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LG Electronics to hike prices from Nov 1Consumer durables major LG Electronics India has decided to hike prices of its products in almost all categories from November 1Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 11:04 am Global eco slump makes Diwali 'muted'The global economic slump has muted the celebration of the 'festival of lights' for most export driven software companies in the Silicon city this year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 11:03 am Unity Infra bags Rs 375.25 crore order - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:40 am Cine workers' strike has hit TV shootings, says producerLeading television producer Dheeraj Kumar has claimed that 75 percent of TV shootings have been affected due to a strike by cine workers demanding higher wages.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:31 am Global finance could lose $2.8 trillion in crisisTOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - The global financial system could lose $2.8 trillion to the credit crisis, the Bank of England said on Tuesday, before an expected interest rate cut in the United States that others are poised to match.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:04 am Himachal inks deal with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:02 am BP reports record $10 bln profit, outlook tougherLONDON (Reuters) - British oil major BP Plc may have marked the oil industry's high point by reporting a record $10.0 billion third quarter replacement cost profit on Tuesday, as the recent collapse in crude prices ensures a tougher outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:01 am Honda warns on profit as GM, Chrysler scramble for dealTOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co warned of lower-than-expected annual profits as a deepening financial crisis has hammered demand for cars and sent the yen soaring, while U.S. rivals sought government aid to fund a proposed merger to survive a shrinking market.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:59 am Batelco eyes India buyouts despite high prices - paperMANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) is pursuing acquisition opportunities in India despite asset prices being "too high", its chief executive said in press remarks on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:57 am Japan's Nikkei jumps 6.4 pct after hitting 26-yr lowTOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei average climbed 6.4 percent on Tuesday, as exporters such as Honda Motor jumped on a softer yen, but trade was volatile with the benchmark briefly breaking below 7,000 for the first time in 26 years.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:54 am Zardari rules out defence budget cutIslamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out any cut in Pakistan’s defence budget in the face of a reported demand by the International Monetary Fund or IMF for military spending to be slashed by 30% in order for the country to avail of aid to tide over its economic crisis. “It is neither the subject of the International Monetary Fund nor on its agenda,” Zardari said. Reports have suggested that the IMF wants Pakistan’s defence budget to be cut by 30% over the next four years if the country avails of emergency aid to tackle a financial crunch. Pakistan is currently in negotiations with the IMF for funding. However, Zardari told The News daily that there would be no cut in the defence budget. Observers believe any pressure from world bodies like the IMF for a cut in Pakistan’s defence spending could lead to strains between the powerful military and the civilian government led by Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party. Replying to a question about his expectations on funding from foreign sources and countries in this difficult juncture, Zardari said Pakistan is making concerted efforts to stand on its own feet and not go around asking for charity. “I intend to take all help from the family of democratic countries as in the new world there is no country which is dependent on its own, but all of them are inter-dependent,” he said, adding he could cooperate with other countries in seeking strategic support. Asked about the shedding of the President’s sweeping discretionary powers, such as the ability to dissolve parliament and dismiss the Prime Minister, Zardari said the PPP’s stand on the subject was clear. The party feels there is a “need to strike a balance between the powers of the President and the Prime Minister”, he said. Zardari said he had not and will not exercise these powers in a unilateral manner. There is no doubt that the Prime Minister is the chief executive and the President was acting in consultation with the premier, whose advice is binding, he added. The President is the “creation of parliament” and it was up to lawmakers to decide what powers they want the President to have. Power belongs to parliament and its will would prevail, he said. Asked about the series of missile strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas by US drones operating from Afghanistan, Zardari said no country should serve as a base for attacks on other nations. Such assaults drew a negative reaction in Pakistan and caused economic weakening and insecurity, he said. Zardari described terrorism as “the child of poverty” and said its cure lies in prosperity. “Eliminating poverty is the only cure for terrorism on a long-term basis and everything else is a temporary panacea,” he said. The PPP, he said, has formed the Friends of Pakistan forum to “convince the world through dialogue and make it aware of the problems of Pakistan”. The forum, he said, is basically a new platform for dialogue. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:45 am Himachal Pradesh inks deal with Satluj Jal Vidyut NigamThe Himachal Pradesh government has signed an agreement with the state-run hydroelectric major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) to set up more hydro power projects in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:30 am Rally in US against attacks on Christians in IndiaNew York: Accusing the Indian government of failing to stop violence against Christians, people from all faiths staged a rally in Philadelphia and demanded strong action against those responsible for the attacks. Addressing the demonstrators, their leaders faulted the Indian government for not taking strong action to end the violence against Christians, especially in Orissa. “Despite numerous pleas for help, the Indian government has not sufficiently responded to the situation,” said the pamphlets distributed by the organisers, including representatives of local Indian churches. The protesters carrying placards reading “Stop Religious Persecution in India,” “We Want Justice” and “No Justification for Murder,” were led by Rev. Biju Thomas of St. Thomas Evangelical Church of Philadelphia and Fr. Jacob Christy of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of Philadelphia. The rally began with a prayer and was followed by singing of both American and Indian national anthems and a prayer was also conducted by priests and pastors for both the “persecuted and the persecutors”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:22 am Make corporates pay more in SC, HC: House panelNew Delhi: The Supreme Court and High Courts should charge a higher fee from corporate commercial bodies for settling their disputes and give a fee-waiver to poor and illiterate litigants, a House panel has said while pressing for a differential court fee system. “The Committee draws the attention of the executive and the judiciary to arrive at a decision regarding differential court fees for the commercial or corporate or company matters immediately and amend the Supreme Court Rules, High Court Rules and other court fees Acts accordingly,” the parliamentary standing committee on Law and Justice said. In a report presented in Parliament, the Committee’s chairman E.M.S. Natchiappan frowned at the preference that corporate bodies get in courts while a common litigant waits for justice for years. “Early hearing and disposals of cases by the courts in corporate cases only delay the cases of ordinary citizens as they take valuable court time within minimum court fees, therefore, there is a strong case for a differential court fee for the corporate sector,” said Natchiappan. In a scenario when the judicial system is clogged by the huge number of cases, preference to corporate cases that too on minimum court fees may amount to taking away the time meant for the common man, he said. The corporate bodies could easily get their disputes resolved through the methods of Arbitration and Conciliation. However, arbitration may involve higher cost. For this reason also the corporate bodies make use of the judicial infrastructure,” the panel said. However, while recourse to judicial infrastructure cannot be denied there is no harm if higher court fees is levied because the state incurs huge expenses in maintaining the entire judicial infrastructure, it said. Natchiappan said as per the information furnished by the Supreme Court, the total stamp and court fee collected by the apex court in 2006 and 2007 was Rs1.20 crore and Rs1.17 crore respectively. “If the differential court fees is applied for the corporate cases that will only add to the Supreme Court revenue,” he said. As per the Constitution all money and fees collected by the Supreme Court forms part of the consolidated fund of India which is supposed to be spent by the State, among other things, on providing free legal aid or for ensuring that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, the panel said in its 28th report. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:03 am LG Electronics to hike prices from Nov 1 - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 8:00 am Oil turns positive above $64, tracks Asian stocksSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil erased early losses to rise by one dollar to above $64 on Tuesday, tracking a rebound in Asian stock markets as investors returned to buy beaten-down shares.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 7:34 am Back to Nataka Mandali days for Bangalore theatre loversFor 10 days starting Friday, Bangaloreans will relive the glorious days of Nataka Mandali or company theatre, one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the early part of the 20th century.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Oct 2008 | 7:32 am Business swells for Kolkata's quacksThey have neither MBBS degrees nor a licence to practise medicine and yet a number of quacks are running their 'dispensaries' with aplomb in the heart of the city.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Oct 2008 | 7:32 am Indian owners can increase majority stakes: SEBI - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 7:09 am Action needed to stop global collapseThe financial crisis has ratcheted up a dangerous notch. The currency markets have gone wonky. The authorities now have to make some pretty big and delicate moves — something like doing microsurgery on a plane in turbulent skies.  