The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, August 25, 2007

FOREX
Forex reserves dip by $2.5 b on FII outflows
The country’s forex reserves fell by $2.551 billion to $226.445 billion for the seven days ended August 17, dipping for the second consecutive week.This was due both to FII outflows resulting from the US sub-prime loan crisis, as ... More

India Inc raised $15 b via ECB in 5 months
Mumbai, Aug. 24 Indian companies have borrowed about $14.97 billion through external commercial borrowing (ECB) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) within a span of five months from January to May 2007.Analysts feel that the ... More

Rupee tad weaker
The rupee weakened by six paise against the greenback on Friday due to a fall in Asian stock markets and rumours of political instability. The home currency opened at 41.07 and saw an intra-day low of 41.19 before ending the day at 41.10, down ... More

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
LIC Madurai adopts e-system
Madurai, Aug. 24 Mr S. Chandrasekar, Senior Divisional Manager LIC, said at a press meet here that the divisional office has introduced Enterprising Data Management System to keep the records in electronic form and move towards paperless ... More

LIFE INSURANCE
Slew of innovative ULIPs
Embedded investment guidance, age-based portfolio management on cards More

New ULIPs from LIC
LIC has launched two unit linked insurance plans - Profit Plus and Fortune Plus. Both are unit linked endowment plans, which combine insurance with market related returns.Under Profit Plus, the premium can be paid in one instalment or ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
Insurance cover for tsunami-hit
Kochi, Aug. 24 The Kerala Government and the Centre in association with the United India Insurance Company Ltd will jointly launch a health and personal accident insurance policy for the “Tsunami affected elow poverty line (BPL) ... More

DEBT MARKET
Holdings of US T-bills declining
Bangalore, Aug.24 India’s investment in US Treasury Securities (T-bills) dropped $2.5 billion in June this year. According to data released by the US Treasury Department, India’s holdings were down to $12.8 billion from $15.3 ... More

Bond prices decline
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HUMAN RESOURCES
Banks faced with attrition, poaching woes
HR CHALLENGES More

PRIVATE BANKS
FII holdings in ICICI Bank
The Reserve Bank of India today permitted foreign investment in ICICI Bank shares, as the share of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) has gone down below the trigger limit of 74 per cent of its paid-up capital. In a press release issued ... More

ICICI Bank in Muvattupuzha
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Axis Bank Srikakulam branch
Axis Bank, formerly known as UTI Bank, has opened a branch in Srikakulam, in Andhra Pradesh. Mr C.P. Rangarajan, President, Axis Bank, inaugurated the bank’s branch on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion he said, “This marks yet ... More

FOREIGN BANKS
Barclays pumps in more capital
British bank Barclays has recently infused fresh capital of over $70 million in its Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) business here, according to Mr Samir Bhatia, Managing Director of Barclays’ GRCB in India.He also said ... More

INTEREST RATES
Bids at auction down to 7 on tight liquidity
As RBI measures begin to bite, banks may hike deposit rates More

CREDIT MARKET
‘SSI share in bank credit falling’
The share of credit flow to small scale industries from public sector banks have been steadily declining since early nineties. Lending to SSI sector accounted for 16.1 per cent of bank credit in 1991 and has declined to 8.5 per cent in 2006, ... More

Govt plans to provide banking credits under defence offsets
New Delhi, Aug. 24 The Government is considering a proposal to provide banking credits to meet business obligations generated through defence offsets, said the Minister of State for Defence, Mr M.M. Pallam Raju. There was a need for ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates steady
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CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS
‘Bill to regulate payment systems soon’
The Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Friday assured the Lok Sabha that he would soon bring a Bill to regulate the various payment systems in the country, including those operated by non-banks such as card companies.He was ... More

INTERVIEW
We need to educate users on the meaning of ratings: Fitch
‘Indian banks insulated from sub-prime crisis’ More