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To use IPO money to fund expansion plans: Thinksoft GlobalAV Asvini Kumar, MD, Thinksoft Global Services Limited, said the company would use proceeds of the IPO to fund its expansion plan, especially to enhance its Chennai offshoring facility. With the expansion, we will be able to double the business volumes.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 7:33 am GE Energy to reenter India\'s wind energy marketGE Energy has returned to India with a Rs 150 crore order. The company has won its first order in India after 2005. An industry source says GE signed the Rs150 crore contract with Bhoruka Power, a Bangalorebased power generation company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 6:44 am Thinksoft Global zooms 20% after listingThinksoft Global had a lukewarm listing on the stock exchange today but soared 20% soon after. The company is raising Rs 45 crore via the IPO and plans to use those funds for expansion.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 6:38 am Nerves of steel: Sajjan Jindal\'s Rs60K cr dreamThe steel entrepreneur has set his sights on building a Rs. 60,000 crore diversified conglomerate in the next five years. To make this happen, he is trying to create CEOs in his own mouldIt was a night Sajjan Jindal will never forget.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 5:38 am BSNL to start due diligence on Vavasi, Zain Telecom soonStateowned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd plan to soon begin due diligence on Kuwaitbased telecom company Zain Telecom, said BSNL\'s Chairman And Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 5:35 am Market review for rupee - Commodity Online
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:18 am Jai Balaji raises Rs 200 crore via QIPAditya Jajodia, CMD, Jai Balaji Limited said the company has raised around Rs 200 crore via qualified institutional placement (QIP). \"The entire QIP money will be used for capex.\" The investors various investors that participated in the issue include Halbis, GMO, Reliance, UBS and New Vernon.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:17 am Sensex ends near day's low; realty,banks drag - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:16 am Power plants to get bulk of RIL's KG-D6 gas - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:15 am Thinksoft Global zooms 32% on debut - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am United Phosphorus Q2 net profit dips 16.15 pc to Rs 102.33 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes down 0.6 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally closed 0.58 percent lower on Monday, led by losses in energy giant Reliance Industries as it extended its fall, while traders booked profits in select stocks.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:07 am UPDATE 2-Electrolux Q3 profit doubles despite weak demand - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:03 am Kingfisher airlines asked to deposit Rs3.6 crore as dues to LufthansaThe Rs3.6 crore payable by Kingfisher in the court would cover the dues for three months -- July, August and September 2009. The matter has been adjourned to November 6.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:03 am Reliance Inds to post muted Q2; gas pricing row eyedMUMBAI (Reuters) - Weak refining margins will dent quarterly results at Reliance Industries, and a rise in gas production at a field off India's east coast and the resolution of a gas pricing row are key to future performance.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 4:02 am Sensex ends 70 pts down; Reliance extends fallMumbai: Indian shares closed 0.4% lower on Monday, led by losses in energy giant Reliance Industries as it extended its fall, while traders booked profits in select stocks. The 30-share BSE index ended down 70.31 points at 16,740.50 with 17 components losing. The 50-share NSE index closed down 0.7% at 4,970.90 points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:59 am Britain's top CEOs get 7.4 pct pay rise - studyLONDON (Reuters) - The heads of Britain's top companies have received inflation-busting pay rises, helping offset the first fall in bonuses for 10 years and as the country struggles in the longest recession on record.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am Dabur India July-Sept net rises 29.9 pct(versus the same period a year earlier, in billion rupees unless stated)Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:56 am MERC final regulations on change-over to be out in 8 monthsThe change-over process was delayed as the two companies differed over replacement of old meters of Reliance with new ones by Tata Power meter reading and wheeling charges.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am RBI set to hold rates: Analysts - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:49 am PREVIEW - Sony to book Q2 loss, rivals to fare betterTOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp is set to post a fourth straight quarter of losses this week, hit by weakness in its cellphone and video game operations, but other big-name rivals are expected to have managed a moderate earnings recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:37 am See shortage of Basmati rice due to poor monsoon: REI Agro - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:32 am Oriental Bank asks government for Rs10 billion capital infusionIt has one of the highest proportion of high-cost deposits in the sector and this has squeezed its net interest margin in the low interest regime prevailing since the end of last year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:22 am RComm reviews DoT special audit, rubbishes liability claimsReliance Communications says it has completed a preliminary review of the Department of Telecom, or DoT, ordered special audit report. Reliance Communications says it sees no additional liability on account of this audit and adds that the audit estimates of a liability of Rs 316 crore are incorrect.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:15 am Asian shares uneven; Seoul up on positive dataTokyo: Shares in Japan and South Korea rose on Monday, with Seoul lifted by strong economic growth data, while the dollar slid after a Chinese article said Beijing should raise its euro and yen holdings in its reserves. Shares in Europe were set to open flat. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC to open a few points higher. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was steady, holding below a near-15-month peak set last week, while S&P futures were flat, pointing to a stable start on Wall Street later. South Korea’s economy grew 2.9% in the July-September quarter, its fastest clip since early 2002, but much of the growth came from inventory adjustments. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 1.03%, lifted by foreign buying, with retailers such as Shinsegae Co Ltd gaining on hopes for improving consumption. Korean pharmaceutical firm Green Cross also helped, rising 14%. The United States declared 2009 H1N1 flu a national emergency and the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorisation for an experimental new drug for which Green Cross has the sole domestic licence to manufacture and distribute. In Australia, the main index ended 0.6% lower as banks slipped ahead of earnings this week, while Shanghai’s main index fell 0.3%, with travel-related stocks down on the US flu declaration and health-related shares up. Hong Kong and New Zealand markets were shut for a holiday. Japan’s Nikkei average ended up 0.77%, at 10,362.62, its highest close in four weeks, although it is still well below its 2009 peak. Traders said it was supported on the charts by its 75-day and 25-day moving averages at 10,250. Exporters such as Honda Motor Co got some relief from the yen’s recent retreat from strong levels, while machinery maker Kawasaki Heavy rose on a report of a high-speed rail project in China. “The market is optimistic about Japanese earnings as the reporting season heads into full swing,” said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities. Japan Airlines, which is seeking aid from banks and the government, gained 2.63% after a report that a state-backed body would oversee its turnaround. On Friday, US shares fell as weak results from industrial companies overshadowed stronger ones from tech and retail firms. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 1.08%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.22% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%. The dollar hit a 14-month low against the euro after an opinion piece in the Financial News, a paper published by the People’s Bank of China, said the dollar should remain the principal currency in China’s foreign exchange reserves but the share of euros and yen should increase. Markets are watching to see how concerned policy makers are globally about the dollar’s recent weakness. European Central Bank Governing Council member Christian Noyer, speaking in Singapore, made no comment on the euro against the dollar, which speculators took as an excuse to push the single currency higher. Oil fell for the third day and US crude futures slipped below $80 a barrel to $79.90 as investors took profits on cautiousness about the fragility of the global economic recovery. Gold held below $1,060. The metal was undermined by weak physical demand, keeping prices below this month’s record highs above $1,070 per ounce. US Treasury prices dipped as investors braced for a record wave of issuance this week, with the December 10-year future falling 6/32 to 117-13/32. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:05 am Telecom cos to expand optical fibre networkIndian telecom operators are expanding their optical fibre network in the country with an eye on increasing revenues from enterprise customers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:46 am ING to split in two, launch rights issueAMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch bancassurer ING Group NV will split in two as part of a restructuring deal with the European Commission, turning into a smaller Europe-focused bank over the next four years.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:43 am GAIL may be allowed to levy marketing margin on gasThe Petroleum Ministry is considering a proposal to allow GAIL (India) Ltd to levy a marketing margin of about 6.16 cents for a mBtu on gas sold at Government controlled price.