International Pak calls for greater UN in world affairs See on Page 12 No defence talk with Pak: SLanka See on Page 12 Russia eyes Pak oil, gas sectors See on Page 12 *Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 91.42 *Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 88.67 *Cotton $/lb 128.19 *Gold $/ozs 1,395.50 *Silver $/ozs 29.13 Malaysian Palm $ 1,143 GOLD (NCEL) PKR 38,328 KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 9,860 Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 7-Dec-2010) Monthly(Nov, 2010 up to 7-Dec-2010) Daily (7-Dec-2010) Total Portfolio Invest (26 Nov-2010) 184.62 21.89 10.52 2632 4.32 1.76 -4.45 1.33 -1.62 -1.05 -0.28 SCRA(U.S $ in million) Portfolio Investment FIPI (8-Dec-2010) Local Companies (8-Dec-2010) Banks / DFI (8-Dec-2010) Mutual Funds (8-Dec-2010) NBFC (8-Dec-2010) Local Investors (8-Dec-2010) Other Organization (8-Dec-2010) (U.S $ in million) NCCPL GDR update Commodities Forex Reserves (27-Nov-10) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Oct 10) Exports (Jul 10-Oct 10) Imports (Jul 10-Oct 10) Trade Balance (Jul 10-Oct 10) Current A/C (Jul 10- Oct 10) Remittances (Jul 10-Oct 10) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Oct 10) Revenue (Jul 10-Nov 10) Foreign Debt (Sep 10) Domestic Debt (Oct 10) Repatriated Profit (Jul- Oct 10) LSM Growth (Sep 10) GDP Growth FY10E Per Capita Income FY10 Population $16.74bn 14.17% $7.17bn $12.25bn $(5.08)bn $(533)mn $3.50bn $569mn Rs 495bn $58.41bn Rs 5234.9bn $203.80mn -2.58% 4.10% $1,051 171.25mn Economic Indicators Symbols MCB (1 GDR= 2 Shares) OGDC (1 GDR= 10 Shares) UBL (1 GDR= 4 Shares) LUCK (1 GDR= 4 Shares) HUBC (1 GDR= 25 Shares) $.Price 2.60 20.50 2.00 2.95 10.59 PKR/Shares 111.29 175.50 42.81 63.14 36.26 T-Bills (3 Mths) T-Bills (6 Mths) T-Bills (12 Mths) Discount Rate Kibor (1 Mth) Kibor (3 Mths) Kibor (6 Mths) Kibor ( 9 Mths) Kibor (1Yr) P.I.B ( 3 Yrs) P.I.B (5 Yrs) P.I.B (10 Yrs) P.I.B (15 Yrs) P.I.B (20 Yrs) P.I.B (30 Yrs) 01-Dec-2010 01-Dec-2010 01-Dec-2010 29-Nov-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 08-Dec-2010 13.16% 13.39% 13.67% 14.00% 13.26% 13.37% 13.61% 13.96% 14.11% 13.75% 13.86% 14.12% 14.42% 14.55% 14.75% Money Market Update Symbols Buy (Rs) Sell (Rs) Australian $ 83.10 84.10 Canadian $ 83.85 84.85 Danish Krone 15.00 15.10 Euro 112.70 114.70 Hong Kong $ 10.90 11.00 Japanese Yen 1.026 1.052 Saudi Riyal 22.68 22.88 Singapore $ 64.35 65.35 Swedish Korona 12.00 12.10 Swiss Franc 86.65 86.75 U.A.E Dirham 23.18 23.38 UK Pound 133.70 135.20 US $ 85.45 85.75 Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols Buying Selling TT Clean TT & OD Australian $ 83.87 84.07 Canadian $ 84.50 84.70 Danish Krone 15.17 15.21 Euro 113.11 113.37 Hong Kong $ 11.01 11.04 Japanese Yen 1.021 1.023 Saudi Riyal 22.81 22.86 Singapore $ 65.06 65.21 Swedish Korona 12.38 12.41 Swiss Franc 86.51 86.71 U.A.E Dirham 23.29 23.35 UK Pound 134.57 134.89 US $ 85.61 85.80 Inter-Bank Currency Rates Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com www.thefinancialdaily.com CITIES MAX-TEMP MIN ISLAMABAD 23°C 2°C KARACHI 28°C 12°C LAHORE 22°C 5°C FAISALABAD 21°C 5°C QUETTA 11°C -8°C RAWALPINDI 23°C 3°C Weather Forecast Index Close Change KSE 100 11,629.93 198.92 Nikkei 225 10,232.33 91.23 Hang Seng 23,092.52 335.63 Sensex 30 19,696.48 238.16 ADX 2,754.60 14.49 SSE COMP. 2,848.55 27.31 FTSE 100 5,811.81 3.36 *Dow Jones 11,364.15 4.99 Global Indices Sharif says ‘N’ will never support RGST See on Page 12 ISTANBUL: Prim Minister Gilani addressing Turkish Businessmen and Investors at a meeting organised by Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board. -APP Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD: Two rental power plants Naudero-II and Guddu Power Projects have deposited Rs2.25 billion in the bank and presented the receipts before the Supreme Court of Pakistan here on Wednesday. A three-member bench con- sisting of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur Rehman Ramday heard the case. The counsel of the Company - with two rental power plants Naudero-II and Guddu Power Projects - informed the Supreme Court that Company has deposited Rs2.25 billion in the bank and presented the receipts before the Court. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry while hearing the case of Rental Power Projects (RPPs) remarked that the spent money was nation's wealth and every one should consider the same. It may be pertinent to mention here that Chief Justice directed the companies on Tuesday to return the payment along with mark up which had been taken in advance over Naudero-II and Guddu power projects. The case surfaced when Nepra came to know that Walters International had relo- cated the machinery of Guddu Power Plant to Naudero-II Power Plant. The company took an advance on the same machinery, twice. Furthermore, Supreme Court has pardoned DG Concessions of Petroleum Ministry Sher Muhammed Khan, who the court charged with contempt of court. The official submitted his unconditional apology in response to court's contempt notice served on him. It should be mentioned here that DG Concessions of Petroleum Ministry was charged with contempt of court in a case regarding the sale of British Petroleum shares. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur- Rehman Ramday heard the peti- tion filed by former chief Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed regarding alleged cor- ruption in repurchasing assets of British Petroleum Company (BPL) on exorbitant rates. It should be mentioned here that the court Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Director General Petroleum (DGP) Sher Muhammad Khan for using contemptuous language regard- ing the litigations which were pending before the courts. Earlier, the apex court charged Sher Khan with con- tempt of court and called Secretary Petroleum to submit See # 13 Page 11 RPPs return Rs2.2 billion CJ says everybody should take care about nation's wealth Apex court pardons MoP official over contempt Staff Reporter KARACHI: Country's con- sumer price index probably rose 15.37 per cent year-on-year in November due to rising food prices, virtually maintaining the same pace of inflation as in October, a Reuters' poll shows. The index rose 15.33 per cent in October. "CPI inflation is expected to rise once again for November, primarily owing to inflationary pressures from the food group," said Farhan Bashir Khan, analyst at Invest Capital Investment Bank. Food prices have been increasing following summer floods, which are estimated to have cost Pakistan's economy nearly $10 billion. The central bank last month increased its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 14 per cent, its third consecutive rate rise in the past six months as it seeks to curb persistent inflation. Inflation is expected to rise in coming months because of con- tinued government borrowing from the State Bank of Pakistan and a delay in access to the sixth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund loan programme. "Despite the expected spike in CPI inflation in November, this is likely to act as more of a springboard for a further increase especially during December when CPI inflation may test the 18 per cent year-on- year level," said Khalid Iqbal Siddiqui, director at Invest and Finance Securities Ltd. Nov CPI seen up at 15.38pc ISTANBUL: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Wednesday invited Turkish businessmen to explore Pakistan's business potential by investing in energy, oil and gas sectors and offered visa-on- arrival. Prime Minister, who arrived here from Ankara on the second leg of his three-day official visit to Turkey, was addressing the Turkish businessmen at a lunch- eon hosted in his honour by DEIK - Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board. Gilani said the government had taken a decision to allow Visa on Arrival for 30 days to all Turkish nationals who pos- sessed valid US, UK or Schengen visas. "We hope that remaining for- malities will soon be completed for the conclusion of Visa Abolition Agreement for bonafide businessmen of Turkey and Pakistan," he said. "For our Turkish brothers, we are ready to do more. We seek See # 7 Page 11 PM Gilani woos Turkish investors On arrival visa for businessmen offered ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday began hearing a Balochistan government's chal- lenge to a deal with a Singapore company to run Gwadar Port in which China has a substantial investment. The chief minister of Balochistan is seeking the can- cellation of the contract with Singapore state-owned PSA International Ltd on the grounds that it is a "one-sided" deal. "In the contract, the federal government did not consider the reservations of the Balochistan government, nor were we taken into confi- dence," Advocate General Salahuddin Mengal told the court. "We ask the court to order the federal government to scrap, cancel the contract." Authorities have dismissed speculation that the deep-sea port would be handed to Chinese control, after China provided 80 per cent of the ini- tial $248 million development costs. China helped build the port on Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast partly with a view to opening up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf, across Pakistan to western China. Analysts suspect China would push for a major say over the port to back its bid to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean. This would upset India, which has already expressed concern over China's influence in the region. See # 9 Page 11 Gwadar Port case hearing commences PAC seeks NHA's debt record ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told Wednesday that National Highway Authority (NHA) has outstanding exter- nal debt of Rs21 billion but due to its feeble economic condi- tion it is not in a position to repay the debt. This was told by the Secretary Economic Affairs to Public Accounts Committee in its meeting held in Parliament House which was chaired by CH Nisar Ali Khan. The committee reviewed audits of ministry of economic affairs, textile and ministry of postal services. Secretary Economic Affairs told PAC that NHA due to its feeble economic condition is not in a position to repay the debt of Rs21 billion. On this AGP said that report of NHA financial condition be sought from the Finance Ministry. PAC has ordered Ministry of Finance to provide the commit- tee with all the debt services of National Highway Authority (NHA) and its financial condi- tions as proposed by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP). Secretary Economic Affairs recommended to PAC if Ministry of Finance does not support the information provid- ed by the Secretary Economic Affairs, then action must be taken against NHA for not pay- ing off the external debt. -APP Karachi, Thursday, December 9, 2010, Muharram-ul-Haram 2, Price Rs12 Pages 12 Orakzai bombing kills 14 KOHAT: A suicide bomber blew himself up beside a crowd- ed bus in northwest region on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, officials said. "A boy between the ages of 18 and 20, who was carrying about 6 kg (13 lbs) of explosives, car- ried out the attack," said Dilawar Bangash, police chief in the town of Kohat, where Wednesday's bombing took place. Sixteen people were wounded, hospital officials said. Many shops were destroyed. Witness Inayat Orakzai said: "The bus, which was filled with passengers, was about to take off when a teenage boy came near the door of the bus and blew himself up." The bombers attacked while a meeting on ways of strengthen- ing the tribal militias set up to help the government fight mili- tants was under way. -Agencies Students protest against privatisation of institutions LAHORE: The students on Wednesday staged a protest in the front of Punjab Assembly and tried to pull down the assembly gate. The students were protesting against the privatisation of edu- cational institutions while the demo turned into a violent show. The police controlled the situa- tion and baton-charged to break them up. The students went on rampage and broke some chairs, tables and other furniture lying outside the Assembly. The students raised full-throat- ed slogans against the govern- ment in protest against privatisa- tion and installing boards of governors at educational institu- tions. In this entire meantime, the students kept pelting stones at police and Assembly building. The students transgressed into See # 12 Page 11 LONDON: A high-level dele- gation of Privatisation Commission and representatives of public and private companies headed by federal minister for privatization, Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan has arrived here to participate in Pakistan Capital Markets and Privatisation Forum due to take place at London Stock Exchange (LSE) on December 10. Organised by LSE in See # 11 Page 11 London bourse to learn about SOEs Pakistani delegation reaches UK Zahid Bukhari KARACHI: Chairman Silkbank and former finance minister Shaukat Tareen advo- cating the agricultural tax said that it is imperative for the country's taxation system. He expressed these views while talking to The Financial Daily. Tareen said despite opposi- tion he worked out earnestly during his tenure as finance minister and had he not quit office as finance minister, the agri-tax could have been imposed. Former finance minister dis- pelling the expression about See # 10 Page 11 Tareen advocates agricultural tax Former finmin talks to TFD PM awarded honorary doctorate ANKARA: Marmara University of Turkey has awarded the honorary doctorate degree in Journalism to Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani here on Wednesday. -Agencies KARACHI: Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Shahid H Kardar, has constitut- ed a special committee which will devise a strategy in con- sultation with Federal and Provincial Governments and other stakeholders for growth of agricultural credit in the country. While chairing a meeting of the Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee (ACAC) here at State Bank building on Wednesday, SBP Governor said the Committee would con- sist of representatives from the State Bank, commercial banks, agriculture chambers and asso- ciations, said SBP release. He said that the Committee would hold meaningful discus- sions at the Federal and Provincial level to formulate a holistic strategy for the devel- opment of agricultural credit with the consensus of all the major stakeholders. The Committee will be head- ed by Executive Director, Development Finance Group of SBP, Muhammad Ashraf Khan while Director SME Finance Department of SBP Mansoor Hassan Siddiqui, Senior Executive Vice President, Agriculture Group, National Bank of Pakistan Ziaullah Khan, Head Retail and Consumer Group, Habib Bank Limited, Abid Sattar, See # 8 Page 11 SBP sets up panel to scribe strategy Pak, Russia, Afghan, Tajik leaders agree on anti-narco drive MOSCOW: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistanagreed with Russia on Wednesday to step up efforts in fighting the Afghan heroin trade which kills at least 30,000 Russians a year. "We are neighbours linked by the same piece of land, and we have the potential to strengthen our work in fighting a global menace,"Russia's anti-drugs tsar Viktor Ivanov told his Central Asian counterparts. The quartet of heroin-inflict- ed countries signed an agree- ment to destroy opium crops and drug-making labs, as well as exchange information on drug trafficking and dealers. Russia is struggling to con- tain a potentially crippling heroin crisis. Heroin from Afghanistan -- which produces around 90 percent of the world's total -- is smuggled through its porous border with impoverished, ex-Soviet Tajikistan, then via Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and onto the Russian market, Ivanov said. Through Pakistan, heroin pass- es through India and on to China and other Asian coun- tries, he added. -Reuters Agriculture credit growth Counsel of Co presents receipts before Supreme Court B'stan government says port deal one-sided
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
International
Pak calls for greater UN in world affairs See on Page 12
ISTANBUL: Prim Minister Gilani addressing Turkish Businessmen and Investors at a meeting organised by Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board. -APP
Special Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Two rentalpower plants Naudero-II andGuddu Power Projects havedeposited Rs2.25 billion in thebank and presented the receiptsbefore the Supreme Court ofPakistan here on Wednesday.
A three-member bench con-sisting of Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry, JusticeGhulam Rabbani and JusticeKhalil-ur Rehman Ramdayheard the case.
The counsel of the Company -with two rental power plantsNaudero-II and Guddu PowerProjects - informed theSupreme Court that Companyhas deposited Rs2.25 billion inthe bank and presented thereceipts before the Court.
Chief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry whilehearing the case of RentalPower Projects (RPPs)remarked that the spent moneywas nation's wealth and every
one should consider the same.It may be pertinent to mention
here that Chief Justice directedthe companies on Tuesday toreturn the payment along withmark up which had been takenin advance over Naudero-II andGuddu power projects.
The case surfaced whenNepra came to know thatWalters International had relo-cated the machinery of GudduPower Plant to Naudero-IIPower Plant. The company tookan advance on the samemachinery, twice.
Furthermore, Supreme Courthas pardoned DG Concessionsof Petroleum Ministry SherMuhammed Khan, who thecourt charged with contempt ofcourt.
The official submitted hisunconditional apology inresponse to court's contemptnotice served on him.
It should be mentioned herethat DG Concessions ofPetroleum Ministry was
charged with contempt of courtin a case regarding the sale ofBritish Petroleum shares.
A three-member bench of theapex court headed by ChiefJustice of Pakistan JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryand comprising Justice GhulamRabbani and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday heard the peti-tion filed by former chiefJamaat-e-Islami, Qazi HussainAhmed regarding alleged cor-ruption in repurchasing assetsof British Petroleum Company(BPL) on exorbitant rates.
It should be mentioned herethat the court Tuesday issued ashow cause notice to DirectorGeneral Petroleum (DGP) SherMuhammad Khan for usingcontemptuous language regard-ing the litigations which werepending before the courts.
Earlier, the apex courtcharged Sher Khan with con-tempt of court and calledSecretary Petroleum to submit
See # 13 Page 11
RPPs returnRs2.2 billion
CJ says everybody should take care about nation's wealthApex court pardons MoP official over contempt
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Country's con-sumer price index probably rose15.37 per cent year-on-year inNovember due to rising foodprices, virtually maintaining thesame pace of inflation as inOctober, a Reuters' poll shows.
The index rose 15.33 per centin October. "CPI inflation isexpected to rise once again forNovember, primarily owing toinflationary pressures from thefood group," said FarhanBashir Khan, analyst at InvestCapital Investment Bank.
Food prices have beenincreasing following summerfloods, which are estimated tohave cost Pakistan's economynearly $10 billion. The centralbank last month increased its
key policy rate by 50 basispoints to 14 per cent, its thirdconsecutive rate rise in the pastsix months as it seeks to curbpersistent inflation.
Inflation is expected to rise incoming months because of con-tinued government borrowingfrom the State Bank of Pakistanand a delay in access to thesixth tranche of an $11 billionInternational Monetary Fundloan programme.
"Despite the expected spike inCPI inflation in November, thisis likely to act as more of aspringboard for a furtherincrease especially duringDecember when CPI inflationmay test the 18 per cent year-on-year level," said Khalid IqbalSiddiqui, director at Invest andFinance Securities Ltd.
Nov CPI seen up at 15.38pc
ISTANBUL: Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza GilaniWednesday invited Turkishbusinessmen to explorePakistan's business potential byinvesting in energy, oil and gassectors and offered visa-on-arrival.
Prime Minister, who arrivedhere from Ankara on the secondleg of his three-day official visitto Turkey, was addressing theTurkish businessmen at a lunch-eon hosted in his honour byDEIK - Turkish ForeignEconomic Relations Board.
Gilani said the governmenthad taken a decision to allowVisa on Arrival for 30 days to allTurkish nationals who pos-sessed valid US, UK orSchengen visas.
"We hope that remaining for-
malities will soon be completedfor the conclusion of VisaAbolition Agreement forbonafide businessmen of Turkeyand Pakistan," he said.
"For our Turkish brothers, weare ready to do more. We seek
See # 7 Page 11
PM Gilani woos Turkish investors
On arrival visa for businessmen offered
ISLAMABAD: SupremeCourt of Pakistan onWednesday began hearing aBalochistan government's chal-lenge to a deal with aSingapore company to runGwadar Port in which Chinahas a substantial investment.
The chief minister ofBalochistan is seeking the can-cellation of the contract withSingapore state-owned PSAInternational Ltd on thegrounds that it is a "one-sided"deal.
"In the contract, the federalgovernment did not considerthe reservations of theBalochistan government, norwere we taken into confi-dence," Advocate GeneralSalahuddin Mengal told thecourt.
