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Japan deflation deepens, weak demand hitting prices!Japan`s core consumer prices dropped 2.4 percent in August from a year earlier, the fourth straight month of record falls, official figures showed on Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am `Sensex to touch 19K-mark in 2010`!The BSE Sensex is poised to touch the 19000-mark in 2010, a research report said.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am China seeks major stake in Nigerian oil: Report!A Chinese state-owned oil company is in talks with Nigeria to acquire stakes in some of the world`s richest oil blocks, in potentially one of Beijing`s biggest overseas oil deals, a daily said on Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am Lupin buys anti-cholesterol drug rights for USD 39 mn !Indian pharmaceuticals major Lupin on Tuesday said it had acquired the rights for Antara, a drug to treat high blood cholesterol and high triglycerides, for USD 38.61 million from the US-based Oscient Pharmaceuticals.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am MindTree to buy Kyocera Wireless India in all cash deal!MindTree Ltd said on Tuesday that it would buy Bangalore-based Kyocera Wireless India Pvt Ltd and make an upfront payment of USD 6 million, while further payments will be linked to revenue in FY11 and FY12.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am IMF may revise 2010 global growth forecast upwards!The International Monetary Fund will increase its forecast for global growth next year in the next few days to account for a faster recovery in major economies, its deputy director said on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am Sensex surges 202 pts, Nifty regains 5K-mark in early trade!Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex on Tuesday shot up by 202 points in early trade.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am Dollar may lose supremacy: World Bank chief!US dollar may lose its role as the world`s reserve currency, says World Bank chief Robert Zollick.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am US stocks rally on merger deals!US stocks rallied Monday as investors take the merger-and-acquisition deals as a sign of economic recovery.Source: Zee News : Business | 29 Sep 2009 | 6:30 am Co\'s capital adequacy ratio above 20%: Dewan HousingDewan Housing announced a combination of fund raising last week. Commenting on the fundraising, Kapil Wadhwan, its CMD, said that its capital adequacy position which now stands above 20%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 5:09 am Gammon India to raise $200m for fund expansion via QIPIndian construction company, Gammon India is looking at raising the entire USD 200 million via QIP said the companys Managing Director, Pervez Umrigar, adding that the money was to be used for fund expansion plans.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 5:00 am Nifty closes at 5000; Sun Pharma,ONGC up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:22 am Indian rupee weaker on month-end import demand - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:12 am BSE Sensex provisionally ends up 0.8 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally closed up 0.84 percent on Tuesday, riding a rally in markets across Asia on rising hopes for a global economic recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:07 am Day IV | Air India cancels flights; pilots’ strike continuesNew Delhi: Loss-making state-run Air India has suspended booking of tickets till further notice and decided to cancel a quarter of its international and domestic flights to cut down inconvenience caused to passengers by last minute cancellations in view of the ongoing agitation by the executive pilots. “We have suspended the booking of tickets till further notice in order to save the passengers from inconvenience caused by the cancellations of flights due to the agitation,” Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav told reporters here on Tuesday. Around 250 pilots have refused to work since 26 September, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at airports. The strike, coming just days after protests by pilots of Jet Airways, underlines uneasy labour relations in a country often perceived as a difficult place to conduct business. Air India’s spokesman Jitender Bhargava said, “We are still operating services but we have suspended bookings for certain flights.” Since the strike began, Bhargava said about 40 flights out of the 200 scheduled were being cancelled daily. Flights which have been affected include flights to New York, London, Chicago and Singapore as well as many domestic routes. The pilots are protesting against the company’s plans to cut incentive pay to its employees by up to 50%, in a cost cutting measure affecting over 7,000 of its employees. The pay cut is applicable to all senior staff, including top management. Air India has been struggling after it posted a $875 million loss in the fiscal year ended March and it has sought a government bailout. A World Bank report on ease of doing business ranked India a lowly 122 of 181 countries and suggested greater flexibility in labour laws would help create more jobs and reduce poverty. Earlier this month, India’s Jet Airways was hit by a strike, when 760 of its pilots protested against the sacking of four of their colleagues for indiscipline after they tried to form a union. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:07 am Asian stocks rise, yen fallsHong Kong: Asian shares rose on Tuesday as news of several multi-billion dollar takeover bids overseas boosted confidence in a global economic recovery, while the yen slid after Tokyo hinted currency intervention could be an option in some cases. Australian shares rose to their highest level in a year as M&A activity overseas on Monday, including Xerox Corp’s biggest acquisition ever, was seen catching on globally. “M&A activity is coming, we’re told. It’s difficult to pin down but there’s going to be more in the resources sector,” said Bill Bishop, a private client adviser at RBS Morgan in Australia. In Japan, the yen’s retreat from an eight-month high hit on Monday helped shares of Japanese exporters, lifting the Nikkei average by 0.9%. Japan’s currency came under pressure after finance minister Hirohisa Fujii said that intervention might be an option if currency moves were irregular, although he reiterated it was wrong for any country to try to win a competitive edge by devaluing its currency. The yen slid to as low as ¥90.23 to the dollar after his comments, further pulling back from ¥88.22 hit on Monday, its highest level since January. Tokyo has not intervened in the market since March 2004 and analysts do not expect such a move anytime soon. “Fujii appears to have been jolted by the yen’s rapid appreciation and is worried that the strong yen would throw cold water on the economic recovery led by exports. But it is unlikely the government actually will intervene in the market,” said Takumi Tsunoda, an economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute in Tokyo. A record drop in consumer prices last month highlighted that Japanese domestic demand is still weak and limited losses in Japanese government bond futures, which dipped as stocks gained. December 10-year JGB futures were down 0.02 point at 139.29. AUSSIE DOLLAR SHINES The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan rallied close to 2%, and is now up nearly 60% this year. Technology shares drew buying, notably in Taiwan where they traded on news that Taipei will allow contract chipmakers and flat-panel makers to acquire rivals in China, although analysts said it would be some time before the policy was implemented. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and UMC, the world’s two largest contract chip makers, rallied 4.9% and 3.6%, respectively, lifting the broader TAIEX index by 2%. Hong Kong shares rebounded from a three-week low with the Hang Seng index rising 2.1% for its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than a week. Shares in Australia rose 1.6%, followed by Singapore’s 1.3% jump, while India and Korea notched gains of just under a percent. China shares bucked the regional uptrend, with the Shanghai Composite index dipping 0.3%. Recently listed newcomers were actively traded, even as investor sentiment remained depressed by heavy supplies of new shares, including initial public offerings on China’s planned Nasdaq-style second board, ChiNext. “Investors are worried that new share supply ... will continue diverting funds from existing shares,” said Gui Haoming, head of research at Shenyin and Wanguo Securities. The Australian dollar got a lift after a senior central banker warned of a potential housing bubble, adding to expectations of an interest rate rise soon. A central bank watcher said the Reserve Bank of Australia was almost certain to raise interest rates by 25 basis points each in November and December although he did not cite any sources. The Australian dollar was trading at $0.8742, not far off its 13-month high of $0.8790 set last week. Robust equity markets and geopolitical tensions sparked by Iranian missile tests this week pushed oil prices up to above $67 a barrel at one point in Asian trade, extending a more than 1% gain on Monday. Gold edged up to $992.20 an ounce but traders said investors were cautious, saying bullion may be due a slight correction. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:06 am Wine drinkers lift glass to law of supply and demandNew York (Reuters Life!) - The law of supply and demand has reached the world's vineyards tipping wine prices in consumers' favor.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 4:04 am ADAG accuses RIL of shortchanging govt on gas mktg marginsThe Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has written to the Petroleum Ministry asking it to resolve the issue of marketing margin expeditiously. ADAG said that RIL was depriving the government of its share of marketing marginSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:48 am Dell launches high-end, thin business PCSan Francisco: Dell Inc on Monday unveiled its latest high-end, ultra-thin personal computer, bringing some fresh design appeal to its enterprise models. Dell called the new Latitude Z the world’s thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptop, at 4.5 pounds and less than one inch thick. However, the Latitude Z does not come cheap, starting at $1,999. Dell, the world’s No. 2 PC maker said it is targeting the PC at what it calls “impression makers,” such as creative professionals. Thin and light is undoubtedly a priority for PC makers this fall, in both consumer and business segments. Technology advances are allowing PC makers to cram ever more performance into a shrinking form factor. Dell launched its premium consumer ultra-thin PC, the Adamo, earlier this year. “We’re seeing thin and light spread throughout our portfolio,” said Todd Forsythe, vice president in Dell’s commercial client product group. Dell said the Latitude Z is the first laptop to offer wireless docking and “inductive charging.” It can be recharged without a power cord just by placing it in a special docking station, in the same way many electric toothbrushes charge. The docking station is sold separately. The Latitude Z also comes with an always-on function that allows instant access to email and the Internet, and offers a screen frame that is touch-sensitive and can be used to launch applications and scroll through Web pages. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:45 am Dell launches high-end, thin business PCSan Francisco: Dell Inc on Monday unveiled its latest high-end, ultra-thin personal computer, bringing some fresh design appeal to its enterprise models. Dell called the new Latitude Z the world’s thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptop, at 4.5 pounds and less than one inch thick. However, the Latitude Z does not come cheap, starting at $1,999. Dell, the world’s No. 2 PC maker said it is targeting the PC at what it calls “impression makers,” such as creative professionals. Thin and light is undoubtedly a priority for PC makers this fall, in both consumer and business segments. Technology advances are allowing PC makers to cram ever more performance into a shrinking form factor. Dell launched its premium consumer ultra-thin PC, the Adamo, earlier this year. “We’re seeing thin and light spread throughout our portfolio,” said Todd Forsythe, vice president in Dell’s commercial client product group. Dell said the Latitude Z is the first laptop to offer wireless docking and “inductive charging.” It can be recharged without a power cord just by placing it in a special docking station, in the same way many electric toothbrushes charge. The docking station is sold separately. The Latitude Z also comes with an always-on function that allows instant access to email and the Internet, and offers a screen frame that is touch-sensitive and can be used to launch applications and scroll through Web pages. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:45 am Vodafone best service provider: SurveyMumbai: Vodafone has been recognised as the most admired mobile service brand online followed by Tata Indicom and Aircel, a survey said. A pan-India survey conducted by Drizzlin Media, a Branding 2.0 consultancy that audited over 1,600 relevant conversations of the 7,000 conversations’ sampled around India’s top 10 telecom brands shows that Reliance Mobile emerged as the least admired brand. The survey was conducted over ten telecom brands including Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Tata Indicom, Aircel, Reliance, BSNL, MTNL, Spice and Loop Mobile. The conversations were spread over various online venues and included blogs, forums, micro blogs such as Twitter, social networks such as Facebook and Orkut, YouTube and Mouthshut.com, a consumer review site. Each of the conversations was valued on its tonality- either positive or negative. The top telecom brands were then graded and ranked according to online popularity to derive ‘The most admired mobile service brand online´. BSNL mobile’s products and services were the most admired online while Vodafone appeared at the bottom of the stack. Vodafone’s advertisements and promotions were the most admired online and BSNL mobile services were the least admired, the survey said. MTNL mobile services scored the highest in customer service rankings, while Vodafone was rated the worst with netizens. Tata Indicom’s network coverage was the most admired, while Loop Mobile’s was the least admired, it said. BSNL mobile was the most favoured when it came to tariffs and billing while Airtel scored the least. Tata Indicom ranked the highest in brand affinity whereas Aircel lagged behind, the survey said. Most telecom companies have a limited engagement with their customers online. Telecom companies that do use social networking sites use the mediums, more as a promotional tool rather than an engagement platform, it said. “We chose to analyse the buzz around telecom companies in India as the first of our surveys since telecom is a consumer intensive industry,” Drizzlin’s Chief Executive Officer, Deepak Goel said. “Since the industry is so competitive, it becomes essential for telecom companies in India to understand what their consumers say about them online as it directly impacts subscriber numbers, reputation and revenues,” Goel said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:44 am Russia to decrease state stake in companies: PutinMoscow: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told investors Tuesday that he would reduce the state’s ownership of companies over the coming years to allow for better growth. Putin addressed Russian and foreign investors at a Moscow business forum intended to attract new interest in Russia’s staggering economy. He said there will be “no return to the past” and that Russia will remain what he called a “liberal market economy.” Finance minister Alexei Kudrin told the forum that up to half of Russia’s economy is dominated by the state. He suggested that was impeding growth. Russia’s oil-fueled economy has been hard hit by the global crisis and is expected to shrink by up to 8.5% this year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:42 am ABN Amro’s wage bill soars in 2008-09: RBI dataNew Delhi: The Indian arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland-owned ABN Amro witnessed a sharp spurt in its wage bill during 2008-09 which constituted more than a quarter of its total expenses, the highest among the major foreign banks operating in the country. Wages as percentage of the total expenses for the ABN Amro Bank, which is in the process of selling its retail and commercial banking operations in the country, shot up from 19.91 to 25.61% during the year, reveals an RBI analysis of the banking sector in the country. The efforts to elicit response from the bank proved futile as neither ABN Amro’s managing director Meera Sanyal nor its spokesperson replied to the queries sent through e-mail. The wage bill as percentage of total expenses for the other major foreign banks was lower with Deutsche Bank spending 24.33% on employees followed by Standard Chartered Bank at 21.09%, HSBC at 18.01% and Citibank at 17.56%. For the 30 foreign banks operating in the country through a network of about 300 branches, wages accounted for 19.45% of total expenses. Having started operations in the country in 1920, the ABN Amro Bank today has 30 branches and employing about 3,200 persons. ABN Amro, which was taken over by the RBS in 2007, also witnessed decline in profit per employee to Rs 0.62 lakh during 2008-09 from Rs 7.66 lakh in the previous year. Unlike the ABN Amro, other major foreign banks did well with Citibank reporting profit per employee of Rs45.12 lakh during 2008-09, followed by Standard Chartered Bank at Rs23.82 lakh and HSBC at Rs16.06 lakh. Besides low per employee profitability, ABN Amro also witnessed sharp increase in its net Non-Performing Asset (NPA) ratio, suggesting a spurt in bad loans. The net NPAs of the bank rose to 2.2% of its assets in 2008-09 from 0.85%, which is only a shade better than the crisis-ridden Citibank. The RBS, the new owner of ABN Amro Bank, is reportedly in advanced discussions with bidders for selling part of the operations in certain Asian markets, including that in India. Besides the Indian operations, the RBS is also looking at selling retail and commercial banking assets of ABN Amro Bank in Pakistan, China and Malaysia. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:33 am Oil falls towards $66.50 on slack demandLondon: Oil dipped towards $66.50 a barrel on Tuesday as a weak demand outlook was expected to be reinforced by weekly inventory data from the United States. US crude futures fell 29 cents to $66.55 a barrel by 0934 GMT, after rising 82 cents on Monday. North Sea Brent crude futures fell 40 cents to $65.14. After last week’s drop of about $8 on concerns over high oil inventories and weak demand, prices have remained at the bottom end of a trading range of $65-$75 in place since around July. “Crude will continue to move according to the stock markets and inversely to the dollar, which will remain weak,” said Tony Nunan, risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. European shares dipped, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.2% lower, while the dollar rose against the yen. The top executive of Saudi Aramco, the state run oil firm of Saudi Arabia, said late on Monday he did not expect to see a swift rebound in global oil demand. “Oil demand in the United States and Europe remains weak but the economic crisis will not lead to a permanent reduction in global consumption,” Khalid Al-Falih, the head of Saudi Arabia’s state oil firm, told a US television station. Oil market attention will shift to two sets of US weekly oil statistics later on Tuesday and Wednesday. Many analysts expect increases in crude and fuel inventories in the United States, the world’s top energy consumer, due to weak demand. A Reuters poll showed that US crude inventories rose 500,000 barrels in the week to 25 September. Distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, and gasoline supplies were forecast to have risen 1.1 million barrels each. Although oil prices have not responded significantly to heightened tension surrounding Iran, the market has been watching the moves of Opec’s number two producer in recent weeks. Iran test-fired a type of missile which a commander said could reach any regional target. That followed news of the nuclear fuel facility in south of Tehran, with major powers woried about its nuclear ambitions. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:31 am Govt to borrow $25.6 bln in Oct-March - fin secyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will sell bonds totalling 1.23 trillion rupees ($25.6 billion) between October and March as part of its borrowing schedule, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:27 am Nuclear future will combat climate change: PMNew Delhi: Prime Minister vowed on Tuesday that a massive increase in nuclear power generation over the next four decades would allow the booming country to reduce its impact on global warming. Manmohan Singh told an international atomic conference in New Delhi that the civilian nuclear supply agreement he signed with the United States last year had opened an era for safer, cleaner energy production. “There will be huge opportunities for the global nuclear industry to participate in the expansion of our nuclear energy programme,” he said, urging India “to think big” on the future energy needs of its 1.2 billion people. Singh announced that 470,000 megawatts of energy could come from Indian nuclear power stations by 2050 — a giant leap from just 4,120 megawatts currently produced by its 17 reactors. “This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change,” he said. An embargo on India’s involvement in civilian nuclear exchanges — imposed in 1974 following a series of nuclear tests — was lifted in 2008 after long negotiations with the United States. The deal has sparked a race among major nuclear companies to secure contracts with the country, which sees increased power production as key to securing further development after 15 years of rapid economic growth. The Planning Commission of India estimates that about 600 million people — more than the entire population of the European Union and nearly half of all Indians — are not even on the national grid. Singh told delegates at the International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy that a number of agreements were in the pipeline and that he “looked forward to their full and effective implementation in the coming months and years.” India currently relies on imports for about 70% of its oil needs. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:27 am AbbottSolvay deal positive for us: Dishman PharmaAmerican healthcare major Abbott Laboratories is all set to buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgiumbased Solvay Group for USD 6.6 billion. How does the acquisition affect the fortunes of Dishman PharmaSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:25 am Copper declines 8% in Sept - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am MindTree acquires Kyocera Wireless IndiaMumbai: MindTree Ltd said on Tuesday it agreed to buy Bangalore-based Kyocera Wireless India Pvt Ltd and make an upfront payment of $6 million, while further payments will be linked to revenue in FY11 and FY12. The IT firm expects the acquisition to contribute about $9 million in revenues for the period Oct 2009 to March 2010, with profit after tax expected to be in the range of 13-15%, it said in a statement. “This acquisition makes them (Kyocera) a major strategic client for MindTree,” Janakiraman S., MindTree president and group chief executive, product engineering services, said in a statement. The deal will help fuel growth of MindTree’s product engineering services business under which it offers design and technology services including wireless technology, MindTree said. “This allows Kyocera to improve its cost structure and competitiveness while providing MindTree a strong engineering resource,” said Yasuyuki Yamamoto, general manager, Kyocera Corp. Kyocera Wireless India is a unit of San-Diego based Kyocera Wireless Corp, employs 600 people, and develops custom wireless handsets for Indian service providers. At 12:51pm, MindTree shares were trading up 4.79% at Rs623.35, in a Mumbai market that was up 0.89%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:21 am Air traffic demand improving, profit far away: IATAZurich: Air traffic demand is recovering from the steep slump caused by the global recession but the airline industry remains well away from a return to profit, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday. The IATA data added to news which has suggested the global economy was slowly recovering from the deepest recession since World War II. “Demand continues to improve, but profitability remains ever distant,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO in a statement. “Fares have stabilised, but at profitless levels. Meanwhile cost pressures are mounting from reduced aircraft utilisation and rising oil prices,” he said. Airlines carried 9.6% less cargo in August year-on-year, while passenger demand fell 1.1%, said IATA which represents 230 airlines comprising 93% of scheduled international air traffic. Demand was well off the lows hit earlier in the recession, IATA said. Freight levels were 12% above the low-point hit in December 2008 and passenger demand was 6% higher than the low in March 2009. Air freight demand was down 18% in the first eight months of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, while passenger demand was down 6%. IATA said Latin American and Middle Eastern carriers saw freight demand growing on the year in August and the Middle East was also the only region to record rising passenger demand. In August, the passenger load factor improved by 1.2 percentage points on the year to 80.9% but average fares were 22% lower for premium seats and 18% down for economy seats. IATA said earlier this month it expected a loss of $11 billion for the industry in 2009 and a $3.8 billion loss in 2010. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:20 am Bharti to issue statement on MTN talks Tue - source - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:10 am TCS sees recovery in global banking sectorKualalumpur: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India’s top IT services firm by sales, expects a recovery in the global banking sector to boost its revenues this year, its chief executive said on Tuesday. S. Ramadorai said the company was seeing some signs of a recovery in the demand for outsourcing, especially from the banking, financial services and insurance sectors that account for 43% of its business. “We see some signs of activity where businesses have reinvented themselves to reach out to customers, so that will definitely force a lot of IT options,” Ramadorai told Reuters on the sidelines of an investment conference in the Malaysian capital. “The (global banking and finance) industry is beginning to look at discretionary spend which was frozen completely after the crisis.” To meet the recovery in demand and tap future business growth in Asia-Pacific countries, Latin America and back home, TCS would be looking to hire 18,000 workers in the financial year ending March 2010, Ramadorai said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:10 am MindTree buys Kyocera Wireless India - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:08 am Air traffic demand improving, profit far away - IATAZURICH (Reuters) - Air traffic demand is recovering from the steep slump caused by the global recession but the airline industry remains well away from a return to profit, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 3:04 am IOC to shut Panipat units from end-October: sourceNew Delhi: Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has deferred a planned shutdown of half of its 240,000 barrels-per-day Panipat refinery in north India by a month to end-October, a company source said on Tuesday. He said IOC would shut a 120,000 bpd crude unit and a 2.4 million tonnes per year (tpy) delayed coker for about 21 days while a 1.7 million tpy hydrocracker and a 3.5 million tpy diesel hydrotreater (DHDT) would be offline for about a month. “This will be the phase-I shutdown for raising the refinery capacity to 15 million tonnes (300,000 bpd) next year. The shutdown will begin in last week of October,” the official, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters. The source also said during the shutdown the crude unit would be revamped to handle 25% more crude while the DHDT would be enabled to produce Euro IV compliant diesel. “Coker will also be revamped during the shutdown period so that after the second phase shutdown it can process at 3 million tonnes a year,” he said, adding a catalyst in the hydrocracker would be changed in the shutdown period. During the shutdown, IOC would carry out minor work at some of the secondary units, including a 650,000 tpy Continuous Catalytic Reformer Unit, a 950,000 tpy Fluid Catalytic Cracker and a 400,000 tpy Visbreaker, the source added. IOC’s head of refineries B. N. Bankapur last month said IOC would shut a 120,000 bpd crude unit for about 30-35 days in July-August 2010 to raise the refinery capacity to 300,000 bpd. The Panipat plant has two equal-sized crude units. IOC operates about 10 refineries across India with a total capacity of 1.204 million bpd. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:59 am Gold traders continue to stock for festival demandMumbai: India gold traders continued to stock-up on Tuesday to meet festival and wedding demand as prices stayed near their two-week low, dealers said. “Sales have been up by one-and-a-half times compared to last month due to festivals. There are good orders below $990 (an ounce),” said a dealer with state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. Gold futures on the continuation charts was 0.09% lower at Rs15,533 rupees at 2:34 pm, after hitting an intra-day low of Rs15,497, a level last seen on 10 September. International spot gold traded at $992.80/993.60 an ounce as against 989.95/991.95 on Monday. India, the world’s largest consumer, is in the midst of the festival and wedding season, with Diwali and Dhanteras due next month, which is expected to revive sagging gold sales. Dealers said the underlying demand is strong as some traders were stationed on the sidelines, seeking lower prices. “Buying may extend into next month if prices stay at current levels and rupee/dollar stays at 48,” said another dealer with a private bank. “I have big orders in the range of $960-980.” The World Gold Council’s January to June figures show India’s gold imports fell 55% to 126.7 tonnes from 282.3 tonnes a year earlier. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:59 am No need for PIN, just fingerprint will doAn ATM dispenser in a remote village that helps users withdraw money from their savings account with a voice guidance in the local language could be reality soon as Integra Microsystems, a Bangalorebased software development company, has designed and developed the cash dispenser.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:51 am Rupee weaker on month-end import demandMumbai: The Indian rupee extended losses in afternoon trade on Tuesday weighed by dollar demand from oil refiners and importers, but a further slide was prevented by inflows from foreign bonds raised by companies, dealers said. At 2:25pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs48.06/07 per dollar, weaker than its Friday’s close of Rs47.97/98. Financial markets were closed on Monday for a regional holiday. Dealers said importers were looking to buy dollars around the Rs48/dollar mark to meet month-end import needs but inflows from various foreign currency convertible bond issues seen since morning limited the downside for the rupee. Steel pipe maker Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren said on Friday it had raised $130 million via foreign currency convertible bonds. Iron ore exporter Sesa Goa said on Thursday it plans to raise up to $500 million through an offering of foreign currency convertible bonds. Shares were trading up 0.9%, bolstered by firm regional markets and an overnight rally on Wall Street, but gains could be capped because of a shortened trading week. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at Rs48.14 each, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:50 am 2 US acquisitions in 3 months and Lupin scouts for moreWith two acquisitions of new drug applications in the US in three months, Lupins appetite for more is far from satiated, says Mr Nilesh Gupta, Lupins Group President and Executive Director.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:46 am Europe shares edge down; weaker oils outpace banksLondon: European equities drifted lower in early trading on Tuesday after sharp gains in the previous session, with weaker commodity shares offsetting gains made by financial stocks, which were supported by BNP Paribas. At 1:38pm, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.2% lower at 999.76 points after rising 1.8% in the previous session. The benchmark index is up 20% this year and has surged 55% since hitting a record low in early March. It has gained 17.6% in the third quarter and is on track to post its best quarterly gains in almost a decade. Energy shares came under pressure as crude oil prices fell 0.2% to trade below $67 a barrel ahead of weekly US crude inventory data, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol and Total shedding 0.1-1.4%. “The market has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, but there have been some concerns and investors remain nervous,” said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “We have got very crucial figures coming up later this week which are important to the direction of the market going forward,” he added. Investors will keep an eye on the September consumer confidence report from the United States and a house price update from Case/Shiller for July. Later in the week, focus will be on the U.S. non-farm payrolls data. Miners also lost ground as copper prices fell 0.7% and aluminium was down 0.8%. BHP Billiton, Anglo American , Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 0.5-1.7%. Banks up, BNP Paribas helps Financial shares were in demand. The DJ STOXX banking index , which has jumped 173% since March lows, rose 0.6%. BNP Paribas rose 2.5% as investors welcomed its move to launch a €4.3 billion capital increase and pay back the French state for aid it had earlier received. “Paying back the state will give them more independence in running their business, especially in their important trading activities,” Agilis Gestion fund manager Arnaud Scarpaci said. Other banks were also higher. Standard Chartered, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale gained 0.3-3.4%. European planemaker Airbus fell 1% after it confirmed it had cut its 2009 delivery target for A380s by one aircraft to 13 planes and said it was maintaining its delivery forecast for 2010. Spain’s FCC jumped 6.3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating to “buy” from “hold”, citing the builder’s exposure to a possible early construction recovery in Spain and Eastern Europe. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3-0.5%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:46 am Air India suspends flights, pilots strike goes on - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:39 am Sebi wants listed firms to disclose sufficient information to marketThis would help investors to get a fair undestanding of the companies, Sebi Chairman, CB Bhave said while launching independent equity research by Crisil today here.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:32 am Shree Ashtavinayak to raise $150 mn through various routes - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:30 am ‘Bharti to issue statement on MTN talks today’New Delhi:Bharti Airtel will issue a statement later on Tuesday on its tie-up talks with South Africa’s MTN, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. The source did not give details, including the timing of the statement. Bharti and MTN had revived merger talks in May, a year after previous talks broke down over who would control a merged entity. A merger would create an emerging markets giant with more than 200 million customers across India, Africa and the Middle East. The deadline for exclusive talks between the two companies runs until Wednesday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:29 am Air India suspends flights, pilots strike goes onNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Loss-making state-run Air India has cancelled a quarter of its international and domestic flights and will suspend bookings on more flights due to a strike by its pilots over pay, the carrier's spokesman said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:27 am Larsen&Toubro Infotech,inks SAP contract with German companyL&T Infotech will operate, maintain and develop SAP solutions within leading German semiconductor manufacturer, Infineon Technologies' enterprise landscape and provide these services out of Germany, Singapore and India.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:13 am Bharti to issue statement on MTN talks on Tuesday - sourceNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel will issue a statement later on Tuesday on its tie-up talks with South Africa's MTN, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 2:07 am MindTree buys Kyocera Wireless IndiaMUMBAI (Reuters) - MindTree Ltd said on Tuesday it agreed to buy Bangalore-based Kyocera Wireless India Pvt Ltd and make an upfront payment of $6 million, while further payments will be linked to revenue in FY11 and FY12.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 1:59 am Govt says no dual listing proposal from Bharti-MTNNEW DELHI (Reuters) - There is no formal proposal for dual listing from Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN, which are in exclusive talks for a planned tie-up, finance secretary said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 1:31 am BASF to invest euros two bn in Asia PacificFrankfurt: The German chemical giant BASF said on Tuesday that it would invest €2 billion ($2.9 billion) by 2013 in the Asia Pacific region to double its sales there by 2020. The group also said it would hire at least 5,000 new staff, bringing its total in the area to around 20,000, and generate 70% of its sales from local production. “The current economic situation does not change our positive expectations of the long-term potential of these dynamic markets,” a statement quoted BASF regional director Martin Brudermueller as saying. Among the Chinese cities where investment was planned were Nanjing and Chongqing, the statement said. The German group is present in 15 Asia Pacific countries, with major operations in China, India, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. In addition to the planned investments, BASF said it would reduce costs by at least 100 million euros per year by 2012 through increased efficiency at its existing operations. BASF was hit hard by the international economic crisis, and said in July that it expects a significant decline in sales and earnings this year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 1:31 am No dual listing proposal from Bharti-MTN, says govtNew Delhi: There is no formal proposal for dual listing from India’s Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN, which are in exclusive talks for a planned tie-up, India’s finance secretary said on Tuesday. “There is no formal proposal before any public authority in India as of today,” Ashok Chawla told reporters when asked if the the two firms had applied for dual listing. “Well, our officials had some discussion with them. They have explained our legal position and asked them to see what is it that they need.” The period of exclusive talks between Bharti and MTN is due to end on Wednesday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 1:13 am TCS sees recovery in global banking sectorKUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India's top IT services firm by sales, expects a recovery in the global banking sector to boost its revenues this year, its chief executive said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Sep 2009 | 1:05 am Sensex to touch 19000-mark in 2010: PL researchKolkata: The BSE Sensex is poised to touch the 19000-mark in 2010 fueled by global equities’ rising growth premium, favourable demographics, diminished policy risks and inexpensive valuations of Indian stocks. Prabhudas Lilladher(PL), a leading equity research and brokerage firm for FIIs, said in its ‘India Equity Strategy´ report that Indian equities were on a long-term bull phase. It said the Indian equity market was amongst the few markets around the world, which was poised to advance on a long-term bull phase over the next several years. Besides the Sensex, the PL research report said the NSE Nifty would touch 5600 next year. The report said one of the most important factors behind the bullish outlook was the huge proportion of Indian youth which had placed the country in a favourable demographic position vis-a-vis other countries. as This would result in a strong earnings growth outlook, the report said. The real GDP growth would be in the vicinity of six to eight per cent over the next five years, with the prospective nominal GDP growth around 10% , according to PL research estimates. The PL research GDP growth forecast was based on the considerations that the average growth rate of labour force would be high, a strong potential for financial deepening, lower inflation and increased infrastructure spending. The report, however, said the Indian market was not without risks. It said the most notable risk was of policy slippages or policy mistakes. The other risk factors, included uncontrolled rise in public debt, corruption, geopolitical tensions on the Indian sub-continent and water shortages. Going forward, the PL research said real interest rates were expected to remain at modest levels on account of capital flows outlook, both FII and FDI, into the country. The favoured long-term sectors, according to PL were those of infrastructure, media, retail, financial services and education. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:35 am State guarantee no longer a must for funding PSU power projectsBangalore, Sept. 28 Banks have stopped insisting on State Government guarantees for funding public sector power projects in a bid to push up infrastructureSource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Weak dollar adds shine to gold ETFs than metalMumbai, Sept. 28 Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) have performed better than the spot gold in the last two months due largely to better returns from other investments and the rupee strengthening against theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am How many telecom companies should India have?What’s the similarity between Indian agriculture and Indian telecoms? Simple: First, both have raised output to levels that no one would have thought possible when output boosting began (1969 for agriculture, 1996 for telecoms); second,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Demand for retail space on the riseNew Delhi, Sept. 28 After being virtually comatose for three quarters, retail real estate demand is showing some signs of revival as players in organised space begin to put their expansion back on track.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Inconclusive AI, pilots talks affect flightsNew Delhi, Sept. 28 Normal operations of Air India flights continued to be affected on Monday as the stand-off between the Air India management and section of pilots continued, with both sides hardening theirSource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am City Union Bank (Rs 29.3): BuyWe recommend a buy in City Union Bank from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts that the stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend since its March low of Rs 11.1, forming higher peaks and troughs. In late August, theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Falling revenues despite rising base, a concern for telecom sectorMr T.V. Ramachandran has been associated with the telecom industry even before the first mobile licences were signed in 1994. Since then, the , Director-General of the Cellular Operators Association India (COAI) has seen the industrySource: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am Banks not keen to back emission reduction projectsMumbai, Sept. 28 In the absence of a national policy and regulator for carbon credits, banks are reluctant to get involved in financing projects taken up by industrial units to bring down carbon/ greenhouse gas emissions, the Indian Banks’Source: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am ICAI finds Satyam auditors ‘prima facie’ guilty of misconductNew Delhi, Sept. 28 The CA institute’s probe on the role of external and internal auditors in the scam-hit Satyam Computer Services’ case has moved a step forward.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 29 Sep 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Govt likely to keep FY10 borrowing target’New Delhi: India’s borrowing target for 2009-10 is likely to remain unchanged, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting to finalize the borrowing calendar for the second half. The comment helped reinforce market expectations and the 10-year benchmark bond yield was largely unchanged at 7.14% from beforehand but off 7.17% at the previous close. A meeting between Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and finance ministry officials is scheduled at 3 pm (local time) to finalize the borrowing calendar for October-March. The government had pencilled borrowings of Rs4.51 trillion ($93.6 billion) for the full year and sold Rs2.95 trillion of bonds in April-September. The initial borrowing target for the first half was 2.99 trillion, but the central bank cancelled an auction for Rs12,000 crore in early August without giving any reasons, but was seen to have been caused by poor demand. The government later adjusted Rs8,000 crore through two auctions, and the remaining 4,000 crore will likely be sold in the second half. Although the market has been expecting no change in the total borrowing, there are worries about erratic rains and an expected drop in farm output that could push up market borrowing. “The monsoon deficit is a concern to the government’s borrowing programme. As of today, we don’t know how the rabi crop (winter-sown) is going to perform,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. She said the borrowing is unlikely to be increased if the production makes up for a lower summer-sown output. The finance ministry official, who spoke to reporters on condition he not be named, also said the fiscal deficit target of 6.8% of gross domestic product would not be exceeded. Nitsure said tax revenue should improve on the back of an economic revival, while a surging stock market will help the government push divestments. “The only uncertainty is on the agriculture front. It’s a 50-50 situation at the moment, the picture will be clearer only after December,” she said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:59 pm As phones get smarter, game makers ring the changesTokyo: Tetsuya Ide doesn’t own an iPhone, but the teenage computer boffin is betting that Apple’s hit gadget is the key to having a new generation of video game players in the palm of his hand. He’s not the only one. Video game console titans Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are facing growing competition from the increasing popularity of games played on mobile telephones or Internet-enabled gizmos. “A game’s creativity used to depend on the hardware,” said Ide, a 19-year-old computer programming student who is developing an iPhone game as part of his studies. “A successful game now is one that’s simple and reaches a wide network of people,” he told AFP at last weekend’s Tokyo Game Show. Major industry players have also begun to recognise the potential of smartphones as a springboard to reach casual gamers, due to the runaway popularity of the iPhone and iPod Touch, both of which debuted two years ago. Of the 758 software titles on display at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, 168 were designed for mobile telephones — twice as many as last year. “Cellphones are a very promising platform,” said Kazumi Kitaue, chief executive of Konami Digital Entertainment, publisher of video games including the Metal Gear and Silent Hill series. “The appeal is that everyone owns one. A family with three children may have one PlayStation 3, but three cellphones with which they can download and play games,” he said. Making games for mobile phones also enables developers to reduce costs in the face of the worst global economic downturn in decades. “They won’t have to spend a great deal of money and effort developing new software,” said Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain Inc., a video game magazine publisher. “They’ll be able to capture a client base through the iTunes store,” he added, referring to Apple’s portal for downloading music and games. With their high-resolution images, role-playing games for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles often demand budgets comparable to those of Hollywood blockbusters, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. In contrast, a cellphone game can cost just a few thousand dollars to develop. Media Magic, a company that develops games for Japanese cellphones, is among those firms that seek a bright future for games for the iPhone. “We saw the iPhone as a threat in the beginning. But since the same device is used all over the world there is greater opportunity for a bigger market,” said Mitsuru Oshibo, a content developer with the firm. About 80% of game developers in Japan have dabbled in creating games for the iPhone, according to an analysis of 100 companies by CRI Middleware Co., which creates software components for video games. But bigger game developers are feeling the pressure as smartphones threaten to sap the industry’s traditional source of revenue from sales of games for consoles such as the PS3, the Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s Wii. Apple boasts hundreds of thousands of applications in its App Store, some of which are priced at less than one dollar. Analysts say the company attracts at least 80,000 downloads each day, but with prices so low, some developers are wary about jumping on the bandwagon. “When we look at that business model, we ask ourselves, ‘when can we really make the shift´?” asked Shin Unozawa, head of Namco Bandai, the Japanese company behind such games as Pac-Man and Tekken. “It’s quite frightening to think of changing to a different model,” he said. Even so, Bandai Namco said it is stepping up game development for Apple gadgets, showing at the Tokyo Game Show its “Ace Combat Xi” arcade-style action game formatted specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Rival Square Enix is doing the same, with a handful of titles in the works to be unleashed ahead of the crucial year-end holiday season. Competition among hardware makers is also hotting up. Apple this month introduced a revamped version of the iPod Touch, with founder Steve Jobs calling it a “great game machine.” That came after Sony released in June a PlayStation Portable Go handheld game, movie and music gadget, seeking to challenge the success of Nintendo’s DS handheld machine. There is even speculation that Sony is working on a PSP phone, although the company has remained tight-lipped. However, despite the buzz surrounding the iPhone, some experts doubt that the gadget can lure away hardcore gamers. “Users do have an amazing variety of choice” with the iPhone, said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide. “But it’s probably a quality versus quantity argument whereby a lot of the applications on iPhone and iTouch aren’t very good,” he added. Kenji Miura, a 23-year-old who describes himself as an avid console enthusiast, was unconvinced by a role-playing game he tried out on an iPhone. “It’s difficult to handle and the images are hard to see,” he said at the game show. “When it comes to playing games, I want to buy a proper console.