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Sensex shoots up 510 pts, ends 5-day losing streak
Moody’s raises India’s local currency debt rating
GDP growth rate to slip below 7%: Moody’s
Ranbaxy settles issue with FDA, to pay fine
Gold posts 2nd biggest gain in 2011
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Google’s new Android tablet to take on iPad
India to oppose passage of US call centre bill: Nasscom
Nabard to fund pvt entities for setting up foodgrain warehouses
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Sensex shoots up 510 pts, ends 5-day losing streak
Mumbai, December 21 Battered financial stocks, which had contributed to the bank index's nearly 9% loss since the start of the month, rebounded on bargain buying. Banking stocks have been under pressure after the RBI took measures to stem volatility in the rupee, which could reduce local lenders' profit from currency-related fee income. SBI, the country's largest lender, rose 2.9%, while rivals ICICI Bank jumped 7.5% and HDFC Bank added 5.1%. "The recovery today is not going to sustain because the sentiment is still negative. Lack of any concrete measures is impacting confidence of not just foreign, but even domestic investors," said KK Mital, head of portfolio management at Globe Capital. "India's growth is under pressure and the government needs to urgently step in and rebuild that confidence." — Reuters Rupee ends higher; shares, flows aid
A sharp rebound in local shares amid recovering global appetite for risk and some dollar inflows lifted the Indian rupee on Wednesday, even though its outlook remains bearish. Traders said the recent RBI measures to shore up the local unit helped, but the comfort looked short-lived with slowing growth and widening trade deficit in Asia's third-largest economy weighing. The rupee ended at 52.49/50 to the dollar, 0.7% stronger from Tuesday's close of 52.87/88, after moving in a 52.44-52.80 percent range. — Reuters |
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Moody’s raises India’s local currency debt rating
New Delhi, December 21 The local currency ratings upgrade assume significance as the rupee had depreciated by almost 20% against the dollar in the last four months. The rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia. Moody's has unified India's local and foreign currency bond ratings keeping a stable outlook for the economy. Moody's said it does not now see "justification for a rating bias in favour of either local currency or foreign currency government debt". "Today's rating action was in accordance with Moody's Ratings Implementation Guidance that Moody's will maintain a gap between a government's domestic and foreign currency debt ratings infrequently and only in compelling cases," Moody's said. India's Baa3 rating incorporates credit strengths such as a large, diversified economy, robust medium-term growth prospects and a strong domestic savings pool that facilitates the financing and refinancing of the government's relatively high debt burden. It also encompasses credit challenges such as wide and persistent fiscal deficits, a policy process often hamstrung by domestic politics, susceptibility to inflationary pressures, and the limitations that poor social and physical infrastructure place on growth, the US-based Moody's said. It added the downward pressure on growth will persist for the next two quarters. — IANS Govt ‘looking at all options’ for capital
The government is looking at all options to attract foreign capital, a senior finance ministry official said, adding he hoped Moody's move to unify India's local and foreign currency bond ratings would help reverse recent capital flight. Foreign funds have sold a net $300 million of Indian shares so far this year, in sharp contrast to the record investment of more than $29 billion in 2010. The withdrawal of foreign funds has been largely responsible for making the rupee the worst-performing Asian currency this year. The rupee has fallen nearly 20% against the dollar from its July highs.— Reuters |
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GDP growth rate to slip below 7%: Moody’s
New Delhi, December 21 "In the last few months, tight monetary conditions and a cloudy global outlook have combined to reduce manufacturing output and investment initiatives. We expect growth to fall below 7% in 2011-12 from 8.5% in 2010-11 due to the impact of an uncertain global funding environment, high domestic interest rates and the apparent lack of policy initiatives that can revive business confidence," Moody's said in a report. The cyclical dip could reverse some time in FY13, it added.— PTI |
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Ranbaxy settles issue with FDA, to pay fine
New Delhi, December 21 As an immediate after effect of the intended payout of $500 million, the firm's parent, Daiichi Sankyo revised its earnings forecast, and salary cuts for its directors. In a statement the company said it had "signed a consent decree" with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Ranbaxy has committed to further strengthen procedures and policies to ensure data integrity and to comply with current good manufacturing practices," it added. The consent decree is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, it added. Ranbaxy added "it intends to make a provision of $500 million in connection with the investigation by the US Department of Justice, which the firm believes will be sufficient to resolve all potential civil and criminal liability."— PTI
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Gold posts 2nd biggest gain in 2011
New Delhi, December 21
Silver followed suit and rose by Rs 750 to Rs 53,000 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers, besides rising trend in international markets due to the weakening US dollar. The trading sentiment bolstered as gold in overseas markets advanced to the highest level in a week after better than expected economic data from the US and Germany reduced demand for the dollar as a haven investment, market experts said. Gold in global markets, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, gained 0.8% to US $1,628.30 an ounce in Singapore, the highest price since Dec 14. On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity shot up by Rs 1,025 each to Rs 28,990 and Rs 28,840 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereigns rose by Rs 100 to Rs 23,300 per piece of 8 grams. In similar fashion, silver ready jumped by Rs 750 to Rs 53,000 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 780 to Rs 53,630 per kg. Silver coins surged by Rs 3,000 to Rs 60,000 for buying and Rs 61,000 for selling of 100 pieces. — PTI
