Sensex surges 132 points

MUMBAI: Stock markets opened on a promising note on the first trading day of 2013 with the BSE benchmark Sensex rising over 132 points in early trade on increased buying by funds as well as retail investors. The 30-share index rose by 132.22 points, or 0.68 per cent, to trade higher at 19,558.93 points with all the sectoral indices led by realty and metal, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.23 per cent. The Sensex had shed 18.13 points in the previous session in two-way movements. The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 37.90 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 5,943.00. Brokers said sentiments buoyed largely in tandem with overnight gains on the US markets on fresh hopes for a last-minute deal to avoid the economy-crunching fiscal cliff. Besides, expectations of rate cut by the RBI later this month also triggered buying by participants, they said. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.28 per cent higher in yesterday’s trade, while most of Asian markets are closed today for a public holiday.

Sensex surges 132 points

MUMBAI: Stock markets opened on a promising note on the first trading day of 2013 with the BSE benchmark Sensex rising over 132 points in early trade on increased buying by funds as well as retail investors. The 30-share index rose by 132.22 points, or 0.68 per cent, to trade higher at 19,558.93 points with all the sectoral indices led by realty and metal, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.23 per cent. The Sensex had shed 18.13 points in the previous session in two-way movements. The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 37.90 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 5,943.00. Brokers said sentiments buoyed largely in tandem with overnight gains on the US markets on fresh hopes for a last-minute deal to avoid the economy-crunching fiscal cliff. Besides, expectations of rate cut by the RBI later this month also triggered buying by participants, they said. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.28 per cent higher in yesterday’s trade, while most of Asian markets are closed today for a public holiday.

Marines will be back, says Italian government

NEW DELHI: Italy on Monday assured India that the two marines, facing murder charges in Kerala, will be back in the country within the first week of January as per the court order.

"You can be assured that they will be back. The Republic of Italy has given its word in writing and we will honour that," a senior Italian government official told PTI here amid reports of uncertainty over their return.

Recently media reports had said the marines would not be back as they are likely to contest elections there.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were allowed by the Kerala High Court this month to visit their family in Italy for Christmas.

"This (allowing them to visit Italy) is a testimony of the Indian sensitivity towards the value of the Christmas festivities considered of the utmost importance by all Italians," Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in Italy.

The two marines were arrested from Italian vessel 'Enrica Lexie' on February 19 for shooting down two Indian fishermen off Alapuzha coast on February 15.

The Kerala High Court permitted them to go home for two weeks while asking them to give a bank guarantee of Rs6 crore and imposing stringent conditions.

Italy has approached the Supreme Court for jurisdiction to try the marines at home, arguing the February firing took place in international waters.

Italian government sources said the issue of marines is "highly sensitive and sentimental" and they were looking forward to early settlement of case.

They said the Supreme Court here is likely to pronounce the judgement in the case in January.

Marines will be back, says Italian government

NEW DELHI: Italy on Monday assured India that the two marines, facing murder charges in Kerala, will be back in the country within the first week of January as per the court order.

"You can be assured that they will be back. The Republic of Italy has given its word in writing and we will honour that," a senior Italian government official told PTI here amid reports of uncertainty over their return.

Recently media reports had said the marines would not be back as they are likely to contest elections there.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were allowed by the Kerala High Court this month to visit their family in Italy for Christmas.

"This (allowing them to visit Italy) is a testimony of the Indian sensitivity towards the value of the Christmas festivities considered of the utmost importance by all Italians," Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in Italy.

The two marines were arrested from Italian vessel 'Enrica Lexie' on February 19 for shooting down two Indian fishermen off Alapuzha coast on February 15.

The Kerala High Court permitted them to go home for two weeks while asking them to give a bank guarantee of Rs6 crore and imposing stringent conditions.

Italy has approached the Supreme Court for jurisdiction to try the marines at home, arguing the February firing took place in international waters.

Italian government sources said the issue of marines is "highly sensitive and sentimental" and they were looking forward to early settlement of case.

They said the Supreme Court here is likely to pronounce the judgement in the case in January.

U.S Senate approves fiscal cliff legislation

WASHINGTON: The Senate passed legislation early New Year’s Day to neutralise a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. The pre-dawn vote was 89-8.

Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in the House of Representatives, where a vote was expected later on Tuesday or perhaps on Wednesday.

Without legislation, economists in and out of government had warned of a possible new recession and spike in unemployment if the fragile U.S. economy were allowed to fall over the so-called fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

Even by the recent dysfunctional standards of government-by-gridlock, the activity at both ends of historic Pennsylvania Avenue was remarkable as the Obama administration and lawmakers spent the final hours of 2012 haggling over long-festering differences.

