Financial Markets in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Financial Markets in Pakistan Essay A financial market is a place for buying and selling of financial securities such as stocks and bonds. It facilitates: * The raising of capital (in the capital markets) * The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets * In matching those who want capital to those who have it. Financial Market in Pakistan consists of (i) Money Market which provides short term funds and (ii) Capital Market which makes long terms funds available to businesses and industries. The Financial market can be reclassified into (i) Primary Market in which new shares or bonds are issued and (ii) Secondary Market in which securities previously issued are traded such as Shares, Bonds, Commercial Papers, Options and Mutual Fund. Of this, the banking sectors and non-banking sectors are regulated by the central bank, State Bank of Pakistan. While rest of the market (lease, stock exchanges, modarba, mutual funds and insurance) is regulaled by Secruities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. FINANCIAL MARKETS AND THEIR ROLES: COMMERCIAL BANKS A type of bank providing checking and saving accounts, credit cards and business loans. Such a bank induces general public to deposit their savings in the banks and offers a wide range of services such as: * Deposit Mobilization * Money transfer * Financing Working Capital * Financing other trade related mode (import and export) * Investing in government securities * Call money operations These banks are of three categories (i) Public Sector Banks, (ii) Private Bank and (iii) Foreign Banks. LEASE -FINANCE EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT BANKS Investment banks perform a variety of functions. Primarily, they assist corporations to raise equity-capital by underwriting the public issues. They also assist companies desiring of mergers and acquisition and derivatives. In addition, they provide services like trading of derivative, foreign exchange, fixed income instruments and shares listed on the stock exchanges. Such banks cannot take deposits. They manage their affairs by charging fees such as (i) retainer fee, (ii) advisory fees based on the transactions, (iii) commission on underwriting and (iv) other financial services. PICIC was once a premier development in Pakitan but has merged with a commerical bank. BOND MARKET OUTLOOK DEVELOPMENT BANKS These banks provide guidance in selection of industrial units and extend direct financial assistance to partly cover their financial requirements. Also, they engage themselves in promotional activities to attract investors towards neglected sectors through publishing brochures and research papers. Besides, they help in assessing feasibility of potential projects. Such banks are responsible for speeding up the pace of economic growth in the country in conformity with the national objectives, plans and priorities. Their core functions are: * Direct financial assistance * Catalytic function * Mobilization of domestic savings * Ensuring balance regional and industrial growth * Expanding entrepreneurial base by encourage new comers At one time, there were 14 Development Banks in Pakistan. However, most of them have been closed one after another as their bad debts mounted up. It is natural as they take substantial risks in promoting new types of industrial projects in underdeveloped areas sponsored preferably by new-comers. Nevertheless, their contribution brings fruits to the economy in the shape of successful industrial units and transfer of technology. At present, 8 development banks are operating which mostly are joint-venture with other Islamic Countries. MICROFINANCE BANK A microfinance bank would cater to the credit needs of poor households and their small enterprises. Thus microfinance bank provide credit to those poor who are not considered creditworthy by the commercial banks and other financial institutions. On the other hand, the microfinance bands recognize every single human being as a potential and creditworthy entrepreneur. In addition, they provide basic training in start of a small business, simple book-keeping and accounting. The main aim of microfinance institutions is alleviation of poverty through helping poor persons to earn some money especially the women. ISLAMIC BANKS In Islam, it is prohibited to charge interest on any loan. However, it is acceptable to pass on funds to a needy person or corporation for trade purpose in which case profit could be shared on an agreed basis whereas loss should be shared according to the funds invested. Besides, there are certain businesses where any form of deal is forbidden like alcohols and pork. Accordingly, Islamic bank refer to a banking activity which is consistent with the Sharia, the Islamic Laws. Otherwise, there is no difference between the