International Karachi, Sunday, March 6, 2011, Rabi-ul-Awwal 30, Price Rs12 Pages 8
Coaction urged to win war on terror See on Page 8
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
$17.50bn 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% $1,051 175.36mn
195.18 -0.77 -4.35 2987
Nawaz Ahmed
NCCPL (U.S $ in million)
FIPI (04-Mar-2011) Local Companies (04-Mar-2011) Banks / DFI (04-Mar-2011) Mutual Funds (04-Mar-2011) NBFC (04-Mar-2011) Local Investors (04-Mar-2011) Other Organization (04-Mar-2011)
4.84 -0.32 -5.71 -1.65 0.18 3.10 -0.44
Global Indices Index
Close
Change
KSE 100
12,000.03
238.03
Nikkei 225
10,693.66
107.64
Hang Seng
23,408.86
286.44
Sensex 30
18,486.45
3.31
SSE COMP.
2,942.31
39.33
FTSE 100
5,990.39
14.70
Dow Jones
12,169.88
88.32
GDR update 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)
$.Price PKR/Shares 2.60 111.09 15.86 135.53 2.00 42.73 1.70 36.32 11.63 39.75
Money Market Update T-Bills (3 Mths) T-Bills (6 Mths) T-Bills (12 Mths) Discount Rate Kibor (1 Mth) Kibor (3 Mths) Kibor (6 Mths) Kibor ( 9 Mths) Kibor (1Yr) P.I.B ( 3 Yrs) P.I.B (5 Yrs) P.I.B (10 Yrs) P.I.B (15 Yrs) P.I.B (20 Yrs) P.I.B (30 Yrs)
23-Feb-2011 23-Feb-2011 23-Feb-2011 29-Nov-2010 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011 05-Mar-2011
13.49% 13.69% 13.86% 14.00% 13.30% 13.59% 13.76% 14.14% 14.26% 14.18% 14.20% 14.19% 14.56% 14.77% 14.97%
Commodities Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 115.97 Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 104.42 Cotton $/lb 212.70 Gold $/ozs 1,428.60 Silver $/ozs 35.33 Malaysian Palm $ 1,207 GOLD (NCEL) PKR 39,022 KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 12,860 Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols Buy (Rs) Sell (Rs)
Australian $ 85.90 Canadian $ 87.10 Danish Krone 15.60 Euro 118.80 Hong Kong $ 10.50 Japanese Yen 1.022 Saudi Riyal 22.70 Singapore $ 66.80 Swedish Korona 13.10 Swiss Franc 91.70 U.A.E Dirham 23.20 UK Pound 138.50 US $ 85.35
86.90 88.10 15.80 120.30 11.00 1.048 22.90 67.80 13.30 92.90 23.40 139.80 85.65
Inter-Bank Currency Rates Symbols
Australian $ Canadian $ Danish Krone Euro Hong Kong $ Japanese Yen Saudi Riyal Singapore $ Swedish Korona Swiss Franc U.A.E Dirham UK Pound US $
Buying TT Clean
Selling TT & OD
86.43 87.62 15.98 119.21 10.95 1.035 22.73 67.28 13.42 92.11 23.21 138.74 85.35
86.64 87.83 16.02 119.48 10.97 1.038 22.79 67.44 13.45 92.32 23.26 139.07 85.53
Weather Forecast CITIES
ISLAMABAD KARACHI LAHORE FAISALABAD QUETTA RAWALPINDI
MAX-TEMP
19°C 29°C 22°C 19°C 15°C 18°C
MIN
8°C 17°C 10°C 9°C 11°C 9°C
Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com
www.thefinancialdaily.com
See on Page 8
Finmin upbeat on keeping fiscal deficit at 5pc of GDP
SCRA(U.S $ in million)
Total Portfolio Invest (19-Feb-2011)
CoD gurantees progress, says Sharif
Khi bourse gets leverage tools
Portfolio Investment Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 04-Mar-2011) Monthly(Mar, 2011 up to 04-Mar-2011) Daily (04-Mar-2011)
Rain washes out Australia-Sri Lanka match
Shaikh launches Margin trading, Margin Financing, Securities lending & borrowing
Economic Indicators Forex Reserves (26-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)
Rabi-us-Sani moon not sighted
RAS JDIR, Libya: A migrant worker gestures as he crosses the Libyan and Tunisian border crossing of Ras Jdir after fleeing unrest in Libya. -Reuters
USA mulls trade grants for Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The US administration has shown its willingness to consider unilateral trade preferences program to help Pakistan overcome economic difficulties. This was revealed in the Trade Policy Agenda for 2011 to the US Congress, which provides a roadmap for US trade policy initiatives for 2011. The policy document provides resolve of the US Government to continue to support economic opportunities through trade for countries that have been particularly ravaged by disaster or violence. Two countries were specified in the report for such efforts i.e. Haiti and Pakistan. The relevant paragraph for Pakistan reads as follows:"This year, we will also help our Pakistani partners
recover from last year's devastating floods by seeking to build economic prosperity through trade. To this end, we will work with Congress to ensure renewal of GSP and to identify other mechanisms, including appropriate preference policies that can provide Pakistan the opportunities necessary to overcome challenges like the 2010 floods". In this backdrop, Makhdoom M Amin Fahim, Minister of Commerce wrote a letter to Ambassador Ron Kirk, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on September 02, 2010 requesting US support for Pakistan. During the recent visit of Mr. David Lipton to Pakistan, the Ministry of Commerce again requested the US administration for trade concessions highlighting the earlier
BB case: warrants issued for third time
Britain refuses to expel Musharraf ISLAMABAD: The British government has refused to hand over former president Pervez Musharraf to Pakistani authorities in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, media reported. Musharraf, who was president when Benazir was killed in December 2007 in a gun and suicide bomb attack, is in selfimposed exile in London and his spokesman has repeatedly said he will not be going back to Pakistan for any court hearing. The former president and military ruler is alleged to have been part of a "broad conspiracy" to have his political rival killed before elections, though the exact nature of the charges against him is not clear.
Furthermore, the non-bailable arrest warrants of former President Pervez Musharraf have been issued third time here on Saturday in Benazir Bhutto assassination case. According to media reports, the court has given deadline of 15 days to FIA for compliance of arrest warrants of former President Pervez Musharraf and adjourned the hearing till 19 March as the Prosecutors boycotted the hearing as protest against jail administration. Hearing into Benazir assassination case was to be conducted in Adiala jail on Saturday but FIA prosecutors including Chaudhry Zulfiqar and See # 11 Page 7
US law experts reach Pak for Davis help
US presses Pak to release Davis ISLAMABAD: The US ambassador to Pakistan pressed the country's president Monday to release an American official who Washington says was illegally detained after he shot and killed two men in Lahore. Ambassador Cameron Munter's meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad followed repeated public demands for the American's freedom. The US has said the American, who has been identi-
fied by Pakistanis as Raymond Allen Davis, acted in selfdefense when he shot the two men on Jan 27 and must be released because he has diplomatic immunity. Munter told Zardari that "Pakistan must comply with its obligations under international law and immediately release the American diplomat illegally detained in Lahore," according to US Embassy spokeswoman Courtney Beale. See # 12 Page 7
request made by the Commerce Minister to the USTR. In August 2010, Pakistan witnessed worst floods in his history. Pakistan requested the international community for immediate relief and assistance. We have been requesting our friends and allies for trade concessions to rehabilitate our economy which was already under strain due to deteriorating security situation. The Pakistan specific trade agenda for 2011 announced by US Government is the result of comprehensive efforts of our leadership in which Ministry of Commerce is playing an active role. The Ministry of Commerce would continue to be engaged with the USTR to develop appropriate measures to realize this policy objective. -Agencies
SECP fines 6 defaulting companies ISLAMABAD: As part of its enforcement and regulatory function, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has passed six orders, fining defaulting listed and unlisted companies. In order to safeguard the interests of investors and stakeholders and to develop corporate governance culture in the country, the SECP took action against non-compliant companies. A statement issued by the Commission here Monday said that SECP has issued 40 showcause notices for non-compliance with various provisions of the 1984 Companies Ordinance. See # 13 Page 7
Ministers get additional portfolios ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday allocated additional portfolios for the existing ministers. According to a hand out issued here at PM House, the ministers who got additional portfolios include Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo Minister of Defence Production, Makhdoom Shahabuddin - Housing and Works, Mian Raza Rabbani Human Rights, Syed Khursheed Shah - Labour and See # 14 Page 7
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Saturday launched the leveraged market products at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). Speaking on the occasion, he said that introduction of margin trading, margin financing and securities lending and borrowing was long over due. "This will enhance trading volume and bring in transparency in the stock market", he added. The Minister said that the government will consider every proposal of fiscal or tax measures to encourage listing of new issue on stock market. The government would also like to enlist more public sector organisations on stock market for their revival, promoting efficiency in these entities and bring in more investment. Referring to the forthcoming budget, he invited proposals from the apex body and suggested them to form a group for devising tax proposals. Finance Minister advised the
MTS to help raise much volume, says Arif Habib Staff Reporter KARACHI: Senior Member Karachi Stock Exchange and Chairman Arif Habib Group Arif Habib said that the launch of leverage products would substantially increase in the turnover of the exchange. Arif Habib while talking to TFD said that market would get its desired depth and would find price discovery through the leverage products. It should be noted that three products i.e. margin trading; margin financing and securities lending and borrowing were launched at the Karachi Stock Exchange See # 15 Page 7 premier exchange to work on al produce this year. debt market development so He said the government was that the government can gener- trying to maintain a balance in a ate capital for the development coalition government. However, of infrastructure projects. he made it clear that the governTalking about the economy he ment will not allow politics to said that despite big challenges, degenerate the economy. the economy was showing "Similarly, we do not allow partencouraging signs. "Exports, for ners to overcome national econthe first time, will cross $22 bil- omy", he observed. lion while remittances will cross Finmin said Government will $11 billion mark", he noted. aim to keep its budget deficit at He said the government is tar- 5 per cent of gross domestic geting its subsidies towards the product (GDP) in the 2010/11 poorest of the poor while the fiscal year, finance minister said rural economy was better off on Saturday. with higher prices of agriculturSee # 8 Page 7
Rs640mn scam surfaces
FIA raises red flags over NICL contract ISLAMABAD: A new scam worth Rs640 million was unearthed in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) on Saturday. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered criminal cases against those accused of being involved in the Rs4.45 billion NICL land scandal. The FIA now says it has gathered evidence concerning another fraud and that it is planning to lodge a case against the accused in Karachi. Former company chairman, Ayaz Khan Niazi is alleged to have paid claim amounts to contractors in a violation of the rules in the Rs640 million
rupees scam. Sources in the FIA said that Ayaz Niazi illegally paid huge claim amounts in connivance with his colleagues. They said that Ayaz and his colleagues paid the money to contractors after getting claims through fake surveyors. The money was supposed to be paid to the departments concerned, and not the contractors. According to recent reports, FIA investigators have also decided to initiate action against NICL's acting chairman, Tariq Iqbal Puri, who is also the chief executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).-Agencies
SC takes notice of DG FIA’s non-removal
Govt drags feet on DG FIA sacking ISLAMABAD: Federal government Saturday excused itself from immediately sacking Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Waseem Ahmed, media reported. The Establishment Division submitted a reply with the Supreme Court in this regard. The reply stated that although DG FIA had been dissociated from the Pakistan Steel, National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) and Hajj corruption cases, he was monitoring matters of national significance and therefore could not be immediately removed. On March 1, the Supreme Court had directed the govern-
ment to immediately remove Waseem Ahmed from the position of DG FIA for allegedly continuing interference in the Hajj scam despite restrictions imposed by the apex court two months ago. Speaking to media representatives later on Saturday, Waseem Ahmed said he was caught in a conflict between two institutions of the state and that he was considering the option of resigning from his position. He said one institution wanted him removed while the other wanted to keep him. Ahmed said he had not yet made a decision but was considering resigning. -Agencies
NCEL becomes Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Ltd LAHORE: The National Commodity Exchange Limited (NCEL) has changed its name and henceforth would be called the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PME) Limited. According to a press release issued here on Saturday, the announcement was made today by Samir Ahmed, Managing Director after its approval by the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recently. "This name change has been decided with a view to communicating more accurately our mandate as a nation wide commodities and futures exchange. The new name also reflects more accurately the wide variety of our current and planned business lines and products," See # 9 Page 7
1 killed in Jumma Goth blast KARACHI: One person was killed and two injured when an explosion occurred in a house near Gulzar mosque in the Jumma Goth area of Ibrahim Hydri, in Karachi on Saturday. IG Sindh confirmed in his address to the media that the house belonged to Sindhu Liberation Army and six to seven people were preparing explosive material inside the house when the blast took place. He added that certain pieces of evidence had been discovered from the blast site which include a telephone directory and a video cassette showing footage of an Ashura rally but had a sticker on it that said 'valima reception'. See # 10 Page 7
2
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Governor tells KATI dinner meeting
Parties should join hands to face serious challenges By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry charing a meeting of the building Committee at Supreme Court Registry. -APP
NADRA’s women registration drive from March 8th Staff Correspondent ISLAMABAD: "The NADRA will launch a countrywide 'women registration drive' from March 8 which will enable women to get their basic rights." This was stated by Muhammad Tariq Malik, Deputy Chairman of National Data Registartion Authority (NADRA),in a statement issued here on Saturday . Highlighting the efforts of NADRA to increase women registration, Tariq Malik said that the NADRA had dedicated its mobile registration units across the country to encourage women registration. The NADRA has already established centers to enhance women registration throughout the coun-
try. "The 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8 shall be marked by NADRA with the commencement of free registration for the unregistered women in the country through various programmes and incentives based schemes," said Tariq Malik. "With around 51 per cent majority, women are a vital segment of our society and we can not progress without their participation in all spheres of national life to earn a respectable place in the international arena," he added. "NADRA wants to empower women for their basic rights and the women registration drive is aimed at increasing women registration to have more accurate data to
facilitate national planning commission in decision making," added Tariq Malik. He said that NADRA is making all out efforts to get the adult population in Pakistan, specially women registered in a minimum possible time to facilitate them in getting education, health, employment and other facilities. CNIC is the essential identity document which protects women's rights. It is evident through the fact that first time in history their rights were safeguarded when in flood hit areas women as family head were given "Watan Cards" and NADRA issued as many as 121,640 "Watan Cards" to disburse Rs.2.43 billion among woman family heads which never occurred in the world ever, he said.
