Satyam won\'t resort to largescale layoffs

Discussions are continuing between the Tech Mahindra board and government appointed nominees on Satyam’s board. What seems to be emerging is that there may not be large scale layoffs.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:38 pm

MCA recommends prosecution of key Satyam accused

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has prepared an internal evaluation report based on the Serious Fraud Investigation Office’s (SFIO) findings on the Satyam fraud.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:16 pm

Anu\'s Laboratories recommends 1:1 bonus shares

Anu\'s Laboratories is in manufacturing of bulk drug intermediates for the last 13 years and having leadership in most of its products being manufactured namely i.e 2,4Dichloro5 Fluoro Acetophenone and other high quality intermediates such as Chlorohexanone, 1,3Dibromo Propane, Methyl4 (4Chloro 1 oxo butyl), DiMethyl Acetate etc
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 3:13 pm

Will spend Rs 1200cr capex in next 2 years: Shri Lakshmi

Dr MP Agarwal, CMD of Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn, said that the company would be raising approximately Rs 12.5 crore. Of the Rs 1,200crore capital expansion plan, Rs 400 crore would be through equity, Agarwal said, adding that the company would spend the entire amount in next two years.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 2:43 pm

Worst behind us but see slow recovery ahead: Wipro

Girish Paranjpe, ED and Joint CEO of the IT Business of Wipro said the worst is behind us. He added that there was a lot of negative growth from November–March. He feels there is a lot more stability now with fewer negative surprises. According to Paranjape, there will not be a Vshaped recovery and that we will see slow uptick.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 1:43 pm

SEBI issues show-cause to Anil Ambani mutual fund companies

SEBI on Thursday asked mutual fund arms of Anil Ambani Group to explain why they violated prescribed advertising norms in launching a new scheme.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Jun 2009 | 1:22 pm

Obama calls for new beginning between US, Muslims

Cairo: President Barack Obama sought a “new beginning” between the United States and Muslims around the world in a major speech on Thursday but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate,” the US President said in a speech at Cairo University.
“I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect,” he said.
“America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition.”
US President Barack Obama waves to the audience, after speaking at Cairo University in Cairo, on Thursday. AP Photo
US President Barack Obama waves to the audience, after speaking at Cairo University in Cairo, on Thursday. AP Photo
Obama’s speech, interrupted by applause and occasional shouts of “we love you”, was an effort to restore the tarnished US image among many of the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world, badly damaged by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the treatment of US military detainees.
Highlighting the hostility the US leader faces from some quarters, the supreme leader of Washington’s regional arch foe, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an address America was “deeply hated” and only action, not “slogans,” could change that.
And Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in a message on a website, warned Muslims against alliance with Christians and Jews, saying it would annul their faith and urging them to fight allies of the “infidels.”
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, said Obama’s speech was a “good start” towards a new US policy in the West Asia.
Expectations
The choice of Cairo for the speech underscored Obama’s focus on the West Asia, where he faces huge foreign policy challenges, from trying to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.
Although the administration tried to lower expectations in recent days about what would be accomplished by the speech, there were high expectations in the region that he would take a tougher line on Israel and follow up his words with actions.
He also offered little specifics on democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the Arab world, issues that many in the region had hoped to hear him address.
Obama, who is hoping to build a coalition of Muslim governments to back his diplomatic moves, affirmed his commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“That is in Israel’s interest, Palestine’s interest, America’s interest, and the world’s interest,” he said. “That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires.”
He said Palestinians had to abandon violence and urged them to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. He also said Israel should stop building settlements in the West Bank.
“The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” he said.
“This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.”
Obama said Iran should have access to peaceful nuclear power, but it must adhere to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
“When it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point,” he said.
“This is not simply about America’s interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.”
Discussing the war in Afghanistan, Obama said the United States had no interest in keeping military bases or troops there.
“It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict,” he said, adding they would be brought home if there was confidence extremists would not attack the United States again. “But that is not yet the case.”
He criticized Iraq as a US “war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world” and had ultimately reminded Americans of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 1:13 pm

Chrysler dealers begin fight against closure

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many of the 789 dealerships that Chrysler plans to close will begin presenting their case to bankruptcy court on Thursday, arguing that the automaker was undermining its turnaround by terminating the franchises.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 1:12 pm

India project key to Europe plans: Nissan

Chennai: The Renault-Nissan passenger car project in India is crucial to Nissan Motor Co’s European plans, a senior official of the Japanese firm said on Thursday.
Europe contributes 24% of Nissan’s car sales. Japan’s third-biggest automaker said it sold 400,000 cars in Europe in 2008-09 (April/March) down from 530,000 a year ago.
“If it collapses, our European plans collapse,” Colin Dodge, executive vice president and chief recovery officer at Nissan, told reporters in Chennai, where he was inspecting a new manufacturing plant.
“Our focus is on Russia, India, China and the Middle East, which are growing very well,” Dodge said.
Nissan expects the Indian car market to grow to over 2 million units by 2012, up from 1.5 million passenger vehicles sold in 2008-09.
“We are targeting a market share of 5.7% in India by 2012,” Colin Dodge said.
“In China and Russia, five years back we were nowhere, and now we have more than 5 percent market share. India is a similar market.”
Freeze
Renault announced in December that it would be freezing investments in certain projects, including the Indian project.
Renault-Nissan Automotive India is a joint venture to manufacture passenger cars.
The alliance has planned investments of Rs4500 crore over 7 years, starting February 2008. It currently employs 300 people, and will employ up to 3,000 by 2012.
The manufacturing plant, with a capacity to make 400,000 units per year, is being built at Oragadam in Chennai. Production will start with 200,000 units, and will be ramped up later.
The Chennai car plant is expected to begin exporting vehicles to Europe from the second half of 2010. It will export 110,000 units in 2010-11, later increasing to 180,000 units.
“By manufacturing the cars in India, the company sees a 5% reduction in costs, than if they had been manufactured anywhere else,” Dodge said.
“This is significant as margins for small cars is very thin.”
The company will also export more than one million auto parts from the new plant to other Nissan production facilities.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 1:00 pm

Sensex crosses 15000-mark, first time since September - Sify


Indian Express
Sensex crosses 15000-mark, first time since September
Sify
Mumbai, June 4 (IANS) A key index of the Indian equities markets fought its way back into the green Thursday to close above the 15000-mark, first time since Sep 2, 2008.
Sensex recovers to close above 15000 Economic Times
Sensex captures 15K with 137-point gain NDTV.com
Wall Street Journal - Press Trust of India - Economic Times - Economic Times
all 427 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:56 pm

U.S. workers feel pain as jobless ranks grow

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jamie Laird had hoped to retire comfortably some day from the machinist's job he has held for 30 years, but his western Illinois manufacturing plant is closing and he now fears for his family's economic future.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:55 pm

Frito-Lay enters biscuits category - Economic Times


Frito-Lay enters biscuits category
Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Frito-Lay, PepsiCo's snack foods arm, on Thursday announced its entry in the biscuits category, to challenge majors like Britannia and Parle.
Frito-Lay to invest Rs.500 crore over three years Sify
Pepsico launches snacks brand 'Aliva' Business Standard
Sify
all 23 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:54 pm

U.S. dollar ends dearer against Rupee

U.S. Dollar ended dearer against the Rupee at Rs.47.20/21 per dollar but the Pound sterling turned lower at Rs.77.32/34 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:47 pm

