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RIL incurred $400 m rev loss on D6 Block gas outputReliance Industries that started production of gas in the D6 Block in April is incurring a huge losses in the process. Reliance Industries (RIL) Executive Director PMS Prasad said that the company has incurred a potential revenue loss of USD 400 million so far on D6 Block gas output.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:09 pm RNRL wants to intervene in NTPCRIL caseIn another development in the Ambani gas dispute, Reliance Natural Resources Limited has filed an intervention application in NTPCRIL dispute in the Supreme Court. RNRL has said that there are common issues in RNRL and NTPC cases against RIL.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 9:09 am Intel may announce management overhaul todayIntel is expected to announce a management shake-up on Monday that will see its core chip business-head Patrick Gelsinger leave the company after 30 years, says a media report.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 7:32 am Infosys considers Rs 500600 crore expansion planIndias Information Technology major, Infosys is considering a Rs 500600 crore expansion plan and is looking to expand offices in Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:38 am Tea crop shortage, prices soar 2025%: Assam CoPrices of tea have risen by 2025% due to crop shortage, says Aditya K Jajodia, MD, Assam Company. He, however, expects to report good profits in the second quarter as well as FY10. \"We are putting up a new plant for degasification,\" he says, adding that the companys net profit will increase by Rs 3035 per kg.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:31 am Oil drops below USD 69 as dollar gains, stocks slide!Oil prices dropped below USD69 a barrel on Monday in Asia amid a stronger US dollar and a slide in regional stock markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am JAL shares jump on American Airlines, Delta talks!Japan Airlines (JAL) shares jumped on Monday following news that the struggling airline was in talks on investment by American Airlines and Delta Airlines.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Tata Motors to raise $412 mn via GDRs: Report!Tata Motors, India`s largest vehicle maker, plans to raise about USD 412 million soon through a sale of global depositary receipts to reduce its debt, a newspaper reported on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Reliance says may change exploration strategy!Reliance Industries Ltd may change its exploration strategy, turning its focus to its foreign assets and reduce risk in India by spreading drilling work over a number of blocks, its executive director said on Saturday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Economy will stabilise in 6 months: Ahluwalia!India`s economy will stabilise in the next six months and loan growth is showing signs of improvement, the plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Asian stocks down as weak dollar weighs on Japan!Most Asian stock markets retreated on Monday, with Tokyo`s benchmark sliding more than 2 percent as the dollar remained weak against the yen.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Sensex down 101 points in opening trade on profit-booking!Snapping a six-session rally, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex tanked by more than 101 points in opening trade today on emergence of profit-booking by fund and retail investors amid weak Asian markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am On Wall Street, Obama to set new economic course!A year after Lehman Brothers imploded and unleashed global financial contagion, President Barack Obama will argue on Monday that his policies are rescuing a US financial system that was near collapse.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am Rupee depreciates by 20 paise at 48.68 in opening trade!The Indian rupee on Monday slid by 20 paise against the US currency in opening trade on expectations of capital outflows and increased dollar demand from importers.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:22 am See Rs 18002000 cr topline in FY10: House of PearlRishi Vig, CFO of House of Pearl Fashions said that he saw demand picking up marginally due to increased consumer spending. He feels the companys numbers would start looking good by the fourth quarter of FY10 and expects a topline of Rs 1800 crore Rs 2000 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:08 am TRAI asks DoT to refer Uniform license fee to regulatorTelecom regulator TRAI has urged the government to consult it before deciding on a uniform license fee for operators, saying it has implications on the Centre's revenue as well as of the service providers.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 6:02 am NHPC defends issue price, says Rs 36/share justifiedThe NHPC stock saw muted response in trade post its listing falling below its issue price. However, SK Garg, CMD, NHPC defends the issue price saying the it was justified at Rs 36 per share.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 5:40 am Interest rates won\'t go up in near term: BankersRomesh Sobti, MD and CEO, Indusind Bank said, the banks were trying to derisk themselves, adding to this, Murali Natrajan, MD and CEO, Development Credit Bank (DCB), the bank had shifted to more secure lending on NPA (NonPerforming Asset) concerns.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 5:17 am Jaybharat Textile to launch realty projects by yearendJaybharat Textiles and Real Estate, which has a land bank of 20 million square feet, acquired at an average rate of Rs 67 per sq feet, will launch real estate projects by year end, the companys Chairman Saurabh K Tayal said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 5:14 am HDIL\'s defense: Rs 350cr income was to be booked laterHDIL has defended it stand and said that the Rs 350 crore income was to be booked in the remaining quarters of FY10 and that there was no undisclosed income or tax evasion from the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 5:05 am RIL scouts for exploration blocks overseasRIL FY10 EPcapex is seen at USD 3 billion, its Executive Director PMS Prasad told CNBCTV18, adding that most of it will be in D6 Block. Prasad further says that the demerger of EP operations is always an option for the company, but is not on the cards currently. The company has so far invested USD 5.8 billion in D6 block gas development.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Sep 2009 | 5:04 am CORRECTED - Oil drops towards $68 on dollar, position limitsLONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $68 a barrel on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and by heightened uncertainty in the market following a decision by a U.S. exchange to enforce limits on large positions.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:28 am Stocks end little changed; Nifty ends above 4800 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:22 am Hughes bags Rs 22.5 cr order from SBI - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:17 am Jet up 5 pc after settlement of dispute with pilotsShares of Jet Airways India surged 5.05 per cent to a high of Rs 270.40 on the BSE and 4.52 per cent on the National Stock Exchange to a high of Rs 270.25.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:16 am UAE may allow 100% ownership of businessesCurrently, foreigners must have a UAE national as a sponsor and are limited to a maximum 49% ownership of businesses in the Emirates, except in free trade zones.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:12 am Chevron approves $37 bn Gorgon LNG projectPerth: Chevron Corp and its partners gave a formal green light to building the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Australia, the world’s biggest new development, at a lower than estimated cost of $37 billion. Monday’s final investment decision, widely expected after the project cleared a series of key regulatory hurdles last month following years of review, is the starting gun on a project that will generate huge revenues for contractors and deliver some 8 percent of the world’s LNG when it begins production in 2014. The decision underscores a growing appetite for gas in the Asia Pacific region and heralds a shift in the hierarchy of Asian consumers that will see China overtake Japan as the dominant LNG buyer, a strategic position that gives China increased bargaining power as it chooses which project to back. Gorgon will also put pressure on about a dozen other LNG projects in Australia that are competing for both willing buyers in China, India, South Korea or Japan, and for the limited manpower and materials necessary to build the huge terminals that will make Australia the world’s No. 2 gas exporter behind Qatar. Chevron put a price tag of A$43 billion ($37 billion) on the first 15 million tonne per year (tpy) phase of the project, some 14% less than costs estimated by the government several months ago, and said the partners would decide within a year whether to add two further production units on Barrow Island, from an initial three, to expand output. “Gorgon has been a long time coming. Gorgon is destined to be an iconic project, a legacy project with massive investments set in motion today,” George Kirkland, Chevron’s executive vice president of global upstream and gas, said at a briefing in Perth. Chevron reiterated that it will fund its share of the project’s construction from its own balance sheet. The go-ahead will be a relief to Chevron and partners ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, each holding a 25% stake in the project, who have endured years of delay amid environmental concerns about its location on Barrow Island, off the coast of western Australia, and rapid cost escalation. Kirkland said the recent downturn in the oil and gas industry has reduced capital costs, working to their advantage. It is expected to create about 10,000 jobs at its peak and will be a boost for both the country’s export earnings and a potential boon for project contractors ranging from US firm KBR to South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and Australia’s Leighton Holdings. Chevron has already awarded A$2 billion worth of contracts and expects to award a further A$10 billion by year end. “Gorgon could prompt other projects to speed up to try and fix costs before the next great leap forward caused by rapid expansion and limited resources,” said Tony Regan, an LNG consultant with Tri-Zen International in Singapore. Challenges ahead The Gorgon gas field, discovered more than 30 years ago, is the first LNG project to be approved since December 2008 and is also Australia’s largest ever resource project, set to generate A$300 billion in Australian export earnings and a government revenue of A$40 billion. Gorgon is also a breakthrough in terms of being the world’s biggest carbon sequestration project. Chevron will spend A$2 billion to bury 40% of Gorgon’s greenhouse gas emissions, or 3.4 million tonnes per annum, by injecting the gas into a reservoir 2 km below Barrow Island. Analysts said the greatest challenge for Gorgon partners would be implementing the large-scale carbon capture programme and meeting the government’s stringent environmental conditions, laid down to protect more than 20 endangered