If you measure corporate profit in terms of profits earned by the 95 top-performing businesses that account for 99 percent of the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s 100-index market capitalisation during the first quarter of this fiscal year (July to September 2024), it decreased by 14% from the previous year. And that is an extremely suitable measure. National newspapers have already made headlines for this Topline Securities research finding. However, there is a reassuring aspect for the optimist: The top 95 companies’ total profits from July to September 2024 are 16 percent higher than their profits from April to June. What does…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
The quarter-end period is typically a busy time for businesses all over the world. Accountants are working to keep the books in order, marketing departments are maximizing their performance, and sales teams are rushing to fill orders. It’s the adult equivalent of working all night to get through a semester of putting off exams. This is done in a slightly different way in financial institutions because some of the key performance indicators are related to the sale of line items on balance sheets rather than actual products. As a result, as long as you have liquidity from a few different…
US : Democratic rival Kamala Harris made her final presidential campaign pitch at a historically Black church and to Arab Americans in battleground Michigan, while Republican rival Donald Trump adopted violent language at a Pennsylvania rally. According to opinion polls, the two candidates are locked in a close race. Former President Trump, 78, is gaining ground with Hispanic voters, particularly men, while Vice President Harris, 60, has strong support from female voters. According to Reuters/Ipsos polling, voters overall view both candidates negatively, but that hasn’t stopped them from voting. According to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, more than 78…
On Monday, bulls maintained control over the trading floor as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rose 1,000 points in anticipation of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which will take place later today. From its previous close of 90,859.85 points at 11:20am, the benchmark KSE-100 index increased 1,041.88, or 1.15 percent, to 91,901.73 points. The index ended the day at 91,938.00 points, up 1078.15, or 1.19 percent, from the previous close. According to Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, the positive mood was brought about by the “anticipation of rate cut today” and rising macroeconomic…
In response to demands for a significant rate cut, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to reduce its key policy rate by 250 basis points (bps) to 15% from 17.5 percent. The SPB released a statement stating that “at its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 250 basis points to 15%, effective from November 5, 2024.” The statement also stated that the Committee noted that inflation had decreased “faster than expected and has reached close to its medium-term target range in October.” It emphasized that…
The presidential elections in the United States have reached a crescendo. The choice between a Harris or Trump presidency is similar to grasping the tail of a python or falling into a dark abyss for drained Muslim American voters who have witnessed 13 months of American complicity in the genocide in Gaza. However, regardless of one’s perspective on the situation in Gaza, it is impossible to ignore the fact that American democracy is at risk now more than ever in the past eight years. Sadly, despite how much Americans assert that their democracy is in danger, voter participation rarely reflects…
AMERICA : Reuters reported that Quincy Jones, who collaborated with Michael Jackson to reshape pop music and had a significant impact on American music through his collaborations with Count Basie and Frank Sinatra, passed away on Sunday at the age of 91. In the presence of his family, Jones gave his final breath at his residence in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. In a statement provided to The Guardian, the family stated, “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing.” And despite the fact that this is…
Iran: An NGO reported that Iran executed a Jewish minority member who had been found guilty of murder on Monday, at a time when tensions with Israel were rising. According to the Iran Human Rights group, based in Norway, Arvin Ghahremani was found guilty of murder during a street fight and hanged in prison in the western city of Kermanshah. IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated, “The Islamic republic executed Arvin Ghahremani, an Iranian Jewish citizen, in the midst of the threats of war with Israel,” adding that the legal case had “significant flaws.” Amiry-Moghaddam went on to say, “However, in…
INDIA : A government official stated that at least 36 passengers were killed and numerous others were injured when a bus in India fell into a deep Himalayan ravine on Monday. The bus’s twisted front was squashed nearly flat in photographs released by government rescue teams, which showed it in thick undergrowth. People are shown in this handout photo, which was taken on November 4 in Uttarakhand, at the scene of an accident where a bus fell into a gorge in the Almora district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. — Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Uttarakhand /…
US: Countries in South Asia, like those in the rest of the world, are keeping an eye on the US presidential election, looking out for their interests, and getting ready to change policies depending on who wins on November 5. According to analysts, the major nations of the region—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan—are divided about who they think should be the next president of the United States; however, they are all still willing to interact with whoever comes out on top. On the other hand, Michael Kugelman, an authority on Washington’s relationships with South Asian nations, claims that US policies…
