from 61% in 2019 to just 49% in 2024. This signals an ongoing contraction of traditional tech roles as AI claims an ever-larger share of the work.

AI demand explodes beyond tech

Rather than stifling workforce prospects, Lightcast’s research suggests that AI is dispersing opportunity across the broader economy. More than half of all jobs requesting AI skills in 2024 appeared outside the tech sector—a radical reversal from previous years, when AI was confined to Silicon Valley and computer science labs. Fields like marketing, HR, finance, education, manufacturing, and customer service are rapidly integrating AI tools, from generative AI platforms that craft marketing content to predictive analytics engines that optimize supply chains and recruitment.

In fact, job postings mentioning generative AI skills outside IT and computer science have surged an astonishing 800% since 2022, catalyzed by the proliferation of tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and DALL-E. Marketing, design, education, and HR are some of the fastest growers in AI adoption—each adapting to new toolkits, workflows, and ways of creating value.

Cole Napper, VP of research, innovation, and talent insights at Lightcast, told Fortune in an interview that he was struck by the lack of a discernible pattern for which industries were most affected by the explosion of AI skills present in job postings, noting that the arts come top of the list.

AI skills are in demand

For the workforce at large, AI proficiency is emerging as one of today’s most lucrative skill investments. Possessing two or more AI skills sends paychecks even higher, with a 43% premium on advertised salaries.

In 2024, more than 66,000 job postings specifically mentioned generative AI as a skill, a nearly fourfold increase from the prior year, according to the Lightcast’s 2025 Artificial Intelligence Index Report. Large language modeling was the second most common AI skill, which showed up in 19,500 open job posts. Postings listing ChatGPT and prompt engineering as skills ranked third and fourth in frequency, respectively.

Sectors such as customer/client support, sales, and manufacturing reported the largest pay bumps for AI-skilled workers, as companies race to automate routine functions and leverage AI for competitive advantage.

Christina Inge, founder of Thoughtlight, an AI marketing service, told Fortune in a message AI isn’t just automating busywork, it’s also becoming a tool AI-fluent workers can leverage to increase their own value to a company—and to outperform their peers. Take, for example, someone in sales using AI to create more targeted conversations to close deals faster, Inge wrote. The same can be said for customer service workers.

“[Customer service workers fluent in AI] know how to interpret AI outputs, write clear prompts, and troubleshoot when things go off script,” Inge said. “That combination of human judgment and AI fluency is hard to find and well worth the extra pay.”

In fields like marketing and science, even single AI skills can yield large returns, while more technical positions gravitate to specialists with advanced machine learning or generative AI expertise.

Crucially, the most valued AI-enabled roles demand more than just technical wizardry. Employers prize a hybrid skillset: communication, leadership, problem-solving, research, and customer service are among the 10 most-requested skills in AI-focused postings, alongside technical foundations like machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“While generative AI excels at tasks like writing and coding, uniquely human abilities—such as communication, management, innovation, and complex problem-solving—are becoming even more valuable in the AI era,” the study says.

Winners and losers

The emerging repercussions are striking. Tech workers whose roles are readily automated face rising displacement—unless they can pivot quickly into emerging areas that meld business, technical, and people skills. Meanwhile, millions of workers outside of tech are poised to translate even basic AI literacy into new roles or wage gains. The competitive edge now lies with organizations and professionals agile enough to combine AI capabilities with human judgement, creativity, and business acumen.

For companies, the risk is clear: treating AI as an isolated technical specialty is now a liability. Winning firms are investing to embed AI fluency enterprise-wide, upskilling their marketing teams, HR departments, and finance analysts to build a future-ready workforce.

AI may be the source of turmoil in Silicon Valley boardrooms, but its economic dividends are flowing rapidly to workers—and companies—in every corner of the economy. For those able to adapt, AI skills are not a harbinger of job loss, but a passport to higher salaries and new career possibilities. Still, the research doesn’t indicate exactly where in the income levels the higher postings are coming, so Napper said it’s possible that we are seeing some compression, with higher-paid tech jobs being phased out and lower-paying positions being slightly better-paying.

