International Karachi, Sunday, January 23, 2011, Safar-ul-Muzaffar 18, Price Rs12 Pages 8
Govt serious for GB uplift: Gilani
Ties with US on new heights: Pak
See on Page 8
Senate body divided over ministry shift
See on Page 8
Freedom of expression bill soon
See on Page 8
See Page 8 Economic Indicators Forex Reserves (15-Jan-11) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Dec 10) Exports (Jul 10-Dec 10) Imports (Jul 10-Dec 10) Trade Balance (Jul 10-Dec 10) Current A/C (Jul 10- Dec 10) Remittances (Jul 10 - Dec 10) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Dec 10) Revenue (Jul 10 Dec 10) Foreign Debt (Sep 10) Domestic Debt (Nov 10) Repatriated Profit (Jul- Nov 10) LSM Growth (Nov 10)
GDP Growth FY10E Per Capita Income FY10 Population
$17.28bn 14.61% $10.98bn $19.13bn $(8.15)bn $26mn $5.29bn $1.05bn Rs 638bn $58.41bn Rs 5348.6bn $287.9mn -4.69% 4.10% $1,051 174.95mn
Portfolio Investment
Finance minister set up committee for RGST
Rs100bn axed off uplift fund Printing notes to meet deficit will put economy at stake ket is of grave concern for the Pakistan but we could not do anything in this regard. Meanwhile, addressing the members of Overseas Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), Finance Minister said that the government will stick to its best national interest in dialogue with International Monetary Fund (IMF). Responding to a query at OICCI meeting regarding a news report that the government was planning to cut development expenditure by 50 per cent and scaling down revenue target to win over IMF, he said that it was in the national interest to stay on course with the reform programme. "It is in our own national interest to also fulfill our international commitment. We are continuing dialogue with IMF and they are our development partners", he added. However, he made it clear that the government will not com-
promise on national interests. "Our primary concern will remain the same. Do what is in our best national interest to become self reliant to domestic resources mobilisation to get back on our growth trajectory", he noted. Shaikh has announced to constitute a committee to resolve all the issues including income tax and sales tax refunds, facing members of Overseas Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). Responding to queries of OICCI members, he said that the committee consisting of OICCI members and senior officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will work till the redressal of all the issues. The committee will also look into the matters relating to the implementation of MoU between FBR and Pakistan Exploration and Production Companies Association (PEPCA). See # 1 Page 7
President, PM, Interior Minister meet
JC nominates Usmani as SC judge
Staff Reporter/ Agencies
SCRA(U.S $ in million)
194.97 -0.42 1.41 3057
Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 21-Jan-2011) Monthly(Dec, 2010 up to-21-Jan-2011) Daily (21-Jan-2011) Total Portfolio Invest (14 Jan-2010)
NCCPL (U.S $ in million)
FIPI (21-Jan-2011) Local Companies (21-Jan-2011) Banks / DFI (21-Jan-2011) Mutual Funds (21-Jan-2011) NBFC (21-Jan-2011) Local Investors (21-Jan-2011) Other Organization (21-Jan-2011)
0.28 0.43 2.21 -0.21 -0.56 -2.52 0.37
Global Indices Index
Close
Change
KSE 100
12,431.91
20.04
Nikkei 225
10,274.52
162.79
Hang Seng
23,876.86
126.84
Sensex 30
19,007.53
39.01
SSE COMP.
2,715.29
37.64
FTSE 100
5,896.25
28.34
Dow Jones
11,871.84
49.04
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)
$.Price PKR/Shares 2.60 111.45 18.50 158.60 2.00 42.87 1.70 36.44 11.03 37.82
Money Market Update T-Bills (3 Mths) T-Bills (6 Mths) T-Bills (12 Mths) Discount Rate Kibor (1 Mth) Kibor (3 Mths) Kibor (6 Mths) Kibor ( 9 Mths) Kibor (1Yr) P.I.B ( 3 Yrs) P.I.B (5 Yrs) P.I.B (10 Yrs) P.I.B (15 Yrs) P.I.B (20 Yrs) P.I.B (30 Yrs)
12-Jan-2011 12-Jan-2011 12-Jan-2011 29-Nov-2010 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011 22-Jan-2011
13.37% 13.50% 13.73% 14.00% 13.32% 13.62% 13.76% 14.09% 14.20% 14.22% 14.23% 14.26% 14.61% 14.81% 14.98%
Commodities Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 97.60 Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 89.11 Cotton $/lb 156.94 Gold $/ozs 1,341.00 Silver $/ozs 27.43 Malaysian Palm $ 1,220 GOLD (NCEL) PKR 37,965 KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 10,824
Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols
Buy (Rs)
Australian $ 84.50 Canadian $ 85.90 Danish Krone 14.00 Euro 116.20 Hong Kong $ 10.90 Japanese Yen 1.038 Saudi Riyal 22.85 Singapore $ 66.20 Swedish Korona 12.00 Swiss Franc 86.30 U.A.E Dirham 23.35 UK Pound 136.80 US $ 86.05
Sell (Rs)
85.50 86.90 14.70 117.70 11.00 1.138 23.05 67.20 12.10 86.90 23.55 138.00 86.40
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
84.66 86.05 15.53 115.74 11.01 1.035 22.85 66.59 12.90 88.73 23.33 136.55 85.73
84.86 86.25 15.57 116.01 11.03 1.037 22.91 66.75 12.93 88.94 23.39 136.87 85.92
Weather Forecast CITIES
ISLAMABAD KARACHI LAHORE FAISALABAD QUETTA RAWALPINDI
MAX-TEMP
20°C 29°C 22°C 22°C 12°C 21°C
MIN
2°C 11°C 4°C 7°C 1°C 3°C
Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com
www.thefinancialdaily.com
KARACHI: Government has blatantly slashed development budget allocated for greater good of the public by Rs100 billion but left untouched the project of constructing luxurious building within parliament lodges to be completed at a jaw dropping cost of Rs3 billion. Addressing the business community at Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce Industry (FPCCI), Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the country was facing very difficult challenges of rising oil prices, dire impact of floods on economy and deteriorating law and order situation. He said that development has brought down to Rs180 billion from Rs280 billion and hinted that there would be more cuts in the days to come. Shaikh said that government expenses would also be brought down added that rising oil prices in the international mar-
Khi operation gets Fed’s green-signal Staff Reporter/ agencies ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Approving a 'decisive operation' against elements involved in targeted killings in Karachi, President and Prime Minister have directed that peace must be restored in the city. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party's senior leadership at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Key ministers and the party's central leadership attended the meeting. See # 3 Page 7
LEAs empowered to act: Malik ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik has said that the Rangers and Police have been vested with powers to take action . He went on to say recent action in Orangi Town in Karachi was a law enforcement measure in the same context . See # 2 Page 7
Senate body seeks report on issue
Sacking of KESC workers paused MQM submits adjournment motion in Senate KARACHI: Decision regarding the dismissal of KESC employees has been put on hold after Governor House meeting here Saturday, and further progress will be made after committee recommendations. KESC's management had announced to sack all 4000 plus employees who have completed 25-year of service, but the sacked employees termed this decision as a brutal move from the administration and announced to resist it sternly. According to media reports, an important meeting regarding
the issue of KESC employees was held at Governor House Karachi among the KESC administration and Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad. It has told in the meeting that a special committee comprising of government officials has been set up with the consultation of CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and the committees will present its recommendations within three days to provincial government regarding the issue of the dismissal KESC employees and Stake holders. See # 9 Page 7
ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission in its meeting Saturday recommended elevation of Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, to the Supreme Court. The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The Commission also recommended appointment of Justice Mushir Alam as the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court. The meeting also discussed the regularization of the See # 8 Page 7
SECP Commissioner
Government ignores rules ISLAMABAD: The government is set to re appoint Tariq Ausaf Hussain as Commissioner Legal in the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for another three years. Legal experts termed the reappointment of Tariq Ausaf in violation of SECP rules. Section 7(3) of the SECP Act does not allow extension and appointment after the age of 62 years and Hussain has crossed that limit. He will celebrate his 63 birthday in March 2011. According to the sources, a summary for the extension of his service has already been forwarded to the PM Secretariat, which will be approved next week.-Agencies
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh addressing to members of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI).-APP
Fed cabinet is not being dissolved: Presidency
Right-sizing of Cabinet decided ISLAMABAD: Government has decided to undertake rightsizing of the Federal Cabinet, Federal Law Minister Babar Awan said here Saturday. "Government has also decided to bring about right sizing in the Federal Cabinet," Babar Awan said while talking to newsmen. He said the decision was taken at a meeting presided over by
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. It has been decided to reduce the number of ministers in the new Cabinet with a view to cut down government expenditures. The inclusion of existing ministers in the new cabinet will be made on the basis of their past performance. The decision was made in Pakistan People's
Stamp duty on realty reduced ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has reduced the stamp duty and registration fee for real estate investment trust (REIT) properties in Punjab and Sindh. A statement issued by the Commission here Saturday said that SECP has successfully secured concessional rates of stamp duty and registration fee for real estate investment trust (REIT) properties in Punjab and Sindh.
The stamp duty on REIT property purchases has been reduced from 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent in Punjab. On REIT property sales the duty has been cut from 2 to 1 percent, it added. It said that in Sindh the stamp duty on purchases has been reduced from 3 percent to 0.5 per cent and on sales it has been brought down from 3 per cent to 1 per cent. In both provinces, the registration free on purchases has See # 6 Page 7
Party's (PPP) Core Committee meeting. Meanwhile, Presidential spokesman on Saturday said that Federal cabinet will be cut. Talking to media Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that President and Prime Minster had not decided to dissolve the federal cabinet but it See # 10 Page 7
BB murder case
Saud, Shahzad
remand extended
Pemra under Cabinet Division
RAWALPINDI: A special antiterrorism court (ATC) on Saturday extended the physical remand of two former police officials, Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad, for ten days in Benazir Bhutto's murder case. According to a private TV, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) produced the accused before court and pleaded for a ten day extension in their physical remand. See # 4 Page 7
Govt plans to rein in Pemra
Weekly Inflation down 0.32pc
ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Shireen Arshad has recommended bringing Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) under Cabinet division. A meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, presided by Chairperson of the committee Belum Husnain was held here in Parliament House on Saturday.
During the meeting Shireen Arshad has proposed to make PEMRA under Cabinet division as against ministry of Information. During the meeting "Freedom of Information (Amendment) bill" moved by Dr Donya Aziz was reviewed. The minister of Information and broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira informed the committee that the present government also wanted amendments in Freedom of See # 7 Page 7
ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), for the week ended on January 20, for the lowest income group up to Rs3000, has registered a decrease of 0.32 per cent over the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 300.06 points as against 301.02 points registered in the previous week, according to provisional figures of Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). See # 5 Page 7
Pak, subject of talk with China, says USA WASHINGTON: With China being Pakistan's 'all-weather friend', Islamabad is part of America's ongoing dialogue with the Chinese leaders, the Obama Administration has said. "We do talk to China about Pakistan. Obviously, they're neighbors. They've got a relationship and a history. And so it is part of our ongoing dialogue with China," State Department
spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news conference. Pakistan and other regional issues did figure in talks between US President Barack Obama, and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, at the White House on Wednesday, but no details were available. "There was a detailed regional discussion. And I can't say specifically what every topic
that was part of the discussion between President Obama and President Hu Jintao together. But a lot of work was done with the respective teams," Crowley said in response to a question. "The joint statement is a reflection not only of what the presidents themselves discussed personally, but also what the presidents endorsed in terms of the policy understand-
ings that we have reached with China in a wide range of issues," he said. So one of the benefits of this kind of high-level meeting is that there is a lot of work that's done both in the preparation for the summit and then the summit and the endorsement by the leaders of the understandings that are achieved, then help inform our policies going forward, Crowley said.
"Certainly in this process there was a great deal of discussion on a wide range of regional issues, and it has informed what we'll be doing right now," he said. "For example, in the aftermath of the summit, you've got Deputy Secretary Steinberg going back out to the region to follow up on our discussion with our other partners in the Six-Party process.
