MCX Copper: Conflicting signals apart, buy near 437; stop loss 435

Mangalorevartha- Determining the price movement of base metals on the MCX for the last two days has been confusing given conflicting signals coming out of the markets.
Indian copper futures recovered from weekly lower levels on short covering on Friday morning due to the supportive trend in LME copper. Slight short covering in USD/INR in morning hours helped copper futures to be back in its green territory even though the continuous drop for a second straight day had put pressure on metal prices in the last two trading sessions.
Optimism on US unemployment data on Thursday and housing starts data lent steam to copper prices.
Philly Fed Manufacturing Index later in the evening disappointed market sentiments as actual data was negative for USD and base metals.
MCX Copper
Copper on MCX for February delivery has major support at 435 and resistance at 440 for the intraday. Traders are advised to buy copper near 437 with a stop loss of 435 for target near 440.
MCX Copper February contract fell from the highs of 454 to 435 in the current month. After such huge fall in prices, copper prices recovered a bit on short covering. For near term, copper prices are expected to trade in the range of 442-435.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.12 percent to touch $8094 a ton, while MCX copper February contract was down by 0.26% as USD/INR dropped by more than 0.80% on Friday at 1.48 PM IST. On the LME, lead and zinc gained by more than 1% , but INR appreciation capped gains in Indian market.

MCX Silver: Trend sideways; sustaining below 59200 bearish

Market updates-MCX silver for March delivery looks sideways and the expected range for the day is between 58500 and 59700. MCX silver for delivery on March 5 was spotted trading at Rs.59365 a loss of 0.42% as of 1.49 PM, IST.
“Silver for March delivery is having a good support at 59200 and resistance at 59700 and the prices, if they sustain below 59200, may further go down and touch 58800 and 58500 levels.” said Ankush Kumar Jain, Research Analyst at Commodity Online.
Intra-day traders are advised to take a short sell position below 59200 with stop loss of 59500 and wait for the target of 58800.
 
Short-to-medium term outlook
Short-to-medium-term silver futures look positive on charts.
Silver March futures are having good support at 57700 level and resistance at 60500. If prices come down in coming sessions then it is a good opportunity for short term traders to take a long position.
“Short term traders advised to take along position in silver futures around 58200 with stop loss of 57700 and again wait for the target near 59600 and 60500.” Ankush concluded.
Debt-ceiling 
Meanwhile, on the debt ceiling debate front, the Republicans look to be contemplating a short debt-limit rise.
"We're discussing the possible virtue of a short-term debt limit discussion so we have a better chance of getting the Senate and the White House involved in discussions in March," House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying.
But there are apprehensions that a few Republicans may still insist on spending cuts in return for a raising of ceiling.

Forex - GBP/USD inches higher, U.K. growth outlook weighs

The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, but gains were limited as concerns over the outlook for the recovery in the U.K. economy dampened investor demand for sterling.

GBP/USD hit 1.6026 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6020, inching up 0.09%.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5974, Wednesday’s low and a seven-week low and resistance at 1.6079, Wednesday’s high.

The U.K. economy exited from recession in the third quarter of 2012 but a recent string of recent weak economic data, including a shock contraction in the services sector in December, fuelled concerns over a triple-dip recession.

Earlier in the week the World Bank cut its forecast for U.K. growth this year, saying the economy would grow by 1.1% in 2013, well below its June forecast for 1.6% growth.

Sentiment on sterling was also hit as political pressure mounted on British Prime Minister David Cameron to renegotiate elements of the country’s EU membership, ahead of a speech on Friday in which he will outline plans to change Britain’s relationship with Europe.

The pound hit nine-month lows against the euro, with EUR/GBP up 0.49% to 0.8342.

Sentiment on the euro remained supported after a senior European Central Bank policymaker said Wednesday that the situation in the euro zone had stabilized and indicated that the bank was not concerned over the euro’s recent gains.

Meanwhile, an auction of Spanish government bonds on Thursday met with strong investor demand and saw borrowing costs fall.

