Asian markets, euro rally after Greece vote

HONG KONG: Asian markets surged in opening trade Monday and the euro rose after Greece's pro-austerity conservative party narrowly won a crucial vote that lowers the risk of it exiting the eurozone. Tokyo jumped 2.17 percent, Sydney was 1.60 percent higher and Seoul advanced 2.25 percent while Wellington gained 0.40 percent. Dealers cheered Sunday's result, which saw the New Democracy party win about 30 percent of the vote, just ahead of the radical Syriza group, which had campaigned on the promise of tearing up an EU-IMF bailout agreement. While New Democracy did not win outright it will now be able to form a coalition with the left-leaning, pro-austerity Pasok party. The news boosted the single currency,

Pak gets France assistance for Munda dam feasibility

ISLAMABAD: France has provided 10.1 million dollars for preparation of feasibility report for Munda Dam and promised to give 1.5 billion Euros for its construction near Swat. Chairman WAPDA, Shakil Durrani told Geo News on Saturday that work on the execution of Munda Dam project with a capacity to produce 740 MW electricity had been started at an accelerated pace. He said the feasibility, survey and designing of the project would be completed in 18 months while Rs400 million would be spent on it in the next fiscal. France will provide Rs300 million while the rest, Rs100, would be shared by Pakistan. The WAPDA Chairman said on the one hand the project would produce 740 MW electricity and on the other it would help safeguard Swat from floods besides storing 1.5 million acres water.

Pakistan forex reserves fall to $15.417 billion

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to $15.417 billion in the week ending June 8 from $15.536 billion in the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell to $11.117 billion from $11.243 billion, while those held by commercial banks rose slightly to $4.3 billion from $4.293 billion. Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in July last year, boosted by a $191.9 million loan from the World Bank and a $196.8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. Higher exports and record remittances have also supported Pakistan's reserves. Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 19.54 percent to $12.07 billion in the first 11 months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $10.1 billion in the same period last year. In May, remittances totalled $1.192 billion. Pakistan's reserves have been drained by debt repayments of $2.53 billion in the current fiscal year. (Reuters)

First Apple computer fetches $374,000

NEW YORK: A rare surviving first model of the Apple computer -- a stripped down, clunky device that bears no resemblance to today's sleek gadgets -- sold for $374,000 at auction in New York on Friday. The price was more than double the pre-sale estimate, reflecting a two-way bidding war eventually won by an anonymous telephone bidder, Sotheby's said. The Apple I computer was created by Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and sold in 1976 at the birth of Jobs's career as the world's computer design guru. The model auctioned in New York is believed to be one of six of the less than 50 surviving that still works. (AFP)

Microsoft might talk tablets and TV on Monday

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft promised to make a "major" announcement on Monday that started the Internet buzzing with talk that it would involve taking on Apple iPad with tablets running on Windows software. Speculation by technology news outlets ranged from Microsoft unveiling its own tablet computer to it beefing up online film, television or music offerings and using a partner's Windows-based tablet to demonstrate. "This will be a major Microsoft announcement," the enigmatic invitation read. "You will not want to miss it." The fact that the press event will be held at a yet-to-be disclosed venue in Los Angeles hinted heavily that entertainment

Government slashes petroleum prices by up to Rs11.75/litre

ISLAMABAD: In order to provide relief to the masses, the prices of petroleum products and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will be adjusted downwards from Friday midnight (Saturday, June 16), Geo News reported. Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain who was flanked by Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira announced it during a news conference held here on Friday. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) is yet to issue a notification in this regard. According to Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain, with a reduction of Rs10.46 the new price of petrol would now be Rs89.74/litre. Diesel after a slash of Rs6.8 would now be sold at Rs99.69/litre, he said. On the other hand light diesel would now be available at Rs86.57/litre with a reduction of Rs5.2, he added. “Kerosene oil has also been made cheaper by Rs5.26. It would now be retailed at Rs88.79/ litre”, said the minister. Also from Saturday High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) would be sold at Rs113.32 at all the outlets as its price had dropped by Rs11.75, said the petroleum minister. For CNG prices‚ Qamar Zaman Kaira said the price for Region I (Potohar‚ Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochistan) would be reduced by Rs4.82 a kilogram and for Region II (Central Punjab and Sindh) Rs4.37 per kilogram. He said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources had approved this downward adjustment in the prices of oil and gas.

