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Games village construction: Emaar MGF asks DDA for loanEmaar MGF has asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for a loan to complete the construction of the site of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi, reports CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 6:10 pm Govt may levy safeguard duty on chemicals, tyres, etcThe government may impose safeguard duty on chemicals, tyres, steel and aluminium next week. The reason for this being in all these sectors, for the last year or so, there\'s been a huge surge in imports to the tune of about 1,000 1,500%. That action will be taken by the government next week in terms of imposition of duties.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:47 pm See appetite for projects if rates fall sub10%: IRB InfraVD Mhaiskar, CMD, IRB Infra Developers sees renewed attention in bidding due to the reduced interest rates. \"If rates come down at around sub10% levels then there surely will be a huge appetite for taking up these projects because these are typically long gestation projects.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 3:41 pm Steel Secy sees prices fall by Rs 3000/tn in H2 CY09Steel Secretary PK Rastogi said steel prices have bottomed out. However, he was quick to add that one can see further cuts in steel prices by Rs 3,000 per tonne after June.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 3:29 pm See liquidity pressures easing by next month: Unity InfraYogen Lal, COO, Unity Infraprojects said for real estate and infrastructure developers, money is still not available as it should be. \"However,\" he added, \"the progressive steps taken by the government over the past two months are finally beginning to show some results.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 3:13 pm ANALYSIS - China makes strategic use of commodity collapseBEIJING (Reuters) - China's government is using the collapse in commodity prices to further its domestic agenda, with support for stricken sectors tailored to speed up reform plans rather than rescue ailing companies or prop up prices.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:41 pm Bond yields up on profit takingMumbai: The federal bond yields surged on Tuesday as investors pared positions after a recent rally and as concerns that additional government borrowing could tighten liquidity weighed on sentiment. Dealers said in the near term yields were unlikely to rise much above 5.25% levels, as the market expected another round of rate cuts given the likelihood of more poor economic data. The benchmark 10-year bond yield closed at 5.30% above the day’s low of 5.14% and Monday’s close of 5.17%. Volumes were a high Rs136.80 billion on the RBI’s trading platform Traders expect bonds to be rangebound in the coming days with investors seen trimming positions. Yields fell to an all-time low of 4.86% in the previous session and plummeted 254 basis points in 2008. “In the absence of any further negative economic news, 4.95-5.10% range looks sustainable,” said Sudhir Agrawal, manager of fixed income at Tata Mutual Fund. The RBI last week cut both its key short-term rates by 1% each. It also lowered banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points, which is likely to infuse Rs20,000 crore into the system. JP Morgan said in a note on Monday that if state governments manage to raise an additional Rs30,000 crore for capital expenditure as permitted in the fiscal stimulus package, also announced last week, the impact of the CRR cut on yields would be partially offset. Traders said they were eyeing the federal government’s sale of Rs9,500 crore worth treasury bills on Wednesday. Rising global oil prices, which are around $50 a barrel, could also spell fresh concerns for bonds. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:22 pm Virgin Mobile ties up with MySpace for social networkingYouth-focussed mobile service provider Virgin Mobile has tied up with MySpace for providing social networking services.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:12 pm Oil workers' strike may hit 3 Indian refineries-govt - Reuters
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:09 pm Poland's PGNiG to ask industry to curb gas usage - Reuters
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:09 pm Mkts close mixed amid volatility; Nifty trapped at 3100 - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:08 pm Indian Exporters May Cut 10 Million Jobs on Recession - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:07 pm Credit Suisse pumps in Rs 827 cr in its Indian companyGlobal finance major Credit Suisse on Tuesday said it has injected Rs 794 crore in its non-banking finance company Credit Suisse Finance (India), to fund its operations.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:07 pm Oil workers' strike may hit 3 refineries - govtNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The strike called by officials at India's state-run oil firms from Wednesday may hit operations at three of the companies' 17 refineries, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:02 pm Credit Suisse injects Rs 794 cr into India unit - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:02 pm 70 percent of trucks stay off roads in West BengalNearly 70 percent of trucks in West Bengal remained off the road, while none of the 15,000 trucks, scheduled to go out of the state daily, moved on the second day of the nationwide strike Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:00 pm International Finance Corp to spend $6 bn in emerging marketsInternational Finance Corp (IFC), a World Bank member organisation, Tuesday anounced it will spend $6 billion to support the private sector in emerging markets hit by the global financial crisis.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 1:00 pm Indian swaps slide on hopes of more cash steps - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:58 pm No truth in merger with Tech Mahindra: Satyam - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:56 pm Bank of India to sell 2 bln rupees of perpetual bonds - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:48 pm Toyota to halt production for 11 days - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:46 pm Indian rupee moves in narrow band, investors wary - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:39 pm BA asked to pay Rs 133 cr service tax; airline says no duesTax authorities have asked British Airways to pay Rs 133 crore, an amount equal to service tax the department says is due from the airline for the period 2006-07.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:37 pm See improvement in inventory from Q2 CY09: SBBRoger Manser, Managing Editor, Steel Business Briefing, said improvement on the inventory side is expected by Q2 CY09. \"Some real demand is seen coming in the long product sector in many emerging markets in 2010.\" Thus, Manser said, some producers can restart production back on stream.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:33 pm Entertainment firm Imax plans 9 theatres by 2010Entertainment technology firm Imax Corp will open five more theatres in India, in addition to the present four, by 2010, a top company official said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:31 pm 10-mn job loss feared in export sector by MarchThe Indian export sector will lose nearly 10 million jobs by March following cancelled orders and higher transaction costs, a top official of an Indian exporters' forum said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:31 pm Developing nations may be worst victims of economic crisis: PranabThe global economic turmoil poses a grave threat to developing nations even though their contribution to the cause of the crisis is negligible, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:31 pm Oil sector employees to go ahead with their strikeOil sector employees will go ahead with their strike as planned from Wednesday despite oil companies moving to initiate legal action against agitating officers, the Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:31 pm Markets recover from mid-day slide, close higherIndian equities markets recovered Tuesday from a mid-afternoon fall to close marginally higher with a key index closing 0.59 percent higher than its close Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:30 pm Tech Mahindra frontrunner for Satyam ahead of Jan 10 meetThe Satyam saga continues. With Satyam\'s all important board meet on January 10, Tech Mahindra has offlate emerged as a strong contender in case of a possible merger with the IT major. However, it said they are not looking at any merger until Satyams board meet. Meanwhile, Satyam has denied about merger with Tech Mahindra, reports Dow Jones.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:28 pm After big cuts, India has room to axe rates furtherMUMBAI (Reuters) - India could cut interest rates by another 150 basis points by mid-2009 as authorities fight to prop up sagging growth, but the Reserve Bank is unlikely to seek zero rates like the United States and Japan even as deflation rears its head.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:28 pm Satyam founders' stake falls to 3.6 percentBANGALORE (Reuters) - The stake owned by founders of Satyam Computer Services has fallen to 3.6 percent from 5.1 percent after institutional lenders sold the stock, the Indian outsourcing firm said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:28 pm Sensex up by another 60 pts in high volatilityIn high volatility, continued buying in metal and banking counters helped the benchmark Sensex to rally for the fourth straight session.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:19 pm Gujarat announces solar power policyTo promote clean energy generation in the state, Gujarat government on Tuesday, released solar power policy 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Pak should accept Kasab’s nationality: IndiaNew Delhi: After providing evidence on Mumbai attacks, India on Tuesday said Pakistan should acknowledge that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested, is its national to demonstrate it is willing to cooperate. Minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma said acceptance of Kasab’s Pakistani nationality would be the “first step” to indicate Islamabad’s intention to cooperate. “Let them first acknowledge that Kasab is a Pakistani. Other things can follow after that,” he told reporters here when asked about Islamabad’s offer for a joint probe into the Mumbai attacks. India on Monday handed over to Pakistan evidence about involvement of Pakistan-based elements in the Mumbai terror attacks. The evidence included confession of Kasab, who has admitted to his Pakistani nationality, and given details of the Mumbai attacks. Asked whether India had received any reply from Pakistan after handing over the evidence, Sharma said getting any response from Islamabad in a matter of 24-hours will be “surprising”. New Delhi has said the “unpardonable crime” in Mumbai was planned in Pakistan and Islamabad is under obligation, bilaterally as well as multilaterally, to hand over the perpetrators so that they could be brought to “Indian justice”. Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon had said “it is our expectation that the government of Pakistan will promptly undertake further investigations in Pakistan and share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:16 pm Mumbai attacks proof ‘not credible’: PakIslamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday summarily dismissed the Mumbai terror evidence provided by India as ‘not credible’ and accused New Delhi of pushing the region towards war. Islamabad took just about 24 hours to rubbish the evidence which included the confessional statement of the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, satellite excerpts of the conversations between the terrorists in Mumbai and their handlers in Pakistan and other material handed over to it on Monday in both Islamabad and New Delhi. Simulataneously, it upped the war rhetoric by accusing India of pushing the region towards war. Additionally, Pakistan took umbrage at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement at a conference of chief ministers in New Delhi when he accused Islamabad of utilising terror as an instrument of state policy. Appearing before the foreign relations committee of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, minister of state for foreign affairs Malik Amad Khan and foreign secretary Salman Bashir questioned the credibility of the evidence on the Mumbai attacks provided by India. They claimed that India had not given any ‘credible evidence’ about the Mumbai incident. Pakistan wants credible information in accordance with the law, they said. In his speech in the chief ministers conference, Singh said the world community must be convinced to isolate and compel countries that uses terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy to abandon such tactics. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:14 pm Russia to further cut gas to Ukraine!Russia has said it will further cut gas to Ukraine by 65 mn cubic metres per day.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm US in a very difficult spot: Obama!US Prez-elect Obama has said that his country, in the middle of economic recession is in a very difficult spot and the situation is getting worse.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm Sensex up by 39 pts in morning trade!Although Sensex resumed weak on lack of direction due to mixed global cues but it recovered early losses.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm GM says China `08 sales up 6% !GM said Tuesday its 2008 sales in China rose 6% to 1.09mn vehicles, but the growth rate slowed.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm US stocks end low on concerns about decline in corporate profits!US stocks ended lower Monday as concerns about decline in corporate profits overshadowed the prospect that Obama`s tax cut plan will help avert eco crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm Oil PSU execs reject govt offer of talks!Oil PSU execs have rejected govt offer of talks on wage demands and will strike work indefinitely from Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm Madoff faces new charges as probe begins!Madoff who is awaiting trial in a USD 50bn investment Ponzi scheme, faces a new set of charges alleging that he tried to hide valuables including jewellery.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm Oil prices fall in Asia amid intensification of Israel`s conflict with Hamas!World oil prices fell in Asian trade on Tuesday after rising sharply the previous day amid intensification of Gaza conflict, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm Obama meets Congress on economic stimulus!Obama on Monday began work with Congressional leaders to hammer out a stimulus package designed to jumpstart ailing US economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm US auto sales crash !US auto sales crashed again in Dec as industry posted its worst year since 1992.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:10 pm ICICI's Kochhar to get salary hike, Kamath to get lessICICI Bank's CEO-designate Chanda Kochhar is all set to get a Rs 36-lakh annual hike, while her predecessor KV Kamath would get a total salary of Rs 20 lakh.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:05 pm Aviation fuel supply will not be hit by oil staff strikeAirline operators Tuesday said they have a contingency plan with oil companies for uninterrupted supply of aviation fuel to tide over any crisis if oil sector employees go on strike.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 pm AAI charts 10-yr development plan to boost air cargo marketNew Delhi: In a bid to give a boost to the vast and emerging air cargo market in India, the Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is preparing a development plan for the next 10 years and has started implementing projects to create modern cargo hubs across the country. An Air Cargo Policy - Vision 2020 is being prepared by consultancy firm PriceWaterhouse Cooper, appointed by the AAI for the purpose, an official said. Once the PriceWaterhouse Cooper completes the report, the AAI will give final shape to it and then submit it to the government, the official said. Among the initiatives already taken to develop air cargo infrastructure is the full-fledged modern cargo handling system at the Kolkata airport, equipped with an automated storage retrieval system (ASRS). The state-run airports body has also set in motion the process of creating an integrated cargo terminal at the Chennai Airport, a source said, adding Amritsar would soon have a modern cargo terminal with a fully-automated storage and retrieval system to get the goods cleared by the customs. The Nagpur Airport, situated in the middle of the country, was also being developed as a national and global cargo and passenger hub and work was already in progress, the sources said. With the current policy allowing FDI in the air cargo sector to up to 100%, several proposals have been received for construction of air cargo hubs in and around Special Economic Zones or industrial areas. One of the proposals was to establish an exclusive air- cargo hub at at the SEZ in Dabra - about 20 km from Gwalior. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:54 am Govt intervention to improve lot of poor in Asia, Africa: PranabNew Delhi: India has said that developing nations should seriously consider direct government intervention to improve the lot of poor in both Asia and Africa. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, delivering the inaugural address at the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation conference here said that India had already realised the importance of government’s intervention for rural development and had implemented policies in this regard. “We have realised that direct government intervention was necessary for improving the lot of the rural poor instead of waiting for the market forces to drive development. ‘Trickling down effect´ is not going to help,” he said. The Minister said that India had been focusing on integrated rural development in its policy planning for decades now. Pointing out that the budgetary grant for rural development had increased five fold over the years, he said that it had grown from Rs51.9 crore to Rs26,170 crore from the 9th Plan to the 11th Plan period. Mukherjee announced that India would contribute an additional amount of Rs3 crore in the next three years to support the technical cooperation efforts of the AARDO to be utilised for capacity building of member-countries. He said that the conference was being held at a time of crises engulfing the world, especially energy and food crises, which could have a negative impact even on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals before 2015. “It is imperative that at this time our global partners ensure that their commitments on official development assistance and capacity building are not diluted, but upscaled in view of ebbing private flows,” he added. Mukherjee said infrastructure development such as roads, transport, electrification, telecommunications, water and sanitation, particularly in the rural areas, was key areas for growth in both Asia and Africa. On the occasion, Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh assured the AARDO delegates of India’s continued support by offering all possible help in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation. Singh said that the additional contribution of Rs3 crore would be released to AARDO at the rate of Rs1 crore per year from 2009 to 2011. AARDO, which started in 1962 with just five members, is headquartered in New Delhi and currently has 30 member-countries (14 Asian and 15 African) including an associate member. The conference, which began yesterday, will continue till 9 January. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:47 am Nokia to build suite of internet based servicesKolkata: Mobile phone major Nokia, operating in India since 1995, will build a suite of internet-based services for its phones. Internet-based services like Nokia Maps, Nokia Music Store and Nokia N-gauge around its Ovi brand would be launched, Nokia’s head marketing (India) Vineet Taneja told reporters. Speaking at a programme after the launch of Nokia 5800 touch phone brand, Taneja said there was no visible impact of recession on the company’s business. “We are continuing with our plans and programmes as before,” he said giving a brief account of the company’s service business in the coming years. Taneja said the ‘Nokia 5800 XpressMusic´ offers four input mechanisms with a 3.2 megapixel camera with a carl zeiss lens. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:45 am Nokia to build suite of internet based servicesKolkata: Mobile phone major Nokia, operating in India since 1995, will build a suite of internet-based services for its phones. Internet-based services like Nokia Maps, Nokia Music Store and Nokia N-gauge around its Ovi brand would be launched, Nokia’s head marketing (India) Vineet Taneja told reporters. Speaking at a programme after the launch of Nokia 5800 touch phone brand, Taneja said there was no visible impact of recession on the company’s business. “We are continuing with our plans and programmes as before,” he said giving a brief account of the company’s service business in the coming years. Taneja said the ‘Nokia 5800 XpressMusic´ offers four input mechanisms with a 3.2 megapixel camera with a carl zeiss lens. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:45 am RCom approaches TDSAT against DoTNew Delhi: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has moved telecom tribunal TDSAT against the government over non-allotment of GSM start-up spectrum in six states, where a subsidiary of the company was already offering GSM services. RCom has alleged that despite giving In-Principle- Approval for six circles -- Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Kolkata and West Bengal -- on 18 October 2007, the Department of Telecom withdrew the approval after a gap of over one year. The company further contended that DoT had accepted the payment of Rs112.56 crore towards entry fee for the spectrum for these six circles. The government informed the company on 24 December 2008, of withdrawing “arbitrarily and without any rationale” the In-Principle-Approval granted to it, RCom said. Last month, DoT had returned Rs112.56 crore to RCom saying it was a mistake to accept the money from the operator as RCom was already in possession of GSM spectrum there and there was no question of duplicating it. While applying for the spectrum, RCom had informed the DoT that its subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Ltd, was already operating GSM services under UAS licence given to it. RCom submitted in the petition that at the time of giving In-Principal-Approval, DoT was aware of its subsidiary company Reliance Telecom and still accepted the payment after calculating the entry fee for the said six circles. RCom further submitted that as the government had accepted licence fee for those circles, then they are under an obligation to amend the UAS Licences and allocate the start- up spectrum to it in those circles. It also submitted that DoT had stated them on 18 October 2007, in clear terms that their UAS Licences would be amended on deposit of requisite fee and the spectrum for cross technology would be granted to the operator who first makes the payment. However, in present case despite making payment for entire 20 circles DoT did not amend its UAS Licences in the said six circles and instead of that spectrum had been allocated to other operators who had deposited the amount after RCom. RCom further prayed from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to set aside the letter written by DoT to it withdrawing approval and to amend its UAS Licence. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:44 am Bharti Airtel, RIM launch BlackBerry Pearl SmartphoneAirtel and Research In Motion on Tuesday announced the launch of BlackBerry Pearl Flipsmartphone in India, priced at Rs 21,990, expanding the choice for the users.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:42 am Oil PSU officers’ strike from WednesdayMumbai: Nearly 55,000 officers of state-run oil companies have decided to strike work indefinitely from 7 January to seek higher wages, Association of Scientific & Technical Officer’s, vice-president, PK Sharma told reporters here on Tuesday. The officers of 14 PSUs including ONGC, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, OIL, Balmer and Lawrie and Cochin refinery have agreed to participate in the said strike. We are not going to produce any oil and gas as well as there will be no supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from Wednesday onwards, he said adding that the loss is estimated at Rs2,000 crore per day due to this strike. Oil Sector Officers’ Association (OSOA) said that it has resorted to this move after exhausting all channels. Earlier, executives rejected the government offer of talks on their wage demands and decided to go on strike, even as oil minister Murli Deora once again appealed to them to call off the agitation plans. The Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) is protesting against a pay increase smaller than it had demanded. “We are only being offered verbal assurances and there is nothing concrete,” OSOA president Amit Kumar said. Kumar, who on Monday met BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani on the issue, said no talks were planned with the government. “There is no point talking to Deora or the petroleum ministry as they have nothing to offer us.” Deora asked executives not to strike as the nation is going through a difficult economic phase even as it grappled with terrorism originating from foreign soil. “A strike in the oil sector can cripple the economy and cause severe hardship to citizens,” he said. “We are not vindictive against our own officers. All we want is that the economy is not be impacted and citizens are spared of any hardship.” Deora on Tuesday morning spoke to Home Minister P Chidambaram and several state chief ministers, including Ashok Chavan of Maharasthra and Tarun Gagoi of Assam, for safety and security of the oil installations during the agitation. He also wrote to all the chief ministers, asking them to invoke Essential Supplies Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ensure that auto and cooking fuel supplies are not choked. Punitive National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked in states that do not have ESMA. Also, contempt proceedings against OSOA office bearers has been initiated in high courts, which had barred the body from striking till next date of hearing in February. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:39 am Close: Sensex ends flat on mixed sentimentsNew Delhi: The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex engaged in seesaw trade on Tuesday, 6 January and ended the day flat but higher by 0.59%. Still retaining its 10,000 level, markets had begun the day 0.33% down on global recession and weak cues from mixed Asian markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 60.33 points up at 10,335.93 but the broad based 50-share NSE Nifty ended 8.65 points down at 3112.80. Foreign buyers did make a comeback but hesitation prevailed among the investors. Buying tend was mainly seen in shares of private banking, metal and auto segments. Realty stocks fell on reports that government measures to boost the housing sector was not enough to arouse demand. DLF Ltd suffered a loss of 5.38% to Rs 279.90. News of Tech Mahindra pitching to merge with Satyam Computers also came in after which stocks of both companies surged. Satyam jumped by 7.31% at Rs 179.10 and Mahindra and Mahindra gained 7.23% at Rs 317.95. Grasim Industries Ltd was the top gainer in the BSE pack, surging by 8.37% to Rs 1,334.65, along with ACC Ltd by 7.67% to Rs 544.95 and Jaiprakash Associates by 7.34 to Rs 100.85. Losers on the index were Reliance Communications that slumped by 5.65% to Rs 248.85, Bharti Airtel by 4.17 % to Rs 651.00 and Tata Power by 3.07% to Rs 804.70. Asian markets ended mixed, Nikkei rose by 0.4 but Hang Seng went down 0.6%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:39 am British Airways asked to pay Rs133 cr service taxNew Delhi: Tax authorities have asked British Airways to pay Rs133 crore, an amount equal to service tax the department says is due from the airline for the period 2006-07. “We have imposed a penalty of Rs133.23 crore along with a fine of Rs200 per day as they (airline) have not paid service tax on the tickets sold in 2006-07 but collected the tax from the passengers,” officials of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said. A BA spokesperson maintained that the airline has not evaded any taxes. The Revenue Department had in July served service tax notice on the airline for payment of balance out of the Rs143.5 crore liability on tickets sales in India between May 2006 and November 2007, but BA did not pay the amount. The BA spokesperson said: “There was an interim dialogue with the authorities concerned due to some uncertainty on the parameters for taxation. British Airways has not been fined or penalised for evasion of any service tax.” According to the order of the Service Tax Commissioner, the penalty was imposed on the airline under section 78 of the Service Tax Act on the ground that they had suppressed the value of taxable services and thereby evaded payment of service tax. However, the CBEC officials said that the airline has paid about Rs117 crore, including interest, out of the Rs143.5 crore service tax demand raised by the authorities. They said the tax evasion was found following a dispute between the Income Tax Department and the airline over payment of tax on engineering and ground services. In this regard, the Commissioner Income Tax Appeal has already upheld the Department’s decision to impose a penalty of about Rs4 crore on the company in September 2007. British Airways had then filed an appeal in Income Tax Tribunal against this order. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:34 am Rs.10-bn loss feared daily following truckers' strike: ExportersThe Indian economy could lose Rs.10 billion (Rs.1,000 crore) daily on account of the indefinite nationwide truckers' strike, a premier organisation of exporters said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:31 am Punj Lloyd wins Rs.2.64-bn Sikkim airport contractEngineering and construction major Punj Lloyd has secured a Rs.2.64-billion contract from Airports Authority of India to construct a new airport in Sikkim, the company announced Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:31 am Mall operators find a way out in times of recessionBangalore: Come and make a purchase, for you may be the lucky one to win a designer car! This is the “way-out” technique mall operators in the IT city have adopted to beat the impact of global meltdown and dip in business. Their basket of gifts also include gold coins, diamond necklaces and Salsa workshops among others. Shopping malls, which witnessed a dip in profits after the global recession are now back to wooing “elusive” customers by dangling some lucrative carrots in front of the horse cart. “We have seen a dip in footfalls by 20 to 30% in the last six months”, says Anjani Kumar, marketing manager, Sigma Mall, a premier shopping complex located on the busy Cunningham Road. The mall, which sees a visitor count of 8,000 to 11,000 every day and 15,000 to 20,000 on weekends and 20,000 to 25,000 on festival days, has been affected by recession, admits Kumar. Terror attack only compounded their woes. According to Prateek Gupta, marketing manager, Bangalore Central, the sector had in general seen a fall of 30 to 50% while Bangalore Central saw a drop of 15% following some measures it took to control the downturn. The IT sector which formed a sizeable chunk of consumers, accounting for nearly 25%, has seen a dip, says Kumar. In Sigma Mall, the IT shoppers comprised 60% of the crowd. However, following the meltdown there has been a decline of 20% in this customer segment. The general consumer sentiment has become sceptical, says Prateek. “It is the global mindset of ‘no-spending´that has caught on here as well,” says Kumar. T G Vinod, manager, Garuda Mall, one of the busiest malls in the city, said, “There has been no major growth in the business, nor significant decline.” Terror attacks and spate of rumours kept the consumers reluctant from visiting malls. Encashing on the spirit of the season, malls like Sigma are offering free dance workshops to those dropping in for New Year shopping. Also adding to the dazzle of the season are an array of contests. Bangalore Central, another premium shopping mall, has launched a contest where shoppers could win a Rs30 lakh designer car. Bangalore Central has a basket of offerings with a 20 to 25% discount for those shopping for Rs2,000 and upward in addition to freebies from electronic goods to domestic consumer durables. Admitting that the average bill size had dipped by 10%, Prateek says now the mall has launched a shopping festival with numerous discounts and packages to scale up the average bill size. “We hope to see a turnover of Rs700 crore in the next four weeks for the Future Group across India”, an optimistic Prateek says. Garuda Mall manager Vinod says, “We also have been offering a gold coin every day to one of our lucky customers who fill in a form after purchases.” According to Prateek, sale of lifestyle products were severely affected by recession. White goods also had been impacted and so did sales on garments. It seems college-goers are the least affected. “They appear to be a stable consumer crowd with recession little impacting them,” says a mall manager. According to Prateek, a survey of consumers had revealed that they wanted more goods in the same prize range, more discounts or attractive packages in tough times. The shopping festivals with discounts were in response to all their needs. Malls too have begun trimming on their own expenditure and have begun building up efficiencies to tackle meltdown. Operators of Garuda Mall, which sees a daily footfall of 45,000 and 70,000 on weekends were optimistic that the new year would augur well for the industry. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:30 am BSE Sensex rises for 4th day in seesaw tradeMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex climbed 0.6 percent in seesaw trade on Tuesday, stretching gains into a fourth session, but investors were wary about quarterly earnings that are widely expected to be downbeat.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:29 am Satyam up on merger talk, despite denialsBANGALORE/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Satyam Computer Services rose more than 7 percent on Tuesday following a newspaper report one of its smaller rivals had approached the embattled Indian outsourcer for an all-share merger.