March is just a month away and tax investments are probably taking priority. The usual suspects are insurance, equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS), PPF to seek some tax exemptions. Another instrument, which is getting popular among tax savers, is the five-year tax-saver fixed deposits (FDs).

Interest rates are unlikely to fall in near future as it was expected with the State Bank of India raising the fixed deposit rate of various maturities up to 1.5 percentage points. Other banks are also planning to raise deposit rates. After SBI increasing deposit rates, other banks have no choice but to raise the rates to mobilize resources in the domestic market, chairman of a public sector bank said.

Bankers are betting on 2008 to be a better year than 2007 in terms of business as low inflation, comfortable global liquidity and strong economic fundamentals would mean lower interest rates and hence much more business than 2007.

Public sector lender Bank of India today revised the interest rates for Foreign Currency Non- Resident External (Banks) deposits and Non-Resident External deposits also compare fixed deposit rates to secure your money for future.

For deposits in US dollar, Pound, Euro, Yen, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar, rates have been revised to 3.71 per cent, 5.30 per cent, 3.94 per cent, 0.35 per cent, 3.98 per cent and 6.95 per cent respectively for maturity periods between 1-2 years, a bank release said here today.

For maturity periods between 2-3 years, rates have been revised to 3.19 per cent, 4.77 per cent, 3.67 per cent, 0.28 per cent, 3.44 per cent and 6.67 per cent respectively, for the above currencies, it said.

Within days of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sounding a warning to banks against the practice of not paying interest on premature withdrawal of deposits, major banks have started scrambling to restructure their fixed deposit schemes. Most banks, including State Bank of India, have withdrawn special schemes. ICICI Bank, the country's second-largest lender, has lowered interest rates on deposits by 25-50 basis points.

If you had invested your hard earned money in the Fixed Deposits of a company, and then the company declared itself bankrupt, you would be a in for a rude shock. The company would be declared sick, and you have very little chance of getting your money back. Not a good situation to be at all. In some cases, the company would be deliberately declared sick so as to defraud the investors of their money. Once the company is granted protection by the BIFR (Board of Industrial & Financial Reconstruction), the company has immunity to claims made against it by its investors. Even to initiate legal action against the company so as to get your money back, you would have to get the permission of the board.

Although some banks have resorted to cutting deposit rates to protect margins, it is increasingly felt the banks will have to continue offering higher deposits rates to make them attractive. Sources in the finance ministry are of the view that banks cannot afford to make deposits unattractive vis-a-vis other investment options.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI on Tuesday cut interest rates on its special deposit schemes by 0.25 to 0.5 per cent with effect from November 12.

The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday sought the Supreme Court's direction for vacation of the stay on its decision to discontinue with the Janata Deposit Scheme.

A former manager of the United Bank of India has been charged of issuing a fake fixed deposit receipt, FDR to a customer while he was serving as a branch manager of the bank in Moreh.

Moreh police station has registered a case in this regard after the current branch manager Kh Dhanabir of the UBI, Moreh branch lodged a complaint on October 4 last. He alleged the former branch manager, Thounoujam Mangi who retired from service in February 2000, of issuing the fake FDR.

He reported to the police that Mangi during his tenure as manager of the bank had issued a fake fixed deposit receipt (FDR) no. 987603 DID on February 13, 1995 for Rs. 50,000 in the name of one L Samandanda Singh of Moreh ward no. 2 in Chandel district.

Chennai-based Indian Bank revised interest rates on fixed deposits, effective from September 1.

Interest rates on term deposits of tenure one to less than three years have been revised to 9 per cent, Indian Bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Fixed deposits of 3-5 years would now draw an interest rate of 8.75 per cent, it said, adding that a maturity period of over five years would attract a rate at 8.5 per cent.

The short-term deposit rates of tenure 180-364 days and 91-179 days has been fixed at 7 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively, it added.

Following the Reserve Bank's decision to increased the mandatory cash deposits of all banks, or cash reserve ratio, by 0.5 per cent to 7 per cent in its monetary policy review on July 31, many banks lowered the deposit rates.

