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Monday, 3 September, 2012
It was unnecessary! Unnecessary increase in petroleum and CNG prices be withdrawn: FPCCI PESHAWAR
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ONLINE
PCCI Acting President Zubair Ali Khan rejected an unnecessary increase in oil price and urged government to withdraw the current rise in oil prices. Three times increase in oil prices only in the August reflects the government as failure of its wrong based on anti-people friendly. In a press release issued by the Head office of FPCCI, FPCCI Acting President further stated that rise in oil prices would not only create inflation, it would also impact negatively on trade and industry. He said, “Unfortunately, our country is already facing a crisis in term of closure of industries due to bad law and order situation and shortage of gas and electricity, resulting flight of capital and massive unemployment and decline in government revenue.” The continuous rising of oil price was unfavorable towards the sustainability of economy, as it severely affect the industrial sector growth. He added that our manufacturing sector grew by 2 to 3 percent in last two years, whereas it used to grow 14 to 15 percent in 2004 and 2005. He further stated that POL prices have been revised upward three times in a month, and its prices have been increased to 23 percent rise in the last two months. He further stated that petroleum prices not only reduced the foreign direct investment, it also shifted the domestic investment to other countries, which increased the unemployment in the country and rising budget deficit to 8.5 percent of GDP, which also indicated the alarming situation for the government. He said it was high time that government gave relief to industries specially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA industries, but government is doing the opposite. He said, the rising of oil price also reduces the competitiveness of country and creates inflation in the coun-
Traders reject increase in POL process KARACHI
‘Greek Euro exit may help’ Leaving the euro zone could help Greece to recover economically and prevent the region’s debt crisis from spreading, the head of German drugmaker Bayer (BAYGn.DE) was quoted as saying in a newspaper. FRANKFURT
NNI
Traders in Karachi gave 48-hour ultimatum to take back decision of hike in petroleum prices. Karachi Traders Association Action Committee termed the hike in POL prices unjustified and demanded of the government to take back this decision otherwise the traders will launch a protest. Karachi Traders Action Committee, Chairman, Sadeeq Memon, in his statement said that the in Karachi will observe a shutter down strike on September 4 if the decision of increase in petroleum prices was not taken back by the government. try, which Pakistan already faces in double digit since 2008. Reduction of interest rate by 150 basis points was a good measure of State Bank of Pakistan, but rise of oil price don’t allow us to make new investments in the country. Without investment in manufacturing sector, the growth and development of Pakistan was not possible. FPCCI Acting President said that, in the current time there was a dire need that government should concentrate on inflation, unemployment and bad law and order situation, but our government focus on rising of oil price. FPCCI urged the government to withdraw this rise of oil price and fix it for medium to long term to create economic stability in country.
AGENCIES
The comments from Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers add to a growing chorus of influential Germans speculating about the possible exit of Greece from the euro zone, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel’s request for compatriots to tone down their rhetoric. “Greece’s exit from the euro may be better for all parties involved,” Dekkers said, according to the Rheinische Post. With its own currency, Greece might stand a better chance of escaping its economic slump, while keeping the euro strong would prevent a domino effect that could hit Spain and Portugal, Dekkers was quoted as saying. He also said that if the drugs Bayer is developing are as successful as planned the company might become a top ten pharma company worldwide. As a result, the company had no need to make a large takeover or merge with a competitor, he said. Dekkers would neither sell nor seek to merge the Bayer Material Science unit with Lanxess (LXSG.DE) or Evonik EVON.UL, he was quoted as saying.
Wall Street Week ahead
End of summer to bring volume; all eyes on ECB
Marking the end of the summer doldrums, Wall Street is likely to kick off September with heavy trading volume while it hopes that the European Central Bank will hint at further stimulus measures to boost the global economy.
