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TVS Motor to reignite \'Flame\'TVS Motors has decided to relaunch its controversial twinspark technology based TVS Flame motorcycle.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am Neyveli Lignite sees margins at 2830% in H2FY10The government owns 93.56% in Neyveli Lignite. In an interview with CNBCTV18, K Sekar, Director Finance at Neyveli Lignite spoke about divestment and the road ahead for his company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 8:13 am Increase in tax to impact cigarette volume: ITCIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Kurush Grant, Divisional Chief Executive of ITC, spoke on how soon the goods and Services Tax (GST) would be implemented and what impact it would have especially for sectors like tobacco.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 8:01 am Korean company to buy 15% in HomeShop18Koreas GS Home Shopping will invest in Network18s arm HomeShop18. GS Home Shopping will acquire 15% stake in HomeShop18 for USD million. Network18 will infuse USD 5 million in HomeShop18 to hold on to controlling stake of 51% stake in HomeShop18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am Whirlpool of India plans 3blnrupee investmentConsumer durables maker Whirlpool of India Ltd plans to invest approximately Rs 3 billion over the next three years in India, a senior official said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am Simbhaoli Sugars sees retail price at Rs 4045/kg soonNW18 INTERVIEW:Simbhaoli Sugars sees retail price at 4045 rupee/kg soonSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am PEC, STC extend rice import bids validityNW18:PEC extends rice import bids validity till Monday, STC till TuesdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 5:48 am ANZ says looking for wealth assets across AsiaAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd\'s CEO said on Friday the bank is keen to build up its wealth management assets in Asia, where a growing pool of millionares is spurring private banking expansion.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am Usha Martin may raise upto Rs 500cr; sees dilution at 21.5%In an interview with CNBCTV18, Rajiv Jhawar, Managing Director, Usha Martin, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am West Bengal to give 50 acres to Wipro for Rs 750m: SourceWest Bengal government has decided to ask Wipro to pay Rs 750 million for a 50acre land that the IT major has already identified near Kolkata, a state official said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Nov 2009 | 5:17 am Mahindra Satyam down 7% on L&T's stake sale - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:26 am Nifty hovers near 5000; ONGC, IDFC upBombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 16853.97, up 157.94 points or 0.95%. The index hit a high of 16898.68 and low of 16666.70.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:23 am Govt to unveil 20,000 MW solar power planMUMBAI (Reuters) - India will soon launch an ambitious plan to boost its solar power generation from 3 MW to 20,000 MW by 2022, the minister for new and renewable energy said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am Troubled JAL seeks $1.4 bln bridge loan from banksTOKYO (Reuters) -Japan Airlines, which is seeking a state bailout, seeks bridge loans totaling 125 billion yen ($1.4 billion) from banks, executive officer Yoshimasa Kanayama said at a news conference on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am Boeing completes crucial fix on first 787Boeing Co said that it has completed work to address a structural problem on its delayed 787 Dreamliner.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:14 am Euro zone economy jumps out of recession in Q3BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone economy jumped out of recession in the third quarter, data showed on Friday, but with slightly less spring than expected after the area's top three economies fell short of market forecasts.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:10 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes up 0.9 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally closed up 0.89 percent on Friday, led by gains in ICICI Bank Infosys Technologies as market sentiment remained bullish.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:08 am India in first wheat import deal since ‘07Singapore: India has struck its first wheat import deals since 2007, buying the grain from Australia in containers, trade sources said on Friday. “Our company has sold some wheat in containers to India,” said a Singapore-based trader. “I have done some deals today.” Two other traders in Singapore and India confirmed the deals. One trader said that up to 10,000 tonnes of wheat had been sold for arrival at southern Indian ports in January. The deals had been sealed between $270 and $300 a tonne, including cost and freight, mostly for Australian Prime Wheat (APW). India is sitting on ample supplies of wheat, but this year’s worst monsoon since 1972, has raised doubts about the prospects of the winter-sown wheat crop. India had 28.2 million tonnes of wheat in government stocks by 30 September, government data show. Traders said they were waiting for the first cargo to clear Indian customs, with more shipments to follow, as prices were attractive for mills in southern India to import wheat. “Some business has taken place in containers, but there is a huge pipeline of trade which is waiting for the results of the first few containers and if it gets cleared, possibly you will see a large pick-up in shipments,” said one Singapore-based trader with an international trading house. Indian wheat is quoted around $329 to $350 in southern India, making Australian wheat attractive. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:07 am When will Tamil Nadu get justice on Mullaiperiyar, wonders KarunanidhiFacing flak from the opposition after Tamil Nadu agreed in the Supreme Court to refer the Mullaiperiyar dam row to a five member constitution bench, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Friday hoped the saying 'justice delayed is justice denied' would not come true for his state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:06 am StanChart eyes India listing in early 2010MUMBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Standard Chartered is in discussions with Indian regulators about a listing that could come by April depending on market conditions, the Asia-focused bank said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Bihar attracts Rs.1,032 crore investment in four yearsBihar, one of the poorest states in the country, attracted private investments worth Rs.1,032 core in the last four years, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Sensex up 1.15 percent in afternoon tradeA key Indian equity index was ruling 1.15 percent up Friday afternoon amid volatile trading.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Government begins process for road map on divestmentThe government has asked all ministries to compile a list of state-run firms for sale of stake and listing on stock exchanges, even as it expects partial divestment in at least three such firms by the end of this fiscal.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Sensex shuts 0.89 percent upA key Indian equity index ended a volatile trading session Friday 0.89 percent higher than its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am Koda recommended mines for Vinod Sinha's company: former bureaucratA former Jharkhand bureaucrat claims that in 2007 then chief minister Madhu Koda had pressurised him to push files recommending iron ore mines to a company belonging to his close associate Vinod Sinha.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am Cotton yield to decline 4.45% on adverse climate - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am NTPC stake sale to fetch govt Rs8,100 crore New Delhi: A 5% stake sale in state-run power producer NTPC could fetch the government Rs8,100 crore ($1.7 billion), Sunil Mitra, a senior finance ministry official, said on Friday. Last week, the government mandated more sales of shares by state firms and changed the rules on how it can use the proceeds, as it seeks to boost revenues and rein in a widening budget deficit. Since August, share sales in two state firms -- NHPC and Oil India raised about $1.8 billion. Last month, the cabinet approved share sales for NTPC, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and Rural Electrification Corp. The stake sales will be completed by March next year, Mitra said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am Uttar Pradesh sugarcane farmers intensify agitationAfter carrying out a series of protests in western Uttar Pradesh against the sugarcane purchase policy of the central and the state governments, cane farmers are now spreading their agitation to other parts of the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am India's Domestic BPO Market will arise USD 6.82 billion by 2013 - Ub News