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:42 am Hitachi cuts loss forecast, stimulus spending helpsTokyo: Electronics conglomerate Hitachi Ltd reduced its annual net loss forecast by 15%, bringing it nearer market expectations, with the firm citing a recovery in emerging markets, government spending and cost cuts. Hitachi, a sprawling conglomerate with more than 900 group firms, has been working to narrow its focus and slash costs as it heads for its fourth straight annual loss, hurt by its struggling consumer electronics and semiconductor operations. It said it now expects to post a net loss of 230 billion yen in the year to March 2010, against its prior forecast for a loss of 270 billion yen and closer. The new figures is closer to the consensus estimate of 218 billion yen in a poll of 14 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Hitachi said in a statement that the improved outlook was due to economic stimulus spending by governments around the world, an economic recovery in China and other emerging markets, and its own cost-cutting efforts. The company more than doubled its operating profit projection for the year to 80 billion yen from 30 billion yen. For the first half of the year, Hitachi said it estimated that it would post an operating loss of 25 billion yen, better than the 110 billion yen loss it forecast previously. Hitachi is due to report its results for the second quarter and the half year that ended on 30 September on Thursday. Restructuring efforts in divisions such as digital media and consumer products helped it return to an operating profit in the second quarter, Hitachi said. Ahead of the announcement, shares of Hitachi closed up 2.1% at 299 yen. ($1=91.71 Yen) Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:37 am Sales degrowth mainly due to US market: Ranbaxy - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:36 am Gold traders pick up bargains as prices easeMumbai: India wholesale gold traders picked up some bargains on Monday, as prices eased, to re-stock for the upcoming wedding purchases after better-than-expected festival sales in October, dealers said. “Demand is quite good as rates have come down to about $1,050 (an ounce) from the peaks,” said a dealer with a state-run bank. “Some correction in prices has resulted in a few enquiries and they are materialising. Demand is better than last week,” said Pinakin Vyas, chief manager-treasury with IndusInd Bank. International spot gold, which guides the domestic market, traded at $1,055.00/1,055.90 an ounce at 2:14pm, down 1.5% from the all-time high of $1,070.4 struck on 14 October. Traders sought to stock the yellow metal for the upcoming wedding season that will last till December. Indians bought 56 tonnes of gold during this year’s Dhanteras and Diwali week from 12-19 October, up 5.7%, the World Gold Council said on Friday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:35 am Ideal Energy to set up 540MW power plantThe first phase of 270 MW will be commissioned by November 2011 and the second phase a year later.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:33 am Idea Cellular July-Sept net at $47 mlnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Idea Cellular, India's fifth-largest mobile operator, on Monday reported consolidated quarterly net profit of 2.20 billion rupees ($47 million) on sales of 29.68 billion rupees.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:21 am Oil falls below US$80 for third day of lossesTraders will be looking to a slew of corporate results and economic indicators for guidance this week.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:59 am INTERVIEW - TCS says Asia-Pacific growth recoveringSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said its deal pipeline for Asia-Pacific has improved in the past two months led by financial services and revenue could grow at a double-digit pace this year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:50 am Heineken has held talks to buy Femsa: Financial TimesHeineken was seriously interested in the Femsa beer business because it would mark its last opportunity to major foothold in Latin America.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:43 am ING to split in two, launch rights issueThe stunning announcement from ING accelerates a move that many analysts had expected, but not for years to come.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:39 am India gold futures steady near recordA weak dollar enhances gold's appeal as an alternative investment.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:26 am ING to split in two, launch rights issueAmsterdam: Dutch bancassurer ING Groep NV on Monday said it would split itself in two as part of a restructuring deal with the European Commission, transforming itself over the next four years into a smaller Europe-focused bank. The company also said it would pay back 50% of its aid from the Dutch state early and launch a €7.5 billion ($11.25 billion) rights issue. The surprise announcement from ING accelerates a move that many analysts had expected, but not for years to come. ING had already set up separate boards to run its banking and insurance units but had denied any plans to split them. The dismantling process, which is expected to run through 2013, will effectively leave ING as a primarily European operation with some smaller units elsewhere. The company said its balance sheet at the end of the restructuring will be 30% smaller than before its 2008 government bailout. The restructuring deal between the Commission and ING is the most striking example yet of the deep changes the European Union’s executive arm plans to force on banks that received state aid. A rescue plan for Germany’s second-largest bank, Commerzbank , got the go-ahead from European antitrust regulators in May on the understanding that it divest about 45% of its balance sheet. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank Group, 70% and 43% respectively owned by Britain, are expected to be ordered into disposals by the European Commission. Belgium’s KBC and Franco-Belgian Dexia are also awaiting rulings from the executive arm of the 27-member European Union. Analysts have feared ING’s restructuring would have to be deeper than the €6 billion to €8 billion of asset sales that it announced in April, and in August it warned that that might be the case. ING said the divestment of the insurance operations would be completed by 2013, through IPOs and or sales. It will also split off some Dutch mortgage operations into a new company that would have about a 6% share of the Dutch mortgage market. Pursuant to the restructuring agreement with the EU, ING also said it will have to sell ING Direct USA, its American online banking business. ING separately said the CEO of ING Direct planned to take early retirement. Repaid Aid Subsequent to a revised agreement with the Dutch state, ING said it would repurchase €5 billion in core Tier 1 securities in December. ING received €10 billion from the state in October 2008. It will have to repay the aid at €10 per share, plus an 8.5% coupon payment and a repayment premium of between €333 million and €691 million. ING also said it would pay an additional €1.3 billion under an asset guarantee scheme from January. At that time ING and the state made a deal for the government to guarantee the risk on €22 billion of mortgage-backed securities at 90% of their par value. The EU had extended a review on that deal, saying it appeared the state paid too much for the assets. To finance those repayments and protect its ratios ING will launch a rights issue underwritten by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. ING said it will present the rights issue at an extraordinary general meeting on 25 November. The price, ratios and total number of shares will be announced after that. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:07 am ING to split in two, launch rights issueAmsterdam: Dutch bancassurer ING Groep NV on Monday said it would split itself in two as part of a restructuring deal with the European Commission, transforming itself over the next four years into a smaller Europe-focused bank. The company also said it would pay back 50% of its aid from the Dutch state early and launch a €7.5 billion ($11.25 billion) rights issue. The surprise announcement from ING accelerates a move that many analysts had expected, but not for years to come. ING had already set up separate boards to run its banking and insurance units but had denied any plans to split them. The dismantling process, which is expected to run through 2013, will effectively leave ING as a primarily European operation with some smaller units elsewhere. The company said its balance sheet at the end of the restructuring will be 30% smaller than before its 2008 government bailout. The restructuring deal between the Commission and ING is the most striking example yet of the deep changes the European Union’s executive arm plans to force on banks that received state aid. A rescue plan for Germany’s second-largest bank, Commerzbank , got the go-ahead from European antitrust regulators in May on the understanding that it divest about 45% of its balance sheet. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank Group, 70% and 43% respectively owned by Britain, are expected to be ordered into disposals by the European Commission. Belgium’s KBC and Franco-Belgian Dexia are also awaiting rulings from the executive arm of the 27-member European Union. Analysts have feared ING’s restructuring would have to be deeper than the €6 billion to €8 billion of asset sales that it announced in April, and in August it warned that that might be the case. ING said the divestment of the insurance operations would be completed by 2013, through IPOs and or sales. It will also split off some Dutch mortgage operations into a new company that would have about a 6% share of the Dutch mortgage market. Pursuant to the restructuring agreement with the EU, ING also said it will have to sell ING Direct USA, its American online banking business. ING separately said the CEO of ING Direct planned to take early retirement. Repaid Aid Subsequent to a revised agreement with the Dutch state, ING said it would repurchase €5 billion in core Tier 1 securities in December. ING received €10 billion from the state in October 2008. It will have to repay the aid at €10 per share, plus an 8.5% coupon payment and a repayment premium of between €333 million and €691 million. ING also said it would pay an additional €1.3 billion under an asset guarantee scheme from January. At that time ING and the state made a deal for the government to guarantee the risk on €22 billion of mortgage-backed securities at 90% of their par value. The EU had extended a review on that deal, saying it appeared the state paid too much for the assets. To finance those repayments and protect its ratios ING will launch a rights issue underwritten by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. ING said it will present the rights issue at an extraordinary general meeting on 25 November. The price, ratios and total number of shares will be announced after that. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:07 am Oil falls below $80 on economic recovery concernsPerth: Oil fell for the third day to below $80 a barrel on Monday, as investors continued to take profit from last week’s one-year high on renewed concerns about the strength of the global economy. Weak US industrial sector earnings last week pushed down stock markets and underscored concerns about the pace of the US economic recovery and its impact on energy demand. US crude for December delivery fell 51 cents to $79.98 by 12:36pm, after having earlier fallen as low as $79.57. London Brent crude fell 41 cents to $78.51. “Asian speculators are cutting their positions after the fall on Wall Street last week. But a rebound in the Dow Jones futures this morning has helped limit the drop in oil prices,” said Ryuichi Sato, an analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank. “But overall, the market is cautious about pushing oil prices higher because the demand fundamentals are still weak and the world economy is still fragile.” Comments from producer group Opec last week that it would raise output targets at a December meeting has also cast a pall on the oil market, analysts said. Stock bulls may hit the pause button again this week if a wave of earnings due from marquee names such as Exxon Mobil and a slew of economic data offer no new incentives to extend Wall Street’s seven-month rally. Even though the profits that have come in so far have proven to be surprisingly strong, US stocks have made very little headway, as investors search for more definitive signs the economic recovery is gaining strength. The dollar fell to a 14-month low against the euro on Monday as a Chinese report saying Beijing should increase its holdings of euros and yen in its foreign reserves led investors to sell the greenback. However, China was again the bright spot for the global economic outlook, following comments by vice premier Li Keqiang that the country’s economic recovery has been consolidated after having performed better than expected. Its strong economic growth was reflected in a 12.5% year on year jump in implied oil demand, the sixth rise in a row and first double-digit growth since August 2006. Money managers hiked net long crude oil positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the week to 20 October, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report on Friday. Open interest positions remained bulked at the NYMEX December crude oil $85 and $90 call options, according to Reuters data on Friday, after crude futures prices moved above $80 a barrel this week. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:06 am TCS says Asia Pacific growth recoveringTata Consultancy Services (TCS) said its deal pipeline for Asia-Pacific has improved in the past two months led by financial services and revenue could grow at a double-digit.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:01 am BSE Sensex down 0.2%; Reliance falls moreShares in Reliance Industries, which has the heaviest weight on the Sensex, extended losses and were down 0.9% at Rs2,028.10.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:53 am Workers plan massive protest on jobs, pricesNew Delhi: Millions of workers will be on the streets across India on Wednesday, picketing and holding rallies to protest rising prices and job losses, officials said, though there may be little impact on production. Four major trade unions, including those affiliated with the ruling Congress party and those with the opposition communists, have jointly called for the protests. “The entire trade union movement of the county unanimously raised their demands and on 28 October we are observing a national protest day,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary of the communist-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions. Among the demands are a ban on futures trading in commodities and making government aid to industry conditional on not firing workers, Sen said. He and other union leaders said workers would not stop work, but would attend the demonstrations before or after their shifts. Workers have been affected by the economic downturn that has shrunk domestic demand for goods and slashed exports, and led firms to shed jobs even as food prices stubbornly remain high. There has been a rise in strikes across the country and these have often turned violent. A manager at an auto-parts firm in south India was beaten to death by protesting workers last month, while the auto-manufacturing hub of Gurgaon, next to Delhi, has seen sporadic worker agitations for months. But D H Pai Panandikar, head of the think-tank RPG Foundation, said attendance would likely be thin and not lead to violence or cloud India’s investment climate. He linked the surge in trade union activity to a recent string of electoral losses by communist parties, both in Parliament and in states seen as leftist bastions. The communists were part of the previous Congress-led government, but pulled out a year before the general elections in a row over a civil nuclear deal with the United States. “As long as the communist parties had a coalition with the Congress, the trade union movement was a little bit quiet,” Panandikar said. But with the communists’ political defeats the unions have to rely more on direct action to show their existence, while the communists in turn need the union action to try to boost their support. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:52 am Workers plan massive protest on jobs, pricesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Millions of workers will be on the streets across India on Wednesday, picketing and holding rallies to protest rising prices and job losses, union officials said, though there may be little impact on production.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:48 am TCS says Asia Pacific growth recoveringSingapore: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said its deal pipeline for Asia-Pacific has improved in the past two months led by financial services and revenue could grow at a double-digit pace this year. But the growth in business will still lag the 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) seen in the past five years before the current financial year, Girija Pande, the Asia-Pacific head of India’s top IT services company by sales told Reuters in an interview on Monday. “Pipelines are improving, we think green shoots are now getting leaves,” Pande said. “Will it come back and reach the 40% revenue growth that we have in the past? I doubt it will. 40% growth are not easy to maintain, but that’s the CAGR we have, but certainly it will be double digit growth,” he added. Pande said the financial services firms are driving the deal pipeline for the Mumbai-based TCS, part of Tata Group that spans commodities, autos, and business services. He reiterated that Tata Consultancy, which provides services such as consulting, system integration and manages call centres, is aiming to raise its headcount in China to 5,000 people in the next five years, up from more than 1,000 now. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:33 am Emerging market asset bubble unlikely to burst soonNew York: Little more than a year after global financial markets collapsed after the US housing bubble burst, developing countries are giving birth to a new asset bubble -- one that investors bet will keep growing for some time. Cash has been flooding emerging markets since March as investors in pursuit of strong returns see countries such as China and Brazil leading global growth in the next few years, while developed world economies remain nearly stagnant. Those capital flows, which have been super-sized by the ample liquidity measures taken by central banks to fight the crisis, have lifted emerging market stocks more than 70% so far this year, according to the benchmark MSCI stock index. In Latin America, stock prices have soared over 90% this year on the MSCI while currencies like the Brazilian real gained more than 30%. And even though most of the gains simply account for a rebound from last year’s meltdown, some investors predict the rally is just starting, with only short-term corrections coming along the way. “I think there may be a bubble forming in some emerging market stocks, not just in Latin America, you see the same kind of pattern in Asia,” Standard & Poor’s chief economist David Wyss said. “There is just a lot of cash looking for yield and not quite believing that you can’t get 19% a year anymore,” he said, referring to the average returns of the S&P 500 during the 1980s and the 1990s. Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist of money manager GMO, forecast that the premium over earnings that investors pay for stocks in some emerging markets could reach 50% in coming years, as those countries have ”the people, the savings and the attitude” to convey a compelling growth story. Currently, emerging market stocks trade on average at a 13.6% premium of price to earnings, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters’ StarMine. “On a dividend discount model, emerging is already overpriced,” Grantham said. “But it has an appealing story that will transcend its value limitations. In other words, it will have a bubble.” Fast Living Governments in many developing countries have already expressed concern about the magnitude of capital inflows, which they see as a threat to exporters due to the currency appreciation. But attempts to reduce those inflows have proved ineffective so far. A 2% tax on foreign capital imposed by Brazil earlier this week brought only temporary losses to the Bovespa stock index and the real . The Brazilian benchmark stock index is still up some 75% so far this year and some analysts see it rising another 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Underscoring the huge appetite for emerging markets, stock funds dedicated to the asset class saw enough inflows this year to recover all of their 2008 redemptions and beat the record inflows of 2007, according to EPFR Global. Investors seem unlikely to back off from emerging markets any time soon. “Allocations to equities and emerging markets have risen, but remain well off the highs seen this decade. A ’bubble’ may yet emerge in Asian asset prices, but it is premature to consider a bursting of one,” UBS economist Larry Hatheway said in a research note. GMO’s Grantham, who said he thinks a new bubble “will suck in the money and it will go higher and higher,” said he remains overweight in emerging markets, even though it is becoming increasingly difficult for value-focused managers to justify current valuations. “It’s about time, if you play the numbers pure value, to start pulling back from emerging,” he said. “But if you want to live a little bit fast and loose, I think it’s going to go up.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:19 am Emerging market asset bubble unlikely to burst soonNew York: Little more than a year after global financial markets collapsed after the US housing bubble burst, developing countries are giving birth to a new asset bubble -- one that investors bet will keep growing for some time. Cash has been flooding emerging markets since March as investors in pursuit of strong returns see countries such as China and Brazil leading global growth in the next few years, while developed world economies remain nearly stagnant. Those capital flows, which have been super-sized by the ample liquidity measures taken by central banks to fight the crisis, have lifted emerging market stocks more than 70% so far this year, according to the benchmark MSCI stock index. In Latin America, stock prices have soared over 90% this year on the MSCI while currencies like the Brazilian real gained more than 30%. And even though most of the gains simply account for a rebound from last year’s meltdown, some investors predict the rally is just starting, with only short-term corrections coming along the way. “I think there may be a bubble forming in some emerging market stocks, not just in Latin America, you see the same kind of pattern in Asia,” Standard & Poor’s chief economist David Wyss said. “There is just a lot of cash looking for yield and not quite believing that you can’t get 19% a year anymore,” he said, referring to the average returns of the S&P 500 during the 1980s and the 1990s. Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist of money manager GMO, forecast that the premium over earnings that investors pay for stocks in some emerging markets could reach 50% in coming years, as those countries have ”the people, the savings and the attitude” to convey a compelling growth story. Currently, emerging market stocks trade on average at a 13.6% premium of price to earnings, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters’ StarMine. “On a dividend discount model, emerging is already overpriced,” Grantham said. “But it has an appealing story that will transcend its value limitations. In other words, it will have a bubble.” Fast Living Governments in many developing countries have already expressed concern about the magnitude of capital inflows, which they see as a threat to exporters due to the currency appreciation. But attempts to reduce those inflows have proved ineffective so far. A 2% tax on foreign capital imposed by Brazil earlier this week brought only temporary losses to the Bovespa stock index and the real . The Brazilian benchmark stock index is still up some 75% so far this year and some analysts see it rising another 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Underscoring the huge appetite for emerging markets, stock funds dedicated to the asset class saw enough inflows this year to recover all of their 2008 redemptions and beat the record inflows of 2007, according to EPFR Global. Investors seem unlikely to back off from emerging markets any time soon. “Allocations to equities and emerging markets have risen, but remain well off the highs seen this decade. A ’bubble’ may yet emerge in Asian asset prices, but it is premature to consider a bursting of one,” UBS economist Larry Hatheway said in a research note. GMO’s Grantham, who said he thinks a new bubble “will suck in the money and it will go higher and higher,” said he remains overweight in emerging markets, even though it is becoming increasingly difficult for value-focused managers to justify current valuations. “It’s about time, if you play the numbers pure value, to start pulling back from emerging,” he said. “But if you want to live a little bit fast and loose, I think it’s going to go up.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:19 am Baghdad bombs kill 132, government slams neighboursBaghdad: Two suicide bombs tore through Baghdad on Sunday, killing 132 people, wounding more than 500 and leaving mangled bodies and cars on the streets in one of Iraq’s deadliest days this year. The two blasts shredded buildings and smoke billowed from the area near the Tigris River. The first bomb targeted the Justice Ministry and the second, minutes later, was aimed at the nearby provincial government building, police said. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s office said that the bombs were meant to sow chaos in Iraq similar to attacks on 19 August against the finance and foreign ministries, and were aimed at stopping an election in January. “It is the same black hands who are covered in the blood of the Iraqi people,” a statement from Maliki’s office said. “They want to cause chaos in the nation, hinder the political process and prevent the parliamentary election.” US President Barack Obama said the bombings were outrageous and the White House said he had called Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to pledge to “stand with the Iraqis.” “These bombings serve no purpose other than the murder of innocent men, women and children, and they only reveal the hateful and destructive agenda of those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that they deserve,” Obama said in a statement. Violence has fallen since US-backed tribal sheikhs helped wrest control from al Qaeda and Washington sent extra troops. But attacks are still common in a nation trying to rebuild from years of conflict and prepare for the election at the same time as US forces start to withdraw. Officials have blamed unnamed neighbours for not stopping the attacks -- a reference to Iraqi complaints that Syria provides a safe haven for former Baathists while citizens of other Sunni Muslim states help fund the insurgency in Iraq. Iran, meanwhile, has been accused of funding and arming Shi’ite militia. “The neighboring and distant countries should immediately refrain, forever, from harboring, financing and facilitating forces that openly proclaim their hostility to the Iraqi state,” Talabani said in a statement. Attacks could rise in the run-up to the election -- the second national vote since U.S. troops invaded in 2003 -- as forces in and around Iraq jockey for influence over the world’s third largest oil reserves. Some lawmakers criticized the security forces for failing to stop the attack. Government officials blamed the bombings on al Qaeda or remnants of former leader Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. “BIG FAILURE” The area near the provincial building was flooded and fire fighters pulled charred and torn corpses off the streets. Burned cars piled up nearby. Workers on cranes combed the broken facade of the Justice Ministry, pulling out bodies wrapped in blankets. “I don’t know how I’m still alive. The explosion destroyed everything. Nothing is still in its place,” shop owner Hamid Saadi told Reuters by telephone from near the Justice Ministry. US forces provided forensics teams and bomb experts. Police sources said the bombs were carried in vans driven by suicide bombers while others said a truck and car were used. The al-Mansour hotel, which houses the Chinese embassy and several foreign media groups, was also damaged. US officials say the attacks are aimed at reigniting the sectarian conflict that gripped Iraq after the US-led invasion that deposed Saddam, or at undermining confidence in Maliki before the parliamentary poll. Maliki is widely expected to campaign on improved security. The attacks were launched as his government tries to sign multi-billion dollar crude deals, expected to turn Iraq into the world’s third largest oil producer. The bombings raise doubts about the Iraqi forces’ ability to take over overall security from US soldiers who pulled out of Iraqi city centers in June ahead of the complete withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. “This breach is a big failure of the security forces who are responsible, along with the security officials, for what happened,” said Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer, who heads the parliamentary bloc of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of Maliki’s main Shi’ite rivals in the coming election. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:04 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Net profit growth rate doubles in Sept quarterBL Research Bureau Profits of the 300 listed companies that have so far unveiled their September quarter results have grown more strongly than last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Wanbury (Rs 82.8): BuyWe recommend a buy in Wanbury from a short-term horizon. The stock has been on an intermediate-term uptrend, forming higher peaks and higher troughs, since March low of Rs 24. Following a corrective decline from August high of Rs 96, the stockSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Range-bound movement likely after last week’s haltThe market last week showed a temporary break in forward movement, but avoided a serious correction. Money flow-dictated softening of valuation, however, did not indicate beginning of any marked downtrend.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am US keen to push for bilateral investment treatyNew Delhi, Oct. 25 Ahead of the India-US Trade Policy Forum on Monday, the visiting United States Trade Representative, Mr Ron Kirk, is keen on pushing for a rigorous bilateral investment treaty between the two countries. This, he said, is boundSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Bond yields surge on rise in oil prices, hopes of RBI’s credit pushBangalore, Oct. 25 Bond yields firmed as oil prices surged and financial markets expected the Reserve Bank of India to provide an impetus for pushing up creditSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Correction awaits Comex goldComex gold futures ended lower in choppy trade as a rebound in the dollar pushed prices lower and erased gains made during the day. The expectation is for a weaker dollar still and, therefore, gold prices have not fallen much. Concerns thatSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Fundamentals, more than dollar, seen driving commodity pricesOver the last two months, in a large number of commodities covering energy, industrial metals, precious metals and agriculture, prices have gained strength. The period saw the US dollar depreciating in value vis-À-vis other currencies,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am GAIL may be allowed to levy marketing margin on gasNew Delhi, Oct. 25 The Petroleum Ministry is considering a proposal to allow GAIL (India) Ltd to levy a marketing margin of about 6.16 cents for a mBtu on gas sold at Government controlled price.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Limited downside seen for ITCI am holding November futures of Kotak Mahindra Bank, which I entered into at 782. Also, I bought October futures of TCS, which I entered into at 629. Kindly let me know the short- and medium-term trends on these counters. –Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Internet set for change with non-English addressesSeoul: The Internet is set to undergo one of the biggest changes in its four-decade history with the expected approval this week of international domain names or addresses that can be written in languages other than English, an official said Monday. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN the non-profit group that oversees domain names is holding a meeting this week in Seoul. Domain names are the monikers behind every Web site, e-mail address and Twitter post, such as “.com” and other suffixes. One of the key issues to be taken up by ICANN’s board at this week’s gathering is whether to allow for the first time entire Internet addresses to be in scripts that are not based on Latin letters. That could potentially open up the Web to more people around the world as addresses could be in characters as diverse as Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Hindi and Cyrillic _ in which Russian is written. “This is the biggest change technically to the Internet since it was invented 40 years ago,” Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the ICANN board, told reporters, calling it a “fantastically complicated technical feature.” He said he expects the board to grant approval on Friday, the conference’s final day. The Internet’s roots are traced to experiments at a US university in 1969 but it wasn’t until the early 1990s that its use began expanding beyond academia and research institutions to the general public. Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s new president and CEO, said that if the change is approved, ICANN would begin accepting applications for non-English domain names and that the first entries into the system would likely come sometime in mid 2010. Enabling the change, Thrush said, is the creation of a translation system that allows multiple scripts to be converted to the right address. “We’re confident that it works because we’ve been testing it now for a couple of years,” he said. “And so we’re really ready to start rolling it out.” Of the 1.6 billion Internet users worldwide, Beckstrom a former chief of US cybersecurity said that more than half use languages that have scripts based on alphabets other than Latin. “So this change is very much necessary for not only half the world’s Internet users today, but more than half of probably the future users as the use of the Internet continues to spread,” he said. Beckstrom, in earlier remarks to conference participants, recalled that many people had said just three to five years ago that using non-Latin scripts for domain names would be impossible to achieve. “But you the community and the policy groups and staff and board have worked through them, which is absolutely incredible,” he said. ICANN is headquartered in the United States in Marina del Rey, California. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 11:40 pm Rupee weakens tracking choppy stocksMumbai: The Indian rupee dropped on Monday tracking shaky domestic shares, which failed to provide clarity on the direction of foreign fund flows, but higher regional units and a weaker dollar prevented a sharp slide. At 11:05am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.60/61 per dollar, 0.2% below Friday’s close of Rs46.50/51. On Thursday, the rupee had dropped to as low as Rs46.82, its lowest since 7 October. “The rupee is just tracking the stock market and other Asian units today. Market is likely to be really quiet, it should hold in a range of 46.45-46.60,” a senior trader with a private bank said. “The central bank is expected to just give some sound bytes about how soon to tighten at the policy tomorrow, but that’s unlikely to have much impact on the rupee, unless there is a surprise cash reserve ratio hike,” he said. India’s central bank will keep its benchmark lending and borrowing rates on hold in its quarterly policy review on 27 October, a Reuters poll showed. Only three of the 20 analysts polled expected a hike in the cash reserve ratio. Shares were trading down 0.4%, after a higher start, amid subdued cues from Asia, and as traders awaited more clarity from corporate earnings. Foreign funds have bought a net $14.1 billion worth of shares so far in 2009, following net sales of more than $13 billion last year. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was 0.2% lower. All Asian units were stronger compared to the dollar. The dollar fell to a 14-month low against the euro on Monday as a Chinese report saying Beijing should increase its holdings of euros and yen in its foreign reserves led investors to sell the greenback. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs46.63/73, marginally below the onshore spot rate. “Higher capital inflows, in conjunction with smaller trade deficits (and thereby current account deficits), and continuing US dollar weakness, are likely to strengthen the rupee,” economists at Axis Bank said in a note. “The effect of a rate hike on capital flows remains uncertain, whether equity-related outflows will outweigh debt-related inflows,” they added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 11:26 pm India Fashion Week opens to glitz and glamourNew Delhi: Resplendent in an olive green ‘kurta’ with leaf motifs, former India cricket skipper Kapil Dev lent glitz on Saturday to India’s premier fashion event.  Former cricketer Kapil Dev displays a creation of designers Ashima and Leena during the Wills Lifestyle India FashionWeek, in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI “The show was how to make Delhi green...and to welcome the Commonwealth Games. That is how we have Kapil Dev and Tania,” Singh said. Asian Chess champion Tania Sachdev joined Dev on the catwalk to promote the Games. Designer Tarun Tahiliani showed his “goddesses” in white, flowy dresses while models for Ashima and Leena Singh wore cream and green embellished with colourful flower petals. Tahiliani’s collection consisted of his signature fluid drapes. “We used chiffon, drapes….nothing heavy, everything is meant to feel light, fluid…for the dreamy goddesses.” India’s traditional handspun ‘Khadi’ claimed centrestage as budding designer Rahul Mishra’s “Threads of Freedom” collection showed off classic muted colours of black, ivory, grey and indigo. “How can we give Khadi a chic look, which is made in village and can be sold across the globe. This was the entire idea (behind the collection),” Mishra said. India’s biggest fashion event will run from 24-28 October where 110 designers will vie for the attention of around 175 buyers. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 11:20 pm Roamware to launch micro-finance application for rural areasNew Delhi: Roamware Inc that provides mobile roaming solutions has said it is planning to launch a micro-finance application to enable mobile phone users, especially those who do not have access to banks, to carry out financial transactions. The company has started a pilot project on micro-finance in partnership with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. “We are already conducting pilots on the micro-finance application. Our development team is working very closely with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. We hope to introduce this application in India soon,” Roamware CEO Bobby Srinivasan said. The application would be aimed at rural population across the globe that seldom has access to banks. “The move into mobile banking and micro-financing is a natural extension for us as it leverages our customer relationships, business partnerships and technology innovation. It is a massive market opportunity for Roamware,” he added. Micro-finance is emerging as one of the segments that provides a huge market opportunity as a large chunk of the population does not have access to banks, analysts feel. Competition is intensifying in the segment with big players such as Nokia entering it. Nokia is also planning to launch a service called ‘Nokia Money’ in India, which will offer basic financial services on mobile phones by next year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 11:16 pm Ranbaxy swings to profit in Q3New Delhi: Ranbaxy Laboratories, India’s top drugmaker by sales, on Monday reported a quarterly profit compared with a loss in the year-ago quarter. New Delhi-based Ranbaxy, in which Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo owns a controlling stake, said its standalone fiscal third quarter ended September was Rs1.86 billion ($40 million), compared with a loss of 3.53 billion a year earlier. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm Ranbaxy swings to profit in Q3NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's top drugmaker by sales, on Monday reported a quarterly profit compared with a loss in the year-ago quarter.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Oct 2009 | 10:59 pm Sony partners with Netflix to stream movies on PS3San Francisco: Sony Corp said on Monday it is partnering with Netflix Inc to provide access to the online movie rental company’s library through Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console. PS3 users in the United States who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to instantly stream movies from the Netflix catalog at no extra cost. Sony’s move is just the latest salvo in its battle with Microsoft Corp and its Xbox 360 console as the two heavyweights vie to become the so-called “digital hub” of the living room. Both companies are using their consoles to provide content beyond games. “While gaming is clearly our core DNA I think we felt very confident three years ago when we debuted PlayStation 3 that this was going to be a device that was going to mean much more than gaming,” said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America. The Xbox already offers Netflix access, but users must pay $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold membership to use it. Although Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV episodes for instant streaming, it does not make its entire catalog available. Netflix will be up and running on the PS3 in November, Sony said. Initially PS3 users will utilize a Blu-ray disc to access Netflix, but it will eventually be available through a software update on the PS3. The PS3’s installed base numbers close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix has a US subscriber base of 11.1 million. The PS3, long the No. 3 console in the United States, is generating sales momentum following a recent price cut. In September, the PS3 was the top-selling home console in the United States for the first time, according to industry tracker NPD, dethroning long-running champion Nintendo Co. Tretton said the PS3’s strength has continued into October. “A lot of consumers were waiting for this price point .... The numbers are extremely good.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 10:41 pm Sony partners with Netflix to stream movies on PS3San Francisco: Sony Corp said on Monday it is partnering with Netflix Inc to provide access to the online movie rental company’s library through Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console. PS3 users in the United States who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to instantly stream movies from the Netflix catalog at no extra cost. Sony’s move is just the latest salvo in its battle with Microsoft Corp and its Xbox 360 console as the two heavyweights vie to become the so-called “digital hub” of the living room. Both companies are using their consoles to provide content beyond games. “While gaming is clearly our core DNA I think we felt very confident three years ago when we debuted PlayStation 3 that this was going to be a device that was going to mean much more than gaming,” said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America. The Xbox already offers Netflix access, but users must pay $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold membership to use it. Although Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV episodes for instant streaming, it does not make its entire catalog available. Netflix will be up and running on the PS3 in November, Sony said. Initially PS3 users will utilize a Blu-ray disc to access Netflix, but it will eventually be available through a software update on the PS3. The PS3’s installed base numbers close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix has a US subscriber base of 11.1 million. The PS3, long the No. 3 console in the United States, is generating sales momentum following a recent price cut. In September, the PS3 was the top-selling home console in the United States for the first time, according to industry tracker NPD, dethroning long-running champion Nintendo Co. Tretton said the PS3’s strength has continued into October. “A lot of consumers were waiting for this price point .... The numbers are extremely good.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 10:41 pm BSNL says Zain deal expensive: paperMumbai: Indian state-run telecoms firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) feels a $13.7 billion price for a 46% stake in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom is expensive, the Business Standard reported on Monday, citing the firm’s chairman. “We think at the current price the deal will be very expensive,” the paper quoted BSNL chairman Kuldeep Goyal as saying. The paper added BSNL was ready to pay no more than $10 billion for the stake, without attributing it to anyone. BSNL officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Last week Goyal said BSNL and another state-run firm Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd will soon start due diligence of Zain. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 9:37 pm Twin bombings target govt in Baghdad, over 100 killedBaghdad: A pair of suicide car bombings devastated the heart of Iraq’s capital, killing at least 147 people in the country’s deadliest attack in more than two years. The bombs targeted two government buildings and called into question Iraq’s ability to protect its people as US forces withdraw. The bombings show that insurgents still have the ability to launch horrific attacks even as violence has dropped dramatically in Iraq. Many fear such attacks will only increase as Iraq prepares for crucial January elections. The dead included 35 employees at the Ministry of Justice and at least 25 staff members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, said police and medical officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. At least 721 people were wounded, including three American contractors. The street where the blasts occurred had just been reopened to vehicle traffic six months ago. Shortly after, blast walls were repositioned to allow traffic closer to the government buildings. Such changes were touted by Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a sign that safety was returning to the city. The Iraqi leader walked among the mangled and blackened cars, which lay in front of blast walls that had been decorated with peaceful street scenes of Iraq. At the Justice Ministry, windows and walls on both sides of the street were blown away, and blood pooled with water from burst pipes. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 9:26 pm Stimulus to continue as world not completely out of crisis: PM!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said stimulus measures announced to help the economy to combat the global crisis would continue as world economy is still not completely out of trouble.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm Beware of terror funding: SEBI warns mkts!SEBI has directed all stock exchanges to keep a strict watch on UN-listed terror funding entities.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm RCom debunks Spl Auditor reports; says no irregularities in A/c!Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications Sunday debunked the special audit report and said it has neither inflated revenues nor evaded licence fees to be paid to the government.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm PM refuses to discuss Raja issue in public!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday refused to discuss in public Telecom Minister A Raja`s contention that he had consulted him on allocation of spectrum and parried questions on the demand for Minister`s removal.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm Anil group`s trust in Mukesh`s RIL goes unrequited?!Anil Ambani group`s mutual fund house trusts Reliance Industries to be of great investment value, but the Mukesh Ambani-led firm appears to have no interest in the largest fund house Reliance Mutual Fund.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm Audi looks at 50% growth; to assemble more models in India!Audi on Sunday said it is looking at over 50 percent growth in sales in both this and the next year in India, and is planning to assemble more models in the country as part of its strategy to achieve this target.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm Airtel launches global Ethernet services in four continents!Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Sunday said it has launched Ethernet services in more than 25 cities across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm AI seeks Rs 5,000 cr equity, promises to cut fleet-size!Air India is seeking an additional equity of Rs 5,000 crore from the government as it promises to squeeze its fleet size and reduce the wage bill of its 31,000-strong workforce.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm RIL hires over 1,500 engineers; head-count dips by 808!Reliance Industries added more than 1,500 engineers to its payroll but its total head-count dipped by over 800 employees during fiscal 2008-09, a period marked with massive job losses in India and across the world.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm No amnesty scheme for recovering black money: FM!India wants a comprehensive double taxation treaty with Switzerland to check the stashing of money by Indians in banks there but ruled out any voluntary disclosure scheme for such individuals.Source: Zee News : Business | 25 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm Quick Edit | The spectrum stingThe government has argued that it has a stake in the Ambani gas dispute because natural gas is a national resource that is being used by a private company for a fee. The same can be said about other resources such as telecom spectrum and mines where supply is naturally restricted and the industrial structure tends towards oligopolies. So it is very important that the rights to use these resources are given out in an open and transparent manner. The way 2G telecom was given out in 2008 led to a huge revenue loss to the government exchequer. We had called in these columns for the removal of telecom minister A. Raja for his role in the controversial decision to give rights based on who applied first rather than to the highest bidder. It is good that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been put on the job, though belatedly. CBI searched department of telecommunications offices last week. Open auctions and transparent revenue-sharing deals are the only long-term solutions. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pm Realtors make a cautious comebackBangalore/New Delhi: When Mumbai-based developer Sunil Mantri launched a project in south Bangalore in September, he knew he had to get the strategy right. His firm had bought the land in early 2008, the approvals were in place and it did a quick market survey before launching the project, its comeback in Karnataka after a decade. It priced the apartments at Mantri Royal at Rs2,500 per sq. ft, Rs500 lower than the market rate, and sold about 40 units in a month. Upbeat, Mantri started selling a second project, Mantri Primero, on Sarjapur Road, at Rs22-25 lakh an apartment, again less than the market price. Having burnt their fingers from investing in large-scale, pan-India projects that failed to take off, developers such as Mantri, DLF Ltd and Unitech Ltd are cautiously launching projects in new markets, after a forced sabbatical of 8-10 months during the downturn when they focused on their core areas of operation. Analysts say the time is right for expanding although the market has not revived fully and buyers are still hesitant. Flush with money raised through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) and private equity (PE) deals, many builders are eager to cash in on the return of demand. They are cautious, however, and have modified their business models to sidestep risks. For one, they are entering new markets with so-called affordable housing after many of them, during the boom, over-stretched themselves by buying land at steep prices for projects they later withdrew from. “Developers who have land in various cities need to monetize them, after waiting for nearly a year for the sector to improve, and this is a good time considering demand is inching back and the right project will bring in sales,” said an analyst with DSP Merrill Lynch (India) Ltd, who didn’t want to be named. New Delhi-based Unitech, for example, India’s second biggest listed developer, is expanding as there is limited demand in the national capital region (NCR)—which includes Delhi’s suburbs—and it needs to explore markets where it has land, the analyst said. Realty firms say they are trying to do things differently in a more challenging, post-downturn scenario, where the right pricing and apt projects are key to good sales. The pan-India strategy of Gurgaon-based DLF, India’s largest realty firm by market value, is to build on acquired land, execute the projects fast and work on reduced profit margins, said a company executive. The firm plans to launch residential projects in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kasauli and Goa in the coming year after recent launches in Kochi and Indore. These are in contrast with its township projects such as those in Bidadi in Karnataka or Dankuni in West Bengal from which it had to withdraw earlier this year because of the slowdown. “We are doing large projects of 100 acres, etc., in cities such as Chennai but we are not depending on the government to acquire land,” the executive said. “The projects are being developed on land bought by DLF.” When DLF withdrew from the Bidadi project, it blamed the state government for delaying land acquisition. “A lot of developers are not looking at acquiring new land parcels in cities they are expanding into,” said Anshuman Magazine, managing director, CB Richard Ellis, a real estate consultancy. “Developers are building on land that they had already bought as their liquidity situation is improving.” Mantri, chairman and managing director of Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd, which has 1,400 acres of land across India, agrees. “Though we have the land, we will go slow and study the responses from each new project before launching a new one,” he said. The firm has earmarked Rs600 crore as initial investment for projects in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Hiranandani Upscale, which thrives on building large townships, is raising Rs800 crore through PE funds for multiple projects both in smaller cities such as Pune or growth corridors in tier I cities. “Mumbai places constraints in terms of high rent and land value while Bangalore and Chennai have evolved as a suitable substitute,” said Neha Hiranandani, director, Hiranandani Upscale, which has projects in the three cities. “For us, this is a chance to expand into these markets and capture the opportunity.” The affordable housing concept too has pushed developers out of familiar territories. Unitech, which bought land nationally in the last five-six years, has launched projects in Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bhopal, Rewari and Mohali in the past six months, several under its affordable housing brand Uni Homes. Even for its recently launched premium project in Worli, south Mumbai, Unitech slashed rates by at least 30%. In a pre-launch aimed at investors, it sold nearly 150 out of about 300 apartments in the project within a month, analysts said. Unitech is focusing on developing its existing land parcels, said R. Nagaraju, general manager, corporate planning and strategy. But the risk in expanding into other cities is in setting up a large team in each region to undertake the projects with enough freedom to operate, he said. Bangalore-based Puravankara Projects Ltd plans to go pan-India through its affordable housing subsidiary Provident Housing Ltd. Encouraged by recent project launches in Chennai and Bangalore, it’s now aiming for Kochi, Hyderabad and Coimbatore. “These are early days and we first want to build in the southern cities because it’s a market we know and then venture beyond that, both in the west and east,” said Ravi Ramu, chief financial officer, Puravankara Projects. madhurima.n@livemint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 2:01 pm Ron Kirk | We’ve to commit, try a different approachNew Delhi: US trade representative Ron Kirk says the United States has started bilateral talks with India and Brazil to resolve contentious issues at the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Geneva. In an interview with Mint, Kirk advocates a combination of bilateral and multilateral negotiations to resolve thorny issues for a successful conclusion of the WTO’s Doha development round. WTO member countries, at a mini ministerial meeting in New Delhi in September, resolved to conclude negotiations by the end of 2010.  Resolving issues: Ron Kirk. Ramesh Pathania / Mint What are the key bilateral issues that you will be addressing through the Indo-US Trade Policy Forum? First of all let me say how pleased I am to be back. Quickly after being here last month for the mini Doha ministerial that we had, and I want to again extend my congratulations and gratitude to the Prime Minister and my counterpart, commerce minister Anand Sharma, for a very productive, very thoughtful session. But I am specially pleased to be back because now we have the chance to focus on bilateral issues. And the trade policy forum will allow and India regarding what us to hear from business communities both in (the) US is really happening versus what we think is happening. I think that will be critical. But we do believe that building on the progress that we have been making on the bilateral investment treaty is the most important and critical step that we can take. Trade between (the) United States and India tripled over the last decade, but on the other hand our trade with India is less than 10% of what it is with China. And with India representing the fastest growing middle-class economy, we think the good news is there is explosive potential both ways. So we want to look at those high-level issues that we can remove on either side that will help facilitate the growth of trade. What is the status of the proposed investment treaty with India? The good news is that we had a very productive meeting here last month...We have made very good progress and now (the) next meeting will come up in early 2010 (and) we hope to build on that and get to a point where we can get this bilateral treaty in place. Since the Delhi mini ministerial meeting of the WTO in September, what is the progress that has been made on the Doha talks? Since the Delhi ministerial there have been a couple of developments. One, we had the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in which the world leaders again made a very firm commitment and set as a goal for completion of the Doha development round perhaps as early as 2010. Second, the US has followed through on our commitment and our expressed desire to engage not only within multilateral forums which we have done in Geneva but also the required bilateral talks with a targeted group of countries. We have begun those talks and at least a good productive opening of discussions with both Brazil, and more critically, with India. But countries are reluctant to negotiate with the US at the WTO level because the Obama administration is yet to receive fast-track negotiating authority from the Congress. And that is also considered to be a lack of sincerity on your part. I think that’s a red herring. Some countries want to avoid the hard is following give-and-take that is required to bring Doha to conclusion. The US the same path and the same template with the Doha negotiations... that we did with the Uruguay round. In the case of (the) Uruguay round, once we had completed those talks, we went to the Congress, got trade promotion authority approval of the round. We can make the current progress we think we need. Not only for (the) US, more critically, President Obama, perhaps more so than any other president in recent times, very much believes in the core mission of Doha as a development round. He recognises that for the least developed countries, most of them should have access to the US market through our generalised system of preferences. All of the economic studies that have been done project that 60% of (the) world’s GDP (gross domestic product) over the next 15-20 years is going to come from some combination of regions around East Asia and more critically (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries and to some degree from from the Bric South Africa. So whatever we can do to open up those markets not only for developed countries, it will be of benefit to developing countries as well. But the problem is that countries apprehend that agreements reached with the USTR are not final and because the Congress has overriding power on such treaties, minus the fast-track negotiating authority, it may amend any such agreement. I am so beyond the point of listening to that sort of (argument). If that was the case, you would never have a multilateral agreement. Every WTO wants to take this back to their country. The US has been country in the able to get approval for a good, balanced, market opening trade agreement from our Congress every time we have sought. We believe that will be the case in this round and rather than worrying about the domestic environment in the US, what we are inviting other countries to do is let’s come to the table, let’s sit down in Geneva in the multilateral fora, do the hard work necessary to bring a closure to negotiations not only in agriculture and and non-agriculture sectors, but in goods, services and rules and start bilateral talks to give us the clarity we need and at that time we will be happy to go to the Congress and seek trade promotion authority. The moment we get that we will be happy to move the deal forward. You have recently said that you want to fast-track the agreement on services. We don’t want to fast-track. What I found hard to reconcile, when came to this job, everyone said we have got to do Doha (and) we cannot do I anything different than what we have done--which in our mind is a prescription for failure. We had three successive rounds, and for a lot of reasons, most of it having nothing to do with the US, failed. But we have been governed by this guiding principle that nothing is settled until everything is settled. But all we have done for the most part is focus on agriculture and non-agriculture market access. There really has been no substantial discussion about changes and strengthening on the rules agenda and really no work in services. We believe that by looking at all these issues horizontally (as well as bilateral talks), it gives the opportunity to have more clarity as to what the market access opportunity (is) for all economies and puts us in a much better position to come to a successful resolution. But it is considered against the mandate of the Doha negotiations, which says that a sequential approach needs to be followed. First agriculture and non-agricultural market access (Nama) need to be settled and then you negotiate rules and services. I don’t know where it came from. I believe one definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. We have to commit and try a different approach if we really are committed to a successful conclusion of (the) Doha round. I frankly do not understand the fear. We are able to do more than one thing at one time. We are pretty far down the road in agriculture and Nama. To me this is like a natural progression to move forward in our discussions on rules and services as well. And one of the good things to come out of the Delhi ministerial was the recognition that we not only need to have sustained talks on multilateral and bilateral fora but we need to move forward horizontally as well. asit.m@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 1:56 pm Crompton Greaves' march across Europe pays offWhat do the worlds highest wind turbine, the Paris metro and a sweaty Delhi resident sheltering under a ceiling fan have in common? The answer lies in an Indian company that has in a period of four years transformed itself into a transnational entity to be reckoned with: Crompton Greaves.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Oct 2009 | 1:50 pm Promoters make hay in bull marketPromoters of around 200 large- and mid-cap companies have sold parts of their holdings to raise a combined Rs 50,000 crore in the second quarter of this financial year (July-September), according to the shareholding pattern filed by these companies with stock exchanges.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Oct 2009 | 1:47 pm India Inc making up for lost time in raising fundsThe lull has given way to a storm. After a year of waiting on the sidelines, India Inc is raising money with a vengeance. In the last four months alone, companies have raised nearly Rs 90,000 crore in equity and debt. And the party looks set to be a long one, with companies planning to raise another Rs 100,000 crore in the next six months.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm India, China in talks for free trade pactHua Hin, Thailand: India said on Sunday that it is in discussions with China for a free trade agreement (FTA) to break down duty barriers to bilateral trade. The statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came a day after he and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met here and agreed not to let differences between the two countries to hurt bilateral cooperation. The two nations have had barbed exchanges recently over issues such as sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.  Joining hands: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (left) with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Saturday. AP “We are in discussions with Japan, China, Thailand and Malaysia and other countries to conclude agreements of a similar nature,” Singh said at the Fourth East Asia Summit here. Faced with a huge trade imbalance in favour of China, Indian industry has strongly opposed signing any FTA-like pact with it. The commerce ministry has launched a number of investigations against China for allegedly dumping goods in the Indian market. Against exports of $9.26 billion (around Rs43,000 crore), imports from China to India totalled $31.33 billion in the last fiscal year. India is also in favour of creating a large Asian trade and investment community. Singh said that the focus should be on creating local demand as economies try to emerge from the financial crisis. “Our focus should be on generation of stronger domestic demand in Asian economies through investment in infrastructure, creation and strengthening of the social welfare,” he said. Singh and Wen agreed on Saturday that the two countries should handle carefully the differences over the borders which should not be allowed to act as impediments. It was important for the two fastest growing economies in the world to live in harmony to ensure that the present century belongs to Asia, both leaders said. Singh said the vision of economic integration by coalescing the FTAs into a regional trade agreement is a pivotal step towards the integration of Asia into a common unit. “This can lead to the creation of a broader Asian economic community,” he said, adding that there was a need to move forward in this direction and “exhibit the requisite political will”. Bilateral talks between New Delhi and Beijing are expected to come under spotlight during the tri-nation meet of Russia, India and China here on October 27, as the two Asian giants seek to take forward the initiative by their Premiers to ease tensions over the border issue. Indian foreign minister S M Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi would hold bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the three-nation meet close on the heels of the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Thailand on the margins of the Asean -India summit on Saturday. Russia will be represented by Sergei Lavrov. Meeting in the backdrop of intensified rhetoric between the two nations over Arunachal Pradesh, Singh and Wen agreed that bilateral issues should be properly handled through talks but skirted the row over the north eastern state. In their fifth standalone meeting, the foreign ministers of the three countries are expected to discuss regional and international issues apart from working out a strategy to explore ways to strengthen their trilateral cooperation. The city is playing host to a major international event 23 years after the SAARC summit staged during November, 1986. The meeting apparently being held here at the initiative of Krishna, a former chief minister of Karnataka, will also outline common goals and objectives of the countries and try to synergise their efforts to achieve them. The visiting foreign ministers along with their team of officials will arrive in the city by tomorrow evening. Tight security arrangements have been put in place for the meeting. Official sources said the foreign ministers would hold a joint media briefing by afternoon at the conclusion of their meet which would also focus on issues of energy security, climate change, counter-terrorism and trans-national crime. Krishna-Yang meeting assumes greater significance in the backdrop of heightened spat between the two nations after China objected to the visit by Singh to Arunachal Pradesh, raking up its claim over the state. China’s assertion had evoked strong response from India which declared Arunachal Pradesh as its integral part and questioned Beijing’s involvement in projects in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, saying it was not in the interest of Sino-India relations. Beijing had also protested Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s proposed visit to Arunachal Pradesh next month but New Delhi has said he was free to visit any part of India. Issue of visa to people from Jammu and Kashmir on loose sheets by China, to which New Delhi took exception, and Beijing’s reported move over upstream water projects on the Yaluzangbu, Brahamaputra on the Indian side, had also added to the rising temperature in their relations. The Manmohan-Wen meeting on Saturday has, however, lent a conciliatory tone with the two leaders underlining the importance of building trust, harmony and better understanding in their bilateral ties. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Oct 2009 | 1:45 pm IIMs sharpen focus on foreign partnerships - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Oct 2009 | 12:39 pm
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