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See Reliance net profit close to Rs 3100 cr: SP TulsianSP Tulsian of sptulsian.com said Reliance profit figures could be close to Rs 3,100 crore with maybe plusminus Rs 50 core on the either side.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:14 pm Bharti Airtel Q3 net up 38.34 pc at Rs 1,976.41 cr!Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel on Thursday said its net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 rose by 38.34 per cent to Rs 1,976.41 crore.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Satyam is a case of fraud, says Chidambaram!The Government on Wednesday termed Satyam as a case of fraud and not a case of collapse.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Swedish firm Ericsson to cut 5,000 jobs!Telecommunications firm Ericsson AB will slash about 5,000 jobs as part of its cost cutting initiatives even as it reported a substantial fall in net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm LIC`s new policy won`t be subsidised by policyholders: Chairman!Existing Life Insurance Corp (LIC) policyholders will not have to subsidise holders of the insurer`s new guaranteed return product Jeevan Aastha, LIC chairman T S Vijayan has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Court to decide on Raju`s bail plea; board meets!A city court here will on Thursday hear the petition of Satyam`s disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju seeking bail and special status in jail and also a petition filed by SEBI seeking custody of Raju, and two others.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Toyota is world`s no 1 automaker!Toyota dethroned Detroit rival General Motors as the world`s top automaker on Thursday.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Rupee rises; up by 21 paise to 48.90 a dollar!The Indian rupee appreciated 21 paise against the US currency on Thursday in early trade on dollar selling by banks and exporters amid hopes of firm opening on the domestic stock markets in line with better trends.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Sensex opens 142 pts higher!The BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday recovered by over 142 points in opening trade.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm Satyam up 8%; untouched by reports of contract termination!Satyam Computer Services on Thursday surged as much as eight per cent in early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm HDFC`s Q3 profit dips 16%!Lower returns on investments and no income from exceptional items have pushed down the net profit of country`s largest housing finance company HDFC to nearly 16 per cent for the third quarter ended December 31.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:04 pm AECL deal to help gain access to advanced Ntech: LTLarsen Toubro has signed an MoU with Canada\'s AECL for ACR 1,000 reactors. LTAECL Pact is its second major tieup in the nuclear space after Westinghouse. M V Kotwal, LT said the deal will help it in getting advanced technology.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 11:12 am Educomp to approach EOW, Sebi on stock price manipulationShantanu Prakash, MD and CEO of Educomp Solutions, said the company has approached the Economic Offences Wing and will be meeting Sebi tomorrow with regard to the attempts aimed at hammering the company\'s stock price.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 10:54 am Satyam funds may have been siphoned off: SourcesSome key questions remain unanswered on how such blatant overstatements went unnoticed for years. So what could have gone wrong with Satyam? Sources close to the audit process seems to suggest that there might actually have been embezzlement and siphoning of funds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 10:25 am Satyam board approaches clients to infuse confidenceThe new board of Satyam is also going all out to restore the confidence of employees and clients.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 10:08 am Sebi probe reveals crucial facts on Satyam scamThe Securities and Exchange Board of Indias probe into Satyam Computer Services has revealed two crucial facts. One is the fact that Sebi had written to banks. It had asked banks to furnish statements of accounts of Satyam as well as what was the evidence that it had or the receipts that it had taken.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 10:01 am Satyam hearing, board meet scheduled todayTwo major events are lined up for the day with regard to the Satyam scam. The Nampally court will be hearing the Satyam case today. Also, the board of the IT major is scheduled to meet today.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 9:53 am AP Kurian, Minoo Shroff seek bail in Nagarjuna Fin caseAMFI Chairman AP Kurian and former Raymond Chairman Minoo R Shroff are seeking anticipatory bail in the Nagarjuna Finance case. Move comes after Andhra Pradesh police sought to arrest all independent directors for alleged default by NFL.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 9:37 am Railways to miss freight target this yearThe Railways will miss their freight target for this year, after exceeding it these past four years. The economy has dragged down the Railways, though they will slightly exceed the earnings forecast.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 9:20 am Motorola goes slow on India planDwindling market share and a crippling economic downturn are forcing USbased mobile handset maker Motorola to go slow on its India strategy.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:55 am Ipca Laboratories net dips 40% to Rs23 crNew Delhi: Pharmaceutical company Ipca Laboratories today said its net profit for the quarter ended 31 December declined 39.54% at Rs 23.18 crore. The company had a net profit of Rs38.34 crore for the same quarter FY’08, Ipca Laboratories said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Total income of the company rose to Rs313.13 crore for the quarter under review, against Rs273.64 crore for the same quarter corresponding year. Further, the board has declared second interim dividend of Rs3 per share, the filing added. For the nine months ended 31 December, the company had a net profit of Rs83.32 crore, against Rs118.48 crore for the same period last fiscal. Shares of the Ipca Laboratories were trading at Rs351.80, down 0.52% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:39 am Marico Q3 net up 11% at Rs51 crNew Delhi: FMCG company Marico today said its consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended 31 December, rose by 10.94% to Rs50.89 crore. The company had a net profit of Rs45.87 crore for the same quarter FY’08, Marico said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The total income of the company rose to Rs622.83 crore for the quarter under review, against Rs506.23 crore for the same quarter corresponding period. For the nine months ended 31 December, the company had a net profit of Rs144.30 crore, against Rs128.29 crore for the same period last fiscal. Shares of Marico were trading at Rs56.80, up 0.44% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:36 am BSE Sensex turns negative after rising 1.7 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex turned negative by Thursday afternoon after rising 1.7 percent in the morning, as jittery investors sold shares ahead of earnings by top-listed Reliance Industries.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:34 am Sony warns of $2.9 bln loss, biggest everTOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp warned on Thursday it would post a $2.9 billion annual operating loss -- its biggest loss ever -- due to sliding demand, a stronger yen and costs to restructure its ailing electronics operations.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:30 am L&T in pact with Canadian firm AECLMumbai: Engineering giant Larsen and Toubro today said it has entered into an agreement with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) for heavy water reactors. This agreement is subject to final approval by the governments of India and Canada and a bilateral Nuclear Co-operation Agreement between the two countries, L&t said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. L&T and AECL have joined hands for cooperation on advanced CANDU reactor ACR1000 and to develop a competitive cost model for ACR1000, the filing added. Upon completion of the indicative cost model AECL and L&T have agreed to begin discussions to develop nuclear power plants in India on Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis and utilise the collective expertise of the parties in global markets. The ACR1000 is AECL’s generation III+ reactor that utilises the proven concepts of pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR). PHWR technology is one of the most highly competitive nuclear technologies in the world with regard to capital cost, safety and efficiency. The design allows refuelling online which eliminates the periodic refilling outage required by other designs. The company further said L&T and AECL are optimistic that there will be a good demand for the ACR1000. L&T intends to play a major role in the rapidly developing nuclear power sector by building strong partnerships with leading companies in the field. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full service nuclear technology company providing services to nuclear utilities around the world. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:29 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Asia stocks rise but slowdown fears widespreadHONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia stocks rose on Thursday, as investors snapped up beaten down bank shares and pinned their hopes on policy action to support growth, but economic gloom held the yen near a 13-year high against the dollar.