I'ntl plastic fair from March 12 TFD Report KARACHI: The 7th International Plastic and Packaging Exhibition and Food Technology Exhibition will be held on March 12-14, at Lahore Expo Centre under the auspices of CEMS Pakistan Pvt. Limited. During the Exhibition a Conference on Food and Plastic Printing / Packaging Industry will also be held in which scientists, technologists and experts in the light of their experience in the industrial development
would highlight the issues. According to the CEO of CEMS Pakistan Pvt. Limited Saleem Khan Tanoli, the exhibition would invite the direction of International Standards Setter how to expand their industries so that the participants would introduce their products. More than 220 companies from 17 different countries around the globe would participate in the Exhibitions which is witnessed that the Pakistan has a good business affiliation with other countries, says a Press release.
"Dekho Pakistan" festival from March 8 TFD Report KARACHI: The Citizens Archive of Pakistan [CAP], in collaboration with the Hamara Karachi Foundation, presents 'Dekho Pakistan'- an interactive exhibition to be part of this year's Hamara Karachi celebrations. This free exhibition will be open to the public from March 8 to April 5 in order to commemorate the reopening of Frere Hall, which has been an integral part of Karachi's heritage and culture. The Hamara Karachi Festival is an annual festival organized under the guidance of the Hamara Karachi Foundation. The objective of these celebrations is to promote peace and harmony among citizens by emphasizing their common nationality and cultural heritage, irrespective of religious, sectarian and linguistic differences. 'Dekho Pakistan' features exciting installations and interactive games about Karachi and Pakistan to engage children and encourage their interest in history.
Intel launches new SSDs KARACHI: Intel Corporation has announced the next in a line of new solid-state drives (SSD), the IntelÂŽ Solid-State Drive 510 Series. The new Intel SSD 510 features fast SATA 6 Gigabits per second (Gbps) performance to take full advantage of Intel's transition to higher speed SATA bus interfaces on the recently introduced 2nd Generation Intel Core processor-based platforms. Supporting data transfers of up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/s), the Intel SSD 510 doubles the sequential read speeds, and at up to 315MB/s more than triples the sequential write speeds of Intel's current 3Gbps SSDs, to transfer more data in less time. This makes it ideal for demanding gamers, media creators, performance-intensive workstation users and any technology enthusiast. The Intel SSD 510 offers the fastest sequential read and write speeds of any consumer SATA SSD available today. -PR"
KARACHI: Governor Sindh, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan said that all parties should have to sit together and find ways and means to face challenges being faced by the country. Addressing the Annual Dinner 2010 of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), the Dr Ishrat said that the country and nation is facing various challenges particularly law and order and declining economy and all the stakeholders should sit together as the government could not face the challenges alone and without the help of all parties and the people. He said that MQM has already rejected the recent increase in POL prices announced by government. He said that MQM had rejected the POL price increase in the past as it was a big burden on the
general masses. Governor said that though condition of economy is not good but still some indicators such as building up foreign exchange reserves and increase in exports are showing that the situation is not that bad either. He said that industry in Karachi has been exempted from load-shedding and the gas shortage has also been resolved with the consultation of KESC and SSGC's managements and the stakeholders. He mentioned that KATI has become a distinctive trade and industrial body through its efforts for the betterment of trade and industry. While paying tributes to Patron In-chief KATI, S M Muneer and his team he advised other trade bodies to follow his footsteps. S M Muneer while expressing his dismay over
10 per cent increase in POL prices, said that the economy is already reaching on the verge of collapse the government has once again increased the prices of petroleum which would be extremely detrimental to the national economy and the break the backbone of general masses. He said that due to anti-people decisions would result in unrest among the people. He pointed out that one day strike in Pakistan causes Rs5 billion revenue loss to the national exchequer and government should also realise this factor and instead of increasing POL and utilities prices should try to avoid greater losses in the shape of strikes, industry's shut down and export shipments' failures. He once again demanded of the government to hand over the management of loss making public organisations such as PIA, Railways, Pakistan
Steel, PEPCO, etc. to the some honest and professional stakeholders in private sector in order to bring them out of red and save Rs500 billion subsidies given to these organisations annually. The Chairman, KATI, Syed Johar Ali Qandhari in his welcome address pointed out the grim situation of the economy and asked the governor to give priority to the ongoing crisis of utilities shortage such as power load-shedding, water and gas shortage in the country's industrial and commercial hub - Karachi. "Government should have to address the economy on first priority as the industries are closing down, exports declining, raw materials are getting expensive frequently and the Pak rupee has been devalued by 40 per cent in the last three years", Qandhari said.
PWA's fund raising for poor patients
ISLAMABAD: Students supporting their teams during the annual sports day of Westminister School, at Sports Complex. -Online
Firdous launches anti-polio campaign ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan launched the first campaign of the year to eradicate polio by administering antipolio drops to children at National Institute of Health here on Saturday. During the three day campaign thirty-three million children up to five years of age will be administered anti-polio drops to save them from the crippling disease. Speaking on the occasion, she said this campaign is of vital importance soon after the launch of National Emergency Action Plan on Polio Eradication. The plan was approved by the Prime Minister in January this year. It was launched by the President which shows the commitment of the government at a very high level. She said the Prime Minister has approved National Task Force to review the progress
and has directed to establish a special cell on Polio eradication at PM Secretariat. The Information Minister said the need to launch the campaign arose due to reports of polio re-appearing in some areas of the country especially in the FATA. She said as our forces clear more areas; more children will be accessed who were missed in the previous campaigns due to militancy and other factors. Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said role of media is very important in dissemination of information. She urged the media to dedicate time for the public service messages as it is their national duty. She assured full cooperation of her ministry and its constituent institutions like APP, PBC and PTV to make the campaign successful for making Pakistan a healthy country. - NNI
Ex-Korean envoy made Investment Counselor ISLAMABAD: The Board of Investment (BoI) has appointed former Korean Ambassador Un Shin as Honorary Investment Counselor (HIC) for Pakistan in South Korea. Un Shin has a track record of being a successful professional and his appointment as Honorary Counselor will help promote relations between the two countries, BoI Chairman Saleem H. Mandviwalla said. He said that Un Shin has a vast work experience and had
served as Minister at the Korean Mission to the United Nations, Minister at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C and his last portfolio was Ambassador to Pakistan. As HIC for Pakistan in South Korea, he will be responsible for image building of Pakistan in South Korea, building of effective relationship with Pakistani business community residing in South Korea, working as active liaison between BOI and foreign investors. -APP
HYDERABAD: Senior Sindh Minister for Education Pir Mazhar ul Haq speaks during a ceremony at a local hotel. -Online
Safeguard donation KARACHI: Safeguard, Procter & Gamble's leading anti-bacterial soap is collaborating with UNICEF in Pakistan to curb the spread of preventable diseases amongst those affected by the flood by donating over two million bars of Safeguard soap. This donation will impact over 2 million Pakistanis affected by the monsoon floods. -PR
KARACHI: Patients' Welfare Association (PWA) hosted its annual fundraising carnival "The Bake Sale 2011" at Civil Hospital Karachi to generate funds which will be used for provision of free medical facilities to underprivileged patients at CHK. The event was inaugurated by the chief guest, Aftab Dewan, Central Operating Officer, Central Depository Company of Pakistan. Many other renowned dignitaries including Ateeq ur Rehman, chairman banking & insurance committee KCCI, Siddique Sheikh, chairman CSR committee FPCCI, Saeeda Laghari, Chairman Pakistan Pipes an LABELS and distinguished personalities including Shehzad Roy, Behroz Sabzwari, Shabbir Jan, Kiran Fulton and M. Zaheer Khan who lauded the efforts of students to serve the poor patients of CHK.-PR
3
Sunday, March 6, 2011
“Apple's competitors making a mistake”
Mobile Prices Updated on 6 March, 2011
ALI ZHORAIZ JAFFRI
Nokia 1202 1203 1208 1209 1280 1616 1800 2220 Slide 2330 Classic 2600 Classic 2690 2700 Classic 2730 Classic 3600 slide 3610 Fold 5030 5130 5220 5230 5250 5233 5310 5320 5530 5630 5730 5800 6120 6220 Classic 6300 6303 6303i 6600 Slide 6600 Fold 6700 Classic 6720 Classic 6730 Classic 6760 Slide 7210 7230 7310 7510 7610 C1-00 C3 C5 E5 E52 E55 E63 E66 E71 E72 E75 N78 N79 N8 N82 N85 8GB N86 N97 N97 mini N900 X2 X3 X3 02 Touch and Type X6 16GB X6
2,100 2,050 2,300 2,250 2,075 2,450 2,700 4,500 4,400 4,950 5,200 6,900 7,500 12,900 9,600 3,100 8,300 10,400 13,600 13,600 11,500 12,400 14,900 17,200 17,200 23,000 22,000 12,000 17,900 10,800 11,300 11,000 18,900 17,800 20,300 19,800 15,200 18,800 8,550 10,750 11,000 14,000 13,200 3,000 11,500 14,200 21,300 21,200 23,000 16,800 20,000 21,300 27,500 24,000 19,800 26,300 40,000 26,000 22,800 31,500 39,000 33,000 37,000 9,400 12,000 15,900 28,000 48,000
Sony Ericsson T303 T707 W302 W380i W350i W395 W595 W705 W980 W902 W995 F305 S302 C510 C901 C902i C903 C905 G502 G700 Aino Jalou U100 Yari Satio Idou Xperia X1 Xperia X10
8,700 16,800 9,600 8,800 7,700 9,700 13,200 19,000 18,200 43,500 25,600 9,400 8,200 12,700 14,800 15,600 16,100 21,400 14,500 12,800 30,800 17,300 18,700 38,700 33,000 47,000
Samsung B130 B220 Guru B300 B3210 CorbyTXT B3410 B3410W Chat WIFI B5722 B7300 OMNIALite B7320 Omnia PRO Guru B100 E1080 E1100 E1125 E2125 E250 D980 (Dual Sim) J150 J700 M150 M200 M620 M3510 Beat b M3710 Corby Beat M7500 Armani M7603 Beat DJ M8910 Pixon 12 C3010S C3053 C3200 Monte Bar C3212 C3303k Champ C3510 Genoa C5212 DUOS S3310 S3653 Corby S3653 WIFI Star S5230 S5230W Star WIFI S5350 Shark S5550 Shark 2 S5560 Marvel S5620 Monte S7220 Ultra b S7350 Ultra s S8003 Jet S8300 Tocco Ultar Edition S8500 Wave I900 Omnia i5700 Galaxy Spica i8000 Omnia II i8510 INNOV8 i8910 Omnia HD i9000 Galaxy S 16GB
2,050 3,900 3,600 8,700 9,500 13,400 15,400 24,000 19,200 2,450 2,200 2,450 3,200 6,050 5,200 20,300 6,550 7,550 5,100 6,200 6,250 9,200 12,700 30,300 32,000 40,600 5,700 6,000 6,900 7,300 7,600 8,800 9,800 7,900 10,600 10,800 11,000 12,300 12,000 14,500 15,600 15,500 21,000 22,100 24,000 28,200 29,900 42,500 25,000 49,500 37,000 43,700 49,000
BlackBerry Bold 9000 Curve 8900 Peral Flip 8220 Pearl 8120 Curve 8310
33,000 30,900 30,000 27,000 29,000
QMobile Q3i E900
5,999 6,999
NOTE: Always visit your local shop for the exact Mobile phone prices.
