Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a frequently occurring treatment-related complication with significant morbidity and mortality for childhood acute leukemia. Early diagnosis and assessment of severity are essential steps for early comprehensive treatment to reduce FN-related morbidity and mortality. Biomarkers like C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) can be used to assess and predict the bacterial infection in children with febrile neutropenia. The objective of the study was to determine the role of procalcitonin and CRP as a biomarker for prediction of bacterial infection in children with FN in acute leukemia. This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Bangladesh from August 2020 to July 2021. Total 58 Children with acute leukemia aged 1 to <18 years with FN were analyzed in this study. A proper history and thorough physical examination were carried out. The blood sample was sent for biomarkers (Procalcitonin and CRP) within 24 hours of the onset of FN and other investigations, such as Complete blood count, Blood C/S, Urine R/E and C/S. Metabolic workup (SGPT, Serum Creatinine, Serum Electrolytes, Serum Ca+) was also done in every patient. Stool R/E & C/S, Chest X-ray, Wound swab for C/S were done when the patient presented with diarrhoea, cough, respiratory distress and focal sepsis respectively. In this study, the mean age of the patients was 6.62±4.07 years (1.10-16.0 years) and 34 patients (58.6%) were male. In 65.5% of patients, localizing signs of infection were not identified. Of the 58 patients, 12 patients (20.7%) showed positive blood culture and 2 patients (3.4%) showed positive urine culture. Klebsiella spp (41.0%) was the most frequent organism isolated followed by Acinetobacter (17.0%), Pseudomonas (17.0%) and E. coli (17.0%). The median PCT levels were significantly higher in patients with bacterial infection than patients without bacteremia (26.10μg/l versus 0.78μg/l, p=0.002) and PCT level >2μg/l was significantly associated with bacteremia. The median CRP levels in the bacteremia and without-bacteremia patients were 137.4mg/L and 54.17mg/L, respectively (p=0.036). In direct comparisons, PCT showed better overall performance than CRP with the AUC being 0.797 (95% CI 0.651-0.943) for PCT and 0.697 (95% CI 0.54-0.855) for CRP in predicting the bacterial infection. PCT and CRP both are useful biomarkers for the prediction of bacteremia, but PCT may be a superior early biomarker as compared to CRP to predict bacterial infection in children with febrile neutropenia in acute leukemia.

The motive of this study is to appraise the performance of selected first-generation private commercial banks in Bangladesh. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. The performance of the banks was tested through several variables, such as Deposits, Investments, Loan-to-Deposit ratio, Imports, Exports, Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Net income, Earnings per Share (EPS), etc. These variables were then examined using statistical measures, such as growth percentage, trend equations, the square of the correlation coefficient, and a correlation matrix. Sixty trend equations and R-squared were tested for twelve different banks’ activities. From the study, it has been found that banks are facing some challenges due to ongoing economic crisis and liquidity crisis. However, all the banks are trying to recover from the economic crisis, and some banks are doing very well, while some banks are facing hardships to cope with the situation. The findings of the trend analysis and correlation matrix of the study are expected to direct the first-generation commercial banks of Bangladesh to improve their performance. We are quite optimistic that if the selected banks tried to overcome the identified problems, then their performance will improve, and they may give rise to accelerated development of Bangladesh’s economy.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the performance of selected Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. The relevant data and information were collected from relevant banks and stock exchanges. The performance of the banks was assessed through different variables, such as paid-up capital, investment-to-deposit ratio, classified investments, assets, net income, earnings per share (EPS) and dividends, which were then analyzed using various statistical measures, such as growth percentage, trend equations, the square of the correlation coefficient, and a correlation matrix. Fifty trend equations and R-squared were tested for ten different banks' activities. Among them, the trend values were positive for all the banks. The square of the correlation coefficient (R2) of most of the equations is more than 0.8, indicating well-fitting trend equations. This study proves that the industry has scope to grow.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. However, it is still a developing country which is trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. Nobel Laureater Professor Mohammad Yunus introduced the concept of Grameen Bank which focuses on providing small loans to poor people especially women in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Due to the huge success of Grameen Bank more micro finance institutions are replicating this model and hence more poor people are relying on this kind of projects. Therefore, it is important to know how sustainable Grameen Bank is and its true impact on social development and women empowerment. We have tried to assess the performance of Grameen Bank through different variables such as number of members, total deposits, loan to deposit ratio, capital adequacy ratio, scholarship schemes, beggars’ loan, house loan, micro enterprise loan, net income etc. For evaluating the performance of Grameen Bank 26 different trend equations and square of correlation coefficients have been tested with its different types of activities. The square of the correlation coefficient has also been calculated for all trend equations, out of which 21 shows r square is closer or more than 0.5 meaning well fitted trend lines. With the positive trend equations in most of the aspects this study proves that Grameen Bank has a better scope to grow in the future which will support the social and economic status of rural poor, particularly women.

