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Golden coffins, parachutes should go: Report!Pay practices, such as excessive golden parachutes, golden coffins and multi-year employment agreements with generous severances, should be avoided, a report on compensation to be released on Monday said.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2009 | 6:19 am Asia stocks drift lower, China feels IPO pressure!Asian stocks eased on Monday, pulling further away from 13-month highs hit last week, as investors worried prices may have raced too far ahead of economic fundamentals.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2009 | 6:19 am Oil falls below $72 in Asia amid weak demand!Oil prices fell below USD 72 a barrel Monday in Asia as high crude stockpiles and weak demand tempered enthusiasm about recent signs of improvement in the world`s largest economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2009 | 6:19 am Obama wants G20 to rethink global economy!US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push world leaders this week for a reshaping of the global economy in response to the deepest financial crisis in decades.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Sep 2009 | 6:19 am G20 seeks to limit risk in bankingA year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers plunged global finance into chaos, G20 leaders will try to force banks to build bigger capital safety cushions, while avoiding a clash over bonuses.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Sep 2009 | 4:20 am Quake shakes Bhutan, AssamGuwahati: An earthquake shook the remote mountain nation of Bhutan and India’s Assam state, sending people running into the streets and cracking some buildings. It was not clear if there were any injuries. The Monday afternoon earthquake left cracks in some buildings in Guwahati, but it was centered in a little-populated eastern region of the tiny, mountainous nation of Bhutan. The quake briefly shook Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital. “We felt a strong shock for a moment - one second. People panicked and rushed out of their homes and businesses,” said Tashi Dhendup, who runs a travel agency in Thimpu. He was not aware of any damage to buildings in that city. The US Geological Survey reported the 6.3-magnitude quake was centered about 80 miles (125 kilometers) north of Guwahati and 115 miles (180 kilometers) east of Thimphu. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 4:02 am Wholesale sugar prices in Punjab dip on raids - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:55 am EU details evidence to back Intel antitrust fineBrussels: EU antitrust regulators detailed on Monday evidence from Intel clients that led to the European Commission’s record €1.06 billion ($1.6 billion) fine on the US chip giant in May for illegally shutting out rival AMD. In its May decision, the Commission said Intel paid computer makers to postpone or scrap plans to launch products using AMD chips, gave illegal rebates to encourage them to use Intel products and paid a retailer to stock only computers with Intel chips. Intel, the world’s No.1 chipmaker, appealed to Europe’s second-highest court in July, saying the fine was “manifestly disproportionate” and that the Commission had failed to prove that its actions harmed consumers or thwarted competitors. Internal documents from Intel’s clients—Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC Corp, Lenovo and Media Saturn Holding—and their evidence to the Commission showed Intel conducted two types of illegal practices, the Commission said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:44 am NALCO considering alternative site for Indonesia projectIndia's state-run aluminium producer National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) is considering an alternative site for its $4-billion Indonesia project, which was earlier planned to be set up in South Sumatra province.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am Obama wants G20 to rethink global economyUS President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push world leaders this week for a reshaping of the global economy in response to the deepest financial crisis in decades.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:28 am Amiad Filtration H1 profit up, sees full-year in lineBangalore: Israel-based Amiad Filtration Systems Ltd on Monday reported a 5% rise in first-half pretax profit and said it expected full-year results to be in line with market expectations. While the irrigation market remains unstable in the second half, the demand for its products is set to continue in new territories as well as its established markets in the municipal and industrial segments, the company said. “We will be in (the range of) market expectations, which is around $70-$71 million of revenue, but it is very hard to predict as the irrigation is still slow,” chief executive officer Arik Dayan told Reuters. He said the company continued to manage its costs tightly. Amiad, which has targeted India as its main growth area in 2009, said it was very optimistic about India as it expected the industrial growth in the country was set to continue. India is a very important major market for us and the programme is going on progressively, Dayan said. The maker of filtration systems for industrial, municipal and irrigation markets reported a pretax profit of $5.7 million for the six months to 30 June, compared with $5.4 million a year ago. Revenue fell 7 % to $36.8 million. The company said it maintained its interim dividend at 3.5 cents per share. Amiad shares fell 4% in morning trade. “The shares moved beforehand also because we did not rush it out as a ‘buy´. The company tries to retain some caution. Lastly, I do not think that there is too much activity in the shares due to a public holiday weekend in Israel,” Panmure Gordon & Co analyst Oliver Wynne-James told Reuters. Wynne-James raised his price target on the stock to 210 pence from 148 pence citing a better margin outlook, but retained a “hold” rating. The analyst left his 2009 revenue forecast unchanged at $71.6 million but expected a 0.3% improvement in gross margin at 46.8% and overheads reduced to $25 million. Amiad shares were down 4% at 165 pence at 0930 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:28 am Brumby decides to skip Mumbai visitMelbourne: India today expressed its disappointment over Victorian Premier John Brumby cancelling his planned trip to Mumbai during his India visit begining tomorrow following a travel advisory that terorists may be planning attacks in the city. Indian Consul-General in Melbourne Anita Nayar said the Premier should have visited Mumbai to send a message that Australians were determined not to be frightened away. “It would have been great if the premier could have sent that message but I understand that there are constraints,” she told reporters here. “We would have liked him to visit Mumbai. (But) one can never predict what is going to happen. If he had gone and something happened, everybody would say why did you go?” she said. Brumby had altered his itinerary after Australia’s foreign affairs department on Friday issued a travel advisory warning about the possibility of attacks in Mumbai. He will now spend more time in New Delhi after omitting Mumbai from his itinerary for Wednesday and Thursday. “We need to be guided by advice that comes from DFAT. That advice came in last week and over the weekend. The unanimous view of the Victoria police, my department head and my office was that I should change my programme and I’ve done that,” Brumby said. “I do that reluctantly but at the end of the day I need to follow that advice,” he said. Brumby is scheduled to attend an AFL Grand Final event and visit a Commonwealth Games site in Delhi on Saturday. Meanwhile, deputy prime minister Julia Gillard described Brumby’s trip as “very important”. “Like me, Premier Brumby has been very keen to assure Indian families of international students who visit Melbourne, in particular, that they are safe here, that they are welcome here,” she said. “We’ve seen (a) disturbing number of incidents involving Indian international students in Melbourne. Any violence against international students is completely unacceptable—it’s not the Australian way,” she said. “We want every international student to feel welcome here, to feel safe here, and to have a great experience in this country,” she said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:09 am Crude Oil Falls a Third Day as Equities Sag, Dollar Strengthens - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Sep 2009 | 3:07 am Oil falls below $71 on economic recovery, demand concernsLondon: Oil fell below $71 a barrel on Monday as growing concerns about the pace of economic recovery added to ongoing signs of weak fuel demand. US crude for October delivery was down $1.06 to $70.98 a barrel by 0858 GMT. London Brent crude fell $1.30 to $70.02 a barrel. Oil prices have more than doubled since hitting lows near $30 a barrel at the height of the global economic crisis, but the market has come under pressure since touching a year high of $75 a barrel almost a month ago. “The market is a little nervous after the slide on the Shanghai stock market,” said Michelle Kwek, an analyst at Informa Global Markets in Singapore. “Risk appetite is down and that’s prompting traders to take profit in oil and other commodities.” Oil prices have followed moves in equity markets in recent months as traders try to gauge the timing of a pick-up in global energy demand expected to coincide with the world’s emergence from the largest economic crisis since the 1930s. Shares in Asian and European stocks eased on Monday, pulling further away from year highs hit last week, as investors worried prices may have raced too far ahead of economic fundamentals. The Shanghai Composite Index, China’s key stock index, extended the previous session’s decline and fell as much as 3% on Monday. Widespread concerns about the strength of energy demand were also highlighted on Monday after the chief of Sinopec Corp, Asia’s top oil refiner, said diesel demand remained depressed in China, the world’s second largest oil consumer. The Chinese oil major’s fuel sales have been broadly below the level of 2008 so far this year, despite some arguing economic growth in parts of Asia would bolster global energy demand. FACTS Energy