Dhaka stocks dropped last week, extending its bear run for the second consecutive week, amid decreased participation of investors, market operators said.
The general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 65.09 points, or 2.36 per cent,....read more
The sectoral distribution of bank credit has marked a significant change, with a majority share going for trade financing, central bank data show.
Some 35.4 percent of total bank credit was meant for the trade financing as of September 2008, which was only 18.7 percent in March...read more
The commercial banks on Wednesday borrowed Tk 5,000 crore from the central bank through Repo (repurchase agreement) and the call money market to meet their increasing liquidity crisis, banking sources said.read more
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Sell-offs by foreign fund managers outpaced the buying pressure on the country's prime bourse in growing signs of capital flight from the stock market in 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis.read more
Dhaka stocks finished Wednesday flat in a volatile trading with its general index posting a slight gain after a two-day bear run, market operators said.
Trading at the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges remains closed today due to a holiday on the occasion of Ashura.read more
The company has informed that it has signed a MOU with M/s. Sanofi Aventies Limited for purchase of 4 floors of the Pragati-RPR Centre, 20-21, Kawran Bazar, Dhaka from M/s. Sanofi Aventies Ltd. at price of Tk. 18.50 crore (Taka Eighteen crore and fifty lacs) only.
Read more...The Asset Manager of Prime Finance First Mutual Fund has informed that the subscription period of Prime Finance First Mutual Fund has been rescheduled from January 04, 2009 to January 11, 2009 (working days) instead of January 04, 2009 to January 08, 2009 due to Govt. holiday for the Holy Ashura (January 08, 2009).
Read more...Deposits of the Islamic banking industry grew by 21 percent in the year to June 2008, higher than 15 percent growth of the conventional banking sector in the same period, central bank data show....read more
Read more...Dhaka stocks dropped on Monday because of a profit-taking selling pressure from investors in volatile trading after a six-day bull run, market operators said...read more
Read more...AQM Wazed Ali has joined Prime Insurance Company Ltd as its managing director recently.
Before the joining, he was the deputy managing director of Federal Insurance Company Ltd, a news release said....read more
Dhaka stocks saw a bullish trend for the second consecutive week that ended Thursday, thanks to an increased participation of investors, market operators said....read more
Read more...Chowdhury Mohidul Haque, general manager, Department of Currency Management and Payment Systems, read more
Read more...The country’s private commercial banks made a huge operating profit in 2008 calendar year despite global financial crisis, bank sources said.read more
Read more...The debut of two new issues pulled up the indices of Dhaka Stock Exchange on the first day of the New Year yesterday.read more
Read more...Private commercial banks (PCBs) kept up a good show in 2008 despite a global and domestic slowdown in business activity, according to data received from different PCBs.read more
Read more...he benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange suffered the biggest single-day fall in four years yesterday, a day after the World Bank's negative forecast about the country's economy.
The World Bank said on Wednesday Bangladesh's export growth might fall by 4.3 percentage points and remittance inflows by 20 percentage points this fiscal year from a year ago due to the global economic meltdown.
WB's Dhaka office also depicted a scenario of the likely impact of the global economic rout on the export growth, remittance, balance of payments, budget and GDP.
“It appeared that the investors got panicked by World Bank's negative forecast,” said Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, chief executive officer of DSE.
Abu Ahmed, professor of economics at Dhaka University, said the forecasts by donor agencies such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund about Bangladesh's economy went wrong last year.
The latest projection about the economy by the World Bank will also be proven wrong, he said.
Ahmed also said many retail investors had already left the capital market. “Institutional investors will have to come forward to bring back vibrancy to the market,” he said.
Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam on Wednesday also ruled out the WB prediction on slowing GDP growth in the face of the economic downturn.
The DSE General Index yesterday nose-dived by 100.38 points, or 3.92 percent, to 2,459.48 points. The DSE All Share Price Index also plunged 81.77 points, or 3.86 percent, to 2,035.42 points. Almost all the securities traded down on the premier bourse. Of the 238 traded scrips, only five advanced, 231 declined and two remained unchanged. A total of 2,34,12,778 shares worth Tk 261.87 crore changed hands on the DSE. Chittagong stocks also recorded a sharp fall yesterday. The CSE Selective Categories Index went down 193.21 points, or 3.72 percent, to 4,988.6 points. The CSE All Share Price Index went down 276.81 points, or 3.47 percent, to 7,683.83 points. A total of 44,03,810 shares worth Tk 41.24 crore changed hands on the port city bourse. Of the 126 traded issues, only six advanced, 119 declined and one remained unchanged. | |
India's stock market has reopened for trading, after having closed on Thursday following the attacks in Mumbai, India's business capital. The benchmark Sensex index climbed 66 points, or 0.7%, to close at 9,092.72, having opened more than 1% lower After a "knee-jerk" fall when trading restarted, "markets are behaving normally", said Arun Kejriwal, strategist at KRIS research. But concerns exist that the attacks may have a longer-term economic impact. Risk premium Mumbai is no stranger to political violence and analysts were sanguine about the impact of the attacks on share values. "People here don't like this to hammer down the markets," added Mr Kejriwal. "Each time we have seen a bounce back and this time will be no exception," said Sarah Hewin at Standard Chartered. Shares in Indian Hotels Co Ltd, which runs the Taj Mahal hotel, fell 17%, buts shares in hotel operator EIH, which operates the Oberoi-Trident hotel, gained 5.2%. Overall, the attacks have had little impact on wider Asian markets, with Japan's Nikkei index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index both rising on Friday. But Seshadri Sen, analyst at Macquarie, sounded a more cautionary note about Indian stocks. "We have no doubt