Why There's No Will to Fight Inflation!
'Aware of Swiss banks' reluctance in sharing details': Pranab
Social Security crunch coming fast!China to keep policy loose as economy faces new woes.A pessimist's prediction: Hyperinflation!Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 345
Palash Biswas
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India inflation falls but food prices up amid drought - 4 days ago NEW DELHI — India's inflation rate stayed in negative terrain for the 10th week, official data showed Thursday, despite food prices rising amid a widening ...AFP - 71 related articles »Curb your expenditure to handle finances during inflation - Economic Times - 5 related articles »Inflation India
The Inflation in India has been registering a mammoth GDP growth post-liberalization. The opening up of the Indian economy after the 1990s increased India's ...
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The inflation rate in India registering stupendous growth after the liberalization of Indian economy. The opening up of the Indian economy in the early ...
business.mapsofindia.com/inflation/rate.html - Cached - Similar -How India calculates inflation
7 Jun 2007 ... India uses the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) to calculate and then decide the inflation rate in the economy. Most developed countries use the ...
www.rediff.com/money/2007/jun/07infla.htm - Cached - Similar -Inflation in India: How to tackle it
21 Mar 2007 ... Naturally this is another fuel for growth and crucially, inflation. This Reserve Bank of India's strategy of dealing with excessive ...
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By July 2008 the Indian Inflation Rate has risen above 11%, its highest rate in 13 years. This is more than 6% higher than a year earlier and almost three ...
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30 Mar 2004 ... Inflation in India. This is part of IndiaOneStop.Com, a website providing free business tips and leads, consultation, project reports, ...
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Inflation has an economic phenomenon can be detrimental to a nations economy. A brief preview on inflation, causes and problems and inflationary trends in ...
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8 Apr 2008 ... Most analyses of accelerating inflation in India emphasise the role of “imported inflation” in driving Indian prices upwards. ...
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Curb your expenditure to handle finances during inflationEconomic Times - 4 hours ago According to the 2008 Economic Survey Report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had targeted trimming down India's inflation rate from 5.77% in 2007 to 4.1%. ... Home loan price war - are you ready to win? Reuters India RBI panel seeks more pvt banks involvement for financial inclusion Business Standard India's Bonds Decline a Fourth Day on Inflation, Rate ConcernsBloomberg - - 9 hours ago The Reserve Bank of India, the central bank, on July 28 raised its inflation forecast for the year to around 5 percent from an April estimate of 4 percent, ... India May 'Reverse' Rate Cuts as Food, Energy Stoke InflationBloomberg - - Jul 28, 2009 “The wholesale price inflation that India looks at will be closer to 6 percent by March 2010.” HSBC Group Plc economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde and ... FE Editorial: The growth imperative Financial Express Inflation may play spoilsport Economic Times Interest rates may not come down any more in short-term Times of India OUTLOOK-India gold may tread higher on strong crudeReuters India - - 2 hours ago ... India's gold futures may tread higher this week on the back of strong crude, enhancing the yellow metal's appeal as a hedge against oil-led inflation, ... Inflation in India touches 33-year low at -1.74%TopNews - - Aug 14, 2009 The whole sale price index based country's inflation rate, for the straight ninth week, stayed in negative territory for the week ended August 1, ... Inflation still negative, touches 33-year low Economic Times Inflation continues in negative terrain, at -1.74% Moneycontrol.com Sufficient food grain stocks may prevent high inflationTimes of India - Aug 15, 2009 "Poor rainfall this year can have an obvious impact on food prices, thereby impacting inflation. However, India has some respite in the form of comfortable ... Inflation rises to -1.53%Times of India - Aug 19, 2009 NEW DELHI: India's annual rate of inflation rose marginally to minus 1.53 percent for the week ending Aug 8 from minus 1.74 percent the week before, ... Inflation up at -1.53% , food prices increase Business Standard Inflation inches slightly up: Is it turning the corner? Moneycontrol.com Inflation up at -1.53%, food still hot Economic Times Drought might cause inflation pain: PranabNDTV.com - Aug 21, 2009 Though wholesale prices in India fell for the tenth straight week in the week ended August 10, food prices continued to move up, stoking concerns that the ... Food import likely to tide over crisis Economic Times Food prices likely to stay high Times of India BSE Sensex rises 2.2 pct; Reliance, ICICI gainReuters India - 9 hours ago ... hurt by worries about weak monsoon rains -- crucial for India's domestic-demand-led economy -- high valuations and looming inflation. ... Sensex loses over 170 pts during the week Myiris.com Poor monsoon may put pressure on inflation: RBIBusiness Standard - Aug 18, 2009 RBI has projected the headline inflation rate based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) to rise to around 5 per cent by March. India's headline inflation rate is ... North India may get rain in August-end Times of India India cbank: erratic monsoon to pressure prices Reuters India |
False DEFLATION, False RECESSION, Inflated Growth and FUNDAMENTALS, Foreign Capital Inflow, REALTY Boost and Disinvestment to benefit FIIS, FDI and CORPORATE EXTRA CONSTITUTIONAL Governance are the VITAL ELEMENTS of Indian Perpherry ECONOMY under MANUSMRITI ZIONIST Rule.
Poverty and BPL are redefined. Starvation defined as MALNUTRITION. Mass Movements have to be BRANDED as EXTREMISM, TERRORISM and Insurgency to justify MILITARY Operations with ZERO TOLERANCE to HELP the IMPERIALIST CAPITALIST Monopolistic AGRESSION, that to with DEMOCRATIC, Progressive, SECULAR and HUMAN Face accomplished with ETHNIC Cleansing and Genocide Culture! Grocery Bills are never considered. Public utilities have to PRIVATISED. Everything tagged with Govt. and PSUS are on SELL OFF!
Effluent ruling Brahaminical Hegemony has the PLASTIC Money to buy any damn thing at will any time. It is FESTIVAL shopping time for URBAN Shining India! ABORIGINAL INDIGENOUS MINORITY Communities, deprived of Purchasing Power as indigenous Production system as well as Livelihood destroyed. The EXODUS, PRICE Rise Unprecedented, MASS JOB LOSS, Food and agriculture CRISIS, Starvation and Rural India are not accounted while Projecting ZERO Inflation!
Why should there be the will to fight INFLATION in India while it is said to be ZERO!
The World is RECOVERING from RECESSION! India was NEVER in RECESSION. The projected RECESSION meant to feed the GREEDY Killer Money Machine with our RIBS, Meat and Blood! Well, India has to be under RECESSION to divert National Revenue and resources!
On the other hand,In past global slowdowns, the United States invariably led the way out, followed by Europe and the rest of the world. But for the first
Economists have long predicted that an increasingly powerful China would come to rival and eventually surpass the United States in economic influence. While the U.S. economy is still more than three times the size of China’s, the nascent global recovery suggests that this long-anticipated change could arrive sooner than had been expected.
