Us Markets falls 2 percent after consumer data

Stocks dropped 2 percent on Tuesday after data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell steeply in June on worries about the labor market.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 217.28 points, or 2.14 percent, to 9,921.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 24.94 points, or 2.32 percent, to 1,049.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slid 63.75 points, or 2.87 percent, to 2,156.90.

The S&P 500 fell below its 2010 closing low of 1,050.47, leaving support near 1,040, its intraday low so far this year.

The CBOE volatility index .VIX, a gauge of investor anxiety, shot up more than 16 percent to a session high of 33.82.

MMTC declared 1:1 bonus and 10:1 stock split

Board of Directors of the MMTC Ltd has recommended a Dividend @ 90% on the paid up equity capital of the Company for the Financial Year 2009-10. The board has also approved split of each equity share of face value Rs. 10/- each into 10 equity shares of face value Re. 1/- each. The sub-division is to be effective and simultaneous with the allotment of Bonus Shares.

The Company has declared Audited results for the Year ended March 31, 2010. It has posted a net profit of Rs 2162.40 million for the year ended March 31, 2010 as compared to Rs 1402.20 million for the year ended March 31, 2009. Total Income has increased from Rs 368738.10 million for the year ended March 31, 2009 to Rs 452138.90 million for the year ended March 31, 2010.

MMTC Ltd is quoting at CMP of Rs 32,035.00. The stock has made an intraday high of Rs 33,400.00 and low of 30,700.00 at NSE. Total traded quantity at NSE for MMTC Ltd at 15.16 IST is 14,671.

Established in 1963, MMTC, one of the two highest foreign exchange earner for India, is a leading international trading company with a turnover of over US$ 7 billion. It is the largest international trading company of India and the first Public Sector Enterprise to be accorded the status of "five star export house" by Govt of India for long standing contribution to exports. MMTC is the largest non-oil importer in India.

EGOM approves market-linked Fuel Pricing

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has decided to raise petrol and diesel prices. The govt. has approved market-driven increase in fuel prices, thus freeing petrol price from government control.

But there is still uncertainty if this is complete or partial de-regulation.

Impact:

Markets recovered some losses as the news came in. Sensex cut losses by 40 points, and is curently at 17,610.

The PSU OMCs HPCL (up 5.48% ), BPCL (up 4.5% ) and IOC (up 4.1%) rose.

This move will reduce the subsidy burden on the exchequer, thereby reducing fiscal deficit. The government had set the fiscal deficit forecast for FY11 at 5.5% of GDP.

But higher fuel prices will only add to the steepening inflation, strengthening the case for the RBI to hike key policy rates before its 27^th July’10 policy meet.

Crude oil weakens

Crude oil weakens further as investors sold crude again on worries that Eurozone crisis will curb economic recovery. It digested the positive news from Germany. Germany’ confidence index rose. Now the market reconsidered that the China’s RMB measures may not benefit commodities and so profit booking after yesterday’s rally also took place to some extent.

Fitch Ratings announced that it cut BNP Paribas’ rating to AA- stating that bank’s asset quality is deteriorated. This indicates that Europe is not yet out of woods.

Nikkei slips below 10,000 mark on weak US data

Japan’s Nikkei fell below 10,000 mark today after Wall Street closed lower with all three major indices finishing more than one per cent lower on weak housing data. Japan’s Nikkei is currently trading down by1.67% or 168.44 points at 9945.43.

Investor’s sentiment were sluggish on fresh recurring doubts over the strength of the economic recovery in the world's largest economy and one of Japan's largest trading partners.

The shares that had climbed on the hopes that the Yuan flexibility decision would boost Chinese purchasing power like shippers and machinery shares lost ground today.  

Nippon Yusen slid 3.9% to 343 yen and fellow shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines lost 2.9% to 640 yen. Hitachi Construction fell 2% to 1,827 yen.

US stocks trade in narrow range at open

Fresh concerns about Europe's sovereign debt crisis are keeping the US stock market in check.

Stocks are trading in a narrow range Tuesday after Fitch Ratings cut its view on BNP Paribas, one of Europe's largest banks, and ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day rate-setting committee meeting.

The downgrade of BNP Paribas renews worries that Europe's debt problems will slow a global recovery and lead to another round of losses at banks.