traditional banks and the Islamic bank. DISCOUNT HOUSES These are firms which buys and discounts bills of exchange, banker acceptance, commercial paper, etc. Discount houses also tender for treasury bills, deal in short-dated government bonds, and are an important part of the short-term money markets. INSURANCE COMPANIES Insurance is a hedge against the risk of a contingent and uncertain loss. In other words, it is the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. For this service, the insurer charges a fee called premium depending upon the risk involved. Besides traditional insurance companies, there are many Islamic insurance companies in Pakistan known as Takaful operators. Takaful is an Islamic insurance concept based on mutual co-operation, responsibility, assurance, protection and assistance between groups of participants. These companies believe in promoting the cause of Takaful as well as promoting the insurance business in a Shariah Compliant i.e. halal and absolutely Riba-Free insurance. STOCK EXCHANGES Stock exchange is a place where securities are bought and sold. Such securities include shares, derivative, unit trusts and bonds. It also provides facilities for the issue and redemption of securities. Prices of shares and bonds are influenced by their demand and supply like in other commodities. In order to list a security on the stock exchange, there are certain requirements. Transactions in the stock exchange are conducted by members only. Stock exchange serves both as a primary market for the initial public offerings and as a secondary market for their subsequent buying and selling Investors are not bound to sell stock or bond through the stock exchange. They can directly deal with the seller. Similarly, there is no compulsion that stock must be traded on the exchange. The securities can change ownership out of the exchange which is called ‘over the counter† or â€Å"curb dealings.† LEASING It is a contract where owner of an asset agrees to allow someone to use it for a fixed rental. It can be for fixed or indefinite period of time. It is a binding contract which sets out terms of lease agreement between the owner and the user. Leases are of various types mainly (i) a financial lease and (ii) an operating lease. The financial lease is long-term and non-cancellable contract where the user assumes some of the risks of ownership and has the right to keep the assets or get it transferred to its own name after fulfilling the necessary conditions. In operating lease, the owner transfer only the right to use the assets which is returned back at the end of the lease. There are some other types especially in the aircraft industry like wet lease and dry-lease and. In wet lease, a company agrees to provide an aircraft along with pilot and crew and would be responsible for the maintenance of the aircraft. Dry lease, on the other hand, refers to leasing only the aircraft. MODARBA If is a form of partnership which has two distinct parties: (i) the financier and (ii) the manager. The financer takes no part of management of the business. The profits are distributed among the subscriber while the manager is paid the usual salary. Modarba is one the modes of Islamic finance. It is like mutual fund minus its un-Islamic features. Not only in Pakistan, the Islamic financial services industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth all over the Islamic world. In particuar, the Modaraba Sector has been able to create a market niche for itself in the corporate sector. This model is enjoying a unique recognition due to its well designed structure with proper rules and regulations defined by the regulators. It has proved its resilience in this time of global financial turmoil. MUTUAL FUND It is a professionally managed type of pooled investment for acquiring securities like stocks, bonds, marketable securities and commodities. The profit is distributed by way of dividend to all investors. Financial market in Pakistan experienced boom conditions in1991 due to liberalization policies of the government. There was a manifold increase in the number of listed companies; number of commercial banks, local and foreign and financial instruments like commercial paper. But it has still to develop and a number of suggestions have been made: * The public sector should reduce its dependence on State Bank of Pakistan. * The infrastructure projects should be financed through domestic bonds of longer maturities (10-20 years). * The financial sectors (capital markets, micro credit, banking and non-banking sector) should have a better and more clearly delineated division of responsibilities. * Foreign institutional investors should be encouraged to take up (i) private equity funds, (ii) private pension funds, (iii) provident and gratuity funds and (iv) Real Estate Investment Trusts. * Mortgage financing should be encouraged.