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Google’s new Android tablet to take on iPad
London, December 21 Google has already had a hand in the development of the Motorola Xoom, but like other Android tablets, it suffered disappointing sales in a market dominated by the iPad. Since then Google has itself become a major hardware manufacturer via its $12.5 billion acquisition Motorola's devices division, which is currently under consideration by competition authorities. According to The Telegraph, Schmidt paid tribute to Steve Jobs' role in kickstarting the tablet market, describing the iPad as "amazing". "Steve Jobs was the Michelangelo of our time. A friend of mine and a unique character, able to combine creativity and visionary genius with an extraordinary engineering ability," the paper quoted him, as saying. "Steve realized the revolutionary potential of the tablet and created an amazing product like the iPad," he said. He added competition between Android smartphones and the iPhone will be "brutal". In the smartphone market, Google designs the Nexus range as both a testing ground for new versions of Android and to show off cutting-edge hardware. Samsung manufactures the most recent device, the Galaxy Nexus. — ANI |
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India to oppose passage of US call centre bill: Nasscom
New Delhi, December 21 Reacting to the bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep Tun Bishop and Rep David McKinley, industry body Nasscom said US lawmakers seem to have developed the practice of unfairly taxing companies working overseas, to pay for domestic issues. “It’s indeed disappointing to see US adopting protectionist measures like these that restrict free trade and establish discriminatory trade practices”, Nasscom said while adding in case this bill is passed, not only will it see objection from India but also Latin America, Ireland, Philippines and Canada. Nasscom said attempts to present such bills have also been seen in the past. However, the bill has only been introduced in the house, and there is a long way for this to become legislation, it added. “The possibility for the bill to become a law is very low. But it indicates the mindset of a certain set of policymakers and could set the tone for the next year, especially it being an election year”, the IT industry body said. The bipartisan bill tends to make companies that move call centres overseas ineligible for grants or guaranteed loans from the federal government, a move aimed at stemming the tide of jobs heading to nations like India. Under the protectionist legislation, not only would customer service representatives, working overseas for US corporations, have to disclose their locations upon request, they would also have to offer callers the option of being transferred to call centres back in America. The bill will also penalize US call centres with a penalty of $10,000 per day, for failing to report relocation to an offshore location, within 60 days to the United States department of labor. According to this bill, call center operators who answer calls will need to identify their location and the caller will have a choice of choosing a US based operator.
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Nabard to fund pvt entities for setting up foodgrain warehouses
Chandigarh, December 21 The agricultural finance agency claims it has been inundated with proposals from private entities to avail of this finance after it invited EOIs in October this year. NABARD will be screening these requests and offer credit up to Rs 1,300 crore to these entities for setting up foodgrain storage facilities across the country. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a state credit seminar for Haryana, NABARD executive director SK Mitra said the decision to fund private entrepreneurs has been taken so as to increase private participation in development of warehousing facilities. "These entities will be required to make huge facilities with a minimum capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes. In order to incentivize these people we'll be offering them credit at 8% interest. However any firm that has a good repayment schedule will get an interest waiver of 1.5% per annum, which means it'll have to pay just 6.5% interest if it maintains good credit record," he said. NABARD has already earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for building warehouses under the RIDF scheme, mainly with the objective of facilitating foodgrain distribution to the poor under provisions of the Food Security Bill. Of this amount the bank has already funded state governments/warehousing corporations with Rs 600 crore to set up warehouses. Other than this money, the funds at disposal with NABARD under RIDF, purely for creating rural infrastructure (roads, irrigation system, etc) is Rs 16,000 crore. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said his government had decided to focus on vertical growth in agriculture, as there has been stagnation in its horizontal growth. He said NABARD had estimated priority sector credit projections for Haryana at Rs 57,647 crore for fiscal 2012-13. NABARD has successfully launched potential linked credit planning in each district of the state.
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The benchmark 30-share BSE index bounced back from a 28-month low hit in the previous session, to close 510.13 points higher at 15,685.21, with all but two of its components rising. It had shed 5.2 per cent over the past five days as waning business confidence dented sentiment, triggering foreign fund outflows.
The rise in the yellow metal's prices is the highest since August 19, 2011, when it had increased by Rs 1,310.