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Bleak Japan factory output points to deep recessionTOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese industrial production dropped sharply in October and manufacturers warned of record falls in coming months, prompting warnings that growing global gloom means Japan's recession will be even deeper and longer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:59 pm Indian troops storm Jewish centre, 5 hostages deadMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian commandos stormed a Jewish centre in Mumbai on Friday evening, killing two Islamist gunmen but failing to save five hostages, after two days of bloodshed that have created fresh tensions with old foe Pakistan.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:48 pm CUMI subsidiary to set up $50 million SiC Fusion Plant - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:38 pm OPEC may defer third output cut, ministers sayCAIRO (Reuters) - OPEC ministers said on Friday they were likely to defer a decision on their third output cut until next month, despite an accelerating slump in fuel demand that has slashed the price of oil by two-thirds since July.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:35 pm Indian economy grows by 7.6 pc in Q2, FM terms it satisfactory - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:24 pm RBI extends scope of liquidity measures - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:24 pm RBI extends scope of liquidity measuresMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday it will extend a special refinance facility for banks until June 30, 2009, and will also make available concessional credit to exporters for a longer period of time.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:08 pm Euro zone inflation plunges, deep ECB rate cut seenBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation plunged in November and unemployment jumped more than expected, boosting chances the ECB will increase the size of its interest rate cuts next week to aid a rapidly shrinking economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:04 pm The weekly recap: November 24 - 28It has been a horrific week for the entire nation with Mumbai coming under terrorist attacks leaving 125 dead and over 300 injured.  There have been ten such attacks under homer minister Shivraj Patil’s watch in 2008. As the unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai stunned the entire nation, political parties decided to go slow on the last day of the campaign for the Delhi assembly elections.Listen to all this and more Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:04 pm 250 brands to participate in Franchise India-2008Over 250 Indian and global brands will likely participate in Franchise India-2008, a two-day international event on franchise, retail and licensing industry beginning here Saturday, organisers said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:01 pm Hospitality, travel sectors will suffer in short term: IndustryThe meltdown-hit travel trade and hospitality industry will have to weather another storm, thanks to the terrorists's siege of two hotels in Mumbai since Wednesday night. But industry watchers and captains predict that it will only be a short-term assault on business.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 3:01 pm Indian attacks come at bad time for economy - Financial Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 2:55 pm Market forces should determined 2G license fee: Trai - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 2:53 pm Government ignored suggestion for auctioning 2G spectrum: WatchdogIndia's telecom watchdog Friday said the government ignored its suggestion that the second generation (2G) radio waves be auctioned, which would have generated higher revenue.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 2:30 pm Court asks insurance companies to be consumer friendlyA consumer court Friday reprimanded insurance companies for rejecting claims on flimsy grounds and asked them to be consumer friendly.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 2:00 pm Carborundum Universal's subsidiary to invest $50 mn in RussiaCity-based Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI), a leader in the abrasives and ceramics market, Friday said its Russian subsidiary Volzhsky Abrasive Works (VAW) will invest $50 million to build a new plant in that country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 2:00 pm Airlines swamped with cancellations after terror attack - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:44 pm Sensex gains 66 pts as markets show resilienceIndian bourses on Friday virtually set aside the shock of a violent terror strike on the country's commercial capitalSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:22 pm Security measures reviewed to strengthen vigil on coastlineNew Delhi: Realising the vulnerability of the country’s 7,516-km-long coastline, a high-level meeting convened by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today reviewed measures to tone up coastal security in the wake of terrorists taking the sea route to attack Mumbai. “The measures include short,m edium and long-term ones,” Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, M.L. Kumawat, said. He, however, did not give any details. Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, Home Secretary Mahdukar Gupta, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and IB Chief P.C. Haldar besides Kumawat attended the meeting where implementation of the coastal security scheme was reviewed. The Home Ministry launched a coastal security scheme over two years ago and sanctioned 73 police stations in nine coastal states and four Union Territories. Of these, 55 coastal police stations are already operational and new boats would be made available to them soon. The Special Secretary said that he was informed by the NSG chief that commando operation was on at evening at Taj Hotel. He said that Oberoi-Trident Hotel had been made ‘fully secure’ and guests were being evacuated. Kumawat said that NSG suffered two casualties — Major Sandeep Unikrishnan who was killed in the gun battle in Taj Hotel and Havildar Chander who died in the Nariman House shootout. He said that an AK-47 rifle, two pistols and some live grenades of Chinese-make were recovered from Hotel Oberoi. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:00 pm Indian coal traders re-negotiate deals as buyers fleeLondon: “An almost 50% fall in coal prices from the highs of three months ago has prompted widespread re-negotiation of purchase contracts by Indian trading companies,” sellers said. Indian traders contacted said their companies were fulfilling all contracts but others were not. “We are doing everything as normal but there are some others who have not been performing,” an Indian trader said while another commented: “It’s business as usual for our company.” An Indian coal importing trader said: “It’s a question of how much of a loss we are all going to make. If you bought at $120.00 or $100.00 and can only sell at $70 or $80 you have to take a loss. There is still coal coming in and we have to sell it from stocks for whatever we can get.” “Whatever they say, just about all of them are reneging on contracts, re-negotiating big time,” a European trader said adding: “There’s not one of them I’d call a reliable counterparty at the moment.” India is expected to import around 35 million tonnes of coal from Indonesia and South Africa in 2008, rising to 50 million tonnes in 2009 because domestic supply cannot match surging power generation demand. Almost all Indian traders importing coal this year had bought South African cargoes earlier in the year at prices of $120.00-$140.00 a tonne FOB Richards Bay for delivery during the fourth quarter and first quarter. Indonesian coal of various grades was also bought for delivery over a period of several months to a year at lower prices than South African but prices which were roughly double current market levels. Most of the coal imported into India comes via trading companies who