Later Thursday, the U.S. was to produce official data on building permits and housing starts, in addition to the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.

MCX Copper: Bearish Thursday; 'short Commodity now

Traders may short copper at 438-439 levels with strict stop loss at Rs.444 for targets of 433 and 431

Copper Smelters in China, Japan Secure 10% Increase in Fees

Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s biggest copper smelter, and Japan’s Pan Pacific Copper Co. said mining companies will pay them at least a 10 percent increase in fees to process the metal in 2013, climbing for a third year.
Jiangxi Copper settled fees with Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) and another miner it didn’t name at $70 a metric ton and 7 cents per pound, Pan Qifang, secretary of the board for the Guixi, Jiangxi province-based smelter, said today. Pan Pacific agreed with several miners, whose names it didn’t disclose, to increase the charges by 10 percent, said Shigeru Oi, senior executive officer for raw materials.

Enlarge image

Copper cathode sheets stand stacked at the copper mining and smelting complex. Global copper supply will exceed demand by 330,000 tons in 2013, compared with a deficit of 320,000 tons in 2012. Photographer: Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg

Enlarge image

An undated company handout photo shows the electrolytic workshop at Jiangxi Copper's Guixi smelter in Guixi, Jiangxi province, China. Source: Jiangxi Copper via Bloomberg

Mining companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Freeport have been negotiating with smelters to set the charges for 2013. An increase in the fees, known as treatment and refining charges or TC/RCs, for copper concentrate, or semi-processed ore, boosts smelters’ revenue. World copper supply will outstrip demand in 2013 for the first time in four years as mine output gains, according to Pan Pacific.
“The increase, which reflects market expectation of more ore supply from later this year, will partly offset rising power costs and the stronger yen for Japanese smelters,” Kim Gyung Jung, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities Co. in Seoul, said today.
Treatment fees are expressed in dollars per ton of concentrate received and refining fees in cents per pound of copper in the ore. The fees are deducted from the price paid by smelters to mining companies for the raw material.

2012 Fees

Freeport and major smelters in China and Japan set the fees in 2012 at $63.5 a ton and 6.35 cents a pound, while BHP and some Chinese smelters agreed to $60 a ton and 6 cents a pound. Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,953 a ton at 12:20 p.m. in Tokyo.
Fiona Martin, a Melbourne-based spokeswoman for BHP, declined to comment. BHP owns Escondida in Chile, the world’s biggest copper mine. A call to Eric Kinneberg, spokesman for Phoenix-based Freeport, wasn’t answered outside of business hours. Freeport operates the Grasberg mine in Indonesia.
Masashi Takahashi, a spokesman at Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. (5713), Japan’s second-biggest copper smelter, and Toshiaki Yamada, a spokesman at Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (5711), Japan’s third-largest producer, declined to comment.
Global copper supply will exceed demand by 330,000 tons in 2013, compared with a deficit of 320,000 tons in 2012, Deutsche Bank said in a report on Jan. 8. Mine-supply growth is expected to increase significantly in 2013, exceeding 8 percent, a rate not witnessed for more than a decade, the bank said.(bloomberg)

