Business news extracts –India (July 31, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: The BSE’s benchmark index, sensex closed flat at 14,334, higher by 47 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4333, up by 19 points. In bullion market, gold is being quoted at Rs.12,552/10gm and silver at Rs.24,514/kg. Nymex crude oil was trading at US$126.23 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.54 a dollar.
2. Tatas not to proceed with the proposed industrial projects worth US$3 billion in Bangladesh.
3. Public Sector oil companies may cut ATF fuel prices by this weekend.

Dismal power scenario – Mumbai

The extensive load-shedding in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Tarapur is creating panic situation in small and medium scale industries. Use of generators is not economic and diesel is not easily available due to fuel crisis. They have two choices. One is to shift the factories to Gujarat or look out for non-conventional energy sources such as solar/wind to augment the conventional power supply. India needs to exploit all possible resources to cater to the electricity demand of the present and the future.

Somehow, the governments, state as well as central, have bungled the issue in-spite of the fact that the gap between the supply and demand is widening by the day. Under such circumstances, what will happen to the projected industrial growth rate of over two digits? Only a bleak and dark future!

Some of the immediate measures to improve the situation from a common man’s point of view are: Improve the Conversion efficiency (fuel to electricity) in the power plants; reduce the loss due to transmission and efficient management of the power distribution system. Smaller captive power plants in appropriate locations should be considered very seriously by the policy makers to feed the power-starved industrial belts throughout the country.

Business news extracts –India (July 30, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: After yesterday’s plunge by 558 points due to the Reserve Bank of India’s move to reining in inflation, stock markets in Mumbai flared up. The BSE’s benchmark index, sensex closed at 14,287, higher by 495 points. Overall, there was demand for good scripts. Nifty 50 closed at 4313, up by 124 points. In bullion market, precious metals were being traded low. Gold is being quoted at Rs.12,296/10gm and silver at Rs.23,688/kg. Nymex crude oil was trading lower at US$121.35 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.36 a dollar.
2. RBI Governor says: At this juncture, a realistic policy Endeavour would be to bring down inflation from the current level of about 11-12% to a level close to 7% by March 31, 2009. Banking and realty stocks may feel the heat.
3. Terror life cover: Increasing numbers of terror strikes make insurance companies hawk terrorism insurance policies. So far, insurance companies do not provide stand-alone policy for terror insurance. Terror insurance is built into fire policies and personal accident life insurance.
4. Provident fund management: India government has decided to allow private players like ICICI Prudential, HSBC and Reliance Capital and SBI to manage the provident fund of employees totalling about Rs.2.5 lakh Crore. So far, only state-owned SBI was authorized to manage the funds. There are protests from left-affiliated trade unions against this move of the government.

Business news extracts –India (July 25, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: Stocks continued to be down and most of the stocks including technology, IT, banking, power and communications were trading low. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed lower at 14,275, down by 502 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4312, down by 122 points. In bullion market, gold is being quoted at Rs.12,750/10gm and silver at Rs.24,690/kg. Nymex crude oil was trading at US$126 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.26 a dollar.
2. Anil Ambani gains: It is reported that the new political combination at the centre will be favoring Anil Ambani group companies due to the support of Samajwadi Party to the UPA government during the crucial trust vote.
3. State-run oil companies running on borrowed money: State-run oil companies such as IOC, HPCL and BPCL have no money to buy crude oil. Typically, Indian Oil Company needs roughly Rs.12,000 Cr every month to buy crude, but loses Rs. 413 Cr daily on fuel sales due to the price control by the government. The company has been borrowing heavily from the banks.
4. Pharma companies are in crisis: The Rs.68,000Cr Indian drugs and pharmaceutical industry claims that it is in the grips of a crisis because of the steep hike in all raw material input costs. The industry is expecting at least 20% hike in drug prices in order to neutralize the hike in in-put costs.
5. Ford Motor reports loss: Ford Motor reported US$8.7 billion loss in the second quarter, largely because of reduction in the value of assets.

