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Enthusiasm for Nano low, Tatas lag behind target - IBNLive.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:34 pm Special gold schemes galore on Akshaya Tritiya - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:31 pm Better security sought after Ambani chopper sabotage complaint - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:26 pm New Zealand, Jordan favourite tourist spots at Indian martThe New Zealand and Jordan tourism boards were a hot target of various domestic and international tour operators for business tie-ups at India's SATTE-2009 travel and tourism mart.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:00 pm ICICI Bank Q4 net profit down 35% at Rs 744 cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:29 pm Lakshmi Mittal loses 23.5 bn pounds in a year due to recessionNRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal lost as much as 23.5 billion pounds in the last one year owing to the current global recession.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:23 pm Crime branch begins probe into Ambani chopper 'sabotage'The Mumbai police Crime Branch Saturday started investigations into the suspected sabotage of a private helicopter owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, whose company has alleged a conspiracy to kill him, a top police official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:01 pm Air India gets new interim chiefUnhappy with the performance of state-run carrier Air India, the government has decided to appoint an interim chairman and managing director for the carrier in place of incumbent Raghu Menon, officials confirmed Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:01 pm Better security sought after Ambani chopper sabotage complaintA leading chamber has sought better security for corporate chiefs and sensitive establishments after an attempt was allegedly made to sabotage a chopper that belongs to the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:00 pm Monsanto offers fellowship for research on rice, wheat breedingUS-based agricultural biotechnology firm Monsanto Saturday announced a special fellowship programme for research on rice and wheat plant breeding.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:00 pm Air India gets new interim chiefUnhappy with the performance of state-run carrier Air India, the government has decided to appoint an interim chairman and managing director for the carrier in place of incumbent Raghu Menon.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:53 pm ICICI Q4 net falls, sees muted loan growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's ICICI Bank posted a 35.3 percent fall in quarterly profit on Saturday hurt by slowing loan growth, and said it expects moderate loan growth this year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:47 pm Treasury lends $2 billion more to General Motors!Taxpayers invested another $2 billion in General Motors Corp. this week as the struggling auto giant continued efforts to restructure and avoid bankruptcy court.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Apple fires 1,600 from retail stores!Apple has fired some 1,600 employees from its chain of retail stores due to slackening consumer demand, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm `US economic recovery depends on growing world mkts`!The recovery of American economy is closely linked with the economic recovery in other parts of the world, in particular the previously rapidly-growing markets, the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Indian banker among 15 Yale World Fellows !Unmesh Brahme, an Indian corporate sustainability strategist for one of the largest international banks, has been named as one of 15 Yale World Fellows for this year.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Distressed banks need to raise more cash: US Fed!The govt signaled that some distressed banks will need to raise more cash to meet stricter standards it has set for the 19 financial firms that took its "stress tests" and suggested it`s ready to step in with more federal help.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm G7 sees crisis beginning to unwind by year-end!World finance officials meeting in Washington said they expected the global economic crisis to begin to unwind by year-end, citing encouraging early signs of recovery.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Chrysler, CAW in tentative deal, GM draws $2 billion!Chrysler won a round of concessions from its Canadian union on Friday while General Motors Corp soaked up USD 2 billion more in US government aid and Ford Motor Co posted a narrower-than-expected loss that sent its shares soaring.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Doha round relaunch awaits US: WTO chief!A renewed push to finish long-running world trade talks cannot begin until the United States is ready to engage, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 pm Mahindra Lifespace\'s Income from Operations up by 48%Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL), the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group declared their audited consolidated income from operations at Rs. 341.78 crores, an increase of 48% for the year ended March 2009 from Rs. 231.08 crores for the year ended March 2008.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:41 am Trivitron to set up medical equipment park in PuneMedical equipment marketing and manufacturing firm Trivitron Healthcare Ltd is planning to set up a medical equipment park in Pune, a top official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:32 am ICICI Bank reports 10 percent drop in net profitsICICI Bank, India's largest in the private sector, has reported a 9.6 percent drop in net profit after tax at Rs.3,758 crore ($741 million) for the year ended March 31, against Rs.4,158 crore ($820 million) for the year before.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:31 am Strides Arcolab\'s EBITDA at Rs 42cr PAT at Rs 11crStrides Arcolab Limiteds revenue from operations at Rs 284 crores up 37%, Operational, EBITDA at Rs 42 Crores and PAT at Rs 11 CroresSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:30 am 3i Infotech\'s revenue grows to Rs 2304.70cr3i Infotechs Revenue grows to Rs 2,304.70 crores and PAT to Rs 292.38 crores for fiscal 2009. Profit after tax stood at Rs 292.38 crores, including exceptional items of Rs. 25.96 crores (net) and Rs 266.42 crores excluding exceptional items, recording a growth of 45.4% over the previous year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:14 am ICICI Bank Q4 net down 35% at Rs 744 crCountry's biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank posted a 35.30 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 744 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Apr 2009 | 11:03 am Marginal fall in gold pricesAfter a two-day rally gold prices on Saturday declined marginally by Rs 10 to close at Rs 14,890 per ten gram in the bullion market here on lack of buying support amid profit selling by stockists.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:42 am Shriram Leitwind to focus on exports this fiscalWindmill marketing company Shriram Leitwind Ltd is hoping to export nearly 50 percent of its 1.5-MW wind turbine generators produced this fiscal, a top official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:32 am Kerala banks post marginal growth in advancesBanks in Kerala have posted a marginal growth of 6.3 percent in advances from Rs.80,131 crore in June 2008 to Rs.85,174 crore as on Dec 31, according to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:29 am Air India gets new interim chiefUnhappy with the performance of state-run carrier Air India, the government has decided to appoint an interim chairman and managing director for the carrier in place of incumbent Raghu Menon, officials said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:26 am Air India gets new interim chief - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:18 am WTO's Lamy says Doha round relaunch awaits U.S.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A renewed push to finish long-running world trade talks cannot begin until the United States is ready to engage, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:08 am Markets continue upward movement this weekEquities markets continued their gaining streak this week, with a key index settling at a six-month high of 11,329.05 points on Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:06 am D-St Preview - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 9:30 am SBT posts record profit of Rs607.84 crThiruvananthapuram: Putting up impressive performance in all areas, State Bank of Travancore (SBT) made record profit of Rs607.84 crore, up 57.43% in 2008-09. The operating profit of the bank stood at Rs1,056.27 crore against Rs709.09 crore notching a growth of 48.96%, SBT managing director A K Jagannathan said at a press meet here. The bank, which held annual general meeting two days back, declared a dividend of 130% for the year against 100% the previous fiscal year. “It has been an year of stellar performance. In all areas we could achieve excellent results and we look forward to keep the tempo in the unfolding year”, Jagannathan said. The business turnover of the bank crossed Rs75,000 crore during the period. Aggregate deposits grew by Rs7012 crore to touch Rs41,670 crore. The total advances went up by 16.26% to reach Rs32711 crore. On the asset management side, the gross non performing asset (NPA) had been brought down to 1.65% from 2.01% and the net NPA from 0.95% to 0.58%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 9:29 am Reliance Infra looking at power distribution in UP, BiharReliance Infrastructure Ltd may submit bids for retail power distribution in 11 cities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, according to company sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Apr 2009 | 8:43 am Piramal Life Sciences posts Q4 loss at Rs37.36 crMumbai: Piramal Group’s spun-off research and development arm, Piramal Life Sciences on Saturday reported a net loss of Rs37.36 crore for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2009. The drug R&D firm had a net profit of Rs52 lakh in the March quarter of FY09, Piramal Life Sciences said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The company listed itself on the bourses in May last year. “Since this is the first year of results of the company published subsequent to listing of shares and as the company has not any operations during the corresponding quarter in the previous year, the figures for previous quarter are not furnished,” the filing added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 8:41 am 3i Infotech March net rises by 85.29%Mumbai: Software company 3i Infotech on Saturday said its net profit has surged by 85.29% to Rs90.46 crore for the quarter ended 31 March. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 3i Infotech said it had a net profit of Rs48.82 crore in the same quarter ended March 2008. Net sales of the company rose to Rs606.76 crore for the quarter under review, as against Rs349.86 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. Further, the board has also approved the proposal for merger of four wholly owned subsidiaries of the company with itself, the filing added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 8:41 am Don't see new H1B proposal turning into an Act: NASSCOM - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 25 Apr 2009 | 7:55 am Terrorism ’major threat’ to democracy, peace & security: PatilWarsaw: Observing that terrorism poses a “major threat” to the values of freedom, democracy, international peace and security, India has sought Poland’s cooperation in confronting the menace unitedly as it appreciated Warsaw’s “unreserved condemnation” of the Mumbai terror strikes. President Pratibha Patil, who is on a state visit here, said India and Poland share common values of freedom, human rights and democracy. “International terrorism poses a major threat to these values and to international peace and security. We need to confront the menace of terrorism unitedly, Patil said. “We deeply appreciate in this context, Poland’s unreserved condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November,” Patil said, addressing a banquet hosted in her honour by her Polish counterpart Lech Kacynski last night. She said both India and Poland believe that there is an “urgent need” to reform the United Nations to make it more compatible with contemporary realities. “Both India and Poland are committed to the principles enshrined in the UN charter. Our two countries cooperate well in the international fora,” she said and appreciated Poland’s support for India’s candidature for a permanent seat on an expanded UN Security Council. Patil also thanked Poland for its support for an “unconditional India-specific waiver” by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) last September. Noting that relations between India and Poland have been traditionally close and cordial, Patil said the bilateral trade could benefit from greater focus on mutual comparative advantages. “I do hope that the accompanying business delegation from India has managed to network with their Polish counterparts so that the full potential of the trade and economic relations between the two countries is realised,” she said. The trade between India and Poland last year stood at $1.27 billion, registering an increase of 48% over the previous year. Indian exports to Poland amounted to $976 million while the country imported $299 million worth of goods from the east European nation. The President said the two countries have shared civilizational bonds for centuries and that the Polish language also has some connectivity with Sanskrit. “There is thus very useful foundation to enable us to enhance our cultural and people-to-people contacts. More and more Indians wish to visit Poland,” she said. Patil also emphasized the need for academic and student exchanges and more cooperation and exchange of films and television programmes. The President said India seeks to build a peaceful and prosperous world. “....this (general elections) is, indeed, a gigantic exercise involving an electorate of over 714 million people. Our robust democracy gives every Indian the right to have a say in the kind of government they want to have to run their affairs,” she said. Patil is currently in Poland as part of her two-nation week-long tour that has also taken her to Spain. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 6:33 am Chrysler, CAW in tentative deal, GM draws $2 bnDetroit/Washington: Chrysler won a round of concessions from its Canadian union on Friday while General Motors Corp soaked up $2 billion more in US government aid and Ford Motor Co posted a narrower-than-expected loss that sent its shares soaring. The developments underscored the diverging fortunes of Ford and Chrysler and GM, both of which are operating under US government oversight and increasing pressure to win cost-saving agreements to avoid bankruptcy. Chrysler and the Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW) tentative agreement on a new labor contract is intended to cut costs and keep the automaker from bankruptcy. Under the agreement, the no. 3 US automaker would leave hourly base pay intact but cut a range of benefits, including an annual Christmas bonus, and add flexibility to work rules that would make it easier for Chrysler to hire temporary workers. Chrysler would also cut the third production shift at its Windsor, Ontario minivan plant. Taken together, the contract changes would save Chrysler an estimated C$240 million in annual labor costs, CAW president Ken Lewenza said. The leadership of the Canadian union also agreed to work with Chrysler to create a trust fund to pay for retiree health care modeled on a similar fund that the United Auto Workers union approved for Chrysler’s US workers in 2007. Chrysler still owes over $10 billion to the UAW for that trust fund and is seeking concessions from the US union that would allow it to pay stock, rather than cash, into the fund in in a restructured company. Talks on that issue between the UAW and Chrysler have been slow-moving and Lewenza urged other Chrysler stakeholders to make concessions needed to keep the automaker from bankruptcy. “We were told by Chrysler that they still didn’t have entire deals done to avoid a bankruptcy filing. We urge all the stakeholders in the United States to make equal sacrifices,” CAW president Ken Lewenza told reporters in Toronto. The tentative deal, which will be put to CAW-represented workers for ratification this weekend, is one of several agreements that Chrysler needs to reach by next week to win new US government aid and avoid liquidation. Chrysler faces an 30 April deadline to reach agreements that would cut its debt, labor costs and cement an alliance with Italy’s Fiat to satisfy the Obama administration. The government has not yet extended new money to Chrysler, which has been operating on $4 billion of emergency loans, but officials said they were working around the clock to avert a Chrysler bankruptcy filing and facilitate an alliance between Chrysler and Italy’s Fiat SpA. The immediate deadlines for Chrysler partly eclipsed General Motors’ struggle. The Obama administration has rejected a GM restructuring plan, ousted its chief executive and told the automaker to cut deeper and move faster if it wanted to continue to receive government support. GM has been operating under $13.4 billion of emergency loans from the US government. The $2 billion draw adds working capital for the automaker. The US Treasury could lend another $3 billion to GM. On Thursday, GM announced plans to slash production in North America over the next three months. GM said on Friday that the trustee for a fund created to allow GM employees to put savings into company stock had sold all of its shares. The sales started on 31 March, the day after the Obama administration rejected the automaker’s restructuring plans, and concluded on Friday. GM said the trustee was authorized to sell the shares if it determined there was a serious question about GM’s short-term viability as a going concern without resorting to bankruptcy or no possibility in the short term of recouping substantial proceeds from the sale of stock in bankruptcy proceedings. GM is looking to spin off its German unit Opel and UK’s Vauxhall Motors and is seeking investors. Fiat and Magna International are possible investors. Fiat sought to play down expectations that it was about to make an offer for Opel. GM shares closed up 4.32% at $1.69 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The struggles of Chrysler and GM overshadowed Ford’s results on Friday. Ford, which has not sought emergency government loans, posted a $1.4 billion loss that was less than analysts had expected and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011. Ford chief financial officer Lewis Booth called the results encouraging and said the automaker expected the first quarter to have the worst cash burn of the year. Booth said Ford risked being at a disadvantage if GM or Chrysler should file for bankruptcy, but the automaker has been preparing contingency plans should such a filing lead to disruptions in its parts supply base. Chrysler, about 80% controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, would need to complete those agreements to maintain its funding and receive more. Without additional support, Chrysler could liquidate. A critical part of the Chrysler restructuring is reducing about $7 billion of first-lien secured debt generated when the automaker broke away from Daimler AG in 2007. Lenders have balked at taking a severe haircut on the first-lien debt, but they made a new offer to the US Treasury on Friday. Talks between Treasury and the lenders have intensified as the deadline approaches. On Wednesday, the Treasury offered the lenders $1.5 billion and a 5% equity stake in a restructured Chrysler in exchange for the debt. The lenders had offered to retain about $4.5 billion in debt and take a 40% stake in a new Chrysler supported by government investment and the Fiat deal. The new offer cut that to $3.75 billion and dropped a requirement that Fiat make a $1 billion additional investment in Chrysler. Chrysler told its US dealers on Friday that it was making progress in its restructuring talks with the U.S. government and had no plans to file for bankruptcy before the end of month deadline. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 6:00 am Chrysler, CAW in tentative deal, GM draws $2 bnDetroit/Washington: Chrysler won a round of concessions from its Canadian union on Friday while General Motors Corp soaked up $2 billion more in US government aid and Ford Motor Co posted a narrower-than-expected loss that sent its shares soaring. The developments underscored the diverging fortunes of Ford and Chrysler and GM, both of which are operating under US government oversight and increasing pressure to win cost-saving agreements to avoid bankruptcy. Chrysler and the Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW) tentative agreement on a new labor contract is intended to cut costs and keep the automaker from bankruptcy. Under the agreement, the no. 3 US automaker would leave hourly base pay intact but cut a range of benefits, including an annual Christmas bonus, and add flexibility to work rules that would make it easier for Chrysler to hire temporary workers. Chrysler would also cut the third production shift at its Windsor, Ontario minivan plant. Taken together, the contract changes would save Chrysler an estimated C$240 million in annual labor costs, CAW president Ken Lewenza said. The leadership of the Canadian union also agreed to work with Chrysler to create a trust fund to pay for retiree health care modeled on a similar fund that the United Auto Workers union approved for Chrysler’s US workers in 2007. Chrysler still owes over $10 billion to the UAW for that trust fund and is seeking concessions from the US union that would allow it to pay stock, rather than cash, into the fund in in a restructured company. Talks on that issue between the UAW and Chrysler have been slow-moving and Lewenza urged other Chrysler stakeholders to make concessions needed to keep the automaker from bankruptcy. “We were told by Chrysler that they still didn’t have entire deals done to avoid a bankruptcy filing. We urge all the stakeholders in the United States to make equal sacrifices,” CAW president Ken Lewenza told reporters in Toronto. The tentative deal, which will be put to CAW-represented workers for ratification this weekend, is one of several agreements that Chrysler needs to reach by next week to win new US government aid and avoid liquidation. Chrysler faces an 30 April deadline to reach agreements that would cut its debt, labor costs and cement an alliance with Italy’s Fiat to satisfy the Obama administration. The government has not yet extended new money to Chrysler, which has been operating on $4 billion of emergency loans, but officials said they were working around the clock to avert a Chrysler bankruptcy filing and facilitate an alliance between Chrysler and Italy’s Fiat SpA. The immediate deadlines for Chrysler partly eclipsed General Motors’ struggle. The Obama administration has rejected a GM restructuring plan, ousted its chief executive and told the automaker to cut deeper and move faster if it wanted to continue to receive government support. GM has been operating under $13.4 billion of emergency loans from the US government. The $2 billion draw adds working capital for the automaker. The US Treasury could lend another $3 billion to GM. On Thursday, GM announced plans to slash production in North America over the next three months. GM said on Friday that the trustee for a fund created to allow GM employees to put savings into company stock had sold all of its shares. The sales started on 31 March, the day after the Obama administration rejected the automaker’s restructuring plans, and concluded on Friday. GM said the trustee was authorized to sell the shares if it determined there was a serious question about GM’s short-term viability as a going concern without resorting to bankruptcy or no possibility in the short term of recouping substantial proceeds from the sale of stock in bankruptcy proceedings. GM is looking to spin off its German unit Opel and UK’s Vauxhall Motors and is seeking investors. Fiat and Magna International are possible investors. Fiat sought to play down expectations that it was about to make an offer for Opel. GM shares closed up 4.32% at $1.69 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The struggles of Chrysler and GM overshadowed Ford’s results on Friday. Ford, which has not sought emergency government loans, posted a $1.4 billion loss that was less than analysts had expected and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011. Ford chief financial officer Lewis Booth called the results encouraging and said the automaker expected the first quarter to have the worst cash burn of the year. Booth said Ford risked being at a disadvantage if GM or Chrysler should file for bankruptcy, but the automaker has been preparing contingency plans should such a filing lead to disruptions in its parts supply base. Chrysler, about 80% controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, would need to complete those agreements to maintain its funding and receive more. Without additional support, Chrysler could liquidate. A critical part of the Chrysler restructuring is reducing about $7 billion of first-lien secured debt generated when the automaker broke away from Daimler AG in 2007. Lenders have balked at taking a severe haircut on the first-lien debt, but they made a new offer to the US Treasury on Friday. Talks between Treasury and the lenders have intensified as the deadline approaches. On Wednesday, the Treasury offered the lenders $1.5 billion and a 5% equity stake in a restructured Chrysler in exchange for the debt. The lenders had offered to retain about $4.5 billion in debt and take a 40% stake in a new Chrysler supported by government investment and the Fiat deal. The new offer cut that to $3.75 billion and dropped a requirement that Fiat make a $1 billion additional investment in Chrysler. Chrysler told its US dealers on Friday that it was making progress in its restructuring talks with the U.S. government and had no plans to file for bankruptcy before the end of month deadline. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 6:00 am Global slowdown appears to be easing: USWashington: There are signs that the global downturn in economic activity is easing, US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said. “Without underestimating the challenges we still face, there are signs that the pace of deterioration in economic activity and trade flows has eased,” Geithner said in a statement on Friday at the end of a group of seven (G-7) meeting. “Some measures of spending in the US and other economies may have begun to stabilize. Financial conditions in some markets have shown modest improvement and there are signs that the US housing markets are beginning to stabilize.” At the same time, Geithner cautioned against any simple optimism that the worst global slump since the 1930s would be over quickly. “We are right to be somewhat encouraged but we would be wrong to conclude that we are close to emerging from the darkness that descended on the global economy (in September),” he said. Geithner was speaking after a gathering of the G-7 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - and before going into a meeting of the group of 20, which includes the G-7 and the largest developing countries. The G-7 meeting, held traditionally ahead of the IMF and World Bank’s meetings over the weekend, reviewed progress on measures agreed at the G-20 London summit earlier this month to tackle the crisis. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 5:23 am Ford posts $1.4 bn Q1 loss, uses less cashDearborn: Ford Motor Co. reported a first-quarter loss of $1.4 billion on Friday and said it depleted less of its cash, emphasizing that it doesn’t expect to seek any of the government assistance that is keeping the rest of the Detroit Three alive. The second-largest US automaker said it spent $3.7 billion more than it took in during the first three months of the year, far less than the $7.2 billion it spent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Ford shares climbed 69 cents, or 15.5%, to $5.18 in midday trading. Chief financial officer Lewis Booth said the company is confident that it will slow the drain on its cash even further this year, and he said Ford will make it through 2009 without needing government aid. He would not speculate, however, about 2010. “This is a very, very difficult environment,” Booth said. “We’re comfortable we’ll get through this year.” Ford said it cut structural costs by $1.9 billion, adding that it is likely exceeding its $4 billion cost-cutting goal for the year. “We are off to a very good start,” CEO Alan Mulally said in a conference call with reporters. “So we believe that we will be able to exceed that target for the year.” Ford said it remains on track to break even or post a profit on a pre-tax basis in 2011. While General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have accepted $17.4 billion in federal aid and are racing toward deadlines to make deep cuts or file for bankruptcy, Ford was the first US automaker to modify its contract with the United Auto Workers union and strike a deal to make up to 50% of payments to a union-run health care trust in stock instead of cash. The company also completed tender offers to reduce its debt by more than one-third. The company said the moves would result in annual savings of $1 billion. Ford drew the last $10.1 billion from its revolving line of credit during the quarter and said it had $21.3 billion in cash as of 31 March. That’s down from $28.7 billion in the same period last year. Ford’s first-quarter loss compares with a $70 million profit a year earlier. On a per share basis, Ford lost 60 cents, compared with earnings of 3 cents a share for the comparable quarter a year ago. Revenue was $24.8 billion, down nearly 37% from $39.2 billion in the same quarter of last year, as Ford’s US sales declined 43%. On a pretax basis excluding special items such as a gain from its March debt exchange, Ford lost 75 cents a share, beating analysts estimates. Eleven analysts polled Thomson Reuters expected a $1.23 per share loss on revenue of $22 billion. Booth called the first-quarter performance “solid” compared with Ford’s fourth-quarter loss of $5.9 billion, which led to a $14.6 billion loss for 2008, the worst annual loss in the company’s 106-year history. “I think the important comparison for us is, ’are we improving versus the fourth quarter?’ Because the fourth quarter, things were really dreadful,” Booth said. He said cost cuts and better pricing for its vehicles helped the company narrowed its losses, and he expects continued improvement for the remainder of the year. One day after GM said it would temporarily close 13 North American plants for up to 11 weeks this summer to slash production, Ford said it has increased its second-quarter production forecast to 902,000 units, up 19.5% from the first quarter. North American production is expected to rise 25% to 435,000 vehicles. The increase is due to seasonal adjustments and because of first-quarter production cuts to reduce dealer inventory. Ford shut down 10 North American assembly plants for an extra week in January to deal with the auto sales slump. “We believe, with the decisive actions we have taken over the last few quarters, we have the dealer stocks well in line and with what we see with the reception of the new products,” Mulally said. “We believe we can go up a little bit more to support the real demand.” Should GM or Chrysler, or even a key supplier file for bankruptcy, Ford’s production is likely to be affected. Ford is working with suppliers that would be affected by a filing, and Mulally said the company has met with the government’s auto task force to help it “understand the importance” and “interdependencies” of the supply base. “The health of the supply base is probably the most critical issue as the government helps GM and Chrysler restructure,” he said. “I think they will continue to pay the highest priority as they restructure to the supply base to make sure it stays intact for all of us.” Special items improved Ford’s earnings by $362 million. The company’s $1.1 billion gain on its debt exchange was offset by a $664 million impairment charge due to a reduction in the book value of its Swedish Volvo unit. Ford classified Volvo as “held for sale,” meaning that it’s likely the unit will be sold in the next 12 months.. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 5:23 am Markets end week higher by 2.8%Mumbai: The markets this week rose 2.8%, sustaining their weekly gaining streak for the seventh consecutive week. Passing through a bearish mode in the initial three days, the signs of improvement in economy and a fresh rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 April, with inflation ruling virtually at zero level boosted the market sentiment after midweek. In the week to 25 April, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer bounced from its weekly low of 10,715.66 and ended with a net gain of 305.96 points, or 2.78%, over its last weekend’s close. On Friday, the Sensex surged 194.06 points, or 1.7%, to close at a six-month high of 11,329.05. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange 50-share Nifty also jumped by 96.35 points, or 2.85%, to end the week at 3,480.75 from its last close. Brokers said Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained the net buyers in the week and are expected to step up their activity in the coming days as the April series of derivatives expires on Thursday. They said bull operators are likely to cover their shorts or rollover nifty positions in the next series in the light of possibility of further reduction in interest rates as the inflation remained at 0.26% for the week ended 11 April, 2009. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Apr 2009 | 3:09 am Chrysler, CAW in tentative deal, GM draws $2 blnDETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chrysler won a round of concessions from its Canadian union on Friday while General Motors Corp soaked up $2 billion more in U.S. government aid and Ford Motor Co posted a narrower-than-expected loss that sent its shares soaring.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 3:05 am G7 signals worst of world recession may be overWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Finance chiefs from the G7 powers said on Friday the global economy may be past the worst phase of a recession although recovery was not yet assured, and they pledged to make sure that big financial firms are sound.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:08 am U.S. talks trade Monday with China, Canada, PakistanWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will meet on Monday with counterparts from the United States' top two trading partners, Canada and China, and with Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:23 am India to see record 09/10 cotton crop - attacheWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Increases to the planted area along with expected higher yields are slated to push India's cotton output to record levels during 2009/10, a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:07 am Geithner: Economic slide eases, no recovery yetWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday that signs of an easing in the pace of deterioration in the global economy should not be confused with the start of recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:02 am Investment stimulus is keyIt must have been one of the easier Monetary Policy announcements for the RBI. In fact, it had done most of the work, in terms of repo and Cash Reserve Ratio cuts, much before the Policy. Events moved so fast in financial markets and the economySource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Delimitation may change equation for AdvaniGandhinagar: Delimitation and various other factors have made the battle of the ballot interesting in Gandhinagar where the BJP veteran and NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr L. K. Advani, is seeking re-election to theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Wheat plunges below support price in DelhiNew Delhi, April 24 Wheat is selling below minimum support price (MSP) in the national Capital.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Bill in US Senate to make H1B hiring tougherBangalore/New Delhi, April 24 For the second time in two years, US Senators Mr Chuck Grassley and Mr Dick Durbin proposed a legislation that aims to curb the use of H-1B and L1 visas.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Battle in UP shifts into high gearMeerut: The electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh has got into high gear with the acceleration of campaigning for the 33 seats that go to polls in the third and fourth phases scheduled for April 30 and May 7 respectively.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Maruti says difficult year ahead; Q4 net down 18%New Delhi, April 24 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Friday announced its fifth straight drop in quarterly net profits – down 18 per cent despite a 30 per cent growth in total income, with increased raw material costs and forex fluctuationsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am RIL’s refining biz throws up negative surprise: AnalystsKolkata, April 24 The Reliance Industries stock, one of the Dalal Street heavyweights, received prompt reviews from brokerages and readjustment in forward outlook after announcement of the company’s results for the terminal quarter ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am IT majors trim costs for preserving marginsBL Research Bureau The “big four” of the Indian IT services space have had a turbulent March quarter, with their key operating parameters raising several concerns. These include revenues from their top-clients, volume growth,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Rise in non-interest income lifts Corporation Bank Q4 net 26%Mumbai, April 24 Corporation Bank posted a net profit of Rs 260 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, up 26 per cent from Rs 206 crore in the same quarter last year, mainly on account of a huge rise in non-interestSource: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Can festivals, marriage season revive demand for gold?Mumbai, April 24 Jolted by the sharp decline in physical demand for gold resulting from sustained high prices, suppliers are banking on Akshaya Thrithiya, an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar, to prop up sales. It falls on April 27.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 25 Apr 2009 | 12:00 am Search for next Nacil head beginsThe government initiated the process of finding a successor to Raghu Menon, the chairman and MD of National Aviation Company of India Ltd.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:29 pm Ranbaxy posts Rs 778 crore loss in March quarterThe year is appearing to be quite bleak for Ranbaxy Laboratories, now a subsidiary of Japanese major Daiichi Sankyo.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:28 pm LG to invest Rs 600cr in 09; eyes Insight sales of Rs 1KcrEven with talks of slowdown in consumer spend, LG Electronics India is singing a different tune altogether. CNBC_TV18s Nayantara Rai reports that LG\'s new line of products developed specifically for the Indian consumer will help the company register a 30% growth yearonyear.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:27 pm Global fundmen turn overweight on IndiaGlobal investors have turned positive for the first time this year. After being neutral on India for the past several months, they have turned overweight on the country.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:26 pm Maruti accelerates localisation driveInitiative aimed at reducing imports at vendor level.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:25 pm Shantha's oral cholera vaccine launch on Apr 26Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics Ltd is all set to launch an oral vaccine for preventing cholera.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:23 pm Preschools step up play in small townsNumber of such centres growing 25-30% monthly.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:21 pm Cipla can sell generic of Roche medicationDrugmaker Cipla received a shot in the arm with the Delhi HC allowing it to manufacture and sell the generic version of Erlotinid.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:19 pm Hero Honda says HMSI bike will pinchHero Honda Motors is prepared for "some" amount of cannibalisation when HMSI also enters the 100cc motorcycle space early next year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:18 pm Post office schemes find favour as bank rates dipThe slump in stock markets and decline in bank deposit rates seem to have had a positive effect on postal savings.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:17 pm Tepid response to Nano; bookings do not excite banksWith just a day left for the Nano bookings to close, it looks like responses from consumers have not met expectations. Tata Nano bookings may have opened to a flying start with people lining up outside showrooms to get the first look. But the enthusiasm seems to have dipped in the last 20 days.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:04 pm Finmin not happy with new FDI rules - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 24 Apr 2009 | 9:41 pm Foreign companies must come clean on health for IDR action - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 24 Apr 2009 | 9:41 pm Maruti net skids 18%, sales up 13% - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 24 Apr 2009 | 9:21 pm BRIC nations not ready to capitalize IMF - BrazilWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brazil, Russia, India and China agreed on Friday they will not put capital in the International Monetary Fund unless it develops more flexible instruments that would give them more power in the fund, Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:52 pm Don\'t see new H1B proposal turning into an Act: NASSCOMUS lawmakers have introduced a new bill with additional restrictions on H1 B visas. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, NASSCOM, said if this proposal passes in the current format then it will have a fairly disastrous impact on the IT sector. But I am hopeful that over the next threemonths we will not see this really becoming an Act.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:50 pm BUY OR SELL - Microsoft investors call bottom. Too early?SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp stock rose 10.5 percent on Friday, breaking into positive territory for the year, a day after the company's quarterly earnings showed it was weathering the downturn with cost cuts and promising new products.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:28 pm Ranbaxy Laboratories global sales at Rs 15,584 mnRanbaxy Laboratories consolidated net sales at Rs 15,584 mn, a degrowth of 4% (USD 313 Mn).Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:20 pm Arch Pharmalabs gets verification mark from USP (PIVP)Arch Pharmalabs Ltd, a leading supplier of API (Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients) and Intermediates, announced that it has received a new verification mark for a drug substance from US Pharmacopeia (USP) under the Pharmaceutical Ingredient Verification Program (PIVP) at their Gurgaon manufacturing facility.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:18 pm Micro Technologies bags $ 5 mn biz from FN SystemsMicro Technologies has signed in for a business worth USD 5 million for its mobile controller product, Micro MCS (Mobile Controller System) from FN Systems, Japan.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 7:58 pm CBDT extends depreciation benefit on CVsMove to boost demand for domestic truck makers.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 7:27 pm Books List | Daniyal MueenuddinDaniyal Mueenuddin, a graduate from Yale Law School, a former practising lawyer and now an acclaimed author, lives on a farm in Pakistan’s southern Punjab.Some of his earlier works of fiction were published in Granta, Zoetrope and The New Yorker before he decided to leave New York and move to Pakistan, the country of his birth. His debut collection of inter-connected stories, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, has received laurels the world over. In an email to Lounge, Mueenuddin discussed his five favourite books. Edited excerpts: By James Joyce ‘Ulysses’ is arguably the greatest novel of the 20th century, both because of its technical innovations and also because of its emotional qualities, its atmosphere. By slowing and speeding up time, by mixing different voices and styles, by mixing and mashing the high and the low, by exploring subjectivity in revolutionary ways, ‘Ulysses’ opened up enormous virgin territories for the writers who followed—it expanded the space in which we write. As a writer, ‘Ulysses’ makes me feel free to do whatever I like—it breaks the chains. As a reader, I love it for its humour, its variety and perhaps, most of all, because it is so tremendously affirmative, accepts life so joyously, embracing dirty linen and disorder, lewdness and the physical body, and slang and vulgar words as much as it does manners and chivalry, and honour, virtue, loyalty and love. It’s totally huge, as the kids say. The Collected Short Stories of Anton Chekhov Translated by Maude Aylmer If I were stranded on a desert island, I would take Chekhov, as many volumes as the (literate and courteous) pirates who left me there allowed. What I love most about Chekhov’s stories is their quiet, affectionate humane portrayals, his willingness to allow the characters their predicaments and petty triumphs. I admire the man (and not just the artist) behind the stories and am glad to spend a few hours in his company. As a writer, I marvel at the sureness of his hand, the firmness with which he approaches his material—I’ve read pretty much everything he wrote, and I can’t remember a single instance where the indisputably wrong note is struck. He didn’t make mistakes, because he wrote naturally, as he breathed. By Leo Tolstoy I was tempted to name ‘Anna Karenina’, which is the the more highbrow of Tolstoy’s two greatest works. But the truth is, I enjoy ‘War and Peace’ more, or more viscerally. ‘Anna Karenina’ is a finer construction, but ‘War and Peace’ is enveloping and truer to Tolstoy’s best character—a huge wet hug from this Russian bear. And then, I love battles, epaulettes, flanking manoeuvres, enfilade fire, horses and all that—but here, unlike in most novels that deal with those pre-adolescent toys, I don’t feel embarrassed about it. I don’t feel like a grown man playing with a train set. By Sigrid Undset There is a secret society, made up of Kristin’s lovers—they wander the streets, unknown to each other, until a chance word is dropped—and the secret handshake then exchanged. The novel is: one, long and, two, set in medieval Norway—qualities that help to keep the gawkers and day-trippers and bottle-washers away (and quite frankly, the society’s members prefer it that way). Like nightclubs and waterfalls, certain books are best when least known. (Sigrid) Undset, who won the Nobel prize in 1928, manages to make medieval Norway seem as modern as—well, as modern as it undoubtedly was, since human character and society never really change, only the costumes and proprieties transform. It is high drama, intensely and strangely flavoured—a picaresque novel, with a wilful, impetuous, oversized and flawed woman as its questing heroine. By John Berryman When I’m feeling a bit down, or full of ennui, I sometimes turn to Berryman’s ‘Dream Songs’, which are simultaneously melancholy and humorous, and which disarm me—the awkward elegiac voice, laughter at the verge of despair. Writers are vulnerable to a species of enervation—known as accidie, the malady of monks—when the world seems very grey indeed, and nothing has any flavour. Berryman is the soundtrack for that mood, and helps to lift it. Write to lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 7:00 pm The week in reviewNew Delhi: The week began with one of the largest acquisitions in the IT space. On Monday, Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems for a whopping $5.6 billion or Rs28,000 crores. Oracle will be paying $9.55 per share in cash for Sun’s stock. That is a premium of 42% to Friday’s close. Sun has been the target of acquisition ever since its business took a beating after the end of the tech boom in 2001. It had earlier talks with HP and IBM for a possible buyout. Click here to watch video On Thursday over 107 million people across 12 states lined up at polling booths to participate in step two of Election 2009. Over 55% voted in the elections that went off largely peaceful. Insurgent violence hit Assam and Jharkhand and there were clashes among political groups in Andhra Pradesh. The highest voter turnout was in the state of Tripura where 78% to 80% voters exercised their franchise. The lowest was in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh at 44%. Assam recorded an average of 62% turnout, Jammu and Kashmir 46%, Jharkhand 47%, MP 45%, Orissa 55%, Andhra Pradesh 68%, Maharashtra 56%, Goa and Karnataka 55%. Though satisfied with the security measures taken for the second phase, the Election Commission announced re-polling in a few polling stations that were affected by Naxal violence in the first phase. The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday cut the repo rate and the reverse repo rate by 25 bps each urging banks to reduce rates as well. It also cut its forecast for economic growth in the new fiscal year to 6%, the slowest since 2003. The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, India’s largest company by market capitalization, on Thursday reported a fall of 1% in net profit for its fourth quarter. This is the second quarter in a row that RIL has reported a fall. Net profit fell to Rs3,874 crore from Rs3,912 crore last year. RIL’s net turnover for the quarter was Rs28,362 crore, down from Rs37,286 crore. RIL’s loss was largely on account of falling revenues in its major businesses of hydrocarbons exploration, crude oil refining and petrochemical refining. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:52 pm Can development trounce caste, religion in Bihar?Bhagalpur, Bihar: Here, in this dusty district in Bihar, notorious for arguably the worst instance of police brutality and the most violent communal clash in the country, a new political equation is emerging that could play a role in deciding not just who wins the election to the Lok Sabha from this constituency, but which party gets to form the government.  The change has to do with the fracturing of the Muslim vote and also a breakdown, if only partial, of the community’s traditional alliance with the Yadavs of Bihar, a relationship that has ensured that Lalu Prasad remains a significant force in Bihar as well as the Centre. The cause for this radical change is the development that this region has seen under the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government that came to power in Bihar in 2005. Development isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Bhagalpur. Also Read Election (Full Coverage) It was here that in 1978, the police poured acid into the eyes of at least 31 undertrials. And it was here that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Muslims and Hindus repeatedly clashed in increasingly violent confrontations that coincided with the move to demolish the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and build a temple there.  Deciding factor? (top) The busy Tilka Manjhi crossing in Bhagalpur. Rickshaw pullers say better roads have helped them make more rounds and so earn more; and (bottom) local singers campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shahnawaz Hussain, who hopes to be re-elected on the development issue. Photographs by Utpal Bhaskar / Mint On 6 December 1992, a mob of Hindu protesters did succeed in demolishing the mosque which they believe stands where a temple to Hindu God Ram, marking the place of his birth, once stood. But it is development that Syed Shahnawaz Hussain is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The 40-year-old Hussain, India’s former aviation minister during the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP-led NDA government, is seen by critics as a trophy Muslim in the BJP, a party that believes in Hindutva, or the Hindu way. But, here, in Bihar’s heartland, some Muslims also see him as the face of recent progress from which they have benefited. “As compared to the development done in the last 50 years, Shahnawaz and Nitish have done a lot of work in the last two years, be it roads, healthcare or education,” says Imtiaz Hassan, a social worker in the district. And that won’t just make Hussain’s job easier—he wasn’t as acceptable when he won the 2006 by-election from the constituency—but also have a bearing on which party accounts for the majority of the 40 representatives Bihar sends to the Lok Sabha. By some estimates, Bhagalpur has about 1.4 million voters, of which Muslims and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes form the largest chunk, accounting for a 18.34% share of the population each, or a total of around 500,000 votes. They are followed by Kushwahas and Kurmis (agriculturists) with 200,000 votes, and Bhumihars (traditional landowners), Yadavs and others (such as Dhobis, Dusadhs and Kahars), who together account for 450,000 votes. The balance is with the Vaishyas, Brahmins and Rajputs. The contest on 30 April is between Hussain and the Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD’s) Shakuni Choudhry, a 64-year-old who belongs to the Kushwaha community. There are 21 others in the fray, including the Congress’ Sadanand Singh and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Ajit Sharma, but analysts reckon it will be a two-way fight between Choudhry and Hussain.  