Purnartha - 16-Jul-2014 - Important news (India & Global) (To - TopicsExpress

Purnartha - 16-Jul-2014 - Important news (India & Global) (To receive these updates in your mailbox every morning - just call our toll free number: 1800 - 266 - 0161 or send an e-mail to support@purnartha with your name and phone number) INDIA 1) Leaders of the BRICS emerging market nations launched a $100 billion development bank and a currency reserve pool on Tuesday in their first concrete step toward reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system. The bank aimed at funding infrastructure projects in developing nations will be based in Shanghai. 2) RBI signals cheaper housing, infra loans. To boost demand for infrastructure and housing, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said banks would not have to maintain cash reserve ratio (CRR) or statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and will not have to meet priority-sector lending targets for funds raised through bonds for extending credit to these sectors. 3) Railways might allow private sector operations in some areas. To facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) in high- speed rail projects, the government is likely to allow private sector entry in operations. Private operations might also be allowed in dedicated freight lines and rail connectivity projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) models. 4) The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said El Nino, the phenomenon associated with scanty rainfall and drought in India and other parts of Asia, may be weakened by a cooling of the Pacific Ocean in the past month, Although monsoon recovered last week, the rainfall was mostly confined to east India, hence in the coming week areas which have received deficient rainfall, like north-west and central India, will receive showers and this will further reduce the deficiency of rainfall,” According to IMD. GLOBAL 1) ) US Retail sales rose just 0.2 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, held back by a sharp drop at building and garden supply stores. Sales also fell at restaurants and at auto dealers. 2) Chinas economy grew 7.5% in the second quarter compared with 7.4 percent in the previous three months, slightly exceeding economists expectations, an indication that Beijings strategy of selective spending and credit-easing to boost the worlds second-largest economy is having some success. On a quarterly basis, the National Bureau of Statistics said growth picked up to 2.0 percent from a revised 1.5 percent in the first quarter.