International Karachi, Monday, August 1, 2011, Shaban-ul-Muazzam 29, Price Rs12 Pages 12
Sharmila leads peace rally in Orangi near Kati Pahari See on Page 12
$18.30bn 13.92% $24.83bn $40.41bn $(15.59)bn $542mn $11.20bn $1.92bn Rs 1598bn $59.54bn Rs 5957bn $758mn -2.28% 4.20% $1,051 176.77mn
Foreign Debt (Mar 11) Domestic Debt (Jun 11) Repatriated Profit (Jul 10 - Jun 11) LSM Growth (May 11)
GDP Growth FY12E Per Capita Income FY10 Population
See on Page 12
ISLAMABAD: After the devolution process, in accordance with 18th Amendment, provincial governments have outpaced federal government in getting loaded with loans, both from central and commercial banks. During the first nine days of current year, the provinces borrowed a collective amount of
SCRA(U.S $ in million)
-46.49 -46.49 -3.90 2768
Total Portfolio Invest (16-Jul-2011)
See on Page 12
Another modaraba tribunal for Karachi
Provinces outpace center in borrowing
Portfolio Investment Yearly(Jul, 2011 up to 29-Jul-2011) Monthly(Jun, 2011 up to 29-Jul-2011) Daily (29-Jul-2011)
See on Page 12
Reshuffle in Pak Army on anvil
Blessings of 18th Amendment
Economic Indicators Forex Reserves (23-July-11) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Jun 11) Exports (Jul 10-Jun 11) Imports (Jul 10-Jun 11) Trade Balance (Jul 10-Jun 11) Current A/C (Jul 10-Jun 11) Remittances (Jul 10-Jun 11) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Jun 11) Revenue (Jul 10-Jun 11)
Pak mangoes to sweeten ties with US
NCCPL
Rs47.60 billion, which is 400 per cent more than previous year's Rs9.30 billion for similar period. Even the federal government borrowed way below its requirements by Rs7.63 billion. Among various provinces, KPK government borrowed Rs8.85 billion, Punjab government borrowed Rs22.67 billion, followed by Sindh at Rs8.2420
billion, and Balochistan government Rs7.86 billion. Meanwhile for the first 10days of similar period, previous year loans borrowed by federal government were about Rs66.8480 billion, while the credit balance possessed by federal government during first 10 days of the fiscal year stands at Rs7.63 billion. - Online
(U.S $ in million)
FIPI (29-Jul-2011) Local Companies (29-Jul-2011) Banks / DFI (29-Jul-2011) Mutual Funds (29-Jul-2011) NBFC (29-Jul-2011) Local Investors (29-Jul-2011) Other Organization (29-Jul-2011)
0.16 -7.66 8.11 1.15 -0.42 -1.29 -0.05
Global Indices Index KSE 100 Nikkei 225 Hang Seng Sensex 30 ADX SSE COMP. FTSE 100 *Dow Jones
Close 12,190.37 9,833.03 22,440.25 18,197.20 2,627.99 2,701.73 5,815.19 12,143.24
Change 92.32 68.32 130.49 12.32 13.42 7.05 58.02 96.87
GDR update $.Price PKR/Shares Symbols 112.38 MCB (1 GDR= 2 Shares) 2.60 142.98 OGDC (1 GDR= 10 Shares) 16.54 43.22 UBL (1 GDR= 4 Shares) 2.00 36.74 LUCK (1 GDR= 4 Shares) 1.70 39.21 HUBC (1 GDR= 25 Shares) 11.34
Money Market Update 13.53% 13.78% 13.92% 13.50% 13.79% 13.63% 13.81% 14.15% 14.25% 13.91% 13.92% 14.01% 14.24% 14.32% 14.41%
T-Bills (3 Mths) 27-Jul-2011 T-Bills (6 Mths) 27-Jul-2011 T-Bills (12 Mths) 27-Jul-2011 Discount Rate 30-Jul-2011 Kibor (1 Mth) 30-Jul-2011 Kibor (3 Mths) 30-Jul-2011 Kibor (6 Mths) 30-Jul-2011 Kibor (9 Mths) 30-Jul-2011 30-Jul-2011 Kibor (1 Yr) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (3 Yrs) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (5 Yrs) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (10 Yrs) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (15 Yrs) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (20 Yrs) 30-Jul-2011 P.I.B (30 Yrs)
Commodities *Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl *Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl *Cotton $/lb *Gold $/ozs *Silver $/ozs Malaysian Palm $ GOLD (NCEL) PKR KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR
116.74 95.70 101.77 1,631.20 40.11 1,050 44,844 5,894
Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols
Buy (Rs)
Inter-Bank Currency Rates Buying
Selling
TT Clean
TT & OD
Australian $ 94.94 95.16 Canadian $ 90.37 90.58 Danish Krone 16.70 16.74 Euro 124.21 124.49 Hong Kong $ 11.08 11.10 Japanese Yen 1.115 1.117 Saudi Riyal 23.03 23.08 Singapore $ 71.73 71.89 Swedish Korona 13.76 13.79 Swiss Franc 109.81 110.07 U.A.E Dirham 23.51 23.56 UK Pound 141.77 142.10 US $ 86.45 86.63 Weather Forecast Cities
Islamabad Karachi Lahore Faisalabad Quetta Rawalpindi
Max-Temp Min-Temp
35°C 35°C 33°C 34°C 37°C 36°C
Built-in flaws in mechanism
Tax collection far below actual potential TFD Report KARACHI: Total tax collection including direct and indirect is quite lower than the actual potential which if applied properly could bring a total revenue of Rs5 trillion almost double than total outlays of current year budget bringing on the hundred per cent budget surplus. Presently FBR hardly collects Rs1.5 to 1.5 trillion revenue every year because of built-in flaws in tax collection mechanism particularly its outdated tax collection machinery including its ineffi-
20°C 29°C 29°C 30°C 15°C 20°C
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cient manpower. A day earlier, Tax Ombudsman Dr Shoaib Suddle while addressing income tax officers and FBR officials openly declared that tax collection system is not fair but added that efforts are being made to remove flaws and deficiencies inherent in it. More interestingly, the FBR's revenue collection figures fudging of the previous financial year 2010-2011 was come on the surface recently which is ample evidence of the fact that tax collection machinery is quite inefficient to achieve its own
set targets. It may be mentioned here that scandal of the revenue collection figures fudging exposed when Chairman FBR revealed that revenue collection stood at Rs1550 billion against the earlier announcement of Rs1592 billion. Earlier, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Salman Siddique in a late night press conference on June 30 has claimed that government has surpassed the revenue collection target of Rs1588 billion for the first time in its history, as FBR has collected Rs1592 billion in previous.
Bravo to SBP: Dhedhi
Brokers cheer up on rate cut AH sees further slash in future Nawaz Ali
Sell (Rs)
Australian $ 94.10 95.10 Canadian $ 89.60 90.80 Danish Krone 16.25 16.60 Euro 123.30 124.50 Hong Kong $ 10.85 11.00 Japanese Yen 1.091 1.116 Saudi Riyal 22.88 23.08 Singapore $ 71.00 72.00 Swedish Korona 13.40 13.60 Swiss Franc 100.00 101.00 U.A.E Dirham 23.38 23.59 UK Pound 140.80 142.20 US $ 86.15 86.45 Symbols
KARACHI: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani talking to Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan during a meeting at Governor House.-APP
KARACHI: Senior members of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) welcomed the decision by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to cut the key discount rate by 50 basis points on Saturday. Chairman AKD Group Aqeel Karim Dhedhi while talking exclusively to The Financial Daily said that it is a great decision which indicates that SBP is now going to a low interest rate regime which will ultimately benefit the government of Pakistan. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday decided to reduce its policy rate by 50 basis points to 13.5 percent with effect from August 1, 2011 for the next two months. The key parameter in policy rate assessment is the outlook of inflation which indicates that average inflation in current fiscal year is expected to remain
in line with the announced target, he said, adding that no adjustment in the interest rate would entail further tightening of monetary policy in real terms, which is not warranted given the decline in private investment. Dhedhi said that inflation is expected to further decrease therefore central bank should reduce the interest rates further while the corridor rates should also be brought down to 9 per cent from 11 per cent at present. "I think that after the said decision, the Kibor rates would come down by at least 2 per cent", he added. He said that the stock market would see a bullish reaction over this announcement. It may be mentioned here that most of the analysts at the stock market were expecting no change in the interest rates but this decision by the SBP had surprised many of them. Another senior member,
industrialist and renowned businessmen Arif Habib also welcomed this decision. "It's a good decision and a step towards the right path", he said. Chairman Arif Habib Group said that the interest rates should be further reduced and I am hoping to see it at 10 per cent. Replying to a question as to how the stock market would react on it he said that stock market would definitely see a positive reaction. Director Karachi Stock Exchange Mohammad Sohail said that it was expected that SBP may wait and see the inflation trend before cutting the rate. However considering the fact that inflation will cool down after Ramazan, SBP took this bold step. "Government restricted borrowing from SBP also helped reduction in policy rate", he added.
POL prices raised from today TFD Monitoring ISLAMABAD: The officials of petroleum ministry have once again decided to raise the prices of petroleum products from today (1st August), media reported Sunday. According to the officials of the petroleum ministry, the price of petrol is being raised by Rs1.9 per liter after which its price will climb to Rs84.80. The rate of kerosene oil is also being increased by Rs1.97 per liter to Rs86.62; high octane price will see a rise of Rs5.34 per liter; light diesel price is being jacked up by Rs2.13 per liter and; the price of high speed diesel is being kept unchanged at Rs92.10 per liter.
Eight more killed despite peace drive KARACHI: Another eight people were killed in Karachi despite massive drive for peace by Sindh government while Landhi operation ended without any arrest. Firing by unknown men killed a man in Sector 2-C Bokhari Colony, Orangi Town. The man is said to be around 50 years of age but could not been immediately identified. Another man, Muhammad Zahid, was shot dead in Orangi Town Sector. The slain was resident of Chishti Nagar. Unknown gunmen attacked an oil supply carry van killing two men on the spot. Ill-fated Badshah Khan and his nephew Sajjad died on the spot. Police reached the scene and shifted bodies to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Police started search operation in Landhi's Muhammad Nagar and Bhutto Nagar after a number of people were killed in target attacks yesterday. The two day death toll in Karachi has topped 17 with two Sunday killings. The search operation however ended without any arrest being made. Different political and religious parties held peace rallies yesterday, while Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was also present in the city, See # 5 Page 11
$12mn drawn back from KSE last wk Ghulam Raza Rajani KARACHI: Flight of foreign portfolio investment was observed last week with a net withdrawal of $12 million from offshore investors as per the data of National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL). Though improvement was seen on the economic front where foreign reserves touched all-time high of $18.30 billion and corporate earnings remained strong but off-shore investors remained concerned globally on the news that congressional leaders and the Obama administration failed to reach agreement on the deal to raise the US debt limit. That is why outflow was seen in regional market expects India where weekly inflows of $70 million witnessed. Bears dominated the Karachi stock market last week which ended 2.3 per cent lower with thin volumes. Despite of the fact that FFBL, FFC, MCB and UBL posted excellent
results, market failed to react positively due to heavy foreign selling. KSE 100-Index plunged by 286.40 points to reach 12,190. Weekly average volumes witnessed decrease by 39.1 per cent to 51.81 million shares against 85.05 million shares traded week before last. Foreign investors remained on the selling side as they offloaded shares worth $27.9 million and bought share valuing $15.9 million. Furthermore, local individuals and NBFC remained on the selling side with shares worth $2.31 million and $0.03 million. On the other hand, biggest weekly buying was witnessed from banks which invested $30.71 million of shares in the local bourse against the selling of $23.37 million, thus turning the net buying worth of $7.34 million. Moreover, companies, other organization and mutual funds also followed banks as they net invested $5.48 million, $1.26 million and $0.23 million respectively.
Urea prices sharply unstable TFD Report KARACHI: The amount of urea prices raised in previous one and half years are same as that of prior last 32 years. According to details during previous eighteen months the prices of urea increased sharply by Rs750 to 800 per bag while in previous thirty two years, prior to this, these were cumulatively increased by the same amount. It is widely feared that if the gas prices are increased further then the prices of urea would more escalate by Rs460 per bag which would eventually hit food security causing severe shortage of agricultural prod-
ucts in the country. According to experts, natural gas is a basic raw material of the fertiliser industry that has contributed to a price rise of Rs375 of urea bags since January 2010. In addition to gas shortage, urea deficit had further swelled fertiliser prices by Rs170 per bag, while the imposition of general sales tax of agriculture inputs added Rs184 per bag. It is estimated that fertiliser manufacturers costs had increased by merely Rs17 or two per cent per bag during the period under review. Expert said that according to natural gas allocation policy, fertilizer sector stands second See # 6 Page 11
Tax on those who fail to avail ZRR ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue has decided to slap sales tax on input as well as utilities of over 85 industrial units having defaulted registration with zero-rated regime (ZRR). According to well-placed sources, the FBR has identified some 85 industrial units that had failed to maintain their
qualification for the export oriented zero-rated regime under the SRO No. 509(I)/2007. This notification of 2007 had exempted five industries namely surgical, sports goods, textiles, leather, and carpets from sales on inputs and utilities in a bid to encourage exports. The sources told Online that this decision was made in the
rationalisation drive of the zero-rated regime that started in April this year. The FBR issued SRO (I)/2011 in April this year as the first phase of zero-rated regime's rationalisation. Under this SRO the industrial component was separated from trade and commercial components of the export oriented manufactur-
ing units. The notification in April had made it clear that the units would be allowed zero-rated regime only for the industrial component and the trade and commercial components would have to pay sales tax on utilities. Now in the second phase of the rationalisation drive the FBR has decided to withdraw
this exemption from the units that have failed to get eligibility of their registration with the regime that is being managed through an automated system. "There the FBR has sent a notice to at least 85 units that were with their registration blocked, suspended, unverified, or canceled that they would no longer be able to avail the zero-
rated regime," a senior official of the FBR told Online requesting anonymity. The official said that an SRO superseding SRO 583 would be issued in mid of this month that would notify withdrawal of zero-rated concession from the companies with inflected registration with the regime. - Online
2
Monday, August 1, 2011
Apex tax collecting institutions failed in duty: PEW
FBR termed as hurdle in expanding tax net ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Sunday said Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has become one of the biggest hurdles in increasing the tax net to raise funds. The apex tax collecting institutions have repeatedly failed the test of transparency which has resulted in public mistrust and disbelief on the part of international lending institutions. Masses have developed a defence mechanism against the accesses of tax officials; they are ready to pay bribes but not willing to pay taxes,
say Dr Murtaza Mughal, President PEW. He said that why someone should pay part of his hard-earned money to FBR that would not be used for national development. Instead, it will be used for personal welfare or support the princely living of rulers. Millions spend a good part of their time to save their skin from tax authorities which leaves them with little time to plan development of businesses which is also barring growth, said Dr Murtaza Mughal. Many taxpayers prefer to become
tax evaders to avoid harassment which help the mafia in FBR to achieve their goal of accumulating wealth, he added. This is because the FBR has lost direction to become widely known for mismanagement, misreporting, botching up funds, lordliness and inefficiency which is evident from findings of Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee. Rulers need to understand that our survival is tied to collection of taxes that calls for urgent corrective steps. - Online
Purchasing PaCCS HYDERABAD: Students appearing in the module per-entry test at Al-Hamra Hall. -INP
Consul General Boschung hosts reception
Swiss National Day observed
KARACHI: Consul General of Switzerland Didier Boschung, hosted a reception to celebrate the 720th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Swiss Confederation, at DHA club. Picture shows Sindh ministers Agha Siraj Durrani, Jam Madad Ali, CM Advisor Rashid Rabbani, diplomats from UK, France and China, with host and other prominent guests. -Staff Photo
Staff Reporter KARACHI: The Consul General of Switzerland in Karachi Didier Boschung hosted a reception on Sunday evening to celebrate the 720th anniversary of the foundation of the Swiss Confederation. This year's celebration was a very unique as the Consulate General organized a poster competition to celebrate the event. The participants were talented young students of Karachi University and Indus Valley school of Art and Architecture. Twenty-one were on display at the reception venue which were greatly admired and appreciated by the guests.
A Swiss musician Franz Keller who plays the traditional Swiss instrument "Alphorn" was also present, having flown in earlier in the morning, he impressed the gathering with his music. A lucky draw was also held on the occasion and seven lucky guests won an Airline Ticket to Switzerland, Rado and Tissot watches, a Victorinox cutlery set, an HP LCD monitor and two gift hampers. Swiss companies operating in Pakistan and some local representatives of Swiss companies had put up their banners and stalls to participate in the celebration.
They were Al-Ameen Trading, Clariant Pakistan Ltd, Habib Bank AG ZĂźrich, Hazari Impex, International Watch Company, Jofa International, MSC Agency Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, Mushko Electronics, Nazer & Co, Novartis Pharma Pakistan Ltd, Roche Pakistan Ltd, SGS Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, Speedy Automation, Swiss International Air Lines, The Legend and the Swiss Business Council was also presented. The Swiss Consul General Didier Boschung in his brief welcome address thanked the companies and guests for making the celebration a success.
IPO-Pakistan needs to be restructured: Afridi ISLAMABAD: Chairman Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) Hameedullah Jan Afridi has said that IPO-Pakistan is being structured on strong footings to make this organisation a role model. He said lawyers are the key stakeholders of IPO who are in a better position to promote its functioning and play their role for creating awareness among the masses for registration of their intellectual rights. He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Association (PIPRA). The Director General
IPO-Pakistan Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta, Executive Director Umerdad, other IPO officers, Meesaq Arif, Inam ul Haq, Dr Muhammad Khurram also present. The office-bearers of (PIPRA) Khawaja Mansoor, Javed Safdar Tanwiri, and Karimullah Adeni along with other members highlighted various issues pertaining to registries and improvement of their working. They pointed out necessary measures to further streamline the process of registration and assured their assistance and cooperation in this regard. Hameedullah Jan Afridi exchange views about
legal issues and asked lawyers to give their input so that the proposed ordinance of IPO could be made more effective. He lauded the contributions of lawyer's community for taking keen interest in strengthening IPO and assured that working relationships and mutual cooperation would be further enhanced with the objective to provide better facilities to the clients. The Director General IPO-Pakistan Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta reiterated his affirm that quality of services at all the offices of IPO would be improved by conducing capacity building programs and in-house training sessions.-APP
AIOU admission starts ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has announced that its Matric to MA/ MSc admission programme began all over the country from 31st July and would last till 20th August for Semester Autumn 2011. Director Admissions of AIOU said that admission forms and prospectuses can be obtained from the sale points in the main campus of the University in Islamabad as well as from its 36 regional campuses all over the country. -INP
Utility store set up at KPC Staff Reporter KARACHI: A utility store has been established at Karachi Press Club (KPC) for its members. This was stated by the President of the KPC, Tahir Hassan Khan on Sunday. He said that the facility for about 2,000 members of the KPC is being created in collaboration with the federal government. The utility store will be inaugurated today by the Federal Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. Tahir Hassan Khan further stated that the items of daily use would be available for the members of the KPC and their families at subsidised rates as has been announced by the federal government.
Security in Sindh beefed up for Ramazan KARACHI: Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan has issued special directives to law enforcement agencies to take extraordinary measures for security during the holy month of Ramazan. According to a statement of the Sindh Home Department issued here on Sunday, the minister asked the IGP Sindh, Rangers, Special Branch, Traffic Police and concerned officers of all the regions of the province to ensure peace during the holy month. He also issued directives for security measures at all mosques, Imambargahs and also during Iftar and Sehri timings and posting of the intelligence officials to keep a vigil on suspected elements.-APP
Eco-protection priority: Marri KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Electric Power, Shazia Marri has said that fight against environment de-gradation is among top priorities of Pakistan Peoples Party and its government which will continue its efforts to aware masses to combat environmental threats. This she said while addressing as a chief guest to 8th Annual Environment Excellence Awards-2011, organized National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH) here at local on Saturday. Chairman, Intellectual Property Rights and former Federal Minister Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi presided over the event while Senator Rukhsana Zubairi, Chairperson, Pakistan Engineering Council, Dr. Kaiser Waheed, Chairman, M. Naeem Qureshi, President NFEH, Shamsul-Haq Memon, Consultant, Coastal Development Authority, Sindh and others also addressed the event.
Marri further said the present government is very much determined on the issues of environment as President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari himself has been Federal Minister for Environment. She agreed to the idea to make part the environment as a part of educational syllabus and said that until the mothers will not educate their children to become a responsible citizen, with regard to keep surroundings/ society neat and clean, the country will not get rid off the environmental problems. She said that it is high time to work for the change of attitudes in every individual to develop Pakistan green and clean and further stressed for the need to protect and nourish the nature which is gifted to our nation by Allah almighty. Hameedullah Jan Afridi briefed the participants of the event about the measures of the Federal Government taken so far to address environmental issues. -APP
$4mn paid as advance to IT firm Staff Reporter KARACHI: In order to purchase PaCCS, the revenue body has paid over $4 million to Agility. The Agility has demanded $62 million to sale its automated clearance system to Federal Board of Revenue. It includes six years of services rendered to national exchequer. In 2005, Agility tailored PaCCS software for Pakistan on the directives of then former chairman FBR Abdullah Yousuf to automate the clearances of goods declarations and cut the roots of corruption from custom offices. Undoubtedly, the system has proved its effective-
ness and generates huge revenues every day. Recently, it was made public that PaCCS system has the capacity to generate Rs 300 million daily. It has always shown higher volume of cargo both in imports and exports. In a rough estimate, the custom department generates over 1.75 billion rupees daily. The representatives of trade bodies and importers have appreciated the stance of FBR and believed that if both companies sit together to resolve the dispute(s) of settlement of dues, the customs department will grow further. Even though, the revenue body has paid only
$4 million to the company, but it shows commitment of the institution to run the system, said trade body. As always, Agility enjoys fabulous support of the trade bodies because the system introduced by the company is user-friendly and corruption free. The automated system has enabled importers and exporters to file Declarations to Customs over the web from their offices anywhere in the country, pay their duties on taxes at their nearest national bank and could clear cargo without ever having to visit any Customs office or coming in contact with any Customs office.
Computer classes for special kids soon Staff Reporter KARACHI: Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) will soon start free computer classes for the special children. An announcement to this effect was made by the Chancellor of SSUET, Engineer ZA Nizami. He was speaking at a reception hosted by the Students Forum for the participants of the Special Olympics. Nizami expressed the desire that there should be an institution of higher learning for the special children especially in the engineering disciplines. He was of the view that concerted efforts should be made in this regard.
