Coal import to increase on rising consumption at cement plants
By Moonis Ahmed
KARACHI: The continuous expansion of the cement industry is fuelling the demand for imported coal in the current financial year, a leading coal importer told Daily Times.
It is expected that the cement industry would consume 3.2 to 3.5 million tonnes of coal this... 
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Empty, faulty ATMs anger shoppers on Chaand Raat
KARACHI: The automated teller machines (ATMs) of almost all the banks frustrated their customers on Chaand Raat (Tuesday night) despite State Bank’s instructions to ensure availability of cash on Eid.
According to a survey, disappointed shoppers were seen in long queues at ATMs in the main shopping...
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Unexplored reserves: Balochistan govt can receive Rs 25bn royalties
By Zafar Bhutta
ISLAMABAD: The Government has estimated the potential of unexplored oil at 9 billion barrels and gas reserves at 80 trillion cubic feet in Balochistan province, sources in Petroleum Ministry told Daily Times.
Sources said that if only 5 percent of the said oil and...
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Pakistani project selected for World Challenge final
KARACHI: The Pakistani venture Hashoo Foundation has been selected as a finalist in World Challenge 08, the worldwide competition that rewards projects and small businesses that have shown enterprise and innovation.
The northern areas of Pakistan are among the poorest and most isolated regions...
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Home appliances major cause of power crisis
* Addition of 30m electric home appliances resulted in the 3,570MW power shortfall
By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: The addition and use of some 30 million energy-intensive electric home appliances in the country was the major reason for the 3,570MW power shortfall that resulted in...
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Country may face 2.1m cotton bale output shortfall
* Cotton sowing areas more than 10% behind the target
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The country’s cotton production is likely to remain 12 million bales from sowing areas of 2.875 million hectares, against the annual target 14.1 million bales from 3.20 million hectares set by the...
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OGDC to appoint financial adviser for share buy-back
ISLAMABAD: The Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Board has authorised to invite Expression of Interest (EOI) for appointment of financial adviser and arranger from commercial/ investment banks/brokerage houses having experience of advising Privatisation Commission (PC) or other companies...
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‘Pakistan a safe place to do business’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Malaysia, Lt Gen (Retd) Tahir Mahmud Qazi, urged Malaysians to invest in Pakistan as the country is safe to do business.
In an interview with Bernama News Agency in Kuala Lumpur, Tahir Qazi said no foreign company has left the country and in fact some...
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High inflation dampens activities on Eid
ISLAMABAD: President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi has said high inflation has depleted people’s purchasing power and has negative impacts on business activities in the country. In his comments on the slow turn out of customers for Eid shopping, he said when inflation...
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YMA congratulates newly elected KCCI members
KARACHI: M Iqbal, Central Chairman, Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (YMA) has congratulated newly president Anjum Nisar, senior vice-president, Mohammad Javed Bilwani, and vice-president, Mohammad Ali of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and hoped that, they will struggle to resolve...
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Rs 600m water supply schemes in interior Sindh
KHAIRPUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah says water supply schemes in Khairpur, Nawabshah, Shirkapur, Ghotki and Larkana will be completed at cost of Rs 600 million with Asian Development Bank’s assistance. Addressing reception hosted by business community here, he said Sindh Government will...
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Textile package soon: Gilani
MULTAN: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has assured that Textile package would soon be introduced to take the industry out of crisis. He assured that proposal of relief in utility bills would also be considered. Exchanging views with Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) President Khawaja...
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Import of X-ray, ultrasound machines rises during 2008
By Razi Syed
KARACHI: The import of ultra sound and X rays machines from USA, UK, Japan and Korea registered an increase of around 10 percent to Rs 320 million during Jan-Sept 2008 of this calendar year compared to Rs 291 million in the same period last year, importers said Tuesday.
The...
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European Central Bank opens door to rate cut
* ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet prepares for high-level financial talks in Paris
FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank (ECB) has opened the door to a rate cut in the coming months as president Jean-Claude Trichet prepares for high-level financial talks in Paris on Saturday, analysts...
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Where will the money come from?
By Paul Krugman
In the end, the US government will rescue the financial system — not today or tomorrow, maybe not Thursday, but soon, and for the rest of our lives, or anyway until the next crisis.
But, people ask me, where will we get the money? Won’t we have to borrow it from...
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US sets anti-dumping duties on China steel rod
WASHINGTON: The United States has set preliminary anti-dumping duties ranging up to 206 percent on imports of nearly $74 million of a steel product from China, the US Commerce Department said on Thursday.
“Dumping of imports of steel threaded rod in the US market by foreign exporters unfairly...