Napper said the trend of AI skills cropping up in job postings has exploded over the past few years, and he doesn’t expect a slowdown anytime soon. Napper said there’s a “cost to complacency”—one that includes a significant salary cut. He added that the 28% premium, Lightcast plans to release follow-up research on what level of the income latter the trend is hitting the most.

For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. 

Shanghai, July 27 (CNA) An artificial intelligence (AI) show opened in Shanghai on Saturday that featured for the first time a cross-Taiwan Strait exhibition zone where Taiwanese companies such as Inventec Corp. and MediaTek Inc. showcased their technologies.

The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), themed “Global Solidarity in the AI Era,” has been held annually since 2018 and this year will host over 800 exhibitors, including several Taiwanese companies in the newly established cross-strait zone.

Other Taiwanese companies exhibiting there are ASE Assembly & Test (Shanghai) Ltd., Digiwin Software, Techman Robot (Shanghai), AUO Digitech (Suzhou) Co. and Digital Domain Holdings.

Among those companies, Inventec, appearing at the WAIC for the first time, not only has a booth in the cross-strait zone but also an independent exhibition area.

In addition to gaining visibility, Inventec is hoping to diversify beyond its traditional image as an OEM manufacturer, and its display features three main segments under the brand Vrstate: servers, smart health care and metaverse technologies.

Chaucer Chiu (邱全成), the president of Inventec (Beijing) Eletronics Technology Co., told reporters that several Taiwanese companies have brought their AI applications to the Shanghai expo to promote Taiwan’s latest technologies and products.

Chiu said Taiwan holds world-class capabilities in hardware, which could be integrated with AI software applications in China to foster collaboration to enter larger global markets.

He said AI must eventually be monetized and believed that the two sides of the strait should engage in more exchanges, particularly in the marketing of AI applications, to achieve the goal.

Digital Domain, headquartered in Hong Kong and specializing in virtual technologies, applies its innovations in films, TV shows, commercials, game visuals and immersive experiences.

In the cross-strait zone, the company is presenting a virtual performance of Taiwan’s iconic pop singer Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), singing the classic song “The Moon Represents My Heart.”

The company’s executive director, Sun Ta-chien (孫大千), said the AI-generated visual elements, including rippling water, leaping frogs and Teng’s performance, all demonstrate the power of AI.

The choice of Teng, he said, was due to her being a beloved cultural icon on both sides of the strait, representing shared emotional ties.

KARACHI: The business community has called for a major cut in the interest rate ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for July 30, urging the State Bank of Pakistan to lower the policy rate to support industrial activity and job creation.

Junaid Naqi, President of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, said the policy rate must be reduced substantially, noting that inflation had fallen to 3.2 percent in June while the current interest rate remains at 11 percent. He said there is no justification for keeping rates this high.

Naqi said Pakistan’s industrial sector is under pressure, with factories running at partial capacity, reduced new investments, and low business confidence. He said urgent support from the government and central bank is necessary to revive the sector and increase exports.

He added that Pakistan’s GDP grew by only 2.1 percent in the last fiscal year, which is well below regional levels. He said with proper support and a business-friendly environment, growth could improve.

Naqi also criticized the continuation of old monetary policies that he said are harming economic recovery. He said many countries are cutting interest rates to boost activity, while Pakistan’s approach is creating barriers.

He warned that without relief, the country could face more unemployment, falling investment, and missed revenue targets.

He called on the central bank to take realistic and responsive decisions, expressing hope that it will recognize the current industrial challenges and make a meaningful interest rate cut.

Khawaja Mehboob ur Rehman, President of the Pakistan Business Forum, said after discussions across all major industries, the forum is demanding an immediate 500 basis point cut in the policy rate in the upcoming meeting.

He said this action is needed to align with the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s goals and the prime minister’s broader economic and export strategy. Rehman said the current monetary policy is out of step with inflation trends, with core inflation at 4 percent and the Consumer Price Index at 0.3 percent, while the policy rate remains at 11 percent.