US Debt Ceiling: Republicans should put their nation first

Manglorevartha-The Republicans are holding the sacrosanct US debt a hostage and is refusing to raise the debt ceiling so that they could extricate some spending cuts. Alas! they know-not what they are doing; and they are doing it for the second time: throwing the fragile global recovery to winds.
“Congress is not being asked to give permission for future borrowing, but for the authorization to borrow to fund programs that Congress itself has already approved.”--Port Land Press Herald, said in an opinion piece recently.
The quotation above sums it up well and good!
Judging by the way things are proceeding, the Republicans are hell bent on making the President come to them with a cap in hand and beg.
The quote simply neutralises their intentions in effect and brings out their egoistic political jingoism and despicable brinkmanship; they want to rattle the markets and see to it that the AAA rated US government default or precisely, create such an impression around and bring President Obama to the discussion table.
What they want in return is spending cuts.
Everybody would acknowledge that US spends more than it earns and lives on credit; this has to brought under some sort of control. But mixing the same with raising of debt-ceiling is an ill advised cocktail; the consequences would be catastrophic. US cannot afford to default. Not even by a penny. “If it happens..?” would be a blasphemous question raised at the altar of capitalism.
The spending problem is more of a question of culture.
The boom times taught America to live beyond its means; now a crunch time is the best time to unlearn that. And it has to start from schools. Voluntary austerity is something they can learn from the East.
On a latest note, the Republicans have started to push for prioritizing payments. Pay the debt first and then only pay your soldier! How rediculous! Markets are no fool.
“Payment prioritization doesn't stop payments, it just delays them. Then the aggrieved party sues the government, and probably wins, and it turns into a bloody mess," Keith Hennessey, now an economist at Stanford, said in a blog post this week and was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Even a coterie of Republicans are against this idea of payment prioritization.

CCI approves restructuring of Future Group's fashion biz

 
Competition Commission has approved the restructuring of Future group's fashion businesses. The proposed rejig involves five entities, Pantaloon Retail India, Futures Ventures India, Indus-League Clothing, Lee Cooper and Future Lifestyle Fashions. The proposed combination is a measure of internal re-structuring of the Future Group companies. Futures Ventures holds 95.29% stake in Indus-League, which owns branded apparel and accessories business such as Indigo Nation, Scullers among others. About 4.69% shareholding in the company is held by Bennett & Coleman. Lee Cooper is a subsidiary of Indus-League. Future Lifestyle is part of Pantaloon Retail. The latter holds 9.52% stake in Future Ventures. As per the proposed deal, the entire fashion business of Indus-League, including Lee Cooper, would be amalgamated with Future Ventures. The entire fashion business of retail major Pantaloon Retail including its format stores of Central, Brand Factory, and Planet Sports would be transferred to Future Ventures. Further, the entire fashion business of Future Ventures would be transfered to and amalgamated with Future Lifestyle.

UCO Bank seeks Rs 800 cr to raise capital adequacy ratio

UCO Bank has sought Rs 800 crore from the Union Government to boost its capital adequacy ratio and fund its growth needs. The bank recently raised Rs 1,000 crore by way of lower tier-II bonds. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio deteriorated as on March 31 to 12.35 per cent from 13.71 per cent as on March 31, 2011. As on September 30, it further fell down to 12.27 per cent. As on March 31, the bank’s tier-I capital was at 8.09 per cent, indicating scope for the bank to raise tier-II capital for maintaining the ratio. The bank aims to achieve 20 per cent growth in business this year.

Mahindra to invest $900 m in SsangYong over four years (Businessline)

Mahindra & Mahindra would invest $900 million over the next four to five years in SsangYong Motor of Korea on developing three new vehicles and six engines. M&M bought a majority stake in the Korean company for $463.6 million in 2010. The investment would be from internal accruals, fresh equity and debt. After being acquired by M&M, SsangYong’s sales have improved and have grown by 6-7 per cent in the Korean market. On M&M’s utility
and sports utility vehicles, the company was working on full capacity expansion and fresh versions of Scorpio and XUV500 were expected in future. M&M, which had announced buying out Navistar in its truck joint venture, expects to close the deal by January 31, for which it has applied for various Government approvals.

NFCL setting up third urea plant in Kakinada at Rs 4,500 crore (BS)

 
Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (NFCL) have embarked on an Rs 4,500 crore expansion plan. It is setting up a third plant at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh which will enhance the company's urea production by 1.3 million tonnes, taking the total production capacity to 2.9 million tonnes. The cost of expansion will be financed through an appropriate mix of debt and equity. The brownfield expansion is an addition to NFCL’s existing capacity of about 1.6 million tonnes per annum. The proposed increased quantity is already being marketed by the company through imports. It is the first project to be taken up for expansion after the Union government announced its policy on fertilizers. The policy provides floor and ceiling price mechanism with an assured return of 12% to 20% on equity. The policy also envisages compensation for variation in the cost of input gas.