World stocks powered to a 10-month high on Monday and oil rallied after last week's upbeat U.S. housing data and optimistic comments from
Challenging economic times seem to be extracting the best from executives worldwide, as many of them are putting in longer hours and are
Interestingly, most of the executives also find their work more exciting and meaningful now, despite the rising stress levels, according to a survey conducted by global consultancy firm McKinsey.
"Most respondents are working more hours since the crisis began, and nearly 40 per cent have more responsibilities without the benefit of a new title.
"But although stress levels have increased, most executives say they can cope," the report said.
Conducted in July, McKinsey Quarterly survey received responses from 1,653 executives worldwide. Among the respondents, 47 per cent were C-level executives (like CEO and CFO) or corporate directors, while 33 per cent were senior executives and middle managers made up 18 per cent.
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According to the survey, about 95 per cent of the executives were to some extent satisfied with their own performance but much less impressed with superiors' work.
"Most find their work more exciting and meaningful than they did before the crisis, and almost all -- 95 per cent -- are at least somewhat satisfied with their own performance as business leaders. Far fewer are impressed with the work of their direct superiors," it noted.
When it comes to stress, more than 50 per cent executives felt it has increased but are manageable in the long term.
"However, one in five executives say they are worried going forward about coping with the increased stress levels," the report added.
Over 80 per cent of the executives said the economic crisis has adversely impacted the financial performance of their organisations.
Amid companies looking to cut down on operating costs, the report said executives are working harder.
"Executives are working harder in this environment -- 55 hours a week on average, compared with 45 (hours) before the crisis," the survey said.
More than half of the executives who are satisfied with their own performance as business leaders were spending extra time on motivating people -- compared with only 30 per cent of those who aren't at all satisfied.
Friday's survey showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped 7.2 percent in July to mark the fastest pace in nearly two years.
Bernanke and other central bankers said at the annual gathering in Jackson Hole on Friday the worst global recession in 70 years was nearing a close, although they warned it would be a long, slow climb back to normal growth.
"The rally seems like building strength again ... This broad rally shows no sign of running out of steam as yet," said Matthew Buckland, dealer at CMC Markets.
MSCI world equity index rose 0.7 percent to reach levels not seen since October. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose almost 1 percent.
Tokyo stocks jumped 3.4 percent, their biggest one-day gain in 3-1/2 months. However, trading was thin, with turnover volume on the Tokyo stock exchange's first section at its lowest level since July 28.
Investors were also hesitant about taking heavy positions before the Aug. 30 general election where many expect the opposition Democratic Party to win.
Emerging stocks rose 1.75 percent.
"The question of whether the global economy is undergoing a recovery is being answered little by little in the affirmative, as positive economic data last week combined with some relatively upbeat comments from major central bankers over the weekend," Brown Brothers Harriman said in a note to clients.
"Further gains in equities ... combined with some strong moves in commodities reflecting the optimism about growth prospects."
US crude oil rose 0.6 percent to $74.31 a barrel, nearing Friday's 10-month high and supporting oil shares. A storm off eastern Canada also lent support.
The dollar fell 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies. Against the yen it rose half a percent to 94.95.
The September Bund future fell 18 ticks.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the government will look into the rejection by Swiss banks to hand over details of their
Speaking to newsmen before entering his North Block office Mukherjee said, "What can I comment? I will look into the matter and discuss the Swiss banks’ rejection to disclose details with authorities in banking sector."
This reaction from the finance minister comes after Swiss banks declined India's request to unearth its black money parked in their banks. India has also been told not to come on 'fishing expeditions'.
Swiss bank authorities rejected India's request to disclose details of clients, saying Swiss law and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions.
The Swiss authorities added that they would not co-operate in the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.
"This means that India cannot simply throw its telephone book at Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank account here," a top Swiss bankers’ association official said.
According to sources the Swiss bank-client confidentiality has never been 100 percent absolute and Swiss legislators have built in provisions for it to be lifted during criminal investigations and also in many civil cases and it has also evolved over time.
"The key for the exchange of information in tax matters is the Double Taxation Agreement between Switzerland and India," said SBA's Head of International Communications James Nason.
Double Taxation Agreements are being currently revised to incorporate the OECD standard on the exchange of information in tax matters according to the OECD's own Model Tax Convention
Even Poor Russia emerging from recession, official says!
Russia is likely emerging from its deep recession, a top governmental official said Monday, noting an improvement in the latest economic
Gross domestic product rose 0.5 per cent in July from the previous month and was down 9.3 per cent compared with the same month in 2008, according to Deputy Economic Minister Andrei Klepach.
The yearly rate is a smaller decline than the 10.1 per cent drop recorded in June and the 11.5 per cent in May.
``We can say with a degree of certainty that the recession is generally over, and the economy is moving to recover,'' Klepach said, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia is weathering its biggest recession in a decade. Its economy has already contracted by over 10 per cent this year and is running a 7.5 per cent budget deficit _ its first in a decade. It has been the hardest hit of the major developing economies as oil prices plunged from last year and demand for metals dropped off.
President Dmitry Medvedev said this month that Russia has been hit harder than expected because of its overdependence on oil exports. He warned that Russia's economy will have ``no future'' unless it diversifies more thoroughly.
An Aug 17 explosion at Russia's largest hydropower plant, which killed at least 69 people and stretched the Siberian region's energy supply, raised concern over Russia's aging infrastructure and underinvestment.
Medvedev on Monday lashed out at commentators who in their ``apocalyptic comments'' predicted ``a technological end for Russia, a Chernobyl of the 21st century,'' Russian news agencies reported.
Medvedev dismissed these comments as ``blunt lies'' but acknowledged that they address a real _ if manageable _ problem.
``The truth is, however, that our country is technologically very far behind,'' he said. ``If we fail to overcome this challenge, those threats can become real ... but we've got all it takes to bridge this gap.''
FIIs turn net sellers in August
Except for the first two months of the calendar year, they have displayed positive inflow in rest of the five months. In January and February, FII outflow from Indian markets was Rs 4,250 crore and 2,690 crore, respectively. However, the trend reversed between March and July 2009.
FIIs made a record of sort by pumping in Rs 21,298 crore ($4.25 billion) in May, highest in a month. FIIs were net investors in March (Rs 269 crore), April (Rs 7,384 crore), June (Rs 4,378 crore) and July (Rs 11,625 crore). Though FIIs started August on a positive note, they turned net sellers as the month progressed.
Analysts attribute negative consumer data in the US for withdrawal of investments by FIIs from the emerging markets.
“The FII investment is based on the prevailing sentiment in the US. The negative consumer data last week affected the behaviour of FIIs. They feel the data will increase the pressure of redemption in coming months,” said VVLN Sastry, country head, Firstcall India Equity Advisors. “Of the two theories prevalent in the US, one assumes that the recovery seen in the past two months is news flow based and that there is no fundamental improvement in the economy, as a result the stock markets would not sustain their present levels. According to the second theory, economies have revived and would continue to grow,” he added.
However, another section of analysts feels that the current outflow is merely profit booking and shifting of some funds from the secondary market to the primary market. “Emerging markets have witnessed sharp recovery in the past few months. They have risen by 80-90% and many investors have preferred to book profits at high level, apprehending a correction.