The Fed is expected to keep rates at historic lows as a domestic recovery remains slow.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 9.52, or 0.1 percent, at 10,452.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 1.11, or 0.1 percent, at 1,114.31, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 9.09, or 0.4 percent, at 2,298.18.

Silver touches record highs on industrial demand, gold drops

Silver prices rose further to touch a new record high at the bullion market here today on sustained demand from industrial users triggered by firm global cues.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) firmed up by Rs 105 per kilo to end at Rs 30,340 from weekend's closing level of Rs 30,235.

On the other hand, gold dropped on the back of profit- taking by stockists and speculators, despite the yellow-metal hitting a record high at USD 1,264.90 an ounce in the overseas market.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) declined by Rs 60 per ten grams to close at Rs 18,790 from Rs 18,850 last Saturday.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also dipped by Rs 55 per ten grams to settle at Rs 18,880 as against Rs 18,935.

RIL to invest $20 bn in power foray

As per media reports, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) may invest anywhere between $15 to $20 billion (Rs70,000- Rs90,000 crore) over the next 10 years towards its big-bang foray into the power sector, which, besides power generation, would also include transmission projects.

The funding for RIL’s power business will be through a mix of debt and equity and a new company may be floated in the next two years to undertake execution of power projects.

Since construction of a new power project takes up to five years, RIL, besides bidding for ultra mega power projects (UMPPs), may preferably look at inorganic growth (by acquisition of power plants) to establish its presence in the sector.

RIL may look at acquiring some hydel and thermal power projects besides bidding for coal based UMPPs of 4,000 mega watt (MW) capacity each.

UMPPs at Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu — each of which would cost Rs16,000 crore —  is already on the investment radar of RIL.

“Setting up a power project does not need any licence but takes at least a year or two for preparatory work and another 3-4 years for its execution,” said a power ministry official.

RIL will bid for transmission projects as the space has been offered for participation by the private sector.

Given the scarcity of coal in the country, sources said RIL is also considering acquisition of coal mines in Australia, Mozambique, Indonesia and South Africa. RIL already has a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a local company in Australia for mining uranium.

Even brother Anil — who has big plans to develop 33,000MW  power generation capacity with an estimated investment of over Rs1 lakh crore — had acquired the Rosa power project in 2006.

RIL’s entry in the power sector was termed as a “game changing development” by its chairman and managing director, Mukesh Ambani at the company’s AGM on Friday (June 18, 2010).

Reliance Power has commissioned 600MW capacity at Rosa and plans to add another 600MW in the next phase.

In addition, Anil’s Reliance Power has so far bagged three out of the four ultra mega power projects (coal based) announced so far by the government. No developer at a given point of time can undertake execution of more than three UMPPs.

RIL closed at Rs1,065.25, up by 0.95%, with a volume of 4.99 lakh shares on the BSE.

Government may divest up to 10 per cent of its stake in SCI

The government may divest up to 10 per cent of its stake in Shipping Corporation of India.

"The government in their list has included Shipping Corporation (SCI) for disinvestment in this fiscal. It is likely to happen. Disinvestment could be up to 10 per cent," SCI chairman and managing director S Hajara said here on the sidelines a SCOPE conference today.

The government currently holds 80.12 per cent in SCI, while over 10 per cent is held by LIC. The remaining 3.15 per cent is already with the public.

Asked if the company could issue fresh equity, he said, "we don't know. Discussions are on...there could be some possibility but no decision has been taken as yet."

Shipping secretary K Mohandas had said last month that the government was looking at various proposals for SCI, including a follow-on-public offer.

Hajara said a part of the disinvestment proceeds will be utilised for further acquisition. Asked how much SCI plans to raise from divestment, Hajara said it will depend on the market condition.

SCI scrips today closed at Rs 165.50 per share, up 0.88 per cent from on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

SCI at present owns 76 ships of 5.1 million DWT (deadweight tonnage) and has interests in all segments of shipping trade. In addition, it mans and manages 60 vessels of 0.2 million tonnes DWT. DWT is the total weight of the ship including the cargo, crew, fuel etc.

SCI selloff is part of the government's plans to raise up to Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal through disinvestment. Besides SCI, the government is looking at divesting its stake in three shipping-related companies--Cochin Shipyard and Dredging Corp of India.

The government had raised about Rs 25,000 crore last fiscal by divesting its stakes in NHPC, Oil India, NTPC, Rural Electrification Corp.

