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| September 29, 2008 | Monday | Ramazan 28, 1429 |
Initiatives for insurance of crop loans
 Two state-run units — the National Bank of Pakistan and the National Insurance Company — agreed on Wednesday last to formally launch a crop loan insurance scheme from early next month for Rabi crops....
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Ordeal at national savings centres
 Mr Badruddin, 70, an ex serviceman, struggled not to lean on a person sitting next to him as he adjusted himself on his chair. Neatly dressed, the senior citizen looked nervous, holding his leather pouch tight....
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Global financial turmoil and Pakistan
 The financial markets in the United States are in a turmoil of historic proportions, most serious since the Great Depression. The crisis triggered by sub-prime mortgage debts and the unprecedented state...
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Wheat sowing target unrealistic
 THE government has set a wheat sowing target of 2.2 million acres. Will the government have enough to offer the farmers to realise the target? The precarious state of supply of...
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Exporting citrus fruits to developed markets
 FRUITS are a vital part of agricultural exports. Large areas of the country are blessed with an ecological environment conducive to production of nearly 30 types of fruits of which citrus,...
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Diminishing production, faltering system
PAKISTAN faces a tough job in the coming Rabi season and that is to give a production package that would enable the country to stand on its own feet by ensuring food security....
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Wilt: a challenge to cotton growers
 THE productivity rate of cotton, the most important fibre and the cash crop of the country, has not shown any improvement over the world average of 1,576 kg/ha because of various reasons mainly diseases....
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The non-transparent KESC sale
 The government has done it again. The KESC has been sold to a real estate developer. Can Pakistan afford another such (mis)adventure which may prove more costly and socially more disastrous?...
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Wind energy: targets missed
 The National Energy Security Plan 2005-2030 envisaged development of renewable energy, with focus on wind-power, to achieve, from almost zero to a five per cent share in national power generation mix by 2025....
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How to protect savings?
 Many people with large savings or surplus incomes are looking for means to protect their wealth as purchasing power of the rupee falls, and multiply their savings, if possible....
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World Commodities
Oil...Crude oil prices which had sunk through the $100 level last week for the first time in more than five months, dropped to a low of $90.51 on September 16. But this proved short lived, amid violence in Nigeria and hurricane...
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Fair Basmati export price
EXPORTERS and traders have joined hands to deprive farmers of the rightfully due paddy price. Basmati prices shot up to $2,000 per ton after the imposition of Minimum Export Price (MEP) in April-May 2008....
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Big oil and gas discovery: disputes over stakes
 INDIA’S perilous hydrocarbons production scenario is likely to improve from next year after Reliance Industries Ltd, the country’s largest private sector firm, begins producing oil and gas from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin in Andhra Pradesh....
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The untold story: US financial meltdown to come
 Many are wondering how the current crisis in the US financial and mortgage markets suddenly erupted recently despite strong economic growth over the preceding 3-4 years....
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A major blow to deregulation regime
 SINCE Jimmy Carter era, regulation and state intervention had been looked down upon as dirty words in business and in Washington....
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Arabs shy to invest in US markets
 WHILE the US is hit by a severe financial crisis, the oil-rich Gulf nations with surplus money appear hesitant to invest in the American market....
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Negotiating a bailout
 Pakistan direly needs a breathing space amid concerns about a possible debt default. The debt servicing, at over $3 billion a year is getting out of hand and import financing is becoming more difficult....
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Running out of time
 The way the rupee is sliding suggests that the phenomenon has been accepted as un-controllable. This is a bad sign because the trend continues to stall a rise in industrial competitiveness,...
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Terrorism and the state of the economy
 I am writing about what I observed during my recent, two weeks visit to Pakistan. I arrived in the country on September 4 to the news that the Americans had escalated...
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Failure of credit rating agencies
 Early this year many prestigious credit rating agencies lost their own credit ratings for having rated doubtful financial firms and dubious derivatives as sound investments. There was a talk as well to take these agencies to courts for misleading their clients....
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Trading volume falls to new all-time low
 IT was another week of low daily volumes on the premier bourse as investors were not inclined to go beyond their pre-determined limits owing to prevailing law and order situation in...
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Rupee under continuing pressure
 The declining trend in rupee value against the dollar and euro continues. The rupee in the local market is under tremendous pressure due to weak economic indicators and uncertain political situation....
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Surging government borrowings
 On September 24, the State Bank of Pakistan sold Treasury Bills worth Rs35.266 billion in regular auction....
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Prices of essentials stable, sugar rises
 TRADING on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets remained relatively slow during the last week as commercial dealers and brokerage houses did not make fresh commitments owing to delivery problems....
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