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Oil falls below $94 on US jobs data
LONDON: Oil fell below $94 a barrel on Friday after a report showed US employers slashed jobs in September, the latest indication of the weakening economy of the world’s largest oil consumer. Investors awaited a vote on the US financial bailout plan in the US House of Representatives but showed scepticism...
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India’s early rice buys point to another bumper crop
* India recently allowed exports of Pusa-1121, a premium non-basmati
variety
NEW DELHI: India has bought 700,000 tonnes of the new season rice from farmers in recent days, signalling another bumper harvest after buying a record 28.4 million tonnes last crop year, a government official...
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Copper set for record weekly drop
LONDON: Copper was steady on Friday, after dropping to its weakest level since February 2007, while other metals hit multi-month lows on fears about demand and a worldwide slowdown of economic growth.
Copper prices were down around 15 percent so far this week, eclipsing the previous record weekly...
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Gold falls by 2% to two-week low
* Platinum near three-year low
LONDON: Gold slipped to two-week lows on Friday as the dollar rallied and the market waited for an expected vote by the US Congress on a $700 billion bailout package for financial firms.
Platinum hit a near-three year low of $936.50 an ounce. The...
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Dollar up versus euro
NEW YORK: The dollar continued its rally against the euro on Friday after a report showed the unemployment rate remained steady in September, even while US employers shed jobs.
US employers cut payrolls at the steepest rate in 5-1/2 years last month, according to a Labor Department report, slashing...
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China regrets EU extension on shoe duties
BEIJING: China’s Commerce Ministry said on Friday it regretted and opposed a decision by the European Commission to extend anti-dumping duties on its leather shoes pending a review and despite resistance from a majority of European Union nations.
A review can take between 12 and 15 months, but...
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Taiwan’s forex reserves down
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell at the end of September on foreign capital flight, the central bank said Friday. Forex reserves at the end of September were down $957 million from a month earlier at $281.13 billion, the central bank added. afp
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Australia’s cbank to cut rates by 50 bps next week
* A Reuters’ poll of 20 analysts found all expected the RBA to cut its key 7% cash rate at its monthly policy meeting
SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank is considered almost certain to cut interest rates for a second month at its policy meeting next week, and perhaps by an aggressive half...
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Manila cbank seen holding rates to support growth
MANILA: The Philippine central bank is expected to leave interest rates on hold on Monday after a string of rises since June, signalling a shift of priorities towards protecting growth in the face of the global credit crisis. Nine of 11 analysts polled on Friday said the central bank would keep its...
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Indian shares close more than 4% down
MUMBAI: Indian shares slumped 4.05 percent on Friday to close at a 17-month low as index heavyweights fell reacting to huge overnight Wall Street losses ahead of a vote on a rescue plan for the financial sector. The BSE benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 529.35 points or 4.05 percent to 12,526.32,...
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STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* Falling commodity prices because of slower global growth hit shares in steel and aluminium makers. Tata Steel plunged 10.2% to an 18-month closing low of Rs 393.80, and Sterlite Industries lost 7.8% to Rs 395.75, its lowest close in more than two years
* Zandu Pharmaceuticals Ltd closed 4.6...
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European stocks fall, FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.6%
FRANKFURT: European stocks fell on Friday as an advance for banks, notably Swiss firm UBS, was offset by energy stocks which were hit by a fall in crude oil prices.
At 0912 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 1,051.13 points. It fell 1.4 percent on...
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Britain’s top share index edges higher
* FTSE 100 up 10.5 points to 4,880.9
LONDON: Britain’s top share index had edged higher on Friday but worries about the financial system persisted and investors proved reluctant to take positions ahead of key US jobs data due later in the session.
By 1037 GMT the FTSE 100 was up...
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US stocks head for higher open
NEW YORK: The US stocks headed for a higher open on Friday, with financial shares poised to lead gains after Wells Fargo agreed to buy embattled bank Wachovia Corp for $15 billion.
Expectations that the House of Representatives will approve a proposed $700 billion bailout to stabilize the US...
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Japanese shares hit fresh three-year low
TOKYO: Japanese shares tumbled 1.94 percent Friday to hit a three-year low on worries about the health of the US economy and uncertain prospects for a huge Wall Street bailout, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 216.62 points to 10,938.14, ending below the...
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S’pore property stocks sink as 4-year boom ends
SINGAPORE: Singapore property stocks sank on Friday after data showed the city-state’s four-year private property boom was over.
At midday, shares in Southeast Asia’s largest developer CapitaLand were down 3.30 percent, City Developments was off 3.70 percent and Keppel Land was down 4.36 percent...
