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Anil seeks probe into RIL's 'huge scandal' in gas investmentsQuestioning clearance by junior Oil Ministry officials to the near four-fold hike in costs to Rs 45,000 crore for gas fields by Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, Anil Ambani today demanded a probe into the "huge scandal."Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 8:59 am Oil ministry stand will erode investor confidence: Anil AmbaniThe partisan stand adopted by India's petroleum ministry in the dispute over natural gas between two corporate houses will erode investor confidence and goes against the government's reforms direction, industrialist Anil Ambani has said.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 7:05 am SBI Q1 net up 42 pc at Rs 2,330 crThe country's largest lender, SBI, reported a growth rate of 42 per cent in net profit at Rs 2,330.37 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 6:04 am Anil seeks probe into RIL's 'huge scandal' in gas investmentsAnil alleged that the Petroleum ministry, particularly after the changes in 2006 (when Murli Deora took over as minister), was colluding with RIL.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:49 am India's Mahindra Q1 net surges on takeover, utility sales - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:46 am Bank of Maharashtra Q1 net doubles to Rs 101 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:36 am Sensex snaps three-session losing streak, ends over 214 points up The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended the day higher by 214.50 points or 1.41% at 15,387.96 in a highly volatile session.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:36 am India, Russia ink agreement on seafood exportsIndia and Russian Federation has reached a new administrative arrangement on shipping and export of fish and seafood products from India, according to Marine Products Export Development Authority.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:29 am Markets end 1% up on strong global cuesMumbai: Indian shares shrugged off a shaky start and rose 1.4% on Thursday, snapping a three-day fall, as investors covered short positions on the final day of monthly derivatives and strong overseas markets provided support. Sentiment across Asia and Europe was lifted after China’s central bank pledged to maintain loose monetary policy to support economic recovery and ensure sustainable credit growth without resorting to heavy-handed quotas to rein in a surge in lending. Fears that China may seek to regulate credit growth had dragged down Chinese stocks 5% on Wednesday and weighed on markets across the globe. Even though possible regulatory action in China was unlikely to affect India directly, investors used it as an excuse to take profits on a recent rally after some results from top firms disappointed during the week, traders said. However, on Thursday, government-run State Bank of India reported a better-than-expected 42% jump in quarterly profit, boosting its shares 4% to Rs1,722.80. The news also helped private-sector lender ICICI Bank, which rose 3.1% to Rs755.35, while rival HDFC Bank added 3% to Rs1,459.80. Other major gainers included top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp, which climbed 4.3% to Rs2,464.75, while consumer-goods firm Hindustan Unilever advanced 5.2% to Rs281.85 after falling 10.3% over the previous two sessions. “The futures and options expiry helped the market today. Overseas markets were up too,” R K Gupta, managing director at Taurus Mutual Fund, said. “Also, some company results yesterday and today have come in above expectations, giving a fresh confidence to investors.” The 30-share BSE index ended up 1.41% or 214.50 points, at 15,387.96, with 22 stocks advancing, after falling as much as 0.7% during trade. The 50-share NSE index rose 1.3% to 4,571.45. Upbeat earnings reports in the past few weeks have driven global stock markets higher and prompted investors to take on more risk in their portfolios as they grow increasingly confident that the world economy is on the path to recovery. However, India’s benchmark is little changed this week following its 14% rise over the previous two weeks as disappointing results from Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceutical and Tata Steel weakened the market momentum seen since mid-July. Sun Pharmaceutical fell 3.6% to Rs1,145.25, while Reliance Industries, which has the most weight in the main index, eased 1.4% to Rs1,899.90 on Thursday. In the broader market, gainers led losers 1,521 to 1,175 on relatively light volume of 392.7 million shares. India’s wholesale price index remained negative in annual terms in mid-July but analysts said inflation would soon return and the central bank was right to leave interest rates steady at a policy review this week. Most Asian markets recovered from lows on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei rising 0.5%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets was up 0.9%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:20 am Jet Airways owes Service Tax Department Rs260crJet Airways owes Rs 260 crores to the service tax department. Mint\'s PR Sanjai reports that no service tax had been paid on import of services for the past three years. Jet has now been asked to pay Rs 247.47 crore as tax for FY06FY08, with interest.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:19 am Sensex ends 214 points higher - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:15 am RPT-Yahoo investors disappointed, but hold out hope - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:10 am SC rejects Anil plea for early final hearing of gas disputeThe Supreme Court rejected a plea by R-Adag to take up the dispute between RIL and RNRL for final hearing on September 1.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:10 am Renault slumps to massive loss, sees improvementFrench auto group Renault reported on Thursday a first-half net loss of 2.71 billion euros (3.8 billion dollars) as sales slumped 23.7 percent to 15.99 billion euros but said the outlook was improving.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 5:03 am Ambani case: Govt to modify SLP; SC to hear plea on Sep 1RIL and the government support RNRL plea for an early hearing, reports CNBCTV18. The Supreme Court said it will consider the plea and has asked parties to come back on September 1. Mahesh Agarwal, Counsel for RNRL, said the government has taken back its SLP for amendment.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:57 am Anil seeks probe into RIL's 'huge scandal' in gas investmentsQuestioning clearance of Rs 45,000cr by junior oil ministry officials for gas fields by RIL, Anil Ambani demanded a probe into the "huge scandal."Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:57 am Fund ready for Essar Power’s Mahan projectNew Delhi: Private power company Essar Power on Thursday said that it has tied up funds worth Rs4,860 crore for its Mahan thermal power plant at Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. “The financial closure for Rs4,860 crore Mahan power project in MP (Madhya Pradesh) has been achieved,” an Essar Power statement said. The project is being funded through a debt and equity ratio of 3:1 and is funded by a consortium of four lenders led by ICICI Bank which includes Power Finance Corp., Rural Electrification Corp. and Punjab National Bank, it said. Essar Power is currently executing four power projects of 1,200 MW capacity in three locations across the country and plans to raise this capacity to 6,000 MW by 2012. It is operating two gas-based plants and one liquid fuel based plant in Hazira, one co-generation plant in Vadinar in Gujarat and a coal-based plant in Vishakhapatnam. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:53 am ABG Shipyard ups Great Offshore bid price to Rs 450 a share - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:48 am India Sterlite issues $103 mln of additional ADS - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:46 am IOC Q1 net profit at Rs 3,682.83crIndian Oil Corporation on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 3,682.83 crore for the first quarter ended June 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:38 am UTV Software may mull minority stake sale in UTViMumbai: Television content provider and broadcaster UTV Software Communications Ltd may mull selling a minority stake in English news channel, UTVi, in October, a senior official told Reuters on Thursday. The company, which is also into movie production, expects its topline to grow 30% across businesses in FY10, led by its film division, and to be profitable for the entire year, chief executive officer Ronnie Screwvala said in an interview. UTV, whose forthcoming releases include “Delhi Belly” and “Shoebite”, has a market capitalisation of about $239.80 million. It posted a consolidated net profit of Rs356 million for the year-ended March 2009, compared with Rs577 million in FY08. It posted a net loss of Rs233 million in the April-June quarter. Screwvala said the company has an aggressive strategy in place for its broadcast division for the rest of the year, starting from 1 July. “For broadcasting, we have gone back to a very aggressive strategy and absolutely there is no maintenance-mode strategy going forward, starting from 1 July,” he said. The firm bought 125 new titles for its Hindi movie channel in last 4-5 weeks, he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:36 am Recession helps reshape India carbon dealsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The recession and falling prices of U.N.