ISLAMABAD (December 01 2009): The World Bank has approved $500 million to support the government programme to regain and maintain economic stability and steer the economy back onto a higher growth path. According to the WB Annual Report-2009, the Bank focused on helping South Asian countries cope with the impact of the global economic crisis. In Pakistan, the Bank approved $500 million to help the government put the economy back on track for attaining the higher growth target.
The WB approved $250 million for the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), now active in 119 out of Pakistan's 134 districts. Since 2000, the programme has facilitated the formation of 80,000 community organisations and provided 1.9 million micro credit loans, executed 16,000 community infrastructure schemes and given training support to 232,000 people in enterprise development skills.
The Bank is also focused on helping South Asian countries cope with the impact of the global economic crisis. To help people rebuild for earthquake survivors in Pakistan, the government formed the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, and, with the Bank's financial and technical support, launched an ambitious $1.5 billion owner-driven rural housing rebuilding programme.
The salient features of this programme were technical assistance to homeowners and inspection of the reconstruction at various stages to ensure that seismic resistant designs provided by the programme were being followed. Such house-to-house assistance and inspection entailed a mammoth logistical operation for reaching out to the grant recipients, who are spread over an area of 30,000 square kilometers of mountainous terrain. In three years, some 600,000 households received rapid disbursement of nearly $1.3 billion in housing reconstruction grants.
The summary of operations approved during FY09 revealed that the IDA Poverty Reduction and Economic Support Development Policy Credit of $500 million will support the government programme to regain and maintain economic stability to increase economic growth.
IDA Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Specific Investment Credit worth $25 million will provide technical advisory services to help implement the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme. IDA Punjab Education Sector Specific Investment Credit worth $3.3 billion will improve access and equity, and the quality and relevance of education in Punjab.
IDA Sindh Education Sector Specific Investment Credit worth $2.1 billion will support the education reforms to increase school participation, reduce gender and rural-urban disparities and improve education sector governance. IDA Third Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Specific Investment Credit amounting to $250 million will empower poor people with increased incomes, improved productive capacity, and better access to services to reduce poverty.
IDA Third Partnership for Polio Eradication Specific Investment Credit worth $143.1 million will eradicate polio by ensuring timely supply and effective use of oral polio vaccines for young children. IDA Social Safety Net Technical Assistance Project Technical Assistance Credit worth $60 million will enhance the operation and management of a safety net system to cushion the effects of the food and economic crises.
IDA Sindh On-Farm Water Management Specific Investment Credit - Additional Financing of $61.7 million will improve the efficiency, reliability and equity of irrigation water distribution at watercourse levels and enhance agricultural productivity through these applications, the report maintained.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Petroleum product prices raised
Khalil-Ur-Rehman
ISLAMABAD (December 01 2009): In line with rising oil prices in the international market, the government has raised the petroleum oil products' prices by an amount ranging from Rs 4.37 per litre to Rs 5.61 per litre in the country for the month of December 2009.Accordingly Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has notified new prices of various petroleum products including petrol, kerosene oil, Light-Diesel Oil (LDO) and HOBC here on Monday, while the oil marketing companies (OMCs) have released the increased price of high-speed diesel (HSD) as it is a deregulated product.
While, OGRA announced that the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 4.37 to Rs 66 per litre, HOBC prices are raised by Rs 4.93 to Rs 80.52 per litre, kerosene price raised by Rs 4.76 to Rs 62.63 per litre and the price of Light-Speed Diesel has been increased by Rs 5.25 to Rs 60.22 per litre. The LDO is mainly used to operate mills and tube wells in rural areas. The price of high octane is raised from Rs 75.59 to Rs 80.59, notification added. The OMCs have increased high-speed diesel price by Rs 5.73 per litre to Rs 70.52 per litre for December. The HSD is the most widely consumed petroleum product in the country and the bulk of it is consumed by the transport sector.
What is Forex
Forex (also known as FX, foreign exchange) is the market where one currency is being exchanged for another one. The Forex market as a whole is not regulated by any particular entity or government body. Unlike stocks and futures, it is not conducted through a stock exchange. Instead, foreign exchange transactions are taking place on the open market (also known as over-the-counter market, OTC) because any two parties exchanging one currency into another, from local money exchanger to a large bank, are the participants of the FX market.
The volume of transactions taking place on the foreign exchange market is mind-blowing. Some estimates, based on the earlier surveys made by the Bank for International Settlements, mention an average daily figure of around US$3 trillion per day! (in early 2007).
The daily combined turnover of all major world stock exchanges is only around US$200 billion.
Because FX transactions do not need to be registered or reported to any particular exchange, there are many possibilities for its participants. A person willing to invest into FX has many options to choose from and can use different trading methods. Using a market maker allows you to choose the best conditions for trading, use the quotes available and enter large transactions with a minimal initial outlay. Usually you are able to buy/sell currency contracts equal to $100,000 with only $1000 used as a margin, another words use the 1:100 leverage. The size and volatility of the market provides excellent opportunities for making profits, however one should always remember about the risk factor when entering the foreign exchange market.
There are 5 major currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY. In the currency pair the fixed unit of currency on the left is usually called “base” and the variable currency unit on the right is called “terms” or “quoted” currency. In the pair EUR/USD, EUR is the base currency and USD is the terms one.
The volume of transactions taking place on the foreign exchange market is mind-blowing. Some estimates, based on the earlier surveys made by the Bank for International Settlements, mention an average daily figure of around US$3 trillion per day! (in early 2007).
The daily combined turnover of all major world stock exchanges is only around US$200 billion.
Because FX transactions do not need to be registered or reported to any particular exchange, there are many possibilities for its participants. A person willing to invest into FX has many options to choose from and can use different trading methods. Using a market maker allows you to choose the best conditions for trading, use the quotes available and enter large transactions with a minimal initial outlay. Usually you are able to buy/sell currency contracts equal to $100,000 with only $1000 used as a margin, another words use the 1:100 leverage. The size and volatility of the market provides excellent opportunities for making profits, however one should always remember about the risk factor when entering the foreign exchange market.
There are 5 major currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY. In the currency pair the fixed unit of currency on the left is usually called “base” and the variable currency unit on the right is called “terms” or “quoted” currency. In the pair EUR/USD, EUR is the base currency and USD is the terms one.
Daily forex news
The yen fell against all major counterparts amid speculation policy makers will try to limit gains in the currency which reached a 14-year high against the dollar last week. The yen pared losses, the most in seven weeks in earlier trading, as the Bank of Japan refrained from cutting interest rates at an emergency policy meeting today. The yen fell 0.6 percent to 86.90 per dollar as of 7:20 a.m. in London from 86.41 in New York yesterday. The yen earlier weakened as much as 1.3 percent, the most since Oct. 15. It climbed to 84.83 on Nov. 27, the strongest level since July 1995. Japan’s currency declined 0.8 percent to 130.65 per euro from 129.64.
Australia’s dollar fell against the greenback after the central bank raised its benchmark rate and said a record third month of increases may curb inflation, fueling expectations policy makers will slow the pace of future advances.
The U.S. currency lost 1.9 percent in November in its fifth-straight monthly drop versus the euro, the longest losing streak since December 2004. The greenback was at $1.5034 per euro from $1.5005 yesterday.
Crude oil traded near $77 a barrel after rising yesterday as traders bought back futures contracts amid speculation credit losses in Dubai won’t derail the global economic recovery. Crude oil for January delivery was at $77.19 a barrel, down 9 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:23 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract increased $1.23 to settle at $77.28 a barrel. Futures have gained 73 percent this year after losing 54 percent in 2008.
Australia’s dollar fell against the greenback after the central bank raised its benchmark rate and said a record third month of increases may curb inflation, fueling expectations policy makers will slow the pace of future advances.
The U.S. currency lost 1.9 percent in November in its fifth-straight monthly drop versus the euro, the longest losing streak since December 2004. The greenback was at $1.5034 per euro from $1.5005 yesterday.
Crude oil traded near $77 a barrel after rising yesterday as traders bought back futures contracts amid speculation credit losses in Dubai won’t derail the global economic recovery. Crude oil for January delivery was at $77.19 a barrel, down 9 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:23 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract increased $1.23 to settle at $77.28 a barrel. Futures have gained 73 percent this year after losing 54 percent in 2008.
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