that the risk premium will Commercial heart The bombs struck at the commercial heart of India, and have - in the short-term at least - thrown many business plans off schedule. Alpesh Patel, a London-based fund manager, arrived to find the streets of Mumbai deserted and his meetings cancelled. But business will return to normal, he said. "They have got no choice, they have to put food on the table. Companies have to survive," he said. "You get the immediate shock… [but] as with any major city, things move on because they have to move on." This view is shared by many. "Life does go on in India. It's a very vibrant economy," said Mark Mobius at Templeton Asset Management. Investment fears Even before the attacks, the Indian economy had been shaken by the global credit crunch. Foreign investors have already pulled $13.5bn from India since the global financial crisis started. Shares have fallen 55% this year as investors withdrew money. But so far, there is little sign that the attacks will deter investors from the huge potential market that India offers. In the current global climate - characterised by credit tightness and fear of terror attacks - international companies need to demonstrate their resilience, said Mr Patel. Alice Hunt, a spokewoman for GlaxoSmithKline, said: "The events of the last 24 hours have not affected our longer-term business plans in the country." Real resilience The fact remains that India offers investors opportunities that are hard to find elsewhere, said Dr Amit Mitra, the secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Its growth rate is forecast at 9% for 2009 and 7% for this year - three times the rate of global expansion and second only to that of China. "India will continue to remain at the vortex of investment. This is a temporary blip," said Dr Mitra. And while for India, foreign investment is a welcome boost, the real engine of the economy is domestic business - which includes global names such as Tata and Ranbaxy - and savings, which make up 30% of India's economy, compared with 1% in the US. "92% of the investments that take place in India are from domestic savings, unlike China. Even our exports are by and large domestic exports, not by multinationals, like in China," said Dr Mitra. "Foreign direct investment brings quality, brings new benchmarks… it is an add on to the existing momentum of India. Unlike China, we are very much self-dependent in terms of capital formation." Record crop plantings by the country's 400 million farmers should not only boost rural incomes but also support consumer spending, helping India to reach its growth forecast for next year. Even if GDP growth next year is less than the forecast 9% and touches 7%, it is still "quite decent, given that it's a very tough year next year," said Jan Lambregts, head of Asia research at Rabobank International.
By Martha Graybow
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Battered by critics who blame them for helping to foment the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown, credit raters are now trying to fend off lawsuits -- including fraud claims brought by their own shareholders.
Many financial companies, including banks and lenders, have been sued following the housing market bust; but the cases against ratings agencies may be among the most closely watched.
That's because the three biggest agencies -- Moody's Corp (MCO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), McGraw-Hill Cos Inc's (MHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Standard & Poor's division and Fitch Ratings, part of Fimalac SA (LBCP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) -- have drawn fire from some politicians and investors for awarding top marks to subprime-linked securities that later disintegrated. They've also been criticized as being too close to issuers who foot the bill for their ratings.
Based on how prior cases have played out, the plaintiffs could face an uphill battle in court -- and ratings firms say they will vigorously defend themselves against the lawsuits. Plaintiffs lawyers, though, say that their claims are strong and that a government report unveiled this week finding "serious shortcomings" at the raters could bolster their cases.
"No one has really crossed the threshold to try to hold the rating agencies accountable for their faulty ratings," said Christopher Keller, a lawyer at law firm Labaton Sucharow LLP, who represents some of the plaintiffs in a shareholder case against Moody's.
"Without their complicity in this process (of rating mortgage-backed debt pools), most of these securities would never have come to market," he said.
The agencies have agreed to institute some reforms. Last month the three top agencies struck a pact with New York's attorney general to change how they charge fees for reviewing mortgage-backed securities. A separate probe by Connecticut's attorney general is ongoing.
Rating agencies have found themselves in court before. When they were sued by Enron investors for allegedly being too slow to downgrade the energy trader's debt, a federal judge dismissed the claims, saying the ratings analysts deserved the same kinds of First Amendment protections that shield journalists because their work was in essence opinion and not a guarantee. Read more..."A Bond is simply an 'IOU' in which an investor agrees to loan money to a company or government in exchange for a predetermined interest rate."
If a business wants to expand, one of its options is to borrow money from individual investors. The company issues bonds at various interest rates and sells them to the public. Investors purchase them with the understanding that the company will pay back their original principal plus any interest that is due by a set date [this is called the "maturity"].
A bondholder is mailed a check from the company at set intervals [for example, every month] until the "loan" is paid off.
The interest a bondholder earns depends on the strength of the corporation. For example, a blue chip is more stable and has a lower risk of defaulting on its debt. When companies such as Exxon Mobile, General Electric, etc., issue bonds, they may only pay 7% interest, while a much less stable start-up pays 10%. A general rule of thumb when investing in bonds is "the higher the interest rate, the riskier the bond."
Who can issue bonds? Governments, municipalities, a variety of institutions, and corporations. "Commercial Paper" is simply referring to bonds issued by companies.
There are many types of bonds, each having different features and characteristics. A few of the most notable are zero coupon and convertible.
you can find more:
http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/bondbasics
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