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Plate mill demerger to result in better visibility: WelspunAkhil Jindal, Director, Welspun Group, said the Plate mill will be demerged to a 100% subsidiary for better management of operations and fiscal benefits. The reason for making this move is that we wanted to have a better visibility and business focus, he said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:25 pm See smaller signs of delinquencies: Bank of AmericaThere are some signs that not everything is bad or not everything is deteriorating as fast as it had been. You\'re starting to see some positive cracks moving up such as CEO confidence, consumer confidence, and smaller signs of delinquencies.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:00 pm IT sector to see strong revival in FY11: Azim PremjiAzim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, one of Indias largest Indian IT players, in an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18 said the worst for the IT sector may be over. He sees a strong revival in FY11. He expects the US to see strong signs of revival from Q4 CY09 onwards and believes the revival in India would happen much before the world.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:42 pm Air India cuts Tier II air fares by 70% to up load factorAir India has announced a 70% cut in tickets for the tier II segments, at a time when ATF prices are rising. Jitendra Bhargava of Air India said if one is booking the tickets 1020 days in advance then that person will get cheaper fares. \"This reduction in fares is bound to generate travel demands\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:18 pm No bail for Raju and aides yet - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:14 pm IMF says world facing recession - BBC News
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:03 pm IIFCL to raise Rs 5000 cr from taxable bonds in 2009-10 - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:53 pm Morgan Stanley posts 1st-quarter lossNEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss on Wednesday and slashed its dividend as real estate investment losses and a charge from the improving value of it own debt wiped out gains in its trading businesses.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:46 pm Goldman upgrades U.S. auto sector; raises Ford to buyReuters - Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. auto sector to "neutral" from "cautious," citing the likelihood of a bottom in auto sales, and also raised its rating on Ford Motor Co to "buy" as it expects the company to benefit the most from structural changes within the sector.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:45 pm Hero Honda a marketperformer: Karvy - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:40 pm 47 of 50 excluded F&O stocks end negative - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:40 pm India o/n rate hits 2-wk low after reverse repo cut - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:36 pm Indian rupee trims gains as shares drop 3rd day - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:36 pm ONGC's Dahej project to be commissioned in 2010State-run exploration giant Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will commission its Rs.1,493-crore project at Dahej in south Gujarat by March 2010, a top official said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:34 pm Tech Mahindra's open offer for Satyam begins June 12Tech Mahindra Wednesday announced its open offer for a 20-percent additional stake in Satyam Computer Services at Rs.58 per share, after buying 31 percent equity in the IT bellwether following a global auction.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:31 pm Markets close off day's lows, Sensex down 80 pointsA key index of the Indian equities markets managed to close off the day's low Wednesday, but still ended in the red as investors sought to sell across the board.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:31 pm Morgan Stanley posts Q1 lossNew York: Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss on Wednesday and slashed its dividend as real estate investment losses and a charge from the improving value of it own debt wiped out gains in its trading businesses. The investment bank and brokerage giant reported a net loss applicable to common shareholders of $177 million, or 57 cents a share, for the first quarter. Revenue fell 62% from a year earlier to $3.0 billion. Analysts on average expected a loss of 9 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. Morgan Stanley cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share. Morgan Stanley reported net income of $1.41 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the comparable calendar quarter last year. These are the first results Morgan has released on a calendar-year basis since it became a bank holding company to help survive the stormiest weeks of the financial crisis last fall. Morgan Stanley shares, which fell 3% in premarket trade, have fallen by half over the past 12 months. The stock has surged 54% this year, including a recent rally sparked by higher-than-expected profit at Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other banks. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:30 pm HCL Q3 net dips 42% at Rs 152.57 cr!IT firm HCL Technologies Wednesday said its net profit declined by 42 per cent to Rs 152.57 crore in the third quarter ended March 31, 2009.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Britain to unveil crunch 2009 budget!Recession-hit Britain unveils its annual budget Wednesday, which is set to include further measures aimed at boosting an economy that has been slammed by the global financial crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Wipro Q4 net profit up 15% at Rs 1,010 cr!Wipro has reported a 14.77% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,010 cr for the Q4.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Global financial crisis to cost $ 4 tn: IMF!The IMF has said that losses from the global financial crisis will cost more than USD 4tn.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Tech Mahindra`s open offer for Satyam to open on June 12!IT firm Tech Mahindra Wednesday said its Rs 1,154.66-crore open offer for an additional 20 per cent stake in Satyam Computer will begin on June 12 and close on July 1, 2009.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Chrysler lenders offer to cut debt, take stock!Chrysler LLC`s first-lien lenders have offered to take equity in a restructured automaker allied with Fiat SpA in exchange for writing off about 35 percent of the $7 billion they are owed.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Geithner says most banks have adequate capital!Most US banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm French workers free `boss-napped` managers!French workers angry at plans to shut a US-owned auto parts supplier held two managers inside for more than 24 hours before releasing them, in the latest case of "boss-napping."Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm iGate freezes hiring till Q3 CY`09!Software firm iGate Wednesday said it has put a freeze on hiring till the third quarter of the current calendar year, when it expects a bounce-back in the global economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Japan logs annual trade deficit as exports dive!Japan reported Wednesday its first trade deficit for a fiscal year since 1980 as exports suffered in the global economic downturn, which has pushed Asia`s biggest economy deep into recession.Source: Zee News : Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Zee Ent Jan-March net falls on low advt rev - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm 1 JSW Steel sees FY10 sales rise upto 60 pct - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Satyam owes Rs 1,230 crore to NBFCs: CBISatyam Computer is carrying a liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of loans taken from NBFCs which were partly repaid by pledging of shares of Ramalinga Raju.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:28 pm Freddie Mac acting CFO apparent suicide - reportsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - David Kellermann, the chief financial officer of mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead in his Virginia home on Wednesday, an apparent suicide, police said and CNN said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:22 pm Gems,jewellery exports up 1.45 pc; 2 lakh workers laid off - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:13 pm IT sector entering unchartered territory, says Azim PremjiIT czar Azim Premji said the financial year 2008-09 saw the most severe economic meltdown the world has seen in this generation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:13 pm Varun Gandhi files nomination from PilibhitPilibhit: Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Varun Gandhi, who is on a two week parole after being jailed for alleged hate- speeches, onWednesday filed his nomination papers to fight the Lok Sabha elections from Pilibhit constituency. Click here to watch video Gandhi, the 29-year-old new Hindutva poster-boy of the BJP, was accompanied by his mother Maneka Gandhi while filing his papers at the District Magistrate office for the elections to be held on 13 May in this seat. Tight security arrangements were made to prevent any untoward incident. The event was kept low-key as the district administration denied permission for a procession of Varun’s supporters to accompany him while filing of nominations. Gandhi, grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of Sanjay Gandhi, is making his electoral debut with the Lok Sabha polls. A controversy raged over his candidature following his anti-Muslim speeches during campaign in Pilibhit and was arrested under National Securities Act (NSA). Earlier, addressing a public meeting in Nawabganj before filing the nominations, Gandhi said “non-violence is his religion” and his country taught him to respect and love others. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:05 pm Bajaj Hindustan to raise Rs1,500 cr from overseasMumbai:Sugar manufacturer Bajaj Hindustan today said it will raise Rs1,500 crore from the international markets. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange Bajaj Hindustan said its shareholders at the annual general meeting has authorised the board to issue securities in one or more tranches on one or more foreign markets for up to Rs1,500 crore. The said amount would be raised in rupee or foreign currency denominated bonds via Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs). The above securities would be alloted on the basis of institutional placement to Qualified Institutional Buyers. Further, the shareholders has approved the re-appointment of Shishir Bajaj as managing director of the company for a further period of five years, with effect from 1 July, 2008. Earlier this year, the then warring brothers of the Bajaj empire- Rahul and Shishir- had entered into an agreement pursuant to which Shishir assumed entire control of the sugar major. Following the share transfer, Shishir holds a 32.47% stake in Bajaj Hindusthan. Shares of Bajaj Hindustan closed at Rs74.65, up 0.34% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:58 am Markets end flat for third straight sessionNew Delhi: Markets closed on negative note for third consecutive day this week, after erasing all its opening gains as investors continued booking profits on Wednesday. Caution on political uncertainty re-surfaced as polling for second phase of 15th Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for tomorrow, 23 April. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened on pleasant note tracking firm cues from Asia and US markets. Wall Street, followed by Asia made gains on optimism by comments from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner that most US banks are soundly capitalized. RBI rate cuts announced on Tuesday also brought some respite in opening bell. But soon investors looked to collect profits and indices began trading weak. The 30-share BSE index closed lower by 80.57 points at 10,817.54 and the 50-share NSE Nifty ended down by 35 points at 3,330.30. Indices mostly under selling pressure were realty, consumer durables, capital goods, auto and power stocks However, some gains were earned among the FMCG and IT stocks. Leading the losers from the BSE pack was Maruti Suzuki by 4.45% to Rs754.25, DLF Ltd by 4.30% to Rs227.15, Sterlite Industries by 3.87% to Rs367.70, Bhel by 3.55% to Rs1,583.05, Tata Power by 3.29% to Rs851.05, Sun Pharma by 3.25% to Rs1,180.25, Larsen and Toubro by 3.12% to Rs827.15, Mahindra and Mahindra by 3.11% to Rs424.35 and ONGC Ltd by 2.72% to Rs839.10. Those that surged among the BSE pack were ACC Ltd by 5.26% to Rs645.75, Wipro by 2.70% to Rs281.65, Infosys Tech by 1.16% to Rs1,379.35, ITC Ltd by 0.74% to Rs189.90, Reliance by 0.59% to Rs1,716.10 and ICICI Bank by 0.35% to Rs400.20. Near closing in Asian bourses, Geithner’s comments failed to convince investors about the health of the financial system. Japan’s Nikkei gained merely 0.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped by 2.7%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:49 am RIL inks pacts to sell natural gas in AndhraReliance Industries has signed agreements to sell natural gas from its prolific eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to at least six power producers in Andhra Pradesh, including GVK Power.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:48 am Boeing posts 50% decline in Q1 profitChicago: Aerospace giant Boeing Co. says its first-quarter profit fell 50%, partly because of planned production cuts as airlines postpone deliveries of new planes. It also lowered its outlook for the year. Chicago-based Boeing says it earned $610 million, or 86 cents per share. That’s down from $1.21 billion, or $1.62 per share, during the year-earlier period. Revenue edged up 3% to $16.50 billion. Orders for Boeing’s jetliners have plunged this year as fewer people fly and air cargo volumes shrink amid the global recession. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:45 am Gold drops by Rs 110 on profit-selling, subdued global trendGold prices fell by Rs 110 to Rs 14,560 per 10 gram in the bullion market here as stockists indulged in booking profit at existing higher levels amid weakening global trend.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:43 am ACC profits rise 23% on rural demand, large constructionMumbai: ACC Ltd, India’s largest cement maker, on Wednesday beat expectations to announce a 23% increase in profit for the quarter ended 31 March on the back of higher sales volume. A Reuters poll of 15 brokerages had estimated net profit of Rs3.4 billion on net sales of Rs20.5 billion. ACC, in which Swiss firm Holcim Ltd holds a 46% state, said consolidated profit for the quarter rose to Rs3.99 billion from Rs3.24 billion a year ago. Standalone net profit was Rs4.05 billion. Consolidated sales rose 14% to Rs21.64 billion, fuelled by demand from rural areas and large constructions. India’s cement industry, the world’s second largest, has seen demand reviving in the past few months despite a slowing economy, but margins have narrowed on high raw material costs and steady prices. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:43 am Volkswagen first quarter profit down 74% Frankfurt: German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Wednesday net profit plummeted 74% as the world economic crisis cut into demand for its cars and trucks, especially in the US market. Sales rose however in emerging markets such as China and Russia and in its home market of Germany, thanks to a government program that pays people to scrap old cars and buy new ones. The Wolfsburg-based company said net profit for the first quarter of this year fell to €243 million ($313 million) from €929 million in the first quarter a year earlier. Volkswagen, whose full earnings report is due out later this month, said in a surprise announcement that sales fell 11% to €24 billion from €27 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Europe’s largest car builder said unit sales declined by about 16% in the first three months and that as a result it had scaled back production by about a quarter. In the first three months it sold 1.35 million vehicles compared with 1.6 million in the year-ago quarter, but the news wasn’t all bad: Volkswagen said deliveries in Germany, China, Brazil, Russia and Poland were higher in the quarter compared to the first three months of 2008. However, had it not been for gains generated by the sale of Volkswagen’s Brazilian commercial vehicles business to German truckmaker MAN AG, Volkswagen would have posted a loss for the quarter. The unit sale to MAN added €600 million to operating profit for the quarter, while Volkswagen reported an operating profit of just €312 million in the first three months of 2009. That compares with an operating profit of €1.3 billion in the first three months of 2008. Volkswagen, whose brands include Skoda, Seat, Bentley and Bugatti, said it was unable to give a detailed outlook due to the volatility of markets, but said it hoped to profit from a number of new model releases during 2009. VW said it assumes it “will be unable to escape the downward trend,” confirming it expects lower sales and earnings in 2009. It said it hoped to counter the negative trend with disciplined cost and investment management and the continuous optimization of its business. “The Volkswagen group is not immune to the dramatic deterioration in the global business environment,” Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement. “The strengths of our multibrand group prove themselves especially in difficult times: we have increased our global market share thanks to our young and environmentally friendly model range, and are in a sound financial position. Our goal for fiscal year 2009 remains to outperform the market as a whole and to gain additional market share,” Winterkorn said. Volkswagen said earlier this month its sales drop was most acute in the U.S. where it sold 58,300 cars, down 19.3% from the 72,200 sold in the first quarter of 2008. In Germany, the company was helped in the first three months by a government car scrapping program, which pays consumers €2,500 if they get rid of their old car for a more environmentally friendly one, which pushed domestic VW sales up sharply. The car scrapping plan has been extended to the end of the year. Shares of Volkswagen were trading down about 1% at €235 in Frankfurt afternoon trading. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:38 am Sensex falls for third straight day on profit-sellingThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex failed to preserve early gains on Wednesday and closed with a loss of nearly 80 points, the third decline in a row.