Dec 28, 2013, 05.00 AM IST
In Punjab and Haryana crushing of mature sugarcane has already been started as early sown cane crop has attained desirable maturity for the extraction of juice ...
Tags Sugarcane
Source: Skymetweather.com
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In Punjab and Haryana crushing of mature sugarcane
In Punjab and Haryana crushing of mature sugarcane has already been started as early sown cane crop has attained desirable maturity for the extraction of juice ...
Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3
In Punjab and Haryana crushing of mature sugarcane
In Punjab and Haryana crushing of mature sugarcane has already been started as early sown cane crop has attained desirable maturity for the extraction of juice ...
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
While recent data on claims have been clouded by seasonal volatility around the winter holiday period, Thursday's report showed claims in a range that supports expectations for faster economic growth next year.
Also read: Yellen takes big step toward taking reins at US Fed
"With labor markets on the mend and consumer confidence on the rise, we look for broader economic improvement to continue pushing claims (lower)," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an analyst at TD Securities in New York.
New jobless claims have trended higher since September and are now roughly where they were during the early days of the 2007-09 recession. Economists, however, say the level of claims is still consistent with job growth, and other labor market indicators have pointed to a strengthening labor market.
The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 4,250 to 348,000.
"The underlying trend remains favorable," said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "We will be able to muster stronger job growth in 2014."
The claims data appeared to have little impact on prices for US stocks and bonds, which were little changed in thin holiday-season trading.
Citing an improving labor market, the Federal Reserve earlier this month announced it would reduce its monthly USD 85 billion bond buying program by USD10 billion starting in January.
Payrolls increased solidly in October and November. The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 7.0 percent in November.
A Labor Department analyst said no states had been estimated, but noted that claims were still in a period of volatility related to the holidays. The volatility is caused by the difficulty inherent in adjusting weekly data for seasonal factors like retailers and schools adjusting the sizes of their staff for the winter season.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 345,000 last week.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid rose 46,000 to 2.923 million in the week ended December 14.
Dec 26, 2013, 10.16 PM IST
According to a filing with stock exchanges today, the city-headquartered lender said it has allotted 3,00,34,539 equity shares on preferential basis to the government.
Tags Andhra Bank, public lender, General or Shareholder Meeting, Extraordinary General Meeting
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Government stake in Andhra Bank goes up by over 2%
According to a filing with stock exchanges today, the city-headquartered lender said it has allotted 3,00,34,539 equity shares on preferential basis to the government.
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Government stake in Andhra Bank goes up by over 2%
According to a filing with stock exchanges today, the city-headquartered lender said it has allotted 3,00,34,539 equity shares on preferential basis to the government.
According to a filing with stock exchanges today, the city-headquartered lender said it has allotted 3,00,34,539 equity shares on preferential basis to the government. The government's shareholding in the bank now stood at 60.14 percent from the earlier 58 percent, the filing said.
Also read: No room for SUUTI stake sale post FDI cap hike in Axis Bank
In an earlier filing, the bank said the Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders held on December 19 passed a special resolution to allot shares at Rs 66.59 apiece (including a premium of Rs 56.59 per share) in return for Rs 200-crore additional capital infusion.
Shares of Andhra Bank settled at Rs 63, up 0.72 percent over the previous close, on BSE whose benchmark Sensex gained 0.20 percent to 21,074.59 today. The government infused around Rs 200 crore on December 20 towards issuance and allotment of equity shares on preferential basis, Andhra Bank said on Monday.
Andhra Bank stock price
On December 26, 2013, Andhra Bank closed at Rs 63.00, up Rs 0.45, or 0.72 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 130.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 47.30.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 16.15 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 3.9. The latest book value of the company is Rs 150.85 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.42.
The Best New Year Parties in India
The Sensex lost 68.32 points to 21,032.71, and the Nifty fell 16.10 points to 6268.40 while the BSE Midcap gained 0.5 percent and Smallcap soared a percent.
On fixed income front, debt funds across categories were seen with negative returns as Government bonds fell for a third session on Tuesday as traders lightened positions ahead of the end of the year, given the prospects the central bank could resume raising interest rates should inflation fail to ease.
Check out all mutual fund gainers & losers
Here is the day's performance and the gainers and losers across categories.
