1)Inflation falls below 5 per cent
Inflation slipped to a nine-month low of 4.68 per cent in February on the back of easing prices of onion and potatoes and giving comfort levels for a possible rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the monetary policy review on April 1.Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) came down to 4.68 per cent in February from 7.28 per cent a year ago. It was 5.05 per cent in January 2014.Reacting to the decline in inflation, Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram said there was need to watch the inflation movement carefully, and expressed happiness that overall inflation was coming down.Food inflation, which has been a major cause of concern for the government, dropped to 8.12 per cent in February, compared to 8.8 per cent in January as the rate of price rise slowed in almost all items, except fruits, rice and milk. Inflation, which is on decline since December, was 5.05 per cent in January. Prior to February, the lowest WPI was recorded in May, 2013, at 4.58 per cent. In June, it had inched up again to 5.16 per cent.As per the data released here, the rate of price rise for onions —- on an annual basis — contracted 20.06 per cent in February. Similarly the rate of price rise in potatoes slowed to 8.36 per cent. The overall inflation in the vegetable basket dropped to 3.99 per cent, from 16.6 per cent in January.There was also a drop in prices of pulses, cereals and wheat. However, fruits, milk and other protein-rich items like egg, fish and meat became costlier in February compared to the previous month. Inflation in the manufactured items such as sugar and edible items, was 2.76 same as in January.In a related move, the government revised the inflation figures for December upwards to 6.4 per cent, from 6.16 per cent estimated earlier. The Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to announce the next monetary policy on April 1.
2)SC order puts Nokia in a spot
The Supreme Court, on Friday, dealt Nokia a setback after dismissing the Finnish handset maker’s appeal challenging a Delhi High Court order regarding the transfer of the company’s assets to software giant Microsoft.Nokia India, which is currently caught in a Rs. 21,000-crore tax dispute with the authorities, needs to transfer its India assets to software giant Microsoft as part of the impending acquisition.The Delhi High Court had, last month, asked Nokia to give a ‘simple undertaking’ in addition to depositing Rs. 2,250 crore in an escrow account. This new condition, which the company refuses to agree to, would result in Nokia agreeing to an open-ended guarantee that the company would meet any future tax claims relating to the dispute.These conditions must be first satisfied before Nokia can transfer its India assets to Microsoft. It had, therefore, appealed the Supreme Court last month in the hope that it would get relief and be able to transfer its assets in time for the acquisition.This new SC ruling, however, will mean that Nokia may not be able to transfer its assets in time, putting the fate of its Chennai plant in jeopardy.Nokia, in a statement, said that it was disappointed by Supreme Court’s decision.“The decision means that the case now reverts to the February 5 Delhi High Court ruling on the asset transfer. The company strongly believes its offer to the Indian tax department is fair for all sides,” the statement said “Nokia will now consider its next steps,” the statement added.
3)BlackBerry sells U.S. headquarters
Faced with mounting losses and unsold inventory, struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry has sold its U.S. office in Texas to the Brookfield Property Group as it sought to rationalise costs.Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.“We can confirm that the Brookfield Property Group has purchased BlackBerry’s Irving, Texas campus property. BlackBerry will continue to be a tenant on the campus,” a BlackBerry spokesperson told PTI
4)Federer marches into the semifinals
Roger Federer charged into the semifinals of the ATP Masters and WTA BNP Paribas Open here on Thursday with a 7-5, 6-1 win over South African Kevin Anderson.Federer faced only one break point in the entire match and reeled off seven games on the trot to clinch the opening set and race to a 5-0 lead in the second.His reward for winning was a semifinal clash on Saturday with Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, who defeated Canadian Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4.RematchIn the women’s draw, China’s Li Na won her rematch with Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to join Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals.Pennetta booked her place in the last four by beating American Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a match played in gusting winds.In a tournament that has been packed with surprises and high-profile casualties, the 32-year-old Li Na has been a model of consistency, ferociously battling through each round.Pennetta looked to be heading for the exit when she blew her first chance to win the match then fell behind in the deciding third set.The 32-year-old was two points from victory when serving for the match in the second set when the wind suddenly started to blow a gale and her