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Will Nano drive to Dharwad?As the Tata\'s get a green signal from the Karnataka Chief Minister Y S Yediyurappa to set up the Nano plant in Dharwad, the question arises how feasible is it for the Tata\'s to actually make the shift?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 5:41 pm A Professor and a Trader Bury Old Dogma on Markets - New York Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 5:27 pm Governor urges WB govt, TC to continue talks on Singur - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 5:27 pm UK's Brown wants Lehman cash back to help workersMANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday he was pushing the United States to help get $8 billion from the failed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers to its staff in Britain.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 4:52 pm Upswing likely to continue - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 4:14 pm Banks may see short-term rally - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 4:14 pm U.S. Congress gets $700 bln financial bailout planWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration sent a $700 billion financial markets rescue plan to Congress on Saturday where Democrats are looking to add aid for distressed homeowners and other measures to help average citizens in addition to Wall Street.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 3:53 pm Raigad SEZ: Public hearing not the final exercise - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 3:43 pm PM panel asks govt to formulate new manufacturing policyNew Delhi: A high-powered group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the government to formulate a new manufacturing policy to reverse deceleration in growth in the sector. “Manufacturing policy would ensure focussed attention by the government to various aspects that would enable it to achieve the goals of manufacturing and employment generation,” an official release said. The group was formed by the Prime Minister in January under the chairmanship of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council chief V. Krishnamurthy for suggesting policy measures and immediate steps to reverse deceleration in growth of manufacturing. Krishnamurthy submitted the final report to the Prime Minister on Saturday recommending suggestions on a number of issues such as policies on macroeconomics, tax, trade, technology and FDI. The recommendations were in respect of specific sectors that require focussed action by the government. These have been classified into two sets of industry verticals employment intensive and strategically important industries. It has also called for creating a mechanism suitably empowered to monitor developments in the sector on a regular basis and to suggest necessary action to the government in line with the manufacturing policy. Manufacturing growth has been hovering around 7-7.5% for the past 20 years, while the sector itself has stagnated at 17% of the GDP during the same time. For the economy to grow at an average of 9-10% in the medium to long term, the manufacturing sector needs to grow at about 12-14%. “Such growth is also required from the point of view of absorbing the surplus work force now dependent on rural sector,” it said. Industrial growth declined to 5.7% in the first four months of this fiscal, against 9.7% a year ago. Manufacturing, which contributes about 80% to Index of Industrial Production, grew by 7.5% in July, slower than 8.8% a year ago. The terms of reference for the group included suggestions on both short-term and long-term issues relating to the growth of the sector. The group in January-February this year submitted four interim reports-- in time for formulation of Budget 2008-09 and to assist in framing the Foreign Trade Policy -- on the measures required for an immediate arrest in the decline of the sector’s growth. These interim reports form Part-II of the final report submitted, while Part-I deals with measures required for the long-term growth of the manufacturing sector. The report took into account experience gained by the country in respect of the manufacturing sector during the past two decades as well as in the implementation of the National Strategy for Manufacturing (NSM 2006) prepared by NMCC during the past three years. It has also considered policies adopted by various developing countries like Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China, which have posted high growth rates of manufacturing for a prolonged period. Secretaries in the Ministries of Finance, Commerce, Textiles, Revenue and Industrial Policy and Promotion as well as the Member Secretary of NMCC were part of the group. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2008 | 3:37 pm Regulatory body urged for electronic mediaPress Council of India chairman justice G.N. Ray said Saturday that the government was not keen on entrusting it with the regulation of the electronic media.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 3:02 pm 'Hotel boom in southern states'A total of 9,369 new hotel rooms will come into the market by the end of 2011 in the four southern states, a senior official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:33 pm Sharp tax hikes in Uttar Pradesh irk businesses, consumersThe Uttar Pradesh government's decision to sharply hike the value added tax (VAT) in the state and also impose an entry tax on certain items has raised the hackles of both businesses and consumers in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:30 pm Is ONGC making heavy losses in its gas biz?ONGC lost Rs 700 cr in gas business in FY08. This is primarily because ONGC sells 95% gas under APM at $2.02 mmbtu. It is waiting for an upward revision.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:21 pm Finance firm to advise Uttar Pradesh on township development projectNon-banking finance company SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd has bagged a contract from the Uttar Pradesh government to advise it on an integrated urban development project, to be developed on public-private-partnership model, a top company official said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:03 pm Gujarat state-owned companies told to pay for poorIn compliance with a Gujarat government directive, four state-owned companies will contribute Rs.5 billion to the newly formed Gujarat Socio Economic Development Society (GSEDS) which will spend the money on programmes for the poor.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 1:00 pm Bengal's economy will suffer if Tatas leave: Amartya SenNobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has said West Bengal's economy will suffer a big jolt if the auto major decides to shift its small car plant out of the state.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:50 pm U.S. readies massive toxic-debt planNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government is preparing to mop up hundreds of billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt, after curbing short-selling and guaranteeing mutual funds in an effort to stabilise financial markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:49 pm 'International port lobby trying to scuttle Vizhinjam project'An international port lobby and some vested interest groups are trying to scuttle the proposed Vizhinjam port, one of the biggest in the country, state Ports Minister M. Vijayakumar said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:33 pm Bengal's economy will suffer if Tatas leave: Amartya SenExpressing concern over the happenings related to the Tata Motors factory in Singur, nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has said West Bengal's economy will suffer a big jolt if the auto major decides to shift its small car plant out of the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:31 pm Government in no hurry to privatise n-energy businessThe Indian government seems to be in no hurry to allow the private sector to enter the nuclear energy business if a high-level meeting of the country's planners Saturday is any indication.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:31 pm GM draws on $ 4.5 bn revolving credit facility !General Motors Corp (GM.N) said on Friday it plans to draw down the remaining USD 3.9 billion of its USD 4.5 billion secured revolving credit facility to maintain a high level of financial flexibility for its ongoing restructuring in the face of uncertain capital markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Radical bailout plan has a jawdropping price tag !Struggling to stave off financial catastrophe, the Bush administration on Friday laid out a radical bailout plan with a jawdropping price tag — a takeover of a half-trillion dollars or more in worthless mortgages and other bad debt held by tottering institutions.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Apple recalls tiny iPhone 3G power adapters!Apple Inc advised iPhone 3G users in many countries to replace the device`s power adapter following reports that metal prongs broke off and stuck in power outlets, creating a risk of electric shock.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Oil jumps above $104 a barrel on US bailout plan!Oil prices shot up more than USD 6 a barrel on Friday, breaking back into USD 100 territory as a sweeping government plan to rescue the imperiled US financial system emboldened investors to re-enter the markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am `US govt role needed to ease crisis` !President George W Bush said on Friday that US government intervention in financial markets is not only warranted but "it is essential" to calm nervous consumers and to halt the worst financial crisis in decades.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Hindustan Motors to launch SUV in Indian market !Automobile manufacturer Hindustan Motors Ltd on Friday said they would be launching a high-premium Sports Utility Vehicle in the Indian market soon.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Air India gets $548.6 mn Ex-Im Bank loan!The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the US has given India`s national carrier Air India USD 548.6 million in loan guarantees to support the purchase of Boeing aircraft.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am US mulls $500-800 bn asset-buy plan!The US Treasury will propose a USD 500 billion to USD 800 billion government program to take toxic mortgage-related assets off the books of US financial firms, banking industry sources said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Ford chairman Bill Ford sells 1 million shares to pay debt!Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor Co, has sold 1 million shares of common stock to pay down debt that he took on to exercise options and acquire stock in the automaker in 2004 and 2005.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Judge approves Lehman, Barclays pact !A US bankruptcy judge approved British bank Barclays Plc`s (BARC.L) deal to purchase the core US business of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK).Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:46 am Will the RBI hold its interest rates? - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:11 am 49 percent FDI in defence sector on need basis: AntonyAfter doing away with the license requirement for private players for manufacturing military hardware, Defence Minister A.K. Antony Saturday said the government would consider foreign investment of upto 49 percent in the sector on a "case-to-case-basis".Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 11:00 am Air India gets $548.6 mn Ex-Im Bank loanThe Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the US has given India's national carrier Air India $548.6 million in loan guarantees to support the purchase of Boeing aircraft.