PIA plight: Just 21 planes operational, 18 grounded
TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: As cancelation of flights is order of the day owing to PIA’s delaying dilemma, the number of airline’s grounded aircrafts has reached 18, with just 21 planes operational, TrendPK reports.
Though, PIA has set an example of its mismanagement during Hajj operations, reports say some 42 flights were cancelled in just last two days. Their justifications for flight cancellation range from battery problem to maintenance work.
Officials said the planes have been grounded due to unknown ‘technical reasons’, bringing the number of abandoned planes to 18, whereas just 21 aircrafts have remained for local and international operations.
Four Boeing 747s, two Boeing 777, two Boeing 737s, six Airbus A310 and four ATR are included in the list of grounded planes.
On Wednesday, a Riyadh-bound flight from Lahore was just cancelled only because a 9-volt battery used to operate one of its emergency gates was found out of order, provoking the passengers who vent their anger on the airport administration. But to no avail. TrendPK
Gold price decreases by Rs 700 a tola
According to Sindh Gold Association, bullion price reached Rs 56,300 from Rs 57,000, while 10-gram gold price closed at Rs 48,257 after a decrease of Rs 600.
US dollar gains in open market
The US dollar was sold at Rs 87.48 in interbank and Rs 87.40 in the open market.
The British pound was sold at Rs 140.84 while euro was sold at Rs 123.15 in the open market.
The Saudi ryal was sold at Rs 23.31 and the UAE dirham was sold at Rs 23.82.
EU ready to lift Libya oil, port sanctions: diplomats
The European Union is expected to lift sanctions against Libya s ports and 22 economic entities including some oil companies by Friday, diplomats said.
The EU reached an agreement in principle on Wednesday and governments will formally adopt the decision on Thursday, the diplomats said. The sanctions will be lifted on Friday when the move is published in the EU s Official Journal.
Asian shares higher after Bernanke speech
HONG KONG: Asian stock markets mostly rose on Monday after Wall Street strengthened on a much-anticipated speech by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke at the end of last week.
Oil prices dipped meanwhile as energy demand was hit by the closure of refineries and airports as Hurricane Irene struck the US east coast.
While Bernanke offered no new stimulus proposals in his speech at a central bankers’ conference Friday, traders were pleased that he left the door open for measures further down the line.
Tokyo gained 0.54 percent by the morning break, Hong Kong rose 1.08 percent and Sydney added 1.49 percent. Seoul climbed 2.32 percent and Taipei was 1.68 percent higher.
However, Shanghai fell 2.05 percent on concerns that inflation in China is still stubbornly high.
In his speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bernanke said the Fed had a range of tools that could help the US economy, which it will review in an expanded meeting of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in September.
The speech went down well on Wall Street, with the Dow rising 1.21 percent, the S&P 500 up 1.51 percent and the Nasdaq jumping 2.49 percent.
Bernanke also said that he expected second-half growth in the United States to improve after a virtually stagnant first six months.
“I’m pleased to see a sensible reaction in the market,” Christopher Macdonald, principal investment adviser at RBS Morgans in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires.
“Bernanke seems to have put a floor under the market by implying that if we get any bad news or further dislocation in the markets, they will put something together in their next (FOMC) meeting,” he said.
The dollar was weighed by the prospect of future monetary easing by the Fed, with the currency falling to 76.65 yen on Friday from 77.45 yen the day before.
However, it was holding firm in early Tokyo trade Monday, buying 76.73 yen.
The euro was worth $1.4480, slightly down from $1.4490 in New York late Friday. It was virtually flat at 111.10 yen.
The dollar rose to 0.8101 Swiss francs from 0.8063 francs. Along with the yen, the Swiss franc is considered another safe-haven currency and has soared during the recent market tumult, to the consternation of Swiss authorities.
On the oil market, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, fell 13 cents to $85.24 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery sank 28 cents to $111.08.
