Diesel price hiked by 50 paise a litre; petrol down

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Diesel prices will go up by 50 paise a litre, excluding taxes, from Thursday midnight, while petrol will become cheaper by Rs.1.15 a litre, government-run oil marketing firm Indian Oil Corporation said.

This is the second cut in petrol prices in a month. The price was lowered by Rs.3.05 a litre Oct 1 on account of softening of prices in international markets as well as strengthening of the rupee.

Allowing for local taxes, the prices per litre of diesel will be Rs.53.10 in Delhi, Rs.57.49 in Kolkata, Rs.60.08 in Mumbai and Rs.56.61 in Chennai.

The corresponding rates for petrol will be Rs.71.02 in Delhi, Rs.78.07 in Kolkata, Rs.78.04 in Mumbai and Rs.74.22 in Chennai.

While the petrol price is market-linked and revised periodically depending on crude oil price in the international markets, diesel is subsidised and the government has allowed the marketing firms to hike it by a "small amount" every month.

"Even after the current increase, under-recovery on retail diesel stands at Rs.9.58 per litre," IOC, the country's largest oil marketing firm, said in a statement.

"The movement of prices in international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate is being closely monitored and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes," it said.

A government panel headed by former Planning Commission member Kirit S. Parikh Wednesday suggested an immediate increase of Rs.5 a litre in diesel prices.

However, the government is unlikely to implement the expert panel's recommendation due to political compulsions as as assembly and parliamentary elections are round the corner.

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Amazon sales show momentum, analysts boost price targets

REUTERS - Shares of Amazon.com Inc jumped 10 percent at the opening on Friday after the company reported better-than-expected sales growth in North America and indicated strong momentum going into the U.S. holiday season.

At least 15 brokerages raised price targets on Amazon shares, to as much as $430, after the world's biggest online retailer company reported strong results for the third quarter.

The stock, which has already risen 32 percent this year, was trading at $364.40, up from its closing of $332.21 on the Nasdaq on Thursday before the results were announced.

Brokerage Raymond James raised its rating on the stock to "strong buy" from "market perform". Most other brokerages maintained the equivalent of "buy" or "hold" ratings.

"We're increasingly positive on Amazon shares, given strong revenue growth with accelerations in media and EGM (electronics and general merchandise), both in North America and International," J.P. Morgan analysts said in a research note, while sticking to their "neutral" rating.

Amazon reported its first quarterly revenue beat since the first quarter of 2012, as well as better-than-expected gross margins.

"...We see consistent margin expansion, continuing through at least 2014, helping support Amazon's seemingly lofty valuation," said Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos, who has a price target of $400 on the stock.

Many analysts characterized the company's holiday-quarter sales forecast of $23.5 billion to $26.5 billion as conservative. First-quarter sales rose 24 percent to $17.1 billion, helped by a 31 percent rise in North America.

In contrast, rival eBay Inc cited weak consumer confidence for its holiday quarter sales forecast that fell short of analyst expectations.

"Amazon appears to be gaining share at a more rapid pace while still investing heavily in tech and content, fulfillment capacity and international market development," Stifel Nicolaus analysts said in a note.

Expanding beyond retailing, Amazon has come out with products such as the Kindle Fire tablet, video and content subscription service Amazon Prime and the Amazon Web Services cloud computing platform for businesses.

This has elevated Amazon to the status of a major tech company along with Apple Inc , Google Inc and Microsoft Corp .

Analysts at RBC Markets, who have an "outperform" rating on the stock, said Amazon's strong mobile positioning and infrastructure advantages that allow for fast delivery should allow the company to build on the 20 percent market share they estimated it already has in the United States.

Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Sandler said Amazon shares were "a core must-own" in large cap internet.

"It remains our top idea in e-commerce sector," he wrote, reiterating a "buy" rating. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Ted Kerr)

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Cabinet soon to consider cutting wheat export floor price

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The cabinet will soon consider cutting the floor price for wheat exports by 13 percent, two government sources said on Thursday, potentially boosting supplies from the world's second-biggest producer and easing benchmark prices in Chicago.

"After an inter-ministerial consultation, a note is being prepared to help the cabinet take up the issue of lowering the price to $260 a tonne," said a government source involved in the process.

Another source confirmed the move.

No date has been fixed for the next cabinet meeting, which would be the final step for a cut in wheat export prices. Consensus between ministries usually means the cabinet will approve at this stage, although new hurdles can emerge.

Cabinet meetings are usually on Thursdays but it was not held this week because Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was travelling back from China.

Reuters reported on October 15 that the government might soon cut the floor price for exports of wheat from state-run warehouses, overflowing with stocks after bumper harvests since 2007.

Stocks will surge further as farmers are poised to harvest a bumper winter crop after above average monsoon rains raised soil moisture levels and replenished reservoirs.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and; Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and David Evans)

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Bengal government blames price hike on floods, centre

Kolkata, Oct 23 (IANS) As the prices of vegetables, fish and onions touch the roof, the West Bengal government Wednesday blamed the centre and the recent floods, and announced a meeting Oct 30 of the special task force for monitoring market rates.

While onions sold at Rs.80 per kg Wednesday, brinjal was Rs.60 to Rs.70 a kg; pointed gourd and lady's finger sold in the range of Rs.40 and Rs.60 per kg. Tomatoes were priced at Rs.50 a kg. Rohu fish was selling at Rs.250 a kilo.

With exorbitant prices hitting people hard, the state government refused to take blame for the spiralling prices of essential commodities.

"We are thinking about containing the prices, but our government is not responsible for the escalation of prices. Very recently, there were floods in the state because of cyclone Phailin, and discharge of water from reservoirs of the Damodar Valley Corporation in Jharkhand. The centre contributed to the rise in onion prices by allowing exports," said state Agriculture Marketing Minister Arup Roy.

The minister said the government was trying to bring down the prices to normal levels.

The 11-member special task force entrusted with conducting surprise checks and monitoring prices was maintaining a vigil and making the rounds of the markets.

An emergency meeting of the task force has been called here Oct 30.

"There is a shortage in onion supply. We are selling onions at subsidised rates", the minister said.

Roy said the sharp differences between the prices received by the farmers and the those selling at wholesale and retail markers needed to be reduced.

But the opposition was in no mood to let go of the opportunity to attack the government on the issue. "Seems to me 'dal me kuch kala hai' (something's fishy). The task force has either failed to take the required steps or has not deliberately taken the needed measures to control prices," Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

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