DAWN - Business; October 20, 2007

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October 20, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 7, 1428

Exporters fearing diversion of orders: Buyers cancel visits KARACHI, Oct 19: Thursday’s blasts in Benazir Bhutto’s rally have sent shock waves across the globe as buyers immediately sent their e-mails to their Pakistani suppliers, informing about the cancellation of their visits....		Poland offers to develop Gwadar Port city QUETTA Oct 19: Poland has offered to set up industry in the port city of Gwadar besides developing infrastructure there. It has also extended cooperation in oil and gas, energy, maritime, engineering and food processing sectors in Pakistan....

Fear forces closure of bank branches KARACHI, Oct 19: As Karachiites bury their loved ones lost in the carnage a day earlier, Friday bore a somber look and people opted to remain inside their houses, markets were...		Textile subsidies being diverted to other sectors ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: More than Rs23 billion government subsidies in over two years to the textile sector have failed to add a single textile mills during the period, and instead there...

Stocks gain 32 points in mixed trading KARACHI, Oct 19: Stocks on Friday turned in a highly volatile performance amid alternate bouts of buying and selling triggered by Thursday’s carnage, but managed to finish higher after having given...		Business, industry mourn the carnage KARACHI, Oct 19: The business and industrial activities remained halted on Friday to mourn the death of 139 innocent people killed in reported bomb blasts targeted against Benazir Bhutto on Thursday....

New York oil price hits record high $90.07 LONDON, Oct 19: Oil prices soared to another record high above $90 per barrel on Friday amid global supply jitters and tensions between Turkey and crude producer Iraq, dealers said....		Agriculture key to meet anti-poverty goals WASHINGTON, Oct 19: The World Bank warned on Friday that the UN goal of halving the incidence of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries would go unmet unless agriculture took centre stage in development aid....

Finance chiefs discuss market turmoil WASHINGTON, Oct 19: Finance chiefs from the world’s richest countries met here on Friday to debate global economic prospects amid mounting exchange rate tension and financial market upheaval that threatens worldwide growth....		WTO states given two weeks to close gap GENEVA, Oct 19: The chief negotiator guiding key WTO talks on reducing barriers to global agricultural trade, Crawford Falconer, on Friday gave the 151 member states two weeks to narrow their differences....

Dollar hits historic low against euro LONDON, Oct 19: The ailing US dollar hit another record low versus the euro on Friday as the market fretted over gloomy US economic prospects and G7 finance ministers gathered in Washington, dealers said....		India’s inflation falls NEW DELHI, Oct 19: India’s inflation rate has edged further down around five-year lows, official data showed on Friday, as food prices continued to fall. Annual inflation slowed to 3.07...

Asia-Pacific growth to slow down in 2008 WASHINGTON, Oct 19: The International Monetary Fund said Asia-Pacific economic regional growth is expected to slow to 8 per cent this year and to 7.2 per cent in 2008 if China keeps a tight rein on monetary policy....		Brisk buying on cotton market KARACHI, Oct 19: Cotton market on Friday maintained the firm trend as pent-up mill demand figured prominently at the current levels amid predictions of an imminent price flare-up....

Britain gives Europe a taste of good Q3 GDP LONDON/BERLIN, Oct 19: Europe got a surprisingly positive foretaste of third-quarter economic output when Britain published healthy gross domestic product figures on Friday for the period when the global credit crunch struck....		UK economy bounds ahead in 3rd quarter LONDON, Oct 19: Britain’s economy expanded by an impressive 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2007, shrugging off the impact of the global credit crunch, according to official data published on Friday....

EU to attract skilled migrants CERNOBBIO, Oct 19: The European Union is trying to attract skilled migrants by offering them more flexible travel arrangements than they would get in the United States, a senior EU official said on Friday....		EU may change trade stance on China BRUSSELS, Oct 19: The European Union may take a different stance towards China over its growing trade surplus with the bloc if Beijing does not open up more to foreign exporters and investors, the EU executive said on Thursday....

Corruption in Russian business MOSCOW, Oct 19: Corruption in Russian business has worsened over the last two years and is draining millions of dollars from the economy, according to a survey....		New oil reserves COLOMBO, Oct 19: Sri Lanka is seeking international expertise to conduct seismic surveys off the southern tip of the island in a hunt for new oil deposits, a senior minister said on Friday....

EU, US talks on sovereign wealth funds WASHINGTON, Oct 19: European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Friday that he and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson agreed on a need for a common approach...		Canadian inflation up OTTAWA, Oct 19: Consumer prices in Canada were pushed higher in September by rising petrol (gasoline) costs which stoked the Consumer Price Index to its highest level since May 2006, the government said on Friday....

Ethiopian car ADDIS ABABA, Oct 19: Ethiopia has unveiled its first locally-assembled saloon car -- with parts imported from China -- two years after it rolled out a plant....		Asian stocks close lower HONG KONG, Oct 19: Asian stocks closed lower on Friday after the cost of crude struck another record high and broke through the US$90 a barrel barrier, a falling US dollar and fears for the global economic outlook....

Palm oil prices up KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19: Malaysian crude palm oil futures surged to a record high on Friday, driven by strong overnight gains in rival soybean oil and crude oil markets, traders said....		European stocks mixed LONDON, Oct 19: Europe’s main stock markets were mixed on Friday as investor sentiment was dampened by the strong euro and crude oil prices rising to fresh record highs, dealers said....

Gold higher LONDON, Oct 19: A weak dollar, near record-high oil prices and simmering geo-political tensions sent gold to a 28-year high of $770 per ounce on Friday, while continued supply worries gave platinum fresh legs, helping it to record highs....		Conversion rates KARACHI: The following are October 20 State Bank conversion rates for foreign currency deposits, dollar bearer certificates, foreign currency bearer certificates, and special US dollar bonds....