Oil prices on rise in Asian trade today

Oil prices rose in Asian trade today, boosted by a stronger close on Wall Street overnight. New York's main contract, light sweet crude rose 53 cents to 111.98 dollar a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude gained 38 cents to 124.23 dollar.

Sensex up by 156 pts in noon trade

BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 156 points up at 19,627 a short while ago. The 30-share index had opened 164 points higher this morning. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty was trading 37 points up at 5,888 in the noon trade.

Government to double exports by 2014

The Government will soon come out with a comprehensive strategy to double the country's exports to 450 billion US dollars by 2014. Addressing a function in New Delhi yesterday, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said that the strategy paper is ready and the plan of action will be p...

Sensex up by 164 pts in opening trade today

BSE benchmark Sensex today opened 164 points higher to trade at 19,635 points in opening trade. It had gained nearly 380 points in the previous two sessions. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 42 points, or 0.72 per cent to 5,894. Japan's Nikkei was up by ...

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has expressed optimism over the growing trade and investment relations between India and United States. Leading Senators of different provinces of the United States, met him yesterday. They discussed steps to enhance bilateral trade, with special focus on ...

IRDA relaxes accounting norms for insurance companies

Insurance regulator - IRDA on Wednesday relaxed accounting norms for insurance companies. This is to take care of higher liability arising out of increased gratuity for their employees. Last year, the government had increased gratuity limit for all employees to 10 lakh from 3.5 lakh rupees and also ...

The damage to Japan's economy from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is showing up in newly released trade figures. The Japanese Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced that exports fell by 2.2 percent in March, compared to the same month a year earlier. It was the first decline in 16 mon...

Mustard, Safflower seed arrivals pick up<br/>

Arrivals of Mustard and Safflower seed have picked up in major mandies in several states. These include Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The procurement is being done by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation- NAFED direct...

India targets 9.5 per cent GDP growth for 12th five year plan

India is targeting 9.5 per cent GDP growth for 12th five year plan period. Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said looking at the conditions of international markets, India will achieve this growth without much difficulty. He said that the focus of the 12th plan will be mo...

Normal monsoon forecast propels Sensex by 349 points<br/>

Indian stock market is upbeat following forecast of normal monsoon. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange ended with a good gain of 349 points, or 1.8 percent, at 19,471 on Wednesday. Firm global markets also contributed to the gains. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange surged 111 points, or ...