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Gold hits record high as Iran shock triggers haven support

The price of gold hit a record high on Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a haven investment. Copper also struck an all-time peak and silver jumped to the highest level in more than 11 years — with markets generally gaining from a brighter economic outlook. Gold had already hit a series of record h

Banks invest record Rs7.6tr in risk-free govt papers

The banks made record investments of Rs7.6 trillion during the year, mostly in risk-free and lucrative government papers, while advances during the same period declined instead of increasing. The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday shows that the total investment of scheduled banks till April 2024 reached Rs27.281tr, compared to Rs19.694tr in April 2023. The jump

Pakistan, Turkiye vow to hike trade to $5bn

Pakistan and Turkiye on Monday set their sights on enhancing annual bilateral trade to $5 billion, besides intensifying their defense collaboration as the two countries prepared for their upcoming high-level bilateral summit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, while speaking at the Foreign Office after a meeting with visiting Turkish FM Hakan Fidan, said the two sides agreed

Govt seeks to extract Rs29bn more from electricity consumers for April

The government has sought the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval for an additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs3.5 per unit to extract over Rs29 billion from consumers for electricity they consumed in April. Surprisingly, this demand comes despite the fact that 75 per cent of the overall power supply during the month was generated from cheaper local fuels. Th

Independent directors for Discos approved

The Cab­inet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCo­SOEs) made a significant decision on Monday, appro­ving the Power Divis­ion’s proposal for the nomination of independent directors for specific electricity distribution companies. This decision, which is now set for onward submission to the cabinet, is very important for the future of these companies. The committee meeting, chaired by Fi