Visiting India to build contact with new admin: MasterCard

The promise of 'acche din' seems to be turning investor interest to India. A delegation from the United States - India business council (USIBC) led by Ajay Banga of MasterCard met commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.

The promise of 'acche din' seems to be turning investor interest to India. A delegation from the United States - India business council (USIBC) led by Ajay Banga of MasterCard met commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman today. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Banga discusses the current investment climate.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What do you think is the current investment climate across?

A: We are here to understand all the good things that are happening with the new government. It is a way of being able to establish a new relationship with the new government; that's all we are doing.

Q: USIBC members have had very strong reservations regarding policies like retro tax. Do you believe that since a new administration is there, this is the time to do away with such points?

A: Well I am just reading all the newspaper articles with the new government and lot of them are talking about improving the ease of doing business in India. That's the right kind of tonality. They have only been in power for 30 days; we got to give them a little time to think through all the priorities. I am certain that they are approaching it with an open mind.

Q: Narendra Modi will be visiting the States shortly, probably after the Budget session. According to you what are the top priorities as far as India-US economic and trade relations are concerned which should find mention in the agenda as far as US and India are concerned?

A: My view is that US and India basically operate well together on business fronts. It's always been the case that the business community has built the link between the two. What the business community is looking for on both sides is predictability and consistency.

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Foxconn to bring in supply chain efficiency: Blackberry

Canadian handset manufacturer Blackberry has launched its first device since it entered into a five year agreement with manufacturing giant Foxconn.

Launch of Z3 also marks the entry of Blackberry Maps in India - a feature that has long been missing from the BB10 platform.

Sunil Lalvani Blackberry's India managing director says BB7 devices will continue and BB10 devices will co-exist in a market. There are some devices that we continue to manufacture and roll out from our own operations and there are some that will be rolled out by Foxconn. So as a model both will co-exits in the market.

Foxconn brings in with it speed egility and supply chain efficiency which has helped Blackberry bring down the price of Z3 at Rs 15,990.

Also read: BlackBerry to announce app licensing deal with Amazon  

Below is the transcript of Sunil Lalvani with CNBC-TV18s Malvika Jain.

Q: Are you now bullish on India market?

A: Our BB7 devices will continue, BB10 devices will co-exist in the market. There are some devices that we continue to manufacture and roll out from our own operations and there are some devices that will be rolled out by Foxconn. So as a model both will co-exist in the market.

Foxconn brings in speed; agility has brought down the price, because that is where they bring in the supply chain efficiency. So launching this product today, the Z3 device at Rs 15,990 is testimony to the fact that Foxconn is bringing that value and we are able to roll out a product at a fairly aggressive price bracket.

Q: Once upon a time the other strength that BlackBerry used to have was its messenger service but clearly you seem to be losing out on market share to other messenger service providers such as WhatsApp and that could be hitting your revenues despite for the fact that you had delinked the device from the messenger service. So what is the strategy over there, how are you going to regain the lost market share?

A: Our messaging services are different and our business model is different than many other Instant messaging (IM) tools out there in the market. Black Berry Messenger (BBM), the messenger service that we have has always been known for its immediacy, the privacy and the reliability - it is not like if I have met you today and I exchange mobile numbers then I can ping you on BBM, it is only when we exchange pin numbers that we can choose to be connected on BBM.

We respect the end user's privacy and the immediacy and reliability of BBM is associated with the private network that we run globally. Now when we took BBM cross platform we saw huge uptake in the initial days, usage patterns typically grew. Today we have over 150 million downloads of BBM globally, 85 million active users of BBM on a monthly basis.

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Dollar firms on U.S. data, though Iraq concerns dampen gains

Investing.com - Investing.com - The dollar traded mixed against most major currencies on Tuesday, buoyed by upbeat U.S. housing and consumer confidence data, though escalating Iraqi violence capped the greenback's advance, weakening it against its peers at times.

In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was up 0.01% at 1.3604.

The dollar firmed earlier on the coattails of upbeat U.S. data.

New home sales rose to a six-year high, surging 18.6% in May to an annual rate of 504,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. May's figure was the highest level since May 2008 and the largest monthly increase since January 1992.

Analysts were expecting new home sales to rise 1.6% to 440,000 units.

The dollar also saw demand after the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index jumped to 85.2 in June from 82.0 last month. It was the highest reading since January 2008.

Analysts were expecting a reading of 83.5.

The numbers kept market expectations firm for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down its monthly bond-buying program this year and begin hiking interest rates in 2015.

