Mumbai, July 8
The rupee dived to a record low of 61.21 against the dollar today after better-than-expected US jobs data raised concerns about the US Fed easing its stimulus programme but the currency regained some lost ground to close at 60.61 after the RBI intervened.

The rupee opened at 60.95 a dollar compared with Friday's close of 60.22 and dipped to 61.21, past its previous all-time low of 60.76 on June 26. Local shares were sluggish amid sustained dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners. The rupee bounced back after the RBI intervened through public sector banks, reaching a high of 60.58 before settling at 60.61, still a fall of 39 paise, or 0.65 per cent, the second straight day of losses.

"After US non-farm payrolls data, rupee was expected to open with steep losses. However, RBI was seen selling dollars which helped the local currency recover," said the forex head of a leading private bank.

A falling rupee has a cascading effect on inflation as imports like oil become costlier, widens the current account deficit (CAD) and increases the risk of capital outflows.

"Expect spot rupee to trade over 62 levels in coming days," said Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today fell 171.05 points, or 0.88 per cent, while FIIs sold shares worth Rs 204.46 crore, as per provisional data with the BSE.

The dollar index, which was trading at a nearly three-year high, was down by 0.09 per cent against a basket of six major currencies.

"The US dollar index was trading at its three-year high and the euro was sustaining near $1.2850 levels, which was making a strong case for the rupee weakness," said Abhishek Goenka, founder & CEO of India Forex Advisors.

On Friday night, data showed that US non-farm payrolls for June saw an addition of better-than-expected 195,000 jobs.

This fuelled speculation that Fed will announce tapering of its stimulus as early as July, said traders.

Rupee has depreciated over 13.50 per cet in past nine weeks. — PTI 

Mumbai, July 8
Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani has turned a venture capitalist and is backing a new television channel Epic TV, due to go on air next month. Epic TV is a niche high-definition channel, which will have content based on the nation's history, folklore and mythology in a contemporary format.

Set up last October, Epic Television Network is being led by Mahesh Samat, former managing director of Walt Disney Company, who had left the US major last year after a four-year stint.

While refusing to offer details, a Reliance spokesperson confirmed the development and said the investment by Ambani is "in his personal capacity." According to reports, Ambani holds over 25 per cent stake along with Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra (who also holds over 25 per cent stake in the venture). And the investment is routed through Reliance Ports & Terminals, which is one of Ambani's personal firms.

Samat had earlier said Epic TV was being funded by a group of angel investors but declined to name the investors or the amount.

The Epic TV will be Ambani's second broadcasting venture as he already owns a considerable stake in the Network18 Group.

In January 2012, a shell company floated by Mukesh Ambani had agreed to invest close to Rs 2,000 crore in Raghav Bahl-promoted debt-ridden media companies Network 18 and TV18 Broadcast, which runs channels like CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, and Colors, among others.

The Network18 deal came after RIL decided to exit a large part of its investment in ETV channels, which was to be acquired by TV18 Broadcast for Rs 2,100 crore. In 2008, RIL had invested Rs 2,600 crore in Ushodaya Enterprises, the holding company of the ETV channels through JM Financials. — PTI

New Delhi, July 8
The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is understood to have asked 200 contract workers to go on indefinite leave following cut in diesel engine production at its Manesar plant due to low demand.

The company has shut the third shift at its diesel engine plant at Manesar, which has an annual capacity of 3,00,000 units, according to sources.

When contacted, a company spokesperson said: "The diesel plant was operating at full capacity. With the continued slowdown in demand, some adjustments have been made at the diesel plant." With increase in prices of diesel, the demand for diesel cars has tapered off.

The prolonged slump in the automobile market has resulted in dip in sales. MSI had reported 12.6 per cent decline in total sales in June at 84,455 units. During the month, its domestic sales declined 7.8 per cent at 77,002 units.

MSI exports last month were down by 43 per cent to 7,453 units from 13,066 units in the year-ago period.

In June, to adjust production according to the demand, the company had shut its two plants in Gurgaon and Manesar for a day, which was followed by a 6-day scheduled maintenance closure during the month.

Car sales in India appear to be heading for a record 8th consecutive month of decline with major firms, including MSI, Tata Motors, Toyota and General Motors, reporting drop in June as economic slowdown and low consumer sentiments continue to affect demand. The overall official sales figures for June are yet to be released by auto industry body SIAM. — PTI

Mumbai, July 8
Reliance Communications' shares today closed higher by 7 per cent, adding Rs 2,012 crore to firm's market value, after the private telecom company announced plans to hive off entire real estate assets into a separately listed company.

After surging 10.28 per cent to 52-week high of Rs 149.55 on the BSE in intra-day trade, the stock finally settled 7.19 per cent higher at Rs 145.35 in an otherwise weak stock market.

