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Ban on raw sugar import to be shortlived: Simbhaoli SugarsThe Uttar Pradesh government has asked all the concerned districts to ban offloading of raw sugar to private sugar mills in western parts of the state owing to a major law and order problem in the state. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Sanjay Tapriya, Director of Finance, Simbhaoli Sugars spoke about the ban and possible impact.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am Ambani dispute back to square one as judge quitsA highprofile legal dispute between India\'s billionaire Ambani brothers was disrupted on Wednesday when a judge withdrew from a Supreme Court hearing, citing potential conflict of interest.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am SC judge withdraws from Ambani gas rowJustice R V Raveendran, part of the threejudge Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, has recused himself from RILRNRL case reports CNBCTV18s Nayantara Rai.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am Lower costs help midcap firm profits; sales still a worryCost controls and lower raw material prices have helped quarterly profits at many companies beat estimates despite lacklustre sales, but the reasons for growth are fast evaporating as inflation picks up and with no sustained demand rise imminent.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:44 am GMR contructs Istanbul Airport terminal in record 18 mnthsThere is another feather in the GMR Group\'s cap. GMR is part of the consortium that has completed the new terminal of the Istanbul Airport in a record 18 months. Karma Paljor caught up with GM Rao, Chairman of GMR Group, to ask him how this task was accomplished.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am UP govt puts temporary ban on raw sugar importsIn an interview with CNBCTV18, SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com spoke about the ban on import of raw sugar and its ramifications going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:56 am JSW Steel Oct crude steel output rises 34%JSW Steel Ltd, India\'s No. 3 steel producer, said on Wednesday its October crude steel production rose 34% to 453,000 tonnes on year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:25 am SAIL cuts flat product pricesSteel Authority of India Ltd has cut flat product prices by Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 ($16 to 32) a tonne, its chairman said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am Rural Elec Corp share sale may raise $740 mlnRural Elec Corp share sale may raise $740 mlnSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am Vishal Retail signs CDR package for Rs 730cr debtIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Ambeek Khemka Group President of Vishal Retail spoke about the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package and road ahead for the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Nov 2009 | 6:02 am Food inflation worrying; rabi crops should ease prices: Sharad PawarAccording to government data, wholesale prices of food articles went up by about 13 per cent year-on-year for the week ended October 17. Pulses rose sharply by 23%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:24 am Nifty rallies past 4700 led by realty, metals - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am Reuters Summit - Auto suppliers poised for more consolidationPARIS (Reuters) - Automotive suppliers can look forward to a wave of consolidation as businesses hit hard by the crisis seek to restructure, boost economies of scale and gain access to new technologies, industry executives said at the Reuters Auto Summit.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:17 am Cong leader justifies cases against Koda - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am INTERVIEW - SKF CEO: environment uncertain, pricing toughBANGALORE (Reuters) - Sweden's SKF, the world's biggest bearings maker, sees uncertain business environment despite stabilisation in demand in some sectors and markets, its chief executive said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:12 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes up 3.4 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex closed 3.4 percent higher on Wednesday, helped by a rise in global equities, after falling 8.4 percent over the previous six sessions.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:10 am Debt relief for small coffee growers soonThe commerce and industry ministry will soon come out with a debt relief package for small coffee growers, according to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya M. Scindia.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Apex court judge quits Reliance gas dispute caseJustice R.V. Raveendran, a member of the three-judge Supreme Court bench hearing the dispute between companies led by the two Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, over supply and pricing of natural gas, quit the case Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am Farm sector growth will be below 4 percent: Plan panel chiefIndia's farm sector growth will be less than 4 percent this fiscal on account of floods and deficient monsoon in some parts of the country, the Planning Commission chief said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am GM keeps Opel, Nissan eyes profit as recovery picks upFRANKFURT/TOKYO (Reuters) - General Motors' shock decision to scrap the sale of its Opel unit, along with raised forecasts from Japan's Nissan Motor Co, indicates increasing confidence in the global auto industry's recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Indian rupee extends gains in line with shares - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Garment exporters worried over US firm's bankruptcy filingIndian garment exporters, already reeling under a severe demand crunch in key markets, have expressed concern over the application for bankruptcy protection filed in the US by CIT group, among the largest lenders to small and medium sized businesses.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Sensex rises 2.9 percent as buying picks upA key Indian equity index was ruling 2.92 percent higher Wednesday afternoon as buying activity picked up, with realty, metals and IT scrips rising the most.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Meat traders meet Dikshit, to continue protestAfter meeting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday, meat traders here said the stir against shifting their business from the centuries old Idgah slaughterhouse to the new abattoir at Ghazipur would continue till their demands were addressed.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Farm sector growth will be below 4 percent: AhluwaliaIndia's farm sector growth will be less than 4 percent this fiscal on account of floods and deficient monsoon in some parts of the country, the Planning Commission deputy chief said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am Sensex recoups losses, ends 523 points upA benchmark index of the Indian equities markets rallied smartly to end 523 points higher Wednesday, recouping more than the previous day's losses.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am Ambani dispute back to square one as judge quits - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:51 am The playcast: A new Orkut, Android netbooks and beautiful tweepleThis weeks show of the playcast comes in three segments. In the first part of the show we speak to Google about the social networking sites redesign. Orkut has become India’s OTHER social network, the one that’s not been in the news for a while now. It’s India’s most populous social networking site, home to 13 million accounts and double the number of communities and groups. The new redesign makes the now-aging site sport a more Facebook-like look. In moving to the GWT platform, the same that powers the futuristic google Wave, Orkut now supports much more dynamic content - video chats for instance. We spoke to Rahul Kulkarni from Google for more info. In segment two, we move from one Google product to another: Android has been the center of much fanfare the last few months, but the HTC Hero and Samsung Galaxy aside - Android devices themselves have arrived in India in only a slow trickle. laptop maker Acer are latest to join that limited-invite party - but not with a Phone, but a Laptop. The Aspire One dual boots Windows XP (a name we wont be hearing much longer) and a modified variant of Android. We squawk in befuddlement and Ask Why. Acer’s CMO S. Rajendran answers. We also speak about the netbook market in India, and why netbooks aren;’t really netbooks in this part of the world. And in segment three, Sidin Vadukut talks to you about Beautiful Tweeple. This is best listened to, so we refuse to explain any further Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:51 am Exports to grow from March quarter - ministerNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's exports may start growing in annual terms from the March quarter and the government would continue to provide support to ailing sectors, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am India gold at record high spurs scrap salesMUMBAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India gold powering to record highs spurred more scrap sales on Wednesday as consumers cashed in on the price jump, but physical offtake remained weak, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:44 am India gold at record high spurs scrap sales - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:42 am Ambani dispute back to square one as judge quitsMUMBAI (Reuters) - A high-profile legal dispute between India's billionaire Ambani brothers was disrupted on Wednesday when a judge withdrew from a Supreme Court hearing, citing potential conflict of interest.