Cost of Externalities

Cleaning Products UK

2011-11-11T05:48:00.000-08:00

Enter any living space, home or an office, hotel or airport lounge, and the standard of cleanliness will form your first idea of a place. Cleaner the place, better the image you form. If the things are messed up, given chance, you would not like to deal with the place again in anyway. That is why one people going a long way to clean up. More so in corporate world.

The cleaning of living spaces – interior and exterior – is a fine art as well as science. The living spaces cleaning activities includes the cleaning of edifice’s facades and floors, the cleaning of steel structures such as bridges, wind turbines, and the cleaning of tunnels, sewage systems as well as items placed inside the space.

In modern living spaces, such as office blocks, supper stores, hotels or a hospital, facades and partitions made of glass are widely used. To maintain the characteristics and transparency of these building elements over the long term, they have to be regularly cleaned. How these requirements can be met cost-efficiently and with the necessary thoroughness.

One needs to have a right product for a right job. May be your cleaning staff doesn’t know the difference between cotton cleaning material and micro fiber cleaning products. Which one absorbs water more and which one lasts longer? I suggest the mangers at the upper ladder of the pyramid need to decide before bulk purchase. That is how any concern can save on cleaning products. No?

Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Reserves

2011-08-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose to $18.04 billion in the week ending Aug. 13, from $17.97 billion the previous week, a senior central bank official said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $14.55 billion from $14.46 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks fell to $3.49 billion from $3.51 billion. Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in the week ending July 30. Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves were boosted in June by inflows of $411 million, including a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank, and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped Pakistan's forex reserves grow steadily. According to official data, remittances rose 38.57 percent to $1.1 billion in the first month of 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $791.18 million in the same period last year. In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program.

Online Payday Loans

2011-07-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

These days payday loans are very hot and competitive in the financial market. The basic loan process is simply that a lender provides a short-term unsecured loan to be repaid at the borrower's next pay day. Typically, some verification of employment or income is involved (via pay stubs and bank statements), but some lenders may omit this. Individual companies and franchises have their own underwriting criteria. However, these days payday loans online - paydayloansonlinehub.com is one of the best sources of getting loan in seconds.

In the traditional retail model, borrowers visit a payday lending store and secure a small cash loan, with payment due in full at the borrower's next paycheck. The borrower writes a postdated check to the lender in the full amount of the loan plus fees. On the maturity date, the borrower is expected to return to the store to repay the loan in person. If the borrower does not repay the loan in person, the lender may redeem the check. If the account is short on funds to cover the check, the borrower may now face a bounced check fee from their bank in addition to the costs of the loan, and the loan may incur additional fees and/or an increased interest rate as a result of the failure to pay.

In the more recent innovation of online payday loans, consumers complete the loan application online (or in some instances via fax, especially where documentation is required). The loan is then transferred by direct deposit to the borrower's account, and the loan repayment and/or the finance charge is electronically withdrawn on the borrower's next payday. According to some sources, many payday lenders operating on the internet do not run credit checks or verify income. Visit the neatly laid out site of paydayloansonlinehub.com - payday loans online and see what they are offering and how?

20 Most Influential Living Economists

2011-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Coming up with a list of influential economists from the past is easy enough. John Locke, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and Alfred Marshall readily spring to mind. Coming up with a list of influential economists of recent memory is also easy enough: John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich von Hayek, Paul Samuelson, and Milton Friedman spring readily to mind. But coming up with the twenty most influential living economists poses more of a challenge.

Unlike in the past, economists now wield considerable political power. Is their influence to be measured in political terms, as in how widely their ideas are implemented in public policy and law? Is their influence to measured in originality of ideas and profundity of analysis? Is their influence to be measured in the degree to which they’ve transformed the discipline? As these questions suggest, no single measure of influence applies across the board. With these questions in the background, SuperScholar offers this list of its twenty most influential living economists.
Kenneth Arrow

Kenneth Arrow (b. 1921) is the preeminent living mathematical economist, bringing high-powered mathematics to bear on long-standing economic questions, especially in connection to general equilibrium. More info: Kenneth Arrow Bio

Read about other 19 here

Top 40 Rich Groups of Pakistan

2011-07-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

1. The Nishat Group

Mian Muhammad Mansha Yaha is the captain of this splendid ship having around 30 companies on board. Mansha, who owns the Muslim Commercial Bank as well, is now setting up a billion rupee ($ 17 m) paper sack project too. He is one of the richest Pakistanis around. Nishat Group was country's 15th richest family in 1970, 6th in 1990 and Number 1 in 1997. Mansha is on the board of nearly 50 companies. Chinioti by clan, Mansha is married to Yousaf Saigol's daughter. He is deemed to have made investments in many bourses, currency and metal exchanges both within and outside Pakistan. He has had his share of luck on many occasions in life and has recently been awarded Pakistan's highest civil award by President Musharraf. He could have bought the United Bank too, but then who doesn't have adversaries. Nishat Group comprises of textiles, cement, leasing, insurance and management companies. If Mansha was bitten by Bhutto's nationalization stint of 1970, his friends think he was compensated by Nawaz Sharif's denationalization programme to a very good effect. There is no stopping Mansha and he is still on the move!

2. The Jang Group

This huge media empire was founded by late Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman some six decades ago. Today, around 10 top newspapers and the multi-billion rupee GEO TV project are being run by Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman, Mir Khalil's brainy son, who has a lot of projects pertaining to real estate under his belt too. Though he can be very modest, Shakeel is known to have taken country's Prime Ministers head-on. His tussle with Nawaz Sharif in 1999 spoke volumes of his unmatched influence in all domestic and international quarters which matter Shakeel is one of Asia's most well known media barons, whose newspapers have served to be the breeding nurseries for country's top journalists. He invests massively in stocks business regularly. His elder brother Mir Javed ur Rehman and tender son Mir Ibrahim also assist him in business. Such magnificent has been his influence that at times, a few governments have opted to take a few of his employees as ministers. The Group, as most politicians agree, has been instrumental in both toppling and building governments in Pakistan for decades now. Limelight is the product that he sells but doesn't like tasting the fruits of his own garden.

3. The Hashoo Group

Led by the vintage Saddaruddin Haswani, the Hashoo Group is more known for its dominance in Pakistan's hotel industry, though the people who know a bit more about the Hashwanis are of their strength in real estate business too. Hashwanis are involved in trading of cotton grain and steel and till the nationalization of cotton export in 1974, they were widely being dubbed as the Cotton Kings of Pakistan. Today, this group has excelled in export of rice, wheat, cotton and barley. It owns textile units, besides having invested billions in mines, minerals. hotels, insurance, batteries, tobacco, residential properties, construction, engineering and information technology. In 1984, Hashwani defeated the Lakhanis in the bid for Premier Tobacco but was arrested along with his brother Akbar in 1986 for allegedly evading customs duty on cigarettes. Sadarduddin's brother Akbar and the children of another late brother Hassan Ali Hashwani together manage around 45 companies. Akbar runs the second Hashwani Group. He is one of the most well-known magnates in Pakistan who is a regular invitee at the Diplomatic Enclave. The list of local and international bigwigs known personally to Hashwani is unending.

4. The Packages Group

The seed of this huge empire was sown by Syed Maratib All, a renowned supplier for British Army and the Indian Railways before partition. The group launched a joint venture with Lever Brothers soon after 1947, but massive production of Pakistan Tobacco Company later reportedly made Syed Maratib All and sons install a packaging Unit by the names of Packages. Two of Maratib's sons-Syed Amjad Ali and Syed Babar Ali have remained Pakistan's finance Ministers and two of his well-known grand-children-Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhar Imam-are political stalwarts who need no recognition. Late Syed Amjad Ali was Pakistan's first Ambassador to the United Nations, while Syed Babar Ali is the force behind the establishment of the LUMS. The group owns Nestle Pakistan too which is being run by Syed Yawar Ali. Syed Babar Ali has also served as Chairman National Fertilizer Corporation during the Bhutto regime too and has been the Chairman of Hoeist Pakistan, Lever Brothers and Siemen. The group also acquired a good number of Coca Cola plants in Pakistan. Its famous brands include Nestle Milk Pak, Treet, Mitchells and Tri Pack Films. It has stakes in the textile, dairy, agriculture and rice Sectors too. The groups Contributions towards the cause of an independent Pakistan are unprecedented.

5. The House of Habib

Legend has it that the Goddess of Wealth has been in love with the seasoned Habibs more than anybody else in Pakistan. Most pundits believe that Habibs own at least 100 companies throughout the world, but these content mega-tycoons never boast off, something which has made it uphill for most to predict about their financial standing. This industrial group was founded by Seth Habib Mitha, born in 1878 to Esmail Ali-a factory owner in Bombay. The financial strength of the Habibs can be gauged from the fact that Muhammad Ali Habib gave a cheque of Rs 80 million to Quaid-e-Azam in 1948 at a time when Pakistan government was penniless owing to delay in transfer of Pakistan's share of Rs. 750 million by the Reserve Bank of India. They had offices in Europe in 1912. They incorporated the Habib Bank in 1941. They own the Habib Bank A.G Zurich, Bank Al-Habib, Indus Motors assembling Corolla cars and many dozens of units in sectors such as jute, paper sack, minerals, steel, tiles, synthetics sugar, glass, construction, concrete, farm autos, banking, oil, computers, music, paper, packages, leasing and capital management. Habibs today are headed by Rafiq Habib and Rashid Habib in two distinct groups. What makes them extremely influential players of all times is the fact that for dozens of top businessmen today, Habib were a myth once.

6. The Saigols

Saigols originally hail from Jehlum. The pioneer of the Saigol dynasty in 1890 was Amin Saigol who established a shoe shop that eventually transformed into Kohinoor Rubber Works. And then times saw them shining literally like the Kohinoor until their progress was by Nationalization in which they lost two-thirds of their wealth. Saigols got trifurcated in 1976 and 15 descendents of Amin Saigols tour sons got a share. The name of the Saigols has been used in this part of the world as similes describing quantum of wealth. Yousaf Saigol, along with his brothers Sayeed Saigol, Bashir Saigol and Gul Saigol then nourished an excellent crop. In 1948, Saigols established the Kohinoor Textile Mills with a cost of Rs 8 million and this group happens to be the first to open an LC with the State Bank of Pakistan. They bought the United Bank in 1959 and then witnessed five of their units getting nationalized. They lived in Saudi Arabia during the Bhutto regime. Today, cousins Tariq and Nasim are holding the family's fort together and have risen to unprecedented heights in individual capacities. NAB did haunt Nasim but Tariq spent more lime either accepting or refusing prized slots everywhere. Tariq is the one of the finest business brains around.

7. Nawa-E-Waqt Group

The Nizamis may not be Rockefellers or the Sheikh Muhammad, but arc the custodians of a highly influential media empire. Since media is now beginning to be classified as very serious business, clout of this group's head Majid Nizami and that of his nephew Arif Nizami in nearly every sphere or the Pakistani society is being widely acknowledged. The impact this group has managed create on Pakistan's political scenario since 1947 is unprecedented too. The group runs two esteemed dailies-the Nawa-i-Waqt (Urdu) and The Nation (English). Besides publishing a few other monthlies and weeklies, they too are serious customers for an electronic media channel. Hailing from Sangla Hill, a youth Hameed Nizami (late) went out taking a paper that was badly needed by the Muslims of India during the Pakistan Movement. Hameed was a renowned student leader in the sub-continent who only gained proximity with the Quaid-c-Azam because of his distinct and selfless for an independent Pakistan. Though Hameed died very young in 1962, he gave Majid Nizami a rich legacy to take care of. The youngest Nizami, Khalil, died some years ago and was also part of this illustrious group. Out of Hameed Nizami's three sons-Shoaib, Arif and Tahir, only Arif has followed in his father's footsteps and is the sitting President 0f All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS). Nizamis are a 60-year old entity too.

8. The Saif Group

Is owned and operated by the sons of famous NWFP lady politician Begum Kalsum Saifullah. Her eldest son Javid Saifullah heads Ibis very powerful business group. Javid obtained his Master degree in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, USA in 1973, followed by diversified experience of over 30 years in textiles, telecommunication, cement and Information Technology. He also remained the Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) for two years and NWFP for seven years. He has also been the member Task Force IT & Telecommunication Advisory Board, Ministry of Science and Technology, Member of Task Force (Liberalization & Privatization of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited), Ministry of Science & Technology)Javed Saifullah Khan is looking after the group businesses for the past 20 years. Saifullahs are in power always, in one form or the other. Javaid's brothers Anwar Saifullah, Khan (Former Federal Minister), Salim Saifullah Khan king-maker in NWFP polities) and Osman Saifullah (another APTMA& wizard) have very close family ties with a lot of key politicians in the country, besides being related directly or indirectly through marriages to the families of a few leading and famous Army Generals who ruled Pakistan.

9. The Crescent Group

The history of this group dates back to 1910 when Shams Din of Chiniot and his four sons came into business with a tannery at Amritsar. This family was allotted 125 acres in Faisalabad in lieu of their left-over property in India. These brothers' Muhammad Antis, Muhammad Bashir, Fazal Karim and Muhammad Shafi-then ruse up to become country's largest textile exporters. They had initially set up the Mohammad Amin-Muhammad Bashir Limited for export of cotton and import of various products. Having more than two dozen concerns in its fold, Crescent is majestic force to reckon with. This empire serves as the best example of cohesion among cousins, uncles and nephews. Altaf Saleem of this group has enjoyed the slot of Chairman Privatisation Commission during the Musharraf regime, but has not been accused of any bungling during despite having served on a Prized slot. The group today owns numerous textile, steel, sugar, modaraba, food, leasing, knitwear, software, power, chemical, banking and investment units. They are one of the richest people in the country for the last 40 odd years. This Chinioti Sheikh family has lived up with quite a wonderful reputation, bearing an excellent record with its creditors throughout its bu.siness history. Men running Crescent do not have to make contacts, for the privilege comes to them naturally.

10. The Monnoo Group

The Monnoo dynasty was founded by two brothers-Dust Muhammad and Nazir Hussain in 1905 at Calcutta. The first unit owned by the Monnoos was the Olympia Rubber Works. And then time saw the Monnoos setting up sonic 20 textile mills in succession. Former President Shahzada Alam Monnoo is the man behind the strength of this group-known more for its achievements in the textile sector. Munnoos have been a symbol of wealth during the last 65 years or so. Shahzada's brothers, .Jahengir and Kaiser are assisting him in business, while silting APTMA Central Chairman Waqar Monnoo also hails from this magnificent group. In East Pakistan, Monnoos had also left a few power, feed, textile and agriculture-related units some nine in all. Their elder Munir Monnoo, after leaving East Pakistan, had set up looms at Faisalabad. Shahzada Alum Monnoo, perhaps the well-dressed man in the country along with Saddar-ud-Din Hashwani, is no alien for any ruler. The Monnoos are Chiniotis too. Shahzada Alum Monnoo, after some break, is again active in the politics of Lahore Chamber while Jahengir Monnoo is siding with Waqar Monnoo in latter's vicious battle of ego with Messrs Tariq Saigol and Mian Mansha. They star in business politics of and on, but seem to have Inst the taste of ii somehow. Perhaps had enough of salutes!

11. The Dewan Group

Dewan Yousaf Farooqui. The mentor of this group has been the Sindh Minister for Local Bodies. Industries, Labour, Transport, Mines & Minerals. Holding of so many portfolios by a single man bears ample testimony to the fact that the Dewans keep a leg sticking in polities too. The Dewan Mushtaq Group is one of the Pakistan's largest industrial conglomerates in sectors like polyester acrylic fiber, manufacturing and automotives. Six of their companies are listed at the Karachi & stock Exchange and one at the Luxembourg bourse. Dewan Farooqui Motors assembles around 10,000 cars annually under technical license agreement with Hyundai and Kia Motors of Korea The Dewan Salman Fiber is the pride of this empire as it ranks 11th in the world in total production capacity. The group owns three textile units, a motorcycle manufacturing concern and the largest sugar unit in the country. Dewans also have business interests in India. They possess dozens of millions of shares of Saudi Cement and Pak land Cement. They finance some 40 medical dispensaries and over a dozen schools, apart from funding roads/drinking water and Bio-energy infrastructures. Dewans arc on their way building a $ 1O million SME Resources with IFC investment of $ 3 million. The Dewans enjoy massive influence in the engineering sector.

12. The Lakson Group

The Lakhanis are currently having a hard time at the hands of NAB. Sultan Lakhani and his three brothers run this prestigious group and the chain of McDonald's restaurants in Pakistan. NAB has alleged the Lakhanis of having created phoney companies through worthless directors and raised massive loans from various banks and financial institutions. Sultan is currently abroad after having served a jail term with younger sibling Amin, though the latter was released much earlier. NAB had reportedly demanded Rs 7 billion from Lakhanis, but later agreed they pay only Rs 1.5 billion over a 10-year period. Lakhanis, like their arch-rivals Hashwanis, are the most well-known of all Ismaeli tycoons. Their stakes range from media, tobacco, paper, chemicals and surgical equipment to cotton, packaging, insurance, detergents and other house-hold items, many of which are joint ventures with leading international conglomerates. Though Lakhanis are in turbulent waters currently, the success that greeted them during the last 25 years especially has been tremendous. They have rifts with large business empires despite being known fur their genteel nature. Whether it is any government in Sindh or at the Federal level, Lakhanis have had trusted friends everywhere, though the present era has proved a painful exception.

13. The Sapphire Group

Headed by a veteran industrialist Mian Abdullah, this splendid empire owns 11 yarn spinning plants (producing 60,000 tonnes of yarn annually), 3 woven plants of greige fabric ( producing 50 million metres annually), one yarn dyeing plant (capacity 5 tonnes per day), one knitting unit (10 tonnes per day), one knitted fabric dyeing plant (10 tonnes per day), one woven fabric dyeing and finishing plant ( 1.2 million metres per month) and three power plants having the capability to produce 40 MW of energy. Sapphire forms synergies with off-shore garments companies. The group markets its products in biggest brand names in Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. Sapphire started with one spinning mill in 1969 and employs over 10,000 people and has an annual turnover of $ 219 million. Mian Abdullah's repute can be gauged from the fact during the October 2003 minis at APTMA, more than 1000 textile millers bad tendered their resignations against incumbent Chief Waqar Monnoo to him. Dozens of leading tycoons had proposed his name to head APTMA in case of an interim setup. Having an influence among textile millers is no easy job but Mian Abdullah stands privileged in this context He is often seen part of the entourages of key business leaders to foreign countries and provides input to fellow colleagues whenever requested.

14. The Dawood Group

Was ranked Pakistan's biggest group in 1970, 3rd in 1990 and 15th in 1997 like all. Nationalization and the East Pakistan tragedy trampled all over the Dawoods too. Today, the original Dawood Group stands split in three factions. The owners of this empire refrained from opening any unit for a good part of some 20 odd years. This group was founded by Ahmed Dawood, but later the dynasty found itself divided among the three Dawood brothers-Ahmad Sadiq and Suleman, The key players in this group led lives in exile during the Bhutto regime. Former Federal Minister fur Commerce and Trade Razzak Dawood, the son of the late Suleman Dawned runs the Descon Engineering and a few other units dealing in manufacturing refrigerators and other consumer products. Hussain Dawuod, sun of Ahmed Dawood, has already rendered meritorious philanthropic services in the field of education by supporting brilliant and needy students. Hussain runs Dawood Hercules, some modaraba companies and a few textile units. The Sadiq Dawned Group owns a few leasing, modaraba and insurance concerns too, apart from the Dawood Yamaha. Sadiq Dawood's decision to become an MNA in 1951 and Treasurer Pakistan Muslim League during Ayub's rule certainly benefited the Dawoods.

15. The Best Way Group

Sir Anwar Pervaiz is the Chairman of Bestway Group which started off as a specialist Asian food store in West London in 1962. More retail units followed and by the early l970's the group had opened ten general food stores. He may easily be dubbed the richest Pakistani. The Bestway Group moved into the wholesale business in 1976 when its first Bestway cash and carry warehouse was established in London. Rapid expansion in wholesaling followed during the 1980's and 1990's, and to date, the Bestway Group comprises of about 30. The Bestway Group moved into the cement business in 1995 when it decided to set up cement manufacturing plant in Pakistan at a cost of $120 million. In 2002, the Bestway Group acquired a 25.5% stake in United Bank Limited. Today, the Bestway Group has a diversified portfolio, with interests in cash & carry wholesale, property investments, retail outlets, milling of rice, lentils and pulses, cement production and more recently into banking. The group's total sales amounted to in excess of £ 1 billion for the year ended 30th June 2002. The group provides direct employment to over 2300 people.

