DAWN - Business; May 12, 2007

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May 12, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1428

Fresh fiscal incentives ruled out: Budget 2007-08 ISLAMABAD, May 11: The government wants to help revive private sector investment in the country but has no plans to offer new fiscal incentives in the budget for 2007-08 as was being anticipated by various business and trade bodies....		Traders’ chambers to be set up in provinces: PM okays demands ISLAMABAD, May 11: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday accepted major demands of the business community, which would be introduced in the trade ordinance 2006 and rules 2007 in the next two weeks....

Inflation exceeds budgetary target: Up by 8.1pc in 10 months ISLAMABAD, May 11: Inflation rose by 6.92 per cent during the month of April 2007 over the same month of the last year mainly because of stable oil prices in domestic market, Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) said on Friday....		World oil prices higher on IEA report LONDON, May 11: Oil prices rose on Friday after the International Energy Agency warned of tighter supplies ahead and current unrest in Nigeria, the world''s sixth-biggest crude exporter, traders said.In...

China signs 27 deals with US firms BEIJING, May 11: A Chinese business delegation has signed deals worth 4.3 billion dollars with US firms, a move to showcase willingness to reduce China''s yawning trade surplus, state media said on Friday....		Govt proposed to bring down maximum tariff ISLAMABAD, May 11: Businessmen have proposed to government the inclusion of zero per cent slab in the Pakistan Customs Tariff besides scaling down of maximum tariff to 20 per cent from...

Unisame slates ban on pulses’ export KARACHI, May 11: President Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) Zulfikar Thaver said on Friday sudden ban on export of pulses will result in cancellation of many export contracts entered...		S. Korea, EU conclude trade talks SEOUL, May 11: South Korea and the European Union concluded their first round of free trade negotiations on Friday, with both sides saying the talks took place in a positive mood and expressing the hope a deal can be concluded promptly....

Stocks net modest gains despite tensions KARACHI, May 11: Despite prevailing tension ahead of Saturday’s rallies, stocks on Friday managed to finish modestly higher on active short-covering on some blue chip counters....		NY cotton lower NEW YORK, May 11: Cotton futures closed lower on Friday on a steady barrage of technically inspired speculative sales after an upbeat government crop report was ignored by market players, brokers said....

Investigators find empty Chinese Factories WASHINGTON, May 11: US investigators found shuttered factories when they arrived at the Chinese food processors blamed for putting the chemical melamine into vegetable proteins shipped to America, officials said on Thursday....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, May 11: Five ships carrying chemicals, general cargo and containers are due to arrive at the outer anchorage on Saturday, according to KPT sources....

Port Qasim KARACHI, May 11: Four ships to load and unload containers, rice and furnace oil arrived at the outer anchorage during the last 24 hours, said a PQA press release on Friday....		Quieter conditions on cotton market KARACHI, May 11: Trading activity on the cotton market on Friday was a bit slow as both ginners and spinners kept to the sidelines apparently analysing the negative and positive impact...

Russia sticks to Polish meat ban BRUSSELS, May 11: Russia has sent the European Union an unsatisfactory reply making no concessions towards ending a ban on meat imports from Poland, EU diplomats said on Friday, a week before a key EU-Russia summit....		Investment centre at Peshawar PESHAWAR, May 11: The Board of Investment (BoI) has established a Facilitation Centre at the provincial capital to help investors in the NWFP....

Canada sheds jobs in April OTTAWA, May 11: Canada shed 5,200 jobs in April, but the country’s unemployment rate held firm at an historic 33-year low of 6.1 per cent as more people quit the labour force, the government said on Friday....		Acquisition LONDON, May 11: British private equity group Terra Firma swooped into the aviation sector on Friday to become the world’s third-biggest aircraft leasing operator, snapping up US firm Pegasus for $5.2bn....

Producer prices up SHANGHAI, May 11: China’s factory-gate prices in April rose 2.9 per cent from a year earlier as higher metals and oil products prices lifted the cost of goods for manufacturers, the government said on Friday....		European stocks fall LONDON, May 11: European stock markets slid on Friday after an overnight slump on Wall Street that also sparked losses across Asian markets, dealers said....

Asian stocks lower HONG KONG, May 11: Asian stocks closed lower on Friday with investors taking their lead from Wall Street where weak economic data sparked another bout of jitters over the state of the US economy....		Malaysian palm oil up KUALA LUMPUR, May 11: Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed higher on Friday, lifted by a sharp decline in palm oil stocks and a steady increase in exports, dealers said....