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RBI eases norms on small money transfers
Wall Street protest grows as unions swell ranks
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Without Jobs, Apple’s gap with rivals could narrow
Seoul, October 6 The death of Apple's inspirational leader is likely to have a deep impact on the maker of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, giving major rivals a greater chance to catch up with the technology giant.
Standoff between BSNL, pvt operators set to continue
Auto cos’ profits set to dip in Q2
Essar to invest $8 bn in power projects
Cash-strapped FinMin questions oil subsidy
Ford India set to expand export base
Asian stock markets up on Europe debt hopes
Empowered panel on GST to meet Oct 14
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RBI eases norms on small money transfers
Mumbai, October 6 Under the new norms, the cash payout arrangements for amounts being transferred out of bank accounts to beneficiaries not having a bank account has been enhanced to Rs 10,000 from the current limit of Rs 5,000. The monthly cap on such transfer will be Rs 25,000 per beneficiary, RBI said in a notification. Besides, customers not having bank account can now transfer funds to bank accounts of others, subject to a transaction limit of Rs 5,000 and a monthly cap of Rs 25,000 per remitter. The Reserve Bank has also allowed transfer of funds among domestic debit/credit/pre-paid cards with the cap of Rs 5,000 per transaction and a monthly limit of Rs 25,000. According to experts, the changes will impact a large number of people, especially the migrant population which does not have access to formal banking channels for want of proof of identity and residential address. The central bank said such people faced difficulties in using the authorised channels for transferring funds. "The RBI has been receiving frequent representations to open up the formal banking channel to facilitate fund transfers of small value, subject to monthly ceilings and monitoring, to give impetus to the process of financial inclusion. We are issuing these guidelines after having reviewed the related issues. "These relaxations are expected to provide money transfer facilities in a safe, secure and efficient manner across the length and breadth of the country," the central bank said. Migrants constitute a substantial chunk of the country's population. The central bank has asked banks and other financial institutions to put in place a system of safeguards, including velocity checks and alerts to customers about credit into accounts, using the new facility. "Any unusual spurt in volume of credits in a particular account/group of accounts shall be immediately investigated. Appropriate authorities shall be alerted regarding suspicious transactions," it said. The central bank has also directed that such fund transfers are to be effected on a real or near real time basis. "The total outstanding amount on a prepaid payment instrument shall not at any point of time exceed the limits prescribed in the extant guidelines on the Reserve Bank of India on the policy guidelines for issuance and operation of prepaid payment instruments," it said. — PTI
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Wall Street protest grows as unions swell ranks
New York, October 6 The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ march, estimated at about 5,000 people, was mostly orderly and the largest so far, while smaller protests were staged in cities and on college campuses across the country. A dozen people were arrested in New York, including one who was charged with assault on a police officer who was knocked from his scooter, according to police spokesman Paul Browne. Others who were arrested had tried to break through a police barricade, Browne said. One police officer fired pepper spray as a "group of demonstrators charged a line of officers" standing at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, he said. The protesters object to the Wall Street bailout in 2008, which they say left banks to enjoy huge profits while average Americans suffered under high unemployment and job insecurity with little help from the federal government. The movement has surged in less than three weeks from a ragged group in downtown Manhattan to protesters of all ages demonstrating from Seattle to Tampa. "I am a mother. I want a better world for my children," said Lisa Clapier, 46, a producer who lives in Venice, California, who joined protesters in Los Angeles. In Seattle, where protesters had set up an encampment in a city park, about two dozen people were arrested for defying police orders to dismantle their tents. "The cops are doing their job, and we're going to let them do their job. Then we'll come back and occupy the park again," said Michael Trimarco, 39, an unemployed carpenter. Joining the march in New York were members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Communications Workers of America, the Amalgamated Transit Union and National Nurses United. "Our workers are excited about this movement. The country has been turned upside down, said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. In San Francisco, a crowd of several hundred people marched around the financial district, chanting "They got bailed out, we got sold out" and "Join our ranks, stop the banks." "This is the beginning of a movement," said Sidney Gillette, a nurse at Children's Hospital in Oakland. Filmmaker Michael Moore was among the crowd in New York, shaking hands and posing for pictures. "Everywhere you go in this country, you see the Occupy Wall Street movement," he said. "In the first days, people were putting it down, saying these are a bunch of hippies. "But the average American who has lost health care, who is going to lose his job, whose home is in foreclosure can relate to this," he said. Camped out in a park in downtown Manhattan, the New York protesters have been dismissed at times by Wall Street passersby or cast as naive students and mischief makers without realistic goals. But, said office manager Hari Bala, who stopped to watch the protest as he left work, that perception may be changing. "It took young people to take risk, for people to take to the streets," he said. "They have reminded everybody about the realities
of this country." STUDENTS JOIN IN: There were signs that the protesters were catching the attention of Washington politicians. U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, endorsed the movement. "The gap between the haves and have nots continues to widen in the wake of the 2008 recession, precipitated by the banking industry. Yet we are told we cannot afford to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires," she said in a statement. "I'm so proud to see the Occupy Wall Street movement standing up to this rampant corporate greed."
