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HIRCO case: Laxey Partners file complain to AIM regulatorLaxey Partners have made a formal complaint to AIM regulator, reports CNBCTV18. Laxey has pointed out \'deficiencies\' in merger document to AIM regulator.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:46 pm Gold remains down on weak global cues, fall in demand - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:40 pm Violent protests by autorickshaw operators in Kolkata, buses set ablazeA mob set ablaze three government buses in the city, as protests of auto-rickshaw drivers backed by state's principal opposition Trinamool Congress continued Saturday against a clampdown on two-stroke transport, banned by the Calcutta High Court for causing air pollution.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:30 pm 'Chinese economy may bounce back in second half of 2009'The global economic slowdown has taken its toll on the Chinese economy as exports and equity markets are down, but things may turn around in the second half of 2009, a Chinese diplomat said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:30 pm India urges "sense" in Pakistan over militancy - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:16 pm FMP redemptions to total Rs 80K cr in 09, 700 to matureThere could be more pain in store for India Inc that had banked heavily on fixed maturity plans (FMPs) for its funding needs. Companies would have to pay out Rs 40,000 crore by May as more than 400 schemes come up for redemption. The total figure for the end of 2009 comes out to as high as Rs 80,000 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:15 pm Syndicate Bank reduces BPLR to 12.50 pc - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Russia awaits Ukraine response to talks offer-Gazprom - Reuters
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:02 pm Confident of Maytas executing H\'bad Metro project: AP govtSatyam promoter Ramalinga Raju\'s family has got a supporter in the Andhra Pradesh government. The government says it is confident that Maytas Infrastructure will be able to execute the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:53 am L&T's 'knowledge city' at Vadodra to focus on power, oil & gas - domain-B
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:43 am SRSR holdings\' stake in Satyam down to 4.4% from 8.27%SRSR Holdings\' stake in Satyam is down to 4.4% from 8.27%. SRSR Holdings\' 3.14% stake was sold via market sale of pledged shares by lenders. ILFS trust sold 4.4 lakh shares in open markets yesterday. Out of the remaining 5.13% stake of SRSR Holdings, 3.25% is with lenders.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:33 am Next fiscal likely to be more difficult: PMHowever, the prime minister claimed that despite the the global economic slowdown, India would achieve a growth rate of close to 7 per cent this fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:21 am Satyam chief’s son takes over as Maytas Infra CEOHyderabad: B. Teja Raju, the elder son of Saytam Computer chief B. Ramalinga Raju, Saturday took over additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of Maytas Infra in place of P.K. Madhav, who was arrested on 16 December 2008 in connection with the Nagarjuna Finance depositors’ case. “It is just an interim arrangement. Teja Raju will oversee those departments, which had earlier been handled by P.K. Madhav,” a spokesperson of Maytas Infra told PTI. Teja Raju will continue as vice-chairman of Maytas Infra. Maytas Infra is one of the two companies, which were proposed to be taken over by Satyam Computer. P.K. Madhav, who was associated with Nagarjuna group before joining Maytas, was arrested along with Nagarjuna Group’s Chairman K.S. Raju alleging that Nagarjuna Finance (group company) had failed to return about Rs100-crore to small depositors after maturity. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:02 am ONGC chairman defends acquisition of Imperial EnergyDefending the acquisition of Imperial Energy, the state-run oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has said the British energy major's potential was 'very good'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:01 am High investor confidence drives markets upwardsIndian equities markets made quite a comeback this week. A key index ended 6.75 percent higher than last week's close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:01 am Ministers from 11 countries to participate in Petrotech-2009The eighth edition of Asia's largest petroleum exhibition and conference, beginning Jan 11, may see a smaller delegation due to economic slowdown and fears over terror attacks, but ministers from 11 countries will attend the event, organisers said here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 11:00 am AUMs Reported 4% Growth In Dec - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:46 am Satyam stakes falls to 5.13% from 8.27% - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:17 am CCEA Allows Pepsi To Keep Stake In Bottling Arms - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:13 am EU gas supplies fall as Russia-Ukraine row deepensKIEV (Reuters) - European Union countries were on alert on Saturday for further disruption to their gas supplies after Russia cut off Ukraine in a row over pricing, and accused it of stealing gas bound for western markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:09 am Hyundai, Honda Posted Positive Sales In Dec - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:06 am Government Announces Second Stimulus Package - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 3 Jan 2009 | 10:04 am Strengthen varsities, research; promote young talent: PMShillong: Contending that the government has laid down the foundation to foster research, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday asked scientists to promote younger talent and strengthen leadership in universities and research institutions. “The best science is done by young people. Our institutions must be receptive to the needs of the young people. They must promote younger talent and allow youth to lead,” he said inaugurating the 96th Indian Science Congress at the picturesque North Eastern Hill University campus. Singh said the government can at best ease the supply side constraints on teaching and research and the demand side stimulus must come from institutions and the industry. “India is lagging behind not just developed western nations, but also the newly industrialising economies of Asia,” Singh said adding that while the government is doing its bit to ensure quantitative development, the leadership for qualitative development must come from the scientific community. “Our universities must do more to foster a research environment. “We need strengthening of institutional leadership in universities and research institutions,” the Prime Minister said. Seniority and age may be relevant in the bureaucratic system, but scientific institutions must be led by intellectual leaders, irrespective of age, he said. Singh asked the industry to invest more in research and development and boost the demand for science and technology graduates and researchers. Regretting that India lags behind even some newly-industrialising nations of Asia in research, the Prime Minister pitched for a “new wave” of investments from private sector to provide stimulus to scientific development. Citing the role of public investment in nuclear energy, space and defence related industry in creating a demand for science graduates, the Prime Minister said, “We need a new wave of such investment from the private sector so that young people will be encouraged to seek a career in science.” The Prime Minister said while the government is doing its bit to ensure quantitative development, the leadership for qualitative development must come from the scientific community. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 9:28 am Royal Enfield finishes year on a high noteIt has never been part of the numbers game but on the evening of December 31, the team at Royal Enfield Motors had every reason to be pleased.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 9:18 am BSNL to invest Rs 1,600 cr on broadband equipmentStateowned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will invest Rs 1,600 crore in the next two years on broadband equipment, including WiMax and optical fibre, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Kuldeep Goyal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 9:11 am IOC to commission major projects this yearIndian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) has said that during 2009 the company plans to commission major refinery projects.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am Failed US home loans bank IndyMac sold for $14 bnA group of private investors has agreed to buy for nearly $14 billion the collapsed home loans specialist IndyMac Bank.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:51 am Wall Street starts new year with a bangAfter an abysmal 2008, Wall Street started the new year with a bang as stocks rallied and the Dow Jones closed above 9,000 for the first time since November.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:49 am Iran says OPEC might meet in Kuwait in FebTEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian official said on Saturday OPEC could meet in February in Kuwait to review the oil market's performance in January, after a newly agreed production cut, but added that no official invitation had been made.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:44 am India to double investment in science: PMWhile announcing a doubling of the investment in science from one to two percent of the national income, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday urged the Indian industry to invest in research and development aimed at boosting science and technology so that young minds are attracted to seeking a career in science.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:30 am Dense fog, intense cold envelop Punjab, Haryana and ChandigarhDense fog and shivering cold continued to throw life out of gear in Punjab and Haryana as well as the union territory of Chandigarh Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Bangalore grannies' yummy pizzas help build old age homeTwo grand old ladies of Bangalore have come to be known as pizza grannies. They serve yummy pizzas, for a cause - to build a home for the aged and to keep it running.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am Himachal gets central government nod for dam to give Delhi waterThe central government has allowed Himachal Pradesh to begin building a multi-billion rupee hydroelectric project that will provide drinking water to Delhi, an official here said Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 7:32 am Autorickshaw operators set buses ablaze in KolkataTwo buses were set ablaze Saturday by protesting Trinamool Congress-backed auto-rickshaw operators protesting a court ban on ageing public transport vehicles in the city and to demand the release of 18 arrested protesters.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Jan 2009 | 7:31 am Ambuja Cements Dec shipments up 12 pct y/yMUMBAI (Reuters) - Ambuja Cements Ltd, India's third-largest cement maker, said on Saturday its shipments in December 2008 rose 11.8 percent to 16.62 million tonnes from 14.86 million a year earlier.