NEW YORK AGENCIES
On Friday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank stands ready to bolster the economy if necessary, although he stopped short of giving an explicit signal of more monetary easing. U.S. stocks rallied after Bernanke’s speech to an annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with major indexes gaining more than 1 percent in the late morning session. At the end of the day the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 0.7 percent, while
the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was up 0.51 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC up 0.6 percent. “This (Bernanke speech) was in line with what we were expecting. He left the door open but didn’t announce anything explicit. He doesn’t intend to front-run his own FOMC (policy)meeting,” said Liz Ann Sonders, New York-based chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab Corp, which has $1.6 trillion in client assets. Investors are now awaiting comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi after the bank’s meeting on Thursday. Many investors will look to the ECB meeting to glean strong clues on what to expect from the Federal Open Market Committee’s own policy meeting the following week on Sept 12-13. “Between now and mid-September, we’ll be focusing on the ECB, though the next FOMC meeting is also around the time that the German court meets, so we’ll be getting news on both those fronts. Any news from Europe will drive markets more than domestic news, with the exception of the payroll report,” Sonders said. The all-important U.S. non-farm payrolls report is due on Friday. With Bernanke citing poor improvement in the labor market as part of the reason the U.S. economy faces “daunting” challenges, Friday’s data could be a game changer, according to market participants. In the euro zone, following the European Central Bank policy meeting on September 6, a German Constitutional Court will rule on the euro zone’s permanent bailout fund on September 12, which may affect the ECB’s bond-buying plans. But there was further uncertainty within the ECB over President Mario Draghi’s bond-buying plan on Friday after German central bank chief Jens Weidmann reportedly threatened to resign, piling pressure on Draghi to mollify opposition. There are “growing hopes that Draghi has overcome Bundesbank opposition to announce a bond buying plan at next Thursday’s ECB meeting,” said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. But “what Draghi may have put in front of Weidmann is the notion that no
actual purchases may ever occur as long as the market understands what it is up against in terms of coordinated, decisive policy response from the ECB.” ALL ABOUT THE JOBS: In a holiday shortened week, with U.S. markets closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday, Friday’s employment report will be the final major economic report to impact the results of the upcoming FOMC meeting. “Unless there is a sharp weakening in the labor markets, something our data do not indicate, the Fed will sit on the sidelines at the ready to act only if things get really bad,” said Steve Blitz, Chief Economist at ITG Investment Research in New York. A Reuters survey forecast nonfarm payrolls rose by 125,000 for the month of August. In July, nonfarm payrolls added 163,000 workers, breaking three months of job gains below 100,000 and offering hope for the ailing economy. At the same time, a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent kept alive the possibility that the Federal Reserve could provide additional stimulus to the economy. “The Beige Book prepared for the September 12-13 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) offered little evidence of a material improvement in broad labor market conditions through Aug 20,” Wilkinson said. “Indeed, the trend in jobless claims has largely moved sideways over the summer. We forecast that total nonfarm payrolls increased by 110,000 in August, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 8.3 percent,” he said. Other economic data next week include the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing survey and construction spending on Tuesday; nonfarm productivity and labor costs on Wednesday; the ADP private-sector employment report and weekly jobless claims on Thursday. For the week the Dow was down 0.5 percent, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq was down 0.1 percent. For the month, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 gained 2 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 4.3 percent, its best monthly performance since February.
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Business 02 Possibilities Pakistan organizes College Fair 2012
Android phone makers
CORPORATE CORNER
back platform but consider other options
Misha Lakhani debuts her elegant Pre-Fall 2012 collection
BERLIN
LAHORE: Possibilities Pakistan is a nonprofit organization that extends free college counseling to all Pakistani students who aspire to attend universities at home and abroad. It’s third event, this year the fair was hosted by Lahore Grammar School, Paragon and was expected to surpass the response from the previous events. The auditorium at LGS Paragon had been prepared to accommodate representatives volunteering to be the face of their universities and over 200 students who would come to meet them. Among the universities being represented, there were renowned ones including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College, University of Waterloo, National University of Singapore etc. Local colleges included LUMS, AGA KHAN, GIKI, LSE, KE etc. prESS rELEASE
FMC MD Farooq Shahid pakistan presenting the cheque of $20,000 to Mr Amjad Ali noon president of pakistan Squash Association.
The group of USAID Deputy Mission & Director Mr. Edward Birgells, Ms.Sharmaine Hidayatullah and Shaheen Zamir, and others on the occasion of Certificate Distribution Ceremony of First Women Bank Ltd Gender Equity program supported by USAID.