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:25 am IL&FS Trust sells 2.45 cr Satyam shares in open marketMumbai: IL&FS Trust Company has sold over 2.45 crore shares, representing 3.64% stake, of IT major Satyam Computer Services within a fortnight in open market transactions. IL&FS Trust Company sold 2,45,20,500 Satyam shares in its capacity as trustee for debenture holders and lenders which include DSP Merrill Lynch, DSP Blackrock, Deutsche Bank, HDFC Mutual Fund and IL&FS Financial Services, Satyam said in a filing to the stock exchanges. The pledged Satyam shares have been sold by IL&FS on specific written instructions of the said debenture holders and lenders, the filing added. During the period from 23 December, 2008, to 5 January, 2009, the Trust Company sold 38.97 lakh Satyam shares held by DSP Merrill Lynch, 74.15 lakh shares held by DSP Blackrock and 47.06 lakh shares held by Deutsche Bank. The company has also sold 50.02 lakh shares of Satyam held by HDFC Mutual Fund and 35 lakh shares held by IL&FS Financial Services, the filing added. Last week, Satyam had said that the company Chairman Ramalinga Raju family’s holding in the company has dropped by over 3% to 5.13%, following share sale by lenders, with whom all the promoter equity has been pledged. Raju’s family had held 8.27% through SRSR Holdings at the end of September quarter. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:25 am General Motors India to raise prices from Jan 9MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian unit of General Motors Corp will raise its car prices by 1-2 percent from Jan. 9 to cover rising costs, but does not expect the market to improve in the first half of 2009, a senior official said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:24 am Electrotherm unveils electronic two wheeler ‘Yoelectron’Ahmedabad: Electronic two wheeler manufacturer Electrotherm today unveiled, ‘Yoelectron´, an advanced model of its two wheeler. “This new model, having telescopic features, is a low- cost option for travelling. We are targetting a growth of 25% in the next two years and thereafter a 50% jump in sales,” Electrotherm CEO Avinash Bhandari told reporters here. “A seperate manufacturing plant with a capacity to produce 2,88,000 units annually has been set up in Kutch with an initial investment of Rs60 crore and the company has plans to invest another Rs50 crore in the unit,” he added. Special features of the new model include improved battery back up and a state-of-the-art motor -- two things that count the most in performance of an electronic two- wheeler, Bhandari said. The newly-designed battery can be recharged within 3-4 hours and has an average shelf life of 2-3 years, he claimed adding, “Technology to manufacture this specially designed battery has been imported from US”. Enjoying a market share of nearly 30% in Gujarat, the company has sold 60,000 units of different models of its electronic two wheelers so far. Yoelectron is available in seven colours including dual colour tones. The soft colour range of this model is priced at Rs28,500 and hard colour ones are available for Rs29,000, company officials said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:18 am Mall supply falls by 54% in 2008: reportBangalore: Mall supply fell by over 50% in 2008 from the earlier projections, with as much as 11 million sq ft of expected supply deferred to the next two years, says a report by real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield. The report said that of the proposed 74 malls at the beginning of 2008, only 34 were delivered through the year. Malls in National Capital Region recorded a high vacancy level of 24%, while the same was 15% in Pune. However, malls in South India recorded lowest vacancy levels, with Chennai at 1.2%, Bangalore at 3.1% and Hyderabad at 4.7%. Despite the shortfall in mall supply in 2008, the vacancy rates have remained significantly high at a national average of 10%. This is largely due to uneven distribution of mall space in the major cities, where mall supply has been concentrated within a single district targeting same or similar audience profile, the report said. In cities such as Delhi and Pune where the distribution of malls is fairly equitable, high vacancy levels are a result of inadequate quality of development which have deterred major retailers from venturing into these malls, the report said. From the retailers’ point of view, the preference has still been largely for ‘premium high streets’ over malls, further aggravating the situation, it said. However, the three south Indian cities witnessed lower vacancy levels due to relatively lower supply than anticipated, the report said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:08 am Builders demand more sops to stimulate demandGrappling with shortage of funds in the housing and realty sector, builders sought RBI intervention to prompt banks to reduce margins on their home loans.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:06 am Jet Airways to breakeven in FY10Wolfgang ProckSchauer, CEO, Jet Airways, said the company will breakeven in the next financial year. \"If ATF prices remain at current levels; Jet could post small profits in FY10. However, the FY10 profitability would largely depend on load factors and pick up in travel.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 11:00 am State oil cos strike to begin Jan 7 - unionNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Officials at state-run oil firms will begin their strike as planned on Wednesday, seeking higher wages, a union official told reporters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:52 am Virgin Mobile ties up with MySpace for social networkingMumbai: Youth-focussed mobile service provider Virgin Mobile has tied up with MySpace for providing social networking services. According to a press release, under the agreement, MySpace would provide its social networking services on Virgin Mobile’s WAP-enabld phones. The partnership will enthuse Virgin Mobile’s youth customers by providing them instant access to world’s largest social networking site at no extra-cost on handsets starting at Rs2,999, the release said. MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, is a premier lifestyle portal connecting global community by integrating web profiles, instant messaging, blogs etc. With the access to the online community, Virgin Mobile users can now actively meet/add their friends on the fly as well as share photos, journals and interests with their growing network of mutual friends, it said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:52 am Students consider telecom sector as favourable industry: studyDespite the economic slowdown, most students consider the telecom sector a 'favourable industry' to work for, according to a study.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:50 am India may miss export target of $200 billion this fiscal: D&BNew Delhi: In synchronisation with Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) and the ministry of commerce, research firm Dun and Bradstreet has said that India is likely to miss its export target of $200 billion this fiscal as exporters are battling increase in credit risks amid slump in demand in the developed economies. “Exporters are hit hard as credit risks are increasing besides demand is down significantly. We think in this scenario the country is likely to miss the export target of $200 billion this fiscal,” Dun & Bradstreet chief operating officer Kaushal Sampat said. For the current financial year, trade deficit would be around $121 billion, where in exports would be about $182 billion and imports would be about $303 billion, Dun & Bradstreet said. “He said the outlook is negative in this sector and exports are likely to dip further as there is a crisis of confidence,” he added. Though the government has taken proactive and timely steps but there has been a significant dip in confidence level. “The steps taken in the stimulus package were in the right direction and these steps would provide liquidity into the system. But more needs to be done,” Sampat said. The country’s exports, that posted 30.9 per cent growth in the initial six months of 2008-09, contracted by 12.1% in October, for the first time in the last five years. The trend continued in November, when exports fell to $11.5 billion, from $12.7 billion a year ago, leaving a trade deficit of $10.1 billion. Regarding layoffs, he said companies are cutting down excess manpower. Non performers are being asked to go and firms are trimming temporary staff. But there is no major layoffs and companies are not in a hiring mode. The cut back in consumer spending and the decrease in household liquidity in the US are likely to continue in 2009, lowering the demand for products and services thereby increasing the likelihood of further business bankruptcies. This trend has severe implications for Indian exporters in terms of loss of business and delayed payments as the US is the single largest export destination for Indian exporters, accounting for about 13% of the total Indian exports in FY’2008, Dun & Bradstreet said. Sampat further said Indian businesses especially exporters should exercise abundant caution in all cross-border transactions considering the fact that there has been a significant increase in the number of companies filing for bankruptcy. According to D&B the Chapter 11 filings for commercial businesses has increased from around 3,600 in 2006 to about 7,900, while chapter 7 filings increased from 11,400 to about 27,800 during the same period, a rise of 144%. Under Chapter 11, a bankrupt company tries to reorganise its business in order to become profitable again. Its management continues to run day-to-day business operations but all significant business decisions must be approved by a bankruptcy court. In the case of Chapter 7, the company stops all operations and goes out of business. A sectoral analysis shows that with increasing number of retail failures in the US, there was a direct bearing on apparel exporters from countries such as India. Meanwhile, the transportation space equipment manufacturing has witnessed over 2,000 bankruptcy filings in 2008 and this is likely to have an adverse impact on the auto-component sector in India. Besides, over 100 bankruptcies were filed in the jewellery segment. Meanwhile, FIEO has also said the country is likely to miss the export target, with total exports likely to stand at $175-180 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:40 am Truckers’ strike pushes up commodity pricesMumbai: A nationwide strike by tens of thousands of Indian truckers entered its second day on Tuesday, pushing up prices of some commodities and threatening to choke supplies of fruits and vegetables. The truckers, who are calling for cuts in taxes, tolls and diesel prices, were prepared to stay off the roads until their demands were met, said Charan Singh Lohara, president of the All India Motor Transport Congress. Also Read Truckers’ strike enters second day “We have not even received an invitation to further talks from the government,” said Lohara, whose union says it represents 6 million trucks across India.  “From today it will be a complete strike,” he said, adding farmers would also lend support to the call for cheaper diesel. 06 January | Mint e-paper More than 70% of freight in India moves by road, and truckers had benefited from a booming economy that required the transport of steel and cement for construction. But the country’s 200,000 transport companies have been hit in recent months by a slowing economy, higher interest rates on vehicle loans and greater competition from the railways. India cut prices of petrol and diesel on 6 December after crude oil tumbled, but the economy, Asia’s third largest, has shown signs of slowing amid the global financial crisis after growing at 9% or more in the past three years. Economists and government advisers expect expansion to moderate to around 7% this fiscal year to 31 March. ADEQUATE STOCKS While sugar futures rose on Tuesday, large retailers said they had adequate stock of fruits and vegetables for a few days.  