Bank staff strike work to protest consolidation

MUMBAI (Reuters) - About 400,000 bank employees went on strike on Wednesday to protest merging state-owned banks, partially affecting cash transactions and clearing operations, a bank union official said.

Employees were also protesting the ongoing move to merge State Bank of Indore with its founder State Bank of India, the country's largest bank.

"We are going ahead with strike as conciliation talks with bank management last evening failed," C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) told Reuters over telephone.

"Merger of banks is in nobody's interest. We need more banks in the country," he added.

India has been urging state-owned banks to merge with each other to benefit from synergies and create fewer bigger players in the sector. The government and central bank have said that any such moves have to be voluntary on the part of banks.

Operations in branches and clearing may be partially impacted owing to the strike, B.A. Prabhakar, executive director, Bank of India.

Options like automated teller machines (ATMs) to meet immediate cash requirements will minimise the impact in clearing operations, said M.D. Mallya, chairman and managing director at state-run Bank of Baroda.

Treasury operations remained unaffected, said traders.

"Clearing activity is affected on account of this strike, it will therefore affect retail business but the overall market activity is brisk. Even money market activity is normal," said R.K. Gurumurthy, head of treasury at ING Vysya Bank.

All India Bank Officers' Association and AIBEA, earlier, served a notice to Indian Banks Association, the apex banker's body, informing its members working in state-owned, private and foreign banks would strike work on Dec. 16.

Earlier on Aug. 6 and 7, unions representing about 900,000 employees in state-owned banks went on strike for higher wages and pension, impacting cash transactions and foreign exchange trading volumes for two days.

Following several rounds of negotiations Indian Banks Association and United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have reached an understanding for a 17.5 per cent wage hike for the employees in banks, IBA officials said.

(Reporting by Tamajit Pain and Swati Bhat; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

(For more news on Reuters Money visit www.reutersmoney.in)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Rupee rises from 1-wk low on shares; Fed eyed

1 of 1Full Size

By Anurag Joshi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee rose from one-week lows on Wednesday as local shares erased early losses, but was capped by dollar strength ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting later in the day.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 46.655/665 per dollar, recovering from a trough of 46.80, its lowest since Dec. 9, to end stronger than Tuesday's close of 46.71/72.

The benchmark BSE index ended up 0.2 percent, after falling as much as 0.6 percent in early deals.

"Stocks recovery helped the rupee. The trigger for tomorrow will be Fed's decision," said a senior trader with a foreign bank.

Foreigners have bought $16.5 billion of Indian equities so far this year, data from Nomura showed, helping drive a 75 percent rally in the main stock index.

Analysts do not expect the U.S. Fed to change policy at its meeting, but will be looking for any change in its outlook. The Fed cut benchmark rates close to zero a year ago to combat a deepening recession.

"Traders will see whether the Fed is talking in a hawkish language. That would impact the dollar overseas and in turn the rupee and forward premiums," said Paresh Nayar, head (FX and money markets) of First Rand Bank in Mumbai.

The dollar was near a 2-½ month high versus the euro ahead of Fed's statement.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 46.69/79, weaker from the onshore spot rate.

In currency futures, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were at 46.72, stronger than Monday's 46.75.

(Editing by John Mair)

(For more news on Reuters Money visit www.reutersmoney.in)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

BSE Sensex up 0.2 pct; Infosys hits record high

1 of 1Full Size

By Ami Shah

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex erased early losses and rose 0.2 percent on Wednesday, with export-focused outsourcers leading the way on expectation a recovering world economy will boost demand for their services.

Bellwether Infosys Technologies, which gets more than half its revenue from exports, leapt to an all-time high of 2,549 rupees, before closing up 1.5 percent at 2,544.80. The stock was the top gainer in the main index.

A senior Infosys official told Reuters on Tuesday the company expects revenue growth in the fiscal year starting in April to be better than 2009/10 as a recovery in the global economy spurs investments by its clients.

