28 June 2004 Monday 09 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 The long and short of the budget Every year, the annual budget is presented with great fanfare and draws considerable interest from both the media, as well as the business community. ... New development initiative in Punjab What distinguishes Punjab's budget for 2004-05 from the previous documents is that it promises to go beyond being a mere statement of revenue income and expenditure. ... Goodbye to the 'Hindu' growth rate? The 2004 Indian elections have attracted attention mainly because of the unexpected defeat of the BJP and the equally unforeseen revival in the fortunes of the Congress Party. ... Why no consensus on the NFC award? Fiscal federalism defines division of taxation powers and authority and distribution of revenues between the federation and provinces (states) and overall management of public finance. ... Bourses without spurious trading Do we need a stock exchange or exchanges in Pakistan to promote savings and investment or to enable their major members and big brokers to exult in wild speculation or merry gambling, showing enormous transactions on them? ... Inflation haunts financial markets Although the central bank claims that its monetary policy "targets" positive real interest rates that takes into account inflation, many in the financial market view the ground realities differently. ... Heritage, tourism and economics According to the latest figures of the SBP, tourism generated a minuscule $105.4 million this year. This, as claimed by the relevant ministry, was the spendings of half a million tourists visiting the country. ... Budget 2004-05: positive changes in the income tax law The new budget is like a breath of fresh air as it brings a radical attitudinal change for the better. It marks a departure from the historical imperial approach of the budget makers. ... Money laundering and the drug business The global heroin economy, a phenomenon yet to be understood fully by all the concerned, has transcended regional and national frontiers, integrating a variety of activities across the world. ... Urban poverty and social instability Poverty in Pakistan is one of those problems which could not be resolved despite impressive progress made in various sectors of the economy during the last few years. ... Why regulate corporate governance The corporate governance regulations, it is said, have hurt the capital market and might reduce the already thin size to razor-thin size. Few companies have already opted for de-listing; others might follow over the period. ... What ails Punjab's agriculture In the pre-independence India, the Punjab province served as the food basket for the country. The Punjab province of each country still performs the same function but Pakistan's province is doing it inefficiently ... Dismal sugar production scenario The writer has already written about the wheat and cotton situation and losses suffered due to mismanagement and inept policies in those two areas. A serious crisis about the sugar production in the country is already brewing for almost the same reasons. ... Baglihar controversy remains unresolved The controversial Baglihar hydro-power project in Indian held Kashmir, which has been simmering for years, quite unexpectedly returned on the Indo-Pakistan agenda last week but ended with yet another ambiguous note. ... Financial bodies reluctant to expand portfolios Stocks remained under pressure for the second week in a row as investors, notably financial institutions, appear to be reluctant to further expand their portfolios fearing political instability ... Rupee value erosion narrows gap between open and inter-bank rates The dollar had lost its strength in the local markets following 9/11 incident, but now it seems to be on recovery track on increased demand in the international and local markets. ... Rs50 billion set as the target for sale of six-month bills On June 23, the State Bank of Pakistan rejected bids for six month treasury bills to keep their yields from rising too sharply. The central bank had set Rs50 billion target for the sale of six month bills. ... Commodity markets witness relative calm A relative calm was witnessed on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets during the previous week as both commercial houses and leading brokers did not resume their normal trading operations. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004