There may be an identifiable pre-election pattern - observed over the past few election years - in the case of Karachi equity market. But the relatively less formal real estate market has a different story to tell.
In the last three elections, the real estate market used to witness a pre-poll slide in the number of transactions, if not in prices, as investors thought best to adopt a wait-and-see strategy.
Formed by a string of mergers and acquisitions, Summit Bank Limited kicked off the first quarter of 2013 on a grim note. With growth in earning assets acutely angled towards investments, the top line of SMBL couldn continue its upward journey.
The Universal Service Funds (USFs) have received a scathing examination by the global GSM Association. The body of over 800 mobile network operators from over 220 countries studied USFs in 64 countries (including Pakistan) and suggested that USFs had proven inefficient and ineffective as a means to reach universal service, and therefore be considered for shutdown.
May 11 will see the hottest general elections in recent memory. Hottest, not just as a metaphor for all the political heat that surrounds the country, but literally.
Tax authorities in the country seem content with milking the same cow dry, instead of bringing the fat cows in its barn to expand the tax net. What else then explains news reports of new proposals for the budget FY14, calling for higher taxes on salary earners?
After much revision and hand wringing by officials at the Ministry of Textile, the cotton production target was scaled down from 14.6 to 13.3 million bales at the start of this year.
Although certain segments of the economy appear to be performing better in recent months, economic growth in the country is still well below the target.
