Re breaches 41 mark
Mumbai: The spot rupee breached the barrier of 41 to the dollar for the first time since 1998 following lack of intervention by the RBI to buy dollars among other factors.

The monetary policy announced by the RBI on Tuesday has been the main trigger for the appreciation in the rupee, since the target for inflation is now pegged lower at 4-4.5 per cent, as against 5-5.5 per cent a year before.

G-secs: The government securities prices moved up by 20-30 paise across maturities, with the ten-year benchmark yield moving down to 7.98 per cent, as against 8.02 per cent on Wednesday. The cut off yield in the auction of 91-day T-bill was announced at 7.35.

Call rates: Call rates closed at 8 - 8.50 per cent on Wednesday against the previous close of 8-8.25 per cent.

Reverse repo: In the first one - day reverse repo auction, RBI received and accepted five bids for Rs1,745 crore. In the first one - day repo auction, it received and accepted one bid for Rs500 crore. In the second one - day reverse repo auction, it received and accepted two bids for Rs10 crore. In the second one - day repo auction, it received and accepted 14 bids for Rs2,990 crore. The CBLO market saw 425 trades aggregating Rs23,692.90 crore in the 4.05 - 8 per cent range.
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Govt likely to reduce EPF rate
New Delhi: The government is likely to offer an 8 per cent interest rate for 2006-07 — lower than the 8.5 per cent rate offered during 2005-06.

Government officials said the interest rate will depend on the amount of money in the coffer. The EPF interest rate for 2006-07 is already delayed. Also the final consultations regarding the issue within the government were over and a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) to fix the rate was expected to take place before May 15.

The government offered 8.5 per cent on EPF in 2005-06 due to fund constraints. The Left parties and trade unions like INTUC, CITU and BMS have been demanding a higher interest rate of 9.5 per cent.

At 8.5 per cent the government already has a deficit of around Rs 441 crore. If an interest rate of 8.25 per cent is offered, the deficit will reduce to Rs219 crore. The government will, however, have a surplus fund at 8.0 per cent. So, it is likely that the government will offer an interest rate of 8 per cent.

On investing the EPF money in stock market, he said, although it was being examined, some trade unions had expressed apprehension due to volatility in the stock market.
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Banks to pass on home loan reprieve to customers
New Delhi: Public sector banks are likely to pass on the benefit of lower capital requirement on loans of up to Rs20 lakh to customers.

With the exception of State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda, other PSU banks are likely to raise rates by a lower margin on these loans as they expect a 25-50 basis points gain from lower risk weight for capital allocation.

The increase in interest rates on loans above Rs20 lakh is expected to be higher. Public sector banks are considering up to 50 basis points increase in interest on loans up to Rs20 lakh and 100 basis points or more on loans above Rs20 lakh.

The finance minister had told chairmen of public sector banks during a meeting on April 19 that banks which have already raised rates in the last two months should not increase again and those who had not raised, the increase should be lower.
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Citibank, HSBC come under MRTPC investigation
New Delhi: MRTPC's investigative arm has recommended action against two multinational banks for making false promises to their credit card customers and violating the RBI guidelines.

In its preliminary report submitted to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practises Commission, the Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR) said that Citibank and HSBC have violated the rules framed by the Reserve Bank and caused loss to the general public. It said that both banks were allegedly delaying delivery of bills and realisation of cheques toward payment just to charge increased interest rate, late fee and fine etc.

DGIR also said the two banks were conducting credit card business in the country through Direct Sales Agents, who were working either as independent contractors or on commission basis. These DSAs were soliciting the general public by giving an impression that they were the direct agents of the bank - without disclosing their independent status thus giving an impression to a common man that whatsoever promises they are making are as good as made by an officer of the bank, DGIR said.
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HSBC survey finds Mumbai to be most risk-averse city
Mumbai: Among all cities in India Mumbai has emerged as the most risk-averse city, according to a survey conducted by HSBC India.

The survey said 87 per cent of Mumbaiites prefer to invest in savings plans, while 35 per cent of consider investing in children's education as a major avenue to wealth growth.

This survey was conducted among 2,500 mass affluent respondents in Mumbai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Sydney. The bank defined mass affluent as the top 20 per cent of income population and white-collar supervisory role, at least college education.

More than 73 per cent Mumbaiites , Hong Kong (73 per cent) and Sydney (84 per cent) consider cash and liquid assets as top symbols of wealth while property was the next most prevalent expression of wealth in these markets.

Affluent people from Mumbai, Singapore and Hong Kong are motivated to grow their wealth so that they can provide a comfortable life for their family. While Shanghai's affluent grow their wealth to support their children's education and Sydney's respondents work to live a desirable lifestyle the survey found.
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Tata Motors woos Singur residents by extending microfinance
Kolkata: Going beyond providing direct or even indirect employment to Singur residents at its upcoming small car plant near here, the Tatas may extend microfinance credit to some of the rehabilitated people to start their own ventures said West Bengal commerce and industry minister Nirupam Sen after signing an agreement with Tata Motors to set up a technical education facility at Singur.

For the educated youth of Singur, Tata Motors' proposed technical education institution would be providing ITI-standard know how that will help them bag jobs in its Singur plant.
Tata Motors has identified 358 youths from Singur through an initial selection process. Out of them, 122 have received basic training at the Ramakrishna Mission Polytechnic while another 17 are undergoing second round of skill enhancement at the Jamshedpur plant.
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