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Disclosure of promoters\' pledged shares must: SebiCB Bhave, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said the market regulator had decided to make the disclosure of promoters pledging shares mandatory. The disclosures, Bhave said, would be both eventbased and periodic and that the disclosure requirement norms would be enhanced.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 4:38 pm Bajaj Auto launches XCD 135 DTSSiBajaj Auto has launched its new bike XCD 135 DTSSi. It is priced between Rs 43,000 and Rs 47,000.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 3:29 pm Obama\'s stimulus pkg may not solve eco woes: NIPFPAjay Shah of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy said US President Barack Obama\'s stimulus package may not address the economic problems completely. \"One can\'t revive global capitalism without putting the financial system on track. A large Obama stimulus can\'t be the only response to the current problems.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:57 pm Fraud-hit Satyam searching for emergency fundingMUMBAI (Reuters) - The new board of embattled Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services is working to secure emergency funding for the firm and will consider appointing a banker for the rescue effort, a board member said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:13 pm Ramalinga Raju admits to diverting Satyam money - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:07 pm Turner Int'l to launch English movie channel for IndiaBullish about the growing television market in the country, Turner International will launch an English movie channel by the end of this year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:06 pm Tata Motors enters pre-owned car businessAfter leading car maker Maruti, Tata Motors has started its pre-owned car business in major cities and plans to take it across the country in a phased manner.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:05 pm Lower interest rates boost Yes Bank's Oct-Dec netMUMBAI (Reuters) - Private sector lender Yes Bank has almost doubled its Oct-Dec net profit as it benefitted from the downward movement in interest rates, a senior official said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:02 pm L&T board meets this afternoon - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:01 pm Markets extend losses in afternoon tradeIndian equities markets were lagging in the afternoon trade Wednesday. A key index was ruling 1.95 percent lower than its previous close an hour before end of trade.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:01 pm Date for receiving telecom industry's views on lock-in period extendedThe telecom regulator Wednesday extended the last date for receiving the industry's views on the proposed lock-in period on equity sale in new licence holding companies to Jan 27.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:01 pm CERC step will increase profits for new projects: NeyveliThe Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has upped the Return on Equity (RoE) for power units to 15.5% versus 14%. Prasanna Kumar, CMD Director of Finance from Neyveli believes that profits will increase and there will be incentive for generators to produce more power.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 pm India Inc looks to Obama for end to global economic crisisWith Barack Obama inaugurated the 44th US president, India Inc looks to him with the hope that he will be able to end the global economic crisis, which has retarded the country's growth, pulled down markets, let loose a financial turmoil and caused anxiety among its workforce.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 pm 40 hopefuls in queue for Satyam's top job - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:57 am BHP to cut 6,000 jobs, take $1.6 bln charge on mineSYDNEY (Reuters) - BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc will cut 6,000 jobs and close its giant Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia, writing off $1.6 billion, as the global resources giant battles a collapse in commodity prices.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:52 am Samsung may report first ever quarterly lossSeoul: Samsung Electronics Co. may post its first quarterly loss ever, hit by falling prices for memory chips and flat screen TVs as well as waning consumer demand amid the global economic slump. Samsung, the world’s largest manufacturer of flat screen televisions, will likely announce a net loss of $67.7 million for the three months ended 31 December, according to the average forecast of 10 analysts surveyed by The Associated Press. Samsung earned $1.61551 billion in the same period the year before. Samsung is scheduled to announce results for the fourth quarter of 2008 on Friday. The Suwon, South Korea-based company is also the world’s biggest manufacturer of memory chips and liquid crystal displays. It ranks second behind Finland’s Nokia Corp. in mobile phones. Samsung, however, has been struggling amid falling prices for chips and flat screens and declining consumer demand resulting from the global financial crisis and ensuing slowdown. Net profit declined 44% in the third quarter from the same period in 2007. The company announced a major restructuring last week, consolidating business operations into two divisions in a bid to navigate the choppy waters. On Wednesday, Samsung said it had replaced the heads of overseas regional headquarters in North America, Europe, Southwest Asia, the West Asia and Russia and the other former states of the Soviet Union. “Those people are very young and aggressive and fully understand the needs of the market and customers,” James Chung, a Samsung spokesman, said of the changes. The company has a total of eight overseas headquarters. The company also announced that it was transferring more than 80% of the almost 1,400 employees at its Seoul headquarters to work in factories to help “speed up decision-making,” Chung said. Samsung has never posted losses on either a net or operating basis since it began releasing quarterly results in the third quarter of 2000, according to the company. Analysts expect the red ink to be even worse on the operating level, with the survey predicting a loss of $233.18 million. Operating earnings are seen as a direct indicator of core business performance while net profit or loss also reflects taxes, dividends, asset sales and other items. “The demand for components and sets decreased severely due to the economic crisis,” said Park Jeong-wook, an analyst at SK Securities. Components mean chips and panels, while sets refer to finished consumer electronics products such as mobile phones and televisions. Park said though television unit sales were not that bad, the glum economic situation forced Samsung to cut prices, thus hitting profitability. Samsung’s fourth-quarter sales, meanwhile, are expected to have risen about 14% to $14.62 billion from $12.77 billion . Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:49 am Tata increases stake in Neotel to 70%PTI Durban: The Indian corporate major Tata has bought another 30% stake in the second South African network operator, Neotel, to increase its shareholding in the company to 70%. The managing director and CEO of Tata Communications, Srinath Narasimhan, said in a statement that Tata had bought the 30% stake previously held by the South African para-statals, Eskom and Transnet. The purchase of the 30% shareholdings, he said, had resulted in Tata Communications in association with Tata Africa Holdings becoming a controlling shareholder in Neotel. “This reaffirms Tata’s commitment to its expansion and investment plans in the emerging regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East,” Narasimhan has said. “We will support Neotel’s efforts to provide global quality telecoms services in South Africa,” he has added. The latest development follows an announcement a few days ago that Neotel and a South African cell phone provider, MTN, have signed an agreement to build a 5,000 km national fibre optic network in South Africa. The managing director of Africa Analysis, Andre Will, has said that Tata would now have controlling powers in Neotel. He has added: “Now that Tata has a 70% shareholding, it could mean an easier process in acquiring financing, changing the brand, and other strategic decisions. “Depending on the new shareholders’ agreement, it could have the same powers as if it had a 100% shareholding.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:46 am BSE Sensex drops 3.5 pct; financials, Wipro fall - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:42 am Indian rate swaps steady, traders await policy - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:42 am Govt rules out wheat, rice futuresNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government ruled out resuming trade in rice and wheat futures, and will not tax crude palm oil imports, disappointing traders who had hoped mounting food stocks and falling prices would encourage the government to budge.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:42 am Govt to look into report on Educomp accounts - minNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will look into reports alleging accounting fraud at Educomp Solutions Ltd, the corporate affairs minister said on Wednesday, while the firm filed a complaint against what it called "a concerted attempt" to hammer the stock down.