14 November 2004 Sunday 01 Shawwal 1425 Ban on meals puts families in a fix KARACHI, Nov 13: Families, who have planned grand feast on the occasion of wedding prior to Eid and those who are eager to do so after Eid, are in a fix. Most of them are indecisive whether to cancel the arrangement or keep their plans on the stand by. ... Private sector credit rises by Rs100bn KARACHI, Nov 13: The private sector credit off take shot up to Rs123.5 billion in the first four months of this fiscal year, up from 70.8 billion in a year-ago period, primarily due to increased cotton and consumer financing. ... TCP buying operations to cost Rs21bn: Cotton, wheat and urea KARACHI, Nov 13: The commercial operations of the public sector Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) will cost a staggering sum of Rs21 billion to the taxpayers in the form of subsidy on trading of cotton ... Saarc ministers meet on 22nd: Safta ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Council of Ministers (CoM) of Saarc member countries will hold a two-day meeting here to review the progress on finalization of the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) that will come into force on January 1, 2006. ... Pakistan, Russia to discuss trade ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: Pakistan and Russia are likely to negotiate a string of measures for enhancing bilateral cooperation and volume of trade. ... Culture change in management KARACHI, Nov 13: Management practices in business firms are constantly updated to face challenges posed by a fast changing economic environment and growing competition. ... Carryover investment shows modest rise KARACHI, Nov 13: Owing to bullish trend on the stock market, investment on the carryover market showed a modest rise as demand for funds kept increasing throughout the last week. ... CBR drive to register car dealers after Eid ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to initiate a drive for the registration of car dealers under the sales tax net to raise maximum revenue from the sector. ... Holiday mood on cotton market KARACHI, Nov 13: Pre-holiday mood prevailed on the cotton market on Saturday as both buyers and sellers kept to the sidelines exchanging pre-eid greetings sans physical trading. ... Quality of economic growth An impressive industrial recovery during the fiscal 2004 was driven by the domestic demand stemming from rising investment as well as strong external demand. ... Corporate profitability on the rise For shareholders in equities, things have never been so good as in the last four years. Corporate profitability has recorded unprecedented growth of 20 to 30 per cent for each of the four years since 2001. ... NWC: a sign of realization of water crisis The government seems to be finally realizing that conditions of a water famine are fast approaching the country and that existing resources need to be harnessed in earnest and new ones developed without loss of time. ... The banks have it all the way If commercial banks in Pakistan had never had it so good despite the vigilance of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to regulate them properly and the falling interest rates all around, it is not surprising. ... It's oil, not human concern Although the United States has so far failed to get the Darfur humanitarian crisis declared as "genocide" by the United Nations, it is moving faster to regain its foothold in the oil-rich region in another way. ... Rising interest rates fail to contain inflation Interest rates have started rising. Banks' weighted average lending rate on fresh lending in September shot up to 5.84 per cent from 5.05 per cent in June. ... Trade prospects with Brazil Brazil, a country about which not much is unfortunately known in Pakistan, is an industrial power with the largest population covering half of the South America. It is a dominant player in agriculture, minerals, IT and entertainment. ... How China is transforming itself China currently has the second largest economy in the world in terms of (PPP) dollars and is on way to becoming the largest in about a quarter century from now. China's priorities today are economic and technological development. ... Demutualization: implications Integration and demutualization of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE), and the Islamabad Stock Exchanges (ISE) are perhaps the most important developments being discussed in our capital market. ... Technical textiles: opportunities The role of textile industry in the economy of Pakistan in undoubtedly outstanding and the efforts made in vitalising this sector through balancing, modernization and restructuring are showing good results. ... Sea port models for developing Gwadar The first phase of the Gwadar deep-water project is going to be completed by December 18, this year and the port will become functional by next January. ... Wheat support price and the problems Wheat occupies nearly 38 per cent of the total cultivated area of the country. Out of this around 48 per cent is cultivated by the below subsistent level farmers who face extreme financial difficulties for using the recommended doses of inputs in wheat and other crops. ... Development of maize under water stress areas Moisture stress areas generally exist where there the crop has insufficient water or a condition in which available soil moisture is depleted to a point that the plant growth is adversely affected. ... Non-conventional technologies and water shortages Water is an essential factor for life and nothing can stay alive without it. Plants can not grow without water. When plenty of water was available, more and more barren lands were brought under cultivation. ... PTCL sell-off reports boost market sentiments The Karachi stocks last week finished higher as investors covered their position on selected counters at current levels, aided largely by technical factors including the perception of capital gains. ... Rupee catching up with losses The rupee/dollar parity continued its upward trend for the second consecutive week with gap in the inter-bank market and open-market almost vanishing. ... Weighted average yield on T-bills risen by 54 basis points The State Bank of Pakistan on November 10 raised the weighted average yield on six-month treasury bills by 54 basis points to 3.73 per cent. The SBP sold Rs2.45 billion six-month Treasury bills. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004