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:57 pm Markets rise 1% early on US, Asia gainsMumbai: Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex on Tuesday shot up by 202 points in early trade, after recording losses in the previous session, as foreign funds pumped in fresh money, driven by firming trends in other Asian bourses and an overnight rally in the US market. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 202.61 points, or 1.19 % to 16,895.61 points in opening trade with all the sectoral indices trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.64%. The BSE barometer had lost 88.43 points in the previous session on Friday. The market remained closed yesterday on account of “dussehra”. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 57.80 points, or 0.92%to trade above the 5,000-mark at 5,016.75. Stock brokers said fresh spell of buying by foreign funds bolstered by firming trends in the global markets, influenced trading sentiments on the domestic bourses. Shares of Bharti Airtel evoked brisk speculative support and traded 2.50% higher at Rs424.70. Shares that gained on the exchange included, Reliance Industries that was up 0.82% to Rs2,147.20, Reliance Infra rose 0.89% to Rs1,217.80, Rcom 1.09% to Rs304.85, Infosys Technologies 1.68 per cent to Rs 2,283, Tata Consultancy Services 1.47 per cent to Rs595.70 and Wipro 1.17% to Rs573.80. Further, DLF Ltd gained 1.02% at Rs431.10, Hindalco 1.54% at Rs 128.60, Sterlite Industries 0.83 per cent at Rs756.60 and ICICI Bank 1.99 per cent at Rs855.25. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.28 % higher in yesterday’s trading, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose almost 2.2 % and Japan’s Nikkei was up by 0.95% in the morning trade today. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:36 pm Sensex surges 202 points, Nifty regains 5,000-mark in early tradeThe 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 202.61 points, or 1.19 per cent to 16,895.61 points in opening trade with all the sectoral indices trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.64 per cent.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:17 pm Lupin buys cholesterol-lowering drug for $38.61 mln - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:15 pm Sensex up 163 points in early tradeThe benchmark index of the Indian stock markets started the week Tuesday on a positive note, moving up 163 points from its previous close within five minutes of start of trade.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:00 pm Air India strike enters fourth day, 26 flights cancelledAt least 26 flights of Air India were cancelled Tuesday morning with the standoff between the management and striking pilots entering the fourth day, causing severe inconvenience to passengers.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:00 pm Lupin buys anti-cholesterol drug rights for $39 mnIndian pharmaceuticals major Lupin Tuesday said it had acquired the rights for Antara, a drug to treat high blood cholesterol and high triglycerides, for $38.61 million from the US-based Oscient Pharmaceuticals.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 10:30 pm EXCLUSIVE - Ex-AIG unit head Cassano back in U.S.; probe intenseWESTPORT, Conn./NEW YORK (Reuters) - Joseph Cassano has come home to face the music.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 9:24 pm 'Best time to invest in real estate'Real estate prices were one of the worst-hit by the economic downturn. Though the prices have risen marginally, it will be some time before the market actually picks up.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 8:53 pm Musli Power X-tra passes toxicity testMusli Power X-tra, developed by Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, is the result of strenuous research and a blend of Ayurveda and modern medical technology.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:21 pm Indo-Jap FTA: Data exclusivity threat to genericsAmid fresh talks on the India-Japan free trade agreement (FTA), concerns are being expressed about certain measures that could hamper generic drugs and access to medicines.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:19 pm Up a gradeWhile the earnings upgrade augurs well, incremental production is expected to come at a higher cost.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:17 pm Pay hikes in IT? Only for star performersIn the IT world, which once saw average pay hikes of over 15%, and even towering to 20%, before the financial crisis set in, this year would be one of utmost caution.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:14 pm With Swarup firm on cuts, agents ready for siege of DelhiRs15,000 crore. That's roughly the amount of commission you paid insurance agents for buying policies in 2007-08.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:46 pm MVNOs likely for both 2G and 3G servicesThe DoT is learnt to have decided that the policy on mobile virtual network operation (MVNO) would be applicable to both 2G (second generation) and 3G (third generation) services.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:43 pm ICAI finds Satyam auditors 'prima facie' guilty of misconduct - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:10 pm Retailers back in expansion mode as consumers returnThe retail king is back to what he does best: Expand. Future Group Chairman Kishore Biyani is planning to add two Big Bazaar stores every month and open 15 hypermarkets over the next six months.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:04 pm BSE should set its house in order before listing, says SebiThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked the 134-year-old Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to set its house in order before planning a listing.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:03 pm MCA to scrutinise accounts of registered firmsTo outsource work; priority on actively-traded, listed companies.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:01 pm AI mgmt backs down from lockoutSays it will cut flights only on routes on which it lacks resources.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:59 pm Govt mulls leasing sick units under PPPEyes 90-year, revenue-sharing contract for eight fertiliser units.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:58 pm AI rules out lockout, pilots stir continuesThe standoff between agitating pilots and the Air India management showed no signs of easing on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:47 am Air India stand off continues, no lockout, says ministryWith the standoff between agitating pilots and the Air India management showing no signs of easing, the Prime Minister's Office Monday night urged the civil aviation ministry to ensure 'speedy resolution' of the crisis in the cash-strapped national carrier. The ministry has denied any possibility of a lockout.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:30 am No resolution to Air India crisis, PMO intervenesWith the standoff between agitating pilots and the Air India management showing no signs of easing, the Prime Minister's Office Monday night urged the civil aviation ministry to ensure 'speedy resolution' of the crisis in the cash-strapped national carrier.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am Fly me to China, not India, say Asia deal makersHong Kong: Asia deal makers and financial sponsor bankers have taken to the skies again after a travel clampdown late last year as corporate purses were tightened in the global slowdown. And China is the most popular destination, for deals and money. The world’s top private equity firms, including The Carlyle Group, Bain Capital Llc and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), have raced to sign deals with Chinese companies across the business spectrum, from telecom service providers to baby formula makers.  