Business news extracts –India (July 24, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: After yesterday’s rally, most of the stocks including technology, IT, banking, power and communications were trading low. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed lower at 14,777, down by 165 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4433, down by 43 points. In bullion market, precious metals were down and gold is being quoted at Rs.12,603/10gm and silver at Rs.24,406/kg. Nymex crude oil was trading lower at US$125 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.14 a dollar.
2. Speed up reforms: Indian Finance Minister said the government, which is now free from Left parties, would try to speed up reforms that could see passage of pending bills including insurance, pension funds and banking bills.
3. 3G mobile services: The government is all set to usher in next generation, 3G mobile services, and WiMax broadband services in the country and will announce the guidelines for the same.
4. Interest in debt funds: The uncertainty in the stock markets has led to a renewed interest in debt and cash funds. The assets under management (AUM) of debt funds jumped 45.5% between Jan 31 and June 30 this year. This is two-fold jump compared to the same period previous year.

Business news extracts –India (July 23, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: Markets rallied on reform hopes after the government winning the Trust vote. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed higher at 14,942, up by 838 points. Infrastructure and Banking stocks lead the rally. Nifty 50 closed at 4476, up by 237 points. In bullion market, precious metals were down and gold was quoted at Rs.12,820/10gm and silver at Rs.24,680/kg. Nymex crude oil was trading lower at US$126.6 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.08 a dollar on Tuesday, 10 week high.
2. Trust vote: India’s UPA government survived the Trust vote yesterday. Finally, the government id out of Left’s shackles, says business community. Wave of economic reforms likely to follow.
3. BSNL’s US$10 billion expansion plan: To take on private telecom sector players, the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) plans to invest Rs.42,000 Cr over the next three years, mainly on network expansion projects.
4. Donald Trump Jr to invest in India: Donald Trump Jr. plans to set a fund of US$1 billion to buy property in India. The proposals include residential and hotel projects in Mumbai.
5. Bearish market trend: Global services major Morgan Stanley expects the bearish trend in global market nearing climax and foresees reversal of the trend soon.

Business news extracts –India (July 22, 2008)

1. The stock markets today: The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed higher at 14,104, up by 254 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4240, up by 81 points. In bullion market, gold price was quoted at Rs.13,448/10gm and silver was quoted higher at Rs.26,031/kg.. Nymex crude oil was trading at US$132 a barrel. Rupee was at Rs.42.73 a dollar.
2. Trust vote is in serious problem: BJP MPs alleged that they were bribed in crores for cross-voting by Samajwadi Party.
3. Mobile base of Rel. Com: Reliance Communications crosses 50 million mobile user base in India. The rel. Com has become the fifth mobile operator to serve 50 million mobile customers in Asia.
4. Industry wants govt to survive: Industry and stock markets want the UPA government to survive the Trust Motion today in Lok Sabha. It is felt that the nuke-deal is good bet in long-term. Without Left parties, the government now can take up unfinished agenda of the economic reforms.
5. Roshe offer to Genentech: Swish drug maker Roche Holding offered to acquire all outstanding shares in its US partner Genentech for US$43.7 billion in cash.

Business news extracts –India (July 21, 2008)

1. Betting on bull-run: Financial analysts expecting that the Indian stock markets are going to rise this week if the UPA government wins the trust vote on Jul 22, 2008. Markets may see a surge of not less than 1,500 points if crude price and inflation remains stable. It is presumed that the UPA government without the Left parties is good for the business to prosper.
2. Luxury cars from Tatas: Indian auto major, Tata Motors is gearing up to the rich clients with new models of its newly acquired luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover priced in excess of 1 lakh pounds. It is reported that in-spite of the fuel price rise and credit crunch, the global sales of luxury cars are not affected.
3. US-FDA offices in India: For efficient inspection of drug production, the American Health Regulator, US-FDA is looking to set up offices in different parts of India.
4. The stock markets today: The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed higher at 13,850, up by 214 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4159, up by 67 points. Banking stocks were up. In bullion market, gold price was at Rs.13,275/10gm and silver was quoted at Rs.25,615/kg.. Oil prices are going down and the Nymex crude oil was trading at US$130 a barrel. The rupees to a dollar were at 42.67. Because of the political jitters, INDIA Inc looked unsure post- 22/07/08. PM moves the trust vote.

