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Goldman Sachs, Edelweiss bid for 75% in PNB Gilts: SourcesPunjab National Bank is looking to sell it 74.7% stake in PNB Gilts. Sankalp Saini of NewsWire 18 informed CNBCTV18 that the bids for this stake has been submitted and would be opened on October 30. He added that he heard from sources that Goldman Sachs and Edelweiss Capital were among the bidders.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:20 pm United Phosphorus eyes 2040% in Israel co: SourcesSources said CNBCTV18\'s Varinder Bansal that United Phosphorus, which has been on the spree of acquisition for last two years, is in talks to buy 2040% stake in israel\'s Makhteshim Agan Group. Bansal finds out how far have the talks reached.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:00 pm ONGC eyes intl assets, JulySept gross billing at $115/bblOil and Natural Gas Corporation, or ONGC, CMD, R S Sharma said JulySeptember gross billing stands at USD 115 per barrel, reports CNCBTV18. \"ONGC has enough liquidity to fund Imperial Energy buyout. We are still pursuing plans to buy assets abroad.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 1:19 pm Rupee at lowest close in 6 yrs as stocks fallMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee fell to its lowest close in more than six years on Friday, after the BSE Sensex tumbled below 10,000 points intensifying worries of capital outflows.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:35 pm UB Group launches Bouchard wines in IndiaVijay Mallya-promoted UB Group on Friday announced the launch of Bouchard Aine and Fils selection of wines in the country.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:28 pm Corus, JLR act to cut costsTwo Tata Group companies -- steel firm Corus and car maker Jaguar Land Rover -- have announced different steps to reduce costs in the wake of fall in demand for the alloy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:27 pm GM India lines up variants of existing models - Wheels Unplugged - Indis'a Automobile Magazine
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:22 pm India Inc worried over Jet recalling employees - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:21 pm Oil above $70 in broad market rallyLONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $70 on Friday, recovering from a 16-month low to join a broad rally across financial markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:13 pm Sensex melts below 10k levelMelting stock prices on Friday pulled down the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex below the 10,000 points level for the first time in over two yearsSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:11 pm Essar Oil reopens up to 350 petrol, diesel outlets - Livemint
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:10 pm Letter to West Bengal: Why Tata pulled out of Singur - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:05 pm Satyam Computers Q2 net soars 42%Country's fourth largest software exporter Satyam Computer Services reported a 42 per cent jump in its net profit on FridaySource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:05 pm Patel seeks rationalisation of ATF pricesCivil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Friday demanded rationalisation of air turbine fuel (ATF) prices to save the aviation sectorSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:01 pm FACTBOX - India's steps to staunch effects of global crisisMUMBAI (Reuters) - Following are steps taken by India's government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over the past month to shore up liquidity as the global financial crisis has spilled into India's financial markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:56 am Google Q3 profits up 26% at $1.35 bnWorld's leading internet search engine Google has posted a net income of 1.35 billion dollar for the third quarter in 2008Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:56 am Jaguar Land Rover to cut 200 jobs!Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to shed 200 jobs across its UK operations, but claimed that the redundancies were not connected with the economic downturn or slump in car sales.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Dow ends up 401 in another stunning U-turn!A stock market as difficult to fathom as it is volatile pulled off another stunning U-turn on Thursday, transforming a 380-point loss for the Dow Jones industrials into a 401-point gain. Was it the government`s bailout beginning to have an effect? The credit markets finally beginning to loosen up? Investors looking for a bottom in stocks?Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Microsoft still sees chance of Yahoo search deal!Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo Inc makes economic sense and may still be possible, though the two sides are not in any discussions.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am SBI hikes foreign currency deposit rates!State Bank of India on Thursday increased interest rates on foreign currency deposits effective from tomorrow.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Satyam Q2 net up 42% at Rs 581 cr!Satyam Computer Services on Friday announced a consolidated net profit of Rs 580.85 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, a growth of 42 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Lehman case emerging from chaos: Lawyer!A Lehman Brothers lawyer told a judge on Thursday that the company is emerging from the "chaos" that characterised its bankruptcy filing and the weeks immediately following it.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Sensex climbs 150 points!A sense of relief can be sensed among investors as markets opened higher on Friday, thanks to important gains in banking, capital goods and realty sectors stocks.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Asian stock markets mixed; oil jumps!Asian stocks were modestly mixed in early trade on Friday after Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight, with Japan`s market recovering from its historic fall in the previous session.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am GM slashes 1,600 jobs at 3 US plants!General Motors will lay off 1,600 workers at three US plants, as it slashes production in the face of a sharp drop off in sales, officials said.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am BSE Sensex tumbles to lowest close since mid-2006BANGALORE (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex shed 5.7 percent on Friday to its lowest close since June 2006, collapsing in afternoon trade as fears of a looming sharp global economic slowdown kept investors wary of risky assets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:52 am Goldman Sachs suggests easy credit policyUS bank Goldman Sachs on Friday suggested India should try to neutralise the economic downturn by effectively cutting interest rates.