International 'The King's Speech' crowned with Oscar See on Page 12 SC suspends PC recommendations See on Page 12 Malik anticipates good time ahead See on Page 12 *Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 112.06 *Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 97.43 *Cotton $/lb 191.23 *Gold $/ozs 1,410.40 *Silver $/ozs 33.55 Malaysian Palm $ 1,137 GOLD (NCEL) PKR 38,882 KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 12,646 Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 25-Feb-2011) Monthly(Feb, 2010 up to-25-Feb-2011) Daily (25-Feb -2011) Total Portfolio Invest (19-Feb-2011) 196.41 -4.34 -0.30 2987 2.22 0.08 0.52 0.69 -0.02 -3.52 0.02 SCRA(U.S $ in million) Portfolio Investment FIPI (28-Feb-2011) Local Companies (28-Feb-2011) Banks / DFI (28-Feb-2011) Mutual Funds (28-Feb-2011) NBFC (28-Feb-2011) Local Investors (28-Feb-2011) Other Organization (28-Feb-2011) (U.S $ in million) NCCPL GDR update Commodities Forex Reserves (19-Feb-11) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Jan 11) Exports (Jul 10-Jan 11) Imports (Jul 10-Jan 11) Trade Balance (Jul 10-Jan 11) Current A/C (Jul 10- Jan 11) Remittances (Jul 10 - Jan 11) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Jan 11) Revenue (Jul 10 Jan 11) Foreign Debt (Dec 10) Domestic Debt (Dec 10) Repatriated Profit (Jul- Dec 10) LSM Growth (Dec 10) GDP Growth FY10E Per Capita Income FY10 Population $17.59bn 14.55% $13.23bn $22.55bn $(9.32)bn $(81)mn $6.12bn $1.18bn Rs 765bn $58.39bn Rs 5497.4bn $338.2mn -1.57% 4.10% $1,051 175.31mn Economic Indicators Symbols MCB (1 GDR= 2 Shares) OGDC (1 GDR= 10 Shares) UBL (1 GDR= 4 Shares) LUCK (1 GDR= 4 Shares) HUBC (1 GDR= 25 Shares) $.Price 2.60 15.01 2.00 1.70 11.31 PKR/Shares 111.25 128.45 42.79 36.37 38.71 T-Bills (3 Mths) T-Bills (6 Mths) T-Bills (12 Mths) Discount Rate Kibor (1 Mth) Kibor (3 Mths) Kibor (6 Mths) Kibor ( 9 Mths) Kibor (1Yr) P.I.B ( 3 Yrs) P.I.B (5 Yrs) P.I.B (10 Yrs) P.I.B (15 Yrs) P.I.B (20 Yrs) P.I.B (30 Yrs) 23-Feb-2011 23-Feb-2011 23-Feb-2011 29-Nov-2010 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 28-Feb-2011 13.49% 13.69% 13.86% 14.00% 13.29% 13.59% 13.76% 14.13% 14.25% 14.18% 14.21% 14.20% 14.56% 14.77% 14.97% Money Market Update Symbols Buy (Rs) Sell (Rs) Australian $ 86.40 87.40 Canadian $ 87.15 88.15 Danish Krone 15.50 15.80 Euro 117.50 119.20 Hong Kong $ 10.50 11.00 Japanese Yen 1.034 1.060 Saudi Riyal 22.70 22.90 Singapore $ 66.80 67.80 Swedish Korona 13.20 13.40 Swiss Franc 90.50 91.30 U.A.E Dirham 23.20 23.40 UK Pound 137.70 139.00 US $ 85.55 85.85 Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols Buying Selling TT Clean TT & OD Australian $ 86.79 86.99 Canadian $ 87.43 87.64 Danish Krone 15.76 15.80 Euro 117.56 117.83 Hong Kong $ 10.97 11.00 Japanese Yen 1.047 1.049 Saudi Riyal 22.81 22.86 Singapore $ 67.14 67.30 Swedish Korona 13.30 13.34 Swiss Franc 92.19 92.40 U.A.E Dirham 23.28 23.33 UK Pound 137.80 138.12 US $ 85.58 85.76 Inter-Bank Currency Rates Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com www.thefinancialdaily.com CITIES MAX-TEMP MIN ISLAMABAD 16°C 4°C KARACHI 31°C 15°C LAHORE 20°C 8°C FAISALABAD 18°C 10°C QUETTA 11°C 6°C RAWALPINDI 16°C 7°C Weather Forecast Index Close Change KSE 100 11,289.23 65.71 Nikkei 225 10,624.09 97.33 Hang Seng 23,338.02 325.65 Sensex 30 17,823.40 122.49 ADX 2,588.90 -39.41 SSE COMP. 2,905.05 26.49 FTSE 100 6,018.25 17.05 *Dow Jones 12,228.50 98.05 Global Indices Sharif vows another long-march, if needed See on Page 12 Staff Reporter KARACHI: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Monday night announced the 9.9 per cent hike in petroleum prices. According to the notification issued, Regulatory Authority raised Petrol price by Rs7.23 per litre to Rs80.19 per litre whereas diesel price jacked up by Rs7.76 to Rs86.09 per litre, Naphtha price raised by Rs7 to Rs77.95, High Octane by Rs8 to Rs95.98/litre whereas Light Diesel prices raised by Rs6.60 to Rs73.21 per litre The notification further revealed that government has also increased the levy on the petrole- um prices and levy on Petrol was raised to Rs.25 per litre whereas on High Speed Diesel it was raised to Rs3.75 per litre. Earlier, it was expected that government might not increased the petroleum prices keeping in view the stiff resistance from the various political parties regarding the further increase in the petroleum prices. Due to the deadlock PM Gilani was forced to maintain the existing petroleum tariff for months of January and February, causing a loss of Rs12 billion plus in subsidies, which according to sources could incur a further loss of Rs8 billion. Last month PML-N and MQM strongly opposed the increase in POL prices. It is pertinent to mention here that international oil prices at the moment hovering above $110 per barrel. However, after the increase in the international oil prices it looked imperative for the local petroleum prices to go up in Pakistan, otherwise govern- ment would have to pay Rs11- 13 billion . Govt raises POL prices by 9.9pc KARACHI: Police dispersing demonstrators during their demonstration against the non availability of petrol during the strike called by the Petrol Dealer Association. -Online Petrol now available at Rs80.19 per litre Look out for the March issue ISLAMABAD: The review mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) would commence negotiations here Tuesday on technical and poli- cy matters with financial team of the government. According to the sources of Ministry of Finance, govern- ment financial team, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and State Bank of Pakistan would brief the IMF about increase in revenue, fiscal discipline and to fix the budget deficit from 4.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent. Minister of Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will try to convince the IMF team for the release of sixth installment of $1.7billion under Standby Arrangement Program which was withheld from the last eight months. The sources also revealed that Finance Minister would ensure IMF team to implement Reformed General Sales tax (RGST) from June this year through finance bill of 2010-11 so as the pending installment of Standby Arrangement Program might be given out. Dr Hafeez would also inform the IMF about the development in the talks with opposition parties especially PML-N in this regard. During the talks the matter regarding downsizing of cabi- net, limiting the PSDP to Rs150bn , cut of Rs10 billion in budget of Railways and Benazir Income Support Program, reduction in expendi- tures, reforms in energy sector and abolishment of subsidy to petroleum sector, Railways, PIA, Steel Mills and other See # 7 Page 11 Shaikh in a bid to win over IMF Sixth tranche of $1.6 billion ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) has allowed one- month period to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to furnish report in Nato-container-cor- ruption case. A 3-member bench of SC presided over by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Monday. Chairman FBR Suleiman Siddique told that he was hope- ful to recover Rs70 billion in this scam. Suleiman Siddique told the court Afghan authorities had extended full cooperation in probing into this scandal added all the electronic data had been collected and some time was required to analyse it. Over 70 billion rupees were likely to come to national exchequer out of this scandal, he hoped. Investigation team was hold- ing neutral inquiry against the persons found involved in the scandal, he told. He went on to say that Afghan government was con- ducting probe in its own coun- try to initiate action against the persons found responsible in this case. The court maintained that it See # 9 Page 11 FBR hopeful of Rs70bn recovery SC learns about NATO-container-scam Staff Reporter KARACHI: Country's budget deficit for the first six months of the current fiscal-year was recorded at 2.9 per cent of gross domestic product, Finance Ministry said on its web site Monday. This compared with a deficit of 2.7 per cent in the same peri- od last year. In the October-December quarter, the deficit eased to 1.3 per cent from 1.6 per cent in the preceding quarter. Analysts said the lower sec- ond-quarter deficit was largely due to payments by the United States for logistical support provided by Pakistan in the war against Islamist militants. In November 2010, Pakistan agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it would keep the country's budg- et deficit at 4.7 per cent for the 2010/11 fiscal year. However, analysts agree Pakistan will likely overshoot this figure. Some forecast the deficit to be around 8 per cent, higher than the central bank's predic- tion of between 6.0 and 6.5 per cent, if fiscal reforms are not implemented. The original target of 4 per cent was revised following the devastating summer floods, which caused around $10 bil- lion in damages. 1H budget deficit at 2.9pc of GDP Aamir Abidi KARACHI: Total fertiliser offtake depicts a fall of 22 per cent to reach at 540 thousand tonnes in first month of calen- dar year 2011, compared with 692 thousand tonnes during same period last year, as revealed by the recent data released by National Fertilizer Development Centre (NDFC). This was mainly driven by a 45-day closure of fertiliser plant on Sui network and more curtailment on Mari network along with higher fertiliser prices. According to the latest fer- tiliser data, urea sales dipped 28 per cent to 394k tonnes against 546k tonnes during the identical period last year. On MoM basis the decline was more pronounced with urea as its sales down by 37.1 per cent. See # 6 Page 11 Fertilisers begin yr with 22pc fall Urea & DAP sales drop 28pc & 36pc in Jan Karachi, Tuesday, March 1, 2011, Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, Price Rs12 Pages 12 PPDA demands hike in commission Dealers strike fuels Karachiites anger Thousands protest against fuel shortage Staff Reporter/ Agencies KARACHI: Shutter-down strike was observed Monday in the city on the call of Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) to press for the hike in commission triggering people's rage, who blocked roads and protested against non-availability of petrol. The PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan while talking to pri- vate TV channels said that it was the See # 11 Page 11 JJVL stays LPG prices KARACHI: Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited, one of Pakistan's leading LPG produc- ers, has decided not to raise its LPG base-stock price despite the increase in the Saudi Aramco Contract Price by $30 per metric ton for March. "In view of the shortage and affordability issues being faced by fuel consumers nationwide, JJVL has decided not to increase its prices for March," said a company spokesman on Monday. "LPG retail prices have See # 5 Page 11 Altaf asks Generals to support revolution Staff Report KARACHI: "The patriotic generals of the country shall play a role for a revolution in Pakistan, and just like the other countries the army should back people's revolt", said the chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain on Monday. Altaf Hussain said in his tele- phonic address, from London, in a public gathering on MQM Labor Division's foundation day in Karachi that he is not demanding any martial law in the country but clarifying the role of generals in past. MQM chief added that in past generals joined hands with those who looted the country and enjoyed ruling the country most of the time but now every- thing has changed and it is the need of the hour that the patri- otic generals should play a pos- itive role for the benefit of the people and country. "People are giving their lives for the revolutions in the Gulf countries and the lava of Pakistani people's anger is also ready to explode very soon," Altaf Hussain added. President takes stock of issues Staff Reporter KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting in Bilawal House Karachi with the Sindh provincial ministers belonging to the PPP to take stock of the political situation in the province and in the coun- try and matters relating to the coalition partnership. The meeting of the provincial ministers was also attended by the Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah. The Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah gave a briefing on the political situation in the province and coalition matters. See # 8 Page 11 More powers for State Bank assured ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said on Monday that the government was com- mitted to give further autono- my to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). She was replying to a calling attention notice of Hamayun Saifullah Khan, Abdul Rashid See # 10 Page 11
Transcript
International
'The King's Speech' crowned with Oscar See on Page 12
KARACHI: Oil and GasRegulatory Authority (Ogra)Monday night announced the9.9 per cent hike in petroleumprices.
According to the notificationissued, Regulatory Authorityraised Petrol price by Rs7.23per litre to Rs80.19 per litrewhereas diesel price jacked upby Rs7.76 to Rs86.09 per litre,Naphtha price raised by Rs7 toRs77.95, High Octane by Rs8 toRs95.98/litre whereas LightDiesel prices raised by Rs6.60to Rs73.21 per litre
The notification furtherrevealed that government has alsoincreased the levy on the petrole-um prices and levy on Petrol wasraised to Rs.25 per litre whereason High Speed Diesel it wasraised to Rs3.75 per litre.
Earlier, it was expected thatgovernment might not increasedthe petroleum prices keeping inview the stiff resistance fromthe various political partiesregarding the further increase in
the petroleum prices.Due to the deadlock PM
Gilani was forced to maintainthe existing petroleum tariff formonths of January andFebruary, causing a loss ofRs12 billion plus in subsidies,which according to sourcescould incur a further loss ofRs8 billion.
Last month PML-N andMQM strongly opposed the
increase in POL prices.It is pertinent to mention here
that international oil prices atthe moment hovering above$110 per barrel.
However, after the increasein the international oil prices itlooked imperative for the localpetroleum prices to go up inPakistan, otherwise govern-ment would have to pay Rs11-13 billion .
Govt raises POLprices by 9.9pc
KARACHI: Police dispersing demonstrators during their demonstration against the nonavailability of petrol during the strike called by the Petrol Dealer Association. -Online
Petrol now available at Rs80.19 per litre
Look out for the March issue
ISLAMABAD: The reviewmission of InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) wouldcommence negotiations hereTuesday on technical and poli-cy matters with financial teamof the government.
According to the sources ofMinistry of Finance, govern-ment financial team, FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR) andState Bank of Pakistan wouldbrief the IMF about increase inrevenue, fiscal discipline andto fix the budget deficit from4.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
Minister of Finance DrAbdul Hafeez Shaikh will tryto convince the IMF team forthe release of sixth installmentof $1.7billion under StandbyArrangement Program whichwas withheld from the lasteight months.
The sources also revealed
that Finance Minister wouldensure IMF team to implementReformed General Sales tax(RGST) from June this yearthrough finance bill of 2010-11so as the pending installmentof Standby ArrangementProgram might be given out.
Dr Hafeez would also informthe IMF about the developmentin the talks with oppositionparties especially PML-N inthis regard.
During the talks the matterregarding downsizing of cabi-net, limiting the PSDP toRs150bn , cut of Rs10 billionin budget of Railways andBenazir Income SupportProgram, reduction in expendi-tures, reforms in energy sectorand abolishment of subsidy topetroleum sector, Railways,PIA, Steel Mills and other
See # 7 Page 11
Shaikh in a bidto win over IMF
Sixth tranche of $1.6 billion
ISLAMABAD: SupremeCourt (SC) has allowed one-month period to Federal Boardof Revenue (FBR) to furnishreport in Nato-container-cor-ruption case.
A 3-member bench of SCpresided over by the ChiefJustice of Pakistan (CJP)Iftikhar Muhammad ChaudhryMonday.
Chairman FBR SuleimanSiddique told that he was hope-ful to recover Rs70 billion inthis scam.
Suleiman Siddique told thecourt Afghan authorities hadextended full cooperation inprobing into this scandal added
all the electronic data had beencollected and some time wasrequired to analyse it.
Over 70 billion rupees werelikely to come to nationalexchequer out of this scandal,he hoped.
Investigation team was hold-ing neutral inquiry against thepersons found involved in thescandal, he told.
He went on to say thatAfghan government was con-ducting probe in its own coun-try to initiate action against thepersons found responsible inthis case.
The court maintained that it See # 9 Page 11
FBR hopeful ofRs70bn recovery
SC learns about NATO-container-scam
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Country's budgetdeficit for the first six monthsof the current fiscal-year wasrecorded at 2.9 per cent ofgross domestic product,Finance Ministry said on itsweb site Monday.
This compared with a deficitof 2.7 per cent in the same peri-od last year.
In the October-Decemberquarter, the deficit eased to 1.3per cent from 1.6 per cent inthe preceding quarter.
Analysts said the lower sec-ond-quarter deficit was largelydue to payments by the UnitedStates for logistical supportprovided by Pakistan in the
war against Islamist militants.In November 2010, Pakistan
agreed with the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) that itwould keep the country's budg-et deficit at 4.7 per cent for the2010/11 fiscal year.
However, analysts agreePakistan will likely overshootthis figure.
Some forecast the deficit tobe around 8 per cent, higherthan the central bank's predic-tion of between 6.0 and 6.5 percent, if fiscal reforms are notimplemented.
The original target of 4 percent was revised following thedevastating summer floods,which caused around $10 bil-lion in damages.
1H budget deficitat 2.9pc of GDP
Aamir Abidi
KARACHI: Total fertiliserofftake depicts a fall of 22 percent to reach at 540 thousandtonnes in first month of calen-dar year 2011, compared with692 thousand tonnes duringsame period last year, asrevealed by the recent datareleased by National FertilizerDevelopment Centre (NDFC).
This was mainly driven by a45-day closure of fertiliser
plant on Sui network and morecurtailment on Mari networkalong with higher fertiliserprices.
According to the latest fer-tiliser data, urea sales dipped28 per cent to 394k tonnesagainst 546k tonnes during theidentical period last year.
On MoM basis the declinewas more pronounced withurea as its sales down by 37.1per cent.
Staff Reporter/ AgenciesKARACHI: Shutter-down strike was observed Monday in thecity on the call of Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association(PPDA) to press for the hike in commission triggering people'srage, who blocked roads and protested against non-availability ofpetrol.
The PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan while talking to pri-vate TV channels said that it was the See # 11 Page 11
JJVL staysLPG prices
KARACHI: Jamshoro JointVenture Limited, one ofPakistan's leading LPG produc-ers, has decided not to raise itsLPG base-stock price despite theincrease in the Saudi AramcoContract Price by $30 per metricton for March.
"In view of the shortage andaffordability issues being facedby fuel consumers nationwide,JJVL has decided not to increaseits prices for March," said acompany spokesman onMonday.
"LPG retail prices have See # 5 Page 11
Altaf asksGenerals
to supportrevolution
Staff Report
KARACHI: "The patrioticgenerals of the country shallplay a role for a revolution inPakistan, and just like the othercountries the army should backpeople's revolt", said the chiefof Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) AltafHussain on Monday.
Altaf Hussain said in his tele-phonic address, from London,in a public gathering on MQMLabor Division's foundationday in Karachi that he is notdemanding any martial law inthe country but clarifying therole of generals in past.
MQM chief added that in pastgenerals joined hands withthose who looted the countryand enjoyed ruling the countrymost of the time but now every-thing has changed and it is theneed of the hour that the patri-otic generals should play a pos-itive role for the benefit of thepeople and country.
"People are giving their livesfor the revolutions in the Gulfcountries and the lava ofPakistani people's anger is alsoready to explode very soon,"Altaf Hussain added.
Presidenttakes stock
of issuesStaff Reporter
KARACHI: President Asif AliZardari held a meeting inBilawal House Karachi withthe Sindh provincial ministersbelonging to the PPP to takestock of the political situationin the province and in the coun-try and matters relating to thecoalition partnership.
The meeting of the provincialministers was also attended bythe Chief Minister Syed QaimAli Shah.
