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Making 2024 count economically After years of economic turmoil, Pakistan’s stabilisation efforts began yielding tangible results A man counts dollars and other currency notes. — AFP/File A pivotal year which may become a turning point for Pakistan’s economy, 2024 saw significant progress in achieving macroeconomic stabilisation. The country made strides in controlling inflation, reducing interest rates, and achieving a historic current account surplus. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); These achievements were bolstered by a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrangement that averted a financial crisis and stabilised the balance of payments. However, systemic and structural flaws – excessive taxation, high energy costs, mismanagement in key sectors like agriculture, poor governance of social services, and government-imposed restrictions on the digital economy – continued to undermine sustainable growth and investment. After years of economic turmoil, Pakistan’s stabilization efforts began yielding tangible results. Inflation, which had peaked at 29 per cent in FY 22-23 and 20 per cent in FY 23-24, dropped below 5.0 per cent by November 2024, surpassing the government’s target of 12 per cent. This decline provided significant relief for businesses and consumers. Complementing these improvements, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) implemented aggressive monetary easing, reducing the policy rate from 22 per cent to 13 per cent and lowering interest rates to 12 per cent. These measures are expected to save the government over Rs1.2 trillion in interest costs, easing fiscal pressures and creating space for development initiatives. A noteworthy achievement in 2024 was the government’s decision to avoid budgetary borrowing in the first half of the fiscal year, instead retiring Rs2.03 trillion in debt. This unprecedented step, supported by the SBP’s record profit of Rs3.42 trillion, eased fiscal pressures and unleashed excess liquidity into the banking system. This liquidity, combined with lower interest rates, has created an opportunity to channel funds into productive sectors such as industry, agriculture, and infrastructure. However, realising the potential of this progress depends on decisive government policies and actions to drive job creation and sustainable economic momentum. The current account surplus reached over $730 million in November, marking the fourth consecutive month of surpluses and the largest in nearly a decade. Projections for FY24-25 suggest the surplus could exceed $2 billion, fueled by rising remittances, improved exports, and a stable rupee. These developments spurred significant investment in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the KSE index surging by 80 per cent during the year and market capitalisation expanding substantially. Despite these positive developments, several systemic challenges persist. Excessive taxation remains a significant obstacle. Instead of broadening the tax base or improving compliance, the FY25 budget further increased tax rates, disproportionately burdening businesses and households. This approach discourages investment in the formal sector, stifles economic activity, and fails to address underlying inefficiencies in the revenue system. Similarly, Pakistan’s energy costs remain among the highest globally, making the cost of doing business prohibitively expensive. This undermines the competitiveness of Pakistani goods in international markets and deters foreign and domestic investment. Repeated coercive renegotiations of power purchase agreements have further eroded investor confidence, discouraging the long-term investments needed to address circular debt and energy insecurity. Agriculture, a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy, also faced significant challenges. Early in 2024, increased wheat production was initially a positive development. However, poor procurement policies (more specifically federal and Punjab governments reluctance to purchase at price they had guaranteed to the farmer) led to a collapse in wheat prices, falling below Rs3000 per maund against the committed minimum price of Rs3900. This caused substantial losses for farmers, many of whom are now expected to shift to alternative crops. Such failures highlight the urgent need for better planning, fair procurement practices, and investments in agricultural technology to ensure food security and protect the livelihoods of rural communities. The digital economy, a vital driver of innovation and growth, was hindered by government-imposed restrictions on internet access and social media platforms. These measures disrupted entrepreneurial activity, discouraged investment, and weakened Pakistan’s position in the global digital economy. In an era defined by technological transformation, such actions have significantly limited the country’s potential to harness digital tools for economic resilience and innovation. Poor governance in social sectors like education, healthcare, and skill development further undermines Pakistan’s long-term growth potential. A lack of investment in these areas has left the country with a workforce ill-equipped to meet the demands of a globalised economy. Education, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, lags behind, restricting opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. In the same way, inadequate healthcare and insufficient vocational training programmes exacerbate inequality and limit productivity. Political instability and security challenges compound these economic issues. Post-election disputes, allegations of rigging, and controversial constitutional amendments eroded public trust in democratic institutions, creating an environment of uncertainty unattractive to investors. Security concerns, including insurgent violence and militant activities, further disrupt economic activity, particularly in vulnerable