Dose of joy!

"If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Get ready for a ‘fresh’ dose of economic reforms. The Cabinet is set to approve a series of bills aimed at capitalizing on the momentum gained from last month’s reforms. The bills are part of ongoing efforts by the UPA to shore up its scam-tainted image. The bills include the ones that would raise the FDI cap in Insurance and open up the Pension sector to foreign investors. The Cabinet may also consider amendments to the Companies Bill, Competition and the FCRA Bill. The only worry is a few of these bills could face stiff floor test in the Parliament. The start today is likely to be positive following overnight gains on Wall Street. Reports on US jobs and service industries beat economist estimates. Energy companies dropped as oil traded near a two-month low. All eyes are on Friday's monthly non-farm payrolls report. European indices closed mixed amid no sign of stability in the debt-strapped region's economy while Asian benchmarks are indecisive. Chinese markets remain shut for a week-long national holidays. Spanish bond auctions, policy decisions by the Bank of England and ECB, and FOMC minutes are among the key global events to keep on one’s radar today. Back home, the focus will soon shift to corporate earnings. Hopes are building on a gradual improvement in India Inc.’s report card, although the overall macro-economic outlook remains challenging. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney says he doesn’t have a $5 trillion tax cut in mind even as President Obama claims otherwise, as the first presidential debate got underway in the US. Arguing that the Republican nominee Romney was likely to skew tax cuts towards the wealthy, Obama said either it would add to the deficit or the middle class would be taxed further. Main News Headlines: The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan on Wednesday said he expected the rupee to stay at current levels on hopes that capital inflows would pick up in the second half of the current financial year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor, Subir Gokarn says that the rising subsidy bill would be a hindrance to controlling inflation and fuelling growth. A panel on Wednesday recommended raising railway passenger fares and electricity tariff among a string of measures needed to fast track infrastructure development. RIL has clinched separate deals for producing oil from two fields in Venezuela and getting a 15-year commitment for supply of crude to its two refineries. NTPC has agreed to sign the new fuel supply agreement (FSA) with Coal India, signalling an end to their long standoff. Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) on Wednesday signed an agreement to acquire British Gas's (BG) 65.12% stake in its Indian subsidiary Gujarat Gas Company for Rs 2464 crore. Trend in FII Flows: The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 6.02bn in the cash segment on Wednesday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Rs 6.68bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE. The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 11.40bn in the F&O segment on Wednesday, according to the provisional NSE data. The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 2.31bn in the cash segment on Monday while the Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs 1.74bn, according to the SEBI figures. The Indian markets were closed on Tuesday. Global Data Watch Today: Japan Foreign Bond Investment (Sep 28), Foreign Investment in Japan Stocks (Sep 28), China National Day Holiday, US Presidential Debate, Australia Building Permits (Aug), Australia Retail Sales (Aug), UK Halifax House Prices (Sep), France 10-Year Bond Auction, Spain 2-year,3-year,5-year Bond Auctions, UK BOE Interest Rate Decision, UK BOE Asset Purchase Facility, US Challenger Job Cuts (Sep), EU ECB Interest Rate Decision, EU ECB Monetary Policy Statement and Mario Draghi Press Conference, US Initial Jobless Claims (Sep 29), US Continuing Jobless Claims (Sep 22), US Factory Orders (Aug) and US FOMC Minutes.