Profit Top 10: Rupee breaches 55/$; Pranab files white paper on black money

• Rupee breaches key psychological level
• Market Update: IT stocks weigh on Sensex, SBI gains for 2nd day
• 'Black Money’ white paper: Pranab files report
• Lenders spell out tighter terms for debt restructuring
• Morgan Stanley cuts India growth forecast to 6.3%
• India to challenge US visa fees at WTO this week
• Three years of UPA-II: What the numbers say
• India's policy decisions dampen investment climate: US envoy
• Rajat Gupta to face US jury Monday in insider trading case
• After Facebook IPO, Formula One to go public

Rupee breaches key psychological level

The rupee slumped to 55 against US dollar, an all-time low for the Indian currency. It has shed over 10 per cent of the value since March 2012 and over 20 per cent over the past one year and is among the weakest currencies in Asia. (Read More)

The rupee has now hit four consecutive record lows in as many sessions, at a time of intense turmoil over the euro zone, but traders saw no major signs of intervention from the Reserve Bank of India either on Friday or on Monday. Traders say the rupee, which is Asia's worst-performing currency this year, has proven particularly vulnerable to the global risk aversion given the steep fiscal and economic challenges facing the country. (Read: Top 10 developments)

Also Read: What more can India do to support the rupee?

Market Update: IT stocks weigh on Sensex, SBI gains for 2nd day

Indian markets managed to end in the green for a third straight day Monday, though selling pressure in the last 30 minutes of trade ensured a tepid close. The BSE Sensex closed over 100 points off the day's high, gaining 30.51 points or 0.19 per cent to end at 16,183 while the broader Nifty index advanced 14.60 points or 0.30 per cent to 4,906. (Read More)

State Bank of India continued to be in focus for the second day. Shares in the company gained 3.55 per cent or Rs 68.95 to Rs 2,009.50 on the back of stellar earnings it posted Friday. Meanwhile, IT stocks (-1.2 per cent) were the big underperformers.

Also Read: BSE-500: FIIs, private equities buy, promoters, retail investors sell

'Black Money’ white paper: Pranab files report

Pranab Mukherjee, India’s finance minister, refrained from putting out a number on the amount of black money stashed within or outside India. Some estimates put the number for India at over $ 100 billion. The report makes some interesting point and gives some useful numbers. (Read More)

The paper recommends that foreign entities operating in India should report all global transactions over a threshold limit. The definition of ‘foreign entities’ will include banks, FIIs, and fund transfer entities, among others. It also recommends that the central government establish a regulator for the private sector as self-regulation has failed. (Read More)

Lenders spell out tighter terms for debt restructuring

Bankers have called for tighter oversight of the debt restructuring process, saying corporate debt restructuring (CDR) should be need-based and analytical instead of being just for promoters’ benefit. At a meeting of bankers in Mumbai on Monday to discuss the issues, lenders said interest rates following a CDR should be aligned to base rates or current market rates. (Read other conditions)

Morgan Stanley cuts India growth forecast to 6.3%

Morgan Stanley has cut India's 2012 (Calendar year 2012) economic growth forecast to 6.3 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier. It has also reduced the forecast for CY13 to 6.8 per cent from 7.5 per cent. On a financial year basis, Morgan Stanley expects FY13 growth at 6.3 per cent and FY14 growth at 6.9 per cent. (Read More)

India to challenge US visa fees at WTO this week

India will seek consultations with the United States under the aegis of WTO this week on visa fee hike for professionals, which it alleges ‘discriminates’ against Indian software companies that send employees to America on short-term contracts.

"We have finalised our case. The US visa fee hike is a discriminatory move against Indian IT firms. This week, we will formally file the complaint and seek consultations under WTO," a senior Commerce and Industry Ministry official told PTI. (Read More)

Also Read: Nasscom concerned over US visa probe on Indian companies

Three years of UPA-II: What the numbers say

The Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance completes three years of coming to power for a second term on Monday. In that period, all major fiscal, monetary and market-related markers have shown a decline. Even inflation, which has come down in the past few months due to the Reserve Bank of India's tight liquidity regime, is still not within the central bank's comfort zone. Here is the UPA-II's term, as seen through the numbers. (Read More)

Here is another look at the top five investor unfriendly moves during the tenure of UPA-II from the 2G scandal to GAAR.

India's policy decisions dampen investment climate: US envoy

Several recent policy decisions by India have caused “significant concern” and “dampened sentiment” about its investment climate, US ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell said on Monday. “The adoption of manufacturing policies discriminatory to foreign companies and the inclusion of retroactive tax provisions in the Finance Bill are two examples,” Powell said. (Read More)

Rajat Gupta to face US jury Monday in insider trading case

Barely a day went by at the insider-trading trial of multimillionaire hedge-fund founder Raj Rajaratnam a year ago without mention of Rajat Gupta, a boldface name in business and charity circles.

On Monday in the same federal court in New York, it will be Gupta's turn to go on trial. The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Procter & Gamble board member is accused of leaking stock secrets to Rajaratnam, his erstwhile friend and business associate who was convicted and is now in prison. (Read more about the case)

After Facebook IPO, Formula One to go public

Motor racing business Formula One will start pre-marketing for its up-to-$3 billion Singapore initial public offering (IPO) on May 22 after receiving approval from the city's stock exchange for the deal, sources with direct knowledge of the plans said on Monday.

The company is seeking to raise at least $2.5 billion, vying to rank among the top IPOs in the world this year after Facebook raised as much as $18.4 billion and a planned $3 billion listing by Malaysia's Felda Global Ventures Holding. (Read More)