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Obama\'s Buffalo remark creates ripples in India IT circlesIn an event on tax reforms, US President Barack Obama on Monday, May 7, called for an overhaul in the US tax system only to ruffle feathers here in India. In a dig at Bangalore, Obama signalled a likely move to end incentives for US companies, which outsource and create jobs abroad.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 2:39 pm Stress tests find 10 US banks need $75 bn more!Ten of the largest US financial firms need to raise USD 75 billion more to withstand the losses that would come with a deeper recession, the government said.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm USIBC appoints 10 directors on board!The US India Business Council (USIBC) has announced the appointment of 10 board members comprising eminent business names from companies like Google and Tata Sons.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Inflation rises marginally to 0.70%!Amid growing prices of essential food articles like cereals, pulses, vegetable, milk and sugar the inflation for the week ended April 25 has been put at 0.70% against 0.57% in the previous week.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm AIG loses $4.35 bn, sees reorganization progress!Bailed out insurance giant AIG said it lost another USD 4.35 billion in the first quarter while making progress in unwinding an unit blamed in exacerbating the global financial crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Citigroup to raise $5.5 bn with stock conversion!Ailing US banking giant Citigroup led by Indian American CEO Vikram Pandit plans to raise USD 5.5 billion by converting more preferred stock to common shares as prescribed by government stress tests.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Oracle won`t divest Sun`s hardware business!Oracle Corp Chief Executive Larry Ellison said he won`t sell off Sun Microsystems Inc`s hardware business, dispelling speculation that he only wanted the company for its software units.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Sensex up 63 points to 12,180.07!The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday opened higher by 63 points on sustained buying by funds amid investors covering their pending positions.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Oil rises above $57 on economic recovery hopes!Oil prices rose above USD 57 a barrel on Friday in Asia as investors bet that a year-end recovery in the global economy will boost oil demand.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 May 2009 | 12:42 pm Investment to return to offshore biz in 1yr: Mercator LinesKaushik Kuchroo, Senior Vice President, Mercator Lines said the present situation of offshore sector is quite comfortable and he sees investment coming back to the offshore business in the next one year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 11:15 am Antitrust issues delaying United SpiritDiageo deal:MallyaCommenting on Diageo\'s statement, Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group said talks with the former are very much on. \"However, there are structuring issues due to antitrust and monopoly issues. Our lawyers are addressing those issues.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 11:11 am 240-pt fall caps weekly gains for Sensex - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:55 am GE Shipping Q4 net down 16% to Rs 250cr - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:51 am Toyota sees $8.6 bln annual loss as sales slumpTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, forecast a much bigger-than-expected $8.6 billion annual loss and said it would sell about 1 million fewer vehicles this year, leaving it desperately trying to cut costs in the grip of a severe market downturn.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:49 am Reduce JSW Steel, target of Rs 356: IIFL - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:47 am Tata Steel says may mothball Teesside plantMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Steel Ltd, the world's sixth-largest steelmaker, said its Corus unit might have to mothball its Teesside Cast Products plant in England, which would lead to large job losses, after a contract was cancelled.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:38 am See steel business revenues growth at 20% in FY10: MukandRajesh Shah, Chairman, Mukand said year ended March, 2009 will not be a great year. \"The company will see higher volumes and expansion coming through in FY10.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 10:37 am DLF may face Rs 400-crore tax blow - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:36 am INTERVIEW - Diageo move for stake in United Spirits hits snagSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Diageo Plc's talks to buy a stake in India's United Spirits Ltd haven't made headway as both sides are unable to agree on details, a Diageo executive said on Friday, sending United's shares down 8 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:35 am Air Deccan founder Gopinath to launch freight carrierAfter launching India's first budget carrier, Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath Friday announced another first for the country - a door-to-door international freight and cargo service with its own fleet of aircraft.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 10:33 am Cong-NCP finalising modalities to form govt in MeghalayaNew Delhi: The possibility of installation of a Congress-NCP ministry in Meghalaya, which is currently under President’s rule following dismissal of the MPA government, brightened on Friday with both parties finalising modalities to provide a stable government. “We have made some breakthrough. We have accepted NCP’s offer to join hands. We are finalising the modalities,” Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Mukul Sangma said here. Meghalaya was brought under President’s Rule on 19 March last in view of the fluid political situation, dismissing the Donkupar Roy-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government. The 60-member Assembly, where Congress has 26 MLAs and NCP 14, has been kept under suspended animation since then. Sangma said the idea behind Congress and NCP joining hands was to provide a “stable government” in the interest of the people of the state. With the chances of installation of a government, likely to be headed by veteran Congress leader D D Lapang, Union cabinet may take a view of the situation and recommend lifting of the President’s Rule. NCP leader P A Sangma and Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Luizinho Faleiro have held several rounds of meetings in the national capital during the last few days to sort out their differences, sources said. Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and Faleiro, a former Goa chief minister, also held meetings with Lapang and several other state leaders, who are now camping in Delhi. As per the arrangement, Congress will get the posts of chief minister and assembly speaker and NCP will get deputy chief ministership. Meghalaya was placed under President’s Rule on 19 March even after the then NCP-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) government survived a trust vote on the floor of the state assembly through a controversial decision by Speaker. Speaker B M Lanong cast his vote when there was a 27:27 tie in the 60-member House during division. The tie-breaker came after the Speaker declared invalid the votes cast by four of the five members he suspended hours before the trial of strength on 17 March. The action brought down the Congress tally, which had gone up to 31, to 27. The Donkupar Roy-led government was reduced to a minority on 9 March following withdrawal of support to the MPA by two independent MLAs Limison Sangma and Ismail R Marak. The crisis was heightened on 11 March when the lone MLA from Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) Paul Lyngdoh, who was also urban affairs minister, resigned. On 12 March, health minister and Hill State People’s Democratic Party MLA Advisor Pariong also quit, making the prevailing political situation further fluid. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 10:33 am SBI may review rates by May-endState Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, may review rates by May-end as it has seen a steady rise in deposits last fiscal, a top official said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 10:31 am Bharati soars 13%, Great Offshore slips 3% at close - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:30 am No open offer plans for Great Offshore: Bharati ShipyardPC Kapoor, MD, Bharati Shipyard, said the company does not have any plans of making an open offer for Great Offshore. \"There is no plan to assume management of Great Offshore, nor are there any plans to sell stake.