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GM Bailout, Fueled by Quiznos, Pre-Dawn Call, Punted to Obama - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 2:03 pm Tourism ind grapples with eco slowdown, not security issuesBritish tourists are not deterred by the Mumbai attacks and are packing off for their planned India holidays. Tour operators say its not security concerns, but economic recession that the industry is still grappling with. Bargain holidays seem to be the order of the day.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 1:51 pm Canadian economy heading towards recessionAs the Canadian economy heads towards recession, the positive growth momentum is expected to slow down during the first quarter of 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 1:39 pm Reliance Power invests 79% of IPO proceeds in FMPsWhen 50 lakh individuals invested in Reliance Power\'s IPO in January, they would have hardly imagined they were in effect putting their money in a mutual fund investment. In fact, the 40 lakh investors that still hold shares of the company have seen Rs 7,500 crore of their proceeds are invested in fixed maturity plans, or FMPs.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 1:31 pm Rupee strengthening with strong inflows from NRIs - domain-B
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 1:28 pm Ansari for greater corporate governance after Satyam-Maytas episode - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 1:03 pm Wait for DDA\'s affordable housing continuesThe muchhailed allotment of affordable houses by the Delhi Development Authority or the DDA may have started, but over 25,000 people are still holding a 27year old vigil for allotment of their homes.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:47 pm Reliance raises Rs29,000 crore - Livemint
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:33 pm Himachal to promote artefacts in foreign shoresHimachal Pradesh will participate in international exhibitions to popularise its artefacts in foreign countries, officials said Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:31 pm City Union Bank to cut lending rates by 50 bpsThe Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank will cut its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 50 basis points by the month-end, a top company official said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:31 pm Tatas acquires 300 acres for TN\'s titaniumdioxide projectThe Tata Group\'s titanium dioxide project in Tamil Nadu, which had been called off earlier this year, now seems to be making some headway. The group has acquired 300 acres for the project.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:28 pm Reduced lending rates, falling inflation prop equities market - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:28 pm Indian hotel chain says occupancy falls after attacks - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:22 pm Assam demands special economic packageGuwahati: Pressurised by insurgency, infiltration from Bangladesh, natural calamities and economic slow-down, the Assam government has asked the 13th Finance Commission for a special economic package by subsidising 100% of its additional expenditure. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters Saturday that the Finance Commission was apprised about the necessity for the special package “because of global recession, Assam’s income has come down as the royalty from our oil has fallen even though my economic development expenditure is rising. I will lose Rs 1000 crore almost”. “Devolution of central fund share will, therefore, also go down. Tax collection will also go down. Overall over Rs2,000 crore, I will lose. But sixth Pay Commission, state pay commission and UGC pay expenditures will go up. This will have a cascading effect on our economy”, he feared. “From 2005 till now we had surplus but that will not last long as I will have over Rs 9000 crore additional expenditure to be met between 2006-09. That is why we are demanding that all the extra burden be borne by the Centre”, he said. “I explained to the Centre why Assam is backward. The situation here is different from the rest of the country being disturbed by over 14 insurgent outfits active in all its districts”, the chief minister said. “The problem here is complex than in other states. HuJI, ISI and LeT are there...the neighbouring countries are giving them shelter. Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal have become safe havens for them,” Gogoi pointed out. “I also met (union) home minister P. Chidambaram in Delhi and urged the central government to put pressure on Bangladesh as on Pakistan ... otherwise it will be difficult to contain insurgency here despite all the steps I take”, he said. The government’s salary and pension bill alone per year was Rs5,200 crore, Gogoi said. Justifying the need for the special package, he said, both the Home minister and Finance Commission were informed that the state was saddled with economic hardship ever since the partition of the country which led to an influx of refugees. Due to the partition roads, railway and river communication had to be developed afresh making it incur vast expenses, the chief minister pointed out. Conflicts among ethnic communities, its difficult terrian, Assam agitation, natural calamities like earthquake and floods and Chinese agression in 1962 had also added to its economic hardship, he said. To tide over the situation, Gogoi said, the state’s tax base would be expanded and loopholes plugged. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:22 pm Maruti to set up driving training centre in UttarakhandMaruti Suzuki on Saturday said it will set up a motor driving institute in Uttarakhand for imparting training and awareness on road safety.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:17 pm Tata Tele restructures equity ahead of NTTDoCoMo dealTata Teleservices has restructured equity structure ahead of the NTTDocomo deal. TTSL submitted scheme of arrangement of equity before Delhi High Court on September 13. Delhi High Court approved the scheme of arrangement on November 7. Upon restructuring, 317.35 crore shares stand cancelled.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:14 pm LIC Housing Finance slashes lending ratesMumbai: On the heels of public sector banks slashing home loan rates, LIC Housing Finance has announced a 1.75-2.25 percentage point cut in lending rates for home loans up to Rs20 lakh from 17 December. “We have reduced our lending rates with effect from 17 December. For a five-year term, our lending rate for loans up to Rs20 lakh is 9.25% and for those beyond five years, the rate will be 9.75%,” LIC Housing Finance Director and Chief Executive R.R. Nair told PTI. For loans above Rs20 lakh, the rate has been reduced from 11.5% to 11.25%, Nair said. Public sector banks recently cut their lending rates on home loans up to Rs5 lakh to 8.5% and loans of Rs5-20 lakh to 9.25% for the first five years, after which the lending rates will be reset. The scheme, which is applicable for loans taken till June 30, also offers free life insurance cover and exemption from pre-payment penalties to borrowers in these categories. LIC Housing Finance is offering floating rates for home loans. Within six months it will be linked to prime lending rates (PLR) minus 3 percentage points, or 2.5%, depending upon the customer profile, Nair said. The rates will be reviewed on 1 April or 1 July next, he said. “Though the government has directed public sector banks to give a five-year fixed rate, we cannot give fixed rates for five years because of possible uncertainties in market trends,” Nair said. The Reserve Bank recently announced a Rs 4,000-crore refinancing facility for National Housing Bank and this has helped LICHF to lower its home loan rates, Nair said. “We could think of reducing our rates because of the National Housing Bank (NHB) window of Rs4,000-crore for housing finance companies,” he said. LICHF expects to receive a “good share” of the corpus very soon, facilitating the company to lend more to small home loan borrowers, Nair said. “We are expecting that a good share of that corpus would come to us at a lesser cost of around 8%,” he said. After the central bank eased the tight liquidity situation by infusing over Rs3-lakh-crore liquidity into the banking system, many banks had reduced their housing loan rates in the recent past. This included the country’s largest home loan lender Housing Finance Development Corporation and leading private-sector lender Bank of Rajasthan in the range of 0.5-1.5%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:07 pm Scrap aid to RIL over Iran ties: US lawmakersUS Congressmen have asked the country's Export-Import Bank to suspend $900 million in aid to Reliance Industries over its ties with Iran.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:06 pm Kochi airport defers decision on charging user feeThe managers of Cochin airport have failed to decide if they should reintroduce an user charge on every passenger, Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:03 pm Reduced lending rates, falling inflation prop equities marketA probable second round of financial stimulus, coupled with banks cutting lending rates and falling inflation figures had a rub-off effect during the week on Indian equity markets with a key index Friday closing 4.1 percent higher than last weekend's close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 10:00 am IIM-K yet to discuss Bhargava panel report - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 9:27 am Intel weighs WiMAXrelated opportunitiesIntel Capital, the investment arm of the worlds largest chip maker Intel Corp, is exploring options to invest in Indian telecom operators companies and software makers as it gears up to promote the WiMAX ecosystem in the country.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 9:17 am Daiichi gets 2 new members on Ranbaxy boardRanbaxy Laboratories Ltd and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd announced the reconstitution of the Indian pharma companys board of directors.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 9:01 am Govt wants report on probe into Satyam deal in 3 weeksThe government has asked Register of Companies to look into the Satyam-Maytas deal and submit the report within three weeks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 8:52 am Tata Steel gets goahead for bidding in Liberia minesTata Steel will get back into the bidding process for the Western Cluster iron ore project in Liberia, thereby putting allegations of any wrongdoing to rest.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Dec 2008 | 8:46 am India won't levy admin tax on 3G spectrum-official - Reuters