Apple is ahead of the competition again with the iPad 2, say analysts, but competitors who want to catch up are wrong to focus on hardware.
versions of its hardware to stay ahead. Apple clearly had first mover advantage, however, its competitors have been hot on its heels with a slew of tablet devices from big brand vendors such as Samsung, Motorola, HP, HTC and RIM, all of which have announced tablet devices which aim to replicate the Apple experience,
Sarah Rotman Epps, of Forrester Research, said: The competing products we’ve seen announced so far from Motorola, RIM, HP, and others, while impressive, have fatally flawed price and distribution strategies. For now, Apple still defines the tablet market, with a product consumers will desire at a price
which is notoriously difficult to match.”
that’s hard to beat.” Carolina Milanesi,
S
teve Jobs, launching Apple’s iPad 2 last night, found time for a few digs at the competition. He said: “While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we’re launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again.” Analysts seem to broadly agree with Jobs’ assessment, though perhaps not in such emphatic terms. Adam Leach, of Ovum, said: “In such a fast moving market Apple is forced to release new
of
Soon We'll All Be Driving Flying Cars
T
he flying car has been prophesied for decades. It's one of the holy grails of the futuristic, utopian society, where everyone gets to zip around through the air and land easily, quietly and safely wherever he or she wants. You've probably seen videos of flying-car prototypes, taking off from the ground, hovering and possibly crashing. But the first "autoplane" was actually unveiled in 1917, and many similar efforts have followed. Henry Ford predicted the flying car was coming -- in 1940 -- and there have been numerous false alarms ever since.
A decade into the 21st century, we don't seem to be any closer, despite what you might read on gadget blogs. Because funding dried up, NASA aban-
doned its contest for inventors to create a "Personal Air Vehicle," and there doesn't
seem to be another government agency, except perhaps the secretive DARPA, ready to take on the project. There are simply too many challenges in the way of a flying car becoming widely adopted. Cost, flight paths and regulations, safety, potential use in terrorism, fuel efficiency, training pilots/drivers, landing, noise, opposition from the automobile and transportation industries -all stand in the way of a legitimate flying car. Also, these vehicles will likely have to be able to operate as cars on regular roads, posing another logistical challenge.
HTC Merge Launch Announced
I
f you’ve not heard about HTC’s newest Android handset the Merge, you’ve probably not been skulking about the Internet listening to all the unofficial “official” chatter about the phone. It’s basically a 3.8 inch touchscreen with a slide out QWERTY keyboard and Android 2.2. Of course, being an HTC phone, you’ll have to either love or hate the Sense UI because you’re stuck with it one way or another. However, you will also get a 5 megapixel camera with built-in autofocus and flash. While the megapixels might not be all that impressive, the picture quality is. And you’ll have integrated access to Flickr
so you can post those photos
near-instantly. In addition, the
lens shoots 720p video. It comes with the nowobligatory Wifi and a few extra features that may have been thrown in to allow the company to bump the price tag a little higher: GPS, and HTC FriendStream—which allows Facebook and Twitter notifications to be shown in one simple interface. The phone will be officially launching in the spring (no exact date given) and will be available on several different carries (no worries about exclusivity here). While the Merge probably won’t be the cheapest HTC handset on the market, it should be fairly affordable given its middle of the road specs.
Gartner, quoted in the Guardian, said: "Competitors are making the same mistake that mobile vendors made with their response to iPhone: they are making the battle about hardware, and with tablets this is even less the case than it was for smartphones. What you are empowered to do with your tablet makes the difference.” Not every analyst was positive about the iPad 2, h o w e v e r . Computerworld rounded up a few of the sceptics, including Jack Gold, who said: "I don't see this as heads above the competition, especially the Xoom, right now. Apple fans who want the latest will buy this or upgrade, but I don't see any overwhelmingly compelling capabilities that would make people sitting on the tablet fence go out and buy one."
DreamWorks options movie rights to WikiLeaks books
T
he DreamWorks studio has optioned movie rights to a pair of books about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his controversial Website that is bent on revealing government secrets, company officials said on Thursday. One of the books is "WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy" by journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding of The Guardian, the British newspaper said in an article. The other is "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website" by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a defector from the organization. The books were optioned by Holly Bario and Mark Sourian, co-presidents of production at DreamWorks Studios, said a spokesman for the company. Director Steven Spielberg, a principal partner at DreamWorks along with cochairman and CEO Stacey Snider, is not personally working on the project. No director or producer has yet been attached to make a movie, and filming may not start for years, if at all. likely in the future. Assange, a 39 year-old Australian who infuriated U.S. government officials in late 2010 by publishing classified diplomatic cables, faces extradition from Britain to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.
Twitter's Stone says no IPO or funding talks
T
witter has no plan to go public in the near future and does not need additional funds because it is making money, the co-founder of the popular microblogging site said. Biz Stone also dismissed reports JPMorgan Chase & Co. was in talks to buy 10 percent of Twitter for $450 million, which would have valued the company at $4.5 billion. "We have so many other things before we even think about that," Stone told Reuters when asked about the prospects of an IPO as fans crushed around trying to take his photo at a business forum in Seoul on Thursday. "We are not even discussing it internally. It's too far off," the 36-year-old said, adding that Twitter had no plans to raise funds over the next 12 months. The company, created in 2006, employs about 350 people. Valuations for social networking companies have soared, with Facebook's recent $1.5 billion round of financing led by Goldman Sachs giving the firm a projected value of $50 billion.
Facebook and LinkedIn and had 175 million users as of September. Social networking services are a growing challenge to Web players such as Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo! Inc, competing for users online and advertising dollars, raising speculation Twitter may become the target of a takeover bid. Last month, Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen's venture capital outfit invested $80 million in Twitter. In December, Twitter said it raised $200 million a deal that valued the company at $3.7 billion, less than a year after it began its first serious efforts to make money. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was the lead investor which included existing Twitter investors. Stone, who reportedly pronounced his given name Christopher as "Bizober" when he was learning to talk and decided to abbreviate it later to Biz, created Twitter with Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey in 2006. He left Google at around the
Asked about a Financial Times report last week that said a technology fund from JPMorgan was in talks to buy 10 percent of Twitter, Stone said: "(The report is) made up." Twitter, which allows users to send short, 140-character text messages, or Tweets, to groups of followers, is one of the Web's most popular social networking services along with
same time with Williams to start a new podcasting project and later worked to improve the then-popular text message to create Twitter. It has since become a popular communication tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, and played a role in several geopolitical events including the recent uprising in Egypt.
Nintendo has high hopes for 3DS
N
intendo Co Ltd said it has set ambitious goals for its newest handheld gaming system despite growing competition from smartphones like Apple's iPhone. Nintendo, whose growth has b e e n flagging, is making a big marketing push as it launches t h e Nintendo 3DS, the f i r s t device to offer 3D gaming without special glasses. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime called the 3DS a key revenue driver and argued that its adoption should be even faster than the original DS device, which
launched in 2004 and has sold 150 million units to date. "From our perspective, we've set the high water bar for a handheld device and our goal is to try to beat that," he said in an interview on Thursday. T h e 3 D S launched in Japan l a s t month and will go on sale in t h e United States on March 27. The Japanese company is trying to stay a step ahead of rivals in the mobile market, which is in a state of flux as the iPhone and smartphones based on Google's Android have become more robust gaming platforms.
Latest Gadgets Panasonic’s new faster, better, stronger player
Fly like eagle with this headset’s setup
All Kanye West allusions aside, the lineup of 2011 Blu-ray players from Panasonic looks promising. Gone are the days when the simple ability to play Blu-ray discs was enough to sell these devices. Companies have had to get smart, connected, and go social in order to get customers to spend their hard earned cash and Panasonic may be leading the pack.
You should know that now you can fly by using the power of the mind. Before you get any Peter Pan fantasies going on, you should know that this is in the experimental stage from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Their virtual reality device allows users to hang by a harness, but this year, the mind as well as the body is involved.
Shadow Ebike has Cool Name and USB Ports The Shadow Ebike’s motor and drive controller are inside the front wheel instead of merely strapped onto the framing. That means it looks more like a regular bike but also that there aren’t any stray cables or wires to trip up on or get tangled in. The motor is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery which can be powered by the motion of the bike or by plugging it into a standard outlet.
Solar Powered iPhone That wont ever happen to any of us again if Apple has it’s way. According to US patent reports, Apple wants to be able to incorporate solar cells into some of their touch screen products. Can anyone say iPhone 5? Okay, can anyone say iPhone 6 then? Anyway, let’s imagine if you will, the premise of throwing your phone up on the dashboard and having it be ready to go anytime you need it. Awesome.
WE’s electric, kite powered car This is the Wind Explorer, and it is a car that can drive by kite. The Wind Explorer can take credit for breaking three world records: the first continental crossing by a wind-powered vehicle, the longest distance covered by a wind-powered vehicle, and the longest distance covered by a wind-powered vehicle in 36 hours. You can catch a video of it after the jump if you want to see it in motion. The Wind Explorer traveled 3,107 miles across Australia in about 18 days, and it uses only $15 worth of electricity. Talk about your fuel efficiency!