So this gives you an example of the broad sweep of the preparation for this summit," he said. But I'm sure that the President Obama and President Hu Jintao did take note of a broad range of regional developments across the Asia-Pacific region, Crowley said when asked if South Asia came up for discussion between Obama and Hu early this week. -Online
2 ‘Livestock exports should be banned’ Staff Reporter KARACHI: The issues of livestock smuggling and authorities' nod to livestock export would be taken up to the federal government as the meat prices in the country are not going skyrocketing but leather industry's future has been threatened, this was stated by the Patron In-Chief and Chairman, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, S M Muneer on Wednesday. Senator and Chairman KITE Ltd, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, President and former chairman PTA, Gulzar Firoz, Chairman, KATI, Syed Johar Ali Qandhari, Former Chairman, KATI and President, PBIF, Mian Zahid Husain and Vice Chairman, PTA, Hamid Zahoor were also present on the occasion. Addressing to a reception hosted by Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) in his honour, Muneer said that it was a matter of serious concern that government is not taking any measure to curb massive smuggling of livestock to Iran and Afghanistan due to which prices of hides and skins have become so expensive locally due to shortage and the exporters are facing sheer difficulties in meeting export orders. "It's a height of anomaly that government has allowed unregulated export of livestock due to which massive smuggling is continuing under the garb of export", Muneer said adding that government should have to take immediate action to stop this menace in order to save country's second largest export sector. He also lamented the attitude of the EOBI Chairman, who is harassing the industrialists. He mentioned that EOBI chief has recently sealed a factory rendering many workers jobless.
Doctors demand protection KARACHI: Liaquat National Hospital doctors observed token protest Saturday against killings of over 70 doctors during past years across the country. Dr. Salman Faridi, Medical Director Liaquat National Hospital, expressed his sorrow and strongly condemned the recent assassination of Dr. Imran Wasih Haider who was targeted in front of Lyari General Hospital on his way home after finishing his duty. It is worth mentioning that during pas few years, more than 70 leading doctors were targeted and this story is being repeated again. Dr. Salman said that the doctors have been peacefully delivering their basic services towards the noble profession of health care. "However, current wave of violence directed at the medical community would not only affect the performance of doctors and paramedical staff but in turn would have a heavy charge on the overall quality of healthcare system of the country. Senior Faculty of LNH passed a resolution expressing their concerns that a peaceful community that caters need of both rich and needy had been targeted. They stressed upon providing the medical professionals complete protection as well as financial compensation to the families of the victims. They demanded of the government to punish killers of the doctors and to give them exemplary punishment.-Online
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Rauf orders cancellation of empty industrial plots KARACHI: Sindh Minister of Commerce and Industries has ordered to abolish legal section of SITE Ltd and instructed to concerned authority to hire services of a private legal firm and adjust and officials and staff of SITE legal section to any other department. In an urgent meeting at his office Rauf Siddiqui ordered to cancel all those industrial plots which had not established
industries since 10 years although they have take possession of these plots on the condition of the establish industries. Land grabbers are the big hurdle in industrial development in the province, we will not accept any pressure in this regard. He instructed the authority to take serious legal action against land grabbers in industrial zone with the help of Pakistan Rangers Sindh and Police. He
asked the officials and employees to perform thie duties honestly and said if any one was found guilty of corruption he will be terminated from service and strong legal action will take against him. Secretary industries Zameer Ahmed Khan, MD SITE Abdul Rasheed Solangi, DMD Technical Shams Uddin Sehto were also present in the meeting.-Online
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Tajikistan Zubaidullo Zabaidov called on the Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. -APP
REAP opposes increase by transporters TFD Report
KARACHI: Provincial Minister Shazia Marri snapped with participants of seminar on Pneumonia. -Staff photo
SYMPOSIUM TOLD
Pneumonia main killer of children under five Staff reporter KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Electric Power, Oil and Gas, Ms. Shazia Marri has said that the Government of Pakistan Peoples Party is fully determined to eradicate pneumonia, polio and other deadly diseases causing loss to the precious lives of children under five years or leaving them with disabilities and called upon the society to come forward and join hands with efforts of the government in this regard. This she said while addressing as chief guest to a symposium arranged by Advocacy Forum "United Against Pneumonia" here at local hotel Saturday. Women activists largely attended the symposium, which was organized with the collaboration of Media Women Publishers and journalists Organization. Marri said she was very much inspired by the attendance of women at a large level in the symposium and
now she can hope that our society will be saved from the damages of children's killer diseases. She said it is unfortunate for society that at present our media's priorities are lacking social issues and development of society and urged upon media people to focus social problems and educate society in right direction. Shazia Marri focused the efforts of present Government to eradicate polio from Pakistan and urged the need of large scale mass awareness campaign to save children from pneumonia, polio, measles, diphtheria other deadly diseases. She called upon literate women of country to come forward and play role to save children from these disease and build a stronger and egalitarian society on sustainable basis. She said the Government is fully prepared to not only face challenges in this regard but it is trying hard to deliver society with maximum possible opportunities in health
sector. Earlier, renowned medical practitioner Dr. Jamil Akhtar in his keynote speech, revealed that Pakistan is facing challenge of polio, pneumonia other diseases being a great threat to the lives of children mainly under five. He said that pneumonia is main death cause of children under five in Pakistan and there is dire need of collaborative efforts by society and the government to prevent our future generation from these killer diseases through immunization and other preventive measures and mass awareness. Among others, the chief of Advocacy Forum "United Against Pneumonia" Ms. Qurat-ulAin Marri, President Media Women Publishers and Journalists Organizations Ms. Qudsia Qadri addressed the symposium and stressed the need of collective and concrete efforts for socio-economic development of society.
Pak,Tajik to hold JMC at Dushanbe ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Tajikistan have agreed to organize fourth meeting of the Tajikistan-Pakistan Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) at Dushanbe from Feb 9-12. According to a press release issued here on Saturday, this was decided during a meeting held with Federal Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervez
Ashraf and Ambassador of Tajikistan Dr. Zubaydullo N. Zubaydov. Both, the Minister and the ambassador discussed the CASA-1000 power project, trilateral trade agreement among Pakistan-Afghanistan and Tajikistan, direct road link from Pakistan to Tajikistan via Wakhan, direct PIA flights from Pakistan to Tajikistan, visit of Tajik
President to Pakistan in March 2011 and various matters of bilateral cooperation to further enhance economic ties between the two countries. The Minister said that Pakistan attaches high priority to its historic relations with Tajikistan. He said the decision to be taken in the upcoming 4th JMC will open new vistas between two countries -Online
KARACHI: A Group photo of Khalid Tawwab, Mian Zahid, S M. Muneer, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khoro, Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and Shaikh Manzar Aalam taken at a dinner hosted in honour of S. M. Muneer by Chancellor Indus Institute Khalid Ameen at his residence. -Staff photo
KARACHI: Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has strongly opposed the current increase of transportation charges by the local transporters. Talking with news reporters, Chela Ram, the Acting Chairman of REAP said that common man is already facing huge problems in connection with the increased rates of food items and if no action taken against this unlawful practice to increase the charges exorbitantly without consulting stakeholders then it will result into very grave situation and the basic food items will be out of reach of common man. Elaborating further, he said the Shipping lines are also charging higher exchange rate of US dollar. He appealed to the Government of Pakistan to intervene in the matter and play its due role to prevent such harmful practices for the over all trade and take corrective measures to force the transporters to withdraw the current increase as well as the Shipping Lines to follow the State Bank rules so that trade may benefit.
IPDF,GIZ sign MoU ISLAMABAD: In an effort to promote energy efficiency and develop renewable energy projects through Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Pakistan IPDF and the GIZ have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining their plans to work together in strong coherence in terms of mutual exchange of information to promote Public-Private Partnerships, as well as explore new vistas to improve efficiency and effectiveness of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (REEE) in Pakistan. IPDF was represented by its CEO, Adil Anwar, while Bernhard Meyhoefer represented GIZ at the signing ceremony. The MOU between IPDF and the GIZ lays out plans for promoting renewable energy and energy efficient technologies through development of PPP projects, which includes Solar Thermal, Solar PV/LED lights, Solar/Energy Efficient Pumping and mini/microhydal projects and any other projects pertaining to energy sector in accordance with REEE programme and the Government policy concerning Public Private Partnership (PPP). Major stakeholders under this partnership include Government of Pakistan, as well as the Provincial Governments of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber PakhtoonKhwa. The partnership will also extend to project promotional and capacity building activities such as road shows and study trips.Online
ICCI chief for exploiting potential of IT sector ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is confronted with serious problems of unemployment AND poverty while Information Technology (IT) is one of the areas that can offer enormous opportunities for creating countless jobs and improving economy, thus government should give attention to promote and exploite the potential of IT sector. This was stated by Mahfooz Elahi, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry while addressing a meeting at ICCI. He said that country is facing a number of challenges for its economic revival, therefore, with other initiatives, IT industry should be flourished for technological advancement, generating revenues, reducing unemployment and poverty. He said that it was a
healthy sign that IT sector of Pakistan has shown marked improvement and it's ranking has gone up to 56th from 73rd last year. However, much more is desired to harness the full potential of this sector. Elahi was of the opinion that by tapping full potential of IT Pakistan can also grab a substantial share in the international IT market and enhance its exports as well. He said USA, Canada, Middle East, Malaysia, UK and other countries have outsourced many functions of their businesses to specialized firms as cost cutting measures and by providing costeffective services, Pakistan can realize the potential of outsourcing as well. He said that modern world economies of scale also greatly depend on IT
Seminar on EU trade concessions Staff Reporter KARACHI: Challenges pertaining to European Union (EU) trade concessions for Pakistan's Textile Industry were discussed at a seminar held at the Management Excellence Centre, Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Korangi Creek, Karachi. The highlights of this seminar, says a Press release of the IoBM Public Affairs Section, envisioned discussion on German assistance to the textile Industry of Pakistan, an overview of the European Union, politics of the MFN regime, challenges and trends in the textile Industry of
Pakistan in the EU perspective. The speakers at the seminar included Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Federal Advisor on Textile, Government of Pakistan; Zafar Mahmood, Secretary Commerce, Government of Pakistan; Tariq Puri, Chairman Trade Development Authority of Pakistan; Dieter Freund, Deputy Head of German Consulate in Karachi, Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmed Tahir, Chairperson, Area Study Centre for Europe, Karachi University and contributors to the interactive session from the host Institute. The seminar acknowledged EU supporting trade concessions for Pakistan.
as its usage can enhance the performance of almost every sector of economy by improving business processes, cutting costs and increasing productivity and emphasized that Pakistan should also think on these lines. President ICCI said that inadequate legal framework has been the main hindrance in proper growth of this sector, beside issues of IT infrastructure and finance and called upon the government to address these issues on priority to reap full benefits from a growing IT sector. Elahi said over the last two decades IT sector has employed over half a million youngsters in different capacities ranging from software developers, hardware engineers, Call Center operators and cable handlers etc. -Online
Ban on pillion riding extended TFD Report KARACHI: The Sindh Government has extended the ban on pillion riding for another seven days to ensure law and order in Karachi. The ban will now remain effective till Jan 29. The provincial government has also put a ban on carrying arms (both licensed and unlicensed) for three days, effective from Saturday.The ban has been imposed as part of security arrangements ahead of chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S).
6
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mobile Prices Updated on 22 January, 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
Google co-founder Page takes Smart Phone Zombie over, targets Facebook G Apocalypse
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
oogle Inc co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO from Eric Schmidt, a surprise move to make the company more nimble at a time when competition heats up with fast-growing rivals like Facebook. Page's assumption of dayto-day operations marks a return to Google's technological roots, 13 years after he and fellow Stanford University student Sergey Brin founded what has become the world's No. 1 Internet search engine with $29 billion (£19 billion) a year in revenue. "Day-to-day adult supervision no longer needed!" Schmidt tweeted after the announcement. The news came as Google reported earnings and revenue that blew past expectations. While Google has dominated Internet search for a decade, the company has struggled to find its footing in social networking, with a new crop of Web companies such as Facebook and Twitter stealing Web traffic and engineering talent.
