|
|
|
|
`Subhiksha to finish CDR in April`!Cash-strapped retail chain Subhiksha on Tuesday said its ongoing corporate debt restructuring (CDR) will have to end by July this year "at any rate", although it expects the process to be completed before April-end.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm Goldman Sachs beats forecasts, to raise $5 bn!Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted much higher-than-expected first-quarter profit as it took more trading risk, and said it plans a USD 5 billion common share sale to help pay back government funds.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm DGCA advises airlines to manage pilot fatigue!DGCA has told domestic air operators to adhere to flight duty time limitations (FDTL) and also train flight crew to overcome fatigue and avoid any incident in which the safety of passengers is compromised.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm SFIO submits Satyam fraud report to govt!The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is believed to have completed the investigation of the Satyam-fraud case and submitted its report to the government.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm Sensex touches 11,000-point mark for first time in 18 months !The Bombay Stock Exchange`s Sensex on Monday touched the 11,000-point mark for the first time in over 18 months.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm British Telecom backs Tech Mahindra Satyam deal!BT Group Plc, the British telecommunications carrier that holds 31 percent of Tech Mahindra Ltd, said it backed its affiliate`s plan to acquire a stake in scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm Qantas says `no choice` as it cuts jobs, profit!Australia`s Qantas announced more job cuts, slashed its profit forecast by more than half and deferred new plane orders, saying it had no choice if it hoped to weather the global downturn.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm SEBI tightens investment norms, puts cap of 30% for debt invt!Market regulator SEBI on Monday imposed a ceiling of 30 percent on resources a mutual fund can invest in the debt instruments of a single entity, a move that will help asset managers to diversify risks.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:08 pm Jaiprakash to raise cement capacity sharplyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jaiprakash Associates said it will nearly double its installed cement-making capacity to 25 million tonnes a year by 2010, and then raise it by more than a third the following year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:51 am Sumitomo, Bhushan in talks on India steel plantMUMBAI/TOKYO (Reuters) - India's Bhushan Steel said it and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Industries were in talks on building a steel plant in India, highlighting Japanese mills' continued interest in growth markets overseas.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:50 am Goldman profit beats forecasts, Singapore devalues dollarNew York / Singapore: Goldman Sachs’ first-quarter profit beat forecasts, a further sign that the worst may be over for financial firms in the eye of the storm, but Singapore devalued its currency after a record GDP fall. Banking shares in Asia rose on optimism about the US financial sector after Goldman’s earnings while markets such as Hong Kong and Australia also climbed as they played catch up after the Easter holiday. But other Asian bourses were mixed and US stocks ended little changed amid concerns that profits will be slow to recover elsewhere as economies struggle to resume growth. US President Barack Obama said efforts to stimulate the US economy with infrastructure projects were “ahead of schedule and under budget”, but data highlighted the size of the challenges policymakers face in reviving trade and growth. Gross domestic product in trade-dependent Singapore fell at a seasonally adjusted, annualised pace of 19.7% in first three months of the year, the ministry of trade said on Tuesday. The city-state’s central bank responded to the weak GDP data and soft export figures by easing monetary policy by effectively devaluing the Singapore dollar. “Given all these horrendous numbers, this policy change is not a big surprise. It is reflecting the free fall in external demand,” said Song Seng Wun, economist at Malaysian bank CIMB in Singapore. Qantas profit to nosedive Companies are also suffering as the worst financial crisis since the 1930s restricts access to credit and hammers consumer confidence. Facing slumping passenger demand and rising competition, Qantas Airways Ltd, Australia’s top airline, slashed its full-year pre-tax profit forecast by more than half and announced further capacity and job cuts, sending its shares down as much as 11%. “We have faced accelerated declines in passenger demand and revenue while market competition has intensified,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said. “Qantas’ revenues have come under severe pressure, so it would be irresponsible to rely solely on stimulating demand through attractive pricing given the potential for unprecedented reductions in yield,” he added. The news from companies was by no means universally grim, however. After the closing bell on Wall Street on Monday, Goldman Sachs comfortably beat forecasts by posting first-quarter earnings of $1.66 billion, helped by strong trading revenue. Goldman said it planned to raise $5 billion of common shares and use the proceeds, plus additional funds, to repay the $10 billion of capital it got from the US government under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. That helped boost the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.3%, though a profit warning from plane maker Boeing and fears about a possible bankruptcy at General Motors Corp weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average. “The market is cheering, not so much that the banks are on the mend but that they are not going to die,” said Les Satlow, portfolio manager of Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts. “My view is that a key crisis phase of this economic downturn is behind us.” Encouraging signs There were even some signs of improvement among the weak Singapore data. While total non-oil exports fell 17% in March from a a year earlier, an 11th straight decline, the rate of fall slowed from January and February. And significantly, shipments to China rose for the second month running, offering signs that the world’s third-largest economy may be headed for a recovery. “The 17% drop in trade is a sign that exports are bottoming and consistent with the picture we’ve seen in major regional exporters like South Korea and Taiwan. China has also turned around,” said David Cohen at Action Economics in Singapore. “Taken together, it seems that the first quarter will be the worst and things will start to get better. The trade data is certainly encouraging.” US retail sales and producer prices later on Tuesday will provide a further clue as to the state of the world’s largest economy and are expected to show a slight rise in retail sales last month. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:42 am Sprite IPL campaign to feature Shahrukh Khan, Sourav GangulyNew Delhi: Beverages major Coca-Cola India Tuesday announced a new communication initiative for its sparkling drink brand Sprite featuring Bollywood star and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) promoter Shahrukh Khan and cricket star Sourav Ganguly. The campaign will be launched during the second season of the IPL Twenty20 cricket tournament in South Africa starting from April 18, Coca-Cola India said in a statement. “As part of brand Sprite’s 360 degree communication plans, Shahrukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar and owner Kolkata Knight Riders, Saurav Ganguly, the captain of KKR and other members of the team, including Murali Karthik and Ajit Agarkar would feature in a new campaign to be aired during the IPL,” it said. Sprite is an associate sponsor and the official ‘pouring partner’ of the KKR IPL franchise team. The campaign would include mass media, besides leveraging out-of-home media through special location specific creatives. In addition, Sprite and Nokia has launched a ‘Para´ (neighborhood) cricket series in Kolkata. Eleven players from contest would be taken to South Africa to cheer for KKR, it added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:31 am Spectrum for military should be given priority: Army chiefThe military requirement for radio frequency or spectrum has to be given priority to deal with security issues, the Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:30 am GM to recall 1.5 million autosWashington: Troubled US automaker General Motors has informed watchdogs it will have to recall close to 1.5 million cars amid concerns they could catch fire, local media reported. Television network CNN said the firm had reported a potential fuel leak in some autos built between 1997 and 2003. The recall includes certain models from GM’s Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac brands. The Detroit-based firm — which already faces bankruptcy proceedings — said the fault could see oil leak on the exhaust manifold during hard braking. On March 30, the US government gave GM, which has received 13.4 billion dollars in public aid, 60 days to come up with an aggressive restructuring plan to be eligible for further aid the company says it needs to avoid collapse. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:21 am Rupee moving towards key resistance range - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:19 am EU starts action against Britain over data privacyBrussels: The European Commission started legal action against Britain on Tuesday for what the EU executive called a failure to keep people’s online details confidential. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the action related to how Internet service providers used Phorm technology to send subscribers tailor-made advertisements based on websites visited. Britain has two months to respond to the charges, a Commission spokesman said. BT admitted in April last year that it had tested Phorm in 2006 and 2007 without telling its customers, the Commission said. The trials sparked “snooping” accusations from privacy groups and concern from the founder of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, but found support from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom. Phorm told Reuters earlier this month it was delighted with the trials it had held in Britain and that it was in talks on further international expansion through joint ventures and did not fear regulatory intervention. Reding said Internet users in Britain had complained about the way the UK applied EU rules on privacy and electronic communications that were meant to prohibit interception and surveillance without the user’s consent. “Technologies like Internet behavioural advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules,” Reding said in a statement. “We have been following the Phorm case for some time and have concluded that there are problems in the way the UK has implemented parts of the EU rules on the confidentiality of communications,” Reding said. BT carried out new, invitation-based trials of Phorm in the final quarter of 2008 that resulted in a number of complaints, the Commission said. Phorm has said it is in talks with two other British Internet service providers, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse, and has launched a South Korean trial. The European Union executive said it was concerned that under UK rules, interception was lawful when the service provider had reasonable grounds to believe consent had been given. “The Commission is also concerned that the UK does not have an independent national supervisory authority dealing with such interceptions,” the Commission said. Reding called on Britain to change its national laws to ensure there were proper sanctions to enforce EU confidentiality rules. Unless Britain complies, Reding has the power to issue a final warning before taking the country to the 27-nation EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice. If it rules in favour of the European Commission, the court can force Britain to change its laws. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:18 am EU starts action against Britain over data privacyBrussels: The European Commission started legal action against Britain on Tuesday for what the EU executive called a failure to keep people’s online details confidential. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the action related to how Internet service providers used Phorm technology to send subscribers tailor-made advertisements based on websites visited. Britain has two months to respond to the charges, a Commission spokesman said. BT admitted in April last year that it had tested Phorm in 2006 and 2007 without telling its customers, the Commission said. The trials sparked “snooping” accusations from privacy groups and concern from the founder of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, but found support from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom. Phorm told Reuters earlier this month it was delighted with the trials it had held in Britain and that it was in talks on further international expansion through joint ventures and did not fear regulatory intervention. Reding said Internet users in Britain had complained about the way the UK applied EU rules on privacy and electronic communications that were meant to prohibit interception and surveillance without the user’s consent. “Technologies like Internet behavioural advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules,” Reding said in a statement. “We have been following the Phorm case for some time and have concluded that there are problems in the way the UK has implemented parts of the EU rules on the confidentiality of communications,” Reding said. BT carried out new, invitation-based trials of Phorm in the final quarter of 2008 that resulted in a number of complaints, the Commission said. Phorm has said it is in talks with two other British Internet service providers, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse, and has launched a South Korean trial. The European Union executive said it was concerned that under UK rules, interception was lawful when the service provider had reasonable grounds to believe consent had been given. “The Commission is also concerned that the UK does not have an independent national supervisory authority dealing with such interceptions,” the Commission said. Reding called on Britain to change its national laws to ensure there were proper sanctions to enforce EU confidentiality rules. Unless Britain complies, Reding has the power to issue a final warning before taking the country to the 27-nation EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice. If it rules in favour of the European Commission, the court can force Britain to change its laws. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:18 am India Raw-Sugar Imports to Top Target on Duty Removal - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:14 am EC bans opinion, exit polls till last phase of LS electionsNew Delhi: With a day left for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday banned dissemination of results of opinion and exit polls by the media. The ban comes into effect from 3:00pm on Tuesday and has been brought in the wake of a Supreme Court order, the EC announced. The EC had earlier issued guidelines which had made it clear that results of opinion and exit polls carried out any time “cannot be published, publicized or disseminated in any manner, during the period starting from 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in the first phase.” The ban would remain in force till the conclusion of poll in the last phase of elections, the EC said. The last phase of polling is on May 13 and the counting of votes is on May 16. Acting on the Supreme Court order, the Commission had issued detailed guidelines on 17 February for publication and dissemination of results of opinion and exit polls. The ban applies to electronic media including radio and television both government owned and private and covers satellite, DTH, terrestrial and cable channels. Dissemination included publication in any newspaper, magazine or periodical or display on electronic media or circulation by means of any pamphlet, poster, placard, handbill or any other document, the guidelines said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:12 am Delhi's new terminal to start operations April 19The new domestic terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will start commercial operations April 19, it was announced Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:01 am Delhi's new terminal to start operations April 19The new domestic terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will start commercial operations April 19, it was announced Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:00 am ITC Welcomgroup to hire 4,000 people in four yearsHotel chain major ITC Welcomgroup will hire around 4,000 people in the next four years, taking the total number of employees to 14,000, a top official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 10:00 am IT firms to post muted results, face headwindsBANGALORE (Reuters) - India's top software services outsourcers are set to report a small drop in quarter-on-quarter profit as clients squeeze orders and prices in a downturn and theSource: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:56 am Pantaloon March sales up 30%, to open more storesMumbai: Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group firm Pantaloon Retail India has witnessed an over 30% rise in sales from its value, home and lifestyle retailing segments in March 2009 against sales clocked in the same year-ago period. The BSE-listed company’s three segments put together generated sales worth Rs574.56 crore last month, against Rs441.23 crore in February 2008, up by 30.22%, Pantaloon Retail India (PRIL) said in a statement. Biyani, who operates close to 12 million sq ft of retail space pan-India, plans to open eight Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar stores by the end of next month. PRIL, however, saw negative 10.29% growth in same-store sales in home retailing last month, over March’08. Home Solutions Retail (India), an unlisted entity and a wholly-owned subsidiary of PRIL, runs the home retailing (and home electronics) stores - Home Town, Furniture Bazaar, eZone, Electronics Bazaar, and Collection i. Between July and March, sales from the Group’s three retail segments jumped by 32.47% at Rs5,702.20 crore over the same year-ago period. While it’s peers have been struggling with lower footfalls, shrinking sales and tight liquidity, Future Group seems to have bucked the trend by introducing shopping festivals and heavy discounts in December and January. “One Pantaloons Fresh Fashion store is scheduled to open in the month of May,“ the company said, adding two eZone and a HomeTown store would be rolled out by end-May. The group plans to raise about Rs1,500 crore through a mix of preferential allotment of shares to promoters and private equity funding to fuel future growth plans. Also, in a realignment exercise, the Board of Directors of PRIL proposed to set up multiple subsidiaries to focus on specific business segments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:51 am ELECTION - Reuters poll sees new govt not lasting full termNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's new government will not last its full term after the April/May general election and the country could face uncertainty after two or three years, a Reuters poll of 14 leading analysts has predicted.