Oppose FDI in Retail

நாடு ஒரு வேதனையான தருணத்தை நோக்கி நடைபோட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. சில்லரை வர்த்தகத்தில் அன்னிய முதலீட்டை அனுமதித்திருக்கும் செயலானது மென்மேலும் சிறு வியாபாரத்தைச் சீரழிக்கும். வேலை வாய்ப்பை இழந்து தெருவுக்கு வரும் மக்களுக்கு உணவளிக்கவோ, மாற்று வேலைகளை ஏற்படுத்திடவோ அரசிடம் திட்டங்கள் இல்லை. மாறாக விலையேற்றமும், கட்டண உயர்வுகளுமே நிதர்சனமாகி வருகின்றன. தமிழன், தெலுங்கன், சீக்கியன் என்றில்லாமல், இந்தியாவின் எல்லாப் பகுதிகளிலும் இருப்பவனுக்கும் இல்லாதவனுக்குமான இடைவெளி மேலும் அதிகரிக்கிறது. பசியால் வாடும் குழந்தைகளின் எண்ணிக்கையும், ஒரு கவளச் சோற்றுக்காக அலைந்திடும் கர்ப்பிணிகளின் எண்ணிக்கையும் குறைந்தபாடில்லை.

இந்தியா என்ற தேசம் மிக அண்மைக் காலத்தில் உருவானது. சாதி, மத, மொழி, பண்பாட்டு வேறுபாடுகள் இருந்த போதும் “இந்தியன்” என்ற உணர்வை ஏற்படுத்தும் ஒரே காரணி இருக்குமானால் அது நாம் ஏகாதிபத்தியத்தை எதிர்த்து விடுதலை பெற்றவர்கள் என்பதுதான். இன்று அதே ஏகாதிபத்தியம், உலகப் பெரும் நிதி மூலதனமாக மாறி பங்குச்சந்தைகளின் வடிவில் நம்மை ஆக்கிரமிக்க வருகிறது. பட்டுத்துணியிடம் ஏற்பட்ட வியாபாரப் போட்டியால் கட்டை விரல்கள் வெட்டுப்பட்ட இந்திய நெசவாளர்கள் நினைவுக்கு வருகிறார்கள். அவுரிக்காகவும், இன்ன பிற செல்வங்களுக்காகவும் நிர்மூலமாக்கப்பட்ட நமது மண் சிவந்து கிடக்கிறது. அதே வரலாற்றை மீண்டும் அனுமதிக்கப் போகிறோமா? ... வரலாற்றுச் சக்கரம் பின் நோக்கிச் சுழலுமா?

 

Life insurance premium collection down 2%

Mumbai: The life insurance industry reported 2 per cent dip in premium collections to Rs 1,22,661 crore in the first half of this fiscal because of fall in new business.

Total premium collected by the life insurance industry stood at Rs 1,25,179 crore during April-September 2010-11, according to the Life Insurance Council.

"The fall in total premium is due to the drop in new business premium collection," it said.

The total new business premium for the industry has decreased 21 per cent year-on-year to Rs 49,046 crore from Rs 62,362 crore.

The decline was on account of low sales of unit-linked products, especially individual pension segment, which has fallen drastically this year to 1.2 per cent from an average of 26 per cent for the earlier two years for the same period.

"It is evident from the data that voluntary contribution from retail investors under individual pension segment has dried up," said S B Mathur, Secretary General, Life Insurance Council.

According to the council, the life insurance industry, however, has added more than 5,400 direct employees and 26,000 new agents as compared to last quarter.

Overall, the outlook for the remaining six months this fiscal appears to be better in view of lack luster performance of the industry in the first half.

However, companies need to introduce new products at regular intervals to sustain the interest of the consumers, the council said.

FDI in retail is a suicidal step

The Centre's decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail sector is akin to suicide for a country like India, said Bhavarlal H Jain a pioneer of micro-irrigation in India. Jain, the founder-chairman of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd, was speaking at the 13th edition of Confluence-2011 at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Saturday. He said India already had Tata and Reliance who are smart retailers as well. "We don't need Walmart or US smart. I don't blame (prime minister) Manmohan Singh for this, nor do I blame the government because I don't see any government here," he quipped. Jain said that India, being a major market, would understandably attract other countries who want to sell their products. "But why should the Indian government compromise the interest of our farmers? An Indian farmer with one acre of land is no match for a US farmer with 20,000 acres of land," he said. Jain added that the decision would affect poor farmers adversely. "The decision is like committing suicide. They (other countries) want to sell their goods and need markets. But is it necessary for us to buy their products? Today's world needs markets and India provides that market. It means we have the upper hand. So why can't we frame strict rules for Western countries that are keen to enter our market?" Jain asked.

54 th Divisional Union Conference

The 54 th divisional union conference of ICEU chennai division I is proposed to be held on 10 and 11 th december 2011. Our All India General Secretary Com.K.Venugopal is going to inagurate the conference. The conference is held in the background of the financial meltdown through out the wrold economies. The UPA-II government is very particular that the insurance bills pending before indian parliament should be enacted. This will put the interest of our people in jeopardy. Manmohan singh is trying to open the economy further and want to allow the international financial capital to access the peoples savings. This move is fraught with dangerous proportions. To safeguard the well being of the nation we have to fight the ill conceived move of the government.