animals found on the island, such as the flatback turtle, the spectacled hare-wallaby and the golden bandicoot. “Carbon capture hasn’t been done on such a large scale and it requires a fairly cutting edge technology, so this could potentially be a risk for the partners,” said Leigh Bolton, an analyst at Holmwood Consulting in London. The greater Gorgon area is estimated to have resources of 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent of 6.7 billion barrels of oil. The resource contains enough equivalent energy to power a city of 1 million people for 800 years, Chevron said. More sales to come Chevron and Shell, which have a combined total of about 5 million tonnes of Gorgon gas left to be sold, said regional demand remained buoyant and they were confident of securing more sales in the coming months. “We’re confident of demand. Shell’s access to LNG import terminals around the world will give it further options for Gorgon gas,” Jon Chadwick, Shell’s executive vice president for Australia, told Reuters in an interview. Some analysts have warned about the raft of other new LNG projects planned around the region and said the market was unlikely to be able to accommodate all the new capacity, most of which was targeted to come onstream in 2015-2016. “The previously expected rise in US LNG demand won’t be around anymore because of the surge in domestic gas supplies. So a lot of the gas in the Middle East will have to make its way to Asia, where demand growth for LNG too has its limits,” said an analyst who declined to be identified. Proposed LNG capacity of about 130 million tonnes a year is exceeding 80 million tonnes of uncontracted demand in the Pacific region over the next decade, brokerage firm Bernstein said in a report last month. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:10 am Suven Life gets 2 US patents - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:09 am Investors should think global - BlackRock, PIMCO CEOsSAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The severity of the U.S. financial crisis exposed investors' need to whittle down a dependence on dollar-denominated assets and diversify globally, two of Wall Street's most influential figures said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:08 am India rate swaps ease on bond rule change hopes - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:08 am BSE Sensex provisionally falls 0.1 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally shed 0.12 percent on Monday, snapping a six-day winning streak as investors locked in profits.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:07 am Yes Bank in pact with French firm to raise $20 mnPrivate sector lender Yes Bank Monday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Proparco, a French multilateral development finance agency, to raise $20 million (Rs.97.45 crore) subordinated debt.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am What led to recessionIn economics, recession refers to a general slowdown in economic activity over a long period of time. It also includes a series of contraction in business cycle.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:01 am India inks uranium deal with MongoliaIndia Monday signed a uranium supply agreement with Mongolia, the fifth country to seal a civil nuclear pact with New Delhi, and announced a soft loan of $25 million to rejuvenate the economy of the resource-rich Central Asian country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Anil Ambani group seeks to join NTPC-Reliance Industries rowThe Anil Ambani group Monday moved the Supreme Court, seeking to intervene in the dispute between state-run power utility NTPC and the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries over natural gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Exim Bank to fund overseas plantation acquisitionsState-run Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will fund Indian firms to acquire plantation estates in African and South American countries, a top official said here Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am Matsumotokiyoshi eyes big acquisitionsMatsudo, Japan: Japan’s largest drug store chain, Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings, said on Monday it plans to add 200-300 billion yen ($2.2-$3.3 billion) in annual revenue by acquiring smaller rivals by the end of the next financial year. That would be an up to 75% jump in the firm’s sales, which it forecast would likely be 400 billion yen for the year ending in March 2010, up 2% from the previous year. Japan’s $57 billion drug store industry faces a growing threat from new entrants following pharmacy deregulation earlier this year that paves the way for convenience stores and supermarkets to sell most over-the-counter medicines including cold medicines and aspirin. The company has said it targets 1 trillion yen in revenue and 2,000 stores by the end of the year ending in March 2016. “Our M&A targets include those with sales of over 100 billion yen,” company CEO Namio Matsumoto said in an interview with Reuters, adding that these companies would most likely be listed. He said some acquisitions are likely to be announced this year, although he declined to be more specific, citing ongoing negotiations. There are about a dozen listed drug store chains that have annual revenue of 100 billion yen and over, including Kirindo and Allied Hearts Holdings. Started as a mom-and-pop pharmacy on the outskirts of Tokyo in the 1930s, Matsumotokiyoshi, widely known as “Matsukiyo”, has built itself into a formidable national chain through aggressive store openings and acquisitions, running about 980 stores, including franchised ones. Store increase Matsumoto also said the chain plans to accelerate its store openings from the financial year that will begin in April next year, saying it is eyeing a net increase of 40-50 stores per year. The company had put the brakes on store increases in recent years, scrapping unprofitable outlets. “We will be actively opening stores and we expect to get some good real estate deals on locations,” he said. He said the company has no plans to open stores overseas in the immediate future, though local businesses are approaching it for potential partnership. “We have to solidify our operation in Japan, building it to the scale of 1 trillion yen (sales) first,” he said. “We have been approached by businesses in South Korea and Taiwan to do joint ventures, but we should focus (on Japan) for now.” In Japan, only licensed pharmacists had been allowed to sell drugs, but new regulations require much less rigorous qualifications for selling most OTC medication, ushering in competition from industry outsiders. Last month, Matsumotokiyoshi said it would jointly open stores with Japan’s No.2 convenience store chain, Lawson Inc, selling drugs and cosmetics in addition to convenience store mainstays like boxed meals. Lawson said it hoped to jointly open 1,000 stores in five years. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:55 am Canon to provide multifunction printers to HPTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc said on Monday that it and Hewlett-Packard have agreed to jointly market and distribute multifunction office systems.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:48 am WTO chief: trade barriers could slow global recoveryGENEVA (Reuters) - Protectionist trade measures, including subsidies to struggling industries, are "sand in the gears of international trade that may retard the global recovery," the World Trade Organisation chief said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:47 am Anil Ambani group seeks to join NTPC-Reliance Industries row - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:36 am Jet Airways to cut 50% fares for economy class - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:28 am Sensex down 101 points in opening trade on profit-bookingSnapping a six-session rally, the BSE benchmark Sensex tanked by more than 101 points in opening trade today on emergence of profit-booking by fund and retail investors amid weak Asian markets.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:12 am Gold demand sluggish, traders eye fallMumbai: India’s physical gold demand remained sluggish on Monday as traders were reluctant to enter into fresh deals as the yellow metal hovered near the keenly-watched $1,000-an-ounce mark, dealers said. “We are not getting good response at $1,000 (an ounce). There are enquiries, but nothing is materialising,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury, IndusInd Bank, in Mumbai. The physcial offtake remained weak last week as prices jumped above $1,000 an ounce, when a weak dollar overseas supported the yellow metal. At 2:23pm, international gold traded at $995 an ounce. Dealers expects traders to pick bargains if prices fall by over 1%. “There are many orders below $990 (an ounce),” said another dealer from a state-run bank. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:10 am Economy will stabilise in 6 months - Montek - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:08 am Realty firm HDIL to pay tax on extra incomeRealty firm Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) Monday denied having evaded taxes but said it would pay tax on additional income of Rs.350 crore following raids by the income-tax department last week.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:02 am Suven Life gets two more US patentsHyderabad-based pharma company Suven Life Sciences Monday announced it has received patents for two new chemical entities (NCEs) from the US Patent office.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:01 am Sensex down 86 points in afternoonA key index of Indian equities markets, which opened lower Monday, was trading 86 points down in the afternoon, compared to its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am Aphrodisiac maker to sponsor Churchill Brothers football teamI-League champion football team Churchill Brothers of Goa has signed a three-year endorsement deal with Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of the ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Xtra.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am Rupee extends fall on stocks drop; strong dollarMumbai: The Indian rupee extended losses in afternoon trade on Monday weighed by losses in domestic shares and some dollar demand from oil refiners. The US unit’s gains versus majors also hurt sentiment, dealers said. At 2:43pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.77/78 per dollar, weaker than its previous close of Rs48.48/49. It had risen 0.9% last week. Moves in the stock market are a key factor influencing capital flows in and out of India. Foreigners have bought a net $8.7 billion worth of shares this year, helping the rupee climb back from record a low of 52.2 in early March. Local shares were trading down 0.5% as investors locked in profits after a six-session rally, with weak Asian markets setting the direction. The index of the dollar versus six majors was up 0.5%. The US unit gained against most currencies on Monday as global stocks fell and investors fretted over a growing trade spat between the United States and China. Dealers said dollar demand from oil refiners was also adding to the pressure on the rupee. Oil is India’s biggest import with refiners being the largest buyers of dollars in the local currency market. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs48.7875 and Rs48.7850 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:57 am Economy will stabilise in 6 months - AhluwaliaNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's economy is stabilising and will remain a favoured destination for foreign investors as normality returns to global markets, a senior government official said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:54 am Economy will stabilize in 6 months, says MontekNew Delhi: India’s economy is stabilizing and will remain a favoured destination for foreign investors as normality returns to global markets, a senior government official said on Monday. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said there had been a pick-up in credit growth and foreign capital inflows were expected to rise in coming months, adding to signs the economy was finding a footing. “I think in the next six months, you will see the evidence of stabilization,” Ahluwalia told reporters after a conference. Earlier this month, the Planning Commission forecast economic growth of 6.3% for 2009-10. In a worst-case scenario, it said growth could fall to 5.5% if farm output was badly hit by the worst dry spell in nearly four decades. Asia’s third-largest economy grew 6.7% in 2008-09, slower than 9% or more expansion clocked in the previous three years. Ahluwalia said the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year ago sparked serious concerns about stabilizing the financial system, but noted the worst fears had not been realised. “I think the capital flows into India will not be adversely affected. In fact, when (the global financial) system stabilises, I think people will recognise India remains one of the fastest-growing countries in the developing world,” he said. “I don’t think we will have difficulty in getting the amount of capital that we want. It may not go to the level that we had in 2007 but that flow was more than we needed,” he said. Foreign funds have been net buyers of $8.75 billion of Indian shares so far this year, after selling more than $13 billion last year. In 2007, foreign funds were net buyers of $17.4 billion of stocks. Data last week showed foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four months of 2009-10 (April-March) was $10.5 billion, down about 15% from a year earlier. Earlier this month, the G20 finance leaders agreed on the need to continue economic stimulus until recovery was well entrenched, and strengthen financial regulations. “We are concerned that in the guise of improving regulation, they should not be putting in place rules that end up discriminating against the developing countries,” Ahluwalia said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:53 am Former BoE deputy 'astounded’ by no move to rescue LehmansThe former deputy head of the Bank of England today said he was “astounded” that the US government did not step in to halt the collapse of Lehman Brothers 12 months ago.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:50 am Patience needed in post-Lehman deal makingNEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Dealmakers are not known for their patience. Yet that's what's needed more than anything else a year after Lehman's collapse.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:57 am Reliance says new plant running at about full rateGADIMOGA, India (Reuters) - Reliance Industries' new 580,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Gujarat is operating at close to full capacity, Executive Director P.M.S. Prasad said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:25 am Indian scientist invents fastest disk encryption systemKolkata: An Indian scientist has claimed to have developed the fastest internationally known method to encrypt hard disk of a computer so that data remains secure even from attack by hackers. The new algorithm developed by Palash Sarkar, a professor at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, is reportedly 30 to 40% faster than the previous ones. From a practical point of view, the requirement is actually to achieve both speed and security. Otherwise, encryption and decryption may take so much time that softwares which run on computers become unacceptably slow, Sarkar said. “And, in the current state of the art, this work provides the fastest known algorithm for disk encryption,” Sarkar claimed. The results of the research will appear in October 2009 issue of the ‘IEEE Transactions on Information Theory’, one of the top research journals in the field of transmission, processing and utilization of information. Asked how he claims his algorithm to be the ‘fastest’, he replied, “One has to see this in the context of the anonymous and strict review process of the journal ‘IEEE Transactions on Information Theory’. The reviewers allowed this claim to stand because I could scientifically justify it in the paper. A hollow claim would have been struck down by the reviewers, he added. The claim of speed improvement in the new scheme is based on hardware implementation carried out by a group of Mexico-based scientists led by Dr Debrup Chakraborty. “The software implementation of the algorithm is expected to give more speedups compared to that of other methods,” Chakraborty said in an email interview. Chakraborty and his colleagues have been working on several aspects of disk encryption since past few years at the Center for Advanced Studies and Research of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico. The details of the new algorithm involve techniques of computer science, abstract algebra and discrete probability theory, Sarkar said. If the disk encryption method is used correctly, even a hacker cannot break the encrypted disk, he claimed. “But, the caveat here is that unless the system is properly used, a hacker can achieve his/her goal without actually breaking the encryption algorithm,” he said. As a secure and fast disk encryption algorithm is of major commercial interest, will he patent his method? “May be it is a good idea but I will try to do so in the future. But, I do not want to spend a whole lot of time in pursuing a patent claim. That would take time away from research which is my main goal,” he replied. Almost all available disk encryption schemes are patented preventing wide deployment of the schemes, Chakraborty said. “If Prof Sarkar does not go for a patent, it may facilitate the adoption of his method for deployment in commercial devices.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:25 am Key group of U.S. lawmakers nearing healthcare dealWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key group of U.S. senators was "very close" to agreement on healthcare reform, one of its members said on Sunday, suggesting Congress was nearer to meeting President Barack Obama's goal of passing a reform bill this year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:23 am Terror challenge more grave, says ChidambaramNew Delhi: Post Mumbai attacks, Pakistan-based groups like Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) persist in their attempts to launch terror attacks in India posing “grave” challenge, home minister P Chidambaram warned on Monday. “Terrorist groups including LeT and JeM persist in their endeavour to launch terror attacks. They continue to innovate new ways and means of deniability. They find support among disgruntled elements within India,” Chidambaram said. Inaugurating a three-day long conference of directors general and inspectors general of police organized by Intelligence Bureau, Chidambaram said cross border terrorism “is a matter of deep concern” and policing in India was always a challenge and after “26/11, the challenge has become more grave.” “Let me state our position clearly. On terrorism, our stance is zero tolerance. We shall raise our level of preparedness to fight any terror threat attack and, in the case of threat or attack, our response will be swift and decisive,” the home minister said. He said the security agencies have neutralized 13 terror modules in the first six months of this year. Describing 26/11 attacks as a “game-changer,” he said, “We meet under circumstances that pose formidable challenges to the security of the nation. The attacks in Mumbai on November 26, last year were a game changer. We can no longer afford to business as usual,” he said. Chidambaram said the country’s security faces many threats from sources like - terrorism, left wing extremism and insurgency - in certain states. On left-wing extremism, Chidambaram said it was purporting to be a radical form of communism. “Today, various groups adhering to this outdated ideology have their pockets of influence in 20 states,” he said, adding the banned CPI (Maoist) remaining the most potent of the naxal groups with a presence in 17 states and a 90% share in naxal violence. In a bid to expand its network and influence, the Maoist have been seeking alliances with secessionist and terrorist elements in the country, the home minister said. “It has been keenly seeking ideological resonance and tactical understanding with the Northeast insurgents and has begun to lend support to their secessionist ideology and demands,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:01 am Ciba India to merge with BASF India - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:55 am Dr Reddy’s launches generic Starlix, shares riseBangalore: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd has launched a generic version of Novartis’ diabetes fighter in the United States, a spokesman for the Indian drugmaker said on Monday, sending its shares up 1.7% in a weak market. The company had received US regulatory approval last week for nateglinide, a copycat version of Starlix, he said, but declined to give details. Brokerage Nomura said in a report Dr Reddy’s was likely to share 180-day exclusivity to sell this drug in the United States along with other generic players, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Par Pharmaceutical. Shares in Dr Reddy’s, which has a market value of $2.8 billion, was up 1.6% at Rs822 by 0648 GMT while the Mumbai market was down 0.6%. Dr Reddy’s and local rivals such as Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and Cipla Ltd have thrived on booming global demand for generic drugs as nations around the world battle rising healthcare costs. But the export-driven Indian companies are facing stiff pricing pressure as more drug makers jump into the generics market. Increased scrutiny of manufacturing standards by overseas regulators is also a worry as it could delay new launches. Dr Reddy’s chief operating officer Satish Reddy told Reuters last month the No. 2 Indian generic drug maker planned to launch six to seven new generics in the United States in 2009-10, including blockbuster omeprazole. Omeprazole is a generic version of AstraZeneca’s Prilosec and is indicated for the treatment of stomach ulcers and acid reflux. Dr Reddy’s will be the second generics maker after Perrigo to sell the copycat variant of this drug. Last year, Dr Reddy’s had launched acute migraine drug sumatriptan, a generic of GlaxoSmithKline’s Imitrex, in the US market, which helped its North America revenue nearly double in the June quarter. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:43 am Dr Reddy’s launches generic Starlix, shares riseBangalore: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd has launched a generic version of Novartis’ diabetes fighter in the United States, a spokesman for the Indian drugmaker said on Monday, sending its shares up 1.7% in a weak market. The company had received US regulatory approval last week for nateglinide, a copycat version of Starlix, he said, but declined to give details. Brokerage Nomura said in a report Dr Reddy’s was likely to share 180-day exclusivity to sell this drug in the United States along with other generic players, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Par Pharmaceutical. Shares in Dr Reddy’s, which has a market value of $2.8 billion, was up 1.6% at Rs822 by 0648 GMT while the Mumbai market was down 0.6%. Dr Reddy’s and local rivals such as Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and Cipla Ltd have thrived on booming global demand for generic drugs as nations around the world battle rising healthcare costs. But the export-driven Indian companies are facing stiff pricing pressure as more drug makers jump into the generics market. Increased scrutiny of manufacturing standards by overseas regulators is also a worry as it could delay new launches. Dr Reddy’s chief operating officer Satish Reddy told Reuters last month the No. 2 Indian generic drug maker planned to launch six to seven new generics in the United States in 2009-10, including blockbuster omeprazole. Omeprazole is a generic version of AstraZeneca’s Prilosec and is indicated for the treatment of stomach ulcers and acid reflux. Dr Reddy’s will be the second generics maker after Perrigo to sell the copycat variant of this drug. Last year, Dr Reddy’s had launched acute migraine drug sumatriptan, a generic of GlaxoSmithKline’s Imitrex, in the US market, which helped its North America revenue nearly double in the June quarter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:43 am HDIL to book 3.5 bln rupees as income in rest of FY10 - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:28 am IPO Note: Pipavav ShipyardPipavav Shipyard is making its initial public offer (IPO) in the price band of Rs55-60 a share. The issue proceeds would be utilised for construction of facilities for shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore structures and to meet working capital requirements. Company background Pipavav is strategically located adjacent to the major sea lanes of the Persian Gulf and Asia. Once fully operational, it would be the largest shipyard in India which can handle vessels up to 400,000DWT. Pipavav has two distinct units viz. Block making and Dry Dock. The company plans to have a diversified product mix with major focus on the defence and naval sectors. Outlook The Indian Shipbuilding industry is well-poised to register robust growth aided by the following factors: - Expected surge in seaborne trade. - Availability of cheap labour in India. - Strong capex lined up in offshore and defence sectors. Further, India’s share in shipbuilding is set to increase from 1.0% to 15% by 2020 (Source: i-maritime Consultancy Pvt. Ltd), which coupled with likely extension of government subsidy (on new orders beyond August 2007) will help shipbuilders sustain profitable growth going ahead. Valuation Notwithstanding good Industry growth prospects, we believe that the Pipavav IPO is priced at a premium v/s its peers. Consider: Global leader, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), is trading at 1.5x CY2010E P/BV while as per our estimates, even at the lower price band, Pipavav would trade at 1.8x FY2011E P/BV, which is expensive. The IPO is also expensive compared to its domestic peers, ABG and Bharati Shipyard, who have a diversified order book with strong revenue and operating visibility over next two-three years and higher Return Ratios. Thus, considering that the IPO is at premium valuations, we recommend an AVOID. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:18 am Economy, financial sector trouble most AmericansWashington: One year after Wall Street teetered on the brink of collapse, seven out of 10 Americans lack confidence that the federal government has taken safeguards to prevent another financial industry meltdown, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. Even more, 80% rate the condition of the economy as poor and a majority worry about their own ability to make ends meet. The pessimistic outlook sets the stage for president Barack Obama as he attempts to portray the financial sector as increasingly confident and stable and presses Congress to act on new banking regulations. The public sentiment also poses a challenge to central elements of Obama’s governing agenda. Half of those surveyed said deficit reduction should be a national priority over increased spending on health care, education or alternative energy. “I know a lot of people who don’t have health care and really can’t afford it,” said Judy Purkey, a 57-year-old grandmother from Morristown, Tennessee, who has raised four grandchildren and is living on disability payments. But she added, “The economy is so bad. You’ve heard the expression getting blood out of a turnip? Well, that’s what’s going on.” The president, in a CBS interview that aired Sunday on the TV news magazine “60 Minutes,” acknowledged the public’s quandary. “This is a very difficult economic environment. People are feeling anxious,” he said. “And I think it is absolutely fair to say that people started feeling some sticker shock.” Still, Obama generally avoided public blame for the recession or the condition of the banking sector. Only one out of five surveyed said Obama bore responsibility for the recession; 54% blamed former president George W. Bush and 19% blamed former president Bill Clinton. Financial institutions, however, bore the brunt of the criticism, with 79% of those surveyed said banks and lenders that made risky loans deserve quite a bit of the blame. Sixty-eight percent held the federal government responsible for not adequately regulating banks and 65% blamed borrowers who could not afford to repay loans. In a glimmer of good news for the administration, 17% of those surveyed said the government’s massive economic stimulus has improved the economy, a 10 percentage point increase over July. Nearly six out of 10, however, said they are not confident that the $787 billion that Congress approved to lower taxes and inject spending into the economy will do any good. The White House has been promoting the stimulus package as a job creator and job saver that has helped keep unemployment from rising above its current 9.7% level, the highest since 1983. Michael Painter, a 38-year-old unemployed plumber from Orlando, Florida, said that while he believed that the spending package would ultimately stimulate the economy, it had yet to help him or his laid-off wife and teenage daughter. He said he approved of Obama’s job so far, but not Congress’. “The people in Congress need to quit bickering about party issues and start worrying about people issues.” The Obama administration also has begun to portray the financial sector in more upbeat terms, eager to make the case that government interventions begun under then-president George W. Bush and continued, altered or expanded under Obama have brought stability to the markets. Obama plans to deliver a speech Monday, the anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, to outline the administration’s achievements and press Congress to enact changes in bank regulations. But the AP-GfK poll illustrates the difficulty he faces. More Americans worry about facing big, unexpected medical expenses now than they did in July, up 7 percentage points to 68% among those polled. Likewise, more worry that the value of their stocks and retirement investments will drop upto 4 percentage points from July to 68%. In October, then-president Bush pushed a $700 billion financial rescue package through Congress on the condition that only half could be spent without further congressional authority. Obama, upon becoming president in January, succeeded in getting the second amount released, despite growing apprehension among lawmakers about the wisdom of such a bailout. Obama has repeatedly said that the rescue of the financial sector would be incomplete without a new regulatory regime that would prevent a recurrence of the crisis. Obama has sent the outlines of possible regulation to Congress. Key lawmakers in the House and Senate have promised Obama legislation by the end of the year, but there is vigorous debate over key elements of Obama’s plan, including a new consumer finance protection agency and the designation of the Federal Reserve as the main overseer of large institutions that could pose risks to the system. The survey of 1,001 adults with cell and landline telephones was conducted from 3-8 September. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:17 am Morgan Stanley ups oil price forecast to $105 in 2012Singapore: Morgan Stanley has raised its forecast of US crude oil price to $105 a barrel in 2012 from $95 due to tightening spare capacity, the US bank said in a research note seen on Monday. It expected global spare production capacity to stay ample through end-2010, before declining in 2011 and reaching 2007-08-like tightness by 2012. “Assuming that demand returns to growth, we see global spare capacity back to 2007-08 levels by 2012, and getting even tighter thereafter,” Morgan Stanley said. “We believe that prices will need to move higher to ration demand as the world struggles to find enough supply,” it said, adding that the research was based on the bank’s proprietary database of more than 460 fields expected to come online through 2015. International benchmark US crude peaked above $147 in July 2008 on strong demand from emerging economies such as China. But the global economic recession has curtailed energy demand and slashed oil prices, which have traded around $68 to $71 a barrel over the last week. Morgan Stanley assumes oil demand to fall by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, rebound by 1 million bpd in 2010 and then grow by just 1% thereafter, it said. Post 2012, global liquids production shows the potential to increase to what the bank believes will be a maximum achievable level of roughly 92 million bpd, it said. Even if this record level is achievable, global demand growth at 1% annually would still leave the market tight, it added. There was considerable downside to much of the post-2013 production schedule, the report said, citing political wrangling over Project Kuwait, oil laws in Brazil, militant attacks in Nigeria and an array of issues with Iraq, Iran and Venezuela that will put global spare capacity at risk. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:16 am Obama tries to reinvigorate Wall Street reformWashington: US President Barack Obama will try on Monday to revive a stalled push for stricter oversight of Wall Street, using the anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse to argue for sweeping regulatory changes. Obama’s wide-ranging economic address in New York will also discuss plans to unwind the government’s involvement in the financial sector and call upon Wall Street firms to take responsibility and avoid reckless behavior. He is to speak at 12:10 EDT (1610 GMT). Gaps in the regulation of US banks and capital markets have been blamed for the subprime mortgage crisis and global financial chaos triggered after Lehman filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. Obama and other backers of a financial overhaul say new rules are crucial to heading off another catastrophe. But as Obama prepares to deliver the speech at the historic Federal Hall in the heart of Wall Street, the regulatory reform effort has hit resistance in Congress, casting doubt on Obama’s goal of enacting the legislation by year end. In addition to jumpstarting the regulatory reform legislation, Obama will seek to take credit for the relative calm that has settled over the markets in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s great depression. Obama’s battle to pass major health care legislation has taken a toll on his popularity but he hopes to get a boost from signs the economy is starting to improve. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner last week told a congressional panel that the economy, while still ailing, was in far better shape than a year ago and the government could begin unwinding some of the massive support given to markets. Adding to pressure on Obama to try to get the regulatory overhaul back on track is the approach of the Group of 20 summit on 24-25 September in Pittsburgh. Obama will play host to leaders of major developed countries including Britain, Germany and Japan and fast-growing economies such as China for talks on strengthening the global financial structure. Some of Obama’s global counterparts want Washington to move more swiftly to reform the still vulnerable financial system. The all-consuming focus on health care legislation, Obama’s highest priority, has overshadowed a package of financial regulatory measures the president unveiled in June. Fed may get greater powers Obama would give the Federal Reserve new powers to monitor big financial firms that could pose a “systemic risk” to the economy. He would also set up a process for the federal government to seize and liquidate troubled financial firms and create a new consumer watchdog agency for products like mortgages, car loans and credit cards. Advocates for financial change would like to see the president take a more hands-on role in the legislation. “It’s up to the administration and the congressional leadership to breathe some life into what’s left of the reform concept,” former Fed vice chairman Alan Blinder wrote in a column in the New York Times. Blinder said the reform effort’s pulse now seemed “faint.” Senior White House adviser Lawrence Summers told reporters Obama was committed to doing what it takes to help the legislation advance. But it will likely take more than a high-profile speech to get Washington to agree on a plan. Blinder and other supporters of tighter rules worry lawmakers may find it more politically expedient to pass a “reform lite” package of measures that would fail to safeguard against another crisis. While lawmakers tussle over the shape of reforms, there are also differences within the administration. The turf battles prompted Geithner in a meeting last month to scold regulators and urge them to get behind Obama’s plan. Lehman was once the fourth-largest US investment bank and its bankruptcy filing was the largest in US history. The firm’s demise and the near-collapse of insurance giant American International Group Inc sent shockwaves throughout the global financial system. Obama has long favored tighter oversight of US financial markets and made regulatory reform one of the platforms of his presidential candidacy. White House aides are mindful of the risk that the zeal to revamp regulations may wane as the economy improves and memories recede of last fall’s financial turmoil. “I think it is just crucial not to lose this window,” White House economist Christina Romer said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:06 am Obama tries to reinvigorate Wall Street reformWashington: US President Barack Obama will try on Monday to revive a stalled push for stricter oversight of Wall Street, using the anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse to argue for sweeping regulatory changes. Obama’s wide-ranging economic address in New York will also discuss plans to unwind the government’s involvement in the financial sector and call upon Wall Street firms to take responsibility and avoid reckless behavior. He is to speak at 12:10 EDT (1610 GMT). Gaps in the regulation of US banks and capital markets have been blamed for the subprime mortgage crisis and global financial chaos triggered after Lehman filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. Obama and other backers of a financial overhaul say new rules are crucial to heading off another catastrophe. But as Obama prepares to deliver the speech at the historic Federal Hall in the heart of Wall Street, the regulatory reform effort has hit resistance in Congress, casting doubt on Obama’s goal of enacting the legislation by year end. In addition to jumpstarting the regulatory reform legislation, Obama will seek to take credit for the relative calm that has settled over the markets in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s great depression. Obama’s battle to pass major health care legislation has taken a toll on his popularity but he hopes to get a boost from signs the economy is starting to improve. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner last week told a congressional panel that the economy, while still ailing, was in far better shape than a year ago and the government could begin unwinding some of the massive support given to markets. Adding to pressure on Obama to try to get the regulatory overhaul back on track is the approach of the Group of 20 summit on 24-25 September in Pittsburgh. Obama will play host to leaders of major developed countries including Britain, Germany and Japan and fast-growing economies such as China for talks on strengthening the global financial structure. Some of Obama’s global counterparts want Washington to move more swiftly to reform the still vulnerable financial system. The all-consuming focus on health care legislation, Obama’s highest priority, has overshadowed a package of financial regulatory measures the president unveiled in June. Fed may get greater powers Obama would give the Federal Reserve new powers to monitor big financial firms that could pose a “systemic risk” to the economy. He would also set up a process for the federal government to seize and liquidate troubled financial firms and create a new consumer watchdog agency for products like mortgages, car loans and credit cards. Advocates for financial change would like to see the president take a more hands-on role in the legislation. “It’s up to the administration and the congressional leadership to breathe some life into what’s left of the reform concept,” former Fed vice chairman Alan Blinder wrote in a column in the New York Times. Blinder said the reform effort’s pulse now seemed “faint.” Senior White House adviser Lawrence Summers told reporters Obama was committed to doing what it takes to help the legislation advance. But it will likely take more than a high-profile speech to get Washington to agree on a plan. Blinder and other supporters of tighter rules worry lawmakers may find it more politically expedient to pass a “reform lite” package of measures that would fail to safeguard against another crisis. While lawmakers tussle over the shape of reforms, there are also differences within the administration. The turf battles prompted Geithner in a meeting last month to scold regulators and urge them to get behind Obama’s plan. Lehman was once the fourth-largest US investment bank and its bankruptcy filing was the largest in US history. The firm’s demise and the near-collapse of insurance giant American International Group Inc sent shockwaves throughout the global financial system. Obama has long favored tighter oversight of US financial markets and made regulatory reform one of the platforms of his presidential candidacy. White House aides are mindful of the risk that the zeal to revamp regulations may wane as the economy improves and memories recede of last fall’s financial turmoil. “I think it is just crucial not to lose this window,” White House economist Christina Romer said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:06 am Clean energy to create more jobs than coal: studyThe study, by environmental group Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), urged governments to agree a strong new United Nations pact to combat climate change in December in Copenhagen, partly to safeguard employment. “A switch from coal to renewable electricity generation will not just avoid 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, but will create 2.7 million more jobs by 2030 than if we continue business as usual,” the report said. Governments were often wrong to fear that a shift to green energy was a threat to jobs, said Sven Teske, lead author of the report at Greenpeace. He said that the wind turbine industry was already the second largest steel consumer in Germany after cars. “Renewable power industries can create a lot of jobs,” he told Reuters of the outlook for solar, wind, tidal, biomass - such as wood and crop waste - and other renewable energies in power generation. “This research proves that renewable energy is key to tackling both the climate and economic crises,” said Christine Lins, secretary general of EREC, which represents clean energy industries. Assuming strong policies to shift to renewables, the study projected that the number of jobs in power generation would rise by more than 2 million to 11.3 million in 2030, helped by a surge in renewables jobs to 6.9 million from 1.9 million. Coal decline Under a scenario of business as usual, the number of jobs in power generation would fall by about half a million to 8.6 million by 2030, hit by mainly by a decline in the coal sector due to wider mechanization. Teske said that the report was not advocating creation of millions of jobs in uncompetitive labour-intensive clean energy industries propped up by government subsidies. “Renewables must be competitive in the long run,” he said. Labour costs would be higher but costs to drive a renewable power industry would be lower, for instance, in a world where it cost ever more to emit carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. The report said that, for the first time in 2008, both the United States and the European Union added more capacity from renewable energies than from conventional sources including gas, coal oil and nuclear power. The report suggested the wind sector alone, for instance, could employ 2.03 million people in generating power in 2030 against about 0.5 million in 2010. “The union movement, as well as the authors of this report, believe ambitious climate action by world leaders can and must be a driver for sustainable economic growth and social progress,” Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement. The report was based partly on research by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:04 am Chhattisgarh wants its small towns on the air mapThe Chhattisgarh government has sought proposals from private airlines to fly small planes to small industrial towns, plus towns in Maoist-hit parts of the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Jet slashes fares by 50% to woo customers backJet Airways, which lost nearly Rs 60-crore business to competition during the five-day impasse, has now decided to slash economy ticket prices by a flat 50 per cent on its flagship airline as well as Jet Konnect flights for travel up to SeptemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Cameco of Canada eyeing Indian uranium marketNew Delhi, Sept. 13 Cameco Corporation, the world’s second-largest producer of uranium after Rio Tinto, is setting up shop in India.