Business news extracts –India (19 July, 2008)

1. Gas sale norms: In India, private players such as Reliance Industries Limited and GSPC can sell the natural gas they have discovered only to the “priority sectors” decided by the Empowered Group of Minister headed by External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The sale would be on the basis of formula for determining the price as approved by the government. Typical priority sectors are: fertilizer units, LPG plants, existing gas-based power plants, etc.
2. Sad ending: Subsequent to the RIL’s move to drag Rel.Communication into an arbitration process over the first right of refusal, Anil Ambani’s Rel. Communications withdrawn from the negotiations it had commenced in end-May to acquire a stake in South African telecom giant, MTN. Sad ending to a potentially very good deal.
3. Fitch downgraded India: Indian Finance Minister is not worried about lowering of India’s credit outlook by global rating agency, Fitch. He said economic fundamentals are strong, but some are facing difficulties. The minister also sees GDP growing at 8% and inflation will moderate by the year-end.

Business news extracts –India (18 July, 2008)

1. The stock markets in Mumbai were on the run. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed at 13,635, up by 523 points. Nifty 50 closed at 4092.25, up by 145 points. IT stocks were down, banking stocks up, real estates and energy stocks were in demand. In bullion market, gold price closed at Rs.13,308/10gm. Oil prices are going down and the Nymex crude oil was trading at US$136.36 a barrel. The rupees to a dollar were at 42.800. Cipla reported Q1 results: Net profit up at 140 Cr against 119.76 Cr.
2.ITC buys into India's biggest paper company, Ballarpur Industries (BILT).
3. According to JP Morgan Asset Managment Asia Pacific Chief Executive, the company is planning to approach the market regulator, SEBI for approval to launch an offshore fund in India.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 17/7/2008)

1. More than on-third of all buy-sell transactions in the stock exchanges, BSE and NSE are in the hands of foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Their share in overall turnover has risen from a mere 8% in 2001 to a significant 35% in 2007. This is likely to add volatility in the markets as and when the FIIs trade.
2. The Indian stock markets which were on downward march for the last three days, closed further down losing over 100 points. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed at 12,575. In bullion market, gold price closed Rs.13,560/10gm and silver closed at Rs.25,890/kg. Oil prices saw biggest drop of $6.44 in 17 years. In Nymex, the crude oil closed at US$138.71 a barrel. On Wednesday, crude fell by another 2.03 dollars a barrel for European contracts.
3. IT giant, TCS reported 7% higher net profit for the first quarter, while HDFC reported a jump of 26% in net profit for the same period.
4. Realty major Parsvnath Developers joined hands with Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail, to develop a 11,138 acre knowledge city, Parsvnath Nano City near Chandigarh. The project is valued at US$12 billion.
5. India government will release weekly inflation data on Thursdays at 5 p.m. instead of Fridays.
6. Government to sell imported cooking oils at cheaper rates through ration shops of Public Distribution System throughout the country.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 16/7/2008)

1. The stock markets which were on downward march for the last three days, tumbled to a level last seen on March 6, 2007. The BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed at 12,676 by losing further 654 points. Banking index was the worst hit. In bullion market, gold prices scaled to all-time high of Rs.13,680/10gm and silver also followed to close at Rs.26,250/kg.
2. The American distress fund owner Wilbur Ross would invest US$80 million in SpiceJet to keep afloat and also to fund aircraft acquisition.
3. India has the largest number of unsold carbon credits among all carbon markets in the world. According to Green Ventures, India has over 46 million unsold carbon credits.
4. Reserve Bank of India governor hopes to maintain growth at 8% and bring down inflation to 5.5% in six months. However, the central bank is unable to offer any assurances on interest rate cuts in the near future.
5. US FDA is keen to identify areas of collaboration between the two countries The USFDA monitors, regulates and gives permission for drugs. The agency is keen to help with the Indian regulatory infrastructure.
6. Indian IT firm i-flex Solutions will change its name to Oracle Financial Services Software.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 15/7/2008)

