Category: Other
‘s Tata rebrands “‘s cheapest car” to boost sales
MUMBAI, Aug 22, 2013 (AFP) – India’s top vehicle maker Tata Motors says it plans to reposition the Nano as a “smart city car” after its marketing pitch as the world’s cheapest auto resulted in disappointing sales.The Nano was launched in 2009 as a budget solution for millions of aspirational lower-middle class Indian families wanting […]
” after injecting billions of rupee reserves to banks
NEW DELHI, August 22, 2013 (AFP) – India’s finance minister said Thursday that intense selling pressure on the rupee was exaggerated and that the currency market “panic” was unnecessary.The rupee, which has hit record lows for five straight trading days, slumped to 65.56 to the dollar on Thursday as uncertainty about the future of the […]
Puzzle over African coins reveals Aboriginal rock art
SYDNEY, August 22, 2013 (AFP) – Solving the mystery of how 900-year-old African coins ended up in remote Australia could not only recast the history of foreign contact Down Under, but shed light on Aboriginal rock art.What the researchers did uncover was the Aboriginal rock art and some potential evidence of shipwrecks — a not […]
‘s RBI to sterilize interventions with long-bond purchases
MUMBAI, August 21, 2013 (AFP) – India’s shares opened higher and bond yields eased Wednesday but its currency remained under pressure after the central bank announced moves to inject 80 billion rupees into the banking system. Banking stocks jumped on the new measures, pushing Indian shares 1.22 percent higher to 18,468.55 points, after falling nearly […]
Jumpy Vietnamese caterpillar shies the Sun: study
PARIS, August 20, 2013 (AFP) – The larva of a Vietnamese moth has devised a unique form of transport — constructing a leaf cone and thrashing about inside to make it jump, a study showed Wednesday.Even more remarkably, the tiny caterpillar manages to steer its leafy vehicle in a clear direction along the forest floor […]
New alarmist IPCC report leaked as skepticism grows
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2013 (AFP) – Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media on Tuesday.The draft summary of the report all but dismissed recent […]
‘s rupee slips to new record low against dollar
MUMBAI, August 20, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee hit a new all-time low against the dollar on Tuesday on continuing fears that recent measures to stabilise the currency and kickstart the flagging economy will not work. Asia’s worst-performing currency this year slid to 64.11 rupees against the dollar, past its previous low of 63.22 the […]
New contamination scare hits New Zealand dairy industry
WELLINGTON, August 19, 2013 (AFP) – A new contamination scare hit New Zealand’s multi-billion dollar dairy industry on Monday after it was revealed a milk product with excessive nitrate levels had been exported to China. Both New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and the company at the centre of the latest scare, Westlake Milk, […]
‘s neo-Mercantilist forex controls draw skepticism
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2013 (AFP) – Indian policymakers are looking increasingly panicky as they battle the worst currency crisis in more than two decades, and more worryingly there is no sign their remedies are working.There have been no signs so far of domestic capital flight but analysts say the controls may have been tightened […]
Indian PM rules out repeat of 1991 economic crisis
NEW DELHI, August 17, 2013 (AFP) – India’s premier ruled out Saturday any suggestion the country could suffer a repeat of its 1991 balance-of-payments crisis as it grapples with a plunging rupee and a huge trade gap.Singh added that he hoped for “fresh thinking” at the central bank when its new governor Raghuram Rajan takes […]
‘s rupee hits new record low against dollar
MUMBAI, August 16, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar on Friday over fears that the central bank’s measures may not be able to prop up the ailing currency, dealers said.The rupee, one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies this year, hit a new low of 62.00 rupees to the […]
India plunges into Mercantilist moves as currency slips
NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India slapped new controls Wednesday on foreign exchange outflows as it struggled to narrow a record current account deficit and arrest the fall of the rupee.The central bank “has to cater to both currency and inflation risks”, which means monetary easing to kickstart growth “is off the table […]