Equity diversified: Top gainers
* Sahara Star Value Fund (G) up 1.33%
* DSP BlackRock Small and Mid Cap Fund (G) up 1.12%
* HSBC Midcap Equity Fund (G) up 1.10%
Equity diversified: Top losers
* DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan (G) down 0.50%
* Motilal Oswal MOSt Focused 25 Fund - Regular Plan (G) down 0.46%
* Canara Robeco Large Cap+ Fund (G) down 0.40%
Tax saving funds: Top gainers
* Sahara Tax Gain (G) up 0.64%
* Birla Sun Life Tax Plan (G) up 0.43%
* Principal Tax Savings Fund up 0.42%
Tax saving funds: Top losers
* Tata Tax Saving Fund down 4.13%
* Tata Tax Saving Fund - Direct Plan down 4.10%
* ICICI Prudential R.I.G.H.T. Fund (G) down 0.40%
Sector funds: Top gainers
* Birla Sun Life MNC Fund (G) up 0.62%
* UTI MNC Fund (G) up 0.44%
* Birla Sun Life Buy India Fund (G) up 0.31%
Sector funds: Top losers
* Religare Invesco PSU Equity Fund (G) down 0.69%
* Baroda Pioneer Banking and Financial Services Fund (G) down 0.48%
* Religare Invesco Banking Fund - Regular Plan (G) down 0.47%
Balanced funds: Top gainers
* Escorts Balanced Fund (G) up 0.34%
* Principal Balanced Fund (G) up 0.27%
* UTI Childrens Career Balanced Plan up 0.23%
Balanced funds: Top losers
* Baroda Pioneer Balance Fund (G) down 0.31%
* Edelweiss Absolute Return Fund (G) down 0.22%
* ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund (G) down 0.21%
Debt funds: Top gainers
* Birla Sun Life Gilt Plus (Regular Plan) (G) down 0.21%
* Daiwa Government Securities Fund - Short Term Plan (G) down 0.20%
* Canara Robeco Gilt PGS (G) down 0.18%
Debt funds: Top losers
* SBI Benchmark G Sec Fund (G) down 0.27%
* Religare Invesco Gilt Fund - Long Duration Plan (G) down 0.25%
For more Mutual Fund News click here
Kotak bought 9,99,670 equity shares at Rs 14.35 apiece on the National Stock Exchange.
However, Kitara PIIN 1101 was the seller in a block deal, which was worth Rs 1.4 crore. The firm reduced its stake in the company to 3.14 percent from 4.82 percent.
Innoventive Industries' stock closed at Rs 14.35, down 0.35 percent amid hefty volumes on Tuesday.
Also Read: AAP finalises Cabinet; Sisodia, Rakhi Birla to be ministers
The political uncertainty over Delhi deepened as Congress on Tuesday said that the party is divided over the outside support given to the AAP and some of its leaders feel that it would have been better if the party had sat in the Opposition. "The mandate was not for Congress, may be we should sit in the Opposition," party General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said.
"There is an opinion in the Congress that perhaps the decision to support AAP for government formation is not correct. Perhaps we should have played the role of opposition and raised people's issues," Dwivedi added.
Congress workers had on Monday protested at the party office in Delhi over its decision to give support to the AAP. The protesters raised slogans 'Anna ke sath dhokha, hum nahi denge Kejriwal ko mauka (Anna betrayed, we won't give a chance to Kejriwal) while demanding the immediate withdrawal of Congress support to AAP.
AAP on Monday ended the 15-day long speculation over the next government in Delhi by staking claim and announcing Kejriwal as the Chief Minister designate. Kejriwal is likely to take oath on December 26 at Ramlila Maidan, the nerve centre of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption agitation in 2011.
The decision came after a 5-day long exercise in which the party returned to the electorate with an unofficial referendum on whether to form a government or not.
AAP which had won 28 seats in the 70-member Assembly was the second party that met Lieutenant General Najeeb Jung to stake claim after the Bharatiya Janta Party which had won 32 seats refused to form the government due to lack of a majority.
If the Congress takes back its support from AAP than Delhi will be put under President's Rule as BJP, which has won 32 seats in the recent assembly elections, had declined to form the government in state. If this turns into reality, this could bring more trouble for the Congress, which is already facing trust deficit within the public.
US consular officials in four consulates in India are being issued new ID cards specifying the limited immunity which will not protect them from serious offences. This is in line with the restricted immunity given to India's Consular officials in the US.
Families of American consular officials will no longer have diplomatic ID cards, an out of way privilege enjoyed by them in India. Families of Indian consular officials do not have any such privileges.
After the arrest and strip search of its senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York in a visa fraud case, India had reacted angrily and had taken slew of steps to curtail privileges enjoyed by the US diplomats. It had asked all the US consular officials and their families to surrender their ID cards by yesterday for a review of their immunity and other benefits.
Sources said India has decided to take firm reciprocal steps following the end of the deadline for surrender of Identity Cards provided to US Consular Staff in India.
"All Identity Cards provided to US Consular officials now stand withdrawn. New cards which are exact replicas of cards provided to Indian Consulate officials in the US are being given in lieu of the withdrawn cards. These cards will only be given to the Consular officials and will not be given to their family members," sources said.
The family members of Indian Consulate officials in the US are also not provided with such cards, they noted and cited the example of arrest of Krittika Biswas, daughter of the vice counsel at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan, Debashish Biswas, in 2011 when the US State Department categorically said the family members of Indian consular officials do not have immunity.
Not issuing IDs to families of US consular officials will ensure strict reciprocity in terms of the Identity Cards being carried by Indian and US consular officials in each others' country, sources said.
Published on Mon, Dec 23,2013 | 23:52, Updated at Mon, Dec 23 at 23:52Source : Moneycontrol.com | Watch Video : 
Estate tax, Exit tax and now FATCA with Cayman – US disclosure rules are impacting Indian Americans in more ways than one. Brian Rowbotham, Managing Partner, Rowbotham & Co. spoke to CNBC-TV18's Payaswini Upadhyay about the tax conundrums facing Indian Americans.
Upadhyay: You have been meeting a lot of families and individuals here in India. As you put it, a lot of them are trapped in the US tax system. Help me understand what are their concerns?
Rowbotham: The big concerns that are occurring are with families that are in India that have US family members who have a green card status or US citizenship status. A lot of families have expanded there – they have gone to universities in the US and started companies. In 2008, the US changed its tax laws and ultimately imposed a 24 percent on an individual that wishes to return to India and no longer be subject to US tax. It is called the expatriation tax. Secondly with US citizenship or with green card status, these individuals can be subject to a 40 percent Estate Tax. So, companies that are in India where they have been passed down for generations with a family member that now has US status, they can lose 40 percent to the US government with the US Estate tax that has been around for many years. That along with the 2008 changes is the concern.
Upadhyay: You mentioned the change happen in 2008. It has been around for a while. Why is it pinching now? These rules of tax have been around for a while for these families or individuals to see it coming?
Rowbotham: The basic reason in my view is people that have returned to India are getting advice from Indian advisors and they are not always in touch with the details and the ramifications of tax law changes or of the changes that are going on with disclosure about foreign banking and foreign investing. That is the cause of why they haven't really kept up. The local advisors are doing the best they can but they are not in the US; so they struggle to keep up.
Upadhyay: This 24 percent exit tax as you call it - has it seen some sort of litigation in the US or it is yet to come into play?
Rowbotham: It is yet to come into play. What happens with the so called exit tax is one gives up their citizenship and they are deemed to have sold their worldwide assets and they have to report that and pay tax on all the gains worldwide. So, it is a valuation issue. When an individual leaves the US and gives up their passport or green card status they have to step back and assess what is the value and the gain and so this is not yet been challenged but it will be because the dollar is involved in it vey substantially.
Upadhyay: There is a recent development which is that US has signed a FATCA agreement with Cayman Islands which means that a lot of Indians or companies or families who have been investing globally via Cayman- there information can now be easily handed over by financial institutions based out of Cayman to the IRS. What sort of an impact do you see it will have on Indian investors?
Rowbotham: FATCA is Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. What is happening globally is that governments are agreeing to comply with FATCA. So, if we had a FATCA agreement with India the Indian institutions would have to provide the names and account information of any US person. Cayman has just adopted the rules and in terms of why people go to the Cayman? Global funds are often held through Cayman structures – entirely legal but now these structures are going to be reported if they have any US residents or green card residents that are in these funds and have substantial holdings. Many people in India are investors through these funds; totally legal but may not be in complete compliance with US disclosure rules that attracts substantial penalties. So, this is a major issue in the investment arena.
Upadhyay: So, disclosures relating to the amount that they have invested in the US?
Rowbotham: It is really globally. Let's say you are a general partner or a fund manager and you are living in India but you are putting together a Cayman partnership and you have control or signature authority over financial accounts or bank accounts - in the US you have got to deal with disclosures about these foreign accounts and until Cayman has agreed to pass this information, it wasn't a big concern.
The compliance rules are really complicated and advisors outside the US have a tough time dealing with them. So, this is a new development.