Changing tide: The yen has risen 40% against the euro since August, and 30% in October, while the pound has fallen 16% against the US dollar. Tatsunori Misawa / Bloomberg The yen has risen by 40% against the euro since August, and 30% in October. In that month, the Australian dollar has fallen by 25% and the British pound by 16% against the US dollar. Changes of this scale are alarming in the stock market. They are petrifying in currency markets, because they make it virtually impossible to price exports or imports. What’s going on? Mainly, the pace of financial deleveraging is accelerating. In particular, currency carry trades — borrowing cheaply where interest rates are low, for example Japan, and lending where they are high, for example Australia or even the euro zone — are ending abruptly. The unwinding of these trades has jerked currencies around enough to provoke more margin calls for traders, amplifying the pressures. Then there is fear. Investors are selling currencies of countries that import foreign capital — precipitating currency crises in Eastern Europe and South Korea.  Click here for breakingviews.com The combination of deleveraging and fear has also pushed equity markets into something like a free fall. The Japanese Nikkei index is at its lowest since 1982, the MSCI index of non-Japanese Asian stocks is down 33% in October and Western stock markets are falling fast. While corporate credit, currencies and stocks are in trouble, government bonds are still strong. That’s a relief, since the markets are turning to the world’s governments to do something to stabilize inter-bank, inter-corporate and now, international cash flows. To stop the currency rot, the world’s governments will have to work together to set and then defend target exchange rates. That will probably require countries with big reserves of foreign currencies to deploy some of the cash for the greater global good, and overspending countries such as the US and the UK to accept devaluations and lower standards of living. It won’t be easy, but the alternative — a breakdown in the global trade system — is much worse. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 6:55 am Indian owners can increase majority stakes: SEBIMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's stock market regulator said it will allow company owners to increase their majority shareholdings to up to 75 percent from 55 percent or more by buying up to 5 percent of their shares each year on the open market.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 6:51 am Violence serves no endRajni Bakshi’s insightful article (“Mass violence and business”, Mint, 23 October) was spot on. No civil society can prosper in an atmosphere of public lawlessness. Yes, India may be going through a cathartic transformation. But it would be a great mistake to assume that such a flux always leads to a better society in the end. The average Indian today believes that lawlessness related to identity politics is unpunishable. If right-thinking individuals don’t address this mindset, we will end up becoming a deeply divided society and will never be able to rise to the ranks of developed nations in another 100 years. Indian business will be left wondering where the promised land disappeared, while multinational companies will pack their bags and disappear. —Sandeep Menon I understand the excitement that Mihir Bholey (“Tata Nano and design dreams”, Mint, 27 October) feels with the Tata Nano moving so close to him at the National Institute of Design. Isolate the Tata Nano in a design studio and yes, it’s an innovative piece of design that responds to many future urban needs. But design has to take a much more holistic view of things and also stay within its context. Basically, get out of the ivory tower. My argument is not new, but I am rather disappointed that a faculty member of India’s premier design institute, that is nurturing designers of tomorrow, elevates the Tata Nano for all the wrong reasons. Given the impending fuel and environmental crisis the world faces, would not Ratan Tata’s money and design expertise have served India better had they designed an innovative public transport system that “responds to the crucial Indian design issue of affordability, safety and human dignity”? A good public transport system would not only have offered an “affordable design solution to a common man’s transportation needs,” but hopefully got some bigger wheels off our congested and polluted city roads. Given India’s driving culture, or lack of it, can you imagine our city roads with thousands of two-wheel riders—notorious for their poor civic and driving sense—now on four wheels competing with the equally crazy road sense and impatience of larger car drivers, autorickshaws, tempos, two-wheelers, cows and pedestrians? How can the Tata Nano then qualify as something that gives us “... safety and human dignity”? The right car at the right time for European cities maybe, but India? India desperately needs design professionals who can think holistically, think green, and basically just think. —Jenny Pinto It was interesting to read Vivek Moorthy’s piece on the Great Depression (“Black Thursday, 24 Oct 1929”, Mint, 24 October) and the lessons from it. It’s interesting that he finds that US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has apparently learnt the right lessons from the Great Depression thanks to Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz’s studies. If you actually think of it, Friedman would have totally opposed Bernanke’s actions. He is using the wrong tools for the occasion. Just take a look at what Schwartz, now 92, has to say: “Today’s crisis isn’t a replay of the problem in the 1930s, but our central bankers have responded by using the tools they should have used then. They are fighting the last war.” 1929 was a liquidity issue (the Austrian school would like to differ). Today’s crisis is definitely not one. It is a solvency crisis. You can’t get banks that don’t want to lend to do so at gunpoint or credit being force-fed to them. Friedman would have let these banks fail. Bernanke needs to leave aside the hubris of Princeton academia and listen to the people who forecast this, rather than listen to those who had no inkling. —Pravin Varma *** Your turn to talk We thank our readers for some very interesting letters in response to our stories and columns. Do continue to write to us at yourviews@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 6:44 am Tata Tea's income Rs 289 crore for September quarter - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:37 am EGoM resolves Essar and Mundra SEZ tax - SteelGuru
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:10 am ICICI Bank's operating profit soars 42% in Q2 - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 4:37 am Coal India plans to list in three years - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 4:31 am MRPL cuts capex plan - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 4:15 am $50-billion debt shadow over rupee - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Oct 2008 | 3:58 am GM/Chrysler ask gov't for $10 bln to aid merger-sourcesNEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp and Cerberus Capital Management have asked the U.S. government for roughly $10 billion in an unprecedented rescue package to support a merger between GM and Chrysler LLC, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 3:09 am MasterCard, Visa settle Discover suit for $2.75 blnNEW YORK (Reuters) - MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc said they agreed to pay credit card issuer and network Discover Financial Services Inc a total of $2.75 billion to settle a lawsuit over anti-competitive practices.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:34 am FII selling may not ease soonForeign institutional investors (FIIs) are the villains of the stock market crash. Since the start of the year, they have sold Rs 50,053 crore, or $12.4 billion, worth of stocks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:08 pm Jet Airways seeks $200-300mJet Airways is in talks with various banks to raise about $200-300 million of working capital.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:33 pm $50-billion debt shadow over rupeeAs much as $50.46 billion of external debt -- equivalent to nearly a quarter of India's forex reserves -- is due to mature over the next 8 months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:29 pm Hotels gain as realtors sell distressed assetsWhen the going was good, a number of realtors diversified into the hospitality sector. But the recent financial crisis has hit them hard.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:28 pm Variable pay bloats, but payouts may shrinkAfter slowing recruitments and becoming frugal with pay hikes, companies are now looking at using the variable pay tool to cut costs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:27 pm Mirc looking to sell 1m Onida mobilesOnida, the consumer durables brand of Mirc Electronics, has gone beyond televisions in the last four years and recently entered mobile handsets business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:26 pm 'The pain hasn't really hit India yet'Punita Kumar Sinha, chief investment officer of Blackstone Asia Advisors LLC and senior managing director of The Blackstone Group, hasn't escaped the whiplash of the markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:21 pm Coal India plans to list in three yearsNewly adorned with the title of Navaratna, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is planning to come up with an initial public offer "well within the next three years".Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:21 pm Suzlon Energy close to $200m PE deal, suspends rights issueSuzlon Energy, the worlds fifth largest wind turbine maker, is close to raising about $200 million from a private equity investor, a source close to the deal said. The money will be raised through an unlisted subsidiary.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:28 pm Realty stocks plunge: What will promoters do now?It has truly been an unreal scenario in the real estate sector of late. Stock prices of some companies have corrected by as much as 75% from their 52 week highs. But, how has this carnage impacted deals and valuations?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:10 pm Suzlon suspends rights issue, to acquire 100% in REpowerThere seems to be no end to the bloodletting from the global credit crisis. This time the victim is Tulsi Tantiled wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy, which has suspended its rights issue and plans to fully takeover its German arm Repower.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:04 pm Is MM eyeing US cos?The global economic crisis doesnt seem to be affecting Mahindra group\'s plans. Mahindra and Mahindra sees manufacturing assets in the US at attractive rates, but will that make the group go shopping there?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 9:01 pm How are life insurance cos dealing with Oct mkt mayhem?Life insurance companies which have been big buyers in the stock markets are now turning cautious. Companies are holding back as much as 20% of their funds in cash. However some like ICICI Prudential have pumped in over Rs 3,000 crore in October alone.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 8:21 pm More U.S. banks turn to Treasury; G7 sounds yen alarmWASHINGTON (Reuters) - More U.S. banks lined up for government cash and the Group of Seven expressed concern the soaring Japanese yen posed a threat to financial and economic stability as recession worries spread worldwide.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:08 pm IPPs stand to lose as govt cuts coal linkagesNew Delhi: Even as the power ministry lowered its coal demand to 17,500MW from 68,000MW for the so-called independent power producers (IPPs), the Union ministry of coal has only agreed to give coal linkages to power projects having a capacity of around 150MW. This is because India simply doesn’t have sufficient coal reserves to meet galloping demand for power.  In a fix: A file picture of Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. The minister says he had sent the coal ministry a list of projects for coal supplies for around 125,000MW. Ramesh Pathania / Mint “We have had two meetings with the coal ministry. We have been told coal linkages can only be provided to projects with a total capacity of 7,500MW. Of this, around 2% is for IPPs. This is after we had brought down our demand to 35,000MW, 50% of which is (for) IPPs, from our earlier request for 1.25 lakh MW (including 68,000MW for IPPs). Let us see what will happen,” said a senior power ministry official, who did not wish to be named. Currently, IPPs in the country have a power generation capacity of around 20,000MW based on fuel sources such as coal, gas and water. Electricity projects capable of generating a combined 68,000MW, almost half the country’s installed capacity, have been put at risk because of the government’s failure to assure coal supplies to them, as reported by Mint on 9 September. “There are difficulties. Though (the) coal ministry has limited coal, I had sent them a list of projects for coal supplies for around 1.25 lakh MW,” said Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union power minister. Also Read 68,000MW projects face a blackout To generate 1MW of power, around 5,000 tonnes of coal per annum is required. India has 256 billion tonnes of coal reserves, of which around 455 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) is mined. The country currently imports around 40mt of coal. Domestic coal demand is expected to touch around 2 billion tonnes a year by 2031-32, about five times the current rate of extraction, with the maximum demand coming from the power sector. Minister of state for coal Santosh Bagrodia recently admitted that the government would not be able to meet the projected demand for about 730mt of coal by 2012, unless 100mt of the fuel is imported. Coal shortage is a major cause of worry because it may lower power generation and, thereby, growth in the domestic economy, which grew by 9.6% last fiscal year and is expected to expand by around 8% this fiscal. The present crisis has reached such a magnitude that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office has intervened to break the logjam. Though coal ministry officials agree that production will not be able to meet demand, IPPs stand to lose as the bankers will not approve loans for the projects in the absence of assured coal supplies, delaying the financial closure that is needed for the developers to order equipment and begin work on the projects. This, in a situation where raising credit is already becoming difficult due to the worldwide financial crisis. Most of the IPPs that are unable to secure coal supplies are located in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and they had applied in the past year for the so-called coal linkages that would give them an assured supply of the fuel. “While the coal ministry has expressed their inability, it is not that the country does not have coal. The shortage is purely because of mining inefficiency,” said a Hyderabad-based IPP developer, who didn’t want to be named because he is still awaiting part of the coal linkages he had been promised. So far, the developer claims he has incurred a cost of Rs100 crore, which will be forfeited if the company is not able to achieve financial closure. “Mounting coal shortage and inability to meet the demand from domestic sources indicates inevitability of coal imports, which may not be as expensive now, as it was a couple of months ago. Falling prices of coal as well as transportation costs may mean import bills can be lower. This trend may help bridge the demand and supply gap for coal through supply contracts and even spot purchases,” said Dipesh Dipu, principal consultant (mining) with audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 7:05 pm Ranbaxy resets FCCB price 39%Ranbaxy Laboratories, which was taken over by Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo, has become the first Indian company to reset the conversion price of its foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:54 pm ICICI Bank net drops 27% on MTM loss, higher provisionsHit by higher provisioning and mark-to-market (MTM) losses on its overseas books, the countrys largest private sector lender ICICI Bank today reported a 27.44 per cent decline in net profit onSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:52 pm Samvat 2064 ends on a volatile noteInvestors in Indias stock markets received warning of more black days ahead with intra-day trade on the last day of Samvat 2064 swinging wildly before recovering on some aggressive buying bySource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:51 pm Sebi eases norms for promoters to raise stakesMarket regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today relaxed the creeping acquisition norms and allowed promoters to annually raise their stake through the route to 75 per cent viaSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:50 pm Crying wolf, selectivelyShares of Unitech Ltd fell 50% on Friday while peers DLF Ltd ( 24%) and Puravankara Projects Ltd (45%) also fell. Unlike the others, however, Unitech’s promoters allege that the fall, which many analysts describe as investor concerns over tight cash at India’s real estate companies, was a result of “criminal” speculators and “bear cartels” spreading “malicious” rumours. Unitech said on Sunday it plans to complain to Sebi, India’s markets regulator. On Monday, Unitech shares recovered 37.6% and 21 million shares were traded. Unitech isn’t the only company that cried wolf in recent weeks. A similar complaint by ICICI Bank Ltd hasn’t helped keep the bank’s shares afloat since. Unfortunately, Sebi isn’t known for fast work on such complaints. But the regulator owes it to investors, even if the dust has long settled by then, to explain what might have actually happened or, perhaps, not happened. After all, by Friday, 13 of the 14 stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Realty Index had declined between 77% and 95% in 2008, seemingly without much help from cartels and criminals. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:32 pm Suzlon drops Rs1,800 crore rights offer, Repower deal in troubleMumbai: Suzlon Energy Ltd, India’s biggest wind-turbine maker, suspended a rights offer announced a month ago to raise Rs1,800 crore to buy an additional stake in Repower Systems AG. In a separate announcement, Repower said in Frankfurt on Monday that it was in advanced negotiations with a syndicate of banks for loans to fund its growth. It said banks had demanded that Repower refrain from entering into a domination and profit transfer agreement with Suzlon, and that the two companies had decided to comply. Repower shares were trading down 35.6% on Monday evening India time, the biggest loser on Frankfurt’s technology index . “Suzlon will need to offer a buyout to Repower’s minority shareholders before it can integrate their technology,” said an analyst with a foreign brokerage, who declined to be named. Suzlon has recently faced breakages on its turbines in the US.  Trouble in the air: One of the 140ft-long blades broke off at the stem of a Suzlon wind turbine in the US on Wednesday. Karen Newby /Journal Star “In view of the current capital market environment, it has been decided to suspend the rights issue,” Suzlon said in a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. Suzlon shares turned positive after the announcement, before ending 0.6% lower at Rs46.95 in a Mumbai market that fell 2.2%. Suzlon had struck a deal in September to buy Martifer’s 22.48% stake in Repower for nearly $400 million, which would have taken its holding to 90% by December. The Indian company said the Martifer deal was on track but it had dropped negotiations to buy the remaining minority shareholding in the German company. Suzlon shares have dropped 88% this year. The move to drop the rights issue won’t hamper the plans of the company, Suzlon said. “Since the rights issue was planned to further accelerate the original plans of the company, the proposed suspension shall not impact the original plans,” the company said. The company also said that it was suspending talks on the “domination” agreement with Repower. “In the context of the current market environment, both the parties have jointly agreed to suspend the process of negotiation of domination agreement for the time being,” Suzlon said. “However, the company will continue to pursue its strategy for sustainable growth.” “In the current global financial meltdown, the fundamentals of the wind industry remain largely unchanged and hence the company’s business plans remain on track,” it added. Suzlon’s billionaire founder Tulsi Tanti was seeking control and a power-transfer agreement, which would let the majority shareholder assume management of Repower. The purchase of Martifer’s stake is scheduled to take place before 15 December. Suzlon bid successfully for Hamburg-based Repower in May last year in partnership with Martifer, topping a rival offer from Areva SA. The company bought Areva’s 30% stake in Repower in June. IDFC Private Equity completed an investment of Rs400 crore for a 17.1% stake in SE Forge Ltd., a unit of the turbine maker, Suzlon said. Suzlon will hold 82.9% in SE Forge after the sale. The company’s plans to drop the share offering follows just concluded rights offers by Hindalco Industries and Tata Motors that had to be bailed out by underwriters and their founders. Reuters’ Prashant Mehra and Narayanan Somasundaram contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:32 pm Sensex slides below 8,000, recoversMumbai: India’s bellwether stock index, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) Sensex, plunged below 7,700 in mid-day trades on Monday, a level last seen in August 2005, but regained 800 points to close at 8,509.56—a 2.2% loss—after domestic institutions went bargain hunting. According to provisional data from BSE, local institutions bought stocks worth Rs916.18 crore on Monday even as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs1,027.30 crore worth of stocks in the cash market. The large-scale FII pull-out