16. The Haroon Family

Headed by Yusuf Haroon, 9l, the former Sindh Chief Minister and Governor West Pakistan, this family owns The Herald Group of publications which includes the Daily Dawn, Monthly Herald, Aurora and Spider magazines. When he rose to Karachi's Mayorship, Yousaf was the youngest Mayor in sub-continent's history. This prominent scion of the Memon clan had remained a strong believer that General Zia-ul-Haq bad launched systematic discrimination against the Karachi businessmen that made the Memons fly outside Pakistan with their money. Yosaf's younger brother Mabmood A.Haroon has also remained Sindh's Governor, besides having served as ADC to Quaid-Azam at the age of 17. The Haroons; wealthiest in the country once, are prominent media barons of today who enjoy unmatched influence in country's political and business arena. Sir Abdullah Haroon, father of Yousaf and Mahmood, bad died in 1942, but sot before he had devoted his residence for the cause of Pakistan. Handling both business and politics at the same time never seemed tough job for the disciplined sons of Sir Abdullah Haroon. Yousaf Haroon also served a country's High Commissioner to Australia. The great grandfathers of the Haroons had migrated to Karachi some 150 years ago where they made fortunes in clothing and sugar trades.

17. The Yunus Brothers

The Chairman of this group is Abdul Razzak Tabba. This group owns one of the largest warehouses (textile products) in Pakistan. The concerns falling under the ambit of the Younus Brothers are Fazal Textiles, Gadoon Textiles, Lucky Cement, Lucky Energy, Lucky Power-Tech, Lucky Textiles, Younus Textiles, Security Electric Power Company and Younus Brothers etc. Razzak Tabba is an active player in the politics of the prestigious All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) too, apart from assuming a king-maker's role in the political arena of the FPCCI. Tabba came to more limelight last year when he hosted very heavily attended dinners in honour of the textile magnates from all across the country, while siding with Messrs Tariq Saigol and Mian Mansha in their battle against the APTMA Chief Waqar Monnno. He is quite a philanthropist too and has initiated various welfare projects for his Memon community in Karachi and Sindh. He frequently stars in the community welfare programmes held under the auspices of the Asia Tabba Foundation, World Memon Foundation and the Kathiawar Cooperative Housing society etc Tabba is a man who likes to keep away from camera and despite all his influence and riches-something which has made him earn tots of respect.

18. Gul Ahmad/Al-Karam Group

Gut Ahmad is one of the most vibrant Memon business houses in the country that was founded by Haji Mohammad Pakolawala, but is now split between Gul Ahmad and Al-Karam Group of Industries. While Gul Ahmad is headed by Bashir Al Muhammad, the Al-Karam faction is controlled by Umar Haji Karim. In 1953, Gul Ahmad was incorporated as a private limited company with a capital of Rs eight million. Gul Ahmad is presently a composite unit with an installed capacity of 88,000 spindles, 108 air-jet looms and 297 conventional looms. The group has been a pioneer in the field of power generation as well. Gul Ahmad's directors have held top positions in various textile bodies, export committees, besides having assisted government of Pakistan in few major talks with EU and US. The group is set to launch the Excel Insurance Company shortly as required licenses/documentation stands done. Al-Karam, on (be other hand, is one of the largest textile concerns in Pakistan producing superior quality yarn, apart from having Amna Industries, Orient Textiles, Imran Crown Cork, Gul Agencies, Dabheji Salt Works and Pakistan Synthetics in its wallet. It owns a dairy-related establishment too by the name of Pakistan Dairy Products Limited. During Moeen Qureshi's tenure, Alt Muhammad was appointed Vice Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau.

19. The Bawany Group

Bawany dynasty was founded by two Bawany brothers, Ahmad Karim Ebrahim Bawany and Abdul Latif Ibrahim Bawany born in 1882 and 1890 respectively at Jetpur, Kathiawar, who had migrated to Burma towards end the end of 19th century and set up Ahmad Violin Hosiery Works in Rangoon. In 1947, they migrated to Pakistan. It was perhaps in memory of the Hosiery Mills at Rangoon that a company with the same name was incorporated in Karachi and is doing a flourishing business. The name Bawany has its origin in the name of an elder of the family, who was known for his honesty and hard work in home-town Jetpur. They were the first among the Memons to open a purchase office in Japan and nre currently active in textiles, jute, sugar, particle board, Oxygen, leather, garments, tanneries and cables Bawanis are known to have maite night investment decisions at the right time and their contemperaine still acknowledge them for his quality. Bawanis are known to have made right investments us the right time-something their contemporaries acknowledge.

20. The Servis Group

Shahid Hussain is the Chairman of this massive foot-wear giant whicb now is neck-deep in textile business too. Shahid has replaced Ch Ahmad Saeed (sitting PIA Chairman (as the Servis boss. Both Chaudhary Ahmed Saeed and President General Musharraf happen to be old friends from their Forman Christian College days. Ch. Ahmad Saeed's younger brother Chaudhary Ahmed Multhtar is a well-known Pakistan Peoples Party leader who has been the Federal Commerce Minister of Pakistan during one of the two tenures of two-time ex-Premier Benazir Bhutto. Ch. Ahmad Saeed's son Arif Saeed is Chairman APTMA Punjab and is siding with his Central Chief Waqar Munnoo against a huge number of textile gurus. The Servis Group operates in sectors like shoes, tyres, cotton yarn, leather, syringes and retailing. The political constituency of these politicians-cum-businessmen also happens in be the feud-ridden Gujrat district of Punjab where Ahmed Mukhtar sometimes emerges triumphant against President Pakistan Muslim League Ch Shujaat Hussain, and at times loses the support of voters for a National Assembly seat. It is this proximity with various regimes that the Servis Group bus been rated so highly. And then, even if alleged for a white-collard crime, these Servis guys remain relatively comfortable-courtesy their clout as a political-cum-business family.

21. The Tata Family

Do not confuse the Tatas in Pakistan with their name-sake market leaders in India. Having migrated from Nepal Mehboob Elahi started with a tannery in Bangladesh much before 1971 but his five Sons Mehboob lqbal 'Tata ( Chairman Jinnah Hospital Lahore). Riaz Tata (President FPCCI) Anwar Tata (Former Chairman APTMA), Khalid Tata and ljaz Tate together built 15 odd units, ably supported by the third generation scions like Shahid, Masud and Hasan Tata. Tatas are in textile spinning, weaving, denim, woven, knitwear, leather and energy business. Having annual turnover in excess of Rs 1.5 billion, this Chinioti family too traces its presence in business as early as 200 years from now. Bound in a cohesive bond, each of the Tatas heads a separate unit. The sitting Federation President Riaz Tata heads the Naveena Exports Division and despite having faced some tough times at the top slot in the apex body. Pakistan's key business leader is holding his throne tightly, though there have been occasions when he (Riaz Tata) seriously thought in terms of vacating office due to business pre-occupation. But the mammoth number of colleagues and friends around him barred him from doing so. The vintage Tatas overall lead unassuming life styles. They love to remain in low key but prove their worth when times demand.

22. The Alam Group

This establishment comprising three leather and two textile units is led by former President Karachi Chamber Shahzada Alam, elder brother of sitting Vice President FPCCI and Senior Vice chairman Pak-USA Business Council Arshad Alam. Messrs Leather Connections, a joint venture with a UK conglomerate, is one of those units managed by this group which happens to be Pakistan's largest exporter of value-added leather products. While Leather Connections is looked after by Arshad Alam's son Khurshid Alam, the textile arm of this group is supervised by Faraz Alam son of Shafiq Alam, the youngest Alam brother. The family has also made huge investments in real estate and stocks, within and outside Pakistan. While the younger creed looks after business, the elder Alams give time to their passion of playing ring leaders in the politics of the FPCCI and other business chambers. The group also runs an import/export entity by the name of Continental Traders, besides having recently set sails for investment in media too. Shahzada Alam gained more recognition when he went out airing strong resentment against the involvement of business institutions in country's politics. The Alams are an eminent Chinioti family in business for the last 150 odd years, known more for dominance in leather sector. COMPASS is the name of the philanthropic school for retarded and disabled children which the Alams operate in Gulberg Lahore sans any external assistance.

23. The Guard Group

The 87-year old Malik Shafi, decorated with Pakistan's highest civil award, still looks after numerous business entities with complete vigour. Eldest of his four sons is the former LCCI/FPCCI President lftikhar Malik who is also the sitting Chairman of Pak-US Business Council. The Guard Group deals in automotive parts, filters, brake fluids and other vital accessories of motor vehicles. The group has enjoyed monopoly in this business since 1959, when the government servant turned magnate Malik Shaft decided to enter business. Guard Rice, one of the largest exporters of this community around the world, is being run by Shafis youngest son Shahzad Matte who is also holding the slot of Lahore Chamber's Vice President. The' other two Maliks-Waqar and Shahbaz control the technical sides of their family business, apart from keeping an eye on this group's real estate & agricultural land holdings. Maliks are an Arain Punjabi family that also runs a few free hospitals and dispensaries. Malik lftikhar however, is keener with his hobby to be in limelight all the time and is perhaps Pakistan's most photographed tycoon. While people refrain from coming under camera when they grow in stature, Malik loves operating a Lahore-Islamabad shuttle service to sit next to anyone who is ruling. But then he delivers when needed

24. The Ejaz Group

This establishment owns country's largest knitwear-cum-dyeing facility at Lahore. More than half a dozen textile units of Ejaz Group are being run by yet another chinioti scion Mian Gohar Ejaz, son of late Senator Sheikh Ejaz. Gohar held the reins of this group very much during his college days when Sheikh Ejaz left for his heavenly abode after protracted illness that lasted months. Gohar is now a noted policy maker at both Federal and Provincial Textile Boards. He is one of the Boards of Governors at the Punjab institute of Cardiology Lahore. People started paying a heed to his leadership abilities in 1997, when he took on the APTMA grey-heads convincingly during the 1997 annual polls and narrowly lost to his opponent in fight for the top slot. Gohar then had led a rebellion comprising promising youth from renowned textile families. Against the hegemony of stalwarts including the likes of Messrs Tariq Saigol, Mansha and Jahengir Elahi etc. His younger brother Mian Faisal Ejaz is the son-in-law of Shahzada Alam Monnoo. He is yet another investor in mutual funds and real estate, though relies more on his obsession i.e. the textiles and his passion which is value-addition in this sector. The services Gohar has rendered for creating awareness with reference to value-addition are certainly quite meritrions.

25. The Tabani Family

The Tabanis are also deemed as one of the biggest groups associated with manufacturing, trade, export and import business. They are one of the few Pakistani industrialists holding massive stakes in Central Asian Republics. They own Pakistan's first private airline-Aero Asia. Yaqoob Tabani is this group's chairman. The fields of Tabanis' businesses include counter trade and barter transactions, textiles, fashion garments, leather, tourism, automobiles, shipping, power generation, oil and gas, metals, chemicals, fertilizers, cigarettes, cement and medicines. Tabanis have wings stretched everywhere. You name a business field and Tabanis are there. But despite all the clout it enjoys at the top levels, the family opts to remain modest. Ashraf Tabani, an elder Tabani, has served Sindh's Governor, Provincial Minister of Finance, Industries, Excise and Taxation between 1981 and 1984. He was appointed Honorary Administrator of the FPCCI during the 1971-1973 periods soon after Bhutto's Nationalization. Ashraf Tabani has also served as Chairman Employers Federation Pakistan, President Silk and Rayon Mills Association and former Chairman of Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan's Board of Directors. They are a leading Memon family, also engaged in funding various public welfare schemes. Though scandals can confront any industrial establishment of this size, Tabanis have been fairly lucky in evading them.

26. The Tapal Group

Is headed by Aftab Tapal. The group's success in tea business has astounded many. The journey of Tapal's remarkable success is the combined harvest of three generations of this family. In 1947, Tapal started out as a family concern under the supervision of Adam Ali Tapal. Faced with tough competition from very well known tea brands in the market, the Tapals dispelled the common impression that their capital base would soon be eroded. The company grew under Faizullah Tapal, whose son Aftab today brings a lot of innovation and marketing vision to make Tapal a household name. After having lived abroad, Aftab rushed hack home with flourishing ideas and introduced new concepts in the commodity that was first sold at Thomas Garway's Coffee House in London in 1657. Equipped with latest state-of-the art blending and tea-mixing paraphernalia. Tapal is today Pakistan largest tea company as its consumption runs into millions of cups every month, according to an estimate by this company's marketing division. In December 1997, Tapal Tea became the first Pakistani of its kind to have attained the ISO-9001 certification. Tapals are also known to have stakes in power generation business. But their tea makes the Tapals known to all. The group claims nearly 1.4 million cups of tea in Pakistan are made of Tapal every hour.

27. The Atlas Group

This group was founded by Yousaf Sherazi, a former Income Tax official and journalist in 1962 with a capital of Rs 03 million only. The first company set by the Atlas Group was Sherazi Investments (Pvt) Limited and since then, there is no looking back. The East Pakistan tragedy, however, nearly crippled Sherazi but he never lost hope and went out forming numerous joint ventures with leading Japanese concerns like Honda. Atlas-Honda today is a name to reckon with in country's engineering sector and associated with this just one name are hundreds of vendors. He holds stakes in insurance, financial services, information technology, leasing, warehouses, office equipment, motor cars and motorcycle-assembling units, besides running a renowned firm that manufactures batteries. Sherazi owns the Atlas Investment Bank too. The Federal Budget 2004-05 is perhaps the only budget in country's history that has hit the very influential car manufacturers on the head, otherwise people like Yousaf Sherazi have always managed to dictate terms where it matters. The Atlas Group owns no less than seven companies quoted on the stock exchanges of Pakistan. The group's assets are believed to have touched the Rs 15 billion mark and so have the sales.

28. The Abid Group

Is run by Sheikh Abid Hussain alias Seth Abid. He is one of the most resourceful developers/builders in the country owning vast stretches of land in major cities. On this land worth many billion of rupees, Seth has constructed residential schemes under the brand name of "Green Fort." Seth came into this business after decades of notoriety as being one of the spearheads in cross-border smuggling. While many remember Seth for his allegedly illegal trading stints, a lot of informed circles still say with conviction that he, along with Dr.Qadeer and former Premier Bhutto, was the brain behind the success of Pakistan's nuclear programme. About three dozen of Seth's very close relatives, friends and nephews are members of country's bourses and for many years now, the Seth Abid group assumes the role of king-makers during the annual polls of these stock exchanges. He is a leading investor in stocks, metals and currency but what gives him immense pleasure is his philanthropic institution Hamza Foundation that he sponsors for the welfare of deaf and dumb children. Pakistan has not had a single ruler, politician, bureaucrat or Army General who doesn't know the Seth who is more of a myth for most. The Seth, throughout his life, has avoided publicity-a fact known to most journalists.

29. The Sheikhani Family

They are one of the most reputed land developers in the country. The Sheikhani, although not a very big industrial establishment by any means, are led by Abu Bakar Sheikhani. The Sheikhanis are famous for their construction and land development-related errands. Abu Bakar is deemed to be one of the largest investors in real estate trade at Gwadar Port. He has all the right connections that are required to be in such business. Despite being well known to the national political circles, the man in street knew more of him during March/April 1991 when he surfaced as the single largest contributor to then Premier Nawaz Sharif's Debt Retirement Fund with a donation of Rs 450 million. Today, his adversaries dub him a land mafia man, alleging him for selling his Gwadar land at only $ 4000 per acre only to senior Army officials while the same was being sold at $ 2,50,000 per acre to ordinary investors. But that is the way Sheikhani runs his vast land/construction empire. Accusations don't disturb Sheikhani, who according to many large developers is a man who has managed to create tremendous impression in land business. The rumours of his landing in any Pakistani City for land acquisition purposes, helps the price of real estate surge unprecedently overnight.

30. The Dadabhoy Group

Abdul Ghani Dadabhoy was the founder of Dadabhoy group, starting in trade and branching off into the construction business. The group has a big share of cement market in Southern Pakistan. Memons by clan, Dadabhoys are closely related to the Bawanies. Abdul Ghani Dadabhoy had five sons and two daughters, namely Noor Mohammad Dadabhoy, Mohammad Farooq Dadabhoy, Mohammad Hussain Dadabhoy, Abdullah Hussain Dada Bhoy and Ghulam Mohammad Dadabhoy. Daughters are Mrs Mehrunisa Jaffer and Mrs Zaibunisa Tanveer. This Group has massive investments in cement, energy, construction, leasing, polyester, banking and insurance etc. Dadabhoys are seasoned campaigners and perhaps do not like being brought into any sort of reckoning like the Habibs. Despite being a formidable business entity, this family is deemed to be extremely reluctant throughout its history, when it comes to flashing headlines, but mind you these unassuming Dadabhoys are still news-worthy. Any good day, you might hear them doing something new. Stock pundits know a lot more about their past stints at the country's bourses.

31. The Bahria Town (Pvt) Limited

Malik Riaz Hussain heads the massive project which is currently developing state-of-the-art schemes in Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Though Malik Riaz may not be having a very renowned name in business circles, fact has it that the value of his land-holdings both within & outside Pakistan amounts dozens of billions of rupees. Emerging out of the blue, this developer has reportedly developed tremendous connections where it matters in Pakistan-One of the few reasons why his constructed projects get completed in time without hindrance. Whether he has gifted bungalows free of cost of country's bigwigs or offered them at highly concessional rates, the reality on the ground is that Malik has managed to mesmerize most through his generous wallet. Possessing no convincing financial background, Malik Riaz is known to have been benefited immensely-courtesy patronage of former Pakistan Navy chief admiral retired Mansoor ul Haq. Others say both Malik and the admiral had stuck a $ 200,000 deal but the man behind the Bahria Town is least moved and irrespective of who is in power; he continues to build house after house-swelling his wealth. And then he is happy being a sponsor for many-welfare parties held under patronage of the ruling elite.

32. Adamjee Group

The seed of the formidable Adamjee Empire was sown by Haji DAwood in 1896 by establishing a commodity trading company. His son Sir Adeamjee, Haji Dawood went out building a match factory, second largest of its kind then, in 1923 at Rangoon (Burma). By 1947 Adamjee Group wan the biggest exporter of jute from Calcutta. During Bhutto's nationalization, they lost the Muslim Commercial Bank & stakes in the Mohammadi Steamship Company, leaving then with only Adamjee sugar Mills and Adamjee Cotton Mills, Karachi. Toda, they own the KSB pumps, besides having poured money in paper flooring, diesel engineering, construction centre, garments, general trading, insurance and chemicals etc. one of the biggest names in 1970's, the Adamjee some-how failed to keep hold on Pakistan's largest insurance companies. The Adamjee Insurance Company is one of them, which still has around 70% of country's total insurance business & is the most internationally reputed and accepted Pakistani company of its kind.

33. Jahangir Siddiqui& Co

This firm has floated ABAMCO which is perhaps the largest mutual fund in Pakistan's capital market arena. The firm offers full financial services in the securities industry. ABAMCO is a joit venture among major Pakistani and foreign institutions including International Financial Corporation (IFC) headquartered in Washington. Muslim Commercial Bank, Saudi Pak Commercial Bank & Messrs AMVESCAP, which is a British company created through the merger of the AIM Management Group with and into a subsidiary of INVESCO which is one of the largest asset managers on the globe having assets worth approximately $ 348 billion under its direct management. While the Munawwar Aslam Siddiqui is the Chairman of this apex capital market operator, Najam Ali sits in the Chairman's office of the Jahengir Siddiqui and company. The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PCRA) has awarded heartening long and short term ratings to this concern. ABAMCO was incorporated in 1995. ABAMCO is the first asset management company in the private sector in the country. MCB, with a deposit base in excess of Rs 182 billion & operating with a network of 257 on-line branches too has played a major role in ABAMCO's success.

34. The Din Group

The group is headed by S.M.Muneer, former president of FPCCI and that of the Karachi Gymkhana. He is vice chairman of Muslim Commercial Bank too.Muneer's din Group is engaged in textiles and leather business mainly, though this Chinoti family has also made massive investments in real estates and stock business too.Muneer has been active in few political tenures too, as the former two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto had appointed him Minister of state along with Mian Habibullah, another Chinoti who has headed the FPCCI too. Though people still remember Habibullah as having served as Chairman Export Promotion Bureau during Benazir Bhutto's regime, they tend to forget that time had come when Muneer also shared EPB's Fairs and Exhibition Division with him.Muneer's son SM.Tanveer is a key figure at APTMA Punjab Zone. He is a busy bee in business politics. Despite hectic life schedule, he still manages to take time out and play an active role at prime business bodies in one way or the other.muneer has a visible instinct to be district-a passion that has helped him rise to all heights. At Din Textiles, the entrepreneurs have strived to produce nearly 1000 shades by mixing dyed cotton.

35. The Adil Group

Mian Adil Mehmood, who is married to Mian Mansha's niece, is in textiles business mainly, but what has actually helped him climb the ladder of fame and respect, have been his untiring efforts to resolve the problems of bank defaulters under Governor State Bank of Pakistan, in collaboration with country's Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) all of which has resulted in revival of sick induxtries. Both defaulters & banks appear indebted to Adil as he has visibly save one party from a possible action & other from spending millions of rupees on lenghthy litigation. Along with Mian Usman, Adil was appointed member Governor SBP, s Dispute Resolution Committee on Defaulted Loans in 2001 and since then he has been flying between Lahore & Karachi to provide respite to some 700 defaulters meaning thereby that he has been catalyst in helping banks recover billions of rupees from their stuck up credits. Adil is also senior Vice Chairman APTMA Punjab zone. By vitue of the honorary slots he holds, this Chinoti magnate has been one of the most sought after businessman in the country of late, despite him chanting the merit slogan. Like most of his contemporaries, he too has excelled in philanthropic services. Free eye-treatment is what his charity specialises in.

