SBP needs to adopt a new policy mix
The MPS is being announced later today and it should make for an interesting read. In the prevailing policy paralysis due to election considerations, the absence of a Finance Minister,…
France runs into German wall on EU growth drive
State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) latest Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) reflects a realisation that cutting interest rate can't compensate for the rise in a variety of other costs of doing…
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…
Way out for the Left
One of the positives of Indian politics, like a relatively stable democracy, is the existence of two national Left parties, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and Communist Party of…
The State Bank blinks
I dont like people who say “I told you so.” Finger-wagging, hindsight nannies I like to call them. I find them just as annoying as anybody else does. Which is…
Ambitious cut?
On October 8, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut its Discount Rate by a hefty 150 basis points justifying its action largely on the drop in the CPI from…
Limits of monetary policy
The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) has released inflation numbers for the month of November 2010 and for the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year (2010-11). CPI-based…
What it means for democracy
Pakistan’s latest ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) — the country has gone from being the 42nd most corrupt in the world in 2011 to 33rd in 2012…
Communist no doubt
It is not without irony that when communist icon and avowed atheist Jyoti Basu died of multi-organ failure on Sunday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist, CPI-M), of which he…
Only good intentions?
In its latest Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued its thus far unsuccessful quest for facilitating monetary easing; it cut its discount rate by 0.5…
