New norms soon for Fixed Deposits, financial instruments
For years, the validity period of cheques, pay orders and demand drafts or bankers’ cheque has been six months. This, however, is to set to change. Starting April 1 next year, you will not be able to encash cheques or DDs if you delay it by more than three months. In other words, the validity period for these instruments will three months instead of six months. Read more
Africa to be ‘next centre of growth’ for Bank of Baroda
Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) is planning to expand its network in Africa for its incremental business growth by opening ten new branches in the next four to five months.
The state-run bank expects that its “next centre of growth” will be Africa in the coming days. Read more
India’s gold buying stays weak as prices hit 2-month high
Gold demand stayed weak in India, the world’s top buyer of the yellow metal, as prices touched a near two-month high.
At 3:26pm, the most-active gold for April delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was trading 0.17 percent higher at 28,422 rupees per 10 grams, after rising as much as 28,429 rupees, a level last seen on Dec. 14. Read more
Forex reserves up $673m to $294bn
The foreign exchange reserves rose for the second consecutive week, increasing by $673.4 million to $293.93 billion on account of jump in foreign currency reserves.
The overall reserves had increased $731.8 million to $293.256 billion in the previous reporting week. Read more
FII inflows cross $5bn in January; scale 16-month high
Overseas investors poured in over Rs 26,000 crore ($5.08 billion) in Indian markets in January 2012, the highest one-month net inflow in 16 months, as sentiments got a boost from easing inflation concerns and attractive valuations. Read more
Sensex erases Monday losses, closes 336 points up
A benchmark index for Indian equities on Tuesday wiped out the previous session’s losses with a 336-point rally amid robust buying in banking, realty and metal stocks.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,965.58 points, closed at 17,199.6 points (provisional), 336.3 points or 1.99 percent up from its previous close at 16,863.3 points.
The Sensex had lost 370 points on Monday.
Stopping outsourcing to hurt both US and India, warns Pranab
Worried over the adverse fallout of protectionism, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said if the US stops outsourcing jobs to India, profitability of both the economies will be hurt.
“…if US stops outsourcing jobs from India to some extent profitability of the economies will be affected,” Mukherjee told reporters here. Read more
Rupee hits 2-1/2 month high
The rupee touched a two-and-a-half month high on Friday, aided by firm local shares, as demand for riskier assets was spurred by hopes Greece will soon reach an agreement on restructuring its debt.
At 10:15 a.m. (0445 GMT), the rupee was at 49.72/73 to the dollar, after touching 49.65, its highest since November 9, and firmer than 50.09/10 at close on Wednesday. The market was closed on Thursday for a local holiday.
“I expect the bullishness in euro as well as in stocks to continue for some time, and rupee can test 49.00/05 level,” said Hari Chandramgathan, a forex dealer with Federal Bank in Mumbai.
Obama proposes new tax to curb outsourcing
Stepping up his tirade against outsourcing in the election-year, US President Barack Obama has proposed to establish a new minimum tax on foreign earnings to discourage large US firms from shipping jobs to countries like India.
The proposed move would make it a bit tough for US multinationals to ship jobs overseas and will give incentives to those who bring operations back into the US. Read more
Maruti Q3 net down 64%
Maruti Suzuki, the country’s biggest carmaker, posted a 64% decline in net profit in the third quarter of this fiscal due to lower sales and sluggish market conditions.
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