The NSE's wholesale debt market has shrunk considerably since its all-time peak in 2003-04. The WDM segment saw record net traded value of Rs 13,16,096 crore in 2003-04. In contrast, this value stood at just Rs 6,33,178crore during 2011-12, a 51 per cent decline.
Nevertheless, performance has been improving over the last seven years. Net traded value declined sharply after 2003-04, tanking by over 83 per cent till 2006-07. Thereafter, it has been rising every year, but is still nowhere close to the all-time high.
The average size of the daily trades in the WDM segment witnessed a similar trend, declining by nearly 80 per cent between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Since then, it has recovered marginally, rising by 17 per cent to Rs 2,649.28 crore in 2011-12 vis-à-vis the previous year. This is still 40 per cent less than the level seen in 2003-04.
Trading volumes
In the case of trading volumes, there was a sustained decline between 2003-04 and 2008-09, with a 90 per cent reduction in the number of transactions. The trading volumes have since risen marginally. The number of trades that took place in 2011-12 was 87 per cent lower than the volumes seen in 2003-04, though it was up 15 per cent vis-à-vis 2010-11.
However, the average size of trades in 2011-12 was nearly four-fold higher than in 2003-04. But this was 1.6 per cent lower than the all-time high seen in the previous year.
The Indian bond market is small even compared to other Asian countries, with the lack of liquidity being the biggest constraint. Daily trading volumes are less than 1 per cent of outstanding bonds.
The big investors
Furthermore, the bulk of the outstanding stock is government bonds, where interest rates are fixed. With retail participation minimal, banks and insurance companies are the big investors, holding nearly 70 per cent of outstanding gilts.
This has created problems: Insurance companies are long-term holders of bonds and banks don't have to trade either, as they have shifted a sizeable portion of their holdings to the held-to-maturity (HTM) category.
Corporates, on the other hand, seem to prefer private placement of debt over a public float. The market depth is further hampered by the fact that investors like to play it safe, with appetite restricted to top-rated companies.
Banks stump up better deals - New Zealand Herald
Homeowners are flocking to their banks to demand better interest rates on mortgages.
It comes after Bernard Hickey's column last week, which pointed out that a drop in wholesale rates had given banks more leeway to drop interest rates. Slower growth in the property market made them keen to compete for each other's business. His advice that borrowers ask their banks for a better deal has been followed.
BNZ had seen a 20 per cent increase in inquiries. ASB also reported a lift.
Hickey said traffic surged to record levels on Interest.co.nz, where people looked at mortgage rate comparisons, calculators and articles about rates. "Over 50,000 readers came to our site this week, almost double a regular week."
On Twitter, readers said they had negotiated loans to as low as 4.9 per cent. Others had their rates reduced by half a percentage point or more to rates such as 5.15 per cent, fixed for two years.
A typical advertised rate is 5.79 per cent, although Westpac, Kiwibank and ASB this week cut their two-year rates to 5.55 per cent. On Friday that was the cheapest two-year rate offered, although BNZ had a 5.1 per cent 18-month rate and KiwiBank was advertising a 4.99 per cent one-year rate for people with 30per cent equity.
Colin Jackson said Hickey's column prompted him to ask for a discount. "I just emailed the person I usually deal with, referred to Hickey's article and said I'd like a 0.5 per cent reduction. I still can't believe I did this."
Jackson had two loans, one floating at 5.75 per cent and the other fixed at 5.8. "They offered to cut my floating to 5.25 per cent, and to break my fixed and put that on floating at 5.25 per cent as well. They actually gave me more than I asked for."
Jackson will save thousands of dollars a year. "It was just a matter of asking nicely."
But Marie Patel found it harder to get a deal from TSB. "When I first asked I was turned down."
One of her friends contacted his bank and had half a percentage point knocked off his mortgage. Patel went back to her bank and asked again, and was offered a 0.25 discount. Threatening to change banks, she was offered a 0.5 per cent drop. She estimated it would save her $1000 a year.
Broker John Bolton, of Squirrel, said most banks would discount about half a percentage point off their advertised rates. "The best four-year rate I've got for a client is 5.7 per cent." He had negotiated two-year rates of 5.29 per cent and three-year rates of 5.55 per cent, compared with advertised rates of 5.55 per cent and 5.75 per cent.
The bigger the loan the more clout a borrower had, he said. An investor with several loans would be able to get help with costs such as break fees and legal fees. "Banks are prepared to stump up as much as $4500 to cover refinancing costs."
ASB spokesman Shaun Drylie said the bank had always been willing to help customers find the best banking package.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm said the low interest rates would likely create a shortage of property listings this winter because they were keeping sales figures high.