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 8:43 am Tata owned Jaguar may receive emergency British aidThe British government has said Jaguar Land Rover could receive emergency state aid, stressing that the responsibility for the firm's future lies with its Indian owner, Tata.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 8:22 am Bihar automobile sale up 45 pc this yearAutomobile sales in Bihar have grown 45 per cent in the last 11 months, bucking the national trend.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 8:17 am India cannot be a back office to the world for R&D: PMManmohan Singh said India should not remain a "back office" to provide R&D solutions to the world and should do more to keep pace with China and Japan.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 7:32 am Mumbai's Trident to open Sunday, Oberoi six months laterThe Trident hotel here will reopen Sunday, less than a month after terrorists ravaged it, but it will take 'six to seven' months for the Oberoi to resume functioning, a senior official said Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 7:30 am In gloomy nation, church advises low key ChristmasTwelve-year-old Sonu wore the Santa mask and hopped from one car window to another at the traffic signal, trying to spread some Christmas cheer and cajoling people into buying his wares. But he found the mood unusually glum.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Dec 2008 | 6:01 am Daichi-Ranbaxy Reconstitutes Board; Malvinder Is Chairman - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 5:42 am New Fed Role Undercuts its Regional Presidents - Wall Street Journal
Source: Google News India - Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 5:01 am Oil falls over 6 pct on demand outlookNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell over 6 percent on Friday, as fears of economic slowdown weighed heavier than proposed production cuts by the world's major oil exporters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:08 am LNG to cost up to 35% more from Jan!Imported LNG for fertiliser and power plants like Dabhol is likely to cost by up to 35 percent more from next month as Qatar will hike rates for supplies from 2009.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am Forex reserves up by $2.7 billion!India`s foreign exchange reserves went up for the second consecutive week by USD 2.767 billion to USD 250.453-billion for the week ended December 12 as against USD 247.686-billion in the previous week.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am HDFC, BoR, Canara Bank cuts lending rates!Setting the ball rolling for lower interest rates on housing loans, private sector lenders HDFC and Bank of Rajasthan on Friday cut lending rates giving relief to both existing and new borrowersSource: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am Sensex up 23 pts, closes at 10,099.9 !BSE Sensex on Friday closed almost unchanged but the realty index surge up by 11 pc.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am GMR bullish on power; plans to buy coal mine in Indonesia!GMR Group plans to buy 100-150 million tonne capacity coal mine in Indonesia to feed 1,500 megawatt power generation capacity for 20 years. The deal is likely to strike within three months.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am Toyota headed for first year in the red: Report!Japan`s largest car company Toyota is expected to run into the red for the year, which would be its first annual operating loss yet, one of the Japanese financial newspaper said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am `Unpromising` first verdict in Parmalat scandal!Calls arose on Friday for more heads to roll after an Italian court sent down its first verdict in the multi-billion-dollar Parmalat affair dubbed "Europe`s Enron," sentencing founder Calisto Tanzi to 10 years in prison.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am Denmark`s central bank slashes key rate!Close on the heels of the US and Japan cutting the benchmark rates to cope with the raging financial crisis, Denmark`s central bank today slashed its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am China`s Valin says to issue $440 mn shares!Hunan Valin Steel Co said on Friday it plans to sell new shares worth up to three billion yuan (440 million dollars) to its second-biggest shareholder ArcelorMittal and its own parent firm Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am SEBI mulls easing curbs in currency futures trading!Capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is looking at easing restrictions in currency futures trading, Sebi Chairman, C B Bhave said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:05 am NRI funds flow pushing rupee up against dollarBangalore, Dec. 19 Foreign currency deposit inflows into the domestic banking system have begun exerting upward pressure on the rupee-dollar exchangeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am PM: 20 new IITs, 7 IIMs, 30 Central varsities on cardsChennai, Dec. 19 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today said that apart from the proposed eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, the Government proposed to set up another 20.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Markets this weekOn Monday, following its Asian peers, the Sensex opened with a gain of 122 points from the previous week's close, and went on to touch an intraday high at 9,950Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Reliance Ind may go slow on some projectsMumbai, Dec. 19 Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd may go slow on certain of its planned projects such as the Rs 5,000-crore Rewas port project, the Navi Mumbai SEZ project and the Rs 30,000-crore semi-conductor project in responseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Oil exploration cos face heat as crude drops below $35Mumbai, Dec. 19 Share prices of major oil and gas exploration companies have dipped sharply on the back of the continued slide in international crude oil price after it touched an all-time high in July thisSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank’s new chiefMumbai, Dec. 19 Backed by strong fundamentals, ICICI Bank is in a position to capitalise opportunities quickly, even in these challenging times, said Ms Chanda Kochhar, who has been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Exporters doing business with Iran feeling the heatMumbai, Dec. 19 Exporters doing business with Iran are in a spot, as global security concerns make it more difficult for them to receive payments for their shipments.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am HDFC, LIC Housing follow banks, cut lending ratesMumbai, Dec. 19 Concerned about losing business to public sector banks, which cut interest rates on home loans earlier this week, leading housing finance companies – HDFC and LIC Housing Finance – lowered their lending rates onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am MNC staff get extended Christmas break this yearMumbai/Bangalore, Dec. 19 Friday was the last working day in the year for India-based employees of several multinational technology firms. Beginning next week, employees of Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Analog Devices will be on a mandatorySource: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IIT alumnus who got an early whiff of N-opportunityMumbai, Dec. 19 About 18 months ago when the Indo-US nuclear deal started hitting the headlines, Mr Makrand Rajadhyaksha scented an opportunity.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 20 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Wall St Week Ahead: Stocks hope Santa can brighten dark yearNEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors could do their holiday shopping on Wall Street next week as bargain-basement prices for stocks and optimism over efforts to fight the year-long recession may prompt a year-end rally.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 11:06 pm US STOCKS - S&P, Nasdaq gain after auto aid, but energy hits DowNEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Friday after the U.S. government said it would throw a $17.4 billion lifeline to automakers grappling with falling consumer demand.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 11:02 pm Women on top at the ICICI GroupWhen Chanda Kochhar takes over from KV Kamath as CEO in May 2009, she will be the third woman to head a major company within the ICICI Group.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 10:37 pm Chanda Kochhar: Youngestever woman chief of an Indian bkChanda Kochhar has been officially named the CEO of ICICI Bank with effect from May 1 2009. On that day Current CEO and Veteran Banker K V Kamath will move up as its NonExecutive Chairman.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2008 | 8:40 pm Oh, how hard we work to keep our agriculture inefficient!The neglect of agriculture and the consistent refusal to make agriculture vibrant and contribute a large, consistent share to economic growth is inexplicable and unpardonable.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 8:29 pm Navigating through economic downturnsHow does the current scenario impact a small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneur on a practical day-to-day basis?Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 8:23 pm ADAG laysoff almost 6000 employees: SourcesCNBCTV18 has leant from its sources that the ADA (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani) Group has laidoff as many as 6,000 employees In its insurance, MF, consumer finance and entertainment business. These include the heads of departments to customer sales executives.