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| January 22, 2007 | Monday | Muharram 02, 1428 |
Monetary policy: rising inflation and difficult choices
 MAKING the half-yearly monetary policy statement, State Bank Governor Shamshad Akhtar told a press conference last Thursday that the central bank will maintain its (tight) monetary policy stance while “effective administrative measures” are needed to control food prices....
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Health scene and pharma industry
 SICKLY health indicators point to a healthy future ahead for the pharmaceutical sector. Huge scope in the local market for the transformed domestic drug industry is complemented by its outreach in the global market....
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National Savings rates to be raised by 1pc
WITH the increase in profit on Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB), the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has decided to offer additional average one per cent profit on all its products in order to provide some benefits to its depositors....
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Issues in sunflower cultivation
 PAKISTAN is facing an acute shortage of edible oil. Only 30 per cent of the country’s requirement is met through local production and rest 70 per cent by import entailing a huge foreign exchange worth around Rs24,020 million....
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Hot water treatment of mango fruits
 BEING one of the most important tropical fruit crops of the world, mango is called King of Fruits. Its different varieties are very popular due to attractive fruit peel colours, specific fragrance, delicious taste and nutritive value....
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Identifying causes of low farm yield
 THE per hectare yield of major crops like wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane and maize is lower than the potential. A number of factors could be attributed to low crop yield in the country....
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Weed management in wheat crop
WEEDS constitute the single greatest cause of crop loss in Pakistan. Because their effect on yield tends to be under estimated, their presence is often tolerated....
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Alarming increase in industrial pollution
 THE contents and conclusions of a recent study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on “urban air quality management in Pakistan” should not have come as a shock or surprise to...
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World economies
Growth in both of these regions continues to benefit from very strong global commodity prices, including oil. The oil-exporting countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the smaller Gulf states, Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria)...
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Construction boom and worsening housing problems
LARGE-scale construction activities are flourishing across the country, particularly in big cities. New buildings with modern designs, houses, office complexes, shopping plazas, malls and quite a few sky-scrappers have cropped up or can be witnessed under construction in urban areas....
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IT sector on track to achieve export target
 THE outstanding performance of India’s top information technology companies in the second quarter of the current fiscal is a sure sign that the sector is on track to achieve its ambitious goal of $60 billion worth of exports by 2010....
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Improving microfinance Outreach
 RIGHT from late eighties initiatives have been taken by some NGOs and commercial banks to provide micro loans to poor who generally do not have access to conventional banking channels....
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What is behind the falling oil prices?
 International oil prices have witnessed a declining trend in recent months. On January 12, oil dropped to $51.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a report showed that...
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Europe’s energy worries and UK’s wind farms
 EUROPE is worried over its growing demand for energy and as well the extremely adverse impact of the increasing use of fossil fuels on the climate to satisfy this demand....
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Services sector to lead growth
THE Services’ sector is being summoned again for the third consecutive year in 2006-07, for, “turning in above the target growth’’ so that the overall national economy shows seven per cent growth by the end of June next....
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Savings-investment model and a recipe for development
 IT was the savings-investment model that had been exported to the Third World following the successful execution of the Marshall Plan in Western Europe. Economic history has it that it did...
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Move for power conservation
THE table of energy saving measures essential to meet the 2000 MW shortage of power in the Wapda region by May is obvious. It has hardly any new element to add to it to produce any surprising results....
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Stocks bullish on hopes of better corporate results
 STOCKS remained in a bullish frame of mind despite a good bit of profit-selling at higher levels, the New Year forward drive was well sustained for the third week in a row on active follow-up support....
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Dollar supply strengthens rupee
 THE rupee/dollar parity in the local currency market this week remained range bound amid fluctuations. During the early week there was a downward pressure on the rupee due to high dollar demand by the importers and supply shortfall....
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SBP raises Rs239 million from six month T-bills
 AT the auction on January 17, the State Bank of Pakistan raised Rs239.5 million of six month Treasury bills at 8.8142 per cent. The cut off yields on three month and 12 month bills remained unchanged at 8.6417...
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Fall in arrivals pushes up prices of pulses
 PRICES of essential items remained stable around previous levels during the last week in the absence of fresh buying by both the retailers and the wholesalers....
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