Democracy Pakistani style? "Democractic Government" "Leedars?? "Awam"??
Ok - give the children what they want: -- Wait a minute, what ever happened to spare the rod and spoil the child?? oops, soorry, that not "democractic" -- so sari
Eat the rich, poverty for everyone - only then will "social justice" be achieved and then we will have "social democracy" -- just like in Nepal
Investors enraged as stocks plunge
* Demand closure of markets, SECP terms suspension impossible
* Traders protest in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad
KARACHI/LAHORE/ ISLAMABAD: Thousands of angry investors, enraged by the persistent decline in share prices, protested on the floors of stock exchanges in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on Thursday, demanding a temporary closure of the markets.
A slump in investor confidence accelerated as stocks fell over four percent and the rupee dropped by 1.3 percent around midday due to fears of political uncertainty and dire economic challenges, including a double-digit inflation rate.
Small investors gathered at the trading hall of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) around 11am and began shouting slogans, while some protestors broke windowpanes and furniture at the trading hall. Edhi sources said at least three people were injured in scuffles with the police officers deployed to handle the situation.
Impossible: The investors demanded that trading at the KSE be halted for a few days in view of the continuous decline in share values.
However, SECP Chairman Raziur Rahman said,
there is no question of suspending the market. The overall decline in the KSE capitalisation had been estimated at Rs 1,519 billion from April 18 to July 16. On Wednesday, SECP and KSE officials had met institutional investors and discussed the possibility of Rs 50 billion to help the market recover. There has, however, been little progress in this regard.
A statement issued after the meeting said: Initial financial commitments were received and the participants are meeting to finalise the structure and mechanics of the fund.
Protests: Hundreds of brokers and traders in the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) also protested the persistent decline in the market, not only in Lahore, but also in Sialkot and Faisalabad, where the LSE has official floors. Traders blocked the road outside the LSE and burnt tyres, resulting in traffic jams.
Small investors of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) also protested against the continuous bearish tendencies and urged the government to take appropriate steps to improve the market situation. staff report/agencies
Forex reserves fall below $11bn
KARACHI: Pakistans foreign reserves fell $292 million to $10.83 billion in the week that ended on July 12, due to heavy outgoings for import payments.
According to official data, the State Bank of Pakistan said its reserves fell $371 million to $7.953 billion, while those held by commercial banks rose $79 million to $2.877 billion from $2.798 billion.
Pakistans foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of $16.486 billion on October 31, 2007, but have fallen since then because of rising oil payments and foreign investors pulling money out because of political uncertainty dogging the country 3 months after a civilian coalition formed a new government.
The central bank last week took steps to help stablise the rupee. The main measure was a temporary suspension of forward booking of foreign currency for all imports. An assurance was also given that the central bank would provide foreign exchange to authorised dealers for all imports of furnace oil used for power plants.
Analysts said the countrys total reserves were barely enough to cover the import bill for the next 3 months. The central bank in May increased its key discount rate to 12.0 percent from 10.5 percent, to counter accelerating inflation and widening fiscal and current account deficits. Analysts expect the central bank to raise rates again in the coming weeks.
The rupee has depreciated 16.9 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the year and dealers said the outlook remains bleak. reuters
