Jul 6, 2022Monetary Tightening on the LooseWhat is this behavior, State Bank? The next SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting will occur on July 07. The current policy rate stands at 13.75 percent, while the latest cut-off rate of 03-month MTBs is as high as 15.08 percent. It seems that the central bank is not catching…Inflation3 min readInflation3 min read
May 29, 2022The Slippery Stance of Refining Russian OilCan Pakistan’s oil refineries refine Russian crude? — Russian military offensive on Ukraine marked the visit of the former premier Imran Khan to Russia. The ill-timed visit irked the eyes of the self-proclaimed vanguard of democracy, aka the United States. …Oil3 min readOil3 min read
May 15, 2022All That Solar Investment is Not Money-SavingThe sun is sucking water, and so are fraudulent solar earning apps sucking your hard-earned money. The heatwave in Pakistan this year smashed all previous records, raising the mercury levels tremendously. However, money-sucking solar earning apps are not a recent phenomenon and have existed since 2015, if not earlier. Across…Solar Energy3 min readSolar Energy3 min read
May 11, 2022Fuel, Feebleness, and FearLeadership crisis in crisis leadership In the wake of the noise regarding the no-confidence motion (NCM) against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, the Kaptaan made a seemingly populist move — imposing fuel and power subsidies. While this news came as a breath of fresh air for the inflation-stricken…Economics3 min readEconomics3 min read
May 6, 2022Looking Back: Dr. Reza BaqirNo two economies are the same, and one should not judge anyone by their past. While drafting this piece, this day marks the completion of Dr. Reza Baqir’s three-year tenure as the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) chief. It is probable that before it is published, Dr. …Central Bank7 min readCentral Bank7 min read
May 1, 2022The Great InjectionNot to confuse with the severe impact of the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Resignation of 2021. Originally published at https://rafeyirahman.substack.com on May 1, 2022. If you liked this or learned something new, please consider subscribing to Finesse for more financial literacy posts. In March 2022, bank…Central Bank3 min readCentral Bank3 min read
Apr 29, 2022Fact Check: Did the PDM-led Government Borrow Rs. 200bn from the State Bank?Muzzammil Aslam (@MuzzammilAslam3) is the PTI spokesperson on the economy and finance. On April 28, 2022, one of his tweets read: “Current [PDM-led] govt breached IMF promised and borrowed [PKR] 200 billion from SBP.” Enclosed with the tweet was an image of the monetary aggregate (M2) data sourced from the…Central Bank2 min readCentral Bank2 min read
Apr 27, 2022Pakistan vis-à-vis the IMFWith the new allegedly imported government approaching the IMF, let’s take a look at the history of Pakistan with the Fund. Pakistan has a notoriously rich 61-year history of knocking on the doors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), spanning from 1958 to 2019. To add more context, the crisis-hit…International Relations5 min readInternational Relations5 min read
Apr 13, 2022Is the Stock Market A Reliable Economic Indicator?After the alleged coup of the PTI regime, the bulls of Chundrigar Street were joyous of the 1,700-point gain in the KSE-100 index on April 08. Marked by praises for the new Shahbaz Sharif-led regime by the supporters, the bull market landed into controversy over whether the stock market is…Stock Market4 min readStock Market4 min read
Apr 7, 2022Beyond Keyboard Warriors: What Economic Indicators Tell of PML-N and PTI RegimesThe ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan is unfolding new surprises almost every day. The alleged intervention of foreign powers in domestic politics has stirred the Parliament, judiciary, and the military. The Imran Khan-led-Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has called for early elections after the dissolution of the lower house, aka the National…Pakistan4 min readPakistan4 min read
