January 23, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 22, 1426

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Challenges for the new SECP chief IN his first public address as newly appointed chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Razi-ur-Rahman Khan made an unremarkable statement at a seminar last week....		Central bank’s independence Central banks are supposed to be independent of government influence in monetary policy formulation. Even influence is not desired leave alone intervention. That they are not so in many parts of...
Domestic public debt and financial markets Inaugurating the State Bank sponsored conference on “Monetary-cum-Exchange Rate Regime”, former SBP Governor spoke, among other things, on limitations on the exercise of autonomy by the central bank....		Unfeasible feasibility President General Pervez Musharraf had been campaigning for the construction of water reservoirs to meet the growing water needs of the country and to refurbish dwindling resources....
Plantation of jackfruit in Karachi THE jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk) popularly called ‘Kathal’ in Urdu, belongs to the family Moraceae and is indigenous to China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. It is cultivated for the edible flesh....		Dates: a viable income source THE date palm is the oldest tree known and cultivated by man. Dates are nutritive foods that are most assimilative. The real importance of dates could be imagined from the fact...
Setback to citrus export Pakistan produces a variety of citrus fruits. These range from Mausami, Washington Navel, Kinnow, Sweet Lime, Rough Lemon, Succri, Jaffa, Eureka Lemon, Red Blood, Ruby Red and Kaghzi....		Privatization of solid waste management service ON December 18, 2005, the City District Government of Karachi (CDGK) launched an initiative to privatize the solid waste management (SWM) service. According to the tender schedule, all the 18 towns...
World economies Looking back at 2005, clearly one of the most dramatic events was the one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The economic consequences for the Gulf Coast region have been enormous. More than a million people have been displaced,...		The real estate boom: Mumbai Letter INDIA’S financial and commercial capital generally does not suffer from any shortages. If the rest of the state of Maharashtra – of which it is the capital – suffers an acute...
Putting IPRs on priority agenda INTERNATIONAL Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has recommended to United States Trade Representative (USTR) in a recent hearing to terminate investigation to withdraw GSP benefits from Pakistan....		Consumerism’s swipe at household savings A number of consumer goods are quoted as a proof of momentum in the economy in the developed and not in developing world where economic growth is a function of an...
Social development in Balochistan THE writ of the present government, according to the official sources, was being challenged in tribal areas of Balochistan, particularly Kohlu and Dera Bugti, and the military action has been undertaken to restore it....		Will REITs deliver where others failed? PROPERTY is the next frontier for the capital market and investors, as demand for housing, commercial and industrial property escalates rapidly, while the supply essentially stays bottled up....
Dealing with the oil situation ONCE again, the international oil prices have started moving upward. Crude prices steadied over the week after hitting a 3-month high on January 12 reportedly due to fears of supply disruption in Iran and Nigeria....		Profit sharing can boost exports IS profit-sharing between shareholders and workers of major companies the right solution for export problems by globalization of trade under the WTO regime? As major companies in the West face critical...
Bourses embark on record making spree THE stocks last week set new records, both in terms of the index level and the volume figures, as investors continued to build-up long positions on selected counters aided by the...		Rupee loses 45 paisa against euro THE rupee was able to resist sharp fall on the opening day of the week on comfortable dollar supply position. However, an increased dollar demand by the corporate sector exerted slight pressure on the rupee/dollar parity....
Moderately liquid conditions rule the week ON January 18, the State Bank of Pakistan sold the Treasury Bills worth Rs8.447 billion without any changes in the cut-off yield. The SBP picked up Rs196 million for three-month; Rs576 million for six-month; and Rs7.675...		Slow arrivals dampen market activity THE prices of some essential items on the Karachi wholesale markets rose modestly up as the supply position remained tight owing to slow arrivals from the upcountry markets....