They have adopted a strategy of wait and watch,” said Sailav Kaji of Pinc Research. “If the US continues on the path to recovery and the sell-off in Chinese markets stops, then the Indian markets may witness a new high for the year,” he added.
Orissa group wins TV show | ||
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Bhubaneswar, Aug. 23: Tears of joy welled up in the eyes of supporters who sat glued to their television screens last night to watch Orissa’s Prince Dance Group win India’s Got Talent — a reality show on TV. The dance group from Berhampur — comprising 26 daily labourers-cum-artists, including two physically challenged participants, led by Krishna Mohan Reddy — mesmerised the audience and the judges with their performance based on Dashavatar. While their supporters here waited with bated breath, Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee announced that the dance group had won with the highest number of votes. As many as 11 teams had participated in the grand finale. Shekhar Kapur, Kirron Kher and Sonali Bendre, the judges on the show, appreciated the efforts of the group. The show officials handed Krishna the coveted prize — a cheque of Rs 50 lakh and the key to a hatchback car. “I am grateful to Lord Krishna,” Krishna Mohan Reddy said on his win. “And I am indebted to my father and mother,” said the 26-year-old dance teacher who never had any formal training. The dancers hail from humble backgrounds. They used to dance on the Gopalpur beach after their day’s hard labour. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the group on their grand success. Earlier, Naveen had voted in favour of the group by sending an SMS. The entire state was excited about the TV show with many corporate sectors extending their support to the talented artists. RSB Group of Industries announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh before the final results were out. Dhamra port and Gopalpur port authorities mobilised an SMS-sending programme among residents, aided by Tata Steel and IFFCO-Tokio. |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090824/jsp/nation/story_11399174.jsp
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Combined sales of these 113 mid-size companies grew 8% over the year-ago period while their net profit increased by 12%, according to an ETIG study that analysed financial results of companies for the quarter ended June. They saw the biggest turnaround, reporting double-digit profit growth, in sharp contrast with the previous two quarters when their aggregate profits fell by an average 24%.
The earnings performance of this group was boosted by Shree Cement, Cadila, Century Textiles, Binani Cement and Siemens. Revenue growth in this set was led by ITI Ltd, Lanco Infratech and Bharat Electronics, among others. Shree Cement saw a more than two-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 291.13 crore during the first quarter, driven by high volume growth and reduced operating expenses. It also posted a 50% increase in turnover to Rs 922.95 crore.
The major corporations the mid-size companies outperformed comprised those having quarterly revenues of over Rs 2,000 crore. This group of 40 firms such as Reliance Industries, NTPC, SAIL, Infosys and Bharti Airtel reported a revenue growth of 1.1% and profit growth of 6%.
The performance of giant corporations was weighed down by Reliance Industries. If we exclude RIL, which accounts for a seventh of the total sales of the giants, growth in the group’s revenues and profit improves to about 8%. The country’s largest private sector company by standalone revenues saw its revenues and profit shrink due to a fall in refining margins.
Smaller companies, which form the bulk of the sample, clubbed into three sets having quarterly revenues of Rs 100-500 crore, Rs 50-100 crore and Rs 5-50 crore, reported a decline in profits.
The smaller the size of the firms, higher the decline in earnings and sales with the smallest group seeing profits halve compared to same period last year. They also saw a decline in both demand and earnings as the economy is still recovering from a downturn. “The smaller firms seem to have suffered damage to their business model during the third quarter of FY09, leading to significant erosion in profits. It is difficult to foresee a recovery for them for now, which will come only after the economy gains momentum,” said Manish Sonthalia, portfolio manager at brokerage outfit Motilal Oswal.
Miss Venezuela Stefania Fernandez has been crowned as the new Miss Universe. The pageant kicked off in Bahamas early on Monday morning. The girls were be judged according to three categories -- swimsuit, evening gown and interview.
Global recovery: Catalyst coming from China and rest of Asia
Economists have long predicted that an increasingly powerful China would come to rival and eventually surpass the United States in economic influence. While the U.S. economy is still more than three times the size of China’s, the nascent global recovery suggests that this long-anticipated change could arrive sooner than had been expected.
Such a shift would have significant ramifications for the United States and the rest of the West, even after the global economic recovery takes hold.
“The economic center of gravity has been shifting for some time, but this recession marks a turning point,” said Neal Soss, chief economist for Credit Suisse in New York. “It’s Asia that’s lifting the world, rather than the U.S., and that’s never happened before.”
China’s government-dominated, top-down economy is surging after Chinese banks doled out more than $1 trillion in loans in the first half of the year, in addition to a nearly $600 billion government stimulus program.
Though the benefits are manifest, some economists wonder whether China is laying the groundwork for sustainable growth or just increasing its export capacity despite more frugal spending habits on the part of Western consumers.
“The big question is what happens next,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard. “If the consumer in the United States and Europe doesn’t come back, I’m not sure Asia has a Plan B.”
But robust demand among Chinese consumers and businesses is one reason oil prices have doubled to more than $70 a barrel since bottoming out early this year, and China is likely to keep buying U.S. debt as Washington borrows heavily to finance its myriad stimulus and bailout plans.
The United States is also being shoved aside as the make-or-break customer for export-driven nations like Germany and Japan. China overtook the United States as Japan’s leading trading partner in the first half of 2009, while in Europe manufacturers are looking east instead of west.
“What we’re losing in the trans-Atlantic trade with the U.S., we are gaining in China,” said Jens Nagel, head of the international department of the German Exporters Association.
In the near term, however, the United States should benefit from a resurgent Asia, as the U.S. economy finally begins growing again, as expected in the second half of 2009.
“Vigorous rebounds overseas, particularly in East Asia, suggest that U.S. imports and exports will soon improve,” Soss said.
Last week, Hewlett-Packard pointed to double-digit revenue growth in China as a rare bright spot in an otherwise lackluster earnings report. Meanwhile, overall U.S. exports to China have already been picking up, rising to $5.5 billion in June from $4.1 billion in January.