— Reuters |
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Without Jobs, Apple’s gap with rivals could narrow
Seoul, October 6 Steve Jobs' creative spirit was so closely tied to the fortunes of Apple that his death at 56 raises questions about the company's ability to keep its pipeline of transformational products running at such a fast pace. "As a technology analyst, I am sorry for his death. It was Jobs' Apple, not Apple's Jobs," said Kim Young-chan, an analyst at Shinhan Investment in Seoul. The CEOs of rivals including Samsung Electronics, Amazon, Google and Sony mourned the death of Jobs, a sign of the respect they held for the Silicon Valley legend. Investors had known about Jobs' long battle with pancreatic cancer. In August, the man known for minimalist design and marketing genius handed the reins to long-time operations chief Tim Cook. "Apple no longer has someone as creative and ambitious as Jobs that they can rely on," said Simon Liu, deputy investment officer of Polaris Group's fund unit. In Asia, the fortunes of Samsung are most closely tied to Apple. Analysts have said the South Korean conglomerate is one of the best placed companies to deliver something fresh and exciting to rival Apple. Samsung produces the closest competitor to Apple's iPad tablet computer.X The two companies are scrapping for top spot in the smartphone market, having overtaken Nokia, the market leader for the past decade, in the second quarter. Apple is also Samsung's biggest customer through the sale of mobile chips and display screens. The relationship and rivalry has helped Samsung become a top global brand over the past decade with a stock market value of $115 billion -- still modest compared with Apple's $345 billion. But the relationship has also produced tensions as Samsung emerged as a credible challenger to Apple's mobile devices. The two companies have sued each other in 10 countries involving more than 20 cases since April. Samsung's Galaxy range of smartphones and tablet computers running on Google's Android operating system are seen as the main competitor to Apple's game-changing iPhones and iPads. The competition was "flummoxed" by the iPad, Jobs declared in March when he took the stage to unveil Apple's latest tablet. "They went back to the drawing boards. They tore up their designs because they weren't competitive," Jobs said. Lee Seung-woo, technology analyst at Shinyoung Securities, said Apple had transformed the industry, but its influence would wane without Jobs at the helm of the company. — Reuters
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Standoff between BSNL, pvt operators set to continue
New Delhi, October 6 BSNL officials not wanting to be identified said that private operators would face similar disconnection action in other circles also if the public sector operator’s dues are Officials point out that the state-run operator has been pursuing the private operators to make payment for a long time but the perception seems to keep BSNL at bay. Subscribers of private operators in Haryana and Punjab circles have been facing problems of connectivity after BSNL late last month withdrew its point of interconnection (POI) in the two states. BSNL had earlier threatened to take similar action in Rajasthan and Maharashtra circles also where again it had threatened to disconnect the point of interconnection . Point of interconnection is provided to facilitate the operations to make call making and receiving seamless even as the Private operators owe BSNL, which has been facing financial problems of late due to loss in market share, over Rs. 1,800 crore as carriage charges. Mobile termination and telecom carrier charges is a part of revenue-sharing norm that comes under regulations on interconnectivity among operators for carrying calls of one network through others, which has been instrumental in growth of the industry and reduction in call tariffs. According to TRAI's Interconnect Usage Charges Regulations, 2009 a private operator need to pay 35 paise/min to terminate a call in the BSNL fixed line network. On the other hand, the state-run telecom major is required to pay only 20 paise/min for its network calls terminating in the cellular network of private mobile operators. Private operators say that BSNL has now been demanding 80 paise/min as termination charge which the state-run operator denies and says that it is an allegation to show BSNL in bad light. The BSNL move has come despite the telecom sector tribunal TDSAT asking it not to go ahead with disconnection. Incidentally, the COAI has once again approached BSNL to reinstate connectivity at all Points of Interconnection (PoI) and appealed to the state-run operator to refrain from any further disconnections in order to avoid any more inconvenience that may be caused to the subscribers of both the networks. This appeal from the operators came in the wake of the TDSAT Order, wherein TDSAT has held that the operators shall continue to pay at the same rate at which they had been paying from July, 2010. TDSAT has further stated that pursuant to compliance of this direction, the disconnections by BSNL may be restored. “In view of the inconvenience and hardships being experienced by the subscribers of both the networks due to the discriminatory and illegal actions of BSNL, we once again urge and request BSNL to restore and reinstate connectivity at all points of interconnection for all private operators,” COAI said.
