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Industry fears Rs1,700 hike per urea bag


February 20, 2024

LAHORE: As the industry calculates the impact of imported urea on the local market and the cost of newly-approved gas rates on price, it says that both factors may lead to a shattering increase of Rs1,700 per bag — taking urea price from current Rs3,800 to Rs5,500 per bag. According to the industry, the government had recently imported 225,000 tonnes …

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Depressed valuations but unloved


February 19, 2024

THE benchmark KSE-100 index, after an impressive bull run of more than 20,000 points, or 46 per cent growth, between December 2023 and September 2023, has reverted to its rocky and volatile ways despite being severely undervalued. The confusion regarding whether elections will be held or not, followed by uncertainty regarding the formation of the government, has eroded investor confidence. …

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Is the rupee poised to depreciate?


February 19, 2024

BUSINESSMEN and investors want to know how long the rupee may remain stable. Many fear that the local currency might lose its worth against the mighty US dollar in the coming weeks and months. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) doesn’t have enough foreign exchange reserves to cover even two months of import bills for goods. This means that the …

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Echoes of the 2008 financial crisis


February 19, 2024

EVENTUALLY, the world is starting to feel the ripple effects of the US commercial real estate turmoil. The real estate market distress goes back to issues — such as reduced office demand and apartments that were overbought at their peak values — stemming from the Covid pandemic. The crisis is exacerbated by rising borrowing costs resulting from monetary tightening by …

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Pakistan’s debt profile ‘alarming’, borrowing and spending habits ‘unsustainable’: report


February 19, 2024

A report by Islamabad-based think tank Tabadlab has stated that Pakistan’s debt profile is “alarming” while the country’s borrowing and spending habits were “unsustainable”. The 68-page report, titled ‘A raging fire: Pakistan’s debt crisis’, was released on Sunday. It said that the country’s total debt and liabilities — including domestic and external debt — to be at Rs77.66 trillion, or $271.2 …

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Shares at PSX rally 500 points on hopes of consensus on forming new govt


February 19, 2024

Bulls returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as shares gained over 500 points, with analysts attributing the rally to hopes that political parties would soon reach an agreement on forming the government. Last week, growing doubts about the formation of a new coalition government amid raging protests against alleged manipulation of election results across the country kept …

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Industry slams caretakers for gas tariff hike, warns of economic fallout


February 18, 2024

KARACHI: Industrial bodies are up in arms over the government’s recent decision to increase gas tariffs, warning that this move could lead to the shutdown of numerous industrial units, a rise in unemployment, and a halt in exports unless the decision is reversed. In a concerted appeal, they have called on the government to retract the tariff increase for the …

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Surging food exports hit local consumers


February 18, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The export of raw food products consecutively surging for the sixth month in the current fiscal year forcing local consumers to pay higher prices. The food export value more than doubled to $787.36 million in January, up 105.29 per cent from $383.54m in the same month last year, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The …

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PSX loses over 3,000 points in post-poll week


February 18, 2024

KARACHI: Growing doubts about the formation of a new coalition government amid raging protests against alleged manipulation of election results across the country kept the market sentiment depressed in the outgoing week. The equities received a massive battering on the first day of the trading week as nervous investors resorted to panic-selling amid an inordinate delay in announcing a clear-cut …

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Meat prices rise in Karachi ahead of Ramazan


February 18, 2024

KARACHI: Several retailers have started charging Rs100 per kg extra on beef and mutton ahead of Ramazan thus exposing the lack of any official price-checking mechanism. Those retailers who were selling veal (Bachia) meat with and without bones at Rs1,000 and Rs1,200 are demanding Rs1,100 and Rs1,300 per kg, respectively. A customer in North Nazimabad N Block said he had …

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