Economics of the World Cup The economics of the FIFA World Cup can be explained by how the tournament creates, distributes, and consumes income and wealth among nations and people. Sport is the largest business in the world, with football being one of the largest global sporting events, involving billions of dollars in investment, revenue, employment, tourism, infrastructure, and commercial activity. However, it also imposes significant costs, risks, and opportunity costs on host countries. The World Cup has two major impacts: economic and social. The economic impact is the direct and indirect financial gain from event-related expenditure and global tourism, while the social impact is the monetary value of non-financial changes, including both benefits and negatives. Research estimates that 9.5 million people will attend the 2026 World Cup, generating $13.9 billion in event-related expenditure. The tournament will produce $80.1 billion in gross output, $40.9 billion in gross domest...

Nepal’s current budget (FY 2083/84 / 2026–27) is a sizable and reform-focused budget, with a total expenditure of approximately Rs. 2.124 trillion. Of the overall budget, recurrent expenditure constitutes approximately 59.8%, capital expenditure accounts for 20.3%, and debt servicing/financial management makes up 19.9%. It highlights economic reform, growth of the private sector, infrastructure development, digital transformation, and enhancement of governance. Significant recurring costs, debt responsibilities, and a substantial proportion of non-development expenditures indicate that a major share of resources is allocated to government operations and fulfilling obligations instead of establishing new productive assets. The broader scope and key characteristics of Nepal’s Current Budget can be described as a substantial budget where the government has established ambitious objectives like enhanced economic growth and investment-driven expansion on a modest basis. Nonetheless, the po...

Urea Fact Sheet Global urea production reached more than 200 million metric tons in 2025. The market is rapidly expanding due to agricultural demand, with production capacity projected to reach around 300 million metric tons by 2030. Urea demand is heavily driven by agriculture, with Asia-Pacific accounting for roughly 61% of market share, North America at 10%, Europe at about 7%, and the rest in other regions. The market is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.05%-3.9% through 2029-2034, driven by food demand for a growing global population. Key production centers include China, India, and the Middle East (Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia), with significant expansions planned to meet growing demand. More than 80% of urea is used in agriculture, and the rest in the industrial sector. Global Production Giants Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a Saudi Arabian company, is a global chemical and fertilizer powerhouse. Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFC) is o...

One of my friends asked me why the gold price is dropping when there is a war in the Gulf. Let me clarify this. When there is a war in the Middle East, w ait, let me use the correct term for "gulf." Actually, the Gulf is not in the Middle East for Nepal; it is in the Middle West as the Gulf lies to the west of Nepal.  it causes the price of gold to fall, ultimately decreasing around the globe and in Nepal as well. The extraction of crude oil decreases, leading to a shortage in the supply which increases the price of crude oil. This, in turn, raises the price of transportation as fuel costs cover the operation of almost all means of transportation. Additionally, the majority of industries use fossil fuels for production, and backup power generators also rely on fossil fuels, causing an increase in the price of goods and services, leading to supply-side inflation. To control inflation, the central bank of most countries increases interest rates, implementing a tight monetary po...

Once, I was advised to help two students of Lumbini Buddhist University who were pursuing their Ph.D. regarding data analysis. I helped them to the best of my knowledge. After that, I have not heard from these students. I do not know whether they were successful or not. This is how I got to know about Lumbini Buddhist University. By luck, I got an assignment to prepare a course on tourism economics at Lumbini Buddhist University. During the presentation of the course details, I emphasized to the faculty that they should have knowledge of culture, religion, nature, food, festivals, sports, and most importantly, they should be travel enthusiasts, lovers of travel, and nomads. On one occasion, a close acquaintance of mine was made tourism minister. I congratulated him and wanted to meet to discuss the nomad visa to obtain tourism benefits. However, I was unable to obtain a meeting. I sent a text message to him; no response was received. There was limited work-from-home options prior to ...

In the early general elections of Nepal, which took place on the 5th of March 2026, the Rastriya Swatantra Party, with its president Rabi Lamichhane and proposed Prime Minister, the former mayor of Kathmandu metropolis Balendra "Balen" Shah, who was also a rapper, won beyond the expectations of all political parties and the people. In the elections for the 275 members of the House of Representatives, the party managed to secure 182 seats, 125 in direct elections and 57 in the proportional electoral side. However, this was not enough to achieve the two-thirds majority, which requires around 184 seats, but it was sufficient to secure a simple majority, which was essential. This victory comes after the fall of the previous government due to violent protests by youths in September 2025 over issues related to unemployment, economic troubles, and corruption. When Shah assumes the role of prime minister, the new government, expected to take over in late March 2026, will have a str...