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Spanco is lowest bidder for BSNLs Rs 7,500cr orderSpanco Telesystems bags an order from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Commenting on the same, Kapil Puri, Chaiman of Spanco said that the company is the lowest bidder for BSNLs Rs 7,500 crore telecom infrastructure contract. The BSNL contract may be worth at least Rs 3,750 crore, he added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 4:00 pm SEBI to look into buyback cancellationsCB Bhave, the chairman of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has said he would tighten norms on buybacks. We would look into companies that announced a buyback but cancelled it later, the SEBI chairman said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 2:57 pm 'India Inc turnaround in second half FY'10' - Financial Express
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 11:46 am Bharti's share in Singtel Q4 profit soars 18 pcSingtel, which holds nearly 30 per cent stake in India's Bharti Airtel, has posted a steep drop in the fourth quarter profit to about USD 615.3 million.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 11:40 am 'Smiley' face symbol 'privatised'A Russian company has 'privatised' the popular 'smiley', the smiling face symbol, popularly used by netizens to express their feelings.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 11:37 am BRIC service sector confidence rebounds: KPMG - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 11:34 am Lehman looks to spin off assets: report New York: Lehman Brothers Holdings, whose bankruptcy last September worsened the financial turmoil, is looking to spin off its assets, including real estate and private equity holdings. “Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is taking steps to spin off the Wall Street firm’s remaining assets—a collection of battered real-estate and private-equity holdings—to investors willing to bet the value will rise as the economy recovers,” the Wall Street Journal has reported. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, a development which pushed global markets deep into crisis. The daily said that internal Lehman calculations have pegged their fair-market value at about $45 billion. “Lehman values the assets at $400 billion at non distressed prices, including $300 billion in the servicing of assets,” the publication noted. Pointing out that a spin-off would be the most significant move yet to clean up the bankruptcy estate of Lehman Brothers, the report published online said that the entity owes creditors some $200 billion. Attributing to executives now running the remnants of Lehman, the daily said that they want to be prepared for a rebound in asset values. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:34 am Jalan Says India's Central Bank Has Scope to Cut Rates Further - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 11:23 am ‘Indian politics, a lucrative business’Mumbai: More than half of India’s lawmakers running for re-election to parliament reported a 300% increase in their assets since the last ballot five years ago, a survey conducted by a corruption watchdog said. Candidates in the world’s largest democracy must declare their financial assets under Election Commission rules meant to promote transparency and probity in public life. Declarations filed by 300 members of the outgoing parliament showed an average increase of Rs27.5 million ($555,000) in assets, including homes, cash and jewellery, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. More than 40% of India’s 1.1 billion population live in poverty on less than $1.25 a day. “Politics is a fairly remunerative profession,” said Jagdeep Chhokar, a founding member of ADR, which in 1999 sought changes to election laws to make candidates declare their assets. “There is a fair amount of corruption in politics across the world, and India is no exception. There is really no knowing the extent of it, but like God, you know it is present,” he said. A month-long vote to elect a new parliament ended on Wednesday, with the votes of India’s 700 million electors to be counted on 16 May. While no firm figures are available, analysts say political parties have spent many millions of dollars in the election, despite an economic slowdown. “Parties led by the ruling Congress and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have spent between $5 and $10 billion in the election,” said Surendra Srivastava, head of the Lok Satta Party, which has campaigned for clean politics. Despite stringent election rules, ‘money for votes’ ethos still thrives in India, with politicians dishing out cash, food and liquor, a think tank survey found. About one-fifth of people surveyed in a poll said that they had received cash for votes in state and general elections in the past 10 years, the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) said. “Politics is the mother of all corruption in India,” said Bhaskara Rao, head of CMS, which conducted the poll among 18,000 people in 19 states. Rao further said: “Money for votes is not limited to poor or rural voters, but a national phenomenon spread across rural-urban, rich-poor divides and different age groups and educational levels.” “Much of this money is not accounted for and far surpasses the spending limit of Rs2.5 million per candidate, with some candidates spending at least ten times that amount,” he said. Television exit polls show that neither Congress nor the BJP will win a clear majority. Both are trying to secure new allies, increasing the leverage of smaller players. Such jostling for partners inevitably triggers allegations of money changing hands. “The link between business and politics is worse now because the stakes are higher, there is so much uncertainty, businesses are hedging their bets and parties are going all out,” Rao said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:17 am IBM confident in outlook despite slow economyNew York: IBM reaffirmed its earnings outlook for this year and 2010, saying its focus on high-margin software and its geographic diversity would help buffer the impact of a weak economy. Chief executive Sam Palmisano said on Wednesday that International Business Machines Corp is still targeting earnings of $10 to $11 per share for 2010, slightly above the average analyst estimate of around $9.90, according to Reuters Estimates. The company also repeated its earnings forecast of “at least $9.20” per share in 2009. That compared with the average analyst forecast of $9.11. Chief financial officer Mark Loughridge said IBM’s targets were possible even if revenue at constant currency, which excludes the impact of currency fluctuations, fell 7% in 2009, or was flat in 2010. Over the past decade, IBM has been shifting its focus to software and services from increasingly commoditized hardware. Palmisano said this means it can rely on a steadier stream of revenue, rather than more volatile equipment sales. Software and services account for around 80% of IBM’s revenue, compared to around 50% in 2000. “We are not like the other companies in the IT industry,” Palmisano said at an annual meeting with analysts in New York. “We don’t have the dependency.” IBM’s first-quarter revenue fell 11%, or around 4% at constant currency, from a year earlier, but cost cuts helped limit the fall in net profit. Analysts are expecting revenue to fall 7.5% in 2009 and rise 2.1% in 2010, according to Reuters Estimates. Palmisano also believed it was now a perfect opportunity to invest in future growth, but the company would not do “crazy deals.” The priority of any acquisition would be successful integration rather than deal size, he said. “It’s not about size, it’s about success odds — can we integrate this, can we get the financial returns,” he said. IBM last month failed to clinch a deal for server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc, which agreed to be bought by Oracle Corp instead for more than $7 billion. IBM shares fell 1.62% to $102.26 on the New York Stock Exchange, a more moderate decline for key US indices. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:16 am EU hands down record antitrust fine to IntelBrussels / San Francisco: EU regulators on Wednesday slapped a record €1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) fine on Intel Corp for antitrust violations and ordered it to halt illegal efforts to squeeze out arch-foe AMD. Analysts say the move, which Intel CEO Paul Otellini vigorously contested, may help AMD recoup some of the market share lost to its bigger and nimbler rival over past years, but is not expected to radically transform Intel’s operation. The decision may also force US regulators to act, analysts say, with South Korea and Japan already accusing the company of antitrust violations. Shares in Intel, which had slid 6% since Reuters broke news of the impending sanction on 7 May, closed at $15.13, down 8 cents or 0.53%, while the Nasdaq fell 3%. AMD finished trade on the New York Stock Exchange up 3 cents, or 0.69%, at $4.38. It had been up as much as 1.2% earlier. The European Commission said the world’s No.1 chipmaker paid computer makers to postpone or scrap plans to launch products using AMD chips, paid illegal rebates to encourage them to use Intel products and paid a retailer to stock only computers with Intel chips. Intel argued the decision was based on weak evidence that must be reviewed on appeal to an EU court. “We do not have those kinds of conditions in our contracts. Our contracts are straightforward, consistent worldwide and they are volume-based: the more you buy, the less you pay,” Chief Executive Paul Otellini said on a conference call. “There is a significant amount of evidence that was either ignored or disregarded, or both.” The antitrust fine, imposed after an eight-year investigation, is the biggest the EU’s executive Commission has imposed on a company. It surpassed the €896 million fine last year on glass maker Saint-Gobain for price fixing, and a 2004, €497 million penalty on Microsoft for abuse of dominance. “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years,” European Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a news conference. Whither Intel? Intel has invested more than €5 billion in Europe and employs more than 6,000 people there, mostly in Ireland, its fourth largest global manufacturing site. Otellini saw no change to its investment there. Analysts said US-based Intel would be able to maintain its market dominance, but the EU’s decision could help AMD boost its market share. “Intel’s competitive advantage is not