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:32 am Glaxo Q1 profit drops 13%London: GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s second largest drug maker by revenues, posted a 13% drop in net profit for the first quarter on Wednesday, as strong sales in Europe and emerging markets were offset by a poor performance in its US pharmaceutical business. Glaxo, which earlier this week announced it is buying American dermatology business Stiefel Laboratories Inc. in a $2.9 billion deal, said that it would continue to “re-engineer” its US operations and that it expects the impact of generic competition there to be reduced in the second half of the year. The company booked net profit for the three months to 31 March of 1.13 billion pounds ($1.65 billion), down from 1.31 billion pounds a year ago. Revenue rose 19% to 6.77 billion pounds from 5.69 billion pounds. The company said that total pharmaceutical turnover declined 6% in the first quarter to 5.6 billion pounds, as the US performance continued to be significantly hurt by generic competition to several mature brands. Outside the US, pharmaceuticals sales grew 7% to 3.3 billion pounds. “This first quarter reflects what was always expected to be a year of two halves for GlaxoSmithKline,” CEO Andrew Witty said on a conference call, noting the year-on-year effect of US competition was expected to be at its most extreme in the first half. “It is essential that we reconfigure our US business to make sure we have the right resource in the right areas and an overall lower level of infrastructure costs.” The company’s shares dropped 1.5% to 1,035 pence on the London Stock Exchange. London-based Glaxo, which sells asthma treatment Advair and the Ribena range of soft drinks, said earlier this year it planned to cut jobs and costs. Glaxo has been moving to replace falling sales of older drugs facing generic competition through acquisitions and other diversifying deals to boost its businesses in emerging markets and consumer healthcare. It has said it will lose about $5 billion in sales as demand falls for treatments like its diabetes drug Avandia, which has suffered from safety concerns its antidepressant Wellbutrin and heart medication Coreg. Along with the Stiefel purchase to beef up its presence in the dermatology market, it also unveiled plans this month to pool resources with Pfizer Inc. to create a new company to develop and sell HIV medicines. The new company being formed with Pfizer will blend Glaxo’s portfolio of HIV drugs now on the market some with patents approaching expiration _ with New York-based Pfizer’s more robust pipeline of drugs in development. With 11 HIV medicines already on sale, the new venture will have a 19% market share, ranking it No. 2 behind sales leader Gilead Sciences Inc. Other competitors in the field include heavyweights Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Abbott Laboratories, Merck & Co. and DuPont Pharmaceuticals Co. Attempts to boost Glaxo’s line-up of consumer healthcare products include the launch of its non-prescription weight-loss drug alli in pharmacies across Europe earlier this week. Glaxo believes that over-the-counter medicines are a growth opportunity at a time when sales of many prescription products are slowing. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:29 am Two top Tiger leaders surrender, LTTE near collapse: govtColombo: Sections of top Tamil Tiger leadership Wednesday began to surrender before rapidly advancing Sri Lankan forces, signalling an imminent collapse of the LTTE after a two-decade long relentless battle. Two top Tamil Tiger leaders, including its former spokesman Daya Master and George, aide of slain political head Tamilchelvan, surrendered to Sri Lankan forces at Putumathalan, Defence Ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said. The government “strongly believes” that Tamil Tiger supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran and his other top aides were still in the area and had not escaped, Rambukwella said, claiming LTTE “had lost all its military capabilities”. “They are fighting on their last legs and it is a losing battle. The only way for them to stop this military operation is to lay down arms,” he said, as troops pushed deeper into the No-Fire Zone, the last patch of the 18 sq km land held by the Tigers as thousands of trapped Tamils civilians continued to flee the northern war zone. The surrendered leaders indicated that there were only 10,000-15,000 people left in the ‘no-fire’ zone, he said. “This is a very clear sign that LTTE has accepted defeat and this is a start of a new era,” a spokesman said. Over 95,000 civilians have so far crossed over to government controlled ‘safe zone’ till this morning, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. UN and other aid agencies estimates are that there could be anywhere up to 200,000 people trapped in the No Fire Zone. The spokesman claimed that Lankan forces had captured eight sq kms of the 18 sq km area of the ‘no-fire zone’ where the Tigers have been hemmed in after being ousted from almost all their strongholds. In fresh fighting, troops claimed to have already killed 46 Tiger cadres and seized a large quantity of arms and ammunition. Pro-LTTE website Tamilnet made no mention of surrenders or fighting trends. It merely said that in government forces shelling a Church had been damaged at Valaignarmadam, in which many people who had taken shelter there, were killed. The rapid Sri Lankan advance came as the first-ever satellite imagery of the embattled zone showed that tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were squeezed into the last small strip of land controlled by the Tamil Tigers. The imagery released by the US State Department shows about 25,000 tents packed into a coastal strip about 18 sq km, promoting US and Red Cross officials to ask Colombo for a pause to enable women and children escape the conflict zone. After capturing Putumathalan yesterday, which triggered off the civilian exodus, Sri Lankan troops today moved deeper into the No Fire Zone, capturing Vishwamadukulam and Alankulam and in search operation, came across 22 dead bodies of LTTE cadres. In Mullaitivu, two top LTTE cadres, identified as Kaladen and Wijayan were killed in an operation by army commandos in east Putumathalan. Meanwhile, based on the number of tents which came up on the satellite imagery, experts estimate that there could have been 125,000 people in the conflict zone before 95,000 fled during the last two days. Human rights groups say the LTTE are holding many people in the enclave against their will and using them as human shields. They have also accused the government forces of using indiscriminate shelling in the No Fire Zone. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:27 am RBI warns banks of risks in managing pvt pool of capitalMumbai: The Reserve Bank has cautioned banks against risks associated with sponsoring and managing private pools of capital like private equity funds, venture capital funds and infrastructure funds. The central bank will come out with a draft paper in this regard, eliciting public comments, after which final guidelines will be issued by 30 September this year. In the annual credit policy, the Reserve Bank said: “There is need for banks to have greater awareness of the risks inherent in such activities (sponsoring and managing of private pools of capital) and limit such exposures commensurate with their riks management and available capital.” The RBI said it has been observed that Indian banks have recently been engaged in sponsoring and managing private pools of capital such as venture capital funds and infrastructure funds. Keeping in view the supposed risks involved in such activities, the RBI has mandated maintaining a certain level of capital against those. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:16 am Wipro net profit up, sees revenue fallBangalore: India’s No.3 outsourcer Wipro Ltd beat expectations with a 4% rise in profit, sending its shares to a six-month high, although it forecast a fall in June quarter revenue as the global downturn hits demand. Wipro, which offers IT solutions such as system integration, software application and back-office services, said it expected software services revenue to fall to $1 billion to $1.03 billion in the June quarter from $1.05 billion in the March quarter. The January-March IT services revenue was the first decline on quarter in at least five years as the harsh economic climate hit global outsourcing demand. “Today the environment is such that every customer is asking for price reductions,” chief financial officer Suresh Senapaty told reporters. “We think in the short term the weakness will continue.” ************ ‘No salary hike’ The company will not raise salaries of staff in the current fiscal year that began 1 April Pratik Kumar, head of human resources, told reporters on Wednesday. ********** New York-listed Wipro, which counts Citigroup, telecoms gear makers Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks and Credit Suisse as clients, saw cutbacks on outsourcing contracts from financial services clients, he said. Wipro said pricing fell 160 basis points on quarter. Prices of IT outsourcing services will shrink 5% to 20% through 2010 due to the uncertain economic climate, IT budget constraints and competition between vendors, research company Gartner said last month. “Looking at the trying conditions, it’s a decent set of numbers... but looking at the guidance and its range, it looks like Wipro is trying to play it safe,” said Arun Kejriwal, director at research firm KRIS. At 0501 GMT shares in Wipro, which the market values at $8 billion, were up 4.2% at Rs285.80, after rising as much as 7.5% to a six-month high, in a Mumbai market that was up 0.9%. Gloomy Tech Outlook Wipro’s lower revenue forecast follows a gloomy outlook by larger rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies Infosys said it expected its first annual revenue decline. Wipro, owned by billionaire Azim Premji who turned the family’s ailing vegetable oil business into IT services major, said net profit in its fiscal fourth quarter to March rose to Rs9.1 billion ($180 million) from Rs8.75 billion reported a year ago. Sales rose 13% to Rs64.5 billion. A Reuters poll had forecast a net profit of Rs8.73 billion. Earnings were boosted by the integration of Citi Technology Services, which Wipro bought for $127 million from Citigroup in December. “We expanded our margins despite the headwinds of reduction in volumes and lower tailwind of forex gains,” Senapaty said in a statement. Wipro added 20 new clients in the quarter. Wipro’s IT business margin rose to 20.8% in the quarter from 20% in the December quarter and the weaker rupee helped margins by 40 basis points, an investor relations executive said. The rupee fell nearly 4% against the dollar in the quarter, adding some buffer to profit margins of exporters. Growth in India’s once-booming software services exporting sector has slowed sharply due to a recession in the United States, which accounts for more than one-half of the estimated $60 billion industry supply, and rising competition from the likes of IBM. On Monday, IBM reported a bigger-than-expected 11% drop in quarterly revenue as the slowdown in corporate spending hurt even one of the healthiest US technology companies, but the company affirmed its full-year earnings outlook. The market share of India’s top outsourcers could come under pressure with the acquisition of fraud-tainted Satyam Computer Services by mid-sized Indian IT services company Tech Mahindra Ltd in a deal worth about $580 million. Tech Mahindra, 31% owned by Britain’s BT Group, will become India’s fourth-largest outsourcing firm from a current ranking of sixth after the takeover. Shares in Wipro, rose 5% in the March quarter, outperforming a 2.6% advance in the sector index and a 0.6% rise in the main index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:14 am Vigilance recommends penalty against Hindustan Copper headNew Delhi: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has recommended initiation of major penalty proceedings against the chairman and managing director of Hindustan Copper Ltd for irregularities in “selection” and promotions of employees. The Commission has advised initiation of major penalty proceedings against the CMD for facilitating and granting irregular promotions besides selection of employees in the public sector company. Altogether, CVC has advised initiation of major penalty proceedings against 109 officers from various government departments in February alone with public sector banks topping the list with 24 such officials. Indian Oil Corp. closely followed with 21 officers. The CVC has also advised imposition of major penalty against 52 officers during the same period with the public sector banks again topping the list with 14 officials. The Commission has launched prosecution against 10 officers. In a statement, the Commission said it was “deeply” concerned over continuous delays in filing the post of CVOs (Chief Vigilance Officer) in several key organisations like Employees State Insurance Corporation, State Bank of Patiala, IREDA and Air India Charters. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:13 am BSE Sensex drops 3rd day as risk appetite wanesMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex erased early gains and fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday, their third consecutive decline, as investor appetite for risk waned after the market jumped by a third over the previous six weeks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:09 am HCL Tech Q3 revenues at Rs 2861.5 cr; up 49.4% YoY QoQHCL technologies Q3 revenues at Rs 2861.5 cr; up 49.4% YoY and QoQ, EBITDA at Rs. 610.4 Cr; up 51.3% YoY and 13.4% QoQ, Net income before forex loss at Rs. 419.4 Cr; up 23.4% YoYSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:04 am JSW Steel to invest Rs.3,000 crore in 2009-10JSW Steel, one of the leading steel makers in the country, will invest Rs.3,000 crore in 2009-10 to expand its production capacity, a top official said here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:03 am Delhi to get its own fashion hubAddressing a long-standing demand of the designer fraternity, the national capital is to very soon get its first fashion hub to bridge the gaps in development within the industry and promote young talent.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 11:02 am HCL Tech Q3 net falls 36 pct; shares tumbleNEW DELHI (Reuters) - HCL Technologies Ltd's March quarter profit fell by more than a third, hit by forex losses, dragging the shares down more than 13 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:56 am Piramal Health eyes acquisitions in US, EuropeNew Delhi: Piramal Healthcare Ltd is looking for acquisitions in the US and Europe, a senior official said, adding that business should grow during the current fiscal year at about the same pace it did in 2008-09. Piramal recently acquired US-based inhalation anaesthetics maker Minrad International Inc to boost its presence in the global critical care business and director Swati Piramal said they were looking for more. “We expect to buy 2-3 companies in advanced markets like the US and Europe,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. Piramal Healthcare reports results for its fourth quarter ended March on Friday. Piramal Healthcare and a related firm Piramal Life Sciences Ltd would together invest about Rs1 billion during the 12 months to March 2010, mostly on new drug development and research, she said. The company is in the process of phase II trials of a cancer drug and expect to get approvals in the US, Australian and Indian market this year, Swati Piramal said, adding 14 new drugs were in the pipeline. The firm plans to add 300-400 professionals in the super-speciality marketing division, she added, ruling out any plan to sell stake in Piramal Healthcare or Piramal Life Sciences Ltd. Piramal Healthcare employs about 7,000 employees in total, she said. Shares in Piramal Healthcare closed 0.1% higher at Rs211.05 in a Mumbai market that ended 0.74% down, while Piramal Life Sciences shares fell 1.9% to Rs48 rupees. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:48 am RBI says still room for rate cuts - TVMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India has room for more rate adjustments, its governor told television channels on Wednesday, a day after lowering key interest rates by a quarter percentage point to shore up faltering growth.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:35 am Yahoo! to cut 5% global workforce; Q1 profit dips 78%Yahoo! will reduce global workforce by 5% and has reported a 78% decline in net income in the first quarter amid slacking advertising revenues.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:31 am Shree Cement books 1,000 Nanos on Earth DayKolkata-based Shree Cement said it has booked 1,000 Nanos as part of its eco-drive programme and environment awareness promotion.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:21 am ASTROSAT to be launched in mid-2010Mumbai: India’s Astronomy satellite, which would facilitate the study of astrophysical objects ranging from nearby solar system elements to distant stars, is likely to be launched in mid-2010. Scientists from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) have completed the developmental phase of complex science payloads and have begun integrating them before delivery of the 1,650 kg satellite ASTROSAT. “The big challenge was that of design of a satellite attitude control system that will enable accurate control of the pointing of the instruments towards a specific direction in the sky,” scientists from TIFR told PTI. ASTROSAT project is a collaborative effort of a number of research institutions, including the Mumbai-based TIFR. The challenges in the design of payloads and Attitude Control System have been overcome and in a recent review committee meeting, it was decided that the delivery of the payload to ISRO satellite Centre will begin from the middle of this year and continue till early next year to enable the launch of ASTROSAT in 2010 using ISRO workhorse PSLV. The Astrosat will be in an equatorial orbit with inclination of about 8 degrees or less. Two star trackers and gyros will be used for the pointing control of the satellite. The ASTROSAT satellite will cost about Rs200 crore and will have a lifespan of at least five years. Out of the five science payloads for this multi-wavelength satellite observatory, three X-ray instruments are developed by TIFR. The Ultra-Violet Imaging Instrument has been developed jointly by Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore and Inter-university centre for astronomy and astrophysics, Pune with the involvement of TIFR. The photon counting detectors of this instrument have been developed jointly by the Indian team and the Canadian Space Agency as a science collaboration. The fifth instrument namely X-ray Sky Monitor is being made by ISRO Satellite Centre and is in advanced stages of fabrication and assembly. The X-ray CCD used in X-ray imaging telescope is not readily available and very expensive to procure. Hence instead of buying the costly X-ray CCD for ‘Astrosat´, the Indian side has opted for a scientific collaboration with the British University of Leicester. A team of engineers from TIFR went to the University of Leicester’s Space Research Centre in UK in February 2009 to monitor the progress of the collaborative works. The X-ray CCD camera was designed by the University of Leicester, which