Monetary Policy Announcements and Market Interest Rates in Pakistan: An Event Study Approach.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of monetary policy (MP) announcements on market interest rates at different nine maturities (1/Week, 2/Week, 1/Month, 3/Months, 6/Months, 9/Months, 1/Year, 2/Years and 3/Years) in Pakistan. The Event window of 11 days and an estimation window of 250 days have been used for analysis. The study did not find significant evidence of ARCH effect in market interest rates at (1/Year, 2/Years and 3/Years) maturities. However, there is evidence of significant abnormal returns which shows a positive impact of monetary policy announcements on market interest rates at different nine maturities. Keywords: Monetary Policy, Market Interest Rates, Normal Rates, Abnormal Rates, GARCH, ARIM

Momentum Effect: Empirical Evidence from Karachi Stock Exchange

Capital market efficiency and the prediction of future stock prices are the most thought-provoking and ferociously debated areas in finance. The followers of traditional financial theory strongly believe that the markets are efficient in pricing the financial instruments. This view became popular after Fama’s work on the Efficient Market Hypothesis. But before 1990s, wide-ranging financial literature documented that stock prices, to some extent, are predictable. Many psychologists, economist and the journalists are of the view that general tendency of individuals is to overreact to the information. De Bondt and Thaler (1985) studies this view of experimental psychology that whether such behaviour matters at the market level or not. They found out that stock prices will overreact to information, and suggested that contrarian strategies buy the past losers and sell the past winners, earn abnormal returns. They extended the holding period from 3 to 5 years and provide the evidence of long term returns reversal. Jegadeesh (1990) and Lehmann (1990) supported the evidence of return reversal in short term, i.e. from one week to one month. They suggested that the contrarian strategies having holding period of one week to one month earned the significant abnormal return. Lo and Mac Kinalay (1990) objected on the ground that a major portion of this abnormal return, reported by Jegadeesh (1990) and Lehmann (1990), is due to the delayed reaction of stock prices to common factors rather than to overreaction. Some other researchers pointed out some other reasons of this abnormal stock returns i.e. short-term pressure on stock prices and absence of liquidity in the market rather than overreaction

IDENTIFICATION OF BASIC HEALTH INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN SWAT RURAL AREAS (A WAY TOWARD VEBH MODEL IMPLEMENTATION)

Common diseases mostly occur due to lack of basic health information and knowledge to public at large. Therefore, basic health information and knowledge is very much important to reduce the outbreaks of different diseases especially in rural communities which is possible through proper education. Education is a natural and an inborn part of any community or society. High quality and healthy volunteers can be generated in a society by right education with full support of any kind of facility.The objective of this paper is to gather and identify information and knowledge about basic health from students and teachers. In this paper, first we study current basic health (information & knowledge) situation of teachers and students in high schools of District Swat (70% mountain rural areas and 30% urban areas), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Secondly, find out the willingness of high school teachers and students for basic health information and knowledge using information communication technology (ICT) i.e. through a proposed “Virtual Education for Basic Health (VEBH)†model at high school level. For this purpose a pilot research survey was conducted in seven tehsils of district Swat which contained 119 high schools, including 77 male high schools and 42 female high schools.The respondents are willing to learn basic health information and knowledge through virtual and commented that it will be better for rural mountainous areas of Swat especially for female health. VEBH model will make the students aware about common diseases and ensure future healthy society. &nbsp

Risk Management in Banks: A Descriptive Study

Banking, though integral part of an economy, is the most volatile business because of the commodity it deals in changes value with variation in its circulation. Money value in the market, at times, is determined by its quantity, but the number of transactions carried out with money is of equal importance. Rarely, it happens that the quantity alone affects its purchasing power. The value of money is thus a function of both the supply and demand which together determines the trend of prices in the market. The supply of money results from the credit decision of banking industry as a whole which generally takes into account the market scenario depicting future economic activities and safety of banks funds. No doubt the scope of market mostly depends upon the availability of finances yet the market stability ultimately helps in credit expansion by promoting optimism and growth opportunities in the economy. This paper will discuss the various elements of risks which render the money market more volatile and will suggest preventive measure to minimize the chances of Loss so that the flow of credit may continue unhindered

Problems of Small and Medium Enterprises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The role of SMEs in the economic development of any economy can hardly be over emphasized. In developing country like Pakistan SMEs is the major sector of employment. The SMEs in a province like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attains moreimportance because of its rich mineral potential, irrigated agricultural land with very hard working labor force and entrepreneurial talents. In spite of these natural blessings out of a total 2222 SMEs there are more than 330 units which have been closed their business for one reason or the other. The failure or slow growth of SMEs in the province warrants intensive study for finding out the root cause and suggest/recommend/ measures which can help revive and rejuvenate the existing SMEs and also pave way for expansion in this vital sector of the economy. This study focuses on the existing situation of SMEs in province, identifies problems confronted by the SMEs and on the basis of first-hand information collected through a questionnaire makes recommendations for improving the situation

Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Pakistan

After World War II newly emerged nations inspired by industrialized countries of western world embarked upon economic development projects. Poverty ridden peoples of these countries had suffered at the hands of developed nations and they were anxious about adopting measures which could help alleviate poverty and bring socio-economic wellbeing. This urge compelled them to borrow from industrially advanced countries to gear up their development programs. Borrowing and then repaying with interest put them in a dangerous whirlpool of debt trap. Because with meager income they could not save to pay off their debts, therefore, outstanding amounts went on multiplying and many countries were afraid to be listed as defaulters. They were constrained to find out an alternate source of finances which could provide sufficient funds for initiating and completing development schemes. Thus, foreign direct investment was the only source which could help in not only implementing their planned development projects but also encouraged to undertake additional schemes of development and increase their gross domestic product growth rate. This paper discusses the circumstances which led to rely on foreign direct investment instead of borrowing from external sources. It also throws light on importance of foreign direct investment amidst other sources of financing

INTERFAITH CONFLICTS RESOLUTION(HARMONY) THROUGH SOCIO ECONOMIC COOPERATION

World’s population is fast growing with increase in the number of adherents of different religions. Side by side, the economic needs also increase and simultaneously creates a gap between demand and supply of exigencies of life. Disposal of industrial surplus on the one hand and need satisfaction of the developing countries on the other hand is one of the reasons of conflicts. The development of communication system and advancement in electronic media has been bringing the people closer to each other. Due to human interaction and demonstration effect, different sociologies are continuously influencing the living style of the people across the globe. The level of knowledge is again affecting the mind set and attitude at larger scale. All these changes, resulting from fast human interaction, traditional life style is passing through a radical change. Simultaneously, the economic race among industrially advanced countries and urge for economic development in developing countries resulted in creating rivalry and hatred among the nations. Due to this hatred many civilized nations have been found discriminatory treatment with minority, sending severe shock to the philanthropists and attracting attention of the agencies fighting for Human Rights. Such incidents are causing disruptions in international relations among the countries and adding fuel to the fire of hatred. This paper aims at finding out root causes of the discriminative treatment leading to hatred and suggesting measures which can eliminate hatred and develop interfaith harmony throughout the world

Risk Management in Banks: A Descriptive Study

Banking, though integral part of an economy, is the most volatile business because of the commodity it deals in changes value with variation in its circulation. Money value in the market, at times, is determined by its quantity, but the number of transactions carried out with money is of equal importance. Rarely, it happens that the quantity alone affects its purchasing power. The value of money is thus a function of both the supply and demand which together determines the trend of prices in the market. The supply of money results from the credit decision of banking industry as a whole which generally takes into account the market scenario depicting future economic activities and safety of banks funds. No doubt the scope of market mostly depends upon the availability of finances yet the market stability ultimately helps in credit expansion by promoting optimism and growth opportunities in the economy. This paper will discuss the various elements of risks which render the money market more volatile and will suggest preventive measure to minimize the chances of Loss so that the flow of credit may continue unhindered

In Touch with your Feminine Side: How Oestrogen Metabolism Impacts Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the primary cancer in males, with increasing global incidence rates making this malignancy a significant healthcare burden. Androgens not only promote normal prostate maturity but also influence the development and progression of prostate cancer. Intriguingly, evidence now suggests endogenous and exogenous oestrogens, in the form of phytoestrogens, may be equally as relevant as androgens in prostate cancer growth. The prostate gland has the molecular mechanisms, catalysed by steroid sulphatase (STS), to unconjugate and utilise circulating oestrogens. Furthermore, prostate tissue also expresses enzymes essential for local oestrogen metabolism, including aromatase (CYP19A1) and 3β- and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases. Increased expression of these enzymes in malignant prostate tissue compared with normal prostate indicates that oestrogen synthesis is favoured in malignancy and thus may influence tumour progression. In contrast to previous reviews, here we comprehensively explore the epidemiological and scientific evidence on how oestrogens impact prostate cancer, particularly focusing on pre-receptor oestrogen metabolism and subsequent molecular action. We analyse how molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways involved in androgen and oestrogen synthesis intertwine to alter prostate tissue. Furthermore, we speculate on whether oestrogen receptor status in the prostate affects progression of this malignancy.</jats:p