Chowrangi

While strictly criticizing their predecessors, current coalition government of Pakistan is actually following the foot steps of Shaukat Aziz and company. In last few days, there are news items of new loans, from international institutions as well as friendly countries, streaming in Pakistan for one reason or the other. However, no plans are made public on how to pay back what is already being taken by previous government.

Interestingly, with issues like crisis of power, shortage of commodities, rising inflation, insecurity and political uncertainty, World Bank still considers Pakistan as one of the best investment destinations of the world.

Though we have always slammed at the short-cut Aziz with impunity, there is also yet another lady-idiot on the horizon, who gloats in her status as the first female governer of the state bank of Pakistan.

Obviously,The Banker magazine of United Kingdom doesn’t fully agree with me and to enforce their point they have declared Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar as Central Banker of the Year / Asia. What more could I ask for to shut my mouth tight?

According to a news report quoting Regional Tax Office (RTO) official, Karachi has generated 7.82 billion rupees as direct tax from registered taxpayers. This shows 36% growth as compared to Rs 5.74 billion direct taxes collected during the same month in the last fiscal year.

I wonder if this amount is enough to compensate the affectees of May 12, December 27, 2007 and April 10, 2008.

Retailers in UAE are lending money to customers at interest rates lower than banks and without a cash advance fee.

Gulf News reports that number of shops and other commercial entities nationwide work as parallel banks by lending money to credit card holders.

Not many complaints arise out of it, since it is mutually beneficial for both the shop and the customer.

For a Dh5,000 deal for about 55 days, you can save approximately Dh300, compared to a cash withdrawal by credit card, according to sources.

A missing element from Pakistan’s business landscape is the coaching and mentoring of startups and entrepreneurs. While some business schools like IBA and LUMS have their in-house incubators, and multinationals like Shell have had programs like Shell Tameer, there is always a need of a platform where would-be entrepreneurs, mentors and investors can meet to exchange tips, discuss ideas, share lessons learnt and show proof-of-concept to the investors.

Fortunately, there seems to be some light in the tunnel, thanks to PASHA, Pakistan Software House Association, and GreenWhite, a tech-blog which made its mark very shortly in Pakistani IT scene.

Children have to be told repeatedly that no means no. Because concepts like parental respect have grown so inexplicably abstract, the average pre-adolescent continues nagging his parents upwards of nine times for a desired product. Twelve and thirteen year olds — the group most targeted by advertisers — nag their parents more than fifty times, continuing their unrelenting campaigns of harassment for weeks at a time. Can we have a pool, dad? Can we have a pool, dad? When delivered by a parent, phrases like “no, we will not take you to Mount Splashmore” feel less like big red stop signs and more like invitations for continued debate.

We all the victims of depression in our daily lives, no matter what ever we do, we face it every day. Depression is curbing our abilities and is the hidden enemy of our sound and healthy lives.

It is most dangerous for pregnant women, as scientific research has proved that when any pregnant woman is under depression, its hazards are directly faced by the unborn. Even when she gets out of it, the baby remains under depression for minimum 12 hours, not only this but it also affects the personality of the unborn.

In the last 30 years, a large number of companies have appeared in the world of market. Concentration of entrepreneurs in the new dimensions is the basic factor of success. As compared to the previous years, entrepreneurs have acquired more awareness regarding their social responsibilities. Now companies not only focus on the needs of their customers but also the needs of society and environment.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), popularity is growing day by day, as more and more companies around the globe are turning their focus towards the sustainability of environment and resources at large. Companies now have come to realize that their future as successful, large companies is dependent upon the future of environment and society to which they belong and in which they exist.

You have a zillion things to worry about at work, and the last thing you want is to have someone wasting your time telling you about the financial services they’re offering, or how you can spend your holidays if you take advantage of their fantastic package. Telemarketing has become rampant in this city, and it has the potential of driving people mad, as the person making the telephone call is usually a girl or a woman with a voice which reminds you of the almost-naked Aishwarya Rai dancing in an Indian movie.

When the first bubble burst in the late 90s, most of the small and medium sized fished was roasted. Big time players not only survived it, but many also even leveraged the blast. The same aura of web dynamism has returned, and so is the return of the fears of yet another burst.

Everyone seems to have a new killer idea with rosy promises. Startups are mushrooming everywhere and passionate young entrepreneurs are striving hard to find some venture capitalists. They are adopting all the means to attract the much-needed funding. Most of them are living in the fool’s paradise, and they come into the wild market thinking that VCs are just throwing their money away at everyone who is stepping in the door with an idea on the back of the napkin.