Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed the hope that the $3 billion short-term bailout for the country would be given final approval by the International Monetary Fund board when it meets on July 12 and vowed to fulfil all commitments made to the lender. Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad to commemorate 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the premier poi
Stock markets tumbled on Thursday as investors fretted over the prospect of more US interest-rate hikes and the risk of recession. Wall Street extended losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.3 per cent near midday. European markets had their worst session since March 15, with London closing 2.2pc lower while Frankfurt shed 2.6pc and Paris dropped 3.1pc as the prospect of mor
Ginners have decided to suspend buying raw cotton from farmers across the country after district commissioners in the cotton belt, both in Sindh and Punjab, directed them to pay the growers not less than Rs8,500 per maund. Provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab through the district administrations had asked the ginning factories to pay at least Rs8,500 per maund, the minimum support price f
Amid a 20 per cent drop in production, mango exporters have said achieving the export target of 125,000 tonnes has become a distant possibility due to the poor strategy of the Department of Plant Protection (DPP). All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) on Thursday said the DPP on June 12 issued a new SOP [standard operating procedure] requiring ho
The alternating phases of economic growth and subsequent decline — commonly known as the boom-and-bust cycle — are getting more frequent by the year. Analysts expect that the signing of the latest $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for nine months will be followed by a longer-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for a bigger amount — an indication that