February 27, 2006	Monday	Muharram 28, 1427

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Violent protests bad for business DENMARK, sitting in the lap of the European Union may not care much for the political repercussions on the ignominy of its act and the distasteful use of its ‘free press’....		Writing on the wall When players in the financial sector opt in favour of acting merely as intermediaries diluting their vital role of giving business and industry a sense of direction by prioritizing investment in...
Time to revamp trade bodies WHEN was the last time a trade group released a public statement that contained something other than an angry assertion of their righteous position? Probably not any time in recent memory....		Livestock imports to increase poverty Baffling is the word for many current policies of the government. Policies in most Third World countries are outside the realm of the populace and right now, Pakistan is a quasi-democratic set-up headed by a military man....
Onion cultivation in NWFP ONION (Allium cepa L.) belongs to family Liliaceae. It is an important vegetable crop probably grown as widely as any cultivated crop. It is used almost daily in a wide variety of dishes....		Management strategy to overcome water shortage THE policies and practices to manage water resources in Pakistan are debatable, being still far off from the initial stage. The country has good soils, abundant sunshine and excellent farmers....
A history of dismal sugar policies Sugar industry is the second largest after textile based on the sugarcane crop. The contribution of sugarbeet is only two per cent of the total output....		How to end large dam controversies AFTER lobbying for 2-3 months for water reservoirs, President General Pervez Musharraf announced the construction of Basha and Munda dams in February 2006, adding that Kalabagh, Akhori and Kuram Tangi dams would be constructed by 2016....
Corporate governance in financial sector Corporate governance is virtually another term for accountability. It shows to what extent a company’s management is accountable to its shareholders and other providers of finance and whether it has the appropriate structures to underpin that accountability....		Ignoring the needs of coastal communities SINDH’s coastal region, especially the Indus Delta, is faced with a major degradation threat. A major cause for gradual destruction of the Delta is the decreasing availability of fresh water from Indus River, which has badly hit the ecosystem of region....
Inflation targeting No doubt the State Bank enjoys autonomy, but now a situation of fiscal dominance is being faced. As such, instead of sucking out excess liquidity from the banking system, the State...		WTO, MFN and trade with India AN article on “ Threat to quit Safta (January 24, 2006) has been written with such obvious sense of deep conviction that it almost seems to be bad manners to attempt to write a note of dissent against it....
World Consumers’ Rights Day THE World Consumers’ Rights Day is observed on March 15, every year to highlight the need for protection of consumers as provided under UN guidelines....		Europe’s economic ‘patriotism’ THE way the Americans reacted to the Chinese bid for Unocal’s take-over last year is just how the Europeans are now behaving in the case of Mittal’s attempt to buy Arcelor....
Tobacco firms target developing countries ON February 14, (the Valentine’s Day), British MPs voted to end smoking in all enclosed public places from next year. A year ago, a similar ban in Italy reduced sales by 23 per cent in only the first two weeks....		Policy-making and credible statistics BONDED labour, child labour and other under-paid workers delivered to the mills by labour contractors — you name them, there are plenty of them....
Challenges in a changing world THE world is in transition and changing at a pace not seen before due to advancement in technology and communications. Business and the way we do business must be flexible towards...		World commodity report IN the London Market, oil prices rose after militant attacks shut in a fifth of Nigeria’s oil supply. The US crude futures for March delivery CLcI raised $1.12 to $61.0 a barrel....
Share index moving towards 12,000 level THE stocks managed to maintain their shine in the sixth eventful week as investors were not inclined to miss the rising market ensuring massive capital gains during each session....		Dollar robust against rupee Heavy dollar buying by the banks kept the rupee under pressure in the local currency market throughout the week in review. Though, rising trend in the overseas remittances resisted the rupee...
Approved foreign exchange declines by Rs3.094bn ACCORDING to the Statement of Affairs of the State Bank of Pakistan, for the week ended February 18, 2006, both notes in circulation and those issued declined during the week....		Trading remains subdued on wholesale markets Trading activity on the Karachi wholesale markets was relatively slow last week as retailers stayed on the sidelines most of the time anticipating a fall in the prices....