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| October 27, 2008 | Monday | Shawwal 27, 1429 |
The fear of unemployment
 IF 2008 can be described as a year of inflation, 2009 may turn out to be a year of unemployment unless the government gives up its habit of waiting for an...
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Diversifying exports
 EFFORTS are on, both at the government and at the private level, to explore new markets and also to consolidate positions in places where Pakistan has a token presence in export...
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Sacred cows and the IMF support
 THE prime minister’s advisor on finance Shaukat Tareen has pledged to tax the income on agriculture in addition to other hitherto untaxed sectors of the economy....
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Replacing cane with sugar beet crop
 THE federal ministry for food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) has asked Sindh and Punjab to replace half of their sugarcane crop with sugar beet in order to meet the challenge of water shortage....
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Substituting expensive inputs by cheaper options
WHEN there is a crisis of the kind that we have in agriculture, it is time to reconsider the entire sector and to come up with different techniques....
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Wheat prices and inflation
 THE wheat shortage, amidst claims of highest-ever crop size, is once again reinforcing the need for strong government intervention....
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Plant space for raising citrus fruit yield
 THE citrus fruit ranks at the top in production and trade among all fruits produced the world over. It is highly prized and remunerative fruit, cultivated almost all over the world....
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Curbing currency speculation
 One of the key issues facing the country is sliding of the rupee because of the widening current account deficit, falling foreign exchange reserves and unbridled speculation....
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Qualifying for IMF credit
The federal government seems to have taken some steps to become eligible for the IMF balance of payments support. Helped by a sharp slump in oil prices, the government has done...
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Why an interim industrial relations bill?
 THE Pakistan People’s Party has adopted an interim Industrial Relations Bill- 2008 in the Senate to replace the Industrial Relations Ordinance-2002....
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Harnessing nuclear energy
One of the significant results of the president’s visit to China is the signing of a civilian nuclear co-operation agreement for the setting up of two more nuclear power plants—CHASNUPP-3 and CHASNUPP- 4....
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World commodities
Oil prices which had fallen a few days earlier, rebounded on October 23, on the prospect of a cut in output by the Opec cartel......
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Indian banks mulling cut in interest rate
 THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank, which over the past four-and-a-half years has been relentlessly raising interest rates to curb liquidity in the economy, has done an about turn, triggering off the process of slashing rates....
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Economic bubbles and cycles
 Nobody knows for sure how long America’s financial crisis will persist and what kind of debris it will leave behind when it ends. Economic crises or bubbles are often of cyclic...
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Financial crisis to create global realignment
THE story of American dominance in world affairs for nearly half a century followed by its relative decline in both political and economic power begins with one public policy decision: the decision by the administration of President George W....
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Getting rid of the superfluous
 CREDIT in the US banking system has dried up and many banks cannot meet the eight per cent capital requirement that limits their ability to lend....
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Do we need a bailout plan?
 Pakistan’s economic predicament is becoming grimmer. Although Pakistan’s year-long economic crisis is largely self-created, the looming global financial crisis is also a part of the problem....
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Return of a semblance of stability
THE days preceding the October 17 announcement of market- stabilising emergency measures by the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan reminded many of us of the scenes witnessed soon after...
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Officially certified recession
 Both the Prime Minister and the Governor of Bank of England (BoE) along with a leading academic think tank of Britain have finally conceded that the UK is about to hit recession....
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Deepening foreign exchange crisis
 THE deepening foreign exchange crisis is all too visible. The sharp deterioration in world economic prospects, much slower growth of output and trade and likely disruption of private capital inflows from western markets add to Pakistan’s difficulties....
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Economic worries set investors’ sentiments
 THE share market finished last week on a dull note as investors were still in two minds about the bailout package announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to...
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Rupee up Against dollar
 The rupee showed strong upward trend versus the dollar and euro in the local currency market this week as a result of several measures announced by the State Bank of Pakistan...
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Banks’ renewed interest in T/bills
 On October 22, commercial banks invested Rs59.86 billion in three-month T-bills, Rs470 million in six-month paper and Rs443 million in one-year paper....
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Rice prices go up as export resumes
 TRADING activity on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets last week was fairly active as both leading brokerage and commercial houses remained active buyers mostly at a decline on the essential counters....
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