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Farmers conference to study implications of WTO agreement VIJAYAWADA, Mar 15: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) will hold its four-day conference at Khammam in Andhra Pradesh from March 19 to...more World
economy poised WASHINGTON, Mar 15: The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that the economic slowdown in the United States will be short-lived, and that the....more Banks exposure to capital markets within limits: Reddy MUMBAI, Mar 15: The exposure of banks to capital market activities, including lending to broking firms, is within the Reserve...more |
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SEBI directed to file MUMBAI, Mar 15: Mumbai High Court has directed Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to file by March 19 an affidavit in response....more Stock
markets open TOKYO, Mar 15: A global stock market sell-off hit Japan again today, as the main index in Tokyo opened sharply lower and investors were shaken by .....more MUMBAI, Mar 15: Gold prices declined sharply on the bullion market here today on crash in prices .....more |
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Farmers conference to study implications of WTO agreement VIJAYAWADA, Mar 15: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) will hold its four-day conference at Khammam in Andhra Pradesh from March 19 to discuss the crisis facing the domestic farm sector under the wto regime and suggest a way out "to save the farmer, agriculture and the country." The 26th AIKS conference to be attended by thousands of farmers’ representatives from all over the country, besides delegates from China, Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh among other countries would appeal to the Union Government to take the lead in changing the clauses detrimental to the interests of farmers in developing countries when the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (ADA) comes up for review shortly, conference coordinating secretary Kolli Nageswara Rao told reporters here today. Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, among others, would address the AIKS open session rally on the inaugural day, while former Union Minister Chaturanan Mishra would preside over the discussion the next day on "WTO and its impact on Indian agriculure" in which Agriculture Ministers of various states would take part, he said. Renowned agriculture expert and Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) Director General R S Paroda would lead the discussion on "crisis in indian agriculture and way out" on March 21. The conference assumed significance in view of the acute crisis facing the domestic farm sector, the state of which was far more worse in Andhra Pradesh where more than 900 farmers had committed suicide in the past three years and about 30 others had sold their kidneys to corporate hospitals in New Delhi through agents last year to tide over financial difficulties, Mr Rao said. Mr Rao, who is also the general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Ryuthu Sangam which is hosting the AIKS conference, said the Sangham wanted the Centre to ensure change in clauses such as the one permitting developed countries to give 40 per cent of the gross domestic product as subsidies to farmers as against only ten per cent in developing countries. However, the Union Government was able to provide only 7.2 per cent of the GDP as subsidies to ryots. "Under these circumstances, it is not possible to compete in the international market," he made it clear. Referring to the hike in customs duty for agricultural items proposed in the union budget, he felt that the hike was very nominal and covered only a few agricultural items when compared to the tariff structure in other countries. (UNI) |
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World economy poised for 2002 recovery:IMF WASHINGTON, Mar 15: The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that the economic slowdown in the United States will be short-lived, and that the world’s richest economy will rebound with solid growth in 2002. A senior IMF official told Reuters yesterday that, according to a draft of the fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), growth in the US economy will slow to 1.7 percent in 2001 but will accelerate to a 3 percent growth clip in 2002. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official confirmed that the draft report of the closely guarded WEO, which is due to be released in late April, forecasts global growth of 3.5 percent this year and a pick up to 4.0 percent in 2002. That latest forecast for global growth in 2001 is much slower than the 4.2 percent the fund projected in its last weo released last September. The IMF’s 2002 forecast for the United States comes amid a dive in stock prices and concerns about whether the american economy can shake off what many economists hope will only amount to a temporary slowdown. With the US economy not expected to pick up speed again until the second half of the year, markets are on edge for any indication that growth will actually reignite. The swiftness of the US downshift is underscored by how sharply the IMF has cut its 2001 forecast since saying in the last publication of the weo that the US economy would grow by a robust 3.2 percent this year. Last week, IMF chief economist Michael Mussa, the man responsible for putting the WEO together, told a news conference that the US would sidestep a recession. Mussa said the US’s ability to avoid a