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| November 24, 2008 | Monday | Ziqa'ad 25, 1429 |
Sagging manufacturing sector
 ACUTE energy shortages, high costs of production, sluggish domestic economy and reduction in global demand are beginning to take their toll on the manufacturing sector....
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Enclave for Japanese investors
 A Japanese business enclave on 200 acres in the vicinity of Port Qasim is being planned, for which a team of Pakistan-Japan Business Forum (PJBF) is meeting the Port Qasim Authority officials today....
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Creating jobs through self-employment
 THE economic situation is bad, with horrific stories of people in despair hitting the headlines every other day. The number of unemployed cannot be allowed to swell....
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Rise in tobacco support price
 THE federal government last week announced the minimum support price for tobacco crop of 2009, ahead of the plantation season, giving the growers an opportunity, for the first time, to opt for tobacco or any other cash crop....
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Late wheat sowing, yield losses
 PUNJAB has missed the most propitious date for wheat sowing by a big margin, which may render the target of 25 million tons of national production unachievable....
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Mirani Dam: farmers need incentive
 THE Mirani Dam has been constructed at a cost of Rs5.861 billion on the River Dasht, 43 km south-west of Turbat city in Makran, for irrigation purposes....
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Reducing edible oil imports
 DESPITE efforts to meet the bulk of edible oil requirements from indigenous sources, the country’s dependence on imported edible oil is constantly rising, registering a record increase of 200,000 tons during the last financial year....
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Stabilisation policy: ‘myth and reality’
 The best myths are found in the media about the Pakistani economy and are told by bankers, chartered accounts and finance specialists. Let me run through some of the myths....
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China’s fiscal stimulus
China has recently announced a $586 billion stimulus plan to boost its economy amid slowing export orders for its manufactured products as a result of the global financial crisis....
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A journey from Monterrey to Doha
 On November 29, 2008, the United Nations will hold a conference at Doha, Qatar as a “follow up” to the Conference for “Financing for Development” held six years ago at Monterrey, Mexico....
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World commodities
Oil...The price of a barrel of New York light sweet crude has fallen from a high of $147.50 a barrel on July 11 to $49.91 on November 20, which is the lowest since May 24, 2005 when...
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‘Hawala’ and the middlemen
 Undoubtedly, we are faced with a unique crisis. Even though the country’s economic crisis has sources other than the global economic crisis, mere synchronization of the two makes this crisis unique....
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Resistance to hire and fire culture
 WHILE the Indian economy has undergone dramatic changes over the past two decades – with economic reforms leading to increased exposure to global practices – in one area it has refused to accept the hire-and-fire culture....
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Government borrowing and State Bank’s authority
 The country is faced with a high rate of inflation that has never been experienced before. A part of it could be attributed to higher international prices of petroleum and food...
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Privatisation or distress sales?
 At a time when the state in the developed countries is playing a leading role in stabilising economies by nationalising or buying stakes in the major industries and financial bodies which...
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Sliding foreign investment
 THE rich countries are still in a state of denial about the fate of the free-for-all market economy. They still believe that they can bring back the good old days of...
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The post-IMF facility scenario
 For all practical purposes, Pakistan has been assured payment of $4 billion by June 2009 and $3.6 by June 2010 under IMF’s standby facility, approval thereof by IMF executive board is...
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Transforming the global economic system
 While George W. Bush, the outgoing American president, tried to dampen the expectations from the summit of the leaders of the world’s largest 20 economies, some of those who attended the...
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Investors await ‘floor’ removal
 THE share market last week remained dormant as investors again indulged in alternate bouts of buying and selling mostly in the low-priced shares as no one was inclined to take even a calculated risk until the floor is removed....
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Rupee drifts higher against dollar
 The rupee in the local market managed to show strength over the dollar and euro this week. The demand was low but there was easy supply of dollar as a result...
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Banks borrowing, lending fall
 On November 20, the State Bank of Pakistan increased the cut off yield on treasury bills. The benchmark six-month T-bills rate was raised by 1.35 per cent to 14.01...
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Rice price goes up, pulses, sugar fall
 PRICES of some essential commodities last week showed fresh increase under the lead of major export items followed by reports of larger physical shipments against forward deals to meet the deadlines....
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