India & Pakistan

Financial News

India's Inflation Accelerates to 7.61%, Fastest Pace in More Than 3 Years India's inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in almost 3 1/2 years, underscoring the threat from rising food prices that prompted the government to extend a ban on futures trading this week.

Benchmark Sensitive Index Has First Weekly Decline in Five; Reliance Falls India's main stock index fell, posting its first weekly drop in five, after the country's inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in almost 3 1/2 years.

Rupee Completes Worst Week Since 1998 on Record-High Oil, Losses in Stocks India's rupee had its biggest weekly loss in a decade as record-high crude oil prices spurred demand for dollars from refiners and global funds sold local shares.

Bharti's Ratings May Come Under Pressure on Possible MTN Bid, Fitch Says Bharti Airtel Ltd., which is in talks to buy a stake in Africa's MTN Group Ltd., may have its debt ratings cut, depending on details of financing for the transaction, Fitch Ratings said today.

India's Food Corp. Buys Record Domestic Wheat, Private Buyers Stay Away Food Corp. of India, the state-owned biggest buyer of food grains, said it is making record purchases of wheat from farmers to ensure food security, after private traders shunned auctions because of falling prices.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Fourth-Quarter Profit Climbs on Higher India Lending India's Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., the worst performer on the Bombay Stock Exchange bank index this year, said fourth-quarter profit rose 41 percent as higher lending boosted revenue.

India May Partly Ease Ban on Rice Exports After Record Output, Pillai Says India, the world's second-biggest rice producer after China, may partly ease its ban on rice exports as the country is set to harvest a bumper crop.

Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence Targets India, Maldives, Oman Hotels for Profit Aitken Spence & Co., Sri Lanka's biggest operator of resort hotels, will focus on India, the Maldives and Oman to boost profit as escalating violence deters tourists from visiting the South Asian island.

General News

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran Agree to Fight Cross-Border Opium Trafficking Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran agreed to strengthen border cooperation to fight the drugs trade that is funding the Taliban insurgency and destabilizing the region, the United Nations said.

Sri Lankan Security Forces Seize Rebel-Held Town, Kill 15, Military Says Sri Lankan security forces overran a town controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north today, the Defense Ministry said, as the government drives rebels from strongholds in the South Asian island nation.

Myanmar Food Aid May Be Halted by UN as Military Junta Blocks Distribution Myanmar's military regime seized United Nations food shipments today and said it would distribute them to the 1 million people left homeless by last weekend's cyclone.

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