The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, April 25, 2007

INSIGHT
ANNUAL STATEMENT ON MONETARY AND CREDIT POLICY 2007-08
RBI restrains to surprise
The expectation had been that the RBI would be `tough-minded' and tighten the policy a little bit more. The very fact that Dr Y. V. Reddy has not done so and kept the policy rates unaltered, including some bows in the direction of external rate l iberalisation, shows that he is responsive to the point of view that growth is important, says S. VENKITARAMANAN. More

Hands-off, deliberately
The RBI has not, rightly, touched any of the policy rates but it is quite inexplicable that it should be projecting 17-17.5 per cent rise in money supply even as the economy is drowning in liquidity. More

FOREX
RBI relaxes controls on dollar spend
Overseas investment limit raised for companies; key rates unchanged More

Will rupee rise stem inflation?
With the dollar flood threatening to become a deluge, from the single-minded focus on tinkering repo rates and the CRR, the RBI, in its annual monetary policy statement, has turned its attention to measures that could arrest capital inflows, ... More

Rupee closes at 41.17 on lower inflation target
The rupee closed to yet another high of 41.17, reacting to the annual monetary policy statement of the RBI. The rupee went from strength to strength during the day. It opened at 41.65 and touched an intra-day high of 41.05 to ... More

CREDIT POLICY
Domestic carriers welcome decision on ATF hedging
`May not lead to fall in fares' More

Reddy plays it cool & light
Dr Reddy's press conferences usually begin with a jovial quip. This time he began on a self-deprecatory note, "The policy was long on language and short on measures!" When a questioner proved long-winded, Dr Reddy remarked that it reminded him ... More

Cos get more leeway in dollar spending
Indian corporates have been given more leeway in dollar spending with RBI announcing a slew of measures towards capital account convertibility in the annual monetary policy on Tuesday. Indian companies have been allowed to remit up to $10 ... More

Individuals can do forex hedging
RBI's annual policy offers individual investors the opportunity to protect themselves from foreign exchange risks. Resident individuals can for the first time hedge their foreign exchange exposures, including anticipated exposures. The RBI will ... More

`No major gain' from ECB limit hike
The Chief Financial Officer of Satyam, Mr Srinivas Vadlamani, said that the increase in ECBs (external commercial borrowings) limit to $400 million is an incremental measure. The existing limit of $300 million itself is ... More

Tactical retreat, say raters
The Reserve Bank of India may have just made a tactical retreat in leaving all key policy-setting rates unchanged and maintaining a status quo on its monetary policy stance for the time being. According to Mr Amit Tandon, ... More

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Kale net up by 24%
The Mumbai-based Kale Consultants Ltd has recorded a 24 per cent rise in net profit for the year ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 8.04 crore from Rs 6.48 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company clocked total revenues of Rs 80.82 crore ... More

YES Bank Q4 net doubles
Yes Bank has registered a 102-per cent growth in net profit at Rs 30.90 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 against Rs 15.32 crore in the previous year. For the year ended March 31, 2007, the net profit grew by 71 per cent at Rs 94.36 ... More

HDFC Bank's Q4 net up 30.5%
Asset growth, higher fee income help More

Mahindra Finance Q4 net rises 22%
Mahindra Finance has registered a rise of 22 per cent in net profit for the fourth quarter of the fiscal ended March 31, 2006. Net profit for the quarter amounted to Rs 57.70 crore against Rs 47.20 crore in the corresponding period of the ... More

Mahesh Co-op Bank profit rises 39%
The Hyderabad-based Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd has posted a 39 per cent surge in profit before tax at Rs 6.75 crore in 2006-07 against Rs 4.87 crore earned in the previous fiscal. "Higher lending and reduction in cost of ... More

HOUSING FINANCE
Risk weight on home loans trimmed to 50%
Advances up to Rs 20 lakh may be spared rate hike burden More

INTEREST RATES
Savings bank rates left unchanged
There wasn't anything to cheer for over 300 million savings bank account holders in the credit policy. They will have to be content with the 3.5 per cent interest rate they get on those balances for some more time. Apparently all bankers don't ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bond prices rally; market sees more tightening
Bond prices rallied by about 75 paise (yields came down by around 10 basis points) as the RBI kept the short-term interest rates (reverse-repo, repo and cash reserve ratio) unchanged. However, market players expect further ... More

CREDIT MARKET
Moderation of credit growth essential: Reddy
Annual policy maintains core stance of containing inflation More

FIXED DEPOSITS
C-D ratio of banks in Kerala touches 70%
Regional banks top the list with 121.66% in third quarter More

CO-OPERATIVES
RBI lifts ban on setting up urban coops
The Reserve Bank of India has lifted the ban on setting up new urban co-operative banks (UCBs). The RBI Governor, Dr Y.V. Reddy, today said RBI would consider granting licence to new UCBs and preference would be given to States that had signed ... More