1. The stock markets in India continued to remain weak. BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed by losing further 139 points to close at 13,330. Oil prices also remained high near US$144 a barrel. In bullion market, gold declined marginally to close at Rs.13,310/10gm and silver edges up to close at Rs.25,595/kg.
2. Belgian brewer, InBev buys Budweiser of US brewer Anheuser-Busch for US$52billion. The deal, if approved, would be largest in the industry and the third biggest ever foreign takeover of a US company.
3. Indian domestic airlines Kingfisher and Jet hike fuel cess. Now, flying less than 750 km will have a surcharge of Rs.2,350, up from earlier Rs.2,250.
4. India stands behind 40 nations when it comes to industrial competitiveness, according to the report by United Nations Industrial Development Organization. India is behind countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Malta.
5. US Bush administration is asking for the Congress approval for a sweeping rescue package that would inject billions of federal dollars to save two American home mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Selected business extracts

1. The launch of Apple’s much –written about new iPhone turned into an IT meltdown as customers were unable to get their phones working in-store.
2. Tata Steel is looking at acquiring an iron ore mine in Western Australia. The region has huge reserves of iron ores. Western Australia is a global supplier of minerals and petroleum products. .
3. Credit card debts may lead to plastic meltdown. Credit counselors and financial analysts in the US and the UK are seeing evidence that credit card debts are increasing. The debt-soaked consumers in these countries are struggling to pay the minimum monthly repayments. Across the world, some wherebetween US$2-3 trillion is owed on credit cards. In America, more than a trillion dollars is held on credit cards!

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 13/7/2008)

1. BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex closed on a weak note by losing further 456 points to close at 13,470. Oil prices closed at a record level of US$147 a barrel. In bullion market, gold bounces back to close at Rs.13,170/10gm and silver edges up to close at Rs.25,300/kg.
2. Reliance Money, the financial products distribution arm of the ADAG is acquiring a 26% stake in Ahmedabad-headquartered National Multi-commodities Exchange for an undisclosed amount of money.
3. According to the Wall Street Journal Asia, IT majors Infosys, TCS and WIPRO have emerged as the three most admired companies in India.
4. Inflation shows no sign of reversing its rising graph, touching 11.89% for the week ended June 28. The government is wary of tighter RBI measures to squeeze liquidity out of the market.
5. The national Security Advisor is supervising the discussion to find a solution to the controversial BlackBerry Services, over which agencies have raised serious security concerns.
6. India’s sovereign interests, including in the strategic nuclear field are protected in the draft IAEA safeguards agreement. It is also ruled out putting fast breeder test reactors under the IAEA safeguards. The country’s strategic (nuclear) program is totally insulated and the pact is in India’s interests, says the negotiating team.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 11, 2008)

1. BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex ends flat as major players remained on the sidelines amid fresh developments on the political scenario following the Left Parties pull-out from the government. The sensex lost 38 points to close at 13,926. In bullion market, gold bounces back to close at Rs.12,965/10gm and silver edges up to close at Rs.25,165/kg.
2. “Fuel rationing” by oil-marketing companies are forcing petrol pump owners to run their pumps for 16 hours a day instead of the earlier 24x7 work schedule.
3. Cash-crunched Citibank may sell off its eight-story tower Citigroup Centre located at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The building could fetch anywhere between 500-800 Cr rupees as per the estimates.
4. National Australia Bank is expected to send another 400 IT jobs to India by the end of this year.
5. Rising oil prices has taken a big hit on China’s trade surplus, falling by 11.8% in the first half of 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 10, 2008)

1. BSE’s benchmark index, Sensex shoots up by 615 points to its highest close in two weeks, 13,964 with heavyweight shares particularly realty and power scripts doing brisk business. In bullion market, gold declines to close at Rs.12,850/10gm and silver edges up to close at Rs.24,990/kg.
2. Indian Prime Minister gets support from G8 countries for the nuclear deal with US, to meet its energy needs of the future.
3. The sign of slowdown is already visible in the aviation sector. The air traffic has gone down in June by 7% as compared to the May, 2008.
4. Indian-origin executives head a dozen Fortune 500 firms abroad. Some of the names are: Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, Pepsico Chief Indra Nooyi and Arcelor-Mittal CEO Lakhsmi Mittal.
5. French energy major Total will invest Rs.100 Cr in India firm Vinergy International in setting up four bitumen manufacturing plants in the country in the next 3-4 years.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 9, 2008)