4 Sunday, March 6, 2011
Weapons Sale & Art of Diplomacy
The Financial Daily International Vol 4, Issue 199
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary Editor: Shakil H. Jafri Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi Honorary Advisory Board Haseeb Khan, FCA
S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA
Khurram Shehzad, CFA
Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA
Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)
Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA
Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)
Muhammad Arif
Ismat Sabir Head office
111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA Karachi Telephone: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428 URL: www.thefinancialdaily.com Email Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com
Lahore office 24- Peshawar Block, Fortress Stadium, Lahore Telephone: 92-42-6675595 Fax: 92-42-6664349 Email Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com
Improving crop yields Lately experts have been highlighting the need to achieve food security. However, there is growing consensus that radical changes have to be brought in the ways agriculture is practiced in Pakistan. These experts have been saying that production of various crops can be doubled, at least without increasing area under cultivation. Attaining this objective has become all the more necessary because of rising cost of inputs and growing shortage of irrigation water. Experts sat the proposed strategy must address the most pressing issues that include 1) using certified high yielding seeds, 2) applying right balance of nutrients, 3) optimizing use of irrigation water and 4) improving crop management. Despite the best efforts delivery of certified seeds has not been ensured. While it may be said that farmers prefer to use seeds which they have been using for generations, it is also true that sale of seeds coming from abroad are often more susceptible to various diseases. First this became evident in case of cotton and now in case of wheat. Some critics say that whenever it becomes obvious that the country is reaching surplus production in cotton and wheat, the standing crops are damaged and the country remains a net importer. The worst has been the case of cotton. Experts say that Pakistan can get 20 million cotton bales without increasing area under cultivation but average production has be around 12 million bales. This year government set wheat production target of 25 million tons, but reports say that standing crop in certain areas has been attacked. The cultivable areas in Pakistan are deficient in nutrients and appropriate dosage of various types of fertilizers has to be applied. However, due to hike in price, particularly of DAP right balance is not achieved. This year price of urea has been on the rise due to curtailment of gas supply to fertilizer plants. But the real point of concern is growing shortage of irrigation water. The worst threat has emerged due to construction of dams by India but more because of failure in constructing new dams. Since completion of Tarbela in 1976 no mega dam has been has been added. Experts say inadequate availability of water is a problem but highly depleted canals and water courses lead to wastage of water, adding to the menace of water logging. The least focus area is crop management. Since landholding has fragmented deployment of technology for preparing land and mechanized harvesting is not possible. Some experts have suggested corporate farming but the idea is being opposed by absentee landlords. Despite various land reforms certain clans holds hundreds of acres, particularly in the katcha areas of Sindh. Not much can be expected unless the 'wadera shahi' system is weeded out from Pakistan. The change can be brought about by legislative but unfortunately feudal lords continue to enjoy majority in national and provincial assemblies.
Disclaimer:
All reports and recommendations have been prepared for your information only. Summary and Analysis are not recommendation to buy or sell. This information should only be used by investors who are aware of the risk inherent in securities trading. The facts, information, data, indicators and charts presented have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. The Financial Daily International and its employees are not responsible for any loss arising from use of these reports and recommendations.
W
hen Lockheed Martin wanted to sell C-130 military transport planes to the government of Chad in early 2007, the U.S. embassy in N'Djamena was ready to lend a hand. Nevermind that, by the embassy's own reckoning, the Chadian government probably could not afford the planes, was dishonest about their purpose and planned to use the aircraft to crush a pro-democracy rebellion. "Our conclusion is that, like it or not, our interests line up in favor of allowing the sale in some form to go forward," the then-ambassador wrote to the State Department. In ensuing years, the Chadian government and people connected to Lockheed worked relentlessly to get the deal done. Chad's president Idriss Deby personally wrote to President George W. Bush asking that the sale be permitted. Ultimately, in November 2009, the embassy again recommended a modified C-130 sale go ahead, arguing that it would reinforce U.S. interests in the region. Neither Lockheed nor the State Department would confirm if the transaction took place or is still pending. The embassy in Chad is hardly an outlier. A review of thousands of pages of diplomatic cables from the last decade, obtained by WikiLeaks and provided to Reuters by a third party, paints a picture of foreign service officers and political appointees willing to go to great lengths to sell American products and services, and to prevent similar sales by other countries. To be sure, that has been a big part of their job since the end of the Cold War. Nor do the cables point to any wrongdoing. But in some cases, the efforts were so strenuous they raise the question of where if anywhere the line is being drawn between diplomacy and salesmanship. "The U.S. Government has broad, though not unlimited, discretion to promote and assist U.S. commercial interests abroad. We, of course, cannot do so in contravention of local laws," a State Department spokesman said in response to queries on a series of cables. FORCE OF PERSUASION Seasoned diplomats point to a shift in the early 1990s, after the introduction of what was sometimes referred to as a "Bill of Rights for U.S. Business" by former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger. A career foreign service officer, Eagleburger wanted corporate America to have a say in matters of interest internationally -- a big change from how things had been done. "Until (then), U.S. diplomats were not particularly encouraged to help U.S. business. They were busy fighting the Cold War," said one former U.S. diplomat in Asia. "All of a sudden, we were given new direction: if a single U.S. company is looking for business, we should advocate for them by name; if more than one U.S. company was in the mix, stress buying the American product." The effect was relatively quick, this diplomat said, and obvious: "It was great to see how influential the right word from the U.S. ambassador was. If the competition was using dodgy tactics, an ambassador might sidle up to the prime minister and quietly say, 'We know what's going on,' and that would be enough to derail the shenanigans." A January 2009 cable from Spain shows the muscle the diplomatic corps developed in commercial matters. Departing U.S. Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre, in his farewell note, mentioned the inability of U.S. companies to win procurement contracts in the country. Some companies, he said, had threatened to leave Spain entirely if they didn't start winning deals. Aguirre said he passed on the complaints to Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero -- who, according to
the cable, had previously told Aguirre "to let him know if there was something important to the (U.S. government) and he would take care of it." When General Electric decided to bid against Rolls Royce in a tender to provide helicopter motors to the Ministry of Defense (MOD), the U.S. government moved to back the bid. GE told the embassy that part of its business would close in Spain if it did not win the contract, and the embassy passed that information to Zapatero's economic adviser. "Although there was considerable all-source evidence to suggest that the MOD decided to award the contract to Rolls Royce, Monclova -the office of the President -- overturned the decision and it was announced that GE had won the bid. The Ambassador is convinced that Zapatero personally intervened in the case in favor of GE," the cable said. (Zapatero's Spanish title translates as "president of the government" though he is generally referred to as prime minister in English.) Zapatero's spokesman denied last December that any intervention took place. GE has declined to com-
In 2005, the Thai government started shopping for new military fighter jets among Lockheed Martin, Russia's Sukhoi and Sweden's Saab. It made clear up front that any deal it signed had to include "countertrade" worth at least 50 percent of the deal's value - we buy X and you help us sell Y. For the embassy in Bangkok, winning achieved two goals: helping Lockheed and keeping the Russians from selling planes. There was, however, a small complication with the terms -- the Thai government didn't want to pay cash. Instead, it proposed trading 80,000 stockpiled tons of frozen chicken. "Embassy contacts said that until Lockheed Martin offered a proposal to sell F-16s that included countertrade, the (Thai government) could not seriously consider its offer. Contacts also suggested that an offer that included an agreement to buy Thai chicken would be especially welcome," the embassy said in a March 2005 cable setting the scene for the competition. A May 2005 cable indicates Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra personally raised the bird barter issue with Admiral William Fallon,
When the U.S. sells arms or sensitive defense technology to other governments, it requires them to affirm they will not pass on the goods to unauthorized third parties. Cables from Washington describe U.S. officials' alarm upon finding sensitive military technologies and weapons were passed into dangerous hands. ment. Then there was Halliburton, the oilfield services company whose name became a byword for what critics viewed as the Bush administration's overly cozy relationships with corporate America. Then-Vice President Dick Cheney was previously CEO of Halliburton and still had financial entanglements with the company after he took office. According to a 2003 cable, the deputy CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. asked the economic affairs staff of the local embassy to suggest "companies to participate in a joint venture" for oilfield services in the country. The embassy responded with just one name -Halliburton, with which a contract was eventually signed. "While the value of the business is relatively small, it is indicative of the informal way in which the Front Offices frequently facilitate and promote business for U.S. companies," the cable's author said as part of a broader report to the State Department on the embassy's successes. Asked about the transaction, a company spokeswoman said: "Halliburton is not aware of any communications between US government representatives working in the UAE and any UAE entities regarding contract awards in 2002." Marcelle Wahba, the career diplomat who was ambassador to the United Arab Emirates at the time, said such interactions were what was expected of American diplomats by the turn of the 21st Century. "For the ambassador, I can't think of a time when a month went by when a commercial issue wasn't on my plate," she said in an interview with Reuters. "Some administrations put more of an emphasis on it than others, but now I think, regardless of who's in power you really find it's become an integral part of the State Department mandate." One cable that underlines the persistence of U.S. diplomats trying to close a deal involves weapons and lots and lots of frozen chickens.
then-head of the U.S. Pacific Command. Days later, word got to Thaksin that Lockheed was willing to play ball. "It was a negotiating tactic by Thaksin. But until relatively late in the game, Lockheed was reticent to engage. They finally agreed to talk ... but it was too late," the former U.S. diplomat in Asia said, terming the whole episode "comical" in a way. Things didn't quite work out, though. After a military coup the new Thai government ended up buying Swedish jets, fearing it wouldn't be allowed to buy the Lockheed planes because of postcoup sanctions. (The embassy contacted the government to disabuse them of the notion, to no avail). Lockheed declined to comment on both the fighter competition in Thailand and the proposed sale of planes in Chad. ARMS SALES PARAMOUNT In certain instances, weapons sales do appear to conflict with stated U.S. policy. When the U.S. sells arms or sensitive defense technology to other governments, it requires them to affirm they will not pass on the goods to unauthorized third parties. Cables from Washington describe U.S. officials' alarm upon finding sensitive military technologies and weapons were passed into dangerous hands. But none of those cables describe any concrete punishments for the offending countries. They also don't suggest any specific changes to the way the violators should be treated in the future. In 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote to U.S. embassy officials in Cairo describing the State Department's suspicions that Egypt had violated its "end-user agreements" with the U.S. six different times over the prior three years. In one instance, Egyptian defense officials allegedly let a Chinese military delegation examine U.S.-made F16s and related technical facilities.