He said the business community is dissatisfied with the high borrowing costs, which are placing a burden on productive sectors. The forum said a sharp rate cut is required to revive industrial output, attract private investment, and improve export competitiveness.

The forum also said lower interest rates would support growth in small and medium enterprises, increase employment, and reduce the government’s debt servicing cost by an estimated Rs 3.5 trillion per year.

The Pakistan Business Forum urged the central bank to adopt a pro-growth approach in the July 30 policy meeting, reflecting improvements in the country’s macroeconomic indicators.

The forum also called on the central bank to require banks to provide fair and accessible credit to small businesses and startups. It said banks have focused mostly on lending to the government and neglected private sector borrowers.

The forum highlighted that businesses in Balochistan are especially affected, with many excluded from the credit system, which it said goes against the Constitution’s guarantees.

This week has seen a mix of significant developments in oncology, from regulatory decisions impacting promising new therapies to exciting clinical data that could redefine standards of care. Our top stories highlight the ongoing challenges and remarkable progress in the fight against various cancers, including melanoma, lymphoma, lung cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer.

One of the week’s notable regulatory announcements concerned an innovative melanoma treatment. The FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) for RP1 in advanced melanoma, presenting a hurdle for Replimune’s novel therapy. This decision underscores the rigorous review process for new oncology drugs and means Replimune will need to address the FDA’s concerns to pave a path forward for RP1. You can delve into the details of this regulatory update here: FDA Issues CRL for RP1 in Advanced Melanoma.

In the realm of hematologic malignancies, there’s promising news for patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Our coverage highlighted that CB-010 has yielded promising data in relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell NHL, leading to the initiation of the dose-expansion portion of its phase 1 ANTLER trial. This early success indicates a potential new therapeutic option for patients with this challenging form of lymphoma. Read more about the promising data here: CB-010 Yields Promising Data in R/R B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Another significant regulatory decision this week involved glofitamab (Columvi). The FDA issued a CRL for glofitamab in R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) combination therapy for its second-line indication. This decision further emphasizes the intense scrutiny placed on oncology therapy approvals, particularly when new combinations or expanded indications are sought. Find the full story on this development here: FDA Issues Complete Response Letter for Glofitamab in R/R DLBCL Combination Therapy.

A major breakthrough in lung cancer treatment has also made headlines. Research indicates that osimertinib (Tagrisso) plus chemotherapy significantly extends survival in advanced EGFRm NSCLC, potentially setting a new standard of care. This combination therapy has shown remarkable efficacy in improving overall survival for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, offering renewed hope for many. Learn more about this groundbreaking advancement here: Osimertinib Plus Chemotherapy Significantly Extends Survival in Advanced EGFRm NSCLC.

Lastly, our coverage also featured innovative research aimed at revolutionizing triple-negative breast cancer treatment through a safer path forward. New studies are exploring targeted therapies for early triple-negative breast cancer with the goal of reducing treatment toxicity while simultaneously boosting efficacy. This focus on safer yet more effective options represents a crucial step in improving patient quality of life and long-term outcomes. Discover the details of this promising research here: Revolutionizing Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment: A Safer Path Forward.

This week’s diverse range of oncology news highlights both the stringent demands of regulatory bodies and the continuous strides being made in developing more effective and patient-friendly cancer treatments. Stay informed as these vital areas of research and clinical practice continue to evolve.

Americans are getting married, having kids, buying a home, and retiring years later than what once was the norm. Many don’t ever reach these milestones.

While there is a complex web of factors that go into decisions like having kids or buying a house, a person’s financial situation often plays an major role. In a May Harris/Guardian poll, six out of 10 Americans said that the economy had affected at least one of their major life goals, because of either a lack of affordability or anxiety about where the economy is heading.

The Guardian heard from hundreds of readers who shared their stories about how the current economic and political climate has put some of their biggest life decisions on hold.