During colder months the number of listings tended to drop off more than sales. House sales exceeded listings between June and August last year. "With banks becoming even more competitive, that's only going to exacerbate the difference between listings and sales."
By Susan Edmunds | Email SusanBook review: Tales from the Mall, by Ewan Morrison - scotsman.com
Welcome to a new kind of 21st-century storytelling. This remarkable collection of writing is hard to categorise in any orthodox sense, but it is a brilliant and often profound form of literature that says more about the modern human condition than a hundred more conventional novels might.
Tales from the Mall
by Ewan Morrison
Cargo, 340pp, £9.99
Tales from the Mall contains short stories, various kinds of non-fiction including essays, journalism, etymology, history and social comment – and most impressively – modern folk tales culled from interviews with people working in or regularly interacting with shopping malls.
Morrison’s fiction to date has dabbled with themes of consumerism, capitalism and commercialisation, and this collection can be seen as a culmination of that obsession. In the erudite introduction he explains his fascination with shopping malls, these colossal, unreal spaces that have taken over our lives yet that seem curiously under-examined in modern culture.
The genius of Tales from the Mall is that Morrison plays everything with a straight bat. General consensus amongst well-educated types is that malls are evil, soulless places, a malaise of modern life to be scorned. But Morrison here reveals a much more complex ecosystem, a subtle and strange interaction between humans and the spaces we inhabit, and it is a genuinely revelatory read in that respect.
So we encounter the separated couple who use the mall as a neutral space for the handover of the kids, the woman using it for the scene of an illicit affair, the Muslim woman who uses the mall to power-walk in a space without fear of abuse from local teenage boys.
There are pieces of writing here that will make you cry, others that will give you a warm glow about humanity, and still others that will make you despair at the state of the world.
The interplay between straight fiction, collected true stories and Morrison’s impeccably researched non-fiction is often mesmerising, and the cumulative emotional power comes as a shock, and truly makes you look at the world in a different light.
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Print this pageOnline PLR Authority The Wholesale PLR Store Expands Again. - Emailwire
Master resell rights differs from private label rights in that people are not allowed to edit the contents without the authors permission. Although this limits the user somewhat, the quality is often much higher than PLR content. In addition, MRR products are usually slightly less expensive than it PLR counterpart.
The store currently features around one hundred MRR products and continues to update daily. They are categorized by popular niches including health and fitness, internet marketing, social media, relationships, pets, cooking and much more. The prices range from one to five dollars and includes instant downloads upon purchase. Store owner Joel Dreher states, The addition of MRR content was the result of requests from our many customers. And when our customers want something, we do our best to get it for them!
The inclusion of PLR and MRR merchandise ensures that customers will find what they are seeking regardless of topic or niche due to the expanded list of products. The store has doubled in size in the last two months and continues to grow at a rapid pace. Whether people are perusing the internet for books to read for pleasure or looking to profit from instant authorship, The Wholesale PLR Store is the place for them.
About The Wholesale PLR Store:
The Wholesale PLR Store is an online store that features different types of private label rights content. It is owned and operated by Joel Dreher, an internet marketer from Ocala Florida. The store has been featured on the popular internet marketing site, The Warrior Forum, and according to media giant Alexa, is one of the 100,000 most popular websites in the world despite its youth. It can be found at http://thewholesaleplrstore.com.
Women and shopping explained - heraldsun.com.au
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Shopping campaign is a beacon of excellence - North West Evening Mail
Published at 08:54, Saturday, 19 May 2012
THE Lanes Shopping Centre in Carlisle has won a marketing award for using local people in an advertising campaign.
Commercial director David Jackson and marketing manager Janet Murray collected the award at a dinner in London.
Marketing experts from across the retail property industry were celebrated at the annual shopping centre marketing awards, organised by British Council for Shopping Centres.
Janet said: “We initiated a campaign using local faces to reflect our retail brands and create a clear identity for The Lanes, producing a set of commercials that were eye-catching, retail focused and unique to Carlisle.”
The feedback from the BCSC marketing awards said the campaing showed; “strong involvement with retailers and encouraging performance in both sales and footfall”.
It added: “Using store managers in the TV adverts to promote brands is truly collaborative. The inclusion of external observations from other business shows the impact and a noticeable difference locally.
“And rarely do you see this level of participation or collaboration with retailers when putting together a marketing campaign.”
The award was presented by rugby player Austin Healey.
Joe Hendry, leader-elect for Carlisle City Council, said: “I’d like to pass on my congratulations to The Lanes in achieving this nationally recognised marketing award.
“Collaboration with their retailers and local businesses has proven to be a success for all concerned. Their innovative approach should be commended, well done to The Lanes.”
Last week, The Lanes retailer Debenhams announced it was planning a multi million upgrade to its store, due to begin on May 28.
