|
|
|
|
Indian economist Siddharth Tiwari appointed to key IMF post!With a proven track record in managing complex work programmes, Indian economist Siddharth Tiwari has been named as the Secretary of the IMF by its Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am US newspaper ad revenue down nearly 28 percent!US newspaper advertising revenue fell by nearly 28 percent in the third quarter, continuing a slide which has led to layoffs, bankruptcies and the closure of several dailies.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am India may miss 2009/10 power addition target: Shinde!: India is likely to add only 78 percent of its targetted 14.5 gigawatts power capacity in the 2009/10 financial year ending March, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the Parliament on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am ICICI Bank, HUL among world`s best cos for leaders!Indian private sector lender ICICI Bank and global consumer goods giant Unilever`s India-based subsidiary have been named in a list of world`s 10 best companies for leaders.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am `India to become third largest economy by 2050`!India will be the third largest economy in the world after China and US by 2050, a US-based think tank has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am Oil prices dip as inventories stay high!Oil prices dropped on Friday and were likely to stay under USD 80 because of high energy inventories in the United States, the world`s biggest energy-consuming nation, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am Hershey mulls $17 bn solo bid for Cadbury: Source!Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least USD 17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am Honda tops again in efficiency on US roads!Japan`s Honda Motor Co Ltd has again produced the most fuel efficient and least polluting vehicles on American roads, the US government projections for 2009 showed on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am ICICI Bank raises USD 750-mn through bond issue!India`s second largest lender, ICICI Bank on Saturday said it has raised USD 750-million through the issue of five-year bonds at its Bahrain branch.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am Bharti Airtel cuts mobile roaming chargesBharti Airtel, India\'s top mobile operator, said on Friday it had launched a new bill plan that would reduce mobile roaming rates by nearly 60%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:38 am Bharti Airtel reduces roaming charges to 50 paise/minIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Atul Bindal, President, Mobile Services of Bharti Airtel Ltd, spoke about the fairly large sized cut in its roaming charges.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:26 am Essar Comm to file revised bond offer docThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought a revised offer document from Essar Communication Holdings that details how it plans to use funds raised in a USD 920 million bond issue, two sources with knowledge of the development said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:11 am India plans rice reserve sale in local markets - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Nov 2009 | 3:32 am Harassment, shop-lifting common at trade fair'Do I look like an animal or am I just different?' Kelly Intasorn, an exhibitor from Thailand at the India International Trade Fair here, asked. She is fed up of men phtographing her.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am PNB plans to acquire majority stake in Kazakhstan-base bankThe bank is trying to take a 74% stake in a bank called Dana Bank in Kazakhstan, subject to RBI approval; the bank has completed due deligence, which is now being whetted.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:56 am GM India will not cede ground in Chinese alliancePresident and Managing Director of General Motors India, is categorical that the proposed alliance with SAIC Motor Corporation of China for light trucks will in no way compromise his companys position.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:52 am ICICI Bank Mops up USD 750 Mn Abroad - Outlook
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:40 am Bharat Hotels to invest Rs 2,300 cr in new propertiesBharat Hotels, the holding company of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, will invest nearly Rs 2,300 crore in hotel properties in the next four years. This will include its foray in the midmarket segment.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:33 am Canada introduces express business visas for IndiansCanada has announced a new liberal business visa regime for Indian businessmen to catch up with other industrialised nations in boosting trade with India.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:32 am DoT, Defence end stalemate on spectrumIn a move that will allow the Government to auction 3G spectrum for at least four operators in each circle, the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Defence have struck an agreement whereby the armed forces will release 25 Mhz of radio frequency.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:22 am Stop illegal mining by Reddy firm or resign: TDP to Andhra CM - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am Vodafone seeks more time to reply to Indian tax claimNew Delhi: British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc has sought an extra two months to reply to a two-billion-dollar Indian tax claim over its purchase of India’s third-largest mobile operator. Vodafone had been told late last month to explain by 16 November the reasons why it did not deduct tax when paying $11.2 billion to buy a majority stake in Indian mobile phone operator Hutchison Essar in 2007. The company “has requested for further time till 29 January, 2010,” junior finance minister S.S. Palanimanickam told parliament in a written reply, news reports said on Saturday. The company has now been asked “to show cause why it should not be treated as an assessee in default for its failure to deduct and pay the tax”, Palanimanickam added, according to the Press Trust of India. The answer was tabled in the lower house of parliament late Friday. Vodafone argues capital gains tax is usually paid by the seller, not the buyer. But Indian tax officials argue Vodafone should have withheld two billion dollars for the Indian government from the sum it paid to a unit of Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa for its Indian subsidiary. In 2008, the Bombay High Court rejected Vodafone’s petition for exemption from the tax department demand. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case and ruled that the Central Board of Direct Taxes should rule. The board is slated to take a “final view” after Vodafone replies to the tax notice. Vodafone and the tax department are at loggerheads over whether the purchase of the Indian unit, which had been held by a company registered in the Cayman Islands, is subject to Indian taxes. The company has said it “is confident that no tax is payable on this transaction”. Indian tax department officials insist tax is payable on the purchase of the company as it is located in India. Vodafone bought 67% of Hutchison Essar -- now called Vodafone Essar -- to break into the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone market as the London-listed company struggled with slowing sales in the developed world. But cut-throat competition in India’s increasingly crowded cellular market has hit revenues from Vodafone’s Indian arm. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:05 am Asian tour aimed at growth and jobs ObamaAmerican President Barack Obama, who just concluded his four-nation maiden visit to Asia, said on Saturday that the tour was part of his pursuit of economic growth and jobs.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:57 am Weekly review: Sensex nudges past 17000-mark - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:46 am Shell in talks to buy 10 pct of Essar Oil - reportMUMBAI (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy 10 percent of India's Essar Oil as part of a deal where it would sell three European refineries to the Indian firm, the Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the plans.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:45 am 31 dead, 82 trapped in China mine blastBeijing: An explosion at a coal mine in northeast China early Saturday killed 31 workers and left 82 trapped, state-run China Central Television (CCTV) said, the latest deadly incident to hit the industry. The blast happened at 2:30 am (1830 GMT Friday) at a mine in Heilongjiang province, according to a statement issued by the State Administration of Work Safety. A total of 528 miners were working in the pit, near Hegang City, when the blast occurred, the state administration said. The previous toll given by CCTV was 15 dead and 114 trapped. The mine, which produces 1.45 million tonnes of coal a year, is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group, based in provincial capital Harbin. Xinhua said vice premier Zhang Dejiang was going to the scene of the incident to direct rescue operations. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao had given instructions on the rescue work. According to the company’s website, in 2009 it was ranked 12th out of the top 100 Chinese mining companies and seventh in terms of production volume, without giving further details. China has a dismal work safety record, with thousands of people dying every year in mines, factories and on construction sites. Its coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal — the source of about 70 percent of China’s energy. Beijing has tried for several years to modernise its collieries to control the leakage of gas, particularly methane, a pollutant responsible for several mine explosions. The government provides some two billion yuan ($300 million) of subsidies for mines developing technology for collecting methane, Huang Shengchu, the president of the China Coal Information Institute, told AFP recently. In October four owners of an illegal colliery in Guizhou province in the southwest went on the run after 14 workers died when a mine collapsed. The four were later caught by authorities. And an explosion at a mine in central Henan province in September left more than 50 people dead. The work safety administration said mine shafts had been destroyed after a gas explosion at the pit in the city of Pingdingshan. Official figures show that more than 3,200 workers died in collieries last year, but independent labour groups say the actual figure could be much higher, as many accidents are covered up in order to avoid costly mine shutdowns. Due to the country’s heavy use of coal to power its fast-paced economic growth, it has become one of the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases alongside the United States. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:40 am Shell in talks to buy 10% of Essar OilBesides the stake sale, Essar is also looking at raising $1.5 billion in debt as working capital for the three refineries.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am Sugarcane farmer in Uttar Pradesh commits suicideDistressed at not getting an adequate price for his produce, a debt-ridden sugarcane farmer allegedly committed suicide. The victim burnt his fields in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district and then jumped in the fire, police said Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am CII business delegation in US as part of PM's visitCoinciding with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit to Washington, a high-level business delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is in the US to push economic ties between the two countries.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Sensex nudges past 17,000-mark, adds one percentBenchmark indices of Indian equities markets struggled to add significant gains this week, even as conditions remained uncertain in economies and bourses around the world.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:01 am Shell in talks to buy 10% of Essar OilMumbai: Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy 10% of India’s Essar Oil as part of a deal where it would sell three European refineries to the Indian firm, the Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the plans. At current market prices, the stake would be worth $364 million, the financial daily said. Besides the stake sale, Essar is also looking at raising $1.5 billion in debt as working capital for the three refineries, it said. “We are in exclusive discussions with Shell. It is not our policy to comment on our negotiations and timelines,” an Essar group spokesman told Reuters. Shell put the plants at Stanlow in northwest England and at Heide and Hamburg in Germany on the market earlier this year and media reports have valued them at between £1 billion-£1.5 billion. Tight margins and falling fuel demand have prompted many big oil companies to offload European refineries and Shell’s chief executive Peter Voser said last month it was a challenging time to sell refineries. Essar, which runs a 280,000 barrels-per-day refinery in western India and owns a 50% stake in a Kenyan refinery, is pursuing the deal as part of plans to have a refining capacity of 1 million barrels a day. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am Shell in talks to buy 10% of Essar OilMumbai: Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy 10% of India’s Essar Oil as part of a deal where it would sell three European refineries to the Indian firm, the Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the plans. At current market prices, the stake would be worth $364 million, the financial daily said. Besides the stake sale, Essar is also looking at raising $1.5 billion in debt as working capital for the three refineries, it said. “We are in exclusive discussions with Shell. It is not our policy to comment on our negotiations and timelines,” an Essar group spokesman told Reuters. Shell put the plants at Stanlow in northwest England and at Heide and Hamburg in Germany on the market earlier this year and media reports have valued them at between £1 billion-£1.5 billion. Tight margins and falling fuel demand have prompted many big oil companies to offload European refineries and Shell’s chief executive Peter Voser said last month it was a challenging time to sell refineries. Essar, which runs a 280,000 barrels-per-day refinery in western India and owns a 50% stake in a Kenyan refinery, is pursuing the deal as part of plans to have a refining capacity of 1 million barrels a day. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am Cane crushing accelerates in Maharashtra - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:50 am Galleon sells its stake in India`s EdelweissHedge fund Galleon, which is winding down its funds after its founder was accused of heading an insider trading ring, has sold its holding in India\'s Edelweiss Capital, stock exchange data showed.