-The Business Standard Flawed govt policy is forcing car makers to shift to SUVs Over the next few months, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Ford, General Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra will launch new sports utility vehicles (SUVs). That’s because the market for SUVs is booming. Sales have grown 57 per cent in the first five months of this financial year (to 207,000 units), while passenger car and van sales have fallen...

-The Economic Times Housewives can expect tough times ahead maintaining household budgets as all indicators suggest that prices of non-subsidized domestic cooking gas cylinders are expected to go up till March, 2013, much before they exhaust their quota of another three subsidized cooking gas cylinders. This is because the price of domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or cooking gas) has been linked to international gas prices which typically shoots up during the...

-PTI Petrol price may be cut by about Rs 1.60 per litre later this month as appreciation of rupee against the US dollar has helped state firms make profit on the fuel. Indian rupee appreciated to five-month high since the government announced allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retailing. This has eased the cost of imports for oil firms, helping them make profit on sale of petrol. "Yes, there is about...

-The Hindu The government’s claim that it will dampen inflation, bring higher prices for farmers and lower prices for customers may be somewhat exaggerated With the intention of signalling a strong commitment to reforms, the UPA government has announced a hike in the price of diesel and liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, justifying the measures as growth-enhancing and inflation-dampening. They have been termed bold by India’s corporate sector...

-The Hindu Organised retail involving FDI and international players can lead to a shrinking of traditional small merchant trade. That is bad news for political parties and governments. When discontent among traders brews, they act. A. Srivathsan looks at how Japan, Indonesia and Thailand responded, using zoning laws and size regulation as a control mechanism. Look East to find out what happens when foreign retailers set up shop. Asia’s recent economic history...