from equities continued to put pressure on the local currency, pushing the rupee down to a new lifetime low of 50.29 to a dollar in intra-day trade, but aggressive dollar selling by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped it yet again from closing above the 50-mark. The rupee closed at 49.87/88, stronger than its previous close of 49.95/97 a dollar after an estimated $1.5 billion (Rs7,515 crore) sale by RBI. So far this year, the rupee has slid more than 21% against the dollar. Click here to watch video At Monday’s low, the Sensex was down at least 62% since the beginning of this year. Its close of 8,509.56, however, was 58% lower than the index level at the beginning of the year. While the Sensex has lost less than the Shanghai SE Composite Index and Hang Seng index thus far this year, it has lost more than many other Asian markets, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally down in early trades. It was down 11 points at 8,367.72 at about 8.30pm India time. With continuing free fall in stock valuations, investors, both global and local, are waiting for governments and central banks to unveil new measures to support equity markets and corporate earnings. At least 40% of Indian firms that have declared results for the quarter ended September have posted lower net profit compared with the corresponding quarter last year on account of higher input costs and lower sales. RBI has cut its policy rate and released Rs1 trillion into the banking system by paring banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR), or the portion of deposits that commercial banks need to keep with the central bank, but these measures have not helped restore confidence. Also See Lying Low (Graphic) “The only solution is that interest rates must be dropped dramatically,” said Jon Thorn, chief executive officer, India Capital Management Inc., an India-dedicated FII, in a telephone interview from Hong Kong. “Globally, policies have been focused on providing money to banks but now steps should be taken to decrease borrowing cost for companies and other institutions. The value of holding money must be decreased to such extent that capital in cash really becomes unattractive.” Many global analysts and economists, including David A. Rosenberg, North American economist for Merrill Lynch, are betting on a sharp rate cut by the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making arm of the US central bank, which is meeting this week. “It is time to worry about... the lack of inflation. We are looking at 50 basis points cut (in interest rates),” Rosenberg said in his latest report.  Market mayhem: The scene outside the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. Abhijit Bhatlekar /Mint Shah’s recommendation: The government should consider setting up a market stabilization fund, much like Hong Kong has done; it should also lift the equity exposure limit for local insurance companies and banks; it should allow local pension funds to invest in equities; and it should announce tax-soaps on equity investments that will encourage retail investors to put money in the markets. “The current value of FII holding in Indian equities will be around $50-60 billion. These measures could support markets as FIIs continue to sell,” Shah said. FIIs have so far taken out at least $12.2 billion worth of Indian stocks this year, net of purchases, after pumping in about $67 billion net of sales between 1993 and 2007. But for the domestic institutions’ support, which bought Rs67,537.96 crore (about $13.5 billion) worth of stocks this year, the Sensex would have seen a sharper fall. Not all FIIs are, however, scrambling to exit India at any cost. According to Thorn, “Indian stocks are trading too cheap and are very attractive. It is completely irrational, based on fear and uncertainty. Now nobody wants to buy anything at any price.” The price to earnings (P-E) multiple of Sensex stocks has come down from 27.67 in January to 10.36 now. The P-E, the most popular metric of stock analysis, looks at the relationship between the stock price and a company’s earnings. The higher the P-E, the more the market is willing to pay for a company’s earnings. But at the same time, a high P-E could be an indication that a stock is overpriced. Conversely, a low P-E indicates lack of confidence of investors in a stock, but it can also encourage them to buy the stock as it is not overly priced. The Shanghai index’s P-E continues to be the highest among Asian markets at 14.04, but it is almost one-fourth of its level seen in January. Long-term measures, which the Indian government could take to accelerate economic growth and revive the markets, according to ICICI Prudential’s Shah, could be “slashing down interest rates, as well as quick sanctioning of corporate projects”. Indranil Sengupta, India economist for Merrill Lynch, also said the government may push for growth. “We expect Delhi to push government banks for a 25-50 basis points prime lending rate (PLR) cut on the back of aggressive monetary easing, even if it means taking a calculated risk against inflation,” Sengupta said. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The next 12-months Nandan Chakraborty, head of equity research, and Sachchidanand Shukla, economist, at local brokerage Enam Securities Pvt. Ltd, in their latest India strategy report, said the Sensex would trade at 15,109 in November 2009. According to the report, in the first quarter of calender year 2009, insurance firms will purchase $5 billion worth of stocks and the market will move from severe undervaluation to a stress-case valuation level (8,000-12,000). In mid-2009, an invigorating new government and global macro realignments will bring in the “West to East” theme into sharper focus, the report said. Further explaining this macro shift, the report calls for MSCI re-balancing. “Despite representing 24% of world GDP, Chindia (China and India) and South Korea’s MSCI World Index weight was below 5%, while the US enjoyed 42% muscle with 19% of GDP. Will this not change as economic purging plays out fully and Chindia emerge as largest global growth contributors?” The Morgan Stanley Capital International or MSCI Index is designed to measure equity market performance in global emerging markets. Ashwin Ramarathinam contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:31 pm Dabhol LNG terminal could be up for grabsNew Delhi: In a significant departure from its earlier stand of not inviting private sector participation, the Indian government is considering a proposal which, if approved, would call for bids for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal associated with the controversial Ratnagiri Gas and Power Project Ltd, formerly known as Dabhol Power Co. The proposal, one of several options, has been forwarded to the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on Dabhol project by a committee of secretaries (CoS), a group of senior bureaucrats, after a 30 September meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary. If approved, the bids could set off yet another battle between Reliance Power Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd, controlled respectively by estranged brothers Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani, who have previously expressed their interest in the terminal. However, spokesmen of Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and RIL didn’t respond to emailed questions. On 12 March, power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had told Mint that the government would “not allow any private sector participation in the project”. And on Monday, Shinde insisted: “There will be no private sector involvement. Not at all.” Shinde is also a member of the ministers committee that had explored the hiving off idea last year but dropped it. Still, minutes of the secretaries meeting reviewed by Mint say: “It was decided that the option of hiving off the terminal, without construction of breakwater on ‘as is where is’ basis would be clubbed with that of leasing it out on a long term, example 15-20 years basis. In this option of sale/lease, NTPC/GAIL would also be eligible to participate.” However, with state-owned NTPC Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd, the largest shareholders in Ratnagiri, maintaining that if there is a move to sell the terminal, it should be offered to them first, the meeting also decided that “...a right of first refusal could vitiate the bidding process, the eGoM in its next meeting may be requested to take a final decision in this matter”. NTPC and GAIL hold a 28.33% stake each in Ratnagiri. The rest is held by Maharashtra State Electricity Board (15%), and several banks. This latest development follows the 8 August CoS meeting where power secretary Anil Razdan was asked to rework the financials of Ratnagiri, along with financial services secretary Arun Ramanathan, and explore this option. The LNG terminal is part of the integrated power project with a capacity of 2,150MW that is being derated to 1,844MW. The project is fuelled by gas, which is transported typically by ship and always in liquid form. It needs to be converted into a liquid before shipping and reconverted into gas when it arrives at the terminal. The terminal has a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and this is to be raised to 5mtpa. The project cost was fixed at Rs10,038 crore at the time of the asset transfer to the government in mid-2005 and this included Rs870 crore as completion cost and Rs683 crore as interest charges during construction. The completion cost and interest charges have since risen to Rs2,364 crore and Rs2,413 crore, respectively. “Why should the terminal be bid out? This is an integrated project,” insisted a senior NTPC executive who didn’t want to be named. However, a senior GAIL official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We would be happy to acquire the terminal. The CoS has forwarded the proposal to the eGoM. It is for the eGoM to decide on the future course of action.” “With NTPC and GAIL having a 56.66% stake together in the integrated project, will the new participation be sought for the balance stake in the project or the complete 100% stake? While an Indian private sector company wouldn’t want to be a minority partner in the terminal, a foreign player with a gas source may be fine with it,” said Arvind Mahajan of audit and consulting firm KPMG. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:31 pm Good Q2 for ICICI, SBI but future tenseMumbai / New Delhi: Allaying fears that the global economic slowdown would hurt the Indian banking industry, the country’s top two lenders by assets, State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank Ltd, posted results for the quarter ended September that beat market expectations. However, analysts do not expect the party to last long. The state-owned SBI’s net profit for the second quarter ended 30 September rose 40.23% to Rs2,259.71 crore from Rs1,611.43 crore in the year-ago quarter. ICICI Bank, which has the largest foreign exposure among Indian banks, reported a marginal 1.1% increase in its earnings to Rs1,014 crore from Rs1,003 crore. Most of the banks that have announced quarterly results so far have reported higher profit despite increased provisions for bad loans. HDFC Bank Ltd, the country’s third largest by assets, posted a 44% jump in profits, while Bank of India’s earnings rose 79.38% and Axis Bank’s, 76%. Also See One Rises, The Other Falls (Graphic) Union Bank of India and Canara Bank grew net profits by at least 31%, and Bank of Baroda’s profits rose 21%. Despite the handsome growth in earnings, analysts are worried about rising bad loans as banks need to make higher provisions to take care of such loans, reducing their profits in coming quarters. Shares of SBI fell 8.63% to Rs1,056.