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 10:29 am INTERVIEW - Daimler CEO wants broader cooperation with BMWFRANKFURT/STUTTGART (Reuters) - Daimler would like to expand plans for cooperation "as equal partners" with BMW beyond an agreement to bundle purchasing of components, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told Reuters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:27 am BJP would emerge as the single largest party: AdvaniBhopal: BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, L K Advani on Friday exuded confidence that his party would go far ahead of the Congress and emerge as the single largest party after the Lok Sabha elections. Talking briefly to reporters informally at the Raja Bhoj Airport here during a stopover on his way from Chennai to Kolkata, Advani said he had no doubt that the Congress would be left much behind the BJP after the Parliamentary elections. He was speaking on BJP’s prospects after polling has been completed in four phases for the Lok Sabha elections. Asked about Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, the senior BJP leader said that he would be taking part in the NDA rally to be held in Punjab on 10 May. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 10:27 am Sensex ends 240 pts down on political worries, inflationMumbai: Indian shares fell 1.98% on Friday, as investor confidence was weighed down by political uncertainty ahead of general election results next week. The 30-share BSE index ended down 240.51 points at 11,876.43, with 26 stocks declining. The 50-share NSE index closed down at 3,620.70, 63.20 points lower. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 10:21 am India gold demand hit by price riseMUMBAI (Reuters) - India spot gold demand took a hit on Friday as prices were ruling higher tracking foreign cues, dealers and traders said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:20 am See FY10 credit growth at around 22-25%: Andhra Bank - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 10:17 am GE India says not focusing on 2010 sales targetBangalore: General Electric Co is not focusing on its $8 billion sales target for India in 2010, but is confident about long-term opportunities, the chief executive of its India arm said on Friday. “We are not focusing on $8 billion,” T.P. Chopra, who is also the president of GE India, said on the sidelines of an event to launch new products by its healthcare unit in Bangalore. “That was a target, an aspirational target, we had set out two, three years ago,” he said. GE had said in 2006 it aimed to achieve $8 billion in revenue from Asia’s third-largest economy in 2010, up from about $1 billion in 2005, as a rapidly expanding economy boosted demand for infrastructure and healthcare. Large scale investments on infrastructure has slowed as the country’s economic growth is expected to falter sharply for the second year running after expanding at a blistering pace of 9% or more in the previous three fiscal years. The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company, whose businesses range from water purification technology to jet engines to NBC Universal entertainment, counts India among one of its key emerging markets. Last month, the largest US conglomerate posted a 36% drop in net income and warned of some signs that the economy may be continuing to deteriorate. Chopra said GE, which installed India’s first hydropower plant in 1902, remained confident about growth opportunities in India in the medium to long term on the growing investments on infrastructure and healthcare. “In the short-term, okay it is going to be difficult as the market stabilises and things like that. (In the) medium to long term, I remain confident,” he said. “The country needs infrastructure.” India has said it needs about $500 billion to repair its creaky infrastructure such as ports, roads and power units. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 10:12 am BSE Sensex provisionally falls 2 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally fell 1.97 percent on Friday, as investor confidence was weighed down by political uncertainty ahead of general election results next week.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 10:07 am Uco Bank Q4 net up 19% at Rs102 cr; declares dividendMumbai: Public sector lender Uco Bank on Friday posted a 19% growth rate in its net profit during the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2009, to Rs102.56 crore over the corresponding period a year ago. The bank had a net profit of Rs85.99 crore in the January-March quarter of 2007-08 fiscal, Uco Bank said in a filling to the stock exchanges. Total income of the lender rose to Rs2,520.62 crore during the fourth quarter of FY 09 from Rs2,053.29 crore of the same quarter a year earlier. The state-run bank has declared a dividend of Re1 per equity share. For the financial year ended 31 March 2009, Uco Bank reported a net profit of Rs557.72 crore, registering 35% growth against Rs412.16 crore of FY 08. Total income during the FY 09 rose to Rs9,141.28 crore from Rs7,280.69 crore of FY 08. Shares of Uco Bank surged 4.67% and were trading at Rs32.50 in the late afternoon trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 10:01 am Broadcasters Jan-March net seen downMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian television broadcasters could see quarterly profits falling or may even post losses on poor advertising sales, high carriage fees and staff cost while regional Sun TV will likely shine amid the slowdown.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 9:55 am NCDEX takes step to curb excessive speculation in sugar - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 9:55 am Andhra Bank Q4 net up 62% to Rs201 crMumbai: Public sector lender Andhra Bank on Friday said its net profit has increased 62% to Rs201.21 crore during the fourth quarter ended 31 March over the corresponding period a year ago. The bank had a net profit of Rs124.25 crore in January-March quarter of 2008-09 fiscal, Andhra Bank informed the stock exchanges. Total income of the state-run lender rose to Rs1,827.10 crore during the last quarter of FY’09 from Rs1,342.95 crore in same quarter the previous fiscal. The bank has declared a dividend of 45% to its shareholders for the year 2008-09. For the financial year ended 31 March, 2009, Andhra Bank posted a net profit of Rs653.05 crore, registering a 13% rise from Rs575.57 crore the previous fiscal. Total income during the FY’09 rose to Rs6,139.99 crore from Rs4,836.02 crore in FY 08. Shares of Andhra Bank were trading at Rs61.85, up 0.08% in the afternoon trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 9:54 am GE India says not focusing on 2010 sales targetBANGALORE (Reuters) - General Electric Co is not focusing on its $8 billion sales target for India in 2010, but is confident about long-term opportunities, the chief executive of its India arm said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 9:39 am European banks’ bad debts soar, US peers seek $75 bnLondon/Frankfurt: First-quarter results from two more European banks showed bad debts soaring in the face of tough economies, as US rivals prepared to raise $75 billion to provide a cushion for the deepest recession in decades. US regulators told their top 10 banks late on Thursday to raise a total of $74.6 billion, which was less than investors once feared and helped lift European and US bank shares early on Friday. Yet top European banks continue to show the impact of the looming recession as companies and consumers are increasingly running into trouble. Royal Bank of Scotland now 70% state-owned, fell to a slim January-March loss after bad debts quadrupled to 2.9 billion and it took a 2.1 billion pound writedown on risky assets. “We expect credit conditions to continue to deteriorate over the next few quarters consistent with these trends and that there will be a slowdown in financial market activity compared with the very buoyant conditions seen in Q1,” Chief Executive Stephen Hester said. He said bad debts this year will be at least four times the Q1 level, so over 11.4 billion pounds, more than 50% above last year’s level. Meanwhile Germany’s Commerzbank made an 861 million euro ($1.2 billion) loss in the quarter, after a €1.2 billion charge from the investment bank and a €54 million charge from its commercial real estate unit. The Frankfurt-based bank which has been hit by writedowns on debt products related to the US residential mortgage market unveiled bullish targets as part of a planned overhaul, which included a reshuffle of its board. The DJ Stoxx Banking sector rose 2.2% to 182.2 points, and the index has now doubled in two months. By 2:10pm, RBS’s shares were up 10% as investors said there were no nasty shocks, while Commerzbank added 0.5%. US bank plan Several of the US banks that were told to raise capital responded quickly with plans to do so. Bank of America, which accounted for almost half of the total capital shortfall with $33.9 billion to be raised, said it planned to sell assets, issue $17 billion in common stock, and take other steps to fill the hole. BofA’s Frankfurt-listed shares jumped 15%. The Frankfurt listed shares of Citigroup rose 13% and Wells Fargo added 1.5%. “It was clear that the US banks had a shortage of common equity. That has been increasingly corrected in recent months with some more to go, as has been revealed,” said RBS’s Hester, whose bank owns Citizens, one of the biggest US lenders. “We’re moving from a period of massive uncertainty to less uncertainty. That’s not to say it’s positive, there’s still gloom to deal with for some time, but all of us feel more cheerful when we know what we have to deal with,” he told reporters on a conference call. The relatively modest size of the hole discovered by regulators carrying out the tests, which were based on an “adverse” economic scenario, led to both applause from investors who believe the worst is over and scepticism among those who think the examination wasn’t rigorous enough. Wells Fargo was found to need $13.7 billion and Citigroup was told it needed $5.5 billion. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 9:36 am Inflation ticks up, RBI may pause on ratesNew Delhi: A third straight rise in India’s annual inflation rate as some price pressures emerge may see the Reserve Bank of India pause in its rate-cutting cycle, although analysts still expected a negative reading in coming weeks. The wholesale price index , India’s most widely watched inflation measure, rose 0.70% in the 12 months to 25 April, led by food and manufactured product prices, It was above the previous week’s annual rise of 0.57%, and a touch above market forecasts for a 0.65% rise. ”Inflation will still go into negative territory, maybe as early as end May,” said Sujan Hazra, chief economist at Anand Rathi Securities in Mumbai. ”But week-on-week prices are hardening and this is likely to continue for the next 2-3 months, making it harder for the RBI to cut interest rates in the near term.” The Reserve Bank of India has said the annual inflation rate could turn negative because of the rapid acceleration in prices this time last year, but has discounted the threat of deflation because consumer prices are still strong. It has forecast wholesale inflation to be around 4.0% by the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year next March. ”It is not a real concern for monetary policy at this stage as inflation expectations have softened considerably,” said Han-Sia Yeo, currency and rates strategist for ANZ Bank in Singapore. Financial markets were largely cool to the data with the 10-year bond yield edging up one basis point to 6.31% and the rupee largely unchanged at 49.25/26 per dollar. The wholesale price based-inflation rate has fallen sharply since peaking at just under 13% in August, but annual consumer price inflation in February was 9.63%, as prices of food products remain firm. Last month, the Reserve Bank of India cut its key rates and again urged commercial banks to follow suit to shore up growth, which has been hit harder than expected by the global downturn. The Reserve Bank of India expects the economy to expand by about 6% in 2009-10, down from 9% in the past few years as the global recession impacts key sectors. A member of India’s Planning Commission, which charts five-year growth plans for the economy, said on Friday he expected growth of 7-7.5% in 2009-10. In the past few weeks a slew of data has pointed to a nascent recovery as stimulus measures and the central bank’s previous rate cuts feed into the broader economy. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 9:33 am India's inflation rate inches up to 0.7 percentIndia's annual rate of inflation inched up to 0.7 percent for the week ended April 25 from 0.57 percent the week before, official data showed Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 9:32 am New alloy to save Indian rails from toilet corrosionA new alloy steel developed at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur (IIT-K) has provided the answer to one of the major problems faced by the Indian railway system - corrosion of rails by toilet discharge.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 9:32 am Profit booking pulls down SensexIndian equities markets fell sharply post-noon Friday, with a key index ruling 290 points lower than its previous close about 90 minutes before the closing bell.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 9:32 am Shahi litchi to hit market soonShahi litchi, a popular summer fruit largely grown in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, is set to hit markets across India in the third week of May.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 9:31 am Extend rural job guarantee scheme to urban areas: official panelWith 93 percent of India's workforce in the informal sector, an official panel has recommended the extension of the rural job guarantee programme to urban areas and called for a national minimum social security net.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 9:31 am Anti-trust issues delaying United Spirit-Diageo deal:Mallya - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 9:28 am Oil rises above $57 on economic hopesSingapore: Oil rose above $57 a barrel on Friday, remaining near a six-month high, lifted by hopes of an econonomic recovery that could boost falling world oil demand. European shares moved higher as financial stocks advanced after the results of stress tests on US banks showed no nasty surprises, following gains in Asia and on Wall Street in after-hours trade. “People got optimistic (after the test results) because it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be,” said Tony Nunan, risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. “But we are not out of the woods yet. The economy has yet to recover and there could still be another dip in prices.” US crude rose 57 cents to $57.28 a barrel by 2:00pm, after settling at $56.71 on Thursday, the highest settlement since 14 November. Brent crude gained 75 cents to $57.22. Oil has gained more than 70% since hitting a low of $33.55 in February, rallying with equity markets on hopes of economic recovery and due to lower supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. US retailers posted better-than-expected monthly sales results for a second straight month in April, giving fresh evidence that consumer spending is warming up with the spring weather. Investors were looking ahead to US employment data that may offer further hope the slump is bottoming out. The data is due out at 6:00pm. Economists polled by Reuters are expecting that 590,000 jobs were lost in the United States in April compared with a loss of 663,000 in the previous month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 9:12 am Hyundai decides to shift production of i20 to Europe - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 9:04 am ONGC may exit Rajasthan block over royalty issueONGC has written to the Petroleum Ministry seeking reimbursement of royalty that it has to pay on behalf of Cairn India Ltd in the prolific Rajasthan block.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 8:48 am Bongaigaon refinery to get Cairn crude from KG basinCairn India Ltd, subsidiary of Cairn Energy, is despatching its production from the Ravva offshore oil field in the KrishnaGodavari basin to the Bongaigaon Refinery in Assam this fiscal year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2009 | 8:44 am European stocks rise; banks up on US stress testsLondon: European shares climbed 1% early on Friday as financial stocks advanced after the results of stress tests on US banks showed no nasty surprises, while miners tracked higher metals prices. At 12:45pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1% at 859.88 points after closing 0.8% lower in the previous session. It hit a four-month high of 878.08 on Thursday. Commerzbank jumped 5% as it unveiled a revamped board structure and restructuring programme after reporting a bigger-than-expected net loss. Royal Bank of Scotland rose 4.8%. The part-nationalised lender fell to a small first-quarter loss after bad debts quadrupled and it took another £2.1 billion ($3.2 billion) writedown on risky assets. Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the results of stress tests and looked ahead to employment data that may offer further hope the global slump is bottoming out. US regulators ordered top banks to raise nearly $75 billion in capital - a sum seen by analysts as relatively modest - to bolster their ability to withstand further shocks to the financial system. “This (stress test results) could be seen by many as the last hurdle for the markets to continue their stellar bull run,” said Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities Ltd. “Markets tend to show where we should be in eighteen months time, and for the time being, a sense of optimism is in the air.” Miners rose as metals prices increased. BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources were up 0.6-4.5%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 8:41 am Inflation ticks up, RBI may pause on ratesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - A third straight rise in India's annual inflation rate as some price pressures emerge may see the Reserve Bank pause in its rate-cutting cycle, although analysts still expected a negative reading in coming weeks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 8:36 am Focus on US jobs after stress tests lack shocksWashington/Tokyo: Investors breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after the results of stress tests on US banks revealed no nasty surprises and looked ahead to jobs data that may offer further hope the global slump is bottoming out. In an illustration of the damage inflicted on global trade by the downturn, Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest car maker, posted a $6.9 billion loss for the final quarter and forecast increasing losses this financial year. But there was better news from Germany, hit hard by falling demand for its cars and engineering goods, where exports unexpectedly rose for the first time in six months in March, according to preliminary data on Friday. US regulators ordered top banks on Thursday to raise nearly $75 billion in capital — less than some analysts had estimated — to bolster their ability to withstand further shocks to the financial system. “The fears of nationalisation or of failure have more or less disappeared, and now what we’re getting is details of how banks are going to fill in their capital deficiencies,” said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management in Chicago. In Europe, part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported a small loss for the first quarter after bad debts quadrupled and it took another £2.1 billion writedown on the value of risky assets, while Germany’s Commerzbank posted a bigger-than-expected net loss. RBS, which posted the biggest loss in British corporate history for 2008, said it made a loss of £44 million ($66 million) for the three months to the end of March, compared with a £479 million profit a year ago. Commerzbank, battered by writedowns on debt products related to the US residential mortgage market, made a quarterly loss of €861 million ($1.15 billion), worse than the average analysts forecast of €719 million in a Reuters poll. Eyes on non-farm payrolls Asian share markets and US stock futures made modest gains in a muted reaction to the stress tests, which had involved 150 officials poring over the books of the 19 largest financial firms. Equities and other riskier assets have rallied in recent weeks as data suggests the dramatic slump in the world economy, which gathered pace after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September, is finally slowing and a turnaround may be in sight. Those expectations received a further fillip on Thursday from a drop in new US jobless claims and better German manufacturing data. The US monthly non-farm payrolls report, due at 1230 GMT on Friday, will be closely watched. “There’s a sense now that the market is starting to search for new trading factors, basically looking to macro indicators for confirmation the global economy is truly on a rising trend,” said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities in Tokyo. But trading conditions for many companies remain exceedingly tough. Toyota, facing a plunge in global demand that forced rival Chrysler into bankruptcy, forecast an operating loss of ¥850 billion for the year to next March, more than double the average forecast in a survey of 20 analysts by Thomson Reuters. The company, which went from rapid expansion to overcapacity almost overnight as global demand collapsed, also cut its annual dividend for the first time since at least 1994, when it changed its reporting period. In Australia, a big exporter of commodities, the central bank slashed its forecasts for growth this year, as many of its trading partners remain mired in recession. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s quarterly statement said the economy would suffer a significant contraction in the first half of the year only a little smaller than the recession of 1991, but saw “reasonable grounds” to expect a recovery later in 2009. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said recent economic data from China, the engine of world growth in recent years, showed encouraging signs of a rebound but that it was too early to tell whether it was sustainable. “In China, we have very encouraging indicators on investment and bank lending, suggesting that the economy is snapping back more vigorously than we previously expected,” said Joshua Felman, assistant director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department. Stress tests The worst global recession in decades was triggered by a crisis in the financial industry, with several of the biggest US banks and insurers having to be rescued with government money after booking massive losses tied to a housing market bust. The unprecedented stress tests found that 10 banks needed additional capital — a total of $74.6 billion — to withstand heavier losses that are likely if the recession worsened. Bank of America Inc had the largest need at $33.9 billion, Citigroup needed $5.5 billion, Wells Fargo $13.7 billion and GMAC $11.5 billion. Washington, which has spent hundreds of billions bailing out the banks like Citigroup and BofA, hopes the banks can fill the capital holes with private capital, although Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the government would help if needed. “We’re going to be watching carefully to make sure they give us credible plans for raising capital and becoming privately owned again,” he told journalists. US shares had fallen earlier in the day, before results of the tests were released, but removal of the uncertainty helped send US stock futures higher in after-hours trade, with the S&P 500 futures index up 0.8%. The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan rose 0.5%, adding to gains of 8.6% over the previous four sessions, and Japan’s Nikkei edged up by a similar amount to book a six-month closing high. “The announcement of stress test results came with the best timing after market sentiment had already been improved by a slew of upbeat economic data along with a recovery of stock markets,” said Yoshihisa Kanzaki, a trader at Shinkin Central Bank. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 8:16 am LTTE faces deadline to surrender; 39,000 people fleeColombo/New Delhi: Tamil Tiger rebels had just hours left to surrender by a government deadline on Tuesday, as tens of thousands of civilians fled the sliver of jungle the guerrillas still control in northeast Sri Lanka. With international concern growing over the fate of civilians caught up in the conflict, the rebels could be facing a last push by troops seeking to end their 37-year armed campaign for a Tamil homeland. The defence ministry gave Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his fighters until 12:00pm (0630 GMT) on Tuesday to surrender, although the government did not specify what action would be taken otherwise. The Sri Lankan Army said on Tuesday that more civilians have escaped from a patch of territory controlled by the Tamil Tigers, who are facing an ultimatum to surrender. “We have registered 39,081 people who came yesterday,” military spokesman brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. “Civilians continue to move over to our side today as well.” Their presence has been cited by the Sri Lankan military as a main reason preventing a final assault on the remaining Tigers in a government-designated “no-fire zone.” Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said the rebels were facing “complete defeat” and their reclusive leader had finally run out of time. “The only thing Prabhakaran can now do is to surrender,” he told AFP. “I don’t want him to take cyanide and commit suicide. He has to face charges for his actions.” The government has issued similar ultimatums in the past, most recently on 12 April when the guerrillas were told they had 48 hours to surrender. So far, the only reaction from the Tigers has been to renew their call for an unconditional ceasefire - something the government has already rejected. The crisis has sparked protests in Europe and expressions of concern by UN and human rights groups. In Paris, French police arrested 210 people on Monday when a rally by Tamils turned violent as demonstrators threw bottles at security forces and smashed windscreens. In London, thousands of Tamils blocked some of the city’s busiest streets, demonstrating outside parliament and calling for an immediate ceasefire. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the world had only hours to prevent a potential “bloodbath” in Sri Lanka. Anna Neistat, a senior HRW researcher, said the international community had “to make it crystal clear to both sides of this conflict - both the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka - that they will not get away with it.” But Jaliya Wickramasuriya, the Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States, insisted the government’s priority was to rescue civilians. “We are not going to do any huge operation as such,” he told AFP. “We are still concerned about civilians.” UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon welcomed the escape of the civilians but was “deeply concerned” about those still trapped, his office said. According to the United Nations, as many as 100,000 civilians were trapped in LTTE territory and living in “dire humanitarian conditions” before Monday’s exodus. The mass civilian escape shown in the aerial footage appeared to have been triggered by the Sri Lankan military overrunning a Tiger defensive embankment. The defence ministry said the Tigers killed 17 civilians on Monday in at least one suicide bombing against escaping civilians. Both sides have traded accusations of targeting non-combatants, and the international community has repeatedly urged a permanent ceasefire to prevent further loss of innocent lives. The LTTE - once seen as one of the world’s most efficient guerrilla units - used to control a third of Sri Lanka’s territory, an overseas fund-raising network and a lucrative shipping business. In Colombo, President Rajapakse’s office compared the exodus of civilians to the fall of the Berlin Wall. “The exodus to freedom that is taking place in the north of Sri Lanka just now is no less a massive vote for freedom than the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989,” it said in a statement. UNICEF warns Lanka over military assault on rebels The United Nations children’s agency warned on Tuesday that a threatened Sri Lankan assault against holdout Tamil Tiger rebels risked the lives of thousands of trapped children. Following a mass exodus on Monday of around 35,000 civilians from the areas the guerrillas still control in northeast Sri Lanka. But the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said tens of thousands of civilians could still be trapped in LTTE territory, with the rebels preventing them from escaping. “If fighting continues and if the LTTE refuses to allow people to leave the conflict zone, then we face the intolerable inevitability of seeing many more children killed,” said UNICEF’s South Asia regional director, Daniel Toole. “Our greatest fear is that the worst is yet to come,” Toole said. “With the high concentration of people in a small space, the number of children killed in this conflict will continue to escalate. This is a price too heavy to pay.” The Sri Lankan government has not specified what action would be taken if the LTTE and its reclusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran failed to surrender. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 8:15 am Sensex tumbles on rise in inflationAfter a good start, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex dropped nearly 216 points at midsession today on reports of higher than expected rise in inflation.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2009 | 8:07 am Europe Bank Shares Show Muted Rise After US Stress Tests - Wall Street Journal
Source: Google News India - Business | 8 May 2009 | 8:05 am Diageo’s talks to buy stake in United Spirits hits snagSingapore: Diageo Plc’s talks to buy a stake in India’s United Spirits Ltd have not progressed as the two sides have been unable to agree on details, a senior Diageo executive said on Friday. “We have been in discussion, but we haven’t yet been able to find a structure that is acceptable to both partners,” John Pollaers, president for Diageo Asia-Pacific, told Reuters in an interview. “We shouldn’t assume that this will lead to a transaction overall,” Pollaers said. The talks between the two companies began last year. Diageo, the world’s largest alcoholic drinks group, said in November it was considering a collaboration with United Spirits, the world’s No. 3 spirits maker by volume. United Spirits said in February it was willing to offer a stake of more than 15% and board representation to Diageo. United Spirits shares extended losses by almost 8% to a one-month low of Rs658 following the news. Pollaers said Diageo, owner of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, will continue to grow strongly in India even if the deal with United Spirits doesn’t materialise. “We are very positive about our organic growth prospects in India. So we would not preclude ourselves from a transation and we are in discussions, but it may not lead anywhere and our business is strong business in its own right.” United Spirits chairman Vijay Mallya was quoted by the Times of India in March as saying Diageo and three other global spirit makers had shown interest in buying a stake in United Spirits. India’s media reports have said United Spirits would use proceeds from the stake sale to reduce debt of $1.2 billion from its purchase of Scottish spirits maker Whyte & Mackay in 2007. Asia’s drinks sector has seen a flurry of merger and acquisition activity this year. On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell South Korean subsidiary Oriental Brewery to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for $1.8 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 8:01 am 'Despite economic boom, India's job growth has shrunk'Raising questions over the government's slogan of inclusive growth, an official report Friday said the rate at which new jobs were added to India's labour force had declined between 1993 and 2005 despite an economic boom.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 8:00 am Toshiba to raise $5 bn in capital after lossesTokyo: Japan’s Toshiba Corp said it would raise up to $5 billion to shore up its capital after reporting a second straight quarterly operating loss, battered by a slump in the chip sector. Chipmakers have been hit by sharp declines in demand and prices, prompting some to seek bankruptcy protection and others to look for partners. Almost all are losing money. The company, the world’s No. 2 maker of NAND-type flash memory chips after Samsung Electronics Co, said it would raise as much as ¥493 billion ($5 billion) in capital, including new shares worth up to ¥313.1 billion. It would raise the rest through an issue of subordinated bonds. Toshiba’s operating loss totalled ¥74 billion in January-March, compared with a ¥115.7 billion profit a year earlier. The company, whose products also include PCs, TVs and refrigerators, expects a 100 billion yen operating profit for the year to the end of next March, as it pushes ahead with a $3 billion cost-cutting plan. Eighteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average forecast a loss of ¥63.3 billion. Toshiba is shifting focus to its relatively stable power business and other promising areas like lithium ion batteries, while shrinking investments in its chip business. The company has said it hopes to lead an industry reorganisation in Japan to revive its system and discrete chip businesses. But it is facing hurdles here as domestic rivals NEC Electronics and Fujitsu Ltd have chosen other partners. NEC Electronics is discussing a merger with Renesas Technology, while Fujitsu has decided to outsource its output to TSMC and said it may work together on the development of next-generation chips with the Taiwanese contract chipmaker. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 7:46 am Puma Q1 net profit falls as recession hurt salesFrankfurt: German sportswear company Puma AG said on Friday that net profit fell substantially in the first quarter as the global recession and restructuring charges hurt sales and earnings. The Herzogenaurach-based company reported a net profit of euro5.6 million ($7.5 million) in the January-March period, a fraction of the euro90 million made in the first quarter of 2008. Puma, which is Germany’s second largest sportswear company behind Adidas AG, said sales for the period fell about 1% to €738 million compared with €741 million a year earlier. “Despite an ongoing slowdown in the global consumer’s environment, Puma managed to post a solid sales and earnings performance before one-time expenses in the first quarter,” Jochen Zeitz, the company’s chief executive said in the company’s report. “Due to the worldwide recession, we plan for business to remain challenging in 2009, and have therefore decided to implement further measures to align our cost structure with the current market environment.” The company did not provide a more detailed outlook, but said those measures included a cost savings plan which aims to save €150 million by 2011. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 7:33 am India gets a new cult of weird beings- the ZoozoosZoozoos are real beings in body suits who shot the commercials over 10 days in South Africa. Vodafone will release 30 Zoozoo commercials throughout the IPL season.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2009 | 6:54 am India's inflation rate marginally up at 0.7%India's annual rate of inflation rose marginally to 0.7% for the week ended April 25 from 0.57% the week before, official data showed on Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2009 | 6:45 am RBS falls to Q1 loss as bad debts soarLondon: Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland fell to a small first-quarter loss after bad debts quadrupled and it took another £2.1 billion ($3.2 billion) writedown on risky assets. Britain’s second biggest by market value, now 70% owned by the government, reported a first-quarter loss of £44 million, compared with a £479 million profit a year ago. Bad debts in the three months to March soared to £2.9 billion from 656 million a year ago as corporate and retail impairments jumped after “building since last year across all businesses and sectors,” RBS said on Friday. RBS was the latest big European bank to say bad debts were ratcheting up as economies worsen and unemployment rises. “We expect credit conditions to continue to deteriorate over the next few quarters consistent with these trends, and that there will be a slowdown in financial market activity compared with the very buoyant conditions seen in Q1,” said Stephen Hester, chief executive since November. Hester said he continued to restructure and manage the bank “in the full expectation that both 2009 and 2010 will be very tough years for RBS”. The writedown on credit market exposures was mainly due to a deterioration in the outlook for monoline insurers, it said. Profits at its investment bank arm jumped 97% to £2 billion, but profit in British retail banking slumped 63% to £172 million and US retail and commercial banking swung to a £98 million loss. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 6:43 am Markets continue to be sluggish late morningIndian equities were trading on a dull note shortly before noon Friday with a key index still ruling around its last closing figure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 6:31 am India's inflation rate marginally up at 0.7 percentIndia's annual rate of inflation rose marginally to 0.7 percent for the week ended April 25 from 0.57 percent the week before, official data showed Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 May 2009 | 6:31 am SC passes directions to eradicate ragging menaceNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed all state governments to constitute committees to look into the incidents of ragging and curb the menace. Passing a slew of directions to eradicate the menace from educational institutions across the country, a bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat said every college should have a psychiatrist to counsel the students. In cases of alcoholism, educational institutions will have to take measures for de-addiction. All the state governments will give an undertaking to the court about the steps taken by them in accordance with the apex court directions to prevent incidents of ragging in educational institutions. The apex court had on 23 April reserved its order on framing of further guidelines to curb the menace of ragging, and accepted the recommendation of the two-member panel that “active de-addictive measures should be introduced for college students if they are found to be indulging in these (alcoholism and violent) activities”. A high-level committee had probed the incident of ragging leading to the death of Amann Satya Kachroo, a first year MBBS student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda in Kangra District in March. The bench had termed as “shocking” the findings of the panel that alcoholism was the main reason leading to serious form of ragging and violence in the campus, which was evident in Amann’s case. The high-level committee had said alcoholism in the campus, failure of college to constitute anti-ragging squad and implement recommendations of Raghavan Committee, and “irresponsible” role of MCI, the regulatory body for medical colleges, were some of the reasons which culminated in the death of Amann due to ragging. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 6:26 am Gold nearly flat, eyes US jobs dataMumbai: India’s gold futures were nearly flat on Friday tracking international gold, which retreated below a five-week high hit the previous day as its safe-haven allure waned on view that global economic woes could be easing. “Gold movement will be decided by the U.S. monthly jobs data...till evening gold should trade in a range,” said an analyst with a Mumbai brokerage. US employers are expected to have cut 590,000 jobs in April, after slashing 663,000 in March, a Reuters survey estimated. Job cuts, falling home values and big stock losses led to a drop of $11.1 trillion, or about 18 percent, in US households’ wealth in 2008, Federal Reserve data showed, one of the biggest drags on the global economy. Lesser number of job cuts will indicate economic recovery. On Friday, open interest for June gold on MCX was 15,774 lots at 10:56am. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 6:07 am Toyota Q4 loss $6.9 bn, sees tougher year aheadTokyo: Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it lost $6.9 billion in the final quarter and forecast increasing losses this financial year as sales continue to tumble, keeping dozens of its factories underused. The world’s biggest automaker reported a January-March operating loss of ¥682.5 billion ($6.9 billion), versus a ¥396.7 billion profit a year earlier but in line with a consensus estimate for a loss of ¥689 billion in a survey of 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. It lost a net ¥765.8 billion in the fourth quarter, down from a profit of ¥316.8 billion a year ago. The global economic downturn that has battered demand for cars and pushed US rival Chrysler into bankruptcy has hit Toyota badly as it went from rapid expansion to overcapacity almost overnight. Toyota posted its first-ever consolidated operating loss last year after a record profit the year before. For the year to next March, the maker of Prius hybrid cars forecast an operating loss of ¥850 billion. A survey of 20 analysts by Thomson Reuters had previously given an average forecast for a ¥387 billion loss. Shares of Toyota have risen 39% so far this year, underperforming a 47% rise on Tokyo’s transport sub-index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 6:05 am Sensex down by 26 points in cautious tradeInvestors turned cautious ahead of the Lok Sabha election results due on May 16 as the benchmark Sensex seemed to be consolidating at the 12,000 level and was quoted slightly lower by in late morning trade on Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2009 | 5:36 am Wipro sees demand picking up in 2nd half FY10Bangalore: Indian outsourcer Wipro Ltd sees demand picking up in the second half of 2009/10 and some stability is returning to the nervous business environment, the joint-CEO of its IT business said on Thursday. “The panic that was there seems to be abating. We are seeing some stability,” Girish Paranjpe told reporters. “Hopefully we should see some upturn in the second half.” He hoped most of the price cut negotiations with clients would end by June. Last month, Wipro beat expectations with a 4% rise in quarterly net profit, but forecast a fall in June quarter information technology revenue as the global downturn hits outsourcing demand. Wipro, which offers IT solutions such as system integration, software application and back-office services, counts Citigroup, telecoms gear makers Cisco, Nokia Siemens Networks and Credit Suisse as clients. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 5:34 am Hyundai says it may shift some car production from IndiaSouth Korean car giant Hyundai Motor said Friday it is considering shifting production of one of its premium models to Europe from India.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2009 | 5:22 am EXCLUSIVE - Oracle won't divest Sun's hardware businessBOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp Chief Executive Larry Ellison said he won't sell off Sun Microsystems Inc's hardware business, dispelling speculation that he only wanted the company for its software units.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2009 | 5:07 am BoA needs $33.9 bn, eyes stock and asset salesNew York: Bank of America Corp, ordered by the government to find $33.9 billion of capital, said on Thursday it planned to sell assets and issue more common stock to cover the shortfall. The capital-raising, half of which will come from common stock issuance, was announced after the government concluded that the largest US bank faced a potential $136.6 billion of losses from loans, investments and trading in 2009 and 2010 under “more adverse” conditions. Bank of America said the results overstated the bank’s risks, especially on seemingly safe residential mortgages, and understated its earnings potential, and pledged to repay the $45 billion of government aid it has taken as soon as it can. “Our game plan is designed to get the government out of our bank as quickly as possible,” chief executive Kenneth Lewis said on a conference call. Bank of America is one of 19 large US banks that underwent government “stress tests” to see how much capital they need to weather a deep recession. Ten were told to find capital. Bank of America’s $33.9 billion shortfall is more than twice the $13.7 billion that Wells Fargo & Co, deemed to have the second greatest capital need, was told to raise. Bank of America’s capital needs add to pressure on Lewis, who called it a “humbling experience” when shareholders last week narrowly voted to oust him as chairman, largely because of its falling share price and a takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. The board of directors replaced him with Walter Massey, the president emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Bank of America said it will seek new directors, perhaps loosening Lewis’ control over a board long supportive of him. Shares of Bank of America rose $1.21 in after-hours trading to $14.72, after closing up 82 cents at $13.51 in regular trading. They traded at $33.74 before the Merrill merger was announced last 15 September. Capital raising plans Bank of America plans to raise $17 billion of common equity, including through converting at less than face value some preferred shares held by private investors. The bank said this could involve issuance of 1.25 billion common shares. It said it also plans to raise $10 billion from asset sales, including its Columbia asset management unit and First Republic Bank, and may enter into several joint ventures. The bank plans to raise another $7 billion through other means. Lewis said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank wants to remain a strategic partner with China Construction Bank Corp and “always have a substantial ownership position” in the bank. Analysts have said Bank of America could post a $8 billion or larger gain from selling its 16.6% stake. Asked if he would consider selling any of Merrill Lynch’s investment banking business, Lewis said: “Absolutely not.” Bank of America also said it plans to get out of a loss-sharing agreement with the government on $118 billion of troubled assets, calling it unnecessary and expensive. Lewis declined to affirm his goal of repaying $45 billion taken from the Troubled Asset Relief Program as soon as this year, saying that markets have to improve sufficiently for the bank to issue a type of debt required to exit the program. Board changes The ouster of Lewis as chairman could presage his eventual departure from the bank he has worked at for 40 years, including the last eight as chief executive. Lewis has been attacked for failing in December to back out of the Merrill merger, or tell shareholders about Merrill’s soaring losses. He has said he felt pressure from regulators to complete the takeover. Regulators are examining the bank’s disclosures, and the bank faces many shareholder lawsuits. Massey declined to say what changes the board will make, except that it will seek new directors with more banking and financial experience. “Our model is not broken,” he said. Lewis pledged to be responsive to shareholder anger, saying “you reflect on it, and try to see the trends and themes that were being stressed, and react to them.” He also said, as an aside, on the stress test: “Never has a test been so aptly named.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 May 2009 | 3:58 am UK applies brakes on Jaguar financial packageThe British press has been agog with reports of a potential collapse for the Tata Motors-owned company with the UK Government apparently not too inclined to support a financialSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Shipping Corporation (Rs 91.75): BuyWe recommend a ‘buy’ in the Shipping Corporation of India from a short-term horizon. It is clearly visible from the charts of Shipping Corporation that after finding support at Rs 70 in early March, a significant long-term supportSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am JSW Steel’s standalone net down 70% in Q4Mumbai, May 7 Weak demand and low price of steel pushed the fourth quarter standalone net profit of JSW Steel 70 per cent down to Rs 49 crore for the year ended March 31, 2009. However, this represents a sequential turnaround in the context of RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am No takers for a super-regulator for PPPs in infrastructure sectorNew Delhi, May 7 The Planning Commission’s proposal, believed to have emanated from the office of the Committee on Infrastructure, to set up a super regulator for all public private partnership (PPP) projects in infrastructure sectors suchSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Public sector banks show little interest in power bondsPower bonds from the centrally owned power sector companies have found few takers among public sector banksSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Fiscal opens on strong note for steel makersMumbai, May 7 The country’s largest steel makers in the private sector Tata Steel and public sector steel giant Steel Authority of India have registered record April sales, raising hopes of a revival in steelSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe re-affirm our ‘sell’ recommendation in DLF. Fresh long position can be initiated if ICICI Bank surpasses Rs 560 and SBI exceeds Rs 1387, with tight stop-loss. Utilise ralliesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Higher tax, staff expenses pull down Union Bank Q4 net by 11%Mumbai, May 7 Union Bank of India reported a 10.75 per cent fall in its net profit at Rs 465 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 as against Rs 521 crore in the corresponding quarter lastSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am DLF may have to pay Rs 300-400 cr more tax for FY06New Delhi, May 7 The country’s largest real estate company, DLF Ltd, may have to pay an additional Rs 300-400 crore in relation to an income-tax matter pertaining to financial yearSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am PE, venture funds eye offbeat sectors to ride out downturnNew Delhi, May 7 The downturn is prompting Private Equity and Venture Capital funds to look at offbeat sectors, as evident in the spurt in investment interest in education, health and microfinance areas in the past ten months or so.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2009 | 12:00 am Mudra unites 12 units under Mudra Max umbrellaAfter launching a slew of specialist units over the last one year, Mudra has finally consolidated them all under the Mudra Max umbrella.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 10:06 pm Honeywell chief slams Obama protectionismUS president Barak Obama's protectionist designs and the 'Bangalore to Buffalo' observations have come in for fresh criticism from corporate America.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 10:05 pm US economic revival is an illusionThings might just be getting worse by the day.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 10:04 pm Layoffs at Satyam set to begin with BPO unitTech Mahindra, after gaining control over the troubled IT major Satyam Computer Services, seems to be getting straight to business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 10:03 pm ONGC may exit Cairn's Rajasthan blockOil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd has written to the government asking it to reimburse the amount it has to pay as royalty on oil produced by its partner Cairn India Ltd.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:59 pm GVK, Piramal in EMRI list to replace SatyamGVK group and Piramal Healthcare have been shortlisted by the Andhra Pradesh government for replacing the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services at the EMRI.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:58 pm Premji says Obama's tax move against his G20 commitmentAzim Premji called upon US president Barack Obama to "exercise a lot of judgement" while addressing the tax reforms issue that could hit outsourcing in a big way.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:57 pm Slump brings more work for LPOsThe West's woes are translating into good times for the legal process outsourcing (LPO) industry in India as work is piling up for them.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:55 pm DoT wants control over India's internet registryThe Department of Telecom (DoT) has said that a National Internet Registry (NIR) should be set up under its own purview for the purpose.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:55 pm Jet starts another low-cost brandJet Airways announced the launch of its low-cost offering, which would have all economy and no-frills services on select 19 routes.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2009 | 9:52 pm Rural demand helped Indian steel cos: Sajjan JindalSajjan Jindal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Steel, feels that globally, the situation is not as rosy as it in India and China. However, Jindal believes that the prices would continue to remain under pressure.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 9:00 pm Stocks of 400 cos rise 100%Out of the 2600-odd stocks listed on the BSE and NSE, 405 stocks have at least doubled their values from their 365-day lows touched in October last year. Simply put, one out every six stocks has gained over 100% from their one-year bottom.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2009 | 8:47 pm Going green: Tatas appoint E&Y, McKinsey to cut carbon emissionIn a bid to cut down on its greenhouse gas emissions, the house of Tatas has appointed consultancy majors McKinsey and Ernst & Young to assist its top five polluting companies reduce their carbon footprint.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2009 | 8:46 pm Carbon credit prices up on demand gapAfter witnessing a trough for over six months, carbon credit prices in the spot market have finally improved to about euro 12 per unit.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2009 | 8:43 pm Vedanta profit declines 75%Net income fell to $219.4 million in the year ended March 31, from $879 million a year earlier, London-based Vedanta said in a regulatory news service statement on Thursday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2009 | 8:42 pm Obama tax to hit US cos' competitiveness: PwCObama's tax proposals on the foreign investments made by American companies, if approved by Congress, could affect their global competitiveness and would leave them at significant disadvantages against non-US companies, said PriceWaterhouseCoopers, in a report.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2009 | 8:42 pm City gas distribution pact with RIL for KG basin gas soonRS Pandey, the petroleum secretary, has said the city gas distribution (CGD) projects are not ready to receive 5 million metric standard cubic meter per day (mmscmd) of gas from Reliance Industries KG D6 gas, which started to pump in April. The agreement with CGD, he said, for 1 mmscmd of RILs KG basin gas will be signed soon.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 8:10 pm Ambuja Cements\' production despatches for April 2009Ambuja Cements Limited\'s cement production despatches for the month of April 2009Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 8:09 pm Hackers taking advantage of Windows 7: MicrosoftSan Francisco: Microsoft has said that cybercriminals are already hawking booby-trapped versions of just-released Windows 7 operating system software. “It’s so important for customers to get their copies of Windows from a trusted source,” Joe Williams, general manager, Worldwide Genuine Windows at Microsoft, said in an interview posted at the company’s official website. “In the last few days we’ve seen reports of illegitimate distributions of the release candidate of our latest Windows operating system, Windows 7, being offered in a way that is designed to infect a customer’s PC with malware.” A nearly-final version of Windows 7 made its world debut on Tuesday, giving people a chance to tell Microsoft what they love or hate about the new-generation operating system. Microsoft is making Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) available as it puts finishing touches on the operating system that will replace Vista. The US software colossus has touted anti-piracy protections it built into Windows 7 to thwart the spread of illegal copies of the operating system. Windows 7 anti-piracy guards build on technology built into Vista, according to Williams. For example, pop-up boxes will warn people when unauthorized copies of software are spied on computers. “With Windows Vista, we made significant strides in reducing the threat pirated copies posed to customers, our partners and Microsoft software, and we anticipate we’ll do even better with Windows 7,” Williams said. Microsoft decried software piracy as a pervasive problem that costs the world economy more than $45 billion annually and exposes users to risks of identity theft, system crashes, and data loss. Williams said Microsoft research shows that as many as a third of the company’s customers worldwide may be running counterfeit copies of Windows. “We see many cases of customers who wanted to buy genuine software and believed they did, only to find out later that they were victims of software piracy,” Williams said. Windows operating systems are used in about 90% of the world’s computers, according to industry figures. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 7 May 2009 | 7:32 pm Jet launches yet another no-frills, low-cost serviceThe fares for the service will be 10 to 15 per cent lower than the normal Jet Airways economy fares, Jet Airways Chief Commercial Officer Sudhir Raghavan told reporters in Mumbai. They will be in the same range as those offered by JetLite, formerly Air Sahara, the value carrier the group acquired in 2007. The two airlines together have a 25.3 per cent market share, just behind Kingfisher.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 6:56 pm Tata Motors to raise Rs 5,000 cr through bond issue for JLRTata Motors, Indias largest commercial vehicle maker, is in the process of raising Rs 5,000 crore through a bond issue to refinance the remaining $2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) bridge loan it took to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 6:53 pm Singh family to sell 6-7% in DLF to FIIsTo raise Rs 2,000-2,500 crore for realty investment trust.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 6:51 pm Government seeks common regulator for marketsReopens case for single overseer for equity, commodity futures.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2009 | 6:49 pm
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