The Chief Minister SyedQaim Ali Shah gave a briefingon the political situation in theprovince and coalition matters.
See # 8 Page 11
More powers
for State Bankassured
ISLAMABAD: State Minister
for Foreign Affairs Hina
Rabbani Khar said on Monday
that the government was com-
mitted to give further autono-
my to the State Bank of
Pakistan (SBP).She was replying to a calling
attention notice of HamayunSaifullah Khan, Abdul Rashid
See # 10 Page 11
2 Tuesday, March 1, 2011
ISLAMABAD: ThePakistan EconomyWatch (PEW) onMonday said politicalconfrontation in Pakistancan jeopardize chancesof economic recovery.
Government and oppo-sition should try to bringpolitical harmony in thecountry so that propereconomic measures canbe put in place, it said.
Politicians should sittogether for the sake ofthe country otherwisecountry will face furtherproblems on all fronts,Dr. Murtaza Mughal,President PEW said.
He said that economycannot sustain withoutregular supply of energy
but many related issuesincluding that of circulardebt has been tackled onad hoc basis.
Widening fiscal deficitand climbing debt serv-icing are posing seriousthreat to the economy,he said adding thatcountry is unsuccessful-ly dealing with the taskof raising revenues toovercome budgetary gapthat has been estimatedto cross Rs one trillionmark.
Anti-people alliancesof urban elites andselected industries arenot ready to pay theirshare in the nationaldevelopment whichleaves country with no
option but to cut devel-opmental expendituresand opt for a beggingbowl, said Dr. Mughal.
Investment is declin-ing in the country whileoverall climate is farfrom satisfactory due tomishandling of manyissues including war onterror. Gravity of thesituation has reached toan extent where privatefirms are approachingpoliticians to save theirinvestments while somehave conducted pressconferences, he saidadding that we havehad enough of politics,its time leaders shouldalso think about econo-my.-INP
Political conflictto harm economic
recovery
Economy Watch warns
Staff ReporterKARACHI: The Union ofSmall and MediumEnterprises (UNISAME)has advised the ministry ofpetroleum and naturalresources (MoP&NR) toimpose rationing of fuel onthe basis of providing fuelto the lower middle classon lower rates and to thehigher income class at theincreased rate in order notto burden the people whocannot afford to pay anyincrease in the already highprices of fuel.
President UNISAMEZulfikar Thaver said due tothe increase in prices offuel the users of motorcycles and public transportwill be paying the sameprice as the users of luxurycars who travel in big cars
all by themselves and thehigh increase in price ofpetrol will not affect themmuch whereas the salariedclass whose salary is mea-ger will not be in a positionto pay and will as a resultsuffer and may have toforgo many other essen-tials like food, clothing,education and health careto overcome this extraordi-nary increase in fuelprices.
He said in Iran fooditems are rationed in such amanner that in the verysame shop the essentialfood items are sold onration during selectedhours to the less privilegedat reduced prices and thosewho are hand to mouth goin the early hours andobtain their daily require-
ments like milk, bread,rice, pulses and the barenecessities at special pricesand are able to survive ontheir meager salaries with-out having to seek anycharity.
He said it is the responsi-bility of the government tolook after the down trod-den from the huge amountsof taxes collected and moreespecially under the consti-tution of the IslamicRepublic of Pakistan whichenvisages equity and fair-ness.
The union urged the gov-ernment to reconsider itsdecision and imposerationing to achieve itsgoals of increasing revenueyet at the same time main-taining fairness and justicefor all.
Rationing of fuelfor fairness urged
KARACHI: PresidentAsif Ali Zardari onMonday directed all partyleaders to work in a demo-cratic manner urgingPakistan People Party(PPP) would expose poli-tics of turncoats.
President Asif Ali Zardariexpressed these viewswhile talking to GovernorPunjab Sardar Latif Khosain a one-on-one meeting onMonday. The Governorbriefed President on host ofissues following PML-N
parting ways with the PPPand the present circum-stances in Punjab.
President was of the viewthat the government willcontinue politics of recon-ciliation and tolerance tostrengthen democracy inthe country. He said thatPakistan could be strongonly by strengtheningdemocracy instead ofstrengthening personalities.
He said that turncoatsalways create hurdles in theway of reforms but the PPP
would continue its journeyon the road to reforms forthe betterment of the peo-ple and the country.
He remarked PPP pre-ferred the continuity ofdemocracy even after criti-cism and it tolerated it byfollowing the vision ofMohtarma Benazir BhuttoShaheed.
He further told Khosathat government wouldcontinue its good work forestablishing democracy inPunjab.-Online
PPP to exposeturncoats:
Zardari
KARACHI: KarachiElectric Supply Company(KESC) increased loadshading duration in differ-ent residential areas ofKarachi on Monday whilegas supply to various areaswas not yet restored to nor-mal status.
According to KESCsource, fours hours loadshading was observed in theindustrial area of the Karachion daily basis. At least threeto four hours load sheddingwas already reported inurban areas of Karachi whilemore increase in the hours of
load shedding will disheart-en the cricket lovers whowill not be able to see crick-et world cup matches andother citizens will also facedifficulties.
KESC sources said thatone hour additionalincrease was expected inthe load shedding hours.
Meanwhile, due to acuteshortage of gas, gas loadshedding duration was alsoextended which added tothe difficulties of the peo-ple already suffering fromprices hike and other prob-lems.-INP
KESC increasesload-shedding
ISLAMABAD: TheIslamabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(ICCI) on Monday high-lighted the importance ofadopting modern farmingtechniques to shift focusfrom the conventional agri-culture methodology.
"Emphasis should begiven to increase agricultureexports which could be doneby developing more vari-eties of agriculture producethrough research," ICCIPresident Mahfooz Elahisaid while addressing ameeting of the representa-tives of agro business.
He said that Pakistan washaving vast areas of cultivat-ed land, however, due toconventional way of farm-ing and lack of know-how ofmodern technology andsowing methods, it is unableto increase its per yield pro-duction, which he said wasis also the lowest in theregion.
He was of the view thatmodernization and diversifi-cation of crops was verymuch needed in this sectorto get optimum results andincrease exports. He stressedthe need for developing newvarieties of seeds adding thatagriculture research insti-
tutes must provide guidanceto the farmer for cultivatingcrops that might attract for-eign market.
Elahi said that demand oforganic food was increasingworldwide; therefore,Pakistan can fetch a goodmarket giving more atten-tion to organic agriculture.
International agricultureexperts must be invited tofind ways and means forincreasing per yield produc-tion and developing newvarieties for fruits and veg-etables.
President ICCI said thatagriculture research insti-tutes should also introducetechniques to farmers forincreasing shelf life of per-ishable items because cur-rently a large portion of veg-etables and fruits are wasteddue to unavailability ofpreservation methodology.
He said that for maintain-ing consistent production,adequate supply of watermust be ensured and pro-posed for using solar waterpumps at tube wells. "Theproduction of crops is alsohurt because of load shed-ding plans thus use of solarwater pumps can helpresolve this problems," heremarked.-APP
ICCI for modernisingagro sector
TFD Report KARACHI: EtihadAirways, the national air-line of United ArabEmirates (UAE) has creat-ed an alliance withAustralia-based VirginBlue Group of Airlines,which has launched itsinaugural V Australia flightfrom Australia to AbuDhabi, becoming the firstAustralian carrier to oper-ate to the Middle East in 20years.
The new V Australia AbuDhabi service and EtihadAirways will now offer atotal of 27 weekly services
between Abu Dhabi andAustralia - including dou-ble-daily services betweenAbu Dhabi and Sydney,daily Melbourne-AbuDhabi flights and six fre-quencies per weekbetween Abu Dhabi andBrisbane.
Etihad Airways ChiefExecutive Officer JamesHogan said: "V Australia isthe first Australian airlineever to serve the UnitedArab Emirates. It is cer-tainly a reflection of thegrowing strength and rele-vance of the Australia-UAE relationship.
Etihad Airways,Virgin Blue offer
joint service toAbu Dhabi
KARACHI: Visa Inc.(NYSE:V), one of theglobal leaders in the pay-ments industry, hasannounced introduction ofa new person-to-personpayments service that willallow millions of cus-tomers to send and receivefunds within minutes bothinternationally and domes-tically.
This service comes as aresult of a major enhance-ment to the Visa networkthat enables Visa cardaccounts to receive fundsin near real-time. Theenhancement is expectedto prompt a new genera-tion of personal paymentservices on Visa cards -including person-to-personpayments, mobile moneytransfers, cross-border anddomestic remittances,electronic bill pay, prepaidreloads and inter-accounttransfers.
The new service is avail-able to participating Visaclients and their customersin markets across AsiaPacific, Central andEastern Europe, MiddleEast and Africa. Alongwith 1st Processing Bank
(QIWI Group) in Russiaand Privat Bank inUkraine, UAE Exchangein the United ArabEmirates and Industrialand Commercial Bank ofChina are also pioneeringthis innovative new serv-ice.
Today, Russia's largestpayment kiosk operator,1st Processing Bank(QIWI Group), andUkraine's largest bank,Privat Bank, become thefirst financial institutionsin the world to activate thenew Visa person-to-personpayments service.Consumers in these twocountries can access theservice through more than110,000 kiosks, the inter-net or the mobile webround-the-clock. It isaimed at addressing thestrong demand whichexists for funds transferservices between the twocountries - some US$1.3billion worth of fundstransfers occur annuallybetween Russia andUkraine for the purposesof person-to-person pay-ments, family support andbill payments.
Visa's starts rapidperson-to-personpayments service
Seminarstresses on
disaster riskreduction
ISLAMABAD: Recurringcalamities in Pakistan andthe destruction left in theirwake calls for urgent focuson the need to mainstreamDisaster Risk Reduction into the development dis-course in the country.
This emerged as a con-sensus view at a seminarorganized by the PlanningCommission here Monday.The discussion was builtaround a presentation of anew joint report from theWorld Bank and the UnitedNations Natural Hazards,UN Natural Disasters: TheEconomics of EffectivePrevention.
The seminar was chairedby Dr. Nadeem ul Haque,Deputy Chairman PlanningCommission of Pakistan.John Williamson, SeniorFellow Peterson Instituteof International EconomicsWashington DC was pres-ent at the occasion alongwith Lt. General (Rtd.)Nadeem Ahmed, ChairmanNDMA,. RachidBenmessaoud, CountryDirector, World Bank,Timo Pakkala, ResidentCoordinator UN, Lt.General (Rted.) ShahidNaiz, Member PlanningCommission, ApurvaSanghi and Dr. Ejaz Ghani
The report says that annu-al global losses from naturaldisasters could triple to$185 billion by the end ofthis century, even withoutcalculating the impact ofclimate change. Climatechange could then add $28-$68 billion more in dam-ages each year from tropicalcyclones alone. The reportalso says that the number ofpeople exposed to stormsand earthquakes in largecities could double to 1.5billion by 2050. The reportemphasizes that it is the vul-nerable that face the bruntof natural hazards.- NNI
BirminghamChamber
delegationarrivesTFD Report
KARACHI: TheBirmingham Chamber ofCommerce and Industrydelegation, in conjunctionwith UK Trade andInvestment and the BritishDeputy High Commission,Karachi has arrived inPakistan on its ninth visit tothe country. A key objectiveof their trip is to look at fur-ther ways of deepeninginvestment opportunitiesbetween Pakistan and localcompanies from theBirmingham area in the UK.
ACCAannouncesSimpson
ScholarshipTFD Report
KARACHI: The SimpsonScholarship rewards talent-ed ACCA students whoprove sufficient merit anddistinction in the ACCAexams. This scholarshipwill fund the exam and reg-istration fees of five stu-dents for a period of fiveyears or until they becomemembers- whichever hap-pens first.
Miss Muriel SimpsonFCCA died on 22December 1977 and, in herWill, left her residuaryestate to ACCA to fund ascholarship to be called the'Simpson Scholarship'.
As an added bonus,ACCA's official publisher -BPP Learning Media - haveagreed to provide theScholarship winners with aset of learning materials foreach ACCA paper they arestudying, says a Press release.
Basant atBIZTEK
KARACHI: Institute ofBusiness and Technology--BIZTEK organized an excit-ing 'Basant' festival on onSunday at its Main Campus.
BIZTEK believes inpreparing its students tomeet the corporate worldwith on-hands experience.This mega event named thebasant dhamal was one ofthe events as part of series ofactivities planned for 2011.Students from all 4 campus-es participated in this event.Families, renowned TV per-sonalities, corporates, indus-try people and media per-sonnel's attended the basantdhamaal. The turn out wasgreat and over 3500 peopleand families visited the fes-tival.-PR
KARACHI: Citizens blocked the Shahra-e-Pakistan during a demonstration against non
availability of petrol in Karachi on Monday as fuel stations remained closed due to the strike
called by the Petroleum Dealers Association.-Online
KARACHI: Masood Hashmi, President, Marketing Association of Pakistan, presenting memento to
Abbas Sikander (Group Excutive Director, Tameer Bank) at a recently held Executive Tea Series
meeting. Sohail Aziz, Amir Pasha and Aslam Allahwalla are also seen in the picture.-Staff Photo
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari presiding over a meeting to discuss development projects and law and order situation in
Sindh province at Bilawal House. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and others were
also present in the meeting.-APP
TV PROGRAMMES
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UBL benefitscheme for
officersKARACHI: United BankLtd (UBL) will set up anEmployees BenefitScheme to reward, moti-vate and retain high per-forming executive andofficers by way of bonusin the form of issuedshares of UBL (bonusshares).-APP
MUMBAI: The Indian rupeeended up but off highs onMonday, tracking local sharesthat gave up most of their gainsafter the initial euphoria overfederal budget waned.
Strong dollar demand fromoil importers also weighed onthe rupee.
Indian shares rose 0.7 percent on Monday after the fed-eral budget stepped up socialspending, but absence of keyreforms such as opening up theretail and financial sectorscaused some dismay. It hadclimbed as much as 3.4 percent earlier in the day.
The partially convertiblerupee ended at 45.27/28 perdollar against 45.31/32 onFriday, after moving in a bandof 45.1725-45.3100.
The rupee had also strength-ened during the day on a knee-jerk reaction after the budgetincreased foreign institutionalinvestment (FII) limit in corpo-rate infrastructure bonds by$20 billion to $40 billion.
Traders see the rupee tradingin a range of 45.15-45.45 on
Tuesday. A weak dollar over-seas also aided the rupee, deal-ers said.
The one-month onshore for-ward premiums were at 27.25points against 29.75 points onFriday, while the one-monthoffshore non-deliverable for-ward contracts were quoted at45.53, weaker than the onshorespot rate.
In the currency futures mar-ket, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contractson the National StockExchange, the MCX-SX andthe United Stock Exchangewere at 45.5075, 45.5100, and45.5075 respectively, with thetotal traded volume at about$8.4 billion. -Reuters
India rupee up but offhighs, tracking shares
3Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Currencies Rate
Karachi: The following are the London Inter-Bank Offered Rates (LIBOR).
British Members Association Interest Settlement Rates.
AT 11:00 LONDON TIME 28/02/2011
A USD GBP CAD EUR JPY
O/N 0.22550 0.55625 0.97167 0.65125 SN 0.11063
1WK 0.24950 0.57563 1.00333 0.68125 0.11750
2WK 0.25500 0.58313 1.03667 0.75000 0.11938
1MO 0.26100 0.61250 1.08083 0.82313 0.13250
2MO 0.28650 0.68250 1.14583 0.91688 0.15688
3MO 0.30950 0.80250 1.20833 1.04750 0.19125
4MO 0.35200 0.88375 1.27750 1.13375 0.24313
5MO 0.41050 0.99100 1.34300 1.22375 0.30000
6MO 0.46400 1.11000 1.41250 1.32813 0.34625
7MO 0.51750 1.18988 1.50083 1.38813 0.39500
8MO 0.57125 1.27488 1.58167 1.44688 0.44438
9MO 0.62375 1.35613 1.66083 1.51438 0.49000
10MO 0.67700 1.43938 1.75250 1.57375 0.51563
11MO 0.72900 1.50750 1.84633 1.63250 0.54250
12MO 0.79025 1.57625 1.93500 1.69500 0.56875
Countries Selling Buying BuyingTT & OD TT Clean OD/T.CHQ
JPY Prelim Industrial Production m/m 2.4% 4.1% 3.3%
JPY Retail Sales y/y 0.1% -1.5% -2.1%
EUR CPI y/y 2.3% 2.4% 2.4%
EUR Core CPI y/y 1.1% 1.2% 1.0%
CAD GDP m/m 0.5% 0.3% 0.4%
CAD Current Account -11.0B -9.4B -17.0B
USD Core PCE Price Index m/m 0.1% 0.1% 0.0%
USD Personal Spending m/m 0.2% 0.5% 0.5%
USD Chicago PMI 71.2 67.9 68.8
Previous Day
Top Economic Events
Central Bank Next Meeting Last Change Current
Interest Rate
Bank of Canada March 1, 2011 September 8, 2010 1%
Bank of England March 10, 2011 March 5, 2009 0.50%
Bank of Japan March 15, 2011 December 19, 2008 0.10%
European Central Bank March 3, 2011 May 7, 2009 1%
Federal Reserve March 15, 2011 December 16, 2008 0.25%
Swiss National Bank March 17, 2011 March 12, 2009 0.25%
The Reserve Bank of Australia March 1, 2011 November 2, 2010 4.75%
Major Central Banks Overview
Division of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)KARACHI, February 28,2011 Treasury Management Division of National Bankof Pakistan (NBP) Monday issued the following Exchange rates:
Revaluation RatesTreasury Bills / PIBs / FIBs Holding Applicable for February 28, 2011
NEW YORK: The US dollar fell to a3-1/2-mongh low against a basket ofmajor currencies on Monday and couldextend losses on speculation FederalReserve Chairman Ben Bernanke willthis week likely signal continued sup-port for the central bank's quantitativeeasing program.
The euro climbed to a near one-month high above $1.3850 ahead of aninterest-rate meeting by the EuropeanCentral Bank on Thursday. The eurocould make a run toward $1.40, traderssaid, should the ECB maintain a hawk-ish tone on inflation.
Bernanke testifies to Congress onTuesday and Wednesday and analystsexpect him to stick to his recent eco-nomic assessment that the recovery isstrengthening but still not enough tobring about a significant improvement
in the jobs market, suggesting the timeis not ripe for US rates to rise.
"The dollar is remaining on its backfoot becauseother centralbanks are turn-ing more hawk-ish but the Fedis not," saidA m e l i aBourdeau, sen-ior currencystrategist at UBS in Stamford,Connecticut.
"We don't think (Bernanke) willchange his outlook for the economy. Hewill emphasize that the Fed has the toolto exit quantitative easing but is notgoing to do so yet," she added.
The ICE futures exchange's US dollarindex, which tracks the greenback's
performance against a basket of majorcurrencies, declined to 76.756, its low-est level since Nov. 9.
The euro rose 0.7 per cent to $1.3840,after earlier rising as high as $1.3857 ontrading platform EBS, its strongestsince the start of the month.
The euro has gained 3.5 per cent ver-sus the dollar so far this year afterrecent inflation-fighting rhetoric fromECB officials boosted expectationseuro-zone interest rates will rise faster
than those in the United States.Along with the view that rock-bottom
US rates will tarnish the appeal of USassets, the dollar has been stung by ris-ing oil prices as investors fret the USeconomy is more vulnerable to higherenergy costs, given its strong relianceon consumer spending for growth.