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday in a weak market, while those of ICICI Bank recovered from a four-year low of Rs282.15 to close at Rs316.30, up 2.03%. SBI’s provisions for bad debts rose sharply to Rs911 crore from Rs247 crore, largely due to a government waiver of farmers’ debts, although net non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans after accounting for write-offs, fell to 1.34% from 1.42%. “The slippages are a cause for concern given the economic slowdown,” said V.K. Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stockbroking Ltd, a Mumbai-based brokerage. “Going forward, the market is convinced SBI may not be able to get the best out of its other revenue streams.” O.P. Bhatt, SBI’s chairman, said in a statement that net interest margins (NIMs) had risen to 3.16%, but cautioned that this key measure of efficiency would be lower in the next quarter. The bank wants to keep its NIMs above 3%, he added. As for ICICI Bank, its earnings were dragged by treasury losses and higher provisions, as well as a half-yearly loss at its UK subsidiary after providing for depreciation in its investment portfolio. “Overall, ICICI Bank’s results are pretty good—quite good in fact,” said Vipul Shah, an analyst with KR Choksey Shares and Securities Ltd. “However, net NPAs have gone up, which is a major negative.” Despite the handsome growth in earnings, analysts are worried about rising bad loans Excluding treasury income, its core operating profit increased 42% to Rs2,437 crore, and NIM, or net interest income as a percentage of average total assets, rose to 2.4% from 2.2%. Provisions, other than for tax, surged to Rs923.53 crore from Rs644.49 crore. Provisions for NPAs, excluding those related to the farm-loan waiver, were Rs868 crore. “More than this quarter, the next quarter will be interesting to look out for because of the overall market sentiment which will affect their CASA (current and savings account) growth,” said Shah. Earlier this month, speculation that the bank’s capital was at stake because of its exposure to troubled US banks such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., prompted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to assure depositors that the bank was on sound footing. On a consolidated basis, ICICI Bank’s net profit for the quarter dropped 27.44% to Rs651.48 crore as its UK arm reported a net loss of $35 million after providing for notional losses on its investment portfolio. SBI did not declare its consolidated earnings. ICICI Bank’s UK subsidiary had €57 million exposure to Lehman Brothers bonds, for which it set aside $28 million over a $70 million provision related to credit linked notes and other derivatives. ICICI Bank said it has now exited its non-India linked credit derivatives portfolio at no incremental loss over and above the provisions already held. It has sold its $600 million non-India linked credit derivatives exposure and has only $1.1 billion in India-linked exposure, joint managing director and chief financial officer Chanda Kochhar said in a conference call. Another factor that contributed to the bank’s consolidated loss was its life insurance subsidiary, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., a joint venture with UK’s Prudential Plc., which had a loss of Rs466 crore in the first half of this year. ICICI Bank’s total deposit dropped to Rs2.23 trillion as on 30 September, from Rs2.28 trillion in the year-ago period. Low-cost CASA deposits as a percentage of total deposits rose to 30% at the end of the quarter, compared with 25% a year ago. Advances at the end of the second quarter stood at about Rs2.22 trillion from Rs2.07 trillion. SBI’s CASA marginally rose to 39.71% from 39.45% a year ago. Indian banks are increasingly focusing on CASA to bring down their cost of funds. They pay 3.5% on savings accounts and zero interest on current accounts—two components of CASA. In contrast, the interest rate on one-year term deposit is now around 10.5%. SBI shares rose 32% in the quarter ended September, outperforming a 4.5% drop in the Sensex, but are down around 30% in October. Shares of ICICI Bank fell 15% in the quarter, and are down more than 40% in October. Since the start of this calendar year, shares of SBI have fallen 52.77% and those of ICICI Bank, 74.33%. In this period, Sensex has fallen 58.05% while the Bankex, a representative index of banking stocks, has fallen 59.28%. anup.r@livemint.com Narayanan Somasundaram of Reuters contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:28 pm Unitech sells 4 arms in Gurgaon to Tata Realty: SourcesUnitech has sold its four subsidiaries owning 30 acres in Gurgaon to Tata Realty, in lieu of a loan of Rs 1,700 crore given by the latter in early 2008, reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 6:04 pm Wrong diagnosis, wrong remedyCan a Keynesian remedy work for an economy facing a combination of inflationary pressure, a crisis of lending confidence and a decline in industrial output? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh thinks so. On his way home from a recent trip to Japan and China, he said: “I think we are in a typical Keynesian situation where there is a lack of demand— private sector demand is very weak—but strong government demand, for both social services and for physical infrastructure, will provide the essential stabilizers that our country needs in a time like this.” But a wrong diagnosis will lead to a bad remedy.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint The one area that requires immediate attention is solving the crisis of confidence in bank lending and unclog credit markets. That and, for the time being, that alone has the potential to spur growth. Companies are desperate for credit. In spite of massive flushes of liquidity, credit availability remains scarce. While the cost of borrowing has been going up for more than a year, the situation is dire now. Adverse credit conditions derailing effective supply (effective potential output), and thus leading to inflation, is not unknown. In a 1987 paper, a former vice- chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Alan Blinder, analysed the phenomenon. Perhaps our policymakers should read that paper. Solving this will require addressing the problem of a system-wide crisis of confidence. Boosting demand is hardly an answer to that. It will only create more inflation. Yet, apart from holding sporadic meetings with assorted bankers and officers, there has been no systematic attempt to find an answer. To be fair to the Prime Minister, it’s not easy to find an answer given the complexity of the problem, but the least he can do is not look in the wrong direction. Fuel demand or make easy credit available? Tell us, at views@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:55 pm In defence of financial bailoutsAs the US economy is hit by the financial crisis and associated bailout costs, it is useful to take an international perspective on current events. In the last three decades, many developing countries have also experienced financial crises and large bailouts. Yet, the growth gains brought by financial liberalization and deregulation have, in most cases, more than offset the output and bailout costs of crises. Importantly, financial liberalization by itself did not generate crises—government meddling and implicit bailout guarantees were often involved. In many ways, the US story is not so different. In the debate, pundits are railing against the enormity and unfairness of the US bailout, not to mention the bad precedent it will set. Many also point to deregulation as a key cause of the crisis. The facts suggest otherwise.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint How big is the current US bailout? The $700 billion bailout bill is equivalent to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP). Adding to it the cost of other rescues—Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, AIG—the total cost could go up to $1,400 billion, which is around 10% of GDP. In contrast, Mexico incurred bailout costs of 18% of GDP following the 1994 Tequila crisis. In the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian crisis, the bailout price tag was 18% of the GDP in Thailand and a whopping 27% in South Korea. Somewhat lower costs, although of the same order of magnitude, were incurred by Scandinavian countries in the banking crises of the late 1980s—11% in Finland (1991), 8% in Norway (1987), and 4% in Sweden (1990). Lastly, the 1980s savings and loans debacle in the US had a cumulative fiscal cost for the taxpayer of 2.6% of GDP. The bailout costs that taxpayers are facing today can be seen as an ex-post payback for years of easy access to finance in the US economy. The implicit bailout guarantees against systemic crises have supported a high growth path, a risky one, for the economy. In effect, the guarantees act as an investment subsidy that lead investors to (1) lend more and (2) at cheaper interest rates. This results in greater investment and growth in financially constrained sectors—such as housing, small businesses, Internet infrastructure, and so on. Investors are willing to do so because they know that if a systemic crisis were to take place, the government would make sure they get repaid (at least partially). The rescue costs can be seen as an ex-post payback for years of easy access to finance Perhaps the financial sector lent excessively, leading to overinvestment in the housing sector today and the IT sector in the late 1990s. But the bottom line remains that risk-taking has positive consequences in the long run even if it implies that crises will happen from time to time. Over history, the countries that have experienced (rare) crises are the ones that have grown the fastest. In those countries, investors and businesses take on more risks and as a result, have greater investment and growth. Compare Thailand’s high-but-jumpy growth path with India’s slow-but-steady growth path before it implemented liberalization a few years ago. Over the last 25 years, Thailand grew 32% more than India in terms of per capita income despite a major financial crisis. Similarly, easier access to finance and risk-taking explains, in part, why the US economy has strongly outperformed those of France and Germany in the last decades. Published with permission from VoxEU.org. Romain Rancière is an associate professor of economics at Paris School of Economics and a CEPR research affiliate. Aaron Tornell is a professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Frank