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
G
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.
an email. Schmidt, who will step aside on April 4 and make way for Page, told Reuters in an interview that the change was "not a reaction to competitors." Rather, he said, it was an effort to speed up decision making at the company, which ended the year with
about 24,000 employees. "Google has many different businesses and the issue that we have been getting into is there's too many ways (in) which these businesses can be slowed down," Schmidt said.
Schmidt, who became CEO in 2001 to bring more management experience to a thenfledgling company, will assume the role of executive chairman, focussing on deals and government outreach, among other things. Brin will concentrate on strategic projects. Shares in the Internet search and advertising leader
Apple tightens the screws on iPhone 4
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
"As spending was curbed and order restored over the last few years, some of that Google magic was lost," said Tricia Salinero, managing director of Newforth Partners, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, in
oogle Inc co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO from Eric Schmidt, a surprise move to make the company more nimble at a time when competition heats up with fast-growing rivals like Facebook. Page's assumption of dayto-day operations marks a return to Google's technological roots, 13 years after he and fellow Stanford University student Sergey Brin founded what has become the
world's No. 1 Internet search engine with $29 billion (£19
billion) a year in revenue. "Day-to-day adult supervision
no longer needed!" Schmidt tweeted after the announcement. The news came as Google reported earnings and revenue that blew past expectations. While Google has dominated Internet search for a decade, the company has struggled to find its footing in social networking, with a new crop of Web companies such as Facebook and Twitter stealing Web traffic and engineering talent.
Nintendo 3DS release dates and prices out
S
tereoscopic 3D is where it is at, and Nintendo is not slow off the mark to make sure they are there at the very beginning to capture a potentially lucrative market with their upcoming portable 3Denabled console, the aptly named Nintendo 3DS. This will definitely be yet another shift in the gaming industry, having first rolling out touch-screen gaming in 2004 and motion-controlled gaming in 2006, where March 27 2011 will be a date that many will look forward to. Nintendo’s 3DS will finally be available to the masses, bringing portable entertainment in 3D without having to purchase a pair
of special glasses to begin with. While the initial choice of colors are pretty disappointing by Nintendo’s standards (you can choose from only Cosmo Black or Aqua Blue), we are pretty sure that the Big N will be rolling out
more color variants down the road as they normally do. The Nintendo 3DS has been called to be in a category of its own – simply because it offers an
experience that cannot be found anywhere else in terms of portable gaming. Folks residing Stateside will have to fork out $249.99 for this toy, while those living outside of the US Will be subjected to pricing set by local markets, although you can be sure that the gaming experience will not fall short anywhere. Just in case some of you have been living under a rock for the past year, the Nintendo 3DS will share the DNA of its predecessor in terms of the form factor and number of screens – and while the bottom screen is touch sensitive just like its ancestors, there is a change to the top screen since that part is able to display 3D visuals to the naked eye sans any glasses.
rose about 2 percent to $639 in extended trading. Just days ago, Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs announced a leave of absence, leaving lieutenant Tim Cook in charge of day-to-day operations. Like Google, Apple also announced results this week that blew past Wall Street's estimates. "The Street will think it's a negative, that there is probably some issue going on. Google is trying to get more efficient and trying to get a tech guy in the seat to compete with Facebook," said UBS analyst Brian Pitz. "I don't think it changes anything strategically where the company is headed." News of the change came as Google reported a 29 percent surge in both net profit and net revenue that beat forecasts. Net income, excluding items, of $8.75 a share outstripped Wall Street's average forecast of $8.10. Net revenue, excluding fees paid to partner websites, was $6.37 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, on average, were expecting net revenue of $6.06 billion.
A researcher creates a botnet for your pocket-a likely sign of things to come.
I
f you have a smart phone, online criminals may soon have your number. Smart phone malware is getting increasingly sophisticated, and now a security researcher has created software that turns a smart phone into a "zombie" that can be controlled remotely. Georgia Weidman created the program, which controls an Android phone via short message service (SMS). She will demonstrate the software at the Shmoocon hacking conference in Washington, D.C., later this month. Once only theoretical, realworld cell-phone viruses are becoming more common. Last August, a scam in Russia tricked users into installing malicious software on Android
phone-all without the user knowing. The techniques apply to any smart phone, Weidman says, but she will use three different Android phones for her demo. Today's smart phones have multiple layers of defense. For one, they can block malicious applications. They also have managed channels, such as the Apple App Store and Google's Android Marketplace, for applications. As a result, Weidman says, infecting them is no easy task. "The hurdle with any malware is infecting the phone," she says, noting that the methods used by cybercriminals usually do not work. "More of what you see of malware is people downloading applications for
phones, and using the SMS functionality to send messages to a number that charged a premium fee. In late 2010, a Chinese virus for Android devices was used to steal personal data. Botnets, or networks of computers that have been compromised by cybercriminals, have become a staple of Internet crime. They can be used to attack other systems, host attack tools, send spam, or just steal data. So far this kind of approach has been rare with mobile devices, but that seems to be changing. "We have been taking down Internet botnets for years now, but there is not as much understanding [of telecom networking]," Weidman says. "I definitely see criminals going more and more toward using the telco's network." Weidman's attack works like this: After infecting a phone with a low-level program known as a rootkit, she uses that phone to send spam text messages, participate in a denial-of-service, or degrade the communications of the
their phone that are infected," she says. Weidman's program is one of the first known to turn smart phones into nodes of a botnet. The problem of cybercriminals targeting consumers' phones will only get worse, says Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer of mobile-security startup Lookout. Because the control of phones is so easy to turn into cash via premium text messages, criminals will be drawn to attack the devices. "I always tend to look at the economics of the problem to ask myself whether it will continue in the future," he says. "And because there is an incentive for attackers to compromise mobile phones, and the cost of compromising is not that high, that says it will become more prevalent in the future." While phones do not have the computing power of more traditional computers, they are hefty enough to handle many of the tasks that cybercriminals desire, she says. She adds that the sheer number of smart phones means that any botnet could be "a real threat."
Xbox 360 cannot run pirated Call of Duty
M
icrosoft is trying to fight against piracy, and it has released another update for Xbox 360 that will try to put an end to gamers pirating their games. When it comes to updates, we expect that they fix certain issues, improve stability and similar, but this time, Microsoft decided to fight the piracy with this latest update. It turns out that the latest update stops the piracy for two of the Xbox 360's hottest games, Call Of Duty: Black Ops, and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Users have noticed that running pirated versions of these games is now impossible after the latest update. As you can see, Microsoft is trying to fight against piracy, and so far, only pirated versions of these two games are prevented from running. As for the future updates, we don’t know whether will Microsoft ban any more pirated games, but we’re positive that won’t happen in the next upcoming update or anytime soon.
Latest Gadgets The Wowee One Portable Speaker
Cisco ups home networking ante with E4200 router Cisco company created backbone for Internet on which you’re on at the moment, and with such pedigree behind them, going by the model, Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance DualBand Wireless-N Router. E4200 is more than capable of playing nice with latest entertainment devices, where among them include the newer generation of Internet TVs, all pervasive Apple iPad, video game consoles, smartphones, e-book readers, and VoIP devices.
The WOWee ONE is not related to Wowwee, a company made famous for all sorts of nifty robot toys, but the company with the single w “WOWee” are makers of a speaker for iPod, iPad, MP3, MP4, and anything else with a headphone jack. The speaker has a unique ability that I have seen before. You place it on a VTech intends to make sure your stay flat surface, such as a table, and it connected by family and friends whenever becomes a speaker. you are at home, thanks to their latest allin-one, complete home communication system. This entire setup will comprise of VTech’s new DECT 6.0 cordless headset, a base unit and two cordless handsets.You will get a push-to-talk intercom and handsfree talking capabilities, where the LS6375-3 package will deliver fast and convenient communication for any household or small office.
VTech, all in one communication system
Iriver Story HD e-book reader Are e-book readers going the way of high definition? The first 6” XGA resolution (that’s 768 x 1024 pixels) e-book reader worldwide, sporting 63.8% more pixels and faster page turns compared to other models in its class. To know more about this little puppy, you will have to read on in the extended post.
Sony CLM-V55 clip-on LCD monitor Fancy a clip-on LCD monitor for your DSLR camera? Well, that is what Sony intends to deliver with their spanking new Sony CLM-V55 clip-on LCD monitor. This will offer DSLR camera owners a brand new option to view their footage while shooting HD video, sporting a bigger area for your eyes to feast upon. To put it basically, the CLM-V55 is a portable video monitor that boasts a high-resolution WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) 5” LCD panel.
4 Sunday, January 23, 2011
IMF operation in Pakistan
The Financial Daily International Vol 4, Issue 159
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary Editor: Shakil H. Jafri Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi Honorary Advisory Board S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Haseeb Khan, FCA 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: 92-21-35388427 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
Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari
Search for the T third hand While the recent operation by the rangers in Karachi remains a big mystery, reportedly president and prime minister have given node for yet another operation clean up in the mega city, often termed mini Pakistan. After every carnage, in Karachi, both the federal and provincial governments express the resolve to deal with the culprits with iron hands but perpetrators cannot be rounded up due to political affiliation. Ironically neither the federal nor the provincial interior ministers admit they did not order any operation and even the Sindh chief minister said he was not aware of such operation. If all this is true, we have to accept the presence of third hand which ordered the operation. One may ask are the rangers free to undertake any action in Karachi without informing the concerned authorities? Even if the reply is in yes or no it is a matter of grave concern and one has to believe in the conspiracy theories that certain groups are adamant at making residents of Karachi their hostage. The cynics go to the extent of saying that these pressure groups enjoy more power and even the law enforcing agencies are helpless. These groups have ample stock of lethal weapons and have the services of hardcore criminals at their disposal. These groups can kill dozens of people within few minutes and also bring the city to grinding halt as and when it pleases them. It is often said that various political parties provide protection to such criminals to keep their opponents under the thumb. One can't even recall the number of operations undertaken in Karachi since 1986 but can say with full confidence that all these operations, including extra judicial murders by the law enforcing agencies were never aimed at cleaning the city, rather these operations created safe heavens for the criminals. The merchants of death have thousands of most advanced weapons including rocket launchers and anti aircraft guns at their disposal. They have also created chokepoints and police just can't dare to touch them, though fully aware of their activities. This makes the demand for army operation in Karachi a logical solution. However, the only apprehension is that army will have to depend on the regular sources of information, which may lead to rounding up of political activists and the real culprits may never be apprehended. The other point of concern is that if the operation is preannounced and confined to few localities the criminals will take refuge in safer heavens. Almost all the political parties have consensus that the aliens, having entered Pakistan illegally and also having contacts in Afghanistan and India are involved in the movement of arms and drugs. They bring tons of ammunition to Karachi without being stopped any where, which they ultimately sell to the rival groups. Therefore, the first step is to stop the influx of weapons into Karachi. Let this be very clear that the third hand is very strong but can be taken to task if all the political parties stop patronizing the hardcore criminals.
