The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, December 27, 2008

MONEY & BANKING

INVESTMENTS: Guaranteed return plans popular
INSURERS UPBEAT. Mumbai, Dec. 26 At a time when investors are looking to park their earnings in safe havens such as fixed deposits, given the current volatile stock market scenario, life insurance companies are offering guaranteed-return ...

INTERVIEW: Rupee seen ‘decoupling’ from other Asian currencies
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 26 The much bandied ‘decoupling’ theory may have got its comeuppance in the context of the global recessionary contagion having begun to eat into the vitals of the Indian ...

INSIGHT: Stimulus for course correction
The Government has announced a fiscal stimulus package and another has been promised. Liquidity has been infused but credit flow is slow. Lack of trust and confidence has impaired financial intermediation. Demand for credit is low and supply ...

FINANCIAL POLICY: Small, medium exporters to get higher ECGC risk cover
Scheme to be made available up to June 30 and reviewed thereafter. New Delhi, Dec. 26 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for allocation of Rs 350 crore to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd (ECGC) from ...

CREDIT MARKET: ‘Banks should take measures to step up credit flow to MSMEs’
Hyderabad, Dec. 26 The banks should initiate immediate steps to achieve the target of Rs 30,000 crore in lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), according to the Mr R.S. Reddy, President of State Level Bankers Committee ...

FOREX: Rupee down 35 paise
The rupee depreciated by around 35 paise against the dollar on Friday, amidst thin trading volumes. Thin volumes led to volatile movements in the domestic forex market, said dealers. The domestic currency opened at 47.90 and weakened to touch ...

DEBT MARKET: Bond prices a tad lower
...

LIFE INSURANCE: Star Union Dai-ichi gets IRDA nod
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has approved the registration of Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd, a joint venture life insurance company promoted by Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Dai-ichi Mutual ...

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS: Call rates end lower
Inter-bank call rates eased to close lower at 5.10-5.30 per cent, against the earlier levels of 6-6.15 per cent. Under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility, in the first three-day auctions, the Reserve Bank of India received and accepted three ...

LIFE INSURANCE: Insurance cos on expansion mode
network. The insurance companies have also seen a 25 per cent increase in the capital deployed in the April-November period. The industry infused around Rs 4,700 crore into its operations taking the total capital base to Rs 21,000 crore. ...

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS: ‘State Govts can finance fiscal deficit by reducing cash balances’
Mumbai, Dec. 26 The Reserve Bank of India, in its Study on State Finance: 2008-2009, has raised questions about State Governments maintaining large surplus cash balances, which as on December 17, 2008, stood at Rs 74,857 crore. The central ...

PRIVATE BANKS: IDBI Bank aims to double biz
Mumbai, Dec. 26 IDBI Bank has set an ambitious target to more than double its business (deposits plus advances) to Rs 3,35,000 crore by fiscal 2010-11 as against Rs 1,55,000 crore as of March-end 2008. This volume of business, according to ...

HOUSING FINANCE: Scheme for housing the urban poor to get interest subsidy
New Delhi, Dec 26 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its nod for an interest subsidy scheme for housing the urban poor ...

FOREX: Forex reserves rise by $3.6 b
Mumbai, Dec. 26 The country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $3.6 billion to touch $254.052 billion for the week ended ...

NBFCS: Chola DBS plans fund raiser
...