regions, and deter foreign direct investment. To transition from stabilisation to sustainable growth, Pakistan must implement bold and comprehensive reforms. Governance reform is crucial for improving efficiency, reducing bureaucracy, and fostering transparency. Streamlining government operations, cutting redundant departments, and ensuring accountability for outcomes will create a more business-friendly environment and restore investor confidence. The tax system must be overhauled to broaden the base, improve compliance, and reduce reliance on high tax rates. Expanding the tax net to include under-taxed sectors and addressing exemptions for influential groups can create a fairer and more effective revenue system. The energy sector requires immediate reform, including major privatisation of generation, transmission and distribution sub-sectors to reduce the role of the public sector, and enhance efficiency and productivity through competition. Transparent, long-term policies must replace ad-hoc measures, encouraging investments in renewable energy and domestic resources like coal. Modernising the power grid and privatising utilities to enhance competition will reduce costs and improve efficiency. Investing in human capital is essential. Prioritising education, vocational training and healthcare will equip Pakistan’s population with the skills needed to compete in a global economy. Special emphasis on STEM education can foster innovation and entrepreneurship, preparing the workforce for the digital transformation of industries. The digital economy offers immense potential for growth. Removing restrictions on internet access and social media platforms is a necessary first step. Beyond this, the government must invest in digital infrastructure and foster public-private partnerships to create a thriving ecosystem for tech-enabled entrepreneurship. Supporting startups with seed funding, incubators, and reduced regulatory hurdles will stimulate innovation and diversify the economy. A strategic focus on adopting artificial intelligence (AI) can further enhance productivity and competitiveness. Agricultural modernisation is also critical. Policies ensuring fair prices to the farmer mainly through market mechanisms, investing in technology, and improving supply chain logistics can stabilise the sector and maximise its potential. Addressing inefficiencies in agriculture will enhance food security and contribute to rural development. While the IMF programme has helped Pakistan in achieving much needed stabilisation, it is important to appreciate that such programmes address immediate crises but fail to tackle systemic issues in governance, taxation, energy policy, and human capital development. Without meaningful structural reforms, the progress achieved in 2024 risks being short-lived. By fostering innovation, investing in its people, and embracing structural reforms, Pakistan can transition from stabilisation to enduring growth. The choices made today will determine whether 2024 becomes a fleeting moment of relief or a foundation for long-term resilience. The stakes have never been higher. The writer is a former managing partner of a leading professional services firm and has done extensive work on governance in the public and private sectors. He tweets/posts @Asad_AshahApraglutide is under clinical development by and currently in Phase III for Short Bowel Syndrome. According to GlobalData, Phase III drugs for Short Bowel Syndrome have a 50% phase transition success rate (PTSR) indication benchmark for progressing into Pre-Registration. GlobalData tracks drug-specific phase transition and likelihood of approval scores, in addition to indication benchmarks based off 18 years of historical drug development data. Attributes of the drug, company and its clinical trials play a fundamental role in drug-specific PTSR and likelihood of approval. Apraglutide overview FE-203799) is under development for the treatment of short bowel syndrome intestinal failure (SBS-IF) and gastrointestinal acute graft versus host disease (GVHD). It is administered through subcutaneous route in the form of powder and solution for injection. The drug candidate is a long-acting synthetic peptide analogue of glucagon-like-peptide-2 (GLP-2) which acts on GLP-2 receptor. It is developed by using peptide technology. It was also under development for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced gastro-intestinal mucositis. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals overview (Ironwood) is a healthcare company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of human therapeutics and innovative gastrointestinal product opportunities. The company’s pipeline products include linaclotide, and vascular or fibrotic programs. Ironwood offers its products under two brands- Linzess and Constella. The company generates a pipeline of early development candidates and discovery research programs in various therapeutic areas which include gastrointestinal (GI), central nervous system (CNS) and allergic disorders. The company’s portfolio includes CNP-104 and IW-3300. It has strategic partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies such as Inc, for the development and commercialization of linaclotide across the globe. The company operates in the US and Switzerland. Ironwood is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the US. For a complete picture of Apraglutide’s drug-specific PTSR and LoA scores, This content was updated on 12 April 2024 From Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors. , the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article. GlobalData’s Likelihood of Approval analytics tool dynamically assesses and predicts how likely a drug will move to the next stage in clinical development (PTSR), as well as how likely the drug will be approved (LoA). This is based on a combination of machine learning and a proprietary algorithm to process data points from various databases found on GlobalData’s .