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 5:57 am Earnings Preview: IT sectorThe top line of the front-line information technology (IT) companies is expected to grow in the range 6.1-11.7% in Q3FY2009. The growth in the top line is expected to be primarily driven by the depreciation in the rupee against the US Dollar. The rupee’s depreciation is likely to contribute 10-12% of the top line growth for the frontline IT companies. In dollar terms, we expect the frontline IT companies to miss the revenue guidance on account of a sharp cross-currency movement and muted volume growth owing to a lower utilization rate during the quarter. The utilization rate was lower during the third quarter on account of a weakening demand environment and a lesser number of working days in the quarter. On the margin front, Infosys Technologies (Infosys), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Satyam Computer Services (Satyam) are expected to show an improvement of 50 to 75 basis points in their margin largely because of the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar. In case of Wipro, we expect approximately a 15–basis-point decline in its operating profit margin (OPM) on account of the full quarter impact of the offshore wage hike given in the previous quarter effective from August 2008 and the salary hike given to the business process outsourcing (BPO) staff effective from October 2008. For HCL Technologies (HCL Tech), we expect the OPM to decline by around ten basis points largely on account of the full quarter impact of the lower-margin Liberata Financial Services (Liberata) and Control Point Solutions (CPS) acquisitions made in the previous quarter and the partial impact of the Axon acquisition. Hedging On the hedging front, Infosys and Satyam are going to benefit from the depreciation in the rupee against the US Dollar during the quarter. In case of TCS, the hedge positions of $180 million (at an exchange of rate of Rs39-41.82) and $300 million (at an exchange rate of Rs43.15-46.5) are expected to mature in this quarter. Hence, we expect foreign exchange (forex) losses of over Rs260 crore during the quarter. Given the sharp movement in the cross currency, the focus of the street would be on Infosys’ FY2009 dollar term revenue guidance. As per our calculation, Infosys is likely to cut the dollar term revenue guidance for FY2009 by 1.0-1.5% (from 13.1-15.2% guided in previous quarter) on account of the cross-currency impact. Guidance The street would also focus on the management commentary on the indicators such as the expectations for CY2009 IT budget cycle finalization, project renewals and cancellations, the extent of price cuts (as price cuts is imminent in a weakening demand environment) and any revision in the hiring targets (including campus hiring for the next year). Apart from this, the management commentary on margin levers, such as wage hike and any reduction in sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, the extension of days’ sales outstanding (DSO) days and the provision for doubtful debts, would be focus areas for the street. In case of Satyam, after the proposed Satyam-Maytas deal (which was subsequently revoked), we believe the street would focus more on the concerns over the corporate governance issue and the possibility of a change in the management rather than the Q3FY2009 results. Hence, the outcome of Satyam’s board meeting on 10 January 2009 is going to be closely watched. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Jan 2009 | 5:12 am Madoff trustee seeks wide authority -New York TimesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of accused fraudster Bernard Madoff has asked a court for unusually broad authority to subpoena witnesses and documents, The New York Times reported.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am Chrysler gets $4 billion U.S. government loanNEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC on Friday received an initial $4 billion emergency loan from the U.S. government, two days after the government completed a parallel payout to its larger rival General Motors Corp.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Jan 2009 | 2:09 am Hyundai, Honda buck the trendMumbai, Jan. 2 In spite of the overall downtrend, at least two automobile manufacturers managed to do well in December. The second largest carmaker Hyundai Motor India and premium carmaker Honda Siel Cars India showed an increase in sales whileSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Banks to benefit from latest fiscal and monetary measuresIn a move that may push banks to loosen their purse strings and invest less in safer options, RBI has cut the cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points and policy rates (repo and reverse repo) by 100 basis points.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am RBI cuts key rates furtherMumbai, Jan. 2 The Reserve Bank of India on Friday cut its key rates — repo and reverse repo by one percentage point each and dropped Cash Reserve Ratio by half a percentage point — to ensure availability of credit at lower rates.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Motors commercial vehicle sales dip 51% in DecMumbai, Jan. 2 The fiscal package announced by the Centre on Friday coincided with Tata Motors’ commercial vehicle sales report for December which dropped 51 per cent to 14,056 units from 28,661 units in the same period last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Motherson Sumi to buy Europe’s VisiocorpNew Delhi, Jan. 2 The Rs 2,000-crore plus auto component maker, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd, on Friday announced its seventh acquisition by buying out the businesses of one of the world’s largest rear view mirror producers, Visiocorp for anSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am UPA’s final booster dose for economyNew Delhi, Jan. 2 In their final stimulus package for 2008-09, the UPA Government and the Reserve Bank of India took wide ranging measures to address the problems in the monetary, infrastructure and export sectors.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Exporters get second stimulus packageNew Delhi, Jan. 2 With the country’s exports growth plummeting for the second month in succession in November 2008, the Government has announced a series of measures including provision of pre-shipment and post-shipment credit in rupee orSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Analysts see execution as key to stimulus successMumbai, Jan. 2 Execution of the stimulus package will be crucial, said market participants on Friday, when the Centre announced the much-awaited second stimulusSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Assets under management of mutual funds move north in DecemberMumbai, Jan. 2 The New Year seems to have begun on a positive note for the mutual fund industry, as the assets under management (AUM) have increased by four per cent in December, reversing the earlier trend of decliningSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Govt waives divestment condition for PepsiCoNew Delhi, Jan. 2 PepsiCo’s wait for a waiver of a special disinvestment condition imposed in 1997, is finally over. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Friday deleted the condition of divestment of 49 per cent stake in itsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Wall St Week Ahead - Market rally faces first New Year testsNEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's bid to rally from its worst year since the 1930s will be tested next week by the year's first wave of likely dismal corporate news and possible roadblocks to President-elect Barack Obama's stimulus plan.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 11:32 pm How search engines are changing the brandscapeThanks to search, consumers today can peep behind the advertised image and the make-believe façade of brands.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:21 pm Rich media ads clicking rightThe current downturn is making advertisers skim for the Web's riches. Higher interactivity in these ads results in better click-through rates.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:20 pm Airport advertising skids, advertisers cancel OOH dealsWith marketing budgets grounded, advertisers are cancelling airport OOH deals. This, despite rates having fallen almost 50% in the last few months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:17 pm ONGC lowers earnings forecast for FY10ONGC, the state-owned oil producer, has reduced its earnings projections for 2009-10 in its proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the petroleum ministry.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:04 pm Bombay Rayon's spread in Maharashtra on trackEven as the textile sector reels under a slowdown, BRFL, the largest manufacturer of designer shirts, is on track with its expansion plans in Maharashtra.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:02 pm Raju family stake down to 5.13%Satyam Computer Services disclosed that the Ramalinga Raju family holding through SRSR Holdings is currently at 5.13% of the total equity.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:01 pm Geodesic eyes acquisitions in EuropeGeodesic Ltd, the Mumbai-based internet communications platform provider, is scouting for Europeans firms in the collaborations space for acquisitions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:00 pm Maharashtra dithers over SEZ referendum resultsThree months have passed, but the Maharashtra government has not been able to finalise its report on the results of the September 22 referendum it had organised in 22 villages of Raigad district thatSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:51 pm OVL to bid for oil and gas blocks in IraqONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of Indias largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is planning to bid for a few of the 19 exploration blocksSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:49 pm RBI cuts rates, banks say they'll followBanks started pruning deposit rates within hours of the Reserve Bank of Indias decision to cut repo and reverse repo rates to all-time lows.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:48 pm Fiscal stimulus II eases India Inc's access to moneyThe Centres second fiscal stimulus package, announced almost a month after the first on December 7 last year, covers a series of measures aimed at easing credit delivery to sectors impactedSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:45 pm Decoupling from rich nations to help poorAbsent huge policy mistakes, the current downturn won’t rival the Great Depression, when US gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 27% and the unemployment rate reached 25%. Even the worst pessimists don’t expect a double-digit percentage point GDP decline. But there’s a chance of a sort of quasi-depression—which could lead to a multi-decade decline in living standards in rich countries.  