Planned Greek tax hikes risk further damaging stalled economy
Greece encouraged global markets with its new debt plan, but some economists question whether its emphasis on tax hikes will do more harm than good to the recession-mired economy. Athens…
Menace of narco-terrorism
Every survey made since promulgation of Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 ["Hadd Order"] shows that this nation has been persistently sinking deeper into narco-terrorism-a term signifying the drug-terror trap.…
Budget 2015-16: Another ritualistic exercise! – II
In budget 2014-15, FBR target was fixed at Rs. 2810 billion, which was later reduced to Rs. 2605 billion. The worthy Finance Minister is full of praise for FBR's bosses…
Rationality – the missing link
The pressure created by the rising tide of terrorism and targeted killings, disclosures before the Judicial Commission investigating the allegations of organised rigging of the 2013 elections, and routinely exposed…
SBP, MoF must get their claws into business
No matter how it is happening, but it is a fact that on paper economic performance has shown improvement. When the economy is meeting numbers in tough conditions, it is…
LNG: ‘The whole truth’
Much has been recently written and said about Pakistan's procurement of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet its energy needs. Despite our best efforts to disseminate the facts through the…
The problems with capital markets
The way capital markets declined in February and March this year, it was thought as it may be a repetition of the 2008 crisis. During this period, the KSE Index…
An urban country
Once upon a time, Pakistan was a country of village dwellers, their lives and livings dominated by the vagaries of crops and harvests, the rules of landlords and feudal strongmen…
Thorny roses on Valentine’s Day
Like so much else in Pakistan, Valentine’s Day is a political event. As has been the case in the recent restive years, the arrival of the mid-February homage to love…
Values and regulations: the role of ethics in the securities industry
Since the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the consequent 'great recession', regulatory regimes in the financial services industry have become tougher around the world. Some commentators have even said that…
