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Trade unions to oppose investment of PF funds in stock markets!Trade union representatives on Friday said they will strongly oppose the proposal allowing EPFO to park part of its fund in the capital market.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am Investor wealth soars by Rs 4.33 lakh cr in September!September proved to be fruitful for investors as they grew wealthier by Rs 4.33 lakh crore in the period, with the benchmark index gaining over 10 percent.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am Indian banks to remain resilient during FY10, FY11: Fitch!Indian banks are expected to remain robust during the current fiscal and the next even if non-performing assets and interest rates rise, according to global rating agency Fitch.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am LIC grabs 67% share in first 5 months of current fiscal!LIC`s market share increased to 67% in new biz in the first five months of current fiscal.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am Japan`s jobless rate falls for 1st time in 7 months!Japan`s jobless rate fell unexpectedly for the first time in seven months in August while consumer spending rose, data showed on Friday, boosting hopes the economy is healing after its worst slump in decades.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am US Sept auto sales plunge; GM, Chrysler hit hard!US auto sales tumbled by 23 percent in September as showrooms emptied after the government-funded boom from the "cash for clunkers" program, with General Motors Co and Chrysler hardest-hit.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am Don`t mistake revival as end of eco crisis: IMF to countries!The signs of revival in the global economy should not be confused with the financial crisis being over, multilateral lending agency IMF has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am STOCKS NEWS AFRICA-MTN rises as market sees stock undervalued - Forbes
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Oct 2009 | 4:11 am Climate talks stall on targets, finance - U.N.BANGKOK (Reuters) - Efforts to convince rich nations to toughen emissions cuts have failed to make much headway at climate talks in the Thai capital, the U.N. said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 4:05 am IMF chief: sustained stimulus needed to save jobs - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Oct 2009 | 4:03 am GE looking at partnership or IPO for NBC UniversalNEW DELHI/PARIS (Reuters) - General Electric Co is holding discussions on partnerships or an IPO for its NBC Universal unit, Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said, as expectations grow about a deal with cable operator Comcast Corp.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am Gold steady, awaits for US payrolls dataLondon: Gold was steady on Friday, drawing little support from foreign exchange markets where the dollar was flat against a basket of currencies, with the market subdued ahead of key US jobs data due later in the day. Gold was at $998.30 an ounce at 0907 GMT, compared with $998.50 an ounce on Thursday. If non-farm payrolls come in weaker than the expected 180,000 job losses, it could renew fears about recovery in the world’s largest economy and bolster the dollar, seen as a safe haven. Gold is often viewed as an alternative to holding the dollar and benefits from weakness in the US currency, which makes it more affordable for those buying in other currencies. “The market’s primarily driven by the dollar,” said Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank. “The non-farm payrolls will be an important gauge for the recovery that we’ve been seen for the past few months,” he said. US gold futures for December delivery were at $999.5 an ounce, versus Thursday’s $1,000.7 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. After gold’s 8.7% rise in the three months to end-September, its strongest performance since the first quarter of 2008, it was unclear whether the precious metal would make a sustained rise to test the record high $1,030.80 per ounce set in March 2008. “My feeling is any uptick at the moment is a sell opportunity because the market is still pretty long,” Hansen said. The non-commercial net long position in gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange stood at an all-time high of 236,749 lots for the week ended 22 September, figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. Heavy Longs “We would look for gold to hold the $985-1,020 area but gold remains at risk to a deeper correction as falling risk appetite could spook some of the recently added fund longs,” said James Moore at Thebulliondesk.com in a research note. Moreover, several traders said there was insufficient support for gold from the physical side. “Supply and demand fundamentals are capping the gold price. Scrap is becoming more available and jewellery demand goes down every time the price goes up,” said Tony Parry, a gold analyst at Sydney-based Resource Capital Research. Global recession and high prices this year have knocked down demand for gold in Turkey, one of the top consumers of bullion, which is now heading for the lowest ever recorded annual import levels. He added: “The first quarter crisis-driven demand for gold-backed ETFs almost evaporated in the second quarter with an 88% fall in funds flow into ETFs.” The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,095.327 tonnes on 1 October, unchanged from the previous business day. Among other precious metals, silver was lower at $16.27 from $16.32, Platinum was at $1,270 from $1,277.5 and palladium was at $289 from $287.50 Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:34 am ANALYSIS - Japan banks to bear brunt of new capital rules in AsiaTOKYO (Reuters) - After raising $54 billion of equity this year to ride out the financial crisis, banks in Asia are likely to tap markets for billions more as the G20 moves towards tightening capital requirements for global lenders.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am World stocks tumble, dollar supportedLondon: World stocks fell and the US dollar broadly held firm on Friday as doubts grew about the pace of economic recovery and the week’s major data on US jobs loomed large. European shares tumbled at the open, following steep losses in Asia and on Wall Street overnight as investors moved to the relative safely of bonds. Markets were on edge ahead of US non-farm payrolls, due at 1230 GMT, fearing more disappointing news after a report on Thursday showed US manufacturing growth was slower than expected in September. The MSCI world equity index fell 0.98% to 278.78, the second straight day of decline after rising 17% in the third quarter which ended Wednesday. European shares were down 1.0% in early trade after tumbling 1.6% on Thursday to hit a three-week closing low. The index, which posted its best quarterly performance in nearly 10 years in the last quarter, was on track for a third day of losses. “We have been waiting for a correction for quite a while,” said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research, in Frankfurt. “The third quarter performed pretty strongly. With the beginning of the fourth quarter, we have to realise that the economy is by far not in the shape which the performance of the equity market would suggest.” Asia Slides Shares in Tokyo’s Nikkei average hit a two-month closing low on Friday, falling 2.5% or 246.77 points to 9,731.87. The average slid 5.2% on the week for its biggest weekly drop in about three months. Toyota Motor and Honda Motor shed more than 3% and concerns about the strength of the yen added pressure as Toyota president Akio Toyoda said it would be difficult for the auto giant to return to profit while the dollar was weak. Trade across Asia was quieter than usual with markets in China, India and South Korea closed for public holidays. US treasuries rose, with the yield on benchmark 10-year notes falling to 3.16%, their lowest in more than four months and down 2 basis points from late US trade. Economists polled by Reuters estimate the US economy shed 180,000 jobs in September, fewer than the 216,000 jobs lost in August, while unemployment rose to 9.8% in September from 9.7% in August. But Goldman Sachs called for even bigger job losses on Thursday, saying it now sees non-farm payrolls falling 250,000 from its previous estimate of 200,000 after recent weak data. A figure out of line with forecasts either way is likely to have dramatic market impact. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, held steady above 77. “For today, it’s all about being square, not being too aggressive on positioning,” said Roberto Mialich, FX strategist at Unicredit in Milan, adding that the dollar will “perversely” benefit from falling US stocks and weak jobs data. US crude oil futures fell more than one percent below $70 a barrel as worries over the West’s talks with Iran about the Opec member’s nuclear plans eased. Gold edged up to hover just under $1,000 an ounce. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:27 am IMF chief says Europe may lag in global recoveryISTANBUL (Reuters) - Europe may recover more slowly than other regions as the global economy emerges from its slump because European economies are less flexible, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:15 am Skoda Auto Posts 52.84% Growth In Sep Sales - Stock Watch
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:13 am IMF chief: not yet time to withdraw govt stimulusISTANBUL (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Friday it was not yet time to withdraw goverment economic stimulus because of rising unemployment and a still-damaged financial sector.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:09 am Oil falls below $70 ahead of US employment dataLondon: Oil fell below $70 a barrel on Friday due to concerns about the strength of the US economy ahead of key employment data, while tensions between the West and Iran over the Opec member’s nuclear plan eased. However, oil remains on course to post its biggest weekly percentage gain in more than a month, as investors eye an eventual resurgence in energy demand. US crude futures were down $1.01 to $69.81 a barrel by 0812 GMT, after climbing 21 cents on Thursday and by more than $3 since Monday. London Brent crude lost 96 cents to $68.23. “There is a bit of caution over the US economic data which has been softer than expected,” said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Melbourne, adding that oil demand remained weak between the end of the US driving season and the start of winter. The US manufacturing sector lagged expectations in September and the number of workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week, countering data that showed consumer spending rose at its fastest in almost eight years in August. The US dollar kept broad gains on Friday as investors booked profits in higher-yielding currencies ahead of a US non-farm payrolls report for September at 1330 GMT, with expectations for a further 180,000 job losses. A stronger greenback tends to pressure dollar-priced commodities, as they become more expensive for other currency holders. Traders and analysts said talks between six major powers and Iran — the second largest oil exporter in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) — over Tehran’s nuclear programme could pressure prices further on Friday. Both the US and Iran described Thursday’s talks as productive, after Iran agreed to allow UN inspectors into a newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant. “We thought the meeting got off to a good start, and thus find crude oil’s higher finish on Thursday to be somewhat puzzling,” MF Global analyst Edward Meir said in a research note. “We suspect the current weakening we are seeing will hold sway more decisively in Friday’s session.