recession —loosely defined as six months of economic contraction — was crucial to global growth prospects. He said he thought the world’s wealthiest economy would "skirt the edge" of negative growth, noting the "substantial slowdown in manufacturing." "Autos are an important part of that (slowdown), so is high-tech," Mussa said, adding that computer and internet-related industries could suffer a nominal recession, meaning negative growth in the value of the goods and services they produced. Indeed, the outlook for the whole group of seven industrialized nations is worse for this year than the Washington-based Lender forecast in September. The draft of the twice yearly report forecast growth in the 12 nations that make up the eurozone of 2.7 percent this year and 2.9 percent in 2002. Last September the IMF forecast eurozone growth of 3.4 percent. But despite the fact that the eurozone faces slower growth this year should the estimates pan out, Europe would expand at a faster clip than the United States — reversing the trend in recent years which has seen US growth far outstrip Europe’s. Growth in Germany in the latest draft of the WEO is expected at 2.2 percent in 2001 — down from an earlier forecast of 3.3 percent growth — and 2.6 percent in 2002. The report, which offers a snapshot of expectations for the world’s economies, predicted sluggish growth of 1.0 percent this year in Japan — compared to an earlier forecast of 1.8 percent — and 1.8 percent in 2002. The report forecast Italian economic growth of 2.3 percent in 2001, down from an earlier 3.0 percent forecast, and 2.8 percent in 2002. Growth in France is seen at 2.7 percent in 2001, compared to an earlier estimate of 3.5 percent, and 2.8 percent in 2002. Growth in the United Kingdom is forecast at 2.7 percent in 2001, compared to a September estimate of 2.8 percent, and 2.9 percent in 2002. In Canada, the expectation is for growth of 2.5 percent in 2001, down from an earlier 2.8 percent estimate. Canada’s economy is forecast to grow by 2.8 percent in 2002. In recent weeks numerous IMF officials have slipped various figures from the WEO into speeches and interviews, including Mussa, first Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer and Deputy Managing Director Eduardo Aninat. Among the other forecasts that have been mentioned are Latin American growth in 2001 of 3.9 percent, argentine growth this year of 2.5 percent, growth in Mexico of 3.5 percent and growth in Brazil of 4.5 percent. (REUTERS) |
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Banks exposure to capital markets within limits: Reddy MUMBAI, Mar 15: The exposure of banks to capital market activities, including lending to broking firms, is within the Reserve Bank of India stipulated five per cent norm, RBI Deputy Governor Y V Reddy said today. He said the movement in markets like forex and Government securities was stable and there was no problem on the liquidity front. Referring to the Ahmedabad-based Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank, whose banking activities were freezed by RBI following payment crisis, Reddy said the apex bank has requested the Government for supercession of the Bank’s board and appoint an administrator. ‘We will extend support to the administrator, if and when appointed’, he added. ‘No single cooperative bank has approached us so far with a request for assistance and there is sufficient liquidity with the systems and individual banks’, Reddy said. Referring to the interest rate regime in his address, reddy said the emphasis has been on providing greater flexibility to it, however, that does not mean a continuous downward movement. Reddy said ‘the stable rate of interest implied that depending on inflation rate, the nominal interest rate will move up and down. Furthermore, it is necessary for banks to appreciate the need for reduction in their interest spreads’. Referring to the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), he said the progressive reduction in crr was closely related to the pace of reduction in fiscal deficit, monetary developments and uncertainties in forex markets. ‘On all these fronts, greater comfort in the past could have helped more rapid reduction in CRR, to achieve the medium term objective’, the RBI Deputy Governor said. In the medium term perspective, the main challenge would be to subscribe to the proposed new basel capital accord meant to replace the existing 1998 accord, Reddy said. The accord covers issues like prudential requirements including capital adequacy norms for the banks. The new accord was likely to be finalised by 2001 end and mandated for adoption by 2004, he said, adding, it was likely to be more complex and more binding warranting early and vigorous preparatory work by both banks and RBI. On the issue of competition between banks and between banks and non-banks, Reddy said there were significant legal and institutional changes that need to be addressed without any serious systemic implications to ensure availability of adequate credit to rural areas and agriculture. Referring to the credit delivery, he said attention has to be given to the fast growing services sector and critical ‘peoples sector’ like agriculture. (PTI) |
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SEBI directed to file affidavit on Rathi’s petition MUMBAI, Mar 15: Mumbai High Court has directed Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to file by March 19 an affidavit in response to a petition filed by former President of Bombay Stock Exchange, Anand Rathi challenging its decision to prohibit him and his firms from trading. The petition, which also challenges SEBI’s decision to stop Rathi from acting as a member Director of BSE, will come up for admission before Justices Ajit Shah and Shiavax Vajifdar on March 19. Directing SEBI to file an affidavit, the bench yesterday refused to stay the decision of the regulating body saying that there was no case for granting interim relief at this stage. In keeping with a SEBI directive, BSE, on March 13, deactivated Rathi’s bolt thereby preventing him from trading on the exchange. Being aggrieved, Rathi moved the High Court’s counsel, Virendra Tulzapurkar, submitted that SEBI’s order was passed without following the principles of natural justice. He also contended that the post decision hearing was given to his client after ten days thereby making it a nullity. If Rathi was not allowed to trade, his business would be badly affected, his counsel said. SEBI’s counsel, Goolam Vahanvati, argued that there was no question of following the principles of natural justice at this stage because due to Rathi’s alleged actions, the confidence of the investors had been shaken. (PTI) |
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Stock markets open lower in Asia as global sell-off continues TOKYO, Mar 15: A global stock market sell-off hit Japan again today, as the main index in Tokyo opened sharply lower and investors were shaken by more bad news about the troubled banking industry in the world’s second largest economy. Following the lead of big falls in US and European markets yesterday, the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei stock average opened down 157.96 points, or 3.1 per cent, at 11,685.64. For the third time this week, the Nikkei set a new record low reaching all the way back to early 1985. Japan’s markets also were hurt by the growing sense that the Government has almost completely lost its ability to respond to the country’s political and economic crises. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is widely considered a lame duck and is expected to resign soon but has refused to say when and no clear replacement has emerged. "Definitely, there’s a lot of fear in this market," said Robert Sasaki, a strategist at Jardine Fleming in Tokyo. "Ahead of the end of the fiscal year (on March 31), we’ve got Finance Minister saying the fiscal situation is in ruin." "Usually," Sasaki said, "at this time of year everyone - the Government, the politicians and the Bank of Japan - all get their ducks in a row to rally the market. This year everything is falling apart." In South Korea, the Kospi index also opened sharply lower, down 3.19 per cent, and main stock market index in Sydney, was nearly 1 per cent lower in early trading. In New York, the prospect of a global economic slowdown pushed the Dow Jones industrials down 3.08 per cent yesterday for its worst week in more than 11 years. The tech-heavy nasdaq was down 2.12 per cent. Frankfurt’s tech-heavy nemax 50 index fell 4.7 per cent, or 88.67 points, to 1,795, after plummeting by as much as 8.5 per cent earlier in the day. Europe’s major blue-chip stock markets in Frankfurt, London and Paris fared little better, all down by 3 per cent at some point in the day. Germany’s dax index of the country’s 30 biggest companies was down 2.8 per cent, or 168.81 points, at 5,794.12. Almost all the companies in the Dax were chalking up losses, with Deutsche Bank, volkswagen and BMW among its biggest losers. London’s FTSE-100 was down 94.8 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 5,625.90 with only a handful of companies among the topflight index recording gains. Banking stocks were among the heavy fallers, with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC all diving. Meanwhile, Paris’ CAC-40 benchmark shed 71.37 points, or 1.4 per cent, to land at 5,115.50. Last night, fitch, the international credit rating industry, put Japanese banks on "negative review" over growing worries about the impact of sliding share prices on their businesses. Fitch said it has placed the individual ratings of 19 Japanese banks on "rating watch negative." Besides the country ‘s falling stock prices, the agency also cited their weak assets and bed debts, or non-performing loans. (AP) |
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MUMBAI, Mar 15: Gold prices declined sharply on the bullion market here today on crash in prices in Hong Kong after the Bank of England’s (BoE) gold sales last night. Silver followed suit and turned sharply weak. The BoE, in its bi-monthly gold auction, sold 25 tonnes of gold yesterday at usd 266 an ounce, which was 80 cents below the previous day’s closing prices, dealers said. In the local market, standard gold declined steeply by Rs 60 to close at Rs 4270 from yesterday’s close of Rs 4330 due to heavy stockists’ offering as the yellow metal had plummeted by usd 5.80 an ounce in Hong Kong to close at usd 262.50 an ounce as against the previous close of usd 268.30 an ounce, they said. Similarly, 22-carat gold was nominally quoted sharply lower at Rs 3950 as against the previous close of Rs 4005 and ten-tola gold bar (.999 purity) nose-dived by Rs 600 to Rs 50,000 from Rs 50,600. Ready silver (.999 fineness) resumed weak at Rs 7425 and declined further in line with the general trend and closed at Rs 7405 as against the last close of Rs 7445. Raw silver (.916 fineness) declined by Rs 30 to Rs 7300 from yesterday’s close of Rs 7330 and tenderable silver fell to Rs 7410 from Rs 7450. (PTI) |
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