The main objective of this study is to assess the macroeconomic determinants of stock price variability in Pakistan. The quarterly data on macroeconomic variables (Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Direct Investment, Interest Rates, Exports, Money Supply and Unemployment Rate) and KSE-100 Index as proxy of stock price variation for the period of 1992:01 to 2012:04 is taken for the empirical investigation. Johansen co-integration test and VECM is used for this purpose. The analysis of this study specifies that the foreign direct investment, interest rates, export and unemployment rate have significant and negative impact on KSE-100 index, while money supply has found to be a significant and positive determinant of stock prices. On the other hand gross domestic product have a positive but insignificant impact on stock prices in Pakistan.

This analytical study investigates the determinants of non-performing loan in Pakistan. Secondary data is used in this study. The data is collected through World Bank Databank, international financial statistics and various issues of economic survey of Pakistan. The issue of Non-Performing Loan is one of the clusters of financial problems in Pakistan. No one can deny the importance of financial sector in any economy. In this study we find the macroeconomic factor that surge the NPL. We also suggest some strategies to cutback the non-performing loans. Current study uses the time series data of Pakistan, ranging from 1990 to 2013. Ordinary least square (OLS) method is used to investigate the problem. The dependent variable is non-performing loan and independent variables are exchange rate, interest rate, GDP, share prices, energy crisis, exchange rate and energy crisis. GDP has significant relationship with NPL and interest rate, share prices have insignificant relationships with NPL. A positive link has established between non-performing loans and various independent variables like energy crisis, exchange rate, interest rate, share prices. But on the other hand a negative relationship has been found between dependent variable and GDP.

In efforts to record pathogenic fungal diversity on ornamental plants of Pakistan, infected leaves of Chlorophytum comosum plants were collected from commercial nursery in Lahore, Pakistan. Investigation of leafspot symptoms led to identification of an ascomycete fungus, Thielavia terrestris. Analysis for fungal identification involved morphological, microscopic and molecular methods. ITS-nrDNA sequence data were used to construct molecular phylogenetic tree of Thielavia with allied species. The fungus was confirmed as T. terrestris. This is the first report of T. terrestris causing disease in C. comosum and it is also a new record for Pakistan.

During disease surveys of plants in 2021, leaf blight was observed on Jasminum sambac plants in City Housing Society, Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan. Infection spots occurred on the margins of leaves in the form of large patches on both abaxial and adaxial surfaces of J. sambac. These spots began as small necrotic spots and developed into irregular pale brown patches with black powder covering the surfaces. The causative organism was consistently isolated from infected leaves on potato dextrose agar. Based on morphological analysis, the species isolated from Jasminum sambac during this research belongs to the genus Bipolaris and has been identified as Bipolaris australiensis. This fungal species has not previously been reported on this host plant worldwide, and this fungal taxon has been characterized for the first time in detail from Pakistan. To the best of our knowledge, J. sambac is a new host record for this fungal species in Pakistan and worldwide. A key to the identification of Pakistani species of the genus Bipolaris is presented in this paper