-backed carbon credits are changing the way carbon deals are structured in India, project developers and consultants say, with more players seeking partners to spread financial risks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:34 am Indian students ditching Australia after attacks: school officialsSydney: Indian students are turning their backs on Australia after a spate of violent attacks and a crackdown on migration scams, threatening a $13 billion industry, education officials said on Thursday. IDP Education, Australia’s largest student recruiter in India, said inquiries at its 14 offices there had dropped off by 80% amid a storm of negative publicity over alleged racial violence and exploitation. “The way this story’s been reported in India has very much overplayed what’s happening,” a spokesman said. “We are working hard to just remind people that Australian education is fundamentally high quality, and we think that we can change attitudes in the next few months.” The International Education Association of Australia, which represents universities’ international student business arms, said Indian enrolments and interest in private colleges were already suffering. Executive director Dennis Murray said vocational colleges would be particularly hard-hit with early indications of an industry-wide slowdown in 2010. Student groups have said about 1,000 international scholars, mainly Indian, were already “in limbo” after their colleges closed and the number could hit 5,000 when the shake-out is complete. “I think you would have to say that in parts of the industry, and that’s probably in the private vocational institutions in particular, there’s an immediate effect starting to show,” Murray said. “So next year’s going to be tough for them. For universities (it will be) probably tough too, but less so. Everybody would be carefully watching the figures.” Australia’s higher education industry has swelled to some $12.7 billion US a year, the country’s third-largest export earner, with universities and colleges actively targeting India’s growing middle class. But the government has conceded some of the private colleges that have sprung up to meet booming demand were “sub-standard” and unlikely to meet tough new requirements designed to prevent students being ripped off. This week, Canberra vowed to clamp down on unscrupulous migration agents and private colleges after a TV investigation found students could pay for fake English-language certificates needed to apply for residency. The ABC’s “Four Corners” programme reported that some Indian families had been left broke after sending children to Australia for courses that failed to deliver any educational value, lured by false promises of permanent residency. The revelations further damaged Australia’s reputation after a series of attacks on Indian students prompted demonstrations in Melbourne and Sydney last month. Murray said Australia’s relationship with India was durable and, though he anticipated a “bit of a glitch, I think we will bounce back.” “When I first got involved in India we thought we’d be lucky to get 5,000 students, we’ve now got 95,000 students from India,” he said. “Growth has been too quick and wrong in some of the sectors, particularly where it’s linked to immigration, but India’s not going to go away.” On Wednesday, a Melbourne man was jailed for 15 years over the race-murder of a Chinese university lecturer by a gang that also targeted Indians. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:34 am Recession helps reshape India carbon dealsNew Delhi: The recession and falling prices of UN-backed carbon credits are changing the way carbon deals are structured in India, project developers and consultants say, with more players seeking partners to spread financial risks. India is the second top source of carbon offsets under the UN’s clean development mechanism, or CDM, and until recently clean-energy projects were developed by Indian investors themselves. Most usually hung on to the credits hoping for higher prices. But with prices of the offsets called certified emissions reductions (CERs) falling and the number of credit buyers and investors declining, project developers are looking to find partners, such as utilities in rich nations or investment banks. “There’s this kind of a shift. More and more developers are looking to get the CDM costs funded through the buyer and then try to do a forward transaction,” said Aseem Chaturvedi, senior consultant at Emergent Ventures India. Emergent ranks among the top five CDM developers and consultants in India, with 28 registered projects and more than 200 others in the pipeline. “The traditional Indian model is you develop it yourself, get it registered and sell it on the spot market. Now there’s more interest in forward deals,” said Chaturvedi. At present, such forward purchase deals represented between 85 to 95% of the price of exchange traded CERs as of a certain date. This would be locked in for the entire contract, he said. CERs traded on the European Climate Exchange were trading around 12.40 euros ($17.40) on Thursday. Under the CDM, governments and companies in rich nations can invest in clean-energy projects such as wind farms and small hydro plants and earn CERs in return to meet emissions reduction targets or to sell for profit. According to UN data, India had 1,233 CDM projects formally approved by the UN or being validated as of 1 July. A third were biomass projects and nearly 40% were wind farms. China had 1,759 projects with hydro comprising 50% of projects and 22% for wind. Future demand Project developers say the market is also weighed down by concerns over the shape of the CDM after 2012. The scheme is part of the Kyoto Protocol, whose first phase ends in 2012. The UN hopes to seal a broader post-Kyoto climate pact at a meeting in December but some CER buyers are worried about the flow of credits from new projects if global climate talks stall. Others point to the European emissions trading scheme, as well as others likely to emerge in the US, Japan and Australia as providing long-term demand for offsets. “Recently we’re seen a lot more interest on the post-2012 kind of forward deals so there’s a few we’re negotiating now with some buyers,” said Chaturvedi. Ashutosh Pandey, Emergent’s CEO for carbon advisory business, said uncertainty around 2012 was affecting new projects. “If I’m setting up a new project which has a gestation period of the next 3-4 years, I’m very close to 2012,” he said. “New buyers are coming who are willing to buy (credits) beyond 2012 and they are providing long-term finance. But still, the market is very thin.” The recession has also made Indian project developers cautious in terms of financing, said Pamposh Bhat, who helped set up India’s CDM market in 2003 and worked with German agency GTZ in a key advisory role until last month. “Of the 400-plus projects registered in India, they are all unilateral projects. But now some bilateral projects are happening,” said Bhat, who heads carbon consultancy EFCON. “Things have changed. Now the developers are looking for foreign investment, it suits the parties, it’s sharing the risks.” She also said project owners were turning to the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as a source of revenue. Credits under the VCM are typically cheaper than CERs and rules are less stringent. “If there are no buyers coming and they have already prepared a CDM project, why not cater to the VCM?” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:29 am Infosys plans to recruit from next year, GopalakrishnanIT major, Infosys Technologies Limited plans to go to campus recruitment across the country next year. Chief Executive Officer and Managing director, Infosys technologies Limited, S Gopalakrishnan (KRIS) told reporters on the sidelines of a CII meeting.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:23 am Mitsubishi Motors reports loss for Q1Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said today it plunged into the red last quarter due to a sales slump caused by plummeting global demand and a rising yen.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:22 am Airlines carry less cargo, fewer people in June: IATAGeneva: Airlines carried 16.5% less cargo and 7.2% fewer people in June than the same month a year ago, with no sign yet of the global recession lifting, an industry body said on Thursday. In its latest monthly reading of cross-border traffic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it could take years for air freight — a leading indicator of the health of world trade — to return to 2008 levels. “These are extremely challenging times for airlines. There are no signs of an early economic recovery,” IATA said, warning that continued weakness could spell trouble for carriers. “Airlines are seeing international revenue falls of up to 30% at the start of the busy June-August period when airlines traditionally make their money. The outlook remains bleak,” IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani said. IATA has estimated airlines will lose $9 billion in 2009 after shedding $8.5 billion in 2008, when high oil prices hit profits and then the global credit and financial crisis slashed demand for business and leisure air travel. The Geneva-based body, which represents 230 carriers including United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and British Airways, said there were further risks in 2009 from rising oil prices and fears of the H1N1 pandemic flu that could further suppress passenger demand. Air cargo traffic has fallen for 13 consecutive months on a year-on-year basis, reflecting both fewer shipments of goods for sale and the reliance of some exporters on more ocean transport during the recession, which has weakened consumer demand. “At the current pace, it will likely take several years before demand returns to early 2008 levels,” IATA said of cargo. IATA said there were some signs of increased activity in China and other emerging Asian countries in June, but said these were eclipsed by weakness in Europe and North America where consumers “choose to repay debt rather than increase spending.” Airlines have been slashing fares in both business and economy class to encourage people to keep flying during the recession, and “after years of cost reduction, the scope for further cuts is limited,” IATA warned. “Flexibility is critical in finding new sources of capital and new markets,” it said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:16 am BSE Sensex provisionally rises 1.3 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 1.3 percent on Thursday, helped by strong markets across Asia and Europe and short-covering on the final day of monthly derivatives.