Life Of Charles Dickens :: essays research papers

The Life of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was on of the literary geniuses of the 19th century. Dickens was the first main stream writer to reach out to the semiliterate class. He did much to make sure his writings were avaliable to the middle class. He published serial novels on a monthly bases. One shilling (one twentieth of a pount) would buy you the next installmenrt to your novell. In a time when novels were almost thirty times as much as one of these serial novels, it put reading within the reach of the middle class, thus highly popularizing charles dickens works. By the popularity of his work he was able to afford a humble middle class life, which was what he always desired. Charles Dickens did not begin his life as a humble middle class child. In fact it was quite the oppisite. He was born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. He was the second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the Navy pay office, In 1817 Charlews got the first taste of the life he would so strongly desire latter in his life. His family moved to Chatham a small portown in England. Charles enjoyed all the comforts of a humble middle class life. Fresh country air, decent schooling, and books to read on sunny afternoons. It was a short idyll, John Dickens money supply was lacking. He was recalled to London and forced to put his family of 6 in a small, smelly, bleak house in the ugly suburb of Camden town. Then in 1824 a event that shaped Charles Dickens view’s on the world occurred. His family increasingly needing of money, sent there second born child to work in a Warren’s Blackening factory . He worked beside ragged urchins, where paserby’s could see him working through the window. The factory was a foul rat infested palace next to the Thames river. Charles was then abandoned by his parents, John Dickens was arrested for debt, and moved himself and his family into the Marshalsea prison, exceppt for charles who was forced to survive on his own on the streets of London. A place where only have the children raised on them would survive to adulthood. Charles proved to be quite adept at surving for a few months when his father was released thanks to an inheritance, but much to Charles dissappointment his mother forced him to remain at the blackening factory.

What is American?

America is a consciousness rather than a culture, a way of life more than a precise political identity. Through the decades of immigration and settlement, with its unique characteristics of absorption and adjustment, assimilation and integration, America has become more than just a word for a geographical entity – it is a melting pot of diverse streams of humanity with their individual traits morphed into a fused sense of the American way of life. Fugazi’s lyrics define this perception of the ‘American’ identity which has magnified into multi-cultural multi-ethnic dimensions beyond the limited parameters of the name:America is just a word but I use it. Language keeps me locked and repeating. (â€Å"Stacks†) What is so unique about the different races and cultures coming to America, transforming themselves and causing a metamorphism in the constitution of the country, like subtle ripples on still waters? In this global world, there are umpteen numbers of displacements and re-settlements in every nation. Why is it that the American identity is changed because of the influx of people, customs and ideas? It is exemplified in Chesterton’s words:In a word, what is unique is not America but what is called Americanization†¦ [The British] are not trying to Anglicize thousands of French cooks or Italian organ grinders. France is not trying to Gallicize thousands of English trippers or German prisoners of war. America is the one place in the world where this process, healthy or unhealthy, possible or impossible, is going on. And the process†¦is not internationalization. It would be truer to say it is the nationalization of the internationalized.It is making a home out of vagabonds and a nation out of exiles. (â€Å"What is America? †) The American identity is an evolution, originating from the solid foundation of the Bill of Rights to a deep sense of patriotism and openness to change, a fighting spirit coupled with a friendly welcome to different nationalities. From the stars and stripes flag fluttering on American rooftops on Fourth of July to the barbeque on Labor Day, the solemn remembrance of Veterans’ Day and the Thanksgiving turkey, there is a sense of pride and belonging in the name ‘American’.This nation’s uniqueness rests on the principle of free will and choice. It is a democracy not closeted in theoretical ideology, but actively visible in the food, clothes, languages, religious beliefs and practices and lifestyles of the multi-faceted citizens of America. The American identity is an antithetical blend of internationalism in a nutshell of a nation. It is evidenced in the Italian pasta fragrant with the Indian cumin and the Caribbean peppers; it is seen in the combination platter of Japanese sushi with Chinese noodles and Spanish paella.Even the American dinner