“It shouldn’t have taken this long to come to an agreement, and this shouldn’t be the model for how we do things around here,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who negotiated the agreement with Vice President Joe Biden, a former senator.

Under the deal, taxes would remain steady for the middle class and rise at incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples levels higher than President Barack Obama had campaigned for in his successful drive for a second term in office.

Spending cuts totaling $24 billion over two months aimed at the Defence Department and domestic programs would be deferred. That would allow the White House and lawmakers’ time to regroup before plunging very quickly into a new round of budget brinkmanship certain to revolve around Republican calls to rein in the cost of the Medicare health care program for the elderly and other government benefit programs.

Officials also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay raise for lawmakers due to take effect this spring.

“One thing we can count on with respect to this Congress is that if there’s even one second left before you have to do what you’re supposed to do, they will use that last second,” the President said in a mid-afternoon status update on the talks.

As darkness fell on the last day of the year, Obama, Biden and their aides were at work in the White House, and lights burned in the House and Senate. Democrats complained that Mr. Obama had given away too much in agreeing to limit tax increases to incomes over $450,000, far above the $250,000 level he campaigned on. Yet some Republicans recoiled at the prospect of raising taxes at all.

Democratic senators overwhelmingly supported the measure after being briefed at a closed-door session at the Capitol with Biden.

“The argument is that this is the best that can be done on a bipartisan basis,” said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, when asked about the case the Vice President had made.

Passage sends the measure to the House, where Speaker John Boehner refrained from endorsing a package as yet unseen by his famously rebellious rank-and-file. He said the House would not vote on any Senate-passed measure “until House members and the American people have been able to review” it.

Numerous Republican officials said McConnell and his aides had kept the speaker’s office informed about the progress of the talks.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, issued a statement saying that once the legislation cleared the Senate, “I will present it to the House Democratic caucus.”

And while the nominal deadline for action passed at midnight, Obama’s signature on legislation by the time a new Congress takes office at noon on Jan. 3, 2013 the likely timetable would eliminate or minimize any inconvenience for taxpayers.

Tax rate cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 during President George W. Bush’s administration were set to expire at the end of the year. The pending across-the-board reductions in government spending, which would slice money out of everything from social programs to the military, were put in place last year as an incentive to both parties to find ways to cut spending. That solution grew out of the two parties’ inability in 2011 to agree to a grand bargain that would have taken a big bite out of the deficit.

If Obama and Congress failed to act, about $536 billion in tax increases, touching nearly all American workers, and about $110 billion in spending cuts, about 8 per cent of the annual budgets for most federal departments, were scheduled to go into effect beginning in January.

A late dispute over the estate tax produced allegations of bad faith from all sides.

Earlier, McConnell had agreed with Obama that an overall deal was near. In remarks on the Senate floor, he suggested Congress move quickly to pass tax legislation and “continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending” next year.

The White House and Democrats initially declined the offer, preferring to prevent the cuts from kicking in at the Pentagon and domestic agencies alike. A two-month compromise resulted.

Officials in both parties said the agreement would prevent tax increases at incomes below $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.

At higher levels, the rate would rise to a maximum of 39.6 per cent from the current 35 per cent. Capital gains and dividends in excess of those amounts would be taxed at 20 per cent, up from 15 per cent.

The deal would also raise taxes on the portion of estates exceeding $5 million to 40 per cent. At the insistence of Republicans, the $5 million threshold would rise each year with inflation.

Much or all of the revenue to be raised through higher taxes on the wealthy would help hold down the amount paid to the Internal Revenue Service by the middle class.

In addition to preventing higher rates for most, the agreement would retain existing breaks for families with children, for low-earning taxpayers and for those with a child in college. Also, the two sides agreed to prevent the alternative minimum tax from expanding to affect an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000. The law originally was designed to make sure millionaires did not escape taxes, but inflation has gradually exposed more and more households with lower earnings to its impact.

The legislation leaves untouched a scheduled 2 percentage point increase in the payroll tax, ending a temporary reduction enacted two years ago to help revive the economy.

Officials said the White House had succeeded in gaining a one-year extension of long-term unemployment benefits about to expire for an estimated two million jobless.

The legislation also prevents a 27 per cent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

Also included is a provision to prevent a threatened spike in milk prices after the first of the year.

Even as time was running out, partisan agendas were evident.

The White House and Congress had spent the seven weeks since the Nov. 6 elections struggling for a compromise to protect the economy.

