made several oscillations above and below 12,000 during the first half of March 2011. The Pakistani Rupee was in a steady trading band against the U.S. Dollar, moving between 84.7085.30 PKR to the U.S. dollar. Subsequent to the tragedy in Japan, the Dow relinquished the 12,000 level, the NASDAQ Composite surrendered the 2,700 mark and the S&P 500 index gave up the 1,300 level. Energy prices continued to gush ahead (sapping markets) with Crude Oil surging above $100 per barrel and Brent Crude surpassing $110 per barrel. During March 2011, the U.S. Dollar remained stable against the Euro and British Pound, but it remained below the “parity level” against the Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. Amidst the tragedy in Japan, the Yen made a lifetime high of 76.25 Yen to the U.S. Dollar on 3/16/2011 as Dollar-denominated assets were sold for Yen. Every year, the Federal Reserve (“The Fed”) meets eight times to review the various pieces of economic data, monetary policy, and make appropriate adjustments to interest rates as deemed appropriate and in extreme circumstances, the Fed has taken action in between meetings as well. The remaining six Fed meetings for CY2011 are as follows: April 26-27, June 2122, August 9, September 20, November 1-2 and Dec 13.
By Rajesh Ganatra Due to the tragedy in Japan, a special feature on the Japanese stock market is being included in this column. The country’s main stock index is the “Nikkei 225” which is commonly called the Nikkei, the Nikkei index, or the Nikkei Stock Average and it is a stock market index based on listings for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) newspaper since 1950. It is a priceweighted average (the unit is the Japanese Yen), and the components are reviewed once a year. Currently, the Nikkei is the most widely quoted average of Japanese equities, similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In fact, it was known as the “Nikkei Dow Jones Stock Average” from 1975 to 1985. The Nikkei 225 began to be calculated on September 7, 1950, retroactively back to May 16, 1949. Since January 2010 the index is updated every 15 seconds during trading sessions and the Nikkei average has deviated sharply from the textbook model of stock averages, which grow at a steady exponential rate. The average hit its all-time high on December 29, 1989, during the peak of the Japanese asset price bubble, when it reached an intra-day high of 38,957.44 before closing at 38,915.87, having grown six-fold during the 1980’s. Immediately upon commencement of the 1990s, the air started coming out of the bubble and the Japanese economy stagnated for years. Amidst the financial crisis, the Nikkei touched down at 7,054.98 on March 10, 2009 — 81.9 percent below its peak twenty years earlier. On March 15, 2011, the second working day after the massive earthquake in the northeast part of Japan, the index dropped over 10 percent to finish at 8605.15, a loss of 1,015 points and this put it at its lowest close since April 1, 2009 - the index regained some ground the following day, but started to retreat in the subsequent trading days when the nuclear crisis continued to get more serious and for the week ending March 18, 2011, the Nikkei managed to reclaim the 9,200 level. During March 2011, the Mumbai Sensex continued to oscillate in the low to mid 18,000s —- the index has dropped nearly 14 percent from its best close ever of 21,004 on 11/5/2010 - the index had an exceptional run during 2009 and 2010 and perhaps a breather was in order. However, over the past few months, there has been more than simple profit-taking at play: there have been several Government scandals unearthed, the most notable one pertaining to telecom licenses and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been investigating the possibility that “bear cartels” have been pushing down stock prices down over the past few months, and prime Indian companies apparently have been targets of the bear raids. In addition, inflation continues to be a concern and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already taken significant action last year to try and curb the inflation, by raising the interest rates and also increasing Cash Reserve Ratios (CRRs) for banks - and the markets do not want to see additional activity of this nature by the RBI. Over the past few months, the Karachi KSE-100 index had steadily moving upwards from the 9,500 level to the 12,400 level, however, the index faced some headwinds at the mid 12,500s and could not advance beyond that level - the index Saathee.com
Special Note: This article contains the ideas and thoughts of its author and it does not necessarily imply the viewpoints of Saathee magazine or its principals. Rajesh T. Ganatra Contact him at rajeshtganatra@rocketmail.com
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY LAW OFFICES OF DAVID A. CONCHA 725 East Trade St., Suite 215(Court Arcade Building) Charlotte, NC 28202 Tel: 704-525-8824 Fax: 704-525-8820 IMMIGRATION SERVICES: -Residency (green cards) -Citizenship -Fiancé visas(K) -Labor Certification -H1-B L-1 O-1
- Removal & Deportation Defense
-General Immigration Matters SERVING THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY My parents are IMMIGRANTS therefore I can understand your situation. You will be treated with the utmost integrity and respect. Saturday and telephone consultations available We can also serve your needs in the following areas:
David A. Concha Attorney
Auto Accidents Workman’s Compensation DWI, Speeding Revoked Licence and Similiar Traffic Infractions and Simple Divorce
Member American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) 56
April 2011