PMcClounie@cngroup.co.uk
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
Policeman Injured After Scuffle With Robber - msnbc.com
A Philadelphia police officer suffered a head injury and another man was shot by police after an apparent would-be robbery in West Parkside Saturday morning.
Investigators say that at around 10:30 a.m. a man followed another man into one of the stores in the shopping center at West Jefferson and North 52nd Streets and said he was going to rob him.
The would-be victim yelled for help and told the alleged robber that he would meet him outside. The man did just that as a police car pulled up. As an officer went to assist the would-be victim, police say the would-be robber grabbed the officer's night stick and began hitting him with it.
After police tried and failed to pull the man off the officer, they drew their guns and shot the man several times until he collapsed.
Both the officer and the suspect were transported to a local hospital. There was no immediate word of their conditions and neither man's identity was released. Investigators believe that the suspect may have been high on methamphetamine. A clinic is located across from the shopping center, and patients often frequent its stores.
Wheat, bajra down on increased supply - MSN India
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Weak conditions prevailed in the wholesale grains market today with wheat and other grain prices falling by up to Rs 30 per quintal on increased arrivals from producing belts against reduced offtake.
Traders said increased arrivals from producing belts against reduced offtake by stockists mainly kept pressure on wheat and other bold grain prices.
In the national capital, wheat dara (for mills) declined by Rs 5 to Rs 1,230-1,240 per quintal. Att chakki delivery followed suit and shed Rs 15 to Rs 1,235-1,240 per 90 kg and atta flour mills lost Rs 20 at Rs 650-670 per 50 kg.
Bajra and maize also moved down by Rs 10 and Rs 30 to Rs 1,050-1,055 and Rs 1,120-1,130 per quintal, respectively.
The following are today''s quotations per quintal:
Wheat MP (deshi) 1,605-1,825, Wheat dara (for mills) 1,230-1,240, Chakki atta (delivery) 1,235-1,240, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) 190, Shakti bhog (10 kg) 190, Roller flour mill 650-670 (50 kg), Maida 670-700 (50 kg) and Sooji 770-800 (50kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 9,500, Shri Lal Mahal 9,500, Super Basmati Rice, 9,000, Basmati common new 6,000-6,200, Rice Pusa-(1121) new 5,400-6,000, Permal raw 2,100-2150, Permal wand 2,280-2,330, Sela 2,580-2,680 and Rice IR-8 1,600-1,650, Bajra 1,050-1,055, Jowar yellow 1,200-1,250, white 2,000-2,150, Maize 1,120-1,130, Barley 1,410-1,440, Rajasthan 1,080-1,090.
MasterCard: Mobile shopping taking root in emerging markets - Philippine Star Online
MANILA, Philippines - The gap in online shopping between established and growth markets is narrowing in the Asia-Pacific largely due to increased enthusiasm for mobile shopping in Southeast Asia markets, according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Online Shopping Survey.
The survey, which serves as a benchmark that measures consumers’ propensity to shop online, was conducted across 25 markets between Dec. 5, 2011 and Feb. 6 this year.
The report for the Asia-Pacific region included interviews with 7,373 respondents from 14 markets who were asked questions about their online shopping habits. The survey and its accompanying reports do not represent MasterCard’s financial performance.
In terms of online shopping and purchase intent, the results show that once again, the gap is closing for online shopping in Asia-Pacific markets between the “mature” and “emerging” markets.
Thailand leads the pack both in terms of online shopping (80 percent) and likelihood to make an online purchase in the next six months (93 percent), alongside China.
Korea (84 percent) and Malaysia (79 percent) also show high intent to purchase over the next six months, with Vietnam also showing similarly high intent to purchase (87 percent) despite a low percentage of people using the Internet for online shopping (61 percent).
Overall, big increases occurred in Thailand (+13 percent), Australia (+10 percent), Indonesia (+15 percent), New Zealand (+9 percent) and the Philippines (+15 percent) in terms of online shopping, with declines recorded in India (-14 percent), Singapore (-10 percent), and Korea (-17 percent), although the latter still had high intent to purchase (84 percent).
In keeping with the Southeast Asian theme of growth in this space, Vietnam, which was introduced into the study this year, boasts an index score comparable to Malaysia and Indonesia.
“This survey shows that the markets once considered to be emerging in Southeast Asia are now in fact challenging — and in some cases overtaking — traditional and mature online markets in the region,” said Philip Yen, group head for emerging payments in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East Africa of MasterCard Worldwide.
“On top of this, smartphones are gradually becoming the trusted device of choice for shoppers in our region and MasterCard is continually innovating to ensure convenience and security for consumers when they purchase online,” Yen added.
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