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Singapore Exchange to stay profitable
SINGAPORE: Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia’s second-largest listed stock exchange, said on Friday it was confident it would report a profit this fiscal year, but that its chief executive may step down in 2009.
Stock exchanges around the world are seeing falling trading volumes as global markets...
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Asian stocks mostly down on Wall Street, bailout fears
HONG KONG: Stocks tumbled across Asia Friday, following a steep slide on Wall Street and amid concerns over the future of the multi-billion-dollar bailout deal for the US financial system.
Lawmakers in Washington were to vote later in the day on a revised plan to spend 700 billion dollars on...
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Electric vehicles spark at Paris car show
PARIS: Carmakers rolled out a slew of electric models at the Paris motor show Friday, with a view to filling dealer showrooms by 2012 when new European legislation on curbing emissions kicks in.
About a third of the new models presented at the show are “clean cars” that use “a little or a lot...
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US auto sales plunge 26 percent
WASHINGTON: Major automakers reported plunging US sales for September, led by a 34 percent slide at Ford Motor Co, as an escalating credit crisis hit the slumping industry and raised new doubts about when the world’s largest auto market would stabilize.
The 26-percent drop in industry-wide auto...
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AIG to repay US government after asset sale
NEW YORK: Embattled insurance giant AIG announced plans Friday to pay off its $61-billion loan from the US Federal Reserve by selling non-core assets. The move would end a controversial US government bailout of the company, one of the world’s biggest insurers, which had been on the brink of a collapse...
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Brussels approves German bailout for Hypo Real Estate
BRUSSELS: The European Commission has approved the German bailout package for property lender Hypo Real Estate, praising the action as “part of the solution” during the current financial crisis. On Monday, the German government and private banks unveiled a rescue plan for Hypo Real Estate, the future...
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S Korea seeks regional meeting on financial turmoil
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called Friday for a meeting between his finance minister and those of China and Japan to discuss closer coordination against global financial turmoil. He made the proposal at a meeting with Finance Minister Kang Man-Soo and other fiscal policymakers, his spokesman...
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Taiwan Sept exports growth slowing to 12.5%
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s exports growth in September likely eased to 12.5 percent from a year earlier after an unexpected jump in August as the US banking crisis crimped demand for the island’s tech shipments, a Reuters poll showed. The tech-reliant economy’s exports were estimated to have totalled $25.0 billion...
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France slips into recession
PARIS: French leaders scrambled to reassure consumers, voters and investors Friday, after the official statistics agency warned that the eurozone’s second largest economy had slipped into recession. The French economy shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter of the year, and on Friday the Insee agency forecast...
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‘World is on the edge of the abyss’
PARIS/LONDON: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday the world stood on the “edge of the abyss”, gripped by a global financial crisis now threatening industry, trade and jobs worldwide.
Earlier, Europe’s top banker echoed the same mood of alarm sweeping EU capitals when he urged the...
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Europe seeks way out of financial storm
PARIS: European leaders looked set to cobble together a response to the global financial crisis at a mini-summit on Saturday despite disagreements that killed off talk of a Europe-wide bailout package. French President Nicolas Sarkozy scrapped a scheduled address to a gathering of young apprentices...
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Deep recession likely in US, less so in eurozone: IMF
WASHINGTON: The United States could face a deep, prolonged recession from the current financial turmoil, with the eurozone less at risk, the International Monetary Fund said in a report Thursday.
With the global economy reeling from a credit crisis, IMF researchers found that banking sector strains...
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US jobless claims rise to seven-year high
WASHINGTON: Tight credit is taking a toll on US manufacturing and jobs.
More Americans than expected lined up at the unemployment lines last week, according to government data released Thursday.
New applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to a seven-year high due...
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Employers cut 159,000 jobs
WASHINGTON: Employers slashed payrolls by 159,000 in September, the most in more than five years, a worrisome sign that the economy is hurtling toward a deep recession. The Labor Department’s fresh snapshot, released Friday, also showed that the nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent...
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Factory orders drop by largest amount in 2yrs
WASHINGTON: Orders to US factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years in August as the credit strains began to hit manufacturing with full force. The Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods dropped by 4 percent in August, compared to July. That’s a much worse performance...
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It will take time for economy to recover: US
WASHINGTON: Employment data showing 159,000 US jobs were lost in September, well more than expected, was disappointing and it will take time for the US economy to recover from several shocks, the White House said on Friday.
“It’s a disappointing report, but not unexpected given the recent shocks...
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| Sunday, October 05, 2008