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2008 | 8:09 pm Need To Know | Hyundai Motor India to reduce contract workersMumbai: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest auto maker, will cut some temporary staff in India as the global recession reduces demand for exports from the country and local consumers put off car purchases. The company may also cut production in India and exports could decline 25% in the first half of 2009, Rajiv Mitra, a spokesman of the Indian unit, said in a telephone interview on Friday. He declined to say how many people will be laid off. Hyundai will cut 2,000 temporary workers in India, about 25% of its total workforce in the country, the ‘Business Standard’ daily reported earlier on Friday. “Some people will be laid off,” Mitra said. “It won’t be as high” as reported. “Not even half,” he said. — Bloomberg ********* Yukimine Tsuji to be new India Yamaha CEO New Delhi:India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd has appointed its manufacturing head Yukimine Tsuji as its new chief executive and managing director, replacing Tsutomu Mabuchi, the company said in a statement. Mabuchi heads back to Japan to look after an important assignment at Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd, Japan, the release said. Tsuji had been in charge of manufacturing operations at Yamaha’s Indian subsidiary for over a year. Koji Arai has been appointed director, sales and marketing. He takes over from Takahiro Maeda. ‘The Times of India’ and ‘The Economic Times’ reported this on Tuesday. — Staff Writer ********* Nalco raises estimate for Sumatra plant to $4 bn Jakarta: National Aluminium Co. Ltd raised the projected cost of an aluminum smelter in Sumatra, Indonesia, by 25% to $4 billion (18,840 crore) to pay for extra infrastructure, including rail links. The venture, the company’s first overseas, may invest $2.5 billion to build a plant capable of processing 1 million tonnes of alumina into 500,000 tonnes of aluminium ingots, finance director B.L. Bagra said on Friday. The remaining $1.5 billion will be for the rail links, a 1,250 MW coal-fired power plant and a port. — Bloomberg ********* Economy to slow more than anticipated: Sen New Delhi: Indian economy will be affected by the financial crisis a little more than anticipated currently and may grow at around 6% in 2008-09 and the next fiscal, economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said at a function in the Capital. “The global downturn has already begun to affect India and will affect a little bit more than anticipated now. But we have to hold our heads high because India is not as dependant on external sector as some other economies are. Secondly, India’s fastest growing trade relationship is with China at around 60%. And the fact that Chinese economy is not slowing down as much as the European economies is a source of strength for both the economies,” Sen said. Sen asked India to play a greater role in restructuring the financial architecture of the world. “The voice of India is important not just for India but for other developing countries. The G-20 has become so big that we have to play not only on our behalf but also on the behalf of great many countries that are not represented there,” he added. — Asit Ranjan Mishra ********* Sebi may extend trading hours Nifty Futures Mumbai: Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is considering a request from the National Stock Exchange to extend trading hours in Nifty futures, derivatives based on the bourse’s 50-company index. I think their request is to start trading from 8am, Sebi chairman C.B. Bhave told reporters in Mumbai on Friday. The Nifty 50 futures start trading on the Singapore Exchange at 9am local time. Sebi is also looking at easing restrictions in currency futures trading, Bhave said. “Today, there is only rupee-dollar futures and besides, there are only certain players allowed to participate,” Bhave said, adding that a joint RBI-Sebi committee was looking at whether this market needed to be expanded. — Bloomberg and PTI ********* Wockhardt plans to raise Rs500 cr Mumbai: Wockhardt Ltd said on Friday it plans to raise Rs500 crore through the issue of redeemable preference shares. It also plans to increase its authorized capital by Rs50 crore to Rs175 crore through the creation of 10 crore preference shares of Rs5 each, it said in a statement to Bombay Stock Exchange. Wockhardt has convened an extraordinary general meeting on 19 January to consider these matters, it added. The company has been exploring various options to raise Rs800-1,000 crore to pay $148 million (about Rs690 crore) towards liabilities arising from the redemption of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) it issued in 2004. These bonds, worth $110 million, are due for conversion in October. Wockhardt did not say if the preferential issue was in favour of an outside investor or to existing shareholders, including the promoter. The company has also put some of its non-operation assets in India and abroad on the block to raise part of the required money. — C.H. Unnikrishnan ********* Aurobindo plans to buy back FCCBs Mumbai: Bulk drug maker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd on Friday said it plans to buy back a portion of its $200 million (about Rs932 crore) worth of outstanding foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) that it issued in 2006. The decision follows a Reserve Bank of India move, allowing Indian companies to buy back their foreign bonds using foreign and Indian currency reserve. The Hyderabad-based company has mandated Barclays Capital Ltd for the buyback, it said in a statement to Bombay Stock Exchange. Aurobindo’s FCCBs, which have a conversion price of Rs1,014.06, will mature in 2011. — C.H. Unnikrishnan ********* Allocation of 2G licences was arbitrary: Yechury New Delhi: Communist party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury has alleged that the allocation of 2G licences was arbitrary and has resulted in a loss amounting to around Rs1 trillion. He also said that communication and information technology minister A. Raja had misled the Parliament on the issue. Yechury demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh look into it. “This is a massive mega scam. New telecom licences have been given on first-come, first-serve basis at the prices fixed in 2001. The market value of these licences is roughly seven times higher now,” the CPM politburo member said. Yechury said the government should have adopted a policy of open auction to arrive at market-determined price for issuing new licences and spectrum. — Shauvik Ghosh ********* Severed Cables in Mediterranean Disrupt Communication Internet and telephone communications between the Middle East and Europe were disrupted by submarine cable failures between Italy and Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. “The failures cut the flow of data of various kinds between Europe and the Middle East, and there’s no timeframe for when communications will be restored,” said Sanjeev Gaur, director of assurance at Mumbai-based Reliance Globalcom Ltd. Three submarine cable systems linking Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe are affected, according to Reliance and Melbourne-based Telstra Corp. The cables run from Alexandria in northern Egypt to southern Italy. In January, two cable systems were severed by an anchor 8.3 kilometers (5.2 miles) from Alexandria beach after bad weather conditions forced ships to moor off the coast. “Customer services and some mobile-phone customers at Vodafone Group Plc’s Egyptian unit are affected by the cable failure,” said Simon Gordon, a spokesman for the UK company. Egypt is the only country where the company is aware of any problems linked to the failure, he said. Most mobile-phone calls are routed through fixed-line cables at some point. “Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest phone company, has redirected traffic through other cables in the region and therefore the “impact is very small,” said a company official. Alexandria Link A fault is affecting the SMW4 cable near the Alexandria cable station, the FLAG FEA cable is down and the SMW3 cable system is also affected, according to information received from Telstra. Flag Telecom Group Ltd., a Reliance Globalcom unit, operates FLAG FEA and the other cables are owned by groups of phone companies across the regions. Mark Heraghty, senior vice president responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Flag Telecom, declined to comment when contacted. “Reliance Globalcom doesn’t know exactly what happened and engineers are working on the problem,” said Anurag Joshi, head of the company’s global network operations center. The SMW4 cable, also known as SEA-ME-WE 4 or South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 cable network, connects 12 countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy and France. — Bloomberg ********* Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 7:30 pm Plush plumPlum colours—from deep eggplant to rosy rouge—look chic in combination with greys, khakis and creams. And they match equally well with vibrant pinks, reds, and oranges. But they are often unfairly dismissed as being difficult to use in decorating, says Elaine Griffin, a US-based interior designer. “It’s a surprisingly versatile colour,” she says. “Plum is made by combining mostly red and blue, so any colours that go with those two are beautiful with plum.” Also See Plum Colours (PDF) Primary colour Griffin uses plums in place of dark beige and brown to set the basic tone for a room. Light effectsRooms that are bathed in natural light balance out saturated plum walls, Griffin says. But in rooms with little light, it’s best to use this hue as an accent. Best dressedGriffin takes colour cues from this fall’s fashion runways, where new plum combinations inspired her. “Plum is super-fresh with greens, from lime to oregano. I also love it with turquoise, gold and orange —yum!” Photographs by Tanuj Ahuja and Anshuman Sen, Styling by Ruchika Goswamy and Simrat Kohli, for Better Homes and Gardens Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 7:27 pm One should not take a challenge as a scare: KochharCome May 1, Chanda Kochhar will step into the big shoes of K V Kamath as managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector lender.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Dec 2008 | 7:03 pm Govt may relax ECB norms for NBFCs, realtyThe committee of secretaries set up by the prime minister to recommend measures to help Indian industry through the global financial crisis is likely to recommend changes in external commercialSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm Panasonic to acquire Sanyo for up to $9 billionTokyo: Japan’s Panasonic Corp. said Friday it had cleared the way to acquire struggling Sanyo Electric Co. for up to nine billion dollars, forming an industry heavyweight amid the global downturn. The deal is the first major realignment of Japan’s electronics industry since the start of the economic crisis, which has led companies to suspend production as consumer demand dries up. Panasonic will buy Sanyo shares from US investment firm Goldman Sachs and Japan’s Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui, giving a badly needed cash injection into the financial sector as it reels from the credit crunch. “We, the electronics industry, are faced with the need to restructure amid the global recession as well as a downward shift in prices and the growth of emerging markets,” Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo told a news conference. “Under these circumstances, it is all the more important to strengthen our management practices to grow further,” he said. Sanyo, which started off making bicycle lamps after World War II, has cut thousands of jobs as it attempts to return to profit. Recently it has tried to focus on environmental technologies including solar energy and rechargeable batteries - areas coveted by Panasonic. Panasonic said it had reached a deal on a tender offer aiming to secure a 70.5 % stake in Sanyo at 131 yen a share, valuing the deal at a maximum of 800 billion yen (around $9 billion). Ohtsubo said that the companies sought to increase operating profit by 80 billion yen in the 2012 financial