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Benefit Tax for exporters may be suspended for 1yrBenefit Tax for exporters might be suspended for one year, reported CNBCTV18, quoting sources. Also, the interest subvention for exporters may be extended by a year, added sources. The announcement is likely in the third week of February.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Jan 2009 | 1:55 pm Satyam Board likely to announce new CEO, CFO!Scam-ridden Satyam Computer is likely to announce on Saturday the names of its new CEO and CFO.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Grim growth data an economic `disaster`: Obama!President Barack Obama warned on Friday that grim data showing a deepening recession revealed a "continuing disaster" for US workers and meant Congress must act immediately on his economic stimulus plan.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Worst Jan ever for US stocks !US stocks closed their worst Jan ever after data showed fastest plunge of GDP in 27 yrs.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Maytas Infra appoints new director, reviews `developments`!Maytas Infra, promoted by the family of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, on Friday said its board has appointed B Narasimha Rao as an additional director.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm G20 summit must tackle financial crisis: Gordon Brown!The Group of 20 summit in London in April must produce practical solutions to the global financial crisis, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in an interview published on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm India to be spared of Boeing job cuts!Aircraft manufacturing major Boeing, which has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide this year in view of the global economic crisis, would not lay-off employees in India, a top company official has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Exxon Mobil sets record with $45.2 bn profit!Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday reported a profit of USD 45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a US company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm Caterpillar to cut another 2,110 production jobs!Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. announced 2,110 new job cuts on Friday as it scales back production amid a world economic slowdown.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:18 pm 3 Maytas Infra directors resignSome of the Maytas Infrastructure\'s directors seem to be abandoning ship. In a board meeting held on Friday, the board has accepted the resignation of wholetime Director CS Bansal, Chairman RC Sinha has resigned from the board. The board also appointed B Narasimha Rao as additional Director immediate effect.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Jan 2009 | 11:39 am Mahindra and Mahindra net profit plummets 99 percentAuto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M and amp;M) Saturday said its stand-alone net profit dipped over 99 percent to Rs.11.96 million (Rs.1.19 crore/$242,757) for the quarter ended Dec 31, from Rs.4.05 billion in the same period the previous year.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 10:31 am Union Bank slashes foreign currency deposit ratesMumbai: Public-sector lender the Union Bank of India on Saturday slashed interest rates on foreign currency non-resident bank account deposits certain maturities effective from Sunday. With this, interest rate on US dollar FCNR(B) deposits having a maturity of 1-2 years has been cut to 2.98% from 3%. FCNR(B) is Foreign Currency Non Residential Bank Account. For dollar deposits having two-three years and three-four years maturities, the revised rates are 2.57% (2.44%) and 2.93% (2.72%) respectively, a release said. Deposits in pound and euro, in one-two years maturities, the revised rates are 3.48% (4.07%) and 3.28% (4.06%) respectively, the bank said. Interest rates in non-resident external account deposits in rupee terms for one-two years has been revised to 3.73% from the earlier (3.75%). For two-three years and three years and above maturity have been revised to , 3.32% (3.19%) and 3.68%(3.47%) respectively, the bank said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Jan 2009 | 10:23 am Bank funds not reaching industry, consumers: Nath - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 10:15 am Boeing signs land lease agreement for MRONagpur: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has signed the much-delayed lease agreement with Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for setting up a $100 million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. The facility is a joint venture between the aerospace major and national carrier Air India, while MADC, a government agency, has provided the land. “We have finally signed the necessary papers to live up to the promise made in 2006 that Boeing will have its world’s second MRO with Air India as partner in the city,” Boeing senior vice president Dinesh Keskar said. “Hopefully, the facility would be functional by end of 2010.” The 99-year lease agreement is for 50 acres of land, he said. By end of the current fiscal, Boeing will float tenders for constructing hangars which will accommodate two wide-bodied or four medium-bodied aircraft for maintenance and repairs, Keskar said. Boeing had decided to set up the MRO in Nagpur as there is ample availability of manpower and land. Most importantly, the weather conditions in the city are excellent for aircraft maintenance and repair works, the official said. The region has a number of engineering colleges. Therefore, required technical hands in aviation, avionics and aerospace should be available by the time the MRO is ready, Keskar added. Talking about Air India’s partnership, Keskar said the government-owned airline has placed big orders and already had a large fleet of Boeing aircraft which require periodical maintenance. The new aircraft being inducted may not require any check for at least two years but in due course when needed Air India will send these planes to the MRO, he said. “We have asked the MADC, which is developing the cargo hub, to construct the taxi runway to be used by Boeing for positioning aircraft in the hangars. The runway should also be ready by the time MRO construction is completed.” Nagpur MRO will be the Chicago-based aerospace giant’s only second such facility after Shanghai, China. Besides Air India, private airlines like Jet Airways and SpiceJet, who own Boeing aircraft, would also use the MRO, Keskar said. “Initially, we want India-based airlines to get the benefit of MRO and later we will open it for airlines outside India.” The world-class greenfield facility will have the capacity to service 250 aircraft a year, the official said. Asked about the employment opportunities accruing from the multi-million project, he said figures are not important. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:39 am Obama unlikely to toughen Wall St. pay rules - reportWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is not likely to impose tougher restrictions on executive pay on most firms receiving aid under the government's $700 billion financial rescue program, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:33 am A trade fair to pamper your petsFood items like salmon sticks, chicken sticks and fish rolls, health seminars and grooming tips - no, this is not any ordinary lifestyle expo but indicative of the wide variety of products and events at the ongoing third India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF) here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:32 am Adlabs Films revenue up 61 percentAdlabs Films Ltd, part of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), Saturday reported 61 percent growth in revenue for the quarter ended Dec 31.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:31 am NRI seeks rail infrastructure in Orissa's backward regionAn Oriya NRI based in Lebanon has urged the government to develop railway infrastructure in Orissa's most backward districts to ensure the economic prosperity of the region.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:30 am Democratic senator for pay cap on Wall Street 'idiots'A Democratic lawmaker has introduced a legislation in the US Senate proposing to limit to $400,000 the salary of top bosses of any company that accepts federal bailout money.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:27 am Epson launches first store in Mumbai; to expand India opsJapanese imaging solutions provider Epson launched its first store in the city for showcasing its printer range, carrying out demos and facilitating customer bookings.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:26 am Family-run cos are better managed: PC Gupta - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:22 am L&T's sales grow by 35%, 216% increase in PAT - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:14 am Sistema Shyam open to more acquisitions in CDMA bizSistema Shyam Teleservices, the latest entrant in Indian mobile space, is open to more acquisitions in a bid to get quicker access to the worlds fastest growing market.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am HCL to enter security equipment production soonHCL Security, a wholly owned subsidiary of the $3.1billion HCL Infosystems, will venture into manufacturing security and surveillance equipment in a years time.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:54 am Boeing signs land lease agreement for MRO in NagpurBoeing has signed the much-delayed lease agreement with Maharashtra Airport Development Company for setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul MRO) facility here.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:54 am Educomp bags Rs 120cr orders from UP, AssamEducomp Solutions has received orders from Uttar Pradesh and Assam for information and communication technology (ICT) implementation in 2,042 schools. The combined worth of these orders are Rs 120 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:45 am Davos plea: Don’t forget poor during crisisBy AP Davos, Switzerland: The world’s poor didn’t have seats at the elite World Economic Forum, but the political and corporate leaders heard fervent appeals on their behalf to not forget the “bottom billion” even as governments strain budgets to bail out their financial systems. “Last year, we gathered here to declare 2008 the year of the bottom billion,” U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said at the meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Friday. “These are the poorest people who live on less than a dollar a day, who are vulnerable to every shock that comes.” “As we struggle to cover these and other challenges we must not waiver in our commitment to the poorest of the poor. We must stand by those who are most vulnerable.” It was an appeal repeated throughout the third day of the elite gathering of 2,500 business and political leaders in this well-heeled mountain resort. The global meltdown has already sapped the developed world of some of its generosity: forecasts calculate a precipitous drop in international investments in poor and developing nations, while charities are resizing their own operations as donations drop. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said lending to emerging countries would drop from $1 trillion two years ago to $150 billion next year. “This is a breach of the promise of global prosperity,” Brown exhorted. German chancellor Angela Merkel, who is proposing a U.N. Economic Council out of the ashes of this crisis, similar to the U.N. Security Council formed after the destruction of World War II, said the rights of the poor must be enshrined in the new economic order. “We must not lose sight of fighting poverty,” Merkel said in a speech. “Letting funds slip now would mean reneging on responsibilities and the chasm between us and the developing world would only increase.” Ban urged governments to consider earmarking money for the poor in their stimulus packages. “To be sure the economic crisis reduces our resources,” the U.N. secretary-general told a news conference. “It threatens to deflect attention from other global problems: climate change, issues of water and the environment and economic development.” Repairing the world’s shattered financial system with taxpayer-funded bailouts should not be allowed to derail those efforts, he said. The concerns were echoed by two of the world’s most famous philanthropists, Bill and Melinda Gates, who said investment to improve health and development in poor countries must be kept up especially during the global financial crisis. “No one knows how long the crisis is going to last,” Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., told The Associated Press. “I feel pretty confident that if you look out five or 10 years we’ll be back on a very strong positive economic growth track. But that still leaves a number of years here that are going to be tumultuous. And the world should feel good if it’s able to maintain the needs of the poorest during this time.” Brown will host a meeting of the group of 20 richest nations in London in April which will aim to find broad agreement on mechanisms to confront the current crisis and deflect future ones. Brown and other leaders believe an international early alert system of some sort might have prevented the rapid spread of contagion in the world financial markets. “We cannot continue with a situation when we have global financial markets and no form of global supervision,” Brown said. Brown said the solutions to the crisis are to support banks, get real help to businesses and families, and resume lending. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:07 am Davos plea: Don’t forget poor during crisisBy AP Davos, Switzerland: The world’s poor didn’t have seats at the elite World Economic Forum, but the political and corporate leaders heard fervent appeals on their behalf to not forget the “bottom billion” even as governments strain budgets to bail out their financial systems. “Last year, we gathered here to declare 2008 the year of the bottom billion,” U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said at the meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Friday. “These are the poorest people who live on less than a dollar a day, who are vulnerable to every shock that comes.” “As we struggle to cover these and other challenges we must not waiver in our commitment to the poorest of the poor. We must stand by those who are most vulnerable.” It was an appeal repeated throughout the third day of the elite gathering of 2,500 business and political leaders in this well-heeled mountain resort. The global meltdown has already sapped the developed world of some of its generosity: forecasts calculate a precipitous drop in international investments in poor and developing nations, while charities are resizing their own operations as donations drop. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said lending to emerging countries would drop from $1 trillion two years ago to $150 billion next year. “This is a breach of the promise of global prosperity,” Brown exhorted. German chancellor Angela Merkel, who is proposing a U.N. Economic Council out of the ashes of this crisis, similar to the U.N. Security Council formed after the destruction of World War II, said the rights of the poor must be enshrined in the new economic order. “We must not lose sight of fighting poverty,” Merkel said in a speech. “Letting funds slip now would mean reneging on responsibilities and the chasm between us and the developing world would only increase.” Ban urged governments to consider earmarking money for the poor in their stimulus packages. “To be sure the economic crisis reduces our resources,” the U.N. secretary-general told a news conference. “It threatens to deflect attention from other global problems: climate change, issues of water and the environment and economic development.” Repairing the world’s shattered financial system with taxpayer-funded bailouts should not be allowed to derail those efforts, he said. The concerns were echoed by two of the world’s most famous philanthropists, Bill and Melinda Gates, who said investment to improve health and development in poor countries must be kept up especially during the global financial crisis. “No one knows how long the crisis is going to last,” Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., told The Associated Press. “I feel pretty confident that if you look out five or 10 years we’ll be back on a very strong positive economic growth track. But that still leaves a number of years here that are going to be tumultuous. And the world should feel good if it’s able to maintain the needs of the poorest during this time.” Brown will host a meeting of the group of 20 richest nations in London in April which will aim to find broad agreement on mechanisms to confront the current crisis and deflect future ones. Brown and other leaders believe an international early alert system of some sort might have prevented the rapid spread of contagion in the world financial markets. “We cannot continue with a situation when we have global financial markets and no form of global supervision,” Brown said. Brown said the solutions to the crisis are to support banks, get real help to businesses and families, and resume lending. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:07 am Sensex gains 750 points amid uncertain global marketsIndian equities markets were on a roll in the week ending Friday with a key index closing 8.64 points higher than its close the previous week.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 8:01 am 3 Maytas Infra directors resign - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 7:58 am Colgate's net sales up 14%, Net profit up 29% - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 7:26 am ISRO-built satellite fails after five weeksThe very first communications satellite sold by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to the European operator Eutelsat has failed abruptly after five weeks in orbit, in a setback to ISRO which just celebrated the 100th day of its successful moon mission.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 7:03 am Malaysian Airlines told to pay for mishandling luggageHolding Malaysian Airlines responsible for mishandling a passenger's baggage, a consumer court here has asked it to pay Rs.315,000 - the price of the damaged luggage - alongwith with the cost of litigation.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 31 Jan 2009 | 6:00 am India to be spared of Boeing job cutsBoeing, which has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide this year in view of the global economic crisis, would not lay-off employees in India.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 5:52 am Per capita income up 33% in 4 years - India Business Today
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 5:15 am Tata Tea net declines 69% - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 5:04 am IOC profit rises 42%, courtesy govt bonds - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 4:55 am N Gopalaswami recommends removal of Navin ChawlaBy PTI New Delhi: The battle in the Election Commission has assumed unprecedented proportions with the chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending to the government removal of the other election commissioner Navin Chawla. The recommendation comes about three months before Gopalaswami is to demit office on 20 April and is based on a petition by the BJP, which had complained against the “partisan” functioning of Chawla. The BJP had alleged that Chawla was close to the Congress party. “I did my job. The report has been given,” Gopalswami told PTI but declined to elaborate. The chief election commissioner’s recommendation ahead of the general elections brings to the fore the differences among the three-member body, which has often been marred by clashes over crucial decisions. Only last year, Chawla had raised serious objections to the holding of the Karnataka assembly elections in May but was over ruled. Similarly, he is believed to have also had reservations over the conduct of assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh in the summer of 2007. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Jan 2009 | 4:28 am PNB to cut lending rates - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 4:25 am White House, Senate take aim at Wall St payWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House pledged action against "irresponsible" bonuses for executives at bailed-out Wall Street companies as a Democratic senator unveiled legislation to limit their compensation to $400,000 a year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 1:50 am Wall St Week Ahead: After horrid January, stocks eye stimulusNEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are hoping swift action on an economic stimulus plan will boost Wall Street next week after its worst January ever.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Jan 2009 | 1:16 am Now Hindujas join race for Satyam - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:38 am Spice prefers pref issue route to acquire SatyamNew Delhi, Jan. 30 Spice Group - the latest suitor in the fray for Satyam Computer Services - on Friday said it is keen on acquiring controlling stake in the troubled software company through preferential issue of shares (by Satyam) and not viaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Oil bonds help IOC report 41% rise in netNew Delhi, Jan. 30 Oil bonds have come to the rescue of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) in the third quarter of the current fiscal ended December 2008.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Fresh cut flower exports beginning to witherPune, Jan. 30 A few years ago, the Indian floriculture industry had set itself on a course that would lead to flourishing overseas trade in fresh cut flowers, earning export revenues of Rs 1,000 crore by 2010.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am HC allows Reliance to sell KG basin gas at $4.20Mumbai, Jan. 30 The Bombay High Court on Friday allowed the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries to sell natural gas from its KG basin block at the Government approved price of $ 4.20/mmbtu, till the final judgment on the on-going caseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Motors posts Rs 263-cr lossMumbai, Jan. 30 Tata Motors has posted a loss of Rs 263 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal, compared to a profit of Rs 499.05 crore in the same period last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Moody’s lowers credit outlook for banking systemMumbai, Jan. 30 Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the fundamental credit outlook for the Indian banking system over the next 12 to 18 months to negative from stable.