Greater freedom
Ramakrishna Hegde has nuanced the exim policy with an eye on the deadline for the trade policy review at WTO. He has shifted a large number of imports from the restricted list and put them under open general licence. Hegde has thus asserted the government's commitment to trade liberalisation.
Few surprises in MNC results
Multinational companies are amongst the better tracked ones in the local stock markets and this interest generally peaks around the time the annual results are announced. This is followed by a period of slump if the earnings announced meet but do not exceed the markets consensus expectations.
Product launches boost growth
The remarkable growth in the shampoo industry during 1996, vis-a-vis the growth stabilisation in 1997, indicates just how potent the first `P' mantra of marketing -- the product -- is to the industry. Examining the trend in the shampoo industry over the last two years, it will be seen that growth directly correlates with the number of launches of products and product variants.
The Index
Shipping -- Reports indicate that the ministry of surface transport (MoST) has reduced the average maturity period for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) above $15 million from seven years to five years. Keeping in view the present debt equity-pattern of the sector at 70:30, the easing of ECB norms will provide for cheaper loans in a capital intensive sector.
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