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…
Bailout programme in the bag?
Excuse the stock market for not saluting the staff-level agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), subject to approval form its executive board of course, because it turns out that…
Tsunami of price hikes
Pakistan has been ranked the world’s fourth most expensive country. Prices are skyrocketing, and no one knows when there will be an end to these hikes. Inflationary pressures are increasing…
July MPS – areas of concern
The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) dated 27 July decided to keep the discount rate unchanged at 7 percent with a warning that ‘if signs emerge of demand led pressures on…
BoP: there’s definitely a sense of deja vu
Pressure is building on balance of payments (BoP). Many are confusing this with the situation last witnessed in 2016-18. This is akin to comparing apples to oranges; it would be…
MPS: three observations
On 20 September 2021 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced its decision to raise the discount rate by 25 basis points – from 7 percent prevalent for more than a year…
Rewiring Budget 2022
Budgets intuitively have to be about ideas. Ideas shaping expectations of economic agents and giving them real hope about a better future. Ideas nurturing economic growth. Ideas detailing a fiscal…
The crash and its consequences
International oil prices (Brent crude) have come down to 36.79 USD/bbl (Monday, March 9). By the time, readers read these lines, Brent crude may go down further. At its highest…
Rs 112.68 per litre for petrol: What is it actually? Is it justified?
Petrol has an inelastic demand especially for those of us who consume it to drive our motor bikes and cars daily. When we pay 112.68 rupees per liter for petrol…
Energy sector taxes
Dedicated funds are a means to collect money for a specific purpose employed by governments and on occasion by the private sector. The government, however, is required to enact legislation…