| SENSEX | 15628.75 | 387.92 |
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| NASDAQ | 2020.90 | 31.68 |
| DJIA | 9505.96 | 155.91 |
| RS/$ | 48.74 | -0.04 |
Markets
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Posted: 24 Aug, 2009, 1552 hrs ISThrs IST
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Posted: 24 Aug, 2009, 1315 hrs ISThrs IST
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Posted: 24 Aug, 2009, 1015 hrs ISThrs IST
Maoist numbers beat cops |
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Patna/Ranchi, Aug. 23: The sheer strength of numbers helped Maoists pull off the fatal attack on a patrol team in Jamui on Bihar-Jharkhand border last night, senior police officers have conceded. Armed with rifles, bombs and sickles, more than 60 rebels ambushed a six-member Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) force near Sonobazaar, killing four, including assistant sub-inspector Abdul Kalam. A fifth jawan died in hospital today. The Nitish Kumar government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased SAP personnel. The Bihar and Jharkhand police have mounted a joint operation in Jamui and its surrounding areas. The body of a Maoist, identified as Naresh Yadav, has been recovered from the spot, triggering speculation that the rebels, too, may have suffered heavy casualties. Police said the armed squad boarded a tractor trolley to reach the southern bank of river Banarsa. They abandoned the vehicle and crossed the river to reach Sonobazaar. “One of the guerrillas grabbed a jawan from behind and snatched away his rifle while his accomplices opened fire on the security team. Our men were taken aback by the suddenness of the event and outnumbered by 60-odd rebels,” admitted ADG (police headquarters) Neelmani. More security forces reached the spot soon, resulting in a fierce gun battle. The rebels disappeared into the forests with five rifles and a pistol. “The reinforcement from Jamui district police headquarters forced the rebels to retreat,” the ADG said. Today, security forces from Koderma and Giridih in Jharkhand joined the flush-out operation. Neelmani said that they suspected that the Maoists were holed up in the forests of the two neighbouring districts. The Jharkhand police have also sounded a high alert in Giridih. North Chhotanagpur deputy inspector-general M.S. Bhatia said they were not ruling out involvement of rebels from the state in the Jamui attack, as rebels often operated beyond their territories. “As a preventive measure, we have sealed the borders, blocked roads at strategic locations and initiated long-range patrolling in the forests of Giridih and Jamui.” Giridih superintendent of police A.V. Minz said that they were conducting search operations in border villages and three pickets at Bhelwaghati, Narotand and Teesro had been put on alert. The CRPF has been roped in for the operation while Minz said he was co-ordinating with his Jamui and Lakhisarai counterparts. “Till now, we have not come across any clue about the rebels entering our side from Bihar,” Minz added. |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090824/jsp/frontpage/story_11400419.jsp
Mob burns resort - Fury at murder of teenager in soccer row spills over into Vedic Village | ||
| OUR BUREAU | ||
Calcutta, Aug. 23: A mob of 700 torched the Vedic Village luxury resort on the city’s outskirts this afternoon as violence spilled over from a nearby football ground, where a teenaged fan had just been shot dead. The mob invaded the resort off Rajarhat Main Road around 4.30pm, chasing the gang that had fired and hurled bombs at the Sikharpur playground, killing local boy Alam, 19. As the 50-odd guests looked on horrified, the raiders torched three guests’ cars and several resort properties, the fire spreading fast through the largely bamboo-and-straw structures. “The entire 5,000sqft clubhouse — which includes the reception, gaming room, library and two conference halls — and some farmhouses were razed,” said M.J. Robertson, executive director and CEO of Vedic Village Resorts. “I was enjoying a cup of tea with my wife. Suddenly, there was a lot of noise and then I saw the girls rushing out of the spa. I sensed something was wrong and started packing our stuff,” said Sandeep Shah, city-based businessman. A police officer said the gang that had attacked the playground — after a disputed offside in the semi-finals of a day-long tournament — was led by local land dealer Gaffar Mollah. Chased by the mob, the gunmen rushed inside the resort, triggering an hour and a half’s mayhem. A police team arrived around 5.15 but was vastly outnumbered. “But all our guests are safe; they were evacuated through the back gate,” Robertson said. The attack is the first on the hospitality industry in the city. The first flames were spotted from the clubhouse around 5.30pm. It took 10 fire engines over four hours to douse the flames after they arrived at 7.30pm. Robertson said it would take a while to assess the devastation on the 150-acre compound, and that restoration was “unlikely” before the Pujas. The resort with an ethnic ambience, owned by city-based Vedic Realty, had hosted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan between February 16 and March 10 while she was shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. Husband Abhishek had joined her for a brief period towards the end of the shooting schedule. Local people said the trouble started at Sikharpur Adarsha Shakti Sangha ground, a few hundred metres from the resort, around 3.30pm during a match between a local club and a team sponsored by Gaffar and a Vedic Village employee. “We have a nice relationship with local people and we sponsor several events in the area,” Robertson said. “But I don’t know whether we had any connection with the tournament.” Gaffar and his players protested an offside decision violently, said Utpal Bhowmick, a Sikharpur resident. “They assaulted the referee. The match resumed after 10 minutes but Gaffar’s team lost. He told the organisers he would teach them a lesson.” Gaffar returned 20 minutes later in a Maruti Omni, accompanied by 15-20 people on motorbikes, their faces covered. “The villagers told us the gang lobbed a few bombs into the field and then began firing. A spectator died of bullet injury and three people suffered splinter injuries,” said S.N. Gupta, deputy inspector-general (presidency range). The police have identified three of the shooters, arrested 10 people for damaging the resort’s property, and are looking for Gaffar and three associates: Ranjit, Goutam and Khokon. “Gaffar is a land shark and is close to Vedic Village authorities. We want the police to investigate his land deals with the resort authorities,” a local farmer said. The resort management distanced itself from Gaffar. “He is a land dealer; he is not connected with us,” Robertson said. |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090824/jsp/frontpage/story_11401133.jsp
CM tamasha thunder stirs anger in icon fans |
| OUR BUREAU |
Calcutta, Aug. 23: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today suggested Mamata Banerjee had made “fun (tamasha) of” Bengal’s icons in relation to a Metro Rail programme, provoking repartees from sections of the film fraternity that used to be his undisputed constituency. The chief minister’s outburst also prompted the Opposition to claim that the railway minister’s promise-a-day regimen had begun to unnerve the Left. “What is the railway authority doing? We know the pathetic state of railways and there is no change in it. Pratidin ekta korey train chharche bajaarey (Everyday, a new train is being announced),” Bhattacharjee told a CPM rally held to mourn the death of Subhas Chakraborty. Bhattacharjee did not name Mamata but referred to her trophy meeting at Tollygunge yesterday to inaugurate the Metro’s extended line. “What happened yesterday at the Metro Rail function? Comrade Ranjit (Kundu, the new transport minister) didn’t attend. Kar rail ke chalachchhe (whose railway is being run by whom)?” Bhattacharjee asked, alluding to the 33 per cent expenses borne by the state government in the Metro Rail extension. The transport minister had stayed away yesterday, saying the invitation was given to him “in a shabby manner”. The minister said a Railway Protection Force officer had left the invitation at his office and later a fax was sent by a railway general manager. The chief minister, whose invitation was given to his secretariat by Metro Rail officials in exchange for an acknowledgement, did not attend either but did not cite any reason yesterday. But today, the chief minister ripped the veneer. “They published photographs of Bengal’s great sons (manishi)… Masterda (Surya Sen, revolutionary freedom fighter), Nazrul (Islam, poet) and Netaji. Banglar manishider niye tamasha korey tader