Click here for breakingviews.com According to Bureau of Economic Analysis’ statistics, US GDP declined 26.6% between 1929 and 1933 while real personal income declined 25.7%. Real personal consumption expenditures declined 18.2%. Per capita, real personal income declined 30% and consumption 23%. US GDP per capita at purchasing power parity was $45,800 (about Rs22.4 lakh) in 2007, thus 4.58 times the $10,000 average GDP per capita of the world as a whole. World GDP per capita grew by 2.58% in 1960-2000. If world per capita GDP grows at 2.58% per annum, it will equal current US GDP per capita of $45,600 in 60 years. If global growth continues at 2.58% annually and globalization’s acceleration is sufficient to reduce the gap in global living standards by half in 15 years, the world’s average GDP per capita in 2022 will be $14,653, while 2022’s US per capita GDP, at 2.29 times global per capita GDP, would be $33,556, a 26.8% drop from today. The gap between developing and developed world living standards is still huge. GDP per person in the US is 4.6 times higher than the world average, according to CIA World Factbook. But globalization—in trade, communications and knowledge—is narrowing the difference. As yet, this great equalization has been pleasing for the poor and largely painless for the rich. Both poor and rich have got richer, but the poor have got richer faster. That could change. The growth of the poor might start to come at the expense of the rich. Consider the numbers. Suppose the 4.6-times income gap between rich and poor halves in the next 15 years while the whole world’s GDP keeps growing at the same 2.6% rate it did between 1960 and 2000. If that happens, US per capita GDP would mathematically be 27% lower in 2022 than in 2007—the same fall experienced in the Great Depression, just spread out over many more years. Statistical projections are not economic destiny, but rich countries can actually get poorer. The average Argentine was 9% poorer in 1945 than in 1929. According to Bureau of Economic Analysis’ statistics, US GDP declined 26.6% between 1929 and 1933 while real personal income declined 25.7%. Real personal consumption expenditures declined 18.2%. Per capita, real personal income declined 30% and consumption 23%. It took heroic doses of wasteful macroeconomic policy to get that result. But the current rich-country policies of huge government deficits and tiny interest rates aren’t growth-friendly over the long term. Unless reversed quickly, this mix tends to lead to larger governments, troublesome budget deficits and—when the debts can’t be paid off—increasingly dangerous inflation. Populist policies could make a bad situation worse. In the US and other wealthy countries, the result could be a downward sloping saw-tooth pattern of output. Each recovery is feebler than the preceding downturn. As it stands, the poor are closely tied to the rich, so China and its peers are suffering from the troubles in their big export markets. That could change, though, if poorer countries learn to rely less on low-value exports. Instead, they could create a self-sustaining upward spiral of useful investments, improved productivity and rising incomes. Such a decoupling would be highly advisable if rich countries turn to the economic equivalent of self-harming behaviour. Even if the rich get a third poorer, they will be much richer than their ancestors were in 1929, before the Great Depression started. But the psychological effect of losing income for so many years could be just as great. Talk about depressing. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:33 pm Hansen stake sale may ease Suzlon’s capital needsSuzlon Energy Ltd is aggressively working at raising capital and generating cash to tide over the credit crunch. The company’s latest move to sell a 10% stake in its Belgian subsidiary, Hansen Transmissions International NV is another step in this regard. Based on Hansen’s traded share price, Suzlon would have raised £78 million (about Rs558 crore) from the stake sale. There are varied estimates of how badly the tightness in the credit markets will hit the company, with one school of thought believing that the company could even go bankrupt under the weight of its high debt. At one point, in early December, a large section of the market seemed to think that there was a high chance of the company being crushed under its debt burden. Back then, the company’s valuation had fallen to as low as Rs36.20 per share, barely factoring in the value of the company’s stake in its subsidiaries. Since then, the company’s shares have risen smartly by about 78%, but even at current levels, the value assigned to the core business is rather negligible. Concerns about the company’s high debt and other capital commitments continue to haunt its valuations. While the stake sale in Hansen is a welcome move, it’s certainly not enough to make investors comfortable. After all, Suzlon shares fell by nearly 3% after it announced the Hansen stake sale. Suzlon currently has a net debt of Rs8,400 crore; it has loan repayments related to its two overseas acquisitions coming due, capital expenditure worth Rs974 crore in the second half of the current fiscal and Rs220 crore in the first half of the next fiscal and a commitment to make a balance payment of €205 million (about Rs1,390 crore) to buy Martifer’s stake in subsidiary REpower Systems AG. To meet all these needs, the company has sold a minority stake in one of its component subsidiaries in India and has now divested some stake in Hansen. It is also generating additional cash by reducing inventories. Some analysts believe that internal cash accruals and the moves listed above should suffice in generating enough cash to meet debt obligations. If the company is indeed able to manage its capital requirements, there would be a huge upside to its stock price, which still trades about 85% lower than its 52-week high. But based on the collective wisdom of the markets, it may make sense to wait and watch some more. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:33 pm More gloom in manufacturingThe contraction of the Indian manufacturing sector picked up speed during December, with the ABN Amro seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to a new low of 44.4, compared with 45.8 in November. (A reading of below 50 signals contraction.)  December was thus the second consecutive month in which the manufacturing sector shrank. Clearly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government’s efforts to boost the economy have not yet started working. There are no signs that we have reached a bottom. A bigger push by the government and RBI is needed. December was also the first month in which the PMI sub-index for employment fell below the 50 mark. The employment PMI fell to 47.5 during the month, indicating that employment in manufacturing has started to contract. The survey points out: “The latest index figure suggested a modest rate of job-shedding in the Indian manufacturing economy. Companies stated that job cuts were needed to reduce costs as incoming new work contracted further.” Also See Shrinking Jobs (Graphic) The fall in employment is ominous, as it is certain to have an adverse effect on consumption demand, pulling down the economy further. The biggest decline was in the new export orders sub-index, which fell to 40.8 from 46.7 during the previous month. That suggests that the slowing of the rate of decline in exports in November (government data shows it fell by 9.9% in November, compared with a drop of 12.1% in October) may not really be a sign of hope. The overall new orders sub-index also continued to contract, falling to 41.4 in December from 43.2 in the previous month. With today’s orders becoming tomorrow’s output, that’s another leading indicator of lower output in future. The other slightly worrying signal—hopefully a blip—is that while the input price sub-index was more or less unchanged in December from the previous month, the output price sub-index saw a further fall. That seems to indicate that firms are cutting prices to increase sales, a conclusion borne out by the automobile sector. If the trend continues, corporate margins will be under pressure, despite falling input costs. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:32 pm Govt, RBI double up for fresh stimulus to revive economyNew Delhi / Mumbai: In a coordinated move, the Union government and the central bank on Friday announced a series of measures aimed at reducing borrowing costs, improving the flow of credit in a slowing economy and helping sectors that have been the worst hit by the current downturn. Also See Double Dose (Graphic) Among the measures to increase liquidity was a cut in the amount of cash that banks have to park with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), new rules that make it easier for Indian companies to borrow from the global markets, and more than doubling of the limit to which foreign institutional investors can buy domestic corporate bonds every year, to $15 billion (Rs73,350 crore). Click here to watch video The interest rates at which RBI borrows from and lends to banks for short periods of time have also been cut by a full percentage point, a signal to banks to reduce their own lending rates to companies and consumers. Other measures unveiled include allowing state governments to increase their borrowing for capital spending by about Rs30,000 crore, special aid to select groups such as exporters and manufacturers of commercial vehicles, and recommendations that state governments release land for low-cost housing. These measures were announced at the end of a week when new data showed that the Indian economy was in deeper trouble than earlier believed. The government package comes a month after an earlier spending plan announced in early December to support economic growth left Indian industry asking for more. The stimulus package drew a mixed response from industry groups and economists. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) welcomed the new package. “This package is timely and will help the next quarter demand considerably. The repo and reverse repo cuts, along with reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR), will ease liquidity for banks and have a positive effect on the cost of credit,” CII director Chandrajit Banerjee said. Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra said: “The steps should hopefully give big boost to the slowing economy,” adding that he expected “business confidence would be restored”. But another chamber—Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India)—said it expected more, even as the Federation of Indian Export Organizations said enough had not been done for exporters. “This package should have been more coordinated and (needed) direct intervention by the Centre and the state to step up investment in the rural sector. The 0.5% increase in the borrowing would just be at best adequate to meet the fall in the tax revenue. This won’t result in a high (increase) in the expenditure of the state governments,” said Thomas Isaac, finance minister of the ruling Left Front government in Kerala. The bond market quickly reacted to the rate cuts. The yield on the bond dropped to 5.07%, from the previous close of 5.29%. Industry is hoping that its lending costs, too, will drop. But bankers say that they may not rush to cut lending rates at once. Romesh Sobti, managing director and chief executive officer of IndusInd Bank Ltd, said: “The rate cuts are with a desire to make money cheaper. Interest rates are expected to come down further with a lag as banks will first align their deposit rates.” Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director M.D. Mallya said, “We have lowered our prime lending rate 75 basis points on Thursday, largely in anticipation of RBI measures, but we will assess the situation before taking further steps.” K.C. Chakrabarty, chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank, also echoed the same view: “We are always ahead of the curve and have already reduced our rates few days back. We cannot take rate cut decision on a daily basis. Our asset-liability committee will examine the situation at the end of the month.” Chanda Kochhar, joint managing director and chief financial officer of ICICI Bank Ltd, said, “These measures would accelerate the move to a lower interest rate regime across the system. We could expect a bottoming out of government bond rates and further decline in deposit and lending rates from the current levels.” The government does not have the space to go in for a big-bang spending package because it is hamstrung by a large fiscal deficit already likely to cross the budget estimate and the targets set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, a federal agreement to limit deficits. This could be one reason why the fiscal package does not have provisions for extra spending by the Union government. The government already estimates that revenue loss in 2008-09 due to the slowdown in the economy and the giveaways, would be Rs40,000 crore. Yet, M. Govinda Rao, member of the economic advisory council to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and one of India’s foremost public finance economists, said: “This is not the time to talk deficits. The FRBM is useful when the economy was doing well. The budget itself has hidden a lot of things. What’s the point in saying the emperor is fully clothed now.” But other economists pointed to certain worries. According to Pronab Sen, economist and chief statistician of India, there has to be a greater emphasis on interventions to remove the bottlenecks in the system. Sen also questioned the move to withdraw ceilings on the rates for external borrowings, saying that it would bring in riskier capital into the economy. “I’m not quite sure it solves anything,” he said. The steps announced for the auto sector and commercial vehicles in particular were welcomed by companies making them. Ravi Kant, managing director of Tata Motors Ltd, the country’s largest commercial vehicle maker, said in an emailed statement, “We welcome the positive steps announced in the fiscal package today. The government needs to work on ensuring that ultimately liquidity reaches customers at reasonable costs.” rahul.c@livemint.com K.P. Narayana Kumar, Liz Mathew, Teena Jain, Samar Srivastava and Anita Bhoir of Mint, PTI and Reuters contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:25 pm Raju family’s 5.13% stake in Satyam also in jeopardyBangalore / Hyderabad: Satyam Computer Services Ltd chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his family now own just 5.13% of the company after institutional investors who lent money against shares began selling some of that stock. In a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Satyam said that of the 5.13% stake remaining with the promoters, nearly 21.9 million shares, or equivalent to a 3.13% stake in the company, are already transferred to lenders’ account under pledge invocation. That appears to leave Raju’s family with only 12.6 million shares, or 1.87% stake in the company.  Losing ground: Satyam chairman B. Ramalinga Raju. Hemant Mishra / Mint But “the risk of their holding being sold by the lenders now appears to be higher than thought earlier, since 3.14% has already been sold in the market, 3.13% is already transferred to lenders’ account under pledge invocation and the balance 1.8% is still under pledge with the lenders, to be invoked at any time,” said T. Hari, head of global communications at Satyam. The disclosure comes days after Raju and family disclosed their entire 8.27% stake had been pledged against money they had borrowed. That disclosure promptly led to at least two independent directors of Satyam resigning. Raju has been embroiled in a corporate governance and self-dealing scandal since he proposed—and Satyam’s board unanimously approved—a plan to use $1.6 billion (nearly Rs7,825 crore) of Satyam’s money to buy two infrastructure firms that were promoted by his sons. Satyam abandoned the proposal within 12 hours after an immediate investor backlash saw its US-listed shares plunge 55%. The shares have never fully recovered from the plunge that began on 16 December. The disclosure that Raju and family have such a minuscule share of the company’s equity is now likely to add significant pressure on the company to dump the promoter managers as the botched deals to buy Maytas Properties Ltd and Maytas Infra Ltd are widely seen as an attempt by Raju and his family to ignore the rights of shareholders, who include many institutions that now own more shares than Raju and related promoters. A 10 January board meeting has been scheduled by the embattled Satyam, with just five of the nine board members remaining following two other resignations after the Maytas deals collapsed. Satyam’s stock fell 2.63%, or Rs4.80 a share, to end at Rs177.55 on BSE on Friday. Despite gains this week, the shares are nowhere near the Rs226.50 they closed at just hours before the twin deals were unveiled. It is still unclear who the lenders were and why Raju and family needed to borrow money, and what they did with the money they took against their Satyam shares. Raju has declined to address these and other questions in recent days while claiming management is doing all it can to restore investor faith in Satyam. raghu.k@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:15 pm Audio sites to help illiterates access online informationNew Delhi: How cool would it be to surf the Internet by hearing it? Researchers at the International Business Machines (IBM) India research laboratory are working on a phone-based Internet where even illiterates could create websites, link to and access information on others’ sites, through a series of voice commands, using a basic phone.  More accessibility: As part of IBM’s pilot project in Andhra Pradesh, a mechanic uses his mobile phone to create his audio website. IBM’s target audience are carpenters, plumbers and small businessmen who want to reach out to a wider audience, but can’t afford the advertising costs. Amit Nanavati, a senior scientist at the lab and one of the lead contributors to the project, envisions the World Wide Telecom Web, a virtual mesh of so-called voicesites akin to the World Wide Web. Dialling these voicesites is akin to calling a telephone company to download the latest ringtone. An automated voice instructs you to push buttons, or speak certain words that springboard you to various menus. “Such interactive voice response systems are hard to make, especially for first time users. So what we’ve done is design an engine that allows users to follow simple instructions to create their websites in regional languages,” said Nanavati. VoiGEN, the system being developed, aggregates technologies such as speech recognition systems and software tools where anyone can make a similar audio “website” within minutes. All voicesites will exist on dedicated servers that will manage and return sites to users based on their searches. “The World Wide Web as we know exists became popular as it became relatively easier to create your own websites and host them on a common WWW platform. So, voicesites can take off if users can quickly and easily make voicesites of their own,” said Nanavati. In a pilot study, detailed in a research publication, the researchers said 10 of the 12 subjects, who were mostly carpenters, plumbers and electricians and briefed about the application for 10 minutes, were able to generate their voicesite in under 4 minutes. IBM’s target audience are carpenters, plumbers and small businessmen. “People who want to reach out to a wider audience, but can’t afford the advertising,” said Nanavati. For instance, a Delhi-based plumber who would traditionally depend on word-of-mouth publicity to advertise his services can now set up a voicesite with details on the services he offers. The plumber’s voicesite is hosted on a dedicated engine. End-users looking for somebody to plug their leaking taps will access this engine via a phone number (akin to typing out say, Google.com on a Web browser), and via a chain of voice instructions hit upon a specific plumber’s website. IBM’s attempts are still early in the day. Spokespersons declined to give details on the company’s investments in the project, deadlines or progress on pilot projects under way in Gujarat and Delhi. However, its high expectations from the “spoken Web” is undeniable. “All of our eight research and development labs across the globe are involved with the project. Each is working on parts of it and India is playing a nodal role,” said Kiran Kumar, communications director at IBM India. With among the highest growth rates of telephone connections and a literacy rate still hovering around 60% (well below Unesco’s 75% threshold), experts say there’s a promising market for technologies as these. “Though mobile penetration is rapidly increasing, we’ve also seen free services such as SMS and cameras aren’t very popular in rural areas,” said telecommunications analyst Ravi Aggarwal, “and BlackBerry-styled Internet access might still be a long way for rural india. So, a voice-based Internet on the phone does sound promising.” N. Balakrishna, computer science head and assistant director at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is cautiously optimistic. “Given copious bandwidth, it’s possible to develop alternative communication technologies. I mean it takes much less space to host a page, than have an audio recording of its content. But boosting bandwidth would mean a systematic upgrade of our communication systems. After all, we’ve only just started using 3G networks.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:14 pm Return of animal spiritsFinally, the government has come out with a coordinated monetary and fiscal policy response to a slowing Indian economy. The Reserve Bank of India has slashed the cash reserve ratio from 5.5% to 5% and has also reduced the repo rate to 5.5% from 6.5%. At the same time, the government has announced a second stimulus package. Will it work? It just might. It is well known that pessimism, more than anything else, sucked the life out of markets. The problem, so far, was that government responses were only of the half-a-limb kind: Either too much emphasis was paid on monetary policy or stand-alone, badly designed, fiscal packages were put out. Friday’s announcement is different. Fiscal stimuli that have the potential to raise demand need a monetary base to stand on. The twin steps have the potential to restore lending confidence. Stimulus 2.0 will spur firms to produce and once banks know that demand exists “out there” and companies can do business and give their money back, it just might bring back animal spirits. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:14 pm Audio sites to help illiterates access online informationNew Delhi: How cool would it be to surf the Internet by hearing it? Researchers at the International Business Machines (IBM) India research laboratory are working on a phone-based Internet where even illiterates could create websites, link to and access information on others’ sites, through a series of voice commands, using a basic phone. More accessibility: As part of IBM’s pilot project in Andhra Pradesh, a mechanic uses his mobile phone to create his audio website. IBM’s target audience are carpenters, plumbers and small businessmen who want to reach out to a wider audience, but can’t afford the advertising costs. Amit Nanavati, a senior scientist at the lab and one of the lead contributors to the project, envisions the World Wide Telecom Web, a virtual mesh of so-called voicesites akin to the World Wide Web. Dialling these voicesites is akin to calling a telephone company to download the latest ringtone. An automated voice instructs you to push buttons, or speak certain words that springboard you to various menus. “Such interactive voice response systems are hard to make, especially for first time users. So what we’ve done is design an engine that allows users to follow simple instructions to create their websites in regional languages,” said Nanavati. VoiGEN, the system being developed, aggregates technologies such as speech recognition systems and software tools where anyone can make a similar audio “website” within minutes. All voicesites will exist on dedicated servers that will manage and return sites to users based on their searches. “The World Wide Web as we know exists became popular as it became relatively easier to create your own websites and host them on a common WWW platform. So, voicesites can take off if users can quickly and easily make voicesites of their own,” said Nanavati. In a pilot study, detailed in a research publication, the researchers said 10 of the 12 subjects, who were mostly carpenters, plumbers and electricians and briefed about the application for 10 minutes, were able to generate their voicesite in under 4 minutes. IBM’s target audience are carpenters, plumbers and small businessmen. “People who want to reach out to a wider audience, but can’t afford the advertising,” said Nanavati. For instance, a Delhi-based plumber who would traditionally depend on word-of-mouth publicity to advertise his services can now set up a voicesite with details on the services he offers. The plumber’s voicesite is hosted on a dedicated engine. End-users looking for somebody to plug their leaking taps will access this engine via a phone number (akin to typing out say, Google.com on a Web browser), and via a chain of voice instructions hit upon a specific plumber’s website. IBM’s attempts are still early in the day. Spokespersons declined to give details on the company’s investments in the project, deadlines or progress on pilot projects under way in Gujarat and Delhi. However, its high expectations from the “spoken Web” is undeniable. “All of our eight research and development labs across the globe are involved with the project. Each is working on parts of it and India is playing a nodal role,” said Kiran Kumar, communications director at IBM India. With among the highest growth rates of telephone connections and a literacy rate still hovering around 60% (well below Unesco’s 75% threshold), experts say there’s a promising market for technologies as these. “Though mobile penetration is rapidly increasing, we’ve also seen free services such as SMS and cameras aren’t very popular in rural areas,” said telecommunications analyst Ravi Aggarwal, “and BlackBerry-styled Internet access might still be a long way for rural india. So, a voice-based Internet on the phone does sound promising.” N. Balakrishna, computer science head and assistant director at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is cautiously optimistic. “Given copious bandwidth, it’s possible to develop alternative communication technologies. I mean it takes much less space to host a page, than have an audio recording of its content. But boosting bandwidth would mean a systematic upgrade of our communication systems. After all, we’ve only just started using 3G networks.