Fatima Jinnah’s 118th Birthday Anniversary
KARACHI: Mohammad Aslam Jinnah, son in law of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, celebrated 118th birthday anniversary of Mother of Nation Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah at annexe of Quaid-e-Azam House Civil Lines Karachi along with his family and friends. -Staff Photo
3
Monday, August 1, 2011
Asia currencies
Greenback weekly outlook
Mostly gain on growth in Dollar may bounce on US downgrade but destiny is dark region, rising interest rates Downgrade of US debt seen temporarily lifting dollar
Euro to remain under pressure on peripheral fears NEW YORK: Lawmakers were still unable to reach an agreement on the US debt ceiling on Friday, but there is no arguing that the dollar's safe-haven appeal should remain trumped by the Swiss franc and Japanese yen. The dollar on Friday hit a record low against the Swiss franc and a four-month trough against the yen, both traditional safe-haven currencies, as weak data on US economic growth ignited fears the economy could slip into another recession. With four days left before
the United States hits its debt limit, Republicans pressed ahead with a deficit plan that cannot pass Congress and President Barack Obama told lawmakers to stop wasting time and find a way "out of this mess." "If the US Treasury starts missing payments the FX market will begin to freak out, volatility will spike and liquidity will dry up," said Greg Anderson, G10 strategist at CitiFX, a division of Citigroup in New York. If the debt ceiling is raised
Specs boost USD shorts in latest week: CFTC NEW YORK: Currency speculatorsincreased bets against the US dollar in the latest week as anAug. 2 deadline looms to raise the country's debt limit,according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commissionreleased on Friday. The value of the dollar's net short position rose to $25.42billion in the week ended July 26, from $14 billion a weekearlier. The US currency came under heavy pressure in recentsessions as a stalemate in Washington over raising the nation'sdebt limit stoked fears of a downgrade of the United States'top-notch tripleA credit rating and even a US debt default. "The largest moves were seen in the euro and yen thoughaversion to the US dollar was broad-based given ongoingconcerns over the debt limit in Washington," currencystrategists at Scotia Capital wrote in a note. The Reuters calculation for the aggregate US dollarposition is derived from net positions of InternationalMonetary Market speculators in the yen, euro, British pound,Swiss franc, Canadian and Australian dollars. Speculators nearly doubled bets in favor of the euro. Theyalso increased long positions in the Japanese yen and reversedbets against sterling, the CFTC data showed. Long positions in commodity-linked currencies such as theCanadian and Australian dollars rose in the latest week. To be short a currency is to bet it will decline in value,while being long a currency is a bet its value will rise. -Reuters
US corn, wheat edge lower AMSTERDAM/SYDNEY: US corn, wheat and soybeans futures edged down on Friday as the market awaited news on the US debt talks. Corn and wheat prices had rebounded in early trade on Friday following a fall on Thursday but reversed direction as the dollar rose against the euro and concerns about a possible US credit rating downgrade grew. Weather forecasts are also being keenly watched as crops mature in the northern hemisphere and concerns remain that sizzling heat in the US Midwest last week might have hurt corn and soybean yields, despite kinder weather this week. Corn for December delivery, the actively traded harvest month contract, lost 0.95 per cent to $6.79-½ per bushel after shedding 0.5 per cent on Thursday. Spot September corn was down 1.06 per cent at $6.75. Although cooler weather in the US Midwest has helped crops recover from a heat wave last week, yields are likely to have been damaged.-Reuters
but the deficit reduction measures are not big enough to avoid a ratings downgrade, this is already priced into the market and will not necessarily rattle the market, he said. "A US credit rating downgrade should lift the dollar because people will want to cut their exposure to risk and square their short dollar positions." The dollar fell to a record low of 0.78530 francon trading platform EBS and was last at 0.78860, down 1.5 per cent on the day. On the week, the dollar fell 2.8 per cent and in July 6.1 per cent, its worst monthly showing since December 2010. The euro slid to record lows against the Swiss unit as well, to 1.12970 francs. It last traded at 1.1346 francs, down 1.2 per cent. The euro fell 3.1 per cent on the week and 6.9 per cent this month, its worst monthly performance since June 2010. Barclays Capital said the immediate effect of a downgrade should be supportive for the dollar. "However, the fact that this is a US-driven risk, the USD will likely lag other safe-haven currencies (such as the JPY and CHF)," the firm said. "Further out, we see fiscal tightening weighing on growth and the USD weakening further, as monetary policy is kept looser for longer than the market is expecting."
Sugar extends losses; cocoa holds flat NEW YORK/LONDON: ICE raw sugar futures closed lower in choppy trade on Friday amid month-end profit-taking, while cocoa ended little changed as its spreads hit contract lows on heavy West African supplies. Coffee traded higher, while the commodity complex posted its biggest one-day loss in two weeks as investors fled to safe havens on concern about sovereign debt crises on both sides of the Atlantic. Raw sugar futures fell on profit-taking, but most players appeared reluctant to take aggressive positions before an Aug. 2 deadline for the United States to raise its debt ceiling or risk default. "All the other markets, including sugar, will be anxiously waiting to see if they reach an agreement before August 2," said Alex Oliveira, senior sugar analyst at brokerage Newedge USA. October raw sugar on ICE dropped 0.11 cent to finish at 29.81 cents per lb, below the contract high of 31.68 cents touched on Monday. The market had been underpinned by concerns over the size of the Brazilian crop due to a combination of weather factors and aging cane plants. Brazil is the world's top sugar producer and exporter.
"The bears need to keep yesterday's victorious momentum burning and test the support around 29 cents and the bulls need to get a close back above 30 cents quickly," Thomas Kujawa of brokerage Sucden Financial said. Dealers said recent high prices were curbing physical demand as buyers hoped prices would correct lower. October white sugar on Liffe fell $11.60 to close at $777.40 per tonne, after touching a contract high of $821.00 on Monday. Speculators raised their net long position in raw sugar futures and options by 12 per cent to a 1-1/2-year high in the week ended July 26, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed postmarket. Cocoa futures on ICE closed flat to lower, with nearby contracts getting a lift off their lows from a strong pound against the dollar and firm industry offtake, while the currency pressured Liffe cocoa to a weak settlement. Pressure from a bumper 2010/11 crop, however, pushed the September/December spread to contract lows ahead of the index fund roll on ICE scheduled for Aug. 5 to 9.-Reuters
NY cotton lower as US debt crisis hounds market NEW YORK: Cotton futures settled lowerFriday as the market swung from daily limit down to slightlyfirmer on the day in a reflection of the deep uncertaintygripping investors worried over the US debt crisis, analystssaid. 'Maybe there a lot of nervous 'Nellies' out there,' SharonJohnson, senior cotton analyst for commodities brokerage PensonFutures in Atlanta, Georgia, said in describing the market'soverall mood. 'Is it going to be Armageddon (in world financialmarkets) on Monday?'
A financial fiasco would hit cotton futures because itwould severely weaken demand for the fiber in depression-hitglobal economies, analysts said. The key December cotton futures on ICE Futures USfell 0.80 cent to finish at $1.0177 per lb, trading from 98.57cents to $1.028. On the month, the market is down around 14 per cent. But themarket's weekly performance showed a 3 per cent gain. Since hitting a session low of 93.20 cents on Tuesday,cotton shot up by over 12 per cent to hit
a Wednesday peak at$1.0444, its highest since gapping lower on July 14 and July15. Total market volume Friday hit around 11,200 lots at 1753 GMT, about 30 per cent below the 30day norm,Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed. Traders said investors deflated fiber contracts in earlybusiness as they scampered away from cotton and other markets,spooked by the prospect the United States, the world's biggesteconomy, would run out of money to pay its debts on Aug. 2unless the country raises its debt ceiling.-Reuters
Meanwhile, if the debt ceiling is raised and there is no ratings action, the dollar should falter versus riskier currencies such as the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars. The dollar was last down 1 per cent against the yen at 76.94 yen, its lowest level since coordinated intervention to weaken the Japanese currency in mid-March. The record low for dollar/yen was 76.250. "The dollar is looking less and less attractive from a growth, fiscal and monetary perspective," said Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. "The recovery has lost momentum, the US is up to its neck in debt and the Federal Reserve is considering more stimulus." Government data earlier on Friday showed the US economy grew at a much weaker-than-expected rate in the second quarter. Firstquarter growth was also revised sharply lower. In late afternoon New York trading the euro was up 0.4 per cent against the dollar at $1.4382. While America faces a potential downgrade of its debt for the first time in history, Europe continues to struggle to reconcile its structural imbalances and wider peripheral spreads should continue to pressure the euro. -Reuters
Copper ekes out gain amid supply threat NEW YORK/LONDON: Copper ended up a shade in choppy trade on Friday, failing to sustain a surge to three-month highs as economic jitters limited the bullish impact of Chilean supply shocks. Copper posted its second straight monthly gain as investors bet on improved demand in the second half, along with a supply shortfall, with production problems mounting in top producer Chile. Prices rallied overnight to earlyApril peaks, then balked after data showed the US economy stumbled badly in the first half of 2011, coming dangerously close to contracting in the January-March period. London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark copper eked out a $5 gain by the close to $9,820 a tonne, after hitting an earlier-session peak at $9,895, its highest since April 11. In New York, the key September COMEX contract settled up 1 cent at $4.4795 per lb, after recovering from an early loss to $4.4115. It also touched a three-month high at $4.5020. "It's an excuse to rally off the lows, but not an excuse to go above $4.50 ... this overnight high is a bit pricey given the uncertainty in the world economy," said Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist with Lind-Waldock in Chicago. "It's clear that we are nowhere near the end of macro data having an impact on copper prices," said Barclays Capital analyst Gayle Berry. "There are still a number of big macro issues that need to be addressed, such as the US debt crisis, tighter Chinese monetary policy and manufacturing data. Metals are going to be subject to volatility and disappointment sometimes." US President Barack Obama earlier told Republicans and Democrats to find a way "out of this mess." The United States will be unable to borrow money to pay its bills if Congress does not raise the debt limit by Aug. 2.-Reuters
SINGAPORE: Asian currencies completed a second weekly gain, led by the Philippine peso and India's rupee, on speculation the region's growth outlook and rising interest rates will attract foreign funds. "The fundamentals are still attractive in the Asian region as growth continues," said David Cohen, a Singapore-based economist for Action Economics. "This has been contributing to the central banks' decisions to raise interest rates, which is supportive of their currencies." The Philippine peso strengthened 0.7 per cent this past week to 42.07 per dollar in Manila. The rupee appreciated 0.4 per cent to 44.19, Indonesia's rupiah gained 0.3 per cent to 8,507 and Singapore's dollar climbed 0.2 per cent to S$1.2056. The Asia Dollar Index, which
tracks the region's 10 mostactive currencies excluding the yen, advanced 0.2 per cent this past week and 1 per cent this month, the most since April. Asian nations need to implement policies to curb inflation even as the global economy slows, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank said in a report released July 28. The lender's forecast for growth of 7.9 per cent this year in emerging-market East Asian economies may be revised lower, according to its Asia Economic Monitor report. Asia's emerging-market economies will expand 8.4 per cent in 2011, almost quadruple the 2.2 per cent growth projected for developed nations, the International Monetary Fund said last month. 'Asia is relatively more stable than Europe or the US and
looks safer compared with the rest of the world," said Teck Kin Suan, an economist at United Overseas Bank Ltd. in Singapore. "That contributes to inflows to Asia." The peso traded near its strongest level in more than three years after BangkoSentralngPilipinas said July 28 that risks to its inflation forecasts remain "skewed to the upside". The central bank remains watchful against inflation and will adjust its "policy and prudential setting as needed," it said, citing a necessity for "caution" in monetary stance. Policy makers kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.5 per cent on July 28 having announced two increases of a quarter of a percentage point each earlier in the year.-Reuters
C$ skids on weak GDP data, US default fears TORONTO: The Canadian dollar tumbledagainst the greenback on Friday as the US debt default crisisand disappointing North American GDP data raised the specterthat the economy could fall into recession. The Canadian economy unexpectedly shrank in May as badweather, a strong Canadian dollar and tepid US demand took atoll, cutting expectations for an interest-rate increase. South of the border, data showed the US economy stumbledbadly in the first half of 2011 and came dangerously close tocontracting in the January-March period, raising the risk of arecession if a standoff over the nation's debt does not endquickly. "The last couple days things
really turned against Canada alittle bit," said Steve Butler, director of foreign exchangetrading at Scotia Capital. "Just this whole (debt) situation inthe US is obviously causing the market a lot of angst ... butreally today the GDP hit us kind of as a left, right," The Canadian dollar finished the North Americansession at C$0.9555 to the US dollar, or $1.0466, down fromThursday's close at C$0.9516 to the US dollar, or $1.0509. The Canadian dollar was down 0.7 per cent for the week, but itwas up 0.9 per cent for the month of July. Following the release of the GDP data in the morning, thecurrency fell as low as C$0.9590 versus the US dollar, itslowest level since July 19.
Butler said recent support for the Canadian dollar atC$0.9520 turned into resistance on Friday. On the flipside, hesaid C$0.9640-50 was now in play. Overnight index swaps -which trade based on expectationsfor the key central bank policy rate -- showed investors paringback bets on a rate hikes in September, October and December. "While we believe that the most likely outcome is a mildpick-up in growth over the second half, the starting point iseven weaker than we expected and there are still clearly plentyof potential dangers lurking ahead for the economy," DougPorter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said ina note to clients. -Reuters
Oil slips on weak US GDP, debt woes US debt-limit row, eurozone debt woes pressure oil NEW YORK: Oil prices fell on Friday, posting a weekly loss after data showed weak US economic growth and as Congress kept wrangling before an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the government debt ceiling and avoid default. The US economy stumbled in the first half, according to a Commerce Department report that showed a weaker-thanexpected 1.3 per cent expansion in the second quarter. "The slowdown in secondquarter economic activity has been confirmed, and the reading will add to concerns about the remainder of the year," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. Two other reports showed business activity in the US Midwest grew less than expected this month as the labor market weakened, while US consumer sentiment fell in July to its lowest point in more than two
years. ICE Brent crude for September fell 62 cents to settle at $116.70 a barrel, the lowest close since July 18, after falling to $115.75 intraday. Brent lost 1.63 per cent for the week, but ended the month up 3.79 per cent from June. US September crude fell $1.74 to settle at $95.70 a barrel, the lowest close in two weeks and with the $94.95 intraday low just above the 200-day moving average of $94.88. US crude fell 4.2 per cent for the week, snapping a string of four weekly gains. For the month, front-month crude managed a 28-cent gain. Crude futures trading volumes remained tepid, with Brent and US crude turnover well below 30-day averages. US gasoline and heating oil futures also slipped on Friday as front-month August contracts
expired. Money managers raised net long US crude futures and options positions in the week to Tuesday and posted a sharp rise in the Intercontinental Exchange's look-a-like US crude contract, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. Friday's choppy trading allowed Brent's premium to US crude to push above $21 a barrel intraday. Europe's sovereign debt problems remained in focus as ratings agency Moody's put Spain on review for a possible downgrade. Moody's action was significant for markets because "Spain is a big country. Greece is a small country -- we can bail them out, but Spain is another story," Thorbjorn Bak Jensen, analyst at Global Risk Management, said.-Reuters
Gold hits record on weak US growth, debt worries NEW YORK: Gold hit another all-time high on Friday as investors sought a safe haven after anemic US growth data raised the specter that a potential recession could spur the Federal Reserve to loosen monetary policy. Gold was helped by a sinking dollar, as investors fretted over sovereign debt in the United States and Europe. US political leaders remained at odds over how to reduce the deficit as the clock ticked toward an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the government debt ceiling. "The dollar is looking less and less attractive from a growth, fiscal and monetary perspective," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. Bullion, which usually rises as the dollar weakens, hit its third record in five days, notching a near
9 per cent monthly gain for July. Gold rallied after US Commerce Department data showed the economy stumbled in the first half of 2011 and came close to contracting in the first quarter. Some investors worried about the risk of a recession that could make the Fed more accomodative, feeding inflation and boosting gold prices. But some investors worried that the US economy could enter a recession severe enough to depress prices in a round of deflation. This could push gold prices down sharply. This fed volatility in gold prices. Investors kept a close eye on Washington, because gold prices could tumble if government leaders reach a US debt-ceiling deal that boosts investor confidence in other financial markets, analysts said. But a ratings
downgrade on US debt would force the world's largest institutional investors to sell off US Treasury holdings, and gold would be the best refuge asset for the funds, said Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals. Spot gold touched an all-time peak of $1,632.30 an ounce, and was up 0.5 per cent at $1,623.99. On weekly charts, CitiFX strategists said bullion's monthly close above $1,557.75 indicates that July is a bullish outside month, confirming a 2011 target between $1,700 and 1,750. The US December contract settled up $15 at $1,631.20 an ounce. Futures volumes were lower than the last several sessions, as most investors had completed contract rollover ahead of the August contract's first-notice day on Friday.-Reuters
4 Monday, August 1, 2011
The Financial Daily International
Flood wounds yet to heal
Vol 4, Issue 268
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary Editor: Shakil H. Jafri Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi
A
year after deadly floods swept through the Pakistani town of Honorary Advisory Board Nowshera resident Imtiaz Ali is Haseeb Khan, FCA seething with anger as he struggles to S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi rebuild his life with almost no help from Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA Khurram Shehzad, CFA the government. Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU) Nowshera was one of the hardest hit Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd) towns in Pakistan's mountainous northwest, where flash floods wiped out entire Muhammad Arif Ismat Sabir villages leaving behind tangled branchHead office es, mud and many thousands of people 111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA Karachi needing help. Telephone: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428 Ali and his family, who has been living URL: www.thefinancialdaily.com in tents since the flood seriously damEmail Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com aged their home, say they have only just Lahore office got a little assistance. 24- Peshawar Block, Fortress Stadium, Lahore "We have just received 20,000 rupees Telephone: 92-42-6675595 Fax: 92-42-6664349 ($230) and are building a room to live Email Address: editor@thefinancialdaily.com in," Ali said as his 14-year-old son slopped cement on a wall of the room. "No politician visited us throughout the year to see how we were living ... They may have gone to influential and rich people and given money to them, but we just got the 20,000 rupees, nothing else." It's a refrain heard all over Pakistan a year after the floods were triggered by On the weekend Pakistan's central bank announced several days of torrential rain over a reduction of half a per cent in the discount rate. denuded, over-grazed mountains. Muddy torrents raged down valleys in On the face value this may seem a nominal cut but the upper Indus river basin, destroying it is a quantum leap keeping in view that Indian almost everything in their path, and then spread out in a glassy sea that flowed central bank's decision opted for another hike in the south for weeks, inundating expanses of interest rate. The decision was anticipated and the Punjab and later Sindh provinces. About 2,000 people were killed and 11 stock market had already taken it into account, evi- million left homeless. In all, more people dent from Friday's positive closure of the market were affected - 18 million - than in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Pakistan's after some days. 2005 earthquake, Hurricane Katrina in One may still hear some adverse comments from 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. those who wanted an increase in interest rate and The country suffered more than $10 had rejected the proposal of keeping the rate billion in damage to infrastructure, irrigation systems, bridges, houses and unchanged. In fact the lobby that still wants to keep roads. discount rate high enjoys support of multilateral More than 800,000 families remain
Nominal cut but quantum leap
donors who want the Government of Pakistan to apply restraint on borrowing. However, the ongoing war against terror within Pakistan's border and delays in release of funds from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) forces the government to resort to excessive domestic borrowing. The central bank has taken a difficult decision and now it is GoP's turn to play its role by removing some of the major irritants, circular debt being the worst. At present load shedding of electricity and gas has become the biggest hurdle in the smooth working of the manufacturing units. Industries in many cities, particularly in Faisalabad face closure up to four and half days, due to gas curtailment. Resolution of circular debt is certainly not an easy solution. It needs an elaborated plan, release of funds at the earliest and the commitment not to increase electricity tariff for six months at least. During this period rigorous recovery campaigns have to be undertaken to recover the outstanding dues, particularly the VVIPs, government, semigovernment and autonomous authorities. The cardinal principal is all those who use electricity have to pay the bills. During this period efforts should also be made to regularize all the illegal connections. The time has come to focus on supply side issues. Accelerating the productive activities will not only result in higher GDP, more revenue collection, higher exportable surplus and new job opportunities. If India can work on achieving 10 per cent GDP growth why can't Pakistan achieve half of this? Some of the quarters have been insisting on removal of various types of subsidies, the most talked about being supply of gas to fertilizer plants on discounted rate. A perception is being created that the beneficiaries are the fertilizer plants, which is completely misleading. As such supplying fertilizers to the farmers is a must for achieving food security. The added advantages will be higher production of food staple wheat and rice, sugarcane, edible oil and above all cotton that can help in boosting Pakistan's GDP. To be honest the GoP should focus on boosting GDP rather than collecting more tax. When economy grows tax collection will automatically improve, people will have more money to spend and demand for almost every thing will increase.
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.
without permanent shelter, according to the aid group Oxfam, and more than a million people need food assistance. Fears that hungry, angry hordes up and down the Indus river basin would rise up in revolution or throw their lot in with Islamist insurgents have proved unfounded. But with so many struggling to rebuild their lives, the impact of the floods has yet to play out and bitterness might still undermine a fragile civilian government.
bling response to the disaster has compounded dissatisfaction over a range of issues for a government hoping to become Pakistan's first to serve out a full term, due to end in 2013. Only 28 per cent of Pakistanis express any confidence in their government, a recent poll by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center found. Only 19 per cent approve of leaders such as Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who head the Pakistan People's Party-led coalition.
The rainy season has begun again but for now, there's no sign of a repeat of flooding on the scale of last year. That's just as well because little appears to have been done in terms of preparations for a repeat "Hina Rabbani Khar came here about a week after the flooding but she did not visit the flooded area," said Rana Farmanullah, 28, of Mehmood Kot, a badly hit village in Punjab province, referring to a senior government politician who is now foreign minister. "We're not going to vote for her in the next election." The disaster certainly hasn't helped those Pakistanis striving to shore up the shaky foundations of civilian democracy in a country where the army has ruled for more than half its 64-year history. GRATEFUL President Asif Ali Zardari came under withering criticism for pressing on with a European visit and refusing to fly home as the disaster unfolded. Widespread perceptions of a tardy, bum-
The military, on the other hand, which led flood rescue efforts as government officials dithered, is much more favourably viewed, with 78 per cent having confidence in it. "After the floods people were living on sandbanks," said one survivor, who gave his name as just Farmanullah. "The army rescued them and helped them return home. So we are more grateful to the army." Though, military intervention can never be ruled out in Pakistan, there is no sign of any intention to do so now, nor does the government appear in imminent danger of collapsing as it lurches from crisis to crisis. "There was a lot of resentment among the people against the government," Shafqat Mahmood, a former government minister and political analyst said of the
public's reaction to the flood. "(But) in the parliamentary system ... unpopularity among the people in the mid-term doesn't translate into the government resigning." UNFINISHED PREPARATIONS The rainy season has begun again but for now, there's no sign of a repeat of flooding on the scale of last year. That's just as well because little appears to have been done in terms of preparations for a repeat. "The civilian government in Pakistan is still very young," Neva Khan, country director for Oxfam in Pakistan, told Reuters. For years, not enough has been done to protect people before disasters strike, she said. "There hasn't been the investment in the civilian government institutions that would help prepare the country for disasters ... The mindset is very much, 'Let a disaster happen and then we'll respond'." In Sindh province, work on flood protection is unfinished as the new rains fall because of a lack of funds. "The repair and strengthening work on many embankments is still continuing," said a provincial official. Oxfam said flood reconstruction would cost about $10.9 billion, almost one quarter of the national budget. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, both major donors to Pakistan, say investment of $27 million to strengthen disaster management and map flood hazards could reduce the risk of disaster and save billions in the long run. Ahmed Kamal, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said the floods last year were a "once in a lifetime" disaster, nevertheless, authorities would be better placed to handle anything similar. "We are better prepared," he insisted. -Reuters
Hindutva Terrorism Lubna Hameed
T
he confession of Swami Aseemanand, a significant and apparently influential member of the RSS, a Hindu extremist Indian based group has been instrumental in exposing and stripping the Indian nationalism of its grotesque yet truly fascist ideology that had hitherto been concealed through a celebrated liberal front. The Swami had blatantly admitted to have carried out acts of terror himself and has also exposed many Hindutva leaders. According to him, it was not Muslim boys but an entire team of RSS pracharaks who exploded bombs in Malegaon in 2006-08, on the Samjhauta Express, Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid in 2007. The horrid episode of Samjhauta Express blast where sixty eight innocent Pakistani travelers lost their lives just due to the fact "that it was basically Pakistanis who travel on the Samjhauta Express train that runs between India and Pakistan" that compelled them to commit such a heinous crime, perfectly exhibits the basic Indian desire to crush and destroy all that symbolizes Pakistan. After sixty years, the trauma of partition cannot be deemed plausible for such intense hatred. These sentiments have to be carefully nurtured to warrant such extreme reactions. However, the fact that this exposes is the gravity of threat that emanates from our eastern borders that is predominantly Pakistan centric as the main target of these Hindutva terrorists is only Pakistan, unlike the Pakistan based groups that have limited reach, operating within the confines of the national boundary. Coupled with the Pakistan centric Indian security policy, that is, cold start, provides all the more reason to Pakistan to increase its vigil on the eastern border instead of launching yet another venture in NWA. In an interview with 'The Hindustan Times' Mr Digvijay of the Congress has confirmed that this Hindutva terror poses a bigger threat than the Jihadi variety. He said, "I have blamed the RSS for being involved in terror. I have got proof to say that. I have said that they were behind the Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev agitation because I have letters from Sanghi functionaries supporting these movements. When I say something about RSS, I speak with authority and on evidence". Swami's confession gives a severe blow to the Indians and has certainly shaken the popular international rhetoric that had erected itself upon the framework of 'Islamic Extremism" and the fact that only Pakistan was serving as a hotbed for breeding terror in the region. When compared with Islamic terrorism, the scale is the same in this country. Malegaon 1 and 2, Modasa, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Sharif dargah, Samjhauta Express have been proven to be acts of fundamentalist Hindus. In Nanded, Parvani, Jalna,
Mhow in Indore, Nimach, Bhopal the blasts and attempts were carried out by these people. In fact, from 2000 to 2011, there have been more bomb blasts by Hindu fundamentalists than Muslim fundamentalists. Indian authorities had so far greatly overlooked and concealed the activities of the Hindu radical groups operating in India that are involved in targeting Muslim and Christian minorities as well as undertaking huge ventures of terrorism in both India and Pakistan. The revelation of the Hindutva involvement in all attacks carried out from 2006-2008 including the Samjhauta train attack in which 68 Muslims lost their lives by confessions made by Swami Aseemanand has been a real curtain raiser for all the backstage Indian
All Muslim organizations of India are now protesting unanimously against the stark discriminatory attacks on them from all direction. A large-scale image assignation campaign has been run in which Muslims are being misrepresented as terrorists. The statement of an Indian official exemplifies the fact while he claimed that, "every Muslims is not a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim". After the exposition of the bitter truth by none other than the reverend swami, it can be easily claimed that all terrorists -in India- are terrorists. Kapil Komireddi, an Indian journalist asserts that the Indian establishment should have unearthed the Hindu extremists who were targeting Muslim areas instead of the "reflexive reaction of the police that was
Rahul Gandhi too, had shown serious reservations declaring the Hindu extremist groups as the real threat to Indian security while brushing aside the issue of LeT's involvement as inconsequential in the bigger picture. drama going on. The blame of all this had hitherto been shouldered by groups and organizations across the border. The Sanghi terror has spread like the proverbial wildfire all across the country with a majority of its victims being the Muslims of India. Forming strong network of like minded people the RSS has successfully penetrated every institution including the police, media and even the Indian armed forces. All the Muslim suspects caught by the police soon after the incidents are still languishing in jails awaiting trial and acquittal. Despite being aware of reality, nothing has been done by the Indian police and courts due to the presence of the Sangh supporters strewn all over the place. That the involvement of Col Prohit, a serving India army official along with Col Hasmukh Patel and other senior officers have been found colluding with the RSS. Col Prohit has been held by the Indian police and is being interrogated for his involvement in the Malegoan and Samjauta Express blasts. This further confirms the fact that the Indian army also harbors religious extremists and terrorists among its officers cadres. The RSS is also being termed as an extension of the Indian army with a Pakistan centric agenda of attributing every terror incident occurring in India upon the religious organizations in Pakistan along with targeting Muslims.