apaman kara hoyechhe (the great sons of Bengal were made fun of and insulted). Will Bengal’s people remain spectators to this defiling (byavichar) of our cultural tradition and freedom struggle?” Bhattacharjee said. The chief minister did not clarify how the icons were insulted or whether he was specifically objecting to the stations being named after them — an undeclared usurpation card played by most political parties. The CPM itself is no stranger to renaming roads after Marx, Lenin and Ho Chi Minh. The word “tamasha” touched a raw nerve in some of those who attended yesterday’s meeting that had a high representation from Tollywood, the turnout attributed mainly to the tribute to Uttam Kumar and to some extent to the change in political fortunes in the state. “Stations have been named after legends, including Uttam Kumar. I don’t think that it is a tamasha,” Supriya Devi, who had acted in several films with the icon, said. “I will have to rethink the meaning of tamasha after the comments made by the chief minister….” Actor Chiranjeet, who also attended the Metro Rail event, said: “I don’t understand how naming a Metro station after legends or using their pictures can be a tamasha. These names are used for so many things — houses, roads, museums. At the event, so many people were present, starting from the governor, central ministers, artistes and the general public. No one felt it was a tamasha. I don’t belong to any party….” A part of the chief minister’s statement suggests he may have been referring to a railway advertisement in Saturday’s newspapers announcing the programme. The advertisement features the photographs of icons ranging from Uttam Kumar to Kazi Nazrul, their names and then the location of the station in brackets. Among other personalities in the advertisement is state transport minister Kundu. The ad did not mention the chief minister — there is no laid-down rule requiring such an inclusion, railway sources said. The names of dignitaries to feature on the ad were sent by the railway minister’s office, they said. The sources said that according to the railways’ public relations manual, a chief minister has to be invited, but not necessarily as a guest of honour. A place on the dais is guaranteed to a guest of honour, according to the rituals that bind government events, although little prevents the organisers from accommodating an “ordinary” guest, too, if they choose so. Trinamul responded with glee to the chief minister’s criticism, terming it “an outburst of his frustration” after repeated setbacks at the hustings. “The chief minister’s description of naming Metro stations after manishis as tamasha is an outburst of his frustration after losing the elections. Now the time has come for him to bid goodbye to Writers’ Buildings,” said Trinamul state president Subrata Bakshi. Mamata has been announcing project after project ever since she took over the central ministry. Opposition leaders saw in the chief minister’s statement today – the harshest since Mamata started promising the projects – a reflection of the concern within the CPM on the impact of the announcements on the electorate even if details of implementation have not been thrashed out. |
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090824/jsp/frontpage/story_11401134.jsp
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he has noted reports about reservations Swiss banks have in sharing client details with India, but did not say what course of action the government would take.
"I have read in the newspapers", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters, adding that he will look into it.
He was replying to a question about the the Swiss Bankers Association's stand that India was not welcome on a name- fishing expedition, although top bank UBS AG agreed to provide details of more than 4,000 accounts to the US authorities.
"Swiss law and even OECD's Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions, in other words, the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.
Mumbai: The Sensex Monday opened 121 points higher at 15,363 owing to firm cues from the global markets. The index touched a low of 15,363 and zoomed to a high of 15,676. The benchmark index moved in the range of 313 points. The Sensex exhibited sideways movement and finally ended at 15,629, up 388 points or 2.5%.
The Asian markets ended on a strong note. The Nikkei surged 343 points (3%) to 10,581. The Straits Times moved up 45 points (2%) to 2,605 and the Seoul Composite increased 32 points (2%) to 1,612. The Taiwan Weighted Index rallied 184 points (3%) to 6,838
All the sectoral indices ended in green . The BSE Realty index rallied 5% to 4,065. It was followed by consumer durables (3.5%), FMCG (3.5%), Metal (3%), auto (3%), IT (2.5%) and TECk(2%) indices.
The market breadth was extremely positive. Out of 2,825 shares traded, 2,033 advanced, 724 declined and 68 were unchanged on the BSE today.
The Midcap and the small cap indices also fared well, up above 2.5% each.
INDEX MOVERS ...
Tata Motors rallied 6% to Rs 458. Jaiprakash Associates advanced 5.5% to Rs 222.
ITC and Larsen & Toubro were up 4.5% each at Rs 240 and Rs 1,551, respectively.
Hindalco and Sterlite added 4% each to Rs 108 and Rs 653, respectively.
HDFC, Maruti, Reliance Communication, Hindustan Unilever, DLF, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, Reliance Infrastructures, Wipro, Reliance, Infosys, TCS and BHEL advanced 2-3.5% each.
There was not a single loser on the BSE Monday.
The NSE Nifty ended at 4,643, up 2.5%.
Cairn India moved up 5.5% at Rs 258. Siemens added 5% to Rs 488.
BPCL on the other hand was the only major loser, was down 2% at Rs 518.
VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS
Reliance topped the combined value chart with a total turnover of Rs 614 crore. It was followed by Unitech (Rs 610 crore), Aban Offshore (Rs 487 crore), DLF (Rs 437 crore) and Suzlon (Rs 423 crore).
Unitech led the volume chart with trades of 68 million shares. It was followed by Suzlon (48 million), IFCI (40 million), Ispat (31 million) and Mahindra Satyam (21 million) shares.
Source: Business Standard
Shares of Capital One Financial Corp., Discover Financial Services and American Express Co. rose Monday after Barclays Capital upgraded the companies saying credit card issuers will see earnings steadily increase in the next three to five years.Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with stocks looking to extend last week's gains on signs that major world economies were emerging from recession.Apple Inc., maker of Mac computers and the iPhone, spent $390,000 in the second quarter to lobby on parts of the government's stimulus bill and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
New Yorkers who need to toss old TVs and computers could help avoid harming the environment with the heavy metals in the electronics if the state Senate takes up one of several bills sidetracked by political gridlock earlier this summer.wholesale Internet networking services, said Monday that it has applied for federal stimulus funding to expand broadband access. Level 3 is asking for $15 million in grant funding, which it would match with an additional $5 million and use to create new access points or "middle mile" connections for its network in more than 50 rural markets in six states.
The growth in the sale of vodka, whiskey and other hard liquor slowed in fiscal year 2009 to its lowest rate in more than a decade as consumers turned to cheaper brands and drank less in restaurants and bars
Oklahoma's unemployment climbed to 6.5 percent last month, the highest rate in 15 years, according to preliminary data released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. Health care service companies, including pharmacy benefits managers, could rise this week as investors grow skeptical about health care reform, an analyst said Monday.Auto parts suppliers, more than 40 of which recently filed for bankruptcy court protection, are getting higher prices for their goods and finding financing easier to come by, an analyst said Monday.
Meanwhile, Oil rose toward $75 a barrel on Monday, within sight of a 10-month high, supported by optimism that an economic recovery will spur a rebound in global energy demand.
Euro zone industrial new orders rebounded more than expected in June against the previous month, adding to signs of recovery. China's implied oil demand rose 3.5 percent in July from a year earlier.
U.S. crude rose 52 cents to $74.41 a barrel by 1305 GMT (9:05 a.m. EDT). The contract settled up 98 cents at $73.89 on Friday, the highest settlement since October 20. Brent crude gained 18 cents to $74.37.
"The Chinese news was good and we had some positive news out of Europe as well," said Rob Montefusco, a trader at Sucden Financial in London. "Technicals are pointing upwards."
In a further indication the recession is waning, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showed on Monday U.S. economic activity improved again in July from extremely weak levels earlier this year.
A string of positive economic data from various countries and rallying stock markets helped lift oil prices by 9.5 percent last week. Crude is up more than 65 percent in 2009 and may head higher still, according to analysts.
"We could now easily move toward the $80 mark if the growing enthusiasm about the budding economic recovery continues to dominate sentiment," said Edward Meir of MF Global.
Growing signs of economic improvement helped to spur risk appetite, prompting Asian stocks to jump more than 2 percent on Monday.
European stocks hit a 10-month peak and Wall Street was expected to move up.
Renewed tensions in Nigeria could also add support to oil.
Nigeria's main rebel group said on Saturday it would resume attacks against Africa's biggest energy industry next month, overshadowing the surrender of hundreds of arms by rebels in a federal amnesty program.
Reuters reports:
China will maintain its stimulative policy stance because the economy, far from being on solid footing, is facing fresh difficulties, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday.
In a downbeat statement on the government's website following a trip to the eastern province of Zhejiang, known as a hotbed of private enterprise, Wen said Beijing would ensure a sustainable flow of credit and a "reasonably sufficient" provision of liquidity to support growth.
A drop in new yuan bank loans in July to 356 billion yuan ($52 billion), compared with an average of over 1.2 trillion yuan in each of the first six months of the year, has created worries among some analysts that the recent rebound in growth could be knocked off track.
"We must clearly see that the foundations of the recovery are not stable, not solidified and not balanced. We cannot be blindly optimistic," Wen was cited as saying on http://www.gov.cn.
"Therefore, we must maintain continuity and consistency in macroeconomic policies, and maintaining stable and quite fast economic growth remains our top priority. This means we cannot afford the slightest relaxation or wavering."
China still faced great pressure from the slowdown in demand for exports, Wen said, adding that it was difficult to boost domestic demand in the short term to fill in the gap -- despite the boost from the government's 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package.
Thanks to the pump-priming, annual economic growth in the second quarter accelerated to 7.9 percent from 6.1 percent in the first three months of the year.
Although the most important aim of the stimulus was to prevent a sharp drop in growth, Wen said its purpose was also to make China's economic growth model more sustainable.
In particular, he said China would continue to increase fiscal spending on infrastructure and environmental protection.
"The impact of some short-term policies will fade gradually, but it takes time to see the effects of medium- and long-term policies, and there are many new difficulties and problems in economic operations," he said.
The comments come amid volatility in the Shanghai stock market that has fanned worries the economy could be coming off the boil as the government reins in break-neck credit growth.
The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 1.1 percent on Monday after falling 2.8 percent last week in wide-ranging trading. It is now down by nearly 14 percent from its peak reached on August 4.
China's latest economic data for July indicated that while growth was moderating after a strong second quarter, the recovery remained on track to achieve the government's goal of 8 percent growth for the full year.
Central bank adviser Fan Gang said in remarks published on Monday that he expected growth to hold up at 8 percent next year as well, as property and corporate investment, together with rising exports, pick up the slack from waning government investment.
(Reporting by Zhou Xin, Simon Rabinovitch, Langi Chiang and Aileen Wang; Writing by Jason Subler; Editing by Kazunori Takada)
August 24, 2009 9:41 AM ET
Weird things people do to money
Money talks -- and sometimes it carries an extra message. Americans regularly deface currency to tout an interest group, register a protest or just to laud a rock band. Slide show
There's no will to fight inflation
As we're already seeing outside the US, central banks won't stop printing money if it means choking off growth. Don't expect anything different from the Fed. Find on Bing: What causes inflation? Bill Fleckenstein / Contrarian Chronicles
24/08/2009
Delhi, Mumbai among least expensive cities in the world
New Delhi: India's political capital Delhi and financial hub Mumbai have been ranked among the least expensive cities around the world by a survey, even as cost for food and housing in the country continues to rise.
According to a research by Swiss Banking major UBS, Delhi and Mumbai were at the bottom of the price range in the list of most expensive cities that surveyed 73 places worldwide.
On the other hand Oslo, Zurich and Copenhagen were ranked among the most expensive places with skyrocketing living costs in the world.
The findings come at a time when the food and commodities are getting dearer and a drought-like situation is likely to push teh prices further up.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently said the government is likely to resort to imports to maintain demand supply gap as production of foodgrains and agri- commodities are set to fall due to deficient monsoon.
Interestingly, many cities spread across less developed economies were ranked ahead of the two major Indian cities in the list of most expensive places.
The survey highlighted that many of the world's regions witnessed a switch in their rankings, in the wake of the financial crisis and fluctuating currency scenario.
"Currency devaluation pushed down prices in many emerging market cities. Prices slipped the most in Mexico City, Moscow and Seoul," the UBS report said.
Besides, London the second most expensive city in 2006, plummeted 20 places following the steep devaluation of the pound.
The price spread between the most expensive and the cheapest city was the widest in Asia.
While Tokyo ranks as one of the world's five costliest cities, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai form the lowest rung.
In terms of wages, workers in Tokyo earn the highest wages in Asia while employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross wages.
By contrast, the average employee in Delhi, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earns less than one-fifteenth of what their counterparts in Switzerland earn on an hourly basis after taxes.
Interestingly, an average wage-earner in Zurich and New York can buy a i-pod nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. At the other end of the spectrum, workers in Mumbai, need to work 20 nine-hour days - roughly the equivalent of one month's salary - to purchase the nano.
Living costs were calculated based on a survey of 154 items, including 122 products and services that are used directly to calculate the reference basket.
Source: PTI
Don't let the market scare you away
Social Security crunch coming fast
How bad credit can cost you a job
Rising stars: 5 nearly great stocks
Get ready for 'cash for washers'
Jon Markman's message for investors last week was pretty clear: Get over it.
Oh, he said it in a nicer way, reminding us that just about a year ago -- on Sept. 15, to be exact -- Lehman Brothers collapsed into bankruptcy and financial doomsday seemed to have arrived.
And that's likely why the big rally we've seen in recent months seems so tenuous. The Dow Jones Industrial Average may be up this year, but it was above 11,000 last September -- and about a year earlier, in the fall of 2007, it was above 14,000. "People can see the U.S. market is up 10% from the start of the year and 30% from the March lows, but it appears to have little relevance to their own sense of self-worth or portfolio value. It's more maddening and confusing than it is exciting," Jon writes in "Fear keeps investors from gains."
It's no wonder that fear and doubts abound. Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor, summed up a lot of them last week in "Is stock market still a chump's game?"
But Jon sums up quite well the reasons that staying away out of fear will only cost you. "The start of a new bull cycle always requires a leap of faith," he tells us.
To which I can only add that, for most of us trying to build retirement accounts or meet other important financial goals, there's simply no way we can afford to stay out of the market. We've got nowhere else to go.
