|
|
|
|
Gitanjali Gems eyes 20% growth in topline this yearGK Nair, DirectorFinance, Gitanjali Gems, says the company is looking at a 20% growth in topline this year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 9:48 am Cairn sees peak output of 2 lakh bpd from new field by \'12Cairn India is gearing up to inaugurate the Mangala oil field in Rajasthan on August 29. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and the Oil Ministry would inaugurate the field, Rahul Dhir, CEO of Cairn India, told CNBCTV18 in an exclusive interview.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 8:10 am Motherson Sumi arm bags German order worth 500 m euroMotherson Sumi\'s arm has bagged 500 million euro order from Germany. Pankaj Mittal, COO, Motherson Sumi Systems, says the orders are executable in 56 years, starting 2011. The company\'s current capacity utilisation is less than 80%, he says.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:53 am See global interest for Indian tie ups pharma space: ExpertS Ramesh, Chief Financial Officer, Lupin, said, the company was looking at a capex of Rs 400 crore. Further, he said, the organic route would play a key role in growth. He expects US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection at Mandideep soon.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:40 am Network18 ups stake in Indian Film Co to 69%Commenting on the development Raghav Bahl, MD of Network18 said that the companys effective holding in IFC was now up at 69%. Network18, he said has received asset with Rs 500 crore in equity with zero debt. He added that IFC\'s FY09 revenue at Rs 400 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:18 am Russia`s auto production decreases by 61% in 2009!Russia`s auto production decreased by 61.4 percent in the first seven months of the year, a report saidSource: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am Ebony Gautier to invest Rs 100 cr for expansion!Home furnishing retail chain Ebony Gautier is planning to invest Rs 100 crore over the next three years to expand its retail business and set up 20 large format speciality outlets across the country.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am General Motors takes U-turn, says wants to keep Opel!The newly svelte US auto giant General Motors that emerged from bankruptcy reorganisation appears sufficiently confident to be willing to keep German unit Opel and a presence in the Europe market.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am LSE, NYSE Euronext eye Indian bourse stake: Report!The London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange Euronext may pick up a five percent stake each in MCX Stock Exchange, India`s newest bourse, a newspaper report said, citing two people close to the development.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am Japan trade surplus rises for second month!Japan`s trade surplus soared for a second straight month as the world`s second largest economy limps out of its worst recession in decades, official data showed Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am US` budget deficit could reach $9 trillion: Analysts!In a chilling forecast, the White House is predicting a 10-year federal deficit of USD 9 trillion — more than the sum of all previous deficits since America`s founding.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am US Postal Service seeks 30,000 job cuts via buyouts!The US Postal Service, the nation`s second-largest employer, offered buyouts on Tuesday to quickly slash up to 30,000 jobs as it grapples with declining mail volume and embraces more automation.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am Sensex up 111 points in opening trade!Extending its winning streak for the fifth session in a row, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wedneday rose by over 111 points in opening trade.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am HCL Tech in pact with New Zealand`s Optimation!Industrialist Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Technologies on Wednesday announced a pact with Optimation, a top company in information and communication technology in New Zealand, to offer services to the government there.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am RBS- Stan Chart talks on Asian assets in "full swing": Sources!Royal Bank of Scotland`s talks to sell some of its Asian assets to Standard Chartered remain "in full swing", sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday after a report they were on the rocks.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Aug 2009 | 7:06 am Expect volumes of 2.5 lk barrels in FY10: Selan ExplorationSelan Exploration Technology expects volumes of 2.5 lakh barrels in FY10. Rohit Kapur said that production levels will change dramatically in twothree years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 6:23 am See FY10 EPS at Rs 1718/sh: IndSwift LabsVK Mehta, Managing Director, IndSwift Laboratoties expected that the company would maintain 25% growth in FY10. We are in talks with US, European companies for contract research. The contract research will contribute 15% to revenue in 3 years, he added. He expected FY10 earning per share (EPS) at Rs 1718 per share.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 6:22 am Sugar levy quota likely to be below 20%: Shree RenukaSugar prices have gone up considerably over the last few months and so have sugar stock prices. The government is thinking of increasing the levy on sugar quota to at least 20% if not 30%, and, that has got investors worried about sugar stocks. However, Narendra Murkumbi, MD, Shree Renuka Sugars said the sugar levy quota would likely be below 20%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 5:32 am USLDiageo talks failure no major concern: IDFC SSKINikhil Vora said USL payment obligations is at USD 160 million for 12 months and that cash flows will allow USL to service its debt repayments. Financial leverage is not major concern for USL, he added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 5:29 am Datawatch: 66 profit making stocks at less than Rs 20Datawatch: Nifty is trading perilously close to its 2009 high of 4731. In today\'s Datawatch we look at stocks that are trading below Rs 20. These stocks are more popularly known as penny stocks. We have selected stocks which are profit making paying dividend as well.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Aug 2009 | 5:19 am No proposal for fuel price hike, says petroleum secretaryThe government on Wednesday said it had no proposal to increase prices of petroleum-based fuels, though it was wary about rising crude oil prices in international markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 26 Aug 2009 | 5:18 am UAE retail group eyes Indian expansion planEmke Group, which operates the biggest hypermarket chain in the Middle East under the LuLu and Al Falah brands, is entering the lucrative Indian market by developing the biggest shopping mall in Kochi, in Kerala. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 26 Aug 2009 | 5:17 am SEBI approves to launch Interest Rate... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:22 am BSE Sensex provisionally rises 0.5 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 0.5 percent on Wednesday, as investors covered short positions a day before the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:12 am Mcleod Russel enters Africa through R... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:12 am Toyota to cut capacity amid sales slumpTokyo: Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, said it would halt a production line in Japan as it looks to cut excess capacity to return to profitability amid an industry-wide sales slump. Car plants around the world are idle or running below capacity as the industry copes with a slide in sales that sent General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC into bankruptcy and has Toyota headed for a record loss this year. Total cuts could reach 700,000 cars, or 7% of Toyota’s global capacity, including a production line in Britain that may be halted and a joint venture with General Motors in the US likely to be closed, a source with knowledge of the matter said. “Though sales in some countries have been picking up, the outlook for global car demand is still uncertain,” and the company thinks it should be prepared, the source said. Toyota’s sales have been boosted over the past few months by government incentives aimed at kick-starting demand, but it is still plagued by an excess capacity of more than 3 million vehicles following a rapid expansion earlier in the decade. The company said it has decided to halt a production line in Japan for about a year and a half from next spring. “The production cut is positive for its earnings, but there is room for further capacity cuts in the United States and elsewhere,” said Yoshifumi Tabei, an auto analyst at Kazaka Securities. Shares of Toyota closed up 1.5%, in line with the benchmark Nikkei average, which rose 1.4%. Toyota expects to lower its break-even point by halting some assembly lines, but will not dispose them off so that it can quickly raise production in the event of a demand recovery. Workers on the halted Japanese production line will be employed at other Toyota factories. The source said the extent and timing of the output cuts had not yet been set but the Nikkei business daily reported that Toyota planned to reduce its global capacity by 10%, or 1 million vehicles, as early as the current financial year to March 2010. The source, which declined to be named because the matter was not public, said Toyota was also considering halting a line at a UK plant. Toyota has said it will decide this month whether to pull out of New United Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), a California joint venture with General Motors. Those three moves would cut capacity by 700,000 vehicles, based on Toyota factory data, from Toyota’s annual output capacity of 10 million vehicles. Toyota has begun restoring some production cut in the wake of the global financial crisis as inventories shrink, but has yet to announce whether it plans longer-term cuts in factory capacity. It has seen a recovery in sales of fuel-efficient cars helped by government measures to promote such vehicles, with its Prius hybrid ranking as Japan’s top-selling car in July for the second straight month, but has lagged behind its rivals in cost-cutting. Toyota booked an operating loss for the third straight quarter in April-June, while Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. turned profitable during the period thanks to cost reduction measures including pulling out of some motor sports and cutting jobs. “The idling of plants had been a negative factor for Toyota, so the fact they’re moving to tackle this should be evaluated favourably,” said Yumi Nishimura, deputy general manager of the investment advisory section of Daiwa Securities SMBC. Toyota forecast this month a slightly shallower annual loss, relying on deeper cost cuts and government-backed sales stimulus around the world, but there remain doubts about a sustainable recovery in demand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:05 am Pervasive corruption tarnishing country’s image: PMNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said “pervasive corruption” was tarnishing the image of the country and also discouraging investors besides being an impediment to its integration with the world economy. “The world respects our democracy, our plural and secular values, our independent judiciary...our pursuit of equitable and inclusive growth. But pervasive corruption in our country tarnishes our image. “It also discourages investors, who expect fair treatment and transparent dealings. As the country grows and integrates with the world economy, corruption continues to be an impediment to harnessing the best of technology and resources,” he told the 17th biennial conference of CBI and state anti-corruption bureaux in the national capital. Stressing on the urgent need to combat the menace of corruption, the Prime Minister said, “Corruption distorts the rule of law and weakens institutions. It hurts our economic growth in a variety of ways, apart from hindering our efforts to build a just, fair and equitable society.” Seeking effective participation of the CBI and officers of various state governments in “war against corruption”, he said, “The malaise of corruption, so sapping our efforts to march ahead as a nation, should be treated immediately and effectively.