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Subex board oks issuing $98.7 mln convertible unsecured bondsSubex board oks issuing $98.7 mln convertible unsecured bondsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 8:11 am Hero Honda to launch 6 more bikes this fiscalIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Anil Dua, Senior VPMarketing and Sales, Hero Honda, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 8:10 am Unity Infra, IVRCL JV bags Rs 1,150cr orderUnity Infraprojects Ltd, in Joint Venture (JV) with IVRCL Infra bagged a contract amounting to Rs.1145.88 crores for the construction of a 8.3 km long tunnel using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) from Kapurbawdi to Bhandup complex, Mumbai from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am RBI buys half of IMF`s gold for sale; who`s next?RBI buys half of IMF`s gold for sale; who`s next?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:59 am India buys half of IMF`s gold for sale; who`s next?India buys half of IMF`s gold for sale; who`s next?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am Sony Ericsson unveils first Android modelSony Ericsson unveils first Android modelSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am City Union Bank board OKs 1for4 rights issueCity Union Bank board OKs 1for4 rights issueSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am Manufacturing growth slows in October PMIManufacturing growth slows in October PMISource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:11 am Tight provisioning norms to hit bank profits Moody`sTight provisioning norms to hit bank profits Moody`sSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:09 am Suzuki lifts guidance on soaring India salesSuzuki lifts guidance on soaring India salesSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 7:07 am IIA to set up 400-acre textile park in UPIndian Industries Association (IIA), a representative body of small and medium industries, has decided to set up a textile park in Farukkhabad, famous for textile printing.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:26 am Unity Infra, IVRCL JV bags Rs 1150cr order - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:23 am INTERVIEW - Cummins India sees 10-20 pct rise in 2010 exportsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Cummins India Ltd expects exports in 2010 to rise by up to a fifth, but will have to wait for another couple of years for exports to recover fully, a senior official said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am India Buys Gold From IMF to Boost Reserves as Dollar Declines - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am Nifty ends below 4550; Suzlon,Hindalco,DLF fall - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:22 am Sept trade deficit shrinks to $7.77 blnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's September trade deficit shrunk to $7.77 billion and imports fell 31.3 percent year-on-year to $21.38 billion, government data said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:19 am Bajaj Hindusthan denies stake buy talkMUMBAI (Reuters) - Sugar maker Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd said on Tuesday it has not considered or decided buying a stake in rival Balrampur Chini Mills.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am RBI buys half of IMF's gold for sale; who's next?MUMBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for $6.7 billion, quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that has threatened to slow gold's ascent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:17 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes down 3.5 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally closed 3.5 percent lower on Tuesday, led by energy giant Reliance Industries, as weak global markets dampened investor sentiment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:16 am Bajaj Hindusthan denies stake buy talk - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:09 am TCS Cardiff deal worth multi-millions - sourceBANGALORE (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services' contract with Cardiff City Council for technology services is a multi-million dollar deal that will run run over 15 years, a company source said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:05 am Power Grid to invest 10.75 bln rupees on grid projectMUMBAI (Reuters) - Power Grid Corp of India said on Tuesday its board approved investing about 10.75 billion rupees for a 765 kv system grid project.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Internet could run out of web addresses next yr: reportLondon: The world could well run out of Internet addresses next year, unless urgent action is taken to switch to a new generation of net addresses, the European Commission has warned. According to the commission, businesses urgently need to upgrade to Internet protocol version six or IPv6, a new version of the Internet’s addressing protocol, which will hugely increase the number of available addresses. The IPv6 system has been ready for over a decade and is providing 340 trillion, trillion, trillion web addresses. But, not many companies are actually ready to migrate to the new platform. In fact, a survey, conducted by the Commission, found that few companies are prepared for the switch from the current naming protocol, IPv4, to the new regime, IPv6, The Daily Telegraph reported. The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols refer to the way in which web addresses are created and assigned. Each website has a unique IP address, represented by a string of numbers, such as 192.168.1.1, which are then given a user-friendly web address to make them easier to remember. The IPv4 protocol uses 32-bit addresses, which enables the web to support around 4.3 billion unique addresses while IPv6 uses 128-bit web addresses, creating billions of possible new web addresses. The EC survey found that of the 610 government, educational and other industry organisations questioned across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, just 17% have upgraded to IPv6. The Commission has warned that the timely deployment of the protocol is vital to the growth and stability of the Internet. Detlef Eckert, director in Commission’s information society and media directorate-general, said: “In the last 10 years, the Internet has become hugely important worldwide from a socio-economic perspective. “Only by ensuring that all devices connected to the internet are compatible with IPv6 can we stay connected and safeguard sustainable growth of the Internet and the global digital economy, now and in the years to come.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:58 am Bank worries push European stocks to 1-month low - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:47 am Gold futures seen testing records; Fed eyedMumbai: India gold futures may test record highs this week on the back a weak dollar overseas, with investors awaiting cues from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meet for direction, analysts said. “Dollar would continue to remain under pressure, which may boost gold’s appeal. Domestic gold is likely to test new highs,” said Harish Galipelli, head of research with JRG Wealth Management in Kochi. “Next resistance could be seen at 16,300 rupees,” said Galipelli. The most-traded December contract was 0.71% higher at Rs16,232 per 10 grams at 3:16pm, after hitting a record high of Rs16,248 earlier. “We are expecting sideways to higher movement and resistance is seen at 16,350 (rupees) later,” said Aurobinda Prasad, deputy manager-research, Karvy Comtrade. The dollar held steady on Tuesday before the start of the US Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting. A weak dollar enhances gold’s appeal as an alternative asset. The Reserve Bank of India’s purchase of 200 tonnes of the yellow metal from the International Monetary Fund was also seen supporting international gold prices. Foreign gold guides the domestic market as most of the yellow metal is imported. The IMF sale is part of an agreement struck earlier this year among IMF member countries to sell 403.3 tonnes of the body’s gold stocks to diversify the Fund’s sources of income and to increase low-cost lending to poor countries. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:47 am UBS posts Q3 loss, wealth outflows continueZurich: Swiss bank UBS said it did not expect an immediate recovery of client inflows after a higher-than-expected accounting charge and withdrawals at all its key divisions pushed it into another quarterly loss. The net loss of 564 million Swiss francs ($552.4 million) was UBS’ fourth consecutive quarterly loss, narrower than a net loss of 1.4 billion Swiss francs in the second quarter but larger than average analyst forecasts for 207 million. “We do not expect an immediate recovery in client net new money flows,” UBS said in a statement. Analysts had been looking for signs of recovery at UBS’ core wealth management division, which has suffered persistent outflows while it struggled to emerge from the subprime crisis and was also hit by a high-profile US tax row. “Another big disappointment. The outflow of client assets is continuing. The loss is bigger than expected. The shares should come under heavy pressure,” said one Zurich-based trader. Profitability at UBS’ investment bank improved in the quarter but was overshadowed by accounting charges totalling 2.15 billion francs, including an own credit charge of 1.436 billion and a net loss of 409 million on its sale of it Brazilian Pactual business. UBS’ results contrast with stellar profits seen at European peers Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank as UBS has exited several business lines while pushing through a tough restructuring. Client outflows at UBS’ Wealth Management and Swiss Bank division, which serves Swiss domestic and offshore clients, were 16.5 billion francs, little changed from the previous quarter, but worse than average analyst forecast for 9.5 billion. Outflows at the Americas wealth management division accelerated to nearly 10 billion francs from about 6 billion francs in the previous quarter as UBS’ reputation suffered in the region during the bitter US tax row. In asset management, UBS saw 10 billion francs of client withdrawals, an improvement from the 17.1 billion in the previous quarter but more than the 6.8 billion average analyst forecast. UBS’ Tier 1 ratio, a measure of a bank’s financial strength, rose to a solid 15.0 percent at the end of third quarter against 13.2% the previous quarter. A year earlier, UBS turned a small quarterly profit, mainly due to tax credits, but