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 3:04 am Parsvnath raises Rs225 cr through stake sale at project levelNew Delhi: Realty major Parsvnath Developers is understood to have raised Rs225 crore through equity sale of two of its projects to private equity investors and plans to utilise the funds to reduce its Rs1,600 crore debt and meet construction cost. According to market sources, the company has closed two transactions — one of Rs150 crore and another Rs75 crore — with private equity firms. The company has sold stakes in its two projects located in the national capital region (NCR). When contacted the company’s spokesperson declined to comment. With these two deals, Parsvnath has raised over Rs500 crore in the last four months through private placement of shares and stake sales at project level. The fund raising exercise is meant to cut its debt amounting to Rs1,600 crore by at least half by the end of this fiscal. The company also intends to strengthen its balance sheet by improving cash flow, which has taken a hit due to slowdown in the property market and global financial crisis. During this week, Parsvnath raised $35 million (nearly Rs170 crore) through the QIP (qualified institutional placements) route by issuing shares at Rs121.25 a share. The company yesterday announced selling additional 4% stake in a North-Delhi project to Red Fort Capital for Rs25 crore. In June, it had sold 18% stake in the same project to Red Fort Capital for Rs90 crore. The company might raise more funds as it has obtained approval from its board to raise up to Rs2,500 crore through QIP and other instruments. Post the QIP, the company’s share prices have gone up by 17%. Its share prices have risen to Rs147.55 as on Thursday on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) from Rs126.25 on 25 September — the day its QIP was launched. Parsvnath, which has a pan-India presence spread over 47 cities and 16 states, has a developable area of over 193 million sq ft. It is aggressively working on 42 million sq ft, of which 35 million sq ft is already sold. The company plans to deliver 30 million sq ft within the next two years. Parsvnath has presence in all verticals of real estate, including residential, offices and shopping complexes, metro projects, hotels, special economic zones (SEZs) and IT Parks. It is currently developing 31 residential projects, 21 commercial projects, 16 integrated townships, 14 hotels, 11 SEZs/IT parks and five metro projects. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 2:55 am Elcoteq says Videocon to buy stake; shares jumpHELSINKI (Reuters) - Loss-making Finnish electronics firm Elcoteq said on Friday Videocon Industries Ltd would buy an equity stake in it, two days after it said plans for a similar deal with China's Kaifa collapsed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 2:41 am GE aims $6 billion revenues from India in 3-4 years - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Oct 2009 | 2:38 am PM calls for reform in panchayati raj institutionsExhorting state governments to strengthen legal provisions and reform panchayati raj institutions to make them effective, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday emphasised that more needed to be done to improve the institutions of local governance.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Oct 2009 | 2:31 am Truncated week sees Sensex cross 17,000 pointsIn a truncated trading week, the benchmark index of Indian equities markets crossed the 17,000-mark for the first time in 16 months.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Oct 2009 | 2:00 am Decision on opening up legal service in India soon: MoilyLondon: The government will soon take a decision on opening up the legal service after consulting the Bar Council which has some reservations on the issue, law minister M Veerappa Moily has said. “On opening up of the legal service sector, the Bar Council has some reservations and we are in dialogue with them. Hopefully some decision will come soon,” Moily said at the India House here Thursday evening. About the government’s decision to withdraw the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors deal, he said “we wanted to be very transparent on the issue.” “The decision to withdraw the case was taken after due deliberations and after obtaining legal opinion and keeping in mind the ruling of the Delhi High court in February 2004 that there is no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.” “On 3 October, our public prosecutor will file an application before the Magistrates court for withdrawal of the case,” he said. Answering a spate of questions on British Law Society’s demand for opening up legal services in India, the minister, who is on a five-day official visit here, noted that the UK-based Indian lawyers and law firms also have their own grievances and that the matter is before Bombay high court. “In principle we agree, but there should be reciprocity and we want to take the Bar Council of India, with us. Bar Council has to firm up its opinion,” Moily said. “Business is becoming global, legal problems are also becoming global. Our arbitration law should be made more investor friendly. We have a long way to go. We have to compete globally. Our banks are doing cross-border business, industrialists are crossing borders and going everywhere,” Moily said. India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Nalin Surie, said Indian lawyers were already writing cases for others from abroad. Noting that India got into the liberalisation process long back, Moily said “We are making a place for ourselves in international trade and commerce. Foreign direct investment is increasing by leaps and bounds.” He pointed out that the Law and Justice Department had dismantled many of the barriers. Referring to establishment of Commercial Courts, the law minister said “this will create better atmosphere. India will be the most preferred destination.” Asserting that he was “very proud of the judicial system in India”, Moily said “we want to introduce state-of-the-art system in judiciary. I want to make our system the best in the world.” Enumerating steps taken by the government to tackle the pending cases in various courts in the country, the law minister said “Fast Track Courts have been established to deal with the cases and the results are very good.” He said government planned to open 71 new CBI courts. “Within a year or two we will be in a position to reduce the cases to a great deal and within 3 to 4 years, there will be no cases pending for more than a year.” The law minister said the power of appointment of district judges has been fine-tuned and within six months all vacancies would be filled up. On the other hand, National Judicial Academy was training high court judges. Moily also said that he had an excellent discussion with British Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 1:56 am PM renames NREGA after Mahatma GandhiPrime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday rechristened the government's flagship rural job scheme the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Oct 2009 | 1:31 am Landslide, heavy rain delay Konkan Railway trainsA minor mudslide and heavy rain in Goa and north Karnataka have disrupted Konkan Railway services, with four trains including a Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express being 'delayed temporarily', a railway spokesperson said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Oct 2009 | 1:30 am FII inflow in stocks crosses Rs60K crore markNew Delhi: Overseas fund inflows into the Indian stock markets have crossed the Rs60,000 crore (about $12 billion) mark so far this year. With investments by foreign investors expected to rise in the coming months, the total overseas fund flow this year could well surpass the highest ever figure recorded in 2007, when India attracted a whopping Rs70,000 crore. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were gross buyer of shares worth Rs4,58,371 crore, whereas they sold equities valued at Rs3,98,245 crore, resulting in a net investment of Rs60,125 crore, as per data available with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). In September alone, foreign investors infused a hefty Rs18,344 crore ($3.8 billion) in the local share markets. “FIIs have stashed a lot of money and they don’t want to miss the opportunity in a fast growing market like India,” Delhi-based Unicon Financial Intermediaries chief executive Gajendra Nagpal said. The country had witnessed the highest FII inflow in stock markets in the year 2007. That year, India attracted a whopping Rs70,000 crore inflow in local markets, data since 1999 shows. However, last year (2008) FIIs pulled out a net Rs52,000 crore from stock markets and remained net seller till February this year. The global economic meltdown created a panic among foreign investors, forcing them to pull-out money for safety. Overseas investors are significant players of the Indian stock markets. Significantly, so far this year Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark index Sensex has gained over 77%. On Thursday, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex closed flat after a alternate bouts of buying and selling. The 30-share barometer, which breached the 17,000 points mark on Thursday, added 7.71 points to close at 17,134.55 points. However, the stock markets are closed on Friday on account of Gandhi Jayanti. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 1:27 am GE looking at partnership or IPO for NBC UniversalNew Delhi: General Electric Co is holding discussions on partnerships or an IPO for its NBC Universal unit, chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said, as expectations grow about a deal with cable operator Comcast Corp. “Discussions are ongoing whether it is IPO or other partnership,” Immelt told reporters on Friday in response to a question on whether GE was talking to Comcast to sell a stake in NBC. On Thursday, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that GE and Comcast are discussing a deal under which the largest US cable firm would take control of 51% of NBC Universal with GE keeping the rest. GE, which owns 80% of NBC Universal, is said to be pondering its options for the fourth-place TV network and ailing movie studio as its partner, Vivendi, draws closer to a decision on whether to unload its 20% stake. GE has the right of first refusal to pick up Vivendi’s stake if the French company exercises its annual option to sell. Immelt declined comment when asked if GE was planning to buy Vivendi’s stake. Immelt was here to announce the integration of the firm’s healthcare units in south Asia into a joint venture it runs with No. 3 Indian outsourcer Wipro Ltd. “The financial aspect is relatively small. The focus is really on growing the business in future, this is more about consolidation of all disparate GE healthcare enterprises inside one substantial JV,” he told a news conference. Immelt, who heads the largest US conglomerate with interests in energy, finance, consumer products and appliances, transport and water, said he saw some improvement in the markets of the US, Europe and other developed economies. “The capital markets have definitely improved. There is reason to see stability and some optimism for the future,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 1:02 am Toyota chief laments weak dollar as profit-busterTokyo: The head of Toyota Motor Corp on Friday called the current dollar-yen rate “very tough”, saying the weak US currency made it difficult to return to profit on an unconsolidated level. “When you get to this level, it makes it difficult to return to profit on sales growth alone,” president Akio Toyoda told a news conference at the Japan National Press Club. Toyoda repeated Toyota’s aim to return to profit at the parent level “as soon as possible”, even as it expects global sales to fall 18% from 2008 to 7.34 million vehicles this year. That would leave about 30% of its production capacity unused. Toyoda took the helm in June as the world’s biggest automaker faced one of its biggest crises in history amid a global credit crunch and an industrywide sales slump that forced two US automakers into bankruptcy. For the financial year to March, Toyota has projected a consolidated operating loss of ¥750 billion ($8.4 billion), assuming a dollar rate of ¥92. It has forecast a parent-only operating loss of ¥600 billion. Presenting a further challenge, Toyota said this week it would recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the US — its largest-ever — because of a risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator. The problem is suspected of causing at least one crash that killed four people. Expressing regret over the incident, Toyoda said the company was working with US traffic safety authorities to get to the bottom of the problem. He declined to estimate the scope of damage — financial or otherwise — that the recalls would have on Toyota. “Right now, we’re focusing all our energy on taking steps that are in the interest of our customers,” he said. “I sincerely regret the loss of life of our four customers.” Last month, an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in the San Diego area in a crash of a 2009 Lexus ES350. The vehicles subject to the recall include the popular Prius hybrid car. Japan Incentives Helping Sales The Prius has helped fuel sales growth at Toyota especially in Japan, where the government is offering two sets of incentives to promote cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. Toyoda said he would welcome an unlikely extension of Japan’s cash-for-clunkers scheme beyond next March, while adding that it would not be prudent to keep depending on the government for help. In the US, Toyota’s sales fell almost 13% in September from the year before as the market suffered a sharp pullback after the government-funded cash-for-clunkers programme ran out. Total US sales tumbled 23%. Shares of Toyota ended down 3.7% at ¥3,380, mirroring a sharp fall in other auto stocks as the dollar traded around ¥9.40, within sight of an eight-month low of ¥8.23 struck on Monday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:44 am INTERVIEW - Wal-Mart sees slow U.S. business recoverySINGAPORE (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's biggest retailer, sees a slow recovery from challenging U.S. business conditions, while its Asia operations are "a little better", its Chairman Rob Walton said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:38 am Asia shares skid, dollar firm before payrolls dataHong Kong: Asian shares fell on Friday as disappointing US manufacturing data raised concern that its economic recovery may not be as fast as thought, while the dollar remained firm as investors booked profits on gains in higher-yielding currencies. European stock futures were down 0.9% while US equity futures were 0.3% lower. Investors were nervous ahead of US non-farm payrolls, due at 1230 GMT, fearing more disappointing news after an Institute for Supply Management report showed manufacturing growth was slower-than-expected in September. Shares in Japan skidded 2.5% with carmakers including Toyota and Nissan hurt by a slump in September US car sales. Worries about US economic data overshadowed a surprise drop in Japan’s unemployment rate and helped push five-year Japanese government bonds yields to a four-year low. US 10-year bond yields fell to 3.15% in Asia, their lowest level since May on the back of the weak data. Trade across Asia was quieter than usual with markets in China, India and South Korea closed for public holidays. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan fell 1.6%, although it is still up 56% this year, while the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was down 1.4%. “STONE COLD” RECOVERY If US non-farm payrolls data shows more than an expected 180,000 job losses, it could renew fears about the strength of the economic recovery and bolster the dollar as a safe haven, traders said. The dollar remained firm after the disappointing manufacturing data, which prompted investors to book profits on the higher-yielding Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar. The euro regained some ground to $1.4539, after hitting a three-week low at $1.4502 in early Asian trade. David Watt, senior currency strategist, at RBC Capital in Australia said the US manufacturing index played to the theme that, without stimulus from governments and policymakers, “the formerly red-hot recovery is going stone cold”. Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it expected a slow recovery both in the US and Asia. “Our business in the US is very challenging right now ... some of the recent economic news is more pessimistic than expected,” Wal-Mart chairman Rob Walton told Reuters in an interview on Friday “We think Asia probably will lead the recovery and we certainly see a recovery occurring in the not too distant future, but it will be slow I believe.” Shares of Japanese car makers came under pressure after data showed US car sales slumped 23% last month after the end of the government’s “cash for clunkers” programme, which had briefly boosted vehicle sales. Toyota Motor and Honda Motor shed more than 3% and concerns about the strength of the yen added pressure as Toyota president Akio Toyoda said it would be difficult for the auto giant to return to profit while the dollar was weak. In Hong Kong, shares were down 2.3%, and new listing Glorious Property Holdings skidded 20% in the morning of its debut — the latest IPO in the city to be hit by dwindling appetite for new issues amid a flurry of new offerings. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.8% as investors reassessed recent gains. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto lost close to 3% after metal and gold prices fell overnight on concerns about weak demand. Gold edged back above $1,000 an ounce by Friday afternoon. US crude oil futures fell about 1% towards $70 a barrel after Washington said talks between Iran and six major world powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme were productive and opened the door to better ties. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:33 am INTERVIEW - Cameco upbeat on Canada-India nuclear dealTORONTO (Reuters) - Cameco Corp hopes the re-opening of India's nuclear market will lead to uranium supply deals, mining joint ventures and a chance to leverage its expertise in Canadian nuclear technology that is already in use in the country, the company's CEO said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:31 am Strict global carbon budget needed to fight climate change: WWFA strict global carbon budget between now and 2050 based on a fair distribution between rich and poor nations has the potential to prevent dangerous climate change and keep temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius, a new WWF report shows.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:30 am Wal-Mart sees slow US business recoverySingapore: Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s biggest retailer, sees a slow recovery from challenging US business conditions, while its Asia operations are “a little better”, its chairman Rob Walton said on Friday. Walton expects Wal-Mart to ride out a sluggish economic recovery in the US as it gains new customers and market share in the world’s largest economy, while more resilient consumer spending supports its Asian operation. “Our business in the US is very challenging right now... some of the recent economic news is more pessimistic than expected. We are only expecting a slow recovery in the US, nothing extremely fast,” Walton told Reuters in an interview. “Our business in Asia is a little better than the US. We think Asia probably will lead the recovery and we certainly see a recovery occurring in the not too distant future, but it will be slow I believe.” Walton said Wal-Mart has no immediate plans to open stores in more Asian countries. The firm, which has a market value of $189 billion and competes with Kroger Co, Tesco and Carrefour, has already said it will open 50 stores in China. “I believe we have good potential there as long as we serve our customers there in an effective way. We are off to a good start in China and in India we are off to a good, slow start... In Japan we are doing pretty well as well.” Wal-Mart teamed up with India’s Bharti Enterprises to open its first store in the country in May, and plans to expand to 10 to 15 stores over the next seven years. “We are excited about our opportunities in Asia, no plans immediately for additional countries but we never say never,” Walton added. Retailers in Asia have held up relatively well during the financial crisis compared with their US and European counterparts, pushing investors to look for retail exposure as the region leads a global economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects developing Asia to grow 7.3% in 2010, versus 1.5% growth for the US. Walton said Wal-Mart has been gaining market share in the US amid the recession, as shoppers seek out low prices on everything from food and paper towels to popular electronics. “I think we can continue to do well, we are gaining market share in this (US) market,” said Walton, whose father founded the company. Four descendants of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton are in the top 10 of Forbes’ 400 annual list of the wealthiest Americans, with fortunes between $21.5 billion and $19 billion. US retail sales rose 2.7% in August, their fastest pace in 3-“ years, after declining 0.2% in July and offering hope for a recovery from a severe recession. Still, some government officials and investors remain concerned about the state of the recovery and surveys suggest that US consumers remain mindful of spending. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:16 am Wal-Mart sees slow US business recoverySingapore: Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s biggest retailer, sees a slow recovery from challenging US business conditions, while its Asia operations are “a little better”, its chairman Rob Walton said on Friday. Walton expects Wal-Mart to ride out a sluggish economic recovery in the US as it gains new customers and market share in the world’s largest economy, while more resilient consumer spending supports its Asian operation. “Our business in the US is very challenging right now... some of the recent economic news is more pessimistic than expected. We are only expecting a slow recovery in the US, nothing extremely fast,” Walton told Reuters in an interview. “Our business in Asia is a little better than the US. We think Asia probably will lead the recovery and we certainly see a recovery occurring in the not too distant future, but it will be slow I believe.” Walton said Wal-Mart has no immediate plans to open stores in more Asian countries. The firm, which has a market value of $189 billion and competes with Kroger Co, Tesco and Carrefour, has already said it will open 50 stores in China. “I believe we have good potential there as long as we serve our customers there in an effective way. We are off to a good start in China and in India we are off to a good, slow start... In Japan we are doing pretty well as well.” Wal-Mart teamed up with India’s Bharti Enterprises to open its first store in the country in May, and plans to expand to 10 to 15 stores over the next seven years. “We are excited about our opportunities in Asia, no plans immediately for additional countries but we never say never,” Walton added. Retailers in Asia have held up relatively well during the financial crisis compared with their US and European counterparts, pushing investors to look for retail exposure as the region leads a global economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects developing Asia to grow 7.3% in 2010, versus 1.5% growth for the US. Walton said Wal-Mart has been gaining market share in the US amid the recession, as shoppers seek out low prices on everything from food and paper towels to popular electronics. “I think we can continue to do well, we are gaining market share in this (US) market,” said Walton, whose father founded the company. Four descendants of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton are in the top 10 of Forbes’ 400 annual list of the wealthiest Americans, with fortunes between $21.5 billion and $19 billion. US retail sales rose 2.7% in August, their fastest pace in 3-“ years, after declining 0.2% in July and offering hope for a recovery from a severe recession. Still, some government officials and investors remain concerned about the state of the recovery and surveys suggest that US consumers remain mindful of spending. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:16 am INSTANT VIEW - Inflation at 0.83 pct on Sept 19 - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:05 am Gas row: Apex court sends NTPC back to High CourtNew Delhi, Oct 1 The Supreme Court has declined to get in the way of the Bombay High Court order permitting Reliance Industries Ltd to amend its plea in RIL’s dispute with NTPC over the gas supply from the Krishna-Godavari Basin D6 block.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Hyundai’s Sept sale highest in 11 yearsMumbai, Oct. 1 September was a good month for carmakers with Maruti Suzuki consolidating its leadership position and Hyundai clocking its highest-ever monthly sales inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Average revenue per user for GSM operators falls below Rs 200New Delhi, Oct. 1 In what could be a matter of concern for GSM-based mobile operators, the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) has for the first time fallen below the Rs 200 mark.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Norms simplified for grant of mega power statusNew Delhi, Oct. 1 The Centre has approved a slew of modifications to the Mega Power Policy, essentially aiming at simplifying the procedure for grant of mega certificate for projects and encouraging indigenous manufacturing in the field ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Hero Honda sales cross 4-lakh markMumbai, Oct. 1 Hero Honda continued its good run in September with sales of 4,01,290 two-wheelers, of which motorcycles led by the Splendor and Passion brands accounted for a lion’s share.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Iran asked to clear the air on Basmati contaminationNew Delhi, Oct. 1 Basmati exporters have sought an official clarification from Iran on reports of rice shipments from India being detected with high levels of arsenic, cadmium andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Bharti Airtel surges after deal collapseThe shares of Bharti Airtel surged on Thursday in reaction to the collapse of the company’s deal with MTN.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am SBI cuts deposit rates across the boardMumbai, Oct. 1 State Bank of India on Thursday said it will pare the interest on domestic term deposits by 25 basis points across the board with effect from October 5.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Gold declines on dollar strengthMumbai, Oct. 1 Gold prices continue to be guided by currency movements which set the tone of trading.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am India Inc on mop-up mode; raises Rs 33,800 cr equity in Sept quarterFund-raising in Indian capital market gathered pace in the quarter ended September.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am ‘South Africa key for a Bharti-MTN deal revival’London: A revived deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN would need earlier referral to the South African authorities, a person familiar with the deal said, in a sign that the two sides may have underestimated potential hurdles. “It is too early to know when and if talks will restart, but for a successful outcome next time we will need to engage with the South African government earlier,” the person said on Thursday. Also Read | Bharti-MTN: Missed call (Timeline) The two companies failed to seal a $24 billion tie-up on Wednesday, the second time the deal collapsed in just over a year. But investors held out the prospect of talks being reignited. Chris Woods, a fund manager at Prudential Portfolio Managers, which owns MTN shares, told Reuters earlier that there appeared an intent from the current management of the companies to do a deal. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:43 pm ‘South Africa key for a Bharti-MTN deal revival’London: A revived deal between Bharti Airtel and MTN would need earlier referral to the South African authorities, a person familiar with the deal said, in a sign that the two sides may have underestimated potential hurdles. “It is too early to know when and if talks will restart, but for a successful outcome next time we will need to engage with the South African government earlier,” the person said on Thursday. Also Read | Bharti-MTN: Missed call (Timeline) The two companies failed to seal a $24 billion tie-up on Wednesday, the second time the deal collapsed in just over a year. But investors held out the prospect of talks being reignited. Chris Woods, a fund manager at Prudential Portfolio Managers, which owns MTN shares, told Reuters earlier that there appeared an intent from the current management of the companies to do a deal. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:43 pm Don’t mistake revival as end of eco crisis: IMF to countriesNew Delhi: The signs of revival in the global economy should not be confused with the financial crisis being over and the countries should be ready with policies to sustain the recovery, multilateral lending agency IMF has said. “The current numbers should not fool governments into thinking that the crisis is over,” IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said while releasing the World Economic Outlook. He also asked countries around the world to co-ordinate policies to achieve a global rebalancing and sustain the recovery. Olivier’s remarks assume importance in the event of G-20 nations agreeing not to withdraw stimulus packages prematurely and coordinate actions among themselves in this regard. IMF in its outlook for the global economy has said that global activity is now on the rise again. However, the world economic growth is expected to be in the negative zone of 1.1% in 2009, according to IMF. This is after, the Fund revised up its outlook on world economic growth by 0.3 percentage points for the current calendar year. The global economic growth is expected to reach 3% by next year. Further, the IMF pointed out that after a deep recession, global economic growth has turned positive, driven by wide-ranging, co-ordinated public intervention that has supported demand and reduced uncertainty. However, the recovery is expected to be slow, as financial systems remain impaired and support from public policies will gradually have to be withdrawn. The rebound, it added, is mainly driven mainly by emerging economies like China, India. So far as Indian economy is concerned, IMF pegged India’s growth at 5.4% in 2009 while the economy could clock a growth rate of 6.4% in 2010. Indian economy grew by 6.1% in the first quarter of this fiscal making hopes rife that the country could meet the target growth rate of 6% plus as projected by the government. Industrial output also grew by 6.8% year-on-year in July, lower than the previous month’s upwardly revised 8.2% growth, but still high enough to trigger hopes of a sustained economic revival. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:34 pm S.Africa open for business despite MTN/Bharti riftJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Despite Bharti Airtel blaming South Africa's government for the collapse of its proposed telecoms tie-up with MTN, there are no signs of Pretoria more generally shutting the door on outside investors.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:19 pm Washington Post, Bloomberg will start news serviceTORONTO (Reuters) - The Washington Post and Bloomberg will start a service in January to distribute a selection of their news to newspapers, Websites and other subscribers, a day after the Post ended a similar arrangement with Tribune Co's Los Angeles Times.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 10:53 pm Goa's biggest offshore casino unfit, inferior: MinistryCasino Royale, Goa's biggest offshore casino, is technically 'inferior' and 'unfit' to carry 888 passengers as per a certificate issued by the Union of Comoros, says the union shipping ministry.