Slow slide all the way
By Tabinda Shakeel
At the end of the September 2003, like all other indices, The New-Prime Bank Composite Index of VIS also had to lose certain points as market was being bearish or rather volatile during the month under review.

IN FOCUS
Investment Opportunities: Packaging medium
By Ismat Sabir
Pet bottles are a packaging medium, made up of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). These bottles are widely used in food grade packaging and are the preferred packaging medium in this segment, due to their several advantages over other resins like Polyethylene (PE), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Poly Vinyl Ethylene (PVE).

RATING ROUNDUP
Publicly Notified Ratings by JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company LIMITED
Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd.
Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) Rating AA-
ON RATING WATCH
Altowfeek Investment Bank Ltd.

STOCK MARKET CONFIDENCE
NEWS - CresBank STOCK EXCHANGE CONFIDENCE BAROMETER
Standing at low
During December 2001, level of investors' confidence in the stock market remained low as compared to that prevailed during the preceding month. The News-CresBank Confidence Barometer for December was measured at 38 per cent on an aggregate basis. Despite dropping down from 47 per cent of November, the barometer managed to maintain the same category of 'very low to low'. A week-to-week analysis reveals that the barometer managed to go as high as 44 per cent, in the middle of the month. and dipped as low as 33 per cent toward the month-end, hardly float above the 'very low' category.

The Stock Market Confidence Barometer developed by Vital Information Services Pvt. Ltd. is a unique instrument that expresses in percentage the level of investors' confidence prevailing at the Karachi Stock Exchange taking into account each and every share transaction. The model electronically tracks the number of shares traded (adjusted for free float) at the KSE along with their respective prices, to find out the exact movement of investors' money. The investors place their funds world wide in other than safe-haven stocks when they are confident of the prevailing economic and political situation. On the other hand, when they are not so confident of the economic and political developments, they transfer their funds from those comparatively risky items to the safe-havens. This phenomenon is the foundation stone of this Confidence Barometer.
-- M. Bilal Aftab

CORP CORNER