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:14 pm The week in reviewNew Delhi: It was an action packed week as 2008 ended and the New Year began. The government rung in 2009 by announcing its second fiscal stimulus package on Friday. Click here to watch video The package allows state governments to borrow Rs30,000 crore and has provisions for exporters, infrastructure projects and Foreign Institutional Investors. In a coordinated move the Reserve Bank of India cut the cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points to 4% and cut the repo and reverse repo rates by 100 basis points each. This is expected to pump in close to Rs20,000 crore of additional liquidity into the banking system. Sri Lankan troops captured Kilinochchi, the headquarter of the Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday. It’s being seen as a bitter blow to the LTTE or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The military operation to take the separatist stronghold started in September. Closer home it was a distressing beginning to the New Year in Assam as low intensity blasts killed five people and injured at least 60. The blasts occurred along the route Home Minister P Chidambaram was expected to take while visiting Guwahati. Police said the blasts were triggered by Ulfa militants. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:09 pm IIFCL to raise Rs 10K cr in FY09; can raise addl Rs 30K crThe government has announced the second stimulus package. As part of the package, India Infrastructure Finance Company has been allowed to raise a further Rs 30,000 crore via taxfree bonds. SS Kohli, CMD, IIFCL, said the company will raise Rs 10,000 crore this fiscal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:00 pm Sri Lanka says seized rebel HQ; 2 dead in ColomboColombo: Sri Lanka’s president said its troops captured the separatist Tamil Tigers’ headquarters town of Kilinochchi on Friday, but within an hour of the announcement a suspected suicide bomber killed at least two people in the capital. Troops fought their way into the Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi deep in the north, in one of the biggest blows for the rebels in years. Details of casualties from the fighting were not immediately available. “It was the constant dream of all Sri Lankans, whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, who are opposed to separatism, racism, and terrorism, and have always, sought peace, freedom and democracy. Today our heroic troops have made that dream a reality,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address. Click here to watch video “A short while ago, our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi that was considered the main bastion of the LTTE.” Soon afterwards, a suspected suicide attacker riding a motorcycle struck near the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Air Force, a military official said. “At least two people were killed from the suicide attack near the Air Force headquarters,” a spokesman at the Media centre for national security said, asking not to be named. Hospital officials said 30 people were admitted with blast injuries. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who have been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north of the island for a quarter of a century, could not immediately be reached for comment. Military officials say the rebels have in the past hit back with suicide bombings in the capital and elsewhere whenever they have come under pressure on the northern frontlines. “Major Defeat” Kilinochchi, in the Northern Province, has long been the centre of the Tamil fight for an independent homeland, which has seen more than 70,000 people killed in a bitter civil war since 1983. “This is a major defeat for the LTTE. The fall of Kilinochchi means the LTTE will have their only territory in Mullaitivu,” said Iqbal Athas, a defence analyst with Jane’s Defence, referring to a rebel stronghold in the northeast. “I would not say this is the end of the war, but it may be the beginning of the shrinking of major LTTE dominated areas.” The fall of the rebels’ de facto capital was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers in Colombo. Others waved the national flag as they drove through the streets of the capital. “The capture indicates very clearly that the LTTE’s attempt to build up a quasi-state has now collapsed,” Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, a political analyst, said. Sri Lanka’s military has been closing in on Kilinochchi since September. Over the past month, it has been assaulting Tiger defences encircling the town and both sides have claimed to have inflicted ever higher death tolls on the other. Sources from Rajapaksa’s office earlier told Reuters that troops had entered Kilinochchi from two locations and that fighting with rebels was going on. “Troops are inside the town and they are mopping up things here and there,” said a military source who asked not to be identified. State media said many rebels had fled the town. The military developments powered the island nation’s stock market higher. The Colombo All-Share index closed 5% up. The market fell 40.8% last year on economic and war worries. “With the news of Kilinochchi’s fall, sentiment just got a boost,” said Geeth Balasuriya, assistant research manager at HNB Stockbrokers. The LTTE started fighting the government in 1983. It says it is battling for the rights of minority Tamils in the face of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948. Exactly a year ago, Rajapaksa’s government formally scrapped an increasingly tattered six-year truce brokered by Norway, saying the rebels were using it as cover to regroup and re-arm. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:58 pm Next fiscal year "very difficult", says AhluwaliaNEW DELHI (Reuters) - All indications for the next fiscal year pointed to a "very difficult year" globally, a top India planner said on Friday, and the government would take more steps to shore up the Indian economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:49 pm The T-shirt gets a desi voice www.desiwear.com $25 (around Rs1,250) Also See More T-shirt desi voice styles (PDF) Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:45 pm Suzlon Energy to sell 10% stake in HansenNew Delhi: Suzlon Energy Ltd, the country’s biggest maker of wind turbine generators, said it agreed to sell a 10% stake in unitHansen Transmissions International NV to London-based investment firmEcofin Ltd. Ecofin will have a voting and equity interest in Hansen, a Belgian maker of wind turbine gearboxes, of about 11.62%, Suzlon said in an emailed statement on Friday, without stating a value for the sale. Suzlon will retain about 61.28% in Hansen, according to the statement. The stake sale will help Suzlon raise funds after the company suspended a $373 million (Rs1,824 crore) rights offer to finance the purchase of additional shares in Hamburg-based REpower Systems AG. Suzlon’s stock declined 84% last year after customers complained about faulty equipment. “Considering the environment, this is a good step,” said Lokesh Garg, an analyst with Kotak Securities Ltd, who recommends a buy on Suzlon. “The company isn’t as trapped for funds as it appeared to be.” Suzlon shares gained 2.64% to Rs64.55 at close in Mumbai trading. Ecofin agreed not to sell the stake acquired from the Ahmedabad-based company until 30 June and can nominate one non-executive director to the Hansen board, Suzlon said. A 10% stake in London-listed Hansen is valued at £78 million (nearly Rs559 crore), based on its closing share price on 31 December. Hansen’s stock has declined 33% since the company’s initial share sale in December 2007. Suzlon acquired the Belgian gearbox maker in March 2006 for €465 million (Rs3,153 crore today). Hansen raised £289 million in the initial public offering and planned to use the proceeds to expand capacity through new factories in India and China, Hansen had said at that time. Gaurav Singh contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:34 pm More knocks than praise as transparency remains key issueMumbai: Three years since the country passed a comprehensive Patents (Amendment) Act 2005, as part of its obligation to the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regime, the product patenting landscape is strewn with allegations of ambiguous laws, lack of transparency, shortage of examiners and a stack of complaints. This was not how it was meant to be. When India became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it was obligated to install a new patent law that would be in line with global practices. Instead, it dithered until the last minute, unveiling the law hastily in January 2005, to avoid being slapped with sanctions by the world body. Also See Patently Unclear (Graphic) The regime shift, meant to incentivize scientific and technological innovation, particularly in health care and agriculture, has received more criticism than accolades from multiple quarters. However, while the law hasn’t made much of a mark in the agricultural sector, it has become critical for the large generic or off-patent drug industry in India, and has also been used rather freely by pharma companies to protest competitors’ practices. In fact, for fiscal 2007 alone, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks reported 18,461 complaints, excluding instances of legal action, on applications and grants since January 2005; the office had granted only 13,770 patents with 1,247 for the drug industry and a mere 451 in food and agriculture over the same period, when product patent regime was reinducted for both sectors. While the official data comes with a lag of 18 months, privately compiled data published by Bangalore-based patent information provider Brain League IP Services shows India granted 25,764 patents between January 2005 and November 2008. Some observers, however, say the number of complaints and legal cases is not uncommon. Says Dilip G. Shah, secretary general, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an industry lobby representing top Indian drug makers: “Pharmaceutical patent regimes across the world have seen and continue to witness several litigations. It is indicative of the very nature of the patent law. India is no exception.” “The surprisingly large number of patent grants despite a dismally understaffed patent department, and constantly increasing litigations and oppositions at the courts and patent offices naturally