Yet Clinton's only suggestion was to call for a meeting with the Egyptians to discuss ways they could better adhere to sales terms. She also conveyed the government's eagerness to keep selling weapons to Egypt. "It is our intent to move ahead with the M1A1 tank co-production once the (Egyptian government) agrees to these (End-Use Monitoring Working Group) talks," she said in the cable. "Pending a successful meeting of the (group), we would be prepared to move forward with the F-16 acquisition as quickly as possible." Clinton's predecessor Condoleezza Rice took a similarly vague tack in response to the discovery that light antitank weapons and grenades sold to Honduras had turned up in Mexico and Colombia. In a 2008 cable, Rice asked U.S. officials in Honduras to remind the Honduran government of its enduser agreements with the United States and to warn the Hondurans that "failure to fulfill their obligations may jeopardize certain aspects of future bilateral security cooperation." ALL HAVE LIMITS That is not to say that diplomacy never trumps commerce. In a series of 2005 cables, the embassy in Vilnius reported back on discussions with oil major ConocoPhillips about the company's interest in bidding on Lithuania's only oil refinery, Mazeikiu Nafta. Yukos was forced to sell the refinery as Russian authorities hounded the company over back taxes. Conoco's bid was a 50/50 effort with Russian oil firm Lukoil, which according to the embassy had long been accused of illegally meddling in and corrupting Lithuanian politics. In a November 4, 2005 cable, the embassy said Conoco CEO Jim Mulva told embassy staffers he assumed all of the rumours about Lukoil's inappropriate behavior were actually true. His surprising acknowledgment that his partner was probably corrupt gave the staff pause. "Mulva's acknowledgment of Lukoil's likely involvement in dirty deeds in Lithuania inspires little confidence in transparency under a Lukoil-CP operation. Given our broader interests here, we recommend not assuming a direct role in the competition for Mazeikiu Nafta, even if CP-Lukoil is the only 'American' contestant," the embassy staff said. ConocoPhillips spokesman John Roper said the company declined to comment. Ambassadors have no illusions about what their job is. "By the time I was retired from the Foreign Service, which was 1998, things had changed fundamentally and being an active participant in the commercial program and promoting trade using the prestige of the ambassador and receptions held at the embassy or at the ambassador's residence was an important part of what I did," said Tom Niles, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, the European Union and Greece. Niles, a former president of the pro-trade group U.S. Council for International Business, said in most cases the U.S. ambassador is now as much a "chief commercial officer" for American business interests as they are a diplomat. "We might have been a little bit late to the game. The Europeans understood the crucial role of foreign trade in the growth and development of their economies before we did," Niles said. Wahba, the former UAE ambassador, concurred. "Oftentimes European ambassadors, that's all they're there for," she said, adding it would be hard to see the reason otherwise for some countries to have embassies in the first place. -Reuters
5
Sunday, March 6, 2010
Drug-resistant malaria could spread fast: experts Drug-resistant malaria could spread from southeast Asia to Africa within months, putting millions of children's lives at risk, a leading expert warned on Wednesday. Nicholas White, professor of tropical medicine at Mahidol University in Bangkok, called for a war before it is too late on the malaria strain resistant to the drug artemisinin that first emerged along the ThaiCambodian border in 2007. This longer-to-treat form of malaria is suspected of breaking out along the Thai-Myanmar frontier and in a province of Vietnam, where tests are under way to confirm it, but the great fear is of it reaching Africa. "It is a time bomb, it is ticking. It has the potential of killing millions of African children," White told Reuters. A migrant worker who doesn't even show symptoms could spread the resistant parasite beyond Asia, he said. "It could be a Chinese worker acting as an adviser in Cambodian forests who then hops on a plane to Africa. It could go off at any minute." Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a $175 million annual plan to contain and prevent the global spread of the artemisininresistant parasite beyond the Mekong region. The WHO, which said last month the world could stop malaria deaths by 2015 with massive investment, called for faster research and development of new anti-malarial drugs. FIGHTING THE WAR But White, widely credited with helping to first identify the resistant form, called the WHO
plan "somewhat anodyne." "I think we should fight this as a war. We are too fractured as a community," he told an experts meeting at WHO headquarters. "What seems to be lacking is a sense of
urgency. People talk in terms of years. I think we should be thinking in terms of months. Time is crucial," he said. Artemisinin, derived from sweet wormwood, or the Artemisia annua plant, is the most potent drug available against malaria, especially when used in artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), which links it with other drugs. "ACTs are the gold standard. They are the most effective treatment for falciparum malaria, the most deadly form of malaria," WHO directorgeneral Margaret Chan said in a speech. "The
consequences of widespread resistance to artemisinins would be catastrophic." Resistance to previous generations of antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine spread from the same Mekong region to India and then Africa, killing millions, experts say. "This part of the world is the historical epicenter for the emergence of drugresistant malaria parasites. History tells us what to expect," Chan said. White agreed, telling Reuters: "There is a horrible, chilling parallel. It is not as if we haven't been warned." Malaria infects about 243 million people worldwide a year, causing an estimated 863,000 deaths, making it a major killer especially among African children. Yet few promising alternatives are available in the immediate research and development pipeline, a WHO report said. Some 5 million compounds are being screened as potential antimalarials, 20,000 of which show promise, according to Dr. David Reddy, the new CEO of the Medicines for Malaria Venture, a public-private drugs partnership. "That is how wide we have to cast the net in order to get a handful of drugs that will be tomorrow's medicines," he said. Swiss drugmaker Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis of France make the most widely-used ACTs, which treat 80 million and 45 million patients respectively a year, it said.-Reuters
Cell phone bad Pine bark extract improves kidney for pregnancy A A new study has suggested that pregnant mothers who use mobile phones regularly are likely to give birth to kids with behavioural problems, especially if those children start using mobile phones early themselves. The study enrolled nearly 100,000 pregnant women between 1996 and 2002, with the intention of tracking their kids' long-term health. T h e mothers supplied detailed information on t h e i r lifestyle, dietary and environmental factors during and after pregnancy. When their child r e n reached the age of 7, the mums were quizzed again about their and their kids' health, including behaviour, which were scored using validated assessments. They were also asked to provide details of their mobile phone use during pregnancy and their kids' mobile phone use. In the new group, more than a third (35 per cent) of the 7-year-olds were using a mobile phone compared with 30 per cent of the previous group. And whereas around one in 10 children of the previous group were jointly exposed to mobile phones
before and after birth, this applied to 17 per cent of the new group. In both groups, around 3 per cent of children were considered to have borderline behavioural problems, and similar proportions were categorised as exhibiting abnormal behaviour. Children in both groups exposed to mobile phones before and after birth were 50 per cent more likely to have behavioural probl e m s , after taki n g account of a wide range of influential factors. Those exposed t o mobile phones before b i r t h o n l y were 40 per cent more likely to have behavioural problems, while those with no prenatal exposure but with access to them by the age of 7 were 20 per cent more likely to exhibit abnormal behaviours. "Although it is premature to interpret these results as causal, we are concerned that early exposure to cell phones could carry a risk, which, if real, would be of public health concern given the widespread use of this technology," the researchers concluded.
new study has revealed that Pycnogenol, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, improves kidney function in patients with metabolic syndrome. In patients with metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and blood glucose gradually impair kidney function, which in turn affects the organ's ability to filter waste from the body. "The results of this study demonstrate Pycnogenol's ability not only to control hypertension, but also to restore kidney function in those impacted by metabolic syndrome. Surprisingly, people taking Pycnogenol not only demonstrated lower blood glucose levels, but also significant weight loss during the six months, yielding optimistic results for managing this condition," said Dr. Peter Rohdewald, a lead researcher of the study. The controlled study carried out at the Nephrology Unit at the L'Aquila Hospital in Italy investigated 58 hypertensive patients who presented all of the criteria for diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, as defined by the World Health Organization: hypertension, high blood lipids, high fasting blood glucose and obesity. Furthermore, all patients showed early signs of kidney problems as judged by elevated amounts of proteins (albu-
min) present in their urine. Patients were divided into two groups and instructed to follow a healthier lifestyle with dietary improvements, moderate exercise and effective management of health risk factors. Both groups were treated with anti-hypertensive medication Ramipril, taking a standard dosage of 5 mg twice a day, with one group of 31 patients taking Pycnogenol in addition to the medication. In the group taking Pycnogenol, 50 mg Pycnogenol tablets were taken three times a day, a total dosage of 150 mg of Pycnogenol per day. Urine was collected during a 24-hour period for quantification of the protein albumin in the urine at baseline and again after six months of treatment. Fasting blood was drawn for standard b l o o d analysis. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were monitored in the morning. "The number of people affected by metabolic syndrome is ever increasing and kidney disease is a growing concern. Pycnogenol cannot compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle, but certainly offers some urgently needed help. Our study suggests that essentially all major characteristics of metabolic syndrome are improved with Pycnogenol as part of a healthier lifestyle," said Rohdewald.
BP meds may help some people without high BP A
thorough look at the medical evidence suggests people who've had a stroke or a heart attack might benefit from taking blood pressure medications, even if they don't have high blood pres-
sure. Researchers found that for every 1,000 people taking the drugs in clinical trials, on average 15 fewer died from heart disease than when the patients got dummy treatment. But the new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, can't tease out why that is, and experts say it's too soon to change treatment recommendations. "We are not advocating putting everybody on these drugs," said Dr. Lydia Bazzano of Tulane University in New Orleans, who led the work. "There are plenty of well-known side effects," she added. "That's why it's important to go to your doctor and talk about whether the benefits would outweigh the risks for you." About a third of adult Americans have high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Heart disease, in turn, is the leading killer worldwide and causes about a third of all deaths in the U.S.
Guidelines currently advise lifestyle changes such as losing weight and cutting back on salt for people with high blood pressure. If that doesn't work, doctors may try drugs such as diuretics ("water pills"), beta blockers or ACE inhibitors. What is still a matter of debate, however, is whether these drugs also benefit people whose blood pressure hasn't reached the cut-off point of 140 over 90. Bazzano's team pooled 25 earlier studies which included more than 64,000 patients with a history of stroke, heart attack or heart failure, but without high blood pressure. Study participants were in their 50s or 60s and were followed for about five years at the most. They received either a blood pressure medication -- for instance, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, or calcium channel blockers -- or a dummy pill. Across the board, the drugs were linked to drops in heart disease and death. For every 1,000 people who took them, for example, there were eight fewer strokes, 13 fewer heart attacks 44 fewer heart failures and 14 fewer deaths overall. Angela Thompson of Tulane, who also worked on the study, said the new findings show people with heart disease might benefit from blood pressure medications regardless of their blood pressure. But she stopped short of recommending the drugs before more studies have been done. "It's a launching point for further discussion," she told Reuters Health. "It's possible that if we are missing a study or two it could change the results." The Tulane researchers said blood pressure treatment could cost anywhere between $50 and thousands of dollars annually, depending on the drugs used. Dr. Franz Messerli, who heads the high blood pressure program at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, was critical of the new study. He said beta blockers and ACE inhibitors are already recommended for people who've survived a heart attack or have heart failure -- not because they lower blood pressure, but because they protect the heart. An example of a beta blocker is AstraZeneca's Tenormin; Pfizer's Accupril is an ACE inhibitor. "It seems to me that the authors missed the boat to some extent," Messerli said. "We don't need to get the blood pressure involved at all." Because the new analysis pools earlier studies of different drugs, it's unclear what role specific drugs play. Assuming they all work is not warranted, according to Messerli. "That is speculation that is not substantiated by the data," he said, adding that the drugs might also cause side effects -- a problem the new work did not address. "Beta blockers are not well tolerated, they cause nightmares, depression, fatigue and sexual dysfunction," said Messerli. "If you lower blood pressure too much, you risk a substantial increase in heart attacks." An editorial in the journal also strikes a cautious note. "Because many patients could potentially begin taking medications at young ages and for many years to prevent cardiovascular events, even modest costs and adverse effects need to be considered," write researchers from the Ochsner Institute in New Orleans and the University of Queensland School of Medicine in Brisbane, Australia.-Reuters
Rising status of women linked to more smoking M
illions of women in developing countries risk disease and early death in the coming decades as their rising economic and political status leads them to smoke more, researchers said on Tuesday. An analysis in 74 countries found that men are five times more likely to smoke than women in countries with lower rates of female empowerment, such as China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda. In countries with relatively high female empowerment, such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the United States, this gap is small and women smoke almost as much as men do. Douglas Bettcher, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco free initiative, said the findings showed the need for authorities to act quickly to curb
smoking rates among women, particularly in poorer countries. "The tobacco epidemic is still in its early stages in many countries but is expected to worsen," he said in a statement with the study, which was published in the WHO Bulletin. "Strong tobacco control measures such as bans on tobacco advertising are needed to prevent the tobacco industry from targeting women." Tobacco kills up to half its users and is described by the WHO as "one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced." The annual death toll linked to tobacco is more than five million, experts say, and could rise
beyond eight million by 2030 unless action is taken to control
The study estimated that men smoke nearly five times as much as
smoking.