Smaller rival Wipro ended up nearly 2 percent at 671.90 rupees after hitting 674.90, its highest level since 2000. Leader Tata Consultancy rose 1.8 percent to 713.45.

"IT stocks are gaining on hope the global economy is recovering," said Daljeet Kohli, head of private client group research at Emkay Global Financial.

The 30-share BSE index closed up 0.21 percent, or 35.61 points, at 16,912.77 after falling 0.6 percent in early deals. Fourteen of its components advanced.

The benchmark is up more than 75 percent so far in 2009, on track to post its best gains since 1991, fuelled by strong foreign portfolio investment.

"People will be looking for growth assets and I don't think there are too many interesting opportunities like India," said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi Financial Services.

"There is ample liquidity here in India as well as globally."

Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel closed 2.8 percent higher at 325.75 rupees, after the Bangladeshi telecom regulator said the company may be looking to buy Warid Telecom.

However, banks extended losses on fears the central bank may tighten policy sooner than expected given concerns about rising inflation.

The Reserve Bank of India might tighten monetary policy in December as inflation could rise to near 7 percent in March, the prime minister's economic adviser, C. Rangarajan, was quoted as saying in a report.

Top lender State Bank of India fell 1.3 percent, while ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank shed 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.

Tata Steel climbed 2.1 percent to 557.55 rupees after its European unit Corus said it had got 350 million euro contract to supply rail tracks to French operator SNCF.

In the broader market, losers almost equalled the number gainers on low volume of 313 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index closed 0.2 percent higher at 5,042.05.

STOCKS THAT MOVED

* Largest consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever dropped 0.7 percent to 264.05 rupees, after the company said it would pay royalty of 1 percent of net sales on some brands to its parent Unilever.

* Orchid Chemicals rose as much as 8.5 percent to 239.40 rupees, its highest since September 2008, but then tumbled to close down 10.4 percent at 197.85. On Tuesday, U.S.-based Hospira said it would buy the Indian drug maker's generic

injectable drug business.

* Drug maker Ipca Laboratories climbed 2.7 percent to 999.15 rupees. The company said its anti-malarial combination drug, artemether and lumefantrine, had been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization.

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

* Suzlon Energy on 11.1 million shares

* IFCI on 11.1 million shares

* Orchid Chemicals on 9.5 million shares

(For more news on Reuters Money visit www.reutersmoney.in)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

PM adviser: RBI may tighten in Dec - report

1 of 1Full Size

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India may tighten monetary policy in December as inflation could rise to near 7 percent in March, the prime minister's economic adviser, C. Rangarajan, was quoted as saying by www.expressindia.com, citing a newsagency agency report.

"By the end of December, they can review the situation and take action... it could come by end of December depending how the prices have behaved in December," Rangarajan was quoted as saying.

"By the end of March 2010, it (inflation) could be close to seven per cent," he said.

"Usually there is a seasonal decline... but certainly it appears that inflation by end of March will be higher than what has been projected earlier by the RBI," Rangarajan was quoted as saying.

Economists expect the central bank to take measures to tighten liquidity, such as increasing banks' reserve requirements, before raising interest rates.

Annual wholesale price inflation jumped to 4.78 percent in November from 1.34 per cent in October, exceeding forecasts and adding to expectations the RBI would look to exit its loose monetary policy stance sooner rather than later.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by John Mair)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Export growth sustainable in coming months - minister

1 of 1Full Size

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's export growth is sustainable in the coming months, Trade Minister Anand Sharma told reporters on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Trade Secretary Rahul Khullar said November exports rose an annual 18.3 percent to $13.2 billion, the first rise after 13 straight months of decline.

(Reporting by Matthias Williams; Editing by Malini Menon)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Bharti eyes Bangladesh deal after MTN failures

1 of 1Full Size

By Ruma Paul and Pratish Narayanan

DHAKA/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Leading Indian telecom Bharti Airtel plans to buy Bangladesh's Warid Telecom for a reported $900 million from Abu Dhabi Group, indicating a shift in focus to smaller targets after its planned $24 billion merger with South Africa's MTN failed.

Bharti will buy a 70 percent stake in Warid, Bangladesh's fourth-biggest telecom company, while Abu Dhabi Group will retain the rest, an official with the selling firm said.

"We expect to seal the deal by mid January 2010," Abu Dhabi Group Chief Commercial Officer Ali Tahir told Reuters. He declined to give the sale price.

UAE-based Abu Dhabi Group, a consortium of investors that includes members of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, sought approval from Bangladesh's telecoms regulator for the sale on Sunday, according to the regulator's chairman, Zia Ahmed.

The deal is set against a backdrop of this week's announcement that oil-rich Abu Dhabi will provide $10 billion to Dubai in order to help its neighbour meet its debt obligations.

Bharti's expansion would give the Indian phone leader access to Bangladesh's rapidly growing mobile sector at a time when it is locked in an intense price war in India with rivals Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar.

For the Abu Dhabi Group, the deal will enable it to focus on other telecoms markets where it can have a bigger market share, Tahir said.

Bharti said on Wednesday it was evaluating international opportunities, but declined to comment on plans to buy Warid.

Bharti initially plans an investment of $300 million, Bangladesh's Ahmed said. He said a written proposal by Abu Dhabi Group did not pin a full value on the deal.

Bangladesh's Daily Star newspaper had reported the final deal could be worth $900 million, citing Warid officials.

Shares in Bharti closed up 2.8 percent in a Mumbai market that was up only 0.2 percent.

"The dynamics of the Bangladesh market are similar to those in India, where Bharti has proven itself," said Phani Sekhar, fund manager at Angel Broking, which holds Bharti shares.

SMALLER STRATEGY

Bharti, which has more than 100 million subscribers in India, is looking to replicate its staggering growth at home in other emerging markets, where scale is vital, many customers are poor and rural, and penetration rates are low but rising fast.

Indian mobile operators are locked in an intense tariff war that has raised concerns about profitability. The price war is aimed at grabbing new users as new firms enter the market.

Bangladesh's mobile sector has grown rapidly, with subscriber numbers reaching more than 51 million at the end of October from 200,000 in 2001, helped by low penetration levels, competitive tariffs and steady economic growth.

Analysts predict the number of subscribers could top 70 million by 2011, nearly half the country's population of 150 million.

The news comes two-and-a-half months after talks between Bharti and MTN Group to create the world's third-largest mobile operator collapsed for the second time in just over a year on South Africa's reluctance to allow a flagship corporate to lose its national character.

"You cannot wait for two years, three years for a big deal to get completed while opportunities for smaller deals go by," Sekhar said.

Warid Telecom also operates in Pakistan, Uganda and the Congo. Singapore Telecommunications bought a 30 percent stake in Warid's Pakistan business for $758 million in 2007 from the Abu Dhabi Group. Warid's operations in Pakistan, India's neighbour and political rival, are not part of the Bharti deal.

"Warid needs investment for expansion in order to survive in this highly competitive market," said Fazlul Haque, a former member of the governing body of state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Co Ltd.

At the end of October, Warid had 2.79 million subscribers -- far fewer than Grameenphone, majority owned by Norway's Telenor. Egyptian Orascom Telecom's Banglalink and Telekom Malaysia's Aktel also operate in the country. Warid Bangladesh began operations in 2007.

Abu Dhabi Group's Tahir said his firm was focused on markets where it can be a leader. "In this (Bangladesh) and emerging markets, you will see lots of consolidation as price competition is heating up," he said.

"We want to be a big player, number one rather than number two in the markets we operate," he said, adding that the group is selectively looking at markets in the former Soviet Union.

(Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi, C.J. Kuncheria in New Delhi; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan, Lincoln Feast and Eric Auchard)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Bank staff strike work to protest consolidation

1 of 1Full Size

MUMBAI (Reuters) - About 400,000 bank employees went on strike on Wednesday to protest merging state-owned banks, partially affecting cash transactions and clearing operations, a bank union official said.

Employees were also protesting the ongoing move to merge State Bank of Indore with its founder State Bank of India, the country's largest bank.

"We are going ahead with strike as conciliation talks with bank management last evening failed," C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) told Reuters over telephone.

"Merger of banks is in nobody's interest. We need more banks in the country," he added.

The government has been urging state-owned banks to merge with each other to benefit from synergies and create fewer bigger players in the sector. The government and central bank have said that any such moves have to be voluntary on the part of banks.

Operations in branches and clearing may be partially impacted owing to the strike, B.A. Prabhakar, executive director, Bank of India.

Options like automated teller machines (ATMs) to meet immediate cash requirements will minimise the impact in clearing operations, said M.D. Mallya, chairman and managing director at state-run Bank of Baroda.

Treasury operations remained unaffected, said traders.

"Clearing activity is affected on account of this strike, it will therefore affect retail business but the overall market activity is brisk. Even money market activity is normal," said R.K. Gurumurthy, head of treasury at ING Vysya Bank.

All India Bank Officers' Association and AIBEA, earlier, served a notice to Indian Banks Association, the apex banker's body, informing its members working in state-owned, private and foreign banks would strike work on Dec. 16.

Earlier on Aug. 6 and 7, unions representing about 900,000 employees in state-owned banks went on strike for higher wages and pension, impacting cash transactions and foreign exchange trading volumes for two days.

Following several rounds of negotiations Indian Banks Association and United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have reached an understanding for a 17.5 per cent wage hike for the employees in banks, IBA officials said.

(Reporting by Tamajit Pain and Swati Bhat; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Protest erupts in parliament over inflation

1 of 1Full Size

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Lawmakers walked out of parliament on Wednesday protesting against inflation, as the opposition piled up pressure on the government to curb rising prices and threatened to carry out street protests.

The speaker adjourned proceedings for the day after lawmakers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition, as well as from other parties walked out of parliament with many shouting:"The government needs to be changed."

The food inflation was at 16.7 percent in November as the worst dry spell in nearly four decades and annual floods in some states slashed farm output.

Higher prices paid by government agencies to buy grains from farmers have pushed the headline inflation to 4.78 percent.

Rising food prices have given a political boost to the BJP, which has been riven by internal feuding after losing the May national election.

Inflation and a high fiscal deficit, projected to rise to 6.8 percent of the gross domestic product, are major risks to the government's ambitious plan to ratchet up economic growth back to 9 percent level seen between 2005/06 and 2007/08.

In parliament, demands from sugar cane farmers last month asking higher prices and issues like formation of a new state have disrupted proceedings on a regular basis.

Many bills, including one on land acquisition and on the pension sector to allow entry of private players are likely to be now taken up in the next session.

(Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

India says Kyoto climate pact in "intensive care"

1 of 1Full Size

By Krittivas Mukherjee

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Kyoto Protocol which binds nearly 40 rich nations to limit carbon emissions is in "intensive care" and global negotiations to extend the pact have stalled, India's environment minister said on Wednesday.

More than 190 countries are meeting in Copenhagen to agree the outlines of a new global deal to combat climate change, hoping to seal a full treaty next year to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

Developing countries want rich nations to be held to their Kyoto obligations, and sign up to a second round of tougher commitments from 2013.

But Jairam Ramesh said many developed countries were "vehemently opposing" the protocol and some of them wanted a single new accord obliging all nations to fight global warming.

"The sense we get is that Kyoto is in intensive care if not dead," Ramesh told reporters.

The protocol obliges nearly 40 industrialised nations to limit emissions by at least 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. It does not impose curbs on poorer nations.

Talks on a pact to succeed Kyoto have been sluggish since they started two years ago, largely because rich nations want to merge Kyoto into a single new accord obliging all nations to fight global warming.

