Tag: risk

  • Your low calorie drinks, food items may up heart attack, stroke risk

    Your low calorie drinks, food items may up heart attack, stroke risk

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    New York: Trying to switch to drinks and food that are low on calories and carbohydrate to avoid sugar? These are often loaded with an artificial sweetener called erythritol and can raise your risk of a major adverse cardiac event such as heart attack, stroke or death, warned a study.

    Erythritol is about 70 per cent as sweet as sugar and is produced through corn fermentation and often mixed to sweeten stevia, monk fruit or add bulk to low-calorie products.

    The artificial sweetener is also used as a common replacement for table sugar and is often recommended for people who have obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome and are looking for options to help manage their sugar or calorie intake.

    After ingestion, erythritol is poorly metabolised by the body. Instead, it goes into the bloodstream and leaves the body mainly through urine. The human body creates low amounts of erythritol naturally, so any additional consumption can accumulate.

    Researchers from Cleveland Clinic in the US also found that erythritol, when added to whole blood or isolated platelets was found to make platelets easier to activate and form a clot.

    The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are based on a study of more than 4,000 people in the US and Europe.

    “Our study shows that when participants consumed an artificially sweetened beverage with an amount of erythritol found in many processed foods, markedly elevated levels in the blood are observed for days — levels well above those observed to enhance clotting risks,” said Stanley Hazen, from Lerner Research Institute at Cleveland Clinic.

    “It is important that further safety studies are conducted to examine the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners in general, and erythritol specifically, on risks for heart attack and stroke, particularly in people at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.”

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    #calorie #drinks #food #items #heart #attack #stroke #risk

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • They warn of great RISK due to TikTok’s EXTREME BEAUTY filter | Artificial intelligence

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    Mexico.- Who does not like to be attractive in photos? If you are one of those people, you will thank the Artificial Intelligence (AI) As much as I. A ‘extreme beauty’ filter on TikTok has caused a stir on the social platform due to its impressive accuracy and realism.

    ‘Extreme beauty’ filter uses Artificial Intelligence to enhance facial features of users, leaving them with a strikingly beautiful appearance.

    The photo tool that has been created by software company Perfect Corp uses deep learning technology to scan and improve the appearance of users.

    The use of the AI in image editing applications It is not new, there are already applications on the market that allow users to improve their selfies through the use of deep learning algorithms, but the level of realism offered by Perfect Corp has attracted attention.

    Some of the facial modifications that the TikTok option can perform are: wrinkle removal, complexion improvement, skin whitening, eyebrow liner, droopy eyelid reduction, greater intensity in eye color, teeth whitening, among many others.

    If you are a lover of selfies and want to try the ‘extreme beauty’ filter, you should not do much more than go to the Chinese application and enter the recording section.

    Despite the promise of this tool, some TikTok users are concerned about the impact it could have on self-esteem and perception of the body of people, especially those who are vulnerable to social pressure and aesthetic ideals.

    We recommend you read:

    This technology has also been criticized for its potential to perpetuate unrealistic standards of beauty and for the negative effect it can have on mental health.

    My name is Juan Pablo Chaidez Aispuro, born in Culiacán, Sinaloa into a small family that originally consisted of four people: father, mother and two children. From my early years I showed a taste for watching the news and staying informed. I was a graduate of the 2014 – 2018 generation of the degree in Journalism, from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), the first in that career since its opening. Regarding professional experience, I was able to gain learning during a period of six months in the sports area of ​​the Noroeste newspaper, where I did professional internships. Later, I had the opportunity to spend another six months in the ranks of Radio Sinaloa, particularly in the news program Informativo Puro Sinaloa, of the state government. There I covered local issues, recorded voice for the newscast, contributed content for other broadcasts and had live participation. Since 2020 I have been in Debate, a company that opened the doors for me to integrate as a web reporter, and months later to hold the position of Editor on the Debate.com.mx site.

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    #warn #great #RISK #due #TikToks #EXTREME #BEAUTY #filter #Artificial #intelligence

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    ( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

  • Air around East Palestine still has high chemical levels — but risk isn’t ‘imminent,’ researchers say

    Air around East Palestine still has high chemical levels — but risk isn’t ‘imminent,’ researchers say

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    train derailment dioxin explainer 26690

    “This could be a concern if those levels were sustained over the long term,” said Weihsueh Chiu, a professor of veterinary physiology and pharmacology at Texas A&M University, which conducted the analysis of EPA data collected between Feb. 4 and this past Tuesday.

    The findings, which the school posted on Twitter on Friday, come after weeks of rising anger among residents skeptical of the government’s assurances that they faced no health risks. Some local residents have complained about unusual ailments such as bloody noses and dizziness.

    “It’s hard to trust anybody right now, for everything that we’ve been through,” resident Courtney Newman said at a town hall hosted by CNN on Wednesday evening. Newman said her son has had daily bloody noses and that she developed “skin issues” since returning home after evacuating because of the chemicals.

    Chiu acknowledged that it’s difficult to determine from this initial data that the concentrations are responsible for any residents’ specific ailment, partly because EPA’s data averages levels over multiple hours, which may not reflect brief spikes.

    An independent research team from Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon University — which is located in Pittsburgh, about an hour from the crash site — are collecting their own data with a mobile monitoring van that could reflect short-term bursts, though it will likely be a week or two before that analysis is complete.

    EPA, which has had workers on the scene since hours after the Feb. 3 crash, reiterated in a statement that it has not detected levels dangerous in the short-term.

    “EPA’s 24/7 air monitoring data continues to show that exposure levels of the 79 monitored chemicals are below levels of concern for adverse health impacts from short-term exposures,” the agency said. “The long-term risks referenced by this analysis assume a lifetime of exposure, which is constant exposure over approximately 70 years. EPA does not anticipate levels of these chemicals will stay high for anywhere near that long.”

    Chiu agreed the levels should drop as the cleanup continues but said East Palestine residents should keep an eye on air quality data over the coming weeks to be sure.

    “We weren’t trying to be alarmist,” he said. “It was just that nobody had done any interpretation of these levels, to our knowledge.”

    The analysis found high levels of acrolein, which in liquid form is used as a component in the manufacturing of other chemicals or as a pesticide. It wasn’t carried in that form on the train, according to Norfolk Southern’s inventory, but can be formed as a byproduct of burning petrochemicals or via cigarettes or vaping.

    “These levels are not because people are vaping right outside of the monitor,” Chiu said. “I’m not sure of the source but because it’s a combustion product, maybe it’s possibly from when they burned the material.”

    Acrolein is an irritant in the respiratory tract, and research has found it can cause nasal lesions in animals after long-term exposure, Chiu said. It may also cause cancer with chronic exposure, but additional research is needed to determine that.

    The median concentration of acrolein picked up around East Palestine was 0.14 micrograms per cubic meter of air. That comes with a hazard quotient — a measurement of chemicals’ non-cancer health risk — of 7, according to Texas A&M’s analysis; quotients over 1 are of concern. An EPA survey in 2014 found that Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, had a quotient of 0.83, slightly below the average U.S. county quotient of 0.89, according to the Texas A&M researchers.

    The highest sampling this month in East Palestine showed concentrations of 0.8 micrograms, with a quotient of 40.

    EPA said the levels of acrolein being detected are within levels typically found in the air as defined by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.

    Eight other chemicals showed higher-than-normal concentrations, though none surpassed a quotient of 1. However, chemicals can add up cumulatively to cause concern.

    Vinyl chloride, a chemical that was burned off by Norfolk Southern days after the crash to prevent an explosion, is one of the substances showing higher than normal concentrations in some parts of East Palestine.

    Some of the other chemicals may have come from the burning of crude oil or are being emitted by evaporating petrochemicals that soaked into the ground after the crash. Among them are benzene and naphthalene, both of which can cause cancer or — through chronic exposure — non-cancer ailments such as blood disorders, cataracts, respiratory issues and reproductive effects, according to EPA’s website.

    The team from Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon is gathering independent data on about 80 chemicals in the air via its mobile monitoring van. Chiu said they plan to conduct a detailed analysis and release more information in a week or two.

    The partnership was formed to study air pollution in the wake of Superfund disasters and is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, Chiu said.



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    #Air #East #Palestine #high #chemical #levels #risk #isnt #imminent #researchers
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Tesla recalls 362,000 vehicles over self-driving software flaws that risk crashes

    Tesla recalls 362,000 vehicles over self-driving software flaws that risk crashes

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    Tesla said it would recall 362,000 US vehicles to update its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta software after regulators said on Thursday the driver assistance system did not adequately adhere to traffic safety laws and could cause crashes.

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the Tesla software allows a vehicle to “exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash”.

    Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update free of charge, and the electric vehicle maker said is not aware of any injuries or deaths that may be related to the recall issue. The automaker said it had 18 warranty claims.

    Tesla shares were down 1.6% at $210.76 on Thursday afternoon.

    The recall covers 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with FSD Beta software or pending installation.

    NHTSA asked Tesla to recall the vehicles, but the company said despite the recall it did not concur in NHTSA’s analysis. The move is a rare intervention by federal regulators in a real-world testing program that the company sees as crucial to the development of cars that can drive themselves. FSD Beta is used by hundreds of thousands of Tesla customers.

    The setback for Tesla’s automated driving effort comes about two weeks before the company’s March 1 investor day, during which Chief Executive Elon Musk is expected to promote the EV maker’s artificial intelligence capability and plans to expand its vehicle lineup.

    Tesla could not immediately be reached for comment.

    NHTSA has an ongoing investigation it opened in 2021 into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with driver assistance system Autopilot over a string of crashes with parked emergency vehicles. NHTSA is reviewing whether Tesla vehicles adequately ensure drivers are paying attention. NHTSA said on Thursday despite the FSD recall its “investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot and associated vehicle systems remains open and active.”

    Tesla said in “certain rare circumstances … the feature could potentially infringe upon local traffic laws or customs while executing certain driving maneuvers”.

    Possible situations where the problem could occur include traveling or turning through certain intersections during a yellow traffic light and making a lane change out of certain turn-only lanes to continue traveling straight, NHTSA said.

    NHTSA said “the system may respond insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits or not adequately account for the driver’s adjustment of the vehicle’s speed to exceed posted speed limits.”

    Last year, Tesla recalled nearly 54,000 US vehicles with FSD Beta software that may allow some models to conduct “rolling stops” and not come to a complete stop at some intersections, posing a safety risk, NHTSA said.

    Tesla and NHTSA say FSD’s advanced driving features do not make the cars autonomous and require drivers to pay attention.

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    #Tesla #recalls #vehicles #selfdriving #software #flaws #risk #crashes
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Eating almonds daily may improve diabetes risk factors: Study

    Eating almonds daily may improve diabetes risk factors: Study

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    New Delhi: Eating almonds regularly may lead to improvements in both body weight and blood sugar in overweight and obese people, according to a study.

    The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, found that eating almonds daily for 12 weeks reduced insulin resistance, improved pancreatic function, and helped control blood glucose levels.

    The group given almonds also achieved significant reductions in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference over the intervention period and lowered their total cholesterol, the researchers said.

    “Our almond consumers had improvements to both body weight and blood sugar,” said Viswanathan Mohan, president and chief of diabetes research at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai, and one of the study authors.

    “Obesity is a health problem seen around the world, and we know obesity raises the risk of chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes. We also know this is a complex problem, tightly interwoven with diabetes, and we think we have identified a rather simple solution,” Mohan said in a statement.

    Gayathri Rajagopal, PhD scholar at the University of Madras, and first author on the study, noted that almond eaters demonstrated enhanced function of their beta cells, which are the cells in the pancreas that make insulin.

    “This is substantial for people with prediabetes and suggests the potential for regular almond consumption to delay onset of diabetes. Besides that, we know almonds increase satiety making them a healthy snack for people predisposed to type 2 diabetes,” Rajagopal said.

    The resaerchers also found that people participating in the almond intervention had better levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides — both of which are very important to manage obesity and diabetes.

    Nuts like almonds are a healthy dietary component that could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well, they said.

    “Almonds provide 6 grams of plant protein per 1 ounce (28 grams) serving. Almonds’ favourable fatty acid profile and high vitamin E content correspond to the improvements in cholesterol and triglycerides we saw in the study,” said R M Anjana, vice president at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, and one of the study authors.

    “Furthermore, the improvements in body weight, pancreatic function, reduction in insulin resistance, and better blood sugar suggest that almonds are a boon to cardiometabolic health,” Anjana added.

    The study was conducted on 400 participants aged 25–65 years with a body mass index over 23 kilograms per square metre (kg/m2).

    Researchers used BMI guidelines from the World Health Organization – Western Pacific Region stating that over 23 kg/m2 corresponds to overweight and over 25 kg/m2 to obese.

    Participants had central obesity, dyslipidemia i.e. imbalance of blood lipids, such as cholesterol, family history of diabetes, normal blood pressure as well as hypertension, and they routinely consumed mid-morning snacks.

    A subsample of 126 participants was asked to wear a continuous glucose monitor for 14 consecutive days.

    Researchers found that participants in the almond treatment group had improvement in their beta cell function, reduced insulin resistance and lowered total cholesterol.

    In addition, these participants had significant reductions in body weight, BMI, waist circumference, glucose, and triglycerides over 12 weeks, they said.

    The almond intervention participants also consumed 13 per cent fewer carbohydrates, increased calories from fat, and experienced increased intakes of protein, monounsaturated fat, and dietary fibre.

    For the subsample wearing the continuous glucose monitors, the almond intervention participants had better glycemic responses compared to the control participants, the researchers said.

    This study also included researchers from Purdue University, US, Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain, and Harvard University in the US, among others.

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    #Eating #almonds #daily #improve #diabetes #risk #factors #Study

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Making dinner means dicing with danger, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take

    Making dinner means dicing with danger, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take

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    There were a few seconds, immediately after the blade sliced deep into the tip of my left index finger and shortly before the blood began to gush, when I merely watched. There always seems to be a moment like this following an injury in the kitchen; a stillness, before the crisis management kicks in, when we are lost in bafflement at our clumsiness or stupidity or just plain bad luck.

    In this case, it was a mixture of all three. My knife skills do not deserve the name. I am a home cook, not a trained chef, and I haven’t quite mastered the business of folding my finger tips under while resting my knuckles against the blade. I was shredding spring onions. I was distracted. Now I was injured.

    The wound took a month to heal. Now I have a crescent-shaped scar at the tip. It gets to join all the other scars. There is the long, slug-shaped pale mark on my right wrist where it fried against the top edge of a very hot oven as I reached in with a spatula.

    We assume these things fade with time, but I’m now made of older skin and bone; that one will be with me for life. There are the polka dots of multiple small burns on the ball of my left hand, caused by reaching in to get the oven tray. Now there is this new one.

    Anyone who cooks regularly has these marks. I am not proud of them. I would be very happy if none of these minor accidents had occurred; if I were unscarred. No one should make light of potential disfigurement.

    Happily, though, they are minor enough that I can now be curiously fond of them. They are my life in the kitchen, written on the body, the physical marks of someone who has diced vegetables and chopped onions, fretted over stock pots and poked at roasts, tasted sauces, deep fried and charred and blitzed.

    The fact is that cookery is not risk free. It involves fire and knives. While the possibility of injury may decrease with experience, the likelihood of it happening increases because of repetition.

    Behold the professionals. My friend Jeremy Lee, revered chef at Quo Vadis, has been cooking all day, almost every working day, for more than 30 years. “The marks really come out in the sun,” he says. “My forearms make me look like a zebra. And you look at them and go, ah, there you are.”

    The great Manchester chef Mary-Ellen McTague says her attitude to minor injuries has changed over the years. “Once, they were a badge of honour,” she says. “If your finger was hanging off and you were still cooking, it was weirdly heroic. Now, I’d rather just be safe. But I do feel an affection for my scars.”

    Clearly accidents happen. Such is life. There is, however, one risk in the kitchen that every cook I’ve ever discussed it with winces at the thought of: the mandolin. “Watching someone slicing on a mandolin makes me very nervous,” McTague says. “I don’t know a cook who hasn’t lost a fingertip to one of those.”

    Lee understands why it happens. “Maybe you can’t find the guard,” he says. “So you go for it. And then we kick ourselves for just being silly sods and too gung ho.”

    That’s how it works. We plan to make something nice to eat. Then the hand slips. The blade does its worst. And we know, for certain, that the mark of our highly developed appetites will be with us for a long time to come.

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    #Making #dinner #means #dicing #danger #risk
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Sikhs at risk of being ‘unlawfully’ banned from UK courts

    Sikhs at risk of being ‘unlawfully’ banned from UK courts

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    London: Practicing Sikhs in the UK face the risk of being unlawfully banned from entering courthouses or tribunals in England and Wales under present guidelines over kirpan (ceremonial dagger).

    Sikh lawyer Jaskeerat Singh Gulshan challenged the security policy of the courts and tribunals concerning kirpans in a case which was heard this week by the lord chief justice and the vice-president of the court of appeal, The Guardian reported.

    Practising, or Amritdhari Sikhs, are required to carry Kirpan at all times along with other articles of faith.

    Gulshan launched a legal battle after he felt humiliated at Ealing Magistrates’ Court where he was barred from entering till he removed his kirpan in 2021.

    He was carrying a Kirpan with an overall length of eight inches, and the length of the blade was four inches, which was within the permissible limit, according to him.

    As per the prevailing guidelines, Sikhs are allowed to bring a kirpan into a court or tribunal building if the overall length is no more than six inches and the blade is no more than five inches in length, the report stated.

    But according to Gulshan, these measurements are physically impossible as a Kirpan with four inches of blade cannot have two inches for the handle and sheath.

    “In light of the HMCTS (HM Courts and Tribunals Service) guidance as it currently stands, it is apparent that a Sikh lawyer … cannot expect to practice law because he has effectively been banned from appearing in court in violation of his right to carry a kirpan as protected by UK legislation,” Gulshan’s barrister, Parminder Saini, told the lord chief justice and the vice-president of the court of appeal, The Guardian report said.

    “Sikhs are unique in being a protected religion as well as a race. As a person of Sikh ethnicity, this systemic discriminatory treatment therefore occurs on both religious and ethnic grounds, and equates to systematic discrimination against Sikhs,” Saini added.

    In its argument, the government said that the security policy came into force after consulting the Sikh community.

    In reply to this, Saini said the government spoke with the smaller Supreme Sikh Council and not the Sikh Council UK, which is the community’s largest platform in the country, the report said.

    Sukhjeevan Singh from the Sikh Council UK, said in his submission to the court that “to design and manufacture such a kirpan would be a mockery of our sacred article of faith”.

    Saini said the court’s guidance is unlawful because it seeks to overrule primary legislation — it is not an offence to carry an article with a blade in a public place if a person has the article with him for religious reasons.

    To this, the government argued that permission to appeal should be refused because the policy falls under the legitimate aim of protecting the security of others. Saini’s objections, they said, are “a misreading of primary legislation”.

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    #Sikhs #risk #unlawfully #banned #courts

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Samsung smartphone users under high risk, India government issues warning – Kashmir News

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    Samsung Galaxy smartphones have dominated the smartphone market For quite some time. Samsung Galaxy smartphones are used by millions of people for everyday conversations. As phones get smarter, they are not just used for calls and messages. Smartphones store some of our most sensitive and private information because they are also used for photography, online meetings, banking, and other activities.

    The Korean tech giant periodically releases security updates for its apps and devices to safeguard such data. Despite Samsung’s recommendation that users use the most recent version of their apps for a more secure and feature-rich experience, some users choose to use older versions for convenience, but it’s important to note that older versions of apps are easier to exploit. The Indian government has issued a warning to Samsung Galaxy users following the discovery of one such flaw in the app.

    According to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. A vulnerability in the Samsung Galaxy Store app has been discovered, This vulnerability could allow a local attacker to install an unwanted app or execute arbitrary code on the phone being targeted. Users of Samsung Galaxy smartphones with Samsung Galaxy Store app versions prior to 4.5.49.8 will be affected by the vulnerability.

    according to CERT-In, This vulnerability exists in the Samsung Galaxy Store app, as a result of an exported activity flow that does not safeguard incoming intents. A specially crafted request could be sent by a local attacker to take advantage of this vulnerability. A local attacker could install applications from the Galaxy App Store on the targeted device without the user’s knowledge if this vulnerability is successfully exploited.

    If you tap a malicious hyperlink in Google Chrome or a malicious application that is already installed, an attacker can also take advantage of the vulnerability. Through Samsung’s URL filter, a local attacker can launch a webview to a domain controlled by the attacker.

    Installing the most recent version of the Samsung Galaxy Store app right away will help you avoid being conned.

    CLICK ON THE BELOW PROVIDED LINKS TO FOLLOW KASHMIR NEWS ON: 

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    ( With inputs from : kashmirnews.in )

  • Pakistan’s economy at risk of collapse

    Pakistan’s economy at risk of collapse

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    Karachi: British publication Financial Times has warned that Pakistan’s economy is at risk of collapse with the government’s “failure to revive” an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, Geo News reported.

    According to the report, rolling blackouts and a severe foreign currency shortage are making it difficult for businesses to continue operations.

    Shipping containers full of imports are piling up at ports as the buyers are unable to secure the dollars to pay for them, it added, Geo News reported.

    “Associations for airlines and foreign companies have warned that they have been blocked from repatriating dollars by capital controls imposed to protect dwindling foreign reserves. Officials said that factories such as textile manufacturers were closing or cutting hours to conserve energy and resources. The difficulties were compounded by a nationwide blackout on Monday that lasted more than 12 hours,” reported the UK newspaper.

    “Already a lot of industries have closed down, and if those industries don’t restart soon, some of the losses will be permanent,” said the founder of Macro Economic Insights, Sakib Sherani, Geo News reported.

    Citing analysts, Financial Times reported that Pakistan’s economic situation is “becoming untenable”, and maybe in a similar situation as Sri Lanka if the situation persists. The publication also warned that if the “situation persists” then the country may default in May.

    “Every day matters now. It’s simply not clear what the way out is,” said Abid Hasan, a former advisor to the World Bank, adding, “Even if they get a billion [dollars] or two to roll over, things are so bad that it’s going to be just a band-aid at best.”

    Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told the FT that the country has “drastically” reduced imports in an attempt to conserve dollars.

    “If we just comply with the IMF conditionalities, as they want, there will be riots in the streets. We need a staggered programme… The economy and society cannot absorb the shock or cost of a front-loaded programme,” Iqbal said.

    Following the Pakistani rupee’s devaluation in the open and interbank markets, the benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied and gained by more than 1,000 points, Geo News reported.

    Commenting on the development, Arif Habib Limited’s Head of Research, Tahir Abbas, said that the rupee’s steep fall has triggered a positive sentiment in the market.

    “The driving factor behind the market is the rupee’s market-based exchange rate. This has helped clear the uncertainty that was surrounding the investors,” Abbas said, Geo News reported.

    The analyst said that the government’s steps are helping the market recover and increasing the confidence of the investors – who were in a difficult position due to the uncertainty over the revival of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme.

    Abbas added that with a mini-budget expected within the next eight to 10 days, the tariffs of gas and electricity might also witness an increase and more taxes might be be imposed – also the global money lender’s conditions.

    The Pak rupee posted its biggest single-day decline against the dollar in more than two decades, after rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves and an unyielding IMF forcing the government to relax its grip on the currency, The News reported.

    Following the government’s decision to end its control over the rupee-dollar exchange rate as part of the IMF condition, the Pak currency slid 9.61 per cent, or Rs 24.5, to a record low of Rs 255.43 against the US dollar compared to Wednesday’s close of Rs 230.89.

    The over 9 per cent decline was its highest since October 30, 1999, when the currency had slumped 9.4 per cent.

    “The State Bank of Pakistan is seemingly adjusting the exchange rate to the market rate – closer to open market to address the widening difference between the official and open market rate and to curb the flow of dollars through the informal market,” said Saad Ali, a capital market expert, The News reported.

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    #Pakistans #economy #risk #collapse

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )