The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, January 01, 2005

The tsunami test — Are `reserves' really `resources'?
It is shocking that the survivors of the recent tsunami are forced to loot from one another in their struggle to survive. Cannot the vast foreign exchange reserves of the Indian Ocean rim countries be used to blunt the impact of the catastrophic tsun ami? If so, these reserves should be put to use now to secure the lives of the dispossessed and the homeless, says G. Ramachandran. More

FOREX

Dollar debt stock declines to 43.5 pc
INDIA'S external debt in US dollars would have increased by less than $100 million if the US dollar had not appreciated against other currencies during the quarter ended September 2004, according to the Finance Ministry. In its report on the ... More

ECBs form 32 pc of forex inflows
EXTERNAL commercial borrowings (ECBs) were one of the main sources, contributing 31.8 per cent of accretion to India's foreign exchange reserves during the April-September 2004 period. They contributed $2.1 billion ($0.2 billion) to foreign ... More

HOUSING FINANCE

NHB loan at 5% for tsunami victims
THE National Housing Bank (NHB) will extend refinance to banks and housing finance companies at a concessional rate of 5 per cent against loans provided to individual borrowers affected by the Tsunami tragedy. The banks and HFCs in their turn ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

Tata AIG sets up disaster hotline
TATA AIG's life and general insurance companies have jointly set up a task force to provide service to its tsunami-hit customers in South India. It has installed an emergency 24-hour toll-free number 1600 11 99 66 to process claims and ... More

LIC sets up help desks for tsunami-hit policyholders
THE Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has set up help desks at all the 12 divisional offices and 261 branch offices in the southern zone to respond to enquiries and assist in settlement of claims of the policyholders affected by tsunami ... More

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Residential school in Mysore gets Hudco funding
THE promoters of Jnanasarovara international residential school near Mysore have roped in HUDCO to partly fund their school project worth Rs 40 crore. The school's chairman, Mr Sudhakar S. Shetty, said Rs 20 crore has already been invested in ... More

GOVT BONDS

Rupee at nine-month high; securities fall
MUMBAI: The rupee ended at a nine-month high on the last day of 2004 as dollar nose-dived overseas and banks unwound long-dollar positions amidst higher foreign inflows. Government securities market also saw hectic activity with gilt ... More

G-secs set for stability after a rocky phase
AFTER a rocky year, the government securities market is probably heading into some stability, but party time is yet far away. The past few weeks have seen a pick-up in prices in small lots of 10 to 50 paise but the worse is not over yet, say ... More

Rs 7,000-cr gilts auction on Jan 4
THE Government of India announced auction of government securities for a notified amount of Rs 7,000 crore on January 4, 2005. Government stock 9.39 per cent 2011 will be issued for a notified amount of Rs 5,000 crore while 7.50 per cent 2034 ... More

CORPORATE BONDS

RBI allows trading in power bonds
THE Reserve Bank of India has allowed trading in Power Bonds that mature in October 2008 and April 2009. The bonds were issued to Central utilities NTPC, NHPC, PowerGrid, Coal India and Neyveli Lignite by more than 20 State Governments against ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

LVB hikes rates for deposits
BANGALORE: Lakshmi Vilas Bank has hiked deposit rates for maturities for one year and above by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent. A bank release said here that the rates would become effective from January 1. The bank was also offering an ... More

OUTLOOK

Treasury profits decline for banks, FIs, insurers — Dividend receipts may take a hit
WITH prices of government securities falling, banks and financial institutions are likely to fall short of the dividend targets estimated for the current fiscal year. This year, the Government had estimated dividend receipts from the public ... More

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