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Govt paying fair price for cane a positive: Balrampur ChiniAccording to Vivek Saraogi of Balrampur Chini the move towards fair and remunerative price (FRP) is the most positive development.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 6:50 am CII Biz Confidence Index up 7.4 pts; signals eco recoveryNW18: CII Business Confidence Index up 7.4 points; signals econ recoverySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 6:15 am Pranab meet with states on GST rescheduled to Nov 10The meeting of Empowered Committee of state finance ministers with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to finalise the model for goods and service tax, slated for Tuesday, has been rescheduled to November 10, a government official said today.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 5:20 am Wipro\'s strong results set tone for IT sector aheadIT major Wipro today declared its secondquarter results. The company surpassed most brokerages\' estimates. It could well set the tone for the entire IT industry ahead.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 5:00 am CER mkt future in limbo as climate pact consensus elusiveThe future of carbon credit markets is shrouded in doubt as global consensus on a new anticlimate change pact remains elusive.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:35 am Tata Steel Net Falls as Lower Prices Outweigh Demand - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:28 am RBI begins unwinding loose monetary policyThe RBI laid the groundwork for a rise in interest rates by tightening credit to the commercial property sector, lifting its inflation forecast.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:26 am RBI may hike CRR by year end: Experts - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:25 am Lupin: Steady growth - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:25 am Wipro Q2 net up 21%, beats forecastShares in Wipro, majority-owned by billionaire chairman Azim Premji, soared 59% in July-Sept versus a 39% rise in the sector index and 18% in the main index.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:23 am Nifty plunges to end near 4840; realty, metal tank - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:22 am RBI review in line with govt thinking: FMRBI kept key rates unchanged, while hiking Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), the deposits that commercial banks are to park in government securities, by one percentage points to 25%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:18 am Max New York Life offers 'Universal Life' PlanMax New York Life Insurance Company Limited has launched the "Max New York Life Secure Dreams".Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:16 am Top Washington lawyer takes on Rajaratnam caseRajaratnam, arrested and charged with reaping millions in illegal profits through a network of inside informers at several major U.S. companies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:12 am INTERVIEW - Anant Raj Ind sees low cost housing driving growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - Real estate firm Anant Raj Industries Ltd has bought land worth 2 billion rupees in distressed sales and sees affordable housing driving revenues in FY10, a senior official said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am FACTBOX - Impact of RBI policy stepsMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday said it was starting to unwind some of the extraordinary policy easing and liquidity support measures taken to shore the economy up against the global credit crisis and economic slump.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:07 am Close: Markets plunge over 2% on unsatisfactory RBI policyMumbai: Indian shares dropped 2.3% on Tuesday, with banks amongst its top losers, as the Reserve Bank of India laid the groundwork for raising interest rates, even as it maintained status quo on its key rates at the policy review. The bank index declined nearly 4% to 9,664.85. The 30-share BSE index ended down 387.10 points at 16,353.40 points with 24 components losing. The 50-share NSE index closed down 2.6% at 4,846.70 points. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 4:06 am Jet Airways' Sept qtr loss widens(versus the same period a year earlier, in billion rupees unless stated)Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:59 am Nintendo Wii sales lose momentum despite price cutTokyo: Japanese video game and console maker Nintendo Co. reports fiscal first half earnings on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. Nintendo, whose profits have gained every year for the last six years, may be facing a loss of momentum in sales of its Wii home console. Rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have not only come up with similar wandlike controllers that track player’s motions but they have also slashed prices on their offerings, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 machines. To stay competitive, Nintendo, which also makes Super Mario and Pokemon game software, recently cut the Wii price to 20,000 yen ($217) from 25,000 yen ($272) in Japan and to $200 from $250 in the U.S. But an earlier price cut for the Sony PlayStation 3 to about $300 has been effective in boosting its sales. The Wii is now about the same price as Microsoft’s low-end Xbox 360 Arcade. The price on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Elite was cut to about $300 in August. The strengthening yen is another factor hurting the bottom line of export-dependent Nintendo. Nintendo is forecasting a 7.5% rise in net profit to 300 billion yen ($3.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2010 from the previous fiscal year, on 1.8 trillion yen ($19.6) revenue, down 2.1% on-year. The Kyoto-based manufacturer expects to sell 26 million Wii machines and 30 million DS machines in the 12 months through March 2010. The Wii is still the top-selling home console, having sold nearly 53 million globally since its 2006 introduction. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect fiscal year profit of 279 billion yen ($3 billion), about the same as the record profit in the previous fiscal year. Analyst take Yusuke Tsunoda, analyst with Tokai Tokyo Securities, said the Wii has sold so well, nearly to the point of market saturation, that it may take the arrival of a totally new machine to get sales to take off significantly again. “The price cut on the PlayStation 3 was effective because people are getting a high spec Blu-ray disc player for a good price,” he said. Nintendo is expected to give some hints on game software in the works, which should be useful for gauging its prospects, Tsunoda said. What’s ahead Like other gaming and electronics makers, Nintendo faces a big test in wooing consumers during the year-end shopping period. The global slowdown has taken its toll on Nintendo’s key US market, although company officials have repeatedly said the game business is relatively recession proof. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:58 am Nintendo Wii sales lose momentum despite price cutTokyo: Japanese video game and console maker Nintendo Co. reports fiscal first half earnings on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. Nintendo, whose profits have gained every year for the last six years, may be facing a loss of momentum in sales of its Wii home console. Rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have not only come up with similar wandlike controllers that track player’s motions but they have also slashed prices on their offerings, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 machines. To stay competitive, Nintendo, which also makes Super Mario and Pokemon game software, recently cut the Wii price to 20,000 yen ($217) from 25,000 yen ($272) in Japan and to $200 from $250 in the U.S. But an earlier price cut for the Sony PlayStation 3 to about $300 has been effective in boosting its sales. The Wii is now about the same price as Microsoft’s low-end Xbox 360 Arcade. The price on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Elite was cut to about $300 in August. The strengthening yen is another factor hurting the bottom line of export-dependent Nintendo. Nintendo is forecasting a 7.5% rise in net profit to 300 billion yen ($3.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2010 from the previous fiscal year, on 1.8 trillion yen ($19.6) revenue, down 2.1% on-year. The Kyoto-based manufacturer expects to sell 26 million Wii machines and 30 million DS machines in the 12 months through March 2010. The Wii is still the top-selling home console, having sold nearly 53 million globally since its 2006 introduction. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect fiscal year profit of 279 billion yen ($3 billion), about the same as the record profit in the previous fiscal year. Analyst take Yusuke Tsunoda, analyst with Tokai Tokyo Securities, said the Wii has sold so well, nearly to the point of market saturation, that it may take the arrival of a totally new machine to get sales to take off significantly again. “The price cut on the PlayStation 3 was effective because people are getting a high spec Blu-ray disc player for a good price,” he said. Nintendo is expected to give some hints on game software in the works, which should be useful for gauging its prospects, Tsunoda said. What’s ahead Like other gaming and electronics makers, Nintendo faces a big test in wooing consumers during the year-end shopping period. The global slowdown has taken its toll on Nintendo’s key US market, although company officials have repeatedly said the game business is relatively recession proof. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:58 am Fortis Healthcare Q2 net up by 23% on expansionNew Delhi: Driven by robust growth in its larger units, hospital chain Fortis Healthcare today reported a 23.4% increase in net profit at Rs12.9 crore for the second quarter ended on 30 September. The company had reported a net profit of Rs10.5 crore in the similar period last year, Fortis Healthcare said in a statement. “During the quarter, our larger hospitals located in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur and Bangalore have reported robust growth which has pushed the net profit,” Fortis Healthcare president strategy and organisation Daljit Singh told PTI. During the quarter, in terms of the total income it has reported an increase of 20.9% at Rs190.49 crore as compared to Rs157.54 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. In the second quarter, it has executed an agreement for acquisition of 10 hospitals (including two under construction) from Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd for Rs909 crore, which will add 1,902 beds to its capacity and enlarge its footprint in southern, western and eastern regions of India. Singh, however, declined to comment on queries related to contribution from Wockhardt hospitals in its total income. The company expects the acquistion to be completed by December 2009. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:55 am De Beers' output to halve this yearSurat diamond ind is still optimistic of good months ahead .Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:52 am BANKERS' VIEW - Bank chiefs react to monetary policyMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday began the first phase of its exit from expansionary policy by ending some liquidity support measures taken when the global crisis hit Asia's third-largest economy harder than expected, but left key policy rates unchanged.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:51 am Govt seeks Rs11,800 cr central assistance for state VGF schemeThe viability gap funding scheme requires total provision of Rs35,401 cr.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:50 am Oil Little Changed Around $78 on Forecast US Supplies Grew - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:37 am Tata Steel India Q2 net down 49.5 pct, lags forecastMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Steel Ltd, the world's No. 8 steel maker by output, on Tuesday reported a 49.5 percent fall in September quarter profit from its Indian operations, as prices tumbled on the back of the global economic crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:36 am RBI begins unwinding loose monetary policyMUMBAI (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) laid the groundwork on Tuesday for a rise in interest rates by tightening credit to the commercial property sector, lifting its inflation forecast and warning of the threat of asset price bubbles.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:33 am RBI begins unwiding loose monetary policyMumbai: India’s central bank laid the groundwork on Tuesday for a rise in interest rates by tightening credit to the commercial property sector, lifting its inflation forecast and warning of the threat of asset price bubbles. As expected, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left key interest rates on hold but surprised markets by removing emergency liquidity support measures that were implemented to protect Asia’s third-largest economy from the global downturn. Stocks extended losses to 2.5% after the quarterly policy review and property shares fell 7.3% as the RBI raised bank provisioning requirements for commercial real estate loans. “This could be one way for them to signal rate hikes are imminent. It is tightening of course,” said Ramya Suryanarayanan, economist at DBS in Singapore. Despite the tightening, government bond yields fell after the central bank raised the amount of deposits banks are required to keep in government securities, soothing worries about the market’s ability to digest this year’s record borrowing. The Reserve Bank, which has been under pressure from government officials to maintain its loose monetary policy, kept its growth forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2010 at 6% with an upward bias. India’s economic growth slowed to 6.7% in the year through March after three years of growth at 9 percent or more. However, the central bank raised its fiscal year-end projection of wholesale price inflation to 6.5% from 5%, with an upward bias, reinforcing market expectations that the central bank will start raising rates early next year. Some economists see inflation hitting about 8% by March, much above the central bank’s comfort zone seen at about 5%. “It may be appropriate to sequence the exit in a calibrated way so that while the recovery process is not hampered, inflation expectations remain anchored,” the central bank said in its quarterly review. “The ‘exit´ process can begin with closure of some special liquidity support measures,” said the bank. It also said there was a “critical need” for the government to borrow less and help sustain moderate interest rate levels. So far, Australia is the only Group of 20 economy to raise rates amid signs of an easing in the global crisis, but India and South Korea are expected to follow its lead in months ahead. All three share concern that keeping monetary reins loose for too long could fuel speculative bubbles in financial and property markets. Indian stocks have risen about 74% since the start of the year and the central bank noted that property prices have risen “significantly” in major cities. “They are saying, even though signs of recovery are incipient, the equity and commodity markets are running ahead of fundamentals,” said Murthy Nagarajan, head of fixed income at Mirae Asset Management. Tigtening liquidity Effective immediately, the RBI ended a special repurchase facility for banks and another for the funding needs of non-bank financial companies, mutual funds and housing finance companies. It also ended a foreign exchange swap facility for banks, and cut an export credit refinance facility to a pre-crisis level of 15% from 50% with immediate effect. The central bank also raised the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of commercial banks to 25% from 24% effective 7 November, and said the collateralised borrowing and lending obligation liabilities of banks would be subject to cash reserve ratio requirements from 21 November. Analysts said raising the liquidity ratio would make it easier for the government to borrow and the bond market welcomed the move with the benchmark 10-year government bond yield falling 21 basis points. The government plans to borrow a record Rs4.51 trillion ($96.1 billion) this year to finance a fiscal deficit of 6.8% of GDP. “Going forward, we will have a reasonably high fiscal deficit, but the rise in SLR would help the government borrow more without widening this deficit,” said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank. The central bank has cut its short-term lending rate by 4.25 percentage points between October and April to 4.75%. The reverse repo rate, at which the central bank absorbs surplus cash, has been cut by 2.75 percentage points to 3.25%. In the review, the RBI said bank credit remained sluggish and cut its forecast for adjusted non-food credit growth in 2009/10 to 18% from 20%. “Banks are urged once again to step up their efforts towards credit expansion while preserving credit quality which is critical for revival of growth,” it said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:33 am FTSE flat as BP gains offset weaker banks, minersLondon: BP’s better-than-expected results on Tuesday lifted the oil giant and other energy stocks just enough to offset weakness in miners and banks, to leave Britain’s top shares near flat in early trade. By 0937GMT, the FTSE 100 was 7.49 points lower at 5,200.14 after closing down 50.83 points, or 1.0%, at 5,191.74. Oil giant BP was the major driver of blue-chip gains, up 4.7% after it reported a halving of third-quarter profits but beat forecasts by a wide margin. BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy added 0.1 to 1.1%. “We can put this move higher down to BP,” said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads. “It’s benefiting other energy stocks, but miners and banks, which were the major drivers of the rally before are lower, so we’ll have to see if the rally can be maintained.” The FTSE 100 has gained 50% since touching a six-year trough in March and is has risen for each of the last four months, the longest such winning streak since 2006. With the corporate earnings season already underway in the US, investors focus on third-quarter results from UK companies like British American Tobacco and GlaxoSmithKline for fresh clues to the recovery in corporate health. Banks were the biggest drag on the index, with Royal Bank of Scotland the worst performer, down 5.6%. Investors were unsettled after fears mounted on Monday that Lloyds Banking Group and RBS would be ordered into disposals by the European Commission after Dutch peer ING announced it would split into two and launch a €7.5 billion rights issue. Lloyds was down 4.6% while Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered fell 1 to 4%. Insurers were also pressured as sentiment in the financial sector soured. Prudential, Aviva and Legal & General lost 2.1 to 2.6%. Heavyweight miners were weak as metal prices fell as doubts about the demand outlook resurfaced. Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Lonmin, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lost 0.6 to 2.5%. Among gainers media issues saw interest. Publishing group Reed Elsevier added 3% as Exane BNP Paribas raised the stock to “outperform” from “neutral” and upped its stance on the European media sector to “outperform”. Investors will watch the CBI distributive trade report for October due at 1100 GMT, while U.S. economic data set for release on Tuesday include the August figures for the S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices at 1300 GMT and U.S. consumer confidence numbers for the same month at 1400 GMT. The Bank of England’s quantitative easing policy will not cause a future surge in inflation, BoE policymaker Adam Posen said on Monday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:32 am GMR Infra Q2 net dips 40 pc; to raise Rs 1000 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:29 am Tata Steel Q2 net down 49.5% on price fallMumbai: Tata Steel Ltd, the world’s No. 8 steel maker by output, on Tuesday reported a 49.5% fall in September quarter profit from its Indian operations, as prices tumbled on the back of the global economic crisis. The company, which acquired Europe’s second-largest steelmaker Corus in 2007, said standalone net profit fell to Rs903 crore ($192 million) for the fiscal second quarter, from Rs1,788 crore reported a year earlier. Net sales fell to Rs5,630 crore from Rs6,730 crore. A Reuters poll of 11 analysts had estimated a standalone net profit of 10.2 billion rupees on net sales of Rs6,067 crore. Tata Steel bought European steel maker Corus in 2007. The Indian operations account for about a quarter of the group’s annual global capacity of 30 million tonnes. Global steel production has tumbled this year, as demand from key industries such as construction and automotive shrank. But as macroeconomic data improves and inventories deplete, demand is gradually coming back, encouraging steelmakers to restart some idled capacity. Shares in Tata Steel, valued at about $10.1 billion, fell as much 7.3% to 501.35. The shares rose 30.6% in the September quarter, outperforming the benchmark index that improved 18.2%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:16 am Clients of company played whistle-blowerAccused trio in BPO theft gets bail.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:09 am Mukherjee sees easy policy until firm recoveryNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The easy monetary policy is likely to continue until economic recovery is firm, finance minister said on Tuesday, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started the first phase of its exit from easy policy but held rates steady.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:05 am Data outsourced from BPOsExperts say inexperienced youth set up biz, resort to data theft to cut costs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:05 am Markets shed 2% on banks fallMumbai: Indian shares extended losses to 2% on Tuesday afternoon, led by losses in banks, as the central bank laid the groundwork for raising interst rates, even as it maintained status quo on its key rates at the policy review. At 2:28pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 2.03% at 16,400.28 points, with 26 components falling. The 50-share NSE Index was down 2.15% at 4,863.85. Indian shares extended losses to 1% on late morning, led by losses in banks, which edged lower after the central bank’s quarterly monetary policy review and as global cues stayed weak. At 11:55am, the 30-share BSE index was down 1.07% at 16,560.91 points, with 25 components declining. The 50-share NSE Index was down 1.2% at 4,913.10. “We will continue to trade lower today. There won’t be any change in direction after RBI’s policy, because we as it is do not expect many changes there,” said D. D. Sharma, senior vice-president at Anand Rathi Securities. “The important support level of 4,950 on Nifty is broken. If we close below that level today, the trend in near-term will be negative,” added Sharma. Private lender ICICI Bank was down 0.6% at Rs885.85, while rival HDFC Bank shed 1.15% to Rs1,668.50. Top lender, State Bank of India, bucked the trend, and rose 0.9% to 2,326.90. Energy giant Reliance Industries extended losses and was down 1% at 1,994.50. Wipro, the country’s third-largest software services firm, led the gainers, as it beat estimates with a 21% rise in quarterly profit and forecast strong growth as it won new outsourcing deals and pricing pressure eased. The stock was up 3.7% at Rs613, and the sentiment helped pull up other sectoral stocks as well. “In the subsequent quarters Indian IT firms will see higher volume play on a stable pricing plane,” Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of K. R. Choksey said. “This should return companies to report sequential growth over the next 4-6 quarters gradually,” added Choksey. Sector leader Tata Consultancy climbed 1% while next in rank Infosys Technolgoies gained half a percent. Top vehicles maker Tata Motors rose 2.3% to Rs551.80, after it beat forecasts with a second-quarter profit of more than double over last year. “With improvement in the M&HCV (medium and heavy commercial vehicles) volumes and higher demand for its LCV (light commercial vehicle) products, Tata Motors is set to reap the benefit of the recovery in the economy,” Surjit Arora, analyst at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said in a note. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:03 am SBI sees loan demand risingMumbai: State Bank of India, the country’s top lender, expects credit growth to pick up, chairman O.P. Bhatt said on Tuesday. Indian banks’ loan growth has slowed to an annual 13% from 25% last year as the global financial crisis hurt. But with confidence returning, analysts expects a revival in the second half of the 2009-10 year. Bhatt did not expect deposit rates to fall further and said the central bank’s decision to not increase the “hold to maturity” cap on investments was not a disappointment Bhatt was speaking to reporters after the central bank’s policy review. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:03 am Indian rupee lower on weak shares, Asian units - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Oct 2009 | 3:01 am Realty index slumps after policy reviewMumbai: India’s real estate index slid almost 8% to a two-month low on Tuesday, after the central bank withdrew some liquidity measures and raised banks provisioning requirements for commercial real estate exposure. Real estate firms, who were propped up by easing guidelines by the central bank last year, are now benefitting from a stock market rally and ample liquidity, prompting developers to raise prices and spark concerns of an unsustainable boom. “The central bank is trying to curb the formation of an asset bubble - in other words, trying to control the asset prices for end users,” said Shobhit Agarwal, joint managing director at property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. By 2.18pm India’s top listed developer DLF was down 5.6% at Rs406, rival Unitech fell 8.3% to Rs85.05 and Indiabulls Real Estate slid 4.9% to Rs250.80. The BSE realty index was down 6.56% at 4032.45 after losing almost 8%, its lowest since 24 August. The Reserve Bank of India in its quarterly policy review on Tuesday increased provisioning for commercial real estate loans to 1% from 0.4% for standard assets, and also raised the statutory liquidity ratio by 1%. The move may make it difficult for banks to access loans, increasing the cost of debt, a key worry for the sector, said analysts. “For the sector overall, this is a negative. The cost of loans will go up, but since most developers have already restructured bank debts, the immediate impact may be marginal,” said Adhidev Chattopadhyay, analyst at Centrum Stock Broking. “But unlisted firms which depend more on debt funding should be impacted more,” he added. COMMERCIAL VS RESIDENTIAL Industry experts said the central bank move will put more pressure on commercial and retail segments, which have not seen as much of a recovery as the residential segment. Real estate firms reacted cautiously, hinting at passing on additional costs to the end-users. “The sector is just recovering and this will definitely affect developers,” Sarang Wadhawan, managing director, Housing Development & Infra, said. “On projects which were under execution, now we will have to increase prices to compensate for this cost which is going to be incurred.” Others ruled out any major impact and said the move will, in fact, benefit the larger, listed developers. “Because of more caution the better quality developers will stand out and be valued more by banks for lending purposes,” Puravankara Projects director Ravi Ramu told Reuters. “This fact will benefit us and the track record will ensure that we will get cheaper loans.