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| February 11, 2008 | Monday | Safar 03, 1429 |
Non-productive foreign loans
 Pakistan has obtained a total of $16 billion in loans from the Asian Development Bank for 127 projects since 1985, adding substantially to total foreign debt that together with external liabilities, now stands close to $42 billion....
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Barriers in the textile exports
 For about three dozen top groups, textiles still offers a lot of business prospects despite difficulties. But for many industrialists and traders, textile has become a losing proposition as they have either closed down or are about to shut their shops....
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Passing the buck on to elected government
 The new political government, which will be inducted in office after the general elections scheduled for next Monday, is going to inherit a slowing economy and would be required to take...
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Karnal bunt — a fungal wheat disease
 BEING the eighth largest wheat producer of the world, the country every year suffers from acute shortage due to poor storage and marketing policy. Besides these, the crop is also exposed to many abiotic and biotic/living constraints during its lifecycle....
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Developing fish industry
 THE country’s main source of fish is the Indian Ocean. More than 100 species of fish exist with some 25 having commercial value Production of fish, both inland and marine, in 2006, was about 6,05,000 tons....
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Reversing land degradation through Vetiver grass
 The shrinking good quality lands and environmental degradation due to mismanagement and over exploitation of natural resources is a major challenge facing the world....
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Tourism’s potential for economic growth
As a result of what economists sometimes refer to as “post industrialisation,” the structure of the global economy has changed profoundly over the last couple of decades....
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Need to focus on people on fringes
 The World Economic Forum aims at keeping the formal world economy propped up. A world economy whose health is gauged by the GDP growth rate (and its components, fiscal and trade...
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Moving deeper into debt
As the economic problems intensify, the government is opting for larger external as well as domestic debt. The external debt has risen to $40.32 billion from $33.32...
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World economies
Japan’s economy continued to grow slowly in 2007. GDP is expected to grow two per cent for the year, compared to 2.2 per cent in 2006.Unemployment also stayed relatively steady,...
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Multi-billion dollar telecom deals
 THERE’S been frenzied growth in India’s telecommunications sector in recent years, as millions of Indians — including the less affluent and the poor — discover the joys of connecting to their relatives and friends through mobile phones....
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Falling corporate tax revenues
 THE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is facing a revenue shortfall on the corporate sector despite extensions in the date for filing their income tax returns....
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What has monetary policy delivered?
 On January 31, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) further tightened the monetary policy (MP) for January-June, 2008. The MP tightening commenced in July,2005 to control inflation which had reached 9.3...
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Unabated public spending
 The political temptation is proving to be too strong for the government to stick to financial discipline. Keeping high the morale of the military, engaged to fight the enemy within, and...
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Tariff issue in renewable energy
PRODUCING electricity by using wind, solar, waste, micro-hydro and bio-gas technologies is becoming a major problem as investors have not utilised the Letters of Intent (LoI) issued to them....
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Corporate roots of bird flu
 The federal government intends to regulate the working of 26,000 poultry farms, mostly small, in a bid to stamp out the Avian influenza virus which now visits the country frequently....
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Who is responsible for all this mess?
 There are growing signs that the economy in the UK is flagging as a consequence to last year’s rate rises and the global credit crunch. Business and consumer confidence have fallen sharply, while the housing market is still stagnating....
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Investors play safe as general elections approach
 STOCKS last week failed to extend steadiness as investors were not inclined to take long positions even on the blue chip counters ahead of the general elections, but there was no...
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Active dollar buying by importers
 Throughout the week in review, the local currency market witnessed active dollar buying by importers to cover their payment bills. Rising oil prices in the world market and the strengthening of dollar have pushed the domestic import bills....
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Notes in circulation on the decline
 According to the Statement of Affairs of the State Bank of Pakistan, for the week ended January 26, 2008, both notes in circulation and those issued decreased in the week....
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Wheat prices rise on slower supplies
 PRICES of some essential items last week rose further high as supply position did not improve after arrivals from upcountry trading centres remained below normal....
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