still ended 2008 with the biggest annual loss in Swiss corporate history. Shares in UBS have gained around 16 percent since the start of the year, while shares at Credit Suisse, now slightly larger than UBS by market value, have nearly doubled. The DJ Stoxx European banking index has gained nearly 50% this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:45 am World stocks fall on stimulus worriesLondon: World stocks dipped towards the previous session’s four-week lows on Tuesday as investors continued to fret over the early removal of government stimulus, particularly in the financial sector. Positive US manufacturing and home sales data buoyed US stocks on Monday but investors worry that signs of recovery will lead governments to cut economic and fiscal support, a fear that has contributed to a reversal of equities’ seven-month rally. CIT Group INC, a US lender to hundreds and thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, underscoring the continuing fragility of parts of the financial sector. European shares hit four-week lows as poor results from Swiss bank UBS and a shake-up of UK banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland rattled investors. Lloyds launched a record £13.5 billion ($22 billion) rights issue and along with RBS agreed to sell off businesses as part of a complex deal to limit reliance on government support. “UBS just posted ugly results that bode ill for European bank results and CIT just filed for bankruptcy. This raises the question: isn’t it too early to pay back government money?” said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading at Global Equities in Paris. World stocks as measured by MSCI fell 0.6% to 281.32. The index rallied by 75% between early March and late Oct on growing optimism over the global economy, but fell 4% last week. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.5% to a four-week low, losing ground for the sixth time in nine sessions. Riskier emerging market shares fell 1.0%. Action-packed week The dollar edged up against the euro but fell 0.4% against the yen. Currency markets are likely to trade cautiously ahead of a raft of key events this week. The Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting on interest rates on Tuesday, the European Central Bank and Bank of England make rate decisions on Thursday, US employment data is due on Friday and G20 finance ministers meet in St Andrews, Scotland, this weekend. The Fed is not expected to depart from a policy of maintaining low rates for an extended period of time but it could discuss how to prepare markets for an eventual policy shift. The ECB and BoE are expected to keep rates on hold but the UK central bank may decide to pump yet more money into the economy. The Australian dollar fell nearly 1% after the Australian central bank raised rates on Tuesday for a second consecutive month, to 3.5%. Investors are becoming more tentative about markets going into the final two months of the year. “We are inclined toward slightly more caution on the evolving global economic dataflow, at least as far as the next three to four weeks are concerned,” said analysts at UBS in a client note. Oil slipped 0.5% below $78 a barrel but gold was boosted by news the International Monetary Fund had sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.8 billion, half of a long-planned sale that threatened to slow the precious metal’s rally. Euro zone government bonds benefited from the fall in European stocks. The December Bund future rose 15 ticks to 122.06. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:43 am Lloyds in record rights issue, UK banks agree shakeupLONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group launched a record 13.5 billion pound ($22 billion) rights issue and along with rival Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell off some businesses to limit their reliance on government support.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:22 am Rupee extends fall as shares slide 1%Mumbai: The Indian rupee further extended losses in afternoon session on Tuesday, in line with the domestic sharemarket, while a pause in the dollar’s slide versus major units also hurt. At 1:50pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs47.15/16 per dollar, below its previous close of Rs46.96/97 on Friday. Financial markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. Shares fell 1% in afternoon trade after seesawing earlier in the day. Portfolio flows into local shares are a key driver of the rupee. Foreigners have bought more than $14 billion of local equities so far this year, after being sellers of more than $13 billion in 2008. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was marginally lower, after haivng been down 0.2% at the start of the Indian trading session. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs47.18/28, 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 both quoting at Rs47.2350 each, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.8 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:13 am Banks' high cap need may hit credit flow - RBIMUMBAI (Reuters) - High capital requirements for banks carry the risk of hurting lending to productive sectors in emerging economies, a top Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am Reliance Ind falls; Reliance Natural jumpsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Reliance Industries, India's most valuable listed firm, fell more than 4 percent on Tuesday while shares in Reliance Natural Resources rose more than 14 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am BMW sees only fragile rebound after Q3 missFrankfurt: Germany’s BMW gave a tepid markets outlook and predicted the euro would stay strong after third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) shrank 86% amid a global economic slump. Shares in world’s biggest maker of premium cars fell 6.2 % by 1:27pm, the biggest decliner in the DJ Stoxx European car sector index which was down 3.5%. Analysts cited disappointing third-quarter results - its core automobiles business lost 76 million euros ($112.3 million) before interest and tax in the quarter - and a lack of apparent impetus to inspire confidence in the stock. “We still see several risks at BMW from currencies, especially euro/sterling, and lower residuals in the future and therefore confirm our negative view on BMW,” DZ Bank analyst Michael Punzet told clients. BMW said on Tuesday it still saw positive 2009 earnings thanks to cost cuts even as it repeated sales volume was set to fall 10-15%. “We expect that the markets will make a gradual recovery over the coming year”, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said. But the company said the traditional big three markets - North America, Europe and Japan - were expected to generate low and below-average growth in the quarters ahead and saw scant relief on the foreign exchange rate front. “Given the current high levels of state and trade balance deficits and banks’ needs to record high levels of write-downs in those two countries, there is a risk that the U.S. dollar and the British pound will weaken further in the medium term.” BMW posted its first year-on-year volume gain this year in September and has forecast this would become a trend during the rest of 2009 thanks to launches of new models such as the BMW X1 and 5 Series Gran Turismo. BMW had said on 7 October that 2009 sales volume might drop by only 10-155 - a key forecast since its finance chief had said in September there was a good chance the group could post a 2009 profit if volumes were not worse than that level. In the first nine months of 2009, group volumes fell 15.7% to 939,554 vehicles. Daimler AG, whose Mercedes-Benz Cars premium division is BMW’s archrival, reported third-quarter group EBIT of 470 million euros. Volkswagen, the parent of premium brand Audi, made an operating profit of 278 million. Shares of BMW trade at around 25 times 12-month forward earnings, a discount to Daimler on 36 times but a premium to VW’s multiple of nearly 17, according to StarMine, which weights analysts’ estimates by their forecasting accuracy. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am BMW sees only fragile rebound after Q3 missFrankfurt: Germany’s BMW gave a tepid markets outlook and predicted the euro would stay strong after third-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) shrank 86% amid a global economic slump. Shares in world’s biggest maker of premium cars fell 6.2 % by 1:27pm, the biggest decliner in the DJ Stoxx European car sector index which was down 3.5%. Analysts cited disappointing third-quarter results - its core automobiles business lost 76 million euros ($112.3 million) before interest and tax in the quarter - and a lack of apparent impetus to inspire confidence in the stock. “We still see several risks at BMW from currencies, especially euro/sterling, and lower residuals in the future and therefore confirm our negative view on BMW,” DZ Bank analyst Michael Punzet told clients. BMW said on Tuesday it still saw positive 2009 earnings thanks to cost cuts even as it repeated sales volume was set to fall 10-15%. “We expect that the markets will make a gradual recovery over the coming year”, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said. But the company said the traditional big three markets - North America, Europe and Japan - were expected to generate low and below-average growth in the quarters ahead and saw scant relief on the foreign exchange rate front. “Given the current high levels of state and trade balance deficits and banks’ needs to record high levels of write-downs in those two countries, there is a risk that the U.S. dollar and the British pound will weaken further in the medium term.” BMW posted its first year-on-year volume gain this year in September and has forecast this would become a trend during the rest of 2009 thanks to launches of new models such as the BMW X1 and 5 Series Gran Turismo. BMW had said on 7 October that 2009 sales volume might drop by only 10-155 - a key forecast since its finance chief had said in September there was a good chance the group could post a 2009 profit if volumes were not worse than that level. In the first nine months of 2009, group volumes fell 15.7% to 939,554 vehicles. Daimler AG, whose Mercedes-Benz Cars premium division is BMW’s archrival, reported third-quarter group EBIT of 470 million euros. Volkswagen, the parent of premium brand Audi, made an operating profit of 278 million. Shares of BMW trade at around 25 times 12-month forward earnings, a discount to Daimler on 36 times but a premium to VW’s multiple of nearly 17, according to StarMine, which weights analysts’ estimates by their forecasting accuracy. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am Sony Ericsson unveils first Android modelSony Ericsson unveiled its new X10 flagship phone; its first to run on Google's Android operating system.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am Balrampur Chini denies stake sale talkMumbai: Sugar maker Balrampur Chini Mills said on Tuesday it has not entered into any stake sale agreement with rival Bajaj Hindusthan. The company held some talks with Bajaj Hindusthan to discuss future business strategies, it said in a letter to the stock exchange. The Economic Times newspaper on Saturday had reported that that Bajaj Hindusthan was in talks with Balrampur Chini to buy stake from its founders for Rs24 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:51 am Balrampur Chini denies stake sale talkMumbai: Sugar maker Balrampur Chini Mills said on Tuesday it has not entered into any stake sale agreement with rival Bajaj Hindusthan. The company held some talks with Bajaj Hindusthan to discuss future business strategies, it said in a letter to the stock exchange. The Economic Times newspaper on Saturday had reported that that Bajaj Hindusthan was in talks with Balrampur Chini to buy stake from its founders for Rs24 billion. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:51 am Midsession: Sensex falls 1% as Asia, Europe downMumbai: Indian shares extended losses to 1% by Tuesday afternoon, tracking the weakness in Asian and European markets and disappointing corporate earnings announced over the weekend. At 1:56pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 1.06% at 15,727.23 points, with 21 components in the red. The 50-share NSE index was down 1.11% at 4,659.25. Indian shares are trading volatile on Tuesday afternoon after pulling back on Tuesday from an early slide, led by gains in ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro, as investors picked bargains after a steep fall. Private-sector lender ICICI Bank climbed 2.9% to Rs812.90, after it posted an unexpected rise in quarterly profit, helped by trading gains and lower provisions, which offset a rise in bad debts. Larsen & Toubro was up 1.7% at Rs1,594 after the engineering and construction firm said it won a $1.5 billion order. Auto companies pulled ahead on robust vehicle sales for October.Top vehicle maker Tata Motors climbed 1.9% to Rs575.90 after its sales in October grew by 34% from a year earlier. Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra were up 1.5% and 2% respectively. The market had started shakily and fell nearly 9% after a three-day weekend, weighed down by losses in world markets and disappointing earnings from large companies. “Consolidation should continue over few sessions but a steep downside is ruled out,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital. Reliance Communications fell as much as 7.8% after the No. 2 mobile operator said on the weekend its quarterly net profit halved as network expansion costs, derivative losses and low-paying users weighed. “We reiterate reduce on Reliance Communications as low tariffs are unlikely to provide sustainable advantage over the competition,” BNP Paribas Securities said in a note. Reliance Communications was down 4.4% at Rs168.20 after hitting their lowest since 25 March. Energy giant Reliance Industries shed 1.4% to Rs1,905.25 after it posted its fourth straight decline in quarterly profits late on Thursday. Consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever and aluminium producer Hindalco shed 3% and 3.9% respectively following a drop in quarterly profit. In the broader market, losers led gainers in the ratio of 1.7:1 on volume of 167 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:44 am Tata Motors launches SUV Range Rover - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:32 am Koda empire from Africa to Mumbai - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:28 am Over three million tonnes of paddy procured in HaryanaOver three million tonnes of paddy have been procured in Haryana this season since Oct 1, officials said here Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:03 am Jaipur fire: Indian Oil faces negligence chargeAn executive of a private company has filed a complaint against Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) after a fire broke out at its oil depot here Oct 29 killing 11 people and injuring over 150. With four of the 11 tanks in the depot still ablaze on the sixth day, the IOC has been charged with criminal negligence.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Sensex volatile, realty, metals depressedA key index of the Indian equities markets was trading on a volatile note early Tuesday afternoon even as realty, metals and energy stocks came under selling pressure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 3 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Dollar slips, Asian shares ease ahead of FedHong Kong: The dollar slid on Tuesday, pushing gold prices to near record highs, while Asian stocks eased as investors awaited policy announcements from some key central banks this week for clues on the timing of eventual shifts in policy. The Australian dollar slid on profit taking after the Reserve Bank of Australia -- which last month became the first G20 central bank to raise interest rates -- increased its key cash rate by another quarter point as expected. European stock futures eased, while US equity futures were flat with markets awaiting a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting due to begin later in the day. The dollar fell 0.2% against a basket of major currencies as the Fed is not expected to depart from a policy of maintaining low rates for an extended period of time although it could discuss how to prepare markets for an eventual policy shift. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to keep rates unchanged when they announce policy statements on Thursday. The Aussie, which traded as high as $0.9092, hit a low of $0.8990 after the RBA was careful not to fuel expectations of another hike in December. Housing prices are on a tear in Australia, similar to other parts of Asia, keeping monetary authorities increasingly willing to take action to prevent bubbles, but Tuesday’s modest rate rise pointed to gradual not aggressive tightening. “Clearly the Reserve Bank did not want to frighten the horses by lifting interest rates by half of one percent at this time,” said Craig James, chief equities economist at Comsec in Australia. “It is a gradual approach to lifting interest rates.” Swire Spin-off Share prices in Australia dipped while the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was down 0.8%. Evidence of a sustained recovery in world industrial activity may force policymakers to spell out the pace at which unusually abundant and cheap money will be withdrawn and Asian investors appear undecided about the corporate earnings outlook for this quarter, analysts said. The Thomson Reuters index of regional stocks was up 0.4%. Japan’s market was shut because of a public holiday. In Manila, shares of Manila Electric Co (Meralco) rallied 13% in reaction to news that the son of a local mall tycoon had made a surprise offer to buy a stake in the firm. In Hong Kong, shares of Swire Pacific jumped 3% by lunchtime after the conglomerate on Monday said it was considering spinning off its property unit. Share markets in China outperformed the region with the Shanghai composite index up 1.2% as solid earnings and economic data this week continued to encourage investors. US dollar weakness pushed the price of gold up to $1,063 an ounce, from $1,059 in late New York trade and within sight of a record high $1,070.40, struck on 14 October. Gold is up around 20% this year, and will likely keep its record of not having a down year since 2000. The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.8 billion, quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that had threatened to slow gold’s rally. While the IMF’s plan to sell some of its gold holdings had been flagged for a year before it was formally approved in September, the speed of the deal and the buyer were a surprise for traders, who had expected China -- not India -- to be the leading contender as Beijing diversifies its vast reserves. “The fact that they’ve sold the gold to India would suggest there’s going to be fewer official sales by the IMF on the market. So that might be a positive theme for the gold price,” said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. This was the first time since 2000 that the IMF sold gold to a central bank. US oil futures were essentially unchanged and remained above $78 a barrel. Crude’s break of $80 ran out of steam in October, though near-term direction is largely pinned on the US dollar. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:44 am US authorities find floor mat problems in Toyota carsToyota Motor Corp said that US authorities have found no defects in its vehicles in their investigation into an earlier safety recall over driver-side floor mats.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:28 am Videocon gets board's nod to raise Rs 1,245 cr via share saleConsumer durables major Videocon Industries said its board has approved raising Rs 1,245 crore by issuing shares on rights and preferential basis.