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Levy hike not negative for sugar cos: SP TulsianSP Tuslian of sptulsian.com said even though a hike in the sugar levy quota was imminent, it wont impact the sugar mills profits much because the government is expected to raise the sugar levy price as well.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 8:12 am Brandhouse forms JV with Italian co, to start 15 storesBrandhouse Retail, an exclusive brand outlet retailer, has recently signed up joint venture (JV) with Italys Oviesse, Managing Director Tarun Joshi saidSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 8:00 am RBI puts Rs 10,000 cap per withdrawal from third party ATMsThe apex bank, which made third party ATM transactions free from April, has said not more than Rs 10,000 can be withdrawn each time they are used and also limited the number of such transactions per month.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Aug 2009 | 7:35 am US listing an option but no plan as yet: FirstsourceAnanda Mukerji, MD CEO, Firstsource Solutions said that the company was considering US listing as an option but there nothing on cards as yet. Firstsource is a global provider of business process management services.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am KPIT Cummins plans to change business modelKishore Patil, MD and CEO, KPIT Cummins Infosystem said that he sees prospects of the automotive market stabilising. He, however, added that the recovery in automotive segment will be slower. Do not see good visibility for FY10, said Patil.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 5:42 am Puravankara denies reports of QIP launchPuravankara Projects has denied completing a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise funds. Abuzz with news of a QIP completion, the Puravankara stock has been up close to 40% in the past two trading sessions.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:55 am B'desh may offer Chittagong port faci... - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:30 am GM moves closer to picking Magna for Opel - sourcesFRANKFURT (Reuters) - General Motors is moving closer to picking Germany's favoured buyer, Magna International and its Russian partners, for its Opel business when GM's board meets on Friday, sources close to the matter said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:25 am Farm situation grim after weak rains - govtNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Failed monsoon rains in India have created a critical situation for rural livelihood, drinking water and crops, and late-season rainfall will not reverse crop damage, top officials said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:23 am A designer’s collapsible, biodegradable mug for India’s railway bathroomsNew Delhi: A collapsible, environmentally friendly mug meant for use in the bathrooms of Indian trains has made it to the finals of the 500,000 euro Index Award, which aims to attract entries that improve quality of life around the world. The brainchild of a Delhi based Indian designer, Paul Sandip, the mug holds over a liter of water and disintegrates an hour after use. Sandip, who used to ride the trains a lot when he was a student noticed fellow passengers trying to find empty water bottles or coffee cups to wash themselves after using the toilets on Indian trains. “Indian railways do provide water but don’t provide anything to hold water in. Some compartments have steel mugs but these are most often stolen,” he says. Sandip wanted to create something people could buy for an affordable price on the railway platform, store easily, and throw off the train after one time use. He began exploring concepts, and discovered a type of paper that was both strong enough to hold over a liter of water, could be glued using organic glue and would biodegrade. Click here to watch a slideshow of Sandip’s collapsible, biodegradable mug. “My greatest difficulty was how to create a stable structure and also make it biodegradable. I’ve designed it with a double snout so both left handed people and right handed people can use it. It also has an integrated handle,” he explains. Sandip designed the mug back in 2004, while a student at National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, and was invited by the central railway authorities to test market it on trains. “They asked for one lakh pieces that we could test over one week. We were going to sell a 3 pack of mugs for Rs. 5,” he recalls. However, Sandip could not come up with the funds necessary to market the concept and now, five years later, is still attempting to find investors and advertisers who can help him get it off the ground. Click here to read more posts related to non profits and development. He hopes to have the mugs produced by people who live in local slums near the railway lines – thus solving the logistical problem of distribution across a country as vast as India, while also providing employment to poor families. You can read more about the other finalists and vote on which one you think should win by going to the Index Award site. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:19 am Tata Chem sees Rallis buy helping agri-biz growthMumbai: Tata Chemicals Ltd sees its agri-business revenue at Rs2.5 billion in FY10, helped by marketing and distribution muscle from group firm, Rallis India , its managing director said on Friday. Tata Chemicals spent Rs3.64 billion to buy 35.08% stake in Rallis India this month, raising its shareholding to 45.08%. “Tata Chemicals is having a strong marketing presence in the north and the east, while Rallis is strong in the west and the south helping us to create value,” R. Mukundan told reporters. He also said that the company will not spend an earlier planned Rs700 million in speciality nutrients business, following the Rallis buy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:17 am ANALYSIS - With Shanghai shares down, is China set to stumble?BEIJING (Reuters) - China's stock market crashed before the economy's steep slowdown last year, and it soared before the strong recovery earlier this year -- so, does the current sell-off presage fresh economic troubles?Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:16 am 479 Million Telecom Subscribers in India - Techtree.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:15 am Nifty closes above 4500; realty, auto... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:14 am Compact Disc to spin off international film bizMUMBAI (Reuters) - Compact Disc India Ltd said on Friday its board has approved spinning off its international film production business into a separate entity as part of its growth strategy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:12 am Indiabulls Real Estate surges on Mant... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:10 am BSE Sensex provisionally rises 1.4 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 1.4 percent on Friday, as investors looked to enter the market after it dropped 5.7 percent over the past three weeks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:08 am Govt not to interfere in Ambani gas row - IBNLive.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:08 am INTERVIEW - Dr Reddy's plans 7 new drug launches in U.S.BANGALORE (Reuters) - Indian drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd plans to launch about 7 new generics in the United States in 2009/10, but sales at its German unit could drop from a year ago, a senior official said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:06 am NTPC to wait for gas panel decision before moving SCNew Delhi: Power PSU NTPC will wait for a ministerial panel on gas to make up its mind before moving the Supreme Court on a gas supply dispute with Reliance Industries, power minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Friday. “Today, while considering the the whole situation, I think we have to wait till meeting (of gas panel) is over,” he told reporters indicating that the PSU was no in hurry to drag RIL to the Supreme Court. NTPC and RIL are fighting in the Bombay high court over a 2004 gas supply tender, which RIL had bagged with a winning bid of $2.34 per mmBtu. RIL, however, contends that it has not concluded the contract and that government approval was needed for pricing gas. The power PSU recently sought the advice of the Solicitor General and Attorney General on the matter and the two were of the view that NTPC should, to safeguard its interest, move the Supreme Court where government had moved a petition in a pricing-related case between RIL and RNRL. Shinde today said: “It is possible another meeting (of the gas panel) would be convened very soon.” The panel, an informal grouping led by the finance minister, was formed to decide the government’s unified stand on the gas issue. A unified stand was required as RIL could challenge its 2004 NTPC tender on the grounds that government’s stand on pricing would frustrate the deal. The government’s petition in the RIL-RNRL case in Supreme Court asserts its rights on approving gas price and deciding its utilisation. “NTPC is one of the corporations of power ministry. It is the government’s duty to ensure protection of all our coporations. But they (corporations) also have full rights... as it (NTPC) is an independent body... corporation,” he said. Asked about the Ambani brothers’ row over gas, Shinde said, “Other cases are totally different. It is nothing to do with other cases. We don’t want to get involved in the two brothers’ cases.