Forex kitty rises

Mumbai, May 24: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for the second consecutive week to $314.08 billion for the week ended May 16. This is a jump of $1.38 billion compared with the previous week’s $312.70 billion, the Reserve Bank said in its weekly report today. Reserves had gone up by $200 million in the week before. Foreign currency assets during the period went up by $1.34 billion to $304.11 billion from $302.77 in the previous week.

Esmark buy

New Delhi, May 24: Essar Steel’s bid to acquire Esmark is facing a strong opposition from the us steel maker’s major stockholder — Franklin Mutual Advisers — which has favoured Esmark’s agreement with Russia’s steel giant oao Severstal.

Kiwi ties

Melbourne, May 24: India and New Zealand are keen on completing a study by the end of this year to find out the feasibility of a free trade agreement for boosting bilateral trade, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said in on his recent visit to New Zealand.