The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, December 30, 2006

INSIGHT
The Thailand retraction, a misstep
Policies that subserve larger national interests should not be sacrificed at the altar of foreign investments More

FOREX
Forex reserves rise $8.6 b in first half
The accretion to the country's foreign exchange reserves was $8.6 billion on a balance of payment basis (excluding valuation) during the first half of the fiscal. Foreign investment, external commercial borrowings and banking capital were the ... More

External debt up $4.31 b in Q2
The country's external debt surged by $4.31 billion in second quarter of this fiscal to touch $136.51 billion in end-September as compared to $132.20 billion on June 30 this year. In the first quarter, the external debt stock had increased by ... More

Rupee volatile against dollar
The rupee was volatile against the dollar on Friday but closed the day at around Thursday's levels. The currency opened at 44.25 and touched an intra-day high of 44.18. It then fell to a low of 44.38 but gained to close at 44.27, ... More

NBFCS
Merrill, 2 others pick 10% stake each in Shriram City
Company to get capital infusion of Rs 192 crore More

GENERAL INSURANCE
Plea to trim premiums on private cars
The Western India Automobile Association has appealed to the IRDA for reconsidering the hike in third party premium on private cars. Mr Nitin Dossa, Chairman, WIAA, said that while the premium for third party insurance of commercial vehicles had ... More

Oriental wins fog cover mandate from Air India
`Reasonable' premium; to run till February More

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS
Signing of ADB pact leads to another walkout in Kerala
I will seek to change those provisions not people-friendly: CM More

PRIVATE BANKS
Federal Bank plans to tap capital market next fiscal
Federal Bank plans to enter the capital market shortly to mobilise fresh resources to fund some of its strategic investment projects. "We should be entering the capital markets some time next fiscal either through a rights or public issue," ... More

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS
Oriental Bank biz tops Rs 1 lakh cr
Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has crossed another milestone, with the total business of the bank touching the Rs 1,00,000 crore mark on December 22. The public sector bank expects to close the current calendar year with total business of ... More

SBT reaches out to students
The Santhi Social Circle of the State Bank of Travancore (SBT), Santhi Nagar branch, is reaching out to students during the course of a 10-day residential camp being held under the auspices of the National Service Scheme. Around ... More

INTEREST RATES
Bank of Baroda hikes PLR
Bank of Baroda has hiked its benchmark prime lending rate by 50 basis points to 12 per cent with effect from January 1, said a press release from the bank. Prior to this, the bank had hiked its PLR to 11.5 per cent in August ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices range-bound
Bond prices were range-bound today. Total traded volumes on the order marching system stood at Rs 1,260 crore (Rs 730 crore). "It was more of a `short-driven' rally, as nobody was interested in taking long positions," said a bond ... More

CRR & BANK RATES
Call rates on the rise, touches 20 pc
Leaps to 20.5 pc intra-day More

CORPORATE BONDS
Nabard zero coupon bonds
Nabard plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore through issue of 10-year zero coupon bonds. A press release from Nabard said the funds would be used for investment in areas such as agriculture and rural development. The bonds will be ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS
KVB hikes rate on seniors' deposits
Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) offers 9.25 per cent interest on Senior Citizen Deposits, for period ranging between one and three years, said to be the highest in the industry. The bank has recently rolled out a deposit scheme — ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
Bank staff meet in Hyderabad next month
The seventh All India Conference of Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) would be held in Hyderabad during January 7-10. The Andhra Pradesh Speaker, Mr K.R. Suresh Reddy, released a poster and programme of the meet here. The conference ... More