Asian Stocks climb most in seven months on China Yuan move

Asian stocks climbed today, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index up the most in almost seven months, on speculation that China’s relaxing of its currency peg to the dollar will boost growth in the world’s third-largest economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2.7% to 119.35, the biggest advance since 30^th November 2010. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.88% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 3%. Japan’s Nikkei hit its 1-month closing high, closing higher by 2.43% today, whereas the broader Topix closed 2.02% higher at 902.49. South Korea’s Kospi Index closed higher by 1.62%, and S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.6% in Australia.

Yuan Policy

The Chinese central bank, People’s Bank of China, pledged on 19^th June'10 to make the yuan (renminbi) more flexible. The yuan has been pegged at about 6.83 yuan per dollar since mid-2008. The yuan today advanced 0.21% to 6.8120 per dollar, its the biggest gain since 30^th December 2008.

The global economy is “gradually recovering and the upturn in the Chinese economy has become more solid,” the People’s Bank of China said in a statement announcing its yuan action. A more flexible currency would help to curb consumer-price gains, asset bubbles and dependence on exports for growth.

Gainers

Gauges of raw-material suppliers, energy and industrial companies posted the biggest gains among the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s 10 industry groups.

Metal shares were among the biggest gainers as China’s policy shift is supposed to be good for commodity prices. BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s biggest mining company, increased 2.3% as investors bet commodities demand will rise.

Hongkong shares also rose on speculation the yuan’s appreciation will make the city’s real estate cheaper for mainland buyers, with Hang Lung Properties Ltd. climbing 3.9% in Hong Kong

Airlines stocks in China surged, with Air China Ltd., the world’s biggest airline, climbing 5.1% in Shanghai on optimism a stronger Chinese currency will reduce dollar-denominated costs.

ITC announces 1:1 bonus

ITC will complete a 100 years in August. Acknowledging the unstinted support of shareholders, the Board of Directors proposed a centenary issue of Bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, subject to shareholders’ approval at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 23rd July. ITC has evolved into a multi-business conglomerate and is today the leading FMCG marketer in India, the second largest hotel chain, the clear market leader in the Indian Paperboard & Packaging industry and the country’s foremost Agri-business player. Additionally, its wholly owned subsidiary is one of India’s fastest growing IT companies in the mid-tier segment.

Over the last 15 years, ITC has created multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world-class businesses. During this period, the company’s post-tax profits recorded an impressive compound growth of 21.7% per annum respectively. Total Shareholder Returns, measured in terms of increase in market capitalisation and dividends, grew at a compound rate of 24.3% during this period, placing the company amongst the foremost in the country in terms of efficiency of servicing financial capital. ITC today is one of India’s most admired and valuable corporations with a market capitalisation in excess of Rs100,000 crores.

Euro hits 3-week high against the dollar

The euro climbed to a three-week high against the dollar on Friday as a relatively successful Spanish bond auction in the previous session kept the single currency supported.

Worries over Spain’s finances were heightened earlier in the week on reports, which were subsequently denied by the European Commission, that the country was set to ask the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the US Treasury for financial assistance.

Essar Oil plans to explore oil in Uganda

Ruia’s led Essar Oil hopes to partner with Uganda’s government for oil exploration in the East African country, Uganda. The country is in need of a refinery since it has discovered oil reserves there. According to Tullow Oil Plc, one of the oil exploring company in the country, Uganda has an estimated 2 billion barrels of crude, with 800 million barrels already discovered.

Last year, Essar announced that it will buy a stake in Dhabi Group’s Ugandan unit known as Warid Telecom.

Essar Oil is currently quoting at Rs 124.85 down by 2.23% from its previous close. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs 128.25 and low of Rs 124.60. So far, 875,345 shares have been traded on NSE.

Essar Oil Limited (EOL), part of Essar group is an India-based company that is engaged in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and gas. The Company’s principal activities range from oil exploration to the downstream sectors of marketing oil products and petrochemicals. It is organized into three divisions: exploration and production, refinery and marketing.

Reliance Capital to buy 18 percent stake in Bloomberg UTV

Reliance Capital, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Wednesday said it will acquire an 18 percent interest in business channel Bloomberg UTV.
''The investment will form part of Reliance Capital's exposure to the fast growing and high potential in the Indian media sector,'' the company said in a statement.

