Intractable realities
THIS is not a perfect world. These six words were cynically hurled at me around midnight by the person occupying the presidential mansion in Islamabad in 2009. He was mad…
A good conspiracy
IF one thing’s true about human nature, it’s that everyone loves a good conspiracy. The stakes are sensational, the ending is grand, and most of the characters are faceless aliens…
Deepening the Zia dictatorship
In my last article, ‘Remembering 1977’ (Aug 29), I highlighted how the year 1977 became a turning point in Pakistan’s history. Within 40 days after his military coup on July…
The sinister knock
IT is an apocryphal story. A Russian and an American argued over who enjoyed greater freedom of speech. The Russian insisted that he enjoyed unfettered freedom of speech, to which…
Greece gets drastic on sour loans with securitisation schemes
Greek authorities want banks to clean up their loan books faster, and they have put together new schemes to help lenders offload bad debt by wrapping it into asset-backed securities.…
FX & Gold weekly outlook January 14-18: 2013 begins on positive note
Year 2013 began on a positive note. After the settling of looming US ''fiscal cliff'' issue, market got the much needed boost. China''s economic growth is a big factor that…