Upadhyay: Let me come to the solutions now. What is it that you are advising these families and individuals that are dealing with this complex US tax system? What can they do to ensure that their global income is not taxed at these high rates and to people who have made investments via Cayman Islands – now that their information is going to be handed over to the IRS because of this FATCA deal? How should they deal this?
Rowbotham: The first question regarding how do people deal with inheriting large amounts from family members- families in India with substantial wealth that have US children, grandchildren are going to have to rethink their strategy. Instead of just willing it over or gifting it to their US relatives, children or grandchildren they may wish to setup an Indian trust and so the assets will not ultimately pass in full to their US family members.
Upadhyay: Has that not been happening?
Rowbotham: It is happening right now as we talk. Indian institutions are exploring this because of this issue. The other question you raised about reporting- to the extent the individuals have paid their taxes, but they just have not complied, they have to make a simple decision for sure- going forward they should disclose and in terms of prior years it depends on the circumstances whether they go back and disclose past years or not. There are different rules involved, so they basically need to seek some advice.
Upadhyay: What kind of penalties are we looking at if the reporting has not been done?
Rowbotham: What the IRS can do is impose a penalty - this is on a foreign bank account that hasn't been disclosed – 50 percent of the highest balance per year for the past 6 years. So, that is 300 percent. If someone had USD 100,000 account sitting in a US bank accounts and did not report it, if they don't basically comply and they get picked up in an audit, the IRS can impose 50 percent per year on that balance. So, financially it is catastrophic. You not only lose your whole account but you have additional penalties to deal with and pay beyond what your full account has got offshore.
Upadhyay: Post this signing of FATCA deal with Cayman, is it something that my financial institution or a hedge fund that is based out of Cayman will call upon me now here in India in terms of any information etc. What is it that I should be ready for after this deal has been signed?
Rowbotham: It doesn't yet involve India. This is a Cayman-US agreement. So, to the extent individuals with US status in India have account balances through investments or their fund managers in Cayman, they need to deal with the disclosure rules in the US or face potential penalties. For individuals that are not investing through Cayman, it is not going to have an effect at the present time.
Upadhyay: This penalty would be what you mentioned earlier, 50 percent of the highest balance
Rowbotham: Right. That is on the foreign bank accounts. It started back in 2009 with the Swiss issue. This whole FATCA issue is developed because of the problem of non-compliance and foreign governments are looking at FATCA as the way to make things transparent and collect a lot of revenue that up till now has just escaped through offshore structures.
Upadhyay: I know you would not want to specifically mention your client names but give me an anecdotal evidence of somebody- a family or an individual- stuck in this US tax system of how to either exit it or give your global assets up for Estate Tax. What is the highest quantum that you have seen thus far?
Rowbotham: In terms of inheritance by US individuals where only assets are actually located in India, it is in the billions of dollars. These are families that - ultimately their children or they themselves have gone to the best universities in US and stayed and become US citizens and then returned to India and they have inherited a vast amount of wealth. So it is at the highest level with some of the largest families in India.
In U.S. trading on Monday, EUR/USD was up 0.18% at 1.3696.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's overall consumer sentiment index held at 82.5 in December, unchanged from an initial estimate, though analysts were hoping for the index to climb to 83.0.
The reading weakened the dollar, especially on a day of rising U.S. stock prices, which further diminished the dollar's appeal after investors ditched safe-haven greenback positions to take on risk on the assumption that even though the consumer-sentiment index missed expectations, it still remains high.
The Michigan consumer sentiment index stood at 75.1 in November.
Elsewhere, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that U.S. personal spending rose 0.5% last month, in line with consensus forecasts. Personal spending for October was revised up to a 0.4% gain from a previously reported increase of 0.3%.
The report also showed personal income rose 0.2% in November, missing expectations for a 0.5% increase, after falling by 0.1% in October.
While the day's data allowed for a moderate dollar selloff, the greenback continued to enjoy support from the Fed's decision to begin scaling down its bond-buying in January.
Fed bond purchases aim to spur recovery by pushing down long-term interest rates, weakening the dollar in the process.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider tightening policy.
Elsewhere, the greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.14% at 1.6352.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.04% at 104.06, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.25% at 0.8940.
The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.31% at 1.0604, AUD/USD up 0.10% at 0.8932 and NZD/USD trading up 0.07% at 0.8206.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.23% at 80.56.
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Hollande was attending an anniversary dinner for the CRIF Jewish organisation on December 16 when he made a remark to the audience about his interior minister having returned safely to France from a trip to Algeria.
