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Financial Express April 25, 2019 Oil prices dipped on Thursday as record U.S. output and rising crude stockpiles dampened the impact on markets of tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran and producer club OPEC’s continued curbs on supply. Brent crude futures were at $74.53 per barrel at 0241 GMT, down 4 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $65.75 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their previous settlement. Crude futures rose to 2019 highs earlier in the week after the United States said on Monday it would end all exemptions for sanctions against Iran, demanding countries halt oil imports from Tehran from May or face punitive action from Washington. “Following the U.S. decision to toughen its sanctions on Iran … we have revised up our end-year forecast for Brent crude from $50 to $60 per barrel,” analysts at Capital Economics said in a note. U.S. sanctions against Iran have denied its government more than $10 bi

Dawn Talqeen Zubairi April 25, 2019 According to a PSX notice, the trading was suspended after multiple brokerage houses reported that they were unable to place their orders. "Due to some technical issues identified in the trading system of the exchange, where more than 25 brokerage houses were unable to access the trading network, the trading has been temporarily suspended by the PSX," read a notice, It added that the timing of the resumption of the trading network will be notified in the due course. The benchmark PSX 100 Shares Index was at 36,688, up 186 points, when the trading was suspended. On Wednesday, the stock market was on an upswing as the KSE-100 Index washed away some of the blood from the bear rampage a day ago, which had dragged the index to a three-year low. The market closed green for the day, with the index making an intraday high of 329 points and closing with a net gain of 100 points (0.28 per cent) at 36,504.25. Investors may have been com

The Hindu Arun Maira April 25, 2019 The U.S. has begun trade skirmishes with India. It objects to India increasing import duties on electronic goods and wants India to reduce duties on U.S.-made motorcycles. Meanwhile the World Trade Organisation seems to be in the intensive care unit. It is time to apply fundamental principles to reshape a trade regime that is fair to all. On free trade The macro-economic case for free trade is that if each person would do only what he or she does better than everyone else and all would trade with each other, everyone’s welfare will increase. Also, the size of the global economic pie would be larger because there will be no inefficiencies. The problem is that, at present, many people in the world are doing what others, in other countries, can do better than them. To get to the economists’ ideal state, many people will have to stop doing what they are doing and learn to do something else. Dani Rodrik has estimated that for every

The Indian Express Sowmiya Ashok   April 25, 2019 A Chinese think tank report, released ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum scheduled to take place here this week, has named India and said that countries adopt direct or indirect measures to “interfere in China’s overseas port projects”. The report specifically cites the example of India’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port and its investment in Iran’s Chabahar port which the report says is only “100 km away from Gwadar port” a crucial part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The report titled ‘A Strategic Analysis on China’s Overseas Port Projects Under the Belt and Road Initiative’ is by the Grandview Institution, which calls itself an “independent” think tank on its website. The Grandview Institution also serves as a government advisory research group, it says. “…Holding hostile attitude towards Chinese enterprises’ overseas port investment, countries such as India and Japan compete with China by stre

The Indian Express Deeptiman Tiwary April 25, 2019 The cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade ban, announced by the government last week, was partly fueled by reports from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that identified 10 Pakistan-based militants who were allegedly using the trade routes to pump in “illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency” into Kashmir. “The channel of LoC trade, meant to facilitate exchange of goods of common use between local populations across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, was being exploited to fund illegal and anti-national activities in Jammu and Kashmir,” an official said, quoting the reports. According to intelligence sources, these militants are originally from Jammu and Kashmir, but crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where they joined terror outfits. “Inquiries conducted and record checks have established that these individuals have opened trading firms in Pakistan and are active in LoC t

The Express Tribune April 25, 2019 By- Shahbaz Rana Pakistan has fairly met all conditions set by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for second review but the authorities say Islamabad may not fully satisfy evaluators without launching a diplomatic offensive. In an in-camera briefing, the Ministry of Finance, National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and State Bank of Pakistan have given a “satisfactory report” on implementation of 27-point FATF Action Plan to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance. The thrust of their briefing was that Pakistan has finally begun a journey on a path that leads to addressing the concerns of global bodies working to combating financing of terrorism and money laundering. But at the same time, the finance ministry expressed reservations that the regional and global powers would undermine the efforts of Pakistan. The committee was briefed that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Baj