Bhushan Steel to raise Rs 475 cr through rights issue(BS

Bhushan Steel has plan to raise Rs 475 crore through rights issue, which would be launched in the third week of January. The company intends to use the money to part-finance its expansion activities, particularly in Odisha. The citybased steel maker would be issuing one equity share at a price of Rs 335 for every 15 equity shares held by its existing shareholders through the issue. Bhushan Steel currently has a production capacity of 2.5 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) and it produces secondary steel products like cold-rolled coils, galvanised coils, colour-coated coils, etc, from its three manufacturing facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Bhushan Steel to raise Rs 475 cr through rights issue(BS)

Bhushan Steel has plan to raise Rs 475 crore through rights issue, which would be launched in the third week of January. The company intends to use the money to part-finance its expansion activities, particularly in Odisha. The citybased steel maker would be issuing one equity share at a price of Rs 335 for every 15 equity shares held by its existing shareholders through the issue. Bhushan Steel currently has a production capacity of 2.5 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) and it produces secondary steel products like cold-rolled coils, galvanised coils, colour-coated coils, etc, from its three manufacturing facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Biocon gets nod to sell psoriasis drug in India

 
Biocon has received marketing authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for Novel Biologic Itolizumab, an anti CD6 molecule, for the treatment of chronic plaque Psoriasis. It is the second Novel Biologic developed by Biocon at Asia’s largest Biotech hub in Bangalore. This approval paves the way for the launch of Biocon’s Alzumab in India, later during 2013. Alzumab is a differentiated biologic drug with a better safety profile compared to other approved biologic therapies given its low opportunistic infection rates. A novel biologic indicated for the treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis, Alzumab will be marketed by Biocon’s Immunotherapy Division. Alzumab will be manufactured and formulated as an infusion drug at Biocon’s Biopharma manufacturing facility at Biocon Park, Bangalore. The global market size for Psoriasis is estimated to cross $8 bn by 2016.

Morgan Stanley upgrades India's Sterlite to 'overweight

Shares in Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd rise 2 percent to 117.90 rupees after Morgan Stanley upgrades the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" and raises its target price to 142 rupees from 110.20 rupees.
The investment bank says Sterlite shares have been "cheap for a while," and adds group restructuring and minority consolidation, improving sentiment in power and aluminum, and a bottoming in China's economic outlook as the key reasons for the upgrade.

Morgan Stanley expects the merger of Sesa Goa Ltd and Sterlite to be concluded by the end of March, saying it will lift sentiment due to a simplified holding structure and healthier diversification.

The bank also sees an increased possibility that Sterlite may be able to exercise its call option on the government's remaining stakes in Hindustan Zinc Ltd and Bharat Aluminum Co Ltd.

Infosys surprises with better-than-expected Q3; guidance up

 Infosys , India's second largest software services exporter, surprised the street with better-than-expected results for the third quarter and also raised its full year guidance, contrary to most analysts who were expecting a cut, sending its shares soaring 12 percent in morning trade.

The Bangalore-based company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,369 crore, unchanged quarter-on-quarter (down 0.1% from year ago), while revenue rose near 6 percent sequentially (12 percent YoY) to Rs 10,424 crore in Oct-Dec.

Analysts on average were expecting Infosys to report a net profit of Rs 2,255 crore, on revenue of Rs 10,090 crore, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

In US dollar terms, Q3 Net income was at USD 434 million, compared with USD 431 million in Q2. Revenue including that of Lodestone, the Zurich-based management consultancy firm it had acquired in September 2012, rose 6 percent sequentially (6 percent YoY) to USD 1.91 bilion.

"We were able to maintain our margins through efficiency improvements despite increased operating expenses. We remain focused on making the right investments for profitable and sustainable growth in the longer term," said Rajiv Bansal, CFO.

Infosys has now raised its guidance for the current financial year and now expects revenue to be at least Rs 40,746 crore, and EPS of at least Rs 162.80. At the end of Q2 it had forecast full year revenue of at least Rs 39,582 crore and EPS of Rs 160.61.