to round up young Muslim men, torture them, force confessions and declare the cases solved." Despite the knowledge of criminal activities, "the Hindu radical outfit RSS remains open for business - even though it campaigns, very openly, for a Hindu state in India, and its members incite and perpetrate violence against Muslim and Christian minorities." Komireddi also stresses that the assassins of Mahatma Gandhi were also members of the RSS, thus they pose the great threat to the security situation in South Asia. Rahul Gandhi too, had shown serious reservations declaring the Hindu extremist groups as the real threat to Indian security while brushing aside the issue of LeT's involvement as inconsequential in the bigger picture. Also asserting that these Hindu groups "create religious terrorism and political confrontation with the Muslim community", thus fuelling the feud that led to a subsequent labeling of Muslims as intolerant extremists. The Hindu terrorism or famously known as 'Sanghi terrorism' needs to be highlighted to the world which would take this WOT to another dimension, where India should also play a role in curbing terror in its territory. Any future incident should now be viewed through the prism of "Hindutva Terrorism" which is far more fatal and detrimental to the peace in South Asia.
LETTER TO EDITOR
Environmental degradation threat to national security Survival of state is prime importance and every state pays much attention to its security. Every country spends huge amount of its budget on its security. In past focus was on traditional security of state but with the passage of time the concept of conventional security has been replaced by non-conventional security measures. Environmental threats are part of nontraditional security. Flood, earthquake, storms and hurricanes are example of environmental threats. Due to these threats attention is being diverted from traditional to nontraditional security concept. If we compare both concepts, borders are more secure because of modern technology. Environmental problems create threat for the state because these prob-
lems destroy the infrastructure. Environmental threats damage economy of state and have negative impact due to displacement of people and loss of their business and burden on economy is increased. Due to economic burden state cannot pay much attention on its national security. Pakistan faces a lot of environmental threats and people of Pakistan suffer a lot due to environmental problems. Earthquake in 2005 and flood in 2010 both were catastrophes of mega magnitude. Pakistan is a poor and developing country and there is no proper mechanism for prior inform people before threat metallization. Pakistan has to spend much of its budget on defense due
to rivalry with India and also due to terrorism. After joining war on terror, activities of terrorists have increased in Pakistan. However, the environmental problems keep on diverting attention from traditional to nontraditional threats. After earthquake a lot of people were displaced, which put huge burden on country. Another problem Pakistan faces is spread of disease after earthquake and flood. Pakistan get a lot of money from IMF and get a lot of aid from foreign countries but due to poor mechanism of monitoring the distribution of aid and spending of debt on construction work government cannot cater the needs of people. Due to environmental problems
Pakistan's GDP is not growing well and Pakistan lost foreign investment. For Pakistan's security it is very important to address environmental threat creating problems for national security. Environmental threats are unpredictable and not only developing countries but also developed countries suffer a lot due to natural catastrophes, tsunami in Japan is current example of this. Though, these threats are unpredictable but precautionary measures are important. States can build dams, train the people to respond. There is also need that government should inform people before the problem and a proper mechanism to monitor the situation. Khushboo Ahmed, Karachi
5
Monday, August 1, 2011
EU stocks slip as US debt ceiling talks stall
Asian stocks fall on US debt deal impasse, China lending restrictions
Weekly Review
Good results fail to spur buying spree at KSE
KSE-100 Index Opening Closing Change % Change Turnover (mn)
12,476.77 12,190.37 286.40 2.30 259.06
LSE-25 Index Opening Closing Change % Change Turnover (mn)
3,200.64 3,077.09 123.55 3.86 10.73
ISE-10 Index Opening Closing Change % Change Turnover (mn)
2,799.40 2,745.85 53.55 1.91 0.31
Nawaz Ali
Major Gainers
Symbol
Close
Change
NESTLE 4,201.58 EXIDE 180.06 BHAT 244.52 BTL 99.35 NATM 42.15
21.33 13.76 11.64 8.29 6.33
Major Losers
Symbol UPFL SIEM RMPL ULEVER POL
Close
Change
1,692.17 1,036.08 2,800.00 5,798.63 358.55
-72.41 -53.84 -53.25 -50.35 -24.17
Top 5 Volume Leaders
Symbol FFBL HUBC BOP JSCL FFC
Close Vol (mn) 46.82 39.21 6.38 6.81 159.86
13.93 11.92 11.72 11.02 10.12
Active Issues Plus Minus Unchanged
115 245 85
Sector Updates FERTILISER
NEW YORK: A trader pauses for a smoke break outside the Stock Exchange.-Reuters
Wall Street weekly outlook
000 tonnes Urea Offtake (Jan to Apr 11) 1,714 Urea Offtake (Apr 11) 487 Urea Price (Rs/50 kg) 1,234 DAP Offtake (Jan to Apr 11) 215 DAP Offtake (Apr 11) 55 DAP Price (Rs/50 kg) 4,050
AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLER PAK SUZUKI MOTOR Units Production (July 10 to Apr 11) 71,096 Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 69,203 Production (Apr 11) 7,220 Sales (Apr 11) 7,510
INDUS MOTOR CO Production (July 10 to Apr 11) 42,670 Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 41,940 Production (Apr 11) 4,219 Sales (Apr 11) 4,681
HONDA ATLAS CAR Production (July 10 to Apr 11) 14,062 Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 13,754 Production (Apr 11)
1,582
Sales (Apr 11)
1,640
DEWAN FAROOQ MOTORS Production (July 10 to Apr 11) Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) Production (Apr 11) Sales (Apr 11)
186 203 -
BANKING SECTOR Scheduled bank (Rs in mn) Deposit (May 27,11) Advances (May 27,11) Investments (May 27,11) Spread (April 11)
5,220,669 3,087,531 2,341,433 7.52%
OIL MARKETING CO (000 tons) MS (Jul 10 to Apr 11) MS (Apr 11) Kerosene (Jul 10 to Apr 11) Kerosene (Apr 11) JP (Jul 10 to Apr 11) JP (Apr 11) HSD (Jul 10 to Apr 11) HSD (Apr 11) LDO (Jul 10 to Apr 11)) LDO (Apr 11) Fuel Oil (Jul 10 to Apr 11) Fuel Oil (Apr 11) Others (Jul 10 to Apr 11) Others (Apr 11)
PRICES (Ex-Refinery) MS (1 May 11) MS (1 Apr 11) MS % Chg Kerosene (1 May 11) Kerosene (1 Apr 11) Kerosene % Chg JP-1 (1 May 11) JP-1 (1 Apr 11) JP-1 % Chg HSD (1 May 11) HSD (1 Apr 11) HSD % Chg LDO (1 May 11) LDO (1 Apr 11) LDO % Chg Fuel Oil (1 May 11) Fuel Oil (1 Apr 11)
1,867 196 134 14 1,148 117 5,719 567 44 2 7,252 739 143 15
Rs 62.83 59.35 5.86% 73.63 68.95 6.79% 73.86 70.88 4.20% 78.79 75.02 5.03% 71.55 65.27 9.62% 57,253 56,777
Debt and data suggest more losses NEW YORK: US stocks are likely to face more selling pressure this week as the Tuesday deadline draws near for raising the US debt ceiling and Washington remains paralyzed by political brinkmanship. Anxiety over the debt crisis sent the S&P 500 lower for five straight days, resulting in the worst week and month for the benchmark index since August. The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's "fear index," rose more than 40 per cent for the week, its biggest jump since early May. With four days before the United States loses its ability to borrow, US President Barack Obamaon Friday told Republicans and Democrats to stop bickering and find a way "out of this mess." "Right now, overall the market is being totally driven by the debt situation, whether it is in Europeor the US," said Rick Bensignor, chief market strategist at Dahlman Rose in New York. The deadline for raising the US debt ceiling has investors on edge. Volatility, currently at its highest since the earthquake in Japan, can be expected to increase as time runs out. "You've got individual stocks that can make significant moves but the market itself collectively is being pushed and pulled by every headline and how the wind is blowing out of Washington at any given moment." The recent slide has also put stocks in a precarious position from a technical perspective as theS&P
500 index moves closer to its 200-day moving average, a level which could bring about additional selling if the index breaks below it. The benchmark index successfully bounced off the level on Friday after the early morning decline. "That is the line in the sand that really divides things going maybe bad -to things really turning bad," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services inCharlotte, Vermont. "If we take that out next week -- man, I'm not neutral, I'm short."Even if a deal is struck, the possibility remains the United States could lose its prized triple-A credit rating if the terms are not stringent enough to satisfy credit rating agencies. "You are definitely going to get the downgrade by S&P," said Ken Polcari, managing director atICAP Equities in New York. "You are still waiting on what the ultimate deal is going to be and it's just not going to be what everybody expects, so you are going to see disappointment in the markets." Investors can still find some solace in corporate earnings. According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday, of the 327 S&P 500 companies that have posted earnings, 73 per cent have reported results higher than analysts' expectations. Companies expected to report earnings this week include Kraft Foods Inc, Clorox Co, Pfizer Inc and Prudential Financial Inc.
"Individual stocks, especially after earnings are trading on their own accord and you are seeing moves of 5 to 10 per cent sometimes after earnings come out," said Bensignor. But added pressure is coming from economic data, with the latest revision of gross domestic product showing the US economy stumbled badly in the first half of 2011 and came close to contracting in the January-March period. The flagging data offers little hope next week's data -- including July's employment report -- can turn the tide of the pressure. "I don't think the market is pricing in very much for the possibility we don't get a debt deal done, given how bad the economic data has been," said Michael Marrale, managing director and head of sales trading at RBC Capital Markets in New York. "Put it this way, putting all the debt deal concerns aside, the market would probably be here anyway." As investors asses the debt ceiling debate, slowing economic data and corporate earnings, they must remain prepared for any developments from the simmering debt crisis in the euro-zone, which could further heighten investor angst. "There are two things I keep my eye on -- one on Washington and one on Brussels, because between the two of them you never know which headline risk is going to hit you over the head next," said Mendelsohn. -Reuters
KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) remained mostly under the control of bears last week, losing more than two per cent due to continued selling by the foreign investors and fall in global capital markets, while investors' participation also remained low as they preferred to stay on the sidelines. The benchmark KSE-100 index lost 286 points - 2.3 per cent to close at 12,190 points, KSE-30 index fell by 357 points - 3 per cent to close 11,560 points and KSE all-share index was down by 194 points -2.25 per cent to close at 8,449 points. Rabia Tariq, analyst at JS Global Capital said, despite strong quarterly earnings announcements by key corporate market remained under pressure. Foreign selling was a major concern. However, a closer look shows that the situation was not peculiar to Pakistan but the same trend was also witnessed in the other regional markets. In addition, investors exercised slight caution as they await the monetary policy announcement due over the weekend, she added. The week started on a bearish note as tense security situation in the city along with foreign selling forced the investors to offload their holdings as a result index closed with a loss of 82 points on Monday. Market remained in the negative zone over the next three days with the selling pressure becoming intense on Thursday due to continued offloading by the offshore investors and fall in international stock markets. According to NCCPL data, foreign investors did a net selling worth $12 million during the week. It should be noted that foreigners have done a net selling of $22 million last week. Selling also witnessed at the global stock markets on fears of
a looming US debt default or rating downgrade. There was nervousness about whether a deadlock in talks on the US debt ceiling could be solved to avoid default before August 02, deadline. The benchmark index lost 296 points from Tuesday to Thursday and also touched its lowest level of the week of 12,041 points. Yawar-uz-Zaman, analyst at InvestCap said that investors remained on the sideline amid concern of US debt issue which might result in discontinuation of aid towards Pakistan. Meanwhile, confrontation between the government and the Supreme Court over restoration of Establishment Division Secretary created a new tussle on the executive front. Since market was experiencing bearish activities over the last few days, investors took advantage of attractive levels, indulged in buying and market bounced back on Friday. The slowdown in foreign selling also support the market and the index managed to closed the last session of the week with a gain of 92 points. Results season was at the full swing where many major companies announced corporate results. These include; MCB Bank, United Bank, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim and Fauji Fertilizer Company. Though, results announcements were good but market response was lackluster. Some major companies like PSO, KAPCO, PPL, and ABL are scheduled to announce their corporate earnings during the coming weeks. However, volumes remained on the lower side as 259 million shares traded during the week which was 166 million shares less as compared to a turnover of 425 million shares a week earlier. Out of total 445 active issues; 245 declined and 115 advanced while 85 issues remained unchanged.
Gulf stocks mkt
Abu Dhabi's UNB rises; Oman hits fresh 2-yr low DUBAI: Union National Bank (UNB) helped limit losses on Abu Dhabi's index on Sunday after posting a 23 per cent net profit rise, while other Gulf markets were mixed after a dip in world stocks over US debt concerns. The lender jumped 4.2 per cent after its earnings beat forecasts. The emirate's three top heavyweights dragged the index 0.3 per cent lower. Telco Etisalat lost 0.5 per cent, National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.3 per cent and First Gulf Bank shed 1.2 per cent. "In the UAE (banks), I think it is quite clear that growth is still a bit elusive," said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment officer at Mashreq bank. "More importantly, credit conditions seem to be stabilising, with no significant accretion of new problem loans. That is the most important element for my money." Bargain hunters helped lift Dubai's active stocks. Emaar Properties ended 2.1 per cent higher, rising from Thursday's four-month low. Dubai Financial Market climbed 1.8 per cent despite posting a 46per cent-drop in second-quarter net profit. Dubai Islamic Bank advanced 3 per cent after its quarterly earnings beat forecasts. In Oman, heavyweight Bank Muscat slumped to a two-month low, dragging the sultanate's index. The heavyweight lender fell 1.1 per cent to its lowest close since May 30 and Muscat's index dipped 0.7 per cent. "Despite reporting stronger Q2 earnings, Bank Muscat stock is trading down on the global uncertainties continue to haunt our markets," said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader Capital Markets head of research. "The current trading levels look attractive for the medium term and the investors can accumulate on dips once the uncertainty fades." Other bluechips were also down with Oman Telecommunications Co declining 1 per cent and Bank Dhofar dropping 3.3 per cent.-Reuters
Dhiyan
MARKET IN SEARCH OF TRIGGERS Mohammad Siddique Dalal, Chairman Dalal Securities Reaction of the market to lowering of interest rates would be positive. Outlook of the market seems positive and selective buying in dividend yielding stocks may be there. Better than expected corporate results, stability in political and security situation, approval of IMF tranche, relaxation in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) are the potential triggers. However further foreign selling can hurt the market. Investors are advised to invest in oil and fertiliser sectors and in selective stocks of cement and banking sectors. Market would be positive today.
Faisal Shaji, Head of Research Standard Capital Securities The surprising decision by the State Bank to cut the discount rate by 50bps would see as immediate bullish reaction from the stock market and can help in gaining 200-300 points this week. Further, good corporate results and hopes of improvement in government-judiciary relations can also trigger buying. Investors are advised to invest in oil, banking and fertilizer sectors where LUCK, FFBL, POL, UBL, ABL, FFC, CPL, PPL, and MCB are our top picks. Market would be bullish today.
6
Monday, August 1, 2011
Market
KSE 100 Index
Symbols
Volume
259,060,966
Value
13,465,737,233
Trades
200,226
Advanced Decline Unchanged Total
115 245 85 445
Current High Low Change
All Share Index
12,190.37 12,476.77 12,041.01 i286.40
Current High Low Change
OIL AND GAS
Paid up Cap(mn)
Company
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
Volume
380.39 362.00 365.23 -14.30
188666
394.90
362.00
300
Attock Refinery
853
4.11 131.92
133.18 122.25 125.26 -6.66
3170256 143.50
120.40
-
-
-
-
9.28
9.25
Low
Last 60 days High Low
Close Chg
6.60 379.53
-
High
8.65
8.85 -0.43
2210112
10.10
157.51
144.60
Pak Petroleum
3095337 219.70
202.50
9651330 391.69
P.S.O Shell Pakistan
75.07 -3.20
90129
75.45
-6.32
51550
91.20
69.42
40
- 50SD
-
-
-
PNSC
1321
6.76
24.45
24.45
23.00
23.05
-1.40
7397
29.50
22.90
15
-
-
90
20B100.00
-
323.00
255
-100.00
-
89.25
74.00
-
-
-
-
- 80.00
-
-
-
1715
3.58 260.57
260.35 243.25 250.80 -9.77
1200633 291.50
243.25
80
685
7.82 224.04
225.00 218.15 219.90 -4.14
22175
208.00
120
233.00
-
CHEMICALS Performance of SR Chemicals Index Open 1,904.66 Turnover 53,128,128 P/E (x) 8.63 Company
Paid up Cap(mn)
Agritech Limited
3924
PE
Open
-
18.03
High Low 1,910.81 1,806.24 Total cos Defaulter cos 36 6 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 3.02 35.00
Close 1,845.20 Listed cap 52,251.88 mn Payout (%) 48.81
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
19.80
17.41
Change % Change -59.46 -3.12 Market cap 200-Day High 377,357.92 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 5.66 -
Last 60 days High Low
Close Chg
-
777856
74.00
Last 60 days High Low
74.51
- 30.00
155.99 148.01 153.85 -1.98
81.00
Volume
84.99
55
Oil & Gas Development 43009 10.41 155.83
385.01 350.00 358.55 -24.17
Low
81.77
AUTOMOBILE AND PARTS
200
215.50 207.50 208.71 -6.38
High
6.94
Performance of SR Automobile and Parts Index
31
323.50
78.27
Open
1092
Company
-
98.76
390.00
7.91 382.72
PE
Pak Int Cont.Terminal
-
113.75
791545
7.63 215.09
Paid up Cap(mn)
-
20B115.00
-
60748
369.45 354.10 365.97 -1.33
350 41.94
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
Paid up Cap(mn)
Agriautos Ind Atlas Battery Atlas Honda Dewan Motors Exide (PAK)XDXB General Tyre Ghandhara Nissan Ghani Automobile Ind Honda Atlas Cars Indus Motors Pak Suzuki Sazgar Engineering
PE
Open
High
Low
144 4.31 101 6.29 719 7.70 1087 71 3.68 598 4.33 450 200 6.26 1428 786 7.08 823 14.36 150 1.16
68.88 236.94 124.07 2.91 166.30 22.50 3.00 3.50 10.10 206.00 64.02 23.52
70.39 237.00 131.00 2.93 183.90 22.80 3.15 3.65 10.32 220.34 64.80 24.00
68.50 230.00 121.00 2.55 166.50 22.00 2.62 3.16 9.50 199.37 63.35 22.55
Close Chg 70.03 236.90 128.76 2.69 180.06 22.75 2.99 3.32 10.06 204.99 63.75 23.56
1.15 -0.04 4.69 -0.22 13.76 0.25 -0.01 -0.18 -0.04 -1.01 -0.27 0.04
Close 1,112.93 Listed cap 6,768.53 mn Payout (%) 20.42
Volume 5117 17246 47825 312723 21262 9085 12178 37400 65320 48141 41849 16539
Last 60 days High Low 73.00 241.00 160.00 3.46 235.00 24.85 4.41 3.75 11.58 232.53 72.50 24.90
68.00 208.00 112.10 1.50 163.10 22.00 2.16 2.90 9.00 199.37 61.35 22.01
19.05 1.02
72172
20.94
-
-
-
7.92 104.97
109.99 101.00 105.16 0.19
14204
109.99
90.50
60
-
-
-
FOOD PRODUCERS
341
6.08 158.47
158.50 148.50 149.66 -8.81
12994
167.00
148.50
135
25B
-
-
Performance of SR Food Producers Index
50 300B
-
-
3.18
59.56
59.90
53.11
54.76 -4.80
536928
66.00
53.11
Descon Oxychem Ltd.