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:03 am Online social networking may decide your employment prospectsNew York: Your social networking activities online -- whether you tweet a few lines or scribble on the Facebook wall -- could well decide your job prospects, as more number of American employers are turning to such sites before zeroing in on the right candidate for employment. A major chunk of the US employers are banking on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, to research on a candidate before recruitment, says a survey. Nearly half of employers surveyed in the US by job portal CareerBuilder showed that 45% of them use social networking sites to research job candidates. Last year, the same stood at just 22%. About 11% are planning to start using social networking sites for screening. Moreover, about 35% of employers reported that they have found content on social networking sites that made them decide not to hire the candidate. The survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between 22 May and 10 June 2009 among 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals. Going by the findings, Facebook is the most preferred among employers with 29% of the employers using that site for online searches or background checks before recruiting candidates. Besides, 26% of respondents use LinkedIn, 21% surf MySpace, 11% search blogs and 7% follow candidates on Twitter for information. The industries most likely to screen job seekers via such sites or search engines include IT (63%) and professional and business services (53%). “Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet,” CareerBuilder vice-president of human resources Rosemary Haefner said. Among surveyed, 53% respondents said candidates have posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, while 44% said that many candidates have posted information about drinking or using drugs. As per the survey, 35% of respondents found that candidates bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients and made them decide not to hire such people. Interestingly, 14% of employers did not hire a candidate because he/she send a message using an emoticon such as a smiley face while 16% decided against recruiting a candidate for using text language such as ‘GR8´ (great) in an e-mail or job application. On the other hand, nearly 18% said they found content on such sites that helped them hire a candidate. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:02 am Madhya Pradesh plans to limit stocks of rice, pulsesThe Madhya Pradesh government is planning to impose stock limits on pulses, gram, oilseeds and rice to control rising prices, officials said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 4:00 am Watch/listen - Mint in Multimedia; 21 August 2009Video story: Beyond fallout Mint’s Santosh K. Joy says the BJP is still doing damage control after expelling Jaswant Singh, but is also likely to set a direction for its future very soon. Audio story: India no.3 in world list of identity theft and phishing India has been placed right at the top of a world list on identity theft and phishing: But how do you know a website is what it claims to be and how do you trust a website with your personal information? Slideshow:Collapsible, Biodegradable Mug for India’s Railway Bathrooms click here to view slideshow Delhi based designer, Paul Sandip, has made it to the finals of the 500,000 euro Index Award, which attracts designs that improve quality of life around the world. Video story: The Mint Report Goods and Services tax in trouble; a new study suggests ways to vaccinate a country against swine flu and rural India may be much poorer than previously thought. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:58 am Markets end in green on renewed buyingMumbai: Indian shares rose 1.5% on Friday, as investors looked to enter the market after it dropped 5.7% over the past three weeks. The 30-share BSE index ended up 228.51 points at 15,240.83, with 29 stocks gaining. The 50-share NSE index closed up 75.35 points at 4,5228.80. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am Rupee rises as shares gain over 1.5 percentMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee retreated from the day's lows on Friday as the domestic sharemarket reversed early losses and was trading up more than 1.5 percent with losses in the dollar versus most majors also underpinning sentiment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:55 am Govt planning 25% public float in firmsMumbai: India’s finance minister has approved a plan that requires listed companies to have at least 25% public float, including state firms, the Economic Times reported on Friday. The rule is likely to come into force from the next fiscal year that begins in April, after the plan is approved by the law ministry, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed government official with knowledge of the proposal. Under the plan, companies in which founders or others who own more than three quarters will have to increase the public float by 5% annually until it reaches 25%, the paper said. There are 174 firms, including 28 state-run companies, that would need to offload stakes valued at Rs1.33 trillion ($27.3 billion), a study by SMC Capitals showed. Some of the government companies are: Steel Authority of India, MMTC, NMDC Ltd and State Bank of Mysore, it said. Private sector firms include Wipro, Jet Airways, Puravankara Projects and Novartis India Ltd, the paper said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:49 am India planning 25 pct public float in firms - reportMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's finance minister has approved a plan that requires listed companies to have at least 25 percent public float, including state firms, the Economic Times reported on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:36 am DMK\'s Karnataka opposes \'premature\' GST planThe government\'s desire to make the switch to goods and services tax (GST) by April 1, 2010 has encountered yet another roadblock. Mints Sanjiv Sankaran reports that this time from the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) ruled Tamil Nadu, which has questioned the legitimacy of the Empowered Group of State Finance Ministers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:32 am Kerala expects Rs.200 crore liquor sales during OnamAlcohol sales in Kerala are expected to touch Rs.200 crore during this Onam season that starts Aug 26. Liquor shops in the state are well-stocked to meet the high demand.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:30 am Karzai, chief rival claim victory in Afghan voteKabul:President Hamid Karzai’s campaign and chief rival Abdullah Abdullah both claimed victory on Friday in Afghanistan’s election, each camp saying preliminary results showed there would be no need for a second round run-off. “Initial results show that the president has got a majority,” Deen Mohammad told Reuters, although he said it was the duty of the election commission to announce the official results. “We will not get to a second round. We have got a majority.” Abdullah, Karzai’s former foreign minister, dismissed the Karzai camp’s victory claim and said preliminary results showed he was on track to win in the first round. “I’m ahead. Initial results results from the provinces show that I have more than 50 percent of the vote,” Abdullah told Reuters by telephone in Kabul. Election officials said no confirmed results had been released. Mohammad said the Karzai campaign’s estimate of victory was based on reports from nearly 29,000 monitors the campaign had at polling stations throughout the country. Official preliminary results are not due for two weeks, but counting began immediately after polls closed on Thursday and is largely complete. Polls conducted before the election showed Karzai in the lead but suggested he would not win more than 50 percent of the vote and faced a second round run-off against Abdullah in October. Patience Urged The 6,200 polling stations are required to make their results available to the public as they tabulate them to prevent fraud. Zekria Barakzai, deputy head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) urged patience. “We cannot confirm any claims by campaigning managers. It’s the job of the election commission to declare the results. They should be patient,” Barakzai said. The United Nations mission in Kabul and the embassy both said no result was legitimate until endorsed by the IEC. “We’ve seen the reports, but only the IEC is in a position to