In US dollar terms, its revenue is now expected to be at least USD 7.45 billion and earnings per American depository share of at least USD 2.97. It had earlier guided for a revenue of at least USD 7.34 billion on EPADS of USD 2.97.
During the third quarter, Infosys won 8 large outsourcing deals amounting to USD 731 million of total contract value. The company and its subsidiaries gained 53 clients during the quarter and net 977 employees were added (7,499 gross addition).

As of Dec 31, it had 1,55,629 employees.

"We continue to gain confidence from a strong pipeline of large deals. However, the broader economic environment remains difficult. Even so, we remain cautiously optimistic about the Jan-March quarter," said SD Shibulal, CEO and MD (moneycontrol)

Gold, Silver to trade lower on strong dollar index

Gold-
Spot gold prices gained 1 percent in yesterday’s session. Positive global market sentiments along with weakness in the DX supported an upside in the gold prices. European Central Bank in its policy meeting kept interest rate steady yesterday. Successful bond auction of the Spain also added to the gains in the yellow metal. This led to rise in the risk appetite in the global markets and pushed gold prices upwards on Thursday. The yellow metal touched an intra-day high of $ 1678.6/oz and closed at $ 1674.6 per ounce on Thursday. On the MCX, Gold February contract ended 0.5 percent higher tracing the trend in the spot gold prices. However, appreciation in the Indian rupee capped gains in the gold. Gold prices on the MCX closed at Rs. 30,936/10 gms on Thursday after touching a high of Rs. 30,950/ 10gms.

Silver-

Spot silver prices ended 1.6 percent higher taking cues from firmness in the spot gold prices and weakness in the DX. Strength in the base metals pack also added to the gains in the silver prices in yesterday’s session. The white metal touched an intra-day high of $ 30.91/oz and closed at $ 30.8 per oz on Thursday. In the Indian markets, MCX silver prices gained 1.2 percent and closed at Rs. 58,680/kg on Thursday and touched an intra-day high of Rs. 58,730/ kg. Appreciation in the Indian rupee however, restricted sharp gains in the silver prices on MCX.

Outlook-

In today’s session, we expect precious metals to trade lower due to mixed global market sentiments along with strength in the DX. However, expectation of demand from the Asian buyers and stimulus measures by the Bank of Japan is expected to cushion sharp fall in the precious metals. In the domestic markets, depreciation in the rupee is expected to act as supportive factor for the MCX precious metals.(moneycontrol)

Oil Fluctuates on Signs U.S. Crude, Fuel Stockpiles Are Rising

Oil fluctuated in London amid signs of rising inventories in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude- consuming nation.
 
Brent futures switched between gains and losses after advancing 0.5 percent yesterday. U.S. crude stockpiles increased 2.4 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said. An Energy Department report today may show inventories rose 2 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. Gasoline and distillate suppplies also climbed, the API said.
“Inventories will likely rise in the spring,” said Andy Sommer, a senior oil analyst at Axpo Trading AG in Dietikon, Switzerland, who predicts Brent will remain at about $110 this month. “Supply and demand in the market are pretty much balanced, with a slight deficit, but that is a normal seasonal pattern. We see downside risk once we come into the spring.”
Brent for February settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange rose 16 cents to $112.10 a barrel at 9 a.m. local time. The European crude was at a premium of $18.78 to the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate. The spread widened for the first time in four days yesterday to $18.79.
WTI crude for February delivery was at $93.28 a barrel, up 13 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $93.19 on Jan. 7, the highest since Sept. 18. Prices dropped 7.1 percent last year for the first decline in four years.

Fuel Supplies

Oil may fall in New York after failing to settle above technical resistance along its 50-week moving average yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Sell orders tend to be clustered near resistance levels. On the daily chart, the 14-day relative strength index remains close to 70, a level that would indicate further price gains aren’t sustainable.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose 7.9 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3, the API report showed. Supplies are projected to climb 2.5 million barrels in the Energy Department report, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Distillate inventories, including heating oil and diesel, increased 5.9 million barrels, compared with a forecast 1.9 million-barrel gain in the survey.
The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey.