Industrialised nations want a single track largely because the United States, the world's second biggest carbon emitter, never ratified Kyoto. They fear signing up for a binding new Kyoto while Washington slips away with a less strict regime.

Ramesh said Danish Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard, host of the Dec 7-18 U.N. talks, had told him that the conference was unlikely to produce a second commitment period for Kyoto Protocol.

"By trying to shake Kyoto, they (rich nations) are trying to shake one of the basic pillars on which the world had resolved to fight climate change," Ramesh said.

Developing economies such as India have virtually ruled out a single legal undertaking, saying the main mandate of global talks on climate change was to agree the extension of Kyoto.

Negotiators have not been able to agree yet on whether to extend Kyoto and add extra national commitments under a separate pact, or end Kyoto and agree one new treaty which specifies actions by most countries.

Ramesh said rejecting Kyoto was not acceptable to developing countries and that it would be "very very detrimental to a consensus approach".

"This would certainly create problems for long-term action goals," he said, adding talks on Kyoto could still be revived with a helping hand from the United States.

"Kyoto needs a number of oxygen cylinders. One of them is in the White House."

(Editing by Dominic Evans)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Chicago man Rana knew of Mumbai attack beforehand - U.S.

Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:25am IST

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Pakistani-born Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana, charged with helping plan an attack on a Danish newspaper, knew about the assault on Mumbai in advance and discussed other potential targets in India, prosecutors said on Monday.

In arguing against releasing Rana from jail on bond, federal prosecutors in Chicago gave more details about a conversation authorities recorded earlier this year between Rana and accused conspirator David Headley.

In the Sept. 7 conversation during a long car drive, Rana, 48, and Headley, 49, discussed Rana's meeting in Dubai days before the November 2008 attack on Mumbai with an associate referred to as "Pasha," the nickname for Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, a retired major in the Pakistani military, prosecutors said.

Rana also asked Headley to pass his compliments on to the coordinator of the Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people, the court filing said.

"Rana was told of the attacks before they happened and offered compliments and congratulations to those who carried them out afterwards," prosecutors said.

Travel records showed Rana, a Canadian citizen, was in Dubai days before the Mumbai attack, they said.

Headley, a U.S. citizen with Pakistani-American parentage, is accused of making five scouting trips to Mumbai on behalf of militant Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is blamed for the Mumbai assault. Headley allegedly used Rana's travel and immigration business as a cover during his trips.

Syed has been accused by U.S. authorities of being Headley's contact with Ilyas Kashmiri, described as "one of Pakistan's most wanted terrorists and a direct link to al Qaeda," in court documents.

Headley and Rana also discussed four other potential targets -- the Danish newspaper that published cartoons offensive to Muslims in 2005; Bollywood; Somnath temple; and Shiv Sena, a political party with roots in Hindu nationalism.

Prosecutors said Rana later lied to investigators after he was arrested, saying his conversation with Headley was about potential business ventures.

Asked about Mumbai, Rana told investigators he was vaguely aware of the attacks but that he and "Pasha" had discussed the fighting in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

His lawyer said Rana was "duped" by Headley, who is cooperating with authorities, and that Rana was a peaceful man and a member of the Iqbal Society, which adheres to a non-violent philosophy.

Rana's case is 09 CR 849.

(Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Govt to take steps to tame inflation - Pranab Mukherjee

Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:10pm IST

 

Manoj Kumar and Rajkumar Ray

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will take steps to tame rising prices and enable the economy to recover faster, the finance minister said on Tuesday, as concerns about inflationary pressures spilling over to the broader economy mount.

Pranab Mukherjee also said the government intends to push tax reforms and cut its already-bloated fiscal deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product after 2001/12 fiscal year, from 6.8 percent estimated for the current financial year ending March 2010.

Inflation and high fiscal deficit are major risks to the government's ambitious plan to ratchet up economic growth back to 9 percent level seen between 2005/06 and 2007/08.