High inflation risks were highlightedby data showing final euro-zone infla-tion data for January came in at 2.3 percent year-on-year, slightly softer thanestimates but hovering at a 27-monthhigh.
Some analysts said a continued rise inthe euro could make it susceptible toprofit-taking. The dollar was flatagainst the Swiss franc at 0.9287, neara record low of 0.9229 hit on EBS lastweek. Against the yen, the dollar rose0.2 per cent 81.88. -Reuters
US dollar slides broadlyahead of Bernanke speech
SHANGHAI: The yuan endedup versus the dollar on Monday,reversing weakness in earlytrade as the market expects thegovernment to let the yuanappreciate in the long run tohelp fight high inflation, traderssaid.
However, dealers said the mar-ket was still unable to grasp therhythm of how the governmentwas pacing yuan appreciation asthe People's Bank of Chinapulled the currency back lastweek after letting it hit repeatedrecord highs earlier this year.
The currency gained 0.48 percent in the month of Februarycompared with a decline of 0.2per cent in January.
The central bank set a mar-ginally higher mid-point onMonday, echoing comments byPremier Wen Jiabao that Chinamust stick to gradualism in let-ting the yuan appreciate.
Still, the market looks for-ward to a 5 to 6 per cent yuanrise in 2011 as the governmentappears to be using theexchange rate to fight highinflation and help adjust thecountry's economic structure toreduce its reliance on exportsfor economic growth.
"The market is forced to fol-low the PBOC's rhythm ofyuan appreciation as they are
not sure where the yuan will beheading in the next few days,"said a senior dealer at a USbank in Shanghai.
"But it is quite certain of theyuan's uptrend, that it will rise 5to 6 per cent this year as the gov-ernment makes fighting inflationa top priority for its economy."Spot yuan closed at 6.5716 to thedollar from Friday's close of6.5750 and has risen 3.88 percent since its depegging from thedollar in June 2010.
Before trading began, thePBOC fixed the yuan's mid-point at 6.5752 versus the dol-lar, only five 5 pips strongerthan Friday's 6.5757.
The official ShanghaiSecurities News on Mondayquoted a research report as say-ing that China's annual con-sumer price index (CPI) mightreach 4.5 per cent in the firstquarter and peak this year inthe second quarter, propelledby factors including high glob-al commodity prices.
Benchmark one-yeardollar/yuan non-deliverableforwards were bid at 6.4150,down slightly from 6.4215 atFriday's close. Their impliedyuan appreciation in a year'stime edged higher to 2.50 percent from 2.40 per cent. -Reuters
Yuan rises on hopesof appreciation
LONDON: Sterling rose onMonday against a broadlyweaker dollar, helped bymonth-end selling of the UScurrency and concerns high oilprices will hurt growth in theworld's largest economy andkeep interest rates there low.
Traders cited month-end dol-lar selling versus sterling and anumber of other major curren-cies which earlier pushed thepound through stop loss orders
around $1.6220 and sent thedollar to a 3-1/2-month lowversus a currency basket.
Analysts said sterling could bevulnerable, however, if UK datathis week -- notably purchasingmanagers' surveys on the manu-facturing and services sector --come in weak and dent expecta-tions of a rise in UK interestrates within months.
"Sterling can be quite sensi-tive to month-end portfoliorebalancing and hedge fundadjustment, given the numberof portfolios that are run fromLondon or are sterling-based,"said Ian Stannard, currency
strategist at BNP Paribas.Sterling has been supported
by the bringing forward ofexpectations for when theBank of England will raiseinterest rates but the bank'sdecision now seems to hang ona firming up of economicrecovery in the first quarter ofthis year.
Sterling was up 0.8 per centagainst the dollar at $1.6246,hitting a high of $1.6072, a
shade below last week's higharound $1.6275. Just abovethat, $1.6279 marks its highestsince early November.
Sterling has remained withina range between the February11 low of $1.5963 and the earlyNovember high around$1.6300, and techincal analystssay a close above there wouldenable it to push on and makefurther gains. The euro wasdown 0.3 per cent at 85.02pence, having fallen below its100-day moving average at85.36 pence. That was stillwithin reach of a one-monthhigh of 85.93 pence. -Reuters
Stg gains, buoyedby month-end flow
SINGAPORE: TheIndonesian rupiah rose to anear four-year high against thedollar on Monday and is poisedfor its best monthly gain in 1-1/2 years, on hopes measuresto stem inflation including arate hike, may keep supportingthe local currency.
The won fell on fading expec-tations for a rate raise next weekand the South Korean currencymay stay under pressure onviews that the Bank of Koreamay fall further behind the curvein fighting inflation and on re-emerged geopolitical tensionbetween two Koreas, analystsand dealers said.
On Friday, Indonesia's cen-tral bank governor said the cur-rent rupiah rate was in line
with fundamentals, strengthen-ing expectations it will allowthe currency to strengthen,analysts said.
Bank Indonesia (BI) isexpected to raise interest ratesagain with February inflationseen building to a 22-monthhigh, a Reuters poll showed.
In February, the rupiahgained 2.7 per cent against thedollar as investors welcomed asurprise rate increase earlierthis month, the biggest month-ly percentage rise since Sept.2009, according to Reutersdata. Won/rupiah has room tofall 7.50, if the Bank of Koreadoes not raise interest ratesnext week while oil prices con-tinue to rise, said JonathanCavenagh, currency strategist
at Westpac in Singapore,adding he has not seen a singof investors building up shortwon/rupiah positions yet.
The pair fell 0.4 per cent to7.81 from its previous close of7.84. Dollar/won stayed under1,130, the 60-day movingaverage, as exporters such asshipbuilders kept selling it forsettlements around the level.
Earlier, the pair rose as high as1,131.0 with bids from offshoreplayers such as hedge funds andmacro funds causing localinvestors to cover short posi-tions, dealers said. Dollar/pesoedged up as investors added dol-lar positions on higher oil pricesamid oil output disruption wor-ries due to worsening Libya sit-uation. -Reuters
Asian currencies
Rate hike views push rupiahto 4-year high; won down
SYDNEY: The Australian dollar held its ground onMonday, overcoming an early bout of China-inspiredprofit-taking as economic data pointed to solid eco-nomic growth at home with subdued inflation.
The Australian dollar stood at $1.0177, up froman early $1.0120 low and Friday's late New Yorklevel of $1.0174. It had initially dipped afterBeijing trimmed its official target for Chineseeconomic growth. "The Aussie was a bit soggysince the headlines are focusing on Premier Wen'sdiscussion that there will be a lower growth targetcoming from China going forward," said AnnetteBeacher, head of Asia Pacific research at TDSecurities in Singapore.
President Wen Jiabao said on Sunday officialGDP target was 7 per cent per year for the 2011-2015 growth plan, down from 7.5 per cent previ-ously. However, actual annual growth in the pastfive years was 11.2 per cent and official targetstend to undershoot real performance.
Aussie resistance is now seen around $1.0190,with a break likely sending it to test $1.0257, the29-year high struck in December with support at
$1.0088. Data in Australia showed a surprisinguptick in business inventories for Q4 whichshould add to growth, auguring well forWednesday's GDP number.
Inventory numbers suggest a contribution toGDP of around 0.7 percentage points, when mostexpected a drag. The Reserve Bank of Australia(RBA) holds its March meeting on Tuesday andis considered certain to keep rates at 4.75 per centfor a fourth month.
Markets are not priced for a hike until Octoberor November, although many analysts have pre-dicted one as early as May or June.
In contrast, a Reuters poll on Friday showedthat the majority of economists expect theReserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will keeprates rate at 3.0 per cent until the end of the year,with the next rate hike seen only in early 2012.The NZ dollar steady at around $0.7528, withsupport seen around $0.7471 and resistance at$0.7529. The kiwi lost 1.5 per cent last week aftera powerful earthquake hit New Zealand's secondlargest city of Christchurch. -Reuters
Aus dollar holds ground;GDP looking healthier
Swiss francstrengthens
ZURICH: The Swiss franc waswithin striking distance of theprevious week's record againstthe greenback, buoyed by fearstumult in Libya could spread andan upbeat comment by the Swisscentral bank chief.
The franc, which investors seekout in times of uncertainty, hit anall-time peak of 0.9230 on Feb. 24and has also been moving backtowards the historic high againstthe euro of 1.2400 hit in lateDecember, as popular unrest in theMiddle East and North Africaunfolds. The Swissie has also beenboosted by robust economic dataprints, and Swiss National BankChairman Philipp Hildebrand saidin an interview at the weekendthere was some potential for thefirst positive growth surprise sincethe crisis began.
The KOF barometer has alsopointed to an economic upswingbut Hildebrand's comment standsin contrast with the view offeredby the SNB in December, when itexpected a 'significant' slowing ofgrowth to around 1.5 per cent for2011. The franc was little movedagainst the euro compared toFriday's New York close, trading at1.2760 per euro at 0736 GMT. Thefranc gained 0.2 per cent againstthe dollar to 0.9264 per dollar.
The SNB holds its next quarter-ly policy review on March 17,though most analysts do not yetexpect it to move off ultra-lowrates. -Reuters
Fed's Bernanke unlikely to signal exit from loose policy
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Killing twobirds withone stone
By staging strike on Monday, last day ofFebruary, petroleum dealers aimed at achievingtwo objectives, pressurising the government bywithholding delivery and making maximuminventory gains. Since the strike date wasannounced well in advance, government's apa-thy caused the maximum damage. Mobs gath-ering on the roads not only disrupted traffic butalso caused serious law and order situation.This forced the law enforcing agencies to resortto baton charge and fire tear gas shells. Theworst drama was staged at Askari roundabouton Main Rashid Minhas Road. Whatever hap-pened can be termed bad management and tel-evisions channels exploited the situationbecause they kept on playing video clips formany hours, wrecking the nerves of the resi-dents of the area.
To be honest, with the recent hike in interna-tional prices of crude oil the government has nooption but to pass on the increase to end con-sumers. Due to the opposition by some of thecoalition partners and the opposition govern-ment was forced to withdraw the increase. Thistime it was anticipated that gasoline pricewould be raised between 10 to 15 rupees perliter. Therefore, the dealers picked up a date toget the maximum advantage. Opposition flexedits muscles before the announcement but unfor-tunately Karachi became 'Paniput ka Maidan'as usual. Ironically, Faisalabad has been facingthe worst load shedding of gas but the situationhas not turned so volatile.
The government should have been fully vigi-lant that after the expulsion of PPP ministerfrom cabinet in Punjab PML-N would like toscore a few extra points but probably theynever apprehended the account will be settledin Karachi. The government still had ampletime and should have asked the Orga chairmanto urgently convene a press conference toannounce that there would be no increase inPOL prices. This would have cooled down thesentiments and also frustrated petroleum deal-ers' plan of making huge inventory gains. Onecould only feel sorry for PPP which often failsin taking right decisions at right times.
Experts have been warning the government aswell as the opposition to refrain from achievingpolitical mileage by exploiting the precarioussituation faced by the country. In this particularcase opposition is fully aware that governmentis under pressure and will most probably bowdown before pressure of the InternationalMonetary Fund to impose new taxes, whichwill provide all the opportunities to malign thepresent economic mangers. However, it is alsotrue that the hike in international price has to bepassed on to the consumers.
Having said that we still believe that the pres-ent government can contain budget deficit byadhering to good governance and curtailinglavish spending. Some political pundits saytime is running fast for PPP and if it does notimprove its style of managing the country itwill be hard to win the next election falling dueafter two years.
4Monday, February 28, 2011
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary
Editor: Shakil H. Jafri
Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi
Honorary Advisory Board
Haseeb Khan, FCA
Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA
Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA
Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA
Muhammad Arif
S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Khurram Shehzad, CFA
Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)
Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)
Ismat SabirHead office
111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA KarachiTelephone: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428
Libya stretches along thenortheast coast of Africabetween Tunisia and
Algeria on the west and Egypton the east; to the south are theSudan, Chad, and Niger. Muchof the country lies within theSahara Desert. Along theMediterranean coast and far-ther inland is arable plateauland. The soil of Libya wasused during World War II.After the fall of Tripoli on Jan.23, 1943, it came under Alliedadministration. In 1949, theUN voted that Libya shouldbecome independent, and in1951 it became the UnitedKingdom of Libya
The United States supportedthe UN resolution providingfor Libyan independence in1951 and raised the status of itsoffice at Tripoli from a con-sulate general to a legation.Libya opened a legation inWashington, D.C., in 1954
Libya contains the largestproven oil reserves in Africawhich are 3.34 % of theworld's reserves. Oil explo-ration in Libya began in 1955and first oil fields were discov-ered in 1959 and oil exportsbegan in 1961. Libya isAfrica's major oil producer andone of Europe's biggest NorthAfrican oil suppliers. Supplies
from North Africa to Europedestinations have the advan-tage of being both timely andcost effective. Libya producedan average of 1847.7 thousandbarrels of crude oil per day in2007, 2.2% of the world total.Libya's economy is based onoil and exports contributebetween 75% and 90% of Staterevenues.
Libya has very low produc-tion costs and the oilfields areclose to the refineries and mar-kets of Europe. In addition,despite almost half a century ofexploration, Libya remainslargely unexplored with vastoil and gas potential. Theunder-exploration of Libyareflects the impact of sanctionsformerly imposed on the coun-try.
According to the 2008 BPStatistical Energy Survey,Libya has natural gas reservesof 1.49 trillion cubic metres,0.84% of the world total, whileproducing 15.2 billion cubicmetres, 0.51% of the worldtotal.
Foreign involvement inLibya was severely reduced asa result of the sanctions andembargoes placed upon it,especially between the years of1992 and 1999. Access to oilindustry equipment and tech-nology was restricted andLibya is reliant on foreign
investment to keep the industryactive.
US-Libyan relations cameincreasingly strained becauseof Libya's foreign policieswhen Gaddafi assumed controlof Libya after a coup in 1969.In 1972, the United Statesrecalled its ambassador. Exportcontrols on military and civilaircraft were imposed duringthe 1970s, and US embassystaff members were withdrawnfrom Tripoli after a mobattacked and set fire to theembassy in December 1979.The US Government designat-ed Libya a "state sponsor ofterrorism" on December 29,1979.
In May 1981, the USGovernment closed the Libyan"people's bureau" (embassy) inWashington, DC, and expelledthe Libyan staff in response toa general pattern of conduct bythe people's bureau contrary tointernationally accepted stan-dards of diplomatic behavior.
Due to Libya's continuingsupport for terrorism, theUnited States adopted addi-tional economic sanctionsagainst Libya in January 1986,including a total ban on directimport and export trade, com-mercial contracts, and travel-related activities. In addition,Libyan Government assets inthe United States were frozen
United States responded bylaunching an aerial bombingattack against targets nearTripoli and Benghazi in April1986 (see Operation El DoradoCanyon). At least 15 peopledied in the US air strikes onLibya - including leaderColonel Gaddafi's adopted 15-month old daughter
In 1991, two Libyan intelli-gence agents were indicted byfederal prosecutors in the USand Scotland for their involve-ment in the December 1988bombing of Pan Am flight 103.In January 1992, the UNSecurity Council approvedResolution 731 demanding thatLibya surrender the suspects
On December 19, 2003,Libya announced its intentionto disengage itself of WMDand MTCR-class missile pro-grams. Since that time, it hascooperated with the US, theU.K., the International AtomicEnergy Agency, and theOrganisation for theProhibition of ChemicalWeapons toward these objec-tives. Libya has also signed theIAEA Additional Protocol andhas become a State Party to theChemical WeaponsConvention.
Middle East erupted in afrenzy of protests over ragingcorruption, delayed reforms,denial of decent livelihoods
and staid, autocratic leader-ship. Situation in Libya erupt-ed very rapidly with Gaddafiloosing control, applying forceagainst his own populationwhich caused agitation andunrest. At least 250 people diedin Tripoli alone during mishan-dled situation by the state.Now United Nations, USA andEuropean world is unitedtogether to impose sanctionsand embargoes on Libya there-by isolating it for human rightsviolations.
The interest and role of USAin entire issue can not be ruledout. Energy has been signifi-cantly important need of USApersistently growing with thepassage of time. In past theinterest USA in Caspian Seafor off shore exploration result-ed in its trouble with Russia.Additionally, Iran and SaudiArabia are also matter of inter-est owing to enrichment in oilreserves. Internal depletingeconomy coupled with increas-ing requirement of energyresources yield Libya anopportunity for USA to makefoot hold in the region and latertake control of oil reserves.The entire drama of Gaddafi'sexpulsion in analyses by a vastclass of think tanks is a biggame of sole super power totake control of energyresources of a oil rich country.
US Crude Game in Libya
It was 2005 and I was attending acourse in Switzerland. There wehad lot of discussions with our Arab
friends. The Iraq war was at peak andnaturally that was the focus of our dis-cussions. At that time US while defin-ing Middle East included Pakistan,Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey in theMiddle East. I remember that all ourArab friends were strongly against thisdefinition. At that time we had differentviews but now I think that they wereright. Arab world, we may call it GCCor MENA has no doubt differentdynamics than our part of the world.
Now in 2011 they are at the verge ofchange. People are in the streets andasking their rulers to quit from theirlong stay in the governments. However before entering in to the reasons,we must first look in to the main indi-cators of their economy as every polit-ical change stems from its economicbase. In this regard a chart has beenprepared for twenty countries belong-ing to Arab world or lying close tothem. The counties in the chart havebeen arranged from highest to lowestper capita income in the group.
According to the chart, countries inthe GCC and MENA are comfortableas per economic indicators but actualfault lies in their political structurewhich is and which was very fragilefrom the day one. The despotic regimescan not fill in the vacuum that alwaysexists in absence of institutionalblocks. Mere rhetoric of Arab national-ism can not prolong the life of suchdespotic regimes. According to chartleaving aside Pakistan, Bangladesh andAfghanistan that do not fall under thisperiphery, Syria, Egypt, Iraq andYemen seems to be the weakest link
In this regard taking example ofPakistan we have seen that it has wentin to changes and changes from dayone due to absence of formidable insti-tutions. In this regard it went in to dis-memberment even in 1971, saw fourmilitary regimes and still fighting warfor its survival.
Another example is of UAE that inspite of its huge reserves went in tomess in 2008 on waves of recession asit is a consumer economy and second-ly but mainly on 25% of its sovereigndebt default. Total size of its sover-eign debt is above $ 100 billion.Basically UAE is a monarchy andwould remain fragile against anyshock in the time to come.
Three examples we can also extractfrom Asean countries i.e. Philippines,Indonesia and Thailand.Transformation in these countries frommilitary regimes to political system hasnever remained easy. Thailand is going
through this turmoil again and againand still is under threat. The party thatemerged in the decade of 2000 hasnever been liked by the king and mili-tary. So intervention is a day to daymatter. However in spite of such inter-ventions the same party returns topower with different names wheneverrulers try to hold elections. The trans-formation going on in these countriessometime badly affect their economieswhereas Asean block is considered oneof the fastest growing regions in theworld. However with each passing daythe revival of military regimes in thesecountries is diminishing but that is tak-ing its own time.
Now coming back to the Arab worldafter fall of rulers in Egypt and Tunisianothing has changed substantially.Military has come in Egypt whereasTunisia is being ruled by the old friendsof ousted ruler. Only the public ragehas subsided to some extent but that isnot going to change the system in favorof its people in the short run. Thatrequires potential political leadership
and clear direction with a will to devel-op institutional framework which ismissing right now.
