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Lufthansa says purchase of Austrian Airlines completeThe leading German airline, Lufthansa, said on Thursday it had completed the purchase of Austrian Airlines (AUA) following approval of the deal by the European Commission last month.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 8:01 am Mercedes-Benz launches 1st luxury hybrid model in Japan!Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., an arm of Daimler AG of Germany, released the S-Class hybrid sedan Thursday, becoming the first foreign automaker to roll out an electric-gasoline model in the Japanese market.Source: Zee News : Business | 3 Sep 2009 | 7:42 am Inflation rises to -0.21% on high fuel, food prices!Inflation rose marginally to minus 0.21 per cent for the week ended August 22 from minus 0.95 per cent in the previous week on high fuel and food prices.Source: Zee News : Business | 3 Sep 2009 | 7:42 am SBI slashes interest rates for agri loansCountry's largest public sector lender State Bank of India launched a slew of measures for farm loan borrowers, including interest rate reductions on irrigation and crop loans, to support drought-hit farmers.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 7:41 am Berger Paints not looking at acquisitions currentlyBerger Paints is not looking at an acquisition for now. \"There is no truth in the companys acquisition rumors; we are not looking at it currently,\" MD Subir Bose told CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am No immediate plans to raise funds: Bombay RayonBombay Rayon Fashions has no immediate plans to raise funds, says its Managing Director, Prashant Agarwal. It will depend on market conditions. He further says, the company has taken enabling resolutions to raise upto Rs 500 crore. Any capital raising will be for war chest, he added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Sep 2009 | 5:12 am Don\'t see sugar prices rising from here: Triveni EngPrices of sugar have peaked and may not rise too much from current levels, Dhruv Sawhaney of Triveni Engineering, said. He added that even if the government hikes the levy quota to 20%, the remaining 80% should be entirly decontrolled.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:46 am India's inflation rises, still minus 0.21 per centIndia's annual rate of inflation was minus 0.21 per cent for the week ended August 22, up from minus 0.95 per cent the week before, according to official data released.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:43 am DGCA convenes meeting to discuss rules for safety operationsSources said concerns were expressed over the limited number of cabin crew on board these flights, with many of them being busy selling these items on flight.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:29 am Samsung says definitely dropped SanDisk dealSEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it had no intention of pursuing an acquisition of SanDisk Corp in the future, confirming that the $5.9 billion deal was dropped definitely.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:10 am BSE Sensex provisionally falls 0.6 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally fell 0.6 percent on Thursday, as uncertainty about the impact of weak monsoon rains on the domestic economy and doubts about the sustainability of global recovery kept investors wary.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:06 am WTO's Lamy says crisis barriers hurting trade - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:06 am The 10:10 campaign offers us much more than emissions reductions - guardian.co.uk
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:04 am Steel prices for both long and flat products to move up: JJ Irani - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:02 am Sensex gives up gains, ends 88 points downA key index of the Indian equities markets gave up the slender gains it had managed in the afternoon to end 88 points in the red Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am Dinner for WTO invitees cancelledThe gala dinner for some 40 trade ministers from overseas and top officials of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was called off Thursday because of the death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.R. Reddy.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am WTO's Lamy says crisis barriers hurting tradeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The World Trade Organisation must remain vigilant about protectionism as job losses continue to mount in the wake of the global crisis, Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:50 am INTERVIEW - StanChart India wealth arm eyes $2bln by 2010MUMBAI (Reuters) - Standard Chartered aims to add at least $500 million in client assets at its Indian wealth arm by the end of 2010, taking the total under management at the unit to more than $2 billion, a senior executive said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:46 am Ranbaxy partners with Validus to sell calcium drug in USNew Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories today said it has entered into an agreement with the US-based Validus Pharma for selling low cost versions of its calcium drug Rocaltrol. The company’s US-based subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc (RPI) and Validus Pharmaceuticals LLC have entered into an agreement for marketing and distribution of a generic version of Rocaltrol (calcitriol), Gurgaon-based Ranbaxy Lab said in a statement. Under the agreement, Rambaxy would market and distribute an authorized generic version of Rocaltrol in both softgel capsules and an oral liquid formulation. According to industry estimate, overall market sales for calcitriol softgel capsules and oral liquid is about $70 million. Ranbaxy will launch the product immediately in the United States and expects to be the only generic company offering all forms and strengths of generic Rocaltrol. “Ranbaxy was very pleased to be selected by Validus as their distribution partner for an authorized generic version of Rocaltrol,” RPI’s Sales and Distribution Vice-President Jim Meehan said. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership with Validus, Meehan added. Rocaltrol is the brand name for a synthetic form of calcitriol, a metabolite of vitamin D, which occurs naturally in the human body. Calcitriol is used to manage low levels of calcium in the blood of patients whose kidneys or parathyroid glands (glands in the neck that release natural substances to control the amount of calcium in the blood) are not working normally. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:44 am Government forms panel on fuel pricing reformsThe government has formed a five- member committee headed by Kirit S Parikh to suggest reforms in pricing of auto and cooking fuels.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:37 am Indonesian quake leaves 57 dead, dozens missingCikangkareng, Indonesia: Rescuers dug through rocks and debris with their bare hands on Thursday in search of dozens of villagers believed buried in a landslide triggered by a strong Indonesian earthquake that killed at least 57 people and damaged thousands of buildings. At least 110 people were hospitalized with injuries from the 7.0 magnitude quake just off the coast of densely populated Java island, Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said, adding 10 were in critical condition. The earthquake on Wednesday afternoon caused destruction across West Java province, where more than 18,300 homes and offices were listed as damaged, about 9,000 seriously, Kardono said. At least 5,300 people were forced into temporary shelters. Some rural areas could not be reached by telephone and there may be more victims and damage, officials said. Many of the deaths and injuries were caused by falling debris or collapsed structures. The death toll continued to rise on Thursday. More bodies were found in Cianjur district, where a landslide buried a row of homes under tons of rock and mud in the village of Cikangkareng. Villagers were still searching for dozens of others believed missing. “Everything is gone, my wife, my old father-in-law and my house ... now I just hope to find the bodies of my family,” farmer Ahmad Suhana, 34, said as he pried at giant stones with a crowbar. Heavy digging equipment had not reached the remote village, which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was to visit later on Thursday. Police, military personnel and villagers used their hands to remove rubble. Maskana Sumitra, a district administrator, said 11 houses and a mosque were buried by the landslide and estimated more than 50 people were trapped and feared dead. “The chance of survival is so slim ... but we have to find them,” Sumitra said. When the quake struck it was felt hundreds of miles away on the neighbouring resort island of Bali. In the capital, Jakarta, 125 miles (190kms) north of the underwater epicenter of the temblor, thousands of panicked office workers flooded out of swaying skyscrapers onto the streets, some of them screaming. A tsunami warning was issued after the quake but was lifted an hour later. Several dozen aftershocks were measured by geological agencies. Hospitals in towns and cities across West Java quickly filled with scores of injured people, most with broken bones and cuts. In Cikangkareng, Dede Kurniati said her 9-year-old son was playing at a friend’s house when the earthquake struck and is now “buried under the rocks.” “I lost my son ... now I just want to see his body, I want to bury my lovely son properly,” she said, weeping. Indonesia, a vast archipelago, straddles continental plates and is prone to seismic activity along what is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. A huge quake off western Indonesia caused a powerful tsunami in December 2004 that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries, half of them in Aceh province. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am China to draw foreign investments via partnership ruleHONG KONG (Reuters) - China plans new rules to allow foreign companies to set up local units in the form of a locally registered partnership, in a landmark move to attract investment, a draft proposal seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:18 am UP to give tax rebates for investment in SEZ’sLucknow: Uttar Pradesh government has announced several tax rebates besides simplifying process for approval of building layouts to promote investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s). “During a high level meeting of industrial department held last evening it was decided that units being set up in SEZs will get a rebate on entry tax from 30 June,” Udyog Bandhu spokesman said on Thursday. He said these units will get entry tax wavier like export oriented units. “Arrangements have been made for speedy approval of layout of buildings to be constructed under SEZ,” he said. Under the system, Unit Approval Committee headed by Noida and Greater Noida officials will approve layouts on the spot. Officials were also directed to ensure that VAT deposited by units set up in SEZ was refunded as these units are exempted from VAT with effect from 1 January 2008. The officials said that Board of Approval of the central government has approved 19 SEZs, of which six will be developed by the state government. They said, despite recession Moradabad SEZ registered an increase of 27.5% in exports. “As against Rs11.24 crore export in 2007-08, goods worth Rs14.33 crore were exported in 2008-09,” they said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:14 am Sensex hovers near 15500; Bharti,Tata Power down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:13 am Global recession ending: OECDParis: The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought just a few months ago and may already be over, according to forecasts published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday. The recovery may even prove a little stronger than previously predicted, OECD chief economist Jorgen Elmeskov told Reuters in an interview where he elaborated on the forecasts for several key economies. “Compared with expectations a few months ago, we now have a recovery which ... may be coming a little earlier and it may be slightly stronger because financial conditions have improved more rapidly than we assumed a few months ago,” Elmeskov said. The OECD forecasts show a third-quarter return to expansion of economic output, as measured by gross domestic product, in the United States and the 16-country euro zone, led by its two largest economies, Germany and France. The forecasts showed an annualised expansion of 1.6% in the United States in the third quarter, 0.3% in the euro zone and 1.1% in Japan, and were generally more optimistic than the last update in June. The pickup that started with a “quite dramatic turnaround” in China and other Asian emerging market economies in the second quarter remained heavily dependent on government stimulus and ultra-low interest rates across the world, Elmeskov said. The OECD’s 30 member countries do not include rising powers such as China but do include the long-industrialised ones where the trouble began in 2007 as the credit and housing boom in the United States turned to bust, triggering a crisis in banking and financial markets that infected the real economy. Turning point for G7 While it predicted continued third-quarter contractions in Britain and Italy, and a rise followed by a fourth-quarter dip for Japan, the OECD said the broad picture for the G7 group of industrialised powers was better. The forecasts, including information up to 2 September show the euro area turning positive in both of the last two quarters of 2009 after five straight quarters of contraction. In June, it predicted quarter-on-quarter shrinkage of 1.1 and 0.5% respectively in the third and fourth quarters on an annualised basis. It now expects 2% growth in the fourth quarter. The previous forecasts for the United States had been zero and 0.5%—now upped to 1.6% and 2.4% respectively. The OECD is still predicting GDP contractions for 2009 as a whole across the G7 group, primarily because of a particularly bad first half, despite the improvement now in the pipeline. But it sees annualised GDP rises of 1.2 and 1.4% in the third and fourth quarters for the G7 as a whole, also signalling an exit from recession at that level. “In some countries including the United States it also looks as if the bottom of the housing market might have been hit a little earlier than assumed,” Elmeskov said, noting a rise in house sales and a drop in the “overhang” of unsold homes. Don’t pull the plug yet The OECD forecasts came on the eve of a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group, which spans the big up-and-coming economies such as China and India in addition to the G7 members. The report said that while authorities needed to map out a strategy for withdrawal of fiscal and monetary stimulus once recovery was surer, now was no time to take the economy off life support, either in terms of government spending or shifts to higher official interest rates. “Substantial slack combined with the prospect for a weak recovery implies that strong policy stimulus will continue to be needed in the near term,” it said. “Regarding monetary policy, taking the first steps towards normalisation of policy interest rates from their current exceptionally low levels should in most cases wait until well into 2010 and in some cases even beyond,” the OECD said. Back in June, the OECD said interest rates should stay on hold in all major economies through all of 2010. Elmeskov acknowledged that this recommendation was no longer quite so categorical but said the bottom line was that rates needed to stay very low in the euro zone, United States and beyond for the large part of next year. As for fiscal stimulus, governments needed to roll out all of the measures they had already announced after foot-dragging by some, said Elmeskov. That, one OECD official said, referred mainly to Germany and the United States. Elmeskov said the OECD, which is due to issue a fuller set of forecast updates in November, also said that the 16% drop in global trade volume it predicted for this year in June would probably turn out to be less steep, due in part to rising import demand from Asia for goods from OECD countries. “Our estimates suggest that in the second quarter China may have grown at 14% annualised rate,” Elmeskov said. “Similarly, the growth rates of other non-OECD East Asia and Southeast Asian countries may on average have been around 10% on an annualised rate.” He said governments and central banks’ drastic fiscal and monetary steps to stimulate the economy, their response to the worst crisis since the Great Depression, now looked increasingly like a “success story”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:05 am Global recession ending - OECDPARIS (Reuters) - The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought just a few months ago and may already be over, according to forecasts published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:04 am INTERVIEW - ICICI Pru Life expects break even in 2-3 yrsMUMBAI (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India's biggest private insurer, expects to break even in the next two to three years despite a slowdown in industry growth after stock prices tumbled, a senior official said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am Tata Motors to phase out 15 truck models by MarchTata Motors will phase out 15 models in its commercial vehicle range by endMarch keeping in mind the new emission standards effective April 1.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:57 am Sensex recovers 130 points in early trade on fresh buyingThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recovered by more than 130 points in opening trade today on emergence of buying by funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:55 am Maruti to decide on expansion at ManesarMaruti Suzuki India will decide on expanding its Manesar, Haryana, plant in the next few days.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:51 am Egypt keen for Indian expertise to raise its labour efficiencyCairo: Egypt is keen to utilize Indian expertise to increase its labour efficiency in small and medium scale industries, Egypt’s minister of trade and industry Rashid Mohammed Rashid has said. Rashid stressed on the need to boost trade and investment relations between Egypt and India and coordinate both countries’ stances on the WTO negotiations as well as efforts to mitigate the impact of global financial crisis. The Egyptian minister who met his Indian counterpart Anand Sharma on Wednesday in New Delhi discussed the economic relations between the two countries. He also met with a number of representatives of Indian companies who have invested in Egypt. The discussion also focused on the need to increase Indian investments in Egypt. Rashid said that investments opportunities in Egypt were reviewed especially through the agreements signed with various world countries and the economic blocs that include COMESA, Arab Free Trade Agreement and Egyptian-European Partnership Agreement which allows Egyptian exports into the countries’ markets. The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and India upped in 2008 and stood $3.540 billion against $3.490 billion in the previous year, according to India’s ministry of commerce and industry statistics. The trade balance between the two countries tilted in favour of Egypt in 2008, as Egyptian exports hit $1.930 billion last year at a 2.3% increase. Egyptian imports from India slightly decreased in 2008 to reach $1.603 billion compared with $1.604 billion in 2007. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:49 am Gold offtake stays slack as prices riseMumbai: India’s physical gold offtake stayed slack on Thursday as prices hit a 6-month high, with traders unwilling to enter into fresh deals anticipating falls ahead, dealers said. “The bookings are much below normal today due to the price rise,” said a dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. The most-traded October contract was higher by 0.60% at Rs15,612 per 10 grams at 2:38pm, after hitting a high of Rs15,664, its highest since early March. “In fact traders are now fearing the $1000 (an ounce) level internationally. They have shifted their orders to $960 from the earlier $940,” said another dealer from a state-run bank. International spot gold held at its three-month high at 981.55/982.35 an ounce, as against 976.60/979.60 the previous day. Traders expect demand to remain sluggish ahead of an inauspicious period to buy the yellow metal. Shradh, a period of paying homage to ancestors, is from 5-9 September. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:48 am ICICI Prudential Life expects to break even in 2-3 yearsMumbai: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India’s biggest private insurer, expects to break even in the next two to three years despite a slowdown in industry growth after stock prices tumbled, a senior official said on Thursday. “We projected to break even in 10-12 years of operation. We are pretty much on track,” Puneet Nanda, executive vice president of the life insurer, which began operations in 2001, told Reuters in an interview at its headquarters in Mumbai. ICICI Prudential Life, 74% owned by ICICI Bank, India’s largest private-sector bank, and 26% owned by Britain’s biggest insurer, Prudential Plc, also said it did not need much additional capital to fuel its growth in the current financial year, which ends next March. “The promoters put in Rs12 billion ($245 million) in the last financial year. This year we will need much less than that, as much of our expansion has been completed,” Nanda said. India’s private-sector insurers, all of which are less than 10 years old, are largely loss-making as they have invested in aggressive growth in recent years and also must set aside capital to meet solvency margins. A rapid growth spurt across the industry came to a halt last year when the plunge in stock markets in India and globally crimped demand for the equity-based products that predominate in India’s private-sector life insurance industry. ICICI Prudential currently has about 5,000 outlets to sell its products in India, a footprint that Nanda said does not require aggressive expansion. It also does not see much of change in its product mix, with unit-linked products bringing in about 90% of revenues in the current year, he said. Unit-linked insurance policies are sold as units like mutual funds, and the corpus is mainly invested in equity and debt markets. They are by far the dominant product sold by private-sector life insurers in India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:46 am Global recession coming to an end: OECDSource: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:45 am Indian rupee up on stx gains; higher Asian units boost - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:44 am Sensex recovers 130 points in early tradeThe BSE benchmark Sensex moved up by 130.72 points at 15,598.18 points in opening trade on emergence of buying by funds amid firming trends on other Asian markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:39 am Mumbai among ‘world capitals of the future’: ForbesChicago: India’s financial hub Mumbai is emerging as one of the “world capitals of the future”, with an expanding industrial base, the world’s largest movie industry and a burgeoning middle class making the city globally prominent, a latest study has said. Other Indian cities, Bangalore and Hyderabad, also find mention alongwith Mumbai with the two cities having “leveraged software and business services into a seemingly unstoppable growth engine,” according to a Forbes.com report. “Mumbai’s prominence rests not just on an expanding industrial base, but also on the illustrious Bollywood, the world’s largest movie industry. The bust of Mumbai’s ridiculous housing-price boom has actually seemed to help the economy,” the report by Forbes columnist and presidential fellow at Chapman University, Joel Kotkin said. While the gulf between the extremely wealthy and destitute remains deep in Mumbai, a burgeoning middle class is helping reshape the economy, Kotkin said, adding that “Small vehicle, motorcycle and modest-apartment sales are all on the rise.” “India’s major cities, which still have some of the world’s worst slums, may have built the broadest economic base out of the cities on our list”. Other cities making the cut are Beijing, Calgary, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, Moscow, Perth, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. “In less than a lifetime, we have seen the rapid rise of a host of dynamic new global cities -- and the relative decline of many others. The world capitals of tomorrow may largely be not in the Western world, but in countries such as China, Russia and Australia,“ the report said. Terming as “remarkable” the rise of cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Beijing and Sao Paulo, the report said a quarter century ago these cities were either obscure or better known for their destitution than their rapid construction. While they may not have yet surpassed current leading global centres like Tokyo, London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Singapore and Hong Kong in wealth or economic power, they are “clearly gaining on them, and with remarkable speed. What these places do with their new wealth will ultimately shape this first urban century”. Over the past 25 years, most of the biggest rail, road, airport and sanitation systems have been built not in Europe or America, but in East and South Asia, the Middle East and Brazil. Even as the West tries to work through its housing crisis, residential real estate prices are on the rise in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Beijing and Shanghai, it added. Manufacturing has propelled the rise of Chinese cities, while Sao Paulo’s growth spans everything from shoes and aerospace to technology. Fossil fuel, has powered the rise of Moscow and Dubai, while Calgary, now boasting of the highest per capita income in Canada, has become Toronto’s main challenger for corporate headquarters in the country. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:34 am Delhi meet to pave way for conclusion of Doha Round: LamyNew Delhi: Concerned over the “chilling effect” of trade barriers imposed by certain countries, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy on Thursday hoped the Delhi ministerial meeting would be the beginning of the “end game” leading to conclusion of the Doha Round for a global trade pact. “I hope Delhi (informal meeting) can be the beginning of the end game of the Doha Round,” Lamy said in his interaction with industry body FICCI here, hours before the meeting of the trade ministers from 35 countries who have assembled in the capital to reach a common ground. It is only through a trade-opening global pact that issues like distorting subsidies or generating market access can be addressed, the WTO chief emphasised. “Whether it is about generating market access for goods and services or facilitating trade, the most efficient means to achieve these goals today remains in the multilateral Doha Development Round,” he said. Countries have increased tariffs, imposed non-tariff barriers, besides initiating anti-dumping measures, he said, pointing out “most of these measures are allowed under the WTO rules ... but there is no denying the fact that they have had some trade chilling effect”. Rather being a cause of the economic crisis, trade has been a casualty, Lamy said, adding “WTO economists have foreseen a decline this year of nearly 10% (global trade) in volume terms, it is the worst result since the end of the Second World War.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:29 am Banks bet on surge in power projects to boost loansMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian banks are taking larger bets on the burgeoning power sector to lift their sagging loan books at a time when demand for loans from companies is still relatively low, bankers and analysts said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:27 am Crop woes will curb India’s corn exportsSingapore/New Delhi: India’s corn exports may drop sharply or even grind to a halt as the country’s worst monsoon in nearly four decades threatens to decimate output, prompting New Delhi to scrap an export subsidy. India’s absence from export markets is unlikely to ignite world prices -- it exports just 2 million to 3 million tonnes amid global trade of more than 80 million -- but could trigger a scramble among Southeast Asian buyers, who depend on small cargoes for nearby shipments. “There are problems with the crop in some states and output will be lower than last year,” said Atul Chaturvedi, head of the agricultural arm of Adani Enterprises Ltd, a leading Indian commodities trading firm. “It will hardly leave any room for exports as farmers will keep certain quantities for sowing next year. I don’t see too much excitement on the exports front.” Analysts said while the corn crop in India, Asia’s second largest producer, was suffering from moisture stress that might reduce output to around 17.5 million tonnes, from last year’s 19.3 million, demand was expected to remain steady. This is putting upward pressure on domestic prices of corn as local feed millers rush to snap up their requirements before the market moves up further. “India may not go