supply small to large end-users. State-run trading company MMTC Ltd buys to supply state power generators. Sponge Iron Coal demand in India for cement and sponge iron (used to make steel) production has fallen sharply during the past two months, Indian traders said. The global glut of steel has slashed demand for sponge iron in India, they said. Small to medium-sized sponge iron producers make up 60% of the industry and many of them are going out of business and cancelling coal contracts, traders said. Indian traders stand to make big losses if they cannot re-negotiate high-priced purchases they made months ago because prices and demand within India are weak and getting weaker. Cement makers are using weaker cement prices as justification to re-negotiate coal contracts but they could still make a profit at the contract price, traders said. Sponge iron, cement and power generating companies are refusing to honour high-priced contracts signed earlier in the year, traders said. “The power generators are the worst, they are running from contracts, refusing to pay,” an Indian coal importer said. “All my customers are demanding we cut the prices. They say you can deliver the coal but we won’t pay. I ask what they will pay and I don’t argue,” an Indian trader said. Power generators have been tendering to buy up to 15 million tonnes of coal for delivery during the next few months to meet an unexpectedly steep shortfall in domestic supply. Generators have tendered and re-tendered repeatedly during the past few weeks, sometimes awarding a tender and then cancelling. “You only know you’ve really got the business with generators at the moment when they’ve paid you your money and you’ve delivered the coal,” an Indian trader said. Many Indian end-users are genuinely having difficulty operating normally because they have limited working capital and banks are reluctant to lend, traders said. Some end-users have told Indian traders supplying them they cannot pay at all for coal contracted months ago. It has become increasingly difficult for end-users and Indian traders to open Letters of Credit (LCs) which they need to give their sellers assurance they will be paid for the coal shipped. “You used to be able to organise LCs in a few days, a week. Now it can take three weeks or more,” one of the Indian trader said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:51 pm Chidambaram: attacks to hit short-term sentimentNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The attacks in Mumbai will have a negative impact on investor sentiment in the short term but growth in the first half of the current fiscal year was satisfactory, the finance minister said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:40 pm Indian rupee weakens as Mumbai attacks hurt sentiment - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:29 pm H1 growth at 7.8% ‘healthy & satisfactory’: ChidambaramNew Delhi: In the backdrop of the global financial meltdown, the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has described India’s economic growth rate of 7.8% during the first half of 2008-09 as ‘healthy and satisfactory’. “The first half growth rate at 7.8% is a satisfactory and healthy growth rate with regard to the global slowdown”, he said while commenting on the economic data released by the government earlier in the day. The Minister, however, admitted that manufacturing sector remains a problem area. The manufacturing sector output nearly halved to 5.3% from 10.1% during the first half of the previous fiscal. The other problem areas include electricity, gas and water supply group which too witnessed a deceleration of growth to 3.1% in the first half of 2008-09 compared with 7.4% during the first half of the last fiscal. He said that the government will also look into the issues of certain sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, marine products, hotel, financing and real estate. Asked about the farm sector, Chidambaram said: “The agriculture and allied sector is expected to do well during the second half of the fiscal.” As per the GDP data, the farm sector growth rate slipped to 2.9% during the first half from 4.5% in the corresponding period last year. The GDP data released by the government earlier revealed that GDP during the first half slipped to 7.8% from 9.3%, while growth rate in the second quarter worked out to be 7.6%, down from 9.3% during the same period last year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:28 pm Indian Hotels drops 17%, airline stocks plunge - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:27 pm SAIL to complete modernisation and expansion in timeRourkela: “Public sector major, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) would ensure timely completion of the proposed modernisation and expansion projects of SAIL plants to avoid cost overrun,” company Chairman S.K. Rungta said. In the background of the ‘tough phase’ through which the steel industry was passing through, he expressed optimism that SAIL would be able to withstand the adverse impact of the economic slowdown for which it will adopt feasible measures. “SAIL would be able to combat the prevailing steel recession and chalk-out policies and strategies for all its units”, the Chairman said. He, however, sounded a word of caution for the steel industry and said the going might get tougher in the days to come. Addressing the 345th meeting of the board of directors which ended here yesterday, the SAIL chairman said: “At this crucial juncture we need 100% contribution from the each member of the SAIL families.” Altogether, 15 directors including the managing director, of SAIL steel plant participated in the day-long meeting. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:19 pm Sensex gains 66 pts as markets show resiliencePTI Mumbai: Indian bourses today virtually set aside the shock of a violent terror strike on the country’s commercial capital, with the markets showing greater resilience as the benchmark 30-share index today gained 66 points amid a 7.6% GDP growth in the second quarter. The market, however, witnessed choppy trade on account of the day being the last one of derivatives series. The expiry in the Futures and Options was postponed by a day as the markets remained closed yesterday following the terrorist attacks on Wednesday night. The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer settled the day at 9,092.72, a net rise of 66.00 points or 0.73% from its previous close. Resuming sharply lower at 8,889.18, the Sensex later moved erratically in a 268-point range, as the activity was mostly confined to squaring off by investors. The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange ended at 2,755.10, marginally higher from its last close of 2,752.25. Brokers said encouraging global cues as well as news that Indian economy notched a reasonable growth rate of 7.6 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal aided the market sentiment. Barring the Shanghai Composite, which closed 2.44% lower, other Asian indices were stronger by about 1.0 to 4.0%. Taiwan market, however, ended flat. They said markets seem still optimistic about a probable rate cut by the Reserve Bank, which had earlier taken steps to infuse sufficient liquidity in the banking system to tide over any adverse impact of the global financial crisis. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:48 am Suzuki's Hayabusa & INTRUDER launched in India - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:45 am Asia's tiger economies falter as global downturn bitesBANGKOK/SEOUL (Reuters) - Asia's tiger economies took a bigger hit from the global slowdown sooner than expected as South Korea's industrial output fell sharply in October and Thailand posted its slowest export growth in six years.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:35 am Spending on agriculture up 80 percent: GovernmentThe government has invested around Rs.250 billion this year in agriculture sector, 80 percent higher than the total agricultural spending last year, and is also encouraging enhanced private participation in the sector, a senior official said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:32 am With key property damaged, shares of Indian Hotels take a hitThe shares of Indian Hotels that owns the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel here dipped 17.03 percent Friday, as investors feared significant loss of business and damage to property because of the terror attack.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:30 am No long-term terror attack impact on economy: IndustryThe terror attacks will not have any long-term impact on the economy, though two specific sectors - hospitality and tourism - will be hit immediately, according to India Inc.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:30 am Indian investors show legendary resilience, push equities into greenwith Indian equities market ending marginally in the green Friday, Indian investors once again proved their resilience in the face of terror and sent out a strong and positive signal to the world that they still have full confidence in the long-term India growth story.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:30 am Air passenger traffic falls in Q2; IATA warns worse yet to comePTI New Delhi: Even as the financial crisis in the aviation sector has taken a heavy toll on the passenger traffic growth rate in India, the global body of airlines IATA has warned that the worst was yet to come. The number of passengers handled by all Indian carriers registered a whopping fall of minus 13.7%, as per the latest figures of Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter (July-September) of 2008-09, released by the government here. However, the amount of cargo carried by the aviation sector grew modestly by 5.7% over the second quarter of 2007-08, the figures showed. Commenting on the declining traffic, IATA CEO and DG Giovanni Bisignani warned, “the gloom continues and the situation of the industry remains critical... The slight slowing of decline in passenger traffic is likely to be temporary and the deepening slump in cargo markets is a clear indication that the worst is yet to come.” In its monthly traffic data, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also painted a “gloomy” picture of the scenario facing the global aviation industry, saying recession was “now the biggest threat” to its profitability. The Asia-Pacific carriers, which represent 31% of the global passenger traffic, has seen a fall of 6.1%. The reduction in capacity undertaken by airlines of this region by 2.3% “could not keep pace with the drop in demand, taking load factors for the region’s carriers to 72.2%,” IATA’s figures for October showed. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:28 am Taj Mahal hotel, a lifeless monument after terror attackPTI Mumbai: The famed Taj Mahal hotel, known for its exquisite architecture and super luxurious interiors, has now turned into a lifeless monument in Mumbai playing a mute spectator to the worst ever-siege situation. With its imposing structure facing the historic Gateway of India, the heritage hotel has now borne the brunt of AK-47s gunfire and grenades blasts of the terrorists. The Taj was commissioned by Steel Man of India, Jamshedji Tata after, according to a story, he was denied entry into one of the grandest hotels of British time - Watson’s Hotel as it was meant for ‘Whites only´. Tata wanted to set up his own hotel which would surpass Watson’s in all its glory. And that’s how India’s first super luxury hotel came into being. “The hotel is a symbol of India and it is sad that it being targeted in such a way. The attack is not just on the hotel but also on the psyche of modern India,” said a senior executive of another five-star hotel preferring anonymity. “Everyone at the Taj Hotel is greatly saddened by the act of terrorism. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of those who have lost their lives across the city of Mumbai,” said the Taj Hotels in a statement today. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:13 am Bangkok airports shutdown, ripples through regionBangkok: The severing of air links with Thailand’s capital a vital air hub that handles 3% of world air cargo and 100,000 travelers a day rippled through the region with airlines scrambling to reroute passengers and freight as hopes for a quick resolution to the crisis faded. Thailand’s embattled government on Friday backed away from a threat to use force to disperse the protesters who have shut down Bangkok’s two commercial airports, setting the scene for a prolonged disruption to transport across the region and a massive blow to the kingdom’s economy. Since Tuesday, dozens of airlines have canceled all flights to and from Bangkok until further notice while others made special arrangements to rescue passengers stranded in Thailand, some by utilizing a tiny airport southeast of the capital. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main gateway to Thailand, is one of the world’s most “densely connected” airports, serving about 100 airlines with flights to 184 cities in 68 countries, said Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has scheduled two flights on Friday and Saturday from U-tapao airport to bring home Hong Kong residents, said spokeswoman Carolyn Leung. Air Macao and Malaysia’s AirAsia are also planning rescue flights to U-tapao. On Wednesday night, protesters overran a second smaller airport that mainly serves domestic routes, cutting off all commercial flights to the capital of Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy an important manufacturing hub for automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. Tourism officials and economists says the tourism industry’s losses over the remainder of the year will balloon to about 150 billion baht ($4.2 billion), equal to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, with 2 million or more travelers canceling their plans. Exporters in Thailand are aghast at the rapidly mounting costs of lost trade, estimated by the Federation of Thai Industries at 2 billion to 3 billion baht a day ($57 million to $85 million). Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 11:02 am Market forces should have determined 2G license fee: TraiPTI New Delhi: In the midst of a controversy over allotment of spectrum to new players, telecom regulator Trai today said that market forces should have determined the price of a licence, which includes start-up spectrum. “We have said a mechanism should be evolved for licence giving which must capture the market price,” Trai Chairman Nripendra Mishra said adding “because the spectrum was bundled in the licence for 2G therefore separately it was not feasible to auction 2G spectrum so that the licence had to capture the market price of the spectrum.” Asked whether DoT bypassed Trai’s recommendations for pricing the 2G licence, he said DoT had not sought regulator’s views on whether spectrum was to be auctioned or not. He, however, said that Trai’s recommendations of August, 2007 needed to be looked at as an integrated document and not as an observations separately from the recommendations. Mishra said that section 2.73 of its recommendations of 2007 state, “In today’s dynamism and unprecedented growth of telecom sector, the entry fee determined then (2001) is also not the realistic price for obtaining a licence. Perhaps it needs to be reassessed through a market mechanism.” Mishra further said “Instead of making judgement who is right or wrong ... we should be really looking at if there is scope for getting more revenue for the national exchequer... if there is, is there a way we could find out.” Telecom Minister A Raja has been saying he went on by Trai’s recommendations while giving licences and allotting spectrum, however the regulator claims it did not favour auction of 2G radio waves. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:54 am Give them back: Markets have rallied after terrorist attacks in ... - Times of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:50 am TV18 to acquire warrants of IBN18 to up stakeMedia conglomerate Television Eighteen Friday said it will acquire warrants worth Rs 153 crore of IBN18 Broadcast, thereby increasing its stake in the company to 21 per centSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:41 am Amway India eyes over Rs1000 cr turnover for 2008PTI Kochi: Amway India is all set to cross the projected Rs1,000 crore turnover for this fiscal year ending December 2008, a top company official said here today. This would mark a 40% growth over the previous fiscal year when Amway recorded the Rs800 crore turnover, Amway India Vice President (South) Anshu Budhraja told reporters here. “We have set ourselves a target of achieving a turnover of Rs2500 crore by year 2012”, he said. This year has been extremely buoyant for Amway, he said, adding that constant innovation, adaptation to market needs and efficient customer services has led to this kind of growth The year also saw significant changes in the Amway business model and launch of XL Energy drink and Energy bars, he said. The cosmetics range would be sold across India exclusively through Amway’s network of 4.5 lakh plus distributors. The company operates across beauty, health and wellness categories, offering over 100 products in India, he said. On Amway’s operations in Kerala, he said Kerala is one of the top five markets for the company. Amway India has paid Rs 5.67 crores in sales tax to the state exchequer for the financial year 2007-08, he said. Amway India is the country’s leading FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) company in the direct selling channel and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the USD 7.2 billion Alticor Inc, Ada, Michigan, and USA, one of the largest direct selling companies in the world. The company has so far invested over Rs 151 crore in India. Almost 85% of products sold by Amway India are manufactured within the country through five third-party contract manufacturers. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:37 am 'Land acquisition disputes, downturn cripple West Bengal's economy'The Tata Nano is gone; tyre maker Dunlop has suspended production in its Sahaganj unit and projects ranging from a ship repairing yard to power station are locked in land disputes. All these developments point towards one major question - Is West Bengal's industrial future bleak?Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:31 am Commandos clear Trident, India lectures PakistanMumbai: Indian commandos took control of Mumbai’s Trident-Oberoi hotel on Friday, but battles raged on with militants who were still holed up in another luxury hotel and a Jewish centre with about half a dozen foreign hostages. “The Oberoi Hotel and Trident are now under our control,” the chief of the elite National Security Guards, J K Dutt, told reporters in Mumbai. “Oberoi-Trident have been evacuated, we have killed two terrorists.” India again pointed a finger at Pakistani-linked “elements” for Wednesday’s brazen, coordinated attacks in its financial capital, which police said killed at least 121 people. “Preliminary evidence, prima facie evidence, indicates elements with links to Pakistan are involved,” Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a news conference in New Delhi. He urged Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure that supports militants. But his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, called on India not to play politics over the attacks in Mumbai. The exchange raised the prospect of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals, which have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947. After a morning of shooting and explosions in Mumbai, the head of one commando unit flushing out militants at the five-star Taj Mahal hotel said he had seen 12 to 15 bodies in one room among a total of 50 in the hotel. The commandos found money, ammunition and an identity card from Mauritius that they suspected belonged to the militants, the commander, his face disguised by a black scarf and sunglasses, told a news conference. At least one militant was still thought to be holding two hostages in the luxury Taj Mahal Hotel, an army commander said. But army Commander Lieutenant-General N. Thamburaj told reporters almost all guests and staff had been evacuated from the Taj and the operation would be wrapped up in a few hours. At the Jewish centre, Indian commandos - their faces covered by balaclavas - rappeled from helicopters onto the roof to flush militants there. A Reuters witness said troops fired inside to provide cover as the commandos made at least three sorties. The gunmen inside are thought to be holding an Israeli rabbi and around three other people hostage there, officials said. At the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, well-dressed guests, some dragging their suitcases, trickled out and were escorted into waiting buses and cars after a 36-hour siege. One foreign member of the hotel staff left with a baby in his arms. Travel Warning Mumbai, a city of 18 million, is the nerve-centre of India’s growing economic might and home to the “Bollywood” film industry. Australia upgraded its travel warning for India on Friday, telling its nationals to reconsider any plans to go there “because of the very high risk of terrorist activity”. India’s main stock markets reopened on Friday after being closed on Thursday due to the attack, but the main share index was up around 0.75 percent at 0940 GMT. An estimated 25 men armed with assault rifles and grenades - at least some of whom arrived by sea - had fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday night to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen, including the city’s top two luxury hotels. Police said at least seven attackers were killed and nine suspects taken into custody. Twelve policemen were killed, including the chief of Mumbai’s anti-terrorist squad. At least eight foreigners, including one Australian, a Briton, a Canadian, an Italian and a Japanese national, were killed. Scores of others had been trapped in the fighting or held hostage. Police said 279 people were wounded. Pinning Blame Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pinned blame for the attacks on militant groups based in India’s neighbours, usually an allusion to Pakistan, raising prospects of renewed tension between the nuclear-armed rivals. He warned of “a cost” if these nations did not take action to stop their territory being used to launch such attacks. An estimated 25 men armed with assault rifles and grenades - at least some of whom arrived by sea - had fanned out across Mumbai on Wednesday night to attack sites popular with tourists and businessmen, including the city’s top two luxury hotels. Police said at least seven of the attackers were killed and nine suspects had been taken into custody. They said 12 policemen were killed, including Hemant Karkare, chief of the police anti-terrorist squad in Mumbai. At least six foreigners, including one Australian, a Briton, an Italian and a Japanese national, were killed. Scores of others were trapped in the fighting or were being held hostage. Police said 279 people were wounded. Pkistan group The Hindu newspaper said at least three of the attackers taken into custody were members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, based in Pakistan. The group made its name fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, and has been closely linked in the past to the Pakistani military’s Inter Services Intelligence agency, the ISI. Lashkar-e-Taiba has denied any role in the attacks. “It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country,” Manmohan Singh said on Thursday. “We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them,” he said in a televised address. Pakistan, condemning the assault, promised full cooperation. The militants appeared to specifically target Britons, Americans and Israelis, witnesses said. World leaders including US President-elect Barack Obama condemned the incident. The attacks brought the biggest chaos to the city since serial bombings in 1993, blamed on the city’s Muslim crime syndicates, killed 260 people and injured hundreds. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:23 am UGC to set up Quality Assessment Cells to improve educationBy PTI Hyderabad: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to set up Quality Assessment Cells across universities to improve the quality of education, UGC chairman Prof Sukhadeo Thorat said today. “A decision has been taken for establishing Quality Assessment Cells in universities, which will report and discuss their status. Based on that, they can improve their quality,” Thorat told PTI here on the sidelines of a conference of Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). The Commission is planning to make assessment and accreditation of all universities and colleges a compulsory procedure, Thorat said. “Every college and University will have to get assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to improve their quality. It finds mention in the XI Planning Commission document. But a decision on operationalizing it is yet to be taken, he said. Certain decisions were being worked out including legal aspects of the issue and a decision that would be taken soon for mandatory assessment of all institutions, he added. The mandatory assessment may take another six months, Thorat said. Addressing the ACU conference earlier, Thorat said that capacity of educational institutions in the country had increased manifold, but there was need to expand higher education. Information Technology has a powerful role in expanding higher education and efforts were being made for its utilisation in that direction, Thorat said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 10:11 am Economy grows by 7.6pc in Q2Indian economy notched a reasonable growth rate of 7.6 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, but analysts said monetary supply should be further eased to prevent the growth from declining in the remaining quarters.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 9:31 am Eco adviser says GDP growth along expected linesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's economic growth in the September quarter is consistent with government and Reserve Bank of India estimates, and the country could end up with 7.5-8 percent growth during 2008/09, said Arvind Virmani, chief economic adviser at the Finance Ministry.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 9:20 am Corporation Bank to focus on retail, agri, SME sectorsLooking at the future expansion and untapped potential, the public sector Corporation Bank has set a target of achieving a business of Rs 1.50 lakh crore in the next two years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:58 am Is Indias brand image in jeopardy?Incredible India, the current brand building campaign for the country, may well describe the ongoing terrorist attacks in Mumbai. While most ad men believe Brand India will remain unaffected through this crisis, right now there are concerns about safety rather than the countrys image being in jeopardy.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:55 am HP expects EDS to extend service offeringsRecently in Penang HewlettPackard Co expects recently acquired Electronic Data Systems Corp to play a significant part in furthering its services portfolio in terms of offering newer services and reaching out to newer markets.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:53 am NIIT, Adobe tie up to offer multimedia courseIT training company NIIT together with Adobe on Thursday announced the launch of its eGURU Web and multimedia curriculum for school students.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:52 am Slowing economy, attacks push case for rate cutNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly four years in the September quarter as an economy battered by high borrowing costs and the global financial crisis showed more signs of strain, with the bloody Mumbai siege adding to investor gloom.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:26 am UNSC asks member nations to cooperate with IndiaBy PTI United Nations: Condemning the terror attacks in Mumbai, the UN Security Council has asked member nations of the world body to offer active cooperation to India in bringing the perpetrators to book. The 15-member powerful Council underlined the need to bring the organizers, financiers and perpetrators of the “reprehensible act” to justice and asked all member States of the UN to cooperate actively with Indian authorities, a statement said. Reaffirming that terrorism is a threat to international peace and security, the members said regardless of their motivation, all acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable. They also expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, to the people and the government. At least 127 people, including 14 police personnel have been killed and 327 persons injured in the deadly strike on India’s financial capital. The dead also include at least nine foreigners. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 8:00 am Air-dropping of commandos marks beginning of new tacticsPTI Mumbai: The airdropping of NSG commandos on the rooftops of Nariman House, where militants are holed up, marks the beginning of a new chapter in tackling terror in India as it is for the first time such a manouvre has been undertaken in a densely populated urban centre. The manouvre was undertaken after senior special forces commanders found their assault bogged down due to heavy and accurate firing by the holed up militants. With this, the NSG commandos have now launched a two-pronged attack on militants from the roof as well as the ground. The operation launched to keep safety of the hostages at the Jewish Centre in the financial capital of the nation uppermost was a daunting task as never before such an operation was carried anywhere in the country, especially in broad-day light. Though most of the Indian Air Force’s Mi 17s and Mi 8 helicopters are so far ‘night blind´, the Government has recently cleared a modernisation programme to install night fighting capabilities in these helicopters. Some of such upgradded helicopters have already entered service. Though Indian security forces have in recent years been participating in joint exercises with foreign forces on combating urban terrorism where air dropping of special is a feature, so far this tactic had not been adopted in real terms. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 7:30 am Religare Enterprises gets Sebi nod for Lotus buyMumbai: Indian financial services firm Religare Enterprises Ltd said on Friday it has received the market regulator’s nod to acquire Lotus India AMC, an asset management joint venture. Religare Enterprises said its wholly owned unit, Religare Securities Ltd, has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to buy the entire shareholding of the asset management company from its shareholders. Lotus India AMC, which has more than Rs50 billion of funds under management, will be renamed Religare AMC. Earlier this month Religare Enterprises said it would buy all or a majority stake in Lotus, a joint venture between Temasek Holdings unit and London-based Sabre Capital Worldwide. It is also exiting a joint venture with Dutch insurer Aegon, who will take full control of Religare Aegon AMC. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 7:22 am Modi blames Pak for Mumbai terror attackBy PTI Mumbai: Accusing Pakistan of allowing its sea-routes for the terror strikes in Mumbai, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today asked the Centre to strongly take up with the international community Islamabad’s “blatant violation” of UN conventions in this regard. “This is for the first time Pakistan has allowed use of sea routes to further terrorism against India... I hope the government will take it up at an appropriate level with the global community,” Modi said outside Oberoi-Trident hotel here. Visiting the three places where security forces are battling terrorists since Wednesday night, Modi announced a compensation of Rsone crore for the slain security and police personnel as a mark of “national honour”. Recalling that India and Pakitan were signatory to the UN Conventions that prohibits use of sea and land boundaries and weapons for terrorism, Modi said that Islamabad had blatantly violated them. Pakistan’s marine police is confiscating Indian fishing boats and the same are now being used for the acts of terror, he said.