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India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee
India PM warns of inflation but reassures on rupee (AFP) / 30 August 2013 India’s premier warned the nation on Friday to brace for higher prices because of the rupee’s plunge to record lows, but he forecast the economy would pick up in the second half of the year. Manmohan Singh, addressing parliament for the first time since the rupee went into a tailspin this month, called the currency’s worst slide against the dollar in nearly two decades “worrying” and a “concern”. But he said actions by his left-leaning Congress-led government to reduce “the unsustainably large” current account deficit, which has undermined the currency, would bear fruit. “We are no doubt faced with important challenges but we have the capacity to address them — it is at times like these that a nation shows what is truly capable of,” he told lawmakers. He warned Indians that the weak rupee “will no doubt lead to some further upward pressure on prices” because of the rise in import prices, especially of fuel. Singh, a reknowned economist hailed for lighting the fuse for India’s fast growth in the 1990s as finance minister, has been under fire as premier with his government hit by a string of corruption scandals that have sapped foreign investor confidence. He skirted opposition charges that the rupee’s woes were due to the government mismanagement and blamed the fall on tensions over Syria and a pick up in the US economy that is expected to lead to an end to the Federal Reserve’s stimulus. Seeking to put a positive spin on the volatile exchange rate, he suggested that the currency’s decline could prove a blessing as it would make India’s exports cheaper and help revive economic growth. Growth data for the first financial quarter to June, due later Friday, would be broadly unchanged from the previous quarter’s 4.8 percent, he said, but the economy would accelerate in the second half. “Growth will pick up in the second half barring extreme unforeseen eventualities,” he said, adding the strong annual monsoon would boost harvests and help reduce food inflation. “The stabilisation process which should support the value of the rupee is underway… the currency markets will recover,” he added. Foreign exchange markets have a “notorious history of overshooting, this is what is happening in relation to the rupee,” he said, adding, it is important to recognise that “the fundamentals of the Indian economy continue to be strong.” After his speech, the rupee was trading at 66.64 to the dollar; down from its day’s low of 67.80 rupees and still comfortably stronger than the record near 69 rupees it touched on Wednesday. Continue reading
Dubai Courts launches ‘Twitter Visit’ initiative
Dubai Courts launches ‘Twitter Visit’ initiative Staff Reporter / 30 August 2013 The Dubai Courts’ 4,000 Twitter followers and other interested individuals will now have the chance to take part in an arranged visit to the courts’ premises and have a closer look at the way the judicial system works. According to ‘Twitter Visit’, an initiative which was launched by Dubai Courts General Manager Dr Saeed bin Hazeem, a monthly visit will be arranged for the members of the public who wish to get familiar with the judicial system in operation within the courts, and procedures and services rendered to the litigants. Dr Saeed bin Hazeem and other Dubai Courts officials checking the courts’ Twitter account during a ceremony held to announce the new initiative on Thursday.— Supplied photo The initiative was launched during a ceremony attended by a number of judges and heads of departments on Thursday. Dr Bin Hazeem stressed that the courts department was keen to spread its vision and mission among customers and society in general and that it was important to raise the public’s awareness about its services and procedures. “The courts plays an important and prominent role in the community, and we must enlighten the community members about this judicial role. The main purpose of the Dubai Courts is to boost confidence in the judicial system both locally and internationally. “This is achieved through the spreading of justice in society, precision and speed in the settlement and adjudication of claims, and enforcement of judicial judgments, decisions and orders, as well as documentation of contracts and other edited materials. This goal can be achieved by relying on qualified national cadres and modern and sophisticated systems, procedures and techniques.” The programme is aimed at all those who have tweeted Dubai Courts through its Twitter site which currently receives around 4,000 followers in total. According to the Public Communication and Social Media Office at the Dubai Courts, to take part in the Twitter Visit, one should contact them and reserve a seat. The programme will include a tour inside the courts’ premises and introduction about the various departments, divisions and services provided to litigants. In addition, a meeting with a judge from Dubai Courts will be included, in order to familiarise the visitors with his profession, its secrets and inside information, and the challenges he faces in his work as a judge. The courts has already launched its accounts on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook with the aim of opening new channels to communicate with the general public. mary@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Gulf markets mixed as Syria attack fear eases
Gulf markets mixed as Syria attack fear eases (UAE STOCK MARKETS) / 30 August 2013 Middle East stock markets were mixed on Thursday as heavy selling related to the Syrian war faded, but continued uncertainty over how and when the United States might strike Syria blocked solid rebounds. President Barack Obama told Americans that a military strike against Syria would be in their interest, but there were signs that any action would be delayed at least several days while the case was laid out to US and British lawmakers. This encouraged some Gulf retail investors to buy stocks on Thursday as margin calls eased, but the markets’ rebounds during the day lacked momentum. “We had a lot of speculation and hot retail money in the market and they’ve been caught be the news and reacted very promptly,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi. “If you analyse US involvement, it will most probably be limited in terms of timing and geography and shouldn’t impact the Gulf region much.” This week’s losses have taken some of the froth off Gulf markets; Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management, estimated Dubai was now trading at 12.9 times 2013 earnings, not prohibitively high for a growth market. But Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Capital, said: “We see a bit of risk until the geopolitical situation gets resolved in coming days — we expect volatility to continue in the market and it would be safer to stay on the sidelines.” Dubai’s index gained 0.3 per cent, trimming this week’s losses to 6.6 per cent and leaving the market up about 55 per cent year-to-date. Abu Dhabi eased 0.07 per cent, down 5.4 per cent on the week. In Qatar, the benchmark rose 0.8 per cent, snapping four sessions of declines from a five-year high. It lost 4.7 per cent this week. Saudi Arabia’s measure was little changed; it rose more than 1.0 per cent in early trade but then gave up most of those gains. Despite this week’s losses of 5.2 per cent, many Saudi valuations remain rich, especially in sectors such as banks and the retail sector, Bukhtiar said. In Kuwait, retail traders sold small-cap shares, which accounted for most trading volume. The index lost 1.0 per cent and was down 5.8 per cent for the week. “People are off-loading shares – the big players are pressuring smaller stocks to pick them up later from lower levels,” said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage services at Global Investment House. But he added, “Fundamentally, it’s the best condition that the market has been in for years.” Kuwait is up 28.6 per cent year-to-date, backed by improving corporate earnings and increasing anticipation of progress on long-delayed infrastructure building plans. Cairo’s main benchmark climbed 0.8 per cent to 5,268 points, snapping a three-session losing streak. The market gained modest support from the cabinet’s approval of 22.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.2 billion) of spending on investment projects over the coming 10 months. Capital Economics said the spending plan might help the economy in the near term— Reuters Continue reading