Group said in a report on Friday it expected Asia’s oil demand to revert to positive growth of around 340,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, after five quarters of negative growth, and China and India will be the key drivers. “Asian petroleum demand is expected to grow at around 885,000 bpd in 2010, on the back of a recovery in the regional economy compared to a weak 2009 baseline,” FACTS’ Lim Jit Yang said in the report. “As a result, this growth will exceed our baseline regional growth expectation of some 600,000-800,000 bpd during ‘normal´ times.” Lower risk? Lower risk appetite amongst investors also lent support to the dollar on Monday, which extended a bounce seen late last week as traders covered short positions ahead of a Federal Reserve monetary policy meet and a Group of 20 Summit this week. The dollar’s slump to a one-year low against the euro last week had boosted dollar-priced commodities such as oil and gold as they became cheaper for holders of other currencies. Money managers boosted net long positions in the NYMEX crude oil market last week in a bet prices would rise, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report on Friday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:57 am Post offices to enter into Core Banking System by March 2010Post offices will no more limit their banking system to old and traditional technology and would adopt Core Banking System, on pattern of other commercial banks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:42 am Global economy clawing back from post-Lehman collapseThe global economy is clawing its way back from synchronized recession, led by growth in Asia and a tepid rebound in other regions, Group of 20 leaders will likely affirm at their upcoming summit. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:40 am Pakistan restricts movement of “Mumbai mastermind”Lahore: Pakistani authorities have curbed the movements of an Islamist militant leader accused by India of masterminding last year’s Mumbai attack, police and the militant’s aides said on Monday. India wants Pakistan to prosecute Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, before it resumes a peace process broken off after last November’s assault on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed. Police took position outside Saeed’s residence in the eastern city of Lahore, and his aides said he was barred from leaving to lead prayers for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival on Monday. “There are no written orders but he is not allowed to go out of his home. He has been barred from performing his religious duty, it is against basic human rights,” said Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for Saeed, adding that Saeed’s son led the prayers. A senior police official, Sohail Sukhera, told reporters outside Saeed’s residence that his movements had been restricted for security reasons, but said he was not under house arrest. India wants forceful action against Saeed and other suspects before it resumes formal talks under a peace process launched in 2004, although the nuclear-armed rivals have held three bilateral meetings on the sidelines of international gatherings. DIPLOMACY Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is to meet his Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, in New York on 27 September on the margins of the UN General Assembly, after their foreign secretaries, or top diplomats, meet a day earlier. The talks may help ease fraught relations between the countries, whose rivalry complicates US efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan. Pakistan detained Saeed in December after a UN Security Council resolution put him and a charity he heads on a list of people and organisations supporting al Qaeda. But a court released him June on grounds of insufficient evidence, prompting the government to appeal to the Supreme Court for his re-arrest. The case is pending. The restrictions on Saeed came two days after interior minister Rehman Malik said he was being investigated and would be arrested after concrete evidence was made available against him. Police also lodged two complaints against Saeed on Friday for delivering a speech on jihad, or Muslim holy war, and appealing for funds for his banned charity, Jammat-ud-Dawa. Pakistan has acknowledged that the Mumbai attack was plotted and partly launched from its soil and has been holding trial of seven suspects behind closed doors in a jail. The next hearing is scheduled for 24 September. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:23 am Nalco plans foray into copper, coalBHUBANESWAR (Reuters) India's state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd, plans a foray into the copper and coal businesses as it looks for ways to diversify, a senior company official told Reuters on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:19 am SAfrica Treasury to meet India officials on MTN, BhartiJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Treasury and banking officials are to meet government officials in India to discuss foreign exchange control implications of the planned tie-up between MTN and India's Bharti Airtel.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:12 am Polaris considering expansion in EuropeStockholm: India’s financial technology firm Polaris Software Lab is planning to expand its footprint in the European markets beyond continental Europe, and Sweden could be the base to cater to the large untapped region. “We are interested in expanding our European market base and we see Sweden as a potential hub to cater to the northern, central and eastern Europe,” Polaris EMEA chief operating officer Chander Singh said. Polaris is considering joint venture alliances with local service providers, system integrators and others to be able to serve large customers in Sweden and other Baltic and Nordic countries. “In the next three years, revenue from Sweden and nearby Baltic countries and other Nordic nations should increase four-fold to be in the range of $10 million to $15 million,” Singh said. The company, which earned $300 million revenue last fiscal, gets 85% of its revenue from the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical. Polaris earns one-third of its revenue from the Europe- Middle-East-Africa (EMEA) region and expects to add up to 20% of its revenue from Europe through the expansion planned. “In 2 to 3 years’ time, if we set up our operations very strongly in this region we should be able to add 15-20% of our total BFSI revenue from this particular part of the world,” he said. Sources inform that the company already has Swedish bank SEB as its client and is in talks with several other banks in the north European country including some non-BFSI companies. Polaris, which recently acquired US-based insurance product and component services company SEEC Inc, said it is considering further expansion in the insurance sector possibly through acquisition. “We are interested in expanding our horizon into the insurance sector and if there are companies which are working in that segment we will be interested in acquiring them,” Singh said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:03 am SAfrica Treasury to meet India officials on MTN, Bharti - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:02 am Can PPP save India's IT capital from crumbling?With heavy showers leading to massive traffic jams and yet another child dying after falling into a flooded drain, residents and experts say only public-private partnership (PPP) can save Bangalore's crumbling infrastructure and give it an image makeover.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:02 am Chidambaram flags off non-stop Chennai-Delhi trainUnion Home Minister P. Chidambaram Monday flagged off the non-stop Duronto Express from Chennai to Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2009 | 2:00 am Regulatory hitches threaten Bharti-MTN deal: reportsNew Delhi: India’s top mobile firm Bharti Airtel and South African cellular flagship MTN are ready to sign a tie-up deal but regulatory issues could stymie a final agreement, reports said Monday. “The deal is all set, agreed and legally ready to be signed,” the Business Standard newspaper quoted an unnamed source close to negotiations as saying. But the Business Standard and The Economic Times say a final agreement could be blocked by the issue of whether India would allow the merged company to be listed on both the Indian and South African stock exchanges. A dual listed company (DLCs) involves two listed companies that have different sets of shareholders but share ownership of a single business operation. South Africa allows dual listing while India does not. The South African government, which indirectly holds over 21% in MTN, said earlier this month it was unwilling to sacrifice the firm’s “South African character” and raised the possibility of dual listing as a compromise. Media reports say the two firms have worked out details of the proposed $23-billion cash-and-share swap deal. The merged company would have over 200 million subscribers and $20 billion in annual revenues. But allowing DLCs would involve substantial changes in India’s foreign exchange and stock market laws and full cabinet approval, the reports said. A Bharti Airtel spokesman had no comment. The Economic Times said the issue was expected to be raised at a meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and South African president Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh this week. The newspaper said Singh was likely to indicate the government’s support for the deal but added it was unclear whether he could give any assurance on changing India’s legislation to allow dual listed companies. The Economic Times quoted Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for Zuma, as saying the deal’s future was dependent on whether “all regulatory requirements and other considerations in both countries” could be met. The 15-year-old MTN is South Africa’s largest telecoms company with 103 million subscribers in 21 countries. A merger between the two would create the world’s third-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers that would straddle Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Bharti Airtel and MTN say they will engage in exclusive talks on a merger until 30 September. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:57 am Irish company to expand operations in IndiaLondon: An Irish online company is planning a major business expansion in India that will include increasing its presence from two to 14 cities in the country. Saongroup, an online recruitment company will launch into all Indian cities with a population of more than five million, and a number of smaller cities, chief executive Ciaran McCooey said in a report. McCooey said that rather than having one brand for the entire country, the firm’s strategy is to open separate websites for individual cities in India. This replicates Saongroup’s strategy in other markets, such as Britain, where it aims to be the most popular recruitment website in a particular region, the report added. Saongroup has been operating in India since 2007, when it opened its first website in Pune. It expanded into Hyderabad in 2008, after which McCooey said the company migrated to a new technology platform. After a year of testing, the company was then ready to establish a national presence in India, McCooey said. McCooey declined to say how much money Saongroup was spending in the round of expansion. Saongroup employment in India was likely to double. Saongroup is supported by Irish entrepreneur Denis O’Brien and his business partner Leslie Buckley, who serves as chairman of the company. The company reported turnover of 24.9 million in the year ending December 2007, up from 13.9 million a year previously. It booked a 1.4 million loss during 2007, compared to a 1.2 million profit in 2007, McCooey said, however he declined to comment on more recent financial performance. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:54 am DLF may exit luxury hotel chain - paper - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:38 am DLF may exit luxury hotel chain - paperMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's largest listed real estate firm DLF Ltd is examining various options to fully or partly exit its international luxury hotel chain Amanresorts, which it bought in late 2007, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:27 am European Central Bank can’t ignore output gap despite its doubtsFrankfurt: European Central Bank policymakers are dismissing the “output gap” as an unreliable measure of slack in the economy, but they can’t ignore it entirely for when the time comes to tighten monetary policy again. Economists say the gap—the difference between the economy’s full capacity and actual production—is hard to estimate. But despite these shortcomings, it remains an important indicator of inflation pressures which the ECB must look at in some form for medium-term projections. “It is almost certainly at the centre when thinking about inflation over the next one or two years,” said Nick Kounis at Fortis. “In the longer term, things like money supply are more important, but over the horizon relevant for monetary policy, it is a central concept.” Global recession has caused demand and economic output to plummet in the euro zone, and estimates of the output gap for this year and next are deep in negative territory. This could mean low ECB interest rates for a long time, as inflation risks are small because firms can expand production easily and are less likely to raise prices. Euro zone consumer prices dipped 0.2% from a year earlier in August, far from the ECB’s medium-term target of annual inflation at just below 2%. Monetary policy is ultra-loose, aiming to help the 16-nation bloc to recover. But policymakers are anxious to avoid sowing the seeds of future inflation by failing to tighten promptly when the economy gets back on its feet. The ECB does not publish its own estimates of the output gap. Policymakers have said it is of no great importance and stress instead their official ways of checking the state of the euro zone economy, including analysing money supply data. Nevertheless, they suggest that the gap may be smaller than the European Commission, IMF and OECD have estimated, implying that inflation pressures might build up sooner than expected. The ECB has kept interest rates at a record low of 1.0% since May, and flooded the banking system with funds. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast that rates wouldn’t rise until the fourth quarter next year. Executive board member Juergen Stark says uncertainty surrounds how large the output gap is but it is likely to be smaller than estimates, which vary between -3 and -6%. “If it were that large, inflation risks could stay low for a very long time,” he said last month. “But most recent estimates show a smaller output gap ... We have to realise that potential output has gone down because of the deep recession.” Since then he has kept playing down its importance. “Under these circumstances, elusive estimates of the scale of economic slack are even less reliable as a guide for monetary policymakers,” he said. “I would in particular like to highlight that the high priority we attach to the monetary analysis offsets any over-dependence on single, potentially flawed indicators and concepts, such as the output gap.” Useful even if flawed Trend estimates of potential output—the amount of goods and services an economy can produce in the long-term without creating additional inflation—depend on actual gross domestic product (GDP) data, which are produced only with a time lag. Therefore assessment of the output gap also runs behind real time, making estimates even more difficult in the current unsettled economic situation. While IMF and OECD estimates are probably based on only a minor loss in potential output, ECB statements imply that it sees potential output having been hit drastically by the crisis. President Jean-Claude Trichet says the ECB is extremely cautious in basing policy on growth potential estimates. But he added: “I fully accept the consensus of economists that the potential growth of all economies of the industrialised world is probably now significantly lower than the previous estimate.” Lower potential growth would mean the output gap is not as large, and inflation might return sooner than thought. Reasons for lower potential growth include unemployed workers leaving the labour force altogether. Higher loan risk premia would also lower growth potential, as would a change in economic structure. But the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has stuck to its guns. The thinktank said in a recent paper that the cumulative negative output gap tends to be between two to three times greater during financial crises than in other downturns, and that the period before output recovers to capacity is at least twice as long. Dubious link? The ECB questioned the output gap further in its September bulletin. “The relationship between the output gap and price developments has been mixed in the past, and, on average, relatively large changes in the output gap are needed to affect euro area inflation,” the ECB said. “That is one reason why euro area inflation might be expected to remain reasonably resilient despite the sharp deterioration in activity.” Economists say that the ECB is right to be cautious about overestimating the gap but the difficulty of making projections doesn’t mean it can live without them. “I don’t really believe that the ECB does not look at the output gap,” Kounis said. “Almost every estimate of inflation is based on some kind of output gap concept.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:23 am DLF may exit luxury hotel chain: paperMumbai: The largest listed real estate firm DLF Ltd is examining various options to fully or partly exit its international luxury hotel chain Amanresorts, which it bought in late 2007, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday. DLF spokesman Sanjey Roy, however, told Reuters: “It is a totally speculative and baseless report.” He denied the company was looking to sell a stake in Amanresorts. DLF has held preliminary talks with at least two Indian hotel chains, but discussions hit a roadblock due to a gap between the buyer’s and seller’s expectations, the paper said. “There is surely an interest among potential buyers. They have spoken to us. But it’s just been talks, little else, as their offer price is too low compared with the price we had paid for Aman in 2007,” the paper quoted a senior DLF official as saying. The official, who requested anonymity, did not name the companies that have shown interest in Amanresorts, the paper said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:15 am IIMs, IITs meet today to take on Govt - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:06 am Infusing life into British era graveyards in HimachalFaded epitaphs, damaged tombstones, moss-covered graves...That is the condition of most British colonial era cemeteries - some two centuries old - in Himachal Pradesh. But now the state has decided to restore their lost glory.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am Scomi's India plant delayed by a yearMalaysia-based Scomi Group's proposed $12-15 million plant to assemble and manufacture buses in India will be delayed by a year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am GSPC's KG-8 field plan okayedThe Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has approved state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's development Plan for KG-8 field in Deendayal west field in the Krishna-Godavari basin.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:58 am Gujarat NRE moots bonus issue with DVRGujarat NRE Coke has recommended a bonus issue of DVR shares (differential voting rights) in the ratio of 1 DVR bonus share for every 10 equity shares held.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:56 am 'Our focus is on profitable deals, not valuation'Reliance Infrastructure, which was carved out of Reliance Energy's construction wing, is often criticised for being a hotchpotch of businesses and for befuddling investors.