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:48 am HDFC Ltd Q2 net dips 17% at Rs 534.23 crHousing Development Finance Corporation Ltd announced a net profit of Rs 534.23 crore on Friday for the second quarter ended September 30Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:39 am Ministers take credit as Jet reinstates staffThousands of employees of Jet Airways, who were shown pink slips, were celebrating on Friday after chairman Naresh Goyal decided to reinstate each one of themSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:38 am India 2008/09 cotton arrival touch 1 mln bales - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:37 am Key Indian market index dips below 10,000The mayhem in Indian stock markets continued Friday with a key index dropping below the psychologically important 10,000-point mark after having crossed an all-time high of 21,206.77 points in January.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:32 am First centre for cross-LoC Kashmir trade readyThe first trade centre near the Line of Control (LOC) in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir is ready for biweekly trade with Pakistan from Oct 21. It is scheduled to be thrown open on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:30 am West urges financial overhaul, Asia, E.Europe hitLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - World leaders demanded tougher banking rules on Friday to protect economies from crisis before a meeting of U.S. and French presidents that officials said would explore ways to reform a crumbling financial system.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:28 am Essar Oil reopens up to 350 petrol, diesel outletsNew Delhi: With the softening of oil prices, Ruias-owned Essar Oil has started reviving its petrol pumps but rival Reliance Industries is yet to act. Essar Oil, which had by May 2005 set up 1250 petrol pumps in the country and together with Reliance Industries’ 1490 outlets captured 16-17% diesel market share, has reopened 300-350 petrol and diesel sale outlets in western and southern India, a company official said. “As we couldn’t match the price offered by public sector companies who got subsidies from the government, we decided to freeze our retail plans in May 2005,” he said. Unable to sustain operations, Essar, Reliance and Royal/Dutch Shell last year decided to shut all their outlets. “This August, we began reopening the outlets and by December we hope to have upto 70% of our total strength operational,” the official said. Reliance, however, has not taken any decision on reopening its outlets. “At the peak, our outlets were selling 400-500 kilolitres of petrol and diesel a month. Now, we sell 8-10 kl per month,” the official said. Essar sold diesel at Rs18-20 a litre more than the price offered by state-run Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, who got paid by the government through oil bonds and discounts for crude oil producer ONGC for selling fuel at a loss. “Currently, we sell petrol at a price that is Rs2-5 a litre higher than the PSU competition. Diesel is being sold at Rs6-10 a litre more depending on the location and distance (from the depot),” the official said. Essar is the nation’s newest refiner, which has a 10.5 million- tonne a year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat which feeds the retail pumps. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:24 am Tatas to set up permanent Nano unit in UttarakhandDehra Dun: Tata Motors, which has already started interim production of Nano car from Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, is also planning to set up a small permanent production unit of the world’s cheapest car in the industrial town. “Tata Motors officials have conveyed to us that they are considering to set up a small permanent production unit of Nano in Pantnagar,” Chief Secretary I K Pande said. Although Tata Motors decided to set up the mother plant of Nano at Sanand, Gujarat, its interim production has already started in Pantnagar, where the auto major produces Ace mini trucks. However, Pande added that the company officials have not yet indicated that they would set up a new unit or convert the interim unit to permanent production facility for Nano. Meanwhile, when contacted the Tata Motors spokesperson said, “It is Tata Motors’s view that even after the mother plant at Sanand becomes operational Tata Motors will continue to manufacture a certain volume of the Nano at Pantnagar. We do not have any other information to share”. The Sanand plant will have the capacity to produce 2.5 lakh cars initially expandable up to 5 lakh cars. Pande further added that the state cabinet also gave its approval to provide lease rent concession to Tata Motors for 1,000 acres of land, where the company is making ace trucks. “Tata Motors will pay the lease rent for 1,000 acres of land at the rate of Re one per square meter,” he said, adding the lease rent concession was being provided to the company as it has set up a mega project in the hill state. Following the approval of the proposal, Tata Motors would get a concession of Rs1.5 crore per annum in the lease rent, he said. Normally the lease rent from industries are charged at the rate of Rs 5 per sqmt, Pande said. Pande said the company officials have given assurance to set up a depot and sell 80% of vehicles from Uttarakhand, so that the hill state would earn a revenue of Rs200 crore per annum as VAT and other taxes. Tata Motors’ shifted its ultra-cheap Nana car project to Sanand, Gujarat following protests by farmers led by opposition leader Mamta Banerjee. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:18 am Patel denies AI rumours; forms body to solve aviation woesCivil Aviation Minister Praful Patel denied reports that Air India is laying off staff. Patel also said that a new committee, to be constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary, will look into the liquidity and operational problems plaguing the aviation sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:16 am ArcelorMittal cuts European steel output 15%Luxembourg: ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steelmaker, said on Friday it is temporarily cutting European steel output by 15% because of lower demand and uncertainty surrounding the fallout from the financial turmoil. ArcelorMittal spokesman Arne Langner said they will cut production “temporarily until the situation becomes better again.” Europe is the company’s largest market and pays the highest price for steel, used to make cars and construct buildings. But the region is facing a sharp slowdown as customers hold back spending and exports fall. The 15-nation euro area is expected to barely grow at all next year. Langner said Arcelor is seeing “an overall drop in demand but (especially in) the car industry and construction.” He said ArcelorMittal remained “confident in our growth strategy for 2008” which relies on growth in emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia and the Middle East. The company sees the global steel sector expanding “by between 3 and 5%. That doesn’t change.” ArcelorMittal is planning to increase steel shipments by more than a fifth over the next four years to win customers in fast-growing economies that are calling for more steel. The Luxembourg-based business produces about 10% of the world’s steel. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:09 am German parliament approves $675 bn financial bailoutBerlin: Germany’s lower house of parliament on Friday overwhelmingly approved a US$675 billion rescue package for the country’s financial markets, clearing the way for approval in the upper house later in the day. “We hope that the law passed today will hinder the worst from happening to the financial markets,” said Peter Struck, parliamentary leader for the Social Democrats, which make up half of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government. The German plan, approved Monday by Merkel’s Cabinet, is part of a coordinated European bailout effort in the face of nervous, volatile markets. Earlier this week, Merkel warned the lower house that “the danger for financial market stability has not yet been banished.” “We must, by approving this bill, as quickly as possible create the basis for calming the situation on the markets,” she said. The German package foresees up to euro400 billion in lending guarantees for banks. On top of that comes as much as euro80 billion to recapitalize banks and, if necessary, buy up risky assets; plus euro20 billion to back up the guarantees. The sums are considered a maximum, and might not all be spent if the financial crisis eases. Merkel has stressed that there will be “no payment without a trade-off.” Banks seeking capital help will have to comply with government-set conditions that could include limits on managers’ pay and directions on lending policy. Lawmakers voted 476 in favor and 99 against the plan, with one abstention. Ahead of the vote, leaders of the opposition Greens and Left Party said their members would cast their ballots against the package, while the pro-business Free Democrats said they would join Merkel’s governing coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats in approving it. It was also widely expected to pass the upper house where the government holds a wide majority. President Horst Koehler was then to sign it into law by the end of the day. The package comes a day after Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, lowered its GDP growth estimate for 2009 by a full percentage point to 0.2% because of uncertainty in the world financial systems. In the past week, Germany’s DAX index of the country’s 30 biggest companies has pitched through positive and negative closings, largely following Wall Street’s lead. It closed down nearly 5% on Thursday, though was up some 3% early on Friday. The swings were primarily caused by financial stocks, as investors tried to assess what impact the rescue package might have and how large the economic fallout from the credit crisis would be. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:59 am Sensex closes below 10K; Realty,power plunge - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:58 am Tata Jaguar seeks 198 voluntary redundancies - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:56 am Govt will try help loss making airlines - PatelNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Domestic airlines in India are facing losses of 70-80 billion rupees ($1.4-$1.6 billion) due to high jet fuel costs, and the government will try to help them, the aviation minister said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:48 am A380 steals limelight at Hyderabad air show - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:46 am Biocon defers plans to list Syngene - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:44 am Margin pressure to temper bank profits in Q2MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian banks are seeing pressure on margins, and higher provisioning arising out of concerns on asset quality, moderating growth in July-September net profit, analysts said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:40 am SBI officers all India strike called offThiruvananthapuram: State Bank of India Officers Association (SBI) has called off their planned indefinite all India strike from 20 October ‘in the wake of global financial meltdown and its impact on country’s economy’. In a statement here, Association (Kerala Circle) General Secretary K Rajeevan said that the strike has been postponed ‘considering the financial situation in the country’. SBI officers had called for strike demanding, among other things, the merger move of associate banks. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:37 am India cash stable, but stocks plunge as clouds form - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:33 am Indian life insurance cos lowering their growth estimatesAfter being hit by the current market conditions and registering a degrowth of 5% as of August this year, the life insurance industry in India is lowering its their growth expectations not only that the valuations of these companies have also been hit. Thats according to an Enam research report.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:33 am Sensex ends below 10k level, touch over 2-year lowsMumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday sank to more than two-year lows under 10,000 points on panic selling by funds and general investors. After a promising start, the Sensex dropped by 606.14 points, or 5.73%, to 9,975.35, a level last seen in June 2006. The key-index dipped to 9,911.32 during the day and a high of 10,786.93. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty tumbled by 194.95, or 5.96%, to 3074.35 after touching the day’s low of 3046.60 and a high of 3335.95 points. Marketmen said the Sensex dipped to the lowest level in over two years on concerns of a sharp global economic slowdown and sluggish corporate earning. They said a series of measures announced by the government and the Reserve Bank of India failed to check rising capital outflow by foreign funds. The market barometer turned significantly down as market major Reliance Industries dropped by 6.58%, DLF Ltd. by 10.34%, Bharti Airtel by 7.47%, ICICI Bank by 5.61% and State Bank of India by 8.42%. Sector-wise, Realty stocks suffered the most as segment index meltdown by 10.25% at 2,524.89 followed by Power sector index by 8.09% at 1,712.27. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:32 am Subsidised palmoline oil may not be sold in ration shopsNew Delhi: Despite promises to sell subsidised palmoline oil through the PDS, the Delhi Government may backtrack on its commitment as the price of edible oil has decreased drastically in the global market. “In all probability, the oil will not be sold through the PDS system as was promised by state Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit a few months ago,” a government official said. “The market price of the palmoline oil is currently much lower than what we are being asked to shell out by Nafed which has imported the cooking oil for us,” a senior government official said. Not keen to suffer losses, the Delhi Government has refused to pay a hefty sum of Rs9 crore for the item which it said has no taker in view of the high cost. “We have sent feelers to the Centre about our inclination not to lift the 20 lakh litres of oil lying at Kandala port in Gujarat,” the officer said. “Initially we had plans to allow the shopkeepers to sell the oil at Rs52 per litre that include their commission. But with the falling prices, edible oil is available at much cheaper rate and why will anybody be keen to purchase costlier oil,” he asked. However, the Centre, not impressed by the Dikshit government’s stand, has reminded that “it cannot backtrack from its commitment made when the prices of edible oil were skyrocketing in the local market”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:25 am India cash stable, but stocks plunge as clouds formMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's banks got back to lending to each other on Friday as emergency steps to ease a money market crunch appeared to work for now, but shares fell 6 percent as investors fretted over how the economy would fare in a global slowdown.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:19 am HDFC net beats fcast, sees firm loan demandMUMBAI (Reuters) - Housing Development Finance Corp, India's top mortgage lender, beat forecasts with a 32.5 percent rise in profit, and a senior official said bad loans were falling and he wanted to maintain loan growth of 25 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:16 am ONGC not to revise Imperial bid amid falling fuel ratesNew Delhi: “Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will not revise its $2.59 billion bid to acquire UK-listed Imperial Energy because of fall in oil prices and despite global financial turmoil, company has enough liquidity to fund the transaction,” Chairman RS Sharma said. “No, we don’t foresee revision in the bid (because of fall in oil prices),” he said. International oil prices averaged around $115 to $120 a barrel in August when ONGC made the 1,250 pence a share successful bid to acquire Imperial that has oilfields in Russia. The crude oil prices have since fallen below $70 a barrel. Crude prices decide the value of acquisitions in oil and gas sector as they indicate the monetary value of the reserves in ground. Sharma further said that the company had enough liquidity to fund two more such transactions. “We are zero debt company. We do not rely on borrowings for our investment plans. We have adequate liquidity to meet our requirements,” he said, adding that the global financial crunch would have a very limited impact on ONGC. For Imperial ONGC had arranged for a $1 billion bridge loan to boost confidence. “If situation arises (where foreign debt is not available), we have liquidity available (to fund the acquisition). ONGC had not slowed down on overseas acquisition because of slide in crude oil prices. “We have not slowed down. We in fact feel it is suitable time for stepping up the ante,” he said, adding the company at any given point of time would be looking at 6-10 opportunities. He however refused to elaborate on the opportunities. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:10 am HDFC Ltd Q2 net dips 17% at Rs534.23 crMumbai: Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd on Friday announced a net profit of Rs534.23 crore for the second quarter ended 30 September, a 17.35% decline over the corresponding period a year ago. The financial institution had a net profit of Rs646.39 crore in the second quarter of FY’08, HDFC Ltd said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The total income rose 38.47% to Rs2,620.59 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs1,892.50 crore in the year-ago period. HDFC’s interest income stood at Rs2,503.37 crore as of 30 September, as compared with Rs1,839.83 crore in the same quarter a year-ago. For the six months ending 30 September, the housing lender reported a 58% dip in net profit at Rs1,019 crore, while its total income stood at Rs3,713.79 crore. Shares of HDFC were trading at Rs1,792, down 0.51% in the afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:53 am Ministers take credit as Jet reinstates staffThousands of employees of Jet Airways, who were shown pink slips, were celebrating Friday after chairman Naresh Goyal decided to reinstate each one of them, even as some ministers scrambled to take credit for the airline's volte-face.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:30 am Nano to roll out early next yearThere could be further delay in the Nano rollout. Tata Motors is likely to launch Nano car early next year and has asked its vendors for cooperation to expedite the process.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:24 am Coetzee, Murakami on list for Australia’s richest book prizeNobel laureate J.M. Coetzee and Japan’s Haruki Murakami were Friday named on the longlist for the richest prize for fiction in Australia, officials said. Recent Booker prize contender Michelle de Kretser and well-known Australian authors David Malouf and Janet Turner Hospital were also on the list for the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award worth 110,000 dollars (76,244 US). Indian-born Indra Sinha was nominated for “Animal’s People” while “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” earned Mohsin Hamid, who was born in Pakistan and lives in the UK, a place on the longlist. The award is for a work of fiction written by an author living in Australia or Asia, or a work primarily set Down Under or in an Asian country, and published electronically or in print. Coetzee, who has twice won the Booker prize and who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 2003, earned his nomination for “Diary of a Bad Year”. Born in South Africa, Coetzee has been living in the South Australian capital of Adelaide for some years and became an Australian citizen in 2006. “It was a careful, thought-out decision to move at a certain stage in my life and I’m very, very happy in Adelaide,” he said recently. The winner of the award, judged by Melbourne literary critic Peter Craven, Pakistani-born author Kamila Shamsie and the Hong Kong-based founder of the Asia Literary Review Nury Vittachi, will be announced on November 21. Launching the award in April, Western Australia’s then premier Alan Carpenter said he hoped it could grow into an award comparable to the Booker or the Pulitzer prizes for writing. “It is a relatively small amount of money, but in terms of literary awards around the world it is big time,” he said. Australia-Asia Literary Award 2008 Longlist: J.M. Coetzee Diary of a Bad Year Matthew Condon The Trout Opera Michelle De Kretser The Lost Dog Ceridwen Dover Blood Kin Rodney Hall Love without Hope Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mireille Juchau Burning In David Malouf The Complete Stories Alex Miller Landscape of Farewell Haruki Murakami After Dark Indra Sinha Animal’s People Janette Turner Hospital Orpheus Lost Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:10 am Quark City retrenches 100 more jobs at IT SEZ projectChandigarh: Quark City India, the developer of IT special economic zone in Punjab, has terminated services