of pizza is transformed into a multi-cultural multi-cuisine entity with the customization of ing redients and flavors from all parts of the world. The free market economy of this nation is a distinctive quality of the American way of life. America is a land of opportunity where merit and talent are endorsed, hard work is remunerated, and the sky is the limit for individuals with aspiration and ingenuity. From the Silicon Valley I. T. avenues to the Mid-Western blue-collar industry and the East Coast corporate giants, labor is respected, regardless of the station and type of work.The bus driver is greeted with the same friendly welcome as the white-collar executive. Unlike the European, especially the English Work culture, there is no pedigree demanding privilege in the American democracy. For every citizen by birth or choice, ‘America’ symbolizes a hope for a better future, a dream crystallized to reality by sheer hard work and creative vision. There is no specific definition of the American culture, yet when thousands of cheering fans root for the inimitable Yanke es or the Dallas Cowboys, one experiences the unmistakable sense of being ‘American’.Sometimes, it is just enough to feel the macrocosm of the word than attempt to characterize its identity in the microcosm of a description. And this is invariably true of the American identity in the cosmos of its culture. Works Cited Chesterton, G. K. â€Å"What is America? † What I saw in America. 14 November 2008. < http://www. libertynet. org/edcivic/chestame. html> Fugazi. â€Å"Stacks lyrics†. 14 November 2008. < http://www. mp3lyrics. org/f/fugazi/stacks/>

Aftermath and Effects of the Hundred Years War

The Hundred Years War Between England and France lasted for more than a hundred years (1337–1453) of off and on conflict  before England appeared to have been defeated. Any conflict lasting this long would cause changes, and the aftermath of the wars affected both nations. The Uncertain End While we now recognize that a distinctive phase of Anglo-French conflict ended in 1453, there was no peace settlement in the Hundred Years War, and the French remained prepared for the English to return for some time. For their part, the English crown didn’t give up its claim on the French throne. Englands continued invasions werent so much an effort at recovering their lost territory, but because Henry VI had gone mad, and competing noble factions couldnt agree on past and future policy. This contributed greatly to England’s own struggle for power, known as the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York for control of Henry VI during his mental illness. The conflict was partly fought by battle-hardened veterans of the Hundred Years War. The Wars of the Roses tore at the elites of Britain  and killed many others as well. A watershed had been reached, however, and the French south was now permanently out of English hands. Calais remained under English control until 1558, and the claim on the French throne was only dropped in 1801.​ Effects on England and France France had been severely damaged during the fighting. This was partly caused by official armies conducting bloody raids designed to undermine the opposition ruler by killing civilians, burning buildings, and crops and stealing whatever riches they could find. It was also frequently caused by ‘routiers,’ brigands—frequently soldiers —serving no lord and just pillaging to survive and get richer. Areas became depleted, populations fled or were massacred, the economy was damaged and disrupted, and ever greater expenditure was sucked into the army, raising taxes. Historian Guy Blois called the effects of the 1430s and 1440s a ‘Hiroshima in Normandy. Of course, some people benefitted from the extra military expenditure. On the other hand, while tax in pre-war France had been occasional, in the post-war era it was regular and established. This extension of government was able to fund a standing army—which was built around the new technology of gunpowder—increasing both royal power and revenue, and the size of the armed forces they could field. France had begun the journey to an absolutist monarchy which would characterize  later centuries. In addition, the damaged economy soon began to recover. England, in contrast, had begun the war with more organized tax structures than France, and much greater accountability to a parliament, but royal revenues fell greatly over the war, including the substantial losses incurred by losing wealthy French regions such as Normandy and Aquitaine. For a while, however, some Englishmen got very rich from the plunder taken from France, building houses and churches back in England. The Sense of Identity Perhaps the most lasting impact of the war, especially in England, was the emergence of a much greater sense of patriotism and national identity. This was in part due to publicity spread to gather taxes for the fighting, and partly due to generations of people, both English and French, knowing no situation other than war in France. The French crown benefited from triumphing, not just over England, but over other dissident French nobles, binding France closer as a single body.