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:50 am Wrigley ties up with all IPL teamsNew Delhi: The world’s biggest gum company Wrigley today announced its sponsorship tie-up with all the eight franchise teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the second edition of the T-20 tournament starting in South Africa from April 18. “Wrigley has entered into separate sponsorship agreements with the eight IPL franchise teams. Our sugar free brand ‘Orbit’ would be the official ‘gum sponsor’ of all the teams and ‘Boomer’ would be the official bubble gum sponsor,” Wrigley India Pvt Ltd MD Gautam Sharma told reporters here. He said the deals would be complimented by various promotional and advertising initiatives including special contests and prizes, fan trips to South Africa, electronic and print media campaigns and so on. “We hope it will be a win-win partnership for both Wrigley and the IPL franchise teams. We expect our brands, which are already popular, to be further liked by the consumer following this,” Sharma said. Wrigley has a portfolio of eight brands in India including Boomer, Orbit, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit and claims a market share of over 50 per cent in the estimated Rs 1,000 crore Indian chewing gum market. “We sell 10 million pieces of gum every day and have a presence in 1.2 million retail stores across 2,000 towns and cities in India. The IPL initiative would further boost reach,” Sharma added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:48 am UK Stocks Advance, Led by Banks; Barclays, RBS, Xstrata Gain - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:38 am Pantaloon March sales up 30%, to roll out more stores - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:30 am Cisco to set up R&D centre, invest in S.KoreaSEOUL (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc plans to set up a research centre in South Korea and invest or lend $500 million in the country's technology and telecom sectors, the Korean presidential office said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:19 am Entrepreneurship and IndiaThis week we bring you our third installment of the Academic Expat Series.  In this show he speaks to Aruna Viswanatha about some of his observations relating to attitudes towards entrepreneurship, the Indian business environment, life as an expat in New Delhi and why he chose to stay on in India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:13 am Europe shares gain early as banks, commods riseLondon: European equities climbed on Tuesday after trade resumed following the Easter break, with banks gaining ground after strong earnings from Goldman Sachs and miners tracking firmer metals prices. At 2:00pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares rose 1.1% to 786.53 points after closing 2.1% higher on Thursday. The index recorded its fifth weekly gain in a row last week, which was shortened by the Good Friday holiday. European banks jumped 5.4% to a 3-month high, about 78% above their March low, as Goldman’s better-than-expected first-quarter profit added to confidence the sector may be through the worst, analysts said. Goldman’s strong results on Monday came after Wells Fargo said last week that it expected to post a record $3 billion first-quarter profit. Barclays spiked 16%, also helped by a weekend report it would listen to offers for its asset management arm BGI after its sale of iShares on Thursday. Lloyds was up 8.9%, Natixis rose 11.8%, Commerzbank gained 11.3% and Royal Bank of Scotland was up 7.6%. “The financials were the main reason behind the last twelve months of pain, so it is only right that investors look to these heavyweights to lead us back up,” said Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities. Miners got strength from higher metals prices, with copper rising 2%, nickel up 5% and zinc gaining 1.7%, BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources rose 3.2-7.9%. Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were 0.5-0.7% higher. Cautious approach Some analysts remained cautious in spite of a rally in financial stocks, saying more corporate results in Europe in the coming weeks would set the near-term market tone. “The Goldman figures are remarkably good but bank results are mercurial and you have to pick through them carefully. It’s not going to be pretty reading on the corporate results front this quarter,” said Justin Urquhart Stewart, finance director at Seven Investment Management. “I would expect a couple of quarters of negative news until people start rebuilding inventories. Bad news on results should not come as a surprise but it will be used as an excuse to mark down shares,” he said. Philips’ results on Tuesday reminded investors that the earnings season was expected to remain uncertain. The company said it would accelerate restructuring measures in the second quarter after its first-quarter numbers missed expectations. Political risk also resurfaced with North Korea saying it was no longer bound by an international nuclear disarmament deal and would re-start its plant that makes weapons-grade plutonium after the United Nations chastised it for launching a long range rocket. Energy stocks were under pressure as crude oil prices fell 1%, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol and Total shed between 0.6 and 2.3%. Royal Dutch Shell said it was holding discussions with Chinese state oil firms to jointly bid for oil projects in Iraq. The oil major has said it wants to expand its presence in the vast fuel retail and refining businesses in China. Royal Dutch shares were down 0.9%. Investors awaited US retail sales and producer price data, due at 6:00pm, that may shed further light on the state of the world’s biggest economy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:11 am Choppers outfly jets in campaign despite high costsThe Indian politician is flying high. Despite the economic slowdown, more and more candidates for the parliamentary election are hiring helicopters, spending as much as Rs.100,000 an hour.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 9:09 am Indian IT firms’ quarterly profit likely to fallBangalore: India’s top software services outsourcers are set to report a small drop in quarter-on-quarter profit as clients squeeze orders and prices in a downturn and the industry’s growth is set to slow even further. The country’s $60 billion sector, which provide an array of services from software coding to managing computer networks and call centres, face headwinds such as weak demand, cut-rate prices and rising competition from global rivals such as IBM. US and European corporate technology chiefs expect to cut IT spending by an average of 5.1% this year, according to a UBS survey released last week. “Demand environment remains very challenging with no signs of recovery yet,” Surendra Goyal and Vishal Agarwal of Citigroup wrote in a report last week. “Longer term, we wait for stability in business before becoming more positive on the sector.” The outsourcing sector has also been dented by a large accounting fraud at Satyam Computer Services. Mid-sized Indian outsourcer Tech Mahindra won an auction on Monday to take a controlling stake in Satyam. After the acquisition, Tech Mahindra will become the country’s fourth-largest IT services exporter, and could be in a stronger position to compete for large deals with leader Tata Consultancy Services, second-ranked Infosys Technologies and third-ranked Wipro. Infosys, seen as a trend-setter, kicks off the sector’s results on Wednesday, followed by Tata Consultancy and Wipro. Infosys is likely to forecast a 4% decline to flat growth in dollar revenue for the fiscal year 2009/10, brokerage JM Financial said. Investors will focus on software firms’ forecast for the year that began on 1 April, and comments on project cancellations or postponements and changes to their headcount. An army of low-cost English-speaking engineers has driven an outsourcing boom in India, but turmoil in global markets and a recession in the United States, which accounts for more than half the sector’s revenue, have halted the scorching pace of growth. Analysts said Satyam’s sale, just three months after the firm sent shockwaves in the sector with a $1 billion-plus accounting fraud, will help restore confidence of clients and investors. Last month, Infosys chief financial officer V. Balakrishnan told Reuters the company was seeing a slowdown in new outsourcing contracts but has had no large-scale cancellations. A weaker rupee, which fell nearly 4% versus the