36. Chenab Group

Mian Muhammad Latif supervises this group along with his brother Mian Ashfaque- a legislator in the National Assembly of Pakistan. Founded in 1975, Chenab Limited set up its first fashion outlet "Chen One." Chen One has seven outlets throughout Pakistan. After establishing its retail chain stores in various cities of Saudi Arabia, the group is now planning to establish its new retail chains in Bahrain, UA.E, Qatar, Kuwait and Central Asian Republics. While Chenab Group is an eight-time Export Trophy winner, its Chief Mian Latif has won the 'Businessman of the Year award on four different occasions from various business bodies. Chenab is principally engaged in manufacture and distribution of clothing, furniture goods, including non-iron suit, quilt cover and curtains etc. Chenab processes 50 million square metres fabric weaving and 75 million square metres fabric dyeing every year and has established a global sales network spanning across five continents. Chenab is licensed to the Swedish Texcote Technology in the manufacturing and sale of textile materials, garments and textile house-hold goods. In August 2003, the Chenab Group signed a Rs 900 million loan facility with the National Bank of Pakistan. The group's textile products have been awarded the Oekotex 100 accreditation.

37. Sitara Group

Started its activity with textile weaving as early as 1956, under brothers Haji Abdul Ghafoor and Haji Bashir Ahmed. It is now its textile cloth finishing and processing, textile spinning, chlor-alkali sector and in power generation. The units owned by this establishment include Sitara Chemicals, Sitara Chemicals (Textile Division 1) and Sitara Chemicals (Textile Division 11), Sitara Textiles, Sitara Energy and Yasir Spinning. The charities being managed under the aegis of Sitara group are Aziz Fatima Hospital, Ghafoor Bashir Children Hospital and Aziz Fatima Girls School. Sitara's name with the industrial City of Faisalabad is synonymous. They are the decades-old veterans in business, who have excelled in leaps and bounds. At their units, the owners of Sitara use technology imported from Japan, UK and Germany and are export leaders in bedding and fabric collection to South America, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Europe. Their textile divisions together operate at strength of 33,984 spindles. The Sitara (group, to a common man, is more famous for its lawn brands like Sitara Sapna and Mughal-e-Azam. The men at helm of affairs in Sitara hardly believe in setting up dozens of units, of which they are otherwise very much capable of.

38. The Colony Group

Mian Muhammad lsmaeel Sheikh, who laid the foundation stone of this group, set up his first factory in 1898, first flour mill in 1908, taking Colony Group's total tally to 14 ginning factories and 4 flour mills by 1947. The group suffered heavily during Zulfiqar Bhutto's nationalization and it was left only with a few textile mills, flour mills and ginning factories. Though Sheikh Ismaeel's heirs could not manage to take Colony's name to the top, they have had an excellent time. But despite their share of hard luck, Colony Group's owners that still run some jute, textile and financial companies. Colony Textile Mills was the first unit of its kind to go into operation in independent Pakistan. Ismaeel Sheikh's sons Aziz, Naseer, Farooq and Mughis have also been active in politics. They once owned equities in newspaper and a few of them even went out contesting elections in 1970. These Colony people, many thought, could have scaled far more greater heights, because the kind of start they had in business falls in the lap of very lucky people only.

39. Arif Habib Securities

This company is owned by Chairman Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Arif Habib. It is one of the largest brokerage operations on the bourse. One of its subsidiaries-Arif Habib Investment Management Limited-specialises in mutual funds. By 2001, this concern was listed on all the three stock exchanges. Since its inception, Arif Habib Securities has been one of the best-performing and most profitable brokerage houses in the country, helping its net profit jump to Rs 751.9 million by almost 200%. At the same time, the overall capital base of this firm had almost doubled to Rs 1415.1 million till 2003. Recently, Arif went out slating the imposition of 0.1 per cent Capital Value Tax on turnover and managed to get it slashed through negotiations with the government. Operating with numerous high-worth clients, Arif Habib has won it all through the reputation and connections he has managed to build since 1989. Arif's success is also attributed to the generous per centage of cash dividend and bonus issues that he believes in announcing regularly. The company's assets had surged from Rs 73.54 million in 1997-98 to Rs 2178.95 million by 2002-03, while earning per share had soared from 3.72 to 12532 during the same corresponding period.

40. Kassim Dada

Kassim Dada, hails from a 19th Century Memon business family known to have possessed the vision of international trade when most of their contemporaries were rather naïve on this count. This family had offices in Burma, South Africa and countries of the Far-East long before 1940. Dadas, have held decisive positions at the Karachi Stock Exchange and own shares of various Pakistani and foreign monopolies without creating any hype. Kassim Dada's family is known to have held major local equity in multinationals like Glaxo SmithKline, Brook Bond and Berger Paints, besides being the sponsoring directors of Messrs Hyderabad Electronics, Automotive Battery Limited and Interfund Bank etc. Kassim Dada is one of the few Pakistani Tycoons who used to fly on private planes from Karachi to his cement plants in Hyderabad. It was this family which had hired Mahatama Gandhi as a solicitor in 1890 to contest a business case in South Africa. Dada, was once a symbol of wealth.

Wholesale Sources for Wholesale Closeouts

2011-07-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

After the invention of internet online shopping is considered one of the best modes of getting things at very competitive rate at our door step. Businesses looking for wholesale goods from closeouts can obtain them easily from a liquidator. Retail stores and small time sellers, or even people wanting to start up an eBay store can buy products from liquidation sources. There are many suppliers online ready to start providing quality products to meet your needs.

Rhino Mart is the internet source for wholesale products, overstock items and liquidations. Featuring an amazing selection of wholesale clothing, watches, handbags, wholesale jewelry, shoes, flip flops and many other products Rhino Mart is the internet destination for great discount prices on overstock items. You name it and Rhino Mart has it... electronics, household appliances, cleaning supplies, musical instruments, toys, tools and much more.

You can find one of the best wholesale accessories from around the globe here at your trusted accessories wholesaler. They have got it all wholesale designer accessories for the discriminating customer, such as wholesale belts, hair goods, handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, luggage, undergarments, scarves and ponchos. Improve your bottom line with these great products priced at deep discounts. Their top quality overstock and liquidated accessory products will give your inventory budget a breather.

Pakistan's Forex Reserves Ease to $18.11 Billion

2011-07-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves eased to $18.11 billion in the week ending July 10, from a record $18.25 billion the previous week, a senior central bank official said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $14.64 billion from $14.79 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks edged to $3.47 billion up from $3.46 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

"The decline in reserves during the week is due to scheduled debt repayments," said Wasimuddin. Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves were boosted in June by inflows of $411 million, including a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank, and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped Pakistan's forex reserves grow steadily. According to official data, remittances rose to a record $11.2 billion in 2010/11 fiscal year, an increase of 25.77 percent compared with the same period last year. In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme. The two sides are due to meet this month to discuss the possible release of the sixth tranche, though no official date has been decided.

Omegla and Chatroulette

2011-07-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

The Internet can now be accessed almost anywhere by numerous means, especially through mobile Internet devices. Mobile phones, data cards, handheld game consoles and cellular routers allow users to connect to the Internet from anywhere there is a wireless network supporting that device's technology. Within the limitations imposed by small screens and other limited facilities of such pocket-sized devices, services of the Internet, including email and the web, may be available. Service providers may restrict the services offered and wireless data transmission charges may be significantly higher than other access methods.

iMeetzu.com is a website that allows you to meet and chat with strangers online, similar to omegle and chatroulette. However, iMeetzu.com also adds a social network so that users can save their favorite new friends. You will need to register and create an account, which will then allow you to save your favorite conversational contacts, hot girls, and other such peoples, as well as interact with them via comments and messages. Heck, you can even send your dream girl a gift! Of course, you will also be able to create your very own public iMeetzu profile, which you will be able to show off to all your jealous comrades, at least until they take the time to make one themselves.

IFRS: Blessing or Curse For USA

2011-07-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

United States of America is going to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards. Major advantages include

It would make the financial statements of U.S. companies more comparable to those in other countries.

It would help capital from investors and banks flow more smoothly around the world.

American filers would be able to use more judgment in preparing financial information.

It would provide substantial benefit to some companies and, despite considerable expense, little or none to others.

It helps more freely move accounting staff from country to country and business to business.

Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks

2011-07-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

The stainless steel sinks are most commonly used in kitchens. These should be easily matched well with most appliances and easy to maintain. Good quality stainless steel kitchen sinks should be made from high quality steel with standardized Chromium to Nickel content ratio. Stainless steel kitchen sink has been increasing in popularity as people like the modern look they have. They are easy to clean, and as durable as porcelain. These sinks come in a wide variety of styles that match well with any contemporary home.

Stainless steel kitchen sinks are the most popular choice for today’s kitchens due to its clean look and durability. The beautiful brushed satin finish helps to hide small scratches that may occur over the lifetime of the sink. Our Stainless Steel sinks are made from high quality 16 gauge steel, which is 25% thicker than 18 gauge. Most models are made of one piece construction that ensures the sturdiest kitchen sink you will find. Our sinks are made from 304 steel with an 18/10 chromium/nickel content and are guaranteed not to rust or stain. Each sink is fully insulated and has a sound dampening pad. Our stainless steel sinks are backed by a limited lifetime warranty. Each sink comes with a cardboard cutout template and mounting hardware

MR Direct sells "Mr Direct" brand kitchen sinks. Their customers buy from them because they are better business bureau accredited, offer same day shipping, and offer extremely low prices.

Karzai’s Brother Killed by Guard in Kandahar Home

2011-07-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

The half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was assassinated by one of his security guards inside his house in Kandahar on Tuesday morning, a political killing that will reverberate widely through the country and could destabilize a key region in the U.S. military’s campaign against the Taliban, according to witnesses and Afghan officials.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the head of Kandahar’s provincial council who was widely considered the most powerful man in southern Afghanistan, had been meeting with tribal elders and politicians in his heavily fortified home in downtown Kandahar city when a security guard walked into his meeting room and requested a private discussion, according to two people at the house at the time. Karzai and the guard left for another room, and shortly afterwards three gunshots rang out.

Agha Lalai Destegeri, the deputy provincial council chief, who had been meeting with Karzai Tuesday morning, said he heard the gunfire and rushed in to find Karzai shot in the head, chest and hand.

Karzai’s other guards entered the room and shot and killed the gunman. His entourage drove the bleeding Karzai a short distance across town to Mirwais Hospital but he did not survive, Destegeri and other Afghan officials said.

“He was the number one man in Kandahar,” said Mir Wali Khan, a former parliament member from Helmand province who was at Karzai’s house at the time of the shooting. “We expect now the security of Kandahar will get worse, and the fighting among the tribes will grow stronger and stronger.”

Khan and Destegeri identified the shooter as Sardar Mohammad, who was from the Dand district of Kandahar province. They did not know how long he’d worked with Karzai, who employs a large team of guards and lives on a street barricaded by concrete blocks and manned by police.

Karzai has long been a controversial figure in Afghan politics. He rose to prominence as his brother assumed the presidency and profited off his position to establish a powerful grip on Kandahar, the home of the Taliban insurgency. He was regularly accused of participating in the opium trade and profiting from private security companies. He always adamantly denied these accusations and described them as motivated by his political enemies, of which there were many. Unlike the often tranquil atmosphere at the governor’s office, Karzai’s Kandahar home was a hive of activity, and clearly the center of political power, as tribal leaders, politicians, American diplomats and soldiers, came for his help and counsel.

Sales Coaching

2011-07-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

A sale can take place through direct sales, involving person to person contact, Pro forma sales, Agency-based (Sales agents , Sales outsourcing through direct branded representation, Transaction sales, Consultative sales, Complex sales, Consignment, Telemarketing or telesales, Retail or consumer), Traveling salesman (Door-to-door methods, hawking), Request for proposal (an invitation for suppliers, through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific product or service. An RFP usually represents part of a complex sales process, also known as "enterprise sales"), Electronic (Web – Business-to-business and business-to-consumer, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or through Indirect, human-mediated but with indirect contact and sales coaching.

However, among all sales through consultants are one of the best mode of selling our products and services. If you’re looking to hire a sales consultant, then you’ve come to the right place. Sales Overdrive is a sales consultancy focused on integrating a vast number of targeted services and sales accelerators, each with supporting processes and methods proven to be best-in-class over fifteen years of successful client experience. Their end-to-end business-to-business sales consulting solutions and sales coach team are tailored to your specific needs. Their clients see enormous returns on investment, and we can do the same for you.

Over 10,000 Pakistanis Applied For Asylum Last Year

2011-07-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

More than 10,000 Pakistanis (10,825 to be exact) filed applications for asylum in 44 countries last year. However, this year there has been a 4per cent decline in the trend, taking the country to the eighth spot in terms of number of asylum seekers.According to a report of the UN refugee agency, 11,287 Pakistanis sought asylum in industrialised countries in 2009. But the country’s share vis-à-vis the total number of asylum seekers remained 3.1 per cent.

A total of 358,800 asylum applications were lodged in industrialised countries in 2010, which was 5 per cent fewer than in 2009. According to the data published in ‘Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries, 2010’, by UNHCR on Monday, 6388 Pakistanis filed applications during July-December period as compared to 4,437 in January-June period.

Greece received the highest number of applications for asylum from Pakistanis, totalling 2748, followed by United Kingdom (2,115), France (890), Italy (814), United States (551), Canada (492), Australia (433), Austria (276), Ireland (200), South Korea (129), Switzerland (92), Japan (83), Spain (63) and the Netherlands ((60).

New countries where Pakistani nationals have filed asylum applications include Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Serbia (excluding Kosovo), Slovakia, Macedonia and Turkey.

UNHCR defines an asylum seeker as an individual who has sought international protection and whose claim for refugee status has not been determined. A person is considered a refugee if he or she fulfils criteria set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention, explains UNHCR.

In its report, the UN agency did not discuss circumstances which led people to seek asylum in industrialised countries. For Pakistanis, security situation, unemployment, poor economic conditions, lack of facilities and social injustices could be the main factors behind their decision to seek asylum in other countries.

The top five countries in this regard were Serbia (28,901), Afghanistan (24,769), China (21,645), Iraq (20,129) and Russian Federation (18,924).

New figures compiled in the report have shown a dramatic fall in the number of asy lum seekers in industrialised world over the last 10 years. A total of 358,800 asylum applications were lodged in industrialised countries in 2010, which was 5 per cent fewer than in 2009.

The top five asylum receiving countries in 2010 were the United States, France, Germany, Sweden and Canada. Together, they accounted for 56 per cent of all asylum applications.

UNHCR says it needs to study the root causes to see if the decline is because of fewer push factors in areas of origin or tighter migration control in countries of asylum.

Xlife Insurance

2011-07-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

Life insurance is important in protecting the financial well-being of your family and loved ones in the event that you pass away. It pays a lumps sum to your beneficiaries or to your estate. If you would like to compare life insurance quotes then looking online may be your best option. You can look at term life insurance policies and see which one best suits your needs. xlife offers up to 20% off all life insurance policies and compares life insurance for free!

In Australia, income protection insurance provides up to 75% of your income should you become ill or injured. Income protection can help pay your mortgage, rent, and living expenses. It also offers peace of mind knowing that if something tragic was to happen, you and any loved ones would be equipped with income to cope financially. xLife compares income protection insurance Australia wide and also offers up to 20% off.

Personal insurance in Australia refers to policies such as term life insurance, income protection insurance, and trauma insurance. Life insurance is important in protecting the financial well-being of your family and loved ones in the event that you pass away. It pays a lumps sum to your beneficiaries or to your estate. Income protection insurance provides up to 75% of your income should you become ill or injured. Income protection can help pay your mortgage, rent, and living expenses. Trauma insurance or trauma cover pays a lump sum in the event that you suffer from a medically diagnosed disease or condition as specified in a life insurance company’s product disclosure statement (PDS). xLife offers free personal insurance quotes, to help you find the best personal insurance quotes to suit your needs.

Telecommuting - an alternative

2011-07-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Emerging technological phenomenon called telecommuting (or telework) is changing focus from physical presence at the primary work site to what an employee can deliver. While the concept of telecommuting has been in existence for some time, the technological tools available today are making it possible to practice it more productively. The trend has steadily grown over the past two decades in the developed world.

Elsewhere, “Businesses that let 100 employees work half of their time from home can save more than $1 million a year’ according to Telework Research Network's latest study of telework programs and their benefits. This alone is one big incentive for local businesses to take advantage of the telecommuting work model.

In a job market where it is tough for employable workforce to find regular jobs what to talk of telecommute, the trend has yet not started. It is in this context that the telecommuting phenomenon is viewed here.

What is telecommuting? This is a work practice made possible by use of telecommunication and collaborative technologies to facilitate work at a site away from the traditional office location and environment. Employees enjoy flexibility in work place and time (within certain limits) and save the daily commute to a central place of work. The focus is that "work is something you do, not something you travel to".

Let me hasten to add that telecommuting is not only for computing related fields as it wrongly perceived sometime. Even a semester living stitching shirts for a foreign-based concern can be telecommuter rather than a contractual worker. Also there is a difference between freelancing, contract work and telecommuting.

The availability of bandwidth and fast Internet connections, social methodologies for balancing work control and work freedom, the perceived values and economies in telecommuting, the opportunities and need for working collaboratively are some of the factors that should be considered to view possibilities of the telecommuting picking up in our country.

Pakistan so far is a less connected country. Despite all whirls we are going through, majority of the areas are still without Internet coverage. Teledensity has increased but is far from being adequate. Corporate Pakistan has not yet embraced IT, exceptions (some of them very good) notwithstanding. No effects can be seen on ground or in term of revenues in the account books. What has been achieved by Pakistan IT industry and some end user futuristic concerns so far is nothing more than a scratch on the surface. Reasons are many: Resistance to change and lack of trust in technical solutions for business processes that has diverted IT employment from raising productivity by revolutionizing production methods and techniques and taping human resource potentials through cooperation and collaboration; tasks what IT is best at.

Moreover, the latest technologies have not been made use of due to lack of a standard business culture of strategic thinking and planning. These factors are inimical to the long-term investment in time and resources needed for IT to develop and deliver.

Another impediment that seems standing in the way of telecommuting picking up in Pakistan is societal rather than technological. In a number of ways corporate sector seems to have distrust in IT solution what to talk of shared ones. Dr. Professor Manzoor Ahmed, an international marketing expert, opines, "The generation at the helms of business affairs, mostly family run, thinks that what has been working for them in the past is good enough. They hesitate to take new incentives into the untested area. The strength of this social impulse reins back the widespread IT employment in any area." Other limitations with the flexible trend are poor or lack of necessary infrastructure, illiteracy, slow speed or non availability of Internet access or things like electric shutdowns."

Let us have a look at the users' base. The majority of the online community in our country is of medium users. This group includes everyone from those ‘whiz kids’ with ambitions and degrees from IT institutions and international certifications to self-taught - experienced professionals in their own respective fields - who have learnt to use the IT facilities at their own later in life. These users can perceive the modern technologies as a great leveler to work and make their lives better. But they do not find very many openings when it comes to putting their skills and experience to work on ground.

As of today, no university in Pakistan is teaching telecommunication courses to its business students. This subject should be included in all business programs as is being done in reputed business schools abroad. This will empower young graduate from local universities to take telecommuting opportunities abroad now and in local market when they come up in future.

Pakistan has a world-class workforce. Local businesses should plan to plunge in to telecommuting boldly. They already have opportunities of learning from the successful experiences in the developed countries by closely examining the work methodologies being implemented with success and at much lower costs. Before that, the public sector should focus on improving infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted supply of bandwidth, electricity and telephone everywhere. The potential employees should start learning and be ready to take up the openings when they come by. Meanwhile, all stakeholders should take extensive confidence building measures in the employment of information technology.

Hopes are that demand driven telecommunication will pick up here and Pakistan corporate sector will become telecommuting friendly. One wishes to see it happen as soon as possible. This has not started happening yet though.

Lali Khalid Photography

2011-07-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Have a look how Lali Khalid plays with lights and makes any subject a work of art. Comments here.

Aprons

2011-07-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

We all are so very well familiar with apons - one of the most useful items at home or work. We all have seen aprons clad ladies picking up hot dishes, feeding children, moping the floors or the medical staff that reminds about healing hands, or the sky queens serving you hot coffee while your are flying to your destinations. Also you might have seen garden parties where everyone hangs out in apron self cooking.

Product Impex offers a wide variety of aprons, including Bar Aprons, Bip Aprons, Bistro Aprons, Butcher Aprons, Cobblers Aprons, Dish Washing Aprons, Economy Aprons, Four Way Aprons, Kids Aprons, Money Pouch, Tools Aprons, Tuxedo Aprons, Vinyl Aprons, V Neck Aprons, Waist Aprons and Waterproof Aprons to name just a few. Most of Product Impex apron categories overlap and can be used for multi purposes.