is also part of the ambitious project and the manufacture of the hardware components and electronics was undertaken by TIFR. In a few months time, when the Leicester built CCD camera is assembled and integrated with the TIFR built electronics, it will be tested to space qualified standards and shipped back to India for integration into the spacecraft. Astrosat will carry five instruments to observe objects such as black holes, neutron stars, and active galaxies at a number of different wavelengths simultaneously, from the visible and ultraviolet band to energetic X-rays. The scientist said that, with the confidence developed by the scientific community in the making of payloads for the large mission ASTROSAT, discussions are taking place for the development and launch of smaller size satellites for astronomy and other areas of science in the near future. Its other objectives included broadband spectroscopic studies of galaxy clusters and stellar coronae, studies of periodic and non-periodic variability of x-ray sources, monitoring intensity of known sources and detecting outbursts and luminosity variations, the scientists said. The satellite is capable of gathering 420 gigabits of data every day that can be down loaded in 10 to 11 orbits visible at Tracking and Data receiving center of ISRO in Bangalore. Other institutes involved in the project are Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India Space Research Organisation, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, Inter-University Center for Astrophysics, Pune, Bhabha Atomic Reserch Centre, Mumbai, S.N Bose National Centre for Basic Science, Kolkata, Canadian Space Agency. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:42 am Wipro net profit up, forecasts revenue fallBANGALORE (Reuters) - India's No.3 outsourcer Wipro Ltd beat expectations with a 4 percent rise in profit, sending its shares to a six-month high, although it forecast a fall in June quarter revenue as the global downturn hits demand.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:33 am Tech Mahindra open offer for Satyam opens June 12MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tech Mahindra said on Wednesday its open offer to buy up to 20 percent of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services will open on June 12 and close on July 1.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:12 am Cyber hackers breached US jet fighter programWashington: Cyber hackers nearly two years ago breached a high-tech jet fighter program developed for the Pentagon by Lockheed Martin Corp., but classified information was not compromised, a senior defense official said on Tuesday. No details about the attacks were provided. The defense official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. In confirming the attack on Lockheed’s F-35 Lightning II program, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, the defense official said it is unclear who did it, or whether it was an attempt at corporate thievery or a hacker trying to harm the program. The Pentagon is expected to pay about $300 billion to buy nearly 2,500 of the F-35 jets for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. The cyber spying revelations come as the White House is preparing to release its review on the nation’s cyber security. There have been increasingly frequent warnings that US networks are at risk and repeatedly are being probed by foreign governments, criminals or other groups. Lockheed officials issued a carefully worded statement saying that “to our knowledge there has never been any classified information breach” but that the company’s systems are continually attacked, and there are measures in place to detect and stop the hacking. The statement did not specifically deny a breach into unclassified information or less sensitive areas of the program. The cyber attacks were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Tuesday that Defense Department networks are probed repeatedly every day, and the number of intrusion attempts have more than doubled. While he would not discuss the Lockheed incident, he said there obviously are some computer programs that are far less sensitive or classified than others. Whitman cautioned that hackers’ ability to get information out of military systems should not be overestimated. Whitman described a layered approach to the government’s protections, saying that as the information becomes more sensitive, it is more walled off and safeguarded. “We view cyberspace as a war-fighting domain ... and we are going to defend it and protect it,” Whitman said. “The key is to stay one step ahead of your enemy.” Defense secretary Robert Gates told CBS News on Tuesday: “We are under cyberattack virtually all the time, every day here. We think we have pretty good control of our sensitive information, both with respect to intelligence and equipment systems.” Gates said he is dramatically increasing the resources for cyber experts, Another official familiar with the program said that the more classified portions of the fighter program are digitally walled off and have heightened protections built in. That official added that outside cyber scans of the fighter program are not new, and that they could well involve subcontractors and suppliers around the world. Those scans may not involve critical, classified systems, the officials said. Lockheed Martin Corp. is the lead contractor on the jet, with a number of other companies that include Northrop Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems making parts and systems for the plane. According to US counterintelligence officials, this is not the first military jet program that has been hacked. During a speech in Texas this month, Joel Brenner, head of the US Office of the National Counterintelligence executive, said that officials have seen counterfeit computer chips “make their way into US military fighter aircraft.” In a series of recent speeches, Brenner has repeatedly raised the alarm that foreign governments and other groups are accessing government systems and installing malicious software. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:04 am Pranab denies UPA going slow on unearthing Swiss Bank accountsMinister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday denied that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was going slow in taking action to unearth illegal money of Indian citizens kept in secret Swiss Bank accounts.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:01 am Kerala to have new BPL listKerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Wednesday said the state will have a new below the poverty line (BPL) list.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:01 am Margin squeeze to hit Reliance Q4; profit rise at ONGCMumbai: India’s largest energy group, Reliance Industries Ltd, is expected to report a second consecutive drop in quarterly profit as the global economic crisis squeezed demand and shrank refining margins. Reliance, valued at $54 billion, should show significant growth in coming quarters from gas sales it started pumping this month from its deep-sea field off India’s east coast. By the year-end gas output from the Krishna-Godavari Basin is expected to reach a peak production of 80 million standard cubic metres a day -- a level the upstream regulator has said can be sustained for six years. “The major value driver going ahead for Reliance is the E&P (exploration and production) business,” said Deepak Pareek, an analyst at Angel Broking, adding the gas sales from the Bay of Bengal field would boost revenue and earnings. “They have started exploration in prospective blocks recently. So, any new discoveries could lead to reserve accretion and in turn boost the valuation of the company,” he said. Reliance will also benefit from a new 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, built by unit Reliance Petroleum, which was commissioned last December. The company is in the process of absorbing the subsidiary, in which it owns 70%. Last week, the company surrendered export status and tax breaks on its old 660,000 bpd refinery due to a global slump in demand, freeing it up to sell petrol and diesel in its home market and to local state marketing companies. Its refining margins are expected to have fallen to $8-$12 a barrel in the March quarter from $15.5 a year earlier, tracking the decline in Asia’s benchmark Dubai crack margin. The Asian benchmark Dubai crack margin averaged $5.6 per barrel in the quarter versus $7 a year ago, data from Thomson Reuters showed. Reliance’s refining margins are higher than the Asian benchmark as its refinery is capable of processing cheaper heavy crude to produce high value products. January-March net profit is expected to have dropped nearly 8% from a year ago, after dropping 9.8% in October-December. ONGC State-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp is set to report a 31% rise in January-March profit as lower crude prices meant it did not have to share the subsidy burden of state-run oil marketing companies, analysts said. India has a government-controlled fuel pricing regime, under which state-run producers such as ONGC are forced to subsidise state oil marketing companies to sell products at low prices to consumers. “ONGC’s earnings will be limited due to a decline in crude prices in FY10 on a year-on-year basis,” Edelweiss Securities said in a note this month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 8:46 am DoT seeks Cabinet nod on licence fee relief to fixed lineThe Department of Telecom has sought the approval of the Cabinet to exempt fixed line operators from paying annual licence fee on revenues earned from rural areas. The DoT has decided to approach the Cabinet after the Ministry of Finance objected to the exemption on the grounds that it was not consulted before the sop was announced.