year through the tie-up. “What we want to add as our new core business is the energy business,” including batteries which are key to eco-friendly hybrid cars, Ohtsubo said. “In order to accelerate the synergy effect of our two companies, we are ready to invest 100 billion yen,” mostly in the battery business but also in other fields, he said. “We believe that we will evolve into a corporate group which will be highly admired globally, coexisting in harmony with the global environment,” he said. Sanyo, which like Panasonic is based in the western Japanese metropolis of Osaka, will remain listed. Sanyo has had a troubled few years. It was forced to raise cash by issuing new shares, effectively handing over control to Goldman Sachs and other financial firms. Toshimasa Iue, a member of the founding family, stepped down last year after he clashed with the big investors over how far to restructure the company. Panasonic, which is already Japan’s biggest seller of consumer electronics, has been seeking to raise its global profile against rivals -- notably Sony Corp. -- that enjoy solid name recognition. Kazumasa Kubota, an analyst at Okasan Securities, said that despite the high cost, “in the longer term the acquisition is absolutely an advantage for Panasonic.” “Sanyo reportedly holds hundreds of patents in the field of battery technology and has strengths in solar power,” he said. Kubota credited Panasonic with negotiating shrewdly, knowing that Goldman Sachs needed cash. Just two weeks earlier, Goldman Sachs had rejected an offer from Panasonic that was reported to be 130 yen per share - only one yen difference from the 131 yen in the agreement. But on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs reported a 2.12 billion dollar net loss in the fiscal fourth quarter to November, the first time it has gone into the red since going public in 1999. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:59 pm India Inc gives millions to Clinton foundationCII, Mittal, Ranbaxy, Suzlon & MP Amar Singh among major donors.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:59 pm Amar Singh denies giving money to Clinton charityNew Delhi: Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Friday denied contributing any money to the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation, which has listed him as one of the top donors on Thursday.  In news again: Samajwadi Party general secratary Amar Singh. Hindustan Times “I am denying it,” he told Mint in an interview. “I cannot react to media speculations. Anything can be written about anybody and I do not think I should react to it.” “Let me add that I feel privileged to be on the list of friends (former US president Bill and wife Hillary) Clintons have,” Singh added. “It is a matter of happiness that I am friends with the Clintons.” Also See Clinton Foundation Donors (List) As part of a deal that cleared the way for Hillary Clinton to be nominated by US President-elect Barack Obama as the next secretary of state, Bill Clinton released a list of 205,000 donors on the foundation’s website. A list of top donors, those who gave $100,000 (about Rs47 lakh today) or more, reported by The Wall Street Journal shows Singh as having given between $1 million and $5 million. One likely explanation for why Singh’s name appears on the list is that he actively collected donations from friends and supporters on behalf of Clinton and then gave the money to the foundation. Mint couldn’t immediately ascertain how the foundation treats those who pool donations and then give the proceeds. Former US president Clinton had in September 2005 visited Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, when Singh’s Samajwadi Party was in power, to inaugurate a state rural health programme. Then UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party had hosted a dinner for Clinton that was also attended by Singh’s close friends Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group chairman Anil Ambani and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan. The foundation’s top donors list also shows Reliance Europe Ltd, part of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd, as having donated money. Other companies and donors with India links on the list include Tulsi Tanti’s Suzlon Energy Ltd, the India Today media group, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Ajit Gulabchand of Hindustan Construction Co., deceased hotelier Lalit Suri, and industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). ArcelorMittal’s L.N. Mittal is also on the list of $1million and $5 million donors. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:58 pm Reliance raises Rs29,000 croreMumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd, or RIL, India’s most valuable company by market capitalization, has raised around Rs29,000 crore (or $6.17 billion) in the October-December quarter, and the big question among analysts tracking the company is, “what for?” The amount includes money put in by the company’s main promoter and that raised through debt. An email sent to RIL on the use of this money remained unanswered till late Friday.  From the front: Mukesh Ambani, promoter of RIL, himself pumped in Rs16,824 crore in October through conversion of share warrants. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint In the past six weeks, RIL has raised around Rs12,000 crore in debt, according to some analysts. A senior executive at RIL confirmed that the company had indeed raised this amount in debt, but asked not to be identified because he is not the company’s official spokesperson. In October, just a few weeks before the company started raising this debt, it received a cash infusion of Rs16,824 crore from its owner and promoter Mukesh Ambani, through the conversion of 120 million share warrants into equity at Rs1,402 a share. Over the past fortnight, Edelweiss Capital Ltd and JPMorgan Chase and Co. issued statements that they together arranged about Rs3,000 crore for RIL through non-convertible debentures or NCDs. ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd separately raised Rs1,000 crore each for RIL, the analysts said. Details of the remaining Rs7,000 crore raised from the debt market were not available. Rating agency Crisil Ltd had in November assigned an AAA rating, the highest, to RIL’s Rs10,000 crore non-convertible debentures. What does RIL need such large sums of money for? At a time when most companies are scrambling for cash because of the global credit crunch, the second largest oil refiner and the largest petrochemicals maker in the country has been piling cash for reasons that aren’t entirely clear from the outside. Also See Rainy-Day Cache? (PDF) Six analysts Mint spoke to gave several possible reasons behind RIL’s strategy: hoarding money for future projects; making up for treasury losses incurred by trading in crude oil futures trading; and to fund potential acquisitions. These analysts, who track the Reliance Industries stock for various foreign and Indian brokerages declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media. The RIL executive mentioned in the first instance, and another executive at the company who also asked not to be identified, independently provided the company’s rationale for raising money: to position itself for the future and finance its exploration and production activities. “So far, we have invested mostly equity in both our projects (Jamnagar refinery and the Krishna-Godavari basin, or KG basin). Now, we are looking to put in some money through the debt route for the balance investment in these,” the second RIL executive said. The company is also planning “for future projects that cannot be disclosed for now,” he added. RIL’s listed subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) is building a 580,000 barrel a day refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which is currently on trial runs. The refinery is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2009. Output from the company’s gas find in the KG basin is also expected around the same time, provided a current ban on sales imposed by the Bombay high court is lifted. Two of the six analysts independently put forth a more dismal motive: that the company is anticipating worse times ahead. “The company is just hoarding to get past a worse liquidity squeeze phase in the months ahead, when raising money could be harder,” one of these analysts said. RIL is expected to incur heavy capital expenditure in continuing its oil and gas exploration activities in 30 blocks, most of them on the east coast. According to a 12 November statement on the website of Niko Resources Ltd—RIL’s 10% Canadian partner in the KG basin block—the “Phase I initial field development costs are budgeted at $5.2 billion.” Niko had spent $353 million of the total $520 million it was to invest till 30 September, the statement said. The rest of the remaining $4.68 billion has to be spent by RIL, part of which has already been spent. Niko added that the development plan for nine of the natural gas discoveries in the D6 block in the KG basin have also been submitted to the government which, in turn, will require more investment. RIL had in 2007 also announced setting up “the largest integrated cracker and petrochemicals complex with a total capacity of 2mtpa” (million tonnes per annum) at Jamnagar. This cracker unit, to be built at a cost of $3 billion and expected to start in 2010-11, will use waste gases from RIL refineries and other byproducts as feedstock to manufacture ethylene, propylene and other products. “The company could be pre-poning (bringing forward) this project or simply (setting) funds aside for it,” explained a third analyst, also part of the six analysts mentioned in the first instance. Three of the six analysts also said the company is believed to have booked heavy losses because it bought crude oil futures at higher prices. Crude prices fell 72.88% this year after reaching a high of $147.27 in mid-July. One analyst also said the company could be building a warchest for a big-ticket acquisition as “distress assets are aplenty” in the global chemicals market now. However, some other analysts and the two RIL executives refuted the possibility of an acquisition, saying margins were low in the business. Moreover, they argued, companies on the block could get cheaper in future. RIL has also been stretched in the current quarter by shrinking gross refining margins, or the money refiners make by converting crude oil into by-products, and by deep cuts in the prices of key petrochemical products. In a 3 December note, DSP Merrill Lynch (India)’s sector analyst Vidyadhar Ginde wrote that he was slashing RIL’s target share price 15% to Rs1,555 and its refining margin forecast for fiscal 2010 and 2011 by 37% and 21%, respectively. “KG D6 oil and gas and RPL are the main growth drivers.” RIL shares have declined 58% from a high of Rs3,220.85 on 14 January. On Friday, the shares dipped 0.81% to Rs1,349.