Also new on MSN Money
INEFFICIENCY REIGNS: You've probably heard the theory that efficient markets lead to safe and sane market behavior and reasonable prices, right? Jim Jubak explains why recent market events pretty much destroy that theory. Read "Why 'efficient' markets go haywire."DOG DAYS: You could argue with some of the writer's assumptions, and pet-loving readers did. But it's hard to argue against the notion you should prepare for the expenses before you get attached to a new Fido. Read "Why you can't afford a dog."
PHONE WARS: AT&T and Sprint are fighting not just each other but their own pasts as they eat their land-line phone businesses to finance their futures. Who'll win? Read Jubak's "AT&T vs. Verizon: Cannibal smackdown."
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There's no will to fight inflation
As we're already seeing outside the US, central banks won't stop printing money if it means choking off growth. Don't expect anything different from the Fed.
The world's central banks are loath to take away the punch bowl. Lest you think otherwise, consider the path forged by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
After recently suggesting it might raise interest rates sometime soon, the bank had a change of heart. I quote from the minutes of its Aug. 4 meeting:
"A particular source of uncertainty was whether the recent growth in household spending was due mainly to temporary government handouts, in which case it would probably soon fade."
We'll see a variation of the Bloomberg headline for that story -- "Australia's RBA sees danger of raising rates too soon" -- often in the days ahead. That's because all of the central banks will be particularly reluctant to snuff out any "green shoots" in the economy.
And, when you remember that business is booming in Australia versus America (via its strong housing and commodity markets), you can only imagine how slow the Federal Reserve will be to take away the punch bowl here. This is all the more true given the political heat it will face as the unemployment problem proves to be particularly intractable. (Read "Why creating jobs is so hard.")
Indeed, until we reach full employment (which I don't think will happen for many years), the pressure will be on the Fed to keep printing money.
More from MSN Money
Trouble over the pond, too
Of course, the Australian central bank is not alone. Similar cooing sounds were uttered by the Bank of England as it recently upped its quantitative easing. Meanwhile, the Aug. 19 Financial Times carried a story headlined "ECB urges more stimulus measures."It began: "Emergency growth-stimulating policies are still needed to support continental Europe's fragile economic recovery, even though Germany and France have emerged from recession, a top European Central Bank policymaker has warned. Axel Weber, Germany's Bundesbank president, made clear he would not rush to withdraw the extensive measures taken by governments and the ECB."
Money printing is just too easy (and seemingly painless) for central planners-cum-bankers to resist.
Noxious greenback emissions
That brings me to an Aug. 18 op-ed piece by Warren Buffett in The New York Times. In "The greenback effect," he described why the Fed is doing all of this money printing, though he doesn't explain the root cause of what he thinks "necessitated" it in the first place. Let me do so: The root cause is the Fed, which created the housing bubble, aided by the abdication of responsibility on the part of regulators, which led to the near collapse of the financial system.Nonetheless, Buffett did point out where we are headed in terms of dealing with the massive deficits that have arisen from the bailouts:
"Legislators will correctly perceive that either raising taxes or cutting expenditures will threaten their re-election. To avoid this fate, they can opt for high rates of inflation, which never require a recorded vote and cannot be attributed to a specific action that any elected official takes. In fact, John Maynard Keynes long ago laid out a road map for political survival amid an economic disaster of just this sort: 'By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. . . . The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.'"
Video on MSN Money
Inflation: The chicken or the egg?CNBC's Steve Liesman leads a discussion on inflation and its implications for the nation's economic recovery.
My readers will recognize that process as one I have described for years in shorthand format: In a social democracy with a fiat currency, all roads lead to inflation.
Buffett warns, "Unchecked greenback emissions (his clever synonym for money printing) will certainly cause the purchasing power of currency to melt" -- which I agree with.
And he concludes, "The dollar's destiny lies with Congress." Well, if that's the case, we all know how this movie ends, because Congress won't have the foresight or the willpower to address the underlying problems until long after it's possible to have helped ameliorate them.
Besides, while Congress has done us little good, the real problem is the Fed. But I think that on another point, Buffett and I would certainly agree: If nothing of any consequence is done (which is my expectation), the nascent funding crisis I've written about will become a full-fledged train wreck.
Social Security crunch coming fast
Here's a frightening prediction: The public pension system's trust fund could go into the red in the next year, far sooner than expected. Will it get the next huge bailout?
The debate over health care has captured everyone's attention, but it appears the next big government program that needs to be addressed will be Social Security. That's the focus of the July 30 article "The next great bailout: Social Security" by Allan Sloan, Fortune's senior editor at large.
Those who've been paying attention have long known there is no money in the Social Security Trust Fund -- it's all been spent. Thus, former Vice President Al Gore's famous assessment that Social Security receipts should be placed in a "lockbox" was actually correct.
Given that so few people really understand the Ponzi nature of the current Social Security financing scheme -- created in 1983 by a commission chaired by none other than the world's greatest serial blower of bubbles, Alan Greenspan -- I decided to reprise Sloan's article. (The Social Security problem is especially important because it likely will put additional pressure on the dollar and on bonds, and exacerbate the funding crisis down the road.)
The story begins: "In Washington these days, the only topics of discussion seem to be how many trillions to throw at health care and the recession, and whom on Wall Street to pillory next. But watch out. Lurking just below the surface is a bailout candidate that may soon emerge like the great white shark in 'Jaws': Social Security.
"Perhaps as early as this year, Social Security, at $680 billion the nation's biggest social program, will be transformed from an operation that's helped finance the rest of the government for 25 years into a cash drain that will need money from the Treasury. In other words, a bailout."
Could Social Security's number be up?
As I've already noted, there is no money in the Social Security Trust Fund -- just IOUs from the government to itself. What is liable to spark debate and grab headlines is that instead of producing its biggest surplus ever in 2009-10, the trust fund could start running deficits in the next year, primarily because the weak economy is generating less tax revenue.That's years earlier than expected. Social Security wasn't supposed to go into the red until around 2015.
Past projections were for a cash-flow surplus of about $87 billion this year and $88 billion next year. But new projections show those figures may drop to around $18 billion or $19 billion, which could easily go negative. And once the red ink starts spilling (a temporary bounce into the black in the next couple of years notwithstanding), that deficit will grow for the next 20 or so years unless something is done to halt it.
In order to better illuminate what has transpired and how misleading government accounting is, I would like to use the example from Sloan's article to explain what has happened: "The cash that Social Security has collected from my wife and me and our employers isn't sitting at Social Security. It's gone. Some went to pay benefits, some to fund the rest of the government. Since 1983, when it suffered a cash crisis, Social Security has been collecting more in taxes each year than it has paid out in benefits. It has used the excess to buy the Treasury securities that go into the trust fund, reducing the Treasury's need to raise money from investors."
In other words, the government spent it. Throughout all those years in the 1980s and 1990s, when folks worried about the budget deficit, it was reported to be lower than it would have been had the Social Security Trust Fund's money not been going into government coffers, thereby reducing the size of the deficit. Also untenable is the projected worker-to-retiree ratio, which will jump from 30 Social Security recipients per 100 workers in 1990 to 46 per 100 in the next 20 years.
