Cauldron to inferno
A PENCHANT for masochism should be included in the job description of every governor State Bank of Pakistan. Too many recent incumbents have seen their tenure end in a swift…
Lack of prudent macroeconomic policies
“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design” — Friedrich von Hayek Pakistan is facing a…
This time isn’t different
The former combined opposition parties that backed Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister have been shaken by the size and age diversity of the crowds attending Imran Khan’s rallies. These are…
Export growth won’t be easy from now on
Ever since the rupee-dollar parity was allowed to be determined by market forces the Rupee depreciated dramatically and in consequence we became competitive in our exports and they began to…
PKR slide: SBP must act proactively
In these times of unprecedented economic emergency in the country, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan, is reported to have agreed to sign the “Charter of Economy (CoE)” in…
SBP shocks but doesn’t surprise
Even those shocked by the SBP’s (State Bank of Pakistan’s) uber-hawkish posturing at the last MPC (Monetary Policy Committee), like businesses and investors, had more or less priced in a…
Pakistan, IMF & SBP
The expected dividends of Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan’s maiden visit to the Gulf are still awaited. These are delayed because of some “procedural matters”. During his tour, he…
Good luck with the rupee
It’s one thing to admit that very crucial talks with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) have broken down for the time being, which implies that everything possible will still be…
Minimum wage: Can it even fulfil nutritional requirements of a family?
There’s a debate going on at the national level on minimum wage. Prime Minister Imran Khan has been seen requesting the corporate sector to increase the minimum wage of the…
First leverage then renegotiation
The Khan administration maintains that a change in government will not reverse the rise in price of any single item – be it in the category of administered prices (including…
