The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, October 07, 2006

FOREX
Forex reserves fall over $1.2 b
Forex reserves decreased by $1.177 billion to touch $165.305 billion, for the week-ended September 29, mainly due to a fall in foreign currency assets and gold. In the previous week, reserves had increased by $940 million to touch $166.482 ... More

Rupee gains
The rupee gained against the dollar on the back of good supplies. "Some of the software companies were seen selling dollars," said a dealer at a private bank. The home currency opened at 45.66 and ended at 45.59, six paise ... More

INSURANCE
ING, PlaNetFin in micro insurance initiative
To promote development of new products and delivery models More

STOCKS
Bankex outperforms Sensex on better Q2 hopes
Strong credit growth, lower bond yields to boost performance More

HOUSING FINANCE
CorpBank Homes merges with parent
CorpBank Homes Ltd, a subsidiary of Corporation Bank, has merged with the parent bank. A press release by the bank said here on Thursday that the Karnataka High Court has approved the scheme of amalgamation and the same has become effective ... More

Corp Bank 's festive home loans
Corporation Bank has announced a concession of 50 basis points in interest rate on housing loans, both on fixed and floating schemes, for those availing themselves of home loans during the current festival season. In a press release here, the ... More

CONSUMER FINANCE
SBI `Mega Loan Mahotsav'
State Bank of India has announced the launch of a three-day `Mega Loan Mahotsav' for extending home and car loans with attractive features during the ongoing festive period at the Institution of Engineers here on Friday. According to the SBI ... More

DEBT MARKET
SBI MF launches debt fund scheme
SBI Mutual Fund has launched a 90-Days Fund under the SBI Debt Fund Series (SDFS), a close-ended debt scheme. The New Fund Offer (NFO) opens on October 6 and closes on October 9. The fund would invest in a portfolio of AAA/AA+ ... More

RBI & OTHER CENTRAL BANKS
Govt paper on PD books to be parent bank's SLRs
RBI's investment portfolio guidelines to apply to PDs More

Analysts differ on sales of gold by ECB
Data suggests a considerably lower volume of actual sales More

PRIVATE BANKS
Karnataka Bank opens 400th branch
Karnataka Bank Ltd has opened its 400th branch at H.S.R. Layout in Bangalore. A bank release said here on Friday that the Karnataka Governor, Mr T.N. Chaturvedi, who inaugurated the branch on Thursday, lauded the service being ... More

GOVT BONDS
Bonds recoup early losses
Bond prices fell slightly in line with US trends. Total traded volume on the order-matching system was Rs 3,280 crore (Rs 3,150 crore). Dealers said domestic prices initially fell, tracking the drop in US T-Bill prices. The yield ... More

SHORT TERM INSTRUMENTS
T-bills auction on Oct 11
The Reserve Bank of India has announced that the auction of 91-day T-bills and 364-day T-bills would take place on October 11 using multiple price auctions. The notified amount for the 91-day T-bills would be Rs 2,000 crore, ... More

Call rates close tad lower
The call rates closed at 6.35 -6.45 per cent (6.4-6.5). In the first three-day reverse repo auction under the LAF, the Reserve Bank of India received and accepted seven bids amounting to Rs 16,995 crore and in the second ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS
LVB cuts FCNR, NRE deposit rates
Lakshmi Vilas Bank has effected a downward revision in the interest rate on its NRE, FCNR and RFC deposit with effect from October 1. The revised rate on FCNR (B) $ deposit for maturity period of 1 and 2 years has fallen to 5.30 per cent ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Leg-up to bank mergers?
The Income-Tax, Act, 1961 generally frowns upon trafficking in losses so much so that normally loss suffered by A cannot be carried forward, much less set off, by B. But Section 72A not only relaxes this thaw, but extends the normal aggregate ... More

INTERVIEW
`Banks yet to obtain digital signatures in a big way'
Do you know that in MCA21, MCA is for the Ministry of Company Affairs, and that 21 stands for the twenty-first century? The MCA21 program is a mammoth e-governance project. It builds on "the Government of India vision to introduce a ... More

OUTLOOK
MoneyGram CEO sees India as strategic market
RBI allows Indian arm to open local bank a/c More

IFA plans high-end courses on global taxation
International Tax Academy to be operational before end of this fiscal. More