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am Telenor CEO says need competitive pricing in IndiaBANGALORE (Reuters) - Norwegian telecom firm Telenor, which aims to launch India operations by December, sees good potential in the country as subscriber additions remain strong, its CEO said, but will have to be competitive in pricing.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:58 am ANALYSIS - BA, Iberia deal eyes future consolidationLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways' merger with Spain's Iberia will give the two loss-making airlines the scale they need to ride out recession and compete with larger European rivals Lufthansa and Air France.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:56 am StanChart eyes India listing in early 2010Mumbai / London: Standard Chartered is in discussions with Indian regulators about a listing that could come by April depending on market conditions, the Asia-focused bank said. It would be the first time an overseas company lists its parent group’s shares in India. Chief executive Peter Sands has said a listing could occur as early as March-April, “subject to market conditions”, a spokesman for the bank said. Sands declined to comment on the size of the issue, and the spokesman said nothing had been decided. The Economic Times newspaper said the bank could raise about $500 million. The Standard Chartered spokesman said the listing would not just be a capital raising exercise, but was also to build its brand and profile in a market where it has been present for 150 years, the spokesman said. India contributed 19% to group profit in the first half of the year. “We are keen to launch the IDR (Indian Depositary Receipts) and are working on the mechanics with the regulators. There are a few wrinkles left but we are largely there,” Sands was quoted as saying by the Economic Times. “If this were purely about raising capital, there are so many other ways to do it, as we have demonstrated in the past,” Sands said. “For us, the IDR is much more about reinforcing our commitment to this market, than raising capital.” In October, a senior bank official said it received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for the offering but was yet to file a prospectus with the market regulator. Standard Chartered, whose shares are listed in London and Hong Kong, said last month it was also considering listing in China. Rival HSBC is pushing to be the first overseas company to list in China and could raise between $3 billion and $7 billion in a listing next year. By 2.40 pm Standard Chartered’s London shares were up 0.1% at £16.84, valuing the bank at $55 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:55 am BA, Iberia deal eyes future consolidation - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:52 am China's Hu prods West on trade, investment barriersSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao called on Friday for an end to "unreasonable" trade restrictions on developing countries, just days ahead of a U.S. presidential visit to his country that has been clouded by economic tensions.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am Govt to divest stake in 3 psus in FY10 - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:42 am Obama administration pay czar open to 'lateral' pay offersThe Obama administration's pay czar said on Thursday his compensation rulings will allow General Motors Co and Chrysler Group to retain talent.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:26 am NTPC stake sale to fetch govt $1.7 bln - officialNEW DELHI (Reuters) - A 5 percent stake sale in state-run power producer NTPC could fetch the government 81 billion rupees ($1.7 billion), Sunil Mitra, a senior finance ministry official, said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:24 am Bridgestone bullish on India, ups capacity by 40% Bangkok: Leading Japanese tyre-maker Bridgestone Corporation wants to capture a third of the growing passenger car market in India and is currently ramping up manufacturing capacity and dealership network across the country. The world’s largest tyre and rubber manufacturer has identified India as a significant growth market in the Asia- Pacific region, but has, however, adopted a wait-and-wait policy on expansion in the US and Europe. “The Indian market is our top priority in the Asia-Pacific region. We are going to put more focus on the Indian market than ever and are considering and discussing many possibilities for expansion,” Bridgestone Asia Pacific general manager for consumer marketing department Yoshihiro Tanabe said. The company has a production facility at Pithampur near Indore and has announced an investment of Rs259 crore for expansion. This will increase production capacity by over 40% to 15,000 tyres per day by the middle of next year. Bridgestone will also hire 300 more people as part of the expansion plan in the country. The Tokyo-listed company also plans to have a dealership network of around 2,300 in the next three years from the existing 2,000-odd dealers, Bridgestone India senior deputy general manager for marketing Vaibhav Saraf said. “The global meltdown has not affected India as much as it hurt the Western economies. Demand is growing and so we want to capture more than one-third of its passenger car market by 2012,” he said. Bridgestone was one of the first manufacturers to launch radial tyres in the domestic car market. It enjoys close to 30% market share of the radial segment today. Bridgestone launched the Turanza GR-90, an ultra-luxury performance tyre for smooth touring experience, in the Thai capital on Thursday. “You can expect a lot of new products being launched globally similar to the GR-90 and innovation as part of our growth strategy. We plan to grow more than the industry average of 12-15%,” Saraf added. The new product will replace the older GR-80 and the company claims that it will provide a more comfortable and quiet drive of premium cars. GR-90 is part of the 78-year-old company’s line-up of next generation car radials—HP Sport Tyre and Adrenalin Potenza RE001—exclusively designed for the SUV and premium luxury car segment. GR-90 is already being manufactured in Thailand, Japan and Indonesia. The new tyres will be shipped to India in the first quarter of next year,” Tanabe said. Bridgestone India set up base in India in February 1996 and set up the factory two years later at Kheda near Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The company is one of the leading tyre-makers in both the OEM and replacement markets in the country. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:24 am ANZ looking for wealth assets across AsiaAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd's CEO said on Friday the bank is keen to build up its wealth management assets in Asia.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:23 am Rajasthan, Gujarat in talks for solar power unitsIndia is shortly going to unveil its Solar Mission, a policy framework to boost solar power generation in the country.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:21 am Goodyear Q3 net jumps over 3 fold to Rs23.59 cr Mumbai: Tyre manufacturer Goodyear India on Friday said that its net profit jumped more than three-fold to Rs23.59 crore for the quarter ended 30 September, from the same period last year. Total income rose to Rs271.34 crore in the September quarter from Rs241.37 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Goodyear India said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:09 am Rupee bounces off 1-week lows as shares gainMumbai: The Indian rupee bounced off one-week lows on Friday afternoon and rose towards recent three-week peaks, boosted by gains in domestic shares and tracking the dollar’s losses against major units. At 2:20pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.35/36 per dollar, off a low of Rs46.75, its lowest since 6 November and stronger than its previous close of Rs46.66/67. On Wednesday, the rupee had risen to Rs46.29, its highest since 20 October. Shares were trading up more than 1% despite a choppy morning session on Friday. Fund flows into stocks are a driver for the rupee. Foreigners have bought $14.8 billion of shares so far in 2009, after selling more than $13 billion last year. The inflows have helped the rupee recover from its record low of 52.2 in early March. The dollar clung to gains in Asia on Friday after another sporadic bout of profit-taking in riskier trades that has characterised the currency’s eight-month bear trend. Dealer said banks with access to both onshore and offshore markets were buying dollars in the NDF market and selling it onshore to arbitrage the price differential, thus pushing up the rupee in the spot market. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts <PNDF> were quoting at Rs46.26/36, stronger than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs46.3800 and Rs46.3775 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $2.4 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:07 am Sensex gains momentum; IT, metals lead - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 2:02 am JAL falls to Q2 loss, seeks its 4th state bailoutTokyo: Japan Airlines, which is seeking a state bailout, sank into the red last quarter as the economic slowdown hit travel and cargo demand, and it said it had applied for mediated debt restructuring. Saddled with $15 billion in debt, a massive pension deficit and dozens of unprofitable flight routes, JAL is now seeking its fourth state bailout since 2001. Asia’s largest carrier by revenue said in its earnings report that there was a great deal of uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern. It has applied for help to the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp, a government-backed turnaround fund. JAL fell to a group net loss of 32.2 billion yen ($357 million) in the July-September quarter after reporting a 40.1 billion yen profit a year ago. Quarterly revenues dropped 26% to 429 billion yen. “We have a relatively big exposure to international business, and this sector was hit really hard by the global economic downturn,” JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu told a news conference on Friday. “I think we’ll need to push forward the downsizing of our international business.” The struggling carrier, which earlier this year projected an annual net loss of 63 billion yen, did not give forecasts for the year due to uncertainties over its business outlook. JAL applied for a debt restructuring scheme under which a third party will mediate between the company and its creditors. The scheme, called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), would trigger a suspension of loan payments. The Japanese government has pledged to enlist a state bank to offer bridge loans to prevent the carrier from running short of cash and keep the airline afloat. American Airlines Corp and Delta Air Lines have shown an interest in taking a minority stake in JAL to access JAL’s Asian network and get a stronger foothold in Japan. But analysts say capital injections or additional financing alone won’t improve the carrier’s prospects due to its severely underfunded pension programmes. Nishimatsu met with the leaders of JAL retirees’ associations on Thursday to seek their approval on pension payout reductions. Media reports said the leaders expressed their wish to cooperate in some way to save the airline, but many retirees are expected to strongly oppose having their pension payments cut. JAL’s shares closed down 0.9% at 106 yen ahead of the results, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei 225 average, which fell 0.4%. JAL shares have lost half of their value since the start of the year, while the Nikkei gained 10%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:48 am JAL falls to Q2 loss, seeks its 4th state bailoutTokyo: Japan Airlines, which is seeking a state bailout, sank into the red last quarter as the economic slowdown hit travel and cargo demand, and it said it had applied for mediated debt restructuring. Saddled with $15 billion in debt, a massive pension deficit and dozens of unprofitable flight routes, JAL is now seeking its fourth state bailout since 2001. Asia’s largest carrier by revenue said in its earnings report that there was a great deal of uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern. It has applied for help to the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp, a government-backed turnaround fund. JAL fell to a group net loss of 32.2 billion yen ($357 million) in the July-September quarter after reporting a 40.1 billion yen profit a year ago. Quarterly revenues dropped 26% to 429 billion yen. “We have a relatively big exposure to international business, and this sector was hit really hard by the global economic downturn,” JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu told a news conference on Friday. “I think we’ll need to push forward the downsizing of our international business.” The struggling carrier, which earlier this year projected an annual net loss of 63 billion yen, did not give forecasts for the year due to uncertainties over its business outlook. JAL applied for a debt restructuring scheme under which a third party will mediate between the company and its creditors. The scheme, called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), would trigger a suspension of loan payments. The Japanese government has pledged to enlist a state bank to offer bridge loans to prevent the carrier from running short of cash and keep the airline afloat. American Airlines Corp and Delta Air Lines have shown an interest in taking a minority stake in JAL to access JAL’s Asian network and get a stronger foothold in Japan. But analysts say capital injections or additional financing alone won’t improve the carrier’s prospects due to its severely underfunded pension programmes. Nishimatsu met with the leaders of JAL retirees’ associations on Thursday to seek their approval on pension payout reductions. Media reports said the leaders expressed their wish to cooperate in some way to save the airline, but many retirees are expected to strongly oppose having their pension payments cut. JAL’s shares closed down 0.9% at 106 yen ahead of the results, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei 225 average, which fell 0.4%. JAL shares have lost half of their value since the start of the year, while the Nikkei gained 10%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:48 am TCS, Dow Chemicals expand biz alliance, create jobs in USIndia's largest software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services today said it will expand its strategic business alliance with US-based Dow Chemicals that will create new jobs in Midland-Michigan.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am L&T sells part of Satyam stake for $66 mln - sourcesMUMBAI (Reuters) - Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro sold a third of its holding in outsourcer Mahindra Satyam on Friday for about $66 million, three sources close to the deal said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:38 am The financial panic is over: Warren BuffettBuffett said there is greater opportunity for investments inside the United States than outside, noting that the US economy is far larger than any other.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am Columbia calls for stronger trade-ties with IndiaIndia and Columbia inked a pact to enhance trade and business relations between in growth-oriented sectors.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:16 am Domestic call centre market seen at $6.8 bn by 2013With around 500 firms sending out promotional messages or calling up for bill payment reminders, the domestic call centre market is seen growing 33 percent per year to top $6.82 billion by 2013, says leading global market research and analytics firm IDC.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am 75 new swine flu cases in RajasthanAs many as 75 new cases of influenza A (H1N1) have been reported in Rajasthan, taking the number of positive cases of swine flu in the state to 455, an official said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am ‘L&T sells part Satyam stake for $66 million’Mumbai: Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro sold a third of its holding in outsourcer Mahindra Satyam on Friday for about $66 million, three sources close to the deal said. L&T, whose operations include shipbuilding and software, sold 27.2 million shares in Mahindra Satyam at Rs112.50 each, two bankers with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Stock exchange data showed the deal was struck at Rs114.90. An official at L&T, who did not want to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the company was the seller in the block trade. Nomura was the banker for the deal, sources said. Shares in L&T, which has a market value of more than $21 billion, rose as much as 1.5% after the deal before coming off to trade up 0.5% at Rs1,648.70 by 1.20 pm while the main market was up 0.8%. Mahindra Satyam shares were down 4.9% at Rs111.70. Mahindra Satyam was formerly known as Satyam Computer Services, which was hit by India’s biggest corporate fraud at the start of the year. In April, L&T lost the race for control of the outsourcer to Tech Mahindra Ltd, a unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which renamed the company. L&T had built a 12% holding in Satyam, but the expansion of share capital following the takeover meant it held 6.9% in Mahindra Satyam. Under the conditions of the Satyam sale, bidders were barred from selling stakes acquired prior to the bid for six months, as they were given access to financial information that was not public at that time. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:58 am India's domestic BPO market to touch $6.82 bn by 2013: IDCAfter establishing itself as a major player in the international BPO market, India is now set to shift focus on the domestic market, which is projected to grow at over 30% annually.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:42 am US unemployment claims down; jobs summit plannedWashington: With the sputtering US job market flashing an encouraging sign unemployment claims at their lowest point since January the White House announced a summit on Thursday to try to speed the day when hiring finally starts again. While President Barack Obama called the new jobless figures hopeful, economists think claims will probably stay too high to indicate even a slight gain in jobs until early next year. Job creation is essential for a sustained economic recovery. Obama said the White House is “open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we’ve already taken to put America back to work.” The White House forum, to be held in December, will bring in public and private sector experts to talk about how to get job creation humming again, Obama said. First-time claims for unemployment aid fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000, fewer than Wall Street had expected. Still, most economists say weekly claims would have to fall below 425,000 for several weeks to signal that the economy is actually adding jobs. Claims for unemployment aid are generally considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs. They also indicate how much hiring is going on because laid-off workers who can’t find jobs are likely to request benefits. “I’d be more comfortable if we were closer to 400,000” claims for jobless benefits, said Cary Leahey, senior economist at Decision Economics. “We still have a lot of work to do.” Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, offered a slightly more optimistic view, estimating unemployment claims in the high 400,000s would signal job gains are likely to follow within a month. Many economists expect the nation to add jobs in the first quarter of next year, perhaps as soon as January. They project the unemployment rate to peak one to three months after that. Other economists don’t expect the unemployment rate to peak until next summer. Employers shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, according to a government survey of companies’ payrolls the 22nd straight month of losses. The US unemployment rate passed 10% for only the second time since World War II. The last time the economy added jobs was in December 2007, when employers added 120,000 jobs. Initial jobless claims that month averaged about 340,000. The weak job market is ratcheting up the political pressure on Obama administration. The summit was an acknowledgment that unemployment will remain a problem for months to come. After his remarks, the president left for a trip to Asia, where US and global business prospects will be among the key issues under discussion. Obama originally had promised the $787 billion stimulus package would create or save 3.5 million jobs. But the administration’s efforts to tally the jobs it attributes to the stimulus about 640,000 so far have been bedeviled by reports of double-counting and other errors. An Associated Press-GfK poll released earlier this week found 46 percent of Americans approve of how Obama has handled the economy, down from 50% last month. With the unemployment rate above 10%, congressional Republicans also have pointed to administration officials’ claims earlier this year that the stimulus package would prevent the rate from reaching double digits. Economists think unemployment will stay above 9% through next year’s congressional elections. Exit polls showed The struggling economy was a key issue for most voters in last week’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, both won by Republicans. Obama’s Democratic Party has a majority in both chambers of Congress. Many of the administration’s liberal supporters are calling for more infrastructure spending or public works programs to directly create jobs. Conservative economists, meanwhile, are pushing for permanent tax cuts. They argue that the uncertainty created by health care reform and other initiatives is discouraging hiring. Private economists and Federal Reserve officials say the nation could face a “jobless recovery” as the unemployment rate rises despite modest economic growth. Companies may start hiring, but the economy needs roughly 100,000 additional jobs each month to absorb population growth and keep the jobless rate from rising. The government also said Thursday that the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits dropped by 139,000 to 5.6 million, also below analysts’ estimates. The figures on continuing claims lag behind the data on initial claims by a week. Millions of unemployed Americans have used up the regular six months of benefits typically provided by states and are receiving extended benefits for up to almost another year and a half, paid for by the federal government. Congress extended the program last week for the fourth time since the recession began. About 4 million people were receiving extended jobless benefits in the week that ended 24 October. That total was little changed from the previous week. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:26 am Asia 'leading world out of slump' - BBC News
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:10 am Noon: Markets up 1%; Larsen gains after share saleMumbai: Indian shares rose more than 1% despite a choppy morning session on Friday, helped by gains made by infrastructure play Larsen & Toubro after the firm sold off a third of its stake in outsourcing firm Mahindra Satyam. Analysts said the undertone of the market was cautious after concerns about consumer spending and strength of the recovery in the world’s largest economy hit Wall Street, snapping a six-day winning streak, and pulling down the Asian markets. Shares in engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro rose as much as 1.5% after it sold 27 million shares in a block deal in Mahindra Satyam at rS114.90 each. The Larsen shares came off later to trade 1.1% higher at Rs1,658.10 Mahindra Satyam was down 4.5% at Rs112.20, topping the volume chart with 39 million shares changing hands. At 12:53am, the 30-share benchmark index was up at 16796.42, with 27 components gaining. The index opened little changed, fell 0.2% and then rebounded to rise as much as 1.1%. The broader 50-share NSE index was up 1% at 4984.20. “The market is being led higher by fresh liquidity infusion, but the action is limited to a few stocks and that raises doubts about its sustainability,” said Arun Kejriwal, director at KRIS. “Investors should be very careful at these levels.” Foreign funds have moved more than $14.5 billion into Indian stocks so far this year, propelling the benchmark index up nearly three-quarters in the period, but some analysts have expressed concern about the rapid advance. Shares in export-driven outsourcing companies such as Infosys Technologies rose 1.5% to Rs2,356.50, Tata Consultancy was up 2% at Rs667.30 and Wipro gained 1.3% to Rs633.50. Information technology stocks have been in focus on hopes of a sharp revival in outsourcing services demand by overseas clients early next year. A fall in the Indian rupee to its lowest in a week also helped sentiment, traders said. Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 0.8% to Rs415.40 after the country’s top drug maker by sales said it has received the World Health Organization pre-qualification for its Indinavir anti-retroviral AIDS drug. In the broader market, 1,518 gainers outpaced 894 losers with 186 million shares changing hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:01 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 | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Extend ban to duplicated IMEI numbers’The Centre should not just stop with the planned disconnection of fake mobile phones from the month-end, but extend the action to cover clones/duplicated IMEI numbers of genuine brand owners and manufacturers.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Govt mulls auctioning four 3G slots in all circles sans spectrumA committee headed by Mr Sam Pitroda, appointed by the Government to oversee the upcoming 3G auctions, is examining whether four slots can be auctioned in all circles even if there is no spectrum available immediately.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Domestic airlines carry 27% more passengers in OctNew Delhi, Nov. 12 The festival month brought cheer to the domestic airline industry.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Cabinet nod for OVL’s additional investment in BrazilNew Delhi, Nov. 12 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to ONGC Videsh Ltd for making an additional investment of $70 million in Block BC-10 inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Food inflation climbs to 13.68%New Delhi, Nov. 12 Doubling of potato prices and onions becoming costlier by 42.58 per cent on an annual basis led to the food inflation climbing to 13.68 per cent for the week ended October 31, from 13.39 per cent in the previous week.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Capital goods power industrial growth in SeptNew Delhi, Nov. 12 A firm recovery in the country’s industrial output appears to be under way.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Rolta India (Rs 178.4) : BuyWe recommend a buy in Rolta India from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts of the stock that it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend, forming higher peaks and troughs since its March-low of Rs 40.70. However, the stockSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am NSE members not for extended trading: SurveyBrokers seem to have shown the thumbs down to the extension of stock market timings allowed by SEBI last month.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Consumer durable growth story intactBL Research Bureau The IIP data released on Thursday suggest that the growth story in the consumer durable industry is intact, with the index reporting a double-digit growth for the sixth month in a row. The IIP data reported for SeptemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am The financial panic is over: Warren BuffettNew York: Warren Buffett, perhaps the world’s most admired investor, said on Thursday the financial panic that gripped the globe last year is a thing of the past, even as the US economy’s struggles persist. “The financial panic is behind us,” the world’s second-richest person said at Columbia University’s business school. “Our economy was sputtering, still is sputtering some.” Buffett, 79, nevertheless said there is greater opportunity for investments inside the United States than outside, noting that the US economy is far larger than any other. He appeared at Columbia with Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates, the world’s richest person and a Buffett friend and bridge partner. Last month, preliminary government data showed the US economy expanded in the third quarter, the first three-month period of growth since the second quarter of 2008. Nonetheless, the US unemployment rate last month reached 10.2%, the first double-digit reading in 26 years. Buffett last week made a big bet on the US economy when his Berkshire Hathaway Inc agreed to pay about $26.4 billion for the 77% of railroad company Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp that it did not already own. “There will be more people in this country, 10, 20, 30 years from now,” Buffett said. “They’ll be moving more and more goods back and forth to each other and the most environmentally friendly and cost-efficient way of doing that is railroads.” Buffett said rail transport uses one-third less fuel and pollutes the air less than trucks, and that one train can supplant about 280 trucks. Gates, who is also a Berkshire director, said other sectors might also boost the economy over the long term, including information technology, energy and medicine. Separately, Buffett advised the US government not to coddle companies that need bailouts to survive or preserve capital. “More sticks are called for,” he said. Buffett gave Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner ”high marks” for how they managed the financial crisis. The billionaire has praised Bernanke in the past, while mocking Geithner’s stress tests for banks. CNBC television was a host for the Columbia event. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:56 pm TCS to form business alliance with Dow - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:28 pm Rupee down 4 paise at 46.69 a dollar in early tradeThe US unit's gains against other major currencies also put some pressure on rupee sentiment.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:12 pm Oil lingers below US$ 77 amid US demand concernsThe US Energy Information Administration said yesterday in its weekly report that oil inventories rose 1.8 million barrels and gasoline stocks grew 2.5 million.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:05 pm Oil below $77 on bearish stocks data, dollar reboundSingapore: US crude oil fell on Friday to below $77 a barrel, weighed down by gains in the dollar and a bigger-than-expected build in US crude inventories. The bounce in the dollar fuelled profit-taking in commodities such as gold and oil, while a fall in Asian equities supported the dollar as a safe haven trade. A US Energy Information Administration report that showed a rise of 1.8 million barrels in crude oil stocks last week saw oil dropping nearly 3% in the previous session, to settle at $76.94 a barrel. “It’s a reality check. There’s a build-up in inventories and the market got sold off,” said Tony Nunan, risk management executive at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. The US government data was more bearish than an earlier industry report of a 1.2 million-barrel build and far greater than the forecast rise of just 600,000 barrels in a Reuters poll. By 9:13am, US crude futures were down 9 cents at $76.85 a barrel. Brent crude futures were unchanged at $76.02 a barrel. Although oil prices have risen 77% so far this year, they are still nearly 47% below their high of more than $147 a barrel struck in July last year. However, firm Chinese oil demand put a lid on the oil price drop. China’s annual GDP growth rate could reach 10% in the fourth quarter as the economic recovery exceeds expectations, with full-year economic growth at about 8.3%, said Fan Jianping, chief economist with the State Information Centre. He added that next year’s economic growth was unlikely to bring inflation risks, with the consumer price index possibly rising about 2.5%. But the recovery of the global economy is seen choppy and worries of fundamental oil demand set in, following a rise in US oil product inventories. EIA data showed distillates logging an unexpected increase of 300,000 barrels and gasoline up 2.5 million barrels. Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of French oil major Total SA, said low global demand did not justify the current high price for oil, above $76 a barrel. Undermining oil markets, the greenback staged a broad rally due to data showing a drop in US jobless claims and fuelled by lower commodity prices and weaker equities. Investors wary of riskier assets such as high-yield currencies and book profits as several policymakers warn the economic recovery is still fragile. For more see The dollar bounced on Friday as investors wondered if US President Barack Obama’s nine-day visit to Asia would generate pressure on some countries to let their currencies rise. Against a basket of currencies the dollar was up at 75.596 and off 15-month lows of 74.774, though it remains within a downtrend channel that stretches back to May. Oil and the dollar tend to be inversely correlated because a weak dollar makes the commodity cheap for non-dollar buyers, and vice versa. The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell to the lowest level since January, the government said on Thursday, showing the hard-hit labor market may be slowly improving. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Sensex open higher in morning tradeThe benchmark index had closed lower by over 150 points even discounting a robust show in industrial output.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm Sensex starts off on quiet noteA key index of the Indian equities markets opened on a quiet note Friday and was ruling 0.23 percent higher than its previous close.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pm Air India aid broken in instalments - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:51 pm Industrial growth up 9.1%, manufacturing powers rise - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm Gold eases from record highs on profit-takingMumbai: India gold futures eased from record highs on Friday as a bounce in the dollar fuelled profit-taking, analysts said. The most-traded December gold contract was 0.35% lower at Rs16,708 per 10 grams at 10:40am, after hitting a fresh record high of Rs16,884 in the previous session. The contract has gained about 5% in November. A strong dollar dims the yellow metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. “Gold is looking down due to a stronger dollar, 16,800 could be a good selling level with a target of Rs16,650,” said Abhishek Chauhan, an analyst with Angel Commodities. “This bias is on the downside, gold may move in the range of Rs16,720-16,850,” Murukesh Kumar, senior analyst with JRG Wealth. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm Wall St falls on energy shares, consumer worriesNew York: The Dow industrials six-day winning streak came to a halt on Thursday as a drop in oil prices pulled energy stocks lower and a guarded outlook from Wal-Mart fanned worries about consumer spending. Stocks were also undermined by a US dollar rally, as its safe-haven appeal rose after several policymakers around the world warned the economic recovery was fragile. With earnings season coming to a close, and looking beyond the Federal Reserve’s meeting last week, investors searched for new catalysts to determine the market’s direction. “As the S&P 500 has gone above 1,100, it has had a hard time holding on to gains,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Shelton, Connecticut. Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 hit 13-month closing highs on Wednesday. Oil futures settled down 3% below $77 per barrel as data confirmed crude and refined product inventories rose last week. The S&P energy sector index fell 2%, with shares of Hess Corp down 2.5% to $55.95 and Occidental Petroleum Corp down 1.6% to $81.81. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 93.79 points, or 0.91%, to 10,197.47. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 11.27 points, or 1.03%, to 1,087.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 17.88 points, or 0.83%, to 2,149.02. “In order to get to the next level up, (the market) does need a strong catalyst, and most of the time the stronger dollar has been a negative,” Krosby said. Shares of insurers and banks were among top laggards, with the S&P financial sector index down 1.8%. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, reported a higher quarterly profit and its shares rose 0.5 percent to $53.24, but it forecast earnings for the key holiday quarter that could miss Wall Street’s consensus estimate. Concern about consumer spending weighed on the S&P retail index, which fell 0.8 percent. After the market’s close, shares of Walt Disney Co jumped 3.6% to $30.10 after the media company posted a rise in quarterly earnings and its revenue was higher than expected. Advance Micro Systems Inc rose 21.8% to $6.48 and was the among the most traded stocks during the regular session on the New York Stock Exchange after it agreed with fellow chipmaker Intel Corp to settle all outstanding legal disputes. Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion as part of the settlement. Network equipment maker 3Com Corp gained 31.1% to $7.46 a day after Hewlett-Packard Co said it has agreed to buy the company for $2.7 billion. Hewlett-Packard shed 0.6 percent to $49.70. Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange with 1.05 billion shares changing hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.24 billion shares traded, slightly below last year’s daily average of 2.28 billion. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a ratio of about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq nearly 10 stocks fell for every three that rose. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm GoM to discuss AI restructuring plan tomorrow: PatelNew Delhi: A group of ministers (GoM) will consider Air India’s demand for equity infusion of Rs5,000 crore and its financial restructuring plan at a meeting here tomorrow as the airline has begun implementing a series of measures to reduce costs by Rs3,000 crore annually. “The GoM on the civil aviation sector, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is meeting tomorrow as the government has broadly agreed to support Air India in its restructuring process,” Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel said today. The GoM would also look at a presentation of Air India on its restructuring plan and try to address the issues, keeping in mind the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, he said. Patel had last week said in Mumbai that the cash- strapped airline required around Rs 5,000 crore as additional equity infusion, a demand which was being considered by the government. He said the government and the airline will have to find ways together to find a solution to the current problem. Patel expressed confidence that the employees of the national carrier would contribute towards restructuring of the airline and work towards cost cutting and revenue enhancement. Air India is broadly looking at reducing costs by about Rs3000 crore and enhancing revenues by Rs 2000 crore annually, which could lead it on a recovery path, Patel said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:20 pm Sensex open higher in morning tradeThe BSE benchmark index Sensex rose by over 60 points in early morning trade on emergence of buying by funds in fundamentally strong shares, specially consumer goods and banking, available at attractive low levels.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm Business restructuring to unlock value for IVRCL InfrastructuresThe Hyderabad-based IVRCL Group’s move to restructure its infrastructure business in two listed companies will unlock value for the flagship company, IVRCL Infrastructures Ltd. (IVR Infra). It will also clearly demarcate business operations into engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and build-operate and transfer (BOT).   Graphics: Sandeep Bhatnagar On the other hand, the 59 million shares will increase IVR Infra’s stake from 62.4% to 80.5% in IVR Prime. So, going forward, IVR CL Infra will be able to raise money for BOT and other projects too by merely divesting this holding. IVR Prime Urban was until now primarily into real estate and urban development. The company posted a net loss of Rs 12.2 crore during the first half of FY10. With a mere Rs60 lakh revenue, the company’s interest payable on the Rs 280 crore loan from IVR Infra impacted the bottom line. The merger would bring a turnaround for IVR Prime in the long run. It will now have access to toll revenues. Of the four BOT projects in its kitty now, three would be operational by January 2010. Valuations of IVR Infra would be more attractive for those interested in the EPC business but were earlier shying away due to long payback period for BOT projects housed in the same company. For FY2009, the company had posted revenues of Rs 4882 crore registering a 33% growth over the previous year. Analysts are confident of a 25-30% growth during FY10. The merger therefore benefits both companies by bringing clarity in business operations. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 10:09 pm Rupee down 4 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee depreciated by four paise at 46.69 against the US dollar in early trade largely on fears of fresh capital outflows by foreign funds as market may open lower on weak Asian cues.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 9:45 pm Gold at historic high in AhmedabadThe spike in value, registered on Thursday, was driven by aggressive buying from stockists and jewellers amid a firming trend in the overseas market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pm Industrial surge boosts growth hopeNew Delhi: Factory output surged in September, strengthening the prospect of the economy having embarked on the path of recovery after last year’s slump. Industrial production grew at 9.1% in the month, slower than August’s 11% jump, but maintaining the growth trend for the fiscal year that began on 1 April.  Positive surge: A Honda Siel plant in Uttar Pradesh. Goldman Sachs said in an advisory that September industrial production confirms the message from a range of indicators such as vehicle sales. Ramesh Pathania / Mint The effects of the erratic June-September monsoon on agriculture could still act as a dampener on overall growth for the fiscal year. “So far it appears to be a sustained recovery, but it is too early to say whether drought, which affected a large part of the country, will have an impact,” said the country’s chief statistician Pronab Sen. “Consumer non-durables is already doing badly, though consumer durables are doing well due to the festival season. The impact of a bad rabi crop will show up a little later.” Industrial production averaged 6.5% in the first half to September, faster than the year-earlier 5%. The trend was also reflected in October export data that was released on Wednesday, which showed that key sectors may be heading towards a recovery as the decline slowed to 11.4% against a 13.8% contraction in the previous month. June clearly marked the turning point for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), when growth surged to 8.32% from 2.07% in the previous month (May). With the Reserve Bank of India signalling a withdrawal of the expansionary monetary policy that was introduced as part of stimulus measures, some experts, such as Siddhartha Roy, economic adviser to the Tata group, advised caution on raising rates too soon.  Graphics: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint “There are a few preconditions if we want to achieve overall 7.5% industrial growth in the current fiscal. Interest rates should not go up,” Roy said. “There is a tendency at present where banks want to lend only to large borrowers. Banks should take a little more risk and lend to small and medium enterprises as well as to consumers.” Goldman Sachs expects the recovery to lead to a stronger rupee and “300 basis points of tightening in effective policy rates in 2010”, it said in a report authored by Pranjul Bhandar and Tushar Poddar. “We expect WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation to move rapidly from 1.6% on October 24 to 6.5% by March 2010.” While growth in basic goods and intermediate goods is already higher than the last year’s level in the first half of the fiscal, both capital goods and consumer goods grew at about half the rate of last year’s levels, according to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation, the government’s nodal statistical agency. Consumer goods grew at 8.2% in September, compared with 7.4% in August, driven mainly by a robust recovery in the durables sector, which grew at 22.2% in September compared with 14.7% in the previous month. However, the consumer non-durables sector grew at a meagre 2.6% in September. Consumer non-durables contracted 0.5% in the first half, compared with a 7.7% growth in the year earlier. The manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 80% of the production basket, recorded a 9.3% growth in September, compared with 6.2% last year. Both the electricity and the mining sectors also recorded better performances than the last year’s levels. However, out of the 17 industries that constitute the IIP, five industries—food products, beverages, jute, paper products and metal products—recorded negative growth in September. Though there is no imminent risk to growth, the recovery in exports and high oil prices may play a role in determining overall expansion this year, Sen said. “I do not see any obvious risks to growth. Economic growth so far has been entirely led by domestic developments. With the finance minister saying that he is not going to tamper with the support package, I do not see any immediate risk,” Sen said. “If at all, growth may have an upward bias if exports pick up. But it is difficult to say which way it will behave as the world market is still depressed. High oil prices could come as a risk only if the world economy recovers at a very fast pace.” Bhandar and Poddar said in their economic advisory that too much should not be read into the year-on-year (y-o-y) change. “On a sequential basis, the September industrial production print confirms the message from a wide range of activity indicators such as the PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) and motor vehicle sales, that after a sharp pickup from the lows of the crisis, the improvement in economic activity continues at a more gradual pace,” they wrote. Given that industrial growth slumped drastically in the second half of the previous fiscal year, the base effect will ensure growth will be much higher in the period starting October. “Over the next few months, we will continue to focus more on the sequential momentum as a better gauge of activity as yearly growth in several activity indicators will likely show huge up-ticks as a crisis-ridden low base comes on board,” the Goldman Sachs report said. However, Roy holds that y-o-y data is a better way to look at industrial growth. “As the Indian economy is highly dependent on rural demand, which in turn relies on the behaviour of the agriculture sector, looking at the annual year-on-year data is the best way to measure growth,” he said. Roy expects industrial production to grow at 8.5% in the second half. Goldman Sachs expects an improvement in the credit growth numbers due to strong consumer and business confidence, and an expected pick-up in credit growth in the second half of the fiscal as “corporates need to fund capex plans via debt after having raised significant amounts of equity”. It also expects the ongoing improvement in global demand to likely increase credit demand from the export sector. asit.m@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm Wider debate required for rethink on media FDI In a democracy, media ownership matters, especially at a time when it is increasingly being used to influence opinion or mislead people. Earlier, in this column, I have written about how political parties own some media vehicles, and misuse them. An important issue that is related to this is foreign ownership and investment in media.  