Noam Chomsky

All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.
Noam Chomsky 

Announced Job Cuts in U.S. More Than Triple From Year Ago

U.S. employers announced the most job cuts in more than two years in September, led by planned reductions at Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and in the military.

Announced firings jumped 212 percent, the largest increase since January 2009, to 115,730 last month from 37,151 in September 2010, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Cuts in government employment, led by the Army’s five-year troop reduction plan, and at Bank of America accounted for almost 70 percent of the announcements.

While the bulk of firings are not “directly related” to economic weakness, they “could definitely be a sign of more cuts to come,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse, and the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts.”

More reductions will add to the pool of job seekers competing for work as policy makers, including President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve officials, strive to spur the labor market. Payrolls probably didn’t rise fast enough last month to lower the jobless rate, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Labor Department’s monthly jobs figures in two days.

Compared with August, job-cut announcements climbed 126 percent, the Challenger report showed. Because the figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects, economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes rather than monthly numbers.

Government agencies announced 54,182 reductions in September. Of those, 50,000 resulted from the troop reductions announced by the Army, Challenger said.

Financial Companies

Financial companies announced 31,167 cuts, the second most layoffs. Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender by assets, said on Sept. 12 it will eliminate 30,000 jobs in the next few years as part of Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan’s plan to bolster profit. The reductions, equal to about 10 percent of the staff, are part of an overhaul that aims to remove about $5 billion in annual costs by the end of 2013.

Today’s report also showed that employers announced plans in September to hire 76,551 workers, up from 15,201 the prior month, while down from 123,076 in the same month last year. Retailers led the gains, planning to add 70,912 positions ahead of holiday.

September Employment

Employers probably added 60,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists ahead of the Oct. 7 Labor Department figures.

The Fed ‘will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability,” the central bank’s Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday in testimony to Congress.

“Recent indicators, including new claims for unemployment insurance and surveys of hiring plans, point to the likelihood of more sluggish job growth in the period ahead,” he said.

Challenger’s data do not always correlate with figures on payrolls or first-time jobless claims as reported by the government. Many job cuts are carried out through attrition or early retirement. Some employees whose jobs are eliminated find work elsewhere in their companies and many announced staff reductions never take place because business improves. The totals also include foreign affiliates.

India gold ETF demand likely to explode: World Gold Council

MUMBAI: Demand for gold exchange traded funds(ETF) in India is likely to "explode" as investors get accustomed to "click-and-park" mode of investing, shying away from sagging stock markets and as high inflation eats into bank savings, a trade body head told Reuters on Thursday. 

"Clearly people are seeing convenience in the form of ETF, going through the same broker which he has for equities," said Ajay Mitra, managing director - India and the Middle East, World Gold Council (WGC). In the last four years, volumes in gold ETFs have grown over 164 percent. Mitra said another reason for the attractiveness of paper gold is that unlike in jewellery there are no intermediate costs. Currently, volume in gold ETFs in India, the world's largest consumer of bullion, is more than 15 tonnes-minuscule compared with the country's annual physical gold demand of 900 tonnes. Gold prices in India have gained 29 percent since the start of the year, compared with just 15 percent gains in the stock market. The WGC is working on a number of gold-based investment products, but they are still at the "concept stage". "It is still work in progress. The government is looking at various options to fund the economy," said Mitra. He, however, declined to give details. The council expects gold prices on India Multi Commodity Exchange to stabilise in between 27,000 rupees and 28,000 rupees ($549-$569) per 10 grams in October. This will boost demand during Dhanteras, the biggest gold buying festival, along with Diwali. "There has been marginal build-up (in inventory) but September has also been bad month from volatility point of view," said Mitra. With volatility at 21 percent, retailers had not stocked up, while other consumers were "not sure if tomorrow's price is better than today". OPTIMISTIC Outlook for gold in India is bright for the festival quarter during Oct-Dec due to the latent demand, Mitra said. "The trade is optimistic that we will see a better Diwali this year... but they are still a little sceptical of the volatility in prices and they want volatility to ease off a bit. Demand is there and price is not the factor as consumers are aware of the returns that gold has given," said Mitra. India gold demand rose 37 percent to 284.9 tonnes in the last quarter of 2010. "There is latent demand and the conditions are conducive for cause and case for gold. As inflation rate is high, real interest rates is negative," Mitra added. India's food price index rose 9.32 percent and the fuel price index climbed 15.10 percent in the year to Oct. 1. The stubborn inflation has prompted the RBI to raise interest rates a dozen times in the past 18 months and its key policy rate stands at 8.25 percent. The WGC said the flow of scrap, which is the raw material for gold refiners in India, has dried up. "Indian refineries will have to find some other business or some other way to value add to that business," said Mitra.