Air France jet was flying too slowly: report

Paris: The Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday was flying too slowly ahead of the disaster, Le Monde newspaper said on Thursday, citing sources close to the inquiry.
The paper said the manufacturer of the doomed plane, Airbus, was set to issue a recommendation advising companies using the A330 aircraft of optimal speeds during poor weather conditions.
Airbus declined to comment on the report and the French air accident investigation agency, which has to validate any such recommendations, known as an Aircraft Information Telex, was not immediately available for comment.
The Air France A330-200 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it plunged into the Atlantic four hours into its flight. All 228 people on board died.
The plane sent no mayday signals before crashing, only a stream of automatic messages over a three minute period after it entered a zone of stormy weather, showing a rapid succession of electrical faults followed by a loss of cabin pressure.
It was not clear if slow air speed alone could trigger such a cataclysmic breakdown of aircraft systems, but any recommendations from Airbus about its A330s would fuel speculation over the causes of the crash.
“Flash of white light”
Experts have questioned whether extreme turbulence or decompression during stormy weather might have caused the disaster -- the worst in Air France’s 75-year history.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo said a transatlantic airline pilot reported seeing a bright flash of white light at the same time the Air France flight disappeared.
“Suddenly we saw in the distance a strong, intense flash of white light that took a downward, vertical trajectory and disappeared in six seconds,” the pilot of an Air Comet flight from Lima to Madrid told his company, the newspaper reported.
A spokesman for Madrid-based airline Air Comet was not immediately available to confirm the El Mundo article.
Asked about whether there could have been an explosion or bomb on the plane, an armed forces spokesman in Paris said they were not ruling anything out at the moment.
“Everyone has doubts about everything at the moment and we do not have the slightest beginnings of an answer yet,” said armed forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck.
Search crews flying over the Atlantic have found debris from the jet spread over more than 90 km of ocean, about 1,100 km northeast of Brazil’s coast.
Prazuck said the priority was to localize debris and retrieve it as soon as possible before it sank. He added that sea currents were dispersing the wreckage.
Brazilian naval vessels are heading to the crash zone and a French frigate is due to arrive in the area on 7 June. A boat carrying a mini submarine capable of hunting the plane’s black boxes is expected to arrive there on 12 June.
One French and two Dutch cargo ships that are nearby the crash site have been asked to help find debris, Prazuck said.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:41 pm

India to boost offers for oil, gas exploration

New Delhi: India aims to auction its remaining 1 million square kilometres of potential exploration areas in the next two to three years, buoyed by recent oil and gas discoveries, the upstream regulator said on Thursday.
It recently launched its biggest-ever exploration round, offering 70 blocks as it expects companies to seize the opportunity to strike good bargains because of the economic slowdown.
The discoveries, and their development, will prove useful as India imports over 70% of the crude it consumes and demand is expected to rise further as the economy recovers.
The country has so far allotted 68% of its 3.14 million sq km of area for exploration to various companies.
Foreign oil firms including Anadarko Petroleum, South Korea’s Samsung and Noble Energy had indicated interest in the latest round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), director general (Hydrocarbons) VK Sibal told the Reuters Energy Summit in New Delhi.
“For big firms, the credit squeeze and downturn is not a problem, rather this is the best time to avail prospective acreage at cheaper rates,” he said.
Out of the country’s 26 sedimentary basins, exploration works have been initiated in just 15 basins.
“Our country holds about 205 billion barrels of hydrocarbon resources. Of this, 138 billion barrels are yet to be found, and the remaining has been established on the basis of drilling work done,” Sibal said.
However, he said the numbers are based on limited exploration work done in the country.
“These numbers are based on the scanty data, based on scanty wells that we have drilled, because in some places exploration activity is yet to begin and in many places it is very low,” he said.
“In the east coast alone, our drilling density is 0.6-0.7 well per thousand square kilometres.”
Attracting Investors
Only 20% of India’s sedimentary area is well explored, 15% are poorly explored and exploration work has been initiated in 44% of the area.
India’s east coast, where Reliance Industries has found huge gas reserves, alone holds as much as 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources, Sibal said.
“These are very early numbers as India’s east coast was opened for exploration in the first round of NELP,” he added.
Reliance began gas production from its deepwater east coast block in the Krishna Godavari basin from April and the fields are likely to produce 80 million cubic metres a day of gas by December.
“There is a huge gap between resources and established reserves, so it provides a big opportunity to E&P companies,” he said. “Around 21-21 tcf of reserves have been established in the east coast based on drilling by Reliance, ONGC and GSPC,” he said, referring to Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp.
Discoveries in previous licensing rounds, which will double India’s natural gas output to 160 million cubic metres a day and raise crude oil output by at least 25%, should help in attracting bids for the latest round, Sibal said.
India’s latest licensing round is launched at a time when a number of such announcements had also been made in other countries, though the overall activity outside India had not been as busy this year compared with previous years.
“Competition will be there as more and more countries are launching their exploration rounds,” Sibal said.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:34 pm

India to boost offers for oil, gas exploration

New Delhi: India aims to auction its remaining 1 million square kilometres of potential exploration areas in the next two to three years, buoyed by recent oil and gas discoveries, the upstream regulator said on Thursday.
It recently launched its biggest-ever exploration round, offering 70 blocks as it expects companies to seize the opportunity to strike good bargains because of the economic slowdown.
The discoveries, and their development, will prove useful as India imports over 70% of the crude it consumes and demand is expected to rise further as the economy recovers.
The country has so far allotted 68% of its 3.14 million sq km of area for exploration to various companies.
Foreign oil firms including Anadarko Petroleum, South Korea’s Samsung and Noble Energy had indicated interest in the latest round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), director general (Hydrocarbons) VK Sibal told the Reuters Energy Summit in New Delhi.
“For big firms, the credit squeeze and downturn is not a problem, rather this is the best time to avail prospective acreage at cheaper rates,” he said.
Out of the country’s 26 sedimentary basins, exploration works have been initiated in just 15 basins.
“Our country holds about 205 billion barrels of hydrocarbon resources. Of this, 138 billion barrels are yet to be found, and the remaining has been established on the basis of drilling work done,” Sibal said.
However, he said the numbers are based on limited exploration work done in the country.
“These numbers are based on the scanty data, based on scanty wells that we have drilled, because in some places exploration activity is yet to begin and in many places it is very low,” he said.
“In the east coast alone, our drilling density is 0.6-0.7 well per thousand square kilometres.”
Attracting Investors
Only 20% of India’s sedimentary area is well explored, 15% are poorly explored and exploration work has been initiated in 44% of the area.
India’s east coast, where Reliance Industries has found huge gas reserves, alone holds as much as 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources, Sibal said.
“These are very early numbers as India’s east coast was opened for exploration in the first round of NELP,” he added.
Reliance began gas production from its deepwater east coast block in the Krishna Godavari basin from April and the fields are likely to produce 80 million cubic metres a day of gas by December.
“There is a huge gap between resources and established reserves, so it provides a big opportunity to E&P companies,” he said. “Around 21-21 tcf of reserves have been established in the east coast based on drilling by Reliance, ONGC and GSPC,” he said, referring to Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp.
Discoveries in previous licensing rounds, which will double India’s natural gas output to 160 million cubic metres a day and raise crude oil output by at least 25%, should help in attracting bids for the latest round, Sibal said.
India’s latest licensing round is launched at a time when a number of such announcements had also been made in other countries, though the overall activity outside India had not been as busy this year compared with previous years.
“Competition will be there as more and more countries are launching their exploration rounds,” Sibal said.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:34 pm

Rupee out of step with Sensex, falls against dollar

The Indian rupee recovered but still ended lower for the third straight day against the dollar, this time by 13 paise at 47.20/21.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:34 pm

President says govt to boost growth, help poor

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's president said on Thursday that the new government would revive economic growth and help millions of poor with higher spending and expansion of social programmes, despite fears of a growing fiscal gap.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:26 pm

Audi launches compact SUV in Mumbai

German luxury carmaker Audi on Thusday launched its compact SUV Q5, in Mumbai priced at Rs 38,57,000.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:19 pm

Audi launches compact SUV - Hindu Business Line


World News
Audi launches compact SUV
Hindu Business Line
MUMBAI: German luxury carmaker Audi on Thursday launched its compact SUV Q5, in Mumbai priced at Rs 38.57 lakhs. According to estimates, last year India witnessed sales of 7000 luxury cars.
Audi Q5 @ Rs 38.29 lakh Rediff
Audi launches Q5 premium SUV at Rs 38 lakh Business Standard
Wall Street Journal - Wheels Unplugged - Indis'a Automobile Magazine - iAfrica.com - Car Wale
all 34 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:15 pm

‘Textile exports to decline until September’

New Delhi: India’s textile exports will continue to fall until September, as demand remains weak in major export markets, a top official of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) told Reuters in an interview.
Textile exports, excluding jute, silk and handicrafts, may have fallen to $16-$17 billion in 2008-09 from $22 billion in FY08, CITI’s secretary general DK Nair said on Thursday, adding that government sops may help them rise 5-10% this year.
“If there are some helpful government action midway, we can push up the recovery,” Nair said.
“Otherwise the decline for first six months and the recovery for the next six months will offset each other and we will end up flat.”
Exports, which make one-fifth of India’s economy, have been falling since October, hit by a contraction in global trade following the financial downturn, prompting exporters to demand relief measures from the government to arrest the slide.
The textile sector, which is highly labour-intensive, is estimated to have lost 1 million jobs in 2008-09, he said, adding the sector may continue to see 100,000 job losses every second month until recovery kicks in.
Government’s Role
Demand in the US and Europe, which account for about 60% of the country’s textile exports, is estimated to have shrunk about 12% in the last three months, Nair said.
While global demand was a problem for all textile-exporting nations, Indian companies also had to contend with problems on the supply side, he added.
The government hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton - that mills must pay farmers - by up to 40% for medium staple cotton to boost raw cotton exports, but that raised costs for manufacturers, making textile exports unattractive.
India’s new government is targetting an annual growth of 8-10% for the sector by investing Rs300 billion every year to generate 10 million jobs in the next five years.
To counter the negative impact on exports due to the global financial crisis, the government in the interim budget presented in February extended the interest subsidy of 2% till 30 September 2009.
However, Nair said the interest subsidy should be increased and urged the government to make a budgetary allocation of Rs40 billion to help the textile units upgrade technology.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:15 pm

Union Bank, BoI buy 6.48% equity in MCX-SX

Mumbai: MCX Stock Exchange, promoted by Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, on Thursday said it has sold 6.48% stake in the bourse to Union Bank of India and Bank of India for Rs87.5 crore.
MCX-SX, which currently deals in currency futures and is awaiting nod for launching trading in equity, is in talks with some other banks to dilute another 11.52% stake in the company, which could fetch it Rs155 crore. The valuation of the exchange stands at Rs1,350 crore as per the current deal.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange the FTIL said that MCX Stock Exchange has divested 6.48% equity to these two banks through primary offering at Rs10 per share, having a face value of Re1, involving total investment of Rs87.5 crore in the company.
“The exchange is also expecting a further 11.52% equity divestment to other banks,” the statement said, adding that, “total 18% equity will be divested with the top Indian public and private sector banks as strategic investors in the first round”.
FTIL said the disinvestment is in line with the regulatory requirements of Sebi.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:05 pm

ICICI Bank cuts floating retail loan rate by 50 bps

ICICI Bank has cut floating retail loan and benchmark advance rates by 50 basis points, which will come into effect from tomorrow. The cut in rates applies to existing borrowers. However, there will be no cut in deposit rates. “There won\'t be any pressure on the margins post the rate cut”, said Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:02 pm

Sensex crosses 15,000-mark, first time since September

A key index of the Indian equities markets fought its way back into the green Thursday to close above the 15,000-mark, first time since Sep 2, 2008.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:02 pm

Government dreams slum-free India with scheme for 62 mn people

If the Manmohan Singh government's ambitious plan for a 'slum free' India, as announced by President Pratibha Patil in parliament Thursday, becomes a reality some 62 million-plus people living in the country's urban shanties will have a home of their own.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:01 pm

State Bank of India says room to cut rates by 25 bps

MUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India, the country's top lender, has room to cut lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points, Chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Thursday.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:57 am

Don’t see fancy pricing for ITI divestment: IndAsia Fund

Pradip Shah, Chairman, IndAsia Fund Advisors, said pricing is key for ITI disinvestment. He added that ITI might not be able to pull off fancy pricing due to its high liabilities.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:57 am

Govt to boost growth, says President

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil said on Thursday that the new government would revive economic growth and help millions of poor with higher spending and expansion of social programmes, despite fears of a growing fiscal gap.
Outlining the new Congress-led government’s policies after a resounding election win in May, the President said minority stakes in state-run firms would be sold in a move that could help fund spending.
The government will also take steps to encourage foreign investment inflows, list shares of state-run firms and infuse more capital in banks to help boost economic growth which is at a six-year low.
“The current financial year is expected to see a slowing down of growth on account of the global recession,” Patil said in an address to Parliament.
“Our immediate priority must be to focus on management of the economy that will counter the effect of the global slowdown,” she added.
The main BSE index fell as much as 1.8% just after the speech, but quickly pared losses to less than 0.05% in mid-trade. Investors were disappointed about the lack of clear reforms in the speech.
“She has not said anything concrete about financial reform. The market was expecting something more specific, but the speech turned out to be a non-event,” Arun Kejriwal, a strategist at research firm KRIS, said.
Maintaining that the government will keep utmost vigil in the area of internal security, the President said a policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism from whatever source it emanates will be pursued.
“Stern measures to handle insurgency and left wing extremism will be taken. Government has already prepared a detailed plan to address internal security challenges to be implemented in a time-bound manner,” she said.
Patil also promised that the government would continue to “constructively engage” with all groups that abjure violence in Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country.
She said her government would seek to re-shape relationship with Pakistan depending on the sincerity of its actions to confront groups who launch terrorist attacks against India from its territory.
On the foreign policy front, Patil said the improvement of relations with major powers would be maintained.
“The transformation of our partnership with the United States of America will be taken forward. Our strategic partnership with Russia has grown over the years and we will seek to further consolidate it.”
She said the government will continue the sustained diplomatic efforts which produce qualitative changes in the relations since 2004. The multifaceted partnership with China will be expanded.
On Sri Lanka, Patil said India would support initiative which can lead to a permanent political solutions of the conflict there and ensure that all Sri Lankan communities especially Tamils feel secured and enjoy equal rights so that they can lead a life of dignity and self respect.
Populist Schemes
Patil said the government would expand programmes like the rural job scheme and enact a food security law to guarantee cheap grains for poor families.
“My government will ensure that the growth process is not only accelerated but also made socially and regionally more inclusive and equitable,” Patil said in a speech given a month ahead of the new government’s first budget.
The Congress’s re-election victory brought hopes that the ruling coalition would be able to move forward with reforms that had been shackled by its former communist allies in the last 2004-2009 government.
But the social schemes that underpin much of the Congress party’s support worry many investors, who would like to see more economic reforms such as privatizations and the opening up of the insurance and pensions sectors.
“Unless the government demonstrates a firm commitment to long term sustainability of fiscal programmes, just talking about various developmental programmes that would add further burden on the fiscal exchequer doesn’t give enough confidence,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at the Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.
The Indian economy grew 5.8% from a year earlier in January-March, matching the upwardly revised rate in the previous quarter. That was still the lowest in four years, but above analysts’ forecast of a 5.2% annual expansion.
The slowdown has seen inflation drop this year. Wholesale price inflation eased to 0.48% in the 12 months to 23 May, from previous week’s level of 0.61%, government data showed on Thursday.
The fiscal deficit for the 2008-09 fiscal year ended 31 March widened to 6.2% of gross domestic product, more than double the initial estimate of 2.5%.
The slowdown has dented revenues and stimulus packages have increased spending significantly, forcing the government to increase its market borrowings and raising speculation that it could use stake sales to fund the gap.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:57 am

Rupee dips for 3rd day, but outlook bullish

Mumbai: The rupee fell for a third day on Thursday as RBI intervention helped traders decide to take profits on a strong rally since mid-May, but the outlook was bullish on signs of improving activity and rising inflows.
The rupee has gained nearly 5% since the government won an unexpectedly strong mandate at elections last month, with investors drawn by the prospect of political stability and a renewed reform push.
The partially convertible rupee closed at Rs47.20/21 per dollar, 0.3% weaker than its previous close of Rs47.07/08. It rose as high as Rs46.75 on Wednesday, its strongest since early November last year.
Two dealers estimated the central bank may have bought about $500 million to prevent the rupee from gaining towards Rs47.
The central bank has previously said it buy or sell dollars in the foreign exchange market to smoothen volatility.
“The forex market was tracking the stocks and the dollar index today. There were talks of intervention around 47.10 rupees, but there was also decent demand from importers and corporates seen around those levels,” the head of treasury at a private sector bank said.
“The rupee however looks very buoyant. Looking at all the economic data and the positive sentiment post elections, it will be very difficult to halt the rupee’s rise. We could soon seen 46.50 levels,” he added.
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $6.4 billion to $260.6 billion in the last week of May, central bank data showed, and dealers said some of the rise would be due to intervention.
Indian shares rose nearly 1% to their best close in nine months on Thursday, taking its rally from its 2009 low in early March to more than 86%.
Much of the rise in the rupee from its record lows of Rs52.2 in early March has been fuelled by foreign funds, who have bought more than $6 billion of shares since mid-March after pulling out about $13 billion in 2008.
The dollar index, a gauge of the US performance against six majors, was marginally higher and weighed on the rupee in late trade. The index had dropped as much as 0.5% earlier in the day.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:50 am

BoB, IOB, Andhra Bank to set up subsidiary in Malaysia - Hindu Business Line


BoB, IOB, Andhra Bank to set up subsidiary in Malaysia
Hindu Business Line
MUMBAI: Public sector lenders, Bank of Baroda (BOB), Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Andhra Bank have signed a joint venture agreement for setting up India BIA Bank (Malaysia) Bhd, a banking subsidiary in Malaysia.
Three state-run banks form JV for Malaysian unit Reuters India
Three Indian Lenders Form JV for Bank in Malaysia Wall Street Journal
Equity Bulls - Myiris.com - Thaindian.com
all 15 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:38 am

Kingfisher gets Rs 2000 cr funding - Hindu Business Line


Kingfisher gets Rs 2000 cr funding
Hindu Business Line
NEW DELHI: Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines has got crucial funding of Rs 2000 crore from State Bank of India and a consortium of other banks to meet working capital requirements.
Kingfisher to get 20 bln rupees from banks - paper Reuters India
Kingfisher manages to raise Rs 2000cr loan: Sources Moneycontrol.com
Livemint - Merinews
all 9 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:38 am

INTERVIEW - Textile exports to decline until Sept - CITI

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's textile exports will continue to fall until September, as demand remains weak in major export markets, a top official of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) told Reuters in an interview.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:38 am

Indian Co bids for Australian Rey Resources; faces opposition - Economic Times


RTT News
Indian Co bids for Australian Rey Resources; faces opposition
Economic Times
4 Jun 2009, 1654 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: India's largest met coke producer Gujarat NRE Coke on Thursday said it has made a Rs 53.21 crore bid to take over the Australian mining company Rey Resources, which termed the move as "unsolicited" and decided ...
Takeover impact: Gujarat NRE ends at upper circuit Business Standard
Gujarat NRE announces offer for Rey Resources Reuters India
Moneycontrol.com - Myiris.com - RTT News - Reuters India
all 17 news articles  हिन्दी में

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:36 am

US issues travel advisory; Chidambaram says India safe

New Delhi: Claiming that India faces “high threat” from terrorism, the United States has asked its citizens to be vigilant, inviting a strong reaction from New Delhi, which asserted that the country is completely safe and such an advisory is not justified.
Home minister P Chidambaram said India is “safer than many other countries in the world” and New Delhi will try to persuade Washington to withdraw such an advisory.
“I don’t thing there is any justification for the advisory... India is a safe place,” he said.
Chidambaram was reacting to an ‘Urgent Warden Message´ posted on American Embassy website which cautioned American citizens in India.
“The United States Mission in India wishes to urgently remind all US citizens resident in or travelling to India that there is a high threat from terrorism throughout India,” the message said.
“As terror attacks are a serious and growing threat, US citizens are urged to always practice good security, including maintaining a heightened situational awareness and a low profile.
“Americans in India should be vigilant at all times and monitor local news reports and vary their routes and times in carrying out daily activities,” the message said.
The US advisory asked its nationals to consider the level of security present when visiting public places, including religious sites, or choosing hotels, restaurants, entertainment and recreation venues.
Commenting on the advisory, Chidambaram said the Ministry of External Affairs will be asked to speak to the United States to persuade them to withdraw the advisory.
“India is a completely safe country... India is a safe place, it is safer than many other countries in the world. Thousands of tourists come to India and we look forward to welcoming them,” he told reporters.
Asked whether the US was trying to hyphenate India and Pakistan, Chidambaram said, “Why should we jump to conclusions? We will try to find out why this advisory was issued, if at all it was issued.”

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:33 am

European shares advance ahead of BoE, ECB decisions

London: European equities climbed on Thursday ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central bank, with banks and drugmakers gaining ground and oil shares rising on the back of higher crude prices.
At 1:52pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5% at 872.74 points after slipping more than 2% in the previous session. The index, which slumped 45% in 2008, has jumped 35% since falling to a lifetime low in early March.
Energy stocks were among top gainers as they tracked crude oil prices, which rose 1.3%. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added 0.1-1.6%.
Financial stocks also advanced, with Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Swedbank rising 1.1-6.3%.
Investors awaited interest rate decisions later in the day and were avoiding big trading moves, analysts said.
“Investors will look quite closely at the details, but this is not a big deal to drive the markets in any direction as no big decisions are awaited. The markets will be torn between positive equity news and profit-taking,” said Franz Wenzel, strategist at AXA Investment Managers, in Paris.
“The market will remain shaky. After a decent performance for three months in a row, people are getting tempted to take some profits despite the fact that we are seeing more and more green shoots,” he added.
The European Central Bank is set to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday with markets keen to see the details of its covered bond purchase plan as well as clues on whether rates may yet be cut further.
The Bank of England is also expected to keep interest rates at a record low 0.5% and refrain from expanding its quantitative easing plan.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were up 0.6-1.1%.
Technical outlook
In the last few days, the FTSEurofirst 300 index has tested and held technical support on the bottom of its uptrend channel extending back to early March, now at 872 points. The top of the channel is currently at 945 points.
It faces resistance at the January peak of 895 and technical analysts said the market might struggle in the near term.
“There is not much room left on the upside for stocks,” said Alexandre Le Drogoff, technical analyst at Aurel-BGC.
“The DJ Stoxx 600 is stuck around its 200-day moving average, and it’s getting more and more difficult to break out from this zone as people are getting cautious again and prone to take profits,” he said.
Pharmaceutical shares, often seen as defensives, gained ground. AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis were up 0.9-1.9%.
But miners were broadly lower. BHP Billiton, Anglo American , Antofagasta and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 0.5-1.7%.
Rio Tinto was down 0.8%. Sources said that Chinese state-owned metals firm Chinalco may revise its planned $19.5 billion investment in Rio before a 14 June deadline to avoid further delays in Australian government approval.
EADS rose 2% after the Wall Street Journal said that UAL Corp’s United Airlines has asked Boeing Co and EADS’s Airbus to propose competing bids for up to 150 new airliners. The deal could be worth more than $10 billion for the two aircraft makers, the paper said.
Fiat rose 0.8%. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday his government would be willing to intervene with Germany to support Fiat’s bid for Opel if the Italian car maker were to ask for it.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:32 am

Sensex ends above 15k, first time since 2 Sep ‘08

New Delhi: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex made a turnaround in the final hours to close the session above the psychological 15,000 level, its first time since 2 September,2008. Investor sentiments were boosted after UPA unveiled their agenda to focus on revival of economic growth.
Fall in inflation to 0.48% for week ended 13 May from the previous week’s 0.61% also supported market sentiments.
Markets opened on a negative note tracking the weak global markets but indices rebounded after President Pratibha Patil in her first address to the joint session of both houses of Parliament said, that the UPA government will focus on sectors like small and medium enterprises, exports, infrastructure and housing. Also the government’s stake in PSUs will not fall below 51%.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 137.78 points or 0.93% at 15,008.68 and 50-share NSE Nifty closed up by 41.95 points or 0.93% at 4,572.65.
Top among the gainers from the BSE pack was Ranbaxy Laboratories up by 6.06%, followed by Sun Pharmaceuticals by 4.14%, Hindustan Unilever Lts by 3.73%, Reliance Infra by 3.39%, Larson & Toubro by 3.30% and DLF by 3.30%.
ICICI Bank gained 2.02% to Rs734.25 after the bank announced a reduction of 50 bps in its lending rates.
Among the losers Sterlite Industries fell by 5.91%, Hindalco Industries by 3.54%, Tata Steel by 3.53%, Wipro by 1.26% and Infosys Technologies by 1.15%.
In the global front, Asian markets closed in red on weak US employment data. Japan’s Nikkei ended 9.8% down and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 0.4%.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:27 am

Sensex ends past 15,000 as govt unveils agenda

Reversing its early weak trends, the Sensex on Thursday regained the 15,000 point level after after the govt unveiled its reforms plan to tackle the economic slowdown.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:20 am

Barclays raises India’s FY10 GDP forecast to 7.2%

Mumbai: Barclays Capital on Thursday raised India’s growth forecast for the 2009-10 fiscal year to 7.2% from 5.5%, led by investments.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects 2009-10 growth to be about 6%.
Barclays said in a note it expects the Asia’s third largest economy to expand 7.5% in 2010-11 from 6% forecast earlier.
In the 2008-09 fiscal, India’s economy grew 6.7%, its weakest in six years. In the previous three fiscal years, it grew at or more than 9%.
Barclays said it expects the RBI to move from a loose monetary policy to a neutral stance in late third quarter of 2009 or early fourth quarter.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:08 am

Zydus files IND application with DCGI for diabetes and obesity - Economic Times


Zydus files IND application with DCGI for diabetes and obesity
Economic Times
AHMEDABAD: Healthcare major, Zydus Cadila has filed IND (Investigational New Drug) application for anti-diabetic and anti-obesity drug with Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
Zydus Cadila files anti-diabetic drug application with DCGI Business Standard
Cadila aims at $one billion turnover by 2010-11 Hindu
Reuters India - Equity Bulls - pharmabiz.com - Myiris.com
all 15 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:06 am

DTC to start airport link bus service

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Thursday announced the start of a high quality bus service from various areas of the capital to the airport to tackle the growing congestion in the area.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:03 am

Hospitality industry profit falls 64 percent: Assocham

India's hospitality sector has witnessed a fall of 64 percent in profit in the January-March quarter this year, thanks to the economic slowdown, an industry lobby report said here Thursday.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:02 am

Audi launches luxury utility vehicle Q5 in India

German premium segment car maker Audi launched its luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) Audi Q5 in the Indian market Thursday.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:02 am

ICICI Bank cuts lending rates - Business Standard


Nhatky.in
ICICI Bank cuts lending rates
Business Standard
India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has announced a reduction of 0.50 per cent in its floating reference rate (FRR) applicable to floating rate retail loans including home loans with effect from June 05, 2009.
ICICI Bank cuts floating retail loan rate by 50 bps Moneycontrol.com
ICICI Bank slashes benchmark lending rate by 50 bps Hindu
Reuters India - Rupee Times - Myiris.com - India Infoline.com
all 34 news articles  हिन्दी में

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:00 am

Gujarat NRE\'s Australian arm to buy REY Resources

Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Managing Director, Gujarat NRE Coke said the company’s Australian arm had made an offer to buy REY Resources. “The Gujarat NRE arm will offer one company share for every five REY Resources shares.”
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 11:00 am

BSE Sensex rises 1 pct on growth, reforms hopes

BANGALORE (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex shrugged off a lethargic start and climbed nearly 1 percent to its best close in nine months on Thursday, bolstered by hopes the re-elected ruling coalition will revive economic growth by boosting investment and pushing reforms.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:58 am

Eyeing 10% demand growth in FY10: Ambuja Cement

AL Kapoor, Managing Director, Ambuja Cements said there has been a reasonably good spurt in demand and that they should end the first quarter of FY10 with a demand growth of 10%. He added that South and Central India is seeing good demand growth and large volume of supplies are getting absorbed there.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:58 am

Govt. fears slowdown; commits to financial reforms, disinvestment - Hindu


Indian Express
Govt. fears slowdown; commits to financial reforms, disinvestment
Hindu
New Delhi (PTI) The Government on Thursday vowed to push aggressively financial sector reforms and disinvestment, along with enhanced public investment, to spur growth as it feared that economy would slow down in the current fiscal due to global ...
Sensex gains 82 points after govt unveils agenda Indopia
AK Bhattacharya: Disinvestment - There is many a slip... Business Standard
Press Trust of India - Economic Times - Times of India - UTVi
all 25 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:55 am

Orbit Corp to raise Rs 500cr via QIP issue

Orbit Corporatiion\'s board has approved fund raising up to Rs 500 crore via a qualified institutional placement. Pujit Aggarwal, MD and CEO, Orbit Corporation, said the proceeds are to be used for acquiring distressed assets from developers.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:47 am

Nalco down 4% on dip in Q4 net - Business Standard


RTT News
Nalco down 4% on dip in Q4 net
Business Standard
The stock finally ended at Rs 342, down 4%. The counter witnessed trades of 113715 shares as against the two-week daily average traded volume of 79132 shares.
Higher cost of operations hit Nalco's net profit Economic Times
Nalco Q4 net profit down 80% at Rs 83 cr Moneycontrol.com
Hindu Business Line - KalingaTimes - Myiris.com - Business Standard
all 16 news articles

Source: Google News India - Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:46 am

Gold, silver tumble on weak global cues

New Delhi: Gold and silver prices on Thursday declined in the bullion market here on emergence of selling by stockists, triggered by weakening trend in the overseas markets.
Gold slipped below the Rs15,000-level and lost Rs160 to Rs14,960 per 10 gram and silver also plunged by Rs500 to Rs23,000 per kg on reduced offtake by industrial units.
Marketmen said selling activity picked up after reports that the precious metals fell sharply in the overseas market. Gold in New York fell to $959 an ounce from $986 an ounce in the previous day.
They said falling demand in the domestic markets following off marriage and festival season also led to the decline.
Standard gold and ornaments tumbled by Rs160 each to Rs14,960 and Rs14,810 per 10 gram, respectively. Sovereign lost Rs50 to Rs12,400 per piece of eight gram.
In a similar fashion, silver ready plunged by Rs500 to Rs23,000 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs870 to Rs23,690 per kg, respectively. Its coins also lost Rs100 at Rs29,600 for buying and Rs29,700 for selling of 100 pieces.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:45 am

Air India to phase out 11 of its 20-year old Airbus 320

Mumbai: Air India plans to phase out 11 of its 20-year-old Airbus 320 in the wake of acquisition of new aircraft from the European aircraft manufacturer to augment its fleet, the airlines spokesman said on Thursday.
At the same time, it would be returning an equal number of leased aircraft, four of them this year, the spokesman said.
“Phasing out old aircraft is only natural because we have inducted 20 new Airbus A-319 and A-321 during the last 18 months and 15 more will be inducted into its fleet by 2010,” he said.
The new aircraft are equipped with in-flight entertainment besides comfortable seats and more pleasant interiors, he said adding these aircraft would be deployed in the domestic sector’s and neigbouring countries’ destinations.
Air India is acquiring 111 aircraft at a cost of around Rs44,000 crore from Boeing and Airbus. The delivery of these aircraft, which began in the middle of 2007, is expected to be completed by 2012.
Of these 111 aircraft, 43 would be from Airbus and 68 from Boeing.
The Airbus fleet comprises Airbus A-319, A-320 and A-321 while Boeing fleet would be 737-800, 777 and Dreamliner 787.
So far, Air India has inducted 48 of these 111 aircraft.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:30 am

Obama Cairo speech aims to fix rift with Muslims

Cairo: US President Barack Obama was in Egypt on Thursday to deliver an address that will be crucial to his efforts to repair US ties with the Muslim world.
His speech is aimed at more than 1 billion Muslims across the world, but choosing Cairo underscores his focus on the West Asia, where he faces big foreign policy challenges.
Obama landed in Egypt from Saudi Arabia, where he discussed issues including the Arab-Israeli conflict. Obama was greeted at a palace in Cairo by President Hosni Mubarak, a US ally who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and kept a lid on opposition.
As he arrived in Egypt, the supreme leader of Washington’s arch foe in the region, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a televised address that America was “deeply hated” in the West Asia and only action, not “slogans”, could change that.
Obama wants to build a coalition of Muslim governments that will back his efforts to revive stalled West Asia peace talks and help the United States curb Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West says is to build bombs.
US officials told reporters on Wednesday that Obama would talk candidly and thoroughly about issues that had “caused tensions between the United States and the Muslim world”, and explain his policies toward Afghanistan and Iraq.
The address is part of a broader effort to rewrite U.S. foreign policy that under Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush alienated allies and fuelled a wave of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world, although the president said this week it would not be an apology for the Bush administration’s policies.
Obama has vowed to chart a new path in US relations with Muslims, offering ties based on “mutual interest and mutual respect”, after the former Bush administration’s campaign against terrorism, with its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush launched what he called a “war on terror” after the 11 September attacks on the United States by al Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, sought to upstage Obama when he was in Saudi Arabia at the start of his West Asia trip.
Bin Laden said in comments broadcast on Wednesday that Obama had planted the seeds of “revenge and hatred” among Muslims with his support for a crackdown on Taliban strongholds in Pakistan.
Obama acknowledged this week that it would take more than a speech to reconcile the United States and the Muslim world. The same view is held by many in the Muslim world.
“The nations of this part of the world ... deeply hate America,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
“Even if they give sweet and beautiful (speeches) to the Muslim nation ... that will not create change,” he said. “Action is needed.”
A US pollster said on Wednesday that Obama faces a Muslim world that remains sceptical of US leadership but whose perception had recently warmed.
“Muslims around the world want very much to engage with the West, and with the United States significantly, but want to engage as equal partners, instead of a relationship of paternalism,” Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies, told Reuters in an interview.
Reflecting his determination to change the relationship, Obama gave his first presidential television interview to an Arab station and delivered a speech in Muslim Turkey in April.
But Muslims want specifics on how he plans to change US policy in the Muslim world that for years emphasized military support to mostly authoritarian rulers over development aid.
“If he stops these foolish policies (of Bush) and starts to build a new bridge between America and the people, not the regimes of the Islamic world, it will be a good step,” said Essam el-Erian, a senior member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
“It will take time to achieve or change the promises from speech to actions, but we are waiting,” he said.
How well Obama’s 45-minute speech is received will largely depend on what he says about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the issue the Muslim world cares most about. Muslims view the United States as uncritically pro-Israel.
“Egypt hopes that the speech will contain serious approaches to deal with the essence of the relations between the Islamic world and the United States and this is the issue of peace in the Middle East (West Asia),” Egypt’s presidential spokesman, Suleiman Awad, said in remarks published before Obama’s arrival.
Many Muslims want him to explain his vision for Palestinian statehood and take a tougher line with Israel, which rebuffed his calls for freezing settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:28 am

RBI asks banks to review loan policy towards MSMEs

Kochi: The RBI on Thursday asked banks to review their loan policy towards micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), badly hit by the economic slowdown.
“One has to be sensitive to the sector and put in a revised policy,” RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat said in her address at a conference here.
Noting that MSMEs were the “worst sufferers” when disaster strikes, she said there is need to provide special relief to the sector on the lines of the National Equity Fund, recommended by the Chakraborty committee.
MSMEs are facing a slump in demand for exports and services, besides a build-up of large inventory, delayed payments and slowdown in remittances, Thorat said.
About 12.8 million MSMEs provide jobs to over 300 million people and account for 39% of the manufacturing sector output and 33% of exports, she said.
She said the RBI had taken ‘unprecedented´ measures to ensure liquidity and credit flow to MSMEs to help the sector during the recessionary period now and added that a special refinance facility under Section 17 (3B) was also extended to them.
Thorat, speaking at a one-day conference ‘Learning from recession, saving an economy: Towards an MSME agenda´, said the central bank has also given in-principle approval to set up four credit information companies.
Thorat said the average annual growth rate in the domestic economy in the last five years was 8.9% and it had slowed down to 6.7% in 2008-09.
“There has been decline in exports for five months in a row from October 2008 to February 2009 and subsequent figures also show a fall in exports,” she said.
Kerala has been affected by recent global events and all export areas - spices, marine products and tourism - have been hit by the meltdown, Thorat said.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:25 am

Foreigners swept aside as wind power blows through China

RUDONG, China (Reuters) - The world's biggest wind farm, China's Rudong, is unlikely to blow any business the way of foreign turbine manufacturers such as Vestas, Gamesa and Suzlon, according to local officials.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:19 am

Sensex closes above 15,000-mark after 9 months

A key index of the Indian equities markets fought its way back into the green Thursday to close above the 15,000-mark, first time since Sep 2, 2008.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:00 am

New deal for rural India in the offing

With two-thirds of India's billion-plus people living in its 650,000 villages, India's new government Thursday outlined a five-year agenda that promises a new deal for rural India, including improved agricultural practices,better roads, modern communication, access to drinking water, housing and overall improvement of its infrastructure.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:00 am

Frito-Lay to invest Rs.500 crore over three years

Frito-Lay, the food division of beverage major PepsiCo India, plans to spend about Rs.500 crore over the next three years on its entire product range in India, a top official said here Thursday during the launch of a new baked savoury cracker, Aliva.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:00 am

Air India plans to phase out 11 of its 20-year old Airbus 320

Air India plans to phase out 11 of its 20-year-old Airbus 320 in the wake of acquisition of new aircraft from the European aircraft manufacturer to augment its fleet.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:57 am

Bank of America may not renew US Olympic sponsorship

Chicago: Bank of America Corp will not renew its sponsorship deal with the US Olympic Committee unless it gets more bang for its marketing dollars under a restructured agreement, the company said on Wednesday.
“The bank cannot renew its existing sponsorship as structured,” said Joe Goode, Bank of America’s senior vice president of global media relations.
Bank of America told the USOC late last week it would not extend a prior deal that expired following last summer’s Beijing Olympic games unless it were restructured to provide a better return. The earlier deal generated around $12 million to $15 million from 2004 to 2008 for the US Olympic team.
In a statement, the USOC said it is in talks with the bank regarding a sponsorship running to 2012, and is “confident that we can find a structure that will work.” It called the bank an important partner over the last 16 years, and a tremendous supporter of the Olympic movement.
Goode declined to say whether the bank was seeking a lower payment or greater marketing clout. “We remain in discussions with the committee on exploring alternative ways to continue our support,” he said.
General Motors Corp and Home Depot Inc previously ended their USOC sponsorship deals, and numerous companies have slashed sports marketing budgets to cut costs during the recession.
The US banking sector has been battered by soaring credit losses and depleted capital.
Bank of America is cutting several billion dollars of annual costs and a possible 42,500 jobs after buying Merrill Lynch & Co and Countrywide Financial Corp over the last year. Bank of America also has received about $45 billion from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
US regulators ordered Bank of America to raise $33.9 billion after the bank underwent a government “stress test” of its ability to handle a deep recession. It has said it has raised nearly all of that sum.
Goode, however, said the decision was not related to the economy, a need to cut marketing expenses or the pressures facing banks that took TARP funds.
“It was really about looking at the return on our investment and how we can maximize and optimize that,” he said.
Bank of America’s official USOC team sponsorship began in 1992 for the Barcelona summer games and continued through the Beijing games. Goode said the company will continue to support Chicago’s efforts to host the 2016 summer games.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:41 am

President Patil promises better deal for rural India

With two-thirds of India's billion-plus people living in villages, President Pratibha Patil Thursday outlined a five-year agenda for the new government that has added emphasis on rural development, with fresh targets in areas such as irrigation, potable water, electrification, roads and telecom.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:34 am

President unveils government agenda: Reviving economy, inclusive growth top priority

President Pratibha Patil Thursday unveiled the new government's agenda that includes reviving the economy through more investments in sectors such as infrastructure, a blueprint for national security and a host of social welfare programmes focused on creating a more inclusive society and economy.
Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:34 am

3 state-run banks form JV to set up Malaysian unit

Mumbai: State-owned Bank of Baroda said on Thursday its has signed a joint venture agreement with government-owned lenders Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank to set up a banking subsidiary in Malaysia.
Bank of Baroda will hold 40% in the unit, while Indian Overseas Bank will hold 35% and the remainder will be held by Andhra Bank, the bank said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:33 am

Govt to pursue vigorously roadmap for GST: President

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will vigorously pursue the roadmap to move towards the Goods and Services Tax (GST), scheduled to be implemented from April 1, 2010, President Pratibha Patil said on Thursday.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:06 am

ICICI Bank home, auto loans to get cheaper

The country's largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, on Thursday slashed its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 15.75%.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Jun 2009 | 8:41 am

Airline 2009 losses to exceed $4.7 bn: IATA

Kuala Lumpur: The International Air Transport Association called for more liberalization to bolster the global airline industry, which is expected to lose more than $4.7 billion this year because of falling cargo and passenger traffic.
IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani said airlines are facing an “emergency situation” and should be given greater commercial freedom to serve global markets and consolidate.
He said 50 major airlines reported $3.3 billion in net losses in the first quarter of 2009 alone.
IATA, which represents 230 airline companies worldwide, expects full-year losses to be “substantially worse” than the $4.7 billion it forecast in March, he said. It will unveil its new forecast at its annual meeting here on Monday.
“We face a demand shock... you will see more dark red. We have probably touched the bottom but we have not yet seen an improvement,” he told reporters.
Bisignani said the United States and Europe should revise their open skies treaty to make it more liberal, removing restrictions such as foreign ownership caps on domestic carriers.
“It’s time for the governments to wake up. We do not ask for bailouts but all we ask is give us the same opportunity that other businesses have,” he said.
Bisiginani said he supported a bid by American Airlines and British Airways to cooperate on trans-Atlantic flights currently under review for fear of breaking antitrust laws.
American Airlines is seeking immunity from US antitrust laws so it can cooperate with BA, Iberia Airlines, Finnair and Royal Jordanian on trans-Atlantic flights. American and BA say this will let them compete fairly against two other groups of airlines that are already allowed working together on prices, schedules and other details.
But critics, led by Virgin Atlantic Airways head Richard Branson, say American and BA are already too dominant and immunity will lead to higher fares on US-UK routes. American’s own pilots’ union also feared it will shift flying assignments to lower-cost foreign carriers with more open-skies agreements.
Bisignani said Asian carriers, which account for 44% of the world cargo market, will be the worst hit in the economic crisis.
Global passenger demand fell 7.5% for the January-April period, with Asian carriers leading the fall with an 11.2% drop. Cargo demand fell 22% worldwide and was down nearly 25% in Asia.
Global premium air traffic the most lucrative business for airlines was down 19% in March but plunged 29% in Asia, he said. Crude oil prices, though sharply lower from last year, are also climbing steadily above $60 a barrel and this is “bad news,” he said.
“In the next few years, it will be difficult to imagine a recovery in profitability” in the global industry, he added
More than 500 industry leaders will gather in Kuala Lumpur from Monday for IATA’s annual meeting and a world air transport conference to discuss plans to speed up recovery for the sector.
Speakers include the chief executives Peter Hartman of KLM, Tony Tyler of Cathay Pacific Airways, David Barger of JetBlue Airways and Naresh Goyal of India’s Jet Airways.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 8:32 am

Restoring economy priority; divestment, fin reforms to be key

The govt unveiled its reforms plan in the financial sector and PSU disinvestment, coupled with measures to tackle the economic slowdown.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 7:14 am

LTC policies lead to surge in Air India's passenger traffic

There has been a substantial increase in Air India's passenger traffic in May in the northern region, thanks to the government's new LTC policy.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 7:01 am

Inflation dips to 0.48%

Inflation declined to 0.48 per cent for the week ended May 23 from 0.61 per cent in the previous week
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Jun 2009 | 6:45 am

ICICI Bank cuts lending rates by 50 bps

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Private sector lender ICICI Bank said on Thursday it was cutting its lending rates by 50 basis points from Friday.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 6:22 am

Wal-Mart says it will create 22,000 jobs in 2009

Arkansas : As Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opens about 150 new or expanded stores in the US in 2009, the company expects to hire about 22,000 people for new positions.
Those positions include plenty of cashiers and stock clerks, but the world’s largest retailer will also be adding store managers, pharmacists and personnel workers.
Wal-Mart is holding its annual shareholders meeting on Friday, and employees from its stores around the world are spending the week in Bentonville at company headquarters.
Wal-Mart, still the target of criticism from union-backed groups for its pay and benefits, has improved its health insurance coverage and opened it to full- and part-time employees. The company says 94% of its employees have health coverage, either through Wal-Mart or another family member.
“At Wal-Mart, we offer competitive pay and benefits and real opportunities for our associates to advance and build careers,” Wal-Mart vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said. “Job creation is just one way in which we’re working hard every day to help people across this country live better.”
Other employee benefits include a retirement plan, stock purchases and discounts for workers making in-store purchases.
The company has touted its generic drugs program in which Wal-Mart is selling $4 prescriptions for many popular medicines. Competitors, such as Kroger Co., have matched the price for some prescriptions.
“During this difficult economic time, we’re proud to be able to create quality jobs for thousands of Americans this year,” Castro-Wright said.
Earlier this year, the company shared more than $2 billion with its workers through bonuses, profit sharing and payments into the company retirement plan.
Wal-Mart has more than 2.1 million employees in the US and abroad. The company had sales last fiscal year of $401 billion.

Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:42 am

Sensex ends past 15,000 as govt unveils agenda

The 30-share index, which had lost 1.8 per cent in the opening session, rebounded with a gain of 137.78 points at 15,008.68.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:50 am

Rupee weakens by 17 paise against dollar

The Indian rupee depreciated by 17 paise to 47.24 against the dollar in early trade today as banks bought the currency (dollar) on behalf of importers and after the USD stabilised against a basket of currencies in Asian markets.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:37 am

Job cuts in US fall in May, but may rise after summers: Report

Job cuts fell in May to over 1.1 lakh, but the decline could be shortlived as downsizing may pick up pace after the summer months.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Jun 2009 | 3:44 am

Start work now to curb budget deficit: Fed Chief !

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday urged Congress and the administration to cut record-high budget deficits, warning that they could erode investor confidence and endanger the economy`s long-term health.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Property valuation should be independent: RBI to coop banks!

To usher in greater accuracy in the measurement of property, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday asked these lenders to get it assessed by independent valuers and also seek the board`s nod for the same.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Sensex touches pre-Lehman collapse level, closes at 14,871!

Banking and IT stocks pulled down the market on Wednesday after the BSE Sensex breached the psychologically important 15,000 level for the first time since the Lehman Brothers collapse in September last year.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Bharti, MTN to see $6.9-bn additional debt after deal: Fitch!

A potential merger being discussed by Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel and South Africa`s MTN could increase the net debt of the two firms by about USD 6.9 billion, global rating agency Fitch said on Wednesday.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Sukhoi listed as most rapidly growing companies of Russia!

Major Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi, famous for its fighters, has been listed amongst the most rapidly growing companies of Russia by the Economic News Agency rating.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

`India, China cannot fill void created by global slowdown`!

India and China would not be able to fill the gap created by the global economic crisis as "there is no consumer capable of taking the American consumers` place", Morgan Stanley Asia head Stephen Roach on Wednesday said.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

US private cos cut 5,32,000 jobs in May!

The number of unemployed people continued to swell in the world`s largest economy as private US companies slashed a staggering 5,32,000 jobs in May.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

BRIC countries will pull global economy out of crisis: Russia!

BRIC nations will become the "locomotive" to pull the global economy out of crisis as two major countries of the bloc - India and China - have suffered least from the downturn, Russian Deputy PM Sergei Ivanov has said.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Wipro says it`s unaffected by client GM`s bankruptcy!

Software giant Wipro`s revenues will not be affected because of the bankruptcy of Detroit-based customer General Motors Corp, the Indian IT bellwether said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Japan`s leading cos cut 87K jobs in 6 months!

Twenty leading Japanese manufacturers including Panasonic Corp and Sony Corp slashed a total of around 87,000 jobs at home and abroad in six months according to a data compiled by Kyodo News.
Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:25 am

Airport ground handling policy not cleared for take-off yet

Mumbai/New Delhi, June 3 The Civil Aviation Ministry has not yet taken a stand on the ground handling policy in terms of deferring its implementation date or even changing it completely.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

India will get next 400 million mobile users five times faster

New Delhi, June 3 It took 15 years for India to get 400 million mobile users, but under three years it will add the next 400 million.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Day Trading Guide

We reiterate our sell recommendation in DLF. ICICI Bank is experiencing selling interest and SBI has formed a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern. We recommend a sell in these counters.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

First woman Speaker promises impartial conduct of Lok Sabha

New Delhi, June 3 Ms Meira Kumar today made history by becoming the first woman Speaker of the Lok
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

RIL’s German arm files for insolvency

Mumbai, June 3 Reliance Industries’ German textile arm, Trevira, has filed for insolvency following business slowdown in
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

BSNL readying WiMax tender for rural broadband project

New Delhi, June 3 To boost its plans to roll out WiMax-enabled broadband services in the rural areas, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will shortly launch a Rs 1,500-crore project to buy 7,000 WiMax base stations to set up Common Service
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Morgan Stanley Asia now more bullish on India than on China

Mumbai, June 3 The definitive Congress win in the recent general elections has altered his outlook on India, said Mr Stephen S. Roach, Chairman of Morgan Stanley
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Brigade Enterprises (Rs 94.2): Sell

We recommend a sell in Brigade Enterprises from short-term trading perspective. It is evident for the charts of Brigade Enterprises that from its 52-week low of Rs 27.8 touched in early March, it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend. In
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Nalco profits slump on lower aluminium prices

New Delhi, June 3 National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco), the country’s second largest aluminium producer, posted an 81 per cent drop in its fourth quarter net profit on lower aluminium prices.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Anand Sharma to push for export sops in Budget

New Delhi, June 3 Concerned over the continuing downtrend in the country’s exports in the first two months of this fiscal, the Commerce Ministry today held a brainstorming session with several export promotion councils to devise incentives
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am

Intel to ride Taiwanese tech might into India

However, Intel will not be the only one to be gunning for a share of netbook pie in India and elsewhere.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Jun 2009 | 9:48 pm

Investments mostly done: GM India

General Motors India on Wednesday said it has already made a major part of investments in India.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Jun 2009 | 8:47 pm

ITunes on a diet

New Delhi: A simple, small piece of freeware that makes managing your iPod a breeze.
Like it or not iTunes is probably the best way to manage the content on your iPod. Nothing works with specific content such as podcasts and videos better, and there is no denying the sheer brilliance of having an online catalogue of content available at a moment’s notice.
Click here to watch video
But iTunes is a heavy application and a mammoth download. So if you want to manages your iPod both at home and at work you better have some particularly generous IT admin folk. Or you could try Sharepod.
Downloadable from www.getsharepod.com, Sharepod is a tiny application, less than 3 MB in size that you can carry with you anywhere. And it accesses your iPod in a flash. You can then upload and download files to your heart’s content. A super way to always have your iPod accessible always is to switch on your iPod’s removable disk option and keep a copy of Sharepod on it. Yes, it runs straight off the drive.
Check the video to see Sharepod transfer files to and from an iPod in a matter of moments.

Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:35 pm

Govt plans big-bang divestment

Government plans to raise over Rs 25,000 crore in 2009-10, not only to reduce fiscal deficit but also for expansion of public sector enterprises.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:19 pm

Make long-term moves for maximum returns

Every investor is a long-term investor until the stock market tanks, says Amar Pandit, CFP with My Financial Advisor, a wealth management firm.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:14 pm

Pisharody is Tata Motors president

Ravindra Pisharody has been appointed president of Tata Motors (commercial vehicles), following Prakash Telang's promotion as company managing director.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:08 pm

No overseas investment for pension funds

PFRDA Bill is likely to limit FDI in pension companies at par with the insurance sector, where the present ceiling of 26% is set to be increased to 49%.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:07 pm

Vice-chairmen to be lynchpin in Tata group management

The Tata group is strengthening the management super-structure within its group companies by extending the post of vice-chairman to three more companies Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:06 pm

Malaysian, Russian cos may bid for WiMAX

Russian operator Yota and Malaysian operator Packet One are in serious talks with several Indian firms to enter India's Broadband Wireless Access market.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:05 pm

50-60% of students may opt for UK, Canadian varsities

Australias curry bashing appears to have affected the education business. Educational counsellors, travel agents and industry observers say 50 to 60 per cent of students who had planned to apply for admissions this November to study in Australia are considering or are being guided to alternate destinations like the UK.
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:03 pm

Govt mulls 'creeping disinvestment'

The Union finance ministry is examining a proposal that seeks to dilute the governments stake in all listed public sector undertakings to at least 90 per cent.
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Jun 2009 | 7:01 pm

India optimistic as industry experts say outsourcing will stay

Noida: The global downturn has not stopped the rapid growth in India’s outsourcing business, but only slowed it. In fact—because of the pressure on companies, and even governments, to reduce costs—many outsourcing businesses are booming. And a mood that was deeply uncertain just six months ago has turned much more optimistic.
Unemployment has risen to 8.9% in the US, a 26-year high, increasing long-standing pressures to “keep jobs in America”. But managers of companies big and small, squeezed between political pressures and the necessity of slimming down to survive, are choosing the bottom line.
J. Brandon Black, president and chief executive of the Encore Capital Group, a debt collection company based in San Diego, California, said he planned to significantly increase his workforce in India in the next few years, in part because of the tough economic times.
“The thing it boils down to is the supply of well-trained educated labour at reasonable prices is just too great to ignore,” said Black. In India, “we’re hiring college-educated people”. The company is not doing that in the US, where it would incur greater infrastructure and healthcare costs.
“Outsourcing is here to stay,” Black said.
Some of the US’ biggest companies continue to invest in India, even as they trim costs at home.
Hewlett-Packard Co. said last week that it would cut an additional 6,400 jobs, on top of the 24,000 it said it was eliminating in September after a merger with Electronic Data Systems Corp. About half of the September cuts are expected to come from the US.
This month, Honeywell International Inc., the manufacturing firm based in Morristown, New Jersey, said it would invest $50 million (Rs234 crore) in a new research and development facility in Bangalore that would employ 3,000.
Many in India say they believe that demographics are on their side in the long run.
“In most developed economies, the workforce is ageing,” said Ranjit Tinaikar, a partner with McKinsey and Co., a consulting firm. The healthcare costs associated with employing those Western workers will continue to increase, he said, creating a “big opportunity” for India.
Growth will slow this year at many of India’s biggest outsourcing companies, however, because of the implosion of some of their largest clients: banks, mortgage servicing companies and Wall Street firms. But that does not mean revenue is no longer growing.
“People who have never looked at outsourcing before are saying they have to do it,” said Amitabh Chaudhry, the chief executive of Infosys BPO, the outsourcing arm of Infosys Technologies Ltd. He expects his unit to grow 25-30% this year, compared with 40-50% in the past.
But political pressures are making a difference in how business is done. One growing trend, many outsourcing executives say, is placing more Indian employees in offices in the client’s home country. That way the job, ostensibly, does not move abroad. But over the long term, many are likely to be moved across the globe.
©2009/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Jun 2009 | 4:21 pm

Reliance’s German unit files to start insolvency

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd has said that its European textile unit, Trevira, had applied in a German court to start of insolvency proceedings with a restructuring plan.
“The move follows major efforts by the company to overcome the impact of industrial slowdown in Europe particularly of the automotive and textile sectors to whom it is an important supplier,” Reliance said in a statement.
Trevira makes polyester fibres and filament yarns, and reported turnover of €323 million ($459 million) in 2008, data on its website showed.
It has production units in Germany, Denmark, Poland and Belgium, with around 1,800 employees, the website showed.
Reliance Industries acquired Frankfurt-based Trevira for about €80 million in 2004.
Reliance said Trevira was severely impacted by the recent global financial crisis resulting in considerable demand contraction in its’ principal market segment.

Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Jun 2009 | 12:55 pm