gives the public doubt about anomalies in the system,” says T.A. Ayyappan, a Chennai-based consumer activist. “It could be the consequence of an ambiguous law or an abuse of the situation by interested parties.” Strapped for hands India unveiled the law hastily in January 2005 to avoid WTO sanctions There are only about 130 patent examiners across the country for nearly 35,000 applications accepted each year. These applications include filings by both domestic and foreign companies, who must file through the Patent Cooperative Treaty, the global standard for such applications. The department has recently sanctioned 414 new posts to be filled by 2012, as part of an effort to expand both human resources and infrastructure at IP offices. However, patent experts agree that it is unusual that the Indian patent office, which has a limited number of examiners and key officials compared with its foreign counterparts, handles such a large number of patent grants. Says Shamnad Basheer, a ministry of human resources development-appointed professor in Intellectual Property Law at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata: “Given the relatively low number of examiners in India, patent registrations in the last three years or so does seem unusually large.” However, he says that it was not clear whether the numbers are due to lax examination or because of such factors that a number of pharma applications had accumulated in the run-up to the 2005 law. “Faced with this huge influx of applications, the patent office might have acted faster and more efficiently than they normally do. A second and perhaps more credible explanation might be that in a number of cases, the patent office already has the benefit of knowing how their counterparts in the US and the EU have examined the very same applications. This ready knowledge of prior art, etc. might make the task of Indian patent offices much easier. However, one hopes that the office is not merely copying the US or the EU, but only using such examination materials from there as guiding factors,” he says. “Prior art” refers to a grace period afforded to companies that takes into consideration the time elapsed between filing application and actual grant. Legal ambiguity Given the large number of applications and grants, it is no surprise that there have been a slew of court cases over patent decisions in the drug and pharma industry, involving such pharma giants as Novartis AG, F Hoffman La Roche Ltd on the one side, and Indian players such as Cipla Ltd, Wockhardt Ltd and Natco Pharma Ltd on the other. Most of these cases, which are still pending in courts, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board and within the patent offices, are on grounds of ambiguous law, unsubstantiated patent grants, ill-transparent examination and granting process. “There is still lack of clarity in the law on several aspects,” says Swati Piramal, vice-chairperson of Piramal Life Sciences Ltd, a drug discovery subsidiary of India’s fifth largest drug maker Piramal Healthcare Ltd. Adds Piramal, who is also director (strategic alliances) at Piramal Healthcare: “We still have no clarity on patentability of innovative therapies developed from traditional knowledge. This is a key concern for discovery companies to attempt such innovations.” But according to IPA’s Shah, while Indian patent law has, in fact, attempted to reduce these ambiguities, it remains inadequate without adequate development of jurisprudence. “Once the jurisprudence evolves, the ambiguities will be less obvious,” he says. Tapan Ray, director general of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), says that while the law is a welcome change to encourage innovation and promote research and development initiatives, “from innovators’ and research-based pharmaceutical companies’ perspective, there are still some ambiguities, which need to be immediately addressed by the government”. OPPI is an industry lobby representing mostly foreign pharma companies that have manufacturing and marketing operations in India. Rajju Shroff, chairman and managing director of United Phosphorus Ltd, the country’s largest agrochemical company by revenue, says with the new patent law in place, Indian companies and scientists stand to benefit significantly. “But there are concerns about proper enforcement of the rights,” he adds. Transparency issues Another issue that has industry worried is the lack of transparency in the patent-granting process. A Mint investigation in September, for instance, showed a nexus between patent officers and pharma companies. A senior bureaucrat at the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media, says there are fewer chances of ambiguity given the law was passed after parliamentary discussions, and that his department was merely enforcing it. “The department wanted to make the system more transparent and clear. But importantly, the law has provisions for contesting objectionable decisions, which triggers litigation,” the official added. Basheer says going by what has transpired since the law was introduced, “what is clear is that the government needs to do much more to increase transparency in relation to patent grant information, the working of the patent office, etc.” In its effort to make the system more transparent, the government recently introduced a new draft manual relating to the patent practice that is to be followed by the Indian patent office during the examination of all patent applications, besides plans to introduce online databases and an improved patent search system. But the real impact of granted patents, says Gopakumar Nair, a Mumbai-based patent lawyer, is not yet clear since many of the products have not been released in the commercial market. Graphic: Mint research Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:33 pm Dearth of fresh orders to hit shipyardsMumbai: Indian ship makers may maintain profit growth in 2009-10 but order flows will deteriorate further as shipping services firms, stung by a credit crisis and plunging sea rates, put expansion plans on hold and cancel orders. ABG Shipyard Ltd, India’s largest private listed shipbuilder, received its last order in June, worth Rs585 crore. Rival Bharati Shipyard Ltd, which has orders worth Rs4,800 crore, is mostly executing old ones. “In terms of financials, they are not going to be impacted as they already have booked orders till 2010-11,” said Anand Sharma, a Mumbai-based independent shipping consultant. “So, if in 2009 there are no fresh orders, it will give them an indication that worse is around (the corner). In such a situation, 2010 calendar year could be bad financially.”  Executing orders: ABG Shipyard’s facility in Surat, Gujarat. India’s largest private listed shipbuilder received its last order in June. Ashesh Shah / Mint Shipping firms overseas are also going slow on expansion, making it tougher for shipyards to survive, analysts said. Industry estimates show around 30% of the orders for dry bulk carrier ships globally could be cancelled because of lack of finance and a drop in charter rates since September. Baltic Dry Index, the barometer of global trade demand, slumped 92% in 2008, on a global financial crisis, falling commodity prices and slowing economic growth, closing the year at 774 points, a level last seen in 1987. Trade volumes of iron ore, coal, grains, fertilizers, cement and oil—drivers of freight boom—are also shrinking on fears of recession and access to export finance. “All they (Indian shipyards) need to ensure now is that their orders do not get cancelled. If fresh orders are not coming in, it is still okay,” said an analyst with a foreign brokerage who didn’t want to be identified. However, shipbuilders in India are hopeful they can face the challenge. “We are on a sound footing. We have not faced any cancellations yet. We are more focused on executing our orders,” Dhananjay Datar, chief operating officer, ABG Shipyard, said in a telephone interview. “Everything now depends on how the global financial markets pan out. If it brings any new surprises, I don’t know,” Datar said, adding the company expects to grow at around 30% in FY10. In the year ended March, ABG’s net profit grew 38% to Rs160 crore on net sales of Rs970 crore. Bharati Shipyard, which clocked 47% growth in profit last year, expects to maintain a 35-40% growth rate, a senior official of the company said on condition of anonymity. The company earns 70% of its revenue from offshore supply vessels, which has not seen a slowdown yet, analysts said. Shares in ABG have lost nearly half its value in 2008, underperforming the CNX Midcap index’s 28% fall. Bharati Shipyard tanked 80% in the period. “There is a concern, of course. But the impact is not significant. Whoever has the requirement will have to place orders. Negotiations are going on. Fresh orders will be there,” the Bharati Shipyard official said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:32 pm India seeks action against agency that cleared missing shipBangalore: Nearly a year after cargo ship MV Rezzak went missing in the Black Sea with 25 Indian sailors, India has written to Panama to act against the agency that cleared the vessel for seaworthiness despite 10 known deficiencies, some of them crucial. Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK), a ship classification society, had allowed Panama-registered Rezzak to sail from Novorossiysk in Russia to Bartin in Turkey, on the condition that it would fix the remaining problems at Bartin. Rezzak never made it to the Turkish port. It disappeared on 18 February and the fate of its crew is still unknown. Classification societies set technical rules on safety and protection of ships, confirm that designs and calculations meet these rules, and survey ships and structures during the process of construction and commissioning. Japan-based NKK is one of the 10 full-time members of the International Association of Classification Societies, the main global body of ship-classification societies. “According to Panamanian rules, in order to allow the vessel to sail under the (certain) mentioned deficiencies, the duty of the classification society was to request authorization of the flag administration before giving necessary certificate/permission for sailing,” Deepak Kapoor, a deputy director general of shipping, said in a 30 December letter to the Panama Maritime Authority. “But, NKK had not taken any authorization from the Panama Maritime Authority and has therefore violated the rules. The (final) report should indicate action taken by the Flag Administration Panama against NKK for violating their rules.” The director general of shipping (DGS) is India’s maritime regulator. NKK could not be reached for comments. The Panama Maritime Authority is preparing a final marine accident investigation report on the missing ship and its crew. While NKK issued Rezzak’s class and statutory certificates, the ship’s document of compliance and the safety management certificate were issued by Mascosnar Corp. (MC), a firm authorized bv the flag administration of Panama. “Therefore, it is evident that NKK and MC have not performed their duties properly and issued the certificates to the vessel MV Rezzak and granted permission to sail without conducting proper survey of the vessel,” Kapoor wrote in the letter. Before the Rezzak left Novorossiysk, it was detained for 15 days to rectify 38 deficiencies, which included 11 related to stability, structure and related equipment, five related to life-saving equipment and another five related to fire safety, according to an inspection report prepared by the Novorossiysk port authorities. Only 28 were fixed. Of these, three problems were crucial as the ship was carrying steel billets, a high-density cargo, Uma Mohan, sister of Mahendra Gopal Krishna Menon, the ship’s chief engineer, had earlier told Mint. According to a draft marine accident investigation report by the Panama Maritime Authority, NKK had recommended that the vessel could sail for one single voyage from Novorossiysk to Bartin. The DGS had received the draft report in October for comments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:32 pm India joins China, Russia in slashing output, jobsBeijing: Factories in China, India and Russia slashed output and jobs at a record pace in December in another sign the world’s largest emerging markets were wilting under the recession that has gripped most industrialized nations. Factory activity surveys in the US and Europe out on Friday are also expected to show steeper contractions in December, as demand collapses at home and crushes growth in many of the developing nations that rely on Western consumption.  