"We ask the court to order the
federal government to scrap,cancel the contract."
Authorities have dismissedspeculation that the deep-seaport would be handed toChinese control, after Chinaprovided 80 per cent of the ini-tial $248 million developmentcosts.
China helped build the porton Pakistan's Arabian Sea coastpartly with a view to openingup an energy and trade corridorfrom the Gulf, across Pakistanto western China.
Analysts suspect Chinawould push for a major sayover the port to back its bid toexpand its influence in theIndian Ocean. This wouldupset India, which has alreadyexpressed concern over China'sinfluence in the region.
See # 9 Page 11
Gwadar Port casehearing commences
PAC seeks NHA's
debt recordISLAMABAD: PublicAccounts Committee (PAC)was told Wednesday thatNational Highway Authority(NHA) has outstanding exter-nal debt of Rs21 billion but dueto its feeble economic condi-tion it is not in a position torepay the debt.
This was told by theSecretary Economic Affairs toPublic Accounts Committee inits meeting held in ParliamentHouse which was chaired byCH Nisar Ali Khan.
The committee reviewedaudits of ministry of economicaffairs, textile and ministry ofpostal services.
Secretary Economic Affairstold PAC that NHA due to itsfeeble economic condition isnot in a position to repay thedebt of Rs21 billion.
On this AGP said that reportof NHA financial condition besought from the FinanceMinistry.
PAC has ordered Ministry ofFinance to provide the commit-tee with all the debt services ofNational Highway Authority(NHA) and its financial condi-tions as proposed by theAuditor General of Pakistan(AGP).
Secretary Economic Affairsrecommended to PAC ifMinistry of Finance does notsupport the information provid-ed by the Secretary EconomicAffairs, then action must betaken against NHA for not pay-ing off the external debt. -APP
KOHAT: A suicide bomberblew himself up beside a crowd-ed bus in northwest region onWednesday, killing at least 14people, officials said.
"A boy between the ages of 18and 20, who was carrying about6 kg (13 lbs) of explosives, car-ried out the attack," said DilawarBangash, police chief in thetown of Kohat, whereWednesday's bombing tookplace. Sixteen people werewounded, hospital officials said.
Many shops were destroyed.Witness Inayat Orakzai said:
"The bus, which was filled withpassengers, was about to take offwhen a teenage boy came nearthe door of the bus and blewhimself up."
The bombers attacked while ameeting on ways of strengthen-ing the tribal militias set up tohelp the government fight mili-tants was under way. -Agencies
Studentsprotest againstprivatisation
of institutionsLAHORE: The students onWednesday staged a protest inthe front of Punjab Assemblyand tried to pull down theassembly gate.
The students were protestingagainst the privatisation of edu-cational institutions while thedemo turned into a violent show.The police controlled the situa-tion and baton-charged to breakthem up.
The students went on rampageand broke some chairs, tablesand other furniture lying outsidethe Assembly.
The students raised full-throat-ed slogans against the govern-ment in protest against privatisa-tion and installing boards ofgovernors at educational institu-tions.
In this entire meantime, thestudents kept pelting stones atpolice and Assembly building.
The students transgressed into See # 12 Page 11
LONDON: A high-level dele-gation of PrivatisationCommission and representativesof public and private companiesheaded by federal minister forprivatization, Senator WaqarAhmed Khan has arrived here to
participate in Pakistan CapitalMarkets and PrivatisationForum due to take place atLondon Stock Exchange (LSE)on December 10.
Organised by LSE in See # 11 Page 11
London bourse tolearn about SOEs
Pakistani delegation reaches UK
Zahid Bukhari
KARACHI: ChairmanSilkbank and former financeminister Shaukat Tareen advo-cating the agricultural tax saidthat it is imperative for thecountry's taxation system.
He expressed these viewswhile talking to The FinancialDaily.
Tareen said despite opposi-tion he worked out earnestlyduring his tenure as financeminister and had he not quitoffice as finance minister, the
agri-tax could have beenimposed.
Former finance minister dis-pelling the expression about
See # 10 Page 11
Tareen advocatesagricultural tax
Former finmin talks to TFD
PM awardedhonorarydoctorate
A N K A R A : M a r m a r aUniversity of Turkey hasawarded the honorary doctoratedegree in Journalism to PrimeMinister of Pakistan, SyedYousaf Raza Gilani here onWednesday. -Agencies
KARACHI: Governor, StateBank of Pakistan (SBP),Shahid H Kardar, has constitut-ed a special committee whichwill devise a strategy in con-sultation with Federal andProvincial Governments andother stakeholders for growthof agricultural credit in thecountry.
While chairing a meeting ofthe Agricultural CreditAdvisory Committee (ACAC)here at State Bank building onWednesday, SBP Governorsaid the Committee would con-sist of representatives from theState Bank, commercial banks,agriculture chambers and asso-ciations, said SBP release.
He said that the Committee
would hold meaningful discus-sions at the Federal andProvincial level to formulate aholistic strategy for the devel-opment of agricultural creditwith the consensus of all themajor stakeholders.
The Committee will be head-ed by Executive Director,Development Finance Groupof SBP, Muhammad AshrafKhan while Director SMEFinance Department of SBPMansoor Hassan Siddiqui,Senior Executive VicePresident, Agriculture Group,National Bank of PakistanZiaullah Khan, Head Retailand Consumer Group, HabibBank Limited, Abid Sattar,
See # 8 Page 11
SBP sets up panelto scribe strategy
Pak, Russia,Afghan, Tajik
leaders agree onanti-narco driveMOSCOW: Afghanistan,Pakistan and Tajikistanagreedwith Russia on Wednesday tostep up efforts in fighting theAfghan heroin trade which killsat least 30,000 Russians a year.
"We are neighbours linked bythe same piece of land, and wehave the potential to strengthenour work in fighting a globalmenace,"Russia's anti-drugstsar Viktor Ivanov told hisCentral Asian counterparts.
The quartet of heroin-inflict-ed countries signed an agree-ment to destroy opium cropsand drug-making labs, as wellas exchange information ondrug trafficking and dealers.
Russia is struggling to con-tain a potentially cripplingheroin crisis. Heroin fromAfghanistan -- which producesaround 90 percent of theworld's total -- is smuggledthrough its porous border withimpoverished, ex-SovietTajikistan, then via Kyrgyzstanand Kazakhstan and onto theRussian market, Ivanov said.Through Pakistan, heroin pass-es through India and on toChina and other Asian coun-tries, he added. -Reuters
Agriculture credit growth
Counsel of Co presents receipts before Supreme Court
B'stan government says port deal one-sided
2 Thursday, December 9, 2010
TV PROGRAMMES
THURSDAY
Time Programmes
7:00 News
8:00 News
9:05 Subah Savere
Maya ke Sath
11:00 News
12:00 News
13:10 Newsbeat (Rpt)
14:10 Tonight With
Jasmeen (Rpt)
15:00 News
16:00 News
17:30 Samaa Metro
18:00 News
18:30 Samaa Sports
19:30 Crime Scene
20:03 Newsbeat
21:00 News
22:03 Tonight With
Jasmeen
23:00 News
23:30 24
Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: CollectorCustoms NisarMuhammad Khan saidgovernment is honest inproper implementation ofPakistan AutomatedCustoms ClearanceSystem (PaCCS) andnegotiating with Agility,software ProviderCompany in this regard.
The company is makingall out efforts to facilitatemembers and importersto file their GoodsDeclarations online whilesitting anywhere usingthe assigned user IDs andmaking some necessarychanges in the system toincrease its performance.
While suggesting themembers and importerssaid, use one ID and
avoid multiple user IDsso that the system easilyidentify and recognise theapplicant and the delaysand problems will beremoved.
For delays in therelease of consignmenthe informed that NationalBank of Pakistan is con-tacted to increase thecounters for collectingthe payments.
The customs depart-ment has also requestedthe trade bodies to sendrecommendations toNational Bank ofPakistan president forincreasing number ofcounters.
The limited counters atNBP are badly impactingon the performance ofPakistan AutomatedCustoms Computerised
System because usersassociate delays in clear-ance of GDs with thisautomated system and itis entirely a wrong per-ception, he added.
Some vested elementsare playing their role indamaging the repute ofthis prestigious automat-ed solution provided byAgility, a Kuwait basedlogistics company.
Collector CustomsPaCCS Nisar MuhammadKhan further said thatonce PaCCS properlyimplemented, it willshow its built-in strengthsand capabilities.
The system has thestrength to clear any typeof consignment withinfive days; it has thecapacity to reduce itmore.
Govt to work withPaCCS: Customs
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: A worryingnumber of small busi-nesses believe they donot have enough cashreserves to surviveanother economic down-turn, a study by ForbesInsights in associationwith ACCA (theAssociation of CharteredCertified Accountants),Certified GeneralAccountants Associationof Canada (CGA-Canada) and CNDCEC,the professional body forcertified accountants in
Italy, has found.The study was based on
a survey of more than1,750 small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs)in Canada, China, Italy,Singapore, South Africa,and the UK, with 30 percent of the sample microbusinesses employingfewer than 10 people.
It shows that while mostSMEs believed the worstof the recession had past,there was an unexpectedlyhigh number of businesses- between 31 per cent and54 per cent in each coun-try, including those which
have seen high growth andwere less affected by theglobal downturn, who feltthey did not have adequatecash reserves to surviveanother financial crisis.
SMEs surveyed said therecession has forced themto become better busi-nesses and if they take onrisk it is only where theycan have control.Growing businesses,especially in the moredynamic economies,appear to be facing stiffercompetition and risingcosts, putting profit mar-gins under pressure.
Small traders indistress: ACCA
KARACHI: SindhCulture Minister SassuiPlaejo visited the exhibi-tion of Khushal Das afamous wooden ArtArchitect/Artist at SindhMuseum Hyderabad.
She witnessed his cre-ative work and art. MsPalejo appreciated hiscontribution. On the occa-sion The Culture Ministersaid that such work ishighly admirable and Mr.Das is a real asset of theprovince of Sindhbecause Sindh province isrich and potential of lot ofarts, culture and heritage.
Palejo said that the
Culture department isalways encouraging andpromoting the culture andheritage of the provincein every and at everylevel so the departmentfurther promote the suchart in a befitting manner.
She said that we are notaway and will never leftalone to such art and itscreators, announced thatthe culture departmentwould continue to arrangesuch exhibitions of cre-ative art and skill. It maybe mentioned here thatthe exhibition of KhshalDas is running in ZafarKazmi Art gallery, Sindh
Museum Hyderabad inlast week.
The Minister Culturealso disclosed that theCulture Department isgoing to organize suchexhibitions on the lives ofFather of the Nation andfounder of the CountryQ u a i d - e - A z a mMuhmmad Ali Jinnah andShaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto in currentmonth at Hyderabad andKarachi respectively alsoa pictorial book on life ofShaheed Rani would alsobe published to pay richtribute to great personali-ties. -NNI
Govt promoting art& culture: Sassui
KARACHI: Having highsentiments for Muharram,business community isextremely concernedregarding law and ordersituation during Aashura,said Muhammad SaeedShafiq, President KarachiChamber of Commerceand Industry (KCCI),addressing at a specialsession organized at KCCIon security concerns withreference to Muharram.
The KCCI Presidentsaid we hold high senti-ments for the holy month;however, the businesscommunity is extremelyconcerned reference tolaw and order situationduring Aashura days,especially because of thesad incident of Boultonmarket in 2009 and suchincidents should be con-
demned.About the forms issued
by the Police for collect-ing details, Saeed addedthat the forms are irrele-vant and the contents ofthe forms need reconsid-eration and changesshould be incorporated onurgent basis.
Abdul Majeed Memon,former SVP andChairman special com-mittee for small tradersalso rejected the formsissued by the police andsaid that we would neverrecommend the business-men to fill them.
He denoted Khaara Darand Meetha Dar as highsecurity areas among fivepolice zones in South.
Talat Mahmood, SeniorVice President said thepolice should talk to the
chairmen of all relatedmarket associations fromwhich the Aashura pro-cession will pass andincorporate their concernswith reference to securityplan.
Hafeez Aziz, ChairmanSub-committee of Lawand Order also rejectedthe forms and appealedofficials to incorporate thenecessary changes.
He said we would sharehis intention of doingmeetings with the repre-sentatives of market asso-ciations and suggestedthat representatives wouldalso be appointed forsecurity watch.
The newly appointedActing TPO of SaddarTown, Amin Yousufzaiasked the business com-munity to suggest changes
in the forms and expressedwillingness for completecooperation. The formsare for collecting data andshould not be misunder-stood, added Amin.
On his recent appoint-ment for taking control ofsecurity measures, Amininformed that he might berecently appointed in thevicinity but holds theexperience of more than10 years in past forMuharram processionsecurity. Sharing therecent security plan,Acting TPO informed thatfrom 08 Muharram thearea would be sealed.
More than 8000 policeforce would be deployedduring Aashura proces-sions. Rangers and SpecialPolice would also be pres-ent for assistance.-PPI
Traders concerned onsecurity in Muharram
KARACHI: JafferBrothers (JBL) have beenawarded the OraclePartner Network (OPN)APAC FY10 AcceleratePartner of the Year atOracle's annual ExecutivePartner Forum, said ahandout issued here.
The award reflects JBL'ssuccess in utilisingresources from the OracleAccelerate program inPakistan. OracleAccelerate for midsizecompanies combinesOracle Applications andOracle BusinessAccelerators that are rapidimplementation tools, tem-plates and industry- andgeography-specific leadingpractice process flows.
George Wong, Group
Vice President, OracleAsia-Pacific Alliances andChannels, said:"Congratulations to JafferBrothers. They havedemonstrated tangiblesuccess with Oracle'scomplete, open and inte-grated products and tech-nology. Bringing innova-tion and excellence, theyprovide our mutual cus-tomers with proven solu-tions that can help solvecritical business chal-lenges. We thank JafferBrothers for their commit-ment and wish themgreater success in the yearahead."
"Our customers trulyhave reaped the benefitswith this improved accel-erated approach.-PR
Jaffer Bros grabOracle award
THURSDAY
Time Programmes
8:00 Chai Time (Rpt)
9:00 News
9:15 Pehla Sauda
10:00 News
10:15 Bazaar
11:00 News
11:05 Ghar Ka Kharch
12:00 News
12:15 Power Lunch
13:00 News
13:05 Islamabad Say
(Rpt)
14:00 News
15:02 Akhri Sauda
15:30 Agri Business
16:15 Karobari Dunya
17:05 Ghar Ka Kharch
(Rpt)
18:05 Chai Time
19:00 News
19:05 Aap Ka Paisa
19:30 Mang Raha Hai
Pakistan
20:00 News
20:05 Islamabad Say
21:00 Pakistan Aaj Raat
22:00 News
22:05 Doosra Pehlu
23:00 News
23:05 Siyasat Mana Hai
0:00 News
KARACHI: Provincial Minister of InformationTechnology Raza Haroon visiting Landhi
Korangi Towns.-Staff Photo
KARACHI: Indian Minister of Trade AnandSharma, Sultan Chawla, Vice President of SARK
Chamber Iftikhar Ali Malik, Tariq Syed, S MMunir, Zakaria Usman, Zubair Tufail, Aftab Barlas,Nasir Ud Din Shaikh, Khurram Syed and others are
in Group Photo.-Staff Photo
KARACHI: Religious scholar Moulana Shahenshah Hussain Naqvi addressingthe Majlis on the 1st day of the Holy Month of Muharramul Harram at Nishtar
Park.-APP
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah addressinga press cfonference at Chief Minister House.-APP
HYDERABAD: Sindh Home Minister ZulfiqarMirza talking to the newspersons during a press
conference at RPO Office.-Staff Photo
KARACHI: Acting Sindh Governor Nisar Ahmed Khuhro addressing Karachi CustomsAgents Association during his visit.-APP
PSQACteams raid
marketsKARACHI: PSQACMobile Testing Lab TaskForce Team raided atImtiaz Super Market,Awami Markaz, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, along withPrint and Electronic Mediateam and members ofNGOs.
On arrival at Imtiaz SuperMarket, Task Force Teammembers start checking dif-ferent brands variousmandatory food items andcaught some un-registeredproduct too. The Task ForceTeam member includedMasood Ahmad Khan,Director, Quality ControlCentre, PSQCA, FieldOfficer (CA-Karachi)Muhammad Ayyaz Soomroof Standards DevelopmentCentre/PSQCA, MediaAdviser RehmatullahMemon caught unregistereditems of 07 companies i.e.Imtiaz Super Market's ISMTurmeric Powder, ISMChilly Powder, ShangrilaApple Juice, Alpha TeaKanwal, Swat Honey,Ahmad Pickle and AhmadVinegar.-Online
Qaim forearly rehabof flood-hit
areasKARACHI: Sindh ChiefMinister Syed Qaim AliShah Wednesday presidedover a meeting at ChiefMinister House regardingrehabilitation of villagesaffected by floods underunion council based pover-ty reduction program.
The meeting discussed indetail the survey reports ofvarious agencies regardingdestructed houses in vari-ous districts.
Qaim Ali Shah said that itis in the interest of peoplethat houses are constrictedfor homeless people, whoare living in deplorableconditions. He said thatunder the directives ofPresident Asif Ali Zardari acomprehensive programfor construction of low-cost houses for floodaffected people in differentaffected areas has beenchalked out. He said thatvarious projects of housingare in hand which includeconstruction of 10,000houses under BehanBenazir Bhutto Basti,10,000 houses under ZakatProgramme and 7,000houses under communitydevelopment project.
Qaim Shah directed thatwork on the project is to bestarted on war footing,adding President Zardarimany launch the project onDecember 27.-APP
World Oralhealth dayobservedat AKU
KARACHI: To mark theWorld Oral Health Day, theAga Khan University(AKU) organised an eventto highlight the importanceof preventing mouth dis-eases through healthy oralpractices.
An AKU statement hereon Wednesday said thataccording to the WorldHealth Organization, oraldiseases alone prevent chil-dren and adults fromattending school or work,causing millions of hoursto be lost each year.
It said that the most com-mon oral diseases world-wide are dental cavities andperiodontal (gum) disease.
An estimated 60 to 90 percent of school-going chil-dren around the globe havecavities, while tooth lossseen to affect 1 in 4 of theadult population.
For the elderly, poor oralhealth affects eating abili-ties, which then influencesthe food eaten and generalhealth.
Teeth are a very essentialpart of the human body andare vital for everythingfrom chewing and speakingto an individual's overallaesthetics, said Dr FaisalQayyum, ConsultantProsthodontist, Aga KhanUniversity Hospital(AKUH).-APP
Mirzaappeals fortolerance
HYDERABAD: Urgingvigilance and indulgenceduring Muharram fromfollowers of differentsects, Home MinisterSindh Zulfiqar Mirza hasapprehended that terroristscould fan sectarianism bygalvanizing local con-flicts.
"In the past Hyderabad,Kotri, Mirpurkhas,Khairpur remained sensi-tive owing to local sectari-an issues," the ministerobserved while addressinga press conference at RPO(Regional Police Officer)House here on Wednesday.