Gold opened at $1,823.00-$1,824.00 an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Friday’s close of $1,789.00-$1,790.00. AGENCIES
Oil price dips in international market
Crude fell as much as $1.16 to $84.14 a barrel and was at $84.20 at 1:05 p.m. London time. Yesterday, the contract added 14 cents to $85.30. Prices are up 2.4 percent this week, heading for their first weekly gain since the five days ended July 22, and are up 15 percent in the past year.
Brent oil for October settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was down 56 cents at $110.06, set for a 1.3 percent climb this week. The contract was at a premium of $25.86 to US futures, compared with a record settlement of $26.21 on Aug. 19.
Pakistan Steel Mills asks govt for Rs 10 billion bailout package
KARACHI: Pakistan Steel Mills officials have asked the government for Rs 10 billion bailout package as the company is facing huge crisis, TrendPK reported on Saturday.
During last three years, the Pakistan Steel has taken Rs 12 billion as debt, and its interest is increasing every year.
Sources told that due to non appointment of the chief executive, the company’s matters are not running in a smooth way. The board of revenues has sent a summary for appointment of the CEO a month ago. TrendPK
British Petroleum to return to Libya
British energy giant BP said that it would seek to return to Libya to continue its exploration programme “when conditions allow” as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi faces imminent defeat.
“We intend to resume our activities and return to the country when conditions allow,” a BP spokesman said.
The London-listed oil giant evacuated its expatriate staff in February when a popular revolt broke out against strongman Gaddafi.
BP s Libyan operations are still in the early stages of development so the company did not have much infrastructure there.
The spokesman added that BP had been about to start drilling in the desert in the Ghadames basi and it was keeping in contact with its 100 local staff who remain in Libya.
A 2007 accord with Tripoli allowed BP to drill in the Mediterranean s Gulf of Sirte at depths of around 1,700 metres (5,500 feet) and at the onshore site near Ghadames.
The deal faced criticism in the United States, with suspicions that BP lobbied for the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, to push through the agreement.
Libyan Megrahi is the only person ever convicted of blowing up a US airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, mostly Americans.
Swiss freeze over $200M in bribe money: report
The money was reportedly intended to be given in suspected bribes intended for foreign officials since 2008.
The paper cites the federal prosecutors office as saying the funds were deposited in Swiss accounts by multinational companies for the purpose of bribing officials around the world to secure contracts. The report didn t name any individual companies.
An email to the prosecutors office Sunday was not immediately answered.
In the past, Switzerland was a popular place for multinational companies to “park” bribes due to its lax anti-corruption laws.
Since 2000, the country has tightened its legislation to conform with the requirements of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
No undermining US economic strength, says Biden
He told a Chinese audience that his government would never default, near the end of a trip that has stressed interdependence between the world s two biggest economies.
“You re safe,” Biden told a university in Sichuan, the southwest province that is the second and last stop of his visit to China, in answer to a question about Washington s ability to repay its debt. “Please understand that no one cares more about this than we do, since Americans own 87 percent of all financial assets and 69 percent of all treasury bonds, while China owns 1 percent of financial assets and 8 percent of treasury bills, respectively,” Biden said at Sichuan University in the provincial capital, Chengdu.
“So our interest is not just to protect Chinese investment. We have an overarching interest in protecting the investment, while the United States has never defaulted and never will default.” Biden used his speech to renew US calls for Beijing to do more to rein in North Korea and Iran, whose nuclear ambitions have alarmed the West.
But his key theme was, as it has been throughout his five-day visit to China, economic: that the United States can reverse its high debt and low growth, and that China should play a part by buying more American-made goods and services. “I also know that some of you are sceptical about America s future prospects. With that in view, I would like to suggest that I respectfully disagree with that view and will allay your concerns,” said Biden. He told the audience to remember that “America today is by far the largest economy, with a GDP of almost $15 trillion, about two and a half times as large as China s.
“Biden and President Barack Obama, both Democrats, face re-election next year. Biden said the debate with Republicans over how to tackle US fiscal problems would be at the heart of the 2012 presidential election. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is virtually certain to succeed Hu Jintao as Chinese President in early 2013, has been Biden s host for this visit, and Obama administration officials have said they want to build trust with the emerging leader ahead of the transition.
