The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, March 01, 2007

Rule soon for housing mortgage guarantee cos
In addition to the important legislative measures now before Parliament, the Government proposes to take a number of initiatives in banking and insurance. The Government proposes to acquire RBI's equity ... More

Chidambaram dwells on making Mumbai a global financial hub
The idea of Mumbai as a global financial centre is now firmly on the drawing board of the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram. Today, in the Lok Sabha, he spoke long and passionately on the concept. The first mention came in the Budget speech. ... More

Home loan of Rs 20,000 for the poor at 4%
`This is a social banking objective and the demand for such loans will rise'. More

Housing finance cos may gain from reverse mortgage
Housing finance companies will enjoy a greater breadth of operation if reverse mortgage products are introduced and mortgage guarantee companies allowed. "The latter guarantee repayment of loans and can enable us to lend to riskier segments ... More

Health insurance sector receives a boost
The health insurance sector has received a boost from the Union Budget. The tax deduction limit with respect to medical insurance premium under Section 80 D has now been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 and for senior citizens it has been ... More

FOREX
Putting forex reserves to good use
Getting adequate returns on India's growing mountain of forex reserves ($188 billion) offers a challenge for the Reserve Bank of India. The returns have been in the range of 2 to 3 per cent during the past few years. As custodian of forex ... More

Rupee weakens
The rupee weakened by almost seven paise on Wednesday due to a bearish stock market. The currency opened at 44.35/36, touched an intra-day low of 44.37 to finally close at 44.27/28, against the previous close of 44.21 on Tuesday. ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices tumble
Bond prices crashed by around 70 paise as the government borrowing for the next fiscal is slightly higher than that in the current fiscal. The budgeted net borrowing through the auction of dated securities (excluding Treasury ... More

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS
Banks, FIs agree to settlement with Trayons
The lender banks and financial institutions of Travancore Rayons Ltd (TRL) have agreed in principle to reach a one-time settlement with the company's prospective promoter, Elenjical Group of Industries. At a meeting convened on Wednesday by the ... More

CREDIT MARKET
`Net govt borrowing to be higher'
The net government borrowing next year will be higher at Rs 1,09,579 crore against Rs 1,07, 453 crore this year. "There is nothing surprising about the government borrowing programme for 2007-08. It reflects fiscal consolidation," said Dr ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
Call rates steady
Call was steady at 6-6.10 per cent. Banks parked Rs 24,280 crore with the RBI. "The liquidity was good," said a dealer in a private bank. In the first one-day reverse repo auction, the RBI received and accepted five bids for Rs ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS
Airlines' efforts to check online frauds
To scan purchases of e-tickets using international cards More