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the bellwether Sensex rose by 0.23%. Analysts Varatharajan Sivasankaran and Avishek Datta of Reliance Equities, a brokerage owned by Anil Ambani, Mukesh Ambani’s estranged younger brother, wrote in a 25 November report that they were cutting their earnings-per-share estimate on RIL by 17.1% for fiscal 2009 and by 33.4% for the next year “to factor in lower petrochemical and refining margins along with a delayed start-up of RPL’s refinery and KG-D6 gas (now assumed to start from April 2009).” RIL has 42 oil and gas discoveries, and while reserves have been declared for just 24 , the remaining 18 discoveries could spring a positive surprise, the analysts added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:55 pm Upaid’s suit compounds Satyam’s woesHyderabad: British telecom services company Upaid Systems Ltd said it filed fresh litigation against embattled Satyam Computer Services Ltd alleging the computer services company tried to “avoid its legal obligations” in a pending legal dispute. Click here to watch video The business litigation assumes greater significance in light of Satyam’s disastrous attempt to diversify through the acquisition of two infrastructure companies primarily owned by the sons of its chairman B. Ramalinga Raju for $1.6 billion, or Rs7,568 crore, earlier this week. Faced with an uproar from investors who drove the company’s US-listed shares down by some 54% hours after the deal was unveiled, Satyam made a U-turn, citing investor unrest, to walk away from the proposal. Upaid’s latest filing through a new motion in Collin County, Texas, requests the court there to order depositions from Raju, chief financial officer Srinivas Vadlamani and global head of corporate governance G. Jayaraman in connection with the “attempt earlier this week to strip all surplus cash from the company in a $1.6 billion related-party transaction benefiting the family of Satyam’s founder”.  In the dock: A file photo of Satyam chairman B. Ramalinga Raju. Madhu Kapparath / Mint In April 2007, Upaid filed a lawsuit in the Texas court against Satyam—India’s fourth largest computer services company—alleging fraud, forgery, misrepresentation and breach of contract involving transfer of intellectual property rights issues arising from a project the firms jointly worked on in late 1090s. Satyam was an outsourcing vendor for Upaid at that time. Upaid had sought damages of at least $1 billion. Satyam sought to block proceedings in the Texas court by appealing to the high court in London in September 2007 on grounds that the case should be pursued only under English law based on service agreements both parties had agreed on. Following a judgement by the London court in May, Upaid resumed legal proceedings in Texas. The suit is slated for a trial in June. A Satyam spokesperson declined to comment as “issues relating to Upaid are pending litigation”. Raju told Mint in a September interview that he “would prefer not to talk about it. We have taken necessary steps to deal with the case in an appropriate manner in the courts”. Upaid’s action is partly a response to an alleged ‘disparagement’ claim that Satyam filed against it in Oct Meanwhile, the fallout from Satyam’s aborted dealcontinues. Despite announcing that the company’s board will meet soon to decide on a share buy-back, Satyam’s shares fell 3.87%, or Rs6.55 a share, on Friday to Rs162.80 a share on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Satyam management’s aborted decision to buy the two infrastructure companies have meant the company’s market capitalization has fallen by some 25% on BSE since Tuesday, potentially setting the company up for investor suits in the US that could seek so-called class-action status for investors there who have lost money because of the management flip-flop. “It is a matter of corporate governance and until investor concerns about those are squarely addressed, it is difficult for investors to have faith in the company,” said Dipesh Mehta, a research analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Khandwala Securities Ltd. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:54 pm Clinton fund’s India linksThe affinity of wealthy Indians, especially in the US, to former US president Bill Clinton has never been much of a secret. So, the fact that the list of top donors to his Clinton Foundation has at least 13 companies or people with Indian ties isn’t all that surprising. Indeed, more India connections are likely in the full list of 205,000 donors. Also See Clinton Foundation Donors (List) But a Wall Street Journal list of those who gave $100,000 or more includes steel magnate L.N. Mittal of ArcelorMittal and Tulsi Tanti-owned Suzlon Energy Ltd as well as Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, all shown as having donated between $1 million and $5 million, part of at least $140 million that the charitable foundation took in the past decade from non-US sources. But Singh told Mint on Friday he didn’t give any money to the foundation. So who gave him the money to pass on and why is the foundation willing to credit Singh for the donation? Indian income-tax officials should ask for details of all India-related donors, including trade lobby CII and Reliance Europe Ltd. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:42 pm New ‘inspiration’ for Bollywood scriptsMumbai: The brash and optimistic tales of life and love in a new India by contemporary authors such as Karan Bajaj, Anuja Chauhan and Chetan Bhagat have already won over audiences across the country. Now Bollywood wants this new generation of storytellers to fill the void left by an absence of strong scripts.  Taking a cue: Actors Tabu and Irrfan Khan in The Namesake, a movie based on a book by Jhumpa Lahiri by the same name. It comes as Indian Film Co., a publicly listed production house which is promoted by Studio 18, is in the process of converting the stories for up to eight books into screenplays. While the notion of borrowing from literature for movies is not new in Indian cinema (Satyajit Ray adapted a novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay for cinematic release in the 1950s), the age-old trick has found a new manifestation in contemporary literature and has gained currency in multiplexes. Hot on the heels of the release of Hello, an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s One Night @ the Call Centre, and Slumdog Millionaire, the critically acclaimed adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s Q&A, Chauhan’s chick-lit debut The Zoya Factor, is being turned into a film by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, while Bajaj’s Keep Off The Grass is being adapted by Mosaic Media Group—the production company behind The Dark Knight—in conjunction with Bollywood partners. Siddharth Roy Kapur, chief executive of UTV Motion Pictures, explains that the appeal of turning new-generation fiction into films comes in part from having a ready source of stories to choose from. “When fiction is recognized and successful, and when it translates well, then we have a ready-made screenplay which we can work with,” says Kapur. “Books have been made into films for years, but it is not often that English language books have been turned into mainstream films. That is a first.” The attraction of optioning the rights to books for Sandeep Bhargava, chief executive of the investment adviser to Indian Film Co., derives mainly from the fact that the story has been tested and proven: “(Optioning books) saves us a fair amount of time in the film-making process, but the main attraction is that we are getting the right concept.” The trend also tells us something of the currency of new writing in English in India, according to Udayan Mitra, senior managing editor at Penguin Books India, who reveals that “several” authors published by Penguin are in ongoing talks with film companies. “Chetan Bhagat, Vikas Swarup, Aravind Adiga, Advaita Kala and many others of the new generation of writers have written books that are hugely accessible to the reader, a far remove from the brilliant but convoluted writings of Rushdie or Naipaul, which would scare off the average Bollywood film-maker,” says Mitra, explaining the appeal of the new storytellers. “They don’t always result in good films—Hello was a veritable disaster—but they are in the popular domain.”  Beginners’ luck: Karan Bajaj’s debut novel Keep Off the Grass is been adapted by Mosaic Media Group. Swarup says that although he was paid “considerably more” by Starfield Productions for Six Suspects than the Rs5-6 lakh cited by publishing houses as the median payment to authors who option rights, he adds that he will not receive more than a “nominal” share in the profits of the film. The figure compares with a minimum payout of about $10,000 (Rs4.5 lakh) for signing off film rights in Hollywood. “India is consistent with international practice in that the writer will get a one-off sum when the book is optioned, and is also then perhaps promised a minuscule share of the profits,” says Swarup, whose agent sold the rights to Q&A in 2004, a full year before the book had even been published. Also currently being adapted for cinema is 3 Idiots, based on Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, which is being directed by Rajkumar Hirani and stars Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, while Harper Collins is in negotiations with production houses over the film rights for Almost Single, by Advaita Kala, as well as Lashkar, by Mukul Deva and Married But Available, by Abhijit Bhaduri. Bajaj, who turned down approaches from UTV and Kunal Kohli Productions before signing the deal with Mosaic, credits the surge in interest in novels by Indian writers to the growth in publishing—and a corresponding deficit of good stories and coherent scripts in the Indian film market. However, Chauhan suggests that the appeal of books such as The Zoya Factor might be in part a reaction against the “angst and trauma” found elsewhere in Indian literature. “I was slightly sick of books about angst and trauma and I just feel that people are not really writing about our India,” says Chauhan, who used to be a jingle writer before turning to fiction. “It is either nostalgic or weird and involves themes like incest.” neelam.v@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:40 pm India plans to liberalize foreign borrowing norms for companiesNew Delhi: India plans to give the infrastructure sector a boost by liberalizing norms for companies to borrow abroad, a Planning Commission official said on Friday. Gajendra Haldea, principal advisor to deputy chairman of the apex plan body, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said the guidelines—details of which he declined to discuss—are currently being reviewed by the finance ministry and a decision is likely by the end of this month. He was speaking on the sidelines of an industry