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.
he International Monetary Fund was conceived in July 1944 during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. The representatives of 45 governments met in the Mount Washington Hotel in the area of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, with the delegates to the conference agreeing on a framework for international economic cooperation. The IMF was formally organized on December 27, 1945, when the first 29 countries signed its Articles of Agreement. The statutory purposes of the IMF today are the same as when they were formulated in 1944. With the passage of time the membership raised to more then 180 countries of the world. All members are working to foster global monetary corporation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty around the world. The organization of IMF is a blessing for its member countries, especially for poor and under developed countries the world over. IMF is governed by its member states through its board of governors usually each country is represented by its finance minister or central bank. The IMF's influence in the global economy steadily increased as it accumulated more members. The number of IMF member countries has more than quadrupled from the 44 states involved in its establishment, reflecting in particular the attainment of political independence by many developing countries and more recently the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The expansion of the IMF's membership, together with the changes in the world economy, has required the IMF to adapt in a
variety of ways to continue serving its purposes effectively. In 2008, faced with a shortfall in revenue, the International Monetary Fund's executive board agreed to sell part of the IMF's gold reserves. On April 27, 2008, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn welcomed the board's decision of April 7, 2008 to propose a new framework for the fund, designed to close a projected $400 million budget deficit over the next few years. The budget proposal includes sharp spending cuts of $100 million until 2011 that will include up to 380 staff dismissals. At the 2009 G-20 London summit, it was decided that the IMF would require additional financial
facilities. So much so that wrong financial state of affairs, in terms of government's unproductive expenditure, budget deficit, growth and inflation were reported to IMF. Soon the hawks of IMF realized the situation and came out with fresh more stiff terms, even people from IMF used to visit financial avenues of Pakistan, to check, audit and verify the provided figures. At last with large hue and cry, IMF loan was fully adjusted during 2005. And the concerned government authorities mostly ministry of finance and State Bank of Pakistan felt relived. Then again while our economy was sinking during last about 2 years, our government again
The IMF's influence in the global economy steadily increased as it accumulated more members. The number of IMF member countries has more than quadrupled from the 44 states involved in its establishment, reflecting in particular the attainment of political independence by many developing countries and more recently the collapse of the Soviet bloc. resources to meet prospective needs of its member countries during the ongoing global financial crisis. As part of that decision, the G-20 leaders pledged to increase the IMF's supplemental cash tenfold to $500 billion, and to allocate to member countries another $250 billion via Special Drawing Rights. On October 23, 2010, the Ministers of Finance of G-20, governing most of the IMF member quotas, agreed to reform IMF and shift about 6% of the voting shares to major developing nations and countries with emerging markets. As of August 2010 Romania ($13.9 billion), Ukraine ($12.66 billion), Hungary ($11.7 billion) and Greece ($30 billion) are the largest borrowers of the fund. The government of Pakistan was first facilitated financially by IMF during nineties of last century. The government of Pakistan failed miserably to follow the dictates attached with the allowed financial
approached IMF with the backing and influence of U.S and other developed and civilized countries taken as a front line country against terrorism. Although IMF had the bad and sore previous experience, but again accommodated, saving us from sinking. It appears that our government's strategy on economic front to the extent one can be discerned, a simply to gamble on American beneficence and largesse, by giving Pakistan front line status in war again militancy. Perhaps our leadership is calculating that American foreign policy establishment will not let Pakistan to sink, come what may. The information issued by our government about economic state of affairs in the country, highlights the ignorance of those at the helms of affairs. Our state of economy which is at the death bed, taking sever jolts time and again, has been surviving on two counts, because of foreign remittances which Pakistani remit,
living abroad. And secondly it is our luck that there is more then 900 km border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. And this closeness with Afghanistan has forced the powerful civilized world to keep our economy alive. And have been providing all sorts and all kinds of financial and military help, loans, doles and what not. The story which we heard during the first love has started again. During the second financial accommodation by IMF. Again IMF pressurizing Pakistan to come up to the terms and conditions while allowing loan tranches. Our government talking and reassuring IMF to revise budget targets and reduce, unproductive government expenditure, to soar the amount of government taxes etc. During last some months the burning point remained the imposition of general sale tax, where the government had to face horrendous opposition within the parliament and also outside of our. As such government could not levy the RGST. First our government requested IMF for some breathers in time, to come up with the required standards as per IMF terms and conditions for at least six months. Now we are requesting IMF for rescheduling of the loan. It is assumed that the recent visit of President of Pakistan to U.S, will be very fruitful and the loan will be rescheduled by IMF very soon giving Pakistan to be saved for some time. With this assumption the stock market crossed 13000 points. Our county has been surrounded by awful economic situation, the governments borrowing not only from the foreign countries, foreign financial institutions, but also from state bank of Pakistan have belled the horrible economic situation. The government's lavish expenditure has not as yet ceased. The corruption in every field is soaring. Honest, hard and intelligent acts, sincerity to our land have gone with the wind. The terrorists are on the move always, target killing has become daily routine. The feeling of insecurity in the masses is affecting their mental power. What should be done and in which direction we are going, God knows better. God bless our motherland Pakistan. (Ex-Sr. Vice President, HBL)
Obama faces tough challenges H
is poll numbers are on the rise after a tough year, he has recaptured some of his old oratorical magic and a few pundits are even debating whether he's becoming the new "comeback kid." But the stakes will be high when President Barack Obama tries to convince Americans he has a plan to tackle the economy, joblessness and deficits all at once -- a daunting challenge crucial to his 2012 re-election chances. Obama's State of the Union address will be a chance not only to set the tone for the second half of his term but also to reinforce his shift to the center since his Democrats were routed in the November congressional elections. And his nationally televised speech to lawmakers will be a test of whether gridlock or compromise will prevail between Obama and a divided Congress, and whether calls for civility in U.S. politics following the January 8 Arizona shooting rampage will have any lasting effect. "This speech will be an important scene-setter for the next two years," said Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey and a former congressional aide. "It will also be a difficult balancing act." In last year's State of the Union, Obama declared job creation his "No. 1 focus," then spent much of 2010 on other priorities like overhauling healthcare and Wall Street rules. With the elevated 9.4 percent unemployment rate still ranking as Americans' top concern, there is little
doubt jobs will again be the centerpiece of Obama's speech. But more than ever before, Obama is also expected to use the annual address to cast himself as more of a fiscal hawk, possibly a tough sell for a leader presiding over trillion-dollarplus annual budget deficits. Republicans won the House of Representatives and weakened the Democratic majority in the Senate by tapping into public anxiety over a broad expansion of government under Obama, whom they painted as a bigspending liberal. Absorbing the lessons of his electoral "shellacking," as he put it, Obama has made business-friendly staff changes and retooled his agenda, hoping to win back moderate voters who swept him into office two years ago but deserted his Democrats in November. POLITICAL FORTUNES When Obama stands before a joint session of Congress next week facing a newly empowered Republican opposition, he will still be in better shape politically than almost anyone would have predicted just two and a half months ago. Since then, his public approval rating, which hit new lows just before the midterm elections, has edged up to 50 percent or above in a number of recent polls. This followed a string of legislative successes in December's "lame duck" congressional session, including a compromise tax-cut package with Republicans and repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
That led Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, usually one of Obama's sharpest critics, to liken him to former President Bill Clinton, deemed the "greatest of all comeback kids" for his ability to rebound from his troubles. Other pundits said it was too early to draw such a comparison, but Obama still seems to be getting back in stride. His poignant eulogy for victims of an assassination attempt on lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson won glowing reviews. The president, who has sometimes struggled to connect with Americans, seemed to regain some of the oratorical footing that helped propel him into the White House. But Obama's State of the Union speech, businesslike by its very nature, will be judged more for substance than rhetoric. WIDE NET Obama has cast a wide net for new ideas, meeting corporate executives, economists and labor leaders. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office chief who advised Republican John McCain in the 2008 campaign, suggested a coherent strategy still appeared to be lacking. "There's no reason to question his intellect or his intentions," said HoltzEakin, who participated in one of Obama's meetings. "I just can't figure out literally what his principles are. Where does he draw the lines?" Obama and his aides have stepped up rhetoric about tackling long-term
deficits but have been short on specifics. Whatever he commits to on Tuesday will be couched in the concern that cutting spending too deep, too fast could hurt the fragile recovery. Obama faces serious challenges, not least of which is the clout that may be wielded by newly elected Republican Tea Party ultraconservatives resistant to spending compromises. With a battle already brewing over Republican demands for deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the national debt limit, the Obama administration is scrambling to depict itself as just as fiscally minded as the other side. In his speech, Obama is widely expected to propose some form of tax reform as a way to reach out to Republicans. A risk for Obama is alienating key liberal constituencies already angered by concessions he has made to conservatives. While foreign policy traditionally plays only a small part in State of the Union speeches, Obama is certain to address the unpopular war in Afghanistan, telling Americans that U.S. troops are on track to start withdrawing in July as promised. But no matter what Obama says, analysts agree the state of the economy and the unemployment rate will ultimately decide whether he gets reelected. "He rises or falls on jobs, jobs, jobs," said Bill Schneider, an expert at George Mason University in Virginia. -Reuters
5
Sunday, January 23, 2010
Chad is world leader in chest pain A
new survey of chest pain reports worldwide finds that the most afflicted country is the African nation of Chad, where 24 percent of the population has chest pain. The study, which included 52 countries, also showed that the fatter you are, the more likely you are to develop chest pain, or angina pectoris. Angina shares the same risk factors as other types of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke and heart disease, and is itself a risk factor for heart disease, study author Dr. Longjian Liu of Drexel University School of Public Health told Reuters Health. "Therefore, the study of angina is also an indicator of the burden of cardiovascular diseases across nations," Liu noted. Cardiovascular disease is the
number one killer worldwide. Among the 52 countries included in the survey, Tunisia showed the lowest rate of angina, which affected only two percent of the population. Slovakia, with 19 percent of adults in the study sample reporting chest pain, had the next highest rate, followed by the Russian Federation (17.66 percent), United Arab Emirates (16.33 percent) and Burkina Faso (15 percent). The U.S. did not participate in the World Health Survey, developed by the World Health Organization, but other studies have indicated that angina affects between one and 10 percent of Americans, Liu noted. Angina is chest pain that typically occurs in response to activity or stress, which may feel like tightness, heavy pres-
sure, squeezing or crushing pain that usually begins slowly and worsens over the next few minutes before going away. It may quickly subside with medication or rest, but may happen again with additional activity or stress. Symptoms of angina usually occur when the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked by hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), or by a blood clot, and too little blood reaches the heart as a result. To track rates of angina worldwide, Liu and his team reviewed data collected from more
than 200,000 adult residents of 52 countries that participated in the World Health Survey. By looking at the rate of angina across multiple countries, the authors were also able to examine the influence of different factors, such as body weight and poverty. Not surprisingly, they found that people who were overweight or obese were more likely to have chest pain. Among the obese, the rate of angina approached 18 percent, versus only seven percent in people with normal weights, the authors report in the American Journal of
Cardiology. The link between body weight and angina makes sense, Liu noted in an e-mail, because increased body weight is a major cause of atherosclerosis, which is itself a cause of chest pain. When he and his colleagues examined the interaction between poverty, body weight, and angina, things got more interesting - they saw that being overweight or obese appeared to increase the risk of angina regardless of where people lived, but the risk was higher among those residing in the wealthiest nations. In relatively wealthy countries, Liu explained, people living in poverty are more likely to be obese, whereas in poor countries, the opposite is true - the wealthier people are relative to their compatriots,
the more likely they are to be obese, perhaps because they can better afford junk and processed foods. In addition, Liu noted, there are signs that being underweight can also increase the risk of angina, suggesting added risk to many of the poorest people living in poorer nations as well. Chad has fairly low rates of obesity, but an estimated 37 percent of its population is malnourished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In addition, Chad has relatively few health resources. "The average numbers of physicians and nurses (or) midwives are 0.4 and 2.8 per 10,000 (residents), respectively," Liu said. In contrast, Tunisia has more than 13 doctors and 10 nurses per 10,000 residents, he said.-Reuters
Fruits and Veg:
Heavy drinking All for a You Should Always well-rounded butt! may raise abnormal heart rhythm risk Buy Organic A P W e all know that a healthy diet should include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. But did you also order a side of pesticides with your produce? Probably not. While you may be resistant to buying organic fruits and veggies because of the cost, or just wondering if it's really worth it, healthwise, there is some produce that's worth the extra money. Each year, the Environmental Working Group identifies its "Dirty Dozen," the 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the highest amount of pesticides, and thus should be purchased as organic whenever possible. The scariest for me? My favorite fruit, the apple, could contain up to 42 different varieties of pesticides. Many of which may not be able to be eliminated with washing or even peeling. The top 3 culprits: 1. Celery clocking in with 64
pesticides. 2. Peaches with as many as 62 pesticides. 3. Strawberries, especially out of season, with up to 59 pesticides. Find out the other 9 fruits and vegetables you should buy organic. If you can't remember all 12 at the grocery store, a general rule of thumb to go by is the thinner the skin the more likely the fruit or vegetable is to contain a high amount of pesticides. Think apple versus banana. If there are pesticides on the banana they are most likely discarded with the peel, according to Charles Benbrook, technical director of the nonprofit Organic Center for Education & Promotion . If you don't want to risk it, download the "Dirty Dozen" iPhone app, so you always know when to spend a little extra money and reach for the organic label.
pert, well-rounded butt not only sets your vanity quotient soaring but also has many health benefits. Fitness instructor Dilip Heble tells you how to get it It's almost inexplicable - the obsession with one's butt. And it's not without a reason. Tightly-shaped buns accentuates a man's V-shape - the wide shoulders and narrow hip girdle. In a woman, it enhances the flare of her waist blending into the hips, giving her a shapely hour-glass figure. Is it any surprise then that a leading actor reportedly uses bum-bags to add volume to his posterior? Health matters Bio-mechanically, the butt (or the gluteal muscles) help propel the body forward. They help us walk with an efficient gait and stride. A tight, strong butt minimises the chances of lower backache. Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell are examples of athletes whose butts are strong and powerful, and not without a reason. The fitness of their posterior pays off dividends in the sorting field. Sprinters and football players develop powerful gluteals for acceleration and speed strength. The shape of it all The correct (long-term) way out is to whip your buns into shape. Depending on the
present condition of the body, one would either need to lose the extra inches by trimming excess fat, or add muscles to beef it up. The gluteals can be geographically divided into the rear (or derriere) on which you sit. This is the outer area of the hips that's in line with the side-seam of your jeans. In between the two, where a jeans' rear pockets rest, are the saddle-bags. Exercises To lose inches, train the glutes and upper-most part of the legs by doing about three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions each. To gain inches, the same exercises need to be done with heavier weights and lower number of repetitions. The following exercises are the simplest ones. Most of them can be performed by canalizing only the body weight as a source of resistance. However, here's a word of caution: Do not focus on the butt alone. Exercise the whole body. Advantages of having a strong butt n Good stride and gait. n Muscle tone helps create a strong support base. It relieves pressure on the lower back. n Strong gluteals improve posture, and can help with heavy lifting. n They help keep the body posture upright.