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Syndicate Bank (Rs 83.6): BuyWe recommend a buy in Syndicate Bank from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that after recording a multi-year low of Rs 37.6 in March, the stock has been on an intermediate term uptrend. However, it has beenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Monsoon enters a lull phase over north-west IndiaRemnant of the erstwhile Bay of Bengal tropical storm 03B that soaked the Delhi-Haryana-Punjab region over the last few days has let off considerable steam and weakened into an upper air cyclonic circulation.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Liquidity likely to drive benchmarks furtherDalal Street last week moved closer to the upper band of the benchmark index’s short-term range, but did not break it. Trend in fresh liquidity flows suggests creation of an objective condition for a breakout this week.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Panel to look into issues affecting pilotsJet Airways operations finally started limping back to normalcy from Sunday afternoon after the five-day-long impasse between the management and pilots was “amicably” resolved. While Jet said its international operations would beSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Gold price momentum likely to slow down in short termWashington DC, Sept 13 Last week’s developments in the commodities complex covering, energy, metals and agriculture once again underscore the fact that fundamentals have begun to assert themselves; but some, such as gold, seem to defy,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Telecom towers, huge power guzzlers tooNew Delhi, Sept. 13 With about 2.5 lakh towers powering mobile services to over 400 million subscribers, the telecom industry is now the second largest consumer of energy in the country.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Bond yields pause on slow Govt borrowings, rise in FII inflowsBangalore, Sept. 13 Bond yields paused their northward course, as Government borrowings slowed down and accretions to bank deposit accountsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Morning: Markets fall 0.5% after 6-day rallyMumbai: Indian shares dropped 0.5% Monday as investors locked in profits after a six-session rally, with weak Asian markets setting the direction. By 11:23am, the 30-share BSE Index was down nearly 80 points at 16,185.94 points, with 20 components losing. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.6% at 4,802 points. The benchmark, which climbed 5.6% over the previous six sessions, had more than doubled last Tuesday from its March low. “There is very little room for buying at these levels,” said D.D. Sharma, vice-president, Anand Rathi Securities. “There might be pockets of demand at dips, but largely I foresee a downward trend for some time as the market will continue to experience profit-booking,” he said. Private-sector lender ICICI Bank led the losers, falling 1.2% to Rs825.90, followed by engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro that shed 0.9% to 1,613.15 rupees. Tata Steel, the world’s eighth-largest steel maker, bucked the trend and rose 1.2% to Rs474.80 on rising demand hopes, and top automaker Maruti Suzuki gained 0.2% to Rs1,469.70 on robust car sales. Data on Friday showed factory output grew for a seventh month in July and India’s reservoirs and prospects for winter crops were boosted after the weather office said the monsoon delivered the season’s heaviest rain in the past week. Sharma said many sectors including real estate, banks and autos had run up over the past week and needed to pause. Foreign funds have moved about $448 million into Indian equities between 1-10 September, taking the total inflow since the end of 2008 to $8.7 billion. The investment has helped the BSE index climb nearly 69% this year, after sliding more than half in 2008 when foreigners had pulled out over $13 billion. In the broader market, there were 1,259 losers to 969 gainers on moderate volume of 116.4 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:59 pm Reliance says new plant running at about full rateGadimoga: Reliance Industries’ new 580,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in western Gujarat state is operating at close to full capacity, executive director P.M.S. Prasad said. The new plant, next to its old 660,000 bpd refinery, has turned Jamnagar into the world’s largest refining complex, processing 1.24 million bpd. “We have commissioned all the units and it is operating at almost full capacity,” Prasad, who heads Reliance’s upstream and refinery business, told Reuters on Saturday. Last month Reliance started an 85,000 bpd alkylation unit, the only unit remaining to be started up at the new plant, with the aim of producing petrol to meet tough US and European norms. Since the start of commercial production at its new plant in mid-March, Reliance’s fuel exports have shifted direction sharply as it has diverted sales from Asia to the Gulf and Europe. Prasad, who fathered India’s deepest and biggest gas find in the D6 block off India’s east coast, has been working with Reliance since last 28 years and played a key role in backward integration of the petrochemical firm to refinery to exploration. He managed the old Jamnagar refinery project, which, when started about a decade ago turned India into a net fuel exporter. And now peak oil and gas output from the D6 block, equivalent to 40% of India’s current production, will reduce crude the import bill of Asia’s third largest oil consumer by 10%. Cairn Crude Reliance has been diversifying its crude slate since the commissioning of its new plant in December and tested several new grades to feed its complex refineries. In July its crude imports rose about 65 percent from a year earlier. Prasad said Reliance’s heavy crude imports would fall by at least 30,000 bpd from next year, when it begins crude purchases from Cairn Energy. Last month Cairn began pumping crude from its Rajasthan block. Despite producing oil and gas from the D6 block, Reliance meets fuel and feedstock needs for its project via imports as the Indian government has not allowed it to buy its own gas. It buys 9 million cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of liquefied natural gas and uses liquid fuel for the balance 8 mmscmd. Reliance is now producing 12,000 bpd from D6 and production would rise to 25,000-30,000 bpd by December, he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:35 pm Jet up 5% after settlement of dispute with pilotsMumbai: Jet Airways India on Monday climbed 5.05% on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a day after the five-day-old stir by its pilots ended and the airline management reached a settlement with the agitators. Shares of Jet Airways India surged 5.05% to a high of Rs270.40 on the BSE and 4.52% on the National Stock Exchange to a high of Rs270.25. As part of the agreement reached between pilots and the management yesterday, a consultative group/body is to be put in place which would have at least two directors from the Board of Jet Airways, the chief executive officer, two representatives from flights operations and five pilots. The group would ensure a continuous process of dialogue between the management and the pilots. Meanwhile, private air-carrier Jet Airways announced a 50% discount on its total fare in economy class across all domestic flights. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:30 pm ING Vysya to raise Rs416 cr via QIP, preferential issueMumbai: Private sector lender ING Vysya bank on Monday said it will raise Rs416 crore by issuing shares to potential buyers and allotting equity on preferential issue basis. The investors committee has approved to issue 92,70,455 shares to qualified institutional buyers at Rs248.10 a piece aggregating to Rs230 crore and to allot 74,93,478 shares to ING Mauritius Holdings and ING Mauritius Investments at Rs248.10 per share on preferential basis, aggregating to Rs186 crore, ING Vysya Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of ING Vysya bank were trading at Rs260 on the BSE, up 0.46% from previous close. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:23 pm Money Market updateG-sec Market: The 10-year G-sec 6.90% GOI 2019 opened at a yield of 7.36% same as the previous day closing levels. The 10-year US Treasury yield eased from 3.36% to 3.34%. The 3-month Interest Rate Future is trading at a level of 8.12%. The 10-year G-sec 6.90% GOI 2019 is likely to trade in the range of 7.32% - 7.38%. Money Market: The Call Rate and CBLO rate opened at 3.30% and 2.80%. The money market rates are expected to remain soft tracking comfortable liquidity in the system. Swap Market: The 5Y OIS swap rate traded in the range of 6.62% - 6.67%, compared to previous closing levels of 6.71%. The OIS swap rates are expected to trade range-bound tracking G-sec yields. Forex Market: The INR opened at Rs48.68 against the USD compared to previous closing level of Rs48.48. Rupee is expected to trade in the range of 48.40 – 48.90. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:22 pm Mint in multimedia: September 14, 2009Video story: Reddy’s prescription Institutions that are more objective and take a longer-term view could dictate the the debate on the future of the global financial system, says former RBI governer Y.V.Reddy. Video story: Cheese Steak Grill a cottage cheese steak for dinner, and serve it with leek fondue Video story: Men’s fashion week Indian men have become more experimental. That was one clear trend that emerged at India’s first ever Men’s fashion week this past weekend. Video story: Taking stock Mint’s correspondent Ravi Krishnan says news of an economic recovery, better monsoon and strong IIP figures helped move the markets last week. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:21 pm HDIL to book Rs3.5 bn as income in rest of FY10Mumbai: Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) said on Monday it has offered to book Rs3.5 billion as income in the remaining three quarters of FY10. The company offered to book the income during the course of a raid by the Income Tax department on the offices of HDIL and the founders’ residences on 10 September and 11 September, the real estate and construction company said in a statement to the stock exchange. The “next three quarters, this 350 crores (Rs3.5 billion) of income will be booked,” a company official who declined to be named told Reuters on the telephone. The income of Rs3.5 billion, as calculated by the income tax department, is based on initial entries in books of accounts mostly relating to FY10, which HDIL “would have irrespectively booked during the current financial year on completion of transaction and taxes paid,” it said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:17 pm Sensex down 101 points in opening trade on profit-bookingThe BSE benchmark Sensex tanked by more than 101 points in opening trade today on emergence of profit-booking by fund and retail investors amid weak Asian markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:16 pm Obama tries to reinvigorate Wall Street reformWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will try on Monday to revive a stalled push for stricter oversight of Wall Street, using the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse to argue for sweeping regulatory changes.