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:58 am Al-Qaida linked group claims Baghdad attacksBaghdad: Al-Qaida’s umbrella group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people, including 24 children trapped in a bus leaving a day care center. The Al-Qaida branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a statement posted on the Internet late Monday that its “martyrs ... targeted the dens of infidelity.” Massive car bombs have been the hallmark of Al-Qaida and Sunni insurgents seeking to overthrow the country’s Shiite-dominated government in Iraq. The attack on Sunday in the heart of the Iraqi capital struck the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Administration. It was Iraq’s deadliest attacks in two years and it raised more fears about the country’s ability to protect itself as it prepares for January elections and the US military withdrawal. Among the dead were two dozen children, killed on a bus that was leaving a daycare center near the Justice Ministry at the time of the explosions, said an official at the hospital where the bodies were brought. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The Al-Qaida posting said the group’s suicide bombers targeted the “pillars of the Safawi and rejectionist state in the land of caliphate,” referring to the Shiite government in Baghdad and its close ally, Iran. “One of these selected targets that were hit this time was the ’Ministry of Injustice and Oppression,’ the so-called Ministry of Justice, along with the Baghdad Provincial Council,” the militant statement said. The authenticity of the statement, which appeared on a Web site commonly used for militant messaging, could not be independently confirmed. The same group also claimed responsibility for August bombings of two government ministries in Baghdad, when more than 100 people were killed. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed those who want to tarnish his government’s efforts to rebuild Iraq into a democratic state for Sunday’s “terrorist acts.” “There’s wicked political will behind these terrorists acts,” al-Maliki said in a speech at Baghdad University on Monday. “We are facing big challenges in the reconstruction process, but while we are building, they are destroying,” al-Maliki said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:39 am Gold drops post festivals, weddings lift premiumsSingapore/Mumbai: Jewellery makers across Asia returned to the physical market on Tuesday after gold prices dropped to a three-week trough, while weddings in India helped lift premiums, dealers said. India’s festival season peaked with Diwali, the festival of light, two weeks ago, but the marriage season runs until December. Weddings take place during festivals in the world’s main consumer, where jewellery forms an essential part of women’s dowry basket. “Demand is emerging as prices have come back to the stable level we have seen in the last two months. Marriage-related buying is there, but people who postponed buying earlier are buying more,” said Jayanti Lal of Mahavir Bullion Corp, a wholesaler in Vijayawada in southern India. “Since prices fell yesterday, today people are waiting and watching. They think it is a good level, but will come to buy only at the end of the day. They are hoping for more falls.” Gold fell as low as $1,036 an ounce, its weakest since 6 October, before bouncing to around $1,041 on bargain hunting. Bullion was nearly 3% below a lifetime high of $1,070.40 struck on 14 October after a recovery in the dollar spurred selling. Premiums for gold bars firmed to 50 to 70 US cents to spot London prices in Hong Kong from 20 cents last week, although there were also offers at 30 cents. “We’ve seen some physical buying today. If the dollar continues to recover, there will be pressure on the topside,” said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong. “Of course, this a correction right now. I think the long-term trend is still bullish for gold,” he added. Dealers said worries that gold’s decline would be short-lived could spur more buying at lower levels, especially after India recorded better-than-expected festival sales in October despite record prices. Indians bought 56 tonnes of gold during this year’s Dhanteras and Diwali week from 12-19 October, up 5.7% from the same period last year, the World Gold Council said. “Markets have still not fully opened today, but demand should do okay. People should buy dips as longer term gold looks good,” said D.P. Naresh of Micro International, a wholesaler in India’s southern software city of Bangalore, home to several tech firms. Premiums were steady in Singapore at 60 to 70 US cents an ounce, while gold bars remained at a discount of $1 in Tokyo, because of persistent sales by retail investors. “We are seeing some liquidation from the general public but the volumes are much smaller compared with last week,” said a dealer at one of Japan’s main bullion trading houses. Gold rebounded from three-week lows as the US dollar took a break after a rally, spurring demand from bargain hunters and lifting other precious metals. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:27 am Rupee lower on weak shares, Asian unitsMumbai: The Indian rupee continued to trade close to three-week lows touched earlier in the session on Tuesday as lower domestic shares and broadly weaker regional peers weighed on sentiment. At 2pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.90/91 per dollar, off a low of Rs46.95, its lowest since 7 October and below its previous close of Rs46.645/655. A rebound in the US dollar touched off a wave of profit-taking in Asian currencies on Tuesday, with the high-yielding Indonesian rupiah falling as much as 1%. The rupee briefly trimmed its fall after the Reserve Bank of India left key rates unchanged at its second quarter monetary policy review earlier in the day. Domestic shares were trading down 1.7%, in line with the fall in global markets on renewed concerns about economic recovery. One-month offshore non-deliverable forwards were quoting at Rs46.91/47.01, marginally weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs46.90 and Rs46.8975 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $2.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:26 am Micro loans bring light to rural poorMicrofinance is bringing light to these rural regions where a lack of electricity has stymied economic development, literacy rates and health.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:25 am GMR Infra ties up debt for power plantGMR Infrastructure Ltd has said its group company EMCO Energy Ltd has achieved financial closure for its coalbased power plant in Warora, Maharashtra.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:14 am DoT to take back 3G spec if rollout targets are not metIn order to prevent operators from hoarding spectrum, the Department of Telecom has decided that it will take back the 3G and broadband radio waves if rollout obligations are not met.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:07 am BP Q3 profit halves but beats forecasts on cost cutsLondon: BP Plc beat third-quarter earnings forecasts by a big margin as its cost-cutting programme proved more successful than expected, prompting the British oil major to increase its target for savings for the year. Dealers said they expected the London-based company’s shares to open 3% higher on the earnings. BP said third-quarter replacement cost net profit, which strips out unrealised gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories, fell 50% to $4.98 billion, due to lower oil and gas prices. Excluding one-offs, the result was $4.67 billion, compared to an average forecast of $3.16 billion from a Reuters poll of 11 analysts. A lower-than-expected tax rate flattered the result but reductions of over 15% in costs in the oil and gas production and refining units was the key driver of the better-than-expected earnings, a spokesman said. “These results demonstrate real operational momentum across the company. We continue to transform our cost base,” chief executive Tony Hayward said in a statement. The strong progress on squeezing out costs could boost investor optimism about cost-cutting programmes at rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell, which reports on Thursday. The company said oil and gas production averaged 3.917 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 7% compared to the same period in 2008. BP said its debt-to-equity or gearing ratio fell in the quarter, against expectations that it would rise. BP and its rivals had been borrowing this year to meet high dividend payments, or in some cases, cutting their dividends. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 2:02 am Asia shares fall, dollar gives up early gainsHong Kong: Asian shares fell on Tuesday as investors worried that an eventual withdrawal of economic support measures could undermine global recovery while the dollar gave up early gains as short-covering receded. The euro recovered to $1.4904 by 0630 GMT after sliding to $1.4850 in early trade, but it still well below a 14-month high of $1.5064 hit on Monday. US equity futures were flat. Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 1.5% and market sentiment across Asia was subdued after Wall Street fell. “Japanese earnings for the first half have been better than expected so far, but the fact the market remains susceptible to falls in overseas markets shows that investors still lack confidence about the outlook for the economic recovery,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities. Shares in Mitsubishi Corp skidded 5.5% as trading houses were hurt by lower oil and commodity prices in the past day. Oil was at $78.78, below $79 a barrel for a fourth day, amid concerns that a sluggish global economic recovery will limit fuel demand. It hit $82, its highest level in a year last Wednesday. Speculation is growing that governments and central banks of some major economies may eventually withdraw stimulus measures that have been a key factor in driving a global recovery. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield hit a two-month high on Monday, partly due to expectations the Federal Reserve may drop or modify its commitment to keeping rates low for an “extended period” at next week’s meeting. Risk Aversion Investor concern that global economic recovery could be slow weighed on markets and encouraged profit taking in some riskier assets, including the Korean won and the Philippine peso, which hit a one-month low at 47.30 to the dollar. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan was 1% lower while the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was down 1.4%. Shanghai shares ended 2.8% lower, the biggest one-day low in five weeks. India’s main share index was down 0.5% by 0553 GMT, trimming losses after the central bank held interest rates but began the first phase of its exit from expansionary policy by ending some liquidity support measures. However, with the world economy recovering and Asian interest rates likely to rise before US rates, analysts expect underlying weakness in the dollar to persist and the oil price to recover. “While the US dollar strengthened overnight, we do not think this will be a trend,” said Song Kyung-keun, an analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul. “To what extent the won and crude prices strengthen are two key uncertainties.” Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar dipped 0.3%, giving up early gains. In Australia, shares dropped 1.6% with mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto down 2.2%. Asian Earnings Shares in China’s leading Internet search company Baidu Inc plunged nearly 13% after hours in New York after it warned that the transition to a new advertising technology would crimp revenue this quarter. The Asian earnings picture generally though continues to improve. Shares of Japanese electronics conglomerate Hitachi Ltd rose 2.3% on Tuesday after the company cut its annual net loss forecast by 15%, citing a recovery in emerging markets, government spending and cost cuts. Shares in China Life Insurance Co, the world’s top life insurer by market value, rose 2% in Hong Kong after the Chinese company’s third-quarter earnings more than doubled.. India’s No. 3 software services exporter Wipro Ltd said its order book had increased and it saw a strong second half to the fiscal year, sending its shares up 3.2%. South Korean government bond prices rebounded as investors went bargain hunting after a recent selloff after a vice finance ministers’ cautioned against an early rise in interest rates. The benchmark five-year treasury bond yield fell 2 basis points to 5.08%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 1:10 am Qualcomm may launch $200 PC alternative in IndiaPokhra: Mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday said it hopes to launch its Rs10,000 (around $210) personal computer alternative ‘Kayak´ in India in the second half of next year. The San-Diego-based wireless technology provider, is in talks with major Indian telecom service providers like and Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications to bring the product into India. “Early next year we will start the trial and we hope we should be able to commercialise it in the second half,” Qualcomm Inc Senior vice-president Kanwalinder Singh told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of a wireless lab at local school here today. “We are talking to telecom operators like Airtel, Tata Teleservices and Reliance to bring this alternative (Kayak) to India,” he said. Last year, the company had said it would launch a 3G- enabled Internet access platform Kayak in the emerging markets to provide both connectivity and computing. “We believe we can build a device consisting of display, keyboard and mouse for less than Rs10,000. It will make Internet access simple, affordable and run for 9-10 hours. The device would also allow users to make calls,” he said. “We aim to bridge the digital divide in India. In urban India PC penetration is higher than in rural India. We want to provide access to new technology to rural people to change there lives,“ Singh said. The competition in cheap PC market is hotting up as major chip maker Intel has introduced $400 Classmate PC. The Indian government has also announced launching a cheap PC alternative for Rs500 to provide educational solutions in around 18,000 colleges of 400 universities in India. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 1:08 am Qualcomm may launch $200 PC alternative in IndiaPokhra: Mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday said it hopes to launch its Rs10,000 (around $210) personal computer alternative ‘Kayak´ in India in the second half of next year. The San-Diego-based wireless technology provider, is in talks with major Indian telecom service providers like and Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications to bring the product into India. “Early next year we will start the trial and we hope we should be able to commercialise it in the second half,” Qualcomm Inc Senior vice-president Kanwalinder Singh told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of a wireless lab at local school here today. “We are talking to telecom operators like Airtel, Tata Teleservices and Reliance to bring this alternative (Kayak) to India,” he said. Last year, the company had said it would launch a 3G- enabled Internet access platform Kayak in the emerging markets to provide both connectivity and computing. “We believe we can build a device consisting of display, keyboard and mouse for less than Rs10,000. It will make Internet access simple, affordable and run for 9-10 hours. The device would also allow users to make calls,” he said. “We aim to bridge the digital divide in India. In urban India PC penetration is higher than in rural India. We want to provide access to new technology to rural people to change there lives,“ Singh said. The competition in cheap PC market is hotting up as major chip maker Intel has introduced $400 Classmate PC. The Indian government has also announced launching a cheap PC alternative for Rs500 to provide educational solutions in around 18,000 colleges of 400 universities in India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 1:08 am Honda’s quarterly profit drops amid sales declineTokyo: Honda’s profit for the July-September quarter fell 56.2% from the same period the previous year to 54.0 billion yen. Japan’s No. 2 automaker said on Tuesday its quarterly sales fell 27.2% from a year earlier as vehicle sales fell in key markets. A strong yen also weighed on Honda Motor Co.’s results. The Tokyo-based manufacturer of the Insight gas-electric hybrid and Accord sedan has fared relatively better than some rivals in weathering the global auto slump. Honda sold more vehicles in Japan during the quarter through September compared to the previous year on strong demand for its Insight gas-electric hybrid and other models boosted by tax breaks and other government incentives. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:33 am Wipro eyes strong growth on orders, beats estimatesBANGALORE (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd forecast a robust quarter as it won new outsourcing deals and pricing pressure eased, sending its stock up four percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:03 am RBI faces growth vs inflation dilemmaMumbai, Oct.26 Managing the trade-off between supporting growth and reining in inflation expectations poses a complex challenge, says the Reserve Bank of India even as its latest survey of professional forecasters has brought down India’sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am RBD palmolein imports up on blending demandChennai, Oct. 26 A record 85 lakh tonnes (lt) of vegetable oils are estimated to have been imported during the current oil season ending this month. A feature of this is rising shipments of RBD (refined, bleached and deodourised)Source: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (Rs 80.4): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of Reliance Natural Resources Ltd from a short-term perspective. It was on a medium-term uptrend from March low of Rs 34 to its June high of Rs 112. However, the stock reversed direction after encounteringSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Tech Mahindra, Satyam may merge after June 2010The merger of Mahindra Satyam with Tech Mahindra is on the cards. The Mahindras are likely to go ahead with the plan after the restatement of the financials of the Hyderabad-based MahindraSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am RIL seeks new gas buyers to exploit KG reserves fullyMumbai, Oct. 26 Reliance Industries has warned of dire consequences to its gas reserves in the Krishna-Godavari D6 field if the Centre does not find new customers in aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am For whom does the Government toll?Marxist economics has a basic principle, that “prices are formed in the commodity markets”. Since Marxists don’t regard services as being of any real value, they don’t have a theory about where prices areSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Motors Q2 net more than doublesMumbai, Oct. 26 Increased volumes, low raw material costs and better operating margins helped Tata Motors post a net profit of Rs 729 crore for the July-September quarter, more than twice the Rs 347 crore clocked last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideUtilise rallies to sell DLF with stiff stop-loss at Rs 440. Initiate fresh short position if ICICI Bank decline below Rs 880 and SBI dives below Rs 2280, with tight stop-loss. Fresh longSource: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Bank stocks tumble ahead of Credit PolicyMumbai, Oct.26 Bank stocks fell on Monday, a day ahead of the RBI presenting the monetary policy in its quarterly credit review on Tuesday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Winds gathering force over peninsular IndiaIndia Meteorological Department (IMD) has assessed that the easterly to northerly winds over Bay of Bengal and peninsular India are gathering strength in the run-up to the onset of northeast monsoon later during the week.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am Wipro projects $1.11 billion earning from IT services - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 11:58 pm Sesa Goa plunges 13 pc on BSE in early trade - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 11:42 pm The Mint report for 26 October 2009The RBI outlined both the good and the bad in India’s economic outlook on Monday. The good include the impact of growth encouraging fiscal policy, the recovery in industrial production and core infrastructure, the upturn in business confidence, and the surge in the stock market. The bad signs include the large deceleration in private consumption demand, some decline in corporate sales, the poor monsoons, deceleration in credit growth, and the fall in exports. NTPC may be fighting a legal battle over gas supplies with RIL, but its ready to buy RIL’s gas for some of its other plants. It has applied to the government to allocate 35 million standard cubic metres of gas a day for its plants in the Delhi area. It has even agreed to the government price of $4.20 for every unit. The new application has been made to the newly created empowered group of ministers, who are expected to meet on Tuesday. Tata Motors beat all expectations when it reported its second quarter results on Monday. Net profits shot up 110% to Rs729 crore compared to the same period last year. The company’s revenues rose 13% to Rs7,979 crore helped by festive season sales. Monday’s figures include the earnings of Tata Motors two British units Jaguar and Land Rover. Labour unions are planning a massive nationwide protest on Wednesday against job losses and rising prices. They are also demanding a ban on futures trading in commodities and want government aid to companies to be conditional on them not firing workers. Unions affiliated with both the opposition communist parties and the ruling Congress party will be part of the protest. Unhappiness with India’s banks could be rising. The number of customers complaining against banks shot up 44% for the year 2008-09 according to a report from the RBI. Most of the complaints related to credit card services and a failure to meet commitments. State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and the Indian unit of HSBC registered the largest number of complaints. Public sector banks recorded more than 33,000 complaints, while private banks received nearly 22,000 complaints. Foreign banks also received about 12,000 complaints. Markets lost ground on Monday, with investors booking profits in some stocks. The Sensex fell 70 points to close at 16,741 and the Nifty went down 26 points, ending the day 4,971. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:03 pm MCA orders SFIO probe into Sesa GoaThe Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has ordered a probe into Sesa Goa under Section 235 of the Companies Act. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is to submit the report within six months.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 3:01 pm Lupin Q2 up 39%; sees FDA resolution by 2009-endMumbai: Drugmaker Lupin Ltd forecast a strong year ahead after it posted a 39% increase in second-quarter net profit on double-digit sales growth in its US and Europe operations. One of the fastest growing Indian generic, or off-patent, drugmakers in the US and Europe, Lupin’s sales in these markets grew at 27% in the July-September quarter. Local sales increased 18.5%, the company said in a statement. Its overall net profit increased to Rs160.3 crore from Rs115.6 crore a year earlier, as sales rose nearly 23% to Rs1,115 crore. Sarabjit Nangra, a sector analyst with Angel Broking Ltd, said a 25% growth in sales is expected for a company with a rich generic portfolio and new markets in its focus. “So the growth that Lupin has achieved during the quarter is quite sustainable, though the operational margin hasn’t shown a corresponding growth this time,” Nangra said. Nilesh Gupta, group president and executive director, Lupin, said the firm’s operational margins reflected its additional spending on infrastructure expansion and manpower. “But the new businesses that we have acquired recently and the growth in the existing markets will remain strong in the year,” he said. Lupin has been adding people in research and development and it spent about Rs150 crore in a facility coming up in Indore, Gupta told Mint. Lupin continues to maintain its growth momentum in the US and European markets, which account for 32% of its net sales. The company filed seven applications in the US for its generic drugs, known as abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDA, during the quarter, taking the total number of such filings by it to 98, Lupin said in a statement. In the second quarter, Lupin had also licensed the US rights of its bio-adhesive technology for an antibiotic drug, rifaximin, to US-based Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Lupin shares dropped 1.09% on Monday to close at Rs1,239.00 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while the benchmark Sensex lost 70.31 points, or 0.42%, to end at 16,740.50. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:47 pm India, US to ink agreement to enhance trade, investment soonNew Delhi: India and the US on Monday agreed on a framework to promote trade and investment and hoped to sign an agreement soon. A joint statement issued after the sixth ministerial meeting of the bilateral Trade Policy Forum (TPF) said, “The two governments agreed to work together on a framework for promoting real and meaningful cooperation in trade and investment.” “We hope this (framework) agreement will be signed soon,” commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said after meeting US trade representative Ron Kirk. Earlier talking to reporters, Kirk pitched for further opening up India’s services sector, especially the financial market. Sharma informed that India and the US have also agreed to sign agreements on intellectual property rights and sharing of traditional knowledge digital library. Kirk hoped India would further strengthen its IPR regime. Kirk also informed that the issue of H1-B visas for Indian professionals came up for discussions in the meeting. However, he said, “the US administration is working with (the US) Congress to see if we can resolve these outstanding concerns related with the H1B visas.” The officials of the two countries, Sharma said, would meet twice a year to complete the remaining task of the TPF, formed in 2005 to discuss trade and investment issues. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:36 pm 3G winners can jump the queueNew Delhi: The winners at India’s 14 January auction of third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless licences will be able to jump the queue of companies waiting for telecom licences, sidestepping a clause that would have barred new entrants from the race to offer high-speed services in the fastest growing telecom market in the world. There are 343 pending applications for universal access service (UAS) licences, which are mandatory to start providing phone services in the country. The applications have been frozen since a January 2008 allocation of licences over spectrum allocation issues. Successful 3G bidders seeking to enter the Indian market for the first time would have had to go to the back of the line as per the rules. “They should be given the benefit of bidding and, therefore, they would be allowed to jump the queue,” a senior department of telecommunications (DoT) official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “Depending on the quantum of the winning bid, they would be put at the head of the queue.” This will apply specifically to overseas telecom firms that have been trying to enter the second largest telecom market in the world for a while now. Companies that don’t hold a telecom licence will still need to give an undertaking at the time of submitting applications that a nominated Indian partner firm would obtain a UAS licence before starting telecom operations, according to the revised information memorandum published on DoT’s website on Saturday night. The move to relax the rules for new entrants seeks to resolve the difficult situation that DoT found itself in almost three years back amid questions regarding the fairness of such a move. International operators are not satisfied, however, with DoT’s latest 3G auction prescription, which doesn’t elaborate on 2G spectrum. “Nobody will want a (3G) licence without (2G) spectrum. This has clearly been designed to favour the incumbents,” said B.K. Singhal, former chairman and managing director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, now known as Tata Communications Ltd, and senior principal of Delhi-based consulting firm Dua Consulting. “The information memorandum is a non-starter for anyone wanting to enter the Indian market.” A senior executive of an overseas company said allowing winning bidders to jump the queue was unfair. “Why would a firm which has been in the queue for the better part of the past two years allow another firm to overtake just because they are bidding for something else,” he said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. “There are other issues like the fact that DoT has said on record that there is no 2G spectrum available. Why would any operator want to come in at this stage of the market at a disadvantageous position?” The government is in a rush to hold the auctions for high-speed licences as they have been delayed by two years already and it wants to bring in the money in the current fiscal year itself. “The government has made a few concessions to the foreign operators given the time constraints by allowing them to bid and get the required licence later just to convince people to bid,” said a regulatory expert, who didn’t want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. “As far as I know, most of the foreign telcos are unwilling to bid and would prefer to (go in for acquisitions) as the market is already crowded. They are not keen to ramp up from zero.” As far as the existing applicants are concerned, “they had all applied for the wrong reasons and there isn’t much that they can do, as DoT is well within its powers to take such a step”, he said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is working on recommendations on delinking the licence and spectrum as well as merger and acquisition guidelines, said the executive cited above. “There is no clarity on how much the licence will cost and what the procedure will be given that the existing operators have already got licences with 2G spectrum attached,” the executive said. DoT will ensure that a fair and transparent procedure will be arrived at, said another official belonging to the department. “It is not clear how much the new UAS licence will cost and whether it will come with 2G spectrum or not as was the case earlier,” he said. The government has not accepted any fresh applications for telecom licences after 1 October 2007. In January 2008, it allotted about 120 new licences to nine companies, which had applied before 25 September 2007, including Unitech Wireless Ltd, Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd and STel Ltd. DoT had also asked Trai to give its recommendation on whether new operators that win the 3G auction would be given UAS licence immediately, or whether they would have to wait along with the 343 existing applicants for a similar purpose. Trai had released a consultation paper seeking comments from stakeholders on the spectrum committee report, which had recommended a number of reforms to the existing telecom policies on 16 October. These reforms include the auction, sharing and trading of spectrum. Under the present policy, India’s telecom operators do not pay for spectrum, but are allocated frequencies on the basis of the number of subscribers they have for an annual fee known as the spectrum usage charge. Operators are given start-up spectrum free along with the licence. shauvik.g@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pm RIL may finally get to use KG gas - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Oct 2009 | 1:20 pm Growth forecast falls to 6% in RBI surveyProfessional forecasters have added to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvurri Subbaraos dilemma on timing the exit from an accommodative monetary policy stance.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:58 pm Spectrum allocation largest scam in independent India: BJPArun Jaitley, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha today launched a broadside against the Communications Minister A Raja demanding that he step down and the Prime Minister (PM) institute an independent inquiry into the 2G scam.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pm Google searches 3G prospects in IndiaGoogle, the worlds largest search engine and one of the biggest internet brands, is understood to be eyeing opportunities in the third generation of mobile telephony, or 3G, in India.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pm IT Dept issues showcause notice to DLF: SourcesThe Income Tax Department has sent DLF a showcause notice on September 30, sources told CNBCTV18\'s Nayantara Rai. It is likely to scrutinise the books of accounts for assessment year 200708.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 26 Oct 2009 | 9:23 am Too hot or too cold? Try Dhama’s jacketMumbai: Kranthi Vistakula is one of those people who don’t like feeling too cold or too hot, a feeling familiar to anyone who sits under an air conditioning vent in an office with poor temperature control. Unlike the long-suffering desk jockey, Vistakula, now 29, decided to do something about it.  Business strategy: Kranthi Vistakula, founder and chief executive of Dhama Apparel Innovations. Ashesh Shah / Mint The bio medical engineer’s concept of a jacket that would adjust itself according to the ambient temperature came into being between degrees in technology policy and mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “The problem was that it used to get very cold in Boston and I used to like it but we had to wear multiple layers and as soon as I entered the building, which was all heated up, it used to (get) hot really soon,” he said in an interview. Thus the idea of a jacket that keeps the user hot or cold, or a scarf that cools the blood before it reaches the brain, was born. The US and Indian Armed Forces, both of which are seeking his products, are just two of his potential clients. He wants to target industrial workers and sports people as well. Vistakula’s products include ClimaGear, a battery-powered jacket that “keeps the user comfortable and increases productivity by either heating or cooling the user depending on his need”, according to the website of Dhama Apparel Innovations, the firm that he started in 2007.  