After the transfer of stake, Bloomberg will own 15 percent in the company and the balance 67 percent will be controlled by the UTV founders, led by Ronnie Screwvala.

Formed in October 2009, Bloomberg UTV is a major contender in India's media space, seeking to present business news in a refreshingly different and clear perspective.

It claims a clear Number Two position in India's top eight metros.

Reliance Capital already has a stake in the Network 18 Group that runs CNBC, CNN-IBN, IBN 7, Colors and Awaaz channels.

It also holds a stake in the TV Today network, which operates Aaj Tak and Headlines Today news channels.

Nifty gains strength on positive global cues

Key benchmark indices gained further strength on Thursday triggered by positive European markets. After a lackluster opening, major European indices bounced back later in the day and helped the local equity markets to ascend newer highs during the last hours of trade. On the other hand, Asian markets settled on a mixed note with meager movement on either side of their respective neutral lines. Back home, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas segments witnessed maximum traction led by L&T and RIL respectively. Moreover, barring Consumer Durables, all other segments settled in the green.

Nifty calls of 5,300 strike price for the current month expiry were most active, reflecting the likely level of resistance in the near-term. On the other hand, 5,200 Nifty Puts for the June month contract witnessed huge build-up over 20% and the broadly-followed index could get vital support around this level.

The India VIX was down by 8.03% to 20.85 on Thursday compared to its previous close of 22.67 on Wednesday. Finally, the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty settled at 5,274.85, up by 41.50 points or 0.79%.

Nifty June futures saw an addition of 4.63% or 1.40 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 31.74 mn units.

For Nifty calls, 5300 strike price (SP) from the June series was the most active call with an addition of 0.17 mn units or 2.54%.

Among Nifty puts, 5200 SP from the June month expiry was the most active Put with an addition of 1.49 mn units or 21.47%.

The maximum Call OI outstanding was at 5300 SP (7.17 mn) and that for Puts at 5200 SP (8.44 mn).

The respective Support and Resistance levels are:

Resistance 5304.75  Pivot Point 5255.65  Support 5225.75

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) OI wise stood at 1.96 for current month contract.

The top five scrips with highest PCR on OI were HDFC Bank 5.83, Sterlite Industries 2.62, Hero Honda 1.93, Areva T&D 1.90 and SBI 1.73.

Among most active underlyings, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 16.18% in the June month futures contract, followed by RIL which also witnessed an addition of 0.67% of OI in the near month contract. RComm saw a contraction of 1.97% in the current month contract. Sesagoa saw new positions being added to the tune of 4.33% in the June month futures OI. Tata Steel witnessed an addition of 3.63% for the June month contract.

R Power commences power generation from Unit II of Rosa Power Project

Reliance Power Ltd has commenced power generation from Unit II of its Rosa power plant, in Uttar Pradesh. Rosa Stage 2 is a coal based project with two units of 300 MW each. The 300 MW project has also been synchronized to the UP State grid.

Rosa Power Supply Company Limited (RPSCL), a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Power is developing 1,200 MW of coal based generation capacity at Rosa village in two stages of 600 MW each. Unit I of Rosa power plant has been operational since December, when it had been synchronized to the UP State grid.

Reliance Power Limited is quoting at CMP of Rs 176.50. The stock has made an intraday high of Rs 177.75 and low of Rs 173.10 at NSE. Total traded quantity at NSE for Reliance Power Limited at 15:02 IST is 6063539.

Reliance Power Limited, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is established to develop, construct and operate power projects domestically and internationally. On its own and through subsidiaries, it is currently developing 16 large and medium sized power projects, one of the largest portfolios of power generation assets under development in India. They include seven coal-fired projects, two gas-fired projects, and seven hydroelectric projects.

Unlimited mobile internet plans from Rcomm

Reliance Communication, today announced that it will launch unlimited internet plan at just Rs 99 per month for mobile users. It is the part of their plans to launch 3G services in India.  Reliance communication has bagged the 3G spectrum in 13 circles for Rs 8,585.04 crore including in the most coveted Delhi and Mumbai service areas.

Last week, India’s second-largest wireless carrier said it may sell a 26% stake to help pay debt and upgrade networks, valued at 94.8 billion rupees ($2 billion) to a strategic or private- equity investor.