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Mundra Port Q3 profit surges 92%Ahmedabad, Jan. 30 The Adani Group company Mundra Port and SEZ Ltd (MPSEZL) witnessed its net profit increase by 92.23 per cent in the third quarter of the current financial year, ended December 31, 2009, compared with the same quarter in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am KG trial production by Feb-endNew Delhi, Jan. 30 Reliance Industries Ltd is expected to start trial production from its Krishna Godavari Basin fields (D6 block) by the end of February or early March.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Capital to raise Rs 500 cr via non-convertible debenturesMumbai, Jan. 30Tata Capital said it would raise Rs 500 crore through a non-convertible debenture issue, with an option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs 1,000Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Cell phone makers propose free handsets to 50 m poor familiesMobile handset makers have sought Rs 5,000 crore from the Universal Services Obligation fund to give free cellular phone and a connection to families under the below poverty line.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Jan 2009 | 12:00 am Germany, UK urge global economic overseerDAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Germany and Britain called on Friday for a global economic watchdog with strengthened powers to prevent rather than react to financial crises that can spiral into worldwide recession.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 10:15 pm To buy or not to buy a homeReal estate prices have gone through the roof, especially in the last five years. In Mumbai, the prices are virtually in stratosphere - in crores.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 10:09 pm Raju may have kept ex-staff's a/cs activeDid the jailed founder of Satyam Computer design a maze of sorts even for managing human resources like the one he did for funds with a network of 240 companies?Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 10:05 pm BHEL sees Rs 60K cr orders this fiscalBharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), the engineering & power equipment major, expects to close financial year 2008-09 with an order backlog of Rs 1,20,000 crore.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 9:12 pm Take on diabetes with a mediclaim coverDiabetes has been treatable since insulin became medically available in the early part of the twentieth century; but there is no permanent cure.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 9:10 pm Govt not keen on banning PwCThe Union ministry of corporate affairs felt firing two of PwC Indian partners "were appropriate" and hinted that blacklisting the firm was not a possibility.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 9:06 pm Oil up as OPEC cuts counter sliding demandNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures rose on Friday after OPEC signaled it may deepen its record output cuts, countering a U.S. report showing energy demand shrinking more quickly than previously thought.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 8:57 pm Roche goes hostile, cuts Genentech bid to $42 blnZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding Ag launched a surprise hostile bid for U.S. biotechnology giant Genentech Inc at a price below its original rejected offer, reflecting tougher financing conditions and a drop in Genentech shares.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 8:37 pm Fewer job offers ahead of placement season in IIMsKolkata/ Bangalore: Some alumni of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) recently received an emailed list of around 130 companies from members of the management school’s student placement committee. In what increasingly looks to be a tough year for business school placements, the email requested alumni to help the committee with contacts in these companies to broaden their traditional portfolio of recruiters. It’s been a roller coaster year for the Class of 2009.  Tough times: (L to R) Murari, Akshay Lal, Srikrishna Swaminathan, Krishnan Sekar, Vinay Betala and (standing) Diptosh Mishra are among the outgoing batch at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. Indranil Bhoumik / Mint “Cautiously optimistic” is how Lal, an electrical engineer from Pune, sums up the mood on campus as schools prepare for the placement season that begins in March. Quite a change from the same time last year when offers made to students of IIM-C scaled a high of Rs1.36 crore a year; industry observers say pay packages will most likely miss the 20-30% spike seen year-on-year. Salaries are expected to remain at the same level as last year or may, at best, factor in the inflation rate. Teachers say students might need counselling to tide over the dramatic changes that are likely to ensue in the hiring season. “I will have sessions with them (students) myself and if needed, we won’t hesitate to bring in professional counsellors,” says Prafulla Agnihotri, a professor and chairperson of placements. “While this is still early to say, this year looks quite bad compared to the last few years,” agrees Sourav Mukherji, associate professor and chairperson (placement) at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), who has overseen placements for the last two years.  Pre-placement offers, or job offers from companies where students have worked for during the summers, have seen a dramatic fall. At IIM-C, so far 60 students have received pre-placement offers against 90 offers last year. The institute was earlier expecting at least 120 pre-placement offers to be made this year, according to Paul Savio, a first-year student and the external relations secretary of IIM-C. It’s the same at IIM-B. Pre-placement offers made to students post-internships total 55 for the batch of 2009 against 110 for the batch of 2008. IIM-A said they would rather not share how many pre-placement offers their students had received. Last year’s scenario where companies fought for a Day-zero slot (the most sought after slot at the very beginning of placements to recruit the cream of the batch) is a hazy dream. This year students are courting a wide range of employers from start-ups to public sector enterprises. Mukherji along with his 15-member team of students and faculty are “casting a wide net” talking to numerous companies, coaxing them to come to campus and recruit. Starting next month Mukherji plans to give periodic pep talks to the batch of 250 students to “set expectations”. He doesn’t normally do this in a good year. Almost all students say even if there isn’t a significant drop in the number of companies that recruit, fewer jobs would be offered this time. “If earlier a company snapped up 10 graduates, they’d probably recruit five this time,” says Krishnan Sekar, a 25-year-old mechanical engineer from Pune, who is graduating from IIM-C in a few months. There’s enough reason to be worried. Last year, 70 companies made offers to 250 students of IIM-B, out of which about 70% came from financial services and consultancies, two sectors that have been hit hardest by the ongoing global recession. Students are hoping to make up these numbers from companies in relatively less affected sectors such as engineering, fast moving consumer goods, marketing and maybe hospitality. Up until last year, IIM-B, which used to turn down one in every three companies that knocked on its door, is now “running after anyone ready to recruit”. The school is aiming to get some 120-150 companies on campus this year expecting fewer offers per company. Mihir Lal, media coordinator for IIM-A’s student placement committee, agrees that the proportion of students going to the traditionally preferred financial sector—in 2008, 113 of the 255 students in the MBA programme opted for a job in this sector—will likely reduce. Rattled by the fall of Wall Street investment banks such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a significant section of IIM-C students say when they consider a job offer this time, they would certainly pay a lot of attention to job security. The institute is expecting recruiters such as Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and the Securities and Exchange Board of India—the capital markets regulator—to visit the campus this year, and though they may not offer salaries even remotely comparable with the investment banks, quite a few students are likely to join them. Media companies and retailers are surely going to recruit in large numbers this year, expect students. They were very active during the last summer placements, but until last year, they would typically arrive when the final placements were almost over. The wider net of companies also means students who are used to choosing employers will have to be less picky this year. Mahima Vashisht, 23, a second-year student of postgraduate diploma in management at IIM-B, says she wants a managerial role and is “open to all sectors”. According to her, salary expectations are secondary. “Being from IIM-B, we will definitely get a baseline salary.” The slowdown might push quite a few graduates to consider launching their own businesses, says Agnihotri, but it might not be the right thing to do for most people. “These type of entrepreneurs won’t go far…to strike out on your own needs passion, in good times or bad, and you shouldn’t do it because it’s the second-best option.” IIM-A’s Lal emphasises that not too much should be read into short-term adversity. Both in terms of the choice of the company and trends towards start-ups, he says that students will “not base a long-term career decision on a two-year market outlook”. rajdeep.r@livemint.com Sidin Vadukut in New Delhi contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 7:00 pm CSO estimates peg fiscal ’08 growth at 9%New Delhi: The government’s statistics office on Friday presented a panoramic view of the smooth road the Indian economy has left behind as it heads for into a rough patch that could stretch for several years. The so-called quick estimates for 2007-08 of national output, spending, saving and investment put out by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO), the country’s top data-collecting body, peg growth in gross domestic product (GDP) —or the value of national output—at constant prices at 9%. Investment and savings as a percentage of GDP were a record 39.1% and 37.7%, respectively. The sequence of economic data released by CSO is: provisional, quick and final. Fiscal year 2007-08 is likely to mark the end of an unprecedented five-year economic boom that saw national output expand at an average rate of 8.84%, leading to higher incomes. India’s record economic expansion was aided by a strong global economy and easy money. Also See End of the Golden Run? (Graphic) Reserve Bank of India governor D. Subbarao had on Tuesday said that economic growth in the current fiscal would be 7% with a downward bias. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had forecast that India’s growth in calendar 2009 would be 5.1%. It could take as long as five years for the economy to revert to a 9% growth trajectory, said Manoj Vohra, director, research, Economist Intelligence Unit. “We don’t expect to see a convincing 9% (growth) for the next five years. I must qualify it by saying India is not alone,” Vohra said India’s GDP in 2007-08 was an estimated Rs28.71 trillion at constant prices, which corrects for inflation, and Rs43.20 trillion at market prices. Economic growth in the current year and most likely next year is forecast to drop by 2 percentage points or more and will thereby affect growth of average incomes, which doubled in seven years to Rs33,283 in 2007-08. “Right now we are completely depending on domestic factors (for growth). Given that, I don’t expect 9% for at least two years,” N.R. Bhanumurthy, associate professor at New Delhi-based research institution, Institute of Economic Growth, said. Friday’s data was the most comprehensive set of number released for 2007-08. The statistics included a break-up on private final consumption expenditure—an indication of consumer spending trends. Spending on food, beverages and tobacco continued to be the largest chunk of household budgets, at about 42%, in recent years. However, the fastest growing components of household spending were linked to the service sector, such as health care, communications and education. Consumers tend to spend relatively less of food and more on health care and education as their incomes increase. According to D.K. Joshi, principal economist and director at credit rating agency Crisil Ltd, the services slowdown would feed into consumption expenditure of some fast-growing items such as hotels and transportation. In the second quarter of 2008-09, services grew 9.6% after 14 consecutive quarters of double digit growth. Private consumption expenditure on durables (under the category furniture, furnishings, appliances and services) grew from 3.3% to 4% of the Rs26.05 trillion consumption expenditure in the domestic market in the eight-year period ended 31 March. During the same period, transportation and communication expenditure grew from 13.1% to 17% of the total, and hotel expenditure from 1.8% to 2.8%. All these sectors are likely to be affected during the current slowdown, Crisil’s Joshi said. Some items of private consumption linked to services might, however, be insulated from a slowdown, he added. Joshi identified consumption expenditure on education, healthcare and communication as items where there is unlikely to be noticeable impact in the current year and the next one. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 7:00 pm Fabric of freedomIslampur in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district is perhaps the only integrated production centre of handspun silk in the state. Some 20,000 families here are dependent on the silk economy, doing everything from cultivating the cocoon to weaving. Click here to watch video Text by Aveek Datta; photographs by Indranil Bhoumik / Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 7:00 pm Subhiksha founder admits chain is in deep financial troubleNew Delhi: After months of denial, discount retailer Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd has admitted it is in trouble. “It is sudden collapse,” R. Subramanian, Subhiksha’s founder and managing director, said in a nine-page note sent to the media on the company’s health, amid allegations of it not paying vendors and staff salaries, and shuttering several stores.  Cash crunch: A file photo of managing director R. Subramanian. He says Rs300 crore would bring Subhiksha back into financial health. Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint He said the firm’s inability to raise cash in a difficult economic environment led to the current crisis. The company said it planned to raise cash through placement of equity on a preferential allotment basis and was close to doing so in September but was unable to proceed due to tough economic conditions. Also Read Subhiksha not paying some bills Lack of funds led the company’s trading cycle to “collapse” as the company ran out of cash in October, bringing its operations to a “standstill”, Subramanian said in the note. Subhiksha has been in the news since September when vendors in New Delhi’s Azadpur wholesale fruits and vegetables market accused the company of not paying their dues that ran into crores of rupees. It was followed by staff allegations that they hadn’t been paid salaries for months. “Honestly yes, there are arrears on these,” Subramanian said. So far, Subhiksha has denied that it had problems even as it grappled with several lawsuits from landlords for not paying rent for months. According to a senior executive from Tata Teleservices Ltd, the company recently cut all fixed line and mobile phone corporate connections to Subhiksha offices and employees due to unpaid bills. Since August, the retailer said, it tried to juggle between repaying debts to banks and keep its stores operational, that prompted it to delay rentals and staff salaries. “In a business like ours, where stock and cash are like blood, we seized up pretty fast when the blood supply got choked,” Subramanian said. In spite of this, Subramanian is confident that the company could be nursed back to financial health but would need fresh capital of Rs300 crore that could either come through debt or equity. Analysts, however, feel Subhiksha will find it challenging to raise funds. “It’s fairly tough raising capital for a business that is clearly not stabilized, is going to be a tough challenge, especially...(since) FDI (foreign direct investment) constraints are there,” said Nikhil Vora, managing director of Mumbai-based IDFC SSKI Securities Ltd. The restart plans include closing about 10%, or 160 stores, and relocating many others, negotiating lower rentals and shelving plans to roll out a consumer electronics chain. “We are now engaging in getting the restart plan approved by the financial stakeholders and then get the liquidity so that we can continue from where we left,” Subramanian said. The Chennai-based company, which runs India’s largest chain of discount supermarkets, had been one of the most aggressive organized retail players in recent years. Around 59% of the company is owned by promoters, 23% owned by ICICI Securities Ltd and 10% by software billionaire Azim Premji of Wipro Ltd, which he had bought last year from ICICI Securities for Rs230 crore. Prakash Parthasarathy, chief investment officer of PremjiInvest, the personal investment arm of Premji, declined to comment. Renuka Ramnath, chief executive and managing director of ICICI Venture, did not return a phone call seeking comments. Subhiksha was banking on debt and equity sale to fund the expansion to 2,300 stores and Rs4,300 crore revenue for the current fiscal ending. “Our overconfidence that because we ran a good business, equity would always be there, proved our undoing,” Subramanian said. “We did not budget for a time when there would be no money.” Shauvik Ghosh in New Delhi and Deepti Chaudhary in Bangalore contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:45 pm RIL gets temporary reprieve on sale of gas from K-G basinMumbai: The Bombay high court has temporarily allowed Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to sell gas from its fields in Krishna-Godavari basin off India’s east coast, pending judgement in its lawsuit with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL).  At odds: A file photo of Anil Ambani (left) and Mukesh Ambani, who have been in a tussle over the Krishna-Godavari basin gas reserves. Arko Datta / Reuters Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL and RNRL, headed by estranged younger brother Anil Ambani, are contesting details in a supply contract that was agreed upon when the Reliance group spilt in 2005. A judgement on the three-year-old lawsuit—the closing arguments of which was also heard on Friday—is expected by March. The company can now start production around 15 February, as it has earlier said. RIL has entered into agreements with nine electricity and fertilizer companies last year, on which it can now move ahead, subject to the final judgement. Analysts tracking the litigation were divided on the significance of Friday’s order. An analyst with a foreign brokerage, who didn’t want to be named, said the verdict “removes uncertainty and paves way for gas sale”. This, he said, would let the country benefit from a national resource. “Revenue upside will be significant for RIL if the final order goes their way as well, but they might start full-scale commercial operations from April this year,” he said, explaining that starting production in April would give RIL tax benefits for seven full financial years instead of just a few months for the first year if they start earlier. The firm follows an April to March fiscal year. However, Deepak Pareek, a sector analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Angel Broking Ltd, said the interim order had only limited positives for RIL. “The interim order is only for one-and-a-half months and will not add much to RIL’s financials in this period,” he said. “The thing to watch out for is when the company actually starts gas production.” Pareek has a “buy” rating on RIL, with a target price of Rs1,440. To be sure, RNRL senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi refused to see the development as a setback. “Our stand was to let the government and government nominees get the gas. Our rights are still protected. This is not a disappointment,” he said after the order was passed. An RNRL official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the actual effect of the interim order would be insignificant since there would only be a lag of a few weeks between actual supply of gas in mid-February and the final order expected in mid-March. The Bench, in its interim order, endorsed the so-called minutes of order proposed by the government—a legal practice of asking one of the parties to suggest in a draft order the stance they want the court to take—that said the ban should be lifted and that gas should be sold at $4.2 mBtu to so-called priority sectors. The government was an intervener in the lawsuit because it is the ultimate owner of natural resources in the country. Justice Patel said this interim order doesn’t in any way affect the rights and claims of the parties in the lawsuit and those in another litigation, also being fought at the Bombay high court, between RIL and NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest producer of electricity, over clauses in a separate contract. The final order will decide whether RNRL wins its claim to 28 million standard cu. m of gas a day for 17 years at $2.34 mBtu—a price that is 45% lower than the government-fixed price. Reuters contributed to this story Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:40 pm Satyam staff intimidated I-T officials in 2002, says govt reportProof of disgraced Satyam founder Ramalinga Rajus political influence an issue that is being widely discussed following his January 7 confessions of fraud was strongly in evidence as far back as 2002, when his company was at the height of its success.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:38 pm Shareholders, Bahl call truce in film ventureThe Indian Film Company Limited Requisition Group (IFCRG) led by hedge fund Altima Partners has agreed to withdraw its demand to remove two directors Raghav Bahl and Alok Verma from the board of the film investment company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:35 pm Court lifts sale ban on KG basin gasIn a major relief to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the Bombay High Court Friday allowed the sale of gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin at $4.20 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) and reserved final judgment on a case brought by Anil Ambani-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:34 pm Taxing times ahead as govt ups scrutinyFresh tax demands jump 130% over last year.