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Interest rates likely to harden says Chanda KochharICICI Banks Managing Director and CEO, Chanda Kochhar said that interest rates were likely to harden, adding that she saw signs of revival in the credit offtake.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 8:52 am Gateway Distriparks to raise Rs 300cr via stake saleGateway Distriparks has been flying high these days. Mint report informs that the company is all set to raise Rs 300 crore via stake sale. The purpose of raising money is to build some new inland container deposits (ICDs) and to buy atleast six more rake container trains.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 8:14 am India most optimistic on hiring plans for fourth quarterIndia has again emerged as the most bullish country in terms of hiring plans, with 25 per cent of the employers intending to recruit people in the next three months.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:47 am Sensex holds on over 16k, Nifty past 4800!The National Stock index Nifty crossed 4,800-points level for the first time in almost 15 months, while the BSE benchmark Sensex surged by over 122 points in opening trade on Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Australian business confidence near six-year high!Australian business confidence has surged to its highest level in almost six years as expectations rise that an economic recovery is underway, a monthly survey showed Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Gold futures hit USD 1,000!Asian shares touched their highest level in a year on Tuesday, while gold futures hit USD 1,000 an ounce for the first time in six months on investor concerns about the sustainability of the global economic recovery.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Car sales record 25.59% increase in August!Domestic passenger car sales recorded 25.59 percent increase at 1,20,669 units in August from 96,082 units in the same month last year.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Hiring strongest in India, Brazil: Survey!According to global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, hiring plans are strongest in India and Brazil.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Oil market stable and healthy: Saudi minister!The oil market is "very stable and healthy" and the current is price "good for everybody," Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on arriving in Vienna on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the OPEC crude cartel.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Oil rises in Asian trade on improved sentiment!Oil extended its rise in Asian trade on Tuesday, lifted in part by improved investor sentiment about the global economy`s recovery prospects, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am More failures likely for Europe`s low-cost carriers: Analysts!Failed Slovakian low-cost carrier SkyEurope could be just the first casualty among the smaller airlines finding it difficult to survive one of the worst slumps on record, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Govt may complete FY10 borrowing by Feb end: Official!The government may complete its record Rs 4.51 trillion borrowing plan for FY10 by the end of February, a Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Mahindra Satyam to allot 1,02,566 shares!IT firm Mahindra Satyam, on Tuesday said its board has approved the allotment of 1,02,566 equity shares under the company`s stock option plans.Source: Zee News : Business | 8 Sep 2009 | 7:43 am Expect turnover to cross Rs 100 cr in FY10: Rama PaperRama Paper Mills has stared production at its new unit which will boost its capacity quite substantially. Arun Goel, Executive Director of the company expects the turnover to cross Rs 100 crore in FY10 and Rs 150 crore in FY11. \"FY11 profit is seen at Rs 15 crore.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:27 am No plans to induct strategic partner: Sunflag IronSunflag Iron has no plans to induct strategic partners or raise equity capital since the company is doing well for itself, says ER Shekhar. However, he adds that the company is scouting to acquire downstream companies. \"FY10 sales are seen at Rs 1,300 crore with a Rs 70 crore profit.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:15 am Air India to provide planes for stranded passengerAir India to provide planes for stranded passengerSource: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 6:11 am McNally Bharat to raise funds via 1:10 rights issue; stk upMcNally Bharat Engineering has decided on raising funds via a 1:10 rights issue at Rs 140 a share. The company is raising about Rs 44 crore via this issue. Abuzz with this news the stock was up 1.18%, or Rs 2.25 and was quoting at Rs 193.55.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:56 am Jet Airways seeks DGCA's interventionJet Airways seeks DGCA's intervention as 350 pilots report sick in Mumbai.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:30 am Gold at $1,000 seen denting festive demandMUMBAI (Reuters) - Gold's rally to above $1,000 an ounce on Tuesday threatened to hurt demand in India during the busy festival season, but fears of further rises could also ignite panic buying from jewellers in the world's top consumer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:22 am Nifty closes at 4800; Hindalco, SBI up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:22 am Wildcat strike hits Jet operations, 150 flights cancelled - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:15 am Honda Siel launches new Civic - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:15 am Satyam founder in hospital, condition stableBANGALORE (Reuters) - The scam-tainted founder of India's Satyam Computer Services was stable on Tuesday after he was admitted to hospital a day earlier with chest pain, hospital authorities said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:13 am BSE Sensex provisionally rises 0.6 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday and helped the main index to more than double its gains from a 2009 low in March, joining a rally across Asian markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:11 am INTERVIEW - Airbus says no plans to change A350 fundingHONG KONG (Reuters) - European plane maker Airbus said on Tuesday it has no plans to change the funding for its A350 wide-body plane in the wake of a World Trade Organisation ruling late last week.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:03 am Barclays fined $4 million over transaction reportsLondon: Britain’s financial watchdog fined Barclays PLC £2.45 million ($4 million) on Tuesday for failing to provide accurate transaction reports and “serious weaknesses” in control systems in two of its divisons. The Financial Services Authority levied the penalty on Barclays Capital Securities Ltd and Barclays Bank PLC. Financial institutions are required to submit transactions data by close of business the day after a trade is executed. The FSA uses this to detect and investigate suspected market abuse like insider trading and market manipulation. The FSA said it discovered discrepancies in Barclays’ data while reviewing a suspected incident of market abuse by a third party. A subsequent review of Barclays’ transaction reporting arrangements revealed that it did not have adequate systems and controls to meet the transaction reporting requirements. It also found a substantial number of errors in the data submitted to the FSA. Alexander Justham, the FSA’s director of markets, said the penalty imposed on Barclays is significantly higher than previous penalties imposed for transaction reporting errors. “This reflects the serious nature of Barclays’ breaches and is a warning to other firms that the FSA will not tolerate inadequate systems and controls,” Justham said. “Barclays’ reporting failures could have a damaging impact on our ability to detect and investigate suspected market abuse.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:03 am Honda Siel to export engine parts to JapanCar manufacturer Honda Siel Tuesday said it would export engine components to Japan from October.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Meltdown hits Gulf job market, emigration falls 30 percentEmigration from India to the Gulf has fallen 30 percent with the global meltdown hitting the job market in West Asia, the government said Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Noon: Markets extend gains to 1% on investor confidenceMumbai: Indian shares climbed for a third day in a row on Tuesday, taking gains in the main index to double the 2009 low in March, as investors joined a rally across Asia but there were concern about resistance. Expectations for strong quarterly earnings and signs of a revival in industry underpinned the market, after the benchmark index surged past 16,000 to its highest close in 15 months on Monday. At 12:20pm, the 30-share BSE index .BSESN was up 1% at 16,175.87 points - its highest level in 15 months and more than double its 2009 low of 8,047.17 in early March. Twenty stocks gained. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.9% at 4,826.60. State Bank of India chairman said he expected earnings at the country’s largest lender would rise 30-35% in the current quarter, with retail loans growing at about twice the pace from the year earlier. Its shares were trading up 1.3% at Rs1,838.50, after rising as much as 1.5%. The domestic industry is showing signs of revival and foreign investors are also returning, a junior finance minister said on Tuesday. However, the market’s strong rally since hitting the 2009 low despite worries an erratic monsoon will slow down economic growth are causing unease. “The concern is we are just rising too soon, too fast,” said Nilesh Doshi, president of equity research at Techno Shares and Stocks. ”Fundamentally, we are overstretched at current levels.” He said the rise was largely propelled by firmer global markets. Shares in Asia, excluding Japan, climbed to a year high on Tuesday. The BSE index has risen nearly 68 percent so far in 2009, after sliding 52% last year. Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro firmed 1.6% to Rs1,623. Its financial services unit is in talks to buy Cholamandalam DBS Finance’s domestic mutual fund operation, sources told Reuters late on Monday. Cholamandalam DBS was up 9.9 pecent at Rs69.65. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the most weight in the main index, rose 3% to Rs2,060. Tata Consultancy Services was up 2.3% at Rs563, extending gains from the previous day after the top software services firm’s CEO said on Monday its demand was good. In the broader market, gainers led losers 1,668 to 972 on heavy volume of 290 million shares. Asian shares rose with Japan’s Nikkei .N225 gaining 0.7%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets was up 1.2%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:58 am Jet Airways pilots' strike strands passengersMUMBAI (Reuters) - A flash strike by about 600 pilots of Jet Airways, India's top carrier, stranded hundreds of domestic and international passengers on Tuesday, leading to angry confrontations in airports across the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:57 am Rupee up on stocks gains; sharp fall in dollarMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee was stronger in afternoon trade on Tuesday helped by sharp losses in the dollar versus major currencies and gains in local shares but dollar demand from oil firms capped a further rise.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:53 am CNG cos to pay Rs 2cr as tax on rev upto Rs 20K crThe Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has imposed a minimum tax of Rs 2 crore a year on turnover upto Rs 20,000 crore that companies earn from retailing compressed natural gas (CNG) and natural gas in cities.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:46 am Interest rates likely to harden says Chanda Kochhar - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:44 am Kraft's $16.7 Billion Cadbury Bid May Thaw Mergers - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:38 am Jet Chairman meets Civil Aviation SecretaryJet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar in New Delhi on Tuesday against the backdrop of pilots of the private carrier refusing to report to work to protest sacking of two of their senior colleagues.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:34 am Jet seeks regulator's intervention [To go with 'Chaos at airports ...]The Jet Airways Tuesday sought the intervention of the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), after more than 300 pilots of the carrier reported sick and went on leave.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am Domestic car sales up nearly 26 percentAfter a period of gloom, the auto industry bounced back in August, registering a 25.59 percent growth in domestic passenger car sales, as compared to the year-ago period, industry data released Tuesday showed.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am SBI Q2 earnings seen up 30-35 per cent: chairmanState Bank of India, the country's biggest bank, is likely to see 30-35 per cent growth in earnings in the current quarter, Chairman OP Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference on Tuesday.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:28 am Idea Cellular gets HC nod for demerger of passive infraMumbai: Telecom operator Idea Cellular Tuesday said it has received the approval from the Gujarat high court for demerging its passive infrastructure like towers and power back-up plants to its wholly-owned subsidiary Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure. “The high court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad has sanctioned the scheme of arrangement between Idea Cellular and Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Under the scheme, the company would demerge its passive infrastructure to Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure. Further, the court has also given its approval for the company’s financial restructuring. The high court has sanctioned the financial restructuring “seeking to adjust amount of ‘non compete fee´ amounting to Rs543.97 crore paid to the erstwhile promoters of Spice Communications,” Idea Cellular said. Last year, Idea Cellular had announced the acquisition of rival mobile operator Spice Communications in a deal entailing purchase of a 40.8% stake for over Rs2,700 crore in shares and cash. At that time, Idea Cellular had said that it would pay Rs543.97 crore as a non-compete fee, or money paid to ward off competition from Spice Communications, for the acquisition. Shares of Idea Cellular were trading at Rs81.85, up 0.80% in the afternoon trade on the BSE, whereas Spice Communications was trading at Rs71.05, up 17.15%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:25 am Rupee up on stocks gains; sharp fall in dollarMumbai: The Indian rupee was stronger in afternoon trade on Tuesday helped by sharp losses in the dollar versus major currencies and gains in local shares but dollar demand from oil firms capped a further rise. At 2:40pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.61/62 per dollar, 0.1% stronger compared to its Monday’s close of Rs48.66/67. Last week, the rupee had dropped to as low as Rs49.21, its lowest since 13 July. Dealers said a sharp fall in the dollar versus majors was a key factor helping the rupee. The index of the dollar against six majors was down 0.7%. However, demand for the US unit for oil firms, the biggest buyers of dollars in the local currency market, kept a lid on the rupee’s gains. Shares were up about 0.5% tracking gains in Asian peers, but trade was choppy on concerns over the sustainability of the recovery in the domestic and global market. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs48.65 and Rs48.6475 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.4 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:22 am Europe shares gain for 3rd day; gold boosts minersLondon: European shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday to hover near recent 11-month highs, boosted by stronger commodity prices on the back of gold rising above $1,000 an ounce and crude trading over $69 a barrel. At 2:17pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5% at 980.59 points. The index, which slumped 45% in 2008, is up 17% this year and has jumped 51% since falling to a record low in March. European shares jumped on Monday, boosted by Cadbury which surged more than 40% on a $16.7 billion bid by North America’s Kraft Foods. Cadbury rejected the offer, but Kraft Foods said it was intent on pursuing. “With M&A back on the agenda, the markets have found a new impetus,” said John Murphy, analyst at ODL Securities. “Whilst the markets have traded higher over the past few months, the truest sign that the credit markets are unfreezing will be the re-emergence of corporate activity,” he added. Mining shares were among top gainers on the index as spot gold rose above $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February, copper rose 0.6% and aluminium advanced 0.8%. BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and ENRC rose 0.7-1.9%. Energy shares tracked crude oil prices, which rose 1.6%. BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added 0.2-1.3%. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4-0.6%. Banks were mixed, with Standard Chartered, Barclays, Lloyds , Royal Bank of Scotland and Natixis gaining 0.1 to 2.9%. But HSBC, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole fell 0.2-1.3%. Some analysts said the equity market has rallied in the past months and could not keep rising at the same pace. “For the next month, we could still see quite good macro-economic data, but just doing better-than-expected is not good enough anymore to keep on stimulating the market. It’s getting more and more difficult to go further and further up,” said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC Securities. “You will have to surprise the market with even more stronger figures.” In market news, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have launched exclusive talks to merge their British mobile units in a joint venture that would grab the top spot in the cutthroat UK market. Deutsche Telekom was up 1.9%, while France Telecom rose 2.8%. British defence giant BAE Systems is fighting a decision by the United States army to award a multi-billion dollar vehicle contract to a competitor, saying it did not judge its proposals fairly. Its shares were flat. Kingfisher rose 2.4% after Europe’s biggest home improvement retailer said it expected to report an underlying pretax profit of 285 million to ($550.4 million) to 290 million pounds for the six months to 1 August. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:12 am BMW August sales down 10%; decline slowsFrankfurt: German carmaker BMW AG said Tuesday that its August sales declined 10% as global demand for cars dropped amid the global economic downturn, but it expressed optimism that the downward trend was starting to abate. The Munich-based company, the world’s biggest luxury carmaker, said it sold 91,790 cars during August compared with 101,679 a year earlier, though the sales decline trend slowed for the fifth consecutive month. “We are heading in the right direction since April,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s chief of sales and marketing wrote in BMW’s report, saying the company had “regained ground month-on-month.” “In August the trend continued. I am cautiously optimistic that we will be back on our growth path in the months ahead and will remain the leading international supplier of premium automobiles this year, even though we will not sell as many cars in total in 2009 as in 2008,” Robertson said. Shares of BMW were down 0.1% to €32.28 ($46.26) in Frankfurt trading. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:12 am Karaoke, puppets and women’s lib: the new literacyOn International Literacy Day, Mint takes a look at some of the more innovative and effective projects that are currently being undertaken to raise literacy levels in India. Khabar Lahariya – Nirantar Khabar Lahariya is a weekly Bundeli language newspaper that is written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed entirely by women in the rural Chritrakoot and Banda districts of Uttar Pradesh–most of whom are newly literate and/or from marginalized communities. The paper has a print run of around 4000 copies, and a readership of over 25,000. It is sold for Rs.2 a copy in over 400 villages in both districts. Khabar Lahariya offers a mix of local news and entertainment--covering topics like the functioning of panchayats, local politics, community schools and hospitals. It also aims to highlight instances of violence against women, political apathy and bureaucratic corruption. Delhi based gender and education NGO Nirantar, which started Khabar Lahariya, has worked to train the paper’s staffers--helping them develop their writing, editing and reporting skills, their understanding of politics, and their ability to interact with officials in the public sphere. Click here for a slideshow depicting how Khabar Lahariya operates News in rural areas is traditionally a male dominated space, and Khabar Lahariya has been hailed as a progressive effort. On International Literacy Day, the newspaper is being awarded UNESCO’s $20,000 King Sejong Literacy Prize, which rewards NGOs and government agencies that have displayed effective results in combating illiteracy. Same Language Subtitling – PlanetRead Nonprofit PlanetRead has a karaoke approach to combating illiteracy. Aiming to capitalize on the Indian public’s penchant for Bollywood, Planet Read has created a program that runs same language subtitles on film songs as a way to teach viewers how to read. PlanetRead’s CEO, Nirav Shah, tells Mint that the SLS program reaches about 200 million plus viewers, and is currently operative across 8 different song programs in 8 different languages. Rangoli, Doordarshan’s most popular song based program, which broadcasts nationally on Sunday mornings from 8-9AM, is one of the programmes offering the subtitles. First conceived of 13 years ago at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, the program was tested in 2002, by implementing the subtitles on two nationally televised TV programs of Hindi film song programs, Chirahaar and Rangoli. An impact study examined about13,000 illiterates and semi-literates (judged based on their ability to read a simple paragraph of Hindi text, at Grade 2 level) randomly drawn from five states in order to get a snap-shot of their reading skills at the baseline before the SLS intervention in 2002, a year later in 2003, and then again in 2007. In other words, the same individuals were revisited and administered the same test (subjects were asked to read 40 unique syllables in text) after a period of exposure to SLS. The data was collected and analyzed by independent bodies, and included studies of both children and adults. It was found that the minimum average improvement for the high SLS group was 6.2 syllables, as compared to 2.7 for the group that had not been exposed to SLS. Activity-based learning and multilingual education -- UNICEF UNICEF India is supporting a variety of governmental and non-governmental educational initiatives across various states. In an interview with Mint, Sara Poehlman, UNICEF’s head of education in India, highlighted the need for better teacher training and a curriculum that is far more child friendly. She described how various states, like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkand and Rajasthan, are starting to move from traditional one-dimensional methods of rote learning to more interactive, activity-based, child friendly methods. UNICEF is also partnering with Jawarhlal Nehru University in New Delhi to develop a national multilingual education resource center. “The issue is not really about language, it’s about learning,” explains Poehlman. “Imagine for the first time you’re trying to learn mathematics, you’re trying to near how read and write, and at the same time you’re trying to learn a foreign language. The Right to Compulsory Education act says that as much as possible, children should be instructed in their mother tongues – they master the information much, much faster.” Sara Poehlman talks about child literacy levels in India, UNICEF’s literacy programmes and why different states must have different approaches to education. Download here. Poehlman also touched upon programmes that are attempting to address the particular issue of education for girls. UNICEF supports endeavours like girls’ clubs in Asssam, which have taken on the role of addressing issues faced by girls in tea plantation communities – such as early marriages, or not being allowed to attend school. Bihar, Jharkand and Rajasthan are among the states that have the highest gender gap in terms of school enrollment. Poehlman highlights the fact that different states must have different approaches to the issue of gender and education, taking into account the region’s own particular social context. Sara Poehlman talks about gender and literacy in India, and what UNICEF and various state governments are doing to address the gender inequity. Download here. Computer Based Literacy Program – Tata Consultancy Tata Consultancy Services has designed what it calls a 40-hour solution to illiteracy: a computer based functional literacy program. The program is implemented using computers, which deliver the lessons via puppet shows in multimedia form. These are then supplemented by textbooks from the National Literacy Mission and State Resource Centers. The company explains that the solution does not require trained teachers and has a much lower drop out rate than that of conventional learning methods. The software is currently available in 9 Indian languages and Tata Consultancy Services claims that over 100,000 people have been made literate with its help. Like many seemingly easy solutions to tough problems however, Tata’s leaves many important questions hanging in the balance. As Madhav Chavan, head of education NGO Pratham points out, if the program is in fact so effective and easy to implement -- it claims “the CBFL project can make 90% of India functionally literate in three to five years” -- why has it not scaled up. Why are India’s illiteracy levels still so high? In an email interview, Tata’s representatives omitted to respond to this, along with several other questions – such as what Tata’s definition of literacy is, how people become literate 40 hours, and how exactly the solution is implemented across India. To read more posts about nonprofits, education and social responsibility, log onto the Development Dossier- Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:09 am Nifty over 4,800-mark first time this year, Sensex up 122 ptsThe BSE benchmark Sensex surged by over 122 points in opening trade today on increased inflow of foreign funds driven by firming trends in other Asian markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:07 am India pays $102 million to speed up refit of GorshkovMoscow: India has paid another staggering $102 million to Russia, to speed up refit work on the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, pending a final agreement on a huge price hike of almost $2 billion demanded by Moscow. “The advance payment of $102 million has given a fillip to repairs and refit works. The workforce would be increased to 2500 for work in two shifts,” spokesperson of the Sevmash shipyard Anastasia Nikitinskaya said as Russian officials committed that they would meet the 2012 delivery deadline. The increasing delay in the delivery of the warship has been described by President Dmitry Medvedev as the ‘sole irritant´ in Indo-Russian relations. The issue came up in the delegation level talks between President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her Soviet counterpart on 3 September, during her first state visit to the country. Director General of Severodvinsk-based Sevmash shipyard Nikolai Kalistratov along with his chief engineer was also present at the talks held at Kremlin. Under the initial $1.5 billion contract signed in New Delhi in January 2004, Russia was to deliver retrofitted aircraft carrier in August 2008. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 3:02 am Kingfisher says profit will beat forecastsLondon: Europe’s biggest home improvement retailer, Kingfisher, forecast better-than-expected first-half profit, sending its shares to a two-year high. The group, which trades as B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said on Tuesday it expected to report an underlying pretax profit of 285-290 million pounds ($468-$476 million) for the six months to 1 August. That compared to analysts’ consensus forecast of 268 million pounds, and 214 million pounds made in the 2008 period. Kingfisher forecast a retail profit of 345-350 million pounds, made up to 148 million in Britain and Ireland, 146 million in France and 53 million in its Other International division. The results will be published on 17 September. “We expect market consensus profit estimates for 2009-10 to move into the 460-470 million pounds range, an increase of around 8%,” said analysts at Credit Suisse, Kingfisher’s joint house broker. They said the firm was benefiting from favourable weather patterns, capacity withdrawal and cost containment in Britain, better-than-expected margins in France and the continued resilience of the Polish market. “Continuing favourable trading conditions suggest we may not be at the end of the upgrades,” they said. After earlier hitting a high of 230 pence, shares in Kingfisher were up 6.5 pence, or 3%, at 223.1 pence at 0754 GMT, valuing the business at 5.14 billion pounds. The stock has risen nearly 60% over the past year, outperforming the DJ Stoxx European retail index by 48%. Kingfisher’s performance may increase hopes of a rapid recovery from recession. These have risen over the last month as a raft of retailers have reported better-than-expected trading. However, the company’s trading statement was published as the British Retail Consortium said sales fell on the year last month for the first time since May. The group, which trades from over 820 stores in eight countries, released first-half numbers nine days ahead of schedule after the inadvertent release of some figures on Monday. “It has come to our attention that, due to an administrative error, some draft figures were circulated externally on the afternoon of 7 September,” it said. “Whilst the numbers have not yet been formally approved, Kingfisher recognises its regulatory responsibilities.” Analysts said information relating to the first-half results was buried in material e-mailed to them by the firm on Monday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:59 am Car sales rise 7th month, more steam leftNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Car sales in India raced an annual 26 percent in August, rising for a seventh month, and demand is seen picking up in October when annual bonuses are paid in much of the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:51 am Ban on use of aicraft during polls: ECIChandigarh: The Election Commission of India has decided that the existing instructions regarding use of aircraft during the election process will stand and there would be no relaxation in the matter for any reason. Stating this here today, Haryana chief electoral officer, Sajjan Singh said that there would be a complete ban on use of aircraft owned by Government and Public Sector Undertaking, by political functionaries, including chief ministers and ministers. The only exemption is for the Prime Minister in office. He said that requests had been received from some of the chief ministers for relaxation of these restrictions for various reasons including those of security. “The Commission reviewed the matter in depth and obtained further inputs from appropriate quarters in this regard. After taking into consideration all relevant factors into account, the Commission decided that the existing instructions in the matter would stand and there would be no relaxation”, he said. Singh said that the Commission’s existing restrictions did not, however, prohibit use of private aircraft by political functionaries including the chief minister. Such political functionary may, if required, hire private aircraft and use it for their political campaign and other election related activities. The expenses of use of such aircrafts could be paid by the concerned political parties and have to be accounted for suitably in their accounts. The assembly polls in Haryana for 90 seats are slated for 13 October next. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:48 am BPCL, Videocon team up for Indonesia oil forayBharat Petroleum Corporation, through its exploratory arm, Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), has got a foothold in Indonesia for oil and gas exploration.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:44 am At least four flights of Jet from Kolkata cancelledAt least four flights of Jet Airways out of Kolkata were cancelled on Tuesday morning, as pilots did not report for work in response to the countrywide agitation by their colleagues.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:41 am Made in India, shipped to China, ThailandJapanese automaker Nissan has kicked off its India sourcing programme by shipping out key components from its Chennai facility to China and Thailand.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:37 am India optimistic on hiring plans for Q4 - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:36 am Car sales rise 26%, up for the seventh monthNew Delhi: Car sales in India raced an annual 26% in August, rising for a seventh month, and demand is seen picking up in October when annual bonuses are paid in much of the country. The government is also set to give out Rs180 billion ($3.7 billion) in backpay to workers next month, the second installment of a wage pact agreed last year. Industry body the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said on Tuesday companies sold 120,669 cars in August against 96,082 in the same month last year. Sales in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in April have risen 13%, with the pace of growth in July the fastest at an annual 31%, after rising just 1.3% in the year to March 2009. “Some further growth is anticipated. Definitely some build up is happening for the festive season. The last instalment of the sixth pay commission is also expected to boost demand,” Sugato Sen, a senior director at Siam said. He said Siam, which had projected in April full-year sales growth at 5% in 2009-10, would revise upwards its forecast after September sales are known. Car sales are a leading gauge of consumer sentiment in India, in the absence of other indices and the country is one of the few markets in the world where demand has been picking up though volumes are much lower than in China. China’s passenger cars sales in August rose 90% from a year earlier to 858,300, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Tuesday. In India, Maruti Suzuki, a unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, led the growth posting an annual 42% jump in August sales at 84,808 units. The company, which produces every second car sold in India, is building a new factory to upgrade its production facilities to meet demand. Maruti shares have risen nearly 200% so far this year and hit a record high on Monday. TRUCKS ALSO ON THE RISE Sales of trucks and buses, a barometer of economic activity, rose 18.5% from a year earlier to 40,624 units, their second straight rise after falling continuously since July last year. Sen said a rise in the sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles was a healthy sign and indicated economic activities were picking up. Motorcycle sales rose 26% to 611,173 units from a year ago. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:36 am Jet Airways seeks DGCA intervention as 350 pilots report sickThe private air-carrier has approached the aviation industry regulator to intervene and resolve the issue, an airline source said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:32 am Work on Rs.17,000-crore Bastar steel plant to start by year-endThe state-owned National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC), India's largest iron ore producer and exporter, will begin construction of a Rs.17,000-crore integrated steel project in Chhattisgarh by the year-end, according to Chief Minister Raman Singh.