dollar in Jan-March quarter after dropping 19% in 2008, would have given some buffer to profit margins of software exporters. But analysts do not expect the rupee to prop up companies’ margins further. “Going forward, we remain cautious on the margin prospects of the Indian IT companies on account of the poor global business climate and do not expect any meaningful improvement,” said Harit Shah, a sector analyst with Angel Broking. Shares in Infosys, valued in the market at more than $16 billion, rose 19% in Jan-March and Tata Consultancy gained 13%, outperforming a 2.6% advance in the sector index and 0.6% in the main index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 8:57 am Asian shares rally but uncertainty lurks aheadHong Kong: Asian shares rose to a six-month high on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs’ stronger-than-expected profit signalled the worst could be behind for US banks, but plenty of concerns about the global economy still remain. European shares were set to gain at the start of the trading week for some markets after the long Easter weekend. However, other markets signalled far less optimism. The yen, which tends to benefit from safe-haven trades, gained broadly. Whether a rally for Asian stocks outside Japan - up now more than 30% since their 2009 low on 4 March - can be sustained remains in doubt, with analysts saying the full brunt of the global recession has yet to be reflected. Singapore devalued its currency after posting on Tuesday its worst quarterly economic contraction ever, while a forecast for weaker demand for oil by the International Energy Agency sent crudes tumbling to below $50 a barrel. Asian automaker shares slid on worries over the fate of General Motors Corp, helping send Japan’s Nikkei average down 0.9%. “If GM were to go bankrupt, that would raise questions about what would happen to Japanese auto-parts makers and Japanese automakers’ dealer networks. The implications are broad,” said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities. “Although the financial sector seems to have seen the worst, a recovery for manufacturers has been slow and worries remain.” Still, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose at one point on Tuesday to its highest since mid-October. The MSCI gauge rose 2% as of 11:30am, as major markets such as in Hong Kong and Australia added more than 2% each in their return to trade after a four-day weekend. The gains came after Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Monday posted much higher-than-expected first-quarter profit as it took more trading risk, and said it plans a $5 billion common share sale to help pay back government funds. The results followed Wells Fargo announcement last week that it expects to report a record first-quarter profit. Though Goldman and Wells Fargo did not suffer as much as other U.S. financial firms, at least they were seen providing some signs the US banking industry is finally stabilising after months of credit-related losses. Markets in South Korea, Taiwan and Shanghai posted more modest gains. Not so fast? A further wave of global earnings results this week could steer markets, including those from beleaguered Citigroup and US blue chip General Electric, both on due Friday. It could be rough for some sectors. Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six year as Australia’s biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition. The fate of US auto makers also remains a concern. The New York Times reported late on Sunday that the US Treasury Department was directing GM to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing should it fail to reach give-back deals with stakeholders by a deadline set by the Obama administration. That hit shares in automakers such as Japan’s Toyota Motor and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor on Tuesday. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty out there, so many players are staying on the sidelines and we’re seeing some one-time profit-taking,” said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. Oil prices remained below $50 a barrel after falling 56 cents to $49.48 a barrel after the International Energy Agency forecast world oil demand will dive by a hefty 2.4 million barrels per day in 2009 given the global recession. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 8:57 am Qantas heads towards first H2 loss in six yearsSYDNEY (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six years and unveiled capacity and job cuts as Australia's biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 8:42 am Reliance cuts FCCU run rate due to defect - sourcesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd is operating its 200,000-240,000 bpd fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its old plant in Western India at 60-70 percent capacity after a minor defect showed up in the unit, trade sources said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 8:28 am Tech Mahindra joins India's top tier with SatyamMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tech Mahindra won a bidding auction for a majority stake in fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd, edging out Larsen & Toubro, seen by some analysts as the favourite bidder.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2009 | 7:17 am India has highest number of underweight children: World BankMumbai: India’s higher economic growth has not translated into a superior nutritional status for the country’s women and children, as the country houses the highest number of underweight children globally, the World Bank has said. “The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world,” the bank said in its publication, ‘The World Bank in India.’ “Despite experiencing unprecedented economic growth during the last decade, South Asia, including India, has the highest rates of malnutrition and the largest numbers of undernourished in the world,” it said. Citing estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it said about 49% of the world’s underweight children, 34% of the world’s stunted children and 46 per cent of the world’s wasted children, live in India. The prevalence of malnutrition varies across states, demographic and socio-economic groups, with scheduled tribes and scheduled castes ranking highest among all. “Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand have the highest malnutrition rates,” it said, adding that even in urban areas, a third of the children are underweight. “Over the past decade, progress in reducing malnutrition in India has been limited; in fact anaemia has increased,” it said. While poverty is often the underlying cause of malnutrition in children, the superior economic growth experienced by South Asian countries compared to those in Sub-Saharan Africa, has not translated into superior nutritional status for the South Asian child. “Income inequality could help explain what average economic growth figures may conceal, yet inequality is not significantly worse in South Asia than in Africa,” the Bank said. Besides, low birth in children, undernourishment and anaemia in Indian women and poor household hygiene are some of the issues that need to be dealt with, the World Bank said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 7:13 am Corporate India may post 77% PAT growth in FY10: CMIEMumbai: Recession-hit corporate India may not have done well in terms of profit after tax (PAT) growth in the previous fiscal, but FY10 could see it clocking a robust over 77% growth in PAT, an economic think-tank forecast in its latest report. “India Inc is expected to post a robust 77.9% growth in PAT in 2009-10,” the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), said in a report. This would be a substantial growth, considering that the December 2008 quarter witnessed a sharp 39.7% decline in the same on account of a sudden and steep fall in commodity prices, poor export demand, high cost of borrowings and inventory losses incurred by a host of companies, the report said. CMIE attributes this projected high growth to expectation that the petroleum products sector would return to profit from March 2009 quarter. The sector had incurred losses during April-December 2008 due to under-recoveries and had eaten away more than one-third of the profits of the rest of corporate India, the report said. “Excluding the petroleum product sector, the rest of Indian corporates are expected to report a 23.1% rise in aggregate PAT in 2009-10,” CMIE said. On the sales side, the CMIE expects corporate India to post a 7.4% rise in FY10, with the same plunging into negative territory in the first half of the current fiscal. This fall was likely to come mainly on account of the aggravation of Year-on-Year fall in prices, the report said, adding that, “the manufacturing sector is likely to report a 11-12% decline in sales in the first half of FY10.” On the other hand, sales growth of the non-financial services was likely to be in the range of 16-19%, lower than the preceding quarters, the CMIE said. Sectors such as banking, construction and electricity were expected to remain isolated from the impact of global slowdown, it said. The sales growth of corporate India would pick-up in the second half and would lead to a 7.4% rise in sales for 2009-10, the CMIE said in its report. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 7:07 am Tech Mahindra joins India's top tier with Satyam - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:45 am Qantas heads towards first H2 loss in six yearsSydney: Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six years and unveiled capacity and job cuts as Australia’s biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition. Qantas, which like many other airlines is suffering from the global economic downturn, also said its full-year pre-tax profit may be down as much as 80% from a previous estimate. The surprise announcement knocked off 11% from its shares initially, before they recovered ground. Many airlines, worldwide, have announced job cuts to reduce costs, with British Airways BA predicting last month it was heading towards a second year of operating losses and announcing further job cuts. Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-largest airline by market value, posted a 43% drop in quarterly profit in February and flagged further potential scale back of flights and capacity reductions to cope with the downturn. “We have faced accelerated declines in passenger demand and revenue while market competition has intensified,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said in a statement. The airline now expects profit before tax of between A$100-200 million ($73-146 million) for the year ending on 30 June, down from around A$500 million it had forecast in November. It cited a “rapid and significant” deterioration of trading conditions in the past few weeks. “People were expecting numbers lower than the guidance of A$500 million, but this is lower than anyone has forecast,” said Michael Maughan, senior analyst at Australian fund manager Tyndall Investment Management. In the first half ended 31 December, Qantas reported a profit before tax of A$288 million. That would mean it is expecting a loss of as much as A$188 million in the second half. Qantas confirmed it was expecting a second-half pre-tax loss. Rough Weather World airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the global downturn that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated at the end of March. On Monday, shares in Boeing Co sank more than 6% after the group said cuts in output of widebody planes and lower-than-expected airplane prices would reduce first-quarter earnings by about 38 cents a share. Qantas said it would defer aircraft orders for four Airbus A380s and twelve Boeing 737-800s, and said it was also talking with Boeing about cutting the number of 787-800 planes to be delivered in the near term. The airline said it would reduce capital expenditure by at least A$800 million in 2009/2010, lower flying capacity by a further 5% and remove an additional 500 management positions. Last month, Qantas announced it would shed 90 top management positions, adding to 1,500 job cuts announced last year. “In terms of overall business traffic, we are seeing a drop of somewhere between 15 and 20%, depending on the route,” Qantas Chief Financial Officer, Colin Storrie, told a news conference. Analysts welcomed the steps Qantas was taking but said it would be a long grind. “Doing nothing is not an option in an environment like this...but it’s still going to have to work quite hard to deliver it,” Tyndall Investment Management’s Maughan said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:43 am Qantas heads towards first H2 loss in six yearsSydney: Qantas Airways Ltd forecast on Tuesday its first second-half loss in six years and unveiled capacity and job cuts as Australia’s biggest airline battles a slump in passenger demand and rising competition. Qantas, which like many other airlines is suffering from the global economic downturn, also said its full-year pre-tax profit may be down as much as 80% from a previous estimate. The surprise announcement knocked off 11% from its shares initially, before they recovered ground. Many airlines, worldwide, have announced job cuts to reduce costs, with British Airways BA predicting last month it was heading towards a second year of operating losses and announcing further job cuts. Singapore Airlines, the world’s second-largest airline by market value, posted a 43% drop in quarterly profit in February and flagged further potential scale back of flights and capacity reductions to cope with the downturn. “We have faced accelerated declines in passenger demand and revenue while market competition has intensified,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said in a statement. The airline now expects profit before tax of between A$100-200 million ($73-146 million) for the year ending on 30 June, down from around A$500 million it had forecast in November. It cited a “rapid and significant” deterioration of trading conditions in the past few weeks. “People were expecting numbers lower than the guidance of A$500 million, but this is lower than anyone has forecast,” said Michael Maughan, senior analyst at Australian fund manager Tyndall Investment Management. In the first half ended 31 December, Qantas reported a profit before tax of A$288 million. That would mean it is expecting a loss of as much as A$188 million in the second half. Qantas confirmed it was expecting a second-half pre-tax loss. Rough Weather World airlines are set to lose $4.7 billion this year as a result of the global downturn that has shrunk passenger and cargo demand, industry body The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated at the end of March. On Monday, shares in Boeing Co sank more than 6% after the group said cuts in output of widebody planes and lower-than-expected airplane prices would reduce first-quarter earnings by about 38 cents a share. Qantas said it would defer aircraft orders for four Airbus A380s and twelve Boeing 737-800s, and said it was also talking with Boeing about cutting the number of 787-800 planes to be delivered in the near term. The airline said it would reduce capital expenditure by at least A$800 million in 2009/2010, lower flying capacity by a further 5% and remove an additional 500 management positions. Last month, Qantas announced it would shed 90 top management positions, adding to 1,500 job cuts announced last year. “In terms of overall business traffic, we are seeing a drop of somewhere between 15 and 20%, depending on the route,” Qantas Chief Financial Officer, Colin Storrie, told a news conference. Analysts welcomed the steps Qantas was taking but said it would be a long grind. “Doing nothing is not an option in an environment like this...but it’s still going to have to work quite hard to deliver it,” Tyndall Investment Management’s Maughan said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:43 am UBS to cut 240 jobs in Asia-Pacific as regions slowSingapore: Swiss bank UBS said it will cut 240 jobs in Asia-Pacific to cut costs, as Asian economies slow in a global financial crisis. Earlier on Tuesday, banking sources told Reuters the cuts would be made mostly in the wealth management business at all staff levels and included 100 redundancies in Singapore, where UBS is a relatively strong player in private banking. The cuts come two months after the Zurich-based bank brought former Credit Suisse boss Oswald Gruebel out of retirement to be installed as its new chief executive. Gruebel has recently signalled further cost cuts would be inevitable. Many of UBS’s competitors such as Citigroup and Credit Suisse have shed staff in Asia in the last few months as clients stay away from weak markets. Global banks aggressively expanded in Asia in recent years to tap business as years of fast economic growth and buoyant markets created more millionaires in Asia than anywhere else. The financial crisis has slashed revenue for many of the global banks as the rich shun financial products and markets. A UBS spokeswoman in Singapore said the cuts were equivalent to about 3% of its staff in Asia. The bank managed about 130 billion Swiss francs ($115 billion) in assets at the end of last year, according to company data. The spokeswoman said the staff reduction was a last resort as UBS tries to manage costs due to challenging economic conditions. Despite the cuts, UBS said Asia remains a “strategic priority” for the group” and a region it will continue to invest in. Societe Generale last month said it will cut around 10% of staff from its private banking arm in Asia excluding Japan. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:40 am GSM operators add 10.8 million users in March - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:33 am Sumitomo, Bhushan in talks to build steel plant in West Bengal: NikkeiTokyo: Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd is in talks with India’s Bhushan Steel on building an integrated steel plant together in the West Bengal, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday. Japan’s big steelmakers have been expanding overseas to tap growing demand, although the global economic turmoil has forced world no.2 player Nippon Steel Corp and third-ranked JFE Holdings Inc to delay or review some of these plans. The Nikkei said Sumitomo Metal Industries, Japan’s third-biggest steelmaker, will likely invest up to $3 billion in the project, with the aim of starting operations around 2015. Sumitomo Metal played down the possibility of striking such a deal anytime soon. “We are considering various overseas projects including that in India, but it is not true that we are discussing such details and that we have not made any decision,” the company said in a statement. Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co, said Japanese steelmakers’ moves into India and China would be positive in the longer term. “The two markets will become the core of growth. If there is a chance and a partner, they should actively invest in the early stages of growth,” he said. The Nikkei report said Sumitomo was in talks with mid-tier steel maker Bhushan on setting up a joint venture to build an integrated mill capable of producing 3 million tonnes of crude steel a year. The venture is expected to be majority-owned by the Indian steelmaker, with Sumitomo Metal holding a 30 to 40% stake, it said. Sumitomo Metal and Bhushan have had business ties since 1997. The Japanese company is providing technical assistance to Bhushan in its plan to build a blast furnace in the state of Orissa. The plant is expected to start operations in 2010. Bhushan also makes steel sheet from semi-finished products supplied by Sumitomo Metal and sells the products to the Indian units of Japanese automakers and others. In other international deals, Sumitomo Metal Industries is involved in constructing an integrated steel mill in Brazil together with French seamless pipe partner Vallourec. But some Japanese plans in India have fallen through before. The country’s fifth-biggest steel maker, Nisshin Steel Co, conducted a feasibility study for a plant there with Spain’s Acerinox several years ago but they gave up on the plan, saying the market was still not mature enough to consume a large volume of aluminium products. The Nikkei said that although the global economic crisis has curbed steel demand in emerging economies, Sumitomo Metal expects Indian demand to increase thanks to infrastructure projects and growth in the automobile industry. But it said the company has yet start a feasibility study or negotiations with the Indian authorities on the new project. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 6:06 am Subhiksha expects to finish CDR in AprilNew Delhi: Cash-strapped retail chain Subhiksha on Tuesday said its ongoing corporate debt restructuring (CDR) will have to end by July this year but it expects the process to be completed before April-end. “(The) CDR is a time bound process of maximum 180 days. It has to end at any rate by July 2009,” Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd managing director R Subramanian told PTI in an e-mailed reply. He was replying to a query on how much more time would be required for the CDR to be considered as officially over. Subramanian, however, refused to state clearly whether the company would be making use of the time available till July for the CDR. “We are merely stating the position that it can’t extend beyond 180 days. We are not suggesting that it will get delayed beyond the old estimate (of April end). We believe the restructuring will be agreed before end-April,” he said. “As we are running costs on a daily basis, we would like to take least time than most time. Completion of CDR means completion of all work including formalities of documentation,” Subramanian said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 5:46 am Gold ETF collection up 27.5% in March on yearMumbai: Gold collection under India’s five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose by 27.5% on year to 5.02 tonnes in March, data collected from fund houses showed. “This growth is reflective of the fact that more investors are investing in gold and now through ETFs,” said Arvind Chari, a fund manager at Quantum Mutual Fund, which offers a gold ETF. “Going forward, the number of investors would increase due to the flexibility of investing into an ETF,” added Chari. However, on month, gold collection fell marginally by 2.7% as investors booked profit after February’s sharp rise. Gold futures rose to their all-time high of Rs16,040 per 10 grams on 20 February on safe-haven demand. Though gold collections under ETFs are growing, they remain miniscule against India’s imports of about 400-800 tonnes annually. Gold ETFs - instruments that can be traded like shares and are backed by physical gold holdings - are more than a year old and the segment may get crowded with some other funds planning to enter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 5:34 am Oil falls below $50 after 4% fall on IEA forecastSingapore: Oil slipped under $50 a barrel on Tuesday, extending its 4.2% fall overnight after the International Energy Agency slashed its demand forecast on expectations of another rise in US crude stocks. As trading picks up after the Easter holiday, the market will seek confirmation of the IEA’s bearish forecast this week. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases its short-term energy outlook later in the day, which will have give an estimate of global and US oil demand for the year, while Opec publishes its monthly view on Wednesday. By 8:15am, US crude for May delivery was down 60 cents at $49.45, after falling $2.19 to settle at $50.05 overnight. ICE Brent crude was down 8 cents at $52.06. Oil prices have been stuck in a $47-$54-range for the past four weeks, having recovered from a low of $32.40 in December. They are still down almost $100 from a record high above $147 last July. The IEA said on Friday world oil demand would fall by 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year from 2008 to 83.4 million bpd, as the rate of contraction in fuel consumption reached levels last seen in the early 1980s. “The IEA report is a wake-up call of sorts, and we will see a widening of the contango in the market. We’d probably see front-month crude trading down, deep into the $40s in the near term,” said Tony Nunan, assistant manager of risk management at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp. “But this is a two-tiered market - one that’s weak in the short term due to collapsing demand and high inventories, but stronger in the medium term, based on the belief that all the stimulus packages will probably get the economy out of its funk by year-end.” The release of Producer Price Index (PPI) and retail sales for March at 6:00am, will offer more clues on the health of the US economy. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the PPI will stay flat, compared with a 0.1% increase in February, and retail sales to rise 0.3%, versus a 0.1% drop in the previous month. The EIA’s monthly outlook is due at 6:00am after which US American Petroleum Institute (API) will unveil its weekly inventory data at 2:00am. The preliminary forecast ahead of the weekly API/EIA inventory reports calls for a 2.2 million barrel increase in crude stocks, a 1.0 million barrel decline in distillate supplies and a 700,000 barrel drawdown in gasoline stocks. On the supply front, Saudi Arabia will trim oil supplies to some of its Asian customers in May, and one European buyer suggested the world’s top exporter was concerned about high inventories. Saudi Arabia has been largely responsible for Opec’s high level of compliance - estimated at 80% - with agreements to cut output by a total of 4.2 million bpd since September last year. Iran’s Opec governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said if oil demand continued to fall, the group might decide to further cut its oil output, but Qatar’s Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said it was “too early to react” to the IEA forecast. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 5:25 am More and more management graduates enter politicsThis is not a decision taken in haste or forced by the current economic recession. More and more management graduates are entering politics, saying this is their way of serving society.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 5:01 am British Telecom backs Tech Mahindra Satyam dealLondon: BT Group Plc, the British telecommunications carrier that holds 31% of Tech Mahindra Ltd, said it backed its affiliate’s plan to acquire a stake in scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services. “As a shareholder in Tech Mahindra we support the deal,” a BT spokesman said. Also Read Satyam goes to Tech Mahindra Edit | Satyam’s second inning The Satyam Fiasco (Full Coverage) BT is also a major customer of Tech Mahindra, which provides software services. Tech Mahindra said on Monday it would pay more than $550 million for a controlling stake in Satyam Computer Services Ltd, throwing a lifeline to the fraud-hit company and propelling itself into the top tier of Indian outsourcing companies. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2009 | 4:41 am Recession hits poll campaign in GujaratThe economic downslide has hit Lok Sabha candidates hard in Gujarat.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Apr 2009 | 4:30 am China, the Brahmaputra and IndiaChina’s attempt to divert the Brahmaputra has reared its head again. The Chinese are apparently eyeing about 40 billion cubic metres, out of the annual average inflow of 71.4 billion, of the Brahmaputra’s waters. The river skirtsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am It’s a steal: Hinduja CFONew Delhi, April 13 The Hinduja Group, which had pulled out of the race for Satyam just ahead of the submission of Expressions of Interest, has termed the Rs 58 a share price tag for Satyam, a “good deal” and aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Perspective on deal valueWith details on Satyam Computer’s revenues and margins still elusive, it is difficult to comment on the valuation at which Tech Mahindra has bought the software giant. Nevertheless, here are a few numbers that may offer perspective on theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Challenge is to instil confidence in clients’Mumbai, April 13 Tech Mahindra, which has emerged the highest bidder for Satyam Computers, is confident about turning the company around and retaining the entire workforce even if it meant finding newSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Why the wide divergence in Satyam bid pricesMumbai, April 13 The wide variation in the bid prices submitted by the three contenders for Satyam Computer Services has set off a debate on whether this could be due to the several “unknowns” with respect to Satyam (whose accountsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Demat accounts move into slow motion nowMumbai April 13 Demat accounts in the January-March 2009 quarter has risen at only half the rate they did in the October-December 2008 quarter. Not only that, the growth rate for every month of the quarter has dipped sequentially.