What is more, Product Impex can make this most functional item called apron a fun. Ask them and they will add funny sayings and cartons, famous quotes and best of all your message or a logo and you can use them as promotion item. Have you thought of using aprons to make the work place lively or to reach out? No one can miss to view what is so funny about any nicely styled apron in any setting. Think of aprons in your own settings.

Christine Lagarde - New IMF Chief

2011-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Despite all the talk of an “open, merit-based and transparent” contest, there was little reason to doubt that Christine Lagarde—France’s finance minister, a former head of a big global law firm, and one-time member of her country’s synchronised-swimming team—would get the top job at the IMF. The European Union, whose members control around a third of the votes on the fund’s board, had united behind her as soon as she entered the fray.

Emerging markets made much of their desire to see a non-European take the job but conspicuously failed to rally around her only rival, Mexico’s Agustín Carstens. All that remained was for America formally to throw its weight behind Ms Lagarde. It did so on June 28th, and soon after the fund’s board confirmed that she would be its 11th managing director.

In most ways, her appointment is in keeping with past practice. Like all ten managing directors who have preceded her, Ms Lagarde is European and got the job largely because of support from the fund’s rich-world shareholders. But there are some differences as well.

Ms Lagarde will be the first woman to run the IMF. Given that the position opened up because the fund’s last head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was charged with attempted rape, this is no bad thing. More importantly, and unlike previous IMF bosses, Ms Lagarde takes the job when Europe itself is the fund’s biggest client. Establishing and maintaining her independence from her former euro-area colleagues—whose support was crucial to her landing the role—will be a more important task for her than for her predecessors.

That will determine whether she succeeds in fulfilling the vision she outlined in her first official comments after being selected. In those remarks, Ms Lagarde stressed that she would seek to ensure that the IMF was “relevant, responsive, effective and legitimate”. On the first two counts she should have a relatively smooth ride. The IMF’s relevance may have been in doubt during the boom years but the crisis has seen it return decisively to centre stage. Contributions from its members have tripled its pre-crisis lending capacity, which now exceeds $750 billion. This increased firepower has allowed it to respond swiftly in 22 countries since the crisis. Having more money has also enabled it to offer financing on more flexible terms than before.

Oakley Sunglasses

2011-06-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They also help cancel out harmful UV rays from the sun. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that are colored, polarized or darkened. Many people find direct sunlight too bright for comfort during outdoor activities. Healthcare professionals recommend eye protection whenever the sun comes out to protect the eyes from ultraviolet radiation (UV) and blue light, which can cause several serious eye problems. Sunglasses have long been associated with celebrities and film actors primarily from a desire to mask their identity. Since the 1940s sunglasses have been popular as a fashion accessory, especially on the beach.

Oakley Sunglasses is the leader in performance eyewear. From the Iconic Frogskins to the Sporty M Frame everyone wants a pair of oakley sunglasses. Shawn White, Juan Pablo Montoya, Lance Armstrong and more. Oakley sponsors the tops name in Americas favorite sports. Zephyr Sports offers Free Shipping on all order over $25. A wide range of sunglasses and discount oakley sunglasses are also available to Police and Military personnel.

Economic and Business Updates - From 6th to 12th June, 2011

2011-06-14T02:18:00.000-07:00

SINDH Assembly unanimously passes the Thar Coal and Energy Board Bill, 2011 into law aimed at utilising huge coal reserves to meet the country’s soaring energy demand and attracting foreign investment in coal mining and power generation projects in the province.

OWING to rising public sector development constraints, the government decides to constitute a 10member high-level interagency forum to pursue implementation of major infrastructure projects by the private sector, particularly involving international firms, to reduce delays and cost overruns.

THE Audit Report 2010-11 on the accounts of Water and Power Development Authority shows that only four power supplying companies Gepco, Fesco, Iesco and Lesco — are making profits while other 10 companies incurring losses.

THE net revenue effect of the taxation and administrative measures will be around Rs23 billion during the fiscal year 2011-12.

THE federal cabinet directs the finance ministry to withdraw free electricity facility to about 176,000 employees of Wapda/Pepco, a longstanding demand of the lawmakers.

CHINA’S Three Gorges Project Corporation has proposed a $15 billion hydropower scheme to Pakistan to dam the Indus river valley at several points in a project aimed at controlling floods and tackling electricity shortages, reports Financial Times.

THE Sindh Assembly unanimously passes into law the Sindh Sales Tax on Services Bill, 2011, enabling the provincial government o levy and collect sales tax on services from July 1.

FBR Chairman Salman Siddique admits that tax evasion hit 79 per cent in current fiscal year and says it will have to be reduced to achieve the revenue target set for 2011-12.

THE board of directors of the Karachi Stock Exchange decides to allow individuals to lend in Margin Trading System with 10 per cent tax rate as full and final.

THE 200-page Flood Inquiry Commission report discloses that the country suffers a loss of Rs855 billion, which is 5.8 per cent of GDP in 2010-11.

THE government decides to change the composition of the Planning Commission and will induct as members one nominee of each province to formulate national plans in line with their provincial development and planning priorities.

THE federal cabinet allows the finance ministry to set up independent commissions to analyse expenditures and removal of disparity in allowance structure.

AUDITOR General of Pakistan detects irregularities, embezzlements and mismanagement of Rs3.16 billion in Post Office Department.

Exotic Flooring

2011-06-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

Maintaining a home is fine art. Choosing the right products, whether for a new house project or renovation, you need to know how floor will look while in place. Flooring can be best done in solid wood and being the hardest and most durable woods. Thanks to Hardwood Flooring Unfinished - a company specializing in unfinished hardwood flooring - that they offer a great range of Solid Oak Flooring. What is more, they offer the best prices and quality. Engage them and you will have guaranteed satisfaction. Easy Step Flooring also offers advice.

Explore their neatly laid out and information rich site and see what they are offering unfinished domestic flooring and how. Have a look at their Products and Online Store section and choose what suites your taste. Given my personal preference.

They have been selling and installing hardwood, laminate flooring, and stair parts since 1992. All main offices, showrooms, and warehouses are located in Florida, but ever since retail expanded to the internet, we have grown greatly and presently have 70 warehouses, ports, and mills in the United States. Their presence allows them to ship all over the country and to foreign markets. They have become a national leading online seller of unfinished and unfinished exotic flooring and of factory seconds, or value flooring. Our unfinished and exotic hardwoods are shipped directly from ports, finishing plants, or mills, allowing us to cut prices and still offer warranties. About $30,000 is sold per day in flooring and stair treads.

Money Market, Forex and General Upadtes - 13-06-2011

2011-06-14T01:43:00.000-07:00

Money Market Updates

Money market opened at 12.25/11.75 with a high of 12.50 and low of 11.30. Market closed at 12.25. State Bank conducted an open market operation today with a mop up of Rs.34.5 billion from the participation of Rs.40 billion for 3 days at the rate of 12.04.

Forex Updates

U.S. crude oil settled at $99.29 a barrel, down $2.64, after earlier falling to a session low at $98.60. Brent crude settled 79 cents lower at $118.78 a barrel, having risen to $120.07 earlier, the highest since May 5. Dollar Market interbank opened at 85.75/80 with a high of 85.78 and a low of 85.68. Market closed at 85.67/69

General Updates

To reduce dependence on International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the government has decided to float foreign sovereign bonds of $1.5 billion during the next three years under its medium term budgetary framework. the priorities fixed for the next three fiscal years 2011-14 with the fiscal deficit would be bridged through non-bank borrowing. For meeting the requirements $ 500 million foreign sovereign bonds would be floated each year during the next three fiscals. Similarly, rupee denominated sovereign bonds of estimated Rs95 billion would be floated during the next three fiscal years. The investment target for National Savings Schemes has been set at Rs151 billion, Rs170 billion, Rs190 billion respectively for the next three

fiscal years as compared to Rs248 billion target for the current fiscal year. Pakistan is likely to achieve record exports of around $25 billion at the conclusion of the current fiscal year. Though the major contributor in this endeavor has been the textile sector given escalating prices in the international market, other sectors have also made noteworthy contributions to the historical figure. With an increase of almost 28.2 per cent during July 2010 to May 2011, Pakistan’s export value has jumped to over $24 billion against the $17.509 billion export figure recorded during the corresponding period last year.

Restaurant Furniture

2011-06-14T01:31:00.000-07:00

If you do not want to go to just one factory, you may want to do a bit of shopping around, so going to a few factory shops is the most important thing to finding wholesale restaurant furniture, this way you can also play different factory shops against each other to get a better price out of one of them. To do this, you will have to make sure that the two shops are in the same area.

If you are not the type of shop at factory shops, you will find some good deals at home decor shops. Playing stores like these against each other will prove to be a bit difficult, as these places usually have a set price and a higher power to answer to. The nice thing about a place like this is that you get very good looking pieces of furniture, buying in bulk at a lot of these places could also be a problem.

When you looking for discount restaurant furniture you should take a look at some catering stores and factory outlets. These places almost always stock tons of restaurant chairs, restaurant tables, bar counters, and more specifically for restaurants. They will also offer you a discount for bulk orders and you can even get great deals on other items you might need like restaurant chairs and other accessories.

Have a look at Restaurant Seating Direct - a wholesale restaurant furniture supplier providing everything from aluminum bar stools to outdoor patio table tops. Delivering commercial quality restaurant furniture direct from the manufacturer with some of the finest imported designs Restaurant Seating Direct features a huge selection of restaurant tables, chairs, bar stools and lounge furnishings.

Budget Salient Features - Income Tax

2011-06-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

1. For the welfare of individuals with low income earnings, the basic exemption limit is proposed to be enhanced from Rs.300,000/- to Rs.350,000/-. However individual taxpayers whose normal income is between Rs.300,000/- to Rs.350,000/- shall be required to file return of income and statement, for the purposes of documentation.

2. In order to encourage enhanced equity financing, and to provide relief to new corporate industrial undertakings established on or after 1st July 2011, with 100% equity financing, a tax credit equal to 100% of tax payable is proposed. The existing companies may also take benefit under this arrangement if investment in BMR is financed through their 100% equity, on or after by 1st July 2011.

3. The rate of tax deductible on Cash Withdrawals from Banks is proposed to be reduced to 0.2% from existing 0.3%, for bringing in improvement in the liquidity position of eligible taxpayers.

4. In order to harmonize the existing tax credits available to individuals for investment in shares and for premium paid to Insurance Company, the maximum cumulative limit for both the investments is fixed @ 15% of the taxable income, with maximum upper limit for investment upto five hundred thousand.

5. Tax relief is proposed to be provided to withdrawals exceeding Rs.500,000/-from a Voluntary Pension Fund.

6. For encouraging companies’ enlistment on stock exchange, the existing tax credit equal to 5% is proposed to be enhanced to 15%.27. For the national cause of Broadening of Tax Base and utilization of third party databases, NTN and CNIC of eligible taxpayers are proposed to be provided expressly alongwith other particulars, in the withholding tax statements filed by withholding agents.

8. For the purpose of identification of eligible taxpayers, the requirement of mandatory filing of return of income by the commercial and Industrial consumers of electricity with annual billing above one million rupees, is proposed. This measure will also help in Broadening of Tax Base in the country.

9. In order to discourage the practice of arbitrage by banks for receiving ‘dividends’ from Asset Management Companies, the rate of tax on such return is proposed to be enhanced from 10% to 20%.

10. For encouraging investments made by non-residents in Government Securities, the withholding tax on profit on debt deductible @ 10% is proposed to be a final tax. This measure will relieve the non-residents from the statutory requirement of filing of return of income, and will boost national economy.

11. The withholding tax on profit on debt deductible @ 10% arising from investment in Government securities by individual is also proposed to be a final tax. This measure will relieve such taxpayers from the statutory requirement of filing of return of income, and will also encourage domestic investments in the Government Securities.

12. After imposition of capital gain tax on Modarba certificates and instruments of redeemable capital traded at stock exchange through Finance Act 2010, the 0.01% CVT on such instruments is proposed to be withdrawn in order to encourage their trade.

Economic and Business Updates - From 23rd to 29th May, 2011

2011-05-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

The government finalises a consolidated budget of Rs3.854 trillion for the next financial year, envisaging revenue of Rs2.787 trillion, fiscal deficit of Rs912 billion and provincial transfers of Rs1.224 trillion.

Non-Performing loans post a phenomenal surge of Rs100 billion to hit an all time high of Rs548 billion by the end of last calendar year, posing new challenges and credit risks to growing banking industry.

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council approves 53 projects worth Rs478 billion, with a foreign exchange component of Rs172 billion in socio-economic sectors.

The federal budget FY12 will stipulate a three-tier sales tax system of zero, five and 17 per cent, while maintaining higher rates for certain specific industries such as telecom and steel smelters.

The Economic Survey 2010-11 prepared by the finance ministry indicates that the economy will grow only by 2.4 per cent during the current year, against the target of 4.5 per cent.

The Asian Development Bank will disburse $200 million to Pakistan before the end of the current fiscal year.

The Federal Board of Revenue provisionally collects Rs1,257 billion during July-May 2010-11 against downward revised annual target of Rs1,588 billion reflecting a shortfall of Rs331 billion.

Foreign investors repatriate $650 million abroad on account of profit and dividend in July-April period of fiscal year compared with $609 million of corresponding period of last year depicting an increase of $41 million.

The government is expected to abolish reduced rate of 4-6 per cent sales tax on local supplies made to unregistered persons of five zero-rated sectors for restoration of standard rate of 17 per cent on sales of these sectors from 2011-12.

The government is considering a proposal to increase the rate of general sales tax from 17 to 30 per cent for industrial and commercial users of electricity in the next budget to raise additional revenue.

Due to upward revision in furnace oil prices, the National Power Regulatory Authority approves Rs1.07 per unit increase in power tariff across the board except for those who consume up to 50 units a month.

The Islamabad High Court dismisses the writ petition filed by the Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited against the Competition Commission of Pakistan regarding conditional approval for the acquisition of Agritech.

The Board of Investment proposes to set up a new Japan-specific special economic zone in the Sindh Economic Zone offering one million acres of government land with direct access to Port Qasim.

Her Budget

2011-05-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

On the eve of announcement of annual federal budget (June 4, 2011), instead of predicting and analyzing the realities after sifting from budgetary rhetoric this year I took a chance to see how people make their personal budgets. Or do they, in the first place?

I asked people from different segments of our multi-classed society to account for their monthly income and spending. All the accounts were very revealing. This is the story that moved every one.

An old lady named Suban, in her late 70s may be, she did not know her age, lives alone with no male member to look her after. Having lived all her life in the remote village in district Chitral, her total possession is three goats she had. She takes them out for grazing every day and also performs other domestic chores single-handed. She is healthy, active and happy with life. I once asked her about how she manages her expanses (read budget)? On lot of coaxing she said, "I will be happier if my goat delivers three lambs this time." Surprised, I asked her to explain. She said, "I will sell the lambs and put a new roof on my home and will sell all the milk to live comfortably!" Her budget is simpler but life certainly is tough.

Monetary Policy Decision

2011-05-21T03:29:00.000-07:00

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to keep its policy rate unchanged at 14 percent. This decision was taken at a meeting of the Central Board of Directors of State Bank of Pakistan held under the chairmanship of SBP Governor Shahid H. Kardar in Karachi today.

For the economy to grow on sustainable basis, the debt burden to become manageable and inflation to come down to single digits, the private productive activity and investment will have to increase considerably and quickly, the State Bank of Pakistan said in its Monetary Policy Decision.

It said that this will require government borrowings from the banking system to subside to create space for private sector credit, which in turn would need satisfactory implementation of the aforementioned fiscal reforms.

The government is mindful of fiscal pressures and has expressed its resolve to address these issues, especially the containment of the fiscal deficit, SBP said and added that the budget for FY12 is expected to reflect this commitment. In this context and after incorporating the improved external position SBP has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 14 percent for another two months, SBP concluded.

Following is the complete text of the Monetary Policy Decision:

“A careful analysis of Pakistan’s current economic conditions reveals a mixed situation. Led by strong export earnings and robust growth in remittances, the external current account position has surpassed all earlier projections. This has helped the SBP in building foreign exchange reserves and accumulating Net Foreign Assets (NFA), which contributed in keeping the foreign exchange market stable and provided rupee liquidity in the system. However, key challenges remain in the shape of persistent inflation, weak economic growth and private investment, and a large budget deficit. In such circumstances, SBP is endeavouring to strike a delicate balance to address the multiplicity of considerations in formulating the monetary policy stance such as containing inflation, promoting private productive economic activity, and keeping financial markets stable.

The remarkable improvement in the external current account, a surplus of $748 million during July-April, FY11, has been a major positive development. Given the turmoil in global economic conditions, especially in the export-destination and remittance-generating economies, there were expectations of an external current account deficit. However, a spectacular rise in international cotton prices has boosted exports, which are expected to exceed $25 billion in FY11. This together with consistently rising flow of remittances helped neutralize import and other payments. More importantly, despite falling financial account inflows, $0.5 billion during July-April, FY11 compared to $3.7 billion in the corresponding period of last year, SBP’s foreign exchange reserves have increased to $13.7 billion by 18th May, 2011 and are expected to increase further by end-June 2011.

Nevertheless, caution needs to be exercised while assessing the outlook of the overall balance of payment position. The main reasons for this prudence include the sharp decline in international cotton prices in the last two months, likely continuation of oil prices at around $100 per barrel, and debt obligations that are due in FY12. Barring any unforeseen developments, these factors together with the continued suspension of IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which has implications for other financial inflows, imply that the stellar performance of the external account may be difficult to sustain. Therefore, maintaining the current upward trajectory of SBP’s foreign exchange reserves would be a challenging task.

The repercussions of uncertain foreign inflows may not be limited to the external sector. Deviations in the baseline estimates could affect the net external budgetary financing as well as the monetary projections. A similar scenario did play out in this fiscal year with implications for monetary management. For instance, government borrowings from the banking system have increased significantly, partly due to the shortfall in external financing and partly due to the increase in the fiscal deficit on account of security spending, the impact of unprecedented floods and the recent one-off adjustment of Rs120 billion to address the issue of ‘old stock’ of the circular debt of the power sector. During 1st July – 7th May, FY11 incremental government borrowing from the banking system, including SBP, for budgetary support was Rs614 billion; a year-on-year growth of 28.3 percent. The borrowings from SBP explain almost 80 percent of the expansion in reserve money while total banking system budgetary borrowings explain 95 percent of the expansion in M2.

Demonstrating its commitment the government retired its borrowings from the SBP in Q3-FY11 and by end-March 2011 the stock of these borrowings (on cash basis) had come down to Rs1155 billion. The recent increase in these borrowings is temporary and a reflection of the government’s efforts to internalize the growing quasi-fiscal expense related to the circular debt of the energy sector. The SBP has already shifted a portion of this borrowing, Rs61 billion, to the market through an outright Open Market Operation (OMO) and expects that government borrowing will soon converge to the end-September 2010 level, Rs1290 billion, as committed by the government.

The year-on-year growth in both reserve money and M2 remains close to 15.5 percent and may increase further by the end of FY11, which would be higher than SBP’s earlier projections. The magnitude of such borrowings poses a challenge for effective liquidity management with implications for inflation in FY12. Though the CPI inflation of 13 percent in April 2011 is lower than the flood-induced peak of 15.7 percent in September 2010, its persistence is a source of concern. The 12-month moving average of 20-percent trimmed measure of core inflation has continued to move between 11.5 and 12.5 percent in the last one year. Nonetheless, the average CPI inflation for FY11 is likely to remain between 14 and 14.5 percent, which is lower than SBP’s earlier projections.

Another consequence of government’s growing borrowing needs, both current and expected, is that the private sector credit has been squeezed out in terms of banks’ allocation of system’s deposits. By 7th May, 2011, the year-on-year growth in private sector credit, which was mostly due to working capital needs, was 3.2 percent and that of total deposits was 15.3 percent. The basic intermediation function of scheduled banks is being constrained as the fiscal deficit and the commodity operations of the government are financed by deposits at the cost of declining private sector investment. The recently released provisional National Income Accounts reveal that real private investment expenditure registered a decline of 3.1 percent while real private consumption growth was 7 percent, leading to a growth of 5.9 percent in total domestic demand.

These developments highlight a predicament faced by the economy. The rising total debt, Rs11.2 trillion by end-March 2011, and its servicing is demanding an increasing portion of fiscal revenues. At the same time, the GDP growth rate of below 4 percent over the past four years appears to be highly correlated with declining real private investment expenditure and driven by consumption demand. This coupled with severe energy shortages is negatively affecting the utilization and expansion of the economy’s productive capacity. This implies that the output gap – the difference between aggregate domestic demand and the supply – is perhaps widening again, making it difficult to bring inflation down. Thus, along with rising debt the economy seems to have settled at a low-growth-high inflation equilibrium.