1996
-
1.98
2.08
1.88
1.94 -0.04
135515
2.79
1.83
-
-
-
-
1020
9.24
6.46
6.78
6.24
6.28 -0.18
1662857
8.40
5.60
-
-
-
-
Dewan Salman
3663
2.49
2.07
2.20 -0.21
3155784
-
-
Engro Corporation Ltd
3933
Engro Polymer
6635
Fatima Fertilizer
22000
-
2.41
6.38 151.59 -
10.15
-
16.95
Fauji Fertilizer
8482
8.31 163.90
Fauji Fert. Bin Qasim
9341
6.17
Ghani Gases Ltd
725 10.00
ICI Pakistan
1388
Lotte Pakistan Mandviwala Nimir Ind Chemical Pak Gum
47.52 12.81
8.53 157.03
151.65 139.20 142.89 -8.70
3.65
2.07
-
-
7591610 200.00
139.20
60
10.17
9.47
9.58 -0.57
1413692
12.67
17.19
15.91
16.22 -0.73
9233128
164.75 156.30 159.86 -4.04 47.80 13.74
45.92 11.42
46.82 -0.70 11.90 -0.91
158.25 152.00 153.53 -3.50
9.47
20B
-
-
- 27.5R
-
-
17.60
12.10
-
-
-
10123340 172.97
138.50
130
25B 92.50
-
13927605 48.05
41.26
65.5
- 35.00
-
146051
13.90
1034813 160.00
-
-
-
-
148.02
175
-
-
-
15.94
11.85
5
-
-
-
15142
3.41
12.76
12.98
11.85
12.19 -0.57
74
-
0.93
1.10
0.80
1.00 0.07
8113
1.90
0.15
-
-
-
-
1106 13.17
3.11
3.24
2.95
3.03 -0.08
3053011
3.30
2.26
-
-
-
-
19.01
19.18 0.07
-
-
42
5.27
9577108
11.40
-
19.11
19.50
6521
20.10
16.99
-
-
Sitara Chem Ind
214
2.48
98.75
100.39
95.01
99.96 1.21
11500
104.25
94.67
25
5B
-
-
Sitara Peroxide
551
5.01
16.83
17.55
16.10
16.19 -0.64
729845
19.12
16.05
-
-
-
-
FORESTRY AND PAPER Performance of SR Forestry & Paper Index Open 1,076.49 Turnover 590,694 P/E (x) 5.68 Company
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
High Low 1,146.92 1,072.30 Total cos Defaulter cos 4 1 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.42 7.47 Low
Close Chg
Close 1,128.35 Listed cap 1,186.83 mn Payout (%) 25.28
Change % Change 51.87 4.82 Market cap 200-Day High 3,112.95 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 4.45 -
Last 60 days High Low
Volume
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
Century Paper
707
-
15.05
16.50
14.80
16.35 1.30
332530
18.00
14.60
-
Security Paper
411
5.50
40.75
43.55
40.71
42.15 1.40
256410
43.55
37.41
50
-
-
-
- 50.00
-
Close 1,020.72 Listed cap 3,596.11 mn Payout (%) 30.91
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
Crescent Steel
565
3.52
27.77
28.49
26.10
26.90 -0.87
195395
25.70
30
Dost Steels Ltd
675
-
2.32
2.49
2.09
2.34 0.02
80499
3.10
1.62
-
Huffaz Pipe XD
555 21.43
12.50
12.45
11.11
12.00 -0.50
25135
12.95
11.05
-
Company
International Ind
1199
9.04
51.20
52.11
49.10
50.52 -0.68
Last 60 days High Low 29.25
120499
52.75
48.52
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
40
- 35.00
-
-
-
-
20B
15
-
CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS Performance of SR Construction and Materials Index Open 882.50 Turnover 15,545,282 P/E (x) 6.21
High Low 889.44 841.24 Total cos Defaulter cos 37 6 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.44 7.10
Close 851.46 Listed cap 54,792.74 mn Payout (%) 19.04
Change % Change -31.04 -3.52 Market cap 200-Day High 69,209.98 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 3.06 -
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
3657
-
2.41
2.90
2.41
2.56 0.15
47047
3.25
2.35
-
-
Attock Cement
866
5.93
49.05
49.25
45.65
46.88 -2.17
11776
56.01
45.65
50
-
-
-
Balochistan Glass Ltd
43636
-
-
-
-
Company Al-Abbas Cement
Last 60 days High Low
Volume
2010 Div BR (%) (%) - 100R
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
858
-
1.91
1.91
1.36
1.50 -0.41
2.90
1.36
Berger Paints
182
-
14.20
14.25
13.52
13.62 -0.58
15411
16.50
12.76
- 122R
-
-
Cherat Cement
956 41.90
9.15
9.43
8.60
8.80 -0.35
8146
10.60
8.50
-
-
-
-
Dadabhoy Cement
982 17.31
2.10
2.25
1.65
2.25 0.15
113578
2.25
1.50
-
-
-
-
Dewan Cement
3891
-
1.69
1.80
1.43
1.45 -0.24
372070
2.67
1.36
-
-
-
-
DG Khan Cement Ltd
4381 30.11
23.71
23.85
22.35
22.58 -1.13
4988844
25.85
21.31
-
20R
-
20R
Fauji Cement Fecto Cement
13311
6.78
4.14
4.15
3.83
3.93 -0.21
1295697
5.04
3.83
-
-
-
92R
502
4.27
5.12
5.34
4.00
4.95 -0.17
9570
7.44
4.00
-
-
-
-
Flying Cement Ltd
1760
-
1.28
1.34
1.17
1.27 -0.01
140373
1.95
1.17
-
-
-
-
Gharibwal Cement
4003
-
5.59
5.99
4.61
4.91 -0.68
146591
9.15
4.25
-
-
-
-
Kohat Cement
1288
-
6.39
6.45
5.80
5.82 -0.57
18662
7.60
5.80
-
-
-
-
13126 60.00
2.65
2.73
2.36
2.40 -0.25
1869957
3.35
2.36
-
-
-
-
Lafarge Pakistan Cmt. Lucky Cement
3234
5.94
74.57
74.95
72.20
73.12 -1.45
5905269
77.43
69.36
40
-
-
-
Maple Leaf Cement
5267
-
2.07
2.19
1.99
2.00 -0.07
297243
3.05
1.99
-
-
-
-
Pioneer Cement
2271
-
5.35
5.67
4.50
4.68 -0.67
236865
6.34
4.50
-
-
-
-
721
-
7.00
7.00
6.50
6.77 -0.23
10915
7.49
5.25
-
-
- 100R
Shabbir Tiles
GENERAL INDUSTRIALS Performance of SR General Industrials Index Open 971.93 Turnover 980,287 P/E (x) 1.84 Company ECOPACK Ltd Ghani Glass
High Low 977.97 943.04 Total cos Defaulter cos 13 2 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.81 43.91
Close 967.92 Listed cap 3,043.31 mn Payout (%) 15.55
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
230
-
1.39
1.58
1.11
1.46 0.07
262191
Change % Change -4.00 -0.41 Market cap 200-Day High 36,056.45 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 8.46 -
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
1.80
1.10
-
-
2011 Div BR (%) (%) -
-
1067
5.39
53.70
54.00
51.00
52.98 -0.72
5528
58.50
51.00
25
10B
-
-
MACPAC Films
389
2.29
11.22
12.25
10.60
11.48 0.26
267919
15.21
9.78
-
-
-
-
Packages Ltd
844 17.35 103.11
105.50 102.02 104.11 1.00
275208
118.00
101.75
32.5
-
-
-
-
8.94
9.80
8.00
9.00
0.06
15989
9.80
7.50
Chashma Sugar Colony Sugar Mills Dewan Sugar Habib Sugar Habib-ADM Ltd J D WSugar Mirpurkhas Sugar Mirza Sugar National Foods
287 990 365 750 200 539 84 141 414
6.51 3.20 5.21 5.05 2.65 1.54 0.56 11.74
10.30 2.06 2.28 27.31 13.00 86.49 50.11 2.43 73.00
11.75 2.24 3.00 27.49 13.30 88.39 54.50 2.59 73.98
9.86 1.86 2.25 26.03 12.40 80.25 48.35 2.40 66.01
9.90 2.05 2.35 26.05 12.52 80.90 52.95 2.47 68.00
-0.40 -0.01 0.07 -1.26 -0.48 -5.59 2.84 0.04 -5.00
42673 7512 41012 286562 12136 17120 10375 44439 15377
11.75 2.99 3.85 28.00 13.74 90.49 54.50 3.50 88.00
8.00 1.51 2.16 23.30 12.01 74.00 39.51 2.30 61.70
Noon Sugar Quice Food S S Oil Sakrand Sugar
165 107 57 223
2.79 9.09 0.31 -
17.00 2.20 4.30 2.46
16.85 4.00 4.80 2.65
14.50 1.81 4.30 2.31
14.50 4.00 4.30 2.36
-2.50 1.80 0.00 -0.10
7781 80000 56500 41500
17.50 4.00 5.78 3.40
14.16 1.81 3.80 1.75
-
Shahmurad Sugar Shak(RCPf)8.5 Perc Shakarganj Mills UniLever Pakistan
211 346 695 665
9.75 10.60 2.45 3.50 5.21 5.25 5562.19 5798.63
0.61 1.05 -0.06 -50.35
79653 11.40 1605997 4.42 245793 6.99 10743 6135.00
7.91 2.45 5.00 4915.70
10 492
Company AL-Ghazi Tractor
Paid up Cap(mn) 215
Dewan Auto Engineering 214 Millat Tractors
366
PE
Open
3.86 233.71 -
1.15
9.06 613.40
High
Low
Close Chg
238.55 217.55 223.15 -10.56 1.60
1.10
1.12 -0.03
613.89 581.04 596.46 -16.94
Close 1,739.59 Listed cap 1,336.62 mn Payout (%) 131.49
Volume 14957 7118 242968
Change % Change -50.73 -2.83 Market cap 200-Day High 34,319.54 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 17.09 -
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
244.00
217.00
400
-
-
-
2.15
0.81
-
-
-
-
625.80
513.60
650
25B325.00
-
65.00 60.00 50.00 10.00
15B 25B -
-
-
2011 Div BR (%) (%) -
-
-
10R -
-
-
-
-
-
-
10 25 25B 40 7010B 12.5R 15 20B 10 12 -
54.41
Total Assets (Rs in mn)
69,457.04
MA (10-day)
16.70
Total Equity (Rs in mn)
24,258.78
MA (100-day)
13.92
Revenue (Rs in mn)
MA (200-day)
12.37
Interest Expense
1st Support
16.05
Loss after Taxation
2nd Support
15.83
EPS 10 (Rs)
1st Resistance
16.52
Book value / share (Rs)
2nd Resistance
16.77
PE 11 E (x)
Pivot
16.30
PBV (x)
0.00 8.95 (163.64) (0.082) 12.13 1.34
FATIMA closed down -0.73 at 16.22. Volume was 67 per cent below average (consolidating) and Bollinger Bands were 20 per cent wider than normal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs78.277 million which translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.04 for the 1st quarter of current calendar year (1QCY11). FATIMA is currently 31.1 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is extremely low when compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of FATIMA at a relatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on FATIMA.
Azgard Nine Limited
Fundamental Highlights As on Dec 31, 2009
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day)
51.17
Total Assets (Rs in mn)
38,525.22
MA (10-day)
6.08
Total Equity (Rs in mn)
18,469.71
MA (100-day)
6.66
Revenue (Rs in mn)
11,737.86
MA (200-day)
8.57
Interest Expense
1st Support
6.01
Profit after Taxation
60.53
2nd Support
5.93
EPS 09 (Rs)
0.003
1st Resistance
6.18
Book value / share (Rs)
37.85
2nd Resistance
6.27
PE 10 E (x)
Pivot
6.10
PBV (x)
2,424.42
0.16
ANL closed down -0.23 at 6.07. Volume was 67 per cent below average (consolidating) and Bollinger Bands were 68 per cent narrower than normal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs2.155 billion which translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs4.80 for the 1st quarter of current calendar year (1QCY11). ANL is currently 29.2 per cent below its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is extremely low when compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into ANL (mildly bullish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on ANL.
NIB Bank Limited
HOUSEHOLD GOODS Open 649.30 Turnover 240,611 P/E (x) 1.22
High Low 682.69 614.78 Total cos Defaulter cos 15 7 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.13 10.64
Close 632.60 Listed cap 3,763.71 mn Payout (%) 6.27
Change % Change -16.70 -2.57 Market cap 200-Day High 4,253.14 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 5.15 -
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
1219
-
6.49
7.30
6.11
6.36 -0.13
82046
8.70
6.06
-
10B
693
1.29
10.88
11.49
9.60
9.75 -1.13
154387
13.33
9.60
17.5
-
Tariq Glass Ind
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
2011 Div BR (%) (%) -
-
- 200R
PERSONAL GOODS Performance of SR Personal Goods Index Open 968.05 Turnover 16,571,946 P/E (x) 5.57 Company
Paid up Cap(mn)
Ali Asghar Textile Amtex Limited Artistic Denim Azam Textile Azgard Nine Blessed Tex Mills Brothers Textile Chenab Limited Colony Mills Ltd D S Ind Ltd Dawood Lawrencepur Dewan Farooque Spin. Dewan Khalid Textile Dewan Mushtaq Textile Din Textile Gadoon Textile XD Ghazi Fabrics Gulshan Spinning Hira Textile Mills Ltd. Ibrahim Fibres Idrees Textile Int Knitwear Khalid Siraj Kohinoor Ind Kohinoor Mills Kohinoor Spinning Kohinoor Textile Masood Textile Mian Textile Nishat (Chunian) Nishat Mills Olympia Textile Pak Synthetic Paramount Spinning Ravi Textile Redco Textile Reliance Weaving Rupali Poly Saif Textile Sally Textile Sana Ind Service Ind Shahtaj Textile Taj Textile Tata Textile Thal Ltd Treet Corp Tri-Star Poly Yousuf Weaving
222 2594 840 133 4493 64 98 1150 2442 600 591 978 57 34 204 234 326 222 716 3105 180 32 107 303 509 1300 2455 600 221 1621 3516 108 560 174 250 213 308 341 264 88 55 120 97 334 173 307 418 215 400
PE
Open
0.95 2.68 7.91 24.81 0.42 1.96 6.30 0.95 91.06 0.22 1.70 1.56 1.50 1.02 - 30.51 1.32 1.82 0.29 1.70 0.19 3.50 0.69 36.20 0.61 66.58 0.42 4.20 0.39 10.66 0.71 3.75 2.61 37.95 1.86 4.60 5.86 0.40 1.50 1.18 1.60 0.42 1.40 3.69 3.14 1.70 18.65 0.31 3.07 20.61 4.20 51.46 0.62 2.46 19.98 0.56 13.10 0.95 2.11 0.50 0.59 11.40 3.00 39.16 0.27 8.10 0.25 6.14 2.95 40.00 3.28 206.90 1.62 28.55 0.30 0.39 31.75 - 99.12 6.42 52.88 0.55 0.50 1.18
High
High Low 978.88 944.41 Total cos Defaulter cos 211 73 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.48 8.64 Low
Close Chg
0.95 0.70 0.75 -0.20 3.07 2.51 2.62 -0.06 25.48 24.01 25.00 0.19 2.89 2.26 2.35 0.39 6.40 6.02 6.07 -0.23 100.11 86.00 99.35 8.29 0.35 0.16 0.25 0.03 1.94 1.61 1.61 -0.09 1.79 1.40 1.50 0.00 1.19 0.80 1.03 0.01 30.98 28.00 28.01 -2.50 2.34 1.76 2.00 0.18 1.99 1.80 1.99 0.29 4.00 2.71 3.63 0.13 34.51 32.25 34.50 -1.70 67.00 62.00 63.00 -3.58 5.25 3.80 4.14 -0.06 10.99 9.20 9.26 -1.40 4.00 3.55 3.55 -0.20 38.00 36.00 36.52 -1.43 4.85 4.23 4.85 0.25 5.86 4.50 5.83 -0.03 2.44 1.20 1.45 -0.05 1.25 0.82 1.05 -0.13 1.99 1.36 1.36 -0.24 1.83 1.20 1.20 -0.20 3.55 2.80 3.21 0.07 19.00 17.80 18.33 -0.32 0.40 0.14 0.30 -0.01 20.95 19.20 19.94 -0.67 51.60 47.00 47.39 -4.07 1.62 0.60 0.78 0.16 20.90 18.73 19.73 -0.25 14.00 11.35 11.41 -1.69 1.19 0.36 0.80 -0.15 0.50 0.36 0.40 -0.10 11.60 10.50 11.50 0.10 40.00 37.85 39.85 0.69 8.10 7.50 7.60 -0.50 6.90 5.90 6.37 0.23 40.50 38.50 39.00 -1.00 214.95 191.00 192.11-14.79 28.95 27.16 28.94 0.39 0.80 0.30 0.35 0.05 30.20 28.50 28.50 -3.25 100.99 98.00 99.01 -0.11 53.80 50.60 51.34 -1.54 0.90 0.50 0.76 0.21 1.50 1.00 1.12 -0.06
Close 958.29 Listed cap 47,070.70 mn Payout (%) 16.68
Volume
Change % Change -9.76 -1.01 Market cap 200-Day High 119,368.11 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 3.00 -
Last 60 days High Low
6429 1.55 2860827 3.76 5504 27.10 6089 2.99 8424373 7.09 70570 100.11 5665 1.20 29294 2.44 47957 2.64 173591 1.39 86490 38.95 5137 4.18 11034 2.48 9006 5.00 8051 39.70 16922 79.75 12191 8.00 22613 12.16 88300 4.45 7379 48.50 16814 5.74 5085 8.01 7266 2.44 14185 1.64 91562 2.83 9559 2.00 13457 5.00 9710 20.59 17613 0.63 700547 26.45 3180703 61.99 7040 1.66 39199 20.90 5464 14.50 96109 1.30 8500 1.80 14120 13.05 6971 42.50 10614 9.25 18102 8.94 10862 41.48 25220 214.95 15281 29.89 44000 1.01 50999 39.20 106680 108.00 43053 59.20 5662 1.58 6025 2.16
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
0.61 1.85 - 30B 20.65 20 1.78 7.5 5.20 56.07 50 0.11 1.55 1.32 0.80 28.00 5 15B 1.56 1.10 2.71 26.35 20 10B 62.00 70 3.80 10 9.20 10 20B 3.55 10 36.00 20 3.80 10 3.26 6 1.00 0.75 0.71 0.65 5 2.80 16.91 15 100R 0.14 19.20 15 47.00 25 45R 0.30 17.26 11.35 10 10B 0.36 0.30 10.50 25SD 37.85 40 7.00 5.62 10 36.50 60 170.00 75 23.55 45 0.11 28.50 25 97.00 80 20B 49.00 50 900B 0.49 1.00 -
2011 Div BR (%) (%) -
-
Open 993.60 Turnover 251,081 P/E (x) 6.15 Company Abbott (Lab) Ferozsons (Lab) GlaxoSmithKline Highnoon (Lab) IBL HealthCare Ltd Searle Pak
Paid up Cap(mn) 979 250 2019 182 200 306
High Low 1,001.00 969.02 Total cos Defaulter cos 9 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 1.37 22.31
PE
Open
High
Low
5.71 7.78 10.43 6.71 3.89 5.91
96.10 94.30 75.00 29.15 10.00 60.00
96.50 97.90 75.20 29.70 10.35 61.00
92.50 92.80 72.50 27.91 9.15 58.00
Change % Change -16.89 -1.70 Market cap 200-Day High 31,917.19 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 7.25 -
Close Chg
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
93.26 94.00 73.00 28.99 9.50 60.60
5130 13076 15695 66362 73127 77275
97.00 98.73 79.99 33.45 10.99 62.80
-2.84 -0.30 -2.00 -0.16 -0.50 0.60
36.88
Total Assets (Rs in mn)
MA (10-day)
1.43
Total Equity (Rs in mn)
MA (100-day)
1.76
Revenue (Rs in mn)
MA (200-day)
2.28
Interest Expense
1st Support
1.36
Loss after Taxation
2nd Support
1.33
EPS 10 (Rs)
1st Resistance
88.75 88.21 71.53 25.25 9.00 54.00
2010 Div BR (%) (%) 50 40 25 30
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
20B 12.50 15B 10B -
-
1.43
164,350.04 13,662.05 18,197.43 0.00 (10,112.11) (2.501)
Book value / share (Rs)
2nd Resistance
1.47
PE 11 E (x)
Pivot
1.40
PBV (x)
3.38 0.42
NIB closed down -0.01 at 1.42. Volume was 13 per cent below average and Bollinger Bands were 36 per cent narrower than normal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs795.184 million which translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.20 for the 1st quarter of current calendar year (1QCY11). NIB is currently 37.6 per cent below its 200-day moving average and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is normal as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of NIB at a relatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on NIB.
Amtex Limited
Fundamental Highlights As on Jun 30, 2010
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day)
48.08
Total Assets (Rs in mn)
MA (10-day)
2.64
Total Equity (Rs in mn)
MA (100-day)
2.49
Revenue (Rs in mn)
MA (200-day)
3.57
Interest Expense
1st Support
2.55
Profit after Taxation
2nd Support
2.50
EPS 10 (Rs)
3.025
1st Resistance
2.65
Book value / share (Rs)
26.60
2nd Resistance
2.70
PE 11 E (x)
Pivot
2.60
PBV (x)
19,120.15 6,423.46 11,066.13 1,457.79 730.51
0.10
AMTEX closed down -0.06 at 2.62. Volume was 95 per cent below average (consolidating) and Bollinger Bands were 72 per cent narrower than normal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs635.126 million which translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs2.45 for the nine months of fiscal year (9MFY11). AMTEX is currently 26.6 per cent below its 200-day moving average and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely low when compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect very strong flows of volume into AMTEX (bullish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on AMTEX.
