Fed''s Plosser: Wind Down Stimulus Programs This Year

Investing.com - The Federal Reserve should consider winding down its monetary stimulus programs later this year, Charles Plosser, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said Friday.

The Federal Reserve is currently buying USD85 billion in assets such as Treasury holdings and mortgage debt a month from banks to keep interest rates low, a monetary policy tool known as quantitative easing designed to jump start economic recovery.

The Federal Reserve has suggested such easing policies will stay in place until the unemployment rate approaches 6.5% from its current level of 7.6% provided inflation stays below 2.5%.

Those goals should serve as "triggers" and not "thresholds," Plosser said, meaning the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) should be ready to act ahead of reaching those targets to ensure prices remain in comfort zones.

"The central tendency of the FOMC projections describes an economy accelerating in the second half of this year and into 2014. They anticipate growth of 2.3% to 2.6% for 2013 and accelerating to 3.0% to 3.5% in 2014," Plosser said in prepared remarks of his speech at 5th Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit.

"The central tendency projects that the unemployment rate will decline to 7.2% to 7.3% by the end of 2013 and reach 6.5% to 6.8% by the end of 2014. This is a faster pace of decline than previous FOMC projections anticipated."

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said asset purchases may begin winding down this year and possibly end next year, though he has also said such policies will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Sooner or later, such policies should end, said Plosser, a noted inflation hawk.

"The first step is to wind down our asset purchases by the end of the year in a gradual and predictable manner. As I said, I see little if any benefit from these purchases, and growing costs," Plosser said.

"The second step is for the FOMC to commit to its forward guidance on the fed funds rate path, that is, to begin treating the 6.5% unemployment rate and the 2.5% inflation rate in the guidance as triggers rather than thresholds."

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U.S stocks gain on earnings, Fed uncertainty weighs; Dow up 0.02%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks finished Friday higher after second-quarter earnings out of the financial sector beat expectations, though remaining uncertainty as to when the Federal Reserve will scale back stimulus measures hampered gains.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program push up stocks by keeping interest rates low.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.02%, the S&P 500 index ended up 0.31%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.61%.

U.S. financial institutions JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. reported earnings earlier that beat Wall Street expectations, which sent stock prices rising.

Wells Fargo reported earnings of USD0.98 a share, beating forecasts for USD0.93 a share, due in part to a stronger housing market.

JPMorgan reported earnings of USD1.60 a share, well above consensus forecasts for USD1.44 a share.

Monetary uncertainty dampened the rally, however.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday evening that economic data suggest that the U.S. economy still requires highly accommodative monetary policies, though on Friday, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said such policies should begin to wind down this year.

"The first step is to wind down our asset purchases by the end of the year in a gradual and predictable manner," Plosser said earlier Friday.

"As I said, I see little if any benefit from these purchases, and growing costs."

Also dampening stock gains, logistics giant UPS earlier cut its 2013 earnings forecasts on concerns the U.S. economy still battles headwinds.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Bank of America, up 1.85%, American Express, also up 1.85%, and The Travelers Companies, up 1.81%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Boeing, down 4.59%, Verizon Communications, down 1.52%, and General Electric, down 0.75%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.36%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.66%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.02%.

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Gold posts strong gains as Bernanke says policy to stay loose

Investing.com - Gold prices shot up on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy, including the Fed's monthly USD85 billion asset-purchasing program, will stay in place for now.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery were up 2.69% at USD1,280.95 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Thursday, up from a session low of USD1,250.45 and down from a high of USD1,297.05 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,250.45 a troy ounce, the earlier low, and resistance at USD1,297.05, the earlier high.

Gold prices shot up after Fed Chairman Bernanke said Wednesday evening that the U.S. economy still requires highly accommodative monetary policies just hours after the release of the minutes from the Fed's June monetary policy meeting, which revealed other U.S. central bankers felt likewise.

Fed language sent the dollar plunging, as many investors were expecting more of a timeline as to when the Fed would begin tapering stimulus programs that weaken the dollar to keep interest rates low so the economy will pick up the pace of its recovery.

Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another, and monetary stimulus measures tend to make gold an attractive hedge.

Meanwhile, official data on Thursday showed that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. hit a two-month high last week, rising by 16,000 to 360,000, according to the Labor Department, defying expectations for a drop of 4,000 to 340,000, which sent prices gaining further.