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:40 am India may miss 2009/10 power addition targetIndia is likely to add only 78 percent of its targetted 14.5 gigawatts power capacity in the 2009/10 financial year ending March, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told lawmakers on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:40 am ICICI Bank raises USD750 mn through bond issueThe issue, which had an order book of over USD3 billion, was participated by over 250 investors.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:31 am Hershey mulls $17 bn solo bid for CadburyPhiladelphia: US chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Hershey has lined up deal funding from Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase & Co to make a solo offer for Cadbury, but is also still weighing a joint bid with Italy’s Ferrero Spa, the source said. The interest from Hershey could add new pressure on Kraft to sweeten its $16.5 billion offer, which Cadbury rejected last week as derisory. “It’s still very fluid and there are multiple prongs to this,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “It’s still very early. But they need at least $17 billion to top Kraft.” Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday afternoon that the impetus for the Hershey bid comes from the charitable trust controlling the company. The trust is pushing Hershey chief executive David West to compete with Kraft’s offer, but wants to structure a deal so that it remains in charge of Hershey, the report said. Officials for the Hershey Trust were not immediately available for comment. Hershey, Kraft and Cadbury declined to comment. A solo Hershey bid would be the most transformative move the company has made in its 100-year history. The company’s market capitalization stands at $8.3 billion, while Cadbury is valued at $18.1 billion. “Given that they generate 85% of their sales form the domestic market, gaining access to Cadbury’s platform would be highly advantageous,” said Erin Swanson, analyst at Morningstar, noting Cadbury’s presence in emerging markets. She added that Hershey would be able to expand its candy and gum business. But a deal would mainly aim to capture new growth as there is little overlap between the companies’ businesses and therefore slim opportunity for cost savings. A risk averse trust Hershey’s offer could include at least $10 billion in cash from Hershey and $2 billion in new Hershey shares, plus $3 billion to $5 billion from outside investors in exchange for equity in Hershey, according to the Journal. That would trump the $6.74 billion in cash indicated in Kraft’s cash and stock offer for Cadbury, though Kraft has secured $9.2 billion in financing and could raise the cash component of its offer. But one source familiar with the situation questioned whether Hershey was getting ahead of itself. “Buying a company more than twice its size could be a risk and the Trust has previously shied away from risk, given its mandate,” the source said. A key figure in any Hershey bid is Byron Trott, a favorite banker to legendary investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway is the largest investor in Kraft. The Kraft connection goes further, as West is formerly an executive of the world’s No. 2 food maker. Hershey, which tried and failed to combine with Cadbury in 2007, is also being advised by Jamie Grant, brother to actor Hugh Grant, as well as Watch Hill Partners, a boutique firm acquired by FBR Capital Markets earlier this year. Earlier this week, Hershey disclosed it was considering a bid for Cadbury and sources familiar with the matter said it was also discussing a potential joint offer with Ferrero. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that the two companies have weighed breaking the UK confectioner up into separate businesses as part of a friendly, all-cash bid. But both Ferrero and Hershey have interest in Cadbury’s chocolate business, while Cadbury may not be keen on a friendly bid if it calls for a break-up of the company. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:29 am Hershey mulls $17 bn solo bid for CadburyPhiladelphia: US chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Hershey has lined up deal funding from Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase & Co to make a solo offer for Cadbury, but is also still weighing a joint bid with Italy’s Ferrero Spa, the source said. The interest from Hershey could add new pressure on Kraft to sweeten its $16.5 billion offer, which Cadbury rejected last week as derisory. “It’s still very fluid and there are multiple prongs to this,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “It’s still very early. But they need at least $17 billion to top Kraft.” Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday afternoon that the impetus for the Hershey bid comes from the charitable trust controlling the company. The trust is pushing Hershey chief executive David West to compete with Kraft’s offer, but wants to structure a deal so that it remains in charge of Hershey, the report said. Officials for the Hershey Trust were not immediately available for comment. Hershey, Kraft and Cadbury declined to comment. A solo Hershey bid would be the most transformative move the company has made in its 100-year history. The company’s market capitalization stands at $8.3 billion, while Cadbury is valued at $18.1 billion. “Given that they generate 85% of their sales form the domestic market, gaining access to Cadbury’s platform would be highly advantageous,” said Erin Swanson, analyst at Morningstar, noting Cadbury’s presence in emerging markets. She added that Hershey would be able to expand its candy and gum business. But a deal would mainly aim to capture new growth as there is little overlap between the companies’ businesses and therefore slim opportunity for cost savings. A risk averse trust Hershey’s offer could include at least $10 billion in cash from Hershey and $2 billion in new Hershey shares, plus $3 billion to $5 billion from outside investors in exchange for equity in Hershey, according to the Journal. That would trump the $6.74 billion in cash indicated in Kraft’s cash and stock offer for Cadbury, though Kraft has secured $9.2 billion in financing and could raise the cash component of its offer. But one source familiar with the situation questioned whether Hershey was getting ahead of itself. “Buying a company more than twice its size could be a risk and the Trust has previously shied away from risk, given its mandate,” the source said. A key figure in any Hershey bid is Byron Trott, a favorite banker to legendary investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway is the largest investor in Kraft. The Kraft connection goes further, as West is formerly an executive of the world’s No. 2 food maker. Hershey, which tried and failed to combine with Cadbury in 2007, is also being advised by Jamie Grant, brother to actor Hugh Grant, as well as Watch Hill Partners, a boutique firm acquired by FBR Capital Markets earlier this year. Earlier this week, Hershey disclosed it was considering a bid for Cadbury and sources familiar with the matter said it was also discussing a potential joint offer with Ferrero. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that the two companies have weighed breaking the UK confectioner up into separate businesses as part of a friendly, all-cash bid. But both Ferrero and Hershey have interest in Cadbury’s chocolate business, while Cadbury may not be keen on a friendly bid if it calls for a break-up of the company. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:29 am Bourses regains 17k level on ample liquidityIndian bourses ended well past the 17k-psychologically important level over the week as positive liquidity situation and a strong build-up in the derivatives series indicated bullish trend in short term.