for export of corn as the domestic demand is very strong, especially from the poultry feed manufacturers and the starch industry,” said Veeresh Hiremath, a senior analyst with Karvy Comtrade, a research firm based in southern India. India’s corn exports registered a more than four-fold increase in the year to September 2008 after the government’s subsidy of 5% made offers from the South Asian country competitive. But the government’s latest trade policy measure has withdrawn the incentive from next year. INDIAN CORN UNCOMPETITIVE India’s domestic corn prices have already surpassed offers from the United States on expectations of lower production and strong demand during the year beginning October. Indian corn is now quoted $215-$220 a tonne, including cost and freight to Southeast Asia, compared with U.S. corn, which is available for around $215 a tonne. Thai and Pakistani corn are selling even cheaper at $190-$195 a tonne. “Nobody will buy Indian corn at these prices, it needs to be at least $10 cheaper than US corn,” said one trader with an international trading company in Singapore. “We are not expecting India to be a significant supplier next year.” India’s absence is unlikely to ring alarm bells on the Chicago Board of Trade, but will force buyers to turn to the United States or Latin America and provide some support to the Chicago market, now hovering near nine-month lows. Malaysia and Vietnam, India’s top corn importers, are already snapping up cargoes from Thailand, Pakistan and Brazil in the absence of Indian supplies. “The Malaysians are trying to take US shipments and they bought one panamax of Brazilian corn last week,” the Singapore trader said. “Vietnam is taking Thai and Pakistani corn.” Corn, which is crushed and used along with soybean meal to make animal feed, has dropped 23% on CBOT this year to its lowest since December as an economic slowdown erodes meat consumption and on prospects of the second largest corn output in history in the United States, the world top exporter. The US Department of Agriculture has estimated India’s corn consumption to jump by almost a quarter to 17.6 million tonnes in the year to September, from a year ago and it is likely to stay steady in 2009/10. This would leave the country with little exportable surplus, with production expected to fall around 10% from an estimated output of 19.3 million tonnes in Asia’s No. 1 corn exporter, contrary to earlier expectation of a bumper crop. India’s weather office has said deficiency in corn growing regions at the end of third week of August ranged between 20 and 37%. Although the overall corn planted areas rose this year, the delay as well unequal spread of monsoon rains halved the corn area in southern state of Andhra Pradesh, the country’s main producing state. The scanty rains in the northwest region also lowered 6% coverage in Rajasthan. Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, India’s top two corn-producing states, contribute 17% and 14% respectively of total output. Besides monsoon woes, India’s poultry feed industry is recovering this year from bird flu and will need more corn, a factor that has already boosted domestic prices. “There is huge demand for corn-based feed. The government should ensure enough domestic availability, and then think of exports,” said Shashi Kapoor of Poultry Federation of India. India’s poultry and livestock feed industry is expected to grow at 8 to 10% in 2010 after being hit by lower sales because of bird flu. Growth in the last two years dropped to 5% from an average annual rate of around 12%. And the poultry industry is already lobbying the government for an export quota. Lower production and strong feed demand are likely to drag down India’s corn exports next year, to just a quarter of an estimated 2 million tonnes in the year to September. “I think 500,000 tonnes at best, as Indian values will be uncompetitive with the export incentive gone,” said Chaturvedi. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:26 am Banks bet on surge in power projects to boost loansMumbai: Indian banks are taking larger bets on the burgeoning power sector to lift their sagging loan books at a time when demand for loans from companies is still relatively low, bankers and analysts said. Banks like IDBI Bank are now key lenders to projects such as Reliance Power’s 1200 MW Rosa project, while Bank of India’s Rs10,800 crore infrastructure loan portfolio includes major portion of power sector exposure. “Currently, infrastructure makes up about 11% of bank lending, banks are looking to raise it to the 20% level, in which power would be an important component other than roads,” Ananda Bhowmick, analyst Fitch Ratings said. Banks facing a lower annual loan growth of 15-16%, compared to 27% as on December 2008, are looking at growth opportunities in the infrastructure space, with up to 5% of the loan book going towards power, analysts said. The eleventh plan investment requirement in India’s power generation sector alone is over Rs4 trillion. Currently, about 150 power projects in the country, are at various stages of installation and planning, industry insiders said. “Power sector is showing good growth in the infrastructure space. Delinquencies are much less in power sector, helping us to lend more to the sector,” S Raman, executive director at state-run Union Bank of India said. Banks are also willing to fund a higher debt component, analysts said. Then and Now Traditionally, banks lent up to 70% of project funding with much of the financing by state-run banks and specialised lenders like Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corporation. Now, banks are looking up for lending up to 80% of a project’s need, as in the case of Adani Power’s upcoming projects, an analyst with Religare Capital Markets said. Banks are also showing a preference for projects with a higher component of merchant power, or power sold in the open market, which command a higher premium, analysts said. But, mitigating risk in power lending is a more complicated task for the banks as the money is huge and the investment cycle is longer, prompting them to opt for consortium lending and reset of interest rates every three years, analysts said. “The reset clause reduces the interest rate risk to a large extent and helps the bank meet its asset-liability mismatch,” Vaibhav Agarwal, bank analyst at Angel Broking said. However, the critical challenge faced by the sector is execution risks affecting cash flow, said Parag Jariwala, analyst at CARE Ratings. “There is always a shortage of raw material like gas or coal supply in case of thermal power projects,” he said. But there is no dearth of funds for power projects as banks, with ample surplus money, sees the power sector as a good bet with government also encouraging the sector, CARE’s Jariwala said. Project financing will take a major part of bank’s lending to the power sector but banks are also looking at working capital needs of power utilities run by state governments, Fitch’s Bhowmick said. In July, Reliance Power’s 1,200 MW power project tied up funding from a consortium of several banks arranging for the funds, while many other developers like CESC hope to see do the same in the next few months. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:10 am Rupee up on stock gains; higher Asian units boostMumbai: The Indian rupee was stronger in afternoon trade on Thursday as gains in local shares raised expectations for capital inflows, while higher regional units also boosted sentiment. At 1:55pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.89/90, stronger than Wednesday’s close of Rs48.96/97. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs48.97/49.07, weaker than the onshore spot rate. Shares were trading up 0.3%, spurred by higher Asian peers and as investors looked to enter the market after it dropped 2.85% over the first three days of the week. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was down 0.1%. Almost all Asian units were trading higher against the dollar. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs48.9675 and Rs48.9650 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $910 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:08 am Monsoon close to normal in past week: sourcesNew Delhi: India’s monsoon rains were close to normal in the week to 2 September, continuing the upturn in rainfall since mid-August, sources at the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. “The rains for week ended 2 September could be in the range of plus or -3% of normal rains,” one official told Reuters. Rains for the week ended 26 August were 5% below normal, weather office data showed. Rainfall since the start of the monsoon season on 1 June was 25% below average a week ago. The sources said the seasonal rainfall gap was expected to narrow this week due to rains over the cane-growing belt of the northwest region and soybean-growing belt of central India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:02 am Sensex trading in narrow range, up 52 pointsIndian equities markets remained dull Thursday, with a key index trading in a narrow range in the afternoon to be 52 points higher than its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Sep 2009 | 2:00 am Food prices rise 14.5 pct y/y, WPI falls - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:55 am YSR: from an aggressive politician to a mass leaderHyderabad: Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who grew from the faction-ridden and often violence-marked politics of Kadapa, steered his party through spectacular victories twice consecutively in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections to emerge its undisputed leader in Andhra Pradesh. Sixty-year-old Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, widely known as YSR, was equally controversial as he was popular. He was a lot mellowed once