In order to ensure peace,he informed, the police hasincreased deployment ofpersonnel, which wouldalso include Rangers, toover 1,000 from the lastyear's 800 in Hyderabaddistrict. Besides, state ofthe art equipment andtools were being intro-duced to monitor activityin the city as well as forperforming body checks,he added.-APP
KCCI urgeseffective
law & orderKARACHI: PresidentKarachi Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(KCCI) Muhammad SaeedShafiq has urged all themarket associations tocooperate with the police tomaintain law and order inthe city during Muharram.
In a statement here onWednesday, PresidentKCCI and other seniorleaders of the Chamberduring a special session onlaw and order at KCCI withActing TPO of SaddarTown, Amin Yousufzaisuggested some changes insecurity plan.-APP
MUMBAI: The Indian rupeesnapped a six-session rally andposted its biggest single-day fallin almost a month on Wednesday,weighed by broad losses in thedollar versus major currenciesand weak domestic shares.
The partially convertible rupeeclosed at 45.09/10 per dollar, offthe day's low of 45.1675 but still1 per cent weaker than its44.64/65 close on Tuesday. Thisis the rupee's worst one-day fallsince its 1.1 per cent decline onNov. 12. "Rupee was mainlytracking the euro and the stockmarket today. It may continue totrade in a range of 44.80 to 46.20levels through December withnot much flows expected in thenear-term," said A. Ajith Kumar,a senior foreign exchange dealerwith Federal Bank.
Foreign funds dumped $93.6million worth of local shares onTuesday, after having been netbuyers in the six preceding ses-sions. However, the total foreignfund inflows into local sharesstill stands at a record $29.2 bil-lion this year, on top of the $17.5billion received in 2009.
"Second half of the session wasdull. Some dollar selling emergedon the back of mild gains in theeuro, but 44.80 looks like the
max that the rupee can gain to,"said a senior forex dealer with alarge state-run bank.
"I see the rupee openingbetween 45.00-45.10 levelstomorrow and expect a range of44.95 to 45.15," he added.
Traders also said there were nomajor inflows expected ahead ofan initial public offering (IPO) byPunjab and Sind Bank that openson Dec. 13. One-month offshorenon-deliverable forward con-tracts were quoted at 45.34,weaker than the onshore spotrate, suggesting a bearish near-term outlook. In the currencyfutures market, the most tradednear-month dollar-rupee con-tracts on the National StockExchange and United StockExchange both closed at 45.2750,while they closed at 45.2775 onthe MCX-SX. -Reuters
Indian rupee logs biggest1-day fall in a mth
3Thursday, December 9, 2010
Currency Rates
Karachi: The following are the London Inter-Bank Offered Rates (LIBOR).
British Members Association Interest Settlement Rates.
AT 11:00 LONDON TIME 08/12/2010
A USD GBP CAD EUR JPY
O/N 0.24094 0.55563 0.98167 0.66375 SN 0.09313
1WK 0.25500 0.56188 1.02500 0.67750 0.10125
2WK 0.25625 0.56625 1.05833 0.69250 0.10625
1MO 0.26250 0.57813 1.09750 0.76250 0.12313
2MO 0.28063 0.63313 1.15000 0.85250 0.14750
3MO 0.30219 0.74375 1.22750 0.96688 0.18125
4MO 0.34875 0.82625 1.30000 1.03313 0.24125
5MO 0.40563 0.93500 1.36333 1.11688 0.30125
6MO 0.45844 1.04063 1.44167 1.20500 0.34813
7MO 0.51250 1.11688 1.50667 1.25000 0.40000
8MO 0.56500 1.20188 1.58250 1.30125 0.44813
9MO 0.61531 1.28438 1.65000 1.35125 0.49500
10MO 0.66625 1.35938 1.71583 1.40125 0.51875
11MO 0.72156 1.42813 1.80417 1.44625 0.54500
12MO 0.78250 1.49625 1.89000 1.49000 0.57375
Countries Selling Buying BuyingTT & OD TT Clean OD/T.CHQ
EUR German Industrial Production m/m 2.9% 1.1% -1.0%
GBP CBI Industrial Order Expectations -3 -12 -15
Previous Day
Top Economic Events
Central Bank Next Meeting Last Change Current
Interest Rate
Bank of England Dec 09 2010 Mar 05 2009 0.50%
Bank of Japan Dec 21 2010 Dec 19 2008 0.10%
European Central Bank Jan 13 2011 May 07 2009 1%
Federal Reserve Dec 14 2010 Dec 16 2008 0.25%
Swiss National Bank Dec 16 2010 Mar 12 2009 0.25%
The Reserve Bank of Australia Feb 01 2011 Nov 02 2010 4.75%
Bank of Canada n/a Sep 08 2010 1%
Major Central Banks Overview
Division of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)KARACHI, December 08,2010 Treasury Management Division of National Bankof Pakistan (NBP) Monday issued the following Exchange rates:
Revaluation RatesTreasury Bills / PIBs / FIBs Holding Applicable for December 08, 2010
NEW YORK: The dollar advanced onWednesday, with further gains likely inthe near term, as Treasury yields spikedfollowing a proposed extension of taxcuts that raised growth expectations forthe US economy.
For the first time in weeks, euro-zonedebt concerns were placed on the backburner as investors focused on US eco-nomic fundamentals in a thinning mar-ket. Some analysts said the tax cuts couldboost US gross domestic product growthby as much as 2 percentage points nextyear. Such views have propelled 10-yearUS Treasury yields to 3.295 per cent, alevel not seen since late June.
"These tax cuts are now regarded as agame changer, which will provide sig-nificant support for the US economynext year," said Richard Franulovich,senior currency strategist, at Westpac inNew York.
"What this means is that it reduces the
probability or the odds of quantitativeeasing, which is good for the dollar."
In midday New York trading, the ICEFutures' dollar index, a gauge of its per-formance against a basket of six majorcurrencies, rose0.3 per centfrom late USlevels to80.121, movingabove its 100-day movingaverage at79.981. If sus-tained that would be a bullish signal.
Market concerns over North Koreafiring artillery shells in a suspected mil-itary drill also helped the dollar.
The greenback rose a further 0.8 percent to 84.13 yen after hitting sessionhighs at 84.31.
Traders said there are exporter offersaround the 84.40 area, which could
limit gains, although there are bids atthe 83.80 level.
In the options market, traders saidthere was high investor demand forbullish dollar/yen option structures,
ranging from calls, call spreads, to bar-rier-type options where there's a pay-offif the pair rises.
The focus has therefore returned tooption barriers at 84.50 yen, a breach ofwhich should push implied volatilitieshigher, traders said. On Wednesday,one-month implied vols in dollar/yenrose to 10.36 per cent from a close of
9.75 on Tuesday.The euro fell 0.2 per cent to $1.3239.
Its failure this week and last to holdabove $1.3400 suggests a probe lower,with a sustained break of $1.3180 open-ing the way for a test of $1.3060/50.
Bids from Asian central banks andMiddle East accounts were seen around$1.3200 and $1.3180, respectively,traders said. Few analysts expect theeuro to break below $1.30 anytimesoon. Ireland moved a step closer tosecuring bailout funds after passing thefirst in a series of votes on its toughestbudget on record, but traders saidinvestors were still likely to sell theeuro on any bounce given broader wor-ries about the European Union's abilityto keep debt problems from spreading.
Market participants said dollar posi-tioning was neutral overall at the momentand few investors are keen to take on sig-nificant long positions. -Reuters
Greenback firms as US Treasuryyield rise flags growth
SHANGHAI: China's yuanended down against the dollaron Wednesday after thePeople's Bank of China set aweaker mid-point as the broad-er dollar index rebounded alongwith gains in US bond yields.
The central bank appearedlikely to be relaxed in fixingthe yuan's mid-point, or its ref-erence rate, through next weekwhen new political events willemerge that could pressBeijing to let the yuan appreci-ate slightly, traders said.
A meeting of the US-ChinaJoint Commission onCommerce and Trade will beheld on Dec. 14-15 ahead ofChinese President Hu Jintao'svisit to the United States,which is expected Jan. 17-20.
The PBOC appears to be let-ting the currency move in thesame direction as the US dollarindex, but to confine its move-ments to a small range. It couldlet the yuan gradually rise to cre-ate a favourable environment forthe US-China talks, dealers said.
"It's clear that we are follow-ing the dollar's steps for now,"
said a dealer at an Asian bankin Shanghai. "The dollar'sstrength guided the yuan's falltoday, but we expect the yuanhas the potential to rise slightlynext week."
Spot yuan ended at 6.6617versus the dollar, falling slight-ly from Tuesday's close of6.6446, but still rising 2.50 percent since the PBOC announceda depegging in mid-June.
Before trade began, the PBOCset the day's mid-point at6.6616, which was weaker thanTuesday's 6.6565. The mid-point is a level from which theyuan may rise or fall 0.5 per centagainst the dollar on a given day.
The yuan has largely remainedstable since mid-Novemberwhen the currency hit its highestlevel since its landmark revalua-tion in July 2005.
Offshore, one-year dollar/yuanNDFs were at 6.5220 bid late onWednesday, up slightly fromTuesday's close of 6.4930, withimplied yuan appreciation in ayear's time falling to 2.14 percent from 2.60 per cent onTuesday. -Reuters
Yuan slips, rangetrade seen in week
LONDON: Sterling rose to atwo-week high against the dol-lar on Wednesday, boosted bynews of a surge in industrialorders which was a furtherindication that UK economicrecovery is gaining momen-tum.
Sterling also gained versusthe euro, which analysts saidwas still being dragged downby concerns about the euro-zone's debt crisis.
The Confederation of BritishIndustry survey's total orderbook balance unexpectedlyjumped to -3 this month, thehighest since June 2008, withexport orders hitting a 15-yearhigh as the sector benefitedfrom a weaker pound.
The survey followed data onTuesday showing manufactur-ing output rose twice as muchas forecast in October.
"The decent numbers out ofthe UK, plus the peripheralconcerns in Europe, have tend-
ed to push sterling up," saidAdrian Schmidt, currencystrategist at Lloyds. "And it'shard to say what is going tomove it down lower before theend of the year."
The pound was up 0.13 percent at $1.5779 after hitting$1.5837, its highest since Nov.24 and holding above its 100-day moving average at$1.5738. Traders cited realmoney and sovereign demand
for the UK currency.Sterling gains came on a day
when the dollar rose againstmost other currencies on theback of a spike in US Treasuryyields.
The pound also made head-way against the euro. The eurofell about 0.4 per cent to 83.80pence, taking it closer to lastweek's low of 83.34 pence.
Sterling's gains versus theeuro helped its trade-weightedindex rise to 81.7, its strongestin three weeks. -Reuters
Stg climbs vs dlr, euroon recovery optimism
SEOUL: The South Korean wonand the Indian rupee led declinesin most Asian currencies onWednesday as investors coveredshort positions in the US dollarafter a spike in US bond yields.
The won came under furtherpressure after North Korea firedartillery in a suspected militarydrill. The artillery fire landed onthe North's side of its disputedmaritime border with the Southbut still left investors nervousabout smoldering geopoliticaltensions in the Korean peninsu-la.
US Treasury yields surgedovernight, pushing the dollarhigher, as investors worried thata new deal to extend tax cutswould only exacerbate the coun-
try's massive debt burden, evenif it helped support consumerspending and economic growth.
Asian currencies are expectedto remain weak in the short termas the dollar is seen staying firmand investors may cover moredollar-short positions, analystsand dealers said.
But their declines will be lim-ited as investors are still opti-mistic about the economic out-look of Asia, they added.
"Investors will clear short-term positions before the end ofthis year, but they are likely tokeep strategic positions as Asiais much better than othereconomies," said jeong My-young, a currency strategist atSamsung Futures in Seoul.
The won lost 1.3 per centagainst the dollar on Wednesdayon worries about tensions withNorth Korea and as investorscovered dollar-short positionsbefore year-end.
Still, it is seen finding relieffrom continuous foreigninvestors' stock purchases andexporters' demand for settle-ments, dealers said, addingexporters will chase it around1,150 per dollar.
The Singapore dollar lost 0.6per cent, hit by hectic dollar buy-ing in thin trade as marketsfeared a prolonged shortsqueeze.
Leveraged and fast moneyaccounts were said to be buyers,too, traders added. -Reuters
Asian currencies
Won slips on firm dollar,NKorea firing weighs
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: The Australian andNew Zealand currencies fell against the US dollaron Wednesday as a spike in US Treasury bondyields helped spark a broad rally in the greenback.
News that North Korea test-fired artillery shellsand worries about an interest rate hike in China thisweekend further conspired to drive both the Aussieand kiwi lower in a jittery market. The Australiandollar fell to as low as $0.9780, nearly 2 full centsoff the overnight high of $0.9966. It was last at$0.9791, down about 0.3 per cent on the day.
Immediate supported is seen at the 14-daymoving average around $0.9775, a break ofwhich could pave the way to $0.9739, the Dec. 3low. "It's definitely a US dollar story today.There's a fair bit of confusion out there, but ulti-mately, the driver is US yields," a dealer said.
Markets shrugged off a better-than-expected1.9 per cent rise in Australian housing finance,with traders saying the data had little bearing onmonetary policy. The Reserve Bank of Australialeft interest rates unchanged at 4.75 per cent onTuesday and released a brief statement that rein-
forced views it was in no hurry to tighten policy.November employment data due on Thursday
could be more interesting. Analysts polled byReuters expect employment to rise 19,000 andthe unemployment rate to ease to 5.2 per cent,from 5.4 per cent. The Aussie dollar outper-formed its kiwi counterpart, reaching to a five-week high of NZ$1.3042, before easing back tolast stand at NZ$1.3001.
Against the greenback, the New Zealand dollarlost about half a cent on the day to $0.7524. Itsslide was halted by support at $0.7516, with resist-ance at $0.7586. Not helping the kiwi, third quar-ter manufacturing sales and residential buildingwork pointed to a soft reading for growth figures.
The Reserve Bank of NZ announces its latestrate decision on Thursday, but is widely expectedto keep rates unchanged at 3.0 per cent.
Analysts will be looking closely at the nuanceof the statement. Some are starting to waver fromthe widely-held view that rate rises will beginfrom the first quarter of next year in the face ofsluggish data. -Reuters
Australian, NZ dollars burntby fired-up greenback
Swiss francdips on broad
dollar riseZURICH: The Swiss francdipped against the dollar onWednesday, moving closertowards parity, after the green-back extended gains triggeredby higher US treasury yields inthe wake of the proposed exten-sion of US tax cuts.
The franc rose against theeuro as concerns about theeuro-zone debt crisis weighedon the euro, but the commoncurrency held above the keylevel of 1.30 francs per euro.
"The euro-franc is showingsome resilience above 1.3000for now, as Ireland passes thefirst round of its budget vote,"Informa Global Markets ana-lyst Tony Nyman said.
"The dollar-franc looks to bea US yields story at themoment," Nyman said. "Theyare flying on US tax cuts and ifyields continue to rise we mayget a parity return this week."
The franc rose 0.3 per centagainst the euro compared to theNew York close, trading at1.3058 per euro at 0743 GMT.The franc was 0.3 per cent weak-er against the dollar at 0.9894per dollar. Against the euro, thefranc was stuck between 1.30and 1.32, a Zurich-based tradersaid. -Reuters
Seen staying weak in short term on more $ short-covering
Dollar index rises above 80, breaches 100-day MA
The US dollar will be asafe investment for thenext six to twelve
months because global mar-kets are focused on the eurozone's troubles but the US'sfiscal health is worse thanEurope's, an adviser to theChinese central bank said onWednesday.
Li Daokui, an academicmember of the central bank'smonetary policy committee,said that US bond prices andthe dollar would fall when theEuropean economic situationstabilized.
"For now, market attention isstill on Europe and for thecoming 6-12 months, it willnot shift to the United States,"Li said, when asked about USPresident Barack Obama'splan to extend tax cuts for allAmericans.
"But we should be clear inour minds that the fiscal situa-tion in the United States is
much worse than in Europe. Inone or two years, when theEuropean debt situation stabi-lizes, attention of financialmarkets will definitely shift tothe United States. At that time,
US Treasury bonds and thedollar will experience consid-erable declines."
China has a big stake in theperformance of dollar assets.The country holds the world'sbiggest stock pile of foreignexchange reserves at $2.64trillion and an estimated two-
thirds of that is invested in dol-lar assets, including USTreasuries.
Li was speaking on the side-lines of a financial forum inBeijing. He sits on the mone-tary policy committee of thecentral bank but does not havereal influence on key decisions
on interest ratesand the yuan.
China's annu-al economicgrowth willexceed 9.5 percent in 2011and will remainabove 9 percentthrough thecoming decade,Li told theforum. China'sl o n g - t e r mgrowth outlookwould beunderpinned bythe need to con-tinue investing
in infrastructure, he said."China has a vast domestic
demand that is untapped, and
that's the fundamental differ-ence between China now andJapan in 1985," Li told aforum. I addition, China wouldhave to spend a lot on "lowcarbon" industries, lendingmore support for the economy,he said.
Li predicted global com-modities prices, including oil,would rise sharply next year.
Speculation about an interestrate rise in the coming dayshas intensified after an officialnewspaper flagged the chancesof an imminent move amidexpectations of rising inflationin November.
Asked whether the centralbank should raise interestrates, Li said it should takesteps to protect depositors.Concerns about hot moneyinflows would be a factorwhen the central bank startsconsidering whether to raiseinterest rates, he added.-Reuters
Disclaimer:All reports and recommendations have been prepared for your information
only. Summary and Analysis are not recommendation to buy or sell. This
information should only be used by investors who are aware of the risk inher-
ent in securities trading. The facts, information, data, indicators and charts
presented have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their
accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. The Financial Daily
International and its employees are not responsible for any loss arising from
use of these reports and recommendations.
Let’s givefarmersa full ear
Pakistan Kissan Board has announced tolaunch a movement in favor of their fourdemands.
Farmers' body believes that peaceful protestshad failed to produce any positive results inthe past and now they intend to stage sit-ins infront of the provincial assemblies.
The four demands of Board are: 1) resump-tion of subsidies on fertilisers, oil, electricity,machinery etc, 2) payment to growers/farm-ers of their produce through cheques, 3) print-ing of prices of the fertilisers on each bag tostop hoarding and profiteering, and 4) fixationof minimum price of Rs200 per 40kg for sug-arcane. The demand for increase in supportprice of different crops is based on hike in theprices of inputs. Recent floods have alsoimpaired purchasing power of the farmers.
The two common complaints are: 1) Rs2.5billion is yet to be paid for the sugarcane pur-chase of last year 2) late start of sugarcanecrushing delays wheat sowing, somethingmust be done for it. Reportedly out of 42 sugarmills only 18 have started crushing.
It is also necessary to listen to millers' pointof view. According to Iskandar Khan ofPakistan Sugar Mills Association, if sugarcaneprice is fixed at Rs250 per 40kg the cost ofproduction would be Rs83 per kg and addingall other incidental charges the retail price ofsugar would surge to Rs120 per kg.
There was a suggestion that wheat supportprice should be enhanced to Rs1,000 per 40 kgto encourage the farmers to achieve 25 milliontonnes' target, which the government hasdeclined. The other demand was to allowexport of one million tonne wheat which hasbeen accepted.