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:26 am Reliance Comm shares slide on results, outlook - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:24 am L&T bags Rs 6,897 cr order from MahagencoEngineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro said it has bagged an order worth Rs 6,897 crore from Maharashtra State Power Generation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:24 am RCom shares slide on results, outlookNew Delhi: Shares in Reliance Communications fell nearly 8% on Tuesday after the No. 2 mobile operator’s quarterly earnings halved and a crunching call tariff war threatened more pain ahead. “There is already tremendous pressure on operating margins because of the price war and tariff erosion and today’s fall is a knee-jerk reaction to the results,” said K K Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe Capital. Reliance Communications on Saturday reported its quarterly profit for the September quarter fell about 52%, on foreign exchange losses, network expansion costs and growing low-paying users. In October, the company cut all call charges to a flat 50 paise (1 US cent) a minute, reacting to competition from smaller rival Tata Teleservices that outpaced market leaders with its attractive but low-profit per-second bill plan. Market leader Bharti Airtel last week launched a per-second bill plan and Reliance Communications said on Monday it had also evaluated the plan internally and was keeping its options open. Four new operators, including ventures of international firms Telenor and Etisalat, are set to start services this year intensifying competition in a crowded market. “I think a consolidation phase will continue for next three to six months after which you could see a reversal in the outlook,” Mital said. At 12.10 pm, shares in Reliance Communications, valued at more than $7 billion, were trading 4.8% down at Rs167.50 after hitting their lowest since 25 March. Bharti Airtel was up 4.1% at Rs304.10 after falling more than 6% in the previous session on disappointing results and downbeat outlook. Reliance Communications shares lost 43% in October and Bharti fell 30% in the face of the price war. Margin Concerns EBITDA margin, a key gauge of profitability, for Reliance Communication’s wireless business fell to 32.7% for the three months to September from 38.6% in the preceding quarter. Satish Seth, group managing director at the firm’s parent, told analysts on a conference call on Monday the outlook on wireless margins was positive for the December quarter. With much of the new subscriber additions coming from rural areas where people talk less than their urban counterparts, key metrics such as average revenue per user (ARPU) is being hit. Reliance Communications saw its ARPU for September quarter falling to Rs161 from Rs210 in the preceding quarter and sharply off Rs244 for the financial year ended March. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:13 am Reliance Power (Rs 138.5): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of Reliance Power from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts that the stock was on an intermediate-term uptrend from March low of Rs 89 to its June high of Rs 210. Triggered by negative divergenceSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Basmati trade flounders on default by Iran buyersNew Delhi, Nov. 2 Basmati exporters who had contracted large purchases from Iran at highly attractive prices till a couple of months ago are facing payments problems to the tune of Rs 700 crore orSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am ISPs dial up competition panel on Net telephonyNew Delhi, Nov. 2 With the Department of Telecom showing no signs of allowing unrestricted Internet telephony, the Internet Service Providers have filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India seeking a direction to the Government onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Fed out, Govt in again?Continuing job losses, depressed house prices, rising foreclosures, possibility of a crash in commercial real estate — the bad news is not ending for America. Not a happy backdrop for the bimonthly meeting of the Federal Open MarketSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am IMD mounts watch for rains over peninsulaThiruvananthapuram, Nov. 2 India Meteorological Department (IMD) has indicated isolated to scattered rainfall activity over south peninsular India during the next 24 hours before scaling up in intensity later.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if the stop-loss level isSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Rating raises credit flows to small, micro unitsThe credit and performance rating scheme of the Government for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) is beginning to work.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Wheat prices surge on open sale move by GovtWheat prices in the domestic market have raced to a record Rs 1,400 a quintal with the Centre fixing a higher price for selling the grain under the open market saleSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am IT majors go to ECGC for credit risk insurance coverBangalore, Nov. 2 A clutch of IT majors, including Wipro, have approached the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) for credit risk insuranceSource: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Diwali provides the bang to vehicle sales in OctoberMumbai, Nov. 2 On the back of a buoyant Diwali season and growing exports, Maruti Suzuki posted its highest-ever monthly sales at 85,415 units.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Indian gold futures hit new high on IMF saleIndian gold futures climbed to a record high as world prices rose on news the IMF had sold 200 tonnes of gold to the RBI.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:28 pm Recent floods hit cane crop in KarnatakaThe sugarcane crop in Karnataka, India's third-biggest sugar-producing state, has been partly damaged due to recent floods.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:22 pm RBI buys 200 metric tonnes gold from IMF for USD 6.7 bnThe Reserve Bank of India has bought 200 metric tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund for about USD 6.7 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:12 pm Sensex opens weak, down 0.38 percent in early tradeA key index of the Indian equities markets started on a weak note Tuesday and was ruling 0.38 percent in the red about ten minutes into trade.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Asia Pacific | 5 big economies’ stimulus exit plansFast-paced growth has seen Asian economies outpace their global counterparts in recent months, raising the question of when more than a trillion dollars of emergency stimulus money deployed to fight the financial crisis may be lifted. Here is a snapshot of the size, effects, and status of stimulus plans in the Asia Pacific’s five largest economies. Japan Stimulus: $170 billion (15.4 trillion yen), about 3% of GDP, to be paid for by issuing 44 trillion yen in new bonds. State of the economy: Japan made a fragile recovery from its worst recession in World War II in the second quarter and is expected to sustain growth in the third quarter. Some analysts fear a government plan to slash public works spending may nudge growth near zero early next year. Exit Plan: None. Current measures run to March 2010. The Democratic Party, which took power on 30 August, is considering compiling another extra budget and eyeing more huge spending in next fiscal year’s budget. The Bank of Japan said on 30 October it would stop buying corporate bonds and commercial paper at the end of the year, although it extended by three months to March low-interest loans aimed at supporting corporate funding. It has pledged to maintain interest rates near zero for as long as necessary. China Stimulus: Beijing unveiled Asia’s largest stimulus, some 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion), in November 2008, to boost domestic demand through 2010, and complemented it with a record lending spree by the country’s mainly state-owned banks. State of the economy: Growth gradually accelerated to hit 8.9% year-on-year in the third quarter, all but ensuring the government will hit its target of eight percent overall for 2009. Exit Plan: The massive $585 billion stimulus will be disbursed this year and next. Three-year programmes aimed at sectors such as textiles and affordable housing is due to wrap up by 2011. The yuan, which Beijing has effectively repegged to the dollar since July 2008 to aid exporters, remains an issue. Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said on 30 October that currency reforms would continue, but economists doubt the yuan will climb again until well into next year. India Stimulus: $4 billion worth in two packages, 0.4% of GDP, rolled out since October 2008 to revive domestic demand, rural-urban infrastructure and the export sector. State of the economy: Growth in Asia’s third-largest economy slowed to 6.7% in 2008-09 from rates of 9% or more in the previous three years. It is expected to slow to 6.3% in 2009-10, but may rebound to 7% in the fiscal year from April 2010, the finance minister said last month. Exit Plan: India needs more time to decide on an exit strategy, the finance minister said in October. However there are signs that the central bank is looking to start winding back some extraordinary monetary easings, with growth now showing signs of picking up and inflation starting to rise. On 28 October the Reserve Bank of India raised the statutory liquidity ratio by 100 basis points, unwinding a cut made last November during the credit crisis. Australia Stimulus: A$52 billion ($37 billion)-plus in two packages since September 2008, the latest of which at A$42 billion is worth about 2% of GDP this year and 1.3% next year. State of the economy: Australia’s economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter, after suffering only one quarter of contraction during the latest downturn. On 6 October, its central bank became the first in the G-20 to raise interest rates since the crisis, saying the worst for the economy had passed. It raised rates again on 3 November. Exit Plan: The timeframe is 2009-10 for the latest A$42 billion package. In September Treasurer Wayne Swan said economic stimulus would be gradually withdrawn from the last three months of this year on, through to 2011. South Korea Stimulus: 69 trillion won ($51.2 billion), about 7.5% of GDP. The government says the package’s tax breaks and environment-friendly investments could create more than 1.5 million jobs over several years. State of the economy: The economy grew at its fastest rate in more than seven years in the third quarter although this was mainly driven by inventory adjustment. Exit Plan: None in sight. Stimulus timeframe is up to and including 2012. On 24 September, finance minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said it was too early to discuss the timing of an exit strategy. Pressed on likely exit logistics, he said credit guarantees and rolling over loans for small and medium enterprises may be the first to be withdrawn to restore “market discipline.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Finnair launches initiative for children of BiharNordic carrier Finnair has launched a new programme as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative in India to ensure safe drinking water and proper sanitation for the children of Bihar.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm Larsen and Toubro bags Rs.6,897 crore orderConstruction and engineering major Larsen and Toubro (L and amp;T) Tuesday said it had bagged a Rs.6,897 crore order from Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. (Mahagenco) to build three boiler turbine units for an upcoming supercritical power plant of 1,980 MW.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm Stimulus exit plans for Asia-Pacific's big five economiesThe question is - when will more than a trillion dollars of emergency stimulus money deployed to fight the financial crisis be lifted?Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm Now, A Raja accuses NDA of over Rs 1.6L cr telecom scam - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Nov 2009 | 10:51 pm Rupee down 10 paise at 47.06 dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 47.06 against the US dollar in early trade largely on fears of fresh capital outflows by foreign funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm Kraft quarterly results could make a case to CadburyChicago: Kraft Foods Inc will need to show progress in cutting costs and improving organic revenue when it reports earnings on Tuesday, in a bid to convince Cadbury shareholders it is a viable deal partner. Lower commodity prices and cost controls helped other consumer-staples companies beat analyst estimates in recent weeks, including Kellogg Co, Clorox Co and General Mills Inc. They also came in slightly ahead of muted revenue expectations. If that trend holds for Kraft -- which is due to present a formal takeover bid for UK confectioner Cadbury by 9 November-- it could boost the company’s shares and make for a more compelling offer. “The trend has been for food companies across the board to beat the number,” Edward Jones analyst Matt Arnold said. “I haven’t seen many companies in consumers staples post a miss lately.” Kraft is likely to stick by its initial cash and stock proposal to Cadbury shareholders that was disclosed on 7 September, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. That deal was valued at 745 pence a share, or £10.2 billion ($16.7 billion), at the time. The proposed bid was worth 733.4 pence, or £10.06 billion ($16.5 billion) Monday afternoon based on the decline in Kraft shares. The world’s No. 2 foodmaker is scheduled to post third-quarter earnings after the New York Stock Exchange closes at 4pm EST (2100 GMT). Letting the Numbers Do the Talking Kraft chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld is not expected to take questions about the Cadbury bid when she talks to analysts about earnings on Tuesday, a spokesman said. But the results will help set the stage for Kraft’s bid. The maker of Velveeta cheese and Oreo cookies is expected to post earnings of 48 cents a share in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters, up from 44 cents a year earlier, with lower commodity costs and its own cost-cutting measures helping boost profits. But revenue is expected to fall to $10.32 billion from $10.46 billion, hurt by divestitures and strength in the dollar compared with a year earlier. Cadbury chairman Roger Carr dubbed Kraft a “low growth conglomerate” in his letter to Rosenfeld rejecting the initial offer and analysts say Kraft will need to show sustainable growth prospects to overcome that perception. In the past three quarters, Kraft has actually disappointed analysts in terms of revenue, with sales coming in 2%, 3% and 4.6% below expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. Earnings per share have been better, with the company reporting earnings of 4.4% more than analysts expected in the second quarter and 13.3% more than expectations in the first quarter. Kraft’s earnings’ report comes almost two weeks after Cadbury reported a 7% rise in underlying sales for the third quarter, beating even the most bullish forecasts. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 10:35 pm Kraft quarterly results could make a case to CadburyChicago: Kraft Foods Inc will need to show progress in cutting costs and improving organic revenue when it reports earnings on Tuesday, in a bid to convince Cadbury shareholders it is a viable deal partner. Lower commodity prices and cost controls helped other consumer-staples companies beat analyst estimates in recent weeks, including Kellogg Co, Clorox Co and General Mills Inc. They also came in slightly ahead of muted revenue expectations. If that trend holds for Kraft -- which is due to present a formal takeover bid for UK confectioner Cadbury by 9 November-- it could boost the company’s shares and make for a more compelling offer. “The trend has been for food companies across the board to beat the number,” Edward Jones analyst Matt Arnold said. “I haven’t seen many companies in consumers staples post a miss lately.” Kraft is likely to stick by its initial cash and stock proposal to Cadbury shareholders that was disclosed on 7 September, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. That deal was valued at 745 pence a share, or £10.2 billion ($16.7 billion), at the time. The proposed bid was worth 733.4 pence, or £10.06 billion ($16.5 billion) Monday afternoon based on the decline in Kraft shares. The world’s No. 2 foodmaker is scheduled to post third-quarter earnings after the New York Stock Exchange closes at 4pm EST (2100 GMT). Letting the Numbers Do the Talking Kraft chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld is not expected to take questions about the Cadbury bid when she talks to analysts about earnings on Tuesday, a spokesman said. But the results will help set the stage for Kraft’s bid. The maker of Velveeta cheese and Oreo cookies is expected to post earnings of 48 cents a share in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters, up from 44 cents a year earlier, with lower commodity costs and its own cost-cutting measures helping boost profits. But revenue is expected to fall to $10.32 billion from $10.46 billion, hurt by divestitures and strength in the dollar compared with a year earlier. Cadbury chairman Roger Carr dubbed Kraft a “low growth conglomerate” in his letter to Rosenfeld rejecting the initial offer and analysts say Kraft will need to show sustainable growth prospects to overcome that perception. In the past three quarters, Kraft has actually disappointed analysts in terms of revenue, with sales coming in 2%, 3% and 4.6% below expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. Earnings per share have been better, with the company reporting earnings of 4.4% more than analysts expected in the second quarter and 13.3% more than expectations in the first quarter. Kraft’s earnings’ report comes almost two weeks after Cadbury reported a 7% rise in underlying sales for the third quarter, beating even the most bullish forecasts. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 10:35 pm L&T bags Rs 6897-cr order from Mahagenco - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm Dal Khalsa halts trains in Amritsar, threatens strikeTrains, including the Shatabdi Express from Amritsar to Delhi, were stopped Tuesday by radical Sikh activists at the railway station here following a call for a strike by Dal Khalsa and other organisations who are seeking justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, an official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm Suzuki quadruples operating profit forecast as sales soarTokyo: Suzuki Motor Corp. quadrupled its annual operating profit forecast on Monday as sales soared in its main Indian market, setting it apart from other Japanese auto makers that have depended heavily on the sinking US market.  Bright outlook: A Maruti Suzuki showroom in New Delhi. Suzuki expects a net profit of 15 billion yen instead of 5 billion yen. Ramesh Pathania / Mint Suzuki, like South Korean rival Hyundai Motor Co., has benefited from a global shift in consumer preference towards smaller cars. Both car makers’ huge presence in India, where the economy’s resilience and tax incentives have brought demand back for cars, has helped them weather the storm better than most in the industry. Suzuki, Japan’s fourth biggest auto maker, raised its operating profit outlook to 40 billion yen (around Rs2,091 crore) for the year to March, from an initial forecast of 10 billion yen. It now expects a net profit of 15 billion yen instead of 5 billion yen. Consensus forecasts from 16 brokerages put Suzuki’s operating profit for the year at 46.6 billion yen, and net profit at 22.8 billion yen. Earlier, Daihatsu Motor Co., the mini-vehicle unit of Toyota Motor Corp., and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, maker of Subaru cars, also raised their full-year forecasts after better-than-anticipated six-month results. For July-September, Suzuki, known for its Swift and Alto hatchback cars, reported a 7.1% fall in operating profit to 24.98 billion yen from the second quarter last year, as global sales volumes decreased and the yen rose against the dollar. Last week, Suzuki’s Indian unit, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, reported a near doubling in quarterly net profit, also powered by brisk exports to Europe. Shares of Suzuki lost 3.5% in the second quarter, underperforming Tokyo’s transport sector subindex, which was flat. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm IIM-A placements begin on positive noteNew Delhi: The summer placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIM-A) have started off well, the premier business school said in a statement on Monday. Consulting firms McKinsey and Co., Boston Consulting Group and Bain and Co. will have three to five students joining them as summer interns in April next year. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays would also accept five summer interns each, the institute said. Royal Bank of Scotland hired at least 10 summer interns for its Hong Kong, Singapore, New Delhi and London offices. Not less than 300 students slated to graduate in 2011 will start summer internships next year. A good summer placement season could be a precursor to a robust job market for graduates in February next year. “Yes, it definitely felt like a good placement season. Lots of familiar names were back on campus,” said Abhishek Malhotra, partner at consulting firm Booz and Co., which offered three internships. “There was a good sense of optimism from students as well as recruiters.” India’s business schools were impacted by the global financial crisis and the absence of Wall Street recruiters in the final placement season of 2009, when graduating students find full-time jobs, despite a good summer placement season in 2008. IIM-A had announced after the final placements that it had taken nine days to find jobs for students in its graduating batch and that average domestic salaries on offer had fallen 32% to Rs12.17 lakh a year. “A day that began with great apprehension for the first year students gradually brought relief and cheer to the students as they found that placements had indeed started on expected lines, with regular partners back to recruit and some new firms to choose from”, said Rohan Desai, a student at the institute who interacts with the media. Some of the other consulting firms that recruited summer interns were AT Kearney and Arthur D. Little. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:27 pm Hyundai Motor India MD tranferredNew Delhi: H.S. Lheem, managing director of Hyundai’s Indian subsidiary has been transferred to its Seoul headquarters, the company said in a statement. Lheem, who has been in charge of Indian operations since December 2005 will be replaced by H. W. Park, senior executive director, administration and chief financial officer, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. “He will assume a senior management position at the Korean headquarters,” said company spokesperson Rajiv Mitra, without specifying what that new role would be. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm Ikea hopes to double sourcing from India Chennai: The world’s largest furniture retailer Inter Ikea Systems BV (popularly known as Ikea) may have shelved its plans to set up shop in India, but the Swedish company is keen to add more Indian suppliers to its rack.  Strategic move: Susanne Pulverer Bergstrand, Ikea’s trading manager for South Asia. The firm is looking for suppliers who can cut costs. Ramesh Pathania / Mint The move—the first of its kind in several years—aims at increasing India’s paltry 3% share of Ikea’s worldwide purchases that will shrink its overarching dependence on Chinese manufacturers contributing 21% to Ikea’s supply pie. At a four-star hotel in Chennai last month, nearly 35 makers of textile, steel and plastic products—some having flown down from Punjab and Gujarat—gathered to learn about Ikea’s supplier requirements. Over dinner, they hobnobbed with the retailer’s New Delhi-based trading manager for South Asia, Susanne Pulverer Bergstrand, and existing Ikea suppliers. “China is our biggest sourcing market but we don’t want to be dependant on one market and we think India presents an opportunity,” Bergstrand told Mint on the sidelines of the supplier meet. “Raw materials like cotton and steel are readily available, which we could benefit from.” As the budget furniture company runs lengthy checks and audits on new suppliers’ factories, sourcing from India is expected to inch up a little more than the 10% growth seen last year. But in five years, Bergstrand expects Ikea’s new Indian suppliers to chip in €500 million (around Rs3,500 crore) worth of products for the company, double the €250 million from existing Indian partners. “There is some level of discomfort with Chinese policies where the economy is not free (market-driven) but largely government-controlled,” says Pinaki Ranjan Mishra, partner at accounting firm Ernst and Young. “So companies want to diversify their risk and have India also as a major source rather than just depending on China.” Ikea, known for its low-priced, do-it-yourself assembly furniture designed in minimalist Scadinavian styles, has been anxious to enforce stronger belt-tightening measures after feeling the heat from price-cutting rivals during the economic downturn. In 2008-09, worldwide sales touched €21.5 billion with growth being in the low single digit compared with strong double-digit growth the previous year as the housing bubble bust hit demand for home improvement and styling products. Earlier this year, the company cancelled a $1 billion (around Rs4,700 crore) investment plan to start retailing in India after the government refused to raise the 51% foreign ownership cap on single-brand stores to full ownership. Still, the Scandinavian group opened 15 stores in 11 countries that increased its sourcing needs. India has been on Ikea’s map for more than three decades as a destination for textiles and carpets with nearly 2,000 made-in-India articles sold in close to 300 stores worldwide. But the company is interested in tying up with Indian suppliers in the plastics, steel, lighting and natural fibre categories as well. As a retailer who lowers prices on products every year and is currently languishing amidst lacklustre sales, Ikea is looking for suppliers who can shrink costs through size. And after the brand took a hit in the 1990s for employing contractors in South-East Asia who used child labour, there is a heightened expectation from its manufacturers about control over the entire supply chain to ensure compliance with ethical business practices. “We could move some of the sourcing from countries such as China and Turkey to India but if 10 years ago we could do with a medium sized supplier, today it doesn’t help us,” says Bergstrand. “We also want our suppliers to be vertically integrated. For example, if you are a textile manufacturer, we want you to have control of the dyeing unit and have a water treatment plant to be compliant with our environmental norms.” So while it has set a target to double its sourcing from south India from the existing €50 million, it is only eyeing companies that have economies of scale which aids lower costs and those controlling a big chunk of their manufacturing and supply chain processes. At the Chennai interaction with the company, some prospective suppliers complained about Ikea’s integration or control from farm-to-ship requirement as being unrealistic in a world aiming for lower costs through specialization and outsourcing. And then there’s the danger of raising the decibels of labour unrest, as is the case in the Indian auto sector, if you employ a large workforce in a vertically integrated setup. “Outsourcing is a norm today and companies try to specialize in certain processes and outsource others,” says Milind Munglikar, a director at Zen Linen International Pvt. Ltd that logged Rs60 crore of exports last year and claims to be one of the largest Asian exporters of pillows and cushions. This prospective Ikea supplier that also supplies to French retail chain Carrefour SA and saw a big dip in US exports last year, has gone through various audits with the furniture maker over the past one year, implementing suggestions for worker safety such as adding a mesh to certain machines in its factory located in a special economic zone in Chennai. But Zen Linen executives are still waiting to hear back from the Swedish chain whose enthusiasm, they say, seems to have waned after the initial excitement last year. But N.R. Venkatachalan, a supplier based in the central Tamil Nadu district of Karur, who has manufactured bedspreads, curtains and other furnishings for Ikea since 1982, knows that the retailer is looking for long-term supplier relationships and is not going to be in a hurry to marry. Venkatachalam, whose firm Asian Fabricx Pvt. Ltd buys yarn from another producer but has inhouse dyeing, cutting, stitching and packing units, has no sympathy for exporters complaining about Ikea’s integration demands. “In this business environment, you have to fulfil the total requirements of your client,” says Venkatachalam, 68, a former lawyer whose business has grown from Rs4-6 crore in 1992 to Rs80 crore last year. “You have to offer a competitive price, quality product and timely delivery and only then will they be happy and keep buying from you. Otherwise, they will just go to another country.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm HSBC not looking at listing in IndiaTaipei: Stephen Green, group chairman of British banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc, said on Monday at a conference that the lender is not planning to follow rival Standard Chartered Plc’s footsteps in considering a listing in India. Standard Chartered said in October it is working with Indian authorities for a listing in the country, possibly in the second quarter of next year. The bank also said it is looking at acquisition opportunities in emerging markets and plans to open new branches in China. “In terms of things that come up in Asia, we are of course interested in seeing things come up... China is obviously one market we are interested in,” the bank’s Asia-Pacific chief executive, Sandy Flockhart, told reporters in Taipei following a board meeting. “Generally speaking, the emerging markets...are where we would like to see the bulk of our investments taking place,” he said. HSBC aims to have 100 outlets in China at the end of this year, up from the current 87, and add another 15-20 in 2010 as it obtains regulatory approval, Flockhart said. The banking titan is in advanced talks to buy the retail and commercial banking assets of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) in China, India and Malaysia, Dow Jones Newswires said, citing an unnamed source. HSBC in August mandated China International Capital Corp. and Citic Securities as bookrunners on its planned $3-5 billion (Rs14,100-23,500 crore) Shanghai initial public offering next year, Dow Jones said. The bank is seeking a 2010 listing. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm HSBC not looking at listing in IndiaTaipei: Stephen Green, group chairman of British banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc, said on Monday at a conference that the lender is not planning to follow rival Standard Chartered Plc’s footsteps in considering a listing in India. Standard Chartered said in October it is working with Indian authorities for a listing in the country, possibly in the second quarter of next year. The bank also said it is looking at acquisition opportunities in emerging markets and plans to open new branches in China. “In terms of things that come up in Asia, we are of course interested in seeing things come up... China is obviously one market we are interested in,” the bank’s Asia-Pacific chief executive, Sandy Flockhart, told reporters in Taipei following a board meeting. “Generally speaking, the emerging markets...are where we would like to see the bulk of our investments taking place,” he said. HSBC aims to have 100 outlets in China at the end of this year, up from the current 87, and add another 15-20 in 2010 as it obtains regulatory approval, Flockhart said. The banking titan is in advanced talks to buy the retail and commercial banking assets of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) in China, India and Malaysia, Dow Jones Newswires said, citing an unnamed source. HSBC in August mandated China International Capital Corp. and Citic Securities as bookrunners on its planned $3-5 billion (Rs14,100-23,500 crore) Shanghai initial public offering next year, Dow Jones said. The bank is seeking a 2010 listing. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm Low credit growth offset by other funding sources Reserve Bank of India data shows that non-food bank credit increased by Rs1,18,257 crore in the first half of 2009-10, less than 50% of the growth in the same period last year. One reason for the low growth is the lower requirement of credit by petroleum and fertilizer firms, which were forced to bear the burden of subsidies last year. Credit to these firms grew by Rs22,391 crore in the first half of 2008-09, while it contracted by Rs9,179 crore in the same period this year. Even after adjusting for this impact and after taking into account the impact of bank investments in corporate paper, the adjusted non-food credit growth this fiscal year is still substantially lower than what it was in the same period of 2008-09. Also Read | Are RCom’s accounting policies falling in line?  Graphics: Yogesh Kumar / Mint Public issues by non-financial entities, private placements by non-financial firms and commercial paper subscribed to by non-banking firms were substantially higher this fiscal. Resources made available by Life Insurance Corp. of India, too, were higher. Among foreign sources, while the volume of external commercial borrowings is lower, global and American depositary issues by non-banking companies have been more than last year. Foreign direct investment inflows have also increased. Taking all these sources into consideration, the total flow of resources to the commercial sector in the first half of the year has been Rs3,37,991 crore, 72% of last fiscal’s first-half tally of Rs4,68,211 crore. And if only the September quarter numbers are considered, the shortfall is only 20%. That probably accounts for the fact that despite the steep slowdown in bank credit growth, there’s little talk of a credit crunch by businesses. In 2007-08, non-food credit accounted for 44% of the total flow of resources to the commercial sector. In the first half of 2008-09, it accounted for 51% of total resources. In the first half of the current fiscal, it accounted for 32% of total resources. It shows how important non-bank funding for firms has been this year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:24 pm RCom sees India telecom consolidationNew Delhi: Intensifying competition in the Indian telecommunications sector, the world’s fastest growing in mobile sign ups, should kick off an industry consolidation in two years, a senior official at Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) said.  Expanding services: RCom says it will use a portion of its Rs10,000 crore planned investment this fiscal to fund the roll-out of 3G services. Hemant Mishra / Mint With four firms, including ventures of Norway’s Telenor SA and United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat set to start operations in India this year, existing players led by RCom and bigger rival Bharti Airtel Ltd have slashed call charges to lure users. India, which has 11 mobile operators, has this year added an average 14 million mobile users a month. Analysts say still there is huge potential as only 40 people of every 100 own mobile phones from a population of over a billion. Call rates in India have dropped to less than 1 US cent (around Re0.50) per minute, the world’s cheapest, squeezing profit margins of firms. Satish Seth, group managing director at RCom’s parent, told analysts in a conference call on Monday the competitive activity will only increase in the near term. “The overhang of these developments will accelerate the process of industry consolidation in the next 18-24 months,” he said. RCom on Saturday reported its quarterly profit fell by half, on foreign exchange losses, network expansion costs and growing low-paying users. Net profit fell 52% to Rs740 crore for the September quarter from the corresponding period last fiscal. It posted foreign exchange-related losses of Rs283 crore and a dip in wireless sales. Revenue rose by 1% to Rs5,703 crore, compared with Rs5,645 crore in the year-ago period. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin, a key gauge of profitability, for the wireless business fell to 32.7% for the three months to September, from 38.6% in the preceding quarter. In response to a question whether the company expects wireless Ebitda margin to improve in the December quarter, Seth said: “The outlook is positive.” RCom, which had 86.1 million wireless users at end-September, saw key metrics such as average revenue per user falling to Rs161 for the September quarter, from Rs 210 in the preceding quarter and sharply off Rs244 for the fiscal year ended March. RCom said on Monday that it will use a portion of its Rs10,000 crore planned investment this fiscal to fund the roll-out of so-called third generation (3G) services. “We had given a capex (capital expenditure) guidance of Rs10,000 crore for the current fiscal and we will stick to it,” one RCom official said in the conference call on Monday. “We have spent only Rs2,000 crore in the first two quarters. Now that 3G is round the corner, we will take care of that expenditure within this only,” said the official, one of five RCom executives who took part in the call and couldn’t immediately be identified. Taking part in the call, apart from Seth, were president of value added services Mahesh Prasad, president of Reliance Infratel Inder Bajaj, president of enterprise solutions George Varghese and president of global business Punit Garg. The government is to start in January the auction of 3G spectrum, which will enable high-speed Internet and video downloads on mobile phones. Mint’s Bhuma Shrivastava in Mumbai contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm Ubuntu bets on cloud computing, tie-upsMumbai: UK-based software firm Canonical Ltd is banking on Karmic Koala, the latest version of its free Linux-based operating system (OS) Ubuntu that it launched last week, to penetrate markets such as India where an impending launch of third generation (3G) services is expected to make cloud computing accessible to individual users. Cloud computing refers to a scalable set of information technology services a user can access over the Internet. Mobile 3G phone services allow users to surf the Internet at speeds faster than those supported by current cellular technologies. “We are very encouraged that India is on the verge of launching 3G-enabled telecom services that will make more broadband options available,” Kenneth Edwards, Canonical’s global strategy manager who was in India last week ahead of the launch, told Mint. Ubuntu has seen some success in India, with at least two government projects using the OS. The Assam Electronics Development Corp. in 2008 picked Ubuntu for 28,000 computers for students who scored at least 60% in their class X exams. Last month, Kerala chose Ubuntu for all personal computers of members of the state legislative assembly. In both instances, Canonical will provide Ubuntu for free but charge for support services. Prakash Advani, partner and manager, central Asia, at Canonical, said once broadband connectivity improves through 3G networks, Ubuntu’s built-in cloud capabilities will popularize it among computer users as well as businesses. Coming on the heels of Windows 7, the latest operating system from Microsoft Corp. and Snow Leopard from Apple Inc., Ubuntu is banking on Karmic Koala to raise its market share. According to research firm Gartner Inc., Linux has less than 3% market share in India among enterprise and individual users. It could, however, be a while before Linux systems are able to significantly dent Microsoft’s popularity. “Linux needs a slightly more mature audience to reproduce the capabilities of Windows,” said Nishant Singh, principal analyst at the Indian arm of UK-based technology advisory Ovum. “Ubuntu, however, definitely brings more than the other flavours of Linux have ever done in the past.” It brings with it a new level of marketability, he said. “The operating system market (in countries such as India) will be heterogeneous,” said Rajan Anandan, managing director, Microsoft India, “Everybody will have their respective place.” While he said there was room for open-source options in India given its price-conscious consumers, Anandan said market share numbers are “clearly indicative of user preference”. Open-source software are those whose source code is freely available, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute it without paying fees. In its efforts to reach out to more individual users, Canonical is also focusing on tie-ups with computer makers where a buyer has the option of pre-installing a computer with Ubuntu. It has agreements with computer makers such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Toshiba Corp. Late last month, Canonical tied up with Delhi-based Simmtronics Semiconductors Ltd. It has also entered into a global tie-up with International Business Machines Corp. to provide businesses a free alternative to Windows 7. Emerging markets such as India can save on costs considerably by using free and open-source software, say experts such as Rahul De, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. In a September paper, De wrote that government departments, businesses, non-government organizations and educational institutions could save as much as Rs10,000 crore in 2010 by switching to free open-source software. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pm PlayStation still has a long way to go in Indian marketMumbai: Atindriya Bose, country manager, PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment, talks about the company’s future strategies and the launch of Desi Adda: Games of India, its first console game developed in the country for PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation2 (PS2) that can be played in three Indian languages. Edited excerpts:  Slow and steady: PlayStation’s Bose says Desi Adda, with six traditional Indian games and three language options, is targeted at new gamers. It’s been nine years since PS2 was launched in India. There’s some fear that the games collection would dry up. Will you go back to the catalogue of old games or invest in developing new content? It’s a combination of both for India because in this market PlayStation still has a long way to go. Indian developers and our partnership with them is working fine in bringing newer content and content we can take to international markets. Desi Adda: Games of India, which features traditional Indian games such as Pachisi, Kite Flight and Kabbadi, among others, for example, will also be launched in South Africa, Middle East markets and the UK. The second is the catalogue strategy. Even though PS2 was launched in 2001 in India, it has only picked up steam in the last two years where the market actually grew. This catalogue approach has worked well here because you can be selective and bring in stuff that is suited to this market. How has PlayStation done in India? On an annual basis, all consoles put together (PSP, PS2 and PS3), we now sell 300,000 consoles every year. Of