he assumed reins of power, compared to the aggressive image he had acquired from his days in student Congress and later as an MLA and MP. Reddy was impatient with the party high command when under the late P V Narasimha Rao, Vijayabhaskara Reddy was made the chief minister in the mid-1990s but some sane counsel from the former Prime Minister softened him to bide his time. But with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) under Chandrababu Naidu riding high in a state where information technology became the buzz word and rampant farmers’ suicide taking place, the Congress leader from rural Kadapa set out on a padayatra with rural transformation as his goal. He vowed to dislodged Naidu from power in 1999 or take political sanyas but failed in that attempt. His big moment, however, came in 2004, which led the almost-written off Congress to power after a gap of ten years. Since then there was no no looking back for the doctor-turned politician. Taking over as chief minister in 2004 when the naxal menace was at its peak, Reddy, brought the Left-wing extremists to the negotiating table and had to take them on the plank of development when they refused to lay down arms. He injected development in rural areas where Naxals were dominating and launched several welfare programmes and irrigation schemes in a state, which had witnessed unprecedented farmer suicides before he came to power. Known for his leadership qualities, Reddy, the son of a mason Y S Raja Reddy in Kadapa district, reached out to all factions of the Congress and undertook a 1,450-km padayatra in 2003 which eventually brought the party to power. Reddy, the only Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to complete a full five-year term and also retain power, used all his skills to ensure that not even a single banner of protest is raised against his leadership. The Congress leader also had the blessings of Sonia Gandhi, who had given him a free hand in running the government and also the 2009 election campaign. Even on the vexed Telangana issue, both the UPA and Congress high command chose to back Reddy’s line despite losing friends like Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). His clout went up further when Congress wrested about seven seats in Telangana region in the bye-elections in 2008. And the Congress went alone in the 2009 elections despite the emergence of Praja Rajyam (PRP) led by popular actor Chiranjeevi solely trusting Reddy, who assured the party that he will bring it back to power. It was a tough challenge for Reddy, who faced a double-barrel attack from TDP-led Grand Alliance and PRP, to storm back to power on the single agenda of development. Reddy achieved it by touring at least 174 of the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state and axing non-performing ministers and MLAs. On the one hand, he attracted by introducing welfare schemes like permanent housing, monthly pension and health insurance for the poor while on the other hand he was the constant target of opposition over charges of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power. Unlike his predecessors, Reddy had little trouble within the party and enjoyed a free run for five years. In the process, he secured a firm footing in the good books of the Congress high command. Reddy, a practising Christian was born in a family deeply involved in public service. He had lost his father Recognizing his leadership qualities, the then prime minister and AICC president Indira Gandhi made him the chief of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in 1982. But Reddy quit the Congress following a split and joined the Reddy Congress in revolt against Indira Gandhi. After the Reddy Congress was disbanded, he returned to the parent party and went on to become the PCC president again in 1997 when TDP was in power and his erstwhile party colleague N Chandrababu Naidu was at the helm of affairs of the state. From 1980-1983 he was a minister holding important portfolios related to rural development, medical health and education. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa constituency four times and was elected to the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly six times from Pulivendula constituency. Reddy was the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly for five years. Reddy is married to Vijaya Lakshmi and the couple have a son, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Kadapa MP, and a daughter Sharmila. His father became a victim of violent, faction politics of Kadapa when he was hacked to death more than a decade ago. Though Reddy’s previous 5-year tenure went off without any major controversies, the Opposition levelled a series of corruption charges against him and his son. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:51 am M&M to enter US market in 1st quarter of 2010New Delhi: Auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra today said it will begin US operations in the first quarter of 2010 with two new variants of SUV Scorpio besides two vehicles in the Indian market over the next six months. The company also said reports about recall of some of its Scorpio and Xylo vehicles are false. “In the US market, we are going to start off with the Scorpio single cabin and double cabin in the first quarter of next year. In future, we will have newer models coming in,” Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) president (Automotive Sector) Pawan Goenka told PTI on the sidelines of ACMA annual conference here in the capital. He said, the company will initially sell its models in the US market as completely built units shipped out from India. “If we get good volumes, then we will look at local assembly (in US). It depends on the market and how our products are accepted there,” Goenka said. The company had earlier announced that it had made investments worth Rs300 crore on product development for its US operation. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:37 am M&M to enter US market in 1st quarter of 2010New Delhi: Auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra today said it will begin US operations in the first quarter of 2010 with two new variants of SUV Scorpio besides two vehicles in the Indian market over the next six months. The company also said reports about recall of some of its Scorpio and Xylo vehicles are false. “In the US market, we are going to start off with the Scorpio single cabin and double cabin in the first quarter of next year. In future, we will have newer models coming in,” Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) president (Automotive Sector) Pawan Goenka told PTI on the sidelines of ACMA annual conference here in the capital. He said, the company will initially sell its models in the US market as completely built units shipped out from India. “If we get good volumes, then we will look at local assembly (in US). It depends on the market and how our products are accepted there,” Goenka said. The company had earlier announced that it had made investments worth Rs300 crore on product development for its US operation. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:37 am India's inflation rises, still minus 0.21 percentIndia's annual rate of inflation was minus 0.21 percent for the week ended Aug 22, up from minus 0.95 percent the week before, according to official data released Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:30 am GM looking for $1.42 bn aid for Opel: ReportFrankfurt: US automaker General Motors believes it can obtain €1billion ($1.42 billion) in aid from Britain, Poland and Spain to restructure its European unit Opel, a press report said on Thursday. GM was also prepared to put more than €1 billion of its own money to keep Opel from being sold to Canadian parts maker Magna and Russian partners, the Wall Street Journal quoted a source close to the matter as saying. Magna is the preferred buyer of German officials who have already granted Opel €1.5 billionin credits and are prepared to provide several billion more to protect 25,000 Opel jobs in the country. That is about half the number of European workers who make cars for Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall in Britain. GM would rather sell a stake in Opel to the Belgian private-equity firm RHJ International, or keep Opel and have it file for insolvency, the report said. Berlin opposes a sale to RHJ because it believes more German jobs would be at risk, so raising funds from other European capitals would strengthen GM’s hand in talks with German officials. GM is worried that a sale of Opel to Magna, backed by the Russian bank Sberbank and automaker GAZ, would fuel competition for GM’s own cars in the growing Russian market. Although most of its factories are in Germany, Opel also has big plants in Belgium, Britain, Poland and Spain. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:26 am Food prices rise 14.5% y-0-y despite inflation fallNew Delhi: The worst dry spell in nearly four decades pushed up food prices in India by an annual 14.5% in the week to 22 August, adding to worries that wholesale price inflation is poised to accelerate in coming months. The widely watched wholesale price index fell 0.21% in the 12 months to 22 August, its 12th successive fall, although the number is distorted by the base effect of last year’s high energy prices. “Maybe in another one or two weeks, WPI will be out of the negative zone. I think, WPI will definitely cross 6% by March end,” said D.K Joshi, principal economist at domestic rating agency Crisil. A government panel said this week that wholesale price inflation could rise beyond a 4 to 5% comfort zone by the end of the fiscal year in March. Private economists say WPI could rise even faster, putting the central bank in a tough position given the inability of monetary policy to mitigate price rises driven by supply side shortages. The WPI figure compares with last week’s 0.95% annual decline and a market forecast for a decline of 0.87%. The food articles index rose 14.5% from a year earlier as drought engulfed nearly half of India’s districts, affecting summer-sown crops and forcing the government to intervene to bolster supplies and crack down on hoarding. The consumer price index, which attaches greater weightage to food items, surged 11.29% in July. Summer crops have been hit by the worst rainfalls since 1972. The benchmark stock index was up 0.4% from 0.3% before the data release, while 10-year bond yield was at 7.46%,from 7.43%. Policy outlook Last month, the central bank said policy makers face a dilemma over the timing and pace of exiting from an accommodative monetary stance, and deficient rains could affect the inflation outlook more than the growth prospects. Crisil’s Joshi said continuance of the present accommodative monetary policy until the end of 2009/10 was a necessity to lift growth. “They (central bank) won’t give any signal now,” Joshi said. In July, the central bank held policy rates steady after having slashed the key lending rate by 425 basis points between October and April. It revised up its inflation forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2010 to 5% from 4%. Planning Commission, which advises the government on key policy issues, forecast Asia’s third largest economy to expand by 6.3% for 2009/10, compared with 6.7% in the previous year. The economy grew 6.7% in 2008/09, slower than the 9% or more growth clocked in the previous three years, and the central bank has forecast 6% growth in 2009/10 with an upward bias. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:19 am India makes global moves with trade talks meetNew Delhi: India’s efforts to breathe fresh life into stalled global trade talks with a meeting of key trade ministers this week is yet another attempt by New Delhi to stamp its authority on the global economic stage, analysts say. It is also being viewed as an attempt by India to make serious efforts to break the deadlock after earlier talks failed over sharp disagreement between the United States, New Delhi and China on the terms of a “special safeguard mechanism” to shield poor farmers against a price-depressing surge in imports. Cynics say the talks, called by commerce minister Anand Sharma, are an attempt to deflect blame for a possible collapse of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha round, after years of being pilloried in the Western media over deadlocks. But India’s globalizing economy gives it a growing interest in seeing a deal, too. “India now has a place in the global economy because of the size of its economy and its population and that fact cannot be ignored. It must have a say,” said D.H. Pai Panandikar, president of private economic think tank RPG Foundation. Robust economic growth of around 7% against the backdrop of a global slowdown has enabled India to attract fresh attention and clout. New Delhi made its voice heard on global trade and climate change at a G-8 summit in Italy in July, a sign of growing diplomatic muscle and a new push from Asia’s third-largest economy to play a bigger role in global governance. Ambition, growth Backed by a trillion-dollar economy and impressive economic growth, India has been participating in several high-profile international forums such as the G-20 group of industrialized and developing nations and the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) gathering of the world’s biggest emerging markets. Analysts say now it wants to cast its influence wider. “Well there is ambition - we did have economic growth which made us feel that we have at least arrived in Asia,” said Sudha Pai, professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University. US President Barack Obama has said tackling global challenges “in the absence of major powers like China, India and Brazil seems to be wrongheaded.” India has also been a leading negotiator for emerging nations in the struggling Doha round of talks and its effort to protect poor farmers has been one of the stumbling blocks to agreement. Analysts say they see some change in attitude after a new government was sworn in with a wider-than-expected margin in May and Sharma was named as the new commerce minister. “I think for the first time India is taking a somewhat proactive role and is now keen to see conclusion of the Doha round,” said T.K. Bhaumik, a trade commentator and economic adviser from the JK Organisation. “India willing, some breakthrough is possible at this meeting,” Bhaumik said, referring to the meeting which includes the five biggest players in the Doha round - the United States, the EU, Brazil, India, China - as well as other key WTO members. This week’s gathering is the first major meeting of trade ministers on the Doha round since July 2008, when nine days of intense negotiations ended in failure. “This meeting is a clear signal to the whole world that India is very keen to resume engagement in Doha negotiations and India is also keen on an early conclusion of the Doha round,” said Amit Mitra, secretary-general of the influential lobby group the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:16 am Watch/Listen: Mint in multimedia- 3 SepVideo story: The Mint report for 2 September 2009 NTPC may initiate action to strengthen its case against Reliance Industries; airlines slash prices in the battle for customers; Morgan Stanley says the drought could widen India’s budget deficit Video story: Silver lining A database maintained by the United Nations Development Programme says India’s per capita emission of GHG is 1.2 tonnes, while it is 15 tonnes for the UK and 20 tonnes for the US Audio story: What is the criteria for a polluted river? Listen to a Just to Clarify podcast on the criteria for a polluted river Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:14 am MCX divestment deadline pushed to 2010 - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:09 am Food prices rise 14.5 pct y/y, WPI fallsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The worst dry spell in nearly four decades pushed up food prices in India by an annual 14.5 percent in the week to Aug. 22, adding to worries that wholesale price inflation is poised to accelerate in coming months.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:07 am Asia shares edge up on Shanghai jumpHong Kong: Asian shares edged up on Thursday as a surge in the volatile Shanghai market helped underpin indexes around the region, offsetting a rocky start to the month on worries the global economic recovery is losing steam. European stocks were set to struggle in early trade after a dip on Wall Street, with futures on the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 down 0.2%. The sharp pull-back in US shares on Tuesday stirred some worries that equities may have topped out and are due for a deeper retreat after rallying almost non-stop for six months on the improving corporate earnings and growth outlook. The steady drop in government bond yields over the past month has also been taken as a worrying sign that bond market is ahead of stocks in seeing an economic deterioration on the horizon. Japanese government bonds were steady and gold remained near a three-month high reached on Wednesday, after a survey of the US private sector labour market in August showed more job losses than expected, increasing nervousness about the official payrolls figure at the end of the week. The data clouded the outlook further, with investors torn between a quicker-than-expected recovery in manufacturing around the world and optimism in the technology sector on one hand, and on the other evidence that U.S. consumers are still not spending. Another survey of the US jobs market painted a brighter picture. The Monster Worldwide survey of marked its biggest monthly increase in four years in August. “It seems the market keeps on pricing more uncertainty about the sustainability of the recovery,” said Sebastien Barbe, senior economist with Calyon in Hong Kong, in a note. Barbe characterised investors in Asian markets as being in a “fatigue mood,” since they have been much less likely to buy riskier assets such as equities and emerging market currencies and bonds, even with a steady flow of relatively positive economic data. Japan’s Nikkei share average was down 0.6%, led by Honda Motor Co stock and other automakers as the yen’s rise prompted profit-taking in the sector. “We’re in a situation now where expectations outpaced reality over the last two months. This is just a natural adjustment, even though the economy is over the worst,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at the equity division of Nikko Cordial Securities in Tokyo. Shares of Fast Retailing were up 4.5%, limiting losses on the index, after the clothier said it wanted to boost annual sales more than seven-fold to $54 billion by 2020 and become a global fashion powerhouse. The MSCI index of Asia shares traded outside Japan rose 0.8%, with strength in the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets bolstering the index. On Wednesday the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% on a further drop in financial shares. The MSCI benchmark for Asia is still up 71% from 9 March, when investors began to bet on a robust recovery. By contrast, the all-country world equities index is up 48% since then. Shanghai’s stock market jumped 4.6% after a top securities regulator said late on Wednesday the market was healthy and pledged to keep it stable, driving some investors in search of bargains after a 22% plunge in August. The lift in Chinese shares was enough to raise US stock futures and push down U.S. Treasury futures. Global investors have been keeping an eye on the domestic Chinese market, which is largely closed to foreigners, fearing that the sell-off could signal slowing