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Suven Life to outlicense Alzheimers molecule; stk up 20%Suven Life Sciences is in talks to outlicense Alzheimers molecule, reports CNBCTV18, quoting NewsWire18. Ten global pharma companies are interested in the Alzheimers molecule.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 9:12 am Outsourcing biz target at Rs 230cr: Compact DiscThe board of Compact Disc India has decided to demerge its international film production business. Suresh Kumar, Chairman, Compact Disc India, says the demerged company will be listed on the exchanges. The company, he added, has an outsourcing business target of Rs 230 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 9:07 am Order book at Rs 430cr: Maharashtra SeamlessAnil Jain, Group CFO, Maharashtra Seamless, says the company\'s order book stands at Rs 430 crore. According to him, margins have improved. Jain expects demand from oil and gas sector to pick up.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 8:53 am Ten beautiful destinations, one step removedSchools are almost out for the summer, yet it can be hard to think sunny thoughts with all the doom and gloom hanging over the economy.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:41 am All The Ways Your Laziness Is Costing YouBrewer, abolitionist, social reformer and English Member of Parliament Sir Thomas Buxton said, "Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains."Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:32 am Teen celebrity entrepreneursIt's hard enough to land a line in a TV commercial, let alone snag a starring role in a feature film. Or bag a record contract. Or a chunky book advance. Or a snazzy endorsement deal.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:23 am L&T bags orders worth Rs 1,044 crEngineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday said it has bagged orders worth Rs 1,044 crore for electrical projects in Gulf countries.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:22 am Married celebrity entrepreneursBeauty, fame, entrepreneurial success--that's more than most of us can hope for.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:21 am Are you born to be a billionaire?Empire builders like Bill Gates and Sam Walton aren't just great businessmen. They are bona fide revolutionaries.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:18 am CRY and ZEE Join hands for Children's InitiativeZee TV, a major South Asian entertainment channel, and CRY America, a non profit organisation that fights for the rights of the underprivileged children, joined hands for bringing people together from different walks of life to work collectively towards a better world for children.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 7:16 am In depth: 10 travel traps to avoidConsider this hypothetical situation: John thought he scored big when an advertisement for a $199 round-trip flight from New York to London popped up on his computer screen.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 6:59 am America's hidden travel gemsThe West Texas desert seems an unlikely home for high fashion. But along a desolate stretch of US Highway 90 near Marfa, Texas, travelers can stop at a Prada boutique.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 6:55 am The $100 honeymoonCash-strapped Brits won't have to worry about spending thousands for their postwedding break. Budget hotel chain Premier Inn launched a 58 pound ($96) honeymoon deal in an effort to tap into an unexplored leisure market.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 24 Aug 2009 | 6:53 am Fortis to buy 10 properties of Wockhardt Hosp; stks rallyThe Fortis management has confirmed reports of it buying ten hospitals from Wockhardt Hospitals. The company has said that from the ten hospitals their aggregate bed capacity will be of 1,902. The management has added that the hospitals will be acquired on going concern basis.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 6:17 am Oil rises in Asian trade on economic recovery hopes!Oil prices rose in Asian trade today, bolstered by improved investor sentiment amid widespread hopes for a global economic recovery, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:51 am Sensex rises by 289 pts in early trade!Indian equities opened on a strong note on Monday and moved up further on strong global cues to extend the gains for the third straight trading day.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:51 am Govt plans 6,000 MW power project in Iran: Report!The government is considering building a gas-based 6,000 megawatts (MW) power plant in Iran along with a 1,500 kilometres high voltage transmission link to carry power to India, a newspaper reported on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:51 am Rupee extends gains, appreciates by 23 paise vs $!Continuing its surging trend for the fourth day in a row, the Indian rupee appreciated by another 23 paise to 48.39 against the dollar in early trade on Monday in line with strong equity markets and weak dollar overseas.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:51 am See no immediate need for raising funds: IFCIThere have been talks about how the IFCI board members are a bit unhappy with the MCXSX valuations that were made out. Commenting on the same, Atul Kumar Rai, CEO and MD, IFCI, said, talks on valuations of MCXSX were on at board level. The valuations are based on benefits from capital markets and on asset value when operations begin.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:44 am Plan to raise Rs 100125 cr via QIP/NCDs: Indowind EnergyK V Bala, Chairman of Indowind Energy, said \"If we get the right valuation, we would raise capital via the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route or the nonconvertible debentures (NCD) option,\" he said. \"We are looking to raise about Rs 100125 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 5:38 am Nifty closes above 4600; all sectoral... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 4:17 am BSE Sensex provisionally rises 2.2 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 2.2 percent on Monday, tracking strong overseas peers, after Wall Street rose on Friday following surprisingly good U.S. home sales data and positive comments by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 4:15 am India to look into Swiss banks' rejec... - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 4:15 am Ranbaxy gets USFDA nod for generic ve... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 4:09 am Fortis acquires 10 Wockhardt hospitals for Rs909 crMumbai: Fortis Healthcare Ltd said on Monday it will spend Rs9.09 billion to acquire 10 hospitals from Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd, promoted by the founders of Wockhardt Ltd. At 3:02 pm, Fortis shares were up 7.62% at Rs117.20, while Wockhardt was up 9.39% at Rs177.65 in BSE that was up 2.66%. The acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of December, will result in an addition of 1,902 beds taking the aggregrate bed capacity of the Fortis Network to 5,180 post the deal, Fortis said in a statement. “The acquisition is expected to provide operating synergies and unleash new opportunities for growth, apart from delivering pan India presence to Fortis,” the company said in a statement. The 10 hospitals to be acquired, which include two greenfield projects under construction, are located in Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata. The acquisition will be effected through a wholly-owned unit of Fortis, it added. Earlier this month, Fortis approved a rights issue to raise Rs9.97 billion, much of it slated to fund expansion. Wockhardt is in the midst of restructuring its businesses and units and selling those it considers non-core to its operations, as it seeks to raise funds to settle some of its debt. Wockhardt Hospitals has been trying to raise money through an equity sale since its initial public offer was withdrawn last year on poor investor response. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 4:09 am JSW Energy IPO to hit mkt in 2 months: Sajjan JindalThe JSW Steel management has said that the JSW Energy IPO will hit the market in the next two months. Sajjan Jindal, VC and MD, JSW Steel, said, JSW Energy plans to do an IPO which might take close to two months for launching that issue. He added that the size will be closer to around 600 million dollars.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:58 am Corus to restart steel production at UK plantLondon: British steel-maker Corus said Monday it would restart production at its Llanwern works in Wales, encouraged by a rise in the price of steel as the global economic downturn eases. The company, Europe’s second-biggest steel concern, said it would restart production at the hot rolling mill, which was shut down in January due to lack of demand. According to The Times of London, however, the reactivation will not restore the more than 500 jobs cut by Corus at the time because operating costs have since risen. Steel-makers have suffered as the economic crisis battered large customers in the construction, automotive and equipment industries. Corus, owned by Indian firm Tata Steel, announced in June that it would shed more than 2,000 jobs or 10% of its UK work force, in response to the slump in demand. However, world steel prices and production have risen recently, though from very low levels compared to a year ago. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am Corus to restart steel production at UK plantLondon: British steel-maker Corus said Monday it would restart production at its Llanwern works in Wales, encouraged by a rise in the price of steel as the global economic downturn eases. The company, Europe’s second-biggest steel concern, said it would restart production at the hot rolling mill, which was shut down in January due to lack of demand. According to The Times of London, however, the reactivation will not restore the more than 500 jobs cut by Corus at the time because operating costs have since risen. Steel-makers have suffered as the economic crisis battered large customers in the construction, automotive and equipment industries. Corus, owned by Indian firm Tata Steel, announced in June that it would shed more than 2,000 jobs or 10% of its UK work force, in response to the slump in demand. However, world steel prices and production have risen recently, though from very low levels compared to a year ago. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am Germany to invite GM to Germany this week on OpelBERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is ready for further talks with General Motors on the sale of European carmaker Opel and wants to avoid confrontation with the U.S. firm on the matter, a government spokesman said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:55 am Fortis to spend 9.09 bln rupees to bu... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:55 am ANALYSIS - U.S. housing's solid spring, hotter summerNEW YORK (Reuters) - What some expected to be a spring fling for the U.S. housing market turned into a hotter summer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:53 am Fortis to spend 9.09 bln rupees to buy 10 hospitalsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Fortis Healthcare Ltd said on Monday it will spend 9.09 billion rupees to acquire 10 hospitals from Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd, promoted by the founders of Wockhardt Ltd.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:51 am RIL wants ADAG’s ‘malicious’ ad campaign nipped in budNew Delhi: Terming as ‘malicious, baseless, mischievous and ill-informed´ the advertisement propaganda by Anil Ambani Group on its gas field capex, Reliance Industries has stated that the development cost was the lowest in the world and compares favourably to any other project in India. RIL president and cheif executive officer (petroleum) P.M.S. Prasad on 20 August wrote to oil secretary R.S. Pandey, saying “certain parties are bent upon holding the country’s price and national interest hostage to their own narrow commercial interests and are stopping at nothing to destroy the reputation of the country.” “It is necessary to nip these malafide endeavours in the bud for the sake of the energy security of the country,” wrote Prasad and was a day later appointed to the board of RIL. He said the capital expenditure for developing Dhirubhai- 1 and 3 fields in KG-D6 block had gone up from $2.47 billion in 2003 to $8.83 billion because of increase in reserves by over 2.5 times, trebling of production facilities, doubling of peak production, increase in number of wells, field life and inflation in equipment and services industry. “Despite the increase in costs, Goldman Sachs’ study of the major E&P projects across the world verifies that the finding and development costs of about $5 per barrel of oil equivalent are amongst the lowest in the world,” he said, listing F&D cost of a host of projects by global majors. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:39 am L&T wins orders worth Rs1,044 crMumbai: Engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Monday said it has bagged orders worth Rs1,044 crore for electrical projects in Gulf countries. The company has bagged orders for the construction of electrical substations from Qatar Petroleum, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), Oman Electricity & Transmission Company (OETC) and Qatar’s General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA), L&T said in a statement. L&T has secured orders worth Rs737 crore from Qatar Petroleum for the construction of four substations, the work for which needs to be completed in 32 months. The company has also bagged a Rs96 crore order from KAHRAMAA, Qatar, for the construction of one substation. Further, the company has bagged orders worth Rs115 crore and Rs96 crore for the construction of one substation each from DEWA and OETC. Shares of L&T were today trading at Rs1,547.30, up 4.30 % from the previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:35 am Wall Street repackages bad debt for saleWashington: Wall Street may have discovered a way out from under the bad debt and risky mortgages that have clogged the financial markets. The would-be solution probably sounds familiar: It’s a lot like what got banks in trouble in the first place. In recent months investment banks have been repackaging old mortgage securities and offering to sell them as new products, a plan that’s nearly identical to the complicated investment packages at the heart of the market’s collapse. “There is a little bit of deja vu in this,” said Arizona State University economics professor Herbert Kaufman. But Kaufman said the strategy could help solve one of the lingering problems of the financial meltdown: What to do about hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgages that are still choking the system and making bankers reluctant to make new loans. These are holdovers from the housing bubble, when home prices soared, banks bought risky