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:42 am Rupee extends gains in line with sharesMumbai: The Indian rupee rose further on Wednesday afternoon tracking gains in the local sharemarket which rallied over 3% and also buoyed by higher regional currencies. At 3:20pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs47.06/07 per dollar, stronger than its previous close of Rs47.40/41. Shares were trading up about 3.3% following the finance minister’s comments on Tuesday. The government will maintain its fiscal stimulus due to uncertainty arising from a poor monsoon and the global outlook, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday, as data showed the summer crop could post a bigger-than-expected fall. 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 retreated from a one-month high against a currency basket on Wednesday as traders braced for a policy decision from the Federal Reserve, which was seen keeping its promise to keep interest rates low. The dollar index, a gauge of the US units performance versus six majors, was down 0.4%. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at Rs47.1425 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $2.4 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:36 am Rabi crops shall ease grain prices: Pawar - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:34 am Quake injures 700 in southern IranTehran: An earthquake struck a key port city in southern Iran early Wednesday, injuring at least 700 people and cutting power and telephone lines, the state news agency reported. IRNA said 100 of the injured had been hospitalized while the rest were minor cases. The 4.9-magnitude quake struck Bandar Abbas at 2:56 am local time, sending residents streaming into the streets. Bandar Abbas is home to a large oil refinery that primarily serves the domestic market. The broadcast said there were no reports of deaths in the quake, which hit 850 miles (1,367 kilometers) south of the capital. Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one slight earthquake everyday on average. Some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6-magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam in the same region in 2003. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:34 am RSP achieves benchmark in 140 tonne ladle lifeThe earlier record of 1505 cycles was acheived in 140 tonne ladle number six in March last year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:27 am Gold price tops $1090 an ounce for first time - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:22 am Gold at record high spurs scrap salesMumbai: The gold powering to record high spurred more scrap sales on Wednesday as consumers cashed in on the price jump, but physical offtake remained weak, dealers said. “Currently I have around 15-20 people lined outside my shop, and we expect around 40-50 more by this evening,” Jitendra Kantilal, partner, Jugraj Kantilal & Co., a Zaveri Bazzar-based scrap dealer said. Kantilal offered to buy scrap gold at Rs16,650 per 10 grams. Gold futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.02% higher at Rs16,622 per 10 grams at 2:29 pm, after hitting a record of Rs16,664 earlier tracing overseas markets. International gold, which guides the domestic markets, ran to a record high above $1,090 per ounce, latching on to a weaker dollar with continued support from the IMF’s sale of gold to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, dealers said, wholesale buyers turned their back on the market, unwilling to get stuck with high-priced stocks ahead of the wedding session. “I haven’t booked any deals since yesterday’s late night surge. I have advanced orders in the range of below $1,050 (an ounce),” said a dealer with a bullion dealing state-run bank. India’s wedding season would last till December-end. Imports by traders between January and 22 October were 157.9 tonnes, down from 383 tonnes bought in the same period a year ago, data from the Bombay Bullion Association showed. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:15 am Gold rushes to record high above $1,090/ozLondon: Spot gold ran to a record high above $1,090 per ounce on Wednesday, latching on to a weaker dollar with continued support from the IMF’s sale of gold to India’s central bank. The dollar index declined 0.34% as investors awaited a Fed statement later on Wednesday. Spot gold hit a record high of $1,092.60 an ounce and was bid at $1,091.05 an ounce at 0915 GMT, compared with $1,084.50 late in New York on Tuesday. US COMEX gold futures also hit an historic $1,093.70 in electronic trade, and were later up $7.40 at $1,092.40. Buying on the back of the IMF’s announcement on Tuesday that it had sold 200 tonnes of gold to India’s central bank pushed prices through key technical resistance levels, triggering fresh buying, traders said. “The market realized... that there are enough central banks which are looking to buy the gold from the IMF direct and so it is not coming into the market, so the shorts had to cover,” said Michael Kempinski, a senior trader at Commerzbank. “We should see $1,100 soon,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:08 am RIL Sept crude imports up 4.5% vs Aug-tradeNew Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, increased crude oil imports slightly in September versus the month before, including its first ever purchase of Chinese Penglai, shipping data from trade sources showed on Wednesday. Reliance imported about 1.279 million bpd crude in September, up from about 1.224 million bpd the month before and more than double the 574,000 bpd a year ago, the data showed. Compared to a year ago the refiner stepped up imports from Angola, Iran and the Neutral Zone in September, making up for reduced shipments from top oil producer Saudi Arabia, which fell by around a quarter to 180,000 bpd last month, the detailed breakdown of tanker arrivals shows. Last December, Reliance commissioned a new 580,000 bpd refinery next to its old 660,00 bpd plant at Jamnagar in western Gujarat, and it is operating the new unit at more than 100% capacity, executives have said. Gredes from the Neutral Zone - a region whose production belongs to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and includes grades such as Khafji, Ratawi, Hout and Eocene - topped the list, rising by more than two-and-a-half times to 278,000 bpd. Supplies from Angola quadrupled from a year ago to 165,000 bpd in September, but were down by more than a quarter from August, with the West African nation emerging as the third biggest crude supplier followed by Iran. The refiner failed to import any oil from United Arab Emirates, Britain, Qatar, Yemen and Dubai, which were part of its purchases in August, and imports from Iran fell about 70% last month, slipping to 4th position from No. 2 year ago. During September Reliance for the first time bought Chinese grade Penglai from ConocoPhillips. Although China is now the world’s second-largest crude oil importer, it also exports very small volumes of domestic production that its refiners cannot process as profitably as bigger plants like Reliance’s. Supplies from Iraq, which was absent last month, at 33,400 bpd, accounted for 2.6% of total imports in September. Since the start-up of the new plant, Reliance has been continuously diversifying its crude slate, making several new and rare purchases, taking advantage of the complexity of its plants that allow it to improve margins by processing heavy grades. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 2:04 am Tribals areas can’t be developed under shadow of gun: PMNew Delhi: In a clear message to Maoists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said no sustained economic activity is possible under the shadow of gun in tribal areas where decades of alienation is taking a “dangerous” turn. He said there has been a “systemic failure” in giving tribals a stake in the modern economic processes and emphasised that the “systematic exploitation and social and economic abuse of our tribal communities can no longer be tolerated.” Addressing a conference of chief ministers and state ministers of tribal affairs here, Singh said the problems faced by tribals are complex and require sympathetic understanding, factoring in different nuances of tribal life. “The alienation built over decades is now taking a dangerous turn.We must change our ways of dealing with tribals.We have to win the battle for their hearts,” he said. “It cannot be said that we dealt sensitively with these issues in the past. More could be done and more should be done (for tribals),” he said. At the same time, he said, “No sustained economic activity is possible under the shadow of gun.Nor have those who claim to speak for the tribals offered an alternate economic path that is viable”, an apparent message to Maoists who claim to be champions of the tribals’ cause. Underlining that tribals must be the primary beneficiaries of the development process, the Prime Minister underlined that the cult of violence would only bring greater misery to the people. He made it clear that “violence cannot be tolerated” and the threat would be countered with determination. Talking about the problems faced by tribals, Singh said administrative machinery in some of such areas is “either weak or virtually non-existent”, the “heavy hand of criminal justice system has become a source of harassment and exploitation” and over the years, a large number of cases have been registered against the tribals, “whose traditional rights were not recognised by earlier forest laws”. He stressed the need for a “more enlightened approach” towards tribals. Singh noted that Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh governments have recently withdrawn cases against tribals and said other states need to review such cases urgently and take a similar action. “We need to make a fresh start,” he said. The Prime Minister also referred to the host of issues related to losses suffered by tribals displaced due to land acquisition. “It is not just the displacement and disorientation caused by separation from the land that is at issue. One can only imagine the psychological impact of seeing the cutting down of the very forests that have nurtured the existence of these communities for centuries,” he said. Singh said resettlement and rehabilitation of tribals raise serious issues of not just monetary compensation but also issues of sustainable livelihood, preserving the traditional sense of community and helping the tribals cope with the trauma of dislocation and alienation. “It is clear that we need to reflect on how to improve the laws and mechanisms through which we provide compensation to displaced tribals. The tribals must benefit from the projects for which they have been displaced,” the Prime Minister said. He said he had written twice to chief ministers of all states on implementation of Forest Rights Act, which envisages distribution of title deeds to tribals, by the end of this year. While some states have achieved remarkable progress in the distribution of titles, others are lagging behind, Singh said, lamenting that “in a few states, even the process of receiving claims is yet to commence.” He described distribution of titles as an “important and necessary first step” for addressing problems of tribals. “If implemented in its true spirit, it (the Act) will provide significant multipliers in the process of development in some of our critical habitats,” Singh said. Singh said people whose lives are dependent on forests should be made essential partners in the process of natural resources planning, conservation and protection, and emphasised the importance of implementing Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in letter and spirit. “We cannot have equitable growth without guaranteeing the legitimate rights of these marginalised and isolated sections of our society,” he said. “In a broader sense, we need to empower them with the means to determine their own destinies, their livelihood, their security, and above all their dignity and self-respect as equal citizens of our country,” he added. Emphasising that education and health needed priority attention, Singh said it was important to dovetail all development and welfare programmes in tribal areas so that the strategy was coherent and there was a coordinated approach involving all departments. “The lack of quality education and vocational opportunities for tribals need immediate attention. The infrastructure in the residential schools and tribal hostels is mostly inadequate. Scholarships are also piecemeal and don’t enable a student to complete education,” the Prime Minister said, asking the tribal affairs ministry to come forward with proposals that addressed these concerns. Tribal affairs minister Kantilal Bhuria, in his address, said there was need for bringing amendment in forest laws and pointed that “innocent” tribals are now taking route to the naxalism as hundreds of them are being “harrassed” under the Forest Act. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:57 am Novartis buys China vaccine stake for $125 mnZurich: Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG is buying an 85% stake in Chinese vaccines company Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical for $125 million to boost its presence in the fast-growing market. Emerging markets are a sweet spot for companies such as Novartis, which said earlier this week it was investing $1.25 billion in research facilities in China. Novartis said on Wednesday the acquisition was part of a strategic initiative to build a vaccines industry leader in China and expand its limited presence in this booming market segment. Drugmakers’ traditional model is under threat from looming loss of patents giving them exclusivity on some big sellers, and companies are keen to diversify away from the core business of prescription medicines into areas such as vaccines. Novartis, the maker of high blood pressure drug Diovan, said privately owned Tianyuan offered a range of marketed vaccine products in China and research and development projects focused on various preventable viral and bacterial diseases. Tianyuan had more than doubled its net sales to approximately $25 million in 2008 compared with 2006, Novartis said. The deal still required government and regulatory approvals in China. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:41 am Food inflation to moderate by year end: Montek Singh AhluwaliaIndia's high food price inflation is a concern but it should moderate by the end of this year, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:37 am Goldman to sell stake in landmark China buyout dealHong Kong: Goldman Sachs has agreed to sell half of its holding in Shineway Group, China’s top meat processor, to a Chinese fund for about $150 million, earning roughly five times its investment from the landmark 2006 deal, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The acquisition attracted wide public interest in 2006, in part because it involved foreign investors taking a stake in a national brand and industry leader. It was also among the first leveraged buyouts in China by a group of foreign investors, which included Singapore’s state investor Temasek Holdings. Sources said the Asia Special Situation Group (ASSG) of Goldman Sachs signed a deal last week to sell part of its stake in Shineway to CDH Investments, an influential Chinese private equity fund and already a major shareholder of the meat processor. Shineway has a listed arm, Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co Ltd. Goldman’s sale of the stake will bring its holding in the parent to roughly 5% down from around 10%. Shineway, Goldman Sachs and CDH declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified because the sale process is private and confidential. In late 2006, a consortium-led by Goldman’s ASSG and CDH bought control of Shineway Group for $256 million. The deal, which sparked debate from Chinese media and scholars on whether the national industry leader was sold too cheaply to foreign investors, won Beijing’s approval at the end of 2006. Financial details of the acquisition and shareholding structure of the consortium were not fully disclosed at the time of the deal, but the sources said Goldman paid about $75 million for a stake in Shineway, well known for its sausage products. Including leverage used for the transaction, Goldman will earn around five times its investment through the sale of its Shineway stake, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:37 am Pricewaterhouse approaches Delhi HC against govt actionPricewaterhouseCoopers approached the Delhi HC seeking quashing of proceedings initiated against it by the government in the aftermath of Satyam scam.