Sharon Osbourne is still hurting from the sad demise of her husband Ozzy Osbourne.

A latest report from Star Magazine revealed that Sharon has been “distraught” and “still very bewildered” after losing her beloved husband.

To make things worse, Sharon has been dealing with financial woes amid this grief, in the words of an insider.

Reportedly, the legendary Black Sabbath founding member, who died unexpectedly, was hit with two separate tax liens before his death, one in 2023 for nearly $700,000 and another in 2024 totaling almost $4.5 million.

Sharon has “bills and finances to sort out now that Ozzy’s gone,” a spy confided.

Even though, she has her children by her side to help her deal with Ozzy’s loss, insiders have claimed that the financial strain has been a major source of her distress as well.

An earlier report also mentioned that she “will have to deal with that on top of everything.”

“She’s already grieving and in pieces that Ozzy went so suddenly,” they noted in that report.

Though Ozzy was worth an estimated $220 million at the time of his death, insiders shared that his outgoing expenses far outweighed his income in recent years. 

• KSE-100 Index closed at 157,953.46 points, up 1,775.65 points, or 1.14%.
• Index touched intraday high of 158,082.55, up 1,904.74 points, or 1.22%.
• Session’s low recorded at 156,978.85, still up 801.04 points, or 0.51%.

The equity market advanced sharply on Thursday, closing at a fresh record as investor sentiment was buoyed by a landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 157,953.46 points, up 1,775.65 points, or 1.14%, from the previous close of 156,177.81. 

During the session, the index climbed to an intraday high of 158,082.55 points, gaining 1,904.74 points, or 1.22%. The session low was recorded at 156,978.85 points, still higher by 801.04 points, or 0.51%.

“The news about the defence partnership has brought excitement across the board. This is a major macro rerating game changer that can pour more liquidity and reduce risk premium,” AAH Soomro, an independent investment and economic analyst.

“The index may head upwards without corrections,” he added.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday formalised a landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, pledging to treat any aggression against one country as aggression against both.

The pact was signed during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit to Riyadh, where he was received by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace.

The pact reflects a joint commitment to enhance bilateral security ties and contribute to regional and global peace, the statement said. It aims to develop defence cooperation further and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression. Crucially, the agreement stipulates that any aggression against one country shall be considered aggression against both.

The government also raised Rs195 billion from the auction of market Treasury bills (T-bills) on Wednesday, surpassing its Rs175 billion target. However, it rejected bids for the 10-year floating-rate Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) as investors demanded higher returns.

The T-bill auction drew participation worth Rs1.07 trillion, with yields ending nearly flat. The cut-off yield on a one-month paper eased by 1 basis point (bp) to 10.7445%. The three-month bill yield stood unchanged at 10.8502%, while the six-month paper edged down 1bp to 10.8376%. The 12-month yield also stayed steady at 10.9999%.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday held its policy rate steady at 11% for the third consecutive meeting, citing inflation concerns amid devastating floods. Since June 2024, the central bank has slashed rates by a total of 1,100bps, but kept them unchanged in June, July, and now September.

By comparison, in the previous session on Wednesday, the KSE-100 Index closed almost flat, down 3.12 points to 156,177.82 from 156,180.94. The day’s high was 157,196.59 points, while the low stood at 155,960.36 points.

• Govt mulls reducing FBR’s tax target to Rs13.7tr from Rs14.13 tr.
• Reduction of tax target by Rs300-500bn for FY26 possible.
• Flood levy to be imposed on high-net-worth sectors, individuals.

ISLAMABAD: After missing the deadline to privatise the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the government is preparing different scenarios to revise downward the Federal Bureau of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collection target in the range of Rs300 billion to Rs500 billion for the current fiscal year, The News reported on Thursday.

On the one hand, there is a possibility of reducing the FBR’s annual tax collection target from Rs14.13 trillion to Rs13.7 trillion or Rs13.9 trillion, taking into account the potential revision in the macroeconomic framework. 

There is another proposal on the cards on account of slapping a flood levy in order to generate the resources for the utilisation of funds on rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.

The government is finalising the exact details for the proposed flood levy, which is expected to be imposed on high-net-worth sectors and individuals. 

According to initial estimates worked out for flood damages, the country’s major crops such as rice, sugarcane, and cotton are expected to face losses of 15%, 5.7%, and 10%, respectively. 

The livestock has also faced losses. This will result in a revision in the real GDP growth target from 4.2% to around 3%. The CPI-based inflation is also expected to go up from the 5-7% range to 8%.

When contacted, one senior official said that the FBR’s revenues might face revenue losses in the first half (July-December) period to the tune of Rs300 billion. The losses incurred by the agriculture sector might erode the purchasing power of the farm sector, so there are estimates of hurting the collection of Sales Tax.

But the independent tax experts fear that the revenue losses might go close to Rs500 billion for the current fiscal year. 

The FBR high-ups argued that the revenue losses would start recovering in the second half (Jan-June) period because the remaining crops, such as wheat, might achieve better yields.

On the privatisation front, the government has missed the deadline for privatising the PIA transaction by August 2025. 

The privatisation of First Women’s Bank and HBFC transactions by May 2025.

A financial advisor has been hired for the privatisation of three batch distribution companies (Iesco, Fesco, Gepco), and sell-side due diligence is currently underway, with bidding targeted for December 2025. 

The government is now targeting a third bank, ZTBL, for privatisation by the end of this year, and aims to initiate the process for hiring a financial advisor for the privatisation of Batch II Discos (Hesco, Sepco, Pesco) by the end of April 2025, but this could not be accomplished.

The government wants to move towards Genco privatisation, with bidding for Nandipur targeted for January 2026. The transaction structure for the Roosevelt Hotel is still underway. 

The government aims to continue to prioritise the privatisation of commercial state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with the highest priority on profitable commercial SOEs, and supported by the completion of SOE privatisation classification, to reduce the government’s commercial footprint and attract investments that can contribute to Pakistan’s development.

These efforts should be supported by fundamental structural reforms to restore the power sector to viability. 

Key measures include continued progress on Disco privatisation and/or moves toward private concessions to improve Disco performance and services; sustained efforts to shift captive power to the electricity grid; complete the restructuring of the National Transmission Dispatch Company to improve efficiencies; privatising inefficient public generation companies; and making further gradual progress toward a competitive electricity market. 

The Pakistani authorities have committed to ensuring that the implementation of these reforms will bring the flow of any new Circular Debt (CD) to zero by FY31 (when the above stock operation ends) at the latest.