A separate report showed that U.S. import prices fell 0.2% on a yearly basis in June, above expectations for a 0.1% decline, while exports prices rose 0.2% year-over-year, undershooting expectations for a 0.4% rise.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery was up 4.19% at USD19.968 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was up 2.84% and trading at USD3.179 a pound.

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Forex - Dollar falls as Fed says stimulus to stay in place for now

Investing.com - The dollar fell against most major currencies on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said stimulus programs will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

In U.S. trading on Thursday, EUR/USD was up 0.95% at 1.3104.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday evening that economic data suggest that the U.S. economy still requires highly accommodative monetary policies.

Bernanke made his comments just hours after the release of the minutes from the Fed's June monetary policy meeting, which revealed other U.S. central bankers felt likewise.

Fed language sent the dollar plunging, as many investors were expecting more of a timeline as to when the Fed would begin tapering stimulus programs that weaken the dollar by keeping interest rates low so the economy will strengthen.

Data released Thursday dampened expectations for an imminent end to monetary stimulus programs as well.

The number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. hit a two-month high last week, rising by 16,000 to 360,000, according to the Labor Department, defying expectations for a drop of 4,000 to 340,000.

A separate report showed that U.S. import prices fell 0.2% on a yearly basis in June, above expectations for a 0.1% decline, while exports prices rose 0.2% year-over-year, undershooting expectations for a 0.4% rise.

Meanwhile in Europe, the European Central Bank said in its monthly bulletin interest rates will remain at currently low levels or even lower for an extended period of time, though the news came as little surprise to many traders, who chose instead to focus on the U.S.

The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 1.21% at 1.5196.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.94% at 98.75, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 1.33% at 0.9458.

Earlier Thursday, the Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged on Thursday in a widely anticipated decision.

The BoJ also upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying it is starting to moderately recover.

The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.84% at 1.0378, AUD/USD up 0.07% at 0.9180 and NZD/USD trading up 0.04% at 0.7839.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 1.62% at 82.84.

On Friday, the U.S. will release official data on producer price inflation as well as preliminary data from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.

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Forex - EUR/USD gains as Fed minutes suggest stimulus to stay

Investing.com - The dollar dropped against the euro on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting that showed monetary authorities favored keeping stimulus programs in place despite improving economic indicators.

In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 1.11% at 1.2923, up from a session low of 1.2766 and off from a high of 1.2949.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2755, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.3078, the high from July 2.

Fed minutes released earlier revealed the some monetary authorities favored keeping stimulus programs in place despite improving economic indicators out of the U.S. housing, labor and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

"Many members indicated that further improvement in the outlook for the labor market would be required before it would be appropriate to slow the pace of asset purchases," the minutes read.

"Some added that they would, as well, need to see more evidence that the projected acceleration in economic activity would occur, before reducing the pace of asset purchases."

The euro, meanwhile, was up against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading up 0.36% at 0.8628 and EUR/JPY trading down 0.14% at 129.13.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank is to publish its monthly bulletin, which outlines the bank's economic outlook.

The U.S. is to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, a leading economic indicator, as well as official data on import prices.

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Forex - Dollar falls on release of Federal Reserve minutes

Investing.com - The dollar fell against most major currencies on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting, which weren't quite as hawkish as markets were expecting.

In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.84% at 1.2889.

Fed minutes released earlier revealed the some monetary authorities favored keeping stimulus programs in place despite improving economic indicators out of the U.S. housing, labor and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

"Many members indicated that further improvement in the outlook for the labor market would be required before it would be appropriate to slow the pace of asset purchases," the minutes read.

"Some added that they would, as well, need to see more evidence that the projected acceleration in economic activity would occur, before reducing the pace of asset purchases."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the U.S. central bank may begin scaling back asset purchases this year and end them next year if the economy improves, particularly the labor market.

The minutes revealed that Bernanke's colleagues want to be sure, as while some see the need to begin tapering soon, others felt they would "need to see more evidence that the projected acceleration in economic activity would occur, before reducing the pace of asset purchases," the minutes added.

While investors didn't view the Fed's language as dovish, they were expecting the Fed to begin tapering stimulus programs by September or October, though market talk on Wednesday said scale-backs may begin closer to December, which weakened the greenback.

The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD trading up 0.49% at 1.4939.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.98% at 100.15, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.91% at 0.9641.

The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.27% at 1.0499, AUD/USD down 0.58% at 0.9124 and NZD/USD trading down 0.75% at 0.7797.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.80% at 84.17.

