Inflation rises to 8.56 per cent in January this year

TAFF WRITER 12:34 HRS IST

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Wholesale price-based inflation rose to 8.56 per cent in January, shooting past the RBI's forecast of 8.5 per cent for this fiscal end, as food items such as sugar, potatoes and pulses turned costlier.

Overall inflation in December was 7.31 per cent.

Sugar prices rose by 58.96 per cent in January year-on-year while potatoes turned costlier by 53.39 per cent and pulses by 45.64 per cent.

On monthly basis, prices of masur increased by 9 per cent, arhar by 6 per cent and wheat by 4 per cent.

Fuel index rose by 1.8 per cent due to higher prices of naphtha that rose 21 per cent. Furnace oil rose 6 per cent while bitumen, non-coking coal and light diesel oil rose 3 per cent each.

To tame inflation, the RBI, in its quarterly monetary review, had asked banks to keep aside more cash with them.

Market: Funds chant caution mantra

MUMBAI: Fund managers seem to be in no hurry to load up on shares, notwithstanding the 10% correction in stock prices over the last couple of

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weeks. While awaiting the upcoming Budget proposals before firming up their near-term investment strategies, most money managers expect the market to consolidate for the next six months at least.

Fair valuations, a long line-up of share issuances, an upward trend in interest rates and nervous world markets could neutralise positives like a steadily growing domestic economy and reasonably good fund flows from overseas players. At the same time, investors will be keenly eyeing corporate earnings while assigning an earnings multiples to the market.

“Fundamentals rather than (capital) flows will drive the market over the next six months; we are in for a phase of consolidation,” says Nilesh Shah, deputy managing director and chief investment officer, ICICI Prudential AMC, adding, “the market is fairly valued at 14.5-15 times forward (FY11) earnings.” BSE’s 30-share Sensex shed 120 points to close at 15,922 on Wednesday, and NSE’s 50-share Nifty fell 35 points to close at 4757.20.

Create new avenues of growth, development: Shashi Tharoor

Create new avenues of growth, development: Shashi Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 13: Asia should take into account the changing world economic scenario and leverage its comparative advantage to create new avenues of growth and development, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday. “Our endeavour should be to leverage our comparative advantage to build alliances, develop partnerships, create new avenues of growth and development and strengthen the existing ones,” said Tharoor while inaugurating the Asian Development Dialogue (ADD) on Asian Trade: The Way Forward. “We need to enhance our mutual investments, joint ventures and project participation,” he said. The conference debated on the present status of Asian trade and the road ahead for Asian countries in the trade and commerce scenario.

Amnesty to Kashmiri militants in Pakistan accepted: government

NEW DELHI, Feb 11: In a big confidence building measure for Jammu and Kashmir, the central government has accepted the state’s proposal of amnesty to Kashmiri militants in Pakistan who want to return home without weapons and want to join the mainstream, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday.

“The idea of granting amnesty to Kashmiri youth in PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) has been accepted. The idea must be translated into action now,” Chidambaram told reporters here.

The Home Minister said that the government was now considering how to carry out the process of their return which involves many points to be looked into. “There are many points for their travel back. Like identification, debriefing, rehabilitation and reintegration into the system,” he said.

The announcement will bring cheer to hundreds of families in the Kashmir Valley and other Muslim-dominated areas in Jammu region whose male members had crossed over to Pakistan-administered Kashmir for arms training in the early 1990s and were now willing to return without weapons. In Pakistani Kashmir they are living in pathetic conditions, doing petty jobs, many of them even begging, according to people who visit the area. They are craving to return home if government gives them amnesty but are fearing legal action in India.