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:27 am ARPUs to fall as mkt penetration increase: Bharti - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:08 am SKorea heads towards first recession in 11 yearsSeoul: South Korea’s economy suffered its second-biggest contraction on record in the final quarter of 2008, pushing it towards its first recession since the Asian financial crisis and paving the way for more interest rate cuts. The data released on Thursday along with gloomy economic and export figures announced in neighbouring Japan and China, provided new evidence that the worst recession in decades was taking a heavy toll on Asia’s biggest economies. “The weak numbers will make authorities exhaust all their means to support the economy,” said Kim Jae-hong, an economist at Shinyoung Securities. “I initially thought the Bank of Korea would stop cutting interest rates at around 1.75% but it will likely cut further. The central bank can also step up fund injections.” Gross domestic product in Asia’s fourth-largest economy fell a seasonally adjusted 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the previous three months, more than twice as much as economists had expected, the central bank said. The steeper-than-expected downturn and still weakening exports suggest it may miss the central bank’s 2% growth forecast, a senior official at the Bank of Korea told reporters. Economists said the bleak data raised chances for additional stimulus from the government and the central bank, including another steep rate reduction next month on top of a combined 2.75 percentage points of cuts in the policy rate since early October. President Lee under pressure The Bank of Korea next reviews the rate, which stands at 2.5%, on 12 February. As consumer demand collapsed around the world, two of South Korea’s top manufacturers - Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics - announced much worse than expected quarterly earnings and presented an even gloomier outlook. The government of President Lee Myung-bak, who says the country is facing a state of economic emergency, has already offered around won140 trillion ($102 billion) worth of stimulus packages including tax cuts. The data puts President Lee, whose popularity has nose-dived since he took office 11 months ago and who this week replaced his two economic policy makers, under more pressure to find an effective response to the slump which threats to deepen unemployment. Seoul stock market’s main index rose a modest 1.1% as bargain-hunting after a 10 percent loss over the past two weeks and investor hopes for additional pump-priming by the government more than offset economic and earnings worries. Treasury bond futures rose on expectations of additional interest rate cuts, while the won ended local trade down slightly on weak export prospects. Economists in a Reuters poll had estimated GDP shrank 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Exports in the quarter fell the most in three decades as companies and consumers around the world cut spending in the face of recession and as evidenced by Chinese data. Data released by Japan on Thursday also showed exports by the world’s second-largest economy fell the most on record in December and business sentiment hit a fresh low. South Korea’s fourth-quarter GDP fell 3.4% from a year earlier, also much worse than market expectations for a 0.7% decline. Outlook darkens For all of 2008, South Korea’s economy expanded by 2.5%, its slowest gain in a decade and half the rate of 2007. The central bank forecast in December the economy would grow 2% this year, but an increasing number of private sector experts forecast a contraction of as much as 3 percent as the global downturn deepens. The head of the central bank’s statistics department, Choi Choon-shin, also told reporters that this year’s growth could miss the 2% forecast. The Bank of Korea is due to release revised forecasts in April. South Korea’s economy derives more than half of annual output from domestic services although export industries still hold the key. It has suffered annual declines only twice since its industrialisation drive kicked off about four decades ago. South Korean customs figures showed this week demand for the country’s exports plunged from almost all regions as the global recession keeps spreading, with demand from China and European countries shrinking by more than a third over a year earlier. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:06 am Indian inflation up on strike, rate cut bias to stay - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:05 am India rupee trims gains as shares ease - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:05 am Inflation up on strike, rate cut bias to stayNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Inflation rose unexpectedly for the first time in nearly two months in mid January after a strike by truck drivers pushed up prices, but analysts said it was a one-off and more rate cuts were likely.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 8:03 am L&T to set up research facility for weapons systemsMumbai: Heavy engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will set up a major research facility that will conceptualise weapons systems developed by government agency DRDO for commercial production. “We are not looking to set up something parallel to the DRDO. It will be complementary,” L&T Board Member M V Kotwal told PTI. “As far as investments are concerned, we are ready. Once the green signal is given (by the government), then we can work on it,” he added. Elaborating on the research facility, he said the DRDO will play a valuable role if it restricts to real cutting edge high-end technologies, which India is yet to acquire. There are huge facilities and capable people in the DRDO, Kotwal said. L&T would concentrate on applying the high-end technologies developed by DRDO, he said. “We can take up that role rather than DRDO wasting its time.” The premier defence research agency should look at the front-end, which requires large investments, because that is what it already has, he said. “DRDO has huge facilities and capable people,” the L&T official said. But as far as applying those technologies are concerned, L&T can take up that role, Kotwal said. “We are geared up for things.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:59 am Satyam fudged FDs, has 40000 employees: Public prosecutor - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:56 am SK Energy Q4 operating profit up 45%Seoul: SK Energy, South Korea’s top refiner, posted a weaker-than-expected 45 percent rise in fourth-quarter core profit on Thursday, as a slowing global economy reduced demand for petrochemical products. Operating profit between October and December jumped to 269 billion won ($196 million) from 185.8 billion won a year ago, but was below a Reuters forecast of 381 billion won. It swung to a net loss of 66.5 billion won last quarter, hit by foreign exchange losses and a fall in investment gains from its affiliates. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:54 am SK Energy Q4 operating profit up 45%Seoul: SK Energy, South Korea’s top refiner, posted a weaker-than-expected 45 percent rise in fourth-quarter core profit on Thursday, as a slowing global economy reduced demand for petrochemical products. Operating profit between October and December jumped to 269 billion won ($196 million) from 185.8 billion won a year ago, but was below a Reuters forecast of 381 billion won. It swung to a net loss of 66.5 billion won last quarter, hit by foreign exchange losses and a fall in investment gains from its affiliates. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:54 am Gold extends losses on global cues, rupeeMumbai: India’s gold futures extended losses on Thursday on overseas leads and further pressured by a firmer rupee, analysts said. Overseas gold dropped slightly tracking a falling euro, but strong investment demand was likely to support prices, with ETF holdings hitting another record as fears about a worsening global recession lingered. “Market is still in positive mode,” said Debjyoti Chatterjee, associate vice-president at MAPE ADMISI Commodity Research, adding gold may not see a downfall from here. Buying is recommended above Rs13,400 with a target of Rs13,700 and with a stop loss of Rs13,360, Chatterjee added. The February gold contract traded Rs32 lower at Rs13,428 per 10 grams at 11:17am, after falling marginally in the previous session. “Our view is bullish (in gold), but the rally will be restricted to Rs14,100,” said a technical analyst at a Mumbai-based commodity brokerage. Open interest for Feb gold on MCX was at 15,202 lots, down from 15,418 a day earlier. Volume on Wednesday was 63.22 kgs. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:50 am MindTree decides to give EBITDA guidance, for the first time - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:49 am Pidilite Industries Q3 net loss at Rs9.27 crMumbai: Pidilite Industries, makers of the adhesive Fevicol, on Thursday said its net loss in the third quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs9.27 crore, while it had a net profit of Rs40.87 crore in the same period a year ago. However, total income rose to Rs409.89 crore in the December quarter from Rs392.47 crore a year ago, Pidilite Industries said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. For the nine-month period ended 31 December 2008, India’s top adhesive and speciality chemicals manufacturer registered a net profit of Rs78.81 crore, a decline of 49.10% over the corresponding period a year ago. It had a net profit of Rs154.86 crore in the same period last financial year. Shares of Pidilite Industries were trading at Rs101.70, down 0.29% in the afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:46 am China, India stimulus will not halt property slideBEIJING/BOMBAY (Reuters) - Efforts by China and India to revive their ailing property markets could compound a slide in home values, as troubled developers slash prices to compete with cheap, government-backed housing.