DAWN - Business; December 02, 2007

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December 02, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 21, 1428

Flour, rice, ghee, oil prices up in Nov KARACHI, Dec 1: Except for some stability in the prices of vegetables and pulses, consumers paid higher rates for flour varieties, rice, ghee, cooking oil, fresh milk and soft drinks....		De-pegging, output on Opec meet agenda RIYADH, Dec 1: The Opec meeting in Abu Dhabi next week could have phenomenal impact on global crude dynamics. The cartel is expected to discuss opening up its taps further, whereas,...

SPI records 8.42pc rise ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: The weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) went up by 8.42 per cent in the week ending on November 29, 2007 over the last year...		Dubai gold sales value stagnant in Nov DUBAI, Dec 1: The value of Dubai gold sales was largely unchanged in November from a year ago, but demand is expected to rise in December as buyers adjust to high prices, a top industry executive said on Saturday....

Russian lender backs liquidity MOSCOW, Dec 1: Russia’s Bank of Development has started placing 200 billion roubles ($8.21bn) of budget funds on the interbank market to support the liquidity of the banking sector, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told Reuters....		Cellular firm has no plans to set up new units KARACHI, Dec 1: Finland’s mobile giant, enjoying over 60 per cent market share in Pakistani market, has initially no plans to set up any manufacturing facility in the country in the near future....

Iranian envoy for boosting bilateral trade to $1bn ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Iran is considering various measures to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Pakistan from $650 million to $1 billion in next few years, said Iranian Commercial Attaché Ahmed Fasihi on Saturday....		Tokyo seeks gas deal with China BEIJING, Dec 1: Japan wants to reach an accord with China over exploring lucrative gas fields in the East China Sea by the beginning of 2008, an official here said on Saturday....

SBP, IFC joint plan on housing finance KARACHI, Dec 1: The State Bank, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private arm of World Bank Group, will host a 12-day training programme on ‘housing finance’ in Karachi from Dec 3 to 14, 2007....		Accord inked to import drilling rig from China ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: The Mari Gas Company Limited (MGCL) signed on Saturday an agreement with the Honghua Petroleum Equipment Company Limited to import a brand new oil and gas drilling rig from China....

German industry BERLIN, Dec 1: Germany’s metals and electrical engineering industry association expects growth in the sector to slow by about half next year due to the weak US dollar, finance market turmoil and soaring energy costs, the group’s president said on Saturday....		US mortgage plan only delays pain NEW YORK, Dec 1: Equity investors cheered news that the US Treasury Department is working on a plan with mortgage industry leaders to save struggling homeowners from foreclosure, but analysts said it will not completely save banks from home loan pain....

Opec unclear about output hike as demand seen rising DOHA, Dec 1: World oil consumption will rise as winter sets in but it is unclear if Opec needs to raise output to meet the seasonal demand, the oil minister of top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Saturday....		UAE to withstand dirham speculation DUBAI, Dec 1: United Arab Emirates central bank is able to absorb pressure from investors betting on appreciation of the dirham currency, a newspaper reported on Saturday, citing the central bank governor....

Siemens’ wind business to grow FRANKFURT, Dec 1: Siemens expects sales at its wind power business to grow 30 per cent this fiscal year to end-September and its profit margin should reach double digits, the head of the wind business told a newspaper....		China urged to allow yuan rise BEIJING, Dec 1: Japan’s Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga on Saturday added his voice to a chorus urging China to allow the yuan to appreciate more quickly against other currencies....

Australian CA deficit SYDNEY, Dec 1: Australia’s current account deficit narrowed to $15.59 billion (US$13.80 billion) in the three months to September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Friday....		Oil prices slump after run at $100 LONDON, Dec 1: Oil prices plunged this week on easing supply concerns despite coming close to breaching $100 per barrel on Monday, analysts said....

WTO urges elimination of fishing subsidies GENEVA, Dec 1: The World Trade Organisation on Friday proposed the elimination of most subsidies for the fishing industry in a compromise package submitted to the global body’s 151 members....		Wall Street regains from friendly Fed NEW YORK, Dec 1: Upward momentum is back on Wall Street as stocks regained ground at the end of a horrid November, with hopes mounting that the Federal Reserve will cut rates and help the US economy avert a downturn....

China 2007 trade surplus at $260bn SHANGHAI, Dec 1: China’s trade surplus is expected to reach $260 billion in 2007, rising less than forecast earlier thanks to changes in the country’s trade policies, a Ministry of Finance official said on Saturday....		Dollar gains NEW YORK, Dec 1: The dollar firmed on Friday amid renewed optimism about the outlook for the US economy as prospects for a cut in interest rates appeared to rise....

Clarification ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of JJVL, Iqbal Z. Ahmed, has clarified that he has been opposed to link local LPG producer prices to Saudi Arabian export prices since the inception of this policy in January last year....		Gas price BUDAPEST, Dec 1: Gas prices for Hungarian households will rise by five per cent as of Jan 1 because of an increase in crude oil prices, the Economy Ministry said on Saturday....

Polish GDP WARSAW, Dec 1: Poland’s GDP growth rate may be lower next year than the government’s 2008 budget assumption of 5.7pc, Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said on Saturday....		Karachi market rates KARACHI, Dec 1: The following were Saturday’s commodity market rates in rupees....

Elected KARACHI, Dec 1: Usman Umer and Dr Aziz Ahmed have been elected chairman and vice-chairman of Pakistan Tanners Association (South Zone) for the year 2007-08....		Conversion rates KARACHI: The following are December 3 State Bank conversion rates for foreign currency deposits, dollar bearer certificates, foreign currency bearer certificates, and special US dollar bonds....