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:48 am Mukta Arts acquires 51% stake in Coruscant TecIndian film producing company Mukta Arts has acquired 51 percent stake in the Chennai-based Coruscant Tec Pvt Ltd, a leader in the mobile value-added services sector.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:47 am FDI in Defence to go upto 49% : Antony - India Infoline.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:38 am Atomic power to be part of Integrated Energy Policy: Plan Comm - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 10:00 am Is ONGC making heavy losses in its gas biz? - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:59 am Anil Ambani group to invest $550 mn with SpielbergThe Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group will invest $550 million to form a new venture with Steven Spielberg, allowing him to break away from his studio, DreamWorks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:53 am MNC banks expected to slash ad spendMultinational banks are expected to slash their advertising spend in the context of the recent financial turmoil in the US. HSBC, Citi Bank and StanChart along with more players in the financial sector are expected to get prudent with their ad budgets, predict advertising head honchos.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:32 am TVS Motor eyes 15% share in premium bike categoryTVS Motor Company on Friday announced it has delivered about 2.5 lakh Apache RTR bikes in the country since its launch about three years ago.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:30 am Opto Circuits signs LoI to acquire European coOpto Circuits India Ltd has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire a European medical equipment company. It said in intimation to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday that the proposed acquisition of 100 per cent ownership of the company was estimated to cost $100 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:29 am Revert us to Govt, demand BSNL staffThe standoff between BSNL senior officers and the Government over absorption is snowballing into a bigger issue.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:26 am Reliance starts pumping crude from KG basinReliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has put an end to speculation regarding its ability to exploit hydrocarbon from its offshore asset in KrishnaGodavari Basin, on schedule. It has been able to flow crude oil for the first time from the deepwater area.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:12 am Manmohan Singh calls for integrated energy policyFinding energy policies in India not entirely consistent with present-day needs, Prime Minister Manmohan singh Saturday called for an integrated policy to ensure better coordination towards the larger goal of energy security.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2008 | 9:01 am Ranbaxy To Hire Giuliani For Help - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Sep 2008 | 8:02 am U.S. toxic-debt plan, short-selling ban boost marketsNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government curbed short-selling and guaranteed money-market mutual funds on Friday as it worked on a sweeping bailout to mop up hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic mortgage debt, sending global stock markets soaring.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 7:17 am U.S. judge approves Lehman's asset sale to BarclaysNEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a revised version of British bank Barclays Plc's deal to purchase the core U.S. business of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2008 | 7:07 am Fresh catchNatural beauty therapies and treatments are not new in India but sometimes it helps to have an expert reiterate what your grandma told you. We asked professionals who sell branded natural beauty products to part with their recipes for great skin and hair. All you need to do is raid your kitchen. Mira Kulkarni, founder, Forest Essentials Kulkarni was introduced to home-made beauty remedies in college. In 2000, she founded Forest Essentials and recently Estee Lauder Cos. bought a minor stake in the company. She believes there are “no quick fix” beauty solutions for eternal youth and worked with vaids (ayurvedic doctors) and biochemists before she launched her range of natural skincare and haircare products based on old ayurvedic texts. Honey body glow ½ cup pure cold-pressed almond oil ¼ cup organic honey 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, ground finely Mix all the ingredients together. Rub all over the body and then step into a steam room for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse yourself with hot water. This recipe softens and smoothens the skin. Kamal Passi, founder, Lotus Herbals Ltd A keen interest in Ayurveda led this engineer to start his company 25 years ago, which exports natural beauty products under the brand Better Botanicals and Umaveda to the US, Germany and Japan. Lotus Herbals was launched in India 14 years ago, when most beauty products were chemical-based. The family believes strongly in natural remedies and treat their physical ailments only with ayurveda or homeopathy. Nourishing hair mask 100g amla 100g shikakai 10g brahmi booti ½g shilajit 20g anaarchhilka 10g bhringraj Soak the ingredients overnight in an iron utensil. Blend and make a paste. Apply the paste well on the scalp. Leave it on for 1-2 hours and wash off with warm water. You can use this at least once a week. Ishween Anand, founder, Nyassa Anand is an MBA who worked in the financial sector for eight years. While in the US, she got hooked on handmade soaps and “started reading Soapmaking.com instead of The Wall Street Journal.” After learning soap-making by hand and doing a few courses, she moved to India two years ago and started manufacturing natural products. Anand currently makes handmade soaps, body butters, lotions, scrubs and air fresheners which are available at her Khar store in Mumbai and other department stores. Salt or sugar body scrub 100g table salt or sugar 100g olive, jojoba or sunflower oil 3-4 drops of any scented essential oil Mix all the ingredients together. Massage small quantities of the scrub all over your body for a few minutes (use it only neck downwards, not on the face) and then rinse it off. Use it once a week. The salt or sugar helps exfoliate the dead skin cells, while the oil moisturizes and nourishes. If you have sensitive skin, opt for salt as the bigger granules of sugar might irritate the skin. If your skin is oily, decrease the quantity of oil in the recipe; if it is dry, you can increase it. Ahalya Matthan, founder, Ally Matthan Matthan got a whiff of what she planned to do with her life at 14. The perfumes at her father’s agarbatti factory fascinated her. Instead of plunging into the family business, Matthan got a masters degree in Perfumery Science and Technology from Versailles, France, and then branched off to start her own line of fragrance-based beauty products. Ally Matthan products can be picked off-the-shelf at Bangalore Central Mall and Raintree, near Windsor Manor, Bangalore. Solid perfume 2 cups of water or vodka (vodka retains fragrance better than water) 1 cup fresh chopped flower blossoms of your choice (choose from jasmine, geranium, roses, tuberoses, orange blossoms or honeysuckle) 100g beeswax (available at local pharmacy) 100g Vaseline Place a cheesecloth over a bowl with the edges hanging over the bowl’s rim. Fill with a cup of flower blossoms. Pour the water or vodka over the flowers to cover them completely. Cover the bowl and let sit overnight. The next day, using the edges of cheesecloth, pull out the water/vodka-soaked flowers. Gently squeeze these flowers through the cheesecloth so that the scented water (or vodka) can be collected into a small pan. Simmer this fragrant water or vodka until about 10g is left. Cool and pour into a small bottle. Melt beeswax and Vaseline over low heat in a glass or enamel pan. Cool slightly and stir in the perfume you made. Pour into containers such as small tins, lip gloss containers, tiny compacts or tiny jars and air-dry until firm. You have your own home-made secret blend ready to use. Perfume made this way has a shelf life of about a month. Dr Dinyar Workingboxwalla, Aesthetician This low-profile aesthetician has been practising for 37 years and models such as Sheetal Mallar and Mehr Jessia are his regular clients. Workingboxwalla customizes natural products for his clients, follows a holistic, no-nonsense approach to skin care and definitely does not believe in anti-wrinkle or anti-ageing  Moisturizer for dry skin 2 tsp apricot oil 2 tsp jojoba oil 1 tsp wheatgerm oil 2-3 drops of an aromatherapy oil of your choice 4-5 vitamin E capsules (break them open and collect the oil) Mix all the ingredients together and apply on moist skin. You can leave it on overnight if your skin is very dry and undernourished. You can also store it in a bottle for a week. Blossom Kochhar, founder, Aromamagic A qualified aromatherapist and beautician, Delhi-based Kochhar has been in the business of beauty for more than 30 years. Her aromatherapy cosmetic range is chemical-free. Kochhar also manufactures essential oils for use in spas and for home beauty treatments. Hair moisturizer 1 tbsp castor oil 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp glycerine 1 tsp white or brown vinegar ½ tsp any shampoo ½ tsp any conditioner 2 drops of essential oil (either lavender or ylang ylang) Mix all these ingredients. Apply the moisturizer starting from the ends of your hair and work your way up to the roots. Lightly massage for about 5 minutes. Put on a shower cap and leave in the hair for 45 minutes. Unlike lemon juice which bleaches hair, vinegar and essential oils add shine. This moisturizer works specially well on coloured hair. It should be applied twice a month. But if your hair is in bad shape, you can try it weekly. Write to lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2008 | 5:33 am Reliance starts pumping crude from Krishna-Godavari basinNew Delhi/Mumbai, Sept. 19 Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has put an end to speculation regarding its ability to exploit hydrocarbon from its offshore asset in Krishna-Godavari Basin, on schedule. It has been able to flow crude oil for the firstSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Sensex rises 5%; FIIs turn net buyersMumbai, Sept. 19 The domestic benchmark indices gained by more than 5 per cent on Friday as foreign institutional investors turned net buyers after a week of heavy selling, tracking sentiment in the global markets which saw a complete turnaroundSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Performance of new IPOs: FII holdings plungeChennai, Sept. 19 If you thought that the presence of foreign institutional investors in a stock is an indication of its long term prospects while investing in an IPO, think again. FIIs often make a quick exit from firms, within months of themSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Markets this weekThe bloodbath in the global financial services markets with maximum impact on the equity bourses following the crises at Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch shook the Indian stock markets too on Monday, sending the benchmark Sensex into a tailspin.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Nasscom says IT export target on track for nowWith the US financial turmoil looming large over the Indian IT industry, Nasscom on Friday said it is sticking to the export targets for now, but will await the results and guidance announced by IT services companies for quarter-ended SeptemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am No plans for merging other associate banks as of now: SBIBhavnagar (Gujarat), Sept. 19 Announcing the formal merger of State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with State Bank of India here on Friday, the Chairman of State Bank Group, Mr O.P. Bhatt, said there are no plans for the merger of the other sixSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Maytas Metro signs concession pact for Hyderabad rail projectHyderabad, Sept. 19 Maytas Metro Ltd (MML), the company formed to build, operate and transfer the Rs 12,132-crore metro rail project, has signed the formal concession agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Government.