"Prices are a major area of concern and we shall have to address it," Mukherjee told lawmakers in parliament.

"Whatever steps are needed, we will take those steps," he said, but did not elaborate.

Higher prices paid by government agencies to buy grains from farmers and supply shortage following the worst dry spell in nearly four decades and flooding in parts of the country have fueled food inflation.

Latest government data shows food inflation at 16.7 percent in November, which have pushed the headline inflation to 4.78 percent.

RETURN TO FISCAL PRUDENCE

Analysts say inflationary pressures and faster economic recovery could prompt the central bank to start raising cash reserve ratio of banks and interest rates from next year.

The central bank has cut its policy lending rate by 425 basis points between October 2008 and April 2009, slashed CRR and pumped in liquidity in financial markets to revive the economy hit hard by the global slowdown.

The government offered fiscal stimulus in the form of tax cuts and higher spending, which widened the fiscal deficit that has to be funded by a record borrowing of 4.51 trillion rupees ($96.6 billion) in 2009/10.

Mukherjee said the deficit was "unsustainable", and the government would reduce it to 5.5 percent in fiscal year 2010/11 and to 4 percent in 2011/12. "And thereafter, we shall have to come back to 3 percent."

(Editing by Malini Menon)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

FACTBOX - Five political risks to watch in India

Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:14pm IST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hopes that India's Congress-led government would swiftly move ahead with economic reforms have been dampened this month, and the likely pace of reform remains the main political risk issue for the country.

Following is a summary of key India risks to watch:

* ECONOMIC REFORM

While the government had appeared to be in a strong position to press forward with an ambitious economic reform agenda, progress has been much slower than some investors had hoped. Opposition from various interest groups -- like a protest by sugar farmers that delayed the opening of parliament's winter session -- is likely to mean the pace of reform remains fairly sluggish. The 2009/10 budget disappointed those who hoped for swift progress on reform, and expectations of early action on foreign direct investment have also proved over-optimistic.

Key issues to watch:

-- Markets will watch for moves to privatise some state firms, relax restrictions on foreign direct investment, ease restrictions on foreign banks, and reform labour laws. The government has also pledged to reform India's tax laws, which markets would regard positively.

TRADE AND PROTECTIONISM

India will play a central role in determining whether the Doha round at the WTO can finally be concluded. The government's strong mandate and relatively secure position may allow it more flexibility in reaching agreement even if this is opposed by some powerful interest groups. But India continues to show an ambivalent attitude towards freer trade. Though New Delhi has pushed ahead with bilateral agreements and favours an ambitious timetable for sealing a Doha deal, it has raised protectionist barriers on some imports this year.

Key issues to watch:

-- Any sign India -- and the United States -- are more prepared to make concessions. Progress will require compromise on all sides.

EXTERNAL SECURITY

Relations with Pakistan have recovered from the depths plumbed in the aftermath of the November militant attack on Mumbai, and India made the important concession in July of delinking the resumption of bilateral talks from Pakistan's progress in cracking down on terrorism. But further militant attacks or confrontations at the border still have the potential to cause a sudden spiralling of tensions. Military conflict remains only a very slim possibility but cannot be ruled out.

Ties between India and China have soured with the resurgence of a long-festering border dispute over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Reports of border incursions sparked unease. India also balks at Beijing's support for projects in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and a separate visa policy for Indian Kashmiris, which New Delhi sees as undermining its claim over the region. There is little chance of war between the two countries but further disputes could sour their booming trade relationship.

Key issue to watch:

-- Progress on resuming substantive talks with Pakistan. A meeting of foreign ministers in New York did not lead to any announcement of renewed wide-ranging peace talks, with India still reluctant to make any concessions until more is done in Pakistan to deal with those behind the Mumbai attacks. But any sign of rapprochement will be greeted positively by investors.