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Oct 2009 | 10:30 pm 'Demand for designer clothes rising in small cities'Start small, think big. That seems to be the mantra of fashion designer Monisha Bajaj who in her new avatar as creative consultant for a multi-brand retail store chain believes that there is a demand for designer wear in smaller cities and it's better to 'start from there'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm SC allows RIL to amend petition, rejects NTPC plea - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Oct 2009 | 6:27 pm Power T&D companies step up local focusSlowdown in overseas markets, rising raw material prices trigger the shift.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 3:25 pm Car sales hit record high in Sept on festive fervour - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Oct 2009 | 3:24 pm CESC pulled up over Jharkhand delayThe coal ministry has pulled up CESC for the delay in developing coal mining block at Mahuagarhi in Jharkhand.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 3:22 pm Indicative yields creep back, prop FMP salesThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) effectively killed fixed maturity plans (FMPs) on January 19.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 3:09 pm Ambani spat led to poor bids in Round VIII: SibalIndia's hope of attracting foreign companies to bid under Nelp VIII has been marred by the ongoing corporate war between the estranged Ambani brothers.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 3:08 pm A blessing in disguiseMega mergers have often been known to fail, but those running companies keep trying nonetheless, hoping theirs would work.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:59 pm Air India may retry cuts in PLI by mid-OctoberEven as the airline's management issued a fresh order holding back PLI cuts, it is expected to once again try and implement a cut by mid-October.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:51 pm SBI cuts FD rates by 0.25%, withdraws special scheme - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pm Essar Oil to double retail outletsEssar Oil, the refining and marketing arm of the Essar group, will more than double its distribution network to 3,000 outlets over the next six quarters.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:43 pm Air India tinkers with operational costs to save moneyPilots may have hijacked Air India's plans to reduce staff costs by snipping their productivity-linked incentives (PLI) by up to 50%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm Can Ranbaxy keep date with Valtrex & Flomax?Ranbaxy Laboratories might just be able to launch the blockbuster drugs Valtrex and Flomax in the US in the stipulated timeframe, industry sources believe.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:37 pm Monsoon bids adieu, leaves a bitter legacyThe country as a whole, had received a total precipitation of 690 mm during the four months ending September 2009, as against the normal of 892 mm for this period.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:37 pm Chimps may not be our closest ancestorsBangalore: In the 200th birth year of Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who said the only way to understand the origin of man is to go and find his ancestors, a team of international researchers has found new fossils in Ethiopia that are pushing the limits of human evolution, suggesting that chimpanzees may not be our closest ancestors. In Friday’s special issue of Science, 47 researchers in 11 different papers report that they have found new fossils of hominids—members of the Great Apes family Hominidae that includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans—from Aramis in Ethiopia. They have named it Ardipithecus ramidus, or Ardi, which, at 4.4 million years, is the oldest and the most complete of earliest specimens, taking us closer to the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. In 1974, scientists unearthed 3.2 million-year-old skeleton of Lucy, the female skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, which is the oldest hominid we knew until Ardi arrived. “Although clearly different from Australopithecus in many ways, the case is well made that this represents the ancestor of Australopithecus,” said David Pilbeam, professor of social sciences at Harvard University. Also Read The hunt for the missing link goes on In one stroke, but one that entailed 15 years of rigorous research, scientists have thrown a monkey wrench in the long-standing hypothesis that our last common ancestor, which is believed to have lived six or more million years ago, was more chimp-like than human-like. Instead, it suggests that hominids and African apes have followed separate evolutionary paths, the latter having evolved in a more specialized manner. “This is a wonderful find, that although surprising in some ways, makes a very satisfactory animal for understanding the changes that have taken place along our evolutionary lineage,” said Andrew Hill, professor of anthropology at Yale University, in email. Analyzing one Ardi skeleton and bones of 35 other individuals of the same species, which were carefully reconstructed, piece by piece, researchers say the fossils show a new type of early hominin (a subfamily of Hominidae) which was neither chimp nor human. “In Ardipithecus, we have an unspecialized form that hasn’t evolved very far in the direction of Australopithecus. So when you go from head to toe, you’re seeing a mosaic creature that is neither chimpanzee, nor is it human. It is Ardipithecus,” said Tim White, one of the lead authors from the University of California, Berkeley. At about 120cm in height and 50kg in weight, Ardi was as big as a chimpanzee, even matching its brain size, but it differed in gait—it didn’t swing from tree to tree or knuckle-walk like apes, rather walked upright and lived in woodlands, not in grasslands. “It lacked the kind of sexual dimorphism that present day great apes have and bridges the gap between Australopithecines and later hominids such as Sahelanthropus and Orrorin,” said Rajeev Patnaik, a palaeontologist at Panjab University in Chandigarh. Patnaik and others have been working in the Narmada valley and in the Siwalik forests of the Himalayan foothills looking for hominid fossils. India is currently at the crossroads of human evolution, even as its discontinuous palaeoanthropological record is improving with each new find. “One school of thought is that that the Homo erectus or later species originated in East Africa and migrated to Indonesia using the subcontinent corridor; another believes that they originated in Asia and migrated to East Africa. But there’s not enough evidence to either refute or confirm these hypotheses,” said Patnaik. Researchers working in India expect to find evidence of early hominins from the Miocene (25 to 5 million years) or Pliocene age (5 to 1.8 million years). Around 13 million years ago, the Siwalik forests saw the emergence of a primate Sivapithecus which disappeared in the following five million years as the habitat changed. “We aim to find evidence of anything that has come from Sivapithecus or early Homo erectus or even Australopithecus. The present finding gives us hope and courage to keep looking for fossils in the Siwalik sediments,” said Patnaik. As for Ardi’s case, the evidence is pretty conclusive, though experts disagree on its interpretation. For instance, Pilbeam isn’t convinced that human ancestors “never went through a chimpanzee-like phase”. However, researchers involved say further work will add more data to make this “clearer” and that they will continue to look for more fossils. “Any place where there are fossil of the right age can be the source. If I may guess, any place between Kenya, Ethiopia and Chad, in that very wide triangle can be the place to look for,” said Berhane Asfaw of Rift Valley Research Service in Addis Ababa on phone, who thinks Ethiopia has simply been a “geological accident”. Whenever and wherever the future fossils come from, experts say Ardi has provided enough data to keep the debate alive. This extraordinary discovery will keep the field busy “with discussion and argument for at least another 15 years”, said Pilbeam. seema.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm T Rowe Price to buy 26% stake in UTI AMCMumbai: US money manager T Rowe Price is set to buy a 26% stake in UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd (UTI AMC) for about Rs650 crore, valuing the asset manager at Rs2,500 crore. “The negotiations are over and the legal teams of both the parties are giving the final touches (to the deal),” said a person close to the transaction who didn’t want to be named. “It can be signed in next fortnight even though it will take two months for all the regulatory clearances to come in.” The deal values UTI AMC at about at 3.4% of its average assets under management of Rs73,926 crore in August. UTI AMC is the fourth largest asset manager in the Rs7.5 trillion Indian asset management industry. Reliance Capital Asset Management, HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. Ltd manage more assets than UTI AMC. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Life Insurance Corp. of India, all state-run, own 25% each of UTI AMC. Business news channel CNBC-TV18 on Thursday quoted State Bank chairman O.P. Bhatt as saying that all four shareholders had given their consent for the deal. The valuation of UTI AMC is lower than two deals struck when the Indian stock market was riding high. Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd had paid 5.67% of Standard Chartered AMC’s assets in March 2008 to acquire the latter, and Eton Park had paid even more, 12.9% of assets, for a 5% stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management in December 2007. After the market crash of 2008, valuations have plunged. In July, Nomura Asset Management Co. picked up a 35% stake in LIC Asset Management Co Ltd. at 2.4% of its total assets. In September, the financial services unit of engineering firm Larsen and Toubro Ltd announced plans to buy DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management Ltd for Rs 45 crore, valuing the firm at about 1.6% of its assets under management. A recent Securities and Exchange Board of India regulation to ban upfront commissions for mutual funds may also affect the profitability and valuations of asset managers. A recent study by consultancy firm Mckinsey and Co. said AMCs will see profit erosion in fiscal 2010 and 2011. “The industry is likely to witness consolidation as smaller AMCs may not be able to accommodate the acute profit and loss stress,” it said. Narayanan Somasundaram and Nishant Kumar of Reuters contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm Farm yield may fall in South AsiaNew Delhi: South Asia will be badly hit by declining crop yields stemming from climate change, a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) has found ahead of a food security summit next month.  