January 2, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 1, 1426

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Hopes and worries The end of a year traditionally brings a time of stock-taking of the 12 months gone by and list-making for the 12 that lie ahead. And so it is the case...		Elusive development goals Set aside the GDP growth rate, which has been projected at around seven per cent or slightly less, the year 2006 will offer disproportionately less to the poorer segment of the population....
Trade liberalization may widen gender gap Since women and men in developing countries play different roles in agriculture, and historically have different degrees of access to and control over productive resources, WTO rules obviously will have different impacts on the two genders....		Milk production and marketing The per capita consumption of milk among the masses of Pakistan is not at an optimum level due to a gnawing gap between the demand and supply and rising prices....
Veterinarians’ care for public health Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The veterinary public health can be defined as the sum of...		Feudal sway over forests, rangelands About eight per cent of the total geographical area of Sindh (14.09 million ha), equivalent to some 1.3 million ha, is designated as public forests and rangelands....
Producing quality goods Developing countries face several problems with regard to quality. The nature of these problems differs, depending on the phase of development of different countries. Consequently solutions to the problems also differ....		Niche tourism — the best option Tourism is the largest industry in the world. In 2004, according to the World Tourism Organization, countries made more than six hundred billion dollars from their tourism industries....
World commodity report World oil prices dipped in the London market on expectations of warmer weather in the US, the world’s biggest consumer of energy. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February,...		Will it be a year of big dams? Apparently, the government seems determined to announce a schedule for building water reservoirs some time this year, perhaps, with constitutional guarantees over water rights and sharing formula to the riparian claimants....
Renewable energy projects About three million premature deaths occur in a year due to environmental pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Environmentalists consider renewable energy sources like water, wind, light etc.,...		Economic trends *Inflation: Annual inflation will remain close to eight per cent target- in the range of 7.5-8.5 per cent. Monetary policy to remain tight. Fuel prices are not likely to see any significant rise....
Social capital and economic development The concept of social capital is rather new in development literature, although  since it has become the latest buzzword in the development lexicon, many NGOs and grassroots organisations claim to making...		Agricultural growth falters Growth in the agriculture sector was 7.5 per cent last year. What would be the performance of the sector this year? Would the growth be sustained, raised or decline? Looking around,...
Higher exports targeted to contain trade deficit The government has set a $20 billion export target for next year, hoping to swing it around on the back of the current year’s performance. But imports are overshooting all projections, presenting balance of payment problems and straining foreign exchange reserves....		Learning from the experiences of 2005 In many ways 2005 was marked by developments that will have significant consequences for the financial services sector in the near future. As we come to the end on this eventful...
Bullish legacy in shares may roll over into 2006 The stocks ended an eventful 2005 on a bullish note and vowed to pass on the legacy of a sustained bull-run to this year aided by positive indicators and perceptions of new institutional buying and speculative manoeuvring....		Rupee gains strength in slow trading In the local currency market, the week opened with a slow trading process on December 26, as most of the overseas markets remained close due to long weekend owing to Christmas and the New Year holidays....
Central bank mops up Rs10.5bn from market through OMOs On December 28, the State Bank of Pakistan picked up Rs10.5 billion from the market through the Open Market Operations. The SBP raised most of the Rs9.5...		Sugar prices keep moving up The Karachi wholesale commodity markets showed steady trend in the preceding week as prices of some essential items were firmly held under the lead of rice and wheat....