meet on infrastructure. The announcement comes in the backdrop of a heightened risk perception among lenders to infrastructure projects following the global financial crisis. Project awards by authorities such as the National Highways Authority of India have come to a virtual standstill because of, among other things, concerns over the viability of projects and high interest rates. The finance ministry had in October relaxed foreign borrowing norms by increasing the limit of such borrowings and the ceiling on interest rates at which the money could be borrowed. Meanwhile, India Infrastructure Finance Corp. Ltd chairman S.S. Kohli said his organization is working on a plan to provide subordinated debt. “It will take a while to announce the details,” he said. Subordinate debt refers to lending that is often more flexible in terms than regular debt. Repayment for such debt can often start later, sometimes even after the senior debt is paid off, often making projects more palatable for infrastructure lenders. While Mint couldn’t immediately ascertain the nature and extent of the proposed relaxation, Haldea’s announcement came in response to a comment at the meeting from SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd chairman and managing director Hemant Kanoria about the need to relax external commercial borrowing, or ECB, norms for non-banking finance companies, or NBFCs. NBFCs are not allowed to borrow abroad and on-lend in India. Kanoria said SREI had sanctions of $450 million (about Rs2,120 crore) from bilateral institutions, which he could deploy immediately if the finance ministry relaxes norms. It is among the few private sector NBFCs that finance infrastructure equipment purchases. “The ECB policy, as far as infrastructure is concerned, was already pretty good. They may tinker with the long-term nature of it, but I don’t know if it will make a big difference,” said Amrit Pandurangi, who heads the infrastructure and transport practice for consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Feedback Ventures Pvt. Ltd chairman Vinayak Chatterjee said at the meeting that private companies involved in infrastructure had to deal with 18 ministries, the Planning Commission as well as the Prime Minister’s Office and the need of the hour was to set up a national agency to monitor and facilitate infrastructure projects. Sangeeta Singh contributed to this story. rahul.c@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:10 pm Panel suggests measures to combat terror financingNew Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended putting money transfer service providers, full-fledged money changers and international payment gateways under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill. The parliamentary standing committee on finance, set up after the Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in October, said this step, among others, are necessary for preventing money laundering and to combat alleged terror financing. The Bill, part of other proposed laws being rushed through by the United Progressive Alliance government following the Mumbai terror attacks fallout, is expected to be passed in the current session, which ends on Tuesday. The panel also said the Indian government must take steps to become a full-fledged member of the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force on money laundering to enable sharing of information and multi-lateral intelligence. With many members expressing apprehensions over potential misuse by enforcement authorities, the committee also suggested proper safeguards should be put in place to ensure that individuals are not harassed. liz.m@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:09 pm Govt set to define 106 taxable services to reduce litigationNew Delhi: India’s finance ministry will come out with a detailed classification of taxable services aimed at clearing a mounting backlog of litigation arising from the absence of a descriptive definition of service. The new tax structure, which is also expected to ease filing by companies, may be ready in the next six months, said an official of the department of revenue who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media. To streamline the process of service tax collections, the department plans to describe categories in 106 taxable services, covering companies across segments such as construction, mining and information technology. The new tax structure, which is expected to ease filing by companies, may be ready in the next six months “To come out with a negative list of services is not a good idea, as this can complicate things further,”the official added. According to some private estimates, at least half of all indirect tax complaints in India are related to service tax. “There is a need for clarity with 106 services being there and with some of them overlapping,” said R. Muralidharan, executive director of auditor and consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The number of cases pending are increasing in service tax matters related to which category the service falls into and the import and export of services,” Muralidharan said. The Union government’s service tax collections during April-October, the last months for which this data is available, was Rs34,958 crore, a 29.61% jump from Rs26,971 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. During April-November, excise duty revenues went down to Rs73,878 crore from Rs75,013 crore a year ago. Customs duty revenues too saw a decline in November with collections at Rs8,931 crore compared with Rs9,005 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Service tax litigation are a big problem in India, says Pratik Jain, executive director with auditor and consultant KPMG India. “Detailed classification should certainly help as there are issues on which classification they should go into, issues relating to exemptions, as they (exemptions) are limiting to certain classifications. There are many disputes pending relating to nature of services. Today, most of the software companies are paying both service and value-added tax because there is no clarity whether the transaction should be classified as goods or a service,” Jain said. teena.j@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 6:09 pm ’Tis the season to be adventurousMaximizing the Cities  Street savvy: Shopping in one of Hanoi’s street markets. InterContinental Hanoi Hyderabad’s Secret-keeper  Glimpses: A temple in Golkonda fort, part of the Qutb Shahi Detour. Detours Detours is a tour company with a difference: You set the agenda and Jonty—as Jayanthi is better known—designs the tour. If you thought the dead tell no tales, sign up for the Necropolis Detour: It traces the history of Hyderabad through the tombs of its emperors, noblemen and saints. Or go for the Weavers’ Detour, into the homes of the artisans who create classic saris such as Pochampalli and Paithani. Jonty’s pride and joy, though, are the culinary tours, which uncover the mysteries of the biryani (but of course) and the chilli, among other kitchen staples. All tours can be customized and suit all budgets, ranging from Rs1,500 per person for a 150-minute Golkonda tour to Rs4,500 per person for a full-day White Mughals excursion. Visit www.detoursindia.com for more details. One For The Road  Road sense: Now brought to book. With Peep Peep Don’t Sleep, his compilation of road signs across 10,000km in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, writer-photographer Ajay Jain saves you the agony of dividing your attention between highway and hysteria while behind the wheel. The photographs actually tell the story; the captions are an unnecessary distraction. Peep Peep Don’t Sleep, a collection of photos by Ajay Jain, is available at bookstores nationwide for Rs350. 3 things to do in | Palm Beach, Florida Brenner Thomas, Journalist •Walk the Lake Trail  Tribute: The Flagler Museum is a memorial to American opulence. • Eat at Cafe Boulud Chef Daniel Boulud, who operates some of the hottest spots in New York, including Daniel, opened his South Floridian outpost a few years ago in the Brazilian Court hotel, the site of alleged liaisons between Marilyn Monroe and JFK. Scandals aside, Boulud has raised the bar for gourmands on the island. Aperitifs in the hotel’s fabled courtyard are a must. • Visit the Flagler Museum You may pick up some baubles along Worth Avenue, but the island’s alluring history is best gleaned at the Henry Flagler Museum. Flagler, the railroad tycoon, turned Palm Beach from a steamy Floridian backwater into the winter retreat of the East Coast establishment. Housed in his 55-room Beaux Arts manse, Whitehall (described as “one of the most sumptuous houses ever built in America”), the museum is a shimmering example of America’s Gilded Age, as Mark Twain dubbed the period between the Civil War and the Wall Street crash of 1929. As told to Nayantara Kilachand Write to us at lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:51 pm A room with a world viewLines of light snaked across the dark hillside—freaky, ominous, beautiful. Forest fire, I thought, gazing horror-struck from my window. Thankfully they were only “forest department fires”, carefully controlled conflagrations set to regenerate vegetation. My window has supplied many such frissons—the sight of snow peaks starkly etched against a deep blue sky; of two rainbows arching over a valley together; of simmering monsoon clouds. But even on a regular day, I look out at hill ranges flowing into each other; lively crimson sunbirds and Himalayan bulbuls; chattering women nimbly balancing huge piles of leaves or wood.  