The News

Significance of acquisition of knowledge stressed

KARACHI – The knowledge was a part of our faith and acquiring it was incumbent every Muslim. This was stated by Saadia Rashid, president of Hamdard Foundation Pakistan.
She was addressing a function organized under the auspices of the Hamdard Naunehal Assembly, Karachi Chapter, says a statement on Friday.
The theme was ‘Training of children and youths and role of educational …

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Bike-lifters held; 18 vehicles seized

KARACHI – The Anti Car Lifting Cell on Friday claimed to have busted a gang involved in motorcycle theft and snatching, 18 motorcycles were recovered from them.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, SSP Javed Akbar Riaz said that acting on a tip, police raided a house in Rais Goth in Mochko and found a notorious gang Waris Jhulay Lal, the gang members had dismantled parts of the stolen …

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UK keen to invest in energy sector

LAHORE – British high commission Karachi Additional Deputy Head of Mission Shehryar Khan has said that UK is interested to invest in power sector of Pakistan.
He said this during a meeting with NTDCL MD Rasul Khan Mahsud at Wapda House on Friday. Talking about the prospects of investment in power sector, Mahsud said that NTDCL was a sole government company engaged in the transmission and …

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Wheat rate up in open market but still below official price

LAHORE – SALMAN ABDUHU – Though the wheat price has risen to Rs 970 per 40kg in the open market in Punjab but its still below the level of wheat support price fixed by the federal govt to procure grains from growers through Passco. The rate increased due to high demand of wheat in province.
According to Punjab Food Department sources, earlier the wheat was selling at Rs930 per 40kg in the open …

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SPI-based weekly inflation increases

ISLAMABAD : The prices of 12 essential items during the week ended on May 17 witnessed decrease as compared to the previous week. According to provisional figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended on May 17 for the lowest income group up to Rs 8,000, registered nominal increase of 0.09 per cent as compared to the previous week. The SPI …

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‘Rania’ reaches stores

LAHORE – Mina Hasan’s spring/summer 2012 collection “Rania” is now available at the flagship stores in Karachi and Lahore, says a Press release.
The name Rania stems from various origins and is translated for ‘Queen’ in Indian mythology and being satisfied and contented in the Arabic language. The collection exudes sedate glamour combining a variety of colours, …

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EOBI’s BoT approves more facilities for employees

KARACHI – The Board of Trustees of EOBI has approved more facilities for their employees, in its 102nd meeting held at Karachi, says a Press release.
The management has issued orders for implementation of BOT decisions; according to which the conveyance allowance will be increased from Rs.700/- to Rs.3000/- pm for the officers and from Rs.750/- to Rs.2500/-pm for staff members.
The BOT also …

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‘Change’ at Brands Just Pret

KARACHI – Retail brand Change has been launched at Brands Just Pret, one of Karachi’s most prestigious and illustrious multi-brand stores located at Dolmen Clifton Mall, says a Press release.
To celebrate its launch, Change held a unique and innovative Change-makers event where women of substance who have brought about real and substantial change in Pakistan were honoured. Change makers …

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Visa announces financial results

ISLAMABAD – Visa Inc (NYSE: V) has announced financial results for the company’s fiscal second quarter 2012 ended March 31, 2012, says a Press release.
GAAP net income for the quarter, inclusive of a one-time non-cash benefit related to the remeasurement of existing net deferred tax liabilities, was $1.3 billion.
On an adjusted basis, excluding this non-cash benefit, net income for the …

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Emirates announces special promotional fares

KARACHI – Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, has announced special promotional fares to Jeddah and Madina, Saudi Arabia for travelers booking out of Pakistan. Both cities are a popular hub for Pakistani travelers and with the upcoming Haj season the airline is giving passengers a chance to book flights early at a discounted price, says a Press release.
The economy class …

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40 candidates in race for Pamco top slot

LAHORE – Some 40 candidates have submitted applications for the slot of Chief Executive Officer of Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company (PAMCO) after the resignation of its CEO Dr Hamid Jalil around two weeks ago.
Sources said that May 18 was the last date for submission of applications which was expired. The candidates in the race for the PAMCO chief slot include drawn from multinationals, …

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Smuggled plastic, chemicals flood markets

LAHORE – The smuggled plastic moulding compound used in plastic industry have flooded the local markets, pushing the legal importers of chemicals to the wall and causing a loss of billions of rupees to the exchequer.
The plastic compound importers said that the authorities concerned should immediately ban import of Polyethene and Polyproplene from Iran via land route from any border of …

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Oil prices slide

LONDON  – World oil prices slid to new multi-month lows on Friday as the market was rattled once again by concern about the outlook for demand linked to the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July struck $106.40 per barrel, which was the lowest point since December 21. The contract later stood at $106.97, down 52 cents compared with Thursday’s …

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No-confidence vote only way to unseat me, Gilani tells opposition

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza GIlani.—File Photo

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani challenged the opposition Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz on Friday, daring the Sharifs to bring a vote of no-confidence against him.

“The only way to unseat me democratically is through a vote of no-confidence … the president can only be removed through impeachment. If you have the courage then go ahead and use the available option,” said the prime minister.

Gilani was speaking to reporters in Lahore at a joint press conference with Pakistan Muslim league – Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who is a coalition partner of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Gilani was found guilty of contempt by the Supreme Court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president, but received only a symbolic sentence of a few minutes’ detention in the courtroom.