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:06 am States get back power to set cane pricesNew Delhi, Nov. 20 The Centre’s decision to scrap the newly introduced Clause 3B of the Sugarcane Control Order, 1966 has reduced the so-called fair and remunerative price (FRP) for cane to a virtual dead letter for sugarSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am MFs sit on cash pilesMumbai, Nov. 20 Mutual funds have more cash now than a month ago reflecting the increasing uncertainty among market participants about which way equities are headed.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am India’s exposure to US bonds least among BRIC nationsKolkata, Nov. 20 India has not only reduced its investments in US Treasury bonds between May and September, but stood least exposed among the other BRIC nations relative to their respective foreign exchange reserves.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Mobile services fetch less for telecom players in Q2Kolkata, Nov. 20 Most telecom operators reported decline in revenues from mobile services in the second quarter of 2009-10 as compared to the previous quarter despite growth in subscriber base, according to a study conducted bySource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Corporates swamp the bond marketMumbai, Nov. 19 At least 10 companies, including public sector undertakings, are expected to tap the corporate bond market over the next two months to take advantage of the lower interest rates and surplus liquidity, say bankers and brokers.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am GM India will not cede ground in Chinese allianceMumbai, Nov. 20 Mr Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of General Motors India, is categorical that the proposed alliance with SAIC Motor Corporation of China for light trucks will in no way compromise his company’sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Know the Nifty sentiment via ‘tweets’Mumbai, Nov. 20 Film stars have taken to it, so have politicians. Now it is the turn of the National Stock Exchange to log in to “tweet”.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am DoT, Defence end stalemate on spectrumNew Delhi, Nov. 20 In a move that will allow the Government to auction 3G spectrum for at least four operators in each circle, the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Defence have struck an agreement whereby the armed forces will release 25Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am GVK keen to hike stake in Bangalore, Mumbai airport cosBangalore/Hyderabad/Mumbai, Nov. 20 Upbeat from its Rs 485-crore acquisition of 12 per cent stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd today expressed its intent to further hike its holdings inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Foreign investors’ asset base shrinks in OctoberMumbai, Nov. 20 The assets under management of foreign institutional investors fell for the first time in the past eight months in October, as the equity markets fell on the back of weak corporateSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am India to figure among three largest economies by 2050: studyWashington: Growing at a pace faster than other G-20 countries, India is likely to emerge as one of the top three economies of the world along with the US and China by 2050, according to a study. In terms of GDP, India’s GDP is expected to increase by 16 times from the current $1.1 trillion to $17.8 trillion by 2050, said the November issue of ‘International Economic Bulletin´ of the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The bulletin projects that between 2009 and 2050, Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.19% point. It indicates that by 2050, India would be one of the three largest economies of the world -- the other two being the US and China. Of the G-20 countries, it is projected that India would grow most rapidly and that in terms of PPP, Indian economy would be 97% as large that of the US by 2050. The report entitled ‘The G20 in 2050’ said that the world’s economic balance of power is shifting dramatically. By 2050, the United States and Europe, long the traditional leaders of the global economy, will be joined in economic size by emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. China will become the world’s largest economy in 2032, and grow 20 per cent larger than the US by 2050, it said. Over the next 40 years, the report said nearly 60% of G20 economic growth will come from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Mexico alone. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:43 pm Quick Edit | And now, peak uraniumThe rise in global oil prices over the past few months have nudged an old fear back to life: peak oil, or the belief that the amount of oil the world pumps out of the ground each year has peaked. Peak oil fears and the huge carbon emissions from coal have given nuclear power a second life. Governments across the world are ready at the starting block of a race to build nuclear reactors. So is India, which is one reason why the civilian nuclear deal with the US is so important. But nuclear power needs a radioactive input: uranium. But the world already uses more uranium than it mines every year. The gap is covered by reprocessed fuel, uranium that is re-enriched, and from civilian or military stockpiles. A blog linked to the MIT Technology Review says that “civilian western uranium stocks will be exhausted by 2013” and many countries will face uranium shortages soon. The Wall Street Journal says nuclear operators are on edge because of fears about the looming uranium shortage. Uranium may soon become an important factor in India’s energy security strategy. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:30 pm ICICI bank raises $ 750 mn from 5-yr bondsMumbai: ICICI bank said on Saturday it has raised $750-million (around Rs3,465 crore) by issuing five-year bonds at its Bahrain branch. The issue, which had an order book of over $3-billion, was participated by over 250 investors, the country’s second largest lender said in a press release here. “The 5.33-year fixed rate notes carry a coupon of 5.5%, which translates to 292.6 basis points spread over equivalent Libor,” the bank said. Last month, the country’s largest lender State Bank of India raised $750-million through the issue of five-year bonds abroad. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:21 pm Hershey mulls $17billion solo bid for Cadbury: SourceUS chocolate maker Hershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:20 pm ICICI Bank raises 750 mn through bond issueIndia's second largest lender, ICICI Bank on Saturday said it has raised $750-million through the issue of five-year bonds at its Bahrain branch.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:18 pm India will be among top three economies by 2050: US think tankDiscerning a dramatic shift in the world's economic balance of power, a US think tank has projected that by 2050 India would become one of the three largest economies of the world with the US and China.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pm India third largest economy by 2050: Carnegie EndowmentIndia will be the third largest economy in the world after China and United States by 2050, a foreign-policy think tank has said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pm Inordinate delay in metro, commuters seek ticket refundAn inordinate delay of nearly 30 minutes on the Dwarka-Noida metro route Saturday morning caught people unaware, leading to snaking queues in the metro stations. Tired of waiting, a number of commuters sought refund of their tickets and took other conveyances for their onward journey.