this week remained sluggish

• The Sensex closed at 20032, up 91 points from its previous close, and Nifty closed at 6017, up 30 points.
• India’s No. 2 lender ICICI, beat forecast with a 19 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by robust credit growth and fewer bad debts in a fast-growing economy, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to raise rates for the sixth time this year at its review on Tuesday to batten down stubbornly high inflation pressures in the fast-growing economy, a Reuters poll shows.
• India’s annual food inflation eased in mid-October, but it remains stubbornly high and will feed into wider headline inflation to keep pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise rates at its Nov 2 review.
• Intervention in the foreign exchange market to stem sharp appreciation in currencies has costs, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday.
• India’s economy is seen growing by 8.5-9.7 percent in the 2010/11 fiscal year and monetary tightening should ensure the pace of recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy is not hit, the finance ministry said in a report released on Tuesday.
• Lifting state curbs on diesel pricing in India is unreasonable to expect at this juncture, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said on Wednesday.
• India’s fiscal deficit from April to September was 1.33 trillion rupees ($29.9 billion), or 34.9 percent of the full-year target, the government said in a statement on Friday.
• U.S. economic growth likely edged up in the third quarter but not enough to chip away at high unemployment or change perceptions of more monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next week.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unveiled special liquidity measures to tide banks over the temporary cash crunch.
• The Reserve Bank of India is expected to raise interest rates for the sixth time this year on Tuesday to battle stubborn inflation that remains well above its comfort zone of 5-6 percent.
• Two top ECB policymakers warned about the risks of currency wars on Thursday as Board member Juergen Stark flagged up improvements in money markets a day after the ECB inched forward its exit strategy.
• The Bank of Japan has said it is prepared to top up its new 5 trillion yen asset buying scheme, its latest effort to sustain economic growth and prevent the yen’s strength from derailing a fragile recovery.
• A stagnant economy, fraying social norms and China’s growing clout are making nationalism more attractive to a broader swathe of Japanese, potentially complicating Tokyo’s efforts to mend strained ties with Beijing.
• Southeast Asian countries must coordinate in the face of currency turmoil that could undermine their economies, officials said on Thursday, as the region vowed action on a plan for political and economic union by 2015.
• India’s infrastructure sector output grew 2.5 percent in September from a year earlier, slower than the upwardly revised annual growth of 3.9 percent in August, government data showed on Thursday.

sensex opens with positive note while asia is trading weak this morning

• India’s fast-growing microfinance sector has attracted regulatory scrutiny following allegations of aggressive collection practices and borrower suicides, with the finance minister calling for a code of conduct on interest rates and recovery norms.
• An India-Malaysia free trade deal is expected to almost double trade by 2015, allowing them to reduce dependence on traditional growth engines such as China and the United States.
• The European Union struggled on Wednesday to ensure tensions over Franco-German calls to change the EU treaty do not threaten a summit deal on strengthening the bloc’s budget rules to avert new sovereign debt crises.
• Demand for a range of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell last month and a gauge of business spending plans also dropped, underscoring the economic recovery’s tepid pace.
• France will seek reform of the global monetary system during its upcoming G20 presidency to protect emerging economies and to diversify international reserves, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.
• Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying on Wednesday that a permanent rescue mechanism for the euro zone was needed and that the EU treaty should be changed if necessary to facilitate this.
• China will not use its dominance of global rare earths supplies as a “bargaining tool” with foreign economies, a spokesman for the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday.
• Greece’s 2009 budget deficit, whose wildly gyrating figures triggered the country’s fiscal crisis, will be set “once and for all” at above 15 percent of GDP, the finance minister said on Wednesday.
• Intervention in the foreign exchange market to stem sharp appreciation in currencies has costs, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday.

sensex trading with strength

• The market in firm territory at this hour with metals, banks and realty looking strong. Sensex is trading at 20419, up 253 points from its previous close, and Nifty is at 6141, up 75 points.(11:37 am,india).
• High food prices are the result of both supply and demand factors that reflect changing consumption patterns, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Reuters.
• Top mobile operators are expected to post big drops in September quarter profits after being squeezed by a price war, but the outlook has improved.
• Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, India’s No. 2 drugmaker by sales, on Saturday reported a 32 percent jump in its net profit for the quarter ending September, topping estimates.
• The Indian government is likely to price state run Coal India’s initial public offering at the top end of the price range, raising about $3.5 billion, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
• Economists are only beginning to study the parallels between the 1920s and the most recent decade to try to understand why both periods ended in financial disaster. Their early findings suggest inequality may not directly cause crises, but it can be a contributing factor.
• China is a “large gap” in U.N. sanctions on North Korea, allowing the North to import luxury goods and to use its air and land routes with little risk of inspection, according to a U.S. report obtained by Reuters on Friday.
• The U.S. Senate is unlikely to take up pending China currency legislation following a weekend promise by the Group of 20 economic powers to shun currency devaluations for trade advantage, analysts said on Sunday.
• Japan’s exports trumped expectations in September, but the seventh consecutive slowdown in annual growth showed the economy was feeling the pinch from the strong yen and slackening growth in its overseas markets.
• The National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi recommended on Saturday boosting food subsides, a plan which, if implemented, could widen the budget deficit but secure voter support for the ruling party.
•  The United States struggled on Friday to win backing for a proposal to set limits on external imbalances as a way of pressing countries with surpluses such as China to let their exchange rates rise.
• Group of 20 finance leaders struck a landmark deal on Saturday to boost developing countries’ power in the International Monetary Fund even as they failed to set targets for a wide-ranging global economic rebalancing.
• Diversified U.S. manufacturers Honeywell International Inc and Ingersoll-Rand Plc beat Wall Street’s profit expectations and raised their forecasts for the rest of the year as strong demand from Asia helped to offset a tepid recovery at home.
• China has made clear it will not agree to a G20 communique that explicitly binds countries to limits on current account balances or any other form of rules on currency policy, a G20 source told Reuters on Friday.
• The only question about the rate of U.S. economic growth right now is which adjective fits best: sluggish or slumping.
•  The European Union will act against any country that denies it access to scarce raw materials or energy resources it needs for growth, according to a draft document setting out its 10-year trade agenda, aims that could ratchet up tension with China and Russia.

