His eyes sting from the sweat dripping down his face. He takes interrupted, shallow breaths as it hurts to take deep ones; a mark left by the beast which now lies dead and vanquished. He looks down at the weapon in his hand. There is little in the way of differentiating his own blood from the one whose lifeless body is near his feet. A crowd cheers loudly as the arena around him echoes with the cheers and jeers around him but his focus is steady. All his concentration is fixated on the exalted emperor sitting on the throne. His gaze is stuck on the thumb. The thumb and gesture that will decide his fate. The emperor rises and his arm protrudes from his ceremonial garb. As the arm is raised, his fate is sealed.
It might seem barbaric and treacherous now that the life and death of someone can be decided by a chosen few. But the reality still exists. Just like the blood absorbed by the dirt that lays at the gladiator’s feet, the truth is also there that the future of a company can be decided by investors in the stock market.
Power generation companies have recently seen their Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) contracts end with the government which has meant that a huge chunk of their revenues and income has been taken away. Based on that decision, there are companies listed on the stock market which are seeing their price plummet. So much so that there are a few companies which are worth more dead than alive based on their stock price.Â
The polleo is held by the investors in the market and they seemed to have voted that with a resounding thumbs down to some of these companies. 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.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