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:10 am Trading gains help SBI beat Q1 forecastMUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, topped forecast with a 42 percent jump in quarterly profit, aided by trading gains, but analysts cautioned that trading profits would ease in the coming quarters as bond yields climb.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:08 am U.S. trust in business bounces back from lowBOSTON (Reuters) - Trust in business has rebounded from 10-year lows in the United States, but the majority of Americans still do not count on corporate America to do what is right, according to a survey released on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:06 am Oil firms see no quick recovery as profits plungeLondon: Falling oil and gas prices hit profits at European oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Repsol in the second quarter, prompting both to cut costs and scale back investments. Shell said the industry was grappling with a combination of weak demand for energy, excess capacity, and high industry costs, with no early respite expected. Net income excluding inventory adjustments plunged about two thirds at both companies, repeating a tale told earlier in the week by a string of energy companies including BP and ConocoPhillips, and reflecting the sharp drop in oil prices from their July 2008 peak of $147 a barrel. Tighter refining margins also took a toll, helping knock 58% off net income at Finnish oil refiner Neste Oil. The drops would have been worse, but for foreign exchange gains after the dollar strengthened, but even so, both companies outperformed analysts’ expectations. Shell chief executive Peter Voser, who took office earlier this month, gave a sombre outlook for energy demand and prices. “We are not banking on a quick recovery,” he said in a statement. Shell’s London-listed A shares were down 0.3% at 0857 GMT, while Repsol shares had edged up 0.15%, buoyed by a better-than-expected performance at its Argentine unit. Both were underperforming the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index, which was up about 0.5%. Cost Cuts Hague-based Shell, the world’s second-largest non government-controlled oil company by market value, is aiming to tackle the tough environment by slashing costs. It said it achieved $700 million in cost savings in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2008. This excludes savings from the stronger dollar, which shaved another $2 billion off costs in the first half. British rival BP said earlier this week it had saved $2 billion in the first half of the year, helped by currency gains. Since 1 July, Shell has cut 20% of senior management positions and said there would be “substantial further staff reductions”. It also said its capital investment budget would fall 10% next year to $28 billion. Analysts at Petercam said that shouldn’t affect its production growth target of 2-3% between now and 2012. Repsol said it had put in place a “an extraordinary savings plan” that would slash over 10% of its planned 2009 spending. Shell, Europe’s largest listed company, said oil and gas production continued to fall, dropping 5.3% in the quarter compared to the same period of 2008. Repsol enjoyed a 1% lift in output compared to the same period of 2008, which was depressed by an oil workers’ strike in Argentina. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:05 am Govt gets first share of profit from KG-D6New Delhi: The government has earned its first profit share from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 gas fields, with the operator and its Canadian partner paying $2.74 million for the first quarter. RIL, which holds 90% interest in KG-D6, paid $2.47 million while Niko Resources of Canada paid $274,767 in profit petroleum for the April-June quarter, an official said. According to the production-sharing contract, the RIL-Niko combine is allowed to first recover the investment it had made from the revenue earned out of the sale of oil or gas. The contractor is entitled to deduct 90% of the sale proceeds of oil or gas towards capital and operational expenditure and the remaining part is shared as profit petroleum with the government. The unrecovered part of the cost is carried forward to the following year for recovery. The government’s share in profit is 10% in the first year and rises to as much as 85% once all the cost is recovered, the official said. The world over, oil and gas blocks are either auctioned to companies offering highest signing amount or given out in a production-sharing regime where the government and contractor share the revenue after allowing investment recovery. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:02 am Inflation in negative figures, touches minus 1.54Inflation fell to (-)1.54 per cent for the week ended July 18 even as essential food items like cereals, pulses, fruit and vegetables turned expensive.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am Add Hero Honda, target of Rs 1730: IIFL - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:57 am Indian Oil net surges 780 percent - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:54 am SC rejects RNRL plea for final hearing on Sept 1 - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:54 am Inflation down again, but price pressures buildingNew Delhi: India’s wholesale price index remained negative in annual terms in mid-July but analysts said inflation would soon return and the central bank was right to leave interest rates steady at a policy review this week. The widely watched wholesale price index fell 1.54% in the 12 months to 18 July, its seventh successive fall, compared with a 1.17% drop in the prior week and a market forecast of a 1.46% fall. Food prices rose 1.2% from the previous week and the government revised up the 23 May inflation reading to 1.34% from 0.48%. “The WPI has been consistently under-estimated. There has been a huge discrepancy between the provisional and actual WPI numbers,” said N R Bhanumurthy, an economist with National Institute of Public Finance andPolicy. “Inflation expectations are high and there is no scope for more interest rate cuts.” At a policy review on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India revised its inflation estimate up to 5 percent at the end of March 2010 from 4%, and left key policy rates unchanged to help an economic recovery. The WPI has been rising on a weekly basis since March as price pressures slowly build up. The consumer price index, which has a greater weighting on food items, rose 8.63% in May from a year earlier. “Impact of delayed monsoons on food prices, some recovery in prices of manufactured goods in the second half as well as the base effect will likely take inflation much higher towards end of last quarter,” said Shubhada Rao, chief economist of YES Bank. “We expect WPI inflation to exceed 5.5% by end March,” she said. Some analysts forecast it to cross 7%. In afternoon trade, the benchmark 10-year yield was up 2 basis points to 6.93% from before the data, and the benchmark stock index had extended gains to 1%. Price vs growth The central bank has cut its lending rate by 4.25 percentage points between October and April and the government slashed duties and increased public spending to stimulate the economy hit by the global slump and falling domestic demand. The economy expanded by 6.7% in 2008/09 (April/March), sharply lower than 9% of previous year. The RBI forecast a 6 percent expansion in 2009/10 with an upward bias, an estimate the finance minister called a bit conservative. The government has forecast its fiscal deficit will widen to to 6.8% of gross domestic product in 2009/10, the biggest in 16 years, and has planned record gross market borrowing of Rs4.51 trillion ($93 billion). Nearly two-thirds of the borrowing has been front-loaded for the April-September, taking advantage of the extra cash the Reserve Bank has maintained in the banking system to ensure credit keeps flowing. “As such, the RBI may begin to gradually withdraw the froth in liquidity. We, however, do not expect policy rates to be hiked in the current fiscal as the economic recovery is yet to emerge as solid,” said Rao of YES Bank. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:50 am L N Mittal committed to Indian projects, not mulling acquisitionsNew Delhi:: ArcelorMittal chief L N Mittal has said he will not give up his Rs1 lakh-crore India projects though he is disappointed at the delays the company is facing in securing regulatory approvals. “We are not going to give up,” Mittal said in an exclusive interview with PTI, expressing disappointment at the “progress made so far.” ArcelorMittal wants to cash in on the demand for steel in India but said it is constrained by the delays in getting mining and environmental clearances for the projects. “We are losing the opportunity of participating in India’s growth. We are committed to the country. We have been working on this project for several years. We have a team already in India which is all the time working on it,” he said over phone. Asked if the company is considering acquisitions, Mittal said, “takeover is not the idea for India.” The world’s largest steel producer is working on modalities to set up two 12-million tonnes per annum steel mills, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa. “I think we are in constant dialogue with all the government authorities and bureaucrats. Whenever I have a chance I appraise them of the progress that we are making,” Mittal said. Asked if the present value of the ArcelorMittal share is the real intrinsic value of the company or just a perception, Mittal said, “It is a very difficult question to answer.” “But I will tell you that if a greenfield project has to be built, it costs anywhere between $1,500 per tonne (and) upwards to build one tonne of steel capacity. “And today ArcelorMittal has 120 MT in 2007 and plus it has mining...distribution...just to give you a ballpark figure,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:49 am WPI down again, but price pressures buildingNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's wholesale price index remained negative in annual terms in mid-July but analysts said inflation would soon return and the central bank was right to leave interest rates steady at a policy review this week.