Hillbillies: A home in the hills means giving up the luxuries of the city for the simple pleasures of life. Vineet Sabharwal But land prices in the hills were prohibitive, and so were the rents. Plan C—to work with hill-based NGOs—also came a cropper. They needed experts or volunteers, not people with interests in organic farming and renewable energy who also required steady money. Then friends told us about a house for rent within our tight budget, in a peaceful hill town. Hopes sky-high, we dashed up once more. The “house” was only a big room, with a tiny study and an even tinier kitchenette. But it had a huge window looking out over an endless vista of snow-topped ranges, hills, valleys, a big terrace, a pinewood ceiling. Of course we took it—with the understanding that whoever got sick of the other’s face in the cramped space could pitch a tent on the terrace, or just take a long walk. Long walks, in fact, promptly became a feature of our hillbilly life. The woods are lovely, dark and fragrant, alive with birdsong and flashes of movement of Khaleej pheasants and deer. Anna Pozatti and Luigi Caselli, Italians spending their early retirement in the hills, are excellent walking companions who know the best trails, and are prescient when it comes to sensing our need for hot meals or special treats. Over time, in fact, good neighbours have become an essential part of our lives. Vidya Devi taught me to survive without a fridge (store spinach and coriander dipped in water). Kutty and Dolly Krishnan’s doors are always open for leisurely chats over coffee and home-made wine-sampling sessions. Former Mumbaikars, they moved to the hills to be close to the treks and other activities that Kutty organizes for a reputed US-based outdoors company, and have achieved full conversion—from city-slickers to small-towners. Dolly says they’re lucky to have a good local school for their two kids—a major issue for couples with children who want to escape the city—but it’s far and they have to arrange daily drops and pick-ups. An amateur potter, she has been trying to set up a kiln for years. “Nothing comes easy here,” she says. And, in the next breath, “But I can’t think of living anywhere else now!” I get what she says about practical difficulties. Broadband connections, so crucial for us, are unavailable, so we experiment with Bluetooth. Any kind of repair or setting-up work has to wait for days. Forgetting an important item on the weekly trip to the market—a steep walk up and a long drive away—can seem like disaster. Creepy-crawlies are plentiful, too: Leeches are my least favourite, with scorpions not far behind. And the spiders almost feel like pets now. I’ve also discovered the joys of a small home. Apart from it being much easier to clean, I’ve realized how little we need for a fairly comfortable existence. With no fridge or microwave, we cook fresh, simple meals on a single burner. For entertainment, we catch an occasional film on TV when the cable connection and electricity both work. Haircuts are under pine trees and cost Rs20. Meanwhile, we’ve branched off in our careers. Even so, we earn much less—but we spend far less, too. The entry into the world of appropriate technologies and systems has not been launched yet, but it’ll happen. Some fundamental adjustments have occurred, such as conscious water-saving and reducing the use of plastics, which will stay with us. And that fireplace of my dreams has transmuted into a bukhari (wood stove/heater); open fires are wasteful. Can we continue living in the hills, sustaining ourselves, and loving it here? Can we find land, build that little house? I don’t know, but I feel positive. Here, I feel connected to important things, have a sense that this is close to what life is meant to be; here, we have “our” peaks, more precious than gold. Write to lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:50 pm Samsung ventures into portable PC segmentNew Delhi: Samsung India on Friday, announced its entry into the portable PC segment with its notebook PCs and also into the fast growing Netbook Segment with its N-series. This is Samsung’s second innings in the Indian laptop market. Its last foray was shortlived as it found few takers for its high-end range of laptops back in 2004. With lessons learnt from the past, Samsung has decided this time not to put all its eggs in one basket. Click here to watch video Samsung has entered the netbook market in India with the launch of its latest computing device, NC10. Available in three different colours — white, black and metallic blue — the ultra-compact laptop weighs 1.33 kg and is said to be one of the world’s lightest 10.2 inch netbooks. Powered by Intel Atom processor, the NC10 sports a WSVGA display and delivers a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and supports SuperBright Non-Gloss LED. It runs on the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system and comes with either a 80 GB or a 160GB hard disk. Other features of the Samsung NC10 netbook include a 6 cell lithium battery, providing upto 8 hours of use on full charge. Along with the netbooks, Samsung also launched a comprehenesive lineup of Notebook PCs. The notebook lineup includes the thin and light X-series, Mobile Optimum Q series and the mainstream R-series all priced in the range between Rs34,604-Rs1,15,014. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:42 pm Samsung ventures into portable PC segmentNew Delhi: Samsung India on Friday, announced its entry into the portable PC segment with its notebook PCs and also into the fast growing Netbook Segment with its N-series. This is Samsung’s second innings in the Indian laptop market. Its last foray was shortlived as it found few takers for its high-end range of laptops back in 2004. With lessons learnt from the past, Samsung has decided this time not to put all its eggs in one basket. Click here to watch video Samsung has entered the netbook market in India with the launch of its latest computing device, NC10. Available in three different colours — white, black and metallic blue — the ultra-compact laptop weighs 1.33 kg and is said to be one of the world’s lightest 10.2 inch netbooks. Powered by Intel Atom processor, the NC10 sports a WSVGA display and delivers a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and supports SuperBright Non-Gloss LED. It runs on the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system and comes with either a 80 GB or a 160GB hard disk. Other features of the Samsung NC10 netbook include a 6 cell lithium battery, providing upto 8 hours of use on full charge. Along with the netbooks, Samsung also launched a comprehenesive lineup of Notebook PCs. The notebook lineup includes the thin and light X-series, Mobile Optimum Q series and the mainstream R-series all priced in the range between Rs34,604-Rs1,15,014. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:42 pm My lazy Xmas lunchThat Alex Davis is currently deeply influenced by all things African is evident—the new doorstopper for his kitchen is a small wooden giraffe, and on one wall of his living room hangs a large red feather hat, the kind worn by a tribal chieftain in Cameroon. He owns a three-legged cast iron pot called poyke used by South Africans to make stew and, on top of this, the 44-year-old product designer’s wishlist for his kitchen includes “a family of tagine pots used in north African and Moroccan cooking”. Davis is not a flamboyant cook but he is methodical. An hour before our scheduled meeting, he calls to say that the Pollo and Patata Bake with Pork Sausages, a staple on his annual Christmas lunch menu, will take at least an hour and a half to cook. So he proposes to ready one dish completely and keep aside ingredients for the second which he will use to demonstrate his recipe. An hour later, with the smell of rosemary and meat wafting in from the kitchen, he tells us that he started cooking about 12 years ago when he was studying product designing at Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. “Until 1995, I could just make tea. Once in Milan, I had to cook for myself or starve. It was actually my Italian landlady who taught me the basics of cooking and that’s why I am more comfortable with the European style of cooking rather than Indian. It is much simpler,” says Davis. Perhaps this is one of the reasons (the other being that duck meat is hard to find in Delhi) why he does not try to replicate his favourite Christmas dish—duck roast as his mother makes it. “My mother comes from the backwaters in Kerala and duck roast during Christmas is a popular dish there.” Another dish his mother always makes at Christmas time, and one he now replicates is banana fritters. “However, I do not batter-fry the bananas like most people do in Kerala. I flambé them using brandy or grappa,” says Davis The Davises’ annual Christmas bash usually starts at noon and goes on until evening and is always held on the terrace of their CR Park, New Delhi, home which doubles up as a studio. Davis calls the terrace “my thinking lab”. It is a charming spot—a perfect place to host an afternoon party with about 20 couples and children walking in and out all day long. On one side is a large glass-walled room with comfy sofas and in the open area of the terrace lies a worn-out wooden table and two benches. Along the walls are plants such as ferns, mandarin oranges, cacti, small lemon shrubs and aloe vera. “We love eating salads and so I grow rocket leaves, tomatoes, lettuce and basilico on our terrace,” explains Davis. The primary dish at the bash, says Davis, is usually honey glazed ham which he picks up from Steakhouse in Jor Bagh, chicken roast, the Pollo and Patata bake which is popular with kids and adults, salads and a barbecue. “This bake is a dish I’ve eaten in many European households though I have modified it a bit to suit our tastes. It is a good filler between large courses and can be eaten even if a guest walks in at 5pm.” Friends usually bring the desserts and wine. Davis says he is partial to the rum-soaked raisin cake at Steakhouse and Christmas cakes made at Chocolate Wheel, Jor Bagh, New Delhi. “The great thing about being known as a foodie among friends is that you get food gifts, especially during the Christmas season,” he says, pointing to the gaily wrapped package of salmon that friends from Canada have sent.  Easy does it: (top to bottom) Davis says that grappa or red wine go well with this baked dish; a hands-on chef; and Pollo and Patata Bake with Pork Sausages. Photographs by Madhu Kapparath / Mint Pollo and Patata Bake with Pork Sausages (Chicken and potato bake with pork sausages) Ingredients: 1kg chicken (equal size pieces) ½kg pork sausages ½kg potatoes 2 cubes of chicken stock 10 cloves of garlic, peeled Olive oil Rosemary, chives, sage seasoning to taste Salt and pepper to taste Method: Take about 250g of pork sausages (Davis buys these at Pig Po or Green Chick Chop or Steakhouse in Delhi) and chop them to make a mince. Marinate the chicken pieces (use drumsticks or chicken breast), pork sausages, garlic cloves and the pork mince in olive oil, salt, pepper and the seasonings. Keep aside for an hour at least (“Marinating overnight works best. Keep the marinated mix in the fridge,” says Davis). Cut the potatoes into wedges and fry till golden. Set aside. Make the chicken stock as per directions. Now layer the pre-heated baking dish with a little olive oil. Place the marinated chicken and sausages mix and drizzle half the chicken stock over it. Bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius in a pre-heated oven. After half an hour, take the dish out and stir its contents. Spread the potato wedges on top and add the remaining chicken stock. Bake again for 30-45 minutes. TIP: You can use a pint of beer instead of chicken stock. “It gives the dish a totally different flavour but it’s not a good idea if children are going to be eating this,” says Davis. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:35 pm U.S. rescues ailing carmakers, Japan cuts ratesNEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government threw a $17.4 billion lifeline on Friday to Detroit carmakers crippled by the severe economic downturn, while Japan tackled its recession by shaving interest rates to near zero following a similar move by the United States.