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Auto cos’ profits set to dip in Q2
New Delhi, October 6 Lower volume growth and higher input costs are the main reasons for the expected decline in auto sector earnings, said Angel Broking, a stock-broking and wealth management firm. "Maruti is expected to report a sharp 25.7 per cent y-o-y decline in profits due to lower volumes primarily because of labour strikes," a report by Angel Broking said. Tata Motors' profitability is also expected to be affected due to a higher tax rate on the JLR front, it added. The report said that operating margins of most of the auto firms are expected to decline on a y-o-y basis in Q2 FY'12 on account of increase in raw material costs. Further, higher discounts offered by passenger car companies in an attempt to push up sales will also weigh on margin performance, the report said. On the net profits, it said the auto sector margins may contract to 7.3 per cent, largely due to a decline in profitability at Tata Motors and Maruti. Although the forecast is not so encouraging for the auto sector, during Q2 FY'12 the BSE Auto Index fell by 3.4 per cent against a 12.3 per cent decline in the Sensex, thereby outperforming the benchmark index by 8.9 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp contributed to the outperformance, driven by strong monthly volume numbers. — Agencies
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Essar to invest $8 bn in power projects
New Delhi, October 6 "For an increase of 8,000 MW power capacity, the company plans to invest USD 8 billion by 2014," Essar Power said in an e-mailed response to said. "All the investment has been tied-up," the company said without divulging further details. Essar Power currently operates five captive power projects for providing electricity to its various steel plants and oil refinery. The company's 515 MW combined cycle plant supplies 215 MW power to Essar Steel's Hazira plant and 300 MW to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. Another 500 MW gas-based plant is captive to Essar Steel's Hazira Steel Plant. A 120 MW gas-based plant at Vadinar supplies electricity to the company's oil refinery in that area. A 380 MW gas-fired power plant provides power to Essar Oil refinery Algoma, Ontario, Canada. Another 85 MW plant is captive to Essar Steel Algoma plant. Essar Power's under execution plants include a 2,520 MW imported coal-based project at Salaya and 510 MW Vadinar plant, 270 MW Hazira plant in Gujarat. — Agencies
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Cash-strapped FinMin questions oil subsidy
New Delhi, October 6 Such scrutiny comes at a time when the government is struggling with a slowing economy that makes it difficult to meet a 2011/12 fiscal deficit target of 4.6% of GDP. Growth in revenue receipts is also expected to slow down. In response, the government is trying to tighten its spending on subsidies. Fuel subsidy accounted for about 3.4% of the government's spending in 2010/11.
— Agencies |
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Ford India set to expand export base
New Delhi, October 6 The company is currently exporting its global car, which made its international debut in India in March last year, to 27 countries. "Exports has been a real joy for us. In September, we exported 2,469 cars. We are quite happy that the number is growing," Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Nigel E Wark said. Asked if the rising export numbers of Figo have encouraged the company to explore new markets, he replied in affirmative. "In fact, we are looking at exporting the car to about 50 countries either by the end of this year or early next year," he said but did not name the possible countries.
— Agencies |
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Asian stock markets up on Europe debt hopes
Hong Kong, October 6 German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called on her eurozone counterparts to recapitalise the banking sector to help prevent Greece's debt crisis from spreading to other nations. Her view that helping the banks was "justified, if we have a joint approach" echoed comments from the EU's economic affairs commissioner the previous day, and gave a much-needed boost to nervous investors.
— AFP |
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Empowered panel on GST to meet Oct 14
New Delhi, October 6 While a constitutional amendment bill for roll out of GST has been introduced in Parliament and referred to a standing committee, there are several issues which are yet to be resolved between the cental and state governments. These issues include provision for states to levy cess in case of natural calamities; their autonomy in matters of taxation; concerns on powers of the proposed dispute settlement authority; and concerns of state governments on loss of revenue on account of reduction in CST rates.
— PTI |
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A group of Occupy Wall Street protestors lie in front of a police line after authorities outside the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday. Thousands of anti-Wall Street demonstrators converged on
New York's financial district on Wednesday to protest against economic inequality and the power of US financial institutions.— Reuters