Obama used his appearance at the White House not only to chastise Congress, but also to lay down a marker for the next round of negotiations early in 2013, when Republicans intend to seek spending cuts in exchange for letting the Treasury to borrow above the current debt limit of $16.4 trillion.

“Now, if Republicans think that I will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone and you hear that sometimes coming from them ... then they’ve got another think coming. ... That’s not how it’s going to work at least as long as I’m President,” he said.

“And I’m going to be President for the next four years, I think,” he added.

Obama’s remarks irritated some Republicans.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona they would “clearly antagonize members of the House.”

U.S Senate approves fiscal cliff legislation

WASHINGTON: The Senate passed legislation early New Year’s Day to neutralise a fiscal cliff combination of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in at midnight. The pre-dawn vote was 89-8.

Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in the House of Representatives, where a vote was expected later on Tuesday or perhaps on Wednesday.

Without legislation, economists in and out of government had warned of a possible new recession and spike in unemployment if the fragile U.S. economy were allowed to fall over the so-called fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

Even by the recent dysfunctional standards of government-by-gridlock, the activity at both ends of historic Pennsylvania Avenue was remarkable as the Obama administration and lawmakers spent the final hours of 2012 haggling over long-festering differences.

“It shouldn’t have taken this long to come to an agreement, and this shouldn’t be the model for how we do things around here,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who negotiated the agreement with Vice President Joe Biden, a former senator.

Under the deal, taxes would remain steady for the middle class and rise at incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples levels higher than President Barack Obama had campaigned for in his successful drive for a second term in office.

Spending cuts totaling $24 billion over two months aimed at the Defence Department and domestic programs would be deferred. That would allow the White House and lawmakers’ time to regroup before plunging very quickly into a new round of budget brinkmanship certain to revolve around Republican calls to rein in the cost of the Medicare health care program for the elderly and other government benefit programs.

Officials also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay raise for lawmakers due to take effect this spring.

“One thing we can count on with respect to this Congress is that if there’s even one second left before you have to do what you’re supposed to do, they will use that last second,” the President said in a mid-afternoon status update on the talks.

As darkness fell on the last day of the year, Obama, Biden and their aides were at work in the White House, and lights burned in the House and Senate. Democrats complained that Mr. Obama had given away too much in agreeing to limit tax increases to incomes over $450,000, far above the $250,000 level he campaigned on. Yet some Republicans recoiled at the prospect of raising taxes at all.

Democratic senators overwhelmingly supported the measure after being briefed at a closed-door session at the Capitol with Biden.

“The argument is that this is the best that can be done on a bipartisan basis,” said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, when asked about the case the Vice President had made.

Passage sends the measure to the House, where Speaker John Boehner refrained from endorsing a package as yet unseen by his famously rebellious rank-and-file. He said the House would not vote on any Senate-passed measure “until House members and the American people have been able to review” it.

Numerous Republican officials said McConnell and his aides had kept the speaker’s office informed about the progress of the talks.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, issued a statement saying that once the legislation cleared the Senate, “I will present it to the House Democratic caucus.”

And while the nominal deadline for action passed at midnight, Obama’s signature on legislation by the time a new Congress takes office at noon on Jan. 3, 2013 the likely timetable would eliminate or minimize any inconvenience for taxpayers.

Tax rate cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 during President George W. Bush’s administration were set to expire at the end of the year. The pending across-the-board reductions in government spending, which would slice money out of everything from social programs to the military, were put in place last year as an incentive to both parties to find ways to cut spending. That solution grew out of the two parties’ inability in 2011 to agree to a grand bargain that would have taken a big bite out of the deficit.

If Obama and Congress failed to act, about $536 billion in tax increases, touching nearly all American workers, and about $110 billion in spending cuts, about 8 per cent of the annual budgets for most federal departments, were scheduled to go into effect beginning in January.

A late dispute over the estate tax produced allegations of bad faith from all sides.

Earlier, McConnell had agreed with Obama that an overall deal was near. In remarks on the Senate floor, he suggested Congress move quickly to pass tax legislation and “continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending” next year.

The White House and Democrats initially declined the offer, preferring to prevent the cuts from kicking in at the Pentagon and domestic agencies alike. A two-month compromise resulted.

Officials in both parties said the agreement would prevent tax increases at incomes below $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.

At higher levels, the rate would rise to a maximum of 39.6 per cent from the current 35 per cent. Capital gains and dividends in excess of those amounts would be taxed at 20 per cent, up from 15 per cent.

The deal would also raise taxes on the portion of estates exceeding $5 million to 40 per cent. At the insistence of Republicans, the $5 million threshold would rise each year with inflation.