Antibodies help seriously ill H1N1 patients recover P
atients who fell severely ill with the pandemic H1N1 flu responded well when treated with antibodies harvested from survivors of the disease, a study in Hong Kong has found. The finding, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, underlines the importance of using antibodies from recovered patients to treat critically ill people who fail to respond to standard drugs, said lead author Kwok-yung Yuen, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong. "Most (severely ill patients) come to hospital very late, on day 5 or 7 (after onset of symptoms). Our experience has been that antiviral drugs don't work very well," said Yuen. "That's why convalescent plasma (antibodies) would have a place in saving patients who are very severely ill and not responding to Tamiflu," he told Reuters. Swiss drug maker Roche's Tamiflu, under license from Gilead Sciences,
is the drug of choice to fight the pan-
demic H1N1 flu virus.
The Hong Kong study involved 93
patients who were admitted to hospi-
tal for severe H1N1 infection between September 2009 and June 2010. Of these, 20 agreed to receive antibodies, and the rest who declined were given standard treatment. Twenty percent of those in the antibody group died compared to nearly 55 percent in the other group. "It turned out that they survived much better than the group that didn't want the (antibody) treatment. The result is very significant," said Yuen. "Once the patient got plasma (antibodies), viral load in respiratory secretions dramatically decreased and inflammatory parameters also dropped rapidly." Seasonal flu kills between 250,000 to 500,000 people each year globally and the H1N1 swine flu may have been slightly more deadly, but actual statistics will take years to gather. It affects younger adults and children more severely compared to seasonal flu, which kills more elderly people.Reuters
eople who drink regularly, especially heavy drinkers, may be more likely than teetotalers to suffer atrial fibrillation, a type of abnormal heart rhythm, according to a research review. In an analysis of 14 studies, a team led by Satoru Kodama at the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Japan found that the heaviest drinkers were more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than people who drank little to no alcohol. Though definitions of "heavy" drinking varied, it meant at least two or more drinks per day for men, and one or more per day for women. In some studies, heavy drinkers downed at least six drinks per day. While doctors have long known that a drinking binge can trigger an episode of atrial fibrillation (AF), the findings -reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology -- suggest that usual drinking habits may also matter. "What we revealed in the current (study) is that not only episodic but habitual heavy drinking is associated with higher risk of AF," said Hirohito Sone, a colleague of Kodama's, told Reuters Health by email. Atrial fibrillation is the most common abnormal heart rhythm and is not in itself lifethreatening, but patients with it are at significantly higher risk of strokes. It may also result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain or congestive heart failure. When all the study results were combined, heavy drinkers were 51 percent more likely to
suffer atrial fibrillation than either non-drinkers or occasional drinkers. Overall, the risk edged up 8 percent for every increase of 10 grams in participants' daily alcohol intake. More than 2.6 million U.S. citizens will suffer from atrial fibrillation this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition becomes more common with age and additional risk fact o r s include h i g h blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Since coron a r y heart disease is much m o r e common cause of death than atrial fibrillation, Sone said moderate drinking -- up to one or two drinks per day -- is probably still a heart-healthy habit for most people. A better way to show a connection is with studies that measure people's drinking habits, then follow them over time to see who develops atrial fibrillation, said Kenneth Mukamal of Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who led two of the studies included in the analysis. One of Mukamal's studies found a connection only between heavy drinking, with men who had five or more drinks a day having a higher risk of developing the condition over time than occasional drinkers. Mukamal said that, based on longer-term studies, "there's little risk from chronic drinking in moderation, but heavier drinking -- even rarely -- acutely increases risk."-Reuters
Two doses of chickenpox vaccine beat K
ids are less likely to get chickenpox if they get two doses of the chickenpox vaccine instead of just one, suggests a new study. Most infected people simply feel miserable -- with symptoms including an itchy, blister-like rash, fever, headache and fatigue -but some do develop serious complications. While routine vaccination has made a big dent in the number of chickenpox cases in the U.S. over the past 15 years, it doesn't offer perfect protection -- either because the vaccine didn't work the first time, or because its effects can eventually wear off. Seeking to solve that problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2006 recom-
mended a second dose of the vaccine for kids ages 4 to 6. The first dose is typically given at 12 to 18 months of age. "Despite the reasonably (high) effectiveness of one dose of the vaccine, there were still outbreaks in schools and daycare centers -even though there was a pretty good rate of vaccination," Dr. Eugene Shapiro, the study's lead author from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, told Reuters Health. In the current study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Shapiro and his colleagues tested the effectiveness of adding the second dose by comparing kids with chickenpox and kids without chickenpox to see how many doses of the vaccine both had received. Starting right after the CDC updated its recommendation
through the beginning of 2010, Shapiro and colleagues found 71 infected children age 4 and up from local pediatricians' offices. For each of those kids, the researchers found two others who were the same age and saw pediatricians from the same practice. Then they reviewed their medical records for vaccinations. Of the 71 patients with chickenpox, none had gotten two doses of the vaccine. Sixty-six of them had received one dose, while five hadn't been vaccinated at all. Out of the 140 kids who had never had chickenpox, 22 of them had been vaccinated twice, 117 once, and only one had never gotten the vaccine. Based on those findings, the authors calculated that one dose of the vaccine protected 86 percent of kids, while two doses were 98 per-
cent effective. Although the study was relatively small and didn't directly compare outcomes for kids who had gotten none, one, or two doses of the vaccine, doctors are still optimistic about the results. "We are now in the second period of (chickenpox) control," an editorial in the journal notes, "and version 2.0 looks promising indeed." "For most children, one dose (is) enough," said Dr. Margaret Fisher, who was on the AAP committee that recommended adding the extra vaccine dose. "But to really stop the breakthrough cases, we need to add that second dose. I'm delighted now that we have a study that shows that it works." Two of the study's authors have financial ties to Merck, the company that sells the vaccine. One dose costs about $80.
The chickenpox vaccine sometimes causes soreness or swelling, a fever, or a mild rash, and very rarely more serious reactions. According to the CDC, side effects are more common after the first dose of the vaccine than after the second dose. Although kids who get chickenpox after receiving a single dose generally have a milder version of the virus than kids who haven't been vaccinated, they can still spread chickenpox to others. And, Shapiro said, those kids may also be at a higher risk of getting shingles, a painful rash that is caused by the same virus as chickenpox, later down the road. "The recommendation for a second dose ... certainly carries the direct cost of additional vaccine doses," Sarah Clark, of the Child Health Evaluation & Research
Unit at the University of Michigan, told Reuters Health in an email. "But (the vaccine) may be helpful in reducing some of these other costs that are incurred because of breakthrough cases," she added. Shapiro said that despite the study's convincing results, no one can be sure how the effectiveness of the second dose of the vaccine will hold up many years after vaccination. When he and his colleagues completed their research, Shapiro said, "It was only three and a half years since the new recommendation was made. It remains to be seen what will happen over the long term." Both Shapiro and Fisher said the take-away message from the study was that parents should make sure their children get a second dose of the vaccine, if they haven't received it already.-Reuters
6
International
Sunday, January 23, 2011
HIGHER OIL PRICE EMPOWERS IRAN, BLUNTS SANCTIONS * OIL PRICE SOME $15 HIGHER THAN IRAN BUDGETED FOR * IRAN SAYS WILL NOT GIVE GROUND AT P5+1 TALKS * SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS STACK UP FUTURE COSTS
O
il's ascent towards $100 a barrel, which OPEC blames on western financial speculators, has handed Iran a windfall to help contain domestic discontent and take the sting out of sanctions designed to squeeze its economy. Tehran's financial room for manoeuvre is likely to expand, while oil prices are expected to stay firm following a rally that earlier this month took it to its highest level since October 2008. "A particular challenge for the United States is that rising oil prices undermine policy on Iran," said Simon Henderson, of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute think-tank. Washington has led the drive to isolate Iran and bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme and says the sanctions are working. Along with the other four permanent members of the United Security Council and Germany, the United States and Iran are due to meet in Istanbul on Saturday and Sunday for talks it hopes will lead to an end to the nuclear stand-off. Henderson cited U.S. Department of Energy figures, however, that put Iran's JanuaryNovember 2010 revenues at $64 billion, $11 billion higher than for the whole of 2009. A populous nation with high social costs, Iran needs a stronger oil price than its wealthier Gulf neighbours to avoid racking up a deficit. Its budget reckons on oil at $65 -
- below current prices of around $90 a barrel, although roughly in line with some analysts' calculations of the level Tehran needs to balance its books. IHS Global Insight, for instance, assumes export volumes of just over 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Iran, which means it would need oil at only $60-$70 for a balanced budget. Ramin Emadi of Middle East consultancy BEDigest.com predicted an average price of $80 for the Iranian year that runs until March 20, giving it a surplus of at least $15 per barrel. OPEC PRESIDENCY As holder of the rotating presidency of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iran has done its best to talk up the price, saying the world can cope with oil at this level and there is no need for producers to increase output. "None of the OPEC members finds $100 concerning or irrational. Some of the OPEC members see no need for an emergency meeting even with prices at $110 or $120," Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said on Sunday. Other OPEC ministers have also said there is no need for extra oil and that any exuberance in the market is the result of financial players. For Iran, some of the higher revenue will have to go towards meeting increased costs connected with the sanctions. India, Iran's second-biggest cus-
tomer after China, has embarked on talks to seek a solution over how to pay Iran for its oil without breaching restrictions on dealing with Iranian banks. Gasoline imports, which Iran needed following underinvestment in its refinery industry, have been virtually suspended, and it has adapted its petrochemical industry to produce fuel and achieve what it says is self-sufficiency. There are attendant costs in terms of lost petrochemical revenues, which analysts say are very difficult to quantify, while the Iranian public is paying a lot more for its gasoline. Government-set prices rose seven-fold last month when state subsidies were finally cut. None of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's predecessors dared to drive through a cut in subsidies on the prices of fuel, food and other necessities that have cost roughly $100 billion a yeay -- a bill that rising commodities prices push higher. So far the Iranian public has accepted price rises without the unrest some analysts had predicted. Bill Farren-Price of Petroleum Policy Intelligence said the sanctions -- seen from Tehran as an attack led by its foreign enemies -had provided a political excuse. "International sanctions are ... having the perverse result of allowing the government to push through austerity measures on fuel and food subsidies that were simply unthinkable in the last two
decades," he said. INTERNATIONAL NERVOUSNESS While Ahmadinejad is empowered by costly oil, the international community, still smarting from economic crisis, is nervous about action that could drive oil prices higher. Juan Cole, a professor of Middle East history at University of Michigan, said a higher oil price reduced the risk that Washington or
its Middle East ally Israel would attack Iran. Both have said they could do that if nothing else halted Iran's nuclear programme, which they say is aimed at getting nuclear weapons. Iran says it is entirely peaceful. "I think the high petroleum prices in the context of a weak U.S. economy make military action less likely. You would not want to risk administering a 'Bush I' to yourself," he told Reuters, referring to
the first President George Bush's war on Iraq, which he believes exacerbated a U.S. recession. "Ahmadinejad must enjoy sticking the West with this winter's high prices, as a little revenge for the sanctions." But the sanctions are exacting a long-term cost on Iran's oil sector, already hobbled by years of underinvestment. One day that could mean bigger oil costs for the entire world -Reuters
Japanese thermal coal contract may test record at $125/T
M
ajor Japanese utilities could fork out a quarter more for annual thermal coal contracts this year, bringing prices close to record levels seen in 2008 as Queensland floods force a flare up in spot values. Japan, which bought 91.8 million tonnes of thermal coal worth 931 billion yen ($11 billion) in 2009, is the world's biggest importer of seaborne thermal coal and sets the pace for other deals in Asia. "Clearly, the recent weather issues have changed the price dynamics, mainly in Australia, but also throughout the industry. We know that South Africa, Indonesia, and even Colombia are having issues with weather," ANZ Bank analyst Mark Pervan said. He estimates that the price for the next contract starting April could be in the range of $125 to $130 per tonne, from $98 per tonne last year and $115 for a much smaller contract that began in January. "When they go to negotiations, the coal miners will certainly be flagging that
spot prices are around $135 to $140 a tonne. Particularly Xstrata, which tends to set these prices, has been hit hardest... I suspect they will play hardball." The floods, which analysts estimate have removed about three to five million tonnes of thermal coal from Queensland, pushed Australian benchmark prices to over $143 per tonne on the spot market last week, before they eased to around $132 per tonne by Tuesday. According to ANZ Bank about 8 percent of global thermal coal supply was brought offline during the flooding. Several Queensland thermal coal mines, including Xstrata's Rolleston mine and Anglo American's Callide mine, are under force majeure. Growth in Asian economies, including China and India, is also expected to fuel demand for coal and spur prices. Large Japanese utilities Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc and Chubu Electric , negotiate April to March fiscal year thermal
contracts with Xstrata , the world's largest exporter of thermal coal. The contracts are generally around spot price levels, often with a supply security premium. Forecasts for the contract price among coal analysts vary widely, with Macquarie Research saying $145 per tonne, while others put the price around the 2008 record of $125 per tonne. "We're looking at the Japanese fiscal year contract being around the $120 to $125 mark. I can't see a $140 price being settled for a contract price," said Hayden Bairstow, an analyst with CLSA in Sydney. A Japanese utility source balked at estimates between $130 and $140 per tonne, but said it was possible that the $125 per tonne record would be tested. BUYING PATTERNS TO CHANGE? The steep rise in prices may change buying patterns slightly as some buyers try to negotiate larger volumes on a floating price basis and others try to spread out buying over the year.