On Monday, the company decided to separate tower business of its telecom arm Rcomm to create an independent firm, saying it was in advanced stage of talks for stake sale in the new entity.

Reliance communication today closed at Rs 185.80 down by 0.54% from its previous close. The stock hit a high of Rs 194.55 and a low of Rs 183.50 during the day.

Aban Offshore to restart operations of Aban Pearl in Venezuela

Aban Offshore is soon expected to restart drilling on its Venezuelan oil rig, Aban Pearl. 

Aban Pearl, one of Aban Off shore’s  biggest revenue generating rig, a gas platform, earning close to US$ 358,000 or about a Rs10 and a half million a day, sunk off the coast of Venezuela’s Sucre state on 13th May 2010.

Aban Pearl was being operated by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. The gas platform was drilling in the Mariscal Sucre offshore natural gas project. The rig belongs to Aban Singapore which is a subsidiary of Aban Offshore Ltd. and is a semisubmersible rig; meaning comparatively higher depth and thus fetching higher rent. It could drill upto 1,250 feet.

Aban Offshore is currently quoting at Rs 710.75 up by 4.68% from its previous close. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs 716 and low of Rs 688. So far, 1,287,957 shares have been traded on NSE.

Aban Offshore Ltd. is India's largest offshore drilling services provider to oil companies, mainly for ONGC. It is now ventured into international waters as one of its five rigs is doing work for an Iranian oil company. The group has also ventured into construction, offshore and onshore drilling, wind energy and power generation, Information Technology enabled services, hotels and resorts, tea plantations and in marketing.

Monetary action can happen any time: RBI Deputy Governor

With headline inflation surging to a 19-month high of 10.16% in May, RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty today said that the RBI may take monetary action to control the inflationary pressures ahead of the scheduled policy review on 27^th July 2010.

He said that the high inflation was a concern, and that inflation would always be a concern, reiterating that monetary policy has to address this issue.

"It (monetary action) can happen any time," the Deputy Governor said.

The country's largest lender State Bank of India had said yesterday that the liquidity position in the system was tight and interest rates could go up by 25 basis points in the coming months.

Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee also stated earlier today that the RBI would take appropriate action to control inflation as and when needed.

Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri said that inflation would stay "high" for the next two months but could be expected to ease post-September.

European Markets decline as Greece downgraded

European Markets lost grounds in the early trade today after the Greece was downgraded by Moody's ratings agency on Monday with banking stocks among the biggest loser.      

Moody's Investors Service yesterday downgraded Greece's government debt rating by four notches to Ba1 from A3, following a similar move by Standard & Poor's in April.

London’s FTSE 100 had losses almost 0.51% or 26.65 points at 5175.66. Germany’s DAX was 0.28% at 6107.72 lower while the CAC 40 in Paris reduced by 0.43% at 3610.54.

Banks gave off their recent gains as investors shunned to riskier assets. HSBC, Banco Santander and Barclays declined 1.4 to 2.2%. Miners also gave back some gains from the previous session and oil giant BP extended monthly losses to 28.5%. However, shares in British Sky Broadcasting jumped 20.2% after it said a full takeover proposal received from News Corp. at 700 pence a share undervalued the firm.

CCEA approves disinvestment in Hindustan Copper Ltd. and Coal India Ltd.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved disinvestment in Coal India (CIL) and Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL). The Cabinet has approved 10% government stake sale in Coal India. In case of Hindustan Copper, the Cabinet has decided to disinvest through 10% fresh equity sale.

FPO of Hindustan Copper is likely to come in the market in the month of September this year. Hindustan Copper is in the process of appointing merchant banker for the same.

Government is going to raise Rs 40,000 crore from disinvestment in this year. The said stake sale is a part of government’s disinvestment strategy.

The government is planning to sell its stake in 10 companies, including MMTC, CIL, SAIL and RINL this fiscal. Last fiscal, it had raised Rs 25,000 crore through stake sale in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC.

Hindustan Copper is currently quoting at Rs 519.15 which is 10.47% higher than previous close. Its share price has managed to hit intraday high of Rs 537 and low of Rs 471. Total traded quantity of shares of Hindustan Copper is 4,393,633 on NSE at 11.46 hrs IST.

Hindustan Copper is a public sector enterprise. Government owns 99.59% in Hindustan Copper. This is the only company which encompasses mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal.