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Work on new Koodankulam units to start by year-endNew Delhi, Sept. 19 The Centre plans to commence work on setting up four new reactors at Koodankulam with Russian assistance as early as December, with the draft technical and economic proposals expected to be firmed up latest by March-AprilSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Revert us to Govt, demand BSNL staffNew Delhi, Sept. 19 The stand-off between BSNL senior officers and the Government over absorption is snowballing into a bigger issue.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am Andaman and Nicobar may get a major portNew Delhi, Sept. 19 The Shipping Ministry is considering a move to set up a port in Andaman under the Major Ports Act, which will allow the port at Andaman to be funded from the Centre.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Sep 2008 | 12:00 am 'MTV doesn't compete with music channels'He's seen MTV evolve in India from a music channel to a youth destination, also growing in revenues and tapping the pulse of the Generation Next.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 11:06 pm Currency or reserves? Price or financial stability?There is fresh optimism with the market abuzz about the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holding interest rates in its monetary policy review in October 2008.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:26 pm Commodities reversal poops hedge fund partyWhen blue-blooded Wall Street banks are going bust, can hedge funds be making hay? May be not.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:25 pm Eyes on Uncle Sam, bulls take Sensex up 727 ptsIn the end, it took only one bit of good news and one day to wipe out the stock market's losses over the week.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:25 pm ONGC realisation seen flat around $69/barrelNet realisation per barrel of oil sold to the refineries in the fiscal second quarter ending September 30 will likely be at about $69-70Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:24 pm Mooted: All-in-one cover for rural folkAn official at an insurance firm in talks with Nabard said, "A marketing tie-up with Nabard is essential as it lends to 4 million people."Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:22 pm DreamWorks completes deal with Reliance ADALOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The principals behind DreamWorks SKG on Friday signed a long-expected deal with Reliance ADA Group of India to start a new $1.2 billion film company, allowing the studio co-founded by director Steven Spielberg to part ways with Paramount Pictures.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 10:15 pm Oil posts biggest 3-day gain since 1998NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose almost 7 percent on Friday to cap their biggest three-day rally in a decade on expectations a sweeping U.S. government bailout plan would boost liquidity across the battered financial markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 9:36 pm The Great Depression of 2008? Not quiteNEW YORK (Reuters) - There's something about hundreds of billions of dollars vanishing overnight that begs a comparison to the 1929 market crash and the Great Depression.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 8:38 pm Masters of the Universe get lesson in humilityNEW YORK (Reuters) - Have the Masters of the Universe lost their super powers?Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 8:09 pm In the toolkitThe Great Eastern Home: Limited edition engraved pewter corkscrew, at The Great Eastern Home, Dr Ambedkar Road, Byculla, Mumbai, Rs940. Click here to watch video Happily Unmarried: Aluminium genie wine bottle opener, at 100 ft, Indira Nagar, Bangalore; Select Citywalk, New Delhi; and Loose Ends, Bandra, Mumbai, Rs450. Magppie: Steel corkscrew with Swarovski crystals, at Embassy Chambers, 5 Vittal Mallaya Road Bangalore; 14th Road, Khar, Mumbai; City Square Mall, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, Rs1,995. Metrokane: “Black Rabbit” corkscrew, at Indigo Deli, Mumbai and all Good Earth stores in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi, Rs3,800. Screwpull: Acrylic corkscrew, at all Good Earth stores in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi, Rs2,400. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:49 pm US drafts sweeping plan to steer through the crisis; Sensex soarsWashington: The US federal government is working on a sweeping series of programmes that would represent perhaps the biggest intervention in financial markets since the 1930s, embracing the need for a comprehensive approach to the financial crisis after a series of ad hoc rescues. At the centre of the potential plan is a mechanism that would take bad assets off the balance sheets of financial companies, said people familiar with the matter, a device that echoes similar moves taken in past financial crises. The size of the entity could reach hundreds of billions of dollars, one person said. Another proposal would be the creation of federal insurance for investors in money-market mutual funds, coverage akin to the insurance that currently safeguards bank deposits. The move is designed to stem an outflow of funds as consumers start to worry about even the safest of investments, a sign of how the crisis is spreading to Main Street. There is $3.4 trillion (Rs157 trillion) in money-market funds outstanding.  Fire fighting: (from left) Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, US treasury secretary Henry Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox at the meeting with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday. David Brody/ Bloomberg Early Friday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission took the dramatic step of temporarily banning the routine practice of betting against stocks, announcing the move on its website. Another factor was the moves by the European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank and Bank of England to offer up more cash on Friday. The three banks put a combined $90 billion into money markets in a lockstep move.  “We’re talking hundreds of billions. This needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get at the heart of the problem,” Paulson told reporters ahead of talks with Congress on details of the massive rescue effort, unveiled initially late Thursday. “We are going to be coming to them with a proposed legislative package and working with them to flesh out the details through the weekend and we’re going to be asking them to take action on legislation next week,” he added, Paulson also announced “other immediate actions” including an acceleration of purchases of mortgage securities by the treasury and by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises taken over by the government this month in the face of massive losses. US Republican Senator Richard Shelby said earlier the overall cost of government actions to steady the financial sector could be $1 trillion, including $500 billion for the new effort to clean up bad assets from the balance sheets of banks. “I figure it will be at least half a trillion,” Shelby said in an ABC television interview. US President George Bush said Friday from the White House that “We believe that this decision government action is needed...This action does entail risk (but) the risk is (also) of not acting.”) The US administration had been taking a patchwork approach to the financial crisis, putting out fires as they ignited. The new moves represent an effort to take a more systematic approach, after a spiral of bad debts, credit downgrades and tumbling stocks brought down venerable names from investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to insurance giant American International Group Inc. Banks have grown unwilling to lend to one another, a sign of extreme stress, because financial markets work only when institutions have faith in each other’s ability to meet theirobligations. Word of the plan first came on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks offered hundreds of billions of dollars in loans to commercial banks to alleviate a deepening freeze in the world’s credit markets. That step appeared to have moderate impact on lending among banks. Meanwhile, a wave of redemptions continued hitting money-market funds, causing a second large fund to shut to investors. The flurry of moves under discussion may bring the markets some breathing room, but it isn’t clear whether they will amount to a long-term solution to the complex financial problems sweeping the market. “The market wants to see a more systemic solution that doesn’t leave us wondering day after day about the next institution that’s the weakest link in the chain,” said former Fed board member Laurence Meyer, vice-chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, an economic research firm. US treasury department officials have studied a structure to buy up distressed assets for weeks, but have been reluctant to ask Congress for such authority unless they were certain it could get approved. The intensified market turmoil may have changed that political calculus, even with less than two months left until the November elections. A big question still to be answered is how the US government will value the assets it takes onto its books. One possible avenue could be some sort of auction facility, so that the government would not have to be involved in negotiating asset values with companies. Financial companies would likely take big losses. US President Bush met with treasury secretary Paulson, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke for 45 minutes on Thursday to discuss “the serious conditions in our financial markets”, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. Paulson, Cox and Bernanke later addressed Congressional leaders on their proposals. Bernanke began by laying out the severity of the crisis. Paulson “made the sale,” said a top congressional aide. House financial services committee chairman Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat, said his panel could hold a vote on the package as soon as Wednesday. “They said they would like legislation to do it, and there was virtually unanimous agreement that there would be legislation to do it,” he said. In a news conference after the meeting, Paulson described his effort as “an approach to deal with the systemic risk and the stresses in our capital markets”. The “comprehensive” solution would deal with the souring real-estate and other illiquid assets at the heart of the financial crisis, he said. Exactly how such an entity might be structured isn’t yet clear. The possible plan isn’t expected to mirror the Resolution Trust Corp., which was used from 1989 to 1995 during the savings and loan crisis to hold and sell off the assets of failed banks. Rather, a new entity might purchase assets at a steep discount from solvent financial institutions and eventually sell them back into the market. The programme may look more like the Reconstruction Finance Corp., a Depression-era relief programme formed in 1932 by president Hoover that tried to inject liquidity into the market by giving loans to banks and other businesses. According to a top congressional aide, the treasury department wants authority to either control the programme or have it be a separate division of the government. A series of veteran policy makers, including former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and former Fed chief Paul Volcker, has pushed in recent weeks for such a government agency that would attempt a comprehensive solution to the markets crisis. The idea would be to steady the market so that investors regain confidence in financial institutions and resume conducting business normally with them. wsj@livemint.com Associated Press and AFP also contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:45 pm People in Nepal still blame India for their economic woesKathmandu: A day after Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal returned from a four-day tour of India, people here are divided on whether such foreign trips are good, or bad for the country.  Growing aspirations: Having been traditionally close to Nepal’s monarchy and the Congress party, India is blamed not only for its power woes, but also for the high prices in that country. Utpal Bhaskar / Mint But many of them are unanimous in identifying the source for most of their problems— India. The India visit by Dahal, a former Maoist rebel who is better known as Prachanda, is his second to a foreign country after becoming prime minister in August. He visited Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. Prachanda leaves for the US on Saturday to take part in the United Nations General Assembly session. “Will he (the prime minister) only go on foreign tours, or will also do something for us?” asked a 30-year-old executive, who didn’t wish to be named. The visit to the US will mean Prachanda has gone to three countries in his first 40 days as Nepal’s prime minister. Not everyone frowns on the new leader’s foreign trips. Also Read Nepal, the youngest republic in the world (the winners of the April elections that preceded Prachanda’s ascent to the prime minister’s post abolished monarchy) is wedged strategically between India and China and cannot afford to ignore these two countries, both of which have significant regional and global aspirations. “Without global ties, the country cannot stand anywhere. With the changed political situation in the country, this is the right way ahead,” said 45-year-old Raj, who owns a shop that sells souvenirs. He gave only one name. Anthropologist Manohar Karki said Prachanda is trying hard to bolster ties with the international community. But there are those who, like the unnamed executive, say that there are more important things for Prachanda to do at home. And some are not sure he and his government can meet expectations. “The government has limited resources and because of that, it will be impossible to meet the expectations,” said Dinesh, 43, who works at a currency exchange and gave only one name. There are other, real issues as well. Unemployment is high; labour is militant and unorganized; and the country is yet to come up with policies that can attract foreign investors. Nepal is in the process of creating a new constitution—this needs to be in place and passed by the assembly before the end of 2010. “Attracting investments into this country is easier said than done. For that, we will have to put the right policies in place. We have to get our labour more organized,” said Prithvi B. Pande, chairman and chief executive officer of Nepal Investment Bank, one of the top three banks in the country. Radhesh Pant, managing director at Bank of Kathmandu and president of Nepal’s Banker Association, argued that FDI (foreign direct investment) implementation policies are distorted by bureaucratic delays and inefficiency. “FDI is directly related to peace, security and stability,” he said. A human rights worker, who did not want to be named, claimed that the business community was more comfortable with the old system that encouraged crony capitalism. Meanwhile, most Nepalese blame India for many of their problems, including a recent increase in the price of many products. The two countries have, in recent weeks, sparred over the issue of the Kosi floods, with each holding the other responsible. Nepal also blames India for power shortages (Indian power utilities are active in Nepal and supply part of the country’s power requirements). India has also traditionally been seen as closer to the monarchy and the Congress party in that country than the Maoists. “The prices are rising here because of the high prices in India,” said Raj. A senior official at the Indian embassy here said much of this feeling is the remanent of “anti-India sentiment engineered” by the monarchy. “There is still a residual feeling among the Nepalese of being dominated by its neighbour and 95% of the Nepalese believe that India is an aggressor country,” added this official, who did not want to be named. This has hurt India’s investments in the country. “The fate of Indian investments in Nepal is very bleak. Companies such as Dabur are facing labour problems,” said another senior official at the Indian embassy, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The size of Nepal’s economy is around $12 billion (Rs55,560 crore), with a current GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of 5.6%. Nepal’s per capita income is $470 per annum, around half of India’s. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:40 pm See FY09 capex at Rs 6000cr: HindalcoKumar Mangalam Birla said that Hindalco rights issue is attractively priced. \"Hindalco capex for FY09 is Rs 6,000 crore.\" He also clarified that reports of Hindalco stock price going down due to employee selling is untrue.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:37 pm Recreating a film classic Strike a pose: Bajpai plays statue at the Colosseum; (left) Hepburn and Peck in Roman Holiday. Courtesy Shruti Bajpai Shruti Bajpai, 36, country manager, HBO, South Asia, and her husband Mayank Trivedi, South Asia head of the dairy division at Nestlé, recreated the Audrey Hepburn-Gregory Peck classic ‘Roman Holiday’ in May this year. Their constant companions: the memories of Joe and Anya You’re obviously a movie junkie? Absolutely. I would like to think of myself as someone who perpetually lives in the world of movies. I prefer recent or new releases—As Good As It Gets, The Bucket List, A Mighty Heart, the list is endless—but I have my favourite list of classics. Roman Holiday tops the list. I first saw the movie as a gawky teenager with my friends while in college and dived straight into love with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Everything was perfect...the story, the locations, the actors—everything, but the ending. I would have preferred a Bollywood-style happy ending! When and how was the idea of, well, a Roman holiday born? My husband and I are travel junkies, and we’re forever planning offbeat or creative holidays. I’ve always wanted to go to Rome, but it was the zillionth viewing of Roman Holiday one cold February night in Delhi that made me sit up and say: ‘This is it. I am going to have my very own Roman holiday this summer!’ Of course, I would have loved to travel with a young Gregory Peck but, alas, I had to go with my husband! My parents graciously agreed to babysit the kids while we took off in pursuit of Joe and Anya. Did you actually do the scooter thing, as in the movie? We stayed in a really nice hotel near the Stazione Termini (central station), which was great as the metro station and the bus terminus were within walking distance, and it was easy to get hold of a scooter. It’s fascinating to discover Rome on a two-wheeler. What was it like, seeing places you’d seen any number of times on screen?  I made a wish at Trevi Fountain (though I don’t remember Hepburn making one), got my hand almost bitten off at Bocca della Verità (though we smiled through most of it), romanced on the Spanish Steps, posed like one of the great statues inside the Colosseum and, of course, did the memorable scooter ride near the Piazza della Repubblica. Did you have any other agenda for Italy at all? We spent six nights in Rome and two nights in Florence and Pisa. They say even a lifetime in Rome is not enough and that’s so true. We joined a walking tour of ancient Rome, where a British guide takes you through all the history. We did most of the famous sites, addressed fictitious countrymen at the Roman forum, walked the Catacombs of Castillo and soaked in the overwhelming beauty of Michelangelo’s works at the Vatican. In fact, the Sistine Chapel rather overshadows all the other glorious artwork in the Vatican—if they’d been anywhere else in the world, crowds would have been flocking to see them. We were there for the regular papal audience as well. We were pleasantly surprised to see quite a mix of people in the crowd, including some women with head-scarves. What was the most memorable takeaway from the holiday? It was this overpowering feeling of behaving like carefree youngsters fresh out of college, discovering a place together. The feeling of going back in time was priceless. Besides, the art tours have kindled a real desire to sign up for an MA in art history. And, yes, we’d love to do another movie-inspired holiday—probably, Casablanca in Morocco. No prizes for guessing why! Getting there Fly to Rome with SwissAir from Mumbai (round trip for Rs35,795, including taxes), Finnair from New Delhi (round trip for Rs36,650) and Air France from Bangalore (round trip for Rs37,916). Share your last holiday with us at lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:33 pm Tata NEN campaign addresses early hiccupsNew Delhi: The Tata NEN Hottest Startups Awards campaign, an ambitious attempt at the largest start-up competition in India covering some 1,000 ventures that are less than five years old, is only three weeks old but has been dogged by questions in the blog world. The organizers of the competition, for which Mint is the official print partner, have come under fire in at least three blogs which allege that the National Entrepreneurship Network, or NEN, a non-profit organization aimed at encouraging start-ups, has acted unprofessionally. One such instance involved NEN writing to a start-up that it had been nominated by Pluggd.in, a blog that profiles and reviews Indian start-ups. This was incorrect, said Pluggd.in on its blog.  