Europe’s oil plan plunges Pakistan into darkness; Imran Khan amplifying citizens’ anger on inflation

Europe’s campaign to quit Russian fuelis designed to punish Moscow for itsinvasion of Ukraine. It’s also wreakinghavoc thousands of miles away fromthe conflict, plunging Pakistan intodarkness, undermining one regime andthreatening the stability of thecountry’s new leadership.A decade ago, the world’s fifth-most populous country took specific steps toinsulate itself from the kinds of violent price spikes that are roiling the markettoday.…

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Pakistan steeply hikes petroleum prices under deal with IMF to revive bailout programme

The Pakistan government has steeply hiked petroleum prices to implement the tough preconditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled USD 6 billion bailout package for the cash-strapped country. Prices of all petroleum products went up by about Rs14-19 per litre after the decision came into effect from midnight on Thursday. According to a notification issued…

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Pakistan’s PM says no to private imports of wheat to save forex reserves

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday the country has sufficient stocks of wheat and he will not allow its private import to save “precious foreign exchange”, according to a statement from his office. The country is reeling from the impact of severe floods last month which killed 1,700 and submerged huge swathes of the country, damaging farmlands, infrastructure…

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K-Electric announces winners of first 7/11+ Innovation Challenge

K-Electric (KE) announced the winners for the first 7/11+ Innovation Challenge in partnership with INNOVentures Global at a day-long event held at Habib University in Karachi. KE’s 7/11+ Innovation Challenge is the first of its kind event in Pakistan’s utility market, designed for entrepreneurs, startups, researchers, and university students to promote and accelerate strategic innovation. Participants spent the first half…

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The Problem With Oil And Gas Price Caps

This week saw two documents published by two government departments: the European Commission in Brussels and the Department of Treasury in Washington. The Commission’s document was a proposal for “a new instrument” aimed at limiting excessive gas prices in Europe. The Treasury’s document was guidance on the implementation of a price cap policy towards crude oil originating in the Russian Federation. Both were slammed…

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Oil Stocks Are Showing A Peculiar Disconnect From Crude Prices

Oil stocks have continued to show a peculiar disconnect from the commodity they track, with oil equities staging a powerful rally even as oil prices have fallen sharply since the last OPEC meeting. Over the past two months, the energy sector’s leading benchmark, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLE), has climbed 34% while average crude spot prices have declined 18%.…

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Green Hydrogen Is Not A Silver Bullet Solution

Contrary to much decarbonization hype, jumping on the green hydrogen bandwagon is not a silver bullet solution to climate change. In fact, it’s a double-edged sword. A versatile energy carrier, hydrogen is projected to play a major part in decarbonization of global manufacturing and industrial supply chains, but its production, transport, and conversion require major inversions of energy and investment…

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