women worldwide, but the ratios of
female-to-male smoking prevalence rates vary dramatically. In China, for example, 61 percent of men are reported to be current smokers, compared with 4.2 percent of women, while in many rich nations roughly equal numbers of men and women smoke. Women's empowerment is measured by the United Nations Development Program using data such as representation in parliament, voting rights and comparisons of male and female income. "Our study makes a strong case for implementing gender-specific tobacco control activities ... such as more higher tobacco
taxes, more prominent graphic health warnings, smoke-free laws, and advertising and promotion bans," said Geoffrey Fong from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, who led Tuesday's study. His coauthor Sara Hitchman said authorities should look closely at "the ways in which the tobacco industry is capitalizing on societal changes to target women, such as marketing cigarettes to women as a symbol of emancipation." The two authors also said a useful step could be to monitor how price and tax measures affect uptake of smoking among women in countries where tobacco is not yet widely used by them. "Further research into patterns of uptake could help governments take more effective action and reduce adoption rates for smoking among women in the future," said Hitchman.-Reuters
6
International
Sunday, March 6, 2011
ARAB REVOLUTION COULD TRIGGER FOREIGN INVESTMENT BOOM * MIDEAST POLITICAL CHANGE COULD DRAW IN MORE FOREIGN CAPITAL * STATES COULD DIVEST EQUITY SALES, OPEN UP MARKETS * INVESTORS EYE FINANCIAL SERVICES, TOURISM SECTORS
U
nnerving as it is, the tide of political change sweeping the Arab world may also end up drawing in a fresh wave of foreign capital for the region. As entrenched monopolies and patronage give way in the Middle East and North Africa, governments in the region could open their markets further and divest some state assets. Wealthy Gulf states such Kuwait and Qatar have little cause to sell, but post-revolutionary states in the region such as Tunisia will likely lower protectionist barriers as they seek to accelerate income redistribution for their restive citizenry. The triumph of free marketoriented democracy is far from certain however. After decades of autocratic rule, political parties are only just reforming in Egypt and Tunisia while an uprising inLibya is proving bloody and protracted. But greater access to markets in an oil-rich region with a youthful population is a tantalising prospect for investors. "It's too early to work out how these revolutions will pan out. But this crisis is going to reveal some opportunities as structures linked to old regimes will be unwound," said Julian Mayo, investment director at Charlemagne Capital. Large-scale privatisation will be off the agenda, with the oil and gas sector especially taboo. Instead, sectors such as financial services, telecoms and tourism could be liberalised.
"Foreign investment has been high in the region but what was lacking was conviction that change was happening fast enough. Market liquidity was low as stocks were tightly held," said Luca de Conte, Director Capital Markets at GMP Europe. Cashing in on state-held equity in publicly traded companies is an obvious way to boost foreign investment. Thomson Reuters Ownership data show regional governments holding stakes worth $320 billion in publicly traded firms, either directly or through rulers and sovereign funds. The figures exclude Tunisia, where many companies were privately held by the extended family of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. UNTANGLING TIES Tunisia's interim government have said these assets, which include firms in key sectors such asmining and tourism, will be recovered. Many are likely by disposed through direct sales or stock market listings, said Tunis-based brokerIssam Ayari. "The government isn't keen on nationalisation. Transparency will be important as well as gaining technical expertise." To tackle unemployment, the next government will also want to redouble efforts to attract foreign investment, which contributed to a mere 6 percent of Tunisia's gross domestic product in 2008 before the onset of the financial crisis. Foreign investors in the region
have had a mixed reception. High profile successes include Toronto-based PotashCorp's 2003 purchase of a 28-percent stake inArab Potash Co, which is still majority owned by the Jordanian ruler. On the other extreme end is Algeria, where the economy remains dominated by the state. A local mobile phone unit is being nationalised after a tax dispute between its Egyptian owner Orascom Telecom and the government. Egypt has been one of North Africa's more open economies. But even there, it remains to be seen if the army -- the only pillar of the establishment to survive the popular revolt against President Hosni Mubarak -- will willingly relinquish control of a swathe of businesses that range from olive-oil production to vehicle manufacturing. "Prospects of these firms being privatised are very low as they are huge money-makers for the military," notes Byran Plamondon, senior MENA economist at IHS Global Insight. LIBYAN PROMISE For incoming leaders, maintaining social cohesion while attracting foreign investment will be a careful balancing act. State-owned Tunisie Telecom last month cancelled plans for a joint listing on the Paris and Tunisstock exchanges amid the threat of industrial action by the company's workers. "State-owned companies are an important source of employment. Privatisations and other
economic reforms often involve laying off people," said Okan Akin, an RBS strategist. Ironically, Libya -- scene of the most violent of the regional upheavals so far -- is also seen as the most promising. Until recent disruptions, it was the world's 12th largest oil exporter. Analysts say its economy could take off if stability returns without substantial damage to the oil and gas infrastructure that generates the bulk of
national revenues. "The economy is not as advanced as the rest of North Africa, so from an investment standpoint, it could be the most attractive due to the low-base effect," said David Damiba, who heads Renaissance Asset Management's Africa investment team. Libya attracted strong investor interest when decades of Western sanctions were lifted in 2004.
France's BNP Paribas took a minority stake in a local bank when banking rules were eased and investors still see potential in the banking and insurance sector. "When you have an economy moving from socialist dictatorship to full-fledged free market, the spider in the web of that transformation will be the banks," said Bjorn Englund, who runs an investment fund focused on Iraq. -Reuters
Russia Must Resist Oil Lure To Control Inflation R
ussia is basking in the glow of high oil prices, tempting politicians to spend more ahead of elections, but only the unpopular move of keeping a tight grip on the budget can cure voters' biggest worry -- high inflation. This poses a tough challenge for Alexei Kudrin, a 10-year veteran at the helm of the Finance Ministry whose prudent policies helped see Russia through the last economic crisis but won him many enemies amongst politicians who would rather lure voters with low taxes and high spending. Already, powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has delayed the decision on Russia's long-term economic strategy until after the election, putting off tough
decisions on whether to curb the budget deficit or stimulate domestic industry. Since the start of the year, Russia's Urals oil export blend has averaged $98 a barrel, 30 percent higher than planned in the budget. If that continues for the rest of the year, the state could earn an extra 1.5 trillion roubles ($53 billion). On the surface, that sounds like good news for the world's biggest producer, where the Economy Ministry estimates that each $10 increase in the price of oil translates into 0.5 percentage points of additional economic growth. But, in a turnaround from recession-hit 2009, inflation has once again overtaken unemployment as Russians' top concern, worrying nearly two-thirds of the popula-
tion according to independent pollsters Levada. And for fighting inflation, the mix of high oil prices and upcoming elections, is bad news. Although inflation is a global problem, prices in Russia are rising faster than in any of its BRIC emerging market peers, and almost twice as fast as in China. As an oil producer, Russia is less exposed than crude consumers to the direct shocks from energy prices. For it, the inflationary risk from oil comes instead from the extra cash that floods into the economy as it earns more from exports. "Coordination of fiscal and monetary policy will be critical. To the extent that both policies are pushing in the same direction, they may be able to keep a lid on
inflation and stop it from escalating into double digits," said Zeljko Bogetic, lead economist for Russia at the World Bank. "It will be wrong to relax the fiscal stance and go on a spending spree, but ... there is clearly a risk of this with high oil prices and the elections coming up." HARD REALITY VS PROMISES The central bank admits that it would be very tough to keep inflation on target, at no more than 7 percent this year after a severe drought pushed up the 2010 reading to 8.8 percent. It has turned its full arsenal against inflation, raising interest rates and reserve requirements and loosening its control on the rouble to allow faster currency appreciation. The full-scale
onslaught from the central bank -- even as seasonal trends allow a fall in monthly inflation in February -could signal that it is aware of the price pressures that may soon emerge from preelection pledges, said Julia Tsepliaeva, chief economist for Russia and CIS at BNP Paribas. Kudrin wants to cut borrowing by 500 billion roubles and stash away 700 billion roubles in the sovereign Reserve Fund. Putin has given his agreement, but at the same time he has already started doling out promises of cash, like the pledge of 4 billion roubles of farm equipment subsidies. "The contradiction is ... between the national leader's wish to reach all the goals at the same time and
the hard reality," economists at the Development Centre think-tank in Moscow's influentialHigher School of Economics said in a report. The reality, argues Kudrin, is that by spending the extra oil cash Russia only strengthens its dependence on 'black gold' -- the very tie it has pledged to break to avoid becoming a hostage of commodity prices during the next global crisis. "We talk a lot about how we need to get rid of our oil and gas dependency. For now, we are not succeeding," Kudrin told an economic forum in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, lamenting his failure to persuade state monopolies to pay higher taxes or to push through a proposed increase in the pension age. Oil and gas accounted for
48 percent of 2010 budget revenues of 7.9 trillion roubles -- up from 37 percent 5 years earlier. Weaning Russia off this dependency by not spending the oil cash would be a painful process and one Putin is unlikely to risk given his popularity ratings have already started to edge lower from near-80 percent to the still respectable low70s. "In the past, Kudrin never succeeded in containing the budget and preventing the government from increasing spending at such a time," said Tsepliaeva at BNP Paribas. "Some waves of populism before elections are unavoidable and extra budget spending ahead of the vote is always inflationary." -Reuters
Dollar May Rise If Oil Threatens Global Growth T he dollar could benefit in coming months if political turmoil in Libyaspreads to other key oil exporters and accelerates the rise in crude prices to levels that could derail global economic recovery. Analysts say sustained high oil prices could prompt policymakers to focus on the negative impact of an oil shock on domestic consumption and demand, shifting from their fixation on the need to raise interest rates to ease inflationary pressures. This could support the dollar, often a safe haven during times of heightened economic and financial stress. Some analysts say oil prices may rise towards record highs seen in 2008 if the rebellion in Libyaspreads to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer.
Citi currency strategist Valentin Marinov said these worries may prompt investors to pick up dollardenominated assets, slowing the diversification flows away from the U.S. currency seen in past months. "If push comes to shove and we see full-blown risk aversion on geopolitical concerns, the diversification away from dollars could come to a stop and we could see an uptick in demand for Treasuries. We could see temporary dollar strength," he said. Brent crude has jumped more than 20 percent this year to nearly $120 per barrel as a rebellion against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has disrupted oil supplies. The dollar's failure to gain from higher oil prices sup-
ports the traditional, negative link between the two assets. But their 66-day rolling correlation could tighten if higher oil prices trigger worries about global growth and spurs demand for U.S. assets. The link strengthened in late 2008, after the Lehmancollapse spurred risk aversion, which boosted the dollar. "If we have an oil spike between here and $150, it would be largely inflationary, but at some point above $150 it would be deflationary because it would stall global demand," said Stephen Gallo,strategist at Schneider FX, adding the latter scenario would trigger some safe-haven demand for the dollar. Marinov at Citi said dollar demand could pick up even before oil hits an all-time
high of $147, as the global economy is much weaker than it was when prices were last at that level, making the dollar more vulnerable to inflation-related economic shocks. IMPACT ON COMMODITY FX The dollar has fallen to a four-month low versus a currency basket on expectations the Federal Reserve will lag other central banks in raising interest rates. This would extend the dollar's yield disadvantage to the euro, sterling and others. Some in the market say concern the U.S. central bank is not doing enough to deal with inflation risks has largely excluded the world's most liquid currency from the buying stampede that often results when geopolitical concerns escalate.