of 100 more employees, including engineers, taking the total number of job cuts at the project to 400. “Services of hundred more employees have been terminated yesterday,” QuarkCity India Pvt Ltd spokesman Gurmohan Singh said. With the fresh cut in headcounts, the total job loss at its project has reached 400. However, the company did not reveal its total employee strength at the project. The company had earlier announced 100 jobs cuts at the project citing adverse impact of global turmoil on country’s real estate sector. This time around, the company has even asked engineers to leave the project. “Yes, we have laid off some white-collar jobs although they constitute negligible share in total job cuts,” Gurmohan asserted. The company has handed over pink slips mainly to contract labourers and daily wagers who have been working on this IT project for the last 2-3 years. The company has reportedly been forced to take slash jobs because of the economic slowdown in the US, affecting the US-based real estate company QuarkCity LLC, the main investor in the Mohali project. QuarkCity LLC had announced to set up the tax free zone along with mega project (non-SEZ project) for IT sector at a total investment of Rs3,600 crore through FDI route couple of years back. The company is setting up offices, commercial and residential complex, among others. The SEZ project is expected to create more than 7,000 jobs. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:04 am Las Vegas lures Indian middle classLas Vegas is shedding its naughty image for luring the middle-class Indian tourists to the city.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:02 am Tata bats for Buddha, attacks Mamata through huge adsA fortnight after pulling out the Nano plant from Singur, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata Friday asked the people of West Bengal to support either the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led government 'to build a prosperous state' or suffer the 'destructive political environment of confrontation' that he said was being espoused by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 am Tata bats for Buddha, attacks Mamata through huge adsA fortnight after pulling out the Nano plant from Singur, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata Friday asked the people of West Bengal to support either the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led government 'to build a prosperous state' or suffer the 'destructive political environment of confrontation' that he said was being espoused by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 am Pay back your bonuses, angry Swiss tell UBS former chiefsGeneva: Switzerland reacted angrily today against former top managers of Swiss banking giant UBS, calling on them to return their bonuses, after the bank had to be rescued by the state from the credit crisis. “Mr Ospel, pay back your bonus! Now! Immediately!” screamed the front page of tabloid Blick, referring to former UBS chairman Marcel Ospel. Ospel was forced to resign earlier this year, handing over his job to Peter Kurer, after the bank incurred billions in damages due to the US subprime mortgage crisis. Chairman of UBS since 2001, Ospel has been the whipping boy of the crisis, irking many with the massive bonuses he raked in during the bank’s better years. In an interview with Swiss weekly magazine Bilan earlier this year, Swiss president Pascal Couchepin said: “I’m outraged that Marcel Ospel has earned Pharaoh-like salaries for four to five years and that when the bank wobbles, he can keep it all.” Blick pointed out that while Ospel had given up his bonus in 2007, he cashed in 24 million francs’ worth of bonuses in 2006. “As a reminder, Under Ospel’s leadership, UBS tumbled into its deepest crisis ever,” said the newspaper. The centre-right political party FDP also called on former UBS managers to return their bonuses. “To be liberal means no free pass for irresponsible leadership of companies. The previous leadership of UBS had collapsed. We demand that they at least pay back the bonuses they had received in the past years,” the party said in a statement. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:56 am Jet takes Uturn; reinstates sacked employeesJet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal has said the company has reversed the decision to layoff 1,900 laidoff employees. Goyal added that his decision (to take back the employees) has been welcome by the Labour Minister among others and has nothing to do with political pressure.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:53 am Kingfisher Airlines cuts loss; rejigs boardKingfisher Airlines has announced its first results after taking over Deccan Aviation for the ninemonth period ending March 31, 2008, with the airlines net loss coming down by 24 per cent to Rs 188 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:53 am Emotional Goyal says sorry to Family JetJet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal announced all the employees retrenched by the airline will be taken back on board. In a latenight press conference convened on Thursday night, an emotional Goyal aplogised to all the employees and clarified the decision was not taken under political pressure.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:51 am Sensex dips by over 300 pts at mid-sessionMumbai: The benchmark Sensex dipped by over 310 points on selling by funds at mid-session after opening on a strong note. The 30-share index, which opened higher by 205 points, fell by 314.69 points to 10,266.80 at 1:30pm. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, which gained 66.65 points at the initial stage, plunged by 98.15 points at 3,171.15 points. Barring technology majors Satyam Computers and Tata Consultancy Services, all other 28 index participants were in the red. Sensex turned negative in early trading after they had opened 1.7% higher as concerns over the impact of global economic slowdown persist. The index fell as much as 0.46% to 10,532.52. At 10:25am, the benchmark 30-share index was down 0.05% at 10,576.22. The Sensex had recovered over 205 points in opening trade on revival of buying by funds, triggered by overnight gains at the US markets amid easing liquidity conditions in the market. The 30-share index, which had lost nearly 900 points in the past two sessions, recovered by 205.44 points, or 1.94% at 10,786.93 on renewed buying in the stocks of banking, capital goods and realty sectors. The wide-based National Stock Exchange’s Nifty rose by 66.65 points, or nearly 2%, at 3,335.95 points. Marketmen said overnight gains at the US stock markets and easing liquidity conditions in the markets after the RBI announced a cut of 100 basis points in the CRR to release extra 40,000 crore into the system helped sentiments improve. Easing inflation, which fell to 11.44% for the week ended 4 October from 11.80% a week ago also had a positive impact. Covering up of short positions by speculators in view of some improvement in the behaviour of market also supported the recovery trend in stock prices, they said. Major gainers in the opening trade were BHEL, up by Rs35.50 at Rs1348.50, Larsen and Toubro by Rs24.75 at Rs850.50, Reliance Industries by Rs26.30 at Rs1,423.55, Reliance Infra up Rs16.60 at Rs574 and Satyam Computers by Rs3.60 at Rs276.65. Overnight on wall Street, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher 4.68%. Asian stock markets were also trading in the positive territory with Japan’s Nikkei gaining 2.33 per cent in opening trade on Friday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:46 am Moser Baer plans $800m investmentMoser Baer on Thursday said it plans to invest over $800 million in capex for its various businesses including optical media and photovoltaics, over the next 18 months.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:44 am Money-laundering laws to cover casinos, VISA, MasterCardNew Delhi: Money changers, money transfer service providers such as Western Union and credit card payment gateways like VISA and MasterCard will now come under the ambit of India’s anti-money laundering laws. A Bill to amend the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was introduced in the Rajya Sabha today by Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal. After the Amendment Bill is passed by Parliament and comes into effect, businesses like casinos would also come under legal obligation to report their activities in the country. For fighting the menace of terrorism, the Bill introduces new category of offences which have cross-border implications. The draft legislation also empowers the Enforcement Directorate “to search premises immediately after the offence is committed”. The investigating agency can attach any property and search a person after completing the probe. It can enhance the period of provisional attachment of property from 90 days to 150 days. Under the provision of the Bill, the retirement age of the chairman and members of the adjucating authority would be raised from 62 years to 65 years. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:31 am Govt permits captive coal block exploration by private cosNew Delhi: Ending monopoly of state-run mapping and exploration agencies like CMPDI, the government has permitted companies in possession of captive coal blocks to get further examination of the asset done by private firms. “Any company, which has been allocated coal blocks for captive use, is free to get the further exploration done by private agencies,” a top Coal Ministry official said. This may come as a breather for steel and power utilities in possession of such blocks as it would ease out the processes, hitherto involved in getting the exploration work done by state agencies. Earlier, state-run companies like Central Mine Planning and Design Institute and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd were responsible for carrying out detailed examination of captive coal blocks. As per the new provision, the government has laid certain guidelines, including drilling specifications and depth, for carrying out detailed exploration. “The companies will need to follow guidelines laid by government. We will keep a track of it,” he said. The official said that relaxing the exploration norms would help expanding the ambit of government agencies as they will be able to concentrate more on bringing virgin territories under their belt. Presently, around 190 captive coal blocks have been allocated to private and public companies with an estimated reserve of about 41 billion tonnes. Government has asked CMPDI and Geological Survey of India to increase their mapping capacities manifold and outsource exploration activities if the need be to match the spiralling demand for raw materials. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:19 am Moon mission won't lead to big satellite launch ordersThe launch of India's lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan Oct 22 will not immediately result in big satellite launch orders for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), but will improve its expertise in the area where India specialises - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:02 am Indian equities in grip of volatile tradingIndian equities opened on a positive note Friday after two days of losses but were ruling flat post noon amid some volatile trading, as sentiments remained nervous over a possible recession in the US.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:02 am Convergence of ideas makes designer duos tickJust as it takes two to tango, India's designer feel that when the creative instincts of two different individuals merge, better designs emerge - despite some heated arguments.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am RBI may not cut CRR furtherNew Delhi: “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not cut CRR, mandatory deposit requirement for banks, further in the immediate future and may opt for other instruments to infuse liquidity into the system,” a Finance Ministry official said. “CRR was 9%. There was a headroom to cut it. But we cannot go on cutting CRR indefinitely,” the official said adding that the current liquidity situation is enough. RBI has cut Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 2.5 percentage points to bring it down to 6.5% from 9% to infuse Rs1lakh crore into the cash-strapped system. Besides, the central bank is also giving Rs25,000 crore to banks and others as the first instalment against their outgo on farm debt waiver scheme. RBI has also opened a special window of Rs20,000 crore for mutual funds, of which over Rs5,000 crore has been availed of till yesterday. The central bank is scheduled to come out with its mid-term monetary policy on 24 October and is widely expected to take some more steps to infuse liquidity. The official said that the public sector banks are unlikely to come out with follow-on public offers due to bearish market conditions, but can raise funds through tier-II debts like subordinated bonds and convertible bonds. “There is headroom for PSU banks to raise Rs77,000 crore this way,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:39 am Kingfisher talking to oil cos for 'phased' repaymentsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Kingfisher Airlines, India's No 2 private carrier is in talks with state-run oil firms to repay dues in a 'phased' manner, a senior official of UB Group said Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:05 am Sacked Jet employees get back to workJet Airways employees whose services were terminated will soon be given official letters asking them to rejoin the airline, a company official said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:00 am Jaguar Land Rover to cut 200 jobsLondon: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to shed 200 jobs across its UK operations but claimed that the redundancies were not connected with the economic downturn or slump in car sales. “It is a small redundancy programme and it affects 198 staff across manufacturing sites, including Halewood. It affects hourly paid employees and is part of the company’s ongoing drive to