Does the Fed's massive money printing mean inflation is about to soar? I'm not jumping on that bandwagon, but gold is still an attractive bet right now.
Last week's 26-year high in the price of sugar must have stuck in the craw of the deflationist camp, those who fear a bout of falling prices. And that's as good a segue as any to the inflation-vs.-deflation debate.
I've spilled plenty of ink on this important topic (for example, read "What's next: Inflation or deflation?"), and this week I'd like to turn to a friend of mine, Marc Faber, for his assessment.
Marc's most recent Gloom, Boom & Doom Report contains an excellent discussion of inflation vs. deflation, and he makes the connection between the policies we're pursuing -- massive stimulus to create inflation, due to the fear of deflation -- and the funding crisis that I have warned about that will arrive as the U.S. has trouble financing its increasing debt. (Read "Why creating jobs is so hard.")
I decided to quote liberally from Marc's report. But I encourage folks to read it in its entirety. (Here's the Gloom, Boom & Doom Web site; a subscription is required.)
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For newer readers who continue to ask me to elaborate on this subject, hopefully Marc's commentary will bring them up to speed:
Deflation can be avoided through debt and money printing. This isn't to say that I support such policies, or that I find deflation to be "bad" and inflation to be "good." (Price stability is the most desirable condition.) But the point is that if a government is really determined to inflate its problems away, it can be done. Those people who believe in deflation have, however, some strong arguments. Their principal contention is that the economy is so weak (output gap) that the private sector's contraction cannot be offset by government spending and money printing.
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In fact, the massive money printing and the rest of the stimulus are why gross domestic product has held up as well as it has. More from Marc:
The deflationist argues that, because we have a weak economy, we shall have deflation; an argument with which I would tend to agree in the very short term.
Video on MSN Money
Marc Faber on the risk of hyperinflationThe editor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report says there's a good chance for hyperinflation in the US.
I believe that in fact we have passed the point of maximum downside pressure. But more from Marc:
A true deflationist will also argue that because of deflation, economic conditions will worsen and, therefore, long-term U.S. government bond yields will decline. . . . But what happens to fiscal deficits and monetary policies under a scenario of a further decline in economic activity and a further collapse in asset prices? The answer is very simple. Deficits will increase further and more money will be printed. And the longer weakness in the economy prevails under the deflationary scenario, the more fiscal deficits will pile up and the more easy monetary policies will be pursued.
So, whereas near-term deflation is a distinct possibility, in the longer term inflation is more likely because of several factors. When the economy recovers (and the recovery is likely to be fragile), the Fed will be very reluctant to increase short-term rates. Another reason for the Fed's reluctance in this respect will be the size of the government debt, given that higher interest rates would increase the interest burden. Therefore, I can't imagine any scenario under which the Fed wouldn't keep interest rates at an artificially low level, as it also did post-2001. That such a monetary policy, combined with the growing fiscal deficits discussed above, is more likely to lead to inflation rather than deflation should be clear.
Rebels in pilgrim guise arrested - Police seize SLR cartridges for Kundan Pahan group | ||
| OUR CORRESPONDENT | ||
Ranchi, Aug. 23: Six rebels, disguised as pilgrims, were arrested with 1,100 SLR cartridges after a brief encounter near Silli village on Silli-Gola road around 2.30am today. The cartridges, supposed to be handed over to Maoist sub-zonal commander Kundan Pahan, were carried from Munger in Bihar in a car escorted by a motorcycle. Senior police superintendent Praveen Kumar said that the breakthrough had come after someone tipped them about the ammunition supply. “I have informed my Munger counterpart who is conducting raids to arrest the supplier,” Kumar said. Those arrested were identified as Bholo Shaw alias David, Pradeep Mahto, Rajesh Kumar Mahto, Prafulla Kumar Mahto, Mandal Das and Murari Hussian. Except Pradeep and Hussain, all were dressed as pilgrims visiting Baidyanath Dham during Shravan Mela. Pradeep, riding the motorcycle, was escorting the ammunition-laden car, driven by Hussain, in which the other four were also travelling. Kumar said that Pradeep was arrested first near the village, about 40km from here. “After interrogation, Pradeep divulged the information and we targeted the car,” he said. Kumar added that seven rounds of firing took place before the six could be arrested. “Soon after the police intercepted the car, one of the extremists opened four rounds of fire. We retaliated with three rounds and the extremists, finding themselves in a spot, surrendered,” he said. The ammunition seized are suitable for use in self-loading rifles (SLR) and other automatic assault firearms. Kumar said Bholo alias David was a key member of the Pahan group. “He has been active in Bundu and Tamar for the past four years and can be called Kundan’s right hand. He is wanted in at least 12 cases registered in Bundu and Tamar police stations,” he added. In another breakthrough, Kundan Pahan’s area commander Budhram Lohra was arrested and a 10kg can bomb was recovered from Barigarha village under Bundu police station around 3pm. “Budhram was wanted in more than six cases, including cleaning out of a cash van of a bank last year, killing of five special task force jawans in Rahe, an attack on Baruhatu police picket. On the basis of information collected from him, we recovered a can bomb planted on the road to blow up police vehicles,” Kumar said. |
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Combined sales of these 113 mid-size companies grew 8% over the year-ago period while their net profit increased by 12%, according to an ETIG study that analysed financial results of companies for the quarter ended June. They saw the biggest turnaround, reporting double-digit profit growth, in sharp contrast with the previous two quarters when their aggregate profits fell by an average 24%.
The earnings performance of this group was boosted by Shree Cement, Cadila, Century Textiles, Binani Cement and Siemens. Revenue growth in this set was led by ITI Ltd, Lanco Infratech and Bharat Electronics, among others. Shree Cement saw a more than two-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 291.13 crore during the first quarter, driven by high volume growth and reduced operating expenses. It also posted a 50% increase in turnover to Rs 922.95 crore.
The major corporations the mid-size companies outperformed comprised those having quarterly revenues of over Rs 2,000 crore. This group of 40 firms such as Reliance Industries, NTPC, SAIL, Infosys and Bharti Airtel reported a revenue growth of 1.1% and profit growth of 6%.
The performance of giant corporations was weighed down by Reliance Industries. If we exclude RIL, which accounts for a seventh of the total sales of the giants, growth in the group’s revenues and profit improves to about 8%. The country’s largest private sector company by standalone revenues saw its revenues and profit shrink due to a fall in refining margins.
Smaller companies, which form the bulk of the sample, clubbed into three sets having quarterly revenues of Rs 100-500 crore, Rs 50-100 crore and Rs 5-50 crore, reported a decline in profits.
The smaller the size of the firms, higher the decline in earnings and sales with the smallest group seeing profits halve compared to same period last year. They also saw a decline in both demand and earnings as the economy is still recovering from a downturn. “The smaller firms seem to have suffered damage to their business model during the third quarter of FY09, leading to significant erosion in profits. It is difficult to foresee a recovery for them for now, which will come only after the economy gains momentum,” said Manish Sonthalia, portfolio manager at brokerage outfit Motilal Oswal.
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