"There is a bit of a move at the edges for more indexlinked contracting and perhaps more hedging via swaps, but it doesn't seem like there is going to be any monumental change coming," said Hayden Atkins, an analyst with Macquarie in London. Japanese utilities are unlikely to reduce long-term
contract tonnage, but some of them may opt to boost volumes in contracts beginning later in the year. "For the Japanese utilities the most important thing is supply security rather than the price," a Singapore-based broker said. Australia supplies about 60 percent of Japan's thermal coal. Japan is Australia's largest customer,
followed by South Korea and Taiwan. South Korean utilities may be more flexible than Japanese and could more easily choose to shift annual contract tonnage to a quarterly, monthly, or tendered basis, or switch from Australian thermal coal to lower calorific value from suppliers such as Indonesia,
traders said. But South Korean utility sources said first quarter requirements were covered and they were unlikely to change how they structure their contracts. Taiwan's state-owned electricity monopoly, Taipower, may try to lock in more volumes under term contract this year, if supply disruptions drag on, reversing its decision in recent years to buy as much as 20 percent of its yearly consumption in the spot market to take advantage of the volatility in prices. Coal industry analysts stress that the future of thermal coal supplies and pricing remains uncertain in the face of the world-wide impacts of a La Nina event and Australia's cyclone season still beginning. "We haven't even seen a cyclone yet, we've only seen flooding. If they get a major cyclone through there as well, the whole industry will be back on its knees again, that would lead prices up about another $20 per tonne," Pervan said. Reuters
Emerging markets? So last year, some investors say
E
uropean equity investors take note: the emerging markets bet which paid off so handsomely last year may have run its course for the time being. For the year ahead, exposure to surprisingly strong domestic European growth may prove more lucrative than investing in markets such as China, still fast growing but which could be affected negatively by factors such as rising inflation. Shares in plenty of companies heavily exposed to emerging markets outperformed last year, but some investors have already started to seek cheaper valuations among stocks which stand to benefit from domestic
growth. "The emerging market story has got a long, long way to go ... (but) in the short term, some of the valuations might be a little bit generous. With the prospects of recovery in Europe, it's going to be less of a short-term theme," a London-based fund manager, who declined to be identified, said. "It's more likely to be companies which are poised for the recovery in Europe," he said, adding he favours European banks, among them Deutsche Bank. Picking the best domestic plays isn't necessarily easy. Although not all companies disclose how much of their sales come from emerging markets, Thomson Reuters
data shows in 2010 the performance of a portfolio of European stocks with high foreign sales outpaced a basket of domestic-focused firms by 23 percent. However, so far this year the domestic-centric portfolio has outpaced the overseas exposed basket by 4.8 percent. The change in sentiment was the result of a mixture of Europe's improved economic outlook and concerns about inflation and lower returns in emerging markets. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, on Wednesday lifted its 2011 economic growth forecast to 2.3 percent from 1.8 percent, while stronger than expected Chinese fourthquarter GDP raised concerns
of further monetary tightening in the world's second-biggest economy. In terms of valuations, companies relying on domestic sales may offer better value. The domestic-focused basket of European companies carries a one-year trailing priceto-earnings of 12.7 times versus the portfolio of foreign exposed stocks's 18.7. INFLATION FEARS "Germany is obviously recovering more. At some point, it might become less dramatic between domestic and the emerging market plays. The emerging market plays have gone up quite strong," said Nick Nelson, equity strategist at UBS. According to Goldman
Sachs, companies with relatively high exposure to the country's consumers included Axel Springer, Fielmann, Tomra Systems, Suedzucker, Praktiker, Gagfah, Metro and ProSiebenSat1. It also highlights Volkswagen, which has high domestic as well as emerging market exposure. Some investors have cashed in gains from shares in companies with large developing country sales after their outperformance in 2010, as concerns over inflation in emerging economies grew. For example, Swatch Group, the world's largest watchmaker and which Barclays Capital said has about 35 percent of its sales to emerging markets, have fallen
11 percent so far this year after soaring 59 percent in 2010. "With inflation picking up, we have seen tightening policy in reaction to that which will be a headwind for emerging markets or emerging market-related assets, certainly in the first half of this year," said Ronan Carr, European equity strategist at Morgan Stanley in London. Carr said consumer cyclicals that are operating in emerging markets would lose some of their momentum and Morgan Stanley is underweight consumer discretionary. However, he was positive on emerging market exposure as a long-term play. The other issue is that the bet on companies with high
emerging market sales has been popular, meaning that the returns on the trade are smaller. "One of the easy trades of last year was basically buy companies with exposure in emerging markets ... based on the fact that growth within developing emerging markets is considerably above developed markets," said Alec Letchfield, chief investment officer at HSBC Global Asset Management's private client arm. Letchfield did not expect policymakers in emerging markets to slam on the brake too fast to derail growth but said the situation had changed. "It's not the kind of slam dunk that it was perhaps of last year," he said. -Reuters
7
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Bayer to test drug to treat eye disease in Asia FRANKFURT: German drugmaker Bayer will launch a phase III trial in several Asian countries this year to test a compound to treat an eye disease related to severe shortsightedness. The disease, choroidal neovascularisation, occurs when abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina causes leakage of fluid and blood in the eye, and can result in blindness. The disease occurs in some people with severe myopia, about 1-2 percent of the myopic population. The absolute number is sizeable given 60-80 percent of people in parts of east Asia require spectacles by the time they reach high school. Elke Reissig, who heads
Bayer's healthcare clinical development, said 248 patients will be recruited in China,, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Professor Wong Tien Yin, director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute, which is collaborating with Bayer on the trial, said people with severe myopia were vulnerable. "One reason is that the eyeball (can be) abnormally long
in highly shortsighted eyes. Because of that, the supporting structure in the retina is very thin and weak and allows blood vessels to grow and leak," Wong told Reuters. Ressig said the compound, VEGF Trap-Eye, blocks a naturally occurring chemical, vascular endothelial growth factor, that promotes blood vessel growth. "But in certain conditions (such as people with severe myophia) ... there is ingrowth of vessels in the eye. The result is it impairs the eye," Ressig told Reuters by telephone. "This compound traps the growth factor and renders it ineffective." Bayer expects results of the trial to be available in 2013. Reuters
EU ramps up drugs patent settlements scrutiny BRUSSELS: The EU regulator said it was pressing pharmaceutical companies for more information on their patent deals with generic companies to make sure there is no delay in cheaper drugs coming to market. The move is the latest in a series of EU crackdowns on possible anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical sector after a 2009 patents enquiry pointed to significant risks for European consumers, the Commission said. It did not mention any company it requested information from, but Britain's AstraZeneca PLC and GlaxoSmithKline, France's Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis and Roche of Switzerland said last year the Commission had contacted
No #1
them about drug patent settlements. The European Commission, the competition watchdog of the 27-nation EU bloc, said it had asked firms to submit copies of their patent settlement agreements concluded in the bloc last year. Patent settlements are generally fees paid by pharmaceutical companies to generic drug makers to persuade them to delay selling the generic version of their medicines. "Patent settlements are an area of particular concern because they may delay the market entry of generic medicines," Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. "The outcome of our first monitoring exercise showed
Continued from page 1
The minister pointed out that the government was serious in resolving the issue of income and sales tax refunds and has refunded Rs12 billion in last three months alone which is 120 per cent higher than last year. The new refund mechanism ensures that there should be "zero" chance of corruption in refund payments. I challenge you to point out any incident of corruption at any level, he added. Dr Hafeez said that only senior officials from FBR working under "centralised cheques processing system" have the authority to issue refund cheques. "We have withdrawn cheques issuing authority from all the offices". I am personally supervising the issue of refunds so that no element of corruption comes in payment and also to ensure that payment are made on time and the huge backlog is settled. Referring to its economic team the minister said that he has tried to develop a credible team and it is with him so that they also tell you about their plans for improving economic performance. We would like to have a dialogue with business community and take your input, feed back and also criticism to correct the course required in our policy making, he added. He said that the government has inherited the fragile economy, but the good news is that the democracy is back and Parliament is passing marked legislation. He said that the government had made some achievements during its first two years regarding GDP growth, inflation control, bringing down fiscal deficit and introducing economic reform. He said that the floods brought down growth rate from 4.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, negatively affected fiscal deficit, two to three months production loss and destroyed home and infrastructure facilities on large scale. We need to take 2 to 3 years to recover from its impact, he noted. Dr Hafeez pointed out that the transfer of huge money from federation to provinces has added to the fiscal deficit which rose from 4 per cent to 5.2 per cent as provinces could not show surplus in their budgets. This has left very little room for federal government to play around on fiscal deficit, he noted. He said the government is trying to protect the economic recovery that was there prior to floods to remain on stable balance path by cutting expenditure, mobilising resources and remain on track and complying with international commitment and go for only targeted subsidy rather than general subsidies. Secretary Finance said the government has decided to stop further inflow of price differential, pass on the differential to consumers and resolve this issue rather than delaying. Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadeem-ul Haq, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, Chairman FBR Salman Siddiqui and chairman SECP Mohammad Aziz were also present on the occasion.