"In the past six months the U.S. has expanded monetary policy and fiscal policy into an inflation shock. That doesn't really tick many boxes of a safe-haven currency," said Jonathan Webb, currencystrategist at Bache Commodities. Another black mark against the dollar is the ballooning U.S. deficit, which could limit any possible upside. To some, the recent oil rally has underlined the need for tighter Fed policy, but Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said his focus is on growth and that higher oil prices are unlikely to hurt the economy unless sustained. With the dollar's safehaven status dented, investors seeking to scale back exposure to risk have picked up the Swiss franc
and the yen. But even as the franc -- a traditional safe-haven currency -- has soared to an alltime high versus the dollar, equities have climbed since the start of the year, suggesting the MENA issue has yet to chill overall risk demand. At the same time, currencies of oil exporters, including the Canadian dollar and Norwegian crown, have rallied, despite their tendency to suffer during periods of general risk aversion. Some analysts argue commodity-linked currencies, which also include the Australian and New Zealand dollars, are not a guaranteed hedge against higher oil prices, given their performance following the past three major oil shocks. JPMorgan research shows the Australian and New
Zealand currencies fell versus the U.S. dollar in the year after the 1973 Yom Kippur war, the 1979 Iranian revolution and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, after global growth deteriorated in all three cases. The Canadian dollar rallied after 1973 and 1979, although the U.S. recession which followed the 1990 shock ultimately weakened the currency. The Norwegian crown only outperformed the German mark after the Yom Kippur war. An eventual slide in commodity currencies is expected to support the dollar, as could euro zone sovereign debt problems, which could sting the euro, and economic weakness in the UK due to government spending cuts.Reuters
7
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Daiichi buys Plexxikon for $805mn * Plexxikon developing PLX 4032 melanoma treatment with Roche * Daiichi may pay up to extra $130 mln in launch milestones * Daiichi may be overextending itself with purchase -analyst SHOHAM: Teva former CEO Eli Hurvitz is seen during a tour at the company's new distribution centre in Shoham. Reuters
37 pharma cos fined for price hike ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Health has issued notices and imposed penalty to 37 pharmaceutical companies on illegal raise in prices of medicines during the last few years. Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Mehreen Razzaque Bhutto said this while replying to a calling attention notice on Tuesday in the National Assembly regarding increase in the prices of medicines by the pharmaceutical companies. She said that action had been taken against such companies on the recommendation of price monitoring committee, constituted at federal
No #1
level. She said that since 2010 the government had not raised the priceof any medicine. However, in 2008 the government had to increase the prices of some medicines in order to protect weak pharmaceutical units. She said under Drugs Act there was a committee, consituted at the federal level, having representation of all stakeholders, including the officials of Ministry of Health and representatives of pharmaceutical companies and Pakistan Medical Association, to regularly review the price hike. The committee was responsible to examine any request by the respective
Continued from page 8
then it should be built, he underlined. Pace of revenue generation would have to be geared up to resolve the problems facing the people, he stressed. Agriculture sector would have to play its role in this respect, he maintained. It was to be decided by the party leadership who would go where, however what decision was taken by party leadership was accepted by him, he held. -Agencies
No #2
Continued from page 8
centuries to do. "The majority of these rulers are not dictators. These are countries with their own history and cultures. Who are we to lecture? We must treat these countries with respect." The people who want all unelected leaders to go should remember Iran, Duncan said. -Agencies
No #3
Continued from page 8
The programs / activities being launched / conducted to improve their health status, strengthening of monitoring & evaluation systems, including District Health Information system, LHW management information system and surveillance systems, evidence based planning and appropriate / efficient use of resources based on internationally recognized models to reach the MDGHs with equity. He further informed that strengthening of disaster management capacity of the all stakeholders including government departments are also part of the plan. He further said that although some of the activities will be at provincial level and some will be conducted in all districts but most of the activities will be done in the most neglected southern districts of Punjab, including Rajanpur, DG Khan, Mianwali, and Bhakkar. -Agencies
No #4
Continued from page 8
Nawaz Sharif said that Sindh is becoming strong den of PMLN because many Sindhis have started to join PML-N. -Agencies
No #5
Continued from page 8
But at the gates of the coastal city, 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, Gaddafi's forces appeared to be in control and preparing to launch a new offensive. Reinforcements were sent in by Gaddafi, al-Jazeera reported, citing rebels in Zawiyah. Reporters' access to central Zawiyah was completely blocked. But residents said government tanks had fired at residential buildings and cars and that many civilians were killed, although they could not give a total. "More than 30 people have been killed today. The majorities were civilians," the doctor, who runs a field medical clinic in the center of Zawiyah, told Reuters by phone. The noise of speakerphones inciting rebels to keep on fighting could be heard through the phone. Residents said they were bracing for another attack. The doctor said that early on Saturday Gaddafi's tanks fired at residential buildings and civilian cars trying to flee. Another resident said the bodies of eight people had been taken to the mosque for burial. Rebels said that early on Saturday they had managed to push Gaddafi's forces back and capture two tanks from the army. -Reuters
pharmaceutical company regarding increase in the price of medicines . She said,"the committee takes decisions in a fair andtransparent manner on purely merit. There is a proper mechanism of registration of drugs in the country under 1976 Drugs Act". She added that the ministry had appointed drugs inspectors and established drug laboratories to check whether registered medicines were being sold in the markets or not besides check on their prices. She dispelled the impression that medicines being sold in the local markets were costlier than those in the
neighbouring country. She, however, said that there was a little difference in the prices of medicines of multi-national companies. She said that not a single registered drug was spurious and Illegal channels were being used to sell spurious medicines. However, the government was making allout efforts to stop any such illegal business, she added. She said that quality medicines were being manufactured in the country which were also being exported. She added that thegovernment was providing free medicines to the deserving patients in hospitals. -APP
Continued from page 8
likely to generate, it does seem that they are paying a bit too much," said Masayuki Onozuka, pharmaceuticals analyst at J.P. Morgan. "And while it's fine to do M&A and strengthen their cancer pipeline -- everyone else is doing it -- it's debatable as to whether they are going to be that competitive, and given all their other areas they need to reinforce, it does seem strategically that they are overdoing it." Daiichi Sankyo is currently grappling with slow sales for its blood thinner Effient, once touted as a potential blockbuster drug that it has developed with Eli Lilly, and its majority controlled Indian generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories swung to a fourth-quarter loss as operating expenses rose. Even among Japanese drugmakers which were slow to develop theircancer pipelines, Daiichi Sankyo has been a laggard, with rivals having spent far more on bigger U.S. biotechs. In recent years, Japan's biggest drugmaker Takeda
Pharmaceutical bought Millennium Pharmaceuticals for about $9 billion, Astellas Pharma purchased OSI Pharmaceuticals for $4 billion while Eisai Co Ltd acquiredMGI Pharma for $3.9 billion. Aside from PLX4032, Daiichi also has ARQ 197, a lung cancer treatment in Phase III trials, which it is developing with Arqule Inc, and it bought Germancancer firm U3 Pharma AG in 2008 for 150 million euros, giving it a variety of early-stage antibody programmes with the potential to treat breast, lung and colorectal cancers. Plexxikon is also conducting Phase I studies of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and metastatic cancer. The acquisition is subject to anti-trust approval in the United States. The names of financial advisers were not disclosed. Shares of Daiichi ended up 0.4 percent at 1,759 yen after the announcement, in line with a 0.6 percent rise in Japan's pharmaceuticalssubindex. Reuters
ship with Pakistan, Krishna said. "We would like to have friendly relations with them (Pakistan), cordial relationship with them and I think a firm foundation is being set for that". -Agencies
No #8
Continued from page 1
"For this fiscal year, we will try to not let the fiscal deficit go beyond 5 per cent," Finance Minister said, added "this might not be possible but we will try our best." The budget deficit for the six months ending December 31 was 2.9 per cent of GDP. Analysts say Pakistan's 2010/11 budget deficit could widen to as much as 8 per cent, higher than the central bank's forecast of between 6.0 and 6.5 per cent if fiscal reforms are not implemented. The IMF team is in Pakistan conducting a review of the economy for the possible release of the sixth tranche of an $11 billion loan programme agreed in November 2008. Policy level talks are expected to start on Monday. The IMF has said Pakistan must end subsidies and raise taxes, including implementing changes such as a reformed general sales tax (RGST). "If the approval of RGST takes a lot of time, then yes other steps would have to be taken," said Shaikh. LEIDEN: Dutch-based biotech firm Prosensa's researchers work on developing, possibly the world's first The government introduced a bill in the National Assembly last treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy disease (DMD), at their new laboratory in Leiden.-Reuters November on RGST, but the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government faces fierce opposition. Critics say it will fuel inflation and Therefore both the lawyers boycotted the hearing under protest and returned. On the other hand Superintendent Jail Mohsin Rafiq was of the view that the Prosecutors wanted further deepen public frustrations. Earlier, Chairman SECP Mohammad Ali in his speech called for to enter into jail with security, therefore, they were not allowed to do so. -Online encouraging new listing, development of debt market and comContinued from page 1 No #12 modity market. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar confirmed the meeting took place but refused to comHe urged the government to borrow from debt market and called ment on details of the discussion. for early passage of Demutualisation Act from the Parliament. Meanwhile, two US law experts reached Lahore on Saturday to provide legal assistance to double Chairman KSE Board Muneer Kamal urged the Minister to look into the possibility of reducing mark up rates to lower financial murder-accused CIA contractor Raymond Davis. According to US embassy sources, the American experts will meet Davis at Kot Lakhpat jail. cost in the country. The law experts will also hold a meeting with the families of the victims- Faizan and FaheemActing Managing Director KSE Haroon Askari said that lack of leverage products was the major cause behind low volumes in the whom Davis had shot dead in Lahore on January 27. The experts will also review the legal issues concerned with Davis trial. On March 14, a Lahore market for the past year. He pointed out that default rules have been changed to make court will decide whether the US official enjoys diplomatic immunity.-Agencies players more responsible. Continued from page 1
No #13
No #9
Continued from page 1
said Mr. Samir Ahmed in the press communiquĂŠ NCEL, as the country's first and only commodities and futures exchange, offers a platform where growers, producers, processors, traders, exporters, importers and investors can trade with ease. By providing a transparent and regulated market, it enables proper price discovery and enables participants to invest and hedge themselves against the price volatility of agriculture and non-agriculture commodities. NCEL is the Pakistan's first and only de-mutualised commodity futures exchange with a 100percent institutional shareholding. The current share holders are: National bank of Pakistan, Pak Kuwait Investment Co, Zarai Taraqiati Bank and the three national stock exchanges. -NNI
No #10
Continued from page 1
Pamphlets were also discovered that had been addressed to the United Nations, US Secretary General, the US President, Indian included onions, tomatoes, sugar, gur, LPG(11 kg cylinder), gar- Prime Minister and the European Union and accused them of 'sabotaging' the recent floods across Sindh. lic, wheat flour (average quality), gram pulse (washed), mustard Two people were arrested while they were running away from oil and vegetable ghee (loose). -APP the house. Continued from page 8 No #7 The blast was low in intensity and resembled the blasts that took which is matter of great concern for India". place on railway tracks in across Sindh. -Agencies "We want the moderate forces in Pakistan, political forces in Continued from page 1 Pakistan to reassert themselves so that it will be easier for India to No #11 move closer to closer to Pakistan", he said. Chaudhry Azhar who had come there in connection with hearThe UPA government is "very particular" about India's relation- ing were stopped by jail administration from entering into jail.
