Contrary to last year’s gloomy conditions, the booming equity market attracted many initial public offerings (IPOs) and companies raised over Rs8 billion in calendar 2024. Market experts said such a favourable situation emerged after 2021, making it attractive for investors while the Pakistan Stock Exchange set records daily, encouraging companies to tap into the equity market. A total of se
Adam Smith, in his 1776 masterpiece, ‘An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’, observed that for a nation to prosper, little else is required than to provide individuals with economic freedom. If economic freedom is provided, the rest of the requisites will be brought upon by the natural course of things. On the other hand, for decades, democracy has also been accepted a
International politics has always been a ruthless and dangerous business, and it is likely to stay that way, according to Chicago University’s US scholar John J. Mearsheimer. In the introduction of an updated edition of his book, ‘The Tragedy of Great Power Politics’, he writes: “Since no state is likely to achieve global hegemony, the world is condemned to a perpetual great power competition.
The rise in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, driven by governments’ rebates to curb carbon emissions, has spurred advancements in battery technology. Significant research funding has gone into the EV battery to achieve the objectives of a high number of charge cycles, distance, and low weight and volume, with Chinese companies, CATL and BYD are leading the way. These developments a
The country’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries swelled by 62 per cent to $2.917 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from $1.80bn. Trade experts attributed the surge mainly to increased imports from China, India and Afghanistan. Since the deficit rise remains unchanged from the previous fiscal year, it may cause policymakers big problems. In FY24, the trade d