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:03 am Diageo, United Spirits talks fall thr... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:02 am Sensex up 112 points in afternoon tradeIndian equities were trading in the green Wednesday afternoon, with a key index ruling 112 points higher than its previous close about 40 minutes before the closing bell.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 4:01 am N Korea invites US envoy for nuclear talks-reportSeoul: N Korea has invited the US envoy overseeing ties with the prickly state to visit for nuclear talks next month, South Korean media said on Tuesday, as the United States pushes sanctions against Pyongyang. Reclusive N Korea, which has made a series of rare conciliatory gestures this month, also agreed to hold talks with South Korea from Wednesday on resuming reunions of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War. Pyongyang stopped the reunions almost two years ago in anger at the hard-line policies of the South’s conservative government, which halted unconditional aid handouts and linked its largess to the North ending its nuclear arms ambitions. Analysts say the North may be softening its tone with Washington and Seoul in an attempt to ease pressure on its coffers, depleted by UN sanctions for its nuclear test in May and facing the threat of a poor harvest. US envoy Stephen Bosworth would lead a delegation first travelling to S Korea, China and Japan to discuss stalled six-way disarmament-for-aid talks with the North before heading to Pyongyang, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said, citing a senior diplomatic source in Washington. It would mark the first official nuclear talks between N Korea and the Obama administration. Bosworth is expected to visit Asia “in the not too distant future,” said US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly, but he said there were no plans now for him to visit Pyongyang. He declined to say whether the North had extended an invitation. Kelly at one point said the United States would not hold talks with North Korea until Pyongyang agreed to resume six-party talks. He later said this was not a precondition. US Likely To Agree To Meeting - Analysts Analysts said Washington had little choice but to send Bosworth to Pyongyang if only to test whether the North may be ready to resume talks on ending its nuclear programmes. Jack Pritchard, a former US negotiator with Pyongyang and now president of the Korea Economic Institute, said he did not believe the North was ready to resume denuclearisation talks, but he still expected Bosworth to travel to Pyongyang. “I don’t think that we can afford to say ‘no´ to the North Koreans when the demand is simply to allow Bosworth to go,” he said. Mitchell Reiss, a former US official who has dealt with the North, said a visit might be necessary to win support from other nations for implementing tighter sanctions on the North. Philip Goldberg, the US coordinator for UN sanctions on N Korea, has been in Asia to seek support for measures aimed at stamping out the North’s arms trade, which analysts say brings in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. “If the price of sanctions is a meeting, then by all means Ambassador Bosworth should go to Pyongyang,” he said. S Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted a diplomatic source in Washington as saying the North extended the invitation when former President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang this month to win the release of two jailed US journalists. US officials have repeatedly said they are willing to hold direct talks with N Korea but only as part of six-country disarmament negotiations involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Officials from the two biggest U.S. military allies in the region, Japan and South Korea, have said they would go along with direct U.S.-North Korean talks as long as Washington coordinates and consults with them. The six-party talks, hosted by the North’s biggest benefactor China, broke down at the end of last year with Pyongyang saying the format was dead. Reaching Out To Seoul North Korea had all but severed ties with the South after President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008 and ended the steady flow of unconditional aid. Lee had his first chance to directly tell North Korean officials of his policy on Sunday when he met a delegation that had flown to Seoul to mourn the death of former President Kim Dae-jung, who was buried the same day. Under Lee’s proposals, the South would pour investment into the North to rebuild its decayed infrastructure and lift the population out of abject poverty in return for Pyongyang giving up efforts to build a nuclear arsenal. But few believe the North will give up dreams of having its own atomic weapons. Experts said Pyongyang’s moves were a switch in tactics rather than a change of heart. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:58 am Motherson Sumi wins orders from Europe, shares riseMUMBAI (Reuters) - Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd said on Wednesday its unit won orders worth 34.9 billion rupees from major European carmakers including Volkswagen and BMW, boosting its shares.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am Shuttle launch delayed, may fly FridayCape Canaveral: Nasa delayed a Wednesday morning liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery because of an apparent problem with a valve in its fuel tank and said the next possible launch opportunity was Friday. It was the second consecutive delay, after stormy weather postponed a launch attempt early on Tuesday. Discovery and its seven-member crew were preparing for a 13-day supply mission to the International Space Station. The valve problem surfaced as technicians began fueling up the shuttle for a launch set for 10.40 (0510 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “When we went to close the valve (after the hydrogen tank was full) we didn’t get an indication that it was closed,” Mike Moses, who oversees the shuttle program at the launch site, told reporters. Engineers believe the problem to be with instrumentation that monitors the valve, and not the valve itself, which would position NASA for a possible third launch attempt at 9.50 am (0422 GMT) on Friday. Anything more serious and the launch likely would be postponed until October. Nasa has until Sunday for launch attempts before it would have to stand down due to a schedule conflict at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which shares safety, tracking and support services with Kennedy Space Center. In addition, the International Space Station is preparing for its first cargo ship from Japan and cannot receive the shuttle and the new Japanese vehicle simultaneously. Discovery is scheduled to deliver lab equipment, supplies and spare parts to the station. Including Discovery’s flight, Nasa plans seven more shuttle missions to the space station. The 16-nation, $100 billion project is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction 220 miles (350 km) above Earth. The shuttles are being retired late next year or early 2011. Nasa is working on a new type of spaceship called Orion that can travel beyond the station’s orbit to the moon and other destinations. After the shuttle program ends, the station will depend on Russian, European and Japanese vehicles, though none has nearly the lift capacity of the shuttle, which can haul 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg). Discovery carries new science racks, a freezer, a sleep station, a second treadmill, food, clothing, supplies and spare parts for the station, including an 1,800-pound (800 kg) ammonia coolant tank that will be installed during two of the spacewalks. Among the experiments planned for the station is a bone-loss study that uses genetically altered mice as subjects. The mice are flying to the station aboard Discovery and will be left aboard until the next shuttle mission in November. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:54 am Shuttle launch delayed, may fly FridayCape Canaveral: Nasa delayed a Wednesday morning liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery because of an apparent problem with a valve in its fuel tank and said the next possible launch opportunity was Friday. It was the second consecutive delay, after stormy weather postponed a launch attempt early on Tuesday. Discovery and its seven-member crew were preparing for a 13-day supply mission to the International Space Station. The valve problem surfaced as technicians began fueling up the shuttle for a launch set for 10.40 (0510 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “When we went to close the valve (after the hydrogen tank was full) we didn’t get an indication that it was closed,” Mike Moses, who oversees the shuttle program at the launch site, told reporters. Engineers believe the problem to be with instrumentation that monitors the valve, and not the valve itself, which would position NASA for a possible third launch attempt at 9.50 am (0422 GMT) on Friday. Anything more serious and the launch likely would be postponed until October. Nasa has until Sunday for launch attempts before it would have to stand down due to a schedule conflict at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which shares safety, tracking and support services with Kennedy Space Center. In addition, the International Space Station is preparing for its first cargo ship from Japan and cannot receive the shuttle and the new Japanese vehicle simultaneously. Discovery is scheduled to deliver lab equipment, supplies and spare parts to the station. Including Discovery’s flight, Nasa plans seven more shuttle missions to the space station. The 16-nation, $100 billion project is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction 220 miles (350 km) above Earth. The shuttles are being retired late next year or early 2011. Nasa is working on a new type of spaceship called Orion that can travel beyond the station’s orbit to the moon and other destinations. After the shuttle program ends, the station will depend on Russian, European and Japanese vehicles, though none has nearly the lift capacity of the shuttle, which can haul 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg). Discovery carries new science racks, a freezer, a sleep station, a second treadmill, food, clothing, supplies and spare parts for the station, including an 1,800-pound (800 kg) ammonia coolant tank that will be installed during two of the spacewalks. Among the experiments planned for the station is a bone-loss study that uses genetically altered mice as subjects. The mice are flying to the station aboard Discovery and will be left aboard until the next shuttle mission in November. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:54 am POLL - June quarter growth seen at 6 pct y/yNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India may have seen accelerating growth in the June quarter thanks to stimulus measures, but drought in nearly half of the country's districts and the global slump could hinder faster recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:53 am Asia’s growth depends on helping smaller firms: ADBSingapore: Asian governments should look to boost domestic demand to help the region return to strong economic growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday. With a weak global outlook limiting Asian exports the bank said countries had to speed up measures to bolster expansion at home, adding that the best way to achieve this is to provide help for small and medium-sized businesses. “While the global economy will no doubt recover from the current crisis, a return to a fast-growing developing Asia will require some rebalancing of growth toward domestic demand in the region as a whole,” it said in a report released here. “Fostering dynamism among Asian enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), will be important to this effort.” SMEs are businesses that employ fewer than 200 workers and are key employers in Asia, the ADB said, adding that in manufacturing alone they account for between 50 and 90% of employment. “It is precisely because SMEs employ so many of Asia’s workers that their productivity, and the earnings and wages they generate become crucial in determining living standards of many Asians,” the report said. Vibrant SMEs are crucial to the development of a large Asian middle class, seen as an important driver for domestic demand, the Manila-based bank said. It urged Asian governments to remove several constraints it said prevented the growth of such businesses, included limited access to financing and new technologies. The report also cited infrastructure problems such as poor transportation systems and lack of access to stable electricity supply as prohibitive factors. While Asia is recovering from the global crisis faster than the United States and other Western economies, this is largely due to the efficacy of government stimulus measures, which are likely to have a short-term impact, ADB chief economist Jong-Wha Lee said at a news briefing in Singapore. The crisis is an opportunity to look at longer-term issues to sustain Asia’s economic rise, he said, adding that the process of rebalancing growth may take more than 10 years. “Public policy has an important role to play,” the report said. “The design of policy needs to be based on a clear understanding of the different types of enterprises in the region, how they are linked with one another and their potential for growth.” The bank also said that while Asia succeeded in reducing poverty over the past 15 years from around one in two people to one in four, “large pockets of extreme poverty continue to persist.” Asia also faces “serious challenges” in its goals linked to urban sanitation and maternal mortality rates in countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia and Nepal, it said. Environmental protection issues and greenhouse gas emissions also need to be addressed across the region, the bank said. While Asia accounts for almost one third of the world’s global gross domestic product (GDP), the income gap between rich and poor countries remains wide, according to the ADB. Eight countries have GDP per capita incomes of $25,000 or more, compared with below $6,000 for most of the region. Singapore has the region’s highest per capita income, with its population earning on average 62 times the lowest-ranked country, East Timor, ADB said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:53 am July infrastructure output up 1.8%New Delhi: India’s infrastructure sector output grew 1.8% in July from a year earlier, lower than an upwardly revised 6.8% in June, government data showed on Wednesday. Output had risen 5.1% in the same month last year. During April-July, the output rose 4%, compared with 3.5% in the same period last year. The infrastructure sector accounts for 26.7% of India’s industrial output. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:37 am June quarter growth seen at 6%New Delhi: India may have seen accelerating growth in the June quarter thanks to stimulus measures, but drought in nearly half of the country’s districts and the global slump could hinder faster recovery. The country’s gross domestic product is estimated to have expanded 6% in the quarter from a year earlier and faster than 5.8% in March quarter, the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 15 analysts showed. “Essentially, it was due to the government stimulus and higher spending before the (April/May) elections,” said D K Joshi, principal economist of rating agency Crisil. India’s domestic demand-driven economy fared better during the global downturn than most of its Asian peers, such as Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, which slipped into recession last year as the financial crisis hurt more export-dependent economies. The Reserve Bank of India slashed its lending rate by 425 basis points between October and April to help Asia’s third-largest economy weather the shocks of the global slowdown. The government also cut duties and increased spending, which has put the fiscal deficit on track for a 16-year high of 6.8% of GDP for the current year, to be financed by a record Rs451 crore ($92.4 billion) in borrowing. But poor rains since the monsoon season began at the start of June cloud growth prospects in an economy where rural consumption accounts for more than half of domestic demand. Private economists said a drought could potentially erode economic growth this year by 1 or 2 percentage points. A weak recovery in the United States and elsewhere could also slow India’s return to a high rate of growth. On Tuesday, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the economy could grow around 6% in the year to March 2010, lower than the 6.7% growth in 2008-09 and after expanding 9% or more in the previous three fiscal years. The prime minister’s economic adviser, C Rangarajan, said the economy could bounce back to 7-8% growth in 2010-11. In the June quarter, industrial production, which accounts for a quarter of GDP, expanded by 3.7% but exports were down 31.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:34 am Steel ministry seeks coal blocks for two PSUsNew Delhi: The steel ministry has sought coal blocks for two of its mining PSUs — MOIL and KIOCL — so that they meet the fuel requirement of various steel firms, reeling under the shortage of the dry fuel. In a letter written to the coal ministry, the steel ministry has asked for coal blocks for the two firms, which will mine the blocks and supply coal to the steel firms. “We have asked the coal ministry to give coal blocks to Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) which have experience in mining. Blocks given will cater to the fuel requirement of steel firms exclusively,” Steel Secretary P K Rastogi told PTI. Separately, the steel ministry has asked the two firms to apply for coal blocks with the ministry of coal, he said. Steel companies have been complaining of shortage of coal to run their plants. While coking coal is used in the process of steel making, non-coking or thermal coal is used to run the captive power plants. In a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on steel yesterday, leading steel producers like SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel pointed out coal shortage as one of the primary reasons hurting their production targets. The delay in allotment of coal blocks for captive was also hitting their growth plans. “They said that only 50% of their coal requirement is being met at present and the Steel Ministry should do something about it,” Rastogi added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:33 am TVS, Mahabharat Motors join handsTVS Motor, the country's third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, will get its motorcycles assembled at the West Bengal facility of Mahabharat Motors, promoted by non-resident Indian Prasoon Mukherjee.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:32 am Haryana's education city attracts many universitiesHaryana government's Rajiv Gandhi Education City (RGEC), coming up at Sonepat, has attracted significant response from educational institutions and universities, a government official said here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:30 am NTPC signs agreement with Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution CoNew Delhi: State-run NTPC signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Ltd for supply of electricity. The power will be supplied to the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Ltd (CSPDCL) from NTPC’s Korba Super Thermal Power Station Stage-III of 500 MW, a company’s press statement said today. The PPA was singed in the presence of NTPC chairman and managing director R S Sharma and CSPDCL managing director G S Deshpande. The NTPC’s director (Commercial) I J Kapoor and general manager (Commercial) S N Goel were also present on the occasion. NTPC is the country’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 30,644 through 15 coal based, seven gas based and four joint venture power stations. With nearly 19% of the installed capacity, NTPC generated 206.93 billion units electricity in 2008-09, which is about 30% of total power produced in the country. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:28 am Aban Offshore signs multi-million dol... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:23 am Buy HCL Tech, target of Rs 375: Anand... - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:22 am Oil ministry may file defamation suit against RNRLNew Delhi: The petroleum ministry is mulling filing a defamation suit against an Anil Ambani Group firm for persisting with “false claims” pertaining to government revenues from Reliance Industries KG-D6 fields. The ministry is contemplating seeking law ministry view on slapping the suit on RNRL over a claim that government share from KG-D6 initially will be just Rs500 crore, while RIL will earn a super-normal profit of Rs49,500 crore. Sources in the ministry stated that RNRL and its executives stuck to this claim despite the government clarifying in a written statement that its revenues from KG-D6 over the life of the field would be more than Rs84,000 crore, with a clear objective to “malign and tarnish its image.” The file prepared for the same notes that government’s take from KG-D6 in the first year of gas production will be Rs700 crore at a minimum output of 40 mmscmd. At peak output of 80 mmscmd, likely next year, the government will get Rs1,200 crore in royalty and profit share. Sources said the file is likely to go before petroleum secretary R S Pandey and petroleum minister Murli Deora before it is sent to law ministry for opinion. In any case, the earnings will be more than Rs500 crore, they said pointing out that royalty at the $4.2 per mmBtu approved price alone came to Rs541 crore in the first year. Meanwhile, sources said Congress MP K S Rao wrote to the Prime Minister on 24 August stating that the Anil Ambani group was using the country’s top two law officers to further its business interests. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:21 am Indian Oil losing $15 mn a day on fue... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:15 am NACIL, unions fail to resolve PLI wage-cut issueThe Air India management and its unions today failed to reach an agreement on a wage cut as a majority of employees opposed any revision.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 3:11 am Sensex up 111 points in opening tradeExtending its winning streak for the fifth session in a row, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today rose by over 111 points in opening trade on heavy buying by foreign funds, driven by firming trends in global markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:57 am Nifty choppy; IT, realty, power up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:55 am Indian rupee trims fall on stx gain; ... - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:50 am World stocks steady; Ifo briefly lifts euroLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks steadied just off this week's 10-month high on Wednesday while a closely-watched German survey, showing a bigger-than-expected improvement in business morale, gave the euro a brief shot in the arm.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:35 am Indian Oil losing $15 mn a day on fuel saleState-run petroleum products retailer Indian Oil Corp Wednesday said it was losing nearly $15 million every day by selling transport and cooking fuels below cost.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:31 am Rupee trims fall on stocks gainMumbai: The Indian rupee trimmed early losses on Wednesday afternoon as gains in shares renewed expectations of capital inflows, but month-end dollar demand from refiners and importers prevented a further rise. At 2:00pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.77/78 per dollar, off a low of 48.88 but still a little weaker than its previous close of 48.75/76. Oil refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the domestic currency market with their demand tending to peak at the end of each month when they make payments for their imports. Indian shares were trading up 0.8%. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX was quoting at Rs48.78 and Rs48.7825 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:24 am Government to ask Google to inform when it takes Street footagesThe Japanese government plans to request Google to alert the residents about when and where it will take a close-up and 360-degree color footage of the street's under its 'Street View service' as to make sure people's privacy is not intruded, officials said.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:23 am Tweeting for a causeTwestival – and no that’s not a typo – this year, takes place from 10-13 September in cities around the world. If you’re wondering what a Twestival is, the name should offer up a clue: it’s a Twitter festival. People around the world connect online and then meet up offline to raise money or awareness for a cause. This isn’t the first time Twitter has been used to raise money for charity. Last year, social media consultant Beth Kanter, raised over $2500 in just 90 minutes by challenging highly connected geeks to tap into their extensive Twitter networks. Her attempt started with a mass tweet from the Seattle Gnomedex 8.0 Conference, where she asking people to help her “send Leng Sopharath, a young Cambodian woman, off to her junior year of college in good health.” Tweets and retweets traveled through the online community, and by the end of the conference, Kanter had collected almost $4000. Earlier this year, Ashton Kutcher pledged to donate $100,000 to the Malaria No More Fund if he could attract one million viewers live on Twitter. He did, and the Africans sleeping peacefully under mosquito nets have the social media service to thank.  Earlier this year, in February, another Twestival took place, this time on a global scale. The event brought Twitter communities together to raise a staggering $250,000 for charity:water, a nonprofit organization that works towards bringing clean water to the developing world. Next month’s festival is taking a more grassroots approach, asking cities around the world to host events in support a local (rather than a global) cause on one day during the weekend of 10-13 September 2009. Tweeters from five Indian cities are on board: Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and New Delhi, however only those from Bangalore and Mumbai have currently zeroed in on a cause. Bangalore is supporting local charity Dream a Dream, which works with disadvantaged children, while Mumbai is raising funds for Help a Child, which provides financial aid to help children who can’t afford an education. According to Vaijayanthi KM -- the regional Twestival Local coordinator across India, Bangladesh and the Middle East -- Pune and Kolkata are likely to participate as well. Hrish Thota, a software professional who has over 1,500 followers on Twitter, is leading the charge for Bangalore. He wants to organize an evening out for the children supported by local charity Dream a Dream. Thota also co-organized the February Twestival in Bangalore to raise money for charity: water, but admits that he was only able to raise Rs. 5000 as his efforts were very last minute. “This time we are planning to have an event in such a way that people feel involved with the cause. Last time we had an event people just didn’t feel connected with the cause,” he explains. “We want to organize a fun evening with the children using Twestival volunteers. We’ll raise money to pay for the evening but more than raising money, our aim is to get people involved with the cause.” Thota, and Bangalore Twestival’s other volunteers, decided to adopt Dream a Dream as their charity of choice because the organization is visibly active around the city, and according to Thota has really made its mark. “We have seen them being very active in helping out underprivileged children around Bangalore by fundraising through marathon and cycling expeditions, and by getting people to pledge money,” he says. Their goals are modest – they are attempting to reach out to about 40 Twitter and 10 or 20 non-Twitter users. Mumbai’s event is being spearheaded by Monik Pamecha, a blogger who is just 13 years old and who already has 16,499 followers on Twitter. Pamecha explains that all the Mumbai Twestival’s volunteers were found on Twitter, and that they will use the tool to publicize an event they plan to hold to support Help a Child. Although it’s too soon to tell how next month’s Twestival will play out in India, charities should watch the event carefully. While raising money through Twitter may increasingly be becoming de rigueur in New York and London, the big question is whether it will appeal Indian tweeters in the same fashion. Vaijayanthi seems confident that as India’s Twitter based grows, raising money through the medium will also become easier. “Twitter is a new medium in India but is slowly gaining mass adoption. We are definitely in a much better position compared to 6 months ago,” she says. She admits that Twestival organizers do have major obstacles to surmount: “Somebody might identify with our cause, but just because they aren’t on Twitter and think they don’t belong to that sort of gang they may not participate.” However, she goes on to stress that even if someone is a non-tweeter, ultimately the goal is to raise funds and awareness about an issue: “Twitter is just another platform or a tool – the idea goes well beyond.” For more articles on non profits, development and social responsibility, go to the Development Dossier Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:11 am NACIL, unions fail to resolve PLI wag... - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:06 am ABN AMRO posts hefty H1 loss, RBS split on trackAMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Nationalised Dutch bank ABN AMRO reported a large first-half loss on Wednesday and said the legal separation of certain assets owned by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is on schedule.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:05 am Government targets 100,000 carats of diamonds from Panna minesState-run National Mining Development Corp (NMDC) plans to produce close to 100,000 carats of diamonds from the Panna diamond mines in Madhya Pradesh by 2010-11, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:01 am No proposal for fuel price hike, says petroleum secretaryThe government Wednesday said it had no proposal to increase prices of petroleum-based fuels, though it was wary about rising crude oil prices in international markets.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:01 am NACIL, unions fail to resolve PLI wage-cut issueMumbai: The Air India management and its unions today failed to reach an agreement on a wage cut as a majority of employees opposed any revision. “The meeting with the management went on till the early hours of today but ended without any agreement on the issue,” Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) Regional Secretary, Vivek Rao said. The Air India management had called a meeting with its unions yesterday to discuss its proposal of slashing its employees’ productivity-linked incentives (PLIs)/flying allowance by 50% as a part of its turnaround plan. “There are other ways and means to turnaround the company than slashing employees’ wages,” Rao said. “We are opposed to any cuts. We are, however, ready to sit across the table on other issues such as wasteful expenditure which would have an impact on company’s finances but wages,” he said. Air India pays around Rs1,400-crore as PLI to its employees which it wants to bring down to Rs700-crore in order to curtail its mounting losses. Manpower expenditure constitutes the second-largest component of the airline’s operational costs after aviation turbine fuel bill. “We have submitted our proposal to the Prime Minister on the turnaround plan. In our view, a wage cut is not a solution and we will continue to stick to our stand,” Rao said. There are 14 unions in National Aviation Company of India Limited, which is the holding company formed after the merger of Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines. While ACEU and Aviation Industry Employees’ Guild claim the support of a majority of employees in Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines, the All India Cabin Crew Association claims the support of some 3,500 personnel. Engineers and technicians apart, pilots in the two carriers have also their respective unions. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:01 am Amid rising sales, liquor coming out of closet in KashmirIs the bottle finally coming out of the closet in Kashmir? It does seem so as liquor sales are heading north in the valley, notwithstanding a ban by militants. And this has led even the hospitality industry to breathe a little easy.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 2:00 am Local charges for BSNL North-East subscribersShillong: Subscribers of BSNL mobile in North-East would be able to make calls in the seven states of the region with local call charges from September. Acceding to a longstanding demand of the region, BSNL has decided to lift the STD barriers among the NE states. An order to the effect was passed on 12 August and it would become operational from 1 September, BSNL officials said here today. Department of Telecommunications (DoT), amending the earlier provision of three Licensed Service Areas (LSA) for NE, has created a single billing zone for the region for BSNL. According to the new order, outgoing calls, SMSs and data charges while roaming will be charged as per home LSA tariff. Incoming calls while roaming will be free. For administrative reasons, NE was divided into two telecom circles Assam, covering the state of Assam only, and North-East, for the remaining NE states. For mobile telephone service providers, there are three LSAs one for Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur, the second for Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and the third for Assam. Various organisations had been demanding the removal of the unique rules applicable for the region, with an NGO Himalaya Parivar being the latest to take up the issue with the DoT. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:59 am Toyota to cut capacity amid sales slumpTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp, the world's largest automaker, said it would halt a production line in Japan as it looks to cut excess capacity to return to profitability amid an industrywide sales slump.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:54 am WPP sees better H2, after H1 sales drop 8.3%London: WPP, the world’s largest advertising group by revenue, posted first half like-for-like sales at the low end of forecasts but said it expected a better second half due to job cuts and easier comparatives. WPP shares, up 10% in the past week, fell 3.2% in early trading on news first-half like-for-like sales fell 8.3%, a worsening from 5.8% in its first quarter and compared to a forecast for 7.8%. Chief executive Martin Sorrell told Reuters that trading had improved in July from the fall in sales of over 10% in the second quarter. Global advertising sector revenues have been battered this year as clients have cut spending during the downturn. WPP rival US group Omnicom has reported a first half like-for-like drop of 8.8%, while French firm Publicis posted a second-quarter drop of 8.6%. WPP first-half headline earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 14.3% to £455.7 million ($745 million), on revenues up 28% to 4.3 billion, in line with forecasts. The group expects improved second-half profitability due to improving comparatives and after cutting headcount by almost 6 percent on the year. Sorrell told Reuters it would be 2010 before the group saw positive revenue growth. He also said WPP was happy with its debt profile, and did not need to raise equity even if ratings agencies downgraded the group. WPP said its headline operating margin before severance and one-off costs, another key metric for the industry, fell to 10%, compared to a Reuters poll of 10.3%. Sorrell said the company had made provisions for a similar rate of severance in the second half. The group said there was still little evidence of stronger order-books or investments despite chief executives feeling better about the general economic environment but said things would look better partly due to easier comparatives. “Although it is still very early to budget or forecast what may happen in 2010, top line revenues will probably be “even Steven”, WPP said. The interim dividend was unchanged at 5.19 pence. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:42 am Govt not looking at hiking fuel prices - oil secyNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government is not considering raising retail fuel prices despite an uptrend in global crude oil prices, the oil secretary said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:31 am Passengers to pay airport development... - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:23 am July infrastructure output up 1.8 pct y/y - govtNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's infrastructure sector output grew 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier, lower than an upwardly revised 6.8 percent in June, government data showed on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Passengers to pay airport development fee: Delhi High CourtThe Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed the public interest petition challenging the collection of Airport Development Fee (ADF) from passengers departing from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 26 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Oil edges up above $72 after 3% fallSingapore: Oil inched up above $72 on Wednesday after sliding 3% from its highest since last October a day ago, hit by industry figures showing a hefty rise in US crude stocks and overshadowing upbeat economic data. Investors viewed prices touching 10-month highs near $75 on Tuesday, capping oil’s jump of 65% this year, as a good reason to take profits, but a rebound in Asian shares lifted sentiment. US crude for October gained 16 cents to $72.21 a barrel by 1:57pm, after falling $2.32 on Tuesday, for its sharpest percentage drop since 14 August. Brent crude rose 12 cents to $71.94 a barrel after losing $2.44 the previous day. “A lot of people are expecting a build in crude stocks because last week’s draw was large,” said Tony Nunan, risk manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp. “People are holding stocks offshore and sooner or later these would show in crude stocks in the US.” American Petroleum Institute (API) data showed an unexpected 4.3 million-barrel build in US crude stocks last week, confounding analysts’ expectations for a 1.1-million-barrel fall, and coming after the 8.4-million-barrel drop the week before. Gasoline stocks fell 1.8 million barrels, the API said, more than the 1 million-barrel drop predicted in the Reuters poll, while distillates declined 146,000 barrels, versus forecasts for a 300,000-barrel rise. Nunan noted that while the figures from industry body API have occasionally diverged from those of the government Energy Information Agency (EIA), due out at 8:00pm, on Wednesday, the two have been consistent for the previous two weeks. High global oil stocks As crude oil trimmed its losses and volatile Chinese shares rebounded, the yen and US dollar surrendered early gains, helping higher-yielding and commodity-linked currencies, such as the Australian and Canadian dollar, back from the day’s lows. Oil had surged in earlier US trade after reports showed increased consumer confidence and higher home prices in the world’s top energy user, adding to a slew of encouraging economic indicators, and Wall Street’s jump to the highest levels since October’s plunge. “The economic data is important, but a lot of the positive economic figures had been built into the prices,” said Nunan. “$74 is a strong crude price,” he said, adding that the market was already at levels most people were expecting for the end of the year, by when the world is expected to be seeing real economic growth. Venezuela also asserted that global oil stocks were too high, and that Opec is not expected to raise output at its September meeting. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said oil could reach an average of $70 a barrel by year-end if “current conditions hold”, and could go as high as an average $75 in the last quarter. “Inventories have declined but they remain above average. We need for them to come down to the average levels,” Ramirez added. Another Opec member, Iran, said oil demand was set to increase next year after this year’s decline. “Considering the relative recovery of the global economy, it is expected that oil demand in the year 2010 will be increased between 500,000 and 1 million barrels,” the Mehr News Agency quoted its Opec governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:42 am Australia approves huge gas project to supply China, IndiaSydney: Australia on Wednesday approved a massive energy project that will supply natural gas worth tens of billions of dollars to China and India, giving new impetus to its resources boom. Environment Minister Peter Garrett imposed 28 conditions to protect wildlife but said he saw no reason to block the Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant off Western Australia, removing its final regulatory hurdle. The project is a joint venture by Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil, which has signed a record 41 billion US dollar contract with Chinese giant PetroChina and another worth 21 billion dollars with India’s Petronet. “The Gorgon project is Australia’s largest single resource project and is set to deliver significant economic benefits and create around 10,000 indirect and direct jobs during peak construction,” said Roy Krzywosinski, the company’s Australian managing director. He said the plant was “globally and nationally significant”, with an economic life of at least 40 years, adding it had been sited to minimise environmental impact. Trade Minister Simon Crean said the deal was a major boost to Australia’s profile as a green energy provider and proof China saw it as a key partner in its growth. “This is a commitment by China to a long-term contract. They see Australia as part of its energy supply, but not just any energy—clean energy,” Crean told reporters.