Rickshaw pullers here—they are a large constituency in their own right, and provide the main mode of transportation—vouch for this. “It takes us less effort to carry passengers and our income has increased because we can ferry more passengers on better roads”, says Kailu, a rickshaw puller, who gave only one name. Under the centrally funded Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (prime minister’s rural roads programme), Bhagalpur district in 2005-06 was given sanctions for assistance in building or upgrading 24 all-weather roads, of which 20 were completed; in 2006-07, eight roads were sanctioned, of which six were completed; in 2007-08, 28 were sanctioned, but only one has been completed so far. Bhagalpur voters say that things could improve even more if the NDA is elected to power at the Centre. “If NDA comes again, the entire state will be completely overhauled. Roads have been built everywhere, not only the main roads but also the small gullis (streets). Doctors are back in the hospitals. Why was this not happening when Lalu was in power?” asks Prakash Kumar Rajak, who runs an outlet of the country’s public distribution system for food and other products. Better roads and healthcare are fine, say some politicians here, but they may not be sufficient to make Muslims vote for the BJP. “Bihar elections are still fought on caste equations. Laluji’s Muslim-Yadav equation broke in 2005 as the Election Commission conducted the elections during the month of Ramzan (a holy month for Muslims during which they fast), which led to low Muslim voter turnout… Everyone knows under whose pressure Muslims were killed during the riots,” says Samrat Choudhary, alias Rakesh Kumar, the RJD candidate’s son, referring to the communal riots in the late 1980s and early 1990s. To be sure, the scars of the 1989 carnage still run deep. The riots affected 275 villages and destroyed 12 temples and 45 mosques. While government statistics put the final death toll at 1,981, people here believe the number was substantially higher. And while the government maintains that the riots happened between 24 October and 30 November 1989, Kamrul Rehman, special public prosecutor in the riot cases, argues that they went on till 30 March 1990. He has been handling cases related to the riots since 1995. “Twenty-eight cases are still pending and 10 cases have been reopened. While Nitish is a just man, the riots will have some impact on the voting this time as a lot of people are still awaiting compensation,” he adds. That impact will be insignificant, says a voter. “The population of Bhagalpur has forgotten the wounds, but the politicians are trying to revive it,” says Shah Saab, a prominent leader of the Muslim community. Hussain echoes that sentiment. “Riot is an issue for outsiders, not for the BJP. The secularism of the BJP is being seen in Bhagalpur. Development is the agenda this time,” says Hussain. Perhaps recognizing this trend, Prasad and his new-found ally, Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, have raised the pitch of their anti-BJP, anti-Congress campaign, holding both responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. And their candidate, RJD’s Choudhry, is convinced caste will call the shots in Bhagalpur. People here marry their daughters to and vote for only people from the same caste, he says. And some experts agree with this theory. “Even now, after all this development, caste and religion are an important factor in deciding elections,” says Vijay Kumar Rai, a professor in the political science department of the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University. Still, for every expert that believes caste will play a role, there is one who believes development will call the shots. “In some Muslim bastis (neighbourhoods), earlier, even a scooter could not go. Now, an Indica (a small car made by Tata Motors) can enter,” says P.K. Sinha, head of the sociology department in the same university. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:42 pm Piramal sees 17% revenue growth in fiscal 2010Mumbai: Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm Piramal Healthcare Ltd expects modest revenue growth in fiscal 2010 after FY09 profits beat street expectations, dipping 13% to Rs115 crore.  Stategy: Piramal Healthcare chairman Ajay Piramal. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint “We will grow between 16% and 17% in terms of revenues. Our operating margin was 20.5% last year, and this year it should be in the region of 21-22%,” chairman Ajay Piramal said. Last fiscal year, the company’s revenue grew 20% to Rs851 crore. Piramal added that he would look at reducing the company’s dependence on business from Pfizer Inc. at its Morpeth facility in the UK over the next two-three years. He wants business from Pfizer to account for just 30% of the Morpeth facility’s revenues. cnbctv18@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:39 pm Bopara gives Punjab their first win in IPL season IIDurban: Ravi Bopara (84) led Kings XI Punjab’s to their first victory in the second edition of the Indian Premier League as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by a handsome seven-wicket margin on Friday.  Bopara shared two crucial partnerships -- 52 for first wicket with Karan Goel and 66 for third wicket with Yuvraj Singh -- to give Punjab a lease of life in the tournament. Chasing 169 to win, Punjab overhauled the target with one over to spare with Yuvraj finishing it off with a six off Jacques Kallis. Before coming to this clash, Punjab had lost both of their matches as bad weather dented their chances on both the occasions. Earlier, Jacques Kallis rescued the Bangalore side with a splendid 62 to help them overcome a mini top-order collapse and post a competitive 168 for nine after sent in to bat. Yusuf Abudulla was star performer for the Punjab side with his four-wicket haul while Irfan Pathan (3/35) took three wickets. In the Bangalore innings, Kallis held one end together when wickets were tumbling from the other after Kevin Pietersen opted to bat. Kallis revived Bangalore innings with his second IPL fifty, studded with five fours and two sixes, and found an able ally in Ross Taylor, who contributed valuable 35 runs. To read analysis of IPL team click here The duo put up 61 for the fifth wicket after seamer Yusuf Abdulla’s double strike in the sixth over had pegged them back. Though wickets fell at regular intervals in Bangalore innings, runs never dried up as Kallis kept the scoreboard ticking with his brilliant innings. Jesse Ryder with his 32-run cameo at the start was the other contributor for his side. Pathan drew the first blood for Punjab as Robin Uthappa (0) chased a wide delivery and ended up edging that one to Yuvraj Singh at first slip. Kallis, though was least perturbed with the blow and got off to mark with a six over the mid-wicket off Pathan. Ryder, who had a disastrous start to the IPL after getting two ducks in as many mathces, finally got some runs flowing from his willow as he unleashed a flurry of boundaries in Ranadeb Bose’s second over. The Kiwi southpaw extracted 18 run off that over in which he hit him for four boundaries. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:39 pm Govt replaces Menon, Bhushan gets AI chargeAt 6 pm, financial advisor in aviation ministry E K Bharat Bhushan was given additional charge of CMD. Menon was informed about this move on Thursday afternoon.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:38 pm Cipla gets HC relief in Roche caseNew Delhi: In a ruling that could encourage more generic, or off-patent, drug makers here to challenge patents held my multinational pharma firms, the Delhi high court dismissed a patent infringement suit filed by Swiss pharma company Hoffman-La Roche Ltd for its lung cancer drug Tarceva (generic erlotinib), thereby allowing Indian drug maker Cipla Ltd to continue marketing the generic version of the drug. A bench of the court, headed by chief justice A.P. Shah, also imposed a cost of Rs5 lakh on Roche for suppressing material facts and not making full disclosure to the court. “The court has dismissed the appeal with a Rs5 lakh cost,” said Cipla’s counsel Pratibha Singh. However, Cipla said that Roche may appeal in the Supreme Court (SC). “I think this judgement is really fantastic for cancer patients because there is no injunction against Cipla to sell the drug. But in all likelihood, they (Roche) may appeal to the SC because their whole approach has been very litigatory. They are missing the point that the issue is to the benefit of patients,” said Amar Lulla, joint managing director of Cipla. When contacted, Roche India managing director Girish Telang, said he had not seen the judgement yet, and would only be able to see it next week. “I am aware of the judgement and the cost of Rs5 lakh. In any case, the judgement will be studied by our headquarters in Switzerland. They will study it properly and then decide what the next course of action should be. I cannot take that decision from here.” “This will certainly go down as a landmark ruling. I am given to understand that the appellate court held that Roche was not able to establish a prima facie case,” said Shamnad Basheer, a patent expert and a professor in intellectual property law. Another lawyer familiar with the case, who did not want to be identified, told Mint that the court has come to the conclusion that there is “serious doubt on the validity of Roche’s patent. In view that it is in public interest, we don’t grant this injunction”. Cipla had launched its generic version of Tarceva, ‘Erlocip’, in December 2007 at a price of Rs1,600 per tablet. The Roche price in the Indian market is Rs4,800 per tablet. However, in an interview to Mint last year, Telang had said that Tarceva “costs Rs3,200 and that’s because we only give out the drug through our company distributor outlets. We have not sold a single strip for Rs4,500 or Rs4,800 as being quoted in the media. Moreover, the Rs3,200 tag includes 32% customs duty. If you remove this duty and then look at the cost, it is only 15% more than that of the generic version”. In January 2008, Roche filed an infringement suit in the Delhi high court and asked for an injunction that would prevent Cipla from selling Erlocip. Cipla submitted to the court that no injunction should be granted till its post-grant opposition filed in the Delhi patent office was heard and decided upon. A post-grant opposition is an appeal against a patent that has been granted. The high court decided the matter on 19 March 2008 in favour of Cipla. However, Roche re-appealed to a division bench comprising chief justice Shah and justice S. Muralidhar, which completed hearing the case on 15 September. The