1. Despite the Left parties withdrawing support to the ruling Indian government, sensex dips just 176 points and closed at 13,050. Trading sentiments improved after the Samajwadi Party stepped in to support the Congress after the Left parties exited the coalition. Among the sensex stocks, ACC was the top gainer. The upward continued today also. In bullion market, gold closed at Rs.12,920/10gm and silver at Rs.24,945/kg.
2. Ambani brothers head for legal battle over right of first refusal in case Anil Ambani sells his shares to South African telecom giant MTN.
3. German industrial conglomerates Siemens plans to cut around 16,750 jobs (4%) as part of an overhaul and as a result of global economic downturn..
4. Indian Prime Minister got support from G8 countries for fis proposal for a forum to set up a dialogue between the oil producers and consumers to stabilize soaring oil prices. This rising price of oil he said is a serous threat to world economic growth.
5. Businessmen in Europe and Gulf find India as a top investment hub as per the report of a survey of 800 investors. China comes in as close second.
6. The US Federal Reserve is planning to issue new rules to restrict exotic mortgages and high-cost loans for people with weak credit.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 8, 2008)

1. Left parties withdrew support to the UPA government in India today. Other parties are pledging support to the government on the Indo-US nuclear issue.
2. Stock markets gained yesterday. The sensex closed at 13,526, up by 300 points. In bullion market, gold closed at Rs.12,861/10gm and silver closed at Rs.24,900/kg. Today, the sensex was down due to the uncertain political scenario consequent to the withdrawal of support by the left parties to the government.
3. It is boom time for those employed in India’s telecom sector. New telecos are on hiring spree. Even the government employees from telecom sector, are tempted with huge packages and irresistible perks.
4. The relentless rise in oil prices cast a long shadow over the first day of the G8 summit, which brings together the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Russia and Italy. Oil retreated to around US$143 a barrel on Monday from a record US$145.85 last week.
5. China’s banking authorities granted licenses to three Indian banks to open a branch in China. The three Indian banks are State Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
6. Daimler-Hero is driving into Chennai for setting up a commercial vehicles plant. The joint venture, involving Rs.3000 crore investment to produce 70,000 trucks a year in the initial phase starting 2010.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 7, 2008)

1. Citibank plans 18,000 job cuts before this year is out. The Citi’s global workforce is 350,000-strong. The bank earmarks US$500 billion of assets for disposal in rebuilding process.
2. LN Mittal is considering the prospect of investing in upmarket country hotels. It is reported that the group is in talks with Von Essen Hotels.
3. Anti-infective medicine retail market grew by 21% during Jan-May this year as against 7% during the same period last year. All top four segments i. e., cephalosporins, ampicillin, quinolones and macrolides have shown double digit growth during the period.
4. Jet owners flout import norms. Over 250 private planes have been bought in violation of rules. If all violations are proved, the cumulative duty and penalty obligation on these aircrafts may exceed Rs.9,000 crores.
5. India needs 10-fold hike in power supply in the next 10 years. India’s demand for power will soar to 3,15,000 MW by 2017 assuming the current pace of economic growth at 8%. At present, India has an installed capacity of 1,44,565 MW.
6. Aditya Birla Group’s telecom subsidiary Idea Cellular Limited is all set to launch mobile services in the Mumbai circle.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 5, 2008)

1. Inflation rose to 11.63% in India for the week ending June 21, 2008. The worry for the government continues to be the rise in the prices of food items.
2. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is asking the stock market regulator, SEBI to probe into the continued falling share prices of group company Reliance Communications. The share price came down from Rs.601 to Rs.389 in one and half months. The group suspects foul play by RIL in view of its on-going talks with MTN.
3. Indian aviation is set to witness the next round of consolidation as Kingfisher Airlines is moving to acquire over 26% stake in SpiceJet.
4. Cadila Healthcare to hive off consumer business arm to its subsidiary, Carnation Nutra Analogue Foods.
5. The BSE’s 30-shares index, sensex beats inflation blues and record oil prices to gain 360 points to close at 13,454. In bullion market, gold tumbles on fresh selling by stockists. Pure gold closed at Rs.13,035/10gm and silver closed at Rs.25,080/kg.
6. An unpublished world bank report says that biofuels have caused world food prices to increase by 75% .
7. Indian government cleared 28 foreign direct investment proposals totaling Rs.1,328 Cr, including those of Marks & Spencer and a joint venture involving EID Parry (India).

