Real estate recovery in next three months: Assocham

September 16th, 2009 Fed tightens review of commercial real-estate riskWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is stepping up its scrutiny of commercial real-estate lending at smaller banks, according to a Fed official. Instead of reviewing only individual banks, Fed examiners also are comparing results across the industry to better assess broader risks, the official says.

September 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Gold prices may go up further during the forthcoming festive season to touch Rs.18,000 per 10 gram, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India(Assocham). Gold has seen a huge build-up in the exchange traded funds (ETF) in the last few weeks and will gain further momentum in view of festive demand and low international production, Assocham said in a report.

September 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Contrary to popular belief, tax expenses of companies with the infrastructure status have gone up by 90.3 percent, a survey released here Sunday said. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (Assocham) Financial Pulse study, tax expenses for companies under the infrastructure status have gone up because of improved realisations.

August 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - To bring transparency in the realty sector, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has suggested that it be made mandatory for real estate developers to open escrow accounts. Escrow accounts offer a safe avenue to buyers of property since payments for purchase of an apartment or similar real estate are deposited in them and paid to the developer only after the project is complete and the possession handed over.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Though the overall economy has started showing signals of an early recovery, the country's textile sector, the second largest employment provider, is still struggling with the slowdown, an industry report said Monday. The report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said decline in textile exports and massive layoffs in the industry were still continuing.

July 9th, 2009 Fed focused on commercial loansWASHINGTON — A Federal Reserve official says the central bank is paying extra attention to banks' books as losses from sour commercial real estate loans keep mounting. Jon D. Greenlee, associate director of the Fed's division of banking supervision, says in remarks prepared for a Congressional hearing Thursday that the central bank has stepped up training of its bank examiners so they are ready to deal with rising losses from the commercial real estate industry.

June 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Coaching institutes must be brought under the tax net as they seldom disclose their earnings, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has said. In a note submitted to the revenue department of the finance ministry Wednesday, Assocham said coaching institutes were charging "astronomically higher fee without submitting proper accounts of their income to tax authorities".

June 16th, 2009 Commercial real-estate loans draw no interestWASHINGTON — Investors showed no appetite for a government plan intended to boost the availability of commercial real-estate loans. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says it received no investor requests for loans by Tuesday's deadline.

May 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has proposed the setting up of a National Inflation Commission to help the government contain prices of essential commodities. "In the economic priorities of the new government, a transparent approach to inflation needs to be followed," Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said in a report.

May 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rajasthan attracted investments worth Rs.69,052 crore, the highest among northern states, during 2008-09, a business chamber report released here Wednesday said. The report, 'Investment Prospects in Indian Economy 2008-09' by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said Haryana, which attracted investments worth Rs.52,852 crore, came second, followed by Uttarakhand with Rs.36,059 crore.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Punjab has incurred property losses of up to Rs.7,000 crore on account of the violence by followers of the Dera Sachh Khand sect, according to conservative estimates arrived at by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). "Social tension in Punjab has caused a loss of Rs.6,000-Rs.7,000 crore of public property and pushed behind its investment prospects to a significant extent," Assocham said in a statement Tuesday.

April 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the infrastructure sector in various states will provide a Rs.200,000-crore stimulus for the Indian economy, a study by an industrial lobby released Wednesday said. According to the study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), the PPP projects - especially roads, real estate, power, ports and transport - have tremendous potential to unleash higher growth rate if the investment outlays are utilised effectively.

April 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Metros in South India are more attractive for infrastructure projects than their counterparts in the other parts of the country, an industry lobby report said Sunday. According to the report, 'Indian Metros: Pulling Infrastructure Investment', released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai received 70 percent of the total private infrastructure investment came to the six major metros in the country.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Corporate India's budget for brand promotion and entertainment will fall by nearly 32-35 percent in 2009-10 on account of the current meltdown, an industry lobby said in a report released Thursday. An internal assessment of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), which involved nearly 300 companies, said a 'vast majority' of private sector firms were yet to make their promotional budget public.

March 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has lost the opportunity of employing more than 160,000 people with 18 major steel, power and auto projects getting delayed over land acquisition and forest and environment clearance issues, says a study by a business chamber. According to the study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), 'the 18 strangled projects of India Inc to the tune of Rs.244,815.5 crore (Rs.2.45 trillion) remained on papers, in the form of memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreements over the past three-four years'.