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:26 am Tata Steel: Corus may operate at 100 pct by MarchNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Steel Ltd, the world's eighth-largest steel maker, expects its European unit Corus to be operating at full capacity by the end of the fiscal year in March, a top official said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:15 am Honda aims to lower Japan cost structureTokyo: Honda Motor Co aims to improve its cost structure to be able to break even in Japan using just 70% of its capacity to build cars, a top official at Japan’s second-biggest automaker said on Wednesday. Honda last week nearly tripled its annual operating profit forecast to ¥190 billion ($2.1 billion), far above consensus projections and despite lowering its dollar rate assumption to a tougher ¥85 for the second half from ¥90. Its Japanese operations are expected to stay in the red, but chief financial officer Yoichi Hojo said Honda was shaving costs on internally developed components and looking for cheaper sources of parts around the world with the aim of erasing the losses even at the current depressed level of production. “We can’t get there right away, but the final step is to become profitable at the current level of production in Japan,” Hojo told Reuters in an interview, adding that the company hoped to get there in two to three years. For the financial year to March, Honda plans to produce 910,000 cars in Japan, or 70% of its domestic capacity of 1.3 million units. Honda decreased exports from Japan by 64% in April-September from the year before as the dollar fell 10% against the yen. While Hojo noted that Wednesday’s dollar rate of ¥90 made exports from Japan uncompetitive, he indicated Honda was unlikely to transfer production of the Fit subcompact to North America any time soon, as reported by some media. “We certainly have capacity left over in the US. But there’s a good reason we’re producing the Fit in Japan and not there,” he said. Hojo noted that with annual sales of less than 100,000 units in the US, the Fit could be built more competitively in Japan, where the hatchback is Honda’s best-selling model and expertise in manufacturing small cars is high. Other cost-cutting steps include cutting the number of car models sold only in Japan, where Honda has more than 20 models across total annual sales of less than 700,000 units, Hojo said. US Stabilizing Honda’s annual profit forecast revision also got a big boost from finance-related gains in the US as used car prices recovered, reducing the need to set aside reserves from a fall in the residual value of its vehicles. While some auto executives have expressed fears that carmakers may have to offer profit-eroding discounts to consumers after the end of government-backed incentives, Hojo said he expected used car prices in the United States to remain stable. “Prices have recovered to levels before the collapse of Lehman,” Hojo said. “We’ve been able to control our incentives.” One source of disappointment has been the new Insight hybrid model, which has so far sold just 15,000 units in the US since going on sale this spring. Honda had originally targeted annual sales of about 100,000 Insights a year in its single-biggest market. “Gasoline prices didn’t rise as much as we anticipated. We haven’t given up on our global sales target of 200,000 units annually, but getting to that volume is not the ultimate goal.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:13 am Dollar steady below 1-month high, Asia stocks upTokyo: The dollar steadied below a one-month high against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, while Asian stocks edged higher in muted trade ahead of a policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve that kept investors wary. Oil fell for the first time in three days after a 2% surge on Tuesday and gold eased after hitting a record high, but the afterglow helped boost resource-linked stocks around Asia, with metals shares helping lead Chinese stocks to a nearly three-month intraday high. European stock futures pointed up, while US stock futures rose. Most investors turned their attention to upcoming policy statements from the Fed, European Central Bank and the Bank of England. The US central bank, which ends its two-day meeting on Wednesday. it is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but some in the market wonder if it might drop or alter its pledge to keep rates low for an “extended period”. “The biggest focus regarding the result of the FOMC meeting is the time frame for the US low interest rate policy,” said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments. “Eyes are on whether and how the word ‘extended´ will be used in the statement. Higher rates would be generally negative for stocks.” But several traders and analysts said they doubted the Fed statement would show it materially altering its stance. The dollar lost 0.2% to 76.233 against a basket of currencies after climbing as far as 76.817, its highest since early October, while the Aussie fell after Australia’s September retail sales were much weaker than expected and dampened hopes for a December rate hike. The dollar rose 0.2% on the yen at 90.48 yen. Stock markets gained, although rises were muted for the most part as investors awaited clues to the timing of eventual shifts in central banks’ policies. But Seoul shares climbed 1.9%, led by Korea Exchange Bank on strong results. Australian shares briefly turned negative as the weak retail sales data hit shares of supermarket chains but subsequently closed up 0.2%, buoyed by banks and miners. Hong Kong shares rebounded from a two-day fall on bargain-hunting, while China’s key stock index rose 0.3% by 12:21pm. A top executive at Fortis Investments said his company is bullish on equities and high yield bonds despite significant rallies in both asset classes as it sees a continued recovery in the global economy amid a low interest rate environment. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 1.6%, its second rise over the past eight sessions. Japan’s Nikkei closed up 0.4% with retailer Fast Retailing climbing 4.45 after sales at its Uniqlo casual-clothing chain in Japan surged 35.7% in October from a year earlier. But overall share gains were limited in the wake of a mixed performance by US markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose slightly on Tuesday as news of a major railroad acquisition helped sentiment, but the Dow edged lower on caution ahead of the FOMC meeting. Markets are also holding their breath ahead of European bank meetings. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to keep rates unchanged on Thursday. Gold eased slightly as investors took profits a day after it hit record highs, though sentiment remained good on bullion’s growing status as a destination for diversifying official reserves. US crude oil futures fell for the first time in three days on Wednesday, inching down towards $79 a barrel after industry data showed a larger than expected build in US gasoline inventories and a surprise build in distillate supplies. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:06 am Yeddyurappa hopes crisis will end soonBangalore: Ahead of his meeting with BJP central leadership, which has summoned him in the face of a revolt against him, Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday expressed hope that the impasse would end soon. “All the confusion that has arisen now will come to an end soon,” he told reporters here as he left for Hubli en route to Delhi for parleys with the party top brass over the turmoil in the BJP’s first-ever government in the south. Ignoring BJP president Rajnath Singh’s assertion that Yeddyurappa would remain the chief minister, the rebels led by mining magnets tourism minister Janardhana Reddy and his brother and revenue minister Karunakara Reddy were adamant on his removal. “I will be meeting Janardhana Reddy and Karunakara Reddy in Delhi at the residence of senior leader Sushma Swaraj on Thursday”, Yeddyurappa said. Swaraj has been asked to negotiate with the rebel leaders to defuse the crisis threatening the 18-month-old government. Three rounds of talks Swaraj held with Janaradhana Reddy on Tuesday have failed to break the imbroglio as the rebel leader stood his ground, saying they would not settle for anything less than removal of Yeddyurappa, whose style of functioning has come under the attack of the dissidents. When his attention was drawn to Karunakara Reddy’s statement that the central leadership has not ruled out a change of guard, Yeddyurappa said, “What the high command says is important”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:03 am Ikea names Punjab towel-maker as best supplierPunjab-based towel manufacturer Abhishek Industries Ltd (AIL) has won the best supplier award from European retail chain Ikea.