On Thursday, the U.S. is to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, a leading economic indicator, as well as official data on import prices.

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Forex - Dollar gains as IMF trims forecasts, China, U.K. data support

Investing.com - The dollar strengthened against most major currencies on Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its global growth forecasts for this year and the next, which sparked safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency

In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.61% at 1.2791.

The IMF cut its 2013 global growth forecast to 3.1% from a 3.3% prediction made in April and revised its 2014 growth forecast to 3.8% from 4.0%.

The IMF added that the euro zone economy should contract by 0.6% this year compared to a 0.4% contraction forecast in April, which weakened the euro.

The single currency saw added pressure after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated anew that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time to support the euro zone economy.

Meanwhile, the dollar saw added support on growing expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering its USD85 billion bond-buying program later this year and end it next year.

Such monetary stimulus programs weaken the greenback to spur recovery, and talk of their dismantling can bolster the U.S. currency.

Elsewhere, China reported earlier that consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, above expectations for a 2.5% increase and accelerating from a 2.1% rate of increase in May, which gave the greenback support as investors digested the data.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD trading down 0.54% at 1.4872.

The Office for National Statistics said earlier that U.K. manufacturing production contracted 0.8% in May, defying expectations for a 0.3% increase.

Manufacturing production fell at an annual rate of 2.9% in May, far outpacing expectations for a 1.6% decline.

The ONS also said that industrial production came in flat in May, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% increase, and was 2.3% lower on a year-over-year basis.

Separate data showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to GBP8.49 billion in May from a deficit of GBP8.43 billion in April. Economists had forecast a deficit of GBP8.47 billion.

The dollar was unchanged against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.01% at 100.97, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.94% at 0.9726.

The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.28% at 1.0530, AUD/USD up 0.62% at 0.9190 and NZD/USD trading up 0.78% at 0.7861.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.42% at 84.79.

In the U.S. on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its latest policy setting meeting, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to appear in public as well.

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South Korean unemployment rate remains unchanged

Investing.com - The unemployment rate in South Korea remained unchanged last month, official data showed on Thursday.

In a report, Korea National Statistical Office said that South Korean Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2%, from 3.2% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected South Korean Unemployment Rate to remain unchanged at 3.2% last month.

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Deccan Default: CBI search fails bring key details to light

The CBI is currently conducting search operations at the premises of Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCHL). A search is on at the residence of the company's managing director. CNBC-TV18's Appaji Reddem reports that the search is related to the liabilities of the company which is reeling under a pile of debt.

Also Read: Take action against loan defaulters: Chidambaram to banks

A team of 24 CBI officers from Bangalore conducted search operations at the official premises of DCHL and also at the residence of managing director Vinayak Ravi Reddy. The search is related to DCHL's debt default.

DCHL has over liabilities of Rs 5,000 crore borrowed from different banks and financial institutions. Several winding up petitions have been filed against DCHL in different courts including the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The finance ministry had ordered a forensic audit which was conducted by Canara Bank. However, neither the audit or the search operations were able to bring key details to light.

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Move to re-locate Jet HQ raises worries about Etihad deal

CNBC-TV18 economic policy editor Siddharth Zarabi explains that new questions have been raised over Jet Airways ' commercial pact with Etihad. Concerns have been raised regarding Jet Airways' plans to relocate operations and core functions to Abu Dhabi and the absence of Jet nominees on the Jet-Etihad board.

Also Read: Etihad raises concerns over political issues over Jet deal

The concerns have been raised regarding the amended and restated commercial cooperation agreement signed between the two parties on May 27. According to the pact, Etihad will hold a 24-percent equity stake and the entire operations will effectively be run by clutch of management committees.

At the head the management committees is the cooperation board that will supervise everything from pricing to planning routes, sales and inventory management.

While the pact on paper says that these management committees will be controlled by nominees in equal number from Jet and Etihad, experts raised concerns when it was revealed all the 19 nominees were foreign nationals representing Etihad.

Jet also withdrew a proposal to amend the articles of association to the shareholders. But the amended version was presented to government agencies. The second important aspect is regarding the location of the Jet Airways operations and business offices. According to the existing norms, a scheduled carrier in India has to maintain its primary place of business in India.

But according to the commercial agreement, there is phased, time-bound plan to effectively relocate entire Jet operations from India to Abu Dhabi at Jet Airways's expense.