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm Government playing sugarcane politics: MayawatiUttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has accused the central government of 'deliberately delaying' the decision to withdraw the ordinance on sugarcane pricing in order to gain political mileage.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm Reuters Summit - India on recovery trail, but challenges loomMUMBAI (Reuters) - India evaded the eye of the storm that sucked the global economy into the worst downturn since the Great Depression, and has emerged, along with China, as a leader of the nascent worldwide recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:55 pm India will be among top three economies by 2050Discerning a dramatic shift in the world's economic balance of power, a US think tank has projected that by 2050 India would become one of the three largest economies of the world with the US and China.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:54 pm MACHTECH to be held in VadodaraMACHTECH is a series of mega industrial exhibitions conceived and conducted by KMG Business Technology, Ahmedabad.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:22 pm BSNL's sanchar rath flagged offThe Kutch Telecom District of BSNL has launched the state's first aggressive marketing for its mobile services through a Sanchar Rath which was flagged off in Bhuj.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:17 pm JSW seeks alliances for cement, aluminium businessRio Tinto Alcan also said to have approached firm for equity tie-up.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:13 pm Celebrating the CEO of the DecadeSteve Jobs' name conjures up images of a fighter, a hero. No man has held the creativity and innovation forte as strongly as he.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pm India to be third largest economy by 2050: Carnegie EndowmentThe total GDP of India, China and the US in 2050 will be over 70% more than that of the other G20 countries combined, the reputed American think-tank, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:23 pm Gujarat's gem industry faces shortage of labour30,000 is the number of workers that the city's diamond industry is short of; the crunch hurts because business is reviving swiftly.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:06 pm Time Warner, News Corp reported interested in MGMNEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp, Time Warner Inc and Qualia Capital LLC are interested in buying Hollywood's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, home of the James Bond movies, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm DoT, Defence end stalemate on spectrum - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm Bullish on bullionFrom a 52-week low of $713 per ounce on Nov 13, 2008, the price of gold rose to almost $1,153 on Nov 18, 2009 (this Wednesday), an eye-popping jump of about 62 per cent.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 5:15 pm In India, you're in gold's own countryThe legend goes that when Venkateswara, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, wanted to marry princess Padmavati, the king asked him to gather wealth ...Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 5:13 pm Checking out the exchange offerIf you want to have your finger in the golden pie, you don't necessarily have to buy or sell the precious metal itself...Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm Hershey mulls $17 bln solo bid for Cadbury - sourcePHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. chocolate maker Hershey is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 5:05 pm Honda tops again in efficiency on U.S. roadsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd has again produced the most fuel efficient and least polluting vehicles on American roads, the U.S. government projections for 2009 showed on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 4:45 pm Ring master: Sam PitrodaSam Pitroda returns after a hiatus with a new mission: taking technology to the masses ...Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 4:37 pm U.S. Senate sets hearing on Bernanke's renominationWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee said on Friday it will hold a hearing on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's renomination to a second term on Dec. 3, putting the central bank chief under scrutiny at a time when the Fed is facing intense criticism in Congress.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pm Rolls-Royce 'Ghost' comes to India - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Nov 2009 | 3:04 pm Pay just Rs 19 for portability - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:57 pm Pay just Rs 19 for portabilityCome January 2010, consumers need to pay only Rs 19 and change their service provider, even as they retain the same mobile number.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm Airtel reduces roaming rates by 60%Bharti Airtel, the largest telecom player in the country, cut roaming rates by as much as 60%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:45 pm Bank stocks sizzle on credit offtake rise hopeCredit growth will gain momentum in future. Stocks of Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, HDFC Bank and OBC hit their 52-week highs on Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:42 pm Oil slips below $77 on dollar rise, equities slideNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped nearly 1 percent to below $77 a barrel on Friday as a stronger dollar weighed on prices and falling equities raised concern about the economy and the outlook for energy demand.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:41 pm Dell's sales surge 17% in IndiaDell reported a 17% increase in its sales in its Indian operations in its fiscal third quarter. But this good performance in India, as also in China, was an exception for the world's third-largest maker of PCs.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Nov 2009 | 1:39 pm India Inc takes swap route to beat FCCB redemption bluesIndian companies have discovered a new path to beat the redemption pressure on their Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs). They are swapping the old FCCBs, which had high conversion premium, with new bonds at a much lower rate.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm Govt may allow private sector investment in educationThe Centre plans to allow the (for-profit) private sector to set up educational institutions and tap the capital market, thus aiming to plug the funding gap in the education sector. In this regard, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has asked Max India Chairman Analjit Singh to prepare a feasibility paper.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm Defence offsets rise to Rs 8,000 crore94% foreign investment in aerospace alone.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 12:08 pm Govt to push Bill for setting up green body in current session - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm Airtel slashes cell roaming rates by 60 per cent - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am Ninja kickAddicted to speed? Fancy a superbike that’s out of reach? Try the latest mini sportbike from the Kawasaki stable — the Ninja 250R, writes Rishad Cooper. See graphicsSource: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am Uttar Pradesh to run new medical colleges under PPPThe six new medical colleges and two para-medical colleges coming up in Uttar Pradesh would be run under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am Hindustan Aeronautics to fly light combat chopper soonA prototype of the light combat helicopter (LCH), designed and developed by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), is set for its maiden flight soon, a top company official said Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am New plant to aid growth by 15%: Kansia NerolacIn an interview with CNBCTV18, HM Bharuka, Managing Director of Kansai Nerolac, spoke about the launch of new plant in Bangalore..Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:57 am Vijay Shanthi Builders targets revenues of Rs 150cr in H2Real estate companies are beginning to see some traction in their business. Chennaibased real estate builder, Vijay Shanthi, which had a turnover of Rs 25 crore in the first half of FY10, now expects to do Rs 150 crore in sales in the second half.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am We were waiting for the market to get better, then raise moneyMumbai: Sushanto Roy, the eldest son of Subrata Roy, chairman and ‘managing worker’ of Sahara group of companies, has donned many hats, including that of Lt Vijayant Thapar in a Sahara One serial Mission Fateh in 2003, the year he became the CEO of the group’s media business. He now heads the group’s real estate and infrastructure businesses as the CEO of Sahara Prime City Ltd. His vision is to build 217 integrated townships, christened Sahara City Homes, across India in the next 10 years. He also wants to take the company public. Sahara Prime has already filed a draft offer document with the capital markets regulator for an initial public offer or IPO. He plans to raise Rs3,000 crore through the offer.  New landscape:Roy says the residential projects will be sold but the company will hold the commercial properties in perpetuity. You are planning to grow aggressively and raise funds. And is the worst over for the real estate market? If you are talking about the share market, yes we have waited for the lull to go away. We have timed it in such a way that the recession is over and there is a little more vibrancy in the market. If you are talking about our business, we have been continuously doing business. Had we been in bigger cities, we would have been affected. But we were in cities where there was demand for real estate. We have been the first mover in many of these places. We didn’t get affected. We were waiting for the market to get better to go and raise money. You seem to be focusing on residential construction alone. Yes, 90% is residential and only 10% is commercial---malls, hospitals and schools. It comes as an ancillary to the residential area to help people who are living in the townships we develop. But if you see the larger picture, you realize that we will end up with 217 schools and 217 hospitals, and so on. This means we will also have a commercial project at hand. We are planning to build half a billion sq ft of residential property in 10-12 years. The focus is entirely on integrated townships. Can you sustain a project that mainly focuses on residential projects? The housing outlook report by (rating agency) Crisil (Ltd) estimates that 33 million houses are required in the next few years and most of them in urban areas. With this kind of demand in residential properties, you are looking at a profit margin of 50%. In commercial properties, the margin is around 14%. The residential projects will be sold but we will own the commercial verticals in perpetuity, may be with a partner or two. There will be 217 schools and an equal number of hospitals but we are not experts in running them. We are talking to many players who have the expertise in these areas for possible tie-ups. Our expertise lies in building integrated townships. Can you name any of these potential partners? I am afraid I can’t name them. But we are in advanced stages of agreement for the hospital, though we are yet to sign (on) the dotted line. The talks have been on for past one and a half years. What’s your revenue model? I’ll give you a typical revenue model for one township. In a 100-acre township, there will be 300 houses. For the residential part, we will be spending around Rs400-450 crore. If you take a place like Nagpur or Coimbatore, we will generate close to Rs1,000-1,200 crore. That’s the economics for one township. A Solapur project will generate less than a Nagpur project. What’s the time frame for making this kind of money? We expect the construction of a township to be completed in five years and sales in three and a half to four years. But the Sahara City Homes project started six years ago and you haven’t delivered anything as yet. We started construction two years back in Lucknow, Indore and Nagpur. We are planning to give consumers their first possession next year. In the other six cities, we have started construction only a year back. What caused the delay? I don’t think there is any delay. We wanted to get good quality land in good locations. The approval and transfer process took a little bit more time than what we had anticipated. Nearly 60-70% of your land reserves are yet to get the necessary clearances for starting construction work. How long you will take to get the approvals? First we need the NA (non-agriculatural) approval (to allow the land to be used for non-farming purposes). After that, we need to get the layout and building plans approved. For a typical 100-acre township, it will take nine months to a year to get all required sanctions and approvals. Our business model says aggregate land, pay for it and start selling and then start construction. We want to be sure we don’t need to stop work midway for want of sanctions. How much are you diluting the promoter stake in the IPO? The promoter group companies own 79-80% stake and the the balance is with our contractors. The dilution part has to be discussed with our merchant bankers. It is not decided yet. How much do you plan to raise through the IPO? We are raising about Rs3,000 crore with an option to retain 10-15% extra money. You have three subsidiaries for land reserves, hospitality and retail businesses. How many of them are making money? Sahara Prime City is generating revenue. The hotel is making money and the hospital is one vertical, which will take six months to start making profits. On a consolidated basis, the company’s turnover in April-September period was Rs179 crore and it made a gross profit of Rs28.3 crore Is it true that there is a clear division of responsibilities? While you will look after the real estate and infrastructure businesses, your brother will take care of the rest. I am looking after Sahara Prime City. My brother (Seemanto Roy) is looking after the Amby Valley project and he is also looking after the entertainment business. There are so many other senior people in Sahara who are taking care of other divisions. Are you planning an IPO for Amby Valley also? Yes, if Amby Valley decides so. I think they will do in near future. It is not part of this company. It is a different project with a different price point, which does not not many similarities with the township projects. That’s why we have carved it out and kept separately. n.subramanian@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:51 am Aurobindo Pharma aims to treble revenue by 2014Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma Ltd aims to cross $2 billion in revenue, three times what it is now, over the next four years by March 2014, primarily driven by the strategic alliance with global pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Inc. and improved formulations sales supported by additional capacities.  