No #6
TOKYO: Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo will buy privately held Plexxikon Inc of the United States for $805 million dollars, gaining a latestage melanoma treatment as it looks to bolster its fledglingcancer pipeline. Daiichi Sankyo will also pay up to an additional $130 million in launch milestones for the skin cancer drug PLX4032, currently in Phase III trials, which Plexxikon is jointly developing with Roche, and it will gain access toPlexxikon's promising technology platform. It will have co-promotion rights with Roche in the United States for PLX4032and plans to use its existing sales network, but Roche will have sole rights to market the drug in Europe. Some saw the purchase as expensive and worried that Daiichi Sankyo may be overextending itself. "Plexxikon has good technology and a quality pipeline so it is a decent target but given the co-promotion rights that Daiichi Sankyo got and the potential revenue PLX4032 is
In addition, the proceedings against four companies were closed with warnings, it added. It further said that about 42 investors' complaints were also resolved during the month. -APP
No #14
Continued from page 1
Manpower, Syed Naveed Qamar - Water and Power, Eng. Shaukatullah - Sports and Samina Khalid Ghurki - Women Development, and Hina Rabbani Khar - Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs Division. It pertinent to mention here that the Prime Minister had kept a number of portfolios to himself after the restructuring of the federal cabinet. The portfolios that he continues to retain are those of Foreign Ministry, Information Technology, Health and Ports and Shipping.-Agencies
No #15
Continued from page 1
on Saturday in a ceremony where Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh was the Chief Guest. Arif Habib also said that increased volumes would help the government in its privatization process. While commenting on the questions that are raised on the rules of the said products he said that these are the security measures in order to avoid any bubbles to be created. "In fact these rules are beneficial for the market", he added. Chairman Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Mohammad Ali also attended the ceremony. During his speech he called for encouraging new listing, development of debt market and commodity market. He urged the government to borrow from debt market and called for early passage of Demutualisation Act from the Parliament. Chairman KSE Board Muneer Kamal urged the Minister to look into the possibility of reducing mark up rates to lower financial cost in the country. Acting Managing Director KSE Haroon Askari said that lack of leverage products was the major cause behind low volumes in the market for the past year. He pointed out that default rules have been changed to make players more responsible.
www.asharys.net
For Subscription
Manager Circulation Ahmad Omer
1.Classic News Agency Abdul Mutalib Ph: 0333 -230 07 66 2. E-mail at subscribe@thefinancialdaily.com, 3.SMS us at 0322-260 2 838 4. Contact Phone: 35 31 18 93 - 6
Italian Kitchens Karachi
Lahore
tel: 92(21)5860794-5
tel: 92(42)5694061-2
8
Sunday, March 6, 2011
RIAZ NEWS AGENCY Cell # 0333-5373137
SHAKIL NEWS AGENCY Cell # 0333-4400472
President Zardari writes for Washington Post
United action urged to win war on terror Minor political issues should be overlooked, says President
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan speaking during a meeting with foreign media representatives. -APP
Arab unrest may double oil price LONDON: The price of a barrel of crude could double if the unrest in the Arab world deteriorates, oil trader turned British international development minister Alan Duncan warned Saturday. Duncan, who has 30 years' business experience in the Gulf, told that the price of a barrel of crude could top $200 (140 euros), well above the record high of $147 reached in July 2008. If extremists used the instability in the Arab world to bomb oil tankers, pipelines or Saudi reserves, prices could even hit $250 a barrel, Duncan said. Analysts fear such highs could trigger another recession in Britain. "I've been saying in government for two months... $200 is on the cards if this goes wrong,
Inflation up 0.16pc WoW ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), for the week ended on 3 March, for the lowest income group up to Rs3000, has registered increase of 0.16 percent over the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 297.61 points as against 297.14 points registered in the previous week, according provisional figures of Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). SPI for the combined group registered increase of 0.80 per cent as it went up from 282.62 points in the previous week to 284.88 points in the week under review. As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 16.73 per cent. As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs3001-5000, Rs5001-12000 and above Rs.12000 increased by 0.19 per cent, 0.34 per cent and 1.28 per cent respectively. During the week under review average prices of 10 items registered decrease, while that of 20 items increase with the remaining 23 items' prices unchanged. The items which recorded decrease in their average prices during the week under review See # 6 Page 7
India wants moderate forces in Pak BANGALORE: India today expressed concern that "saner voices are being silenced" in Pakistan and said New Delhi wants moderate and political forces to reassert themselves in that country so that it becomes easier for both the countries to move closer, media reported. Asked if India is concerned by increasing fundamentalism in Pakistan in the context of assassination of Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, "We feel that saner voices are being silenced in Pakistan, See # 7 Page 7
if anyone is reckless and foments unrest. All I'm predicting is danger," said Duncan. "It could be very serious. If crude oil doubles, you're going to have a very serious spike (in petrol prices). Try living without it for a week." The British government is under pressure over the price at the pumps, with 63 percent of the cost going to the exchequer. If the worst happened, current prices of #1.30 ($2.10, 1.50 euros) a litre at the pump "could look like a luxury", Duncan said, warning of #4 a litre. "A Twittered-up generation now has massive power. All Arab countries are moving on. But they are all different," he said. "The powers are shifting but you can't do it overnight. We are asking them to do at the flick of a switch what we took See # 2 Page 7
Pakistan needs dams, says Qureshi LAHORE: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said if there are differences on Kalabagh dam then other dams could be built. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said this while talking to media men here Saturday. "Pakistan urgently needs dams. Pakistan lacks several dams under River Indus System and Kalabagh dam is one among them. Dams can be built at many locations other than this where electricity can also be generated besides storage of water. Focus should be placed on other dams rather than debating over Kalabagh dam. It is not sanity to debate over Kalabagh dam only. We have spent 30 years on this debate", he remarked. If political consensus was developed on Kalabagh dam See # 1 Page 7
WASHINGTON: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that if Pakistan and the United States wanted to win the war against terrorism, they would have to overlook the minor political issues. In an article for a US newspaper, Washington Post, the president wrote that sentiments of Pakistani people should not be hurt because it breeds anti-US feeling in the country. Stopping the aid, pledged under the Kerry-Lugar Bill, due to Raymond trial in Pakistan would be unwise and will undermine US strategic interests in South and Central Asia. In an incendiary environment, hot rhetoric and dysfunctional warnings can start fires that will be difficult to extinguish. He said that extremists in Pakistan went after democratic system, whenever they got the chance of politicising issues,
similar to the case of Raymond. The president urged the international powers to be patient and trust in Pakistani government strategy of uprooting militancy. It is finding a solution to this internal debate within Islam about democracy, about human rights, about the role of women in society, about respect for other religions and cultures, about technology and modernity - that shall shape future relations between Islam and the West", he wrote. President wrote "Our nation is pressed by overlapping threats. We have lost more soldiers in the war against terrorism than all of NATO combined. We have lost 10 times the number of civilians who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Two thousand police officers have been killed. Our economic growth was stifled by the prior-
ities of past dictatorial regimes that unfortunately were supported by the West. The worst floods in our history put millions out of their homes. The religious fanaticism behind our assassinations is a tinderbox poised to explode across Pakistan. The embers are fanned by the opportunism of those who seek advantages in domestic politics by violently polarizing society. We in Pakistan know our challenges and seek the trust and confidence of our international allies, who sometimes lose patience and pile pressure on those of us who are already on the front lines of what is undeniably a long war. Instead of understanding the perilous situation in which we find ourselves, some wellmeaning critics tend to forget the distinction between courage and foolhardiness.
We are fighting terrorists for the soul of Pakistan and have paid a heavy price. Our desire to confront and deal with the menace in a manner that is effective in our context should not become the basis for questioning our commitment or ignoring our sacrifices, the President wrote. If Pakistan and the United States are to work together against terrorism, we must avoid political incidents that could further inflame tensions and provide extremists or opportunists with a pretext for destabilizing our fledgling democracy. Raymond Davis incident in Lahore, which directly resulted in the deaths of three Pakistani men and the suicide of a Pakistani woman, is a prime example of the unanticipated consequences of problematic behavior. -Online
ECP gives final touches to EMBs ISLAMABAD: Ishtiak Ahmed Khan, Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) presided here Saturday meeting to finalise arrangements for holding Conference of heads of election management bodies (EMBs) of SAARC members states in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by Muhammad Afzal khan, Joint Secretary (Budget), Imtiaz Alam, Joint Secretary (Admn), Shaikh Jalil Ahmed, Deputy Secretary (Elections), Qazi Khurshid Ahmed, Deputy Secretary (Budget), and Shabbir Ahmed, Deputy Country Director, Qazi Saleem Akhtar, Senior Electoral and Legal Officer, Col (Retd) Ejaz Ahmed, Senior Electoral Reforms Officer of International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) besides senior officers of the ECP.Finishing touches were given to the programme and agenda of the Conference to be held in Islamabad on 17th & 18th May 2011.The Conference will discuss Strategic Planning for EMBs, Consultation of EMBs with the Electoral Stake Holders, Independence and Financial Autonomy of EMBs, Importance of accurate Electoral Rolls for credible elections, Challenges for fair Delimitation and their solutions would be discussed by the Chief Election Commissioners of member states. The Chief Election Commissioners of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh have so far, confirmed their participation in the Conference while response from India, Bhutan and Afghanistan is expected soon. -NNI
Punjab, Unicef ink $17mn work plan LAHORE: Health Department, Government of the Punjab and UNICEF signed a two years work plan (201112with a planned budget of $17.72 million, here on Saturday, this work plan is based on the agreement of cooperation between Government of Pakistan and Unicef. According to handout issued here Saturday, major focus of this work plan is to address the key issues related to timely achievement of MDGs particularly goals of child and maternal health & nutrition. In this connection, Secretary Health
Punjab Fawad Hassan Fawad informed that main interventions of the work plan will include strengthening of immunization programme including polio eradication, provision of basic and comprehensive maternal & child health care, including essential & emergency new born care, 24/7 emergency obstetric care, integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses, prevention of parent to child transmission of HIV etc, prevention and treatment of maternal & child malnutrition, including community management of acute malnutrition. See # 3 Page 7
CoD guarantees progress: Sharif KOT GHULAM MUHAMMAD: Quaid PML-N Nawaz Sharif said that if Charter of Democracy had been implemented then the country would have been placed on way of prosperity. Talking to delegation of PML-N Organizing Committee's members here at Model Town Lahore on Saturday, leader Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif said that if Charter of Democracy (CoD) had been implemented then the country would have been on way of prosperity. He further said that PML-N always tried to be sincere with PPP but
President Asif Ali Zardari did not reciprocate our gesture and finally we have decided to sack PPP Ministers from Punjab government and the masses are also in favor of the decision. He further reiterated that inflation, poverty, unemployment, exploitation and economic crunch have turned to worsening situation and the present government is looting the miserable nation with both hands. He said that PML-N is raising voice for rights of the poor and would redeem them from all sorts of problems. See # 4 Page 7
Thirty killed in Zawiyah, Libya TRIPOLI: At least 30 people, mostly civilians, were killed during fighting between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebels in the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday, a doctor in the town told Reuters. "More than 30 people have been killed. The majority were civilians," said the doctor, who runs a field medical clinic in the centre of Zawiyah. "This is the figure we are sure of but the death toll is higher," he added. Meanwhile, Forces loyal to Libyan Muammar Gaddafi retreated from the center of the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday after a fierce battle with rebels, a rebel spokesman said.
A doctor in Zawiyah told Reuters at least 30 people, mostly civilians, had been killed during the fighting, bringing to 60 the death toll from two days of battles for control of the coastal town. A Reuters' reporter on Zawiyah's outskirts said government forces had encircled the town and were manning checkpoints 3 km from the center. "They entered Zawiyah at six in the morning with heavy forces, hundreds of soldiers with tanks. Our people fought back. We have won for now and civilians are gathering in the square," rebel spokesman Youssef Shagantold Reuters. See # 5 Page 7
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.