The world's big economies are roiled and going under a devastating threat amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. No country will be safe as this virus will eventually outbreak everywhere, regardless of how countries prepare to avoid it. The economic ramification as well as the stock market crisis will be uncertain due to the extended suspension of economic activities in almost every country. No wonder, the clattered stock markets of Bangladesh which have already got the adjective of “the worst stock market in the world” because of inefficient and irrational fluctuations in previous years will experience a colossal crisis due to the pandemic. The article provides an investigation on comparable analysis of the impact on stock markets of Bangladesh, Dhaka stock exchange, and Chittagong stock exchange, before and after the pandemic situation with current market data. We also examine the potential consequence of policy interventions to the market and the investors during a pandemic.

Dividend policy has been an important component in the arena of financial literature and providing evidence that dividend payout decisions are affected by various factors. Numerous studies have been conducted so far on corporate dividend policy in Bangladesh. The pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries of Bangladesh offer a lot of investment panorama for the retail investors. This research has been an endeavor to determine the factors affecting the dividend policy of these promising industries, and guide the investment decisions of the equity investors. In this attempt, this study is also a unique one to incorporate the chemicals industry along with the pharmaceuticals industry as both the industries constitute the 'pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector' listed in the stock market of Bangladesh. The study is a quantitative one based on secondary data. It comprises of different statistical analyses such as descriptive statistics, correlation matrix and multiple linear regression analysis, etc. Firm size, growth, liquidity, profitability, last year's dividend and P/E ratio are used as dependent variables. Besides, ownership structure, firm age, market share, and risk are used as control variables. The study explores that firm size has significant negative and last year’s dividend has significant positive relationship with dividend payout. However, dividend payout does not depend on firm growth, liquidity, profitability and P/E ratio of a firm. The research outcome may have important implications for the improvement of investors' perceptions, which may assist them in their investment decisions in the researched industries. Certainly more work lies ahead to add to explanations for why some of the factors affect the dividend policy of the industries, while others have no significant impact thereon.

In Bangladesh the establishment of merchant bank added value to the stock market which plays a vital role in the progress of economic development. This study tried to analyze the performance of Lanka Bangla Investment Ltd., Prime Finance Capital Management Ltd., IDLC Investment Ltd. and Uttara Finance and Investment Ltd. Seven trend equations have been tested for different activities of the selected merchant banks. It is observed that the selected merchant banks were able to achieve a stable growth of investment in securities, margin loan to clients, brokerage commission, capital gain/loss from securities, portfolio management services, issue management fees, corporate advisory fees and underwriting commission during the period of 2011-2015. Among them the trend equation of investment in securities, margin loan to clients, and corporate advisory fees are positive incase of all the selected merchant banks. Square of correlation coefficient (r2) has also been tested for all trend equations. The r2 of interest income from merchant bank, portfolio management services, settlement and transaction fees and documentation fees, is more than 0.5. It indicates the prospect of merchant banks in Bangladesh is bright.

