India's key stock index rose to a two-week closing high on Friday as investors cheered the huge response to the nation's record share issue, which was oversubscribed within minutes of the offer opening.
Stocks zigzagged near unchanged Friday as investors weighed expectations for low interest rates with concerns over the health of the job market after February's surprisingly weak employment report.
Despite a surprising drop in US February payrolls data, European corporate bonds held steady on Friday, as thin volumes prevented the credit market from showing a heated reaction.
Despite a surprising drop in US February payrolls data, European corporate bonds held steady on Friday, as thin volumes prevented the credit market from showing a heated reaction.
Britain's top shares fell on Friday, trimming the week's strong gains as oil titan Shell came under pressure and sluggish growth in US employment rattled confidence in a revival in the world's biggest economy.
The Swiss franc rose slightly on Friday from near three-month lows against the dollar ahead of key US jobs data that will be eyed for new evidence about the strength of the US recovery.
The dollar extended its month-long rally on Friday, hitting a four-month high versus the yen on hopes for strong US jobs data later in the day and on growing speculation that Japan would continue intervening in the market.
The dollar climbed steeply against the yen on Thursday as traders were wary of Japanese yen-weakening intervention, but rose more modestly against the euro as traders took positions ahead of Friday's US payrolls report.
The Australian dollar circled the 75 US cent mark for most of Friday's local session, holding its ground after this week's steep fall as the US dollar was buoyed by expectations of an upbeat US employment report.
Asian currencies weakened slightly on Friday ahead of key US jobs data but outperformed the yen, which was undermined by wariness of Japanese intervention.
The Indian rupee snapped a two-day fall against the greenback to end firmer on Friday as a cash dollar shortage ebbed and demand from importers of defence equipment and state-run oil companies eased, dealers said.
The dollar extended recent gains to four-month highs on the yen and held fairly steady versus the euro on Friday on expectations the United States would report jobs data later that could hasten US interest rate hikes.
A mummy of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, believed to be about 500 years old, has been found in India's northern Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, the Hindustan Times.com website reported.
Russia must withdraw its troops and forces from the former Soviet state of Moldova to ratify a treaty limiting conventional forces in Europe, a senior US diplomat said on Friday.
A senior US diplomat defended Friday Washington's controversial "Greater Middle East" initiative for reform in the region, which has sparked criticism in the Arab world and reservations in Europe.
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels sought on Friday to contain an internal rift that could threaten moves to restart peace talks, after reports a renegade commander had demanded a separate cease-fire with the government.
Russia's new prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov, pledged on Friday to slim down and reshuffle the government and tackle a lumbering bureaucracy that is stifling the nation's economic potential.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs can reduce the number of strokes by a third and should be included in international guidelines on treating a health problem that kills millions of people each year, scientists said on Friday.
A group of Japanese lawmakers applied on Friday to buy customised postage stamps showing a group of islets claimed by both Japan and South Korea in a long-standing territorial row.
For the first time in years, Myanmar opposition groups and analysts dared to hope on Friday there is a possibility of reconciliation in the long-fragmented nation ruled by the military for more than four decades.
Australia has urged the United States to take a more active role in providing financial and training support in counter-terrorism efforts by South-east Asian nations, particularly Indonesia.
The party that brought South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to power pledged on Friday to seek his impeachment if he does not apologise for what they called partisan election comments.
Afghanistan's former king Mohammed Zahir Shah, who underwent medical treatment last month in New Delhi, held talks with Indian President Abdul Kalam Friday on enhancing co-operation between the two nations, a presidential spokesman told AFP.
A Turkish engineer working on a US-funded road project was killed and another was kidnapped in southern Afghanistan on Friday in an ambush officials blamed on Islamic militants.
China will strengthen its military and build up its arsenal of high-tech weaponry, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Friday at the opening of the annual session of parliament.
Leaders of Balkan and central European states paid their last respects to Macedonia's peacemaker president Boris Trajkovski on Friday ahead of his state funeral in the capital, Skopje.
Families who lost relatives in the September 11, 2001, attacks pressed President George W. Bush's re-election campaign on Friday to stop running political ads that use images of the devastated World Trade Centre to show him as a strong leader in troubled
India, Brazil and South Africa on Friday said they would sit on the same side of the fence in the United Nations and World Trade Organisation (WTO), but that their "closeness" should not be viewed as a threat by other countries.
Israel sealed off the occupied Palestinian territories for fear of attacks during its carnival holiday, while a poll said Friday that most Israelis want their scandal-dogged prime minister to resign.
Multi-racial Malaysia on Friday set a general election for March 21, with new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sure of victory but needing to recapture Muslim Malay votes from the Islamist opposition.
Two members of the Royal Malaysian Air Force were killed and another was injured in a helicopter crash early Friday, the official Bernama news agency reported.
Russian engineers secretly aided Saddam Hussein's long-range ballistic missile programme, the New York Times reported on Friday citing American government officials.
Baghdad's breach of United Nations resolutions did not make the Iraq war legal, former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said in an interview on Friday.
Prime Minister Tony Blair made an impassioned defence Friday of his decision to take Britain to war in Iraq, insisting that it was the right move given the nature of the threat from global terrorism.
The suspected al Qaeda operative believed to be behind a wave of deadly attacks in Iraq is still in that country and the target of an intense manhunt, the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan said on Thursday.
Last-minute objections by five Shia leaders forced the indefinite postponement of Friday's signing of an interim constitution for Iraq, threatening US plans to hand sovereignty back to Iraqis on June 30.
Last-minute objections by five Shia leaders forced the indefinite postponement of Friday's signing of an interim constitution for Iraq, threatening US plans to hand sovereignty back to Iraqis on June 30.
Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Mohammad Yusaf Khan, has commended the efforts of all ranks of Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) on completion of Pasni-Gawadar project ahead of schedule while ensuring requisite standards.
Pakistan has quite a number of places that are famous for scenic beauty and as health resorts and there is a need for their adequate publicity in order to help promote tourism in the country.
Sindh Environmental Protection Agency authorities have strongly dispelled the impression regarding potential threat to environment and wildlife as an aftermath of Thar Coal Project in district Tharparkar district.
The State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (Slic) is expected to earn a profit of Rs 10 billion during the calendar year 2003. This was stated by the Slic's chairman, Rasool Bakhsh Baloch, here on Friday.
Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Mutawakkal Kazi has called for a report from the concerned departments within two days regarding the latest position about implementation of Tameer-e-Karachi Programme.
"What in the world is Poodle's emissary doing in Islamabad! I mean who invited him? We don't have to put up with bad manners from him surely! I mean it's OK to take it from the Poodle's master - Bush."
For the 40 or so ageing Bikini islanders, it was a rare but bittersweet visit to their former home this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific atoll they evacuated more than half a century ago.
The year is 2010. Business between India and Pakistan is flourishing. Banking and telecoms links wedding the two former enemies have proliferated. Trade disputes replace military disputes.
My family was to travel from Lahore to London by PK 757 of Tuesday. They held confirmed seats for a scheduled Boeing 747 flight. However, some bright guy sitting in PIA decided to put the new Boeing 777, which has about 100 seats less than B747.
With a coal-heated stove and two iron woks among the most prominent features of Tuanshuitou's spartan banking hall, it is no wonder locals say they have lost faith in the local Rural Credit Co-operative.
According to a major consensus CSR primarily focuses on two principles the philanthropic and the trusteeship principles. Corporate philanthropy is concerned with the company's role in society.
Talking to journalists at a workshop on environmental issues, jointly organised by the Ministry of Environment and UNDP, State Minister for Environment, Major Tahir Iqbal (Retd), disclosed that the government had decided to allocate over Rs 500 million fo
It may be hard to believe but it is true that almost all the major political parties in this country have unblushingly united on an anti-democracy stand.
A commercial bonanza is in the offing in Lahore as Pakistan's second largest city prepares to host Indian cricketers next week for the first time in 15 years.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar M. Khan has said that strict measures would be taken during the Indian tour to Pakistan and people would not be allowed to take their mobile phones or any sort of solar equipment in stadiums.
A leading soft drink manufacturer has signed film star Reema as Pepsi Cola's new celebrity in Pakistan keeping alive the tradition of signing contracts with cricket stars and musical groups in the advertisement campaigns of soft drinks.
Sindh Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammed Mahar has declared local holiday on March 13 (Saturday) to facilitate cricket lovers to watch one-day cricket match between India and Pakistan.
With a view to slash its system losses and to serve its consumers with smooth power supply, Water and Power Development Authority, (Wapda) is engaged in augmenting its transmission and distribution system.
Gold Art Promotion Council (GAPC) has demanded of the government to constitute a 'Gem and Jewellery Advisory Committee' at national level to give boost to jewellery exports, which has not exceeded $10.6 million for the last many year, as compared to India
A 72-member trade delegation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its President Mian Anjum Nisar on Friday returned home through Wagha after undertaking tour of five cities of India.
An accountability court granted physical remand of three senior officials of Bank of Punjab (BoP) including Chaudhry Younas former Vice President, Masood Ahmad Sheikh former General Manager (Finance) and Dr Asif Hafeez Sheikh bank's ex-group Executive Dir
The LCCI acting president Shahzad Ali Malik has called upon the government to bring down import duty on steel raw material to 5 percent in order to overcome the crisis arising out of repeated increase in steel products.
The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) is spending Rs 150 million during the current fiscal year for provision of missing facilities in the government educational institutions.
Pakistan Cricket selectors have announced 16-member cricket team, headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq, for the first two one-day internationals (ODIs) against India to be played at Karachi and Rawalpindi on March 13 and 16, respectively.
The opening ceremony of the first certificate in education leadership and management for Sindh and Balochistan education officials was held at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) on Friday.
Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchants' Association Chairman Mohammed Sabir Chippa said on Thursday that its members discharge more than 95 percent sales tax liability at the import stage and have to go through a series of problems for less than 5 percent
Professor Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi, general manager, transmission, Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida), has taken over the charge as acting managing director in place of Rafiq Safi Munshey who has been promoted in Grade 21 and reverted to his parent
The decision of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) to add 14 items, including plastic moulding compound (PMC) materials which also includes plastic materials in the list of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT), will have a devastating impact on the local in
The Association of Builders and Developers (Abad) has suggested that the government should securitise loans given by banks for those who cannot provide documentation.
The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), while condemning the deteriorating law and order situation, asked the government to step down accepting its failure towards maintaining peace.
City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has called for an early and speedy implementation on the proposed project of Education City on an area of 8,000 acres at the Link Road between National and Super highways.
Health practitioners have expressed concern over alarming increase in HIV/AIDS patients, particularly among the addicts, using drugs through infected injections in the country.
For more than half a century J.R.R. Tolkien's classics 'Rings' trilogy sat on the shelves, un-read and catching dust, till Peter Jackson wandered into its middle world. He read it and then read it, again and again, conjuring up a world of fantasy he was s
Andhra Pradesh is a progressive province of south India, taking developmental strides in many spheres of life that can be compared with other advanced and flourishing states of that country. But the sporting activities have yet to pick up the desired temp
A large number of trade union workers and representatives of 'Pakistan Workers Confederation' agitating against price spiral in the country, held protest outside Lahore Press Club on Friday.
Though the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is being praised for keeping the series with India alive, the fact is that it is the monetary gains, which prevailed over the people's interests, especially that of the fans of Pakistan's biggest city Karachi. The w
Export Promotion Bureau has received the following International Tenders from abroad. Interested Pakistani parties dealing in the under mentioned items can obtain further details of Tenders from the addresses given or from EPB Head Quarters and its Region
The first limited-over match, played on Jan 5, 1971, at the Melbourne cricket ground, completely revolutionalised the game. It was hastily arranged, outside the previously agreed itinerary between Australia and England, on the last day of the third Test a
Export Promotion Bureau has received the following Trade Enquiries from abroad. Interested Pakistani parties dealing in the under mentioned items can obtain further details from the addresses given or from EPB Head Quarters and its Regional/Sub-Regional O
Any doubt that the Indian squad will leave the field and pack up for travel back to its country if any stray stone or battle-throwing incident takes place anywhere in Pakistan has been removed by a clear-cut statement by the President of the Indian cricke
The Associated of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) Pakistan has enjoyed a successful year adding 595l students. This now makes a total of 14,144..
Is Dasht Ki Tanhai and Raqsan Sar-e-Bazar are two new collections of novelettes by Anwer Ahsan Siddiqui whose novel Lahoo Phir Tapka published a few months back, portraying the real picture of Karachi in its evolution during the last fifty years, was high
One day national conference of all the Chief Managers of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will be held here on Saturday, March 6 and will be presided over by Managing Director SBP, Liaqat Durrani.
Good health needs balanced diet and a balanced diet is that which contains normal proportion of elements - carbohydrates, fats, iron, vitamins and proteins etc. If any person does not get some of these essential elements, his health is adversely affected.
Number of cultural activities this past week in Lahore was fewer when compared with those held in recent weeks due to the advent of Muharram. A concert by Indian Ghazal singer, book fair at Lahore Arts Council, a mushaira at a local college and an exhibit
In view of looming threat of acute water shortage in the country, storage enhancement is need of the hour as the existing storage capacity is too short of demand.
Ozone (O3) is a nascent form of oxygen. It has three oxygen atoms instead of the normal two. High concentrations of ozone in the stratosphere are known as ozone layer, which extends from 15 to 50 kilometers above the earth's surface.
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has postponed the schedule of water closure for Orangi, Baldia and Site Towns which was to take effect from Friday for 72 hours.
With spring in the air, the whole range of colours is erupting all around through the flowers that make nature a work of art. The February winds and the wild flora gives an awe inspiring and a passionate feeling and one is in the mood to do things, which
The Punjab government will launch a new mega project "on-farm water management" during the 2004-05 financial year with a total cost of Rs 6.5 billion with the financial assistance of the World Bank.
The sixty-plus generation susceptible to new ideas and changes that have affected the life style of the younger generation, were seen correcting their opinion about themselves at the VM Art Gallery where Ahmed Pervez's work was on display.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has no enmity or differences with Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and it is ready to co-operate with it for the supremacy of the constitution, Parliament and restoration of true democracy and Islamic order in the