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:33 pm Breaking the vicious circleWhat’s left to be done to revive global economic growth after huge liquidity injections and fiscal stimuli fail to work? Economists say that governments should now directly attack uncertainty. One may say that’s easier said than done as uncertainty is not some known factor that can be tackled directly. But then, maybe it can be. In the 30 January issue of The Economist, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, has argued that this can be done by removing “tail risks”. This involves establishing a floor price for troubled financial assets. It also means undoing the effects of uncertainty by recycling funds towards riskier financial assets. This may sound bad advice: Why pump funds into a system that failed? Wouldn’t it create a massive moral hazard on the part of those who wreaked ruin in financial markets? Somewhere, the vicious cycle of depressed financial markets generating uncertainty and that, in turn, depressing asset prices further has to be broken. Blanchard’s suggestion to cut the circle, however arbitrary the cut-off point may seem, has the potential to do the trick. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:22 pm India pet fair evinces a mixed responseNew Delhi: For three days starting Friday, the Expocentre in Noida will be overrun with dogs, cats, fish and tradesmen—all participating in the third annual India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF). According to fair director Binoy Sahee, the trade show hopes to tap into the Rs220 crore pet market, which is growing each year by about 15–20%.  Lots of offer: Rubber pet products from Shivam Polymers on display at the third annual India International Pet Trade Fair being held at Noida. Madhu Kapparath / Mint Pet owners can bring their animals to the fair for free grooming, browsing the stalls and watch performances such as a display by the dogs of the Air Force for a Rs30 fee. Naveen Kohli, president of the pet accessory manufacturing company Love N Care, was proud to display his wares at the fair—his third year as a stall owner, but was a bit disappointed by the location. “It’s too far from the city centre. It should be in Pragati Maidan,” he said. However, IIPTF offered a fair price and a good place to network with others in the industry, he added. A first-time participant, Raghav Modi, chief executive of import house Petsetgo, said the fair offered him the perfect launch pad for his new company. He sees incredible growth potential in the pet market, in spite of the economic downturn. “In times of depression, the pet industry has always boomed. The pets are going to be there no matter what, loyal through times of trouble.” Exhibitor Keumhee Choi, director of Forcans, a pet care product maker and exporter in South Korea, said: “We expected a huge place, but it is actually really small. But we hear it is only the third year of the fair. So, though it’s very small compared with the Chinese trade fair, there is room for development.” A visitor to the fair, Per Killingmo, managing director of SalgsCompagniet AS, a Norwegian wholesale firm, came to the fair to meet potential manufacturing clients. He said he saw potential in the Indian pet market, but was surprised to see Indian companies importing products from European pet companies. “(Indian companies) are bringing products to India from a German company that imports its products from China. Why not take it from their own country?” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:19 pm Search for Satyam top brass narrows down to 3Hyderabad: The six directors appointed by the government to steer fraud-hit technology outsoucing firm Satyam Computer Services Ltd have, after their last board meeting, narrowed their search for a new chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) down to three professionals. But Satyam’s uncertain future is a hurdle in the way of finalizing the appointments. “Even though we are confident about the company’s future prospects, uncertainty about what form it will take is preventing identified candidates from making a commitment,” Satyam board member C. Achuthan told Mint. “Clarity is yet to emerge whether Satyam will continue to operate on its own, or whether somebody else will come into the picture.” The board started out with a list of 30 professionals with experience in running large companies. Though a Satyam spokesperson had said on Thursday that an announcement regarding the CEO and CFO appointments is expected before the end of the week, Achuthan refused to set a clear deadline. According to Achuthan, the next board meeting on Monday is expected to bring more clarity about the future of the company, and thus speed up the appointments. Satyam’s day-to-day affairs are currently being managed with help from the new board members such as Achuthan, who continues to be in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Spice Group chairman B.K. Modi, who had expressed an interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Satyam on Thursday, said that he is willing to invest at least $400 million (Rs1,960 crore) for a 51% stake. However, he said he was not interested in buying shares from the open market as the money won’t go to investors who sell to him. “We want the money to go inside the company. For that they will have to make a preferential issue. If I buy shares from the market, the money will not go into the company,” Modi told Reuters. Last week, Larsen and Toubro Ltd increased its stake in Satyam from 4% to 12%, making it the single largest shareholder. Foreign mutual fund Fidelity International has doubled its holding, according to a stock exchange filing. On Friday, shares of Satyam gained 8.43% to close at Rs54.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange Fidelity International and its subsidiaries had earlier cut their stake in Satyam. On Friday, Satyam informed the bourses that Fidelity had raised its stake from an existing 3.17% to 6.79% through bulk deals in the open market. Fidelity had a 3.41% stake in Satyam on 31 December. A Fidelity Fund Network India spokesperson told Mint that the fund had a holding of 6% in Satyam as on 6 January—the day before Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju disclosed that he had fiddled with the accounts in a Rs7,136 crore fraud. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh high court said it will take up for hearing on 9 February a petition by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, seeking to interrogate Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Ramu Raju. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:19 pm Subhiksha admits to facing a severe liquidity crisisAfter CNBCTV18 reported last week about nonpayment of salaries to Subhiksha employees, the company\'s Managing Director today admitted that the retail company is going through a severe liquidity crisis. And an immediate injection of Rs 300 crore is critical.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:18 pm IOC expects better refining margins in Q4Indian Oil Corp (IOC), India's largest oil refining and marketing company, expects better earnings in the fourth quarter of this fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:13 pm Aboard the game trainIn August 2008, 15 Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), students spent a fortnight trying to think like eight-year-olds. They met groups of children, spoke to parents, in search of one answer—how to design a board game that children will love.  All aboard: The colourful, simple Gotcha! (top) will appeal to younger kids as well; and Sixteen Fixteen (above) will get you thinking. “The standard thinking about design doesn’t work with making [board] games because you’re not starting with a problem. You have to go with a gut feeling,” says professor Uday Athavankar of the Industrial Design Centre at IIT-B, the “ringmaster” of the 15-day course. “We chose board games because they’re a very interesting social process.” The games are pastiches of both familiar set-ups and innovative game rules, something Athavankar says he emphasized. “We wanted all kinds of games—from what you could play on a train journey to long vacation-time ones.” Four of the selected prototypes hit the market in late December 2008. Here is our take on each. Going Around in Circles Chakraview 2 players, Rs499, Ages 8+ Does anyone remember Brainvita? It was a near-iconic, single-player board game with green marbles—which, at the peak of its popularity, you also got free with Bournvita. The brilliance of the game was in creating a hectic tension in the player’s progress before stymieing him with a mid-game crisis, forcing the player to realize the importance of early decisions. Chakraview is a mix of Brainvita and chess, with shades of Chinese checkers thrown in. It’s an intriguing concept that, like Brainvita, makes for very interesting and furious starts, with the real impact of early strategy only shining through later in the game, thus rewarding both forward thinking and careful planning. Poorly written instructions make for a slightly steep initial learning curve. Though the depth of the game is ultimately satisfying, early plays sometimes seem unfair to the players who, faced with a mid-game stalemate, are forced to make a bad move. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back TRIPLETS 2 players, Rs499, Ages 6+ Triplets mixes tic-tac-toe and the knight from chess. Players, controlling a line of units, take turns to move each piece the way you’d move the knight (in the shape of the letter ‘L’) in chess. The idea is to make straight or diagonal lines of three, like you do in tic-tac-toe. It’s a bizarre concept that, surprisingly, works. However, once a player figures out a strategy, he will not be too keen to give it another go. The rules are simple, but without any sort of direct confrontation between the players (the most you can do is obstruct the other’s moves, but that’s rarely done) or feeding off each other’s strategies, it too often feels like you’re playing alone. Blockheads Sixteen Fixteen 2-4 players, Rs499, Ages 8+ Sixteen Fixteen, which is...wait for it, Tetris crossed with a two-dimensional Rubik’s cube, is probably the most cerebral game of the set. It’s complicated, yes, but ultimately the most rewarding.  