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ULIPs\' lockin revised to 5years from 3yearsThe rules of the insurance game are being changed and that too without an official diktat from the regulator. CNBCTV18 learns that in keeping with an unofficial word from the IRDA, new unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) now come with a fiveyear lock in instead of a threeyear lock in.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 9:27 am Sensex up 170 pts in early trade, Nifty regains 5,100 level!The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rose by 170 points in early trade on increased buying by foreign funds amid firming global trends.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Oil jumps to 1-year high above $75 a barrel!Oil prices jumped above $75 a barrel Wednesday in Asia for the first time in a year on investor optimism crude demand will improve ahead of the Christmas shopping season.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Asia leading world out of downturn: Bush!Former US president George W. Bush praised Asian economies Wednesday for leading the global economy out of its slump, while warning against a rise in trade protectionism.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Dollar drops to 14-month low; commodities rise!The US dollar struck a 14-month low against the euro on Wednesday, sending gold to record prices and pushing oil past the 2009 high of $75 a barrel and on track for a fifth day of gains.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am GM chief seeks fresh loans from SKorean bank!The head of US giant General Motors will hold talks with a South Korean bank Wednesday to try to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh loans for a troubled local subsidiary, officials said.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Economy to grow by 6.5% in FY`10: PM panel!Economy is likely to grow close to 6.5% in the current year, PM Economic Advisery Council said.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am House begins assembly of financial reform plan!The House Financial Services Committee is to begin work on Wednesday on a top priority for the US Congress -- legislation to mend regulatory holes exposed by last fall`s financial crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Treasury said to be unprepared on AIG bonus plans!The pitched drama over bonuses for bailed-out executives will be revived on Capitol Hill Wednesday as a government watchdog explains how some executives nearly brought down the financial system — then pocketed millions.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Strong China trade figures point to recovery!China reported surprisingly strong trade figures on Wednesday, providing fresh evidence that the world`s third-largest economy is firmly on a recovery track and that global demand is improving too.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am `Balanced and fair` Doha trade deal possible: India !Indian Commerce Minster Anand Sharma says while a perfect Doha deal may not be possible, he is hopeful a "balanced and fair" trade deal protecting the interests of the poorest countries could be reached.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am Disbursements to normalise in 2 qtrs: SREI InfraDisbursements at SREI Infra Finance have increased compared to previous years and should be back to normal in the next few quarters, the companys Managing Director Hemant Kanoria told CNBCTV18 in an interview. SREI Infra is slated to come out with its quarterly earnings soon.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 7:59 am GVK may hike stake in Mumbai Airport to 50%: SourcesCNBCTV18 learns from sources that GVK Power and Infra plans to increase its stake in Mumbai International Airport to 50%. GVK is in negotiation with the Bidvest Group to acquire 13% stake, reports CNBCTV18s Sajeet Manghat.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 6:46 am RILRNRL talks to revolve around gas pricing: SP TulsianI dont think there will be any reconsideration in respect of supply of gas at lower rate to Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL), says S P Tulsian, sptulsian.com.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 6:00 am Revamping assets likely to up productivity by 510%: ONGCONGC has won all the seven deep water blocks it bid for in the eighth round of NELP. Its Chairman, RS Sharma, said the company would spend Rs 15,00020,000 crore to revamp its western offshore assets, which are four decades old. \"The revamping of assets is likely to up productivity by 510%.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 5:32 am Auto mkt grows 14.5% in H1FY10;stks zoom on growth forecastAccording to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the overall automobile market grew 14.5% to over 5.78 million units during the first half of this fiscal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 5:17 am Sensex ends at 52-week closing high - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:22 am RBI likely to hold rates in October - adviser - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:13 am Vishal Retail looking to raise Rs 50100cr via QIPVishal Retail is planning to raise Rs 50100 crore via the QIP route, said its Group President Ambeek Khemka. However, he added that the QIP would take time as completing the CDR programme was a priority for the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:13 am BSE Sensex provisionally ends up 1.2 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally closed 1.2 percent higher on Wednesday after a hitting a 17-month high, led by gains in financial stocks on improving economic outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am Rupee off 1-yr high as refiners buy dollarsMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee came off fresh one-year peaks in afternoon trade on Wednesday as oil refiners bought dollars to meet import requirements, but a weaker dollar and higher shares kept the rupee from sliding further.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:08 am LG Display to set up JV for $4 bn China LCD plantSeoul: South Korea’s LG Display said on Wednesday that it would set up a joint venture for a proposed $4 billion LCD plant in China, as Asian panel makers rush to increase their presence in the fast-growing Chinese TV market. LG Display, the world’s No.2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, signed a non-binding agreement in August with the Chinese city of Guangzhou to build the plant. Details, including LG Display’s ownership in the joint venture and the timing of the investment, had not been decided, but LG Display aimed to start mass production from the plant in 2012, a company spokesman said. The plant will use eighth-generation motherglass, capable of making large panels for popular LCD TVs. Leading LCD makers in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are considering or have began negotiations to manufacture panels in China, while in the past they only kept back-end assembly lines in the country to protect advanced technologies. China was expected to overtake North America to become the world’s biggest TV consumer in 2-3 years, Taiwan’s AU Optronics said last month. LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo said on Tuesday that he hoped the company could start producing panels in China before other rivals. LG Display is running panel assembly plants in the Guangzhou and Nanjing areas in China. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:08 am LG Display to set up JV for $4 bn China LCD plantSeoul: South Korea’s LG Display said on Wednesday that it would set up a joint venture for a proposed $4 billion LCD plant in China, as Asian panel makers rush to increase their presence in the fast-growing Chinese TV market. LG Display, the world’s No.2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, signed a non-binding agreement in August with the Chinese city of Guangzhou to build the plant. Details, including LG Display’s ownership in the joint venture and the timing of the investment, had not been decided, but LG Display aimed to start mass production from the plant in 2012, a company spokesman said. The plant will use eighth-generation motherglass, capable of making large panels for popular LCD TVs. Leading LCD makers in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are considering or have began negotiations to manufacture panels in China, while in the past they only kept back-end assembly lines in the country to protect advanced technologies. China was expected to overtake North America to become the world’s biggest TV consumer in 2-3 years, Taiwan’s AU Optronics said last month. LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo said on Tuesday that he hoped the company could start producing panels in China before other rivals. LG Display is running panel assembly plants in the Guangzhou and Nanjing areas in China. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:08 am Gold extends record high above $1,070/ozLONDON (Reuters) - Gold rose to a record high above $1,070 an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar slid to new 14-month lows against the euro and oil prices rose towards $75 a barrel, boosting interest in commodities as an asset class.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:06 am Markets to hold special Diwali trading session SaturdayThe Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will hold a special Diwali trading session over 60 minutes from 6:15 p.m. Saturday to pay obeisance to Lakshmi -- the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:01 am Chandni Chowk still the Diwali shopper's paradiseIt doesn't offer the airconditioned comforts of sprawling malls or the attractive decor of shops in posh markets. But with Diwali round the corner, hordes of festival shoppers are thronging the cheek-by-jowl shops in the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk - a more than 350-year-old market in the old quarter of Delhi.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am Subhash Projects awarded Uttar Pradesh sewage contractInfrastructure development firm Subhash Projects has bagged an order worth Rs.211.95 crore from Uttar Pradesh for setting up a sewage network in Kanpur on a turnkey basis, the company said in a statement here Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am Settle dues before Diwali: Uttarakhand government to private sugar millsOut of the 10 sugar mills in the state, six are government-owned and have settled farmers' dues, while the remaining four, owned privately, haven't done so and have to repay Rs20 crore.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 4:00 am Indiabulls Power IPO subscribed 8.49 times - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:59 am NTPC, CIL to form JV for developing coal mines - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:58 am FACTBOX - Gold milestones on the road to record highsLONDON (Reuters) - Spot gold surged to a record high on Wednesday above $1,070 an ounce as the dollar weakened, fuelling buying of the precious metal as an alternative investment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am POSCO Q3 results indicate Asia steel pickupSEOUL (Reuters) - POSCO, the world's No.4 steelmaker, signalled a brighter outlook for Asian steelmakers on improved global demand after providing a robust outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:53 am Reliance to boost new refinery to 720,000 bpdABU DHABI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries is looking to expand the capacity of its new refinery in Gujurat state to 720,000 barrels per day (bpd), a company executive told Reuters on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:51 am Intel Q3 revenues cross $ 9 billionIntel reported its third quarter earnings after markets closed. Both profit and revenue substantially outpaced expectations.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:34 am ITC inks deal with Orissa to make incense sticksFast moving consumer goods major ITC Wednesday signed a deal with Orissa for manufacturing incense sticks in the state - a move that officials say will provide additional income to more than 3,000 rural women.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am Nissan to start trial production of small car in India by NovNew Delhi: Japanese auto maker Nissan, which plans to launch its global small car in the Indian market next year, will start the first trial production of the product from its Chennai plant in November. “More than 30 units will be produced in the first trial production that will commence in November,” a source familiar with the development said. When contacted a Nissan Motor India spokesperson declined to comment on the specific production schedules, but said construction of the Chennai plant was going ahead to meet the May 2010 deadline for launch of the small car in India. The company has already started trial production of power train in September along with trial run of the body shop. It is currently installing stamping machines. Nissan had recently revealed the sketch of its global compact car that would be produced in five countries, including India, China and Thailand, from next year. “Our first car that is made on this global compact car platform in Chennai will have its global premiere at the Geneva Motor Show 2010,” the spokesperson said. The company had announced an investment of Rs4,500 crore in partnership with French firm Renault over a period of seven years for setting up the Chennai plant, which will have an initial capacity of around 200,000 units, scalable up to 400,000 units in the future. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:29 am RBI likely to hold rates in Oct - adviserNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India is likely to hold interest rates at a near decade-low in its policy review this month and the monetary stance can continue until inflationary pressures rise, a top policy adviser said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:25 am Exporters still face weak demand from US, Europe: IndiaWashington: Indian exporters still face weak demand from Europe and the United States, so they are setting their sights on new markets, Union commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said on Tuesday. “The traditional destination of Indian exports was Americas, Europe and Japan and all these markets have fallen. The economies are in contraction, so we do not know when the demand returns to pre-recession level,” Sharma said. “We’ve decided to look beyond” those traditional markets and explore new trade possibilities in other parts of the world, he told Reuters television. Sharma, who was in town for a global summit on services trade issues and a meeting with US trade representative Ron Kirk, said India had come through the global crisis in better shape than many developed economies. “Our financial institutions are robust, our banks have liquidity and we have huge domestic consumption,” Sharma said. Many domestic sectors are experiencing “double-digit” growth despite the drop-off in exports, he said. Although the world’s second-most populous country, “our share of global trade is less than 2%,” Sharma said. The Indian government also has cushioned exporters against the recent strengthening of the rupee by making sure they have access to “dollar credit,” he said. Doha Round Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Washington in late November to meet with President Barack Obama. Both leaders have committed to a conclusion of the long-running Doha round of world trade talks by the end of 2010, which would be six years behind schedule. “In the present economic climate, it would be in the interest of the world and global commerce that we have a successful conclusion of this WTO round,” Sharma said. The next big milestones in those negotiations will be the World Trade Organization ministerial in Geneva in November, followed by a meeting of G-20 ministers sometime in early 2010, he said. In the meantime, negotiators are working in Geneva to resolve differences on agriculture, manufacturing and services that have long blocked an agreement. “We hope they make substantial progress. We have given them a political direction. We will review the progress, mindful of the fact that the leaders have once again reaffirmed the resolve to have this concluded by 2010,” Sharma said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:21 am GE Oil & Gas uses satellites to tune Reliance's gas turbines - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:19 am RBI likely to hold rates in Oct, says RangarajanNew Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to hold interest rates at a near decade-low in its policy review this month and the monetary stance can continue until inflationary pressures rise, a top policy adviser said. The central bank holds its quarterly review on 27 October, and it is widely perceived the primary objective will be to help the economy recover fully from the shocks of global slowdown. “I don’t think the RBI will revise interest rates in the policy review,” C Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, told reporters