improve efficiency,” company spokesman Don Hume said. The employees will receive a nine-month lump sum based on salary and any over 60 will be entitled to a full pension. The redundancies are planned to take effect by the end of next month and the company said it was not intending to make any compulsory cuts. The company has faced falling demand for the luxury 4x4s in established markets in Europe and the US. However, it has reported a sales boost of its award-winning XF model. In September, the company announced it was easing output of Jaguars at its Castle Bromwich plant, while Land Rover has axed a night shift at its Lode Lane factory in Solihull and put some models on a four-day week production cycle. Halewood, which employs 2,500 and builds the Jaguar X-type saloon and Land Rover Freelander, is to close for a week at the end of the month to ease over-capacity. Staff will continue to be paid. The company added that workers on Jaguar’s XJ and XK production lines were likely to stay on a four-day week for the rest of 2008. The four-day week is likely to reduce XJ and XK production by a maximum of 400 models. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:58 am Rupee rises on hopes of capital inflowsMumbai: The rupee rose on Friday, helped by a stronger opening in the local share market which raised hopes of some capital inflows, but dollar demand from importers and oil firms may limit the rise. At 11am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.67/68 per dollar, off a high of Rs48.57 but still 0.3% stronger than Thursday’s close of Rs48.82/83. The rupee fell to a record low of Rs49.30 last week. “Today the market is looking at the possibility of a stock market rally, it has opened stronger but we do not know. In today’s session Rs48.25 to rs49 should be the range,” a senior dealer with a private bank said. “The broad range for the near term though is Rs47.50 to 49.0. If we see a considerable rally in global stocks and if some amount of global and local risk aversion comes down, then the rupee may see Rs47.50,” he said. India’s main share index opened up 1.7%, but later turned negative as the market outlook stayed hazy with worries about a sharp global economic slowdown. Foreign investors in the share market, a key driver of the local currency have been repatriating funds. Net outflows exceed $11 billion so far in 2008, after record net inflows of $17.4 billion last year. The rupee has fallen more than 19% against the dollar in 2008, after rising more than 12% in 2007. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:21 am GM slashes 1,600 jobs at three US plantsDetroit: General Motors will lay off 1,600 workers at three US plants, as it slashes production in the face of a sharp drop off in sales, officials said. “Unfortunately we’ve had a lot of these announcements lately,” said GM spokesman Christopher Lee on Thursday, noting that the automaker said in June it planned to bring production into line with demand. General Motors has shuttered scores of plants and laid off nearly half its workforce since 2000 as it restructures its business in the face of a steady loss of market share to Asian competitors. These latest job cuts will not actually come off GM’s books immediately because of a labor agreement that requires the company to retrain temporarily laid-off workers. GM’s unionised US workforce stood at 72,000 people in June, down from 133,000 in 2000. Most of the reductions were made through buyouts and attrition. About 4,500 other jobs cuts have been announced in recent weeks. The latest cuts will reduce the workforce at GM’s truck plant in Pontiac, Michigan to about 1,000 people, said Jim Hall, the bargaining chairman for United Auto Workers union Local 594. That will halve production of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks from 55 units to 24 units an hour, Hall said. About 500 workers at GM’s sedan factory in Detroit will be laid off starting January 12, Lee said. In addition, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car assembly plant in Delaware will be out of work starting 8 December. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:03 am Satyam Q2 net rises, cuts full year guidanceBangalore: Satyam Computer Services Ltd reported a 42% jump in quarterly net profit, beating expectations, but cut its full-year revenue guidance in dollar terms. Satyam, which specialises in business software and offers back-office outsourcing services, said that the consolidated net profit for the quarter ended 30 September rose to Rs5.81 billion ($120 million) from Rs4.09 billion a year ago. A Reuters poll had forecast a net profit of Rs5.36 billion for Satyam, whose customers include General Electric, Nestle, Qantas Airways, Emirates Bank International and Fujitsu Services. Last bigger rival Infosys Technologies also cut its forecast for full-year dollar revenues due to the global financial crisis, even after it beat expectations with a 30% rise in quarterly profit. India’s export-driven software service firms, used to a scorching pace of growth, have been badly hit by a slowdown in the United States, which contributes more than half their revenue, and the spreading global financial turmoil. Shares in Satyam, based in the southern city of Hyderabad, fell 32% in the September quarter, worse than a 23% decline in the IT sector index and the main Mumbai index’s 4.5% fall. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 5:20 am Google defies economy to beat forecasts, shares surgeSan Francisco: Google Inc profits surpassed Wall Street quarterly forecasts, sending its shares up more than 10% as the Internet search and advertising leader held deepening economic gloom at bay. Web traffic and revenue growth were strong in all major parts of the world and searches were up for almost every industry using Google, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said. But with uncertainty widespread among global business leaders, government officials and media commentators over where the economy is headed, Google is unsure what impact this could have on its advertising dependent business, the CEO said. “We are all in uncharted territory,” Schmidt said of the economy, adding that Google has taken expense control more seriously recently. “We are very realistic about the macro environment, but we are optimistic about Google’s future.” Wall Street analysts were pleased by efforts to rein in expenses. Many have complained for years at how Google was “spending like drunken sailors” to hire new employees and install computer data center capacity as its growth exploded. Google added just over 500 employees in the quarter, about half of them engineers, taking total staff to about 20,000, and the company said it would continue to hire, but cautiously. Relieved investors said Google appeared to be alone in its ability to weather the economic storm. “Even in a down market, advertisers are going to be seeking customers. These results separate out Google from the eBays and the Yahoos,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at Canaccord Adams. Ahead of the report, he had prayed aloud