that potentially problematic agreements had decreased significantly," he said. It said the number of such patent settlements fell to 10 percent of total patent settlements in the sector in the period July 2008 to Dec. 2009, compared with 22 percent in the period covered in the inquiry into the sector from Jan. 2000 to June 2008. "The amount of money involved in the settlements, between the so-called 'originator' pharmaceutical companies and producers of generic drugs also decreased from more than 200 million euros ($266 million) recorded in the sector inquiry period, to less than 1 million euros, according to the 2010 report," the Commission said. -Reuters
No #3
Health Asia Conference KARACHI: Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) has decided in principle to actively support the Health and Pharma Asia International Exhibition and Conferences to be organized by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. The Health Asia International Exhibition and Conference incorporating Pharma Asia is scheduled from March 22-24, 2011 at Karachi Expo Center. A PPMA source said PPMA Chairman, Haroon Qasim in a meeting with President Commerce Gateway, Dr. Khursheed Nizam appreciated that Health Asia has been approved as a healthcare event Global Association of Exhibition Industry, France (www.ufi.org). It was decided during the meeting that PPMA will establish a pavilion of its member companies in the said Exhibition while Commerce Gateway would extend maximum facilitation to the members of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. -APP
Suprious, adulterated agri medicines delears arrested RAWALPINDI: No one would be allowed to sell poisonous agricultural medicines without license, an official of Punjab Agriculture Department, Nasir Mazhar here said. Addressing a 15-day training program held here, he said that the dealership holders can deal business with the private firms and distributors. He also warned that strict action will be taken against the dealers under Agriculture Act who are selling fake, adulterated and outdated agriculture medicines. -APP
Continued from page 1
Interior Minister Rehman Malik briefed the meeting on Karachi's law and order situation and the recent spate of targeted killings in the city and steps taken so far to restore normalcy. President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani directed the Sindh government to act against those involved in the unrest with full force and without discrimination. Moreover, Rehman Malik flew to London where he is expected to meet Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain. Malik is expected to take Hussain into confidence over the government's planned course of action. On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said the government was not giving the situation in Karachi the due attention. Addressing a press conference with Awami National Party (ANP) leader Shahi Syed, Shujaat urged all political parties to work together to restore normalcy in the city, added he had been meeting with the leaders of different political parties over Karachi's law and order situation. Shujaat said that time has come to end politics and think about the Karachi situation, adding that the situation is not getting better in the city. Terming his meeting with Shahi Syed as fruitful Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that we have come to Karachi to review the city situation and to know who is responsible for Karachi's worsening situation. Answering to question he said that it is not time of politics but the time to improve Karachi situation. He said that the consensus of all political parties is in interest of the federation and democracy Moreover, PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain Syed said the country's economic stability was directly linked to the restoration of peace in Karachi. Mushahid said the government should act promptly against those involved in the unrest in Karachi, added PML-Q was ready to extend its cooperation in this matter and would not disappoint the nation. On the occasion, Shahi Syed said that every citizen of this country is worried about the law and order situation of Karachi. Meanwhile Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain also visited the sit-in staged by sacked employees of KESC, to express solidarity with them on Saturday. Chaudhry Shujaat has said that the party would continue to support the sacked employees of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) till their reinstatement.
No #4
Continued from page 1
Aziz told the court he provided his mobile phone which was in use during the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to the investigation team. Aziz's counsel, Wahid Anjum, said there is no such technology anywhere in the world that can retrieve data from a mobile phone. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court reserved its Continued from page 1 No #2 judgment for some time before accepting FIA's plea to extend the It was directed against anti-social elements and land grabbers, suspects' remand. -NNI he added. No operation, as has been claimed in some sections of Continued from page 1 No #5 the press, has been launched in Karachi. The weekly SPI was computed with base 2000 2001=100 covThe law enforcement forces are under strict orders to seek instructions from the Home Department Sindh. Only in cases ering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income of authentic and timely intelligence action can be taken for groups and combined. The SPI for the combined group also decreased by 0.27 per cent nabbing any culprit. However information of such an action as it went down from 285.18 points in the previous week to will be conveyed to the Home Department at the earliest 284.42 points in the week under review. opportunity. No discretion or arbitrariness will be tolerated in As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for this regard. the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase Federal Minister for Interior, Home Minister Sindh and Chief of 18.12 percent. Minister Sindh are working in full harmony. It is obviously underAs compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups stood that the target killers are being handled with an iron hand ranging from Rs.3001 5000, Rs.5001 12000 and above Rs.12000 and the actions by DG Rangers Sindh and Police in the recent past decreased by 0.32 percent, 0.28 percent and 0.20 percent respecare highly appreciable and they will continue based on the real tively. During the week under review average prices of 11 items registime intelligence till the apprehension of the target killers. The support and help provided by MQM, ANP and other leaders is tered decrease, 19 increase while prices of 23 items remained unchanged.-Agencies highly commendable. -Online
GSK faces Q4 profit wipe-out on $3bn legal hit LONDON: GlaxoSmithKline will record a legal charge of 2.2 billion pounds ($3.4 billion) for the fourth quarter, effectively wiping out its profit, as it settles further claims related to Avandia and sales practices. The charge equates to an after-tax cost of 1.8 billion pounds, more than the 1.45 billion the drugmaker had been expected to make in net income during the three months to December, according to Thomson Reuters consensus forecasts. Shares in Britain's biggest pharmaceuticals group fell 1.6 percent on the news, underperforming a 0.7 percent advance
No #6
in the European sector. "We recognize that this is a significant charge, but we believe the approach we are taking to resolve long-standing legal matters is in the company's best interests," the company's head of global litigation, PD Villarreal, said in a statement. "We have closed out a num-
ber of major cases over the last year and we remain determined to do all we can to reduce our litigation risk." The charge comes after a 1.57 billion pounds hit taken in the second quarter, which was also related in part to claims surrounding GSK's controversial diabetes pill Avandia.Reuters
Continued from page 1
been completely waived on sales and it has been reduced from 1 percent to 0.5 percent on sale. The SECP has been vigorously pursuing the cause of reduction of duties and taxes on REITs properties since introduction of its regulatory framework in 2008. It may be recalled that under the Income Tax Ordinance, REITs already enjoy tax-pass-through status upon distribution of at least 90 per cent profits among their unit-holders. In addition, the sellers of property have also been provided substantial tax incentives under the tax laws. These measures are likely to encourage transparency in deals and better price mechanism in the real estate market which would ultimately lead to increase in overall revenue of respective governments and land authorities. -APP
No #7
Continued from page 1
Information bill on which the committee said that first bill should be presented in National Assembly in this regard. The Standing Committee said that it would be better if the government present it's bill jointly with the bill moved by Dr Donya. During the meeting the committee urged the government to take steps to ensure safety of the journalists working in conflict zones. The committee expressed concerns over killing of the journalists. Meanwhile, talking to media Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the government believes in freedom of expressions. He said that the three provinces have been consulted regarding Freedom of Information amendment bill while Punjab would be consulted with in two days. He said about Nabeel Gabol's resignation that it was type of domestic issue that has been resolved in home. He said that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has wooed back the angry Nabeel Gabol and his reservations would be removed. He said that steps are being taken to maintain law and order situation in Karachi while on directives of the provincial government the rangers have been given the authority of taking action against the miscreants. He further said that no curfew has been imposed in Karachi nor any operation is underway.-Agencies
No #8
Continued from page 1
additional judges of high courts. The recommendations of Judicial Commission will be forwarded to the parliamentary commission for approval.-NNI
No #9
Continued from page 1
During that time frame power supply will be switch on to public. The committee showed hope that all matter will be solved through dialogues. Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has submitted an adjournment motion in the Upper House against the sacking of over 4000 workers by Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC). Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi submitted the bill, which has termed the KESC step a cruel action and demanded an immediate explanation from the Water and Power Ministry on the issue. MQM leaders also called for steps, which could reduce the plight of working class. Furthermore, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power Senator Haji Lashkari Raisani has sought a report from the senior authorities of KESC on the issue of termination of KESC's employmees. The committee directed the Managing Director KESC to furnish a complete report on the issue, said a release said. Chairman of the Committee took serious notice of the matter and called for an amicable solution of the problem. -Agencies
No #10
Continued from page 1
would be reduced according to the 18th constitutional amendment. On the other hand, sources in Prime Minister Secretariat also said that reshuffling of cabinet was being considered and it was not a new proposal. Earlier, Federal Law Minister Babar Awan, while talking to journalist said that right sizing of cabinet will be made. -Agencies
No #11
Continued from page 8
Punjab government besides giving no more time to government beyond the stipulated time frame of two and half months. Mian Nawaz Sharif stayed in Choolistan for 3 days. He was seen off by party legislators, workers and senior officers of local administration at Bahawalpur airport. Stringent security measures were taken at airport. -Online
No #12
Continued from page 8
especially in retaining the freedom of expression and independence of judiciary. He also appreciated Pakistan's active role in the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The two sides agreed to work more closely in multilateral human rights fora, especially in the UN Council of Human Rights, to promote shared values and objectives. They also agreed to have regular consultations on issues of human rights and International Humanitarian Law. -Agencies
No #13
Continued from page 8
powers, including lifting of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium and a nuclear fuel cycle. "Any kind of talks and cooperation, as I underlined during the talks with Mrs Ashton, should be based on respecting the nations' rights... including Iran's right to nuclear technology," Jalili said at the end of the talks. Uranium enriched to a low degree yields fuel for electricity or, if refined to a high level, the fissile core of a nuclear bomb.-Agencies
No #14
Continued from page 8
failed to build any meaningful partnerships, with both Hamish Bennett and Jacob Oram flirting with hat-tricks. Bennett finished with three for 26 and Oram two for 33.-Agencies
No #15
Continued from page 8
introduced as it was in the interest of entire country, adding that now the ministries and departments should be transferred to the provinces. On the other hand PPP members remained silent over this issue. During the meeting, the members of the committee expressed concern over using of old airplanes from foreign airline companies for flights in Pakistan and their insufficient service. The concerned officers of the foreign airline companies and Civil Aviation Authority were summoned in the next meeting. The PIA officials told the committee that no agreement has yet been signed with Turkish Airline about air routes; the members also expressed concern over sub-standard foods and other services in the PIA flights and advised the officials to improve the standard. -Online
No #16
Continued from page 8
Kaira said that the present government is the ever first regime that supports private member bills, while past tradition was to introduce government's own bills. He said that Access to Information was not the issue exclusively related with Information Ministry. However as the parliament has assigned this task to the ministry, it is working on preparation of a comprehensive bill draft as early as possible. He proposed that instead of discussing the amendment bill moved by Dr Donya Aziz at this stage it should be discussed in detail in the next meeting when the final draft of the Access to Information Bill is tabled in the committee. His proposal was accepted by the committee and now the bill moved by MNA Dr. Donya Aziz would be discussed in the next meeting of the committee. Responding to a point raised by MNA Shireen Arshad, he said that after taking charge of the ministry in March 2009, he offered the Pakistan Federal union of the Journalists (PFUJ) to hold tripartite meeting for resolution of the dispute over implementation of 7th Wage Board Award, but they opted to get a court verdict, and the matter is still sub judice. About the job security for private sector media workers, he said that this issue is related to ministry of law as owners of many media houses have adopted many methods to avoid labour laws. He said that his ministry would launch the scheme for registration of private working journalists and non-journalists related with media industry with Employees Old Age Benefit Institute (EOBI) soon. He said that rules of EOBI have been amended so that the journalists' organizations and the individual media persons can get themselves registered with EOBI. About threats to the media persons, he said that the ministry has sought proposals from the media organizations for provision of security to working journalists without creating hindrance in duties. He told the meeting that the government has imported some Kevlar jackets which would soon be distributed among the media persons working in conflict zones. He further said that the ministry has also arranged training for the media-men so that they can take safety measures for while performing their duty. -APP
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
RIAZ NEWS AGENCY Cell # 0333-5373137
Sunday, January 23, 2011
SHAKIL NEWS AGENCY Cell # 0333-4400472
Govt to empower women economically
Govt serious for GB growth: Gilani
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir in a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, Democracy and Labour Micheal Posner.-APP
Foreign Secretary, US Assistant Secretary discuss Pak-US relations
Ties with US touching new heights, says Pak ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said that Pakistan was undergoing transformation in terms of promoting a transparent, democratic society. He expressed these views in his meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Michael H Posner, who is presently visiting Pakistan, and discussed issues related to human rights and International Humanitarian Law, and enhancing bilateral cooperation in these areas with the view to promoting best practices. According to Foreign office spokesman the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with the US. It was satisfying that there had been tremendous momentum generated in bilateral relations in the last two years to our mutual benefit. Pakistan deeply appreciated the international agenda of the Obama administration to promote peace and prosperity around the world. He said the fact that Pakistan
and the US shared human values, there was great scope for bilateral cooperation in the pursuit of international human rights agenda. Briefing the Assistant Secretary of State on multiple challenges facing Pakistan, especially in the context of extremism and terrorism, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan was undergoing transformation in terms of promoting a transparent, democratic society. In this regard, the role being played by country's rapidly growing civil society, robust media and independent judiciary was significant. The Government and the people of Pakistan were committed to strengthening democracy, and the strides made in the last three years were important to strengthen democratic norms and culture in the country. He added that educational institutions were key to preventing impressionable minds to be lured by extremism. On international human rights agenda, the Foreign
Secretary underlined that selective approaches pursued by some had invariably resulted in misgivings and damaged the cause of building international consensus on promoting best practices. In this regard, he mentioned the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the denial of the right of self-determination to Kashmiris. He said it was necessary that politics should be kept separate from human rights agenda, adding that Pakistan as OIC Coordinator in Geneva was interested to play a role of consensus builder. Foreign Secretary also dilated upon the impact of globalization on traditional societies and how Pakistan was trying to preserve its cultural strengths and societal balance while transforming itself into a modern democratic state. The Assistant Secretary of State commended Pakistan's vibrant society and its accomplishments against heavy odds, See # 12 Page 7
Big powers leave Iran N-talks empty-handed ISTANBUL: World powers failed to prise any change from Iran in two days of talks on its nuclear program, with the EU and United States calling the discussions disappointing and saying no further meetings were planned. "This is not the conclusion I'd hoped for," European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said at the end of the talks in Istanbul on Saturday. "I am disappointed." That was echoed by a senior U.S. official, but he said talks had not broken down and been "very businesslike, but difficult." The best that the six world powers -- the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain -- can hope for is that Iran rethinks its position, once chief negotiator Saeed Jalili reports back to Tehran. "We now wait to hear...
