Loud Thinking

Archive for July, 2014

LAST FIFA World Cup winning record of the 4 semi-finalists of the 2014 World Cup.

Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won last time in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany. Their most recent World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost, 1–0, to Germany by a much disputed penalty. Now they have a chance after 28 years.

Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002. In the final hosted in Japan, Brazil beat Germany by a 2-0 margin to win the coveted trophy. Now they have a chance after 14 years.

Germany has won the World cup three times. The first time in 1954 against Uruguay, then in 1974 against the Netherlands and finally in 1990 to beat Argentina. Now they have a chance after 24 years.

The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever winning the tournament.
They finished second in the1974, 1978, and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany,Argentina, and Spain respectively. Now they can make another try to win the World Cup after 14 years.

How to control prices in the holy month of Ramzan..?

(It seems these public welfare suggestions have fallen on deaf ears of ALL the provincial governments).

All the provincial and district governments must ensure that the government approved rate lists of each and every item, must be BOLDLY and PROMINENTLY displayed at each and every shop, Khokha and Rehri; and must also be advertised daily in the media.

Although, this will NOT completely eliminate the overcharging and extra profiteering by the sellers; yet, it will be a big deterrent and relief in over charging and to a large extent, will also be very effective against the hoarders, as well. Basically, the hoarders are responsible for the Ramzan price hikes.

Moreover, telephone numbers of the concerned officials of the district administration, should also be printed on the price lists, in bold font, for the public to register their complaints for swift action, against the sellers who are found to be overcharging, during the Holy month of Ramzan.

Secondly, a public volunteers team should also be formed, to assist the local administration, in enforcing sale of items on government’s fixed rates.

Thirdly, to instil fear of law into the hearts of the overcharging persons, such unscrupulous persons, must immediately be jailed (without bail) for 30 days, after same day court trials.

In this regard, All MNA’s, MPA’s, retired government servants of grade 20 and above and ALL serving government servants of grade 17 and above, should be vested with the powers of the 1st Class magistrate to speed up the same day trial process.

May be the winner of the ARG vs NED be also the winner of the final match..!

My comments on the below mentioned news:

If I were the PM, would first replace the finance minister before giving the go ahead for any mini budget.

Unfortunately, this FM has neither the vision nor the will to act upon any out of box thinking.

He can only think the easy way of taking loans (on harsh conditions) and increasing the burden on general public (which pays the power and gas bills honestly) by increasing the utility charges one way or the other.

Our present government has also miserably failed in curbing the massive corruption in the country, which has the magnitude almost equal to the budgeted expenses of the year 14-15 i.e., Rs.4 trillion; which also means that the size of our black economy is equal to the white economy. And perhaps this size of corruption (Rs.12 billion/day according to the former Chairman NAB) may not be prevailing in any other country, where white and black economies are almost equal; and still the government is still looking the other way….but then the question arises why the government is silent over this massive corruption, tax evasion and utilities theft; which is eating away the very foundations of the country’s economy?

As such, the PMLN’s government which came into power on the promises of rooting out the corruption and bringing back the looted money, is giving an incentive to the dishonest and punishment to the honest citizens by increasing taxes and rates and not cracking down on the dishonest people.

News item of Express Tribune:

$6.7b IMF bailout: If needed, Pakistan may introduce mini-budget

By Shahbaz RanaPublished: July 8, 2014

Loan conditions: Rs1.4tr is IMF’s budget deficit target for Pakistan for 2014-15. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:
In a bid to keep the $6.7 billion bailout programme afloat, Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will introduce a mini-budget and slow down development spending to create a cushion of Rs145 billion in case problems arise in delivering the budget deficit target.
“To help ensure programme targets can be met, the [Pakistani] authorities have identified several contingency measures that can be implemented if the expected fiscal adjustment begins to fall short of the objective,” an IMF report revealed on Monday.

The objective IMF mentions is keeping the budget deficit – the gap between income and expenses – equal to 4.8% of the country’s GDP or Rs1.398 trillion. This is lower by 0.1% of the GDP – or Rs32 billion – than the target approved by Parliament.
According to the written assurance, the government, on the revenue side, plans to eliminate statutory regulatory orders (SROs) in fiscal year 2015-16 if tax revenues fall below the level envisaged in the programme. For 2015-16, the government has already given an SRO-elimination plan that promises slating the orders equivalent to 0.3% of the GDP or Rs81 billion at the current size of the economy.
These Rs81 billion measures will be over and above the Rs231 billion net new taxes that the government imposed from July 1. For the new fiscal, the government has set a Rs2.81 trillion tax target that many, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), privately admits is unachievable.