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:40 am Deepak Fertilisers Q3 net down 8.5% YoY - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:38 am Vishal Retail Q3 net dips 86%New Delhi: Diversified retail player, Vishal Retail today said its net profit for the quarter ended 31 December decline by 86.17% to Rs2.15 crore. The company had a net profit of Rs15.55 crore for the same quarter FY’08, Vishal Retail said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Income from operations rose to Rs355.45 crore for the quarter under review, against Rs286.15 crore for he same period year-ago. Shares of Vishal Retail settled at Rs58.15, down 4.98% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:38 am JPMorgan, Goldman shortlisted for Satyam, say sourcesMumbai: JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are among the banks shortlisted to advise the new board of Satyam Computer Services as it tries to save the fraud-stricken Indian outsourcing firm, three banking sources said on Wednesday. The new six-member board appointed by the government to contain the fallout of country’s largest corporate scandal will consider appointing an investment banker at a board meeting on Thursday, Deepak Parekh, a board member said on Wednesday. “Discussions are on at the moment. It is just too complicated a deal and early to say if we have the mandate. But we are talking,” a senior banker at one of the banks said. He declined to be named and did not want his firm’s identity disclosed as he is not authorised to speak to the media. Spokesmen at the Indian offices of JPMorgan and Goldman could not be immediately reached for comment. The Satyam restructuring mandate would be a high-profile and potentially lucrative role for the appointed investment bank, which would be responsible for helping to keep the company afloat and for keeping investors from losing everything. Restructurings can take many shapes, from selling off to liquidating assets, to bringing in new investors. Satyam, India’s No. 4 outsourcer, has been battling for survival since its founder Ramalinga Raju resigned as chairman earlier in January, revealing profits had been falsified for years and $1 billion of cash in the books did not exist. The new board is working to secure emergency funding and Parekh, a veteran banker and chairman of top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp, said at a corporate governance event that the firm has pledged receivables to raise funds. Satyam has Rs17 billion ($346 million) in receivables and the board has said it was in talks with banks about funding. The corporate affairs minister said earlier on Wednesday that many companies were interested in buying Satyam, and another board member said several potential buyers had expressed interest. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:36 am VAT panel wants PM to rethink globalisation policies New Delhi: With global financial crisis putting pressure on states revenues, the VAT panel on Wednesday said it will ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to hold interaction with them on review of the globalisation policies and sought Rs20,000 crore of special grant from the Centre for planned expenditures. “This one sided globalisation without any social restrain on it has created problem for the first world countries and in terms of impact on the states (Indian) also. The so called advisors and analysts may like to reorder and reorient their thinking. All components of globalisation should be totally reviewed we will be discussing this with the Prime Minister,” VAT Panel Chairman Asim Dasgupta told reporters here. Dasgupta, who is also the Finance Minister of West Bengal, said the Centre has given 0.5% relaxation on fiscal deficit target of states so that they can go for additional borrowing of 30, 000 crore as part of the second stimulus package. But contours of this package has not been communicated to states as yet. As additional market borrowing will put additional debt burden on sates they have also asked for additional grant of Rs20,000 crore from the Centre for planned expenditures. He said global financial crisis have started putting pressure on state revenues and revenue growth from VAT has slowed down to 12% till December this fiscal from 22% during April -October 2008. The panel also held discussions on proposed goods and services tax with official of the Union fiance ministry. Dasgupta said rates of GSP could only be known in March but sales tax on petroleum will not be included in it in the beginning. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:35 am BSE Sensex drops 3.5 pct; financials, Wipro fallMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell 3.5 percent on Wednesday to their lowest close in seven weeks as investors cut positions ahead of key earnings and on rising risk aversion among foreigners.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:34 am India adds 10.66 mn telephone subscribers in DecemberIndia's telecom industry continued its robust growth in December by adding 10.66 million new subscribers, an official statement said here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:33 am Bajaj Auto launches new bikeBajaj Auto Ltd, one of the leading two-wheeler makers in the country, Wednesday launched a 135cc version of its XCD motorcycle.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:33 am Disclosure of promoters' pledged shares must: Sebi - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:33 am Deepak Fertilisers Q3 net dips 9%Mumbai: Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation today said its net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 decline by 8.54% to Rs22.38 crore. The company had a net profit of Rs24.47 crore for the same quarter FY’08, Pune-based Deepak Fertilisers said in a filing to the BSE. Total revenues of the company rose to Rs195.42 crore for the quarter under review, against Rs68.27 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Shares of the Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation settled at Rs54.05, down 3.48% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:33 am Chhattisgarh to spend Rs.14 bn on subsidised rice schemeChhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will spend a whopping Rs.1,440 crore (Rs.14.4 billion) next fiscal to provide rice at Rs.2 a kilogram to about 3.7 million families. Of these, some 70,000 families will get it at Re.1.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:32 am Indian economy will recover earlier than global economy: Azim PremjiAzim Premji, chairman of IT major Wipro, is optimistic about the revival of the Indian economy earlier than the world economy, saying the country remained largely insulated from the fallout of the financial meltdown and recession in developed countries.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:32 am CBI finalises charges in Kerala graft caseThe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has finalised a chargesheet in a 12-year-old graft case in Kerala involving a senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:31 am Coast Guard 70 percent short of requirementsAdmitting that the Indian Coast Guard was a staggering 70 percent short of its requirements, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday that the rapid modernizing of the country's maritime forces was his ministry's top priority.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:31 am Ramalinga Raju admits to diverting Satyam moneyDisgraced founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju has confessed that he diverted funds of the IT company to the two real estate firms promoted by his family, state police sources said here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:30 am Marico Q3 net profit seen up 10% at Rs 50.4 cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:30 am NPCIL cancels bond sale plans: sourcesMumbai: “State run company Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) which operates India’s nuclear power stations, has cancelled plans to sell bonds on expectations of lower rates in the coming weeks,” two sources including a company official said. NPCIL was looking to sell Rs15 billion worth of 10-year notes. “We are not proceeding with it in the current market. We are looking at softer interest rates and will do debt mobilisation then,” a company official, who did not wish to be named, said. “We are anyway cash surplus, with Rs60 billion of cash lying with us. The management has decided not to go ahead,” he said. The company had earlier invited bids from merchant bankers to sell the issue. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:29 am SEBI: firms must disclose pledged sharesMUMBAI (Reuters) – The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will make it mandatory for founders of companies to disclose their pledged shares, its chairman C.B. Bhave said, acting after a massive fraud at No. 4 software exporter Satyam.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:28 am Singapore facing its worst-ever recession: govtSingapore: Singapore said on Wednesday it is facing its worst-ever recession, and cut the economic outlook for 2009 to a contraction of between 2% and 5%. The downgrade is the second this month and reflects a faster and deeper decline in global economic activity, and stronger “spillover effects” on key sectors of the domestic economy, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said. Its previous forecast ranged from a contraction of 2% to growth of 1%. The warning came as the city-state suffered its worst quarter-on-quarter fall in more than 30 years. “The Singapore economy is going through its sharpest, deepest and most protracted recession,” said Ravi Menon, second permanent secretary with the ministry. Singapore’s worst recession since independence in 1965 occurred in 2001 when the economy contracted by 2.4%, figures from the ministry showed. Data released Wednesday confirmed a worsening recession in the country, where the economy shrank at a sharper pace in the fourth quarter than the government and economists had forecast. On a seasonally adjusted, annualised quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy fell by 16.9%, after a decline of 5.1% in the third quarter and 5.5% in the second, the trade ministry said. “The economy fell off the cliff in the fourth quarter,” said Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with CIMB-GK Research. The fourth-quarter drop is the largest since records began in 1976. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:26 am CID seeks extension of Raju's custody for 3 more days - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:16 am Audi launches 24x7 assistance service for its customersMumbai: Automobile major Audi has launched a 24X7 road-side assistance programme, Audi Top Road-side Assistance, on its main routes across the country to enable its customers deal with emergency situations. The 24X7 emergency service will be available for all Audi customers with the vehicle under warranty period without additional costs, a company release said. The service is effective from Wednesday, it said, adding that, “cars manufactured in 2007 will also be included with extra two years of Audi Top Assist service free of costs.” As part of the assistance service, two toll-free numbers have been dedicated to Audi car-owners across the country. In addition, service personnel would also be made available to the customer in duress, it said. “In case, a car needs more attention, a towing vehicle with a specially-designed towing platform will be sent from the nearest service provider,” the release said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:16 am Satyam inside-out story being sold for $499!There seems to be a business opportunity in every crisis and the same is the case with Satyam, with a "detailed situation analysis" of the case being sold for 499 dollars.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:12 am Turner International to launch English movie channel for IndiaNew Delhi: Bullish about the growing television market in the country, Turner International, a unit of media major Time Warner Group, will launch an English movie channel by the end of this year. “We are looking at launching an English movie channel by the end of this year. This will be in partnership with Warner Brothers and an announcement will be made in a month,” Turner International President (Asia Pacific) Stephen Marcopoto said. “Though the timeline has not been fixed yet, we are looking at launching the channel early this year,” Turner International India Managing Director Ashutosh Mishra said. Asked if there would be a conflict of interest as the company already has an English language cinema channel, Marcopoto said: “Both the channels will be placed differently. While HBO is more of a blockbuster channel, the new channel will feature Hollywood films.” “India is the largest market for Turner International in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region contributing about 25% to the APAC revenues,” he said. Turner already operates channels like CNN, Pogo, Cartoon Network and HBO in India. It has a distribution tie-up with Zee Networks as well. The firm has also launched a Hindi general entertainment channel ‘Real´ in an equal joint venture (JV) with Alva Brothers Entertainment. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:11 am Bharti in no hurry to buy 4.4% indirect stake from VodafoneThe Bharti group is in no hurry to acquire the 4.4 per cent indirect stake held by its one-time partner Vodafone, according to chairman Sunil Mittal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:09 am Mumbai lawyer files case against former Satyam Board, RajuThe complainant, has said that he had bought 500 shares of Satyam three weeks prior to Raju admitting to manipulation in the company's accounts for showing higher profits.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:08 am India rules out wheat, rice futures; no tax on palm - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:07 am No luck with ascertaining size of Satyam fraud: BhaveMumbai: Capital market regulator Sebi on Wednesday said it was finding it difficult to ascertain the size of fraud in Satyam Computer, as it has not been able to interrogate company founder Ramalinga Raju. However, it has quizzed the IT company’s auditors and internal finance department staffers and reviewed details of Satyam’s bank deposits, Sebi Chairman C B Bhave said. A Sebi team landed in Hyderabad on 8 January, a day after Raju disclosed cooking the books of Satyam by falsifying profits and lying about bank deposits. According to Raju’s disclosure, the fraud is to the tune of Rs7,800 crore. Raju, who had also pledged nearly all his shares in the company, has been arrested and is in police custody - making it difficult for the Sebi team to access him. Bhave said promoters must disclose pledged shares twice - both event-based disclosures and periodic disclosures. He also said the regulator will make necessary changes in listing norms. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 11:05 am Close: Sensex 3.5% down on foreign fund sellingNew Delhi: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex traded in deep red through noon on Wednesday to end almost 4% lower on selling by foreign investors worried about banking crisis and gloomy earnings outlook. Selling pressure continued across the index with power, banking, metal, technology and capital goods stocks the most battered. However, some amount of buying was witnessed among the FMCG stocks. Markets had made some recovery around noon but soon slipped again dragging the index. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended the day below 9,000 mark at 8,779.17, 321.38 points down and the broad based NSE Nifty ended 90.45 points down at 2,706.15. Wipro posted net profit rise of 8.7% or Rs898 crore in the third quarter today meeting investor expectations and analyst forecasts. But the company’s grim outlook of the last quarter owing to the economic gloom plunged their stocks by 3.55% at Rs219.75. The decline on the BSE pack was led by Sterlite Industries fallen by 7.97% to Rs237.25, along with Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd by 7.49% to Rs 1,372.25, Tata Power by 7.32% to Rs713.60, ICICI Bank by 7.12% to Rs369 and Grasim Industries Ltd by 5.96% to Rs1,141.45. Meanwhile Hong Kong shares dropped 2.9% to a nearly two-month low as company’s warned of grim earnings and Japan’s Nikkei fell by 2% hitting its seven-week closing low. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:52 am Nasty worm wriggles into millions of computersSan Francisco: A nasty worm has wriggled into millions of computers and continues to spread, leaving security experts wondering whether the attack is a harbinger of evil deeds to come. US software protection firm F-Secure says a computer worm known as “Conficker” or “Downadup” had infected more than nine million computers by Tuesday and was spreading at a rate of one million machines daily. The malicious software had yet to do any noticeable damage, prompting debate as to whether it is impotent, waiting to detonate, or a test run by cybercriminals intent on profiting from the weakness in the future. “This is enormous; possibly the biggest virus we have ever seen,” said software security specialist David Perry of Trend Micro. “I think the bad guys are field testing a new technology. If Conficker proves to work well, they could go out and sell malware (malicious software) to people. There is a huge market for selling criminal malware.” The worm, a self-replicating program, takes advantage of networks or computers that haven’t kept up to date with security patches for Windows RPC Server Service. It can infect machines from the Internet or by hiding on USB memory sticks carrying data from one computer to another. Once in a computer it digs deep, setting up defenses that make it hard to extract. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:13 am Fiat may buy 35% in Chrysler, no cash to be infusedItalian carmaker Fiat will take a 35% stake in Chrysler but will not inject cash into the troubled US automaker. It will not commit to funding Chrysler in the future either.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:09 am BSNL to launch 3G services in Jammu and KashmirSrinagar: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will launch the third generation (3G) mobile services in the state by March this year. “We will be launching the 3G services in Jammu and Kashmir by March this year,” K. Mittal, who looks after the mobile telephony of BSNL in the state told PTI Wednesday. Mittal said there would be no limit on the number of 3G connections to be given out in the state and the sole criterion will be the response of the subscribers. “We have not set any limit on the number of connections. We will give as many connections as the demand might be,” he said. Mittal said the work on providing the 3G services in the state is in full swing and the services should be launched on the scheduled time. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 9:28 am No more stimulus to industry during 2008-09: MontekNew Delhi: Ruling out the possibility of any more stimulus package to boost economic growth in 2008-09, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said enough had been done for industry. “The Planning Commission thinks whatever has been done is sufficient,” he told reporters here on the sidelines of a seminar on “Economic lawlessness and justice in India”. The Commission, Ahluwalia added, “has not proposed another stimulus package for this financial year.” The government has already announced two stimulus packages to give a boost to the economy, reeling under the impact of the global slowdown on the Indian economy. The government and the Reserve Bank, Ahluwalia added, were working in close co-ordination on steps to stimulate the economy. The Plan panel chief had already ruled out any tax concessions to industry during the current fiscal, which ends on 31 March. “Taxes will not be altered between now and the next budget,” he had said on Tuesday. The next regular budget is likely to be presented sometime in July, while the government will come out with an interim budget and a vote-on-account in February to complete the essential business in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Ahluwalia, however, is of the view that the government would have to actively use both monetary and fiscal policies in the coming fiscal to boost growth, which is expected to come down to around 7% from 9% in the previous fiscal. “If we utilise whatever we have announced in the budget, there will be lot of expenditure”, he had said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 9:16 am Andhra chief minister says Maytas is being probed by CIDAndhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy has said the state Crime Investigation Department is probing the affair of Maytas Infra.