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:48 am India WPI down again, but price pressures building - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:46 am SC rejects RNRL plea for final hearing on 1 SeptemberNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to take up a gas dispute between Reliance Industries and RNRL for final hearing on 1 September, rejecting the prayer of Anil Ambani Group company for expeditious proceedings. A bench headed Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said it will decide on the date of final hearing on 1 September when it will consider various petitions related to the dispute. The RNRL prayer came up for mentioning and the company’s counsel Mukul Rohtagi requested that final hearing be taken up on 1 September as the entire Bombay high court record was before the apex court and nothing was left to be filed. “All parties are here,” he said, referring to Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, the government and gas users. RIL counsel Harish Salve, however, questioned the need for early final hearing, saying “what public interest would this serve?” The court enquired whether the petitioner wanted interim arrangement on the 1 September or the final order, Rohtagi said that RNRL was not looking for interim arrangement. At this point Salve requested the court that there should be complete silence from all parties as people are going to the media. Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran said the government also wanted early resolution of the dispute. The court said it will try to give an early date but the first week of September is not possible. Seeking early resolution to the gas supply dispute involving Mukesh Ambani led RIL and oil ministry, Anil Ambani on Wednesday said that his group firm RNRL would approach the Supreme Court for final hearing on 1 September. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on 1 September cross-appeals by both Ambani group firms, as also a petition by the petroleum ministry against a Bombay high court order that asked RIL to supply gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mmBtu against the officially prescribed $4.2 per mmBtu. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:46 am GMR Infra gets board’s nod for stock-splitMumbai: GMR Infrastructure on Thursday said it has received the approval from its board for splitting its stocks in the ratio of 1:2. The board has accorded approval for sub-division of all its equity shares of Rs2 each into two equity shares of Re1 a piece, GMR Infrastructure said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The sub-division of shares is subject to approval of members of the company, it said. Further, the infrastructure developer also said that it has adjourned its board meeting for consideration and approval of its financial results for the June quarter to 31 July. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday. However, the company did not state any reason behind the adjournment of the board meeting. Shares of GMR Infra were trading at Rs144.10, up 1.91% in the afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:38 am Ambani gas case to come up for mentioning in SC todayThe government counsel has said that the government supported an early hearing of RILRNRL case and the matter will come up for mentioning in the Supreme Court today, Mr Mohan Parasaran the Additional solicitor general and the lead attorney on behalf of the government in this case told CNBCTV18 this fact.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:32 am ANALYSIS - Healthcare, green tech brighten dim U.S. jobs pictureLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Healthcare and clean energy rank as bright spots in a bleak U.S. jobs market and both stand to generate even more employment under plans put forward by President Barack Obama.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:31 am Indian Oil net surges 780 percentIndia's largest refiner Indian Oil Corp Thursday said its net profit for the quarter ended June 30 surged 780 percent as lower crude oil prices narrowed its revenue losses.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:31 am Mahindra and Mahindra posts Rs.400 crore net profitAuto major Mahindra and Mahindra Thursday reported a net profit of Rs.400.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30, up from Rs.159.3 crore in the like period last year.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:30 am SC rejects RNRL plea for early final hearingThe Supreme Court has refused to entertain Anil Ambani Group company RNRL plea for commencing final hearing on gas dispute from September 1.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:11 am Virgin-inspired Aeroflot sexing up airline crewRussian airline Aeroflot is in for a big image makeover -they are sexing up their staff on the lines of the crew of Virgin Atlantic.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:08 am Oil ministry stand will erode investor confidence: Anil AmbaniThe partisan stand adopted by India's petroleum ministry in the dispute over natural gas between two corporate houses will erode investor confidence and goes against the government's reforms direction, industrialist Anil Ambani has said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:00 am India looks for gas in distant Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea, a sprawling Pacific Ocean nation of just six million people speaking 850 languages, is inviting India to develop its hydrocarbon resources after the islands struck gas two years ago. It is also keen to forge ties with New Delhi after courting Beijing all these years.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:00 am Sensex bounces back, up over 142 pointsIn highly volatile trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex bounced back and went up over 142 points in afternoon today as speculators indulged in covering short positions on the last day of the expiry of the July contracts in derivatives.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:58 am Sony, Sharp post Q1 losses, Nintendo loses steamTOKYO (Reuters) - Sony and Sharp's third straight quarters of losses underscore the challenges they face in flat TV market as they struggle to compete with Samsung Electronics and other South Korean rivals benefiting from a weaker won.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:55 am One of 5 mobile subscribers will port numbers: SurveyOne of five mobile phone subscribers would change their operator if number portability which allows users to retain their number even if they changed their operator is introduced in the market.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:49 am JSW to invest Rs 1,900 cr in cement plantsJSW Cement, part of the Rs 40,000crore OP Jindal Group, plans to set up cement units near the groups steel plants at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, and Vijayanagar, Karnataka.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:44 am Tata Motors identifies JLR component sources in IndiaTata Motors has said that it has made considerable progress in identifying sources of components from India for Jaguar and Land Rover, the two premium British models that it bought in June 2008.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:39 am Govt stake sales to please market; no deficit cureMUMBAI (Reuters) - Power firm NHPC Ltd will kick off a $1.25 billion IPO next week in the first share sale by a state company since the Congress party's unexpectedly strong re-election in May spurred investor hopes for pro-market reforms.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:33 am Sensex pulls into green after weak start Indian markets pulled back into the green on Thursday after starting in the red. The recovery was helped by other Asian bourses which also moved into positive terrain.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:25 am Car and truck maker losses mount, outlooks steadierPARIS/TOKYO (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault on Thursday posted a worse-than-expected loss on for the first half in line with results at its European rivals as auto sales fell sharply but it said the outlook is stabilising.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:25 am European shares extend gains, boosted by telecomsFrankfurt: European shares rose on Thursday, boosted by telecom stocks after results from France Telecom and BT and offsetting a negative reaction to results from Siemens and BASF. By 1:40pm, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was 0.5% higher at 915.16 points. The European benchmark index fell 45% in 2008, but is up about 42% since reaching a life-time low on 9 March. “The earnings season gives the market a nice tailwind. Investors should not become careless but we are far from the end of the world,” said Roger Peeters, strategist at Close Brothers Seydler. “Most figures are affected by the economic crisis but not worse than recently expected.” Telecom stocks added most points to the index, and the DJ STOXX European Telecoms Index was the second-biggest sectoral gainer, up 1.8%. France Telecom shares advanced 3.2% after the company posted higher than expected first-half operating income but warned of a slowdown in activity in the second half. BT Group surged more than 11% after it posted a better than expected 3% fall in first-quarter adjusted core earnings and said it was on track to deliver cost reductions after a “solid” start to the year. Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone rose 1.6 and 1.7% respectively and Spanish group Telefonica advanced 0.8% after it announced a slight rise in first-half profits. Mining stocks were the top sectoral gainers, with the DJ STOXX European Basic Resources Index up 2.2%, and Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and ArcelorMittal were all 1.1-3% higher. Shares in engineering conglomerate Siemens declined 2.7% after the company reported a sharp decline in third-quarter operating earnings. “All-in-all the quarter shows a mixed picture (for Siemens) in our view. While the order intake disappoints, the sector profit shows a sound backlog execution within the sectors. Regarding the order intake the main deviation to our expectations is coming from the Industry sector,” said DZ Bank analyst Karsten Oblinger. Shares in BASF, the world’s largest chemicals maker, fell 5.5%, as its second-quarter net income came in below analyst expectations. And Deutsche Bank dropped 3.2%to euro45.66 after Commerzbank downgraded the company to “hold” from “add”, following the release of quarterly figures on Tuesday. “Since our 2010 estimate remains virtually unchanged the target price is maintained at 50 euros, which offers only limited upside versus the actual share price,” Commerzbank wrote in a note. However, the DJ STOXX European banks sector index was up 0.2%. Royal Dutch Shell was up 0.1%. The oil major posted a 70% drop in second-quarter net profit, not as bad as analysts had expected according to market forecasts. Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.4%, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 edged 0.2% higher. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:23 am Sensex pulls into green after weak startA key index of the Indian equities markets pulled back into the green Thursday after starting in the red. The recovery was helped by other Asian bourses which also moved into positive terrain.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:03 am Patni to seek acquisitions in Europe, Asia-PacificMumbai: Software firm Patni Computer will seek acquisitions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific to help lower its dependence on the US, an official said on Thursday, boosting shares to its highest since November 2007. The company will look at targets in the range of $50 million-$200 million, chief financial officer Surjeet Singh told Reuters in an interview over the telephone. “Having done the portfolio gap analysis now, we are also acquisitive as a firm. So, therefore, you will see inorganic activity as well,” Singh said after the New York-listed Patni Computer Systems Ltd reported June-quarter results. “M&A (mergers and acquisitions) has always been a strong agenda. It is (a) much more strong agenda now and on all the dimensions ...to strengthen verticals, enhance scale of service lines and expand geographies.” The company had $350 million in cash, which would be used to fund the acquisitions, he added. “If it is a good acquisition, I don’t think size will be a barrier. We will go for it,” he said. On the news, the shares extended gains to hit a near 20-month high of Rs344.35, up 18.3%, before easing to Rs333.10, up 14.4% at 1:32 pm. The acquisitions should enable Patni to raise, in 2-3 years, the revenue share of Europe to about 30% from 15-17% last year and that of Asia-Pacific to 10% from 5.6%, he added. Last year, Patni derived about three-fourths of its revenue from the United States. Shallow Growth Visibility For the second quarter ended June, Patni’s net profit rose 19% to $28.7 million on cost controls and positive currency moves but forecast lower revenue and net profit for the September quarter as growth prospects continue to be pressured. “The visibility of growth is still shallow. Our view has not changed that it may take up to second half of 2010 for us to gain a higher-better visibility,” Singh said on the call. For the September quarter, Patni forecast net profit before hedging gains-losses at $22.5-$23.5 million, on revenue of $163-165 million, assuming constant rupee-dollar rate of Rs48.50. In the year-ago quarter, Patni reported a net profit of $43.1 million on revenue of $183.5 million. “The trend is still the same, which is that the structural growth is still away from us. The clients are still cautious. Cost pressures do continue and that is all pervasive across geographies and verticals.” Larger rivals Infosys, Tata Consultancy and Wipro have reported market-beating quarterly profits but have warned of a challenging business environment. After a scorching pace of growth for years, India’s export-led outsourcing sector has been battling a slowdown over the past year as global customers struggled to stay afloat, went bust or tackled severe cost cuts, halting technology spending. “I continue to think that the market will still take time to recover systemically. However, it is still better than where we were in Feb-March,” Singh said. “The decline has stopped. If there is longer stability, it should lead to structural improvements.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:03 am Patni to seek acquisitions in Europe, Asia-PacificMumbai: Software firm Patni Computer will seek acquisitions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific to help lower its dependence on the US, an official said on Thursday, boosting shares to its highest since November 2007. The company will look at targets in the range of $50 million-$200 million, chief financial officer Surjeet Singh told Reuters in an interview over the telephone. “Having done the portfolio gap analysis now, we are also acquisitive as a firm. So, therefore, you will see inorganic activity as well,” Singh said after the New York-listed Patni Computer Systems Ltd reported June-quarter results. “M&A (mergers and acquisitions) has always been a strong agenda. It is (a) much more strong agenda now and on all the dimensions ...to strengthen verticals, enhance scale of service lines and expand geographies.” The company had $350 million in cash, which would be used to fund the acquisitions, he added. “If it is a good acquisition, I don’t think size will be a barrier. We will go for it,” he said. On the news, the shares extended gains to hit a near 20-month high of Rs344.35, up 18.3%, before easing to Rs333.10, up 14.4% at 1:32 pm. The acquisitions should enable Patni to raise, in 2-3 years, the revenue share of Europe to about 30% from 15-17% last year and that of Asia-Pacific to 10% from 5.6%, he added. Last year, Patni derived about three-fourths of its revenue from the United States. Shallow Growth Visibility For the second quarter ended June, Patni’s net profit rose 19% to $28.7 million on cost controls and positive currency moves but forecast lower revenue and net profit for the September quarter as growth prospects continue to be pressured. “The visibility of growth is still shallow. Our view has not changed that it may take up to second half of 2010 for us to gain a higher-better visibility,” Singh said on the call. For the September quarter, Patni forecast net profit before hedging gains-losses at $22.5-$23.5 million, on revenue of $163-165 million, assuming constant rupee-dollar rate of Rs48.50. In the year-ago quarter, Patni reported a net profit of $43.1 million on revenue of $183.5 million. “The trend is still the same, which is that the structural growth is still away from us. The clients are still cautious. Cost pressures do continue and that is all pervasive across geographies and verticals.” Larger rivals Infosys, Tata Consultancy and Wipro have reported market-beating quarterly profits but have warned of a challenging business environment. After a scorching pace of growth for years, India’s export-led outsourcing sector has been battling a slowdown over the past year as global customers struggled to stay afloat, went bust or tackled severe cost cuts, halting technology spending. “I continue to think that the market will still take time to recover systemically. However, it is still better than where we were in Feb-March,” Singh said. “The decline has stopped. If there is longer stability, it should lead to structural improvements.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:03 am Vanishing red rice to get legal protectionScientists are trying to protect a traditional rice variety that is on the verge of extinction in Himachal Pradesh. The red rice is more disease-resistant and hardier than strains cultivated commercially over most of India and can lend that through cross-breeding.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:01 am State Bank net profit up 42 percentIndia's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) Thursday reported a 42 percent rise in net profit to Rs.2,330.37 crore ($481 million) in the first quarter of this fiscal compared to Rs.1,640.79 crore in the like period last year.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:01 am Gold traders trickle in to replenish stocksMumbai: India gold traders trickled in on Thursday to replenish stocks before festivals to cash in on a recent 2.2% fall in prices, dealers said. “All centres are active at the moment due to the recent correction that the market has given,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager treasury, IndusInd Bank. “They (traders) want to maintain their inventory levels before festivals,” Vyas added. Gold prices traded flat at Rs14,661 per 10 grams at 1:29pm, down 2.2% from the one-month high of Rs14,993 per 10 grams, struck on 23 July. “There are advanced orders in decent quantities in the range of $900-920 an ounce,” said another dealer with a state-run bank. Traders and dealers expect increased gold offtake to sustain in the near-term if prices remain or correct from current levels ahead of the festivals and weddings begining end-August. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:01 am Land your dream job - through social networking sites!Ever thought of logging on to a social networking website to find a job? These sites have become a huge hit with job seekers in India who not only look for career opportunities but also interact with potential employers online.