game started to unravel.Stephens, 20, broke her serve and won six games in a row to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third when Pennetta staged her own comeback, winning six of the last seven games to wrap up an extraordinary victory.Dolgopolov has been a revelation at Indian Wells since he was thrust into the spotlight when he scored an upset win over world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the third round.Players who register shock wins often fail to maintain their form on but the 28th seed has gone from strength to strength, beating three seeds in succession.Raonic, one of the biggest servers in tennis, beat Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Wednesday but found Dolgopolov too hot to hold.Meanwhile, Sania Mirza and Cara Black are in line to win their first title of season as they defeated Lucie Hradecka and Jie Zheng to reach the final.The fifth seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair defeated eighth seeded Czech-Chinese team 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in an hour and 37 minutes in the semifinal.The results: Men: Quarterfinals: Alexandr Dolgopolov bt Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4; Roger Federer bt Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-1.Women: Quarterfinals: Li Na bt Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Flavia Pennetta bt Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
5)Exim Bank credit to Congo
The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has, at the behest of the Government of India, extended a Line of Credit of $89.90 million to the Government of Congo, for developing transportation system. Under the LOC, the Bank will reimburse 100 per cent of contract value to the Indian exporters upfront upon shipment of equipment and goods/ provision of services.
6)Goldman Sachs launches CPSE Exchange Traded Fund
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (India) has announced the launch of CPSE (Central Public Sector Enterprise) ETF new fund offer (NFO) which would open for retail investors on March 19. CPSE ETF, an open-ended Index Exchange Traded Scheme NFO, will open on March 18 for anchor investors. It would be listed on the exchanges in the form of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which tracks the central public sector enterprises (CPSE) index.Through this fund, investors can invest in 10 Maharatnas, Navratnas and Miniratnas at a discount of 5 per cent on the “Reference Market Price” of the underlying shares of CPSE Index, which will be offered to the CPSE ETF by the Government. The non-anchor investors’ NFO will close on March 21. The scheme reopens for continuous subscription and redemption on or before April 11, Goldman Sachs said.The CPSE Index, comprising ONGC, GAIL (India), Coal India, REC, Oil India, IOC, PFC, CCL, BEL and EIL, is constructed to facilitate the government’s initiative to disinvest some of its stake in select CPSEs through the ETF route. Retail individual investors can invest a minimum of Rs.5,000 and in multiples of Re.1 thereafter up to Rs.200,000. The entry and exit load is nil.
7)Amazon picks BPCL to gain upper hand in India
Online retail giant Amazon may be testing out fancy drones to deliver packages in the U.S., but in India it is going decidedly low-tech to give it an edge over rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal.According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Amazon has rolled out a pilot project— for physical pick-up of packages— in partnership with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).The physical pick-up service allows its users to order an item online, and pick it up from a physical store that Amazon has tied up with.This kind of service is primarily used by customers who may not be at home to collect the package or need a certain package urgently enough to go pick it up themselves.In Mumbai and Delhi, the company has chosen to deal with state-owned oil marketing firm Bharat Petroleum. BPCL operates a retail chain known as In&Out at some of its filling stations across the country. It is through some of these In&Out stores that customers are allowed to pick up their packages.Better solutionsWhen contacted, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the development. “We are continually innovating to find solutions that enhance the convenience and experience for our customers on Amazon.in,” the spokesperson said.“Towards that, we are running a pilot in Delhi and Mumbai with BPCL to ascertain the benefits and mechanics of enabling a pick-up service. It is too early to comment any further. Depending on results, we will take a call on how and what we want to roll out and we will make a further announcement on this at an appropriate time,” the spokesperson added. BPCL sources also confirmed the development. “Our main objective is to increase footfalls. We’ve given Amazon some space at six of our outlets in Bombay and six in Delhi. We are going to see how it goes as it is still in pilot mode,” said a BPCL spokesperson.For Amazon, this deal gives them a huge physical distribution network to work with. “This kind of savvy strategy is what keeps Amazon on top,” said an industry executive.
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