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Order book at Rs 170cr, to raise funds in one yr: MIC ElecMV Ramana Rao, Managing Director and CEO, MIC Electronics, says the company will raise funds within the next one year. Standalone order book, he stated, stands at Rs 170 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 8:16 am Global economic crisis hits Indian overseas investmentsOn an overseas acquisition spree over the past few years, Indian companies, have suddenly become wary of making investments in foreign companies as a result of the current global economic crisis, a Columbia University report said on Monday. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 7:43 am BSNL engineers go on indefinite strikeAbout 10,000 engineers of state-run telecom firm BSNL in the country started an indefinite strike from Tuesday, demanding absorption of officers on deputation at the PSU and transparent human resource policy. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 7:12 am Kiri Dyes to announce $100mn Europe/US buyout in a weekManish Kiri, MD, Kiri Dyes And Chemicals Ltd, to announce an acquisition in a week, in Europe/US. The size is likely to be around USD 100 m. He said that the company is looking at four times of existing topline post acquisition.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:58 am CAR to suffice for capital; don\'t need to sell equity: PFCPower Finance Corporation (PFC) said We dont need follow on public offer (FPO) since our compound annual rate (CAR) is 17.5% vs 10%. FPO is dependent on government.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:15 am Poor monsoon to affect growth: Montek Singh AhluwaliaPlanning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the poor monsoon will adversely impact farm production and trim economic growth.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:34 am Govt borrowings not to spike interest rates, says finance secretaryRuling out upward pressure on interest rates in the near future because of high market borrowings, the government said it will not go for additional borrowings due to the impact of erratic monsoons as tax receipts are expected to be robust.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:27 am India Inc's hiring activity picks up by 1.3% in JulyIndia Inc's hiring activity picked up by 1.3 percent in July with improvement in recruitment in IT, real estate and retail sectors, says a survey by a job portal.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:19 am Air China raises Cathay Pacific stakeAir China Ltd raised its stake in Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airlines Ltd. to 30 per cent in a move aimed at boosting the competitiveness and international reach of mainland China's largest airline.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:16 am RIL open to CAG audit on gas field expenditure - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:14 am * For full monsoon coverage see [ID:nMONSOON] - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:11 am India May Produce 16-18 Million Tons Sugar, Jain Says - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:09 am BlackBerry is world's fastest growing company: FortuneBlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) tops Fortune magazine's list of the world's 100 fastest-growing companies. It is the first time that Fortune has opened its list of the top 100 fastest growing companies to businesses from around the world. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:06 am Emergency contraceptives - many enraged by new ad rageAre the aggressive television advertisements on emergency contraceptives also encouraging unprotected sex? Some sociologists, gynaecologists and ad industry bigshots seem concerned over this new breed of ads being beamed across many major channels. But there are others who see nothing wrong.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am Deficient rains may lead to further price rise: RBIThe erratic monsoon may lead to a further rise in prices of essential commodities, the Reserve Bank of India said Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am Poor monsoon could hit India's growth: Planning board chiefThe erratic monsoon could hit India's economic growth this year, but the country has enough food stocks to counter inflationary pressures, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 4:00 am Reliance Comm in talks for Zain's Africa biz: SourcesReliance Communications is in talks to buy Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain's African assets, two banking sources with knowledge of the development said.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:59 am India braces for drought, worries over inflationNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Meagre monsoon rains have pushed India to the brink of drought, putting pressure on food prices and energy supplies and imperilling economic growth, but bulging stocks of wheat and rice will provide a buffer, top officials said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am India braces for drought, worries over inflationNew Delhi: Meagre monsoon rains have pushed India to the brink of drought, putting pressure on food prices and energy supplies and imperilling economic growth, but bulging stocks of wheat and rice will provide a buffer, top officials said on Tuesday. “We are staring at the prospect of an impending drought,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a meeting of environment ministers of Indian states. India’s vital monsoon rains have been 29% below normal since the beginning of the June-September season, hurting crops such as rice and cane and triggering a sharp rise in food prices in India and sugar futures abroad. Also Read Edit: The drought and beyond Monsoon rains revived in the past few days, particularly in the cane-producing Uttar Pradesh state, where the local government has declared a drought in most of the districts, but this has not eased concerns of government and trade officials. A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor said erratic monsoon rains may put pressure on prices, but the Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said India had enough stocks of food to counter inflationary pressures. Trade secretary Rahul Khullar, meanwhile, said the government was not considering a ban on exports of corn and soymeal. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday he expects economic growth in 2009-10 to be over 6%, as forecast earlier and in line with a central bank estimate, despite the monsoon shortfall. He earlier said that “the ground reality was that the drought has set in,” according to a government statement late on Monday. Some private economists have said poor rains could trim economic growth by as much as 2 percentage points in the fiscal year that ends in March. Investors, meanwhile, are growing nervous that a poor harvest could crimp rural spending and erode profit growth for sellers of consumer goods. Farming accounts for just 17% of the Indian economy but rural consumption makes up more than half of domestic demand. India’s economic growth slowed to 6.7% in its most recent fiscal year after three straight years of growth of at least 9%. Power Supply Low rainfall has slowed the refilling of India’s main water reservoirs, threatening the supply of hydropower, which accounts for a quarter of India’s generation, and reducing availability of water to irrigate winter-sown crops such as wheat and rapeseed. Hydropower generation in India had fallen 10% from last year, Central Electricity Authority chairman Rakesh Nath told reporters. The weather office has forecast widespread rains in the key cane-growing areas in north and northwest India as well as Madhya Pradesh, the main soybean-growing region. Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday that the country needed to raise planting of winter-sown crops and improve irrigation to make up for the damage to farms. Monsoon rains are vital for India’s summer-sown crops such as rice, sugarcane and soybeans because the majority of the farmers do not have access to irrigation facilities. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:46 am Govt not considering fresh farm debt waiver scheme: PranabThe UPA government said it has no proposal to write off loans taken by farmers as it did in 2008 in its first term in office.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:37 am Posco not moving out of Orissa: Mines minister - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:32 am Posco facing land problems, moving to different place: Orissa ministerMines minister B K Handique said that South Korean steel plant Posco, facing problems of land acquisition in Orissa, will be moving to a different place.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:28 am Govt borrowings not to spike interest rates: finance secretary New Delhi: Ruling out outward pressure on interest rates in the near future because of high market borrowings, the government on Tuesday said that it will not go for additional borrowings due to the impact of erratic monsoons as tax receipts are expected to be robust. “Don’t see any spike in interest rates in foreseeable future,” finance secretary Ashok Chawla said when asked whether huge market borrowings of the government will jack-up interest rates. On whether the government will go for extra borrowing to meet additional expenditure due to week monsoon, he said: “Expenditure needs will be met by way of taxes and existing budgetary provisions.” “We don’t need to borrow extra. We will get more by way of taxes and if the need be we will try to adjust within existing budgetary provisions,” Chawla said on the sidelines of the meeting of regional rural bank chiefs with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. He said that the targets for the current fiscal of direct taxes have already been raised based on the performance during the first four months of 2009-10. The finance minister has raised the target of direct tax collections to Rs4 lakh crore for the current fiscal from the earlier Rs3,70,000 crore. In the first four months of the current fiscal direct tax collection stood at Rs73,990 crore, about 3% higher than Rs71,648 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Indirect tax collections are also likely to be better in the second quarter of the fiscal, after customs duty collections topped Rs18,000 crore in the first quarter. The government has pegged its market borrowings at a whopping over Rs4.5 lakh crore for the current fiscal to meet its burgeoning expenditure, necessitated by the need to perk up the flowing down economy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:28 am Monsoon, valuations threaten Sensex rallyMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian stocks are running out of steam after nearly doubling in five months and may be poised for a correction as investors grow wary of high valuations, a bad monsoon and looming inflation.