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:53 am Shiv Sena announces 1st list of candidatesMumbai: Shiv Sena today announced its first list of 126 candidates retaining 37 sitting MLAs and putting up 60 new faces. In the seat sharing arrangement with 22-year-old ally BJP, Sena will contest 169 and BJP 119 seats. Leader of opposition in the outgoing legislative assembly Ramdas Kadam has been fielded from Guhagar assembly in Raigad parliamentary constituency. Senior leader Subhash Desai has been retained from Goregaon in Mumbai, Dagdu Sakpal in Sewree, former minister in Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP governments Suresh Jain has been fielded from Jalgaon city. The new faces include Abhijit Adsul from Daryapur. Abhijit is the son of party MP from Amravati Anandrao Adsul. Shiv Sena zonal chief of Mumbai North Vinod Ghosalkar is the new face from Dahisar and former standing committee chairman in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Ravindra Waikar has been given a chance to contest from Jogeshwari (east). Ashish Chemburkar, a sitting corporator is the candidate from Worli, Sindhudurg district chief Vaibhav Naik has been fielded from Kudal. Well known television host Aadesh Bandekar’s name does not find a mention in the first list. Actor Filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar has decided to campaign from the Shiv Sena and he met party chief Bal Thackeray at his residence Matoshree last evening. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:52 am Breathing fire, then buying dollar assetsFor all of China's tough talk about diversifying away from a weak US dollar and into gold or silver, the country's appetite for US Treasury holdings remains undiminished.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:51 am Q2 sales growth key to the next upsideAlthough there could be a bit more to the upside, the absence of concrete triggers has caused mavens to predict a correction or, at best, status quo in the near term.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:48 am MindTree to set up China beachhead in two monthsS Janakiraman, president and group CEO, product engineering services, MindTree, said his company is looking to drive up volumes through its centre in China.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:46 am After a long hiatus, consumers begin to uptrade, upgradeAll thanks to the 10% raise he recently got, which took his CTC to Rs5 lakh, though two years back, he had got a 20% hike.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:44 am Indian laws blocking M&As: MoilyMTN and South African authorities are believed to be insisting on dual-listing before progressing further on merger talks, which could result in a cross-border deal worth over $23 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:41 am National identity cards to be issued by 2010-2011: ChidambaramChennai: The proposed unique multi-purpose national identity cards would be issued to all citizens by 2010-2011, union home minister P. Chidambaram said on Monday. In the first phase this year, 1.2 crore people in about 3,331 coastal villages and cities would receive the cards, he said. The card will be given to 110 crore people by 2010-2011. Government has set up a Unique Identification Authority of India to implement the project aimed at obviating the need for multiple proofs of identity for citizens while availing any government service or for personal needs like opening bank accounts or seeking telephone connections. Earlier, addressing the function to flag off the Chennai-Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) Duronto Express, Chidambaram said the government was keen on and committed to working for the development of the nation and the people. “The government would also see to it that this development is shared equally among the people”, he said. Welcoming the launch of non-stop train, he announced that the frequency of the train would be increased to twice a week. Southern railway general manager M.S. Jayanth said the train would have new design AC composite coach consisting of 24 AC 2-Tier berths and 40 AC 3-Tier berths, as an economy AC class. He said the train will cover 2,177 km in 27 hours and 55 minutes compared to 28 hours and ten minutes by Rajdhani Express. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:21 am Asian stocks ease, China feels IPO pressureHong Kong: Asian stocks eased on Monday, pulling further away from 13-month highs hit last week, as investors worried prices may have raced too far ahead of economic fundamentals, with shares in China feeling supply pressures ahead of a string of IPOs. The US dollar extended last week’s gains with traders covering their short positions ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting and a Group of 20 summit. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar’s rebound from a one-year low of 76.01 on 17 September helped pull gold from near 18-month highs. The yellow metal has gained 16% so far in 2009 but has still failed to top its all-time peak of $1,030 an ounce struck last year. Trade was sluggish and volumes are expected to be on the lower side in Asia with Japan shut until Thursday for holidays. Markets in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines were also shut on Monday for holidays. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan dipped 0.26%, after surging 80% since mid-March when global markets started to rally on hopes that the financial crisis had bottomed out. This has taken price-earnings multiples on a 12-month forward basis to above 15.2 times, near this year’s high of 15.5 struck in early August, according to data from global estimates tracker Thomson Reuters. “Valuations are certainly more expensive than they have been, but we don’t think alarmingly so,” said Mark Konyn, who oversees about $11 billion as Asia-Pacific chief executive of RCM, a unit of Allianz Global Investors. “Investors have positioned themselves away from some of the China themes and more to themes aimed at recovery in the US,” he said. US markets ended modestly higher on Friday on optimism that the global economic recovery will be strong enough to boost corporate profits and justify higher share valuations. The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged in a range of zero to 0.25% at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday as it waits to see if a tentative recovery finds solid footing. Primary debt dealers surveyed by Reuters expect the Fed will not start raising rates until next year for fear of derailing the recovery. Many see a one-in-five chance of a “double-dip” recession, in which an economy sinks back into recession after a brief rebound. Investors will also be eyeing a meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations on 24-25 September. The leaders are expected to reiterate that economic support measures will remain in place as long as needed, even as they look beyond crisis fighting to issues such as bankers’ bonuses, financial regulation and global trade imbalances. CHINA EYES IPOs Highlighting investor skittishness, shares in Shanghai fell more than 3% by mid-morning on Monday as investors fretted about the prospect of a sharp increase in shares from upcoming IPOs and worried that recent gains may be overdone. Analysts said subscriptions for 10 companies to be listed on China’s Nasdaq-style market to fund high-growth start-ups had come faster than expected and could lead to a mild consolidation for the index. South Korean stocks also eased 0.3% after a four-session gaining streak with foreigners piling into the country’s markets ahead of South Korea’s upgrade to developed market status by FTSE effective Monday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) was marginally lower after dropping as much as 0.5% in early trade. Foreigners have been net buyers on all but two days this month, bringing in $4.9 billion in the last 11 sessions. “Foreign investors’ buying has slowed following their aggressive accumulation of Seoul shares prior to South Korea’s official joining of the FTSE,” said Chung Seung-jae, a market analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. Still, valuations in Seoul look relatively attractive. The Kospi’s price multiple based on 12-month forward earnings estimates was about 9.7 as of 18 September, compared with the region’s multiple of over 15 times. “Buying... could pick up after third quarter earnings figures if numbers come out strong,” Chung added. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.4%, led lower by weak resources stocks which were in turn depressed by softer commodity prices. Oil prices eased below $72 a barrel as traders booked profits after a 5% rally last week. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:10 am Comex gold may rise againComex gold futures ended lower on Friday due to profit-taking in a volatile week when prices had risen toward a high of $1,025.80 an ounce as a steadily falling dollar boosted investment demand. On the face of it, the case for investing in goldSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Morocco’s OCP open to Indian cos setting up 100% phosphoric acid unitsMorocco’s OCP Group, supplier of phosphate fertiliser raw materials, says it is open to Indian companies setting up 100 per cent-owned phosphoric acid manufacturing facilities in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Only three IPOs out of 10 deliver positive returnsBL Research Bureau The flow of Initial Public Offering (IPO), which had dried up last year, is back in full force this year with 13 already complete and a good number in the pipeline.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Mobile phone cos seek ban on cloned handsets tooNew Delhi, Sept. 20 Handset manufacturers have urged the Government to ban mobile handsets, which have counterfeit or cloned International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Markets likely to see consolidation phaseDalal Street has begun showing confidence in placing fresh bets in the so-far-untouched corners of the mid-cap and small-cap spaces. Last week, when the key index stocks or the top 50 stocks faced resistances on valuation issue, focus shiftedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Speculative push to gold will create downside risk, if $ gainsMumbai, Sept 19 There is a perceptible improvement in the global macroeconomic environment. Leading indicators are turning positive.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Hotels, travel cos dole out festival packagesThe upcoming festival season could be the best time to travel this year. With five star hotels currently quoting room rates that are 30 per cent lower than last year, travelling will be lighter on pockets.