So, while minority shareholders have been taken for a ride with the deal is structured to avoid an open offer, the minority shareholders and the non-promoter groups will continue to lose because the entire operation will shift to Abu Dhabi.

So, on one hand management control is being exercised through the backdoor and on the other hand, company's headquarters is being re-located to Abu Dhabi far from Indian regulation and laws.

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Forex - USD/JPY up in Asian trade

Investing.com - The U.S. Dollar was higher against the Japanese Yen on Sunday.

USD/JPY was trading at 101.42, up 0.26% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 99.26, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 101.47, today's high.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar was up against the Euro and the British Pound, with EUR/USD shedding 0.04% to hit 1.2830 and GBP/USD falling 0.10% to hit 1.4878.

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Germany win is just another race for steely Vettel

By Mark Meadows

NUERBURGRING, Germany (Reuters) - Triple world champion Sebastian Vettel is not one for tears or emotional pronouncements and even his first victory at his home German Grand Prix on Sunday was treated largely like any other race.

The 26-year-old Red Bull driver has dominated Formula One for the past three years and leads the standings again by 34 points but his CV was missing a victory on home asphalt and a win in July.

Now that has been chalked off it is onwards and upwards, with little fanfare and lots of single-minded determination.

"In the end it's just another race and we try to prepare as much as we can for every race," Vettel told a news conference, his matter-of-fact expression barely changing after his 30th career victory in F1.

"Surely winning here is very special and tastes very, very sweet, especially the way we won today with a lot of pressure from behind, but I think we did our homework."

It was the nature of the close victory which thrilled Vettel as much as it coming at the Nuerburgring, with Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen chasing him down to the last.

"For sure he is extremely proud about what he has achieved today but he has always taken the bigger picture. We discussed it before the race and said 'let's go for the best we can and if that is second today it's second'," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters.

"There are just as many points attached to this race as the other 18."

Always extremely knowledgeable technically, Vettel consumes every detail of Formula One while keeping the media at arms length when it comes to his private life.

He is often coy in news conferences, especially this week when asked if he would like Raikkonen to replace the retiring Webber at Red Bull, but gives credit where credit is due.

"We had a little bit of a cushion but Lotus was incredibly quick today and gave us definitely a big run for our money," he said.

Red Bull ensured Vettel pitted to cover the third stop of third-placed Romain Grosjean and all went well in the end.

"For sure, there are a lot of expectations. Especially when you have a good car and for a couple of years you've had a good run, when you come to home soil people expect you to win," said the German.

"I think the whole team, including myself, we never ever let that get to our head but it just feels very, very sweet now to have succeeded after a couple of tries."

Vettel hit the headlines after ignoring orders and overtaking Australian team mate Mark Webber to win in Malaysia in March. That same stone-cold attitude of a champion means he is unlikely to be partying long into the German night. (Editing by Alan Baldwin)

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Internet censorship only builds hatred: Jimmy Wales

Jul 06, 2013, 05.06 PM IST

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales says internet censorship is never good. According to him, people today are more aware of these issues and the fact that their governments may not always have the best of intentions.

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Internet censorship only builds hatred: Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales says internet censorship is never good. According to him, people today are more aware of these issues and the fact that their governments may not always have the best of intentions.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

Internet censorship only builds hatred: Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales says internet censorship is never good. According to him, people today are more aware of these issues and the fact that their governments may not always have the best of intentions.

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Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales says internet censorship is never good. According to him, people today are more aware of these issues and the fact that their governments may not always have the best of intentions.

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Service Tax Exemption To Sez Units Or Developers

Published on Sat, Jul 06,2013 | 17:05, Updated at Sat, Jul 06 at 17:05Source : Moneycontrol.com 

This EY Tax Alert gives an update on the recent Notification No. 12/2013- Service Tax dated 1 July 2013, issued by the Ministry of Finance, in supersession of Notification No. 40/2012-Service Tax dated 20 June 2012. This notification has come into force with effect from 1 July 2013.

The said notification has introduced changes in the policy and procedures for claiming service tax exemption for specified services received by SEZ Units or Developers and used for authorized operations.

The erstwhile Notification No. 40/2012-Service Tax provided ab-initio exemption only when the specified services were 'wholly consumed' for authorised operations within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Now, the ab-initio exemption for services provided to SEZ Unit/ Developer would be available so long as such services are used exclusively for authorised operations of such Unit/ Developer.

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