on Wednesday. “So long as inflationary pressures are moderate, the current monetary stance can continue,” he said. The former central bank governor said the RBI could first stop open market purchase of bonds and then start draining excess liquidity to fight inflationary pressures. Last week, RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said there was broad agreement India needed to step back from its easy policy stance, but he did not set a timeframe. India and South Korea are widely seen as the first Asian economies likely to follow Australia’s rate increase last week. Faster industrial output growth and rising inflationary pressures have strengthened case for an end to the RBI’s accommodative monetary stance next year. “Rising food prices are a matter of concern. It (inflation) may go up to 5-6% by March end,” Rangarajan said. The RBI has estimated inflation at around 5% but private analysts peg it as high as 8% by the end of March. He said there was always a seasonal decline in prices in November and December. “One might want to wait and see whether seasonal decline occurs or not and take action after the behaviour of prices in November and December.” “It is the perception of RBI that will count,” he said. Growth Picking Up India’s industrial output grew at its fastest pace in 22 months in August at 10.4%, beating analysts forecast and driving bond yields higher. This lifted growth to 5.8% during April-August, and Rangarajan expects faster expansion in the remaining part of the year. “It is not a flash in the pan and my assessment is it will go up to 8% in this financial year,” he said. Robust industrial growth could offset the impact of a 2 to 2.5% contraction in farm output, and help the economy grow between 6 and 6.5% in 2009-10, Rangarajan said. Rising sales of household goods and cars have been helped by aggressive rate cuts by the central bank and the government’s duty cuts and a record Rs10 trillion ($217 billion) spending plan for 2009-10. “There is no question of contraction of expenditure this fiscal,” he said. The consolidated fiscal deficit of the federal and state governments could be between 10% and 10.2% of gross domestic product in 2009-10, while current account deficit could touch 2% of GDP, he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:16 am Kerala to revive Vizhinjam port projectThe state-owned special purpose company, Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) would complete basic works like road and rail links to the project site.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:15 am HDFC Bank Q2 net jumps 30% at Rs 687.46 cr - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:13 am L&T wins order worth Rs966 cr from various vendorsMumbai: Engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said on Wednesday it bagged construction-related orders worth Rs966 crore from Sterlite Industries India, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and Gujarat Water Infrastructure. The company’s metallurgical, material handling and water operating company - a part of its construction division has secured these orders, L&Tsaid in a filing to the BSE. Out of the Rs966 crore, the company has got a Rs225-crore order for engineering-related works from Sterlite Industries India Ltd, a Rs488-crore order from Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and a Rs253-crore order from Gujarat Water Infrastructure Ltd for water supply related works, it added. The company would provide sewage system and waste water management system, it said. Shares of Larsen & Toubro were trading at Rs1,683.95 on the BSE, up 1.64% from its previous close. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:11 am \'SA govt\'s MTN ownership main hurdle in Bharti deal\'South Africa\'s High Commissioner to India, Francis Moloi says the South African government\'s ownership of MTN was one of the main hurdles in the USD 23 billion merger.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:05 am Posco Q3 operating profit halves, Q4 seen strongSeoul: Posco, the world’s No.4 steelmaker, reported its quarterly operating profit halved but gave a full-year profit target that implies a recovery in the fourth quarter on healthier demand and lower costs. Posco, the first major Asian steelmaker to report results in this earnings season, said it was aiming to post full-year operating profit of 3.2 trillion won for 2009 and forecast the steel industry’s recovery would continue through the fourth quarter and 2010. According to Reuters calculations, the full-year operating profit figure implies a fourth-quarter operating profit target of 1.64 trillion won, up 17% from the year-ago period. “We will continue operating overseas production bases, developing resources and investing in new materials” in order to grow as a global company, Lee Dong-hee, Posco’s president and chief investment officer, said in a statement. The South Korean steelmaker reported July-September operating profit of 1.018 trillion won ($874.7 million), in line with an average forecast for 980.19 billion won according to Thomson Reuters. Shares in Posco ended up 4.25% at 515,000 won on Wednesday, beating the wider market’s 1.24% rise, as investors anticipated strong results after the close. Third-quarter revenue at Posco, which follows ArcelorMittal, Japan’s Nippon Steel and China’s Baosteel in world rankings, fell 22.3% year-on-year to 6.85 trillion won but was up 8% quarter-on-quarter. Posco was able to rapidly pull out of the worst slump in decades helped by the high quality of its products and price competitiveness versus its global peers, analysts said. Analysts expect Posco to perform even better in the current quarter, leading a global steel market recovery, backed by healthier demand from domestic automakers, whose need for flat steel was fueled by robust domestic and overseas sales. Net profit declined 6.2% to 1.14 trillion won from a year earlier but rose 165% from the April-June quarter as a stronger won helped cut costs of imported raw materials. The Korean won gained 8.1% against the dollar during the quarter ended 30 September after an 8.6% jump in the previous quarter. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:04 am Posco Q3 operating profit halves, Q4 seen strongSeoul: Posco, the world’s No.4 steelmaker, reported its quarterly operating profit halved but gave a full-year profit target that implies a recovery in the fourth quarter on healthier demand and lower costs. Posco, the first major Asian steelmaker to report results in this earnings season, said it was aiming to post full-year operating profit of 3.2 trillion won for 2009 and forecast the steel industry’s recovery would continue through the fourth quarter and 2010. According to Reuters calculations, the full-year operating profit figure implies a fourth-quarter operating profit target of 1.64 trillion won, up 17% from the year-ago period. “We will continue operating overseas production bases, developing resources and investing in new materials” in order to grow as a global company, Lee Dong-hee, Posco’s president and chief investment officer, said in a statement. The South Korean steelmaker reported July-September operating profit of 1.018 trillion won ($874.7 million), in line with an average forecast for 980.19 billion won according to Thomson Reuters. Shares in Posco ended up 4.25% at 515,000 won on Wednesday, beating the wider market’s 1.24% rise, as investors anticipated strong results after the close. Third-quarter revenue at Posco, which follows ArcelorMittal, Japan’s Nippon Steel and China’s Baosteel in world rankings, fell 22.3% year-on-year to 6.85 trillion won but was up 8% quarter-on-quarter. Posco was able to rapidly pull out of the worst slump in decades helped by the high quality of its products and price competitiveness versus its global peers, analysts said. Analysts expect Posco to perform even better in the current quarter, leading a global steel market recovery, backed by healthier demand from domestic automakers, whose need for flat steel was fueled by robust domestic and overseas sales. Net profit declined 6.2% to 1.14 trillion won from a year earlier but rose 165% from the April-June quarter as a stronger won helped cut costs of imported raw materials. The Korean won gained 8.1% against the dollar during the quarter ended 30 September after an 8.6% jump in the previous quarter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:04 am Sensex ruling 1.16 percent higherA key Indian equities index managed to maintain its gains Wednesday afternoon and was ruling 1.16 percent higher than Monday's closing figure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am Gold demand elusive ahead of festivalsMumbai: Gold demand remained elusive on Wednesday as prices stayed near their record highs, even as the biggest gold buying festival, Dhanteras, neared, dealers said. “Overall demand is very low as the market is just moving one way,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury IndusInd Bank. “The marked difference during this Diwali is that people are not there this time for purchases compared to last year,” said Vyas. Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange was 0.42% lower at Rs15,968 per 10 grams, within sight of their record high of 16,048, struck in late trade Tuesday. A strong rupee, which makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper, aided sentiment, they added. The Indian rupee climbed to one-year highs buoyed by the dollar’s broad-based fall and a stronger start to the stock market that could trigger more capital inflows. Dealers said a 5% fall in prices could revive sagging gold demand. “They are waiting for a correction to happen to buy for festivals. A fall to Rs15,200 could just provide the trigger,” said another dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. India is in the midst of the festival season, with Dhanteras on Thursday and Diwali on Saturday, when gold buying picks up for auspicious reasons. Dhanteras accounts for 15-20 tonnes of total gold sales, trade sources said. India’s gold imports in September provisionally fell 30%, the smallest year-on-year decline in five months, as steady prices and the festival season attracted more buyers. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:58 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Stocks hit 12-month highs, dlr at 14-month lowLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks hit a 12-month high on Wednesday as forecast-beating Intel Corp results and Chinese trade data brightened the economic outlook, while the dollar plumbed 14-month lows, sending oil and gold higher.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:44 am Corporation Bank may seek capital infusion from GovtMr J.M. Garg, Chairman and Managing Director, Corporation Bank, said on Tuesday that the bank would look at capital infusion from the Government if the credit offtake grows at 25 per cent for the next three fiscals.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:40 am indusind Bank Q2 net profit up 130.9% at Rs 77.8 cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:33 am Night blockade against uranium mining in MeghalayaThe influential Khasi Students Union (KSU) has announced a two-night road blockade in Meghalaya beginning Wednesday to protest a proposed uranium mining project in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:32 am Suven Life Sciences granted patents in 9 markets - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:32 am Delhi gets its first fashion discount storeHigh end fashion got more affordable with the opening of Design Vault, billed as the country's first high-end fashion discount store, near the ancient Qutab Minar heritage zone here with heavy discounts on designer wear.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:31 am Tatas in exploratory talks with Saudi conglomerateA high-power team from India's largest industrial house, the Tata group, led by chairman Ratan Tata, met the top brass of Kingdom Holding, controlled by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, in Riyadh to forge investment ties between the two sides.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:31 am Strong China trade figures point to recoveryBEIJING (Reuters) - China reported surprisingly strong trade figures on Wednesday, providing fresh evidence that the world's third-largest economy is firmly on a recovery track and that global demand is improving too.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:24 am RBI unlikely to revise rates in October: AdviserThe Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to revise benchmark interest rates when it reviews monetary policy later this month.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:14 am HDFC Bank Q2 net up 30.1 pct; beats forecastMUMBAI (Reuters) - HDFC Bank, India's No.2 private sector lender, reported a 30.1 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, beating forecast, helped by fee-based income.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:09 am US workers think bosses are dishonest, survey saysA majority of US workers do not think their bosses are honest, said a survey released on Tuesday, and one in four would fire their boss if they could.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:08 am Price control stifles ethanol projectsMumbai: Ethanol production has become less rewarding in India with a skewed pricing policy making the biofuel cheaper than key inputs, but producers are hopeful the government will raise the price and make it profitable again. Investments into ethanol has either dried up or being delayed with most money moving to expand capacities in potable or industrial alcohol, prices of which are beyond the pale of regulation, making it a more profitable alternative. “Ethanol is fetching lower price than rectified spirit. Then why should one spend money on refining rectified spirit to produce ethanol?” asks a senior official at Kisan Veer Co-operative Sugar Mill in Maharashtra. Rectified spirit is further distilled to make ethanol. In 2006, India had fixed the price for ethanol at Rs21.5 a litre when sugarcane, a key input, was abundant. Since, prices of molasses - a byproduct of sugar - have nearly tripled while that of rectified spirit has jumped by half to Rs27-28 a litre on lower cane supplies. New Contracts Oil refiners are obliged to blend five percent of ethanol with petrol and diesel, and the national policy mandates raising the biofuel component to 20% by 2017. However, India falls well short of national demand even now. Sugar millers, who sell ethanol to oil firms, have bid for new contracts at the start of the crushing season this month at a higher price, hoping the government will take the cue to raise price, analysts and officials said. “The technical tender for ethanol is out. Now the price tender has been filled broadly in Rs25-27 range. So, we are hoping the government will raise the price this year,” an official at Renuka Sugars said. But industry officials are optimistic in the long run. “The ethanol programme is at an infant stage in India, so hiccups are bound to come. But over a period of time, it will be ironed out,” Sanjay Tapriya, director-finance, Simbhaoli Sugars, said. “Price will have to be corrected upwards. It will take time but it will happen.” Wasted Capacity There was a flurry of investments in 2006-07 and 2007-08 into distilleries for ethanol as a production glut depressed sugar prices and sent mills scampering for new source of revenues. Since 2006-07 several millers have announced plans to either expand distilleries or establish new ones. Of projects worth Rs6-7 billion announced, only Rs2.5 rupees fructified. Now, capacities are idling. India’s cane output fell 22% in 2008-09 and is unlikely to move up in the new season, squeezing revenues from distilleries and co-generation. “If the ethanol price is revised from the present Rs21.5 to Rs25-26 it will give some value-addition and people will be interested to go for that,” said Tapriya. “Though there is a lot of planned investment in ethanol, people are not committing the entire amount. It’s important for prices to be flexible,” said Deepak Desai, chief of consultancy Ethanol India. “The investments and capacity expansions will concentrate on potable liquor and industrial alcohol prominently.