“Terrorists have targeted US, British and Israeli citizens and made Mumbai a place that has been hit by international terrorism,” he said. Terming as “disappointing” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the nation yesterday, Modi said the Centre should immediately call a meeting of chief ministers to take stock of the situation and work out an effective policy to strengthen coast guard and navy. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 6:08 am Rupee falls 22 paise against dollarMumbai: The Indian rupee opened 10 paise weaker and fell further against the US dollar in early trade after reopening of the currency market on Friday, a day after the terror attacks shook the country’s financial capital. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic unit, which rose by 45 paise to close at Rs49.50 on Wednesday, depreciated further by 22 paise to Rs49.72 against the greenback within minutes of trade, in the wake of terrorists attacks here. Heavy demand for the US currency from importers also led to rupee’s depreciation. According to sources, trading has commenced on MCX-SX for currency trading. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 5:56 am Asia stocks rise as bargains soughtHong Kong: Asian stocks edged up in quiet trade on Friday, as investors sifted through the remains of a record sixth consecutive month of falls for global equity markets, hoping to find some bargains as 2008 winds down. Regional shares tacked on a sixth day of gains, though optimism was in short supply with deteriorating economic prospects for China and Japan as well as simmering political risks in India, where fighting raged on in Mumbai, and Thailand, where the prime minister has declared a state of emergency. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was near its lowest in 50 years, below 3%, with bond dealers anticipating a deep and lasting US recession. The cost of insurance against a US government debt default, an unthinkable event, shot to record highs on Thursday, as concern grows about the scale of programs to prop up the financial system. Oil prices fell toward $53 a barrel, ahead of a meeting of Opec ministers in Cairo to discuss the possibility of more supply cuts as global recession reduces energy demand. Japan’s Nikkei share average rose 0.6% with some stocks in the technology sector, such as Kyocera Corp, pushing the index higher for a second day. However, shares of Panasonic Corp, the world’s largest plasma TV maker, dove 11 percent after it slashed its net profit forecast for the current business year by 90%. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan climbed 1.3%, putting in on track for a sixth day of gains. The index was still locked in a steep downward trend that has knocked it down about 57% so far this year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2%, led by China Mobile, whose recent gains and been lower than the broader market. Political risk In Mumbai, Indian commandos were in the middle of confronting militants holding foreigners hostage, but the country’s market regulator had asked the stock exchanges to be ready to start trading on Friday. Reserve Bank of India said trading in forex, money and bond markets would resume trading on Friday. Militants resisted police forces in three pockets of the financial capital, more than 24 hours after coordinated attacks left at least 119 people dead and more than 300 wounded. Meanwhile, in Thailand, escalating tension with anti-government protestors, who have besieged Bangkok’s two airports, and security forces may weigh on the stock market and currency for a second day. “The outcome will likely be that domestic confidence remains subdued and, given the expected impact of the global recession, the baht will likely weaken versus the U.S. dollar in coming months,” said Sebastien Barbe, senior economist at Calyon in Hong Kong. Investors are likely to keep an eye out for indications on how what is traditionally the busiest US shopping day of the year pans out. Some retailers have already offered heavily discounted prices to shoppers to lure them ahead of what is expected to be a disastrous holiday sales season. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 5:44 am Oil falls towards $53 ahead of Opec meetingSingapore: Oil fell towards $53 a barrel on Friday as Opec ministers prepared to meet in Cairo to discuss potential further supply cuts as the global economic slowdown eats into oil demand. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is to hold an informal meeting on Saturday in Cairo, is struggling to slice output fast enough to keep pace with a recessionary reduction in fuel demand in the West that has sent crude prices down nearly two-thirds since July. US light crude for January delivery fell to $53.53 barrel by 7:40am, having fallen by more than $1.00 earlier, and down 91 cents from its settlement on Wednesday. The NYMEX trading floor was closed on Thursday in the United States for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, though Globex trading continued. London Brent crude settled 79 cents lower on Thursday at $53.13. It was down 48 cents at $52.65. Several Opec delegates have said in the run-up to this latest gathering that it was likely only to measure compliance with the cuts made since September and leave a decision on a further reduction until its next policy-setting meeting on 17 December in Algeria. But Shokri Ghanem, the head of the Libyan Opec delegation, said another immediate cut should not be ruled out and warned that oil prices may have further to fall before a rebound. Opec has already slashed a combined 2 million barrels daily, 7.3% of its production, at two meetings in the past two months. Opec seaborne oil exports excluding Angola and Ecuador, will drop 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the four weeks to 13 December to their lowest level this year, an oil analyst who tracks future flows said on Thursday. Roy Mason of British consultancy Oil Movements said in his latest estimate that this was the strongest evidence yet that either Opec was curbing supply or that demand had been seriously hit by the economic downturn. Oil fundamentals remain weak, with demand in the United States falling in September to its lowest level for any month in more than a decade. Total US product demand over the past four weeks was down 6.6% from year-ago levels, while September oil demand fell by 12.8% versus a year ago to its lowest point in 12 years, the US Enery Information Administration said earlier this week. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Nov 2008 | 4:11 am `May have to hike prices of Honda cars after January`!Finding it difficult to keep the prices of its cars at the present level Honda Siel Cars India Ltd may have to hike it by one or two per cent by January, due to rising input costs, company President and CEO Masahiro said Thursday.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Asia stocks rally 5th day on big China rate cut !Asia stocks rose for a fifth day on Thursday, helped by hopes that policymakers` efforts will ultimately prevail after China`s big rate cut, though US data provided an ominous reminder of the global slowdown.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Need tougher law, stronger leadership to fight terror: India Inc!An anguished India Inc on Thursday called for tougher laws, along with "stronger and firmer" leadership, to tackle terrorism in the aftermath of attacks in Mumbai that has claimed over 100 lives.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am IT firms up security; down shutters in Mumbai!With the terror attacks targeting even the IT companies of the country, the sector today beefed up security in campuses.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am BoA gets green signal from Fed for Merrill Lynch acquisition!The Federal Reserve has given formal approval to Bank of America for acquiring the troubled financial services firm Merrill Lynch.