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:12 pm Stock review: ThermaxThermax, a market leader in small and medium sized industrial boilers, is among one of the few companies in the world that provides total integrated solutions in the areas of heating, cooling, power, water and waste management, air pollution controls and chemicals. Though the company is currently facing the brunt of slowdown and likely to witness near-term challenges, the outlook seems to be considerably improving FY2011 onwards. Structural growth drivers The power deficit has been a constant and continued scenario within the economy, with peak load deficit touching a high of 16.6% in FY2008. Given the current demand-supply dynamics, we believe that the power deficit is here to stay for a foreseeable future, which would structurally be a long-term positive driving growth for the captive power players. Besides, with existence of heavy cross subsidies in the sector, the captive route is turning out to be an economical option too for the industrial users. Outlook and valuation Traditionally Thermax has been trading in a wide forward P/E band range of 3-38x. During April 2001-March 2004, the stock traded at an average P/E of a mere 6x. This was the phase when the company was coming out of operational setbacks suffered in FY2001 (the year when company suffered losses) and was in the midst of scaling up its operations. We expect Thermax to face near-term challenges with macro economic slowdown bound to adversely impact its FY2010E Earnings. However, we estimate a strong bounce back from FY2011 on the back of rebound in the domestic economy along with pick up in the industrial capex driving order momentum for the company. Besides, the company’s entry into the utility boilers space would impart a greater revenue visibility reducing high cyclicality associated with its earnings. We believe that the company’s success in the utility boilers segment could be a key growth driver and aid re-rating of the stock in the future. At the current price of Rs455, the stock is quoting at 20.6x and 15.1x FY2010E and FY2011E EPS, respectively. Against the backdrop of economic revival, foray into utility boilers, healthy balance sheet and strong management team, we assign a Target P/E multiple of 17x to Thermax. We Initiate Coverage on the stock, with an ACCUMULATE recommendation and Target Price of Rs512. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 10:59 pm Re depreciates by 20 paise at 48.68 a $ in opening trade - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Sep 2009 | 10:41 pm Indian investors richer by Rs 10-tn in a year of Lehman fallThe world is yet to recover fully from the worst financial crisis of the century, but Indian stock investors have become richer by Rs 10,00,000 crore in the one year since the fall of investment banking giant Lehman Brothers, the first major casualty of the crisis.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 13 Sep 2009 | 6:01 pm ‘TCIL is a true multinational’Operational in 40 countries, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) is a true multinational. It performed well in the financial year ending March 2009. Its chairman and managing director RK Upadhyay spoke with Manoj Gairola on his strategy to expand TCIL.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 13 Sep 2009 | 5:34 pm QIPs stay hot as IPOs disappointQualified institutional placements (QIPs) are going strong even as the recent initial public offers by companies have disappointed with poor listing gains.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:57 pm Why your I-T returns may have been rejectedAfter filing your tax return online and posting it to the newly set-up Bangalore processing centre, if you still haven't got an email receipt from the income-tax department.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:56 pm Jet lures fliers as ‘sick’ pilots returnWith over 500 “sick” pilots reporting back to work, Jet Airways resumed some of its flights on Sunday after an early morning agreement between the management and pilots’ guild ended a five-day stir, reports Lalatendu Mishra.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:45 pm Libor crash = surge in corporate Fx loans?With local banks flush with liquidity and overseas rates also falling rapidly, companies are spoilt for choice with regards to funding.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:37 pm Reddy's gets US FDA nod, launches Starlix cloneThe company is one of four to have entered the world's biggest pharmaceuticals market with the generic version of Starlix (Nateglinide) for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:32 pm Wockhardt offers 65% haircut to FCCB holdersFor bondholders who do not wish to participate in the buyback, Wockhardt has also given an option to exchange the bonds for preference shares.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:30 pm 3G auction slated to start on December 7Two days after the close of this process, WiMax or broadband wireless licences will be auctioned.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:29 pm Increase in HTM cap is necessaryThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is evaluating proposals to increase the cap on held-to-maturity (HTM) portfolios of banks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:27 pm Persistent weakness in dollar could boost rupee's gainsLiquidity, optimism about global recovery and reserve rebalancing could affect the greenback.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:26 pm Nestle could leave Switzerland if salary cap imposed: ChairmanThe world's biggest food company Nestle could leave its homebase Switzerland if Bern imposes a cap on executives' salaries, the group's chairman said in remarks published on Sunday.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 13 Sep 2009 | 3:22 pm Global crisis, local effectsIndia was the exception to the global rule, the government firmly assured its citizens. So when the global financial crisis rudely interrupted that complacency, courtesy a severe liquidity crunch that sucked cash out of the money markets, nobody was prepared to cope with the misery that followed. Real estate and exports were the worst hit but others, too, were about to enter a prolonged slump, with not even a glimmer of light visible at the end of the tunnel. Taking a cue from governments and central banks around the world, the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India then embarked on a series of stimulus measures to help ease the worst effects of the crisis. Interest rates were slashed, taxes were cut, measures that are having an effect on some areas of the economy. This primer, which is full of arrows pointing down, shows what happened across some of the key sectors.  ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE Dragged down by slump The economic downturn has put the brakes on the Indian advertising industry with the pace of growth in advertising expenditure having slowed in 2008, after five years of rapid growth rates averaging 17-18% per year. After expanding 21% in 2006-07, advertising expenditure slowed to a growth pace of 16% in the next year and further to 10% in 2008-09. Of the total Rs22,288 crore advertising expenditure in 2008, print and TV constituted 88% of the pie, but the growth rates for the two media verticals fell significantly from 15% in 2007-08 to 7% in 2008-09 for TV, and from 14% to 12% for print in the same period, noted a study by media buying and planning agency Lintas Media Group, part of the Interpublic Group. The Internet was the fastest growing medium at 56%.  What’s worse is that 2009 looks even more bleak for the advertising industry, which has faced its first bout of negative growth in the first half of this year. According to a media spends projection report by Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd in association with trade publication “Pitch”, the advertising expenditure for the first half of 2009 was Rs7,452 crore, which is Rs1,414 crore less than advertising expenditure for the same period last year. Industry professionals believe even advertising expenditure achieved this year have been all thanks to the two mega events, the Indian Premier League and the general election that bumped up spending, which could have otherwise been even worse, leaving the industry grappling with a crisis. By the year end, the overall advertising expenditure is not likely to cross Rs20,000 crore, marking the end of what has been a dream run for the advertising industry.  BUSINESS CONFIDENCE Losing faith in the economy As industrial output slumped, exports tumbled and companies scaled back investments, business confidence took a turn for the worse. The National Council of Applied Economic Research Business Confidence Index has continued to decline since April 2008 when it stood at 148.7. A year later it had fallen to 81.6. With the late revival in the monsoon, companies that depend on rural markets may regain their faith in the economy. CAR SALES  Slowing down, speeding up Tightfisted creditors and expensive loans resulted in a fall in car sales that began in July and continued until January. (September was an exception as manufacturers increased dispatches in anticipation of festive season demand.) But after ending the fiscal year with flat growth, car sales have surged, with buyers crowding into car dealerships as new models such as Maruti Suzuki’s Ritz and Honda’s Jazz entered the market. Car makers have posted 25% growth last month, albeit on a low base. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE Second most optimistic lot  India ranked third, behind Indonesia and Denmark, in the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index for the first half of 2009, still 15 points down from the second half of 2008. Around 56% of Indian consumers surveyed said the slowdown would end in the next 12 months, the second most optimistic lot after the Vietnamese with 66%. Concern about pay cheques seemed to have abated. Around 13% said job prospects in the next one year would be “excellent,” while 55% thought they would be “good.” CREDIT GROWTH Companies uncertain  Credit growth has fallen in recent months, as companies are reluctant to take loans fearing reduced demand. Banks, not very eager to disburse funds in the last quarter of calendar year 2008, have loosened their purse strings, but are still cautious with exporters, real estate and those without good credit ratings. Credit growth was 14.1% for the week ended 28 August, which bankers attribute not only to low demand, but also to the high base effect of last year at around 25.3%. It was as high as 32% in 2006-07. EXPORTS  Taking the worst hit India’s exports sector was the worst hit by the downturn with global demand contracting for the first time in five years. Merchandise exports have been contracting for 11 months in a row since October last year. In August, exports contracted 19.7% to $14.3 billion. During the first six months of the current fiscal year, overseas shipments contracted 31.3% to $63.9 billion from $93.1 billion during the same period last year. Labour-intensive sectors such as leather, textiles, gems and jewellery were the worst hit. IPOS Scrapping public offers  At least 60 Indian companies deferred their share sale plans after filing offer documents with the market regulator in 2008. There were only 12 initial public offers (IPOs) in the year following the Lehman bankruptcy that raised Rs9,886 crore. This was a 64% decline from the Rs27,487 crore mopped up in the previous year. But with secondary markets growing almost 100% in the past six months on hopes of continued economic growth, risk appetite has returned to the market and the outlook for IPOs seems brighter. IT EXPORTS Caught in the doldrums  India’s software exports, after surging at least 30% in the last six years, grew the slowest last year as clients in the US and Europe cut spending on technology. The Indian IT industry faced a jolt during the year after Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, confessed to a fraud by fudging books of what was then India’s fourth largest software exporter. The government intervened to save Satyam, which was eventually bought by Tech Mahindra Ltd. Indian software firms expect a recovery in 2010. JOBS Poor performers punished  Companies across sectors such as technology, manufacturing, airlines and hospitality went slow on hiring as the economic crisis unfolded. From chasing talent, companies resorted to mostly replacement and need-based hiring. Manufacturing firms such as Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd shrunk their contract workers’ pool as they cut shifts at their factories, in line with demand. Employers resorted to tighter performance metrics, weeding out those perceived to be at the bottom of the table. But things seem to be looking up. According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey India released last week, Indian employers expect a robust labour market in the three months ending December 2009. Around 36% of employers anticipate an increase in head count, 56% predict status quo and a mere 2% expect a dip. The survey had a sample of 5,637 Indian employers. ORGANIZED RETAIL  Buyers beat it, shops shut Organized retail was one of the casualties of the slowdown. Several retailers including Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, Spencer’s Retail Ltd and Aditya Birla Retail Ltd scaled down expansion plans and shut shops. The stand out failure was Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd, which shut 1,600 outlets nationwide since January amid a cash crunch. The company is in talks with lenders to restart operations. Recent Mint research shows retailers closed at least 2,000 branded stores in the last year or so. MILLION-DOLLAR HOMES  Realty goes downmarket Around a year after Unitech Ltd, India’s second largest developer, announced its luxury Unitech Grande project (apartments for over Rs1 crore), the slowdown slammed the real estate sector. Sales of high-end homes plunged from September 2008. Developers started borrowing heavily and the debt of those such as Unitech surged almost Rs10,500 crore at the end of 2008. Survival has meant going downmarket, with smaller, lower-specification affordable homes under Rs30 lakh, demand for which is high. M&A ACTIVITY Deals drop, values decline  Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity slumped after September 2008. Venture Intelligence said the number of deals fell by 47% and their value by 56% in the last 12 months from a year earlier. The sector with the highest M&A activity in the past 12 months was the IT-ITeS space , followed by manufacturing. The top three completed deals were the acquisition of Imperial Energy Corp. Plc by ONGC for $1,900 million, the purchase of Axon Group Plc by HCL Technologies Ltd for $682 million and the purchase of Shantha Biotechnics Ltd by Sanofi-Aventis SA for $625 million. MORTGAGES  Minor impact, growth slows While the subprime crisis demolished the home loan market in developed countries, it only had a minor impact in India. Growth of home loans slowed to 17.45% in the last quarter of the previous fiscal year, according to data from Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd, the oldest mortgage lender in the country. These are just numbers for the company, as consolidated data for the whole market is unavailable. The expansion rate of home loans has since recovered and home loans grew at 20.6% in the first quarter of this year. Given the huge pent-up demand for housing , the subsidies on interest rates and correction in property prices, the outlook is positive for this sector. Meanwhile, real estate companies have reduced rates (and unit sizes) to meet demand at lower price points. SALARIES Pay cheques frozen, a few cut  Salaries were a mixed bag in the post-slump period with a large number of companies doling out pay rises while others froze salaries. Around 27% of firms said they froze salaries enterprise-wide at 2008 levels, 38% of companies hiked salaries in 2009 as per plan and a mere 6% trimmed pay cheques in October 2008-April 2009, according to a Mercer-CII survey. Things look better for the June to December period, with at least 41% of companies saying they would raise pay across their enterprises as per plan, 15% foresee the deferral of pay rise, 6% a dip in salary levels and 15% plan a freeze, with the remaining not responding to the question. Mahindra Satyam, the new brand identity of Satyam Computer Services Ltd following its acquisition by Tech Mahindra Ltd, has meanwhile reinstated the variable portion of pay for all employees after having suspended it in April.  VENTURE CAPITAL/PRIVATE EQUITY ACTIVITY Deals take a plunge Venture capital and private equity investments have plunged in the last eight months in the country. The total number of VC deals from January to August stood at 38, with investments worth $167 million, compared with 108 deals worth $617 million in the same period a year ago. Private equity players struck 126 deals, worth $1.9 billion in the first eight months of this year, against 326 deals last year worth $8.68 billion. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) stood out in terms of gaining investments this year. So far this year, investors have put $68 million into MFIs, compared with around $2.3 million last year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 1:45 pm To hell and back On 15 September 2008, the world woke up to the news that US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. had filed for bankruptcy. Cascading fears about the stability of other financial institutions rattled markets worldwide. Stocks crashed and financial experts such as former US Federal Reserve governor Alan Greenspan termed it a once-in-acentury crisis. As the credit crunch intensified, economic activity slowed in most parts of the world. Banks and other financial institutions wouldn’t lend to companies and each other, and interest rates spiked, affecting demand. Major developed markets went into recession and the pace of economic growth in India and China slowed significantly.  Also See The Green Shoots (Graphics) This spurred into action governments and central banks around the world—they cut rates and pumped in money to restore liquidity and stoke demand. After bottoming out in the early months of this year, the financial markets have bounced back on hopes of an earlier-than-expected economic recovery. These so-called green shoots may not have grown into saplings because concerns such as rising commodity prices and inflationary threats still remain, but they haven’t withered away either, boosting sentiments among businessmen and investors. Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan/Mint Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 1:40 pm Fund valuations head southEntry load ban prompts many buyers to look at near-zero or pay-to-buy models.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Sep 2009 | 12:48 pm Rlys PPP projects go off trackThe Railways' ambitious plan to raise Rs 1,00,000 crore in the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) to develop rail infrastructure projects through public private partnerships (PPP) appears to have gone badly off track. Most key projects are still to get started, mainly because of the inability to get a fix on a viable PPP policy.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Sep 2009 | 12:44 pm Economic downturn sees an upsurge in labour unrestSam Thomas, looking dapper in his red tie and half-sleeve striped shirt, hardly shows the nervousness of a man who has been sacked by his employer.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Sep 2009 | 12:42 pm Jet offers 50 percent fare discount for five daysIn a bid to lure back passengers, Jet Airways and Jet Airways Konnect have announced a 50 percent discount in fares for five days from Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Sep 2009 | 9:01 am Nestle could leave Switzerland if salary cap imposed: chairmanGeneva: The world’s biggest food company Nestle could leave its homebase Switzerland if Bern imposes a cap on executives’ salaries, the group’s chairman said in remarks published on Sunday. “It would be the beginning of an end,” Peter Brabeck told Swiss newspaper Sonntag, in reply to a question about calls for the federal government to impose salary ceilings. Asked what kind of consequences such a move might have on Nestle, a national corporate icon, Brabeck replied: “Then we must ask ourselves whether Switzerland is still the right location for us.” The global financial and economic crisis has prompted mounting public anger against high pay and bonuses drawn by executives, particularly those who work in the finance industry. In recent weeks, politicians from some industralised economies have been pushing for caps on wages. For Brabeck, Switzerland’s most attractive characteristic has been the “legal certainty” that it offers. However, he said that this certainty, which was “like a granite block, has been dampened.” “Recently, there has been external pressure on Switzerland and populist pressure from within. There we’ve seen that the government and parliament was rather quickly prepared to amend existing laws. That is damaging for a location. Switzerland was once known for not ceding to such demands.” In a landmark out-of-court settlement with US authorities, major Swiss bank UBS agreed to reveal the identities of 4,450 American clients. For some, this meant that Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy rules had been compromised. Brabeck said the UBS case was not isolated, and cited pressure from the German finance minister Piers Steinbrueck on Swiss banking secrecy rules as another example. “For Switzerland as a location, it is important that legal certainty stays—it must in part even be rebuilt,” Brabecks said. Headquartered in Vevey, in the west of Switzerland, Nestle last year posted net profits amounting to 18 billion Swiss francs ($17.3 billion). Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Sep 2009 | 6:17 am
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