announce official results. Anything else is just speculation,” said US embassy spokeswoman Fleur Cowan. An independent Afghan monitoring body, FEFA, said it was concerned about the quality of Thursday’s elections after receiving reports from its observers across the country of fraud and interference. There had been reports of improper interference and allegations of bias by election officials, it said in a statement issued after polls closed on Thursday. FEFA also said fewer female polling stations had been opened than planned and that its observers reported cases of men voting on behalf of women. It said it was still assessing the reports. Afghan officials and their US protectors have breathed a sigh of relief after the relatively peaceful election, which Taliban militants failed to disrupt despite sporadic attacks across the country. Barakzai said two convoys of election workers transporting ballot boxes had been attacked following the vote. In one case in Balkh province in the north, an election worker was killed and ballots that had already been counted were burned. He said preliminary figures showed overall turnout was around 40-50%. This would be roughly in line with estimates by Western diplomats before the poll. Much is likely to depend on turnout in southern areas, such as Karzai’s home province of Kandahar, where the president draws his strongest support but where voters faced the brunt of Taliban attacks and intimidation. Abdullah’s spokesman Fazl Sangcharaki said the north had voted solidly for Abdullah, except in Jowzjan province, home of Uzbek militia chieftain Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to the country days before the vote to campaign for Karzai. Western backers have expressed concern about Karzai’s tactic of seeking support from former militia chiefs, afraid that deals made to secure votes could bring warlords back to power. In Washington, President Barack Obama hailed the conduct of the election and vowed to press on with his strategy, which has involved sending thousands of additional troops to the country. “We had what appears to be a successful election in Afghanistan, despite the Taliban’s efforts to disrupt it,” US President Barack Obama said from the White House. “We have to focus on finishing the job in Afghanistan but it is going to take some time.” The election was a test for Obama’s new strategy aimed at reversing Taliban gains. US combat casualties have risen amid a US troop buildup and opinion polls have shown weakening American backing for the war. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:21 am Gold demand stays slack; buyers eye fallMumbai: India’s local gold buying stayed weak as the rupee dropped in early trade, making the dollar-quoted asset expensive, but traders awaited lower levels to replenish stocks for festivals, dealers said. “There were enquires below $940 (an ounce), but they are not ready to buy. A weak rupee is driving them (traders) away,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury with IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. The Indian rupee gave up early gains and fell in early trade as increased talk China may tighten banks’ capital requirements weighed on regional units. The most-active October gold contract was 0.14% lower at Rs14,876 per 10 grams at 2:52pm. “I have some advanced orders at $930-935 an ounce,” said a dealer with a state-run bank. The world’s largest consumer of the yellow metal will celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi on Sunday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:20 am European shares drift higher; banks, energy gainLondon: European equities edged higher in choppy trading on Friday, with positive financial and energy stocks outpacing weaker mining shares, which came under pressure on concerns about global demand for metals. At 2:09pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.2% at 946.66 points after hitting an intraday low of 941.64. The index, which slumped 45% in 2008, is still up 13% this year and has jumped 46 percent since a record low in March. Banks were among top gainers, with Standard Chartered, HSBC , Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and BNP Paribas rising 0.3-1.1%. “We have had a rally of around 50% so profit taking is quite normal. But overall market sentiment is positive and momentum is good. Just keep an eye on China,” said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC Securities. “The most decisive thing now is the Chinese stock market. And as long as the Chinese market holds up, the risky assets will hold as well,” he added. China has been a big worry for investors, registering large losses that have seen the Shanghai Composite Index swing wildly and even drop into bear market territory, 20% below its recent peak. But the index gained 4.5% on Thursday for its second largest gain this year and rose 1.7% on Friday. Energy shares were generally higher, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro gaining 0.1-0.8%. But miners came under pressure after BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, said it did not expect to see “clean demand” for the global metals sector until early 2010 as a global slowdown bites. BHP Billiton fell 0.7%, while Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 0.1-0.5%. Automakers were also lower after the US Transportation Department said on Thursday the popular “cash-for-clunkers” programme that gives rebates for new car buyers trading in less fuel-efficient vehicles will end on Monday. BMW, Peugeot, Renault and Fiat were down 0.1-1.1%. Investors ignored losses posted by the world’s biggest container shipping group A P Moller-Maersk, sending its shares about 5% higher. Maersk made a deeper-than-expected first-half loss as freight rates, volumes and oil prices fell, but its CEO did see some improvement in the world economy that would work its way through to the company’s results. Swiss drugs industry supplier Lonza fell 5.3%. It bid $3.55 per share for Canadian rival Patheon, offering a potential windfall to majority shareholder JLL, which bid just $2.00 per share for the firm last December. In economic news, French private sector activity expanded for the first time in 15 months in August, a survey of purchasing managers showed on Friday, in a hopeful sign for third-quarter economic growth. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2-0.3%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:15 am Bharti head: not really looking to sweeten MTN bidMUMBAI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel is not looking to sweeten its offer to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN, the Indian firm's head said in a media interview, even as MTN shareholders have said they want a better price.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:07 am Adani Power day 2; should you buy the... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:04 am 'Interest rates to be stable, inflation to turn positive'Interest rates are likely to remain stable going forward and inflation numbers would return into the positive zone, HDFC Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Keki Mistry said.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:03 am Bharti head says not sweetening offer for MTN-paperIndia's Bharti Airtel is not considering sweetening its offer to buy a stake in South Africa's MTN, an Indian business daily said on Friday, quoting the Indian telecom firm's chairman.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:03 am Midsession: Markets extend gains to 1% on fresh buyingMumbai: Indian shares extended gains to more than 1% on Friday afternoon as long-term investors looked to enter the market after it dropped 5.7% over the past three weeks. At 2:37pm, the 30-share BSE index was up 1.1% at 15,173.71 points, with 26 stocks gaining. The 50-share NSE index was up 1.3% at 4,511.75. Markets erased losses of as much as 1.2% and turned briefly positive in midday trade, led by software-services exporters Infosys and Tata Consultancy after the rupee dropped. Top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel rose 0.4% to Rs401.80 after the Economic Times newspaper quoted the telecom firm’s chairman, Sunil Mittal, as saying the company was not looking to sweeten its bid to buy a stake in South Africa’s MTN. At 11:38am, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.3% at 14,972.54 points, with 18 stocks declining, after rising to as much as 15,015.76 earlier. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.2% at 4,445. Markets had fallen 0.7% in the morninfg as weaker Asian peers and jitters about the economic impact from weak monsoon rains weighed on investor confidence. Lower commodity prices and mixed US economic data overnight also subdued sentiment. Diversified cigarette maker ITC eased 1.6% to Rs221.80, while engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro dropped 1.7% to Rs1,457.75, leading losses in the main index. Energy giant Reliance Industries fell 1% to Rs1,879 and state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp slid 0.5% to Rs1,173.25 as oil eased below $73 a barrel. Leading financials State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were among the other major losers. By 11:06am, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.7% at 14,905.61 points, with 22 stocks declining, after falling as much as 1.2% earlier. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.7% at 4,424.20. “In the near-term, the Indian stockmarkets would not be able to escape the negative sentimental impact that arises from the likely repercussions that a highly deficient monsoon may have on India’s GDP,” Angel Broking head of research Hitesh Agrawal said. However, Agrawal said worries below-normal rainfall will have a significant impact on corporate earnings may be overdone and long-term investors may do well to buy stocks on declines. Monsoon rains in India during the past week increased to the highest in a month but the main soybean region saw weak rainfall and reservoirs fill up at a much slower rate than normal, putting at risk power supply and winter irrigation. The benchmark had fallen 4.2% this month, hurt by worries about the weak monsoon, high valuations and looming inflation. Fears that stocks worldwide have run ahead of fundamentals have risen recently in the wake of a slew of downbeat data from across the world. The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week unexpectedly rose, but factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region turned positive in August as a jump in new orders broke a 10-month streak of contraction. Trading could be choppy until clearer signs emerge on the government’s efforts to tackle the weak monsoon, but some analysts say ample liquidity flowing into the emerging markets will support stocks in the near term as investors look to buy on dips. Government-run State Bank of India slid 1.3% to Rs1,730.05, while private-sector rival ICICI Bank was down 1.5% at Rs708.40. HDFC Bank slipped 2% to Rs1,451.80. In the broader market, gainers led losers 1,169 to 881 on relatively light volume of 91.6 million shares. Asian shares were lower, with Japan’s Nikkei down 1.7%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets fell 1.5%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:02 am Sensex moves back into green, up 111 pointsA key index of the Indian equities markets climbed back into the green Friday afternoon and was ruling 111 points higher than its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am DoT wants TRAI report on 2G by SeptThe Department of Telecom wants the telecom regulator to submit its recommendations on allocating 2G spectrum to mobile operators by September.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:51 am Sensex rebounds at midsession led by realty, IT stocksRecovering its early losses, the Sensex gained 103 points at midsession today on revival of buying in bluechip stocks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:48 am Sensex rebounds at midsession led by realty, IT stocksRecovering its early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex gained 103 points at midsession on Friday on revival of buying in bluechip stocks especially of realty and IT segments.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:47 am Tata Tele woos Japanese cos on DoCoMo strengthTata Teleservices (TTSL) is flaunting its NTT DoCoMo connection to win enterprisewide telecommunication deals from Japanese companies for Indian operations.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am Farmers oppose sports city, face police ireFarmers in Goa who have been opposing the sports ministry's move to acquire their land to build a 'sports city' for the 2011 National Games now allege that the government is using the police to coerce them into parting with their ancestral farms.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:33 am Sensex slips back into red after short spell in greenA key index of the Indian equities markets slipped back into the red, after having crawled back into the green a little before noon Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:32 am Poor quality coal hits power generation in Uttar PradeshPower generation in energy-starved Uttar Pradesh could see its electricity generation going down by a further 800 MW to 1,000 MW daily on account of poor quality of coal, officials say.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:30 am Banks to ration free use of other ATMsBarely five months after the service charge on using automated teller machines (ATMs) of other banks was scrapped, it will be re-introduced if someone uses this facility more than five times a month, a high-ranking banking sector official said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:30 am India will import food, if required: Finance MinisterIndia will not hesitate to import food as and when the need arises to deal with this year's drought, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Friday, adding that stocks of grain with state-run agencies were healthy now.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:30 am Azad pulls up state govts on swine flu spreadNew Delhi: Lashing out at state governments for “forgetting their duty” and not doing enough to combat swine flu, Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said the Centre was stretching itself to the maximum to contain the disease. “We (Centre) can go to a point, don’t expect us to go beyond a point,” he said addressing state health ministers at a review meeting of the National Rural Health Mission. “This is the maximum limit we could stretch ourselves. Beyond this, the state governments should shoulder their responsibility which they haven’t done,” he said. Contending that it was the Centre which was doing everything, including contact tracing, procuring medicines, looking for vaccines and training doctors, he said, the states have forgotten their duty. While the Central officers are working so hard, “I would expect state level officer to at least sit till 10pm and give some report and do something. It is because of our intervention at the national level that we have succeeded so far.” “There is a limit for ministry of health to do this contact tracing and treating. I would request all the ministries and secretaries to be active and identify the hospitals,” Azad said. Soon after Azad finished his speech, Gujarat health minister J.N. Vyas commented that as a federal minister he should not have made the remarks against state governments. To this, Azad replied that he was not naming any state and some states had indeed done good work. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:24 am Oil below $73, eyes Fed chief’s speechLondon: Oil eased below $73 a barrel on Friday, tracking back from a seven-week high, as caution braked gains ahead of further pointers on the economic health of the United States, the world’s top energy consumer. By 1:33pm, the new front month US crude futures contract for October delivery was down 3 cents at $72.88 a barrel, off a seven-week high of $73.24. London Brent crude for October was up 17 cents at $73.50. Oil was still on track for a 7.3% gain this week. The market will scour Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium at 7:30pm, on Thursday for more clues on the health of the world’s largest economy. The US National Association of Realtors will also release existing home sales for July at 7:30pm. Economists forecast a total of 5.00 million annualised units versus 4.89 million in June. Oil industry data on Wednesday showing a surprise 8.4 million barrel plunge in weekly US crude stocks - against analysts’ forecasts for a 1.3 million barrel build - had earlier buoyed sentiment. But the surge proved short-lived as consensus grew on Thursday that this was due to a fall in imports rather than signs of a genuine rebound in US fuel demand. “Wednesday’s inventory report was definitely positive for the market, but the data is volatile, and you need to see a trend forming rather than a one-off decline before it gets fully priced into the market,” said Ben Westmore at National Australia Bank. As yet, there were few signs of recovering US fuel demand. Freight traffic across North America fell 17.9% in the week ended 15 August from the same 2008 week, a trade group said on Thursday in a weekly report. On the supply front, increased oil output to a year-high from Opec president Angola, flouting agreed limits, has stacked the odds against any change when the producer group meets next month. Without a sharp slide in crude prices, Opec is likely to leave its output targets unchanged when it meets on 9 September, most Opec delegates and analysts said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:21 am NTPC to buy gas from GAIL at $8 per mmBtuNew Delhi: State-run power utility NTPC Ltd has signed an agreement to buy gas from GAIL India for 10 years at a delivered price of close to $8 per million British thermal unit. NTPC will buy 2 million standard cubic meters per day of gas for 10 years beginning fourth quarter of 2009, a company official said. GAIL has committed to sell the liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be imported from Qatar at Petronet LNG Ltd’s Dahej terminal in Gujarat. The ex-terminal price will be the pooled price or the average of long-term and short term LNG being imported by PLL. The pool price currently is $6.29 per mmBtu without including the cost of transportation, taxes and marketing margins. The delivered price at NTPC plants, the official said, will be close to $8 per mmBtu. The price is higher than $4.2 per mmBtu rate at which Reliance Industries sells gas from its KG-D6 fields. The delivered price of KG-D6 gas at NTPC’s plants in Delhi would be $6.7 per mmBtu. Industry sources said government has offered KG-D6 gas to NTPC but the firm has chosen to buy expensive imported fuel. It has in fact floated another tender to buy 1.9 mmsmcd of gas for six months beginning September. Besides GAIL, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum are likely to bid for the tender quoting the R-LNG pooled price. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:20 am Opel future hangs in balance as GM picks buyerFrankfurt: The fate of Opel hangs in the balance as General Motors is poised to pick a buyer for the European carmaker after months of negotiations. GM’s board of directors could recommend either Canadian carmaker Magna’s bid for Opel or that of Brussels-based financial investor RHJ International. Sources close to the matter have said the board will address the topic later on Friday. The US carmaker, which emerged from bankruptcy protection on 10 July, this week agreed to sell its Saab car business to a tiny Swedish luxury carmaker, the first in a series of big sales the US group is planning as it slims down. Talks to sell Opel have lasted for months and have become a political hot potato ahead of German elections in September because a deal will entail billions of euros in aid from European governments as well as thousands of job cuts. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German states that host Opel plants have come out clearly in favour of the Magna offer because they think the Canadian automotive group’s expertise can save more of the 25,000 Opel jobs in Germany. Magna’s co-CEO Siegfried Wolf said last week that the Canadian company and its Russian partner Sberbank had reached an agreement in principle with GM over a contract to buy 55% of Opel, raising hopes of a deal. But GM’s top negotiator for the Opel deal, John Smith, has repeatedly cited the positive aspects of RHJ’s offer, which he says would be easier to implement than Magna’s plan. The field of bidders narrowed to two when Italian carmaker Fiat and China’s Beijing Automotive (Baic) dropped out. Merkel reiterated in an interview with a German newspaper her preference for Magna’s offer and said she was “very sceptical” about the prospects for RHJ. In a last-ditch effort to push for Magna’s bid, Germany has also offered to provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in state aid for Opel, without waiting for other European countries to chip in, if GM chooses Magna. Opel trustees who oversee a majority stake in Opel have to approve any decision. Billions of euros in aid from European countries with Opel plants are riding on the decision. German economy minister Theodor zu Guttenberg said it was too early to say Opel was saved even the sale process wraps up quickly. “In my view you will be able to celebrate the rescue of Opel only when it is clear that Opel has established itself as a competitive company on global markets,” he told the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper, adding this would certainly not be the case in the next few weeks or months. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 2:13 am India power equipment sector looks up in Q1 Mumbai: Indian power equipment industry has come out of negative growth in the June quarter, clocking a 1.24% growth, but bad monsoon could derail it going forward, a senior industry body official said on Friday. “Downward trend is somewhat arrested,” after a decline in the last two quarters, S.P. More, director general of Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) said, adding the bad monsoons is a worry. Rains for the period 1 June to 19 Aug were 26% below normal, the meteorological department said on Thursday. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the monsoon situation is difficult, which may impact hydro power generation. The highest on-year segmental growth in the equipment industry was reported in the transmission lines segment at 18.44%, while capacitor segment grew at 12.39% in April-June, data from IEEMA showed. The growth in transmission sector is largely attributed to orders to conductor and tower makers by state-run Power Grid Corp, IEEMA statement said. However, the motors and alternators segment did not come out of the red, showing a slump of 14.38%, the statement said. Comparatively high-voltage equipments showed higher growth than low-voltage equipment, More said. “So long as high voltage (growth) is there, it may trickle down to low voltage in the future.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 1:55 am Govt to import food items to bridge s... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 1:40 am Terrorism is one of the biggest chall... - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 1:36 am Power equipment sector looks up in Q1 - industry bodyMUMBAI (Reuters) – The power equipment industry has come out of negative growth in the June quarter, clocking a 1.24 percent growth, but bad monsoon could derail it going forward, a senior industry body official said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Aug 2009 | 1:11 am 'Sikandar' sensitive depiction of life in KashmirFilm: 'Sikandar'; Cast: Parzaan Dastur, Ayesha Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh; Writer-Director: Piyush Jha; Rating: ***Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Asian shares fall, yen gains on China worriesTokyo: The yen surged to a one-month high against the dollar on Friday and jumped against currencies used for bets on global recovery, as fears resurfaced that China might clamp down on lending and sent Asian stocks falling. But most regional share indexes pared their losses by late afternoon and the Shanghai share index ended higher after a day of see-saw trade. European shares opened modestly lower amid growing volatility, trimming the previous session’s gains, with resource-related shares expected to be hit by retreating commodity prices as the fickle Chinese market prompts investors to switch out of riskier assets. US stock futures fell 0.4%. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that China’s banking regulator, concerned record lending could lead to a spike in bad loans, might tighten banks’ capital rules by excluding subordinated bonds they sell to other banks from their capital base. A similar report on Friday re-focused attention on this issue, traders said. “This is old news and the market has already responded to this once. But investor confidence has been so shaken by the (SHanghai) sell-off earlier this week that every time this news surfaces it’s an excuse to sell,” said Steven Leung, sales director at UOB Kay Hian. Shanhai ended up a provision 1.7% after shaking off early losses, adding to a 4.5% bounce on Thursday. But China’s leading index has still lost around 15% in just two weeks, unnerving global investors who are trying to gauge how China’s revival is playing out while wrestling with continued mixed signals on recovery prospects in major Western economies. A government think-tank said China’s gross domestic product would grow about 8.5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, picking up pace from the second quarter’s 7.9% rise. As Shanghai moved higher, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan pared losses but were still down 1% by 12:30pm. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASK 200 fell 1.9%, with banks leading the decline after a cautious assessment of the outlook for the loan market from Westpac Banking Corp. Hong Kong, a key market for international investors playing Chinese stocks, fell 1% on the China policy worries despite Shanghai’s stronger close. The Nikkei average slid to a three-week low in early afternoon after automakers fell ahead of the end of the US “cash for clunkers” programme on Monday, which has boosted US car sales. But it recovered somewhat to close down 1.4 percent. Shares in the world’s biggest automaker, Toyota Motor, shed 2.9%. Yen rises The yen rose broadly against other major currencies, particularly those leveraged to a global growth recovery, as investors fretted about the potential for further weakness in Chinese shares and looked to less-risky investments. The Japanese currency is often seen as a haven in times of market turmoil. “Anything that could be negative for growth in China is going to have a negative impact on equity markets and in turn means higher risk aversion and risk currencies sell-off,” said Mitul Kotecha, global head of FX strategy at Calyon in Hong Kong. The dollar fell to as low as ¥93.47 on trading platform EBS, its lowest in a month, but later edged up to ¥93.69, down 0.5%. The Australian dollar slid 1.4% to ¥77.23 after falling as low as percent to ¥76.86. US crude futures initially edged up to a seven-week high above $73 a barrel but then slipped below that level as optimism over the pace of demand recovery in the United States faded on the back of mixed economic data. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:54 am Indian firm to buy three dredgers from NetherlandsThe Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) will buy three dredgers of 5,000 cubic metre capacity each at a total cost of Rs.1,722 crore.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:30 am Ulip returns may rise 180 bps as char... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:27 am After the monsoon let down, govt plans early winter cropNew Delhi: Failed monsoon rains in India have created a critical situation for rural livelihood, drinking water and crops, the agriculture minister said on Friday. The government expects early sowing of winter-sown crops over a larger area this year to offset some of the crop loss, but the farm situation remains disturbing, Sharad Pawar told a conference of state farm ministers. “The situation is grim, not just for crop sowing and crop health but also for sustaining animal health, providing drinking water, livelihood and food, particularly for the small and marginal farmers and landless labourers,” he said. Monsoon rains have been more than a quarter below normal this year, hitting the oilseeds and cane crops, potentially making the country an even bigger importer of sugar and edible oils next year. Food prices in India have risen over 10% annually, although the overall wholesale price index has seen a year-on-year decline for several weeks in a row. Sugar prices have risen sharply in India as output has fallen and the cane crop has declined for two consecutive years, helping raw sugar futures surge to the highest in nearly three decades. “Effective enforcement actions and other steps would be taken to ensure that the prices of commodities do not rise abnormally,” Pawar said. He said authorities need to help farmers plant alternative crops, and provide food, fodder, drinking water and employment to people, particularly in the drought-hit districts. “At this critical stage we need to assess the current situation correctly,” he said. Pawar said efficient use of irrigation and judicious use of ground water and reservoirs was necessary. Official data shows that India’s main reservoirs rose barely one percentage point last week and stood at 38% of total capacity, down from 58% a year ago. The rains improved in the past week, with the highest rainfall in a month, but soybean-growing regions in central India remained largely dry. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:25 am Rupee drops on China talk after early riseMumbai: The Indian rupee gave up early gains on Friday and fell as increased talk China may tighten banks’ capital requirements weighed on regional units. A weak start to local shares also added to the pressure. At 11:00am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.81/82 per dollar, 0.2% below its Thursday’s close of Rs48.71/72. It had strengthened to as much as Rs48.63 in opening deals. Madhusudan Somani, head of foreign trading at Yes Bank, said a news report that China was likely to tighten capital requirements for banks pushed Asian currencies lower, affecting the rupee too. Sources said earlier this month that China’s banking regulator, concerned record lending could lead to a spike in bad loans, may tighten banks’ capital rules by excluding subordinated bonds they sell to other banks from their capital base. A similar story was issued by Bloomberg news on Friday and re-focused attention towards the issue, dealers said. “All Asian equities have come off a bit. The likely range for the rupee as of now is Rs48.65-48.90,” Somani said. Local shares fell more than 1% in early trade, weighed down by muted Asian peers and uncertainty over the impact of weak monsoon rains on the domestic economy. Dealers were also watching the dollar’s moves versus other major currencies for cues. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance against majors, was up 0.2%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward rupee contracts were quoting at Rs48.88/98, 0.1% weaker than the onshore spot rate. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:12 am Day Trading GuideInitiate fresh short-position if DLF declines below Rs 365, with stiff stop-loss. We recommend a sell in ICICI Bank. Initiate fresh short-position if Infosys reverses from Rs 2025 level,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Cipla (Rs 257.7): SellWe recommend a sell in Cipla from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts that the stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend since October low of Rs 146. This uptrend accelerated in June 2009 and the stock was on medium-termSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Jinnah, Jaswant and PartitionNow that everything that had to be said has been said about the expulsion of Mr Jaswant Singh from the BJP, it is time to focus on his book Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, (Rupa Rs 695, Pp 650). And, to beginSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am NTPC may get GAIL gas at $6/mBtuNew Delhi, Aug. 20 Amid all the legal wrangling on the D6 gas deal with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), public sector power major NTPC Ltd has tied up a long-term pact with GAIL (India) Ltd for supply of 2.5 mscmd of R-LNG (re-gasified liquefiedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Tele woos Japanese cos on DoCoMo strengthMumbai, Aug 20 Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is flaunting its NTT DoCoMo connection to win enterprise-wide telecommunication deals from Japanese companies for IndianSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Bridgestone rolls into Pune for 2nd tyre plantMumbai, Aug 20 Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone, which has a plant at Pithampur, near Indore, will set up a second facility near Pune at an investment of Rs 2,050Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Paddy procurement price hiked by Rs 50 a quintalNew Delhi, Aug. 20 The Centre has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for the current year’s paddy crop (to be marketed from October to September) by Rs 100 a quintal.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Public sector banks flooded with cashBangalore, Aug. 20 With the Centre and States raising money upfront but back-ending budgetary expenditure for the current financial year, public sector banks are saddled with large floatingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Sterlite ups Asarco bid by $500 mThe UK-based Vendanta Resources’ subsidiary Sterlite Industries on Thursday said it has raised its offer for the operating assets of bankrupt US copper mine Asarco by about $500Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Oil price hike led to higher capex, says Reliance IndMumbai, Aug. 20 Even as the media ad campaign by the Anil Ambani-led RNRL against the brother Mukesh Ambani’s RIL over the KG D-6 gas price is being stepped up every day, RIL maintains that the company had explained the increase in capitalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Australia to tighten visa rules for studentsMelbourne: Faced with sharp increase in student visa applications, Australia is set to tighten its visa policy to ensure bonafide and genuine candidates come to the country for higher studies. The department of immigration and citizenship is strengthening checks on student visa applications to stamp out fraud and ensure that students have the financial capacity to live and study in Australia, an official statement said. The measure is likely to affect the mobility of international students who come in the name of pursuing education but end up working as unskilled labourers. Minister for immigration and citizenship Chris Evans said applications for student visas grew 20% to 362,193 in 2008-09 while about 28,000 student visas were refused. “While overall student visa compliance rates remain high, there are elements of concern within this large caseload,” the minister said in the statement. The measures will address the documents related fraud and other issues like identification of financial capacity. The measures include upgrading interview programme to check visa access through agents who are suspected of fraud or inactivity. The minister said these measures are consistent with those used by other countries that receive large numbers of student visa applications, such as the US. “The message is clear: genuine international students remain welcome in Australia, but we will not tolerate fraud in the student visa programme,” the minister said. There are about 97,000 Indian students pursuing studies in education in Australia. Many of them lack financial support and engage themselves in courses like hairdressing, cookery to go for part-time unskilled work in various units. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 11:37 pm Accenture to lay off senior executive workforce by 7%Chicago: Global management consulting and outsourcing company Accenture is reducing its senior executive workforce by 7% besides, pruning real estate capacity as part of restructuring efforts. Restructuring is expected to cost the company $247 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 ending 31 August. Of the costs, about $119 million would be related to reduction of excess office space globally and the remaining for severance and related costs of workforce reduction. The 7% workforce reduction would mean over 300 senior-executives would be laid-off. “As part of our drive to deliver high performance... we are acting boldly to position Accenture better for both short-term and long-term economic improvement growth and profitability,” Accenture chairman and CEO William Green said in a statement on Friday. The New-York based company expects space reductions to be completed by end of the current fiscal and the workforce actions to be completed during the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. Prior to the cut, the company had 4,800 senior-executive employees and a total of 177,000 employees globally. Green said the company is taking steps to ensure that it has the right cost structure to support the business going forward. Reduction of excess office space globally would increase the productivity of the company’s fixed cost-base and generate ongoing savings, while the workforce reduction has been designed to ensure that the company’s global workforce is properly aligned to “best serve the evolving needs of its clients and its business”. “The realignment of our senior-executive workforce will help ensure that Accenture has the right people, skills and capabilities, at the right levels and in the right places,” the statement said. Accenture expects net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $5 billion-$5.2 billion, it added. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 11:25 pm Symantec lists "Dirtiest Web Sites"San Francisco: Symantec unveiled a list of 100 “worst of the worst” websites, nearly half of which used porn to lure people to pages booby trapped with viruses. On Thursday, the US computer security titan’s list of “Dirtiest Web Sites” discovered in recent months included names such as firstsexyteen, schoolbad and cheatsarchive. Videogame players sometimes search online for “cheats,” software secrets that let them change game play. While 48% of the websites on the list featured adult content, the remaining tainted online locales ran a gamut of topics including deer hunting, catering, figure skating, legal services and retail electronics. People visiting the websites face risks of having their computers infected with malicious software that could mine personal data or give cybercriminals control of machines, according to Symantec. “There has been exponential growth in the number of online threats that are constantly evolving as cybercriminals look for new ways to target your money, identity or assets,” said Symantec consumer business unit senior vice president Rowan Trollope. “Armed with this information, consumers are empowered to make informed decisions about which sites to visit.” Websites that made Symantec’s “dirtiest” list were crammed with “staggering” numbers of virus threats, according to Trollope. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 11:08 pm Oracle says Justice Dept allows $7.4 bn Sun dealSan Franciso: Business software maker Oracle Corp. said on Thursday it has received the Justice Department’s approval to move forward with its $7.4 billion acquisition of former dot-com-era star Sun Microsystems Inc. The deal still needs the go-ahead from the European Commission. Clearance by the Justice Department had been held up over questions about the licensing of Java, a programming language that Sun invented that now runs on more than 7 billion electronic devices around the world, including cell phones and personal computers. Another potential antitrust question could surround Sun’s MySQL database, an open-source product. Some technologists worry Oracle could make MySQL a lower priority as it tries to boost sales of its market-leading database software. Sun’s performance had been shaky for nearly a decade before Oracle outbid IBM Corp. for the Santa Clara, California-based company in April. IBM is one of Oracle’s biggest database software rivals, and is a major Sun rival in computer servers. The Sun acquisition will give Oracle more control over the development of Java, a key technology used in its products, and also thrust the Redwood Shores, California-based company into hardware, a new area for Oracle. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 10:36 pm Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon to fight Google book dealSan Francisco: The fight against a legal settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of copyrighted books is starting to resemble a heavyweight brawl in the library. Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are joining a coalition that hopes to rally opposition to Google’s digital book ambitions and ultimately persuade a federal judge to block or revise the Internet search leader’s plans. The group, to be called the Open Book Alliance, is being put together by the Internet Archive, a longtime critic of Google’s crusade to make digital copies of as many printed books as possible. A growing number of critics already have filed objections to Google’s book settlement, but none have the clout that the Open Book Alliance figures to wield with three of the world’s best-known technology companies on board. Peter Brantley, the Internet Archive’s director of access, provided some of the details about the alliance’s members and objectives in a Thursday interview. Both Microsoft and Yahoo have confirmed their intention to join the alliance. Amazon declined to comment because the group hasn’t been formally announced yet. The Open Book Alliance also will include an assortment of nonprofit groups. Among other things, the alliance will try to persuade the US Justice Department that Google’s broad settlement with authors and publishers could undermine competition in the digital book market just as more consumers are gravitating toward electronic readers like Amazon.com’s Kindle. In a bit of irony, the alliance is working closely with Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley lawyer who helped convince the Justice Department to file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft that tormented the software maker during the late 1990s. Reback didn’t respond to a message left late Thursday. The Justice Department already is assessing the possible fallout from Google’s book settlement, which is scheduled to be reviewed by US District Judge Denny Chin in an 7 October court hearing in New York. Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon all have financial reasons for objecting to the class-action lawsuit settlement that Google reached with authors and publishers 10 months ago. Amazon may have the most at stake, given that it’s a major book seller and is mining the Kindle for even more sales. Google plans to offer free access to some books through its search engine and sell others as part of a registry that will share revenue with authors and publishers if the class-action settlement is approved. Opponents of the deal believe it will give Google too much pricing power, and have raised concerns about the company’s ability to stockpile more personal data about the users of its search engines by tracking what they’re reading. “We see many disadvantages in this settlement,” the Internet Archive’s Brantley said. Others see tremendous benefits. A wide cross-section of libraries, colleges and authors have endorsed Google’s book settlement. Mountain View-based Google argues that the settlement will be a boon for consumers, who will have easier access to potentially valuable information now gathering dust in remote library shelves. And, Google says, authors and publishers will be able to make more money from out-of-print books. “The Google Books settlement is injecting more competition into the digital books space, so it’s understandable why our competitors might fight hard to prevent more competition,” Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said. “That said, it’s ironic that some of these complaints are coming from a company that abandoned its book digitization effort because it lacked ’commercial intent’.” Stricker was taking a stab at Microsoft, which abandoned its efforts to make digital book copies to focus on more profitable online opportunities. Microsoft and Yahoo could be hurt if Google’s expanded index of digital books propels even more traffic to its search engine. If that were to happen, Google might process even more search requests than it already does, allowing the company to show more of the text ads alongside search results that generate most of its revenue. Hoping to siphon advertising away from Google, Microsoft and Yahoo last month announced a planned partnership in search. The proposal, which still must be approved by the Justice Department, calls for Microsoft to run the search engine on Yahoo’s web site in return for 12% of the revenue generated by accompanying ad sales. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm Adani's wealth is now over Rs45k crThe total wealth of Adani Group crossed a whopping Rs45,490 crore after Adani Power Ltd was listed on the BSE and the NSE.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 9:24 pm Bharti and MTN to talk on till Sept 30 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Aug 2009 | 5:23 pm Datawatch: 10 IPOs you should have invested in since 2007Datawatch: Adani Power which listed on 20th August 2009 ended its first trading session around its issue price of Rs 100. In today\'s Datawatch we look at stocks that have generated positive returns of more than 100% for the investors since their listing.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Aug 2009 | 4:30 pm Wireless Tata in the hunt for cashWireless Tata Telecom Infoservices, a tower firm jointly owned by Tata Teleservices and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure, is looking to raise capital.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:41 pm Quick ways to transfer money to your fatherPeople still using banks to transact cash might have found that banks have been charging higher than earlier on cash transactions at bank branches.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:36 pm Bourbon moans for attentionThe latest communication for Bourbon aims to showcase its repositioning and connects with the youth and reflects their lifestyle and attitude.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:28 pm MindTree to meet $1 bn goal despite challenging environmentKrishnakumar Natarajan, Chief Executive, MindTree, says the company sees significant growth opportunities in each of its businesses. We see a substantive opportunity for each of our businesses to grow and consequently reach our vision of being a USD 1 billion corporation.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:27 pm 'Print will see a revival by 2011'In 2008, the economic slowdown resulted in the Indian print media industry to grow only 7.5% over the previous year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:24 pm Air India cuts employees' incentivesCash-strapped national carrier Air India on Thursday decided to cut performance-linked incentives of its employees by 30 to 50 per cent.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Never seen such bad times: PRS OberoiFor PRS Oberoi, the grand old man of East India Hotels (EIH), the future looks grim, what with the current business trends less than encouraging.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:53 pm 'I find that detailing and planning always pay off'The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) is the world's largest business advisory platform that is used by 20,000 CXOs across 5,000+ global companies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:49 pm Sony targets sales of Rs 4,000 croreUnperturbed by challenging times, Sony India is tuning into new strategies to keep pace with a 21% revenue growth target for 2009-10.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:43 pm To beat slowdown, Acer figuredAcer began by ruthlessly snipping operational costs. This involved renegotiating contracts with vendors, suppliers, real estate leases, telecom companies and others.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:42 pm Chambal Fert seeks policy to boost supplyChambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd said on Thursday that the government should take rapid initiatives in policy to make the country self sufficient in fertilisers and ensure food security.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:14 pm IRDA eases up mortality charges for UlipsBowing down to pressure from life insurance companies, the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) has issued a clarification and completely eased the norms concerning mortality charges on unit-linked insurance plans.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:12 pm ADAG accuses OilMin of strangling investmentAnil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm Reliance Natural Resources Ltd on Thursday attacked the oil ministry’s “partisanship” policy for local players and blamed it for keeping away global exploration majors.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:09 pm Tanishq’s US dream joltedAn ambitious project by Tanishq, the jewellery retail arm of Tata-controlled watch maker Titan Industries Ltd to expand in the US has been hit by the recession in that economy.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 2:05 pm ‘Worldwide, CDMA is considered premium service’Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd SSTL) is the only new telecom licensee (among five that were awarded licences in January last year) that is aggressively launching services. Even then, it is a late entrant, as about seven operators are already present in most of the circles. In an interview with Hindustan Times, SSTL CEO Vsevolod Rozanov spoke on his strategy for the Indian market and the challenges his company faces. Excerpts:Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Aug 2009 | 1:55 pm Adani Power lists at 5% premiumAdani Power had a dull debut on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, with the stock listing at just a 5 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 100. The stock closed barely above its price band at Rs 100.05, disappointing many market players who had expected the companys listing to be a stellar affair.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Aug 2009 | 12:56 pm Mashelkar report runs into fresh controversyThe Mashelkar Committee report on patent laws, which was re-drafted recently to rectify certain controversial "technical errors", has run into trouble again.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Aug 2009 | 12:55 pm Govt says it will earn $17.8 billion from D6Amid allegations from the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) that the government was losing out on revenue from the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd's D6 field in the Krishna-Godavari basin, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has estimated that the government would earn $17.8 billion over the expected 13-year life of the field.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Aug 2009 | 12:54 pm Retailer Aeon of Japan eyes Indian marketTokyo: Japan’s second largest retailer Aeon Co. Ltd may expand in India and Vietnam to boost growth as sales slump in its home market. “At a macro level, gross domestic product in the next 10 years is going to grow faster in Asia than the rest of the world,” Jerry Black, vice-president in charge of Aeon’s Asia strategy, said in an interview on Thursday in Chiba, near Tokyo. While the company hasn’t made any firm decisions, India is appealing, and he has looked at locations in Vietnam. Aeon, operator of Jusco general merchandise stores, is struggling to spur sales in Japan, where the central bank has forecast a record 3.4% economic contraction this fiscal year. India is forecast to grow at least 6% this year, while Vietnam’s economy may expand as much as 5.2%, according to their central banks. Aeon rose 1.5% to close at 961 yen in Tokyo. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 11:28 am Porsche says raided in insider trading probeBerlin: German prosecutors raided the headquarters of sportscar maker Porsche on Thursday and seized documents in an insider trading investigation, the company said. Porsche gave few further details but the Die Welt daily reported that the probe centred on former executives including Wendelin Wiedeking, who resigned as CEO last month after failing in his bid to acquire Volkswagen. “On Thursday morning, officers from Stuttgart prosecutors entered the company’s offices with search warrants ... the prosecutors suspect a breach of public disclosure requirements and market manipulation,” the firm said in a statement. “Porsche denies the accusations. The company will cooperate with the prosecutors and is fully supporting the investigating officers in order to contribute to a swift clearing-up of the matter.” Under Wiedeking, Porsche built up a 51% stake in the much larger VW and wanted to take full control but the attempt failed and left Porsche squeezed under a huge debt pile. The two firms now plan to merge. In the course of the takeover battle, VW shares soared but in recent days they have fallen back sharply as the takeover premium has unwound. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Aug 2009 | 8:47 am
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