The reason for the acceptance could be pres-sure from the Punjab government. Theprovince is not only the largest producer ofwheat but also has to keep the largest stock.Reportedly Punjab food department had stockof around 2.9 million tonnes from the lastyears, it procured 3.7 million tonnes leavingtotal availability to 6.6 million tonnes. Of thattotal about 2.5 million tonnes was earmarkedfor federal strategic reserve. The Departmentwas holding 6.1 million tonnes as on October25, 2010. The daily mark-up paid is aboutRs78 million out of which Rs25 million isshared by the federal government while theprovince has to pay Rs53 million.
Addressing the woes of growers of twomajor crops, sugarcane and wheat is neces-sary. Any shortfall would necessitate import,eroding foreign exchange reserves of thecountry as well as affecting rural populationadversely.
The shortfall in production also affects pro-duction in the following year therefore, avoid-ing this vicious cycle is a must. Let's not thinkabout it, better do something.
4Thursday, December 9, 2010
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary
Editor: Shakil H. Jafri
Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi
Honorary Advisory Board
Haseeb Khan, FCA
Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA
Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA
Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA
Muhammad Arif
S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Khurram Shehzad, CFA
Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)
Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)
Ismat Sabir
Head office
111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA KarachiTelephone: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428
Li predicted global commoditiesprices, including oil, would rise
sharply next year. Speculation aboutan interest rate rise in the coming dayshas intensified after an official news-paper flagged the chances of an immi-nent move amid expectations of rising
inflation in November.
US fiscal healthworse than Europe’s
Nigeria's anti-corruptionagency filed charges againstformer US vice president
Dick Cheney and the head of oil serv-ices giant Halliburton on Tuesdayover an alleged scheme to bribeNigerian officials.
The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission (EFCC) said ithad filed 16-count charges at a feder-al high court in Abuja againstCheney, Halliburton Chief ExecutiveDavid Lesar and two other execu-tives, in a case dating back to themid-1990s.
It also filed charges againstHalliburton as a company, which washeaded by Cheney during the 1990s,and four associated businesses. Cheneywas US vice president from 2001 to2009. "Charges have been filed againstDick Cheney and eight others (individ-ual and entities)," EFCC spokesmanFemi Babafemi said.
Houston-based engineering firmKBR, a former Halliburton unit,pleaded guilty last year to US chargesthat it paid $180 million in bribesbetween 1994 and 2004 to Nigerianofficials to secure $6 billion in con-tracts for the Bonny Island liquefiednatural gas (LNG) project in theNiger Delta. KBR and Halliburtonreached a $579 million settlement inthe United States. But Nigeria,
France and Switzerland have con-ducted their own investigations intothe case.
Halliburton, which sold KBR in2007, said it had not seen the chargesbut repeated that its current opera-tions in Nigeria, raided by the EFCClast month are not involved. "It is still
our position that Halliburton was notinvolved in the project to which thisbribery investigation relates andthere is no legal basis for chargesagainst Halliburton in relation to thatproject," spokeswoman Tara Mulleesaid.
Those charged in Nigeria includeKBR Chief Executive Officer WilliamUtt and former KBR CEO Albert"Jack" Stanley, who worked underCheney when he headed Halliburtonand pleaded guilty in 2008 to UScharges related to the case.
Reading from the charge sheet,Babafemi said the executives were
accused of conspiring to make a $132million payment "for the purpose ofthe gratification of public officials."
In a statement, KBR said Utt hadonly joined the firm in February2006, after the alleged offences tookplace, and that the rest of its execu-tive team was appointed thereafter.
"The actions of the Nigerian govern-ment suggest that its officials arewildly and wrongly asserting blamein this matter," KBR said, adding itwould "vigorously defend itself."
POLITICAL MOTIVATIONHalliburton said last year it had
"reason to believe" payments mayhave been made to Nigerian officialsby agents of its TSKJ consortium,which built the Bonny Island facility.As well as KBR, the TSKJ consor-tium included France's Technip SA,Italy's Snamprogetti, a unit of Italianoilfield services company Saipem,whose parent company is Eni and
Japan's JGC Corp.Among the entities named in the
Nigerian charge sheet alongsideHalliburton and KBR areHalliburton's Nigerian unit, the TSKJconsortium and TSKJ Nigeria,Babafemi said. "I don't imaginesomeone would pull out a sell recom-mendation on Halliburton over this,especially since this goes back anumber of years," said Mike Breard,energy analyst at Hodges CapitalManagement in Dallas, Texas. "It's ahuge company and it's not going tohave that much impact on them ifthey have to pay some kind of courtcosts or a fine," he told Reuters.
Some analysts have suggested thesudden revival of interest in theHalliburton case is linked to Nigerianpolitics as the country is scheduled tohold presidential election in April.Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan facesa challenge for the ruling party nom-ination from former vice presidentAtiku Abubakar, who was in officebetween 1999 and 2007. Abubakar'sopponents have in the past tried tolink him to the case, allegations hehas dismissed as a smear campaign.He was quoted in September as say-ing there was no evidence againsthim and that nobody in the UnitedStates or elsewhere had sought toquestion him on the matter.-Reuters
Nigeria pointingfingers at Cheney
Shabbir Kazmi
Pakistan hasn't succeeded in devel-oping petrochemical industriespartly because of highly inade-
quate indigenous production of crudeoil but following bad policies has alsoadded to woes. At present, Pakistan's oilrefineries are operating at around 60 percent capacity utilization mainly becauseof production of limited products.However, the country remains heavilydependent on imported high diesel andfurnace oil. The situation prevails onlybecause refineries have not beenupgraded technologically. Pakistanshould have learnt from the experienceof Singapore, a country which does notproduce a drop of crude oil but has stateof the art refineries working.
Lately, some hopes were created withthe ongoing talks for establishing threerefineries in the country, but hopes aredying with the passage of time.Pakistanis should feel lucky even if onerefinery commence commercial pro-duction over the next five years.Discussion have been going on regard-ing establishing hydro and/or naphthacracker for nearly four decades butnothing concrete has happened as yet.PARCO is the only refinery established
with the help of Middle Easter spon-sors; else the track record is a little dis-appointing. Lately, equity has beeninjected in Byco (formerly BosicorRefinery) but the size and technologyremains a big question. Attock Groupcan also take pride in having substantialexposure in Pakistan but they couldhave done a lot at a much faster pace.
PSFTill lately, Polyester Staple Fibre
(PSF) was considered a product direct-ly competing with cotton but now itcomplements the silver fibre. Withgrowing preference for blended fabric,for ease in washing demand for man-made fibre is on the rise. Some timeback closure of Dewan Salman Fibrecreated a temporary shortfall necessitat-ing its import. While PSF manufactur-ers are demanding increase in duty,spinners are insisting on reduction induty as local manufacturers are unableto meet the demand.
The first ever PSF plant was estab-lished in the country by a company alsolisted at the local stock exchanges,National Fibres Limited (NFL). Withthe shift in government policy towardsliberalization, deregulation and priva-tion not only the private sector wasallowed to establish PSF manufacturingplants but NFL was also privatized andsubsequently closed down by theacquirer. The growing demand encour-aged establishing new units by the pri-vate sector as well as expansion by theoperating units.
Cognizant of the enormous growthpotential, ICI Pakistan (which alsoowns and operates a PSF unit) alsoestablished PTA manufacturing plant.PTA is produced by using two basic
petrochemicals i.e. PTA and MEG.While the country has been able to alsoexport PTA, MEG is still imported.Lately, majority shares of PTA planthave been sold to a foreign strategicinvestor. Since then the operations ofthe company have improved.
PTALotte Pakistan PTA was the single
largest foreign direct investment ofUS$490 million in Pakistan's petro-chemical industry. In addition to itsown manufacturing facilities, theCompany has helped create a largeinfrastructure network at the PortQasim, which includes a chemical jetty,raw material pipeline and manufactureof industrial gases through third partycontracts.
EthanolGlobally there is growing emphasis
on bio-fuel. While ethanol is added inmotor gasoline, corn/canola oil is addedin diesel to achieve greater reliance onrenewable energy resources. Ironically,use of E-10 (motor gasoline blendedwith 10 per cent ethyl alcohol hasn'tpicked up due to resistance by oil mar-keting companies, one just can't thinkabout adding corn/canola oil in diesel.Ideally an additive becomes attractivewhen it is cheaper than the original fuel.In Pakistan corn and canola oils areused as edible oil and sell at nearly dou-ble the price of diesel. Therefore, thereis a dire need for bringing cost of cornand canola oil to around 30% of the cur-rent prices. Many experts are of theopinion that availability of CNG at verylow price hasn't encouraged use of bio-fuel. With growing shortfall of naturalgas, leading to closure of CNG stationsonce a week, motorists have to be con-
vinced to use bio-fuel. However, con-sumers would only shift to a cheaperfuel. Pakistan should work hard to pro-duce bio-fuel at attractive prices, whichwould automatically help in bringingdown edible oil prices in the country.Interestingly, corn could be cultivatedat less fertile lands and canola is termed'weed' international. Cultivation of cornand canola would not only benefit thecountry but would also improve theincome of farmers.
PolyethyleneGlobally polyethylene is produced
either from crude oil or fermentation ofmolasses. When crude oil prices wentexceptionally low producing polyethyl-ene from ethyl alcohol became uneco-nomical. However, with crude oil hov-ering above US$75/barrel production ofpolyethylene (commonly known asplastic) has once again become eco-nomically viable. Pakistan has around85 sugar mills many with attached dis-tilleries. While only a fraction of alco-hol produced in the country is beingused to produce E-10 addition of poly-merization facilities can help in produc-ing plastic and reduce its import bill.
Way ForwardPakistan has no option but to upgrade
its refineries to make them capable ofproducing value added products.Neighboring countries are also defi-cient in energy products and Pakistancan become 'energy corridor'. Theobjective can be achieved if countrysucceeds in establishing petrochemicalcomplex based on state of the art tech-nology. Buying obsolete technologymay require less capital but would alsoproduce low value added products. Thechoice is ours.
Need to build modernpetrochemical complex
Some analysts have suggested thesudden revival of interest in the
Halliburton case is linked to Nigerianpolitics as the country is scheduled to
hold presidential election in April“
FERTILISER000 tonnesUrea Offtake (Jan to Sep 10) 4,190Urea Offtake (Sep 10) 324Urea Price (Rs/50 kg) 851DAP Offtake (Jan to Sep 09) 680DAP Offtake (Sep 10) 226DAP Price (Rs/50 kg) 2,628
AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLERPAK SUZUKI MOTORUnitsProduction (July 10 to Oct 10) 26,842
Sales (July 10 to Oct 10) 25,279
Production (Octy 10) 7,311
Sales (Oct 10) 7,459
INDUS MOTOR COProduction (July 10 to Oct 10) 17,013
Sales (July 10 to Oct 10) 16,622
Production (Octy 10) 4,827
Sales (Oct 10) 4,830
HONDA ATLAS CARProduction (July 10 to Oct 10) 5,481
Sales (July 10 to Oct 10) 5,172
Production (Octy 10) 1,514
Sales (Oct 10) 1,340
DEWAN FAROOQ MOTORSProduction (July 10 to Oct 10) 186
Sales (July 10 to Oct 10) 70
Production (Octy 10) 0
Sales (Oct 10) 18
BANKING SECTORScheduled bank (Rs in mn)Deposit (Nov 6,10) 4,729,932
Advances (Nov 6,10) 3,011,868
Investments (Nov 6,10) 1,897,426
Spread (Sep 10) 7.57%
OIL MARKETING CO(000 tons)MS (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 744
MS (Oct 10) 198
Kerosene (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 53
Kerosene (Oct 10) 15
JP (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 452
JP (Oct 10) 122
HSD (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 2,182
HSD (Oct 10) 664
LDO (Jul 10 to Oct 10)) 22
LDO (Oct 10) 6
Fuel Oil (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 3,086
Fuel Oil (Oct 10) 854
Others (Jul 10 to Oct 10) 3
Others (Oct 10) 1
PRICES (Ex-Refinery) RsMS (1 Nov 10) 44.53
MS (1 Oct 10) 40.71
MS % Chg 9.38%
Kerosene (1 Nov 10) 51.25
Kerosene (1 Oct 10) 47.31
Kerosene % Chg 8.33%
JP-1 (1 Nov 10) 51.48
JP-1 (1 Oct 10) 47.54
JP-1 % Chg 8.29%
HSD (1 Nov 10) 54.24
HSD (1 Oct 10) 50.38
HSD % Chg 7.66%
LDO (1 Nov 10) 49.51
LDO (1 Oct 10) 46.13
LDO % Chg 7.33%
Fuel Oil (1 Nov 10) 42,046
Fuel Oil (1 Oct 10) 39,276
Sector Updates
Symbol Close Vol (mn)LOTPTA 13.16 34.29 NBP 71.43 14.33 DSFL 3.01 13.51 DCL 2.76 9.91 NML 61.90 8.12
Symbol Close ChangeNESTLE 2,278.50 108.50 RMPL 2,017.40 67.40 COLG 899.57 14.57 POL 289.81 13.80 IDYM 291.97 13.34
Symbol Close ChangeULEVER 4,070.87 -28.81BATA 619.90 -14.1PSEL 161.01 -8.34SRVI 240.67 -5.47EXIDE 181.06 -4.78
Plus 238Minus 141Unchanged 30
Top 5 Volume Leaders
Major Losers
Major Gainers
KSE-100 Index
LSE-25 Index
ISE-10 Index
Active Issues
Thursday, December 9, 2010 5
Dhiyan
Bullish rally is likely to sustain drawing strength from continued foreign buying,hopes of good corporate results, and positive development on Margin Trading System(MTS). Therefore we might see new highs above 12,000 points in the coming days.However any negative law & order development and political uncertainty could invitesome correction. Invest in oil stocks and in those banking scrips which are expectedto announce good results. Cement stocks are also investable. There might be someprofit-taking at higher levels today --it would be an opportunity for those investorswho missed the recent rally.
Sajid Bhanji, VP Capital Markets Arif Habib Limited
Faran Rizvi, Technical Analyst Invisor Securities
Continued foreign buying is supporting the market these
days therefore we can see some more positive activities
down the line. However, there might be some profit-taking
at the resistance level of 11,745 points. Investors, there-
fore, must book profits. Market would be mixed today and
adopting a 'sell on strength' stance would be advisable.
NEW YORK: (L-R) Actors Matthew Gumley, Sebastian Arcelus, Beth Leavel and Amy Spanger ring the final bell at the New York StockExchange at the 87th Annual NYSE Christmas Tree Lighting & Closing Bell at New York Stock Exchange here.-Reuters
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI:China and Hong Kong marketsretreated on Wednesday as adrop in commodity prices hitresources plays and a selloff inUS Treasuries hurt risky assetsin Asian markets.
But declines came on rela-tively light volumes whichaccording to some market play-ers suggested investors weretaking risk off the table ratherthan turning overly bearish onthe market. Hong Kong'sbenchmark Hang Seng Indexfell 1.4 per cent to 23,092.5,erasing all of Tuesday's gains,
with energy and materials thebiggest underperformers.
US bond yields surged onWednesday as the selloff inTreasuries continued for a secondday and was seen adding uncer-tainty heading into year-end.
"That's definitely affectingother markets," said Tom Kaan,a director at Louis CapitalMarkets in Hong Kong.
"But looking at the volumestoday I'd say it's an earlyChristmas. There's no real rea-son for people to add risk at themoment," said Kaan.
A pull back in oil prices from
a 26-month high above $90 perbarrel arrested a five-day rallyfor CNOOC Ltd , which fell 2.4per cent. PetroChina Co slipped2.7 per cent.
Heavyweight mainland banksremained under pressure inHong Kong as well as inShanghai markets amid specu-lation that Beijing could raiseinterest rates this weekend.
China's key stock indexclosed down 1 per cent as spec-ulation about a possible interestrate rise kept investors largelyon the sidelines.
See # 14 Page 11
HK, China stumble asbond selloff hits mkts
MUMBAI: The BSE Sensexfell 1.2 per cent on Wednesdayto its lowest close this month ashigh crude oil prices sparkedconcerns of a possible increasein domestic auto fuel prices thatcould stoke inflation.
Banking shares weigheddown sentiment further, fallingfor the third successive day onworries that rising lending ratesin the sector would affectdemand for loans, even as asharp increase in deposit ratesis likely to squeeze margins.
The main 30-share BSEindex shed 238.16 points to endat 19,696.48, its lowest closingin December. It had fallen asmuch as 1.6 per cent in intra-day trade. Twenty seven of itscomponents closed in the nega-tive.
"Markets will run into road-blocks at every rise. There is
oversupply, people are yet totake profits off the table," saidDeepak Jasani, head of retailresearch at HDFC Securities.
"If there is uncertainty, thedecline should accentuate in thenext few weeks," he added.
Investor sentiment took abeating on speculation of anincrease in petrol and dieselprices, after crude pricestouched a 26-month high ofover $90 a barrel on Tuesday.Earlier in the day, anEconomic Times reportpegged the likely increase at 2rupees per litre.
Oil Secretary S. Sundareshantold reporters India will soontake a decision on raising dieselprices, in an effort to lower thegovernment's subsidy bill andboost the financial health of oilmarketing firms.
See # 15 Page 11
BSE falls; banksslip, oil cos gain
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei ended0.9 per cent higher onWednesday after hitting itshighest intraday level in almostseven months, as a proposedextension in US tax cuts boost-ed the dollar against the yenand lifted exporters' shares.
The US currency rose to itshighest against the yen in near-ly three months on Tuesdayafter US President BarackObama's proposed extensiontriggered higher Treasuryyields.
Foreign fund operators werekeen on investing in laggingTokyo equities but the bench-mark Nikkei's advance waslimited ahead of the settlementof futures and options prices onFriday, analysts said.
"The dollar/yen rate nowstands at well over 83 yen, and
that's pretty much the biggestpositive factor supportingstocks today," said KenichiHirano, operating officer atTachibana Securities.
The benchmark Nikkei rose91.23 points to close at10,232.33. At one point in themorning, the index rose as highas 10,258.90, its highest sinceMay 18.
The broader Topix indexgained 0.9 per cent to 887.39.
"Unless the Nikkei comfort-ably stays above 10,250 for awhile, the index will probablysee resistance around the cur-rent (10,200) level," saidYutaka Yoshino, chief technicalanalyst at Nikko CordialSecurities. "If it stays above10,250, the next target will bearound 10,380."
See # 16 Page 11
Nikkei hits 7-monthhigh on weaker yen
Nawaz Ali
KARACHI: Spurred by ris-ing international oil pricesand hopes of healthy corpo-rate earnings foreign/localbulls Wednesday earnedKarachi Stock Exchange(KSE) more than 1.7 per centcatapulting it above 11,600points -- 29-month high.
The benchmark KSE 100-Index closed 198 points up ata level of 11,629 points -itshighest closing since July2008.
KSE 30-Index jumped by187 points -1.7 per cent-- toclose at 11,243 points andKSE All Share Index jumpedby 133 points -1.69 per cent-- to close at 8,081 points.
According to AhsanMehanti, Director Arif HabibInvestments, bullish activitywas led by strong foreignbuying in oil, banking & fer-tilisers scrips.
According to NCCPL dataforeign investors did a net-buying of $4.31 million onWednesday which translatesinto a cumulative a-net buy-ing of $32.95 million --todate-- in the month ofDecember.
Ahsan added that risingglobal commodities pricesand PTA margins too playeda catalytic role in the positiveactivity.
