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RBI to pull out all stops to stem rupee slide
Lahore chamber inks pact with PHDCCI
Govt-run firms may be offered share buyback
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Apple bid to halt Galaxy sales rejected
Investor Guidance
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RBI to pull out all stops to stem rupee slide
Mumbai, December 3 "We do have the instruments and capacity to enhance the supply of foreign exchange into the market and will use them as appropriate," RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn told a CII event here. Noting the pressure on the rupee is likely to persist for some more time owing to the ongoing global turbulence, he said, "We won’t hesitate to use all the available instruments" if the central bank sees the short-term risk of accelerated downward spirals. However, Gokarn defended the RBI stance of selective intervention, even when the rupee fell for nine continuous days last month to hit its lowest on November 23 at 52.73 a dollar. "While the recent sharp depreciation of the rupee has, in certain quarters, led to an assessment of helplessness (of the RBI) in dealing with the kind of global turbulence we are witnessing today, our strategic behaviour shouldn’t be misconstrued as our inability to deal with it." Stating the RBI approach on checking volatility did not include "strong intervention" to achieve a specific target, Gokarn, who oversees monetary policy at the central bank, clarified. The rupee has been steadily weakening over the past few months to earn the distinction of being the worst currency in the Asian region, losing nearly 18% between August and November. — PTI
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Lahore chamber inks pact with PHDCCI
Amritsar, December 3 The pact will facilitate exchange of information on manufactured products as well as buyers, sellers and service providers in both countries. Sachdeva said the two chambers should plan visits by trade delegations to each other’s country. According to the MoU, joint exhibitions for products and services will be organized in India and Pakistan. Both LCCI and PHDCCI will strive to expand and develop bilateral cooperation in trade, industry, investment and other fields. Sachdeva said PHDCCI had agreed to participate in the “Made in India” show to be held in Lahore next April. “With the Pakistani government’s decision to grant India ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) status I see great opportunities in growth of trade and business, especially in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector. Exchange of delegations go a long way to promote peace and harmony,” said Qaiser. “Bilateral trade between Pakistan and India, which currently stands at US $2.7 billion, could surpass that between Pakistan and China, which stands at $8 billion, within a short span of three years. Distances between Indian and Pakistani cities was minimal, while both neighbouring countries shared a similar language, culture and even food”, Qaiser added. Chief parliamentary secretary Inderbir Singh Bolaria was also present during the signing of the pact.
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Govt-run firms may be offered share buyback
New Delhi, December 3 "A proposal for enabling the department of disinvestment to respond to the decision of a listed central public service enterprise having surplus cash to buy back their shares has been formulated for seeking government approval," SS Palanimanickam was quoted by PTI as saying in a written reply to Parliament on Friday. The buyback decision would be taken by the board of directors of the concerned state-run firm, he added. India is far behind target on its plans to sell holdings in PSUs, raising just $250 million in the first six months of the year to end-March 2012. A $2.5 billion share sale in ONGC was recently put on hold due to poor market conditions.
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Apple bid to halt Galaxy sales rejected
San Jose, Calif., Dec 3 In a ruling released late on Friday, US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung. The two companies are engaged in a bruising legal battle that includes more than 20 cases in 10 countries as the they jostle for the top spot in the smartphone and tablet markets. Earlier on Friday, an Australian court extended a halt on sales of Samsung's latest Galaxy tablet in the country by at least a week, as Apple appeals a ruling that had ended the ban. Apple sued Samsung in the United States in April, saying the South Korean company's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad. But on Friday Koh rejected Apple's bid to ban sales of three smartphone models, as well as the Samsung Tab 10.1. "It’s not clear that an injunction on Samsung's accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed," Koh wrote. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet on Friday referred to previous Apple statements about the case, saying that Samsung's "blatant copying is wrong." Samsung spokesman Jason Kim said Samsung welcomed Koh's opinion. "This ruling confirms our long-held view that Apple's arguments lack merit," Kim said. — Reuters
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Investor Guidance
Q : I own a flat in Mumbai for which I'm paying EMIs (equated monthly instalments) on the housing loan I took out every month. I'm presently staying in a rented house in the city, as it is near my workplace and I'm entitled for house rent allowance from my employer. Can I avail of income tax deduction for both the housing loan EMIs and HRA for which I'll be submitting rent receipts? Also, is it possible to claim tax deduction for both simultaneously?
— Purohit A: House rent allowance and home loan provisions are two different issues as far as the Income Tax Act is concerned and one doesn't influence the other. So you may own any number of flats, either in the same city that you work in or elsewhere in the country or even abroad, but this won't in any way influence the HRA deduction that you are entitled to. Conversely, notwithstanding the amount of HRA you receive, your home loan deductions on the equated monthly instalments for the house that you have bought or intend to buy will not be affected. Q: My Public Provident Fund ("Hindu undivided family") account was in extended mode from April 1, 2004 for a block period of five years and matured on March 31, 2009. This account could not be extended with subscription or continued without subscription. The maturity amount, that is, the balance on March 31, 2009 in this account was paid to me on October 5, 2009 and no interest was paid from April 1, 2009 to October 5, 2009. Am I eligible for being paid interest from April 1, 2009 to October 5, 2009 in view of the government notification GSR 956 (E) issued on December 7, 2010? — Rajesh Mittal A: Unfortunately you're not eligible for the interest. We strongly feel it's an injustice to bring notifications with retrospective effect, which hurts existing investments. In such a situation all those who had made investment decisions based on the existing rules suddenly find they are losers for no fault of theirs. The best they could have done was to ask their banks to close all such accounts and return the money to the account holders without waiting for them to close the account on their own. Still better would have been to make the rule applicable to brand new accounts only. |
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