News

Short-lived respite from inflation reversed in December

The rate of consumer inflation shot back up to 24.5pc in Dec — after a temporary decline to 23.8pc in Nov — affecting the country’s rural population the most, as prices escalated by almost 29pc. The average six-month (July-December 2022) inflation increased to 25.02pc when compared to the same period in the previous year. It was more pronounced at about 28pc for rural areas – home to more than

Rising costs, connectivity outages — a tough year for IT sector

It was a tough year for the IT sector, with telecom operators and users taking the brunt, especially after a change of government in April and the belt-tightening that followed. Call and internet rates jumped and yet the service quality worsened and speeds slowed in 2022. Network outages intensified thanks to ‘connectivity load-shedding’ in the wake of hours-long power outages and rising fuel c

What Pakistan stands to gain if Google opens shop

Governments over the past years have attempted to have social media companies maintain an on-ground presence in Pakistan. They employed a carrot-and-stick approach — offering incentives of increased revenue and, when that failed, drafting legislation to force them into opening offices. Over the years, officials clai­m­­ed multiple times that compan­ies have agreed to establish their presence

Politics over economy

People don’t realise that economics is about politics, particularly political economy. Issues about taxation, distribution, pricing, and much else, are governed by vested interests and lobbies of capital and of power. With grave uncertainty in the political terrain, the economy will continue to suffer. This is not simply about elections but also about the clarity of purpose of all political act

Croatia set to enter euro, borderless Europe club

Croatia was counting down the hours on Saturday ahead of a switch to the euro and entry into Europe’s passport-free zone — two major milestones for the country after joining the EU nearly a decade ago. At midnight (2300 GMT) the Balkan nation will bid farewell to its kuna currency and become the 20th member of the eurozone. It will also be the 27th nation in the passport-free Schengen zone, the