Dar hints at 10 percent raise in salaries

 

ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that the government was considering increasing employees’ salaries by ten percent in the upcoming budget.
According to a private news channel, the finance minister said the PML-N government had also decided to continue the BISP and a sufficient amount would be allocated for the programme.

A meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), held with Ishaq Dar in the chair, discussed all aspects of the national economy. The economic Advisory Council recommended various measures to bring about an improvement to different sectors of the economy.

The sub-group on energy presented its proposals related to the oil and gas sector with the aim of achieving lower cost of energy and to become self-sufficient in national needs.

The sub-group on industry and trade recommended diversification of the export base, moving away from the prime focus on textiles and rice and for promoting a non-agriculture based export industry. The sub-group on food security recommended establishment of a special task force on social safety nets.

The sub-groups on resource mobilisation and expenditure management and the social sector also submitted their recommendations to the council.

Speaking on the occasion, the finance minister said the social safety net was an area of priority for the government.

He said that 50 percent of the country’s population was living below the poverty line.

Tokyo stocks fall nearly 3 percent in opening trade

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks lost nearly three percent in opening trade Friday, after New York shares suffered big losses on concerns about the valuations of high-flying technology companies.

The Nikkei 225 index lost 2.88 percent, or 411.32 points, to 13,888.80 in the first few minutes of trade.

"Japan stocks will fall in sympathy (Friday) with their overseas counterparts and there is increasing anxiety about a broader pullback in US shares after such a long run-up," said Tokai Tokyo Research Center senior global strategist Mutsumi Kagawa.

Anxiety about pricey technology stocks returned with a vengeance to Wall Street Thursday, sending the Nasdaq down more than 3.0 percent and sparking deep declines in the broader stock market.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 3.10 percent to 4,054.11, the biggest single-day drop in percentage terms since November 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.62 percent to 16,170.22, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 2.09 percent to 1,833.08.

The dollar weakened on Thursday as traders digested Federal Reserve signals suggesting that interest rates would be unlikely to rise any time soon.

The dollar was at 101.38 yen early Friday, hardly changed from 101.44 yen in New York Thursday afternoon but down from 101.81 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

The euro slipped to 140.80 yen from 140.88 yen in US trade while buying $1.3885 compared with $1.3888.

Tokyo stocks open 1.17 percent lower

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened 1.17 percent lower on Wednesday after the yen soared on fading hopes for near-term monetary easing by the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei 225 index was down 170.83 points at 14,436.05 at the start. "The yen´s rise is a big negative for exporters and financials," SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi said as he predicted a bearish market Wednesday.

The yen gathered momentum on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) held off further monetary easing measures as it wrapped up a policy meeting.

BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda told a post-meeting press conference that no new stimulus was needed at this time.

The dollar was at 101.89 yen early Wednesday, up from 101.75 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon but steeply down from 102.56 yen in Tokyo earlier Tuesday.

The euro bought 140.55 yen and $1.3792 on Wednesday, compared with 140.44 yen and $1.3797 in New York where the common unit fell after the International Monetary Fund urged the European Central Bank to take action to head off deflation.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday with the recently battered tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumping 0.81 percent to 4,112.99.

The Dow Jones industrial Average advanced 0.06 percent to 16,256.14.

China announced biggest hike of 12.2 percent in defence budget

China announced a biggest hike of 12.2 percent in defence budget on 5 March 2014. The hike of 12.2 percent will make the Chinese government spend 808.2 billion Yuan or 130 billion US dollar in 2014-15 on defence. This is the biggest increase in three years.
The estimated defence budget is 18 billion US dollars more than in 2013-14, when the budget rose by 10.7 percent. China is the second in place after the United States which spends more than 600 billion dollar in 2014.
China has been increasing the expenditure on defence since it seeks to increase its influence in the Asia Pacific. The hike, according to Chinese military, is the need to counter a high risk security environment in the china region which was recently marked by territorial tensions with many neighbours. The hike will comprehensively enhance the revolutionary nature of the Chinese armed forces, further modernize and upgrade and continue to raise their deterrence and combat capabilities.
India in its Interim Union Budget 2014-15 allocated 224000 crore rupees or 37.15 billion dollar for the national defence. The allocation represents 9.98 percent increase over the 2013-14 defence budget.