Fed stimulus programs such as monthly bond purchases weaken the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates, which sends investors to assets like stocks in hopes lower borrowing costs will spur investment and hiring.

Meanwhile in Europe, investors took in stride data revealing that the German Ifo business climate index fell to a six-month low of 109.7 this month from 110.4 in May, missing estimates for a 110.3 reading.

The euro shrugged off the data on sentiments geopolitical concerns have businesses worried more than structural issues in the German economy.

"Assessments of the current business situation remained good, but companies were less optimistic about future business developments. The German economy fears the potential impact of the crises in Ukraine and Iraq," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.

Sinn added that although the export outlook for manufacturing had "clouded over considerably, the majority of manufacturers remain optimistic."

The manufacturing component of the index fell to 15.7 from 19.0 in May, but the construction, wholesaling and retail components all improved.

Later in the session, geopolitical concerns watered down the dollar's earlier gains, sending investors to safe-haven assets like gold, which tends to trade inversely with the greenback.

Reports that Syrian warplanes hit targets in western Iraq earlier Tuesday in an effort to join Iran and support the embattled Baghdad government sent gold prices climbing due to safe-haven demand, as fears began to grow the conflict will increase in duration and complexity, especially if Washington gets more involved.

Gold often sees safe-harbor demand among investors worried over geopolitical issues.

The dollar was flat against the yen, with USD/JPY unchanged at 101.93, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.03% at 0.8940.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.26% at 1.6984.

The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.10% at 1.0744, AUD/USD down 0.53% at 0.9374 and NZD/USD down 0.34% at 0.8682.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.07% at 80.40.

On Wednesday, the U.S. is to publish data on durable goods orders, as well as revised data on first quarter growth.

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Quasar India's outcome of board meeting

Quasar India at its meeting held on June 24, 2014, have considered and appointment of Ms. Rachna Bhasin, Practicing Company Secretary as Scrutinizer for E-Voting facility to members. Establishment of Vigil Mechanism.

Quasar India Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 24, 2014, inter alia, have considered and approved the following businesses:1. Appointment of Ms. Rachna Bhasin, Practicing Company Secretary as Scrutinizer for E-Voting facility to members.2. Establishment of Vigil Mechanism.Source : BSE

Read all announcements in Quasar India

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Crude falls on profit taking, though U.S. data support

Crude falls on profit taking, though U.S. data support

Investing.com - Investing.com - Crude futures fell on Monday after investors sold the commodity for profits, though robust U.S. housing data cushioned losses somewhat.

In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for delivery in August traded at $106.15 a barrel during U.S. trading, down 0.64%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $105.93 a barrel and a high of $107.37 a barrel.

The August contract settled up 0.74% at $106.83 a barrel on Friday.

Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $105.11 a barrel, Thursday's low, and resistance at $107.37 a barrel, the session high.

Investors locked in gains stemming from the fears that the Iraqi insurgency will disrupt supply and sold for profits, as the violence still remains far away from the country's main oilfields in the south.

Iraq produced approximately 3.5 million barrels a day of oil last month, making it OPEC's second-biggest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia.

Still, oil saw some support on the heels of upbeat U.S. housing-sector data.

The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that existing home sales hit 4.89 million in May, up 4.9% from April's revised 4.66 million rate and above market calls for 4.73 million units.

Elsewhere, Markit Economic reported that U.S. manufacturing PMI rose to 57.5 in June from 56.4 in May, beating market calls for a 56.1 reading.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for August delivery were down 0.59% and trading at US$114.14 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$7.99 a barrel.

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Planning Commission needs new models of development: IEO

There is consensus among different segments of the previous UPA-II government and also the current Narendra Modi-led NDA government that the Planning Commission has outlived its role and function, says Ajay Chhibber, Director General, Independent Evaluation Organisation.

He believes the Planning Commission is largely staffed with bureaucrats than experts.

According to Chhibber, the Planning Commission needs cutting edge thinking and new models of development.

Also Read: Replace Planning Commission with new think tank: IEO

Below is the verbatim transcript of Ajay Chhibber's interview with CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan.

Q: You have said many things about the Planning Commission, you say in your report that it exceeds the scope of its authority, that it has been acting as a control commission, you also recommend that it should be replaced and that the allocation of funds which is the responsibility of the planning commission should now be vested with the finance ministry. So you believe that the planning commission as we heard from the former finance minister is unwieldy, too big, flabby and needs to go in its current avatar?

