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Cigarette usage to rise if states leave taxes constant: ITCKurush Grant, Chief Executive Officer of the Tobacco Division, ITC Ltd is of the opinion that if state tax remains constant then the increasing trend in cigarette consumption as well as stable growth momentum should continue. \"We are watching if other states including Punjab and Rajasthan increase value added tax (VAT) in their budgets.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Jul 2009 | 3:15 pm Nifty Prediction for 07, Jul 2009Astro guru Bejan Daruwala gives his Nifty predictions for the day through this daily column, Ganesha Speaks.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Jul 2009 | 3:14 pm JSW Steel gets shareholders nod to raise Rs 4,850 crJSW Steel has received shareholders approval for raising about Rs 4,850 crore through issue of securities, a move which will help the company to cut down debts.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 2:42 pm Air India employees to get salaries by 14 JulyNew Delhi: Heeding to workers’ demands, state-run Air India on Tuesday decided to pay the wages and salaries of its employees on the 14 July and to the contractual staff on 10 July. The employees covered under the Payment of Wages Act and drawing wages up to Rs10,000 per month “will get their June wages on July 10,” a company spokesperson said. The staffers of the AI’s parent firm National Aviation Company of India Limited (Nacil) and its subsidiaries, who are not covered by the Act, will get their June salaries by 14 July, a day ahead of the day earlier announced by the management, the spokesperson said. The decision came almost a week after the employees went on a two-hour agitation to protest the delay in payment of their salaries by a fortnight. The management has also asked the airline’s top brass not to take their July salary. The unions have held several rounds of discussions with the management and suggested several cost-cutting measures including introduction of voluntary retirement schemes, transfer to low cost subsidiary Air India Express with lower salaries and leave without pay for two years. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 2:23 pm Govt may tweak rules on use of stake sale fundsNew Delhi: The Union government may tweak the rules governing the use of funds obtained from stake sales in state-run firms, a senior official said on Tuesday, as the government explores various means to narrow a bloated fiscal gap. The cash-strapped government would also look at diluting stakes in already listed state-run firms while bringing in public offers of others in the coming months, the finance ministry official said on conditions of anonymity. According to the present rules, stake sale proceeds have to be put into a separate National Investment Fund (NIF), managed by professional fund managers, and is not treated like other tax and capital receipts of the government. The government can only use the interest from the fund for social schemes and restructuring of ailing state-run firms. “The present NIF architecture needs to be partially or fully abolished,” the official said. “Work on that is in process.” Indian markets were rattled on Monday after the Budget projected a higher-than-expected fiscal deficit at 6.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009-10, without offering clear cut plans on disinvestment and reforms. However, the finance ministry official said the government was clear in going ahead with stake sales though there was no strategic sale of state-owned firms planned. The ministers have named National Hydroelectric Power Corp, Oil India Ltd, Coal India Ltd, telecom firm BSNL and national carrier Air India, BHEL and Shipping Corp of India as candidates for disinvestment. The government plans to raise Rs11.2 billion in 2009-10 from initial public offers of companies such as Railways subsidiary RITES, Cochin Shipyard, Telecommunications Consultants India, Manganese Ore India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam. Last week, the economic survey forecast the government could raise Rs250 billion per annum from stake sales in the coming years. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 2:04 pm India and capital convertibility The advocacy for “full convertibility now” has gathered renewed momentum in recent years. Its neatly structured premise is: domestic and foreign markets are perfectly integrated, which has eroded the monetary autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The de facto convertibility of the rupee has already taken place. So, go official: Declare the rupee fully convertible. Alas, facts don’t quite lend themselves to this interpretation. The case for full convertibility right away, seductively dressed with economic policy theorizing, has many a gaping hole. Also See Policy Trade Off (Graphics) To start with, onshore-offshore market integration is rather limited. For, close to 80% of daily rupee trading continues to take place onshore. Even at the peak tide of capital flows in 2007, domestic and foreign markets stayed resolutely segmented. With monetary control available in the bulk of the market, theorizing on the irrelevance of monetary control doesn’t quite add up. Hence, the hypothesis of policy trade-offs between exchange rate stability and monetary autonomy—quite valid in integrated markets—has little relevance for India at the moment. Let’s look at the facts closely. Evidence shows that capital controls have been successful in providing autonomy for monetary policy Two, it is entirely possible to have long-term monetary autonomy with short-term loss of control, driven by a deluge of foreign capital. The clanging of “loss of monetary control” climaxed in July 2007, when an unprecedented $5.5 billion of portfolio investments rushed into Indian markets. Did the yield gap converge, albeit temporarily? Tracking this event with daily data, the onshore-offshore spread is observed persistently above 100 bps, indicating continuous market segmentation. Capital flows were routinely unidirectional all this while—inwards—but the spread narrowed only briefly to 118 bps in July 2007. Three, formal tests for uncovered interest parity confirm that financial integration is far from perfect; while differentials are declining, as increasing integration forces convergence, they remain statistically significant. Four, the size and structure of markets limit arbitrage opportunities for both residents and non-residents. Daily turnover in the offshore market is assumed to be $750 million compared with $2–3 billion in the onshore forward currency market. A BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey 2008 analysis reinforces the low degree of capital mobility between onshore-offshore currency markets. Non-resident participation in the daily, onshore trading turnover of the rupee is restricted to about 10%; these are more active in the offshore non-deliverable market. India ranks in the lowest range of non-resident participation in the trading turnover of Asian currencies; its share of financial customers in the total daily forex turnover is 17%, the lowest in Asia. Trade is the major driver in the Indian currency market, with the majority of transactions between exporters and importers: The trade flows to foreign exchange turnover ratio is 12, against the global average of 30. And arbitrage routes for residents, besides the conventional trade misinvoicing channel, are limited mainly to overseas borrowings. In the 2007 boom, the sudden increase in overseas loans was associated with carry trade by domestic investors raising loans abroad, depositing the converted rupees into domestic accounts, including non-resident accounts and the hawala route. The temporary rise in NDF trades during volatile market conditions is also associated with resident market participants with trade-linked foreign currency exposures. The point here is of the scale and persistence in volumes, which simply aren’t there to close the yield gap. So, though some cross-border flows respond to price signals in an increasingly open economy, the existing capital controls still prevent convergence. This is grossly overlooked when eye-popping, aggregate numbers on financial integration are trotted out to make a headline case for full convertibility. How do these numbers prove perfect capital mobility, inefficacy of capital controls and the loss of monetary autonomy? Even when capital flows were way above trend, driven by a heady combination of a global liquidity glut and a booming economy, capital mobility was not sufficient and enduring enough for complete convergence; in the trend case of a net capital account between 4% and 5% of gross domestic product, we should be even less suspicious about the inefficacy of capital controls. It is thus premature to talk about polar choices—exchange rate management or monetary independence. The weight of the proof actually shows that so far, RBI has been able to choose a policy combination of part exchange rate stability and part capital account openness to operate a hybrid regime that allows it to control the domestic interest rate; consistent with reserve accumulation, this is critical to sustaining monetary independence. As the economy is still on the transition path to fuller capital account openness, an intermediate regime enables non-linear policy adjustments. A 2008 study by economists Joshua Aizenman, Menzie D. Chinn and Hiro Ito is especially illustrative here; it establishes that all three variables of the trilemma, that is, exchange rate stability, financial integration and monetary independence, have converged for developing countries, suggesting convergence “…towards managed exchange rate flexibility buffered by…international reserves, enabling the retention of monetary autonomy even as financial integration proceeded”. The coefficients on the three macroeconomic policy goals also vary over time, signifying that countries alter the weights on these. Finally, the bulk of empirical evidence on the efficacy of capital controls shows that these have been most successful in providing more autonomy for monetary policy. So next time, when inflows surge and calls for full convertibility are made, they need to be tempered with a bit more convincing evidence. We just aren’t there yet… Renu Kohli was until recently with the International Monetary Fund. Comments are welcome at theirview@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 2:00 pm Air India employees to get salaries by July 14 - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:50 pm Gartner predicts 6% dip in global IT spends, software to remain flatPrediction less dire than that of Forrester Research, which had said there would be a 10.6% dip for the full year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:49 pm Air India employees to get salaries by July 14Heeding to workers' demands, state-run Air India today decided to pay the wages and salaries of its employees on the July 14 and to the contractual staff on July 10.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:43 pm UK says has made financing offer for Airbus A350London: The British government has made an offer of financing to help develop Airbus’s new A350 jetliner, business secretary Peter Mandelson said on Tuesday. Asked if the British government would contribute launch investment for the new aircraft, Mandelson told a parliamentary committee: “We’ve made an offer. We are negotiating with EADS, Airbus, and I think the offer we have made is proportionate to the work we can expect being undertaken in this country.” He gave no further details. Airbus is a unit of European aerospace and defence group EADS. The A350 project will cost around €11 billion ($15.38 billion). Government ministers from several of the European nations that produce Airbus jets said last month they had agreed in principle to provide financing for the new A350 XWB model and expected to make a final decision by the end of June. Germany would provide €1.1 billion, and France would contribute 1.4 billion, German and French officials said. French daily La Tribune reported this week that Britain was taking a different approach to other nations on financing the A350, favouring a loan over a reimbursable advance. Without citing a source, the newspaper said Britain was probably prepared to fork out some €500 million, but only in the form of a loan that would be less risky financially. The fourth partner, Spain, is on track to advance some €300 million, according to La Tribune. The outcome will be closely watched by the United States, which has already said plans to award government loans to develop the A350 airliner were illegal. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:42 pm UK says has made financing offer for Airbus A350London: The British government has made an offer of financing to help develop Airbus’s new A350 jetliner, business secretary Peter Mandelson said on Tuesday. Asked if the British government would contribute launch investment for the new aircraft, Mandelson told a parliamentary committee: “We’ve made an offer. We are negotiating with EADS, Airbus, and I think the offer we have made is proportionate to the work we can expect being undertaken in this country.” He gave no further details. Airbus is a unit of European aerospace and defence group EADS. The A350 project will cost around €11 billion ($15.38 billion). Government ministers from several of the European nations that produce Airbus jets said last month they had agreed in principle to provide financing for the new A350 XWB model and expected to make a final decision by the end of June. Germany would provide €1.1 billion, and France would contribute 1.4 billion, German and French officials said. French daily La Tribune reported this week that Britain was taking a different approach to other nations on financing the A350, favouring a loan over a reimbursable advance. Without citing a source, the newspaper said Britain was probably prepared to fork out some €500 million, but only in the form of a loan that would be less risky financially. The fourth partner, Spain, is on track to advance some €300 million, according to La Tribune. The outcome will be closely watched by the United States, which has already said plans to award government loans to develop the A350 airliner were illegal. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:42 pm Sensex, rupee gain on post-budget hopesMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose 0.9 percent on Tuesday after a sharp fall the day before, and the rupee also gained as investors harboured hopes for economic reforms in spite of disappointment over Monday's budget.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:39 pm Budget IN 2 minutes - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:36 pm SC issues notice to RIL, RNRL, Centre on gas supply disputeThe Supreme Court issued notice to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, Anil Ambani-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, and the Centre on cross-appeals by both the companies on their gas supply dispute.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:30 pm Tata Steel June sales up 19%, to 4.97 lakh tonnesTata Steel\'s production of hot metal, crude steel and saleable steel in June this year went up by 16 per cent, 21 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, over June, 2008.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:28 pm Indian Rupee Gains On Likely RBI Aid, Stock Cues; Bonds Dn - Wall Street Journal
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:25 pm Sensex manages tepid pull back, up 127pts - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:22 pm Need to enhance investment in farm sector: PawarNew Delhi: The government on Tuesday said there is a need to enhance investment in the agriculture sector to achieve 4% growth during 11th Five Year Plan. “For the Eleventh Plan, it has been recognised that there is need to enhance investment in agriculture sector to achieve 4% growth,” agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The farm sector attracted Rs67,864 crore investment in 2007-08. Out of it, Rs46,837 crore was invested from private firms and Rs21,027 crore from public sector, according to data submitted in Parliament. Interestingly, private investment exceeded the public sector in the last four years, it said. Pawar said, “Investment in agriculture sector has increased over the years. The government has launched several schemes to increase investments in agriculture sector and to encourage private investment.” He said schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Gramin Bhadaran Yojana and National Horticulture Mission have been implemented to boost private investment. Besides this, the government has announced in the 2009-10 Budget investment-linked tax incentives for setting up cold chains and warehousing facilities, he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:18 pm UNDP, WHO laud Union BudgetNew Delhi: Two UN agencies, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) commended the UPA government on Tuesday for substantially enhancing allocation for social sector schemes in the Union Budget despite the economic meltdown. Welcoming the government’s decision to keep the common man in focus in the Union Budget, country director of UNDP Deirdre Boyd said the enhanced funding to social sector will also help India achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). She said New Delhi has “very firmly put inclusive growth at the centre of its policies”, which is commendable. “The UNDP always welcomes appropriate spendings in social sectors. It is particularly important in India to address high levels of poverty that is still existing,” Boyd said. In the Budget, the government yesterday provided massive outlay for social sector and rural development to the tune of over Rs71,000 crore, including Rs39,100 crore for its key employment scheme NREGA. The WHO also lauded the Budget, saying the allocation for the health sector would facilitate providing proper health care to the marginalized section of the society. “I have nothing but to compliment government of India for increased allocation for the health sector,” WHO representative to India S J Habayeb said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:18 pm Govt awaits Rs1.5 trillion in arrears on tax, other disputesThe arrears outstanding at the end of reporting year 2007-08 pertain to a period of up to ten years or more and also include interests from state governments and PSUs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:16 pm Bankers seek extension of restructuring deadlineMumbai: Concerned over rising slippages in the industry, bankers on Tuesday sought an extension of loan restructuring facility and said more measures were needed to lift credit demand. In a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D Subbarao ahead of the quarterly monetary policy end-July, bankers also demanded a relaxation in NPA norms in infrastructure lending and provisioning requirements in certain segments like housing. They also informed the RBI that credit demand continues to be subdued in the face of the economic downturn but flow was likely to pick-up by September in line with the recovery in the economy. “Though there are signs of improvement in economic activity, it is not showing in credit growth. We expect growth to pick-up in the second quarter,” State Bank of India’s chairman and Indian Banks’ Association’s deputy chairman, OP Bhatt, told reporters after the meeting. Bhatt said the bankers have asked the apex bank to extend the deadline of loan restructuring facility to December from June. Early this year, RBI had announced the loan restructuring facility in certain sectors facing a slowdown like real estate up to 30 June. Sufficient liquidity in the system and low inflation has provided further room to soften interest rates, Bhatt said, adding that rates are likely to stabilize in the next six months. IBA’s chief executive, K Ramakrishnan, said bankers also requested the Reserve Bank to manage the government’s massive borrowing programme in an orderly manner so as to avoid any upward pressure on interest rates. Despite a slow recovery in economic activity, small- and-medium firms continue to be reluctant to avail credit in the backdrop of the financial downturn, he said. “Bankers told (the RBI) that real demand is yet to pick-up. MSMEs are hesitant to take credit from banks as they are not sure about a pick-up in business activities,” Ramakrishnan, who attended the meeting, said. Bankers also said there was a need to look into NPA norms in infrastructure lending as loans offered to infra projects, are being termed as NPAs in the event of project delays. Bankers who attended the meeting included Canara Bank chairman and managing director, AC Mahajan, IDBI Bank chief, Yogesh Agarwal, ICICI Bank’s managing director and CEO, Chanda Kochhar and Standard Chartered India head, Neeraj Swaroop. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 1:04 pm Regulator exempts MTN from open offer for Airtel sharesTelecom major Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN have been allowed to go ahead with their proposal to buy each other's shares in a $25bn deal without the latter having to make an open offer in Indian equities markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:57 pm Will the FBT change reduce your tax? - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:56 pm Govt awaits Rs 1.5 trillion in arrears on tax, other disputes - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:48 pm Identification number to be alloted for all tax documentsThe income tax department would assign document identification number on all notices, letters sent to the assessees from October 1,2009 to enable easy tracking of documents.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:48 pm ANALYSIS - U.S. stocks may benefit from low earns expectationsNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. earnings may not perform a turnabout in the second quarter, but expectations finally are looking up, suggesting financial statements could hold more than the usual share of surprises from prominent companies.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:47 pm Mumbai faces acute water shortage - BBC News
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:40 pm European airlines report more weak trafficPARIS (Reuters) - European airlines reported little respite from the economic gloom hampering passenger air travel on Tuesday, but June data again suggested a slump in cargo traffic had stabilised.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:40 pm Rupee gains on stock gains, weaker dollarMumbai: The rupee ended stronger on Tuesday, recovering from a fall to a two-week low as the stock market rose and the dollar reversed earlier gains against major currencies, but remained down sharply so far this week. The partially convertible rupee closed at Rs48.45/46 per dollar, 0.2% stronger than its previous close of Rs48.56/59. The rupee had dropped 1.4% on Monday, its biggest fall in three months, on disappointment with the government’s budget. On Tuesday, the currency hit a low of Rs48.75, its weakest since 23 June, and a high of Rs48.27. “Rupee was tracking the stocks and cross currencies today. The outlook seems a bit dicey for now, but we may see a range of 48.25-48.55 tomorrow, while it may trade in a 48-49 band for the next one month,” said Naveen Raghuvanshi, an associate vice president with Development Credit Bank. “There seems to be good technical resistance at 49, if it breaks that, then we may see it going further lower,” he added. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index, the Sensex, rose 0.9% as investors looked to growth opportunities, a day after the market fell nearly 6% on worries about a growing budget deficit and increased government borrowing needs. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six major currencies, was down 0.2% after having risen 0.4% earlier, and dealers said moves in the euro would offer further cues for the rupee. Dealers said any cut to India’s sovereign ratings or outlook would be a big negative for the rupee, although rating agencies have said no change was imminent after the budget. “The further deterioration in government finances coupled with lack of clarity on the divestment program/foreign direct investment could result in rating agencies re-visiting the currency sovereign rating/outlook,” Citigroup economists said in a report. “On the currency, while current sentiment is weak, movements in the US dollar are key, and the rupee is likely to continue to oscillate between ‘risk aversion’ and ‘return to risk’,” they said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:25 pm Revamp of Air India brass in 30 days: PatelBesides the revamp the government is also planning to have a partial disinvestment of the national carrier in the near future.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:21 pm Russia, China to push global currency at G8 summitROME (Reuters) - China, Russia and Brazil will use this week's G8 summit in Italy to push their view that the world needs to start seeking a new global reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar, officials said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:17 pm StanChart profit up by 12% at Rs 1,907-croreStandard Chartered Bank India, has clocked a 12% in its profit after tax at Rs 1,907-crore for FY 09 while its income grew by 22% at Rs 8,747-crore in the same period.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:15 pm `India for concerted global response to counter slowdown`!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said India wants a concerted and well-coordinated global response to address systemic failures and to stimulate the real economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:09 pm Bharti proposes to acquire 49% stake in MTN: SEBI!Market regulator SEBI on Tuesday said that Bharti-Airtel has proposed to acquire 49 percent stake in South Africa`s telecom major MTN directly or through its affiliate.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:09 pm Shirish Apte named Citi CEO for Asia-Pacific!Citibank has named a three-person team to replace Ajay Banga, who held the title of Asia-Pacific CEO and left the firm June 19 to become president and CEO of MasterCard.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:09 pm Apex court will hear petitions of RIL, RNRL today!The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear Mukesh Ambani-run RIL`s and Anil Ambani-led RNRL`s petitions on the gas dispute between the two firms.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:09 pm BASF announces 3,700 job cuts, mainly at Ciba unit!The German chemical giant BASF announced on Monday 3,700 job cuts by 2013 under a deep restructuring plan that follows its takeover of the Swiss group Ciba.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:09 pm Hyundai to ramp up production by 18% in 2009New Delhi: The country’s second-largest car maker, Hyundai Motor India, plans to hike its production by over 18% in the current year as it targets a 10% jump in sales and expects a revival in the market in the second half of 2009. It is planning to launch its sports utility vehicle (SUV) ‘Santa Fe´ in 2010, besides exploring possibilities to roll out a smaller car than ‘Santro´ in the Indian market. The company will also start producing diesel engines by 2010. “In the first half of 2009, the domestic market was flat, but we are seeing positive signs of revival of the market and we are expecting it to pick up in the second half. Our target is to produce 5.8 lakh units in 2009,” Hyundai Motor India managing director and CEO Heung Soo Lheem told reporters in Delhi. The company had produced 4.9 lakh units last year out of a total installed capacity of 6 lakh units a year, he added. “Our exports grew by over 22% in the first half. We expect to maintain the same rate and are targeting to sell three lakh units in the overseas markets. We are also hoping that the domestic market will surely improve,” Lheem said, adding the company is aiming to close the year with an overall jump of about 10%. Asked about launching its SUV ‘Santa Fe´ in the country, Lheem said the company is currently carrying out a feasibility study and would act accordingly. However, a senior company official said the SUV would hit the Indian roads next year, which would be in both diesel and petrol versions, and initially be imported from Korea. When asked about its plans to introduce a smaller car that its existing ‘Santro´, HMIL senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said: “We are still working on it...it is still far away and will take some time.” The company today launched the diesel version of its premium compact car ‘i20´, priced between Rs6.20 lakh and Rs7.20 (ex-showroom, Delhi). It also introduced a petrol variant of the car with automatic transmission, offered at Rs7.31-7.72 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). “Currently we are importing the diesel engine from Korea. The production of the diesel plant in Chennai will start by the end of 2010,” Lheem said without giving details. Since its launch in December last year, the company has sold over 72,000 units of ‘i20´, of which only about 12,000 units were handed over to domestic customers and the rest went to overseas markets. After the diesel launch, the company is now targeting to sell 4,000 units of i20s every month. It plans to sell 1,800 units in the domestic market. Asked about the company’s reported first ever loss from Indian operations in 2008, Saxena said: “Cost of sales went up by 10-15% and it is still at the same level...the situation should improve.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:02 pm Top Air India management heading for massive trimIn the next 30 days, several old time directors will be asked to leave and a global ad will be put out for a new chief operating officer for Air India.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:55 am See 2550 bps interest rate hike in Q3: JK BankDoctor Haseeb Drabu of JK Bank said takeout financing was a welcome move. Banking sector concerns were legitimate, he said. We are concerned about composition of fiscal deficit not quantum, he added. We are likely to see 2550 bps (basis point) rate hike in Q3, he said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:55 am ICICI Lombard offers customised weather-based crop insuranceMumbai: ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Tuesday said it offers customised weather-based crop insurance to help farmers cover losses caused by weather damage under its Weather-based crop insurance. ICICI Lombard is a 74:26 joint venture between ICICI Bank and Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada. The company’s weather insurance comes with multiple features like customisation of insurance products as per the need of weather risk and flexibility for farmers to take up insurance for a particular critical stage of crop growth or for the entire crop cycle, the release said. The company has also introduced text messaging for contract farmers to update them about the weather conditions during sowing to the harvesting cycle. ICICI Lombard’s Head-Rural Insurance, Pranav Prashad said, “ICICI Lombard’s weather-based crop insurance provides security against unpredictable weather conditions faced by farmers. For a nominal price, this insurance cover helps farmers tide over the uncertainty of weather to their crops and vegatables, which might lead to their loss of livelihood.” An expected rainfall shorgage this year across the states of Punjab, Haryana, UP, MP, AP and Maharashtra could result in significant crop-loss for farmers. ICICI Lombard said that it has extended weather insurance benefits to more than 2,50,000 farmers across India. The states covered are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, the release said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:43 am GAIL to raise Rs2000 cr for expansion in FY10New Delhi: State gas utility GAIL India Ltd plans to raise around Rs2,000 crore during the current fiscal year to part fund its expansion plans. “We may borrow Rs2,000 crore through a mix of debt from Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB), bonds and term loans,” GAIL director (finance) R K Goel told reporters here. GAIL has planned capital expenditure of about Rs3,800 crore in 2009-10 fiscal, most of which would be for laying new gas transportation pipelines. The entire capital expenditure (capex) is to be met either through internal resources or borrowings. Goel said GAIL may raise Rs500 crore through a bonds issue. The bonds issue would also have a greenshoe option of Rs200 crore. About Rs700 crore would be raised from OIDB and the remaining would be borrowed from banks as term loan, he said. The borrowings may happen in November-December, he said, adding over the next three years the company would need to borrow about Rs6000 crore. GAIL’s debt-equity ratio, which has “almost zero” debt, may rise to 1:1 in three years, Goel said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:41 am Budget disappoints but more detail to comeNew Delhi: The newly re-elected government may have disappointed investors with a deficit-laden budget lacking big pro-market initiatives but it does not mean the government has abandoned intentions towards reforms. Investors, many of whom had priced in unrealistic expectations from Monday’s budget, need patience. Government insiders and observers said more is to come. “The thing this budget may be remembered by is ‘delay´. A delay to deficit reduction, a delay to subsidy cuts and flexible fuel pricing,” UBS economist Philip Wyatt wrote in a note. Also Read | Budget may backfire, trip up recovery Budget 2009 (Complete Coverage) Monday’s budget release was heavy on spending for farmers and the poor, a core constituency of the Congress party-led ruling coalition, funded by a surge in borrowing and an increase in the fiscal deficit to 6.8% of GDP. Investors who wanted restrictions loosened on foreign ownership, tighter fiscal management and an end to costly fuel subsidies were disappointed. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee made few promises with his budget, Morgan Stanley economist Chetan Ahya wrote. “Indeed, we believe he was careful to avoid making noise on politically sensitive issues such as divestments and FDI (foreign direct investment),” Ahya wrote. “However, we believe ‘no mention’ in the budget does not mean ‘no action’ on this front,” he wrote, adding that it is highly likely that the government will raise $5 billion from divestments in the fiscal year that ends in Match 2010. Early Days  Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee speaks during a post-Budget interaction with industrialists in New Delhi on Tuesday. Manish Swarup / AP Photo Instead, Monday’s budget was aimed at broadening economic growth and opportunity -- funding for rural infrastructure ultimately generates new demand. Indeed, the rural sector has helped insulate India during the global economic downturn. Spending on rural areas and the poor also benefits a constituencies -- farmers and the poor -- that were key to Congress’ big win in May and will also be crucial in upcoming state elections. “Political reality has been taken care of by this thanksgiving budget,” said DH Pai Panandikar, president of private economic think tank RPG Foundation. “But I think reform issues will be taken up in the next budget. Reform measures have become an agenda for the future. Unrealistic Hopes While much stock is placed in India’s annual budget announcement -- far too much, critics say -- key policies are increasingly made outside the budget process. Saumitra Chaudhuri, a member of the Planning Commission, said Monday’s budget speech is not the last word on the government’s plans. The contentious issue of subsidies on gasoline and diesel, which are hugely expensive but politically popular, was shifted by Mukherjee to a committee for investigation. Last week, the government unexpectedly raised prices at the pump by as much as 10%. “I think there will be many other adjustments that need to be made. Petroleum product pricing -- he has essentially exported the problem out of the budget into a committee,” Chaudhuri said. Chaudhuri also said more details were likely in coming months on the planned sale of government stakes in state companies. And while the budget did not include the removal of foreign investment caps in key sectors, transport minister Kamal Nath told Reuters on Tuesday that the government aims to attract a massive $10 billion a year in overseas funding for road-building. Investors who treated the budget rudely on Monday -- stocks made their biggest drop in six months, bond yields rose and the rupee sank -- took a more sober view on Tuesday, with both stocks and the currency clocking gains. “Clearly, this is a budget from a government that has five years in which to build a strong economy,” wrote Madhabi Puri Buch, managing director and chief executive of ICICI Securities. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:32 am Close: Markets regain from budget day dropNew Delhi: Market ended in the green after showing signs of instability during Tuesday’s trading session. But stocks managed to regain from Monday’s heavy losses caused by lack of any aggressive economic reforms in the Union Budget 2009-2010. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex started the day positive, rebounding by 1%, but despite firm start, investors were careful after yesterday’s fall. However, markets pared some of its gains during early trading on concerns for huge budget deficit. Among sectors, most of the buying was witnessed in auto, FMCG, capital goods, power and pharma. However, PSU and oil & gas stocks witnessed most of selling. The 30-share benchmark Sensex closed higher by 127.05 points or 0.90% up at 14,170.45 and the 50-share NSE Nifty ended up by 36.45 points at 4,202.15. Buoyed by budget ITC Ltd was top gainer at the BSE, gaining by 6.77% to Rs211.20, Jaiprakash Associates by 6.65% to Rs205.95, Hero Honda Motors by 5.80% to Rs1,437.50, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd by 5.64% to Rs750.45, ACC Ltd by 5.34% to Rs762.45 and Grasim Industries by 5.19% to Rs2,416.50. Among losers heavyweight Reliance fell by 2.02% to Rs1,855.35, ONGC Ltd by 1.91% to Rs1,049.95, Reliance Communications by 1.93% to Rs264.75, Tata Motors by 1.24% to Rs279.85, Infosys Technologies by 1.18% to Rs1,739.20 and State Bank of India by 1.13% to Rs1,636.35. On the global markets front, the Asian markets ended mostly lower as weaker metal and oil prices pulled commodity and shipping related stocks. Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.3% down and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 0.65%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:32 am INTERVIEW - Govt seeks foreign funds role in roadsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India wants foreign investors to fund as much as half of the $20 billion a year it has earmarked for road building, Transport Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:08 am Budget disappoints but more detail to comeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's newly re-elected government may have disappointed investors with a deficit-laden budget lacking big pro-market initiatives but it does not mean the government has abandoned intentions towards reforms.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 11:07 am Business leaders praise budget, stock market gainsNew Delhi: Despite initial investor disappointment, Indian business leaders on Tuesday praised the government’s new budget as spurring growth by spending money on developing roads and other infrastructure, especially in poor rural areas. The Budget, presented on Monday by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, will boost total spending by 36% to Rs10.3 trillion ($214 billion) between now and March 2010. The budget “provides a critical stimulus for sustainable economic growth,” said Sajjan Jindal, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, a premier trade body. “By increasing the disposable income in the hands of the common man and creating more employment in the rural areas, the consumer spending shall revive the ailing economy,” he said at a meeting between Mukherjee and India’s top industrialists and business executives to discuss the budget. Industrialists at the meeting congratulated Mukherjee for the growth-oriented budget. They welcomed pledges to remove bottlenecks in investments and places emphasis on private investment as engine of growth, including cold storages, food processing plants and roads in rural areas. The positive reaction was in sharp contrast to Monday, when investors dumped stocks, spooked by the high fiscal deficit and a lack of government commitment to sell off public sector companies. It was expected that sales worth Rs250 billion ($5.21 billion) would be announced by Mukherjee. However, he unveiled a sale of only Rs12 billion ($250 billion). Mumbai’s benchmark stock index, which had tumbled nearly 6% a day earlier, rebounded about 1% on Tuesday. The financial plan fulfills two goals. It delivers on the ruling Congress Party’s electoral promises to improve living standards in rural India where a majority of its 1.2 billion people live. It also increases spending to ensure that India remains one of the few major economies to avoid falling into a recession amid the global financial meltdown. “Yes, I had to fulfill my commitment which we made to our electorate,” Mukhurjee said. “We have to be accountable .. to every stakeholder. And they (the rural population) are bigger stakeholders.” The high spending will leave a fiscal deficit that will amount to 6.8% of the gross domestic product, up from 6.2% last year. Half of the money will be borrowed from the market while the rest will be new printed notes. Mukherjee said the government is aiming to reduce the fiscal deficit to 5.5% in the next financial year starting in April 2010, and to 4% in the following year. “No doubt I have taken a risk” by allowing such a big fiscal deficit, but there was no choice if India has to continue on the path of growth, he said. “The one basic approach with which I worked was that we must come back to the growth path as soon as possible,” he said. “We cannot wait any further. We cannot afford to waste any time. Therefore it was considered that we can take that risk.” India’s economic growth slowed to 6.7% in the year through March 2009 after an average of 8.8% in the previous five years. Analysts didn’t seem unduly bothered by the fiscal deficit. Goldman Sachs said in a report that “in general, we commend the fiscal proposals to boost the economy, and think a short-term increase in the deficit is warranted.” Mukherjee said investors were looking at the wrong place for details of disinvestment, indicating that more announcements would follow on public sector sell-off. “The budget is not the document which can set forth the micro details for disinvestment,” he said. “A single budget cannot offer solutions to all our problems.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:53 am Sensex closes 127 points upThe market today found its winning ways again with the benchmark Sensex on BSE gaining over 120 points.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:50 am India Inc shells out Rs 1.75 lakh cr for taxes in FY'08Corporate India shelled out Rs 1,75,428 crore as taxes, including corporate tax and the fringe benefit tax, in 2007-08 financial year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:45 am High borrowing to crowd out firms - fin minNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Heavy borrowing by the Indian government will elbow out some private firms who wanted to raise funds, and an economic slowdown is not over despite some signs of improvement, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:32 am Market recovers 127 points after pep talk from governmentThe stock markets showed signs of stability a day after the huge Budget-day fall, with the benchmark Sensex ending 127 points up amid high volatility.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:30 am Nacil owes Rs1,141 cr to AAI and oil companiesNew Delhi: The National Aviation Company of India ltd (Nacil), which runs the government’s flagship carrier Air India, owed Rs1,141.33 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and oil marketing companies as on 31 March 2009, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Private carrier Kingfisher owed Rs988.93 crore to oil companies and the Authority, while Jet-JetLite combine owed Rs722.47 crore at the end of March, 2009. The amount owed by low cost carriers SpiceJet, Indigo and GoAir to AAI till 31 March, was Rs13.86 crore, Rs5.17 crore and Rs8.18 crore respectively. Paramount Airways held dues of Rs12.23 crore to the Authority. Nacil has to pay Rs599.26 crore to AAI and another Rs542.07 crore to oil marketing firms, minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. “In case of default of payment of dues by airlines, OMCs (oil marketing companies) take action for recovery of dues in line with the mutually agreed commercial terms between the airlines and OMCs. The defaulting airlines are also put on ‘Cash and Carry’ and interest is recovered on all overdue payments,” Patel said. In case of failure of airlines to pay the dues to AAI, the Authority levies interest for the overdue period on the defaulting airlines. The security deposits as bank guarantee and fixed deposits is encashed wherever necessary. Security deposits in respect of defaulting airlines is suitably increased based on their operations and dues, he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:21 am Global IT spending to dip 6% in 2009: GartnerMumbai: Research firm Gartner said on Tuesday it expects global spending on information technology to fall 6% in 2009, sharper than an earlier forecast of 3.8% due to the economic downturn and exchange rate movements. “While the global economic downturn shows signs of easing, this year IT budgets are still being cut and consumers will need a lot more persuading before they can feel confident enough to loosen their purse strings,” Richard Gordon, Gartner’s head of global forecasting, said in a statement. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:10 am Corporate India shells out Rs1.75 lakh cr as taxes in FY08New Delhi: Corporate India shelled out Rs1,75,428 crore as taxes, including corporate tax and the Fringe Benefit Tax, in 2007-08 financial year. For the purpose of estimating the tax expenditure, data pertaining to 4,10,451 companies with a total income of Rs4,79,898 crore during 2007-08 was analysed in the Budget for 2009-10. “These companies paid Rs1,58,225 crore as corporate tax (inclusive of surcharge and education cess) during the same financial year (2007-08),” the Budget document stated. “These companies also paid Rs6,533 crore as Fringe Benefit Tax and Rs10,670 crore as Dividend Distribution Tax during the year,” it added. The total tax expenditure for corporate India comes out to Rs1,75,428 crore in the reviewed fiscal. The companies reported Rs7,11,557 crore as profits before taxes (excluding the loss-making companies) in 2007-08. In a comparison of the effective tax rate of public sector companies with that of private sector ones, the document said, “It is evident that the public companies pay a larger proportion of their profits as tax than the private companies.” In the Budget for 2009-10, a sample of 1,808 public sector companies and 4,07,765 private sector firms was taken. The analysis revealed that private firms accounted for 75.06%, while public firms contributed 24.94% of the total tax payable by the companies. “While the manufacturing sector has a higher effective tax rate and is paying more tax than the service sector, both the sectors have an effective tax rate that is way below the statutory rate of 33.99%.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:05 am Economic slowdown to result in severe job cuts in South Asia: UNSlowdown in economic growth in most South Asian countries barring India is expected to result in severe job cuts and lower incomes, impacting poverty alleviation programmes, a UN report said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 10:03 am MTN need not make open offer for Bharti on GDR stakeNew Delhi/Mumbai: South Africa’s MTN and its shareholders can buy 36% in Bharti Airtel via global depositary receipts (GDRs) without triggering a mandatory open offer, the Indian capital market regulator, Sebi said. MTN and Bharti are in exclusive talks over a complex deal that could lead to a full merger, creating the world’s No. 3 wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion. Bharti had sought clarifications from the regulator on Indian takeover rules that require an acquirer of 15% equity stake or more to make an open offer for another 20% from other shareholders. “MTN and/or its shareholders would be required to comply with the requirements of (open offer) only upon conversion of the GDRs into equity shares with voting rights,” the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said. A New Delhi-based fund manager said the clarification removed uncertainty and would help the companies reach a deal. “Good for Bharti. Better for MTN. Quite a breather for them, otherwise they would have to cough up more money for the open offer,” said R.K Gupta, managing director at Taurus Asset Management. “It has to be seen how long MTN and its shareholders would like to continue with GDRs. They don’t get voting rights. I think this is a development which needs to be watched,” he said. Shares in Bharti, which have a market value of $31.1 billion, were trading up 4.4 percent at Rs818 by 0848 GMT outperforming the broader market which was up 1%. MTN shares rose 0.8%. The Sebi letter, which was dated 22 June but made public on Tuesday, also said Bharti had proposed to acquire a 49% holding in the South African firm directly or through its affiliates. “This is more from a safety perspective for Bharti,” said a banker with direct knowledge of the deal, referring to the open offer clarification. “The conversion to shares will not take place soon, unless everything is worked out between the two firms,” said the banker, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Banking sources had earlier said that the open offer could be done away with by issuing GDRs to MTN, or the South African firm could acquire stake in Bharti Airtel’s parent unlisted Bharti Enterprises or holding company Bharti Telecom. Bharti Airtel, which has agreed to exclusive talks with MTN until the end of July, did not immediately respond to Reuters query regarding the regulators’ statement. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:56 am MTN need not make open offer for Bharti on GDR stakeNew Delhi/Mumbai: South Africa’s MTN and its shareholders can buy 36% in Bharti Airtel via global depositary receipts (GDRs) without triggering a mandatory open offer, the Indian capital market regulator, Sebi said. MTN and Bharti are in exclusive talks over a complex deal that could lead to a full merger, creating the world’s No. 3 wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion. Bharti had sought clarifications from the regulator on Indian takeover rules that require an acquirer of 15% equity stake or more to make an open offer for another 20% from other shareholders. “MTN and/or its shareholders would be required to comply with the requirements of (open offer) only upon conversion of the GDRs into equity shares with voting rights,” the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said. A New Delhi-based fund manager said the clarification removed uncertainty and would help the companies reach a deal. “Good for Bharti. Better for MTN. Quite a breather for them, otherwise they would have to cough up more money for the open offer,” said R.K Gupta, managing director at Taurus Asset Management. “It has to be seen how long MTN and its shareholders would like to continue with GDRs. They don’t get voting rights. I think this is a development which needs to be watched,” he said. Shares in Bharti, which have a market value of $31.1 billion, were trading up 4.4 percent at Rs818 by 0848 GMT outperforming the broader market which was up 1%. MTN shares rose 0.8%. The Sebi letter, which was dated 22 June but made public on Tuesday, also said Bharti had proposed to acquire a 49% holding in the South African firm directly or through its affiliates. “This is more from a safety perspective for Bharti,” said a banker with direct knowledge of the deal, referring to the open offer clarification. “The conversion to shares will not take place soon, unless everything is worked out between the two firms,” said the banker, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Banking sources had earlier said that the open offer could be done away with by issuing GDRs to MTN, or the South African firm could acquire stake in Bharti Airtel’s parent unlisted Bharti Enterprises or holding company Bharti Telecom. Bharti Airtel, which has agreed to exclusive talks with MTN until the end of July, did not immediately respond to Reuters query regarding the regulators’ statement. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:56 am High fiscal deficit an area of worry - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:43 am Lord Swraj Paul lauds Indian budgetCongratulating FM Pranab Mukherjee, Lord Paul said he was happy that the budget "is attending to food security, jobs and rural development which are all most important."Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:41 am Budget may backfire, trip up recoveryNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Record borrowing needed to fund India's plans to ramp up spending this fiscal year threatens to backfire and choke off a nascent economic recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:35 am Airtel gets SEBI nod to exempt MTN from making open offer - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:22 am Airbus sales drive drop in French official trade deficitParis: Sales of Airbus airliners helped the French trade balance to show a sharply reduced deficit in May on an adjusted basis, data from the customs service showed on Tuesday. The deficit fell to €2.718 billion ($3.8 billion) from €3.841 billion in April. But the cumulative balance for the 12 months to May showed a deficit of €54.244 billion, the finance ministry said. In May, exports amounted to €28.039 billion, boosted by sales in the aero sector that, with deliveries of Airbus airliners, achieved “the record level of December 2008.” But in the last three months, exports showed a fall of 5.7%t from the level in the preceding three months, the ministry said. Imports in May were little changed from the April level at €30.757 billion, and in the last three months thay had fallen by 4.9%. Under the effects of global economic crisis, French exports and imports have fallen by more than 20% in the last three months. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:21 am Sensex just about holding on to gainsA key index of the Indian equities markets was beginning to slide back into the red after logging early morning gains a little after noon Tuesday, and was ruling only 31 points higher than its last closing figure.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:19 am Andhra Pradesh cancels metro contract awarded to MaytasUrban development minister said the state government decided to cancel the project as the company failed to achieve financial closure by the March deadlineSource: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:18 am MTN need not make open offer for Bharti on GDR stakeNEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - South Africa's MTN and its shareholders can buy 36 percent in Bharti Airtel via global depositary receipts (GDRs) without triggering a mandatory open offer, the Indian capital market regulator said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 9:02 am Tea exports dips 10% in May; output up marginallyTea exports from India declined by 10% in May to 9.77 million kg on robust domestic prices and increased internal consumption even though production rose marginally.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:40 am D Shivakumar | Budget lacks a balanced approachNew Delhi: D. Shivakumar, managing director of Nokia India says that the moves the government has taken in the area of education, infrastructure, rural development are correct but for stimulating the economy in terms of growth, a lot more needs to be done. Listen to D Shivakumar’s reactions to Budget 2009 “The budget must have relevance in terms of signaling something important. It can’t be just about managing upward and downward revision of taxes,” he said. He said he was a little unhappy because the government didn’t do much for the telecom sector. According to him, the Budget lacks a balanced approach. “The CVD exemption will continue to ensure more affordable access to mobile phones, which is a good thing, but the budget has overlooked the industry’s demand to rationalize multiple taxes,” he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:39 am Sony to enter netbook PC market with new VaioTokyo: Sony Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch a new Vaio laptop that will sell for around ¥60,000 ($629) in Japan in August, making an entry into the fast-growing netbook market. Netbook PCs are smaller and cheaper than traditional notebook computers and optimised for simpler computing tasks such as web browsing and email. Pioneered by Taiwan’s Asustek in 2007, other global brands such as Acer Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc have pushed out their own lines since then. Sony, the last major PC maker to enter the netbook segment, hopes the new product’s design and high-resolution display will help the consumer electronics giant establish a presence in the market, a company spokeswoman said. The new Sony machine, equipped with Microsoft Corp’s Windows XP operating system and Intel Corp’s Atom processor, will have an LCD display with a resolution of 1,366-by-768 pixels, compared with the 1,024-by-600-pixel displays that are widely used in other netbooks. Sony declined to unveil its sales target for the new netbook model, but the company aims to boost its overall Vaio PC sales to 6.2 million units in the year to March 2010 from 5.8 million units a year earlier. Global netbook PC shipments in 2009 are likely to more than double from a year earlier to 26.4 million units, according to research firm IDC. Sony shares closed down 2.3% at ¥2,355, underperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which fell 1.2%. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:38 am High fiscal deficit a strategy to stimulate growth: FMNew Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the government has taken the calculated risk of high fiscal deficit to help stimulate growth, but would strive hard to bring it down to 4% in the next two fiscals. Noting that a fiscal deficit of 6.8% was on the higher side, the minister said: “The global economic slowdown is likely to continue in the current financial year... (but) we must come back to growth path as fast as possible.” “No doubt, I have taken a risk... We cannot say we are out of the economic slowdown as yet,” he said. Mukherjee also ruled out any roll back of the stimulus measures announced earlier by the government. Speaking at an interactive session with industry leaders, Mukherjee said the government has taken the risk of letting the fiscal deficit rise to achieve a higher growth rate. Setting a target of bringing down the fiscal deficit to 5.5% in 2010-11 and 2011-12, he said the finance ministry would work hard in the next 7-8 months to achieve this target. “A single budget cannot solve all the problems,” he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:36 am Gold demand retreats as rupee weakensMumbai: India gold demand fell on Tuesday afternoon after an early-morning pick-up as the rupee eased locally, making the dollar-quoted yellow metal expensive, dealers said. “There was a little bit of buying in the morning, but traders are not willing to enter into deals as rupee has weakened,” said a dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. India gold futures reversed early losses to trade higher as the local rupee weakened against the dollar. Rupee weakened tracking the domestic shares which pared early gains and weighed down by the dollar’s gains versus majors overseas. Dealers and traders said the increase in import duty on gold bars will further drag down demand, already hit by high prices and the slowdown. “Fresh imports may take a beating due to this,” said another dealer with a private bank. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced in the budget for 2009/10, import duty on gold bars is being raised to Rs200 ($4.1) per 10 grams from Rs100 earlier. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:23 am India must come back to higher growth - fin minNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India must come back to higher growth path at the earliest, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 8:03 am Apex court will hear petitions of RIL, RNRL todayReliance Industries Ltd in its appeal had alleged that the HC had erred in deciding the three terms to power plants of RNRL affiliates.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 6:35 am Tax holiday to be given from NELP-VIII onwards: Oil Secy - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Jul 2009 | 6:17 am Panasonic eyes $315 mn in medical robot salesTokyo: Japan’s Panasonic Corp said it plans to launch a drug-dispensing robot by March 2010 in its first foray into the robot business. The company is targeting robot production as a growth area as its consumer electronics division has been battered by weak demand and price falls. It aims for ¥30 billion ($315 million) in annual medical robot sales in 7 years. The initial robot, designed to help medical workers in hospitals, is capable of automatically dispensing injectable medication suitable for individual patients based on data provided by pharmacists. Each unit will sell for tens of millions of yen (several hundred thousand dollars), a Panasonic spokesman said on Tuesday. The firm, which vies with Sony Corp for the position as the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, aims for ¥100 billion or more in sales from its overall robot operations in the year ending March 2016. Shares in Panasonic, which forecast group-wide revenues of ¥7 trillion for the current financial year ending 31 March, were up 0.8% at ¥1,279, outperforming a 0.8% fall in the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 7 Jul 2009 | 4:36 am Gujarat tex industry put off, but pharma better offGujarat industry, in general, is extremely disappointed with the budget that Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee presented.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Jul 2009 | 3:58 am Short-term support at 14,000 for SensexThere was a sea of red splashed across trading screens on Monday as the Sensex and Nifty nose-dived 5.8 per cent. Market participants went on a selling spree, irked at the continuation of STT, increase in MAT and lack of policy direction in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Infrastructure Road to rapid growthIf there is any sector that can boast of walking away with most goodies from the Budget 2009-10, it is infrastructure. Be it the allocation for highways or irrigation programmes, rural development or accelerated power reforms, the increasedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if the stop-loss level isSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Market spookedMumbai, July 6 Equities fell like a pack of cards on Budget day, even as many analysts said the intense disappointment in the marketplace was misplaced and came from unreasonable expectations.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am 7-year tax holiday extended to gas producersNew Delhi, July 6 The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has offered some respite to hydrocarbon companies involved in exploration and pipeline networks but left questions of oil retailers unanswered, particularly on the issue of petrol andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Takeout financing yet to take-offBangalore, July 6 In a bid to kick-start infrastructure lending, the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has revisited the idea of takeout financing in the Union Budget.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Rs 800-1,000 cr revenue from gold customs dutyMumbai, July 6 For the Finance Minister who has found himself in an unenviable position of having to raise substantial revenue to fund social development programmes, the decision to hike customs duty on gold imports must have come without aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Consumer Cos Rural stimulusInvestors may once again have to go back to defensive consumer companies that have a substantial stake in rural India. That seems to be the key implication from Budget 2009’s continued focus on rural spending and agricultural credit, evenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am What triggered the sell-offThe Indian stock market was ravaged by a sell-off even as the Finance Minister was still reading out the Union Budget for 2009-10. The Sensex ended the day 870 points or 5.8 per cent lower; the largest Budget-day decline since 2000.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Market frowns, but does that matter?The BSE Sensex tanked by 869 points after the presentation of the Union Budget and a plethora of television channels lined up stock market and other industry experts to explain how equity investors had expected much more “positive news”Source: Business Line - Home Page | 7 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am The Market finds its own deficitBanks lead biggest Budget-day fall.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Jul 2009 | 10:48 pm Pranab gambles with big stimulusFiscal deficit at record 6.8%, in borrow-and-spend Budget.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 6 Jul 2009 | 10:40 pm Tech Mahindra declares results of tender offerTech Mahindra announced the final results of the tender offer by its wholly owned subsidiary Venturbay Consultants Private Limited to purchase up to 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Satyam Computer Services Limited.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jul 2009 | 6:53 pm Prerecession demand to return in 23 yrs: LN MittalLN Mittal, the worlds richest Indian and the eighth richest man in the world, in an exclusive interview with Vir Sanghvi on CNBCTV18, said the company got a sense of the recession hitting the world in October, 2008. He further said that prerecession demand will come back in twothree years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jul 2009 | 6:20 pm
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