NHAI mulls cutting toll tax by 30-35%

In order to reduce the cost of transportation, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is mulling a proposal to scrap the 30-35% premium on toll charged on highways bypassing cities.

The move has come in the wake of instances of consumers using alternative routes to save costs. The apex body has also suggested doing away with the extra toll that private concessionaires charge for roads on which they have spent between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore. No toll is charged on roads costing less than Rs 50 crore to upgrade or construct as of now.

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Scanty Rains – Guarseed, gum prices edge higher

Guarseed and gum prices, which have seen a sharp surge in the past fortnight, are set to gain further as guar production is likely to be sharply lower on choppy rains in the growing areas.

Guarseed prices have gained 5% in the last fortnight, while the gum prices have increased 15%. On Tuesday, guarseed for September delivery was quoted at Rs 2,196 a quintal against Rs 2,080 on July 21. Guargum September contracts closed at Rs 5,126 a quintal against Rs 4,443 during the same period.

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Reliance Infra bags Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro segment

Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra), part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has bagged the 32 km Mumbai Metro-II project connecting Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra. The project cost is pegged at Rs 11,000 crore and is slated to be completed by 2015.

The project is on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model with a concession period of 35 years and incorporates an extension clause of another ten years. The link would have 27 stations on the way.

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Copper touches 10-month high on US home sales data

Copper prices rose to a ten-month high after a report showed the number of contracts to buy previously occupied US homes rose for a fifth month.

Pending home resales rose 3.6% in June, an industry group announced on Tuesday. Economists forecast a 0.7% gain, the median of 35 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Builders are the biggest US users of copper, putting about 400 pounds (181 kilograms) in the typical home. The metal has soared 98% this year on speculation that global demand will climb.

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FIIs net buyers of Rs 347 cr (prov) in the cash segment on Monday

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 347.01 crore (provisional) today in the cash segment, as per information posted on the BSE website. While FIIs made gross purchases of Rs 1,748.87 crore, their gross sales stood at Rs 1,401.86 crore.

Similarly, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 61.01 crore (provisional) on the same day. While DIIs made gross purchases of Rs 884.72 crore, their gross sales aggregated Rs 823.71 crore.

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Copper rises higher on signs of economic recovery across the world

Copper prices moved higher on signs of economic recovery across the world. Prices in London, Shanghai and New York touched their ten-month highs on speculations that demand for the industrial metal would see an upmove.

Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose to $5,946.75 a metric tonne, the highest since October 6, and was seen at $5,884.50 at 3:35 pm in Singapore.

Copper for September delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange advanced 3.4% to $2.7130 a pound, the highest price for a most-active contract since October 3. November-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped

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