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:44 am Update: Oil hovers below $44 as US company news improvesSingapore: Oil prices hovered below $44 a barrel on Thursday in Asia after surging on Wednesday as positive news from US companies brightened the outlook for crude demand. Light, sweet crude for March delivery was flat at $43.55 a barrel by midday in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as high as $44.23. The contract rose overnight $2.71 to settle at $43.55. Investor spirits were buoyed Wednesday by better-than-expected corporate results from the US. PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which owns bank National City Corp., and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. both reported profits a day after financial stocks plunged on fears that massive writedowns could spread throughout the industry. IBM said late Tuesday it expects its earnings this year to come in above what analysts had been expecting and that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 12%, easily topping analysts’ estimates. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.5% to 8,228 on Wednesday. “Oil is going to depend on how the economic news comes out, particularly in America,” said Gerard Rigby, an energy analyst with Fuel First Consulting in Sydney. Oil has fallen 70% since peaking at $147.27 a barrel in July, but is up from a five-year low of $33.20 in December. Investors also drew confidence from President Barack Obama taking office Tuesday, replacing George W Bush. “There’s the Obama factor,” Rigby said. “People are more optimistic that he can solve the economic problems than the previous president.” Investors will be looking to the weekly oil inventories report to be released Thursday by the US Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration for insight into US demand. The report is expected to show that oil stocks rose 1.9 barrels last week, according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Crude inventories have risen 7.9 million barrels during the last two weeks. The Platts survey also projects that gasoline inventories rose 1.8 million barrels and distillates dropped 2.25 million barrels last week. Investors may be storing crude to take advantage of expected higher prices later in the year. The December contract trades at about $54 a barrel. “It makes sense to build stocks because the market is paying for you to hold them,” Rigby said. “It’s likely that stocks will increase again this week.” In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 0.88 cent to $1.17 a gallon. Heating oil was little changed at $1.39 a gallon while natural gas for February delivery gained 3.5 cents to $4.82 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, the March Brent contract fell 2 cents to $45.00 on the ICE Futures exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:43 am India adds 11 mn telephone connections in Dec. `08 - Myiris.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:40 am Ashapura Minechem revenues for Q308-09 stood at Rs 258.57cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:40 am Maytas Infra seeks more time for Q3 results - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:37 am Bajaj Auto plans gearless scooter - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:35 am Not to hand out pink slips: India Infoline - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:30 am Chinese man gets death sentence in milk scandalShijiazhuang: A Chinese court on Thursday handed down death penalty to a man convicted of endangering public safety in the first sentencing connected with the contaminated milk scandal that has shocked the country. The Intermediate People’s Court in Shijiazhuang sentenced 40-year-old Zhang Yujun to death for running a workshop that was allegedly China’s largest source of melamine, which was blamed in the deaths of at least six babies and the illnesses of nearly 300,000 others. Court spokesman Wang Wei said a second man, Zhang Yanzhang, 24, was sentenced to life imprisonment for endangering public safety. He was accused of working with Zhang to buy and resell powder to others. The court is expected to hand down a sentence later on Thursday for Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old general manager and chairwoman for Sanlu Group Co, the dairy at the heart of the scandal. She is the highest profile official charged in the food safety crisis widely seen as a national disgrace that highlighted corporate and official shortcomings and corruption. Tian has pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or sub-standard products after infant formula made by her company was tainted with the melamine. Sanlu, along with the other 21 dairy companies involved in the scandal, have proposed a 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million) compensation plan. More than 200 families have filed suit demanding higher compensation and long-term treatment for their babies. During her 31 December trial, Tian admitted she had known of problems with her company’s products for months before informing authorities. The scandal was exposed in September. Investigations showed that middlemen who sold milk to dairy companies were watering down raw milk, then mixing in nitrogen-rich melamine to fool quality tests for protein content. Normally used to make plastics and fertilizer, melamine can cause kidney stones and kidney failure when ingested in large amounts. The discovery of melamine in dairy exports such as chocolate and yogurt triggered a slew of product recalls overseas. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:30 am Could 2009 be a vintage year for Asia property investors?HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Long-term property investors are already calling 2009 a special "vintage", offering cheap assets that they hope will produce juicy returns when Asian economies rebound from the global financial crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:27 am Noon: Sensex rises 0.6%, Reliance, Bharti gains continueMumbai: Indian shares were up 0.6% on Thursday as firm overseas markets and strong earnings from telecoms major Bharti Airtel helped calm investor nerves and halt a two-day slide. Bharti, India’s fourth-most valuable listed firm with a capitalisation of $22.6 billion, met market expectations with a 25% jump in quarterly profit and its chairman said the company’s expansion to villages was yielding rich dividends. Traders said investors were, however, circumspect ahead of several major earnings this week with the outlook for many dented by a slowing economy in the wake of the global downturn. By 12:06pm, the main 30-share BSE index was up 0.55% at 8,827.09 points, after rising as much as 1.7%. The 50-share Nifty was trading up 0.22% at 2,712.05 points. “People are not sure of the trend. The sentiment remains weak and no one buys significantly in a bearish market,” said D D Sharma, senior vice president at Anand Rathi Securities. “The market is waiting for the Reliance result. That could be a driver,” he added. Top-listed Reliance Industries, which is due to report earnings after market hours, rose 1.7% to Rs1,138.50. The energy giant is expected to post lower quarterly profit, which will be its first drop in three years, as refining margins fell. Bharti shares were up 4.5% at Rs610.10, after rising as much as 5.2%. Rival Reliance Communications was unchanged at Rs170. Key losers included auto firms as weak earnings loomed. Car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 0.9% to Rs536, Tata Motors fell 2% to 137.25 and Mahindra and Mahindra shed 2.5% to Rs288.50. Financial stocks, which had been hammered down this week, crept higher. Top lender State Bank of India rose 0.5% to Rs1,086.80, ICICI Bank firmed 2.8% to Rs379.35 and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp gained 1.6% to Rs1,395. India’s annual inflation rate on Jan. 10 rose 5.60 percent from 5.24% a week earlier and compared with market expectations for a drop. Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd rose 1.3% to Rs695.50 on media reports it was likely to present a revival plan to the board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd. In the broader market, 997 declines led 694 advances on a low volume of 61 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:24 am RIL denies NTPC needs gas urgentlyReliance Industries on Thursday denied that NTPC was in urgent need of natural gas for its power plants.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:23 am Hyundai Q4 net drops as costs riseSEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor on Thursday announced a 28 percent drop in fourth quarter net profit, hit by lower investment gains from affiliates, higher marketing and warranty costs, even though sales inched up.