The opposition PML-N has said they do not consider Gilani the prime minister after his conviction by the SC, and threaten to hold a long march if he stays in office. Gilani, however, says that he will remain the prime minister as long as the parliament allows him to.

“I will not resign on somebody’s wishes … I have complete support of the parliament,” said Gilani, Pakistan’s longest serving democratically elected prime minister.

“How can they protest against the government when they are in the government themselves? They would have to resign from their seats to protest,” said Gilani.

“As for long marches, they are held against dictators. There is a democratic government in the country. There are no dictators and there will be no long marches.”

When asked a question regarding an appeal against the SC’s decision, Gilani said his legal team would decide about the issue.

“I have not committed a crime. I have only followed the constitution’s interpretation given to me,” he said.

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Via DAWN.com

Saverin congratulates Zuckerberg on Facebook IPO

Photo released by Facebook shows the arcade room at the company’s Menlo Park California headquarters in February, 2012. Facebook announced a price of $38 per share for its record-setting initial public offering, which gives the leading social network a market value of 104 billion USD. – Photo by AFP

SINGAPORE: Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, on Friday, lauded Mark Zuckerberg for making the world a “more open and connected place”, hours before the social network’s hotly anticipated share offer.

Away from the spotlight of the initial public offering (IPO) in New York, the Singapore-based Saverin reminisced about early years of the site, which began in a Harvard University dorm in 2004.

“On the eve of the Facebook public float, 8 plus year(s) in the making, I as co-founder wanted to look back and cherish Facebook’s early beginning,” said Saverin in a post on Facebook.

“Congrats to everyone involved in the project from day one till today,” he wrote.

“I especially wanted to congratulate Mark Zu(c)kerberg on keeping tremendous stead-fast focus, however hard that was, on making the world a more open and connected place.”

Saverin linked his post to an image of Facebook’s early interface that contained the site’s original name “thefacebook”.

The site was described at that time as “an online directory that connects people through social networks at colleges and universities” – a much more humble ambition for a site that now boasts 900 million users worldwide.

Facebook stock priced at $38 per share was to begin trading under the symbol “FB” on the Nasdaq, giving the world’s leading social network a dizzying value of $104 billion at its IPO.

Saverin’s relationship with Zuckerberg – who will retain a majority of voting rights after the IPO – was famously portrayed in the 2010 film “The Social Network”.

Saverin was an economics major at Harvard when he set up Facebook with Zuckerberg and two other students.

He had provided the initial funds for the site, but apparently left Facebook after an acrimonious split with Zuckerberg.

The website “Who Owns Facebook?” estimated that Saverin continues to hold a four percent stake in the site, while Forbes has estimated his net worth to be $2 billion.

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Via DAWN.com

Facebook floats as Zuckerberg rings opening bell at Nasdaq

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg speaks to employees during the company’s Hackathon in Menlo Park California. – Photo by Reuters

NEW YORK: Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg rang the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock market from his California office on Friday, to announce the listing of his company.

Amid a crowd at the social network’s headquarters, Zuckerberg and hundreds of Facebook employees cheered the market open. Facebook shares were to start trading later in the day in the largest offering for a technology firm.

The company’s stock, priced at $38 per share, will begin trading under the symbol “FB” on the Nasdaq, giving the leading website a dizzying value of $104 billion at its initial public offering (IPO).

Facebook is raising $16 billion from the share offering, making it the richest IPO after financial giant Visa in 2008, according to Renaissance Capital. The addition of a possible stock “over-allotment” could boost the total to $18.4 billion.

Facebook itself is selling 180 million shares and early investors in the company, which has grown from its humble Harvard origins into an online community of more than 900 million users, are selling 241 million.

With a market value of $104 billion, Facebook would be among the most valuable US companies, ahead of sector giants Amazon ($98 billion) and Cisco ($89 billion), and more than twice the value of Ford Motor Co. ($38 billion).

But it remains behind Google ($203 billion) and Apple ($495 billion).

Under the share plan, Zuckerberg will hold 55.8 per cent of the voting power of Facebook shares, and over 18 per cent of the value of the company, which he controls through a dual-class stock structure.

The IPO’s net proceeds to Facebook are estimated at $6.4 billion. The rest of the cash goes to Facebook insiders and others who made early investments in the social network, and to cover the IPO costs.

The Wall Street Journal said 57 per cent of shares will be from insiders, which is an unusually high percentage. Under Wall Street rules, investors have to wait six months to sell any shares not offered at the IPO.

Some analysts predicted Facebook’s stock price would jump quickly to $44 a share but the long-term outlook is less clear.

At the heart of the debate about the wisdom of owning a piece of Facebook is how much revenue it takes in.

Revenue vaulted to $1.06 billion in the quarter which ended March 31 – an improvement year-over-year but down about six per cent from the previous quarter.

According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook.com received nine per cent of all US Internet visits in April 2012. It had 1.6 billion visits a week and averaged more than 229 million US visits a day for the year-to-date.

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Via DAWN.com

Rupee, o/n rates end flat

The rupee has been supported by remittances, which rose 20.2 per cent to $10.88 billion in the first 10 months of the 2011/12 fiscal year.—File Photo

KARACHI: In the currency market on Friday, the rupee ended almost flat at 90.73/93 to the dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 90.86/91.

The rupee has been supported by remittances, which rose 20.2 per cent to $10.88 billion in the first 10 months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $9.05 billion in the same period last year.

In April, remittances totalled $1.14 billion.

Overnight rates in the money market closed at 11.90 per cent, the same level as on Thursday.

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Via DAWN.com