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 4, 2008)

1. US crude oil jumped to record high of US$145. 43 a barrel ahead of US Independence Day on Jul 4, 2008, while London Brent crude oil hit even higher peak of 146.34 US dollars a barrel.
2. India’s mutual fund industry witnessed a 5.9% drop in its assets in June, mainly due to the stock market meltdown.
3. In bullion market, gold prices ended higher on persistent buying by the stockists in view of the strong global advices and weak domestic equity market. Pure gold closed at Rs.13,195/10gm and silver closed at Rs.25,315/kg.
4. The BSE’s 30-shares index, sensex lost 571 points and closed at 13,094. Realty and metal stocks took the beating. It is expected that the markets are likely to bounce-back on Friday.
5. Car makers in India take discount route to bypass slowdown and attract customers to showrooms. Free fuel vouchers and cash discounts are offered.
6. Konkan Railway has for the first time crossed the Rs.500-crore mark in its total earnings in 2007-08.
7. US is the largest consumer of oil. India and China together uses only 12% of the world energy. Whom to blame for the on-going oil price hike?

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 3, 2008)

1. The BSE’s 30-shares index, sensex regained its trillion-dollar status within a day. The sensex gained sharply by 703 points to close at 13,665. This may be the attempt by the speculators to manage the benchmark index to give a sense of bottoming out of the market and hence to lure some unsuspecting investors back to share markets. Reliance Infra and DLF are the top gainers. The US dollar is gaining against Indian Rupee and continued to be above 43-rupee a dollar mark. In bullion market, pure gold prices moved further up to close at Rs.13,040/10gm and silver closed at Rs.25,080/kg.
2. Indefinite strike is called by the All India Motor Transport Congress has impacted sales of diesel, because 95% of the total diesel sales is on the highways. One of the demands of the truckers is uniform sales tax/vat across the country.
3. The Mumbai-based Kasliwals have split the S.Kumars Group. The group’s business interests range across textiles, power and real estate.
4. UB Group Chairman, Mr. Vijay Mallya is all set to buy Spicejet stake.
5. ESPN bags 2010 soccer World Cup broadcast rights for US$40 million.
6. IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Khan says that there is a need to tighten monetary policy in view of the doubling of the oil prices over a period of year and increasing food price inflation.
7. US car sales plunge to 10-year low in June as high gas prices and a weak economy kept American consumers away from the car showrooms. Detroit automakers were hit hard.

Indian Business News – Selected Extracts (July 2, 2008)

1. The BSE’s 30-shares index, sensex plunged below 13,000 mark, and closed at 12,962, for the first time since April 5, 2007. The sensex took a fall of 500 points. It has lost a whopping 1,460 points in the last three trading sessions. It moved out of the coveted trillion-dollar stock market league.
2. The US dollar is gaining against Indian Rupee breaching 43-rupee mark and closed at Rs.43.27 ruppee a dollar. In bullion market, gold prices moved further up to close at Rs.12,965/10gm and silver closed at Rs.24,750/kg.
3. The Indian National Action Plan on Climate Change mandates setting up of energy benchmarks for each sector and allows trade in energy saving certificates. This is to cerate a market-based mechanism to enhance cost effectiveness of improvements in energy efficiency.
4. India’s export growth slipped to 12.9% in May this year from 18% a year ago. The export growth has also taken a hit from slowdown in the US and European markets, which account for about 40% of India’s exports.
5. Hyundai reported a robust rise in the passenger car sales by 34% in June 2008. Auto leader Maruti Suzuki India reported a 2.22% rise in total vehicle sales during the same month.
6. International Energy Agency (IEA) flays Indian government for granting export unit status to Reliance Industries Limited refinery existing at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
7. CIPLA gets approval from US FDA for AIDS drug zidovudine syrup.