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 9:13 am 40 hopefuls in queue for Satyam's top jobAs many as 40 applicants have thrown their hats in the ring for the top job of CEO at scam-tainted Satyam.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:52 am Wipro Q3 net up 8.7%, meets forecastBangalore: Wipro Ltd met expectations with an 8.7% rise in quarterly profit, but gave a muted forecast due to the global economic downturn and growing pressure from Western clients to cut its fees. The company forecast its information technology services revenue, including revenue from its acquisition of Citi Technology Services, at $1.05 billion in the March quarter, down 7% from $1.13 billion in October-December. Wipro, which counts Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Cisco among its clients, said net profit rose to Rs898 crore ($183 million) in October-December under US accounting rules, up from Rs826 crore a year ago. A Reuters poll had forecast a net profit of Rs899 crore for Wipro, which provides IT solutions and services such as system integration, software application development and maintenance and research services. “Our price realisation improved sequentially in constant currency through higher productivity, while absorbing impact of lower working days during the quarter,” Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapaty said in a statement. Total revenue rose 25% to Rs654 crore, as its IT services business added 31 clients during the December quarter. Its margins during the quarter were impacted by 60 basis points due to one-time provision of receivables from a large customer, he said. Revelations of overstated profits and fictitious assets at fourth-ranked Satyam Computer Services have cast a shadow over India’s outsourcing sector, which was already struggling with slowing growth due to global financial turmoil. Analysts say recession in the United States, which accounts for more than half of India’s $52 billion IT and back-office services revenue, and financial sector turmoil have significantly dented the outlook for the once-booming outsourcing sector. Wipro said last week the World Bank had barred the company from direct contracts until 2011, citing a conflict of interest, adding to the glum outlook. A bankruptcy filing by Canada’s Nortel Networks last week is also a concern, though Wipro has said the firm accounts for less than 1.5% of its IT revenue and it expects a major portion of its business with North America’s biggest telephone equipment maker would continue. Wipro’s earnings follow results from No. 2 exporter Infosys Technologies, which beat profit expectations but still trimmed its annual revenue forecast, while sector leader Tata Consultancy Services’ profit lagged forecasts. Both Infosys and Tata Consultancy have said they were not trying to poach clients from smaller rival Satyam, whose founder and chairman quit earlier this month after revealing overstated profits and fictitious assets. Shares in Wipro, which has a market value of about $7 billion, fell 31% in the December quarter, while the sector index slipped 28% and the main Mumbai index dropped by 25%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:40 am GM warns will run out of cash without rest of govt loanDetroit: US automaker, General Motors Corp. (GM) has said that it will run out of cash if it does not get the second part of the federal bridge loan next month. GM President Fritz Henderson said that the the situation was dire for the troubled carmaker, which received a $4 billion emergency loan last month and is due to collect another installment of the bridge loan in February. “If we don’t get our second installment of funding, we’ll run out of cash. It’s just that simple,” Henderson said. “We have finalized the documentation with the second draw and frankly we anticipate receiving it,” Henderson said. “But it’s critical we receive it,” he added, noting that GM would run out of cash well before 31 March when it supposed to deliver the final draft of its plan outlining the steps it is taking to become financially viable. “We’d run out of cash in the near term. Certainly well before 31 March,” he said adding: “It’s critical in our case.” He said that halting government support could trip GM into bankruptcy. Henderson also said that he was not concerned about Toyota passing GM in unit sales. “I actually noticed they passed us in market (capitalization), cash flow and profitability a long ago,” he said adding: “Honestly, this is not a measure I pay a lot of attention to. What much more important to me is how we make GM successful.” Henderson said that the company has kept the Buick brand alive largely because it is popular in China, which has emerged as a key market for GM over the past decade. “In that sense the Buick brand benefit immensely from the investment we are making in China,” he said. Henderson also said that GM remains commited to bringing out electric and hybrid vehicles despite its financial difficulties. “If gas prices stay low, we know it’s going to be much more difficult to sell any kind of alternative propulsion vehicle. Our view is oil is still a scarce commodity,” he said. “We think demand will pickup and take oil to a much higher level. We’re planning the business around $130 to $160 per barrel oil over the next 5-10 years,” Henderson said. “In that environment, we think we can successfully sell GM’s Volt,” Henderson said. The US Treasury loans are part of a $13.4 billion rescue package that the US government approved this month for GM and Chrysler to stave off collapse amid tight credit and dismal sales. GM was to be eligible for a further $4 billion from February pending congressional action. Treasury has also provided $6 billion in aid to GMAC, GM’s financial arm. Under the agreement, the automakers will have to prove their viability by 31 March or the government could require the funds to be repaid within 30 days. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:34 am Apollo Tyres reconciliation talks end in stalemateThe lockout at PTL Enterprises Ltd (PTEL) of the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) at Kalamassery entered the seventh week and it appears to have reached a stalemate now as both the parties concerned are sticking to their respective positions without creating any room for further negotiations.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:26 am Sasken to continue business with NortelSasken Communication Technologies Ltd said it would continue to do business with Nortel Networks in the nearterm and that the receivables from the Canadian firm stood at Rs 7 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:23 am MRPL records Rs 285cr loss on falling crude pricesWhile the crude inventory valuation loss of around Rs 1,062 crore during the third quarter of the current fiscal forced the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) to record a net loss of Rs 285 crore during the period.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:21 am Proposal to allow 49% stake for foreign airlinesThe Civil Aviation Ministrys proposal for allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic airlines has moved ahead. Later this week the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary is to consider a proposal to allow foreign airlines to hold a 49% stake in scheduled, nonscheduled and charter airlines.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:17 am Executive hiring in Asia slows sharply as firms cut costsHong Kong: Job openings for executives in Asia are dwindling, notably in Hong Kong where they are at a seven-year low, as the economic downturn is proving severe and forcing many companies to freeze hiring, a survey by recruitment firm Hudson showed on Wednesday. Only 18% of companies surveyed in Hong Kong said they would hire executives this quarter, down from 32% in a previous survey three months ago, and the lowest level since early 2002. The territory is being hit by its reliance on financial services where job opportunities are particularly low as initial public offerings and acquisitions have dried up, although demand for insolvency and dispute resolution practitioners is growing, according to the survey. In Singapore, prospects are not much better, with 23% of companies there saying they would add senior staff this quarter, down from 37% in the previous quarter. In Japan 31% of firms plan to hire, down from 43% three months ago. The survey covers Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore -- which are all in recession -- and China, which is seeing a sharp slowdown after six years of double-digit economic growth. There is still an acute shortage of managerial talent in China yet only 34% of firms plan to hire executives this quarter, compared with 44% last quarter, the survey shows. The consumer sector offers the best opportunities, while 15% of respondents in the IT&T sector say they are reducing headcount. Across the region, hiring expectations in banking and financial services, as well as media, public relations and advertising are low, although in Japan the shift towards digital media is creating opportunities in media, according to the survey. Investment banks have been slashing headcount in Asia as part of global staff cuts, affecting Hong Kong and Singapore in particular, although job losses so far have been mild compared with in New York and London. Many jobs in the trade sector could also be vulnerable in Asia as exports in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong fell at double-digit rates in December from a year earlier and are expected to remain in a slump in the first half of this year amid weak consumer demand in advanced economies. The quarterly survey by Chicago-based Hudson Highland Group Inc covered responses from nearly 3,000 managers at multinational firms across industries in the four markets. As job opportunities shrink, employers are under less pressure to raise salaries to attract good managers. Even in China, 15% of companies said they would not be increasing salaries for new managerial staff. Half of companies in Japan, and a third of Hong Kong companies, say they will not increase salaries to attract new hires. Singapore firms are under more pressure, with only 10% of respondents saying they can freeze new hires’ salaries, because filling critical niche roles remains competitive. Bonus payments are being slashed across the region, notably in Japan where 35% of survey respondents said they would not be paying any bonus. Employees in banking and financial services would be most affected. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:11 am Wipro Q3 net at Rs 1,004 crWipro reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,003.9 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, while the company had a net profit of Rs 854 crore in the third quarter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:05 am India's gold import dips by 47 pc to 402 tonnes in 2008Gold imports in India for 2008 dipped by almost 47 per cent to 402 tonnes, a top economist said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:03 am Fraud-hit Satyam searching for emergency fundingMumbai: The new board of embattled Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services is working to secure emergency funding for the firm and will consider appointing a banker for the rescue effort, a board member said. The banker would help the board consider all options in a bid to salvage the company, said Deepak Parekh, who was drafted in by the government along with others after it dissolved the fraud-hit firm’s existing board earlier this month. “We have pledged some receivables to get funds. The board is meeting tomorrow and will decide on the banker,” Parekh said on Wednesday. “We are working on securing funds.” Also Read The Satyam Fiasco (Full Coverage) Parekh, a respected banker, has said Satyam had Rs170 crore ($350 million) in receivables, and the new board has confirmed it is in talks with banks about funding and is doing all it can to ensure employees were paid. Satyam said on Tuesday it has been approached by a number of potential buyers, though analysts say a deal would be difficult until the full extent of the fraud is known. Lawsuits arising from the scandal could also deter any would-be suitors. Satyam and the government have both downplayed media speculation of a state bailout. But it is not clear if Satyam’s receivables would come in on time for the company to pay its most pressing bills. Parekh said the firm was ready to pledge some of its expected receivables as collateral in order to secure a loan or other funding. Satyam, India’s No. 4 software services exporter, was plunged into crisis after founder Ramalinga Raju resigned as chairman earlier this month, revealing profits had been falsified for years and $1 billion of cash on the books did not exist. The firm’s new auditors are scrambling to determine how much money it really has, while executives are trying to assure nervous clients that the company is still a going concern. US-based insurer State Farm Insurance has terminated its contract with the firm and some others are believed to be reviewing their service contracts. Satyam’s clients include such giants as Nestle and General Electric India’s largest-ever corporate scandal has cast a shadow over the country’s outsourcing sector, which was already struggling with slowing growth due to global financial turmoil. The United States alone accounts for more than half of India’s $52 billion IT and back-office services revenue, and is facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. India’s No.3 outsourcer Wipro Ltd met analysts expectations on Wednesday by reporting an 8.7% rise in quarterly profit, but gave a downbeat outlook as its Western clients clamoured for lower prices, sending its shares down more than 3%. “We are living in tough times; the macro-economic challenges are significant and impacting businesses across segment,” Chairman Azim Premji said in a statement. Wipro, which counts ailing Citigroup among its clients, said net profit rose to Rs898 crore ($183 million) in October-December from Rs826 crore a year ago. Suresh Vaswani, Wipro’s co-chief executive officer, said the company was not hunting for Satyam’s clients nor would there be any pressure on Wipro’s business because of the scandal. “If customers are talking to us as a matter of routine, as a matter of consolidation... then we are having a dialogue.” Raju and his brother, who was Satyam’s former managing director, and the company’s former chief financial officer were moved to police custody for questioning in Hyderabad, the firm’s home city, on Sunday for four days after spending a week in jail. Satyam’s shares have lost more than 80% of their value in the last month, but were up 5 percent on Wednesday on hopes the firm would be able to avoid a near-term cash crisis. Parekh said on Wednesday evidence of fraud had appeared during investigations. “Some of the papers we have seen, it is obvious, you can make out documents were forged,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 8:01 am POLL- Rates seen on hold next week in close-call decisionMUMBAI (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is tipped to hold interest rates steady next week after recent aggressive cuts, but a sizeable minority of analysts polled by Reuters bet on yet another cut, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 7:27 am Kingfisher to fly to seven more foreign destinationsLeading airline service provider Kingfisher Airlines yesterday announced that it would offer flights to seven more international destinations over the next three months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 7:25 am Wipro Q3 up 9 pct, muted outlook hits sharesBANGALORE (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd met expectations with an 8.7 percent rise in quarterly profit, but gave a downbeat outlook as its Western clients clamoured for lower prices, sending its shares down.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:58 am Gene breakthrough ‘to pave way for nicotine-free cigarettes’London: Smokers trying to gradually kick the butt can effectively do so, thanks to scientists who have made a gene-related breakthrough which they claim could soon pave the way for nicotine-free cigarettes. A team at Kyoto University has identified the Nt-JAT1 gene which transports nicotine, a drug present in cigarettes that eventually leads to addiction, from the roots of tobacco plants to their leaves. According to the researchers, creating a nicotine-free cigarette that tastes of tobacco, but does no damage to human health is their next aim. Lead researcher Prof Kazufumi Yazaki told ‘The Daily Telegraph´: “We will proceed now with experiments to raise tobacco plants that have no nicotine in their leaves, although there may still be some problems to overcome. “For example, we may find that blocking the transfer leads to accumulation of the nicotine in the root cells and that could prove toxic to the plant itself.” According to Prof Yazaki, the breakthrough will be of particular assistance for people who are trying to quit fags. “It has been pointed out that people smoke for the nicotine, but there are a lot of people who want to quit and have tried to stop, but say they miss the sensation of having a cigarette in their mouth. “There are people who will smoke regardless of whether the cigarette contains nicotine or not,” he said. Perhaps the biggest hurdle the researchers face is funding to continue their research. “This is very important to human health, so I should start talking to Japan Tobacco. May be they will finance my studies,” Prof Yazaki said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:57 am What, after belling the CAT?New Delhi: For students aspiring to be a part of the Ivy League, belling the CAT last November isn’t quite enough. The next challenge that lies before them is to successfully wade through the group discussion (GD) and interview rounds. And just like CAT, clearing the next level requires special skill sets. ‘The selection procedure has become more informed and diverse. A conscious attempt is being made to have a diverse class composition, where students learn from each others differences, and learn to cope with it as well,’ says Nilesh Agrawal, an IIM alumni and entrepreneur. Click here to watch video With the next level of selection round the corner, students’ anxiety levels are building up. Most are seeking answers to issues like what would be the right approach to handle topics and questions during the interview process; how to present oneself in the group discussion; how to ensure that what one says clinches the discussion in one’s favour and how does one gently but surely make what others say, redundant. There is technique, strategy, intelligence and timing besides articulation and conversational skills that are at stake. Is it any wonder then that coaching centres are busy structuring mock sessions, have demos and play acting with hypothetical situations. Even some of the IIMs have come up with unique mentorship programmes to help students get a better grip over their sense of preparedness. In IIMC, students have taken up the task of mentoring prospective MBAs who have received calls to the second round of the admission process to the Joka campus in Kolkata. ’Aspirants just need to register on the IIMC website, and mentors will get in touch with them,’ says the ER cell. IIM Lucknow also runs a similar Student Mentorship Program. The idea is to answer queries and clear doubts regarding the preparation for your GD/PI process and beyond. There is no single trait that makes a student eligible or perfect to score high in the GD and interview process. ‘Evaluation is based on various parameters like subject knowledge, personality traits, career planning, thought clarity, general awareness, etc’, says Alok Acharya, centre