News on your mobile, log on to m.livemint.com “The strike is total, but some retailers have their own fleets of smaller vehicles, so those are still moving,” said Mahendra Arya, a spokesman for the Bombay Goods Transport Association, which is affiliated to the All India union. Inflation is at a near 10-month low and the truckers’ strike is not expected to have any long-term adverse impact. “There will be an immediate impact on food prices, so we could see a temporary blip in inflation,” said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank. “But since construction and manufacturing are slowing anyway, any impact will only be in the short-term,” he said. The government, which last week unveiled a second economic stimulus package to boost sectors such as infrastructure and real estate, has said it will take action against striking truckers. However authorities also said on Monday they were exempting truckers from paying taxes on transportation of goods and were ready to consider restructuring their bank loans. The government, which is preparing for elections by May, also faces the prospect of a strike by officials of state-run oil firms from Wednesday. A three-day trucker’s strike last July pushed up produce prices, and a week-long strike in 2004 slowed industrial growth. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:29 am HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant in fray for SatyamWith each passing day, a new suitor allegedly joins the fray for Satyam, but analysts certainly don\'t want to see some alliances happening. One of it will be HCL and Satyam coming together.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 10:15 am Tata Power alleges misuse of extra coal from Sasan projectTata Power\'s writ petition at the Delhi HC has highlighted the alleged misuse of extra coal from the Sasan Power project. Reliance Power is the beneficiary in this case. CNBCTV18s Ashwin Mohan explains how could the case affect the bidding procedure of the JharkhandTilaiya ultra mega power project.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:44 am Truckers' strike pushes up commodity pricesMUMBAI (Reuters) - A nationwide strike by tens of thousands of truckers entered its second day on Tuesday, pushing up prices of some commodities and threatening to choke supplies of fruits and vegetables.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 9:34 am Auto parts cos see no immediate gain from stimulusMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's auto component makers will probably see the benefits of the government's stimulus package and the Reserve Bank's rate cuts only three or four months hence when their customers clear surplus inventory, officials said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 8:56 am Pak official agencies must have backed Mumbai attack: PMNew Delhi: Speaking tough against the backdrop of its continued denials, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday accused Pakistan of utilizing terrorism as state policy and said given the “sophistication and military precision” of the Mumbai terror attack, it must have had the support of some official agencies in that country. He also said those in charge of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan have resorted to other stratagems to infiltrate terrorists into India via Nepal and Bangladesh though it has not totally ceased via the Line of Control. Addressing a day-long conference of chief ministers on the internal security, Singh said concerns may exist that the country’s defence mechanism to thwart the numerous threats were inadequate and that there may be criticism that the range of instruments to deal with internal security threat were not sufficiently sophisticated. “Clearly, there is need to review the effectiveness of our set up for the collection of technical signal and human intelligence. The training and equipment provided to our security forces also requires a careful review,” he said.  06 January | Mint e-paper In his 30-minute speech, the Prime Minister referred to multi-dimensional challenges of different kinds of which the most serious threats were those posed by terrorism, Left wing extremism and insurgency in the Northeast. “Extremism is primarily indigenous and home grown. Terrorism, on the other hand, is largely sponsored from outside the country, mainly Pakistan, which has utilised terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” he said. The Prime Minister said India’s external policies have been dictated by a desire to have a supportive neighbourhood. “Unfortunately, we cannot choose our neighbours, and some countries like Pakistan have in the past encouraged and given sanctuary to terrorist and other forces who are antagonistic to India,” he said.  News on your mobile, log on to m.livemint.com “Consequent upon this, those in-charge of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan have resorted to other stratagems to infiltrate terrorists into India. Infiltration is occurring from Nepal and from Bangladesh, though it has not totally ceased via the LoC. “We are aware that the sea route is another option that is now being exercised. A few interceptions have taken place, though we failed to intercept the 10 Pakistani terrorists who came by sea from Karachi,” he said. A day after India presented evidence of involvement of elements based in Pakistan in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to Islamabad and international community, the Prime Minister the Mumbai attack was carried out by a Pakistani based outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. “On the basis of investigations carried out (including by agencies of some foreign countries whose nationals were killed in the attack), there is enough evidence to show that, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack, it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan,” he said. Referring to the existence of different concentric circles of terrorism impacting the country’s security, the Prime Minister said the Mumbai terrorist attack fell into the category of one carried out exclusively by a foreign based outfit. “There are other concentric circles of terrorism that often involve a combination of external forces backed by internal elements. There are still others which are essentially indigenous character,” he said. Singh said since the sea route was now being explored as an alternative to land routes, it had been suggested that there should be greater vigilance along the coast line and better monitoring of maritime activity in the territorial waters. “The terrorists who carried out the attack on Mumbai used the sea route, and managed to evade our coastal surveillance,” he said. The Prime Minister said the recent pattern of terrorist incidents also suggested that increasingly the attack have a pan-Indian and trans-national aspect. “The terrorists are able to fashion new techniques and employ new skills. There is growing emphasis on ‘mass causality attacks´,” he said. He said the terrorists were using modern communications skills. “Use of Internet and Voice over Internet Protocol connectivity, gives terrorists greater anonymity and makes detection difficult for the authorities,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 8:46 am Delhi High Court stays GAIL officers going on strikeThe Delhi High Court has restrained executives of state-run gas utility GAIL (India)Ltd from going on indefinite strike from tomorrow for higher wages.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2009 | 8:43 am Toyota shuts plants as crisis bitesTokyo: Toyota Motor Corp, reeling from its worst US sales decline in more than a quarter of a century, will shut all its factories in Japan for 11 days as the global economic slump hits demand and company profits. The news from the world’s biggest auto maker shows how the global crisis, likened to the Great Depression of the 1930s in its scope and severity, has spread from the US housing and banking sectors to threaten every part of the world economy. Governments and central banks have been working overtime to try to limit the fallout of the global crisis, flooding the financial system with cash, cutting interest rates and increasing spending. South Korea said on Tuesday it aimed to create almost 142,000 jobs this year through infrastructure and environmental projects, part of a five-year, $38 billion plan to generate almost 1 million jobs. Chile announced a $4 billion stimulus package based on public spending on infrastructure, subsidies and tax rebates. “Facing this crisis will be the number one priority of my government this year,” said Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet. China, which relies on strong growth to create jobs for its millions of migrant workers and graduates, risks a wave a protests and riots in 2009 as rising unemployment stokes discontent, a state run magazine warned on Tuesday. Researchers at the country’s central bank forecast China’s economy will probably grow by about 8% this year, in contrast to some analysts who predict a much sharper slowdown. On Monday, US President-elect Barack Obama met with Republicans and Democrats in Congress seeking support for a stimulus package of up to $775 billion over two years, including hefty tax cuts. CAR SALES SKID But despite the best efforts of policymakers so far, economic indicators have been almost uniformly dire, with a 36% decline in US December auto sales the latest grim reading. Led by sales drops of 53% at Chrysler LLC, 48% at Hyundai Motor and 37% at Toyota, the industry closed out its weakest year since 1992 in its largest single market. Prospects for a quick recovery looked bleak. Toyota, which saw its worst US monthly sales decline since at least 1980, said it would suspend operations at 12 vehicle and parts plants in Japan for six days next month and five in March in response to declining demand. The cuts come on top of a three-day suspension at domestic plants this month and after the company warned two weeks ago that it would post its first-ever annual operating loss. Stocks firm Stock markets, many of which suffered their worst year ever in 2008, have taken some heart from the raft of measures introduced in recent months. Japan’s Nikkei average hit a two-month high and stocks elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region rose for a seventh straight session on Tuesday. MSCI’s All-Country World index has jumped 25% since hitting a five-year low in late November. Prices for oil and industrial metals such as copper were also higher after racking up big falls in 2008 on worries about slumping demand. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 7:45 am Toyota shuts plants as crisis bitesTokyo: Toyota Motor Corp, reeling from its worst US sales decline in more than a quarter of a century, will shut all its factories in Japan for 11 days as the global economic slump hits demand and company profits. The news from the world’s biggest auto maker shows how the global crisis, likened to the Great Depression of the 1930s in its scope and severity, has spread from the US housing and banking sectors to threaten every part of the world economy. Governments and central banks have been working overtime to try to limit the fallout of the global crisis, flooding the financial system with cash, cutting interest rates and increasing spending. South Korea said on Tuesday it aimed to create almost 142,000 jobs this year through infrastructure and environmental projects, part of a five-year, $38 billion plan to generate almost 1 million jobs. Chile announced a $4 billion stimulus package based on public spending on infrastructure, subsidies and tax rebates. “Facing this crisis will be the number one priority of my government this year,” said Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet. China, which relies on strong growth to create jobs for its millions of migrant workers and graduates, risks a wave a protests and riots in 2009 as rising unemployment stokes discontent, a state run magazine warned on Tuesday. Researchers at the country’s central bank forecast China’s economy will probably grow by about 8% this year, in contrast to some analysts who predict a much sharper slowdown. On Monday, US President-elect Barack Obama met with Republicans and Democrats in Congress seeking support for a stimulus package of up to $775 billion over two years, including hefty tax cuts. CAR SALES SKID But despite the