The KSE-100 index on Wednesday lost 77.67 points and closed at 9,735.38 points, mainly due to selling by local investors. The market opened on a negative note and the index hit 9,683.91 points intra-day low level, down 129.14 points. Trading also shrank and the volume at ready counter declined to 52.248 million shares as compared to 81.645 million shares traded on Tuesday.

The Kuwait-based software supplier, 'Agility' is prepared to sell Pakistan Automated Customs Computerised System (PaCCS) to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), it is learnt. Even trade sector has offered to put up money for buying the system as it has been an 'anti-corruption' system and has facilitated the trade throughout.

The multi-billion dollars Reko Diq project in Balochistan may be further delayed due to scarcity of funds and misunderstanding between the federal and provincial governments over the funding percentage issue, sources told Business Recorder. Reko Diq is the fifth largest copper ore reserve in the world and contains 0.8 percent of copper content.

Ghulam Ali Shah Pasha, senior member, Board of Revenue, Sindh on Wednesday assumed the charge of acting Chief Secretary of Sindh vice Fazl-ur-Rehman, who retired on Tuesday (August 31).

Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on Wednesday announced to cut furnace oil price by Rs 2,340 per ton at the domestic market because of the declining trend in the global oil prices, dealers said. "All leading oil marketing companies including Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Shell Pakistan on behalf of oil refineries have reduced the price of furnace oil," they said.

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday, posting its best day in eight weeks, as investor mood brightened after better-than-expected factory data from the United States and China. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 254.75 points, or 2.54 percent, to end unofficially at 10,269.47.

A group of 60 nations, including France, Britain and Japan, will propose at the UN this month that a tax be introduced on international currency transactions to raise funds for development aid, ministers said on Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting in Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the group had agreed a common position for the United Nations Millennium Objectives summit on September 21.

The Public Accounts Committee was informed on Wednesday that the circular debt has once again swelled to over Rs 300 billion, for which the authorities are seriously considering to charge-sheet Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), the biggest defaulter. Secretary, Water and Power, Shahid Rafi, told the PAC that Pakistan Electric Power Company was again in serious trouble, as the circular debt exceeded Rs 300 billion.

The row between Revenue Receipt Audit (RRA) and Karachi Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) over the issue of granting additional tax and penalty exemption to Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) has come to an end, Business Recorder learnt on Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has noted with concern recent news in the print and electronic media regarding campaign by members of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) against a non-member director as chairman of the KSE Board.

The average daily volumes at Karachi share market drastically declined by 18 percent on month-on-month basis to nine years lowest level of 57 million shares during August 2010. The market witnessed declining trend and the benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 6.7 percent during the month.

The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) has revoked the Letter of Intent (LoI) that outlined Rs 15 billion capital dredging deal with a 'cartel' of three international dredging companies after decision of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP).

The IMF and Pakistan will release a statement on Thursday on ongoing discussions of the flood-ravaged south Asian country's $11 billion IMF loan, the fund said. The statement at 10:15 am EDT (1415 GMT) in Washington by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Pakistan's Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh follows a week of talks against the backdrop of severe flooding in Pakistan that has destroyed cropland and livestock and displaced millions of people.

World trade continued to rebound strongly in the first half of this year, rising by over a quarter from year-ago levels, with emerging economies showing particularly powerful export growth, World Trade Organisation figures showed on Wednesday.

Staff at Britain's BBC voted on Wednesday to strike in protest against the state-funded broadcaster's plans to reduce a large pension deficit by capping the growth of pensionable pay, unions said. Industrial action could yet be averted because unions have delayed the final go-ahead for two weeks to discuss alternative proposals for dealing with the pension problem, they said.

The Cabinet has been informed that GDP will decline to 2.5 percent, from projected 4.5 percent, for the current fiscal year (2010-11) as a result of damage to various sectors of the economy by floods. The Minister for Information, Qamar Zaman Kaira, told media here on Wednesday at a news conference after the Cabinet meeting that budget deficit might touch 6 to 7 percent of GDP for the ongoing fiscal year and inflation 15 to 20 percent.

Pakistan has suffered damages worth Rs 350 to Rs 500 billion to infrastructure, livestock and standing crops by the devastating floods. Addressing a press conference, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday said about 20 percent of Pakistan's irrigation infrastructure, livestock and crops have been destroyed and perished by the recent floods.

The World Bank has increased funding to help Pakistan cope with catastrophic flooding by $100 million, to a total of $1 billion, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. "The WB is committed to helping the people of Pakistan during this time of need and has made US $1 billion available to finance immediate recovery needs and longer-term reconstruction," the statement quoted WB President Robert Zoellick as telling Pakistan Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh in Washington.

The Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) at Lahore has detected short/non-payment of sales tax by several sugar mills of Punjab, causing huge loss to the national kitty. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the audit teams of the tax department have framed Audit Observations against certain sugar mills falling in the jurisdiction of Lahore LTU.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will get nothing in the form of sales tax despite sizeable escalation in the price of sugar in the open market as the prevailing method of sales tax calculation is based on assessable value of the commodity. Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the method of sales tax calculation on the basis of fixed assessable value of the commodity allows the manufacturers to pay sales tax at the nominal price.

Turkmenistan, which failed to submit third-party certification of Dauletabad gas field reserves, has now offered a new supply source, Osman/ Yolatan gas field, which has raised serious concerns in Pakistan, sources exclusively told Business Recorder. Turkmenistan gas reserves are estimated to be around 14 trillion cubic metres (TCMs).

Seeking support from Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the infrastructure in flood affected areas, President Asif Ali Zardari has called an emergency meeting to discus relief and development efforts.

Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) are presenting contradictory figures with respect to sugar stocks held by mills, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder. According to the MoI&P, stocks with the mills were 536,326 tons as of August 31, 2010 whereas PSMA claims the stocks with its members mills were less than 0.4 million tons.