Major banks like ICICI Bank and State Bank of India decreased interest rates on short-term deposits during the month. Other banks that reduced deposit rates were Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Centurion Bank of Punjab and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

Interest rates on fixed deposits (FDs) have been on their way up for sometime. But what is more interesting is the fact that banks have been offering higher interest rates on FDs of certain tenors.

The latest to join the bandwagon is the largest private-sector bank in the country, ICICI Bank. The bank is offering an interest rate of 8% on a 390- day FD. The minimum deposit required here is Rs 10,000.

The interest rate offered on this special deposit is 1.25% more than the rate offered on deposits with a slightly lesser or higher tenor. For example, on FDs with tenors of 391 days to 2 years also, the interest rate offered is 6.75%. On FDs with a tenor between 366 days to 389 days also, it is 6.75%.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has lowered fixed deposit interest rates by 15 to 100 basis points effective from July 18, 2007.Fixed deposits of one year term will now get interest rate of 8.75 per cent compared to 9.75 per cent earlier. Interest rates have been increased by 15 bps for term deposits of tenure 2-3 years to 8.75% from the earlier 8.6 per cent. Check out and compare fixed deposit rates offered by all major banks

Indian rating agency Crisil said it has upgraded its rating on Jindal Saw Ltds (JSL) fixed deposit programme to 'FAA-' from 'FA+' with a stable outlook.

Crisil, a division of Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) , said the rating action is driven by expected strong improvement in JSLs capital structure and debt protection measures, after the companys decision to sell its equity stake in its US-based entities for an enterprise value of 900 mln usd.

The rating continues to reflect JSLs strong position in the domestic submerged arc-welded pipes industry, robust growth in operating income, diversified revenue base, healthy growth prospects in end-user segments and strong order book position, Crisil said.

It added these rating strengths are, however, partially offset by the high working capital intensity of the business, and vulnerability of operating margins to fluctuations in raw material prices.

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Indian rating agency Crisil, a division of Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) , said it has reaffirmed Federal Bank Ltd's short-term fixed deposit programme at 'P1+'.

The bank has also enhanced the bank's certificate of deposit programme, rated 'P1+' to 40 bln rupees from 30 bln rupees.

Crisil said its ratings on the bank's short-term debt instruments continue to reflect the bank's healthy earnings profile, strong franchise among Keralites including those who are non-resident-Indians (NRIs) and sound capitalisation levels.

However, Crisil said the rating strengths are partially offset by the bank's average asset quality, geographical concentration in the Southern Indian state of Kerala, and pressure on its resource profile.

Investors today are flooded with various choices of investment instruments like fixed deposits, shares, unit trust, gold, bonds, etc. Before investing, it's important to gauge your risk appetite.

Risk appetite is sometimes influenced by our culture, upbringing, character, age or profession. For instance, the older a person gets the more risk averse he's likely to be. Therefore, there are factors to consider when making an investment. Ask yourself; how much capital do I have to invest? What is my expected rate of return? Is it short, medium or long term investment? What are the options available to me? How much I could afford to lose? How do these options compare against each other? Have I considered all possible costs of investment?

By answering these questions, we can narrow down the choices to those that most suit us. This is one method of profiling. It reduces confusion in deciding which type of investments we should invest in.

At a time when war clouds are hovering, it always makes sense to scout around for safe investment options.

As you are aware, fixed income products are the best bet in times of uncertainty. Though even interest rates have been fluctuating in recent times, you will still get the rate of interest promised by the borrower at the time of investing. There are institutions that come out with periodic ratings of companies and their investment products.

The interest rate offered by a triple A rated company is always slightly lower than a company that has lower credit rating.

It's a reasonably well-known fact that many banks insist customers open a fixed deposit with them to rent a safe deposit locker.

In large cities, some banks ask for a minimum Rs 25,000 as fixed deposit for a locker. A 63-year-old Mumbai consumer complains that a cooperative bank demanded Rs 1 lakh as the minimum deposit amount.

