The central bank has lowered its projected GDP growth from the previously announced range of 3-4 per cent for the current fiscal year, citing flood-induced destruction and the stabilisation policy as major factors in its flagship economic health report released on Wednesday. However, in its Annual Report on the State of Pakistan’s Economy, which mostly discussed the previous financial year that
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged for the second consecutive day on Tuesday on the back of continued political and economic turmoil. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 39,832.45 points, down 1138.37 points or 2.78 per cent. The index reached an intraday low of 1,437.79 points, or 3.51pc, around 3pm. According to Arif Habib Limited, the index closed at a five-month low, a
The Pakistani diaspora in the United States asked Islamabad on Tuesday to work out a long-term strategy to ensure predictability in policymaking along with ensuring ease of doing business to attract investment in the manufacturing sector. The diaspora at a panel discussion on US-Pakistani Diaspora’s Commercial Investments in Pakistan shared current and future opportunities and challenges in se
Pakistan is suffering from a pandemic of irrationality among its ruling elite. This irrationality has manifested itself in the form of public policies that have continuously failed in advancing the state of the country’s 230 million citizens. In fact, the determination with which these policies are adopted time and again, with the expectation that they will yield different results, has meant th
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as a larger-than-expected draw in United States crude stocks offset worries about rising Covid-19 cases in top oil importer China. Brent crude futures rose seven cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $80.06 per barrel by 0404 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained four cents, or 0.1pc, to $76.27. US crude inventories fell by about 3.