The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, March 03, 2007

FOREX
RBI steps to sterilise Re funds
With rupee funds flooding the system on the back of dollar inflows, the RBI has significantly altered measures to sterilise them (rupees). It has put a ceiling of Rs 3,000 crore on the free funds parked daily by banks with it through the ... More

Forex reserves swell on strong FII inflows
The country's forex reserves rose $4.212 billion to $193.124 billion on strong FII inflows into the domestic equity market for the week ended February 23. Forex reserves have increased for the seventh consecutive week with foreign currency ... More

Rupee sheds 2 paise
The rupee weakened by around two-three paise against the dollar on a weak stock market. The domestic currency opened at around 44.29/30, settled for long at 44.27/44.28 and finally closed at 44.29/30, against the previous close ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
`Allow small growers to hedge risks in futures market'
Task force on plantations proposes cheaper insurance cover More

GOVT BONDS
Bonds fall on profit booking
Bond prices fell by around 15 paise on profit booking. Total traded volumes on the order matching system were Rs 1,310 crore (Rs 1,780 crore). Dealers said prices initially rose on the back of a lower inflation figure. Domestic ... More

CORPORATE BONDS
Vijaya Bank to raise capital through Tier-II bonds
In a change of tack, Vijaya Bank has now decided to raise capital only through a Tier-II bond offering. The bank had earlier indicated that it would raise capital of about Rs 500 crore through a mix of Tier-I and Tier-II capital. It had even ... More

CREDIT MARKET
OBC draws up policy for collateral
`Time has come for bankers to get to know customers' customers' More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates unchanged
Banks parked a total of Rs 1,18,810 crore this week with the RBI inclusive of Rs 22,420 crore on Friday which could be partly explained by the RBI intervention in the forex market to mop up dollars with rupees. During the same ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS
Visa hopes to cash in on World Cup fever
Focus on building brand loyalty, reinforcing leadership More

FIXED DEPOSITS
Tax tweaks may re-route deposits from mutual funds
Likely to trim lucrative returns offered by money market MFs More

IDBI new deposit scheme
IDBI has launched a 360-days term deposit scheme under `IDBI Suvidha Plus Fixed Deposit (ISPFD)', offering an interest rate of 9 per cent per annum, effective March 2. The bank has increased the interest rate on the 800-days FD ... More

IT cos mull parking funds in banks
Information technology firms sitting on huge cash piles are now considering newer options to park their surpluses with the move to hike dividend distribution tax (DDT) on liquid and money market mutual funds (MMMFs). Cash-rich IT firms are ... More

Lakshmi Vilas Bank cuts NRE deposit rates
Lakshmi Vilas Bank has effected a downward revision on its FCNR, NRE and RFC deposits from March 1. According to a release, the interest rate on FCNR (B) $ deposits for 1-2 years has slipped from 5.18 per cent to 4.99 per cent, for 2-3 years ... More

Allahabad Bank cuts FCNR deposit rates
Allahabad Bank has revised the interest rates on Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits with effect from March 1. The revised rates for dollar deposits are 4.99 per cent (earlier 5.18 per cent) for 1-2 years, 4.8 per cent (5.1 per cent) ... More

ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
Max New York Life ties up with district co-op banks
Max New York Life (MNYL), a leading life insurance company, on Thursday announced tie-ups with District Cooperative Central Bank Ltd, Khammam, and District Cooperative Central Bank Ltd, Medak, in Andhra Pradesh. Under the tie-up, the district ... More