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am Rupee off 1-week lows as stocks gain nearly 1%Mumbai: The Indian rupee came off fresh one-week lows on Thursday afternoon as the domestic sharemarket shrugged off a shaky start and rose close to 1% while dollar’s drop versus major currencies also helped. At 1:40pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.47/48 per dollar, a little weaker than Wednesday’s close of Rs48.42/43. In early deals, the rupee fell to Rs48.58, its weakest since 22 July. Local stocks pared most of its early fall and rose as investors covered their short positions just ahead of the expiry of the monthly derivative contracts. Foreigners have been net buyers of $6.9 billion worth of shares this year, following net sales of more than $13 billion in 2008. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was down 0.4%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs48.50/60, little weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs48.5375 and Rs48.54 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $720 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:57 am Bharti-MTN deal not finalised yet - minNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Talks between between India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN that could eventually lead to a full merger of the two firms have not been finalised yet, an Indian government minister said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:48 am Sensex bounces back, up over 142 pointsThe Sensex, which dipped to 15,065.48 points in early trade, recovered by 142.08 points, or 0.90% at 15,315.54 at 13.15 hours.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:43 am Bharti-MTN deal not finalized yet, says ministerNew Delhi: Talks between between Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN that could eventually lead to a full merger of the two firms have not been finalised yet, corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday. “No sir,” corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said in a written reply to a question in parliament on whether the deal had been finalised or signed. The minister noted any proposal to change the equity shareholding of the company would need government approval. Bharti and MTN revived merger talks in May, a year after previous talks broke down over who would control a merged entity. A merger would create an emerging markets giant with more than 200 million customers across India, Africa and the Middle East. The exclusive talks over the deal, which would see MTN and its shareholders taking a 36% economic interest in Bharti and the Indian firm ending up with 49% in MTN, are due to end on 31 July. Last week sources told Reuters the talks were likely to be extended by at least two to three weeks. MTN’s second-largest investor said earlier this week the South African firm was likely to reach an agreement with Bharti by the end of August. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:40 am State Bank of India Q1 net up 42%, beats f'castState Bank of India, the country's largest lender, reported a 42% rise in quarterly profit, beating forecasts, on gains from trading in bonds and currencies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:18 am SBI Q1 net up 42% on bonds, currency gainsMumbai: State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, reported a 42% rise in quarterly profit, beating forecasts, on gains from trading in bonds and currencies. The bank, which along with its associates controls almost a quarter of Indian bank loans and deposits, said on Thursday net profit rose to Rs23.3 billion ($480.4 million) in fiscal first quarter ending June, from Rs16.41 billion reported a year ago. State Bank, which has close to 12,000 branches across India and abroad, has the lowest cost of funds among the nation’s lenders. The bulk of its funds comes from savings bank deposits that pay annual interest of 3.5%, compared with 11.75% a year it charges on loans to its best customers. Shares in State Bank, which the market values at $21.8 billion, have risen 31.6% so far this year compared with a 58.6% rise in the main share index and a 50.6% increase in the bank index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:10 am ABG Shipyard ups stake, bid price for Great OffshoreMumbai: ABG shipyard has offered 11% more than rival Bharati Shipyard for a controlling stake in Great offshore and analysts expect the month-long takeover battle to intensify. ABG on Wednesday bought a 5.2% stake in Great Offshore in a series of block deals at Rs450 a share valuing the firm at Rs1,670 crore. Great Offshore said in a filing to the stock exchange on Thursday ABG has also raised its offer to the same price. The move is the latest in a string of counter-bids by the two shipbuilders, which began at 344 rupees by Bharati in June. ABG’s latest offer betters that by Bharati at Rs405 a share earlier this month. “Great Offshore is trading at peak valuation but if you look at it in isolation from 300 to 450 (rupees) it looks a little too much,” said Kunal Lakhan, a sector analyst at KR Choksey. “Don’t be surprised if there are more block deals at higher levels. Great Offshore, which offers oil rigs and offshore platforms to firms such as Reliance Industries and Oil and Natural Gas Corp, is caught in the battle with two private shipbuilders, who are eyeing its strong assets, customers and cash balance. “Great Offshore is a rich company. Needless to say, there is so much interest. And, the price war has been a dream run for the shareholders,” a dealer with a foreign brokerage said. Bharati acquired the founder’s stake in Great Offshore in late May when he failed to repay margin calls on shares, which he had pledged to the shipbuilder. Bharati then made a public offer at Rs344 a share for a further 20% stake in early June, in line with Indian takeover regulations. Block Deals However, the battle began in late June when ABG entered with a higher offer of Rs375 a share. Bharati responded in early July with a Rs405 offer after buying shares from a large shareholder at that price. Bharati now holds 20% of Great Offshore and after Wednesday’s deal ABG owns a little more than 7%. Sundaram BNP Paribas and DSP Blackrock sold their stakes, totalling to 2.7% in Great Offshore at Rs450 each on Wednesday while ABG Shipyard bought 3.9% at the same price, data on the Bombay Stock Exchange showed. ABG bought another 1.3% in Great Offshore, data on the National Stock Exchange showed. Bharati is advised by SBI Capital Markets, a unit of top lender State Bank of India and ABG is advised by Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, the former Indian partner of Goldman Sachs and unit of private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank. A senior ABG official was not available for a comment while two senior Bharati officials declined to comment. At 12.12 pm, shares in ABG Shipyard was up 3.4% at Rs210.05 and Bharati Shipyard was down 2% at Rs149 in the Mumbai market. Great Offshore, which has risen 28% since June, was up 1.8% at Rs466. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:59 am Inflation falls to minus 1.54%Inflation fell to (-)1.54 percent for the week ended July 18 even as essential food items like cereals, pulses, fruit and vegetables turned expensive.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:55 am Sony posts quarterly loss on firmer yen, weak TV salesTokyo: Sony Corp posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by an improvement in its struggling flat TV business, and said it was aiming to beat its official forecast and at least break even for the full year. Sony has fallen behind Apple Inc’s iPod in portable music, Nintendo Co in videogames, and is struggling to compete with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in LCD TVs. But the company, which vies with Panasonic Corp for the position of the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, said that losses on flat TVs had narrowed in the latest quarter, bringing the business close to the break even level. The maker of Bravia flat TVs and Vaio PCs kept its operating loss forecast of ¥110 billion ($1.2 billion) for the year to 31 March 2010. That is about half the ¥227.8 billion loss it racked up a year ago, and compares with the consensus of ¥117.7 billion loss according to a Reuters poll of 19 analysts. But Sony said it was aiming to beat that. “We are keeping our official forecast but internally we are aiming to at least break even,” Sony chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda told a news conference. With three quarters of its revenues earned overseas, Sony is vulnerable to the yen’s appreciation, which makes Japanese exports less price competitive overseas at a time South Korean rivals are benefiting from a softer won. Sony’s operating loss came in at ¥25.7 billion in April-June, down from a profit of ¥73.44 billion a year earlier, and smaller than the average ¥103.1 billion loss forecast by five analysts. It reported a net loss of ¥37.1 billion, a reversal from a ¥34.98 billion profit a year ago. In contrast, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc posted a record quarterly profit on strong TV and mobile phone sales, while Samsung beat market expectations with a 5% rise in quarterly net profit. Sony has been restructuring its sprawling operations. It has announced plans to close eight manufacturing sites, cut 16,000 jobs and halve its 2,500 suppliers. “Sony is making changes to adapt to the environment but it still seems to be having trouble keeping up and perhaps should have been a bit more aggressive about cost-cutting,” said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. Ahead of the results, Sony’s shares closed up 6.8% at ¥2,505, outperforming a 1.9% rise in the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index. The stock has gained 17% since April through Wednesday, while the subindex put on 29%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:46 am Mukesh refuses to join issue with Anil on family pitchRIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday refused to be drawn into a public quarrel with his younger brother Anil, who accused him of seeing no role for mother Kokilaben in settling their disputes.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:35 am Goan casinos seek cut in proposed entry feeIn a collective response to the 'tough' measures proposed in Goa's additional budget 2009-10, the offshore casino industry has objected to the proposed 10-fold increase in the entry fee to casino vessels from Rs.200 to Rs.2,000.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:33 am Court admits petition for early end to Reliance gas disputeAnil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources moved the Supreme Court Thursday seeking an early settlement of the dispute with Reliance Industries over gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin, even as the government withdrew its affidavit as an intervener on the matter.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:32 am Sensex down 108pts in volatile trade; surrenders early gainsSensex, which opened in positive zone with gains of over 22 pts, slipped by 107.98 points to 15,065.48 levels at 1100 hrs.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:30 am SC rejects Anil Ambani plea for final hearing of gas dispute on Sept 1 SC refuses to take up a gas dispute between RIL and RNRL for final hearing on Sept 1, rejecting Anil's plea for expeditious proceedings.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:15 am Yahoo’s shift to Bing could be risky bet: reviewNew York: Microsoft thinks Bing is pretty clever. And Yahoo certainly likes Bing enough to throw its own search engine overboard in favor of Microsoft’s newly redesigned one. Yet Bing has a long way to go to become a meaningful challenge to Google. Bing has earned praise for the smart way it presents certain search results. For instance it breaks down some results by category, giving you an easy way to quickly hone a search for “swine flu” with information on “symptoms” or “causes.” It will also helpfully show previous searches you’ve made in a column to the left of the results. Yahoo’s CEO, Carol Bartz, said last week that such improvements in Bing reflect the way people actually use search engines “instead of just thinking like just the standard blue link.” Even so, Microsoft’s share of US Web searches went up only slightly after Bing launched last month hitting 8.4% in June, after Microsoft recorded 8% in May, according to comScore Inc. Microsoft’s previous search engine, Live Search, also showed a similar increase when it came out, as Microsoft heavily promoted it. And Bing’s small gain came at the expense of Yahoo, not Google, which maintained its 65% share. I think I can see why. Not only is using Google such an ingrained habit that we talk of “googling” something, but also its technology is better in some key ways. I found Bing to be less comprehensive than Google and, surprisingly, Yahoo Search. It simply returns fewer results for a lot of search terms. With common terms like “cars,” all the search engines return oodles of results. Yahoo reports 2.56 billion pages with that term. It doesn’t matter so much how many pages they report, as long as they give relevant results, and all do. Then I tried to hunt for something purposely obscure, like background on the country manor that my sister is interested in buying. Google gave me 46 links, Yahoo 15. Bing supplied just six. Of course, even in this kind of query you might not have time to look through every link. So if Bing has six and they’re good, that’s fine. Yet in the country manor search and other cases, often at the fringes of what you’d expect the Internet to know, I found the most relevant results in Google and Yahoo only. Years ago, search engines competed by citing their “index size” - basically, how many pages they had collected in their database. Google played this game too. But as Google grew to dominate the scene by presenting better results, Web users lost interest in the statistics. Google doesn’t make a big point of them anymore either, though it did say last year that it had more than 1 trillion Web pages catalogued. Looking at results from Bing, it may be time to care about search index size again. That’s especially the case because in other respects, the top three engines are so similar as to be nearly indistinguishable. Nos. 2 and 3 have basically copied Google. All of them present neat and clean search pages and advertising that’s placed through an auction process (advertisers bid for the right to show their ads alongside certain search terms, and pay the search engines when a user clicks on an ad). Search for a common term like “diapers,” and they yield nearly identical results. They do have other little things that set them apart. Google injects a helpful little map when it finds a location among the top results. Yahoo has (or soon we might say “had”) a Search Pad application that lets you annotate your results, a useful aid in an extended research or shopping project. Bing presents a preview of each search result if you hover your mouse cursor over it. And it helps you dig further faster with its links of categories to the left of the main results. Microsoft has said that it put special attention in Bing to presenting authoritative results in a few areas, like health information, but the effort seems a little superficial. When you search for “swine flu,” the Mayo Clinic’s presumably more reliable page will appear above Wikipedia’s on Bing. But if you search for “toddler fever,” the results look indistinguishable from those on the other two engines. Bing is young. It’s possible Microsoft can make its index catch up to Yahoo’s and even Google’s, but doing so won’t happen overnight. More likely, it will take years. That’s plenty of time for Yahoo users to discover that Bing for all of its niceties in presentation lacks depth. If they do, they’ll know where to go, and Google would end up being the winner on this deal. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:11 am Infosys plans to recruit from next year, says MDCEO and MD Gopalakrishnan said recruitment and expansion would begin early next year, and hoped economy would revive in second quarter of the fiscal.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:10 am Swan licence: DoT officers under lensNew Delhi, July 29 The Department of Telecom has started an internal investigation on charges of corruption against some of its officers for allegedly showing favour by giving telecom licence to Swan Telecom, now called Etisalat DB.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Domestic market to lead IT growthChennai, July 29 The domestic market seems to be coming to the aid of the IT-BPO industry, because it is projected to grow 15-18 per cent, even as the export market is likely to grow a mere 4-7 per cent.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am PNB net up 62% on treasury income, credit growthPunjab National Bank has reported a 62 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended June 30, at Rs 832.05 crore (Rs 512.40 crore). A sharp increase in treasury income coupled with robust credit growth helped the bank’sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am MindTree (Rs 436.15): SellWe recommend a sell in MindTree from a short-term perspective. It is visible from the charts that after bottoming in early March at Rs 187 it was on a structural uptrend till it encountered resistance at Rs 622 in mid-July. The stock had formed aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Fertiliser cos floating on subsidiesNew Delhi, July 29 If there is any industry for which even the expression ‘tail wagging the dog’ constitutes an understatement, here is it.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am HPCL back in blackMumbai, July 29 Hindustan Petroleum Corporation has turned the corner in the first quarter of this fiscal by posting a net profit of Rs 649.12 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 888.12 crore in the same period last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am JSW to invest Rs 1,900 cr in cement plantsMumbai, July 29 JSW Cement, part of the Rs 40,000-crore OP Jindal Group, plans to set up cement units near the group’s steel plants at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, and Vijayanagar,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideDLF is experiencing selling pressure. We recommend a sell in this counter. We re-affirm our sell recommendation in ICICI Bank and SBI. In the last trading session InfosysSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am For Gen Next, it’s study overseas, skills and travelMumbai, July 29 One would expect the average Indian youth to give top priority to makingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am High coal cost dents Tata Steel’s Q1 profitsMumbai, July 29 Tata Steel has reported a 47 per cent drop in standalone net profit at Rs 790 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, against Rs 1,488 crore logged in the same period last year mainly due to the sharp spike in importedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 am Adani IPO's power run continuesAdani Power Ltd's IPO continued to get overwhelming response from the capital markets on the second day of its opening.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 11:14 pm PNB Q1 net profit up 62% at Rs 832 cr!State-run lender Punjab National Bank on Wednesday reported a 62.39 percent growth in net profit at Rs 832.05 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm SEBI bars Stocknet International from trading in markets!Market regulator Sebi has barred software development firm Stocknet International and its directors from dealing in securities market for six months for allegedly making misleading announcements.