The opening bell waswake-up call for bulls asmarket opened 12 point up.Thereabouts gains then keptpiling up owing to continuedbuying by the foreign
investors in key oil andbanking stocks. Moreoverhopes of good corporateresults and rising internation-al oil prices too added fuel tothe buying fire. Thereforeindex during the last half-an-hour touched an intra-dayhigh of 11,633 points (+ve202 points) and ended closeby.
Oil and banking stockswere the leading performers,where Pakistan oilfieldsincreased by Rs13.80 --5 percent-- closing at Rs289.81and Pakistan Petroleumgrew by Rs6.50 - 3.21 percent-- closing at Rs208.95while National Bank closedup by Rs2.71 --3.94 percent-- at Rs71.43 and MCBBank gained Rs4.72 --2.17per cent-- to close atRs221.90.
Investor participationremained impressivethroughout the day as 195.6million shares traded in theoverall market which is 77.4million shares more as com-pared to a turnover of 118.2million shares a day earlier.
Lotte Pakistan stood as thevolume leader with 34.29million shares mainly due toimproving international pri-mary margins. Other toptraded stocks includeNational Bank with 14.33million shares and DewanSalman with 13.51 millionshares.
Out of total 409 activeissues 238 advanced and 141declined while 30 issuesremained unchanged.
100-Indexstandstall on
29-mth top
Weakminers
undermineBritish FTSELONDON: Weakness inheavyweight miners draggedBritain's leading share indexlower on Wednesday, althoughfirmer banks, energy issues andsome takeover speculationhelped limit the falls.
At the close, the FTSE 100was down 13.92 points or 0.2per cent at 5,794.53, having hita three-week high on Tuesday.
"It has been a choppy tradingsession today with a lack of sig-nificant economic data givingthe market very few ... drivers,"said Giles Watts, head of equi-ties at City Index. "As a result,traders have been largely goingthrough the motions with themarkets drifting sideways."
See # 17 Page 11
Rashid Zahirelected asISE BoardChairman
ISLAMABAD: MuhammadRashid Zahir hasbeen electedChairman of theBoard of Directorsof the IslamabadStock Exchange(ISE) unanimous-ly for the year 2010-11, a hand-out issued here on Tuesday said.
The new Board of Directorsin its first meeting unanimous-ly elected Rashid Zahir as theChairman of the Board of theISE.
Zahir has extensive experi-ence of banking and finance.Presently he is the ChiefExecutive of Saudi PakIndustrial and AgriculturalInvestment Company. He isalso Chairman of the Boards ofSaudi Pak Leasing, Saudi PakInsurance and Saudi Pak RealEstate. In addition, he is repre-senting on the board of certainother companies.
Indonesia hits recordclose, but others mixed
South East Asian stocks
European shares hit26-month closing high
US stocks mid-morning
Wall St tadchanged asUSD, bondsup pressure
NEW YORK: US stocks werelittle changed on Wednesday,weighed by gains in the dollarand higher bond yields, butanalysts said they expect themarket to regroup beforeattempting a rally into year-end.
Benchmark yields hovered attheir highest in six months,while the dollar index gained0.4 per cent as the deal toextend tax cuts intensified wor-ries about inflation and thecosts of the government's debtburden.
Higher bond yields make itmore expensive for consumersand businesses to borrow, whilestocks and the dollar have
See # 18 Page 11
Thursday, December 9, 20106
Volume 195,652,832
Value 8,136,421,681
Trades 85,173
Advanced 238
Declined 141
Unchanged 30
Total 409
Current 8,081.33
High 8,083.17
Low 7,947.34
Change h133.99
Current 11,629.93
High 11,634.34
Low 11,431.01
Change h198.92
Current 11,243.73
High 11,262.14
Low 11,056.00
Change h187.73
Market KSE 100 Index All Share Index KSE 30 Index
Current 18,373.81
High 18,384.30
Low 18,102.49
Change h271.32
KMI 30 IndexSymbolsAlert ! Unusual Movements
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2009
Dadabhoy Cement Industries Limited
DBCI closed up 0.25 at 2.00. Volume was 2,694 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 25 per cent wider than normal.
The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs78.147 million which
translates into an Earning Per Share of Rs0.10 for the 1st quarter of
current fiscal year (1QFY11).
DBCI is currently 3.5 per cent above its 200-day moving average and
is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the aver-
age volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect
very strong flows of volume into DBCI (bullish). Trend forecasting oscil-
lators are currently bullish on DBCI.
RSI (14-day) 63.92 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 3,964.84
MA (10-day) 1.71 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 554.84
MA (100-day) 1.72 Revenue (Rs in mn) 30.03
MA (200-day) 1.92 Interest Expense 7.78
1st Support 1.71 Profit after Taxation 6.71
2nd Support 1.40 EPS 09 (Rs) 0.068
1st Resistance 2.41 Book value / share (Rs) 5.65
2nd Resistance 2.80 PE 10 E (x) 5.00
Pivot 2.10 PBV (x) 0.35
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
FLYNG closed up 0.16 at 1.91. Volume was 4,204 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 15 per cent narrower than nor-
mal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs28.864 million which
translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.16 for the 1st quarter of current
fiscal year (1QFY11).
FLYNG is currently 15.8 per cent below its 200-day moving average
and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely high when
compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions.
Volume indicators reflect very strong flows of volume into FLYNG (bull-
ish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on FLYNG.
RSI (14-day) 54.90 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 5,548.30
MA (10-day) 1.81 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 1,598.52
MA (100-day) 1.96 Revenue (Rs in mn) 80.62
MA (200-day) 2.27 Interest Expense 28.12
1st Support 1.85 Loss after Taxation (172.17)
2nd Support 1.73 EPS 10 (Rs) (0.978)
1st Resistance 2.02 Book value / share (Rs) 9.08
2nd Resistance 2.07 PE 11 E (x) -
Pivot 1.90 PBV (x) 0.21
Flying Cement Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2009
ICCT closed up 0.49 at 2.09. Volume was 2,716 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 95 per cent wider than normal.
The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs24.297 million which
translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs2.43 for the 1st quarter of current
fiscal year (1QFY11).
ICCT is currently 69.8 per cent above its 200-day moving average and
is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the aver-
age volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect
very strong flows of volume into ICCT (bullish). Trend forecasting oscil-
lators are currently bullish on ICCT.
RSI (14-day) 65.71 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 1,457.78
MA (10-day) 1.20 Total Equity (Rs in mn) (179.87)
MA (100-day) 0.84 Revenue (Rs in mn) 1,331.86
MA (200-day) 0.98 Interest Expense 114.72
1st Support 1.50 Loss after Taxation (74.02)
2nd Support 0.95 EPS 09 (Rs) (7.401)
1st Resistance 2.60 Book value / share (Rs) (17.99)
2nd Resistance 3.15 PE 10 E (x) -
Pivot 2.05 PBV (x) (0.12)
ICC Textiles Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2009
IDSM closed up 0.59 at 5.79. Volume was 1,722 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 78 per cent wider than nor-
mal. The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs29.202 million
which translates into an Earning Per Share of Rs2.94 for the 1st quar-
ter of current fiscal year (1QFY11).
IDSM is currently 117.2 per cent above its 200-day moving average
and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as
compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions.
Volume indicators reflect very strong flows of volume into IDSM (bull-
ish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on IDSM.
Momentum oscillator is currently indicating that IDSM is currently in an
overbought condition.
RSI (14-day) 74.19 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 740.24
MA (10-day) 4.10 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 28.60
MA (100-day) 3.59 Revenue (Rs in mn) 1,111.39
MA (200-day) 3.10 Interest Expense 71.79
1st Support 4.95 Loss after Taxation (45.32)
2nd Support 4.17 EPS 09 (Rs) (4.569)
1st Resistance 6.18 Book value / share (Rs) 2.88
2nd Resistance 6.63 PE 10 E (x) 0.49
Pivot 5.40 PBV (x) 2.01
Ideal Spinning Mills Limited
OIL AND GAS
Performance of SR Oil and Gas Index
Open High Low Close Change % Change
1,480.02 1,521.69 1,479.79 1,511.75 31.73 2.14
Turnover Total cos Defaulter cos Listed cap Market cap 5-Day High
United Bank Ltd 80.46 63.20 61.85 65.40 66.25 64.05
WorldCall Tele 55.24 2.65 2.60 2.75 2.80 2.70
Company RSI 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Pivot
(14-day) Support Resistance
TECHNICAL LEVELS
Mehran Sugar Mills 09-Dec 10:30
Mirza Sugar Mills Limited 09-Dec 10:30
Pangrio Sugar Mills Limited 09-Dec 12:00
KASB Securities Limited 09-Dec 10:00
Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Ltd 23-Dec 10:30
BOARD MEETINGS
Company Date Time
Thursday, December 9, 2010 8
KARACHI: An aircraft operated by a Russian airline is inspected by Germanground control at the Schoenefeld airport in Berlin, here.-Reuters
HK Cathay Pacific gets new chief
Cathay's fresh flights get wing
SYDNEY: Australia's Qantassaid new rules imposed after anA380 engine blast meant the470-seat superjumbo couldcarry just 80 passengers to LosAngeles and was "uncommer-cial" on the key route.
The regulations, which directlower engine thrust, made theA380 commercially unsuitablefor the trans-Pacific trip,according to legal documentsfiled in the carrier's case againstengine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.
"If Qantas is to avoid using themaximum takeoff thrust of72,000 pounds, in accordancewith a Rolls-Royce directive, ondeparture from Los Angeles,Qantas must ensure that anyTrent 900-powered A380 air-craft carries no more than a pay-load of approx 30,000 kilograms
on one runway or 20,000 kilo-grams on the other runway atLos Angeles," a Qantasspokesman told AFP, readingfrom the airline's statement ofclaim.
"The operation of the LosAngeles routes at the reducedpayloads makes it uncommercialfor Qantas to use a Trent 900-powered A380 on the LAXroutes at all, since operation atthat reduced level involves areduction in carrying capacity sothat typically only 80 passengerswill be able to be transported."
The statement was filed in theFederal Court in Qantas's caseagainst Rolls-Royce, followinglast month's explosion of a Trent900 engine over Indonesiawhich forced an A380 carrying469 people back to Singapore.
Preliminary investigations
have identified a potentially"catastrophic" manufacturingdefect which caused oil leakageand a fire in the engine as thelikely cause of the blast.
Qantas grounded all six of itsA380s after the November 4explosion and are yet to resumeflying the world's largest pas-senger jet between Australia andLos Angeles due to the extraengine thrust required.
The spokesman said the law-suit was "just part of a legalprocess" to ensure Qantas wasable to claim damages if negoti-ations with Rolls-Royce failed,and stressed that it may neverend up in court.
Britain's Rolls-Royce, alsofacing compensation demandsfrom Airbus, has offered nocomment on the Qantas legalaction.-Agencies
A380, ‘uncommercial’,alleges Aussie airlines
BANGKOK: The Pacific Asia TravelAssociation (PATA) has renewed its memoran-dum of understanding (MoU) with the AfricanTravel Association (ATA) to encourage the sus-tainable development of the travel-and-tourismindustry to Africa.
The MoU was signed this week by GregDuffell, the PATA chief executive officer, and
Edward Bergman, ATA executive director.According to a press release, the MoU offers
the two associations a reciprocal membershipaffiliation together with their products and serv-ices, and marks the intent of both to exploreresources to facilitate African tour operators toenter the Pacific Asian market and vice-versa.
"The African continent is growing in impor-tance in trade with Pacific Asia. Tourism will
play a vital role promoting international under-standing and appreciation of our respective cul-tures." Said Duffell.
"ATA has partnered with PATA since 2005 andvery much enjoys the reciprocal membershipaffiliation. We look forward to working withPATA to explore avenues of cooperation in theareas of climate change and industry expansionand to consider together how we can increasetravel-and-tourism arrivals and investmentsbetween Africa and Asia", Said Bergman.
The ATA was established as an internationaltravel industry trade association in 1975 to pro-mote travel, tourism and transport to and withinAfrica, and to strengthen intra-Africa partner-ships. ATA international headquarters are basedin New York, USA.-NNI
PATA renews MoU with ATA
ISLAMABAD: The presidentof Pakistan Airlines' PilotsAssociation (PALPA), CaptSuhail Baloch has expressedhis deep concerns over rapidlydeteriorating image ofPakistan's commercial air safe-ty compliance record.
Talking at the exclusivemembers' meeting to markWorld Aviation Day, heexpressed his deep reservationsover the endeavors to improveairline safety standards, result-ing in three plane crashes inpast four months; an aspect that
had caused serious considera-tions for Country's aviationsecurity.
He was especially critical ofPIA management over its fail-ure to recognise and evolve acomprehensive strategy for avi-ation safety, by taking all avia-tion community onboard.
He said that recent fatalcrashes had proved the help-lessness of management,especially pilot community toregister its concerns and rec-ommendations for aviationsafety.-APP
Crash after crashups Palpa’s pulse
KARACHI: PIA has nowachieved proactive SafetyManagement System (SMS)which ensures compliance ofover 860 safety standards asbeing practiced in theInternational AviationIndustry, the PIA Spokesmansaid here.
He stated that this had beendone strictly in accordancewith the high safety standardsas laid down by theInternational Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO) andother global regulatory agen-cies.
By doing so, PIAspokesman added, in a shortspan of two and a half yearsthe airline has now been wellacknowledged for its safetystandards and has also beencertified by competent exter-nal safety auditors and agen-cies.
He said that IATAOperational Safety Audit(IOSA) registration in 2008 isrecognition that airline'soperations are absolutelysafe.
The airline's commitment tosafety helped in implement-ing occupational health safetyand an international certifica-tion of OSHAS 18001.
This certification has beendone for PIA for achievingsafety in all operational areascompared to other Asian air-lines.
The formation of PIASafety Action Group whichmonitors operational safety
hazards and carries out riskassessments of airline's oper-ational activities, is function-ing as a watchdog to ensuresafe operations of PIA flightswith a proactive approach.
This has now been docu-mented as an implemented(SMS) approved by the CAAPakistan and audited byIOSA.
The airline has a CAA certi-fied training programme andinstructors to impart (SMS)implementation training tothe aviation industry inPakistan.
The airline has also indige-nously developed software toaddress risk management andcomply with national andinternational requirements inthe field.
This state of art software ifpurchased from internationalmarket by the airline wouldhave cost about $0.5 million.
In this regard AirNavigation Order (ANO)issued by CAA Pakistan inSeptember 2008 also requiredphased implementation ofSMS by each airline operatorin Pakistan.
However, it was only PIAwhich implemented SMSmuch before the CAA ANO,a fact that needs to beacknowledged.
The PIA Spokesman saidthat the Safety Action Group(SAG) in PIA consists ofPilots of high professionalstandards who are also mem-bers of Palpa. .-APP
Best safetysystemlandsat PIA
Cruiser'senginefails in
AntarcticBUENOS AIRES: A cruiseship carrying 160 people on areturn trip from Antarctica lostpower in one of its enginesTuesday in rough weather, theArgentine navy said.
Crews were later able to fixthe problem and the ship wassailing to the world's southern-most city Ushuaia in high seaswith its passengers unharmed,it added in a statement.
One of the cruise ship'sengines had broken down andcaused what the navy termed as"serious... handling limita-tions," but causing no risks toits passengers and crew.
The vessel, described on thePolar Cruises website as arefurbished, ice-strengthened,all-suite luxury cruise ship,telephoned its emergency to asearch and rescue coordinationcenter in Ushuaia, 3,200 kilo-meters (1990 miles) south ofBuenos Aires.
The engine failure occurredmid-day Tuesday about 845kilometers (525 miles) south ofUshuaia in the Drake Passage,where the ship faced stormyconditions including winds of90 kilometers (56 miles) perhour.-Reuters
Delta ticket,gate agents
stay off unionATLANTA: Delta Air Lines Incticket and gate agents have votedto reject union representation,dealing another blow to laborgroups seeking to represent amajority of workers at the carrier.
The International Associationof Machinists and AerospaceWorkers (IAM), which was seek-ing to represent the customerservice agents, also failed to get amajority vote for unionisingamong Delta baggage handlersand TechOps Stores workers lastmonth.
The Association of FlightAttendants-CWA (AFA) also lostits bid to represent 20,000 Deltaflight attendants in November.
Elections for Delta workgroups that include about 50,000employees took place this fall toresolve labor representation afterthe 2008 acquisition of mostlyunionised Northwest Airlines byDelta, the least unionised ofmajor US airlines.
The union losses bolster Deltain its bid to remain largely union-free. But they handed setbacks tolabor unions which were hopingto make gains in wake of a USlaw change that was believed toenhance their chances of winning."It doesn't matter what the rulesare," said Mike Campbell, Deltaexecutive vice president forhuman resources and labor rela-tions, during a reporter briefing."Our people are saying they don'twant to be represented by theIAM or the AFA."
The National Mediation Boardsaid on Tuesday that of 12,518valid votes cast from Delta pas-senger service employees, whichinclude gate and ticket agents,customer-facing cargo agents andreservation sales workers, 3,772favored unionisation. Thatincludes 3,638 votes for themachinists, while 8,746 chose nounion. There were 15,436employees eligible to vote.-Reuters
Continental,
welder ruled
guilty in 2000
Concorde crashPONTOISE: A French courtfound Continental Airlines anda mechanic at the US airlineguilty of involuntarymanslaughter for their part inthe 2000 Concorde crash, in aruling Continental called"absurd."
The verdict more than adecade after a deadly accidentthat spelled the end of thesupersonic airliner could nowaffect how planes are main-tained and inspected.
The court ruled that a smallmetal strip, which fell onto therunway from a Continental air-craft just before the Concordetook off, caused the crash,which killed 113 people.
Continental, which was fined200,000 euros and ordered topay Concorde's operator AirFrance a million euros in dam-ages, said it would appeal averdict it described as unfairand absurd.
Welder John Taylor washanded a 15-month suspendedprison sentence for having goneagainst industry norms and usedtitanium to forge the piece thatdropped off the plane.
"I do not understand how myclient could be considered tohave sole responsibility for theConcorde crash," lawyerFrancois Esclatine told FrenchiTele television.
Continental, which has sincebeen swallowed to formUnited Continental Holdings,will have to pay 70 per cent ofany damages payable to fami-lies of victims, the ruling said.Airbus parent EADS wouldhave to pay the other 30 percent.
The verdict exposesContinental and EADS to dam-ages claims that could run totens of millions of euros ifinsurance companies seekreimbursement for sumsalready paid to relatives.
Individual damages in suchcases can reach some $3-4 mil-lion in the United States, buttend to be lower in Francewhere damages for wrongfuldeath are closer to $50,000(31,828 pounds) and economiclosses are compensated on astrict scale, legal specialistssay.
A Continental spokesmansaid the ruling showed "thedetermination of the Frenchauthorities to shift attention andblame away from Air France ...as well as from the Frenchauthorities responsible for theConcorde's airworthiness andsafety."
The crash sped up the demiseof the droop-nosed Concorde --the fastest commercial airlinerin history and a symbol ofFranco-British co-operation --as safety concerns coupled witheconomic downturn after 9/11drove away its wealthy cus-tomers.-Reuters
KARACHI: The CathayPacific Airways has announcedthat it will expand its already-extensive international
network by adding two newroutes in 2011 - a four-times-weekly service to Abu Dhabi,the capital city of the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), com-mencing June 2, and a dailyflight to Chicago in the UnitedStates, which launches onSeptember 1.