Graphics: Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint. The Ifpri report—made public on Wednesday—analysed 32 crops and livestock commodities in 281 regions across the globe and said that as much as $7 billion (Rs33,530 crore) will be required every year in developing nations as additional funding to finance research, rural infrastructure and irrigation investments. Asia will require the biggest chunk of investment in irrigation efficiency. “Calorie availability in 2050 will not only be lower than in the no-climate-change scenario, it will actually decline relative to 2000 levels throughout the developing world,” the report said. “By 2050, the decline in calorie availability will increase child malnutrition by 20% relative to a world with no climate change.” A world summit on food security is scheduled to be held in Rome between 16 and 18 November. The study, titled Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, projected better yields for developed nations, which, it said, were better prepared to deal with the effects of global warming. India in 2007 initiated a mission on agriculture under the prime minister’s council on climate change, which is yet to make any headway. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced recently that a proposed legislation on climate change will include a percentage target for organic agriculture. “This is one of the most important steps to combat climate change,” Ramesh told Mint on Monday. “Andhra Pradesh already has more than 5% of its agricultural land under organic (cultivation). We need to extend that to all other states.” The Ifpri report used two models—built by the National Center for Atmospheric Research of the US and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia—to validate its study. Both the models projected increased rainfall but suggested that irrigated yields for all crops in South Asia would see dramatic declines. An important fallout of declining yields would be on food prices, which would rise significantly. Even with no climate change, prices for the most critical commodities such as rice, wheat, maize and soyabean would increase between 2000 and 2050, the report found. Climate change will worsen the situation. The report predicted that additional price increases would be as much as 32-37% for rice, 52-55% for maize, 94-111% for wheat, and 11-14% for soyabean. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm Can ESPN meet its required run rate?New Delhi: Sports broadcaster ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd, which spent a whopping $2 billion (Rs9,580 crore today) to acquire telecast rights to big-ticket cricket events such as the Champions League, Champions Trophy and other tournaments run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), is in for tough times this year.  Stumped: A 26 September photo of the ICC Champions Trophy match between Pakistan and India in Centurion. Viewership of the tournament was a poor 1.7%, an average for its first five matches. Rogan Ward/Reuters Media buying agencies and sports industry analysts claim that the broadcaster may find it difficult to recover its investment thanks to dwindling viewer and advertiser interest in its cricket properties. For a start, viewership of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy is a poor 1.7%, an average for its first five matches played between 22 and 26 September, according to data released by TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd, a television viewership measurement agency. Compare this to the Indian Premier League (IPL) that clocked average television rating points (TRPs) of 5.07% in the first five matches played between 18-20 April. TRPs are the percentage of viewers watching a particular television programme at a certain time. At 2.79%, even the average rating of the 21 matches played in the 2006 Champions Trophy telecast on SET MAX was higher. Low viewership has hurt ESPN’s advertising revenue as well. Advertisers’ cold shoulder to the Champions Trophy has left ESPN saddled with an unsold inventory in excess of 30% despite pricing its 10-second spot between Rs1 lakh and Rs1.5 lakh, drastically lower than IPL season 2 rates that started at Rs2.5 lakh and went as high as Rs8–10 lakh in the final matches. The rates are low even in comparison to ESPN’s own property—the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this year, where 10-second spots were sold at Rs2.75 lakh. The figures have been confirmed by a senior executive from a media buying agency who is involved in these ad deals. Samir Kale, president, Sportz PR, a sports communication consulting firm, which previously managed ESPN’s account, said that India’s poor performance and early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy will hurt ESPN further. “TRPs are expected to fall to below 1% for the remaining matches, bringing down the effective ad rates to around Rs1 lakh. Even its distribution revenue will be down by 30%,” he said. An executive at a rival channel also involved in selling cricket said that ESPN will not be able to make more than Rs80 crore from the Champions Trophy because of unsold inventory and low rates, less than half of what SET MAX made when it had the rights in earlier seasons. “There weren’t too many takers for the Champions Trophy because advertisers and even the broadcaster are well aware of the risks involved in a knock-out tournament,” said Ajit Varghese, managing director of Maxus, a media-buying agency, which is part of WPP Group Plc’s media specialist company GroupM India Pvt. Ltd. According to him, cricket advertising is no longer the same game it was two years ago, “because there are many safer options now where the risk factor is not as high. Viewership is ensured in twenty-over formats, specifically IPL which is where a large chunk of cricket advertising money is going.” According to GroupM estimates, cricket advertising will add up to Rs1,200 crore in 2009 and IPL will account for an astounding 40% of the total. The prospects of making up for the lost opportunity during the upcoming Champions League, a world championship for domestic Twenty20 club champions scheduled between 8 and 23 October, also look bleak. The media buyer said that though ESPN has sold nearly 85% of its inventory, the channel is hawking the 10-second spots for as low as Rs50,000 to Rs75,000. The Champions League was cancelled last December because of the Mumbai terror attacks and has been promoted by ESPN and the Board of Control for Cricket in India across media platforms. ESPN shrugs off any signs of doom. “We are not in a speculative business. There are times India does well and times when the team does badly, so it’s not like viewers will not watch cricket at all and advertisers that have been with us for years will pull out because of one tournament,” said R.C. Venkateish, managing director, ESPN. Media buyers do not share his optimism. Though ESPN denied any compensatory clause, advertisers and media buyers said that several slots on Champions League are also being offered to existing Champions Trophy advertisers as compensation for the poor ratings delivered by the ongoing tournament. “When we sign deals with ESPN, we do take into consideration a worst-case scenario and there is a clause that if India drops out there is some form of a reimbursement in advertising time,” said an executive of an electronics company that is one of the major advertisers during the Champions Trophy. This is not the first time this year that ESPN has offered compensatory advertising time—ESPN’s troubles started in June with the Twenty20 World Cup, where India’s dismal performance threw advertisers off-track after they readily signed hefty sponsorship packages because it followed the successful IPL and also because India was the defending champion of the Cup. The poor ratings delivered also began the viewership war between IPL against all other cricket formats in India. “IPL set a new standard not just for cricket viewership but even the size of deals being signed that have dwarfed other tournaments,” said Kale. The channel, however, has a supporter in Hiren Pandit, managing partner of GroupM ESP, the entertainment, sports and partnerships division of media buying house GroupM. “ESPN will probably not make money this year but broadcasters take into account such risks and there is an incremental revenue coming in for the channel over the 8-10 year tenure of the deal.” Added Venkateish: “After India lost the Twenty20 World Cup people said cricket was going to die and advertisers were moving out, but this is not true.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm Why dual listing prompted Bharti-MTN to call off dealSouth Africa’s dual listing demand, which proved to be the key deal breaker for Bharti Airtel Ltd’s merger with MTN Group Ltd, didn’t just involve issues of capital account convertibility and statutory matters, but several other issues related to the existing policy framework in India.  Drifting apart: A sales assistant demonstrates the working of a mobile phone to a customer at an MTN store in South Africa. Naashon Zalk / Bloomberg In addition, entities that are ineligible for investing in Indian companies could have acquired a stake through transactions carried out on the overseas exchange, in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). Bowing to the demand for dual listing would also have weakened the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s oversight of the stock market, led to trading activity being taken away from stock exchanges in India and a likely revenue loss for the Indian exchequer. The South African national treasury had made it clear to MTN as early as on 11 September that it would only approve the merger deal if India allowed dual listing and provided the African telecom firm remained domiciled forever in South Africa, according to people familiar with the situation. The people didn’t want to be named. Also Read | Bharti-MTN: Missed call (Timeline) Dual listing envisages listing of shares of Indian firms, both on the domestic stock exchanges as well as on the overseas stock exchange. Thus, the equity capital of a domestic firm would partly be listed in India and partly overseas in the respective local currencies. Existing Fema provisions do not allow Indian companies to directly list their shares on an overseas stock exchange. The failed Bharti-MTN transaction structure envisaged that MTN’s primary listing would continue on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the firm remaining domiciled and taxed in South Africa. Key decision making posts—chairman, chief executive and chief financial officer—in the post-transaction entity would be MTN appointees for at least three years. Strong five-year standstill provisions were to apply to Bharti’s proposed 49% shareholding in MTN. An analysis by Indian authorities concluded that it would not be possible for India to carve out a special dispensation only for dual listing, without full capital account convertibility. Crucially, dual listing would have meant that with Indian firms raising and utilizing capital overseas without repatriation to India, the Indian government would have suffered potentially huge revenue losses. It was perhaps all this that led India to conclude that it would not be possible to carve out a special dispensation only for a dual listing without major change, a fact echoed by communications minister A. Raja in comments to reporters on Thursday. cnbctv18@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:31 pm Andhra Pradesh signs pact for investment regionHyderabad: Andhra Pradesh on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Union government for a proposed petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment region, or PCPIR, the state chief minister’s office said in a statement. The region, to come up between Visakhapatnam and Kakinda, is estimated to attract investments of at least Rs3 trillion over the next 7-10 years, it said. The Union government has so far sanctioned three investment regions, the other two being in Gujarat and West Bengal. The chief minister’s office said the estimated investment for the region in Andhra Pradesh is Rs19,031 crore, for infrastructure works such as widening of national and state highways, rail links, upgradation of airports, seaports, power supply and water supply. Of this, the state expects a Union government assistance of Rs6,334 crore. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm Iran discloses all nuclear sites to IAEAUnited Nations: Iran has declared all its atomic sites to the UN nuclear watchdog, Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Thursday, countering suspicions that it may have undisclosed facilities. Mottaki spoke at a UN news conference as Iran held talks with six world powers in Geneva, centering on a new nuclear site near the city of Qom whose existence was only officially revealed last week. “Whatever Iran has as nuclear sites has been announced to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and the only case that is under construction is Qom and we also announced that,” Mottaki said through an interpreter. Media reports quoted Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi as telling Iranian television this week he was preparing a letter for the IAEA on the location of the Qom facility “and others.” The New York Times said on Thursday the comment raised hopes Iran might reveal more about its nuclear activities. However, a transcript issued by Iran’s Press TV quoted Salehi as saying: “We will soon write a letter to them (the IAEA) about the location of the facility and other issues.” Western countries suspect Iran is aiming to develop nuclear weapons, something long denied by Tehran, which says it seeks only to generate civil nuclear power. Western leaders accused Tehran last week of illicitly hiding the Qom uranium enrichment facility until it notified the IAEA on 21 September. But Mottaki restated Iran’s contention that it had informed the UN agency before it was obliged to. The Iranian minister also reaffirmed Iran’s willingness to boost its talks with the major powers - conducted in Geneva by senior diplomats - to summit level. “As we told earlier, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the readiness to enhance the level of such talks up to the level of a summit meeting,” he said. Mottaki was apparently referring to remarks on Wednesday by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who proposed an organized structure for the discussions, with three committees dealing with different issues, and an “assembly” of heads of state of the countries involved as the top decision-making body. While Western countries want to focus on Iran’s nuclear activities, Tehran has said its right to enrich uranium is not up for discussion and wants the talks to cover a broad range of security issues. Earlier on Thursday, in a U.S. radio interview, Mottaki disputed Western reports that the Qom facility would hold only 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges - less than the tens of thousands need for power generation but enough to make fuel for a weapon. Mottaki, who is not believed to be among the architects of Iranian nuclear policy, told National Public Radio that “some time ago” he had heard a figure of 7,000 centrifuges. The Geneva meeting ended with participants saying they had held productive talks, agreeing on limited transparency gestures by Tehran and another meeting later this month. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:29 pm Gambhir ICC test player of the year, Dhoni ODI playerJohannesburg: Indians shone at the International Cricket Council awards night here with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir named as the ODI and test players of the year at a glittering ceremony on Thursday. The most coveted cricketer of the year award, however, went to Australitn Mitchel Johnson who had a phenomenal year with both the bat and the ball in Test and ODI crickets in the past year. Johnson beat Dhoni, Gambhir and England captain Andrew Strauss in a four-way race for the ICC cricketer of the year award. The 27-year-old Australian fast bowler took 80 wickets from 17 matches he played in the year along with 632 valuable runs at an average of 30.09, including a century. In the 16 ODIs he played during the year, Johnson scalped 28 victims and scored 83 runs in the voting period from 13 August 2008 to 24 August 2009. Interestingly, Gambhir won the test player of the year award by beating Johnson, Strauss and Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera. Gambhir scored 1269 runs from eight matches he played in the voting period with an astronomic average of 84.60 with five hundreds. His captain Dhoni retained the ODI player of the year award, which he won last year also. Dhoni played 24 ODIs in the voting period from which he scored 967 with nine fifties at an average of 60.43, the strike rate being 86.63. The Indian skipper beat strong competition from his own two team-mates in Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, and West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Dhoni was also named captain of both the test and ODI teams of the year. Both the world teams have three Indians each with Dhoni being one of them. Besides Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Gambhir found place in the world test team while Sehwag and Yuvraj figured in the ODI side. Another Indian, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was named as the 12th man in the world test team. The selection panel for the awards was chaired by former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd. Other members of the panel included Anil Kumble (India), Bob Taylor (England), Mudassar Nazar (Pakistan) and Stephen Fleming (New Zealand). Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:26 pm Sujana Metal plans to raise $20mn via GDR/FCCB issueS Hanumantha Rao, Director Finance, Sujana Metal Products says that the company is seeking shareholder approval to raise funds via GDR/FCCB issue with a cap of USD 20 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:10 pm Realtors see sharp rise in loans to subsidiariesLoans by real estate companies to their subsidiaries have gone up sharply a fact that prompted the Reserve Bank of India to sound a note of caution on bank exposure to the sector.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:05 pm Premium hotels check out 10-20% tariff rise in OctoberTwo- and three-star properties wont be so lucky.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:04 pm ICAI to limit multiple entities by audit firmsProposal awaits approval, to apply prospectively.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pm Govt backtracks, to make CAS voluntaryAfter being operational for nearly three years in select parts of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and over six years in Chennai, the Conditional Access System (CAS) for television is being given a quiet burial, at least for the rest of the country.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 1:01 pm Don’t miss a thingNew Delhi: Runpee.com is, at the bare minimum, an ingenious idea. The website tells you exactly when you can dash from the movie hall to the loo during a film. The people behind Runpee have created an online database of films, new and classic, with possible loo break times marked out. Break points are chosen for moments when nothing of note happens during the film or an inconsequential sub plot is afoot. The Runpee database tells you when to dash and also gives a brief synopsis of what you’ll miss. And if you have an iPhone the Runpee app will gently vibrate to alert you to break times. For a quick demo of the website see the latest PlayStream episode. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:29 am Stimulus pkg won\'t help large coffee cos: Tata CoffeeThe Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma in his statement said there was a strong relief package for coffee growers in the offing thus helping the sector tide over its crisis.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 11:28 am Buoyant MM hopes to cash in on festive salesMahindra Mahindras total vehicle sales are up 11%. Its COO said that currently everything looks positive so they are really looking at aggressive growth in the balance period of this year as well.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am Valuation could have led to BhartiMTN deal failure:ExpertsThe BhartiMTN deal was called off yesterday. The Bharti Press Release says, The deal structure needed an approval from the government of South Africa, which has expressed its inability to accept it in the current form. In view of this, both companies have taken the decision to disengage from discussion.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 10:39 am GAIL completes funding for Assam petrochemical plantGAIL India has achieved financial closure for its petrochemical plant in Assam, company chairman B.C. Tripathi said Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Oct 2009 | 9:30 am Delhi Metro earned Rs.10 million every day in SeptemberThe Delhi Metro earned Rs.10 million every day, on an average, in the month of September and said this was the highest amount achieved by it since its inception in 2002.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Oct 2009 | 9:30 am More paddy arrival in Haryana than PunjabMore paddy is arriving in grain markets in Haryana compared to neighbouring Punjab.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 1 Oct 2009 | 9:01 am Inside story: Sources reveal why BhartiMTN deal failedCNBCTV18 learns from sources that the SA Treasury wrote to MTN on September 11 insisting that for the deal to go through, the potential merged company should remain domiciled in South Africa and must be listed in both companies, something that was not a possibility under existing Indian laws.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 8:29 am LT Foods looks to dilute 14% equity via pref share issueAshwani Arora, Joint MD of LT Foods earlier known as LT Overseas, exporter of Basmati Rice Cereals, Grains and Flours said that company was planning preference share issue of 38.4 lakh shares, that would be a 14% dilution.