January 30, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 29, 1426

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Inflation worries still persist The State Bank of Pakistan’s six monthly monetary policy statement released this past week delivered the expected. Dr Shamshad Akhtar, the new central bank governor, said in her first monetary policy...		Index of economic freedom Index of ‘economic freedom’ has placed Pakistan on the 110tht slot in 2006, considerably higher than the 133rd position on which it stood in 2005, on a scale of 1-155....
Capacity-creation for larger value-added exports The trade deficit of $5.581 billion for the July-December 2005 period is a staggering figure for Pakistan whose last record deficit was $3.52 billion in 1997-98....		Sugarcane and its by-products Sugarcane today is considered as one of the best converters of solar energy into biomass and sugar. It is a rich source of food (sucrose, jaggery and syrup), fibre (cellulose), fodder...
Small farmers denied fair crop prices Wheat policy of the government has been under discussion for the past few weeks and has been analyzed by some reputed writers of established integrity and professional know-how....		Environmental hazards According to the UN, the world population is growing at 1.33 per cent per annum and is expected to reach seven billion in 2013 and eight billion in 2028....
Combating salinity through plant management Saline agriculture is defined as the use of genetic resources (plants, animals, fish, insects and micro-organisms) and improved agricultural practices to obtain profitable use from saline land and irrigation water on a sustainable basis....		Controversial dam issues The country is facing serious water shortage for farming to meet the food and energy requirements of the burgeoning population. The population of 32.4 million in 1948 increased to 152.4...
Seawater intrusion downstream Kotri Kotri Barrage built in 1955 is downstream barrage on the Indus River, before it discharges into the Arabian Sea. There is about 178 miles of river reach from the barrage to the sea....		Hong Kong lessons Trade, according to economists, is not a zero-sum game because all parties are better off. This is true in essence, although in a changing world the application of static theory is far from straightforward....
Bringing the Baloch into the national stream A military operation is not without its human, social, political and economic costs. The duration of the military action also matters. The longer it continues, and the more bloody the confrontation...		Borrowing for quake victims At the recently held donors’ conference in Islamabad, Pakistan presented a plan for relief and the rehabilitation of the earth-quake victims in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP spread over a period of five years....
Budgetary outlays on capital formation The budgetary system of a country reflects its norms, priorities and modes of public spending and revenue collecting. A wide diversity can be observed in the type of fiscal systems adopted by countries across the globe....		Local finance and National Finance Commission The 6th National Finance Commission completed its five-year term on July 21 this last without giving award as to sharing federal divisible pool income among provinces....
Gender budgeting for equity A high gender inequality limits economic development. This inequality is an outcome of both socio-economic structures and gender blind macro economic policies. Although efforts are being made to ameliorate the current...		Monetary policy lacks finesse In recent years, central banks have tried to sustain economic stability by pushing real interest rates down into the negative. In effect, however, by becoming cheer leaders for the ‘new’ economy...
Petrol losing its market share The overall sale of petroleum products during July-December 2005 has declined by 11.6 per cent to 7.2 million tons from 8.2 million tons in the same period of 2004....		Domestic public debt, financial markets-II The stock exchange is always in the limelight and gives much to economic managers of the country to boast about. However, its proper basic role of meeting the capital needs of...
KSE 100-share index maintains upward drive KSE 100-share index last week maintained its upward drive beyond the 10,000 point level reinforcing its next target of 12,000 without any significant technical correction. It has already successfully breached through four consecutive barriers and firmly settled well above 10,447.00....		Rupee-dollar parity moving both ways The rupee/dollar parity moved both ways in a narrow band this week in the local currency market. In the inter bank market, the rupee shed two paisa on the opening day of the week, changing hands at Rs59.85...
Overnight rate falls to 5pc The State Bank of Pakistan mopped up Rs5.350 billion on January 27, for one day. On the preceding day the central bank had picked up Rs10.3...		Steady arrivals keep prices stable Prices of most of the essential items remained stable last week on the Karachi wholesale markets as ready position was more liquid than the previous week, thanks to steady arrivals from the upcountry markets....