The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, December 27, 2006

INSIGHT
If markets are efficient...
Financial markets are all about valuations. What is the right price of a share, bond, currency or commodity? The very raison d'etre for the round the clock, frenetic and frenzied activity in financial markets all over the globe is differences in ... More

FOREX
Rupee gains 11 paise
The rupee gained against the dollar driven by a liquidity crunch. The domestic currency opened at 44.58/60 and closed the day at 44.45, up from Friday's 44.56/57. Dealers said the shortage of cash in the system caused the rupee ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE
Reliance health insurance policy launched
Reliance General Insurance company has launched a health insurance plan called "Reliance HealthWise Policy". The plan is available in three variants - Standard, Silver and Gold. The premium for a couple for a cover of Rs 1 lakh is Rs 820 ... More

PRIVATE BANKS
IndusInd Bank gets RBI nod
IndusInd Bank on Tuesday said that it has received authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to open 19 more branches. This is in addition to the licences for 21 branches it had received from the RBI during the current year; ... More

ICICI Bank clean note programme
ICICI Bank will organise a one-day programme to issue fresh currency notes and coins of various denominations to the public as part of the Reserve Bank of India's clean note policy. The programme would be held on December 27 at ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
SBI hikes lending rates by 50 basis points
More banks may follow suit as spreads come under pressure More

More bank holidays next year
In 2007, banks will be closed for 24 days as holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act instead of 17 as announced earlier in Tamil Nadu. According to an official press release, the State Government received representations from bank ... More

INTEREST RATES
`Banks' deposit mop-up unlikely to affect MFs'
The asset management company of Canbank Mutual Fund sees interest rates moving up by at least 50 basis points in the near term. Emerging macro-economic indicators would possibly necessitate a hawkish approach while setting the rates next, ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices drop by 21 paise
Bond prices dropped by 21 paise (yields rose by almost four basis points) on tight liquidity. Traded volumes on the order matching system were Rs 1,150 crore (Rs 1,390 crore). "There was a complete cash drain from the system and ... More

CREDIT MARKET
Allahabad Bank to increase retail credit
Allahabad Bank is focussing on the need to increase its retail credit portfolio. In pursuance of this objective, its Kolkata Metro zonal office has organised credit camps at strategic locations, says a press release. The bank has come out with ... More

Canara Bank seeks to grow export credit
Canara Bank is aiming to grow its export credit book by at least 20 per cent this year, according to Mr M.B.N. Rao, Chairman and Managing Director. As on March 31, 2006 Canara Bank's export credit exposure stood at Rs 7,800 crore. "We also ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates soar to new high
Call rates soared to a six-year high of 11.5 per cent on tight liquidity. Banks borrowed Rs 28, 280 crore from the RBI under repo auctions. In the first one-day reverse-repo auction under LAF, RBI did not receive any bid and in ... More