A: Yeah, by now there is quite a lot of consensus among many different segments of previous government but also this government that the Planning Commission as it is constituted today has outlived its role and function. The economy has moved on, the needs of the country are quite different and there has been really no reform of the Planning Commission by the Planning Commission for the Planning Commission, so the time had come to make those changes and what we have done is we have done an independent assessment of its role and function and made recommendations to the new government for its consideration. Of course, the final decision is with the new government but we do believe that a fairly serious reform is needed.

Q: Speaking of reform and I want to take this conversation forward to what you have recommended in your report, you believe that the planning commission should be replaced by a think tank called the reform and solutions commission. Is this not going to be in that sense new wine in an old bottle because if I look at the functions that you believe this commission should perform you say that it should be a repository for ideas that have been successful in different aspects at various states and districts, it should provide ideas for integrated systems reform, it should identify new and emerging challenges, surely this is stuff that individual ministries should be doing themselves, do we really need a reforms and solutions think tank to do this?

A: What has become very clear is that a lot of different innovation and thinking has been going on. Of course sector by sector but also in terms of development models in different parts of the country which are more suited to a particular level of development of different states and different areas but what we have had is boilerplate central schemes that provide us centralised template to all these different states with very different levels of development, very different needs. So what is recommended for Nagaland is the same as what is recommended for Kerala or what is recommended for Madhya Pradesh. This kind of centralised approach with flagship programmes providing the next mechanism by which resources that belong to the states have been put into these centralised schemes and provided in a pretty rigid template because if you travel around the country and ask people why you can't innovate around these templates basically the answer you get is that the auditor will come in and assess on the basis of proscribed programmes and these programmes that have been proscribed are pretty detailed in their prescription.

So it is time to unleash more innovations at the state level and the district level, so that is one idea. The other idea is that where reforms have to occur and involve several different ministries and states in conjunction that is another area which the Planning Commission should have done but was not able to do and therefore the reforms commission along those lines would be highly recommended.

Q: So, you still believe that the Planning Commission in that sense becomes this nodal body that can negotiate with state governments can bring ideas from various state governments to the central level and see what works, what doesn't work, swap those ideas so on and so forth, negotiate between state governments and individual ministries and inter-ministerial consultations if need be. However if I could ask you who should head this think-tank, this reform solutions commission that you are talking about because you have highlighted the role of the deputy chairman of the planning commission and you believe that the appointment of the deputy chairman of the planning commission has been opaque, that its lacked accountability, transparency. So, who should really head this new commission or this think-tank?

A: Right now the states are coming to the Planning Commission because that is the only way in which they can get so called plan resources.

I don't think they are coming really for new ideas to the planning commission because if you look at the staffing of the Planning Commission it is largely now staffed with bureaucrats and not so much staffed with people who have expertise in different domains and have deep knowledge of what is happening in different parts of the country. So, we want a body where people are coming because they know that this is a place where they will either get ideas of what is happening outside India, new ideas that are taking place from other parts of the world or what is happening in different parts of the country and some cutting edge thinking and new innovative thinking and new approaches, new inventions, new models of development. This is what we are looking for.

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You think Argentina are bad but we are good - Di Maria

By Karolos Grohmann

BELO HORIZONTE Brazil (Reuters) - Argentina may have failed to impress in their opening two World Cup games but after winning both to reach the knockout stage they must be doing something right, midfielder Angel Di Maria said on Sunday.

The Argentines, title contenders in Brazil, had to wait until stoppage time to beat Iran 1-0 in Group F on Saturday courtesy of a superb Lionel Messi goal.

They were equally unconvincing in the opener against Bosnia, edging past them 2-1 with four-times world player of the year Messi again on target.

"If the entire Iranian team was defending, if you wanted to avoid one player, another one was waiting for you, it was impossible to play," Di Maria told reporters at their training ground in Belo Horizonte.

Iran did work hard in defence but also carved out several good scoring chances in the second half against a porous Argentina defence.

"But if you think we are playing badly, it's only you who is saying that," he said in response to a question about their performances. "Because we are doing everything well."

"We are trying to win the games. This is important. If you want to be champions, we need to win (each match)."

Argentina, World Cup winners in 1978 and 1986, next play Nigeria and a draw would secure top spot in the group.

"This is just the beginning," said Di Maria, who struggled against the Iranians as did fellow forwards Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain, both of whom were taken off late in the game.

"The most important thing at this moment is get the six points from the two matches and with that we can go to the next round," Di Maria said.