whether Iran will respond on reflection," said Ashton, the lead negotiator for the six world powers. An aide to Jalili told Reuters that there would be another round of talks, even if the timing and venue were undecided. But Ashton said further talks depended on a more constructive approach from Tehran. "The process can go forward if Iran chooses to respond positively," she said. "The door remains open. The choice remains in Iran's hands." The powers have offered a nuclear fuel swap that would effectively reduce Iran's reserves of low enriched uranium to levels too small to be used to make a bomb. But Iran would have to drop pre-conditions for a deal to happen. "We proposed the possibility of an experts-level discussion of the details... The Iranians at this stage are not prepared to do
that, we came back to the issue of preconditions," the U.S. official said. But the failure to make headway showed increasingly tough sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer, have had little effect in persuading the Islamic state to cooperate more, though analysts say the Iranian economy is hurting. Asked by reporters about the possibility of more sanctions, the U.S.official told reporters; "I don't want to speculate on what decisions will get made. There are certainly options there for the pressure track." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week told U.S. networkABC that the Obama administration may propose new unilateral measures against Iran. But from the outset in Istanbul, Iran put preconditions deemed unacceptable by the See # 13 Page 7
Kiwis beat Pakistan by eight wickets WELLINGTON: New Zealand ended an 11-match losing streak in emphatic fashion on Saturday, crushing Pakistan by nine wickets in their first one-day international at Westpac Stadium. New Zealand's opening combination of Jesse Ryder (55) and Martin Guptill (40 not out) made a mockery of the troubles Pakistan's batsmen had with the drop-in pitch as New Zealand raced to 125 for one in 17.2 overs. Ryder and Guptill brought up the first 50 runs inside six overs and were then forced to take the scheduled tea break after New Zealand had earlier bowled the visitors out for 124 in 37.3 overs. Tim Southee took a careerbest 5-33, while wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum took five catches in an innings for the fourth time. New Zealand coach John Wright had said before the match he wanted to trial some new batting combinations in the six-match series against Pakistan as they prepare for the World Cup, and that he would break up the normal opening combination of Ryder and McCullum and look at moving either down to the middle order. McCullum, who has relinquished the gloves in tests, was scheduled to come in at number six but he was not needed as Ryder and Guptill savaged the Pakistani bowlers. Ryder scored 32 of New Zealand's first 50 runs with three fours and two sixes prior to the break and continued afterwards bringing up his fourth one-day half century off 31 balls before he was caught on the boundary by Asad Shafiq off Sohail Tanvir. Ross Taylor was 23 not out with Guptill at the end of the game. Pakistan, who had won the toss and opted to bat, never looked comfortable with New Zealand's pace bowlers getting good bounce, shape and movement away, causing them to prod at deliveries. Test captain Misbah-ul Haq was again the mainstay of Pakistan's batting effort with 50, though the rest of the side See # 14 Page 7
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the sole objective of according autonomy to the Gilgit-Baltistan region was good governance and welfare of the people. He stressed the need of timely implementation of his public announcements made during his visits to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) regarding rehabilitation and development of the area. Prime Minister while talking to the Chief Minister of GilgitBaltistan Syed Mehdi Shah who called on him at PM House here on Saturday asked the Chief Minister to appoint competent officers at key positions to ensure public welfare. He also enquired about the progress of work on drainage of Attabad Lake and rehabilitation of flood affected people as well as the infrastructure. Prime Minister directed the Chief Minister to make necessary preparation in consultation with the relevant quarters for payment of compensation to Diamir Bhasha dam
affectees. He also discussed resettlement schemes of the Dam's affectees with the Chief Minister. Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister that the work to dig a 30 meter deep spillway is in progress which will drain the whole lake. He further said that after successful completion of this project, it is expected that 17 km submerged portion of the Karakuram highway in the lake will be open for traffic again. He also discussed administrative and financial issues concerning Gilgit-Baltistan with the Prime Minister. Meanwhile talking to Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan, Minister for Women Development here at the PM House, Prime Minister Gilani said the women have to be empowered economically to help them play a positive role in nation building. Prime Minister said the Peoples Party's government was committed to take all steps
Senate body divided over ministry shift ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Tourism and Culture has divided over the shifting of Tourism and Culture Ministry to provinces, while the Chairperson of committee Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar said that no one opposed the 18th amendment as it was in the interest of all political parties. As per details, members of the committee held negotiations with Chairman of Implementation Commission Senator Raza Rabbani over the issue of transferring of Tourism and Culture Ministry to provinces. The committee met under chairpersonship of Nilofar Bakhtiar at parliament house on Saturday.
On this occasion, the rift occurred in the committee over the issue of shifting of the Tourism and Culture Ministry to the provinces, while the PPP members did not openly oppose or support the transferring of the ministry to the provinces. Opposing the shifting of the culture ministry to the provinces, Nilofar Bakhtiar pointed out that the provinces could not run culture matters at international level, adding that all the political parties supported the 18th amendment as it was in their interest. On this occasion, PML-N Senator Pervez Rashid opposed Nilofar Bakhtiar's stand, saying that the 18 amendment was See # 15 Page 7
Freedom of expression bill soon, says Kaira ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Saturday that the government believes in complete freedom of expression and draft of the bill for Freedom of Information would be finalized by next month and presented either in the National Assembly session or the concerned standing committee. Speaking during National Assembly's Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting meeting at the Parliament House today (Saturday), he said that after the passage of 18th Amendment, the bill would be
renamed as Right to Information Bill. He said that his ministry has sought input from all stakeholders before the draft for bill is finalized. He said that the three provinces, civil society and organisations of journalists have given their input. However he said that response from the Punjab and some of the federal ministries is still awaited. He requested the Chairperson of the committee Begum Beelum Husnain to allow the ministry about three weeks time to complete its homework and finalize the draft of the bill. See # 16 Page 7
for emancipation of women within religious, cultural and social parameters, in line with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto's vision. Prime Minister expressed confidence that all the provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK will also take initiatives for women emancipation. He hoped that the provincial governments will make arrangements to implement the "Protection of women against sexual harassment at work place" Act passed by the Parliament. Prime Minister said government was aware of social, economic and political challenges being faced by women. He assured support of the Federal government in expediting pending legislation at provincial level for protection of women. He urged the Ministry of Population Welfare to utilize all available resources to streamline energy of youth who constitute the major chunk of the population. -Agencies
Consultation to help resolve problems: Qamar ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for petroleum and natural resources Syed Naveed Qamar has said that consultation with allies and opposition parties to help resolve people's problems and national issues. Talking to private news channel, he said that holding talks with allies or opposition parties including PML-N is an ongoing process and this will helps resolve people's problem and address national issues. He said government has resolved many problems like Balochistan issue, war on terror and brought 18th amendment with consensus. He said issues like RGST has been put forward by the PMLN would also be resolved on the scheduled talks on January 26 with PML-N. He said talks are taking place in a good atmosphere and will bring positive results. He said consultation with other parties in situation country is facing nowadays would help met challenges. -Agencies
No compromise on rights: Sharif BAHAWALPUR: PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif has said his party does not want to pursue politics of confrontation adding no compromise on the rights of people will however be made. Mian Nawaz Sharif said this while talking to members of national and provincial assemblies from PML-N and its workers here Saturday. Realization of national agenda was top priority, he underlined. Rights of people would not be compromised, he announced. Sources told PML-N workers demanded of Mian Nawaz Sharif to dissociate PPP from See # 11 Page 7
WTO urges alternatives to food export curbs GENEVA: Export restrictions are a prime cause of current and recent surges in global food prices, and countries should find other ways to secure domestic supplies, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Saturday. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said that only a few years after the 2008 food crisis, rising prices were stoking global inflation and fomenting political unrest in several countries.
Two weeks ago the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said its food price index had reached a record high in 2010, exceeding 2008 levels when rising food prices prompted riots in a number of countries. Lamy said that one factor this time was bad weather, for instance last year's drought in Russia and its Black Sea neighbors. But export restrictions played a major role in food crises, and
some people considered them the main cause of the 2008 price rise, he told a conference of agriculture ministers in Berlin. "Export restrictions lead to panic in markets when different actors see prices rising at stellar speed," Lamy said. For instance there was no fundamental imbalance in the market for rice in 2007-2008 but international trade in the crop fell by seven percent in 2008 from record 2007 levels largely because of export restrictions,
he said. Rising prices for cereals in 2010-2011 have much to do with export restrictions in Russia and Ukraine, imposed after both countries were hit by drought, he said. Such restrictions hurt importing countries and can prevent the World Food Programme from acquiring the food it needs to help starving people. Lamy said countries imposing restrictions were driven by the need to prevent their own
populations starving, but there were other ways of achieving this goal. "The answer to that question must reside in more food production globally, more social safety nets, and more food aid and possibly food reserves," he said. "I would argue that what we must at least explore is the exemption of humanitarian food aid from export bans." WTO rules allow members to curb or ban food exports to
ensure their own food supplies, and efforts by Japan in 2008 to make it harder for countries to restrict exports found little support. But Lamy said the long-running Doha round to free up world trade could help remove other barriers to commerce in food, for instance by reducing rich-world subsidies that have hurt poor countries' production capacity and banning export subsidies entirely, and bringing down some tar-
iffs. "Globally, what we would be likely to see as a result of Doha is more food being produced where this can be done more efficiently," he said. WTO members have launched a renewed push to conclude the nine-year-old Doha round this year. In agriculture they spent the last week largely looking at technical issues needed to implement a deal, and looking at proposals on subsidies. -Agencies
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.