BOOK CLOSURES Silkbank Limited #
Close 976.72 Listed cap 3,904.20 mn Payout (%) 44.54
Fundamental Highlights As on Dec 31, 2010
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day)
Company
PHARMA AND BIO TECH Performance of SR Pharma and Bio Tech Index
Performance of SR Industrial Engineering Index High Low 1,791.80 1,699.57 Total cos Defaulter cos 11 1 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 2.93 38.02
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
Fundamental Highlights As on Dec 30, 2010
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day)
Performance of SR Household Goods Index
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING Open 1,790.32 Turnover 273,345 P/E (x) 7.70
20B 15B 20B
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
87
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
25B 15.00
Last 60 days High Low
Low
1.41 9.99 11.40 2.45 3.50 2.22 5.31 6.39 21.44 5848.98 5910.00
Volume
-
Change % Change -8.65 -0.37 Market cap 200-Day High 337,461.28 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 0.63 -
High
Bawany Sugar
Close Chg
Close 2,332.09 Listed cap 11,335.33 mn Payout (%) 30.57
90 100 50 60 20 150 5 10
Open
Pak Elektron
Change % Change -22.56 -2.16 Market cap 200-Day High 15,319.44 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 11.66 -
Paid up Cap(mn)
Paid up Cap(mn)
High Low 2,367.36 2,248.95 Total cos Defaulter cos 61 16 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 14.82 30.30
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
PE
Company
Performance of SR Industrial Metals and Mining Index High Low 1,062.74 999.38 Total cos Defaulter cos 7 1 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.88 33.10
Company
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
INDUSTRIAL METALS AND MINING Open 1,043.28 Turnover 427,317 P/E (x) 2.65
Open 2,340.74 Turnover 2,659,903 P/E (x) 48.91
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
Change % Change 3.92 0.35 Market cap 200-Day High 41,421.40 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 5.80 -
250
Descon Chemical
-
Company
High Low 1,149.47 1,089.27 Total cos Defaulter cos 19 4 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.89 25.35
Clariant Pak
4813
16.60
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
Open 1,109.01 Turnover 637,135 P/E (x) 3.52
BOC (Pak)
Dawood Hercules
Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited
Change % Change -17.71 -2.31 Market cap 200-Day High 11,533.24 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 2.28 -
-
105.00 100.70 102.00 -2.02
5.05 367.30
2365
Close 750.24 Listed cap 3,242.17 mn Payout (%) 11.08
-
4.17 104.02
800
11950
High Low 808.15 742.10 Total cos Defaulter cos 4 2 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 1.24 25.53
-
735
National Refinery
Pak Refinery Limited
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
Open 767.95 Turnover 58,947 P/E (x) 4.86
- 23.43
8.00
Mari Gas Company
Pak Oilfields
11,560.23 11,917.40 11,420.62 i357.17
Performance of SR Industrial Transportation Index
Close Change % Change 1,539.05 -45.04 -2.84 Listed cap Market cap 200-Day High 65,194.15 mn 1,133,331.24 mn Payout (%) Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 55.94 5.38 -
691
3921
Open
High Low 1,587.09 1,506.05 Total cos Defaulter cos 12 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 3.38 32.54
Attock Petroleum
BYCO Petroleum
PE
Current High Low Change
8,449.87 8,644.60 8,351.09 i194.73
Alert ! Unusual Movements
INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION
Performance of SR Oil and Gas Index Open 1,584.09 Turnover 19,048,675 P/E (x) 10.40
KSE 30 Index
From 03-Aug
To 10-Aug
D/B/R -
Spot AGM/Date -
10-Aug
KASB Bank
03-Aug
06-Aug
105.16(R) 26-Jul
-
Glamour Textile Mills #
03-Aug
10-Aug
-
10-Aug
-
Trust Investment Bank #
05-Aug
12-Aug
-
-
General Tyre & Rubber #
07-Aug
18-Aug
-
-
12-Aug 18-Aug
Nishat Power #
08-Aug
22-Aug
-
-
22-Aug
(TFC) Allied Bank
13-Aug
26-Aug
-
-
-
Nishat Chunian Power #
16-Aug
22-Aug
-
-
22-Aug
First Habib Modaraba
25-Aug
31-Aug
22
-
-
Fauji Fertiliser
29-Aug
04-Sep
-
-
-
02-Sep
09-Sep
30(III)
-
-
28-Oct
03-Nov
-
-
-
MCB Bank Husein Industries
INDICATIONS # Extraordinary General Meeting
7
Monday, August 1, 2011 Atlas Insurance
FIXED LINE TELECOMMUNICATION
Central Insurance
Performance of SR Fixed Line Telecommunication Index Open 824.94 Turnover 9,003,323 P/E (x) 4.01 Paid up Cap(mn)
Company Pak.Telecomm Co A Telecard WorldCall Tele Wateen Telecom Ltd
High Low 838.11 790.19 Total cos Defaulter cos 5 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.52 12.84
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
37740 10.42 3000 2.31 8606 6175 -
12.82 1.42 1.81 1.92
12.98 1.50 1.95 2.17
12.35 1.30 1.61 1.80
12.71 1.36 1.65 1.90
-0.11 -0.06 -0.16 -0.02
Close 812.30 Listed cap 50,077.79 mn Payout (%) 62.56
Volume 5189501 377899 3433866 509702
Century Insurance
Change % Change -12.65 -1.53 Market cap 200-Day High 51,191.99 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 15.59 -
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
17.70 1.94 2.50 2.97
17.5 1 -
12.35 1.30 1.61 1.80
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
-
-
EFU General Insurance Habib Insurance IGI Insurance
443
3.67
29.24
29.68
28.70
29.50 0.26
13702
29.68
26.00
391
1.27
60.00
60.00
58.00
58.16 -1.84
147679
75.00
58.00
457
4.51
7.90
8.23
7.57
8.11 0.21
19695
8.85
7.50
1250 12.15
34.61
34.87
31.60
32.55 -2.06
38695
39.65
31.60
Paid up Cap(mn)
Company
Altern Energy Genertech Hub Power Japan Power KESC Kohinoor Energy Kohinoor Power Kot Addu Power Nishat Chunian Power Ltd Nishat Power Ltd Southern Electric
3426 198 11572 1560 7932 1695 126 8803 3673 3541 1367
PE
Open
High
Low
7.87 5.36 2.41 5.46 2.49 2.23 -
8.10 0.51 39.06 1.12 2.13 17.75 3.00 43.00 14.46 16.15 1.25
8.10 0.60 40.00 1.29 2.35 18.20 3.95 43.20 14.65 16.49 1.43
7.45 0.31 38.76 1.06 2.10 16.80 2.65 42.00 13.65 15.50 1.20
Close 1,371.99 Listed cap 95,369.29 mn Payout (%) 104.13
Close Chg
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
7.45 0.48 39.21 1.16 2.16 17.75 3.11 42.57 13.83 15.62 1.21
8550 75023 11915623 265825 843874 37261 36403 1214219 719665 920430 266020
9.40 0.75 40.00 1.70 2.57 18.20 3.95 44.19 17.25 17.70 1.69
-0.65 -0.03 0.15 0.04 0.03 0.00 0.11 -0.43 -0.63 -0.53 -0.04
7.45 0.16 36.70 1.01 2.03 15.60 2.35 41.75 13.47 15.39 1.20
2010 Div BR (%) (%) 50 25 50 -
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
7.8R -
25.00 10.00 30.00 10.00 -
Open 1,274.34 Turnover 1,949,109 P/E (x) 8.05 Paid up Cap(mn)
Company Sui North Gas Sui South Gas
High Low 1,275.30 1,225.25 Total cos Defaulter cos 2 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.92 11.41
Close 1,256.84 Listed cap 12,202.80 mn Payout (%) 66.79
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
5491 14.00 8390 4.53
19.96 20.24
20.00 20.23
18.82 19.80
19.60 -0.36 20.05 -0.19
560276 1388833
23.60 23.75
17.86 19.80
2010 Div BR (%) (%) 20 15
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
25B
-
-
BANKS Performance of SR Banks Index Open 1,137.03 Turnover 42,957,446 P/E (x) 7.14 Paid up Cap(mn)
Company Allied Bank Limited Askari Bank XB Bank Alfalah Bank AL-Habib Bank Of Khyber Bank Of Punjab BankIslami Pak Faysal Bank Habib Bank Ltd
8603 7070 13492 8786 5004 5288 5280 7327 11021 Habib Metropolitan Bank XB 10478 JS Bank Ltd 8150 KASB Bank LtdSPOT 9509 MCB Bank Ltd 8362 Meezan Bank XB 8030 National Bank 16818 NIB Bank 40437 Samba Bank 14335 Silkbank Ltd 26716 Soneri Bank 6023 Stand Chart Bank 38716 Summit Bank Ltd 8701 United Bank Ltd 12242
PE
Open
6.25 63.50 5.00 11.76 5.38 10.71 6.10 29.04 2.01 4.20 6.73 10.03 3.80 4.60 10.37 7.50 121.98 5.42 19.41 44.00 2.13 1.47 7.37 197.40 6.16 18.20 4.24 54.82 1.43 21.13 1.69 14.44 2.44 2.49 5.04 6.21 7.96 3.40 5.42 61.28
High
Low
Close Chg
64.23 63.00 63.39 -0.11 11.78 10.91 11.01 -0.75 10.88 10.10 10.22 -0.49 29.50 28.50 28.80 -0.24 4.75 4.17 4.50 0.30 6.84 6.15 6.38 -0.35 3.98 3.60 3.71 -0.09 10.70 9.55 9.94 -0.43 122.00 119.05 120.00 -1.98 19.44 18.51 18.85 -0.56 2.39 2.05 2.20 0.07 1.50 1.35 1.36 -0.11 198.20 185.10 186.43 -10.97 18.45 18.00 18.00 -0.20 55.70 53.05 53.88 -0.94 1.46 1.37 1.42 -0.01 1.95 1.68 1.69 0.00 2.54 2.26 2.31 -0.13 5.10 4.80 4.97 -0.07 8.18 7.52 7.70 -0.26 3.49 3.05 3.15 -0.25 61.64 59.65 60.69 -0.59
Volume
Change % Change -38.48 -3.38 Market cap 200-Day High 656,673.99 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 5.67 -
Last 60 days High Low
50090 68.99 826650 12.35 4765912 11.02 1472124 29.89 32703 6.20 11722669 7.35 103938 4.09 538978 10.73 259116 123.90 52001 22.45 156014 3.00 153826 1.77 5616082 210.95 257207 18.50 8999774 55.80 4581109 1.95 98888 2.18 2210776 3.06 215593 6.69 22584 9.20 363411 4.75 821402 65.01
60.50 10.79 9.42 28.25 4.17 5.00 3.25 9.00 114.10 17.00 2.05 1.28 185.10 16.60 49.51 1.37 1.62 2.26 4.80 7.52 2.67 59.65
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
NON LIFE INSURANCE Performance of SR Non Life Insurance Index Open 719.20 Turnover 3,581,507 P/E (x) 8.59 Paid up Cap(mn)
Company
Adamjee Insurance XD
1237
High Low 731.47 683.70 Total cos Defaulter cos 34 22 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.45 5.20
Close 692.40 Listed cap 11,111.34 mn Payout (%) 79.54
Change % Change -26.80 -3.73 Market cap 200-Day High 43,761.68 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 9.26 -
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
6.19
62.49
64.00
56.02
57.66 -4.83
567935
69.90
56.02
2010 Div BR (%) (%) 25
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
-
-
-
-
55B 10.00
-
10.24 -0.76
6266
11.89
10.10
25 12.5B
5.89
70.68
72.00
70.00
71.19 0.51
144342
76.12
67.00
30
5.37
15.46
16.29
15.30
15.46 0.00
2533937
18.30
13.65
30
-
-
-
3.50
8.25
8.24
7.60
7.83 -0.42
49070
8.99
7.60
25
-
-
-
Reliance Insurance
284
5.50
8.40
9.13
7.75
9.02 0.62
27924
9.13
6.40
- 12.5B
-
United Insurance
496
1.62
5.10
5.10
4.15
4.66 -0.44
14072
6.00
4.15
-
24B
-
-
Universal Insurance
263
-
1.50
1.99
1.50
1.55 0.05
7610
2.24
1.32
-
-
-
-
Symbols GATM MUREB MODAM SANSM CWSM FECS JUBS SHTM GRAYS AGSML BUXL NAGC ICCT IDSM FFLM MFTM ELSM MERIT CSMD ADOS TRIBL CPMFI TSML DSML SHJS CJPL PAKT DNCC SHNI HADC MUKT SHCM AHI PAKMI ESBL PECO JDMT KASBM COTT THCCL TRSM DYNO WAHN SLCL BCML BIFO GUTM SMTM MRNS KSBP PAKD SMCPL ISTM ADAMS PAKL BILF TSPL POAF HMIM ANSS HATM AGIC NJICL ALNRS PNGRS FDMF SHEZ IDYM SHCI SSIC PPP NESTLE FASM FPRM GAEL SERT ZIL SSML LIBM BWHL AABS HUSI SANE SCL SRSM PMRS PRWM LATM TREI CSIL SING BAPL PKGI PHDL ACCM DATM SUHJ BATA MFFL BNWM NOPK GATI SCLL JKSM EMCO FRCL SALT COLG FCONM FNBM GLPL TSBL HWQS ASHT RCML NATM POML ZAHT DIIL SEL GHNI SURC SAPL MUBT TSMF BHAT HUSS PTEC MSCL BWCL HINO CLOV GVGL STML
-
LIFE INSURANCE Performance of SR Life Insurance Index Open 907.04 Turnover 40,905 P/E (x) 5.30
High Low 936.11 890.37 Total cos Defaulter cos 4 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 2.01 3.85
Close 902.35 Listed cap 2,290.72 mn Payout (%) 355.53
Change % Change -4.68 -0.52 Market cap 200-Day High 10,014.08 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 6.81 -
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
East West Life
500
6.38
1.70
2.00
1.02
1.02 -0.68
11412
2.24
1.02
-
10R
-
-
EFU Life Assurance New Jub Life Insurance
850 9.47 627 14.69
68.00 54.00
70.75 56.00
66.10 53.20
67.42 -0.58 54.66 0.66
14229 15262
73.25 58.99
52.01 48.00
50 15
-
-
-
Company
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
FINANCIAL SERVICES Performance of SR Financial Services Index Open 288.26 Turnover 18,652,091 P/E (x) 11.49
High Low 299.41 268.20 Total cos Defaulter cos 41 6 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.17 0.91
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
225
0.81
0.43
0.49
0.35
0.39 -0.04
Arif Habib Limited
450 17.92
Arif Habib Corp
2011 Div BR (%) (%) -
-
17.02 -1.92
120478
20.20
13.65
-
20B
-
-
5251144
29.24
20.53
30
-
-
-
1.84
1.11
1.35 0.05
12800
1.90
1.11
-
-
-
-
1.74
1.20
1.20 0.00
14104
1.80
1.01
-
-
-
-
-
5.01
6.00
4.53
5.01 0.00
35036
6.10
4.26
-
-
-
7.63
1.33
1.58
1.11
1.45 0.12
57796
1.99
1.05
-
-
-
600 19.95 2849
Ist Cap Securities
-
27.02 -1.49
1.30
Ist Dawood Bank
-
16.90
1.20
Invest and Fin Sec
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
0.26
26.60
-
Invest Bank
0.64
18.90
2.14
250
First Credit & Invest Bank Ltd 650
2121
Last 60 days High Low
9394
28.95
Dawood Cap Mangt. XB 150
IGI Investment Bank
Volume
Change % Change -12.84 -4.45 Market cap 200-Day High 13,587.84 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 5.27 -
18.94
3.62
Dawood Equities
Close 275.42 Listed cap 30,336.44 mn Payout (%) 99.56
28.51
3750
-
3166
-
626
0.65
-
7.20
7.67
6.95
7.38 0.18
15972
9.29
6.95
11.5
-
-
-
0.35
0.49
0.31
0.38 0.03
43069
0.74
0.22
-
-
-
-
-
10B
2.46
2.39 1.35
3.24
6.81 -0.69
11021624
8.34
6.11
10
-
-
-
2.52
2.54 -0.06
2411410
3.40
2.45
-
-
-
-
5.53
19.10
20.00
19.25
19.25 0.15
22.94
17.50
50
7761
-
3.53
3.85
2.65
3.38 -0.15
33702
4.79
2.65
-
-
-
-
3.64
5.80
6.18
5.56
6.01 0.21
11493
6.45
5.25
-
-
-
-
1.41
1.57
1.33
1.40 -0.01
314595
1.99
1.32
-
-
-
-
-
821
5.00
-
-
1000 41.67 1000 775
4.10
-
JS Investment
Pervez Ahmed Sec
6.43
-
KASB Securities Orix Leasing
4245086
-
-
6.75
3.15
5.00 -0.15
1.96
-
-
7.57
2.60
4.76
51897
2.22 1.30
7.50
-
5.30
1.45 0.00
235958
-
508
5.15
1.65
2.78 0.32
7633 500
1.45
3.05
Jah Siddiq Co JOV and CO
-
-
-
-
Saudi Pak Leasing
452
-
0.56
1.48
0.61
0.79 0.23
6101
1.48
0.51
-
-
-
-
Sec Inv Bank
514
3.25
1.73
1.73
1.28
1.30 -0.43
27010
2.99
1.25
-
-
-
-
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
40 10B - 10B 20 20B -64.41R - 20B 65 10B - 20B - 33R -105.16R 115 10B 60.00 - 15B 75 25B -154.79R -63.46R - 311R 6 - 20R 50 - 15.00 -
-
-
10.17
303
JS Global Cap
High Low Close 1,144.54 1,086.69 1,098.55 Total cos Defaulter cos Listed cap 27 - 257,548.02 mn P/BV (x) ROE (%) Payout (%) 1.00 13.94 40.49
-
-
970
AMZ Ventures
Change % Change -17.50 -1.37 Market cap 200-Day High 27,583.77 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 8.30 -
-
-
-
UPTO 5000 VOLUME
-
3000
Company
GAS WATER AND MULTIUTILITIES
-
-
11.89
-
Premier Insurance
Pak Reinsurance
-
Performance of SR Gas Water and Multiutilities Index
50B
10
11.00
-
Change % Change -3.69 -0.27 Market cap 200-Day High 111,811.43 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 7.74 -
25 12.5
7.11
Performance of SR Electricity Index High Low 1,403.70 1,360.39 Total cos Defaulter cos 15 1 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 1.26 9.35
20B
450
ELECTRICITY Open 1,375.68 Turnover 16,305,343 P/E (x) 13.45
40
EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS Performance of SR Equity Investment Instruments Index Open 1,559.59 Turnover 5,498,277 P/E (x) 16.41
High Low 1,566.91 1,480.36 Total cos Defaulter cos 52 11 P/BV (x) ROE (%) 0.36 2.21
Close 1,529.87 Listed cap 29,771.58 mn Payout (%) 104.74
Change % Change -29.72 -1.91 Market cap 200-Day High 19,429.00 mn Div Yield (%) 200-Day Low 9.92 -
Paid up Cap(mn)
PE
Open
High
Low
Close Chg
Volume
Last 60 days High Low
2010 Div BR (%) (%)
2011 Div BR (%) (%)
AL-Meezan Mutual Fund 1375 Atlas Fund of Funds 525 B R R Guardian Mod. 780
4.83 1.76 2.82
11.30 6.90 2.53
11.49 7.39 2.90
11.00 6.61 2.10
11.25 -0.05 6.61 -0.29 2.71 0.18
1208651 270956 716870
11.60 7.39 2.90
10.15 6.11 1.41
18.5 2.2 0
-
5.00 -
-
Crescent St Modaraba Elite Cap Modaraba Equity Modaraba Golden Arrow
200 113 524 760
3.07 4.90 6.53 2.23
0.55 3.05 1.25 3.40
0.65 3.89 1.60 3.55
0.40 2.55 1.07 3.30
0.43 3.53 1.24 3.36
-0.12 0.48 -0.01 -0.04
19021 7159 22979 264814
0.89 3.89 1.90 3.72
0.30 2.10 1.07 3.11
1.2 5 17
-
-
-
H B L Modaraba Habib Modaraba I B L Modaraba JS Growth Fund JS Value Fund
397 1008 202 3180 1186
3.87 5.86 1.99 2.06 0.55
8.00 8.15 2.00 6.00 5.25
8.25 8.50 2.00 6.19 5.50
7.16 8.00 1.13 5.32 5.00
7.89 8.09 1.35 6.00 5.19
-0.11 -0.06 -0.65 0.00 -0.06
45043 460023 99588 1034391 241329
8.44 8.50 2.45 7.40 6.10
7.10 7.32 1.06 5.32 4.91
11 21 3 12.5 10
-
22 5.00
-
Meezan Balanced Fund PICIC Energy Fund PICIC Growth Fund PICIC Inv Fund Prud Modaraba 1st
1200 1000 2835 2841 872
2.91 2.09 2.66 2.30 1.78
9.99 7.24 13.39 6.09 0.94
10.40 7.40 13.30 6.10 0.99
9.58 6.80 12.95 5.45 0.85
10.11 7.10 12.95 5.83 0.98
0.12 -0.14 -0.44 -0.26 0.04
124509 240242 376436 139932 91846
10.40 8.25 13.84 6.95 1.05
8.46 6.80 12.00 5.45 0.75
15.5 10 20 10 3
- 10.00 - 12.50 - 7.50 -
-
Safeway Mutual Fund Stand Chart Modaraba U D L Modaraba UNICAP Modaraba
545 454 264 136
3.16 5.55 2.31 -
7.67 10.52 6.66 0.50
8.63 10.90 7.00 0.50
6.70 10.05 6.63 0.35
8.63 10.05 6.75 0.35
0.96 -0.47 0.09 -0.15
56000 25231 13599 14000
8.65 11.00 7.49 1.50
5.75 9.50 6.31 0.13
18.2 17 12.5 -
-
-
Company
7.50 -
Open 48.25 111.00 1.05 11.90 1.47 38.00 3.86 0.20 35.14 5.00 7.50 15.10 0.75 4.44 1.50 0.80 23.75 27.34 10.50 10.00 1.25 2.94 55.00 3.50 63.00 0.73 93.80 1.22 13.44 0.42 0.58 22.80 19.55 0.85 1.56 56.20 13.93 3.50 1.01 15.46 2.78 10.20 36.13 2.00 15.60 51.00 18.60 4.56 55.52 31.85 30.00 5.50 6.00 18.27 1.52 0.75 0.90 8.17 1.50 5.42 1.00 8.99 56.10 38.99 3.53 1.78 139.01 348.83 2.47 4.90 44.50 4180.25 45.99 10.25 1.05 0.70 58.97 1.60 57.45 29.00 90.93 3.26 2.90 81.42 3.52 38.84 14.30 6.74 1.11 3.45 15.17 7.38 5.11 29.20 0.20 0.11 10.00 675.42 79.00 15.82 20.23 49.01 2.40 8.35 1.61 3.00 66.60 736.00 1.50 5.85 57.12 1.70 8.28 4.78 27.36 35.82 40.00 7.22 8.25 19.00 7.81 35.10 145.01 1.00 1.00 232.88 10.67 3.15 9.09 11.28 111.27 67.41 24.07 18.00
High 49.35 111.00 1.10 12.50 1.65 38.00 4.50 0.29 40.75 5.00 8.15 15.50 0.93 4.75 1.75 0.80 24.00 29.00 10.80 10.75 1.70 3.70 57.74 3.76 64.50 1.25 93.80 1.50 14.40 0.68 0.74 21.66 19.95 1.44 2.43 54.00 14.75 4.50 1.15 16.00 2.78 10.40 37.50 2.10 15.60 53.53 19.60 5.99 56.00 32.50 30.00 5.20 6.00 18.00 2.40 1.50 0.95 8.00 1.50 6.50 1.05 9.80 57.99 42.97 3.90 2.39 139.01 366.35 2.47 5.25 44.50 4280.00 50.00 11.25 1.00 0.75 61.88 1.60 57.45 29.00 91.00 3.65 3.00 83.50 4.50 40.90 14.30 7.05 1.11 3.45 16.15 8.00 5.50 30.50 0.33 0.40 9.00 716.00 82.95 16.40 20.23 51.45 2.74 8.35 1.60 3.00 64.91 770.35 1.89 5.80 57.12 1.70 9.28 4.78 27.36 42.15 40.00 7.22 9.25 19.00 8.38 36.00 149.00 1.40 1.48 244.52 11.65 3.25 9.15 11.28 111.27 67.41 25.27 18.00
Low
Close
46.75 107.00 0.50 11.61 1.40 38.00 3.00 0.16 35.50 4.00 7.20 14.75 0.66 3.70 1.40 0.41 22.65 25.25 10.50 9.00 1.00 2.50 52.25 3.50 63.00 0.45 83.00 1.22 12.75 0.28 0.25 19.56 18.50 0.90 1.57 48.26 11.25 3.49 1.01 14.51 1.75 9.65 35.10 1.99 15.00 51.00 17.76 4.20 53.75 31.50 28.40 4.71 5.31 17.06 0.52 0.75 0.74 5.76 0.57 5.42 1.00 8.11 54.20 38.90 3.21 1.76 128.13 323.44 1.65 4.90 42.00 3904.01 48.28 10.00 0.85 0.52 55.00 1.40 51.67 27.55 86.50 2.70 2.20 81.42 3.03 38.66 13.50 6.00 1.01 2.45 14.00 6.70 5.00 28.98 0.22 0.11 9.00 615.05 78.00 15.32 19.26 48.00 2.11 6.35 1.60 2.00 61.67 697.00 1.27 5.01 54.27 1.25 8.25 4.50 26.00 34.03 38.00 6.22 7.25 18.13 7.75 34.00 142.50 0.80 1.01 244.52 9.75 2.90 8.09 10.81 105.71 64.25 23.90 17.00
49.30 110.00 0.65 12.23 1.50 38.00 3.86 0.29 39.78 4.95 7.22 15.25 0.84 4.20 1.50 0.65 23.71 28.96 10.50 9.00 1.00 2.91 52.25 3.50 64.50 1.18 83.36 1.40 14.19 0.55 0.25 21.60 18.50 1.00 2.25 50.79 12.10 4.50 1.01 15.00 2.00 9.90 36.89 2.04 15.00 52.93 18.08 5.23 54.25 31.75 28.48 4.84 5.50 17.08 2.40 1.00 0.74 6.76 0.90 6.50 1.05 8.11 55.02 40.85 3.22 2.23 134.87 340.46 2.35 4.90 43.01 4201.58 50.00 11.25 1.00 0.75 57.45 1.42 54.00 29.00 90.24 3.64 2.20 83.50 3.66 40.65 13.56 6.05 1.11 2.48 14.78 7.83 5.00 30.50 0.22 0.40 9.00 657.82 79.00 16.20 19.31 49.00 2.21 7.35 1.60 2.56 61.75 737.24 1.27 5.50 57.12 1.25 8.28 4.50 26.00 42.15 40.00 6.68 8.25 18.99 7.81 35.10 145.01 1.00 1.00 244.52 10.67 3.15 9.09 11.28 111.27 67.41 24.07 17.00
Change
Vol
1.05 -1.00 -0.40 0.33 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.09 4.64 -0.05 -0.28 0.15 0.09 -0.24 0.00 -0.15 -0.04 1.62 0.00 -1.00 -0.25 -0.03 -2.75 0.00 1.50 0.45 -10.44 0.18 0.75 0.13 -0.33 -1.20 -1.05 0.15 0.69 -5.41 -1.83 1.00 0.00 -0.46 -0.78 -0.30 0.76 0.04 -0.60 1.93 -0.52 0.67 -1.27 -0.10 -1.52 -0.66 -0.50 -1.19 0.88 0.25 -0.16 -1.41 -0.60 1.08 0.05 -0.88 -1.08 1.86 -0.31 0.45 -4.14 -8.37 -0.12 0.00 -1.49 21.33 4.01 1.00 -0.05 0.05 -1.52 -0.18 -3.45 0.00 -0.69 0.38 -0.70 2.08 0.14 1.81 -0.74 -0.69 0.00 -0.97 -0.39 0.45 -0.11 1.30 0.02 0.29 -1.00 -17.60 0.00 0.38 -0.92 -0.01 -0.19 -1.00 -0.01 -0.44 -4.85 1.24 -0.23 -0.35 0.00 -0.45 0.00 -0.28 -1.36 6.33 0.00 -0.54 0.00 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 11.64 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.00
4871 4745 4705 4521 4404 4231 4210 4210 4097 4036 4028 3824 3720 3609 3460 3452 3195 3162 3135 3109 3080 3022 3021 3010 3009 2956 2914 2833 2814 2803 2705 2683 2668 2659 2611 2598 2530 2520 2500 2457 2414 2361 2341 2287 2270 2249 2132 2092 2071 2066 2057 2034 2030 2026 2026 2023 2022 2021 2010 2000 2000 1968 1964 1927 1920 1908 1890 1869 1830 1771 1754 1743 1536 1512 1500 1500 1473 1380 1366 1341 1200 1200 1177 1171 1151 1141 1141 1110 1108 1052 1032 1022 1011 1005 1000 1000 1000 870 731 713 710 650 638 616 610 573 548 538 526 520 516 516 500 500 500 450 444 444 436 418 376 308 305 265 255 250 246 212 210 200 153 152 126 111
BOARD MEETINGS
Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Ltd
KSE 100 INDEX
Fauji Fertiliser Co
Hub Power Co Ltd
Company
Date
Time
Allied Bank Ltd Rafhan Maize Products Ltd Nestle Pakistan Ltd Leather up Ltd International Steels Ltd Pakistan Petroleum Ltd Unilever Pakistan Ltd International Industries Ltd Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd BOC Pakistan Ltd Pakgen Power Ltd
01-Aug 03-Aug 03-Aug 03-Aug 08-Aug 08-Aug 09-Aug 11-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug 12-Aug
12:00 14:00 10:00 12:30 10:00 10:30 10:30 10:00 14:30 15:00 10:00
TECHNICAL LEVELS Company
Technical Outlook Technical Analysis RSI (14-day)
Brokerage House
41.95
Support 1
12,262.50
Support 2
11,979.10
MA (10-day)
12,345.90
Resistance 1
12,257.15
MA (100-day)
12,082.84
Resistance 2
12,323.90
12,084.75
Pivot
42.2
Brokerage House
Sell
Arif Habib Ltd
AKD Securities Ltd
45.52
Neutral
AKD Securities Ltd
TFD Research
47.75
Neutral
TFD Research
Technical Outlook Technical Analysis
RSI (14-day) KSE 100 INDEX closed down -286.40 points at 12,190.37. Volume was 32 MA (10-day) per cent below average and Bollinger Bands were 1 per cent wider than MA (100-day) 11,856.80
Recommendations
Arif Habib Ltd
Leverage Position
MA (5-day)
MA (200-day)
Target Price
12,151.50
MTS Shares `000 MTS Rs `000
42.54
MTS Rate
normal. As far as resistance level is concern, the market will see major 1st MA (200-day)
39.74 resistance level at 12,257.15 and 2nd resistance level at 12,323.90, while Free Float Shares (mn) 326.94
-
** NOI Rs (mn) Free Float Rs (mn)
79.73 15,307.26
Index will continue to find its 1st support level at 12,084.75 and 2nd sup- Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market port level at 11,979.10. FFBL closed down -0.70 at 46.82. Volume was 26 per cent below average KSE 100 INDEX is currently 2.8 per cent above its 200-day moving averand Bollinger Bands were 93 per cent wider than normal. age and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as FFBL is currently 17.8 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. displaying an upward trend. Volatility is low as compared to the average Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of INDEX at a rela- volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect modtively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on erate flows of volume into FFBL (mildly bullish). Trend forecasting oscillaINDEX. tors are currently bullish on FFBL.
