metals, banks will boost sensex further

• Japan’s government kept its assessment of the economy unchanged in a monthly report on Friday but warned of increasing downside risks to growth such as the strong yen and slowing overseas growth.
• China’s imports leapt in August, boding well for a strengthening of domestic demand in an economy that has become a major driver of global growth.
• Stocks rose and bonds fell on Thursday after stronger-than-expected U.S. data on jobless benefits and trade, raising hopes the tepid economic recovery would accelerate.
• The Basel Committee of central bank and regulatory officials is likely to complete talks on new Basel III capital standards by Sunday or Monday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday.
• There are no signs of a slowdown in India’s industrial output growth, senior finance ministry adviser Kaushik Basu said on Thursday.
• India, the world’s top consumer of sugar, has asked millers to apply for exports of the sweetener against imports of raws in the past, trade and government officials said on Thursday.
• Japan and India agreed on a free trade deal on Thursday which Tokyo said would lead to a 10-fold jump in trade flows as it eyes the fast-growing economy as a low-cost production centre and a market for exports.
• High inflation in India is expected to ease in coming months, reducing pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise interest rates further.
• India’s wholesale price index in August probably rose 9.6 percent from a year earlier, easing from a rise of 9.97 percent in July. Forecasts from 15 economists ranged from 9.36 percent to 9.84 percent.
• Equity funds posted the biggest weekly inflows in more than a month in early September, reflecting some comfort with the global economic outlook, though fresh cash allocations showed the limits of risk taking, EPFR Global data showed on Friday.
• Asian stocks rose to a four-month high on Friday as some investors were inspired by positive U.S. and Japanese economic data to pick out bargains, with the shift to riskier assets weighing on the yen.
• World stocks kicked off September on a stronger note on Wednesday as data showed a manufacturing rebound in China and stronger-than-expected growth in Australia, while the yen held near recent 15-year peaks against the dollar.
•  India’s tax department has jurisdiction over tax bills in cross-border mergers, a court ruled, dismissing a petition by Vodafone(VOD.L) and setting a precedent for foreign firms looking to buy into Indian companies.
• U.S. President Barack Obama stood firm on Thursday in opposition to a Republican push to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich but stopped short of threatening to veto such a measure if passed by Congress.
• Advice may be nice, but backing it up with balance sheet can be key to winning M&A business for investment banks in India.
• Switzerland remains the world’s most competitive economy, while India dropped two places to 51, according to the World Economic Forum’s annual rankings issued on Thursday.