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President Donald Trump's second term marked the worst 100-day performance in US markets since the 1970s. According to MarketWatch, the S&P 500 has fallen 7.3 percent, the Dow 6.8 percent, and the Nasdaq 11 percent since his January 20 inauguration, Firstpost reported.

Trump's unpredictable economic policies, such as increased tariffs, massive public-sector layoffs, and federal program shutdowns, have rattled markets and heightened recession fears. JPMorgan expects a 60 percent chance of a recession, while Goldman Sachs predicts 45 percent.

Historically, markets have risen during a president's first 100 days. Since 1929, the S&P 500 has increased by an average of 3.8 percent. The only worse drop occurred in 1973, under Nixon. The dip also contrasts starkly with the 3.7 percent post-election rise, which was driven by the expectation of market-friendly policies, as stated by the Firstpost.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 700 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 188, 100 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 188, 800 per tola on Tuesday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,965 per tola today.

Laxmi E-Mobility Pvt. Ltd. and G.O. Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. were jointly honored with the 'Most Promising Partner' award at the Kaiyi Auto Global Business Conference 2025 held at Yibin, China.

This prestigious recognition reflects the outstanding efforts of Laxmi E-Mobility and G.O. Automobiles, the authorized distributors of Kaiyi Motors for Nepal, in introducing and promoting Kaiyi vehicles in the Nepali market, as well as their strong growth potential and commitment to customer satisfaction.

Building on this momentum, Kaiyi Nepal—through Laxmi E-Mobility and G.O. Automobiles—is preparing to launch an exciting lineup of new models that are thoughtfully designed to meet the specific needs and preferences of Nepali consumers.

With this award, Laxmi E-Mobility and G.O. Automobiles reaffirm their dedication to delivering innovative and reliable mobility solutions across Nepal.

In yet another example of poor spending capacity of government bodies, various ministries and public offices have surrendered over Rs 5bn allocated for the current fiscal year 2024-25, which ends in mid-July. According to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the majority of the returned funds are from the capital expenditure heading. Of the total amount surrendered, Rs 53.4m came from the recurrent budget, while Rs 5.03bn came from the capital expenditure budget.

As per the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Accountability Act, 2019, and the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Accountability Regulations, 2020, budget that remains unspent by mid-March and cannot be utilized within the fiscal year must be returned to the Ministry of Finance by the end of March.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is also known as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal—the implementing body of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) projects—each returned more than Rs 2bn.

Among recurrent budget returns, the Election Commission surrendered the highest amount at
Rs 24.2m, followed by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (Rs 15.8m), the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Rs 9.5m) and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (Rs 3.9m).

In terms of capital expenditure, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation returned the largest share at Rs 2.35bn, followed by MCA Nepal (Rs 2bn), the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (Rs 367.8m), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Rs 300m), and the Office of the Auditor General (Rs 16.1m).

With less than three months of the fiscal year remaining, the government has been able to spend only 56.56 percent of the allocated budget till April 28. The progress in capital expenditure remains at a dismal 30.93 percent. Capital expenditure has consistently slowed since the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, only 57.23 percent of the development budget was spent. Capital spending improved to 61.44 percent in 2022-23 and 63.47 percent in 2023-24. Over the past four years, the average capital expenditure has hovered around 60 percent. 

Current spending trends suggest that 2024-25 will follow a similar trajectory. Before the pandemic, Nepal achieved higher capital spending rates, averaging around 70 percent. Capital expenditure stood at 76.93 percent in 2018/19 and 80.77 percent in 2017-18.