Loud Thinking

Posts Tagged ‘My Views’

“Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people’s bad manners. ”

—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Writer

Have a Strategy for Impromptu Speaking

A key demand in business is the ability to speak off-the-cuff. Whether it’s giving an unexpected elevator pitch to a potential investor or being asked to quickly defend a proposal to sales, many of us have had to speak with no preparation. Next time, don’t panic. The worst business speeches are those that ramble on. If forced to speak, quickly draft a structure of your main argument on a notecard (or napkin). Jot down an introduction, two or three supporting points, and a conclusion. Use extra time to fill out any examples or data you want to address. Always state your thesis up front so listeners can easily follow your supporting comments. Focus on key stories and statistics, rather than your delivery. If you know your topic, the words will come. Finally, keep it short. When in doubt, say less.

Adapted from ” 5 Tips for Off-the-Cuff Speaking” by John Coleman.

“The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don’t let it get the best of you.”

— Will Rogers

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”

—Emily Post (1872-1960)
American Author On Etiquette

Pak vs NZ cricket series schedule of one 3 day match, three Test matches, Two T20 matches and five ODI matches.
(ESPNcricinfo.com)

Mon Nov 3 – Wed Nov 5
06:00 GMT | 10:00 local
11:00 PKT Pakistan A v New Zealanders
Sharjah Cricket Stadium 24 – 32° C

Sun Nov 9 – Thu Nov 13
06:00 GMT | 10:00 local
11:00 PKT 1st Test – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 21 – 31° C

Mon Nov 17 – Fri Nov 21
06:00 GMT | 10:00 local
11:00 PKT 2nd Test – New Zealand v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Wed Nov 26 – Sun Nov 30
06:00 GMT | 10:00 local
11:00 PKT 3rd Test – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Thu Dec 4 (20 ovs)
16:00 GMT | 20:00 local
21:00 PKT 1st T20I – New Zealand v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Fri Dec 5 (20 ovs)
16:00 GMT | 20:00 local
21:00 PKT 2nd T20I – New Zealand v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Mon Dec 8 (50 ovs)
11:00 GMT | 15:00 local
16:00 PKT 1st ODI – New Zealand v Pakistan
Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Fri Dec 12 (50 ovs)
11:00 GMT | 15:00 local
16:00 PKT 2nd ODI – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Sun Dec 14 (50 ovs)
11:00 GMT | 15:00 local
16:00 PKT 3rd ODI – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Wed Dec 17 (50 ovs)
11:00 GMT | 15:00 local
16:00 PKT 4th ODI – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Fri Dec 19 (50 ovs)
11:00 GMT | 15:00 local
16:00 PKT 5th ODI – New Zealand v Pakistan
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Economy of loans & corruption .http://t.co/MFKF1ASCRU

Economy of loans by loans and for loans..! or the economy of corruption by corruption and for corruption…?

Posted by Syed Nayyar Uddin on July 8, 2014 in Action Plan to Revive Pak Economy, Corruption, My Views,Pak Loan Write-off, Pakistan, Politics, World Bank Affairs | Edit |
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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 government and the FM is least bothered to recover huge amounts of utility bills and taxes from the very influential tax evaders and electricity and gas thieves.

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?

This way PMLN’s government gives an incentive to the dishonest and punishment to the honest citizens.

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.

“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.”

—Clarence Thomas (born 1948)
United States Supreme Court Justice

My E-mail dt. 6 July, 2009 to Hillary Clinton on President Obama’s Promise for Change.

http://www.friendskorner.com/forum/f85/nayyars-e-mail-hillary-clinton-president-obamas-promise-change-126460/

Pakistan inflicted upon Australia their sixth consecutive Test loss in Asia © Getty Images
356 Pakistan’s margin of victory in this Test against Australia. This is Pakistan’s biggest-ever Test win in terms of runs. Their previous biggest was by 341 runs, against India, at Karachi in 2006.

34 Years since Australia have lost a Test by a bigger margin. They have only ever lost two Tests by a bigger margin, the biggest being by 675 runs against England in 1928.

9 Hundreds scored by Pakistan’s batsmen during this series, the most by any team in a two-match series. No other team has ever scored more than six hundreds in a two-Test series against a top-eight team.

-54.5 Australia’s average differential in this series, the worst in their Test history. The average differential is the difference between a team’s batting average and bowling average. Australia’s batting average in this series was 25.65, while their bowling average was 80.15.

14 Tests Pakistan have won under Misbah-ul-Haq. Misbah now holds the joint record for the most Test wins by a Pakistan captain, along with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad. However, Misbah has only captained Pakistan in 31 Tests, while Miandad and Imran led in 34 and 48 respectively.

20 Years since Pakistan have won a Test series against Australia. The last time Pakistan beat Australia in a Test series was in 1994, when they won a three-match series 1-0 at home. Since then, Pakistan have lost six and drawn one series against Australia.

6 Consecutive Tests Australia have now lost in Asia. They have only won one Test on Asian soil in the last 10 years, excluding Tests against Bangladesh. They have played 16 Tests in this period, and lost nine Tests to India, and two against Pakistan. Their only victory came against Sri Lanka in 2011.

1 Tests that Pakistan have lost in their last three Test series against non-subcontinental teams in the UAE. They have played seven Tests against Australia, South Africa and England, winning six of them and only losing one, to South Africa.

8 Runs scored by Australia while losing their last five wickets. It has been 35 years since Australia have lost their last five wickets for fewer runs against Pakistan. They lost their last five wickets for only four runs at Melbourne in 1979. That day, they lost their last seven wickets for just five runs.

Bishen Jeswant is a stats sub editor at ESPNCricinfo. @bishen_jeswant

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