January 17, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 16, 1426

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Talks on pipeline projects in progress ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday said Pakistan was holding negotiations with Iran, Turkmenistan, Qatar and India for the gas pipeline projects....		Parties asked to deposit $30m bid money: Pakistan Steel privatization by 31st ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: A pre-bid conference for the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) was held here on Monday. The five pre-qualified bidders, who attended the conference, were informed that...
Govt focussing on supply chain ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday the government was taking various measures to improve “distribution and supply chain of goods” that would ultimately benefit the end-consumers....		Vehicles’ sales on the rise KARACHI, Jan 16: Except for a persistent decline in bus sales, the entire auto sector remained buoyant, with car sales rising by 24.58 per cent, tractor 15 per cent, motorcycle 23.5...
KSE index crosses 10,000-point barrier KARACHI, Jan 16: The KSE 100-share index on Monday confidentially breached through the psychological barrier of 10,000 boosted by fresh heavy buying in the bank, oil and cement shares, ignoring the possible negative fallout of the prevailing political tensions....		Oil prices jump after Iran’s warning LONDON, Jan 16: World oil prices climbed here on Monday on supply fears after Iran threatened to force prices higher if sanctions were imposed by the UN Security Council over Teheran’s resumption of nuclear fuel research....
PM to seek investment from US companies ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that he would meet chief executive officers of the leading American companies during his visit to convince them to invest in Pakistan....		LCCI sees trade potential with India LAHORE, Jan 16: President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mian Shafqat Ali has said that without addressing the core issue between Pakistan and India, trade matters would not be moving in the desired direction....
Plan to make Port Qasim cost-effective KARACHI, Jan 16: The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) will take measures to make the port time-efficient and cost-effective in order to meet the growing global challenges being confronted by the external trade of the country....		Dollar gains LONDON, Jan 16: The dollar rebounded on Monday from heavy losses late last week, while the pound weakened as benign output price data suggested the door could still be open to further British interest rate cuts....
Chinese goods BRUSSELS, Jan 16: The European Commission signed an accord with Beijing on Monday to boost coordination in fighting dangerous and defective Chinese consumer goods shipped to the European Union, saying a clampdown is needed....		Central Asia plans energy cooperation BEIJING, Jan 16: The future of Central Asia’s oil and gas reserves will become a focus of an increasingly ambitious regional security group, including energy-hungry China, officials said in Beijing on Monday....
Ginners’ expectations for higher price kept buyers at bay KARACHI, Jan 16: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a listless note as brokers again remained busy in exchanging Eid greetings with each other rather than providing a meeting ground to the spinners and the ginners....		China’s forex to pressure currency SHANGHAI, Jan 16: China is likely to come under renewed pressure to revalue its currency after its foreign exchange reserves soared 209 billion dollars, or 34.3...
Arcelor improves bid for Dofasco PARIS, Jan 16: The battle for Canadian steel producer Dofasco heated up on Monday as European steel giant Arcelor made a third improved bid for the group in an attempt to trump its German rival ThyssenKrupp....		HK set to post budget surplus for 2005-06 HONG KONG, Jan 16: Hong Kong is set to deliver HK$12.7 billion (US$1.6 billion) consolidated budget surplus for fiscal 2005/06, down from HK$21.4 billion a year earlier, accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers forecast on Monday....
UK factory costs surge LONDON, Jan 16: British firms’ raw material costs rose at a record annual pace last month as fuel prices surged, but analysts said tame factory gate prices left open the posibility of an interest rate cut in the coming months....		Gold prices higher in Europe LONDON, Jan 16: Gold rose to fresh 25-year highs in Europe on Monday as fund managers pushed more money into commodities and talk resurfaced of central bank buying....
Palm oil prices KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16: Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Monday after India cut the base import prices of crude palm and soybean oils....		European stock markets mostly rise LONDON, Jan 16: European stock markets mostly climbed on Monday, but Frankfurt shares slid on broker downgrades, while trading was expected to be thin ahead of Martin Luther King day in the US....
Asian stocks close lower HONG KONG, Jan 16: Asian stocks closed lower on Monday amid a another bout of profit taking after a lacklustre performance by Wall Street, with Tokyo leading regional markets into negative territory....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, Jan 16: Nine ships carrying containers, coal and steel cargo are expected to arrive at the outer anchorage on Tuesday, according to the KPT sources....