India’s expanding economy presents a lucrative business opportunity for media firms. Therefore, the policy governing foreign ownership restrictions of electronic and print media still remains one that is watched closely by investors and others. Those in support of foreign ownership of media, speak of open economies, more investments and induction of global best practices/technologies. This could be true of several manufacturing and services sectors but in the case of media, Indian media houses have demonstrated that they have professional capabilities and there is no technology that cannot be bought or sourced. Also Read PN Vasanti’s earlier columns The media business has always been viewed as something that can influence opinion and behaviour and the Indian approach has hitherto been to bar and, in cases where it is allowed, tightly regulate, foreign investment in media. This approach is primarily driven by security and nationalistic considerations but it also helps protect and promote local firms. These considerations have restricted foreign direct investment, or FDI, in the media sector both at the content creation level and at the carriage/platform level.  Graphics: Yogesh Kumar / Mint Such restrictions are not unique to our country but are common in almost all countries with a thriving media business. Even Rupert Murdoch had to change his citizenship to become an American citizen to acquire a stake in US media firms. In India, Murdoch has had to take the partnership route to get around Indian policy. That, or similar approaches, have been used by media brands such as BBC, Forbes and others to enter the country. (Editor’s note: Mint has an exclusive content alliance with The Wall Street Journal, whose brand it is allowed to use on its masthead; Wall Street Journal is part of Dow Jones & Co., which is owned by Murdoch’s News Corp.) Most foreign media firms are awaiting policy changes to make their presence more strongly felt. Over time, India has changed its policy. In 2002, it relaxed its stringent laws to allow 100% FDI in non-news media but imposed a 26% cap on such investment in news ventures. Since then, foreign ownership limits have slowly been relaxed to the existing levels across various media. (The current limits for foreign investment in different segments of the media sector are given in the accompanying table.) Recently, the current information and broadcasting minister has been talking of changing foreign investment guidelines further. Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had also reviewed these limits and recommended further relaxation—for example increasing FDI in DTH (direct-to-home) services to 74% to keep parity with FDI in the telecom sector. It had also recommended that FDI in news channels be raised to 49%. Further, the department of industrial policy and promotion has recently issued Press notes # 2, 3 & 4 of the 2009 series that actually circumvent current foreign ownership limits and allow various foreign broadcasters to increase their stake in their Indian ventures to 74%. The compulsion, or the national necessity, for such expansion of foreign ownership has not been articulated. This rethink of foreign ownership regulation is quite illustrative of policy making in India. It shows how policies have been modified to suit certain interests while also opening wide gaps for others to take undue advantage of what has proved to be a weak monitoring and implementation systems. Clearly, the original considerations—security and nationalistic ones—are no less relevant today than they were sometime back. I believe critical decisions of vital import for the sector have to be made after adequate debate and discussions between all stakeholders, including the audience, civil society, media professionals, and academia. P.N. Vasanti is director of New Delhi-based multidisciplinary research organization Centre for Media Studies. Your comments and feedback on this column, which runs every other Friday, are welcome at fineprint@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm Quick Edit | Another step forwardMuch ink has been spilt criticizing the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) conservative approach to financial sector reform. Still, this caution helped India stave off the worst of the financial crisis. Now, with solid signs of recovery, such as industrial output, India is signalling returning to the reform path. Last weekend, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasized this agenda by noting “gradual, but steady” financial reforms. And that’s just how RBI likes it. On Thursday, the central bank released comprehensive guidelines on the use of foreign exchange derivatives, suggesting piecemeal changes. Take cross-currency options, where a bank exchanges dollars for yen to hedge against dollar liabilities, which are now allowed. In last month’s policy review, RBI said it would even introduce credit-default swaps, whose entry it had wisely stalled in 2008. What’s more, this review signalled the end of monetary accommodation and RBI’s focus on a new problem: Inflation. Now that growth is again a certainty, it’s important the central bank keeps an eye on inflation and financial stability. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm The big ‘G’ and the little ‘e’ have gotten the least actionNew Delhi: Dennis Hwang is the person responsible for colour in Google’s otherwise minimalist homepage. His work for the last nine years, since he joined Google Inc. as an intern in 2000, is seen by millions of people every day in the form of the search engine’s ever-morphing logo, from a washed-out watercolour nod to painter Monet to a pencil-sketched tribute to Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi. And that’s not even his day job.  Changing script: Dennis Hwang says a doodle can take anywhere from a few minutes to days to sometimes weeks to complete; (below) a doodle in the recent Sesame Street series, which was created by a Google team. Sudhanshu Malhotra / Mint Hwang is an international webmaster at Google, with the famous doodles his “20% time” project, a Google philosophy that allows employees to spend one day a week working on projects that aren’t part of their usual job descriptions. In Delhi to announce the winners of the India leg of “Doodle 4 Google”, an international competition for schoolchildren to design an iteration of the Google logo, he spoke to Mint about the origin, process and sometimes problematic nature of the Google doodles. Edited excerpts: How did the Google Doodles start? Were they around before you joined Google? When I joined as an intern, [Google founders] Larry Page and Sergey Brin had started dabbling in it. The first one they created was really an “out of office” message to show their users that they were away at this festival called the Burning Man. They put a little symbol of the Burning Man next to the logo. People just loved that one. But right from the beginning, there’s always been this kind of internal turmoil, because if you read any marketing textbook—the first guideline is always “don’t touch your corporate logo”. In the early days, they had external contractors who’d sometimes make logos, and Larry and Sergey themselves made a few, which was um…interesting. In around July 2000 they approached me, they knew I’d studied art, and said, “Hey, why don’t you give it a try?” The first one you created was on 14 July, 2000, for Bastille Day. The ‘l’ in Google had a little French flag on it. Yeah. Back then, Google did not have different home pages for different countries like we do now, so a lot of people from the UK actually wrote in to complain that there was little French flag on the logo. Actually, when I look back at some of these earliest ones, I cringe in embarrassment. One of the other earliest logos we did was for Holi. I remember that I personally didn’t know anything about the festival, and one of my Indian colleagues said it would be perfect for a Google logo, with the splashes of colour. Does doodling consume a lot of time at work for you, even though its still a “20% time” project? It was always tight, so now there’s a team of Googlers who work on this…some of the recent ones like the Sesame Street series was actually the team that created it. I still provide creative guidance, and I manage the team whenever I can. We’ve also always had fun inviting artists to do guest doodles for us, its worked out great. How do the doodles get made? Is there an internal approval process? In the early days, Larry and Sergey did the emperor-style thumbs-up, thumbs-down on every logo. They’re still very much involved—they like to provide feedback if they have strong feelings about it. Not too long ago, they would even describe the design that they wanted for a particular logo. By now, we have a team, so it’s a fairly painless and informal process. We try and cover events from countries we don’t have much of a presence in as well…Vietnamese holidays, for example. A lot of doodle ideas also come from Google users. Like with any