Brokerage House
Brokerage House
Target Price
Recommendations
405
Buy
Arif Habib Ltd
Neutral
AKD Securities Ltd
Arif Habib Ltd AKD Securities Ltd
386.5
TFD Research
388.3
Neutral
MTS Shares `000 MTS Rs `000
MA (100-day)
341.61
MTS Rate
17.50 4,737.48 -
MA (200-day) 316.34 ** NOI Rs (mn) 263.22 Free Float Shares (mn) 107.95 Free Float Rs (mn) 38,705.84 Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market POL closed down -24.17 at 358.55. Volume was 47 per cent above average and Bollinger Bands were 54 per cent wider than normal. POL is currently 13.3 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely high when compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of POL at a relatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on POL.
165.3
TFD Research
164.95
MTS Shares `000 MTS Rs `000
MA (100-day)
37.82
MTS Rate
3.28 31,760.42
RSI (14-day)
53.81
MA (10-day)
163.59
Arif Habib Ltd AKD Securities Ltd TFD Research
245.95
Lucky Cement Ltd
Brokerage House
MA (10-day) MA (100-day) MA (200-day)
54.13 55.04 63.48
MTS Rs `000 MTS Rate ** NOI Rs (mn)
18,841.98 83.01
Free Float Rs (mn)
21,450.83
Target Price
Recommendations
Recommendations
224
Buy
Arif Habib Ltd
97.7
Buy
195.41
Buy
AKD Securities Ltd
87.61
Buy
Positive
TFD Research
84.65
Positive
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day) MA (10-day) MA (100-day) MA (200-day) Free Float Shares (mn)
Brokerage House
Target Price
Technical Outlook
Technical Outlook 478.098
148.99 74,572.67
Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market
Buy
Leverage Position
9,023.18
MTS Rate ** NOI Rs (mn) Free Float Rs (mn)
FFC closed down -4.04 at 159.86. Volume was 33 per cent above average and Bollinger Bands were 74 per cent wider than normal. FFC is currently 18.5 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of FFC at a relatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on FFC.
Buy
MTS Shares `000
76.00
MTS Rs `000
Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market
Recommendations
53.69
Leverage Position MTS Shares `000
MA (100-day) 144.27 MA (200-day) 134.90 Free Float Shares (mn) 466.49
HUBC closed up 0.15 at 39.21. Volume was 73 per cent below average (consolidating) and Bollinger Bands were 28 per cent narrower than normal. HUBC is currently 4.9 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect volume flowing into and out of HUBC at a relatively equal pace. Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on HUBC.
65
Free Float Shares (mn) 398.12
Technical Outlook 77.00 2,257.83
** NOI Rs (mn) Free Float Rs (mn)
64.99
RSI (14-day)
Buy Neutral
Technical Analysis
Leverage Position
57.74 39.11
MA (200-day) 37.37 Free Float Shares (mn) 810.01
Recommendations
Positive
RSI (14-day) MA (10-day)
Target Price
Technical Analysis
Leverage Position
39.01 376.91
Arif Habib Ltd
Accumulate
Engro Corporation
Technical Outlook
Technical Outlook Technical Analysis RSI (14-day) MA (10-day)
Buy
49.05
National Bank of Pakistan
Pakistan Oilfields Ltd
50 42.1
Technical Analysis
96.45 3,171.78
Target Price
Recommendations
Technical Outlook
Leverage Position
65.64 47.01
Brokerage House
Target Price
20.72 148.53 185.41 191.71 176.98
Leverage Position MTS Shares `000 MTS Rs `000 MTS Rate ** NOI Rs (mn) Free Float Rs (mn)
53.995 5,845.17 269.57 25,288.37
Technical Analysis RSI (14-day) 55.13 MA (10-day) 73.17 MA (100-day) 70.57 MA (200-day) 71.56 Free Float Shares (mn) 129.35
Leverage Position MTS Shares `000 MTS Rs `000 MTS Rate ** NOI Rs (mn) Free Float Rs (mn)
198.50 10,883.78 176.76 9,458.07
Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market
Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market
Target price for Dec-11 & **Net Open Interest in future market
NBP closed down -0.94 at 53.88. Volume was 52 per cent below average (consolidating) and Bollinger Bands were 72 per cent narrower than normal. NBP is currently 15.1 per cent below its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into NBP (mildly bullish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on NBP.
ENGRO closed down -8.70 at 142.89. Volume was 21 per cent below average and Bollinger Bands were 2 per cent wider than normal. ENGRO is currently 25.5 per cent below its 200-day moving average and is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely low when compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect moderate flows of volume out of ENGRO (mildly bearish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on ENGRO. Momentum oscillator is currently indicating that ENGRO is currently in an oversold condition.
LUCK closed down -1.45 at 73.12. Volume was 47 per cent above average and Bollinger Bands were 44 per cent narrower than normal. LUCK is currently 2.2 per cent above its 200-day moving average and is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into LUCK (mildly bullish). Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on LUCK.
Al-Abbas Cement Allied Bank Limited Attock Cement Arif Habib Corp Arif Habib Limited Adamjee Insurance Askari Bank Azgard Nine Attock Petroleum Attock Refinery Bank Al-Falah BankIslami Pak Bank.Of.Punjab Dewan Cement D.G.K.Cement Dewan Salman Dost Steels Ltd EFU General Insurance EFU Life Assurance Engro Corp Faysal Bank Fauji Cement Fauji Fert Bin Fauji Fertilizer Habib Bank Ltd Hub Power ICI Pakistan Indus Motors J.O.V.and CO Japan Power JS Bank Ltd Jah Siddiq Co Kot Addu Power K.E.S.C Lotte Pakistan Lucky Cement MCB Bank Ltd Maple Leaf Cement National Bank Nishat (Chunian) Netsol Technologies NIB Bank Nimir Ind.Chemical Nishat Mills Oil & Gas Dev. XD PACE (Pakistan) Ltd. Pervez Ahmed Sec P.I.A.C.(A) Pioneer Cement Pak Oilfields Pak Petroleum Pak Suzuki P.S.O. XD P.T.C.L.A Shell Pakistan Sui North Gas Sitara Peroxide Sui South Gas Telecard TRG Pakistan United Bank Ltd WorldCall Tele
RSI 1st 2nd (14-day) Support 49.42 2.45 2.30 48.32 63.05 62.65 32.05 45.55 44.15 55.10 26.65 26.25 38.93 16.80 16.55 18.64 57.10 56.50 41.26 10.90 10.85 51.12 6.00 5.90 29.04 364.05 362.90 44.26 124.35 123.45 48.38 10.10 9.95 47.56 3.65 3.60 45.25 6.15 5.90 32.08 1.40 1.35 40.31 22.30 22.00 27.17 2.15 2.10 48.79 2.25 2.20 33.03 31.85 31.20 43.77 65.45 63.45 20.76 141.85 140.85 55.39 9.60 9.20 32.83 3.90 3.85 65.62 46.45 46.05 53.81 157.60 155.35 54.55 119.45 118.85 57.73 39.05 38.85 43.59 152.95 152.35 33.59 203.30 201.65 42.13 2.45 2.40 47.94 1.10 1.00 41.01 2.15 2.05 44.21 6.70 6.65 44.83 42.10 41.65 47.71 2.15 2.10 29.26 12.00 11.80 55.11 72.60 72.10 28.03 184.40 182.40 39.04 1.95 1.90 53.66 53.70 53.55 28.84 19.50 19.05 38.88 20.15 19.90 36.79 1.35 1.30 52.77 3.00 2.95 29.59 46.35 45.35 52.70 149.70 145.55 36.61 1.95 1.85 41.40 1.40 1.35 43.16 2.05 2.00 31.09 4.50 4.30 39.03 354.70 350.85 43.72 207.00 205.30 44.71 63.70 63.65 29.86 249.45 248.15 26.51 12.55 12.40 40.37 219.80 219.70 41.50 19.35 19.05 38.91 16.00 15.80 36.19 19.90 19.70 34.27 1.30 1.25 30.25 2.15 2.00 41.85 60.10 59.55 23.22 1.60 1.50
1st
2nd
Resistance 2.65 2.75 63.75 64.10 48.35 49.85 27.50 27.95 17.45 17.85 58.30 58.90 11.15 11.30 6.15 6.25 366.15 367.10 126.10 126.90 10.35 10.45 3.75 3.80 6.70 6.95 1.50 1.55 22.95 23.30 2.25 2.35 2.40 2.50 32.95 33.35 70.10 72.75 144.45 146.05 10.25 10.60 4.00 4.05 47.10 47.35 161.50 163.15 120.40 120.85 39.35 39.50 154.20 154.85 207.80 210.65 2.65 2.75 1.20 1.25 2.25 2.35 6.95 7.05 42.95 43.30 2.25 2.30 12.45 12.70 73.50 73.90 189.10 191.80 2.05 2.10 54.05 54.20 20.40 20.85 20.75 21.10 1.45 1.50 3.10 3.20 49.05 50.70 156.30 158.75 2.05 2.15 1.50 1.55 2.20 2.25 4.90 5.10 362.70 366.85 210.95 213.15 63.80 63.85 252.05 253.35 12.80 12.90 220.00 220.10 19.85 20.10 16.50 16.80 20.15 20.20 1.40 1.45 2.45 2.55 61.10 61.55 1.75 1.90
Pivot 2.55 63.40 47.00 27.10 17.20 57.70 11.10 6.10 365.00 125.15 10.20 3.70 6.45 1.45 22.65 2.20 2.35 32.30 68.10 143.45 9.90 3.95 46.70 159.25 119.85 39.15 153.60 206.15 2.60 1.15 2.20 6.85 42.45 2.20 12.25 73.00 187.10 2.00 53.85 19.95 20.50 1.40 3.05 48.05 152.15 2.00 1.45 2.15 4.70 358.85 209.20 63.75 250.75 12.65 219.90 19.60 16.30 19.95 1.35 2.30 60.55 1.70
PNB board OKs Metlife's offer for partnership in insurance biz 8
Monday, August 1, 2011
MetLife beats forecasts despite disasters NEW YORK: MetLife Inc, the largest US life insurer, posted a smaller profit as natural disasters at home and abroad and a sharp increase in expenses ate into earnings. But the company beat expectations easily on an operating basis, and shares rose 2.5 per cent in afterhours trading. MetLife, which had already warned of an unexpectedly large catastrophe loss in the quarter because of severe tornadoes in April and May, said disaster losses totaled $174 million in the second quarter. It also took a hit of $44 million from claims and expenses for the March earthquake in Japan. The company reported a net profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.13 per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.53 billion, or $1.84 per share. While revenue was up, total expenses rose more than 30 percent, with virtually all categories showing a sharp increase over a year earlier. Late last year, the company acquired the international insurance
business Alico from AIG , bulking it up globally while adding costs. On an operating basis, excluding investment gains and losses, the company earned $1.24 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, on average, estimated the company would earn $1.10 per share. In MetLife's U.S. business, the company said variable annuity sales rose 55 percent to nearly $7 billion, while strength in group life plans drove double-digit gains in the insurance business. Internationally, Japan and Latin America led improved results, demonstrating the benefits of the company's late-2010 acquisition of Alico. MetLife also said operating earnings at MetLife Bank fell sharply in the quarter on higher expenses and lower mortgage business. Earlier this month the company said it would sell the bank, a move analysts said may help it avoid the strongest of the "too big to fail" restrictions being formulated by the government.-Reuters
Insurers form register of bogus claimants LONDON: The British insurance industry plans to set up a national register listing the names of known insurance fraudsters after a record number of bogus or exaggerated claims were detected last year. Insurers uncovered 133,0000 fraudulent claims worth 919 million pounds in 2010, a 9 percent increase on the previous year, the Association of British Insurers said on Thursday. Insurance fraud typically rises during economic downturns as cash-strapped policyholders are tempted to fabricate or inflate claims. British insurers say they have been hit particularly hard by a rise in frivolous or
fraudulent claims for injuries supposedly sustained in motor accidents, which they blame on the influence of "no win, no fee" lawyers. Fraudulent motor insurance claims worth 466 million pounds were detected last year. The ABI said the register will be up and running in early 2012, and will complement the work of a new police unit, funded by the industry, which will focus entirely on preventing insurance fraud. Undetected fraud costs the industry 2 billion pounds a year, adding 44 pounds to the insurance bill of every policyholder, according to the ABI. -Reuters
Health bill to approach 20pc of spending by 2020 WASHINGTON: The US health bill will account for 19.8 percent of the nation's spending by 2020, up from 17.6 percent in 2009, outpacing projected average annual GDP growth, researchers said on Thursday. The report, published online in the journal Health Affairs, looked at projected U.S. health spending through 2020 and estimated about 30 million people will gain health insurance by the start of the next decade due to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul. According to the report, the average annual growth in national health spending is expected to be 5.8 percent, or 0.1 percentage point higher than it would be without the Affordable Care Act. "We are projecting a decline in the out-of-pocket share, but that doesn't mean that the consumer's burden is going to be substantially reduced," said Sean Keehan, an economist at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and co-author of the report. "Especially since we're projecting health spending to grow at a faster rate than economic growth and disposable personal incomes." For 2010, the researchers estimated that health spending grew at a historically low rate of 3.9 percent over the previous year to $2.6 trillion, which they attributed to a weak economy that has led many consumers to delay medical treatment. But future spending will likely grow at a faster pace, fueling concerns over how to cut the country's deficit, now the subject of fierce debate among lawmakers ahead of a deadline for raising the government's borrowing limit. The largest increase in healthcare spending in a single year is expected in 2014, when CMS forecasts a rise of 8.3 percent from 2013 as much of the new U.S. health law is implemented. The law's provisions include introducing state-based insurance exchanges and increased access to the government's Medicaid insurance plan for the poor. Spending growth will then average 6.2 percent annually from 2015 through 2020. According to the report, some large employers with low-wage employees are expected to stop offering health insurance in 2014. An estimated 13 million employees would then likely seek insurance in the new exchanges or by enrolling in Medicaid, according to Rick Foster, CMS's chief actuary. Increased access to health insurance is another explanation for the high growth rate, because with access comes demand.-Reuters
MADRID: Chief executive of Spanish bank Banco Santander, Alfredo Saenz, presents the first half 2011 results in Boadilla del Monte. -Reuters
Santander takes insurance claims hit before UK IPO BARCELONA: Spain's Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC) took a surprise hit to cover mis-selling of UK insurance policies, cleaning up its British arm's balance sheet ahead of an expected flotation next year. The euro zone's biggest bank took a charge of 620 million euros (546.4 million pounds) in the first half to cover compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance policies (PPI) in Britain, helping to drag first-half profit 21 percent lower. British banks have already made billions of pounds in provisions to cover compensation for these policies, intended to meet payments on mortgages and other loans in case of illness or unemployment. Santander had said it was compensating customers when appropriate, but it said it had seen a rise in claims since April, when the banks lost a court case and media coverage of the issue increased. "If they are going ahead with this partial IPO in the UK, they want to clean the books," said Neil Smith, banking analyst at WestLB. Santander is seeking to raise capital to improve its solvency ratios by listing its British arm. It said the flotation was unlikely to take place this year, given dire market conditions and regulatory uncertainty. "We are unlikely to do it in 2011; we'll leave it for later," Chief
Executive Officer Alfredo Saenz told analysts in a conference call. Santander wants to sell about a quarter of the unit, potentially raising over 4 billion pounds for the parent, sources have told Reuters. Saenz also signalled a delay in the flotation of the bank's Argentine unit due to turbulent markets. First-half net profit across the group was 3.5 billion euros against an average forecast of 4.15 billion. Net interest income -- what a bank earns on loans minus what it pays out on deposits -- was broadly in line with forecasts. The UK charge plus disappointing results in Spain and Brazil pushed its shares down 3.3 percent to 7.33 euros by 2:40 p.m. British time, underperforming a weak European banking sector index .SX7P but in line with Spanish banks lower on sovereign concerns. The euro zone debt crisis has made access to international money markets difficult and expensive for Spanish banks. Santander, the majority of whose business is in retail banking, emerged as one of the most solvent banks in Europe in continent-wide stress tests earlier this month. FUNDING COSTS However, some analysts are concerned about the weakening effect of recent acquisitions on the bank's capital ratios and its continued exposure to
Spain's moribund economy, where more than one in five is unemployed. Bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose across the group and in Spain during the quarter from endMarch. Santander said it expected the bad loan ratio to peak in Spain later this year in the third or fourth quarter. Spain remains a weak spot for the bank, despite a decade of expansion abroad that has reduced the country's weighting to less than Brazil or Britain. Chairman Emilio Botin said in June the Spanish unit had reached a "turning point," but analysts disagreed on Wednesday. "As far as I'm concerned, the turning point has not come yet with regard to Spain," said Smith of WestLB. "You still need more evidence that there is an improvement in quality." Santander's engine of growth, Brazil, is also beginning to stutter, with rampant inflation and measures to slow credit growth spooking investors in the booming Latin American economy. Profit in the Brazilian unit declined year on year over the period as loan loss provisions increased more than expected. "Credit deterioration accelerated in the quarter across the board, and Brazil was a disappointment as profits dropped 12 percent quarter on quarter," said Jaime Becerril at JP Morgan Cazenove. -Reuters
How insurance improves living standards?
I
t comes as no surprise to find that Alan Greenspan is wrong. But with respect to his latest column, an attempted defense of laissez-faire regulatory policies and lower bank capital standards, it's worth explaining in a little detail exactly why he's wrong. Greenspan's thesis does have a certain internal logic: "Since the devastating Japanese earthquake and, earlier, the global financial tsunami, governments have been pressed to guarantee their populations against virtually all the risks exposed by those extremely low probability events. But should they? Guarantees require the building up of a buffer of idle resources that are not otherwise engaged in the production of goods and services. They are employed only if, and when, the crisis emerges."
