Oil falls below $123 per barrel
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, extending recent heavy losses on the back of a stronger dollar and as investors reacted to rising motor fuel inventories in the United States more... (D)

Fiscal Policy choices in Budget 2008-09
Introduction: The Budget season is here again. But this year's budget is unique because of a number of factors. First, there are high expectations from the democratic government which has acquired the reigns of government after a gap of eight years. Second, it comes at a time when the economy is in the midst of an unprecedented level of stress following a period of apparent buoyancy more... (BR)

Govt misses wheat purchase target
The government has missed the wheat procurement target of five million tons by 1.2 million tons, despite a ban on inter-provincial movement of the commodity which led to an increase in flour price in remote areas more... (D)

Aziz blames caretakers for most economic woes
Nawaz Sharif will soon pull the plug on Asif Ali Zardari and force a fresh election which he will sweep, paving the way for a two-party system to more... (D)

Demand for local govt reforms gains support
The idea of reforming the local government system instead of scrapping it altogether because of its alleged misuse by the previous government gained more support in the National more... (D)

Imran defends Fata peace efforts
Imran Khan has defended the new government’s policy of pacification through peace pacts in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, claiming that the incidents of suicide bombings in Pakistan have come down considerably as a result more... (D)

6-month T-bill yield raised
The cut-off yield on benchmark six-month Treasury bills rose at an auction on Wednesday to 11.2464pc from 9.9570pc previously, the central bank said more... (D)

Stocks surge by 610 points on tax exemption
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share index roared back to its pre-reaction level on Wednesday and surged by 4.89 per cent or 610 points on heavy buying triggered more... (D)

Only one session on Friday: KSE
The Karachi Stock Exchange management has decided to have one trading session only instead of two sessions on Friday ie from 09:30am to 01:30pm with effect from June 6, 2008. A decision to this effect was taken in view of the government directive for advancement of clocks by one hour for daylight saving more... (BR)