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm IMF begins borrowing from Japan, other countries!The IMF said that it has started drawing on loans offered by Japan, Canada and Norway as an increased number of countries have suddenly turned to the Washington-based lender for aid amid the global financial crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm NIIT Tech Q1 net down 50%, revenues plummet 11%!IT firm NIIT Technologies on Tuesday said it has reported a 50 per cent dip in its net profit for the first quarter ended June on hedging losses and a challenging business environment.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm Oil falls below USD 67 on US consumer confidence drop!Oil prices fell below USD 67 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia as a drop in US consumer confidence and rising crude inventories painted a weak demand outlook.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm IOC-OIL joint venture close to acquiring Gulf Keystone!In a first overseas acquisition, state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil India Ltd are jointly eying acquisition of London Stock Exchange-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd for about USD 2.23 billion.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm Mobile Number Portability attractive to post-paid users: Nielsen!Postpaid users, high spenders and business subscribers are more likely to switch their operator if Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is introduced in the country, a study on Wednesday said.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm SEZ exports may touch Rs 1 lakh crore this fiscal!Exports from special economic zones are likely to grow by about 10 percent to Rs 1,10,000 crore in 2009-10 financial year, Parliament was told on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm Downturn arrested; economy to maintain 6.7 pc growth: FM!With arrest of the downturn and revival in the manufacturing sector, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said he expects the economy to grow by 6.7 per cent in the current year.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Jul 2009 | 5:45 pm IVRCL back on the BOT routeThe company has received pre-qualification for several road projects and is in the process of bidding for some of these.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 4:29 pm ABG ups Great Offshore offer to Rs450The bidding war for a controlling stake in Great Offshore intensified further on Wednesday with ABG Shipyard increasing its stake in the company by over 5%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 4:27 pm Orbit QIP to raise Rs 250 cr in few weeksOrbit Corporation Ltd will raise Rs 200-250 crore through a QIP issue in the next few weeks, managing director Pujit Aggarwal said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 4:26 pm LIC dazzles as pvt peers falterLife insurance companies in India seem to be in competition over falling growth in new business premium during the first quarter of the current year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 4:24 pm Bank of India raises Rs500 croreBank of India raised Rs 500 crore by issuing upper tier-II bonds on Tuesday. The bonds carry a coupon of 8.45% with a call option to the bank at the end of ten years.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jul 2009 | 4:10 pm Axis Bank may go for GDR issue in 2 months: SourcesAxis Bank may come out with a gross depository receipt (GDR) issue, say industry sources. Suvashree Ghosh, Special Correspondent, Newswire18, reports that the issue is still on the drawing board and has been discussed internally in the bank.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 1:52 pm Budget carriers fly high in downturnWhen budget carriers like Air Deccan and Spicejet began flying, both, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya said the model will not work in India.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 12:49 pm Settle gas dispute on Sept 1, Anil to tell SCThe Lok Sabha was adjourned three times even as Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) and the government swung into action a day after the younger Ambani made a dramatic and emotional speech publicly accusing the petroleum ministry of bias towards older brother Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries (RIL).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 12:48 pm Microsoft, Yahoo in 10-year Web search partnershipSan Francisco / Seattle: Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc inked a 10-year Web search deal to better compete against market leader Google Inc but stopped short of combining their display advertising businesses. Yahoo shares fell 7.5%, as some investors were disappointed by the limited scope of the deal. Shares of Microsoft edged higher, while Google shares fell one percent. “Those that were looking forward to a take-out, the deal today was rather disappointing,” said Marc Pado, US market strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. “The 10-year pact, it’s not a bad thing. It’s not as good as what investors expected.” Under the deal announced on Wednesday, Microsoft’s Bing search engine will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search technology for Yahoo’s sites, while Yahoo will be responsible for selling premium search ads for both companies. Yahoo estimated the deal will boost its annual operating income by about $500 million and yield capital expenditure savings of $200 million. Yahoo also expects the deal to boost annual operating cash flow by about $275 million. Yahoo reported income from operations of $13 million in 2008, hurt by $487.5 million in goodwill impairment charge and $107 million in restructuring charges. In 2007, operating income was $695 million. Ross Sandler, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said some people will be disappointed that Microsoft did not give Yahoo a big upfront payment, but noted that the partnership was good overall for the two companies. “Overall, it’s a big positive for two companies that have been struggling to keep up with Google. This consolidates their resources and allows them to make a more concerted push as the No. 2 entity,” he said. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the deal gives its new search engine, Bing, the scale needed to attract more users and advertisers. Yahoo, meanwhile, said it will focus on its portfolio of websites, expanding into mobile advertising and other products. Under the deal, Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10-year license to Yahoo’s core search technologies, and it will combine them with its own search technologies. Microsoft will compensate Yahoo through a revenue-sharing agreement and pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo at an initial rate of 88% of search revenue generated on Yahoo sites in the first five years. Each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force, they said. The deal combines the number two and number three players in the US market for Internet search and positions them to better compete with Google, which has an estimated 65% share of the US search market. The companies said they expect the deal to be “closely reviewed” by regulators, but were “hopeful” it can close in early 2010. Shares of Yahoo were down $1.34 at $15.88 in early Nasdaq trading. Shares of Microsoft were up 36 cents to $23.83. Google shares fell $4.55 to $435.30. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 29 Jul 2009 | 9:54 am Ahmedabad kids top Internet users listMumbai: School children in Ahmedabad are the highest users of the Internet, Kolkata kids access the Web most through cellphones, and school kids in Bangalore are the most prolific bloggers, says a Web 2.0 survey in 12 major cities by technology firm, TataConsultancy Services Ltd, or TCS. The firm surveyed 14,000 school children between the ages of 12 and 18 to capture youth trends in information, technology and aspirations. Ahmedabad topped Internet usage at home and school among mini-metros with 63% and 28%, respectively, while children in Mumbai and Ahmedabad read film and celebrity blogs the most, at 60% and 57%, respectively. Mumbai is also the only city where social networking site Facebookis more popular than Orkut, which leads nationally. Kids in Kochi and Bengaluru are the most active on Second Life, an alternative, virtual world, podcasts and MySpace, another social networking site. The survey also found that the US is the most preferred destination for education, with a 40% preference. In the Asia Pacific region, Australia and Singapore are preferred over European countries such as France and Germany. shraddha.n@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 29 Jul 2009 | 9:22 am RILRNRL gas row: Is govt at disadvantage by fixing price?Cuckoo Paul, Associate Editor of Forbes India and Madhu Nainan, Editor of Petrowatch comment on whether the government is putting itself at a disadvantage by sticking to a fixed price or intervening rather in the gas market in the pricing of gas and not on whether the government has been partisan.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 9:09 am RNRL serves notice to Oil Min, RIL in gas disputeAfter Anil Ambani made allegations against Reliance Industries (RIL) and the Oil Ministry yesterday at the companys AGM, he today said that RILRNRL gas dispute does affect public interest as it has bearing on projects of 12,000 MW capacity. He said that Reliance Natural Resource (RNRL) has served notice to the Oil Ministry and RIL.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 8:18 am RILRNRL: What exactly is the gas tussle about?At the annual general meeting of Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL), Chairman Anil Ambani accused the Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance of dishonourable conduct and questioned the Oil Ministrys motives in taking a stand in what he said was a corporate issue. He said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Jul 2009 | 7:02 am
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