ORAWEK
ভোরের সংক্ষেপ
FRIDAY, 8 MAY 2026
5 sections
Under 300 words
8:00 AM
Weekend edition
Top Story
Bangladesh Business & Economy
New Deposit Protection Act: Tk 200,000 guarantee — but 12,000 frozen depositors are still waiting in the street
Bangladesh's new Deposit Protection Act, 2026 (Act No. 75 of 2026) was gazetted on May 6, replacing the 2000 law. It doubles the insurance ceiling from Tk 100,000 to Tk 200,000 per depositor, brings payout time down from 180 to 17 working days, and — for the first time — formally brings NBFIs into the protection framework (by July 2028). The law covers approximately 93% of all depositors nationally. On the same day it was gazetted, more than a hundred depositors of six distressed NBFIs — FAS Finance, Premier Leasing, Fareast Finance, Aviva Finance, People's Leasing, and International Leasing — gathered in silent protest in front of Bangladesh Bank wearing black cloth over their faces. Their funds have been frozen for nearly seven years. A total of Tk 15,370 crore remains locked in nine troubled NBFIs: Tk 3,525 crore from individuals, Tk 11,845 crore from banks and corporates. At least 35 depositors have reportedly died waiting for their money. A Tk 5,600 crore funding gap is stalling the liquidation process. The government has a July 2026 deadline on paper; it has no funded plan to meet it.
Financial account surplus hits $3.81B in Jul–Mar — a structural improvement in Bangladesh's external position
Bangladesh's financial account posted a surplus of $3.81 billion in the first nine months of FY26 (July–March), according to Bangladesh Bank data. This reflects a significant improvement in portfolio and FDI-linked inflows, driven partly by remittance-backed liquidity and multilateral loan disbursements. The current account has also returned to a modest surplus. Together, these two shifts represent the clearest structural improvement in Bangladesh's balance of payments since FY21. The risk: the ACU payment of $1.51 billion this week and higher energy import costs going forward will test whether the surplus holds into Q4.
US trade court strikes down Trump's 10% global tariff — Bangladesh's 19% deal now has a legal question mark
A US Trade Court ruled on May 7 that President Trump's broad 10% global tariff — the IEEPA authority underpinning it — violated federal law. The ruling creates a legal question over all tariff-related agreements signed under that executive order, including the Bangladesh ART deal of February 9. Malaysia had already declared its equivalent deal void. Bangladesh has not moved, and the government insists the 19% rate remains operative. But if the ruling is upheld on appeal, the foundation of Bangladesh's most important bilateral trade agreement is in legal jeopardy. Dhaka's commerce lawyers are watching the US appeals process very closely.
Economy Watch
Data Point or Policy Update
USD / BDT
122.82 ৳
Xe mid-market · May 8, 8 AM (09:03 UTC May 7)
YUAN / BDT (CNY)
~18.06 ৳
▲ Xe mid-market · May 8, 8 AM (09:34 UTC May 7)
DSEX (Last Close, 7 May)
5,234.10 pts
▼ −14.27 pts · −0.27% · 5th consecutive loss
Gold 22k / Bhori (BAJUS)
২,৪৪,৭১১ ৳
▲ +Tk 2,216 · Updated May 7 (effective May 7, 2026)
Inflation Rate (Mar '26, BBS)
8.71%
▼ Eased from 9.13% · Food: 8.24%
Policy Rate
10.00%
Held — Bangladesh Bank
Gross Forex (May 6, BB)
~$33.8B
▼ Post-ACU est. · $35.33B pre-payment · BPM6 ~$29.2B est.