“The trade relationship with China continues to grow very strongly. The recent gas deal, there’s a huge case in point.” Intense demand from the emerging economies of China and India for resources has underpinned a period of stellar growth for Australia’s mining and energy sectors. Trade with Beijing, the world’s largest consumer of iron ore and coal, was worth 58 billion US dollars last year alone. Australia is the world’s seventh-largest exporter of LNG and Chevron said the Gorgon project would secure Australia’s position as a leading gas producer and generate a new source of wealth for the resource-rich nation. According to trade officials, demand for LNG far exceeds supply and it is seen as the oil and gas industry’s greatest growth area, particularly as customers look for cleaner energy sources. Garrett said the extra conditions included measures to protect endangered turtles and other species on nearby Barrow Island and to minimise noise and light emissions. “It is acceptable for the expansion to go ahead subject to the conditions,” he said. “The public can have confidence that the environment of Barrow (Island) will be properly protected.” Garrett said he expected Chevron and the venture’s other partners would be “more than willing” to meet the conditions. “We have had those discussions with the company and it is the case that there is agreement on the basis of the conditions that I’ve put forward, and I welcome that,” he said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:27 am Wikipedia testing new method to curb false infoNew York: Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that has increasingly drawn some decidedly juvenile pranks, is looking to impose more discipline with new restrictions on the editing of articles. The latest changes come as Wikipedia continues trying to balance a need for credibility and a desire for openness. While anyone can still edit entries, the site is testing pages that require changes to be approved by an experienced Wikipedia editor before they show up. If the site’s users respond well to the test run, the new restrictions will apply to all entries for living people in the next few weeks. The idea is to block the kind of high-profile vandalism that has marred some pages. In one of the most recent embarrassments, Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd and Edward Kennedy were prematurely declared dead by rogue editors. Still, Wikipedia risks discouraging legitimate editing if restrictions on changes or additions become too burdensome, such that articles won’t get better or keep up with events. That may be especially true on more obscure pages with fewer active volunteers to approve edits in a timely way. Aware of the risks, Wikipedia has set the criteria for “experienced editor” status relatively low. Users who are registered for a few days can give changes the OK, said Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the site. A more uniform system for filtering changes on Wikipedia represents a step back from the site’s original philosophy, which called for harnessing the collective knowledge of volunteer editors without any major restrictions. But it is not the first time Wikipedia has attached some strings. The same flagging process, for example, has been imposed on all entries in the German-language Wikipedia for more than a year. On the English site, too, high-profile pages that are likely to be defaced, such as Michael Jackson’s, have been tightly restricted. Some believe Wikipedia must continue tightening editing policies if it wants to gain credibility. “I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at the Santa Clara University School of Law. Goldman envisions a future Wikipedia curated by a relatively small group of dedicated editors. Under the current model, he said, there simply aren’t enough volunteers to catch all errors. “My hope is that Wikipedia still exists and is still considered a useful site,” Goldman said. “But it will be at that point a very tightly controlled site. It won’t have that veneer of a site that anyone can contribute to. They haven’t closed the drawbridge. People can still get in. But it keeps going up and up and up.” Separately, the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment group started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, said Tuesday it is donating $2 million to the Wikimedia Foundation. It follows last week’s announcement of a $500,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to make its software more user friendly and to develop training materials to engage new potential volunteer editors. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:24 am Noon: Markets rise 0.5%; outsoucers gainMumbai: Indian shares rose 0.5% on Wednesday, as a drop in the rupee boosted IT-services exporters and helped by short-covering a day before the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts. Outsourcer Infosys Technologies gained 3% to Rs2,158.80, and bigger rival Tata Consultancy rose 3.9% to Rs549, leading the main index higher. Data that showed US consumer confidence increased more than expected in August also helped outsourcers, which get most of their revenue from the United States. Other major gainers included energy giant Reliance Industries, which climbed 0.3% to Rs2,028.90, Tata Power, which advanced 3.3% to Rs1,355, and No. 3 outsourcer Wipro that added 3% to Rs560.90. Top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel, which is in exclusive merger talks with South Africa’s MTN, was up 0.6% at Rs409.55. “There has been no bad news recently, and that itself is good news. Also, there is some short-covering going on that is supporting the market,” Himanshu Varia, head of institutional sales at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates, said. By 11:28am, the 30-share BSE index was up 0.5% at 15,771.70 points, with 23 stocks advancing. The benchmark has risen 5.9% over the past four days, moving into positive territory for August after having fallen earlier in the month on worries about a weak monsoon, high valuations and looming inflation. Encouraging global economic data and a rally across equity markets worldwide has also supported India’s main index recently. However, having already priced in an upturn in the global economy, investors are looking for more signs that growth can be sustained once the impact of massive global government stimulus spending fades, traders say. There are also worries stocks may have moved ahead of economic fundamentals and may be due for a correction. In the broader Indian market on Wednesday, gainers led losers by almost 3 to 1 on relatively heavy volume of 227.5 million shares. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.6% at 4,685.20. Asian shares were higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei up 1.4%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets rose 0.4%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:13 am Rupee down by 15 paise against dollar in morning tradeDealers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market said the rupee remained under pressure as oil refiners continued to buy dollar for their monthly import payments.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:09 am Brokers, bankers spot crash ahead of clientsChennai, Aug. 25 Investment bankers and brokers who trade in the market on their own accounts may have been able to sense market corrections better than their clients.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Centre seeks to ring fence NTPC’s D6 gas claimNew Delhi, Aug. 25 The Government has decided to spell out its position in the two disputes involving the Krishna-Godavar Basin D6 block gas supplies — NTPC-Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and RIL-Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL).Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Anand Mahindra logging in ‘balanced approach’Mumbai, Aug. 25 “We are not in any celebratory mood right now and would rather keep our eye on a turnaround. Any premature celebration is the worst way to jeopardise a turnaround,” says Mr Anand Mahindra, when asked if the MahindraSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Rupee to test the 49-markThe rupee did not breach the support at 49 against the dollar and moved with a positive bias over the past week. Stability in equity markets aided this pull-back.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Transformers and Rectifiers (Rs 345.5): BuyWe recommend a buy in Transformers and Rectifiers from a short-term perspective. The stock formed a long-term trough at Rs 107 in March and has been on a strong uptrend since then. The correction in June halted above Rs 250 and the stock is onceSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am McLeod Russel’s arm buys Rwanda tea factoryWorld’s largest tea producer McLeod Russel India Ltd said on Tuesday that its UK arm has acquired, indirectly though, controlling stake in Gisovu Tea Company, Rwanda, producing an estimated 1.7 million kg teaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Paddy acreage shortfall widens to almost 70 lakh haNew Delhi, Aug. 25 With the coverage of paddy lower by almost 70 lakh hectares (lh) till now, the country’s rice production this year is headed for a decline much sharper than the 10 million tonnes (mt) projection made by the Union Food andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Govt to allow corporate bond repurchase for liquidityNew Delhi, Aug. 25 Promising that more financial sector reforms are under way, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today said that the Government would soon permit repo in corporate bonds, move ahead to set up an autonomous DebtSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Exporters pin hopes on trade policyNew Delhi, Aug. 25 Exporters are expecting the forthcoming Foreign Trade Policy to provide the much-needed impetus for growth revival in the face of waning overseas demand.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am NSE to launch interest rate futures from Aug 31Mumbai, Aug. 25 National Stock Exchange will launch trading in ‘Interest Rate Futures’ (IRF) from August 31, according to a senior exchangeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Aug 2009 | 12:00 am Sensex up 111 points in opening tradeExtending its winning streak for the fifth session in a row, the Sensex today rose by over 111 points in opening trade.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:47 pm Biocon sees India business growth, boost from Mylan pactBangalore: Biocon Ltd, India’s top listed biotechnology firm, expects its branded formulations business in India to double this fiscal year as it launches new products, its chairman said. Biocon, which makes insulin, cholesterol-lowering statins and other branded drugs, is also talking to companies to license out its oral insulin, the clinical trials of which are expected to end in March next year, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. The company is not planning to develop an H1N1 vaccine even though sales of vaccines to contain the pandemic are expected to provide a windfall for the global drugs industry. “I don’t think Biocon wants to get into swine flu. We did look at it but we just felt that it was going to be wasted resources because there are so many companies looking at swine flu vaccines,” Mazumdar-Shaw said. “It is already a crowded space and finally when it does come into the market it is a very short-term opportunity because swine flu will pass on and something else will come.” Bangalore-based Biocon, which sells over 50 branded drugs in India for treating diabetes, cancer and diseases related to heart and kidney, plans to generate Rs200 crore ($41 million) in sales in India this year, from about Rs100 crore last year. In 10 years, the branded formulations business in India will bring in 20-25% of the company’s total revenue, which rose 53% to Rs1,673 crore in the year that ended in March 2009, Mazumdar-Shaw said. “This business is certainly going to be a very, very robust business for us,” said Mazumdar-Shaw, who set up Biocon in her garage in Bangalore in 1978 after following her father to take a master’s brewing degree in Australia. Biocon is talking to a few companies to sign a licensing pact to launch its innovative oral insulin in global markets, including