Laura Parkin, executive director, National Entrepreneurship Network. There has been some talk in blogosphere that some processes followed by NEN in the start-up competition have not been professional. Questions have been raised on forcible nominations following a blog post by TringMe founder Yusuf Motiwala. What is the issue? The issue with TringMe was the nomination was online and he emailed the contact person (to withdraw it). Unfortunately, there was an internal miscommunication so we did not close the loop in bringing the nomination down. The minute we found out that, we immediately apologized, took the nomination down. We’ve now created three email IDs so that requests from participants don’t get lost in any way. If you want to change your nomination, email changes@hotteststartups.in; to withdraw, withdraw@hotteststartups.in; and the third is to reconfirm you want your nomination to go online at confirm@hotteststartups.in Now, with every single step, when we email the entrepreneur, we include a reminder that if you want to change or withdraw, here are the email addresses to do so. Is it possible for someone other than the entrepreneur to nominate the company? No, it is actually not possible to force a nomination. If we’ve heard about you or somebody else has and told us about you, our first step is to assign an internal contact person who will send you an email saying so and so has nominated you and do you want to participate. If you say no, it ends there. If you say yes, we email you the nomination form. The nomination form is only filled out by the entrepreneur (or someone he nominates); we do not fill it out. It takes at least an hour so it can’t be done by others accidentally. TringMe had already filled out the nomination form and wanted to withdraw later. Even if a company self-nominates online, we still review it and check with the entrepreneur. How many start-ups have withdrawn after filling out the nomination forms? So far, there are 297 companies online; nine have withdrawn. One was sold off so (it) had to withdraw; the eight include Tringme and Muziboo. What was the issue with source attribution to Pluggd.in while nominating a start-up? That was a very early glitch because we were so scared of not giving people credit. I’m sure we’ve looked at companies all over India, we’ve also been in touch with CII, contacted management and trade associations. Pluggd.in was not a partner. The company was indeed sourced from Pluggd.in and we accidentally sent (an) email out saying Pluggd.in had nominated them. We falsely attributed something to (Ashish Sinha, chief editor of Pluggd.in) that he did not do. The minute we realized this was a mistake, we wrote back to the entrepreneur and to Ashish. Now what we’re doing is unless people say you must attribute it to me, we’re just taking it as general nomination. Some start-ups have criticized the process of rolling out nominations in batches on the website, which gives a heads up to the early nominations. We expected more rolling nominations because people needed time to get the word out. It’s not as simple as two extra days or even an extra week. We have a complicated problem in making sure that all 300 and more get attention. If you’re up there for two months instead of two weeks, it’s easier. But we’re trying to find other ways to put groups of people together by slicing start-ups in different ways, such as how to get non-consumer companies out there or showcase companies from smaller cities because less people know about it. We do think there is a disadvantage to coming in late, but we’re not going to shut the nominations for those who do and we’re thinking how to improve it for next year. We’ll have a lot of pre-nomination activities, and batching people for more time on the site for next time. It will be easier if more people know about it so we can market it much earlier, get a lot of that work done in advance. There is concern that companies might spam for votes through email and SMS. How do you ensure the top start-ups are chosen because they are promising companies and not the best spammers? This is why we have structured (the) first round where half comes from expert reviews. We try to anticipate that it shouldn’t be all public voting in the first round. You need a 50-50 weightage of public votes and expert rating to get into the shortlist. Any other learnings so far? It’s much harder than we thought. For example, self-nominations are wonderfully expressive, but sometimes it is harder for lay people to understand, and working with the entrepreneur to get language done is very time-consuming. We were also concerned about the turnaround time on expert reviews. It was supposed to be one week, but we were really struggling with that. Luckily, our partners are coming in to help us, we have volunteers as well as three people internally to help with follow-ups just on the expert reviews. Also See Details of the Tata NEN hottest start-ups competition at www.livemint.com/hotteststartups Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:09 pm Gold climbs as dollar slides, oil jumpsLONDON (Reuters) - Gold rose almost 2 percent on Friday, recovering from earlier losses, as the dollar slipped sharply versus the euro and oil rallied more than $7 a barrel.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Sep 2008 | 7:06 pm Paulson’s rescue plan puts life back into marketsMumbai: Indian and global markets celebrated the US government’s grand plan in the making to stem the global credit crisis that involves spending hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue distressed financial institutions and helping them take mortgage derivatives and collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, off their balance sheets. The plan follows a series of recent financial bailouts by US central bank Federal Reserve, including the nationalization of mortgage players Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurer American International Group Inc. (although the Fed has said it doesn’t intend to run the insurance firm), increasing temporary currency agreements or “swap lines” with key foreign central banks by $180 billion (Rs8.3 trillion), and providing huge overnight loans to US banks to fight the liquidity crisis. On Friday evening India time, US treasury secretary Henry Paulson listed out the contours of the sweeping rescue plan of which some broad generic details have been known since Friday morning India time. He said that the package would involve “hundreds of billions of dollars”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US gained more than 400 points on opening, before Paulson’s announcement Friday. At 8.30pm India time, the index was 301 points, or 2.7%, up at 11,321. Earlier on Friday, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex index gained 726 points, or around 5.5%, to close at 14,042, but brokers and fund managers aren’t sanguine about the future of the index that posted its 10th largest gain in a day in absolute terms on Friday. At the National Stock Exchange, the broader 50-stock Nifty index was up more than 200 points, or 5%, to 4,245. In Asia, markets in China and Hong Kong gained the most, by over 9%. Among the so-called Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the Russian market gained the most. Closed for the past two days to contain the slump in stock prices, trading in the Russian market had to be temporarily suspended after the benchmark MICEX index gained more than 25%. On Friday, both the UK and the US market regulators announced a temporary ban on short-selling in financial stocks. Friday’s gains mean that most global stock markets have recovered almost all losses suffered earlier this week, after the collapse of US-investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the sale of Merrill Lynch and Co., to Bank of America Corp. In India, the Sensex lost heavily between Monday and Wednesday. After plunging to this year’s low of around 12,500 in early morning trades on Thursday, the index started rising. It gained around 12% in the recovery rally on Thursday evening and posted sharp gains on Friday to end the week above 14,000. Still, brokers and fund managers are not overtly optimistic on the direction and pace of the market. With the financial crisis seeming to be under control, at least for the time being, markets will “limp back to normalcy”, said brokers and fund managers. Many global economists, including Merrill Lynch’s David Rosenberg, have been calling for an RTC-style package for some time. In the 1980s, the US government formed Resolution Trust Corp., or RTC, to inherit and then sell mortgage loans and other distressed assets of financial institutions. “It is encouraging to learn overnight that (US) treasury secretary Henry Paulson is looking to create a repository for bad bank debt, and senators are voicing approval,” said Mark Mathews, strategist at Merrill Lynch (Hong Kong), in a research note released Friday before Paulson’s announcement. The regulatory intervention, however, comes at a point when global markets are already “oversold”, said Rashesh Shah, chairman of Edelweiss Capital Ltd, one of India’s largest brokerage house. Despite the euphoria across markets, “the hyper-velocity of money will slow down”, and the strong selling by foreign institutional investors, or FIIs, could “continue till the end of this year,” Shah added. FIIs have sold around $9 billion in Indian stocks, net of purchases so far this year. By the end of this year, the net FII outflow could go up to $12 billion, said Nilesh Shah, chief executive of local brokerage Ambit Capital Ltd. However, domestic institutional investors continued to buy on Friday. This local support was largely responsible for the comeback rally staged by Sensex in the past five trading sessions. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:53 pm Be bold in WashingtonPrime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US and France, beginning next week, presents an opportunity to break the “hat-in-hand” cast around Indian diplomacy. Long used to reacting to events, this is a chance to take initiative. The Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement is in the last lap of a long run. Non-proliferationists in the US are making last-ditch efforts to somehow water down the deal. With the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver in the bag, the PM has a strong hand: France is ready for nuclear cooperation. If peaceniks damage the deal, US companies stand to lose more. This possibility is not lost on US officials. That was one of the reasons behind attempts to “time” the NSG waiver. Had that been the case, India would not have this opportunity. Citizens will keenly watch what the PM and our diplomats do abroad. It’s time they were bold. French enthusiasm can more than match a dour US legislative establishment. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:53 pm Need to Know | RBI directs banks to unwind Lehman swapsMumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to unwind their interest rate swap (IRS) transactions with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., three bankers familiar with the development said on Friday. The central bank had talks with banks this week to ascertain Lehman’s exposure in the local IRS market, they said. The unwinding should conclude by next Monday or Tuesday. Separately, the central bank suggested making it mandatory for banks to seek its approval before launching mobile banking services. In its second draft guidelines on mobile banking, the regulator also recommended restricting the size of each mobile phone transaction to Rs2,500, and capped per day transactions per individual customer to Rs5,000. Banks should be permitted to offer only rupee based domestic money transfers and cannot offer cross border transfer facility through mobile phones, RBI added in the draft guidelines. —Anita Bhoir and Reuters ********* Sinosteel to slash iron ore imports from India Mumbai: Sinosteel Corp. , China’s second- biggest iron-ore trading company, said it will slash imports from India by 30% this year as demand declines and global steelmakers favour Australian ore for its purity. The ferrous content in the ore from India is often lower than what is promised to customers, said Wang Hongsen, managing director at Sinosteel’s Indian unit. Sinosteel imported 11 million tonnes from India last year, he said. —Bloomberg ********* IOC to raise refining capacity, says Behuria Mumbai: The country’s biggest refiner, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), plans to increase oil-processing capacity to 80 million tonnes (mt) a year by 2012 from 60.2mt now, chairman Sarthak Behuria said in Mumbai on Friday. IOC is investing in expanding its refining capacity and retail network to meet rising demand in the country. Meanwhile, the refiner made a currency loss of Rs1,500 crore in the first six months of FY09 after the rupee depreciated, Behuria said. —Bloomberg ********* Brijeshwar Singh is new NHAI chief New Delhi: The Centre has named Brijeshwar Singh a 1975 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, the new chairman of highways regulator, National Highways Authority of India, or NHAI, replacing N. Gokulram, who will join the Planning Commission, the apex plan body. Gokulram’s exit comes even as the highways authority is caught in a legal wrangle over guidelines for shortlisting bidders for highway projects. He is the third top executive at NHAI to be moved out of the post in recent years. Mint had earlier reported on Gokulram’s uneasy relationship with T. R. Baalu, minister for shipping, road transport and highways. Gokulram will move into his new role as a principal advisor