Slowing orders: The Hyundai Motor unit in Tamil Nadu. Auto makers Hyundai and Tata Motors are among those responding to the slowdown by cutting production. Data show industrial output shrank 0.4% in Oct. Madhu Kapparath / Mint South Korea warned exporters 2009 would be tougher than last year, and Singapore said its export-dependent economy may shrink 2%. Citigroup Inc. said the city state’s economy—a bellwether for global trade—would shrink 2.8%, the steepest in its history. And everywhere, from job loses at Chinese factories to the biggest drop in South Korean house prices in five years, there were signs that the export slowdown was rippling through domestic economies. “What is worrying is that the weakness has spread rapidly from the externally oriented sectors to domestically oriented sectors, too,” analysts at OCBC Bank in Singapore said in a note after the country announced gross domestic product, or GDP, data. In contrast to the rapidly darkening economic outlook, the mood in markets has brightened slightly. Having squirrelled cash into safe havens for much of the past quarter, investors are eyeing assets pummelled in the financial turmoil of 2008. Asian shares and the Australian and New Zealand dollars gained on Friday while the Swiss franc and US treasurys eased, in a tentative sign risk appetite was growing after a year in which $14 trillion (Rs684.6 trillion now) was wiped off stock investors’ books. “It feels like we’ve passed through the eye of the storm,” Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, said of the financial crisis triggered by US bank failures last year. “That’s not to say there isn’t another storm on the horizon, but for the moment the intense pessimism of October and November seems to have eased.” For Chinese factories and policymakers looking to contain an economic slump, there was much cause for pessimism. Manufacturing activity fell for a fifth month as the global financial crisis bludgeoned demand for exports, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed on Friday. The index rose to 41.2, up from the record low of 40.9 plumbed in November, indicating that while manufacturing was still shrinking, the pace had slowed from November’s record. The output sub-index fell to 38.6, signalling the sharpest contraction in production since the survey was launched in April 2004. “With five back-to-back PMIs signalling contraction, the manufacturing sector, which accounts for 43% of the Chinese economy, is close to technical recession,” Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA, which publishes the index. For Chinese policymakers worried about social stability, the most alarming news may have been the employment sub-index, which showed factories shedding jobs at the fastest pace on record. PMIs in Russia and India offered similarly grim readings with the headline, employment and output indexes sinking to record lows. The contraction in Russian manufacturing is deeper than the slump during the 1998 financial crisis, which saw bank collapses and a default on sovereign debt. In India, factories cut jobs, for the first time in the survey’s three-year history, to reduce costs. The ABN Amro Bank PMI, based on a survey of 500 companies, fell to a seasonally adjusted 44.4 in December, falling for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest since the survey began in April 2005 and below November’s 45.8. A reading above 50 signals economic expansion while a figure below 50 suggests contraction. In a bid to boost flagging economic growth, which is expected to slow to 7% this year from 9% in 2007-08, the government has unveiled a multi-billion dollar stimulus package and the central bank has cut interest rates aggressively. Gaurav Kapur, senior economist at ABN Amro Bank NV, said conditions were unlikely to improve in the near future and the benefits from measures taken by authorities would take time to filter through. “Until such time, the manufacturing sector will have to cope with contracting demand, especially on the exports front and stalling investment activity,” Kapur said. Manufacturing makes up about 16% of India’s GDP. The PMI survey, which is compiled by the UK-based Markit Group Ltd, comes well ahead of official statistics. The latest available data released in early December showed industrial output had contracted 0.4% in October from the previous year. Bloody militant attacks on the financial centre Mumbai in late November may have added to the investor gloom. All the indexes covered by the PMI report fell to their lowest in the series. Firms cut jobs for the first time in the survey’s history to reduce costs as incoming new orders fell sharply and spare capacity at factories rose sharply, indicating shrinking activity. In all three countries, factories reported slumping export orders with recession chilling demand in their largest markets—the US, Japan and Europe. Manufacturing PMIs for the euro zone, Britain, Switzerland and the US are due to be released on Friday, Economists expect all to stay below the 50 mark that divides contraction from expansion. Smaller Asian exporters are bracing for a double whammy from the collapse in Western demand and shock waves rippling through big customers in Asia, China and Japan. South Korea, which ships one-fifth of its exports to China, said export growth this year would be about 1%, the weakest since 2001. Exports in December dropped 17.4% from a year earlier, exceeding economists’ expectations. Singapore’s economy contracted at a seasonally adjusted annualized pace of 12.5% during the October-December quarter, following a revised 5.4% drop in July-September. The government cut its economic forecast to a range between a decline of 2% and growth of 1% in 2009, compared with a range that went from a contraction of 1% to growth of 2% predicted in November. Citigroup said that forecast was still too optimistic. “If we are correct, 2009 will mark the most severe recession in Singapore’s history, surpassing the Asian financial crisis and the 2001 tech recession,” said Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng. Saikat Chatterjee and Reuters bureaus worldwide contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:29 pm Tata Motors’ December auto sales decline 47%Mumbai:Tata Motors Ltd, the nation’s biggest truck maker, said vehicle sales declined 47% in December as higher interest rates and a credit squeeze eroded demand. Commercial and passenger vehicle sales in India and overseas reached 25,219 units last month, compared with 47,678 units a year earlier, Mumbai-based Tata Motors said in an emailed statement on Friday. Commercial vehicle sales in India fell 51% to 14,056 units, it said. —Bloomberg ********* TVS Motor sales register 8.5% fall Mumbai:TVS Motor Co. said on Friday its two-wheeler sales for December fell 8.5% to 89,285 units from 97,576 units year ago, as customers continued to defer purchases. Motorcycle sales dropped by 21.91% year-on-year to 40,057 units in December, India’s third largest two-wheeler maker said in a statement. General inflationary trends, inadequate availability of retail finance and high interest rates affected sales, it said. However, the cumulative sales for the April-December period registered a 2% growth compared with the year-ago period, the statement added. —Reuters ********* Mahindra’s sales fall on slow SUV demand Mumbai:Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the nation’s biggest maker of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), said sales in December fell 30%. Sales of cars, SUVs, trucks and three-wheeled vehicles reached 10,665 units last month in India and overseas, compared with 15,316 units a year earlier, the firm said on Friday. Exports fell 61% to 412 units. —Bloomberg ********* Honda Siel car sales clock 9.04% increase New Delhi: Car maker Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI) on Friday reported a 9.04% rise in its sales at 3,667 units in December last year as against 3,363 units in the same month in 2007. During January-December period last year, HSCI sold 53,840 units compared with 60,387 units in the same period previous year, down by 10.84%. —PTI ********* Hyundai domestic sales look up 19.3% New Delhi: The country’s second largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), on Friday said its domestic sales jumped 19.3% to 15,602 units in December last year, compared with 13,078 units a year ago. The company’s cumulative sales (including exports) in December were up 55.7% to 38,402 units, compared with 24,664 units in the same period last year, HMIL said in a statement here. Its exports in the month nearly doubled to 22,800. “A combination of factors such as innovative schemes, established products and a large network is what has helped Hyundai in these difficult times,” HMIL senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said. —PTI ********* Kingfisher Airlines reduces fares by 21-65% Mumbai:Kingfisher Airlines Ltd on Friday announced a cut in air fares ranging from 21-65%. Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd had announced a fare cut on. The reduction in fares would be effective retrospectively from 1 January, Kingfisher chairman and chief executive officer Vijay Mallya said. —PTI ********* Shishir Bajaj exits Bajaj Electricals Mumbai:Shishir Bajaj and two other family members have exited Bajaj Electricals Ltd by selling their 2.05% stake in the company following a family dispute settlement with elder brother Rahul Bajaj. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, Bajaj Electricals said Shishir, along with Minakshi and Kushagra Bajaj, has sold shares worth Rs3.68 lakh, representing a 2.05% stake in the company. Following the transaction on 30 December, the paid-up capital of Bajaj Electricals remains at Rs17.28 crore. —PTI ********* Tata against sharing profits in SA project New Delhi: The Tata group and its South African partner Sasol have opposed giving part of the crude oil they plan to produce from coal (coal-to-liquid project) to the government as profit share. Strategic Energy Technology Systems Ltd (SETSL), a joint venture of Tata Sons and Sasol, vying for the coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, has told the government that profit sharing would effectively be a new tax, which is not permissible under relevant Acts. The government is considering replicating the production sharing regime in oil and gas in the ambitious project, which envisages producing crude oil up to 80,000 barrels per day. SETSL has, however, opposed the regime in the project saying the Oilfield Regulation Act or the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules do not apply if crude oil and gas produced from coal are synthetic and not naturally occurring hydrocarbon. --PTI ********* Geojit Financial exits commodity business Mumbai: Stock broking and commodities trading firm Geojit Financial Services Pvt. Ltd on Friday said it has discontinued its commodity broking business and has received a compensation of Rs40 crore from BNP Paribas SA. The company received the compensation for surrendering its commodity broking memberships, pursuant to a prior agreement with the French banking major BNP Paribas, which holds 27% stake in the Kerala-based brokerage firm. On Friday, the company informed Bombay Stock Exchange about the compensation and surrendering of its memberships