Back to the deficits
If November’s 10 per cent year-on-year decline in exports and 19 per cent surge in imports fail to sound alarm bells in the finance...
Timely aid from Beijing
China has often proved an all-weather friend, especially when business with the traditional patron has turned cold-ish. So never mind the expected stiffness in...
Fruits of central borrowing
The remarkable 87 per cent plunge in bank advances to the private sector (during first five months of the ongoing fiscal) is exactly what...
Indian troubles
It seems Southeast Asia is headed for a particularly cold financial winter this time around. Pakistan’s tale of stagflation and the government’s inability to...
Debt, bubble and austerity
Rising external and internal debt puts the government in a precarious position. The problem is compounded because a) borrowed amounts are increasingly channeled towards...
Dr Sheikh’s finding
Finally, the finance minister admits that the model of the state running crucial institutions is faulty. Perhaps PIA, Railways, PSM, and practically all such...
The SBP dilemma
The central bank contradicts itself. First it explains its (obvious) “dilemma” – excessive government borrowing has compromised advances to the private sector. Then it...
The HBL verdict
Going by the trend, a Supreme Court verdict that doesn’t derail a contested privatisation exercise sets a precedent in itself. Yet there are a...
Structural weaknesses
The bloating current account, the relaxing monetary policy and the rising import bill all combine to pressure the rupee further against the dollar, stoking...
The PSM example
The Rs6 billion bailout package for Pakistan Steel Mills violates one too many essential economic principles to warrant any appreciation – throws good money...
KESC problems
Something on the lines of 50,000 industrialists refusing bill payments to KESC was bound to happen sooner or later. That they’d rather deposit due...
Diminishing exports
The October slowdown in textile exports is not really alarming once you explore its underlying reasons – chronic energy shortage to industry and inability...
SBP cut – a double-edged sword
The stock market has been understandably edgy the past couple of days as the state bank mulls another rate cut, mimicking the regional growth-first...
The CNG ban
The proposed ban on CNG kits is yet another example of unplanned, ad hoc policy making, reflecting a disturbing gap between on ground reality...
On the same team?
News reports highlighting the communication breakdown between ministries of commerce and textile, that too regarding the crucial MFN debate, are worrying. And it’s no...
Politics and markets
It is common knowledge in the complicated world of capital markets that while fundamentals do matter, the marketplace acts primarily on sentiment. Seen in...
Anti-capitalism mobilisation
There are a number of ironies in the discontent exhibited in the Occupy Wall Street movement and similar protests around the developed world. Sure,...