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am The wages of financial freedomIt is just over a year since Lehman Brothers collapsed in the US. This led to a squeeze in liquidity, leading many banks to fail around the world. The jury is still out on how the Federal Reserve should have dealt with the problem of LehmanSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Indian cos now turn to UK’s north-west regionMumbai, Sept. 20 At least 50 Indian companies have identified potential business opportunities in the northwest region of the UK, according to Ms Sarah Kemp, Director of Business Relations, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), UK.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Nation-less airline brand on radar: IATA DirectorThe Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) is engaging with India and 13 countries to convince the respective governments to change their views on a clause in the air services bilaterals which govern internationalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Gold hits 1-week low on dollarSingapore: Gold slipped below $1,000 an ounce for the first time in almost a week on Monday after failing to revisit last year’s record, with sluggish offtake from jewellers across Asia stepping up the selling pressure. Gold hit $1,023.85 on Thursday, its strongest since March 2008 when it struck a record of $1,030.80, on uncertainties over the sustainability of the global economic recovery, but the dollar’s rebound from a 1-year low eventually spurred selling. Spot gold was quoted at $1,000.30 an ounce by 0505 GMT, down $5.85 from New York’s notional close on Friday. Bullion, which gained as much as 16% this year, fell to an intraday low of $999.05 an ounce on Monday. “I think investors are probably a bit cautious. We’ve got here, where does it go next? Some people might sort of view now the upside from here has been more limited,” said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “I am a bit of a bear on gold. I think gold would go back under $1,000. I think the physical demand for gold is still very weak. When investors start to look elsewhere, I think the gold price will fall back.” Trading was muted, with Japanese markets closed for a long holiday but dealers noted selling from speculators in other parts of Asia, driven by worries over the IMF’s plan to sell gold and a firmer dollar. The physical market in Singapore was closed for Ramzan Id and purchases from jewellers in another bullion trading centre, Hong Kong, were scarce although gold has dropped more than 2% since hitting last week’s multi-month highs. The US dollar gained against the euro in thin trade on Monday, extending a rebound late last week on short covering ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meet on interest rates and a Group of 20 summit. The Federal Open Market Committee is likely to hold rates steady at the meeting, which starts on Tuesday but markets want to know if there are signs that the super-accommodative policy stance will be wound back, given a pick up in economic data. “I think we’re seeing disappointed selling and everybody is actually expecting a correction after gold reached above $1,000,” said a dealer in Hong Kong. “Gold may fall back to $995 and we’ll have to see whether it can hold there,” said the dealer, referring to a level last seen in early September. International Monetary Fund member countries on Friday formally endorsed a plan for strictly limited sales of 403.3 tonnes of gold from its stockpile but said sales would be done in a way that did not disrupt gold markets. US gold futures for December delivery fell $8.80 an ounce at $1,001.5 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The noncommercial net long position in gold futures on COMEX stood at an all-time high of 235,647 lots for the week to 15 September, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood unchanged at 1,086.479 tonnes on 18 September. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:45 pm Omniture, comScore join up to measure audiencesNew York: Two of the largest companies involved in tracking and analyzing web traffic are joining forces to measure digital audiences more comprehensively. The partnership involves comScore Inc and Omniture Inc, which announced on Tuesday that it agreed to a $1.8 billion takeover by Adobe Systems Inc. Omniture and comScore plan to announce on Monday that they are launching a unified digital audience measurement system. It will combine Omniture’s method of analyzing web traffic by looking at data collected by web servers with comScore’s estimates of what’s happening across the web using panels of internet users recruited for the task. This, the companies say, will give websites and advertisers a single source for measuring how many visitors they attract, how often and who those visitors are. The two companies often came up with different sets of numbers because they had disparate goals and used different ways of collecting data. Omniture CEO and co-founder Josh James said website operators sometimes would read a report on their traffic going down, even as their own server data showed an increase. The two companies hope to address that by giving web content creators and advertisers a consistent set of numbers. By joining forces, Omniture and comScore could also shed new insights into digital audiences. For example, comScore’s panel may not fully represent the proportion of Macintosh users out there, and those users tend to visit video websites at a higher frequency than their PC counterparts, comScore CEO Magid Abraham said. Omniture’s server-based data collection could track a visit regardless of the computer or device used. Omniture, meanwhile, doesn’t have demographic data on the users visiting, and it couldn’t tell that the same person visited both Facebook and MySpace, for instance. That’s where comScore comes in. James said the timing of the announcement near the Adobe acquisition was just a coincidence. The deal, which is expected to close by November, will combine Omniture’s services for figuring how to best deliver messages and internet advertisements with Adobe’s tools for creating these websites and ads. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:40 pm Obama wants G20 to rethink global economyWASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push world leaders this week for a reshaping of the global economy in response to the deepest financial crisis in decades.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:46 pm Watch/Listen: Mint in multimedia - 21 SeptemberAudio story: Proposed patent bill is flawed, say experts Listen to Professor Shamnad Basheer of the National University of Juridical Sciences talk about the Bayh Dole bill and its implications for Indian industry Video story: THe Brazilian rajma-chawal Chef Juarez Goncalves De Azevedo of Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon, dishes out the traditional gaucho black bean rice. Video story: Taking stock J. Thunuguntla of SMC Capital says good liquidity should keep the market momentum going. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:42 pm NALCO holds meet with village heads - SteelGuru
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:23 pm Indian IT firms step up security with paramilitaryMumbai: When Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest IT firm, hired paramilitary troops to protect its sprawling headquarters in Bangalore, some observers might have thought they had gone overboard. But since the Mumbai attacks last year, India’s software exporters have bolstered security due to concerns that militants might target their headquarters as symbols of the country’s economic success and to deter foreign investors. Foremost among those seeking to hire well-armed paramilitary troops are companies in India’s Silicon Valley, Bangalore, the nerve centre of the nation’s $60 billion outsourcing industry that runs services from software coding to managing computer networks and call centers. “India’s IT firms are the flag-bearers of the country’s thriving knowledge economy. This makes them ‘high economic-value´ targets with a global identity,” said Manoj Vohra, director of research at the Economist Intelligence Unit’s India division. “Any assault on them will not only hurt India’s commercial interests, but will also make the message travel faster globally.” Nasdaq-listed Infosys Technologies last month became the first private-sector firm to get the elite Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a government trained paramilitary force, to guard its swanky Bangalore premises, which has about 20,000 staff. More than 80 firms, including IT firm Wipro, are also potential candidates for CISF protection. The Mumbai attacks prompted the government to expand the services of the CISF, trained to protect such critical infrastructure as airports and power plants, to private sector firms in order to calm nervous investors. The move signalled a shift in the role of government agencies in securing the private sector which has been a major engine of growth for India. The services sector, to which IT is a major contributor, makes up 57% of India’s GDP. “Clearly, even a minor incident at these firms can have an impact on their business and, therefore, the Indian economy,” said Apurva Shah, head of research at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. “If clients are nervous about visiting the Infosys campus because of security concerns, that is sure to have wider implications for the entire country,” he said. REASSURING FOREIGN INVESTORS India is no stranger to security threats, including from Maoists, who have targeted factories and mines and have kidnapped businessmen in the past, as well as Islamists, such as the Pakistani-trained gunmen behind the Mumbai attacks. The Mumbai police, armed with World War Two era rifles, were caught flat-footed by the gunmen who came armed with automatic weapons and high-tech communications equipment and targeted hotels popular with foreigners in India’s financial capital. So it’s probably no surprise that firms have little confidence in entrusting their security to the local police, who are seen as ill-equipped, poorly trained and corrupt. The CISF has 112,000 personnel manning nearly 300 public spaces, and will recruit about 10,000 every year, CISF spokesman Rohit Katiyar said. The CISF will first consider applications from critical sectors such as software and oil and gas, including Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery complex, the world’s largest. Paramilitary troops in combat fatigues will reassure