Generics slant: Aurobindo chairman and MD P.V. Ramaprasad Reddy. Bharath Sai / Mint The company expects to increase the contribution of formulations to total sales from 57% now to 80%-85% over the period with increased focus on high-margin products in regulated markets, said chairman and managing director P.V. Ramaprasad Reddy. “We expect sales from the strategic alliance with Pfizer to contribute to some 25% of our total sales, or some $500 million, by March 2014, as we expect to grow at 30%-35% a year over the next four years,” he told Mint. The Hyderabad-based pharma company, with its strong product portfolio for the manufacture of post-LOE (loss of exclusivity) products, had entered into an alliance with Pfizer in March. Aurobindo agreed as per this to license and supply Pfizer some 80 post-LOE products across multiple markets. Aurobindo has a large manufacturing base -- 15 manufacturing facilities that include five formulations plants approved by several regulatory authorities across the globe -- and is marketing its products in over 100 countries. Pfizer, with a global commercial presence in 150 countries, plans to exploit the sales potential of these post-LOE products of Aurobindo through the newly formed Established Products Business Unit. Aurobindo’s product range covers therapeutic segments such as anti-infective, cardiovascular and central nervous system (CNS) disorder drugs. Under the agreement, Aurobindo gets an upfront payment of $110 million (Rs509 crore) and also enjoys revenue sharing over the next 15 years, Reddy said. Revenues from the Pfizer arrangement will start accruing from 2011-12 and were expected to peak at about $500 million (Rs2,314 crore) a year by March 2014, he said. The company, which has already received an upfront payment of $43 million, expects to receive the balance in instalments over the next 8-10 quarters. The Pfizer deal with Aurobindo is all-encompassing with a combination of exclusive, co-exclusive and non-exclusive products, said Ravi Agrawal, analyst with Edelweiss Securities Ltd. “This deal is significant for Aurobindo with potential to emerge as a significant revenue driver in the near term. And the deal moved beyond a simple contractor based model, with Pfizer likely to engage Aurobindo as a strategic partner rather than as a cost plus vendor for its supplies.” Reddy admits that his profit margins are now lower than most of his integrated peers such as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Cadila Healthcare, Lupin Ltd, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, Cipla Ltd and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. “This is primarily because of our focus so far has been on unbranded generics and tenders for anti-retroviral drugs, whereas my peers have a substantial branded generics portfolio with better gross margins.” Reddy said Aurobindo’s strategy would change with a shift in its product mix. “We had invested heavily, some Rs1,000 crore in the last five years, into building capacities in formulations. This will boost our formulation revenues and the product mix will now be dominated by high-margin formulations, which will significantly improve the overall profit margins,” he said. Formulations offer better margins of 55%-70% versus some 45% gross margins in active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, says Agrawal of Edelweiss Securities, which has a ‘buy’ rating for Aurobindo stock. Ravi Agrawal says Aurobindo is now in the process of consolidating its manufacturing assets and does not expect any major capacity additions, at least in the short term. He expects Aurobindo to now see the prime benefit of expansion in Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins since fixed assets are utilized more efficiently, thereby aiding in operating leverage. Net profit margins, excluding dossier income, currently at 18%, are set to improve to 25% by March 2014, Reddy said. The improvement in profit margins will mainly come from increased formulations sales from additional capacities at a special economic zone (SEZ) near Hyderabad and at New Jersey in the US, apart from increased sales from ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) approvals in the US, he said. For the US markets, Aurobindo had identified a basket comprising some 250 products and has already filed 156 ANDAs so far since April 2004. It plans to file the balance ANDAs over the next three-four years. Admitting that nearly two-thirds of ANDAs filed so far were for simple technology generics, he said one-third of ANDAs filed were differentiated products with high-margin potential. The focus going forward will be on differentiated products, he said. Reddy said the company did not choose to go in for high-end ANDAs and Para-IV first-to-file category products as a strategy because it did not have deep pockets to fight legal battles. From “now onwards, we will be filing ANDAs for more complicated molecules and differentiated products that will yield high margins,” he said. The Edelweiss analyst said the US product pipeline is set to add a lot of value to Aurobindo’s business. “The company follows a ‘last to exit’ strategy, leveraging its cost strength on APIs to incrementally gain market share in existing products, despite ongoing price erosions,” he said. Of the 80 ANDAs approved for marketing in the US market so far, the company has commercialized some 56 products and reached a level of about 12 million of sales a month. “We are expecting to reach a sales level of some $20 million a month in the next six-nine months,” said Reddy, adding that the sales from the Pfizer arrangement will be over and above this. On Friday, the Aurobindo stock gained 2.16% to Rs 786.15 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, whose benchmark index, the Sensex, gained 1.41% to close at 17,021.85 points. The stock reported a year’s high price of Rs891.40 and a low of Rs103.20. Bloomberg contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am 25 yrs on, a walk through the Carbide plantBhopal: A gentle breeze blows through the rusting carcass of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. White strips of insulation material peel off a scaffolding of tanks and pipes that towers three stories above the rampant undergrowth. In what must have once been a chemical laboratory, large, dark bottles of benzene, hydrocholoric acid, chloroform and an assortment of other chemicals lie scattered in the middle of a hive of cobwebs. The windows are smashed, the doors have long fallen off their hinges and black chemical residues stain the ground. Like the rest of the plant , it looks like the laboratory stalled mid-reaction and was abandoned in unusual haste. Click here to view a slideshow of photographs of the defunct plant  Hazardous history: Scaffolding of rusted towers and pipes at the factory. Madhu Kapparath / Mint The idea was to show the people of Bhopal that the plant was completely safe and to dispel fears that hazardous chemicals were still scattered in the factory. It was the brainchild of Babulal Gaur , the minister for gas relief and rehabilitation. “The plant has not been seen for the last 25 years,” he says. “We wanted to give people access to it for a week.” An exhibition on the disaster by the Indian Council of Medical Research was also to be held at the factory. The clean up, the department of gas relief and rehabilitation claims, was the result of the nearly Rs30 crore that they had spent up to March 2009 on the environmental rehabilitation of the factory. But one day before the plant was to be thrown open, there was no sign of any exhibition, and neither were any arrangements in place for the thousands of people who are likely to visit the site. The