Amfi to take up MF officials' salary structure

The coming board meeting of the mutual fund sector body, the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi), on Tuesday is likely to see its members discuss the contentious issue of salaries paid to senior executives.

The issue came into the limelight after the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, informally told fund houses that high salaries of key officers could potentially put pressure on the profitability of fund houses, especially the small ones. According to sectoral experts, salaries of top executives such as chief executive officers, chief investment officers and equity heads has risen about 80 per cent in the past seven to eight years.

F&O inclusion woes for Kaveri Seeds

Shares of agricultural seeds producer Kaveri Seeds have declined 55 per cent since the company's inclusion in the futures and options (F&O) segment in June this year. Though shares of most seed and fertiliser companies have traded weak in the past six months, the quantum of a decline is much less. Market people say due to thin F&O volumes, a lot of speculative trading activity is going on in this counter. Along with Kaveri Seeds, 13 other stocks were added to the derivatives segment in June, which included Ceat and Oil India. Ceat has gained 34 per cent, whereas Oil India has declined 22 per cent since their inclusion.

Sebi fields calls from PMO on commodities

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its new avatar as commodities market regulator, has seen a surge in phone calls from the Prime Minister's Office. "In earlier instances, Sebi used to receive calls only on the sudden price changes in benchmark equity indices but now, for any change in prices of commodities, it is being questioned for reasons and risks associated with it," said an official.