Rupee gains against dollar
Mumbai: The rupee appreciated against the dollar. The Indian currency opened at 45.55/60 and dropped to close at 45.63.

Dealers said the rupee opened strong but gave up on some of its gains during the day. Global crude prices eased to $57.50 while stock prices climbed steeply on the BSE.

Forwards: In the forwards, the 12 month premium was unchanged at 1.42 per cent and the 6 month ended 1.40 (1.44 per cent).

Bonds: Bond prices rose by about 16 paise as world oil prices continued to stay below $60 per barrel.

G-secs: The 7.59 per cent-10 year-2016 benchmark paper opened at Rs99.69 (7.63 per cent YTM) and ended at Rs99.90 (7.60 per cent YTM), higher than Wednesday's Rs99.74 (7.63 per cent YTM). The 9.39 per cent-5 year-2011 paper opened at Rs107.62 (7.44 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs107.81 (7.39 per cent YTM) against Wednesday's Rs107.64 (7.43 per cent YTM).

Call rates: Call rates were at 6.35-6.45 per cent against Wednesday's 6.40-6.50 per cent. Reverse repo: In the first one-day reverse repo auction under LAF, the Reserve Bank of India received and accepted eight bids amounting to Rs16,210 crore. In the second such auction, 19 bids for Rs8,940 crore were received and accepted.

CBLO: The CBLO market saw 316 trades amounting to Rs18,636.55 crore in the 5.50-6.35 per cent range.
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Sarawsat Bank to acquire Mandvi Co-op Bank
Mumbai: Saraswat Co-operative Bank (SCBL) will acquire Mumbai-based Mandvi Co-operative Bank. It is also conducting due diligence on Pune-based Suvarna Sahakari Bank and is in discussion with four UCBs for prospective acquisitions.

The acquisition of Mandvi Bank will give it business worth more than Rs880 crore by end- December 2006.

Mandvi Bank, a UCB with a strong Gujarati client base in Mumbai, is the first case of amalgamation of financially sound urban bank with another healthy largest bank in Cooperative sector. Mandvi Bank shareholders okayed its merger with SCBL at a meeting held yesterday.

Mandvi has net owned funds of Rs54 crore with capital adequacy of 12.5 pc. Its total business comprising deposits (Rs575 crore) and advances (Rs307 crore) stood at Rs883 crore at the end of March 31, 2006. Its gross non-performing assets are Rs38 crore (9 pc). It has 19 branches with staff strength of 385, which will be absorbed by Saraswat Bank.
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RBI recommends rolling all price indices into one
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wants to combine the four consumer price indices (CPIs) into one. The aim is to build an index to track retail price stability across the country.

A discussion paper on construction of a harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) put up on the RBI website today said, "The current CPIs do not provide changes in prices for the entire rural and urban population since they are designed to measure changes in prices of goods and services consumed by specific segments of the population, and hence there is a need to compile the CPI separately for the entire rural and urban population."
At present, the wholesale price index (WPI) is widely used to gauge inflation for policy and analysis.

According to the RBI, an elaborate framework is required for an HICP, as in contrast to the European Union, the reference groups for the existing CPIs in India leave out some important segments.
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Andhra Bank increases deposit rates
Hyderabad: Andhra Bank has upwardly revised interest rates on domestic term deposits with effect from October 11.

For senior citizens, the rate of interest is 0.5 per cent higher for all maturity periods. Interest rate of 8 per cent per annum under A.B. Treasure Scheme will also continue. Up to the period of six months to less than one year, the interest rate is unchanged. For one year to less than two years, it is now 7.25 per cent (7); two years to less than three years, 7.25 per cent (7); three years to less than five years, 7.5 per cent (7.25); five years and above, 7.75 per cent (7.5).
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