that Google results might shore up investor confidence. Net income for the third quarter rose to $1.35 billion, or $4.24 a diluted share, from $1.07 billion, or $3.38 per share. Excluding employee stock compensation costs and one-time items, profit rose to $4.92 per diluted share and topped Wall Street’s target of $4.75, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue, including commissions paid to affiliated advertising sites, totaled $5.54 billion, up 31% from the year-earlier quarter but up only 3 percent from the second quarter of this year. The results were powered by international sales, which rose 41%. This came despite the fact that Britain, Google’s second largest market, “showed some softness” with 17% growth from a year ago but flat compared with the June quarter, Google officials said. Revenue fell squarely in the middle of forecasts calling for an increase of 26% to 37%, signaling the company’s decelerating growth. Revenue had risen 57% in the 2007 third quarter over the same 2006 period. The company dramatically cut back on purchases of property and equipment to $452 million for the quarter ended in September from $697 million in the June quarter. Google continues to generate cash at one of the fastest rates in the Internet industry. It had $1.73 billion in free cash flow in the third quarter, up 60% both from the year-earlier quarter and the quarter ended in June. Google’s stock had fallen by more than half this year as investors have anticipated that the company’s pay-per-click advertising format would be caught in the year-long slump in the wider advertising market. Google’s decline compares with the 38% drop so far this year in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Google shares hit an all-time high of $747 just under a year ago as investors calculated the potential of the company’s moves into new advertising formats such as mobile phones, radio, TV and display ads preferred by corporate marketers. Paid clicks - a measure of how often Google gets paid for advertisements it runs alongside Web search results - rose 18% from the year-ago quarter and 4% from the second quarter ended in June, reversing a decline earlier this year. Shares of Google rose 10.5% to $390.30 in after-hours trade following the report, extending a 4.1% gain on Nasdaq, where it closed at $353.02 after a seesaw trading day. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:33 am Tata Motors rights issue gets lukewarm responseMumbai, Oct. 16 The meltdown in the stock markets had its impact on the rights issue of Tata Motors. According to merchant banking sources, the issue has received lukewarm response so far from the public shareholders. The issue is schedule toSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe maintain our prior view of buying the stock in dips with tight stop-loss at Rs 390 level.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am CCEA clears Rs 50 a quintal paddy bonusNew Delhi, Oct 16 The Centre, on Thursday, approved a Rs 50/quintal bonus for paddy, over and above the already declared minimum support price payable during the current 2008-09 kharif marketing seasonSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am Net interest margins of banks to rise in Q3Bangalore, Oct. 16 The net interest margins (NIM) of banks are likely to jump sharply during the third quarter of this financial year after the 250 basis points reduction in the Cash Reserve RatioSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am Sensex dips 227, trims early losses on fall in inflationMumbai, Oct. 16 The measures announced by the Government and the financial markets regulators to boost investor confidence had no positive impact on Indian equities on Thursday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am HDFC Bank Q2 net up 43% on higher interest incomeMumbai, Oct 16 HDFC Bank’s second quarter net profit grew 43 per cent to Rs 528 crore from Rs 368 crore.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am Union Bank of India (Rs 161.60): BuyWe recommend a buy in Union Bank of India from a short-term horizon. It is clearly evident from the charts of Union Bank of India that it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend since its 52-week low of Rs 96 recorded in early July. Within thisSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am HCL Tech buys over 10% stake in AxonNew Delhi, Oct.16 HCL Technologies — the sole bidder left in fray after Infosys pulled out of the race for Axon — has purchased 10.43 per cent stake in the UK-based SAP consulting firm, at 631 pence aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am Emami acquires controlling stake in ZanduKolkata, Oct. 16 The Parikh family, the existing promoters of The Zandu Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd, has agreed to sell 18.18 per cent strategic stake to Emami Ltd at a total price of Rs 242 crore, including a non-compete fee of Rs 22 crore. ThisSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am No retrenchment, only leave without pay for AI staffHyderabad, Oct. 16 The state-owned Air India will not retrench any workers but could come up with a Voluntary Leave Scheme, which will allow its employees to go on leave without pay for between three and five years.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am IT Inc cuts freebies amid meltdown heatPampered till now, techies across the country are getting a taste of the tough times ahead with the global recession bleeding economies and tech spending slowing down.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:33 pm Ranbaxy promoters to pay Rs 1,000 cr on Daiichi dealThe Daiichi Sankyo-Ranbaxy deal is facing a new hurdle, following an objection from the stock exchanges over completing the stake sale transaction through the block deal window, forcing the RanbaxySource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:35 pm Leave without pay for NACIL staffNational Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), the public sector entity that owns Air India, will be offering a voluntary leave-without-pay scheme to 15,000 employees around 46 per centSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:33 pm Govt may raise bank exposure limits to equityThe government has sought data from the Reserve Bank of India to consider a proposal to enhance the investment limit for bank exposure to equity markets.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:32 pm Fuel price cutback on the agendaWith international crude oil prices dipping to last years levels, the government has put the issue of cutting motor and cooking fuel prices back on the agenda to tame inflation, two senior oilSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:31 pm Jet caves in under pressure, to take back sacked staffStung by strong opposition from political parties and demonstrations by the sacked employees, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal made a volte face today by announcing that he would reinstate all theSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:29 pm
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