Being a developing country E-banking opened up tremendous opportunity to the financial sector and economic development of Bangladesh. This paper studies prospects of e-banking in Bangladesh, considering the performance of Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. (DBBL) and BRAC Bank Ltd. To evaluate the performance of DBBL and BRAC bank seven trend equations have been tested for different activities of DBBL and BRAC Bank. Among them trend value of number of ATM, recoveries from clients, number of branches, charges from services, income from IT service, card expenses, depreciation on computer equipment and software, other operating expenses, cash carrying charges, net income and EPS are positive in case of both banks during the period of 2008-2015. The square of correlation coefficient (r2) of number of ATM, recoveries from clients, number of branches, income from IT service, card expenses, depreciation on computer equipment and software, other operating expenses, cash carrying charges, net income and EPS is more than 0.5. It indicates the prospect of E-banking in Bangladesh is very bright

In Bangladesh the establishment of Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) added value to the stock market and plays a vital role in the progress of economic development. CDBL is engaged in the operations of the Central Depository System (CDS), a major financial market infrastructure in Bangladesh established as a part of the overall financial sector development. This study tried to analyze the growth and development of CDBL. Seven trend equations have been tested for different activities of CDBL.It is observed that CDBL was able to achieve a stable growth of listed securities in CDS, depository participants, settlement of securities transactions, documentation of CDBL, total assets and net income during the period of 2007-2015. Square of correlation coefficient (r2) has also been tested for all trend equations. It indicates the prospect of CDBL in Bangladesh is relatively bright.

Bangladesh has a primarily agrarian economy. Most Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Theperformance of this sector has a major impact on the overall economic development of the country. For efficientperformance of this sector proper credit facilities and adequate support is essential both from government andprivate sector. In this paper we have analyzed the development and growth of specialized agricultural banks inBangladesh and the different services and facilities they are providing for the overall improvement of this sector.It is observed that both agricultural banks are able to achieve a steady growth in terms of employees, branches,deposits, loans and advances during the period 2004-2008. Different trend equations and square of correlationcoefficient (r2) have been tested for different activities of agricultural banks of Bangladesh. Finally, results areinterpreted in this context and suggestions are given for improving the future performance of these banks.

analyzed. This study examines stock price reactions of listed Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh surrounding 44 days of the dividend announcement dates. The major objective of this study is to identify whether dividend announcement convey any information to the market that results a price reaction for adjusting the dividend announcement information. The empirical part of this study employs a standard event study methodology to analyze the stock price reaction for dividend announcement. Out of 25 listed sample banks in the observation period, market adjusted stock price declines for 11 banks, rises for 6 banks and no changes for 8 banks and statistical pooled t-test also reveals that stock price reaction to dividend announcement are not statistically significant. Finally, dividend announcement does not convey any information due to strong contribution of the insider trading as well as some other influencing factors in the capital market.

In the context of Bangladesh, the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be considered as a vital instrument for poverty alleviation and ensure the rapid industrialization.In this paper the authors have tried to identify the problems of SMEs of Bangladesh.The performance of SMEs of Bangladesh especially in terms of employee turnover rate, quality assurance, allocation of funds, marketing activities have been found significantly below the international standard.The sector gets negligible support from government.The rate of development of SME is not up to the expectation.In order to overcome the problems a few suggestions for the development of SMEs are given by the authors.

In a developing country like Bangladesh the banking system as a whole play a vital role in the progress of economic development. In this paper we have tried to analyze the development and growth of Selected Private Commercial Banks of Bangladesh. It is observed that all the selected private commercial banks are able to achieve a stable growth of branches, employees, deposits, loans and advances, net income, earnings per share during the period of 2002-2006. Seven trend equations have been tested for different activities of the private commercial banks. Among them the trend value of branches, employees, deposits and net income are positive incase of all the selected banks. Square of correlation coefficient (r2) has also been tested for all trend equations. The r2 of branches, deposits and net income is more than 0.5. It indicates the prospect of private commercial banks in Bangladesh is very bright.