But if you think for a moment about the logical implications of what Greenspan is saying here, they're truly horrific. Imagine a world where the Japanese government did not insure its population against extremely low probability events like the recent earthquake - this is Greenspan's example, not mine. The toll of death and suffering in one of the richest countries in the world, which was catastrophically high to begin with, would soar, and the Japanese government, through inaction, would be killing thousands of its own citizens, in a heartless and entirely avoidable decision. Meanwhile, the broader Japanese economy would suffer much more greatly than it already is. In other words, the Japanese government doesn't need to be "pressed" to
save its citizens' lives in the event of a disaster; that's its job. What's more, the second part of Greenspan's thesis is equally incoherent, if not quite as morally monstrous. According to Greenspan, things like: "expensive building materials whose earthquake flexibility is needed for only a minute or two every century" are "idle resources" and therefore in economic terms a waste of money. But a significant part of the Japanese economy is comprised of companies and individuals engaged in manufacturing and installing precisely those expensive building materials. It's hard to see how the production of goods and services means that the economy is not engaged in the production of goods and services. And it's simply not true that the
insurance industry acts as a brake on the economy, an area where otherwise-productive resources go to be wasted and squandered. Indeed, there's a strong case to be made that when we remit our insurance premiums to someone like Berkshire Hathaway, they're invested rather better than if they remained sitting in our checking account. But all of this is just throat-clearing, really: Greenspan's using his awful Japan metaphor to try to persuade us that banks shouldn't be regulated, and that their minimum capital levels shouldn't be raised in the wake of the financial crisis. If only capital levels hadn't been raised, says Greenspan, then the banks could be lending out that money instead! Except, there's no indication whatsoever that banks have any particular
appetite to lend out more money in the present economic climate than they're doing already. And as my commenter says, if banks have more capital, that really doesn't slow down the economy one iota: "If the Fed prints $5 trillion of new money and puts it in a hole in the ground, it has no impact on the economy (unless it somehow influences expectations). If the Fed doesn't print $10 billion of new money but someone puts $10 billion in a hole in the ground (or generally takes it out of circulation for many years), that's contractionary. Extra equity for banks held in the form of dollars - I assume they wouldn't hold it in piles of factories or mining equipment - doesn't tie up real resources, and would presumably be counteracted by the Fed in terms of
its nominal effects; it would only make a difference if people expected it to actually enter circulation, i.e. if banks were expected to start crashing, i.e. exactly when you want people to expect looser monetary policy." I support bank capital requirements to stabilize the financial system, but if you want to support them as an automatic monetary stabilizer, that's okay, too. To put this another way the stated aim of high bank capital requirements is that it will help prevent banking collapses. That's a good idea, even if Greenspan doesn't seem very impressed. But there's another way that high bank capital requirements can help the economy. They start being used when the economy is in crisis - which is exactly the point at which you want a bunch more money in the system.-Reuters
International
Monday, August 1, 2011
9
US nearing deal to avoid default
KIRKUK, Iraq: A US soldier attached to the Golden Lions forces walks past a girl carrying her doll, during a patrol in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad. - Reuters
Police kill 4 after 3 die in China violence BEIJING: Police shot dead four "rioters" in China's far west on Sunday after at least three people, including a policeman, were killed in the latest in a series attacks in the region this month, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Four suspects were caught and four others were being sought in the latest violence in Kashgar, in a region long beset by anti-Chinese sentiment from the native Uighur population. Local sources had earlier said three people were killed on Sunday in an explosion, but witnesses reported that the three were hacked to death by the attackers, Xinhua said. Ten people including pedestrians and police were injured, it said. The violence came about 16 hours after two blasts were reported in Kashgar and eight people killed in a knife attack in the ancient Silk Road city, in the restive Xinjiang region near Tajikistan. A group of Uighur exiles from the region said martial law had been imposed in Kashgar and that at least 100 people had been arrested. Xinjiang is strategically vital to China and Beijing has shown no sign of loosening its grip on the territory, which accounts for one-sixth of China's land mass, holds rich deposits of oil and gas and borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Central Asia. There were no other details immediately available and Xinjiang regional officials did not answer calls to land and mobile telephone lines. A blogger who said he was in Kashgar posted photographs that appeared to show groups of armed police in camouflage
AMMAN: Syrian tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama on Sunday, killing at least 45 civilians in a move to crush demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, residents and activists said. Assad's forces began their assault on the city, scene of a 1982 massacre, at dawn after besieging it for nearly a month. The official state news agency said scores of were on rooftops and "shooting intensively to terrorize citizens". But residents said tanks and snipers were shooting at unarmed residential districts, where inhabitants had set up makeshift road blocks to try and stop their advance, and that an irregular Alawite militia loyal to Assad, known as 'shabbiha' accompanied the invading forces in buses. Hama has particular significance for the anti-Assad movement as Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, sent in troops to crush an Islamist-led uprising there in 1982, razing whole neighbourhoods and killing up to 30,000 people in the bloodiest episode of Syria's modern history. The president and the ruling family are from the minority Alawite sect, which has dominated Syria, a majority Sunni country, since the ruling Baath Party took power in a 1963 coup. In 2000, Assad succeeded his late father, keeping the autocratic political system he inherited intact, while expanding the share of the Assad family of the economy through monopolies awarded to relatives and friends. -Reuters
200 people. Since then, China has executed nine people it blamed for instigating the riots, detained and prosecuted hundreds and ramped up spending on security, according to state media and overseas rights groups. Saturday's attacks began with the two blasts, Xinhua said. Two men jumped into a truck waiting at a stoplight and stabbed to death the driver, Xinhua and tianshannet.com said. The pair then ploughed into a crowd, left the truck and started attacking people, killing six, Xinhua said. The crowd retaliated, beating one of the attackers to death and capturing the other, according to the accounts, which did not further identify the attackers. Twenty-eight people were treated in hospital, it said. There were no other immediate details. The reports did not say if authorities suspect there is any link to a Uighur separatist movement or to the July 18 attack. "The entire city of Kashgar is under martial law, and authorities have arrested at least 100 Uighurs," the German-based World Uyghur Congress said. It was not possible however to determine if an actual order for martial law had been issued, how heavy the police presence was across the city, or if more people had been arrested. "There is no way to protest peacefully the Chinese suppression there, and the policy of calculated resettlement," group spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in a statement sent by email to Reuters, referring to ethnic Han Chinese being relocated to live LASHKAR GAH, in Xinjiang. -Reuters Afghanistan: A suicide attacker killed 12 Afghan policemen and a child in the southern city of Lashkar Gah Sunday when he detonated a car bomb, the country's Ministry of Interior said. The attack in the heart of a city which was recently handed over to Afghan security forces was a reminder of the Taliban's Washington declined to comment Friday. The reach, even at a time of stepped Saudi government has repeatedly said that it is up pressure from U.S. and against the development of nuclear weapons. Afghan troops. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed a tentative The explosion happened near agreement in 2008, during the George W. Bush the police chief's compound in administration, to cooperate on developing civil- the provincial capital and ian nuclear technologies, but no formal treaty has appeared to target a joint been negotiated. U.S. companies need a treaty Afghan police and army patrol. before they can sell nuclear equipment. The Ministry of Interior con"We have offered to send a team to discuss with demned the attack and in a stateSaudi officials the kinds of nuclear activities that ment described it as "un-Islamic would be allowed" under the memorandum of and inhumane." It said the toll was understanding, said a senior U.S. official. 12 dead policemen and a child. The official added that the Obama administraTwelve people were wounded tion hasn't yet entered into formal negotiations in the blast, nine of them with Saudi Arabia about nuclear cooperation, but policemen and three civilians, that the U.S. wants to gain a better understanding said Daoud Ahmadi, of Saudi plans and intentions. But concerns in Washington have mounted as a spokesman for the Helmand regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has provincial governor. It comes after a string of intensified, fueled by the political rebellions that have broken out across the Middle East. Saudi Prince destabilising assassinations of Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to Washington, high-profile southern leaders, last month told a meeting of British and U.S. service- including President Hamid men that his country might be forced to develop Karzai's younger brother, and nuclear weapons in response to Iran's actions. The just days after suicide attackers Saudi government said at the time that Prince Turki with guns killed 19 people, most of them children.-Reuters doesn't speak on its behalf. - INP
uniforms in a street, some carrying away people who were apparently injured. As the blogger was conversing online with Reuters, he said he was visited by police who deleted the photographs from his camera and removed them from his blog. Earlier on Sunday, Chinese media reported that two men wielding knives attacked a truck driver and then a crowd of people following two explosions in Kashgar on Saturday night, leaving eight people dead including one of the attackers, according to tianshannet.com, a Xinjiang government-run website, and Xinhua. One of Saturday's blasts was from a minivan while another occurred in a food market, Xinhua said. There were no other details from the reports. Xinjiang is home to many Uighurs, a mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking people native to the region, many of whom resent the growing presence of majority Han Chinese who have moved there. Some Uighur groups have campaigned for independence. TIGHT SECURITY Eighteen people including 14 "rioters" were killed in an attack on a police station in Xinjiang on July 18, according to the government. The dead included two policemen and two hostages in what Chinese authorities described as a terrorist attack. That clash was the worst violence in about a year in Xinjiang. Rights groups say Xinjiang remains under tight security, more than two years after its capital Urumqi was rocked by violence between Han Chinese and Uighurs that killed nearly
US, SArabia to talk nuclear cooperation WASHINGTON: The Obama administration plans to resume talks with Saudi Arabia about nuclear cooperation, according to senior U.S. officials, in a move aimed at boxing in Iran and keeping an eye on Riyadh's strategic ambitions. A team of State Department and Department of Energy officials is expected to visit Riyadh as early as next week to discuss with senior Saudi officials their plans for pursuing nuclear power, according to people briefed on the trip, Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The White House's decision is already facing opposition from members of Congress who worry about sharing nuclear technologies with countries in today's increasingly unstable Middle East. The concerns were further fueled by recent comments made by a senior member of the Saudi royal family that their country would seek to develop nuclear weapons if Iran did. "I am astonished that the Administration is even considering a nuclear-cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.. "Saudi Arabia is an unstable country in an unstable region, with senior officials openly proclaiming that the country may pursue a nuclear-weapons capability." A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in
45 slain in Syrian mayhem
WASHINGTON: Hopes emerged that US lawmakers were close to a last-minute deal on Sunday that could raise the US debt ceiling by up to $2.8 trillion and assure financial markets that the United States will avoid default. Prospects that a significant package was within grasp brightened after Republican and Democratic leaders reopened stalled talks with the White House, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident and optimistic. "I think we've got a chance of getting there," McConnell, a Republican, said. ABC News reported that U.S. debt negotiators had reached a tentative agreement on a package, but a White House official cautioned that a deal was "not there yet." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, pushed back a key procedural vote on a debt limit plan by 12 hours to 1 pm EDT (1700 GM) on Sunday, buying additional time for both sides to hammer out details before Asia markets open. "There are negotiations going on at the White House
now on a solution that will avert a catastrophic default on the nation's debt," Reid said on the Senate floor late on Saturday. "There is still a distance to go," he said. Time is running out for the U.S. government to raise its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit before the Tuesday deadline when the Treasury says it will run out of money to pay its bills and could no longer service the national debt. But a cautious optimism had begun emerging on Capitol Hill. "We're a long way from any kind of a negotiated agreement, but there is certainly a more positive feeling about reaching an agreement this evening than I've felt in a long time," Senator Richard Durbin, the No.2 Democrat in the Senate, told reporters late on Saturday. TIGHT TIMEFRAME If a credible bipartisan deal is tantalizingly close, the White House has said it would accept a very short-term extension of the debt limit to allow lawmakers time to nail down the compromise. Given talks are heading
down to the wire, Washington is chafing against the deadline to get a deal agreed, legislation drafted, voted upon and signed into law. The elements of the package under consideration would raise the debt ceiling through 2012 and cut spending by an amount equal to the increase in the debt limit over a 10-year period. The first $1 trillion in cuts have been largely agreed by lawmakers. A further $1.8 trillion would be recommended by a special committee appointed by Congress and automatic measures would implement the planned cuts if Congress failed to vote on them, an aide familiar with the talks said. The political gridlock over how to reduce the U.S. deficit and raise the debt ceiling has put the United States at risk of losing its top-notch Triple A credit rating. A downgrade could prompt global investor flight from U.S. bonds and the dollar, raising borrowing costs for Americans for years to come and threatening an already fragile economy that could easily fall back into recession.-Reuters
China eyes furtherance to compete neighbours BEIJING: A serving Chinese military general is citing India's capabilities in his efforts to edge the government to have more than one aircraft carrier, Indian media reported on Sunday. According to Times Now, General Luo Yuan, a senior researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences, said China needs at least three aircraft carriers to defend its interests in the face of neighbors developing their capabilities. "If we consider our neighbors, India will have three aircraft carriers by 2014 and Japan will have three carriers by 2014," General Luo was quoted as saying by Beijing News. "So I think the number (for China) should not be less
than three so we can defend our rights and our maritime interests effectively." China recently confirmed it was revamping an old Soviet ship to be its first carrier. The state media broadcast footage of its first carrier in a rare public mention of the project. The moves added to worries in the Asian region about Beijing's military expansion and growing assertiveness on territorial issues. Chinese government tried to reassure neighbors that its first carrier would be used only for the purpose of training and research and there was no plan for aggression involved. "We are currently re-fitting the body of an old aircraft carrier, and will use it for scientific
research, experiments and training," defence ministry spokesman Gen. Yansheng told a news briefing. The latest statement from General Luo shows there has been some rethinking, and Beijing is prepared to talk about using aircraft carriers for war preparedness. China was also worried that Japan's three carriers, which are at present used for helicopter operations, would eventually be converted into full aircraft carriers. The two countries have serious disputes over some islands. The United States indicated it was happy China had taken a step toward better transparency by openly discussing the issue about aircraft carriers. - Online
Afghan blast mows down 12 cops, 1 kid
TEHRAN: Officials and traders attend a ceremony to celebrate the inclusion of the Tabriz Historic Bazaar complex to the Unesco world heritage list, 633 km (396 miles) northwest of Tehran. - Reuters
Iran says oil payment row with India resolved TEHRAN: Iran's oil payments row with India has been resolved before any interruption in crude exports to its second-biggest customer, the Iranian Oil Ministry's website SHANA said on Sunday. After a successful test payment in euros through Turkey's Halkbank, Indian refiners are expected to clear over $5 billion of debts built up with Iran during a lengthy U.S.-inspired payment impasse. "After intensive talks between India and Iran, both sides agreed to clear the debt promptly," Ahmad Ghalebani, head of the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), told SHANA. "In the coming days part of India's oil debt will be cleared and the rest will be gradually settled." There is no ban under U.S. or UN sanctions aimed at Iran's disputed nuclear programme on
buying Iranian crude, but they have hindered international bank payments to Tehran. India and Iran have been looking for ways for New Delhi to pay for some 400,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude, or 12 percent of India's oil demand, since the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure last December. Executives at Indian refineries said in late July they had still not received any crude oil supply notices for August after Iran told them it would stop shipments over the ballooning debt. Rival top exporter Saudi Arabia has agreed to send millions of extra barrels next month to fill the expected hole in Indian refiners' supply and an industry source said their orders had not been cancelled by Sunday afternoon. But Mohsen Ghamsari, head of international affairs at state-
run NIOC, told SHANA there had been no cuts in Iranian crude exports to India and no plans to make any. "With the start of the international banks working hours on Monday, the amounts deposited by Indians in the designated accounts will be known," Ghamsari was quoted as saying by SHANA. An Iranian official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters India would pay mainly in euros but also use other currencies to settle its oil debt to the Islamic state. "Both sides are determined to resolve the problems through different methods," the official told Reuters. "Different currencies will be used by India to pay its debt to Iran but the main part of the payment will be in euro." - Reuters
10 Aguero should have joined Chelsea, says Forlan LONDON: Diego Forlan has told his former Atletico Madrid team-mate Sergio Aguero that he should have joined Chelsea rather than Manchester City. Aguero joined big-spending City in a #38 million ($62 million) transfer on Thursday, but Forlan is convinced his old pal would have been better suited to playing for Chelsea, who were also considering a move for the highly-rated Argentina forward. Former Manchester United striker Forlan believes Aguero's skills would have fitted perfectly into Andre Villas-Boas's attacking philosophy and he is not so sure City's more cautious style will bring the best out of the 23-year-old. "It was no real surprise to see him leave, but I thought it would have been to a different club. Chelsea's game and squad are more suited to his style," Forlan told The People. "And of course I am a Manchester United fan, so his decision to move to City is also painful for me." Forlan also warned Aguero that it can take time to adapt to the unique demands of the Premier League, a problem the Uruguay star experienced himself during a miserable spell at United. He scored only 10 goals in 63 appearances between 2001 and 2004 and never looked comfortable playing for Sir Alex Ferguson's team. In contrast, Forlan has thrived in Spain with Villarreal and Atletico and he is concerned Aguero may suffer the same fate. "I know City are now one of the big clubs in England, so I wish Sergio luck. But I know from my own time in England that the Premier League is not like La Liga," Forlan said. "The key for him will be how he adapts to the style of the game and also the country. "He can be a success because he is a star. He can be a king at any club. "The best asset of Aguero is the number of goals he scores. He is a killer and could also destroy many defenders with his dribbles. "Personally, it is bad news to me because I will now miss a big companion in attack at Atletico. "He is not the tallest, but that is not a problem, and neither is the hardness of the English defenders." -APP
Monday, August 1, 2011
Pak wants bilateral cricket ties with India restored soon LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hoping for a major breakthrough in restoration of bilateral cricket ties with India after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar broached the topic of sports diplomacy during her recent visit to the neighbouring country. The PCB had requested the Foreign Ministry to ensure that restoration of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries was on the agenda of the talks between Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart SM Krishna. "From what we have been told cricket was discussed and both governments agreed that restoring bilateral cricket ties would also help
in speeding up the peace process between Pakistan and India," the PTI quoted a source as saying. "In view of this latest development, the PCB will now once again be taking up the matter with the Indian cricket board although it is aware that it would be practically impossible to have any Indo-Pak matches this year due to the packed international schedule of both teams," the source said. He said the PCB was hoping that it could convince the Indian board to share a few matches of the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP) series scheduled in India in MarchApril, 2012.
"It would be a major breakthrough if India agrees to come and play a few games of that series in Pakistan or even at a neutral venue," the source said. Pakistan is due to tour India next year but is still waiting for some compensation for the tour that India had cancelled to Pakistan in early 2009 after the Mumbai attacks. The PCB for the moment was only interested in restoration of bilateral cricket ties and not interested in raising the issue of the Champions League with the Indians. "Participation of a Pakistani team in the Champions League this year is not the main priority of the board. Bilateral ties in context of
next year's tour is what matters the most to the board now," the source said. He said that PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt had a pleasant meeting with Indian board officials during his visit to Lord's earlier this month for the 2000th Test match celebrations between India and England. "There were no formal discussions but Butt welcomed the interaction with the Indian board officials." Hina Rabbani Khar during her visit to India told Krishna that the game had the potential to bring closer the two countries at a time when people werekeen on peace. She made the point that the time was particularly ripe for resuming Test series between the two nations. -INP
Afridi, Akhtar among players to be denied contracts KARACHI: In a major shake up, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has omitted around five leading players, including former captain Shahid Afridi, from the list of new centrally contracted players for the next six-month term. The PCB had finalised the list of players to be awarded central contracts from July to December and it does not include at least six players who were given contracts in the first half of 2011. "The likes of Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar are out because they have announced their retirements while players like Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq and Ahmed Shahzad have not got the nod from the selectors this time because of number of issues, mainly inconsistent form and performances," the PTI quoted a source as saying. The source added that former captain Shoaib Malik could get a central contract if he is cleared by the integrity committee for national selection on August 15. "The finalised list includes some new names but the major omissions are Razzaq and Kamran because of their performances," he said. He also confirmed that the
board had not followed ICC Task Force's advice on Pakistan cricket while finalising the list of new contracts. The ICC Task Force had suggested that PCB should only award contracts to 20 players but the board has decided to ignore this recommendation because of its own policies. Interestingly, Afridi, Razzaq, Akhtar and Kamran had all been given A category contracts by the board in the first half of the year, which entitled them to get a monthly retainer of around 250,000 rupees. "Younis Khan, Misbah-ulHaq, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and perhaps Malik will get A category contracts while the rest will get contracts in the B and C categories," the source said. Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Abdul Rehman, Tanvir Ahmed, and Wahab Riaz are among the remaining players expected to get new contracts. "Players like Khurrum Manzoor, Aizaz Cheema, Fawad Alam etc are likely to get retainers not contracts," the source said. -INP
KARACHI: Picture shows Peerzada Ajmal Farroqi, Raees Khan present winner trophy KWFC on the occassion of opening ceremony Karachi Women Football Club Garden. -Staff Photo
SHANGHAI: China's Sun Yang poses with his gold medal and national flag after the men's 1500-meter freestyle final at the 14th FINA World Championships.-Reuters
Mian club reach Shama Twenty20 Cricket final PESHAWAR: Mian club took berth into the final after recording victory against Sarhad Gymkhana in the second semi-final of the Shama Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being played here at University Campus ground on Sunday. Mian club skipper Zairat Gul won the toss and elected to bat first by setting up 142 runs for the loss of nine wickets after playing 19.2 overs of the allotted 20 overs. For Mian club Sher Khan smashed 40 runs with four boundaries, Murtaza and Saif Ullah added 35 runs each to the team total. For Sarhad Gymkhana Ali Raza took four wickets while Shabir Ahmad got two wickets while Munaf and Jamal got one wicket each. In reply, Sarhad Gymkhana bundled out for 79 runs after playing 16.3 overs. For Sarhad Gymkhana Shabir Khan scored 30 wickets, none of the other batsmen could cross the double figures. For Mian club Zairat Gul took four wickets, Sher took three wickets while Waqas got two wickets. The final between Mian club and Shama club will be played after Eidul-Fitre. -APP
China’s Sun breaks 1500m freestyle world record SHANGHAI: China's Sun Yang broke Grant Hackett's 1,500 metres freestyle world record on Sunday to take world championships gold and stake his claim to succeed the Australian as king of long-distance swimming. The 19-year-old Sun clocked 14 minutes 34.14 seconds after a blistering final 100 metres to eclipse the 14:34.56 the now retired Hackett set in Fukuoka in 2001. It had been the longeststanding record still on the books following a glut of records at the last world championships in Rome in 2009 when swimmers wearing the now banned polyurethane
swimsuits set 43 records. Canada's Ryan Cochrane took the silver in 14:44.46, while Hungary's Gergo Kis won bronze in 14:45.66. "The coach told me before the race to focus on the gold medal and not to worry about breaking the world record," Sun said. "It's not surprising, I had thought about it (breaking the record) before," he added in reference to the 14:35.43 he achieved at the Asian Games last year. The gangly Sun, who had also won the 800 freestyle in Shanghai, controlled the race from start to finish. While Cochrane kept within
a body length of the 19-yearold Chinese for the first half, he was unable to stay with him after that and Sun kicked away. Sun had looked unlikely to break Hackett's record as he was slipping consistently outside the world record split times until the final 300 metres when he noticeably accelerated his pace. He was more than two seconds outside Hackett's time when he heard the bell at 1400 metres but somehow found the energy to produce an amazing 25.94 seconds over the final length of the pool at the Oriental Sports Centre to break the record. -Reuters
Australia's Green eyes Irish Open glory KILLARNEY: Australia's Richard Green remained joint top of the Irish Open leaderboard after five holes of the final round at Killarney on Sunday. Green, ranked 82nd in the world, had been part of a
three-way tie with England's David Howell and Simon Dyson at the end of Saturday's third round and the left-hander briefly took sole possession of first place when he sank a four-foot birdie putt on the second hole.