“The chances of a mini-budget are high as FBR cannot collect more than Rs2.6 to Rs2.65 trillion in this fiscal year … this is what I told the finance minister before the finalisation of the budget,” said Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, a renowned economist and member of the Economic Advisory Council.
“On the expenditure side, we will again reduce expenditure allocations in the first nine months of the year compared to the budget to create a reserve against any shortfall,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the IMF. This policy is consistent with a contingency plan that the government adopted in the previous financial year, which led to a severe under-spending on the development side.
Pakistan has assured that these measures could yield savings amounting to 0.5% of the GDP or Rs145 billion. “In any case, we stand ready to take compensatory measures as needed, including adjustment on the revenue side, to reach our fiscal target,” the finance minister told the IMF.
According to independent economists, such policies are anti-growth and will adversely affect the current fiscal year’s economic growth rate target of 5.1%. Apparently, the IMF doesn’t trust the government will achieve this target. “For FY2014-15, the economy is forecast to expand by around 4%,” the international lender noted in its report.
New surcharge
Pakistan has also assured the IMF that it will slap a new surcharge on electricity consumers to recover the circular debt if the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) rejected its plan to recover circular debt from consumers by increasing tariffs. The report puts the total circular debt at Rs500 billion.
New conditions
The IMF has imposed four new conditions on Pakistan after the government showed reluctance in reforming some of the critical areas. These conditions, known as structural benchmarks, are steps to give real operational independence to the State Bank (SBP).
The second new condition is filling vacancies in the NEPRA board by end of current month. The third condition is offering minority shares in UBL and PPL to domestic and international investors, which has been met.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2014.

Europe, UK travellers must keep mobiles charged or lose them at security ahead of US-bound flights.

LONDON: Passengers travelling to the US from anywhere in Europe and UK will now have to keep their mobile phones and laptops charged or lose them at security.

UK’s Department of Transport has issued new guidelines in light of a terror threat according to which any electronic device that has a flat battery will not be allowed on America-bound flights.

It said “make sure electronic devices are charged before travel” and warned “If your device doesn’t switch on, you won’t be allowed to bring it onto the aircraft.”

It said “All electronic devices are screened by security officers. During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveler may also undergo additional screening”.

New guidance will now make it mandatory for airport security staff to routinely test smartphones and computers for traces of explosives.

Britain has tightened security in airports across UK after receiving credible evidence from American spies of a “possible al-Qaida terror attack in a manner like never before”.

US officials have told the UK that mobile phones – especially iPhones and Samsung Galaxy handsets will be used as “stealth” bombs as Al Qaida terrorists have found a way to turn phones into explosive devices and intend to explode them on commercial flights.

Britain’s top security official has now warned that the al Qaida bomb makers with a “devilish technical skill” have completed making explosive devices which would be concealed in mobile phones and tablet computers,

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee in the House of Commons which oversees the secret operations of MI5 and MI6 said on Sunday that he has been shown the evidence gathered by intelligence agencies which underpin a series of new security measures being introduced at British airports and across Europe.

Sir Malcolm, writing on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the July 7 bombings in London said “We must not underestimate the devilish technical skill of those terrorists who design ever more sophisticated means of concealing explosives in mobile devices, in clothing and in otherwise innocent objects. They have been hard at work over the last year.”

He adds: “Apart from the terrible murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, the last successful Islamic jihadi terrorist outrage in Britain was the London bombings back in 2005. This has resulted in complacency amongst some of the public which is seriously disturbing. It is simply foolish to believe that the threat is either minimal or now behind us.”

The group who are the main suspects is Jabhat al-Nusra, radical militants based in Syria who have now joined hands with members of al-Qaida’s franchise in Yemen and in rest of the Arabian Peninsula.

In a statement, the UK government said “we keep aviation security under constant review in conjunction with international partners and the aviation industry. We have taken the decision to step up some of our aviation security measures. For obvious reasons we will not be commenting in detail on those changes. The majority of passengers should not experience significant disruption”.

“There will be no change to the threat level, which remains at substantial. The safety and security of the public is our paramount concern. The UK has some of the most robust aviation security measures and we will continue to take all the steps necessary to ensure that public safety is maintained”.

“I feel the older I get, the more I’m learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it’s all about finding yourself.”

— Ringo Starr

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882);
Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

3 Questions Executives Should Ask Front-Line Employees

The higher up you are in an organization, the harder it is to keep up with what’s happening on the ground. Get a real sense of what’s going on in your company by asking your front-line workers:
How can I help you? Ask your employees, suppliers, and customers — and make sure your middle managers do the same. Senior leaders need to show they care about the people at every level.
Why are we doing it this way? Ask to learn, not to criticize. People enjoy being heard, and you’ll benefit from real feedback. Enlist your employees in the process of figuring out what needs to change and of measuring progress.
Are we supporting you? Ask if people have everything they need to do their jobs well. Take action based on what you hear. By staying in touch, you can build trust, motivate, and instill a common vision.

Adapted by HBR from “3 Questions Executives Should Ask Front-Line Workers” by Douglas A. Wilson.

What is the 1st sign of your old age?

Wrinkles….No
Medicines…No
Gray hairs…No
Weak eye sight…No

Then what…?

When you start loving your own wife…

My Twitter message to Dalai Lama on his 79th birthday..!

Dalai Lama Happy Birthday we thank you for urging Buddhists to refrain, though belatedly, from committing genocide of Muslims in Myanmar & atrocities in Sri Lanka.