The solution to these outcomes rests with wide-ranging fiscal reforms that restore the economy back towards the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act (2005). In particular, there is an urgent need to address the issue of the falling and single-digit tax to GDP ratio. The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collection was Rs1156 billion during July-April, FY11 and it is confident that it will realize additional revenues from the measures announced in March 2011. Plans to consolidate them are being considered along with the announcement of new measures in the forthcoming budget. However, because of the recent adjustment of old dues reflected in the stock of the circular debt of the power sector, the fiscal deficit for FY11 is likely to increase by approximately 0.7 percent of GDP over the revised deficit target of 5.5 percent. The final outcome will depend upon the realization of the targets of FBR revenues and provincial surpluses.

For a sustainable fiscal path revenue-enhancing measures need to be complemented with renewed efforts to stem the leakages in the tax system, bring a wider range of incomes in the tax net, and effective expenditure control measures, especially the removal of untargeted and distortionary subsidies. These initiatives will be critical for reducing the stress on the fiscal position and to encourage entrepreneurship in the economy.

In conclusion, for the economy to grow on sustainable basis, the debt burden to become manageable and inflation to come down to single digits, the private productive activity and investment will have to increase considerably and quickly. This will require government borrowings from the banking system to subside to create space for private sector credit, which in turn would need satisfactory implementation of the aforementioned fiscal reforms. The government is mindful of fiscal pressures and has expressed its resolve to address these issues, especially the containment of the fiscal deficit. The budget for FY12 is expected to reflect this commitment. In this context and after incorporating the improved external position SBP has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 14 percent for another two months.”

2011 Year of Pak China Friendship

2011-05-19T02:56:00.000-07:00

The State Bank of Pakistan will start issuing Rs. 20 Commemorative Coin through the exchange counters of all the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation from 21st May, 2011. This is in line with the Federal Government’s decision to issue the coin to commemorate the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China as well as to celebrate the “2011 Year of Pak China Friendship”.

The metal composition, shape, dimension and design of Rs. 20 commemorative coin are as under:

Metal Composition: Cupro Nickel, Copper 75%, Nickel 25%.

Diameter: 30 mm.

Weight: 9.5 grams.

Obverse:

The waxing crescent moon and a five pointed star facing north-west in rising position is in the center on the obverse side of the coin. Along with periphery on the top of the crescent star is inscribed in wording Islami Jamhoria Pakistan in Urdu script. Below the crescent and at the top of two springs of wheat with arms curved upward, there is the year of issuance 2011. The face value of the coin in numeral ‘20’ in bold letters and Rupee in Urdu Script are written on the right and left sides of crescent star respectively. A circle of sixty small beads is all along the edge of the coin.

Reverse:

On the reverse side of the coin, ”60” is inscribed in numeral wording in bold letters. The wording “2011 YEAR OF PAK CHINA FRIENDSHIP” in English is written on the top of coin along with the periphery. Wording in numeral “1951-2011” at the bottom of the coin and above it, a handshake is depicted. A circle of sixty small beads is all along the edge of the coin.

Money Market, Forex and General Upadtes - 26-04-2011

2011-04-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Money Market Updates:

Money market interbank opened at 11.25 percent offer rate with a high of 11.25 and a low of 11.00. State Bank also conducted an open market operation in which it mopped up Rs11.3 billion at the rate of 12.10 percent for three days to control the market liquidity. Market closed at 11.00 percent which shows that the open market operation wa not successful.

Forex Market Updates:

Interbank dollar market opened at 84.50/55 with a high of 84.70and low of 84.46. Dollar has been showing a deprecating trend sich a month and is now gradually showing an appreciating trend due to few oil payments in the market. Interbank closed at 84.64/68.

General Market Updates:

During Jul-Feb FY11, Pakistan's current account deficit was only $98.0 million against $3,027 million in the corresponding period in FY10. The improvement in the current account has pushed Pakistan's FX reserves to record highs, while the PKR remains stable.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), for the week ended on April 21 for the lowest income group up to Rs.3,000 has registered a nominal increase of 0.11 percent over the previous week.

Pakistan's liquid foreign reserves increased by $ 58.8 million to $ 17.3761 billion on April 16, at the back of rising home remittances and exports receipts. The foreign reserves with SBP stood at $ 13.9096 billion while the net foreign reserves held by banks went up to $ 3.4665 billion.

The government on Wednesday raised a staggering sum of Rs232 billion from the banking system reflecting its increased dependence on borrowed money while the eagerness of the banks to invest in the security papers was also visible. However, the government has now been making extensive borrowing from the scheduled banks offering risk-free return of up to 13.8 per cent.

Tramadol - Way of Getting Pain Relief

2011-04-22T03:26:00.000-07:00

Tramadol one of the drugs used to treat pain which human body may feel for different reasons including injury, disease, or even, mental disorder. Those who want to buy Tramadol should learn all about the drug and how to use and should always make an informed health decision?

Users need to know all about Tarmadol before making a purchase of the drug. Can you buy tramadol online ? for answer to this question, search online and you will find online pharmacies where you can get the drug. Looking up online I came across a place where one can get cheaptramadol no prescription. Have a look and find how.

You may be having excruciating, agonizing and horrifying pain but wise is to buy any medicine only after consulting a medical doctor. Only a doctor is the best person to prescribe what a patient needs and how much and for how long. Self medication is always dangerous and may have bad health repercussions. Users should then take the drug exactly as advised by their doctors who know better than what is given in general literature about overnight tramadol given in guides and accompanying literature. It is always the best to take good care and act on the advice to avoid any serious problems later on.

This goes without saying that shopping online is much cheaper than physically going to store fronts and making a purchase. The cost of physical shopping includes cost of maintaining a store and the staff in addition to so many other over head expenses. The cost will be much lower than buying the same drug from front stores. In addition to getting cheap drug, online shopping saves hassle and time.

The World's Biggest Weapons Suppliers

2011-03-24T02:23:00.001-07:00

Three quarters of global arms exports were supplied by just five countries between 2006 and 2010, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think-tank. The volume of such exports rose by almost 25% compared with 2001-05. SIPRI counts the deliveries of large conventional weapons, each of which is assigned a value according to cost, strategic importance and other criteria. The two biggest importers of arms over the past five years, India and China, both bought over 80% of their weapons from Russia. The third- and fourth-biggest importers, South Korea and Pakistan, favoured American-made items.

Adwords Management

2011-03-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

You know that customers are searching for you. But how? Are they on Google or Facebook? Where do they live? What keywords do they punch in when they want you? What about when they need you? You could look into each of these channels, spending theirs ensuring their ads, listings and profiles are accurate and effective. Or you could look into Deluxe, for affordable ways to get the most of their online presence—and effective ways to get found.

Just tell adwords management a little about your selves, and they’ll find what it takes to get you searched. Their keyword strategies determine the market value of pay-per-click keywords, and their value to you. Geographic proximity will always be a determining factor for buying decisions. Their Geo-targeting technology gets their name in front of their closest customers. Their user-friendly dashboard lets you track their campaign’s performance in real-time to help determine exactly how leads turn into sales.

Spring festivities

2011-03-20T21:17:00.001-07:00

With Monika Kuppler in Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka busy with series of her pottery workshops and Dr. Norbert Pintsch also in the village, Thatta Kedona spring activities are picking up.

Work is in progress at different projects in addition to electricity by kites project. Thekedar Iqbal from Harappa is busy in various the repair work, a group of students from Women College University is expected to come and spend a day in the village. Flowers and decorative trees will be handed over to residents under ‘one boy one tree’ program.

While this is happening in the village, dolls and toys from Thatta Kedona are on display at Alhamra Art Gallery with the collaboration of Daachi-Foundation. Large number of friends of dolls came to visit Thatta Kedona stall at Alhamra Art Gallery.

Daachi Foundation mela has a message to create an atmosphere of harmony, tolerance, unity among the nation by establishing a peaceful society and promotion of traditional art and crafts. The mela not only entertained the masses but also provided an opportunity to know about the traditional arts and crafts and to bring them closed the real culture of this land. A large number of Lahorites along with their families visited the festival with full zeal.

Mud Village in Lahore

2011-03-18T04:11:00.000-07:00

Concept of shifting to mud architecture is creating waves in Pakistan. It is heartening to know that a lot is happening to convert this concept in to a reality in the form of proposed Mud Village, Peerzada Festival Area, Lahore.

Mud is an excellent construction material. It is being used as a building material since prehistoric times. Mud structures can still be found in a variety of climates across the globe; In Pakistan, it is most strongly associated with rural culture. The idea of mud building is now coming to urban areas. Construction of model mud village in Lahore is the case in point.

Society for the Promotion of Art and Culture (SPARC), registered in Lahore since 1994, is starting construction of mud village for handicraft men. Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch (Senior Expert Service Bonn, Germany) is planning to coordinating the project and giving it a practical shape.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch is an experienced architect by profession is very passionate about mud architecture. Since completing first building project as an architect at the age of 18, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch has been in various activities as an architect and civil engineer all his life.

In addition, Iqbal, a local builder from Harrapa, Ghayyoor Obaid, a famous architect, Peerzada Festival Area, a concern that is providing space for construction of mud village near world famous Puppetry Museum are also involved in the project. Beacon House University, Department of Architecture and Building Research Institute are also likely to participate.

It is not good enough to assume that “everything from the past is good. It is necessary to show,” says Dr. Norbert Pintsch who is very passionate about the project. Like national University in Colombia where students practice construction with local materials like bamboo and wood, the project will give an opportunity to the students of Beacon House University to practice what they have been learning while adapting the construction technique mixed with appropriate technology in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch never gets tired of talking about his passion and, given my own interest, I don’t get tired of listening about the details of the project. Please stay tuned and I will endeavor to bring every detail as the project unfolds.

UOG Convocation 2011

2011-03-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

The University of Gujrat Second Convocation 2011

The University of Gujrat Second Convocation 2010

Egyptian Army Tells Protesters to ‘Go Home’

2011-03-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

The Egyptian army called Wednesday for an end to the massive demonstrations that have rocked Cairo for more than a week and shaken President Hosni Mubarak’s decades-old grip on power. With Mubarak promising to step down after elections this fall, military spokesman Ismail Etman said in a state television address that the protesters should focus on “returning normal life to Egypt.” A printed message broadcast on state television said protesters should “go home.”

However, protesters who are demanding Mubarak’s ouster showed no signs of dispersing. Large crowds continued to gather in downtown’s Tahrir Square, Cairo’s central plaza.

Shortly before noon, Internet service was restored in Egypt, after having been blocked by the government for several days in what turned out to be a futile attempt to prevent the demonstrations.

Roller Blinds

2011-03-09T00:12:00.000-08:00

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PSO Stops Fuel Supplies to Power Companies

2011-02-18T02:40:00.000-08:00

The cash-starved Pakistan State Oil (PSO) cut off fuel supplies to power companies on Thursday for non-payment of dues in a bid to avoid default as its overdraft touched Rs.40 billion. The PSO has been supplying approximately 23,000 MT furnace oil to the power companies on daily basis.

The last payment was received on January 7 from the power companies. We have received no further payments despite several rounds of meetings, which forced us to stop plug supplies to the copmanies, including Wapda, Kapco and Hubco.

The PSO's total receivables have swelled to Rs 158. 65 billion, including Rs 47.22 billion from Wapda, Rs 73.29 billion from Hubco and Rs 28.86 billion from Kapco. If we do not get these dues we will not be able to pay Rs.85 billion to the refineries or Rs 43 billion to the international suppliers and likely default in payments against letters of credit.

The PSO had exhausted all its resources for financing future product supplies as it was not able to make timely payments to its suppliers due to non-payment from the power companies.The official said the PSO as the country's largest energy company was cognizant of its responsibilities and had supplied furnace oil uninterruptedly to the power companies in the past.

But the daunting circular debt and mounting receivables forced the company to suspend supplies. He said despite such challenges the PSO has posted sound results in the first half of financial year 2010-11. The company has marked history as after tax its earnings recorded at Rs 7.13 billion in first half of the financial year 2010-11 in comparison to Rs 5.08 billion in the same period of FY 2009-10 despite the circular debt which stood at Rs 127 billion at December 31, 2010. The company's sales revenue for the given period reached Rs 427 billion as compared to Rs. 414 billion during the corresponding period last year.

Logo and Design

2011-02-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

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Forex and General Upadtes - 28-01-2011

2011-01-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

Forex Market Updates

Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves increased to an all-time high $17.3 billion level on the constant inflows of remittance, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) latest statistic said on Thursday. On January 22, the foreign reserves held by central bank amounted to $ 3.7391 billion whereas net reserves deposited by banks other than SBP stood at $ 3.561 billion. Last week, the total foreign exchange reserves stood at $17.2816 billion.

General Updates

UBL is Pakistan’s second largest private bank. In 2002, a consortium consisting of Bestway Group and Abu Dhabi Group acquired 51 percent of UBL shares together with management rights and control of bank through Government of Pakistan’s privatization process. Consortium currently owns 61.37 percent of bank with Bestway Group at 31.07 percent and Abu Dhabi Group at 30.30 percent. After this investment, management rights and control of bank will continue to remain within the same consortium. No changes are

being made in senior management or in board of directors.

Qubee, a 100 percent shareholder subsidiary of Augere, has planned to expand its advanced Internet technology to reach millions of customers in several new cities with the handsome investment of $150 million by end 2011.

Refineries have increased prices of lube base oil by 15 percent in the past four months. The new increase would result into Rs 8-10 per litre price hike of all lubricants. He said since December, this is third time that base oil prices have been increased without any justification or taking lubricants manufacturers into confidence. It is said that the Refineries have created artificial shortage of base oil in the local market, which is causing price increase.

Money Market Updates

The spread of the banking sector has slightly declined by one basis point (bps) to 7.46 percent in the outgoing calendar year 2010 as compared to 7.47 percent in 2009. The average lending rate for the year 2010 stood at 13.39 percent as against 13.98 percent in 2009; while average deposit rate stood at 5.93 percent as compared with 6.51 percent in 2009. In December, spread on outstanding loans averaged 7.61 percent year-on-year, up 26 bps from last year. The lending rate was up 3 bps on yearly basis, while deposits rate was

down 23 bps to 5.91 percent. On a monthly basis, spread rose seven bps from 7.54 percent in November 2010. Up-tick in spread, especially in the later part of the year, is likely to aid Net Interest Margins (NIM) of banks

General, Money Market and Forex Updates - 25-01-2011

2011-01-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

General Updates

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hoped to help secure lucrative investment deals worth $15 billion on a trip to India this week. “The investment value is $15 billion, which includes cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing, natural resources and services.

Pakistan and Japan on Friday signed an agreement under which Japan would provide a soft loan of US $ 233 million for development projects in Pakistan. Under the arrangement, Japan will provide a soft loan of US $ 233 million of which $60 million and $173 million would be for budgetary support and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Road Project respectively. This support is out of a total of $500 million pledged by Japan during the Pakistan Development Forum 2010.

The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan and a $35 million grant for Pakistan to help vulnerable communities in areas rocked by conflict. The loan announced Thursday aims to bolster Pakistan’s recovery efforts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Money Market Updates

Money market Interbank opened at 13.00/25 closed at 13.90 with a high of 13.90 and low of 13.00. Due to the liquidity crunch in the market the rate could not go down today due to which market had to stay near the upper limit of the discount rate although it did not touch the floor.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued injecting liquidity into the money market that, analysts believe, is faced with liquidity crunch due to the rupee blockade as non-performing loans (NPL) mount and excessive government borrowing from the scheduled banks takes a toll. The state bank, in its fifth reverse repo open market operation of the month in the Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds, injected some Rs 8.0 billion into the banking system on Saturday. The Saturday’s auction was preceded by four others conducted by the central bank on the 6th, 15th, 17th and 21st of this month to inject a sum of over Rs 92.35 billion into the inter-bank market in the short span of 16 days. One major reason of this injection in the market is the non performing loan increase in the credit market which has cause a big liquidity crunch.

Forex Updates

The monthly average of remittances for the July-December 2010 period comes out to $881.90 million as compared to $755.04 million during the same corresponding period of the last fiscal year, registering an increase of 16.80 percent.

The country’s trade deficit went up by over 18 per cent in the first half (July-December) of current fiscal year 2010-11 against the corresponding period of the last year, as it was recorded at $ 8.150 billion against $ 6.895 billion in the same period of 2009-10.

Energy Intensity Is Converging Across The World

2011-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

The energy required to produce a unit of GDP is falling in most countries around the world. As countries industrialise, energy-intensive businesses make up a bigger share of the economy. Peaks generally correlate to the high point of heavy industry, before lighter industry and higher value-added businesses (such as services) begin to replace old-fashioned smokestack manufacturers. This often coincides with gains in energy efficiency, too. According to BP’s "Energy Outlook 2030", published on January 19th, globalisation will lead to a similar level of "energy intensity" across the globe by 2030, despite wild divergence in the past, as energy is traded freely and consumption trends and technologies spread.

Second Homes

2011-01-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

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At Explore Living they are committed to creating superior new houses and apartments. Whether you are downsizing or seeking a second homes, they have totally re-invented the purchasing process meaning buying a new property from Explore is sure to be a unique and enjoyable experience. But don’t just take their word for it - since January 2008 100% of their customers were so happy with their new home they would recommend them to their best friend, now that’s an achievement! they have a wide range of new homes currently available, isn't it time you found out

Forex and General Upadtes - 14-11-2011

2011-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Forex Market:

Interbank dollar rate has shown a downward trend in the week. It started trading from 85.80 at highest and came at a low of 85.55 at the lowest in the week. This trend is majorly due to higher supply of dollar in the market and less import payments in the week.

General:

With the rising commodity prices and slow global economic growth World Bank predicts that the world may see the dark days of 2008 crisis again. The global growth is expected to be 3.3 percent this year after 3.9 percent in 2010. This year is going to be the year of deceleration. Emerging and developing countries were expected to expand 6 percent, down from the pace of 7 percent in 2010. Currently in New York oil price per barrel is $92 hich are above bank’s expectation of $85 a barrel in 2011 as compared with 79% in 2010.

The Economic Coordination Committee of Cabinet allowed Wapda to raise Rs.20bn for the Diamer Bhasha Dam Project from the open market. Money would be raised by issuing Sukuk and Term Finance Certificates which would be repaid by Wapda from its own resources and the guarantor would be the government.

The government has declared the year of 2010-11 the “Year of Exports” after witnessing a 20 percent growth in exports in the first six months, despite the failure of Finance Ministry to release funds committed in Trade Policy. In December 2010 the exports exceeded $2.12bn mark depicting an increase of 35 percent over the corresponding period of year 2009.

One Stop For Every Search

2011-01-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

You know your customers are searching for you. But how? Are they on Google or Facebook? Where do they live? What keywords do they punch in when they want you? What about when they need you? You could look into each of these channels, spending hours ensuring your ads, listings and profiles are accurate and effective. Or you could look into MerchEngines, for affordable ways to get the most of your online presence—and effective ways to get found.

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Pakistan's July-Dec Foreign Investment Falls 15.40 %

2011-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 15.4 percent to $1.05 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year 2010/11, compared with $1.24 billion in the same period last year, the central bank said on Friday. Out of the total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 14.5 percent in July and December to $828.5 million, from $968.9 million in the same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

Foreign portfolio investment fell 18.6 percent to $221.5 million in the first half ending Dec. 31, compared with $272.1 million in the same period last year. A shaky security situation, with a Taliban insurgency in the country's northwest, coupled with chronic power shortages, has put off investors, analysts say.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package agreed in November 2008 helped Pakistan avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves. It received the fifth tranche of $1.13 billion of the IMF loan of $11 billion in May and Pakistan and IMF authorities are scheduled to meet before June 30 to discuss the release of the sixth tranche.

Domain Names

2011-01-14T08:59:00.001-08:00

Domain names are the foundation on which a website can be built. Choosing a domain name is important for a number of reasons: it is used to build your brand online, it is used in your advertising, it is used for search engine optimization and ultimately it is what customers will use when finding you online. Domain registration is critical to your online business success.

How do you come up with a good domain name? What if somebody owns the name you want to use? Here are some tips to keep in mind when registering a domain names .

One thing to do is decide on several different options for your name. While the name of your company is a great place to start it's a good idea to come up with a few alternatives as well. Ideally, choosing a .com is optimal because users tend to default to .com when typing in a URL, however .net and .org do have value. Using keywords in your domain name can potentially help your search engine results for those terms. You should also do a background check on the names you would like to use. The last thing you want to do is buy a domain that is viewed negatively by Google. Using a WHOIS tool you can use to aid in this research.

Domain names are first come first serve so if you see a name that you like you should register it as fast as you can. There are no guarantees that the name will still be available tomorrow. Domain registration is a quick and painless process.