Much or all of the revenue to be raised through higher taxes on the wealthy would help hold down the amount paid to the Internal Revenue Service by the middle class.

In addition to preventing higher rates for most, the agreement would retain existing breaks for families with children, for low-earning taxpayers and for those with a child in college. Also, the two sides agreed to prevent the alternative minimum tax from expanding to affect an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000. The law originally was designed to make sure millionaires did not escape taxes, but inflation has gradually exposed more and more households with lower earnings to its impact.

The legislation leaves untouched a scheduled 2 percentage point increase in the payroll tax, ending a temporary reduction enacted two years ago to help revive the economy.

Officials said the White House had succeeded in gaining a one-year extension of long-term unemployment benefits about to expire for an estimated two million jobless.

The legislation also prevents a 27 per cent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

Also included is a provision to prevent a threatened spike in milk prices after the first of the year.

Even as time was running out, partisan agendas were evident.

The White House and Congress had spent the seven weeks since the Nov. 6 elections struggling for a compromise to protect the economy.

Obama used his appearance at the White House not only to chastise Congress, but also to lay down a marker for the next round of negotiations early in 2013, when Republicans intend to seek spending cuts in exchange for letting the Treasury to borrow above the current debt limit of $16.4 trillion.

“Now, if Republicans think that I will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone and you hear that sometimes coming from them ... then they’ve got another think coming. ... That’s not how it’s going to work at least as long as I’m President,” he said.

“And I’m going to be President for the next four years, I think,” he added.

Obama’s remarks irritated some Republicans.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona they would “clearly antagonize members of the House.”

Surplus land should be distributed to landless, says Pinarayi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Launching a massive land rights campaign, CPI-M in Kerala Tuesday asked the UDF government to take immediate steps to take over surplus land and distribute it to the landless. Thousands of party cadres and activists of feeder outfits gathered in all the 14 districts across the state as part of the first phase of stir in identifying land to be taken over by the government. Addressing the agitators at Vadakkanchery in Thrissur, CPI (M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said the strike would be intensified if the UDF government refrained from retrieving the land identified by the campaigners. Pinarayi said there had been concerted efforts by "land mafia" with the support of the government to sabotage the land reform legislation, which set ceiling of 15 acres for non-plantation land to be possessed by a family. He said the move to upset the legislation that restricted reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands was also a matter of grave concern. Senior CPI (M) leaders, including opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, also addressed the campaigners in different parts of the state. Party leaders claimed that about one lakh people had lined up for the campaign being carried out with participation of the party's feeder outfits like farmers and farm workers unions and scheduled caste and scheduled tribes' units.

23-yr-old woman found dead at classmate's house

HYDERABAD: A 23-year-old student of Osmania University was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the house of her classmate in Chatrinaka area of Old City here, police said today. The young woman was suspected to have been strangled to death last night. Her body has been sent for postmortem, they said.

The body was found lying at the house of Shiv Kumar, who is a Ph.D student at the Osmania University, police said.

Chatrinaka Police said Shiv Kumar was absconding since the incident.

An autopsy was being conducted on the girl's body and only after the report more details will be clear about the incident, police added.

23-yr-old woman found dead at classmate's house

HYDERABAD: A 23-year-old student of Osmania University was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the house of her classmate in Chatrinaka area of Old City here, police said today. The young woman was suspected to have been strangled to death last night. Her body has been sent for postmortem, they said.

The body was found lying at the house of Shiv Kumar, who is a Ph.D student at the Osmania University, police said.

Chatrinaka Police said Shiv Kumar was absconding since the incident.

An autopsy was being conducted on the girl's body and only after the report more details will be clear about the incident, police added.

Surplus land should be distributed to landless, says Pinarayi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Launching a massive land rights campaign, CPI-M in Kerala Tuesday asked the UDF government to take immediate steps to take over surplus land and distribute it to the landless. Thousands of party cadres and activists of feeder outfits gathered in all the 14 districts across the state as part of the first phase of stir in identifying land to be taken over by the government. Addressing the agitators at Vadakkanchery in Thrissur, CPI (M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said the strike would be intensified if the UDF government refrained from retrieving the land identified by the campaigners. Pinarayi said there had been concerted efforts by "land mafia" with the support of the government to sabotage the land reform legislation, which set ceiling of 15 acres for non-plantation land to be possessed by a family. He said the move to upset the legislation that restricted reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands was also a matter of grave concern. Senior CPI (M) leaders, including opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, also addressed the campaigners in different parts of the state. Party leaders claimed that about one lakh people had lined up for the campaign being carried out with participation of the party's feeder outfits like farmers and farm workers unions and scheduled caste and scheduled tribes' units.