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 8:33 am Rashtriya Chem to restart production at urea unitStateowned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCFL) will shortly restart production from its 3.3 lakh tonne a year urea plant. This follows the signing of a gas supply and transportation agreement with Reliance Industries for supply of KG Basin gas.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 8:30 am 20 Kingfisher pilots quitTwenty pilots from Kingfisher Airlines have put in their papers and 16 more are likely to quit in the next few months. The pilots were unhappy with the deteriorating service conditions and the recent restructuring in their pay scales, a company source said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 8:28 am Titan has the \'fibre\' to counter cheap importsAs a watch marketer and Chief Operating Officer (watches) of Titan Industries, Mr Harish Bhat, has a portfolio of a dozen watches, mostly Titan, with an odd Tommy Hilfiger thrown in.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 22 Apr 2009 | 8:27 am Nestle posts 2.1% sales drop in Q1Zurich: Nestle, the world’s biggest food group, reported a slowdown in core sales growth in the first quarter as a strong Swiss franc weighed, but reiterated its full year target despite the global slowdown. Nestle said it still expects 2009 organic sales growth of “at least approaching 5 %” compared to its long-term target of 5-6%. Organic sales growth, which strips out currency effects and acquisitions, was 3.8% in the first quarter, the company said on Wednesday. Total sales slipped 2.1% to 25.2 billion Swiss francs ($21.5 billion) from 25.7 billion a year ago as the strong Swiss currency had a negative impact of 5.2%. A Reuters poll of 11 analysts had on average forecast on total sales rising 1.2% to 26 billion Swiss francs and a 3.7% rise in underlying or organic sales. Chief executive Paul Bulcke said the 3.8% underlying growth figure was an achievement given tough comparisons with the near 10% rise in the year-ago quarter. Nestle shares were indicated to open down 1.2% according to pre-market data from Clariden Leu. All business units recorded positive organic growth in the first quarter apart from the bottled water division, where sales fell 2.5%, which Nestle said was due to ongoing weakness in the industry, particularly in western Europe. Nestle Nutrition recorded flat organic growth due to weak growth in the European baby formula business and for the U.S. Jenny Craig diet food range. Nestle also said ice cream sales were hit as consumers cut back on eating out. RIDING OUT THE RECESSION? Analysts have said the maker of Nescafe coffee, KitKat chocolate bars and Maggi soup was well positioned to ride out the recession compared to its rivals due to its range of products and wide geographical presence. French food group Danone stuck to its 2009 earnings growth targets earlier this month after demand for its baby food and medical nutrition products helped lift first-quarter like-for-like sales by 1%. Shares in Nestle are trading at about 12 times 2010 earnings, at a slight discount to Cadbury on 12.5 but at a premium to about 11.4 for Danone and 10.3 for Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc/NV. In its statement, Nestle did not mention its plans for its stake in the world’s biggest cosmetics company L’Oreal after a shareholder pact expires on April 29. Both Nestle and France’s Bettencourt family own roughly 30% stakes in L’Oreal and speculation has been rife over whether Nestle might seek a full takeover or consider selling its stake when the shareholder pact expires. Earlier this month, Nestle and the Bettencourt family said they would continue to work together even after 29 April. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:40 am Wipro resisted meltdown last fiscal but yields in new fiscalIndia's third largest IT bellwether Wipro Ltd, which resisted global meltdown to post double-digit growth in fiscal 2008-09, has succumbed in the beginning of the new fiscal (2009-10) to project lower revenue guidance from its global IT services business.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:30 am ACC March qtr net up 23 pct, beats f'castMUMBAI (Reuters) - ACC Ltd, India's largest cement maker, posted on Wednesday a better-than-expected 23 percent rise in quarterly profit on strong sales volumes.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:18 am Gold futures up on firm global cuesNew Delhi: Gold futures on Wednesday rose by 0.29% on sustained buying by traders and speculators on the back of a firming global trend. On the Multi Commodity Exchange at 11:15am, gold for the most-active August-month contract gained 0.29% to Rs14,333 per 10 gram, in trading of 45 lots. The yellow metal for the June-month contract traded 0.24% higher at Rs14,328 in 1,474 lots. Traders said a pick-up in demand in the spot market and reports of a firming trend in the overseas market, mainly pushed up gold prices. Meanwhile, gold in the Asian market traded lower at around $887.10 an ounce against $894.30. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:09 am Markets slip into red after positive startIndian equities markets slipped into the red after starting in the positive terrain Wednesday, with a key index ruling 9.79 points below its previous close, a little after noon.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:01 am Tech Mahindra open offer for Satyam from 12 JuneMumbai: Tech Mahindra said on Wednesday its open offer to buy up to 20% of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services will open on 12 June and close on 1 July. Tech Mahindra will offer to buy 199 million shares at Rs58 each, the outsourcing firm said in a newspaper advertisement. It said the offer included holders of Satyam’s US-listed shares. Tech Mahindra, 31% owned by Britain’s BT Group, was the highest bidder for a controlling stake in Satyam at an auction last week, a deal that will see it step up to the top tier of Indian IT firms. Tech Mahindra has paid $351 million for a 31% stake of new equity, and a fully subscribed open offer would take its stake in Satyam to 51%. If the offer is not fully subscribed, it has the option of a further preferential issue from Satyam to lift its stake. In early January, Satyam’s founder and chairman shocked investors by saying profits had been overstated for years, putting in doubt the survival of a company once ranked as India’s fourth-largest software services exporter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:57 am Chrysler lenders offer to cut debt, take stockWASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC's first-lien lenders have offered to take equity in a restructured automaker allied with Fiat SpA in exchange for writing off about 35 percent of the $7 billion they are owed, according to people with knowledge of the closed-door talks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:43 am iGate freezes hiring till Q3 CY'09Software firm iGate on Wednesday said it has put a freeze on hiring till the third quarter of the current calendar year, when it expects a bounce-back in the global economy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:37 am Tech Mahindra announces open offer for Satyam sharesAfter buying 31 percent of scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services, Tech Mahindra Wednesday announced an 'open offer' to acquire a further 20 percent stake so that it can get a controlling stake.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:31 am Citigroup vows to pay back US govt aidNew York: Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit pledged to repay “every dollar” the third-largest US bank owes to the government, which has pumped $45 billion of capital into the bank. The embattled CEO spoke at an annual meeting that stretched to roughly six hours, where he and lead director Richard Parsons fielded complaints from investors furious about the 94% plunge in their shares since the beginning of 2007. “Your board of directors are too terrible for words - they’re dumb,” said Peggy McMahon, who later told Reuters the declining value of her Citi shares resulted in a $250,000 loss. Citigroup’s annual meeting typically lasts hours, but this one was unusually long. The proceedings are usually dominated by small shareholders angry over their experience in retail branches or with their credit cards, but this year investors focused squarely on who was to blame for the dwindling value of their shares. Even amid the anger, shareholders elected every director the board nominated, including some accused of lax oversight as the bank’s troubles mushroomed. Investors managing money for institutions often do not attend shareholder meetings but usually dominate the voting. Every shareholder proposal failed to pass, but some came close to winning, including one that would allow investors to call special shareholder meetings, which received a little less than half the votes cast. Citigroup’s annual meeting came four days after the bank posted a $1.59 billion first-quarter profit before payments of preferred dividends under the US Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. The results benefited from a big accounting change and improved trading results. Citigroup had lost $37.5 billion in the prior five quarters. Pandit’s job security has long been a topic of speculation, and the Financial Times on Tuesday said top Federal Deposit Insurance Corp officials have discussed who might replace him if the bank needs more government aid. It said new Chief Financial Officer Edward “Ned” Kelly could be a candidate. “I intend to see this through,” Pandit told shareholders. Asked why Kelly handled Citigroup’s conference call with analysts to discuss quarterly results, Pandit said it was “only fair” to let Kelly deliver the “good news.” Pandit stood by Kelly’s comments on Friday that the bank does not plan to change terms of an exchange offer to swap preferred shares for common, giving the government a potential 36% stake in Citigroup. He also said he wants to restore the bank’s dividend as soon as possible, and said Citigroup, whose shares fell below $1 early last month, was not actively considering a reverse stock split. US regulators are slated in early May to complete stress tests to determine how well the nation’s largest lenders would fare if the recession proves to be deep and long. Those tests may also decide whether Citi needs more aid. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:57 am Strong energy sector can fuel economyEnergy is central to development. Traditionally in India, one per cent economic growth has been requiring more than one per cent growth in energySource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:51 am HCL Tech Q3 net falls 36%, shares tumbleNew Delhi: HCL Technologies Ltd on Wednesday said third-quarter profit fell by more than a third, hit by forex losses, despite a revenue rise, dragging the shares down more than 13%. Profit for HCL, one of India’s top five software exporters, fell 36.4% to Rs2.18 billion in the quarter to March, from 3.43 billion a year ago, under US accounting standards. Shares fell over 13% in opening deals, before trimming losses to trade 7% lower at Rs128.85 by 10:03am, while the broader index rose 0.84% and the sectoral index fell 0.3%. Forex loses came in at Rs2.01 billion in the quarter, HCL said, compared with gains in the year-ago period, as the firm hedged against a gain in the rupee, which in fact fell 4% in the three months to March. India’s export-driven outsourcing companies have thrived for years by bagging contracts from overseas clients, but the economic slowdown and turmoil in the global financial sector have halted the sector’s scorching pace of growth. Peers such as Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy have been downbeat about forecasts for the financial year that began on 1 April. Revenue at HCL, which counts Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, Xerox <XRX.N> and Cisco as clients, rose by a half to Rs28.62 billion. HCL won 11 contracts worth $250 million in the quarter. Shares in the firm shed 11.7% in the March quarter, compared with the IT index’s 2.6% rise and a 0.6% increase in the main index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:42 am Tech Mahindra's open offer for Satyam to open on June 12Tech Mahindra said its Rs 1,154.66-crore open offer for an additional 20% stake in Satyam will begin on June 12 and close on July 1, 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:41 am Sensex falls for third straight day on profit-sellingIn high volatility, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share Sensex failed to maintain its initial gains and ended lower by 81 points.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:39 am Asia stocks up but caution widespreadSource: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 5:15 am Rupee up by 13 paise against dollarThe Indian rupee appreciated by 13 paise to trade at 50.32 against the US currency in early trade on Wednesday, snapping a four-day weak trend, on hopes of fresh capital inflows by foreign funds, as domestic bourses are likely to open higher keeping in line with firm Asian markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:39 am Wipro Q4 net up 15% at Rs 1,010crSoftware firm Wipro Technologies on Wednesday said it has reported a 14.77% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,010 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:33 am Tech Mahindra's open offer for Satyam to open on June 12IT firm Tech Mahindra said its Rs 1,154.66-crore open offer for an additional 20% stake in Satyam Computer will begin on June 12 and close on July 1, 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:11 am Yahoo to cut 5% jobs; Q1 profit in lineSan Francisco: Yahoo Inc said it would cut 5% of its global workforce and reported quarterly results that showed progress towards controlling costs, sending shares higher in an after-hours relief rally. The Internet company said economic conditions remained challenging, as revenue on Yahoo Websites from both display ads and search ads fell during the first quarter. But the decline in revenue was offset by better cost controls, as new chief executive Carol Bartz seeks to revive Yahoo’s fortunes. “People were really looking at the profit structure of the business and for things not to be falling apart,” said Kaufman Brothers analyst Jason Avilio. Yahoo said last October it would cut about one-tenth of its workforce, or about 1,600 jobs. The company finished 2008 with roughly 13,600 employees and said it would take severance charges from the new round of layoffs during the second quarter. The company also announced in an internal memo to employees on Tuesday that it planned to implement a mandatory shutdown of operations during the holiday week of 25 December, 2009 through 1 January, 2010. Yahoo said its operating cash flow, excluding certain items, was $409 million in the first quarter, at the high end of the $365 million to $415 million range it forecast in January. Yahoo shares were up 54 cents at $14.92 in after-hours trading on Tuesday. The company’s stock is up roughly 9% from its Monday close of $13.66. Yahoo’s financial report comes as speculation has mounted that the firm has restarted discussions with software giant Microsoft Corp about an Internet search partnership, following last year’s failed merger negotiations. Bartz, who replaced Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang in the top job in January, declined to comment on anything related to Microsoft during the conference call on Tuesday. But she reiterated her belief that search is a very valuable part of Yahoo’s business. “I’m well-versed enough in the search business at Yahoo to say it’s absolutely critical to Yahoo,” Bartz said in response to a question regarding whether she is now familiar enough with the business to respond to an offer for search. Aim to keep costs in line In the first full quarter under Bartz’s leadership, Yahoo generated revenue of $1.58 billion, down 13% from the year-ago period. Excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC), Yahoo’s revenue was $1.16 billion, compared with the average analyst expectation of $1.2 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported a net profit in the first quarter of $118 million, or 8 cents a share - down from $537 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts, on average, had forecast earnings at 8 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. While revenues were “a bit light,” Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in an e-mail that Yahoo’s overall results, particularly on the bottom line, were not bad given the environment. Yahoo said that revenue from display ads on its owned and operated Websites slid 13% year-over-year in the first quarter, with revenue from automotive advertisers down “substantially” and spending by retail advertisers “softened” compared to the year ago period. Revenue from search-based ads on Yahoo sites were down 3%. And Yahoo said that advertisers were spending less money to bid for the individual keywords that their ads appear alongside, echoing a theme present in results last week from Google Inc, the No.1 US Internet search company. Yahoo, like Google, stressed the importance of keeping costs in line amid the difficult economy. The new round of job cuts come about two months after Bartz announced a reorganization of Yahoo’s internal management structure. The layoffs, said Bartz, are a “natural outgrowth” of the reorganization, which will allow Yahoo to streamline its operations and eliminate duplication of efforts. The Internet company said it would also continue to implement unspecified “non-headcount cost reductions,” so it can increase its ability to make strategic investments and target hiring in its core operations “It’s crucial that management adjusts the cost structure to the new growth (or lack thereof) realities; so margin protection is paramount to Yahoo right now,” said Jefferies analyst Squali. “We think there is potential outperformance on margins.” Chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen told Reuters there were “still very dark clouds on the horizon” for the economy. Yahoo projected that sales in the current quarter would range between $1.425 billion and $1.625 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:19 am Yahoo to cut 5% jobs; Q1 profit in lineSan Francisco: Yahoo Inc said it would cut 5% of its global workforce and reported quarterly results that showed progress towards controlling costs, sending shares higher in an after-hours relief rally. The Internet company said economic conditions remained challenging, as revenue on Yahoo Websites from both display ads and search ads fell during the first quarter. But the decline in revenue was offset by better cost controls, as new chief executive Carol Bartz seeks to revive Yahoo’s fortunes. “People were really looking at the profit structure of the business and for things not to be falling apart,” said Kaufman Brothers analyst