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AGENCIES
AST week, a U.S. court ruled Samsung’s Android devices were violating Apple patents - a major blow to the leading mobile software platform because it could lead to sales bans and high licensing fees. The impact could also hit smaller vendors that use Android like HTC, ZTE, and Sony. Android is used in more than two thirds of smart phones. Huawei, Sony, Lenovo and ZTE - which all use Android extensively - told Reuters they were continuing to bet on the Google’s platform despite the ruling. “(The ruling) is not relevant to what we are doing,” said Chris Edwards, chief of ZTE’s business development in Europe. But as the mobile market matures and more patent cases look likely, some makers are looking at the alternatives. Samsung, which has used a number of platforms but now mostly uses Android, announced a new phone running on Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 8 software at a consumer technology conference on Wednesday, sneaking ahead of a hotly-anticipated launch of a Nokia-Windows phone due next week. Shares in Nokia, which has partnered with Windows and is its main user, jumped after the Samsung ruling on expectations it might be a safer legal bet than Android makers. The California jury said Samsung infringed six of seven Apple patents in the case, including technology that recognizes whether one or two fingers are on the screen, the front surface of the phone and the design of screen icons, which is a clear reference to Google’s technology. After the verdict, Google said that most of the patents involved “don’t relate to the core Android operating system.” Android was used in 68 percent of all smartphones sold last quarter, with Samsung making almost half of them, while Microsoft had 3 percent market share. The balance of power is unlikely to shift quickly as this season’s new phones were all made before the ruling. Sony launched three Android phones this week at IFA, Europe’s largest consumer electronics fair. Chinese phone maker Huawei launched four. “We have made our choice,” said Lars-Christian Weissewange, vice president at Huawei’s phone unit, adding that consumers were making the platform choice for them by picking Android phones. Sony said the ruling was not impacting its business. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: But behind closed doors, companies are looking at alterna-
Industry watchers say, some phonemakers are quietly exploring alternatives to the Android operating system despite public statements that they are sticking with the technology. tive routes should the ruling impact ripple wider out, said several industry insiders. “Today, all Android vendors are considering their software options,” said Pete Cunningham, an analyst at research firm Canalys. Samsung’s brief, surprise launch on Wednesday of the world’s first smartphone running on Windows Phone 8, should be interpreted as muscle flexing, analysts said. However, it should not be seen as a firm move away from Android as the model will likely struggle to stand out even among the other Windows phones, said Malik Saadi, analyst at research firm Informa. Illustrating the high interest at stake are the behind-the-scene meetings of Google’s and Apple’s chiefs Larry Page and Tim Cook on the patents. Despite its small market share, Windows Phone is still the largest alternative to Android as Apple and Blackberry maker RIM have not made their platforms available for other handset makers. At the same time, vendors are pretty much stuck with Android as Windows is way behind in terms of applications on offer, offering just 100,000 apps against half a million each on Android and Apple. “Microsoft needs to create a developer environment for the Window Phone, which is growing, but still trails behind the others,” said Roberta Cozza, analyst at Gartner. Attracting developers is difficult with tiny market shares. Navigation firm TomTom launched an app running on Android this week but said it was not planning a Windows app. “I have a big bucket of (research and development) and if I had to decide where to put my money, I want to wait first to see whether Windows is a success,” said cofounder Corinne Vigreux.
Rajoy says Spain already meets conditions for aid Spain will consider seeking extra aid from Europe on top of a Euro 100 billion rescue of its financial sector but does not see any need for new conditions, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an interview published in European newspapers on Sunday. MADRID AGENCIES
Rajoy said he wanted to see details of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) program to buy debt of euro zone countries with high borrowing costs before deciding whether to proceed with a request. “If I believe it is good for Europe as a whole, for the euro, and for Spain, I will do it, and if not, not,” Spanish daily ABC quoted him as saying, regarding seeking more aid for Spain. ECB board member Joerg Asmussen said on Thursday the ECB should only buy sovereign bonds of troubled euro zone states if the International Monetary Fund was involved in setting conditions. Spain is already struggling to implement austerity measures to reduce its debt burden and rescue banks hit by a collapse in property prices and Rajoy is reluctant to undertake any more for fear of being caught in a recessionary spiral. But Germany fears the bond buying plan to help Spain and other indebted euro zone countries lower their borrowing costs will expose it to too much risk, leaving the ECB with a delicate negotiating task. German central bank chief Jens Weidmann was reported on Friday to have threatened to resign over the bond-buying plan. He has declined to comment on the report. ECB President Mario Draghi is trying to hammer out a
deal before an ECB policy meeting on September 6. Rajoy’s comments, made on Wednesday, came ahead of a scheduled visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week to the Spanish capital and as a Spanish request for a European rescue package is seen as increasingly inevitable. “The looming challenge is to resolve the problems of the euro’s instability and to advance European integration,” he told French newspaper le Journal du Dimanche. “I sense that Merkel is ready to take it on.” To receive aid from the European rescue funds, the existing EFSF or the pending ESM, he said Spain did not need to meet any further conditions than it already is under the terms of the banks rescue and the excessive deficit procedures. “Spain, of course, is going to comply with them. It already is. And it’s not easy,” he said. “We are doing reforms. That is what the European Council said that countries have to do to go to the EFSF or the ESM to seek help to stabilize the euro.” PRAISES MERKEL: Rajoy said he felt ECB President Mario Draghi agreed with him that Spain’s high borrowing costs were related to investor fears over the euro rather than the fundamentals of the Spanish economy. He said the current situation in which some European countries financed themselves at negative rates and others paid “unsustainably high rates” had to end.
