Weekly News

(8th – 13th Nov)

Canada, India launch talks on free trade deal

Canada and India on

Friday launched talks on a

free trade deal they said

could boost gross domestic

product in each nation by

C$6 billion ($5.9 billion) a

year and increase existing

trade flows by 50 per cent.

The leaders of the two

countries made the

announcement in a news

release which said "both

sides expect a timely

conclusion of an

ambitious agreement". It

gave no further details on

timing.

China sees 2010 trade surplus less than $190 bln

China's trade surplus for 2010 is to be lower than the $190 billion

recorded last year, Chinese

Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on

Saturday.

Chen, attending the third triennial

forum for Economic and

Trade Cooperation between China and

Portuguese-Speaking

Countries, said China would boost

imports.

China which is edging past Japan

to become the world's second

biggest economy, is likely to achieve a trade surplus of $180 billion this

year, Vice Commerce

minister ZhongShan said earlier

this month

Greek economy shrinks 4.5 percent in 12 months

The Greek economy shrank by 4.5 percent in the last 12

months, official data showed on Friday pointing to the trauma the country

has undergone since an election and emergence of a

debt crisis.

Gross domestic product contracted by 1.1

percent in the third quarter from output in

the second quarter, data from the ESA statistics

agency said.

The European Union statistics office Eurostat is

to publish on Monday revised data for the Greek

public deficit which are expected to show an

upward revision for 2009 to more than 15.0 percent of

GDP from 13.6 percen

Rs 50,000 cr liquidity crunch in the economy

Worried over liquidity crunch in the economy estimated at around Rs

50,000 crore, the RBI on Saturday said the

situation has worsened and it was taking

measures to ease it.

During the last couple of weeks the number

(deficit) has been clearly above that. That number

was clearly about Rs 50,000 crore," RBI

Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said.

The RBI's policy statement on November 2

had tried to explain a comfortable liquidity band, which is plus or

minus one per cent of the net demand and time

liabilities (NDTL), Gokarn said.

The economy has been experiencing liquidity

shortfall due to a spurt in festive demand coupled with

an over Rs 20,000 cr absorption on account of the

recent share sale offer of public sector undertaking

Coal India and Power Grid Corporation .

Russia, Japan, China firms in billion dollar fertiliser deal

Russian President Dmitry Mevedev on Saturday oversaw

the signing of a one-billion-dollar deal with Japanese and Chinese firms for a fertilizer

plant, despite diplomatic tension with Tokyo.

Rising demand has prompted Russia to work

towards the replacement of ageing fertilizer plants that were constructed twenty to

thirty years ago.

The deal comes amid surging demand for

fertilizer due to rising food production in response to global population growth.

The value of the contract is estimated at just over 1.0

billion dollars. The plant, to be located in the central

Russian region of Tatarstan, is expected to come online in

2015, the Kremlin spokeswoman said.