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PSX edges up after record intra-day high | The Express Tribune

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PSX edges up after record intra-day high | The Express Tribune



KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a volatile session on Friday with the benchmark KSE-100 index posting a modest gain of 83.90 points to settle at 158,037.37, after briefly touching the all-time high of 159,337 earlier in the day.

The market saw strong activity in power, technology and cement sectors, while selling pressure in commercial banks capped gains.

“Another historic day at the PSX saw the KSE-100 index touch 159,337 points, supported by the strongest volumes in weeks,” noted Mubashir Anis Naviwala of JS Global.

However, heavy profit-taking emerged after hitting the record high, dragging the index down to close at 158,037, up 84 points. Power, technology and cement stocks performed strongly, while selling pressure was witnessed in commercial banks, he said.

Total traded volumes stood at 2,048 million shares as strong participation from both institutional and retail investors fueled the rally further. “The outlook remains bullish, with dips offering attractive accumulation opportunities in key sectors,” the analyst added.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported that on Friday 36 shares advanced while 62 declined, where Hubco (+4.76%), The Bank of Punjab (+10%), and OGDC (+1.76%) contributed the most to the index gains. On the other side, UBL (-2.42%), Engro Holdings (-1.06%) and HBL (-1.57%) were the biggest drags. Overall, it was a solid week for the KSE-100, which gained 2.3% week-on-week.

On the macro front, AHL said, Pakistan posted a current account deficit of $245 million in August 2025, sharply higher than the $82 million deficit a year earlier, mainly due to rising import demand. This brought the cumulative 2MFY26 deficit to $624 million, compared to $430 million in the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Petroleum (-0.34%) announced FY25 earnings per share of Rs33.82, down 19% year-on-year, alongside cash dividend of Rs7.50 per share.

Market activity remained buoyant, with traded volumes on the KSE crossing 2 billion shares in Friday’s session, a level last witnessed in December 2021, suggesting that investors should remain cautious about potential weakness in the coming weeks.

Following a robust positive session a day earlier, the market witnessed a range-bound trading day, highlighted Topline Securities in its market review, “reflecting a tug of war between optimistic investors riding the bullish momentum and cautious participants looking to book profits ahead of the futures contract rollover week.”

The index oscillated between the intra-day high of +1,384 points (+0.88%) and the low of -431 points (-0.27%), eventually settling marginally higher by 0.05% at 158,037 points. This indecisive movement underscores investor caution amid elevated levels and the upcoming derivatives expiry, Topline said. Traded value-wise, OGDC ($21 million), PSO ($20.9 million), BOP ($15.2 million), Pakistan Petroleum ($13 million) and Hubco ($10 million) dominated the trading activity.

The top positive contribution to the index came from Hubco, OGDC, The Bank of Punjab, Systems Ltd and PSO as they contributed +663 points. On the other hand, UBL, Engro Holdings, HBL, FFC and Mari Petroleum pulled the index down by 248 points, it added.

Overall trading volumes were recorded at 2.05 billion shares compared with the previous session’s tally of 1.96 billion. The value of shares traded was Rs69.3 billion.

Shares of 486 companies were traded. Of these, 189 stocks closed higher, 266 fell and 31 remained unchanged.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with trading in 170.3 million shares, losing Rs0.29 to close at Rs8.12. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 167.3 million shares, gaining Rs2.38 to close at Rs26.26 and WorldCall Telecom with 163 million shares, losing Rs0.10 to close at Rs1.68. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs1.37 billion, the NCCPL reported.



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United Airlines flight attendants ratify new contract with 31% raises this summer

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United Airlines flight attendants ratify new contract with 31% raises this summer


A United Airlines plane approaches the runway at Denver International Airport on March 23, 2026.

Al Drago | Getty Images

United Airlines flight attendants approved a new five-year labor contract with 31% average raises to base pay by August and other improvements, marking the last of the major carriers with unionized flight crews to reach a deal post-Covid.

The labor deal would give United’s roughly 30,000 flight attendants their first raises in close to six years. The company and the flight attendants’ union reached a preliminary deal in March. Crews had rejected a contract last year.

The union said the contract won 82% approval from the flight attendants, with close to 90% of them voting.

“The contract will immediately change the lives of United Flight Attendants, especially our thousands of new hires who have been hired since the pandemic,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants.

The contract also includes boarding pay, or pay for when the aircraft’s door is open and travelers are getting on. Airlines had for years started flight attendants’ pay clock once the boarding door was closed.

The contract comes with a roughly 7% to 8% increase in compensation and $741 million in back pay, as well as quality-of-life improvements like restrictions on red-eye flights and “sit pay” during disruptions of more than 2½ hours.

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Joni Lamb, Whose Christian TV Station Went Global, Dies at 65

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Joni Lamb, Whose Christian TV Station Went Global, Dies at 65


Joni Lamb, the president of Daystar Television Network, a televangelism broadcaster she founded with her husband, Marcus Lamb, turning their family into stars of Christian entertainment, died on Thursday. She was 65.

In an announcement posted on Daystar’s website, the company described the cause as “serious health matters” exacerbated by a recent back injury. It did not say where she died.

On a trip to Jerusalem in 1983, shortly after the couple married, Mr. Lamb visited the Mount of Olives and felt God telling him to move to Montgomery, Ala., and start a Christian TV station. He and Ms. Lamb poured their energy and modest finances into the effort and began appearing on the air two years later.