ICAP Exemptions for ACCA, CIMA and ICMA

2011-01-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is to notify that the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan has reviewed the present exemption policy of the Institute in its meeting held on December 24, 2010 and has decided the following:

A. Available Exemptions

The exemptions from the following papers will be granted to the students who have passed all examinations of ACCA, CIMA and ICMAP:

Qualification: ACCA

Pre-entry Proficiency Test
Module - A

Functional English
Quantitative Methods

Module - B

Introduction to Financial Accounting

Module - C

Financial Accounting
Taxation (Exemption will be granted to only those candidates who have passed F6 Taxation (Pakistan variant)

Module - D

Cost Accounting
Information Technology (Exemption will be granted to only those candidates who have passed F8 Audit and Assurance; and P7 Advanoed Audit and Assurance)

Qualification: CIMA

Pre-entry Proficiency Test
Module - A

Functional English
Quantitative Methods

Module - B

Introduction to Economics & Finance
Introduction to Financial Accounting

Module - C

Financial Accounting

Module - D

Cost Accounting

Qualification: ICMAP

Pte-entry Proficiency Test
Module - A

Functional English
Quantitative Methods

Module - B

Introduction to Economics & Finance
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Mercantile Law

Module - C

Financial Accounting
Taxation
Business Communication & Behavioral Studies

Module - D

Company Law
Cost Accounting
Information Technology

B. Effective Date: This Directive will. become effective from April 1, 2011.
C. Repeal: Effective April 1, 2011 this Directive supersedes the Council's Directive 2.02 to the extent that the said Directive relates to ACCA and CIMA.

Family Law Services

2011-01-12T03:37:00.000-08:00

Whether you have the most complex property and custody situation or a very simple one, it is critical to know that you have the assistance of an attorney that you can trust. That has experience both in the courtroom and outside of the courtroom. It is imperative during such a significant life changing event that you can trust the advice of your attorney when discussing likely outcomes of the particular issues in your case.

The Evans Family Law Group provides a full spectrum of Family Law services to their clients. Austin Family Law Attorneys, Practice Concentrate over matter like divorce, agreed divorce, custody / suit affecting parent child relationship, custom child custody and possession schedules, child support, grandparent’s rights, mediation, collaborative divorce and many more. They are experienced in situations involving divorce cases involving simple or complex financial and property disputes, child custody matters, child support, adoptions, grandparent’s rights, protective orders, child abduction matters and the like. Visit the neatly laid out site and see More Info they are providing and how.

Jobs in Toyota (Indus Motor Company)

2011-01-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

Indus Motor Company (IMC) is a joint venture between the House of Habib, Toyota Motor Corporation Japan (TMC), and Toyota Tsusho Corporation Japan (TTC) for assembling, progressive manufacturing and marketing of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan since July 01, 1990.

IMC has grown continuously and today employs over 2030 people with different professional backgrounds. They are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Management Trainee - Finance is required by Indus Motor Company. Some information is as under;

Job Type: Permanent

Job Location: Karachi, Pakistan

Gender: Doesn't Matter

Age: 18 - 25 Years

Minimum Education Masters

Degree Title: MBA Finance or ACCA completed

Career Level: Entry Level

Minimum Experience: Fresh

You can apply here and see other openings as well.

Wish All of You a Happy New Year

2010-12-31T21:05:00.001-08:00

Ratio of Youth to Adult Unemployment Worsens

2010-12-30T23:49:00.000-08:00

The global recession has hit young workers particularly hard. In the mostly rich countries of the OECD, the youth-unemployment rate (the unemployed as a proportion of the labour force aged 15-24) increased by 4.9 percentage points between 2007 and 2009, to 18.4%. By the second quarter of 2010 it had risen to 19.6%. Young people typically struggle to gain employment and are the first to be laid off; in nine countries more than one in four are now jobless. Spain has the highest youth-unemployment rate, at 42%, more than twice the unemployment rate of adults aged 25-54. In New Zealand, Sweden and Luxembourg, the youth-to-adult unemployment ratio is more than four. Germany has the lowest ratio (1.3), largely thanks to its successful apprenticeship system. The OECD warns that recovery will be slow and forecasts that youth unemployment will still be around 20% by the end of 2011.

Never Give Up

2010-12-13T04:11:00.000-08:00

One day a young lady was driving along with her father.

They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?" He said "keep driving". Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was Getting worse.

"What should I do." The young lady asked?

"Keep driving," her father replied.

On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over. She told her dad, "I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It is Terrible, and everyone is pulling over!"

Her father told her, "Don't give up, just keep driving!"

Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she Could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles she was again on Dry land, and the sun came out.

Her father said, "Now you can pull over and get out."

She said "But why now?"

He said "When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are Still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is now over.

This is a testimony for anyone who is going through "hard times".

Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don't have To...if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun will shine Upon your face again.

Superannuation Funds

2010-12-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Australian superannuation funds are a great savings vehicle to ensure you have a comfortable life in retirement; which is why making regular contributions to your chosen superannuation funds so important. If you do not make superannuation plans earlier on in life, and manage your superannuation funds appropriately, you may be left short changed later in life.

xLife offers valuable superannuation advice, and can help ensure you have enough in your twilight years. Superannuation advice can help you define exactly how much you need to save. Having a savings target to work towards can make a huge difference down the track, and can spur you into action! Superannuation advice can also include superannuation strategies to help grow your super, maximize your contributions, and help ensure you don’t pay excessive tax charges.

CEO Payouts - Golden Parachutes

2010-12-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

Bosses who walked away with large payouts

BP announced its chief executive, Tony Hayward, was stepping down after just three years in the job. He leaves with a year’s salary, £1m ($1.6m), and a pension reported to be worth £11m, accrued over 28 years of service. On the same day the company revealed a quarterly loss of £17 billion, reflecting the cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr Hayward has received criticism over his handling of the Deepwater Horizon spill. For all the opprobrium heaped on him over the last few months, Mr Hayward's payout is modest compared with those enjoyed by many similarly high-profile bosses.

Payday Loans Online

2010-12-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

When financial disaster strikes, there’s a friend that can help you no matter what your credit rating might be. People with bad credit ratings often have problems covering daily expenses. It’s a shame, then, that these are the very people that have the hardest time getting a loan to get them out of a bad situation. Thanks to payday loans online that recognized this problem, people are now able to get an easy payday loan that is short term and helpful like no other kind of loan.

It's all too easy to run a little short before your next pay cheque; whatever the cause. This is where payday loans online can help. Thanks to Payday Loans, approach them and they will provide swift approval payday loans to anyone. Best thing is that they offer an affordable flat rate to help meet your urgent need. Ask them and leave the rest to them. No hassle.

There are many different reasons that people choose payday loans online to fit their needs. In the past, there was a stigma associated with using these types of loans, and many people did not want to be the type to have to borrow from these companies. In today's rough financial times, this is certainly not the case anymore. Even middle to upper class persons fall onto hard money times, and instant payday loans can be the way for them to quickly get back on their feet.

Lahore School of Economics Convocation – 2010

2010-12-05T20:24:00.001-08:00

The Lahore School of Economics’ Eighth Annual Convocation was held at the main campus on December 4, 2010. Dr. Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, the Rector Lahore School of Economics conferred degrees and awards to 850 graduating students of MPhil, MS Economics, MSc Economics, Masters in Business Administration, BSc Economics, Bachelors of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration (Executive) and Masters of Business Administration (Professional).

Curry in a Hurry

2010-11-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

Owais Mughal

If you think I am going to tell you a curry recipe' then you are mistaken. Even though there is lot of curry involved in this write-up but wait till I get to it. Let me build up the background first. Our home in Karachi has a cricket ground located next to it. Being a 'puraana chaawal'(seasoned rice) of the area, I became manager of this ground in early 90s. My duties included assigning the cricket ground to different local teams as well as arranging a match or two on special occasions.

Once I arranged a match for a neighborhood team but the local players didn't show up on time. After doing a typical eleventh hour calling and rounding-up of players, I was able to field a 'pakaR dhakaR XI' (rounded-up XI). It was a very colorful team in a sense that eleven players spoke at least five different languages and yet understood each other very well. In my view, that is what makes Karachi a true cosmopolitan city.

Ok, back to curry business. The match started smoothly, but wrinkle started to appear soon. At lunch break all the players gathered around me and demanded lunch. Some claimed that I owe them a lunch because they have done me a favor by coming to play to Federal-B-Area from far flung areas of the city such as North Nazimabad. Those familiar with Karachi geography may know that North Nazimabad is located right next to Federal-B-Area. Only a 30-feet wide drainage stream called ‘Gujjar Nala’ separates the two localities. Look at the image below. I've marked the location of the cricket ground and the 'Gujjar Nala' dividing Federal-B-Area with North Nazimabad.

Being outnumbered 1 to 13, I gave in to their demands. I was still a student so did not have money to buy 13 people any kind of lunch. Not even cheap 'bun-kababs'. So I walked inside home to see what was ready for my personal lunch. Nobody was home and my mother had cooked 'aaloo-shorba' (Potatoes with curry). It was of course not enough for 14 people. Since necessity is the mother of invention therefore I took a huge bowl out of closet and poured some curry in it. A quantity, that was just enough for 4 people. Then I filled up a jug with water and mixed it in the curry. Curry’s volume now increased by a few liters and its density decreased to become as thin as a soup. I then sent our 12th man to the nearby 'Gharib-Nawaz tandoor' (Poor people's clay Oven) to get a few ‘naan’ (flat round bread). 12th man was an aspiring young cricketer and in an aspiration to debut from our team soon, he happily went to get the 'naan'. Our team management used 12th man not only for on-ground services but off-ground services too. Long story short; when bread came; 14 people ate my specially prepared 'pani-shorba' (water-curry) without any complaint. I do however remember some of the remarks made at the occasion. They were a pure delight to hear such as this famous one coming right out of Urdu literature: 'kiya piddee aur kiya piddee ka shorba' (What little bird and its little curry)

Then there was a remark given in a complete state of denial and astonishment: 'ye kis cheez ki yakhni hai bhai? (What is this soup made of?)

Note: In an ideal world of culinary delights, a soup is supposed to be thinner than a curry.

Another: ‘ye to shorbay kay shorbay kaa shorbaa hai’ (This is an extract of an extract of an extract of a curry).

And yet another was when somebody called this curry as ‘lamba shorba’ (tall curry). The voices of dissent soon died down as getting free food was an incentive enough to shut up and eat whatever was available. To this day, whenever I remember this indigenous recipe' of mine, it makes me smile. Conclusion is that curry is such a form of food which can be diluted as needed and can be fed to a varied number of people ranging anywhere from 1 person to many (or any).

In the beginning I had mentioned that it is not going to be a curry recipe' write-up; but for the welfare of general public; may be I should key it down: Recipe' of Curry in a Hurry

1. Volume of already cooked curry (any kind): 100 ml only
2. Count the people available: x (say)
3. Empty glass of water: 1
4. Empty curry bowl: 1
5. Pour 100 ml curry in the empty curry bowl and pour a glass full of water into curry 'x' times.
6. 'ae-lo mazaydaar shorba tayyar hai' (lo-behold. tasty curry in a hurry; is ready)

Battle of the Bands

2010-11-28T21:40:00.001-08:00

From Light Within

Launch of Rupiya Certificates By Engro Corporation

2010-11-28T02:28:00.000-08:00

Engro Corporation announced the launch of Rupiya Certificates with an aim to target retail investors and gather funds to meet expansion requirements of its fertiliser and food businesses. Brief detail is as under;

Instrument to be issued : The asset-backed issue of Term Finance Certificates (TFCs)
Period : Three years
Rate of Return: 14.5 per cent per annum,
Minimum investment : Rs.25,000
Initial offer : Rs.2.000 billion
Green Shoe Option : Rs.2.000 billion

Total offer : Rs.4.000 billion

Available at :11 banks and TCS outlets

Engro believes is a good attraction for people who usually invest in long-term National Savings Certificates.

Giving details at a presentation here on Thursday, Hafsa Shamsie, Manager Finance at Engro Corporation, brushed aside the risk of default on the debt instrument, saying Engro is a leveraged company and is capable of meeting its debt obligations.

“We are already serving Rs89 billion in debt and another Rs4 billion will not be an issue. We have set aside assets worth double the value of the TFC to guarantee returns and redemption.”

Pakistan’s corporate debt market is not yet developed and Engro claims that the objective of tapping the market is to give it a boost and offer a lucrative and risk-free investment option to Pakistani citizens, non-resident Pakistanis and corporate bodies.

“We could have borrowed from banks instead, but the intent is to develop the fledgling corporate debt market. Although banks charge high interest rates of 15-18 per cent, the TFC issue is not cheap either with marketing expenses swallowing Rs200 million,” explained Shamsie.

Of the targeted amount of Rs4 billion for meeting working capital needs, Rs3 billion will be injected into the fertiliser business and Rs1 billion into food business.

With the help of these funds, the annual fertiliser production capacity of Engro will increase 26 per cent from 975,000 tons to 1.23 million tons. “Together with Fatima Fertiliser, we will be able to meet the country’s demand for fertiliser in future when both projects come on stream,” said Shamsie.

According to data released by the National Fertiliser Development Centre (NFDC) last month, fertiliser offtake dropped 14 per cent to 4.9 million tons in January-August 2010 compared with 5.7 million tons in the same period last year. During calendar year 2009, total fertiliser sales stood at 9.3 million tons.

The company sees no significant increase in the demand for fertiliser in the current Rabi crop sowing season after floods damaged and affected an estimated 4.23 million acres of cultivated land. “There was an initial spike in demand in August but we see no significant rise in consumption in coming months. Also, the TFC is not aimed at meeting any increase in demand after the floods,” she added.

In the food category, the company produces dairy products like milk and ice cream and has plans to spread into grain and fruit markets

Top Ten Pakistan Blogs

2010-11-21T22:28:00.001-08:00

Like so many years, Light Within is asking you to recommend the best Pakistani blogs. In Pakistan - the happening state - writing a blog is a great responsibility. Please show your appreciation for the best blogs (and bloggers) you have been following during the year. Also indicate the new blogs (including your own) and new bloggers that have come up during the year and we might have missed them. Leave your recommendations in comment section here or send them to sajshirazi@gmail.com.

Best of Pakistan blogs - previous years:
Pak Blogsphere - Top Ten Blogs - 2009
Pak Blogsphere - Top Ten Blogs - 2008
Pak Blogsphere - Top Ten Blogs - 2007
Pak Blogsphere - Top Ten Blogs - 2006

In The Middle of Blogging Fusion

2010-11-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

Don't Miss The Point

2010-11-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

General (Retired) Pervez Musharraf

Sporadic and superficial global support has made Pakistanis feel dangerously betrayed.

The world is watching Pakistan, and rightly so. It’s a happening place. Pakistan is at the center of geostrategic revolution and realignments. The economic, social and political aspirations of China, Afghanistan, Iran, and India turn on securing peace, prosperity, and stability in Pakistan. Our country can be an agent of positive change, one that creates unique economic interdependencies between central, west and south Asian countries and the Middle East through trade and energy partnerships. Or there’s the other option: the borderless militancy Pakistan is battling could take down the whole region.

Recently, terrorists on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have plotted, unsuccessfully, to unleash terror as far away as Copenhagen and New York City. Pakistan’s role in a safe, secure world cannot be overemphasized. To appreciate the complex history of Pakistan’s internal and external challenges is to understand how the 21st century could well play out for the world.

Our country was born of violence, in August 1947. Just months after the partition of the subcontinent and the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, we were at war with India over Kashmir. Pakistan and India’s mutual animosity and history of confrontation remain powerful forces in South Asia to this day. Because of its sense of having been wronged by India—and feeling that it faced an existential threat from that country—Pakistan cast its lot with the West. We became a strategic partner of the U.S. during the Cold War, signing on to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) in the 1950s, while India tilted toward the Soviet Union. As part of our inalienable right to self-preservation, we formulated a “minimum defensive deterrence” strategy to maintain Army, Navy and Air Force numbers at levels proportional to India’s.

In 1965 we again went to war over Kashmir, and in 1971 over East Pakistan (I fought in both). Our suspicions about India were proved right when it became clear that the creation of Bangladesh was only made possible through Indian military and intelligence support. Among Pakistanis in general, and the Army in particular, attitudes against India hardened. The adversarial relationship between our Inter Services Intelligence and their Research and Analysis Wing worsened, both exploiting any opportunity to inflict harm on the other.

India’s “Smiling Buddha” nuclear tests in 1974 changed everything. Pakistan was forced to resort to unconventional means to compensate for the new imbalance of power. Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto initiated Pakistan’s atomic program, and thus began the nuclearization of the subcontinent. India’s pursuit of nuclear weapons was an effort to project power beyond its borders; Pakistan’s was an existential and defensive imperative.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 presented Pakistan with a security threat from two directions: Soviets to the west, who wanted access to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan, and Indians to the east. Once again Pakistan joined hands with the United States to fight Moscow.

We called it jihad by design, this effort to attract mujahideen from all over the Muslim world. And from Morocco to Indonesia, some 25,000 of them came. We trained and armed Taliban from the madrassahs of the then North West Frontier Province, and pushed them into Afghanistan. By this time, the liberal and intellectual Afghan elite had left for the safer climes of Europe and the U.S., leaving behind a largely poor, religious-minded population to fight the 10-year jihad. We—Pakistan, the U.S., the West, and Saudi Arabia—are equally responsible for nourishing the militancy that defeated the Soviet Union in 1989, and which seeks now to defeat us all.

The Soviets quit Kabul, and the Americans abandoned Islamabad. Washington rewarded its once indispensable ally by invoking the Pressler Amendment and imposing military sanctions, and by choosing to foster a strategic relationship with India. Pakistan was left alone to deal with the nearly 4 million Afghans who had streamed into our country and became the world’s largest refugee population. The people of Pakistan felt betrayed and used. For Pakistan, the decade of disaster had begun. No efforts were made to deprogram, rehabilitate, and resettle the mujahideen or redevelop and build back war-ravaged Afghanistan. This shortsightedness led to ethnic fighting, warlordism, and Afghanistan’s dive into darkness. The mujahideen coagulated into Al Qaeda. The Taliban, who would emerge as a force in 1996, eventually would occupy 90 percent of the country, ramming through their obscurantist medievalism. It was also in 1989 that the freedom struggle reignited in India-administered Kashmir. This started out as a purely indigenous and peaceful uprising against Indian state repression. The people who led this first intifada were radicalized by the Indian Army’s fierce and indiscriminate crackdowns on locals.

The Kashmir cause is a rallying cry for Muslims around the world. It is more so for Pakistanis. The plight of Kashmiri Muslims inspired the creation of new mujahideen groups within Pakistan who then sent thousands of volunteer fighters to the troubled territory. In terms of identity politics, the boundaries were clearer: the mujahideen set their sights on India; Al Qaeda and the Taliban were focused largely on Afghanistan. With the Taliban to our west and the mujahideen in the north, this arc of anger rent our social fabric. Pakistan found itself awash in guns and drugs.

Nine years later, there was bad news from Pokhran. In May 1998, India again tested its bomb. Almost two weeks later, Pakistan responded by “turning the mountain white” at Chaghai. For Pakistanis, our own tests became a symbol of our power in the world, a testament to our resolve and innovation in the face of adversity, and a source of unmitigated pride in our streets. We became a nuclear power and an international pariah at the same time, but furthering and harnessing our nuclear potential remains and must remain our singular national interest. Of course, the U.S. views India’s nuclear program differently from Pakistan’s. Even our pursuit of nuclear power for civilian purposes, for electricity generation, is viewed negatively. India’s pursuit is assisted by the U.S. In Pakistan, people see this as yet another instance of American partiality, even hostility. Many even believe that the U.S. wants to denuclearize Pakistan—by force if necessary—because it fears the weapons could come into the hands of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or any of the myriad militant organizations who have loosed mayhem in Pakistan. Our nuclear weapons are secure.

Pakistan was one of only three countries to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan. We did this because of our ethnic, historical, and geographical affinity with Afghan Pashtuns who comprised the Taliban. In 2000, when I led Pakistan, I had suggested to the U.S. and other countries that they, too, should recognize the Taliban government and collectively engage Kabul in order to achieve moderation there through exposure and exchange. This was shot down. Continued diplomatic isolation of the Taliban regime pushed it into the embrace of the Arab-peopled Al Qaeda. Had the Taliban government been recognized, the world could have saved the Bamiyan Buddhas, and unknotted the Osama bin Laden problem thereby preventing the spate of Al Qaeda-orchestrated attacks around the world including on September 11, 2001, in the U.S.

When America decided to retaliate, we joined the international coalition against Kabul by choice so we could safeguard and promote our own national interests. Nobody in Islamabad was in favor of the religious and governmental philosophy of the Taliban. By joining the coalition, we also prevented India from gaining an upper hand in Afghanistan from where it could then machinate against Pakistan. The Taliban and Al Qaeda were defeated in 2001 with the help of the Northern Alliance, which was composed of Uzbeks, Hazarans, and Tajiks—all ethnic minorities. The Pashtuns and Arabs of Afghanistan fled to the mountains and fanned out across Pakistan. This was the serious downside of joining the global coalition: the mujahideen who were fighting for Kashmir formed an unholy nexus with the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban—and turned their guns on us. While I was president, they made at least four attempts on my life.

In 2002, the allies installed a largely Pashtun-free government in Afghanistan that lacked legitimacy because it did not represent 50 percent of the Afghan population, Pashtuns. This should not have happened. All Taliban are Pashtun, but not all Pashtuns are Taliban. Pashtuns were thus isolated, blocked from the mainstream, and pushed toward the Taliban, who made a resurgence in 2004.

