Terror-hit hotels limp back to normal life

MUMBAI, Nov 25: “In memory and faith that peace can come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Thus reads a scrawling handwriting in a memorial book placed at the historic Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. The book lies next to a sacred ‘Tree of Life’ setting, which commemorates those who laid down their lives when a handful of terrorists invaded the hotel on the night of November 26, 2008, and held guests and staff hostage for the next 60 hours.

The same night, another group entered the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, at Nariman Point barely a kilometre away from the Taj and two kilometres from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, where they carried out a spate of similar atrocities. Including foreigners, 166 people were killed in the attack which also left 264 injured or maimed. Both hotels suffered extensive infrastructure damage, in amounts running into millions of rupees.

Food inflation jumps to 15.58% as potato prices soar

STAFF WRITER 14:25 HRS IST

New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) Food inflation shot up to 15.58 per cent for the second week of November on the back of potato prices, which have more than doubled in the past one year.

Other essential items like pulses and onion rose by more than 25 per cent in the wholesale market, government data on inflation for week ended November 14 showed.

"Food inflation is incredibly high...The drought has aggravated the situation and I expect the wholesale price- based inflation to rise to around 7 per cent by March next year," said HDFC Bank economist Jyotinder Kaur.

With inflationary pressure building up, the RBI in its next policy review may take steps to check easy money. "It is likely that RBI in its January policy might go for monetary tightening measures and raise Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) or policy rates," Kaur said.

Sensex ducks below 17K level on Chinese factor

STAFF WRITER 17:3 HRS IST

Mumbai, Nov 26 (PTI) The benchmark Sensex today tanked over 340 points to close below the crucial 17,000 points level on all-round selling sparked by a meltdown in Chinese stocks.

Brokers said a sudden bout selling emerged in the derivatives and cash segments on roll-over of positions a day ahead of the expiry of futures contract.

Attributing today's fall to negative global cues, brokerage company Hightech Securities Director Sanjeev Bhambri said the market is getting resistance above 17,000 mark and has a strong support at 16,600 level.

The market plunged in the afternoon trade as the Shanghai Composite tumbled by 3.62 per cent on panic selling sparked by fears about government actions against rising asset prices.

Reliance Industries, the heaviest on the Sensex, fell by nearly 3 per cent from its ex-bonus price against its last close of Rs 2,193.75. ICICI Bank dipped by 3.