By the time they founded Daystar — in Texas in 1997 — they were experienced entrepreneurs and performers. After just a few years, they owned 24 stations around the country. By 2010, they had become the second-largest Christian broadcaster, after Trinity Broadcasting Network, and were reaching more than 200 countries, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Compared with other televangelists, the Lambs “are younger and come across as more ordinary folks,” David Clark, the president of a rival Christian broadcaster, told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2001. “They come across as being sincere.”

Mr. Clark added: “Marc is sharp, and his wife, Joni, is a big asset.”

The Lambs frequently appeared on their own network in a talk show format, discussing the pleasures and challenges of domestic life in a Christian idiom. Ms. Lamb, who liked to break into song, was Daystar’s leading talk show host, over the decades moderating shows like “Taking a Break With Joni” and “Joni Table Talk.” She would often be surrounded by other female regulars, putting questions to a male guest who had wisdom to impart.

The prominent pastor Jentezen Franklin visited earlier this year, for example, to discuss his new book, “The Power of Short Prayers.” The conversation slipped easily into evangelism.

“For someone watching right now: You’ve been listening; God’s opened your heart,” Ms. Lamb said. “In fact, your heart’s already been opened for some time, as you’ve been looking, searching, and you tried everything else. Always say, ‘Why don’t you try Jesus?’ A simple prayer: That will change your life for eternity.”

During the episode she was flanked, as she often was, by her two daughters, Rachel Lamb Brown and Rebecca Lamb Weiss, and referred to her husband by his first name, as if the viewers at home were family friends.

In 2021, Mr. Lamb died, at 64, of Covid-19, after having frequently suggested that people should pray instead of getting vaccinated. Ms. Lamb announced his death on air.

The travails of the Lamb family were often incorporated into the station’s programming. In 2010, Mr. Lamb admitted on live TV to an extramarital affair and described an attempt to extort millions of dollars in blackmail.

“Christian TV took a soap opera turn,” The Dallas Morning News wrote of the episode.

In 2020, Daystar returned a $3.9 million Paycheck Protection Program loan after the CBS program “Inside Edition” investigated the company’s purchase of a Gulfstream jet used by the Lamb family for beach and golf trips.

Four years later, a panel of Ms. Lamb’s talk show regulars questioned her on air about an accusation by her son, Jonathan, that there had been a coverup of a family member’s sexual molestation of his infant daughter. Ms. Lamb denied that any abuse had occurred, and after an investigation, no charges were filed.

Joni Lynn Trammell was born on July 19, 1960, in Greenville, S.C., where she grew up. Her father, Billy Frank Trammell, worked for a local refrigeration and heating company and would evangelize with friends he made playing basketball. Her mother, Sandra (Hudson) Trammell, competed in the Miss Greenville beauty pageant.

The Lambs met at a Greenville church in 1980, when Mr. Lamb, a traveling Pentecostal preacher, was visiting. They married in 1982.

Their early investments in TV stations came fortuitously, at a time of deregulation that The Star-Telegram would describe as “market bottom.” They later made money buying and selling small broadcast towers, and selling airtime to ministries and churches.

In 2023, Ms. Lamb married Doug Weiss, a sex therapist who became a co-host on Daystar. He survives her; other survivors include her three children and several grandchildren.

On air earlier this year, Ms. Lamb told viewers that the Christian faith guaranteed a posthumous reward.

“When you pray that prayer, and you receive Jesus, he forgives your sins,” she said. “When you die, you’re going to heaven.”



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US consumer price inflation hits 3.8% in April, highest in nearly 3 years as Iran war fuels energy costs – The Times of India

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US consumer price inflation hits 3.8% in April, highest in nearly 3 years as Iran war fuels energy costs – The Times of India


US inflation rose in April to 3.8 per cent as surging fuel costs amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict drove up consumer prices, hitting a three-year high complicating the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates.Data released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.6 per cent in April after a 0.9 per cent jump in March, the biggest monthly rise since June 2022. On an annual basis, inflation accelerated to 3.8 per cent, marking the highest year-on-year increase, since May 2023.Petrol prices in the US are now more than 28 per cent higher than a year ago, according to official data. AAA estimates show average gasoline prices have crossed $4.50 per gallon, roughly 44 per cent above year-ago levels, squeezing household budgets and raising concerns about broader economic fallout.The spike in energy prices follows the escalation of hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran earlier this year. Markets were rattled after Tehran blocked access through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global energy route that handles nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, remained relatively contained. Core CPI rose 0.4 per cent month-on-month and 2.8 per cent annually, suggesting that higher fuel costs have not yet fully spread across the wider economy.Food prices also edged higher in April. Grocery costs rose 0.7 per cent from March, led by increases in meat prices after a slight decline in the previous month.The latest inflation reading adds to uncertainty for the Federal Reserve, which had earlier been expected to begin cutting interest rates in 2026. Policymakers are now signalling caution amid fears that prolonged geopolitical tensions and elevated oil prices could trigger another wave of inflation.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the Fed for not lowering borrowing costs faster to support economic growth. Attention is now turning to Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to succeed outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose Senate confirmation is expected this week.Higher fuel costs are also beginning to weigh on corporate America. Appliance maker Whirlpool Corporation said last week that quarterly revenue fell nearly 10 per cent, warning that the war-driven economic slowdown had severely dented consumer confidence.



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