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Oil recovers, hovers around 61 dollars!Oil recovered modestly in Asian trade on Thursday after overnight falls in reaction to a bigger- than-expected drop in US gasoline reserves, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Car exports up 61.72 pc in June, domestic demand sluggish!Exports of passenger cars rose 61.72 per cent in June even as the domestic demand was up by only marginally in the same month.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Educomp Solutions raises Rs 607 cr via pvt placement of shares!IT education services provider Educomp Solutions on Thursday said it has raised Rs 606.69 crore by private placement of shares with qualified institutional buyers.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Rupee down 9 paise at 48.97 against USD in early trade!The Indian rupee on Thursday eased by nine paise to a seven-week low of 48.97 against the US currency in early trade on expectations of higher capital outflows.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Sensex may fall to 12,500 levels in next 3 months: Religare!The stock market is likely to witness tough days in the next three months and the benchmark index Sensex may fall to 12,500 levels, financial services firm Religare said on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm DoCoMo eyes further investments in Asian carriers!Japan`s NTT DoCoMo Inc said it is in talks with some Asian mobile carriers for possible capital investment as it aims to seek growth overseas to counter maturing cellphone market at home.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm DLF sells stake in JV for USD 41 mn: Report!DLF Ltd, has sold its stake in an equal joint venture with Ackruti City to a US-based real estate fund for more than 2 billion rupees (USD 41 million), an Indian daily said on Thursday, citing two unnamed DLF executives.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Worst could be over for India Inc, outlook brighter: Analysts!As Indian firms prepare to post their earnings for the June quarter, analysts warn most reports will be weak but expect an improvement in the near future as government stimulus packages take effect.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Sensex gains 91 points after initial hiccups !The stock market witnessed slight movements during early trade on Thursday with the BSE benchmark Sensex rising 91 points at 1015 hours on reports about public offers by a couple of public sector undertakings.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm IMF Raises 2010 Forecast, warns of "sluggish" recovery!In its World Economic Outlook published today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the global economy is now beginning to pull out of recession, but warned that "stabilization is uneven," and the "recovery is expected to be sluggish."Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:24 pm Lupin to help EU in investigation of antitrust practicesThe European Union (EU) is investigating several drug makers over anti trust practices. Commenting on the same, Doctor Kamal Sharma of Lupin said the company was helping EU in their investigation. We have 48 product registrations with EU and we are confident of our position, he added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 11:44 am Hyderabad Metro Proj was unfeasible for Maytas: Ved JainVed Jain, Govt Nominated Director of Maytas Infra said that the Hyderabad Metro was not workable for Maytas as it required huge financing. He added that the companys order book stood at Rs 8,000 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 11:41 am Quantum of QIP still undecided: Ashok LeylandThere were reports that Ashok Leyland was planning to raise Rs 1000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP). Commenting on the same, K Sridharan, CFO of Ashok Leyland said that the company planned to raise equity only to finance an ongoing LCV project and its Uttarkhand project and not for reducing debt.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:52 am Airlines shift from fullservice to lowfare flightsFullservice flights are vanishing from Indian skies. This is at least half the capacity of Indias domestic carriers and thats being shifted towards lowfare and alleconomy flights, reports Mint\'s PR Sanjai.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:47 am Sensex looks set for a flat close @ 15:20 hrs - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:04 am Don\'t see iron ore prices retesting OctNov lows: Sesa GoaPK Mukherjea, MD, Sesa Goa, said China agreeing to a 33% iron ore price cut is yet to be confirmed. He said a positive impact on iron ore prices has been factored in. Mukherjea does not expect iron ore prices to go back to OctoberNovember lows.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:02 am Educomp to use QIP funds for growthEducomp Solutions board approved raising Rs 607 crore via qualified institutional placement (QIP). Shantanu Prakash, MD, Educomp said allotment of QIP was complete and all anchor investors were longonly funds. He further said QIP funds would be growth capital for the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 10:00 am Inflation declines to -1.55 % - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:39 am Inflation at minus 1.55 percentIndia's annual rate of inflation dropped to minus 1.55 percent for the week ended June 27, from minus 1.30 percent the week before, according to official data released here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:33 am Millions spent for one-hour visit by PMA sum of Rs.1.92 crore (Rs.19.2 million) was spent for a one-hour visit to Jharkhand's Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April last year. Now, some officials of the plant are under the scanner for this, as a public interest litigation (PIL) plea was filed on the subject here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:33 am Banerjee okay to railways land for IITsRailways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:32 am Reuters Summit - Ageing, shrinking Japan still a good investmentBy Kevin Plumberg, Asia Asset Allocation CorrespondentSource: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:25 am WPI falls again, rates unlikely to changeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's wholesale price index remained negative at the end of June, but with prices rising on a weekly basis and the impact of a fuel price hike still to be seen analysts said the central bank would keep interest rates steady.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:23 am BMW doubts viability of launching Mini in IndiaKolkata: Luxury car maker BMW is sceptical of the viability of launching another brand ‘Mini’ in the country, a company official said. BMW India Private Limited president, Peter Kronschnabi said, “We doubt whether the Mini launch will be viable in India. We have postponed the decision till the end of this year,” he told reporters here today. He said that bringing in Mini, a three-door luxury hatchback as a CBU in India, would entail a price tag of Rs20 lakh. There may not be a market for that segment here. “We do not want to kill a brand,” he said. Talking about the sales performance of BMW in the first half of 2009, Kronschnabi said that the company had sold 1747 cars in India. The sales target for the full year is 3000 units for the country, he said. While the luxury car segment has grown between 1-2% in India in the first half of the year, BMW has beaten this growth rate of the industry . “The first half was challenging. The second half has more potential,” Kronschnabi said. In 2008 the company sold 2908 vehicles. Saying that BMW was the market leader in the luxury car segment, Kronschnabi added that the company would aggressively launch products in order to expand their market in India. It has lined up a slew of launches in 2009 like the new BMW 7 series, the new BMW 3 series, and a diesel variant of BMW X3. To strengthen the dealership network BMW will set up dealerships in 10 more cities by the end of 2010. Presently, there are 13 dealerships in the country. The company has invested $30 million in India, including setting up a plant in Chennai. Kronschnabi said that the plant was operating on a single shift and has a capacity of 3000 units per year. When asked whether the company would add additional shifts to handle more demand, he said that no decision had been taken so far. BMW today launched the BMW X6, a sports activity coupe in the city. The company is in the process of signing a contract for global supplies of parts like castings and forgings. The size of the luxury car segment in India in 2008 was 7400 units. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:18 am No service tax on legal outfits working as proprietorshipsNew Delhi: Many legal outfits will not come within the purview of the service tax proposed to be imposed on legal consultancy services as they operate as sole proprietorships, say experts. “As the service tax will apply on advice provided by a business entity to another business entity, sole proprietorships will not come within the purview of the proposed service tax,” said Diljeet Titus, senior partner of law firm Titus and Co. Expressing similar opinion, Atul Gupta, member of the ICAI Executive Committee (northern region) said, “as sole proprietorships are not business entities they will not be required to pay service tax. This is a discrepancy and needs to be corrected.” Many of the legal outfits, which provide consultancy services to corporates that include drafting merger and acquisition agreements, preparing MoUs, rendering advice etc, operate as sole proprietorships. “Only law firms, which are business entities under the Indian Partnership Act or the Limited Liability Partnership Act, will be have to pay service tax on fees charged from corporates,” said Hemant Batra, lead partner Kaden Boriss. While proposing to extend the ambit of service tax to cover legal advice and consultancy, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his budget speech clarified, “This (service tax) will not be applicable in case the service provider or the service receiver is an individual”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:14 am Cipla says gets govt demand on pricingMUMBAI (Reuters) - Cipla Ltd has received notice from a government agency demanding 665.8 million rupees ($13.6 million) for alleged over pricing two drugs, the drugmaker said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:13 am Inflation dips to -1.55% but food prices soar New Delhi: Prices of essential food items continued to soar even as inflation further dipped to -1.55% for the week ended 27 June compared to -1.30 per cent. Inflation, measured by movements in wholesale prices, fell mainly on account of declining prices of manufactured goods. The decline has also been due to a high base effect, Crisil principal economist D K Joshi said. The wholesale price index was as high as 12.03% in the corresponding week a year ago. Among food items, pulses, fish marine, and fruit and vegetables turned expensive. Butter and imported edible oil became dearer by 1%. This is the fourth week in a row when inflation remained in negative territory. “As far as inflation is concerned, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation will go down for a while and (then) it will come up. At the end of March this year (2009-10), this could be in the range of 2 to 4%,” chief economic Advisor Arvind Virmani had said at the customary post-Budget briefing earlier this week. Besides, inflation could rise in the coming weeks with hike in prices of petrol and diesel by Rs4 and Rs2 on 1 July. According to HDFC Bank economist Jyotinder Kaur, “the fuel price hike is likely to affect it (inflation) by 35 basis points for the week ended July 4.” Year-on-year, the prices of cereals went up more than 12.2%, pulses 16.7%, and fruit and vegetables 10.5%. At the same time, the prices of milk have gone up nearly 4.8% over last year, while spices were more expensive, by about 6.2%. Among manufactured food products, sugar, khandsari and gur went up about 34.3% while processed fish turned dearer by more than 42.7% over the last year. During the week, fish marine was dearer by 10%, arhar and fruit and vegetables by two per cent each, and urad and moong rose by 1% each. Also butter and imported edible oil turned dearer by 1% each. However, the prices of eggs declined 10%, tea 3%, and maize and masur 1% each. Among manufactured items, prices of cast iron declined 12% alloy steel 5% and steel ingots 1%. At the same time, epoxy resin prices dipped as much as 35%, calcium ammonium nitrate n-content 16%, and methanol 3%. Inflation for the week ended 2 May was revised to 1.48% from 0.4% as estimated provisionally. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:13 am G8 eyes climate as summit includes emerging powersL'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Leaders of the world's richest nations and major developing powers met on Thursday in Italy to seek common ground on global warming and international trade, with the poorer countries looking for concessions.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 9:12 am L&T’s Naik sells shares worth Rs6.42 crMumbai: Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro Thursday said chairman and managing director AM Naik has sold shares worth Rs6.42 crore of the company. Naik has sold 39,185 shares for Rs 6.42 crore, representing a 0.01% stake in the company, AM Naik said in a filing to the BSE. However, the mode of transaction has not been disclosed by the company, the filing added. Prior to the transaction Naik held a 0.36% stake, while now he holds 0.35% or 20,75,126 shares of Larsen and Toubro. Shares of Larsen and Toubro were trading at Rs1,390 on the BSE, down 1.64 % from the previous close. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:54 am No disinvestment of AI, AAI: Praful PatelPraful Patel said the government had entrusted the AERA with the responsibility of deciding on the issue of development fees being levied in privatised airports.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:54 am Gas companies sweating it out in legal battle - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:45 am NE militancy: Assam tops fatalities in 2008-09Shillong: Assam topped the number of fatalities in 2008-09 as militancy and related incidents of violence continues to be high in the North Eastern states of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. Official sources quoting a Union home ministry report said the seven sister states recorded 674 militancy-related incidents in 2008, and the number has already shot up to 624 between January and May this year. Assam has witnessed 221 incidents this year till May, compared to 207 in the entire 2008. Altogether 103 people, including 83 civilians have been killed this year till May in Assam. In Manipur, the fatalities till May have been 47, which includes 40 civilians. The state has seen 311 incidents this year till May, as compared to 262 in 2008. In Nagaland, which has witnessed 56 incidents this year till May, has saw two civilians been killed during the period. Mizoram continues to be the least disturbed state in the region, recording no no militancy-related incident in 2008-09. The Central government has deployed Central Security Forces to aid the state authorities for carrying out counter insurgency operations and providing security for vulnerable institutions and installations, the sources said. Sharing of intelligence between security forces on continuous basis has been enhanced, while the Centre gave financial aid for strengthening the local police forces and intelligence agencies under the Police Modernization Scheme. It also provided assistance for strengthening various aspects of the security apparatus and counter-insurgency operations by way of reimbursement of security-related expenditure, the source added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:45 am No plan for AI, AAI disinvestment: Praful PatelNew Delhi: The government on Thursday ruled out disinvestment of Air India (AI) and Airports Authority of India (AAI). “There is no proposal for disinvestment of AI and AAI,” civil aviation minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha. To a question whether the government was considering Initial Public Offer (IPO) for the national carrier, Patel said “Presently, there is no such proposal.” When members raised the issue of development fees being levied in privatised airports such as in Delhi and sought abolition of such fees, he said the government had already constituted the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) entrusted with the responsibility of deciding on the issue. Members pointed out that while it was the responsibility of private players to develop the airports, they were charging the passengers for the work. They suggested that private companies should develop them from their own funds and once they complete the works, they could charge development fees as toll levied for newly-built roads. Patel said the Delhi and Mumbai airports were charging development fees from passengers against which the Resources of Aviation Redressal Association (ROAR) had protested. However, there was no protest in this regard from International Air Transport Authority (IATA), he said. “A Writ Petition has also been filed by ROAR in the Delhi High Court. Development fee at Delhi and Mumbai airports has been levied to bridge the funding gap due to reduced expectation from refundable security deposits as a means of finance,” he explained. Noting that completion of modernisation of airports in Delhi and Mumbai in a time bound manner was of paramount importance, Patel said out of the total cost of around Rs9,000 crore, about Rs5,500 crore has already been spent. He said the AAI had already taken up development work on airports in Chennai and Kolkata. Describing as “not fair” criticisms regarding quality of amenities at airports, the minister said facilities have improved significantly in the recent years. He also assured members that congestion in air traffic in Delhi would be considerably reduced and the taxiing time for aircraft brought down once the new terminal under construction became operational in 2010. To another question, Patel said there was no shortage of pilots in the country. He said in order to have desired quality of pilots over a long period, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) has been modernised to increase its annual capacity from 40 to 100 candidates. “A world-class flying training institute at Gondia in Maharashtra has been set up with capacity to train 110 candidates annually, including 10 for Commercial Helicopter Pilot Licence training,” he said. Patel said the government was supporting other flying clubs by providing trainer aircraft through Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Aero-Club of India (ACI). He said a new airport for Allahabad could be considered if the Uttar Pradesh government came up with a proposal. “The present airport is with the defence ministry and only at the request of MPs from the region did we begin civilian air services,” he said adding that if a proposal came from the state government, the ministry will consider it. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:44 am Now, an OS for Netbooks from GoogleGoogle has revealed its plans to come out with an operating system (OS), the Google Chrome Operating System.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:42 am Worst could be over for India Inc, outlook brighter: AnalystsAs Indian firms prepare to post their earnings for the June quarter, analysts warn most reports will be weak but expect an improvement in the near future as government stimulus packages take effect.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:35 am INTERVIEW - DoCoMo eyes more investments in Asia carriersTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's top wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc, said it is in talks with some Asian mobile carriers for possible capital investment as it aims to seek growth overseas to counter the maturing cellphone market at home.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:35 am Plastics not a problem, waste disposal isTo ban or not to ban the plastic bag is going to be the centre of debate once again. Contrary to wide belief, the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, stated in Parliament on Wednesday that ban was no solution and paper bags as an alternative would lead to cutting of more trees.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:30 am Gold demand retreats on early rupee weaknessMumbai: India gold demand retreated on Thursday after the previous day’s pick-up on an early weakness in the rupee, making the imported yellow metal expensive locally, dealers and traders said. “There were deals till yesterday evening, but rupee is spoiling the party today,” said a dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. The Indian rupee recovered from an early weakness on Thursday afternoon following a rise in domestic shares and sharp losses in the dollar overseas. But the current recovery is not enough to spur buying, added the dealer. A drop of about 1% in gold prices had resulted in bargain hunting in the previous session. Dealers said a further three percent drop in prices could re-kindle buying interest as traders sought to replenish stocks for the upcoming festive season in September. “People are comfortable at Rs14,000 level to buy,” said another dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. “I sold around 50 kgs yesterday, but now there are enquiries for lower prices,” said Harshad Ajmera of JJ Gold House , a Kolkata-based wholesaler. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:26 am Rupee off 8-week low as stocks gainMumbai: The Indian rupee recovered from an eight-week low on Thursday afternoon, following a rise in domestic shares and sharp losses in the dollar overseas. At 1:30pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.83/84 per dollar, off an early low of Rs49.06, its weakest since 15 May and little changed from its Wednesday’s close of Rs48.88/89. Indian shares see-sawed on Thursday but were trading up about 0.6% with investors awaiting quarterly earnings amid renewed doubts about the prospects for a swift global economic recovery and the outlook for fund flows. Data showed foreign funds had bought $576.8 million of stocks on Tuesday, a day after the budget, taking net inflows to $5.8 billion so far this year. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was down 0.6%. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX was quoting at Rs48.9025 and Rs48.90 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $880 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:23 am China objects to ADB funds for Arunachal project: S M KrishnaNew Delhi: China had recently objected to ADB funding an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh which is a “clear violation” of the charter of the multilateral lending agency, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Replying to questions, external affairs minister S M Krishna said India had made it clear to all member nations of ADB that political considerations cannot be cited for prohibiting the Bank for evaluating any project. All member countries on the board of executive directors of ADB except China supported the India funding plans. “China did not endorse the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009-12 for India in the board of the ADB on the ground that the proposed India CPS involved technical assistance funding for the Flood and River Erosion Management Project in Arunachal Pradesh which China claims is its territory,” he said. India had told the ADB and all member countries including the US, Japan, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Germany and Italy that the CPS is not a political document and it does not make any judgement as to the legal or other status of any territory. The member countries were also told that “China’s objection on political grounds is a clear violation of the ADB’s charter which prohibits the Bank from evaluating any proposal on grounds other than economic,” he said. ”India’s CPS was discussed in the meeting of the board of executive directors of the ADB on 15 June and all member countries except China supported the document,“ Krishna said. He said New Delhi had conveyed to the ADB member nations including China that Arunachal Pradesh is “an integral part of India and its status is not negotiable.” ADB assistance has to be strictly decided on economic parameters and not on political considerations, he said. “Ultimately ADB had gone with India’s point of view.” “We have put across (to China) in the strongest diplomatic language possible that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India,” he said. New Delhi, he said, wanted to resolve the boundary issue with China amicably. “We have friendly relations with our neighbour China. We are engaged in a multilateral activity with them. Our trade is growing and we would like to continue in that direction,” he said. India and China will meet in New Delhi next month to discuss the boundary issue, he said. “We certainly would like that China-India relationship is normal (and) extend the relationship to some kind of partnership.” “We will have to engage China and come to an understanding,” he said. Krishna said he plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh shortly. Previously, the President and the Prime Minister had visited the state, which was protested by China, he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:18 am DoCoMo eyes more investments in Asia carriersTokyo: Japan’s top wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc, said it is in talks with some Asian mobile carriers for possible capital investment as it aims to seek growth overseas to counter the maturing cellphone market at home. DoCoMo’s recent foreign investments include a 26% stake in Tata Teleservices, India’s sixth-largest mobile operator, a 30% stake in telecom operator Axiata’s Bangladesh unit, and a 16.5% stake in Malaysian operator U-Mobile. “Our main target is Asia, and there are some other (promising) countries there. We are in contact (with carriers in those countries),” NTT DoCoMo chief executive Ryuji Yamada told the agency in an interview on Thursday without elaborating. DoCoMo is also seeking technological cooperation, rather than capital ties, with Chinese mobile operators such as China Mobile and China Unicom, Yamada said. “Those are real giants and buying a stake of only a few percent could cost us several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars), and acquiring such stakes would not make much business sense for us,” Yamada said. In a bid to enhance the appeal of its cellphone lineup and better compete with rivals KDDI Corp and Softbank Corp, DoCoMo on Friday plans to launch the first handset in Japan using Google Inc’s Android operating system. On top of the smartphone made by Taiwan’s HTC Corp, DoCoMo is considering adding some more Android phones to its handset lineup by early next year, Yamada said. Yamada added that he has also not given up on the possibility of offering Apple Inc’s iPhone to its subscribers. In Japan, Softbank is the only carrier that offers the popular handsets at the moment. Softbank, Japan’s third-largest mobile carrier, outran its bigger rivals in winning new signups minus cancellations for the 26th straight month in June, helped by the popularity of iPhones as well as an aggressive ad campaign and low-cost price plans. Following Yamada’s comments, shares in NTT DoCoMo closed down 1% at ¥140,600, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average, which fell 1.4%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:17 am DoCoMo eyes more investments in Asia carriersTokyo: Japan’s top wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc, said it is in talks with some Asian mobile carriers for possible capital investment as it aims to seek growth overseas to counter the maturing cellphone market at home. DoCoMo’s recent foreign investments include a 26% stake in Tata Teleservices, India’s sixth-largest mobile operator, a 30% stake in telecom operator Axiata’s Bangladesh unit, and a 16.5% stake in Malaysian operator U-Mobile. “Our main target is Asia, and there are some other (promising) countries there. We are in contact (with carriers in those countries),” NTT DoCoMo chief executive Ryuji Yamada told the agency in an interview on Thursday without elaborating. DoCoMo is also seeking technological cooperation, rather than capital ties, with Chinese mobile operators such as China Mobile and China Unicom, Yamada said. “Those are real giants and buying a stake of only a few percent could cost us several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars), and acquiring such stakes would not make much business sense for us,” Yamada said. In a bid to enhance the appeal of its cellphone lineup and better compete with rivals KDDI Corp and Softbank Corp, DoCoMo on Friday plans to launch the first handset in Japan using Google Inc’s Android operating system. On top of the smartphone made by Taiwan’s HTC Corp, DoCoMo is considering adding some more Android phones to its handset lineup by early next year, Yamada said. Yamada added that he has also not given up on the possibility of offering Apple Inc’s iPhone to its subscribers. In Japan, Softbank is the only carrier that offers the popular handsets at the moment. Softbank, Japan’s third-largest mobile carrier, outran its bigger rivals in winning new signups minus cancellations for the 26th straight month in June, helped by the popularity of iPhones as well as an aggressive ad campaign and low-cost price plans. Following Yamada’s comments, shares in NTT DoCoMo closed down 1% at ¥140,600, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average, which fell 1.4%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:17 am Post-Satyam scam govt promises new Companies Bill soonNew Delhi: Terming the nearly Rs10,000 crore scam in Satyam Computers as an aberration, the government today said the proposed new Companies Bill provides more stringent provisions to avoid such frauds in the future. “Government proposes to introduce the Companies Bill, 2008 as the Companies Bill, 2009, which seeks to have more stringent provisions in case of frauds by companies, their directors and auditors,” minister of corporate affairs Salman Khurshid said in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour. On the timing of introduction of new bill, he said the government intends to introduce it in the current session of Parliament. The report of investigation into the affairs of Satyam has been received from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), he said adding the CBI has also conducted its probe into the criminal liability arising from the events relating to the scam. “All the concerned persons have been arrested except one and prosecution has begun against the guilty,” Khurshid said. Satyam scam involved forgery and manipulation of computer programmes, he said adding that the new Bill seeks to address all such issues. “Satyam scam is an aberration and the events are specific to the company in question. No other scam of this nature has come to notice since then,” he added. Replying to a supplementary, Khurshid said action was being taken to prosecute those found involved on the basis of the investigations, along with action by various other regulatory bodies or agencies. He also assured the House that an elaborate regulatory framework is in place to deal with incidents of fraud. The framework provides for statutory disclosures to stakeholders about the affairs of companies under the Companies Act. In another written reply, Khurshid said the role of an independent director may also come up, inter alia, for deliberations during the scrutiny of the new companies bill by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. The government has also amended the Chartered Accountants Act and the Company Secretaries Act to provide for a more effective disciplinary mechanism to deal with cases of misconduct by CAs and CSs respectively, he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:17 am ADB to help India, Nepal, Sri Lanka improve water managementNew Delhi: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it will help 30 urban centres in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to improve water management to enhance economic opportunities and reduce water-borne diseases. “Intermittent water supplies are the norm in South Asian urban centers. There are no strategies to make water available 24 hours a day, which is one of the most important objectives in urban water management system,” the bank said. This has resulted in water contamination and wastage, unreliable metering, and burst pipes, the multilateral lending agency said in a press release. The project is funded through an $850,000 grant from the Investment Climate Facilitation Fund established by Japan last year under the Regional Cooperation and Integration Financing Partnership Facility, which supports technical assistance projects. “Through the technical assistance, up to 30 urban centres in the three South Asian countries will acquire technology and expertise in managing the water sector,” the bank said. The technical assistance will determine geographical and population coverage of service areas in the chosen centres, assess if drinking water supply complies with acceptable quality standards, and if waste water management affects the quality of groundwater, aquifers, and other water sources. The project will also determine the levels of non-revenue water, operational efficiencies, and operations management system of the select urban centers, ADB said. “Proper assessment, planning, and management of water-related issues require reliable data on critical factors related to urban water security,” said KyeongAe Choe, principal urban development specialist of ADB’s South Asia Department. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 8:13 am G8 eyes climate as summit includes emerging powers - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:49 am FEATURE - Apps a nail in coffin of broadcast mobile TVHELSINKI (Reuters) - For years it was the talk of the wireless industry: beaming television to the world's four billion cellphones would be the icon of the digital age. Now, just three letters are hastening the demise of that vision.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:23 am SC issues notice to Centre on decriminalizing gay sexNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court judgement decriminalizing gay sex among the consenting adults. The apex court posted the matter for hearing on 20 July. The Bench headed by chief justice K.G. Balakrishnan said that any interim order against the High Court verdict, if necessary, will be considered only after hearing the parties concerned. Notices were also issued to Naz Foundation, the NGO and other respondents who were parties before the High Court. The court was hearing the appeal filed by Suresh Kumar Kaushal, an astrologer, against the 2 July verdict of the High Court. While mentioning the petition, the counsel, appearing for the astrologer, said that since the High Court verdict, there have been seven cases of gay marriages, and raised several questions, which, he claimed, were likely to affect the institution of marriage. However, the Bench said, “We have not changed the definition of marriage.” During the brief hearing, when the counsel was pointing to what he claimed was the adverse impact of the judgement decriminalising gay sex among the consenting adults, the Bench said the police had not been registering cases in such matters. It said though the law has been in force since 1860, there have been only a handful cases under the penal provision except those of paedophile cases. For “gay sex, to my knowledge, no body has been prosecuted,” the Bench, also comprising Justice P. Sathasivam, said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:21 am BSE Sensex flip-flops; ICICI falls, Reliance upNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex seesawed on Thursday as investors waited for quarterly earnings amid renewed doubts about the prospects for a swift global economic recovery and the outlook for fund flows.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:20 am US slips as China soars in Fortune company rankingsWashington: The number of US companies featured in the annual Fortune 500 list of top global companies fell to lowest level ever, the business magazine said, while more Chinese firms appeared than ever before. Signaling the effects of the devastating financial crisis on the US economy, a non-US firm topped the list for the first time in over a decade, with Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell coming in first. The firm brought in $15 billion (€11 billion) more in sales than second place oil rival Exxon Mobil of the United States. China, Asia’s ever-soaring powerhouse economy, saw its fortunes rise across the board with a Chinese firm — oil giant Sinopec — appearing in the top 10 for the first time, the magazine reported Wednesday. Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, supplies some 80% of China’s fuel. Overall, China had an unprecedented total of 37 companies featured on the list, with nine new entries and the others climbing in the rankings. The business publication meanwhile said US-based Wal-Mart Stores slid from last year’s top spot to third, with revenues of over $405 billion. But the number of US firms in the top 500 fell to 140, the lowest since Fortune began the list 1995. Japan was in second with 68 firms, while France and Germany narrowly edged out China with 40 and 39 firms respectively. In full, number one Shell had $458 billion in revenue, and Exxon Mobil had $442.8 billions in revenue. In fourth place came British oil giant BP ($367 billion), followed by US oil firm Chevron ($263 billion); French oil firm Total ($234.6 billion); US oil firm ConocoPhillips ($230.7 billion); Dutch insurance conglomerate ING Group ($226.5 billion), Sinopec ($207.8 billion) and Japan’s Toyota Motor ($204 billion). Seven of the top ten were oil firms and only one was an automobile company. Of the US firms to disappear from the list entirely were household names slammed by the global economic crisis — among them AIG, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers, while the rising US firms were Google, Amazon and Nike. In announcing the rankings, Fortune noted a US National Intelligence Council report called Global Trends 2025 that said if the current trends continue “by 2025 China will have the world’s second largest economy.” According to a 2008 study by the US research organization Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, China’s economy will overtake that of the United States by 2035 and be twice its size by midcentury. The Fortune ranking is based only on revenues, while other rankings use profits or other factors. Among the biggest losers was the Detroit, Michigan auto stalwart General Motors — currently undergoing mammoth bankruptcy proceedings after reporting a net loss of more than $30 billion in 2008. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:13 am US slips as China soars in Fortune company rankingsWashington: The number of US companies featured in the annual Fortune 500 list of top global companies fell to lowest level ever, the business magazine said, while more Chinese firms appeared than ever before. Signaling the effects of the devastating financial crisis on the US economy, a non-US firm topped the list for the first time in over a decade, with Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell coming in first. The firm brought in $15 billion (€11 billion) more in sales than second place oil rival Exxon Mobil of the United States. China, Asia’s ever-soaring powerhouse economy, saw its fortunes rise across the board with a Chinese firm — oil giant Sinopec — appearing in the top 10 for the first time, the magazine reported Wednesday. Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, supplies some 80% of China’s fuel. Overall, China had an unprecedented total of 37 companies featured on the list, with nine new entries and the others climbing in the rankings. The business publication meanwhile said US-based Wal-Mart Stores slid from last year’s top spot to third, with revenues of over $405 billion. But the number of US firms in the top 500 fell to 140, the lowest since Fortune began the list 1995. Japan was in second with 68 firms, while France and Germany narrowly edged out China with 40 and 39 firms respectively. In full, number one Shell had $458 billion in revenue, and Exxon Mobil had $442.8 billions in revenue. In fourth place came British oil giant BP ($367 billion), followed by US oil firm Chevron ($263 billion); French oil firm Total ($234.6 billion); US oil firm ConocoPhillips ($230.7 billion); Dutch insurance conglomerate ING Group ($226.5 billion), Sinopec ($207.8 billion) and Japan’s Toyota Motor ($204 billion). Seven of the top ten were oil firms and only one was an automobile company. Of the US firms to disappear from the list entirely were household names slammed by the global economic crisis — among them AIG, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers, while the rising US firms were Google, Amazon and Nike. In announcing the rankings, Fortune noted a US National Intelligence Council report called Global Trends 2025 that said if the current trends continue “by 2025 China will have the world’s second largest economy.” According to a 2008 study by the US research organization Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, China’s economy will overtake that of the United States by 2035 and be twice its size by midcentury. The Fortune ranking is based only on revenues, while other rankings use profits or other factors. Among the biggest losers was the Detroit, Michigan auto stalwart General Motors — currently undergoing mammoth bankruptcy proceedings after reporting a net loss of more than $30 billion in 2008. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:13 am Noon: Markets flip-flop; ICICI falls, Reliance upNew Delhi: Indian shares seesawed on Thursday as investors waited for quarterly earnings amid renewed doubts about the prospects for a swift global economic recovery and the outlook for fund flows. The IMF forecast a slightly steeper 1.4% global contraction in its latest outlook than in the April projection though it said the global economy would slowly pull out from its worst recession in six decades. Infosys Technologies, which is forecast to report a 13% fall in quarterly profit from January-March, was down 0.2% at Rs1,701.95. The outsourcing bellwether is mainly driven by exports, but many companies that depend on the domestic market are expected to report better results, traders said. “There is a perception that things have improved in the last quarter in terms of demand. So if there is any disappointment you will see another sell-off happening,” said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities. By 12:42pm, the main 30-share BSE index was down 0.06%, or 7.76 points at 13,761.39, with half of the components falling. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.04% at 4,080.60. The benchmark, which dropped 2.8% on Wednesday, has lost nearly 8% this week after the budget on Monday disappointed investors. Still, it is up 42% this year after rallying for 16 of the last 17 weeks. However, there are concerns robust foreign fund inflows, which had lifted the stock index by nearly half in the June quarter, could slow down sharply and even reverse if there was more pain for the world economy. The funds have poured in $5.8 billion so far in 2009. “They are the ones who started the rally and are sitting on profits. It is possible that they will book profits if something bad happens, which has the capacity to hit the markets by 10 to 15 percent,” Dewan said. Shares in Reliance Industries were up 1.9% at Rs1,863.35, after falling 1.4% in the previous session. The stock accounts for more than 14% of the weightage in the main index. Among financials, ICICI Bank fell 2.7% to Rs636.75 on concerns about its international units as a global recovery would take time, while State Bank of India rose 1.2% to Rs1,605.90. The wholesale price index fell 1.55% in the 12 months to 27 June, a fourth straight fall, data showed. However, analysts and policy makers have attributed the fall mainly to statistical base effect and not to demand contraction. In the broader market, 1,390 losers were ahead of 922 gainers on relatively light volume of 191 million shares. Asian stock markets remained mostly weaker, with Japan’s Nikkei Average losing more than 1%, while MSCI’s measure of other stocks in the region barely moved. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 7:04 am Inflation declines to -1.55%Inflation further declined to minus 1.55 per cent for the week ended June 27 even though prices of food items like pulses, fish marine, and fruit and vegetables turned expensive.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:53 am Satyam soars 6% on CLB nod for pref allotment to Tech Mahindra - Livemint
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:26 am Satyam Board meet on Friday to clear Tech Mahindra stake hike proposalNew Delhi: The Board of Mahindra Satyam will meet on 10 July to clear the proposal of Tech Mahindra seeking a second round of preferential share allotment to hike its stake in the newly acquired company to about 43% after an open offer evoked a weak response. “The board is meeting on 10 July to consider the proposal of Tech Mahindra to raise its stake through preferential allotment; that is the main agenda of the meeting,” Mahindra Satyam chairman Kiran Karnik said. A Tech Mahindra spokesperson said: “Our open offer was for acquiring additional 20%, which is around 199 million shares, of Satyam. But since the share prices have gone up, the open offer has not been successful. “Now we will go back to Satyam with a request for a preferential offer. This will bring our stake in the firm to approximately 42.7%,” he added. Earlier the Company Law Board had authorised Mahindra Satyam to allot 19.86 crore equity shares of Rs2 each to Venturebay, the SPV of Tech Mahindra, which acquired a 31% stake in Satyam Computer Services (now Mahindra Satyam) in the first round of preferential allotment. Mahindra Satyam had moved CLB after Venturebay failed to get 20% of Satyam’s shares from the open market. Meanwhile, on the government’s request to recall its six directors from the board of IT firm Mahindra Satyam, the CLB chairman said it would be considered later. The CLB is likely to pass the order on recalling the government’s nominee on the board of Mahindra Satyam after the Hyderabad-based company completes its second round of preferential allocation of shares, which will take its stake upward from 31%. Following the CLB order on 16 April, Tech Mahindra was allotted 31% equity shares of the then Satyam Computer at Rs1,756 crore. In addition to that the CLB had directed Venturebay to take 20% shares from the open market. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:17 am Satyam soars 6% on CLB nod for pref allotment to Tech MahindraMumbai: Shares of Satyam Computer on Thursday surged nearly 6% in the morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange a day after it received the Company Law Board’s (CLB) approval to allot shares on preferential basis to its new owner Tech Mahindra. Shares of Satyam Computer, rebranded as Mahindra Satyam by its new owner Tech Mahindra, surged 5.75% to a high of Rs74.50 after opening firm on the BSE. The CLB had on Wednesday approved the allotment of an additional 19.86 crore shares at Rs56 a piece on preferential basis, aggregating to Rs1,112.48 crore, to Tech Mahindra thereby taking up its holding in Mahindra Satyam to about 43%. A similar movement was witnessed on the National Stock Exchange where shares surged 5.73% to a high of Rs74.70. On the volume front, a good 94.24 lakh shares changed hands on both the bourses. Shares of Tech Mahindra rose to Rs703.80, up 2.65% over previous close on the BSE. Tech Mahindra bought a 31% stake in Satyam for about Rs1,756 crore in April and later launched a open offer to buy up to 20% at Rs58 a share that received poor response from public shareholders. Only 4,20,915 Satyam shares or 0.1% stake were tendered in the offer as the offer price was 30% below the prevailing market price at that time. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 6:04 am Moser Baer loss widens to Rs 151 cr in FY-09 - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:55 am Delhi to host global meet on climate change in OctoberNew Delhi: With clean technologies playing a key role in tackling climate change threats, a two-day global meet is being held here in October to promote international technology development and transfer within the developed and developing nations. The conference, likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 22 October, will bring together governments, experts, industry bodies and civil society from various nations to help formulate a roadmap for technology in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. “The conference is in context of the Bali Action Plan for enhancement of long term cooperation for implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” a senior environment ministry official told the agency. To help pave the way for a successful outcome in Copenhagen slated in December, the conference will seek to advance understanding on key actions needed to accelerate technology development and transfer in all countries in accordance with their national needs. The conference would also throw light on technology scenarios, institutional and business models of development and deployment, mechanisms to promote technology transfer to developing countries, and to enhance the scope for cooperation on research and development. Besides environment ministry, the conference is being organised in collaboration with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:55 am World recession easing, recovery fragile: IMFWashington: The global economy is slowly starting to pull out of its deepest recession since World War II but a recovery will be sluggish and policies need to remain supportive, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. In an update of its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the global economy is likely to contract 1.4% this year, a touch steeper than the 1.3% decline it projected in April. However, it now sees world growth strengthening to 2.5% in 2010, compared to an April forecast of 1.9%. IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said forces dampening economic activity were easing in intensity but those pushing it up were still weak despite heavy government spending and central bank lending. “This leads us to predict that while the world economy is still in recession, the recovery is coming but it is likely to be a weak recovery,” Blanchard told a news conference. He emphasized that confidence in the financial sector would not return until toxic debts were removed from banks’ balance sheets and frail institutions recapitalized. The IMF said conditions had improved more than expected as governments have pumped huge amounts of money into their economies and financial institutions, and warned against withdrawing fiscal and monetary support prematurely. “Although exiting now would be premature, I think it’s fundamental that we devise credible plans that map where we’re going in the medium-term and how we’re going to get there,” said Jose Vinals, director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Vinals said addressing high public debt levels should be part of exit strategy plans, warning that sovereign debt markets may be destabilized if the burden on public sector balance sheets begins to be perceived as unsustainable. A summit of Group of Eight leaders from industrial countries on Wednesday committed to withdrawing stimulus spending only when a recovery looked secure. “All were of the view that the crisis is a long way from being over. With luck, we have reached the bottom,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at the G8 in the Italian town of L’Aquila. BELOW-TREND GROWTH AHEAD The IMF said while the world’s advanced economies are expected to recover modestly next year, growth will remain below potential until later in 2010, suggesting unemployment will rise further. It said the U.S. economy will contract 2.6 percent this year, slightly less than it thought in April, with growth resuming in 2010, albeit at a mere 0.8 percent. The IMF said the euro-area economy would likely shrink 4.8 percent in 2009, 0.6 percentage point more than it had forecast in April. Next year, the IMF said the euro-area would contract 0.3 percent. Japan’s economy is expected to contract by 6 percent this year, with growth resuming slightly to around 1.7 percent next year. Emerging and developing countries are likely to regain growth momentum during the second half of 2009, it said. Blanchard said Asia cannot decouple from the global economy despite signs the region is emerging from the worldwide slump faster than many economists had expected. Strong growth, particularly out of China and India had rekindled hopes the region could decouple from slower-growing advanced economies and recover on its own. “After a tough first quarter, Asia, in particular, is now set for a stronger performance than we anticpated earlier,” Blanchard said. The IMF revised up forecasts for Asia by nearly 1 percent for both 2009 and 2010. Overall, the IMF said policies should remain supportive until growth resumes and deflationary risks dissipate. Where there is room, central banks should explore cutting interest rates further and signal that they intend to keep them low until a durable recovery is under way, it said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:53 am Educomp board oks fund raising, shares soar - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:34 am Educomp board oks fund raising, shares soarNEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Educational services provider Educomp Solutions Ltd said will raise up to 6.07 billion rupees by selling shares to institutions, sending its shares soaring more than 13 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:23 am Weak earnings for corporate India, but outlook brighterMumbai: As Indian firms prepare to post their earnings for the June quarter, analysts warn most reports will be weak but expect an improvement in the near future as government stimulus packages take effect. For the three months to the end of June, the 30 stocks that comprise Mumbai’s benchmark Sensex index could see an annual fall in sales of 4-8% and lower profits of between 9-13%. Firms in the country’s flagship software sector could see subdued growth on weak revenues despite an easing of pricing pressures for most of their US-based clients as the value of the rupee has fallen. And Infosys Technologies, the Bangalore-based pioneer of the industry, kicks-off the earnings season on Friday. “Incremental business decisions continue to be slow,” local brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities said in its earnings forecast report. And Anurag Purohit, an analyst with Religare Hichens Harrison brokerage, said volumes will be flat against the March-end quarter. In March, both Infosys and rival Wipro had acknowledged that their revenues were under pressure. But excluding IT, the worst could be over for several Indian firms, market watchers say, as the country’s economy shows early signs of a revival, led by local demand. India’s exports and industrial output had contracted sharply between October and March, as it reeled from the full impact of the global financial crisis. “A bad set of numbers is expected (for the June-end quarter), but companies are shifting track towards recovery,” said Hitesh Agrawal, head of research with Angel Broking. Agrawal said Indian firms could begin to show improved earnings data in successive quarters, as the government’s stimulus packages take effect. “This takes about nine to 12 months to kick in,” he said. Between December and March India introduced three stimulus packages to boost the flagging economy as it was battered by the global slump. “We are seeing some signs of a pick-up in demand,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, economist with Edelweiss Securities, led by manufacturing growth. He said services and export-led firms could take longer to recover. In the three months to June, Indian stock prices jumped nearly 50% -- its best performance in 17 years -- in expectation of greater economic reform after the Congress party surged to power in May general elections. That made India a top-performing emerging market in the last quarter. “From a quarter of ‘fading darkness’, we move on to a quarter of ‘new hope’,” the Motilal Oswal report says, optimistic over the formation of a stable government and possible upturn in the economy. Economists have called Congress’s resounding win a “game changer” for the economy as it raised hopes of political stability for the next five years and the introduction of reforms that had been blocked by the Left. On Wednesday, the Sensex closed at 13,769.15 points, up nearly 43% for the year, led by overseas fund inflows of $5.23 billion. India’s trade minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said output in the cement and steel sectors had grown by 13% each in June, from a year earlier. The country’s automobile sector is also showing some signs of a recovery, as sales for firms like Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors and Honda have improved since the turn of the year on the back of a low interest rate regime. Meanwhile the central Reserve Bank of India will push commercial banks to lower their lending rates, to spur growth. The RBI has slashed key short-term interest rates six times since October, with the repo -- the rate at which it lends to commercial banks -- being cut by 425 basis points. And the finance ministry, in its annual Economic Survey presented to parliament last week, predicted that GDP growth could exceed 7% this year. India grew by 6.7% in the year ended 31 March--the slowest rate since 2003 and down from 9% a year earlier. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:09 am Sensex down 49 points in early trade on Asian cuesTaking cues from weak Asian markets, the Bombay Stock Exchange Benchmark Sensex fell by over 49 points in opening trade today.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:06 am Sensex down 49 points in early trade on Asian cuesTaking cues from weak Asian markets, the Bombay Stock Exchange Benchmark Sensex fell by over 49 points in opening trade on Thursday, extending Wednesday's losses, on sustained selling by funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:03 am Burger King apologises to Hindus for running offensive adWashington: Burger King, which runs a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in more than 70 countries, has apologised for running an advertisement in Spain that offended the Hindus. “We are apologising because it wasn’t our intent to offend anyone,” Denise T Wilson, spokesman of Burger King told the agency in an email when asked about the demand of the Hindu community that the company need to apologise for running an advertisement which its leaders said were offensive to their religion. “Burger King Corporation (BKC) values and respects all of its guests as well as the communities we serve. This in-store advertisement was running to support only local promotion for three restaurants in Spain and was not intended to offend anyone,” Wilson said. “Out of respect for the Hindu community, the limited-time advertisement has been removed from the restaurants,” Wilson said a day after the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in a statement asked Burger King to remove the offensive advertisement. The Foundation in a statement said yesterday that the Burger King is running a print advertisement in Spain that depicts an image of the Hindu Goddess, Lakshmi, seated atop a meat sandwich, other foodstuffs with a catch phrase, “A snack that’s sacred”, written in Spanish “An advertisement knowingly and intentionally using sacred symbols, especially those of another religious tradition, for purely commercial purposes can be offensive,” said Suhag Shukla, managing director and legal counsel for the Foundation. Even though the Hindu American Foundation has not received any information in this regard form Burger King, Shukla told the agency: “This is welcome news.” HAF in its letter to Burger King did allude to the company’s positive track record of quickly removing and apologising for previous offensive ad campaigns, she noted. “Of course we would hope that such misjudgment did not occur in the first place, but we are indeed pleased to hear of Burger King’s move,” Shukla said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Jul 2009 | 5:00 am India may face drought if monsoon is weak - attacheWASHINGTON (Reuters) - India's huge farm economy may be hit by a bad drought if its annual monsoon rains remain weak with the window for planting crops closing by mid-July, a report from a U.S. Agricultural Department attache said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:42 am Rupee down 9 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee on Thursday eased by nine paise to a seven-week low of 48.97 against the US currency in early trade on expectations of higher capital outflows by funds as the stock markets may open lower in line with other weak Asian markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:36 am RPTIndusInd Bk Apr-June net soars on interest income - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:12 am RPT-Parched Mumbai prays for rains to fill supply lakes - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Jul 2009 | 4:12 am Cars, 2-wheelers sales shift gears in JuneNew Delhi, July 8 Passenger cars sales were on a fast track in June recording a 7.8 per cent growth at 1.07 lakh units. This is the highest growth after February in the domestic market.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Essar Oil (Rs 125.55): SellWe recommend a sell in Essar Oil stock from a short-term trading perspective. It is apparent from the charts that after bottoming in early March at Rs 60, it accelerated in early April. However, following an up-move to Rs 194, the stockSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am MF vendors may levy financial planning feeKolkata, July 8 The scrapping of entry load might prompt traditional distributors of mutual funds to consider offering fee-based financial planning – a service that was available nearly free tillSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am NHB hunts for foreign investors for mortgage guarantee companyMumbai, July 8 National Housing Bank (NHB) is scouting for international investors for its much-delayed mortgage guaranteeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am A Budget that is sleight all the wayPranab “gambles with big stimulus”; “Borrows to fund handouts”; “Rs 1,86,000 crore is the fiscal stimulus in 2008-09”; “A House for Commons”. This is how the media, both print and visual, headlinedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Govt to widen tax net for property transactionsNew Delhi, July 8 Tax planning around gifting of immovable and movable properties will soon turn out to be a difficult task for taxpayers if a Budget proposal gets Parliamentary nod.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe near-term outlook is bearish for DLF. We recommend a sell. Initiate fresh short-position if ICICI Bank dives below Rs 640 and SBI tumbles below Rs 1555, with tight stop-loss.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Sensex tanks 400 as FII selling continuesMumbai, July 8 The Sensex dropped 401 points on Wednesday, only a two days after it lost close to 900 points, falling below the 14,000-mark as foreign institutional investors continued to shed stocks.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Rains bring hopes of better coffee cropChennai, July 8 Prospects of a better coffee crop have brightened with heavy rains lashing the growing areas in Karnataka. It has also given hopes of controlling the menace of white stem and berry borers in the coffee plants in view of monsoonSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Rupee to decline furtherUpward revision of the targeted fiscal deficit in the Union Budget acted in concert with the crash in equity market to cause a sharp depreciation in rupee this week. The currency reversed lower from the short-term peak of 47.5 to decline to 48.9Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Budget \'09 is a dampener for NELP: RILA Reliance Industries executive today said at a meeting organised by Petrofed, that the budget has put a dampener on the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP)a big issue being bringing discoveries in deep water into the service tax net.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:53 pm NHPC, OIL IPOs to raise Rs 1,854crThe expected realisation to the government from the Offer for Sale in NHPC and OIL based on the book value is expected to be around Rs 1,854 crore, minister of State in finance ministry Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:52 pm Auto sales revving up, increase 14% in JuneNew models, discounts and easing retail finance helped car sales grow for the fifth month in a row, with June sales up 8% at 1.07 lakh units against 99741 units in the same month last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:52 pm CBI may freeze Raju's land bankThe CBI investigations would be more comprehensive than an earlier exercise by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) that had detailed a report on the land transactions of Raju brothers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:50 pm Aegis close to buying out South African BPOAegis, the BPO arm of Essar Group, is close to acquiring South Africa-based firm Call Centre Nucleus (CCN) for about Rs 90 crore.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:49 pm Infy bids adieu to Nilekani todayNandan Nilekani who set up the company together with N R Narayana Murthy and five others 28 years ago, is leaving as reported earlier to head the central government's project to provide unique ID cards to all Indians.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:47 pm Debt funds too carry risk, keep tabs on interest ratesAfter Budget 2009 revealed that the government would borrow more than estimated to bridge the widening fiscal deficit, money market participants have been edgy.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:45 pm Life cos' capital levels may rise 45%The opportunity for an FDI hike has been missed yet again this Budget, but capital expansion in life insurance could still go up by approximately 40-45% this fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:26 pm Rs 20,000 cr auto investments aheadAn incremental Rs 20,000 crore investment is expected in the Indian automobile sector in the next 18-22 months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:23 pm Budget hotels, serviced apts sprouting fastMid-market hotel brands and serviced apartment chains are fighting tooth and nail for the keys to growth, and perhaps, the same customers.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:22 pm Developers have started paying up, say contractorsConstruction companies executing contracts for realty developers have a reason to smile as some developers have started paying sooner than they did a few months back.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:21 pm ITC to halt paper pulp imports in two yrsThe multi-business ITC Ltd plans to achieve self-sufficiency in meeting raw material requirement required for manufacturing paper and related products.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:20 pm Entrepreneur plans sports bars across IPL townsArjun Valluri's bars will have video screens for fans to enjoy the game over drinks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:17 pm Manmade fibre players unfazed by duty hikeContrary to expectations, the increase in the excise duty on manmade fibre and yarn and their raw materials from 4% to 8%, has been shrugged off by the textile industry.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:15 pm Status quo on rates but services basket expandsService providers can breathe a sigh of relief. The Union Budget 2009-10 has left the service tax rate unchanged to stimulate consumption.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 8:12 pm Seven months on, Singur lives on hope for Tata jobsEighteen-year old Snehasis Ghosh wanted to become a supervisor at the Nano plant in Singur. That ambition will never be fulfilled, courtesy Mamata Banerjee, but all may not be lost for Ghosh.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:53 pm Govt gets cracking on disinvestment - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:50 pm Lupin, Matrix face antitrust probe in EUThe bad times that the Indian pharmaceutical industry has been facing overseas are about to turn worse. Lupin Ltd, Matrix Laboratories and Niche Generics, the UK subsidiary of Unichem Laboratories, may face antitrust investigations by the European Union for delaying the entry into the market of generic versions of a hypertension drug.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:50 pm Sensex slips 2.8% on global cues, exports dipIf Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees Budget hit market sentiments on Monday, bad news from the US and paucity of foreign funds continued to pull indices down today. Union Trade Minister Anand Sharmas statement in Parliament, that June exports had fallen 29 per cent, did not help.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:47 pm Govt gets cracking on disinvestmentFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India board on Friday to discuss, among other things, the disinvestment roadmap and the Budget proposal to raise the threshold for non-promoter public shareholding for all listed companies in a phased manner.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:45 pm Ranbaxy faces new legal trouble in USNew Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, whose share price has been roiled by its troubles with the US drug regulator, suffered a further blow, with Canadian generic or off-patent drug maker Apotex Inc. questioning in court the company’s ability to launch two generic drugs on schedule. In two separate filings in the US district court of North Carolina, Apotex has pointed to Ranbaxy’s troubles with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and said that these may prevent the Indian firm from launching two big products—generics versions of herpes drug Valtrex and Alzheimer’s drug Aricept—and thereby hurt the business of other generic companies, including the Canadian firm’s. That’s because firms that get first permission to launch generic versions of drugs also get a so-called marketing exclusivity period during which no other generic company will be allowed to launch its version. Ranbaxy has a 180-day exclusivity for one of the two drugs and while this time is usually calculated from the date of launch of the generic version, the company’s troubles with FDA could mean a significant delay in the launch. Ranbaxy is also first in line to launch the other drug in question. If Apotex wins the cases, Ranbaxy’s 180-day exclusivity period for the first drug will begin immediately, regardless of whether or not it has permission from FDA to market the drug. And it will also lose its position at the head of the queue to launch the other drug. Following the settlement with GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK) in 2007, Ranbaxy won a 180-day marketing exclusivity for the herpes drug and said it expected to launch this by the end of 2009. Apotex cannot launch its own generic version till this period expires, said the Canadian firm’s filing. It added that it believes that FDA’s action against Ranbaxy would “prevent it from commercially marketing a generic valacyclovir (the name of the active ingredient in Valtrex) product for an indefinite period of time in the future.” The company’s filing also claimed that Ranbaxy makes valacyclovir at its Dewas facility, which is under FDA’s scanner. On 16 September 2008, FDA had issued warning letters to Ranbaxy’s manufacturing plants at Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. Valtrex has annual sales of $1.3 billion (Rs6,360 crore). According to analysts, Ranbaxy was expected to make $150-200 million from the launch of its generic version of Valtrex. Apotex didn’t respond to emailed queries although Mint has copies of the two court filings made on 1 and 7 July. Ranbaxy’s spokesperson declined comment. “This risk that exclusivity could be triggered early is not limited to the two products in question, but also applies to other products such as Nexium and Lipitor where other companies have applied for declaratory judgements (against the patent holders). Apotex is trying to trigger Ranbaxy’s exclusivity early and pave the way for its own launch (for the products). We believe the risk is lower for filings from Dewas than those from Paonta because of the AIP invoked on the latter,” said Prashant Nair, analyst with Citi Investment Research. AIP refers to the application integrity policy that FDA invoked on a company or a manufacturing plant of a company and simply means that the regulator will halt the review of all pending and new applications filed from that plant. In April, during a conference call with analysts after the announcements of its results for the first quarter of 2009 (Ranbaxy follows the calendar), Malvinder Mohan Singh, then CEO and managing director of the firm had told analysts that Ranbaxy would be able to launch Valtrex this year. “There is a clear possibility it (Valtrex) can be launched,” he had said. Singh resigned from the company in 24 May. Earlier, in June 2008, Singh and his family had sold their entire 34.8% stake in Ranbaxy to Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. At that time, it had been announced that Singh would stay on at the company till 2013. Last year, Ranbaxy failed to launch the generic version of GSK’s Imitrex for which it had a 180-day exclusivity. It’s loss was Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd’s gain. The firm launched its authorized generic version of the drug in November and admitted in March that this was behind its higher gross profit margins. In the case of Aricept, Apotex’s filing said that “a reasonable opportunity for further investigation and discovery will show Ranbaxy’s tentative approval has been revoked because Ranbaxy failed to comply or conform with accepted regulatory (GMP, or good manufacturing practices) and legal requirements relating to its generic drug products and ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) submissions.” “Ranbaxy will not be able to enter the market for generic donepezil hydrochloride (the active ingredient of Aricept) on November 25, 2010 without final approval... Generic entry will be delayed indefinitely if Ranbaxy does not launch on November 25, 2010,” the filing adds. Shares of Ranbaxy closed 2% down at Rs248.20 each on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day when Sensex fell 2.8% to close at 13,769.15. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 6:32 pm Message behind IT numbers awaitedBangalore: The country’s top software firms begin reporting results for the June quarter this week, although more people will be looking at their forecasts for the next quarter and assessment of business sentiment in the US than the numbers themselves. That’s because a recovery in the US isn’t just important to software firms, but for the Indian economy itself. And while expectations from the June quarter results are running low, the focus will essentially be on what these firms have to say in terms of the future outlook and the trend in pricing. Also See Forecast Figures (Graphics) The recession in the US, the world’s largest technology market, had forced cuts in tech budgets, resulting in a slowdown in business for Indian software firms. Tech forecaster Gartner Inc. on Tuesday projected a 6% decline in global information technology (IT) spending in 2009 to $3.2 trillion (Rs156.5 trillion), because of the economic slowdown as well as exchange rate fluctuations. In March, Gartner had forecast a 3.8% decline from the $3.4 trillion spent in 2008. The numbers run contrary to statements in June by two Indian firms, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys Technologies Ltd, that the decline in outsourcing orders from Western customers since last September has been arrested. That isn’t exactly the case, according to a statement from Richard Gordon, research vice-president and head of global forecasting at Gartner: “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.” Gartner said global spending on software services alone would fall 5.6% to $761 billion in 2009, but would grow 3% the following year to $784 billion. Infosys, India’s second largest software firm and considered an industry standard, is set to report its first quarter (Q1) results on Friday. TCS will report its on 17 July, and Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd, the new owner of the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd, on 22 July. HCL Technologies Ltd, which follows the July-June fiscal year, will report its fourth quarter and full-year results in August. Analysts Surendra Goyal and Vishal Agarwal of Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt. Ltd expect most large, or tier I, software firms to report a revenue decline of at least 2% in the April-June quarter over the preceding quarter, owing to the decline in business volumes and pressure on pricing. “(The) focus will be on management comments—investors will want to gauge the pace of recovery,” the analysts wrote in a recent report. Research firm Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd sees some easing in the pressure on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) divisions of IT companies in Q1. “We expect BFSI and telecom, two verticals that have largely contributed to revenue decline in the last two quarters, to continue contributing towards volume declines,” Motilal Oswal analysts Ashwin Mehta and Vihang Naik wrote in a report on 26 June. “(However), the severity of the cuts is likely to reduce and positive statements on stability of at least BFSI should be heard from the companies.” The telecom (another troubled sector globally) and BFSI divisions together contribute 50% of the total revenue for India’s top four IT companies, they noted. Investors will be keen to know the impact on pricing owing to the renegotiation of contracts earlier in the year. While most analysts agree that average pricing will decline, the moot question is how bad the fall will be. HSBC points out in a recent research note, “While most pricing negotiations with the tier I clients are set to conclude by end-June for all the vendors, the March and April negotiations’ full impact is likely to hurt average billing for the June quarter. We estimate pricing will be down 3% q-o-q (quarter-on-quarter) in constant currency.” “In the past few months, the (demand) environment has marginally improved, but it is still not to the (peak) level. Everyone will look at projections in the second half (of the calendar year),” said Gaurav Dua, head of research at Sharekhan Ltd, a Mumbai-based brokerage. Infosys’ guidance for the July-September quarter as well as the entire year will be used as a yardstick by the markets to gauge how the second half of the year could turn out. The Citigroup analysts say Infosys is unlikely to raise the constant currency guidance for two reasons: “(1) Small pricing decline quarter-on-quarter (against [the company’s] assumption of flat pricing), which is likely to be offset by slightly better volumes. (2) It is too early to extrapolate the improvement in sentiment to the full year guidance.” The company is expected to increase its dollar-based guidance owing to the depreciation of the dollar against the euro and the British pound. Apart from the pressure on pricing, most Indian IT firms will suffer also thanks to the 6% appreciation of the rupee against the dollar last quarter. Its impact though is likely to be marginally offset by the weakening of the greenback against the euro and the pound. This depreciation of the dollar should aid revenues of Indian offshore firms such as Tech Mahindra, which would benefit the most, wrote Manik Taneja, equity analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Emkay Global Financials Ltd, on 3 July. At least 60% of Tech Mahindra’s revenue is billed in euros and pounds. While the company will gain from cross currency movements, the core British Telecom business is expected to continue being weak. According to a Mint poll of six brokerages—Citigroup, Sharekhan, Emkay, Religare Capital Markets Ltd, Motilal Oswal and Angel Broking Ltd—Infosys’ revenue for the June quarter is expected to decline 5.2% on average over the preceding three months to Rs5,342 crore. Net profit is seen down 14.4% at Rs1,380 crore. In April, Infosys had forecast its Q1 revenue at Rs5,379-5,480 crore. TCS, too, is expected to show a decline in both profit and revenue at Rs1,256 crore (1.5% down from the previous quarter) and Rs6,864 crore, respectively (4.3% down). Wipro, India’s third largest software exporter, is likely to report a 2% increase in profit to Rs924 crore on account of lower forex losses, though revenue, including its consumer products business, is seen declining 1.5% to Rs6,448 crore. Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 5:54 pm Drug firms come under EU lens over antitrust practicesBrussels: European Union (EU) regulators are investigating some drug firms over suspected antitrust practices that include deals with makers of cheap generics to delay drugs’ market entry, the European Commission said on Wednesday. In her final report of a probe into the pharmaceuticals sector, EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said delays in bringing cheaper generic medicines to the market had pushed up consumers’ bills by 20% between 2000 and 2007.  Health check: EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes says delays in bringing cheaper generic medicines to the market had pushed up consumers’ bills by 20% between 2000 and 2007. Reuters “The first antitrust investigations are already under way, and regulatory adjustments are expected to follow dealing with a range of problems in the sector,” Kroes said. The commission statement did not identify any companies under investigation. But separately, the EU’s executive arm announced an antitrust investigation into privately owned French drug maker Servier Laboratories and generics firms Krka d.d, Lupin Ltd, Matrix Laboratories Ltd, now a unit of Mylan Inc., Niche Generics Ltd, part of Unichem Laboratories Ltd, and Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The commission said its investigation concerned unilateral behaviour by Servier and deals which may have blocked the entry of generic perindopril, a cardio-vascular drug originally developed by Les Laboratoires Servier, into the European Economic Area. Kroes launched her sector investigation in January 2008 with a series of raids on makers of brand-name drugs, including AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck and Sanofi-Aventis. Settlement deals have also come under fire in the US, with the Federal Trade Commission last month estimating the cost to consumers at $3.5 billion a year. Legislation pending in the US Congress would ban such deals. Drug makers blame most of the delays on regulatory and other bureaucratic issues, rather than deliberate action by companies. The EU executive said it would examine current EU rules on price and reimbursement, urged European countries to introduce legislation to facilitate the entry of generics and stress the need for a Europe-wide patent. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 5:26 pm Zenotech moves CLB, SAT against Daiichi, RanbaxyZenotech has moved the company law board (CLB) against Daiichi, Ranbaxy board, claiming mismanagement by Daiichi and Ranbaxy. Zenotech has asked for the removal of two Ranbaxynominated directors from their (Zenotechs) board.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Jul 2009 | 4:55 pm Holcim says India, Latin America are helping offset slumpZurich: Holcim Ltd, the world’s second biggest cement maker, said business in Asia and Latin America is satisfactory, helping slow the decline in earnings caused by construction slumps elsewhere.  Concrete path: Workers at a Holcim distribution centre in Indonesia. The firm says it had an excellent half year volume-wise in India. Kemal Jufri / Bloomberg Akermann reiterated his prediction for a difficult 2009. He won shareholders’ support on Wednesday for the $1.6 billion (Rs7,824 crore) takeover of Cemex Australia. The purchase will drive expansion into concrete and crushed-rock markets at a time when rivals Lafarge SA and HeidelbergCement AG are selling assets to pay down acquisition-driven debts. China’s overall cement consumption grew 14% through April, and India’s increased 8% to 10% in the year’s first five months, Akermann said. Eastern Europe, meanwhile, is quite difficult, he said. Investors on Wednesday approved a sale of 50.3 million shares that will raise 2.1 billion Swiss francs (Rs9,291 crore). The 42 franc price tag is a 28% discount to Tuesday’s close. The purchase will add 1 billion tonnes of aggregate reserves, 249 ready-mix concrete plants and 16 pipe factories located across the faster growing regions of eastern and southeastern Australia. Akermann predicted a full consolidation of the purchase this year. Akermann said he doesn’t see any similarly sized transaction in the immediate future in the cement market. There is nothing big on the horizon. There are a few assets which are being sold here and there, but these are not big divestments, he said. Holcim shares fell 3.8% to 56.25 francs as of 1.08pm in Zurich. Akermann has closed two factories in the US and one in Spain and will cut investment by 29% to 2.5 billion francs this year to counter the slowdown. The US economy contracted at a 5.5% annual rate in the first quarter, revised from a preliminary report of a 6.1% drop. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 3:54 pm Ericsson inks $1.7bn deals with Chinese firmsStockholm: Ericsson has signed contracts worth $1.7 billion (€1.2 billion) to provide equipment to two Chinese mobile operators, the Swedish telecoms group said in a statement on Wednesday. “Ericsson Wednesday signed framework agreements on 2G/3G mobile communication equipment and related services for 2009 with two major Chinese telecom operators: China Mobile and China Unicom, valued at $1 billion and $0.7 billion respectively,” the statement said. “Together the two operators are currently serving more than 620 million mobile subscribers in China,” the company added. “3G” refers to the new third-generation mobile networks which offer high-speed access to the Internet, email and video. Ericsson chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said earlier this year that China would be a key growth market for the company as it looks to ride out the impact of the global economic downturn on its business. On 3 July, the company announced it had been awarded contracts with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom to provide fixed broadband access in provinces including Guangdong, Shanghai and Sichuan. Ericsson, which is the world leader in mobile phone network equipment ahead of Nokia Siemens, employs more than 75,000 people worldwide. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 10:50 am Govt not a party in gas dispute case in SC: RNRLNew Delhi: Anil Ambani group company RNRL on Wednesday said that the government is not a party in the company’s ongoing dispute with Mukesh-led RIL on gas supply. RNRL’s counsel Mahesh Aggarwal said, in a letter addressed to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, that the ministry has been joined by RIL in its SLP in the Supreme Court as an “intervener only, and not as a party respondent.” The counsel further said that the Bombay high court in its order dated 22 October, 2008 had directed the ministry to be joined as an intervener in the appeal filed by RIL. It was specifically recorded by the court at that time too that the ministry “is not a party respondent and has been joined as an intervener for the limited purpose of assistance in the interpretation of the PSC (Production sharing Contract between the government and RIL),” he noted. The counsel further said that RIL has relied upon the same high court order to join the ministry and describe it as an intervener in its SLP. Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued notices to RIL, RNRL and the Centre on cross-appeals by both the companies on their gas supply dispute. While issuing notice to the two companies and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (an intervener), a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan posted the matter for hearing on 20 July. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Jul 2009 | 10:42 am PREVIEW - IT firms Q1 net seen up, growth prospects cloudyBANGALORE (Reuters) - India's top software services companies are likely to report a rise in quarterly profits, but worries persist about the near-term outlook for the export-driven sector as technology spending falls and clients seek fee cuts.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Jul 2009 | 9:40 am
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