Westermann is a professor of international economic policy at the Institute of Empirical Economic Research, University Osnabrueck. Comments are welcome at theirview@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:52 pm Does India need the Maharaja?The two largest private players in Indian aviation, Jet Airways and Kingfisher, have become unlikely bedfellows in a bid to stem haemorrhaging cash flows. The Federation of Indian Airlines has now approached the government for a $1 billion bailout package. The turmoil in the private sector should not make us forget the mess the state-run airline finds itself in. The flag carrier Air India has also approached the government for a substantial lifeline. Reports indicate the carrier is looking for one-third of a billion dollars in fresh capital and an equal amount in working capital loans. However, attempts by Raghu Menon, the chairman and managing director of the National Aviation Co. of India, to shed 15,000 employees through an unpaid leave scheme seems to have been scuttled by the government. While minister for civil aviation Praful Patel seems intent on setting things right with the state airline, a pertinent question has been overlooked: Does India need a state-run airline in the first place? State enterprises are expected to justify their existence by helping do a few things: meet social obligation, protect national security, prevent market inefficiencies and even, on the rare occasion, turn a profit. It is doubtful if the Air India-Indian combine currently performs any of those functions. Whenever thrown into competition with private players, the state-run airline has consistently lost business—Jet Airways took just 10 years to overtake 40-year-old Indian Airlines in domestic market share. And its service performance has been nothing to write home about either. Everyone from stand-up comedian Russell Peters to that remarkably astute vehicle of social commentary, The Simpsons television show, has generated laughs at the expense of our state airline. With private players struggling to make money, it is reasonable to assume that neither will Air India. Perhaps Patel would do well to re-evaluate the need for a state enterprise in a business that is only meant for those with deep pockets. If an outright phasing out of Air India sounds too drastic, perhaps re-jigging the whole business along the lines of the more efficient low-cost Air India Express model might be a more popular compromise. Does India really need a state-run airline anymore? Tell us, at views@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:50 pm Buyback regulations eased to boost market sentimentMumbai: India’s stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said on Monday that companies holding 55% and above but below 75% would be allowed to purchase up to a 5% stake through buybacks, without seeking its approval.  Positive measure: Sebi chairman C.B. Bhave. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint “It has now been decided to automatically exempt increase/consolidation up to 5% per annum as a result of buy back by a company,” said a statement from the stock market regulator. The measure is expected to boost market sentiment as promoters will be tempted to resort to creeping acquisition given the current depressed prices of their shares. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex index has lost 57% of its value so far in 2008, and 53.56% since the previous Diwali. Companies have so far been required to seek exemption under Sebi regulations relating to so-called substantial acquisition of shares and takeovers. Earlier, creeping acquisition, the process through which promoters could increase their stake in the company by buying up to 5% of the equity in a year, was allowed only till the promoters holding reached 55% of the equity of the company. However, consolidation via bulk, block or negotiated deals, or through preferential allotment would not be permitted. Besides, the market regulator has also said that henceforth promoters would not require permission if their holding in the company were to increase by 5% in the event of a buyback of shares. (PTI contributed to this story.) Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:41 pm Novo likely to launch survey on young diabetics in NovMumbai: The world’s largest insulin maker by sales, Novo Nordisk A/S, is set to launch India’s first survey on young diabetics in November.  Finding reasons: A technician at Novo Nordisk. The company plans a nationwide survey to understand the attitudes towards diabetes. John McConnico / Bloomberg Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in India and there are at least a dozen drug makers, foreign and local, focusing on this market. Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Wockhardt Ltd and Biocon Ltd, for instance, have lined up new launches in the oral drug and insulin market. Collecting data on young diabetics who have the disease but have not been exposed to any medical investigation will be the first phase of the Novo programme. The current Indian diabetic population is estimated to be about 40.5 million, according to statistics available from hospitals and medical practitioners based on reported cases, and compiled by International Diabetes Federation or IDF. This is likely to be double by 2015. “Since diabetes is a disease which a patient may not be even aware of at the young (age), (it) often surfaces with other complications triggered by early diabetes. So detecting the disease or collection of this data is very important to manage this disease in countries like India,” says Andre M.J. Gomes, head of corporate communications at Novo Nordisk India Pvt. Ltd, the Indian arm of the Danish company. The company plans a nationwide survey to understand the social stigma linked to diabetes and the lifestyle and food habits leading to the disease. It will also conduct free blood sugar check-up camps. According to Gomes, the disease becomes complicated by the time a patient reaches 30-35 years, and critical socio-psychological issues tend to emerge. “Analysing the second aspect is more important while managing the disease early,” he added. Novo had started an online education programme three years ago but Dawn Youth was launched worldwide in November in collaboration with IDF and International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetics. It has covered at least 20 countries, including Brazil, Japan, South Africa, the US, UK, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands and Germany. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:37 pm ICICI: a shrinking bank’s featsHow did ICICI Bank Ltd weather a difficult quarter? By shrinking its balance sheet. The bank’s balance sheet size went down from Rs3,94,156 crore on 30 June to Rs3,84,970 crore on 30 September. Deposits fell by Rs11,059 crore during the quarter, while outstanding advances were lower by Rs2,161 crore. But this is not the first quarter the bank has been shrinking — in the June quarter, its deposits fell by Rs9,970 crore, while outstanding advances had fallen by Rs1,470 crore. The contraction increased during the September quarter and the sharp fall in deposits led to the bank having a very high credit-deposit ratio of 99% at the end of September.  In spite of the shrinkage, ICICI was able to grow net profit by 1.1%, compared with the year-ago period, which was well above expectations. Core operating profit, or operating profit after adjusting for treasury income, was up 42%. While that growth was much higher in the June quarter, the silver lining was an increase in the proportion of current and savings accounts (Casa), which rose from 27.5% of deposits at the end of June to 30% by the end of September. That ties in with the bank management’s assertion that it is now less dependent on wholesale deposits. Net interest income rose by 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the September quarter, compared with 41% in the June quarter. Fee income rose 26% y-o-y in the September quarter, but that too increased at a lower rate than in the June quarter. Yet, ICICI Bank’s profit after tax in the September quarter was higher by 39% compared with the June quarter. Also See: Staying On Top (Graphic) How was this feat achieved? One method was to curb expenses — operating expenses in the September quarter were lower than in the previous quarter. More importantly, though, treasury losses were far less than in the June quarter. Net non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, rose a tad during the quarter, moving up to 1.8% from 1.74% at June-end. But in a clear indication that asset quality continues to deteriorate, gross NPAs as a percentage of gross advances increased to 4.18%, compared with 3.72% at the end of June 2008. This ratio was 3.3% at March-end. In absolute terms, gross NPAs rose by Rs990 crore during the September quarter, compared with a rise of Rs931 crore in the June quarter. On a consolidated basis, earnings per share, at Rs5.84 for the September quarter, was 28% lower than in the same period last year. But the bad news is clearly in the price — the bank’s book value per share at September-end works out to Rs437 and the stock is currently trading at a substantial discount to its book value. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:23 pm SBI: won’t high rate of advances lead to more bad loans?State Bank of India (SBI) shares fell 8.6% on Monday, spooked by the much higher provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs). Provisions for NPAs amounted to Rs911 crore in the September quarter, compared with a write-back of Rs247.4 crore in the June quarter. While gross NPAs as a percentage of gross advances fell to 2.51% from 2.54% at the end of June, in absolute terms gross NPAs rose by Rs1,144 crore during the quarter. Of the increase, Rs206 crore was due to the takeover of NPAs from State Bank of Saurashtra and another Rs148 crore was on account of the bank’s international exposure, including loans to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. At the analysts’ conference, SBI chairman O.P. Bhatt said NPAs may go up in the future, with stress being seen in loans to small-scale industries and in foreign assets. The silver lining is that SBI’s provision cover at 47.28%, although low, is up from 44.79% at June-end. Fears about bad loans, however, didn’t prevent SBI from increasing its outstanding advances by 37% year-on-year. During the September quarter, outstanding advances rose 11.4%. The high rate of growth in advances has led to a rise in SBI’s credit-deposit ratio, with the incremental credit-deposit ratio during the last quarter being particularly high. Bhatt said that he would try to bring down this ratio. True, SBI is increasing its market share, but the question is: Won’t such a high rate of advances growth in the current environment lead to more bad loans? This is the question the market is worried about, notwithstanding SBI’s excellent results for the September quarter. Operating profit growth has been 55%, the result not only of high credit growth, but also a hike in the bank’s prime lending rate. Net interest margin was a high 3.16% and net interest income saw a growth of 45%. But current and savings accounts accounted for 39.7% of deposits at end-September, compared with 41.87% at June-end. The rapid growth has also resulted in the bank’s capital-adequacy ratio falling from 12.99% at end-June in terms of the Basel I requirements to 12.14% by the end of September. In terms of the Basel II requirements, the ratio works out to 11.5%. The SBI chairman, however, said that once all loans have been rated by the rating agencies, the capital adequacy ratio would increase. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 5:23 pm Citi VC country head denies plans to exit all investments in IndiaMumbai: A senior executive at Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI), the private equity, or PE, arm of Citigroup Inc. for emerging markets, which has $7 billion (Rs35,000 crore) under management, says the firm has no plans to exit all its investments in India. “Most of the money in the fund we advise belongs to third-party investors. So, how can anyone ask me to exit investments?” said P.R. Srinivasan in his first interview after taking over as managing director (region head-India) of the fund about three months ago.  Sufficient funds: Citigroup Inc. headquarters in New York. Citigroup Venture Capital International managing director (region head-India) P.R. Srinivasan said the profitable exits made by the venture capital firm this year were not intended to meet any cash requirement of the parent company. Jeremy Sparig / Bloomberg CVCI has made some profitable exits this year, though Srinivasan said they were not intended to meet any cash requirements of its US-based parent. CVCI sold its holding in GMR Infrastructure Ltd at three-and-a-half times what it paid for the stake and exited Centurion Bank of Punjab Ltd (after it merged with HDFC Bank Ltd) at two-and-a-half times. It also sold part of its stake in pharmaceutical company Lupin Ltd at four times its investment, and Monnet Ispat Ltd at four-and-a-half times. There have also been exits from investments where CVCI did not make any money, such as Perlecan Pharma Pvt. Ltd, the research and development arm of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, and Oxigen Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, an electronic payment gateway. Given the state of the equity markets, CVCI’s existing India portfolio of 30 companies is also hurting. The value of investments is now about $1 billion, compared with $1.4-1.5 billion at the end of the last year, Srinivasan said. But he added that CVCI has already returned $690 million from its $1.6 billion Fund-I. So, what will be different at CVCI, now that he is in charge? “There will be more management buyouts,” Srinivasan said. He has increased the team size to 10 since the departure of his predecessor Ajay Relan, and was responsible for the only two management buyouts the firm did during Relan’s tenure—broking outfit Sharekhan Ltd and digital cable and broadband service provider, YOU Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. Srinivasan, who made his first PE investment in 1992 when he bought an 18% stake in information technology infrastructure management firm Microland Ltd for Technology Development and Information Co. India Ltd (the earlier avatar of ICICI Venture), said it is business as usual at CVCI despite the turmoil in the global financial system that has seen Citigroup lay off employees across levels and write down billions of dollars related to the subprime mortgage crisis. “Even on the pre-fund transactions, there has been no pressure to exit,” he said, referring to the corpus that CVCI created from its own balance sheet when it opened its doors in 2001. It took the firm about four years until June 2005 to raise its $1.6 billion Fund-I, which is fully invested now, most of it from third-party investors. Citigroup added $500 million to the pool. In June 2007, CVCI raised its $4.5 billion Fund-II; this time, Citigroup contributed $1 billion, its employees another $200 million, while the rest came from third parties. From Fund-II, CVCI still has $3 billion in undeployed capital. “That’s where we are looking good. We will get better opportunities and higher returns now,” said Srinivasan. The year so far, though, has been slow: CVCI made just two investments in Mumbai-based stock broking outfit Globe Capital Market Ltd, and Gurgaon-based auto components manufacturer Padmini VNA Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd. The focus now, said Srinivasan, will be micro. “In a bull market, you can afford to concentrate on sectors, like we were at one point on banking, and at another, on infrastructure. But in a bear market, you’ve got to be micro,” he said. The crisis this time, though, is very different, he said, from the 1987 stock market crash in the US or the crisis triggered by the late-1990s failure of hedge fund Long Term Capital Management. “This is the crisis of our lifetimes. The world economy was on a debt overdose and is recovering from a near-death experience,” he said, and explained why recovery will be slow. “After a near-death experience from a drug overdose, would you go for a rave party?” He is certain he will not see the Sensex, India’s most tracked equity index, trading at multiples of 20 times earnings any time over the next 15 years, as it had less than a year ago. “The index may go to 21,000 again, but that will be on reasonable price-earnings multiples of 12-14 times,” he said. “That it went to 21,000 was a spillover from the Western economies, which were on ‘debt steroids’. Otherwise, we would have probably peaked at lower levels, say 15,000. But since we overshot on the upside, the fall will also overshoot on the downside,” he added. “Prepare for hard times,” is the message he has been sending out to portfolio companies, advising them to focus on productivity, savings and efficiency and not on growth at any cost. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 4:40 pm Future Group rakes over Rs 300cr in preDiwali salesKishore Biyani\'s Future Group has done over Rs 300 crore in preDiwali sales. This is a 55% increase over the same period last year. Pantaloon and Big Bazaar see same store sales growth around 20% and 18% respectively. Fashion and apparel recorded highest growth, while mobile and furniture are down over last year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 4:01 pm Microsoft uses quirky ideas to break into rural marketsSome of Microsoft Corp.'s top researchers spend their time thinking about complex software, algorithms and security systems. Others contemplate azolla, an aquatic fern fed to cattle in the hopes of increasing milk production. The azolla experts are part of a nine-person team at Microsoft Research India that approaches the technology of emerging markets in unconventional ways. These computer scientists say they have the freedom to forget about personal computers, or PCs, and software altogether as they tackle problems. Most often, they rely on a mix of sociology and empirical testing to see whether quirky ideas can make technology useful to those who have heretofore lived without it.  Unconventional approach: Kentaro Toyama, assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India. Toyama says an offbeat approach gives them some core knowledge about what works in emerging markets. Peter DaSilva/NYT Digital Green researchers have been distributing training DVDs to farmers in a dozen Indian villages. Villagers respond well to seeing their peers in the training sessions and will view multiple showings of the detailed presentations if a new farmer they recognize appears in each video. The farmers have been competing to stand out as local stars. “The farmers love being on TV,” said Kentaro Toyama, assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India and the head of the Technology for Emerging Markets research group. “This gives us some core knowledge about what works in this particular environment.” Microsoft feared that the farmers, who live about two hours outside Bangalore, would ignore the training advice unless it could prove a quick, valuable return. And so, one set of videos centres on azolla, which can cover the top of a water tank in about a week and lead to much higher milk production from cows. Within four months, Microsoft will spin off Digital Green as an independent non-governmental organization. Rikin Gandhi, a computer scientist, plans to leave Microsoft to oversee the organization, which will champion the Digital Green methods throughout South Asia and Africa. Microsoft is also extending the Digital Green ideas through another effort called Featherweight Computing, in which it is experimenting with electronic posters and cards that can be sent to farmers. These products include pictures and audio to remind farmers about techniques learnt through the videos. A somewhat similar project, Warana Unwired, sought to give members of farming cooperatives fast, simple ways to update records and receive pricing data on crops. A network of about 55 villages had been relying on PCs to collect information about fertilizer purchases, water bills and inventory. The PCs, however, often broke down or were unavailable. To work around these issues, Microsoft turned one PC, which could be properly managed, into a hub for collecting short messages sent via cellphones. “If you want to register your land, a farmer just types in ‘reg’, the identification number of the farm, the season and how large of a plot he wants,” said Rajesh Veeraraghavan, who was a Microsoft researcher before he left to earn a doctorate in information communications for developing areas. The cellphone system proved cheaper to run and gave farmers near-instant access to their information. Other Microsoft research products cater more towards the company's traditional strengths. Software that Microsoft calls MultiPoint lets numerous mice connect to a computer, allowing several students to interact with a machine at the same time. Children can play games where they hear a word and then compete to identify the text on a screen to the matching sound. “I have not yet seen a situation where there is one PC per child,” Toyama said. “Children are usually lined up three deep behind a computer and you see them crawling all over each other. This technology provides a different level of engagement.” Studies run by Microsoft have shown that students learn just as well through the shared approach as they do on their own machines, although girls, who tend to cooperate to find the information, scored better than boys, who rushed to click without really learning. “For the boys, we'll have to think more about how the software is designed,” Toyama said. Toyama acknowledges his group is afforded a certain amount of luxury in dabbling in areas that are interesting “purely because they extend the reach of technology”. Whether or not the work results in a Microsoft product matters less than forming ties with governments and understanding various people and regions. “In the very long term, what makes a difference to Microsoft's stock price is the global economy,” he said. “Continuing the growth of that overall economy helps out our business.” If technology like MultiPoint proves