sensex quiet on the last day of the week

• Companies with smaller market capitalisation tend to generate higher returns over a longer period of time, as per the latest analysis by ET Intelligence Group. However, the study also reveals that they involve high investment risk too.
• The BSE Sensex flip-flopped on Friday, showing signs of fatigue after a big rally, but rising foreign fund investment kept investors optimistic about the outlook.
• Gold is all the rage as investors flee uncertain markets and worry about inflation, but some bankers to the very rich do not take a shine to the precious metal.
•  Microsoft discussed the possibility of buying out Adobe Systems at a recent meeting between their chief executives Steve Ballmer and Shantanu Narayen , says a media report.
• The Infotel Broadband Services arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has given a “working mandate” to 13 banks for its debut offshore loan, worth $1 billion, Basis Point reported on Friday.
• The private banking arm of JPMorgan is telling clients to invest in emerging market equities and currencies such as the Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee, its Asia chief investment strategist said on Tuesday.
• Two Indian women have made it to Forbes list of world’s 100 most powerful women with US First Lady Michelle Obama at the top and India-born Pepsico chief in sixth place. Axis Bank chief executive Shikha Sharma, 49, ranked 89th while ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kocchar , 48, was in the 92nd place in the magazine’s annual list.
• Moody’s Investors Service rewarded China on Friday for its response to the global financial crisis by placing the government’s bond rating on review for a possible upgrade.
• European shares fell in early trade on Friday, with investors staying cautious ahead of a US jobs report which could determine whether more stimulus measures could be introduced to spur the flagging recovery.
• Japan indicated on Friday that it would continue to intervene in foreign exchange markets when deemed necessary, on the eve of a Group of Seven meeting where tensions over competitive currency devaluation will be at the top of the agenda.
• The rupee weakened on Friday tracking Asian peers and marginally lower domestic shares, but is seen supported by dollar’s fall against majors globally on bouts of profit-taking and robust foreign fund inflows.
• Asia’s emerging economies, powered by China and India, are leading the global recovery after faring well during crisis, but need to allow currency appreciation and undergo structural reforms to ensure long-term growth, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
• The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hoped that the steps taken by the government and those by the Reserve Bank of India would bring the inflation down to six percent by the end of this financial year.
•  Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India fell by nearly a quarter in the first seven months of 2010 and the much-publicised chaos around preparations for the Commonwealth Games has added to worries foreign firms could put off further investment.
• Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday global tensions over currencies should be resolved through consensus-building negotiations.
• India has resolved the dispute with the European Union over confiscation of Indian generic drugs by countries such as the Netherlands and France, ending uncertainty for Indian pharma firms which use Europe as a transit point for exports to Africa and Latin America.

sensex closed flat with 30 points up

• Sensex closed at 20475, up 30 points from its previous close, and Nifty closed at 6159, up 16 points.
• Indian shares test new 33-mth high; autos up, Satyam down.
• Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3 percent on Monday, taking its cues from the currency markets ahead of a Bank of Japan policy decision the next day with the market expecting further easing, albeit a minor move.
• “The market has largely factored in the possibility of further easing at the (BOJ) meeting, but at this point it needs to see the actual content of the decision,” said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan, Inc.
• There is no need to intervene in the forex markets or cap foreign portfolio inflows, which have pushed the rupee to more than five-and-half-month highs, the Indian finance minister said on Monday.
• There are no signs of overheating in the Indian economy and the government can easily finance a widening current account deficit, a top adviser said on Monday.
• The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed on Monday as concerns about bank profits, spurred by new Swiss capital rules, were offset by upbeat housing data, while Microsoft fell after a ratings downgrade, weighing on the Nasdaq.
• Gold steadied on Monday, supported near record highs as investors fretted about the outlook for the dollar amid speculation of further U.S. monetary easing, but with a recovery in the U.S. unit keeping a lid on gains.
• Indian bank loan growth may fall short of the central bank’s 20 percent target this fiscal as demand for funds remains tepid, bank chiefs told Duvvuri Subbarao, governor of the Reserve Bank, on Monday.
• India’s manufacturing sector continued to expand although at a considerably slower pace than in preceding months, predominantly weighed down by a fall in new orders and output.
• Oil eased from a two-month high on Monday as investors locked in profits after a recent rally, but markets remained cautious about the pace of global economic recovery and speculation of further monetary policy easing.
• Asian stocks shot to a two-year high on Monday, boosted by interest in emerging markets, while the dollar edged up after last week’s selloff though speculation the Federal Reserve will add to money supply was still rife.
• The dollar rose on Monday, recovering from earlier losses as concerns about the stability of the euro zone again came to the forefront, overshadowing concerns the Federal Reserve may further ease U.S. monetary policy.
• U.S. Treasuries prices mostly rose on Monday on continued expectations the Federal Reserve will eventually resume quantitative easing to prop up the economy and as global weakness in stocks bolstered the safe-haven allure of government debt.
•  India’s annual food price inflation continued to quicken in mid-September and analysts see another rate increase by the year end as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) acts to stamp down persistently high inflation.