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Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, All three pillars propping up workforce spending are cracking. Plan accordingly. Karl Marx and Henry Ford both understood the key pillar of an industrial economy: the workforce has to earn enough to buy the output of the economy. If the workforce doesn't earn enough to have surplus earnings to spend on the enormous output of an industrial economy, then the producers cannot sell their goods / services at a profit, except to the few at the top as luxury goods--and that's not an industrial economy, it's a feudal economy of very limited scope. Marx recognized that capitalism is a self-liquidating system as capital has the power to squeeze wages even as the output of an industrial economy steadily increases due to automation, technology, etc. Henry Ford understood that if his own workforce couldn't afford to buy the cars rolling off the assembly line, then his ambition to sell a car to every household was an unreachable chimera. (There were other factors, of course; the work was so brutal and mind-numbing that Ford had to pay more just to keep workers from quitting.) If we say the three pillars holding up the economy , the conventional list is: 1) consumer spending (i.e. aggregate demand ); 2) productivity and 3) corporate profits. These are not actually pillars, they are outcomes of the core pillar, wage earners making enough to buy the economy's output. As the statistics often cited here show, the purchasing power of wages has been declining for almost 50 years, since the mid-1970s. This means the workforce's surplus earnings have bought less and less of the economy's output. There are three ways to fill the widening gap that's opened between what the workforce has to spend as surplus earnings and the vast output of the economy: 1. Government distributed money. The government distributes "free money" to the workforce via subsidies, tax cuts and credits, or direct cash disbursements. 2. Cheap abundant credit. The cost of credit is lowered to near-zero and credit is made available to virtually the entire workforce so workers can borrow money to buy goods and services they cannot afford to buy from surplus earnings. If auto loans are 1.9%, the interest is a trivial sum annually. 3. Asset bubbles. Boost the value of assets via monetary policies to generate unearned "wealth" that can be spent (by either borrowing against the newfound wealth or by selling assets). This expansion of "free money" also generates the "wealth effect," the feel-good high of feeling richer, which increases the confidence and desire to spend more money. There are intrinsic, unbreachable limits to each of these solutions. 1. The government either "prints" or borrows the money it distributes to the workforce. Over time, low interest rates are unsustainable, despite claims to the contrary, and the interest paid on the state's vast borrowing consumes so much of the state's revenues that it starts limiting how much the government can spend. Once state spending stagnates or declines, this pillar breaks and the economy crumbles into recession / depression. In other words, depending on the government to fill the gap between wages and the economy's output is a self-liquidating system . 2. The expansion of credit leads to defaults and bankruptcies. Relying on the ceaseless expansion of credit based on the declining purchasing power of wages is also a self-liquidating system , as the number of marginal borrowers steadily increases, as does the volume of marginal loans issued by lenders. Marginal borrowers default, triggering losses that push lenders into bankruptcy. This is a self-reinforcing cycle, as the economy rolls over into recession as credit contracts. More workers lose their jobs and default, more loans become uncollectible, and so on. 3. Asset bubbles concentrate the newfound wealth in the top 10%, exacerbating wealth-income inequality and pushing those left behind to gamble in an increasingly speculative financial sector as the only available means of getting ahead. Speculation is also a self-liquidating system as risky bets eventually go bad and the losses trigger a self-reinforcing feedback of selling assets to raise cash which then pushes valuations lower, triggering more selling, and so on. All three of these pillars propping up the economy are self-liquidating systems , and they're all buckling. Federal borrowing is pushing up against the limits posed by the interest payments on soaring debt. Credit costs are rising and cannot return to near-zero due to inflationary forces. All asset bubbles eventually pop, and the higher they ascend, the more devastating the collapse. Wages' share of the economy have been in structural decline since 1975: Federal debt: and no, we can't "grow our way out of debt" by inflating asset bubbles and subsidizing consumer spending with federal debt: Total debt, public and private: the acme of a self-liquidating system : The pillars of consumer credit and federal borrowing are reaching intrinsic breaking points , and so everything is now depending on the asset bubbles in housing and stocks to keep inflating phantom wealth at rates high enough to support more borrowing and spending. The problem is all asset bubbles pop, despite claims that "this is a new era." That was widely held in March 2000, too, just before the dot-com bubble burst and the Nasdaq fell 80%. All three pillars propping up workforce spending are cracking. Plan accordingly. * * * Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com . Subscribe to my Substack for free
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This is how five top CEOs characterized AI's meteoric rise this year in interviews with CNBC's Jim Cramer. CEOs from Nvidia, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, AMD and Generac described how the new technology is affecting business and the broader tech sector. Throughout 2024, CNBC's Jim Cramer discussed the seemingly boundless rise of artificial intelligence with dozens of CEOs across the tech world. Here is how five top enterprise leaders characterized AI's meteoric rise this year. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the "AI computing ramp" is only beginning and will last years. Huang in March painted a picture of the AI landscape, saying investments in the new technology remain in the early innings. He predicted years of growth ahead and suggested that AI can drive innovation in a variety of fields, including science and healthcare. Nvidia is a titan of the AI revolution, as it designs and sells advanced technology essential for the technology. The company is the top supplier of GPUs, which are used to develop and implement new AI software like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Big Tech broadly is clamoring for Nvidia's products, with customers including Meta , Tesla , Microsoft and Amazon shelling out billions. Nvidia stock is currently up more than 176% year-to-date, and at times this year it surpassed Apple to become the most valuable company on the market. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said cybercriminals are leveling up: "It’s going to be the battle of AI in the future." Kurtz in February described how his cybersecurity company is fighting cybercrime that is "more active than ever," as hacker ranks grow and become more advanced with new AI technology in their arsenals. He said generative AI is democratizing "very esoteric techniques and attacks," so less-skilled cybercriminals can still carry out advanced attacks. "What we talked about in the earnings call is the ability to create more adversaries with lower skill levels, but operating at a much higher skill level, leveraging generative AI," Kurtz said, "Of course, on the security side, we leverage generative AI to help protect our customers, so it's going to be the battle of AI in the future." Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said generative AI will keep him "busy for many years to come." Ramaswamy took the reigns at Snowflake in February, and he described the way the data analytics software maker plans to use new AI technology. "We have so much ambition to do more, whether it is applications running on top of Snowflake, or, of course, using the power of generative AI, which I've been focused on for the past year, to democratize access to enterprise data, to have even more people be able to get at the data quickly to get value from it," Ramaswamy said. "So I think there's a huge opportunity in the world of data applications and AI that'll keep me busy for many years to come." Snowflake has collaborated with Nvidia, and in May, Ramaswamy teased a new project with the AI darling. According to him, Snowflake's product pipeline, "especially in AI, has been in overdrive." AMD CEO Lisa Su described competition with Nvidia: "There’s no one size fits all in computing." Although Nvidia leads the pack in the red-hot semiconductor design industry, competition is stiff, with companies like AMD and Intel vying for customers who are willing to pay top dollar. But in September, when asked about competition with Nvidia, Su suggested there is room for more than one major player in the sector. According to her, the "technology ecosystem" works properly when there's competition and partnership, and customers want the ability to choose between several solid options. "The way to think about it is, there's no one size fits all in computing," Su said. "There's no, you know, only one architecture. Actually, you're going to need the right compute for each application." Su said she believes "AI will impact everyone's lives," and that the world is just beginning to realize what the new technology can do. She also said people shouldn't be impatient about AI's impact because "tech trends are meant to play out over years, not over months." Generac CEO Aaron Jagdfeld CEO said pressure on the power grid "is only going to get worse" from weather and technology. Jagdgeld warned that pressure on the power grid is only going to increase as demand for data centers and other technology related to artificial intelligence continues to grow. 40% of the generator company's business comes from commercial and industrial-type products, he said, like backup for manufacturing plants, distribution centers, hospitals and data centers. "This has become a massively critical discussion point," Jagdfeld said. "This is only going to get worse." Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer's every move in the market. Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Nvidia, AMD and CrowdStrike. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.comIn rare bipartisan effort, Klobuchar and Cruz push to make ‘revenge porn’ a federal crime