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:31 am Scanty rain hits hydropower generation in HimachalHydropower generation in Himachal Pradesh has dipped 35-40 percent in the past two months because of deficient monsoon, affecting electricity supplies to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:30 am Govt, RBI to finalize borrowing plan soonNew Delhi: The government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials will meet in 10-12 days to finalize the government’s borrowing plan for the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2010, finance secretary Ashok Chawla said on Tuesday. Late on Monday, the finance ministry said every government department will have to cut its non-plan expenditure by 10% for certain heads such as domestic and foreign travel, office expenses and other administrative spending. “In view of the current fiscal situation and that arising out of insufficient rain in large parts of the country, and the consequent pressure on government resources, there is need for further economy and rationalization of expenditure,” the ministry said in a notification posted on its website. The government has sold Rs2.82 trillion ($58 billion) of bonds so far in the current fiscal year from the Rs2.99 trillion targeted in the first half ending 30 September. It plans to raise a record Rs4.51 trillion in the fiscal year 2009-10. “This statement is definitely a signal that the government is looking to return to fiscal consolidation, but the proof of the pudding is only in the eating,” said Atsi Sheth, chief economist at Reliance Equities. Worries of a rising deficit have pushed up bond yields and Reliance’s Sheth said cutting expenditure was one way to accommodate drought-related spending without widening the deficit. The fiscal deficit is expected to widen to 6.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), a 16-year high and economists estimate drought relief measures may widen the deficit by another 0.5 percentage point of GDP. The 10-year benchmark bond yields have risen by 159 basis points so far this year and 44 basis points in August alone, pushing out the 1-year, 10-year yield spread to a record 327 basis points in late August. “Having said this, there are very few avenues to cut expenditure and many of them involve a delay in several important capital and social projects,” Sheth said. Cash Position Satisfactory A finance ministry official who declined to be named said the government may complete its borrowing plan for fiscal yar 2009-10 by end-February and may reduce the size of its weekly auctions to Rs10,000 crore in the second half of the year starting 1 October. The government sold Rs12,000 crore of bonds every week from 4 July to 28 August, barring one auction. This week it is expected to sell Rs11,000 crore of debt. The government’s cash position is satisfactory now and there is no need to issue cash management bills in the near future, the official told reporters. Chawla said the borrowing may be reduced if the magnitude of savings generated by its expenditure cuts are “huge”. Expenditure secretary Sushama Nath told reporters the finance ministry will stick to its spending target of Rs10 trillion for the current fiscal year ending March 2010. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:25 am Gold at $1,000 may dent India’s festive season salesMumbai: Gold’s rally to above $1,000 an ounce on Tuesday threatened to hurt demand in India during the busy festival season, but fears of further rises could also ignite panic buying from jewellers in the world’s top consumer. Gold rose above $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February as investors sought a safe haven due to the dollar’s weakness and worries about the sustainability of the global economic recovery. India’s gold demand normally rises between August and October, when consumers buy bullion for auspicious reasons to celebrate major festivals such as Dussera, Diwali and Dhanteras. “Demand can drop by 50%,” said Prithviraj Kothari, director at Riddisiddhi Bullions Ltd, a trading company in Mumbai. “In the festivals people will pick up what their requirement is. There won’t be an excess of buying.” India, which accounted for more than 20 percent of global demand for gold jewellery in 2008, has seen a steady decline in demand since bullion first powered to $1,000 an ounce in February, which also sent local futures to record high at Rs16,040 ($329.90) per 10 grams. Dealers said on Sunday India’s gold imports may fall to between 460 and 550 tonnes in 2009 from 712 tonnes a year ago, with high prices and an economic slowdown hitting demand. Weddings usually take place during the festive season, when parents give gold jewellery to their daughters for financial security. India gold futures edged to track the overseas market, with the front month October contract hovering around Rs15,800 -- still below February’s highs. “Demand is low right now. People are waiting for a fall of about Rs400 ($8) per 10 grams,” said a dealer in a bank. But analysts said a jump in overseas prices could also trigger buying from investors and those who planned to buy jewellery earlier in the year but waited for lower prices. “The (price) trend is quite bullish. There are people waiting to buy at this level,” said T. Gnanasekar, director at Commtrendz Research who also deals for investors. But Gnanasekar said the panic buying would not push import figures higher than last year in the festivals and also in 2009. Another analyst disagreed. “Quarter-on-quarter demand reflecting the festival period may rise,” said Kishore Narne, vice president - commodities at Anand Rathi Commodities. “But in 2009, demand is unlikely to be higher than 2008.” In the January to August period, India imported 84.6 tonnes, down 68 percent from a year ago, data from the Bombay Bullion Association showed. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:06 am Goal to halve poverty by 2015 unlikely to be achieved: UNCTAD - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:04 am Opec set to hold supply steady, likes oil priceVienna: Oil at close to $70 means Opec will almost certainly keep existing output cuts in place when it meets in Vienna on Wednesday, although it could seek to tighten compliance with existing targets, ministers and delegates said. “The market is in very good shape, very well supplied, the price is good for everybody, consumers and producers,” Saudi Oil minister Ali al Naimi said on arrival in Vienna in the early hours of Tuesday. When asked if he thought Opec needed to cut output at its meeting late on Wednesday, Naimi said: “With the price ranging between $68 and $73, what else do you want? The price, everybody likes, consumers and producers.” Oil rose towards $69 a barrel on Tuesday. Opec has kept official output targets steady since it announced late last year a record cut of 4.2 million barrels per day from September 2008 production. But as the oil market has recovered from a low of $32.40 in December - its weakest in nearly five years - to this year’s peak of $75 hit in August, it has reduced levels of compliance with the agreed curbs from a peak of around 80 percent of agreed cuts to less than 70%. The lapsing discipline has contributed to an inventory build that has taken stocks to the equivalent of nearly 62 days of forward cover, according to the International Energy Agency -- around 10 days more than Opec views as comfortable. “A major issue will be compliance. It will be discussed and stressed by many countries with the hope others will comply,” a Gulf delegate said. “The most likely outcome is that they will keep the ceiling and quota unchanged,” he said further “It’s going to be a smooth and easy meeting.” For some in Opec high stocks are a greater issue than they are for others, although all members have been pleasantly surprised by the strength of the oil market’s rally in defiance of bulging inventories. The price has been buoyed by a wave of confidence across markets, which have begun factoring in economic recovery - which implies higher fuel demand. When the economy was still fragile earlier in the year, Saudi Arabia said it was at ease with an oil market around $50, although that level was well below the roughly $75 it has said was needed to stimulate investment in new supplies. The leading exporter has assumed the biggest share of output cuts while discipline from other members, notably from Opec president Angola, has declined. The different levels of adherence complicate the task of any new cut, although some analysts have said Opec might have to address when to reduce supplies even if any new curbs will not be agreed this week. Others have said the high levels of inventory are serving to prevent the oil market becoming too strong, which could damage nascent economic recovery. “Where would we be if Opec had oil inventories where they wanted? It would be over $100,” said Gary Ross, CEO of consultancy PIRA Energy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 2:04 am H1B visa quota still short by 20,000 in the USWashington: About 20,000 H-1B visas, one of the most sought after for overseas professionals including Indians, are still up for grabs in the US which is struggling to fill up the allocated number of 65,000, even as less than a month remains before for the start of the next financial year. Primarily meant for computers and information technology professionals, the H-1B visas have been one of the most sought after for foreign professionals in previous years. The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been receiving several times the number of the allocated quota. However, this year, the USCIS is struggling to fill up the 65,000 H-1B visas as mandated by the US Congress. This is mainly attributed to the strict approval policy adopted by the USCIS this year and the ongoing economic recession, which has resulted in a 26-year high unemployment rate of 9.7% in the US. “As of 28 August, 2009, approximately 45,100 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed,” the USCIS said in a statement.. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn, it said. Meanwhile the USCIS has warned applicants against filing duplicate applications, saying if detected at any stage, even approved petitions could be cancelled. “USCIS will deny or revoke all petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker if more than one filing is discovered,” it said. “If multiple petitions are discovered, whether one or more such petitions are approved, USCIS will data enter all those duplicative petitions, retain all fees, and either deny the petitions or, if a petition was approved, revoke the petition. The petitions will not be returned to the petitioner,” USCIS said. Though dominated by IT and computer professionals, H-1B occupations include architects, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B visa programme also includes certain fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and up to 100 persons who will performing services of an exceptional nature in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects or coproduction projects. Although the current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000, not all H-1B non immigrants are subject to this annual cap. Up to 6,800 visas may be set aside from the cap of 65,000 during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the US-Chile and US-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Unused numbers in this pool are made available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:43 am Rohtang Pass closed for tourists every TuesdayThe picturesque snow-clad Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district will remain out of bounds for tourists every Tuesday, according to officials.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:30 am No stimulus exit strategy plan for now - MukherjeeNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government is constantly reviewing the economic situation to decide until when the stimulus measures need to be continued and it is not desirable to plan the exit strategy now, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:26 am Sugar imports may resume as local prices surgeMumbai: Indian sugar millers may resume signing import deals as local prices have surged amid a slip in global prices, but large-scale buying is unlikely as enough quantity has been already contracted, industry officials said. “Atmosphere is favourable for striking import deals. It has improved compared to a fortnight back,” Prakash Naiknavare, managing director, Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd, said. Spot sugar price in top producer Maharashtra has risen over 10% to Rs3,126.8 ($64.3) per 100 kg this month on robust festive demand and thin supplies. The key ICE October raw sugar contract settled down 1.54% or 6.7% to finish at 21.60 cents per lb on Friday, the lowest level in over a month. “The disparity between international and domestic prices has reduced. It is possible they (millers) can start importing,” Yatin Wadhwana, managing director of Sucden India Pvt Ltd, told Reuters. Indian millers, after signing deals for about a million tonnes in August, have skipped the international market this month as raw sugar futures hit 28- year peak, while whites hit a record expecting strong demand from the South Asian country. “Still there is gap of $30-$40 (a tonne between domestic and overseas prices),” Naiknavare said. India has contracted imports of 4 million tonnes so far this year and is expected to buy 4-5 million tonnes in the new 2009-10 season, a Reuters poll found last month. Industry expects about 3 million tonnes of raws purchased in 2008-09 would be processed and consumed next sugar year beginning in October. “India still needs to buy between a million and 2 million tonnes of sugar,” Jonathan Kingsman, head of the Kingsman brokerage, told Reuters on the sidelines of a sugar conference last week. Out of total sugar import deals of about 4 million tonnes in 2008-09, most were for raws as white imports wasn’t lucrative. “White sugar imports are not economically viable. There prices are too high,” Naiknavare said. London white sugar October contract ended $16.60 lower at $520.60 per tonne on Monday, with prices falling sharply after setting a record high for the front month of $603.60 last week. “They (Indian millers) have already bought enough quantity. I don’t think they will enter into market again aggressively,” said Veeresh Hiremath, a senior analyst with Karvy Comtrade Ltd. India’s sugar output in 2009-10 is expected to reach 16-17 million tonnes, far lower than the initial estimate of 20 million tonnes, while annual demand is pegged at 23-24 million tonnes, industry officials say. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:22 am Swiss topple US as most competitve economy: WEFGeneva: Switzerland knocked the United States off the position as the world’s most competitive economy as the crash of the US banking system left it more exposed to some long-standing weaknesses, a report said on Tuesday. The World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report 2009-2010 showed economies with a large focus on financial services such as the US, Britain or Iceland were the losers of the crisis. The US as the world’s largest economy lost last year’s strong lead, slipping to number two for the first time since the introduction of the index in its current form in 2004. “We have been expecting for some time that it may lose its top-position. There are a number of imbalances that have been building up,” said Jennifer Blanke, head of the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Network. “There are problems on the financial market that we were not aware of before. These countries (like the US and Britain) are getting penalized now,” she said. Trust in Swiss banks also declined. But in the assessment of banks’ soundness, the Alpine country still ranked 44th. US banks fell to 108 -- right behind Tanzania -- and British banks to 126 in the ranking, now topped by Canada’s banks. The WEF bases its assessment on a range of factors, key for any country to prosper. The index includes economic data such as growth but also health data or the number of internet users. The study also factors in a survey among business leaders, assessing for example the government’s efficiency or the flexibility of the labour market. The WEF applauded Switzerland for its capacity to innovate, sophisticated business culture, effective public services, excellent infrastructure and well-functioning goods markets. The Swiss economy dipped into recession last year, and had to bail out its largest bank UBS. But its economy is holding up better than many peers and most banks are relatively unscathed by the crisis, which drove US banks into bankruptcy. The WEF said the US economy was still extremely productive but a number of escalating weaknesses were taking its toll. Concerns were growing about the government’s ability to maintain distance to the private sector and doubts rose about the quality of firms’ auditing and reporting standards, it said. Brazil Leaps Leading emerging markets Brazil, India and China improved their competitiveness despite the crisis, the report showed. But Russia saw one of the steepest declines among the 133 countries assessed, falling back 12 places to 63, as worries about government efficiency and judicial independence rose, the WEF said. After years of rapid improvement, which took it to place 29, China now had to tackle shortcomings in areas such as financial markets, technological readiness and education as it could no longer rely on cheap labour alone to generate growth. India, ranked 49th, was in turn well positioned in complex fields such as innovation but had still to catch up on basics such as health or infrastructure, the WEF said. Brazil leapt by 8 ranks to 56th, as measures to improve fiscal sustainability and to liberalise and open the economy showed effects, the report said. Among the top-ten, Singapore moved up to third from fifth, swapping positions with Denmark, which fell behind fellow-Nordic country Sweden. Finland as 6th and Germany as 7th stayed put while Japan and Canada overtook the Netherlands. The WEF study named African countries Zimbabwe and Burundi as the world’s least competitive economies. In the case of Zimbabwe, the WEF noted the complete absence of property rights, corruption, basic government inefficiency as well as macroeconomic instability as fundamental flaws. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Sep 2009 | 1:14 am Car sales jump 25.59pc, bikes up 25.94pc in August - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:37 am DGCA cover-up on YSR chopper's airworthiness?To go by contradictory postings on its website, India's civil aviation regulator seems to be engaged in a cover-up operation on the airworthiness of a helicopter that crashed last week, killing Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:33 am Chaos at airports as Jet Airways pilots go on mass sick leaveSome 400 pilots of Jet Airways proceeded on a mass 'sick leave' Tuesday morning, resulting in cancellations of over 100 flights, inconvenience to thousands of passengers and chaos at several airports across the country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:33 am Jet chairman Naresh Goyal meets civil aviation secretaryNaresh Goyal met the Civil Aviation Secretary gainst the backdrop of pilots of the private carrier refusing to report to work.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:27 am Wildcat strike hits Jet operations, 150 flights cancelledA wildcat strike by over 300 pilots today crippled Jet Airways operations forcing the airline to cancel over 150 flights across the country even as Government explored the possibility of invoking ESMA to restore the services. Listen to podcastSource: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:09 am Sensex breaches 16KMumbai, Sept. 7 The bellwether BSE Sensex on Monday closed above the psychological 16,000-mark for the first time in 15 months on the back of revival in the South-West monsoon, positive global cues and strong FII support. It closed at 16,016, aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Bengal cancels land allotment to IT cosKolkata, Sept. 7 It is official now. The West Bengal Information Technology Department, in a post on its Web site on Monday, announced the scrapping of the proposed IT township project, Kolkata Links, at Rajarhat near here.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Reliance says NTPC knew gas price was subject to Govt nodNew Delhi, Sept. 7 Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has reiterated that NTPC was aware that the gas price (of $2.34/mBtu) quoted by it in the international competitive bid was subject to GovernmentSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideNote: The recommendation would be valid for the day only; LTP - Last tradedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Retail, media, pharma stocks misses the busBL Research Bureau The BSE Sensex closed at its 2009 high on Monday moving past the 16,000 mark. Though, in a broad sense, it may appear every stock did take part in this rally, the real picture is a little different. There were quite a fewSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Tech Mahindra bags $400-m Etisalat dealEtisalat DB, formerly known as Swan Telecom, will outsource implementation of its software applications and IT infrastructure to Tech Mahindra as part of a $400-million (around Rs 1,950-crore) deal spread over the next 10 years.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Global exit strategy needed after recoveryNew Delhi, Sept. 7 No return to protectionism and a commitment to medium-term fiscal stability should form the two major components of any ‘exit strategy’ framework that may be discussed at the forthcoming summit of G-20 leaders atSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Everest Kanto Cylinder (Rs 201.1): BuyWe recommend a buy in the stock of Everest Kanto Cylinder from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts that the stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend since its March bottom of Rs 84. However, after facing significantSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Made in India, shipped to China, ThailandMumbai, Sept. 7 Japanese automaker Nissan has kicked off its India sourcing programme by shipping out key components from its Chennai facility to China andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Give NHAI fuel cess ‘comfort’ for 21 years, panel tells GovtNew Delhi, Sept. 7 The high-level committee headed by Mr B. K. Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, wants the Government to make available funds from the fuel cess to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for another 21Source: Business Line - Home Page | 8 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Jet Airways pilots’ strike strands passengersMumbai: A flash strike by about 600 pilots of Jet Airways, India’s top carrier, stranded hundreds of domestic and international passengers on Tuesday, leading to angry confrontations in airports across the country. The National Aviators’ Guild, a union of pilots, has been demanding the reinstatement of two pilots Jet sacked. The union, which has been in talks with the airline, had threatened to go on strike if its demands were not met. Talks between the airline and the pilots’ union were scheduled to resume on 14 September. “Jet Airways has been in a conciliation process with the pilots. The regional labour commissioner had categorically stated that any strike by pilots during this (period) would be deemed an illegal act,” the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. “Regrettably, a section of the pilots has resorted to a simulated strike by reporting sick,” it said. A pilots’ union spokesman said they would continue to protest till they received some assurance from management that the dismissed pilots would be reinstated. “All we want is that they give us in writing that the two sacked pilots will be reinstated. Management also has some responsibility in meeting us half-way,” said Girish Kaushik. Stranded passengers were being accommodated in hotels or on alternate flights, a Jet Airways spokeswoman said. Last year, Jet Airways, reeling under high operating costs, was forced to reinstate 800 flight attendants it had sacked, after angry protests by employees that drew enormous media and political attention. India’s labour laws, rated by the World Bank as among the most rigid, hurts firms’ competitiveness and will spark tensions as layoffs bite in a slowing economy, analysts have said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 11:50 pm SBI Q2 earnings seen up 30-35 pct - chairmanMUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India, the country's biggest bank, is likely to see 30-35 percent growth in earnings in the current quarter, Chairman O.P. Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 11:49 pm India rupee gains for 5th day on capital inflow hopes - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Sep 2009 | 11:22 pm Interest rates have bottomed out: ICICI BankMumbai: Lending and borrowing interest rates in India have bottomed out and rates will harden from here, managing director of ICICI Bank, India’s No. 2 lender, said on Tuesday. Chanda Kochhar also said that credit growth in Asia’s third-largest economy was likely to pick up in the second half of this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 11:21 pm Ramalinga Raju stable in intensive care unitDisgraced founder of Satyam Computer Services Ltd B. Ramalinga Raju remained in the intensive care unit of a government-run hospital Tuesday after he suffered a cardiac arrest in a jail here. His condition is said to be stable.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 7 Sep 2009 | 11:01 pm Decision to scrap IT project a huge setback for Bengal - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:40 pm Jet Airways flights in Kolkata cancelledAt least four flights of Jet Airways out of Kolkata were cancelled this morning as pilots did not report for work.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:21 pm ICICI Bank says interest rates have bottomed outMUMBAI (Reuters) - Lending and borrowing interest rates in India have bottomed out and rates will harden from here, managing director of ICICI Bank, India's No. 2 lender, said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:20 pm Asian stocks rise on stimulus pledgeBangkok: Asian markets rose on Tuesday as investors fed on a pledge by the world’s 20 biggest economies to underwrite the global recovery with massive stimulus efforts. Stocks in Australia jumped more than 1% amid news business confidence had reached a near six-year high. Japanese shares shrugged off weak economic data to gain modestly. Oil prices hung around $68 ahead of Wednesday’s Opec meeting. With Wall Street closed for a holiday, markets continued to lap up the weekend announcements from finance officials at the Group of 20 summit in London that boosted European and Asian shares on Monday. The officials welcomed improvements in economic growth but warned recovery was not sustainable without continued government help in the form of deficit spending, low interest rates and efforts to expand the money supply. “I don’t know if the optimism is justified but people are buying into it,” said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities Ltd in Hong Kong. “The G-20 countries said they would continue to flood the system with liquidity so the economy doesn’t tank. That’s what investors wanted to hear. Investors always want to believe the good news and disregard the bad news,” he said. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was up 25.52 points, or 0.3%, at 10,346.46 despite a steep fall in the nation’s current account surplus underlining prolonged weakness in exports, a key driver of growth for the world’s No. 2 economy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 128.89, or 0.6%, to 20,758.20 while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.5% at 1,616.27. Australia’s benchmark jumped 1.5% as a monthly survey showed business confidence in August at its highest level in nearly six years. China’s Shanghai index gained 0.2% and Taiwan rose 1.4%. In Tokyo trade, the world’s biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1% despite announcing it is hiring 800 contract workers in Japan to keep up with brisk sales of its Prius gas-electric hybrid car. Oil prices hovered near $68 a barrel for a fifth day as the US summer driving season wound down and Opec planned to meet Wednesday. Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 38 cents at $68.40. In currencies, the dollar fell to ¥92.76 from ¥93.05. The euro rose to $1.4342 from $1.4332. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:18 pm Jet operations hit as pilots fail to report for workAt least 130 flights of Jet Airways were today cancelled from the four major metros after a large chunk of pilots failed to report for work.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:16 pm L&T eyeing DBS Chola’s India fund operation Mumbai: The financial services unit of India’s Larsen & Toubro Ltd is in talks to buy Cholamandalam DBS Finance’s domestic mutual fund operation, two sources familiar with the matter said. “We are working on their behalf,” one source said, referring to L&T Finance, a wholly owned unit of L&T. “We can’t share details at the moment. Let’s wait for the transaction.” Officials at Cholamandalam DBS, a joint venture between India’s Murugappa Group and Singapore’s DBS Bank that run DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management, could not be immediately reached for comment. Another source said Edelweiss Capital was the advisor for the asset manager. The valuation of Indian money managers has fallen from 2007/08 highs. In June, Japan’s Nomura said it would buy a stake in LIC Mutual Fund for about 2.5% of fund’s assets. DBS Cholamandalam had assets of about $615 million at the end of August, the company’s website showed. Valuations are likely to come under pressure even more following a recent ban on entry fees, which is widely expected to slow growth, add to distribution cost, cut profitability and delay the path to breakeven for money managers. The country’s stock market regulator said in July it would abolish front-end or entry fees charged by mutual funds from 1 August, a move aimed at cutting costs for investors and to discourage aggressive selling. A source in Singapore familiar with DBS said the lender has had a rethink about the India joint venture for some time. The venture laid off staff and cut the number of branches last year. “It’s about high time we do so,” he said when asked if DBS was planning to divest its stake in DBS Cholamandalam. Cholamandalam DBS shares rose by the maximum daily limit of 10% on Monday to Rs63.35. A L&T Finance official in Mumbai and a DBS spokesman in Singapore declined comment. Senior officials at Larsen & Toubro, India’s largest engineering and construction firm, had said last month the diversified company was interested in expanding its presence to asset management and insurance businesses. Earlier this month, L&T Finance successfully raised about $200 million via a retail bond sale. Late last year, Religare Enterprises Ltd agreed to buy Lotus Mutual Fund from Singapore state investor Temasek and London-based Sabre Capital Worldwide for about 1-2% of assets under management, according to media reports. By comparison, Infrastructure Development Finance Co agreed to buy Standard Chartered’s Indian fund unit for about 6% of assets in March 2008. And in 2007, hedge fund Eton Park paid about 13% of assets for a piece of Reliance Capital’s fund arm. In August, consultant McKinsey said in a report the industry was likley to witness consolidation as smaller players might not be able to withstand stress on profitability. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 10:15 pm McDonald’s loses trademark fight against McCurryPutrajaya: McDonald’s has lost an eight-year trademark battle against the Malaysian restaurant McCurry, which serves Indian food. The country’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that the US fast food giant cannot appeal against another court’s verdict that allowed McCurry to use the “Mc” prefix. The ruling by the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald’s to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement. A three-member Appeal Court panel had ruled in favor of McCurry Restaurant in April this year. The panel said there was no evidence to show that McCurry was passing off McDonald’s business as its own. McDonald’s asked the Federal Court for permission to appeal against that decision but was denied. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 9:54 pm Toyota to hire contract workers on global recoveryTokyo: Toyota is hiring 800 contract workers in Japan in its first such job increase in more than a year to keep up with brisk sales of its Prius gas-electric hybrid car, the Japanese automaker said on Tuesday. Most will start working next month at Toyota Motor Corp.’s Tsutsumi plant, central Japan, which makes the Prius and other models for the Japanese market. Toyota now employs 1,300 contract workers in Japan. Such workers are hired for limited periods unlike the 70,000 full-time workers in Japan, who are guaranteed “lifetime employment.” Toyota employs more than 300,000 workers worldwide. Toyota has been struggling since global sales plunged last year. It stopped hiring contract workers in Japan in June last year. The maker of the Lexus luxury model and Camry sedan racked up its worst loss ever of ¥436.9 billion ($4.6 billion) for the fiscal year ended 31 March. It has projected an even worse fiscal year through March 2010, although analysts are expecting that to be revised to a better forecast now there are signs sales may be picking up. “The decision to hire the contract employees reflects gradually recovering global auto sales,” said company spokesman Paul Nolasco. “We want to be prepared.” The Prius was Japan’s best-selling car for the fourth straight month in August. Government incentives and tax breaks helped boost the cars popularity. The Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, sold 21,669 Prius cars last month, as overall auto sales in Japan rose on-year for the first time in 13 months. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 7 Sep 2009 | 9:43 pm Irda puts leash on defecting agentsNo insurer can issue a no-objection certificate to their agents leaving the organisation to tie up with another insurer, unless the policyholder has been informed.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 4:27 pm Essel Propack sees China traction, stable EuropeLast year, the company had slipped into losses for the first time after losing customers when it shifted operations from Western Europe to Eastern Europe.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 4:08 pm Suven gets milestone payment from Eli LillySuven had entered into drug discovery collaboration with the US company in 2008 for developing a drug to treat central nervous system disorders.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 4:06 pm Reckitt has no plans to tweak Dettol strategyMadhumita Mookerji of DNA caught up with Sethi to get a lowdown on the industry and the company's plans during his short visit to Kolkata.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 4:02 pm Auto firms tank up for festive seasonAlready, manufacturers as well as dealers are hoping that the 'auspicious' navratras which follow shraddh from the 19th of this month should bring back buyers in droves.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 3:57 pm TechMa bags Rs 2,000 cr Etisalat orderEtisalat DB, which took a 45% stake in Swan Telecom (a part of DB Realty) last year, plans to start mobile services in 15 Indian telecoms zones later this year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 Sep 2009 | 3:56 pm Jet Airways pilots union calls off strikeNational Aviator's Guild (NAG), the pilots union of Jet Airways, today withdrew its proposed strike from midnight called to protest dismissal of two senior pilots.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 7 Sep 2009 | 3:15 pm West Bengal scraps IT township; Infy disappointedThe West Bengal government has scrapped the proposed IT township in Rajarhat. The land has been in focus after Vedic Village, a resort next to the land, witnessed violence last month and was set ablaze by miscreants. Infosys said it disappointed with the developmentSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 Sep 2009 | 2:25 pm The Larsen & Toubro (L&T)-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries consortium has emerged the frontrunner for expanding the 2000-megawatt (mw) Koradi power project at Koradi, Maharashtra. Suprotip Ghosh reports. |
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