Jason Avilio. Yahoo said last October it would cut about one-tenth of its workforce, or about 1,600 jobs. The company finished 2008 with roughly 13,600 employees and said it would take severance charges from the new round of layoffs during the second quarter. The company also announced in an internal memo to employees on Tuesday that it planned to implement a mandatory shutdown of operations during the holiday week of 25 December, 2009 through 1 January, 2010. Yahoo said its operating cash flow, excluding certain items, was $409 million in the first quarter, at the high end of the $365 million to $415 million range it forecast in January. Yahoo shares were up 54 cents at $14.92 in after-hours trading on Tuesday. The company’s stock is up roughly 9% from its Monday close of $13.66. Yahoo’s financial report comes as speculation has mounted that the firm has restarted discussions with software giant Microsoft Corp about an Internet search partnership, following last year’s failed merger negotiations. Bartz, who replaced Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang in the top job in January, declined to comment on anything related to Microsoft during the conference call on Tuesday. But she reiterated her belief that search is a very valuable part of Yahoo’s business. “I’m well-versed enough in the search business at Yahoo to say it’s absolutely critical to Yahoo,” Bartz said in response to a question regarding whether she is now familiar enough with the business to respond to an offer for search. Aim to keep costs in line In the first full quarter under Bartz’s leadership, Yahoo generated revenue of $1.58 billion, down 13% from the year-ago period. Excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC), Yahoo’s revenue was $1.16 billion, compared with the average analyst expectation of $1.2 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported a net profit in the first quarter of $118 million, or 8 cents a share - down from $537 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts, on average, had forecast earnings at 8 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. While revenues were “a bit light,” Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in an e-mail that Yahoo’s overall results, particularly on the bottom line, were not bad given the environment. Yahoo said that revenue from display ads on its owned and operated Websites slid 13% year-over-year in the first quarter, with revenue from automotive advertisers down “substantially” and spending by retail advertisers “softened” compared to the year ago period. Revenue from search-based ads on Yahoo sites were down 3%. And Yahoo said that advertisers were spending less money to bid for the individual keywords that their ads appear alongside, echoing a theme present in results last week from Google Inc, the No.1 US Internet search company. Yahoo, like Google, stressed the importance of keeping costs in line amid the difficult economy. The new round of job cuts come about two months after Bartz announced a reorganization of Yahoo’s internal management structure. The layoffs, said Bartz, are a “natural outgrowth” of the reorganization, which will allow Yahoo to streamline its operations and eliminate duplication of efforts. The Internet company said it would also continue to implement unspecified “non-headcount cost reductions,” so it can increase its ability to make strategic investments and target hiring in its core operations “It’s crucial that management adjusts the cost structure to the new growth (or lack thereof) realities; so margin protection is paramount to Yahoo right now,” said Jefferies analyst Squali. “We think there is potential outperformance on margins.” Chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen told Reuters there were “still very dark clouds on the horizon” for the economy. Yahoo projected that sales in the current quarter would range between $1.425 billion and $1.625 billion. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:19 am 20 Kingfisher pilots quitMumbai, April 21 Twenty pilots from Kingfisher Airlines have put in their papers and 16 more are likely to quit in the next few months. The pilots were unhappy with the deteriorating service conditions and the recent restructuring in their paySource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am RBI eases FCCB buyback norms furtherMumbai, April 21 The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday further eased norms for Indian companies to use their internal accruals for buy-back of their foreign currency convertible bonds, as corporate houses continue to queue up to buy back theirSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am RBI cuts repo ratesMumbai, April 21 The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday cut key policy rates – repo and reverse repo – by 25 basis points each in order to push banks to lend more at viable rates and prop up the saggingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Why the banks won’t lend even if they lower interest ratesNew Delhi, April 21 You can take a horse to water but can you make it drink? This is the question that the Reserve Bank of India has failed to answer in its Annual Policy Statement for 2009-10.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideAvoid trading in DLF for the session. Fresh short position can be initiated if ICICI Bank declines below Rs 390 and SBI tumbles below Rs 1238, with tight stop-loss. We recommend a sell inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Allied Digital Services (Rs 269.75): BuyWe recommend a buy in the Allied Digital Services stock from a short-term trading horizon. It is evident from the charts of Allied Digital Services that after recording a lifetime low of Rs 146 in early March 2009, the stock has reversedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Titan has the ‘fibre’ to counter cheap importsChennai, April 21 As a watch marketer and Chief Operating Officer (watches) of Titan Industries, Mr Harish Bhat, has a portfolio of a dozen watches, mostly Titan, with an odd Tommy Hilfiger thrown in. But, what Mr Bhat likes to wear at theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am ‘No prior approval needed to set up offsite ATMs’Mumbai, April 21 In a move that would allow banks to expand their ATM networks more easily, the Reserve Bank of India has done away with the requirement of prior regulatory approval for setting up offsite ATMs. These are standalone ATMs outsideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Reliance Power achieves financial closure for Sasan projectMumbai, April 21 Reliance Power Ltd has achieved financial closure for its Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Northwest, Central India reel under heat waveThiruvananthapuram, April 21 Severe heat wave conditions have been prevailing in parts of West Rajasthan and Haryana during the last 24 hours, according to an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Companies Act does not provide for share lockin: MCAThe Ministry of Company Affairs said the Companies Act, 1956 does not provide for lockin of equity shares, reports CNBCTV18. \"The lockin can be prescribed under Sebi (Disclosure and Investor Protection) guidelines. It can also be done under the telecom licensing norms.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2009 | 10:51 pm SC upholds Sebi supremacy over unregistered companiesSebi won a crucial judgment in the Supreme Court against the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which has many a time set aside its orders.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2009 | 10:18 pm Big Pharma 'evergreening' nixedIntroducing highly expensive patented drugs that show little or no improvement over existing ones, or attempts to evergreen patents, is getting tougher for multinationals.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2009 | 10:15 pm 'Banks' worries of losing deposits exaggerated'RBI governor D Subbarao addressed the media after the RBI came out with its annual monetary policy review.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2009 | 10:15 pm Wipro buys mobile TV unit of NokiaWipro also confirmed that it has purchased Nokia Mobile TV Broadcast Solution, offering enterprise mobile TV solutions.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:32 pm Nine MFs beat slump, show growth in assetsNine fund-houses such as HDFC, Birla Sun Life, LIC, Canara Robeco and IDFC beat the MF industry slump which witnessed managed assets fall.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:31 pm March adds 15.87 million phone usersIndia continues to add more telecom subscribers every month with no signs of any slowdown in demand for new connections.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:30 pm 'One should look for outsiders only when the organisation is weak'Former Axis Bank Chairman and CEO PJ Nayak said managements should look at appointing outsiders only when the organisation is weak. If its strong, look for insiders, he told Business Standard, a day after resigning over differences with the banks board on choosing his successor.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Apr 2009 | 6:37 pm Mumbai's municipal body raises taxes on leased officesThe Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has raised property taxes on buildings located in the key business district of Nariman Point and other major commercial centres of the city that house global investment banks, commercial banks, consulates and other multinational companies.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 21 Apr 2009 | 6:35 pm
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