The company, which also sells scarves and helmets that perform the same function, was recently selected as one of the top 100 start-ups in Asia by Red Herring, a weekly technology magazine. Still, it took a while for Vistakula to realize that his original idea could be turned into a business. It was only when his inventions won competitions that he realized the value of the product and started focusing on it. “After working (for) two years on it, I became so attached to it that I left my master’s, came to India and started working on this,” he says. During an event called Investor Pitch conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, in April, Sasha Mirchandani of Mumbai Angels, a forum for entrepreneurs, invited him to speak about Dhama’s work. Vistakula not only went on to receive funding from Mumbai Angels but also from Reliance Technology Ventures Ltd in June. This was not, however, the first time that he had received funding. In March 2008, he received a grant of Rs12 lakh from the department of science and technology, followed by another one of Rs45 lakh in April 2009. The funding from Reliance and Mumbai Angels has helped bring discipline to the way he functions. “I am an entrepreneur and am going by my gut feeling but they are going by their strategy,” says Vistakula. “While I am impulsive, they are very structured and that balances out the dynamics.” The government money helped Vistakula tide over the dark days of the slump but there were times when he wondered whether he had done the right thing. “We were making a lot of presentations to a lot of VCs (venture capitalists) and everyone was like ‘it’s a good idea’ but nothing was going forward. I was very aggressive in meeting different people and trying to convince them,” he says. After the tide eventually turned, he was offered incubation at IIT Delhi. He chose instead to seek incubation at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad as he found a freer climate there. The US army has shown interest in Dhama’s jacket as it weighs about half their current system and has no moving parts. The US army uses a compressor-based system that weighs around 4kg while the ClimaGear jacket weighs 1.5kg. While two trials with the US army have taken place, Dhama has entered into agreements and started sample sales to Indian and Korean companies. It has begun trial sales to the Greyhounds, the counter-insurgency security force based in Andhra Pradesh. As far as military requirements go, Vistakula expects a demand of about 100,000 jackets from India and a similar number from the US over the next three years. It expects demand for helmets to be around 700,000 in the same period. Vistakula’s dream is to develop an energy-efficient localized cooling system, which would mean that instead of applying temperature controls across large areas and wasting energy, it would focus on just the chair and table of the worker. Meanwhile, he has another bright idea to work on—shoes that don’t make your feet sweat. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 9:05 am Belgaum will be next aerospace centre, bets QUEST’s Melligeri Bangalore: Aravind Melligeri is betting against conventional wisdom. Bangalore is India’s aerospace hub, where the country’s military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is based and the work on a homegrown plane and space research is centred. This, in turn, means the bulk of the vendors with the ability to make precision parts and systems for aeroplanes, are located around this city.  Defying conventions: QUEST’s co-founder Aravind Melligeri. Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint But for Melligeri, co-founder of Quality Engineering and Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd, or QUEST, an engineering services firm, the next aerospace manufacturing destination is Belgaum. QUEST has set up a 300-acre special economic zone (SEZ) for aerospace manufacturing in the town bordering Maharashtra, around 500km from Bangalore, among the first such facilities to begin operations. “Belgaum has a manufacturing culture. Historically it was the automotive backend for Pune,” says Melligeri. “It has over 300 foundries and machining shops. It is also a strategic location.” Also Read Too hot or too cold? Try Dhama’s jacket In manufacturing, “logistics is a key and Belgaum is equidistant from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore and around two hours’ drive from three airports, including Goa”, he says.  Not everyone is buying the idea. A.K. Saxena, managing director of Navv Avia Technologies Pvt. Ltd, an aerospace consultancy, says the distance and skills needed for the aerospace industry will be an issue. “They may be right. But the big names may not go to Belgaum because of the distance, they would prefer the known cities,” says Saxena, a former managing director of HAL. For QUEST, which has invested Rs150 crore in the SEZ and three factories including a joint venture with Magellan Aerospace Ltd, a vendor for plane makers such as Airbus SAS and Boeing Co., being away from the big cities is an advantage. “People are disciplined and there is enough talent to train,” says Melligeri. “At the end of the day, you don’t see an aerospace manufacturing facility in London or New York.” For QUEST, founded in 1997 by Melligeri and partner Ajit Prabhu as a services firm offering engineering design for power generation equipment makers, aerospace manufacturing is just a three-year story. Prabhu is in the US, leading the engineering services operations, while Melligeri takes care of manufacturing. The company got into aerospace design services after venture capital firm Carlyle Group invested $6 million, (around Rs28 crore today), in 2003. In 2007, both the promoters bought back Carlyle’s stake, to expand into manufacturing, as they saw firms such as Airbus and Boeing outsource more work to low-cost countries such as India. Melligeri did not reveal how much they paid to buy back the stake. QUEST’s focus also coincided with India becoming a major market for global aerospace and defence firms. India will import arms, including fighter planes and helicopters worth at least $30 billion by 2012, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India a lobby of trade associations. A third of this is expected to be spent in India by foreign firms, following a 2005 offsets policy that mandates foreign contractors to source components and systems from local vendors for at least 30% of the value of orders worth at least Rs300 crore. This is to boost the local aerospace industry, which is still nascent, despite designing a few homegrown planes and HAL’s history of building fighter planes under licence. India’s aerospace manufacturing exports in the year to March were around $200 million. HAL accounted for more than half of that figure, according to Melligeri. In comparison, the global commercial aerospace industry is worth $90 billion a year. “There may be small suppliers which HAL has built, but that is not really scalable. For that, it needs a supply chain,” he says. QUEST is building the supply chain, even asking rival firms to set up units, so scale could be built to service global customers and tap the business opportunity they present. A supply chain expert says the move by QUEST to offer manufacturing components and systems would help it to battle competition from other low-cost countries such as China, the Philippines and Malaysia. “In the next few years, only service providers who provide end-to-end (solutions) would be preferred. For high end (engineering) services, you need to understand manufacturing,” says Roger Moser, who heads the chair on sourcing and supply management at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The chair has been endowed by the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co., or EADS, the parent of Airbus, and Supply Chain Management Institute. “In the Indian aerospace industry, where you have so many small players that hurts its efficiencies, you need to have a few companies such as QUEST that will act as system integrators at the small level,” he says. But to achieve that, QUEST is raising additional funds of $50 million by December to invest in its operations. Melligeri did not reveal from whom the money is being raised. In the year ended March, QUEST earned revenue of $85 million, of which manufacturing contributed $6 million. In fiscal 2010, it expects revenue will grow to $110 million, of which manufacturing will be $10 million. “Manufacturing, with a lower base, will grow 80% in the next three years. As for engineering services, it will be around 30% growth a year. It is a fairly good target and aligned with strategic customers. They look at us for giving the next solution,” says Melligeri. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 9:04 am The next waveAs the world emerges from the economic slump, India has reinforced its position as the world’s fastest growing major economy after China. This pace of expansion, combined with the demographic dividend that will accrue from a young population coming of age, means that the coming years may be dominated by companies that are capable of catching the next wave. We profile some of the people and the companies that could do that in the run-up to the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit, to be held on 8-10 November in New Delhi, which has as its theme: India’s Next Generation of Growth.  Too hot or too cold? Try Dhama’s jacket Kranthi Vistakula is one of those people who don’t like feeling too cold or too hot, a feeling familiar to anyone who sits under an air conditioning vent in an office with poor temperature control. Unlike the long-suffering desk jockey, Vistakula, now 29, decided to do something about it. Click here to read more... Belgaum will be next aerospace centre, bets QUEST’s Melligeri Aravind Melligeri is betting against conventional wisdom. Bangalore is India’s aerospace hub, where the country’s military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is based and the work on a homegrown plane and space research is centred. This, in turn, means the bulk of the vendors with the ability to make precision parts and systems for aeroplanes, are located around this city. Click here to read more... Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 26 Oct 2009 | 9:03 am
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