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:17 am Foreign investment in emerging markets seen falling by 31%Singapore: Foreign direct investment, or FDI, in developing nations will drop by $180 billion, or 31%, this year as a global recession prompts multinationals to cut spending on factories and mines, according to the World Bank. The decline will put renewed pressure on emerging market currencies, even as asset sales by fund managers slow, according to Mansoor Dailami, manager of international finance in the global development prospects group. Rallies in the South Korean won, Brazil’s real and the Polish zloty have all faltered since the end of 2008. “This is the most serious reaction so far to the global recession,” Dailami said in an interview in Washington. FDI fell about 10% in the developing world in 2008 and will cool further this year Bloomberg-JPMorgan indexes tracking currencies in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in 2008 posted declines of 5.9%, 19% and 11%, respectively, and have since dropped further. The won is down 8.3% versus the dollar so far this year following a 17% jump in December. The real is 2.6% weaker and the zloty lost 12%. Rio Tinto, the third largest mining company, this month postponed a $2.15 billion (Rs10,556.5 crore) expansion of an iron ore mine in Brazil. Honda, Japan’s No. 2 auto maker, delayed construction of a $100 million factory in Argentina and has shelved expansion plans in Turkey and India. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., the world’s largest maker of giant excavators, froze a $1 billion plan to expand production in China and other emerging markets. “I’ve never before experienced seeing sudden, simultaneous drops in worldwide demand,” Hitachi chief executive officer Michijiro Kikawa said this month in an interview in Tokyo. Of the world’s five largest economies, only China has so far escaped recession. The nation will on Thursday report a 6.8% expansion for the fourth quarter, the slowest growth in seven years, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The World Bank estimates that FDI in developing countries will shrink to $400 billion this year from an estimated $580 billion in 2008 and $500 billion in 2007, according to Dailami, author of the lender’s annual Global Development Finance report. The World Bank predicts global trade will contract this year for the first time since 1982 and Brazil, Latin America’s biggest economy, forecast its exports will drop as much as 20%. Germany, the world’s biggest goods exporter, reported a record slide in shipments for November, and China, the second largest, last month had its worst decline in a decade. Investment in China, the largest developing economy, fell 5.7% from a year earlier to $5.98 billion in December, sliding for a third straight month, official figures show. Net flows to Brazil, the second biggest, slid 14% to $2.18 billion in November and the country’s central bank last month cut its 2009 estimate for FDI to $30 billion from $33 billion. Some $67 billion was pulled out of emerging market equities and bonds funds in 2008, after net inflows of $62 billion the previous year, according to EPFR Global, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research company. The outflows eased this year as the funds took in $4.29 billion in the first 14 days of 2009, the data show. So far this year, 22 of 26 emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened versus the dollar. Government-led bailouts of finance companies in the US and Europe are forcing lenders there to pull funds back from emerging markets, forcing the sale of “prized jewels” such as stakes in Chinese banks, David Bloom, global head of currency strategy at HSBC Holdings Plc., said on 16 January in Hong Kong. Masumi Suga in Tokyo contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:17 am We have a great opportunity in clean nuclear energy in IndiaNew Delhi: Canadian companies have traditionally been reliant on the US, their next-door neighbour, for business. With the US battling turmoil in its financial industry that has given way to recession, Canada is looking for new trade frontiers. In an interview, Canada’s visiting minister for international trade Stockwell Day talks about the start of discussions with India towards a Free Trade Agreement and possible cooperation in civilian nuclear energy. Edited excerpts: How does Canada view India from the bilateral trade perspective and what are the new areas of cooperation that you see?  Good stride: Canada’s minister for international trade Stockwell Day. B Mathur/Reuters So you see the possibility of signing a Free Trade Agreement with India I hope for that possibility. We had very good discussion between Mr Nath and myself and my officials. We have agreed that now is the time to instruct our officials to begin that discussion. As you know there are scoping exercises that have to be done to look at the breadth of that agreement. You met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. What was the focus of your discussion? Yes, I met Mr Nath, the Prime Minister and the national security adviser. We discussed the key areas of free trade discussion and getting our agreement to move ahead. Officials of both sides have discussed how it would look like. We also talked about our foreign investment protection and promotion agreement. We have made some very good strides there. That should be concluded very soon. Then we have a great opportunity in clean nuclear energy. Canada is a world leader in that aspect. We also covered a variety of areas including financial services and technology. How do you see the current economic crisis affecting international trade? Will there be more trade walls now and more protectionism? That’s the danger. What I am encouraged (by as a result of) our attempts in the global fora (is that) we find the voices are almost unanimous in saying that we have to resist the protectionist impulse. And in the current scenario, what are the possibilities of a revival of the Doha Round of trade talks? I was disappointed the way things slowed down. We are calling it a pause, nobody has abandoned it. There was some thought that the new administration in the United States will come into play, that probably is timely... Globally we need some signals, some positive signs, that progress is being made and Doha continues. Do you think developed countries should cut down their subsidies towards the farm sector? Yes, in all free trade agreements we have entered in, we expect reduction in tariffs, reduction in subsidies. It is rarely 100% across the board at the start; we must move towards that. Some businessmen of civilian nuclear companies from Canada are visiting with you. What is the size of business opportunity you see in this area in India? The fact that India has indicated they want to develop as many as 25 or 30 more facilities, there is great opportunity for Canada which is a leader in the area of efficient nuclear energy and we are facilitating meetings with our private sector companies to make that happen. The government here is very open for that discussion. India is taking a very responsible approach to clean, environmentally safe (nuclear) energy. We have those companies with me here and (we are) getting the message through that we have great mutual opportunities. Though India has been growing for about 9% in the last four years, there is a feeling in some quarters that there is lack of enthusiasm from Canadian companies to invest in India. What could be the reason? There is no lack of enthusiasm, what is there is huge traction for Canadian companies in doing business with the United States because they are a huge economic engine and they are just next door. The very efficiencies and cost reductions of transportation mitigates against companies automatically looking abroad. But when we get the kind of signals we do from India that they are open to rule-based free trade, when we see that the problem in the United States means they have a reduced ability to purchase consumer goods and services...(that) will alert the business sector and the government (in Canada) towards opportunities in India. Canada had a formal policy of not engaging with the government of Gujarat. Are you contemplating any review in that policy? (The previous Canadian government shunned Gujarat after the 2002 riots.) I can’t speak for the previous government why they were negligent in recognizing the opportunity there, but I can give you a bit of scoop here by saying that I will soon be announcing a (trade) office in Gujarat to recognize the tremendous potential there. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:17 am Inflation rises after 10 weeks, goes up to 5.6%New Delhi: After declining for ten consecutive weeks, inflation rose to 5.6% due to higher prices of edible items like fruits and vegetables, caused mainly due to the truckers’ strike. Inflation, measured by movements in wholesale prices, rose by 36 basis points for the week ended 10 January from 5.24% in the previous week. It was 4.36% a year ago. The increase in the rate of price rise, noticed after a gap of more than two months, was due to an eight-day nation-wide strike by truck operators, which began on 5 January. Among the items that became expensive during the week were fruit and vegetables (9%), wheat (2%) and spices, milk, ragi and rice (1% each). The index of primary articles increased by 2.2%. Though the index of fuel items remained unchanged during the week, the manufactured items index rose by 0.2%. In the manufactured food products category, oil cakes became expensive by 8%, canned fish by 43%, and imported edible oil and coconut oil by 7% each. Items that reported decline in prices include unrefined oil (8%) and groundnut oil (1%). The prices of rubber and plastic products too went down marginally. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:17 am L&T says not making presentation to SatyamMUMBAI (Reuters) - Larsen & Toubro is not making a presentation to the new board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services, a spokesman said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:08 am L&T says not making presentation to SatyamMumbai: India’s Larsen and Toubro is not making a presentation to the new board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services, a spokesman said on Thursday. “This is totally incorrect. We are not making any presentation. L&T is refuting all these media reports,” spokesman D Morada told Reuters. Media reports had said L&T was likely to present a revival plan to the board of fraud-hit Satyam. The new government-appointed board of Satyam is meeting in Hyderabad on Thursday and Friday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:08 am Markets in green on positive global cuesIndian equities markets turned green Thursday as global markets showed some positive signs. Around noon, a key index was trading 0.98 percent higher than its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:01 am Inflation rate rises again, to 5.6 percentAfter weeks of decline, India's annual rate of inflation rose marginally to 5.6 percent for the week ended Jan 10, from 5.24 percent the week before, official data released here Thursday showed.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Jan 2009 | 7:01 am Paes, Bhupathi in 2nd round; no place for SaniaMelbourne: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi advanced to men’s second round event with their respective partners while Sania Mirza’s campaign was cut short in the women’s doubles opener at the Australian Open on Thursday. Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahamas, seeded third, defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia and Mischa Zvererv of Germany 6-3, 6-2 in their men’s doubles first round encounter. They will next meet Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia. Fourth seeds Paes and Lukas Dlouhy rallied to a three-set win against Yves Allegro of Switzerland and Fabrice Santoro of France. They clinched a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory. Their next opponents will be Italian Fabio Fognini and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia. However, disappointment was in store for India as Sania and her American partner Vania King bowed out in the first round of women’s doubles event. The Indo-American pair went down to Verra Dushevina of Russia and Olga Savchuka of Ukrain 6-4, 1-6, 1-6. Sania will now take to court with Bhupathi for the mixed doubles event were they will square up against sixth seeds Kveta Peschke and Pavel Vizner of Czech Republic in the first round. The pair of Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe, who are top seeded, have been pitted against Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 6:57 am Sony warns of $2.9 bn loss on yen, restructuringTokyo: Sony Corp warned it would post a bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion operating loss this business year due to sliding demand, a stronger yen and costs to restructure its ailing electronics operations. The maker of Bravia LCD TVs and PlayStation game consoles said it would give further details of its restructuring plans at a briefing at 5.30 p.m. (0830 GMT) in Tokyo. Chief Executive Howard Stringer will attend. Sony said earlier on Thursday that it was considering consolidating TV production in Japan into one plant, while keeping the other for distribution and other purposes, as part of a broader restructuring unveiled last month. The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said it now expects an operating loss of 260 billion yen ($2.9 billion) for the year ending March 31, down from an earlier projection for a profit of 200 billion yen. A cut to its earnings outlook had been expected, but the scale of the revision was much bigger than the 100 billion yen loss previously reported by media. The consolidation of TV production into one factory in Japan would likely lead to 2,000 job cuts, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier. That would be part the plan unveiled last month, which included cutting 8,000 regular employees, or 4% of its global workforce. But analysts say the electronic and entertainment conglomerate, which generates two-thirds of its revenue outside Japan, may need to take more drastic steps. “Its business model and operational issues account for 80-90% of Sony’s poor earnings. Domestic production costs are a concern but this move is not something that would bring it back to the black or cut losses in half,” said Nomura Securities senior analyst Eiichi Katayama. “Sony has to consider ways to lower fixed costs not only for its TV business but for the whole company,” he added. “It will have to start cutting development costs in addition to production costs.” Sony’s shares closed down 2.6% at 1,938 yen, underperforming a 1.9% rise in the benchmark Nikkei average. Illustrating the problems Sony faces, Japanese exports plunged 35% in December from a year earlier, with electronics sales to China and other parts of Asia among the worst affected as Western orders from Asian assembly plants dry up. The yen rallied nearly 20% against the dollar last year and it hit a 13-year high of 87.10 yen on Wednesday. Rival Samsung Electronics this month reorganised itself into two major groups in response to the global downturn, while Panasonic Corp has also cut its outlook and stepped up restructuring measures. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 6:39 am Sony warns of $2.9 bn loss on yen, restructuringTokyo: Sony Corp warned it would post a bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion operating loss this business year due to sliding demand, a stronger yen and costs to restructure its ailing electronics operations. The maker of Bravia LCD TVs and PlayStation game consoles said it would give further details of its restructuring plans at a briefing at 5.30 p.m. (0830 GMT) in Tokyo. Chief Executive Howard Stringer will attend. Sony said earlier on Thursday that it was considering consolidating TV production in Japan into one plant, while keeping the other for distribution and other purposes, as part of a broader restructuring unveiled last month. The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said it now expects an operating loss of 260 billion yen ($2.9 billion) for the year ending March 31, down from an earlier projection for a profit of 200 billion yen. A cut to its earnings outlook had been expected, but the scale of the revision was much bigger than the 100 billion yen loss previously reported by media. The consolidation of TV production into one factory in Japan would likely lead to 2,000 job cuts, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier. That would be part the plan unveiled last month, which included cutting 8,000 regular employees, or 4% of its global workforce. But analysts say the electronic and entertainment conglomerate, which generates two-thirds of its revenue outside Japan, may need to take more drastic steps. “Its business model and operational issues account for 80-90% of Sony’s poor earnings. Domestic production costs are a concern but this move is not something that would bring it back to the black or cut losses in half,” said Nomura Securities senior analyst Eiichi Katayama. “Sony has to consider ways to lower fixed costs not only for its TV business but for the whole company,” he added. “It will have to start cutting development costs in addition to production costs.” Sony’s shares closed down 2.6% at 1,938 yen, underperforming a 1.9% rise in the benchmark Nikkei average. Illustrating the problems Sony faces, Japanese exports plunged 35% in December from a year earlier, with electronics sales to China and other parts of Asia among the worst affected as Western orders from Asian assembly plants dry up. The yen rallied nearly 20% against the dollar last year and it hit a 13-year high of 87.10 yen on Wednesday. Rival Samsung Electronics this month reorganised itself into two major groups in response to the global downturn, while Panasonic Corp has also cut its outlook and stepped up restructuring measures. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 6:39 am Apple profit beats expectations, shares jumpSan Francisco: Apple Inc’s quarterly profit beat expectations on strong iPod and Mac computer sales, and the company gave an outlook that cheered investors, sending its shares up 9.5% on Wednesday. The results cap a tumultuous few weeks for Apple, which is facing increased headwinds from slumping consumer spending, as well as investor concerns about management succession after Chief Executive Steve Jobs said he would take a medical leave of absence until the end of June. “I’d say in the face of one of the worst holidays in recent memory, Apple was able to pull a rabbit out of the hat,” said Edward Jones analyst Bill Kreher. “It’s amazing that Apple was able to record its best revenue and earnings in an environment like this.” Apple said its net profit in the fiscal first quarter ended 27 December rose to $1.61 billion, or $1.78 a share, from $1.58 billion, or $1.76 a share, a year ago. Analysts were expecting a per-share profit of $1.40, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue rose 5.8% to $10.2 billion, beating the $9.74 billion average Wall Street estimate. Apple said visibility remains low, although chief operating officer Tim Cook said on a conference call that while the economy is in bad shape, it’s not as “unpredictable” as it was in October. The company, known for conservative forecasts, estimated a profit for the March quarter of 90 cents to $1.00 a share, on revenue of $7.6 billion to $8 billion. That wasn’t far off from the average analyst forecast for earnings of $1.12 per share and revenue of $8.1 billion. Component prices Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said lower component prices, such as for processors, memory chips and panels, were helping Apple. “Pricing on those products has come down a lot and that enables Apple to maintain their margins even though they are selling a lower-end mix,” he said. Apple’s gross margin was 34.7% in its December quarter, flat with the year-ago period. It expects margins to be about 30 percent in the second half of the fiscal year. The December quarter is traditionally Apple’s strongest, fueled by holiday season sales. IPod sales rose 3% from a year earlier to 22.7 million units, well ahead of the 18.5 million expected by analysts. Mac computer sales rose 9% to 2.52 million units, in line with expectations. Notebook sales climbed 34% on a unit basis, while desktop sales fell 25%, reflecting the broader market shift to portable computers, Apple said. Mac sales rose 16 % internationally and 2% in the United States. Apple is one of the few PC makers without a netbook offering. Cook called the small, inexpensive computers “inferior” but said Apple is watching the segment. Sales of the iPhone fell considerably from the fiscal fourth quarter, when it was launched, to 4.3 million units. Analysts had expected sales of roughly 5 million units. But over the course of 2008, Apple sold over 13.7 million iPhones, ahead of its 10 million target. Shares beaten down Apple’s shares have taken something of a beating in recent weeks, buffeted by worries about Jobs’ health. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining Apple’s disclosures about Jobs’ health, Bloomberg reported. When asked about CEO succession plans, Cook - who is overseeing the day-to-day operations while Jobs is on leave - called Apple’s 35,000 employees “wicked smart” and said regardless of who is in what job, the company’s values are entrenched, ensuring its success. Collins Stewart analyst Ashok Kumar said Jobs was irreplaceable but if Apple gets “an operationally oriented CEO, I think the strength of the product pipeline should sustain Apple’s financial momentum for the foreseeable future.” Apple continues to take market share in computers and smartphones, but with consumer spending expected to be weak at least through through 2009, expectations are building about the company’s product plans. Many analysts hope a new device this year will be a sales catalyst - much as the 3G iPhone was in 2008 - or that Apple will launch products at lower price points to lure in new customers. But Apple executives said the company is “not going to play in the low end” of the voice industry. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 6:29 am EBay forecast disappoints Wall St viewSan Francisco: EBay Inc beat expectations for quarterly profit on Wednesday but gave a weaker-than-expected forecast for the current quarter, sending its shares down nearly 6%. Some on Wall Street question how eBay will generate growth, given curtailed consumer spending and pressure from a host of competitors. The company has increased its emphasis on fixed-price goods instead of auctions, making it more of a direct rival to Amazon.com Inc, which many view as the stronger firm. The global spending slowdown has hurt eBay’s ability to attract buyers to its auction sites and the stronger US dollar also crimped profit from its overseas operations. “Clearly we’ve been operating in an almost unprecedented external environment,” Chief Executive John Donahoe told analysts. Analysts said the company’s first-quarter view, which came in well below Wall Street estimates, was a bleak sign, particularly as the company gave no forecast for the full year. Jeffrey Lindsay of Bernstein Research called it “a pessimistic guidance for 2009.” “The real story is they are guiding down a lot,” he said. Net profit in the fourth quarter, usually eBay’s strongest because of holiday sales, fell to $367 million, or 29 cents per share, from $531 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding charges from a 10% staff reduction last fall and other restructuring efforts, earnings per share came to 41 cents, at the top of eBay’s forecast and beating the Wall Street view of 39 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Total revenue fell 7% to $2.04 billion, below the $2.11 billion expected by Wall Street. The bulk of that was due to a 16 percent drop at its main business, which largely consists of its auction sites. Revenue rose 26% at Web-based telephone company Skype and 11% at Web payments service PayPal. For the fiscal 2009 first quarter, eBay expects adjusted earnings of 32 cents to 34 cents on revenue of $1.8 billion to $2.05 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings per share of 40 cents. Struggle with Amazon EBay, whose shares are down 56% from a year ago, has faced an uphill battle trying to stimulate growth in its marketplaces unit, while confronting rivals such as Amazon and craigslist.com. The stock fell to $12.52 after hours, erasing the 6 percent gain made in regular trade when shares closed at $13.28. Amazon shares closed up 4% in regular trade to $50.54. “There is just less velocity and less business being closed,” said Martin Pyykkonen of Wunderlich Securities, of eBay. “They’re looking more and more like just another fixed price retailer.” Gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, fell 4% on a currency-neutral basis, as consumers trade down to lower-priced goods on eBay. Global active users rose 5 percent in the quarter, while sold items rose 3 percent. In October, the San Jose, California-based company warned it could be hit by a grim economy curtailing consumer spending in the United States and across much of the globe. Some 53 percent of eBay sales come from abroad. The company, which has been laying off workers while boosting its marketing efforts, has taken several steps to revive growth in auctions, including lower listing fees, coupons and better security. Those investments weighed on operating margins, which fell in the fourth quarter to 22.3% from 28.7% a year earlier. EBay shares, valued at 8.3 times fiscal 2009 projected earnings, are at a deep discount to Amazon at 36, Yahoo Inc at 27 and Google Inc at 14 times expected earnings. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 6:04 am Satyam board to meet todayHyderabad: The six-member board of Satyam Computer Services will hold its crucial meeting here on Thursday, to discuss among other things issues concerning mobilisation of finances and a strategy to hold major clients. The third meeting in a row, the board will also consider appointment of chief executive officer and chief financial officer -- the two key posts needed to revive the company. The government had appointed Tarun Das, T N Manoharan and S Balkrishna Mainak, on Satyam’s board, which already had Deepak Parekh, Kiran Karnik and C Achuthan. After its last meeting on 17 January, the board of troubled Satyam had said that it was looking for funds, for which it had opened a dialogue with lenders, to ensure salaries to employees and normal business operations, even as the search for a new CEO and CFO continued. Representatives of a few lenders, including Citibank and ICICI Bank, had visited the Satyam headquarters, presumably for discussions with the new leadership of the IT company. The second board meeting also constituted an audit panel and had appointed legal advisors -- Amarchand & Mangaldas, Suresh A Shroff & Co -- to the board, and internal auditors -- Brahmayya & Co. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 5:54 am Bharti Airtel Q3 net meets forecasts; users growNew Delhi: Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s top mobile operator, met expectations with a 25% rise in quarterly profit as it signed up new users at a rapid pace in the world’s fastest-growing wireless market. Mobile operators in India have been signing up about 10 million new users a month despite a slowdown hitting much of Asia’s third-largest economy. Analysts expect that growth to last, as less than a third of India’s 1.1 billion population have mobile phones. Consultancy Gartner estimates the country’s total user numbers could more than double to 737 million by 2012, from more than 346 million at the end of 2008. But the increasingly crowded market - there are 12 mobile firms and at least four more are set to launch operations this year - has prompted cut-throat competition among operators. “Bharti’s strategy of extensive rollout ahead of competition, especially in new villages, has yielded rich dividends,” chairman Sunil Mittal in a statement. “Bharti Airtel is well placed to capitalise on the huge telecom opportunity that India offers,” he said. Click here to read press release Shares in Bharti, India’s fourth-most valuable listed firm with a capitalisation of $22.6 billion, were up 4% at Rs606.65 at 10:10am in Bombay Stock Exchange that had gained 1.4%. October-December net profit at New Delhi-based Bharti, which is more than 30% owned by Southeast Asia’s top phone firm, SingTel, rose to Rs21.59 billion 442 million) under US accounting rules from 17.22 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 38% to Rs96.33 billion rupees from 69.64 billion. Bharti added a quarterly record 8.2 million users, taking its total customers to 85.7 million at end-December. Average revenue per user (ARPU) fell 9% to Rs324 in the December quarter from a year earlier as Airtel expanded into rural areas, while total minutes of usage rose 7 % to 505 minutes. Bharti shares fell about 9% in October-December, outperforming rival Reliance Communications , which dropped around a third, and the benchmark stock index, which lost a quarter of its value. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Jan 2009 | 5:48 am Bharti Airtel aims $3.5 bln capex in 2009/10 - CEONEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel, India's top mobile operator, is on track to spend $3.5 billion capital expenditure for the year ending March 2009 and hopes to have similar level of capital expenditure in the next financial year, CEO Manoj Kohli told reporters on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 5:33 am Markets open firmIndian equities markets made a positive opening Thursday, with the key index starting trade higher than its last closing figure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Jan 2009 | 5:32 am Bharti Airtel posts 30 percent increase in Q3 profitBharti Airtel Ltd. Thursday reported a 30 percent increase in its cash profits to Rs.37.55 billion ($767 million) in the third quarter ended Dec 31.