The Express Tribune April 25, 2019 Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is already in Beijing, held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to review the bilateral ties as well as other issues of mutual interests. “Both sides stressed that they regard developing China-Pakistan relations as a diplomatic priority, and are committed to strengthening an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries and building a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. The Chinese side reiterated its steadfast support for Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and national dignity, choosing its development path according to its national conditions, and establishing a better security environment. The Chinese side appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role on international and regional issues. International community acknowledges safety of Pa

Hindustan Times April 25, 2019 Central agencies have identified 10 Pakistan-based terrorists, who had crossed over from India, set up businesses across the border with active support from the Pakistani spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, and were involved in funneling weapons, narcotics and fake currency through cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. These terrorists were also sending funds to separatists in Jammu and Kashmir using the cross-LoC trade route in order to fuel unrest in the Valley, the official claimed. Last week, India had suspended the cross-LoC trade at two points for an indefinite period, following reports that it was being misused by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons, narcotics and fake currency. The LoC trade across ChakanDa-Bagh and Salamabad was intended as a confidence-building measure for the people living in J&K and in

Dawn April 25, 2019 By Talkeen Zubziri The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday morning suspended trading after a technical fault in its trading network limited access for some brokerages. According to a PSX notice, the trading was suspended after multiple brokerage houses reported that they were unable to place their orders. "Due to some technical issues identified in the trading system of the exchange, where more than 25 brokerage houses were unable to access the trading network, the trading has been temporarily suspended by the PSX," read a notice, It added that the timing of the resumption of the trading network will be notified in the due course. The benchmark PSX 100 Shares Index was at 36,688, up 186 points, when the trading was suspended. On Wednesday, the stock market was on an upswing as the KSE-100 Index washed away some of the blood from the bear rampage a day ago, which had dragged the index to a three-year low. The market c

Live Mint April 25, 2019 State-owned Hindustan Copper said on Thursday its board has approved raising up to Rs1,400 crore through an issue of equity shares to qualified institutional investors. "The board of directors of Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) in its meeting held on April 25....has inter alia considered and approved...recommended resolution for seeking members approval for raising funds through issue of equity shares through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) method for an amount not exceeding ₹1,400 crore..," the PSU said in a filing to BSE. The Cabinet last year had approved a fresh equity issue of 15% by Hindustan Copper to help it raise over Rs900 crore. Hindustan Copper had earlier said that it would spend Rs5,500 crore over six years to expand its production capacity by six times to up to 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Shares of the company dropped by 1.64% to settle at Rs47.95 on BSE. Reference:  https://www.livemint.com/

Economic Times April 25, 2019 Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik on Thursday accused the Indian government of engaging in a "witch-hunt" and putting pressure on the Interpol to issue a red corner notice against him. In a statement, Naik, who fled India in 2016, said he was aware of the "pressure the Indian government was applying on the Interpol" to issue a red corner notice against him. "It's part of an elaborate witch-hunt. But having verified with a few member countries, I can confirm that there is no red corner notice against me as of date," he claimed. One of the Indian newspapers seems to have jumped the gun and reported internal deliberations of the Indian government which, as a matter of fact, have been going on for over two years now," he said. Naik said the Interpol had already cancelled a red corner notice against him once. "And it's been one-and-a-half years since the government submitted a cha

The Economic Times April 25, 2019 India has stressed Africa's right to representation among the ranks of the permanent members of the UN Security Council in an effort to bring in a sense of urgency to the long-stalled reform process.  "We must take action so that Africa is given a central and leading role in an internationally formed new order especially in a reformed and expanded Security Council and so that the Council reflects the world of today and not of 1945," Sanjay Rana, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, said on Wednesday at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.  "The reform of the peace and security pillar of the UN, the Security Council, has perhaps been the most important and yet stagnating process of the General Assembly," he said. "We must take action towards early reform."  Putting the focus on Africa's right to permanent membership is a strategy

Business Standard  April 25, 2019 By Arindam Majumder The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, and the Tata Group, which operates Air Asia India and Vistara, have opposed a government decision to allocate Jet Airways slots only to those deploying new aircraft. Such a decision, they say, will harm their commercial viability and negate a level-playing field.  In a letter to the government, IndiGo Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Prock-Scahuer said, “aircraft inductions are planned in advance by airlines and cannot be expedited at such short notice. This leaves virtually one airline with the ability to corner Jet Airways slots. Reference:  https://wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/companies/indigo-tatas-protest-govt-s-basis-for-allotting-jet-airways-slots-119042500034_1.html?__twitter_impression=true