The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, September 26, 2007

DIVIDEND ANNOUNCEMENT
Federal Bank AGM okays 40% payout
Kochi, Sept. 25 The Annual General Meeting of Federal Bank approved a dividend of 40 per cent for the year 2006-07. Addressing the AGM, Mr M. Venugopalan, Chairman, said the business volume of the bank had grown by 23.19 per cent to Rs ... More

FOREX
Drug cos rethink strategies to offset rupee impact
May include ‘escalation clause’, review cost efficiencies More

Rupee rise gives Bangla, Pak exporters an edge
Exporters wary of fresh orders, may opt for invoicing in euro More

Rupee gains marginally
The rupee gained marginally against the dollar on Tuesday, as the dollar supply matched demand. A dealer said that dollar inflows were lesser compared to yesterday. During the day the rupee traded in a 10-paise band and gained only towards the ... More

AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
Nabard loan for Kochi IT complex
Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 25 Nabard has sanctioned Rs 50 crore from its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund XIII (RIDF XIII) for a new IT complex at Infopark in Kochi being implemented by the IT Department of Kerala Government.The ... More

HOUSING FINANCE
Union Bank cuts home loan rates
Mumbai, Sept 25 Union Bank of India has cut interest rates on home loans by 25-50 basis points, depending on the size of the loan. The reduced rates are applicable to new home loans.For loans less than Rs 20 lakh, the floating rate has ... More

PNB in pact with Assam Govt
More

LIFE INSURANCE
ICICI Prudential’s SMS helpline
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched an SMS Helpline service for its policy holders. This service will help them receive instant updates on their policies through an SMS to 56767. Through this service, customers can now know the policy ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
New health insurance scheme for State Government employees
TN plans bidding for selection of health insurance provider More

FINANCIAL POLICY
RBI allows cos, mutual funds to invest more overseas
Easing the pressure of inflows; ECB prepayment limit hiked More

FINANCIAL MARKETS
US economy could spring upward surprise
Mr Ben Bernanke, the US Fed Chairman, is believed to be more model-driven in his decision-making than his predecessor, Mr Alan Greenspan. Going by last week’s (unanimous) vote to cut the benchmark interest rates 50 basis points, the ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
PSBs go hep and trendy to woo young customers
Wake up to risk of losing a whole generation of well-paid youth More

New SBI branch in Hyderabad
State Bank of India (SBI) has opened its branch at Anand Bagh, Malkajgiri, here on Monday. Inaugurating the branch, Mr R.K. Sharma, Chief General Manager, SBI, said the bank had extended Rs 13,442 crore to the priority sector and Rs 5,919 crore ... More

‘PSBs rising up to compete with foreign banks’
Public sector banks (PSBs) in the country are equipping themselves to successfully take on the challenges by the entry of foreign banks into the country in 2009, said Mr P. Arivanandam, Deputy General Manager and Circle Head, Indian Bank, ... More

RESTRUCTURING
PSU insurers revamp: BCG report in 6 months
Bangalore, Sept. 25 The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has been given a deadline of six months for submitting its report on restructuring of the three public sector general insurance companies Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, United India ... More

CREDIT MARKET
Sugar mills to be given interest-free loans against excise payments
Money to be used for making cane payments More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
Employees of SBI associates to go ahead with tomorrow’s planned strike
New Delhi, Sept 25 The conciliatory meeting between the management of State Bank of India and the State Sector Bank Employees Association (SSBEA) has failed. About 25,000 employees of the associate banks of SBI who are affiliated to the ... More

INTERVIEW
Re appreciation and business decision-making
Chennai, Sept. 25 The rupee tale has two sides – the visible one that shows as the ascent of the rupee on the dollar chart; and the not so visible, the changes that the currency movements have been causing to decision-making in ... More