News

ADB to fund climate-resilient housing projects

The Asian Development Bank will assist seven countries of Central and West Asia, including Pakistan, to enhance the role of the private sector in the delivery of inclusive, accessible, adequate, affordable and climate-resilient housing ecosystems that also champion the needs of disadvantaged population groups. Approving the regional technical assistance of $500,000, the ADB says its team will e

CPI-based inflation quickens to 29.7pc in December

Headline inflation accelerated for the second consecutive month in December, rising to 29.7 per cent year-on-year from 29.2pc in the previous month, primarily due to soaring prices of essential kitchen items and electricity rates. In December, power rates saw a 15.76pc increase, LPG rose by 2.62pc, and the 520pc spike in gas prices in November further contributed to inflation. Vegetables such a

Stocks rebound in a jittery week

The stock market witnessed a meltdown at the beginning of the outgoing week amid profit-taking by investors because of a substantial reduction in leveraged positions. Arif Habib Ltd said the bearish momentum proved short-lived as the market rebounded the following day by 1,693 points, marking the third-highest day-on-day increase in its history. Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of

An undervalued PSX

PREDICTING the direction or magnitude of change in the movement of equity securities is a fool’s errand. John Maynard Keynes once said that “the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent”, and the same has been proven correct time and again. We cannot predict the direction or the magnitude, but we certainly can work with whatever information is available. The equity ma

Economic woes driving global firms’ exodus

More multinational companies have divested their assets or temporarily halted their operations in Pakistan continuing a trend that began in calendar 2022. Over the past 30 months, numerous firms have chosen to relocate their activities outside of Pakistan or reduce operations due to significant political and economic challenges. Multinational corporations (MNCs) naturally experience fluctuat