December 25, 2005	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 22, 1426

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EU lowers dumping duty to 7.6pc: Bedlinen imports KARACHI, Dec 24: The European Commission (EC) has lowered the anti-dumping duty on import of Pakistani bedlinen by 5.5 per cent to 7.6 per cent after finding in its second disclosure...		Massive increase in oil, machinery imports: Trade deficit up by 145pc ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The import bill of petroleum and machinery groups led the increase in trade deficit by 145.86 per cent to $4.554 billion during the July-November period of the current fiscal year as against $1.852...
Balanced growth in textile sector urged FAISALABAD, Dec 24: Federal Minister for Textile Industry Ch Mushtaq Ali Cheema has stressed for a natural balance between all segments of textile sector to ensure its systematic and scientific growth and achieve the ultimate objective of value addition....		Exports of sports, surgical goods fall: July-November ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: Pakistan’s export of sports and surgical goods recorded a decrease during the July-November period of the current fiscal year over the same period of the last year....
Corporate environment improving in Muslim world NEW YORK, Dec 24: Dinar Standard, a business strategy e-magazine, released its 2nd annual ranking of top 100 businesses in the 57 member countries of the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) on Friday....		SPI rises by 0.11pc ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) rose by 0.11 per cent during the week ending December 23 2005, as compared to the previous week, according to the weekly price...
Gas venture begins production TEHRAN, Dec 24: Senior Iranian energy officials on Saturday celebrated the Islamic state’s first gas production from the North Sea as part of a joint venture with BP....		State Bank mops up Rs14bn in omo KARACHI, Dec 24. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday finally picked up the left-over liquidity from the market, following the tight monetary policy it has been pursuing for more than six months....
Carpet exports decline LAHORE, Dec 24: Pakistan’s carpet exports declined slightly by 1.84 per cent to Rs4.363 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal from last year’s Rs4.445...		268 firms registered in Nov ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 268 companies during November 2005 as compared to 194 companies registered during the corresponding month of the previous year, showing an increase of 38 per cent....
Investment under CFS hits ceiling KARACHI, Dec 24: Investment under Continuous Funding System (CFS) on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week stood at the revised ceiling of Rs24.5 billion as compared to previous Rs25 billion owing to relatively slow activity in the share business....		Trade deal WASHINGTON, Dec 24: US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Friday to complete trade talks needed for Russia to join the World Trade Organization “as soon as possible,” the White House said....
Faster manufacturing growth vital, says Indian PM NEW DELHI, Dec 24: India’s manufacturing sector is expanding, too, slowly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday, warning his Communist allies that more reforms and new labour laws were needed to stimulate job creation....		Lacklustre trading on cotton market KARACHI, Dec 24: Physical business on the cotton market on Saturday failed to pick up as spinners and mills made guarded buying owing to upcoming Eid holidays and some delivery problems....
Christmas sales slow in US CHICAGO, Dec 24: US retailers faced slower-than-expected traffic in stores on the last shopping day before Christmas as extended hours and steep discounts failed to draw a big crowd of shoppers....		Record gain on equity by Japanese firms TOKYO, Dec 24: Returns on equity for listed companies in Japan are expected to rise by a record 8.9 per cent in this business year, bolstered by higher profits and more share buybacks, a report said Saturday....
Bangladesh attracts $453m FDI DHAKA, Dec 24: Bangladesh attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) of $453.7 million in January-June 2005, more than triple the $138.3 million in the same period of 2004, a senior official of the Board of Investment (BOI) said on Saturday....		SECP fines 4 firms ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The SECP has penalized four companies for violation of different legal provisions during Nov 2005. According to SECP three companies including Ahmed Spinning Mills, Khairpur Sugar Mills and...
Indian economy races into 2006 NEW DELHI, Dec 24: Oft-derided as the slow-moving elephant of Asia, India’s economy has been transformed into a star performer with booming growth and a stock market that rocketed 40 per cent in 2005....		Asian stocks rally, set for further gains HONG KONG, Dec 24: Asian stocks defied a gathering storm of negative factors and rallied throughout 2005, triggering hopes the markets and investors will shortly see a return to the opulent heights of the late 1990s....
World oil prices slid in quiet pre-Christmas trade LONDON, Dec 24: Oil prices weakened this week as forecasts of warm weather in the northern hemisphere offset an oil pipeline fire in major producer Nigeria and a fall in US heating fuel stockpiles....		US business spending seen on upswing WASHINGTON, Dec 24: US business investment will pick up in 2006 as companies spend on buildings and inventories, helping propel economic growth and offsetting an expected slowdown in consumer spending, economists said on Friday....
Russia assures Europe on gas supply MOSCOW, Dec 24: Russia promised on Friday that it would maintain natural gas supply to European countries despite a bitter price dispute with Ukraine where pipelines that deliver the gas to Europe are located....		Japan’s govt approves austere budget TOKYO, Dec 24: Japan’s government rubber stamped an austere budget on Saturday, slashing spending to an eight-year low, with military and foreign aid cut as mounting debt threatens the world’s second largest economy....
‘German growth gaining pace’ BERLIN, Dec 24: German economic growth is gaining pace and its manufacturing sector is optimistic about 2006, the head of the BDI industry association Ludolf von Wartenberg was quoted saying on Saturday....		‘Dubai gold exchange hit record highs’ DUBAI, Dec 24: Volumes on Dubai’s new gold exchange hit record highs this week, with $11.7 million worth of gold futures contracts traded on Friday, the exchange said....