endeavour on the Internet, is there a bias with the logos towards geeky, tech-related subjects? Of course. But we don’t avoid it, we embrace it! We’ve done some really geeky ones. Like when the Large Hadron Collider was being powered up in Switzerland, we did one that made fun of people’s fears that it would create a black hole. We briefly showed a timestamp when the Unix system timestamp turned 1234567890 (computers based on the Unix operating system use a coded 10-digit number). Not too many people may relate to it, but some of our closest users are computer scientists and geeks, and I mean that in a very endearing way. But I think now we try to cover innovation in every field—scientists, technology definitely, and we do many artist birthdays as well. How long does a doodle usually take to complete? It can take anywhere from a few minutes to days to sometimes weeks. Most of the time, it’s not actually the drawing of it that takes time. Some of the logos may look very detailed, but we work very fast. The maximum time is taken by the many countless iterations on the concept, because we get one little thing wrong about the culture and you hear from millions of people. You’ll get emails that say, ‘That looks nothing like what we eat here!’ so we’re very careful with what we depict. Have any of the doodles been divisive? In 2003, we did a logo with a double helix to celebrate 50 years of the discovery of DNA. Within minutes I started hearing from geneticists and scientists all around the world. They were all like, “That’s not a double helix!” thousands of emails all in caps: “PLEASE FIX IT.” I was amazed, it was two pixels of detail that they had a problem with and caught on to faster than anybody else. Which letters in the Google logo are the hardest to work with? The big “G” and the little “e” have gotten the least amount of action, because they’re so hard to incorporate into…well, any shape. Do you have any favourites? We’ve done a lot of interesting ones. We celebrated the 25th anniversary of the game Tetris in June 2009. One of the original programmers who worked on Tetris all those years ago is now a Googler—so we thought it’d be cool to celebrate that. We did one for Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol, where we just changed the letters around in our logo. That was fun. Are there particular issues or themes that the doodles avoid? We’re constantly re-evaulating our policies with regards to what we like or not like to do. Generally, we find that the Google doodle doesn’t work very well for anything political, or anything overtly religious. Divisive issues, we stay away from. The doodle is usually light hearted, so anything serious and solemn sometimes comes across as disrespectful. It’s something we keep having internal dialogues about. It’s not an editorial stance; we’re not in a place to do that. Do you rely on Google itself to research the doodles? Oh yes. Google’s image search is indispensable, and I use a lot of Google Labs projects—like Google Sets—to help me organize my research. Have you considered any independent graphic projects, outside of Google? I’m having so much fun right now, I haven’t even thought about it! Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm AI gets Rs 2000cr lifelineThe government agreed to inject Rs 2,000 crore in AI this fiscal in a phase-wise manner of Rs 400 crore per month.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm Industrial output grows 9.1% in SeptemberGovernment data released also revised the annual growth figure for August to a 22-month-high of 11% from 10.4%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:41 pm Food prices continue to soar, up 13.6%Food prices in the last week of October 2009 rose by 13.68% from that a year ago. As against this, in the previous week, annual food inflation was 13.39%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm Air traffic starts growing againOctober saw a 25% increase with 39.7 lakh people taking to the skies against 31.8 lakh in the same month last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm Foreign cos may stay away from 3G bidThe governments hopes of raising Rs 30,000 crore from what will now be its second attempt to auction 3G spectrum may prove ambitious.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm ESD is the highest bidder for IPL coverageMumbai: Entertainment & Sports Direct (ESD), a sports and entertainment content acquisitions firm, on Thursday emerged as the highest bidder for theatrical rights to all Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for seasons 2010 through 2019. ESD’s bid of Rs330 crore is subject to approval by the IPL governing council. The only other bid was from Triplecom Media. The deal will give ESD exclusive exhibition rights for audiences in cinema halls, stadia, ships, buses, trains, armed service establishments, hospitals, bars, hotels, restaurants, airports, railway stations, shopping malls, offices, construction sites, oil rigs, clubs, auditoriums, spas, salons and other similar public venues. IPL’s 2010 season is scheduled to begin 12 March in Hyderabad. “We believe that this agreement will help us take the IPL action direct to the fans on the large screen,” Lalit Modi, IPL’s chairman and commissioner, said in a statement. Arun Rangachari, director, ESD said there were “significant untapped business opportunities” that would be addressed by this association. ESD, promoted by DAR Capital Group, an investment advisory and private equity firm, is a company focused on sports and entertainment related content acquisition. The company has tied up with UFO Moviez and Valuable Media for theatrical and public exhibition in India and key-global markets. UFO Moviez Ltd is the largest satellite based digital cinema network in the country with over 1700 screens. The move to screen matches in cinemas could be a positive for the theatre business, which typically suffers during the IPL season as movie goers stay away to watch what is largely night-time cricket. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm Noose tightens around KodaAfter the group interrogation held in Ranchi on Tuesday, top Income Tax (I-T) officials said former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Kodas friends had in their statements confirmed their activities in Jharkhand amounting to about Rs 200 crore.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:50 am Pramod Jain makes open offer for Golden TobaccoPramod Jain, a minority shareholder in Sanjay Dalmia-controlled cigarette-maker Golden Tobacco Ltd (GTL), today made an unsolicited open offer to acquire another 25 per cent equity in the company at Rs 101 a share.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:47 am Car buyers now face longer waiting periodsManufacturers report unexpected post-festival surge in demand.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 11:44 am Constellation of satellites needed for disaster management Mumbai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has stressed on the need to have a constellation of satellites with multisectral sensors to predict, mitigate and manage disasters. “Exactly how many satellites an effective constellation would need is still open for debate. No single satellite can hope to meet all these needs. Rather, what disaster managers need is a constellation of satellites carrying a range of sensors,” Director, Space Application Centre Isro, Ranganath Navalgund said from Ahmedabad Thursday. The constellation plan is a part of the ‘Umbrella Plan’ of the organisation, he said. Disasters come in all shapes and sizes, needing varying data during the disaster cycle of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, Navalgund said. Many studies suggest at least eight satellites, with dual capability sensors can collect both high and low spatial resolution data, and an equal split between optical (including thermal) and microwave instruments. “The satellites should also be agile, they should allow rapid changes in camera orientation so that a disaster area can be kept in view longer,” he said. However, India currently makes use of data from different satellites which are already operating for disaster management. Even yesterday’s cyclone ‘Phyan’ in Arabian sea was tracked by INSAT-3A Kalpana and recently launched Oceansat-2 with KU band and scatterometer, he said. Crucially, different situations need data collected in different wavebands — like optical and near infrared data can map land use or assess agricultural droughts. “But to track a cyclone’s eye, or monitor flooded areas beneath cloud, microwave sensors are needed,” Navalgund said. In flood monitoring, this can pose a real problem. Low spatial resolution data can map out large inundated areas, but relief efforts really need more detailed, yet still timely, data on infrastructure, like submerged bridges, drains and roads,“ SAC director said. A constellation of polar-orbiting satellites, equally spaced around a sun-synchronous orbit to provide continuous coverage over any given place, could solve this, he said. Such a constellation, designed primarily for disaster management, could offer more frequent data in the right part of the spectrum and India is planning on these lines. Geostationary satellites, predominantly designed for weather forecasting, are good at spotting a cyclone’s forming, tracking its movements, and predicting land fall points. But they don’t usually carry microwave sensors, which are needed to estimate a cyclone’ Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:59 am
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