LATEST NEWS UPDATE: 30.10.2012

Sandy threatens $20b in economic damage

WASHINGTON: Hurricane Sandy may cause as much as $20 billion in economic damage and losses as the biggest Atlantic storm made landfall, flooding homes and offices, after disrupting millions of fliers and forcing stores to close.
Insured losses may reach $5 billion to $10 billion, or about half of the total, according to estimates today by Eqecat Inc., an Oakland, California-based provider of catastrophic risk models.
Sandy, spanning 900 miles, slammed into southern New Jersey at about 8 p.m. New York time and brought a surge in Manhattan exceeding 13 feet (4 meters). U.S. airlines have grounded about 12,500 flights, stranding travelers, and U.S. stock trading is closed through tomorrow in the first back-to-back shutdowns for weather since 1888.
“This one has got so many facets to it -- you’ve got wind, you’ve got rain, you’ve got snow, you’ve got the full moon, you’ve got the storm surge,” said Doug Spiron, who is running home-improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. (HD)’s emergency response operations involving 350 employees in Atlanta. “Then there’s the impact of the sheer size of the storm. This one takes it to another whole level of preparation.”
Record tides from the storm combined with hours of pounding wind and rain to flood electrical substations and shut down New York City’s financial district. Consolidated Edison Inc., the city’s utility, killed power to parts of downtown Manhattan, including Wall Street, and Brooklyn, as the storm surge, boosted by high tide, sent saltwater pouring into its underground power network.
Before Sandy made landfall, the storm had knocked out power to more than 2.1 million homes and businesses from North Carolina to New Hampshire, according to utility reports. Power blackouts may eventually affect as many as 10 million people in the region for as long as 10 days.
Earlier, before the storm made landfall, rising winds caused the partial collapse of a crane at a West 57th Street luxury tower called One57, designed to be the tallest residential structure in Manhattan at 90 stories.
Sandy’s “size is enormous, with storm-force winds extending up to 1,000 miles from the center of the storm on both sides,” Annes Haseemkunju, an atmospheric scientist at Eqecat, said today by telephone.
As the storm progresses, economists and analysts have varying estimates on how much damage it will cause. Hurricane Sandy ultimately may subtract 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points from U.S. gross domestic product in the fourth quarter as spending drops on services such as restaurant meals, according to Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. The economy, with annualized GDP of $13.6 trillion, expanded at a 2 percent pace in the third quarter.
“There’s a loss of activity that’s going to be hard to make up,” Vitner said. “If you’re a restaurant and you’re closed today, people are not going to eat two lunches tomorrow.”
Insured losses from the storm may reach $8.3 billion, with the largest portion in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to an estimate from Kinetic Analysis Corp. compiled by Bloomberg.

LATEST/BRIEF  NEWS:

PAKISTAN

o   Hajj pilgrims start returning home

o   Three killed in Lahore road mishap

o   Sandy turns toward US coast

o   'PPP will not form govt in Punjab'

o   Indian troops open unprovoked fire in AJK

WOLRD:

o    Get Hurricane Sandy breaking news updates with Yahoo News editors o    Sandy strengthens as nears coast; Wall Street shut Air raids, car bomb hit Damascus on last day of "truce" Obama cancels Florida event, returns to Washington to monitor storm Stock markets closed as storm hobbles New York Mexican city battered by drug gangs feels lure of truce Some states will soon call the roll on school reform Petronas agrees to renew bid for Canada's Progress: sources Ukraine president's party set for election win Major Greek daily reprints Swiss accounts list Japan PM signals election can wait, defies opposition U.N.-Arab League envoy regrets Syria truce not successful Analysis: U.S. presidential race is all about Ohio - or is it? Hurricane Sandy blows U.S. election off course Insight: China grassroots democracy challenge awaits new leaders Crucial pre-election payroll report looks weak Syria air force bombs cities, truce "practically over" Analysis: Oh, what a sinking feeling: Toyota misfires with Chinese buyers Greece says EU/IMF lenders refuse to concede on reforms Governments to debate 50 billion euro cut to EU budget Suicide bomber kills 8, wounds 100 in Nigerian church U.S. Congress may face another debt-limit showdown in 2013 Insight: China grassroots democracy challenge awaits new leaders Evacuations, shutdowns on East Coast before storm Hurricane Sandy blows election off course Presidential contenders await payroll fallout Analysis: Fiscal cliff could hit economy harder than many expect Analysis: What's eating Australia? Foreign buyers at the farm gate Wall Street to open Monday as storm hobbles New York Analysis: Employees to face healthcare sticker shock Obama at 49 percent, Romney 46 percent nine days before election: Reuters/Ipsos poll Hawaii tsunami warning canceled after lower than expected waves 7.7 magnitude quake hits Canada's British Columbia Will Supreme Court turn up its nose at drug-sniffing dogs? NYSE still planning Monday morning open Israel kills Hamas gunman, Gaza salvo hits Israeli city TransCanada signs JV for pipeline project in Northern Alberta "Life would go on" without IMF deal, Hungary says September consumer credit posts biggest rise in over 4-1/2 years Vimplecom set to sell African, Asian businesses: FT Global shares fall as growth fears mount, Wall Street closes CJ Hellovision raises $267 million in South Korea's top IPO in over a year UBS shares jump on expected radical overhaul Behavioral economics taps power of persuasion for tax compliance Shoprite lifts Q1 sales, Africa business robust Timchenko challenges Gazprom's gas export monopoly: Forbes Heathrow warns weak summer traffic to hit earnings Spain retail sales decimated by VAT hike In San Francisco, tech investor leads a political makeover Egypt's FX reserves likely rose $300-400 mln in Oct: newspaper Honda cuts forecasts, hopes for China recovery in February

Business News:

Pakistan

EXCHANGE FOR CURRENCY NOTES:

U.S.A              96.56

S.Arabia         25.75

U.K                 154.90

Japan              1.2074

Euro               125.29

U.A.E             26.29

BULLION RATES IN RUPEES PER 10 GRAMS

KARACHI

Gold Tezabi (24-ct)       Rs 52,558 Silver Tezabi                  Rs 934.28 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 - Dollar holds firm ahead of BoJ announcement TOKYO: The dollar held firm against the yen in Asian trade on Tuesday as the market awaited policy announcements b - No slash in transport fares, despite CNG price cut FAISALABAD: The Supreme Court s Eid gift to the general public has been stolen by the transporters, as the transport - Dollar stays below 80 yen ahead of BoJ meeting TOKYO: The dollar traded below 80 yen in Asia on Monday ahead of a meeting of the Bank of Japan which was expected - Crude down in Asia as hurricane threatens US east coast SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell in Asia Monday as US refineries cut crude production in anticipation of a plunge in energy - Asian markets mostly higher after US growth HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly rose on Monday following better-than-expected US growth data, although gains were - Gadgets add complexity to brutal bank layoffs LONDON: In the high-tech, gadget-addicted world of investment banking, layoffs are becoming more complex and brutal - KCCI postpones strike till November 30 KARACHI: The Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has postponed its strike against extortion till November - Karachi trade bodies divided on strike KARACHI: Extortion-plagued business community in the financial hub of Pakistan is divided on ?strike calls? as two - Karachi: FPCCI shelves traders strike for 15 days KARACHI: Karachi s business community has shelved a mega-strike it called against extortion after receiving an ass - Microsoft marks shift with Windows 8, new tablet ed for increasingly - Karachi stock market ends lower ahead of Eid holidays The - Tomatoes, garlic prices go up before Eid ISLAMABAD: You may definitely find out a sacrificial animal on a low price if you happen to be a lucky person but - CNG sellers shocked over huge cut in retail prices KARACHI: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) associations are divided over the latest slash in the prices of commodity th - OGRA slashes CNG prices after SC order ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court s verdict in the CNG pricing formula case, the government has slashed Compress - Euro gains on hopes for Greece help TOKYO: The euro rose in Asia on Thursday, boosted by speculation Greece will be given more time to put in place re

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI