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Galleon insider trading web extends back to 1990s!An informant in the Galleon Group insider trading scandal had a history of sending tips to the firm, according to a court document that surfaced on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am Ford to shut Canada plant due to Haryana labor strike!Ford Motor Co said on Friday it will idle one of its Canadian plants next week due to a shortage of transmission parts that stems from a labor dispute in India.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am More than 100 bank failures this year in US!The cascade of bank failures this year surpassed 100 on Friday, the most in nearly two decades.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am BSE Sensex posts biggest weekly fall in 11 weeks!The BSE Sensex posted its biggest weekly fall in 11 weeks, but early gains on Friday triggered by strong global cues were checked by a 4 percent fall in energy giant Reliance Industries.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am BSNL offers prepaid broadband service - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:22 am Maruti's Sept qtr net profit rises 93 pct - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:22 am Telecom probe: Opposition guns for A Raja - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:20 am Maruti's Sept qtr net profit rises 93 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's top carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Saturday reported a 93 percent rise in quarterly net profit, boosted by buying in India's August to October festival season and meeting analysts' forecasts.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:06 am I have not deviated from norms for spectrum allocation: Raja - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:04 am US near to filing case against Intel: SourcesThree of the four commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission, which opened a formal inquiry in June 2008, are in favor of filing a complaint against Intel.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 4:03 am Wall Street Week Ahead: Earnings, data to determine rally's fateEven though the profits that have come in so far have proven surprisingly strong, US stocks have made very little headway as investors search for more definitive signs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am Govt sets Jan 14 date for 3G spectrum auctionNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will begin a long-delayed auction of third-generation (3G) radio spectrum on Jan. 14, 2010, the telecoms ministry said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 3:52 am Hardy Oil to abandon 1 well in KG D9 block - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Oct 2009 | 3:28 am Banks close to full computerisation: RBIComputerisation of the banking sector is almost complete, according to the RBIs latest report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Oct 2009 | 3:22 am India sets 14 January for 3G spectrum auction New Delhi: India will begin a long-delayed auction of third-generation (3G) radio spectrum on 14 January, the telecoms ministry said on Saturday. Firms have to submit bids by 21 December for a total of 71 blocks of spectrum put up for auction across 20 of India’s 22 telecoms zones, according to a memorandum to prospective bidders. The auction, which would introduce high-speed Internet and video downloads on mobile phones, was originally slated for January 2009 but was deferred to December after differences between the telecoms and finance ministries over the reserve price for the bids. The government did not give a reason for the second extension. The base price for 3G spectrum across the country is Rs35 billion ($750 million), and telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja has said that the government would net at least Rs250 billion from the sale. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 3:12 am Singh, Wen hold talks on margins of Asean summit Cha-Am Hua Hin (Thaliland): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met here on Friday to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern against the backdrop of the war of words between the two neighbours over Arunachal Pradesh. Singh, who arrived here on Friday, and Wen held crucial bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Asean summit in this Thai beach resort. In his opening remarks during the meeting, Wen said: “We want to have healthy and steady relationship with India.” Prime Minister Singh congratulated Wen on 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Their meeting came as the two countries struck conciliatory notes after provocative statements from China on Arunachal Pradesh evoked a sharp reaction from India. China regards Arunachal Pradesh a disputed territory and objected to Prime Minister Singh’s visit there for assembly polls, triggering sharp reaction from India which asserted that the state is an integral part of the country. “Bilateral relationship will be in focus,” foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said last night ahead of the meeting between Singh and Wen. Rao said that the relationship between the two countries is a complex one though it has developed in many areas in recent years. “You are aware of the outstanding issues that remain to be resolved between India and China and obviously in meetings of this nature, especially meetings between leadership at the highest level, there is an opportunity to address all these issues,” Rao said. While receiving Singh warmly at the venue of the meeting in Dusit Thani hotel, Wen described him as an old friend and recalled their several previous meetings. “In the years ahead we are confident that we will have good relations,” the Chinese Premier said. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, Prime Minister’s principal secretary T. K. A. Nair and joint secretary (east Asia) N. Ravi attended the meeting from the Indian side. Other issues which recently led to a verbal spat between the two fastest growing economies in the world included China issuing visas to people from Jammu and Kashmir on loose sheets. India had also said that the Chinese developmental activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were not in the interest of the Sino-India ties. Concerns have also been expressed, especially by the north-eastern states like Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, over reports of China building dams on its side of the river Brahmputra. However, in the last few days conciliatory tones were heard from both New Delhi and Beijing. Senior functionaries of both the countries said that the border issue could be resolved by dialogue. Chinese assistant foreign minister Hu Zhengyue had said in Beijing on Wednesday that Wen and Singh would discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues during their meeting. “This meeting between the two Prime Ministers is a very important one,” Hu had said adding: “There has been good progress in our bilateral relationship and we hope this momentum can be sustained.” Prime Minister Singh has a busy schedule for the next two days with seven bilateral engagements, including a meeting with Japanese Premier Yukio Hotoyama, apart from attending India-Asean meet and East Asia Summit. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 2:27 am Mallya elected in World Motor Sports Council New Delhi: Force India chairman Vijay Mallya, who also heads the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), has been elected in the prestigious FIA World Motor Sport Council. The flamboyant aviation and liquor tycoon was one of the 41 candidates, each gunning for one of the 14 places, and Mallya eventually got the nod for a four-year term on the panel after the poll in Paris yesterday. The ballot paper mentioned each candidate by name and the results were announced against their name as well, while showing the club/country they represent. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 1:51 am NALCO sells aluminium at $85.58/T premium over LME - sourceBHUBANESWAR (Reuters) - India's National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) sold 7,000 tonnes of primary aluminium ingots at a premium of $85.58 per tonne over the LME cash price on a CIF basis, a company source said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 1:24 am Need a comprehensive global movement against terror: India Washington: The fight against international terrorism cannot be successful by doing deals with terror groups for short term gains, India has said, as it asked for a comprehensive global movement against the menace. “You cannot have a fight against international terrorism which is compartmentalised. The snakes that bite us wherever come from the same pit,” Indian ambassador to the United Nations, Hardeep Singh Puri told CNN, wherein he along with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts to the world body had a rare combined appearance on a TV show. “You cannot do Faustian deals with terrorist groups, so I think you need a comprehensive international movement against the terrorists, and I hope that all of us who are involved in this will carry this fight through until the end so that all of us are victors in this,” Puri argued. Pakistani Ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon along with the Afghan ambassador to the world body, Zahir Tanin were present on the occasion. Responding to a question, Puri said that there is no suggestion ever that a diversion of Pakistani military assets from one border to the other to fight the people who really need to be fought would result in any Indian adventurism. “I don’t think that’s the kind of ambience that we are presently in,” he said, when asked about the apprehensions expressed by Pakistan in this regard. Observing that India is for a joint fight against terrorism, Puri said: “All that we would like to see if all of us taking the actions required against the perpetrators of these crimes.” Responding to the same question, the Pakistani Ambassador, Haroon, said: “I think that the Indian Ambassador is absolutely right. For quite a while now, we are aware that India is not—at one stage, there were a few exercises taking place. We sort of merely asked-is this something more than that?, and they moved away.” “I think there is a very definite indication that there is no hostility meant. And I think the meetings between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, and now one that will happen most probably in the Commonwealth conference, is indicative of the fact that they are talking to each other and they had many offers of senior ranks for talking to each other, as well,” he said. The Afghan ambassador Tanin said that Kabul, Islamabad and New Delhi, now all share the same goal on terrorism. “What is happening, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, they share one goal, how to fight terrorism, how to have a stable region. We also are facing a shared common challenge that is terrorism and extremism, as you say it. And we know that, three of us. We work here together. And I’m sure that is the same understanding amongst all the leaders in Kabul, Islamabad and Delhi,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:42 am GM board to reconsider Opel in early NovemberGM will decide in early November whether to proceed with a deal to sell its European arm Opel to a group led by Canada's Magna.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:32 am India a strategic ally, Pakistan a treasured friend: USWashington: In a balancing act, the United States Saturday termed its relationship with India as “strategic and important” while calling Pakistan a “treasured friend and ally”. The views of the Obama Administration about Pakistan and India came in two back to back press conferences at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department in response to queries related to the Asian neighbours. Special US representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, said the Obama Administration views Pakistan as a “treasured friend and ally” which is in a situation where American support is called for. Soon afterwards, Ian Kelly, state department spokesman, said at his daily press briefing that “our relationship with India is strategic and important”. “We are conducting our assistance with Pakistan in a very open and transparent way in general, with the public, with the media and with important strategic partners like India,” Kelly said when asked about New Delhi’s concerns about US aid to Pakistan. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:24 am Asia leaders press free trade, US role uncertainThailand: Japanese and Chinese leaders entered talks on Saturday with their Asian counterparts focused heavily on whether the region should pursue an EU-style bloc, and whether Washington should be involved. Japan is stressing that Washington is important to its idea of forming an East Asian Community when, as Japanese officials pitch the concept at a summit of 16 Asia-Pacific leaders in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin, a top government official said. “The US involvement will be very important,” Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Yorihisa Matsuno told reporters on a flight to Thailand, referring to what prime minister Yukio Hatoyama plans to tell his Asian counterparts at the meetings. Hatoyama plans to stress that the US-Japan alliance would remain the foundation of Tokyo’s diplomacy, Matsuno said. The talks are part of a three-day leaders summit which got off to a rancorous start on Friday, marred by diplomatic tension, a budding trade feud and a few no-shows in the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean). That bloc meets on Saturday with China, Japan and South Korea in an “Asean+3” forum that gives Asia’s economic titans, China and Japan, a chance to jockey for influence over trade agreements and investment opportunities in Southeast Asia, a region of 570 million people with a combined $1.1 trillion economy. Japan’s newly minted government sees its influence bound to an East Asian Community, an idea for a new regional trading bloc inspired by the European Union and including India, Australia and New Zealand, along with ASEAN countries. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd plans to push another idea at the summit centred around a new forum of Asia-Pacific nations and the United States for dealing with economic, security, environmental and political crises, according to Australian media. Washington has expressed concern over being excluded from such groupings, especially as Japan’s new leaders vow to steer a diplomatic course less dependant on its closest security ally, while seeking to deepen ties with Asian neighbours. US assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell told reporters in Beijing this month that “critical dialogues that touch on security, economic, and commercial issues should involve the United States”. Uncertain US role Accounting for nearly a quarter of global economic output, an East Asian Community could overtake Asean’s existing trade ties with Japan, China and South Korea, but would also compete with the “Group of 20”, which anointed itself last month as the pre-eminent forum for global economic coordination. Exactly how Washington would participate is uncertain. Asked if US involvement meant Washington will be a member of the Community, a Japanese government official told reporters in Thailand on Saturday: “It remains unclear. We have to see how multilateral meetings will turn out today.” In Tokyo, the move is seen as an attempt by Japan to ease growing worries about friction over the long-planned reorganisation of the US military presence in Japan, the first big test of ties between Washington and Japan’s month-old government. China has been cool to the idea of a community, wary it could promote Japanese influence at a time Beijing is rapidly expanding trade, investment and diplomatic links across Southeast Asia — from building sleek new government offices in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to working closely with reclusive Myanmar. “China wants to establish healthy relations with the new government in Japan, so it is not going to object to discussing this idea,” said Shi Yinhong, a regional security professor at Beijing’s Renmin University. “But everybody understands the idea of an East Asia Community is extremely far off,” he added. Leaders from across Asia arrived at the beach resort under a blanket of security, including a security force of 18,000 backed by a handful of military gunships, with host Thailand determined to avoid a rerun of embarrassing mishaps at past summits. The summit was initially scheduled for December last year but was postponed when anti-government protestors shut down Bangkok’s airports. It was moved to the Thai resort area of Pattaya in April but was subsequently aborted when a rival protest group broke through police and army lines and stormed the summit venue. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:16 am Sanofi on track for 75.3 mn H1N1 vaccine dosesWashington: US health officials are struggling to deliver vaccine against the H1N1 pandemic virus ahead of its spread but Sanofi Pasteur, one of five vaccine makers under contract, said on Friday it was now back on track. A spokeswoman said the company could now deliver 75.3 million doses of bulk vaccine ingredients by December after overcoming production problems. “Our shipments are tracking close to what we have agreed to with (the US Department of Health and Human Services). Thus far we have provided more vaccine to HHS than all other manufacturers combined,” Sanofi, the vaccine unit of Sanofi-Aventis SA, said in a statement. Sanofi said it has shipped 12 million of the 16.1 million vaccine doses the US government had received as of Friday. “We have orders for 75.3 million doses of bulk antigen for anticipated delivery between October and December. We are on track to deliver this by December,” the statement said. HHS has also ordered vaccine from CSL Ltd, Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit. US health officials recently trimmed supply expectations for H1N1 swine flu vaccine by 25-30% for October, saying manufacturers had run into production problems. The delay has caused vaccine shortages at US immunization clinics at a time when H1N1 flu activity has become widespread in 46 states. Much of the available vaccine has been MedImmune’s nasal spray, which contains live virus and is not recommended for some people at risk, including children under 2, pregnant women and children and adults over 50. Companies are using decades-old technology used to make seasonal influenza vaccine to manufacture the H1N1 immunizations, but this involves uncertain methods that start with growing the virus in chicken eggs. For some reason H1N1 did not always grow well. MedImmune had no problems but the other companies did. Sanofi said it had taken steps to address the problem. “We are pleased to report that yields are now exceeding the yield projections used in early production planning with HHS,” the statement said. “In fact, current yields are now close to our seasonal standard. Thus, we do not anticipate the strain yield to be a factor impacting future production schedules.” Sanofi said it was able to accelerate licensing for two new production lines with assistance from HHS and the Food and Drug Administration. “It must be recognized that we are producing a biological product and there is always an element of uncertainty with regard to production schedules,” the statement said. “However, at this time we are tracking close to what we have agreed to ship and feel that we are well-positioned based on long standing experience in influenza production to continue to fulfill our agreements with HHS.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:15 am Facebook revamps home page feedSan Francisco: Facebook on Friday modified its news feed feature to let members of the world’s leading social-networking service catch up on tidbits they may have missed while away from the website. Facebook now lets members switch between getting real time streams of news or activities taking place, and highlights of what friends have shared online in the preceding 24 hours, according to Raylene Yung at the California firm. “You will be able to catch up on what you may have missed while you were away from Facebook and then easily switch to the real-time stream when you want to see posts as soon as they’re shared,” the engineer said in a blog post. News Feed picks re-cap stories based on factors including how many friends have liked and commented on them. The Live Feed option funnels updates and news about online friends’ activities to Facebook home pages as the information surfaces. “Some of you may ask why we are changing the home page again,” Yung said. “We know it can be disruptive when things are moved around, but we hope that these changes make Facebook a more valuable experience for you”, Yung added. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am More mobiles ring in the rural areas than urbanNew Delhi, Oct. 23 Mobile growth in the rural areas has outpaced that in cities for the first time.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Onset of N-E monsoon by WednesdayThiruvananthapuram, Oct. 23 International model forecasts on Friday indicated that the north-east monsoon may break over coastal Tamil Nadu and Kerala by Wednesday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Is gold a safe-haven asset?Gold prices are going through the roof once again with each burst of boom seeing the yellow metal scale a new high.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am BSNL awaiting Govt decision on IPOBangalore, Oct. 23 The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of State-owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) Ltd has beenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Knowledge test’ soon to assess company directorsNew Delhi, Oct. 23 Company directors will have to shape up if the Government has its way. They will not be able to remain silent about the wrongdoings of a board or offer the excuse that they were ignorant of such actions.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Brokers feel extra time would only add to stressMumbai, 23 October SEBI’s permission to the stock exchanges to extend their trading hours fetched mixed reactions from the trading community, but the dominant response was unwelcoming.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Facebook revamps home page feedSan Francisco: Facebook on Friday modified its news feed feature to let members of the world’s leading social-networking service catch up on tidbits they may have missed while away from the website. Facebook now lets members switch between getting real time streams of news or activities taking place, and highlights of what friends have shared online in the preceding 24 hours, according to Raylene Yung at the California firm. “You will be able to catch up on what you may have missed while you were away from Facebook and then easily switch to the real-time stream when you want to see posts as soon as they’re shared,” the engineer said in a blog post. News Feed picks re-cap stories based on factors including how many friends have liked and commented on them. The Live Feed option funnels updates and news about online friends’ activities to Facebook home pages as the information surfaces. “Some of you may ask why we are changing the home page again,” Yung said. “We know it can be disruptive when things are moved around, but we hope that these changes make Facebook a more valuable experience for you”, Yung added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am India Inc starts Q2 wellThe consumer goods and agri-business segments helped ITC Ltd record an income of Rs 4,345 crore in the second quarter of 2009-10, up 13 per cent from the Rs 3,862 crore posted in the same period last year. Net profit was up 26 per cent at RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am SEBI allows stock exchanges to go 9-5Mumbai, Oct. 23 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday allowed stock exchanges to extend trading time by almost two-and-a-half hours, permitting them to operate between 9 a.m. and 5Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am FMCG, agri-biz segments drive ITC net profit up 26%Kolkata, Oct. 23 Backed by a growth in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and agri-business segments, ITC Ltd posted 26 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 1,009 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 against Rs 803 crore in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Hardy abandons exploration in one D9 well of KG basinMumbai, Oct. 23 It took one piece of bad news from its favourite hunting ground, the Krishna-Godavari Basin, to send the Reliance Industries stock plummeting nearly four per cent on Friday to Rs 2,047.30 from RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Wall St Week Ahead: Earnings, data to determine rally's fateNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock bulls may hit the pause button again next week if a wave of earnings due from marquee names such as Exxon Mobil and a slew of economic data offer no fresh incentives to extend Wall Street's seven-month rally.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:54 pm EXCLUSIVE - Former Calpers CIO says did right thingSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Russell Read does not regret pushing Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, into investment frontiers that consultants avoid -- and he sees the public pension funds at a crossroads on what to do next.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:49 pm Galleon group insider trading web extends back to 1990sAn informant in the Galleon Group insider trading scandal had a history of sending tips to the firm, according to a court document that surfaced on Friday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:23 pm AIG to disburse $12 mln in delayed exec paymentsNEW YORK (Reuters) - AIG, the insurer that received a huge government bail out, said on Friday it is paying $12.1 million in retention awards to some top executives after U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg gave it the green light.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:03 pm U.S. bank failures pass 100 mark for 2009WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. bank failures this year reached 106 on Friday, when regulators closed seven more small banks, marking the highest annual level of failed institutions since 1992 during the savings and loan crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 9:17 pm Galleon insider trading web extends back to 1990sSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An informant in the Galleon Group insider trading scandal had a history of sending tips to the firm, according to a court document that surfaced on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:40 pm Ford Canada plant idled due to India labor unrestOTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Friday it will idle one of its Canadian plants next week due to a shortage of transmission parts that stems from a labor dispute in India.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:35 pm SAIL's 20% FPO plan gets govt nod - Financial Express
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Oct 2009 | 4:32 pm Can Copenhagen Deliver a New Industrial Revolution? climatebiz.com - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Oct 2009 | 4:02 pm 3G hope after 2G mess: Auction likely Jan 14Government turns to Rs35,000 crore kitty after CBI raid to dig into Rs 60,000 crore loss to exchequer.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:56 pm Dr Reddy's foresees muted second halfPharmaceutical major Dr Reddy's Laboratories is expecting the second half of the current financial year to be subdued compared with the first half.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm BSNL to begin diligence on Zain, Vavasi soonTelco also in shortlist of bidders to buy 75% in Zambia's Zamtel.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:49 pm Share trading, too, will be a 9 to 5 job nowl Sebi green signal allows calibration with currency market l Transfer of funds will be a hiccup, generation of contract notes a late-night affairSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:47 pm LIC's first-year premium income rises 35% in H1Private life insurance companies record 14% drop.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pm Mitsubishi Chemical sees India unit's revenues trebling by 2011Its Haldia plant set to contribute 30% to Japanese firm's global PTA business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:25 pm Market set for extended trading - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:15 pm An easy transition to a new familyMy son is 12. He was very young when I lost my husband. I remarried a widower with a son and daughter. My second husband is a good man and his children (10 and 7) are well-adjusted. My concern is my son, who seems withdrawn. He is not interested in playing with his new siblings. My husband makes a huge effort to build a rapport with him but my son doesn’t respond—I’ve seen his interest spark and then he will make a conscious effort to walk away. I’ve found him trying to eavesdrop on our conversations. I understand this is a difficult situation—he’s on the threshold of adolescence, he suddenly has a new family, he has to share his mother with two new children. But how can we make the transition easier for him and make him part of the family again?  Ease up: Give your child time to adjust. While you seem to have put together all the right elements to make the best of this demanding, but positive, change in your life for all those concerned, something has not worked according to plan. And that’s because your son is taking his own time and way to readjust. He has many things on his plate, as you must be well aware: dealing with the loss of his father, then adjusting to his mother having new people in her life, and having to deal with these new people himself. It’s really great that you and your husband are fulfilling your roles with sensitivity and authenticity. That’s no small task. The only thing you can now do is to not try so hard with him. Because in making this huge effort (both you and your husband), you are possibly also expecting some results within a certain time frame, however much you try not to. So it would be best to cut back on your efforts a little, and just let him be. You may not realize it, but just your being happy, the new siblings being good children, you liking them, and the new father being a good man (quite a wonderful package)—must all be working in its own way to get this 12-year-old to feel good again. It’s just that it is not evident. While the rest of you have made the transition with ease, he is still in the processing stage, and may remain so for a while. Eavesdropping on conversations is a sign of him having trust issues, and of feeling like an outsider. This is quite natural, and it’s best that you let him take his time. Be very careful not to communicate, verbally or non-verbally, even inadvertently, something like, “Look how much effort everyone is making towards you, and look how ungrateful/unresponsive you are being.” This will only add a burden of guilt, and can cause him to retreat further. You ask what you should do to make him part of the family again. Well, he is part of the family. It’s just that he is not part of it in a way that would make it easier and more comfortable all round. Best not to force it—it’s highly likely that the time he is taking is being used internally by him for genuine processing, and when he does come through and makes the connect, it will be permanent and trusting, because he has been able to do it on his own terms and within his own timeline. Meanwhile, as husband and wife, just continue with your process of fusing the two families into one, and allow for some ups and downs, which does not mean that the basic structure is being compromised. Gouri Dange is the author of The ABCs of Parenting. Send your queries to Gouri at learningcurve@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm Dr Reddy's net rises 106% on cost cuts, higher sales - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Oct 2009 | 1:42 pm More CBI raids on telecom licence controversyA CBI spokesperson confirmed that searches were undertaken in 19 premises but declined to comment on whether telecom companies were raided.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 1:25 pm Tata group set for consolidation againA fresh round of consolidation is in the offing at the Tata group. Indias largest private conglomerate is looking to integrate some of its smaller businesses with their respective flagship companies, with a view to leveraging the value of the entities and increase cost efficiency.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 1:24 pm Sebi okays longer trading hoursMarkets can now be open 9 to 5, says regulator.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 1:22 pm LT not concerned by belowexpectation Q2 revenuesFollowing the announcement of results, LT stock closed nearly 4% down and JP Associates stock was down nearly 7% on Thursday. Do these numbers indicate a slowing trend of any sorts? LT\'s YM Deosthalee answers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:57 pm FMCG, agri-biz segments drive ITC net profit up 26% - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm Retail dream fades for many FMCG, telecom executivesWith retailers downsizing operations, many senior executives from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and telecom who had jumped on the retail bandwagon a couple of years ago are making a quiet comeback.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:32 pm It must be the Girl The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest: Random House, 290 pages, Rs695. There are two interesting things about this list: Apart from Lukyanenko, the others are known for their detective fiction; and apart from Lukyanenko, who is Russian, and Hoeg, who is Danish, the others on the list are Swedish. Larsson is the best known in this group, thanks to the popular success of his Millennium trilogy. Also Read Land of the melancholic cop The third book in the trilogy, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, is out in India finally and it is a great end to the trilogy (strictly in the popular sense; the good guys stay alive and the bad guys are locked away). At one level, the Millennium trilogy (named after a magazine of the same name run by some characters in the book) isn’t really a trilogy. It is, actually, a first book that can stand on its own. And then, a second book and its sequel.  Photo: Bloomberg The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo merely serves to introduce the readers to the characters—investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist whom the late author has clearly modelled after himself; Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant, if dysfunctional and sociopathic young hacker; and Erika Berger, Blomkvist’s colleague and occasional lover. The second book, The Girl who Played with Fire, is about Salander’s quest for her father, a Russian spy whom she hates; and the third is about efforts by a section of Sweden’s secret police to make the whole thing go away by having Salander committed to a mental asylum again. It’s hard to explain the success of the trilogy. The writing is functional and sparse and the plots, while extremely interesting, aren’t extraordinary. It could be the characters. While Larsson does lavish attention on Blomkvist, it is his female characters, even the minor ones, that stand out. That’s a rarity in popular fiction. sukumar.r@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:22 pm Flood calamity in Karnataka very severe, says central teamA nine-member central team, which surveyed 10 districts of flood-ravaged north Karnataka, Friday declared that the recent calamity in the region was of a 'severe nature'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:03 pm Uttar Pradesh raises sugarcane price by Rs.25 a quintalThe Uttar Pradesh government Friday hiked by Rs.25 a quintal the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane in the state for the forthcoming crushing season, commencing early November.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 12:02 pm India goes indigenous on climate researchNew Delhi: In an application of the old adage that knowledge is power, the government is setting up research centres to map climate change and get indigenous data that will help it push its case more effectively in global climate change negotiations. A key function of these establishments, say officials associated with the project, will be to develop climate models that use data generated within India.  Local model: Earlier this week, environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced the National Institute for Research on Climate and Environment, funded by Isro and the environment ministry. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP Most studies that have estimated India’s greenhouse gas inventories, or the impact of climate change over India, have relied on so-called global circulation models prepared by research centres based out of the UK or the US. These models simulate the atmosphere at a given point and are extrapolated over time frames to create climate scenarios. Earlier this week, Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for environment with independent charge, announced the National Institute for Research on Climate and Environment, funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the environment ministry, to measure and monitor greenhouse gases. Stressing the need to set up India’s own research initiatives to measure and monitor climate change, Ramesh said in a press statement that “much of the data derived from Western sources was found to be biased. There’s no primary monitoring done in India”.  The Isro institute follows on the heels of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change, set up at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and funded by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at the Imperial College, London, and California-based businessman Arjun Divecha. Both of these were set up after the Centre for Climate Change Research, notified by the ministry of earth sciences in January, that will come up at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune. IISc already has a specialist department, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, which has weather specialists working on climate. “In India, understanding climate was largely tied to understanding monsoon. That’s changed over the last few years and the field has expanded,” said J. Srinivasan, who chairs the Divecha centre. The new centre would work on specific projects that would include a range of activities from measuring greenhouse gas emissions, to developing technologies that could mitigate negative impacts of climate change, he emphasized. The climate centre at Pune has already procured a supercomputer specifically for modelling studies, said K. Krishnakumar, a senior scientist at IITM, and who is involved with the new research centre. “Developing modelling capabilities is a priority of the centre here. Though students are still being recruited, climate change is also an emergent new discipline. Even the funds are more forthcoming,” he said. For its 11th Plan, between 2007 and 2012, the government has set aside Rs75,000 crore for science and research, thrice the allocation over the previous period. “Of course, a sizeable chunk could go towards climate change-related activities—now that ministries are drawing up strategies to meet the eight missions planned under the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change,” said a senior department of science and technology (DST) official, who didn’t want to be identified. DST was in the initial stages of reviewing a proposal to set up three more centres for Himalayan glaciology. A country’s greenhouse gas emissions and rise in pollution levels are the basis on which nations negotiate their emission caps. While scientists say several research projects, including more ship expeditions to measure ocean temperatures and sea wind patterns and increased recruitment of climate specialists are on the cards, they will aim at bettering India’s greenhouse gases databases and, thereby, give it better traction during negotiations. Traditionally, India has relied on climate models prepared by the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, UK, or universities based out of the US, to estimate its greenhouse gas inventory. But scientists say the results of these models can’t always be reliably applied to India. “All IPCC models have to be taken with a pinch of salt,” said Madhavan Rajeevan, a meteorologist with Isro. “All models are prepared with a specific country in focus. Blindly extrapolating it to another, gives inaccurate and surprising results.” A paucity of ground-level data—such as transpiration rates of different plants in the country (that has a bearing on calculating the carbon dioxide emitted by plants), India’s varied topography and the behaviour of its surrounding oceans with the atmosphere, all of which mean different rates of carbon dioxide emissions and glacial melt—means Western data plugged on these models gives inaccurate results for India’s emission profiles, he added. In its latest estimate this September, India said its per capita greenhouse gas emissions will grow fourfold, to an average 2.77 tonnes, in the next two decades if the economy expands by an average 8% a year during this period. With India set to become a bigger polluter to fuel its developing economy, other experts say that several more universities and institutions are going to shore up on their climate studies departments. “It’s (climate research) not a buzzword, it’s a necessity,” said A.K. Gosain, who heads the civil engineering department at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and has worked on government projects to estimate India’s emissions profile. He added that businesses as well as states will demand accurate models to predict climate change impacts on their agriculture as well as industry—a trigger for consultancy projects by such institutes. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 11:21 am Galleon cuts India holdings, sells shares in Shriram EPCMumbai: Galleon Group Llc, whose co-founder Raj Rajaratnam faces insider trading charges in the US, raised $453,150 (around Rs2 crore) by cutting its investments in India, according to the National Stock Exchange. New York-based Galleon sold 950,000 shares of engineering company Shriram EPC Ltd at Rs223 each to Indea Long Term Opportunities Master Fund, data from the bourse shows. Galleon also holds shares in Pipavav Shipyards Ltd, a shipbuilder that had its trading debut in Mumbai this month, and has a 7% stake in Edelweiss Capital Ltd, a provider of financial services. Shriram climbed 13% to Rs252.7 in Mumbai, its highest close in more than a year. Pipavav fell 0.1% to Rs55.3, while Edelweiss declined 0.1% to Rs502. Galleon Group is exploring the sale of its unit in Asia among other options after founder Rajaratnam was charged last week by US federal prosecutors with insider trading, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday on condition of anonymity. Galleon, which managed about $3.7 billion, opened its Asian headquarters in Singapore last year. Rajaratnam has said he’s innocent of the charges. Sanjay Santhanam, managing director and head of risk management at Galleon International Llc and a director on the board of Edelweiss, did not immediately respond to an email and calls made to his Singapore office. Balaji Vaidyanathan, a spokesman at Edelweiss Capital, and Pipavav Shipyard’s chairman Nikhil Gandhi did not immediately reply to queries. feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 11:19 am Exchanges can go for 8-hour trading: SebiMumbai: In a bid to align the Indian equity markets with other Asian and European peers, capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday allowed the stock exchanges to trade about an extra two-and-a-half hours. The exchanges can conduct trading between 9am and 5pm in both cash and derivatives segments against the current practice of 9.55am to 3.30pm. An extension of trading hours will enable the domestic market to take advantage of movements in international exchanges. Currently, some Asian markets such as Japan, Taiwan and Korea close trading before the Indian market opens. Similarly, the US market opens after the Indian market closes. As a result of this, Indian shares run the risk of opening the trade with a sharp difference in prices compared with the previous closing—technically known as “gap up” and “gap down” opening—when significant economic developments impact global markets.  Nine-to-five: The Securities and Exchange Board of India headquarters in Mumbai. The capital market regulator on Friday allowed the stock exchanges to trade about an extra two-and-a-half hours. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint In March, Sebi had put out a discussion paper on its website proposing extension of trading hours to help exchanges better price discovery and increase volumes of trade. An extension of trading hours will make markets more efficient and attract trading interest, Sebi had said. Some global exchanges have much longer trading hours for the futures segment, extending even up to 23 hours. “The extension in trading hours will take our markets nearer to Singapore and Europe. This will reduce the offshoring of our markets, as a large amount of settlement in NSE futures are done on SGX,” said Anup Bagchi, executive director of ICICI Securities Ltd, the broking arm of India’s largest private bank ICICI Bank Ltd. A spokesperson of NSE, which enjoys at least three-fourth market share in stock trading in India, said: “This is in alignment with currency futures market, and we should be able to start very soon.” Ashishkumar Chauhan, deputy CEO of Asia’s oldest bourse, the 134-year-old Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), too, welcomed the Sebi directive. None of the exchanges, however, specified any time frame for trade extension. Besides stocks, NSE also offers its platform for trading in currency and interest rate futures. BSE has entered into an agreement with United Stock Exchange to offer these products, but they have not yet taken off. Currently, currency and interest rate futures are traded between 9am and 5pm and commodities exchanges run between 8am and 11:30pm. This suggests that the exchanges have the infrastructure to handle longer trading hours. Indeed, the operating expenses will go up for extended trading hours but this will be offset by the growth in volumes. “The move is good, but it should have been introduced with a short break in the afternoon. Most other Asian markets which trade for longer hours provide a lunch break. If the exchanges extend the trading hours, the brokers will have to keep two shifts for dealers,” said V.K. Sharma, head of research, Anagram Stock Broking Ltd. The real-time gross settlement, or RTGS, facility of banks that run the payments system is key to the success of extended trading hours of exchanges. Sebi discussed the issue with all market participants, including banks, before giving the go ahead to exchanges. On an earlier occasion, NSE had requested Sebi to start index futures contracts trading at 8am, instead of 9.55am. The regulator, however, had cautioned that an extension of trading hours would raise risk-management concerns and a potential need for higher margins. E.M.C. Palaniappan, president of the Association of National Exchange Members of India, a brokers’ lobby, said: “NSE may start this with Nifty futures and extend to other segments.” NSE has the monopoly in derivatives trading. The extension of trading hours alone may not drive the volume of Nifty futures back to NSE as “margin is much lower in SGX”, said Arun Kejriwal, director, Kejriwal Research and Investment Services Ltd, a stock advisory firm. While NSE margin on Nifty futures is 15%, the margin requirement of trading of such futures on SGX is 1-1.5%. N. Sundaresha Subramanian contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 11:06 am After the US, now Oman govt shuns ModiNew Delhi: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who had been denied a diplomatic visa by the US, faced fresh embarrassment when Oman distanced itself from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s proposed visit to that country as the head of a business delegation. The Arab country’s government posted an advertisement in The Hindu newspaper on 23 October stating that the chief minister was not visiting Oman as a state guest and was doing so in a personal capacity. In a curious twist, the chief minister’s office said that there were no immediate plans to visit Oman. Despite repeated attempts, Mint could not contact Oman’s ambassador to India, Sheikh Humaid Ali Bin Sultan Al-Mani, though his office did not deny the advertisement. Mint could not independently confirm the exact dates of the proposed visit.  Private visit? Modi in Ahmedabad during the Diwali holiday. The chief minister’s office insisted he has no immediate plan to travel to Oman. Sam Panthaky / AFP The Dutch company that has shown interest in a port project in Gujarat’s Positra is the Port of Rotterdam Authority, not Dutch Norterdam. The Gujarat government insisted that the chief minister was not planning to visit Oman for the time being. “I am not aware of any such visits. There is no plan for any Oman visit right now,” Gujarat chief secretary D. Rajagopal said. Another official in the chief minister’s office, who did not want to be identified, added: “The chief minister is visiting Russia beginning this Sunday. Modi is scheduled to lead a high-level delegation (of industrialists and senior bureaucrats) to Russia on 25 October for World Energy Week.” A nine-member delegation led by Maqbool Ali Sultan, industries and commerce minister of Oman, had met Modi last month to discuss ways to increase partnership between Gujarat and Oman in trade and commerce. During the Gujarat investors’ summit in last January, Oman had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government for a port project in the state. The state government officials quoted by IANS on 4 September had claimed that the Oman minister had extended an invitation to Modi to visit the free trade zone, the international transshipment hub and Sohar port in Oman. The Oman government had not denied the news report. This is not the first time that the chief minister has courted such controversy. The US had denied Modi entry to attend the Gujarati culture conferences in 2005 and 2008, citing a section of the US Immigration and Nationality Act that prohibits anybody who was “responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom” from entering the US. The Nanavati Commission, which probed the Godhra train carnage in which 58 people had been killed and the subsequent riots in Gujarat, had, however, given a clean chit to Modi. An earlier commission, headed by U.C. Bannerjee, had indicted Modi. Former foreign secretary Salman Haider, however, sees the advertisement as an “official clarification” from Oman that the proposed visit was “just a private visit” and that it was “disassociating itself from the visit of a person in the high position”. “Oman has good relations and business ties with India and it does not want them to be called into question,” Haider added. However, the BJP reacted sharply. “Public advertisements like this are deplorable and in bad taste. Gujarat has proved an industry-friendly state and is attracting investments from the world over,” party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Santosh K. Joy contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 11:04 am Rico strike forces shutdown at FordNew Delhi: The nearly month-long labour unrest at Rico Auto Industries Ltd has caused collateral damage overseas. A break in the supplies of components has forced Ford Motor Co. to shut its Oakville assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, for a week. The shutdown, which starts on 26 October, is due to a “component shortage” from Rico, company spokesperson Todd Nissen said in an email. Set up in 1953, the Oakville plant makes four crossover vehicles—Ford Flex, Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKT—according to information on the company website. It builds over 200,000 vehicles each year. A section of employees at Rico have been on strike since 21 September, when 16 of their colleagues were suspended for indiscipline. At the top of their list of demands is the registration of a trade union formed by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). Still, Rico’s management had been able to mostly maintain production and meet schedules as, out of a total of 3,000 employees, around 1,700 were reporting for work. However, the outbreak of violence on Sunday, which resulted in the death of a worker, brought production to a halt as agitating workers blocked factory gates. Production schedules are still disrupted, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation, who declined to be named. On Tuesday, workers at other Gurgaon units had joined the Rico strike in a show of solidarity. Rico supplies Ford with transmission support brackets, and the strike has resulted in it being unable to meet order schedules. “We’re not providing a specific breakdown of how many vehicles will not be built, but I can confirm it will be several thousand units,” Nissen wrote. “We are operating under force majeure conditions. Yes, we are in short supply because of a strike,” said the person familiar cited above. A spokesperson for Rico Auto declined comment. Negotiations haven’t made any headway yet, the union said. “Talks took place on Friday but there has been no resolution to the strike,” said Suresh Gaur, AITUC Gurgaon district president. Rico ships the brackets to a Ford transmission plant in Detroit, Michigan, from where they are sent to assembly plants across the region. For the time being, Ford says it plans to stick with its Indian suppliers. “We have not had any significant supply issues with Indian suppliers in the past. We remain committed to doing business with Indian suppliers as part of our global supply base,” said Nissen. “But we’re watching this situation closely and we hope it gets quickly resolved.” India exports about $4 billion (Rs18,600 crore) in auto components every year. Ford India declined to comment. “We do not comment on specific supplier relationships,” a spokeswoman said. It was not immediately clear whether Ford India’s operations would also be affected as a result of the industrial action. In addition to Ford, Rico’s global customers include General Motors Corp. (GM) and Jaguar Land Rover. “We have not been affected so far by the strike at Rico,” said P. Balendran, vice-president at GM. He declined to comment on whether the company may face a parts shortage in the coming week. Similarly, a spokesperson for JaguarLand Rover, which operates “just in time” delivery of parts at all of its plants, said that it was “not currently experiencing any problems”. Experts believe that new manufacturing structures, with the emphasis on lower inventory, make it imperative to avoid any interruptions. “Supply chains have become so lean that manufacturers don’t keep any inventory. Lining up alternate suppliers needs time,” said Rakesh Batra, partner at the automotive practice at consultancy Ernst and Young. “This is affecting not only Ford but also other manufacturers that have export commitments,” he added. “This is a huge issue with global sourcing.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 11:03 am Harsh Lodha named Birla Corp chairmanKolkata: Harsh Vardhan Lodha has been appointed chairman of Birla Corp. Ltd—the flagship firm of the MP Birla group—capping more than a year of lawsuits that restrained him from taking over as chairman after his father, R.S. Lodha, died on 3 October last year. Birla Corp. said on Friday that its board took a unanimous decision to appoint Harsh Vardhan Lodha as its chairman. R.S. Lodha had become chairman of the group in 2004 after MP Birla’s widow, Priyamvada Birla, bequeathed her entire estate to him. The Birla family moved court challenging the validity of the will. Though the authenticity of the will is yet to be established in court, the Lodha family currently controls MP Birla group firms. The Company Law Board on Monday dismissed a petition filed by a group of shareholders within days of R.S. Lodha’s death, seeking to restrain Birla Corp. from appointing Harsh Vardhan Lodha as chairman. Harsh Vardhan Lodha is expected to take over next week as chairman of Universal Cables Ltd, a MP Birla group firm. Its board is likely to meet on 30 October, a group official said on condition of anonymity. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:36 am ITC profit jumps, beats estimatesKolkata: ITC Ltd, the country’s biggest cigarette manufacturer, on Friday said net profit rose 25.8% to Rs1,009.91 crore in the quarter ended September from the year-ago period, driven largely by a 21.35% increase in revenues from cigarette sales. Sales rose 14% to Rs4,292.59 crore, boosted by the better- than-expected performance of all divisions except hotels. Profit beat the median estimate of Rs924 crore by 20 analysts polled by Bloomberg. Revenues from agri-business jumped 19% to Rs1,028.28 crore, while the paperboards division posted net sales of Rs790.38 crore, 12.8% higher than last year. Revenues from the hotel business, however, declined 23.77% from last year to Rs186.28 crore because of poor occupancy and average room tariff, ITC said in a press statement.  Profitable retailing: A Wills Lifestyle store on Camac Street in Kolkata. All Wills Lifestyle stores across 30 cities are now recovering costs, according to Atul Chand, chief executive of ITC’s lifestyle retailing division. Indranil Bhoumik /Mint It may not be long before the new businesses that ITC launched, such as personal care products, packaged food and apparel, start contributing to the company’s profits, according to analysts. The lifestyle retailing business has already turned profitable. Over the past year, ITC has managed to reduce rents by as much as 30% and all Wills Lifestyle stores in 30 cities are now recovering costs, according to Atul Chand, chief executive of ITC’s lifestyle retailing division. Apart from this, about one-fifth of the lifestyle retailing division’s revenues come from contract manufacturing of garments and accessories for designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, Trussardi and MaxMara. “Exports are a high-margin business,” Chand added. ITC currently has some 50 Wills Lifestyle stores, which sell ready-made apparel. Over the next six months, it is going to launch at least two stores a month, said Chand. The company is now looking to enter cities with smaller populations, and for the first time, is going to get into local franchise arrangements. “The knowledge of the market is really important. So to enter tier-II and tier-III cities, we are looking to tie up with local businessmen,” he added. The company, which currently manages all its stores, will design the franchisee-managed stores and train their staff. ITC also sells apparel under the John Players brand, aimed at the mass market segment, through about 250 stores. “At the beginning of the year, ITC had taken a lot of steps to rationalize costs in all its businesses,” said Anand Shah, research analyst at Angel Broking Ltd. “The results are visible.”  Diversification pays: ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar. Rajkumar /Mint Analysts estimate cigarette sales to have grown by volume too during the quarter till September. “It could have been a nominal growth—say 5-6%— but it seems there was some volume growth,” said Shah. Cigarette sales accounted for about 51% of ITC’s net revenues during the quarter till September. ITC shares rose 5% to Rs259.85 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, while the bourse’s benchmark equity index, the Sensex, closed marginally higher at 16,810 points. “The robust performance seen in the July-September quarter should be sustainable,” said Rajesh Agarwal, director of CD Equisearch Pvt. Ltd, a Kolkata-based broking firm. “It should continue for at least two more quarters, and in the second half of the year, even hotels should perform better.” ITC said its hotels had witnessed some “recovery in business in the last couple of weeks of the quarter (till September)”. Pre-tax profit from hotels during the quarter fell to Rs31.56 crore, from Rs68.74 crore last year. Pre-tax profit in all other businesses was higher than fiscal 2009. Pre-tax profits from cigarettes was 24.3% higher at Rs1,251.67 crore. Though net revenues from the paperboard business increased only 12.8%, pre-tax profit at the division jumped 52.33% to Rs186.22 crore. “Investments made in the paperboard business last year have started paying off,” said CD Equisearch’s Agarwal. Pre-tax profit from the agri-business during the quarter more than doubled to Rs174.08 crore from Rs76.40 crore, largely due to robust sales of leaf tobacco, ITC said. The company is India’s biggest leaf tobacco exporter. ITC’s earnings per share for the July-September quarter was Rs2.67, 14.6% higher than the quarter till June. Bloomberg contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:26 am You can’t formulate policy on weekly dataMumbai: The Wholesale Price Index, or WPI, which is released every week, is the most watched measure of inflation in India. After years of delay and complaints about its inconsistencies, the government finally decided to change it from a weekly indicator to a monthly one, besides making it more inclusive. Jahangir Aziz, chief economist of the Indian unit of JPMorgan Chase and Co., tells Mint about the implications of the change and the need for a better consumer price-based index. Edited excerpts: Do you think WPI will succeed in removing the inconsistencies and anomalies of the old one? I think it will go a long way in removing them. With the base year changed to 2004-05, you now have a larger weight in the index for manufacturing, as it should be. You have more manufacturing goods in the survey. All these are the right steps. And they needed to have been done long time back. But at the end of the day there is a problem that used to be there with the old WPI—which remains—as to how timely survey responses will be. Given that the data collection is now monthly, rather than weekly, it gives some more leeway to the authorities to follow up with people who haven’t responded. But until you have timely responses from the several thousand points of collection the problem will persist. Is non-responsiveness the only problem? The other problems have largely been dealt with. You have a larger base; you have got rid of things like typewriters…WPI has finally moved into the 21st century. Is monthly data enough for policy making? Will the weekly data add to the confusion? I think whenever the weekly data on fuel and primary articles comes out, people will try to work out what the monthly number is going to be. It won’t create as much excitement as the weekly numbers now do, but will still create some buzz. As it is, fuel and primary articles will have an even smaller weight than now. Monthly data should be sufficient for policy making. That’s the practice all over the world. You can’t formulate policy based on weekly data. They are very very volatile. Why hasn’t the government gone in for a Consumer Price Index (CPI)? Isn’t that a better measure? I think they should go the whole hog and change it into a full comprehensive CPI. Because in the absence of the CPI, we will still have the same problem. Is WPI the right reflection of inflationary pressures? Then, there is the gap between WPI and CPI, which will remain. At present CPI has 25% weight on services, which is excluded from WPI, as it should be, for WPI is a wholesale price index. Wholesale doctor’s charges or school fees doesn’t make much sense. But we need to have a CPI that is comprehensive and representative of the “people of India”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:04 am R.S. Lodha's son is now Birla Corp chairmanHarsh Vardhan Lodha has been appointed the chairman of Birla Corp 'unanimously' by the board of directors, a company statement said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:03 am Central Bank to help Orissa's small enterprisesThe Orissa government has tied up with the state-run Central Bank of India to strengthen credit flow to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:03 am Congress upset with Raja for dragging PM into spectrum rowThe Congress party is 'unhappy' with Communications Minister A. Raja for dragging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name into the controversy over the allotment of 2G spectrum licences.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:01 am Gill laments decline of sports in PunjabWere drugs, alcohol and TV killing sports in Punjab? Sports Minister M.S. Gill lamented Friday that Punjab, which produced many record-breaking and illustrious sportspersons in the past, no longer enjoyed the same reputation.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 10:01 am Dr Reddy’s Q2 profit doubles on strong sales in US, RussiaHyderabad: Strong sales in markets such as the US and Russia as well as foreign exchange gains helped Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, the country’s second-biggest drug maker by revenue, more than double its net profit for the second quarter. The company sees a slower pace of growth in the third quarter but a rebound after that as it launches new drugs. Revenue for the three months to end September climbed 14% over a year ago to Rs1,836.8 crore. Net profit surged 106% to Rs217.3 crore. The results pumped up its stock. Dr Reddy’s shares rose 6.21% to close at Rs960.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday, far outpacing the benchmark Sensex’s 27-point, or 0.13%, rise to end at 16,810.81. Dr Reddy’s sales in the US grew 36%, in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by 26%, and in India by 13%, Satish Reddy, managing director and chief operating officer, said. The strong sales in these regions offset a 13% fall in sales in Europe mainly on account of a challenging environment in Germany, which will likely continue for some more time, he added. Overall, Dr Reddy’s global generics business rose 14% to Rs1,270.6 crore, and its pharmaceutical services and active ingredients unit by 11% to Rs537.5 crore. Umang Vohra, Dr Reddy’s chief financial officer, said volume growth in sales came from key markets with attractive margins. “The US and Russia are two markets where the margins are very high. While the average margins in the US market are 50%-60%, the margins in Russia are far higher than that,” he said. Dr Reddy’s also benefited from foreign exchange gains of Rs44 crore, low amortization of about Rs30 crore and low interest costs of about Rs20 crore. “The total swing on these three heads itself amounted to a benefit of some Rs80-90 crore in the quarter,” said Vohra. Ajay Parmar, an analyst with Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd, said excluding these gains, Dr Reddy’s still recorded a healthy growth of 57% in quarterly profit. Vohra, however, does not expect the third quarter to be as good. The high sales growth in the US was mainly because of issues with other drug makers and “there was a shortage of product availability in the market”. Many of these issues have been sorted out and Dr Reddy’s cannot expect to have a similar advantage in the third quarter, he said. Vohra was also skeptical about forex gains in the coming quarters. The average rupee-dollar exchange rate in the second quarter was Rs48 and in the third quarter the average rate is expected at Rs46-47, he said. “Compared to average forex rate of Rs44 a dollar in (the) second quarter of last fiscal, the average forex rate was Rs48 a dollar in the latest quarter, which means a Rs4 gain on every dollar of sale we had. This won’t be there in the coming quarter,” said Vohra. Commodity prices too were low in the latest quarter over a year ago, he added. G.V. Prasad, vice-chairman and chief executive, agreed the firm may not see similar growth in the third quarter. “This is also because the base level in sales and profits in the third and fourth quarters of last fiscal were high on account of sales from (the) market exclusivity of Sumatriptan (anti migraine drug),” he said. Vohra sees sales rebounding in the fourth quarter as the company launches new products. “We can see (the) launch of market exclusivity products such as Omeprazole in Q3 (third quarter), Allegra in Q4 (fourth quarter) of this fiscal and (a) few products in the first quarter of next fiscal,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 9:55 am NTPC net rises 2%, to pick banker for SA coal miner purchaseNew Delhi: State-run NTPC Ltd, India’s largest power generation utility, said second quarter profit rose 2% to Rs2,151.95 crore, an increase that was narrowed because of a one-time tax refund of Rs531 crore in the same year-ago period. In a separate development, NTPC said it will shortly appoint a merchant banker as part of its plans to acquire a South African coal mining firm aimed at securing coal supplies for domestic fuel-starved power projects. “We will appoint a merchant banker within a month through a bid process,” said R.S. Sharma, NTPC chairman and manager director. Mint reported NTPC’s plan to acquire the South African company estimated at $1 billion (Rs4,650 crore), which has an exploration licence for 1 billion tonnes of coal reserves, on 15 September. Revenue for the quarter ended 30 September rose 11.60% to Rs10,782.79 crore from Rs9,661.42 crore. The utility posted a net profit of Rs2,110.51 crore in the second quarter of 2008-09. “The results are as per expectations. If we take a look at the adjusted profits of Rs2,251.92 crore in this quarter and compare it to the adjusted profits of Rs1,849.05 crore in the second quarter of last year, you will see an increase of 21.7%,” Sharma said. “It should be an apples-to-apples comparison.” NTPC posted a net profit of Rs7,827.40 crore on a revenue of Rs42,182.40 crore in 2008-09. Fresh coal supplies are critical for NTPC as at least 80% of its installed capacity of 30,644MW is powered by the fuel. With 67% of the total power generation currently based on coal, the power sector is the largest consumer, absorbing nearly 78% of India’s coal production. NTPC requires 122.94 million tonnes per annum of coal and it expects this to grow further as a substantial portion of the capacity it is adding will be based on coal. NTPC generates 30,644MW of power and plans to add 22,430MW of capacity by 2012. “The static nature of the profitability of the business is illustrated by the fact that the long-term fuel supply and power purchase agreement gives stability to the revenue and profitability of NTPC,” said Gokul Chaudhri, partner at audit and consulting firm BMR Advisors. NTPC’s stock rose 0.80% to Rs214.65 at the close of trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. The exchange’s benchmark equity index, the Sensex, gained 0.13% to 16,810.81 points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 9:41 am Opposition guns for Raja over spectrum allotmentThe alleged irregularity in allotting wireless radio spectrum to telecommunication firms, which is said to have caused a Rs.22,000-crore loss to the public exchequer, has given Indian opposition parties a pitch to target the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), with many demanding the resignation of Communications Minister A. Raja.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:08 am India bans import of CDMA mobile without unique numberIndia has banned the import of CDMA mobile phones that do not have the unique serial number that enables tracking users.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am Aviation sector wants tax sops to lessen carbon emissionsThe International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global aviation industry lobby, Friday asked governments for more tax concessions to help carriers invest in fuel-efficient aircraft.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am UAE, India trade likely to grow over 50 percentThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is hopeful that trade with India would grow by more than 50 percent in the current fiscal.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 23 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am Reliance shares hit as partner says gas well dryMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Reliance Industries slid 4 percent to their lowest close in almost seven weeks after partner Hardy Oil and Gas said a well the companies drilled in a block off India's east coast was dry.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Oct 2009 | 7:09 am Pharma outlook: What\'s brewing at DRL, Lupin, Pfizer?Vikas Dandekar, India Bureau Chief, PharmAsiaNews.Com provides his outlook on some the pharmaceutical comapnies.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 6:32 am Nuclear Power Corp sees Rs 330bn outlay on Jaitapur\'s unitsTotal fund requirement for the first and second phases of Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd\'s plant at Jaitapur is seen at Rs 330 billion, Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Jain said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 5:42 am India\'s Sept power generation at 63.56 bn kWhIndia\'s electricity generation rose 7.5% on year in September to 63.56 billion kWh (kilowatthour), the Central Electricity Authority said. Electricity generation was 59.12 billion kWh a year ago.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 5:40 am Fin Min defers decision on Jet Airways\' QIP issue to FIIsThe Foreign Investment Promotion Board deferred decision on 14 proposals, including equity investment by foreign institutional investors through qualified institutional placement route in Jet Airways, an official release said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 5:24 am Galleon exits Shriram EPC in 2 block deals, stk surges 13%Galleon Fund has completely sold off its stake in Shriram EPC. It has sold 19.5 lakh shares in Shriram EPC in two block deals.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 5:00 am Developing countries must boost broadband: UNGeneva: Developing countries risk missing out on the benefits of information technology because of their lack of broadband infrastructure, a UN agency said. Lack of broadband Internet access deprives countries of the possibility of building up offshoring industries, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report late on Thursday. It also prevents people from tapping into all the advantages of mobile phones, whose use is exploding in poor countries. “The narrowing of the digital divide remains a key development challenge,” UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Petko Draganov said. “What is known as the broadband gap for example is becoming a serious handicap for companies in many poor countries,” he told a briefing to launch UNCTAD’s Information Economy Report. Companies and consumers are 200 times more likely to have access to broadband in developed countries than in the poorest Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the report shows. And the cost of broadband access varies widely - over $1,300 a month in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and Swaziland against less than $13 in Egypt or Tunisia. Broadband is essential for offshoring industries such as call centres and back offices, which many developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia want to develop and expand. Such industries are likely to expand despite the economic crisis because they enable companies in rich countries to cut costs, UNCTAD notes. Broadband allows consumers to make better use of their mobile phones - rapidly overtaking computers as the information and communications technology (ICT) tool of choice in developing countries. People in poor countries are using mobile phones for banking, to check markets and monitor the weather - reducing the need for travel and boosting productivity, UNCTAD noted. As a result mobile phone usage is growing. In Africa there are already 20 times more mobile subscribers than fixed lines, and India added almost 100 million new mobile subscribers in the first seven months of this year, it said. However, the economic crisis has hit sales of ICT goods such as phones and computers and trade in them declined dramatically last year, according to figures from the top six exporters - China, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, United States and Germany. Exports have recovered this year, especially from China, now by far the biggest ICT goods exporter. This is part of a continuing shift to dominance of the sector by Asia, which already accounted for more than half of ICT goods exports by 2007, UNCTAD said. ICT exports are not only growing faster in China than elsewhere, but are also the fastest growing sector in China. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am Narayana Murthy sells Infy sh to raise funds for VC fundNarayan Murthy has sold 800,000 Infosys shares to raise USD 37 million, reports CNBCTV18. The money will be used to launch the Catamaran Venture Fund.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 3:28 am Pfizer taps Indian drug cos for alliances: reportMumbai: US drug firm Pfizer has approached several Indian drugmakers for possible alliances to bolster its revenues, the Economic Times reported on Friday. Pfizer has tapped Cadila Healthcare, Emcure, Intas Pharma and Mankind Pharma, but the Indian companies have not responded favourably to the offers, the report said citing an unidentified senior industry executive with direct knowledge of the matter. “Pfizer approached Mankind Pharma with a lucrative offer, valuing the India company at $1 billion,” the report quoted another person familiar with the matter as saying. Mankind’s founder and managing director R.C. Juneja, however, denied that any multinational firm had approached it with an offer, the report said. Intas and Cadila did not respond to emailed queries from the paper and Emcure officials could not be contacted, it said. A spokeswoman for Pfizer Ltd when contacted by Reuters said, “We do not comment on rumours or speculation.” Some of Pfizer’s popular products are set to go off-patent in the next three years, exposing it to competition from cheaper copycat versions, the report said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am Interest rates may not harden this fiscal: BhattThe Chairman and Managing Director of State Bank of India, Mr O.P. Bhatt, does not foresee any hardening of interest rates in the second half of the fiscal due to the high liquidity in the system.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Oct 2009 | 2:43 am
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