compelling, Microsoft's Unlimited Potential group, a more formal organization directing technology to poor people, will try to incorporate it in commercial products. “It’s real easy for people to get a bunch of money and install a satellite link for schools,” said James Utzschneider, general manager of Unlimited Potential, “but unless you can find ways to pay bills on an ongoing basis, you just end up with this weird thing on top of a building.” Luis Anavitarte, an analyst at Gartner Inc., credits Microsoft with taking the right approach to these markets by relying on its creativity. "But, ultimately, the local governments have to be committed to these projects for them to work," he added. In the end, Microsoft's best intentions may not satisfy what locals want. The company surveyed 8,000 people in emerging markets and found their most pressing needs for technology often revolved around entertainment and surfing the Internet. “It reinforced for us that the emerging middle classes are sort of like the middle classes here except they don't have as much money,” Toyama said. “It’s sometimes easy for us to get caught up in things and forget we are serving the needs of real people.” ©2008/The New York Times Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 3:48 pm Attrition rate among highest in pharma companiesMumbai: Once highly prized by job seekers, the pharmaceuticals industry is grappling with hard times as its staff turnover rate hovers among the highest levels for industries in India—a trend that is not sparing even heavyweight multinational companies such as Pfizer Inc. and Merck KGaA. The pharma sector—which employs a total of 500,000 people in India across domestic and global firms—is losing at least 30% of its workforce annually, primarily in sales and marketing, for reasons ranging from low salaries to lack of growth opportunities and a new perception of it being an unstable industry. Merck Ltd, the Indian arm of the German drug maker and one of the oldest multinational pharma companies operating in India, suffered 20% attrition last year. Aventis Pharma Ltd, the Indian unit of French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, loses around 22% of its 2,177-strong workforce annually.  High turnover: An Aventis Pharma facility in Scoppito, Italy. The pharma sector—which employs a total of 500,000 people in India across domestic and global firms—is losing at least 30% of its workforce annually. Bloomberg He says the employee turnover for Pfizer, which employs around 2,300 people in India, is below the industry average. Industry experts and human resource consultants that Mint spoke with say medical representatives and managerial executives are increasingly moving to emerging sectors such as insurance, health and lifestyle consumer goods, corporate hospitals and telecommunications. Several multinational pharma companies have been forced to slow anti-attrition measures because of the current global financial crisis, although companies such as Pfizer and Merck say the financial turmoil will not affect their talent management strategies. “Pharma sector loses marketing people as the industry’s pay structure for such a tough job is still not up to the mark,” says Shiv Agrawal, chief executive officer at management and recruitment consultancy firm ABC Consultants (P) Ltd. The attrition rate in junior level marketing jobs is as high as 45-50%, he says. The increasingly competitive drug market and the patent regime have also spread the impression that pharma companies are not very stable, he says. “The vast opportunities available in the market and the rising trend of salaries offered by different sections of the market have resulted in the company losing good employees,” Merck said in its last annual report released in September. Merck employs around 2,100 people in India. P.B. Padmajakshan, a former marketing manager with the country’s sixth largest drug maker Wockhardt Ltd, is currently working with a Hyderabad-based lifestyle products firm. “First line marketing managers, who earn around Rs2.5 lakh a year in a large pharmaceutical company, earn more than double in an insurance company, which pays around Rs6.5-7 lakh a year at present,” he says. Consequently, pharma companies are being forced to recruit people who don’t have enough experience at low salaries, Padmajakshan says. Shrinking profitability because of rising competition and a narrowing pipeline of new drugs mean that pharma companies are in no position to offer competitive salaries and other benefits. “Pharma industry lost its glamour as an attractive job destination after the emergence of information technology and a few other new generation services sector(s),” says R.D. Joshi, executive director, Interlink Marketing Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based pharma marketing consultancy firm. The Indian units of other large multinational drug makers such as GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis did not respond to queries. Wyeth Ltd, the local arm of the US drug maker Wyeth Inc., could not respond as officials dealing with the issue were travelling. Merck Ltd says the company understands the importance of investing in its people. “Consequently, we have undertaken a range of strategic measures to address this reality that have enabled us to bring down our attrition levels to around 15-17%, significantly below the industry level of 20-30%,” a Merck India spokesperson says in an email response to a Mint query. Pfizer’s Mohan says the company was trying to work out “new methodologies and initiatives” to tackle the issue. “Effective communication, recognition of talent and performance-based compensation programmes help us engage and motivate employees,” Mohan added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2008 | 3:44 pm Crackers burn holes in family pockets, sales go blackDiwali is just a night span away, but the multitude of brilliant fireworks lighting up the dark sky is visibly less this year - thanks to the exorbitant prices and Delhi Police issuing fewer licences to traders, giving rise to blackmarket in firecrackers.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Mangalore Refinery net plummets 92.4 percentMangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) saw its net profit diving 92.4 percent in the second quarter due to a steep reduction in international oil prices.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 2:31 pm Wipro\'s new hiring policy signals break from the pastWipro says the slowdown in staff addition is part of a plan to delink the number of new software professionals to growth in business. Known for a costconscious approach under the leadership of Azim Premji, the company is challenging that linear model used by outsourcing companies all these years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 2:25 pm Hybrid LLP model to help Indian firms scale upIndian entrepreneurs and professionals will soon have a hybrid corporate model for doing business, a halfway house between the flexible form of partnerships and the more organized form of companies.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:41 pm UTV's net profit up by 86 percentUTV Software Communications saw its operating revenue increase 138 percent to Rs.1,708 million for the quarter ended Sep 30, as against Rs.719 million in the corresponding period last fiscal, according to a company statement Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:31 pm Coal India gears up to acquire mines abroadThe country's leading coal producer Coal India Ltd (CIL) is planning to acquire coal mines abroad, a top official said here Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 1:30 pm Bloodbath on bourses squeezes small investors on Diwali-eveInvestors, both small and big, were Monday ruing the fact that the relentless erosion in their investment portfolio has of late taken much of the festive sheen off Diwali.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 12:32 pm Indian equities crash to three-year low on Diwali-eve, recoverA key Indian equities index fell below the 8,000-point mark in intra-day trading to its lowest since November 2005 as the bear hug continued on the eve of Diwali Monday on the back of overall panic and weak global cues.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 27 Oct 2008 | 12:31 pm Recession fears haunt Asian markets!Fears of a deep global recession dominated investor sentiment as financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region began to reopen on Monday after last week`s worldwide slide in stock prices and currency collapses.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am World oil prices lower in Asian trade!World oil prices weakened in Asian trade on Monday with OPEC`s decision to cut supply at a time of global financial turmoil seen as hurting already weak energy demand further, dealers said.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am Ambanis overtake Mittal in wealth erosion!The focus is always on who is the richest among Ambani brothers and Lakshmi Mittal but Mukesh and Anil are ahead of the India-born steel tycoon in terms of losses suffered due to the global stock meltdown.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am Stock markets plunge, Sensex falls below 8,200 pts!Picking up from where they left on Friday, Indian stock markets continued to plunge for the fourth straight session on Monday, with the benchmark Sensex falling over 500 points. Tracking weak global trend, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex lost over 500 points to hit an over three-year low of 8,195 in early trade on fresh selling by funds.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am G7 nations to `cooperate` for market stability!The Group of Seven rich nations will "cooperate as appropriate" to bring stability to battered global markets, finance ministers and central bank chiefs said in a joint statement on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am SBI Q2 net up 11% at Rs 2,458 crore!Country`s largest lender State Bank of India on Monday said it has posted a 11.50 percent growth in its net profit at Rs 2,458.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am Rupee down 11 paise to 50.06 a dollar!The Indian rupee extended its losses to ninth day in a row as it fell further by 11 paise to 50.06 against the US currency in early trade on Monday amid declining equity markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am IMF announces aid for Ukraine, Hungary!The IMF unveiled two new members of a growing band of countries set to receive its help in the financial crisis, announcing a USD 16.5-billion loan for Ukraine and a "substantial" package for Hungary.Source: Zee News : Business | 27 Oct 2008 | 11:55 am Unitech denies reports of payment defaults in NoidaUnitech stock fell 50% on Friday. The stock is down 94% from its record close of Rs 538.25 per share on January 2. The management has planned to file complaint to SEBI for probing share manipulation and has denied reports of default on payment to Greater Noida Development Authority.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2008 | 10:14 am
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