Mumbai, December 2
The Bombay Stock ExchangeSensex on Friday surged 363 points, the third day of gains in a row, on steady inflow of foreign funds on hopes of a solution to eurozone debt crisis.

The 30-stock benchmark index, which gained over 475 points in the last two sessions, spurted 363.38 points, or 2.20%, to 16,846.83, after opening lower at 16,428.66.

The broadbased National Stock Exchange Nifty index rallied by 113.30 points, or 2.29% to cross the 5,000- mark at 5,050.15.

Domestically, trading sentiment remained firm on hopes that Reserve Bank of India would halt rate hike at this month's monetary policy review as food inflation — which fans overall inflation — fell sharply to 8% for the week ended November 19, from 9.01% in the previous week.

Globally, the market trend was firm in the Asian region and European markets opened higher amid hopes that a solution would emerge on euro zone debt crisis at a key European summit next week.

All the 30-BSE index stocks, except Hero MotoCorp, ended with gains. With the general firming trend, all the sectoral indices led by Banks and Power remained in the positive zone, gaining up to 3.26%.

The uptrend was supported by Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, SBI, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and DLF . — PTI

Brussels, December 2
The new head of the European Central Bank signaled on Thursday it stood ready to act more aggressively to fight Europe's debt crisis if political leaders agree next week on much tighter budget controls in the 17-nation eurozone.

In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a new treaty incorporating tougher budget discipline, a European Monetary Fund to support countries in difficulty and decisions in the euro area taken by majority vote instead of unanimity.

Addressing supporters in Toulon, Sarkozy said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would meet next Monday to outline joint proposals to put to a Dec 9 EU summit, seen as make-or-break for the 12-year-old single currency. "Let’s not hide it, Europe may be swept away by the crisis if it doesn't get a grip, if it doesn't change," Sarkozy said. — Reuters

New Delhi, December 2
The government has started talks with leading rating agencies including Moody's and Standard & Poor's for upgrading India's creditworthiness, Parliament was informed on Friday.

"Moody's Investor Services, Standard & Poor's, Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS), Fitch Ratings, Japanese Credit Rating Agency (JCRA) and Rating & Investment Information (R&I) are six sovereign credit rating agencies (SCRAs) that rate India's sovereign debt," minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The government has begun a structured interaction process with these SCRAs, he said, adding that during the interactions it presents its perspective to the agencies on the strengths of the Indian economy and recent initiatives taken by it.

The government encourages SCRAs to consider the long-term credit strengths of the Indian economy in a holistic manner, and in view of such strengths, consider upgrading the ratings of India's sovereign debt, Meena said.

The department of economic affairs has begun interactions with these agencies on a more regular basis giving clarifications where necessary, he added.

Meena said these interactions have yielded positive results. In June, for the first time since DBRS started rating India's sovereign debt, it upgraded the trend of India's long term foreign and local currency debt ratings from BBB (low) negative to stable outlook, he added. — PTI

New Delhi, December 2
The Reserve Bank is taking steps to deal with the sliding value of rupee against the US dollar, the finance ministry informed Parliament today.

"Measures have been taken to augment the supply of foreign exchange, which include liberalization of trade credit and external commercial borrowings (ECB) policy, increase in interest rates on NRI deposits and repatriation to India of proceeds of ECBs for rupee expenditure parked abroad," Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The rupee was trading at 51.37/38 a dollar in the afternoon trade today. It has depreciated against major international currencies since July 2011. This year, the rupee has depreciated over 17% so far. It had touched a historic low of 52.73 on November 22 from a peak of Rs 43.94 a dollar on July 27.

Meena said the fluctuation in rupee exchange rate is due to demand-supply mismatch. — PTI

New Delhi, December 2
Unable to reach a consensus in the wake of varying views, country’s top telecom body the Telecom Commission has again put off a decision of pricing of second generation (2G) spectrum and also the merger and acquisition norms that would govern the sector.

The highest decision making body of the telecom sector will meet again next Friday to discuss proposals from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on pricing of 2G spectrum and M&A norms.

"We haven’t frozen on anything yet," telecom secretary R Chandrashekhar said Friday after a meeting of the panel. He added the commission was hopeful of completing discussions when it meets on December 9 but would not "rush in" to a decision.

This was the second time in a week that the Telecom Commission had failed to reach a decision on these important issues which would chart the future of the industry which is faced with intense competition in wake of 14 to 15 players operating in the each telecom circle.

While some officials in the department telecommunications are in favour of liberal norms for M&As, others feel that this should not allowed as consolidation would lead to monopolist regime not in the favour of the subscribers.

Telecom operators on the other hand are of the view that not more than six or seven players should be there in a circle.

Earlier last month TRAI had proposed that M&A norms be relaxed substantially.

New Delhi, December 2
In spite of the mounting troubles and the recent flight cancellations, Kingfisher continues to remain the favourite airline in the country, an honour which it shares with Jet Airways this year, according to an annual airline and air travel survey released on Friday.

While Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher is the best airline for in-flight entertainment, food/beverages, in-flight service, in-flight maintenance (cabin lighting, cleanliness, seat comfort, leg room), Naresh Goyal-headed Jet leads in ground handling and landing/take-off quality, it said.

India's largest low-cost carrier IndiGo comes next at No 2, said the survey by travel advisory portal TripAdvisor.

Kingfisher had topped the 2010 edition of the survey. However, TripAdvisor did not specify when the survey was conducted, and hence it is not clear if it was done before October when the troubles escalated for Kingfisher, leading to massive flight cancellations.

"The survey rings in some good news for the woes- ridden Kingfisher Airlines. Despite recent turbulent times, consumers have given a clear thumbs up to the airline as a favourite carrier which is topping most service and experience parameters" TripAdvisor India country manager Nikhil Ganju told reporters here while releasing the India Airline Survey 2011.

National carrier Air India, which is also facing tough time, is the least favoured airline for the second year in a row, the survey said.

IndiGo continues to be the best carrier for 'on time performance' and 'value for money' for the second year in row. — PTI

Shanghai, December 2
The spectacular bull run in gold prices is unlikely to end soon, with bullion retaining its appeal in 2012 due to the uncertain global economy, analysts and industry officials said on Friday.

Gold's growing allure for buyers ranging from central banks to retails investors will provide a cushion for prices, even if the euro zone ended its debt crisis and the global economy embarked on a recovery, they said.

"There have been short periods where the price action has taken on bubble characteristics but I don't think the gold party is over," said Tom Kendall, head of precious metals research at Credit Suisse. "If we have a bear market in trust, then it would be a bull market in gold. And now we have a bear market in trust worldwide, which is contributing mightily to the unsettled state of markets."

Gold's safe haven appeal helped push bullion prices to a record high of $1,920.30 in early September, although in recent months gold has moved in tandem with riskier assets as the liquidity crunch forces investors to close their gold positions to cover losses elsewhere. Zhang Bingnan, vice chairman of the China Gold Association, said the unsustainable debt burdens of both Europe and the US would encourage them to print more money, making gold all the more attractive. — Reuters