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 7:32 am Nissan reveals sketch of its compact car - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Oct 2009 | 7:23 am Tanker rates rise, but still lower than last yr: Varun ShipTanker rates have improved slightly in the last fortnight, says Yudhishthir Khatau, MD, Varun Shipping. However, they are still 6570% below last years levels, he adds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 7:08 am GAIL ties up funds for Assam petrochem project - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Oct 2009 | 7:05 am Festive season booms: Dena Bk cuts housing int rates to 8%Dena Bank too is offering reduction in housing loan rates. \"We have reduced the rates to 8% for the first two years,\" says the companys Chairman DL Rawal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 5:56 am Maruti Suzuki hopes to sell 30,000 AStars in FY10Maruti Suzuki is currently working at maximum capacity, RC Bhargava said adding that it hopes to sell 30,000 AStars in FY10.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 5:38 am Cisco to buy video firm Tandberg for $3 bnLondon/Oslo: Cisco has agreed to buy Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg for $3 billion, the latest in a series of bets taken on using video to drive demand for its core data transmission gear. The world’s dominant maker of Web routers and switches said buying Tandberg would strengthen its position in a $34 billion market for remote business collaboration tools and help it make underused video conferencing more useful and less clumsy. Cisco’s head of European markets, Chris Dedicoat, said the move would complement Cisco’s high-end video conferencing service TelePresence and its previous acquisition of online meeting company WebEx, expanding the number of customers it can reach. “Tandberg has a large number of video endpoints,” he told Reuters on Thursday. He added that he considered the offer of 153.5 crowns per share in cash, an 11% premium to Tandberg’s Wednesday closing price, as fair to both parties. Tandberg shares, which had almost doubled in value this year, helped by takeover speculation, were up another 11.6% at 154.40 Norwegian crowns by 1044 GMT. “This sounds like a pretty good price so I would think it will end up there,” said analyst Martin Hoff of Arctic Securities. “But the bid will stand for four weeks and there might be other (offers).” Potential counterbidders include Hewlett-Packard, which is also active in Web collaboration. Telecoms equipment maker Ericsson and private equity firm Silver Lake have also been linked by the market with Tandberg. DnB NOR Markets also named in a report companies such as Juniper, IBM, Sony and Siemens as potential suitors. However, Tandberg’s board unanimously recommended the Cisco offer to its shareholders. Cisco said it hopes to close the deal in the first half of 2010, subject to regulatory approval. If the deal goes through Tandberg’s chief executive, Fredrik Halvorsen, will continue to lead the unit. “We have the same vision, a vision of how people communicate and collaborate,” Halvorsen said on a webcast on Tandberg’s website. “The bid makes perfect industrial sense for Cisco,” said Arild Nysaether, an analyst at Fondsfinans in Oslo. “It is obvious that there are great synergies here, but it seems that Tandberg shareholders are offered none.” JP Morgan is advising Tandberg and Lazard is advising Cisco. Bet on Video Cisco, which had $35 billion in cash as of 25 July, has made decisive moves outside its core network business in recent months as large technology companies start to compete in new areas, though it has been cautious about large acquisitions. Its largest this year was of Flip digital camcorder maker Pure Digital Technologies for $590 million in stock, expanding its presence in consumer markets and betting on the growing volume of video sent over the Internet. In March Cisco also made its first foray into the computer server market, pitting it against longstanding partners IBM and HP and hoping to exploit the ubiquity of its network eqiupment in data centres. By acquiring Tandberg, Cisco reckons it can bring video conferencing to many more companies than the thousands who currently use it, bringing its network expertise to make the experience easier. It will also help it compete better with US video conferencing products maker Polycom. “We’re making video a service on the network,” Dedicoat said. “It’s all about interoperability,” he added, referring to the current difficulty of video conferencing, which often involves companies using technology unconnected to other systems they use. Companies have also been stirred to try harder to make video meetings work by the recession, which has slashed corporate travel budgets and when the economy recovers companies are not expected to restore travel budgets to previous levels. Cisco has said it has reduced its own global travel expenditure to about $260 million from $720 million, thanks to its investment in TelePresence. Dedicoat said Cisco aimed to make remote communication a more human experience. “We’ve all been on a conference call late at night where you’re a voice on a speakerphone at the other end of the world, and there’s 16 people in the other room,” he said. “Human beings like to meet face to face, that’s how we like to communicate. However, if you can’t meet face to face, and with the emphasis on carbon reduction, then you recreate as closely as you possibly can that face-to face meeting.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 5:01 am Web18 Holdings to raise USD 10 mnWeb 18, the internet arm of TV18 is raising USD 10 million, as strategic growth capital from NGP II Mauritius. TV18 will obtain necessary approvals, if any, in relation to the aforesaid strategic investment.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 Oct 2009 | 4:19 am Bharti-MTN: Missed callTie-up talks to create a global giant in mobile communications ended in failure on Wednesday. Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile operator, and MTN, Africa’s biggest telecom firm, called off four months of talks the day the exclusive nature of the negotiations lapsed. The exclusive talks had been extended twice since they started on 25 May, a year after the two phone firms gave up their first merger attempt. Both companies are now likely to look for alternative partners.  Bharti Airtel’s chairman Sunil Mittal. (File photo) In May 2008, Bharti and MTN broke off discussions over the issue of control. This time the dual listing condition proved to be the deal-breaker. Read below a timeline of negotiations since May 2008 30 Sept 2009: South Africa rejects merger; big setback to Sunil Mittal firm’s ambition of becoming global telecom force. Read story Quick Edit | One reason to be happy 29 Sept 2009: The extended deadline for exclusivity of negotiations between the telecom groups ends 30 September. Read story 29 Sept 2009: The deal is now believed to be in the hands of politicians, who are broadly supportive of the proposal; if it falls through, the parties may well look at other potential partners. Read story Also See | The Bharti-MTN Saga (PDF) 27 Sept 2009: India’s market regulator should play more of a proactive role than a reactive one and should address issues not using a multiplicity of regulations but with a simplified set of norms. Read story 22 Sept 2009: Amendment of takeover rules by market regulator may determine prospects for proposed telecom deal. Read story 21 Sept 2009: The tangle does point to a problem: Indian companies are trying to globalize at a faster pace than the underlying legal structure, such as capital controls, allows them to. Read story 17 Sept 2009: The Bharti-MTN transaction, which would create the world’s third largest mobile group by subscribers, is subject to an end-September deadline. Read story 16 Sept 2009: Proposed Companies Amendment Bill, Fema need to be changed; deal would also require full rupee convertibility. Read story Sept 14 2009: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa says it needs to be notified before the transaction is concluded. Read story 13 Sept 2009: Bharti and MTN are in exclusive talks till 30 September for a potential $23-billion deal that would create a combined entity having more than 200 million subscribers. Read story 11 Sept 2009: Cash part up by a third to $10 billion, say sources; Overall package up by 7%; ‘Fair chance’ of getting 75% MTN s’ holder OK: HSBC. Read story 20 August 2009: Exclusivity period extended to 30 Sep; the firms may have given themselves more time to structure the deal. Read story 14 August 2009: Bharti Airtel will have to restructure its operations in India once it signs the deal to eventually merge with MTN so as to separate its Indian operations from the global entity. Read story 3 August 2009: Bharti could increase its cash offer per share to make the deal more attractive. Read story 3 August 2009: Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal’s willingness to own a lesser stake in a larger company rather than a much larger stake in a much smaller company sets him apart from several other entrepreneurs. Read story 30 July 2009: Four possible scenarios in deal for world’s third largest telecom services provider with at least 200 mn customers. Read story 30 June 2009: The chief executive of MTN’s biggest shareholder, state pension fund Public Investment Corporation said that the fund supported the talks but there was “room for improvement” on the price. Read story 2 June 2009: PIC CEO says supports deal in principle; room for improvement on price, expects further discussion. Read story 26 May 2009: The Bharti Airtel-MTN merger deal is proof of the emerging market multinational, which could avoid the struggles multinationals from the US, Japan and Europe face in emerging markets. Read story 26 May 2009: Bharti says not yet determined how to raise funds; Bharti, MTN shares fall on dilution fears; Pranab Mukherjee welcomes proposed deal. Read story 26 May 2009: If concluded, an RCom-MTN merger — the valuations of the two firms are a combined $66 billion — would be the largest cross-border deal in Indian corporate history. Read story 25 May 2009: Indian telco chalks out complex cash-equity $23 billion deal with African co; target: No. 3 spot in global market. Read story 24 May 2009: Bharti Airtel has pulled out of negotiation for acquiring an estimated $45-50 billion MTN, saying the South African telecom entity deviated from agreed terms. Read story 18 July 2008: Mutual agreement to end exclusive talks comes in face of legal and regulatory hurdles; older Ambani’s claim. Read story 9 July 2008: RCom, MTN had first announced start of a 45-day exclusivity period on 26 May. Read story 13 May 2008: The attempts by Bharti Airtel to reassure investors come on the heels of the company’s valuation dropping $3.33 billion between 5 May and Monday. Read story Quick Edit | The Made in India model 5 May 2008: Rival suitors may push up acquisition price; may take up to an year before any progress is made in negotiations. Read story Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 1 Oct 2009 | 2:43 am
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