News

US tightens aluminium, steel import rules

The United States unveiled stri­cter rules Wednesday on steel and aluminium imp­orts from Mexico, moving to prevent China-origin goods from avoiding tariffs. The election-season actions by President Joe Biden’s administration mark the latest in a series of efforts to guard against excess industrial capacity in China, which Wash­ington has warned could bring a flood of unfairly priced goods to o

Nepra urges govt to correct power generation contracts

The National Elec­tric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday called on the government to seriously work on corrections in power generation contracts to provide substantial relief amid widespread public outcry over a tariff increase of up to Rs7.12 per unit. During a public hearing, Nepra also announced it had taken notice of last month’s overbilling by distribution companies due to ch

Cash-strapped govt notifies hefty hikes in salaries, pensions

The government on Wednesday notified 15 per cent increase in pensions and 20-25pc increase in salaries of the public servants with effect from July 1. In a series of notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance, the government also restricted public servants from drawing more than Rs1 million per annum on account of their membership on the boards of directors of various corporate entities.

NA clears SOEs bill; PM says no wheat exports yet

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured the National Assembly on Wednesday that the government has not decided to export wheat from the country, even as the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Bill, 2024 was rushed through the legislature. This controversial ame­n­dment, which allows the government to remove board members of SOEs based on recommendat­ions from the board nomination

Stocks begin flirting with 81,000 level

The stock market continued its record-setting spree on Tuesday amid growing optimism about reaching a Staff-Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) soon, propelling the index to a new peak above 81,000 intraday. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed at an all-time high amid speculation in the earnings season at PSX. This was led by selected oil and bankin