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Inflation down to 8.84% from 8.9%!wholesale price index rose 8.84 percent in the 12 months to November 15.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am UK business council wants stronger trade ties with India!The UK-India Business Council set up by the British government today said that despite the terror attacks in Mumbai, it was committed to building stronger trade and business links with India.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Markets remain closed after terror strike!All commodity markets including the bullion and stock exchanges on Thursday remained closed following a terror strike in Mumbai.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am China says impact of global crisis deepening!The impact of the global financial crisis on China`s economy is deepening and a large interest rate cut announced Wednesday is essential to boosting slowing growth, the country`s top planner said.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Glory of Taj will be restored: Tata!Strongly condemning the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Ratan Tata said Hotel Taj will be rebuilt.Source: Zee News : Business | 28 Nov 2008 | 1:04 am Nisha drenches Tamil Nadu, set to weakenThiruvananthapuram, Nov. 27 Tropical Cyclone Nisha crossed the Tamil Nadu coast close to north of Karaikal early on Thursday morning, an update from the Regional Met Centre, Chennai, said.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Financial markets closed; banks operate with skeleton staffMumbai, Nov. 27 The financial capital of the country had a virtual holiday on Thursday, following the terror attacks in Mumbai. The equity, currency, bond and money markets were officially closed.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am We don’t have crisis infrastructure: TataMumbai, Nov 27 “We still don’t have a crisis infrastructure in place in the city. If we don’t have we will be subjected to a great deal of lack of protection,” Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group, told reporters onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Markets resilient to past attacksTerror attacks are not new to Mumbai, nor to London or New York. As Mumbai and India grapple with yet another assault, it will do well to recall that stock markets have responded with grit and resilience to such attacks in the past, refusing toSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Mumbai terror: Day 2Mumbai, Nov. 27 Full 24 hours after the first shots were fired in Wednesday’s terror attacks, the battle between security forces and the terrorists continued to rage in Mumbai late Thursday at three different locations, two in the unlikelySource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Export tax on basmati beginning to biteNew Delhi, Nov. 27 The Centre’s policy of clamping an export duty of Rs 8,000 a tonne on basmati rice shipments, over and above a minimum export price (MEP) stipulation of $1,200 a tonne, is now clearly beginning to bite.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am With agony writ large, they await word on colleagues trapped insideMumbai, Nov. 27 Pigeons fluttered off the imposing Taj Mahal hotel, every time the sound of repeated gun-shots or blasts broke the stillness over one of Mumbai skyline’s most recognisable buildings that are now under siege fromSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Mumbai attack: No impact on outsourcing firms’ operationsMumbai, Nov. 27 The terrorist attack on the country’s financial capital has not impacted the services rendered by outsourcing firms as work at their delivery centres- located at least 30 km from the epicentre of the crisis- continuesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am India Inc sees short-term setbacksMumbai, Nov. 27 The timing could not have been worse. India Inc is already coping with the fallout of the global slowdown in terms of plant shutdowns and layoffs. The terror attack in Mumbai was the proverbial last straw on the camel’sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Investor sentiment may take a knockMumbai, Nov. 27 Wednesday’s terrorist attack that rocked the financial capital of the country could further dampen investor sentiment already shattered by the credit crisis, say analysts andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Attacks could hasten rate cutThe deadly attacks in India's financial heartland struck when the economy was already vulnerable from the global credit crisis, so could hurry the central bank into cutting interest ratesSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:36 pm 4/5 times markets have reboundedIndian markets have historically emerged stronger after every terror attack on Mumbai, the country's financial capital.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:26 pm Will FIIs press sell?The terror attacks are likely to add to the foreigners' averseness to Indian equity.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:26 pm Future tense for hotelsEven as the Mumbai terror drama unfolds, the hospitality industry is bracing for an aftermath that will hurt its bottomline harder than economic slowdown.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:22 pm India Inc sees little impactThe corporate fraternity is hoping normalcy would return to India's finance capital soon.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:19 pm International air traffic will be hit hardNew Delhi: International airlines, that have seen their business out of India grow 12-17% annually for seven of the past eight years, will bear the brunt of the impact of the terror attacks in Mumbai as foreign travellers defer travel to the popular destination. One in five air passengers in India fly through or from Mumbai, the country’s financial capital. International passenger traffic, expected to grow almost 10% through March 2009 even as domestic passenger traffic is falling, may now moderate to single-digit growth. The only time international growth contracted—by 2.4% —year-on-year was in fiscal 2002 after the September 2001 terror attacks in the US. “They (terrorists) are like small military units going around...just to dissuade people (from coming) to India,” insists Robey Lal, former country head for International Air Transport Association (Iata), a travel industry group. “Even when people are coming (travelling) on business, and they can do it on phone, they would much rather do that than show up in person. It will impact everything.” Around 70% of India’s inbound tourist traffic, itself one-third of India’s total international passengers, is in the September-March period, according to the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (Capa). This busy season may see a significant drop for at least the next “two-three weeks”, the aviation research and consultancy firm said. Such a slowdown will particularly hurt because business travel, traditionally a segment that airlines make most profits from, will contract, predicts Kapil Kaul, chief executive of Capa’s India operations. The relatively high toll of foreign nationals in the attacks could affect the psyche of those who had planned to travel, he said. International travel globally, according to Iata data released on Thursday, shrunk for the second month running in October “People cancel their meetings (after such attacks); it has a bearing. But we hope it doesn’t,” said Jitender Bhargava, executive director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India. Traffic at this time of the year had not yet peaked and there were seats available on the airline’s flights on almost all international routes, he added. Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd are nascent Indian carriers that also now run overseas services. On Thursday, several international flights were cancelled. Delta Inc.’s subsidiary Northwest Airlines, which described the Mumbai attacks as “civil unrest” on its website, said it has cancelled its Mumbai-Seattle flight. Deutsche Lufthansa AG too said it had diverted its Frankfurt-Mumbai flight to Delhi and cancelled the Mumbai-Frankfurt flight on Thursday. Jimmy Eichelgruen, Delta’s regional manager for sales for Europe, West Asia and Asia regions, said in an email to Mint from London that Delta and Northwest will “review” operations to and from Mumbai “as the situation develops”. Such cancellations could have an impact on domestic traffic too, since they carry international passengers to smaller Indian cities from the larger domestic airports that global airlines fly into. Kingfisher, for instance, has a so-called code share arrangement with Northwest Airlines and Qatar Airways, while rival Jet Airways carries American Airlines and Ethihad Airways passengers onward within India. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:46 pm Fear brings 'Maximum City' to a standstillMumbai has turned into J&K, said Manoj, a driver, who came to work reluctantly.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:06 pm Terror holds Mumbai hostageClose to 24 hours after one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, security forces were still engaged in a grim battle to flush out terrorists holed up at Oberoi Trident in south Mumbai.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:05 pm Detailed planning seen in attacks: Ratan TataRatan Tata said the terrorist seem to know their way around the back office and the back part, the kitchen and so on very well and therefore assumes there has been a continued amount of detailed planning in this.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Nov 2008 | 6:50 pm Web a-twitter with terror attacksNew Delhi: Shortly after terrorist attacks riddled South Mumbai, rather than turning on their televisions, thousands of people across the world turned to the World Wide Web for instant information. Social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, were instantly updated with on-the-scene information, all compacted into 140-word updates. Twitter seemed to be the most popular site, with 50-100 messages uploaded per minute, and tagged under the chain of “mumbai” or “#mumbai”. Click here to watch video Some pleaded for information: “‘Emergency’ can some one check if there bomb blast of some shootout in Oberoi hotel of anywhere in Mumbai? I am at Inox inside”. Meanwhile, other users broadcast the news: “Guys pls stay wherever u r...mumbai is under terrorist attacks... god help us.” Throughout the night and into Thursday, the site had a constant stream of voices reporting, commenting and lamenting the state of Mumbai. Gaurav Mishra, a research fellow at Georgetown University studying social media, tracked the unfolding events in Mumbai by linking to other blogs, twitter posts and online articles on his Gauravonomics Blog. He says Twitter had become a “de facto source for mainstream media”, and that the few citizen journalists on-site in Bombay had become in-demand pundits overnight. One such instant celebrity journalist, Mumbai-based Vinukumar Ranganathan, took around 300 photos around Nariman House shortly after the attacks began Wednesday night. An hour later, Ranganathan uploaded the photos onto his Flickr account and the news spread across Twitter that photos had been taken at the scene. The photographs have since been viewed over 50,000 times on Flickr and major international news outlets, such as Fox News and CNN, broadcast his photographs on air. Writer Amit Varma posted a live account on his blog from Colaba’s Gordon House Hotel after narrowly escaping a shooting. He spoke on Larry King Live the next day to discuss the shooting. Dina Mehta, who twittered and blogged about the attacks from her Mumbai home, said this sort of social media reportage had been used during the 2004 tsunami, and again during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav. But technology has advanced to include programmes such as Twitter that allow far more people, especially less tech-saavy people, to participate: “You have a space where anyone can actually contribute to it,” she says. The freedom of the Web, though, can also lead to rapid-fire rumours. At one point, Twitter users thought the terrorists were finding out about army movements from the website, and Mishra said he had to delete a series of Hindu fundamental propaganda posts from his site. However, he says the propaganda and misinformation is a small percentage of the postings and other users are quick to point out the mistakes. Mehta agrees, “It’s a self-regulating kind of space.” When Mehta first heard of the attacks through a friend’s phone call, she turned on her television and her Twitter almost simultaneously. She said the two mediums complement each other and that she updated her Twitter account with news items taken from the local television to help inform people living abroad who didn’t have access to the Indian news channels. Marc Florez, a financial adviser in New Mexico, wrote in an email that he became frustrated with the lack of news reports in the US media which “were reporting this as just a minor story among many.”  Shoot at sight: The two photographs were taken by Vinukumar Ranganathan at around 11pm on Wednesday near the Nariman House. He shot around 300 pictures shortly after the attacks began. Photographs courtesy Vinukumar Other websites also quickly filled up with information: Wikipedia had a page up on the attacks by early Thursday morning. By afternoon, it had been updated at least 500 times. A Google map was created just hours after the explosions to mark the locations that had been hit. By Thursday, it had been viewed at least 13,638 times. The South Asian Journalists Association, based in New York City, aired live webcasts discussing the event. The Web also offered people a quick way to respond to large numbers of concerned friends, as users reassured one another via Facebook and Gmail status messages that they were alright: “Thank God our friends are safe this morning. Prayers for those still in the two hotels.” And “Suzanne is safe from the massacre in Mumbai. Will try to stay away from landmarks in Delhi. Thanks”. Mumbai Help, a blog about “Surviving Mumbai—Information for emergencies in the Bombay area” offered to locate people in Bombay for friends outside the city and posts on Twitter implored people to donate blood. Rahul Chandran contributed to this story Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 6:37 pm Card makers cheer as US shoppers cut backBangalore: This holiday season, Santa and Rudolph are likely to face unusually stiff competition from the US Postal Service. As costs balloon and unemployment rises, many more shoppers are planning to send out greeting cards in lieu of gifts, minimizing the hit the card industry will take in a down economy. Gift buying is expected to be limited to immediate family, children and close friends only, market research firm IBISWorld said in a recent report. The firm expects around 20 billion mail items to be delivered by the US Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. “Card companies may not see the same decline that retailers in general might see,” Britt Beemer, chairman of American Research Group, said, given “the probability that if you do not visit your family this time, you would send out more greeting cards than you would normally do.” Visits home are expected to be down as cash-strapped consumers cut down travel plans. Greeting-card market leader Hallmark Cards Inc. expects industry-wide Christmas card sales to be down marginally to 2.1 billion from 2.2 billion last year. American Greetings Inc., the No. 2 US card company, believes that evidence of the trend can be seen at greeting card aisles—where it has stocked cards carrying messages of “hope and appreciation”, to go with current sentiments. From what shoppers have to say, the companies are reading their customers well. Boston-based Ajita Perera, who lost her job as marketing head of an IT services company in a recent downsizing, says,“I will definitely send out cards, internationally and locally, but on gifts, I will have to cut down this year.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 6:24 pm
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