Farm, personal loans up in April-October: CARE Ratings

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Mumbai, December 21:  

Agriculture and personal loans showed a higher growth while industry and services witnessed lower growth in the April-October 2014 period, according to credit rating agency Care Ratings.

Growth in credit so far this year has been sluggish with overall GDP and industrial growth conditions also being on the lower end, the agency said in its study on credit growth profile.

In the April-October period, agriculture credit saw a growth of 11.2 per cent (against 5 per cent in the year ago period) and personal loans were up 8.8 per cent (8.1 per cent).

Care Ratings attributed the lower credit growth to industry at 0.7 per cent (5.7 per cent) to both lower industrial growth of 1.9 per cent as well as high interest rates.

Bank credit to the services sector slowed to 1.5 per cent (8.3 per cent). Care said the growth in personal loans was driven by higher growth in vehicle loans in particular with mortgages also pushing up the rate, even though the growth was lower than that of last year.

“This is significant because notwithstanding unchanged rates of RBI, the household segment has gone in for such loans. Discounts offered by the auto sector and lower prices due to the excise relief provided in the Budget would have countered to an extent the high level of interest rates,” the agency said

بخش ویژه

جریمه مالی سنگین علیه کومرتس‌بانک آلمان به‌دلیل همکاری با ایران

دومین بانک بزرگ آلمان باید بیش از یک میلیارد دلار برای رفع اختلافات با مقامات آمریکایی، به‌دلیل نقض تحریم‌ها علیه ایران، سودان و میانمار (برمه) بپردازد.

کومرتس‌بانک متعهد می‌شود مرتکب جرایم مشابه دیگر نشود و در مقابل مقامات آمریکایی از تعقیب کیفری چشم می‌پوشند.

یک منبع آگاه به پرونده کومرتس‌بانک که نخواست نامش فاش شود، ضمن اعلام این خبر به خبرگزاری فرانسه گفته این جریمه بر اساس توافق مقامات آمریکایی در نهادهای مختلف وزارت دادگستری، خزانه‌داری و بانک مرکزی آمریکا و نیز دادستان منهتن در ماه ژانویه اعلام شده است و در مرحله نهایی شدن قرار دارد.

افزون بر اتهام نقض تحریم‌های ایران، سودان و میانمار، کومرتس‌بانک آلمان در ماه سپتامبر از سوی دادستان منهتن (در نیویورک) متهم به نقض قوانین ضد پولشویی شد.

پس از توافق پیرامون میزان جریمه، دو طرف در حال مذاکره بر سر درخواست‌های بنیامین لاوسکی، حسابرس مالی ایالت نیویورک هستند. لاوسکی اعلام کرده است که کومرتس‌بانک دستمزد کارمندان متخلف خود را کسر یا آن‌ها را اخراج کند.

Iraq vet protests for more than $8.50 an hour

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Thousands of fast food workers are expected to strike in 190 cities Thursday, demanding a $15 an hour wage, including Iraq war veteran Steven Wilkerson.

He earns $8.50 an hour working at a combined Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), Quizno's and Godfather's Pizza joint that's located inside a Hess (HES) gas station in Tampa. He spent over a year interviewing for jobs after he left the Marines before landing this one.

Wilkerson believes the protests are leading to change, in fact, this will be his third time striking. After he picketed earlier this year, his manager began to train him to become a shift manager, a title change that should come with a raise.

"I can't say that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't protested, but I think speaking out has made it happen faster," he said.

Steven Wilkerson previously served in Iraq

Child care costs more than college

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It's no secret that child care is expensive

But new numbers show just how deeply it can eat into a family budget -- in many cases, even deeper than what may spend on college.

The average cost of childcare is at least a quarter of the median income of single parents, according to a report Thursday from Child Care Aware, a group that provides resources to parents and caregivers.

And families at the poverty line, can spend as much as 85% of their income on care.

Parents in Massachusetts are spending more on childcare than in any other state. On average, Bay State families are paying $16,549 per year to send an infant to a center for care. That's about 15% of the median income for a two-parent family.

New York families pay a higher proportion of their incomes than in any other states, or about 16%.

The best bargain for child care? That would be in Louisiana, where it costs only about 7% of the median income.

Related: How much will it cost to raise your child

China's central bank cuts rates. Surprise!

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China surprised markets Friday by cutting its interest rates for the first time in more than two years

The cut comes against the backdrop of a slowing Chinese economy and rising concerns about global growth.

"Today's move is a major -- and largely unanticipated -- change of tack," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics.

The People's Bank of China lowered its benchmark one-year deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% and its one-year lending rate by 40 basis points to 5.6%.

China's economy clocked its worst quarter in more than five years in the three months through September 30. Gross domestic product grew by 7.3% versus the same period last year.

The slower growth raised concerns about Beijing's ability to meet its own annual growth target of 7.5%. The government has said it's willing to accept a slightly slower rate, but it has also adopted incremental measures to boost the economy

Trying to make ends meet on $9 an hour

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It's a question that has fixated philosophers for generations: What are the ingredients of a successful life?

It's also a question that Patrice H. wrestles with in far grittier terms every day in the small Alabama town where she lives. Patrice, 42, works for an auto parts dealer building headlamps, and her definition of a quality life is straightforward but profound: "Working a job where I wouldn't have to live paycheck to paycheck and also have time to spend with my kids."

Working 12 hours a day, six days a week for $9 an hour, Patrice finds herself weighing the school functions and weekend afternoons with her children that she misses against the grinding shifts she devotes to building them even a thin floor of economic security.

"I have to see them less and work more in order for them to have a good life," says Patrice, whose full name and specific location we have withheld to preserve her anonymity. "And then on the weekends, if I'm off, I'm tired from working six or seven days of the week. It just makes it kind of difficult. You can succeed, but it's going to come with a price. You have to sacrifice."

Like Patrice, many of the Americans surveyed in the 21st Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll find it a daunting challenge to balance work, family, and their desire to contribute to their community