It said that the Chicago serv-ice, which will be operated bya Boeing 777-300ER, willboost the airline's presence inNorth America and providepassengers with increased con-nectivity between theMidwestern United States andHong Kong and the rest ofAsia.
Given the demand for travelto other US cities via Chicago,Cathay Pacific intends tolaunch code-share services
from its new gateway withoneworld alliance partnerAmerican Airlines and looksforward to announcing detailsin the near future, theannouncement added.
The Abu Dhabi service willbe operated by an AirbusA330-300 aircraft with depar-tures to and from Hong Kongon Tuesday, Thursday,Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, Airline CathayPacific has announced thatchief operating officer JohnSlosar will take over as chiefexecutive next year when cur-rent head Tony Tyler leaves tohead the industry lobby groupIATA.
In a press release, the HongKong flag carrier said Slosarwould take up the post afterTyler steps down on March 31.Slosar, 54, was managingdirector of parent companySwire Pacific's beverage divi-
sion before joining Cathay in2007.
Tyler, who served as IATA'schairman for a year from June2009, will succeed GiovanniBisignani as director-generaland chief executive of theGeneva-based International AirTransport Association.
He helped bring Cathaythrough one of its toughesttimes during the global finan-cial crisis, which saw a plungein air travel and global exportvolumes.
Tyler told staff that after 32years with the airline his movewould be "a wrench", butadded: "I know I will be leav-ing the company in extremelygood hands."
IATA represents some 230carriers that account for morethan 90 percent of scheduledair traffic globally but does notinclude many of the big budgetairlines.-APP
KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysian crude palm oil fellon Wednesday for the first timein over a week on a firmer USdollar and weaker technicals,and as traders took profits fromthe run of gains.
But the market, which hasrisen 34 per cent in 2010, mayrally further if more monsoonrains lash oil palm estates inMalaysia and dry weatherheightens the risk of a poorSouth American soy crop,traders said.
"The US dollar created someexcuses to take profit as well assome weak technicals. Mostpalm oil players will sit tightuntil the Malaysian Palm OilBoard issues likely bullish dataon Friday," said a dealer with a
foreign trading firm. The benchmark Feb 2011
crude palm oil contract on theBursa Malaysia DerivativesExchange ended 0.4 per centlower at 3,594 ringgit ($1,143)a tonne, easing from a 29-month high hit on Monday.
Traded volume more thandoubled to 24,790 lots of 25tonnes each from the usual10,000 lots as traders bookedprofits after a public holiday onTuesday. Reuters technicalanalysis suggested Malaysian
palm oil will retrace to 3,496ringgit per tonne as it complet-ed a five-wave cycle atMonday's high of 3,618 ringgit.
Other vegetable oils broadlyfell, with China's markets onthe lookout for any monetarytightening from the world'slargest consumer of commodi-ties. US soyoil for Decemberdelivery fell 1.2 per cent andthe most active September2011 soyoil contract on China'sDalian Commodity Exchangedropped 1.5 per cent. -Reuters
Palm snaps 6-day winningstreak on dollar, technicals
9Thursday, December 9, 2010
POLYPROPYLENE(PP) LINEAR LOW (LL)
Cash & Settlement 1310 1250
December (3rd Wednesday) 1320 1260
January (3rd Wednesday) 1320 1260
LONDON METAL EXCHANGE (PLASTIC)
LME Official Prices, US$ per tonne for December 07 2010
LME Official Prices, US$ per tonne for December 07 2010
ALUMINIUM ALUMINIUM COPPER LEAD NICKEL TIN ZINC NASAAC
LONDON: Oil fell onWednesday to around $88 abarrel as a US governmentreport showed inventories ofgasoline and other fuels rose inthe world's top consumer,countering lower crude stocks.
Gasoline stocks rose by amore-than-expected 3.81 mil-lion barrels, the EnergyI n f o r m a t i o nAdministrat ionsaid in its report.Stocks of distil-lates, expected todecline, rose by2.15 million bar-rels.
US crude forJanuary was down 57 cents at$88.12 a barrel at 1612 GMTwhile ICE Brent was at $90.88,down 51 cents. US crudereached a 26-month high earli-er this week of $90.76 a barrel.
"We don't have the extremesof yesterday's API number, buton the surface this is a bearishreport showing lacklustredemand with the increase inproducts," said MikeZarembski of OptionsXpressin Chicago.
According to the EIA, US
crude stocks fell by 3.82 mil-lion barrels, more than expect-ed. Industry group theAmerican Petroleum Institute(API) had said on Tuesday theyfell 7.3 million barrels, whiledistillates rose by 1.7 millionbarrels.
Oil had recovered from loss-es earlier on Wednesday,
despite a stronger dollar, onoptimism that US tax cuts willhelp revive economic growthwhile cold weather would con-tinue to support demand.
"The US government extend-ed both tax cuts from the Bushera and the jobless benefits,which are generally both posi-tive for the US oil demand,"said James Zhang fromStandard Bank.
President Barack Obama'sproposal to extend tax cuts wasseveral times reinterpreted by
the market as it aims to supporteconomic growth, but alsounleashed fears about thelonger-term rise in US debt.
Other analysts said thedownward trend could persistif China, the second-largest oilconsumer, was to raise rates tocool down growth.
"For the holiday period themain risk willcome fromChina as theodds for aninterest ratehike areincreasing,"said OlivierJakob from
Petromatrix.The Organization of the
Petroleum ExportingCountries, source of more thana third of the world's oil, meetson Dec. 11 in Ecuador and isnot expected to change its pro-duction policy. OPEC twoyears ago announced a recordproduction cut as recession hitprices and demand, but itscompliance with the agreementhas declined because of recov-ering consumption and risingprices. -Reuters
Crude oil falls to $88as US fuel stocks rise
Europeanvegetableoil prices
ROTTERDAM: The follow-ing were the Wednesday'sRotterdam vegetable oil pricesat 22:00 PST.
Note: Traded Volume reflects the trades from 06:00 pm of previous day to 06:00 pm of current day
Tokyo rubber
pares losses
on weaker yenTOKYO: Key Tokyo rubberfutures edged higher onWednesday on supply concernsand as a weaker yen revivedappetite from investors afterthey took profits from priceshovering near 30-year highs.
The key Tokyo CommodityExchange rubber contract forMay delivery settled at 377.2yen per kg, up 1 yen or 0.3 percent. The most active Shanghairubber futures for May deliveryfell 1,025 yuan to close at32,200 yuan ($4,845) pertonne. Volume picked up to896,800 lots from 683,698 lotson Tuesday.
Traders have said thatTOCOM sentiment was hurt bythe recent weakness inShanghai rubber futures onconcerns over measures fromChina to contain inflation.
Traders have also said wor-ries about supply shortageskept support firm, although thatalone was unlikely to pushTOCOM futures to fresh peaks.
Asian physical rubber pricesdefied weakening Tokyofutures and rose again onWednesday after heavy rainscurbed supply in the main pro-ducing countries. -Reuters
AHMEDABAD - MUMBAI: An Indian saleswoman arranges 22-carat gold necklaces in a shop in
Ahmedabad. -Agencies
NEW YORK: US cottonfutures ended down for a sec-ond consecutive day onTuesday, as prices extended aphase of consolidation fromrecent gains and buyers sidedwith caution in front of a gov-ernment crop report due atthe end of the week, brokerssaid.
'It was a consolidation day,'said Mike Stevens, an inde-pendent cotton analyst inMandeville, Louisiana.
'We did not come close toyesterday's highs and thatwas a bit of a disappointmentto the bulls. It wasn't failure
... it was a consolidation day.' The benchmark March cot-
ton contract on ICE FuturesUS eased 0.06 cent to end at$1.3037 per lb, after movingfrom $1.2821 to $1.3425.
'We sold off, but did notviolate yesterday's lows,'Stevens said, adding short-term technical support at the21-day moving average heldthe downside in check.
Volume reached 22,600 lotsby 2000 GMT, about 37 percent below the 30-day aver-age of 36,000 lots, ThomsonReuters preliminary datashowed.
Market players expect vol-umes to remain relatively lowahead of the monthly sup-ply/demand report from theUS Agriculture Departmentdue out on Friday.
Furthermore, traders willalso focus on the USDA'sweekly crop progress reporton Monday at 2100 GMT.
Analytical firm InformaEconomics upped its US cot-ton plantings forecast in 2011to 12.2 million acres, a 4-yearhigh and nearly 12 per centhigher than 2010 cotton sow-ings of 10.909 million acres. -Reuters
US cotton endsdown for 2nd day
LONDON: Copper prices turnedpositive late on Wednesday, tokeep within touching distance ofrecord highs, as worries overtight supplies offset a firmer dol-lar and lingering concerns on ratehikes in China.
Three-month copper on theLondon Metal Exchange closedWednesday at $9,015 a tonne.The metal used in power and con-struction hit a record high $9,044on Tuesday before dipping backto end the day at $8,880.
"Markets are shrugging offmacro concerns -- the expectationof higher investor physicaldemand through ETPs, and there-fore tighter markets, is drivingmetals at the moment," saidDavid Wilson, an analyst atSociete Generale.
In general stocks of copper atLME warehouses have declinedsince February, indicating a pick-up in demand and against a back-drop of tight supply. The latestdata showed stocks fell 1,125tonnes to 350,250 tonnes, on theirway to the biggest annual declinein six years. Traders and analystssaw room for more correction inprices in the short term afterTuesday's rally, given broaderworries about the euro-zone'sability to keep debt woes fromspreading.
An official newspaper onTuesday said China is likely toraise interest rates in the comingdays in a demonstration of the
government's resolve to tameinflation.
Fears of an interest rate hike inChina have stoked worries aboutdemand from the world's top cop-
per consumer.Meanwhile, investors kept an
eye on a dominant position con-trolling between 50 and 80 percent of cash warrants for tin, cop-per and nickel, subject to LMElending guidance.
Large holdings of LME stockscan occur unintentionally and arenot unusual for large companieswith many divisions and clientsthat delve into metals markets.
A lack of copper supply fromDecember has underpinnedprices of the three-month con-tract, with the price of metal fornearby delivery having traded at apremium against the benchmarkcontract since early November.
Among other metals zinc endedat $2,314 a tonne from $2,305.Lead closed at $2,405 from$2,398 a tonne, while nickelended at $24,000 from $24,095 atonne. Aluminium ended at$2,375 from $2,305 a tonne.
Tin was untraded at the closebut last bid at $25,600 from$25,100. -Reuters
Copper back nearrecord highs,
ETPs eyed
Cocoa eases;
focus remains
on Ivorian crisisLONDON: ICE cocoa futureseased on Wednesday fromTuesday's four-month high asinvestors locked in gains in anervous market and continuedto eye Ivory Coast tensions fol-lowing a disputed presidentialelection.
Sugar prices rose on uncer-tainty about anticipated exportsfrom India while coffee futureseased, pressured partly by astronger dollar.
Second-month, March cocoafutures on ICE were down $40or 1.3 per cent at $3,044 atonne at 1635 GMT, still withinsight of Tuesday's four-monthpeak of $3,140.
Liffe second-month cocoawas down 25 pounds or 1.2 percent to 2,013 pounds per tonne,not far off Tuesday's four-month high of 2,081 pounds.
ICE raw sugar rose and themarket waited for India toannounce when and how muchsugar they will export.
The market also derived sup-port from expectations of asugar deficit in China.
China will face a sugar short-fall of more than 2 milliontonnes this crop year, the thirdstraight deficit as consumptionoutpaces production growth,the official China SecuritiesJournal reported onWednesday.
ICE March raw sugar was up0.59 cent or 2.1 per cent at29.00 cents a lb. Liffe Marchwhite sugar rose $3.40 to$735.70 per tonne.
ICE arabica coffee futureswere lower, in line with overallweakness in the commoditycomplex, as shaky confidencein global economic growthdampened investor sentiment.
Coffee prices eased as out-side markets continued to influ-ence the direction of commodi-ties.
ICE March arabicas weredown 5.4 cent at $2.025 per lb,while Liffe March robusta cof-fee futures were down $11 at$1,866 a tonne. -Reuters
LONDON: Gold was set forits largest one-day fall in amonth on Wednesday after ini-tial weakness stemming from astronger dollar was exacerbat-ed by a flurry of profit-taking aday after the metal reached arecord peak.
Gold hit an all-time high at$1,430.95 an ounce onTuesday as risk aversion flaredin the euro-zone, but has nowfallen by about 3.8 per centafter the rally ran out of steam.
Spot gold was bid at$1,375.02 an ounce at 1600GMT, against $1,400.86 late inNew York on Monday, havingearlier fallen by as much as 2.1per cent to a one-week low of$1,371.45. US gold futures forFebruary delivery fell $36.0 anounce to $1,373.10.
"It really is just good oldfashioned profit-taking," saidCredit Agricole analyst RobinBhar. "This year every timegold makes a new high, it sub-sequently, collapses," headded.
"It is noticeable that we hadquite an influx of momentumtraders as well, as the price wasmoving higher and they'renotorious for being short-termplayers."
Setting gold on the backfoot
early in the day was a rally inthe dollar, after a proposedextension in US tax cutsprompted a spike in bondyields on Tuesday, which inturn raised the cost of holdinggold to non-US investors.
While gold has shaken off itstraditional inverse relationshipwith the US currency in thepast, when risk aversion hasworsened, this has not been thecase this week, when the nega-tive correlation has strength-
ened.On the investment front,
holdings of the world's largestgold-backed exchange-tradedfund, the SPDR Gold Trust,eased to 1,297.726 tonnes byDec 7 from 1,298.030 tonnes aday before.
The world's largest silver ETF,iShares Silver Trust, said itsholdings hit another record at10,941.34 tonnes by Wednesday.Silver was bid at $28.09 anounce against $28.66, still welloff the 30-year high at $30.68 itreached on the previous day,causing the gold/silver ratio inturn to pull back from its recentnear-four year low.
Platinum was at $1,671.74 anounce against $1,688.50, whilepalladium was at $718.22 ver-sus $729.97. -Reuters
Gold slides, draggedby dollar strength
Shanghai copper fallsShanghai, the benchmark
third month copper contract
lost 0.8 per cent to 65,940
yuan ($9,922) a tonne.
Indian sugarcloses steadyMUMBAI: India's spot sugarended steady on Wednesday asaccelerated cane crushing out-weighed hopes the governmentwill allow exports of the sweet-ener, dealers said.
"Cane crushing has picked upin Maharashtra and UttarPradesh. Most mills in bothstates have started operations,"said a member of the BombaySugar Merchants Association.
Sugar output in Maharashtrarose by 11 per cent to 1.21 mil-lion tonnes so far in the 2010/11season that began on Oct. 1, dueto higher cane crushing, a sen-ior industry official told Reutersearlier this week.
In Kolhapur, a key market intop-producing Maharashtrastate, the most traded S-varietyedged up by 0.14 per cent to2,793 rupees ($62) per 100 kg.
India, the world's number 2sugar producer after Brazil,could approve "open generallicence" sugar exports in threetranches of 500,000 tonneseach in December, January andFebruary, a senior industry offi-cial told Reuters last month. -Reuters
China interest rates, OPEC meeting in focus
10Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wie of the US plays shot during the DubaiLadies Masters European Tour golf tourney
Farhat sendslegal noticeto Mazhar
MajeedKARACHI: Pakistani Testopener Imran Farhat hasbecome the first player to senda legal notice to Pakistanibookmaker Mazhar Majeed fornaming him among a group ofseven players allegedlyinvolved in spot-fixing.
Farhat has sent the noticethrough his lawyer in theUnited Kingdom, John Tinker.
"The notice will be deliveredto Mazhar Majeed in personand we have asked him toeither tender an unconditionalapology or face a suit for dam-ages," Farhat said.
Farhat also added that hewas upset and disturbed by theallegations made by Mazharagainst him and he wanted toexpose the man.
"I can't tolerate anyone mak-ing such allegations against meand trying to defame me," hesaid.
Mazhar, who was the agentfor several Pakistani players,said in a video that wasreleased by the 'News of theWorld' tabloid last August inEngland that he had bribedSalman Butt, MohammadAamer and Mohammad Asif todeliberately bowl no-balls inthe fourth Test against Englandat Lords.
The ICC subsequently sus-pended the trio who are nowfacing several charges fromthe ICC anti-corruption andsecurity unit.
Last week in a leaked videoshown on Geo News channel,Mazhar claimed that he hasfour other players working forhim.
Mazhar named Imran Farhat,Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmaland Wahab Riaz as thoseworking for him.
All the four players havesaid they will be sending himlegal notices but Imran hasbecome the first one to actual-ly do so.-Agencies
KARACHI: Swiss govern-ment to investigate corrup-tion in sports bodies in wakeof FIFA decisions overWorld Cups.
The Swiss government isto investigate the risk of cor-ruption in sports bodiesbased in the country follow-ing FIFA's award of the2018 and 2022 World Cuptournaments to Russia andQatar respectively.
FIFA is among more than50 governing bodies basedin Switzerland that currentlybenefit from favourable leg-islative and tax arrange-ments, including exemptionfrom Swiss anti-corruptionlegislation.
But following the conclu-sion of the 2018 and 2022bid campaigns, which weremired in allegations of cor-ruption and deal-making, the
Swiss government is toreview these arrangements.
At a news conferenceSwiss Federal CouncillorUeli Maurer said the govern-ment was "concerned" aboutthe rise in corruption allega-tions, and confirmed that thesports ministry has beenmandated to begin investi-gating how deal with corrup-tion in sport.
Maurer said that thatrecent allegations againstsports bodies have made theissue a priority:"Switzerland must become amodel in fighting corruptionin sport," he said.
FIFA general secretaryJerome Valcke said thisweek that there were noplans to reform its biddingor voting system, and saidthe process had been han-dled "perfectly".-APP
Swiss govt toinspect corruptionin sports bodies
MANCHESTER: ManchesterUnited needed a rare goal fromAnderson in a game burstingwith missed chances for theirmore usual scorers to draw 1-1with Valencia on Tuesday andsecure top spot in ChampionsLeague Group C.
The 22-year-old Brazilianmidfielder scored only his sec-ond goal since joining in 2007to bring United level after theSpaniards had taken a first-halflead through Pablo Hernandez.
United needed to avoiddefeat at Old Trafford to winthe group and peppered theValencia goal with chancesbefore their hopes of becomingthe first team to go through thegroup stage without concedingwere dashed with the opener.
Dimitar Berbatov, whoscored five goals in United's 7-1 win in their last PremierLeague match againstBlackburn Rovers, threatenedto open the floodgates againbut saw chances from his headand feet repeatedly blocked bykeeper Vicente Guaita.
"Berba could have scoredanother five," ManchesterUnited manager Alex Fergusontold a news conference. "Hewas unlucky, the goalkeepermade two great saves from
him."We played a lot of good
football, we had a lot of goodchances. I was pleased the pen-etration of the team was goodbut I just felt that about fiveminutes after we scored thegoal, and we should have gone2-1 up in that time, we startedto settle for what we had andthat is always a dangerousgame. (It was) a lack of experi-ence in the back there."
Ferguson had fielded the 20-year-old Da Silva twins, Rafaeland Fabio, on either side ofexperienced central defendersRio Ferdinand and NemanjaVidic. Ferdinand went off justafter halftime with a tight ham-string and was replaced by 21-year-old Chris Smalling.