this, PS2 and the PSP account for 80% of units sold. In terms of market drivers and penetration, PlayStation2 has now gone even beyond the Top 20 cities, followed by PSP, while the PS3 is still a top 10 metro phenomenon. Keeping this in mind, the content being developed here is largely for PS2 and PSP, as it has been developed for new gamers and has been designed of them. For PS3, international content strategy works very well. Desi Adda, which showcases six traditional Indian games, has been developed for PSP and PS2 in three languages—Hindi, Tamil and Punjabi —and the price points for these and the content are targeted at new gamers. While the challenges are elaborate enough, you don’t want depth of game—which is 70-80 hours—which can push up the price. So, while there is certain limit on game play, it definitely matches international standards. While the recession did slow things for everyone, the rate of growth has bounced back, with impressive sales during the back-to-school season and Diwali this year. There was some talk of launching educational games that would help students preparing for competitive exams such as the civil services. Is there any progress on that? We will launch two games within the next month. The first is World Quiz, which tests you on questions that would typically be asked in an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) exam or at the school-exam level. The other is even more focused on professional courses and will typically be handy for students appearing for an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) entrance exam, engineering exam or medical exam. So, we will be going to the educational community to market these games, such as coaching classes, and these products will be priced at Rs499. What are the new products that have been developed in India and that Sony is looking to launch here? You will see a lot more games being developed out of India and there are several projects in the pipeline. After Hanuman: Boy Warrior and Desi Adda: Games of India, we have two quiz games in the educational space for entrance exams. We will be moving into cricket as well. Not the cricket that you see at the Ashes, but the kind of cricket that you see Indians playing on the street, more of a gulli cricket. Following that, there are three or fours new properties that will be launched. What is the potential for brand tie-ups and branded content? The potential is fairly great. While it has been done extensively internationally, we aren’t pursuing it actively here. The objective is to get the numbers in any indirect revenues are not a priority at this point. Internationally, Sony has launched its new games in digital theatres. Will we see more of that here? We have done it here as well. We have Sony Pictures and in that studio, we have launched games such as God of War and GT5, which lend themselves well to large-screen format. In games such as these, we need to create a mood, (which is) why we chose to launch it in this way. In each case, we determine which strategy works best and we will go with that. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm Unscrambling digital cinemaScrabble's unique business model gives a new direction to Indias digital cinema market.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:43 am Retailers make a comeback from the margins of crisisPowered by aggressive cost cutting and favourable terms from real estate developers, retailers have posted a healthy increase in operating profit margins (OPM).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:42 am 'Defence must give DoT 3G spectrum'Can deliver revenue by February if auction goes smoothly, he tells FM in letter.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am Chandigarh's National Crafts Mela ends, to be annual eventThe 10-day National Crafts Mela held in this union territory (UT) ended Monday, with organisers planning to make it an annual affair.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am Sugarcane farmers up in arms against price policyAfter expressing dissatisfaction with the Mayawati government's announcement of a hike of Rs.25 per quintal in the price of sugarcane, the four million sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh are now up in arms against the central government's recently announced purchase policy.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am Jute council eyes African, East European marketsIn its bid to promote and make people aware of jute products, the Jute Manufacturers Development Council (JMDC) is eyeing the African, East European and Canadian markets, an official said here Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 2 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am Shell to cut 5000 jobs as part of restructuringHouston: Owing to the weak global economy, Royal Dutch Shell reported on Thursday a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings and production and said it would cut 5,000 jobs. The 5,000 jobs would be cut from the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas group as part of a restructuring that began earlier this year. The job losses are part of a programme called Transition 2009, which was put in place by Peter Voser, who started as chief executive in July. The cutbacks represent some 4.9% of the corporation’s 102,000-member staff, and almost 10% in those divisions Shell is merging. Voser said the corporation had to take “stringent measures to further improve our performance” and its “competitive cost position”. Although the corporation had “some indications that energy demand and pricing are improving,” he said, “the outlook remains very uncertain, and we are not expecting a quick recovery. “Voser said the reorganisation, due to be completed by the end of the year was “progressing well” and had already reduced operating costs by $1 billion (0.676 billion euros) in the first nine months of this year. The energy giant said production in the third quarter amounted to 2. 93 million barrels a day, lower than the 3.39 million barrels analysts had counted on. Shell’s third quarter earnings on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis were $3 billion (2. 03 billion euros) compared with $10.9 billion during the same period last year. Voser said Shell’s third quarter results “were affected by the weak global economy.” This was more than the $2.62 billion analysts had predicted. Basic CCS earnings per share decreased by 72% versus the like quarter a year ago. Net profits amounted to $3.2 billion, compared with $8.5 billion in the like period last year. The decline in oil and gas prices hit Shell’s upstream division, which saw profits fall 82% to $1.54bn as oil and gas production fell. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 5:16 am Google world’s most attractive employer, Microsoft followsStockholm/New Delhi: Internet search giant Google has emerged as the most sought after company for business as well as engineering graduates, according to two surveys, which term the company as the world’s “most attractive employer” followed closely by rival, Microsoft. According to the surveys compiled by global employer branding firm Universum, Google has been ranked at the top spot in the list of top 50 global businesses and engineering companies. About Google, the surveys said, “Google’s number one position is no surprise. Due to its remarkable brand image, students worldwide see it as a company they would like to work for.” The search giant is followed by Pricewaterhouse where most B-Schools students want to work, while engineering graduates preferred Microsoft as their second choice. For business students, Microsoft is the third choice, financial services major Goldman Sachs Group is fourth, Ernst & Young (fifth), Procter & Gamble (sixth), J P Morgan (seventh), KPMG (eighth), McKinsey & Company (ninth) and Deloitte (10th). “The employers that feature in this Top 50 all have one thing in common: they successfully appeal to current and future talent, and they are aware of how scarce talent is,” Universum said. Soft drink major Coca-Cola has been placed at the 13th position, while Citigroup has cornered the 21st place for itself among the list for business students. However, irrespective of ranks, the top 50 global employers for business and engineering students are very similar, showing strong employer brands transcend many skill and industry groups. Conversely, Oracle and Philip Morris make it to the top 50 for business students, but not for engineering students. GlaxoSmithKline and Alcatel-Lucent appear in the engineering ranking, yet not in the business ranking. Meanwhile, in the list of top 50 employers for engineering students Microsoft is followed by IBM at the third spot, BMW (fourth), Intel (fifth), General Electric (sixth), Sony (seventh), Siemens (eighth), Shell (ninth) and Procter & Gamble (10th). However, despite it being one of the toughest years for car manufactures, BMW and Daimler appear in the global top 50 ranking in both lists. The global rankings based on the survey of about 1,20,000 students highlights the world’s most powerful employer brands and those companies that are “the most successful in talent attraction and retention.” Students from the US, Japan, China, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Russia, Spain, Canada and India’s top academic institutions took part in the survey. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 4:14 am Net gets a desi flavour with Web names in Indian languagesNew Delhi: Imagine accessing Internet in your mother tongue. It is possible now with the international body, which manages domain names allowing use of seven Indian languages in Web addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a global non-profit organisation, has taken the decision to allow Web addresses in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Telegu. The decision was taken in Seoul, where a conference of ICANN was going on. Till now, on the Web all domain names were available only in Latin characters from “A to Z”. Domain names -.com, .net, .org, .in - are used as identification labels. Now, users can type Web addresses in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Telegu. Govind, Senior Director, who was representing the Department of Information Technology (DIT), said “this will be a revolutionary move on the World Wide Web (www) that would dignify the presence of Indian vernacular languages on Internet.” He further confirmed that more languages would be added in the near future. DIT has started giving free fonts in 22 official Indian languages. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 2 Nov 2009 | 4:11 am
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