growth. Many analysts have warned not to read too much into the sharp swings in the Shanghai Composite. The index poked back above the 125-day moving average, what Chinese investors believe is the divider between bull and bear markets, after falling below it on Monday. The US dollar fell briefly below ¥92 for the first time since mid-July, before clawing up 0.2% to ¥92.40 as the low-yielding Japanese currency lost ground on the rebound in Shanghai. The Australian dollar erased earlier losses against the yen and was up 0.4% at ¥77.30. The Aussie has been a favourite among investors for most of the last six months because of its relatively high yield and positive growth prospects among developed currencies. The yen has a high probability of rising further, pushing the dollar below ¥90, said Tohru Sasaki, chief currency strategist with JPMorgan in Tokyo. Such gains would put further pressure Japanese stocks. In commodities, US crude for October delivery edged up 38 cents to $68.43 a barrel. Oil fell around $5 a barrel on Monday and Tuesday on fears about energy demand in a soft recovery ,but a weaker US dollar and steep decline in gasoline inventories supported it on Wednesday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Sep 2009 | 1:02 am Separate financing arm for auto components manufacturers: MinisterUnion Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Thursday said the government is examining setting up of a separate financing arm for auto components manufacturers.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:30 am Actions taken by India and China very important: GeithnerUS Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that the steps taken by emerging economies like India and China are very important in view of current world economic crisis.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:27 am IIMs plan to follow IITs on warpath - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:21 am First signs of growth visible in global economy: US Treasury SecretaryThe steps taken by the G-20 have helped the recovery of the global economy and the 'first signs of positive growth' are visible, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said, even as he warned that there is still a 'long way to go.'Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:03 am Finance Ministry frees goods moved by Railways from service taxNew Delhi, Sept. 2 The Indian Railways has escaped from the service tax net thrown around it by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, in Budget 2009-10.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Balaji Telefilms (Rs 66.3): BuyWe recommend a buy in Balaji Telefilms from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts that in mid-July it took support around Rs 40 and resumed its intermediate-term uptrend, which has been in place since March low of Rs 24.8.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am American Tower Corp eyeing more acquisitions in IndiaNew Delhi, Sept. 2 In a move that would expand its footprint in the country, American Tower Corporation (ATC) is in advanced talks for acquiring a couple of Indian tower companies. The Boston-based tower company is prepared to make significantSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am RIL wants NTPC to settle gas sales and purchase pactNew Delhi, Sept. 2 Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has sought the Power Ministry’s intervention in concluding the gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) with public sector power utility company NTPC for supply of the allocated 2.7 mscmd ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Massive hunt on for AP CM as copter goes missingHyderabad, Sept. 2 The mysterious disappearance of the helicopter carrying the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress strongman, Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in the thick Nallamala forests, plunged Andhra Pradesh into a state of anxiety andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideNote: In a buy recommendation, the resistances would be the targets and the nearest support would be the stop loss; In a sell recommendation, the supports would be the targets and the nearest resistance would be theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am HR coil prices move up againNew Delhi, Sept 2 Prices of hot rolled steel are on the rise again, with leading steel makers increasing rates this month. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has increased its prices in flat products by about Rs 1,500 this month. According to MrSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Fuel-efficiency labels on cars to be made mandatory soonNew Delhi, Sept. 2 Come 2011, car buyers will be able to tell how fuel efficient the car is.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Funds’ asset base swells 8.7% in AugustMumbai, Sept 2 The mutual fund industry has seen an 8.7 per cent increase in the asset base for the month of August, against an increase of 2.8 per cent in July, largely due to significant inflows into debt schemes.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Bankers wary of collateral-free education loan schemeMumbai, Sept. 2 Collateral-free education loans given by banks under the ‘model education loan scheme for students to pursue higher studies’ has bankers a bit worried.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am India makes global moves with trade talks meetNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's efforts to breath fresh life into stalled global trade talks with a meeting of key trade ministers this week is yet another attempt by New Delhi to stamp its authority on the global economic stage, analysts say.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:50 pm Sensex slips into red after positive startA key index of the Indian equities markets slipped into the red soon after opening positive Thursday, and was 33 points lower than its previous close about half an hour after start of trade.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:30 pm Bajaj Auto gains on increase in sales - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Sep 2009 | 10:40 pm Clawing back, brick by brickReza Kabul’s firm of architects reeled as the real estate sector took a beating during the downturn. What he learned from that experience, he says, will prove invaluable as things get slowly better. Lalatendu Mishra reports.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 2 Sep 2009 | 5:25 pm Special SBI loans to farmers at 8% soonState Bank of India (SBI) is likely to announce a special loan package for farmers in the next two days, officials close to the development said on Wednesday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:21 pm Reliance says NTPC not signing gas deal for plantsM S Prasad, executive director of RIL, in a letter on Monday to power secretary H S Brahma, wondered why NTPC was not ready to discuss the GSPA.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:18 pm My wife and I earn Rs 60,000 pm. How can I protect my child’s future?Planning and budgeting are two buzzwords in the Bose household. Anurag Bose prefers making regular and systematic savings to secure their future. Read on...Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:16 pm Bharti expects 3G launch in Oct '10Third generation (3G) telecom services are expected to be introduced in the country around October 2010, Bharti Airtel CEO Manoj Kohli said at a Qualcomm conference in the capital on Wednesday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:15 pm RIL commences drilling at KG D9After a two-year delay, the company has started drilling its first exploration well in the block off the Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:13 pm Infiniti Retail plans 100 Croma stores by FY11Croma, the electronics retail chain run by the Tata group under its wholly owned subsidiary Infinity Retail Ltd, on Wednesday announced it will give a major thrust to its private label.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:04 pm 'Unfriendly tax structure has made hospitality sector unattractive'With the Indian hospitality industry projected to grow at a rate of 8.8% between 2007 and 2016, Ashok Khanna, managing director, IHHR Hospitality of the Ananda Group, which runs the Ista brand of hotels, is optimistic.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:01 pm JSW Infra in $150 m Chile port planJSW Infrastructure, part of the JSW group, plans to spend $150 million to develop a port in Chile which will have a cargo capacity of 30 million tonne per year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:59 pm Pfizer to pay record $2.3 bn penalty over promotionsPfizer Inc., the world's largest drug maker, will pay a record $2.3 billion civil and criminal penalty over unlawful prescription drug promotions.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:39 pm 3G services to be commercially available by Oct \'10: BhartiDays after the 3G policy was finalized, Bharti Airtel\'s Manoj Kohli offered a comprehensive overview of the prospects in India. He says 3G services will be commercially available by October 2010 and the gestation will not take more than a year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:33 pm Vodafone tax row: Co to be served another show cause noticeIn a latest development in the Vodafone tax tussle, CNBCTV18 learns that the probe by the revenue authorities has entered its final lap. However, the order from the taxman on its jurisdiction in the case could take longer, because, the company is likely to be served with further show cause notice from the authorities after third week of SeptemberSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:24 pm Expect 200m 3G CDMA users in next 34 years: QualcommPaul Jacobs is positive on the future of code division multiple access (CDMA) technology and is confident that new subscribers will be added. He feels 3G will be a huge success in India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:23 pm Sensex down by 83 pts on weak global cuesThe stock markets lost ground for the third day in a row, as investors forced the bellwether Sensex down by 83.73 points taking cues from weak Asian and European markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 2 Sep 2009 | 3:03 pm Hyundai selects Turkey for i20 outputHaving threatened to do so for months, Hyundai Motor said it has finally decided to move production of the premium hatchback i20 model for the European markets to Turkey, from its Sriperumpudur facility near Chennai.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 1:16 pm India Inc takes the sale route to beat crisisAfter many denials and protracted bargaining with several buyers, pharma major Wockhardt sold 10 of its hospitals to Fortis last week. The hospitals sale came within two months of the company selling its German business Esparma for an undisclosed amount.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 1:15 pm IL backs out of stake buy in Tata Tea plantation unitInfrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) said it will not be picking up a stake in Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL), a company created in 2007 to hive off its 24 North Indian tea plantations, leaving Tata Tea with close to 50 per cent in a business in which it wanted to reduce exposure.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 1:14 pm Scrap agent fees on financial products, says Swarup panelTo stop financial products from being mis-sold, a government-appointed committee has proposed the phased elimination of upfront commission paid to agents by April 2011. The recommendation covers all retail financial products and affects 3 million agents that are serving 188 million investors.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 1:12 pm 'No sale of goods on board' - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Sep 2009 | 12:46 pm Air India sets up committee to implement cut in incentivesAirline major Air India has set up a committee to implement productivitylinked incentives (PLI) cut, reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources. The committee would include five members and would be headed by Anup Srivastav. The committee has to submit its report before September 7, sources added.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 12:17 pm Amazon joins opposition to Google book dealWashington: Amazon.com Inc joined the opposition to Google Inc’s plan to digitize millions of books, saying that the proposed deal would violate antitrust law. Amazon, which scans books after getting permission from the copyright holder, said that the court should reject a settlement between Google and the Authors Guild because the book registry envisioned in the settlement would constitute price-fixing. Amazon.com also argued in a court filing dated on Tuesday that the court assessing the proposed settlement was ill equipped “to balance and make the adjustments necessary to accommodate the many public interests at stake when a new technology emerges that offers both the promise of public benefit and the danger of abuse of both copyright holders and consumers.” Google’s rivals Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc also oppose the plan, while the American Library Association and Association of Research Libraries have asked for court oversight. Some libraries fear the plan would give Google the unimpeded ability to set prices for libraries, once it scanned books and put them on the Internet. If the service became a necessity for libraries, they would face monopoly pricing, Google’s opponents say. The US Justice Department is investigating the deal while European Union antitrust enforcers, prompted by Germany, have said they would study it. The proposed settlement would resolve a lawsuit filed in 2005 by the Authors Guild. The Guild and a group of publishers had alleged copyright infringement. Google has agreed to pay $125 million to create a Book Rights Registry, where authors and publishers could register works and receive compensation. The case is Authors Guild et al v/s Google Inc 05-08136 in US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:32 am See over 5% revenue growth in H209: Allcargo GlobalAllcargo Global Logistics posted a 5% revenue growth in the first half, says Ashit Desai, the company\'s Director of Corporate Affairs. \"The second half of the year will be better than the first half. We expect a higher growth rate than the 5% we saw in H1 2009 over 2008.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:16 am Trinamool leaders obstructing IT park project: Bengal ministerA section of West Bengal's main opposition Trinamool Congress was obstructing the proposed IT park project at Rajarhat here, Housing Development Minister Gautam Deb alleged Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:01 am Kolkata Fashion Week is now Emami Kolkata Fashion WeekThe second season of the Kolkata Fashion Week beginning Sep 9 has roped in fast-moving consumer goods major Emami Ltd as its title sponsor.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am Saint Gobain Gyproc plans to double turnoverGypsum-based building solutions company Saint Gobain Gyproc India is hoping to double its turnover to Rs.600 crore by focussing on commercial and hospitality building segments.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Sep 2009 | 10:02 am Bajaj Auto two-wheeler sales rise 3.63 percentBajaj Auto, India's second largest selling two-wheeler manufacturer, Wednesday said its sales in August rose 3.63 percent to 183,051 units against 176,631 units sold in the corresponding month last year.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Sep 2009 | 10:00 am British e-reader company in partnership with Google BooksWashington: Interead, the British company behind the COOL-ER electronic reader, announced a partnership with Google on Wednesday to add more than one million public domain books to its online bookstore. Interead said out-of-copyright works scanned by the Internet giant would be available for free through the Coolerbooks.com website. “We’re extremely proud to be the first ebookstore outside the US to partner with Google Books and we hope that the collaboration will make the appeal and accessibility of ebooks broader than ever,” Interead founder Neil Jones said. Interead makes the COOL-ER e-reader, a rival to Amazon’s Kindle and the Sony Reader. The COOL-ER supports 19 document formats including ePub and PDF and comes in eight colors. It sells for $249 in the United States. Sony announced a partnership with Google in March to make copyright-free books available on its e-reader while Amazon offers more than 300,000 titles for the Kindle through its online bookstore. Google has been scanning millions of books in the world’s libraries as part of its controversial Google Book Search project. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Sep 2009 | 9:05 am Nokia launches phones, announces Facebook dealStuttgart: Mobile phone maker Nokia on Wednesday bolstered its smartphone line-up to better battle Apple and announced a new location-based service with social networking site Facebook. The announcements at the “Nokia World” event in Stuttgart are the latest riposte from the Finnish firm, which has lagged Apple’s innovativeness as the focus of cellphone businesses shifts to services and software. Nokia has been looking for business opportunities in offering services like music downloads or games to cellphone users as the handset market mature, but so far its offerings have had limited traction. Nokia on Wednesday unveiled its X6 and X3 music phones, which will go on sale in the fourth quarter, priced at €450 ($641) and €115, respectively. The X6 can play 35 hours of music and has 32 gigabytes of internal memory. The company also unveiled a new version of its N97 smartphone, which will be priced at 450 euros, and said it was on the verge of going over 2 million units in sales of the original N97. Nokia said its new top-end N900 phone will sell for €500. The phone, which has computer-like functions, is the Finnish firm’s first phone to use Linux software. The unveiling of the phone last Thursday helped to lift its shares 11% for the week. Nokia said its new Booklet 3G, which marks its entry into netbook computers, will go on sale for about €575 and run on Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. With the move to making laptops, Nokia is crossing the border between two converging industries in the opposite direction to Apple, which entered the phone industry in 2007 with the iPhone. Tough industry Nokia has seen its profit margins drop over the last few quarters as handset demand has slumped, and analysts have worried that entering the PC industry, where margins are traditionally razor-thin, could hurt Nokia’s profits further. However, Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesio said that Nokia had no choice. “Nokia had to do it. You see more and more PC guys getting into the mobile operators’ shelves. Its kind of the counterattack, its not just defensive,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. Nokia also announced a deal with Facebook that will allow people to update their location and status directly to the social networking site via a Nokia Ovi account. The first phone to support the service will be the N97 mini, which will start shipping to retailers in October. “This deal sees Nokia catching up with rivals such as Apple and RIM. The big win is getting the Ovi brand and its Maps service featured on Facebook,” said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at CCS Insight. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Sep 2009 | 4:15 am
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