Spaniards brace for tough year as crisis deepens
The unemployed mason bought a cigarette lighter from a kiosk, walked a few blocks, doused himself with petrol and set himself on fire in front of a hospital in the…
Too big a mess
Following Dr Tahirul Qadri's speeches and TV interviews, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is under fire. But critics of the ECP overlook the fact that the mandate of the…
In search of a few heroes
When army generals in India and Pakistan, retired and serving, refer to a “spectrum of options” they could use against the adversary, they are crudely gloating over the nuclear stockpiles…
Obama may turn Medicare reform into wider health debate
President Barack Obama could seek common ground with Republicans in the looming battle over Medicare spending by broadening the debate over entitlement reform to encompass the spiraling healthcare costs that…
FX & Gold weekly outlook January 07 – 11: US, Europe: 2013 will be better than 2012?
The world financial market did survive, albeit meekly, a scary 2012. The Eurozone sovereign debt crisis that went through a long phase of struggle before making a recovery appears to…
IMF mission in town
At the request of the government, an IMF mission is visiting Pakistan to initiate discussion for a three-year bailout programme. As reported in the press, during their two-week stay in…
Pakistan outlook 2013 – II
The biggest worrying factor is the growing size of domestic and external debt that has risen to Rs 14.8 trillion. Based on the official size of GDP of Rs 19.…
Make-or-break month for Merkel’s deputy Roesler
Germany's deputy chancellor, Philipp Roesler, faces a make-or-break month as head of the Free Democrats, with a key speech to his pro-business party Sunday and elections in his home state…
Our growth diagnostics
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina opens with this line. This dictum holds true not only for…
The silent bystanders
The curious rumblings being witnessed on the eve of yet-to-be announced elections in Pakistan can be perceived as a game between entrenched political insiders, mainly consisting of the two major…
