1. ET NEWS Damanbir Singh MBA 2C

2. RBI hikes repo rate by 25 bps, reverse repo rate by 50 bps The Reserve Bank of India raised interest rates more aggressively than expected on Thursday, keeping up its fight against inflation, but signalled that it may be nearing a pause in its current tightening cycle.

3. Cont….. The RBI lifted the repo rate, at which it lends to banks, by 25 basis points to 6 percent and raised the reverse repo rate, used to absorb excess cash, by 50 basis points to 5 percent. The new rates, which comes into effect immediately. The hike in rates will lead to a rise in cost of funds for the banks and eventually makes loans expensive, which will reduce consumption.

4. Railways' earnings up by more than 6 pc The Railways have earned Rs 2,293.41 crore during September 1-10 as compared to Rs 2,162.08 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 6.07 per cent. The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs 1,458.79 crore during September 1-10 in 2009 to Rs 1,502.80 crore during the same period this year, showing an increase of 3.02 per cent.

5. Cont….. The passenger revenue earnings during this period were Rs 705.88 crore which was Rs 625.28 crore during the corresponding period last year, reflecting an increase of 12.89 per cent. The earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs 66.27 crore during this period as compared to Rs 59.43 crore during the same period in 2009, showing an increase of 11.51 per cent.

6. Four funds eye Honda's stake in Hero Honda Motors KKR & Co, TPG Capital, Carlyle Group and Bain Capital LLC are competing to acquire a part of Honda Motor Co's stake in India's biggest motorcycle maker, Hero Honda Motors. Two of the funds may jointly buy about 15 percent, valued at $1.1 billion in Hero Honda. Another 5 percent may be sold to the Munjal family, founders of the Hero group. Honda Motor and the Hero Group each own 26 percent in Hero Honda.

7. Durables makers won't hike prices this festive season Consumer durable makers have decided against a hike in prices in the festive season, which sees a jump in sales, despite a rise in raw material prices. Steel makers like Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel, among others, have recently raising prices. Durable makers such as Godrej & Boyce, Samsung and Videocon have said that they would rather absorb the high costs than play party pooper for their consumers. There has been a 4-5% increase in the input costs for durable makers.

8. Air India gets fleet cover despite high claims Air India has managed to get quotes for its fleet insurance at a marginal increase over the previous year despite claims of close to $100 million. ICICI Lombard General Insurance has emerged the lowest bidder in the tender for fleet insurance floated by the National carrier. The net cost of covering Air India’s `45,000 crore fleet as per ICICI Lombard’s bid is around $30 million against $25 million in the previous year. The increase is not very significant considering the large claims in the previous year.

9. High price to be no deterrent for festive gold sales Despite gold having crossed Rs 19,000 per 10 gram, India’s leading gold jewellery retailers are gearing up for higher sales during this festival season thanks to a good monsoon and resurgent economy. Retail chains such as Tanishq, Gitanjali Gems, Rajesh Exports, Shrenuj and others are expecting 40% growth in festival demand this year.