director, T.I.M.E., Bhubaneswar. Impactful group discussion Students have various notions about conducting and speaking during a GD. ‘It becomes impossible to make it through the interview and GD process for someone who is low on confidence and unsure about what she/he wants. Being confident in an interview is one of the critical traits that B Schools would look for,’ Shiva Kumar, Director Research and Development at Career launcher says. It is not all about speaking, adds Shiva Kumar. One important part of communication, that is often missed out is the need to listen and the process thereof. No communication is complete without this. There have been a fair number of cases when people have been rejected on this parameter, he says. While students might wonder about the importance of correct accent, experts say its normal for some of the students to have geographical accent, unless someone speaks with an accent, which cannot be deciphered. GD is not only about how much you can speak, it is also about your ability to assimilate and analyze what others are speaking. You need to be attentive and follow where the discussion is going and react and give valid points in between. You may face problem to summarize at the end, which is asked in some cases if you do not listen properly, recommends Acharya. One of the most important tips to remember is being attentive. ‘During the GD process, while others are speaking, usually some of the students may fall into the laid-back attitude mode. Your body language should not show casual approach. Be involved in the discussion even while you are not speaking by nodding your head. Or looking at the person who is speaking,’ says Arun Kar, an IIM alumni, who is currently working with Intel. Clinching the interview This is a crucial round. It gives the board an insight into your approach to career, life and situations. Student counselors say that a number of times, the interview board creates a stressful situation for students just to gauge how s/he manages stress. It does not really matter if you are unable to answer a questions put to you. ‘Always remember, apart from knowledge, your approach to uncertainty and difficult situations is also important,’ says Agrawal. Acharya says the basic purpose of the interview is to understand candidate’s attitude towards personal and professional life. ‘The best schools will look at a balanced candidate with strong fundamentals, ability to think and react to different situations.’ Last but not the least, on D-day, be enthusiastic, dress smart, but don’t over dress. It shows you are detail oriented, says Kar. And have your wits about yourself. If you do indeed make a faux pas, recover quickly to make your next move. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:32 am Obama fails to dispel market fears over banks, economySingapore: Barack Obama’s pledge to tackle challenges including war and a weak economy failed to cheer financial markets pummelled by crippling bank losses, job cuts and mounting evidence of deepening global downturn. Asian stock markets plumbed their lowest levels in six weeks on Wednesday after Wall Street greeted the new US President with its biggest inauguration day fall amid new signs of financial sector distress and global economic downturn. Highlighting how the crisis set off by a US housing market slump has reverberated around the world, global miner BHP Billiton announced job cuts and a plant shutdown and the Australian government pledged to help companies plug a potential $49 billion funding gap. Also Read Why India should not worry too much Singapore declared its economy, a sensitive gauge of world trade trends, was in its worst-ever recession. In Mumbai, Indian shares started 2.2% lower, extending losses to the second day on worries a fragile world economy could trigger more foreign fund withdrawals. Obama took office with a message of hope and resolve and with an $825 billion stimulus plan on top of $350 billion, a second installment of a $700 billion financial bailout, in the works. Also See Photo Gallery “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met,” he said upon taking the oath. Obama also hinted at greater regulation, saying “this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.” But investors still felt it was not enough. “People still have expectations for his economic policies, but we know nothing concrete about them, so the market has no choice but to focus on the real economy and earnings,” said Yutaka Miura, chief technical analyst at Shinko Securities in Japan. US stocks extended losses while the president spoke and kept falling after he finished with the S&P 500 closing down 5.3%, a record fall on an inauguration day. Tokyo’s Nikkei hit a two-month low before recovering some ground in mid-day trade. Investors were particularly unsettled by steep losses of major lenders that could freeze credit markets again and drive the world’s major economies deeper into recession already shaping up as the most severe downturn in several decades. Banks hit again Shares of State Street Corp, the world’s biggest institutional asset manager, plummeted 59% on Wall Street after it reported billions of dollars of unrealised losses, while Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all lost between 20% and 29%. Europe’s banking index fell to a 14-year low on fears that lenders will need more state help to raise capital after Britain announced its second bank rescue in three months and Royal Bank of Scotland said it was on course for the biggest loss in UK corporate history. The dire state of British lenders prompted on Wednesday a call from a leading lawmaker for the government to nationalise RBS and Lloyds Banking Group. Fears about the banking system helped push the pound below $1.39 for the first time since June 2001. Australia, which says its banks are healthy and highly profitable, admitted it may have to help them plug a $49 billion funding gap for business if stretched foreign banks failed to roll over loans due in the next two years. There were more signs of pain in the industry too. Top miner BHP Billiton said on Wednesday it would cut 6% of its 101,000 workforce and close a nickel mine in Australia, joining rivals such as Rio Tinto in downsizing in response to tumbling global demand. On Tuesday, Chrysler, a once mighty US car company, surrendered a 35% stake to Italy’s Fiat for zero cash, teaming up with a carmaker that is also struggling to survive. France weighed plans for an emergency aid package for its own battered auto industry. Economic data reflect the deepening gloom. Brussels earlier this week forecast the euro zone economy will shrink 2% this year. China, the world economy’s main growth engine, is set to report fourth quarter growth at its slowest in a decade and Britain on Friday will confirm the world’s fifth-largest economy is now officially in recession. Singapore, a small open economy that rises and falls with global trade, may shrink by as much as 5% this year, its government said. Policymakers from Washington to Tokyo have responded by pledging hundreds of billions of dollars in bank bailouts and extra government spending and slashing interest rates. But with US and Japanese interest rates near zero and borrowing costs heading there in many other economies, officials are increasingly looking beyond interest rates to prop up flagging demand. Bank of England governor Mervyn King said on Wednesday that the central bank, which has cut its official rate to 1.5% this month, may decide to buy a range of financial assets from banks to increase available credit to companies. Analysts expect another 50 basis point cut next month and the Bank of Canada joined the near-zero rate club on Tuesday, cutting its benchmark rate by half a point to a 50-year low of 1%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:22 am BHP Billiton to cut 6,000 jobsSydney: BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc will cut some 6% of its workforce, and close its giant Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia with a $1.6 billion writedown, its biggest in nine years, hit by a global recession. Joining smaller rivals in downsizing to combat sinking metals prices in the economic downturn, the world’s largest miner also flagged it was reducing activity at its nearby Mount Keith nickel mine. “Clearly their balance sheet is in a respectable position. But they are not immune from the commodity price environment that we’re seeing, and earnings are going to suffer,” said Neil Boyd-Clark, managing partner at Fortis Investment Partners. BHP Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow warned on Wednesday more mines could be closed given uncertainty in commodity markets, with the Australian metallurgical coal mines already slated to reduce output 10 to 15%. Until now BHP has set itself apart from other miners by maintaining production and just last month said sales volumes were holding up despite the global downturn. BHP said it was cutting some 6,000 jobs in total. “These are very serious types of decisions and we don’t take them lightly, but at the end they are necessary and they are the correct decisions,” Vanselow told a news conference. Rival Rio Tinto is in the process of eliminating 14,000 workers, Brazil’s Vale has cut 1,300 jobs and put 5,500 workers on paid leave and other miners have also warned jobs were at risk. Fund managers said brokers were likely to cut their earnings forecasts for BHP, which had been expected to report a net profit around $14 billion for the year to June 2009. “Clearly the pressure on forecasts is on the downside as the market comes to grips with commodity prices that are lower than were expected as recently as a couple of months ago,” said Boyd-Clark. BHP shares fell 1.8% to A$28.42, while Rio Tinto fell 3% after announcing further aluminium production cuts on Tuesday. Not enough to boost nickel prices Vanselow conceded the company “got it wrong on Ravensthorpe”, but analysts said it was doing the right thing to shut it down in face of weak nickel prices. “Ravensthorpe was always going to be relatively high