News

Stocks falter after Moody’s downgrade

The stock market witnessed a mixed trading session on Friday as investors chose to hold back during the opening hours. Arif Habib Ltd said the index initially dropped 168.46 points after Moody’s Investor Services lowered Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating by one notch. Inves­tors opted for booking profits after trading resumed in the green zone during the second half, leading the benchmark to c

Tech firm to migrate from GEM to PSX’s main board

Technology firm Supernet Ltd told shareholders on Friday it’s decided to migrate to the main board of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) board, which is a separate PSX counter reserved for smaller and riskier companies. Only three firms are currently listed on the GEM board that the PSX rolled out last year to help start-ups and growing entities raise capi

Opec+ cut shows widening gulf between Biden and Saudis

The Opec+ organisation’s decision this week to cut oil production despite stiff US opposition has further strained already tense relations between President Joe Biden’s White House and the Saudi Arabia’s royal family, once one of Washington’s staunchest Middle East allies, according to interviews with about a dozen government officials and experts in Washington and the Gulf. The White House pus

Floods expose fragility of telecom infrastructure: report

The recent floods starting in the month of August have exposed the fragility of Pakistan’s telecommunications infrastructure and the weaknesses of broader structural environment within which mobile networks operate, according to a report by Islamabad-based research house Tabadlab. The report, authored Naeha Rashid, Maira Sheikh and Alina Khan, argues that without immediate intervention, the ind

Micro-loan disbursements go up 14pc

The disbursement of microfinance loans increased 13.7 per cent in April-June on a quarterly basis after flat-lining in the preceding three-month period. Micro-loan disbursals in the second quarter of 2022 totalled Rs153.1 billion, up from Rs134.7bn in the first quarter of 2021, the latest data released by the Pakistan Micro­finance Network (PMN) shows. However, the increase was 38.5pc on a year