September 20, 2005	Tuesday	Sha'aban 15, 1426

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Pioneer Cement target of substantial acquisition? KARACHI, Sept 19: First National Equities Limited (FNE) claimed on Monday that they had accumulated as many of the shares in Pioneer Cement as to be able to win majority seats at the elections to the Board of directors in October....		Delay stirs speculations, rumours: KESC deal finalization KARACHI, Sept 19: Delay in the implementation of the CCoP September 1 decision accepting the highest matching bid of Hasan Associates at Rs1.65 a share is creating uncertainty and triggering a spate of speculations and rumours in the market....
Opec likely to boost output by 2m barrels VIENNA, Sept 19: Opec ministers meeting here on Monday were set to increase the supply of crude oil as required by a market still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, president Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah said....		Banks lent Rs18bn to farm sector in July-Aug KARACHI, Sept 19: Banks disbursed about Rs18 billion loans to the farming community in the first two months of this fiscal year. Bankers involved in agricultural credit marketing said that all the 21 banks engaged in this business offered Rs17.987...
WB mission begins tax review from today ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: A 14-member World Bank Mission would start on Tuesday an extensive review of the key areas of Pakistan Tax Administration Reform Project (TARP) to identify weaknesses and gaps in the reform process of the taxation system....		Trade gap widens by 176 per cent ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: The trade deficit soared by 176.27 per cent during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year over the same months of the last year....
OGDCL declares 27.5pc cash dividend ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has announced a final cash dividend of Rs2.75 per share, after earning a pre-tax profit of Rs49 billion during the last fiscal year 2004-05....		Pakistan for simplifying visa rules with India NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Pakistan will push for simpler visa rules with its neighbour India to boost trade and bilateral ties, the Pakistani trade minister said on Monday....
Stocks recover good part of weekend losses KARACHI, Sept 19: Stocks on Monday resumed trading on a mixed note but leading shares came in for active short-covering at the lower levels under the lead of PTCL, MCB, Bank of Punjab and National Bank, and posted good gains....		Steady conditions on cotton market KARACHI, Sept 19: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a steady note as spinners and mills remained active buyers at the current levels as the bulk of buying again was focussed on the Sindh variety....
IMF needs to refocus on financial challenges WASHINGTON, Sept 19: The International Monetary Fund said in a major review of its activities on Monday that it has been pulled too far from its six-decade-old mandate of policing the global financial system....		Pakistan, Algeria to exchange oil, gas experts ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: Pakistan and Algeria have agreed to exchange delegations of oil, gas and mineral experts for exploring areas of cooperation between the two countries....
European stocks end mixed LONDON, Sept 19: European stock exchanges had mixed fortunes on Monday, with the London market rising to a four-year high while in Frankfurt share prices fell sharply following the inconclusive outcome to German elections....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, Sept 19: Seven ships carrying DAP fertilizer, steel coils and to load cement are due to arrive at the outer anchorage on Tuesday, according to KPT sources....
Corporate rating DHAHRAN, Sept 19: Standard and Poor and Fitch Ratings have assigned corporate credit ratings to the Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC, as it moves ahead to invest an additional $70 billion over the next 15 years....		Union Bank chairman KARACHI, Sept 19: The board of Union Bank, in a recently held meeting, has unanimously elected Dr Abdullah Basodan as its chairman, says a press release....
Euro falls after German vote LONDON, Sept 19: The euro slumped against the dollar on Monday after a deadlocked general election result in Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, and on the eve of a US interest rate decision....		Kuwait plans minimum wage for foreign workers KUWAIT CITY, Sept 19: Kuwait’s minister of social affairs and labour Faisal al-Hajji has proposed the introduction of a minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of expatriate workers, a newspaper reported on Monday....
Asian stocks firmer in quiet trade HONG KONG, Sept 19: Asian stocks closed firmer on Monday but trade was quiet with Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong all closed for public holidays and investors generally cautious ahead of Tuesday’s US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates, dealers said....		Gold higher in Europe LONDON, Sept 19: Gold set a new 17-year peak in Europe on Monday above $467 an ounce, ignoring a firmer dollar as speculators continued to buy on the back of inflationary worries and uncertainty about the US economy, dealers said....