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:24 am No further spectrum allocation till final decision: Fin MinThe Finance Ministry has asked the Department of Telecom to stop allocating additional spectrum to existing telecom operators pending a final decision on its pricing and allocationSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:23 am Insurers seek policy reforms as funds dryNew Delhi: India’s fledgling life insurers, unable to go public and hamstrung by limits on stake sales, could be starved of capital unless rules are changed to make it easier for them to raise funding. The number of life insurers has risen to 22 since the market was opened in 2000 to challenge state-owned Life Insurance Corp’s monopoly, but existing regulations prevent insurers from selling stakes of more than 26% to foreign partners or from going public in their first 10 years. Insurance firms are also not permitted to raise debt, which means controlling shareholders, known in India as promoters, must foot the bill in order to fund further growth, which requires building costly distribution networks. Hopes that the limit on foreign stakes would be raised to 49% were dashed last year when parliament failed to vote on a measure. It is not clear when it might be reintroduced. Regulators, meanwhile, are drafting guidelines for IPOs and are considering an application made in July by Reliance Capital’s insurance unit to float an IPO before the normal 10-year qualification period. “A 10-year period is quite a long duration for any promoter to feed the company,” said Jayant Khosla, chief executive of Future Generali Life Insurance Co Ltd, 26%-owned by Italy’s Generali. “Not all Indian partners are in a position to meet the capital demands of fast-growing life companies and this could hamper the growth of these companies,” he said. Life insurance firms rode a surge in the equity markets until 2007 as household savings were increasingly diverted into unit-linked products (ULIPs), swelling insurers’ new business premiums. Premiums took a hit, however, when the main index slumped by more than half in 2008. Insurers, which undertook aggressive and costly branch expansions and product rollouts in order to capture a share of the growth, saw their costs surge. Operating expenses of private life insurers jumped 85% to more than Rs12,000 crore ($2.46 billion) in 2007/08 from a year earlier, regulatory data showed, and the industry watchdog warned that aggressive expansion would be difficult to sustain. Solvency margin requirements, meanwhile, add to the capital need for Indian insurers. Shashwat Sharma, advisory director at consulting firm KPMG, estimates that Indian life underwriters will need to invest Rs40,000 crore over the next seven years to fund their growth. Insurance requires a broad distribution network in order to win customers, which requires heavy investment. “You try to have a large model of distribution. It is very expensive to distribute insurance,” Sharma said. Opportunities, barriers Life insurance penetration in India has grown to about 4% of GDP, in terms of total premiums underwritten in a year, compared with 1.77% in 2000 and 2.4% in China. The rate in developed economies is about 6-9%, according to a local industry body, the Life Insurance Council. With per capita incomes growing at 14.4% a year and an annual domestic savings rate of 37.7% the country is seen as a huge growth opportunity, and foreign players have crowded into the market by taking minority stakes in local firms. Consulting firm McKinsey forecasts the penetration rate in India to rise to over 5% of GDP in 2012, with premiums expected to swell to $80-$100 billion from $43 billion now. So far 19 foreign players have entered India through joint ventures with local firms, and liberalised rules would be likely to drive even further participation. Last year, four new players - HSBC Holdings, Aegon NV, Prudential Financial, and Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance - entered India. Some firms, such as Germany’s Allianz, South Africa’s Sanlam and New York Life have agreed with their Indian partners to lift stakes to 49% when rules allow. A relaxation in IPO rules would also make the sector more attractive to participants by providing a route both for raising funds and for exiting investments. The insurance venture of Housing Development Finance Corp and UK-based Standard Life, which completes 10 years in 2010, has said it is eyeing a listing in 2010/11, and others are expected to follow as they pass the 10-year mark. India’s insurance regulator said last month it has started discussions with capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), to frame IPO guidelines. Setting rules on stake sales would be likely to trigger a flurry of dealmaking. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:17 am Nifty gains momentum; Siemens, L&T gain - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:10 am Sensex down 39 points in opening trade on global cuesThe BSE benchmark index Sensex fell by 39 points at 14,745 points in opening trade today on selling by foreign funds and retail investors following weak global markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:09 am July exports down 26 pct y/y - trade secyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's July exports have fallen 26 percent from a year earlier, Trade Secretary Rahul Khullar said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:03 am Rockets hit capital two days before Afghan voteKabul: A Taliban rocket struck the grounds of Afghanistan’s presidential palace on Tuesday, just two days before incumbent Hamid Karzai seeks re-election in tense polls that could go to a second round. Not only is Karzai fighting for a fresh mandate, but the election is also a test of US President Barack Obama’s strategy of escalating the 8 year old conflict in an effort to reverse recent Taliban gains. In a speech on Monday aimed at bolstering public support, Obama called the Afghan conflict ‘a war worth fighting’. Election campaigning officially ended at midnight after a final day that saw hectic rallies in support of Karzai and his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Polls show Karzai likely to win Thursday’s vote, but not with the outright majority required to avoid a second round. He is relying on the last-minute support of former guerrilla chieftains in a bid to tip the balance. His main rival Abdullah, an urbane eye doctor, has run an energetic campaign, seeking to garner support from beyond his base in the mainly ethnic-Tajik north. “Several small rockets were fired overnight at the capital and one caused some damage inside the sprawling, fortified presidential palace compound, while a second hit the capital’s police headquarters. Neither caused any casualties,” a police source informed. “Other rockets hit the eastern city of Jalalabad, including one that hit a house, wounding ten people,” provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said. “In the northern Jowzjan province, gunmen shot dead a provincial council candidate,” Murdian district chief Abdullah Radmanish said. Militants who have vowed to disrupt Thursday’s election have fired rockets at the capital twice this month. On Saturday they detonated a massive suicide bomb outside the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in central Kabul, killing seven people and wounded dozens more. Such attacks have been rare in the capital this year. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a message sent via mobile phone, claimed that the fighters had fired four rockets, but gave no further details. Militia chieftains Recent polls give Karzai about 45% of the vote to 25% for Abdullah. Since the polls were conducted, Karzai has secured the last-minute endorsements of some former militia chieftains, hoping they help secure a first round victory. Karzai’s reliance on the ex-militia leaders has raised alarm among his international backers worried that warlords could return to power in the country they dominated for decades. General Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Uzbek militia leader who won 10% of the vote in 2004, returned to the country from exile in Turkey and held a huge pro-Karzai rally in his northern home city of Shiberghen on Monday. The US and the United Nations (UN) both expressed concern that Dostum could return to government. Washington said that he may have been responsible for human rights violations. Karzai’s two vice-presidential running mates are also former militia chiefs, from the Tajik and Hazara minorities. Last week he received the public endorsement of Ismail Khan, a former militia leader in the western city of Herat. Taliban disruption could hurt Karzai’s chance of a first-round win by lowering turnout in southern areas most affected by the insurgency, heartland of the Karzai’s support. More than 30,000 extra US troops have arrived in Afghanistan this year, raising the total number of Western troops above 100,000 for the first time, including 62,000 Americans. The Western troops will maintain outer perimeter security during the election, with Afghan soldiers and police guarding towns and polling stations. The NATO-led Western force said on Tuesday that it would refrain from conducting offensive operations on election day, in line with an earlier pledge from Afghan troops. If Karzai fails to secure victory in a first round, he would most likely face Abdullah in a second round in early October. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:01 am Government to infuse capital into rural banksThe government will infuse fresh capital into the regional rural banking system to increase credit flow to the farm sector, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am Bharat Forge to raise up to $150 mln for expansionMUMBAI (Reuters) - Bharat Forge Ltd, the world's second largest forgings maker, said on Tuesday its board has approved raising up to $150 million via issue of equity or equity linked securities, to meet long-term capital requirements.