At the NSE, it closed 6.71 % up at Rs 144.80. "RCom was up by more than 7 per cent today post its decision to separate its real estate business into a separately listed unit," said Nidhi Saraswat, senior research analyst, Bonanza Portfolio Limited. — PTI 

London, July 8
Indian economy is seeing signs of upward momentum helped by gradual reduction of inflationary pressure though the country's growth still remains "relatively weak", according to Paris-based think tank OECD.

In most of the developed countries, growth prospects are expected to witness moderate improvements, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.

The conclusions are based on Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs) that are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activities.

"The CLIs for the UK, Canada and China point to growth close to trend rates and the CLI for India points to a tentative upward change in momentum," the grouping said in a report today.

India's growth slowed to a decade-low of 5 per cent in the last fiscal from 6.2 per cent in the 2010-11 period.

The indicators for Russia and Brazil, however, point to slowing momentum, OECD said.

India's CLI marginally rose to 97.6 in May. The reading stood at 97.3 in April, March and February. In January, the reading was better at 97.7.

In a separate report, OECD, a grouping of mostly developed nations, said the growth in ASEAN economies remains resilient compared to the region's two large economies - India and China.

"Growth momentum in the two large economies is weaker than in ASEAN. India's growth is still not strong, though some positive signs are observed in accordance with a gradual reduction of inflationary pressure.

"China also continues to struggle for momentum, partly due to still weak performance of manufacturing," OECD said.

These observations are based on data from April-July 2013.

The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation fell to 4.7 per cent in May, driven mainly by decline in prices of manufactured items. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood at 4.89 per cent in April. In May, 2012, it was at 7.55 per cent.

Meanwhile, the grouping today said CLIs (in May) for the US and Japan continue to point to economic growth firming. "In the euro area as a whole, CLI continues to indicate a gain in growth momentum," it added. — PTI

New Delhi, July 8
Under pressure from the local producers, the government today said it has decided to review the policy for providing preferential market access (PMA) to domestically manufactured electronic goods, especially in the private sector.

The move to review the policy came after a meeting called by the PMO, which has been receiving memorandums on the issue from the domestic manufacturers. The Cabinet will take the final decision after the review of the policy.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at the PMO and attended by the National Security Adviser, the Cabinet Secretary, the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and officers of all ministries concerned, a government official said.

“Concerns have been raised in many quarters on different aspects of the PMA Policy, particularly policy relating to procurement by the private sector for electronic products with security implications,” an official release said.

The release further said, “The entire policy on providing preference to domestically manufactured electronic goods will be revisited and reviewed. The overall policy on PMA will be recalibrated and submitted to the Cabinet".

The PMA mandated a phased increase in procurement from domestic manufacturers for telecom companies, among others, a clause that was opposed by international trade associations besides the domestic telecom industry.

The preferential market access policy approved by the Cabinet on February 2, 2012, called for providing preference to domestically manufactured electronic products in procurement of those electronic products which have security implications for the country and in government procurement for its own use.

New Delhi, July 8
Gold imports have plunged by over 80 per cent in June as government measures, including a hike in customs duty, tapered demand.

Gold imports in June are said to have fallen to around 31 tonne, down from 162 tonne in May and 141 tonne in April, a source with direct knowledge of the development said. Sources said there has been a sharp fall in the import of gold to 31 tonne as demand moderated and the impact of hike in duty was seen as traders bought less gold.

To curb demand, the government hiked the import duty on gold three times in a year and raised it recently by 2 per cent, to 8 per cent. — PTI

BRIEFLY

SBI Xpress Money Card
Mumbai: The SBI on Monday launched a co-branded pre-paid card with UAE Exchange, called the 'State Bank Xpress Money Card', that provides banking services to inward remittance receivers. As per the bank, this card can be loaded up to Rs 50,000 and a maximum of 30 remittances can be loaded during a calendar year. — PTI

Ashiana to invest `800 cr in Bhiwadi
New Delhi: Realty firm Ashiana Housing said on Monday it will invest around Rs 800 crore over the next seven years to develop a housing project at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. The company has acquired around 52 acres where 4,000 units will be developed in phases. — PTI

10 banks line up for NHPC stake sale
New Delhi: The government will on Tuesday finalise merchant bankers for managing the disinvestment of hydel power producer NHPC, which is expected to fetch over Rs 2,200 crore to the exchequer. As many as 10 merchant bankers have evinced interest in managing the stake sale. The government plans to sell 11.36% of its stake through Offer For Sale in the domestic market. — PTI

MF schemes garner Rs 37,000 cr in May
New Delhi: Investors pumped in more than Rs 37,000 crore in various mutual fund schemes in May taking the total funds mobilisation during the first two months of the current fiscal to Rs 1.44 lakh crore. The funds mobilisation in by MFs in April was Rs 1.06 lakh crore. — PTI

JLR unveils sports car
Mumbai: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover on Monday launched its sports car Jaguar F TYPE priced up to Rs 1.61 crore (ex-showroom Mumbai). It will be available in two variants. — PTI