KARACHI STOCK MARKET NEWS

Friday saw the KSE-100 index close down at 12,941, mainly due to a wait & see approach to the results of the " Long March " over the weekend. The " Long March " was a total waste of time and a criminal waste of money at a time when we are being taxed to the hilt to cover the govt’s shortfall in its fiscal and current account deficts.

It was summed up better by Ardeshir Cowasjee in his weekly column… How much has this ‘long march’… burdened this deprived nation and its thirsty and hungry people? If street thinking or street power is to be believed, the funds for the lawyers’ movement and for this culmination have emanated from the coffers of Mian Nawaz Sharif and his brand of Muslim League, whose coffers were and are filled to the brim with the nation’s money…Nawaz’s professed love for an independent judiciary can never ring true in the light of his past dealings with the judiciary of his country. His party man, Gohar Ayub, in his book published last year, has recounted how one day early in November 1997 Nawaz wanted to arrest the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Sajjad Ali Shah, and jail him for a night, merely because he was getting uppity… Dawn

The government really needs to pull their finger out and resolve the current judiciary issue a.s.a.p. to avoid statements like this one… " Moody’s Investors Service said in a report on Pakistan on Friday that weak governance, political tensions and flaws in the legal system will undermine institutions and policy-makers, and heighten risks of sudden shifts in private investor confidence… " The News     It also doesn’t help that we have the stupidest fucking politician in the history of Pakistan (who has proved to be a total hypocrite in terms of his past respect for justice) who now wants to destabilize the country further by baying for G.Mush’s blood, impeachment etc.
The market should remain rangebound until the time for the next results season draws close.

News : Increase in taxes has made Pakistani cement the highest taxed cement in the world, Chairman All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh said. He said that excise duty has been increased from Rs 750 per tonne to Rs 900 per tonne along with additional excise duty of 1 percent. Increase of General Sales Tax from 15 percent to 16 percent has increased the menace of double taxation as General Sales Tax is charged on excise duty paid value… Daily Times

Market Low : 12,895.25 High : 13,040.15