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 2:06 am HDFC Bank Q2 net up 30.1%; beats forecastMumbai: HDFC Bank, India’s No.2 private sector lender, reported a 30.1% rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, beating forecast, helped by fee-based income. The New York-listed bank posted a net profit of Rs687 crore ($149 million) in the quarter to September compared with Rs528 crore a year ago. Ten analysts polled by Reuters had expected a net profit of Rs660 crore. Shares in the bank have risen 70.6% so far this year, lagging a 78.2% rise for the benchmark index and an 86.3% rise for the sector index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:56 am Dollar at 14-month low; global commodities, stocks upLondon: The US dollar plumbed a 14-month low against the euro on Wednesday, sending gold prices to record highs and pushing oil up for a fifth day to a 2009 high of more than $75 a barrel. Major European stocks rose 1.3% after bullish outlooks from Intel, the world’s biggest micro-chip company, and Dutch chip equipment maker ASML fuelled optimism that global consumer demand is picking up. US stock futures were up 1%, indicating a higher open on Wall Street, while the MSCI all-country world stock index rose 0.8% to a new 12-month high. For a second day, buoyant commodity prices and optimism about the technology sector propelled Asian stocks traded outside Japan to their highest levels since early August. Improvements in Chinese export and import data for September as well as a surprising rise in its copper imports also boded well for the rest of the year, offering fresh evidence that its economy is firmly on a recovery track and that the global economy is improving, too. “Overall, export performance will be much better in the months to come,” said Dong Tao, an economist with Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. “I think it’s going to be sustainable and it’s going to accelerate. There are some rush orders coming to China for Christmas, so I expect probably a pretty strong rebound in November and December.” However, there were still reasons to be cautious about near-term economic and corporate prospects. Federal Reserve vice-chairman Donald Kohn said in a speech the recovery will not be V-shaped, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson posted disappointing quarterly revenue and closely watched independent analyst Meredith Whitney downgraded her view on Goldman Sachs two days before the bank’s results. Dollar weakness to persist The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 1.7% to the highest since 7 Aug 2008. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.7%, driven by energy-related shares as oil surged higher. Japan’s Nikkei share average bucked the trend and slipped 0.25% after a five-day rising streak, with exporters hit by a stronger yen as the dollar resumed its broad slide after a few days respite. “It’ll be hard to try above these levels until investors see apparent signs of improvement in the corporate earnings outlooks for the next business year,” said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo. The dollar dropped 0.6% against the yen to ¥89.20 bringing lows below 88 yen hit earlier this month back into view. The latest rush to buy yen and sell dollars came after Naoki Minezaki, a senior vice finance minister in Japan, told Reuters that yen strength is due to dollar weakness which will likely persist, and the government should not intervene in markets just because the yen is rising. The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.4877 after earlier rising to $1.49, the highest since August 2008. The ICE Futures US dollar index was down 0.5% on the day and has declined 14% since March, when a global equity rally signaled an economic turning point and prompted investors to shift out of safe assets denominated in dollars. The weak dollar and perceptions that the global recovery is gathering strength have been a boost to commodity prices across the board. US light crude for November delivery hit a fresh 2009 high of $75.15 before paring some of its gains. Brent crude was up 1.2% at $73.26 Gold prices in the spot market rose to a record high of $1,070.40 an ounce up more than 20% this year. London copper prices rose nearly 2%, boosted by the softer dollar and the surprise surge in Chinese copper imports last month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:55 am Indian gold futures drop from record highMumbai: India gold futures eased on Wednesday after hitting a record high late on Tuesday, as a stronger rupee made dollar-denominated gold cheaper in local currency but demand was sluggish despite big festivals this week. Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), opened down 0.2% at Rs16,010 ($347) per 10 grams around 0430 GMT. On Tuesday, the contract had closed up 0.7% at Rs16,036 after scaling a record Rs16,048 during late trade. The previous all-time high was Rs16,040 on 20 February. Traders said the high prices dented demand just as India celebrates the Dhanteras festival on Thursday, which is the single biggest day for gold purchases in the tradition-bound country. “People are not buying,” said a dealer in a large bank in Mumbai. The high price will also curb buying for the Diwali festival on Saturday when Hindus worship the goddess of wealth Lakshmi, offering her newly purchased gold items. India is the world’s biggest market for gold, but demand has remained down through most of the year as prices struck record highs and an economic slowdown dampened sentiment. Gold imports during January to September fell 59% to around 130 tonnes from 315 tonnes in the same period last year, data from the Bombay Bullion Association showed. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:40 am Union Bank sees India’s 2009 gold imports at 600 tonnesMumbai: State-run Union Bank of India hopes to maintain its gold imports at 40 tonnes this fiscal driven by an expanding client base, even as domestic prices hit a record high in late trade on Tuesday, a official said. “We hope to maintain last year’s level of 40 tonnes,” S. Rajendren, general manager-international banking division, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. “We have done 40% of last year till September and hope to do the remaining in the remainder of the year,” said Rajendren. “We have been expanding our client base including that of exporters.” The bank, one the country’s major importers, expects India’s total gold imports to fall 16% to 600 tonnes in the calendar year, hit by rising prices of the yellow metal and slowdown in the economy. “Certainly resistance is there because of the economic slowdown,” said Rajendren. “Next three months will be busy season, it could likely be at 600 tonnes with prices being right,” added Rajendren. India, the world’s largest consumer of gold, is in the midst of the festival season, with Dhanteras and Diwali, due later this week, when gold buying picks up for auspicious reasons. India imported around 712.6 tonnes of gold last calendar year, data from World Gold Council showed. For a graphic on India’s yearly gold imports, click: http://r.reuters.com/cap84d On the demand scenario for Union Bank, which has 200 branches doing gold coins business, Rajendren said, “sales are happening, but the quantity is not that great. We may have done about an average of 50-60 kgs of coins in the preceeding nine months.” Indian banks sell around 8 tonnes of gold coins per year. According to latest data from the World Gold Council, India imported 211 tonnes in 2008 for gold bought as investment, while jewellery was at 501.6 tonnes. “If prices moderate then there could be more festival sales,” said Rajendren. Union Bank hopes that a 7 percent drop in prices could revive sagging demand. “The comfort level now is 1,500 rupees (per gram),” said Rajendren. The most-traded gold December contract <MAUZ9> on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.20 percent lower at 16,004 rupees per 10 grams at 12:23 p.m., after hitting a record high of 16,048 rupees on late Tuesday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:38 am GM aims to grow faster than China market in 2010: executiveShanghai: General Motors Co aims to grow faster than China’s auto market in 2010, its China chief said on Wednesday, after outperforming the country’s overall market in the first three quarters. GM, which competes with Volkswagen AG and others, sold 55.6% more vehicles in China from January to September, leading a 34.24 gain in the overall market. “Next year we will again try to grow a little faster than the market’s growth,” said Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM’s China operations. Wale, speaking to reporters via an online briefing, said the Detroit automaker may sell more than 1.6 million vehicles in China this year, in line with his earlier forecast of more than 40% year-on-year growth. It sold 1.09 million vehicles in China in 2008. China’s auto market has been a major bright spot this year thanks to a raft of government incentives, including aggressive cuts in sales taxes on small cars, which will expire by the end of the year. However, Wale is optimistic on the outlook of the China auto market, which overtook the United States as the world’s biggest in January, as he believes Beijing will come up with additional steps to support the industry, a major contributor to the country’s economy. “We expect sales to continue to grow next year. We are confident the government will take appropriate action to continue stability in the market,” he said, adding that demand in smaller cities would also ensure some growth momentum. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:13 am GM aims to grow faster than China market in 2010: executiveShanghai: General Motors Co aims to grow faster than China’s auto market in 2010, its China chief said on Wednesday, after outperforming the country’s overall market in the first three quarters. GM, which competes with Volkswagen AG and others, sold 55.6% more vehicles in China from January to September, leading a 34.24 gain in the overall market. “Next year we will again try to grow a little faster than the market’s growth,” said Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM’s China operations. Wale, speaking to reporters via an online briefing, said the Detroit automaker may sell more than 1.6 million vehicles in China this year, in line with his earlier forecast of more than 40% year-on-year growth. It sold 1.09 million vehicles in China in 2008. China’s auto market has been a major bright spot this year thanks to a raft of government incentives, including aggressive cuts in sales taxes on small cars, which will expire by the end of the year. However, Wale is optimistic on the outlook of the China auto market, which overtook the United States as the world’s biggest in January, as he believes Beijing will come up with additional steps to support the industry, a major contributor to the country’s economy. “We expect sales to continue to grow next year. We are confident the government will take appropriate action to continue stability in the market,” he said, adding that demand in smaller cities would also ensure some growth momentum. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:13 am NTPC, Coal India form JV to develop minesMumbai: Indian state-run utility NTPC said on Wednesday it had signed a joint venture agreement with state-run Coal India to develop the Brahmini and Chichro Patsimal coal mining blocks in eastern India. The mines will supply coal to NTPC’s projects at Farakka and Kahalgaon. After meeting the coal requirements of NTPC’s projects, the JV may also consider setting up an integrated thermal power plant, NTPC said in a statement. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:04 am NTPC, Coal India form JV to develop minesMumbai: Indian state-run utility NTPC said on Wednesday it had signed a joint venture agreement with state-run Coal India to develop the Brahmini and Chichro Patsimal coal mining blocks in eastern India. The mines will supply coal to NTPC’s projects at Farakka and Kahalgaon. After meeting the coal requirements of NTPC’s projects, the JV may also consider setting up an integrated thermal power plant, NTPC said in a statement. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:04 am Sensex extends gains, up 1.12 percentA key Indian equities index extended its gains around Wednesday noon and was ruling 1.12 percent higher than Monday's closing figure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:01 am Andhra allows private power producers to sell in open marketThe Andhra Pradesh government has permitted four private power producers to sell electricity in the open market, triggering fears that the energy shortage in the state would deepen.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Oct 2009 | 1:01 am Twitter still seeking ways to cash inSeoul: Micro-blogging pioneer Twitter is still looking for ways to make money despite taking much of the world by storm, co-founder Biz Stone said on Wednesday. Stone, a former Google employee who helped set up the social networking site two years ago, said the service is still “figuring out” the correct business model even with more than 50 million users. “Google is very much of a role model for us,” he told the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, according to Yonhap news agency. “What is most important for us is not to focus on that (profits) but to focus on building value for our users.” Stone said the introduction of fee-based commercial accounts before the end of the year was part of efforts to find ways to generate profits. The company confirmed in March that it was looking at such accounts, a way for corporate users to better target their Twitter interaction with potential customers. Despite the search for revenue, Stone said his main interest at present was the open and transparent exchange of information. “That’s higher on our list of priorities than creating revenues because we still have time,” he was quoted as saying. Twitter’s simplicity, he said, would also give it an edge over other social networking sites or search engines. Twitter users send “tweets” -- messages no longer than 140 characters -- over the Internet through computers and mobile devices which are picked up by “followers”. “Met some great people at the World Knowledge Forum,” Stone said in his latest update. “Now I’m fighting Seoul traffic to catch the last flight out to Tokyo.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:56 am Twitter still seeking ways to cash inSeoul: Micro-blogging pioneer Twitter is still looking for ways to make money despite taking much of the world by storm, co-founder Biz Stone said on Wednesday. Stone, a former Google employee who helped set up the social networking site two years ago, said the service is still “figuring out” the correct business model even with more than 50 million users. “Google is very much of a role model for us,” he told the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, according to Yonhap news agency. “What is most important for us is not to focus on that (profits) but to focus on building value for our users.” Stone said the introduction of fee-based commercial accounts before the end of the year was part of efforts to find ways to generate profits. The company confirmed in March that it was looking at such accounts, a way for corporate users to better target their Twitter interaction with potential customers. Despite the search for revenue, Stone said his main interest at present was the open and transparent exchange of information. “That’s higher on our list of priorities than creating revenues because we still have time,” he was quoted as saying. Twitter’s simplicity, he said, would also give it an edge over other social networking sites or search engines. Twitter users send “tweets” -- messages no longer than 140 characters -- over the Internet through computers and mobile devices which are picked up by “followers”. “Met some great people at the World Knowledge Forum,” Stone said in his latest update. “Now I’m fighting Seoul traffic to catch the last flight out to Tokyo.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:56 am Burberry Q2 revenue tops forecastsLondon: British luxury goods group Burberry Group Plc posted a shallower-than-expected fall in second-quarter underlying revenue on Wednesday and signalled an improvement in some of its second-half sales trends. The 153-year-old maker of raincoats and handbags said it made revenue of £343 million ($548 million) in the three months ended 30 September, down 5% at constant currencies. Analysts’ forecasts ranged from £320 million to 335 million in a Reuters poll of eight banks and brokerages. Luxury goods makers have been hit hard in the global recession, but Burberry, known for its camel, red and black check pattern, responded quickly by slashing costs, jobs, stock and range assortments. After plunging as much as 70% last year, its shares have recovered almost all of their losses, outperforming the DJ Stoxx personal and household goods index by almost 100% this year. Retail revenue rose an underlying 16%, including like-for-like growth of 5%, as double-digit percentage rises in Europe and Asia offset similar sized declines in the United States and Spain. Burberry said it expected to open around 15 stores over the full year, at the top end of its previous guidance. Wholesale revenue fell an underlying 21%, while licensing revenue was down 9%. Burberry said it expected second-half wholesale revenue would fall an underlying 15% and raised its full-year guidance for licensing revenue to a decline of 5 to 10% from a fall of 10 to 15% previously. Burberry shares, which entered the UK’s benchmark FTSE-100 index last month, closed at 537 pence on Tuesday, valuing the business at about £2.3 billion pounds. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:30 am Burberry Q2 revenue tops forecastsLondon: British luxury goods group Burberry Group Plc posted a shallower-than-expected fall in second-quarter underlying revenue on Wednesday and signalled an improvement in some of its second-half sales trends. The 153-year-old maker of raincoats and handbags said it made revenue of £343 million ($548 million) in the three months ended 30 September, down 5% at constant currencies. Analysts’ forecasts ranged from £320 million to 335 million in a Reuters poll of eight banks and brokerages. Luxury goods makers have been hit hard in the global recession, but Burberry, known for its camel, red and black check pattern, responded quickly by slashing costs, jobs, stock and range assortments. After plunging as much as 70% last year, its shares have recovered almost all of their losses, outperforming the DJ Stoxx personal and household goods index by almost 100% this year. Retail revenue rose an underlying 16%, including like-for-like growth of 5%, as double-digit percentage rises in Europe and Asia offset similar sized declines in the United States and Spain. Burberry said it expected to open around 15 stores over the full year, at the top end of its previous guidance. Wholesale revenue fell an underlying 21%, while licensing revenue was down 9%. Burberry said it expected second-half wholesale revenue would fall an underlying 15% and raised its full-year guidance for licensing revenue to a decline of 5 to 10% from a fall of 10 to 15% previously. Burberry shares, which entered the UK’s benchmark FTSE-100 index last month, closed at 537 pence on Tuesday, valuing the business at about £2.3 billion pounds. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:30 am Deposit rates on the slide, touch five-year lowsDepositors are finding their income shrinking the last few months with banks slashing interest rates.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Iran finds Indian rice safe for human consumptionIn what would be a huge relief to basmati exporters and growers, the Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MHME) has certified Indian rice as safe for human consumption.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am NELP drills a dry wellIt is delicious irony indeed. The government’s auction of oil and gas exploration blocks has flopped in the same year when it had its best advertisement — the commencement of gas production from a block awarded in a similar auction earlySource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am China spinning out Indian tyre exportsMumbai, Oct. 13 Tyre exports this year are heading towards negative territory largely due to the increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers in the traditional markets of Indian tyre makers.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Mercator Lines (Rs 65): BuyWe recommend a buy in Mercator Lines from a short-term horizon. It is perceptible from the charts of the stock that since its March low of Rs 21 the stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend. However, after encountering resistance at Rs 76Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Sugar, milk powder weigh heavily on ‘food products’ outputNew Delhi, Oct. 13 Amidst cheers over industrial growth hitting a 22-month high of 10.4 per cent in August, here is some dampeningSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am LifeCell cuts stem cell banking ratesBangalore, Oct. 13 Stem cell storage company LifeCell International on Tuesday said it had slashed its storage rates by almost 25 per cent to make the therapies affordable and bring in newSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Appreciating rupee: Fool’s gold?The last few days have seen the rupee on a roll against the dollar. It breached Rs 47 in just one trading session and is nearing Rs 46. If the stock market continues its rise, there’s every possibility of the Indian currency cutting throughSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am 2 Rajasthan n-power units may start by JanNew Delhi, Oct. 13 After being held up for well over two years due to fuel shortages, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) expects to get the two new units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) up and running by January.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Watch/Listen: Mint in Multimedia-14 OctVideo story: The Mint Report for 13 October 2009 Government drags its feet over Chinese company’s application to set up a service centre; auto sales accelerate in September Video story: From writing to archive in a snap An entirely mobile way to record and preserve handwritten notes and scribbles Video story: Poll turnout at 60% and above; stray clashes occur Out of these three Congress-ruled states, Maharashtra and Haryana witnessed a dip in voting percentages since the last assembly elections from 63.44% and 71.96%, respectively, while Arunachal Pradesh saw a jump from 64.02% Audio story: Pollux: organizing your music gets easy Krish Raghav talks to the developers of Pollux, a nifty tool that clings to your iTunes and automates the process of identifying your songs Slideshow: Light up your walls Click here to view a slideshow of artworks Curator Himanshu Verma of Red Earth puts together an affordable selection of Diwali artworks so that art can feature in your shopping lists this festive season Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Oct 2009 | 11:39 pm Rupee gains 30 paise to jump to one-year highThe Indian rupee strengthened by 30paise against the US currency to hit a one-year high of 46.18 a dollar in opening trade today.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 11:17 pm Property sale boosts Unitech - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Oct 2009 | 10:59 pm RPT-UPDATE 1-India Sept car sales rise 21 pct y/y -industry - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Oct 2009 | 8:33 pm 'Novell's tools will enable people to share info across networks'Novell has now set its sight on the cloud and its enterprise collaboration solution--Project Cockpit--that will implant the social networking model in the enterprise space.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 4:36 pm Tad priceyAs the markets start peaking, the valuations of IPOs hitting the market start to get more expensive.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 4:22 pm Sprightly silver beats gold hands downAt Rs15,930 per 10 gm in the Mumbai market, the Indian housewife's favourite metal--gold--has given a return of 17% so far this calendar.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 4:13 pm Videocon may relocate Burdwan projectThe Videocon Group's proposed Rs21,000 crore steel and power project in the Burdwan district of West Bengal seems to have run into a snag.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 4:09 pm Are the banks keeping property prices up?Millions in India would like to buy homes to live in, or offices for setting up a new venture, or shops for starting a business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Oct 2009 | 4:07 pm Birla Group plans Rs 4,000 cr Knowledge Park in KeralaKumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group plans to invest over Rs 4,000 crore in future technologies by setting up a Knowledge Park and a branch of the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) at Kozhikode in Kerala.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Oct 2009 | 1:27 pm Why CEOs must care about supply chainsEven as companies struggle to cope with volatile market conditions, they could soon find themselves up against another hurdle as they prepare for the next phase of growth—the perils of not focusing on their supply chain. While sales and growth have been the focus of Indian companies, investments in supply chain platforms have not merited similar attention. The challenges are further compounded by a weak logistics infrastructure that has not kept pace with growth, consumer needs and preferences that continue to evolve and the complexities created by regulation such as inter-state service taxes which have resulted in companies setting up warehouses in most states where demand exists. Take some typical scenarios faced by chief executive officers (CEOs) today: A CEO reviewing operations in a retail outlet was shocked to find that many of his products were “stocked out” while for a much larger number there was a stock-pile of inventory. Operating margins had not improved even after a five-fold growth in business. Wasn’t scale supposed to improve the company’s operations? Another CEO conducted a quarterly review with his top managers as sales were falling below target while costs were rising. He found that although sales teams complained that products were not available, inventories were at record high. The procurement team claimed that it couldn’t make supply more reliable because it lacked timely information about requirements, despite the investment in IT tools for planning. These broken supply chains can no longer serve the needs of an increasingly complex business dealing with globalization, product proliferation to meet regional differences and more stringent customer needs. Now is the time to visit the supply chain because not fixing it is the greatest bottleneck to growth. While the opportunity at hand is large, capturing it requires action across functions and not just by the operations team. Thus, fixing the supply chain needs to be on the CEO’s agenda. Streamlining the supply chain can: • Unlock cash through a 20-50% reduction in working capital (primarily inventory) across the value chain • Lower costs through a 15-40% reduction in supply chain-related expenses (e.g., inbound logistics, production costs, outbound warehousing and logistics) • Increase revenues by 5-15% through better service levels and higher customer satisfaction  Set the aspiration: The aspiration should be defined by the CEO as it enables the execution of the overall strategy and is about making continuous cost-service trade-offs across business functions. The aspiration will determine whether to innovate, redesign or rebalance the supply chain. For example, for a high-tech company, the cost of a lost sale after launching a product and minimizing obsolescence at the end of the life cycle is critical. Key supply chain challenges include rapidly changing consumer preferences and long supplier lead times that reduce the ability to accurately forecast demand. Thus, the supply chain design must focus on increasing speed and flexibility (example, reduce order lead times, frequent orders) even at the expense of some manufacturing efficiency or increase in logistics costs. Think end to end: Rather than view the supply chain’s role as only order fulfilment based on instructions from sales or procurement teams, take an end to end view across the value chain to ensure that all parts are working in sync. An effective way to get the organization to start thinking end to end is by instituting a collaborative sales and operational planning process driven by the supply chain planner with input from sales, logistics, manufacturing as well as key suppliers. Design supply chains by segment and not company: Leading companies treat products differently up and down the supply chain based on key characteristics. One consumer-products company created six distinct supply chains based on product characteristics as well as regional preferences (demand velocity, predictability, channels, and seasonality) to manage complexity. For the high demand high predictability segment, the supply chain was run on “auto-mode” based on pre-defined business rules but actively managed the seasonal segments were accurately predicting demand was difficult. Focus on customer breakpoints rather than competitor benchmarks: Supply chains in India are still immature, so meaningful benchmarks are hard to come by. Instead, companies should focus on less predictable processes such as order fulfilment that impact ability to meet desired service levels or burden the system with excess inventory. Empower and then rigorously manage performance: Leading companies translate the supply chain strategy into cross-functional performance metrics focused on the top-line and bottom line with clear accountability. For example, a retailer switched from using sales to measure the performance of its merchandising teams to entire profit and loss (affected by inventory, markdowns, distribution and logistics costs). This enabled decisions on product selection, order quantity and pricing as trade-offs between incremental sales and total cost of ownership. Actively build capabilities: Winning companies follow a systematic human resources strategy (recruitment, training) for the supply chain including standardized problem-solving approaches such as Six Sigma and lean and training programmes. In addition, our work with companies shows that investing in advanced information technology supply chain planning and optimization tools alone has a limited impact if the right processes and capabilities are not in place. At this point, the real impact for companies in India will come from investing in tools that provide greater visibility into operations. There is no question that operating in a market such as India is challenging but frankly no different than any other emerging market. Fixing the supply chain is core to getting the right product at the right time and cost to the right place. This sets off a powerful cycle of lower costs with scale and the ability to differentiate from competitors through better service and reliability. Getting the supply chain right will therefore become a critical differentiator for companies to debottleneck and ride the next wave of growth. Yet the benefits don’t end merely with bottom-line impact for individual companies. An efficient supply chain can do much more by helping India meet the next phase of growth aspirations and become a global super-competitor. ©2009/McKinsey & Co Prashant Gupta is partner and Shaishav Dharia is associate partner at McKinsey & Co.’s Mumbai office. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Oct 2009 | 1:27 pm Zain deal gets okay after panel rejectionMahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltds announcement that they would buy a stake in Kuwait-based Zain Telecom marked a reversal of a decision by a joint committee of officials on September 1 to reject the $13.7 billion proposal.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Oct 2009 | 1:25 pm From writing to archive in a snapNew Delhi: Some of the most brilliant outcomes of meetings and discussions are scribbled on the backs of envelopes, paper towels and whiteboards. Which is why keeping a track of these casual records can be such a problem. You can’t copy, record or email them out without first retyping everything by hand. Qipit (www.qipit.com) , a simple online service, can make this process entirely painless. All you need is a mobile phone with a decent camera and MMS or email facilities. No software installations required at all. Once you register on the Qipit website the service prepares to receive photographs from your phone from a pre-designated email address. The next time you get up from a table after scrawling a killer business plan on the back of a serviette, just whip out your phone. Take a good resolution photo of the scribblings and then email it to one of two designated Qipit email addresses. (One for colour and the other for black and white documents.) Qipit will pick up your photo, clean it up so that the handwriting is legible clearly, and then convert it into a PDF file. The PDF is then emailed back to you. All in moments. A simple, easy way to record and archive your casual notes. For a demo of the service check this week’s PlayStream video. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Oct 2009 | 12:40 pm Cisco to buy Starent for $2.9 billionSan Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. says it has agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp., which helps wireless carriers support smart phones, for $2.9 billion. Starent, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, makes equipment that allows carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet. Cisco is paying $35 per share in cash and expects the deal to close early next year. It is the second major acquisition in two weeks for Cisco, the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear. On 1 October, it announced a deal to buy Tandberg ASA, a leading maker of videoconferencing gear, for $3 billion. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Oct 2009 | 7:06 am Cisco to buy Starent for $2.9 billionSan Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. says it has agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp., which helps wireless carriers support smart phones, for $2.9 billion. Starent, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, makes equipment that allows carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet. Cisco is paying $35 per share in cash and expects the deal to close early next year. It is the second major acquisition in two weeks for Cisco, the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear. On 1 October, it announced a deal to buy Tandberg ASA, a leading maker of videoconferencing gear, for $3 billion. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Oct 2009 | 7:06 am
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