Pull over, the economy’s check engine lights are on

What does the hiking of the interest rate mean in the larger scheme of things?

There are two kinds of people. The first are the stable ones. As soon as they see the ‘check engine’ light on their cars turn on, they pull over and call a mechanic. At most, they will take the risk of taking their car to the mechanic themselves. The other kind of people are the chaotic ones. These are the ones that not only ignore their check engine light as if it means nothing, but when the car engine starts rumbling and making scary noises they turn up their stereo to drown out the noise and ignore the problem. Of course, eventually the car will break down and the mechanic’s job (and cost) will be doubled. 

The economy is often analogised as a car. The question is, how are we handling our check engine light? 

The emergency monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting hiking policy rates by 250 basis points on Thursday, more than 12 days ahead of the scheduled MPC meeting was a blaring check engine light if there ever was one. In an emergency meeting, the State Bank of Pakistan announced a 250 bps policy rate hike bringing the policy rate to 12.25%.

 

To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan

The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account.

Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.

(Already a subscriber? Click here to login)
  • Full Price Subscription Plans

    Not only will you be supporting independent journalism, 25% of the amount from your subscription will be used to subsidise those subscribers who cannot afford the full price of the subscription. Yearly full price subscription plans also include a complimentary annual subscription to The Wall Street Journal.

    +

  • Subsidised Subscription Plans

    Pay part of the full subscription price, if you cannot afford to pay all of it, and the rest will be subsidised by a full paying subscriber.

  • Free Student Subscriptions

    If you are currently a student, you can claim an already-paid-for digital subscription, courtesy

     

Ariba Shahid
Ariba Shahid
The author is a business journalist at Profit. She can be reached at [email protected] or at twitter.com/AribaShahid

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.

Popular Posts