Now the Libya, Yemen and Bahrainare in the headlines. They have thesame problems. No leadership, nofuture vision but only the public
demand to get rid of their presentrulers. The position can go to theworst in Libya as it is turning in tomere anarchy.
In fact Arab world with its richresources has been exploited by the USand European Block since long.According to history Turkish Empirewas pushed back for this purpose.Resultantly different monarchs basedon tribal setups emerged on the sceneand still they are on hold. Apart fromthis Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya andAlgeria were put in the hands of mili-tary rulers. To justify all this arrange-ments, the slogan of Arab nationalismwas used that was further extended in
to movement of non alignment forsome time. But that was a short runsolution. Now this Arab nationalism ischanging its colour by adopting changeunder revival of Islamic system.However it has different meanings inMuslim part of the world. Say forexample in Turkey the ruling partyhails from this block but they have dif-ferent objectives to get. The dominat-
ing factor there is to get membership ofEuropean Union. This is why theirIslamic thoughts are not as rigid asbeing seen in our part of the world. Thesame holds good in case of Malaysia.
The question that worries every oneis that whether this change in the
Middle East is going to affect Pakistanor Muslim countries outside the Arabworld.
The simple answer is that by proba-bility it looks difficult. Pakistan isalready in worst time of its crisis basi-cally on law and order and economicfront. The current political system is inmaking and by perception is not deliv-ering to the expectations. But the alter-nates' are very limited as in the currenteconomic crisis no political force out-side government would feel comfort-able to come in to power. SecondlyEstablishment i.e. Military would alsoavoid to go in to such venture. Worst toworst, if things went bad drasticallythan Military rule can come again toavoid further destruction but than inthat case Pakistan would go at least 20years back and chances of its furtherdismemberment would increase. Solikely solution is to allow institutions torehabilitate themselves with a weakgovernment in the Centre or you maycall it a coalition t in the centre as wellother parts of the country.
Iran, another example would contin-ue with its system based on structuregiven by its eminent economist Bani UlSadar i.e. to run the government with atriangle i.e. God as source of every-thing, Imam representing prophetMuhammad (PBU) and a parliamentrepresenting people of Iran. This isdelivering at least to the half in favor ofits people.
Afghanistan, another example wouldremain a place of war for the timebeing. The transition there would taketime. It would not be like Iraq as torehabilitate some system inAfghanistan every stakeholder includ-ing Taliban has to be given some role.Till that is decided the things wouldremain blurred at least in Afghanistan.
Up surge in Bahrain which is a tinystate would settle down soon with somereforms as Iran is not going to supportoutrage in this state dominated by Shiacommunity. Iran would prefer to use itlike Hong Kong that is being used bythe China for its business activities.
Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia arealready passing through a transition inbuildup of institutional framework sochance of any replication of Middle Eastlike situation is rare in these countries
Finally, situation in Arab world andMiddle East would remain volatile tillchanges are not complemented withinstitutional build up and emergence ofpotential leadership. This gives a timeframe that is not likely to end in someshort term period. So likely scenario iscontinuation of discontentment for alonger period. In the short run therulers in these countries would be con-strained to face public rage that canresult by ending their governments.Somewhere it may happen peacefullyand somewhere mutiny like situationcan emerge but in the last they have togo. For the world the worst in this situ-ation is the oil prices that would remainvolatile and would move towards high-er side disturbing economies of most ofthe countries in the world.
Finally, situation in Arab world andMiddle East would remain volatile
till changes are not complemented withinstitutional build up and emergence ofpotential leadership. This gives a time
frame that is not likely to end in some shortterm period. So likely scenario is continuation
of discontentment for a longer period. Inthe short run the rulers in these countrieswould be constrained to face public rage
that can result by ending their governments
“
FERTILISER000 tonnesUrea Offtake (Jan to Dec 10) 6,123Urea Offtake (Dec 10) 626Urea Price (Rs/50 kg) 1,020DAP Offtake (Jan to Dec 09) 1,317DAP Offtake (Dec 10) 90DAP Price (Rs/50 kg) 3,143
AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLERPAK SUZUKI MOTORUnitsProduction (July 10 to Jan 11) 47,153
Sales (July 10 to Jan 11) 45,113
Production (Jan 11) 6,698
Sales (Jan 11) 6,793
INDUS MOTOR COProduction (July 10 to Jan 11) 29,078
Sales (July 10 to Jan 11) 28,293
Production (Jan 11) 5,596
Sales (Jan 11) 5,885
HONDA ATLAS CARProduction (July 10 to Jan 11) 9,279
Sales (July 10 to Jan 11) 8,779
Production (Jan 11) 1,511
Sales (Jan 11) 1,904
DEWAN FAROOQ MOTORSProduction (July 10 to Jan 11) 186
Sales (July 10 to Jan 11) 113
Production (Jan 11) 0
Sales (Jan 11) 23
BANKING SECTORScheduled bank (Rs in mn)Deposit (Feburay 4,11) 5,046,861
Advances (Feburay 4,11) 3,140,675
Investments (Feburay 4,11) 2,100,015
Spread (Feburay 4,11) 7.61%
OIL MARKETING CO(000 tons)MS (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 1,122
MS (Dec 10) 188
Kerosene (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 81
Kerosene (Dec 10) 15
JP (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 727
JP (Dec 10) 138
HSD (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 3,426
HSD (Dec 10) 634
LDO (Jul 10 to Dec 10)) 32
LDO (Dec 10) 6
Fuel Oil (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 4,331
Fuel Oil (Dec 10) 690
Others (Jul 10 to Dec 10) 6
Others (Dec 10) 2
PRICES (Ex-Refinery) RsMS (1 Feb 11) 51.74
MS (1 Jan 11) 49.41
MS % Chg 4.72%
Kerosene (1 Feb 11) 58.28
Kerosene (1 Jan 11) 55.01
Kerosene % Chg 5.94%
JP-1 (1 Feb 11) 58.51
JP-1 (1 Jan 11) 55.24
JP-1 % Chg 5.92%
HSD (1 Feb 11) 61.80
HSD (1 Jan 11) 58.55
HSD % Chg 5.55%
LDO (1 Feb 11) 55.32
LDO (1 Jan 11) 53.46
LDO % Chg 3.48%
Fuel Oil (1 Feb 11) 47,931
Fuel Oil (1 Jan 11) 45,947
Sector Updates
Symbol Close Vol (mn)LOTPTA 14.53 13.96 AHCL 19.90 6.46 NBP 68.19 5.46 ANL 8.83 5.21 JSCL 8.97 3.60
Symbol Close ChangeULEVER 4,658.20 102.78
NESTLE 3,455.50 48.00
BATA 528.42 21.11
APL 340.02 10.87
POL 292.38 10.49
Symbol Close ChangeRMPL 2,545.21 -77.51WYETH 980.59 -31.26INDU 230.45 -9.84EXIDE 177.80 -7.25OGDC 145.39 -7.21
Plus 190Minus 84Unchanged 90
Top 5 Volume Leaders
Major Losers
Major Gainers
KSE-100 Index
LSE-25 Index
ISE-10 Index
Active Issues
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 5
Dhiyan
I expect the market would see more positive activitieswith index touching 11,500 points in the coming days.Investors are advised to park their money in lucrative bar-gains where my top picks are FFC, ENGRO, APL andPOL. Calm in Middle East and decline in international oilprices would give market a needed impetus. It would bepositive today.
Hamad Aslam, Head of Research BMA Capital
Sajid Bhanji, VP Capital Markets Arif Habib Limited
Market would be consolidating at around current levels but ifinvestors find any dips they can invest in stocks belonging to oil,fertiliser and Polyester Synthetic Fiber sectors. The geopoliticalsituation along with local political turmoil and selling by foreign-ers may have a negative impact on the market performance. Theremaybe a volatile session today.
VOLATILITY
Opening 11,223.52
Closing 11,289.23
Change 65.71
% Change 0.59
Turnover (mn) 86.23
Opening 3,283.30
Closing 3,364.16
Change 80.86
% Change 2.46
Turnover (mn) 3.95
Opening 2,718.39
Closing 2,687.14
Change 31.25
% Change 1.15
Turnover (mn) 0.07
Nawaz Ali
KARACHI: Attractive lev-els lassoed the bulls backinto Karachi StockExchange (KSE) onMonday which managed torecover some of its recentlosses.
Monday's rally was led bythe local and foreign insti-tutional investors takingpositions mostly in oil andfertiliser stocks.
The benchmark KSE 100-Index increased by 65points to close at 11,289points, KSE 30-Indexjumped by 183 points toclose at 10,940 points andKSE All Share Index grew
by 53 points to close at7,855 points.
"Buying in the oversoldmarket was due to strongvaluations as global com-modities rose on Mideastand Libya unrest", saidAhsan Mehanti, DirectorArif Habib Investments.
It should be noted that theinternational oil prices arehovering above $110 a bar-rel due to uncertainty in theMiddle East and Libya.
The day began on a bear-ish note with a loss of 93points, after which marketwitnessed some volatileactivities during the majorpart of the day moving onboth sides of the index but
stayed mainly in red zone.Therefore at about 11:24a.m. index touched the low-est level of the day at11,077 points (-ve 145) oncontinued selling pressurein the oil giant OGDC.However bulls made animpressive return during thelast hour of the session buy-ing mainly in oil, fertiliser,cement and power stocks.Furthermore, buying wasalso seen over rumorsregarding the launch ofmuch awaited MarginTrading System (MTS)from next week. Thus indexnear closing bells touchedan intraday high of 11,363points (+ve 140). However
some adjustment at the enddidn't let the index closewith a triple digit gain.
"OGDC slid further andclosed down by 4.7 percent, after announcing nopayout in its 1HFY11result. PSO witnessedrenewed buying interestgaining 2.9 per cent overexpectations of a 16 percent hike in local oilprices", said Jawad Khan,equity dealer at JS GlobalCapital.
Foreign investors returnedas net-buyers as accordingto NCCPL data there was anet-foreign buying of $2.22million on Monday.
Volumes remained low
throughout the day as localspreferred to stay on thesidelines over deterioratingpolitical and economic situ-ation in the country. About86.2 million shares tradedin the overall market --70.6million shares less than aturnover of 156.8 millionshares on Friday.
Lotte Pakistan was the toptraded stock with 13.96 mil-lion shares followed by ArifHabib Corporation with6.46 million and NationalBank with 5.46 millionshares.
Out of total 364 activeissues 190 took a hike and84 a hit while 90 issuesnothing.
KSE takes a shot at recovery
HONG KONG: Shares inHong Kong closed higher onMonday, led by financials, butgains could be short-lived as adrop in HSBC shares inLondon after the bank reportedearnings spills over into thelocal market.
HSBC , the biggest compo-nent of the benchmark HangSeng index , scaled back itsfinancial targets even as annualprofits for 2010 more than dou-bled, sending its London-listedshares down as much as 3.3 percent.
The bank's results wereannounced after the close of theHong Kong market, where thestock gained 1.5 per cent onMonday. High expectationsamong investors about HSBChave boosted the stock, whichis up 13.4 per cent in HongKong this year, easily outpac-ing the Hang Seng Index's 1.3
per cent advance. "The main disappointment is
that the net income missed ana-lysts estimates by $0.5 billionand that has led to a sharp shareprice drop after the announce-ment," said Mic Mills, head ofelectronic trading at ETXCapital in London.
Financials, led by HSBC,pushed Hong Kong's bench-mark Hang Seng up 1.4 percent on Monday helping itrecover about half of lastweek's losses and trimming itsmonthly decline to 0.5 percent.
Outside the benchmark, man-ufacturing-related sectors andthose most likely to benefitfrom Chinese governmentspending on infrastructuresurged Monday.
China's plans to build 10 mil-lion affordable housing units in2011 lifted cement stocks with
Anhui Conch up 4.3 per cent. Coal-related stocks were on
fire further supported by a hikein prices announced by theworld's largest producer CoalIndia.
Sany Heavy International,which supplies machinery tominers, rose 9.4 per cent.
Shanghai's main stock indexrose on Monday, finishing themonth as the top-performingAsian equities market, ridingoptimism ahead of China'sannual parliamentary sessionand increased central govern-ment spending on infrastruc-ture.
The benchmark ShanghaiComposite Index closed at2,905.05, above the psycholog-ically important 2,900 levelafter a week of turmoil causedby surging crude oil prices andpolitical turmoil in the MiddleEast.-Reuters
HK, China stocks up,but gains could stall
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei aver-age ended higher on Monday,reversing early losses with helpfrom futures-led buying bycommodity trading advisers andmonth-end window dressing byforeign investors who picked upblue-chip cyclical shares.
The banking sector wasactive with Mizuho Trust &Banking Co Ltd and other unitsof Mizuho Financial Groupjumping after a source toldReuters the Japanese bankplanned to buy them out in adeal worth about $4 billion.
While the Nikkei's fall ofalmost 3 per cent last weekstirred speculation that it mayenter a short-term downtrend,market players said bulls wereeager to buy on dips, as the fac-tors that had fuelled a rally ofabout 15 per cent sinceNovember -- excess liquidityand stronger corporate earnings-- remained largely intact.
The benchmark Nikkei added
0.9 per cent or 97.33 points to10,624.09. The broader Topixadvanced 1 per cent to 951.27.
Some analysts said programtraders could have been buyingback futures with the euroabove 112 yen in the afternoon,compared with a low of 111.95in early morning trade.
Others added that, with mostinvestors expecting the marketto end weaker on the back ofhigher oil prices, the programtrade buying could have trig-gered short-covering.
"So many traders might havepositioned themselves for adecline, and as soon as somebuying started in the afternoon,this buying might have led toshort covering," said MattiaCiancaleoni, director of equitysales at Citigroup.
This week, the market is alsofocusing on US Fed ChairmanBen Bernanke's testimonybefore the Senate
See # 13 Page 11
Futures-led buying,façade hike Nikkei
MUMBAI: Indian marketsrose 0.7 per cent on Mondayafter the federal budgetstepped up social spending,but absence of key reformssuch as opening up the retailand financial sectors causedsome dismay.
Finance Minister PranabMukherjee forecast the econo-my would grow 9 per cent in2011/12 beginning April andinflation would ease. Asia'sthird-largest economy is ontrack to expand 8.6 per cent inthe current fiscal year.
The minister raised the for-eign investment limit in corpo-rate infrastructure bonds by$20 billion, and announced thecreation of infrastructure debtfunds, boosting shares such astop engineering and construc-tion firm Larsen & Toubro.
"This looks like a sensiblebudget in the sense that thegovernment has set a veryaggressive deficit reductiontarget, which is better than themarket expectations," saidSam Mahtani, a London-basedfund manager with F&C'sIndian Investment Company.
"There was no big announce-ments today on reform, butevery thing else was neutral topositive with the governmentalso announcing new measuresto attract more foreign capital
flows into the country," he said. Leading carmaker Maruti
Suzuki Ltd rose 3.1 per cent to1,206.70 rupees and No. 1 util-ity vehicle maker Mahindra& Mahindra gained 3.2per cent to 614.10 rupees afterexcise duty on cars were notraised.
Coal India rose 12.4 per centto 328.15 rupees after theworld's largest coal miner saidit would get $1.4 billion inadditional revenue next fiscalyear and saw realisations go up12.5 to 13 per cent from a revi-sion in prices.
Cigarette maker ITC Ltdfirmed 8.2 per cent to 169rupees, its biggest gain in morethan one-and-a-half years,after there was no increase intaxes on tobacco makers.
"The finance minister hasdone a good balancing job,there is nothing spectacular inthe budget but nothing disturb-ing as well," saidJagannadham Thunuguntla,head of research at SMCCapitals in New Delhi.
The benchmark 30-shareBSE index, or Sensex , endedup 0.69 per cent at 17,823.40points. It had climbed as muchas 3.4 per cent at one stage, butthe absence of reforms in retailand financial sectors causedinvestor dismay.-Reuters
India mkts up onbudget; ITC leads
Results bringFTSE down
LONDON: The FTSE 100share index fell slightly onMonday as disappointingresults from HSBC andAssociated British Foods(ABF.L) outweighed strengthfrom miners on optimism aboutthe global economy.
The blue-chip index .FTSEended 7.19 points, or 0.1 percent lower, at 5,994.01, after itclosed 1.4 per cent higher onFriday at 6,001.20, bouncingback after five straight days ofdeclines. The index gained 2.2per cent in February after a 0.6per cent fall in January.
Activity was relatively strongwith 117 per cent of the aver-age volume of the last 90 trad-ing days' volume transacted.
Miners gained ground asriskier assets were lifted afterJames Bullard, president of theSt. Louis Fed, said the USeconomy should do well in2011 and that oil prices are notcurrently a drag on the recov-ery.
"It seems as if markets aretrying to move on (after the jit-ters caused by turmoil in Libya)and that there is plenty ofinflow into equities as we moveinto a new month," said StevenBell, director at hedge fundGLC.
Also in positive territory,Essar Energy rose 3.5 per cent,the top gainer, as Credit Suisseinitiated coverage of theIndian-focussed oil and gasbusiness with an "overweight"rating.
Credit Suisse says Essar has astrong growth outlook, offeringinvestors an attractive play onthe Indian power market.
Equities underperformedthose in continental Europe andthe United States which werefirmly higher, as weak resultsfrom index heavyweight HSBC
See # 14 Page 11
US stocks mid-day
Wall St upon deal,Buffett's
bullishismNEW YORK: US stocks roseon Monday after Ventas Incsaid it will buy NationwideHealth Properties for $5.8 bil-lion and investor WarrenBuffett said he was eyeing"major acquisitions."
Comments from Buffett,chairman of BerkshireHathaway Inc and known as avalue investor, signaled he seescheapness in the market.Berkshire's Class B shares rose2.1 per cent to $86.74.
"Some of the deals start form-ing backstops so even if it goesdown there is capital availableto backstop," said DougRoberts, chief investmentstrategist at Channel CapitalResearch.com in Shrewsbury,New Jersey.
Ventas Inc is to buyNationwide Health Properties ina stock deal that strengthens itsposition as the biggest US ownerof senior housing. NHP sharesrose 9.2 per cent to $42.54.
The Nasdaq came under pres-sure after Amazon.com Inc fell2.5 per cent to $172.78 afterUBS downgraded the onlineretailer, citing increased costs.
The Dow Jones industrialaverage gained 73.22 points, or0.60 per cent, to 12,203.67. TheStandard & Poor's 500 Indexrose 5.77 points, or 0.44 percent, to 1,325.65. The NasdaqComposite Index added 2.87points, or 0.10 per cent, to2,783.92.
Comments from FederalReserve officials hinting theywere ready to support the econ-omy if needed also helped asconcern mounts about how themarket will react when theFed's current bond-buying pro-gram ends later this year.
New York Fed BankPresident William Dudley saidpolicymakers should be waryabout withdrawing liquidity tooquickly, while St. Louis FedBank President James Bullardwould not rule out further useof the Fed's unorthodox long-term bond buying tool. [ID
Equities had their worst per-formance since November lastweek as an uprising in Libyasent oil surging in what wasseen as a potential threat to theeconomic recovery.
See # 12 Page 11
Energy and banks in demand
South East Asian stocks
European shares rise forthird consecutive month
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Company Period Div/Bon/Right PAT (Rs in mn) EPS(Rs)
DSIL closed up 0.07 at 1.39. Volume was 401 per cent above average
(trending) and Bollinger Bands were 42 per cent wider than normal. The
company's loss after taxation stood at Rs31.558 million which trans-
lates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.53 for the 1st quarter of current fis-
cal year (1QFY11).
DSIL is currently 28.7 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely high when com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of DSIL at a relatively
equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on DSIL.
RSI (14-day) 37.72 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 840.05
MA (10-day) 1.51 Total Equity (Rs in mn) (309.63)
MA (100-day) 1.76 Revenue (Rs in mn) 913.02
MA (200-day) 1.95 Interest Expense 88.07
1st Support 1.25 Loss after Taxation (23.38)
2nd Support 1.10 EPS 10 (Rs) (0.390)
1st Resistance 1.55 Book value / share (Rs) (5.16)
2nd Resistance 1.70 PE 11 E (x) -
Pivot 1.40 PBV (x) (0.27)
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Dec 31, 2009
MYBL closed up 0.12 at 2.14. Volume was 84 per cent above average
and Bollinger Bands were 42 per cent wider than normal. The compa-
ny's loss after taxation stood at Rs1.392 billion which translates into a
Loss Per Share of Rs0.74 for the nine months of current calendar year
(9MCY10).
MYBL is currently 14.4 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely high when com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of MYBL at a relatively
equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on MYBL.
RSI (14-day) 32.29 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 35,490.71
MA (10-day) 2.33 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 5,104.86
MA (100-day) 2.45 Revenue (Rs in mn) 3,368.22
MA (200-day) 2.50 Interest Expense 2,881.90
1st Support 2.11 Loss after Taxation (1,639.83)
2nd Support 2.01 EPS 09 (Rs) (3.092)
1st Resistance 2.25 Book value / share (Rs) 9.63
2nd Resistance 2.29 PE 10 E (x) -
Pivot 2.15 PBV (x) 0.22
Mybank Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
PSYL closed up 0.71 at 13.21. Volume was 18 per cent above average
and Bollinger Bands were 57 per cent narrower than normal. The com-
pany's profit after taxation stood at Rs41.538 million which translates
into an Earning Per Share of Rs0.74 for the 1st quarter of current fiscal
year (1QFY11).
PSYL is currently 64.7 per cent above its 200-day moving average and
is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is extremely low when com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into PSYL (mildly bullish).
Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on PSYL.
RSI (14-day) 60.62 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 1,323.87
MA (10-day) 13.08 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 880.58
MA (100-day) 8.79 Revenue (Rs in mn) 3,280.76
MA (200-day) 7.87 Interest Expense 7.03
1st Support 12.60 Profit after Taxation 51.82
2nd Support 12.05 EPS 10 (Rs) 0.925
1st Resistance 13.60 Book value / share (Rs) 15.71
2nd Resistance 14.05 PE 11 E (x) 4.46
Pivot 13.05 PBV (x) 0.84
Pakistan Synthetics Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Dec 31, 2009
LOTPTA closed up 0.45 at 14.53. Volume was 18 per cent below aver-age and Bollinger Bands were 11 per cent wider than normal. The com-pany's profit after taxation stood at Rs4.527 billion which translates intoan Earning Per Share of Rs2.99 for the year ended CY10.LOTPTA is currently 34.6 per cent above its 200-day moving averageand is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is relatively normal ascompared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions.Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of LOTPTA at arelatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearishon LOTPTA.
RSI (14-day) 40.30 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 18,976.36
MA (10-day) 15.42 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 7,536.40
MA (100-day) 12.92 Revenue (Rs in mn) 38,552.26
MA (200-day) 10.84 Interest Expense 307.33
1st Support 14.16 Profit after Taxation 3,383.27
2nd Support 13.81 EPS 09 (Rs) 2.234
1st Resistance 14.75 Book value / share (Rs) 4.98
2nd Resistance 14.99 PE 10 E (x) 4.86
Pivot 14.40 PBV (x) 2.92
Lotte Pakistan PTA Ltd
OIL AND GAS
Performance of SR Oil and Gas Index
Open High Low Close Change % Change
1,409.92 1,438.26 1,372.74 1,406.37 -3.55 -0.25
Turnover Total cos Defaulter cos Listed cap Market cap 5-Day High
United Bank Ltd 34.48 57.75 55.90 60.75 61.85 58.90
WorldCall Tele 34.19 2.25 2.15 2.40 2.45 2.30
Company RSI 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Pivot
(14-day) Support Resistance
TECHNICAL LEVELS
Habib Metropolitan Bank Ltd 01-Mar 3:00
National Bank Of Pakistan 01-Mar 7:12
NIB Bank Ltd 01-Mar 12:00
Silkbank Ltd 02-Mar 2:00
Atlas Insurance Ltd 02-Mar 11:00
Bank Alfalah Ltd 02-Mar 5:00
Shell Pakistan Ltd 03-Mar 10:00
Standard Chartered Bank 03-Mar 3:00
The Bank Of Khyber 03-Mar 11:30
Pak Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd 04-Mar 3:30
Karim Cotton Mills Ltd 04-Mar 10:30
JS Bank Ltd 05-Mar 11:30
BOARD MEETINGS
Company Date Time
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 8
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLimited (PTCL) has postedRs4.022 billion as profit aftertax in the half year period endedDecember 31, 2010 as com-pared to Rs5.354 earned in thecorresponding period in 2009.The board of directors of thecompany in its meetingdeclared that the company'searning per share stood atRs0.79 in the period underreview against Rs1.05 a yearback. According to the financialresults sent to Karachi StockExchange (KSE), the compa-ny's revenue declined toRs27.698 billion in the half yearperiod in 2010 against Rs29.424billion in the same period in2009 while the cost of servicesincreased to Rs20.074 billionagainst Rs18.671 billion. Thecompany's administrative andgeneral expenses reduced toRs3.298 billion against Rs3.638billion while selling and mar-keting expenses increased toRs1,204.801 million againstRs926.926 million. Other oper-ating income of the companyincreased to Rs3.187 billionagainst Rs 2.231 billion. Thecompany's profit before taxa-tion stood at Rs6.181 billion inthe half year period in 2010against Rs8.203 billion earned
in the corresponding period in2009.
On quarterly basis, the profitafter tax of PTCL stood atRs1.941 billion translating intoearning per share of Rs0.38 inthe quarter ended December 31,2010 as compared to after taxprofit of Rs2.785 billion withper share earning of Re 0.55 inthe same period in 2009.
Meanwhile Saeed AhmadKhan has been appointed aschairman PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLtd board of directors fromFebruary 24, 2011 in place ofNaguibullah Malik. Accordingto information reaching KSEhere, Federal Secretary FinanceDr Waqar Masood Khan hasbeen appointed as director of thecompany replacing former sec-retary Finance Salman Siddiquewho resigned from the board.
Khurshed Ahmed Junejo hasalso resigned from the board ofdirectors. However, CEO of thecompany Walid Irshad will con-tinue for next term. Other mem-bers of the board includedMushtaq Ahmed Bhatti, chair-man and CEO EtisalatInternational Pakistan LLCUAE Abdulrahim A AlNooryani, chief human resourceofficer Etisalat UAE AbdulazizAAl Sawaleh, Fadhil Al-Ansari,Abdulaziz H Taryam and DrAhmed Al Jarwan.
BEIJING: A Chinese govern-ment study has found theEuropean Union offered largesubsidies to telecom firms inwhat Beijing might deem a viola-tion of World Trade Organizationrules, the Wall Street Journalreported, citing a person familiarwith the matter.
The study by China's Ministryof Commerce, which was intend-ed for internal distribution, foundEU member countries providedfunds for research and develop-ment and extended export creditsand loans, the source told theWSJ.
The study, according to theunnamed WSJ source, found theEU granted 9.1 billion euros($12.5 billion) in R&D fundingto three large European telecom-equipment manufacturersbetween 2007-2013. It also saidexport credit agencies inSweden, Finland and France pro-vided guarantees on risky loansof more than $35 billion for tele-com infrastructure projects over
that period.The European Investment
Bank had also issued more than$2 billion in loans on non-com-mercial terms to three majorEuropean telecom-equipmentmakers, the study said withoutnaming them. Nokia SiemensNetworks and Telefon AB L.M.Ericsson EU received subsidiesfrom EU member countries, thesource said of the study.
A Chinese trade official deniedprevious reports China's Ministryof Commerce had written thestudy. "It was not done by theMinistry of Commerce," the offi-cial told Reuters, adding the min-istry would be interested in itscontents.
The EU delegation in Beijingsaid it had no comment.
But the findings of the studycould provide support for China'sresponse to any EU claims thatBeijing has provided similar sup-port to Chinese firms, in whatcould become a tit-for-tat battleover WTO infractions.
An EU document sent to EUmember governments in earlyFebruary cited evidence thatChina's main telecom producersHuawei and ZTE are state-con-trolled and receive cheap loansthat give them an unfair advan-tage over European rivals.
Huawei and ZTE have bothrejected allegations of receivingstate subsidies in the past.
An executive at ZTE'sShenzhen headquarters whoasked not to be named toldReuters that he was unaware ofthe commerce ministry's study,but that it would not affect thecompany's strategy.
"If the EU really grantedresearch-and-development fundstotaling 9.1 billion euros for the2007-2013 period, then I haven'tfelt any obvious effects of thatduring the last five years," hesaid.
"We will not change our strate-gy of overseas expansion basedon our price and technologyadvantage," he added.-Reuters
Rs4.02bnmakes itto PTCL
vault in 1HTop SK
cellco setto market
Apple iPhone4SEOUL: SK Telecom is closeto completing negotiations withApple to sell the populariPhone 4 in the local market inMarch, Yonhap news agencyreported, citing a source famil-iar with the matter.
"As the negotiations aregoing smoothly, it is virtuallydecided that SK Telecom willlaunch the iPhone," said thesource quoted by Yonhap.
An SK Telecom spokes-woman declined to comment.
KT, SK Telecom's smallerrival and currently the sole dis-tributor of iPhones in SouthKorea, has sold about two mil-lion units since the gadget'sdebut in November 2009.
SK Telecom, which controlsabout half of the nation's wire-less market, has for yearssought to dominate the rapidly-growing smartphone market byselling Samsung Electronics'Galaxy S and other devicespowered by the Android plat-form.
Technology research firmGartner said global smartphonesales soared 72.1 per cent in2010 over the previous year andaccounted for 19 per cent oftotal mobile sales last year.-APP
Illicit tel-traffic
redsignalledISLAMABAD: PakistanTelecommunication Authority(PTA) and Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) jointly conducteda successful raid in G-11/1Islamabad against an illegalGateway Exchange setup.
The raid was conducted basedon the information obtainedthrough PTA's facility for moni-toring illegal traffic, said a pressrelease.
It resulted in confiscation ofillegal switches along with otheraccessories. The seized illegalsetup was running under thesupervision of a foreigner whowas apprehended. This is anoth-er success within one week,which shows the commitmentand persistent efforts PTA isexercising in curbing the menaceof grey traffic.
It is maybe noted that underthe leadership of Chairman PTADr Mohammed Yaseen, PTA hasbeen able to bust 41 illegalsetups throughout Pakistan inlast two years, which includedsmall and big gateway setups.
The apprehended culprits arebeing interrogated by FIA andlegal proceedings are underwayto recover the millions of rupeesloss caused to the nationalexchequer.-APP
TelecomItalia tomultiplyliquidity
MILAN: Italy's top telecomsoperator Telecom Italia vowedto boost liquidity and slash debtover the next three years, and toboost dividends by 15 per centper year as it outlined its 2011-13 strategic plan.
In a statement, Telecom Italiasaid it planned to cut its adjust-ed net debt to 25 billion euros($34.48 billion) by the end of2013 from 31.5 billion at theend of 2010.
The company expects its cashflow to rise to more than 22 bil-lion euros thanks to a strongerfocus on core market Italy aswell as Latin America.-Reuters
Spaintelco in
record netMADRID: Spanish telecomsgiant Telefonica posted a record2010 net profit of 10.17 billioneuros, a 30.8 per cent jump overthe previous year as weaknessin Spain was offset by stronggrowth in the rest of Europeand Latin America.
Revenues rose 7.1 per centover the previous year to 60.7billion euros ($83.6 billion) asthe company added clients andits mobile data business grew ascustomers upgraded to smart-phones, the company said in astatement.-APP
Samsunggongs ingroovygadgets
Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Ufone will be offer-ing cash prizes at the end of theCricket World Cup 2011 to theplayer who hits the most foursand sixes put together, to thebowler who takes the maximumwickets and to the bowler whotakes the maximum hat tricks.Each winner will get a cash prizeof Rs1 million for their outstand-ing performance. This wasannounced at an event held inLahore which was attended bythe team and management of thePakistan Cricket Team.
Cricket is the pulse of life forPakistanis all over the world.With the World Cup rightaround the corner the country isabuzz the much awaited tourna-ment. The passion is runninghigh with every individualeagerly awaiting the success ofthe national team.
Ufone one of the leadingtelecom companies in the coun-try which has always been atthe forefront to motivate theyounger generation has takenyet another exciting step to helpmotivate Pakistan's young andtalented Cricket Team.
Akbar Khan Chief MarketingOfficer Ufone speaking at theoccasion said, "We stand by ournation and our highly talentedcricket team and are sure thatthis gesture from Ufone is sure tobuild greater motivation andconfidence within each of theplayers alongside increase thespirit of the team throughout thetournament". "We wish our teamand the nation the very best", headded.-Online
Saeed Ahmad named PTCL chief
EU favouring its telcos in violation of WTO rules: China
TOKYO: Japan's telecommunication giant KDDI president Takashi Tanaka introduces newsmart phone manufactured by Taiwan's electronics giant HTC 'HTC EVO Wimax'.-Reuters
Beijing alleges EUof ‘telular’ nepotism
ISLAMABAD: PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLtd (PTCL) has introduced 3GEvo Wi-Fi Cloud, for its exist-ing and potential customers. 3 GEvo Wi-Fi Cloud is Pakistan'sfirst intelligent mobile Wi-Fi. Itis a new category of mobilebroadband that combines thebest of two technologies, 3GEvo 3.1 MBPS wireless internetand Wi-Fi in a sleek device thatlets users put their world of con-tent, services and connectivityin the palm of their hand. TheEvo Wi-Fi platform creates apersonal mobile Wi-fi of high-speed broadband connectivitythat can be easily sharedbetween multiple users. Up tofive Wi-Fi devices such as lap-tops, smart phones, cameras,gaming devices and multimediaplayers can connect simultane-ously. The Evo Wi-Fi Cloud isa great solution for users look-
ing for a strong Wi-Fi signal onthe go.
EVP Wireless business SyedAsim Ali stated, "The portabili-ty of the Evo Wi-Fi Clouddesign with one-touch connec-tivity for up to five Wi-Fienabled devices delivers a truewireless experience with nocables or software installationrequired, the Evo Wi-Fi Cloudmobile hotspot easily supportsall the needs of a family house-hold, a frequent traveler whowants to avoid Wi-Fi charges,or even a small business team.The device with a form factorabout the size of a few creditcards is convenient to carry inpocket.
SEVP Commercial PTCLNaveed Saeed on the occasionstated that, "PTCL is determinedto bring the most cutting edgeinnovative solutions and tech-nologies to its customers..-APP
3G Evo Wi-FiCloud in to reign
KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysian mobile phone oper-ator Maxis Bhd reported a 21per cent increase in quarterlyprofit driven by higher revenuefrom data services, and warnedof further pressure on tariffsand operating margins fromcut-throat competition.
Income from data services isexpected to be the key growthdriver for Malaysia's telecomoperators this year as the coun-try's broadband usageremained low at 55 per cent ofthe population at end-2010.
"The driver of revenuegrowth for the foreseeablefuture is from the increasingdemand for wireless broad-band, internet access and other
non-voice services," saidMaxis, Malaysia's secondbiggest mobile phone operatorby market capitalisation.
Maxis posted a net profit of610 million ringgit ($199.8million) for October-December, up from 503 mil-lion ringgit a year earlier andslightly above the 609 millionringgit average forecast ofthree analysts tracked byThomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net profit for the full yearwas 2.3 billion, matching the2.3 billion ringgit consensusforecast of 25 analysts trackedby Thomson Reuters, led byhigher income from data andwireless broadband services.
Regional telecommunication
companies are facing a rapiddecline in traditional fixed-linephone services and are havingto spend more to win back cus-tomers.
Maxis' mobile subscriptionsrose by 14 per cent to 13.9 mil-lion in 2010, with prepaid andwireless broadband up by 1.4million and 330,000 subscrip-tions respectively.
Maxis said it would continueto invest in its networks tomeet customers' demand forsmart data devices this year.
"The group will also contin-ue its focus on cost manage-ment and operational efficien-cy initiatives to maintain oper-ating margins," it said in astatement.-Reuters
Malaysia’s Maxis4Q gains get boost
FRANKFURT/MADRID:
Spain's Telefonica andDeutsche Telekom cast moregloom over the European tele-coms sector after producinglackluster results and luke-warm outlooks for 2011.
European telecoms compa-nies face limited growthprospects in overcrowdeddomestic markets. Most havetried to compensate with over-seas expansion, but withmixed success.
Investors increasingly seethem as utilities with low val-uations, low profitability andhigh dividend yields.
Telefonica, the eurozone'sbiggest telecoms firm by mar-ket value, faces the addedpressure of Spains' macroeco-nomic problems. Its domesticbusiness has been pummelled
by the collapse of Spain'sproperty boom, saddlingSpaniards with debt and fur-ther intensifying competitionin the telecoms market.
Telefonica's Spanish opera-tions were worse than expect-ed in the fourth quarter withsales down 5 per cent but itmanaged to compensate forthe drop with its business inLatin America, which nowaccounts for around 40 percent of sales.
It broadened its footprint inBrazil last when it bought tele-coms firm Vivo.
Telefonica said it aimed toachieve a 2 per cent increasein revenue this year and a coreprofit margin in the upper 30's.
Telecom analyst JavierBorrachero at Kepler CapitalMarkets said the revenue tar-
get was slightly higher thanhis 1.8 per cent estimate. "Ifyou can achieve that withSpain likely to remain poor forthis year, that is a pretty decentfigure."
Others were less benevolent."Unfortunately there is as
little to inspire here as therehas been in the other Europeanmega-caps this morning,"Investec Securities said in anote.
Telefonica shares were up1.5 per cent at 18.26 euros($25.24) at 1137 GMT.
Telefonica's proposed divi-dend 1.60 euros per share,above expectations of around1.40 euros, was met with scep-ticism.
"In our view, the announce-ment of the 1.60 euros divi-dend per share (dividend yield
of 9 per cent) is an attempt tosweeten up these results,which were not as good asexpected," Virginia PerezRepes at ACF said.
HEADACHES OVERSEASNot all European carriers
have been successful in com-pensating for sluggish growthat home with expansionabroad.
Deutsche Telekom did wellat first with its purchase of UScarrier Voicestream more thana decade ago.
The business -- now calledT-Mobile USA -- was the com-pany's growth engine for someyears but it has begun to sput-ter in the past quarters. Netcustomer additions were dis-appointing, analysts said,sending its shares down 1.65per cent.
Its southeast-Europe opera-tions are worse off with a dou-ble-digit drop in revenue andcore profit due to economicstrains in Greece andRomania, plus regulatory cutsin roaming rates and intercon-nection fees.
Its domestic market, howev-er, was stable in the fourthquarter thanks to sales ofsmartphones and data plans.
Deutsche Telekom said itaimed to reach around 19.1billion euros in adjusted coreprofit in 2011, slightly lowerthan 2010, and to generate freecash flow of at least 6.5 bil-lion.
The dividend will be 0.70euros per share compared with0.78 in 2009, as announced ayear ago
"The focus is very much on
the outlook where we wereexpecting to see comments ofongoing deterioration, butmanagement is promising'almost' stability ... hardlyinspiring," Investec Securitiessaid.
Of the major European oper-ators, only Telecom Italiaexcited investors after vowingto boost liquidity, slash debtand increase dividends overthe next three years. Its stockshot up 4.8 per cent.
Robin Bienenstock atBernstein Research called theoutlook "modest and eminent-ly achievable", and "prudent"in light of the the difficultmacro-economic environmentin Italy.
"We think the company cando better," she said, addingthere might be less of a need
for infrastructure upgradesnext year.
But Investec called the planuninspiring and said it offeredno targets and no explanationof how it would deal with thedomestic issues it had so farfailed to address.
Telecom Italia, under pres-sure to turn around its domes-tic mobile operations, reporteda 10.5 per cent fall in 2010revenues at the unit. The oper-ations have struggled with afierce price war with rivalsVodafone and Wind.
On a smaller scale,Belgacom, Belgium's domi-nant telecom operator, forecastregulatory pressure would hit2011 by about the sameamount as last year, althoughit should be able to maintainits dividend.-Reuters
European telcos tell no telling tale
LONDON: Copper rose onMonday to its highest in nearlya week on upbeat US data and aweaker dollar supported senti-ment and as oil eased from lastweek's price spike, which cast ashadow over the economicgrowth outlook.
The market was little affectedby an earthquake in top copperproducer Chile on Sunday asmines were unscathed.
Three-month copper on theLondon Metal Exchange closedat $9,885 a tonne from $9,750at the close on Friday, when itrallied almost 3 per cent. Themetal hit a session high of$9,885, its highest since Feb.22.
Adding support, data showedUS incomes rose 1.0 per centlast month, the largest increasesince May 2009. Also theInstitute for SupplyManagement-Chicago index ofMidwest business activity rosein February to 71.2 from 68.8 inJanuary.
"Things are undoubtedly a lotbetter than they were acrossmany sectors of the US econo-my," said Charles Kernot, ananalyst at Evolution Securities.
But he remained cautious."I'm still nervous," he added.
"I'm worried about the impactthat interest rates are going tobe having."
Other data was less bullish,
with contracts for pending salesof previously owned US homesfalling faster than expected inJanuary.
Also bolstering sentiment, atop US Federal Reserve officialsaid the US economy should dowell in 2011 and that oil pricesrising on tensions in the MiddleEast are not currently a drag onthe recovery.
Across the world, meanwhile,the quake of 6.0 magnitude thatstruck Chile on Sunday south ofConcepcion gave rise to no
reports of damages or injuriesand no risk of a tsunami.
LME stocks of copper rose toa seven-month high, up 4,175tonnes, mostly due to a largeshipment into South Korea'sGwangyang port and extendingan uptrend in Asian LMEstocks, reflecting subdueddemand.
The abundant stocks havenarrowed the copper backwar-dation premium for cash copperover three-month material, to$6.50 on Monday, from a peakof $70 in mid December.
Tin closed at $32,320 a tonnefrom $32,050, while zinc was at$2,520 a tonne from $2,491.
Battery material lead was at$2,562 a tonne from $2,515,and nickel was at $28,990 atonne from $28,150.
Aluminium closed at $2,600 atonne from $2,565. The metalused in transport and packagingearlier hit $2,602.50, its highestsince September 2008.
Western world unwroughtaluminium stocks rose to 1.468million tonnes at the end ofJanuary 2011, versus a revisedfigure of 1.395 million tonnesin December 2010. -Reuters
Copper rises on weakerdollar, easing oil
9Tuesday, March 1, 2011
NEW YORK: Brent crude oilprices rose above $112 a barrelin choppy trade on Monday asinvestors weighed reassur-ances from Saudi Arabia thatextra supply needs were beingmet against the prospect thatdisruption of Libya's outputcould be prolonged.
Saudi Aramco CEO Khalidal-Falih told reporters the extrasupply needscaused by violentunrest in Libyahad been madeup. He could notgive exact figuresbecause it was "amoving picture,"Falih toldreporters on thesidelines at a conference.
Foreign powers acceleratedefforts to help oust Libyanleader Muammar Gaddafi asrebels fought governmentforces trying to take backstrategic coastal cities on eitherside of the capital Tripoli.
Brent crude futures for Aprilrose 40 cents to $112.54 a bar-rel at 1509 GMT, off its earlier$114.50 intraday peak. US
crude fell 10 cents to $97.78 abarrel also seeing choppy trad-ing.
Brent's premium to its UScounterpart was near $15 a bar-rel.
Crude oil shipments fromLibya were at a virtual stand-still because of reduced outputand bad weather, according toshipping sources.
Industry reports indicatedaround half of Libya's produc-tion of 1.6 million barrels perday had been cut, while otherestimates had put the figure atthree-quarters output shut,Fatih Birol, chief economist atthe International EnergyAgency told Reuters InsiderTV.
Saudi Arabia's reassurancescame as regional protests
spread to oil-producer Oman,although oil flow had not beenaffected. Protesters demandingjobs and political reformsblocked roads to a main port inthe north of the Gulf Arab sul-tanate as demonstrationsspread.
Thorbjrn Bak Jensen ofGlobal Risk Management saidthe situation in the Middle East
and NorthA f r i c ar e m a i n e dvolatile andthe outlookfor pricesunclear.
"If SaudiArabia startsto rumble,
$120 per barrel is cheap. If not,and (Muammar) Gaddafileaves and peace and quietspread in the involved coun-tries, $120 is expensive," hesaid.
Also tempering the view thatthe Libya supply disruptionwould be short-lived was aBank of America MerrillLynch warning output could bereduced for months. -Reuters
Brent up on Libyadespite Saudi vows
Europeanvegoilprices
ROTTERDAM: The follow-
ing were the Monday's
Rotterdam vegetable oil
price's at 22:00 PST.
SOYOIL: EU degummed
euro tonne fob exmill Mar11
960.00+5.00, Apr11 965.00-
2.00, May11/Jul11 975.00-
2.00, Aug11/Oct11 980.00.
RAPEOIL: Dutch/EU euro
tonne fob exmill May11/Jul11
1015.00+0.00, Aug11/Oct11
975.00+0.00, Nov11/Jan12
983.00+0.00, Feb12/Apr12
990.00+0.00.
SUNOIL: EU dlrs tonne
extank six ports option
Apr11/Jun11 1410.00+0.00,
Jul11/Sep11 1415.00-5.00,
Oct11/Dec11 1390.00+10.00.
LINOIL: Any origin dlrs
tonne extank Rotterdam
Mar11/Apr11 1552.50+5.00.
CRUDE PALM OIL:
Sumatra/Malaysia slrs option
dlrs tonne cif R'dam Feb11
1205.00-10.00, Mar11
1205.00-10.00, Apr11/Jun11
1197.50-12.50, Jul11/Sep11
1172.50-12.50.
PALMOIL: RBD dlrs tonne
cif Rotterdam Mar11
1265.00, Apr11/Jun11
1242.50.
PALMOIL: RBD dlrs tonne
fob Malaysia Mar11 1210.00,
Apr11/Jun11 1187.50.
PALM OLEIN: RBD dlrs
tonne fob Malaysia Mar11
1217.50, Apr11/Jun11
1195.00, Jul11/Sep11
1152.50, Oct11/Dec11
1140.00.
PALM STEARIN: Dlrs
tonne fob Malaysia Mar11
1190.00, Apr11 1185.00.
PALM FATTY ACID DIS-
TILLATE: Dlrs tonne fob
Malaysia Mar11 945.00.
COCONUT OIL:
Phil/Indon dlrs tonne cif
Rotterdam Feb11/Mar11
2160.00+0.00, Mar11/Apr11
2130.00-10.00, Apr11/May11
2120.00-10.00.
PALMKERNEL OIL:
Mal/Indon dlrs tonne cif
Rotterdam Feb11/Mar11
2290.00-10.00, Mar11/Apr11
2270.00+0.00, Apr11/May11
2250.00+5.00, May11/Jun11
2210.00. -Reuters
National Commodity Exchange Ltd Trading SummaryDate Commodity Contract Price Open High Low Close Traded Volume Previous Current Open Interest
Date Quotation in lots Settlement Settlement in Lots
Note: Traded Volume reflects the trades from 06:00 pm of previous day to 06:00 pm of current day
AGARTALA , India: Farmers work at a paddy field at Agartala,Tripura. -Agencies
LONDON: Gold rose above$1,410 an ounce on Mondayas turmoil across the MiddleEast boosted safe-haven buy-ing, though the metal strug-gled to sustain gains asinvestors were spooked by itsproximity to record highs.
Spot gold was bid at$1,413.70 an ounce at 1607GMT, against $1,409.15 late
in New York on Friday. USgold futures for April deliveryrose by $4.80 an ounce to$1,414.10.
Unrest across the MiddleEast and North Africa, whichunseated leaders in Tunisiaand Egypt before spreadingacross Libya, Bahrain, Yemenand Oman among others hasfuelled a 6 per cent rise ingold prices this month.
Prices are currently on trackfor their biggest one-monthrise since last August, butanalysts say more may beneeded to take gold above itsrecord high at $1,430.95 anounce.
Oil prices steadied onMonday but remained elevat-ed after hitting 2-1/2 yearhighs last week on the back of
tensions across the MiddleEast and North Africa.
"Higher oil prices are a dou-ble-edged sword as far as goldis concerned," said UBS in anote. "On the plus side,should elevated oil prices per-sist, concerns about a corre-sponding negative impact onglobal economic growthcould spurn renewed interest
in safe havens."(But) rising oil prices also
contribute to higher inflationprints. This creates a difficulttask for policymakers, partic-ularly the ECB and BoE, whoare debating a return to mone-tary policy normalisation. Thereturn of interest rate hikeswill act as an anchor for goldat lower price levels."
Among other precious met-als, silver was bid at $33.82an ounce against $33.31.Prices have rallied 21 per centthis month, their biggest one-month rise since May 2009.
Among other precious met-als, platinum was at$1,803.24 an ounce against$1,803.50, while palladiumwas at $794.72 against$785.40. -Reuters
Gold edgesabove $1,410 on
Mideast tensions
ICE cocoa at32-yr high;sugar rises
LONDON: Cocoa futures onICE rose to a 32-year high onMonday as fears of civil war intop producer Ivory Coastincreased after fighting intensi-fied over the weekend, dealerssaid.
Raw sugar futures advancedas the market eyed Monday'sexpiry of the March raws con-tract on ICE while arabica cof-fee futures were also higher.
May cocoa on ICE stood $35or 1.0 per cent higher at $3,674a tonne at 1529 GMT afterpeaking at $3,686, the highestlevel for the second monthsince January 1979.
A halt to cocoa-buying inIvory Coast because of sanctionsand liquidity problems hasspurred smuggling of cocoathrough neighbours like Ghana,farmers say, as the alternative isto let it rot on farms.
May cocoa on Liffe stood 8pounds or 0.3 per cent higher at2,376 pounds a tonne afterclimbing to a 7-month high of2,383 pounds earlier in the ses-sion. Sugar prices were higherwith the market's focus onMonday's expiry of the Marchcontract on ICE with deliveriesexpected to total between500,000 and one million tonnes.
March raws was up 1.06cents or 3.4 per cent at 32.58cents a lb with its premium toMay widening by around 0.50cent to 3.30 cents.
The market's improved per-formance during the last cou-ple of sessions was seen boost-ing the technical outlook.
Sugar prices have fallen byaround 12 per cent since hittinga 30-year high of 36.08 cents alb on February 2.
May whites on Liffe rose$12.40 or 1.7 per cent to$738.80 a tonne.
Arabica coffee futures werealso higher with the marketresuming its upward trend aftera setback during the secondhalf of last week.
May arabica coffee on ICErose 4.65 cents or 1.7 per centto $2.7245 per lb. The contractpeaked at $2.7840 per lb lastTuesday, the highest level forthe benchmark second monthsince 1977, but corrected loweron Wednesday and Thursdaybefore stabilising on Friday.
May robusta coffee futureson Liffe rose $36 or 1.5 percent to $2,375 a tonne. -Reuters
MUMBAI: Indian spot sugarprices eased on Monday afterthe government released high-er-than-expected non-levysugar quota for March and asdemand remained subdued,dealers said.
India has made available1.684 million tonnes of non-levy sugar for March, includ-ing 350,000 tonnes of unsoldstocks from February, the gov-ernment said in a statement onFeb. 25.
"Market was expecting quotaup to 1.5 million tonnes. In
March, for the third straightmonth, mills will fail in sellingentire allocated quota," said amember of Bombay SugarMerchants Association (BSMA).
In Kolhapur, a key market intop producing Maharashtrastate, the most traded S-varietyeased by 0.22 per cent to 2,694rupees ($59.5) per 100 kg.
Sugar contract for Marchdelivery on India's NationalCommodity and DerivativesExchange (NCDEX) endeddown 0.81 per cent at 2,809rupees per 100 kg.
A decision by India onwhether to allow 500,000 tonnesof unrestricted sugar exportscould take another three weeksas the government has decidedto broaden consultations to keyministries, government sourcessaid on Feb. 22.
India is likely to produce 25million tonnes of sugar in thenew season that began on Oct.1, a producers' body said onFeb. 8, slightly lowering itsprevious forecast as unseason-al rains trimmed cane yields ina key state. -Reuters
India sugar easeson higher supply
KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysian palm oil fell 1.2 percent on Friday and marked itsworst monthly loss in over ayear as traders grew concernedthat the spreading Middle Eastunrest may cloud global eco-nomic recovery.
The market swung into loss-es after posting gains earlier inthe day with a US report sig-nalled growing demand forvegetable oil-based biofuelwith competing crude oil mar-kets.
"There's no strong demandfrom overseas, investors arejust guessing around. Theybooked positions on strongeroverseas markets earlier butclear off their positions after
the 'catching up' was done,"said a trader in Singapore.
The benchmark May crudepalm oil contract on BursaMalaysia Derivatives settleddown 43 ringgit to 3,472 ring-git ($1,137.428) per tonne.Overall volumes rose to 26,407lots of 25 tonnes each, up fromthe usual 15,000 lots
Cargo surveyor IntertekTesting Services on Mondaysaid Malaysian palm oil thismonth fell 10.4 per cent to1,110,672 tonnes, as Indianimports halved due to ampledomestic supply.
On the other hand, demandfrom China recovered after thecountry slowed down importsbefore Lunar New Year holi-
day, suggesting strong con-sumption from the No.2 veg-etable oil importer.
Another cargo surveyorSociete Generale deSurveillance reported exportsdown by 9.1 per cent over thesame period.
US soyoil for March deliverylost 1.5 per cent in Asian hours,while the most active Sept.soyoil contract on China'sDalian Commodity Exchangerose almost 2 per cent.
"In the long terms, prices ofglobal vegetable oils will bebullish as production for soyand palm oil this year mightnot keep up with the strongdemand," said an oil analyst inShanghai. -Reuters
Weak growth woesdrag on palm oil
Shanghai copper gains
Shanghai most active cop-
per contract gained 1,730
yuan to 74,320 yuan.
Exchange stocks in
Shanghai fell by around
3,000 tonnes last week to
158,000 tonnes. But stocks
in LME warehouses rose
around 5,000 tonnes.
BoA Merrill Lynch warns of price spike and crash
TOKYO: Key Tokyo rubber futures fell nearly3 per cent on Monday on concerns over demandas the jump in oil prices due to unrest in Libyaweighed on stocks, prompting investors to closepositions.
The benchmark rubber contract on the TokyoCommodity Exchange for August delivery fellas much as 14 yen or 2.9 per cent in early tradefrom Friday's settlement at 475 yen.
The contract settled at 466.4 yen, down 8.6yen or 1.8 per cent, as losses were trimmed by arecovery in Shanghai futures and stocks revers-ing earlier losses.
The benchmark contract ended the monthnearly flat, after the prior benchmark contractfor July delivery hit a record high of 535.7 yenin mid-February.
The most active Shanghai rubber contract forMay delivery rose 1,030 yuan or 2.7 per cent toclose at 39,315 yuan ($5,979) per tonne onMonday.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager at trad-ing firm Nihon Unicom, said the rise in oilprices has triggered selling in stocks and raisedconcerns about the economy, but if stocks take apause from selling, rubber markets could resumetheir climb due to supply concerns as producingcountries enter wintering season when tappingslows.
"I don't know if TOCOM will scale fresh highsagain in the near term, but the market could turnaround if stocks stabilise," he said.
Global natural rubber output will rise nearly 5per cent in 2011, a senior economist of theANRPC grouping of rubber-producing nationssaid on Monday, lower than 8 per cent targetedby their governments, as record prices take theirtoll on yield.
Japan's crude rubber inventories rose 2.1 percent from Jan. 31 to Feb. 10, to their highestlevel since July 2009, Rubber Trade Associationof Japan data showed on Monday. -Reuters
Tokyo rubber weakens
10Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Polar Bear, one of three mascots for 2014 Sochi OlympicWinter Games, is shown in this illustration released
Pakistanrivals
to suffer,Akhtar says
Monitoring Desk
COLOMBO: Maverick pace-man Shoaib Akhtar onMonday said Pakistan werehurting from the cricket cor-ruption scandal, but his rejuve-nated team will take their frus-trations out on their World Cuprivals.
Test captain Salman Butt andseamers Mohammad Asif andMohammad Aamer werebanned for corruption barelytwo weeks before the WorldCup which depleted Pakistan'sbowling options.
But Akhtar said the loss ofthe trio has helped unite thesquad.
"We are a hurt side so we arehere to hurt others. It's betterthat it happened to us becauseevery time a controversy hap-pens it gathers us together andwhat better situation thanbefore a World Cup," Akhtarsaid.
Pakistan, rated as dark hors-es in the most open World Cupin its 36-year history, inflicteda narrow 11-run defeat overco-hosts Sri Lanka in their lastmatch after seeing off Kenyaby 205 runs.
Akhtar, 35, admitted he wasmissing Aamer - banned forfive years - and Asif - bannedfor seven - but said others havestepped up.
NEW DELHI: Kemar Roachproduced a magical spell toclaim the first hat-trick of the2011 World Cup, lifting WestIndies to a 215-run win overthe Netherlands in a Group Bmatch on Monday.
The 22-year-old removedPieter Seelaar, Bernard Lootsand Berend Westdijk with thelast three deliveries of thematch to skittle the Dutchmenfor 115 runs in 31.3 overs.
Team mate Sulieman Bennapplauded Roach, who fin-ished with figures of six for 27.
"Brilliant man. His bowlingtonight was exceptional, I'mreally pleased for him," saidBenn.
"I'm glad he got that hat-trick -- I'm really proud ofhim."
Out to convince the scep-tics, West Indies earlier rat-tled up 330-8 and thenreturned to bowl out theirupstart Dutch opponents foran easy victory that would dotheir confidence a world ofgood.