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Apex court judge quits Reliance gas dispute caseJustice R.V. Raveendran, a member of the three-member Supreme Court bench that has been hearing the gas supply and pricing dispute between the two Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, quit the case Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am World Bank raises Asia forecast on back of ChinaBeijing: The World Bank on Wednesday raised its forecasts for East Asian growth, largely due to a rebound in China driven by aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus, but warned that a true recovery inthe region was not yet at hand. In a twice-yearly review, the Washington-based development bank revised its projection of 2009 gross domestic product growth in East Asia to 6.7% from 5.3% and pencilled in an acceleration to 7.8% next year. But stripping out China, the bank reckons the developing economies of East Asia would grow by only 1.1% this year, picking up to 4.5% next year. That means growth in the region outside of China, despite government spending and steady performances by the likes of Indonesia and Vietnam, will be slower on average this year than in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. “China’s rapid growth is not only pulling the region along; it is also having an impact on the global economy,” said Vikram Nehru, the bank’s regional chief economist. China, now the world’s largest auto market, was contributing more to global demand than either the United States, the euro zone or Japan, Nehru said by videolink from Washington. The bank accordingly jacked up its growth forecast for China this year to 8.4% from 7.2% and said a further pick-up was likely in 2010 to 8.7%. Nevertheless, the bank said it was too soon for China and other East Asian governments to start unwinding the ultra-loose pro-growth policies they put in place to cushion the global downturn. “The rebound has yet to become a recovery. That is why the authorities in the region are mindful of the risks of a premature withdrawal of stimulus, given the large output gaps and concerns that developed countries are converging to a slower-growth equilibrium,” the bank said. Gradual exit When governments do start to tug on the reins, they should generally begin with monetary policy, the bank believes. “Macroeconomic conditions in the real economy do not yet call for a major tightening,” said Louis Kuijs, the World Bank’s senior economist in Beijing. China is implementing a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) pump-priming package and has prodded the country’s mainly state-owned banks into what Kuijs described as a spectacular lending spree, equivalent to 30% of annual GDP. “However, risks of asset price bubbles and misallocation of resources in the face of abundant liquidity are real and the overall monetary stance will have to be tightened eventually,” he said. The bank’s forecasts point to a sharp reduction in China’s current account surplus, one of the imbalances that will be uppermost in the minds of finance ministers from the Group of 20 rich and emerging economies when they meet in Scotland this week to discuss how to put the global economy on a more even keel. The bank said it expected the surplus to shrink from 9.8% of GDP in 2008 to 5.6% this year, despite a sharp drop in import prices, as stronger domestic demand buoys import volumes. The current account surplus will fall further to 4.1% of GDP in 2010 even though net exports will recover and contribute 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth after subtracting 3.4 percentage points from headline growth in 2009. “Growth is likely to remain robust in 2010, but the composition will change,” said Ardo Hansson, the bank’s lead economist in Beijing. Stronger real estate investment will also spur growth, but the impact of government stimulus spending is set to decline sharply, while spare capacity in China and abroad will put a lid on capital spending by manufacturers, the global lender said. Excess capacity is one reason the bank expects Chinese inflation to remain tame, with consumer prices rising 2.0 percent on average in 2010 after falling 0.8% this year. The bank reiterated its long-standing advice to China to put more emphasis on consumption and services, and less on investment and industry, in order to rebalance the economy and generate faster domestic growth. All countries in East Asia must liberalise its services sector, Nehru added, and do even more to integrate their trade in goods if they want to sustain rapid growth over the medium term. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:56 am SC judge withdraws from Bench hearing Ambani gas dispute caseJustice RV Raveendran saying his daughter is associated with a solicitors firm advising Mukesh Ambani group on other global projects.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:51 am Corus may operate at 100% by March: Tata SteelNew Delhi: Tata Steel Ltd, the world’s eighth-largest steel maker, expects its European unit Corus to be operating at full capacity by the end of the fiscal year in March, a top official said on Wednesday. Corus, Europe’s second-largest steelmaker, operated at 80% capacity in October, vice chairman B Muthuraman told reporters at an industry conference. The company had been operating at about half its 20 million tonnes steelmaking capacity in Europe for the past few quarters, and joins other steelmakers in predicting better prospects. “International operations in the second half are looking much better. I can say that second half demand is definitely better in the world as a whole, including in Europe,” Muthuraman said. “We expect to step it up by next month.” Last month, Tata Steel officials said demand in Europe was reviving on the back of inventory rebuilding, but it would take several years to return to previous capacity levels. 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. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, last month said production was set to rise to about 70% of capacity in the fourth quarter from 61% in the third, amid higher selling prices. In October, the World Steel Association forecast steel demand would fall 8.6% this year, a much smaller fall than the 15% it predicted in April. Meanwhile, Tata Steel officials said the company had cut flat product prices in India, in line with other local firms. Major Indian producers, including Steel Authority of India, JSW Steel and Ispat Industries have cut prices of flat products, used in automobiles and consumer goods, by $16 to $30 in November. Shares in Tata Steel, valued at $8.5 billion, have more than doubled so far in 2009, outperforming the benchmark index that has gained 63% in the same period. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:41 am ArcelorMittal seeks new sites in India after land delaysNEW DELHI (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is looking for alternative sites to set up a steel plant in India, after delays in getting land at existing locations, the chief executive of its Indian operations told reporters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:40 am Oil falls to near US$ 79 in Asia despite US crude supply dropCrude has fallen from its 2009 high of US$ 82 a barrel last month on investor doubts about the strength of the US economy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:35 am Plan panel sees 6.3 pct growth in FY10 - reportNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The economy is expected to expand by 6.3 percent in the year to March 2010, the Planning Commission said in a report on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:18 am Amitabh Bachchan to sing on Mumbai attacks tribute: reportMumbai: Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is to lend his voice to a song commemorating those who died in last year’s Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai, a report said Wednesday. The actor, who has attained megastar status in his 40-year career in the Hindi-language film industry, said the song would be “on the spirit of Mumbai, its resilience and its character of being able to withstand all storms”. “You may try to damage us, but you will never succeed in bending or breaking us,” the actor was quoted as saying by the Daily News and Analysis newspaper. The city’s police, which lost a number of senior officers in the 26-29 November attacks, approached singer Sonu Niigaam to compose a “soulful” song that remembers the 166 people who were killed in the 60-hour siege. “We all think it’s a lovely concept and wanted to do our bit for the cause,” Niigaam told the daily, adding that it was an honour having Bachchan involved. About 14 other popular singers will contribute to the song, including Hariharan, Shaan and Kailash Kher, the newspaper said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:05 am No immediate plan to exit fiscal stimulus: PranabNew Delhi, Nov. 3 The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today made it clear that the Government was not right now planning to exit from the fiscal stimulus packages rolled out since September 2008 in the aftermath of the global financialSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Sensex nosedives 491 points on global cues, FII sellingDomestic stocks slipped for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday as global cues remained negative.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am L&T bags Rs 6,900-cr orderMumbai, Nov. 3 L&T has bagged a Rs 6,897-crore EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract from the Maharashtra State Power Generation Co (Mahagenco) for three supercritical boiler turbine generator units of 660 MWSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am JSW Steel (Rs 680.6): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of JSW Steel from a short-term horizon. It is evident from the charts that the stock’s intermediate-term rally from March low of Rs 161 had ended in late October high of Rs 935. Triggered by the negativeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am SBI to review special home loan scheme on Nov 5Kolkata, Nov. 3 State Bank of India will take a call on whether or not to continue with its special home loan (SBI My Home Campaign) scheme at a meeting on November 5, according to its Chief General Manager, Personal Banking, Mr P. Nandakumaran.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Airlines flying in losses on discounted faresBeset by a string of troubles, the three major listed airline players — Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet — ended yet another quarter with sizable losses. A reduction in fares weighed on realisations and revenues andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideNote: In a buy recommendation, the resistances would be the targets and the nearest support would be the stop loss; In a sell recommendation, the supports would be the targets and the nearest resistance would be theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Steel: Corus may operate at 100% by MarchCorus, Europe's second-largest steelmaker, operated at 80% percent capacity in October.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am No plans to curb capital inflows for now: PranabIndia has no immediate plans to place curbs on capital inflows, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, hasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Rupee decline to continueRupee declined to a low of 47.6 against the dollar on October 29 as continuing weakness in equity market and outflow of foreign institutional funds dragged the currency lower. Month-end demand for dollars from importers was another factor applyingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am RBI buys 200 tonnes of gold from IMFThe Reserve Bank of India has purchased 200 tonnes of gold valued at Rs 31,490 crore ($6.7 billion) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the latters’s limited gold salesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am SC judge withdraws from Ambani brothers’ caseNew Delhi: In a dramatic turn in the Ambani brothers’ gas dispute case, Justice R V Raveendran, a senior Supreme Court judge on Wednesday withdrew from the Bench hearing it saying his daughter is associated with a solicitors firm advising Mukesh Ambani group on other global projects. A new Bench will be constituted tomorrow to hear the high-voltage case between Mukesh Amabani’s RIL and Anil Ambani’s RNRL relating to pricing of gas from K G Basin. “I am rescuing myself from hearing this matter since I came to know only yesterday that my daughter is associated with a solicitors firm which is advising the Mukesh Ambani group in other matters relating to projects of Global acquisitions,” Raveendran said when the matter came up. The judge said that he came to know that law firm AZB partners in Bangalore with which his daughter is associated since 1 September this year is advising the Mukesh group in other projects. The Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan adjourned the matter and decided to hear the matter afresh by constituting another bench on Thursday. RNRL is seeking gas from RIL at rates 44% lower than government-approved price. RIL says it cannot honour the commitment made in the 2005 family agreement due to government’s pricing and gas policies. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:52 pm Beijing consents to Disney theme park in ShanghaiShanghai/Los Angeles: The Walt Disney Co’s breakthrough deal to build one of its signature theme parks in Shanghai marks a significant advance for Western media and entertainment firms trying to crack a tough China market. Wednesday’s government approval for the theme park caps years of on-off talks between Disney and Chinese authorities, who are wary of too much foreign influence in the highly sensitive sectors of media and popular culture. The new park planned for the Pudong new district of China’s financial capital will take years to contribute to a company that rakes in more than $30 billion in annual revenue. But analysts see the move as an important step forward for Disney and other Western media firms to make inroads into the vast and untapped Chinese media and entertainment market. “They’ve been laying the groundwork for a park for many years by exposing the population to Disney properties, film, TV and merchandising and adding a physical presence in the form of a park would really complete and add to the value chain in China,” said Christopher Marangi, senior analyst with Gabelli and Co in New York. The breakthrough comes just two weeks ahead of a scheduled trip to China by US President Barack Obama, a visit analysts had expected to help spur a decision on the park. The deal has been seen by some as a feel-good bilateral story, highlighting US cultural influence and an investment that does not entail US manufacturing job losses, while China gets a boost to its leisure sector and to domestic demand as it tries to trim its dependence on exports. Disney will be hoping the Shanghai park, with an estimated price tag of $3.6 billion, will fare better than its Hong Kong property, which has struggled with lower-than-expected attendance and financial losses since it opened in 2005. Disney, Time Warner and News Corp have surprisingly little to show for their years of effort and extensive investments in China. “I wouldn’t say this is a one-off gain,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of Media Partners Asia, commenting on the deal’s significance to the broader foreign media effort to gain a foothold in China. “But it’s in a non-sensitive space. It’s a theme park. It’s got nothing to do with television content that can be politically sensitive or competitive with other major Chinese companies in the space.” Even privately held domestic media can find the going rough, as leading Internet portal Sina found recently when it scrapped a merger with Focus Media due to government stonewalling over a deal that would have created a major new domestic media player. The key central government approval must still be followed by more detailed talks between Disney and Shanghai. Details that need to be finalised include ownership structure and local partners for the park, a source close to Disney told Reuters on condition of anonymity as talks were still ongoing. In the meantime, Beijing has handed down guidelines it wants followed on the deal’s financial structure, as well as infrastructure requirements, the source said. “This means we have a new place to party and a new theme park to play,” said Amanda Zhang, a Shanghai resident in her 30s. “I think whether it is for the government or for consumers like us, this is a very good improvement.” Disney’s Hong Kong operation, which cost $3.5 billion initially and is preparing for a $465 million expansion, has not been as successful as initially envisioned. The new Shanghai park, which would be Disney’s sixth, will inevitably affect the Hong Kong park, though the impact will be limited as the two will draw from different areas, observers said. “Visitors from Guangdong and southern China will still find Hong Kong more convenient, while Shanghai will attract visitors from northern and eastern China,” said Paul Tang, chief economist at Bank of East Asia. Shanghai is close to a number of other major cities within easy driving distance, including Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Shanghai’s own population of around 19 million, combined with tens of millions more within a three-hour driving radius, would provide a more-than-ample base of local users for the park. Disney also doesn’t view the two parks as competitors. “From our point of view, the Hong Kong and Shanghai parks are not competitors, they’re complementary,” said a Disney spokeswoman in Hong Kong. “We really believe that the greater China market is big enough to support multiple parks.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:28 pm Noon: Stocks up on global rally; Reliance leadsMumbai: Indian shares rose more than 2% on Wednesday, led by Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies, pulling back some of the steep losses marked in the previous week. Sentiment was helped by comments from the finance minister who said fiscal stimulus will be maintained and as world markets edged higher. By 12:16am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading up 336.40 points at 15741.34 points, with 27 of its components gaining. It fell 8.4% over the past six previous sessions. The 50-share NSE index was up 95 points at 4658.90. “It is a technical bounce back after the recent fall. 4,700 (Nifty) level is an important resistance level,” D.D. Sharma, senior vice president of Anand Rathi Securities. “Finance minister’s comments fiscal stimulus will be maintained and positive sentiment in Asian markets also helped pull our market up,” added Sharma. The benchmark is still up more than 63% so far in 2009, with foreign funds infusing more than $14 billion in Indian equities. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said late on Tuesday the government will maintain its fiscal stimulus due to uncertainty arising from a poor monsoon and the global outlook, as data showed the summer crop could post a bigger-than-expected fall. Energy giant Reliance Industries rose 3.6% to Rs1,885.80, after it shed 5.7% on Tuesday. Second-largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies climbed 4% to Rs2,225. Engineering and construction firm Jaiprakash Associates rose 5.9% to Rs205.85 after it said cement shipments in October rose 41.3% from a year earlier to 0.816 million tonnes. Around 115 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with gainers outpacing losers the ratio of 1.4:1. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:22 pm India Oct services growth fastest in a year -HSBC - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pm IMF says it got 'good price' for gold from IndiaThe IMF, which sold 200 tonnes of gold to the RBI, today said it wants to be similarly "lucky" in the next phase sale of the precious metal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:39 pm Rural Electrification Corp share sale may raise $740 mnNew Delhi: Indian lender Rural Electrification Corp (REC) may raise up to Rs35 billion ($740 million) through a share sale that is likely to be completed by the end of February, its chairman said on Wednesday. The government has plans to divest a 5% stake in the company, and the company will also issue fresh shares comprising 15% of its equity, P. Uma Shankar told reporters at a conference. The company could raise Rs32 billion to Rs35 billion, going by current market conditions, he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:38 pm Sensex jumps 218 points in opening tradeThe 30-share index rose by 218.29 points, or 1.41%, to 15,623.23 points with all the sectoral indices gaining up to 2.82%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:34 pm Tata Steel cuts prices of steel products - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:28 pm Toyota to quit Formula One racing: reportTokyo: Toyota Motor is set to announce its withdrawal from Formula One racing after this year, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported on Wednesday. The world’s largest carmaker will hold a news conference at 0800 GMT in Tokyo on Wednesday with company president Akio Toyoda and team principal Tadashi Yamashina also in attendance. Toyota’s reported withdrawal comes as the auto industry starts to stabilize following a sales crunch in the wake of the financial crisis. If confirmed, Toyota’s pullout would be another major blow for Formula One after Japan’s number two carmaker Honda quit the series last December to cut costs. It would also continue the drain of Japanese companies from motor sport, which has seen Subaru and Suzuki withdraw from the world rallying championship and bike maker Kawasaki scrap its MotoGP team in the grip of a severe market downturn. Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone announced on Monday they would not renew their supply contract with Formula One after the 2010 season. In July, Toyota’s Fuji International Speedway circuit gave up the hosting rights for the Japanese Grand Prix in 2010 and beyond to reduce costs amid the global economic downturn. The pull-out of Japanese companies from F1 began with Honda-backed Super Aguri, who left for financial reasons early last year. Toyota are the only remaining Japanese team in F1, but have no drivers signed for next season and were dropped as Williams’ engine partner for 2010. Huge Budget Toyota have failed to win a race since entering Formula One in 2002 despite an estimated annual budget of around $300 million. Their departure from the sport would leave just three manufacturers — Ferrari (FIAT), Mercedes and Renault. It would also open the door for BMW-Sauber’s new Swiss owners to take their place as the 13th team on the grid. Toyota signed the concorde agreement earlier this year committing themselves to F1 until at least 2012, so a pullout could also have legal ramifications. The Yomiuri newspaper said Toyota had raised its global production plan for the year to March 2010 by 13% to about 7 million vehicles from 6.2 million units forecast in February. Toyota has forecast an operating loss of ¥750 billion ($8.3 billion) on revenues of ¥16 trillion. It is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Thursday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:18 pm GM opts to keep Opel, scraps sale to MagnaDetroit/Frankfurt: General Motors reversed course on Tuesday by abandoning a long-expected sale of its Opel to a group led by Canadian auto supplier Magna and opting to keep the European unit after a year of uncertainty and high-stakes political negotiations. GM said improving business conditions and the strategic importance of Opel had prompted the unexpected move by its 13-member board of directors appointed in the wake of its own bankruptcy just four months ago. The decision represented a setback for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, raised the risk of conflict with Opel’s European unions and left open the question of how GM would finance its plan to go it alone by restructuring Opel. The move also marked a startling shift in direction from the course for Opel endorsed by GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson, who two weeks ago had said a sale of the European unit was the most likely outcome. German’s government had lobbied hard for the Magna deal and on Tuesday night said it wanted GM to repay 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in bridge financing extended by German state banks. “The government regrets the decision of the General Motors board to restructure Opel itself and to keep it in the group,” government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement. GM said it expected that restructuring Opel on its own would cost about 3 billion euros ($4.41 billion), costs expected to cover job cuts and plant closures. Senior GM executives were caught unaware by the move by the automaker’s board, led by plainspoken former telecommunications executive Ed Whitacre, an outsider who became the face of the new GM in a recent TV ad blitz in the United States. Whitacre, whose appointment was vetted by the Obama administration, has shown a hard-charging streak, showing up at GM factories unannounced and putting tough questions to management, people familiar with his tenure have said. Henderson, a career insider who has vowed to shake up the slow-moving culture of the 101-year-old automaker, had argued that the Magna deal was the best remaining choice for GM, after seven months of painstaking talks with bidders. The GM board decision to keep Opel came after European Union officials challenged the terms of the funding Germany had pledged to support the sale of Opel to Magna. Germany had promised 4.5 billion euros ($6.58 billion) in aid to help close the Magna deal, which was widely seen as the option for Opel most likely to preserve jobs. But EU officials said GM needed to confirm that it would have agreed to sell Opel if Germany had made clear that the same funding would have been available to any buyer. GM’s board had opted to sell a 55 percent stake in the loss-making Opel unit to Canadian group Magna and its partner Sberbank after the seven months of talks, which had included a competing bid from Brussels-listed RHJ International. The Opel saga has been running for a year. GM first asked Germany for loan guarantees in November 2008. The automaker had been seeking a buyer for the unit, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands, since March. GM’s reversal of course on Opel was met with anger and bitterness in Germany, where support had run deep for the Magna transaction and plans were already under way to distance the Opel brand from GM. Opel workers even claimed GM was playing local politics in its on-again, off-again positions. “Unfortunately my suspicion seems to been confirmed that the decision to sell Opel to Magna was connected with the elections later that month in Germany,” Opel’s senior labor leader in Bochum, Rainer Einenkel said. The German state of Hesse’s premier, Roland Koch, said he was angered by GM’s decision not to sell Opel to Magna, and that he wanted GM to pay back its bridge loan by 30 November. Buying Opel would have fulfilled a long-held ambition by Magna founder and chairman Frank Stronach, who left Austria at age 21 as an impoverished toolmaker but went on to build one of the world’s biggest car parts groups. But by taking control of Opel, Magna would have been competing with the automakers who buy its parts and some investors had viewed the deal as risky for that reason. Shares of Magna have gained 18% over the past year, lagging some rivals, including Johnson Controls, up 39 percent, and BorgWarner, up 30%. “We will continue to support Opel and GM in the