Banks, however, were permitted to seek a deposit but not as a condition for allotment and use the interest to cover the annual rent. Alternatively, advance rent could be collected for three years.

If you have been toying with the idea of parking some money in fixed deposits, now is the time to do it. Come August 1 and all banks - public and private - might effect a cut in interest rates on deposits. According to experts, this is because of the system witnessing rising cash inflows and a softening inflation.

It is now increasingly being felt that banks will have to cut borrowing and lending rates to control the amount of money coming in. Something that's already being witnessed in the form of many highyield deposits having been withdrawn by some banks.

State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced its peak rate on deposits by 25 basis points to 9.25 per cent.

However, the bank has raised interest rates by 25 basis points on deposits for 271 days to less than one-year and for those over 3 years.The bank has reduced the rate on the SBI Smart Deposit Scheme for 550-day deposits from 9.5 per cent to 9.25 per cent, effective August 9.

Public sector banks like Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda hadcut deposit rates by 50 basis points on one-year deposits last week.

Public sector banks, in a frenzy to cash in on the retail credit boom during the three years beginning 2003-04, had failed to price interest rate risks on fixed rate loans properly. In the process, these banks are now taking a hit on their margins. Even though the cost of deposits has increased by almost 200 basis points in the last one year, public sector banks are stuck with fixed rate home loans given at 8-8.5 per cent, just 50 basis points more than floating rate loans at 7.5-8.0 per cent.

The pricing flexibility in floating rate home loans saw banks raising interest rates on these loans by 200-400 basis points during the period. The banks had failed to anticipate the sharp unexpected rise in interest rates. In contrast, private sector banks have always been maintaining up to 2-2.25 per cent differential between the fixed rate and floating rate home loans. About 10-15 per cent of home loans portfolios of large banks like State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank are given at fixed rates.

The Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has expressed possibility of reduction in interest rate in fixed deposits for one year by around .5 per cent. At present this interest rate has reached up to 10 per cent. Even though some banks have already fixed the same and the interest rate has been reduced to 8.5 per cent, but even after this he said on Wednesday that the banks could reduce interest rate by .5 per cent in one year's maturity deposits. The FM believes that this rate would finally settle at 8.5 per cent. Bank of India reduced interest rate to 9 per cent from 9.5 per cent on Tuesday. For nipping the case of Reserve Bank the rate of cash reserve ratio was increased from 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent. Reserve Bank is worried about cash problem. He said that it is a valid worry of RBI. With the reducing of .5 per cent in fixed deposits it would help in nipping Rs 16000 crore additional cash. The initiative of reducing .5 per cent interest rate is like cutting the pockets of common man. This step cannot be said to be right. There is no justification on slashing of interest rates in fix deposits. People deposit their money for future security through fixed deposits, but with this attitude of banks the interest of the people would lessen. On the loans taken from banks it takes more interest and gives comparatively less interest on deposits.

The Reserve Bank of India kept its short-term rates unchanged as expected but raised the amount of cash that banks must hold in an attempt to contain the surging liquidity that has pushed overnight rates to near zero.

India's banks are awash in cash mainly because the central bank, in a bid to check the rupee, has been buying U.S. dollars. The dollar hit a nine-year low of 40.20 against the rupee on July 24.

Finance minister P Chidambaram, speaking a day after the Reserve Bank's credit policy review, said on Wednesday that he expected the interest rates on fixed deposits of shorter maturities to come down by 0.5 per centage points. "Banks may lower deposit rates of one-year maturity by 0.5 percentage points. Some banks have already done that and the interest rate has come down to 8.5 per cent. My impression is that it will stabilise at that level," Chidambaram told reporters after a meeting with chief executive officers (CEOs) of public sector banks here.

Chidambaram observed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is concerned about liquidity, which has surged as more rupees have flooded the system in view of an inflow of foreign funds. "That is why the cash reserve ratio (CRR) was raised by 50 basis points," the minister said.