January 1, 2006	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 29, 1426

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Pakistan yet to announce duty cuts: Safta deadline missed KARACHI, Dec 31: Pakistan missed the deadline of Jan 1, 2006 for implementation of South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) agreement as no announcement regarding tariff reduction for Saarc members was made by the government....		KSE ended 2005 with 54pc rise in index KARACHI, Dec 31: The KSE-100 index rose by about 54 per cent during the year 2005, marking the fourth bullish year in succession and making it one of the prime contenders for the title of ‘Best performing stock market of Asia’....
Policies for farm sector urged KARACHI, Dec 31: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed has called upon the government to formulate and implement the policies ensuring high growth in the agriculture sector and agro-based industries....		Prices of onion, tomato garlic, pulses increase KARACHI, Dec 31: Consumers experienced a fluctuating trend in prices of essential items during December, in which prices of onion, tomato, garlic, gram pulse, moong, Kabuli channa and sugar increased against...
Oil players plan moves for new year RIYADH, Dec 31: Global crude markets are finally well oiled -– for the time being at least. And as the New Year unveils itself, on the global energy chess board, a...		Moscow offers gas reprieve to end row with Kiev MOSCOW, Dec 31: Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on Saturday to delay a steep price rise in natural gas for Ukraine in an 11th-hour bid to resolve a bitter row before Moscow cuts supplies to the ex-Soviet republic....
PR special freight for rice export to Iran KARACHI, Dec 31: Pakistan Railways has introduced special rates for rice exporters for transportation of the commodity through its wagons to Iran via Taftan border....		KSE reforms to benefit stakeholders ISLAMABAD, Dec 31: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah has said that reforms in the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) are in the interest of all the stakeholders, including regulators, brokers and investors....
Minor changes in CFS rates KARACHI, Dec 31: The CFS rates on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week showed fractional changes as investors are still in the process of adjusting themselves to the newly introduced real time system....		Tie-up deal BRUSSELS, Dec 31: Belgacom and Telindus have reached a conditional agreement on a tie-up, the two companies said late on Friday, amid a bidding war that has pitted Belgium’s telecoms giant against France Telecom....
No relief for oil prices in 2006 NEW YORK, Dec 31: Oil prices charged to a record in 2005 and could rise even higher in 2006 as the United States implements clean fuel rules and world energy demand remains strong, experts said on Friday....		Growers, ginners control price mechanism KARACHI, Dec 31: Cotton market closed the last session of the year 2005 on a firm note as conflicting reports about the size of the crop enabled both the growers and...
BOJ to tighten checks on real estate loans TOKYO, Dec 31: The Bank of Japan (BOJ), fearing the return of a 1980s-style asset bubble, will start tightening its monitoring of banks’ real estate loans next year, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said on Saturday....		Bank of Khyber IPO on Jan 26-27 KARACHI, Dec 31: Bank of Khyber would make an initial public offering (IPO) of 41 million shares at a price of Rs15 (premium of Rs5 per share) for the general public on January 26-27, 2006....
Paraguay ends 2005 with 9.9pc inflation ASUNCION, Dec 31: Paraguay closed the year with inflation of 9.9 per cent, well above a 7.5 per cent target agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the highest figure since 2002, the president said on Saturday....		NY cotton firmer NEW YORK, Dec 31: Cotton futures settled higher Friday as late speculative short-covering and window dressing for the end of 2005 gave the market a boost and analysts feel this will likely spill over into the next year....
China’s first national bank SHANGHAI, Dec 31: Bohai Bank, the first nationwide commercial lender to be created in China in a decade, launched officially on Saturday with ambitions to expand across the country with the...		Citigroup NEW YORK, Dec 31: Citigroup Inc. was Wall Street’s busiest stock and bond underwriter for the sixth straight year in 2005 as a healthy economy, low interest rates and investor demand drove securities issuance to a record....
Copper prices end 2005 with record high, oil rebounds LONDON, Dec 31: The price of copper struck a historic record this week, despite shortened trading sandwiched between the Christmas and New Year holidays, while oil priced won back ground....		EU to review gas supplies BRUSSELS, Dec 31: The European Commission on Friday called a special meeting next week to review gas supplies amid concerns about the knock-on effect if Russia goes ahead with a threat...
Sri Lankan economy grows 6.4pc COLOMBO, Dec 31: Sri Lanka’s economy grew by a better than expected 6.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year, just before the latest upsurge in violence between the army and suspected Tamil rebels, officials said on Friday....		US retailers grew, food firms shrunk in 2005 CHICAGO, Dec 31: Big retailers got bigger, big food companies tried to get smaller and big tobacco had some big wins in 2005. For 2006, investors will be watching as retailers...
Oil-rich Iraq facing fuel crunch BAGHDAD, Dec 31: Oil-rich Iraq is suffering an energy crisis in the wake of insurgent attacks on oil facilities and a run on the pumps as people struggle to fill cars and generators amid spiralling prices and ever-worsening power shortages....		Dubai GDP growth eases as non-oil sector slows DUBAI, Dec 31: Dubai’s economic growth rate eased to 16 percent in 2005, coming in just short of last year’s record as the key non-oil sector slowed significantly, official figures showed on Saturday....
Singapore GDP growth better than expected: PM SINGAPORE, Dec 31: Singapore’s export-driven economy grew by a better-than-expected 5.7 per cent in 2005 and should expand at a previously forecast rate of three to five per cent next year, the prime minister said on Saturday....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, Dec 31: Seven ships carrying containers, general cargo and to load rice and fish are due to arrive at the outer anchorage on Sunday, according to KPT sources....