“The current situation cannot be sustained over a longer period of time,” he was quoted as saying in German daily Bild. “Therefore we must solve the problem of divergent yields now.” Rajoy said measures had to be taken to dispel “with all clarity and decisiveness the doubts over the continued existence of the euro.” In a sign he hoped Merkel would persuade reluctant German officials to back the ECB plan, he praised her as someone who governed “with great soundness.” The Draghi plan involves any country wanting the ECB to buy its bonds to seek help from the euro zone rescue funds first — to which conditions would be attached. It is aimed at buying the euro zone governments time to negotiate legal and political hurdles to a longer-term response to the euro zone crisis. Three euro zone sources have told Reuters Spain was already negotiating with euro zone partners over conditions, though the country has not made a final decision to request a bailout. Spain’s borrowing costs remain painfully high though they have recovered somewhat from a peak hit in July. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond remains just below 7 percent, a level seen as unsustainable in the medium term. Despite the high prices it is paying to sell bonds, Spain has stuck to its issuance schedule this year. The Treasury faces a hump of 27.5 billion euros in debt maturing in the last 10 days of October.
KARACHI: Misha Lakhani launched her namesake debut collection and boutique on EStreet Clifton, Karachi on Thursday. The label is comprised of readyto-wear and couture. pRess ReleAse
Pakistan, Mauritius to extend cooperation in the field of Higher Education IslAMABAD: Higher Education Commission HEC has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) Mauritius in the meeting of the Commission recently held at Islamabad. pRess ReleAse
BATA B-first back to school campaign- A splendid success lAHORe: Keeping in tradition, Bata Pakistan again went ahead with its ‘back To school’ campaign for this year’s summer vacations in which a lot prizes were included for children’s interest. pRess ReleAse
LOVENGERS- Usama Qazi to rock again A film financially backed by the biggest mafia boss having personal interests of converting black money to white and propagating a soft image of himself. Last minute replacements of actors and showing up of Wadera Sayeen for a political speech results in conflict of interests and madness! - Usama Qazi has once again come up with an entertaining plot to entertain the theatre lovers with his original Urdu musical comedy with super hit Bollywood songs of 60’s and 70’s being played and sung live! pRess ReleAse
Ufone offers unlimited calls to ‘Ufone, PTCL and Vfone’ numbers IslAMABAD: In order to provide economical package to its prepaid customer base of well over 23 million customers, Ufone has now offered unlimited calls to all Ufone & millions of PTCL and Vfone numbers across Pakistan between 9am to 5pm. pRess ReleAse
Abdullah Hussain Haroon rejuvenates IoBM orientation KARACHI: Addressing a big gathering of students and faculty at the Orientation Program of the Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Abdullah Hussain Haroon highlighted the importance of education in consonance with our value system and contemporary demands and that education becomes the most important aspect of our regeneration and rebirth. pRess ReleAse
Chief Operating Officer TEVTA visited Govt. College of Technology to overview the steps taken regarding celebration of Dengue Day-2012. District Manager Muhammad Tahir Afzal, principal Muhammad Islam and others are also seen in the picture.
Head of consumer sales Anwar Khan with Wateen Telecom’s sales team at the prize distribution for the recovery competition.
Monday, 3 September, 2012