at the Planning Commission next week, a government official said, asking not to be named. Singh is currently chairman and managing director of Arasu Cable TV Corp., a state-run provider of cable television services. —Rahul Chandran ********* Hindalco to open rights offer on Monday Mumbai: Aluminium maker Hindalco Industries Ltd will launch its planned Rs5,050 crore rights share offering on Monday. The sale in a ratio of three shares for every seven held at Rs96 a share will close on 10 October, Hindalco said in a newspaper advertisement. The company aims to use the funds to repay a bridge loan it had taken to buy Canada’s Novelis Inc. in 2007. The company will spend Rs19,800 crore to set up aluminium plants in the country. Hindalco will expand existing capacity and also set up new factories in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla told shareholders. —Reuters / Bloomberg ********* Emami’s open offer to start 26 September Mumbai: Emami Ltd’s revised open offer for acquiring an additional 20% stake from the public shareholders of Mumbai-based herbal health care company Zandu Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd will open on 26 September through 15 October. The offer will open at Rs15,000 a share. The offer follows Emami’s June purchase of about 24% stake from the Mumbai-based Vaidya family, one of the founder promoters of Zandu. Emami had last week revised its original offer of Rs7,315 per share last week to match the market price. Emami’s decision to revise the open offer price came following its two-month dispute with the current management of Zandu, controlled by key Mumbai-based promoters, the Parikh family. —C. Unnikrishnan ********* NDTV-Hindu ink pact to launch TV channel New Delhi: Broadcaster NDTV Ltd has formed a joint venture with Kasturi and Sons Ltd, publisher of ‘The Hindu’, to launch a city-specific channel in Chennai. NDTV holds 51% in Metronation Chennai Television Pvt Ltd, with Kasturi and Sons holding the rest. N. Murali, joint managing director of Kasturi and Sons, said the channel, which will go on air before the end of the year, will be called NDTV Hindu. “This is our entry into this new medium. The city does not have a dedicated English channel that will cover news, events and lifestyle,” he added. The two companies had announced a partnership in December 2007. —Staff Writer ********* Narcotics case: Krebs managing director held Hyderabad: Officials of the Department of Revenue Intelligence, or DRI, on Thursday, arrested R. T. Ravi, managing director of the Hyderabad-based drug maker Krebs Biochemicals and Industries Ltd for selling substances controlled under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He was later produced in court and remanded to 14 days judicial custody. The country’s largest drug maker by revenues Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd own’s 15% equity in Krebs and sources chemicals, known as active pharmaceutical ingredients, from the Hyderabad firm. A Ranbaxy spokesperson said the company “did not wish to offer any comments”. —Staff Writer Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:52 pm Sebi keeps tabs on short sellersThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is watching trends in the domestic stock market, after the capital market regulators in the US, the UK and Australia imposed a temporary ban onSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:51 pm The roles that went on to make movie historyIt’s funny how so much of the media hype surrounding the release of the new Indiana Jones movie (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) focused on Harrison Ford. Was he young enough to play the iconic role? Would he still be convincing in the action sequences? And so on.  The divide: Gandhi had a stellar Indian cast, but the lead role went to a British actor. AFP Funny, because the role was not written for Ford. Indiana Jones grew out of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ desire to make “a James Bond movie without all the gadgetry”. They tested several actors for the part but their heart was set on Tom Selleck. Unfortunately for Selleck, he had signed on to star in the TV series, Magnum PI, and his network would not release him — not even for Spielberg and Lucas. Desperate for a leading man, Lucas fell back on Ford who had zoomed to stardom in the Star Wars movies. Ford was not wild about Indiana Jones but then, he’d never been wild about Star Wars either. Spielberg and Lucas thought he had the necessary physicality for the role and persuaded him to star in Raiders of the Lost Ark. When that film became a hit, the Indiana Jones franchise was created and the role became indelibly associated with Ford. Casting is one of those Hollywood mysteries. The right cast can make a movie soar. The wrong casting can destroy it. When Mike Nichols was making the movie of Nora Ephron’s best-seller Heartburn, he cast Mandy Patinkin in the Carl Bernstein role (the book was about the break-up of Ephron’s marriage to Bernstein). Patinkin walked out and Nichols affected not to mind, signing Jack Nicholson, one of the world’s biggest stars, instead. But Nicholson was too Irish for the role, never quite made his character seem convincing and his performance sank the picture. Patinkin was no star but he would have been a better choice. Often, stars who decline roles because they realize they are wrong for them, do big favours to unknowns. David Lean wanted to cast Albert Finney as TE Lawrence in his Lawrence of Arabia. When Finney turned him down, he went for the unknown Peter O’Toole who looked nothing like the real Lawrence (who was something of a midget.) The casting worked and who can now think of the movie without thinking of O’Toole’s performance? One other star turned Lawrence of Arabia down. Lean’s original choice for Sharif Ali was Dilip Kumar. Kumar thought abut the offer and then decided that he’d rather be king of the Bombay film industry than co-star to some Western unknown. So, Lean cast Omar Sharif who few people had heard of, even in West Asia. Many years later, I asked Kumar if he regretted turning down the role that made Sharif an international star. He said he didn’t. But surely, I persisted, he must regret not becoming an internationally renowned actor. He was ambivalent. “How do you know I would have been convincing as a Arab?” he asked. “Maybe the film would not have done so well if they had cast me.” Lean had bad luck with Indians, anyway. In the 1960s he was slated to direct Gandhi (which Richard Attenborough made two decades later, eventually) and asked Alec Guinness to play the title role, claiming that there was no Indian actor who could do justice to the character. The project floundered but, in the 1980s, when Lean made A Passage to India, he cast Guinness as Professor Godbole, a horrific piece of miscasting that turned the movie into a laughing stock. But Lean was merely advancing the Western preference for white actors in brown-face that was normal practice in the film industry in those days. In Nine Hours to Rama, about Gandhiji’s assassination, Nathuram Godse was played by the German Horst Buchholz and Robert Morley played a character based on Morarji Desai! Even when Attenborough finally made Gandhi (with Indian money) he refused to cast an Indian in the lead role choosing the stage actor Ben Kingsley over say, Naseeruddin Shah (who, I think, would have been much better) and claiming that Kingsley’s Indian ancestry meant that the role had gone to an Indian. Casting is less important in Hindi movies. Hrishikesh Mukherjee wanted to make Anand in the 1950s with Raj Kapoor. Eventually, he made it with Rajesh Khanna but it is hard to see whether the casting improved the film. Even when Karan Johar produced a virtual remake in Kal Ho Na Ho, with Shah Rukh Khan, the choice of lead actor made little difference to the subject. On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan owes his career to casting choices. Prakash Mehra offered the lead role in Zanjeer to the entire Bombay industry (including Jeetendra and Raj Kumar). It was only when they all turned him down that he cast Bachchan. Today it is impossible to imagine any other actor in that role — and it became the first rung on Bachchan’s journey to superstardom. Similarly, Bachchan was not supposed to be in Sholay. While other actors were being considered, he spoke to Dharmendra who had already been cast. Dharmendra is the sort of man who never turns down anybody who asks for a favour, so he agreed to get Ramesh Sippy to cast Bachchan as his co-star. But the real enigma of Sholay is: What would Danny Denzongpa have been like as Gabbar Singh? He was Ramesh Sippy’s original choice and it was only when Danny said he was unavailable that an unknown actor called Amjad Khan got his first break. My guess, for what it’s worth, is that Danny would have played Gabbar differently, but that he would have been as good as Amjad was. These days I’m less and less convinced that casting matters in Hindi movies. Most films have little in the way of characterization and the roles are written so that any actor can play them. Only in Hollywood does casting still matter. If you don’t believe me, pull out a DVD of the second Tim Burton Batman movie and see Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. Then, watch Halle Berry’s version from the eponymous movie. You’ll see the difference a good actor can make. Write to Vir at pursuits@livemint.com Click here to read Vir’s previous Lounge columns on www.livemint.com/vir-sanghvi Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:51 pm ECB rules will be eased soon, says North BlockThe government may liberalise external commercial borrowing (ECB) rules in the next few days, especially for the infrastructure sector including capital-intensive ones like telecom, a finance ministrySource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:49 pm Divine help sought for Wall Street firmsHyderabad: Special prayers were performed at the Chilkur Balaji temple, near Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, on Friday “to save the world from the once-in-a-century economic crisis due to major American banks and funding agencies filing for bankruptcy”. According to M.V. Rangarajan, one of the priests at the temple, the prayer was started after a devotee—an employee at one of the crisis-ridden Wall Street banks —called from Detroit in the US to request the temple priests to pray and help tide over the current crisis. According to a release issued by the temple on Friday as part of the special pooja, “devotees in thousands” chanted the Runa Vimochana Nrusimha Stotram, a special chanting invoking the lion god, which the head priests, Soundararajan and C.S. Gopalakrishna, believe would help the “worldwide credit crunch to ease and help the recovery of money from defaulters, however big they are”. “A temple has to pray for the well-being of the humanity and this is the crisis which will have spiralling effect on the common man and hence this prayer,” the head priest said in the release. “The Lord...will definitely fill us with credit flows like he filled the tanks (in Andhra Pradesh) with (rain) water. He will fill the banks so that they come out of bankruptcy.