The government is set to deliberately violate an Act of Parliament by not securing the approval of the federal cabinet for the Budget Strategy Paper until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives its nod to the fiscal policy. This decision indicates that the finance ministry has prioritised the IMF bureaucracy over the elected representatives of the people, who sit in the federal cabinet and
The stock market was on a losing streak for the third consecutive day as investors indulged in profit-taking on pre-budget uncertainty. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market extended overnight losses on pre-budget uncertainty and reports of falling fertiliser and cement sales. Urea sales plunged 49 per cent month-on-month to 328,000 tonnes in April, hitting a three-year low
WHAT goes up must come down. This truth also applies to economic trends, which exhibit cycles of ups and downs. However, the pace of going up and coming down depends not on gravity, but economic policies. We are now seeing the effects of higher interest rates, which are slowly taking the steam out of inflation in the consumer price index (CPI). Year-on-year inflation has come down from its peak of
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday authorised ex-Wapda distribution companies (XWDiscos) to levy a Rs2.83 per unit charge in consumers’ electricity bills for May as part of fuel cost adjustment (FCA) charges. Nepra said the FCA pertains to the month of March. According to a notification issued by Nepra, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the new ad
Shell Pakistan Ltd (SPL) posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs314 million during first quarter of 2024 against a loss of Rs4.762 billion in the same period last year. The mobility business grew its network with five newly commissioned sites and refreshed 13 sites. The business added 13 non-fuel retail facilities across the network. ARL’s key unit Attock Refinery Ltd (ARL) said that it has