foreign investors, although some experts say that it will extend the CISF’s manpower resources and that the government should instead better train police and allow more private security firms. “Our troops would get used up at a time when we’re also building more airports and stepping up action against Maoists,” said Raghu Raman, head of risk consultancy Mahindra Special Services Group. Corporate jitters will more than double the market for electronic security systems from about $400 million a year, analysts estimate, and keep busy the more than 5,000 private security firms staffed by poorly trained guards who are usually not allowed to carry arms. “At least for the medium-term, security will involve a combination of local police, private security and paramilitary forces. We would be satisfied with that arrangement,” said Rattan Keswani, president of Trident Hotels, one of the hotels targeted in the Mumbai attacks. “Is the threat going to go away? No, and that is a reality the entire world has to come to terms with.” The protection does not come cheap: Infosys pays just over $2,000 a day for 101 CISF personnel. That’s more than double what it pays a private security firm. But it’s money well-spent, said Shah from brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher, as it will be viewed favourably by shareholders and investors, and is not significant enough to dent India’s competitive edge over China and other emerging markets. India this year raised its defence budget to about $30 billion to modernise its weapons, overhaul its security forces and boost border security. But that figure is still less than half of China’s defence spending. Despite extensive media coverage of the three-day rampage, the Mumbai attacks failed to put a dampener on foreign investment, which is likely to rise by an annual 6 percent to reach about $40 billion in the year until March 2010, according to government estimates. “Security is a bigger concern now, but it’s not yet at a point where it’s a big deterrent to investors in India,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director at the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:22 pm More space business beckons for private transportersCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Sometime in the next six years, astronauts bound for the International Space Station may find themselves strapped inside a private commercial spacecraft known as Dragon.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:20 pm India markets shut on Monday for holidayMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian stock, bond, foreign exchange and commodities markets will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:06 pm FEATURE - IT firms step up security with paramilitaryMUMBAI (Reuters) - When Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest IT firm, hired paramilitary troops to protect its sprawling headquarters in Bangalore, some observers might have thought they had gone overboard.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm Golden coffins, parachutes should go - reportNEW YORK (Reuters) - Pay practices, such as excessive golden parachutes, golden coffins and multi-year employment agreements with generous severances, should be avoided, a report on compensation to be released on Monday said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 9:01 pm Public-private partnership deals no longer confidentialThe details of agreements signed by governments with private organisations to execute projects can no longer be kept secret, the Central Information Commission has ruled. Chitrangada Choudhury reports.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 6:29 pm It’s all about soulNon-governmental organisations are waking up to the need for branding. A strong brand identity, they’ve realised, can make a huge difference to their cause and in the hunt for funds, reports Devraj Uchil. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 3:11 pm Airline Lufthansa to cut staff at headquartersDeutsche Lufthansa AG said Sunday that it needs to save money in its headquarters' administration department due to the financial crisis.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 3:09 pm Our business will remain people-centric: Martin SorrellIt’s been about two years since Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the advertising conglomerate, WPP Group, visited Mumbai last. Much has changed in the interim, with the onslaught of the global recession and its impact on everything, including the communication business, reports Amit Bapna.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 3:07 pm Onida drops the devil, adopts couple insteadArmed with a Rs 150-crore budget for branding and advertising and a brand new couple to deliver its messages to consumers this year, the MIRC Electronics-owned brand, Onida, has finally buried its iconic devil, the decades-old mascot that had already seen one burial and resurrection earlier, reports Saurabh Turakhia. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 3:01 pm Why smartphones must become flexiphonesA few weeks ago, I bought my first smartphone, the Nokia E71, after much mulling. I am wondering if I did the right thing. That reminded me of an old joke among women that goes: “Men are like computers. Just when you have settled on one, along comes something that is a lot better.” N Madhavan writes.Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 2:48 pm Pharma market may touch $20 billion by 2015 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Sep 2009 | 2:45 pm Keep us in the loop: power ministry to law ministryThe Ministry of Power has asked the Ministry of Law and Justice to make it and NTPC Ltd part of the government’s core team while firming up its legal stand in the ongoing gas dispute between the Ambani brothers in the Supreme Court, reports Anupama Airy. Source: Hindustan Times News Feeds 'Business' | 20 Sep 2009 | 2:42 pm Mohali to fly international by year-end - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Sep 2009 | 2:27 pm Nano fetches premium in used-car marketBarely two months after the Tata group chief Ratan Tata handed over the keys of the Nano to its first buyer, the worlds cheapest car has already made its way to the used-car market and is selling at a Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000 premium, 18 to 20 per cent more than the booking price.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:42 pm Doha talks stalled in Geneva despite Delhi meetingKey World Trade Organisation (WTO) members failed to make any progress in the stalled Doha trade negotiations last week, casting a huge cloud over the 2010 deadline for concluding the Round, several trade diplomats told Business Standard.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:41 pm Dual rated dual GST - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:40 pm Exempt bank M from Competition Act: RBIIn a note sent to the Ministry of Finance, the RBI has stated that the exemption should be granted following the urgency and unique nature of bank mergers, especially forced mergers.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:39 pm New PVC plant set to double Chemplast biz - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:34 pm Mumbai gets tax jolt after TDS errorMumbai: A significant number of corporate and individual taxpayers in Mumbai have received a jolt from the income-tax (I-T) department because a technical fault in its computer system caused an error in matching tax deduction at source (TDS) with the returns they filed.  “TDS information on about 80% of taxpayers in the corporate and business segment and 30% in the salaried section have not tallied due to (a) fault in the system,” said one I-T official, adding that they had been sent tax notices. The precise number of such cases was not known. According to official data, 1.79 million taxpayers in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, filed TDS returns for the last fiscal year. Direct tax payments from Mumbai account for around 35% of national direct tax collection. “In most of the cases, the incorrect tax demand notice has been issued due to mismatch of information on TDS available with the department and the return filed by the taxpayer,” said a second official at the I-T department. Both officials did not want to be named because they are not spokespersons for the department. “We are aware of the problem relating to non-credit of TDS and demand raised as a consequence,” Shishir Jha, commissioner and spokesman for the Central Board of Direct Taxes, or CBDT, said in an email response to queries. “It is true that many taxpayers have been issued with tax demand notices. The advice to such taxpayers is to write to their assessing officers enclosing (a) copy of TDS certificate, so that he can give credit for the taxes deducted and vacate the demand,” Jha said. “In case the problem still persists, they may contact the additional commissioner in charge of the range or the concerned commissioner of income tax,” he said. According to officials, the mismatch of information was mainly caused by the lack of an individual transaction identification number and technical faults in the online TDS return filing process. “Earlier, when TDS was filed on paper, we were able to process the claim within four-six months, but now, with the new rule (requiring online filing of returns), it is taking much longer,” said the second income-tax official. Before the online TDS process was introduced in April 2006, the department would verify TDS certificates submitted along with the income-tax return for discrepancies. “Now, if the taxpayer commits a simple error while filing TDS returns, there is a mismatch of information and we cannot verify it because they don’t have to submit TDS certificates,” he said. However, Jha said CBDT had simplified the procedure by dispensing with the requirement to annex any TDS certificate or file it along with the income-tax returns. “However, the provision and obligation for deductors to issue TDS certificate to the deductee still very much exists. This has been deliberately done to avoid much inconvenience to taxpayers,” Jha said. Online TDS returns are filed only with an e-TDS intermediary such as National Securities Depository Ltd or through authorized agents. TDS is an important part of income-tax collection because it is based on the concept of “pay as you earn”. For fiscal 2009, the Union government collected Rs1.33 trillion through the TDS route. According to official figures, net direct tax collections for the April-July period were Rs73,990 crore, up from Rs71,648 crore in the same period last fiscal. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 12:05 pm Limit EU bank bonuses even if U.S. doesn't - BarrosoPARIS (Reuters) - The European Union should go ahead with imposing limits on bankers' bonuses even if the United States does not after this week's G20 summit in Pittsburgh, European Commission president Jose-Manuel Barroso said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:55 am Indian, global pharma firms find it worthwhile to join handsNews that GlaxoSmithKline Plc may buy a small stake in Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd drove up the latter’s share price last week. Though unconfirmed, it is a reminder of the transformation under way in the local pharmaceutical industry.  Indian and multinational pharmaceutical companies, who once had mutually exclusive strategies, are finding it worthwhile to join hands. Indian companies began by selling generic drugs in India and other non-regulated markets. They also invested in the US branded generic drugs market, targeting drugs that went off patent and also challenging some patents. The final objective was to fund new drug research from these cash flows and jump into the big league with blockbuster patented drugs driving growth. That dream has not succeeded. The initial generics success in the US has been clouded by some failures, with some key patent challenges getting defeated. Global pharma companies, too, have become aggressive in protecting their turf. Indian companies have not made any key breakthroughs in the drug discovery space. That is nothing unusual, as pharmaceutical companies work on a number of molecules before they get a winner. But as their cash flows from generics have dwindled, funding new drug discovery has become difficult. Meanwhile, multinational companies were facing a different predicament in India. With patent protection for post-1995 drugs, a key hurdle in launching new drugs was removed. Till then, they had a portfolio of aging drugs. Still, the process of launching new drugs has been slow, for various reasons, including regulatory processes.  Graphics: Sandeep Bhatnagar/Mint But their parent companies are finding that emerging markets are growing much faster, while core markets are under pressure. Hence, an emerging market strategy is a must in every investor presentation. Consider this: IMS Global forecasts the global pharmaceutical market to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 3-6% in 2008-13. But it expects emerging markets to grow by 11-14% in the same period. The North American market, on the other hand, is forecast to decline by 1-2%. This has driven multinationals to explore new models to expand in the generic drug space in the fast growing emerging markets. The strategy itself is nothing new. Novartis AG had set up a separate division, Sandoz Inc., to sell generics in 2004. Big pharma companies have been using India as a sourcing base for years. But they now see each other as partners in business, not merely as outsourcers. This has taken different forms. Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd liked Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd’s generic portfolio and market presence enough to buy out the promoters. Similarly, Mylan Inc. acquired Matrix Laboratories Ltd. These are a few major acquisitions but the preferred route is marketing-cum-manufacturing alliances, to sell generic drugs in emerging markets. Pfizer Inc. has an alliance with Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. GSK has a marketing alliance with Dr Reddy’s for emerging markets. These alliances are new and will start paying off only over a longer period of time. There is no reason to get excited right away, but a stake sale brings up hopes of something bigger. Valuations are already high for companies on the healthcare index of the Bombay Stock Exchange quoting at a price to earnings multiple of 38 times. Investors seem to expect pharmaceutical companies to deliver in the current fiscal to March or expect more buyouts to happen. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:14 am Shipping contracts lost as firms miss deadline, incur $21 mn lossBangalore: Operational mistakes have led to two of India’s blue-chip state-owned firms losing contracts that would cost them at least $21 million (Rs101 crore). Shipping Corp. of India Ltd (SCI), the country’s biggest ocean carrier by fleet size and revenue, recently lost a contract because it could not deliver an oil tanker to a hirer on time.  Big loss: A large crude carrier owned by Shipping Corp. of India (SCI). The company had agreed to rent out one of its oil supertankers to Hosco Group. SCI missed the deadline and the contract was cancelled. In June, SCI had agreed to rent out one of its newly built oil supertankers to China’s Hosco Group for 19 months at a day rate of $37,500. The ship was to be delivered to Hosco in early September. SCI missed the deadline and Hosco cancelled the contract, said an SCI executive. He did not want to be named because of company policy on speaking with the media. SCI sought an extension of time, but was denied by Hosco. A spokesman for SCI declined to comment. With the rates for tankers showing no signs of improvement and employment opportunities looking bleak, SCI had to deploy the supertanker in the spot market where it is earning just around $3,000 a day, some $34,500 per day less than what it would have got on the Hosco contract. “At a time when ship owners are idling their ships due to lack of work, the contract cancellation is a big loss to SCI,” said a Delhi-based ship broker, who declined to be named. IOC signed a 12-month contract last year with TMT Co. Ltd to undertake three shipments of crude oil in a month from Iraq to India on supertankers. TMT is the world’s biggest owner and operator of oil supertankers. TMT agreed to ship the cargo at a discount on prevailing rates on the route between West Asia and Japan. The ship was hired through tanker brokers ACM Shipping Ltd. IOC has a panel of ship brokers including ACM Shipping through which it hires ships. Although the initial few shipments provided good returns to TMT because the rates were high, tanker rates later crashed to levels at which TMT found it unviable to execute the contract, according to shipping industry executives familiar with the deal, who did not want to be named. IOC benefited because it could ship some of its crude oil at very low rates. During his visit to India a few months ago, TMT chairman Nobu Su asked IOC not to extend the contract beyond the initial period of 12 months because he was not recovering even the ship fuel costs at current rates, another person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. But when the time came to exercise the option to extend the contract by six months, IOC was late. IOC has blamed ACM Shipping for the bungling and blacklisted the shipbroker from its panel for three months. “IOC should have exercised the option much earlier instead of waiting till the last minute,” one of the industry executives said. IOC would have benefited from the extension due to low rates prevailing now. The oil refiner stands to lose around Rs25 crore because it failed to extend the contract. “If IOC hires a ship from the spot market, it will have to pay more than prevailing rates. Spot rates are always higher than long-term contracts,” said another shipbroker, requesting anonymity. IOC and ACM Shipping declined to comment. TMT could not be reached for comments. IOC spends around Rs1,500 crore annually to import around 40 million tonnes (mt) of crude. Out of this, about 24 mt is transported on supertankers to achieve economies of scale because larger quantities of crude can be moved at a time, leading to savings in freight. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:02 am Hoarded sugar worth Rs.3.4 crore seized in PunjabOver 11,300 quintals of sugar, worth Rs. 3.4 crore, was seized in this Punjab city Sunday as officials targeted hoarders ahead of the festival season.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am Air France opposes fuel surcharge planMumbai: Air France has opposed a proposal by India’s civil aviation regulator to abolish a fuel surcharge on tickets and include it in the base fare. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is trying to persuade airlines to shift the surcharge into the base fare, a move the carriers are resisting. However, only Air France has voiced its concern officially so far. “We fail to understand why airlines are required to show its customers a breakdown as laid down in rule 135. Rule 135 covers airlines but does not cover service providers in the travel-related industry. Rule 135 is deemed to be bias(ed) as it is not only the airlines that publish travel-related products,” Air France wrote in a 28 August letter to the DGCA. Airlines do not pay any part of the fuel surcharge to the government. Travel agents argue that there is no rationale for a separate fuel surcharge. “DGCA is representing the ministry of civil aviation that formulates the country’s aviation policy. It has every right to direct the airlines to club the fuel surcharge and basic fares,” said Biji Eapen, president of the IATA Agents Association of India. “Fuel surcharge should be automatically clubbed into basic fare when an airline publishes the fares as this surcharge is a temporary tool to assume the additional fuel bill.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:25 am Can Amazon become the Wal-Mart of the Web?Phoenix: The hum of 102 rooftop air conditioners and a chorus of beeping electric carts provide the acoustic backdrop in Amazon.com’s 605,000 sq. ft distribution facility on this city’s west side. But the centre’s employees can almost always hear Terry Jones. On a recent summer afternoon, Jones, an “inbound support associate” making $12 (around Rs585) an hour, steered a hand-pushed cart through the packed aisles and shouted his location to everyone in earshot: “Cart coming through. Yup! Watch yourself, please!” Jones explained that he was just making his time at Amazon “joyful and fun” while complying with the company’s rigorous safety rules. But his cries might double as a warning to the retail world: Amazon, the Web’s largest retailer, wants you to step aside.  