Apraglutide is under clinical development by and currently in Phase III for Short Bowel Syndrome. According to GlobalData, Phase III drugs for Short Bowel Syndrome have a 50% phase transition success rate (PTSR) indication benchmark for progressing into Pre-Registration. GlobalData tracks drug-specific phase transition and likelihood of approval scores, in addition to indication benchmarks based off 18 years of historical drug development data. Attributes of the drug, company and its clinical trials play a fundamental role in drug-specific PTSR and likelihood of approval. Apraglutide overview FE-203799) is under development for the treatment of short bowel syndrome intestinal failure (SBS-IF) and gastrointestinal acute graft versus host disease (GVHD). It is administered through subcutaneous route in the form of powder and solution for injection. The drug candidate is a long-acting synthetic peptide analogue of glucagon-like-peptide-2 (GLP-2) which acts on GLP-2 receptor. It is developed by using peptide technology. It was also under development for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced gastro-intestinal mucositis. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals overview (Ironwood) is a healthcare company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of human therapeutics and innovative gastrointestinal product opportunities. The company’s pipeline products include linaclotide, and vascular or fibrotic programs. Ironwood offers its products under two brands- Linzess and Constella. The company generates a pipeline of early development candidates and discovery research programs in various therapeutic areas which include gastrointestinal (GI), central nervous system (CNS) and allergic disorders. The company’s portfolio includes CNP-104 and IW-3300. It has strategic partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies such as Inc, for the development and commercialization of linaclotide across the globe. The company operates in the US and Switzerland. Ironwood is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the US. For a complete picture of Apraglutide’s drug-specific PTSR and LoA scores, This content was updated on 12 April 2024 From Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors. , the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article. GlobalData’s Likelihood of Approval analytics tool dynamically assesses and predicts how likely a drug will move to the next stage in clinical development (PTSR), as well as how likely the drug will be approved (LoA). This is based on a combination of machine learning and a proprietary algorithm to process data points from various databases found on GlobalData’s .Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner has filed to run for a seat on the New York City Council, launching a potential political comeback after his once-promising career was destroyed by sexting scandals and later a criminal conviction for having illicit online contact with a child. Campaign finance records list a campaign committee that was set up on Friday for Weiner called Weiner 25, in addition to listing him as a candidate for a council seat in lower Manhattan. In a phone conversation Tuesday with The Associated Press, Weiner, a Democrat, said he is “still exploring” whether to actually campaign for the office. He said he opened the committee late last week so he could participate in a forum held by the Downtown Independent Democrats later this week. He referred additional questions to recent statements he made on his weekly radio show, “The Middle with Anthony Weiner,” where he said: “I haven't decided if I want to do this yet" while considering the personal dynamics of a return to politics. Weiner represented a congressional district in New York City for about 12 years before he resigned in 2011 after sending lewd photos to several women. He tried to make a comeback in 2013 to run for mayor but was damaged by new revelations of explicit photos Weiner had sent under the online alias “Carlos Danger.” Weiner pleaded guilty in 2017 to having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He was released in 2019 and was ordered to register as a sex offender . ___ Izaguirre reported from Albany, N.Y. Anthony Izaguirre, The Associated Press
Paramount Global Announces Redemption of its 4.750% Senior Notes due May 2025Digital hatred Misinformation and fabricated stories aimed at Muslims spread quickly online, leading to an increase in Islamophobia. These false narratives frequently depict Muslims as a danger, which intensifies prejudice and discrimination. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); Social media algorithms enhance the reach of these damaging messages, allowing them to touch larger audiences and strengthen existing biases. Addressing this issue calls for critical thinking, media literacy, and joint efforts to disprove misinformation and foster understanding. Usman Mughees Qazi Islamabad