Mix ’n’ match: Chakraview is three games in one. In early playthroughs, there was frustration at the lack of progress but the sense of satisfaction on completion is rewarding. There are some glaring problems, all of which are unrelated to the game. The pieces look tacky, and the board not exciting. The rules are poorly explained. This initial frustration may be a deal breaker for many, but Sixteen Fixteen is a grower—a bit of patience, and perseverance, and you might find a deeply satisfying game. Jobhunters Gotcha 2-4 players, Rs499, Ages 8+ Gotcha plays like a PG-rated version of Cluedo crossed with Uno. It’s a fun, albeit short, game that’s excellent in 15-minute sessions, especially with three or more players. It has a cheerily daft setting—where guessing the other player’s profession leads to their defeat, and the winner is the one whose job is still undiscovered. Players are given a profession card (like Farmer or Astronaut, all of which are brightly coloured, nicely illustrated) in the beginning, and must play hands of five other “attribute” cards and collect attributes (such as the farmer’s plough, the chef’s recipe) of their own profession while keeping its identity a secret. The penalty for a wrong guess is steep, so there’s lots of scheming and underhand plotting. The instruction sheet, while still dubious, is moderately understandable. Younger kids will want to give this a shot as well. krish.r@livemint.com Photographs by Ramesh Pathania / Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 6:01 pm Tea Board will allow only cash-and-carry settlements from nowKolkata: The Tea Board of India has said it will only allow cash-and-carry settlements of auctions, after auctioneer Carritt Moran and Co. Pvt. Ltd defaulted on payments to tea producers. The board said in its 22 January order that auctioneers should release tea from warehouses only after buyers pay. This will be effective from the next auction—sale 5—scheduled next week at Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri. “The move is aimed at discouraging brokers from giving cash credit to buyers,” said Roshni Sen, deputy chairman of the board. “Our aim eventually is to stamp out the practice of lending to buyers and producers, for which auctioneers such as Carritt are suffering.” The 131-year-old Carritt Moran, the world’s second largest tea auctioneer, went belly up after failing to pay producers and was found to have diverted money paid to it by buyers to service its own debts. The board will appoint a settlement banker so that auctioneers don’t settle trades on their own. “Four private banks have already made presentations, and we expect to appoint a settlement banker within a month or so,” said Sen. India produces around 950 million kg of tea a year, half of which is auctioned. Cash-and-carry settlements have been introduced at all auction centres in southern India quite some time ago, but buyers and auctioneers in the east have resisted it so far. “The Tea Board has been contemplating the introduction of cash-and-carry settlement for quite some time... The fall of Carritt has given (it) the strength to push through systemic reforms,” Sen said. Buyers currently have to pay within 14 days—called prompt period. Though this is not being reduced immediately, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has suggested that it should be cut to three days. Sen said the board it still considering NSE’s suggestions. However, brokers are not permitted to extend credit to buyers beyond the prompt period. Some buyers are opposing cash-and-carry because they fear for their survival without credit from auctioneers, said Rabindra Nath De, director of Star Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. “But the Tea Board doesn’t seem to be in a mood to budge.” McLeod Russel India Ltd, the world’s biggest tea plantation company, is happy with the move, however. The auction system will be more foolproof, said Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:51 pm Tata Motors reports biggest loss in 7 yearsMumbai: Foreign exchange charges and slowing vehicle sales took a toll on Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest automaker, as it reported a net loss of Rs263 crore in the December quarter, marking its worst performance in seven years, compared with nearly Rs500 crore profits a year ago. Tata Motors, which accounts for at least half the commercial vehicles sold in the country, posted a one-third drop in revenues (net of excise payments to the government) to Rs4,713.63 crore in the quarter gone by from nearly Rs7,206 crore in the year-ago period. The losses, falling short of analyst forecasts by a wide margin, were tempered by a tax reversal of Rs155.89 crore in the quarter. The outgo in the same quarter of fiscal 2008 was Rs166.05 crore. Click here to watch video Forex losses, most of which are notional since they represent the value of the company’s foreign currency hedge contracts in the quarter, were pegged at Rs226.52 crore. “We had the worst Q3 and I do not expect to see this in my lifetime,” managing director Ravi Kant told reporters here, adding the company expected to launch the Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle models this calendar year as planned. The firm spent $2.3 billion acquiring the brands and facilities from Ford Motor Co. last year. A poll on Thursday of eight analysts by Mint forecast quarterly net profit of Rs50.95 crore. The gloomiest predictions came from IIFL Capital, a subsidiary of brokerage India Infoline Ltd, which predicted a net loss of Rs293 crore. With commercial vehicle sales falling under tight liquidity and falling demand for transport services as industrial production decelerated, Tata Motors, the country’s largest maker of trucks and buses, bore the brunt in the three months ended 31 December. Sales volumes of such vehicles fell 40% to 49,546 in the period from 82,568 in the same quarter of last fiscal year. Its car and utility vehicle sales fared better, falling 14.4% to 42,187 from a year ago.  Grim outlook: The truck production line at Tata’s Jamshedpur plant. The company reports a net loss of Rs263 crore in the December quarter. Shares of Tata Motors closed the day down 1.6% to Rs149.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, whose benchmark Sensex index expanded 1.9%. Friday’s numbers indicate that Tata Motors will almost surely report a lower profit this fiscal and perhaps in sales, too. Its nine-month net profits stand at Rs409.84 crore—just 27% of last year’s Rs1,492.65 crore in the first three quarters of fiscal 2008. Still, Ravi Kant said he expected a better performance in the fourth quarter as volumes pick up and margins improve. The company, which has gained due to falling commodity and oil prices, will trim expenses by up to Rs1,500 crore in the next two years. “The fourth quarter will see a greater impact (of costs cuts) than the previous three quarters put together,” he said. Tata Motors also plans to cut back a proposed Rs2,000-3,000 crore investment in capacity expansion in the next two-three years by Rs700-800 crore. There has already been plant closures at its commercial vehicle factories in Pune, Jamshedpur and Lucknow. Jairam Nath, an auto analyst at Kotak Institutional Equities, said: “We expect the company to end the current quarter with 105,000 to 110,000 units (including cars and commercial vehicles). The benefits of the softening of commodity prices will also kick in.” Tata Motors’ decline in commercial vehicles sales volumes has been better than its peers in the quarter gone by. Sales at Ashok Leyland Ltd, the country’s second-largest commercial vehicle maker, dropped 58% to 8,011 units from 18,965 units in the year-ago quarter. Net profit at the Chennai-based company slumped 84% to Rs18.80 crore for December quarter, against Rs120.20 crore in the same period the year earlier. Revenue was Rs1,000.80 crore, compared with Rs1,800 crore. Farm equipment and utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd reports its quarterly earnings on Saturday. Bloomberg contributed to this story Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:50 pm High raw material costs, wages take a toll on Bhel It’s true that tax refunds boosted profits a year ago at India’s biggest maker of electrical equipment, but the main reasons for the dismal show were higher raw material prices and additional provisions to take care of a wage revision. Raw material costs remained high in spite of steep fall in metal prices because they were using up inventory bought at the earlier high prices. Margins have fallen. With inventory at four months of indigenous materials and six months of imported materials, Bhel will be able to reap the benefits of lower metal prices only by the first quarter of the fiscal year that starts on 1 April. Additionally, a large proportion of the work done by the company during the December quarter was civil construction and balance of plant work, which is outsourced and earns low margins. The firm will be able to reap the benefits of lower metal prices only by the first quarter of the next fiscal year The company’s profit was also hit by higher provisions to take care of a wage revision. The provision for the whole year is estimated at Rs1,313 crore, of which Rs839 crore has already been disbursed. But, with the balance provision falling due in the fourth quarter, profits in the next three months will also be hit. At the same time, the management has forecast a 25-30% growth in revenue for the fiscal year ending March, well above the 17% rise in revenue in the December quarter. Will the company be able to increase revenue growth in the fourth quarter? The management points to the high amount of work-in-progress, which will be translated into revenue in the next quarter. Next year, however, is likely to be much better. Margins will improve as the effect of raw material prices kicks in. The management has been trying to increase the proportion of higher value-added boiler and turbine work in contracts, which also should raise margins. Employee expenses will not increase so rapidly, because all the wage provisions will have been made this fiscal year. And finally, there has so far been no let-up in orders. The risks include more intense competition from Chinese suppliers, as Bhel has enjoyed a measure of protection so far due to rupee depreciation. It is also trying to combat the slowdown by setting up joint ventures. One of them is with General Electric Co. for diesel locomotives, while another is with a Japanese company in the transmission business. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:48 pm Suzlon posts Q3 loss on replacement expensesMumbai: India’s biggest maker of wind turbine generators and the world’s fifth largest, Suzlon Energy Ltd, unexpectedly reported a loss in the third quarter (Q3) after making payments to replace faulty equipment and after the value of its orders declined. The company warned it expects demand to moderate in 2009 after rapid growth in recent years, as recession in major economies and falling oil prices weigh, but sees a revival from 2010. It expects revenue growth in the US to halve in the fiscal year starting April. It posted an unexpected loss of Rs58.97 crore, against a profit of Rs152 crore a year ago; sees a revival in 2010 It reported exceptional items of Rs449 crore, including Rs233 crore of costs related to blade failures in its wind turbines. It also made an additional provision of $35 million (Rs172 crore today) for its blade retrofit programme. “These are one-off, one-time events, which we will not have in this quarter. Our operating performance has improved substantially,” chief operating officer Sumant Sinha told reporters. “From the operating standpoint, the company continues to be healthy.” But Suzlon may face a slowdown in orders as falling oil prices make alternative energy sources less attractive and access to credit tightens due to the global recession. The firm’s shares had dropped 84% last year on concerns that its equipment was faulty as some US customers cancelled orders after Suzlon’s blades cracked. “Suzlon doesn’t seem to have got any big orders from June,” said Chintan Mewar, an analyst at Mumbai-based Finquest Securities Pvt. Ltd. Orders, excluding those of units, were valued at Rs10,387 crore. That compares with Rs14,050 crore the company reported on 31 October and Rs17,110 crore a year earlier. Group revenue more than doubled to Rs6,893 crore in Q3 from Rs3,169 crore in the year-ago period. “The long-term fundamentals of the wind industry remain strong,” Suzlon chairman Tulsi Tanti said in a statement. “We see an upswing in the industry’s growth from 2010.” Things look very good in the second half, especially as the company says it is pursuing orders, said Mewar of Finquest Securities, which maintained its “buy” rating on Suzlon. Suzlon shares rose nearly 6% to end at Rs47.