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| September 10, 2007 | Monday | Sha'aban 27, 1428 |
The economic case for political continuity
 In the hype accompanying the publication of In the Line of Fire, its economic content did not get much attention. On re-reading after picking up a copy from a Sunday bookshop...
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‘Growth now, equitable distribution later’
 Can ‘economics’ be separated from ‘politics’? This is an age-old desire of economists yet to be realised. Politics is not just about contesting elections. Healthy politics is competition for scarce resources...
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Issues in agricultural pricing
 AGRICULTURAL pricing is a subject of lively debate. It has evoked divergent views, ranging from a forceful advocacy of support prices for key agricultural commodities and subsidies for major inputs to...
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Sunflower cultivation to cut edible oil imports
 SUFFERING from chronic shortage, the country is the third largest importer of edible oil in the world. Its imports have steadily increased from 0.3 million tones to two million tones over...
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Monitoring agriculture with remote sensing
 REMOTE sensing is the science (and to some extent an art) of acquiring information about the earth’s surface without actually being in contact with it. This is done by sensing and...
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Selecting technology for Thar coal
 The Sindh Coal Authority (SCA), Mines and Mineral Development Department, has invited an open discussion by geologists, technocrats, geoscientists and companies for throwing light on the recent advances in lignite coal...
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World commodities
Gold prices in the London market hit a six week high on September 4, helped by safe-haven buying and good physical demand, with investors awaiting the release of US economic data that may change bullion’s short term direction....
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Community-centred development
 The citizen community boards (CCBs) were created to enable pro-active elements of society to participate in community work and undertake development-related activities in rural and urban areas with a bottom-up and participation-based approaches....
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Environmental concerns in global trade
Tariff restrictions have considerably been phased out in the past decade under various trade accords by reducing tariff rates. Non-tariff barriers in the form of quality, environmental and social standards are phasing in....
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The unfair trade practices
 TELEVISION in India has undergone dramatic changes over the last 15 years. There has been a proliferation of news, business and entertainment channels, and an average city-based viewer has access to over a hundred channels....
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Oil security risks, soaring prices
 The international oil prices recently fell below $70 a barrel on fear of financial instability resulting from the US sub-prime mortgage woes. The prices rebounded when the US Federal Reserve took corrective action and the capital markets responded to it....
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Rising disparity in salaries
Professor Huck Gutman of Vermont University (USA), writing on the increasing economic disparities since 1990’s says that the corporates all over the globe have earned huge profits and increased their area of influence....
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Turnaround in a state-run unit
For the second consecutive year, Pakistan Engineering Company Ltd. (PECO), a sate-run unit listed at the stock exchange, has earned a net profit, after having incurred heavy losses for over a decade or so....
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Downside risks to euro area’s economy
 ECONOMIC prospects in Europe are now clearly less buoyant and more uncertain, says an OECD interim assessment released on Wednesday....
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Falling carpet exports
 Export of carpets and rugs declined from $278 million in FY05 to $267 million in FY06 and to $233 million in FY07. Exporters fear that the trend may continue for want...
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Privatisation on back-burner
The privatisation of major public sector units, in the doldrums for some months, may now be pushed back further due to a variety of factors....
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A tougher Ramazan for consumers
 The coming Ramazan may be tougher on consumers than in previous years as market players and companies have already jacked up prices of essential food and kitchen items before the holy...
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Political developments set investment trends
 DESPITE active profit-selling in banking and other pivotals, stocks last week maintained recovery drive boosted by reports that the Dubai talks on Musharraf-Benazir power sharing formula were are close to a deal as major irritants have been removed....
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Strong forex inflows
 On September 7 the rupee closed at 60.58 to a dollar showing a gain of four paisas in the first week of the month. Bankers said that foreign exchange inflows remained...
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Commercial banks’ deposits decline
 According to the weekly statement of position of all scheduled banks for the week ended August 25, 2007, deposits and other accounts of the scheduled banks stood at Rs3,403.170...
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Prices of rice varieties fall sharply
 PRICES of essential items on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets last week remained stable, but generally rose followed by reports of pressure on ready supplies....
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Rupee gains versus dollar
The local market observed mixed sentiments this week as rupee remained under pressure due to the political situation prevailing since the historic judgment of the Supreme Court on CJ reference and the former Prime Minister Case....
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