SWIFT BREAKAfter a bright start by two
teams who had already quali-fied for the next round, Unitedwent behind when midfielderPablo Hernandez slotted homein the 32nd minute after a swiftbreak.
Young home keeper BenAmos, a surprise name on theteam sheet, was beaten afterthe midfielder was set up byAlejandro Dominguez afterUnited's Michael Carrick lostpossession in midfield.-Reuters
Andersongoal puts
United on top
Sana getsfemalesoccer
captaincy
LAHORE: Pakistan FootballFederation (PFF) hasapproved National ChampionYoung Rising Star's captainand central defender SanaMehmood as new captain ofPakistan National WomenTeam to take part in SAFFWomen championship beingplayed from December 12Bangladesh.
Pakistan is placed in GroupB of the eight-nationevent.The other teams inGroup B Nepal, Afghanistanand Maldives. Group A com-prises India, Sri Lanka andBhutan.Two top teams fromeach of the two groups willplay in the semifinal.
Sana, 21, took over the cap-tain's arm band from midfield-er Ishrat Fatima of Lahore'sSports Sciences Department(Punjab University) who cap-tained Pakistan at Dhaka'sBangabandhu NationalStadium earlier this year infive-nation League of 11thSouth Asian Games 2010.Ishrat is also in the squad.HEC's Asmaa Usman will actas Sana's deputy.
The 18-player squad for theFirst-ever SAFF WomenChampionship had alreadybeen finalized. Young RisingStar's Asmara Habib,HESCO's Naila Rani, andDiya FC's Marium Laghariwill earn international cap forthe first time while other 15,including Sana, have alreadyrepresented Pakistan in 11thSouth Asian Games.-APP
LAHORE: Pakistan's topranked tennis player SamirIftikhar has justified his selec-tion by Asian Tennis federationfor the elite "high performanceevaluation camp" by beatingIndonesian and former top 100junior David Agung in 3 setmarathon match with scores 6/76/2 10/2 (super tie break) in theround robin matches atBangkok.
Samir has put up sterling per-formance in the camp whichbegan from December 28 to pol-ish the skills of most outstandingjunior tennis players of Asia,said the information made avail-able here.
Samir lost the first set in the tiebreak at 6/7 and made magnifi-
cent come back afterwards bydisplaying skilful to win the sec-ond set. He final set went intosuper tie break where Samirbroke the experiencedIndonesian serve with powerfulreturns and won the super tiebreak at 10/2.
Samir had earlier won 2matches by beating former top80 ranked Warit Sornbutnark andKongpop Lertchai of Thailandand lost to world number 74Viadic Munsshaw of India's in anail biting match 4/6 6/2 8/10having led 8/6 in the super tiebreak . The Asian TennisFederation has invited 9 eliteUnder 20 players from Asia forover all evaluation by the reputedInternational Coaches and physi-
cal trainers from US, Argentina,Spain . Samir has been emergedon top in fitness after the resultsof the fitness test.
Samir's father and formerDavis cupper Tayyab Iftikharwho is in Bangkok with Samir ascoach told APP that Samir hasimproved his game to a higherlevel amid the presence ofworlds qualified coaches whoseguidance has encouraged theyoung tennis player to attainmore glory for the country.
"Samir alongwith other partic-ipants is undergoing six hoursdaily training and practice andthe experience which the playersare gaining will really help themto become good seasoned tennisplayers.-APP
Samir shines at HPECcamp in Thailand
KARACHI: The dramarevolving around JavedMiandad's appointment asPakistan's batting consultantfinally ended when thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB)Chairman Ijaz Butt successful-ly removed the former cap-tain's concerns about the job.
Miandad, who also holds thepost of Director-General in thePCB, met the chairman yester-day to express his concerns onthe matter that turned bitterafter coach Waqar Younis'
comments on his appointment.The former captain, who earli-er showed his willingness toassist Pakistan batsmen follow-ing the PCB's offer for the tourof New Zealand and the pre-ceding training camp, was leftfuming after Younis said hewould have to work accordingto his described limits.
The batting legend hascoached Pakistan three timesand was also unhappy after hewas given the condition that hewould have to work under
Younis which he refused.However, Ijaz had a successfulmeeting with the former cap-tain after which he confirmedhis appointment.
"Miandad will work as thebatting consultant for the tourand will attend the trainingcamp as well," said Ijaz.Miandad, however, is yet toconfirm his travel with theteam, saying that he "will assistthe batsmen during the campbut has not decided about trav-elling with the team yet".-APP
Miandad to assistPakistan players
KARCHI: The way Australiaare playing it is going to bevery hard indeed to win two ofthe next three Tests and regainthe Ashes.
These are uncharted watersfor Australia. This is the firsttime England have beatenthem by an innings in Australiafor 24 years. That is a long,long time and England have ahell of a reason to celebrateand be excited.
It seems like it is a real rolereversal. Both sides have beenpretty even for some time, butnow England look like the bet-ter team and they have provedthey are not scared ofAustralia.
This performance hereproves that all the talk beforethe Ashes was not a phoneywar. They are a team of 11believers and they are playingwith confidence and passion.They believe they have gotwhat it takes to beat Australiain Australia.
This is crunch time for myold team. They are 1-0 downand have to make some harddecisions about all parts oftheir game - their bowling,their batting and their plans.
They have to crack the ques-tion of how are we going tobeat England, but they have lit-tle time to find the formula.
It will be very hard forAustralia to win the series evenif they draw in Perth. IfEngland win at the Waca theywill be unstoppable, and couldwin three or four nil, whichwould be an unbelievableresult.
But do not look too far aheadif you are an England fan,because I know Australia willfight. They showed guts andfight in the second innings atAdelaide, and let's just seewhat happens. The next fewdays will be an interestingtime to see what Australiadecide to do.
They need to work out a way
of getting 20 wickets and theyneed to find a leader of theattack. Who is that? No onesprings to mind at the moment,but making inroads into thattop order is crucial and some-thing that has been absent fromthis current side.
Spin-bowling options aredifficult. Xavier Doherty hasnot had an ideal situation tocome in and play two Testmatches. He has been behindthe eight ball every time so it isvery hard if they say, "Sorry,you are out mate". He wasobviously a Ricky Pontingselection. He wanted him in,but given the situation of theseries, Australia may need togo with an experienced player.
We are now back to what Isaid before the series started.Where do they go? Do they optfor Nathan Hauritz or a wrist-spinner like Steve Smith? Dothey play two spinners or noneat all and prepare a green,grassy wicket in Perth? That
would be a big gamble againstEngland's seam attack. Thepitch is not fast and bouncythese days, so maybe you get alocal guy who knows the Perthconditions, like left-arm spin-ner Michael Beer. Sometimeshorses for courses works.Australia have to explore alloptions and win this next matchto get back in this series. Theyneed to look at all avenues andgo all out for a win.
There has been a bit writtenin Australia and people havebeen asking me about makinga comeback. All I can say isthat it is very flattering to hearthose words. It must be toughfor Ricky Ponting at themoment. Leading a losingteam and being the only cap-tain who could lose threeAshes series in the modern erais hard for such a great player.Let's hope he can get back inthe runs in Perth, which willhelp his cause andAustralia's.-Agencies
Aussies dumped deep in trouble
Aqeel insingles semis
of Khybertennis c’ship
PESHAWAR: Davis Cupperand top seed Aqeel Khandefeated Shehzad Khan toreach into the semi-finals ofthe Men's singles event of the29th Chief of Air Staff KhyberCup Tennis Championshipbeing played here at OfficerMess Courts on Tuesday.
A spirited Aqeel althoughfaced tough resistance at thehands of Shehzad Khan, espe-cially in the second gamewhere they were tied 6-6.Aqeel Khan got the first set by6-4 without facing any hardship apart from a little resist-ance from Shehzad Khan.
Shehzad Khan is base lineplayer tried his hard to keepaway Aqeel from the net hethinks Aqeel can strike but hefailed as Aqeel fully dominat-ed and took the set by 7-6 toseal the fate of Shehzad Khanto 2-0.
In the second quarter-finalYasir Khan beat MuhammadAbid in a thrilling three setsbattle lasted for one hour and20 minutes. The score was 6-0,2-6 and 6-3. Tanveer Ashiqdefeated Muniq Aashiq inanother thrilling match lastedfor one hour and 30 minutes.Tanveer took the first set by 6-2 but failed to come up in thesecond won by Munir at 4-6. Inthe third game tough battle waswitnessed between Tanveerand Munir in the third set wonby Tanveer at 7-5 (6-6).-APP
LONDON: Manchester United's Wayne Rooney shoots past Valencia's Alejandro Dominguez during theirChampions League Group C soccer match.-Reuters
11Thursday, December 9, 2010
International & Continuation
CONTINUATION
Japanmachineryorder fall
signalstough times
TOKYO: Japanese coremachinery orders fell at aslightly faster pace than expect-ed in October, in a sign thatcompanies are holding backspending due to the yen's stub-born strength and slowingdemand at home and abroad.
The data provides further evi-dence that the economy'srecovery since last year isscreeching to a halt as exportsslow and stimulus-drivendomestic consumption wanes,with economists predicting amodest contraction in GDP inthe current quarter.
Adding to the murky outlookfor the economy, bank lendingmarked its 12th straight monthof annual declines in Novemberas ample fund supplies by theBank of Japan fail to filterthrough the economy due tocompanies' reluctance to invest.
"The machinery orders datasuggests corporate capitalspending has not fully recov-ered to the pre-crisis level andmay see a slowdown in the cur-rent quarter and next quarter asthe economy stalls," saidTakeshi Minami, chief econo-mist at Norinchukin ResearchInstitute.
"If forthcoming Japaneseeconomic data turns out to besimilarly dour, the Bank ofJapan is likely to be promptedto take fresh action."
Economists expect the econo-my to resume its recovery earlynext year on the strength ofemerging economies, but thisscenario is far from assured dueto China's policy tightening,weakness in the US job marketand credit worries in Europe.
Core machinery orders fell1.4 per cent in October from theprevious month, down for asecond straight month, CabinetOffice data showed onWednesday.-Reuters
BRUSSELS: The EuropeanCommission unveiled plans onWednesday to clamp down onspeculators in commoditiessuch as grain, following in thefootsteps of Washington whichhas already acted to preventspikes in food prices.
The EU executive wantstraders to disclose their posi-tions, a cap on mega-trades andpower for regulators to inter-vene in order to curb specula-tors suspected of driving foodand energy prices to recordhighs in 2008.
"If someone is doing some-thing which affects the marketthen he or she must be held toaccount," Michel Barnier, theEU commissioner in charge ofthe reform, told journalists."Hyper-speculation is scan-dalous."
Barnier, a former Frenchagriculture minister,announced his blueprint fornew rules as France continuesto push for tighter regulation ofthe sector, having taken overthe presidency of the Group of20 (G20) top globaleconomies.
France, the EU's biggestgrain producer, wants to stemspeculation on futures marketsdesigned to help farmers guardagainst the risks of a poor cropby guaranteeing a payout at afixed price.
Barnier's proposals, whichcould become law in 2012, arepart of a sweeping reform ofEU rules known as MiFID (the
Markets in FinancialInstruments Directive), whichgovern financial instruments.Many blame financial toolssuch as derivatives for globaleconomic difficulties and saythe existing regulations failedto keep such trading in check.
Barnier will also tackle high-frequency trading, the millisec-ond buying and selling bycomputers of stocks and bondsthat is suspected of triggeringthe flash crash in July, whenUS stock markets plunged,only to recover within minutes.
The change to rules will alsodemand more information forregulators about trading pricesin so-called dark pools, wherethe price of a deal is publishedonly after it has happened.
"This reform has been over-due because the markets brokedown in the same way as banksdid," said Sony Kapoor, afinancial expert with Londonthink tank Re-define.
"No one knows what is goingon in the markets in Europe.They are playing catch-up withthe United States. Regulatorsthere already know more abouthow the markets work."
As part of Wednesday's pro-posals, the Commission alsolaunched a push to raise penal-ties across the region for finan-cial crimes such as insider trad-ing, and to force national regu-lators to name and shameoffenders.
The EU executive is leadinga shake-up of financial services
across the 27-country EU afterwhat began as a freeze in banklending led to recession,widening budget deficits andultimately sucked whole coun-tries into a debt crisis.
Its proposals will need thebacking of the European par-liament as well as powerful EUmember states such asGermany and France.
European commodity mar-kets are under pressure to tight-en regulation as the UnitedStates pushes forward withplans to tame speculative activ-ity.
"I don't think there is any rea-son why we Europeans shouldbe any less rigorous than theAmericans," Barnier said.
Politicians have repeatedlyblamed financial speculatorsfor causing the global financialcrisis but officials in Brusselsare grappling to understandhow big their role really was.
A recent internal study failedto find a link between a gov-ernment's cost of borrowingand swings in the price ofinsuring against debt defaultthrough credit default swaps --an area that had been identifiedas a cause of concern.
"Complaints that speculationleads to market manipulationmisunderstands what drives thecommodity markets, which isfundamental demand and sup-ply," said Andrew Moorfield,head of the oil and gas divisionof banking group Lloyds.-Reuters
EU unveils drive tocontrol commodity
speculatorsBERLIN: German industrialoutput soared past expecta-tions and France's central bankupped its forecast for fourth-quarter growth on Wednesday,signs that Europe's biggesteconomies are speeding aheadwhile the debt crisis puts thebrakes on smaller peers.
Upbeat economic signs fromGermany, France and Britainalso contrasted with the UnitedStates, where authorities arestill worried enough about jobsand growth to be taking newsteps on taxes and bond-buy-ing to stimulate the economy.
German industrial produc-tion rose by 2.9 per cent on themonth in seasonally adjustedterms, beating even the mostupbeat forecasts in a Reutersmedian poll of 1.0 per cent,preliminary data from theEconomy Ministry showed onWednesday.
That adds to evidenceEurope's largest economy willstart 2011 in high gear, even asa sovereign debt crisis andresulting budget austerityundermines hopes for growthin Spain, Portugal, Ireland andothers.
The crisis has alreadyprompted Greece and Irelandto seek EU/IMF aid and fearsare spreading that Lisbon andpossibly Madrid could be next.
"The data show the corecountries in the euro zone arein good shape, with Germanyleading the pack. Only theperipheral states are strug-gling," said Fabienne Riefer,an economist at PostbankResearch. "The divergence ishere to stay for 2011."
French firms capitalised onGermany's stronger imports byexporting more to Germany inOctober and France's centralbank also raised its fourthquarter growth forecast to 0.6
per cent in a report onWednesday.
UK manufacturing figureswere again upbeat, reinforcingthe case for countries to presson with strong budget consoli-dation.
However, a survey of pur-chasing managers earlier thismonth in Greece, which isgoing through its deepestrecession since 1974, showedits manufacturing sector con-tinued to contract inNovember, with domesticdemand weak.
Meanwhile, a key gauge ofbusiness confidence inPortugal fell for a secondstraight month in November.
CONSOLIDATE MORE
The strong tone contrastswith the United States, wherethe jobless rate last month hit aseven-month high andPresident Barack Obama hasagreed to extend tax cuts fortwo years to reinflate the econ-omy.
The deal with Republicans topreserve Bush-era tax cutsgave stock markets a boostacross the globe, but concernsit may also spell longer-termbudget strife drove US bondyields to six-month highs.
That compares with effortsby the Federal Reserve, whichthis week hardened its tone ona $600 billion bond-buyingprogramme that aims to bringyields and borrowing costsdown.
US 10-year yields are around70 basis points above wherethey were when the Fedannounced its "QE2" bond-buying programme in earlyNovember.
Li Daokui, an academicadviser to the Chinese centralbank pointed to questionmarksover Washington's fiscalapproach in comparison to
European governments whohave been desperately cuttingback on spending in a bid toease pressure on marketyields.
"For now, market attention isstill on Europe and for thecoming 6-12 months, it willnot shift to the United States,"Li said when asked about USPresident Barack Obama'splan to extend tax cuts for allAmericans.
"But we should be clear inour minds that the fiscal situa-tion in the United States ismuch worse than in Europe.
Employment in the UnitedStates barely grew inNovember, hardening viewsthe Federal Reserve will stickto its $600 billion plan to shoreup the anemic recovery.
Other data from Germanyshowed unadjusted importsrose to a post-war record inOctober -- a sign of risingdomestic demand whichEuropean and global peershope will spread the benefitsof German growth and helpease global imbalances.
Euro zone peers have criti-cised Germany for its relianceon exports and weak consumerspending but imports fromeuro zone countries toGermany rose 17 per centcompared to a year ago.
"As domestic demand recov-ers in Germany, that may helpthe peripheral countries, butthat won't be a topic before2012," said Riefer atPostbank.
Economists expect the eurozone economy to expand 1.7per cent in an uneven recoverythis year, the highest in twoyears of polling. It is thenexpected to slow to 1.4 percent next year before pickingup again to 1.7 per cent in2012.-Reuters
Europe data upbeat,market eyes new
US stimulus
Tokyo have a legacy of bitterness stemming from Japan's bru-tal colonial rule of Korea and a dispute over islands. Mullen saidhe was encouraged to see South Korea sending observers to thisweek's US-Japan joint military drill and applauded a trilateralmeeting of foreign ministers in Washington.
"I would hope that we would see more trilateral action in theregion in the future," he added. A US aircraft carrier group, themilitary's ultimate show of strength, has been involved in itsrecent combined maneuvers with South Korea and Japan. Moredrills will irritate China which says they are threatening andbring instability to the region. On Tuesday, Beijing hit back at theUnited States and its Asian allies for their refusal to talk to NorthKorea, saying dialogue was the only way to calm escalating ten-sion on the divided Korean peninsula.
But Mullen said the Chinese must do more. "They are a worldleader and leaders must lead -- particularly to prevent crises andto prevent the kinds of destabilising activities that are very evi-dent coming out of the leadership in Pyongyang," he said.
"China has unique influence. Therefore, they bear uniqueresponsibility," Mullen told a news conference in Seoul.
He said the US and South Korean militaries would avoid tak-ing steps that would escalate into a conflict on the peninsula.
