The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, December 20, 2006

INSIGHT
Asset prices pose dilemma
Stock indices have multiplied more than fivefold in the last three to four years. Real estate and property prices have also escalated as much. Yet inflation has behaved. More

FOREX
Capital controls come in handy during crisis: Soros
Global investor released book at a FICCI meet More

Need to clean up procedural hassles for convertibility
`We should not be prisoners of the erstwhile strict control regime' More

Rupee ends almost flat
The rupee ended flat against the dollar on Tuesday. The home currency opened at 44.79/80, to finally close at 44.75/76 against Monday's close at 44.73.50/74.50. "The weakening of domestic stock markets impacted the rupee," said a ... More

LIFE INSURANCE
LIC's unit linked endowment plan
Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a unit linked endowment plan called "Money Plus" combining market related investment returns and an insurance cover. Policyholders up to 65 years of age can apply for the plan. The ... More

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS
RBI fiat on exposure reports
Banks will have to report separately their corporate or wholesale and retail business exposures effective September 30, 2007, said the Reserve Bank of India in a circular issued on Tuesday. Till now banks were required to report on three business ... More

PRIVATE BANKS
ICICI Bank's free ATM usage facility
ICICI Bank's savings account customers can use any bank's ATM free of charge, giving access to over 18,000 ATMs. "To avail oneself of the free usage facility, the customer has to maintain a quarterly average balance of Rs ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
Public sector banks losing market share to pvt peers
Share of deposits drops to 74 pc in 5 years More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices rise by 12 paise
Bond prices edged up by 12 paise on hopes of a cut in the government borrowing programme following higher than expected advance tax collections. Total traded volumes on the order matching system were Rs 3,990 crore (Rs 3,220 ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates at 8.10-8.20 pc
Call rates ruled at 8.10-8.20 per cent against 8.15-8.25 per cent on Monday. In the first one-day reverse-repo auction under LAF, the RBI received and accepted one bid for Rs 10 crore. In the first one-day repo auction, it ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
AIG Capital to buy 75 pc in Vivek Hire Purchase
AIG Capital India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG Capital Corporation, USA, signed an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Vivek Hire Purchase & Leasing Ltd (VHPL), a non-banking finance company offering consumer finance. ... More

ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
HDFC Bank, NBD in pact
National Bank of Dubai has partnered with HDFC Bank to offer NRI services in India and the UAE. Under the name of NBD-HDFC Bank NRI Services, the partnership will offer joint account services, remittances, wealth management ... More

PEOPLE
Vithal Rajan felicitated
Dr Vithal Rajan, emeritus chairman of SKS Microfinance Pvt Ltd, was felicitated here on Sunday on securing Canada's highest national honour. He had recently been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Dr Rajan is also ... More

TRENDS
Ernakulam to come under 100 pc financial inclusion
By next March, Ernakulam in Kerala may well be the first district in the country to have achieved 100 per cent financial inclusion. The campaign, led by Union Bank of India, the lead bank in the district, aims to bring all the left-out ... More

BOOKS
Change in attitudes vital to make micro-credit work
Book analyses 6 case studies More