in India, she said. The India launch of the drug is expected towards the end of 2011. Analysts say the oral insulin will be a key growth driver for Biocon in the next few years. Mazumdar-Shaw said the company could enter into a licensing pact for oral insulin next year depending on the outcome of the final phase clinical trials and regulatory approvals. “There is a lot of interest in oral insulin,” she said, but refused to give details on its licensing talks. Biocon entered into a pact with US drugmaker Mylan in June to collaborate for the development, manufacturing, supply and commercialisation of multiple generic biotech medicines for the global marketplace. Mazumdar-Shaw, who is on Forbes’ 2009 list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, said Biocon would start seeing ”good revenue flow” from the Mylan deal in the next two years as the companies first tap the emerging markets. As part of the agreement, both firms will share development, capital and other costs to bring the products to market. Biocon has been seeing increased sales of insulin products, which it exports to about a dozen countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It plans to launch insulin in Europe in 18 to 24 months, Mazumdar-Shaw said. The company had announced plans for an initial public offering of its research unit, Syngene, in the last fiscal year but it was subsequently shelved due to the global market turmoil. Mazumdar-Shaw said Biocon was still very seriously looking at the listing and it could be possible in the next fiscal year. Biocon expects its expenditure on research and development to increase between Rs750 million and Rs900 million in the year to March 2010 from about 600 million last year as it sharpens its focus on new drug discovery. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:33 pm Watch/Listen: Mint in Multimedia 26 AugustVideo story: Choppy waters Mint’s Jacob Koshy says disagreements between India and its neighbours over excluisve economic rights at sea are unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Audio story: They invoked Vishnu, moved hearts and won! Freelance choreographer Garima Shitoot on training a group like the Prince Dance Troupe and the impact of reality tv in highlighting new talent Video story: Mint Report Audit report says three firms owe service tax department Rs 126 Crore; Royal bank of Scotland suspends talks to sell assets to India Slideshow: Food subsidies to rise 25-140% under new criteria click here to view slideshow New measure includes education, health, rent and conveyance as part of individual’s consumption basket Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:12 pm Biocon sees India biz growth, boost from Mylan pactBANGALORE (Reuters) - Biocon Ltd, India's top listed biotechnology firm, expects its branded formulations business in India to double this fiscal year as it launches new products, its chairman said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:06 pm Indian equities open higher on Asian cuesIndian equities opened higher as trading commenced Wednesday in line with the sentiments across other Asian markets even as analysts predicted some volatility to set in after four days of gains.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:01 pm HCL Tech in pact with New Zealand's OptimationIndustrialist Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Technologies Wednesday announced a pact with Optimation, a top company in information and communication technology in New Zealand, to offer services to the government there.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:01 pm Sensex up 111 points in opening tradeExtending its winning streak for the fifth session in a row, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rose by over 111 points.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Aug 2009 | 10:57 pm Asia stocks edge up; eyes on oil and ChinaHong Kong: Asian stocks edged higher on Wednesday, with thin summer trading volumes keeping prices choppy and centred on short-term chart targets, while oil hovered near $72 a barrel, capped by a surprising rise in US inventories. US single-family home prices grew for a second straight month, a report showed overnight, confirming the recovery is on track. However, having already priced in an upturn in the global economy, investors were looking for more signs that growth can be sustained once the impact of massive government stimulus spending fades. Volatility in Chinese shares has also kept investors guessing. The Shanghai composite index is down 14% so far in August, on track for the biggest monthly decline since the darkest month of the financial crisis in October 2008. The precipitous move triggered questions on whether other high flying equity markets were due for a correction. However, to what extent a decline in the Chinese market, which is largely closed to foreign investors, matters for global market trends and perceptions of risk is an open question. Japan’s Nikkei share average drifted up 0.6%, within reach of a 10-month high reached earlier in August. “The (US economic) data is encouraging because it points to continued economic improvement, but the Nikkei won’t rise that much because investors are a bit wary about the chances of an adjustment. After all, it has risen around 50% since March,” said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo. Shares of index heavyweight Toyota Motor Corp rose 1.5% on a report the carmaker would cut global production capacity and post an operating profit in the 2010 financial year. However, while news of the output cut shored up the stock, it also reinforced worries about persistent weakness in global consumer demand, which is key to a solid recovery. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan rose 0.1%, weighed by weakness in the technology and consumer discretionary sectors - two of the most expensive segments of the Asian market. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.3% but remained susceptible to ups and downs in the Shanghai composite index, which was up 0.6%. The Ifo survey of German business sentiment is expected to show an across the board pickup later on Wednesday, playing into the story that recoveries are taking hold around the world. However, in a worrying development, Japan’s exports slipped in July as annual drops in exports to the United States and China accelerated, in a sign that the impact of stimulus measures in major economies worldwide may be starting to wane. “Things have stopped getting worse, but a return to trend gains in production and trade is a pipe-dream,” Patrick Bennett, Asia foreign exchange and rates strategist with Societe Generale in Hong Kong, said in a note. US oil futures for October delivery were largely unchanged on the day around $72 after a 3 percent drop overnight on profit taking after the market was unable to push crude above $75 a barrel. Inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute late on Tuesday showed a big buildup in US crude oil stocks last week, keeping a lid on the market. Still, that appeared only a short-term setback. Analysts raised their 2010 median price forecast for a fifth straight month to $73.39. The yen edged up in quiet trade, lifted by Japanese exporters and short-term investors. The US dollar slipped 0.2% to 93.98 yen Sterling fell 0.4% to ¥153.33 and the euro was down 0.2% to ¥134.38. The Australian dollar inched up 0.1% to US$0.8357 and this week has been less reactive to domestic Chinese stock market moves. Earlier in August, sudden drops in the Shanghai market sucked the Australian currency down with it. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 10:47 pm YouTube to share ad money with more video makersNew York: YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing site, said on Tuesday it will start sharing advertising cash with users who upload the most popular clips of everything from skateboarding dogs to dancing babies. The video site, which is owned by Web search giant Google Inc, said it will extend its YouTube partnership program to allow individuals to make money when their videos are deemed eligible based on the number of views and how widely they are shared with other users. YouTube has been criticized by some Google investors, who complain that the site has failed to capitalize financially on its immense popularity. Until now, users who regularly produced videos could earn revenue from YouTube if they formally applied to be members of the partnership program, which YouTube said has earned some video producers “thousands of dollars.” Under the new system, if a video becomes popular YouTube will email the maker an “enable revenue sharing” message. Executives declined to quantify how popular a video would need to be for its owner receive the email. YouTube said it will sell ads against the clip only if the user agrees to do so. One recent example of a clip that became a global phenomenon was the JK wedding dance video, which showed a Minnesota couple’s wedding party performing an entrance dance routine. It was seen more than 10 million times in less than a week and picked up by various TV news outlets. But according to YouTube executives, the makers never made any money from the clip. The extension of the program, to be available only in the United States initially, is the latest step by YouTube to improve its ability to make money from the thousands of videos that are uploaded to the site every day. “We think there’s tens of thousands more partners that we can generate through this content,” said Tom Pickett, director online sales at YouTube. Goldman Sachs estimates that YouTube will post revenue this year of about $300 million, and that the figure will increase by at least 40% in 2010. Analysts at Credit Suisse, however, have estimated that YouTube could lose nearly $500 million this year. As part of its drive to increase revenue, YouTube has sought to increase the number of videos from traditional television and movie companies, encouraging more big-brand marketers to buy more advertising time. Earlier this month it signed a deal with Time Warner Inc for clips of shows from CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 9:54 pm Aban Offshore wins contracts with $695 mln revenueMUMBAI (Reuters) - Aban Offshore Ltd said on Tuesday it expects revenue of $695 million from two contracts it signed for deploying four rigs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 9:01 pm AI staff go on hunger strikeOver 20,000 Air India employees affiliated to Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) and Aviation Industry Employees Guild (AIEG) on Tuesday started a three day relay hunger strike at airports across the country in protest against delay in payment of salaries and arbitrary cut in productivity linked incentives (PLI).Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 5:45 pm Mulayam gets his way, will head panel on energySamajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee have managed to post some gains in the distribution of chairmanships of parliamentary standing committees, reports Saroj Nagi.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 5:03 pm Diageo says no to 'high-priced' United SpiritsThe much-touted talks for a strategic tie-up between the two global spirits giants -- World No. 1 Diageo Plc and No. 3 United Spirits Ltd --- have fallen apart.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 4:06 pm Gas stand confusion over: GovtThe government has cleared its own confusion on the marketing rights enjoyed by Reliance Industries over the natural gas it discovered in the D6 block of the Krishna Godavari basin.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:53 pm Quelling the Reliance flare-up will take drastic measures - IIThe information to clear many of the doubts nagging the minds of people on the crucial issue relating to the very important national resource is not easy to come by.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:52 pm ADAG seeks fresh audit of RIL capex at D6The letter, written by ADAG's group president A N Sethuraman, also called for speedy completion of the CAG audit.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:52 pm BEML stepping up Indonesia playBEML, the mining and construction equipment maker, is setting up operations in Indonesia. The new entity will be called PT BEML Indonesia.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:51 pm From Monday, punt on interest ratesThe National Stock Exchange is launching India's first interest rate futures on Monday. "Block your calendar, we will be going live on August 31st," an NSE official told DNA.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:50 pm And the award goes to...Emvies 2009, the annual awards extravaganza by Advertising Club Bombay, resembled a big, fat Indian wedding this year with the spirit being celebrations-till-the end.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:42 pm NTPC, oil ministry to file petitions on Reliance gasState-run power utility NTPC and the oil ministry will file separate petitions in the Supreme Court on the ongoing legal battle over natural gas at $2.34 per unit from the Krishna-Godavari basin awarded to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:23 pm Oil hits $75 for first time in 10 monthsNew York oil prices surged to $75 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time in 10 months, as traders welcomed news of rebounding consumer confidence in key energy consumer the United States.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:16 pm HCL Tech net up 26 per centHCL Technologies on Tuesday posted a net profit of Rs 1,320 crore for the year ended June 30, 2009 under the Indian accounting standards, up 26 per cent from the year ago period, reports Ruchi Hajela.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 2:15 pm ‘India to be a bigger market for us than China’The $1.8 billion (Rs 8,800 crore) Illinois-based Electro Motive Diesel (EMD) sees revenues from India overtaking those from China by 2011. As it completes 50 years in India, the company’s president and CEO John S. Hamilton speaks to Sumant Banerji.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 25 Aug 2009 | 2:04 pm Private labels dent established FMCG brand sharesPrivate labels are giving established fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands a run for their money. Though private labels comprise 10 to 12 per cent of the overall FMCG volumes, analysts said they were recording double-digit growth annually and could pose problems for the big players in the near future.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Aug 2009 | 12:50 pm Air India to pay August salaries on timeIn an effort to placate the unions, the management of National Aviation Company Ltd (Nacil), which runs state-owned airline Air India, has decided to pay employees their August salaries on time.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Aug 2009 | 12:48 pm IIT faculty asks for 'scholastic pay' of Rs 15,000 per monthFor the first time in the Indian Institutes of Technogys 50-odd years of existence, faculty members have asked the government for a special additional "scholastic pay" of Rs 15,000 a month to compensate them for their "low-paying" jobs.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Aug 2009 | 12:47 pm Tax board orders scrutiny of firms taking AS-11 reliefThe Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has advised its field formations to scrutinise all cases in which companies have amortised foreign exchange losses under the one-time discretion allowed by the government through an amendment to Accounting Standard 11 (AS-11).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Aug 2009 | 12:45 pm Apple’s Snow Leopard in stores on FridayCupertino: Apple Inc.’s latest operating system software, Snow Leopard, will go on sale on Friday. The Mac OS X version 10.6 software will debut at Apple’s retail stores and authorised resellers nationwide. Apple’s online store is now taking pre-orders. Snow Leopard’s release comes days before its promised September launch. It precedes by two months the launch of Microsoft Corp.’s next operating system, Windows 7. Among Snow Leopard’s improvements is built-in support for Microsoft’s Exchange Server software, so Apple programs for e-mail, calendars and contacts could become more useful in corporate settings. Apple said Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version, freeing up to 7 gigabytes of storage space when installed. It requires a minimum of 1 gigabyte of RAM and runs on Macs using an Intel processor. Users of Mac OS X Leopard, or version 10.5, can upgrade to the latest version for $29 for single users and USD 49 for a family pack of five users. For Apple owners using the Tiger operating system, or version 10.4, on an Intel-based Mac, switching to Snow Leopard costs $169 for single users and $229 for a family pack. Consumers who buy a qualifying Mac from 8 June to 26 December can purchase the Snow Leopard upgrade for $9.95. Users must request an upgrade within 90 days of purchase or 26 December, whichever comes first. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 12:21 pm Sanofi sues Sun Pharma over Taxotere genericWilmington: Sanofi-Aventis SA, France’s largest drug maker, sued Indian rival Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, seeking to stop a generic copy of the Taxotere cancer drug. Sun is pursuing approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market two dosage forms of the drug before the patents expire in 2012, according to the complaint filed on 21 August in the federal court in Delaware. In a letter to FDA, Sun claimed that Sanofi’s patents were invalid and unenforceable, according to the complaint. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 11:29 am Rwandan acquisition gives McLeod Russel a foothold in Africa Last year, it acquired Phu Ben Tea Co. Ltd, a Vietnamese tea producer. Vietnam is the fourth largest producer of black tea in the world while India holds first position. It has now acquired a stake in a tea plantation in Rwanda, in East Africa. Rwanda’s tea production of about 20 million kg comes nowhere close to its neighbour Kenya’s production of 346 million kg or Vietnam’s 140 million kg. But its tea fetches good prices in the Mombasa market, a little below what Kenyan tea of similar quality gets. McLeod gets a foothold in the African tea market through this acquisition. It is paying $2.75 million (Rs13.42 crore) to acquire a 75% stake in Olyana Holdings Llc. Olyana had recently acquired a 60% stake in Gisovu Tea Co. for $2.4 million. The government retains a 30% stake in Gisovu, held by the Rwanda Tea Authority, while local farmers will own 10%. Thus, the indirect stake of McLeod in Gisovu will be 42%. Olyana will invest to improve the quality and output from these estates. It also proposes to negotiate with the government for other tea plantations too. While McLeod will get to participate in these projects, it may be required to increase its investments also. Gisovu produces about 1.7 million kg of tea, while McLeod had produced 74.8 million kg in India and 4.5 million kg in Vietnam. The environment is right for fresh investments. FY09 was a good year for McLeod, with average tea realizations jumping by 27% to Rs111 per kg. But FY10 will see realizations trend higher, as poor weather has affected output in major tea producing countries. Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates that McLeod’s average realizations will rise by 13% during FY10. Higher realizations will ensure a much better performance from the tea gardens it has acquired. It will also generate more cash, which it can use to repay debt and invest further in Vietnam and Rwanda. No wonder the stock price is up 34% from its level a month ago. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 9:25 am Yahoo to acquire West Asia online community websiteDubai: Yahoo! Inc, a top global web service provider on Tuesday announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arab world’s leading online community website, Maktoob.com. In an announcement today, it said the internet users in the region will benefit from the combination of Yahoo!’s products and services with Maktoob’s local content, which today reaches more than 16.5 million unique users throughout the Arab world. “This acquisition will accelerate Yahoo!’s strategy of expanding in high-growth emerging markets where we believe Yahoo! has unparallelled opportunity to become the destination of choice for consumers,” said Yahoo! chief executive officer Carol Bartz. This acquisition will extend Yahoo!’s current offerings by adding capabilities to deliver relevant Arabic-language content and services, as well as Arabic versions of Yahoo!’s popular Yahoo! Messenger and Yahoo! Mail services. Maktoob.com is accessed by users in countries that include UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Yahoo! and Maktoob are natural partners and this combination should help energise the Internet market in the region as a whole. “We are excited about Yahoo! building a stronger presence in the Middle East and bringing their compelling suite of services to Arab users in Arabic,” said Samih Toukan, Founder of Maktoob. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 5:36 am Mitsubishi gets 5% of Iraq gas projectBaghdad: Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Tuesday that Japan’s Mitsubishi will take a 5% stake in a planned joint venture it has with Iraq to produce natural gas in the south of the country. Financial terms were not disclosed. Shell and the Iraqi oil ministry’s South Gas Company agreed in September to set up the South Gas Utilization Project joint venture to invest in gas production in the southern oil-rich province of Basra. The deal was Iraq’s second with a foreign company since the US-led invasion in 2003. Iraq flares about 700 million cubic feet of gas every day from its oil production sites. Projects like the Shell venture aim to capture and commercialize the fuel for domestic use and export. The country estimates it loses about $40 million worth of natural gas each day, partly because of a lack of infrastructure. Iraq has the world’s third-largest known oil reserves with an estimated 115 billion barrels, but its production is far below its potential due to decades of war, UN sanctions, lack of foreign investment and insurgent attacks. It also sits on an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, according to the ministry. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 25 Aug 2009 | 3:35 am
|