Inventory advantage: An Amazon employee in the Internet company’s Phoenix warehouse. Amazon is shaking up retailers as it moves beyond books to its goal of becoming a Web-size general store. Jim Wilson/NYT In other words, in an increasingly digital age, Amazon is quickly becoming the world’s general store. Alongside the books and CDs and DVDs are diapers and power drills, not to mention replacement car clutches and more arcane items such as the Jackalope Buck taxidermy mount. “Amazon has gone from ‘that bookstore’ in people’s mind to a general online retailer, and that is a great place to be,” said Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, an eBay-backed company that helps stores such as Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney sell online. Wingo envisions e-commerce growing to 15% of overall retail in the next decade from around 7%. “If Amazon grows their market share throughout that period, and honestly I don’t see anything stopping it, that is pretty scary,” he said. Indeed, Amazon has been gobbling e-commerce market share since 2006, taking away customers from eBay in particular. But its advances are shaking up the entire retail world. Giants such as Wal-Mart are warily replicating elements of its strategy, while small independent retailers in sporting goods and jewellery now worry their fate will be similar to that of small bookstores and independent video rental shops (remember those?). Amazon’s expansion strategy has allowed it, almost alone among retailers, to thrive during the recession, even while its own media business has stagnated. Over the last year, shoppers have bought fewer books, CDs and DVDs, in many cases opting for cheaper digital downloads. In the quarter ended June, for example, Amazon’s worldwide media sales grew only 1%, to $2.4 billion, highlighted by a slowdown in video games. But during the same quarter, sales of other products, which the company lumps together on its balance sheet in a grouping dubbed “electronics and general merchandise”, grew by 35%, to $2.07 billion. Its relentless ambition to sell more of everything is constantly on display these days. In July alone, Amazon introduced separate hubs on its site for outdoor sporting goods and cell phones and wireless plans. Then it capped the month by buying an emerging competitor, the online shoe and apparel retailer Zappos.com, in a stock exchange now worth at least $930 million. Aside from using its stock and $3.1 billion in cash and marketable securities to make acquisitions, Amazon has fuelled its growth as a general retailer by nudging loyal customers to buy a greater variety of products by offering free shipping and speedy delivery with clubs such as the $79-a-year Amazon Prime. Amazon executives are nonchalant about the shift to general retailing, regarding the moment as preordained destiny ever since the company announced its ambition to offer the biggest selection of goods on earth, before going public in 1997. But they have reason to feel vindicated: After the dot-com bust, some analysts thought the company could go broke trying to stock such a wide array of merchandise. “It means we are becoming increasingly important in the lives of our customers, which has been our mission from the beginning,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s senior vice president of North American retail. “We had the chance to earn the trust of the customer beyond media, and we took it.” Amazon’s profit and margins have always been slender; it earned only $645 million in 2008, up 36% from the year before, compared to Wal-Mart’s $13.4 billion, up 5%. But Wall Street is more enamoured by the promise of the online retailer, valuing Amazon at around 60 times earnings and Wal-Mart at 15 times earnings. “They don’t have to incur huge inventory carrying costs and can add product categories almost ad infinitum,” said Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “Amazon has an almost magical business model in terms of inventory management.” Like many small business owners, Ken Lombardi, the chief executive of his family’s 60-year-old Lombardi Sports in San Francisco, views Amazon as a source of some of his business troubles. Though his store has been hit hard by the recession and the expansion of a sporting goods chain in the Bay Area, Lombardi says that it is Amazon that has helped depress profit margins and snagged sales for basics such as silicone swim caps, undershirts and running shoes—which, he adds, Amazon can offer without California’s 8.25% sales tax. “People used to come in to buy a pair of running shoes and we would sell them a shirt or a workout outfit. We’re losing that,” said Lombardi, who was recently forced to lay off a quarter of his 75-member staff. In response to the gathering storm, Lombardi has overhauled his store, shrinking space for lagging items such as Crocs clogs—which are offered cheaply on Amazon. He has added space for newer, hotter-selling items such as Sanuk sandals, which are for sale on Amazon at about the same price. He also recently commissioned a new website to replace the static old one, which had not changed much over the years. “All we can do is tell a story physically and let people touch and smell and feel the product, which they can’t do online,” Lombardi said, lamenting his store’s future. “I think we are doing everything we can.” ©2009/THE NEW YORK TIMES Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 10:21 am We’re helping to resolve issues with HawksNew Delhi: With a stable Indian government in place following the April-May general election, global defence manufacturers are expecting the modernization of armed forces to gain momentum. Dick Olver, chairman of UK-based BAE Systems Plc, said in an interview that his firm is eyeing opportunities in naval systems, artillery and internal security in India, besides the land systems it is working on with auto maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M). Olver, who was on a visit to India after a gap of a year and a half, also admitted that there were some issues in the $1.2 billion (Rs5,784 crore) deal for Hawk trainer jets supplied to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Edited excerpts: How did your meetings with the defence ministry officials go?  Eyeing opportunities: Dick Olver says his firm has a long-term strategic aim in India. Ramesh Pathania/Mint Did you have any specific agenda? We talked about a lot of things including the move from 26% to 49% (stake in the joint venture with M&M), which is a very strategic issue both for the government and us. Is there a time frame for this? I think that there is really very little resistance to it. I think the question is finding the right moment, where it comes to the top of the political agenda. I can’t be precise. We have a long-term strategic aim in India (and) we understand that patience may be part of that. What will you be able to do if you have a 49% stake that you cannot do now? Well, obviously it will encourage us to do a huge amount more. One of the things we are doing right now is taking technology from South Africa for mine-resistant vehicles, which has worked incredibly well in the US for the marine corps and the army. And we are looking at this and asking ourselves how can this be redesigned with more Indian content—shaped and sized for Indian requirements—and (for) Indian mine-resistance requirements. And (we are) bringing that to India in the next 90 days to start testing with not only the ministry of defence but also (internal) security. This vehicle will be useful for both. So, I mean obviously we are doing that, but if we were at 49%, we would be rather more enthusiastic to do that and other things. What would the other things be? All land systems. This might include artillery, combat vehicles, heavy truck requirements, all sorts of things. Besides land systems, which are the other business areas that you are looking to venture into? Yes, we are very interested in naval systems and we have a large naval system business. In the US we have a big ship repair maintenance and upgrade facility for the US navy. In the UK, we build everything from nuclear-powered submarines to aircraft carriers. So, we have basically two things, which I understand from our conversations, are (attractive to) India...one is the design capability—maritime design in OPVs (offshore patrol vehicles) and other ships—and we also have a construction capability both in the UK and the US for construction of OPVs. One question now is—is that the place to start in naval in India? We are in the thinking process. Why did you pull out of the 140 ultra-light 155mm howitzer gun contract worth around Rs3,000 crore? We decided not to respond for lightweight guns for reasons of some issues in the RFP (request for information by the defence ministry). If you go back now to the defence ministry, will you use the US FMS (foreign military sales) route since 70% of the gun is US-made and is assembled there? Our job is to advance the merits of the gun to the customers. If the customer wanted to do that, it would be a matter between the two governments. In this case the governments would be India and the United States. We are ready to work with the customers to try and meet the requirements. There have been issues lately where HAL has been upset due to non-availability of spare parts for the Hawk advanced jet trainer? Well, that’s an issue with the first Hawks and wherever they have had a problem we have supplied spares. I think there are one or two ongoing issues. But in respect of all of them we are helping. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Sep 2009 | 9:52 am Now, Mamata to upgrade railway hospital to medical collegeRailway Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday announced here that her ministry would take an initiative to upgrade the existing South Eastern Railway (SER) Hospital into a well-equipped medical college.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2009 | 8:30 am National Aluminium plans nuclear power plantThe state-owned National Aluminium Co (Nalco) is focusing on diversification, including setting up a nuclear power plant and moving into other metals, to meet the economic meltdown.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Sep 2009 | 3:01 am
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