Price Forecast

“We’ve got inventory numbers tonight and with a forecast increase that keeps stockpiles at very elevated levels,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “Overall, the markets remain firm. We do see wobbles during the course of the day but it is quite clear that we have a short- to medium-term uptrend in place and that’s consistent with the global industrial growth expectations.”
The Energy Department raised its oil price projections for 2013 and forecast that global consumption will expand to a record. WTI will average $89.54 a barrel, up 1.3 percent from the December estimate of $88.38, it said yesterday in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. The U.S. benchmark averaged $94.12 in 2012, less than the December estimate of $94.26.
U.S. gasoline demand fell last week to the lowest since consumption was tracked in July 2004, said MasterCard Inc. (MA) Drivers bought 7.82 million barrels a day of the fuel in the week to Jan. 4, down 3.5 percent from 8.1 million in the prior period, its SpendingPulse report showed yesterday.
Gasoline at the pump in the U.S. will peak at a lower price this year as oil production increases and demand declines, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motoring organization. The fuel may reach $3.60 to $3.80 a gallon in 2013, after rising as high as $3.936 last year on April 4, Chief Executive Officer Robert Darbelnet said yesterday. The 2012 average price was a record $3.60 a gallon, data from the group show.

.S. stocks rise on jobs, service-sector data, Dow gains 0.33%

Stronger-than-expected data out of the U.S. service sector and a solid December jobs report sent U.S. stock prices climbing on Friday.At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.33%, the S&P 500 index was up 0.49%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.04%.In the U.S. earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the U.S. economy added 155,000 nonfarm payrolls in December, beating market calls for the economy to create 150,000 new jobs.

In addition, the U.S. employment rate remained unchanged at 7.8% last month, though markets had hoped for a decline to 7.7%.Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised October's figures to 137,000 from 138,000 new jobs and hiked November's figure to 161,000 from 146,000.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management reported earlier that its non-manufacturing index improved to 56.1 in December from 54.7 in November, beating expectations for a rise to 54.2.While the data failed to send investors charging into a full-fledged risk-on trading session due to question marks looming on U.S. fiscal and monetary horizons, the numbers were strong enough to send investors snapping up stocks, viewed by many as nicely priced these days.

Congress will debate raising the government's debt ceiling possibly in February.

Fears that lawmakers may stage a repeat performance of 2011's debt-ceiling debates, which nearly threw the country into default thanks to brinkmanship, kept some investors sticking with safe-haven dollar positions, especially on sentiment the jobs market is not improving fast enough to suggest the economy may be returning to its pre-recession health.Uncertainty as to when the Federal Reserve may wind down its monetary stimulus programs also pushed down the pair.The Fed revealed in the minutes of its December monetary policy meeting that some members are ready to consider paring back the  U.S. central bank's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, which weakens the greenback as a side effect.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Alcoa, up 2.09%, Walt Disney, up 1.91%, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., up 1.77%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Microsoft, down 1.87%, McDonald's Corp., down 0.86%, and Merck, down 0.85%

CCI approves stake buy by PNB in MetLife India Insurance

Fair trade regulator CCI has approved 30 per cent stake purchase by state-owned Punjab National Bank ( PNB ) in MetLife India Insurance Company.The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said the deal would not have any adverse impact on
the competition scenario. In 2011, PNB had announced picking up of 30 per cent stake or about 60.38 crore shares in MetLife India for an undisclosed amount. MetLife India is a joint venture between MetLife International (an affiliate of USbased MetLife Inc) and group of Indian investors

Fiscal-cliff deal passes Congress

 
After a day of wrangling, the House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to pass a bipartisan deal undoing the fiscal cliff of austerity measures, which began going into effect at the start of the year. The final vote tally was 257 to 167. A majority of Republican House members opposed the bill, with a total of 151 Republicans and 16 Democrats voting against it.The bill now heads to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.