HC seeks CBI record on probe into UTIs RIL investments
New Delhi--The Delhi High Court has asked for a reply from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on whether a probe into the Unit Trust of Indias (UTI) investment in Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was blocked by the finance ministry during the tenure of P Chidambaram and directed the agency to produce the entire records related to the case on September 29.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arijit Passayat and Justice DK Jain issued the direction to the CBI to file an affidavit in this regard after perusing its earlier affidavit on the status of the probe.
The CBI had said in the affidavit that "in response to a self contained note sent by it to the finance ministry on May 24, 1996 regarding alleged irregularities in the placement of funds to the tune of Rs 945 crore by UTI, LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) and GIC (General Insurance Corporation) in Reliance equities ...The ministry vide a letter on December 24, 1996 stated registration of a case for further investigation did not seem to be warranted."
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, seeking a thorough probe into alleged financial irregularities committed by RIL in connivance with high officials in the government.
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Grasim withdraws issue
Mumbai-- Grasim Industries, the A V Birla group company, has cancelled its Rs 50-crore bond issue following investor resistance to the low coupon rate of 9.15 per cent for the seven-year debt paper, with a put/call option after five years.
A Grasim spokesperson said the issue was never finalised, so there is no question of it being called off.
However, market sources said the bond issue, for raising funds through the private placement route, was very much in the market but was withdrawn by the merchant banker SBI Caps due to a poor response.
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Sensex may touch 4,400 by March; US brokerage
Mumbai Foreign brokerages feel that Indian stock markets are going to be buoyant during the months ahead with one brokerage even predicting an over 30 per cent jump in the BSE 30-share Sensex to 4,400 by March 2002. The Sensex has been hovering around 3,300 points since the last two months.
US-based Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) India Research and country head Ratnesh Kumar said in the recently released Equity Research Strategy: "We are positive on the Indian equities and recommend overweight India in a regional context."
SSB is a member of Citigroup Inc and is affiliated with Citibank NA, USA.
The reason for the optimistic investment scenario Mr Ratnesh Kumar says "Overall corporate earnings have been holding up well. In the first quarter of fiscal 2002, earnings for the top Indian companies were up 21 per cent year-on-year, and we expect a 20 percent earnings CAGR over FY01 estimates-03 estimates. Cost cuts, lower tax rates and interest cost savings have helped counter industrial slowdown for the old economy sectors, which mostly depend on domestic demand. Further, a good monsoon has raised hopes of revival in domestic demand, led by the agriculture sector...Also, since the beginning of the year, there have been potholes aplenty, many self-inflicted...but the corporate earnings have shown remarkable resilience, pulling valuations down to their most attractive in the past decade."
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US stocks rally inspired by Cisco news
New YorkDow Jones industrials went up by more than 190 points and the Nasdaq composite was up 73 points on tech buying as investors raced back into the market on news that Cisco Systems' business was stabilising.
The buying, which was spread across market sectors, got a further boost from a Commerce Department report showing home sales remained strong.
However, analysts remained skeptical about the momentum lasting, and described the gains as a rebound from weeks of strong selling and noting that the economy's prognosis is still murky.
The Dow closed up 194.02 at 10,423.17, a 1.9 per cent gain. Broader indicators also recorded hefty advances. The Nasdaq climbed 73.83, or 4 per cent, to 1,916.80, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 22.84, or nearly 2 per cent, at 1,184.93.
Cisco jumped $1.49 to $18.25, an 8 per cent increase, in reaction to chief executive John Chambers' comments Thursday that orders for the first few weeks of the current quarter were in line with expectations.
IBM rose $3.99 to $106.99. Microsoft gained $2.93 to $62.05 on news it had taken a key step toward the release of its Windows XP in October and a judge had been assigned to decide how it should be punished for violating antitrust laws.
Wall Street was also cheered by new economic data showing the sluggish economy hasn't deterred consumers from housing purchases. The Commerce Department reported sales of new homes in July were up by the largest amount since a 13.5 per cent increase last December.
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WPP to hike stake in HTA to 74 percent
New Delhi--WPP Group Plc is planning to increase its stake in Indias leading advertising agency Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA) from 60 per cent to 74 per cent. Sources in HTA admit that the employees holding shares in the agency have been sent a proposal to this effect whereby they would be allowed to sell off between 30 to 32 per cent of their shares to WPP.
It is said that WPP has offered to pay around Rs 8,000 for each equity share. But advertising industry veterans say that the price is not much as WPP had shelled out nearly Rs 6,000 per share about two years back when HTAs top brass had off-loaded some shares in favour of the parent company.
At present 40 per cent of the agencys shares are with employees and WPP Group currently has 60 per cent stake in HTA in India.
It is learnt that after WPP acquires another 14 per cent in the agency, there may be a top-level re-shuffle at HTA.
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