to various commodity exchanges after receipt of regulatory approvals. —PTI ********* India’s foreign reserves rise to $254.6 billion Mumbai: The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose $561 million (Rs2,743.3 crore) to $254.6 billion in the week ended 26 December, the central bank said. Foreign currency assets climbed $562 million to $245.9 billion, while the nation’s gold reserves remained unchanged at $7.86 billion, the Mumbai-based Reserve Bank of India said in an emailed statement. India’s special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were unchanged at $3 million, while its reserves with IMF slipped $1 million to $879 million. —Bloomberg ********* RBI eases restructuring norms for bad debt Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday relaxed the restructuring period for bad loans to 120 days from 90 days, for accounts restructured after 27 August. Banks currently classify loans as non-performing assets (NPAs) on their books if they don’t receive payments on the debt for 90 days. RBI also said in a notification that all commercial real estate accounts that were standard accounts on 1 September would continue to be treated as standard accounts “provided the restructuring is taken up on or before 31 January 2009 and the restructuring package is put in place within a period of 120 days from the date of taking up the restructuring package”. This will also be available to “standard” and “substandard accounts” where full security cover for working capital term loan is not available, if provisions are made against the unsecured portion of the loan, RBI said in the notification. —Anita Bhoir ********* Rio Tinto to look for diamonds in south India Mumbai: ACC Rio Tinto Exploration Ltd, a unit of the world’s third largest mining company, secured a so-called reconnaissance permit to find diamonds, gold, copper and zinc in Andhra Pradesh. The permit allows the Rio Tinto Group to prospect in 8,350 sq. km over three areas in the Nalgonda region, the ministry of mines said in a statement on its website on Friday. —Bloomberg ********* India abandons search for 300 missing migrant Kolkata: The Indian Coast Guard called off its search Friday for 300 illegal migrants who went missing after abandoning their boat near a remote island chain in the Bay of Bengal last week. “We have abandoned the search operation as no one could be found alive or dead over the past four days,” said Kripa Nautiyal, deputy inspector general of the coast guard for Andaman and Nicobar islands. Around 400 migrants, from Myanmar and Bangladesh, had been drifting on the boat for days in their efforts to get to Malaysia. The 105 migrants who were rescued from the floating vessel are being kept in a temporary camp in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. So far, only two bodies have been recovered. —AFP ********* Dr Reddy’s appoints Umang Vohra as CFO New Delhi:Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, India’s second biggest drug maker, named Umang Vohra as chief financial officer, replacing Saumen Chakraborty. Chakraborty will take over as the president of corporate and global generics operations, the Hyderabad-based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. Earlier, Vohra was deputy chief financial officer at Dr Reddy’s. —Bloomberg ********* BJP to select candidates for LS polls by Jan-end New Delhi: The central parliamentary board of the BJP on Friday decided to finalize candidates for all Lok Sabha seats, barring a few crucial ones, in two phases by the end of January for the upcoming general elections. “The parliamentary board of BJP today decided that the party’s central election committee should finalize candidates for most of the Lok Sabha seats in two phases. The first phase of meetings will be held from January 19 to 21, followed by the second phase to be held on January 28 and 29,” BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley told reporters. This would mean all the candidates for the general elections would have been finalized before the national executive and national council meetings which are scheduled to be held from 6-8 February in Nagpur. —PTI ********* Govt nod for iron ore,coal berths at Paradip New Delhi: The government on Friday approved projects for construction of deep draught iron ore and coal berths at Paradip Port on build-operate-transfer basis with a total estimated cost of Rs1,070.36 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to the project for coal berth at the port with an estimated cost of Rs479.10 crore, out of which Rs408.90 crore would be borne by the build-operate-transfer (BOT) operator, while Rs70.80 crore will be contributed by the Paradip Port Trust. The CCEA also approved the project for the iron-ore berth to be constructed at the Port with an estimated cost of Rs591.35 crore out of which Rs506.25 crore will be invested by the the operator while Rs85.10 crore would be arranged by the port trust. —PTI ********* Income-tax dept’s website to get new URL New Delhi: The income-tax (I-T) department website which is used by tax payers to file returns online will soon be revamped and have a new website address or uniform resource locator (URL). The new online facility will host several user-friendly features. The department’s URL— ‘www.incometaxindia.gov.in’—is undergoing pilot tests. “A lot of new features are being added to the website and as soon as the tests are over, the old website address may give way to a totally new URL,” a senior I-T department officer involved in the process said. The new website would be able to handle a lot of new features, including tax rules, notifications and other circulars. —PTI ********* Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:28 pm India slashes rates, lures funds to aid growthMUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India slashed its main interest rates by 1 percentage point on Friday, its fourth cut in four months, and tried to draw more funds into the country to boost growth as it warned of a tough year ahead.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 4:59 pm Motherson Sumi buys Visicorp\'s global rear view mirror bizMotherson Sumi has acquired the global rear view mirror business of Visicorp. Pankaj Mittal, its COO, said the acquisition is for the global rear view mirror business of Visicorp, which had a revenue in excess of 700 million euros, with a normalized EBITDA of about 48 million euros in 2007.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 4:34 pm Buffett’s Berkshire drops 32% in 2008, worst in 30 yearsNew York: The shares of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dropped 32% in 2008, the worst performance in at least three decades, as the recession forced down the value of the firm’s equity holdings and derivative bets. Most of the decline was in the last three months as Berkshire posted a fourth straight profit drop amid sagging insurance results. “In 2008, there was nowhere to hide,” said Guy Spier, chief investment officer at Aquamarine Capital Management, which holds shares in the Omaha, Nebraska-based company. “What Buffett tries to do is ensure that Berkshire Hathaway does less badly than other companies.” Buffett, 78, poured money into stocks as prices fell. He increased Berkshire’s pace of deals as the contraction in credit markets hobbled buyout firms. Buffett spent about $3.9 billion on equities in the third quarter, making Berkshire the biggest shareholder in ConocoPhillips, the second largest US refiner. Berkshire announced 12 acquisitions in 2008, compared with eight in 2007, and agreed to buy $8 billion in preferred shares from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and General Electric Co. “Buffett has the opportunity to do what he does best, which is acquiring new companies at prices that have him licking his lips,” said Frank Betz, a partner at Warren, New Jersey-based Carret Zane Capital Management, which holds Berkshire shares. “I don’t think Mr. Buffett is bummed out at all.” Jackie Wilson, a spokesman for Berkshire, didn’t return a call seeking comment. Most of the top holdings in Berkshire’s stock portfolio, valued at $76 billion as of 30 September, have declined at least 15% in the past three months. ConocoPhillips plunged 29% in the fourth quarter. Coca-Cola Co., Berkshire’s top holding, dropped 14%, and No. 2 Wells Fargo and Co. plummeted 21%. Declines in the value of derivatives also pressured Berkshire shares. Buyers of the contracts would be entitled to billions of dollars from Berkshire if four stock indexes drop below agreed-upon levels on dates beginning in 2019. Berkshire’s stock gained $4,600, or 5%, on Wednesday, ending the day at $96,600 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Pierre Paulden and Nick Baker in New York contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 4:32 pm Satyam founders' stake falls to 5.1 pct from 8.3BANGALORE (Reuters) - The stake owned by founders of Satyam Computer Services has fallen by a third to just 5.13 percent, the outsourcer said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:55 pm TVS, Hero Honda most insulated from auto slowdownThe twowheeler numbers are dismal but they are in line with expectations. CNBCTV18\'s Shonia Shenoy reports on companies which are insulated the most and those that are least insulated from the slump in demand.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:38 pm Wipro develops integrated police information systemBangalore: Wipro Infotech,a leading provider of IT and business transformation services, today announced that it has developed an integrated police Information system. This end-to-end online application software developed by Wipro covers all important activities related to day-to-day functioning of police departments, including the back-end administrative processes of General Administration, finance and stores. The processes have been automated to ease the tasks of administration and record keeping, thereby bringing in operational efficiency throughout the police department. Currently the application is in a pilot stage. Speaking about the Police Information System, Ranbir Singh, General Manager, Government and Defence,Wipro Infotech, the India and Middle East business arm of Wipro Ltd, said “To combat high crime rates more effectively, Wipro sees a huge role for Information Technology”. “This is a path breaking application and will bring in a lot of efficiency and agility in functioning between various units of the police department through real time information sharing, thereby resulting in better service to the citizens”, he said in a statement today. The application has been developed on a flexible software oriented architecture that allows it to be used in a centralised deployment mode, as well as a de-centralised deployment mode. This architecture enables each police station function independently and at the same time allows for data to flow to the divisional and Headquater levels at regular intervals, thereby achieving the benefits of a centralised system, it said. The application also has a citizen interface through which complaints can be raised and the status of an already lodged FIR can be tracked.The user interface can display content both in English and the local language. The application has several operational modules which will maintain records within police stations and other police bodies pertaining to various activities of the police in areas like crime, law and order, wireless, traffic, intelligence and counter intelligence. Each module has the search function to retrieve relevant data. A standard based information exchange gateway will make available the required crime and criminal information for access by other states. The information exchange will also retrieve the required information from other states, enabling a seamless sharing of crime and criminal information across the country, the release said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Jan 2009 | 1:07 pm
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