best efforts of policymakers so far, economic indicators have been almost uniformly dire, with a 36% decline in US December auto sales the latest grim reading. Led by sales drops of 53% at Chrysler LLC, 48% at Hyundai Motor and 37% at Toyota, the industry closed out its weakest year since 1992 in its largest single market. Prospects for a quick recovery looked bleak. Toyota, which saw its worst US monthly sales decline since at least 1980, said it would suspend operations at 12 vehicle and parts plants in Japan for six days next month and five in March in response to declining demand. The cuts come on top of a three-day suspension at domestic plants this month and after the company warned two weeks ago that it would post its first-ever annual operating loss. Stocks firm Stock markets, many of which suffered their worst year ever in 2008, have taken some heart from the raft of measures introduced in recent months. Japan’s Nikkei average hit a two-month high and stocks elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region rose for a seventh straight session on Tuesday. MSCI’s All-Country World index has jumped 25% since hitting a five-year low in late November. Prices for oil and industrial metals such as copper were also higher after racking up big falls in 2008 on worries about slumping demand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 7:45 am Isro to launch four foreign satellites in 2009Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, will launch four foreign satellites this year as it seeks to make further inroads into the international satellite-building and launch services market in 2009. Two weeks ago, communication satellite, W2M, built by Isro on a commercial basis in partnership with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched by the European Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana. Managing Director of Antrix Corporation Ltd, the commercial arm of Bangalore-headquartered Isro, K.R. Sridhara Murthy, said the Indian space agency is gearing up to launch four satellites of Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy and Algeria. These contracts were bagged by Isro independently and not in partnership with EADS-Astrium. “We have four commitments for Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy and Algeria. We want to complete it in 2009,” he told PTI. “It (the four spacecraft) is a mix of nano and small satellites”. Contractual obligations bar Isro from talking about specific launch price but Sridhara Murthy said the space agency’s charge per kg of satellite (to be launched) is around €20,000 per kg, quite cheaper than prevailing international prices. But, Murthy stressed that the launch price is guided by competition, market conditions and demand-supply scenario. Once GSLV-Mk III rocket is operational, Isro’s ability to address launch services market enhances considerably, Sridhara Murthy said. An Isro official said GSLV-Mk III is envisaged to launch four tonne satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Its first development flight is expected in 2009-10. Antrix posted sales of Rs940 crore in 2007-08 and it is targeting Rs900 crore to Rs1,000 crore in the current financial year, he said, adding it is unrealistic to aim too high a growth as there is a lot of gloom in the market. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 7:22 am Tech Mahindra approached Satyam for merger: reportMumbai: Indian software services firm Tech Mahindra Ltd has approached embattled rival Satyam Computer Services for an all-share merger, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, sending shares in both companies higher. Tech Mahindra, a unit of Indian tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra, is looking for a deal that could involve gaining control of the combined entity, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed person with knowledge of the development. “Anything that offers strategic value to Tech Mahindra would be of interest to the group,” it quoted an unnamed executive of Mahindra & Mahindra as saying. The paper also reported a fund manager had said Tech Mahindra was in touch with Satyam’s bankers Merrill Lynch. Analysts said a merger would help Tech Mahindra, which is now focused on the telecoms sector. “It would mean a broadening of its business model,” said a technology analyst at brokerage Pioneer Intermediaries. Shares in Tech Mahindra rose 9.6% to Rs310.80 by 10am, while shares in Satyam were trading up 4.25% at Rs174 on hopes of deal, despite a denial from Tech Mahindra. The vice chairman and managing director of Tech Mahindra said the company had not approached Satyam or its merchant bankers with a merger proposal. “It is pure fiction at this point in time,” Vineet Nayyar told Reuters. Another company official said the report was speculative. “Anything before Satyam’s board meeting, or the board gets constituted, is so speculative that I just think we are getting ahead of ourselves,” said CP Gurnani, head of Tech Mahindra’s international operations. Satyam’s board is scheduled to meet on Saturday to consider options, including a share buyback. Satyam has hired the local unit of Merrill Lynch to look at how to boost shareholder value and rebuild investor confidence after a botched attempt in mid-December to buy two construction firms in which Satyam’s founders held stakes. Its stock slumped to a five-year low late last month after it was barred from World Bank business, but recovered 31% last week on talk that a reduction in the stake held by the company’s founders made Satyam a more attractive takeover target. The outsourcer said on Friday its founder’s holding had fallen by a third to 5.13%. Tech Mahindra is 44.2% owned by Mahindra & Mahindra, while Britain’s BT Group Plc holds about 31%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 6:51 am Marks & Spencer to shed 1,000 jobs: reportLondon: Clothing-to-food retailer Marks and Spencer is set to axe more than 1,000 jobs, The Times reported on Tuesday, bringing further gloom to the British high street as it struggles under the weight of the downturn. The newspaper said M&S, which is seen as a barometer of British consumer sentiment, would announce plans to cut nearly 1,000 shop floor jobs and several hundred more posts in head office and support sectors on Wednesday. Shoppers flocked to heavily-discounted stores over Christmas and the new year, but analysts warned the last-minute spending spree would not be enough to make up the shortfall left by consumers tightening their belts. Marks and Spencer announced in early November that net profit sank 43% in the first half of the year as it faced tough trading, and The Times said year-on-year sales over Christmas fell significantly. The retailer refused to comment on the newspaper report. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 6:29 am NE farmers to consult scientists via satelliteShillong: Farmers in India’s Northeast can now interact with top scientists of the country and seek solutions to their problems related to farming, market, health and weather dynamics from their nearest Village Resource Centres (VRC). The Shillong-based North Eastern Space Application Centre (Nesac) in association with Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has set up 34 VRCs across the northeastern region and proposes to set up around 50 more to bring farmers closer to experts who can guide them in various fields. Farmers across 10 VRCs of Assam interacted with agricultural experts who were stationed at Nesac during the Farmers Virtual Congress as part of the 96th Indian Science Congress Monday. Nesac director P.P. Nageswara Rao said the VRC would serve as single window access to information for farmers across the region with respect to various problems faced by them during cultivation, marketing, health and weather dynamics. Once the system comes up, the farmers would sit with a interpreter in front of a computer set in the VRC and would seek advise from the experts sited at the base in any part of the country. Nesac has collaborated with many institutes including Assam Agricultural University, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Gauhati Medical College and other institutes to fructify the advisory system. Isro has funded the entire hardware, transponder time and bandwidth in the VRCs, while local collaborators in each state would bear other costs like sponsoring a local coordinator. Of the 34 VRC set up so far, 16 are in Sikkim, eight in Nagaland and 10 in Assam. The VRC are likely to be functional by June next year. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 6:19 am US auto sales in 2008 hit lowest since 1992Chicago: US auto sales crashed again in December as the industry posted its worst year since 1992 and the Detroit Three saw their annual market share slip beneath 50% for the first time, industry data showed on Monday. Chrysler lead the way in losses with a 53% monthly drop and Toyota, Honda, GM and Ford posted drops of 31 to 37%. Total industry sales fell 36% in December to 896,124, which helped drag 2008 sales down 18% to 13.2 million vehicles, according to Autodata. GM, Ford and Chrysler saw their combined market share fall to just 47.6% from 51.1% in 2007 just days after the Treasury department finalized billions in loans to help prop up cash-strapped GM and Chrysler. The Detroit Three’s US market share topped 60% as recently as 2004 and was 71.2% ten years ago, according to Ward’s Auto. High fuel prices pushed passenger cars sales over the 50% share mark for the first time since 2000 as truck, minivan and sport utility sales slipped to 48.8% of the US market from 53.1% in 2007. Asian brands, led by Toyota and Honda, saw their market share increase 2.9 points to 44.6% in 2008, according to Autodata. European brands also posted gains despite lower sales, as their share rose to 0.6 points to 7.8%. Tight credit and growing economic uncertainty has kept consumers away from showrooms for months and December’s losses were expected to continue well into 2009. General Motors slashed its North American production plans for the first quarter by 180,000 units to 420,000 vehicles which is down about 53% from 2007. The largest US automaker saw December sales fall 31% to 221,983 vehicles while 2008 sales were down 23% to just under three million vehicles. Fears of a potential bankruptcy and bad press surrounding GM’s request for a massive government bailout did impact sales, said Mark LaNeve, vice president of GM’s North American vehicle sales, service and marketing. But GM still managed to grab a bigger piece of the US market - up 1.6 points to 24.4% in December and up 1.4 points to 23.5% in 2008, according to Autodata. Chrysler’s share of the US market dropped 3.8 points to just 10% in December after sales plummeted by 53% to 89,813 vehicles. Its share for 2008 dropped 1.9 points to 11% after sales fell 30% to 2.1 million vehicles. Chrysler attributed some of the losses to a significant reduction in low-margin fleet sales, which were down 63% in December and 31% for the year. Ford’s market share rose 0.9 points to 14.9% even as its sales fell 32% to 133,372 in December. Ford attributed December’s gains to strong demand for its new F-150 pickup truck and a new line of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Toyota saw its share slip by 0.3 points to 15.8% in December as sales fell 37% to 141,949 vehicles but maintained its number two spot in the US market. It managed to increase its share for 2008 by 0.5 points to 16.7% despite a 16% drop in sales to 2.2 million vehicles. Honda increased its share by 0.1 points to 9.6% despite a 34.7% drop in December sales to 86,085. Its share rose 1.2 points to 10.8% in 2008 despite an 8% drop in annual sales to 1.4 million vehicles. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:39 am US auto sales in 2008 hit lowest since 1992Chicago: US auto sales crashed again in December as the industry posted its worst year since 1992 and the Detroit Three saw their annual market share slip beneath 50% for the first time, industry data showed on Monday. Chrysler lead the way in losses with a 53% monthly drop and Toyota, Honda, GM and Ford posted drops of 31 to 37%. Total industry sales fell 36% in December to 896,124, which helped drag 2008 sales down 18% to 13.2 million vehicles, according to Autodata. GM, Ford and Chrysler saw their combined market share fall to just 47.6% from 51.1% in 2007 just days after the Treasury department finalized billions in loans to help prop up cash-strapped GM and Chrysler. The Detroit Three’s US market share topped 60% as recently as 2004 and was 71.2% ten years ago, according to Ward’s Auto. High fuel prices pushed passenger cars sales over the 50% share mark for the first time since 2000 as truck, minivan and sport utility sales slipped to 48.8% of the US market from 53.1% in 2007. Asian brands, led by Toyota and Honda, saw their market share increase 2.9 points to 44.6% in 2008, according to Autodata. European brands also posted gains despite lower sales, as their share rose to 0.6 points to 7.8%. Tight credit and growing economic uncertainty has kept consumers away from showrooms for months and December’s losses were expected to continue well into 2009. General Motors slashed its North American production plans for the first quarter by 180,000 units to 420,000 vehicles which is down about 53% from 2007. The largest US automaker saw December sales fall 31% to 221,983 vehicles while 2008 sales were down 23% to just under three million vehicles. Fears of a potential bankruptcy and bad press surrounding GM’s request for a massive government bailout did impact sales, said Mark LaNeve, vice president of GM’s North American vehicle sales, service and marketing. But GM still managed to grab a bigger piece of the US market - up 1.6 points to 24.4% in December and up 1.4 points to 23.5% in 2008, according to Autodata. Chrysler’s share of the US market dropped 3.8 points to just 10% in December after sales plummeted by 53% to 89,813 vehicles. Its share for 2008 dropped 1.9 points to 11% after sales fell 30% to 2.1 million vehicles. Chrysler attributed some of the losses to a significant reduction in low-margin fleet sales, which were down 63% in December and 31% for the year. Ford’s market share rose 0.9 points to 14.9% even as its sales fell 32% to 133,372 in December. Ford attributed December’s gains to strong demand for its new F-150 pickup truck and a new line of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Toyota saw its share slip by 0.3 points to 15.8% in December as sales fell 37% to 141,949 vehicles but maintained its number two spot in the US market. It managed to increase its share for 2008 by 0.5 points to 16.7% despite a 16% drop in sales to 2.2 million vehicles. Honda increased its share by 0.1 points to 9.6% despite a 34.7% drop in December sales to 86,085. Its share rose 1.2 points to 10.8% in 2008 despite an 8% drop in annual sales to 1.4 million vehicles. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:39 am Logitech to cut salaried staff by 15%Fremont: Logitech International SA, a maker of mouse, webcams and other computer peripherals, said on Monday it is cutting its salaried work force by 15% in response to weak consumer demand amid what it expects to be an extended global downturn. Switzerland-based Logitech, which also has offices in Fremont, California, has about 3,500 salaried employees in a total work force of about 9,000. The company also withdrew its previous fiscal 2009 forecasts for sales growth of 6 to 8% and operating income growth of 3 to 5%. It did not provide revised targets and said it plans to update investors on its outlook during its third-quarter results briefing on 20 January. “During the December quarter, the retail environment deteriorated significantly,” said Gerald P Quindlen, Logitech’s president and chief executive officer. He added in a statement that “we expect the economic environment to worsen in the coming months and we are therefore taking significant actions to align our cost structure with what is likely to be an extended downturn.” Logitech said it will book a restructuring charge for the job cuts in its fiscal fourth quarter. It said it will detail the charge when it issues its third-quarter results. Quindlen said the company has a strong cash position, no debt, and is maintaining market share. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:10 am Auto parts cos see no immediate gain from stimulusMumbai: India’s auto component makers will probably see the benefits of the government’s stimulus package and the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) rate cuts only three or four months hence when their customers clear surplus inventory, officials said. On 2 January, India unveiled its second fiscal stimulus package in a month to boost a slowing economy. The RBI also slashed key lending and borrowing rates and also eased banks’ reserve requirements.  06 January | Mint e-paper Top auto makers such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have cut production and temporarily shut some plants in December to offset a steep fall in demand, hurting demand for vendors. Overall car sales in India dropped by nearly a fifth in November, the worst fall in eight years, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed. “Even if there is a positive impact it would come down to vendors only after 3-4 months, OEMs have to clear inventory first,” Amtek’s Singhi said. Singhi, who expects Amtek’s sales to drop by a third this year, said his company’s local sales will suffer less than its exports as the US and Europe are battling the worst auto slowdown in decades.  News on your mobile, log on to m.livemint.com “It may take time, but still better late than never. I think before the annual budget, another round of rate cuts can be expected,” said Paban K Kataky, director at Exide. Others such as tractors and auto parts maker Escorts Ltd are not so optimistic as lending by public sector banks was yet to pick up despite the government’s continued efforts. “As far as tractors go, we are very concerned, about the slow lending from public sector banks to farmers,” said Joint Managing Director Nikhil Nanda, adding that 98% of tractors sold in the country are through retail bank loans. Tyremakers, battling slowing demand amid rising rubber costs for the better part of 2008, also remained sceptical about the benefits of the recent package. “Unless the overall economic activity and manufacturing sector picks up, these measures will not have a major impact,” said A.S. Mehta director marketing at JK Tyre & Industries. “The basic issue is new buying must take place, especially in the commercial vehicles space and in turn demand will come for tyres,” Mehta said, adding this was likely to happen in the April-June quarter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2009 | 5:02 am IT majors may miss Q3 revenue forecast: CLSABangalore, Jan. 5 Large IT firms such as Infosys Technologies Ltd and Wipro Ltd could well miss their December quarter earnings forecast, hurt by lower volumes and cross currency movements, said brokerage firmSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Strong headwinds ahead for outsourcing vendorsNew Delhi, Jan. 5 The global downturn is expected to impact the growth and margins of the vendors in the outsourcing space for the first 2-3 quarters of 2009, before picking up and ending the year on a stronger note as clients look to cut costsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Corporate profits could be lower in Q3: StudyMumbai, Jan. 5 Profits of several corporates are expected to be lower in the December quarter, according to a study by Motilal Oswal Financial ServicesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Tele merges tower biz with QuippoNew Delhi, Jan. 5 Tata Teleservices on Monday announced its decision to merge its mobile tower company – Wireless Tata Tele Info Services Ltd (WTTIL) - with Quippo, a tower firm owned by the SREI Group and Singapore Government.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Daiichi Sankyo to book losses on RanbaxyNew Delhi, Jan. 5 Daiichi Sankyo on Monday said it will write down a ¥359.5 billion ($3.84 billion) valuation loss on its acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am RBI may reinstate cap on reverse repurchasesBangalore, Jan. 5 In a bid to contain cross-border arbitrage flows and exert further downward pressure on interest rates, the Reserve Bank of India is likely to reintroduce the daily cap of Rs 3,000 crore on reverseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Government talks tough with oil officers’ body threatening stirNew Delhi, Jan. 5 With attempts to initiate a dialogue with the Oil Sector Officers’ Association (OSOA) – which has threatened to go on strike from Wednesday demanding higher wages – yielding no results, the Government todaySource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideDLF stock is currently testing key resistance; avoid trading in it for the session. Both ICICI Bank and SBI stocks are experiencing selling pressure at higher levels. Sell these stocks inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Taro rebuffs Sun’s revised proposalsSun Pharma’s efforts to reconcile the ongoing litigation with Taro Pharma by sending two amended proposals have been rebuffed by the Israeli generic-drugs maker.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am ICSA India (Rs 149.40): BuyWe recommend a buy in ICSA India from a short-term trading perspective. It is evident from the chats of ICSA India that it was on an intermediate-term downtrend from August peak to late December 2008 low (from Rs 400 to Rs 127). However, theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Infosys likely to miss dollar guidance for Q3, says CLSABangalore: India’s second largest software services firm, Infosys Technologies Ltd, may miss its guidance for the three months ended December in dollar terms because of lower volume of business from the US and Europe, where customers are tightening their budgets due to a recession, according to a report released on Monday by brokerage CLSA Asia Pacific Markets. Infosys, which will announce its results for the third quarter on 13 January, may cut its annual revenue forecast in dollars for the third time in as many quarters. Also See Downward Trend (Graphic) “This will likely indicate that despite the Oct-08 cut (in forecast for annual revenue), volumes have turned even worse than Infosys’ own conservative estimate,” CLSA analysts Bhavtosh Vajpayee and Nimish Joshi said in a note to clients. Infosys has projected its revenue for the third quarter to be between $1.17 billion and $1.22 billion in dollar terms. In rupee terms, it forecast revenue to be in the range of Rs5,519 crore and Rs5,730 crore. For the year to March, it forecast revenue of between $4.72 billion and $4.81 billion in dollar terms and Rs21,309 crore and Rs21,731 crore in rupees. The October-December period is usually the weakest quarter for IT services firms because of the large number of holidays that fall in this period —both in India, and in Europe and the US. Indian firms derive much of their revenue from so-called time and material contracts or by billing by the hour. CLSA expects Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys’ larger peer, to see a 3.5% quarterly decline in dollar revenues with the firm ending the year to March with a 8% fall in revenue (excluding acquisitions). TCS reports its results on 15 January, followed by Satyam on 16 January and Wipro on 21 January. India’s software firms have been hit by a recession in the largest market for their services, the US. Technology researcher IDC Corp. on 31 December said growth in global technology spending will be reduced by half to 2.6% in 2009, due to a recession in the world’s two largest technology markets—the US and Europe. “December quarter results from Indian technology (firms) are likely to indicate continued worsening in demand,” said the CLSA analysts. Last month, India’s software lobby, National Association of Software Services and Companies said it may revise downwards its July prediction of 21-24% growth due to slowing orders from customers. On 5 December, Infosys chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan warned that the industry’s growth could halve to 15%. “While currency movement has favoured techs (software firms) through 2008 and benefits in margins will be seen in December quarter as well, the 20%+ rupee move could not prevent a second consecutive quarter of underperformance for Indian (tech) firms, barring Infosys,” the CLSA note said. “We see continued sector underperformance ahead”. Indian software firms bill most of their clients in dollars and have benefited from the currency’s gain against the Indian rupee in past months. The CLSA analysts warned that most Indian software firms are likely to avoid commenting on their performance on the year to March 2010, as technology budgets for 2009 are yet to be finalized. Firms in the US and Europe typically finalize their technology budgets by December. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2009 | 7:13 pm Centre may allocate Rs 4,000 cr to help states buy more busesMove aimed at stimulating demand for commercial vehicles.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2009 | 7:02 pm ISB dean Rao 'withdraws' from RBI panelIndian School of Business dean M Ramamohan Rao, whose role as an independent director on Satyams board had recently raised criticism, has resigned from the panel to select a Reserve Bank ofSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2009 | 7:00 pm Sun raises offer 23% for Taro's residual stakeSun Pharmaceuticals raised its offer by as much as 23 per cent to buy the residual stake of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries in a bid to gain a controlling stake in the Israeli drug maker.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2009 | 6:58 pm Co FDs bloom as equity, debt markets dry upWith the stock markets yet to recover and banks lowering fixed deposit rates, companies accessing public deposits are seeing investors parking funds.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2009 | 6:57 pm Analysts say outlook glum for Asia as recession takes full effectNew York: Corporate earnings will continue to slump into the first half of 2009 amid the first simultaneous recessions in the US, Japan and Europe since World War II. Earnings at Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) 500 companies will probably fall in the first half, marking eight straight quarters of declines.  Closing shop: A Circuit City store in North Carolina, US. About a dozen US retailers, including Circuit City Stores, filed for bankruptcy in ’08. Jim R Bounds / Bloomberg “It’s going to be a miserable ride,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Cleveland-based Key Private Bank, which manages about $30 billion (Rs1.45 trillion). “Earnings probably won’t rebound until the end of 2009. The market recovers, then the economy recovers, then finally the earnings recover.” Companies are battling falling consumer demand and dwindling cash flows after banks tightened lending to cope with billions of dollars of real estate losses. The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to as low as zero, while governments worldwide have taken stakes in banks and firms to prevent a collapse of the global financial system. “We hit the peak in earnings in 2007, and in 2009 we’re going to see continued deterioration,” said Diane Garnick, who helps oversee $500 billion as an investment strategist at Invesco Ltd in New York. “Analysts’ earnings estimates are still way too optimistic.” In the US, profit at S&P’s 500 firms will fall 11% in the first quarter, followed by a 6.2% drop in the following three months, according to Bloomberg data. “Earnings should improve in the second half, driven by a rebounding financial industry,” the data show. While profits will rise 4.3% for the full year in the US, earnings in Europe are projected to drop for all of 2009 and analysts predict worsening reports out of Asia as the recession hasn’t fully hit there yet. The energy sector will lead US declines, with earnings estimated to fall 29% in 2009. Profit at ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips Co., the largest US oil firms, will likely shrink after the recession sapped demand, spurring a 78% drop in crude oil prices from July’s record. At Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest publicly traded firm, earnings will probably tumble 39% to $28.2 billion, the first decline since 2002, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Earnings at US retailers will fall 20% this year, according to analysts’ estimates. The International Council of Shopping Centers in New York predicts 73,000 US stores may shut in the first half of 2009 after what may have been the worst holiday shopping season in 40 years. That’s after about 148,000 stores closed last year, the most since the 2001 recession, according to the trade group. “You’ll see department stores, speciality stores, discount stores, grocery stores, drug stores, major chains—either multi-regionally or nationally—go out,” said Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a retail industry consulting firm in New York. AnnTaylor Stores Corp., Talbots Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. are among chains shuttering underperforming locations as consumers tighten budgets. At least a dozen US retailers filed for bankruptcy in 2008, including Circuit City Stores Inc., Linens ’n Things Inc. and Sharper Image Corp. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest retailer, may report a 6% profit increase this year by offering lower prices to consumers seeking bargains, according to estimates. JPMorgan Chase and Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, the biggest US banks, will probably post higher profits this year compared with 2008, when finance companies wrote down at least $720 billion of losses. “For the large financials, it’s going to be a very difficult year,” said David Burg, a Purchase, New York-based analyst at Alpine Woods Capital Investors Llc., which manages about $6.5 billion, including JPMorgan shares. “The story for 2009 continues to be radical transformation—companies fundamentally changing their business model.” Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which were the two biggest US securities firms before converting into banks, will suffer from a 15% decline in mergers and acquisitions and slowing underwriting fees, Kenneth Worthington, an analyst at JPMorgan in New York, said last month in a note. US auto makers will show some improvements in 2009 after sales plummeted last year, forcing the government to lend $13.4 billion to General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler Llc. to keep them out of bankruptcy. GM’s loss may narrow to $12.8 billion from $19.6 billion last year, according to analysts’ estimates. Ford Motor Co. may report a loss of $6.38 billion, compared with $9.2 billion last year, the estimates show. “Technology will be one of the best-performing sectors in the second half as customers start to increase budgets,” said Pete Sorrentino, senior portfolio manager for Cincinnati-based Huntington Asset Management, which oversees $16.5 billion. Earnings at software and services companies may rise 8.1% in 2009, while profits at hardware makers may slip 6.7%, according to analysts. Consumers may continue to curb spending in the first half, dragging down sales at Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone and Macintosh computers, David Bailey, an analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York, said last month. Google Inc., owner of the most popular search engine, will probably post a 14% increase in profit in 2009 as it clamps down on spending, according to the estimates. “Health care will be one bright spot, as sick people still need medical treatment,” said Les Funtleyder, an analyst with Miller Tabak and Co. in New York. Profit at S&P’s 500 drug companies and medical equipment makers, such as Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer Inc., may increase 6.8% in 2009. Health care tends to be recession-resistant, Funtleyder said. Some people may use fewer drugs, so that’s obviously a bad thing, but it’s less cyclical than other industries. In Europe, profits at Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index companies may fall less than 1% this year, compared with a 17% decline in 2008. Oil and gas firms face the heaviest declines, according to analysts’ estimates. “The biggest near-term risk is how tough it’s getting overseas,” said McCain. “That’s the wild card.” Earnings at European oil companies may drop 21% in 2009, compared with a 4.7% gain last year, according to estimates. Profit at Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Europe’s largest oil company, may drop 27%. The company postponed projects in Canada and Australia as demand for oil declined. European retailers may post a 12% drop in earnings this year. Discounts of 70% or more during the holiday shopping season by UK stores hurt profit margins and may lead to a raft of bankruptcies, said Nick Hood at Begbies Traynor. Nokia Oyj, the largest mobile phone maker, said last month the global handset market may contract this year for the first time since 2001. Earnings at Espoo, Finland-based Nokia could decline 14% in 2009, according to analysts’ estimates. Half of Asia will probably be in recession this year, as a $700 billion drop in export earnings causes economies in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan to shrink, according to Macquarie Group. Allison Abell Schwartz, Julie Hyman, Ken Prewitt, Heather Burke, Jim Polson, Josh Fineman, Peter Brennan and Eric Martin in New York; Jeff Kearns in San Francisco; David Mildenberg in Charlotte, North Carolina; Bomi Lim and Seonjin Cha in Seoul; Chan Sue Ling in Singapore; Chinmei Sung in Taipei; and Shani Raja in Sydney contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2009 | 4:07 pm Wikipedia reaches $6 million fundraising targetWashington: Online encyclopedia Wikipedia announced that it had attained its fundraising goal of $6 million, enough to cover operating expenses for the current fiscal year. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said more than 125,000 people had donated a total of four million dollars since he made an appeal for funds on July 1. “In addition, we’ve received major gifts and foundation support totaling two million dollars,” Wales said yesterday in a thank you letter on the website of his non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. “This combined revenue will cover our operating expenses for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, 2009.” Wales said the money would pay for “day-to-day operations: servers, hosting, bandwidth, our staff of just 23 people” and “continued development and improvements of open source software that powers all Wikimedia projects.” Wales said any further donations beyond the six-million-dollar goal would be placed in a “reserve fund, which will help us to offset operating costs beyond the current fiscal year.” “Your continued support will also serve as a much-needed financial safety net if economic conditions continue to worsen globally,” he said. In his donation appeal, Wales said that over the past eight years, more than 150,000 volunteers have contributed over 11 million articles in 265 languages to wikipedia.org. “More than 275 million people come to our website every month to access information, free of charge and free of advertising,” he added. Wales’s online encyclopedia allows anyone with an Internet connection to make entries and edit content. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2009 | 1:08 pm
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