Sensex, Nifty attain over 2-week closing high

Key benchmark indices edged higher to attain their highest closing level in more than two weeks on a special live trading session today, 8 September 2012, with market sentiment boosted by provisional data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Friday, 7 September 2012. The market breadth was strong. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, jumped 65.92 points or 0.37%, up about 50 points from the day's low and off close to 25 points from the day's high. FMCG stocks rose on revival of monsoon rains towards the end of the monsoon season, with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) hitting record high. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) also moved higher. Metal shares extended Friday's rally triggered by China's thrust on infrastructure projects to spur growth in the world's second biggest economy. National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and NMDC edged higher as the Finance Ministry has issued an advertisement for appointing merchant bankers for divestment of government stake in these two state-run companies. Tyre stocks surged on renewed buying. Bank shares extended Friday's gains. PSU OMCs also edged higher. Cipla scaled record high after the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of the company in a patent infringement case filed by Switzerland's Roche Holding AG over Cipla's cancer drug Erlocip. Wockhardt and Lupin also hit record high. The market edged higher in early trade, with market sentiment boosted by provisional data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Friday, 7 September 2012. The market extended initial gains to hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. The market extended gains to hit fresh intraday high in late trade. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth net Rs 502.17 crore on Friday, 7 September 2012, as per the provisional data from the stock exchanges. FIIs bought shares worth net Rs 137 crore from the secondary equity markets on Thursday, 6 September 2012, as per data from Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The stock exchanges conducted a special live trading session today, 8 September 2012, as the Bombay Stock Exchange was testing its disaster recovery site. Trading started at 11:15 IST and ended at 12:45 IST. Trades done today, 8 September 2012 will be settled on Tuesday, 11 September 2012 as a separate settlement, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said in a circular issued on 24 August 2012. The BSE Sensex jumped 65.92 points or 0.37% to settle at 17,749.65, its highest closing level since 24 August 2012. The index gained 89.42 points at the day's high of 17,773.15 in afternoon trade. The index rose 11.10 points at the day's low of 17,694.83 in early trade. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 16.60 points or 0.31% to settle at 5,358.70, its highest closing level since 24 August 2012. The index hit a high of 5,366.30 and a low of 5,343.45 in intraday trade. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.51% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.63%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,558 shares rose and 692 shares fell. A total of 102 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 23 stock rose and rest of them fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) gained 0.76%. RIL has bought back 3.9 crore shares for about of Rs 2793.51 crore till 4 September 2012 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set maximum buyback price of Rs 870 per share. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013. RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's Annual General Meeting in June 2012 that the company's buyback program represents a highly accretive use of cash by the company and it will supplement earnings growth from operations, for higher EPS (earnings per share), in the near future. RIL early last week said it has scheduled a planned maintenance turnaround of one of the diesel hydrotreater units of the DTA refinery at its Jamnagar, Gujarat complex for a period of approximately two and half weeks starting 28 August 2012. This opportunity will also be utilised to carry out other maintenance and inspection jobs during the shutdown period, RIL said in a statement. During the period the other diesel hydrotreating unit of the DTA refinery along with other units including crude processing levels are planned at normal levels, RIL said. Shares of ONGC gained 0.29%. Hess Corporation on Friday, 7 September 2012, announced that it has agreed to sell its 2.72% interest in the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli Fields (ACG) in Azerbaijan and its 2.36% interest in the associated BTC pipeline to ONGC Videsh (OVL) for $1 billion. The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, is subject to Indian and other government and regulatory approvals, Hess Corporation said in a statement issued on Friday, 7 September 2012. The BP operated ACG fields, located in the Caspian Sea approximately 100 kilometers east of Baku, commenced production in 1997. "The sale of our interest in ACG is consistent with our strategy to divest mature and small working interest assets," said Greg Hill, President of Worldwide Exploration and Production for Hess. The primary business of OVL is to prospect for oil and gas acreages abroad including acquisition of oil and gas fields, exploration, development, production, transportation and export of oil and gas. OVL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC. PSU OMCs gained across the board. BPCL, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and HPCL gained by between 0.69% to 0.97%. Petroleum Minister Mr. Jaipal Reddy told reporters on Friday that state-run oil companies don't have an immediate plan to increase the prices of fuel products such as gasoline and diesel despite their mounting revenue losses. PSU OMCs are currently (effective from 1 September 2012) incurring daily under-recovery of about Rs 551 crore on the sale of Diesel, PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG. Reddy said political opposition to raising the prices of fuel products is bleeding state-run fuel retailers who are set to lose Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year through March. It is a clear case of politics defeating economics, Reddy said on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi. He added that difficult and painful decisions need to be taken to reduce the under-recoveries of oil marketing companies. In reply to a question, Mr. Reddy said that as a Minister, it is his duty to bring out the facts in front of the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs (CCPA), but when the CCPA will take a final call on the issue is not known. Speaking on the occasion, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) chairman Mr. R.S. Butola on Friday said that oil companies are currently losing nearly Rs 6 per litre on petrol sales and pitched for hike in petrol prices. Mr. Butola said he is in consultations with his colleagues at other oil marketing companies and stakeholders on the issue. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Mr. R.P.N. Singh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha early this week that the continuous increase in under-recoveries along with delay in release of government compensation has deteriorated liquidity condition of the three Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (PSU OMCs) viz. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), BPCL and HPCL requiring them to borrow from market at high interest cost to meet their working capital requirements and capital expenditure. Mr. Singh also said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been requesting the Ministry of Finance for timely sanction and release of cash compensation to PSU OMCs. The combined borrowings of the three PSU OMCs stood at Rs 1.57 lakh crore as on 30 June 2012, higher than Rs 1.28 lakh crore as on 31 March 2012. Tyre stocks gained as lower rubber prices will boost profitability of tyre makers. Apollo Tyres, JK Tyre & Industries, MRF and CEAT rose by between 0.61% to 6.99%. Rubber is a key raw material in manufacture of tyres. Bank shares rose across the board. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 0.39%. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank gained 0.31%. State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.34%. SBI on Wednesday, 5 September 2012, said it has decided to revise downwards interest rates on retail term deposits with effect from Friday, 7 September 2012. The bank has decided to cut interest rates on retail term deposits by between 50 basis points to 100 basis points for various maturities for deposit below Rs 15 lakh. SBI has decided to cut interest rates on retail term deposits by 50 basis points for various maturities of less than 5 years for deposits of Rs 15 lakh to less than Rs 1 crore. Among other bank stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank rose by between 0.03% to 1.11%. Wockhardt rose 1.38% to Rs 1358.60. The stock hit record high of Rs 1362 in intraday trade today. Lupin rose 1.26% to Rs 617. The stock hit record high of Rs 618.70 in intraday trade today. Cipla rose 3.1% to Rs 392.45. The Delhi High Court has ruled in favour of Cipla in a patent infringement case filed by Switzerland's Roche Holding AG over Cipla's cancer drug Erlocip. The stock hit a record high of Rs 392.50 in intraday trade today. The court held that though the patent of Roche's cancer drug Tarceva is valid, Cipla's product, Erlocip, doesn't infringe the Swiss company's patent, according to reports. Cipla sells erlotinib hydrochloride, the cancer drug, in India at a fraction of the price charged by Roche. The final ruling from the Delhi High Court comes four years after it rejected an injunction plea by Roche to prevent Cipla from manufacturing and selling generic versions of its patented Tarceva drug in India. The court had rejected Roche's appeal in public interest, citing the huge cost difference between the two drugs. The decision in the Tarceva case comes before Novartis AG goes to Supreme Court next week to seek patent protection for its blockbuster cancer drug Glivec. Bosch rose 0.69%. The company has announced a schedule of partial/full suspension of manufacturing operations during September 2012 at some its manufacturing units to avoid unnecessary buildup of inventory. Production will be partially suspended at Bangalore plant on 8, 17, 18, 22 and 29 September 2012. Production will be totally stopped at the company's Jaipur plant on 8, 15, 22 and 29 September 2012. FMCG stocks rose on revival of monsoon rains towards the end of the monsoon season. FMCG firms derive substantial sales from rural India. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) gained 0.39% to Rs 540. The stock hit a record high of Rs 541.65 in intraday trade today, 8 September 2012. Among other FMCG stocks, Marico, Dabur India, and Nestle India gained by between 0.08% to 1.49%. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose 0.44% to Rs 263.90. The stock had scaled a record high of Rs 271.50 in intraday trade on 30 August 2012. The company reported strong Q1 June 2012 results. ITC's net profit jumped 20.21% to Rs 1602.14 crore on 15.34% growth in net sales to Rs 6652.21 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. Despite series of tax hikes, ITC's performance in cigarettes business remains robust and displays pricing power for the company. Metal shares extended Friday's rally triggered by China's thrust on infrastructure projects to spur growth in the world's second biggest economy. China is the world's largest consumer of copper and aluminum. Jindal Steel & Power, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco Industries, Bhushan Steel, Sail, and Hindustan Zinc rose by between 0.01% to 2.49%. China's top economic planners on Thursday, 6 September 2012, approved another batch of major infrastructure-investment projects, bolstering the more than two dozen subway and urban-rail initiatives announced a day earlier. In the latest round of Keynesian-style stimulus designed to rekindle economic growth, the National Development and Reform Commission gave the go-ahead to 13 highway projects and other municipal and port projects, according to reports citing documents posted on the commission's website. The measures follow Wednesday's announcement of 25 new rail projects worth an estimated 800 billion yuan ($127 billion) over the next three to eight years. Tata Steel rose 1.16%, with the stock extending Friday's 5.72% surge as euro-zone debt worries receded after the European Central Bank on Thursday, 6 September 2012, unveiled an expansive bond-buying plan to lower struggling euro zone countries' borrowing costs. European operations constitute almost 65% of Tata Steel's sales. National Aluminium Company (Nalco) rose 2.64%. The Finance Ministry has issued an advertisement for appointing merchant bankers for divestment of 12.15% government stake in Nalco. The government intends to sell 12.15% stake in Nalco through the stock exchanges mechanism. The government currently holds 87.15% stake in Nalco. NMDC rose 0.24%. The Finance Ministry has issued an advertisement for appointing merchant bankers for divestment of 10% government stake in NMDC. The government intends to sell 10% stake in NMDC through the stock exchanges mechanism. The government currently holds 90% stake in NMDC. Advance tax data for the 2nd installment due on 15 September 2012 could provide cues on the likely corporate earnings for Q2 September 2012. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday, 5 September 2012, said that India is making consistent efforts to check the abuse of a double-taxation-avoidance pact it has with Mauritius. India has in the past said it is considering a review of the treaty in an effort to boost tax revenue. An India-Mauritius joint working panel was set up in 2006 to put in place adequate safeguards for preventing the misuse of the double-taxation-avoidance agreement between the two countries. India, in the past, has said that Mauritius was unwilling to cooperate on this issue. Mauritius says it has taken India's concerns seriously. Traditionally, Mauritius has accounted for nearly 40% of India's foreign investment. Under the avoidance of double taxation treaty, companies that invest through Mauritius do not have to pay tax in India but only have to pay tax in the island. But capital gains tax is close to zero in Mauritius, making it a popular investment hub. India wants to renegotiate the double taxation treaty with Mauritius to check round-tripping, in which money is moved out of one country to another and brought back under the garb of foreign capital, taking advantage of tax breaks. Meanwhile, a committee appointed by the government to review the controversial general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) early this month suggested deferring the implementation of anti-avoidance rules by three years. "Where Circular No. 789 of 2000 with respect to Mauritius is applicable, GAAR provisions shall not apply to examine the genuineness of the residency of an entity set up in Mauritius," the committee said. The committee has also recommended that the government should abolish the tax on gains arising from transfer of listed securities, whether in the nature of capital gains or business income, to both residents as well as non-residents. The panel has said the government might consider increasing the rate of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) appropriately to make the proposal tax neutral. At present, short-term capital gains on equities are taxable at the rate of 15%. Holding period of less than one year is considered as short term. There is no long term capital gains tax on sale of shares. Business income is taxed at 30%. Distinguishing capital gains and business income depends on several factors, and disagreements have resulted in numerous litigation cases between the Revenue Department and taxpayers, the committee said in its report. Indian private sector services business expanded at the fastest pace in six months in August, driven by the strongest growth in new business since February and increasing optimism about the future, a survey showed on Wednesday, 5 September 2012. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for services business, based on a survey of about 400 private-sector companies, rose to 55 in August from 54.2 in July, marking nearly a year of uninterrupted monthly growth. Services, including government services like railway transport, make up nearly 60% of India's economic output. HSBC manufacturing PMI early this week showed manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace this year in August due to a second consecutive monthly fall in export orders. HSBC India Composite Output Index was at 54.3 in August, little changed from July's 54.4. India's annual exports fell 14.8% to $22.4 billion in July, while imports fell 7.6% to $37.9 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $15.5 billion, the trade ministry said in a statement on Monday. India's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5.5% in Q1 June 2012, data released by the government last week showed. The services sector grew 6.9%, industry grew 3.6% and agriculture sector grew 2.9%. Manufacturing output rose 0.2% while mining sector grew 0.1% in Q1 June 2012. India's economy has slowed sharply over the past year due to weak industrial activity as high interest rates crimped demand and made it hard for corporates to finance expansion plans. Global rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings cut their outlooks on India's ratings to negative from stable earlier this year and warned that unless the government takes concrete action to improve the macro-economic environment, the country may lose its investment-grade status. Slamming the Opposition as Parliament adjourned sine die on the last day of the monsoon session without conducting any major business, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the regular disruptions by the Opposition were a negation of democracy and a violation of norms of Parliament and the Constitution. "We have great respect for the CAG. However, if we respect it, we should be willing to discuss its reports in the House and at the PAC. This is negation of democracy, violation of norms of Parliament and the Constitution as we have understood it," Dr. Singh said. He said that the time wasted by Parliament could have been better utilised in discussing more crucial problems grappling the country like terrorism and Naxalism. "Parliament should have debated these issues. The country needed to know. Parliament is a forum to speak to people. It should have discussed the global economic developments. I would like the countrymen to make up their mind if this is the way that democracy functions," Dr. Singh said, adding, "All right thinking people in the country should see what happened." "On the economic front too we face major challenges. The world is passing through an exceptionally difficult phase. Our economy is also experiencing problems. We must work hard to ensure that the Indian economy returns to high growth. I have no doubt we can do it. We can rebuild our growth momentum and encourage entrepreneurship by stimulating investment in infrastructure, in power, in roads, ports, railways, and telecommunications. This will send a clear signal to the world that India is on the road to recovery. This in turn will bring back the momentum of growth, generate productive employment and also enable us to direct more resources to help the poor and weaker sections," Dr. Singh said. The Prime Minister said that the government must act wherever it can without the benefit of Parliamentary guidance. "I am instructing all Ministries to accelerate their consideration of critical issues where decisions are needed to get the economy moving again," Dr. Singh said. The month-long Monsoon session of Parliament that began on August 8 has been one of the least productive sessions by far with protests over Assam violence, CAG report on coal blocks allocation and finally the Bill over SC/ST quota in job promotions stalling the proceedings. No business could be transacted for days due to the daily ritual of slogan shouting and rushing to the Well of the House finally resulting in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha being adjourned sine die on Friday. Only four bills including the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill and the AIIMS Amendment Bill were passed during the Monsoon session, that had 30 bills pending. Of 15 bills listed for introduction, just five were introduced. It now remains to be seen whether Parliament will be able to pass the pending bills in the Winter session. The CAG report on coal blocks allocation alone stalled Parliament for 13 days as the Opposition MPs demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation in both the Houses even as the government stuck to its stand of a debate on the issue. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) early this week registered five separate cases against certain private companies, their directors and unknown public servants in connection with the allegations related to getting coal blocks allocated on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance/lack of due diligence on part of public servants. Promoters of some of these companies have allegedly sold their stakes in an irregular manner after allocation of coal blocks, CBI said in a statement issued on 4 September 2012. A preliminary enquiry to examine the irregularities, if any, in the allocation of coal blocks during the period 2006-09 was registered on a reference from CVC, in June this year. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India last month issued a report that said the government had lost as much as Rs 1.86 lakh crore in potential revenue because it awarded 57 coal blocks to private companies between 2004 and 2011 without competitive bidding. The report has created a furore, with opposition political parties stalling proceedings of the Parliament and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Dr. Singh last week denied allegations of impropriety in coal-block allocations and termed "clearly disputable" the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's (CAG) observations that the process followed to allot them deprived the government billions of dollars in revenue. In its report on the allocation of coal blocks, CAG said the government lost a maximum of Rs 1.86 lakh crore by allocating licenses for 57 coal-mining blocks between 2004 and 2011 to state-owned and private companies without a transparent auction. Dr. Singh said the CAG's calculation of about Rs 1.86 lakh crore of financial gain to private parties can be questioned on a number of technical points. Dr. Singh also said since that the coal blocks were allocated to private companies only for captive purposes for specified end-uses, it will not be appropriate to link the allocated blocks to the price of coal set by CIL. The government has very limited time to take economic reform measures given that assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh (HP) are scheduled in December this year. It will difficult for the government to enact controversial measures close to the assembly polls. After elections in Gujarat and HP, assembly elections are planned in a total of 10 states during the period from March 2013 to January 2014. The next general election is due in May 2014. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D Subbarao last week said India's inflation is still a challenge, but its growth story remains intact. "India has no space for a policy response to a crisis, we are more vulnerable," Subbarao said at an event in Cornell University in the United States. The country, he said, had room to react through monetary policy to the 2008-09 crisis, but this time around a litany of challenges--including moderating growth, persistent and high inflation, stress on balance of payments and twin deficits in the country's current account and fiscal budget--have left the central bank little room to negotiate the global slowdown. He noted that despite the depreciation of the Indian rupee by nearly 20% since last August, there has been no improvement in the country's current account deficit. He blamed the government's policy of fuel subsidies for protecting consumers from the effect of global commodity price rises. He noted despite higher prices, imports of oil into the country continue to increase due to rise in consumption, as consumers are protected from these price hikes. He added investors still should be confident of India's growth story and look at the positives including its attractive demographics, its growing middle-class and high savings rate. But he acknowledged there was a lot left to be done by various stakeholders to make the growth story happen. "India needs to grow at 10% for the next 15 years just to catch up," he said. RBI last cut rates by 0.5 percentage point to 8% from 8.5% in April, its first move to reverse a 20-month rate-tightening cycle. It then held rates steady in June and at its last rate-setting meeting on July 31, saying that a cut would exacerbate inflationary pressures. The RBI is scheduled to undertake a mid-quarter review of the monetary policy on 17 September 2012. A late pick-up in monsoon rains in August month will lead to a recovery in yields in summer-sown crops including rice and oilseeds, lessening the severity of a drought in several parts of the country following scanty rains for much of this year's June-September monsoon. Prolonged rains would also improve the prospects for winter-sown crops due to better soil moisture. An El Nino weather event, which usually disrupts rainfall, is expected to emerge at the tail-end of the monsoon in September. Farm Secretary Ashish Bahuguna late last month said the El Nino may not impact rainfall in September due to build-up of another weather phenomenon called the Indian Ocean Dipole. The monsoon rains--which make up around 70% of India's annual rainfall--are crucial to the nation's agriculture sector and broader economy. More than 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed. The timing, distribution and quantity of rainfall are all important for crops. The four-month southwest monsoon season that starts from June accounts for almost 70% of total annual moisture that Indian soil receives in a year. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last week said that the proposed direct-tax code (DTC) may require a fresh look. The DTC, which aims to simplify tax procedures and improve compliance, was placed in parliament more than a year ago, and the government had earlier said it would implement it on April 1, 2013. The DTC has already undergone several changes. Mr. Chidambaram also said tax laws needed to be friendly but firm. Mr. Chidambaram said the government will be able to achieve its indirect tax revenue target of Rs 5.05 lakh crore for the current fiscal year that began April 1. Meeting the target is crucial for the government, which is struggling to control its fiscal deficit as heavy spending is straining its finances. Weakening tax revenue amid a sharp slowdown in the economy has put further stress on the government's financial health. Authorities will also begin a campaign to improve compliance to tax laws and widen the service tax net, Mr. Chidambaram said. Mr. Chidambaram last month said that the goods and services tax (GST) is a more effective and efficient substitute for a plethora of indirect taxes. The Finance Minister said that he is hopeful that the GST Bill would be passed before the end of the current financial year. The Finance Minister further said that though there are still some issues relating to GST and its Network (GSTN) to be resolved, yet they are not insurmountable. Union Minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles Mr. Anand Sharma said 16 August 2012 that the government will come out with announcements pertaining to industrial environment that will address the subdued sentiment in the industry. Speaking after the fourth meeting of the Government-Industry Task Force Mr. Sharma said that there is a shared concern over the declining industrial production, particularly the manufacturing sector. China sounded the alarm about the state of the global economy on Saturday and urged countries gathering at an Asia-Pacific summit to protect themselves by forging deeper regional economic ties. Chinese President Hu Jintao said his country would play a role in helping deepen cooperation between the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) by rebalancing its economy to improve the chances of a global economic recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin had also expressed concern about the world economy on Friday, and particularly about Europe's debt crisis, as he prepared to host the annual APEC summit in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. US equities finished modestly higher on Friday, 7 September 2011, with major indexes scoring gains for the week to end at their highest levels in years as lackluster August jobs data fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve may start another round of monetary stimulus. Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate was unexpectedly driven down by Americans leaving the labor force, boosting the odds of additional Federal Reserve easing to spur a faltering recovery. The economy added 96,000 workers after a revised 141,000 increase in July that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed on Friday in Washington. It came as a disappointment after data released Thursday showed a drop in initial jobless claims last week, as well as the biggest jump in private-sector employment in five months. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day meeting on US interest rates on September 12-13. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke pledged in an Aug. 31 speech to promote growth with "additional policy accommodation as needed." Among US data due next week, a July reading on consumer credit is set for release on Monday 10 September 2012 and readings for consumer sentiment and core consumer prices will arrive on Friday, 14 September 2012. Election for a new president in the United States, the world's biggest economy, is scheduled on 6 November 2012. Japan's central bank, Bank of Japan, next meets on Sept. 18 and 19 to review monetary policy. ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday, 6 September 2012, said policy makers agreed to an unlimited bond-purchase program as they try to regain control of interest rates in the euro area. The program will target sovereign bonds with maturities of one to three years in its most ambitious plan yet to save the euro. The central bank also forecast a deeper economic contraction for 2012 than it did three months ago. Euro-area gross domestic product will drop 0.4% this year compared with an earlier 0.1% projection, it said. The results of a detailed audit on the capitalisation needs of Spain's banks are expected in mid-September 2012. Germany's constitutional court will decide on 12 September 2012 whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) -- the proposed permanent successor to the euro-zone's current emergency lender viz. the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) -- violates German law and the Maastricht Treaty's 'no bailout' clause. The EFSF is a temporary bailout fund and the ESM is the euro zone's permanent-rescue fund.