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:27 pm Oil set for weekly fall as recession cuts demandSingapore: Crude oil headed for the second biggest weekly decline in more than five years as a deepening global recession saps demand, countering efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to boost prices. Oil has dropped 33% this month even as Opec agreed to its largest production cut in more than a decade because traders speculated that falling demand would outweigh the reduction. Global oil use may decline the most since 1983, Deutsche Bank AG analyst Adam Sieminski said on Thursday. Oil consumption next year will drop by 0.2% a day, Opec said in a report Crude oil for January delivery was at $36.40 a barrel, up 18 cents, at 1.15pm Singapore time on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). Oil has fallen 21% this week. The January contract expires on Friday. The more-active February contract rose as much as 98 cents, or 2.4%, to $42.65 a barrel. It was at $42.62 a barrel at 1.22pm Singapore time. Prices have tumbled 75% from a record $147.27 a barrel on 11 July and declined 62% this year, snapping six years of consecutive gains. Brent crude oil for February settlement was at $43.92 a barrel, up 56 cents, on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract on Thursday declined $2.17, or 4.8%, to settle at $43.36 a barrel. Opec, which pumps 40% of the world’s oil, agreed on 17 December to cut output by 2.46 million barrels a day starting 1 January. It has called on other exporters to help it bolster prices. Non-Opec members Russia and Azerbaijan signaled on 17 December that they may be willing to trim supplies to help the group. World oil consumption next year will drop by 0.2% to 85.68 million barrels a day, Opec said in a 15 December report. The US energy department (DOE) said on 9 December that global demand will decline 0.5% to 85.3 million barrels a day. “We’re still in a state where the market is searching for a bottom,” said National Australia’s Burg. February futures cost $5.45 a barrel more than January oil on Thursday, based on Nymex settlement prices. It’s the biggest premium between the two most active contract months in Bloomberg data going back to 1986. The spread allows oil traders who can line up credit and storage space to lock in profits by buying and holding crude oil to sell a month from now. Oil for delivery in January 2010 is 53% more than for delivery in January 2009, increasing the opportunity for traders to profit. This price structure, in which the subsequent month’s price is higher than the one before it, is known as contango. Contango trading encourages companies to increase stockpiles. US crude-oil supplies rose in 11 of the past 12 weeks, according to the DOE. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, where oil that’s traded on Nymex is stored, climbed 21% to 27.5 million barrels last week, the highest since May 2007, the government said on 17 December. Oil companies have booked 25 supertankers to store crude, enough to supply France for almost a month. The vessels, equal to about 5% of the global fleet, can carry as much as 50 million barrels. “In the short-term the price can be pretty much anything because of all the crude in storage on the water,” said Mitsubishi’s Nunan. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:25 pm Bush says U.S. will help automakers avoid collapseWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Friday offered a $17.4 billion government lifeline to ailing automakers General Motors and Chrysler LLC to prevent a deeper economic recession but he demanded they prove by March 31 that they can survive.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:24 pm Rupee completes third weekly gain as investments riseMumbai: The rupee completed a third weekly advance on speculation US interest rates as low as zero will encourage global investors to buy higher-yielding assets. The currency touched the highest in two-and-a-half months after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate to a record this week. Overseas investors bought more Indian shares than they sold since 1 December, heading for the first month of net purchases since April, data on average daily trading from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed. Eight of the 10 most active Asian currencies outside Japan rose this week. “I expect the rupee to strengthen from here as capital inflows are improving,” said Puneet Sharma, chief currency trader at state-owned Allahabad Bank in Mumbai. The rupee has been reflecting the trend in stocks and may continue to do so. The rupee strengthened 2.8% this week to 47.255 per dollar at the 5pm close in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the best performance since the five days ended 7 November. It may climb to 46.75 in coming days, Sharma said. The currency has rebounded more than 7% from a record low of 50.615 reached on 2 December. The rupee’s 16.6% loss this year is the biggest since 1991. Rising equities Asian stocks rose this week after the Federal Reserve said on 16 December it will target a federal funds rate of between zero and 0.25%. The Reserve Bank of India’s benchmark lending rate is 6.5%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares is up 8.6% in December, headed for its biggest monthly gain since June 1999. The last time the index ended a month higher was in April this year. India’s benchmark share index, the Sensex, gained 4.2% this week, adding to last week’s 8.1% advance. Funds based abroad bought Indian shares worth an average $35 million a day more than they sold this month, compared with net daily sales of $46 million and $186 million, respectively, in November and October, according to data released by Sebi. Bob Chen in Hong Kong contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:24 pm WTO issues negotiating text on trade rulesGENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) issued a revised negotiating text on Friday for trade rules covering measures to deal with unfairly priced imports and subsidised goods to fisheries subsidies.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:23 pm Zero interest points to sub-zero returns Zero is a hard number to understand. In multiplication, it turns other values to nought. In division, it turns them to infinity. In finance, it turns the world upside down. No wonder investors are dizzy. Click here for breakingviews.com  This zirp—zero interest rate policy—is combined with a nearly infinite quantity of government borrowing. The US government is expected to stimulate the economy—well into what looks like a bad recession—with as much as $850 billion (Rs4 trillion) of new debt. Meanwhile, the recession is inspiring a flight to safety. That means buying government bonds. The 2.2% yield on the 10-year US treasury could approach zero if the Federal Reserve follows up on hints that it will start buying treasuries itself. So bond prices could move higher. But in the currency market, mega-debts and mini-yields are harmful, which is why the dollar has fallen back from 98 yen to 88 yen in a month. The combination of falling yields and falling currency is illogical for a country that depends heavily on foreign capital. But in the zirp world, many things don’t quite stack up. The US isn’t the only country that offers this investment conundrum. Take the UK, which is similarly indebted, and similarly borrowing more. The country is heading quickly towards zirp, with the overnight rate of 2% likely to be cut in half in January. The 10-year gilt yields a low 3.2%. And the pound has tumbled as fast as the dollar, from €1.18-1.08 in a month. The move towards zirp is widespread. Japan never really left, and the eurozone is gradually getting there. The thinking is that free money will keep the credit system from freezing up, while higher government deficits should keep demand from collapsing. But the policies aren’t obviously working. The best that can be said so far is that the world could be in even worse shape without them. As no plausible alternatives are on offer, investors should expect more zirp. And that points to many sub-zero returns. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:23 pm Obama: Help to automakers was 'necessary step'CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Friday that the White House move to rescue Detroit's automakers was a "necessary step" to avoid an industry collapse that would have had dire consequences for the economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:16 pm Madoff agrees to extension of asset freezeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street investment adviser accused of running a $50 billion securities fraud, has agreed to extend court orders freezing his assets and appointing a receiver for his firm, according to court documents.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:15 pm Britain says will do all it can to help carmakersLONDON (Reuters) - The British government wants to help the car industry through the economic downturn but the main responsibility lies with the carmakers' owners, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 5:00 pm Tripura announces special package for militancy victimsTripura Friday announced a new economic-cum-rehabilitation package for civilians and security personnel who fall victim to militancy in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 19 Dec 2008 | 4:31 pm Free enterprise still relevant, unavoidable: Raghuram RajanRaghuram Rajan, econonmic advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Friday said that free enterprise was still relevant and important for India at the time of global financial crisis.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 19 Dec 2008 | 4:30 pm Target middle, lower class, Jaipal Reddy tells housing industryUnion Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy Friday called on the real estate players to shift their focus from the rich and higher-middle class to the middle and lower class people who possess greater potential for the industry.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 19 Dec 2008 | 4:30 pm Sheila Dikshit inspects Delhi's BRT corridorDelhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Friday inspected the controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate to ascertain the reasons behind the frequent traffic jams on the stretch and suggested ways to improve the situation.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 19 Dec 2008 | 3:32 pm ICICI names new chief, sees loan growth boostMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's No.1 private lender, ICICI Bank, said Chanda Kochhar will become chief executive next year, as expected, and she forecast lower rates would give a lift to loan growth sagging from a tough year for banks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2008 | 2:31 pm
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