Wings of desire: Nanpu Bridge in Shanghai. The world’s top private equity firms have raced to sign deals with Chinese firms across the business spectrum, from telecom service providers to baby formula makers. Bloomberg “Valuation is becoming attractive again and, of course, China is the focus,” said X.D. Yang, a managing director for Carlyle’s buyout fund in Asia. Washington, DC-based Carlyle has been actively making deals in the Greater China region in recent months, including two in the past 10 days. Yang said this reflected that valuation levels have became attractive again after sharp declines in equity prices worldwide late last year. Hong Kong-based Yang said his travel agenda is filling up, and he often spends more of his week in mainland Chinese cities than in Carlyle’s Asia head office in Hong Kong. At least 50% of the audience at the SuperReturn Asia Conference in Hong Kong last week voted China as the place for the best investment returns in the next three years, a straw poll conducted by the forum’s organiser showed. India ranked second, polling less than 20% of the votes. While Warburg Pincus Llc is reducing staff in Mumbai, according to a source familiar with the issue but not authorized to speak to the media, and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch is closing its private equity team in Tokyo, global investors such as Carlyle and TPG are adding professionals in Hong Kong and Beijing hoping to tap more China deals in this round of economic recovery. “There’s too much money going into india, but not enough to exit from India,” said Ajay Relan, co-founder of India-focused private equity firm CX Partners. “If this continues, this will be a problem for India,” he said, adding that opportunities for buyout deals in India remain limited as local entrepreneurs are unwilling to cede control of their businesses. Buyout opportunities for private equity firms among Indian companies are limited because Indian firms find it easy to list on the domestic stock market and many family businesses are not up for sale, Carlyle’s Yang said during last week’s conference. “It seems easier for Indian companies to do initial public offerings in the local market, so private equity investment to them is like an option and many Indian entrepreneurs are unwilling to sell their business ownerships,” he said. Yang added that despite difficulties in making controlling deals in Asia, private equity firms should try to maintain some influence over portfolio companies’ management and business operations. He also expected valuation levels to rise in the next 20 months, and thereby competition for private equity firms to secure good deals in Asia would become fiercer. Global buyout firms such as Blackstone Group are launching yuan-denominated private equity funds after seeking to raise more money for deals in China, where foreign exchange controls are strict. “The next one to two year period will be a golden opportunity for private equity firms in Asia,” said Michael Kim, a former senior Carlyle executive, who founded MBK Partners. “It’s a rare time for us. China is definitely one focus,” said Kim, whose company also focuses on South Korea and Japan. Narayanan Somasundaram in Mumbai and Junko Fujita in Hong Kong contributed to this story. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 10:36 am Train passengers looted by armed men near Delhi - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Sep 2009 | 10:04 am Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express flagged offThe Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express, a non-stop train between the two cities, was flagged off Monday from Howrah railway station, officials said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 8:30 am Air India softens stand after talks with pilots failAfter its talks with the agitating pilots ended inconclusive Monday, the Air India management said it was open for further negotiations and that a decision on thorny issues like the pilots' incentives would be taken shortly.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 8:00 am Marginal impact of Air India pilots' stir in BangaloreThe agitation by a section of pilots of the national carrier Air India had a marginal impact in India's tech hub Monday, as only three out of 18 flights it operates daily were cancelled, an airline official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 8:00 am Apple crosses 2 bn app downloadsNew York: Apple Inc said on Monday that downloads from its iTunes applications store have passed 2 billion and it now has more than 85,000 apps available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It did not say how many of the applications delivered were sold and how many were free. The apps store has inspired rival stores and helped boost iPhone sales since the summer of 2008. Apple said it has sold more than 50 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices in 77 countries. AT&T Inc is the exclusive US provider for iPhone. Google Inc also runs an apps store for its Android mobile platform but has fewer apps than Apple. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 7:58 am Talks fail, Air India pilots to intensify agitationThe agitating pilots of the cash-strapped national carrier Air India Monday threatened to intensify their strike after talks between them and the airline management failed to resolve the impasse.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am Talks begin between Air India management, pilotsThe Air India management Monday began talks with the Delhi faction of the agitating executive pilots here, even as their strike entered the third day, forcing cancellation of at least 11 flights out of the national capital alone.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:30 am ArcelorMittal to step up focus on emerging marketsNew York: World’s largest steel-maker ArcelorMittal will focus more on emerging markets, including India, and expects to return to the pre-crisis level by 2012, the company’s chief Lakshmi N Mittal has said. “Growth will be a slow, progressive recovery. Maybe by 2012, we could come back to the pre-crisis level. Growth will only come from emerging markets. That is where we will focus,” India-born Mittal told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. “On the steel sector, we will start looking at Brazil and India and (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.” Mittal, one of the world’s 10 richest people, said the worst is probably behind but the growth trajectory the company had been on since the merger of Arcelor SA and Mittal Steel Co in 2006 is not going to return anytime soon. ArcelorMittal posted losses in the last three quarters, the latest being $792 million for three months ended June. Analysts expect it to post another loss this quarter. “... it would been far worse if the steelmaker did not shut mills, slash production (by) about 35% and lay off thousands of workers,” the India-born steel tycoon said. He further added that his new success mantra will be slow and progressive growth. “We will be much more selective and now we have to take a slightly different view. So instead of finishing a project in 2011-2012, we will finish in 2014,” he said. “We will work on our mining projects - Liberia, Senegal - and we will continue to expand in the mining sector,“ the Mittal told the newspaper. Terming the crisis as a shock, Mittal said his company took lots of steps such as production cuts, inventory cut and cost cutting. “We reduced our fixed costs by $10 billion, which is about 30-35% of our total fixed costs, in a period of nine months,” he said. Mittal pointed out that productivity in the emerging markets is also going up. “If we look at some of the plants in China and some of the plants in India, they are catching up really fast in terms of productivity. “We have to work with the unions to ensure that they understand what is competition and productivity in the emerging markets,” he said. According to him, the question to be addressed is how to make the industry in the Europe and the US competitive and whether they could survive in the next 30 years going forward. “The answer lies in making Western plants more productive and reducing their costs,” he noted. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:39 am
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