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Tech Mahindra bags Satyam, top bidder at Rs 58 a shareMumbai, April 13 In a little over 100 days of Ramalinga Raju’s admission of a massive fraud in Satyam Computer Services, the Hyderabad-based company on Wednesday found itself on the threshold of a new life, with a unit of Tech MahindraSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Rating agencies, banks differ over loan defaultsMumbai, April 13 Bank loan rating, as per Basel II norms, is proving to be a bone of contention between rating agencies and banks. While credit rating agencies do not brook even a day’s delay in loan repayment, it is normal practise forSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am SEBI board to seek legal opinion in NSDL caseNew Delhi, April 13 The SEBI Board, which met here today, is divided on whether a committee appointed by it has exceeded the brief in the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) case.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Performance makes it favourable for Nitish’Patna: Bihar is one of the larger States with 40 Lok Sabha seats and has seen a lot of political churning and realignment with Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party leaving the United Progressive Alliance.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am GM shares slump as bankruptcy fear growsDETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp shares plunged 16 percent on Monday as traders shed positions out of fear the U.S. government will push the automaker into a bankruptcy that could wipe out existing equity.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 11:37 pm Wockhardt to sell $110m FCCBs to new investorsWockhardt is looking to sell foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) worth USD 110 million to new investors, reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources. On FCCBs redeemable in October, sources said, Wockhardt may be unable to pay up. Some of the new investors specialise in buying distressed assets.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 11:26 pm British Telecom backs Tech Mahindra Satyam dealLONDON (Reuters) - BT Group Plc, the British telecommunications carrier that holds 31 percent of India's Tech Mahindra Ltd, said it backed its affiliate's plan to acquire a stake in scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 11:12 pm Narayana Murthy, Ramodorai cheer SatyamTech Mahindra dealNR Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys, said, the Tech Mahindra deal will give Satyams employees more confidence that things will be sound now onwards. S RamadoraI, MD and CEO, TCS, said a decision regarding the wining bid is welcome and that it will instil lot more confidence in the company from investors, employees, clients, and vendors.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:32 pm Scam tainted Satyam needs a new brand: Future BrandsSantosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands, feels there is a case for looking at a new brand as Satyam is a damaged brand. There is legitimacy that has been given to create something out of the ashes of the old Satyam. It is possible today to book all your losses under the Satyam name and to begin a new chapter.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:31 pm Employee branding key factor for Tech Mahindra: TeamLeaseManish Sabharwal, Chairman, TeamLease Services, said there might be some employee overlaps between Tech Mahindra and Satyam Computer Systems. He feels the former should get those overlaps out of the way. Sabharwal said Tech Mahindra is a very niche employee brand, so from an employee branding perspective that will be a key factor to handle.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:17 pm Tech Mahindra must win customer trust: Satyam staffFour months after Satyam Computers former chairman Ramalinga Raju confessed to over Rs 7,000 crore fraud, the company has been saved. A new ownerTech Mahindrawill now take charge of its future. Most Satyam staff feel that Tech Mahindra has a big challenge to faceto win customer confidence.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:11 pm Keeping clients will take some doingWe took a lot of scenarios into account and we've taken a very calculated risk in making this bid," Tech Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra saidSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:04 pm 13,000 on the bench now. How many'll have to go?Even as Satyamites were excited about their anxieties finding some resolution, they still fear large-scale layoffs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 10:00 pm NSDL case: Bhave, Damodaran proxy war continuesOne is retired, the other has recused himself from the NSDL case, yet they are very much in the fight.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:58 pm Pantaloon Retail gets new namePantaloon Retail has decided to rechristen itself and create multiple subsidiaries as part of a restructuring plan to unlock value and raise capital for expansion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:54 pm March sees record 10.8m new GSM subscribersMonthly addition in the GSM subscriber base touched a record 10.84 million in March, despite the economic slowdown.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:54 pm Pantaloon Retail looking to raise Rs 1,550 cr: SourcesPantaloon Retail is learnt to be looking at raising up to Rs 1,550 crore. Sources say it will also be spilt up into three separate entities. Pantaloon Retail will now be called Future Markets and Consumer Groups Ltd. This comes as a part of the restructuring exercise that Biyani has undertaken to unlock the value of his various businesses.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:52 pm JNPT 'losing' Rs 600 cr over dredging delayThe delay in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's ambitious dredging project is causing an opportunity loss of Rs 600 crore per year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:52 pm Nalco shuts Orissa bauxite mines after Naxal attackNational Aluminium Company (Nalco) has temporarily shut down its bauxite mining production following a Naxal attack.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:52 pm Businesses must strive to sustain culture of innovationSustaining innovation is not just about risk mitigation, but a must for sustainable growth and survival.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:48 pm 'Yieldwise, India's a difficult market'Peter F Hartman, president and CEO, KLM, feels the airline industry is in for turbulence for one more year before the ride smoothens.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:48 pm Unitech QIP an equity-for-debt deal?Unitech Ltd, India's second-largest real estate developer, seems to have found an innovative way out of its immediate financial trouble.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:46 pm SBI extends special home, car loans till September - Financial Express
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:39 pm Strides prescribes split - Calcutta Telegraph
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Apr 2009 | 9:17 pm Tech Mahindra declared highest bidder for SatyamTech Mahindra, Indias 6th largest software exporter, has been declared as the highest bidder for Satyam at a price of Rs 58/share, after a global competitive bidding process, which concluded today subject to approval of the Company Law board and other requisite approvals.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 8:22 pm Merger of RPL with RIL approved by shareholders creditorsThe shareholders and the creditors of Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) approved the Scheme of Amalgamation of RPL with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 8:17 pm Sensex breaches 11000-mark - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Apr 2009 | 8:03 pm Chinese auto co in talks with Saraf group - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Apr 2009 | 8:03 pm Tech Mahindra bags Satyam: Samir Arora, Forrester reactAfter three months of the new board taking over Satyam, Tech Mahindra finally won the high profile race for Satyam. The company bid RS 58 per share, beating rivals engineering major Larsen Toubro and private equity (PE) major Wilbur Ross. Tech Mahindra will have to pay RS 1,757 crore to buy the 31% stake in Satyam.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 7:56 pm Pilots have slept on flight, admits DGCAThe Directorate General of Civil Aviation has admitted that in India, as across world, there are instances when pilots on duty have fallen asleep and overshot destinations.