that they cheated or anything like that. It’s that they are much larger than their smaller rival AMD. As far as long-term competitive advantage (goes), Intel still has it,” said Andy Ng, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar. Others saw a historic decision that underscored the EU’s determination to ensure dominant companies do not shut rivals out of the market. “The ruling is hugely important. AMD has been out there for the last five or six years screaming that Intel has been keeping them from getting free access to markets,” said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said the EU ruling could potentially impact Dell because of its heavy reliance on Intel chips for corporate customers, but not better-diversified HP. A spokesman for Dell Inc said that the company has sold both Intel and AMD-based products for several years and that it cooperated fully with the EU investigation. Hewlett-Packarddeclined comment. “When you look at HP, they’ve been the more balanced player, they use a fair amount of AMD maybe because of their consumer focus,” Wu said. “But with Dell it’s a little different, they’ve been very loyal to Intel.” The Commission ordered Intel to cease all illegal practices immediately. Otellini said in a statement it would appeal at the Court of First Instance, the EU’s second-highest court. Kroes said the EU antitrust sanctions would be carried out immediately. In a previous antitrust case against software giant Microsoft, the Commission froze its remedies during part of an appeal filed by that company. Intel’s general counsel, Bruce Sewell, told reporters he was “somewhat mystified” and unsure what the company needed to change. He said Intel had not yet begun talks with the Commission on how to comply with its ruling. “This is really just a matter of competition at work, which is something I think we all want to see, versus something nefarious,” Otellini added. The Commission said Intel must pay the fine, which represents 4.15% of the company’s 2008 turnover, within three months of being notified of the decision. “The EC decision will signal a sweeping change in the IT industry,” AMD’s chief marketing officer, Nigel Nigel Dessau, wrote in a corporate blog. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:15 am EU hands down record antitrust fine to IntelBrussels / San Francisco: EU regulators on Wednesday slapped a record €1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) fine on Intel Corp for antitrust violations and ordered it to halt illegal efforts to squeeze out arch-foe AMD. Analysts say the move, which Intel CEO Paul Otellini vigorously contested, may help AMD recoup some of the market share lost to its bigger and nimbler rival over past years, but is not expected to radically transform Intel’s operation. The decision may also force US regulators to act, analysts say, with South Korea and Japan already accusing the company of antitrust violations. Shares in Intel, which had slid 6% since Reuters broke news of the impending sanction on 7 May, closed at $15.13, down 8 cents or 0.53%, while the Nasdaq fell 3%. AMD finished trade on the New York Stock Exchange up 3 cents, or 0.69%, at $4.38. It had been up as much as 1.2% earlier. The European Commission said the world’s No.1 chipmaker paid computer makers to postpone or scrap plans to launch products using AMD chips, paid illegal rebates to encourage them to use Intel products and paid a retailer to stock only computers with Intel chips. Intel argued the decision was based on weak evidence that must be reviewed on appeal to an EU court. “We do not have those kinds of conditions in our contracts. Our contracts are straightforward, consistent worldwide and they are volume-based: the more you buy, the less you pay,” Chief Executive Paul Otellini said on a conference call. “There is a significant amount of evidence that was either ignored or disregarded, or both.” The antitrust fine, imposed after an eight-year investigation, is the biggest the EU’s executive Commission has imposed on a company. It surpassed the €896 million fine last year on glass maker Saint-Gobain for price fixing, and a 2004, €497 million penalty on Microsoft for abuse of dominance. “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years,” European Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a news conference. Whither Intel? Intel has invested more than €5 billion in Europe and employs more than 6,000 people there, mostly in Ireland, its fourth largest global manufacturing site. Otellini saw no change to its investment there. Analysts said US-based Intel would be able to maintain its market dominance, but the EU’s decision could help AMD boost its market share. “Intel’s competitive advantage is not that they cheated or anything like that. It’s that they are much larger than their smaller rival AMD. As far as long-term competitive advantage (goes), Intel still has it,” said Andy Ng, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar. Others saw a historic decision that underscored the EU’s determination to ensure dominant companies do not shut rivals out of the market. “The ruling is hugely important. AMD has been out there for the last five or six years screaming that Intel has been keeping them from getting free access to markets,” said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said the EU ruling could potentially impact Dell because of its heavy reliance on Intel chips for corporate customers, but not better-diversified HP. A spokesman for Dell Inc said that the company has sold both Intel and AMD-based products for several years and that it cooperated fully with the EU investigation. Hewlett-Packarddeclined comment. “When you look at HP, they’ve been the more balanced player, they use a fair amount of AMD maybe because of their consumer focus,” Wu said. “But with Dell it’s a little different, they’ve been very loyal to Intel.” The Commission ordered Intel to cease all illegal practices immediately. Otellini said in a statement it would appeal at the Court of First Instance, the EU’s second-highest court. Kroes said the EU antitrust sanctions would be carried out immediately. In a previous antitrust case against software giant Microsoft, the Commission froze its remedies during part of an appeal filed by that company. Intel’s general counsel, Bruce Sewell, told reporters he was “somewhat mystified” and unsure what the company needed to change. He said Intel had not yet begun talks with the Commission on how to comply with its ruling. “This is really just a matter of competition at work, which is something I think we all want to see, versus something nefarious,” Otellini added. The Commission said Intel must pay the fine, which represents 4.15% of the company’s 2008 turnover, within three months of being notified of the decision. “The EC decision will signal a sweeping change in the IT industry,” AMD’s chief marketing officer, Nigel Nigel Dessau, wrote in a corporate blog. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:15 am Parties seek allies in tight election raceNew Delhi: The ruling Congress-led coalition and its main rivals were jostling to secure new allies on Thursday to boost their possible parliamentary numbers after exit polls said both would fall well short of a majority. The country’s largest communist party, considered a key player in a fractured verdict, signalled it would do everything possible to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming to power. Exit polls on Wednesday showed the Congress-led coalition slightly ahead of the BJP alliance, but both groups needed smaller allies to gain a parliamentary majority. “The Left parties and our allies in the Third Front will not give BJP an opportunity to exploit the post-poll situation to install its government,” Prakash Karat, chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told The Economic Times. The Left has always seen the pro-business BJP, which shot to prominence on a Hindu revivalist campaign in the 1980s, as an extremist religious group. The probable lack of a clear winner has stoked concerns that the coalition that emerges after a month of voting may be unstable and soft-pedal on the next stage of reforms in Asia’s third-largest economy, which is striving to be a global player. A weak coalition may have little room to manoeuvre on the economy, because a shaky coalition is seen as unlikely to push key reforms such as privatization and raising the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector. The Indian stock market dropped 2.7% and the rupee fell on Thursday after the polls suggested a shaky coalition set against the backdrop of a slowing economy. “If the Congress’s lead was larger, the market may have taken it as a good sign,” said Gajendra Nagpal, chief executive of Unicon Financial Intermediaries. “But now that it is just a slender lead, the market may become uncomfortable and think there might be more of a mess in the offing.” Exit polls have a mixed history in India. Most predicted a win for the then incumbent BJP government in the last election in 2004 but the BJP lost the election and was ousted. The count for the 2009 ballot, involving more than 700 million voters, is set for Saturday. Results from all races for the 543-member lower house of Parliament should be known then. A party or coalition needs the support of 272 lawmakers to rule, forcing the Congress and BJP to launch a hunt for new allies. Some analysts say both main alliances have clear plans about which parties they will woo. “Both groups have made arrangements in case they emerge as the single largest party to form the government,” said political analyst Prem Shankar Jha. The communists, who supported the Congress-led alliance for more than four years before angrily parting ways over a civilian nuclear deal with Washington last year, had ruled out backing any future Congress coalition. But exit polls showed the election may have bruised the communists, leaving them with about 37 seats, down from more than 60 they won in 2004. “In order to prevent the BJP, they would rather make an alliance with Congress. That is a practical position and a legitimate one,” said political analyst Pran Chopra. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:11 am DLF Plans to Raise $2 Billion Over Next 2-3 Years - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 11:09 am Sensex wobbles on weak coalition fears - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 11:06 am Sensex pulls back, closes about 1.2% downThe Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which opened at 11,774.04 points, almost 245 points lower, climbed back to end trade about 146.74 points at 11,872.91 points.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 11:02 am Sebi to pay first year peer review auditing fee Kolkata: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today said it will pay the first year fees to auditors who will undertake peer review of accounts of the Sensex index tracker companies, a concept which was introduced to prevent recurrance of Satyam like frauds. “Sebi will pay peer auditors fees for the first year and then we will review how this exercise will be funded. It seemed there is a conflict of interest if the companies pay for the peer review fees. So, we decided to pay to complete the process,” Sebi chairman C.B. Bhave said. As a confidence building measure following disclosure of accounting fraud in Satyam, the market regulator introduced peer review of the accounts of companies which figure in the list of 50 NSE nifty and 30 BSE sensex companies. Bhave said that the regulator has received reports of several peer reviews of index tracker companies but declined to state the number. Bhave accepted there had been some delays in selection of auditors by Sebi after verifying the conflict of interest with the concerned company. He denied that there was any deadline for such peer review, but the process was taking longer than anticipated. Bhave stated that he had heard of certain issues concerning peer review concept and wished to complete this process before it goes for a review. Reacting on buyback of shares, Sebi said that the regulator was aware of certain issues relating to announcement of open offers and deviation from actual action by the companies. “There are difficulties in bringing changes in norms of buyback from the existing regulations and we are having a relook at the regulations,” Bhave said. Commenting on the SME exchange, Bhave said that they have received applications expressing interest but they and the applicants are bothered on some issues to ensure that this attempt does not fail like a few in the past. Asked about new derivative products, Bhave said that final report by the committee is under preparation and the final decision would be taken by the joint committee of Sebi and RBI. “The joint committee will review currency future and need for other products. The existing dollar-rupee currency future is not even one year and they need time to move step by step,” Bhave said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:02 am Predict Lok Sabha results and win Rs25 lakh!Kolkata: Putting astrologers to test, a city-based NGO has promised a reward of Rs25 lakh to any soothsayer who predicts the result of Lok Sabha polls before counting begins on Saturday. “We have put two questions before them. First, they have to foretell exactly how many seats will be acquired by major political parties like the Congress, BJP, TC, CPI(M), BSP, RJD, Samajwadi Party, DMK and AIADMK. Secondly, they have to predict the margin of victory or loss of big leaders like Sonia Gandhi, L K Advani, Mamata Banerjee, Lalu Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan,” chief of the Science and Rationalists Association of India (SRAI), Prabir Ghosh said. However, no astrologer has come forward to accept this challenge so far, he said while sounding confident that none would ever approach him. “It is because they knew they are not going to win as their predictions are always wrong,” Ghosh claimed, while asserting that astrology was ‘unscientific’ and “can never predict anything correctly”. SRAI was established in 1985 to fight superstition, godmen and astrologers. He claimed that even in the past, more than a thousand astrologers had publicly lost the challenge after being invited by him to predict the future. “At least in Kolkata, I don’t think there is an astrologer, whose effectiveness I have not proved to be zero,” the 64-year-old crusader against soothsayers and godmen said. “We would close down our NGO and stop all our activities against them, if they prove us wrong this time,” he said, while admitting that his NGO does not have Rs25 lakh it has announced as prize money. “If ever we need that much money, our well-wishers and supporters have promised to help us out,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 11:00 am IEA sees 28-year record drop in oil demandParis: The International Energy Agency forecast on Thursday a 28-year record annual drop in world oil demand, saying that optimism for economic recovery had yet to spread to the key oil sector. The agency further trimmed its forecast for 2009, which it estimated at 83.2 million barrels per day (bpd), three percent lower than last year, “and the sharpest single year’s fall since 1981,” in its monthly oil market report. Last month it had estimated 2009 demand at 83.4 million bpd. “Forecast global oil demand for 2009 has been revised down slightly (since last month) following weaker-than-expected preliminary data in various regions,” it said. “Preliminary data for early 2009 suggest little upside for now in our demand assessment, even if broader market sentiment has become more optimistic,” the IEA said amid a background of emerging signals that green shoots of recovery are appearing in the global economy. Despite oil prices strengthening to six-month highs around $60 this month, “new bullish macroeconomic sentiment has not yet produced signs of oil demand recovery and oil market fundamentals remain weak.” According to the IEA’s latest data, demand for oil products plunged by 5.9% in North America and 7.6% in Asia, on a 12-month comparison in March. The fall in Europe was a “relatively modest” 0.3%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:59 am JK Lakshmi surges 20% on good Q4 results - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 10:57 am Ranbaxy seeks govt nod for excess pay to directors New Delhi: Domestic pharma major Ranbaxy, now owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, cut the remuneration to its directors by about Rs3.5 crore in last fiscal, but the payout still exceeded the limits prescribed by the government. The company, whose director remuneration fell to Rs27.73 crore in 2008 from Rs31.23 crore in previous year, has sought the central government’s approval for waiving the Companies Act requirements regarding the excess payout. The company paid higher salaries and allowances in 2008 to its directors, including its chairman, CEO and and MD Malvinder Mohan Singh, but the total payout declined as no commission was paid to executive directors in view of the loss incurred by the company. “Remuneration of executive directors is decided by the board based on recommendations of the compensation committee as per the remuneration policy of the company, within the ceiling fixed by the shareholders. “In view of the loss incurred by the company for the financial year ended 31 December, 2008, the company has applied to the central government for the remuneration of the executive directors and the approval is awaited,” Ranbaxy said in its latest annual report. The company further said that its auditors have noted that the company has paid managerial remuneration to its directors in excess of the limits under the Companies Act, 1956. The auditors in their report said that the company paid Rs27.728 crore as managerial remuneration to its directors, which is in excess of the limits under the Act. “Had the company accounted for the remuneration in accordance with the Act, the loss after tax for the year would have been lower by Rs18.303 crore and the loans and advances would have been higher by Rs27.728 crore.” The company said that the explanation to this qualification is that the company had adequate profits for the past many years and thus has been paying remuneration to its managerial personnel within overall limits as specified under the Act. “However, due to sharp erosion in rupee value and import alert by US FDA, the company incurred losses in the second half of the year 2008. In view of this, the managerial remuneration paid during the year has exceeded the limits prescribed under the act,” Ranbaxy said, adding it has sought approval of the central government for waiver of excess remuneration paid. The salaries and allowances to the directors increased to Rs22.908 crore in 2008, from Rs14.95 crore in 2007, while directors’ fee increased to Rs24.6 lakh from Rs24.2 lakh and the perquisites declined to Rs13.4 lakh from Rs75.1 lakh. However, the company did not pay any commission to its directors in 2008, as against a payout of Rs14.4 crore in 2007. The company paid Malvinder Mohan Singh about Rs19.29 crore in salary and allowances, while Rs12.08 lakh was paid as perquisites and Rs4.3 crore as retiral benefits. Besides, he was also granted two lakh stock options on 19 December, 2008, at an exercise price of Rs219 a share. In 2007, Singh, then CEO and MD, was paid Rs10 crore in commission, while his total payout stood at about Rs19.59 crore, after taking into account salary, allowances, perquisites and retiral benefits. Singh was appointed as chairman, CEO and managing director effective 19 December, 2008, for a period of five years. Ranbaxy’s sales rose 9% to Rs7,295.4 crore in 2008. However, it recorded a loss after tax of Rs934.95 crore in 2008, as against a profit of Rs786.75 crore in 2007. The loss was mainly attributed to foreign exchange losses worth more than Rs1,000 crore and adverse impact of the US drug regulator’s import alert on two of its plants in India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:53 am To resolve US FDA issues in nearterm, biz as usual: LupinThe company said they received USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration) notice on its Mandideep facility. Commenting on the same, Kamal K Sharma, MD, Lupin, said \"Issues mentioned in the letter are only procedural issues and we hope to resolve them in the near term.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 10:51 am Varun and UP govt indulged in vote bank politics: CongressNew Delhi: As the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to revoke charges under the NSA against Varun Gandhi, Congress on Thursday alleged the young BJP leader and BSP government had indulged in “vote bank politics.” “Varun Gandhi and BSP government in Uttar Pradesh indulged in vote bank politics to garner votes...such politics does not help in the long run,” said Congress spokesperson Rajiv Shukla. He claimed that the episode will not help Varun as “the BJP leadership will ultimately dump him.” Another Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi said the young leader was more of a “liability” and not an asset for BJP. “Varun Gandhi is a liability and not an asset for BJP... ..It (imposition of NSA) was a joint plan of BJP and BSP to convert a politically unknown Varun into a hero,” Chaturvedi told reporters here. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:40 am India's growth to slow to about 5% in 2009-10: ReportRating agency Fitch on Thursday said it expects India's growth to slow to about 5% in the current fiscal due to recession in advanced economies and the reduction in capital flows.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 10:38 am Bajaj Hindusthan to raise Rs 75.6 cr via warrants issue - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 10:36 am India’s manufacturing production may recover in coming monthsNew Delhi: India is likely to witness a recovery in manufacturing in the coming months, even though the country’s industrial production contracted 2.3% in March, DBS Bank has said. “Purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for April has risen above the 50 mark to 53.3 suggesting industrial output expanded in sequential terms in April. Therefore, we continue to expect a recovery in manufacturing...in the months ahead,” DBS Bank said in a report. PMI gives an indication of the country’s manufacturing activity and its future outlook. India’s industrial production declined 2.3% in March compared to a rise of 5.5% in the same month in 2008, mainly on account of poor performance by the manufacturing sector. “This outcome is actually not surprising and is in line with trends in the PMI survey. PMI readings have been below the neutral 50 mark in the first quarter. Importantly, the outlook for manufacturing growth in the coming quarters still is positive,” the report said. Earlier a CII-Ascon survey had also highlighted that the manufacturing sector is showing signs of recovery with key segments such as fertiliser, steel and two-wheelers returning to moderate growth from negative trends between the third and fourth quarter of 2008-09. “There are some green shoots from a few sectors that have demonstrated a marginal pick up during the second half of 2008-09 when compared to the first half,” CII director-general Chandrajit Banerjee had said. Sectors reporting high growth are asbestos, switch gears, power cables, capacitors and industrial gases, the CII-Ascon survey had said. Meanwhile, regarding the general elections, DBS Bank said, “Considering that no party is likely to win an outright majority. It is difficult to predict a correlation between election outcomes and policies.” However, a third front government led by the Communists might be negative for markets and policies, it added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:36 am India will recover after global situation improves: RBI chiefReserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao believes the Indian economy will recover only after the world tides over the financial crisis.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 10:33 am Regulator looking at tightening buyback normsIndia's market regulator is looking at tightening norms for buyback of shares by companies, its top official said here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 10:32 am Close: Hung House fear drags Sensex 140 pts downMumbai: Indian shares fell 1.22% on Thursday, as the prospect of a weak coalition coming to power after general election results on Saturday weighed on investor confidence. The 30-share BSE index ended down 146.74 points at 11,872.91, with 21 stocks declining. The 50-share NSE index provisionally closed down 41.80 points at 3,593.45. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:32 am Sensex pulls back, closes about 1.2 percent downIndian markets made a decent pullback Thursday after opening weak, with a key index moving down 1.16 percent from its last closing figure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 10:31 am Left reacts sharply to US envoy’s meeting with leaders New Delhi: The meetings of US envoy Peter Burleigh with BJP leader L K Advani, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and some other leaders just ahead of counting of votes has triggered a controversy with Left parties branding it as “brazen interference” in India’s internal affairs. The strong reaction by Left parties came in the wake of reports that Burleigh had suggested to the TDP leader to ensure that Communist parties do not have any role to play in the next government as the US is worried about the future of civil nuclear deal and other aspects of strategic ties. “Reports suggest that parties are being advised whom to support and which government should be formed in India, etc. If this is the case, I think this is gross interference in our internal affairs,” CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters here. He said, “The US has revealed its character once again through its brazen interference in internal affairs of other independent countries. That cannot be tolerated.” Yechury said he had “heard” that “TDP strongly condemned such suggestions. He was told with quite degree of certainty and unceremoniously not to interfere in India’s internal affairs. That is the way it should be.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:22 am India business confidence improves in FY10: surveyNew Delhi: India’s business confidence for the first half of the fiscal improved on hopes the economy would revive later in the year, but global economic instability and slowing consumer demand still weigh, a survey showed. The survey, released on Thursday by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), comes amid talk of a recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy following encouraging car sales and signs of reviving manufacturing activity in April. The CII Business Confidence Index for April-September 2009-10 rose 2.4 points to 58.7 from October-March 2008-09. “The rise in the index reflects better expectations for the coming six months and confirms our belief that the worst is likely to be over for the economy,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, CII’s director general. The government estimates economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 6.5% in 2008-09, hit by a global financial downturn and a contraction in domestic demand, after growing 9% or more in the previous three fiscal years. The CII survey showed the slowdown in the economy will persist in 2009-10, with a majority of respondents expecting it to grow by 5-6% during the year. India’s central bank expects the growth rate to slow down to 6% in 2009-10. The government has announced three stimulus packages and the country’s central bank has cut its key lending rate by 425 basis points since October to boost domestic demand. However, a sharp fall in industrial output for March showed demand still remained sluggish. Industrial output, which accounts for a quarter of India’s gross domestic product, fell 2.3% in March, the steepest fall in at least 14 years. Though the survey showed a majority of respondents were optimistic about an uptick in domestic sales in the first half of 2009-10, the outlook for the country’s exports continued to be negative. India’s exports, which have been falling since October 2008, are expected to have fallen 33% in April from a year earlier as recession in developed economies crimped demand for goods abroad. The decline is expected to last until September, the country’s trade secretary said last month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 10:18 am Indian Oil ties up $3 bln debt for refineryMUMBAI (Reuters) - State-run Indian Oil Corp has tied up 149 billion rupees ($3 billion) term loan for a new refinery in east India in the country's largest syndicated rupee loan for a single project, the arranger said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 10:11 am BSE Sensex provisionally falls 1.2 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally fell 1.2 percent on Thursday, as the prospect of a weak coalition coming to power after general election results on Saturday weighed on investor confidence.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 10:07 am Office rentals to fall 20% in 2009; realty to recover in 2010Office space rentals in India are expected to fall up to 20% in the next three quarters, with key cities like Delhi and Mumbai slated to witness a sharp decline of 50%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 10:04 am DLF eyes $2 bln from asset sales in 3 yrsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - DLF Ltd, aims to raise 100 billion ($2 billion) over the next three years from asset sales as the cash-strapped builder strives to cut its debt.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 9:53 am BofA Asia M&A head to leave - sourceHONG KONG (Reuters) - The head of Bank of America's Asia mergers and acquisitions practice is leaving the bank, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, the latest in a series of high-level departures for the firm.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 9:41 am Exports down 33% in AprilNew Delhi: India’s exports shrank in April for the seventh month in a row, this time by 33%, opening the fiscal 2009-10 on a negative note amid demand recession in major global markets like the US and Europe. A sharp drop of 33% in export consignment to $10.79 billion in April 2009, over a year ago period was “expected ...with global slowdown and contraction of nine per cent (in) global trade,” commerce secretary GK Pillai told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI function here on Thursday. Pillai said the downward trend in exports, would continue for the next three-four months. “Then (exports) would pick up,” he said. The commerce secretary said imports were also down by 32% in the opening month of the current fiscal. However, the official data for April will be released on 1 June, giving details of exports, imports and the trade deficit. Exports plunged by 33.3% in March, the most in over a decade, while the country’s exports aggregated $168.70 billion in the fiscal 2008-09, managing a paltry growth rate of 3.4%. “India’s exports have been badly affected due to the ongoing economic and financial crisis,” the Confederation of Indian Industry said. However, 36% of the CII-Business Confidence survey expects the situation to improve in the first six months of the current fiscal. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 9:37 am Fitch: India sovereign rating hinges on fiscal policy(The following statement was released by the rating agency)Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 9:36 am BT cuts dividend, 15,000 jobs on $2.4 bn writedownLondon: British telecoms carrier BT cut its dividend and announced 15,000 further job losses on Thursday after a £1.58 billion ($2.4 billion) writedown tipped it into a quarterly loss and its pension costs almost doubled. The writedown is to be taken at its Global Services unit, which supplies the IT needs of multinational companies and which the company had for years striven to make its growth engine. The group also said it would almost double its pension contributions to £525 million ($794.1 million) a year. Its shares fell 3.6% by 12.40 pm to 91 pence. BT, which has twice previously in the past year warned about profits at the Global Services unit, said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were £1.35 billion, down 14%. Profit before tax on an adjusted basis was down 40% and on a reported basis showed a £1.28 billion loss. Chief Executive Ian Livingston, who took over under a year ago, had pledged to turn around the Global Services division and analysts said the market had already factored in many of the charges and said the update should bring an end to the uncertainty. BT said it would take a total charge of £1.3 billion as a result of the completion of contract and financial reviews. It took a specific charge of £280 million relating to the restructuring of the unit and said it would take further charges of around £420 million in total over the next two years. The analysts also welcomed the pledge to deliver a net reduction in capital expenditure and the further job cuts. BT said its total labour workforce, of both permanent and contract staff, fell by 15,000 to 147,000 in March, 2009 and said they expected a similar number next year. The job cuts were all voluntary and through not replacing staff and BT said they expected this to be the case next year. “Although far from impressive, the worst seems to be out of the way for BT,” Trader Manoj Ladwa said. “Shareholders are likely to be encouraged by its dividend policy and measures undertaken to turn around its underperforming Global Services Division.” To help meet its increased pension obligations, BT cut its final dividend to 1.1 pence to give a full year dividend of 6.5 pence, which was down 59% on last year. Pension gap The pension contributions will almost double from the previous £280 million annual payment to £525 million a year for the next three financial years. BT has been engaged in a three-yearly pension review to establish the size of its deficit and what it should contribute to the scheme on an annual basis, based on its asset values and liabilities. The last review in 2006 put BT’s deficit at £3.4 billion and set annual contributions on a 10-year recovery plan at £280 million. BT did not reveal the new deficit from the three-year review, but a leading pensions expert said on Wednesday that BT’s pension deficit now stood at £11 billion, although most city analysts expected it to be between £6 to £8 billion. BT said its triennial pension funding valuation was at an advanced state of completion. It did give its pension position at March 31 on an IAS 19 accounting basis as a deficit of £2.9 billion net of tax or £4 billion gross, compared with a net surplus of £2 billion last year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 9:36 am BT cuts dividend, 15,000 jobs on $2.4 bn writedownLondon: British telecoms carrier BT cut its dividend and announced 15,000 further job losses on Thursday after a £1.58 billion ($2.4 billion) writedown tipped it into a quarterly loss and its pension costs almost doubled. The writedown is to be taken at its Global Services unit, which supplies the IT needs of multinational companies and which the company had for years striven to make its growth engine. The group also said it would almost double its pension contributions to £525 million ($794.1 million) a year. Its shares fell 3.6% by 12.40 pm to 91 pence. BT, which has twice previously in the past year warned about profits at the Global Services unit, said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were £1.35 billion, down 14%. Profit before tax on an adjusted basis was down 40% and on a reported basis showed a £1.28 billion loss. Chief Executive Ian Livingston, who took over under a year ago, had pledged to turn around the Global Services division and analysts said the market had already factored in many of the charges and said the update should bring an end to the uncertainty. BT said it would take a total charge of £1.3 billion as a result of the completion of contract and financial reviews. It took a specific charge of £280 million relating to the restructuring of the unit and said it would take further charges of around £420 million in total over the next two years. The analysts also welcomed the pledge to deliver a net reduction in capital expenditure and the further job cuts. BT said its total labour workforce, of both permanent and contract staff, fell by 15,000 to 147,000 in March, 2009 and said they expected a similar number next year. The job cuts were all voluntary and through not replacing staff and BT said they expected this to be the case next year. “Although far from impressive, the worst seems to be out of the way for BT,” Trader Manoj Ladwa said. “Shareholders are likely to be encouraged by its dividend policy and measures undertaken to turn around its underperforming Global Services Division.” To help meet its increased pension obligations, BT cut its final dividend to 1.1 pence to give a full year dividend of 6.5 pence, which was down 59% on last year. Pension gap The pension contributions will almost double from the previous £280 million annual payment to £525 million a year for the next three financial years. BT has been engaged in a three-yearly pension review to establish the size of its deficit and what it should contribute to the scheme on an annual basis, based on its asset values and liabilities. The last review in 2006 put BT’s deficit at £3.4 billion and set annual contributions on a 10-year recovery plan at £280 million. BT did not reveal the new deficit from the three-year review, but a leading pensions expert said on Wednesday that BT’s pension deficit now stood at £11 billion, although most city analysts expected it to be between £6 to £8 billion. BT said its triennial pension funding valuation was at an advanced state of completion. It did give its pension position at March 31 on an IAS 19 accounting basis as a deficit of £2.9 billion net of tax or £4 billion gross, compared with a net surplus of £2 billion last year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 9:36 am JSW halves its workforce in the US New Delhi: Hit hard by the global economic crisis, Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel has almost halved its workforce at its US steel mills to remain competitive in the current scenario. “We have cut jobs by 40-50% at our units in the US in the last two quarters to bring the workforce in line with the capacity utilisation of the mills,” JSW Steel joint managing director M.V.S Seshagiri Rao said. The mills altogether employed 950 workers in 2007 when the Texas-based mills were bought at $810 million. The mills can produce 1.2 million tonnes of plates and 0.5 million tonnes of pipes annually and are currently running at only 10-15% of their capacity. “Almost all the steel mills in the US are running at much lower production capacity due to the slump in steel demand on account of the economic crisis. We are running our mills at 10-15% of their production capacity,” he said. Globally steel majors like ArcelorMittal and Corus have come out with programmes to cut their production capacity and jobs aimed at bringing down the operational cost amid slump in demand for their products. Even as it has trimmed production and workforce in the US, JSW Steel said it will revive the output with the possible rise in demand for steel in the coming months. “We are optimistic for things to improve in the coming quarters with the stimuli measures taken by the US administration. We will increase the capacity utilisation in line with the revival in steel demand,“ Rao said. Citing the distressed US economy, the steel major has also deferred its plans to increase its pipe-making capacity by five lakh tonnes. On Monday, the company said it has no intentions to sell its Texas-based mills to cut its mounting losses, amid the slump in steel demand. “We have no plans to sell our US pipes and plate-making plants. Looking at our forward integration, it is a right strategic fit for the company in the long run,” Rao said. Even as the US-based mills of JSW Steel are operating below capacity, its domestic plants registered a 60% surge in output at 4.56 lakh tonnes in April compared to the same period last year. Hit by the inventory write-downs and demand contraction, JSW Steel posted a loss of Rs39.93 crore in Q4 ended 31 March, 2009. The company had posted a loss in the third quarter financial results as well. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 9:33 am Indian service sector to grow in next 12 months: KPMGIndia's service sector is set to grow substantially in the next 12 months, though its business activity prospects remain lowest in the BRIC block comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, says a survey by global auditing agency KPMG released Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 9:31 am Air France says sorry to Indian passengersAir France Thursday apologised for 'all inconveniences' suffered by its passengers - mostly Indians - due to a long delay in a Paris-Mumbai flight Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 9:31 am 'Give us back our money'The anxious depositors of Ahmedabad People's Cooperative Bank thronged the seven branches of the bank to know whether they would be able to withdraw their money.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 9:27 am Pay Rs20/kg more for teaA cup of tea is going to cost a little more as packagers and retailers are all set to increase tea prices by Rs20 per kg.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 9:12 am Inflation dips to 0.48 percent after four-week riseIndia's annual rate of inflation fell to 0.48 percent for the week ended May 2 from 0.7 the week before, official data showed Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 9:01 am Selling pressure keeps Sensex downIndian equities markets continued to be under pressure about 90 minutes before close, as investors sold stocks across sectors and most world bourses traded weak. A key index was 176 points down from Wednesday's close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 9:00 am Investment banker pay squeezed as fees slumpMUMBAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The number of well-paid investment bankers in India is getting harder to justify. Many more will likely see their salaries slashed or lose their jobs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 8:59 am India's exports continue to slip, down 33% in April - Times of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 8:57 am Dolphin Offshore soars 20% on bonus issue - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 8:54 am Gold prices ease, buyers seek more fallsMumbai: India gold prices eased on Thursday as dollar recovered overseas, but well-stocked traders stayed away from making fresh purchases anticipating further falls ahead, traders said. The most active June contract on was 0.32% lower at Rs14,849 per 10 grams at 1:41pm, after having gained 2.7% in the previous three sessions. “There are neither buyers nor sellers, everything is quiet,” said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of Kolkata-based JJ Gold House. “If prices stay at these levels, there would be no physical offtake,” said Ajmera. Traders said a fall below $900 (an ounce) could rekindle buying interest. “If prices fall below 14,000 (rupees per 10 grams), we might see some interest,” said Haresh Acharya, head of bullion desk, Ahmedabad-based Parker Agrochem. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 8:53 am Lupin to create new infrastructure for NCE ResearchLupin Chairman Desh Bandhu Gupta said they will add 200300 people to their drug discovery team in the next year. The company has also brought in leadership change for its New Chemical Entity (NCE) Research. Earlier, the NCE Research team had leadership and competence issues.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 8:48 am Economy in process of resetting: BallmerMr Steve A Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corp, has shrugged off the slowdown and sounded optimistic.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 8:47 am India's exports continue to slip, down 33% in AprilIndia's exports shrank in April for the seventh month in a row, this time by 33%, opening the fiscal 2009-10 on a negative note amidst demand recession in major global markets like the US and Europe.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 8:47 am ONGC to step up investment in nonconventional energyOil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) is in the process of stepping up investments in the next twothree years to tap into the huge nonconventional energy sources, while focusing on extracting more out of new shallow and existing deepwater wells.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 8:39 am Rupee little weaker as stock losses hurtMumbai: The Indian rupee was weaker in afternoon session on Thursday as losses in the domestic sharemarket and a stronger dollar overseas weighed on the local unit. At 1:50pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs49.76/77 per dollar, after dropping to Rs50.02, its weakest since 29 April, but below its Wednesday’s close of Rs49.71/72. The results of India’s national elections are due on Saturday. Exit polls indicated on Wednesday the ruling Congress-led coalition slightly ahead of the opposition Hindu-nationalist alliance, but lacking a majority. Dealers said the stock market would be watched for clues on fund flows. The main stock index fell more than 2.5% early, but pared losses to about 1%. The dollar’s gains versus majors also weighed on rupee sentiment. The dollar index, a guage of the US unit’s performance against majors, was up 0.1%. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs49.84 and Rs49.8350 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $890 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 8:38 am Maruti plots CNG roadmap with Reliance, GAILReliance Industries natural gas discovery from the D6 block of the KrishnaGodavari basin has been the best piece of news to the automotive industry. Carmakers are now gearing up to launch more CNG (compressed natural gas) models in the shortterm.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 May 2009 | 8:31 am India Inc's business sentiments have improved, says CIIIndia Inc's business confidence for the first half of this fiscal has improved 2.4 points to 58.7, though global economic instability and slackening consumer demand remain major sources of concern, says a survey by the Confederation of India Industry (CII).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 8:30 am Lupin's last quarter profit up 64 percentDrug maker Lupin saw its consolidated profits for the quarter ended March 31 rise 64.16 percent to Rs.157.3 crore, as against Rs.95.87 crore for the corresponding period last year, the company said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 8:30 am Inflation at 0.48% vs 0.7%; Expert calls for rate cuts - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 May 2009 | 8:18 am India April exports down 33 pct y/y - trade secretaryNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's exports are expected to have fallen an annual 33 percent in April, similar to the drop seen in March, the trade secretary said on Thursday, adding the slowdown in external trade would continue until August.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 8:15 am Indian monsoon rains likely from 26 MayNew Delhi: India’s monsoon rains, crucial for crops such as sugarcane and rice, are expected to hit the southern coast on 26 May, five days ahead of the normal date, the weather office said on Thursday. The India Meteorological Department said monsoons were expected over the Andaman Sea in the next two or three days. “The monsoon onset over Kerala in 2009 is likely to be on 26 May,” it said in a statement, adding its forecast model had an error margin of four days. The onset of rains would help farmers plant summer crops early, but the size of the harvest would depend on the amount of rainfall and its distribution across different parts of the country. For a factbox on the impact of monsoon rains on crops, markets and the economy. Last month, the weather office said the June-September monsoon was likely to be 96% of the long-term average. The Met department’s forecasts have been inaccurate at times. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 8:14 am Lehman eyes spinoff of remaining assets - WSJReuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which sent global markets into a tailpsin after filing for bankruptcy in September 2008, is looking at spinning off its remaining assets, the Wall Street Journal said in an unsourced article.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 8:01 am Sanyo reports $976 mn lossTokyo: Japan’s Sanyo Electric Co. has reported a net loss of $976 million for the past financial year due to falling sales and restructuring costs but said it expects to break even this year. Sanyo, which is being bought by its bigger rival Panasonic Corp., said that its net losses reached ¥93.23 billion in the 12 months to March, reversing the previous year’s profit of ¥28.7 billion. It was the first time in two years the Osaka-based electronics maker had fallen into the red. The firm’s operating profit tumbled 89.1% to ¥8.28 billion as sales fell 12.2% to ¥1.77 trillion amid the global recession. “The electronics industry fell into a serious sales slump due to curbs on corporate capital spending and rapidly worsened consumer spending,” the company said in a statement. Sales plunged in the semiconductor and electronics parts segment as demand and prices rapidly fell for cellphones, personal computers and television sets, it said. Sanyo expects no profit on a net basis for the current business year as the economic environment is likely to continue to be severe, it said. But operating profit is forecast to rise to ¥25 billion although sales are projected to fall 6.2% to ¥1.66 trillion. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 7:39 am Inflation dips to 0.48 percent after four-week riseIndia's annual rate of inflation fell to 0.48 percent for the week ended May 2 from 0.7 the week before, official data showed Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 May 2009 | 7:31 am Revoke NSA against Varun, SC tells Mayawati New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw forthwith charges under the National Security Act (NSA) against BJP leader Varun Gandhi which were imposed for his alleged hate speeches. “The state government shall forthwith withdraw the detention order against Varun Gandhi under the NSA,” a bench headed by chief justice K.G. Balakrishnan said. The apex court disposed of the petition filed by Varun challenging the imposition of the NSA as well as the application filed by the Uttar Pradesh government seeking setting aside the decision of the State Advisory Board recommending revocation of the stringent law against him. After the bench, also comprising justices P.Sathsavim and Deepak Verma passed the order, the BJP leader’s counsel and senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi did not press for the second petition seeking an exemplary damages of Rs10 lakh from the Uttar Pradesh government. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 7:29 am BT cuts dividend, jobs; pension costs jumpLONDON (Reuters) - British telecoms carrier BT cut its dividend and announced 15,000 further job losses on Thursday after a 1.58 billion pound ($2.4 billion) writedown tipped it into a quarterly loss and its pension costs almost doubled.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 7:22 am Sensex falls 324 points in early tradeMarketmen said weakening trend in the global equity markets too triggered selling on the domestic boursesSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 7:17 am Asia stocks drop, US retail sales dent rallyHong Kong: Asian stocks fell on Thursday as weak US retail sales underscored the long road to economic recovery, prompting investors to take profits on winning bets in equities, higher-yielding currencies and commodities over the past two months. The retreat in Asian shares tracked an overnight drop on Wall Street after retail sales unexpectedly fell in April, suggesting that consumers were still struggling from job losses, falling home prices and tighter credit. Futures on Britain’s FTSE 100 were up 0.5% in early trade, while futures on Germany’s DAX wer little changed. “US retail sales point to a continued slump in the world’s largest economy,” said Y S Rhoo, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities in Seoul. The dollar edged up from a four-month low hit the previous day as investors had gradually shifted funds away from the safe-haven US currency and into riskier assets. Oil prices pulled further away from a six-month peak reached this week. Analysts said markets were likely seizing on the poor US data to take profits on positions that were made on hopes that global growth was slowly picking up. That optimism drove up Asian shares more than 50% at one point from their low mark in early March. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said in a report on Asian economies on Thursday that it was too early to say the global economy has bottomed. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 3.3% and looked poised for its biggest one-day drop in six weeks. But the benchmark was still up some 19 % since the start of the year and 45% from its year low struck in March. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 shed 2.7%, and futures on that US stock index were down slightly in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei average fell 2.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 3.2%, with HSBC and China Mobile - the two biggest heavyweights in the index - leading the decline. In another sign that investors were taking profits, open interest in Hang Seng futures fell on Wednesday after reaching its highest level since 8 October - at the tail end of last year’s slide to five-year lows. The dip in open interest and fall-off in volume signalled that market players were taking chips off the table and were reluctant to chase the market higher. Investors are also keeping an eye on the results of India’s general election. The ruling Congress-led coalition is slightly ahead of the opposition Hindu nationalists-led alliance, but both groups have fallen short of a parliamentary majority, according to early projections. The decline in Mumbai’s SENSEX was limited compared with the rest of the region, shedding 1%. Dollar limps up The dollar limped up from a four-month low hit on Wednesday, partly on the revival of risk-taking but also because its break through the 200-day moving average against the euro sparked wide selling. Chart technicals for the US currency have turned negative since the break of the widely tracked 200-day moving average, which has signalled turning points against the euro in the past. The euro slipped 0.2%to $1.3570 after having jumped to $1.3722 the previous day, threatening to push above the peak reached in March that would likely add fuel to the rise. The dollar’s slide had reinforced a jump in gold and oil prices. Gold was down 75 cents an ounce at $924.70 while US crude dipped 44 cents to $57.58 a barrel after having climbed as high as $60.08 this week. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 7:16 am Inflation dips to 0.48%After increasing for three consecutive weeks, inflation fell to 0.48 per cent for the week ended May 2 against 0.70 per cent in the previous week.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 6:59 am Sensex still in the red, down 106 pointsIndian markets were in recovery mode a little before Thursday noon after witnessing sharp falls on opening. A key index was ruling 106 points below its last closing figure after opening about 245 points lower.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 6:44 am Inflation at 0.48 pctNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's wholesale price index rose 0.48 percent in the 12 months to May 2, below the previous week's annual rise of 0.70 percent, government data showed on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 May 2009 | 6:38 am Posco cuts domestic steel prices by 20% to competeSeoul: Posco, the world’s No.4 steelmaker, on Thursday said it would cut prices of its domestic steel products by up to 20% in its biggest-ever price reduction, which came earlier than expected as it seeks to compete against cheaper imports. The South Korean company had said it would not slash steel prices until annual negotiations to decide import prices of iron ore were completed, which was likely to be in the second half. “We’ve decided to lower the prices of all our products earlier than we had planned, as international steel prices are falling and raw material prices are also expected to decline,” Posco said in a statement. The price reduction comes after Posco increased prices of its benchmark hot-rolled steel prices three times by a total of 63% last year when global steel prices soared to a record high above $1,000 per tonne, which more than halved to below $500 this year. Posco, will slash prices of hot-rolled steel by 20% to 680,000 won ($548.8) per tonne and prices of cold-rolled steel by 16% to 785,000 won per tonne. The move will reduce Posco’s annual sales by an estimated 2.7 trillion won but it will seek to protect profitability through a 1.3 trillion won cost-saving programme, the company said in a statement. By 8:00am, shares in Posco were down 3.8% at 409,000 won, lagging a 1.7% drop in the broader market. Asian steel shares were heavily battered on Thursday after S&P steel stocks tumbled 8.5% on Wednesday, as job losses and production cut plans by major steelmakers raised investor concerns over the sector’s recovery. ArcelorMittal, the world’s top steelmaker, on Wednesday said it would cut almost 1,000 US jobs and AK Steel said it would likely idle a mill employing 750 workers, hit by vehicle production cuts. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 May 2009 | 5:40 am Rupee falls 18 paise against dollarThe rupee continued its downslide for the second straight day and displayed a fall of 18 paise to 49.88/90 against the US currency in late morning deals following sharp fall in the equity markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 May 2009 | 5:24 am Nano vendors seek guarantee on loans to invest in SanandMumbai, May 13 Key ancillary suppliers associated with the Nano project have indicated that they would ideally like Tata Motors to guarantee their loans for investing in the Sanand plant inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am G-Sec trading volumes dip over political uncertaintyMumbai, May 13 Uncertainty surrounding Government formation appears to have taken a toll on the Government securities market with traded volumes shrinking by almost 60 per cent between the first phase of polling on April 16 and the fifth andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am TCS bags outsourcing deal from VolkswagenMumbai, May 13 Tata Consultancy Services has bagged a five-year IT outsourcing deal with Volkswagen (VW) Group UK which for the first time will use a mixture of onshore and offshore services for managing its softwareSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am Suzlon Energy promoters sell 2% stake, raise Rs 230 crChennai, May 13 Suzlon Energy’s promoters have raised about Rs 230 crore by selling a 2 per cent stake in the company through a blockSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideDLF is experiencing selling pressure at higher levels. Initiate fresh short-position if the counter declines below Rs 223, with tight stop-loss. Desist trading in ICICI Bank for the session. The near-term outlook is bearish for SBI. We recommendSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am DoT mulls uniform licence fee for all types of telecom servicesNew Delhi, May 13 The Department of Telecom is considering doing away with the existing variable licence fee structure for telecom operators and replacing it with a uniform rate for all types of services.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am DLF promoters sell 9.9% stake, raise Rs 3,860 crNew Delhi, May 13 The promoters of DLF Ltd on Wednesday sold 9.9 per cent stake in the company to institutional investors, for a consideration of Rs 3,860 crore. Capital International Fund has bought the largest chunk of the shares, while otherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am IT vendors face severe pricing pressureBangalore, May 13 Indian IT firms are under pressure to cut high profit margins as cross border customers bargain hard to slashSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am Glenmark Pharma (Rs 168): SellWe recommend a sell in Glenmark Pharmaceuticals from a short-term trading perspective. It is visible from the charts of Glenmark Pharma that in March it took support just above the key support level of Rs 120 and began to trend upward. The stock wasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am Market participants take exit polls lightlyMumbai, May 13 Market participants are not reading too much into the exit poll figures that showed the Congress-led alliance slightly ahead of the BJP andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 May 2009 | 12:00 am Govt may levy cess on natural gas: Petroleum Secretary!The government may levy a cess on domestically produced natural gas to fund construction of gas pipeline network, Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm NHAI launches tax-free bonds to raise up to Rs 4,000 cr!The National Highways Authority of India has launched tax-free bonds to raise up to Rs 4,000 crore in the current fiscal to fund its road projects.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm `Over 200 cos` financial results have discrepancies` !More than 200 listed companies in the country have been found to have discrepancies in their annual audited financial results over the past five years, a latest study said.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm US financial system is `starting to heal`: Geithner!Sending a positive signal about the nation`s economy, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the American financial system is starting to heal and lending has begun to improve.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm `Regulation insulated India from economic crisis`!The current global financial crisis, the worst in six decades, is expected to bottom out from the end of this year even as India has managed to emerge largely unscathed, former RBI governor Y.V. Reddy has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm Bank of England predicts 4.5% contraction for UK economy!Bank of England has predicted an annual drop of 4.5% in the British economy`s output at its lowest point in its latest quartely report. The drop is much steeper than that projected by the Chancellor Alistair Darling in his budget. Darling had pegged contraction at 3.5%.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm Intel hit with record $1.45 bn antitrust fine!The European Commission fined Intel Corp a record 1.06 bn euros ($1.45 billion).Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm SBI cuts deposit rates by up to 0.5% points !Country`s largest lender State Bank of India has cut its deposit rates across various maturities by up to 0.50 percentage points effective from May 18.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm ICICI Pru Life set to increase headcount by 3,000 in 2 months!The country`s largest private sector life insurer, ICICI Prudential Life, on Wednesday said it will hire 3,000 people in the next two months, debunking reports of any reduction in workforce.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm Private equity investors waiting to sell: Survey!Investors in private equity funds are prepared to wait a year or two to sell their interests because of a gulf in price, a survey said on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 May 2009 | 11:56 pm Jet sacks foreign air hostessesIndia's second largest airline, Jet Airways, has retrenched all the 120 foreign airhostesses it had as part of its 3,000-strong cabin crew.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 May 2009 | 10:59 pm RIL's weight in Nifty turns funds fidgetyIndia Index Services and Products is running a survey of fund managers on the difficulties they face on account of the high weightage of RIL in the index.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 May 2009 | 10:26 pm Lanco's Dhopave plan awaits intent letterLanco Infratech is still awaiting the letter of intent from MSEDCL for the Dhopave coastal power plant.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 May 2009 | 10:24 pm FIPB revokes approval to ByCell for foreign fundsThe government has revoked the foreign collaboration approval granted earlier to ByCell Telecommunications, according to the FIPB.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 May 2009 | 10:22 pm Infra players are still stretched for working capitalInterest rates have been slowly coming off and the liquidity situation is easing. But, for contractors, the troubles are nowhere near getting over yet.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 May 2009 | 10:20 pm GSM growth slips in AprilBharti Airtel has regained its leadership position in April in terms of monthly subscriber addition.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 May 2009 | 10:19 pm K P Singh raises Rs 3850 croreKP Singh, promoter of the country's largest real estate company DLF Ltd, sold 16.8 crore shares on Wednesday (at Rs 230 per share) to raise around Rs 3,850 crore.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 May 2009 | 7:52 pm Poll effect: Air traffic picks up in AprilDomestic air traffic marginally picked up in April, thanks to the increased travel during the poll season.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 May 2009 | 7:50 pm Tata group to soup up supercomputer's processing power five timesWhen it was developed two years ago, the Tata groups supercomputer, christened Eka, was ranked the fourth fastest in the world by the US-based International Conference for High Performance Computing. It was also ranked the fastest in Asia for High Performance Computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 6:47 pm DLF promoters plan DAL listing in 18-24 monthsPlan to use proceeds to halve realtors debt.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 6:45 pm 500 more diamond units in Surat resume operationsSlowly but gradually, the diamond-cutting and polishing industry in Surat is regaining its lost sparkle. Around 500 more units in the diamond city have resumed operations in the past month, as a result of which diamond units are looking for workers again.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 6:43 pm Oil surges to $60 but government says no need to raise fuel pricesThe recent surge in crude oil prices will not impact retail prices in the near future because the government says the price is still within its comfort zone.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 6:41 pm Exit polls show UPA aheadSensex falls sharply on uncertainty over govt formation.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 6:39 pm State Bank of India revises deposit rates by up to 50 bpsState Bank of India has revised the Deposit rates downwards by up to 50 bps in various maturities effective from 18th May 2009.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 4:31 pm Tea sector bullish due to poor supply: Harrisons MalayalamPankaj Kapoor, MD, Harrison Malayalam, said the tea industry is looking up for two reasons. One is that we are starting with a very low inventory and the other reason is since the last couple of months, starting from NovemberDecember onwards there have hardly been any rains, both in North India, North East as well as in Southern India, he said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 3:46 pm Cost of funds high despite better liquidity: IRB DevVD Mhaiskar, CMD, IRB Infra Developers, said the liquidity situation has improved but the cost of funds have not corrected. He feels almost 4060 projects would get bids in next few months. IRB, he added, is in a beneficial position to take advantage of the upcoming project bids.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 May 2009 | 3:24 pm EU fines Intel for a record $1.44 billionBrussels: The European Union fined Intel Corp. a record €1.06 billion ($1.44 billion) on Wednesday, saying the world’s biggest computer chip maker used illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD. The fine exceeded a €899 million monopoly abuse penalty for Microsoft Corp. last year. Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has about 80% of the world’s personal computer microprocessor market — and faces just one real rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The European Commission says Intel broke EU competition law by exploiting its dominant position with a deliberate strategy to keep AMD out of the market. It says the company gave rebates to computer manufacturers Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC for buying all or almost all their x86 computer processing units, or CPUs, from Intel and paid them to stop or delay the launch of computers based on AMD chips. Regulators said Intel also paid Germany’s biggest electronics retailer, Media Saturn Holding — which owns the MediaMarkt superstores — from 2002 to 2007 to only stock Intel-based computers. This meant workers at AMD’s biggest European plant in Dresden, Germany, could not buy AMD-based personal computers at their city’s main PC store. “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years,” said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. “Such a serious and sustained violation of the EU’s antitrust rules cannot be tolerated.” Kroes joked that Intel would now have to change its latest global ad campaign _ “sponsors of tomorrow” — to proclaiming “the sponsor of the European taxpayer.” “I can give my vision of tomorrow for Intel here and now: Abide by the law,” she added. EU regulators said they calculated Intel’s fine on the value of its European chip sales over the five years and three months that it broke the law. Europeans buy some 30% of the €22 billion ($30 billion) in computer chips sold every year. They could have gone even higher as EU antitrust rules allow them to levy a fine of up to 10% of a company’s annual global turnover for each year of bad behavior. Intel’s worldwide turnover was €27.9 billion ($38.8 billion) in 2007. Intel had no comment ahead of a news conference at 1 pm. European consumers group BEUC welcomed the fine and said Intel should be held to account to consumers through civil suits in European courts. “Intel should be liable to compensate the victims of its illegal practices,” said Monique Goyens, head of the group. “Consumers have been paying too much for their computers and they should be compensated.” The European Commission also ordered Intel “to cease the illegal practices immediately to the extent that they are still ongoing” and warned that it would check that the company was complying. The manufacturer rebates started in 2002, the EU said, with most ending in 2005 — apart from a 2007 deal for one unidentified company to only source notebook computer chips from Intel. Regulators said rebates that give discounts for large orders are illegal when a monopoly company makes them conditional on buying less of a rival’s products or not buying them at all. Manufacturers depend on Intel to supply most of the chips they need and faced higher costs if they lost most or all of a rebate by choosing AMD chips for even a small order. Hewlett-Packard buys a fifth of Intel chips with Dell taking 18%, according to market research from Hoovers. The discounts were so steep that only a rival that sold chips for less than they cost to make would have any chance of grabbing customers, the EU executive said. It said AMD offered 1 million free chips to one manufacturer — which could not accept because that would lose it a rebate on many millions of other chips. It only took 160,000 free chips in the end, regulators said. Intel’s payments to manufacturers ordered the company to delay the European launch of AMD’s first business desktop by six months. They were also paid to only sell the AMD line to small and medium companies and to only offer them directly to customers instead of to retailers. Other manufacturers were paid to postpone the launch of AMD-based notebooks by several months, from September 2003 to January 2004 and from September 2006 to the end of 2006 — missing the key Christmas market. The European Commission said Intel tried to conceal the conditions attached to these payments and details only emerged from e-mails that regulators seized in surprise raids on the companies. But the EU charges also cover a time when AMD managed to take market share from Intel by launching higher performance microprocessors for servers in 2003, previously an Intel stronghold. Intel fought back successfully by rolling out Core chips. More recently, it has grabbed more market share with Atom chips for netbooks. EU regulators are not the only ones chasing Intel — South Korea fined the company $21 million last year. And the US may be stepping up action. The Federal Trade Commission upgraded a probe into Intel last year — and as the Obama administration is set to take a more aggressive approach against monopoly abuse by reversing a strict interpretation of antitrust law that saw regulators shun such cases. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 May 2009 | 10:53 am
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