For Martha Knight, the idea of having kids has been a complicated one. In terms of finances, home ownership seems far out of reach. Home prices in Louisville, Kentucky, have soared over the years. While prices are cheaper outside the city in more rural areas of the state, a move would affect their jobs in education and healthcare.

And both Knight and her husband have student loan debt. Instability around forgiveness programs have made them question how long it will take them to pay off their debt.

“We made peace with the fact that we will probably rent our whole lives, and we’re OK with that,” Knight, 34, said. “That’s where we are.”

Besides owning a home to raise a family, there are also deeper questions: What would it be like to raise a child in the world we live in now?

It’s a hard question for Knight, who is from eastern Kentucky along the Appalachian mountains. Kentucky is her home state, it’s where she and her husband grew up. But she doesn’t see it as a place where she can raise a family.

In 2023, the US fertility rate dropped to its lowest point in almost a century.

“We are one of the highest states for child hunger, for the foster care system, things like that,” Knight said. “If we ever have a child, if we are fortunate enough for that to happen, we are really hoping to give them a better future. We want them to grow up with the idea of possibility. As the state is currently, Kentucky doesn’t offer that.”

Anxiety about the future didn’t start under Trump’s second administration. The pandemic threw the economy into a tailspin. While the stock market soared, inflation hit a generational high in 2022, and Americans are still feeling the pain of higher bills. And even though mortgage rates have climbed with higher interest rates, housing prices still remain at record highs.

In other words, it’s been hard to catch a break. Although Trump promised to provide economic relief, the administration has caused widespread uncertainty for some respondents with his erratic tariff policies and attacks on minority groups and reproductive rights.

Danielle, 35, who requested to be identified by her first name only, said that she’s held off on buying a home and having kids given the instability.

“I love the community I built here, but as a queer person, I’ve been hesitant to buy a home and even have kids due to rigid abortion bans and economic instability,” said Danielle, who currently lives in Austin, Texas. “This is no longer the country I knew nor grew up in. The American Dream is a farce.”

While student loan debt has been a huge barrier to home ownership for many millennials, the Save plan, the Biden administration’s hallmark loan forgiveness program, allowed Stephen Buechel-Rieger, 32, of Cincinnati, Ohio and his partner to purchase their first home.

Their goal was to eventually purchase a larger home to accommodate a growing family, but “we have been delaying moving from our first home to our forever home,” Buechel-Rieger said.

“Now because of the increase in student loan payments, uncertainty of the future of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, stubborn interest rates and uncertainty in the medical field, we cannot take the financial risk,” Buechel-Rieger said.

High home prices don’t just affect millennial buyers. William Pollard Jr, 71, said he and his wife have been wanting to move out of Florida to live closer to family, but prices have been too high to buy a new home.

“With the stock and bond markets bouncing everywhere, we cannot put together an account to buy a house elsewhere. The markets need to be stable, so we can build more wealth,” Pollard said. “I am very frustrated at having to put a major goal on hold for who knows how long … I am getting no younger. We want to live the rest of our years near family and friends.”

Many Americans also said that they were holding off on big purchases, which may not appear to hold the weight of major life decisions, but also play a huge role in people’s lives.

Hunter Gale, 39, of Kansas City, Missouri, said his wife is expecting in September, and the family is hoping to purchase a car that will be safer for their new baby. Uncertainty around tariffs, along with the higher cost of baby products, have made it harder to get a better car.

“While we are fortunate to have stable jobs and a home that can fit our expanding family, it is stressful knowing costs for essentials for our baby will be higher,” Gale said.

When people buy homes and have kids later in life, that often pushes up the retirement age. It’s no surprise, then, that the average age of retirement was 62 in 2024 – five years older than what it was three decades ago. And many Americans continue to hold it off because of economic anxiety.

Swantje Agápe, 57, of San Jose, California, said that she and her husband were looking to retire in the next year, but “politically and economically things are too unstable”.

“We are no longer confident that three retirement funds and plans we have will be sufficient,” Agápe said. “We are both feeling quite sad and frustrated. After working hard all our lives, we were both really looking forward to an early-ish retirement.”