validity of Roche’s patent itself would now appear to be in doubt, said Basheer. “In view of the existence of gefatinib, an earlier known molecule, the court appears to suggest that erlotinib, Roche’s patented molecule, may not be inventive. Secondly, there is a serious doubt about whether or not Cipla infringes the Roche patent at all. Since the court ruled that Roche had not even established a prima facie case, it did not have to go into detail into other factors, such as the pricing of the drug and the public interest factor, something that the trial judge, justice S. Ravindra Bhat had based his judgement on,” he added. Roche had filed for two patents in India, one for gefatinib (polymorph A+B) and another for erlotinib (polymorph B). In its patent for erlotinib, it had said that gefatinib had an ingredient that was unstable for tablet form. The patent office had granted it a patent for gefatinib. “...the court is conscious that the defendant (Cipla) has been able to demonstrate prima facie that the plaintiffs (Roche) do not hold a patent yet for Tarceva, which is the polymorph B form of the substance for which they hold a patent. Secondly, the defendant has raised a credible challenge to the validity of the patent held by the plaintiffs. In such circumstances, the public interest in greater public access to a life-saving drug will have to outweigh the public interest in granting an injunction to the patent holder,” stated the judgement, a copy of which has been reviewed by Mint. A public health lawyer, who has been following the case, closely welcomed the decision. “This judgement will play a key role in the future in similar cases. Its legal precedence is of great importance in the pharmaceutical sector. The most important part of this judgement is that you cannot grant injunctions against the marketing of generics because it effects patients,” she said, asking not to be identified. Story so far 08 July 2008 Plan linking generics to patents is buried 12 April 2008 Roche appeals against copycat versions of patented cancer drug 20 March 2008 Cipla gets HC breather to sell copycat version of Roche drug 09 February 2008 Roche-Cipla row test case for balancing health issues, patents 11 January 2008 Cipla to sell copycat version of Roche drug Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:36 pm Susan Boyle phenomenonSusan Boyle has quite rightly been described as an ugly duckling who became a black swan. Boyle is a 48-year-old unemployed British woman who has stunned the world ever since she appeared on 11 April on British television in a talent contest. Her performance there has been viewed a hundred million times on the Internet in about two weeks, a testimony to the viral power of the World Wide Web. Boyle is also an interesting example of what trader-cum- philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls a black swan, which is a low probability event that has a high impact. We can never predict black swans, though the world is changed by little else. Taleb’s insight has often been illustrated by the use of negative examples, from the 9/11 attacks in New York to the blow-up of the global credit market in August 2007. But there are also positive black swans, as Taleb is careful to remind his readers. Google is one example. Boyle could be another example of a rare, but powerful, event that rattles the world. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:36 pm Banks rejig credit card limitMost of the private and foreign banks are lowering credit limits on cards as economic slowdown is affecting incomes of cardholders, following steps like salary cuts.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:35 pm Maruti net suffers a dentNew Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest car maker reported a 18.3% decline in net profit in the quarter ended 31 March over the corresponding quarter of 2008 after it was forced to offer discounts to push sales in a sluggish market and the Indian rupee depreciated more against the dollar than the company anticipated.  Being optimistic: Maruti Suzuki’s CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said the benefits from falling commodity prices will come only in the first quarter of 2010. He was announcing the firm’s annual results in New Delhi on Friday. Ramesh Pathania / Mint Maruti, which makes one in every two cars sold in the country said net revenue for the quarter rose at a healthy 30.1% to Rs6,432.9 crore. However, net profit fell 18.3% to Rs243.1 crore. Net profit for the fiscal year ended 31 March was Rs1,218.74 crore, a decline of 29.6% from the year before. A Mint poll of nine brokerages on 20 April had forecast profit at Rs1,453 crore. Meanwhile, the company fared slightly better than analyst expectations in terms of net revenue for the year. This rose 13.4% to Rs20,852.5 crore compared with Rs20,546.7 crore forecast by analysts. “(If we) exclude the impact of forex losses the results are in line. There was a disappointment on the (profit) margin front but going forward they’re likely to improve,” said Piyush Parag, an analyst at Religare Capital Markets Ltd. Foreign exchange losses for the quarter stood at Rs121 crore, according to Ajay Seth, Maruti’s chief financial officer. The losses were mainly on account of the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar. For the full year, foreign exchange losses stood at Rs350 crore. The rupee depreciated 30.7% against the dollar in the year to 31 March and 6% in the three months ended 31 March. Also See On the Skids (Graphic) Only one-third of Maruti’s foreign exchange requirement is hedged. Going forward, Maruti “might take calibrated calls to hedge the currencies involved,” Seth said in a call with analysts. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign currencies Maruti said it would increase its focus on localization or local parts. The rupee depreciated 30.7% against the dollar in the year to 31 March Bouyed by rising sales in the last quarter auto stocks have been on a tear. Maruti sold 211,485 cars last quarter, 13% more than in the same period a year before. Its stock has risen 54% so far this year while the 14-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Auto Index has gained 42%. But as Maruti’s results show these the increase in sales came at a high cost. “The 4th quarter saw some recovery in market sentiment helped by high sales expenditure on the company’s side,” said Shinzo Nakanishi, chief executive officer at Maruti. The company spent Rs62 crore more on discounts last quarter than the same period the year before. Discounts have been “reduced quite a lot in April”, according to Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer, sales and marketing at Maruti. He, however, hinted that the company may have to reinstate them depending on market conditions and its competitors’ strategy. Maruti plans to launch a new model, the Ritz next month. While Pareek declined to elaborate on how the current fiscal would shape up, Maruti does plan to push ahead with a Rs1,800 crore capital expenditure to boost its research and development and marketing activities and on the maintenance of its plants in Gurgaon and Manesar. Maruti added 270 research staff this year to the 460 already on its rolls. Apart from foreign exchange losses, increasing raw material and component costs also played a significant role in contributing to the depressed numbers. For the full year, these costs rose 15% to Rs15,235.7 crore. The firm said it had not yet benefited from the fall in commodity prices as long-term contracts result in benefits only after some time. “The vast part of this benefit will come in the first quarter of 2010,” Nakanishi said in a conference call with analysts. Exports have been a bright spot for the company. Its A-Star model launched last November helped the company record a 32% rise in exports to 70,022 units in the year to 31 March as compared to the year before. Maruti expects to export 50,000 units of the A-Star to Europe by November and receive a contract manufacturing order from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Shares of Maruti closed the day up 0.6% to Rs803. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex gained 1.7% to 11,329. Graphics by Sandeep Bhatanagar / Mint Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:35 pm Jet seeks new terms for $2 billion loanJet Airways, Indias largest privately-owned airline, has approached the US Exim Bank and European export credit agencies to reschedule a $2 billion loan (Rs 10,000-crore) loan that was raised to buy 27 Boeing and eight Airbus aircraft.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:35 pm Ranbaxy loss at Rs 778 croreRanbaxy recorded a huge loss of nearly Rs 778 crore on a standalone basis during the first quarter ended March 31 this year on account of foreign exchange losses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:33 pm Maruti net dips 18% on forex, raw material costsHigher raw material costs and forex loss outweighed an increase in car sales for Maruti Suzuki, which witnessed an 18% fall in fourth quarter (January-March, 2008-09) net profit.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:31 pm HC scraps Roche's pleaDelhi High Court allowed Cipla to manufacture and sell the generic version of lung cancer drug `Erlotinib' of Swiss pharma firm Hoffman La Roche Ltd.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:31 pm Wockhardt ends 2008 with Rs139 crore lossNew Delhi: Debt-stricken Wockhardt Ltd., India’s sixth largest drug firm by revenue, posted heavy losses for the year ended 31 December as well as in the first quarter of 2009 ended 31 March. The company’s losses for 2008 stood at Rs139 crore as opposed to a Rs386 crore net profit it made in 2007. Its mark-to-market losses were at Rs581 crore due to a sharp depreciation of the rupee. Mark to market (MTM) is an accounting practice of assigning a value to a financial instrument, based on the current market price for that instrument. In the first quarter of 2009, Wockhardt posted a loss of Rs20.2 crore with a mark-to-market loss of Rs32 crore. In the same quarter of the previous year, Wockhardt had posted a profit of Rs51 crore. “With 73% of our turnover coming from our international operations, in the normal course of the business, it was prudent to hedge our foreign exchange exposure. But due to the meltdown in the global markets and the consequent currency volatility, we had to make provisions for MTM losses, which had a marked impact on our bottom line,” said Wockhardt chairman, Habil Khorakiwala in a press release. “Wockhardt has applied to its lending banks for Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) and the same has been admitted..,” he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:54 pm Appointment of Gautam Vir as CEO hits RBI roadblockMumbai: The appointment of Gautam Vir as managing director and chief executive officer of ING Vysya Bank Ltd has hit a roadblock at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has sent back the proposal, objecting to Vir’s pay package. “We have always maintained that the compensation package offered has to be commensurate to the size of the bank,’’ said a senior RBI on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media. For the quarter ended 31 December, ING Vysya Bank’s assets were about Rs29,000 crore. The bank’s retired chief executive officer Vaughn Richtor got an annual compensation of Rs1.1 crore in fiscal 2008.  