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Jan 2009 | 5:31 am Bharti Airtel Q3 net up 25 pct, adds record usersNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile operator, met expectations with a 25 percent rise in quarterly profit as it signed up new users at a rapid pace in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Jan 2009 | 4:52 am LIC's new policy won't be subsidized by policyholders: ChairmanExisting Life Insurance Corp (LIC) policyholders will not have to subsidise holders of the insurer's new guaranteed return product Jeevan Aastha, LIC chairman T.S. Vijayan has said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Jan 2009 | 4:31 am Wipro posts 18% rise in Q3 net; March quarter guidance cutBangalore Jan. 21 Predicting a grim outlook, Wipro Ltd forecast its lowest ever growth for IT services revenues for the March quarter due to delayed contracts in 2009. However, its quarterly net profits crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark for theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am M&M to drive speciality retailing biz via global brandsMumbai, Jan. 21 Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to launch its own private label brands at its newly launched Mom & Me stores. It would also be bringing in a host of international brands in infant care and maternity products.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Satyam management restrained from selling propertiesNew Delhi, Jan. 21 The Company Law Board (CLB) on Wednesday restrained the key personnel of erstwhile Satyam management from selling any movable and immovable properties. They have been restrained from mortgaging or selling any of their shares,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Truly independent directors, a rarityThe currently unfolding Satyam episode raises a challenge for analysts, shareholders and policymakers about how to distinguish ticking the boxes from actual practice, observes Ms Lalita Som, author of Stock Market Capitalization and CorporateSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideBuy DLF in decline with tight stop-loss at Rs 175. However, the near-term outlook is bearish for ICICI Bank and SBI. We reiterate our sell recommendation in these stocks. Initiate fresh short-position only if L&TSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Sensex slips by 321 points on weak Q3 resultsWeak global cues and disappointing third quarter results from Indian companies pushed domestic stocks down for the second straight day on Wednesday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Oriental Bank (Rs 142.20): SellWe recommend a sell in Oriental Bank of Commerce from short-term trading perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that it was on an intermediate-term uptrend between late October 2008 and early January (from Rs 109 to Rs 179).Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Cos will have to disclose pledged shares: SEBIMumbai, Jan. 21 Any pledge of shares held by promoters in their own listed companies must be mandatorily disclosed to the stock exchanges, the SEBI board decided on Wednesday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Despite denials, Educomp continues to plummetMumbai/Delhi, Jan. 21 The stock price of Educomp Solutions tumbled on the bourses on Wednesday for the second consecutive trading session, on the back of reports of questionable accounting at theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Genpact, Quatrro ‘interested’ in parts of Satyam bizIts deep financial troubles notwithstanding, the buyer interest in Satyam continues unabated. BPO giants such as Genpact and Quatrro are said to be “interested in parts of Satyam”.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am SBI charged with fraudThe country's largest public sector bank, its 11 employees, and two US and Russian entities, have been accused of involvement in a trans-national foreign exchange fraud.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:30 pm Educomp tells cops of bearEducation content and services provider Educomp Solutions has filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against a suspected attempt to manipulate its stock price.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:22 pm Wipro just meets St; Q4 guidance is mutedWipro on Wednesday reported a 9% rise in net profit for the quarter ended December 31 at Rs 898 crore.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:21 pm Satyam's loss Patni's gainState Farm Insurance, which terminated its contract with beleaguered Satyam Computer Services Ltd earlier this week, is understood to be passing on more work to Patni Computer Systems.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:21 pm Uco Bank awaits govt nod to raise Rs 800 crUco Bank is now awaiting government approval to raise around Rs 600-800 crore of perpetual non-cumulative preference shares.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:19 pm HDFC net falls 15.7% on high interest costsFaced with higher interest costs, HDFC reported a fall in profit of 15.7% to Rs 547 crore, for the three months ending December 31, 2008.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:17 pm Police seeks extension of Vadlamani, Raju custodyThe application by the authorities for the extension of custody will come up for hearing before the magistrate on Thursday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:17 pm IFCI is biggest Maytas shareholderAccording to a disclosure by the company to the stock exchanges, B Rama Raju sold about 2.69% of his holding in the company.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:16 pm Telecom subscriber growth slows in '08In the year just gone by, the growth rate of phone subscribers in the country has fallen from the previous year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2009 | 10:01 pm Sony seen posting first loss in 14 yearsTokyo: Japan’s Sony Corp. will probably post its first annual loss in 14 years as a stronger yen and global recession force the world’s second largest maker of consumer electronics to lower its forecasts. The firm will probably abandon its 150 billion yen (Rs8,330 crore) profit forecast and project a net loss of 74 billion yen for the year ending 31 March, according to a Bloomberg survey of five brokerages. Sony is scheduled to disclose its latest projections and details of a reorganization plan by next week. Chief executive officer Howard Stringer plans to slash 16,000 jobs, trim investments and shut factories as recessions in Europe, Japan and the US force consumers to hold back spending. “A forecast cut is something we have expected, but it’s not an issue unique to the company because it’s a problem for the entire consumer electronics industry,” said Kazuharu Miura, a Tokyo-based analyst at Daiwa Institute. Sony is preparing to release details of a restructuring plan on Wednesday or Thursday, the Financial Times (FT) reported. Stringer’s job cut plan, announced in December, faces opposition from an old guard of managers at its electronics business, FT said, citing an unidentified person. Sony spokeswoman Mami Imada declined to confirm or deny the report. Sony’s stocks dropped 1.8% to close at 1,989 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 2%. The stock slumped 69% in 2008, after rising for four straight years. Sony will cut 16,000 employees, including 8,000 part-time workers, by March 2010 and spend 30% less at the electronics division than planned under its mid-term strategy, the company said on 9 December. The maker of Bravia televisions and Cyber-shot cameras will also reduce the number of factories by around 10% from the current 57, it had said. The net loss would be the first since the year ended March 1995, when Sony posted a deficit of 293.4 billion yen. Sony, scheduled to report results on 29 January, earned net income of 369.4 billion yen last fiscal. Sales may fall 6.6% to 8.29 trillion yen, less than the company’s projection of 9 trillion yen, the survey showed. The company will probably shift to an operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, of 70 billion yen, missing its forecast for a 200 billion yen profit, based on the analyst projections. The yen soared 24% against the dollar and 30% to the euro last year, the best performer among 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. A stronger yen damps the value of overseas earnings when repatriated. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 7:45 pm Educomp Solutions files police complaintShare price dips 22 per cent Wednesday.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:53 pm Promoters must disclose pledged shares: SebiCapital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has made it mandatory for promoters to disclose details of shares pledged by them in their listed entities.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:51 pm CLB restrains former top management from selling their assetsThe Hyderabad branch of the Company Law Board (CLB) today restrained former whole-time directors, chairman, the chief financial officer and company secretary of Satyam from selling or mortgaging their assets.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:49 pm L front-runner for Satyam buyTo present revival plan to board; Naik meets PMO official.