Financial Account Surplus
$3.81B
▲ Jul–Mar FY26 · BB data
Global Signal
Overnight — What Reaches Dhaka by Morning
| Iran–US Hormuz Clash (May 7 night) | US Central Command says it "intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes" as three US Navy destroyers transited Hormuz · Iran claims US struck Qeshm Port and civilian areas · Both sides dispute who fired first · Peace deal talks now collapsed · NFP jobs report due 8:30 AM ET — market opens into live war escalation |
| Brent Crude (After-hours) | ~$104–106/bbl ▲ +2–4% in overnight futures after Hormuz clash — had been near $100 on peace hopes · Goldman: $140–150 scenario back on table if escalation continues |
| Brent / WTI (May 7 close) | Brent $100.06 (−1.19%) · WTI $94.81 (−0.28%) · Had fallen to ~$96–97 intraday on Iran peace deal optimism before partial recovery on Iranian official's hard line |
| Wall St (May 7 close) | S&P 500 −0.38% → 7,337.11 · Nasdaq −0.13% → 25,806.20 · Dow −313 pts → 49,596.97 · Pullback from records after Iranian official said Iran "will not let US leave without paying reparations" · Futures slipping overnight |
| April NFP (Today, 8:30 AM ET) | Forecast: +55,000 jobs (very weak) · ADP April: +109,000 · Jobless claims last week: 200,000 (better than expected) · Any miss will compound the already-volatile overnight session |
| US Fed (Confirmed) | Held at 3.50–3.75% · 8–4 split vote — first 4-way dissent since 1992 · Powell confirmed staying on Board as Governor after May 15 term end · Kevin Warsh Senate committee advanced; full vote pending |
| US Trade Court Ruling | US Trade Court struck down Trump's 10% global tariff (IEEPA authority unconstitutional) · Ruling covers the same executive order framework underpinning Bangladesh's ART deal · BD government has not commented yet · Malaysia declared its deal void months ago |
| Gold (International) | Gold +2%+ on May 6 amid Iran deal optimism · Brent-WTI spread near $12/bbl · Gold futures near $4,725/oz on May 6 · BAJUS raised BD gold 22k to ৳2,44,711/bhori (+Tk 2,216) effective May 7 |
| Bitcoin | ~$80,200+ · Higher amid risk-on from peace hopes earlier this week; overnight session now reversed |
| Goldman Sachs | Brent could fall to $75–80 if Hormuz reopens · BUT: $140–150 scenario fully revived if overnight Hormuz clash escalates into resumed hostilities |
| Asian Markets (May 8 open) | Opening cautiously lower; energy stocks recovering; markets tracking overnight Hormuz clash and pre-NFP uncertainty |
| BD–US Tariff | 19% rate · US Trade Court ruling on IEEPA tariffs creates new legal risk for ART deal · USTR delegation left Dhaka without activating zero-tariff clause · BD government watching US appeals process |
AI This Week
Practical Intelligence — Never Hype
Weekend Read
Datadog — a software company most Bangladeshi professionals have never heard of — beat Q1 earnings by 18% and surged 28% this week because its AI-powered monitoring and observability tools are being embedded into every major cloud infrastructure buildout. What Datadog does is watch AI systems in real time and flag when they break. The practical implication: AI systems need AI managers. As your firm adopts AI tools — whether Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or any workflow automation — the hidden cost is monitoring whether the AI is actually working correctly, consistently, and securely. In Bangladesh, this is still an unseen risk. Most teams deploying AI assistants have no process for checking whether the output has degraded, drifted, or started hallucinating over time. A simple rule for the weekend: if your team uses an AI tool for regular work, assign one person to audit a random sample of outputs monthly. You do not need Datadog to do that. You need a habit.
CNBC · Datadog Q1 2026 Earnings · TheStreet · May 7, 2026
ORAWEK Note
A Real Observation. From a Real Person.
“
On Wednesday, Brent fell 8% on a peace deal. On Thursday night, US and Iranian ships fired at each other in the Strait of Hormuz. The peace deal that oil traders were pricing in lasted about 36 hours. That is the tempo of this conflict. Meanwhile, 12,000 Bangladeshi depositors stood in front of Bangladesh Bank in black cloth, their faces covered, their savings frozen for seven years. A new law was gazetted on the same day. The law protects Tk 200,000 per depositor. The frozen amount per depositor, in many cases, is Tk 20 to 80 lakh. The law protects 93% of depositors nationally. These particular 12,000 are in the other 7%. The weekend arrives with the Strait unresolved, the IMF tranche still pending, and a US trade court having just struck down the legal basis of Bangladesh's most important tariff deal. Every number that matters is still in motion.
— Founder · Friday morning, weekend edition · Dhaka