Investment bank JPMorgan has called the slump in Pakistan’s bonds to just a third of their face value justified, following the country's devastating floods and recent warnings by officials that some debt payments may need to be suspended. "Pakistan's debt and fiscal dynamics flag rising solvency concerns," JPMorgan's analysts wrote in a note on Wednesday. "Political/fiscal, flood-related ext
Amid high energy costs and an impending energy crisis, the government has approved energy and conservation measures preventing the outflow of $1.15 billion per annum. The people of Pakistan are currently paying high electricity prices and yet are suffering from prolonged power outages in addition to circular debt of multi-billion rupees. In their electricity bills, consumers are paying several
The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a bullish trend on Wednesday as investors welcomed lower international oil prices. Topline Securities said a statement from the US Department of State clarifying that the United States is confident of Pakistan’s ability to keep its nuclear assets safe and secure also helped the index close on a bullish note. The index traded in the green zone throughout
The dollar has disappeared from the open market run by the exchange companies and there are reports that the US currency is trading at a much higher price in a parallel grey market. “This is true. The dollar is not available in the open market, but the grey market is offering it for as high as Rs232, making the legal currency business meaningless,” said Zafar Paracha, the secretary general of t
The Pakistani rupee continued to extend its losses on Wednesday, falling by Rs1.17 against the dollar during interbank trade. The PKR closed at Rs220.88 as compared to yesterday’s close of Rs219.71, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The dollar had managed to make a slight gain against the rupee on Oct 12, breaking its 13-day rally triggered after the announcement of Ishaq Dar’s