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:47 pm IAF loses two aircraft in a day, pilot killedThe Indian Air Force (IAF) lost two planes Wednesday, with a jet aircraft of the Surya Kiran aerobatic display team crashing in Karnataka, killing its pilot Wing Commander R.S. Dhaliwal, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) going down in West Bengal, an officer said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 6:00 pm IMF expects sharp cuts in growth forecastsLondon: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will sharply cut growth forecasts this month and the world will not return to strong growth for two or three years, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Wednesday. “Things are not improving,” Strauss-Kahn said in an interview with BBC’s ‘Hard Talk’ programme. IMF’s last forecast was “not that good” and a new forecast, to be released in a few days, will be “even worse”, he said.  Hard talk: IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Chris Kleponis / Bloomberg In its November forecast, IMF projected world output would grow by 2.2% in 2009 while the US would shrink by 0.7% and the euro zone would shrink by 0.5% but the credit crunch has tightened its grip since then. Asked if the downwards revision meant IMF expected a contraction in US and European economies of between one and two percent this year, Strauss-Kahn said: “There is going to be this kind of contraction in the US, in Europe, including the UK.” Emerging countries, while still growing, would also do worse than expected, he said. “China, India, Brazil, other emerging countries are going to experience very slow growth.” “Altogether, this first half of 2009 will be bad, the second half may show some improvement, but recovery can begin only at the beginning of 2010,” he said. “We are not going to go back to a high rate of growth before two or three years,” he added. Strauss-Kahn said IMF may need more funds in six months to finance bailouts of countries that fall victim to the financial crisis. “The IMF has enough money today to deal with the countries coming today. If the crisis goes on, which is the most probable way, then down the road, in six months from now, we will need more money,” he said. “That’s why we need to organize now the way to have more money in six months, because it won’t be done overnight.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 5:31 pm The most streamed, blogged and tweeted presidential inaugurationNew York: In an inauguration defined by a sense of change, the experience of watching Barack Obama take office was fittingly revolutionary. Like never before, Americans watched the inauguration of an incoming president online through live video streaming across their computers. And wholly wrapped up in following Inauguration Day 2009 on the Web was reacting to them—blogging, vlogging and tweeting. Essentially every major news outlet offered live feeds on their respective websites in what was potentially the most Web-driven coverage of a significant news event yet. It was partly out of necessity, since many viewers were at work in front of their computers—and away from TV sets—for the midday swearing in.  Hooked up: Amanda Raflo watches the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama online at a coffee shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chuck Burton / AP The major news portals—Yahoo.com, CNN.com, MSNBC.com, AOL News, The New York Times, ABC.com, CBS.com, Fox.com, WashingtonPost.com—all streamed the festivities, some with video embedded right on their home page for the first time. Akamai Technologies Inc., which delivers Internet video for many websites, said the inauguration was a record for them, with 7.7 million people watching video streams at the same time. So much video meant bandwidth was stretched considerably for many sites and many servers. On the whole, the webcasts appeared to function well, albeit with some lags. Keynote Systems Inc., which tracks website performance, said the Internet’s top 40 sites slowed down by as much as 60% when the ceremony started at 11am, and many news sites saw even sharper declines in performance. Many sites streaming the festivities gave four different perspectives on the ceremony, giving the viewer the option of watching the primary feed, the crowd amassed along the National Mall or other views. The Associated Press’ online video network provided a webcast for many news outlets, including AOL News. Several outlets looked to combine traditional coverage with new media interactivity. CNN partnered with Facebook (for users of the social networking site) to include status updates from friends alongside the webcast. The result was that it (kind of) felt like you were watching along with your friends. By Tuesday evening, CNN.com said it served more than 21.3 million live streams globally since 6am. That was nearly four times the amount of live streams on the site on Election Day when there were 5.3 million live streams. Mimi Wong, a 28-year-old public defender from Brookline, Massachusetts, watched the CNN.com webcast at work with her colleagues. “It was pretty cool,” said Wong. “I was actually kind of surprised that the connection was so good.” Current TV, the user-driven TV network co-founded by Al Gore, likewise combined streaming of the event with Twitter messages or “tweets.” Messages from viewers played at the bottom of both Current’s broadcast and webcast. Other webcasts were offered by Hulu.com, C-SPAN.org, Joost.com, Ustream.tv (whose feed was available on iPhones, too) and the presidential inauguration committee itself (www.pic2009.org). But not everyone had a seamless experience watching online. Lyndsey Lewis, a 22-year-old student at the University of Florida, wanted to catch the inauguration online at her school library before heading to class. She checked the webcasts from numerous sites, including CNN and Hulu but was frustrated by the interruptions. “There were so many pauses that I missed really crucial moments of the inauguration,” said Lewis. “I didn’t expect it to be TV quality, but I definitely thought it would be a lot better than it was.” Loath to leave behind his BlackBerry, Obama is easily the most tech-savvy president and the country’s first president of the Web 2.0 era. Shortly before taking the oath, he also issued a tweet of his own: “We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you.” The inauguration committee offered official inaugural news updates, transportation notices and invitations by cellphone text messages. “There’s just a lively discourse on our website,” said Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for the inauguration committee. “It’s very satisfying because our goal here is to make people feel connected to the party and to the events in Washington and to their government.” Several sites aimed to let people in on the celebrations in Washington. The Huffington Post hosted a ball on Monday night in Washington that included blogging from attendees, live video on the website and photos. Second Life and Wee World also hosted virtual inaugural balls so that even if you were far away from the festivities, your avatar could be partying the night away. A number of sites offered bells and whistles to their coverage. The Washington Post provided satellite imagery of the district of Columbia area and culled a user-generated photo mosaic of Obama through submissions on Flickr.com (the photo site also began to see pictures pour in Tuesday from Washington and elsewhere, documenting the day). YouTube partnered with C-SPAN to gather inaugural addresses from presidencies past. One of YouTube’s stars, Obama Girl, streamed her take on the events live on Stickam.com. MSNBC.com created a video explorer to let users search transcripts of the past 18 inaugural speeches, matching words with the corresponding video. MSNBC.com and CNN.com both touted Microsoft’s “photosynth” technology, a three-dimensional panorama of the inauguration. A digital transition was also evident at the official site of the President. At noon (Eastern Standard Time), WhiteHouse.gov unveiled a new design. It announced: “Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov.” Peter Svensson contributed to this story. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2009 | 4:03 pm After buyers, CEO-aspirants now target SatyamThe newly-formed board of the scam-tainted IT bellwether Satyam Computer Wednesday said the company has received a large number of applications for the job of the chief executive and chief financial officer (CFO).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 4:01 pm All DDA allottees asked to file details as police probe scamWidening the ambit of probe in the allotments of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police Wednesday sent notices to all 5,238 allottees, seeking their application details within 15 days.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 3:31 pm CID seeks three-day extension of Raju's custodyThe Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andhra Pradesh Police probing the massive fraud in Satyam Computer Services has sought three-day extension of its custody of disgraced former company chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and two other accused.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 3:31 pm Kalam urged to return to EMRI governing boardThe Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) has asked the family of tainted founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju to delink themselves from the institute and appealed to former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to return to the body as chairman emeritus.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Jan 2009 | 3:30 pm 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 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 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 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
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