"He's back safe and sound, and that's saying a lot," Hollande said.
The remark spread on social networks, causing an outcry in Algeria where daily El Watan denounced it as a "joke in bad taste" with "pathetic insinuations" on Sunday. Another newspaper carried the headline "Indignant Algiers".
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said the remark did not reflect the security situation in his country and he hoped a page could be turned quickly on an "unfortunate incident", Algeria's APS news agency reported.
"On an issue as important as France's relationship with Algeria, the office of the president does not permit this sort of off-colour remark," Jean-Francois Cope, head of France's UMP opposition party, wrote in a Twitter message.
Hollande - whose achievements in foreign policy are a rare bright spot in a presidency mired in economic struggles - stopped short of issuing a full public apology.
"He expresses sincere regret for the interpretation that was made of these remarks, and will say as much directly to (Algerian) President (Abdelaziz) Bouteflika," his office said in a statement.
Relations between France and Algeria remain fraught 51 years after the ex-colony won its independence. Millions of descendants of Algerian immigrants live in France.
French security forces cooperate with the Algerian military in the fight against al Qaeda's north African wing. (Reporting by Nicholas Vinocur in Paris and Lamine Chikhi in Algiers; editing by Andrew Roche)
Abbott, who replaced the injured Morne Morkel, made his test debut against Pakistan in the final match of the series at Centurion in February when Jacques Kallis pulled out with a hamstring problem.
Despite recording match figures of nine for 68, including seven for 29 in the first innings, he was not retained when the squad was selected to tour United Arab Emirates eight months later.
The 26-year-old Abbott, who plays for the Durban-based Dolphins franchise, has taken eight wickets at an average of 13 in the current domestic provincial competition.
South Africa and India drew an epic first test on Sunday when the Proteas fell eight runs short of chasing down a record victory target of 458, ending the game with seven wickets down in their second innings.
Squad:
Graeme Smith (captain), AB de Villiers (vice-captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Rory Kleinveldt, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Thami Tsolekile.
(Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Ed Osmond)
Also Read: Jayanthi Natarajan quits as Union Minister for 'party work'
Below are the highlights:
- Admit that Congress party did not do well in Assembly Elections
- Completely in agreement for need of regulatory system
- Projects do take time to get approval in current system
- CCI approved a large number of projects in the recent past
- Biggest issue we face today is corruption
- Parliament took a landmark step by passing Lokpal Bill
- UPA did more than any other government to fight corruption
- Many revolutionary bills still pending before Parliament
- Indian education system does not do justice to its talents
- Have to take steps to empower business engine and people
- Investments in food security will not drag economy
- Poverty cannot be fought without growth
- Need to take steps to reform power sector
- Have to open up manufacturing sector and foster competition
- UPA made huge investments in micro nutrients and micro irrigations
- Beating inflation is our top priority
- Society cannot be built on injustice
- Investments in social sector schemes is not a drag on economy
- 3rd of Indian population came out of poverty in the last 10 years
- Must target raising manufacturing to 25% of GDP
- There is a cost to not having Land Bill
- Cannot allow environment to be plundered
- Need to be careful on use of natural resources
- Complete arbitrary power is the cause of concern
- Land Acquisition Bill brings transparency, will benefit industry
- We need to build value like Google
- Indian IT sector needs to move up the value chain
- We need to increase access to education
Officially, winter solstice marks the first day of the winter season. It is an astronomical phenomenon, occurring every year in December. The Sun`s elevation with respect to Earth has reached its lowest value with the North and South Pole of the Earth observing the longest night and the longest day, respectively. From now on, days will become longer in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing some respite to cities engulfed in fog in India.
After successive days of widespread fog in North India and Rajasthan, Kolkata is the latest city to be under its grip. Kolkata experienced the first fog of the season on Saturday morning. Fog has subsided in the northern plains but enveloped parts of Madhya Pradesh, including Bhopal and Gwalior.
Some facts about winter solstice
The term 'solstice' is derived from the Latin words 'sol' meaning Sun and 'sisto' which means 'stop.' On this day the Sun stops moving southward, pauses and begins its journey northward. The winter solstice occurs due to the Earth's axis of rotation. The Sun on this day is at the southernmost point in the sky, i.e. 23.5 degrees south of the Tropic of Cancer. The day is shortest in the Northern Hemisphere but that does not make it the coldest day of the year as well.
picture courtesy- durangoarts.org
By: Skymetweather.com