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am Reliance Comm in talks for Zain's Africa ops - sourcesNEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Communications has started talks to buy Kuwaiti Zain's African operations, which media say are worth $10 billion, two banking sources said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:56 am India gold traders continue bargain pickingMUMBAI (Reuters) - India gold traders continued to pick bargains on Tuesday from a day earlier, to replenish stocks to meet festive demand, as a strong rupee made the dollar-quoted asset cheaper, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:54 am No fresh proposal for debt waiver: FMNew Delhi: There is no fresh proposal for a farm debt waiver and economic growth is expected to be 6% -plus in the current financial year ending March 2010, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. The UPA government had last year announced a nearly Rs71,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme to offer relief to farmers, especially the small and medium ones who were unable to access fresh loans due to non-payment of dues. Noting that the full impact of failure of monsoon was yet to be assessed, the minister said the country would, however, be able to achieve 6%-plus economic growth during the current fiscal. Agriculture accounts for a fifth of India’s GDP, but poor monsoon, besides eroding farm output, could also have a telling effect on consumer spending in rural areas. Economic growth decelerated to 6.7% in FY09 from 9% in the previous fiscal, mainly due to the global financial meltdown. Drought is expected to compound the woes. Mukherjee, who earlier inaugurated a conference of the heads of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), said that a committee would be formed to assess capital requirements of the RRBs. Some RRBs, he added, would need capital infusion to achieve the capital adequacy requirement of 7%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:43 am Reader’s Digest to file for bankruptcy protectionNew York/New Delhi: The publisher of the world’s largest-circulated magazine, Reader’s Digest- sold across dozens of countries including India, has decided to file for bankruptcy in the US, but its operations in rest of the world would remain unaffected. The filing for bankruptcy protection by Reader’s Digest Association (RDA), the company said in a statement, is aimed at reducing its debt burden by 75% and to strengthen its future financial position. RDA, a global multi-brand media and marketing company based in the US, has offices in 44 countries and sells books, magazines, music, video and educational products reaching a customer base of 130 million in 78 countries. It publishes 94 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader’s Digest, the world’s largest-circulated magazine and sells approximately 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. The company said it has reached an in-principle agreement with its lenders to reduce its debt from $2.2 billion to $550 million and its ‘Debt-for-Equity Restructuring Plan´ is supported by a majority of the lenders. The restructuring agreement provides that the company’s senior secured lenders will exchange a substantial portion of the company’s $1.6 billion in senior secured debt for equity and provide for a transfer of ownership of the company to the lender group. As part of the agreement, RDA anticipates implementing the restructuring under court supervision through a voluntary pre-arranged bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which it expects to complete on an expedited basis while operating business as usual. “The Chapter 11 filing will apply only to the company’s US businesses...its operations in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia-New Zealand will not be affected. RDA’s international operations are expected to have adequate funding based on continuing operations and access to proceeds from the DIP (debtor in possession) financing,” the company said. Earlier in March 2009, Indian Software exporter HCL Technologies had announced a seven-year IT operations and management engagement with RDA. As part of the engagement, HCL Technologies would provide application development and infrastructure support across the application stack of Oracle, open technologies, main frame, infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end user computing and data centres. In a separate statement HCL said the latest developments at its end do not affect its relationship and engagement with RDA. “HCL is at the very core of our global operations, and we value the relationship today and going forward,” RDA senior vice president IT, Global Operations and Business Redesign Albert Perruzza said. “Our underlying business operations are strong, and we are undertaking this initiative with the banks so we can significantly reduce our debt and free up cash for use in building our business. Our creditors are supportive and are working with us to ensure a smooth process with no disruptions to business operations,” Perruzza added. RDA ‘s business operations remain strong, with anticipated fiscal 2009 revenue declining in the low single digits, currency neutral, despite the global recession. RDA’s president and chief executive officer Mary Berner, said the company would continue to operate normally throughout the restructuring process. “This agreement in principle with our lenders follows months of intensive strategic review of our balance-sheet issues to financially strengthen the company,” she said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:43 am Reader’s Digest to file for bankruptcy protectionNew York/New Delhi: The publisher of the world’s largest-circulated magazine, Reader’s Digest- sold across dozens of countries including India, has decided to file for bankruptcy in the US, but its operations in rest of the world would remain unaffected. The filing for bankruptcy protection by Reader’s Digest Association (RDA), the company said in a statement, is aimed at reducing its debt burden by 75% and to strengthen its future financial position. RDA, a global multi-brand media and marketing company based in the US, has offices in 44 countries and sells books, magazines, music, video and educational products reaching a customer base of 130 million in 78 countries. It publishes 94 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader’s Digest, the world’s largest-circulated magazine and sells approximately 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. The company said it has reached an in-principle agreement with its lenders to reduce its debt from $2.2 billion to $550 million and its ‘Debt-for-Equity Restructuring Plan´ is supported by a majority of the lenders. The restructuring agreement provides that the company’s senior secured lenders will exchange a substantial portion of the company’s $1.6 billion in senior secured debt for equity and provide for a transfer of ownership of the company to the lender group. As part of the agreement, RDA anticipates implementing the restructuring under court supervision through a voluntary pre-arranged bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which it expects to complete on an expedited basis while operating business as usual. “The Chapter 11 filing will apply only to the company’s US businesses...its operations in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia-New Zealand will not be affected. RDA’s international operations are expected to have adequate funding based on continuing operations and access to proceeds from the DIP (debtor in possession) financing,” the company said. Earlier in March 2009, Indian Software exporter HCL Technologies had announced a seven-year IT operations and management engagement with RDA. As part of the engagement, HCL Technologies would provide application development and infrastructure support across the application stack of Oracle, open technologies, main frame, infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end user computing and data centres. In a separate statement HCL said the latest developments at its end do not affect its relationship and engagement with RDA. “HCL is at the very core of our global operations, and we value the relationship today and going forward,” RDA senior vice president IT, Global Operations and Business Redesign Albert Perruzza said. “Our underlying business operations are strong, and we are undertaking this initiative with the banks so we can significantly reduce our debt and free up cash for use in building our business. Our creditors are supportive and are working with us to ensure a smooth process with no disruptions to business operations,” Perruzza added. RDA ‘s business operations remain strong, with anticipated fiscal 2009 revenue declining in the low single digits, currency neutral, despite the global recession. RDA’s president and chief executive officer Mary Berner, said the company would continue to operate normally throughout the restructuring process. “This agreement in principle with our lenders follows months of intensive strategic review of our balance-sheet issues to financially strengthen the company,” she said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:43 am Gold traders continue bargain pickingMumbai: India gold traders continued to pick bargains on Tuesday from a day earlier, to replenish stocks to meet festive demand, as a strong rupee made the dollar-quoted asset cheaper, dealers said. “There is activity since morning as rupee is acting in support,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury, IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. The Indian rupee rose, a day after posting its biggest one-day drop in five-and-a-half months, as stocks pulled back from a slide. The most-traded October contract was almost flat at Rs14,865 per 10 grams at 2:10pm. A further decline in prices could revive buying interest, they added. “I have some advanced orders in the range of $925-930 (an ounce),” said another dealer with a state-run bank. Gold imports in July slumped to 7.8 tonnes from 24 tonnes in the same month a year ago, the head of a trade body said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:40 am Glenmark confirms Smithkline's lawsuit in US - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:35 am HCL Tech sees no impact from Reader’s Digest bankruptcyMumbai: Software exporter HCL Technologies on Tuesday said it sees no impact on its seven-year engagement with US-based Reader’s Digest Association (RDA), which is filing a bankruptcy petition in the US. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, HCL Technologies said the latest developments (bankruptcy filing by RDA) “do not affect its relationship and engagement with RDA”, which publishes the world’s largest-circulated magazine, Readers’s Digest. “HCL continues to support RDA and does not see any impact on itself as of now,” the statement said. The software exporter in March this year announced a seven-year IT operations and management engagement with RDA. Reader’s Digest Association has decided to file for bankruptcy in the US. It said in a statement that the filing for bankruptcy protection is aimed at reducing its debt burden by 75 per cent and strengthen its future financial position. “HCL is at the very core of our global operations, and we value the relationship today and going forward,” RDA senior vice president for IT, Global Operations and Business Redesign Albert Perruzza said. As part of the engagement, HCL Technologies would provide application development and infrastructure support across the application stack of Oracle, open technologies, main frame, infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end user computing and data centres. “Our underlying business operations are strong, and we are undertaking this initiative with the banks so we can significantly reduce our debt and free up cash for use in building our business. Our creditors are supportive and are working with us to ensure a smooth process with no disruptions to business operations,” Perruzza added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:35 am Tata Communications completes 6,700 km cable system with TycoThe installation, testing and commissioning of the 6,700 km TGN-Intra Asia (TGN-IA) cable system was complete, telecom service provider Tata Communications and undersea communications technology leader Tyco Telecommunications announced Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:33 am PM says country faces impending droughtNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday that the country was facing a drought threat. India’s vital monsoon rains have been 29% below normal since the beginning of the June-September season, hurting crops such as rice and sugarcane and triggering a sharp rise in food prices. Click here for a slideshow of how the drought is affecting India “We are staring at the prospect of an impending drought,” Singh told a meeting of environment ministers of Indian states. Monsoon rains have revived in the past few days, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where the local government has declared a drought in the majority of the districts. The weather office has forecast widespread rains in the key cane-growing areas in north and northwest India as well as the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the main soybean-growing region. Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, said on Monday that the country needed to raise planting of winter-sown crops and improve irrigation to make up for the damage to farms. Monsoon rains are vital for India’s summer-sown crops such as rice, sugarcane and soybeans because the majority of the farmers do not have access to irrigation facilities. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:32 am Sensex moves higher into green, betters key Asian indicesIndian equities markets were doing better than most other Asian bourses shortly after noon Tuesday, a day after a key index plummeted 627 points.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:31 am Japan election campaign opensOsaka: Voters in Japan flocked to rallies on Tuesday as official campaigning began in an election that is expected to see Prime Minister Taro Aso’s party ousted for only the second time in its 54-year history. Polls show Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headed for defeat in the 30 August vote for parliament’s powerful lower house, which would usher in a government led by the opposition Democratic Party and raise the chance of breaking a policy deadlock. The Democrats have pledged to revive the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, hold off on raising the 5% sales tax for the next four years and adopt a diplomatic stance less subservient to top security ally the United States. Financial markets would welcome the prospect of smoother policy-making as Japan shakes off a recession, although some analysts say the Democrats’ ambitious plans could inflate already high public debt and push up long-term interest rates. The Democrats and their allies won control of parliament’s upper house in 2007 and can stymie legislation. Facing a crowd of hundreds in the western city of Osaka, Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama accused the conservative LDP of ignoring ordinary voters and said it was time for change. “Everyone, the day has come to rewrite history,” declared Hatoyama, the next prime minister if his party wins, to cheers from the crowd, many wearing hats and holding towels and parasols to beat the sun and sweltering summer heat. “With your power, let’s have the courage to start a new chapter of politics with you all at the centre,” he said from on top of a van as voters waved yellow banners and fans, the campaign colour for the Democrats’ local candidate. The decade-old Democratic Party has its best-ever shot at seizing power from the LDP, which has ruled for all but 10 months since its creation in 1955 and is struggling with new challenges such as a fast-ageing population and China’s rising clout. News on Monday that Japan’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter will probably do little to revive the LDP’s fortunes, analysts said, even though the figures marked the end of Japan’s longest recession since World War II. Voter anger Aso, the 68-year-old grandson of a former prime minister and a fan of “manga” comics popular with young people, is the third LDP premier in as many years. His two predecessors stepped down after their approval ratings plummeted. He took office last September but his hopes of leading the party to victory have slid after a string of policy flip-flops, verbal gaffes and scandals in his cabinet. To woo back voters, Aso is crediting the LDP’s economic stimulus packages with helping Japan weather the global financial crisis and has accused the Democrats of being weak on security policy and irresponsible on financial issues. “It is the LDP who will protect Japan. It is the LDP who will protect all the people’s livelihoods,” Aso told a big gathering of mostly party supporters on the outskirts of Tokyo. “The economy has returned to positive growth and our steps have produced results ... I think we need to continue taking steps for the economy.” Even before Aso took office voter anger with the LDP had been on the boil, especially after it emerged that millions of public pension records had been mishandled and some lost, upsetting the elderly. “It’s hard to find anything that’s got better under the LDP,” said Kiyoshi Ikuta, 52, a part-time services worker in Osaka’s bustling Namba shopping district ahead of Hatoyama’s speech. “We need a change to stop things from getting worse.” Some voters, however, wondered if the novice Democrats, a mix of former LDP members, ex-socialists and younger conservatives, would fare any better in delivering policies. The Democrats want to give new allowances to families with children, eliminate expensive highway tolls and end a gasoline surcharge, but critics say the party is fuzzy on how it will fund these steps. While the party also wants to reduce bureaucrats’ meddling in policies to cut wasteful spending, it needs to tap their expertise to write legislation. On foreign policy, the Democrats had pledged to stand up to Washington but have shifted to a more pragmatic line ahead of the election. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:30 am Social networking sites in the line of fireTracing ones hostel mate or batch mate at school or college would have been a tedious task some years back, though not any more.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:28 am Rupee extends gains, stock rise helpsMumbai: The Indian rupee extended gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday helped by a firm stock market. At 1:35pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.74/75 per dollar compared with the previous close of Rs48.955/965. Foreigners have bought shares worth $7.8 billion this year, helping the rupee pull back from its record low but traders said a clouded global economic outlook posed a risk. Shares briefly extended gains to 2% by Tuesday afternoon, as investors covered short positions a day after the market dropped 4.1% to its worst close in a month. Dealers said gains made by euro and pound sterling against the dollar underpinned sentiment. “The rupee has risen because the euro and pound are up from where we left them yesterday,” a dealer with a private sector bank said. On Monday, the rupee fell 1.5% in its biggest loss since 2 March -- the day before it hit an all-time low of 52.2. The main share index was trading up 1% in morning trade after sliding 4.1% on Monday, raising hopes for foreign inflows. There were more signs on Monday the US economy was exiting its worst recession in 70 years with reports showing confidence rising among homebuilders, factory activity perking up in New York state and credit card defaults slowing. But the data failed to stem worries on Wall Street about weak US consumer spending and the staying power of any economic recovery. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 48.86/48.96, weaker than the onshore spot rate. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:21 am Bids open today for BSNL optical fibre cable projectSterlite Industries, Surana Telecom, HFCL, Aksh Optic Fibre, and Birla Ericsson are among the optical fibre cable companies in race for the Rs 250crore tender from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:19 am Low rain hits corn, rice output in Bihar - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:08 am No fresh proposal for debt waiver - Pranab MukherjeeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - There is no fresh proposal for a farm debt waiver and economic growth is expected to be 6 percent-plus in the current financial year ending March 2010, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:57 am ANALYSIS - Indian insurers seek policy reforms as funds dryNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's fledgling life insurers, unable to go public and hamstrung by limits on stake sales, could be starved of capital unless rules are changed to make it easier for them to raise funding.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:39 am Prices may go up due to erratic monsoon: RBIThe Reserve Bank today said that prices this year are likely to go up because of the erratic monsoon.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:33 am India must invest in green technology: PMNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday the country must invest in its own environmentally friendly technologies, the latest in myriad pledges from one of the world’s biggest polluters to fight climate change. PM’s comments underlined how India was seeking to undercut demands by rich nations for it to do more to curb carbon emissions. New Delhi has constantly resisted emissions targets, saying it will take its own unilateral action to cut pollution. Global negotiations for a new UN agreement on climate change are stuck on the question of how much cash or technology rich nations will provide the poorer countries. Also Read PM says country faces impending drought Singh’s comments also signalled that India, the world’s fourth-largest polluter, was willing to put in money to develop expensive clean technologies to supplement what it might get from rich countries. “Our growth strategy can be different. It must be different,” the Prime Minister said, referrring to the western world’s decades of industrialisation that is blamed for climate change. He said India’s energy use will rise sharply in the coming decades as it tries to lift a multitude out of poverty, but stressed a different development path must be walked. “For this we need access to new technologies that are already available with developed countries. We must also make our own investments in new environment-friendly technologies,” he told a national conference on environment and forests in New Delhi. India has already announced several steps to fight global warming, such as ramping up solar power investment, expanding forest cover and bringing in domestic energy efficiency trading. “In dealing with the challenge of climate change and environmental degradation we face the unfair burden of past mistakes not of our making,” Singh said. “However, as we go forward in the march of development we have the opportunity not to repeat those mistakes.” With about 500 million people, or about half the population lacking access to electricity and relying on dirty coal to expand the power grid, India’s booming economy has huge potential to leap-frog to a low-carbon future. But it says it needs a little hand-holding by rich countries to keep it on the right path. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:30 am HDFC to raise over Rs 4000 crore through QIBs - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:28 am Poor monsoon could lower growth - AhluwaliaNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's growth projection could be trimmed due to a poor monsoon, but the country has adequate food stocks to counter inflationary pressures, the plan panel Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:18 am Oil steady above $67; eyes inventory dataSingapore: Oil was steady above $67 a barrel on Tuesday, after falling the previous day to its lowest level in two weeks, amid persistent worries over the pace of the global economic rebound and revival in energy demand. The market got some support from a bounce in equities but could see more downside after the release of weekly inventory data later from the American Petroleum Institute (API), and on Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Key July housing data and producer prices due later will also shed light on the health of the US economy. Further price support could come from the rapid growth of Hurricane Bill, the first of this year’s season, which might disrupt Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production. By 12:15pm, US crude for September delivery was up 44 cents at $67.19 a barrel. It had settled 76 cents lower at $66.75 on Monday, off a two-week low of $65.23 earlier. London Brent crude for October was up 12 cents at $70.66. “The tone is nervous, absolutely. The market is realising that a lot of the recent gains have been based on very loose fundamentals, being driven out of equity markets, and that is vulnerable to a correction,” said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Melbourne. Oil suffered its sharpest decline in two weeks last Friday after the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers showed consumer confidence in early August dropped to the lowest level since March, casting doubts over the pace of recovery in the world’s top energy consumer. US stocks suffered their worst loss in seven weeks on Monday as weak data from Japan and a disappointing outlook from retailer Lowe’s Cos dampened hopes about the economy’s growth. The US dollar and the yen both retained broad gains on Tuesday as uncertainty over the strength of a global economic recovery saw investors cut exposure to riskier assets and higher-yielding currencies. The release of weekly API data at 2030 GMT later could show US crude stockpiles rising for the fourth straight week by 1 million barrels, as higher imports offset a slight rise in refinery activity, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. Distillate stocks were seen up 400,000 barrels and gasoline stocks down 1.4 million barrels. The U.S. Commerce Dept will unveil July housing starts and permits at 1230 GMT. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a rise to a 600,000 annualised rate from 582,000 in June, and a total of 580,000 building permits compared with 570,000 the prior month. The Labor Department will also release the July Producer Price Index (PPI) at the same time. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent fall in prices compared with a 1.8% increase the prior month. Hurricane Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, is expected to strengthen to a major category 3 storm by Wednesday, while the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana dissipated without threatening the US Gulf oil patch, the US National Hurricane Center said. Energy markets are jittery over Gulf storms because the region produces a quarter of USoil and 15% of its natural gas. “Certainly, news of hurricane activity will support prices. We see a trading range of $63-$70 for oil this week,” Pervan added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:05 am SmithKline Beecham files lawsuit against Glenmark unitMUMBAI (Reuters) - Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said on Tuesday SmithKline Beecham Corp has filed a patent infringement lawsuit on its U.S. unit for its ANDA filing for Atovaquone and Proguanil hydrochloride tablets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:04 am Indefinite shutdown begins in three West Bengal districtsAn indefinite shutdown called by Maoists to protest police excesses began in the three tribal-dominated West Bengal districts of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am NTPC share sale may happen next yr: officialNew Delhi: A proposed follow-on public share sale by Indian state-run power producer NTPC will not happen this year as the firm is currently flush with funds, the power secretary said on Tuesday. “That may happen next year, not this year,” H S Brahma told reporters. “They have surplus funds of over Rs200 crore ($4 billion),” he said. In July the chairman of NTPC said India’s largest power producer would spend Rs170 crore during the fiscal year to March 2010 to add 3,300 megawatts (MW) of capacity to its March 2009 capacity of about 31,000 MW. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Sensex gains 173 pointsRecovering its early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex rose by 173 points in late morning.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:53 am Asia stocks slip; uncertainty rife on ChinaHong Kong: Asian shares clawed their way back from early lows on Tuesday following wild swings in Shanghai, as investors worried whether more bouts of profit taking will spell the end of the bull market that emerged from the financial crisis. Major European stock futures pointed to a slight rebound after cash markets posted their biggest daily drop in six weeks on Monday. US stock futures also showed some life, rising 0.4%, suggesting markets would open higher later. Pressured by worries that the global economy may take longer than expected to recover and disheartened by mounting losses in Shanghai, US stocks posted their biggest one-day fall in seven weeks on Monday, with profit taking also hitting commodities. Chinese shares remained highly volatile on Tuesday, with the Shanghai composite index rising more than 1 percent by midafternoon after earlier hitting a two-month intraday low and dragging most Asian bourses into the red. The index suffered its biggest single-day drop in nine months on Monday, with investors haunted by fears that China is slowly clamping down on easy money policies and aggressive bank lending. The drop in China’s market had a domino effect on other markets, fueling worries among some analysts that rallying asset prices have run too far ahead of economic fundamentals and weak earnings prospects. However, one of the main drivers of the equity rally in Asia, piles of money that monetary authorities pumped into banking systems, may still have a supportive effect in coming weeks, even with asset prices extended. “History tells us when markets rise as much as they did in the second quarter, they should come down. It’s hard to say where the floor is, but I don’t think it’s far from where we are now,” said Mark Matthews, Asia Pacific strategist with Fox-Pitt Kelton in Hong Kong. “This is a liquidity-driven bull market. It’s not a market being driven by valuations.” Most Asian share markets recouped early losses as the Shanghai index rebounded and investors hunted for bargains after the recent selloff. Japan’s Nikkei share average finished up 0.2% on some late session buying of technology shares, while the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan was up 0.3%. The ex-Japan index tumbled 3.7% on Monday, its biggest daily decline since 30 March. It is still up 67% since 9 March, when a global equity rally began and signalled a marked improvement in investors’ comfort with taking risks for bigger returns. The Shanghai index’s intraday 30-day volatility has jumped to the highest since April 7 in the last three weeks, though still remains well below levels reached in the days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September. “I think macroeconomic indicators in general suggest that things are improving globally and there’s no reason to be so pessimistic, but there’s not a lot we can do about market sentiment as long as stocks keep on falling,” said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo. Profit taking has knocked the Shanghai index down around 18% in the last two weeks after it jumped more than 90% since the start of the year. But the IPO boom in China gained pace, even if broader investor demand was cooling. Shares of China brokerage Everbright Securities Co rose as much as 42% in their debut in Shanghai before slightly paring early gains. The tight relationship that the Australian dollar had had with equities loosened some, with the currency up 0.4% to $0.8240 after minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting underscored that policy would be tightened as a recovery took hold. The US dollar and the yen both retained broad gains on uncertainty over the strength of a global economic recovery. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which tracks the dollar’s value against a basket of six currencies, was largely unchanged, not far from a two-week peak of 79.514 hit on Monday. The lack of follow-through selling in equity markets pushed down US Treasuries. The benchmark 10-year note edged down 6/32 in price to yield 3.50% up about 3 basis points from late New York trade on Monday when the yield fell to 3.47% its lowest since 22 July. US crude oil futures also steadied, rising 0.4% to $67.05 a barrel after falling to a two-week low on Monday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:45 am Watch/listen - Mint in multimedia, 18 AugustVideo story: Coal Business Trading firm MMTC has cancelled a Rs6000 crore tender to import coal for NTPC. Mint’s Utpal Bhaskar tells us what both companies plan to do next. Read story Audio story: Choosing an investment advisor A personal finance podcast on how to choose a good investment advisor and an explanation on the significance of Sebi’s latest ruling on exit loads Video story: The Mint report The sensex falls around 600 points; Manmohan Singh talks tough on Pakistan; Reliance Industries plans to reduce its exposure to its overseas oil blocks Read story Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:34 am 80,000 MW of fresh power generation ordered: MinisterThe government Tuesday said it had already placed orders for 80,000 MW of fresh electricity generation capacity, against the target of 78,700 MW during the entire eleventh five-year plan period of 2007-12.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:32 am Noon: Markets rise 1.3%; Reliance Comm gainsMumbai: Indian shares rose 1.3% on Tuesday as investors covered their short postions after the market dropped 4.1% to its worst close in a month in the previous session. Reliance Communications flip-flopped after sources told Reuters the No. 2 telecoms firm was in talks to buy the African assets of Kuwait’s Zain. The Times of India newspaper said Zain’s African operations, Celtel, were valued at $10 billion. Shares of Reliance Communications were up 2.3% at Rs251.10 after falling as much as 0.9%. Leading financials such as government-run State Bank of India and private-sector rival HDFC Bank, and consumer-goods firm Hindustan Unilever were among the major gainers. But domestic economic concerns after poor rains this year and a string of recent data that has renewed doubts about a global recovery kept investors wary. Losses in top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp and outsourcer Infosys Technologies weighed on the main index. “It’s reasonable that there should be some short-covering in the market today after yesterday’s fall,” V K Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stock Broking, said. “But we believe investors could go short again in the short term and the market could test lower levels once more.” By 11:20am, the 30-share BSE index was up 1.3% at 14,972.74 points, with 26 stocks advancing, after falling as much as 0.3% earlier. The 50-share NSE index was up 1.3% at 4,445.60. On Monday, the benchmark fell the most since a 5.8% drop on 6 July, when the government announced a budget that disappointed investors expecting bold economic and financial reforms. A string of recent downbeat data has renewed doubts about a global economic recovery, and pushed down equity markets worldwide as investors fret about stocks that have risen ahead of fundamentals. In India, concerns that poor monsoon rains - crucial for the country’s domestic-demand-led economy - will dent growth has added to the gloom. Traders say the market would be choppy until clarity emerged on the government’s response to the weak monsoon. State Bank of India, the country’s top lender, rose 2.1% to Rs1,748.95, while HDFC Bank climbed 2% to Rs1,436. Hindustan Unilever added 1.8% to Rs254. Housing Development Finance Corp shed 0.2% to Rs2,248, while No. 2 outsourcer Infosys eased 0.2% to Rs1,979.05. In the broader market, gainers led gainers 2 to 1 on relatively moderate volume of 108.7 million shares. Asian shares were lower, with Japan’s Nikkei flat, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets fell 0.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:11 am RCOM eyes Zain's African biz: report - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:05 am Jet to go in for more Airbus 330sMumbai, Aug. 17 Jet Airways has decided to go in for more Airbus 330s, and not Boeing 777s, thanks to the aircraft’sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideFresh short-position can be initiated if DLF declines below Rs 354, with tight stop-loss. Initiate fresh short-position if ICICI Bank tumbles below Rs 690 and SBI falls below Rs 1,693, with stiff stop-loss. We recommend a sell in Infosys. UtiliseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Nagarjuna Construction (Rs 122.4): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of Nagarjuna Construction Company from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts that the stock was on an intermediate-term uptrend from its March low of Rs 34 to its July high of Rs 159 (a 52-weekSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Gold ETFs outperform other assets in last 1 yearMumbai, Aug. 17 Investors of Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) have made more returns than any other asset class in the last one year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am A safe harbour for portsIndia has a coastline of 7,517 km, including the circumference of its islands. Without the islands, the coastline is 6,100 km. More than 3,500 km of this are accessible to large vessels. To serve this long coastline, India has 12 major ports,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Sensex sinks with global markets, drops 626 pointsMumbai, Aug. 17 Stock markets took a battering on Monday on the back of fears that the global economic recovery will be slower than expected even as poor monsoon continued to cast its shadow on investor sentiment.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Social networking sites in the line of fireCoimbatore, Aug. 17 Tracing one’s hostel mate or batch mate at school or college would have been a tedious task some years back, though not any more.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Banks remain cautious on global fund raising plansBangalore, Aug. 17 Public and private sector banks are holding back their global capital-raising programmes through Medium Term Note (MTN) issuances despite softening of international interestSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Chinese curse on Indian sharesBL Research Bureau China and India are mentioned in the same breath by investors in the global financial community because the countries have similar economic growth trajectory. But this linkage is proving to be problematic to Indian equities inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Anil Ambani group steps up campaign against Reliance on gas issueNew Delhi, Aug. 17 In its continuing media campaign against Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the Government on the KG Basin gas issue, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s advertisement blitz on Monday morning saw front page advertisementsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Infosys among world's 100 fastest growing cos: FortuneIT bellwether Infosys Technologies, along with Internet major Google and software giant Apple, has been named among the world's 100 fastest growing companies by American publication Fortune.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:54 pm US indicts 3 in theft of 130 million credit cardsNew York: Three men were indicted on Monday for allegedly stealing more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers in what US authorities said they believe is the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted. Albert Gonzalez, a former government informant already in jail in connection with hacking cases, and two unnamed Russians were indicted on charges related to five corporate data breaches from 2006 to 2008. Card numbers were stolen in those breaches from credit-card processor Heartland Payment Systems and retail chains 7-Eleven Inc and Hannaford Brothers Co, prosecutors said. The men targeted two other corporations, the US attorney’s office in New Jersey said in the statement, without naming those companies. Heartland Payment Systems and Hannaford Brothers had previously and separately acknowledged the breaches, but the scope of the fraud had not been known. Authorities also for the first time tied those cases to Gonzalez, who was arrested last year on suspicion of hacking into a restaurant chain’s payment system. Attorneys for Gonzalez were not available for comment. Prosecutors said Gonzalez and the Russians, identified as “Hacker 1” and “Hacker 2”, targeted large corporations by scanning the list of Fortune 500 companies and exploring corporate websites before setting out to identify vulnerabilities. A year ago, Gonzalez was indicted along with 10 others from five countries on accusations of stealing 41 million credit and debit card numbers from major retailers, including TJX Cos Inc, owner of the TJ Maxx and Marshall’s retail chains. Prosecutors said that ring caused more than $400 million in damages. Prosecutors said Gonzalez and the other two men used numerous techniques to penetrate the computer systems. Gonzalez was being held in a Brooklyn jail. Prosecutors would not comment on the whereabouts of the two Russians. All three were charged with conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers, to commit fraud in connection with computers and to damage computers, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each faces up to 35 years in prison and large fines if convicted. Prosecutors said in the statement that the suspects would seek to sell the data to others who would use it to make fraudulent purchases. They cited one example in which they said the suspects went to retail locations to identify the type of checkout machines, and after further investigation into the computer systems they uploaded information onto servers that worked as hacking platforms. “These servers, located in New Jersey and around the world, were used by the co-conspirators to store information critical to the hacking schemes and subsequently to launch the hacking attacks,” prosecutors said. Heartland, based in Princeton, New Jersey, calls itself the fifth largest payments processor in the United States. Representatives from Heartland and 7-Eleven were not available for comment. Hannaford Brothers referred questions to federal authorities. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:46 pm IDBI Bank yet to begin Rs 13k crore syndication for RPowerIDBI Bank, which has been mandated to raise Rs 13,000 crore syndicated loan for Reliance Power's Krishnapatanam Ultra Mega Power Project has put the process on hold.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:37 pm India's environmental situation alarming: PMThe 'multiple environmental crises that confront our country have created an alarming situation', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Tuesday, while asking state governments to curtail pollution, clean rivers and fight climate change.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:30 pm Sensex recovers early losses; up by 173 pointsRecovering its early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex rose by 173 points in late morning trade amid continued FII pullout from the stock market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:30 pm Shree Renuka gets regulator's nod to buy stake in NCDEX - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:27 pm Infosys among world's 100 fastest growing cos: FortuneInfosys Technologies, along with Internet major Google and software giant Apple, has been named among the world's 100 fastest growing companies by American publication Fortune.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:59 pm DreamWorks closes film financing deal with RelianceLos Angeles: Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios and Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group closed a financing deal on Monday, putting the final touch on a three-year, $825 million pact for up to six films a year. JPMorgan Securities arranged the syndication of about $325 million in financing to DreamWorks Studios, which is headed by Oscar-winning director Spielberg and veteran movie executive Stacey Snider. Reliance Big Entertainment, a division of Reliance ADA Group, is matching that amount. Walt Disney Co will handle marketing and distribution for DreamWorks Studio’s films around the world, except in India where Reliance Big retains distribution. Disney also will loan DreamWorks Studios $175 million under the partnership, which combined with the JP Morgan package and Reliance funding brings the total financing to $825 million. The deal allows DreamWorks Studios to produce five to six movies a year, said company spokesman Chip Sullivan. The partnership will last at least three years. And it could be augmented if DreamWorks Studios obtains more money from lenders, because Reliance agreed to match whatever the production company can raise up to a total of $550 million, or $225 million more than its current commitment. DreamWorks Studios originally envisioned a five-year, $1.2 billion deal, but after last year’s global credit crisis made financing scarce, the company lowered its sights. The first film to be distributed through Disney will be “Harvey,” a movie to begin production early next year based on a play that became a 1950 movie classic of the same name. “Harvey” will hit theaters later in 2010. The list of financiers JP Morgan brought together includes Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co and Comerica Inc. The newly created DreamWorks Studios is a production unit separate from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. DreamWorks Studios and Reliance ADA Group, the Indian conglomerate, announced a plan to work together last year in a film financing deal that allows DreamWorks to start anew after it cut ties with Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:58 pm Sensex down 39 points on global cuesSensex fell 39 points in opening trade on Tuesday on selling by foreign funds and retail investors following weak global markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:57 pm Reliance Comm in talks for Zain’s Africa operationsNew Delhi /Mumbai: Reliance Communications, India’s No. 2 mobile operator, is in preliminary talks to buy Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain’s African operations, two banking sources with knowledge of the development said, in a deal reported to be worth $10 billion. The Kuwaiti firm said last month it was reviewing a possible sale of its African operations -- minus Morocco and Sudan -- after French media and telecoms giant Vivendi called off talks to buy a majority stake in the African business. Zain chief executive told Kuwait daily newspaper Al-Rai that the firm was in talks with three major telecoms firms, including one from India, to sell all or part of its African operations. Reliance Communications and its larger rival Bharti Airtel last year talked to South Africa’s MTN separately for a possible combination, but both failed to seal a deal. “Reliance Communications has been looking at some emerging market assets since its deal with MTN fell through,” said one banking source with knowledge of the talks. “They are in preliminary stages of evaluating the deal,” he said on Tuesday, and added that Reliance Communications was yet to appoint merchant bankers. Another source also said the talks were underway. A spokesman for Reliance Communications was not immediately available for comment. Shares in Reliance Communications, which the market values at about $10 billion, were down 0.6% at Rs244.10 by 10.20 am after seesawing in a Mumbai market up 0.2%. Africa Beckons Analysts say Africa being the last of less-penetrated markets in terms of mobile growth presents a big opportunity for global mobile firms, who are seeing cut-rate competition in saturated markets and are facing falling call tariffs. Bharti and MTN revived merger negotiations in May this year and are in exclusive talks till 31 August. The deal, which Bharti has said is worth more than $23 billion both ways, would aim at a full merger of the firms and create the world’s third-biggest telecoms firm with more than 200 million subscribers. Reliance Communications already owns Uganda’s Anupam Global Soft. The Times of India newspaper said Zain’s African operations were valued at $10 billion. Zain, which is in the midst of a strategic review and is being advised by investment bank UBS, plans an extraordinary general meeting on 31 August when shareholders will be asked to vote on amending its ownership restrictions. The move would pave the way for selling a large stake in the firm. United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat has said it was interested in taking a majority stake in Zain, according to the head of its international unit. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:56 pm Rupee up 9 paise to 48.86 a dollar in opening tradeThe Indian rupee strengthened by 9 paise against the US currency in the opening trade today on dollar selling by exporters.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:32 pm Audio story: choosing an investment advisorIn this weeks personal finance podcast “Notes on notes”, money management coach Harish Rao explains the importance of choosing a good investment advisor. Harish explains that the process of choosing an investment advisor should be similar to that of a well planned interview, to ensure that your investment advisor has the necessary expertise, product knowledge, investment skills, integrity, good confidence and self belief in ability. Harish also explains the significance of Sebi’s desicion to ban the levying of different rates of exit loads for different investors in the same scheme. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 6:25 pm China drags Sensex, world markets downIt was a panic Monday. As the Chinese market fell 5.8 per cent, following concerns about the sustainability of its growth rate, all other markets across the world were also awash in a sea of red.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 17 Aug 2009 | 4:01 pm RIL to sell 35% stake in 2 onshore oil blocks in YemenReliance Industries plans to farm out stake in six overseas hydrocarbon blocks, reports CNBCTV18, quoting Mint. Reliance Exploration Production, a subsidiary of India\'s largest private refiner, owns the blocks that are up for sale.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:39 pm SBI Life has max million $ agentsThis year's million dollar round table (MDRT), a global congregation of top insurance agents, will see SBI Life taking the honours.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:28 pm Tamiflu over the counter? The jury is outOseltamivir is among the few treatment mechanisms available for swine flu at present, as the vaccines are still being tested and will require a few months to be out in the market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:26 pm It was long comingWhile Monday's fall was not completely unexpected, its ferocity has been somewhat of a surprise.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:25 pm Used-car valuations, sales picking upThe used-car market which was dormant during the monsoon period has started to buzz up on account of early advent of the festive season in September.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:24 pm Aurobindo to buy firm owned by promoter's sonHyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma has decided to acquire Trident Life Sciences, which is setting up a liquid injectables unit in Medak on the outskirts of the city.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:24 pm Continuing special incentives under GST -- clear mandate requiredThe objective of extending tax benefits was essentially to build industrial infrastructure and generate employment in these industrially backward areas.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:20 pm Delhi among most expensive airportsIndia’s privatised airports are among the most expensive international airports in their category.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:16 pm MTN board meet to talk Bharti dealAn empowered group of directors of South Africa-based MTN were scheduled to meet late in the evening on Monday to review the proposed merger deal with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom service provider. The meeting was to be held in Mumbai.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:13 pm RIL gas imbroglio: ADAG begins media blizterigIn its latest gambit, the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has published advertisements questioning the Petroleum Ministrys stance in the gas supply deal between NTPC and Reliance Industries. The ad, which appeared in several national dailies today, has created quite a stir.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:08 pm Asean FTA in India\'s longterm interest: R SeshasayeeR Seshasayee, MD, Ashok Leyland, and former President, CII, says the IndoAsean free trade agreement may be a shortterm pain, but is longterm gain for India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:42 pm Sensex Shanghaied, slips 627On Monday, as the Shanghai index crashed nearly 6% to the lowest level in 2009, markets across the globe felt the heat.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:09 pm RCOM eyes Kuwait telcos African opsKuwaiti telecom firm Zain is said to be reviewing a possible sale of its African operations, Celtel, valued at $10 billion.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:08 pm 2G spectrum linked to 3G auction prices: SourcesFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has sought an early meet on spectrum allocation, reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources. There will be no further allocation till the government\'s takes a final call. Sources say 2G spectrum prices would be linked to the 3G auction price.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 1:56 pm Industrial commodity price surge spooks India IncPrices of key inputs up 44% to 74%; analysts expect earnings squeeze after a quarter or two.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:48 pm Yamaha, Hero Honda to give Bajaj a hot chasePulsar 220, the fastest bike in India, faces a challenge from new models on speed & style.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:45 pm Sensex tanks 626 pts on global cues, monsoon worriesRealty and metal stocks lead the fall.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:43 pm Strengthening India’s offshoring industryThe global economic downturn has slowed the growth of India’s technology and business services industry, but beyond the current crisis, the industry faces a changing global environment that will probably cut into the country’s worldwide market share. A McKinsey analysis suggests that there is little immediate risk to India’s dominance of the market for offshore technology and business services. But the country’s share could sink to 40% by 2020, from just more than 50% at the end of 2008, primarily as a result of increased competition from other countries, talent and infrastructure constraints, and an unhelpful regulatory environment. But changes in the global market could also give India opportunities, especially if its companies become more innovative and rely less on low labour costs.  Changing focus: A file photo of a Convergys office. Indian IT firms can get more opportunities in the market if they rely less on low labour costs. Madhu Kapparath / Mint Looking past the immediate situation, McKinsey expects the global market for offshore business and technology services to grow to about $500 billion by 2020, from the current $80 billion a year. Even with this more than sixfold growth, the industry will serve less than a third of the potential market, which McKinsey estimates at $1.65 trillion to $1.80 trillion in 2020. Several factors will contribute to this global growth. Core markets—for instance, large financial services and telecommunications firms in developed economies—should continue to expand along with the global economy, once growth returns. The pace of growth could slow, however, if processes are automated and standardized more quickly than seems likely now. Corporate budget cuts during the downturn and protectionist regulation could also dampen demand from core and other markets. Much of the industry’s expansion will come from non-traditional customers. Increased demand from emerging markets (primarily China and India, but also Brazil and Russia) could add $450-500 billion to the global market by 2020. Individuals and small and mid-size enterprises will find it easier to use offshore services as communications technologies advance, costs go down, and business models evolve, adding $240-260 billion to the market. Finally, new kinds of customers—particularly in the public sector (including state-owned enterprises), as well as healthcare providers—will likely turn to outsourced business and technology services, expanding the global market by an additional $210-260 billion. But as the pie expands, India will be hard-pressed to maintain its 51% market share, which we expect will drop to around 40% by 2020 unless Indian providers become more innovative and global. First, the industry faces domestic constraints. Talent will be a severe problem. India produces no more than three million university graduates a year—too few to maintain its market share. An inadequate physical infrastructure will also hinder the industry’s expansion. Transportation systems and power and water supplies are already strained in the country’s leading cities, including offshoring hubs such as Hyderabad and Chennai. At the same time, infrastructure deficiencies and talent shortages have prevented the industry from moving aggressively into smaller cities. Another problem is that everyone wants to join the party. China, Egypt, many Eastern European countries, and dozens of others are fighting aggressively to build their domestic business and technology services industries, offering tax benefits and improved infrastructure as incentives. Egypt, for example, is developing university programmes intended to provide the industry with 32,000 employable graduates by 2010. Finally, government policies—which have over the years supported the industry—have become less favourable in recent times. For example, at present there is a lack of clarity surrounding the continuation of fiscal incentives the government has used to spur industry development. Meanwhile, the industry continues to be regulated by the Shops and Establishments Act and other laws not tailored to the service sector’s requirements. Adding to the burden, these laws are applied inconsistently from state to state. Indian business and technology services companies needn’t stand by passively and watch their global market share decline. Innovation will be the key to maintaining and even expanding their market share. Business models that continue to focus on low labour costs won’t suffice. Unfortunately, innovation isn’t the industry’s strong suit. Over the past decade, India’s companies captured about half of the global business and technology services market, but the country still accounts for less than 1% of the patents issued around the world annually. To address the opportunities in new geographic and industry markets and to serve individuals and small and mid-size enterprises, business and technology services companies must create innovative products that address the needs of these new customers. Areas that appear ripe include clinical research, mobile applications and platforms, and energy efficiency. Much as offshore companies remotely manage their customers’ information technology infrastructure, for example, they could remotely manage the energy consumed by their customers’ air conditioning and heating systems. If successful, such efforts could contribute $100-130 billion in export revenues to India’s offshoring industry by 2020, expanding its global market share to almost 60%. India’s technology and business services industry has flourished over the past decade, with export revenues in 2008 reaching $46 billion, which covers roughly 74% of the country’s net oil imports that year. Apart from an isolated failure in corporate governance, India’s brand abroad has been burnished by the success of this industry. But it will retain its lustre and advantage over up-and-coming locations only by reinventing itself and looking beyond the low-cost labor model that served it well in the past. Reprinted with permission, ©2009/McKinsey & Co. The article was originally published in The McKinsey Quarterly and can be found on its website, www.mckinseyquarterly.com feedback@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:53 am Drought is here but no need to panic, says PMPrime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said there is no need to panic over the drought situation in many parts of India as the government has 'a better understanding of how to handle a crisis like this'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:31 am Struggling Sony Ericsson taps Nordberg as new headHelsinki: Sony Ericsson on Monday entrusted the head of Ericsson’s US technology division with the task of leading the struggling cellphone maker back to profit and reversing a sharp decline in market share. The 50-50 venture said that it named Bert Nordberg as chief executive in place of Dick Komiyama, who retires at the end of this year. Sony Ericsson has reported steep losses in past quarters and seen its market share slip to below 5%, sparking market speculation of a possible breakup. “I would go for increased market share and restoring profitability,” Nordberg said when asked where he hopes to see the company in 1-2 years’ time. He said that he would pursue ongoing restructuring and step up efforts to develop ‘smash-hit’ products. Nordberg (53), currently executive vice-president at Ericsson and head of the firm’s Silicon Valley business, said that he was extremely confident in support from both parent companies, while turning to profit can’t be too far away. Of the top five cellphone vendors, Sony Ericsson saw the sharpest drop in sales from the first quarter. The firm has missed trends like full keyboards, internet browsing and navigation, and research firm Gartner said last week that its market share fell to just 4.7% globally. ‘Big decisions to make´ “Nordberg has some big decisions to make from day one,” said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight. Wood further said: “Sony Ericsson needs to streamline its mobile software strategy and further reduce its dependence on mid-tier feature phones while working to restore profitability in the toughest economic climate the mobile phone industry has ever seen.” Sony Ericsson is known for its phones focusing on music and imaging, but it has so far lacked a strong offering of smartphones. Nordberg said that he would look for a strategic revamp of the firm’s product portfolio. “In this industry you need smash-hit products,” he said. The firm also said that Sony chief executive officer Howard Stringer would become new board chairman on 15 October, replacing Ericsson head Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will become chairman of BP Plc in January. Nordberg has been with Ericsson since 1996, prior to which he worked with companies including Data General Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp. In July Sony Ericsson posted a pretax loss of €283 million ($400 million), and said that the rest of the year would be difficult, with the overall market to shrink at least 10%. Shares in Ericsson were 1.3% lower at 66.30 crowns by 4:03pm, outperforming a DJ Stoxx European technology index down 2%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 4:46 am
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