Coal India is the leader in Indian coal sector. It is largest coal producing company in the world. Its operations are spread in 81 mining areas and it owns 7 wholly owned coal producing subsidiaries.

ADAG stocks on the list of highest gainers today

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group stocks rose 3.62% to 17.83% following the Ambani brothers' recent agreement to dump their differences and non-compete agreements. 

 The stocks closed in the following manner:

·         Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) - 17.83%

·         Reliance Media Works - 12.25%

·         Reliance Capital - 6.31%

·         Reliance Infrastructure - 4.23

·         Reliance Power - 6.88%

·         Reliance Communications - 3.62%

Last month, the two Ambani brothers ended non-compete agreements in a move they hoped would lead to co-operation between the two groups. Mukesh and Anil Ambani decided to end agreements preventing them from investing in industries where the other was present and pledged to work together in an atmosphere of harmony.

The agreement scrapped a non-compete pact that had prevented Mukesh from sectors such as power, telecom and financial services and had kept Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) away from refining and petrochemicals.

BSE Sensex closed 273 points up at 17338 today.

Reliance Industries to Acquire Stake in Infotel- Pan India BWA Winner

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a substantial stake in Infotel Broadband Services (P) Ltd, which has emerged as a successful bidder in all the 22 circles (Pan India) of the auction for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Spectrum conducted by the DoT.

RIL said that it will invest about Rs 4,800 crore by way of subscription to fresh equity capital at par to be issued by Infotel Broadband. Post this investment, RIL will own 95% of the equity and Infotel Broadband will be a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

RIL claims that the broadband opportunity as a new frontier of knowledge economy in which it can take a leadership position and provide India with an opportunity to be in the forefront among the countries providing world-class 4G network and services. A single 20 MHz TDD spectrum when used with LTE (Long Term Evolution) has the potential of providing greater capacity when compared to existing communication infrastructure in the country.

India has witnessed substantial growth in the mobile subscriber base over the last decade. This provides a ready platform for offering various data services which is currently at a very nascent stage. Diverse data services and rich contents have significantly boosted data traffic in developed and other emerging markets. Data communication volume per user has been growing exponentially in the last few years, with the spread of advanced services, and a richer line-up of contents.

Recession

Now there is chance of double dip recession. Eurozone is already in crisis. Several US States are also feared to face same problem in coming days. Economic uncertainty will be a global problem now. Formerly companies used to go bankrupt now will be the countries.

Except gold, all other commodities may be weak in this scenario. Some circumstances are similar to those of 1930s depression time. At that time US government tightened credit policy, the governments of different countries tried to solve the problem by throwing money. It surely will have inflationary consequences, but when and how dip is a big question.

There are few countries where big populations, namely China and India, transforming to consumer societies and creating good demand for metals and minerals which supports the demand and metal prices else which would have been very low in current recession. There are indications that in China , there have been over-speculation for stocks and Copper, and demand only from India may not be sufficient to hold the price.

Recent market recovery is delicate and will fall again and again when the markets get a small reason. 

Though the fundamentals of Gold are not so strong, investors will tend to buy Gold in this situation, which will keep prices of Gold higher. But if the tendency gets changed and people shift to silver, gold price may not sustain. Base metals will be weaker and silver also as it is used in industries may face less demand. Also coal, Iron ore and steel also will be weaker, too.

All these will be true only if there is a dip recession.

RIL plunges 20% in freak trade

The BSE index plunged over 600 points, when shares of the most valued firm RIL tanked 20 per cent due to a faux pas over ICICI Bank share quotation. Shares of RIL finally settled at Rs 1,011.55, down 3.21 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange. According to marketmen, the freak sale happened after some trader off-loaded the company's stocks at an unbelievable level of Rs 840.55 against yesterday's close of Rs 1,045.05. According to marketmen, a trader sold about 62,000 shares of RIL at Rs 840.55 per share, while the sale order was meant for ICICI Bank. The transaction pulled RIL down to its 52-week low. Looks like there has been a freak trade, Bombay Stock Exchange spokesperson Kalyan Bose said. However, trade in National Stock Exchange was free of this fluctuation. RIL closed at Rs 1,009.80, down 3.42 per cent on NSE. Since RIL carries the most weight among the Sensex stocks, the index had fallen over 600 points at one point of time. The BSE benchmark index today settled down 372.60 points or 2.20 per cent at 16,572.03.