Today, the Taliban rule the roost in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are ensconced in our tribal agencies, plotting and launching attacks against us and others. The twin scourge of radicalism and militarism has infected settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and beyond. Mujahideen groups are operating in India-administered Kashmir and seem to have public support in Pakistan.

After nine long years, and a longer war for the U.S. than Vietnam, the world wants to negotiate with “moderate” elements in the Taliban—and from a position of apparent weakness. Before the coalition abandons Afghanistan again, it must at least ensure the election of a legitimate Pashtun-led government. Pakistan, which has lost at least 30,000 of its citizens in the war on terror, should be forgiven for wondering whether it was all worth it. Pakistanis should not be left to feel that it was not.

The writer is former president and army chief of Pakistan.This article appeared as a world exclusive in Newsweek Pakistan’s Nov 22 - 29, 2010 issue.

2010-11-02T00:41:00.001-07:00

When will the resting ancestor toe the line on top of the killer?

Appetizers

2010-10-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

Owais Mughal

On our last trip to buy oriental grocery we were surprised beyond words to find'Tsingtao Curry Samosa' and 'paratha - which taste like authentic Indian' in a refrigerator.

Both of these items were made in China. We immediately bought both items and I must confess they both tasted very good. Samosa filling was made of Chinese curry and parathas were puff parathas. You gotta taste them to belive me.

Today I couldn't resist and took these photos of 'made in China' samosa box to share with all of you. For those who are really interested in knowing the recipe' of this Chinese samosa, here are the ingredients which I am faithfully copying from the box: Cabbage, Wheat Flour, Water, Potato, Mushroom, Onion, Carrot, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce and Curry powder.

I believe there is a big food export business going on between China and South Asia. On a trip to China in 2001, I met a businessman from Mumbai who was manufacturing 'Chinese dumplings' in India and exporting them to China.

Now after writing all this I must also advertise that China or India, no one can beat the taste of 'samosa' that are sold in United Bakery, Karimabad chowrangi Karachi. A sample is given in the photo above. A poet has also said in Punjabi:

jo maza chajjoo de chobaaray
O na Balkh na Bukhaaray

(The enjoyment that one gets socializing on a native street corner
cannot be found in intellectual cities like 'Balkh' or 'Bukhara')

Times Square Bomber Sentenced To Life In Prison

2010-10-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

A Pakistani-born US citizen who tried to set off a car bomb in New York's busy Times Square was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison. Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty in June to a failed May 1 bombing in Midtown Manhattan. He admitted to investigators he received bomb-making training from the Pakistani Taliban, called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and that the group had funded the bomb plot.

He was sentenced on Tuesday morning in Manhattan federal court by US District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum to life with no chance for parole. Shahzad, who lived in the neighboring state of Connecticut and became a US citizen in 2009, parked a smoking sports utility vehicle in Times Square with its engine running and hazard lights flashing on a balmy springtime Saturday evening.

But street vendors alerted police to the vehicle within minutes and thousands of people were evacuated from the popular theater district. A bomb squad diffused the crude device, which included firecrackers and propane gas tanks. Shahzad, who has a wife and two children living in Pakistan, told investigators he thought his bomb would kill at least 40 people, and that he had planned a second bombing attack two weeks later. A second target was not identified.

The son of a retired Pakistani vice air marshal, Shahzad was arrested aboard a Dubai-bound jetliner at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport two days after the attempted attack. He had been on his way back to Pakistan. Shahzad pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted terrorism transcending national borders.

Prosecutors had asked for a life term for Shahzad to deter potential future radicalization of US citizens. Shahzad, a former budget analyst who worked for a marketing firm in Connecticut, used the Internet to study Times Square in a bid to maximize damages, and prosecutors said he consulted with militants in Pakistan throughout the bomb-making process. As he assembled the bomb at his Connecticut home, prosecutors said, he used specific programs on his computer to communicate with Tehrik-e-Taliban militants.

Economic and Business Updates - From 27th September to 03 October, 2010

2010-10-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

The implementation of reformed general sales tax on goods and services is put off for one month – from October 1 to November 1.

The State Bank of Pakistan raises for the second time in two months its policy rate by 50 basis points to 13.5 per cent.

The federal government enhances the rates of profit on the National Savings Schemes with effect from October 1.

The government will pay a sum of Rs902.8 billion during the current financial year to service both its domestic and external loans.

The SBP announces increase in markup rates up to 70 basis points for the Export Finance Scheme and Longterm Financing Facility following the IMF condition to eliminate subsidies on all these schemes.

The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves touch an all-time high of $16.78 billion on better inflows sent by overseas Pakistanis.

The country still faces over Rs500 billion circular debts due to none-payment of dues by different stakeholders in the power and oil sectors.

The SBP warns that increase in electricity rates, induction of the reformed GST and the continued government reliance on borrowings from the State Bank, will add to uncertainty surrounding inflation expectations, and the inflation for FY 11 will be 14.5 per cent.

The US and Pakistan sign a five-year partnership agreement under which $831 million will be utilised on various programmes.

The European Union imposes new duties on plastics from Iran, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates on the plea that they are illegally subsidising exports to Europe’s growing soft-drinks market.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet turns down an industries ministry proposal to increase the price of imported urea in a bid to justify a rise in its price by local manufacturers.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority reduces power tariff of distribution companies by 33 paisa per unit under the monthly fuel adjustment formula.

The Pakistan Electric Power Company is charging 25 per cent higher tariff from agriculture consumers for the last several months on verbal instructions from the finance ministry.

The federal government directs the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to auction 50,000 tons of imported sugar in the open market to generate funds for opening letters of credit for the remaining contracted quantity of sugar.

A Foreign consortium company of Canada and China announces to set up a wind power project of 200MW in Pakistan with an estimated cost of $500 million.

Casinos USA

2010-10-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

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Casinos USA is a directory of online casinos that accept players from the USA. This portal includes reviews of gaming software, and online casinos. Online casinos have brought gambling to the comfort of home, and along with online gambling technology comes the opportunity for fraud. The online casinos reviewed in this site possess certification and are monitored for reliability and fairness of casino software and 24/7 customer support. Visit the neatly laid out site and see what they are offering and how?

Forward Rate Agreements - Introduction

2010-10-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

Forward Rate Agreements (FRA’s) are similar to over-the-counter futures contracts (but there is no margin) or single-period swaps.

One party contracts with another for a fixed rate that applies to a future period. The buyer receives a payment if market rates exceed the contract rate, but must pay the seller if market rates fall below the contract rate.

For example, hedging a six-month period, that will commence in three months from the contract date, is called a “three against nine” FRA, or 3×9 FRA. In three months, the payment is determined by comparing the contract rate to current market rates.

Unlike swaps and caps, where the payment is determined at the outset of each period but settled in arrears, FRA payments are discounted and paid at the beginning of the period.

The payment ends up compensating for any change in interest rates since the contract date.

FRA’s are generally used to lock in an interest rate for transactions that will take place in the future. For example, a bank that plans to issue or roll over certificates of deposit, but anticipates that interest rates are headed upward, can lock in today’s rate by purchasing FRA. If rates do rise, then the payment received on the FRA should offset the increased interest cost on the CDs. If rates fall, the bank pays out

Under the FRA but has a lower cost on its debt. In either case, the all-in cost of the CDs is relatively the same. The same example holds true for a corporation that plans to issue or roll over commercial paper.

The above example demonstrated how FRA’s were used to lock in an interest rate or debt cost. FRA’s can also be used to lock in the price of a short-term security to be taught or sold in the near future.

If the investment is being purchased, you can hedge the risk that interest rates may fall (which would increase the price of the investment) by selling the FRA. If the investment is being sold, you can hedge against the risk of rates rising (which would depress the sales price of the security) by buying the FRA.

Benefits of FRAs

Used similar to futures
But, no margin and no daily settlements
Flexible

Shortcomings of FRAs

Credit risk of counterparty
Short-term nature

Tools of Promoting Business

2010-10-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

Promotion of business is one of the most important marketing processes. A lot depend on how you keep your product and or service fresh in the minds of your customers and potential customers. Savvy and creative businesses go a long way to get beautiful and functional promotional products that remain in use and keep reminding users about the core message of the businesses. Imagine how much waves you can create by offering promotional pens to those who attend you annual conference. Where ever the bag will travel, it will carry your message printed on that.

One of the best places to shop for suitable promotional products is Fresh Promotions – Its leading online seller of promotional items and branded promotional merchandise that offers a wide range of items to suit any kind of business objectives. Explore the site and choose from what they have on display.

Resource and information rich site is users’ friendly and imagery is good. It gives you an idea of how a promotional lanyard hanging in the neck of right person will look like. Search function is also very efficient. You can look for anything price wise as well as name wise. What is more, Fresh promotions also give advice in case you need to choose a suitable promotional product. I suggest you try them for your next promotional campaign.

Dubai's Emaar to Issue Convertible Notes

2010-09-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

Dubai's giant developer Emaar Properties, which built the world's tallest tower, will issue up to 500 million dollars in convertible notes, pending approval by shareholders, the company said.

"The company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to refinance short-term liabilities and for general corporate purposes," Emaar said in a late-Wednesday statement. The planned offering would be for 450 million dollars of convertible notes due in 2015, "with a potential maximum size of US 500 million dollars if the over-allotment option is exercised," Emaar said.

The notes will have a coupon of 7.5 percent annually, and will be convertible into Emaar shares at an initial price of 4.75 dirhams (about 1.2 dollars) per share, it said. They will be listed on the Luxembourg Euro MTF market. In a Wednesday letter to the Dubai Financial Market, Emaar said that it had set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Pyrus Limited, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, to issue the notes, which would be guaranteed by Emaar.

Pyrus would lend the proceeds from the notes to Emaar.

Emaar said its board has approved the notes issue, but that it was still subject to "the passing of certain resolutions at an extraordinary general shareholders' meeting of the company," which is expected to be held around November 3. Emaar was the developer behind Burj Khalifa -- at 828 metres (2,717 feet), the tallest tower in the world -- which opened in Dubai in January.

The glitzy Gulf city state, which partly owns Emaar, borrowed heavily to fuel its rapid development. But its fortunes changed when the global financial crisis dried up available financing and brought its quickly growing property sector to a screeching halt, leaving Dubai saddled with estimated debts of more than 100 billion dollars.

Dear River

2010-09-18T01:04:00.000-07:00

A phrase written on sand by a small boy who lost his parents in flood.

"Dear River, I will never forgive you, I will never forgive you, even if your waves touch my feet million times."

Promotional Products

2010-09-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to promote your business. Most businesses have branded promotional products and giveaways that keep reminding their customers about what they do. Thanks to Speedy Promotions that they offer best promotional products and ideas. Printable Promotions brings you the Branded promotional products.

They are offering number of products including promotional badges and Name Tags, Bags, Caps & Hats, Clothing, Compendiums & Diaries, Confectionery, Conference Items, Corporate Gifts, Cups & Mugs, Custom Made, Desk & Computer Gear, Flash Drives & Usbs, Food & Beverage, Golf Balls & Accessories, Green Promotional Products, Health & Personal, Keyrings, Lanyards, Lapel Pins, Magnets, Mobile Phone Gear, Notepads, Novelties, Outdoor & Sports, Pens, Shirts, Stress Balls, Stubby Coolers, Cooler Bags, Fridge To Go Coolers , Stubby Coolers, Wine, Bottle Coolers, Umbrellas, Watches & Clocks, Water & Drink Bottles, Wine Gifts and many other promotional item

Best thing is that the wide variety of promotional products is available at Speedy Promotions to choose from. If you have a need to advertise or promote your business, ask Speedy Promotion and they and they would do their best to provide the promotional items for your next event. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Better still, try them.

Council Elected New ICAP President and Vice Presidents

2010-09-17T02:56:00.000-07:00

The Council of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) in its meeting held on September 15, 2010 elected office bearers for the term 2010-11

The Council unanimously elected Mr. Saqib Masood as President of the Institute, Zahid Iqbal Bhatti as Vice President – South and Hafiz Mohammad Yousaf as Vice President – North.

President

Mr. Saqib Masood is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of auditing and practicing in Tax Laws. He has also been the President of the Income Tax Bar Association.

Mr. Saqib Masood has been serving his second term at the Council. He has also served as Vice President - South and as Chairman Examination Committee, Taxation Committee, Technical Advisory Committee and Financial Sector Committee of the Institute.

He remained member of the Executive Committee, Professional Standards and Technical Advisory Committee, Joint Committee of ICAP and FBR, Joint Committee of ICAP and SBP, Committee for Quality Control on Tax Audit and a number of Task Forces.

He is presently a Partner and Head of Taxation services of KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co Chartered Accountants and is also the Head of Tax of KPMG Middle East & South Asia Region (MESA).

Vice President, South

Zahid Iqbal Bhatti is a fellow member of ICAP, an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Management Association of Pakistan.

Zahid Iqbal Bhatti has served the Institute for many years. He was a member of the Southern Regional Committee for two consecutive terms 2001-05 and 2005-09 while serving as its Chairman for the years 2003-4 and 2007-8.

He is currently representing ICAP as a Technical Advisor to a Member of the Board of International Federation of Accountants and is also ICAP’s representative to the Asian-Oceanian Standards Setters Group.

He is also the Chairman of the Professional Standards and Technical Advisory Committee and Member of the Executive Committee, Examination Committee, Quality Assurance Board, Coordination Committee of ICAP and SBP, Committee of Accounting and Auditing Standards for Interest Free Modes of Financing and various task forces.

He is a Partner-Assurance and Advisory Services at A.F.Ferguson & Co., Chartered Accountants.

Vice President, North

Hafiz Mohammad Yousaf is a fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. He also is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, American Institute of Management Accountants, The Institute of Internal Auditors –USA, The Institute of Management Consultants - USA and The Management Association of Pakistan.

Hafiz Mohammad Yousaf is representing the Institute as a Member in the Committee of Accounting and Auditing Standards of South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA).

He is currently Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee and Golden Jubilee Committee of ICAP and a member of the Executive Committee, Investigation Committee, Education and Training Committee, Professional Standards and Technical Advisory Committee and several task forces.

He is a Partner and Country Leader Consulting of M. Yousuf Adil Saleem & Co. Chartered Accountants (Member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu). He has over 20 years of post qualification experience and has worked in Pakistan and abroad. He is also very active on many social and charitable forums in Pakistan.

My Dream Car

2010-09-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Insurance Your Concerns

2010-09-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

Insurance is important for everyone. One does not have to be an expert to see the advantages of insurance coverage; particularly for vehicles. People buy insurance coverage wishing that they never have to use the coverage and as a security against unexpected and unaffordable losses that occur in life. Where they really win is in the assurance the insurance policy gives them. If the worst comes in life, insurance works to provide financial recovery. This awareness has increased the demand for insurance services in the last couple of decades.

Search the net and you will find so many services that offer car insurance. I think buying insurance has to be an informed decision. One should do a little home work, learn more about different insurance solutions available and also get quotes and compare, before buying a policy. Thanks to the Internet that all this can be done online these days. There are number of concerns providing insurance related services. However, I personally found Los Angeles Car Insurance one of the best among all.

I suggest you learn more about insurance before buying one. They are also offering life, health and business insurances.

Musharraf Raises Rs.250 Million For Flood Hit

2010-09-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

In what may be described as a noteworthy turn of events, former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who resigned just over two years ago after facing threat of impeachment, joined hands with a private television channel on Sunday night to seek and then garner pledges of hundreds of millions of rupees for the relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected people.

Taking part from London in a three-hour live “telethon” on Dunya TV, Gen (retd) Musharraf appealed for funds and people from all over the world responded generously, collectively pledging upwards of Rs250 million, the news channel claimed.

The people who phoned in to the television show to pledge donations for the Pervez Musharraf Foundation which, according to the former president has already been registered in the UK, also asked the retired general about his future plans. Gen (retd) Musharraf told them he planned to return to Pakistan to take part in the next general election. Mr Musharraf said only 5 per cent of the money collected by his foundation for the flood-hit would be spent on overheads.

Buy A New Clock

2010-09-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine gave me a wall clock on my sixth birth day. Since that time I remember that wall clock hanged in our wall. I don’t know why my parents didn’t buy any other wall clock. I think it’s not their priority, although there are many cheap wall clocks were available in the market at that time.

But I can remember once, when we were strolling in a shopping center, my father said that he wanted to purchase a wall clock. He wants the big wall clock; the antique-look whose weights and pendulums dangled and swung, and was cased inside a hardwood cabinet. The type of wall clock that is always featured in horror stories, which its ticks can be heard in the whole house no matter how big your house is. And when the hour hand strikes to 12 it will give you 12 loud signals warning you that it’s midnight and monsters are coming out.

I may be exaggerated. But if you’d ask me if I’ll agree with my father, I think I would definitely say yes. I love antiques. But I want to purchase one that is not too big. Anyway there are many modernized wall clock similar to the antique clock that my father would like to buy with size just enough for our house. There are number of online stores emerged in the market which are offering different types of clocks, however my father personally likes howard miller clock which is available here at very competitive rate. Have a look at the site and see what they are offering and how?

FBR Highlights Composite Audit Option to World Bank Review Mission

2010-09-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will highlight issues, particularly third-party composite audit, during the meeting with the World Bank (WB) review mission, which is scheduled to reach Pakistan on September 15, 2010. The core agenda of the WB review mission would be FBR reform. They said that the mission would be briefed about the progress of the cases selected for audit through random balloting.

Following reluctance of the top guns of FBR to continue third-party composite audit in coming years, the board seeks approval from WB to empower the commissioners to prioritize cases out of selected units for audit purposes, sources said, adding that the field offices would be empowered to exercise their discretionary powers to pick more potential cases for audit purposes. Moreover, they said, the tax offices were asked to compile the data of non-filer as the board has planned to give detailed presentation in this regard.

The mission would meet with members of FBR including tax policy, sales tax, customs, direct tax, information, admin, legal, human resources, CEO, PRAL, Director General (DG) of Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, DGs of Large Taxpayers Units (LTU) and Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) and others during 16-day official tour. They said that the WB review mission would also submit recommendations and suggestions to the finance minister on the farewell day of tour to help FBR for improving its performance.

Web Hosting Geeks

2010-09-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Term Geek reminds me of so many things. Term was coined earlier but it was during dot com boom that the term geek became popular and positively. Geeks are wonderful folks; keen and expert users of personal computers and the Internet in an upbeat sense. Besides others (businesses and individuals) geeks now proudly like to present themselves online for which they need best, trusted and uninterrupted web host.

In this age when website hosting is vital for every business, organization and even individuals, it is vital to host online assets with trusted web hosts. How to find them? Have a look at Web Hosting Geeks – that they offer best of the web hosts anywhere. Top 10 Web Hosting - Best Web Hosts (2010) and you will fine independent review of top 10 web hosting providers and cheap professional web hosting services. What is more, you can rate and review your own web hosting services you find there. That will also help other users like you.

Explore the site and see what all they are offering and how they can help. Web hosts are featured on front page and are also listed category wise on the side bar. There are sufficient accompanying details to give an idea of what one may be buying. Web Hosting Geeks is neatly laid out site and users’ friendly. See what they have for you; better still try them.

Flooded economy

2010-09-12T02:21:00.001-07:00

If flood comes, where should the animals go? Read the story here.

Eid Greetings

2010-09-11T04:51:00.001-07:00

My Eid greetings to all of you. But where is the joy of Eid?

Summer School with Monika Kuppler and Sophie

2010-08-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

Sophie Kuppler

Due to the heavy rains falling all over Pakistan, this year's Thatta Kedona summer school was more adventurous than usual. Monika Kuppler (handicrafts teacher) left Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka together with her students (Shama Bibi, Razia, Nazia and Shazia Sarfraz, Sughira Rafiq and Rahina Perveen) on July 19, 2010 to meet me [Sophie Kuppler, the English teacher] in Islamabad and then continue their travel up North to Gupis.

Short of Gupis, the travel was interrupted for two days due to landslides blocking the road. As clearance work took much longer than expected, we decided to leave some baggage behind and walk across the landslides.

Arriving in Gupis, classes stated. Our daily walks through the surrounding scenic areas helped to get in contact with local women, who would invite us into their houses for tea, delicious local bread and homemade apple jam. Some would even send apricots and apples to us at place where we were staying. This interaction gave us a chance to compare local handicrafts work with work from women art center Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka.

Our days at Gupis were thus filled with studying, cooking, doing handicrafts, and playing educational games for repeating the vocabulary learned. The students were learning very fast and all were enjoying the beautiful scenery and hospitality of the local people.

A few days after the rain had started the bridge in Gupis broke and all supplies were cut off. Fortunately, the owner of the guesthouse, where we stayed, had warned us early enough for us to be able to buy enough food for the coming days. Our worries about how to travel back were quickly dispersed: the local people had built a new wooden-bridge within two days.

Once it was possible to travel again we left Gupis for Gilgit, again only taking what we could carry as the streets were broken in many places and our journey had to be continued on foot.

Once in Gilgit, we were stuck for four days as the Karakorum Highway was blocked and flights could not operate due to bad weather. During this time we continued with the English classes and handicrafts work. Finally, the road through Naran valley was re-opened and two jeeps brought us safely across Babusar pass for our onward travel to Islamabad.

Despite the challenges all had learned a lot and were very happy. We would like to thank all those, who made this year's summer school possible and enjoyable and who helped us to get safely back to our respective homes. These are especially: Lions Club Heilbronn, Mrs Gabi Fröhlich, Mr. Shah Wali (Explore Pakistan), Mr Dildar, the hotel staff in Gilgit and all our drivers. [Also here]

Related: Summer Camp 2009

Promotional marketing

2010-08-27T03:46:00.000-07:00

Giveaways are one of the older traditions of promotional marketing. Savvy businesses have been giving corporate gifts and small little souvenirs to appreciate their clients since old times. Only the farms have changed. Promotional products and giveaways keep reminding customers about what the business is about. Thanks to Fresh Promotions that they offer wide range of promotional products and ideas that can really boost up your promotions. Have a look at the site and see what they are offering and how. Better still choose from their wide range of gifts (the carry over 15,000 items).

Looking for some items online, I came across Fresh Promotions' product list including promotional mugs. Personally, I like one of those those mugs to sit on my own table. Imagine an impact a mug with your message and or logo can have when it is sitting on an executive table. Similarly, promotional pens are very popular these days. Given the proliferating use of pens, almost everyone uses a pen. Nicely designed pen with your message or a company logo can go a long way in promoting your concerns.

If you have a need to advertise or promote your business, approach Fresh Promotions and chances are they will have what you may be looking for. In case it is not there in their range already, ask them and they would do their best to provide the promotional items you need for your next event.

Have a party

2010-08-27T03:29:00.003-07:00

It's easy to love a place where residents make efforts to feed the squirrels. In the Shalimar Garden, a few senior citizens party with the squirrels every morning.

When my friend Hussain Qazi who is naturalist and a photographer told me about people feeding birds and squirrels, I planned to skip my ‘ritual morning walks’ and decided to visit Shalimar Garden instead; hopping to find more about the party with the squirrels.

The care and feeding of squirrels in Shalimar Garden is a recent phenomenon. Long overshadowed by heritage talk (it is on UNESO’s world heritage list), Shalimar Garden is overcrowded during day. Whether or not Shalimar Garden ultimately can maintain its past glory - and with it, an influx of foreign and local tourists - it's a surprisingly satisfying open space during early hour of the day.

Every morning, two charismatic old men, loaded with biscuits, rice and pluses came to the waiting population of birds and squirrels in the Shalimar Garden. They sit on the same benches and start throwing grins to the birds. When this is happening, one can see squirrels coming down from nearby trees for their breakfast and then those gentlemen dig deep down their satchels and take out biscuits and start feeding the squirrels. The tiny winy animals are so use to those caring hands that they jump to take the first bite.

One of the old men Fazal Karim – a retired primary teacher who lives in nearby Daroge Wala – explained me this phenomenon and said, “I am coming here for my morning walk every day for a long time now. I feed the bird population and squirrels and find them very friendly. I miss them and look forward to meeting them every day. I think they miss me too.”

Intro to Appropriate Technology in Cameroon

2010-08-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

Readers at Light Within are familiar with the work of NGOs and how Thatta Kedona (and also SPARC) is making difference in a small village Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka situated on the bank of River Ravi near Gogera. Dr. Senta Siller (mother of dolls) and Dr. Norbert Centre (fondly called by village community as chaudhry sahib) keep toggling between Germany and the remote village with fresh ideas and people of the village keep making new products (dolls, tin toys and other decorative cultural mementos) keep travling from village to the entire world. Now the untiring couple has started another project in Cameroon. Heritage and Appropriate Technology Center is born in Cameroon.

Heritage and Appropriate Technology Center Cameroon is Bamenda - capital of North West Region in the Republic of Cameroon - based NGO. The NGO is focusing on development, presentation on exhibitions and promoting of appropriate technology. Do-it-yourself usage of appropriate technology gives a hope of independence from central technical infrastructure. And handmade dolls, dressed in traditional attires from the different provinces are a means of additional income generation in rural areas. Heritage and Appropriate Technology Center Cameroon involves men, women and also children in different initiatives.

Heritage and Appropriate Technology Center Cameroon has develop active cooperation with foreign NGOs like Technology Transfer and Training Centre in Pakistan, Institute for Planning and Consulting, German Society for the Development of Culture (DGFK) and Bamenda University of Science and Technology (B.U.S.T). This blog, in addition to useful information about Cameroon (one of the most diverse African countries that is called Africa in Miniature and its culture and people, will covers CAT initiatives and projects. [Via]

Mortgage Loan

2010-08-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

In this slow economic age, people need advice to manage their personal finance. Given growing needs and increasing number of services coming up every day, it becomes overwhelming to choose the best.

New credit avenue has made this job easy. With aim to provide users with the tools and assistance they need to find the lowest rates available on mortgages, insurance, loans, debt solutions, investments, and banking products, this has become a fist stop for those who are looking for information and want to make an informed decision.

Explore this new credit avenue and see what they are offering and how; compare, and apply for all of these products online, which will save you time, money, and effort. They also provide informational guides and current financial news articles, mortgage and loan calculators, as well as product comparison tools to assist consumers in making the wisest and most prudent financial decisions.

They have developed close relationships with mortgage and loan lenders, brokers, and advisors to help consumers find the best mortgage loans or loan products to suit their needs. What is more, This is a free, impartial, and unbiased internet based service. Try them and make informed financial decisions.

Economic and Business Updates From August 09 to 15, 2010

2010-08-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

The World Bank commits $900 million for relief and reconstruction of flood-ravaged areas and to undertake damage and needs assessment exercise from next week.

The country suffers a loss of about Rs250 billion in agriculture and livestock sectors, and the flood recovery costs may run into billions of dollars, say local experts and a UN spokesman.

The government increases the Treasury bills rates on all tenors of the paper up to 41 basis points, reflecting the existence of higher inflation in the economy.

Pakistan is likely to lose 1-1.5 per cent of its GDP growth against its target of 4.5 per cent as the devastation caused by floods is unfolding and some key sectors of the economy have been damaged.

The United Nations appeals for $459 million in aid for flood-hit Pakistan, warning of a second wave of death among sick, hungry survivors unless help arrived quickly.

Diplomats from 14 Islamic states assure Pakistan of financial support for the victims of the devastating floods.

The donors provide $38.2 million to the United Nations besides pledging $90.9 million for the flood rescue operations in Pakistan.

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan awards a tender for import of 205,000 tons of sugar to M/s Al Khaliji Sugar Company, Dubai, at the lowest bid price of $674.80 per ton C&F for containerised shipment.

The federal minister for food and agriculture announces finalisation of a National Commercial Seed Production Programme to strengthen the seed market enforcement capacity of the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department.

The withholding tax at the rate of 0.3 per cent will not be deductible on cash deposits in the bank from account holder under Section 231AA of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

One-year collection of withholding tax shows that the Federal Board of Revenue collected nearly Rs21 billion from mobile phone subscribers using prepaid calling cards in 2009-10, against about Rs20 billion in the same period of last year, depicting a steep rise in the use of prepaid calling cards facility.

About 400 steel re-rolling mills unanimously decide not to buy steel products from Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation in protest against FIA’s harassment of millers regarding recovery claim.

The centre advises the provinces that instead of complaining of less funds coming from the center, they should reprioritise their budgetary allocations by putting a freeze on expenditures and pumping maximum funds to relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation activities in the flood-affected areas.

Life Insurance - No Medical Exam

2010-08-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

Insurance is important to the fabrics of societies and to economies. And one does not have to be an economist to know this. Insurance is something people buy hoping they never have to use. They purchase insurance to guards against unexpected and unaffordable losses. Where the purchasers really win is in the peace of mind the insurance policy buys them. If the worst should happen, insurance works to provide financial recovery. This knowledge has increased the demand for insurance services in the last couple of decades.

Dedicated services like Life Insurance No Medical Exam are helping by bringing insurance solutions to closer to people. They focus on all aspects of health insurance. The benefits, prices and duration of these policies greatly vary and are purchased by individuals for specific reasons and needs. There are also guides and articles covering health insurance hoping to help our visitors get the information they need before and after buying health insurance. Their claim to fame is Health Insurance Quotes service.

Fill an easy form online and you get access to affordable health insurance from multiple companies and agents. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Better still get a quote and take your first step.

Faysal Bank Obtained NOC From SBP Regarding RBS Acquisition

2010-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday granted No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Faysal Bank Limited for the purchase of Royal Bank of Scotland Pakistan operation. Faysal Bank Limited (FABL) has already entered into an agreement to acquire interest in the Pakistan franchise of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Pakistan) as per following;

Interest to be Acquired = 99.37 percent interest

Consideration to be Paid = Cash Euro 41.000 million (equivalent to Rs 4.298 billion)

Consideration Per Share = Rs 2.52 per share

Promoting Business

2010-07-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

Promotion of a business is one of the four elements of marketing mix (product, price, promotion, distribution). It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision

There are many ways to promote your business. Most businesses have promotional products, promotional compendiums and giveaways that keep reminding their customers about what they do. Thanks to Fresh Promotions that they offer best promotional products and ideas. Fresh Promotions brings you the Branded promotional products. Fresh Promotions Australia offers over 15,000 different promotional products,

Australia

's largest and most innovative range of promotional merchandise. Their international sourcing and import services guarantee Fresh Promotions has the latest and most creative promotional items available in the

Australia

market.

Best thing is that the wide variety of promotional products is available including polo shirts at Fresh Promotions to choose from. If you have a need to advertise or promote your business in a very effective and appropriate manner, ask Fresh Promotion and they and they would do their best to provide the promotional items for your next event. Explore the neatly laid of site and see what they are offering and how. Better still, try them.

Glass Showcases

2010-07-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

Normally a showcase, or vitrine, is a glassed-in cabinet or display case for displaying delicate or valuable articles such as objects, art or merchandise in a shop, museum, or house. There are number of concerns which are claiming to provide one of best showcases, however only few can display showcases which are manufactured with high quality materials with special attention to each minute detail.

Glass showcases are great display cases for presenting your products in open store places where they can be seen from all different angles. They are offering many freestanding retail showcases with glass on all sides, including glass towers, glass back showcases, museum showcases, and more. Further, they are offering standard laminate and veneer finishes, and they can also customize finishes to client’s specifications in a wide range of colors, finishes and lighting options and can design any showcase or display cases imaginable. The aluminum frames can be anodized or powder-coated in a wide variety of finishes and they can use nearly all laminates available on the market today.

Have a look at the site to and see what they are offering and how could you find the glass showcase you're looking for. Further you can ask how they can customize your standard showcases to fit perfectly into your retail stores.

Cotton Prices Staggering At See Saw Position

2010-07-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

Cotton price across the country witnessed a massive decline on reports of keeping regulatory duty imposed for one more month. The cotton rates in Punjab slashed by Rs.300 to Rs.6,500 per maund while in Sindh the price stood at Rs.6,100 per maund.

Member Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association Ahsanul Haq said that the price of cotton has seen a decline of Rs800 over the past one week while the supply of Phutti into the ginning factories has witnessed a 25 per cent rise. He said that NA Standing Committee on Textile has moved a proposal to extend imposition of 15 per cent regulatory duty on yarn import till August 26. This has triggered massive decrease in the price of cotton in local market

Education at Its Excellence

2010-07-21T00:16:00.001-07:00

When I was child, my father told me about school - an institution designed for the teaching of students under the supervision of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country however generally include primary school for young children which are enhancing primary life skills of students and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education.

In addition to these core schools, students in a given country may also attend schools before and after primary and secondary education. Kindergarten or pre-school provide some schooling to very young children (typically ages 3–5). University, vocational school, college or seminary may be available after secondary school. A school may also be dedicated to one particular field, such as a school of economics or a school of dance. Alternative schools may provide nontraditional curriculum and methods.

Have a look at ICS that aims for educational excellence by developing independent, inquiring and collaborative learners within a safe, enjoyable and stimulating environment. They believe in equality of opportunity and a celebration of diversity, and we support our students in becoming successful world citizens.

Expected New Governor of State Bank of Pakistan

2010-07-20T02:35:00.000-07:00

The much promised race for the coveted post of Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan has failed to materialise. By all indications so far, it is going to be a one-man run and the acting Governor Yaseen Anwar appears poised to become head of the central bank.

Most banking and financial market analysts believe that he has beaten whatever competition he had initially and emerged as the most viable replacement for Syed Salim Raza who resigned as governor of the bank on June 2, citing “personal” reasons. “Mr Anwar has now emerged as the strongest – and possibly the only – candidate for the top job in the bank,” a senior Lahore-based banker told Dawn last week. The financial markets have been speculating different names – including but not limiting to former SBP Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar and former special finance secretary Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan – for the governorship of the bank ever since Syed Raza quit.

Some finance ministry officials say that Dr Akhtar had already turned down the government’s offer while Dr Khan was never approached for the job. Others, whose names had popped up in the market for the job, either did not meet the criteria for the governorship or were not considered competent enough by the authorities.

The banker pointed out that the acting governor had accompanied President Asif Ali Zardari on his recent China visit, which indicated the presidential preference for him for the post. But not everyone agrees with him.

Life Insurance

2010-07-16T02:29:00.000-07:00

Life Insurance is important for everyone. One does not have to be an expert to see the advantages of insurance coverage; particularly for life. If the worst comes in life, insurance works to provide financial recovery. This awareness has increased the demand for insurance services in the last couple of decades and now people have started to get life insurance quotes at their own desk. Have a look at it.

Economic and Business Updates From July 05 to 11, 2010

2010-07-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

• The International Monetary Fund projects that Pakistan’s economy will grow by four per cent during the current fiscal year, which will expand to six per cent within the next five years.

• The World Bank forecasts further rise in power tariff to bridge the gap between the cost of production and the billing amount collected from consumers.

• The consumer price index rises by 12.6 per cent year-onyear in June, a slower rise than May, due to cut in domestic fuel prices

• The fiscal deficit for the financial year 2009-10 has provisionally been estimated at more than 5.8 per cent mainly because of substantial revenue shortfall, non-realisation of targeted foreign inflows and negative provincial budgets.

• The Federal Board of Revenue establishes two regional tax offices in Karachi which will start operation from August 1.

• The Mari Gas Company Limited makes a significant discovery of gas/condensate with its tested maximum flow rate of 11.5MMSCFD in the Sujawal X-1 in the Sujawal Exploration Block in Sindh.

• Pakistan and China reaffirm at the highest level to strengthen strategic relationship between the two countries, increase the level of economic cooperation by an order of magnitude, and take concrete measures to bring their peoples closer.

• Pakistan rejects an Afghan proposal to allow transit facility for transportation of Indian goods to Afghanistan through Wahgah border under the proposed Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement.

• The government decides to revise the PC-1 of the multi-billion dollar DiamerBhasha Dam to extend additional financial benefits to the affected people.

• Pakistan's rice exports register a growth of 57 per cent during the fiscal year 2009-10, but the value declines by 30 per cent on nonbasmati, and 30 per cent on basmati rice.

• The State Bank again gives three to six months extension to the 12 banks for meeting the minimum capital requirement which they failed to achieve for the second time.

• The German Technical cooperation offers financial and technical assistance to the Federal Board of Revenue in the key areas of tax administration reforms including value added tax /reformed general sales tax.

International

• The Monetary Fund observes that the value added tax or an improved tax on sales and consumption is an integral part of the IMF programme.

• Banks/DFIs suffer a loss of Rs2.278 billion on account of loan written off since March 2008, according to federal ministry for finance.

• The national grid will have another 1,200MW of electricity by the end of this year, says Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Freelance Consultants

2010-07-13T00:48:00.001-07:00

The Internet has opened up many freelance opportunities, expanded available markets, and has contributed to service sector growth in many economies. Offshore outsourcing and crowd sourcing are heavily reliant on the Internet to provide economical access to remote workers, and frequently leverage technology to manage workflow to and from the employer. Much of the computer freelance work is being outsourced to poorer countries outside the

United States

and Europe. This has spurred conflict because American and European workers are not receiving the benefits. The compromise has led to student freelancers who now provide a steady source of cheap labor while keeping jobs American and European.

Freelancers and clients may form a relationship based on mutual needs and the professionalism and competence of both parties. There are number of freelancers available in the market which are claiming to provide internet related services including managing organic and search engine marketing campaigns, employing integrated analytics for ongoing ROI optimization, increasing websites' traffic, managing pay-per-click campaigns, setting up and managing financial, property, recruitment, legal, e-commerce and travel sectors and many more. However, I personally found freelance SEO one of the best among all.

SEO consultant is one of the best Search Engine Optimization Specialists which has deep knowledge about search engines and have ability to bring the site in top positions for targeted keywords by applying various methods hence generating higher sale and ROI. SEO consultants really have art of helping sites get found on top of the search engines for relevant keywords because they are very well aware of the fact that achieving the high ranking on top search engine is the best advertising tool on the Web today. Visit the neatly laid out site and what they are offering and how they can help us to promote our business activity in a very congenial way.

Economic and Business Updates From June 28 to July 04, 2010

2010-07-07T00:45:00.000-07:00

Pakistan receives foreign inflows worth $710 million $470 million from the Asian Development Bank, $65 million from the USAID and $175 million from the World Bank.
The government increases power tariff of all power companies across the board by 7.6 per cent from July 1, under an agreement with the IMF, while the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has already enhanced the tariff by 14 paisa per unit under the fuel adjustment surcharge.
The country has achieved the IMF’s three primary targets – zero budgetary borrowings, Net Domestic Assets and Net Foreign Assets set for the quarter ending June 30.
The World Bank supports introduction of ‘reformed general sales tax’ as it will contain all features of the value added tax.
The State Bank increases the rate of finance under the Export Finance Scheme, and from November 2009 the rate is increased by 1.5 per cent diluting the effectiveness of cheaper money for higher exports.
The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet rejects the proposal to export two million tons of wheat at reduced rate, saying the government was not interested in benefiting foreign consumers.
A record 4,607 million tons of rice is exported during the fiscal year 2009-10 earning $2.265 billion foreign exchange.
Almost 46 per cent of government revenue is used for interest and principal payments on public debt during first nine months of fiscal year 2009-10 aggregating Rs640.2 billion.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority reduces prices of petroleum products by up to three per cent with effect from July 1.
The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet defers the proposals for deregulation of petroleum products’ prices and approval of LNG import contracts as well as import of used vehicles on commercial basis.
The State Bank withdraws restrictions on banks and Development Finance Institutions to invest in commercial papers.
The Pakistan Steel Mills receives Rs3 billion from the government for import of iron ore and clear out standing utility bills.
The ship-breaking yard at Gaddani broke all previous records where 107 ships having total light displacement tonnage of 852,022 tons were beached for scrap during the current fiscal year.
Federal Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh directs the tax collecting authorities not to harass taxpayer investors during filing their returns of newly imposed capital gains tax on share trading.
The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserve position to $15.83 billion during the week ended on June 25 from $15.777 billion a week ago.

Economy – Modern day Economy

2010-07-07T00:40:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

We all have come to live the fact that recession has affected our lives to a great extent. The recession last year has been one of the biggest the world has seen ever since The Great Depression of 1929 in America. What we have to realize now is how long the recession is going to stay. The recession that started last year is going to make us stand on our toes. At least that is what most analysts say. But, what is the current state of economy in 2010? This might probably one of the most important articles you will have read in the most recent times. So, gear up for its going to be a hayride.

Overview:

You must have heard of the situation that had arisen in Greece some days back. Riots on large scale are being done by the people against the decision of the governing leaders of its country. You may be wondering what those decisions are. The repercussions of those decisions are that unemployment has risen to almost 10% and the economy as expected is in a very bad state of affairs. Greek people are in need of desperate help. Greece had agreed to raise taxes up to 24% and other accompanying factors in barter for a 144 billion bailout loan from other countries. This would only directly affect the people of Greece. Even worse, is what you are going to hear. This bailout plan is intended to sort out the problems of Greece only for 1 year.

Factors leading to the situations:

Many factors can be blamed responsible for the situation that has arisen in Greece. Each nation has a central bank and each central bank has a authorization to print currency without having anything to back it up, no assets to guarantee the value. This crisis can be traced back to the year 1971 when the law was first removed where each nation had to have assets (Gold or Silver as collateral or security). This, in turn is showing results these days in comparison to the Euro Dollar, wherein each nation is printing currency for free with this authorization. Euro dollar is in such bad shape that it is not surprising that this condition is spreading to other parts of the world too. Countries like UK, US, Japan, China too have been affected to a large extent due to such decisions.

Another major factor that has to be taken into consideration is the credit report scam. This has to be dealt with in a careful manner, especially in these times of distress. You have to be very careful with regard to your Credit Card Statements. Keep a constant check on them. Money laundering is very common these days with regard to credit report scam. You have to exercise properly the credit card information you provide to others otherwise your money will be another person’s feast. Money gone is money gone, especially in these times of recession.