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:47 pm Markets surge worldwide on short selling curbsA massive bout of short-covering by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), mainly hedge funds, on Friday saw Indian markets surging the most in two months as regulators in the US, the UK andSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:47 pm The seven best books on boom and bustMumbai: This has been an astonishing month in the global financial markets—the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the sale of Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc., the nationalization of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and American International Group Inc., and fears that several other financial institutions are tottering. It is hard to make sense of what is happening in New York, London and elsewhere. And while there is no shortage of newspaper commentary, blog posts and videos to keep you busy, here is a list of the seven best books I have read on previous episodes of financial euphoria and collapses. These are not academic tomes, but those that combine insight and good writing. Here goes, in no particular order:  When Genius Failed, by Roger Lowenstein. This is a gripping story of how Long Term Capital Management, a hedge fund that had an incredibly smart bunch of people on its rolls, including two Nobel economists, collapsed in 1998. A cautionary tale about hubris. Liar’s Poker, by Michael Lewis. A wicked and rollicking insider’s tale about the last years of the great bull market of the 1980s—which ended with the collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert and the destruction of the US’ savings and loans institutions. You will never take an investment banker very seriously after reading this book. The Money Game, by Adam Smith. The delightful book takes us back to the great 1960s boom in the US. The author spins out his yarn with wit and sarcasm. Economist Paul Samuelson called it a modern classic. The name gives away the main point of the book—it’s all just a game. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edwin Lefevre. This is the fictionalized story of the life of a trader called Jesse Livermore aka the Boy Plunger. It describes the rough and tumble world of equities trading in the early decades of the 20th century, with rumours, conspiracies and cartels swirling through the markets. This was before the age of securities regulation and research reports. But an ever-relevant look into the world of trading. Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay. A book on behavioural finance decades before there was any subject known as behavioural finance. Written in a quaint early 18th century style, this classic covers not just investment manias such as the South Sea Bubble—in which even a certain Isaac Newton lost his shirt—but also other delusional waves such as men’s fashions and witch hunting—or what we would today perhaps call information cascades. Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance In Life And In The Markets, byNassim Nicholas Taleb. I know that Taleb’s latest book—The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable—is now much sought after. But I prefer this earlier book, in which, as one reviewer wrote, he rolled a hand grenade down Wall Street. There is a lot of Greek philosophy,Karl Popper, the inadequacies of the normal curve—but at its heart, this book is an entertainer. Iconoclasm at its best. This article first appeared as a post on Niranjan Rajadhyaksha’s blog An Awkward Corner on Thursday 18 September. Rajadhyaksha, the editorial pages editor of Mint, writes the column Café Economics every Wednesday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:45 pm Soccer, 80 minutes and frogs for dinnerAdrenalin Africa South Africa can’t seem to get enough of Indian tourists. And the admiration is mutual. In 2007, about 52,000 Indians visited the country, up from 36,000 in 2005. Medha Sampat, country head of South African Tourism, spoke to Lounge about why South Africa should be a permanent fix for adrenalin junkies. Edited excerpts:  Hic hic holiday: South Africa is known for its vineyards. South Africa is known for the beautiful vineyards in and around Cape Town and for the surfing spots along Durban, up on eastern coast, besides game resorts and safaris. Building on this image, we are showcasing adventure sports as well as promoting South Africa as a luxury/indulgence/shopping destination. For adventure-seekers, there’s bungee jumping (South Africa has one of the world’s highest bungee jumping spots—216m—in Western Cape), cage diving to watch sharks, sky diving, rock climbing, trekking and hiking. The country also offers whale watching, ballooning, rafting. Doesn’t the high crime rate discourage travel? What about the recent incident of an Indian photojournalist dying in mob violence? Most Indian tourists come in through organized tours and in South Africa, they are always accompanied by experienced guides. In our experience, safety has never been raised as a serious concern by Indians. The recent violence did get quite a lot of media attention in India. But we are sure that the effect, if any, will only be short-term and, in the longer term, South Africa’s attractions will make up for whatever apprehensions Indians may have. What safety advice do you have for Indian tourists? Plan well in advance to ensure all arrangements are in place before you reach South Africa. All major Indian travel agents have existing business relations with South African tour operators; make use of them. Landing up in Johannesburg and then thinking about accommodation may not be the best idea. As anywhere else in the world, always be safety conscious. What kind of tourist inflow is the country expecting during the soccer World Cup in 2010? We are aiming for 10 million tourists in 2010. With last year’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup and the Rugby World Cup in 1995, we have proven our ability to host international events. For the Fifa (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup, we have new stadiums, hotels and better transportation infrastructure coming up. Lison Joseph  There’s a reason why Sebastian Pradhan, who owns the eco-tourism centre at Reshi, has opted for word-of-mouth publicity. “It brings the right set of people,” he says. Who, then, are the right people for Reshi, on the east Sikkim-north Bengal border? If you can make do with a mattress for a bed, a feeble filament for a light source, tolerate the occasional sorties of insects and turn your back on some worldly comforts (including a motorable road), you have nearly made the cut. The pay-off lies in panoramic night skies, butterflies, the constant gurgle of the Reshi river running alongside the huts, mountain views, jungle walks and chhang, the local millet-based drink. Add to that a delectable spread from Pradhan’s own kitchen, the vegetables almost entirely sourced from within the eco-tourism complex and the trout, rohu, crab or whole frogs (if you care) from the river. Reshi is 36km from Kalimpong in West Bengal. The 14,000ft Jelepla Pass, Tsomgo Lake, Renock and Pedong are motorable distances from the Reshi riverside. Contact Sebastian Pradhan for details on +91-9932744407. Sumana Mukherjee Time machine travel For exactly 80 minutes on 1 October, around 100 members of the Leading Hotels of the World across the globe will offer just under 6,000 rooms at an unimaginable $19.28 (around Rs850) per night (for a maximum of two nights) to commemorate their founding year, 1928. What better reason to organize a guilt free, snappy little winter get-away that is light on the wallet? So what do you need to do? Log on to www.lhw.com/1928_SIGNUP.aspx?ext=1928 and sign up (registrations opened on 5 September). At exactly 5.30pm IST, in tandem with time zones across the world, you will be able to book your rooms in your choice of hotel. Do have second and third options ready, just in case your first choice isn’t available—time will be precious and you can bet competition will be fierce. Among the participating hotels are the Adlon Kempinski in Berlin; the Tortuga Bay in the Dominican Republic, with its private beach; The James in downtown Chicago; the Pezula Resort located amid cliffs and beaches in Knysna, South Africa; and the Santiburi Golf Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand. The full list is available on the website. Even with taxes and other charges, the offer ensures a holiday so delightfully cheap and superlatively luxe, you won’t bat an eyelid at the airfare. Go ahead, step back in time. Confirmations will be immediate. Sumana Mukherjee Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:44 pm The Goddess diariesPreparations are on in full force for Durga puja — West Bengal’s biggest and most colourful festival. And in this celebration of the victory of good over evil, it’s not just the state’s residents who pitch in. Click here to watch video For more pictures of Durga puja preparations, our 2007 photo feature on the puja, and other photo essays: Also See Text and photographs: Indranil Bhoumik / Mint Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 6:36 pm Toxic relief fund won’t be a panaceaStock markets love the idea of a toxic relief fund (TRF). Thursday’s announcement that the US authorities are considering ways to “address the illiquid assets on bank balance sheets” was greeted with jubilation. Global stock markets rose 4-8%. Many big UK banks’ shares jumped by 25-40%. But even if the government can figure out how to suck the pond scum of the financial system onto its own balance sheet, it may still get dragged into dealing with the over-leveraged balance sheets that created the problem in the first place. Click here for breakingviews.com  The list of questions is daunting. What assets should be considered toxic, or illiquid? How should they be valued—implicit market prices from earlier this week, from just before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed, or something still higher? The higher the assets are valued, the bigger the cost to the taxpayer; the more they are valued in line with current conditions, the less it will help. Then there’s the matter of who will participate. Can hedge funds, private equity houses and institutional investors? And how will the government detoxify its new portfolio? Who on earth can be trusted to run it? Perhaps the intelligence and skill, which went to create all these infectious instruments, can be turned to unwinding them. But it’s almost inevitable that the most irresponsible market players will end up getting the greatest relief. Even if TRF does somehow do what it’s supposed to, the financial system won’t be in the clear. For that, the bazooka that the government used to destroy doubts about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and American International Group Inc. may have to be replaced by a cruise missile. The US financial system is massively over-levered and undercapitalized. But every effort to take debt out of the system leads to price falls for assets, which have been financed by debt—most obviously houses, but also stocks and, in this madly leveraged world, risky loans. Worse, much of the debt used to finance these assets was short-term, creating a “maturity mismatch” that invites crisis. When the financing isn’t renewed, solid assets have to be sold into cash-short markets at pitifully low prices. The illiquid assets were just an especially toxic icing on a poison cake. If a TRF changes the pace of deleveraging from frantic to measured, then perhaps the financial system can gradually return to balance. But a few hundred billions of extra funding from the Federal Reserve—the sort of sums being talked about—may not be enough to do the trick. The total debt of the US financial system is $15 trillion (Rs695 trillion). So, in the event that TRF doesn’t work, Uncle Sam will face a series of further tough choices. One would be to let the deleveraging work its way through the system, causing more financial and economic chaos. But that seems unlikely given the country’s low pain threshold. The US would then be back in even bigger bailout territory. One route would be to further shore up the banks—either by pumping in equity capital, or making long-term loans to cure the maturity mismatch. This would amount to a quasi-nationalization similar to what Sweden did in the 1990s. The other alternative would be to help borrowers keep up with their payments—either by arranging big write-offs, or allowing inflation to really take off so making their debts easier to pay. Even if TRF succeeds, the US deficit will mount. But if not, the end result will be dramatically higher deficits and inflation. Given that inflation is already lurking and the US is a huge debtor, the outcome would be a debauched currency. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 4:47 pm Jindal Steel bags 3 exploration orders in PeruJindal Steel has bagged three exploration orders in Peru. It has to execute those orders within the next 56 months. Sushil Maroo, DirectorFinance, Jindal Steel Power, said the company got these orders in the bidding process and lot of work is still required to be done.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Sep 2008 | 4:42 pm The global bear hunt begins The short-selling ban has faced a barrage of criticism from those who believe that this is nothing, but market manipulation by the government. But that has never prevented governments from going after short-sellers in times of crisis. For instance, during the Asian crisis, Malaysia and Hong Kong banned short sales. That isn’t all—Asian governments have sometimes directly intervened in the stock markets. In 1998, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority directly purchased stocks on the Hang Seng index; in late 2000, the South Korean government raised a huge sum from the domestic pension industry to set up a stock market stabilization fund; also in 2000, the government set up a large fund in Taiwan to stabilize stocks. But you don’t have to look that far back—late last June, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Karachi Stock Exchange banned short-selling, set up a fund to stabilize volatility and revised circuit-breakers so that a fall of 1% on the downside triggered them. The problem is these measures provided only a temporary boost. They did little during the Asian crisis to halt the slide in the markets. In Pakistan, investors stoned the stock exchange less than a month after the market plummeted. The AMC, however, is something that worked during the last housing bust in the US in the late 1980s, when the Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC) was formed. In fact, such public AMCs have been a regular feature of banking crises in other countries as well: examples include South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia during the Asian crisis and in Sweden, France and Finland among the developed countries during the banking crises there. Nevertheless, as experts have already started pointing out, several grey areas remain. What will be the price at which assets will be taken over? Do some of these assets have any value at all? What will be the fiscal cost? For markets, while the central banks are willing to unleash a flood of liquidity, it will take time before the banks are in a position to pass on that liquidity and start lending anew. So, the underlying economic weakness persists. And finally, during the last housing bust in the US (one that didn’t have additional complications such as big banks collapsing), while there was an initial bounce after the government stepped in to resolve matters, it took two years before stock prices moved back above the level they were at when RTC was formed, although one reason for that could be the first Gulf War. The bottom line is that while a comprehensive bailout could improve sentiment and end the credit crisis, a recovery is going to take time. Markets see another differential voting rights issue Three is a trend. Or is it? Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd is the third company to have recently announced the issue of shares with differential voting rights (DVRs), following in the footsteps of Tata Motors Ltd and Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. Does this mean India will soon have a flourishing market for shares with DVRs. Also see Little Enthusiasm (Graphic) That’s too early to say, since none of the said shares are available for trading yet. Based on what these companies have announced so far, the float of such shares will be relatively low, which some analysts feel will hamper liquidity. Still, there is a case for DVRs in India, since almost all non-promoter shareholders are interested only in the economic benefit of holding shares, rather than voting rights. Needless to say, it would take Indian investors some time to get acclimatized to the new product, and more firms may join the fray by issuing such shares depending on the initial response. Coming back to the DVR issue by Gujarat NRE Coke, the proposed issue is almost exactly the opposite of what Tata Motors and Pantaloon Retail are set to issue. While these two companies are planning to issue shares with lower voting rights, Gujarat NRE Coke’s new shares (to be issued on a rights basis) will have higher voting rights. The company’s shares now trade at about Rs66, but the DVR shares will be issued at a price of as high as Rs1,000. Given the huge premium, and no proportionate increase in economic interest, minority shareholders are expected to give up the right to subscribe to these shares. As a result, the promoter group will end up with all the DVRs and as a result its stake in the company is expected to rise to 51%, from the current level of 41%. From a minority shareholder’s point of view, it’s a sort of a give-and-take offer. Because the promoter group would be buying shares at 15 times the current share price, the company will be able to raise funds with minimal dilution of their economic interest. The company is raising Rs105 crore through the DVR issue, which will dilute equity capital by just 0.22%. With ordinary voting rights, the company’s equity capital would have got diluted by 4.75%. On the other hand, voting rights of minority shareholders will come down from 59% to 49%. A hostile bid is almost ruled out, which will dilute any premium that was built into the company’s share price on hopes of being acquired. The company’s share price fell by 8% after the DVR issue was announced, but gained 8% the day after. For now, investors seem to have concluded that the issue is neutral for minority shareholders. Write to us atmarktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 4:35 pm Sal Oppenheim woos Indian clean-tech cosBangalore: Europe’s independent private banking group, Sal Oppenheim jr & Cie KGaA, is looking to help Indian clean-technology companies list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, also known as FWB, one of the world’s largest trading centres for securities. Sal Oppenheim’s managing director for equity capital markets, Carsten Klante, says high liquidity, balanced regulation, reasonable transactions costs, along with global investor reach and high awareness for clean technology makes Germany an attractive listing venue.  India-bound: Carsten Klante, managing director, equity capital markets at Sal Oppenheim, is making a pitch for the Frankfurt stock exchange. Sal Oppenheim is now concentrating on the emerging markets, and is collaborating with Bangalore-based venture capital firm Sandalwood Partners to explore clean tech opportunities in India. In an interview with Mint, Klante talked about how the Frankfurt exchange could be an attractive alternative to Indian companies and why the bank is focusing on clean-tech firms. Edited excerpts: Why do you think Indian companies would be interested in getting listed on FWB? The market sentiments in India are not very strong right now. Though low price-earnings ratio indicates attractiveness for investors, it also lowers the potential valuation for companies looking at going public and raises cost of capital. For companies, particularly in the space of clean technology, or renewable energy, there is now an alternative—to seek listing at the FWB, where investors are looking out for such companies. We are keen on clean-tech companies which could either be listed or unlisted in India and have a size of €75 million, though we can also consider companies with a size of €50 million if they have a unique technology and a strong team. We are currently in talks with 15 to 20 companies in India and I am confident that at least one Indian company would get listed on the FWB next year. We will be a long-term player in India and know that some companies would not have a size in that range, but they can scale up in three-four years. Why would FWB be attractive to Indian clean-tech companies? Being one of the first Indian regulated IPO would imply a high public awareness and attention from institutional investors. Also, IPOs from the emerging markets are very sought after in Germany, particularly after the IPO of ZhongDe. Meanwhile, a listing in Germany can be used as a launch pad for expansion in Europe or anywhere else. Listing cost at the FWB is also lower than in the US or UK. In Germany, cost of going public could be 6-8% of the money raised, while in the US, you end up paying 6-7% of that to the bank alone, while other costs take away another 1-3%. In (the) UK, the cost of lawyers is high. About four-six months’ time is needed for an IPO in Germany. Why are you concentrating only on clean-tech companies from India? Clean tech is not a niche segment anymore and there is an increase in demand for this. Besides this, Germany is very strong in this technology. We want to start with clean-tech firms in India as we do not want to overstretch our resources in the market. Later, we will look (to) facilitate listing of chemical, pharmaceutical, technology and industrial engineering companies. We do not think real estate firms will make sense for us as European investors cannot judge them. We will also concentrate on merger and acquisition activity of these companies in India. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 4:14 pm Suzuki CEO says strong yen, slow demand making business toughHamamatsu, Japan: Japanese car maker Suzuki Motor Corp. will record its first monthly fall in worldwide production in 40 months for August as demand weakens in India and other markets, making it difficult for the company to meet various targets, its chief executive officer (CEO) said on Friday. “The situation is getting tougher and tougher for everyone. It’s unnatural to expect a small company like ours to weather the storm when even the industry leaders are struggling,” Osamu Suzuki said. The car maker has been expanding its sales and profits for nearly a decade thanks to its lead in the Indian market and the growing popularity of small, fuel-efficient cars. But it is feeling the pinch from sinking demand in developed markets and in emerging ones such as India. In August, Suzuki said its global production, which it is due to report officially Thursday, fell 14.2% from the same month last year. Overall car demand in India, its single biggest market, fell 4.4% in August, down for the second straight month, due to rising borrowing costs and higher prices. Sales at Suzuki’s unit Maruti Suzuki India Ltd dropped 10%. India and Pakistan are set to account for more than one-third of Suzuki’s global sales this year. Suzuki said that revenues in India were holding up relative to sales volumes thanks to brisk demand for more expensive models such as the Swift and the SX4. Revenues last month were down just 1.6% against a 10% fall in vehicle sales, he said. Between April and August, revenues rose 13% compared with a 5% growth in vehicle sales, he said. Still, Suzuki said profits were facing pressure from a stronger yen, which diminishes the value of earnings made overseas. “(Profit forecasts) are going to come under severe pressure with the dollar under 105 yen and the euro below 155 yen,” he said. Suzuki is assuming a dollar rate of 95 yen and the euro at 150 yen for the October to March period. The car maker has forecast operating profit of 140 billion yen (Rs6,241 crore) for the year to March 2009, down 6.3% from 2007-08, when profits grew for the eighth straight year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Sep 2008 | 4:13 pm
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