After the patchy displayagainst South Africa onThursday, the West Indiesbatsmen came up with a moreconsistent show against thewayward Dutch bowlers withChris Gayle (80), DevonSmith (53) and KieronPollard (60) helping them-
selves to comfortable half-centuries.
They then returned tounleash Roach and toweringleft-arm spinner Benn (3-28)to dismantle the Dutch resist-ance.
Roach trapped Seelaar andLoots lbw before flatteningWestdijk's middle stump tocomplete his hat-trick.
Having lost their top halffor 36 runs inside 11 overs,the Netherlands' chase lookeddoomed right from the startand it was a morale-shatteringdefeat for the side that gaveEngland such a scare lastweek before narrowly goingdown.-Reuters
Windies makea game of Dutch
NAGPUR: An assured 98 fromTatenda Taibu and a devastatingopening spell from left-arm spinnerRay Price spurred Zimbabwe to acrushing 175-run victory overCanada in their World Cup Group Amatch on Monday.
After setting Canada a daunting299 for victory, Zimbabwe made surethey maintained their perfect recordagainst the North Americans by skit-tling them for 123.
Price removed John Davison (0),Nitish Kumar (1) and Ashish Bagai(0) to leave the Canadians reeling onseven for three and they never recov-ered from the setback.
Bagai's team had crawled to 14runs after the first 10 overs and fac-ing a required run-rate of 7.12 at thatstage, the result was all but a fore-gone conclusion.
Ruvindu Gunasekera scored apainstakingly slow 24 off 64 ballsand when Greg Lamb dislodged his
bails with a rather tame deliv-ery, the Zimbabwean wasrewarded with a sweatycheek-to-cheek rub from oneof his delighted team mates.
Price finished with 3-16."With the ball, things went
really well. I wouldn't mindtaking that wicket around withme, it's fun to bowl on,"grinned Price, who was hand-ed the new ball in a move thatis proving to be popular on theslow-turning sub-continentpitches.
"You never complain whenyou come to India as a spin-ner."
His captain EltonChigumbura, perhaps gettinga little carried away with theirfirst win here, added: "We areup and running and (ready) forthe semi-finals."
Although reaching the sec-
ond round let alone the semismight be a far-fetched dreamfor the Zimbabweans, who aregrouped with world championsAustralia, Pakistan, Sri Lankaand New Zealand, at least theyrecorded their first win in thisWorld Cup.
Canada seem destined tocatch an early flight home afterbeing subjected to a secondsuccessive hammering.
Earlier, man-of-the-matchTaibu (98 from 99 balls) andCraig Ervine (85 off 81 balls)rescued Zimbabwe from a terri-ble start to propel the Africansto a total of 298-9.
In a clash between the tourna-ment's two whipping boys,Zimbabwe looked as if they
were going to suffer a bad caseof stage-fright despite a nearlyempty Vidarbha CricketAssociation Stadium as they too
were reduced to seven for two.Canada's Khurram Chohan struck
with the first ball of the match whenhe had Brendan Taylor trapped lbw, averdict that was confirmed by thereview system.
The Canadians shouts once againechoed around the 40,000-seaterarena when Charles Coventry (4) felllbw to Harvir Baidwan in the fourthover, leaving Zimbabwe facing anuphill task to post a respectable totalagainst a team of part-timers.
However, once Taibu and Ervinecame to the crease, they steadied theinnings with an 181-run partnershipfor the third wicket by playing somesmart cricket.
Ervine was dismissed when heoffered an inside edge to wicketkeep-er Bagai while Taibu fell attemptinga slog-sweep to bring up his century.His mis-timed effort, also off BalajiRao, went straight to John Davison atdeep midwicket.-Reuters
Canada donate match to Zimbabwe
BANGLORE: India don't likethe UDRS and one momentduring the thrilling World Cupgroup match against Englandin Bangalore will have giventhem even more reason to dis-trust the technology when IanBell survived an lbw referral.
It left MS Dhoni cursing thesystem as he called it an adul-teration of human decisionmaking and technology.
At the start of the 25th overof their gargantuan run-chase,England were coasting morethan 20 ahead of India in com-parison. Then Yuvraj Singh
struck Bell, who was stretch-ing foward attempting one ofthose adventurous paddlesweeps, on the pad but umpireBilly Bowden turned down theappeal. The Indians did whatthey have been avoiding doingfor more than two years - turnto the decision review.
The slow motion replayshowed up on the giant screenand to the naked eye it metwith most criteria: not a noball, hitting in line of thestumps and striking the wick-et. The crowd roared withdelight expecting Bell to be on
his way and he had alreadybegun his dejected trek back,supposedly out for 17 to com-plete another unfullfilled one-day innings.
Until, that is, his captainbegan to holler him to a halthalfway to the dressing room.The last criteria that wasshowing up on the screen indi-cated the distance that the ballwould have to travel frompoint of impact to the stumpswas more than 2.5 metres, arule most on the ground didnot know about. Not evenEngland.-Reuters
UDRS ruling raisesDhoni’s hackles
DHAKA: Australia will tourBangladesh for the first timesince 2006 in April 2011,straight after the on-goingWorld Cup, for a three-matchbilateral one-day series. Theyare scheduled to arrive inDhaka on April 4, just twodays after the World Cup final,and will play ODIs on April 9,April 11 and April 13, all atthe Shere Bangla Stadium inMirpur.
In accordance with the ICCFuture Tours Programme, Testplaying nations must tour each
other at least once every sixyears, and Australia havetoured Bangladesh just oncesince they attained Test status.That tour was in April 2006and Australia won both Testsand all three one-dayers. TheFTP had Australia scheduledto play two Tests this timearound as well, but theBangladesh Cricket Boardhave announced Australia willleave immediately after thethree ODIs.
One repercussion of the tourwill be that the players from
both teams' squads will missthe first week of the IPL,which begins on April 8. Asmany as 36 current Australiaplayers were sold to IPL fran-chises during January's auc-tion, while Shakib Al Hasan isthe only Bangladesh playerwho is part of the Twenty20tournament.
Australia have had a busylast five months, havingplayed series against India, SriLanka and England in thelead-up to the World Cup. -Agencies
Aussies to stormB’desh after WC
Rehmannot in
Canadaencounter
Monitoring Desk
COLOMBO: Pakistan willbe without left-arm spinnerAbdur Rehman in theirWorld Cup match againstCanada on Thursday aftersuffering a left leg muscleinjury in the 11-run overSri Lanka.
Team manager IntikhabAlam said Rehman’s injurywill take five days to heal.
“Rehman sprained his legwhile fielding in the matchagainst Sri Lanka and had toput on a strapping in order tobowl. It’s an adductor musclerupture,” Alam told media.
Rehman, who will be 31on Tuesday, took one wicketin Pakistan’s win against the1996 champions in Colomboon Saturday.
“We don’t want to riskRehman and will wait forhim to recover,” said Alam,of the spinner who has 13wickets in 17 one-day inter-nationals.
Alam said Rehman’s placeis likely to be taken by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, whohas yet to play in thetournament.
Senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, who hurt his ham-string, may be rested,said Alam.
SC seeks Pemra
report over ICC
WC telecasting
rights issueISLAMABAD: The SupremeCourt on Monday directed thecounsel for Pakistan MediaRegulatory Authority(PEMRA) to submit tillTuesday a report regardingoperation of a letter ofDecember 22, 2010 which rec-ognized cable transmissionrights to Geo Super and terres-trial rights to PakistanTelevision Corporation.
A three-Judge bench ofChief Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry, JusticeMuhammad Sair Ali andJustice Ghulam Rabbaniissued directive after conduct-ing proceedings on a contemptplea moved by M/sIndependent Media Group.
Ali Raza Kazim, counsel forPemra, was directed to moni-tor transmission about ICCCricket World Cup 2011 andsubmit his report.
The bench also hinted thatthey could take assistance ofan expert on engineering sideto reach to a conclusion as theissue pertained to technicalfield.-APP
NAGPUR: Zimbabwe's wicket keeper TatendaTaibu celebrates with bowler Greg Lamb afterstumping Canada's Zubin Surkari during their
ICC Cricket World Cup Group A match.-Reuters
NEW DELHI: West Indies bowler Kemar Roach, second left, celebrates his first hat trick ofWorld Cup along dismissal of Netherlands batsman Wesley Barresi, seen with teammates
during a ICC Cricket World Cup league match between Netherlands and West Indies.-Reuters
Roachrecords firsthat-trick of2011 W C
NEW DELHI: West Indiespace bowler Kemar Roachrecorded the first hat-trick ofthe 2011 World Cup againstthe Netherlandsin a Group Bmatch on Monday.
He removed Pieter Seelaar,Bernard Loots and BerendWestdijk off the last three deliv-eries of the match to lead WestIndies to a 215-run victory.
Team mate Sulieman Bennpraised Roach, who finishedwith figures of six for 27 as theDutch were skittled for 115.
"Brilliant man. His bowlingtonight was exceptional, I'mreally pleased for him," saidBenn.
"I'm glad he got that hat-trick -- I'm really proud ofhim."-Reuters
Most Runs
Players Mat Runs HS Ave SR
Virender Sehwag-India 1 175 175 175.00 125
Ryan ten Doeschate-Neth 1 119 119 119.00 108
Misbah-ul-Haq-Pakistan 2 148 83* 148.00 92.50
Most Wickets
Players Mat WKts BBI Ave Econ
Shahid Afridi-Pakistan 1 5 5/16 3.20 2.00
Johnson-Australia 1 4 4/19 4.75 2.03
Kemar Roach(WI) 2 7 6/27 9.85 4.18
Recordboard
11Tuesday, March 1, 2011
International & Continuation
CONTINUATION
NEW DELHI: India's govern-ment boosted spending on hun-dreds of millions of its poor ina budget gambling on briskeconomic growth to cover thecost of appeasing votersangered by corruption scandalsand stubbornly high inflation.
The 2011/2012 fiscal planunveiled on Monday met withmarket scepticism, with econo-mists saying New Delhi'sbudget deficit and economicgrowth forecasts looked toooptimistic, especially givenhigh global oil prices that mayinflate its subsidy bill.
Prime Minister ManmohanSingh's Congress party faceselections in five states this yearamid criticism over inflationand its handling of severalhigh-level corruption scandalsand, as expected, the budgetwas heavy on spending andlight on economic reformssought by investors.
"Both the borrowing and fis-cal deficit numbers have beenworked out taking into accountthe most optimistic macro-eco-nomic scenarios, which in alllikelihood is not going to bethe real situation." said RupaRege Nitsure, chief economistat Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.
One of the budget's centre-pieces is a plan to providecheap grain for millions ofIndia's poor, promising somerelief to those hit the hardest byhigh food and energy costs, butsparking worries about its hugecost.
For commentators, the budgetwas a sign that the rulingCongress party chief SoniaGandhi and her left-leaningadvisors had won an upper handover reformist camp led by theprime minister that got weak-ened by corruption scandals.
"This is tending towards apopulist budget, as it punchesall the buttons," said Manoj
Joshi, comment editor of MailToday newspaper.
In his budget speech, FinanceMinister Pranab Mukherjeesaid social spending would riseby 17 per cent in 2011-12,helping the 500 million Indianswho live on less than $1.25 aday.
New Delhi expects Asia'sthird-largest economy to growby nearly 9 per cent in the nextfiscal year, generating enoughtax revenue to narrow the fiscaldeficit to 4.6 per cent of GDPfrom 5.1 per cent this year.
Consequently, the govern-ment to set next year's grossmarket borrowing target at4.17 trillion rupees, markedlybelow the 4.5 trillion rupeeforecast in a Reuters poll.OPTIMISTIC SCENARIOS
India's economy grew aslower-than-expected 8.2 percent in the October toDecember quarter from a yearearlier, government data onMonday showed, thoughMukherjee said it was still ontrack to expand 8.6 per cent inthe fiscal year that ends inMarch 2011.
The yield on India's bench-mark 2022 bond rose 2 basispoints to 8.11 per cent on newsof increased social spendingbefore falling to 8.05 per centafter the fiscal deficit and bor-rowing targets wereannounced.
In an apparent effort to sus-tain buoyant growth, the gov-ernment unexpectedly retainedsome of the tax cuts introducedduring the global economic cri-sis, which may keep India'scentral bank on stand-by toraise interest rates again.
"With fiscal policy unlikelyto make much of a contributionto curbing price pressures, itseems that the onus will remainfirmly on the Reserve Bank ofIndia," said Brian Jackson,
economist at Royal Bank ofCanada in Hong Kong.
Among the reforms thatfailed to make it into the budg-et bill was a provision allowingforeign investment in the mod-ern supermarket sector thatinvestors say India needs toboost productivity.
Another key reform, imple-mentation of a long-delayedgoods and services tax tostreamline revenue collection,is unlikely to come into effectin April 2012, as had beenhoped.
Mukherjee, however, defend-ed the government's reformcredentials and the budget.
"At times the biggest reformsare not the ones that makeheadlines, but the ones con-cerned with details of gover-nance which affect the every-day life of the common man,"Mukherjee told parliament.
One of the initiativesannounced in the budget is apilot scheme due to start inMarch that will pay some fueland food subsidies directly ascash to customers.
In recognition that low farmproductivity, supply bottle-necks and waste were amongthe root causes of India's highfood inflation, much of thebudget focused on the farmingsector.
Mukherjee said the limit onforeign investment in corpo-rate infrastructure bondswould be raised by $20 billion,infrastructure debt fundswould be set up. In addition,cold storage chains would begiven infrastructure status,making them eligible for pref-erential borrowing rates tobuild facilities.
As much as 40 per cent ofIndia's fruit and vegetable pro-duction is wasted because ofpoor transportation and a lackof such facilities.-Reuters
Indian budgettargets the poor,
bets on brisk growth WASHINGTON: US con-sumer spending rose modestlyin January, getting the year offto a soft start, as householdstook advantage of tax cuts torebuild their savings.
Other data on Monday paint-ed a bullish picture of the man-ufacturing sector, with a gaugeof factory activity in the coun-try's Midwest hitting a 22-1/2year high this month, whichshould help the economyweather rising oil prices andmaintain its steady growthmomentum.
The Commerce Departmentsaid on Monday spendingedged up 0.2 per cent, thesmallest increase in sevenstraight months of gains, afteran upwardly revised 0.5 percent rise in December.
While bad weather was part-ly blamed for the below-fore-cast rise in spending, it alsosuggested that spending wouldslow down after growingbriskly in the final threemonths of 2010 as consumersdeal with rising food and gaso-
line costs. "It appears consumers are
pulling back both because a lotof spending was concentratedin the fourth quarter and alsobecause rising food and energyprices are crimping purchasingpower," said Julia Coronado,an economist at BNP Paribasin New York.
Economists had expectedspending, which accounts for70 per cent of US economicactivity, to rise 0.4 per cent.Real spending fell 0.1 per cent,the first decline in a year, afterrising 0.3 per cent inDecember.
Spending in the fourth quar-ter grew at a 4.1 per cent annu-al rate, the fastest in more thanfour years. That helped to lifteconomic growth to an annual-ized 2.8 per cent rate from 2.6per cent in the third quarter.
A separate report showed theInstitute for SupplyManagement-Chicago's indexof business activity in theMidwest rose to 71.2 inFebruary -- the highest since
July 1988 -- from 68.8 inJanuary.
A reading above 50 indicatesexpansion in the regional econ-omy. Economists had expectedthe index to dip to 67.7 and therise this month reflectedincreases in new orders, back-logs and deliveries.
US stocks traded higher,while government bond priceswere little changed. The USdollar fell to a 3-1/2 month lowagainst a basket of currencies.
Incomes rose 1.0 per centlast month, the largest increasesince May 2009, lifted by theimplementation of a payrolltax holiday, which was part ofa $858 billion tax packageenacted last year. The boost toincomes is likely temporary.
The increase in January out-paced economists' expecta-tions for a 0.4 per cent gainand followed a similar rise inDecember. Savings jumped to$677.1 billion, the highestlevel since August, from$620.9 billion in December.-Reuters
US consumerspending edges up,
manufacturing strong
Strong Canada
growth adds
pressure for
tighteningOTTAWA: Canada's econo-my revved back to life in late2010 after a period of lacklus-ter growth, supporting expec-tations of official interest ratehikes by mid year and push-ing the Canadian dollar to athree-year high.
Surging exports were themain driver of the 3.3 per centannualized growth in thefourth quarter, StatisticsCanada said on Monday. Theagency revised its third-quar-ter growth estimate to 1.8 percent from 1.0 per cent.
The export comeback alsohelped narrow Canada's cur-rent account deficit toC$11.05 billion ($11.28 bil-lion) in the same quarter froma record C$16.98 billion inthe third quarter, the govern-ment statistics agency said.
"It's a stunning gain inexports," said Sal Guatieri,senior economist at BMOCapital Markets. "It's a fairlysolid report and (there's)plenty of momentum headinginto the new year, given thestrong gain in DecemberGDP.
The economy advanced 0.5per cent in December onstrength in oil and gas extrac-tion and wholesale trade.Markets had expected 0.3 percent growth.
The Canadian dollar rose ashigh as C$0.9727 to the USdollar, or $1.0281, the highestlevel since March 2008.Money market rates and bondyields rose across the curve.
The fourth-quarter gainsmay prompt the Bank ofCanada to adopt a morehawkish tone in its interestrate announcement onTuesday, although marketsunanimously expect it to holdinterest rates steady.
"Watch for stronger lan-guage with regards to the eco-nomic outlook. Inflationshouldn't be a swing factor,but the growth side should bebased on this outcome," saidJonathan Basile, economist atCredit Suisse.-Reuters
Gilani said that today's challenges could be tackled with thehelp of Islamic teachings and sincerely following them coulddefend from the problems. The purpose of the war is to makethe future generations, as well as tombs of saints safe and thecountry an Islamic welfare state in true sense. He appealed tothe religious scholars to play their due role for highlighting theidentity of Islam. -Online
Continued from page 12No #1
He said that regardless of the political developments in the province,the PPP wished to continue its reconciliation policy. -Online
Continued from page 12No #2
Portman called it "a dream" backstage to be a winner anddespite the fact that she has starred in big-budget flicks suchas the "Star Wars" movies, she instantly becomes an evenmore sought-after star. Similar to Firth, veterans Melissa Leoand Christian Bale won best supporting actress and actor,respectively, for roles in another straightforward movie, box-ing drama "The Fighter."
Among other key-winners were family comedy "Toy Story3" for best animated feature, Wall Street meltdown movie"Inside Job" for top documentary and Denmark's "In a BetterWorld" took the prize for foreign language film. The world'stop film honors from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts andSciences came packed with a lot of comedy onstage fromshow hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Hathaway sanga beautiful number, after which Franco appeared in a dressand blonde wig, looking like Marilyn Monroe -- or, perhapsmore closely like her co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmonwhen they dressed in drag for "Some Like it Hot."
And even the more subtle fashion of recent years -- whenwomen dressed down in a nod to the economic recession --seemed turned on its ear. This year, some razzle and some daz-zle returned to Oscar's red carpet with bright and colorfulgowns. -Reuters
Continued from page 12No #3
CJCSC also met the Vice Chairman of Central MilitaryCommission and other Army Officials and discussed the militaryrelations between both countries. -Online
Continued from page 12No #4
already been adjusted downwards at least eight times this yearreflecting the commitment of the LPG sector-producers, market-ing companies, and distributors-to ensure that the product remainswithin the reach of consumers," he said.