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 7:16 pm Pfizer to hike stake in Indian arm to 75%Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drug company, plans to increase its stake in the Indian entity up to 75% from the existing 41%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 7:02 pm No client overlap seen between Satyam and us: Tech MahindraTerming the Satyam bid as a gamechanger of Tech Mahindra, Anand Mahindra said the company would reach out to the employees and customers of Satyam. Vineet Nayyar, CEO of Tech Mahindra said there was no overlap between its and Satyam\'s clients.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 7:00 pm US treasury asks GM to prepare for possible bankruptcy filingDetroit / New York: The US treasury department is directing General Motors Corp. (GM) to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a 1 June deadline, despite GM’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend.  Surgical remedy: General Motors’ assembly plant in Kansas City. Under one plan, a new company would be created that will buy the good assets of the car maker almost immediately after it files for bankruptcy. Dave Kaup / Reuters Members of President Barack Obama’s automotive task force spent last week in meetings and on conference calls with GM officials and its advisers in Detroit and Washington. Those talks are expected to continue this week. The goal is to prepare for a fast, “surgical” bankruptcy, the people who had been briefed on the plans said. GM, which has been granted $13.4 billion (around Rs67,000 crore) in federal aid, insists that a quick restructuring is necessary so its image and sales are not damaged permanently. The preparations are aimed at assuring a GM bankruptcy filing is ready should the company be unable to reach agreement with bondholders to exchange roughly $28 billion in debt into equity in GM and with the United Automobile Workers union, which has baulked at granting concessions without sacrifices from bondholders. Obama remained concerned about potential risk to GM’s pension plan and wants to avoid harming workers, these people said. None of these people agreed to be identified, because they were not authorized to discuss the process. Spokesmen for GM and the treasury did not comment. One plan under consideration would create a new company that would buy the “good” assets of GM almost immediately after the car maker files for bankruptcy. Less desirable assets, including unwanted brands, factories and health care obligations, would be left in the old company, which could be liquidated over several years. Treasury officials are examining one potential outcome in which the “good GM” enters and exits bankruptcy protection in as little as two weeks, using $5-7 billion in federal financing, a person who had been briefed on the prospect said last week. The rest of GM may require as much as $70 billion in government financing, and possibly more to resolve the health care obligations and the liquidation of the factories, according to legal experts and federal officials. Since replacing Rick Wagoner on 31 March, GM’s chief executive Fritz Henderson has sent increasingly clear signals that bankruptcy is probable unless agreements are reached with labour and the bondholders by the administration’s 1 June deadline. Unlike Wagoner, who refused until his final days at GM to consider a Chapter 11 filing, Henderson has deployed staff to work with legal and government advisers, although he does not agree a bankruptcy is inevitable. Last week, he said GM was proceeding on a dual track, hoping to restructure out of court, but also preparing for a filing. “If we need to resort to bankruptcy, we have to do it quickly,” Henderson said in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. John Paul MacDuffie, an associate professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said he saw little chance of an out-of-court restructuring, given that the Obama administration had rejected GM’s proposed revitalization plan in March. It was submitted without the concessions that were required from bondholders and the union, and which have still not been reached. “The simplest way to frame it is that they took the loans, there were conditions on the loans, they didn’t prove their case for financial viability, and they didn’t meet the deadline, either,” MacDuffie said. Lawyers for GM and the government have much work to do before any bankruptcy case can begin, executives with bankruptcy experience said last week. First and foremost, GM would have to formulate a business plan that addresses virtually every aspect of the company that it hopes to transform while under bankruptcy protection. It would have to show how it would save billions of dollars through agreements with its bondholders and unions, how many dealers it plans to keep, and the plants and offices it plans to either close or preserve. The plan also needs to give a candid forecast of the car market, a tricky prospect given the sharp fall-off in sales over the last few months, these executives said. The treasury has hired Boston Consulting Group to help with the business plan, according to a notice posted 8 April on FedBizOpps.gov, a government procurement website. Participation from banks also may be needed, and because of the weak economic climate, lenders are likely to insist that GM wring as much out of its operations as possible. Finally, legal experts said, GM would have to try to prevent panic among consumers in the event of a bankruptcy filing. The government has said it will guarantee GM’s vehicle warranties. Since then, GM has started an aggressive advertising campaign stressing that car buyers should have confidence in the company, and offering to make nine months of payments, up to $500 each, for owners who lose their jobs. ©2009/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:57 pm Some relief, some worry for Satyam employeesTech Mahindra winning over Satyam on Monday has evoked mixed feelings among employees of the scam-hit IT firm.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:55 pm Govt, industry pulled out Satyam from a disasterThe Indian government and industry have reason to pat themselves on the back for pulling Satyam out of what once looked like certain disaster.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:52 pm Pfizer makes open offer to raise stake in Indian unitBut the offer price is lower than Monday's closing price.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:51 pm Naxalite attack brings Asia's largest bauxite mine to a haltAn eight-hour gun-battle between security forces and Naxalites at the Panchapatmali bauxite mines of the National Aluminium Company Ltd in Koraput district of Orissa ended early morning today, leaving 10 jawans of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and four Naxalites dead.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:48 pm Tech Mahindra needs Satyam board, CLB nodTech Mahindra will not get immediate control of Satyam but will have to wait for approvals from the government-appointed board and the Company Law Board.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:48 pm Tech Mahindra snaps up SatyamThe exercise proved much shorter than what the board members, bidders and investment bankers had expected.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:46 pm Open offer likely to find few takers, L&T can't bidTech Mahindra's mandatory public offer for a minimum 20% stake in Satyam may not find too many takers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:38 pm Deal to be funded via debt, internal accrualsTech Mahindra, which has bagged Satyam for a total of Rs 2,889 cr, plans to fund the acquisition through a mix of internal accruals and debt.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:36 pm Satyam-Tech Mahindra: Divided opinion for new ownerThere's one group that believes the deal is positive for Tech Mahindra since it gives the company opportunity to diversify.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:33 pm Tech Mahindra becomes No. 4The uncertainty surrounding Satyam may now be over with the company going to the Tech Mahindra stable.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 6:31 pm SFIO submits Satyam fraud report to govt, say sourcesThe Serious Fraud Investigation Office is believed to have completed the investigation of the Satyam-fraud case and submitted its report to the government.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2009 | 4:09 pm Sony Computer to launch seven Indian games this yearLondon-based Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) would launch six to seven Indian games this year, a top official said here Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm Tech Mahindra says Satyam poses challengesTech Mahindra, which Monday agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Satyam Computer Services, admitted the crisis-ridden IT firm's liabilities would add to the challenges usually associated with an acquisition.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Apr 2009 | 2:32 pm Cancer institute ties up with Novartis to aid poor patientsA premier cancer research institute distributed free dosages of an oncology drug here Monday under an arrangement with multinational pharmaceutical major Novartis.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Apr 2009 | 1:31 pm
|