INTERNAL SECURITY

The risk of violent attacks in India by domestic insurgent groups or foreign militants remains high. Al Qaeda and affiliated groups see India as a key battleground, and Pakistan is likely to remain a haven for militants seeking to launch attacks in India. Indian security forces are also grappling with a Maoist insurgency spreading across large swathes of countryside, much of it rich in minerals.

Key issues to watch:

-- The danger of new attacks. Investors have already priced in the threat level in India, as the muted market reaction to the Mumbai attacks showed, but attacks that caused a serious deterioration in relations with Pakistan would be market-negative.

-- India plans to launch a large scale offensive against the Maoists soon -- a key test of the government's ability to tackle the insurgency and unlock potential investment in rebel-occupied territory.

MONETARY POLICY DISAGREEMENTS

India's central bank has maintained an accommodative monetary policy to help the country weather the global economic crisis, but a conflict may be brewing between the bank and the government about the appropriate timing of a policy tightening. The central bank has shown increasing concern about inflation, while the government insists policy should continue to focus on growth.

Key issues to watch:

-- Comments by leading officials. The central bank governor and key ministers have weighed in to the argument in public several times. Markets will be watching for signs of further disagreement or emerging compromise.

(Compiled by Andrew Marshall; Editing by Jerry Norton)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Sehwag smashes career-best 146 in first Sri Lanka ODI

Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:36pm IST

 

RAJKOT (Reuters) - Virender Sehwag blazed to a career-best 146 to steer India to their highest one-day total of 414 for seven in the opening game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

The opener hit his 12th one-day hundred off 66 deliveries and smashed 17 fours and six sixes to leave Sri Lanka gasping after skipper Kumar Sangakkara put India into bat hoping to exploit early life on the pitch.

Sehwag, 31, looked good to surpass the one-day record score of 194 until he edged a full toss from paceman Chanaka Welegedara to be caught at point in the 36th over.

He dominated a 153-run first wicket partnership with Sachin Tendulkar (69) and added 156 for the second with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to demoralise the bowling attack.

Dhoni hit 72 with seven fours and three sixes after promoting himself to number three but was caught in the next over after Sehwag's dismissal to give the visitors some respite.

The total bettered India's record of 413-5 set against Bermuda at Port of Spain in the 2007 World Cup. It is also the highest notched against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 373 India made in the 1999 World Cup.

At 311 for three in the 37th over, India looked set to surpass Sri Lanka's ODI record of 443, but were checked by some tighter bowling.

Sehwag, whose previous highest one-day score was 130, raced to 50 off just 34 deliveries before easing off slightly as Tendulkar took over with a flurry of shots.

The record-breaking batsman notched his 92nd one-day fifty until he missed the line to be bowled by Fernando.

Pace bowlers Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara and Dilhara Fernando took two wickets each.

Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh missed out due to finger injuries.

(Reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan, editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

BSE to start trading at 9:45 am from Dec 18

Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:05pm IST

 

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday said it will advance trading hours by 10 minutes from Dec 18, in a move to increase investor focus especially in its equity derivatives segment.

Trading in the equity and equity derivatives segment will commence from 9:45 a.m. onwards, instead of the present timing of 9:55 a.m., the BSE said in a statement. There will be no change in the closing time of 3:30 p.m.

"By opening ten minutes early, we hope to increase focus on the launch of our mid month derivatives contract on the coming Friday," Madhu Kannan, managing director and chief executive of BSE said in a statement.

The turnover for BSE in the equity derivatives segment is negligible compared with the National Stock Exchange, which dominates this segment.

The BSE has about 5,000 listed companies, more than any other bourse in the world, while the NSE has about 1,400. But the daily average turnover for the NSE in 2009 has been triple that of the BSE.

"The BSE needs to act to bring back interest in its derivatives segment. This should be looked at in the context of our various initiatives of bringing liquidity back to BSE," Kannan said.

There will not be any change in timings of any other session in both the segments and the block deal window timings will remain the same, the statement added.

(Reporting by Aniruddha Basu; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved