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Google`s slowing Q2 ad sales overshadow earnings!Google Inc made more money than ever in the second quarter, even though its revenue growth slowed like never before.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm McGraw-Hill cuts 550 jobs!McGraw-Hill Cos, hit by declines in its education, financial services and media properties, says it has cut 550 jobs.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Maruti launches CNG kit for Alto!The country`s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki today said it has launched CNG kit for its highest selling small car Alto in the national capital region, priced at Rs 43,545.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Sensex rises 211 points in opening trade!The BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday rose over 211 points in opening trade on increased capital inflows by funds on the back of encouraging quarterly results by domestic blue-chip companies and firming trends overseas.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Industrial production to fall to 4.8% this fiscal: CMIE!Industrial production in the current fiscal would fall from 5.1 percent to 4.8 percent due to a dip in agricultural production, according to an economic think-tank.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm IBM sees better profits for 2009!IBM Corp has proved a rare animal in the recession. Like everyone else, its sales have been hurt. Profit margins, though, have only gotten better and better, and on Thursday IBM ramped up its full-year earnings forecast.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Oil prices ease in Asian trade!Oil prices slipped in Asian trade on Friday as investors took profits from a surge sparked by hopes of an early rebound in the recession-hit US economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Rs 60,000 cr needed for roads till 2012: Nath!Transport Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said the road and highways sector require an investment of about Rs 60,000 crore in the next three years.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:35 pm Rig market to remain low if oil languishes: Mercator LinesEven as the market for drillships and jackup rigs has seen an improvement, it is still not up to the mark, Harish Mittal, CMD of Mercator Lines, said. He added that the rig market would remain low if oil market continues to languish.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:29 pm RIL and RNRL file replies to each other before Supreme Court - Daily News & Analysis
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:55 am Rupee pares losses as stocks rise over 3% - Livemint
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:51 am RBI to ensure benign, stable interest rates: ChakrabartyMumbai: Ahead of the quarterly review of its annual monetary policy, the Reserve Bank today said that it would ensure a benign and stable interest rate regime to safeguard the common man’s interest and ensure adequate liquidity in the system. “The RBI’s effort is to ensure a benign and stable interest rate regime... it is for ensuring adequate liquidity in the system. We are trying to keep interest rates benign,” Reserve Bank deputy governor K C Chakrabarty told reporters here. In the face of high competition in industry, banks, particularly those in the private sector, will have to lower lending rates in the period ahead, Chakrabarty said on the sidelines of the Skoch BFSI summit being held here. Individual conditions of banks and the inflationary situation will determine whether banks will cut lending rates, Chakrabarty said, adding that if the cost of funds remains high in the system, banks tend to hike their lending rates. If banks’ cost of funds goes up, they will increase the (lending) rates ... if they have three times of credit demand and they are unable to mobilise funds, they have to pay high rates on deposits, Chakrabarty said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:43 am Colgate Palmolive Q1 profit jumps 43% YoY - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:42 am RBI to ensure benign, stable interest rates: ChakrabartyThe RBI said that it would ensure a benign and stable interest rate regime to safeguard the common man's interest.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:40 am British Airways seeks OpenSkies stake buyer - sourceLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways Plc has hired investment bank Reynolds Partners to find a buyer for its loss-making upmarket airline OpenSkies, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:38 am No foreign-funded power project awaiting approval: PranabNew Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that no foreign-funded power project was pending with his Ministry for approval. Mukherjee, however, said there were seven projects from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh pertaining to the power sector that were included in the rolling plan for funding from Japan. Replying to queries during Question Hour, he said “In respect of Multilateral Development Institutions, no power project for external assistance from any state, including Himachal Pradesh, is pending with the finance ministry.” Noting that India accepted external assistance from bilateral sources including Japan, he said seven projects in the rolling plan were finalised for funding bi-annually under the Double Track Mechanism of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). “Actual funding of these projects would depend on intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral prioritisation and the amount set aside by Japan for ODA to India,” he said. The seven projects included the Rs5,665.76-crore project in Andhra Pradesh, Rs2,021.98-crore Bakreshwar and Rs546-crore transmission project from West Bengal, he said. P C Chacko (Cong), without naming the Lavlin project, asked how the project with Canadian funding in Kerala that ran into a controversy over corruption charges missed the Centre’s notice, Mukherjee said he would be unable to answer the question, as it related to a specific project and the question was of a general nature. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:38 am Nifty soars above 4350; RelInf, HCLTech up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:35 am Crompton Greaves April-June net up 29 pctReuters - Three months ended June 30 (Versus the same period a year earlier, in million rupeesSource: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:28 am Gold/silver ratio soars but bearish signal unclearNEW YORK (Reuters) - A sharp rise in the gold-to-silver ratio shows that silver's unique investment and industrial appeal has faded. But this increase, unlike previous ones, does not portend further weakness in the precious metals complex.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:26 am World's cheapest car to hit roads - BBC News
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:23 am Rupee pares losses as stocks rise over 3 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The rupee pared most losses in afternoon trade on Friday as gains of more than 3 percent in the domestic equity market offset the demand for dollars from refiners and state-run firms.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:22 am Now, Power Ministry wants gas for NTPC at $2.34/unit tooCNBCTV18 learns that the Power Ministry has requested the Oil Ministry for 12 mmscmd of gas for NTPC\'s Kawas and Gandhar plants at USD 2.34 per mmbtu.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:19 am Colgate Q1 profit zooms 43% at Rs 102 crMumbai: Consumer goods manufacturer Colgate Palmolive India on Friday reported a jump of 43% in its net profit for the first quarter ended 30 June, to Rs102.78 crore, over the corresponding period a year ago. The company had a net profit of Rs71.92 crore during the June quarter a year earlier, Colgate Palmolive India said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Total revenue of the company rose to Rs493.98 crore during the three-month period ended 30 June, from Rs435.99 crore of a year earlier. Shares of Colgate were trading at Rs642.90, up 1.72%, in the afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:18 am Rupee pares losses as stocks rise over 3%Mumbai: The Indian rupee pared most losses in afternoon trade on Friday as gains of more than 3% in the domestic equity market offset the demand for dollars from refiners and state-run firms. At 2:27pm, the partially convertible rupee was at rS48.66/67 per dollar, little changed from its Thursday’s close of 48.68/69. The unit has traded in a narrow Rs48.60-48.74 band so far in the session. Indian shares rose more than 3% on Friday, as upbeat earnings reports from key US firms fuelled a Wall Street rally overnight and lifted sentiment across Asia. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward rupee contracts were quoting at Rs48.72/82, marginally weaker than the onshore spot rate. Dealers said the rupee’s weakness earlier in the session was due to dollar demand from oil firms and state-run banks likely for some defence-related payment. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at Rs48.6925, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $715 million. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:18 am RIL and RNRL file replies to each other before Supreme CourtWhile RNRL has assumed an aggressive stance towards the government's stand, calling it "patently incorrect", RIL has accused RNRL of trying to overturn government policies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:15 am Gold prices up; local demand stays weakMumbai: India gold futures traded higher on Friday, with local demand remaining weak in the middle of a seasonally slack period, dealers said. The most-traded August contract was 0.25% higher at Rs14,754 per 10 grams at 2:27pm, after hitting a high of Rs14,783 earlier. “Deals are not happening, traders are thinking that prices may come down,” said a dealer with a private bank in Mumbai. Fewer weddings take place during monsoons, making it a lean season for the Indian gold market. But a series of festivals and auspicious days weddings is expected to boost gold sales from August-end. Dealers said a decline in gold prices could re-kindle buying interest. “I have a few orders at $900-910 (an ounce),” said another dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:09 am Railways need over 4,500 coaches each yearNew Delhi: Government today said more than 4,500 coaches are needed by the Railways annually to ensure smooth passenger services but the supply is much below demand. Annual requirement of air conditioned coaches has been assessed at 660 and other coaches at 3878 by Working Group on Railway Programmes, but the production units are not able to meet the demand, minister of state for railways E Ahamed said in the Rajya Sabha. Shortage of coaches is also coming in the way of railways from introducing new trains and replacing the worn out coaches with the new ones. However, Ahamed said new manufacturing units are being set up to meet the requirement. They include setting up of two new rail coach factories at Rae Bareli in UP and Palakkad in Kerala. In addition, he said, a new coach factory would be set up Kanchrapara in West Bengal, as mentioned in the Railway Budget this year. To a separate question, he said Railways is considering introducing Internet facility in selected trains. A trial run was conducted in Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express earlier this year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:07 am Jakarta hotel bombs kill 9, dent investor confidenceJAKARTA (Reuters) - Bomb blasts ripped through luxury hotels in the heart of Indonesia's capital on Friday, killing nine people and wounding dozens in attacks the president said badly hurt confidence in the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:00 am RIL can’t sell gas to RNRL; asks SC not to stop 3rd party saleNew Delhi: Mukesh Ambani-led RIL today said it would not be possible to supply gas to Anil Ambani group firm RNRL without the government’s nod and requested the Supreme Court not to restrain it from selling gas to others. Accusing RNRL of taking contradictory stands in an attempt to mislead Supreme Court, RIL said in its affidavit that the interim relief sought by the other party on gas sale be rejected as it did not have any plants capable of receiving the fuel. RIL also submitted that any damages suffered by RNRL, if established, can be recompensated later by money and added that gas supplied at this stage to RNRL could be used only for the purpose of trading with third parties. “The profits that RNRL may make is not a concern of RIL. In fact, RNRL was created just so that it could earn such a profit,” RNRL had said in its affidavit filed in Supreme Court on Tuesday in reply to a separate petition by RIL. Stating that it can’t sell gas to anybody without official nod, the affidavit filed by RIL’s law firm Parekh & Company said today the government as such had rejected the price of $2.34 per mmBtu for gas. The current applicable price as per government formula is $4.20 per mmBtu. Both RIL and RNRL have filed cross-appeals challenging the Bombay High Court decision on gas supply, in which the Mukesh Ambani-run firm has named the government as intervener. The government’s affidavit is expected anytime now. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:00 am Bengal bandh disrupts normal lifeKolkata: Normal life was thrown out of gear on Friday across West Bengal with rail and road traffic severely affected in the wake of a 12-hour state bandh called by the Congress to protest against the attack allegedly by CPI(M) supporters on its MLAs at Mangalkot in Burdwan district. However, flight operations from NSC Bose International airport were normal in the early hours of the day. Domestic flights from Kolkata to New Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Silchar and Port Blair along with international flights took off early today, Airport sources said. Air passengers arrived at the airport much before the bandh began at 6 am, they said adding, “Some flights scheduled to leave in the afternoon were either cancelled or rescheduled.” Railway sources said train services from Howrah and Sealdah divisions were severely hit due to squatting of bandh supporters on the rail track at several locations. An Eastern Railway spokesperson said at least eight trains including New Delhi-Howrah and New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Expresses were stranded at were various stations due to squatting of bandh supporters on rail tracks. Eight express trains including Howrah-Ranchi Shatabdi Express, have been cancelled, officials said. Train services were also hit on the South Eastern Railway and four trains including Howrah-Barbil Janashatabdi Express, have been cancelled. Skeleton vehicular movement was seen on the city roads. A few private bus owners operated their buses. The state government, although had decided to run its full-fledged service, the number of buses were found to be insufficient. Shops and educational institutions remained closed. The bandh prompted Calcutta, Jadavpur, Kalyani and Burdwan universities to postpone Friday’s under-graduate and post- graduate exams to be undertaken by over two lakh students. Some 5000 policemen were deployed on the road after yesterday’s rampage by Congress supporters who damaged buses. Hundred extra police pickets and an equal number of extra heavy radio flying squad were deployed in the city. Meanwhile, IG (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said, so far, no incident of violence barring one of vandalising of a state bus coming from Balurghat to Kolkata by bandh supporters at Baguihati near Kolkata was reported. Life has been severely hit in north Bengal districts where Congress wields considerable influence. It has also affected industrial towns of Durgapur and Asansol. Meanwhile, extending its “moral support” to the bandh, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said a state-sponsored terrorism, targetting Opposition leaders and supporters, has been unleashed in the state since CPI-M’s defeat in Lok Sabha polls and asked the Centre to “intervene” immediately. Thursday, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had in the Assembly condemned Wednesday’s attack on Congress MLAs and admitted that administration’s “lapses” led the situation to slip out of control. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 9:00 am Midsession: Sensex rises 490 pts on increased fund inflowMumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday surged over 490 points at midsession on increased capital inflows from funds on the back of encouraging quarterly results by domestic blue-chip companies and firming trends overseas. The 30-share index rose 490.881 points, or 3.44% at 14,741.06 at 1:30pm, as funds indulged in buying heavyweight stocks led by Reliance Industries. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 147.75 points to 4,379.15 points. Buying was widespread as all the sectoral and Sensex-related shares traded higher. Firming European markets in opening trade today further fuelled the uptrend. Markets rose 2.1% in the morning as upbeat earnings reports from key US firms fuelled a Wall Street rally overnight and lifted sentiment across Asia. Private-sector lender ICICI Bank, outsourcer Infosys Technologies and top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel led the gains, putting the market on course for a weekly gain after it dropped 9.4% last week. “We are seeing overseas markets going up, while in India, first-quarter results have been good so far,” said Amitabh Chakraborty, president of equities at Religare Securities. “Fund flows coming into the market have been quite positive.” Last week, the benchmark posted its biggest weekly fall in eight months, after the government’s budget offered little in terms of bold economic and financial reforms, but set a huge deficit of 6.8% of GDP, the highest in 16 years. There are still concerns about rich valuations and uncertainty surrounding the domestic economy and corporate earnings growth, but the momentum in overseas markets is spurring the benchmark higher, traders said. Equities worldwide have rallied this week as strong US corporate earnings, and encouraging economic data from China and Singapore signalled the turmoil in the global economy was abating. But on Thursday, Indian shares retreated from gains of as much as 1.7% after a poor start for European peers sparked profit-booking on a 6.4% jump in the market over the previous two sessions. “One should not be too bullish about the market now,” Chakraborty said. “It’s time to be a little cautious.” ICICI Bank rose 3.5% to Rs719.35, while No. 2 outsourcer Infosys climbed 3.1% to Rs1,850.50. Bharti, which is in exclusive merger talks with South Africa’s MTN, advanced 4.9% to Rs824. In the broader market, gainers led losers by more than 2.5 to 1 on relatively light volume of 104.6 million shares. Asian shares were higher on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei up 0.5%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets rose 0.7%. US stocks rallied for a fourth day on Thursday after JPMorgan’s strong results fed growing optimism about the quarterly earnings season and technology shares rose in anticipation of more good news. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:58 am Nokia Siemens to make India 3G hubTelecom equipment manufacturer Nokia Siemens considers India to be one of its largest markets for third generation gear and plans to make it a global hub.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:54 am Banks see mixed June qtr earnings on muted loan growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian mid-cap banks are likely to report mixed numbers in the April-June quarter as muted loan growth put pressure on margins, forcing them to book gains from non-core income, analysts said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:53 am Strike causes loss of Rs1 cr a day for Darjeeling tea industrySiliguri: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s indefinite bandh since 13 July has seriously hit the tea industry in the region causing a whopping loss of Rs1 crore daily. “The industry (is) incurring a loss of one crore daily and a few gardens (have) started considering closure,” secretary of the Darjeeling Tea Association Sandeep Mukherjee told the agency. Stating that it would be difficult to produce even 50% of last year’s yield of 9.5 million kg of Darjeeling tea this year, Mukherjee said that it would also adversely affect India’s credibility in the international market. “If we fail to supply international buyers they will shift to other countries like Nepal and China. They are not concerned about our problems,” he said. “The industry from the beginning of this fiscal has been plagued with problems one after another and the GJM bandh is the last nail in the coffin. If the bandh is not immediately called off many gardens would have no option but to close,” he said. Darjeeling gardens have four seasons each year; the first flush, second flush, monsoon flush and the autumn flush. The second flush season was hit following the devastating Cyclone Aila this year which uprooted 7.5 lakh tea bushes in the hills, destroying 283 quarters and damaging around 2000 others. “Neither the state nor the central government has yet offered any financial help for the survival of the only viable industry in Darjeeling hills,” Mukherjee said. The GJM bandh has been called during the peak of the second flush spoiling the residual hope for the survival of the industry, he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:51 am West Bengal paying for not having fiscal discipline law: CAGKolkata: West Bengal lost Rs546.68 crore in 2007-08 for not having its own fiscal responsibilty law, which mandates fiscal discipline, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The March 2008 CAG report noted that the state could not take debt relief of Rs 546.68 crore (Rs237.50 crore on account of annual instalment and Rs309.18 crore interest) in 2007-08. These benefits are offered by the Centre against timely repayment of loans and for achieving fiscal targets. The state has been missing such benefits since 2005. The report also stated that overall fiscal liabilities of the state increased 50% from Rs89,388 crore in 2003-04 to Rs1,34,402 crore in 2007-08. The state’s revenue deficit has reached 2.91% and 4.07% fiscal deficit. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:50 am Sensex gains 490 points at midsessionThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today surged over 490 points at midsession today on increased capital inflows from funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:48 am When TV remote can double up as phoneYour children could soon be using the TV remote to make lineofsight phone calls if MyWay, the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) company, manages to get it right.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:39 am Gorkha bandh: Darjeeling tea industry at a loss of Rs 1 cr/day - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:24 am Govt borrowing not to pressure rates - officialMUMBAI (Reuters) - The government's record market borrowing of 4.51 trillion rupees in 2009/10 would not pressure bond yields and interest rates higher, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:07 am Eyes on U.S. banks as earnings boost recovery hopesNEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Investors were looking to Bank of America and Citigroup for a fresh dose of earnings optimism on Friday, after strong reports from JPMorgan Chase and IBM raised hopes for a global recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:06 am Fitch warns of cash-flow issues for refinersIn a special report, Fitch Ratings has predicted a negative impact of new capacity additions in 2009 and 2010, combined with a global downturn in refining, on refining companies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 8:05 am Renault H1 vehicle sales drop 16.5%Paris: Carmaker Renault SA said on Friday that vehicle sales fell 16.5% in the first half of the year, a similar rate of decline as the global market, where the economic crisis is ravaging car sales. France’s second-largest auto maker said it sold 1.106 million cars and light trucks in the first six months of the year, down from 1.326 million a year earlier. In June, the decline was 0.9%. But while the company kept its 3.7% share of the global market, it reported a 0.5 point loss in market share at home in France after a drop in short term leasing sales. Renault gained market share in Germany, Spain and Belgium, but lost in Italy and Britain. Sales of Renault-branded vehicles fell 21.5%, while sales of low-cost Romanian Dacia brand rose 20.3%. In a statement Friday, the company said that in the first half it had “significantly positive” cash flow— the funds a company is able to generate after maintaining or expanding assets. In February Renault said its single priority for 2009 was to achieve positive cash flow. The automotive industry is struggling as customers shy away from big-ticket buys, forcing some governments to step in to help stem massive job losses. In the United States, both Chrysler and General Motors are exiting bankruptcy with the federal government as a major shareholder. Renault, which is getting a €3 billion ($4.24 billion) rescue loan from the French government, is bound by an agreement with President Nicolas Sarkozy not to make forced redundancies in France this year. Still, CEO Carlos Ghosn has said the payroll will fall by 9,000 to a total of 120,000 this year. That will come from 6,000 voluntary job cuts announced in September and an additional 3,000 positions which will left unfilled as people leave of their own volition. In the first three months of the year, Renault’s sales fell 30.8% to €7.1 billion. Full first-half results will be announced 30 July. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:48 am Nasa lost moon footage, but Hollywood restores itWashington: Nasa could put a man on the moon but lacked the sense to keep the original video of the live TV transmission. In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so that it could reuse the videotape. Now Hollywood is coming to the rescue. Click here to watch video Video Courtesy:NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center The studio wizards who restored “Casablanca” are digitally sharpening and cleaning up the ghostly, grainy footage of the moon landing, making it even better than what TV viewers saw on 20 July, 1969. They are doing it by working from four copies that Nasa scrounged from around the world. “There’s nothing being created; there’s nothing being manufactured,” said Nasa senior engineer Dick Nafzger, who is in charge of the project. “You can now see the detail that’s coming out.” The first batch of restored footage was released just in time for the 40th anniversary of the “one giant leap for mankind,” and some of the details seem new because of their sharpness. Originally, astronaut Neil Armstrong’s face visor was too fuzzy to be seen clearly. The upgraded video of Earth’s first moon-walker shows the visor and a reflection in it. The $230,000 refurbishing effort is only three weeks into a monthslong project, and only 40% of the work has been done. It shows improvements in four snippets: Armstrong walking down the ladder; Buzz Aldrin following him; the two astronauts reading a plaque they left on the moon; and the planting of the flag on the lunar surface. Nafzger said a huge search that began three years ago for the old moon tapes led to the “inescapable conclusion” that 45 tapes of Apollo 11 video were erased and reused. His report on that will come out in a few weeks. The original videos beamed to Earth were stored on giant reels of tape that each contained 15 minutes of video, along with other data from the moon. In the 1970s and ’80s, Nasa had a shortage of the tapes, so it erased about 200,000 of them and reused them. Nafzger, who was in charge of the live TV recordings back in the Apollo years, said they were thought of mostly as data tapes. It was not his job to preserve history, he said, just to make sure the footage worked. In retrospect, he said he wished Nasa had not reused the tapes. Outside historians were aghast. “It’s surprising to me that Nasa didn’t have the common sense to save perhaps the most important historical footage of the 20th century,” said Rice University historian and author Douglas Brinkley. He noted that Nasa saved all sorts of data and artifacts from Apollo 11, and it is “mind-boggling that the tapes just disappeared.” The remastered copies may look good, but “when dealing with historical film footage, you always want the original to study,” Brinkley said. Smithsonian Institution space curator Roger Launius, a former Nasa chief historian, said the loss of the original video “doesn’t surprise me that much.” “It was a mistake, no doubt about that,” Launius said. “This is a problem inside the entire federal government. ... They don’t think that preservation is all that important.” Launius said federal warehouses where historical artifacts are saved are “kind of like the last scene of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ It just goes away in this place with other big boxes.” The company that restored all the Indiana Jones movies, including “Raiders,” is the one bailing out Nasa. Lowry Digital of Burbank, California, noted that “Casablanca” had a pixel count 10 times higher than the moon video, meaning the Apollo 11 footage was fuzzier than that vintage movie and more of a challenge in one sense. Of all the video the company has dealt with, “this is by far and away the lowest quality,” said Lowry president Mike Inchalik. Nafzger praised Lowry for restoring “crispness” to the Apollo video. Historian Launius wasn’t as blown away. “It’s certainly a little better than the original,” Launius said. “It’s not a lot better.” The Apollo 11 video remains in black and white. Inchalik said he would never consider colorizing it, as has been done to black-and-white classic films. And the moon is mostly gray anyway. The restoration used four video sources: CBS News originals; kinescopes from the National Archives; a video from Australia that received the transmission of the original moon video; and camera shots of a TV monitor. Both Nafzger and Inchalik acknowledged that digitally remastering the video could further encourage conspiracy theorists who believe Nasa faked the entire moon landing on a Hollywood set. But they said they enhanced the video as conservatively as possible. Besides, Inchalik said that if there had been a conspiracy to fake a moon landing, Nasa surely would have created higher-quality film. Back in 1969, nearly 40 percent of the picture quality was lost converting from one video format used on the moon, called slow scan, to something that could be played on TVs on Earth, Nafzger said. Nasa did not lose other Apollo missions’ videos because they were not stored on the type of tape that needed to be reused, Nafzger said. As part of the moon landing’s 40th anniversary, the space agency has been trotting out archival material. Nasa has a Web site with audio from private conversations in the lunar module and command capsule. The agency is also webcasting radio from Apollo 11 as if the mission were taking place today. The video restoration project did not involve improving the sound. Inchalik said he listened to Armstrong’s famous first words from the surface of the moon, trying to hear if he said “one small step for man” or “one small step for a man,” but could not tell. Through a letter read at a news conference Thursday, Armstrong had the last word about the video from the moon: “I was just amazed that there was any picture at all.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:39 am Indian equities ruling higher after strong openingIndian equities were ruling higher Friday after a strong opening on the back some positive signals from the government on the continuity of reforms and strong overnight rally in the US markets.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:32 am Shutdown called by Congress hits life in West BengalA 12-hour shutdown called by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee crippled life across the state as hundreds of Congress supporters blockaded roads and staged demonstrations Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:32 am Fresh global bids invited for Hyderabad MetroThe Andhra Pradesh government has invited fresh global bids for the Rs.121-billion ($2.4-billion) Hyderabad Metro Rail project in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:30 am British Airways raises $1 bn to avert cash crisisLondon: British Airways, unveiled plans to raise about £600 million ($1 billion) through a combination of bondholder debt and bank credit, when it reported a first-quarter loss of £100 million. Its shares were up 2.5% at 135.4 pence at 0720 GMT. On Tuesday, chairman Martin Broughton had said BA was considering a convertible bond, not a rights issue, to shore up a balance sheet ravaged by the global aviation sector downturn. BA said on Friday it planned to raise £300 million by issuing five-year bonds convertible into 15-20% of its shares. It also said it had also negotiated a release of bank guarantees with its British pension fund trustees which would give it access to up to $540 million of bank facilities. Chief executive Willie Walsh told reporters the moves eliminated any short-term threat of a financial crisis at the airline. “This puts to bed the suggestions British Airways is in any sort of risk in the short term. “We are one of the strongest airlines in terms of cash. Our trading position is difficult, but we have taken action ahead of competitors,” he said BA also reported an operating loss of £100 million for the three months ending 30 June, on revenues of 1.98 billion. Airlines around the world have been suffering from what many consider the worst conditions ever due to falling passenger numbers in the face of global economic turmoil, and traditional carriers have faced intense competition from budget operators. BA stock has lost nearly 70% of its value in the past year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:24 am Yen advances; Asian shares edge up on earningsTokyo: Asian shares extended gains on Friday on hopes the global recession is receding after key US companies beat earnings expectations, but deadly blasts in Jakarta weighed on Indonesian stocks and the rupiah. The yen rose as Japanese exporters sold foreign currencies, with risk appetite dulling in the wake of the explosions and ahead of more US bank earnings. Oil fell towards $61. European shares were set to edge higher for their fifth straight day of gains, echoing Asian and US gains, financial bookmakers said. Blasts at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Marriott Hotel in central Jakarta killed 9, police said. A car bomb exploded along a toll road, and Indonesia’s Metro TV said two had been killed. Jakarta stocks fell 1.2% and the rupiah, which has been Asia’s best performing currency so far this year, lost 1% before paring losses. Share markets have been keenly watched as a barometer of investor confidence, but risk appetite has waned as market players awaited earnings due out later on Friday, including Citigroup and Bank of America “Already this morning there was a bit of profit-taking and a slight move away from risk trades,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of FX strategy at Calyon in Hong Kong. Strong earnings for major US companies continued to cheer global markets on Thursday as the quarterly reporting season moved into higher gear, pushing US share indexes up about 1% overnight. JPMorgan Chase & Co saw quarterly profit soar 36% and US bellwether International Business Machines Corp strongly beat forecasts in earnings announced after the bell. But amid the good news, JP Morgan reported a surge in consumer credit losses, showing the economic recovery still has a long way to go, and Citigroup and Bank of America were expected to post relatively weaker performances, one trader said. “Earnings from US banks have been upbeat, but there are concerns that the positive results could be limited to the second quarter,” said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities. Asian shares ex-Japan rose 0.7% and looked on track for their highest close in a month. The index rose over 5% on the week, taking its gains so far this year to around 34%. Asia ex-Japan equity funds were the only ones of the four major emerging markets fund groups to see inflows during the second week of July, according to global fund tracker EPFR, while Japan equity funds recorded inflows for the third straight week. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei clawed up 0.6% to 9,395.32. Gains have been limited by political uncertainty since Monday, when embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso said he aimed to call an election for 30 August, despite grim prospects for his long-ruling conservative party. Korean shares climbed 0.6% after rising as far as 1,445.60, a new 2009 high, with gains fueled by tech shares such as LG Display and LG Electronics The Indonesian rupiah fell 0.7% to 10,200 per dollar in the wake of the explosions, prompting state banks to sell dollars to support it, traders said. The dollar, which has been a defensive play for investors in the global economic crisis, hit a six-week low at 79.131 against the basket of six currencies on Thursday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:02 am From hoes to begging bowls: drought hits Assam farmersUntil recently, 55-year-old Biswajit Bora made a modest living growing paddy on his two- acre plot in Assam's Nagaon district and managed to feed his family of six. Today Bora goes from house to house with a begging bowl for survival.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Jul 2009 | 7:01 am Oil falls below $62 amid lingering pessimismPerth: Oil fell below $62 a barrel on Friday amid lingering scepticism over the pace of a global economic recovery, but prices are on track to snap four straight weeks of decline to post a weekly gain. Helped by a rally in the equities markets and some positive economic data, oil is on course to rise about 2.8% this week, partially reversing last week’s drop of 10.3%, which was the highest weekly decline since early February. US crude oil for September delivery fell 42 cents to $61.60 a barrel by 12:06pm, London Brent crude fell 42 cents to $63.33 a barrel. “Sentiments on oil are split between those who believe a recovery is on its way and therefore prices should climb higher, and those who are looking at the supply-demand fundamentals and believe that the market is still very weak,” said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst at Purvin & Gertz. Oil’s gains on Thursday were helped by a rise on Wall Street following more upbeat corporate earnings and a report that showed strong economic growth in China, the world’s second biggest consumer of energy. The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since January last week, a decline linked to upheaval in the auto industry, while a key regional manufacturing index slipped more than expected in July, reports showed on Thursday. In China, refiners in the world’s No.2 energy consumer boosted production by 6% in June to a record high after a rise in domestic motor fuel prices aided margins, although higher inventories and rising exports suggested domestic demand was lagging. Oil prices remain down nearly $10 since early July - partially reversing last quarter’s 40% surge - amid lingering concerns about global energy demand, which has been contracting for the first time in a quarter century under the weight of the economic recession. US government data this week showing a swelling in gasoline stockpiles in the week of July 10 despite the 4 July Independence Day holiday when the summer driving season typically peaks, remains a stark reminder for investors that demand in the world’s top energy consumer is still tepid at best. Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists who accurately predicted the magnitude of the financial crisis, said on Thursday the worst of the turmoil had passed, but emphasized the US would still need a second fiscal stimulus, possibly by the end of this year, as the unemployment rate quickly approaches 10%. In Nigeria, France’s Total has declared force majeure on cargoes of Nigerian Amenam crude oil loading from the middle of July due to technical problems. Economic data due out later on Friday include the US housing building permits for June and the US ECRI weekly index, which will be keenly watched by investors to gauge how the economy was faring. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 6:55 am Nasa probes new space shuttle fuel tank problemFlorida: Nasa will hold off launching any more space shuttles until it understands why strips of insulating foam peeled off the fuel tank used by shuttle Endeavour, the US space agency shuttle program manager said on Thursday. Endeavour arrived safely in orbit after Wednesday’s liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida though video and images of the launch showed about a dozen pieces of debris flying off the fuel tank during the 8.5-minute climb to orbit. Some smashed into the ship’s heat shield, though Nasa does not believe they caused any serious damage. “We’re not worried about this one, but we need to understand what’s going on for the next flight,” shuttle program manager John Shannon said at a news conference. “This is new,” Shannon said. “I don’t know if we have a material issue or a process issue but we’ll get to the bottom of it and clear it before the August flight.” He told Reuters in an interview that no new shuttle launches would take place until the foam loss problem was understood. Nasa has seven more shuttle launches planned to complete construction of the International Space Station. Its next flight is targeted for launch on 18 August. The US space agency has been concerned about foam shedding from the tank since losing shuttle Columbia in 2003. A debris impact during Columbia’s launch breached the ship’s heat shield, which caused the shuttle to break apart as it flew through the atmosphere for landing. Seven astronauts died in the accident. Nasa redesigned the tanks to stem foam loss and implemented new procedures and equipment to check for damage after launch. The images of Endeavour’s launch showed patches of metal where thin strips of foam had peeled away from a part of the tank that previously had not been a problem, Shannon said. “We have a bit of a mystery,” Shannon said at the news conference. “It’s from an area we don’t typically expect to see foam to be lost.” The foam loss occurred relatively late during Endeavour’s climb to orbit so that there was not much atmospheric force to slam debris into the ship and cause damage. If the foam had fallen off earlier during ascent, it could have been another story. “It did not hurt us, apparently, on this flight, because it came off so late. But we’ll need to understand that before the next flight,” Shannon said. A variety of tests are planned to determine if the problem on Endeavour’s tank was an isolated incident or if there is a more generic issue. Shannon told Reuters he believed it was possible to get to the bottom of the foam loss problem before the 18 August launch of shuttle Discovery, He said he suspected a problem when Endeavour’s tank was prepared for flight left the foam improperly bonded but said engineers may never able to determine the exact cause of the foam loss beyond all doubt. Perhaps, he said. “the best we can do is prove that we’re not suspect on future tanks.” The Endeavour astronauts, meanwhile, used the shuttle’s robot arm to scan their ship’s wings and nose cap with a sophisticated imaging system mounted at the end of a 50-foot (15-metre) boom. The pictures will be analyzed by engineers on the ground over the next several days. Another inspection was scheduled for Friday before the shuttle docks at the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky will backflip Endeavour so astronauts aboard the station can photograph its heat-resistant belly tiles. Those images also will be relayed to the ground for analysis. The shuttle, which is carrying the last piece of Japan’s Kibo laboratory, is scheduled to spend 11 days at the outpost. Endeavour also is carrying supplies, spare parts and a new station crewmember, US astronaut Timothy Kopra, who will replace Japan’s Koichi Wakata as one of the live-aboard flight engineers. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 6:34 am Opto Circuits share down 3% - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 6:00 am Indian reservoirs narrow deep deficit after rains - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:50 am BSE Sensex rises 2.1 pct; ICICI, Infosys gainMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex rose 2.1 percent on Friday, as upbeat earnings reports from key U.S. firms fuelled a Wall Street rally overnight and lifted sentiment across Asia.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:49 am Chandrayaan sensor fails; craft’s life may be reducedBangalore: India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-I, launched in October last with a two-year life span, has lost a major sensor and may meet a premature end, Isro said on Friday. “Unfortunately, during the last month we have lost a vital sensor — the star sensor,” Isro chief G Madhavan Nair said. “Like in the olden days when one used to look at the stars to fix a direction, likewise an onboard electronic equipment was doing all this and it was required for precise pointing (towards the moon). With its loss we are really worried,” he said. “But to the credit of the Isro scientific team, they have worked out a very innovative way of overcoming the problem,” the Isro chief said, but added that if some more failures happen, “then we will have problems”. Nair, however, said that in the last eight months of the operation of the mission, “we have collected almost all the data that we wanted” and that most of its objectives have already been completed. Chandrayaan-I was launched from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 22 October last year. Isro spokesperson S Satish said, “We are not sure how long we will be able to sustain it. The life of Chandrayaan-I designed for two years may be reduced”. He, however, maintained that the mission is not crippled adding, “it is continuing satisfactorily.” Isro said it has devised innovative technology and is using antenna pointing mechanism and gyroscopes to overcome the problem. Giving details about the problems encountered by the mission after its launch, Nair said “Space missions are very, very complex. There are instances of problems on board. We were also not spared from these.” He said that the craft had faced fairly hostile environment around the moon especially in terms of thermal cycling as well as radiation. “The first thing what we encountered when it was put in the 100 km orbit, it simply reached a stage of thermal runaway. The entire spacecraft would have been baked. We would have lost it,” he said, adding that it was a scenario about a month after the launch. The ISRO chief said the mission has reached a stage where many of the electronics have failed and indeed some of the power supply instruments have malfunctioned. “But fortunately, we were able to energise the redundant units and keep them alive all this time. This has been going on for quite sometime. Unfortunately, during the last month we have lost one vital sensor,” he said. “Chandrayaan can continue but of course one cannot predict....failures can always happen if some more failures happen, then we have problems,” he said, adding that the mission is a “100% success”. On Chandrayaan-II, Nair said the scientists had to take care of environmentally greater issues. “As you know we did not have experience of this kind anytime earlier. This is for the first time we have understood the intricacies of going around the moon and this data will help us make the subsequent mission much more reliable,” he said. The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-I included surveying the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimension topography. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:32 am Chandrayaan sensor fails; craft’s life may be reducedBangalore: India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-I, launched in October last with a two-year life span, has lost a major sensor and may meet a premature end, Isro said on Friday. “Unfortunately, during the last month we have lost a vital sensor — the star sensor,” Isro chief G Madhavan Nair said. “Like in the olden days when one used to look at the stars to fix a direction, likewise an onboard electronic equipment was doing all this and it was required for precise pointing (towards the moon). With its loss we are really worried,” he said. “But to the credit of the Isro scientific team, they have worked out a very innovative way of overcoming the problem,” the Isro chief said, but added that if some more failures happen, “then we will have problems”. Nair, however, said that in the last eight months of the operation of the mission, “we have collected almost all the data that we wanted” and that most of its objectives have already been completed. Chandrayaan-I was launched from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 22 October last year. Isro spokesperson S Satish said, “We are not sure how long we will be able to sustain it. The life of Chandrayaan-I designed for two years may be reduced”. He, however, maintained that the mission is not crippled adding, “it is continuing satisfactorily.” Isro said it has devised innovative technology and is using antenna pointing mechanism and gyroscopes to overcome the problem. Giving details about the problems encountered by the mission after its launch, Nair said “Space missions are very, very complex. There are instances of problems on board. We were also not spared from these.” He said that the craft had faced fairly hostile environment around the moon especially in terms of thermal cycling as well as radiation. “The first thing what we encountered when it was put in the 100 km orbit, it simply reached a stage of thermal runaway. The entire spacecraft would have been baked. We would have lost it,” he said, adding that it was a scenario about a month after the launch. The ISRO chief said the mission has reached a stage where many of the electronics have failed and indeed some of the power supply instruments have malfunctioned. “But fortunately, we were able to energise the redundant units and keep them alive all this time. This has been going on for quite sometime. Unfortunately, during the last month we have lost one vital sensor,” he said. “Chandrayaan can continue but of course one cannot predict....failures can always happen if some more failures happen, then we have problems,” he said, adding that the mission is a “100% success”. On Chandrayaan-II, Nair said the scientists had to take care of environmentally greater issues. “As you know we did not have experience of this kind anytime earlier. This is for the first time we have understood the intricacies of going around the moon and this data will help us make the subsequent mission much more reliable,” he said. The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-I included surveying the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimension topography. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:32 am Banks see mixed June quarter earnings on muted loan growthMumbai: Indian mid-cap banks are likely to report mixed numbers in the April-June quarter as muted loan growth put pressure on margins, forcing them to book gains from non-core income, analysts said. Indian banks’ loan growth has slowed from around 27% in November 2008 to 15.8% in June 2009, recovering partially to 19.7% in July, Reserve Bank of India data showed. “First quarter was a sedate one in terms of core business growth for banks,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, banking analyst at Angel Broking. “Net interest incomes are also expected to be lower on slower credit growth,” Agrawal said. Moreover, the central bank has cut its main lending rate by 425 basis points since last October to lift a slowing economy. Commercial banks have responded by reducing rates by 150-200 basis points since then, analysts said. Accordingly, temporary re-pricing gaps in loans and deposits would impact net interest margins - a measure of spread between yield on loans and cost of deposits- in the short-term, Angel’s Agarwal said. In early part of June quarter, bond yields have corrected by 50-100 basis points across maturities, providing profit-taking opportunities, although yields rose in later part of the quarter, analysts said. Non-core incomes like treasury income, and lower operating expenses are likely to aid earnings, Kotak Securities said in a research note. “The trend is clear, gains will mostly come from non-core earnings even as margins will be under pressure,” said Alpesh Mehta, analyst with Motilal Oswal. Non-performing assets, a key concern for banks following the global economic downturn, are also expected to remain stable in the first quarter, analyst reports said. Bad assets are not expected to rise as most problematic loans have been restructured in March quarter and some would happen in the current quarter, PS Subramaniam, analyst with SBICAP Securities Ltd, said his research note. However, net interest margins were expected to stabilise from October-December quarter onwards as deposits re-price lower, especially bulk deposits contracted at peak rates during September-October 2008, Angel’s Agrawal added. Allahabad Bank, reporting results on 18 July, is expected to more than double profits to Rs2.07 billion on better margins and treasury gains, a Reuters poll of brokerages show. Andhra Bank is set for a 73.37% rise in profit to Rs1.34 billion, while Indian Bank may post a 31.79% profit rise to Rs2.86 billion, it showed. Union Bank’s profit may jump 50.59% to Rs3.43 billion, while Yes Bank is set for a 41.68% rise in profits to Rs769.75 million. Yes Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce will announce results on 21 July, while Central Bank of India will announce on 27 July and Syndicate Bank on 31 July. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:31 am Toyota to start making hybrids in Great BritainTokyo: Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said on Friday it will start making hybrid cars in Europe next year as part of a growth strategy that hinges on its strength in green technology. Toyota Motor Corp. said in a statement it will produce from mid-2010 a gas-electric hybrid version of its Auris hatchback at its Burnaston Plant in central England. It didn’t give any production figures. The world’s top automaker already makes hybrids in North America, Japan and China. It has been eager to expand its business in Europe, where it’s still a tiny player. Toyota said the decision to start making the hybrid Auris underlines its determination to “distinguish itself in that market through the strengths of its hybrid technology” as it fights the global auto slump. Toyota has sold 37,000 Auris vehicles with regular gasoline engines in Europe since the model’s introduction in 2007. The non-hybrid Auris is now produced in England and in Turkey, according to Toyota. Strong hybrid sales have furnished the one bright spot in Toyota’s gloomy performance. The maker of the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury car sank to its worst ever loss in the fiscal year ended March. Government incentives to encourage the purchase of ecological vehicles have helped boost hybrid sales, including those in Japan. Interest in hybrids, electric vehicles and other green auto technology is growing because of worries about global warming and the environment. The remodeled Prius has been selling briskly in Japan since they went on sale in May, and has been the top selling car in Japan for two straight months. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:17 am IBM hikes 2009 outlook, boosts sharesNew York: IBM sharply raised its full-year earnings forecast as it benefits from focusing more on higher-margin businesses in software and services, sending its shares up as much as 3%. The outlook and stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, coming on the heels of Intel’s stellar results this week, may signal that the worst could be over for the hard-hit technology sector, some analysts say. Others point out that IBM managed to boost profits mainly by cutting costs and decreasing its dependence on hardware - an area that has bore the brunt of the worldwide downturn in technology spending. International Business Machines Corp said it now expects 2009 earnings of at least $9.70 per share, up from its previous outlook of $9.20. The company said it was ahead of its plan of achieving $10 to $11 earnings per share in 2010. “This, combined with Intel’s results, is pushing me to be more optimistic,” said Kim Caughey, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. “Seeing they made it on the bottom line, and were pretty darned close on the top line, it gives me confidence looking at technology in general.” Leading chipmaker Intel unveiled stronger-than-expected earnings and outlook this week, bolstering hopes that the worst of the industry’s downturn had passed. Analysts said IBM’s higher outlook took the disappointment out of its lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, which fell 13% to $23.3 billion. The market’s average forecast had been for $23.5 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Net profit for the quarter rose to $3.1 billion from $2.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. Profit per share rose to $2.32 from $1.97, much higher than the average Wall Street forecast of $2.01 per share, according to Reuters Estimates. “In an unpleasant economic and financial world, these are incredible results,” said Mike Holland, chairman of investment firm Holland & Co. But some analysts say IBM’s strong outlook may not necessarily signal improvement for the overall sector, since the stronger profit was largely a result of higher margins rather than sales. IBM has fared better than many other technology companies over the past year as it focuses on software and services in outsourcing, automation and technology support - areas that have enjoyed relatively strong demand in the global economic downturn. Analysts also credit IBM’s cost-cutting measures. Sources in March said IBM was cutting about 5,000 jobs in the United States, although the company has also said it was hiring thousands in new business areas like analytics. “If it was revenue growth, then you could say it was more broad-based,” said Fred Weiss, portfolio manager at Atlantic Trust. “The company was successful at managing the costs well ... so what you have here is margin improvement, which is IBM-specific,” Weiss said. Gross profit margin rose to 45.5% from 43.2% a year earlier, and chief financial Officer Mark Loughridge said there was room for further improvement. Loughridge said economic conditions remained tough and avoided declaring that the worst was over, although he forecast a boost from US government stimulus plans to encourage discretionary spending and a weakening dollar. IBM shares briefly rose around 3% in extended trade after closing up $3.42, or 3.2 percent, at $110.64 on the New York Stock Exchange. They later settled to around $112.40, up 1.6%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:09 am Holcim Indonesia says CEO killed in Jakarta blastSingapore: Cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia told Reuters its chief executive, Tim Mackay, was killed in a bomb blast at a hotel in Jakarta on Friday, sending the firm’s shares down more than 5%. “He is dead,” said the company’s marketing director Patrick Walser, confirming that Mackay had been killed in an explosion. Indonesian police said nine people were killed in bomb blasts at two hotels, the JW Marriott and the Ritz Carlton, in Jakarta’s business district. Local television said two people were also killed in a third explosion, a car bomb north of the capital. Holcim Indonesia is 77.3% owned by the world’s second-largest cement maker, Holcim Ltd of Switzerland. The Indonesian entity is the country’s third-biggest cement producer with annual output of around 7 million tonnes. Holcim Indonesia’s shares dropped 5.26% as of 0430 GMT, compared to a 1.25% fall in the benchmark Jakarta index. Mackay became CEO of the company in 2004, the firm’s website said. In 2006 he changed the company’s name from PT Semen Cibinong to PT Holcim Indonesia, and is credited with helping transform the firm into a profitable and competitive company. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:07 am Holcim Indonesia says CEO killed in Jakarta blastSingapore: Cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia told Reuters its chief executive, Tim Mackay, was killed in a bomb blast at a hotel in Jakarta on Friday, sending the firm’s shares down more than 5%. “He is dead,” said the company’s marketing director Patrick Walser, confirming that Mackay had been killed in an explosion. Indonesian police said nine people were killed in bomb blasts at two hotels, the JW Marriott and the Ritz Carlton, in Jakarta’s business district. Local television said two people were also killed in a third explosion, a car bomb north of the capital. Holcim Indonesia is 77.3% owned by the world’s second-largest cement maker, Holcim Ltd of Switzerland. The Indonesian entity is the country’s third-biggest cement producer with annual output of around 7 million tonnes. Holcim Indonesia’s shares dropped 5.26% as of 0430 GMT, compared to a 1.25% fall in the benchmark Jakarta index. Mackay became CEO of the company in 2004, the firm’s website said. In 2006 he changed the company’s name from PT Semen Cibinong to PT Holcim Indonesia, and is credited with helping transform the firm into a profitable and competitive company. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 5:07 am Industrial production to fall to 4.8% this fiscal: CMIEMumbai: Industrial production would fall from 5.1% to 4.8% this fiscal due to a dip in agricultural production, according to economic think-tank CMIE. “We have revised our forecast for growth in industrial production in 2009-10 from 5.1% earlier to 4.8% in light of the failure of the monsoon,” Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly report. The fall in agriculture production has a direct bearing on the growth in GDP in 2009-10. Its indirect impact on the growth is also significant. CMIE further said that it has dropped its forecast for sugar production during 2009-10 due to an expected fall of 8% in sugarcane. Similarly, the institute lowered its edible oil production forecast. “While the industrial sector will face agro raw material supply problems in 2009-10, it will see a substantial increase in capacities,” CMIE said. These capacities are mostly in non-agro industries, CMIE said. Cement capacities are expected to increase by 27% during the year, those for aluminium by 25%, commercial vehicles by 50%, cars 25% and two-wheelers 18%, it pointed out. “These capacity additions are expected to accelerate the growth in industrial production... therefore we expect industrial production to grow by 4.8% this fiscal compared to 2.4% growth registered in 2008-09.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 4:49 am Industrial production to fall to 4.8 pc this fiscal: CMIEIndustrial production in the current fiscal would fall from 5.1 per cent to 4.8 per cent according to an economic think-tank.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 4:09 am No forcible acquisition of land: West Bengal - Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 4:02 am Vedanta eying asset buys in India and Africa - SteelGuru
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jul 2009 | 3:41 am Wall St climbs on tech shares, earnings optimismNew York: US stocks rallied for a fourth day on Thursday after JPMorgan’s strong results fed growing optimism about the quarterly earnings season and technology shares rose in anticipation of more good news. Gains in International Business Machines Corp helped the market shake off its earlier malaise. The broad S&P 500 extended the week’s gains to tally its best four days since March as stocks recovered from 12-year lows. IBM provided the Dow’s biggest boost ahead of earnings that beat expectations after the market closed. The bellwether also raised its outlook for the full year, sending its shares up 1.6% to $112.41 in extended trade. IBM closed the regular session up 3.2% at $110.64. “As the market rallies, implicit in that is the expectation that we’ll continue to see a recovery in corporate profits,” said Dean Curnutt, president of Macro Risk Advisors in New York. JPMorgan Chase & Co continued the week’s streak of positive results, posting a strong quarterly profit, butwarning of deteriorating consumer credit. The bank’s stock was kept under water for most of the day, edging down 0.4% to $36.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Much better-than-expected results from Goldman Sachs and Intel set the tone early in the week amid expectations of a lousy second quarter marked by falling revenues and cost cuts. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 95.61 points, or 1.11%, to 8,711.82. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 8.06 points, or 0.86%, to finish at 940.74, and has climbed 7% for the week so far. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 22.13 points, or 1.19%, to 1,885.03. Results from Web search leader Google Inc also came in better than expected after the bell, but the stock was off 2.4 percent at $432.19 in extended trade. During the regular session, Google had recovered from earlier losses to gain 1 percent and close at $442.60 on Nasdaq. Comments from leading economist Nouriel Roubini further boosted sentiment after he said the worst is past in terms of economic and financial conditions. Shares of Qualcomm Inc lifted the Nasdaq after RBC Capital Markets started coverage of the cellphone chip supplier with an “outperform” rating. Qualcomm gained 1.4% to $46.72. On the economic front, government data showed the number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to their lowest level since January, but the seasonally adjusted data was amplified by earlier auto industry plant shutdowns. A separate report showed showed factory activity in the US Mid-Atlantic region shrank for the 10th consecutive month in July, a worse-than-expected decline that raised questions about the speed of the economic recovery. Volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.18 billion shares changing hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on the Nasdaq, about 2.11 billion shares traded, below last year’s daily average of 2.28 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jul 2009 | 3:09 am CIT rushes to secure lending, bankruptcy fearedNEW YORK (Reuters) - CIT Group Inc was in discussions on Thursday with potential lenders to secure financing, after the collapse of rescue talks with the government left the company on the brink of bankruptcy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:04 am Inflation remains in negative territoryInflation continues to be in the negative territory at -1.21 per cent for the week ended July 4 as compared with -1.55 per cent for the previous week ended June 27. In the corresponding week of 2008, inflation had stood at 12.19 perSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Pvt equity, venture capital cos turning to healthcare: ReportPrivate equity and venture capital firms are keen on increasing their investments in Indian healthcare and life science companies, a report released by research firm Venture IntelligenceSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am L&T net soars on UltraTech stake saleMumbai, July 16 Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro has reported a 22-per cent drop in its order inflow for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 at Rs 9,571 crore as compared to Rs 12,234 crore logged in the same period lastSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideDLF is experiencing selling pressure at higher levels; utilise rallies to sell it with tight stop at Rs 326. The near-term outlook is bearish for ICICI Bank and SBI. We recommend a sell inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am OECD says export outlook gloomyNew Delhi, July 16 The country’s export scenario in the coming days may appear dim with the continued collapse of trade flows of the developed countries, its major markets.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Centre to borrow more in first halfNew Delhi, July 16 The Centre has stepped up its first half year borrowing programme by nearly 25 per cent to Rs 2.99 lakh crore.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am L&T’s profit growth aided by exceptional gainBL Research Bureau Exceptional gains of Rs 1,020 croreensured that Larsen & Toubro (L&T) trebled its net profits for the quarter ended June 2009 (over a year-ago numbers) despite the tepid growth in revenues. While the benefit of lowerSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Bajaj Auto net rises 67% to Rs 293 cr in Q1Mumbai, July 16 Bajaj Auto has reported a net profit of Rs 293.49 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, up 67.6 per cent from Rs 175.11 crore in the corresponding period lastSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Ranbaxy Laboratories (Rs 259.3): BuyWe recommend a buy in Ranbaxy Laboratories from a short-term trading perspective. The stock was on a medium-term correction from its June high of Rs 311 to Rs 240. This correction halted at the twin support at Rs 240 (a long-term key supportSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Crop prospects hazy as rainfall is much below normal stillChennai, July 16 Monsoon continues to be in the deficit, but the shortfall has been trimmed to 27 per cent for the week-ended July 15 against 36 per cent for the period ending July 8.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Global fundmen remain in favour of emerging marketsThe yo-yoing markets after the Budget might be indicative of a larger trend, where the markets remain largely rangebound.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Jul 2009 | 8:28 pm Add-ons okayed, car covers get more comprehensiveWith the recent decision by Irda, the insurance regulator, permitting new add-on covers, India will see a paradigm shift in the way motor insurance is done.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Jul 2009 | 8:28 pm Sterlite plans big steel, power pushSterlite Industries, which raised about $1.5 billion through the sale of American depositary shares (ADS), will develop 11,000 mw of capacity over the next three years.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Jul 2009 | 8:27 pm Why the money printing's not causing inflationPeople aren't willing to spend money -- neither their own, nor borrowed.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Jul 2009 | 8:24 pm Tata Docomo pricing throws gauntletTata Docomo, the latest entrant into the GSM-based mobile telephony space, has lined up a tariff plan that could potentially be a game-changer.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Jul 2009 | 8:22 pm Changi buys 26% in India's first airport city projectAfter one failed attempt, Singapore-based Changi Airport International (CAI) finally made an entry into Indias airport development business by announcing that it had bought 26 per cent for $20 million (approximately Rs 96 crore) in Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:45 pm Mukesh's pipeline firm to seek tax break restorationReliance Gas Transportation India Ltd (RGTIL), the pipeline company wholly owned by Reliance Industries promoter Mukesh Ambani, has decided to write to the finance ministry, seeking a restoration of profit-linked tax benefits the Budget has replaced with an investment-linked tax break.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:42 pm Two-thirds of govt borrowing in H1The government intends to borrow Rs 1,10,000 crore over the next 75 days, which will push up its first-half borrowings by Rs 58,000 crore from the earlier planned level.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:41 pm Sterlite raises $1.5 bn via ADSSterlite Industries, Indias largest copper producer, has raised $1.5 billion (Rs 7,305 crore) through American Depository Shares (ADS), the largest US share sale from India in two years, to develop its power generation business and fund acquisitions.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:39 pm NALCO ups security at bauxite minesState-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO) has strengthened security in its bauxite mines area in Panchpatmali hills of Koraput in the aftermath a Maoist attack in April, a company official said Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm Work in Tata's Kalinganagar project to begin next monthAfter facing strong resistance over displacement of farmers who had given up their land, the beleaguered Tata Steel project in Kalinganagar in Orissa's Jajpur district is to start production in August, an official said Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm Maytas Infra appoints internal auditorMaytas Infra has appointed an internal auditor to check the veracity of its accounts. The auditor will check the company\'s accounts for the last three years and will also provide clarity to the board on Maytas Infra\'s finances. The Maytas Infra board will meet on July 18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 5:22 pm Glodyne Technoserve acquires Broadllyne TechnologiesGlodyne Technoserve Limited a leading Technology Infrastructure Management Services Company reported that the board has approved the acquisition of Broadllyne Technologies Ltd (Broadllyne), a Managed Application Services provider in the education sector, headquartered in Mumbai, India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 5:02 pm Exide posts Rs.122.4 cr net profit in Q1The country's largest lead acid storage battery manufacturers Exide Industries Ltd posted net profit after tax of Rs.122.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, as compared to Rs.82.2 crore for the corresponding period last year.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 4:30 pm West Bengal makes land acquisition industrialists' jobAfter its land acquisition for industry went wrong twice, and with adverse consequences for it, the West Bengal government Thursday said henceforth the industrialists will have to directly purchase land from farmers.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 4:30 pm Eye 25% returns from Shriram City in 5 yrs: Norwest VentureNorwest Venture had bought 8.38% stake, or 38.4 lakh shares, of Shriram City Union Finance at Rs 315 per share. Commenting on the development, Niren Shah, MDIndia, Norwest Ventures, said in 35 years, the company is looking at over 25% internal rate of return (IRR). In that respect, he said, Shriram City is an exceptional entity among NBFCs.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 4:21 pm MET predicting next month\'s monsoon premature: Tower CapSandeep Bhardwaj, CEO and Head Equity Startegy of Tower Capital, said that poor monsoon will negatively affect the yield of sugarcane. \"Thus, the availability of sugarcane, as far as the situation stands now, will definitely be a problem,\" he said. He also sees sugarcane prices movingup.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 3:18 pm Drought aggravated demandsupply mismatch: McLeod RusselKamal Baheti, CFO at McLeod Russel said that the company had sold 20 million kgs of tea out of 25 million kgs produced. The drought, he said, has aggravated the demand supply mismatch. He added that he expected the operating margin would improve to 30% versus 25%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 3:14 pm United India starts reminder service on claim amountsThe state-owned non-life insurer United India Thursday launched an SMS service to apprise its mediclaim policyholders the amount they can claim for health check-ups once every four years, provided no claims have been made in this period.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 3:01 pm 15 new bus depots in Delhi before 2010 Commonwealth GamesDelhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely Thursday said that 15 new Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus depots would come up before 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm Govt to disinvest 510 PSUs in FY10: SourcesThere is no proposal to disband National Investment Fund (NIF) as of now, reported CNBCTV18 quoting sources. Government has the option of using part of NIF corpus to fund social schemes. However, the government may route NIF corpus through Mutual Funds reported sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Jul 2009 | 2:10 pm TechCrunch publishes sensitive Twitter corporate infoSan Francisco: Technology news website TechCrunch published on Wednesday sensitive internal documents belonging to Twitter, including financial projections, offering a rare glimpse into the wildly popular microblogging site. Twitter has a targeted revenue run rate of $140 million by the end of 2010, with the expectation it would record its first revenue -- a modest $400,000 -- in the third quarter of this year, according to a document Techcrunch published that it said was sent by a hacker. Dated February, the document was labeled a financial forecast and outlined how Twitter expected to take in $4 million in revenue by the fourth quarter and maintain $45 million of cash in the bank. By the end of 2013, Twitter hoped to sign up 1 billion users, post $1.54 billion in revenue, employ 5,200 people and make $111 million in net earnings, according to TechCrunch. Techcrunch, which said it negotiated the publication with Twitter itself, added in the report that the document was unofficial and “certainly no longer accurate.” Twitter was not immediately available to comment on the projections. The document published by TechCrunch did not provide details about how Twitter planned to get the revenue. “We are in touch with our legal counsel about what this theft means for Twitter, the hacker, and anyone who accepts and subsequently shares or publishes these stolen documents,” Twitter said in an official blog post. TechCrunch said earlier on Wednesday that an anonymous hacker had gained “easy access” to hundreds of pieces of internal Twitter information -- from pass codes to meeting minutes -- and then forwarded the data to the news website. TechCrunch initially posted a single document, a discussion about a proposed reality television show. Within hours of its posting, hundreds of readers condemned the site for the move. Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, defended its right to make the material public, saying it would exercise restraint on material such as personnel records. “We’ve spent most of the evening reading these documents. The vast majority of them are somewhat embarrassing to various individuals, but not otherwise interesting,” Arrington wrote. “But a few of the documents have so much news value that we think it’s appropriate to publish them.” Twitter, which permits users to post “Tweets” of up to 140 characters, has won a loyal fan following of millions and catapulted to prominence after it was used by protesters in Iran following a disputed election there. The company is trying to parlay the popularity of its free service, into a money-making business. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told Reuters earlier this year the company had decided to generate revenue in 2009, a year earlier than planned. Stone also said Twitter was more interested in generating revenue from premium add-on features, such as analytic tools, than from traditional online advertising. Twitter’s surge in popularity, and its real-time search feature, have captured the attention of Web giants such as Google Inc, which has had unspecified discussions with the company, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “Obviously Twitter is a very attractive target for hackers or attackers, because of its high profile as a very popular media website,” said Joris Evers, a spokesman and security expert at McAfee, which protects against Internet threats. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Jul 2009 | 11:35 am Lufthansa to launch big cost cuts: companyFrankfurt: Lufthansa, the leading German airline, is to make big extra cost cuts to save one billion euros ($1.4 billion) per year from 2011, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. Spokeswoman Claudia Lange gave substance to a report earlier in the day by the business daily Handelsblatt which said that the plan, dubbed “Climb 2011,” would focus on passenger transport activities, which have slumped amid the global economic downturn. “Our passenger costs must fall,” she told AFP, adding that details would be released in the coming weeks. A letter sent by Lufthansa’s new chief executive Christoph Franz to staff warned that higher fuel costs and falling passenger numbers posed a serious threat and said: “This situation is forcing us to act.” “Air traffic is mired in the worst crisis in its history,” and the German carrier expected it to last longer than previously anticipated. After posting a first-quarter loss, Lufthansa’s first-half results “will show that this negative trend is continuing,” Franz said. “Unless market conditions change, our losses will increase significantly in the coming year owing especially to the rise in fuel prices,” he added. “We must now make ever more determined efforts to counteract the trend,” he stressed, adding: “We have no other alternative but to resort to painful measures.” An airline analyst quoted by Dow Jones Newswires expressed doubt however that Lufthansa would reach its cost-cutting target owing to likely strong resistance from trade unions. The analyst noted that the Cockpit union which represents pilots had already objected to the airline’s cost-savings plans. In mid June, the carrier said slumping passenger and freight traffic would force it to take additional measures to avoid posting a full year loss. Lange told AFP that the roughly 2,000 administrative posts in the airline’s passenger division would be cut by 20% in the medium term. “Our suppliers - within and outside the Group - must do their share,” Franz also said without elaborating. The airline would reappraise all its operations, including “structures, projects and processes,” the new chief executive vowed. Lufthansa is trying to take over two European carriers at the moment, Austrian Airlines and the Britain’s BMI. The bid for Austrian Airlines has become less certain however, because Lufthansa has failed to address competition concerns expressed by the European Commission, which must approve the deal. Lufthansa shares gained 0.88% to 9.17 euros in morning trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange, while the DAX index of leading stocks was slightly higher overall. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 16 Jul 2009 | 9:42 am
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