cost, and it has been a difficult operation from day one,” said Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital. Besides some 2,100 jobs cuts in Australian nickel mining another 4,000 jobs out of BHP’s 101,000-strong global workforce will go, Vanselow said. Vanselow estimated the total job cuts will cost $500 million. With industrial activity worldwide slowing, analysts doubted the cuts to nickel output would be enough to turn prices around. Rivals cut it back Rio Tinto Ltd last week reported an 18 percent decline in iron ore production for its fourth quarter and said earnings from its aluminium division would be hurt by falling prices. Rio has since said it will cut another 6% of aluminium output. For now, BHP had no intention to curtail iron ore production in Australia, Vanselow said. Ravensthorpe, which started production in 2007 about nine months behind schedule, cost $2.2 billion to build and is one of the largest nickel-making facilities in the world. Since starting, world nickel prices have plummeted, pressuring BHP and other miners on costs and prompting predictions that mines will decrease rather than increase output. Previous bad investments by the company resulted in a total write off of $1.6 billion by 2000 on its Boodarie hot briquetted iron plant in Australia and a $2 billion writeoff on its Magma Copper Co acquisition in Arizona in the late 1990s. That debacle, which coincided with tanking world copper prices, triggered closures across the US copper belt. For the second quarter, BHP’s production of iron ore rose 5% over the same quarter a year earlier, while oil output rose 30%. Output of aluminium fell 8% and copper 11%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 5:57 am BHP Billiton to cut 6,000 jobsSydney: BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc will cut some 6% of its workforce, and close its giant Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia with a $1.6 billion writedown, its biggest in nine years, hit by a global recession. Joining smaller rivals in downsizing to combat sinking metals prices in the economic downturn, the world’s largest miner also flagged it was reducing activity at its nearby Mount Keith nickel mine. “Clearly their balance sheet is in a respectable position. But they are not immune from the commodity price environment that we’re seeing, and earnings are going to suffer,” said Neil Boyd-Clark, managing partner at Fortis Investment Partners. BHP Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow warned on Wednesday more mines could be closed given uncertainty in commodity markets, with the Australian metallurgical coal mines already slated to reduce output 10 to 15%. Until now BHP has set itself apart from other miners by maintaining production and just last month said sales volumes were holding up despite the global downturn. BHP said it was cutting some 6,000 jobs in total. “These are very serious types of decisions and we don’t take them lightly, but at the end they are necessary and they are the correct decisions,” Vanselow told a news conference. Rival Rio Tinto is in the process of eliminating 14,000 workers, Brazil’s Vale has cut 1,300 jobs and put 5,500 workers on paid leave and other miners have also warned jobs were at risk. Fund managers said brokers were likely to cut their earnings forecasts for BHP, which had been expected to report a net profit around $14 billion for the year to June 2009. “Clearly the pressure on forecasts is on the downside as the market comes to grips with commodity prices that are lower than were expected as recently as a couple of months ago,” said Boyd-Clark. BHP shares fell 1.8% to A$28.42, while Rio Tinto fell 3% after announcing further aluminium production cuts on Tuesday. Not enough to boost nickel prices Vanselow conceded the company “got it wrong on Ravensthorpe”, but analysts said it was doing the right thing to shut it down in face of weak nickel prices. “Ravensthorpe was always going to be relatively high cost, and it has been a difficult operation from day one,” said Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital. Besides some 2,100 jobs cuts in Australian nickel mining another 4,000 jobs out of BHP’s 101,000-strong global workforce will go, Vanselow said. Vanselow estimated the total job cuts will cost $500 million. With industrial activity worldwide slowing, analysts doubted the cuts to nickel output would be enough to turn prices around. Rivals cut it back Rio Tinto Ltd last week reported an 18 percent decline in iron ore production for its fourth quarter and said earnings from its aluminium division would be hurt by falling prices. Rio has since said it will cut another 6% of aluminium output. For now, BHP had no intention to curtail iron ore production in Australia, Vanselow said. Ravensthorpe, which started production in 2007 about nine months behind schedule, cost $2.2 billion to build and is one of the largest nickel-making facilities in the world. Since starting, world nickel prices have plummeted, pressuring BHP and other miners on costs and prompting predictions that mines will decrease rather than increase output. Previous bad investments by the company resulted in a total write off of $1.6 billion by 2000 on its Boodarie hot briquetted iron plant in Australia and a $2 billion writeoff on its Magma Copper Co acquisition in Arizona in the late 1990s. That debacle, which coincided with tanking world copper prices, triggered closures across the US copper belt. For the second quarter, BHP’s production of iron ore rose 5% over the same quarter a year earlier, while oil output rose 30%. Output of aluminium fell 8% and copper 11%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 5:57 am Obama fails to dispel market fears over banks, economySINGAPORE (Reuters) - Barack Obama's pledge to tackle challenges including war and a weak economy failed to cheer financial markets pummelled by crippling bank losses, job cuts and mounting evidence of deepening global downturn.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 5:42 am Rupee at 1-month lows on outflow worriesMumbai: The rupee recovered from a more than one-month low touched in early trade on Wednesday after local share market pared losses, but dollar demand from importers is likely to keep pressure on the Indian unit. At 10:45am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs49.15/16 per dollar, slightly stronger than its Tuesday’s close of Rs49.20/22 and off an early trough of Rs49.40, its lowest since 9 December, 2008. “The stocks would be closely watched today for cues on flows. There is also some decent dollar demand from importers but the rupee is unlikely to weaken sharply,” a senior dealer at a foreign bank said. Indian shares were trading down 0.8%, after having dropped as much as 2.4% early. Foreign funds have sold shares worth about $660 million this month, after selling more than $13 billion in 2008. Dealers said the dollar’s strength overseas also hurt rupee sentiment. Sterling and the euro recovered from earlier losses but concerns persisted over losses in the UK banking sector and a deepening recession in the euro zone Sterling earlier hit a 7-year low and the euro touched a six-week trough against the dollar. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs49.29/39, weaker than the onshore spot rate. J Moses Harding, head of global markets at IndusInd Bank, forecast the rupee to trade in a 49.00-49.60 band for the day, and a near-term range of Rs48.80 to Rs49.80. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 5:15 am Banks sink Wall St on Obama’s Inauguration DayNew York: Wall Street ushered in the Barack Obama presidency with a record Inauguration Day drop on Tuesday amid fresh signs the global bank crisis was far from over. High expectations for details on how the new administration would address the growing banking crisis and faltering economy were dampened after the inauguration speech concluded with little new information to digest. State Street Corp, the world’s largest institutional money manager, spooked investors about what is considered one of the safest areas in banking when it said it had a $6.3 billion unrealized loss in its investment portfolio and lowered its outlook. Its shares plunged 59% to $14.89. “Stocks are getting crushed because of the never-ending tragedy that has fallen upon the banking sector,” said Tom Sowanick, chief investment officer of Clearbrook Financial LLC in Princeton, New Jersey. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 332.13 points, or 4.01%, to 7,949.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 44.90 points, or 5.28%, to 805.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 88.47 points, or 5.78%, to 1,440.86. The decline for the Dow marked the largest point and percentage drop for the index since 1 December, 2008, and the first time the Dow has been below 8,000 since Nov. 20, 2008. Since Obama won the election in November, Wall Street has been betting he will put plans in place to help stabilize the sliding economy and stem rising unemployment. The negative tone for the financial sector was set in Britain by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which unveiled that it expects to take the biggest loss in British corporate history on Monday, when US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. The news sparked concerns about the global banking sector and hurt shares of financials, including JPMorgan Chase & Co, which was the Dow’s top drag. Citigroup’s shares rose nearly 3% to $2.88 in extended trade after the company declared a quarterly dividend of 1 cent per share and said it had completed the sale of Citigroup Technology Services Ltd (India) for $127 million. Bank of New York Mellon shed 2.6% to $18.50 in extended trade following its fourth-quarter earnings. Although the S&P 500 has rebounded from its 21 November intraday low, the broad index has fallen 10.9% this year on worries about the deepening global recession. Technology shares were pulled down by expectations of poor quarterly results from big-cap tech companies, including International Business Machines Corp. Big-cap tech companies also got hurt by a rise in the dollar, which makes it difficult for overseas consumers to buy their products, said Robert Francello, head of equity trading for Apex Capital hedge fund in San Francisco. IBM shed 3.5% to $81.98 on the New York Stock Exchange before quarterly results, which were expected after the bell. Shares of Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, fell 6.4% to $12.86 on Nasdaq after the company cut the price of some processors by as much as 48%. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by almost nine to one, while on the Nasdaq, about six stocks fell for every one that rose. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 3:57 am Eco growth to slow down to 0.5%!World economic growth in `09 is projected to come down to 0.5 percent the European Commission said.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am TCS, Ducati sign partnership agreement!India`s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Italy`s Ducati Motor Holding have entered into a strategic partnership.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Jet, ICICI Lombard launch `JetProtect`!Private air-carrier, Jet Airways, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance, have launched a unique overseas and domestic travel insurance product called JetProtect.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Polaris records 94% growth in profits in 3Q!Against the trend of falling profits across sectors, Polaris Software Lab Ltd recorded a whopping 94% growth in profits in its third quarter results for FY 2008-2009. The company is set to give a 30% dividend to its share holders.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Sensex down 229 pts, closes at 9,100!BSE Sensex on Tuesday ended 229 points down at 9,100.55.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Toyota`s global sales fell 4% in 2008!Toyota said on Tuesday it sold 8.972 million vehicles worldwide last year, down 4 percent, as a global slump in new car sales overshadowed its race to overtake General Motors as the world`s biggest automaker.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Satyam`s Raju siphoned off USD 1 billion: NYT!Satyam Computers` tainted chairman B Ramalinga Raju might have claimed, while admitting to the Rs 7,800 crore fraud in his company, that he did not make a single rupee out of it, a report in the New York Times says otherwise.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Japanese drug firm Daiichi Sankyo denies agreement with Zenotech!Japanese drug firm Daiichi Sankyo on Tuesday denied having any agreement with Zenotech on open offer, a claim disputed by the Hyderabad-based firm, which warned of `consequences` if the pact was not honoured.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Tata JV, JSPL pip Reliance Industries for CTL project!The Tata group`s joint venture with Sasol of South Africa, and Jindal Steel and Power have pipped Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and state-run GAIL to the post and got shortlisted for the prestigious $6-8 bn project.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Toyota names family scion as new president!Toyota Motor on Tuesday named Akio Toyoda as its new president, turning to the grandson of its founder to rescue the company from its biggest ever crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:18 am Greed morphs to fear in a yearMumbai, Jan. 20 It was exactly a year ago that the Indian stock market started its downhill journey.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Power Finance Corp (Rs 135.30): BuyWe recommend a buy in Power Finance Corporation from a short-term trading perspective. It is evident from the charts of this stock that it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend from its October low of Rs 86. This was also a 52-week low. SinceSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am We can’t profit from lower NY crude prices, say PSU refinersNew Delhi, Jan. 20 The average price in January (till Monday) at which the Indian refiners have purchased crude has been higher than the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a superior variety of crude. While the Indian basket from January 1 tillSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am TCS bags Ducati contractMumbai, Jan. 20 Tata Consultancy Services has won a multi-year contract from Ducati to deploy ERP solutions for the Italian super bike major in Europe. However, financial details of the deal were notSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Poser on share pledgingMumbai, Jan. 20 In the aftermath of the Satyam saga, the pressure on the company’s promoters to reveal details of the shares they may have pledged to lenders is mounting.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Proposal to allow 49% stake for foreign airlines in domestic carriersNew Delhi, Jan. 20 The Civil Aviation Ministry’s proposal for allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic airlines has moved ahead. Later this week the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary is to consider aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Rupee under duressThe rupee is under duress this week as data released by the Securities and Exchanges Board of India revealed that foreign institutional investors have pulled out close to $500 million in January.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Suitors queue up for SatyamNew Delhi, Jan. 20 The beleaguered IT company, Satyam Computer Services has been approached by “potential buyers”, both MNC and Indian, according to its newly appointed board member Mr TarunSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Insurance players see safety in G-Secs, CDBangalore, Jan.20 In a bid to contain risks, insurance companies, both life and general, have begun parking bulk of their investible resources in government securities and certificates of depositsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Obama gives White House site online overhaulWashington: The White House of President Barack Obama went online on Tuesday with a promise that its slick new website would provide a “window for all Americans into the business of the government”. In a posting on the blog of whitehouse.gov, Macon Phillips, the White House Director of New Media, said the site “will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.” “Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov,” Phillips wrote after the whitehouse.gov website of former president George W. Bush went offline and was replaced by that of Obama. Noting that the Internet played a key role in Obama’s 4 November election, Phillips said: “WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration’s efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement. “Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration’s online programmes will put citizens first,” he added. Phillips said the White House’s new media efforts would focus on “communication,” “transparency” and “participation”. He said the site “will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated” and encouraged users to sign up for email updates, a technique Obama’s team used very successfully during his campaign. “President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise,” Phillips said. “The President’s executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government,” he added. Phillips said,“Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the Internet will play an important role in that.” Following through an Obama campaign promise, he said,“We will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.” Phillips also encouraged users to send ideas about improving whitehouse.gov. Prominently displayed on the homepage of the new website was a message from the Office of Public Liaison and a link to an email form which members of the public can use to send their thoughts to the White House. Whitehouse.gov was also undergoing some early teething pains on Tuesday. It noted on the blog that Obama had issued a proclamation moments after taking office calling on Americans to serve one another, but said in another area on the site that he had not yet issued any proclamations. The new whitehouse.gov has been widely expected to be the window for what is being touted as an experiment in interactive government. Change.gov, the official website of the Obama transition team, contained such features as the “Citizen’s Briefing Book,” in which users were invited to submit ideas by email and “rate or offer comments on the ideas of others”. Another feature, “Your Seat at the Table,” called for the proceedings of meetings between the transition team and outside organizations to be published on change.gov and allowed members of the public to comment on them. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2009 | 9:12 pm Satyam case: Maytas firms now under the spotlightWith each passing day bringing forth a new development in the highprofile Satyam scam, it is now learnt that the Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties will now be under the government scanner.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Jan 2009 | 8:42 pm No more tax cuts with stimulus III, says MontekGovt to focus on implementing the first two packages.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Jan 2009 | 7:01 pm Tata Motors' cash flow may fall by Rs 500 crFalling commercial vehicle sales the main culprit, questions over JLR funding.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Jan 2009 | 7:00 pm Overtures from buyers beginThe new board of Satyam Computer Services confirmed it has received buyout proposals from Indian and foreign firms besides a favourable response from banks for credit to meet the company's cash requirements.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Jan 2009 | 6:59 pm Satyam violated company law: RoCHope for Satyam even as investigations reveal more skeletons.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Jan 2009 | 6:58 pm
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