Under watch: Former managing director and CEO of DCB Gautam Vir. Hemant Mishra / MintBy end December, ICICI Bank’s assets were Rs3.74 trillion, about 13 times that of ING Vysya Bank. HDFC Bank Ltd’s managing director and chief executive officer Aditya Puri received almost as much as Kamath in fiscal 2008. The bank’s assets were Rs1 trillion in December 2008. “We have sent the proposal back to the bank seeking some clarifications,” the RBI official said. An email sent to an RBI spokesperson remained unanswered. An official from ING Vysya Bank, who did not want to be quoted, said the proposal has been sent back by RBI, seeking clarifications on the compensation package. According to him, Vir’s proposed package is substantially higher than what Richtor used to get, but Mint could not independently verify details of the package. An ING Vysya Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Vir, who was till recently heading Development Credit Bank Ltd, was not available for comment. RBI objects to compensation package being offered to Vir, says it should match the size of the bank Richtor retired in April and pending the appointment of a new chief executive, the bank’s current chief financial officer Jayant Mehrotra is looking after day-to-day operations. Incidentally, ING Group’s mutual fund arm is also scouting for a chief. In the interim, Eddy Belmans, general manager, north Asia, is heading the asset management business. In the midst of a restructuring, the ING Group is planning to divest €6-8 billion (Rs39,480-52,640 crore) in non-core activities in phases. The global financial institution of Dutch origin offers banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services, and serves at least 85 million private, corporate and institutional customers across Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Australia. The group early this month announced that it would focus on creating a predominantly European bank with one integrated balance sheet. There have been apprehensions that the group could probably look at divesting its stake in ING Vysya Bank. However, according to Nanne Bos, spokesperson for ING Retail and Insurance Asia-Pacific, ING remains confident about Asia’s long-term financial and economic prospects and potential. “On the banking side we consider our strategic stakes in TMB Bank (Thailand) and ING Vysya Bank (India)...as the selected growth opportunities, and we will, therefore, remain committed to these partnerships and we will continue to asses these activities going forward on an ongoing basis,” Bos said by email. ING holds 44% stake in ING Vysya Bank. “As an international bank, we have an unique position in India as we are the only foreign bank with a controlling stake in an Indian private banking sector. We took over the management in 2002 and have made great progress in turning around the business,” Bos said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:46 pm Oil tops $51, equities, dollar supportLONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose above $51 a barrel on Friday, supported by firmer stock markets and a weaker U.S. dollar.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:35 pm Foreign firms eye IDR route to raise resourcesNew Delhi: Several foreign financial sector firms and power generating utilities are exploring the possibility of raising funds through an Indian listing, a senior government official said.  Local move: Standard Chartered is mulling an India share sale. David Butow / Bloomberg The proposed big-ticket $1 billion (Rs4,990 crore) Indian listing by Standard Chartered Plc., the largest foreign bank in India, will be a precursor to these issues, he added. Companies from the US, the UK, South Africa and Nepal are interested in the Indian primary market through an Indian Depository Receipt (IDR) issue, the official said, who declined being named. Many hydropower firms from Nepal sell electricity to India. IDRs are derivative instruments that allow foreign firms to raise resources in India. These are listed and traded on domestic exchanges like shares. The process of issuing an IDR is like public offers of equity. India allowed foreign firms to issue IDRs in 2004. However, not a single IDR issue has happened so far due to lack of interest and clarity on the tax treatment of the instrument. “The Income-tax Act, 1961, needs to be amended and clarity on the definition is expected in the next budget,” the official said. “We have been informally encouraging companies to issue IDRs. There is a considerable interest and once the IT Act is amended, Indian stock exchanges will aggressively market IDRs,” he added. cnbctv18@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:32 pm Ranbaxy posts Rs761 cr loss on forex issuesNew Delhi: India’s biggest drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd posted a loss for the third straight quarter because of currency-related losses and falling sales in the US. The net loss, including units, in January-March quarter was Rs761 crore ($153 million), compared with a profit of Rs137 crore a year earlier, the company based in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, said on Friday. Ranbaxy booked losses because of wrong-way bets on foreign currency hedges as the rupee weakened against the dollar for the fifth straight quarter. Sales in the US, the world’s largest drug market, also dropped 14% after the regulator there barred imports of some medicines made by Ranbaxy in India because of production deficiencies.  Wrong-way bets: Ranbaxy’s Malvinder Mohan Singh. Ramesh Pathania / Mint Ranbaxy, the worst-performing stock on the benchmark Sensex index this year, fell 2.2% to Rs175.90 in Mumbai trading. The Sensex advanced 1.7%. The company expects to post a loss of about Rs800 crore in 2009 on full-year sales of Rs7,000 crore, according to an emailed statement. Ranbaxy said on Friday it booked Rs919 crore as losses on foreign-currency options before tax. The company also wrote down the value of convertible bonds due 2011 as the Indian currency weakened 3.9% against the dollar in the three-month period, its fifth straight quarterly decline. Sales in North America, which accounts for about 27% of Ranbaxy’s revenue, fell 7% to Rs404 crore. Sales in the US declined to Rs340 crore. Ranbaxy also said sales dropped 14% in Europe, and gained 9% in India. The US drug regulator on 16 September blocked the import of more than 30 generic medicines made in two factories by Ranbaxy because of deficiencies in manufacturing processes. There is no evidence Ranbaxy’s drugs are harmful, though the violations may lead to defective products, the US Food and Drug Administration said at the time. Ranbaxy may shift some generic drug production to the US from India or buy factories approved by the FDA in response to the US import ban, chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh said on 15 January. Separately, the FDA said on 25 February Ranbaxy won’t be allowed to introduce new generic drugs from its Paonta Sahib factory, one of the two whose products were blocked last September, because of falsified data. Drugs from the Paonta Sahib plant were approved for sale in the UK and Australia after a joint audit by regulators, Ranbaxy said 23 March. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:25 pm PSTL faces forex violation, money laundering chargesMumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Indian government agency that investigates violations of the country’s foreign exchange laws, is examining possible infractions by Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) and its promoters under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a senior ED official said on Friday. “We are looking into the Pyramid Saimira matter although the department has not received any communication from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi),” said the official, asking not to be identified. He declined further details. “It is too early to comment on the case.”  Under shadow: Pyramid Saimira group chairman P.S. Saminathan. In an interim order on Thursday, markets regulator Sebi barred PSTL promoters Nirmal N. Kotecha and P.S. Saminathan for forging a Sebi document in December that purportedly allowed the firm to have an open offer. The order in PSTL case relates to media reports at the time that Sebi had directed Saminathan to make an open offer for an additional 20% stake at a price not less than Rs250. Later, the market regulator clarified that no such order or letter had been issued by Sebi to Saminathan. The regulator conducted a probe into the matter, which prima facie showed that the forgery was done to manipulate the stock price of PSTL, Sebi said. In its Thursday interim order, Sebi also debarred 228 persons and entities from trading in the markets, including initial public offerings. It also barred Rakesh Sharma, a former executive of Adfactors PR Pvt. Ltd, and Rajesh Unnikrishnan, an assistant editor with The Economic Times, from any activity, either direct or indirect, in the equity markets. Sebi further said the probe prima facie found that Kotecha was one of the major beneficiaries of the manipulation and appeared to have largely masterminded the forgery. The regulator also said he was found to be using a large number of front accounts, including those of his relatives and associates and their entities, to manipulate the market and to route funds through several layers to hide their source and flow, and that this prima facie appeared to be a money laundering activity. A copy of the order has also been sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India and the Reserve Bank of India for further verification. “These acts of Nirmal N. Kotecha are detrimental to the interest of genuine investors in the securities market and pose a threat to the efficient functioning of securities market. Several persons and entities have been prima facie found to have aided/abetted Nirmal Kotecha in these activities,” Sebi said in the order. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 4:33 pm NASSCOM slams US H-1B visa legislationNasscom said though the stated objective of the US H-1B bill is to prevent fraud and visa abuse, several of the provisions of this bill are against the principles of free trade.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:42 pm
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