"The North should not mistake this restraint as a lack of resolve-- nor should they interpret it as willingness to accept continuedattacks to go unchallenged," he said. -Reuters
Continued from page 12No #1
September, Crowley suggested. "We will have further conversa-tions on the substance with the parties, and we will continue to tryto find ways to create the kind of confidence that will eventually,we hope, allow them to engage directly," he said. But while thePalestinians expressed dismay at the US announcement, the Israeliright could hardly contain its delight. "Israel has held out and notgiven in to the Americans' bizarre and extreme demands and thesky has not fallen on our heads," crowed Danny Dayan, head of theYesha Council of settlers."Finally, Israel's credibility has beenstrengthened because it defended its own national interests andeveryone who thought we wouldn't stand up to US pressure hasbeen proved wrong," Dayan told Israel's army radio. -Agencies
Continued from page 12No #2
as some issues that fell entirely within the Assembly's domain,they were instead taken up by the Security Council. -Online
Continued from page 12No #3
Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro, Dr Talat Mahesar, Sardar TalibHassan Nakai, Syed Haider Ali Shah, Malik Nauman AhmadLangerial and Shagufta Sadiq besides Secretaries, Ministers ofPorts & Shipping, Commerce and Additional Secretary, Ministryof Defence. -Reuters
Continued from page 12No #4
country, how can a country run its industrial sector when thereis no gas, how can poverty and unemployment be eliminatedunder the current prevalent conditions.Sharif said there is no needfor RGST when the money acquired will be consumed during theprocess, and if we can save this tax money then we do not needthe Kari Lugar bill, he added before imposing RGST the govern-ment should first curb corruption. -Online
Continued from page 12No #5
December, 20, he told. Responding to a question he said oppos-ing process of transferring of ministries to the provinces by someministers is their personal stance. Parliamentary committee willcall these ministers in its meeting, he said adding the ministriesof education and health would however be transferred to theprovinces.He was of the view that no employee of federal gov-ernment would be sacked nor would be sent to surplus pool.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf
Continued from page 12No #6
Raza Gilani would decide about the fate of the ministers inrespect of the ministries which had been devolved to theprovinces, he told. -Online
your investments, we desire joint ventures, and we want to worktogether in the spirit of win-win partnership," he said. Reiteratinghis government's desire for a greater, more extensive and robusttrade and economic relations with Turkey, he assured the Turkishbusinessmen of providing them conducive and enabling environ-ment to do business in Pakistan.
Gilani said his visit to Istanbul had a particular focus to interactwith the local businessmen and find out the ways to give a strategicdirection to the commercial and economic relations betweenPakistan and Turkey. He said despite Pak-Turk friendship, thestrong ties somehow had not been translated into robust trade andeconomic relations, as the bilateral trade volume of around $782million did not reflect the potential and the opportunities that exist-ed in the two countries. He said despite some external and internalshocks in shape of global financial crisis, volatility in oil prices andenergy shortfall, Pakistan's economy had shown resilience and amodest growth this year. He said many attractive incentives wereavailable including 100% equity ownership, full repatriation of cap-ital, tax breaks, and customs duty concessions on import of plantand machinery and raw materials. He said Special Economic Zoneshad been created with efficient infrastructure where one-windowfacility was being offered by the Board of Investment.-Agencies
Continued from page 1No #7
Executive Vice-President and Country Head, Agriculture,Askari Commercial Bank, Farooq Abid Tung, CEO Icepak Ltd,Mansoor Arifeen, Chief Executive Specialists Group Inc. farmersSultan Barq and Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar of Sindh AgricultureChamber would be members of the committee.
As a result, out of total outstanding agri. advances in affectedareas of Rs 53 billion, Rs 32 billion had become non-performing.
Continued from page 1No #8
China and Pakistan call each other "all-weather friends" andtheir close ties have been underpinned by long-standing warinessof their common neighbour, India, and a desire to hedge againstUS influence in the region.
China is Pakistan's main supplier of conventional arms and ana-lysts believe China supported Pakistan's nuclear weapons pro-gramme in past decades.-Agencies
Continued from page 1No #9
agri-tax said it should not be aimed at all farmers but thosewhose earnings exceed Rs0.3 million, added it is irony that feudallords earn big bucks through other channels, but show them underagri-head thus evade the tax net.
Tareen spelling out three points for the progress of Pakistaneconomy said that merit should be held at top of the priority, alldecisions should be taken keeping the national interest in fore, andinfluential class should respect the law and don't consider them-selves above it.
Continued from page 1No #10
conjunction with Nomura Dubai, the forum will showcase awide range of Pakistani companies including Pakistan PetroleumLimited (PPL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Oil & Gas DevelopmentCompany Limited (OGDCL), Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited(SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and PakistanMineral Development Corporation (PMDC), Pakistan Railways,Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Pakistan Steel,ENGRO, Luck, HUBCO, MCB, Bestway, BMA, AKD Securities,Jahangir Siddique, Arif Habib, KASB Bank, Trust Bank, Barclaysand SCB.
Senator Khan has been invited by the London Stock Exchangefor the keynote address. The minister is accompanied by highlevel representatives of large number of companies besides the
Continued from page 1No #11
the Assembly's premises however, they could not make into the main hall thanks to heavy contin-gents of police.At least two vehicles were torched on the violent spot. -NNI
Continued from page 1No #12
another report regarding sale of BPL shares.Qazi Hussain in his petition objected to government'smove to purchase its sold out assets from British Petroleum (BP) at exorbitant rates.
Continued from page 1No #13
Chairman, Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation, Senator Wasim Sajjad and members of thePrivatization Committee Senators Adnan Shah, Ilyas Bilour and Imtiaz Shaikh.
The event will showcase the opportunities available to international investors in the Pakistan econ-omy and is designed to both represent a number of Pakistan based listed and public companies andconnect them with a wide range of senior representatives from the international buy-side investorand corporate advisor communities. -APP
Reports of a government plan to support a high-speed rail network spurred a rally in railway-relat-ed stocks. Investors awaited a flurry of economic data including inflation figures expected nextweek that may offer hints about the government's next monetary move.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 2,848.5 points, closing once again below the closelywatched 250-day moving average now at 2,868 points. "Investors are adopting a wait and see atti-tude," said Zhang Qi, analyst at Haitong Securities in Shanghai, adding that investors are uncertainabout the impact tightening measures will have on the availability of cash in the stock market.
Analysts expect volume to pick up again by the start of next year as investors start focussing onceagain on corporate earnings, government stimulus measures and valuations. Official media reportedon Wednesday that the government would invest $600 billion in high-speed rail networks, spurringspeculative buying in related stocks.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #14
The government ended state controls on pricing of petrol in June and raised prices of diesel, cook-ing gas and kerosene, but has ruled out full deregulation of diesel prices in the near future.
Shares in state-run oil marketing firms gained, with Indian Oil Corp ending up 0.8 per cent,Hindustan Petroleum Corp rising 3.4 per cent and Bharat Petroleum Corp gaining 2.1 per cent.
By 0900 GMT, US crude for January fell 83 cents to $87.99, after touching $90.76 on Tuesday,the highest price since October 2008. "There is concern over a fuel price hike, this will add to infla-tion pressure. This is going to be negative for the overall market," said KK Mital, chief executivefor portfolio management services at Globe Capital Markets.
Annual headline inflation in India was 8.58 per cent in October, well above the Indian centralbank's end March target of 5.5 per cent. State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp closed up 0.5per cent after rising as much as 2 per cent in intra-day trade. The company said on Tuesday its boardwould meet on Dec. 16 to consider a bonus share issue, stock split and payment of a special divi-dend ahead of a planned share sale.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #15
In relatively active trading, analysts said foreign funds were seen selling JGB futures and buyingNikkei futures, helping to boost the cash market's volume. Trading volume reached 1.93 billion shareson the Tokyo exchange's first section, slightly exceeding the previous day's 1.73 billion and last week'sdaily average of 1.8 billion. Major exporters led the advance with Sony Corp adding 1.9 per cent to3,040 yen and earth-moving equipment maker Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd gaining 1.4 percent to 2,000 yen.Silicon wafer maker Sumco Corp tumbled 9.6 per cent to 1,211 yen on 3.9 times its30-day average volume after the company said it expected a net loss of 66 billion yen ($790 million)for the year to January 2011, compared with its previous forecast of a 12 billion yen loss.
"The market could also be overheating after rallies since early November but foreign investors arestill keen to pour their money into Japanese shares," said Takashi Ohba, senior strategist at OkasanSecurities.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #16
Miners fell back as metal prices eased on the back of a stronger dollar, after US Treasury yieldssurged on a proposed extension in US tax cuts, and as concerns over potential rate hikes in Chinaweighed on sentiment. Silver miner Fresnillo and gold miner Randgold Resources were among theworst off, down 4.9 and 3.5 per cent respectively. Capital Shopping Centres was the biggest FTSE100 faller, shedding 5.4 per cent after shareholder Simon Property said it might sell its 5 per centstake in protest over CSC's 1.6 billion pound ($2.5 billion) plan to buy a UK mall, which it sees asvalue destructive. Most banks managed to rally on relief at a lack of fresh concerns about Europeansovereign debt, although global bank HSBC fell 1 per cent, weighing the sector down.
Part-nationalised Lloyds Bank gained 1.4 per cent, while Standard Chartered added 2 per centahead of a trading update due on Thursday. Insurers were also in demand, led by Prudential, up 3.7per cent, with UBS adding the firm to its "Key Calls" list and raising its price target, citing growthprospects in Asia.Integrated oils were buoyed by gains in BP, up 0.4 per cent, helped by a bullishnote from Morgan Stanley. A smattering of takeover speculation also helped out. The FTSE 100index is seen gaining more than 8 per cent by the end of 2011, with equity investors shrugging offeconomic gloom, a Reuters Poll found.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #17
moved in opposite directions of late. A rise in yields and the dollar could also draw moneyaway from equities. McDonald's Corp dragged on the Dow, falling 2.1 per cent to $78.61 afterreporting weaker-than-expected global sales for November. The Dow Jones industrial averageedged down 16.92 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 11,342.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index wasoff 1.57 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 1,222.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.09 points,or 0.04 per cent, to 2,599.58.
The S&P 500 hit a two-year intraday high on Tuesday, but closed with a small gain. Steady economic improvement should fuel stock gains through 2011, according to a poll of
investors and strategists, but international concerns could limit advances in the second half ofthe year.-Reuters
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.
MOSCOW: Anti-drug chiefs from Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Pakistan shake hands during a news briefing after their meeting in Moscow. -Reuters
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: RussianFederation AmbassadorBudnik Andrey said politicalrelations between his countryand Pakistan are improvingand Russian companies inter-ested to invest in various sec-tors of Pakistan.
He expressed Russia's inter-est in oil, gas exploration,Pak Iran gas pipeline,Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,Pakistan, India gas pipeline,electricity transmission.
"Both countries shouldexplore a new beginning bybuilding strong edifice ofinteraction aimed at strategic,
political and economic con-vergence.
"There is desire to raiseeconomic cooperation levelwhich needs to be worked outlooking at our potentials. Weneed to diversify and findnew areas. There are vastopportunities for mutuallybeneficial ties that must beutilised optimally for mutualadvantage," Andrey said inmeeting with President,Federation of PakistanChambers of Commerce &Industry FPCCI.
Chawla said annual bilater-al trade between Pakistan andRussia is around US$400 mil-lion, which is "very low and
is in favor of Moscow.Pakistani businessmen face
difficulties in getting busi-ness visa, whereas it is easyto get tourist visa." He feltrelations lacked depth,dimension despite strong pos-sibilities for mutual coopera-tion.
FPCCI chief said economicinteraction lacked behindstrong political desire toforge close ties.
He called for activatingtrade, economic ties as wellas opportunities for improv-ing investment climate andexpands direct contactsbetween two countries' busi-ness communities.
Russia eyes Pakoil & gas sectors
Federation Ambassador meets Chawla
JERUSALEM: The MiddleEast peace process lay in tat-ters Wednesday afterWashington admitted defeat inits efforts to secure an Israelifreeze on settlement building,the Palestinians' condition forresuming talks.
Speaking late on Tuesday,US officials admitted top-levelefforts to coax Israel intoimposing new curbs on WestBank settlement constructionhad gone nowhere, promptingcries of victory and backslap-ping among Israel's hardliners.
Without a new freeze, thePalestinians have refused tonegotiate, effectively dead-locking direct peace talks thatopened on September 2 only torun into the ground just weekslater when building resumedin the settlements.
"We have been pursuing amoratorium as a means to cre-ate conditions for a return tomeaningful and sustained
negotiations," US StateDepartment spokesman PhilipCrowley said in New YorkCity.
"After a considerable effort,we have concluded that thisdoes not create a firm basis towork towards our shared goalof a framework agreement,"Crowley said.
A top aide to Western-backed Palestinian presidentMahmud Abbas said it wasIsraeli recalcitrance that hadtorpedoed US efforts to rescuethe direct talks.
"The policy and the effortsof the US administration failedbecause of the blow it receivedfrom the Israeli government,"Yasser Abed Rabbo told Voiceof Palestine radio.
Israeli and Palestinian offi-cials are now expected to visitWashington next week for sep-arate talks with the US admin-istration on ways to keep thepeace process alive, Crowley
said.Israeli press reports said that
US Middle East envoy GeorgeMitchell would meet separate-ly with Palestinian chief nego-tiator Saeb Erakat and hisIsraeli counterpart YitzhakMolho in the coming days.
The United States has forweeks been trying to convinceIsraeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu toimpose a new moratorium onsettlement construction in theoccupied West Bank.
A previous 10-month freezeexpired on September 26,shortly after the launch of newpeace talks between Israel andthe Palestinians -- the firstdirect negotiations in nearlytwo years.
It now appears the two sidesare likely to return to someform of indirect, or "proximi-ty" negotiations similar tothose held between May and
See # 2 Page 11
Direct Mideasttalk run aground
US bid to freeze Israeli settlement fails Pak calls for greater UN role in
world affairsUNITED NATIONS: Voicingconcern over the progressiveerosion of the UN GeneralAssembly's role, Pakistan hascalled for steps to strengthenthe 192-member body so that itcan effectively deal with globalproblems.
"It is an abiding irony that theonly universal principal organof the United Nations that canbe regarded the world parlia-ment, is engaged in a seeming-ly endless exercise to have itsstatus recognized ungrudging-ly," Pakistani AmbassadorAbdullah Hussain Haroon saidin a debate on revitalization ofthe General Assembly.
Pointing out that the SecurityCouncil was muscling its wayinto matters that traditionallyfell under the Assembly'spurview he called for a bal-anced relationship between dif-ferent organs of the UnitedNations.
Despite some progress in theAd Hoc Working Group onrevitalization of the GeneralAssembly, Ambassador Haroonsaid the fact remained that theAssembly was not enjoying itsrightful place in the scheme ofthings.
The heart of the matter, headded, was that, barring gen-uine political will, revitaliza-tion of the Assembly wouldcontinue to be an exercisereplete with cliché, while offer-ing little in terms of substance.
There was a gap between dif-ferent stakeholders, and where
See # 3 Page 11
Sharif says will notaccept RGSTSUMUNDRI: PML-N ChiefMian Nawaz Sharif Wednesdayresolved to make PML-N a rev-olutionary party.
Addressing a public gather-ing at Sumundri, Nawaz saidthat corruption in Hajj arrange-ments is an unpardonable mis-take.
"It is the height of corruptionin our country; the federal min-ister himself admitted the irreg-ularities", he lamented.Referring to RGST, he said,"The government should elimi-nate corruption prior to impos-ing the RGST Bill."
"We will not accept this Bill".Nawaz maintained that thegovernment would not be inneed of loans, if it spends themoney being collected throughtax judicially".
He denied the allegation lev-eled on him by Wikileaks, say-ing that Musharraf dubbed hima hijacker wrongly. "Do I looklike a hijacker?" the PML-Nchief asked the audience.
He further blamed the incum-bent government for the preva-lent power shortage.
"This kind of situation ariseswhen one person becomes thesole owner of the country,"Nawaz said, added there is nogas, no electricity in the
See # 5 Page 11
SEOUL: The top US militaryofficial said Tokyo, SeoulandWashington must build aneven stronger alliance in theface of North Korean aggres-sion, while calling on Beijingto show leadership by reiningin its ally Pyongyang.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chair-man of the US Joint Chiefs of
Staff, flew into Seoul onWednesday where he alsoagreed with his South Koreancounterpart to stage more jointmilitary drills to deter NorthKorea from attacking again.
"It is my hope that, to thedegree possible, these willinclude participation by yourneighbours and partners, in
particular the Japanese," hesaid.
"The goal clearly is to have adeterrent effect, so that all-outwar never occurs," he toldreporters, without providingdetails about future joint drills.
While they are allies, rela-tions between Seoul and
See # 1 Page 11
US urges firm tieswith Seoul, Tokyo
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka hasfirmly ruled out any defencecooperation pact withPakistan.
Gotabhaya Rajapakse, thepowerful defence secretary,said the government did notdiscuss the possibility of adefence cooperation agree-ment (DCA) during the recentfour-day visit by PakistanPresident Asif Ali Zardari.
"President Mahinda
Rajapakse hadn't discussedany defence-related proposalwith his Pakistani counter-part," the privately-run Islandnewspaper quoted the defencesecretary, who is also the pres-ident's younger brother.
The Island said the defencesecretary dismissed what hecalled unsubstantiated mediareports on a post-war DCAbetween Sri Lanka andPakistan.
However, a joint statementissued by Pakistan and SriLanka at the end of Zardari'svisit last month said they hadagreed to promote a dialogueon, among other things,defence and security issues.
Zardari, who held closed-door talks with PresidentRajapakse, discussed increas-ing trade and defence coopera-tion, the president's office saidon November 28. -Online
No defence pactwith Pak: SLanka
ISLAMABAD: Senator RazaRabbani, chairmanParliamentary Commission forimplementation of 18thamendment has made it clearthat health and education min-istries will be devolved to theprovinces, adding reservationsbeing expressed by some min-isters on this count are theview points of their own.
He said this while talking tomedia men here Wednesdayafter presiding over the com-
mission meeting at parliamenthouse.
The commission expressedfull satisfaction over theprocess of transferring of fiveministries to the provincesduring the first phase besidesreviewing the legal complica-tions in respect of the min-istries to be transferred to theprovinces in the second phase.
Talking to journalists afterthe meeting Raza Rabbani saidthe process for devolution of
five ministries to the provincesin line with the recommenda-tions of the parliamentarycommission has been finalisedin befitting manner while thefederation had amended itsrules of business.
The commission had startedworking out its recommenda-tions for devolution of morefive ministries to the provincesand its first meeting in thisrespect would take place on
See # 6 Page 11
Edu, health ministriesto be given to provinces
ISLAMABAD: NationalAssembly StandingCommittee on DefenceWednesday met to discuss the"Carriage by Air Bill-2010and decided to take it up againin its next meeting.
The meeting held at theParliament House was chairedby chairperson of the commit-tee Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.
Officers from State Bank ofPakistan, Federal Board ofRevenue, and Air Carrier com-panies also attended the meet-ing.
The representative from tex-tile exporters of Pakistanapprised the committee theirconcerns and problemsregarding the proposed Bill.
While the Government func-tionaries informed that therole of freight forwardingagents will be regularised
through a regulatory bodywhich is under process offraming.
The committee appreciatedthe role of exporters in earningthe foreign exchange forPakistan and asked SBP andFBR that the issue of nonpay-ment of exporter bill by thefreight forwarding agents beresolved on urgent basis.
The proposal submitted bythe Pakistan Apparel Forumwas handed over to theSecretary, Ministry ofCommerce to examine themfor inclusion in the bill or oth-erwise.
The Committee also dis-cussed the clauses of the billsin detail and decided to con-vene another meeting onJanuary 12th, 2010 to finalisethe recommendations of theStanding Committee.
Furthermore, Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI) regretted togive a formal briefing toNational Assembly's StandingCommittee on Defense at itsrespective headquarters due tosecurity concerns.
However it would give abriefing to the parliamentarybody on ISI role in war againstterror at an alternate venue onJanuary 13.
Chief of the ISI Lt GeneralAhmed Shuja Pasha alongwith other senior members ofthe committee will give adetailed and methodical brief-ing on the role of the ISI onwar against terrorism andunremitting drone attacks.
Those who attended themeeting included Cap (Retd)Rai Ghulam Mujtaba Khural,Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur,