The Strongest Proponents Of Peace Are The Trader & The Wage-Earner

"War Is The Statesman's Game & The Lawyer's Jest." - Percy Bysshe Shelley

Nowadays, practically every person who has any link to the field of negotiation is very interested in how the United States, Mexico & Canada are going to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While those within the nations in question are naturally invested in the outcome, the rest of the global negotiator community is quite satisfied with being able to observe & learn from the process.

But it is human nature, that after all the coverage on the upcoming NAFTA renegotiation, outside observers would instinctively compare what is going on across the water in the United Kingdom. Contrary to how things used to be in past years where Americans were considered impulsive (& a little disorganized) while their British counterparts were staid & calm (even if not necessarily right), things sure have changed. US President Trump comes across as clear-headed & logical, but UK PM May...let us just say that the coming months will be a test of her administration's ability to maintain peace in Europe (assuming her party doesn't lose the June 8 elections, of course).

Anyway, there is no such thing as a problem without a solution. Mrs. May could do a far better job of convincing the global business community that she actually has a grip of the chaotic trade situation in the UK by looking at it as a series of unsolved mathematical problems, some of which are as follows:

1. Scotland

If the international media footage were anything to go by, the Scots were extremely upset (to say the least) with the announcement that Brexit had won the day. Now, whether Scotland actually does go through with breaking away from the UK depends almost entirely on whether Mrs. May can give Scottish First Minister Sturgeon concrete assurances that the financial loss Scotland has sustained through Brexit will be compensated for through London's economic policies in the weeks & months that follow.

 

2. France & Germany

Historically speaking, nobody has ever left the EU like the UK has done. Brexit may or may not prove beneficial to the UK economy, depending on the abilities of the incumbent Government, which will probably be the first administration to have to figure out how to manage the economy without the safety net of the British Colonies first & the EU later. But French & German imports are integral to the UK market. Considering that finding a suitable replacement partner before the economy begins to show signs of degradation is highly improbable, Mrs. May needs to find a way to re-establish trust between the UK, Germany & France.

 

3. International Organizations

In the past few years, UK organizations have gotten entangled in a series of embarrassing scandals. The British Council has verifiably made mistakes in maintaining accurate data on exam candidates (on top of which, the policy is to simply ignore repeated legal written requests to correct the inaccuracies); not too long ago, the DFID was found in possession of illegal surveillance equipment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan (that case did bring about one response: Justine Greening was posted out, without admission of guilt). The British Government undoubtedly understands the important role such organizations play in maintaining the correct international image. Consequently, it is imperative that such unfortunate incidents are thoroughly investigated so as to prevent them from recurring.

Pepsi Partnerships

Pepsi Versus Peltz: The Beginning Of The End?

Activist investor Nelson Peltz's recent highly-visible exit from the board of Pepsi - followed by a slight drop in Pepsi share prices - has attracted the attention of hundreds of media outlets & intrigued millions of readers around the world. Mr. Peltz's fund, Trian Fund Management, joined the Pepsi board in 2012, with the avowed agenda of splitting Pepsi's beverages & edibles divisions into separate financial entities. The explanation for the spat, making the rounds in the international media is that Mr. Peltz locked horns with the Pepsi board over the projected split - which the rest of the board reportedly voted against - once too often & so the other board members decided to resolve the problem & paid Mr. Peltz a 50% ROI for him to simply go away. This might have been a believable story except for the fact that Mr. Peltz had shown signs that Pepsi's steady performance over the last few quarters had apparently convinced him that splitting the company up may not be the only way to maintain (or increase) profit margins.

In short, the board had shown remarkable broad-mindedness for 4 long years of Mr. Peltz's activist investor approach...& when he began to come over to their way of thinking, they suddenly got tired of the whole thing & called it off? Pepsi may not have the impressive global presence of rival Coca Cola, but it is over a century old & consequently isn't likely to hire a board that has the patience & attention span of a toddler. According to most outside analysts, what actually happened is something totally different to media interpretations, which, perhaps, is the reason why Pepsi itself hasn't provided a clear explanation for the friction with Mr. Peltz, till now.

Common Mistaken Assumptions

While Pepsi is seemingly within its rights to keep the inner workings of its board private from the general public, there is no known law against the general public making an attempt to understand the cause of the fight, considering that some of them are shareholders, others are consumers, & all are stakeholders one way or another. In order to do that, it is important to clear the air on certain relevant questions:

1. Size Doesn't Matter

What most people don't realize is that companies, no matter how big they are, can be as susceptible to the tiniest of changes, as the sole trader grocery store down the street from your home. The only difference between the multinational & the mom-&-pop is that the multinational has the means to throw truckloads of money at a problem until it is solved, while the future survival of the mom-&-pop genuinely depends on the strategic skills of the shop management.

2. Wealthy Nations Are Always The Cash Cows

Another common misconception is that multinationals make the majority of their revenues in the Developed World; that isn't necessarily the case. Often, established brands begin to be viewed as "obsolete" in the moneyed & occasionally-faddish Developed World, while it is those brands' very pedigree that earns them the trust & respect of the Developing World.

3. In Competitor Identification, One Size Fits All

A third fallacy is the belief that when it comes to supplementary goods, global competitors are the same as local competitors. Speaking for Pakistan at least, that is mostly inaccurate because rival companies tend to negotiate for sole access to specific swathes of the market, where competitor brands are then strongly discouraged by the local regulatory authorities.

"When You Have Excluded The Impossible, Whatever Remains, However Improbable, Must Be The Truth." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Here's one possible interpretation of the disagreement that covers the facts that have been made part of the public record:

Until last year, fruit juice line "Nestle's Fruita Vitals", was of a fair enough quality, given its price tag. It clearly stated that most of its juice products were not pure juice, but contained other ingredients such as water & sugar as well; but it also promised that there would be enough juice in the mixture that the product would not be reduced to flavored water. But, this year has seen a marked decline in the quality of the Fruita Vitals line. The juice is becoming increasingly thin & runny - the very flavored water that Nestle had promised consumers that it would not devolve into. It is unclear what sparked the decline, but a possible explanation could be the global dairy market crash that has eventually gone public during the last few weeks, could have trimmed Nestle revenues in its primary market segment to the point that management does not have the time to worry about what is happening to the company's reputation in the non-dairy markets. In effect, the status of Nestle's Fruita Vitals is declining from a health drink line to a recreational beverage, best consumed chilled during the hot summer months.

Getting back to the Pepsi situation, Coca Cola is considered the global competitor to Pepsi; but that general principle does not apply in Pakistan, where Pepsi (& not Coca Cola) is the undisputed market leader since decades. Pepsi drinks sold in the local market come from 2 main sources: In bottles from within the country's borders & in cans from Afghanistan. While the local version tastes stronger, it has the unsettling reputation of inadvertently bottling a dead insect in the drink from time to time. The Afghan version is milder in flavor, but hasn't offered up similar protein supplements (at least, so far). Therefore, while the locals do take their chances with the Pakistani version, the increased awareness of the importance of hygiene standards & the declining efficacy of common antibiotics & other pharmaceutical products, are making more & more consumers choose the less-hygienically-questionable option.

The 4-day Torkham Border closure last week generated a lot of interest, especially among local media representatives. It was brief, therefore, most non-traders chose to be optimistic & assume that the Pakistani market dynamic had suffered negligible damage. But the truth is far more sobering: Torkham Border has been closed to the movement of goods since around the beginning of the year (for undisclosed reasons). Its main destination on the Pakistan side, is the Peshawar market, where the shops have been running on fumes since months. Among other items that have been replaced as a result of the supply disruption is Pepsi, whose sales spike noticeably during Pakistan's long summers. The imported version has been in short supply since months. The adventurous minority have switched to the local alternative...but the Pakistani population, in general, lacks the money to be consistently adventurous. Therefore, the majority of consumers have started leaning more heavily on Pepsi's prime Pakistani competitor: Nestle's Fruita Vitals.

Water, Water, Everywhere

GDP composition of sector & labour force by occupation in the form of any component to economy. The green, red, & blue components of the colours of the countries represent the percentages for the agriculture, industry, & services sectors, respectively.

(Wikipedia)

Introduction

The Pakistani Minister of Planning, National Reforms & Development, recently made a press statement about how he was trying to persuade our Chinese allies to set up 4 industrial parks along the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - 1 for each province - instead of 3. Apparently, he was overwhelmed with the motherly concern that leaving out any province in the beginning, may lead to inter-provincial friction (born of envy). Even though, nobody minded the location of the Haier-Ruba Economic Zone in Lahore. But intentions must always be accorded due respect, so bless his heart.

But, the fact that he brought up this endeavor during a meeting with the Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) & his delegation, gives the general public reason to believe that the Federal Government may be mulling over the possibility of re-hashing the zoning laws of KP to make room for some new industrial projects. Ordinarily, this would qualify as good news, but KP has a thriving agriculture sector that ought to be encouraged further, & is also currently involved in pursuing the ambitious Billion Tree Project. That would mean choosing stretches of land for new industrial zones might be a little more complicated than it would seem at first glance.

For a start, the logical course of action would be to familiarize ourselves with the definitions of the terms "industrial parks" & "zoning", courtesy Investopedia (investopedia.com):

DEFINITION of 'Industrial Park'

A portion of a city that is zoned for industrial use (as opposed to residential or commercial use). Industrial parks may contain oil refineries, ports, warehouses, distribution centers, chemical plants, plastics manufacturers, airports, food & beverage processors, & steel manufacturers, to name just a few examples. Some industrial parks offer tax incentives for businesses to locate there, such as tax increment financing.

BREAKING DOWN 'Industrial Park'

For example, the Wilmington Industrial Park in Los Angeles is located near a major international shipping facility (the Los Angeles & Long Beach ports), a railroad, & numerous freeways with access to major trucking routes. Types of businesses located there include cold-storage facilities, food distribution warehouses, engine parts companies & many others.

DEFINITION of 'Zoning'

Municipal or local government laws that dictate how real property can & cannot be used in certain areas. Zoning laws limit commercial use of land in order to prevent oil, manufacturing or other types of businesses from building in residential neighborhoods. However, these laws can be modified or suspended if construction of the property will serve to help the community advance economically.

BREAKING DOWN 'Zoning'

Parks, businesses & homes are all restricted under zoning laws. Zoning areas include industrial, light industrial, commercial, light commercial, agricultural, single-family residential, multi-unit residential & schools. In 1926, the Supreme Court ruled that properly drawn zoning ordinances were a valid exercise of the states' governing power. Zoning became constitutional by the U.S. supreme court as a result of the case Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 395 (1926).

KP-BOIT, Etc.

While the prospect of economic progress & prosperity in KP, is an extremely attractive proposition to the public at large, the first step towards marketing the idea of the Corridor as a way to encourage business alliances between genuine foreign investors & sincere local entrepreneurs, would be prohibitively slow, because people need to know how new alliances will make a quantifiable improvement in their lives before they embrace such changes. In that respect, the recent inauguration of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment & Trade (KP-BOIT) is a step in the right direction. If handled properly, it could prove very valuable in the establishment & encouragement of progressive trade policies without riding rough-shod over the quality of life of the locals.

But, there is one strategy that always proves effective: Give the target market a taste of better things & they will do their utmost to make the supply of those things completely reliable & steady. Allow them that taste only once in a while & they will grow disenchanted with the project & drop it soon after. That isn't a result of "extremist or backward tendencies"; it is the normal human disgust for being toyed with. Therefore, the first order of business is to upgrade the range of affordable edibles freely & steadily available in the market.

An Unsettling Pattern (?)

For instance, there appears to be an unsettling pattern in the consumer goods market in KP. Unilever seems to be playing a very important role in this particular commercial segment. Just cast a glance over the product range this conglomerate offers in Pakistan:

Food & Drinks:-

1. Blue Band

2. Lipton

3. Rafhan

4. Wall's (including Magnum & Cornetto)

Personal Care:-

1. Clear - Anti-Dandruff Shampoo Range

2. Sunsilk - Shampoo Range

3. Lifebuoy - Shampoo & Soap

4. Lux - Soap, Hand & Bodywash

5. Close Up - Toothpaste

6. Fair & Lovely - Fairness Products

7. Pond's - Talcs & Beauty Creams

8. Rexona - Deos & Anti-Perspirants

Home Care:-

1. Comfort - Fabric Softeners

2. Rin - Detergent

3. Surf Excel - Detergent & Gentle Wash

Conclusion

These are all very popular products. But, in certain cases, sizeable percentages of the consumer public prefer competitor brands. A few of the most popular names that leap to mind are Fauji Group's Nurpur Butter, Snickers Marathon Energy Bars, L'Oreal's cosmetics, skin care & hair care products, P&G's skin care products & detergent selections, etc.

The purpose of the exercise is not to run any brand or product out of the market. It is to widen the consumer horizon by supplying a wide enough product range to the common man that he understands that commercial progress is not just something that looks good in budget statements & newspaper headlines; it is a very real & quantifiable improvement in his & his loved ones' quality of life.

Honor Among Thieves

"You Must Do Exactly What You Say You Will Do" - Miami Vice (2006)

"Goodwill" comes with many fancy & complicated definitions & sub-groups:

1. Business Goodwill

2. Institutional Goodwill

3. Professional Practice Goodwill

4. Practitioner Goodwill

5. Practice Goodwill

The sources of goodwill are as numerous:

1. Brand Name

2. Location

3. Customer Base

4. Customer Relations

5. Employee Relations

6. Patents

7. Proprietary Technology

But in reality, goodwill is basically the commercial name for trust. The trust between seller & buyer; the trust between employer & employee; the trust between senior & junior. Most people believe that the most important factors in a successful business range from liquidity to connections; but they are wrong - the most important factor in a healthy commercial venture is goodwill.

All competitions & conflicts have one thing in common: At least one of the involved parties wants more than anything to prove that another party will renege on his principles if enough pressure is applied. Except for psychopaths, who stand for nothing except their own perpetual spite against pretty much everyone, all normal people stand for something: loved ones, professional ambition, wealth, influence - the list is endless. In business, the meaning of goodwill is how far is a person willing to go to fulfil the promise he or she made to family, allies, employees, competitors or enemies.

The business world seems to be getting a vague understanding of the importance of goodwill. Some firms are demonstrating this growing understanding by creating financial instruments that ask the creditor to place unequivocal (& uninsured) faith in the debtor, e.g. the Exchange Traded Note (ETN). But what most businesses don't seem to be able to grasp is that what ever product or service they are offering, the business of business has changed with the dawn of the 21st Century. It no longer matters that the product or service is "sound"; it needs to actually bring about the result promised by the seller.

Bad Medicine & Fishy Transactions

Big Pharma has been taking a serious beating during the last 15-odd years. So have the global banks. It wasn't all that noticeable all this time because these companies have deep pockets & have succeeded in managing the media admirably in order to hold off panic selling - until now. But ever since the Valeant & Citigroup fiascos exploded on to the world newspapers, the cat is out of the bag. There is no going back; & no amount of financial jargon & hollow financial instruments is going to save such businesses now. Some of them have already lost almost everything; even their highly-respected brand names are now nothing more than the titles of terrifying cautionary tales...& the damage is spreading like wildfire, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.

The one strategy that might - & I emphasise, might - save their failing businesses, is re-establishing customer goodwill. But there's a catch: The product or service in question must be both affordable & effective. Now, every company, regardless of which sector it belongs to, has to become like its customer's lawyer or financial advisor: In effect, when a seller convinces a buyer to make a purchase, the seller's responsibility no longer ends with the clink of the cash register; he is now duty-bound to do all that he is legally capable of to make sure that the customer actually does derive the promised benefit from the purchase.

Take pain medication: It has generated plenty of debate, with a special focus on the inexplicable aches & pains that perfectly healthy people suddenly develop that don't respond for more than a minute or so to the painkillers marketed by the most respectable pharmaceutical companies in the world. Once upon a time, that wasn't the problem of the companies; they took your money & you took their pills; end of story. But the playing field is not levelling out as much as it is literally becoming everyone's concern to stay on the field. Big Pharma can no longer drive sales on the basis of their medicines' past reputations. They either actually guarantee that they can make sure their medicines bring meaningful & lasting relief - or they can lose their customers.

Similarly, look at the big banks: They seem to have made a priority of discretely encouraging shady financial activities, like the reportedly friendly partnership between JP Morgan Chase & notorious American Ponzi Schemer Bernie Madoff. The reason is not that the good people working in places like JP Morgan Chase have stronger criminal instincts than employees from any other bank; it just is that they forget that their account holders are not their prey, they are their partners. Banks go belly up when they don't go out of their way to take on only sensible investments that are genuinely in the long-term best interests of both their shareholders & account holders.

The Power Of A Promise

Once upon a time, the business world believed - very rightly - that if all else fails, they can recoup their losses by investing in a sector called "sin stocks", some of which are as follows:

1. Alcohol

2. Tobacco

3. Gambling

4. Commercialized Sex

5. Weapons

But times have changed. Sin stocks can't save people or their wealth any longer. Those days are over for good. Not that sin stocks aren't profitable any more; they still are. It's just that if any businessman or company thinks that a quick foray into sin stocks will resolve cash flow problems & tide the firm over the difficult times, that doesn't apply any longer. Boeing tried to balance its civilian contracts with its defense contracts, & look where its reputation is nowadays. Brand names aren't an effective buffer either. If you don't believe that, just look at Rio Tinto.

Eastern philosophy teaches us that Life exists in a circle. Everything eventually comes back to how it began. In that vein, our ancestors began doing business on the basis of the credibility of the seller (to bring about a specific result) & the buyer (to offer fair compensation for said result). These transactions began as little more than a verbal agreement between the seller & the buyer only; there was rarely any supervisory authority. But business flourished because all concerned parties understood that the point of trade wasn't the exchange of material things as much as the fulfilment of specific promises concerning specified outcomes.

Considering that the biggest multinationals are drowning in red ink while the sole traders are getting along fairly steadily, it seems that the market is telling the world - especially the global corporations - that it is time to get back to viewing customers as people that companies must protect, not simply bill & discard. Sellers & buyers aren't opposite parties; they are all one family. The sooner the corporate world understands & accepts that, the better; or else, the nature & number of problems the multinationals are facing have only just begun to make themselves felt.

The Butterfly Effect

Keeping Up With The News

Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) just made a public statement this week that it is investigating two companies in particular for the Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Lahore scam that has been dragging along since 2009. The main Persons Of Interest are Hammad Arshad (head of Globaco Pvt. Ltd.) & Kamran Kayani (head of Elysium Holdings Pakistan Ltd.). Details are sketchy at the moment, but as the scam is worth PKR16 billion (approximately US$152 million), it would make most financial analysts wonder what (if any) effect will this investigation have on the global economy?

For that, the usual routine is to ascertain whether either of the companies in question are affiliated with any foreign firms. If so, then the next step would be to check how the stock exchanges are getting along in the countries in which those foreign firms are headquartered. Given below are some details of companies with similar names abroad & how the bourses of those countries are doing currently. After all, if even the smallest company in any given country were to get associated with a multimillion dollar overseas scam, the fallout would definitely manifest itself as a plunge in investments on the relevant stock exchange.

Globaco

Globaco is a German device manufacturer that supplies on-demand merchandise to the medical, automotive engineering, telecommunications, aviation & other industrial sectors mostly in Germany. According to the company website (www.globaco.de), it is a supplier of dispensing products, electrostatic discharge protection, soldering technology, thermal wire, tools & Wire Wrap technology.

This company doesn't seem to have much in common with Mr. Arshad's firm (other than similar names), bearing in mind the fact that it is an industrial hardware manufacturer & Globaco Pvt. Ltd is reportedly a real estate developer. Further bolstering this argument is the performance of the Xetra Dax over the last week: Mediocre.

Elysium Holdings

The online information on Elysium is a touch more unsettling: Given below is the relevant data on a company of the same name by Bloomberg Business.

Elysium Holdings LLC (Private Company)

Company Profile:

Sector:- Financials
Industry:- Asset Management
Sub-Industry:- Investment Companies

Corporate Information:

Address:- 3955 Nw 62nd Ln, Gainesville, FL 32653, United States
Phone: 1-352-372-9082

Elysium Holdings LLC was founded in 2005. The company's line of business includes holding or owning securities of companies other than banks.

Even more disquieting is the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial & the S&P 500 have both lost at least 5% during the last week alone. Considering that the holidays are still in full swing in the Western Hemisphere, the normal pattern at this time of year, is a share price spike in brands that have anything to do with holiday shopping & stability in all other brands. The current pattern is a dramatic departure from the usual routine.

While there could be several reasons for this odd behavior, one possible explanation is that the Florida-based Elysium Holdings LLC deals in the management of company securities. NAB claims to have been investigating Kamran Kayani's company since April 2015. Is it possible that the shares being managed by the American firm are feeling the heat of Mr. Kayani's misadventures?

Conclusion

If so, the only way to prevent further losses is for all parties to be completely transparent about the existence of any & all connections between all parties. The last few years (since the Lehman Brothers fiasco led to the 2008 Financial Crisis) have witnessed dramatic changes in the global economic landscape. The result is that the international investor community is a lot more distrustful of unexplained patterns than it once was. It would be a crying shame if a purely local scam blossomed into another battering for already-depleted Western businesses. Heaven knows they already have plenty of cash-flow issues to deal with. Here's hoping that everyone manages matters more logically this time around.

Abbottabad Capital Market Business Hub (?)

"The Rock Aornos From Huzara" by James Abbott

The Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) & Abbottabad

Last month, the SECP created something of a ripple in the financial circles of Pakistan with its announcement that it intends opening a "capital market business hub" in Abbottabad. The statement went on to pontificate with an air of deep wisdom about the unimaginable prosperity this step would bring for the good people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

From the perspective of the residents of KP, it is touching to see the good-natured attempt to introduce the people here to the intricate but profitable world of high finance. But from a professional point-of-view, it is painfully obvious that the SECP has forgotten the first rule of business: location, location, location. The idea of a capital market platform in KP is an excellent one, it is just that Abbottabad is (presently) a poor location choice.

What Is A "Capital Market"?

According to Investopedia (www.investopedia.com), "Capital Markets" is defined as follows:

"Markets for buying & selling equity & debt instruments. Capital markets channel savings & investment between suppliers of capital such as retail investors & institutional investors, & users of capital like businesses, government & individuals. Capital markets are vital to the functioning of an economy, since capital is a critical component for generating economic output. Capital markets include primary markets, where new stock & bond issues are sold to investors, & secondary markets, which trade existing securities."

The Top 3 Capital Market Business Hubs Of Pakistan

Whenever Pakistani financial centers are mentioned, 3 cities come to mind: Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad (in descending order of importance). The reason these 3 cities became the default choices in the country is because each has something unique to offer.

Karachi is a vast port city that has been in the process of developing into a financial center ever since the concept of international maritime trade came to the Indian Subcontinent. Lahore has a centuries-long tradition of being a cultural & educational capital going back to before the Mughals; it has the additional advantage as the first market for goods that have just crossed the India-Pakistan border. Islamabad, as the Federal Capital, is the first point at which an entrepreneur could hope to garner the attention of the international investor community.

What Does Abbottabad Have To Offer?

While there are occasional references to its significance as a hill station in Pakistan's tourism industry, Abbottabad is basically a military town. It is the regimental center of the Frontier Force Regiment, the Baloch Regiment & the Pakistan Army Medical Corps; in addition, some of its most well-known educational institutions are the Pakistan Military Academy, Army Burn Hall College, Army Public College, Abbottabad Public School & Pakistan International Public School & College - all of which are run by serving or retired Pakistan Army officers.

Army officers are not trained to fit easily into the financial world; army training promotes a regimented pattern of management; unexpected developments or unique methods of working are viewed as hostile acts - & resolved with a bullet, a missile or a directed energy weapon. But the investment field routinely proves most profitable to the party who is willing to be the most flexible & creative. Perhaps this is the reason that the majority of Army officers tend to become lawyers or small-scale realtors after retirement; & even if some of the current crop were thinking of spreading their wings, the Army opinion of gentlemen like Gen. (r) Afzal Muzaffar makes it inescapably obvious that the Army top brass frown upon forays into the capital market.

Other than the afore-mentioned educational institutions, there are only 4 others that are worth mentioning: Ayub Medical College, Frontier Medical College, COMSATS University Of Science & Technology & the University Of Engineering & Technology. These institutions (as their names imply) aren't likely to produce professionals with even the foggiest idea of the cut-throat world of competitive finance.

Peshawar, On The Other Hand...

Peshawar is the capital of KP, which means that when it comes to doing business in the Province, an investor's first stop will be the Provincial Capital. Peshawar is the biggest city in KP & the fifth-biggest city in Pakistan; it is the economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) & has Sister City ties with Urumqi (China), Makassar (Indonesia) & Sana'a (Yemen); in addition, Peshawar markets are the preferred destination for a variety of imports from Afghanistan. In effect, Peshawar is the perfect location for both the local investor & the foreign one.

At the moment, the best option for the first capital market platform in KP is Peshawar. But that doesn't mean others can't be launched as knowledge & opportunities spread. Abbottabad or any other city could become a good option in a couple of years. It is already quite clear to most financial analysts that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is going to dramatically change the economic landscape of Pakistan, especially the economically-underdeveloped provinces of KP & Balochistan. But until the Corridor is up & running, it would be better to make a small but sensible step in Peshawar, than to crash & burn in Abbottabad.

As British philosopher Julian Baggini puts it:

"The optimist underestimates how difficult it is to achieve real change, believing that anything is possible & it's possible now. Only by confronting head-on the reality that all progress is going to be obstructed by vested interests & corrupted by human venality can we create realistic programs that actually have a chance of success."

The Latest Sunrise Industry: Ecological Pets

20th Century Trained Animals & Birds

It is a little-known fact that, without the help of our furry & feathery woodland friends, it is highly likely that mankind would have made little progress & either be extinct or still trying to create a spark by knocking two stones together. Despite the celebration & glorification of the Digital Age, various animals & birds are still an integral part of many vital professions today.

A detailed report of what role each animal & bird plays in modern society would take several days to write & several hours to read, but given below is a short summary of the lines of work & the animals/birds integral to the achievement of the relevant goals.

Transportation:

-Bullocks, Oxen & Yak
-Horses, Ponies & Zebras
-Camels & Llamas
-Reindeer & Moose
-Dogs
-Donkeys
-Mules
-Elephants
-Goats
-Ostriches

Search & Retrieval:

-Caracals, Cats & Cheetahs
-Dogs
-Ferrets
-Horses
-Pigs
-Cormorants
-Falcons

Interfacing & Organization:

-Dogs
-Horses
-Monkeys

Military & Law Enforcement:

-Dogs
-Elephants
-Horses
-Rats
-Dolphins
-Pigeons

The 21st Century Version Of A Statutory Nuisance

A statutory nuisance is a legal term for something that prevents a respectable citizen from enjoying his or her life or assets; common forms of a statutory nuisance are: dust, light, noise, smoke & smells.

Nearly every member of the United Nations has formulated legal solutions to the challenge of statutory nuisances. The reason that those legal solutions have lost 90% of their efficacy over the last decade is because the legal definition of a statutory nuisance is obsolete, especially in questions of what constitutes dust, light & noise.

Particulate Matter (Microscopic Dust):

In recent times, mankind has realized that dust isn't simply visible sand or mud floating in the atmosphere or lying on neglected furniture, it also covers microscopic particles suspended in the air. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter can cause a whole range of health complaints some of which are respiratory symptoms (e.g. airway irritation, cough & labored breathing), decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, irregular heartbeat, non-fatal heart attacks & premature death (in people with heart or lung disease).

Laser (Invisible Light):

Gone are the days when you could protect your eyes from damaging flashes of light because you could see it coming. Case in point, ultraviolet light is completely invisible, but its effects on the eyes & skin can be quite serious. According to the United States Department of Energy & the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, lasers can cause a number of serious eye & skin complaints such as corneal damage, retinal damage, blindness (both temporary & permanent), hyperpigmentation, erythema, carcinogenesis & burns.

Infrasound (Inaudible Noise):

Loud noise, be it loud music or a passing jet plane, has been proven to have an extremely detrimental effect on human hearing. While it is the amplitude (measured in decibels, dB) that determines whether the sound is damaging or not, it is the frequency (measured in hertz, Hz) that decides whether we can hear it & take protective measures. But while the human body can be affected by a sound of any frequency, we can't actually hear sounds beyond the range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Sound above 20,000Hz (called ultrasound) is considered fairly harmless. But sound below 20Hz (called infrasound) is a whole other ballgame. According to the World Health Organization & other international research groups, some symptoms of infrasound exposure are annoyance, anxiety, stress, irritability, difficulty concentrating, internal pulsation, sleep disturbance, aural pain, aural pressure, tinnitus, stitch, headaches, nausea, visual blurring, fatigue, palpitations, tachycardia, heart ailments & vertigo.

The Environment-Friendly Solution

As it turns out, Nature really does hold the solution to every problem. There are a surprisingly large number of animals & birds that can detect the presence of the afore-mentioned environmental hazards. It may take a few more decades for the world to actually update the laws that are supposed to protect the Earth, but it is reasonable to assume that the global citizenry will do their part to save our planet because, as Adam Smith teaches us, people will do whatever it takes to protect their lives & property - including setting up their own warning system to tell them how to react to the sudden emergence of what doctors call "idiosyncratic symptoms"; & therein, lies a whole new commodity: the ecological pet.

A few of the animals & birds that are likely to become hot commodities over the next few years are:

PARTICULATE MATTER: Opossums, Cows, Chinese Softshell Turtles, Horses & Dogs.

LASER: Butterflies, Reindeer, Kestrels, Owls & Salmon.

INFRASOUND: Pigeons, Doves, Guinea Fowl, Okapis & Snakes.