challenges ahead,” Siegfried Wolf, Magna’s co-chief executive, said in a statement in response to the GM decision. No other choice? Auto analysts said keeping Opel would allow GM to maintain control of vehicle development and share parts across a few global platforms, much as Ford Motor Co has done. Opel’s Russelsheim operations in Germany have been the center for developing vehicles that are crucial to GM’s vehicle line-up and its effort to deliver better sales of more fuel-efficient cars. The Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick LaCrosse mid-size sedans are both built on Opel platforms. That is also the plan for the upcoming Chevy Cruze compact sedan, which represents GM’s big bet it can make a small car profitably in the United States. “If they are going to be competitive on a global scale, they really don’t have much choice but to keep Opel,” said Autoconomy analyst Erich Merkle. Opel’s workforce - which was to be cut by a fifth under the new owners from 50,000 - was supposed to receive a 10% stake in the new company in return for 265 million euros in annual cost concessions. GM would have kept a 35% stake in the unit under the now-scrapped deal. GM had $13.6 billion remaining in an escrow account from the US Treasury as of October, but the terms of its bailout by the Obama administration prohibit it from using those funds for its overseas operations. Brad Coulter, a restructuring specialist at O’Keefe & Associates in Detroit, said GM’s move to keep Opel suggested “they are not under as much pressure to sell assets to raise cash.” Earlier on Tuesday, GM reported its first increase in US sales in nearly two years. Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, said the GM board could be vindicated in the decision to keep Opel if it can line up the financing. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pm Prices of essential commodities all set to soar againIf the government does not intervene now, prices are likely to rise by 15-30% in the next three months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm Terror threat has affected policymaking: Pranab - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Nov 2009 | 6:17 pm 250,000 strong Facebook group finds owner of lost camera An Australian tourist who happened to chance upon a lost camera during his summer travels back in September has now found the owner – by harnessing the social networking power of Facebook.  Traced memories: Danny Cameron was on vacation in the Greek Isles in September, when he found the camera Danny Cameron was on vacation in the Greek Isles in September, when he found the camera. “I found a camera that was full of someone’s memories, and I want to get it back to them. I tried walking around the main town of Mykonos, in the Greek Isles, the day after I found it, but I didn’t come across anyone recognizable. So this is the last shot. This started as an experiment in Six degrees of Kevin Bacon (Separation), where I ask you to join this group and then invite people you know to join the group - and hopefully within six links, we will come across the owner of the camera and I can re-unite them with all their photos,” wrote Cameron in the Needle in a Haystack group he set up on Facebook. A few weeks later, the group stands at almost 250,000 members. Yesterday, Cameron posted on Facebook to report that the owner of the camera was found when a group of French people featured in the pictures, one being the owner, was recognized by Facebook users at an office in London. “Congratulations everyone, the camera owner has been found ... Thanks everyone for taking part... Unbelievable effort. I am amazed and in awe of you all,” writes Cameron on Facebook. In an interview with Mint, he states: “It wasn’t just a random act of kindness on my behalf; everyone who joined the group was contributing. It was the team effort that caused the group to be so strong in its good intentions. And it was a massive mobilization of virtuous people... As a people and with plenty of good will, support, and encouragement we can achieve anything!” While this isn’t the first time a Facebook outreach effort has been used for a Good Samaritan effort – a group was set up to help find 6 year old Madeleine McCann, and of course non profits set up groups around social causes all the time – the exponential increase in the group’s size in just a few weeks, and its ability to effectively render distance and culture irrelevant (Australian boy finds French camera in Greece and returns it to London) are remarkable. Next up for the behemoth of the social media world? A UNESCO award perhaps, for its integral role in bridging cultural and geographic divides – and facilitating good deeds of course. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Nov 2009 | 5:13 pm MCA's new motto: Friend first, regulator laterMinistry moves to cut subjectivity in decision making, delegates more powers to Registrar of Companies.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am Pranab hints at subsidy rollbacks to rein in fiscFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today signalled that the governments economic reform strategy would focus on fiscal consolidation, debt management and mobilising additional resources through disinvestment proceeds. The emphasis would be on curbing subsidies and promoting private sector investment by continuing stimulus measures.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:43 am Sebi move to stop misuse of power of attorneyThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) proposed a new set of norms to minimise misuse of powers of attorney (PoA) that clients execute.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:41 am HC stays Trent plans for Star Bazaars in DelhiNext hearing on January 7 to consider whether ban will be extended to other cities.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am Sensex tanks 491 pts on global cuesWeighed down by weak global markets and worse-than-expected corporate earnings, Indian stocks plunged for the sixth day in a row. The Bombay Stock Exchanges Sensitive Index, or Sensex, dropped to its lowest level in more than two months.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am Rolls-Royce sees sales growth, markets still toughLondon: British engine-maker Rolls-Royce Group said there were no signs of a sustained recovery in its aviation and defence markets and profit is likely to be flat this year, despite an expected rise in sales. “Global economic activity remains depressed. Whilst some emerging economies have shown signs of recovery, there is no evidence yet of a sustained and general return to growth across the group’s markets,” chief executive John Rose said in a third-quarter trading update on Tuesday. Rolls-Royce, which makes engines and turbines for passenger planes, fighter jets, ships and power stations, said its expects underlying sales to grow in 2009, with profit remaining broadly similar to 2008 levels, after a solid third-quarter. Rolls reported a pretax profit of £872 million in 2008, on sales of 8.7 billion. The company is expected to report an average pretax profit of £851.7 million for 2009, according to a poll of 18 analysts by Thomson Reuters. Some analysts say Rolls’ civil aerospace business has yet to be fully hit by the economic downturn. “The lag between the downward trend in airline traffic and the decline in deliveries is about two to three years so the civil engine downturn will probably come in the second half of 2010 or possible 2011,” said Evolution analyst Nick Cunningham. “The markets see revenues holding up, but parts of the company are not as much resilient as late to the downturn.” Shares in Rolls-Royce, which have risen 10% in the last three months, were 2.8% lower at 439.2 pence by 0944 GMT, valuing the group at around £8.2 billion. Aircraft order delay Like other engine suppliers, Rolls-Royce has been affected by delays in production of two airliners, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787, crimping revenues from engine deliveries and prompting a build-up in inventory. A drop in global passenger demand means Airbus and Boeing are heading for their worst annual order tally in 15 years as airlines cancel and defer orders, weighing on the whole aerospace supplier sector. Industry body IATA said last month that the sector is still far from returning to profit, though air traffic demand has started recovering from the steep slump. It has said it sees the world’s airlines losing $11 billion this year. Rolls-Royce, which split from the luxury car maker of the same name in 1971, said its order book continues to grow despite some minor cancellations and that it would continue to invest. The group, which last week won a $720 million deal to supply Trent 700 engines for 10 Virgin Atlantic aircraft, also plans to proceed with a number of new operational and research facilities in the UK, Singapore and the USA. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 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
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