Dyson parred the first six holes, while Howell dropped a shot at the first after hitting his opening drive onto the beach by Lough Leane and then taking a penalty drop. However, Green dropped a shot himself at the fourth and
that brought the 40-year-old back level with Dyson at 11 under par for the tournament. Green, who finished 16th at the recent British Open, is chasing his fourth career title and his first since last year's Portugal Masters. -APP
KARACHI: A group picture provncial Minister Youth Affairs Jam Madad Ali, Shoaib Siddique, Rana Habib on the occation of round the table youth discussion at Karachi Gymkhana. -Staff Photo
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International & Continuations
Monday, August 1, 2011
Rains add misery to Somalia’s famine refugees TFD Monitoring MOGADISHU, Somalia: Tens of thousands of faminestricken Somali refugees were cold and drenched after torrential rains pounded their makeshift structures in the capital, as the U.N. raised concerns Sunday that renewed conflict in the country may jeopardize relief work. Rains are needed to plant crops and alleviate the drought that has lead to famine in Somalia, but added to the misery of many refugees who live in structures made of sticks, flattened milk cans and pieces of cloth. Disgruntled refugees in several camps in Mogadishu said that more aid is needed. "We are living in plight, we left our homes, lost our animals and farms so we ask everyone to help us to survive," Abdi Muse Abshir said. Lul Hussein, a mother of five, said her family had a sleepless night after their makeshift home crumbled. "We are starved and we don't have enough help," she said. "Who's helping us? No one! So we are already between death and bad life." Aid agencies have limited reach in Somalia where Islamist militants are waging an insurgency against the country's weak U.N.-backed government. The most dangerous group among the militants __ the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab __ has barred major relief organizations from operating in the territories it controls. The U.N. fears tens of thousands already have died in Somalia in areas held by the
Islamist rebels because food aid could not reach them. The African Union peacekeeping force anticipates that al-Shabab may try to attack the camps that now house tens of thousands of famine refugees in Mogadishu, disrupting even further the distribution of food aid. The AU force launched a new offensive Thursday to push the militants' front line farther back from the camps. The drought and the famine it has caused in Somalia have affected more than 11.5 million people in the Horn of Africa and created a triangle of hunger where the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia meet. The World Program says it cannot reach 2.2 million Somalis who live in al-Shabab controlled territory in southcentral Somalia. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, in a report released Sunday, that the military offensive against alShabab is raising concerns that conflict will jeopardize humanitarian response efforts during the drought crisis. "The current conflict will cause more civilian casualties and further displacements as the number of drought IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in the capital continues to increase," the report said. The report said displacement is already occurring in areas close to the districts affected by fighting in Mogadishu. The AU peacekeeping force has said it will keep aid agencies informed about the offen-
sive to try and minimize its impact on relief work. The UNOCHA report about the situation in Somalia up to July 29 said that up to 100,000 famine refugees had arrived in Mogadishu in June and July and a total of 160,000 since the crisis began. The refugees in the camps in Mogadishu complained that camps are cramped with makeshift homes that have little privacy. "We can't even change our clothes because everyone is here," said Mumino Jimale. "We ask the world to help us in getting better settlements to be safe from cold and rains." Also Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI urged the world not to forget to the victims of famine in the Horn of Africa during his weekly blessing to pilgrims. "It is forbidden to be indifferent in the face of the tragedy of the starving," the pope said from his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, Italy. The pope invited the faithful "to think of the many brothers and sisters who in these days, in the Horn of Africa, are suffering the dramatic consequences of famine, aggravated by war and the absence of solid institutions." Aid agencies say the region's drought is one of the worst in years in terms of the number of people affected. Thousands of Somali refugees are flooding camps in Ethiopia and Kenya in search of food after several seasons without rain decimated livestock and killed crops in their homeland.
Verdict for 2 Americans in Iran within a week TFD Monitoring TEHRAN, Iran: The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage said Sunday the court will announce its verdict within a week, dashing hopes for their immediate release after a final hearing in the case. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been held in Iran's Evin Prison since shortly after their arrest along the border with Iraq exactly two years ago on
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Sunday. The case has added to tensions between the United States and Iran that were already high over issues like Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The Americans' lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, had hoped that Sunday's final court session would result in their immediate release because it coincided with the two-year anniversary of their arrest and came near the start this week of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when pardons are
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Haqqani said that the "Chaunsa" is one of more than 200 Pakistani mango varieties and he expects more growers with different varieties to meet US import requirements in the near future. As the biggest importer of mangoes in the world (with $250 million in mango imports) America was a ripe market for the Pakistani mango, he said. But the diplomat hopes the arrival of the fruit will mean more than improved economic ties for the two countries with such strained dealings. "This is something we are very happy about," he said. "At a time when US Pakistan relations are being reported as tense, this is finally some sweet news." - APP
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security, it said instability in the country has raised a question mark over the "extent and durability" of these reforms expressing fear of proliferation by radical sympathizers in Pakistan's nuclear establishment. "While US and Pakistani officials continue to express confidence in controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, continued instability in the country could impact these safeguards," it said. The report goes on to say that Pakistan is not just producing more fissile material but also deploying additional delivery vehicles. "Pakistan continues to produce fissile material for weapons and appears to be augmenting its weapons production facilities, as well as deploying additional delivery vehicles - steps that will enable both quantitative and qualitative improvements in Islamabad's nuclear arsenal," it said. Only a few months ago, Pakistan had shocked the world as satellite images revealed that it was on the verge of completing work on the fourth reactor at Khushab, a plutonium-producing military facility, the report said. This has led to concerns in India that Pakistan is following the Chinese model of developing low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons which will provide it a "flexible" response in case of skirmishes at the border with India, it said. The report further said Pakistan's nuclear warheads use an implosion design with a solid core of approximately 15-20 kg of highly enriched uranium, it adds that Pakistan is also actively producing plutonium for weapons. "It appears that Islamabad is constructing two additional heavy water reactors, which will expand considerably Pakistan's plutonium production capacity, at the same site (Khushab)," it says. Indian officials believe that the speed with which Pakistan has carried out work on the fourth reactor, a plutonium-producing facility, at Khushab could only have been made possible through a steady supply of uranium from China. There was no sign of this reactor in Khushab until 2009. - Online
traditionally handed down. Shafiei said he and the two Americans presented closing arguments in their defense and the court announced the end of its hearings. "The judge said the court will announce its verdict about my clients within one week," Shafiei told. He said he was still hopeful that, if found guilty, they would be sentenced to time already served and released.
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AMMAN, Jordan: A vendor arranges limes on display as Jordanians shop in preparation for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at the downtown market area in Amman. - Reuters
Turkey looks to restore order after top generals quit TFD Monitoring ISTANBUL: Turkey's military and political leaders face a battle to restore order in NATO's second-biggest army Monday at a military council overshadowed by the resignation of its top four generals in protest at the jailing of hundreds of officers. The long-running strains between the secularist military and Islamist-rooted government boiled over Friday when Chief of General Staff Isik Kosaner stepped down, along with the army, navy and air force commanders, leaving the armed forces in disarray. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who will chair the four-day Supreme Military Council (YAS), has moved quickly to designate a successor to Kosaner and will be keen to smooth over a row which financial markets will be monitoring closely Monday. President Abdullah Gul has denied any crisis and Erdogan's regular address to the nation Saturday focused on plans for a new constitution in the EU-candidate country, touted as a democratic model for a region in turmoil. The resignations will enable Erdogan to consolidate control over a once-omnipotent military, which staged a series of coups since 1960 but whose power has been curbed by EU-backed reforms since pushing an Islamist-led government from power in 1997.
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forcefully closed the road for any traffic. Meanwhile, strict security arrangements were made to avoid any untoward incident, and in this regard, armed squad of security forces were remained alert and patrolled across the city. Police also arrested 12 persons who were involved in forced shutter down and threatening of traders. - Online
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told Reuters he was optimistic Washington would solve the problem but expressed surprise and anger that US politicians were "playing chicken" with an issue of such importance for the global economy. Euro zone leaders are struggling to control sovereign debt crises in several countries in their region, and the US debt problem is making this more difficult by adding to upward pressure on the yields of government bonds in those weak states. If there is no US debt deal by Monday morning, central banks around the world are expected to stand ready to provide emergency supplies of money to commercial banks in case the banks become too nervous to lend to each other. Japan's first defence will be to ensure that Japanese financial institutions have a sufficient supply of dollars, the sources in Tokyo indicated. The Bank of Japan believes Japanese commercial banks have sufficient dollar cushions but will use its dollar swap arrangement with other central banks to prevent a dollar squeeze in case of market turmoil. In late June, the US Federal Reserve agreed to extend liquidity swap arrangements with other major central banks until Aug. 1, 2012. The Japanese central bank is also prepared to flood markets with yen through its open market operations in case interbank borrowing costs spike, BOJ officials say. In Europe, there were minor signs of strain in the money markets last week with some banks becoming unable to take out longer-term dollar loans, but the effect was small since banks still expected Washington would reach a deal. The European Central Bank already offers unlimited euro loans to banks in some of its money market operations as part of its response to past crises, and it could use that policy to cope with any market problems this week. A spokesman for the Swiss central bank said, "The Swiss National Bank is ready to react appropriately at any time to market disruptions."-Reuters
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Insanity ruling not likely in Norway TFD Monitoring OSLO, Norway: It's unlikely that the right-wing extremist who admitted killing dozens in Norway last week will be declared legally insane because he appears to have been in control of his actions, the head of the panel that will review his psychiatric evaluation told. The decision on Anders Behring Breivik's mental state will determine whether he can be held criminally liable and punished with a prison sentence or sent to a psychiatric ward for treatment. The July 22 attacks were so carefully planned and executed that it would be difficult to argue they were the work of a delusional madman, said Dr. Tarjei Rygnestad, who heads the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine. In Norway, an insanity defense requires that a defendant be in a state of psychosis while committing the crime with which he or she is charged. That means the defendant has lost contact with reality to the point that he's no longer in control of his own actions. "It's not very likely he was psychotic," Rygnestad told.. The forensic board must review and approve the examination by two court-appointed psychiatrists before the report goes to the judge hearing the case. The judge will then decide whether Breivik can be held criminally liable. Rygnestad told a psychotic person can only perform simple tasks. Even driving from downtown Oslo to the lake northwest of the capital, where Breivik opened fire at a political youth camp, would be too complicated. "If you have voices in your head telling you to do this and
that, it will disturb everything, and driving a car is very complex," Rygnestad said. "How he prepared" for the rampage meticulously acquiring the materials and skills he needed to carry out his attack while maintaining silence to avoid detection argues against psychosis, Rygnestad added. By his own account, the 32year-old Norwegian spent years plotting the attack. On July 22, he set off a car bomb that killed eight people in downtown Oslo's government district, then drove north to a youth camp on Utoya, a small lake island set amid a quiet countryside of pines and spruces. There, he spent 90 minutes executing 69 people, mostly teenage members of the youth wing of Norway's governing Labor Party. In a 1,500-page manifesto released just before the attacks, Breivik describes his two-pronged attack as the opening salvos of a new crusade that, by 2083, will purge Europe of Muslims and the "cultural Marxists" he complains are letting them have the run of the continent. Breivik, who is being held pending trial, has admitted to the facts of the case, but denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe, his defense attorney Geir Lippestad said, hinting at a possible insanity defense. "This whole case has indicated that he's insane," Lippestad told reporters last week. Lippestad did not return calls over the weekend seeking reaction to Rygnestad's comments. If tried and convicted of terrorism, Breivik will face up to 21 years in prison or an alter-
native custody arrangement that could keep him behind bars indefinitely. If he is declared insane, a judge could order him institutionalized in a psychiatric ward only so long as he is deemed mentally ill, though Norway does have provisions for keeping dangerous, but no longer insane, people in custody even after they're discharged from the hospital. Judging by his manifesto, it's not likely that Breivik would want to pursue an insanity defense if it were up to him. He anticipates that, after his attack, he will be labeled "psycho," ''maniac" and "insane." "I have an extremely strong psyche (stronger than anyone I have ever known)," he wrote. Two Norwegian psychiatrists selected by the court this week are set to complete their evaluation of Breivik by Nov. 1. To prove insanity, most American courts require that the defendant be possessed by an "irresistible impulse" to commit the alleged crime - a mental illness that prevented the defendant from controlling his or her actions. Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people when he set off a car bomb, similar in many ways to Breivik's, that tore through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. "Timothy thought he was starting a revolution, too," said Dr. Seymour L. Halleck, a forensic psychiatrist who examined McVeigh to determine whether he was competent to stand trial. To carry out such an attack, "you need a certain kind of competency and determination - and some need to make a mark on the world," Halleck said. "There was nothing we found psychotic about Timothy McVeigh."
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but no improvement could be observed in the law and order situation. Karachi s unrest has started to send out panic to the entire country as citizens now have started questioning why the state could not protect the lives of its citizens. - NNI
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after household sector to get gas supply but practically it is not happening and this sector is being considered as least priority by gas utilities. Interestingly, CNG stations received gas for five days, other industries for four days while fertilizer sector got gas supply for merely three days during current year so far.
TIJI, Libya: Libyan rebels rest at the front line during a heavy sandstorm near the village of Tiji in western Libya, July 31, 2011. Heavy fighting continued for a third day as rebel forces attempted to oust pro-Gaddafi troops from the strategic western plains.
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Haqqani presides over mango party
Pak mangoes to sweeten ties with US CHICAGO: The Pakistani mangoes, exported to the US for the first time, have generated a lot of interest among Pakistani-Americans, South Asians and native Americans, who got a first flavor of the King of Fruits at a festive introductary party on Sunday. But sweet flavor and irresistable fragrance are not the only the qualities that attracted people's interest the mangoes hold both symbolic value in the context of Pakistan-US relations and promise great substantive commercial gains, particularly for Pakistani exporters. "Despite a recent souring of US-Pakistan relations, a new trade (of mangoes) development promises to sweeten things up," proclaimed a news story in The Chicago Tribune as popular "Chaunsa" mangoes filled the party hall at the Palmer House Hilton with their unique fragrance. Pakistani Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani presided over the mango party as visitors thronged table after table to have taste of the first fruits of the season. Although the mangoes won't be in stores for a few weeks and
there's no definite price yet, the ambassador said that he has already sent boxes to Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Mark Kirk, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He further said a box should be arriving at the White House on Monday. The fruit was arrayed in the form of chilled mango chunks, mango ice cream, mango tarts, mango chutney, mango tortes, mango custard, mango pudding, mango pies and non-alcoholic mango margaritas and sangria. "We have been waiting for this for the past 20 years for Pakistani mangoes to come here," said Samina Khattak of Chicago. "We have been eating the Mexican and Indian mangoes but they are not the same." Arshad Sony Javed, who runs a chain of famous Cafe Descartes Coffee - that treats Chicagoans with mango "Lassi" drinks - said he was also thrilled at the arrival of Pakistani mangoes. However, he felt the mangoes - which end up with added value because of air shipments should not become costly and must be
marketed at affordable price to for the common citizens. Member of Parliament Farahnaz Ispahani, wife of Ambassador Haqqani, was also confident that the Pakistani mangoes would beat other available varieties easily. "I have tasted (Indian) Alphonsos and there is no competition," said Ispahani. The soil in Pakistan produces the sweetest mangoes in the world and once Americans taste Pakistani mangoes in all their depth and flavors they'll never turn back. They'll forget Alphonsos and any other mangoes," she said. According to Ambassador Haqqani a Pakistani exporter of $1 million fruit would be getting around Rs 8.5 crore as he noted the immense commerical value of mangoes. He also underscored the symbolic importance of Pakistani mangoes to broader PakistanUS relations. The Tribune noted in its report that the various dishes in which the Pakistani mangoes were served revealed a sweet, fragrant and nearly fiber free fruit that could appeal to many American palates. See # 1 Page 11
US panel worried on Pak nuke threat to India NEW DELHI: Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US Congress's bipartisan think-tank for legal and political analysis, has warned in its latest report on Pakistan's nuclear programme that growing asymmetry in Indo-Pak conventional military capabilities could lead Islamabad to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons, Indian media said on Sunday. The report said the Pakistani government may consider fielding lower-yield nuclear weapons to increase the credibility of its nuclear deterrent
against Indian conventional military operations. "In addition to making qualitative and quantitative improvements to its nuclear arsenal, Pakistan could increase the number of circumstances under which it would be willing to use its nuclear weapons," says the report titled, Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues. As it is, Pakistan's nuclear posture is deliberately unclear with ill-defined red lines, report said. The intent is to keep India
and the world guessing about under what circumstances the nuclear button will be pressed, the imminent collapse of the Pakistani state, a massive attack on its cities or even reverses near the border. The report said, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal consists of 90110 warheads "although it could be larger" as against India's 60-100. While acknowledging that Pakistan has taken a series of steps to prevent proliferation of nuclear technologies and material, leading to improvement in nuclear See # 2 Page 11
Another modaraba tribunal for Karachi KARACHI: The federal government has constituted another modaraba tribunal for Sindh to reduce pendency. Earlier, only one modaraba tribunal, consisting of the Judge Banking Court-1, Karachi, was taking up all categories of cases in the entire Sindh. Apart from modaraba cases, it also adjudicated on the civil and criminal cases filed by other financial institutions such as banks, NBFCs and DFIs etc.
According to SECP, the tribunal was severely overburdened in both civil and criminal jurisdictions. Consequently, various civil, criminal and winding-up petitions filed by the SECP against non-performing modarabas and delinquent management companies had been pending for long. Out of 40 registered modaraba management companies, the registered offices of 36 are located in Karachi and they all
were restricted to file their litigation cases pertaining to their business transactions, such as non-payments and defaults by their clients and recovery cases etc in the same tribunal. The decisions on such cases were being announced with considerable delay, adversely affecting modarabas and their certificate holders. It may be added that modaraba tribunals are also working in Lahore and Peshawar. - APP
KARACHI: Leader Pakistan Peoples Party Sharmila Farooqi holds national flag during peace caravan in Orangi near Kati Pahari.-Online
Ramazan begins today in most of Gulf DUBAI: Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, will start the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on Monday along with most other Gulf States, regional media said on Saturday. Reports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said the new moon had not been sighted after sunset on Saturday, indicating that Sunday would be regarded as the last day of the Muslim lunar month preceding Ramadan. In nearby Yemen, Ramadan will also start on Monday. Muslims scan the sky at night in search of the new moon to determine the start of Ramadan, the holiest month for the world's more than one billion Muslims, during which observant believers fast from dawn to dusk. Businesses and offices reduce opening hours during the day and often re-open in the evenings. - Reuters
Complete shutter-down in Quetta QUETTA: On the appeal of Hazara Democratic Party complete shutter down strike was observed in Quetta on Sunday against killing of 11 persons including a woman in various incidents of target killing. According to details, the provincial government deployed huge squad of Frontier Core, Balochistan Constabulary, Police and AntiTerrorist Force to avoid any untoward incident during strike in the Quetta city against the killing of 11 persons, who were targeted in Saryab Road and Aspni areas. During strike all small and big shopping malls located on Jinnah Road, Qandhari Bazaar, Liaqat Bazaar, Abdul Sattar Road, Prince Road, Fatima Jinnah Road, Masjid Road, Suraj Ganj Bazaar, Mission Road, Almdaar Road and Mgangi Road were completely closed down. While the workers of Hazara Democratic party set ablaze tyres on Aspni Road and See # 3 Page 11
Retirement of 4 Generals in September
Reshuffle in Pak Army on anvil ISLAMABAD: Retirement of four lieutenant generals on the same day in coming September is likely to prompt at least an equal number of promotions and top level reshuffle in the Pakistan Army. Well-placed sources told Online on Sunday that September 21 was the retirement date of four senior most army officials presently holding key positions including the Quetta Corps. According to the sources, Corps Commander Quetta Lt
General Javed Zia, Chairman Pakistan Ordnance Factory (POF) Lt General Shujat Zamir Dar, Military Secretary to GHQ and Col Commandant Northern Light Infantry Regiment Lt General Mohsin Kamal, and Commander Army Strategic Force Command Lt General Jamil Haider would complete their service together on September 21. Since promotion to the rank of Lt General in Pakistan Army is vacancy based, these retirements would enable pro-
motions of four Major Generals, the sources told observing, "Transfers and postings on promotion of four Lt Generals and an equal number of Major Generals would certainly cause reasonable reshuffle in the top two-tiers of the army." Consequent creation of vacancies in the ranks of Major Generals would be filled up through promotion SOPs and that is the Promotion Board that promotes Brigadiers to the next rank. - Online
Taliban seen taking Ramazan break KABUL: The US military is waiting to see whether some Taliban leaders take a break during August for Ramadan, crossing over the border into Pakistan after several weeks of high profile attacks. "There's an awful lot of discussion about the Taliban leadership leaving their fighters here, and particularly to go back across the border for Ramadan," said Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, referring to talks he had with US commanders in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. "We'll see whether they do that or not," he told reporters travelling with him in Afghanistan. The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will start on Monday in Afghanistan. It is a lunar month, but this year coincides almost exactly with the month of August on the Gregorian calendar used in most of the West. The military assessment about Taliban movements follows a string of high-profile attacks and assassinations that have shaken southern Afghanistan. The strikes have been particularly acute in Kandahar province, the Taliban's birth-
place. A suicide bomber killed the mayor of Kandahar on Wednesday, compounding fears of a dangerous power vacuum in Afghanistan's south in the wake of the assassination of President Hamid Karzai's half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai. Mullen acknowledged a degree of political instability because of the assassinations but added U.S. commanders had not reported a deterioration in day-to-day security in Kandahar. "At least from the commander's standpoint, they haven't seen that," said Mullen, who flew into Kandahar on Friday. DRAWDOWN PLAN BY OCTOBER Mullen, on what may be his last trip to Afghanistan before stepping down at the end of September, has been upbeat about battlefield progress and the ability of the US military to maintain its momentum even as it carries out a withdrawal ordered by President Barrack Obama last month. Obama's decision to withdraw 33,000 of the nearly 100,000 US forces in Afghanistan by the end of next summer was a faster timetable than Mullen had initially rec-
ommended. The goal is to handover lead security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. "I'm very confident we can meet the needs on the ground as well as the deadlines and the goals that have been laid out by the president," Mullen said. The new US commander in Afghanistan, Marine Corps General John Allen, is still drawings up plans for the drawdown of the first 10,000 forces by the end of the year, a small number of which pulled out earlier this month. Mullen disclosed that Allen had until mid-October to come up with that plan. The US military chief renewed his concerns about corruption and a lack of governance in parts of Afghanistan. He said US military commanders he had met with expressed a "very stark view" of corruption in the country. "I'm talking about the criminal patronage network and how they are woven into the fabric of how things get governed," Mullen said. He said the matter needed to be addressed throughout the Afghan government but also said the U.S. embassy in Kabul "is going to have to move on that as well." - Reuters
Widespread alarm if no US debt deal LONDON/TOKYO: British and Japanese officials warned on Sunday of disastrous consequences for the global economy if last-minute talks among lawmakers in Washington failed to agree on raising the US borrowing limit and averting a debt default. Governments across the world fear that because of the key role of the US dollar in global banking and trading systems, there could be severe instability when Asian financial markets reopen on Monday if a US debt deal is not in sight by then. In Washington, Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican who is playing a key role in the debt talks, said "we're very close" to a $3 trillion deal that would raise the debt ceiling while cutting the US budget deficit. But a senior White House official warned that an agreement was "not there yet." "If they get this one wrong and there's a default -- we don't expect that, we think that they will sort this out -- but if that were to happen, it has consequences for every family and every business in this country
and all across the world," said Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the British Treasury. "I think in the end the politicians on Capitol Hill can see that the precipice they are looking over is one that they are going to step back from," Alexander told BBC television. "But it is something that would have a big effect on the global financial system and on the global economy, where the United States is one of our major trading partners that could have really big implications for the United Kingdom."
In Tokyo, sources familiar with Japan's international and monetary affairs said they were increasingly concerned that markets might be too optimistic about prospects for a lasting solution to the crisis. Japanese officials still hope Washington can strike a deal and if that proves impossible, will give priority to interest payments to international holders of US Treasury debt to limit the immediate market impact, the sources said. But Tokyo's concern is that if the crisis drags on without a clear and long-term solution,
markets may be thrown into turmoil in the same way that they suffered when US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. "If there is a default, the impact on global markets will be huge," said one of the sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Another Japanese source said, "Nobody thought Washington would let Lehman collapse. But look what happened." US lawmakers have set themselves a Tuesday deadline to reach agreement and the US
Treasury has said it will run out of borrowing room on that day, although analysts think the government may have enough cash to keep servicing its debt and paying its bills through the middle of this month. CHINA Britain is the third largest foreign holder of US Treasury debt and Japan is the second largest. China is the biggest with well over $1 trillion invested in US Treasuries; about two-thirds of its $3.2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves are estimated to be held in dollar assets.
On Saturday the official People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, castigated the US handling of the debt crisis in an editorial as "irresponsible" and "immoral". It said the US democratic system was to blame for the "farce", claiming that "not a single representative has considered the world, and even US national interests are being banished from the mind". On Friday a senior economic policymaker in the euro zone, who declined to be named, See # 4 Page 11
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