mortgages, bundled them with solid mortgages and sold them all as top-rated bonds. With investors eager to buy these bonds, lenders came up with increasingly risky mortgages, sometimes for people who could not afford them. It didn’t matter because, in the end, the bonds would all get AAA ratings. When the housing market tanked, figuring out how much those bonds were worth became nearly impossible. The banks and insurance companies that owned them knew there were still some good mortgages, so they didn’t want to sell everything at fire-sale prices. But buyers knew there were many worthless loans, too, so they didn’t want to pay full price for the remnants of a real estate bubble. In recent months, banks have been tiptoeing toward a possible solution, one in which the really good bonds get bundled with some not-quite-so-good bonds. Banks sweeten the deal for investors and, voila, the newly repackaged bonds receive AAA ratings, a stamp of approval that means they’re the safest investment you can buy. “You’ve now taken what was an A-rated security and made it eligible for AAA treatment,” said Richard Reilly, an analyst with White & Case in New York. As for the bottom-of-the-barrel bonds that are left over, those are getting sold off for pennies on the dollar to investors and hedge funds willing to take big risk for the chance of a big reward. Kaufman said he’s optimistic about the recent string of deals because, unlike during the real estate boom, investors in these new bonds know what they’re buying. “We’re back to financial engineering, absolutely,” he said. “But I think it’s being done at least differently than it was before the meltdown.” The sweetener at the heart of the deal is a guarantee: Investors who buy into the really risky pool agree to also take some of the risk away from those who buy into the safer pool. The safe investors get paid first. The risk-taking investors lose money first. That’s how the safe stack of bonds gets it AAA rating, which is crucial to the deal. That rating lets banks sell to pension funds, insurance companies and other investors that are required to hold only top-rated investments. “There’s no voodoo going on here. It’s just math,” said Sue Allon, chief executive of Allonhill, which helps investors analyze such hard-to-price investments. The risk is, if the housing market slips even more, even the AAA-rated investments may not prove safe. The deal also relies on the rating agencies, which misread the risk at the heart of the subprime mortgage crisis, to get it right. And then there’s the uncertainty about the value of the underlying investments, which FBR Capital Markets analyst Gabe Poggi called “totally combustible.” Poggi likes the deals because they appear to have breathed some life into the market, but he said it only works if everyone knows exactly what they’re buying. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:31 am Corp bond demand revival spurs fund-raising by banks Mumbai: Indian state-run banks are rushing to sell long-term bonds to exploit relatively cheaper interest rates and a revival in demand for such paper from large insurance and and pension firms. Also, a record government borrowing plan and a likely pick-up in economic activity towards the end of the current fiscal year that ends March 2010 may dent investor demand. The banks have raised at least Rs50 billion via bonds so far this month, with major issuers being State Bank of India (SBI) and Corporation Bank, after raising about Rs40 billion through June and July. “Banks are finding the current rates opportunistic to borrow long-term funds,” said Paritosh Kashyap, executive vice president at Kotak Mahindra Bank. The central board of trustees, a state-run pension firm, typically laps up perpetual paper while insurance companies and banks invest in upper and lower Tier-II bonds. Life Insurance Corporation of India has set aside Rs500 billion for corporate bond purchases this fiscal year, and bankers say SBI is also planning to increase purchases of bank-issued paper. In June and July, insurance and pension companies had stopped buying these bonds as they were unsure about the government’s borrowing plans but a lack of attractive corporate paper in recent weeks has forced them to look at bank bonds. However, demand for such paper is thinning among other banks and merchant bankers said with even the central bank finding it difficult to place federal bonds, it is only a matter of time before yields in the primary market start to harden. The 10 year benchmark government bond yield rose to 7.38% on Monday, its highest in more than nine months, taking the rise so far this month to 38 basis points. At a Rs120 billion federal bond auction last week, primary dealers, underwriters to the auction, had to buy part of the offer as investors bought the bonds at lower-than-expected prices. Bankers said many banks which typically snap up these papers are reaching the limit for their hold-to-maturity (HTM) portfolios and a glut of bond issuances will force them to buy the instruments as available-for-sale (AFS), which is subject to mark-to-market risks. “So liquidity is plenty but yields should be competitive and banks and other organisations should be able to takes these on their books, so we might as well issue when we have the opportunity,” said a treasury official with a state-run bank. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:23 am Reliance Money may up stake in NMCE by five per centAnil Ambani-run Reliance Money may acquire five per cent more stake in the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (NMCE).Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:14 am Rupee trims rise on month-end dollar demandMumbai: The Indian rupee trimmed gains in afternoon session on Monday, weighed by the US unit’s rise versus majors and dollar demand from importers, but a more than 2.5% rise in local shares helped prevent a further slide. At 1:38pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.53/54 per dollar, off an early high of Rs48.3850 but still stronger than its previous close of Rs48.62/63. Dealers said month-end dollar demand from importers and oil refiners to meet import commitments also weighed. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was up 0.3%. Indian shares were trading up 2.5% tracking strong Asian peers, after Wall Street rose on Friday following surprisingly good US home sales data and positive comments by the chief of the US Federal Reserve. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX was quoting at Rs48.5150 and Rs48.5125 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $960 million. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:09 am BGR Energy bags Rs27 cr order from NPCILNew Delhi: Engineering equipment supplier BGR Energy Monday said it has bagged a Rs27 crore order to set-up a control centre at the Kalpakkan nuclear power plant of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL). The electrical projects division of the company has secured a turnkey contract from NPCIL for supplying 415 Volts Motor Control Centres (MCC) panels and associated automation systems for the plant for a contract value of Rs27.14 crore, BGR Energy said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of BGR Energy were trading at Rs427, up 6.40% in the afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:07 am IOC sees 4-mth delay in Panipat plant expansionNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp may delay the expansion of its Panipat refinery to July or August next year, its director for refineries, B.N. Bankapur, told reporters on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 3:05 am Canara Bank raises Rs600 cr via bonds issueMumbai: State-run lender Canara Bank has raised Rs600 crore by issuing bonds. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the bank said, “we have collected total issue amount of Rs600 crore under the said issue.” Last week the bank had said it would raise Rs400 crore by issuing non-convertible subordinate perpetual Tier-I bonds with an additional option to raise another Rs200 crore, if the issue is fully subscribed. The bonds are with a coupon rate of 9.10% per annum for the first 10 years. The issue, which opened on 18 August, closed on 21 August, 2009. Shares of Canara Bank were trading at Rs265.75, up 1.47% in the late afternoon trade on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:59 am BUY OR SELL - Indian defensives to ride out rain woes?MUMBAI (Reuters) - Poor rainfall in India has prompted brokerages to pick monsoon-proof stocks over perennial defensive favourite Hindustan Unilever, seen hurt by lower rural incomes and spending.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:56 am L&T bags orders worth Rs 1044-cr - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:40 am Gold demand remains slack on high pricesMumbai: India gold demand remained weak on Monday as traders were reluctant to take positions with prices above the keenly-watched Rs15,000 mark, dealers said. The most-traded October contract was 0.19% higher at Rs15,025 per 10 grams, after hitting a high of Rs15,040, a level last seen on 6 August. “The market has turned absolutely dull after Friday’s spike in prices,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief-manager, treasury, at IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. The contract had gained 0.7% on Friday, when strong crude after the robust US home sales data, spurred buying in the yellow metal. “Even a strong rupee is not helping,” said Vyas. The Indian rupee climbed to a one-week high on hopes a global economic recovery would fuel demand for local stocks, but rising global commodity prices may check sharp gains. A strong rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper. Dealers said the underlying demand is still strong as traders would seek to replenish stocks for the festive demand. “If the rupee holds well and gold comes down to around $940 (an ounce), we might see some activity in the market,” said another dealer with a state-run bank. India is celebrating Ganesh Chathurthi, the first in a series of festivals, which is expected to revive gold’s physical off take. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:33 am World stocks power to 10-month highLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks powered to a 10-month high on Monday and oil rallied after last week's upbeat U.S. housing data and optimistic comments from the world's key central bankers prompted investors to buy risky assets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:21 am RIL wants ADAG's 'malicious' ad campa... - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:13 am Punj Lloyd bags Rs 167 cr pipeline pr... - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:13 am Indian rupee trims rise on month-end ... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:13 am Youngsters swell mobile banking communityMumbai: Banks have seen an increase in the number of customers opting for mobile banking services particularly youngsters due to a steep rise in small-value transactions. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has added more than 20,000 customers in mobile banking in the last two months and expects the number to move up further in the period ahead, a senior SBI official said. “Both customers and bank branches have realised the immense potential of this service, especially when it comes to small value transactions. We have seen more number of customers availing this service in the July-August period,” said the official. SBI has nearly 33,000 clients registered for mobile banking as on date while the number was a mere 10,000 in May this year. Bankers attributed the rising popularity of mobile banking service to the surging number of small-value fund transfers. Presently, customers are allowed to transfer funds upto Rs5,000 and can make purchases worth upto Rs10,000 through mobile banking. The Union Bank of India (UBI), has also witnessed a six-fold increase in the number of mobile banking customers in the last two months. The bank’s mobile banking customer-base rose to 11,508 in August from 1,700 two months before, with a major portion of the new customers being youngsters, Union Bank’s deputy general manager, transaction banking department, Pravin K. Bansal, said. “We have introduced many additional features to our mobile banking offering. Many have found this service very useful, especially for account-to-account fund transfers. There is a lot of potential for mobile banking in future,” Bansal said. UBI has targeted to increase its mobile banking customer-base to 50,000 by the end-this fiscal, he said. IDBI also has received a good response for its mobile banking service. The bank has around 40,000 customers registered for the mobile banking service and is confident of adding substantially more going forward. “Still this number (40,000) is low. We have given targets to our branches to migrate a certain percentage of their business to innovative models like mobile banking eventually,” said IDBI’s personal banking head C.S. Jain. In the private sector, despite a large number of people registering for mobile banking, the number of customers who actively use the service is understood to be very low. “Mobile banking is still new in the market and it may take some more time for the customer to build up confidence in in the new form of banking,” a senior official with a private sector bank said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 2:05 am Drought could push up India’s fiscal deficit by $4 bnMumbai: A poor monsoon threatens to worsen India’s already steep fiscal deficit as it spends on food imports and relief for farmers, although the government is seen tapping the bond market only as a last resort to fund any further shortfall. With investors already forced to absorb a record Rs4.51 trillion ($93 billion) billion in borrowing this year, New Delhi is expected to look elsewhere for funds to plug the growing budget gap, including the sale of third-generation mobile spectrum and stakes in state companies. The government could also cut spending. “Probably they need to borrow more but there is no appetite. So it is kind of a deadlock situation,” said J Moses Harding, head of the global markets group at IndusInd Bank in Mumbai. Drought relief could push up India’s fiscal deficit by as much as $4 billion, or 0.5 percentage points, economists say. Already, the government expects a fiscal deficit of 6.8% of GDP for the year ending in March - its highest in 16 years. Worries about looming inflation have curbed demand for longer-dated bonds, forcing the government this month to unveil a shorter-term notes programme to manage liquidity. “It is very clear the demand side market is saturated,” said Arvind Sampath, head of interest rates trading at Standard Chartered in Mumbai. “They will find other sources such as 3G to finance those but not stretch the bond market anymore,” he said. Including state-level shortfalls, India’s total fiscal deficit may hit double-digits as a percentage of GDP this year. On Thursday, the central government gave states permission to borrow an additional $4.3 billion in the current year. Rainfall was 26% below normal in the June-September monsoon season through 19 August, crops including rice and sugar and sending food prices higher, even as overall inflation remains muted given last year’s high base effect on record oil prices. Food subsidies, meanwhile, are rising. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said they would top Rs60,000 crore ($12.3 billion) this year, about 15% higher than was estimated last month. In 2002/03, the last major drought year, the federal government’s fiscal deficit came in at 5.9% of GDP, higher than the budget estimate of 5.3%. Agriculture’s share of the overall economy, however, has decreased to about 17% from 21% during the last bad drought year. Diminished appetite Benchmark 10-year government bond yields are already at nine-month highs on worries about heavy supplies after a poorly received auction last week. But traders are not yet worried that drought relief measures will translate to increased issuance. Finance secretary Ashok Chawla said last week there was no need to borrow beyond the amount already targeted, and said adjustments to spending would be made from the existing budget. If rain this season is so poor that the winter sowing season is also threatened, however, pressure could build for the government to step up spending on measures such as subsidised imports and rural welfare programmes. Elections later this year in a handful of states raise the stakes for the ruling Congress-led coalition to deliver for its key rural constituency. “I think there will be a modest deterioration and it will probably be thanks to expenditure spillover, particularly food subsidy,” said Atsi Sheth, chief economist at Reliance Equities. Economists say a drought could curb growth this year by as much as 2 percentage points. The central bank and finance ministry expect growth of 6% or more, compared with 6.7% last year after three years averaging 9.4%. India’s fiscal deficit, meanwhile, appears poised to remain stubbornly high. Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi, said he expects the weak monsoon to drive the fiscal deficit to 7.1 to 7.3% of GDP this year, with a possible spillover into the following year. “I think what we are getting sort of trapped in is a situation of persistently high deficits,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:35 am Himachal firm goes for Rs.143-crore expansionHimachal Pradesh-based knitting and weaving products firm Winsome Textile has outlined a Rs.143-crore expansion programme after banks approved its debt restructuring plan, a top company official has said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:30 am Scientists create ‘glow in the dark’ red blood cellsWashington: Scientists have turned human stem cells into “glow in the dark” red blood cells, which they claim will soon help them to create mature, transfusable, life-saving blood. An international team, led by Monash University, has modified a human embryonic stem cell line to glow red when the stem cells become red blood cells, the latest edition of the ‘Nature Methods´ journal reported. According to the scientists, they are now a step closer to making fully functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells. While human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) have the potential to turn into any cell type in the body, it remains a scientific challenge to reliably turn these stem cells into specific cell types such as red blood cells. According to the scientists, the development of the ErythRED embryonic stem cell line, which fluoresces red when haemoglobin genes are switched on, is an important development that will help optimise conditions which generate these cells. "Not only will the ErythRED cell line lead to more efficient creation of red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, but these cells are a crucial tool for monitoring the behaviour of the cells when transplanted into animal models,” lead scientist professor Andrew Elefanty said. Added team member professor Joe Sambrook: “The elegant work of the group unlocks the entrance to the long sought and elusive differentiation pathway that leads to expression of adult haemoglobin genes.” The research was supported by the Australian Stem Cell Centre, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and National Health and Medical Research Foundation. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:26 am Drought stretches budget; more borrowing unlikelyMUMBAI (Reuters) - A poor monsoon threatens to worsen India's already steep fiscal deficit as it spends on food imports and relief for farmers, although the government is seen tapping the bond market only as a last resort to fund any further shortfall.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:13 am Oil min says no plans to hike fuel pr... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:08 am Noon: Sensex rises 2.2%; Reliance, ICICI gainMumbai: The BSE Sensex rose 2.2% on Monday, tracking strong Asian peers, after Wall Street rose on Friday following surprisingly good US home sales data and positive comments by the chief of the US Federal Reserve. Energy giant Reliance Industries rose 2.2% to Rs1,971, while state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp climbed 1.7% to Rs1,212 as oil prices rose above $74 a barrel, trading near a 10-month high. Tata Steel advanced 2.5% to Rs456 after the Times newspaper said the company’s European unit, Corus, is preparing to restart some of its idled capacity as demand improves. Private-sector lender ICICI Bank, which added 2.7% to Rs765.85, and engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro that was up 3% at Rs1,528 were the other major gainers. By 12:50pm, the 30-share BSE index was up 354.54 points at 15595.37 points, with all stocks advancing. The 50-share NSE index was up 2.2% at 4,630.05. “Even though various technical and sentiment indicators are moving in opposite directions, the market is likely to make positive progress in the months ahead,” Morgan Stanley analyst Ridham Desai said. The benchmark has fallen 2.7% this month, hurt by worries about weak monsoon rains - crucial for India’s domestic-demand-led economy - 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. But the Indian market rose 1.5% on Friday, as investors hunted bargains on hopes poor rainfall would not hurt company earnings as much as expected. “We reckon that earnings momentum will continue to stay positive and liquidity continues to be strong,” Desai said. “The jury is still out on the vigour of the growth recovery and, in part, that will determine how much pace this market recovery gathers beyond 2009.” In the broader market on Monday, gainers led losers 3 to 1 on relatively moderate volume of 126.5 million shares. The 50-share NSE index was up 2.2% at 4,630.05. Asian shares were higher on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei up 3.3%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets rose 2.8%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both hit 10-month intraday highs, while the Dow rose to its highest level in nine months, on Friday. Sales of previously owned US homes in July notched their fastest pace in nearly two years, an industry survey showed on Friday, while US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke offered his clearest signal yet that he thinks a global recovery is at hand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:01 am Toyota launches SUV FortunerJapanese car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd Monday launched its Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Fortuner here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Bihar's bad roads irk a Supreme Court judgeA Supreme Court judge has joined thousands of others in expressing his anger at the poor condition of roads in Bihar, official sources said here Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 24 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Maoists blow up track, mobile tower in JharkhandLatehar, Jharkhand: Maoists on Monday blew up a railway track in Latehar, about an hour after the Rajdhani Express crossed the stretch and bombed a mobile tower in neighbouring Palamu district during a 48-hour bandh called by them in five states, including Jharkhand. Train services were disrupted between Barwadih-Barkakana route following the incident. About 20 naxalites blasted the track between Kumundi and Hehegarha railway stations, about 150 km from Ranchi, Latehar railway station master P.N. Tiwari said. The blast occurred after the Rajdhani Express crossed the spot at 530 am. The blast took place around 630 am. Latehar superintendent of police Kuldeep Diwedi said the blast was not targeted at any train. In a separate incident in neighbouring Palamau, the Maoists blew up a mobile tower early Monday morning. About 50 armed Naxalites reached the site of the tower situated on Aurangabad-Medininagar route in the district, stuffed explosives before blowing it up, deputy superintendent of police Brajmohan Paswan, said. The blast left a big crater on the spot, about 200 km from Ranchi, he added. The CPI (Maoist) have said in a release that they have enforced the two-day shut down in Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh following the arrest of two of its senior members a couple of days ago in Bihar. The police, however, have not confirmed their arrest. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:45 am JK Tyre projects sales turnover of Rs 4,000 cr this yearThe overall improvement in the tyre industry has seen JK Tyre and Industries Ltd. projecting a sales turnover of Rs 4,000 crore in the current fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:41 am Amlin H1 boosted by rising investment returnsLondon: London-listed insurer Amlin reported a better-than-expected 29% increase in its half-year profit, helped by rising prices and stronger investment returns. Amlin had a pretax profit of £177.1 million ($293.3 million) for the six months to 30 June, up from £137.3 million in the same period last year, the company said on Monday. Analysts had expected a profit of £128 million, according to the average of six estimates collected by the company. “We have already benefited from improvements in catastrophe-exposed lines and Amlin is exceptionally well positioned to grow into better market conditions when similar positive trends emerge in other classes in Amlin’s portfolio,” Amlin chief executive Charles Philipps said in a statement. Amlin also benefited in the first half from an investment return of 1.6%, up from 0.7% a year earlier. The company, which in June bought Fortis Corporate Insurance from the Dutch government for about $500 million, said it was making good progress towards integrating the acquisition. Amlin also raised its interim dividend by 8.3% to 6.5 pence per share. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:36 am Deccan Chronicle ups its ad tariff by... - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:30 am Essar offers 1st term sale of fuel oilNEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Essar Oil has for the first time offered term sale of 180-centistoke (cst) fuel oil for October-March lifting through private negotiations, traders said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:26 am Sensex rises by 289 points in early tradeThe Sensex today rose by 289 points in early trade on heavy buying by funds, driven by a firming trend in the global markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:21 am Reliance Money may up stake in NMCE by 5%Mumbai: Anil Ambani-run Reliance Money may acquire 5% more stake in the National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (NMCE) to take its holding to 15% in line with the new guidelines. “As per the new guidelines issued by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), we can take an additional 5% stake in NMCE,” Reliance Money’s managing director Sudip Bandyopadhyay told PTI here. The next NMCE board meeting, which could take place in two months, will decide on the fund raising plans for exchange, Bandyopadhyay said. Last year, Reliance Money had acquired a 10% stake in NMCE. The new FMC guidelines state that no single investor can hold more than 15%. “This means we have a scope to increase our stake by 5%,” Bandyopadhyay said. The FMC circular said that every commodity exchange should have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs50 crore and a minimum net worth of Rs100 crore by September 2010. “In accordance with the new guidelines, NMCE also needs to expand its capital to Rs50 crore within the next one year. NMCE may come out with prefrential or some kind of offer,” Bandyopadhyay said. NMCE earlier said that it is in talks with a couple of Indian private equity players and foreign institutional investors for a stake sale to meet its working capital needs. The exchange is planning to raise money from the market through a preferential allotment of shares. “Since Reliance Money can take only 5% more, we need to have more investors in NMCE,” he said. Asked on the time-frame for upping its stake, Bandyopadhyay said, “Reliance Money would be freezing its future road-map in the next couple of months and the process has to be completed by September 2010.” Elaborating on its future plans, he said, the daily turnover at NMCE has shot up from Rs200 crore to Rs1,000 crore after Reliance Money acquired 10% stake last year. The commex would launch more new contracts and revamp several existing contracts, making it more contemporary or relevant, Bandyopadhyay said. He advocated participation of corporates, institutions and foreign players in commodities trading as it would not only increase volumes but also help in deepening the market. To a query on how the poor monsoon could impact the commodity sector, the Reliance Money chief said that it may have an impact on some commodities. The kharif crop has definately been affected but the rabi crop is expected to be good provided the monsoon improved, he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:18 am Toyota’s Fortuner enters Indian SUV marketNew Delhi: Auto maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Monday announced the launch of its sports utility vehicle Fortuner, priced at Rs18.45 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The new SUV comes with a 3.0 litre D-4D diesel engine with five speed manual transmission. “Globally, Fortuner has already sold over 2.5 lakh units in more than 60 countries since its launch in 2005. The launch of Fortuner today is an expression of Toyota’s commitment to provide best in class quality and technology to our customers in India,” said Toyota Motor Corp. senior managing director Akira Okabe. “The SUV market in India has witnessed extensive growth due to launches in mid and premium SUV segment. We expect that the launch of the Fortuner will expand the mid SUV market in India,” Toyota Kiloskar Motor deputy managing director (marketing) Sandeep Singh said. Toyota Kiloskar Motor is a joint venture between Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. and India’s Kirloskar group. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Aug 2009 | 12:11 am Bombay Stock Exchange launches IPO indexMUMBAI (Reuters) - Bombay Stock Exchange, Asia's oldest bourse, on Monday launched an initial public offering (IPO) index to track the value of stocks for two years after listing.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Aug 2009 | 11:43 pm Mint in multimedia - August 24Video story: Manufacturing strategies Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, founder and director of Warwich Manufacturing Group, talks about manufacturing strategies during the slowdown Video story: Sushi on the roll Sushi King’s chef Deepa Raj shows us how to roll a crab stick sushi at home Video story: Taking stock Dhruv Agarwala of iTrust advises long term investors to take advantage of dips in the market and make an entry into selective stocks in small measure Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 11:29 pm Peru drops safeguard duty on Indian cotton yarnMumbai: With no additional duty to be paid, Indian cotton yarn exporters can now heave a sigh of relief, as the South American country Peru has decided to drop duty on import of cotton yarn into the country, an industry official said. The efforts made by the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) and diplomacy by the Indian Embassy in Peru have led to the Peruvian authorities deciding not to impose any safeguard duty on import of cotton yarn into that country. Shipments of cotton yarn from India would now continue without any encumbrances. Being the largest supplier of cotton yarn to Peru with a share of over 80% in total Peruvian cotton yarn imports, Indian cotton yarn exports would have been severely impacted in case the safeguard duties were imposed, Texprocil’s chairman, V.S. Velayutham, said in a statement. Velayutham hoped with no additional duty to be paid, Indian cotton yarn exporters can now heave a sigh of relief. Exports of cotton yarn from India reached a level of $94.45 million during 2008, recording an impressive growth of 73.62%. On account of the safeguard investigations, imports of cotton yarn from India during January-June 2009 recorded a sharp decline, reaching a level of $24.79 million. It may be recalled that aggrieved by the economic downturn, cotton yarn producers in Peru represented by SNI (Sociedad Nacional de Industrias) filed a complaint with the National Institute of Defense of Competition and Protection to the Intellectual Property (Indecopi) claiming that rising imports of cotton yarn were causing a threat to the domestic cotton yarn producers in Peru. They also requested impositing safeguard duties on imports of cotton yarn from all countries, including India. On behalf of the Indian cotton yarn industry as well as exporters of cotton yarn to Peru, Texprocil made itself known as an interested party in the safeguard investigation initiated under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards and participated in the proceedings. The excellent commercial diplomacy undertaken by the Indian embassy in Peru and the effective arguments made by Texprocil led to the Peruvian investigating authority dropping the proceedings without imposing any safeguard duty, the statement said. “The excellent support extended to us by the ministry of textiles and ministry of commerce enabled us to take up the cause of Indian cotton yarn exporters before the Peruvian authorities,” Velayutham said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 11:22 pm Toyota to make largest auto recall in ChinaShanghai: Toyota Motor Corp will recall 688,314 Camry and other sedans made at its two China joint ventures from Tuesday, its largest recall in the country, to fix a faulty electric switch to the window. But analysts say the recall will not have any long-term impact on the Japanese auto maker’s growth prospect in China as the defect is minor and only involves a single supplier. The recall, which comes at time when Toyota has lost some of its steam after years of breakneck growth, may however swing some buyers to its European and US rivals for now, they said. “The size of the recall is big, but it won’t be a major problem for Toyota given the nature of the defect. Still, there will be some impact for the short term,” said Huang Zherui, an analyst with CSM Worldwide, a global industry consultancy. In the first half, the Japanese automaker sold 284,000 passenger cars in China, almost unchanged from a year earlier, due largely to its limited offering of small models. In contrast, General Motors reported a 38% rise in its sales in the country, helped by Beijing’s aggressive cut in sales tax for small cars. Toyota’s recall, announced by China’s quality watchdog late on Sunday, included 384,736 Camry models made by Toyota’s joint venture in south China with Guangzhou Auto between 15 May, 2006 and 31 December, 2008. A total of 22,767 Yaris compact cars made by the same venture between 15 May and 31 December of last year will also be recalled, the statement said. The list also included 35,523 Vios cars made at its joint venture with FAW between Feb. 18 and Dec. 25 of 2008 and 245,288 Corolla models made at the venture from 17 May, 2007 to 25 December of 2008, it said. A spokesman for Toyota’s China operations said he had received no reports of casualties or accidents linked with the defect. Guangzhou Auto is the parent of Hong Kong-listed Denway Motors. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 10:47 pm Nasa goes pop for next shuttle flightCape Canaveral, US: When Discovery flies to the international space station this week, it will deliver a new treadmill named for a TV comedian and pick up a Buzz Lightyear toy. In another month, a wealthy circus performer will rocket to the space station. Add that to all the Twittering astronauts and Nasa suddenly has a fresh, hip look that is attracting audiences that may have ignored the space programme in the past. “More normal folks,” the chief of Nasa’s space operations, Bill Gerstenmaier, says of Nasa’s newer audience. Gerstenmaier admits he’s a rather humdrum engineer. Intentional or not, the stars finally seem aligned for Nasa in the pop culture department. “It doesn’t do us any good for us just to go up there and quietly do our missions if nobody knows what you’re doing up there,” Discovery’s commander, Rick Sturckow, said in a recent interview. The treadmill, for the record, is officially known as the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, which spells Colbert. Discovery and its crew of seven are scheduled to blast off early Tuesday, carrying about 7,711kg of supplies and equipment to the space station. It is the second station visit in as many months for Nasa, making it harder to drum up excitement. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 10:10 pm Madhya Pradesh chief minister praised for action against hoardersMadhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received a pat on the back from Congress president Sonia Gandhi for his action against hoarders, official sources said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm Which small car is Volkswagen planning to launch in India in 2010?Which small car is Volkswagen planning to launch in India in 2010?Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Aug 2009 | 5:30 pm Back to the USSR: MEA culpaA minor storm is brewing in Indo-Russian relations over Delhis refusal to transfer properties in the name of the Union Soviet and Socialist Republics (USSR) to the name of the Russian Federation, considered worldwide to be the inheritor state of the USSR.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Aug 2009 | 1:09 pm Retailers ride out the stormFuture no longer tense as consumer confidence improves and firms emerge leaner and more efficient.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Aug 2009 | 1:07 pm Govt proposes easier terms for road projectsThe government plans to ease several conditions in the model concession agreement (MCA) for highway projects to address key complaints from construction companies and attract more bidders.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Aug 2009 | 1:06 pm Kerala police questioning suspects in Muthoot scion's murderKerala police Sunday said that several people were being questioned in connection with the murder of 32-year-old Paul M. George, the son of M.G. George Muthoot, a prominent businessman who heads one of the four groups of the Muthoot family business house.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 9:32 am Railways belittling Bengal's great men: BuddhaRidiculing Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee for introducing new trains 'every day', West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday alleged that the railways in the country was in a 'very bad state'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 7:31 am 4G threatens to spoil Govt’s 3G partyNew Delhi: As India dithers over a policy on 3G mobile telephony, US’ Motorola wants to test the next level (4G) that could pour cold water on the government’s plan to raise Rs35,000 crore from selling radio frequency for the existing version. Motorola, which has tested the new next generation technology, called Long-Term Evolution (LTE), is all set to start trial services of 4G that can offer 70 MB per second (Mbps) download speeds on a mobile phone by the end of this year. The company is likely to approach the Department of Telecom (DoT) for trial spectrum, Subhendu Mohanty, a senior executive with Networks Mobility Business, Motorola India, said. This development may, however, prompt operators planning to launch 3G telephony to wait and watch, thus spoiling the government’s plan to mop up a whopping Rs35,000 crore from auction of 3G spectrum. Asked whether Motorola is talking to operators, Mohanty said, “We would like to have trial with the players but the technology can also be tested on our own systems.” In fact, the DoT is also understood to have prepared a concept paper on the 4G and the issue may be discussed at length in the days to come. Besides Motorola, other telecom vendors are also in the process of trials, industry sources said. Motorola has become the first telecom vendor to complete throughput up to 70 Mbps, he said, adding that the LTE technology can be offered in 2.1-2.3 MHz spectrum band and the DoT is looking at the availability of this frequency. On how superior and different the LTE would be from the 3G technology, Mohanty said the applications are growing very fast and with the data and video download explosion the performance of 3G technology will reduce and LTE would fill the gap. When contacted, DoT officials declined to give any idea on when this (LTE or 4G) can be considered for commercial deployment, saying one needs to look into the availability of spectrum and also the viability of the services in Indian conditions. According to sources, some of the operators may wait for this technology to become commercially available rather than investing in the 3G technology. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 6:46 am Madoff victims to sue PwC for billions of pounds: reportLondon: World’s largest accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is being sued for billions of pounds over its role as an auditor to one of the feeder funds that channelled huge amount of money to Bernard Madoff, the man behind the largest fraud in history, media report says. “The Canadian arm of PwC has been named in seven separate lawsuits claiming as much as $2 billion in damages for investors who lost almost everything in the largest fraud in history,” the Telegraph said in a latest report. PwC Canada was auditor to Fairfield Sentry, the feeder fund that placed $7.2 billion of investors’ money with Madoff and which became the biggest single casualty. The firm is facing two class action lawsuits, two claims from individual investors and three “derivative actions” launched by investors on behalf of Fairfield Sentry. PwC Canada has been accused of negligence for failing to spot that Fairfield Sentry’s $7.2 billion of assets simply did not exist. PwC is the second global audit firm to be sued in relation to Madoff. KPMG has been targeted by investors in Tremont Group, which lost $3.3 billion. Sources said that PwC is taking the case very seriously and is anticipating more legal action. The report further said that, “The most recent lawsuit to name PwC Canada as a defendant was filed just a couple of weeks ago and sources expect several more now that a precedent has been set.“ PwC has already been caught up in the Satyam scandal in India where, as auditors, it failed to spot the fraud. Quoting PwC Canada, the report saidM “PwC Canada provided auditing services to the Fairfield Sentry fund, but was not the auditor for Bernard Madoff Investments where the alleged fraud occurred. PwC Canada’s auditing of the fund’s financial statements fully complied with professional standards.” Arthur Andersen, then the world’s fifth largest accounting firm, had collapsed after becoming embroiled in the downfall of Enron, to which it was auditor. Law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner is currently attempting to consolidate all the lawsuits into one case to take to court, the report said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Aug 2009 | 6:33 am Eco-tourism vs chemical hub: latest spat over NayacharA fresh political confrontation is brewing in West Bengal with a union minister, owing allegiance to Trinamool Congress, Sunday declaring that an eco-tourism project will be implemented across Nayachar island where the state government has planned to set up a chemical hub.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 5:32 am Groundwater depletion: India's bread basket under threatWhile warnings by farmers and experts over the years that Punjab's groundwater level is falling dangerously low has been strengthened recently by satellite imagery, authorities seem slow to measure up to the agricultural challenge .Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 5:31 am Airports to rework plans as carriers cut costsAirport developers who were planning exclusive terminals for low-cost carriers have begun re-drawing plans as almost all domestic carriers are now switching to low-cost operations.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 5:30 am Deora rules out immediate hike in petroleum pricesPetroleum minister Murli Deora ruled out any immediate hike in the prices of petroleum products and said that a call would be taken after the crude prices stabilise.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Aug 2009 | 3:35 am Monsoon revival brings cheer to Himachal apple growersThe revival of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh, India's main apple basket, has rekindled the hopes of farmers of getting an optimum output from the surviving apple crop after drought-like conditions led to 35-40 percent drop in production.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am
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