"Everybody wants to improve from the goalkeeper to the rest of the team. Everybody wants to keep improving and help him (Messi) to do his job easily."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

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Ella Henderson tops British singles chart for second week

LONDON (Reuters) - Former TV talent show contestant Ella Henderson retained the top spot in the British singles chart on Sunday with her debut track "Ghost", the Official Charts Company said.

The 18-year-old pipped Australian boyband 5 Seconds Of Summer's "Don't Stop" by nearly 3,000 copies to stay at number one for a second week running, while Ed Sheeran slid one spot to number three with his former chart topper "Sing".

In the album chart, Lana Del Rey went straight in at number one with her third album, "Ultraviolence", outselling second placed "The Hunting Party" by Linkin Park by almost two copies to one, the Official Charts Company said.

Sam Smith held on to the number three spot with his album "In The Lonely Hour", while Coldplay's "Ghost Stories" slid two places to number four. Last week's number one album, Kasabian's "48:13", dropped to fifth place.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Make smart move don't pay off your mortgage early

Sukanya Kumar
RetailLending.com

Many people jump at the first opportunity to pay off their mortgage, and while it may seem like a great financial relief, a closer look can help us uncover the advantages of holding on to a mortgage until the end of its tenure.

There may be a belief that paying off a mortgage delivers peace of mind, financial freedom and a sense of financial security, but this belief may be short-lived once you compare it to the benefits of holding on to your mortgage. Many of my clients start off with this view, and it's surprising how many of them don't consider the benefits of not paying off your mortgage early. For a person unaware, it is an astonishing eye opener as its counter intuitive to their thinking. Let take a closer look at these benefits. 

#1 It's the cheapest loan available in India
With the current interest rate levels of home loans, it is certainly the cheapest form of credit available in India. Other financial lending products such as personal loans, educational loan, credit cards and business loans are significantly more expensive than home loan products. So this begs the question, why pay off the cheapest loan? Rather, it's better to pay off the other types of loans and hang on to your mortgage.

#2 Maximise on the retirement premium
Over the years with increase in inflation and cost of living, it is scary, at the least, to imagine living without a regular inflow of funds post retirement. Understanding this fear, retirement products to secure your future are available form banks today. In case of extra funds, it would make logical sense to invest this surplus into retirement products allowing one to have access to funds post retirement. It is advisable that people invest into these products rather than using them to repay the mortgage.

#3 It's a tax saving investment
Sections in the Income Tax Act, namely 24(b) and 80EE, allow for significant deductions on the interest payable on a housing loan. These deductions are major advantages of not paying off your mortgage early. Why pay it off and lose the tax benefit?

# 4 Saving for emergencies
We live in a world of uncertainty, and the need for surplus funds may arise at any time. It is always a good idea to keep a contingency fund for unplanned medical, repair, and accidental expenses that may just pop up their ugly head every once in a while. Surplus funds should be used as a contingency corpus for these types of expenses that none of us can predict.

# 5 Enjoying your retirement
After working for most of your life, we all deserve to enjoy our post-retirement phase. Saving for traveling the world, spoiling your grand kids, and just plain enjoying your life is a great idea. Most people spend 25-30% of their lifetime's earning post-retirement, why spend it in a cash-poor and miserable way? Invest into enjoying this phase of your life from now, and avoid using free funds in foreclosing your mortgage.

After analyzing the benefits, it's easy to see why you should resist foreclosing your home loan sooner than required. There are much better ways to use your surplus funds, and these methods are bound to give you true financial security, peace of mind and happiness. Maybe counter intuitive, but definitely the smarter move!

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TOP TEN RAINIEST CITIES IN INDIA ON FRIDAY

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, good Monsoon showers will continue over most parts of Northeast and East India. Konkan, Goa and Karnataka along the west coast of peninsular India will also continue to receive good amounts of rain. As predicted, Southwest Monsoon has covered east Uttar Pradesh and is likely to cover central parts of the state in next 24 hours.

Here are the top ten rainiest cities in India on Friday, 20th June-

Cities State Rainfall (in millimetres) Cherrapunji Meghalaya 232 Gorakhpur  Uttar Pradesh 84.4 Darjeeling West Bengal 84.1 Karwar Karnataka 70.2 Bokaro Jharkhand 67 Agumbe Karnataka 68.4 Honnavar Karnataka 59.3 Burdwan West Bengal 59 Coochbehar West Bengal 51 Barpeta Assam 50  

By: Skymetweather.com

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