Moody's downgrades Nokia credit rating to junk status

PARIS: The ratings agency Moody's downgraded the long-term credit rating of Finnish telecommunications group Nokia to the speculative level of "Ba1" and said its outlook remained negative. "Today's rating action reflects our view that Nokia's far-reaching restructuring plan ... delineates a scale of earnings pressure and cash consumption that is larger than we had previously assumed," a statement said. (AFP)

Rupee marginally up against greenback

KARACHI: The rupee firmed slightly to close at 94.22/28 against the dollar compared with 94.32/38 on Wednesday. Overnight rates in the money market rose to 10.5 percent from 10 percent on Wednesday amid slightly lower liquidity.

KSE draws strength from positive US comments

ISLAMABAD: Country's main stock market rose on Thursday on greater investor confidence after positive comments from the United States concerning aid to Pakistan, analysts said. The Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index rose 2.15 percent, or 287.31 points, to close at 13,656.2 points on volume of 91.293 million shares. "There was negative mood in the market over the last few days so today, after some positive news ... it reacted sharply," said Atif Zafar, a research analyst at JS Global, a financial services company. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that Washington should examine setting conditions for aid to Pakistan but not cutting it off, as he disclosed that Islamabad's closure of supply routes to the Afghan war was costing American taxpayers millions of dollars a month. Asked during a Senate budget hearing whether he would recommend halting aid to Pakistan, Panetta said: "I'd be very careful about just shutting it down." Government cut routes for NATO supplies in November last year to protest against the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers killed in cross-border fire from NATO aircraft.

Asian markets slip on US losses, Europe woes

HONG KONG: Asian markets fell on Thursday as dealers followed losses on Wall Street while selling pressure was also stoked by fears over Spain and nervousness ahead of crucial Greek polls at the weekend. Tokyo fell 0.69 percent, Hong Kong lost 0.74 percent, Sydney eased 0.86 percent, Shanghai gave up 0.51 percent and Seoul was 0.14 percent lower. With the eurozone's $125 billion loan for Spain's banking sector almost a distant memory, the country has seen its borrowing costs surge to unsustainable levels and traders are growing concerned about its own financial state. On Wednesday Madrid was dealt another blow when Moody's slashed its credit rating by three notches to just one level above junk status, saying the bailout will add to an already shaky debt position. Spanish 10-year government bonds yields -- the rate of return earned by investors -- spiked to 6.834 percent on Tuesday, the highest since the eurozone was founded, and was still sitting at 6.712 Thursday. Anything above 6.0 percent is considered too high to continue servicing its debts for the medium term and point to investors' concerns about Spain's future as unemployment sits at record highs and public debt rockets. Eyes are also on Sunday's elections in Greece -- its second in six weeks -- with dealers fearing a victory for anti-austerity parties that could lead to Athens tearing up a bailout deal, which in turn would likely lead it to exit the eurozone. French President Francois Hollande said in an interview with Greek Mega Channel television that if it appears from the vote that they do not want to respect the bailout deal "there will be countries in the eurozone which would prefer to end Greece's presence in the eurozone." In a transcript of the interview provided by his office he added that "the abandoning pure and simple of the (bailout and austerity) memorandum would be seen by many eurozone members as a break up". The euro bought $1.2560 in early trade, slightly up from $1.2556 in New York late Wednesday. The common currency was fetching 99.76 yen against 99.78 yen. The dollar was at 79.42 yen against 79.46 yen.