The Saudi CP, which is the maximum price that local LPG pro-ducers are allowed to charge, has increased from $814 per metricton in February to $844 per metric ton for March. This is anincrease of $30 per metric ton, or over Rs3000 per tonne. JJVLshall continue to charge LPG marketing companies, which thenprovide the product to their distributors for retail, a base-stockprice of Rs69000 per metric ton. -NNI
Continued from page 1No #5
Similarly, Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) offtake remainedweak during January 2011 with the industry registering a dip of 36per cent on YOY basis. DAP sales remained at 59k tonnes com-pared with 92k tonnes in 1MCY10, however, DAP offtake was alsodown by 34.8 per cent. Average retail prices of urea were recordedat Rs1088 per bag, reflecting a significant rise of 18.1 per cent onMoM against price of Rs921 per bag recorded in December 2010.However, average retail price of DAP during January 2011 stood at
Continued from page 1No #6
public sector entities would also come under discussion.Minister Finance would also take into account the issuance of let-ter of comfort so that Pakistan may get budgetary support formWorld Bank, Asian Development Bank and other donor agencies.
During the talks the matter regarding the issuance of last twoinstallments of $3.20 billion out of total $11.3 billon underStandby Arrangement Program would also be discussed. It is per-tinent to mention here that government is taking many steps tostreamline the economy including enhancing the revenue targetfrom Rs1604 billion to Rs1630 billion, increasing in flood taxfrom 10 per cent to 15 per cent and raising of Special Excise Dutyfrom 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. The purpose of IMF team to visitIslamabad is to take a review the implementation of reforms agen-da, after that IMF Board would consider the issuance of sixthinstallment under Standby Arrangement Program According tofinancial analysts, Pakistan is hopeful that financial assistance tothe country might be restored but after resolution of RaymondDavis matter and reduction of tension between CIA and ISI. Thesources also said that IMF would be requested to take review on31 March because by then fifth financial review would also becompleted, where it is expected that Pakistan may get installmentof $1.7 billion in June. IMF is demanding Pakistan to implementthe RGST and finish subsidy on power sector. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #7
Addressing the meeting the President said that the policy of rec-onciliation with all political parties will continue as that was themost viable way to move forward at a time when the country wasbeset with serious politico-economic problems and no one politi-cal party or institution could address them single handedly. He saidthat Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had the vision to realize it even beforereturning to the country. The President said that the PPP ministerswould be judged by the people and the voters on the basis of theirperformance in office and contacts with the masses and advisedthem to address people's problems by holding open kutcheries notonly in their constituencies but throughout the province.
Continued from page 1No #8
would hear all the cases individually till the final report wasreceived. The court appreciated report presented by FBR and per-formance of Suleiman Siddique and issued directives to them towork out detailed report so that the court could reach any conclu-sion. The hearing has been put off till one month. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #9
Godil, Marvi Memon, Abdul Waseem and Sufyan Yousuf. Shesaid that the government was not reluctant to give autonomy to theBank, adding for this purpose the SBP Amendment Act waspassed by the National Assembly in November last year. The min-ister said that the SBP had worked well during the last three yearsand survived very grave financial crisis. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #10
first phase of protest in which petrol pumps of only Karachi citywere closed, and if their demands were not fulfilled then country-wide strike would be launched to press the government for accept-ance of their demands. The PPDA chairman said that risingexpenses, sale of smuggled petroleum and diesel and minimumcommission have made the business difficult for the dealers. Hedemanded 50 paisa per litre hike in dealers' commission and banon sale of the smuggled petroleum.
Continued from page 1No #11
Rs3145 per bag compared with Rs3143 per bag during December2010, showing a surge of 0.1 per cent in MoM.
Meanwhile, Rashid Minhas Road, MA Jinnah Road, Gulistan-e-Johar and Shara-e-Faisal Avenuewere blocked by the protestors over non-availability of petrol in the city. Extra contingents of policeand Rangers were called in to various areas of the city to avert any untoward incident. Sources saidthat violent protests were reported certain areas of the mega city where police threw tear gas shellsand baton charge the protestors. Meanwhile, scores of people held protests against unavailability offuel in Karachi paralyzing life.
The decline allowed the market to work off some of its overbought condition after months ofgains. The S&P 500's relative strength index (RSI), a measure of high to lower closes, was in mod-erate territory for a fifth day.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #12
Banking Committee on Tuesday and US jobs data due out on Friday."Later this week, optimism about a recovery in the US economy may lift the market," said
Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities, adding that the Nikkei benchmarkwould likely trade in a wide 10,300 to 10,700 range this week. Shares of Mizuho Securities Cogained 12.1 per cent to 251 yen in heavy volume, while Mizuho Investors Securities jumped 7.0 percent to 92 yen and Mizuho Trust & Banking rose 6.0 per cent to 89 yen.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #13
and Associated British Foods weighed on sentiment. Banks were the biggest drag on London's bluechip index, with heavyweight HSBC down 4.7 per cent after its earnings missed estimates. LloydsBanking Group, whose margin outlook disappointed the market on Friday, fell 1.4 per cent, as bro-kers responded by cutting ratings and target prices for the majority state-owned UK bank.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #14
Dewan Cement Half Yearly - -325.06 -0.90
Dewan Motors Half Yearly - -133.56 -1.50
Dewan Salman Half Yearly - -498.50 -1.36
ECOPACK Ltd Half Yearly - -54.95 -2.39
Elahi Cotton Half Yearly - -0.57 -0.44
EMCO Industries Half Yearly - -41.65 -1.19
F. Nat.Equities Half Yearly - -123.40 -2.15
F.Cap.Mut.Fund Half Yearly - 23.41 0.00
Fatima Enterprise Half Yearly - 249.37 17.52
Feroze 1888 Mills Half Yearly - 67.87 0.58
Ghani Glass Ltd. Half Yearly - 512.75 4.81
Ghazi Fabrics Half Yearly - 123.94 3.80
Grays of Cambridge Half Yearly - -1.73 -0.23
Gulshan Sp. Half Yearly - 303.48 13.65
H.M.Ismail Half Yearly - -5.74 -0.48
Hajra Textile Half Yearly - -21.75 -1.58
Hum Network Ltd Half Yearly - 100.76 2.02
Idrees Textile Half Yearly - 16.50 0.91
Ist.Capital Sec.Corp Half Yearly - -0.29 0.00
Ist.Dawood Bank Half Yearly - 59.22 0.95
Javedan Cement Half Yearly - -344.21 -5.92
Johnson & Philips Half Yearly - 1.48 0.27
Jubilee Spinning Half Yearly - -17.39 -0.54
Khurshid Spinning Half Yearly - -35.05 -2.66
Kohat Cement Half Yearly - -74.71 -0.58
Kohinoor Ind. Half Yearly - -20.47 -0.68
Kohinoor Power Half Yearly - 8.08 0.64
Kohinoor Spinning Half Yearly - 160.04 1.23
Leiner Pak Gelatine Half Yearly - -0.28 -0.04
Liberty Mills Ltd. Half Yearly - 197.18 8.72
Masood Textile Half Yearly - 280.96 4.68
Media Times LtdXR Half Yearly - -62.12 -0.46
Nadeem Textile Half Yearly - 127.02 10.57
Nat.Bank Modaraba Half Yearly - 10.38 0.42
National Silk Half Yearly - -1.75 -1.58
Nimir Ind.Chemical Half Yearly - 11.78 0.05
Nishat Chun Power Half Yearly - 914.23 2.49
Olympia Spinning Half Yearly - 3.98 0.33
Olympia Textile Half Yearly - -7.72 -0.71
Orix Leasing Half Yearly - 59.28 0.72
Pace (Pak) Ltd. Half Yearly - -674.51 -2.42
Pak Engineering Half Yearly - -13.04 -2.29
Pak Gulf Leasing Half Yearly - 1.93 0.08
Paramount Mod Half Yearly - 21.53 0.77
Paramount Sp Half Yearly - 176.11 10.15
Pervez Ahmed Half Yearly - 18.74 0.24
Punjab Modaraba Half Yearly - -56.60 -1.66
Quetta Textile Half Yearly - 361.00 27.77
Ravi Textile Half Yearly - -25.76 -1.03
Regent Textile Half Yearly - 0.63 0.13
Reliance Cotton Half Yearly - 253.08 24.59
Reliance WeavingSD Half Yearly - 298.31 9.68
Resham Textile Half Yearly - 155.12 4.31
Ruby Textile Half Yearly - -8.80 -0.22
S.G.Fiber Half Yearly - -19.45 -1.30
S.G.Power Half Yearly - -3.71 -0.21
Sajjad Textile Half Yearly - -19.27 -0.91
Sally Textile Half Yearly - 115.44 13.16
Sapphire Fiberes Half Yearly - 861.29 43.75
Sapphire Textile Half Yearly - 913.24 45.47
Sardar Chemical Half Yearly - 2.08 0.35
Saudi Pak Leasing Half Yearly - -49.18 -1.09
Security Leasing Half Yearly - -39.80 -1.10
Service Fabrics Half Yearly - -0.02 0.00
Shaffi Chemical Half Yearly - 0.05 0.00
Shakarganj Food Half Yearly - -0.05 -0.02
Shams Textile Half Yearly - 110.01 12.73
Southern Network Half Yearly - -12.20 -0.24
Suhail Jute Half Yearly - -113.76 -30.38
Suraj Cotton Mills Half Yearly - 457.88 25.44
Taha Spinning Half Yearly - -3.75 -0.93
Tariq Glass Ind.SPOT Half Yearly - 87.59 3.79
Thatta Cement Half Yearly - 0.73 0.01
Transmission Engg. Half Yearly - -13.30 -1.14
TRG Pakistan Ltd. Half Yearly - -41.79 -0.12
TRG Pakistan Ltd. (Consolidated)Half Yearly - -390.81 -0.84
Tri-Star 1st. Mod. Half Yearly - 0.47 0.02
Tri-Star Polyester Half Yearly - -4.72 -0.22
Trust Bank Half Yearly - 254.82 3.99
Trust Bank (Consolidated)Half Yearly - 125.60 1.78
Wah-Noble Half Yearly - 29.25 3.25
Yousuf Weaving Half Yearly - 42.57 1.06
ZahidJee Textile Half Yearly - 94.51 2.78
Zephyr Textile Ltd Half Yearly - 17.79 0.30
Zeal Pak. 1st Qtr - -64.05 -0.15
Continued from page 5No #15
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.
LOS ANGELES: Hollywoodfound a new group of kings lord-ing over movies on Monday, themakers of Oscar winner "TheKing's Speech," whose heart-warming tale triumphed over aflashy story of new technology in"The Social Network."
"King's Speech" claimed fourOscars -- best film, actor forColin Firth, director and screen-play -- with a traditional story ofa British monarch defeating per-sonal demons. It featured WorldWar Two-era costumes, sweepingsets and a royal tale that seemedbigger than life itself.
The British movie enteredSunday's Oscars, the world's topfilm honors, in a tight race forbest film with "The SocialNetwork," which chronicled therise of Facebook from a websitedreamed up in a college dormito-ry to an Internet sensation.
But the contemporary tale of thedigital age -- and its stable ofyoung actors such as JesseEisenberg -- failed to capture thefancy of Oscar voters as much asdid the old-fashioned, sweepingsaga "The King's Speech."
"What has struck me is the emo-tional response to (the movie),
which seems to have been very,very personal and quite diverse,"Firth told reporters after theawards show.
The veteran actor, age 50, wonbest actor over a group of othersthat included Eisenberg, 27, whoportrayed Facebook founderMark Zuckerberg. It was Firth'ssecond nomination andEisenberg's first.
Natalie Portman claimed thebest actress Academy Award forher portrayal of a young ballerinawho grows into womanhood in"Black Swan."
See # 3 Page 11
Film also bags best actor, director, screenplay awards
'The King's Speech'crowned with Oscar
Reconciliationour policy,says PPP
LAHORE: Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) leader Raja RiazMonday said PPP would con-tinue the politics of reconcili-ation and would not desta-bilise the Pakistan MuslimLeague - Nawaz (PML-N)government in Punjab.
Speaking to media repre-sentatives in Lahore, Riazsaid Shahbaz Sharif was"being deceptive by talkingabout revolution while livingthe life of prince".
According to media reports,Riaz further said that the PPP inPunjab would urge the provin-cial government to implementthe 19-point agenda and wouldnot hide their shortcomings.
Riaz said PPP ministers werenot satisfied in the Punjab gov-ernment but were bound byparty discipline and weretherefore not resigning.
See # 2 Page 11
US mistrustwon't affect
WoT: WyneBEIJING: Chairman JointChiefs of Staff Committee(CJCSC) General KhalidShameem Wyne has said thatmilitary cooperation betweenPakistan and China would beenhanced for defeating terror-ism.
He expressed these viewswhile interacting with Chinesemedia during his visit to China.
In response to a question hesaid that security situation inPakistan is under control andaction would continue againstterrorists.
Gen Wyne said that Pak-China military cooperationwould be enhanced for defeat-ing terrorists, and in this con-nection, joint military exercisesbetween the two countrieswould be held.
He said that terrorism is aglobal issue and every countryis taking steps to counter thisproblem.
In response to a questionregarding US and westerncountries mantra of 'Do More',CJCSC said US lack of confi-dence on Pakistan is nothingnew but this will not affect thewar on terror.
See # 4 Page 11
OKARA: Prime Minister SyedYousuf Raza Gilani has said that ter-rorists and anti-state element aretrying to impose their will over thepeople but any such attempt wouldbe foiled.
Addressing a public-gathering hereon Monday, he said that terrorists can-not be allowed to implement a religionof their choice.
Prime Minister said that Islam,which clearly denounces killings andviolence, is the religion of peace andlove and has no room for sectarianism.
He said, "As Muslims we have tounderstand that a Muslim is brother ofanother Muslim and they should not
kill each other."Enemy of Islam always tried to
bleed blood of Muslims in the name ofsectarianism, he said, adding this isnot a battle of Muslims but a war ofthose who want to persuade Muslimson fighting against each other.
Gilani said that the anti-Islamic andanti-state elements consider killingsand violence as real Islam and jihadwhilst Islam teaches that the greatjihad is against oneself.
He clarified that Islamic lawswould not be implemented in accor-dance with the wishes of a group orindividual as the religion itself does-n't allow this.
"We would continue our struggleto make the laws of the country inaccordance with the essence ofIslam," he said.
To a question he said that 'Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Resalat is part of faith ofevery Muslim and no laws in contradic-tion to the faith would be formulated.
The Islamic world is facing terror-ism and it could harm Islamic teach-ings as well as values if not stopped.
"The war on terror is a fight for ourown survival and as Muslims it isour responsibility to promote theIslamic teachings of moderation andtolerance," he said.
See # 1 page 11
No forceful impositionof personal beliefs: PMISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of
Pakistan has suspended parliamentarycommittee (PC) decision to rejectextension in the service tenure of twojudges of Sindh High Court (SHC).
A 4-member bench of SC presidedover by Justice Mehmood AkhtarShahid Siddiqui and comprisingJustice Jawad S Khwaja, Justice KhiljiArif Hussain and Justice Tariq Perveztook up for hearing a petition filed bySindh High Court Bar advocate MunirHussain and Kamran Murtaza.
The petition was filed against therejection of Judicial Commission (JC)recommendations with regard to exten-sion of one-year in service tenure oftwo judges of SHC.
Makhdoom Ali Khan counsel forpetitioner Munir Hussain Bhatti arguedthe parliamentary committee had notfurnished to him causes for rejectingthe recommendations of JC in respectof extension in service of four judgesof Lahore High Court (LHC).
Additional Attorney General KK Agatold the court on behalf of federationand parliamentary committee that par-liamentary committee's reasons could
not be made public.This was matter of public interest
and nor the fundamental rights of anyone had been affected because of par-liamentary party decision, therefore,the petition was not maintainable, hecontended.
He said parliamentary committeewas not rubber stamp and it was notnecessary that it should accept all therecommendations of JC.
"This was crucial matter and itinvolved public interest. We have seenparliamentary committee recommen-dations. The petitioners have also rightto study these recommendations",Justice Jawad S Khwaja observed.
Makhdoom Ali Khan counsel forpetitioners said court should interprethow much powers vested with parlia-mentary committee and what were theconditions in terms of extension inservice tenure of judges.
Anwar Mansoor Khan PresidentSHCB who appeared on behalf of thetwo judges of SHC prayed the court tosuspend parliamentary committeedecision in regard to two judges ofSHC. -Online
SC suspends PCrecommendation
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Federal Minister forInterior Rehman Malik Monday againmade it clear that word 'deadline' is notwritten in Charter of Democracy, andMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)is coalition partner of the government.
Some people are politicising thisissue for personal political targets;interior minister expressed these viewswhile talking to host of journalists.
Benazir Bhutto gave the vision ofreconciliation politics and present gov-ernment is following the BB vision.
He opined that after the hardships ofPPP leadership we are undoubtedlypursuing BB reconciliation policy.
He was of the view that we are politi-cians and discuss everything in politi-cal way.
Malik said coalition government per-formed very well and MQM is PPPcoalition partner and it would join cab-inet sooner or later.
"Please stop blame game and politicsof confrontation on Raymond Daviscase as enough is enough", he argued.
To a question he said, PPP wouldutilise its all energies to avoid such ten-dencies. PPP does not want to beinvolved in politics of allegations andcounter-allegations, he added.
Rehman underlined that it is the timefor national unity and solidarity tomeet the challenges being faced by thecountry on different fronts.
He said that the government wascommitted to serving the massesdespite all odds. The elements engagedin conspiracies would not succeed intheir nefarious designs, he added.
He said that horse-trading would notbe tolerated at any cost.
Concerning inflation and upsurge inprices of petroleum products, he madeit clear that is a globally and interna-tionally hike hence to record theirprotest is not an enriching sign in thisregard.
Urges PML-N to stop blame game
Malik envisionsgood time ahead
ISLAMABAD: PML-N QuaidNawaz Sharif Monday said billionsof rupees fill the pockets of affluentevery-year, if need felt in the best-national-interest, he will lead anoth-er long-march along with revolu-tionary youth.
He expressed these thoughtswhile chairing a party reorganisa-tion meeting here in Lahore whiletalking to Sindh representatives.
Nawaz Sharif said government ismore likely to depend on foreignloans and aids despite utilising itsown resources.
"Government remained failed in
implementing 10-point agenda. Ifthey could fulfill it we must havesupported them", said NawazSharif.
CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, RajaZafar-ul-Haq, Ghaus Ali Shah,Imdad Chandio, Siddiq-ul Farooqand others accompanied PML-NQuaid in the meeting.
He said he will hold another long-march with enthusiastic youthagainst the country's deterioratingcircumstances so to resolve themasses' problems.
"If government had concentratedmore on restructuring the economy
and fixing the problems of masses,country never had the need to go forKerry-Lugar Bill", he added.
Nawaz Sharif told PML-N sug-gested the formula to help theflood-affected, but they disposed it.
He further said PPP governmentpaid the guard of honor to a dictatorwho suspended constitution andgiven the nation gifts of load-shed-ding and selling Pakistanis toAmerica.
PML-N was also asked to endorsethe non-constitutional steps ofMusharraf, but we let down theoffer, Nawaz Sharif said. -Online
Says govt failed to implement 10-pt agenda
Sharif vows anotherlong-march if needed
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gialni addressing at the assembly session at Parliament House.-APPExtension in Judges TenureTerrorists' attempt to impose their will to be foiled: Gilani