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. The company expects its retrofit plan to end by June. It had set aside Rs590 crore for possible payments to clients who may have incurred output losses due to defective blades. Mark-to-market losses on foreign exchange contracts were Rs124 crore, Suzlon said. Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Thursday for Suzlon to Rs46.5 from Rs52.45, saying the firm may struggle to repay loans because of lower margins and fewer new orders. feedback@livemint.com Janaki Krishnan of Reuters contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:46 pm Davos Diary, Day 4: Ben Verwaayen, CEO Alcatel Lucent Many of the media events are about one issue: How bad do you think it will be? So it was a real pleasure to spend the evening with the business leaders of the telecom industry. The Egyptian telecom minister Tarek Kamel was the guest He and his team have done remarkable things in Egypt. The use of communication is booming and the focus of industry and government is aligned. The talk is about content and applications, how to get digitized Arabic content and create a whole new industry. It’s great to hear passion about how to create new opportunities. It also shows that what is really required is a focus on next steps. Ben Verwaayen talks about the mood in Davos, and the need to focus on new opportunity People are people—they want to communicate, collaborate, and know and learn. It is the essence of the digital economy, dictated by the next generation. Also Read Ben Verwaayen’s earlier columns on Davos Young people live integrated lives, demand the opportunity to be always connected and create their own space. It will drive a different set of requirements and opens up vast new economic activities. For me the most uplifting thing is that message. Click here for more news on WEF 2009 Even as the seniors here in Davos are busy analysing the depression—who is to blame, why did we get here, who said what to whom—the younger ones are talking about different issues. They are discussing how to use new technologies to reach out to those who are not yet connected, use the need for energy conservation to find new business models and technologies, and work across boundaries and cultures. I know we have to fix the basic elements of the financial crisis—the need to get banking back on its feet. But besides the cold hard facts, there is the spirit. And we need to bring that back. No better way than listening to people such as Tarek. Ben Verwaayen is chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent. Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:42 pm Davos Diary, Day 4: Ben Verwaayen, CEO Alcatel LucentMany of the media events are about one issue: How bad do you think it will be? So it was a real pleasure to spend the evening with the business leaders of the telecom industry. The Egyptian telecom minister Tarek Kamel was the guest He and his team have done remarkable things in Egypt. The use of communication is booming and the focus of industry and government is aligned. The talk is about content and applications, how to get digitized Arabic content and create a whole new industry. It’s great to hear passion about how to create new opportunities. It also shows that what is really required is a focus on next steps. Ben Verwaayen talks about the mood in Davos, and the need to focus on new opportunity People are people—they want to communicate, collaborate, and know and learn. It is the essence of the digital economy, dictated by the next generation. Also Read Ben Verwaayen’s earlier columns on Davos Young people live integrated lives, demand the opportunity to be always connected and create their own space. It will drive a different set of requirements and opens up vast new economic activities. For me the most uplifting thing is that message. Click here for more news on WEF 2009 Even as the seniors here in Davos are busy analysing the depression—who is to blame, why did we get here, who said what to whom—the younger ones are talking about different issues. They are discussing how to use new technologies to reach out to those who are not yet connected, use the need for energy conservation to find new business models and technologies, and work across boundaries and cultures. I know we have to fix the basic elements of the financial crisis—the need to get banking back on its feet. But besides the cold hard facts, there is the spirit. And we need to bring that back. No better way than listening to people such as Tarek. Ben Verwaayen is chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent. Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:42 pm Davos Diary, Day 4: Kofi Annan Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It has deepening economic implications and is a contributing factor to the background conditions that give rise to conflict. Competition for resources is intensifying and more people are forced to move. Our addiction to fossil fuels is not just bad for the environment but determines the political landscape—both internationally and within countries. Also Read Kofi Annan’s first two columns on Davos Instead of competition for access to oil and gas fields, we need competition to harness renewable energy—wind, thermal and solar. The technology exists and is getting better all the time. But the market is still too small and investment levels are hostage to the volatility of oil prices. Click here for more news on WEF 2009 Also See Africa Progress Panel It is crazy that as the world heats up both politically and literally, and evidence mounts of the negative impact of fossils fuels on life, health and food security, we are still fumbling around. We need nothing less than a global green equivalent of the Marshall Plan. This must include support—financial and technical—to support poorer countries to adapt to the effects of climate change. Without such support, there cannot be a fair solution. Any lasting agreement at Copenhagen must recognize that while the poorest 50 countries are responsible for less than 1% of emissions, they will suffer the worst impact. In the morning ,Al Gore said that in meetings with advisers, US President Barack Obama is always “the greenest person in the room”. Nothing could be more encouraging and the hopes vested in him are enormous. This is a time for decisive political leadership. But business leaders and financiers, who after all need to re-legitimize their profession as so many have said here, could do much more. The visionaries are still lone voices. We need serious commitment; I hope we hear it before Davos ends. Kofi Annan is a former secretary general of the United Nations. Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:35 pm Need to Know | Pervez Ahmed is new CEO of Max HealthcareNew Delhi: Diversified business house Max India Ltd on Friday said it has appointed Pervez Ahmed as the chief executive officer and managing director of its hospital chain subsidiary Max Healthcare. “Pervez Ahmed has been appointed CEO and managing director of Max Healthcare. Accordingly, Analjit Singh will now retain the position of chairman of Max Healthcare,” the company said in a statement. Earlier, Ahmed had served as the executive medical director of Max Healthcare during 2007-2009 and was also a part of the two-member joint leadership team, along with Mukesh Shivdasanai. —PTI ********** Production at six key industries grew 2.3% New Delhi: India’s production at six key industries, which account for a quarter of the nation’s industrial production, rose 2.3% in December from a year earlier, the government said. The index for the six key industries rose to 247.7 in November, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a release in New Delhi on Friday. Production in the nine months ended 31 December rose 3.5%, compared with a 5.9% gain a year earlier. — Bloomberg ********* Educomp Solutions gets orders worth Rs120 cr Mumbai:Educomp Solutions Ltd said on Friday it has received orders worth Rs120 crore from Uttar Pradesh and Assam governments to implement computer education in 2,042 schools in the two states. The order from Uttar Pradesh has a tenure of five years, it told the Bombay Stock Exchange. —Reuters ********* Fortis Health buys stake in Bangalore hospital Mumbai: Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd on Friday said it had acquired a majority stake in Bangalore-based Apollo RM Hospital, widening its presence in south India. Fortis did not disclose the financial details but said Apollo RM was a 100-bed multi-speciality hospital, which could be expanded to 200 beds. —Reuters ********* SC grants bail to Ansal brothers New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to the Ansal brothers—Sushil and Gopal—who were convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment in the Uphaar fire tragedy case. A bench, headed by justice S.B. Sinha, also issued notices on the cross appeals filed by the Ansals and Association of the Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy challenging the one year sentence imposed on the accused by the Delhi high court. The bench ordered that the Ansal brothers be released on the personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. —PTI ********* Daiichi Sankyo posts $3.7 bn Q3 loss Tokyo:Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd, Japan’s third largest drugmaker, posted a $3.7 billion (Rs18,130 crore) quarterly loss and forecast its first annual loss, hit by a slide in the value of its stake in India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. It also said it doubted it would be able to launch its closely watched blood thinner prasugrel, jointly developed by Eli Lilly, before April in the US. It incurred a net loss of 331.8 billion yen (Rs18,250 crore) in the three months to December, compared with a 36.2 billion yen profit a year ago. Revenues shrank 12% on a stronger yen and government mandated price cuts. Ranbaxy last week reported a net loss for the second straight quarter and also for 2008. But Daiichi Sankyo said it expects Ranbaxy to swing back into the black in 2009. —Reuters ********* Indian Oil net rises 42% in December quarter New Delhi/Mumbai: Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, the nation’s biggest refiner, said third-quarter profit rose 42%, boosted by government compensation for selling fuels at controlled prices. Net income in the three months ended 31 December rose to Rs2,960 crore from Rs2,090 crore a year earlier, New Delhi-based Indian Oil said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. Sales rose 4% to Rs60,880 crore. —Bloomberg ********* Tata Tea net falls on higher costs New Delhi: Tata Tea Ltd, the owner of brands such as Tetley, said group third-quarter profit declined 69% on higher raw material prices and a one-time gain in the year-earlier period. Net income declined to Rs396 crore in the three months ended 31 December from Rs1,290 crore a year earlier, the Kolkata, India-based Tata Tea told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. — Bloomberg ********* Ceat posts Q3 net loss; expects profit in Q4 Mumbai: Tyremaker Ceat Ltd osted a net loss of Rs21.64 crore in October-December, hit mainly by high input costs. In the year ago quarter Ceat had posted a profit of Rs19.2 crore.The company’s sales