Diane Alaine Bates, 65, of Kenmore, Washington, said that she similarly had been delaying retirement for months because of the instability.

“I’ve been scared since the election that tariffs will cause a recession,” Bates said. “I need to know if my 401(k) is going to be stable enough to retire.”

People delaying these major life decisions don’t just affect individual lives. On a societal level, the impacts are huge. When people retire later, that leaves less room for younger workers to move up in the workforce. When birth rates drop, it can lead to an ageing population that puts a strain on the healthcare system.

And philosophically, it seems to raise questions about agency and freedom. What happens when people feel like larger political and economic forces are controlling their lives?

For some, the solution is to leave. Many told the Guardian that they were making plans to leave the country, but for those who don’t have foreign passports, crossing state lines appears to be the next best option.

Knight said that she and her husband plan to leave Kentucky for Washington state, which they hope will be a better environment for their family.

“We have specifically chosen a blue state that offers some social safety nets. In Washington, they have state paid parental leave, you know, things that will help us hopefully find our feet,” Knight said. “It’s the choice of: do we stay? Do we stay with our community? Do we stay with our families? Or, for our future, do we move and give ourselves a better chance?”

Pakistan is stepping into the future of finance with bold steps toward Bitcoin and crypto adoption. According to Bilal Bin Saqib, Pakistan’s State Minister for Crypto and Blockchain, the country’s youth and surplus energy position it as a key player in the bitcoin adoption.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Bin Saqib said that Pakistan is not alone in this journey. “A global policy shift has happened, not just in Pakistan, but all around the world,” he stated. Pakistan officially moved to regulate cryptocurrencies in November 2024, marking a turning point for the nation’s digital economy.

Pakistan’s Youth and Energy May Drive Global Bitcoin Adoption, Says Minister

One of the main reasons behind Pakistan’s rapid crypto growth is its young population. Bin Saqib shared some eye-opening statistics: Pakistan has around 40 million crypto wallets and is among the top five countries in the world for crypto adoption. He credited this to the nation’s youthful demographics.

“Pakistan’s median age is 20. We have 250 million people, and 70% are under 30,” he said. “If Pakistan’s youth were a country, it would rank among the top 10 most populous nations.”

He believes emerging markets like Pakistan can leap ahead in adopting new technologies like Bitcoin. Unlike developed nations, which are larger and slower to change, smaller countries can be more flexible. “It’s easier to make a speedboat move than the Titanic,” he explained.

Partnership With El Salvador

Pakistan is also forming international partnerships to fast-track its crypto goals. In July 2025, Pakistan signed a letter of intent with El Salvador, the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender. This agreement focuses on sharing education, knowledge, and infrastructure related to Bitcoin, crypto mining, and energy use.

The partnership also looks at how both countries — which are under IMF financial programs — can use digital assets and new technologies for economic growth.

A Comprehensive Framework in the Works

Bin Saqib also revealed that Pakistan is working on a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework. This includes:

• Licensing of crypto exchanges
• Developing a strategic Bitcoin reserve
• Launching a national stablecoin
• Setting up AI and crypto mining centers

Mining Bitcoin With Excess Energy

One of the most exciting parts of Pakistan’s strategy is its plan to use excess electricity for Bitcoin mining. Bin Saqib said Pakistan has around 10,000 megawatts (MW) of unused energy. This surplus is currently a financial burden, as the country pays capacity charges for electricity it doesn’t use.

To turn this liability into an asset, Pakistan will allocate 2,000 MW for Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. The country is also looking at methane and other runoff energy sources to power mining operations.

The Road Ahead

Pakistan is on the path to becoming a digital leader in crypto adoption. With strong policy support, a young tech-savvy population, and an energy surplus, the country could leapfrog larger economies in embracing blockchain and Bitcoin.

As Bilal Bin Saqib put it, “Emerging markets are what will leapfrog the adoption of these new technologies.”

See Also: Pakistan Plans DeFi Strategy for Bitcoin Reserve, Bilal Bin Saqib Reveals