rose about 4% on year to Rs580 crore despite a slowdown in the automotive sector as Ceat has a large exposure to the auto replacement segment, said managing director Paras Chowdhary. —Reuters ********* TV18 posts Oct-Dec loss, says outlook grim Mumbai: Television Eighteen India Ltd posted a net loss for the December quarter on high interest costs and poor performance of its news and web divisions and expects the weakness to continue in the January-March quarter as well. The firm posted a consolidated net loss of Rs30.17 crore, compared with a profit of Rs8.46 crore a year ago while total revenue grew about 16% to Rs130 crore, it said late on Thursday. TV18 also said Web18 Holdings Ltd has submitted draft registration to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of American depository shares. The offer is expected to commence as market conditions permit, TV18 said, adding that the number of ADSs proposed to be offered have not yet been determined. —Reuters ********* IOB Q3 net rises 26% to Rs388.43 crore Mumbai:Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) said on Friday that its net profit for the third quarter ended 31 December rose by 26.03% to Rs388.43 crore. The company had a net profit of Rs308.18 crore for the year-ago period, the bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Its total income climbed to Rs3,204.90 crore for the quarter under review, against Rs 2,295.34 crore in the same period last fiscal. —PTI ********* Aban Offshore posts fourfold growth in Q3 Mumbai: Offshore drilling services provider Aban Offshore Ltd shore on Friday said its December quarter consolidated net profit grew fourfold to Rs256.34 crore over the corresponding period a year ago. The firm had a consolidated net profit of Rs62.20 crore in the December quarter last fiscal. —PTI ********* Pyramid Saimira posts Rs74.74 cr net loss Mumbai: Entertainment firm Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd on Friday said its net loss in the December quarter stood at Rs74.74 crore, while it had a net profit of Rs29.86 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Total income of the company also declined to Rs137.94 crore in the latest quarter from Rs231.41 crore last in the same period last fiscal, Pyramid Saimira Theatre said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. —PTI ********* Mundra Port Q3 net up 92% at Rs 100 cr Mumbai:Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd on Friday reported a 92.23% growth in net profit at Rs100.81 crore in the third quarter ended 31 December, 2008. The company had a net profit of Rs52.44 crore in the December quarter of fiscal 2008, the Adani Group-promoted Mundra Port said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. —PTI ********* OBC third quarter net rises 82% to Rs252.19 cr New Delhi: Public-sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) on Friday reported a 82.11% growth in net profit at Rs 252.19 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December. The state-run bank had a net profit of Rs138.48 crore in the year-ago period, OBC said in a statement. Its total income rose 42% to Rs2,718.20 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, from Rs 1,915.28 crore in the corresponding year-ago period. —PTI ********* GMR Infra Q3 net down 36% to Rs40.84 cr Mumbai:GMR Infrastructure Ltd on Friday said its consolidated net profit dipped 36.25% to Rs 40.84 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December. The company had a net profit of Rs64.07 crore for the same quarter FY in the year-ago period, GMR Infrastructure said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. —PTI ********* Hindalco profit beats estimates after slashing Mumbai:Hindalco Industries Ltd, India’s biggest aluminum producer, posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit after slashing costs amid a drop in metal prices. Net income, excluding unit Novelis Inc., was little changed at Rs545 crore in the three months to 31 December, the company said Friday in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. As of 31 December, Hindalco had a mark-to-market loss of Rs323 crore on derivative instruments related to hedging transactions. —Bloomberg ********* Indiabulls real estate Q3 net dips 96% to Rs11 cr Mumbai:Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd on Friday reported a 96.25% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs11.32 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2008. The company had a net profit of Rs 302.26 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007. Total income of the company on a consolidated basis decreased to Rs 95.28 crore for the December quarter of this fiscal from Rs 491.81 crore a year ago, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. —PTI ********* PNB net up 86% to Rs1,006 cr in Q3 New Delhi: State-run Punjab National Bank on Friday reported 85.76% growth in net profit at Rs1,005.82 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December. The country’s second largest public sector lender had a net profit of Rs541.45 crore in the December quarter, PNB said in a statement. The bank’s net interest margin stood at 3.85% at the end of December 2008. —PTI ********* Omaxe net dips 96.17% to Rs5.89 crore Mumbai: Real estate developer Omaxe Ltd on Friday reported a 96.17% decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs5.89 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December. The firm had a net profit of Rs154.16 crore in the third quarter of the 2008 fiscal, Omaxe said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. —PTI ********* Sun Pharma Q3 net profit up 28% Mumbai:Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd posted a 28% growth in net profit for the third quarter, missing analysts’ expectations as higher sales in Europe and India were tempered by slowing revenues from the US. Net profit increased to Rs408.64 crore in the October-December period, from Rs318 crore in the year-ago quarter, the company said in a statement. Five sector analysts polled by Mint had predicted more than a 40% growth in Sun Pharma’s third-quarter net profit due to an expanded generic portfolio coupled with a change in the product mix in favour of high margin exports. Sun Pharma’s overall sales increased 14% to Rs918 crore from Rs804 crore earlier, though its US revenues were affected slightly because of a fall in the sales of its key gastric disorder drug Pantaprazole. Sales in non-US markets including India and Europe grew at 38% during the quarter, a Sun Pharma spokesman said. —C.H. Unnikrishnan ********* Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:33 pm L&T rides on orders, sale of concrete unitMumbai: India’s biggest engineering company, Larsen and Toubro Ltd, said third-quarter profit more than tripled as it built more roads, bridges and factories, and sold its ready-mix concrete business. On increasing its stake in Satyam Computer Services Ltd, chief financial officer Y.M. Deosthalee told CNBC TV18 on Friday that the company had not raised its holding beyond 12%, nor had it written to the government expressing interest about getting control of the outsourcer. Net profit in the quarter ended 31 December rose to Rs1,520 crore from Rs482 crore a year earlier, L&T said in a statement. The sale of its concrete business to Lafarge SA for Rs916 crore in May helped L&T boost working capital and back an order book forecast to expand 35% this year. Revenue will likely rise 30% in the next fiscal year, helped by a 15% to 20% gain in orders, president operations J.P. Nayak told reporters after the results were announced. Reuters contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jan 2009 | 5:28 pm AP govt in dock for awarding road project to MaytasThe Andhra Pradesh government is in the dock for awarding Rs 121 crore road project to beleaguered Maytas Infrastructure just 20 days before Ramalinga Raju\'s confession of fraud and that too on nomination basis.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 4:55 pm Peninsula Land pledges 25% promoter stake with HDFCPeninsula Land has pledged 25% of its promoter\'s equity to HDFC. Promoters hold a nearly 54% in the company out of this 14% equity is pledged with HDFC. This is a secondary security in addition to the land and building.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 4:51 pm Slowdown blues: IT cos may slash variable payThe challenging business environment is forcing IT companies to slash variable pay components of their employees. This means employees could be staring at pay cuts.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 4:39 pm Maytas director C.S. Bansal quitsC.S. Bansal Friday resigned as director of Maytas Infra Limited, the firm promoted by disgraced founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju and his family.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jan 2009 | 4:30 pm Bombay HC lifts interim stay on KG D6 gas saleIn the RILRNRL case, Bombay High Court has modified interim order on sale of KG D6 gas. Interim order stay is lifted till final judgment passed. RIL will be allowed to sell gas in the interim period at $4.2/mmbtu. The judgement is exepcted by midMarch.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jan 2009 | 4:09 pm Indian Oil posts Rs.37-bn loss in first nine monthsState-run oil major Indian Oil Corp (IOC) posted losses amounting to about Rs.37 billion (Rs.3,700 crore) in the first nine months of this fiscal, but hopes to end the year in the black as the government is expected to issue more oil bonds, said IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jan 2009 | 3:32 pm Delhi summit aims to push global climate treatyThe Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) here next week is expected to give some momentum to negotiations to arrive at a global treaty to combat climate change by the end of the year, chief of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change R.K. Pachauri said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jan 2009 | 3:30 pm Court says Reliance Ind can sell KG basin gasMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Bombay High Court has allowed Reliance Industries to sell gas from its KG basin fields, pending judgement in the company's contract dispute case with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, lawyers said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 3:29 pm Tata Motors slips to loss; no date for Nano launchMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd, India's top truck and bus maker which last year bought the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, posted an unexpected loss in the December quarter but said on Friday the worst appeared to have passed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 3:26 pm Spice joins race for fraud-hit SatyamNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The race to acquire Satyam Computer Services, the outsourcing firm snared in India's biggest corporate scandal, heated up as diversified Spice Group offered to buy a 51 percent stake, joining other potential bidders.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 1:03 pm RBI should ease policy rates more - JP MorganMUMBAI (Reuters) - Real policy rates in India are now way higher than when growth was at its peak in 2008 and the RBI should ease policy more as inflation expectations are benign, JP Morgan's chief economist in India said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jan 2009 | 12:45 pm
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