only sign of activity were a few workers who were clearing the undergrowth in the vicinity of the plant. The move to open the plant drew sharp criticism from people across the country. Tota Ram Chouhan worked as a chemical plant operator at Union Carbide till the day of the accident. He now works with the state industries department, but spends his spare time taking visiting scientists, researchers and journalists around the factory. The factory, he claims, is completely unsafe. “You don’t need studies to prove that. Just sift a little of the soil and you’ll find mercury,” he says. That is apparently just one of the many chemicals that contaminate the site. The corroding structure of the plant has not been maintained at all in the last 25 years, and can fall down at any time. “Why, if the plant is so safe,” he asks, “does the government want to erect a barricade to prevent people from getting closer than 20ft to it?” Activists working with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, a coalition of NGOs, see the move as one in a series of efforts by the government to absolve itself of any further responsibility. They point to the continuing water pollution in the slums neighbouring the factory as indication of its toxicity. “We want the site to be preserved as a memorial to the people who died in the disaster,” says Syed M. Irfan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, “but the government is trying to use this occasion to absolve Dow (the owner of Union Carbide) of any further responsibilities.” Gaur disagrees. The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) has declared the site safe. “I go to the site every two months, but nothing at all has happened to me,” he says. Neither, he claims, has anything happened to the labourers who were engaged to fill gunny sacks with contaminated soil from the factory. But the government now seems to be having second thoughts about opening the plant. First it pushed the date back from 20 November to 25 November, and now Gaur says he’s not sure whether it will be opened at all. Was it the protests that made the government change its mind? “Definitely not,” says Gaur. “The date was tentative.” It seems that apart from the protests, the state government is also wary of falling foul of an October 2005 order of the Madhya Pradesh high court that required the authorities to secure the factory premises and ensure a thorough clean up. “We’ve submitted all the documents and reports from the MPPCB to the court, and the opening is conditional upon their permission,” Gaur says. Why then was 20 November declared the opening date? “It was conditional,” says Gaur. And when does he think the plant will open? “It depends on the court,” he says. The department of gas relief and rehabilitation has, in the meantime, spent Rs1 crore on fixing the boundary wall of the factory. But driving around the factory you can see gaping 10ft wide holes in the wall. The factory is far from secure. In one corner of the factory a game of cricket is in progress. Women from the adjoining slums collect firewood in what were once toxic solar evaporation ponds. Two young boys sit burning a few twigs on which they’ve piled up some electrical fittings they’ve fetched from the factory. The department also plans to construct a Rs116 crore memorial at the factory. As the 25th anniversary of the tragedy approaches, activities around the disaster are getting shriller and more frenzied. Activists are laying siege to the Dow Chemical Co.’s office in faraway Noida, and are playing a cat and mouse game with the Bhopal Nagar Nigam to paint slogans on the boundary walls of the factory. Meanwhile, the government is busy planning events for 3 December. But inside Union Carbide all is quiet. It’s been quiet for 25 years, and it looks like it’s going to remain that way for some time to come. This is the first part in the series. On Monday: 25 years of struggle through the eyes of Rasheeda Bi and Champa Devi. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am A legal void follows 26/11 Mumbai attacksNew Delhi: In whatever other respects last November’s terrorist strike on Mumbai is said to resemble the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, there is one crucial difference. While an avalanche of litigation followed 9/11, there has been only a small trickle of 26/11 lawsuits in the Indian courts. Virtually all of the legal action has come in the form of public interest litigation (PIL) demanding accountability from a state unprepared for such attacks.  Many of these PILs are pending, says Ravi Kadam, attorney general of Maharashtra. “There was a flood of PILs after 26/11, and they were all bundled together for hearing. Some of them were really frivolous,” he says. “But these are in cold storage, because of what the Supreme Court (SC) said.” In August, the Supreme Court had stayed a Bombay high court order issued in response to another set of PILs, filed by the Society of Indian Law Firms and represented by Lalit Bhasin. The PILs demanded that the contents of the Pradhan Committee report, probing the government’s response to 26/11, be made public, and the Bombay high court had agreed. “What is the use of disclosing it to public? What is the advantage… It will only serve for television discussions,” a three-member Supreme Court bench had said at the time. Bhasin insists that the effort was to expose “the inadequacy of government preparation, and the lack of transparency”. But after the Supreme Court offered this devastating critique of the Bombay high court’s order, the pending PILs went into hibernation. Also, as Somasekhar Sundaresan, a partner at J. Sagar Associates, observes, “There was just some judicial fatigue in dealing with PILs on issues like this.” In contrast, 9/11 sowed the seeds for a veritable jungle of legal action. Some victims’ families, choosing to reject the awards (averaging $2 million, or Rs9.32 crore today, per victim) from the federal Victim Compensation Fund, sued airlines, security companies and other defendants. As of 11 September this year, lawsuits filed by three families, over airline security, were still pending; the other 93 had settled out of court, collecting an estimated $500 million. Simultaneously, a consortium of relatives, calling itself the Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, sued a multiplicity of defendants—including the governments of Saudi Arabia and Sudan, and the Saudi Binladin Group—for supporting the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks. (The amount demanded, initially a dizzying $116 trillion, has since then dropped to $1 trillion.) Lawsuits have also been filed by some of the Guantanamo Bay detainees against the American government, after they were captured and incarcerated during the “war on terror” born out of 9/11. It is the liability lawsuits against private companies, which proved so popular in the US, that were missing after 26/11. The notion of third-party liability allows a person, for example, to sue a hotel for damages after incurring any injury on its premises. “These hotels would have had public liability policies in place, but terrorism was excluded as a cover,” says Rajive Kumaraswami, head of risk and reinsurance at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. “What is strange or interesting is, despite the fact that there were so many foreigners staying in the hotels at the time, we don’t seem to know of any suits filed against them. Unless they were suits filed abroad, in their country of residence.” In India, Kadam adds, the proof of liability is much stricter. “Technically it might have been possible to file a lawsuit, but I don’t think that the Taj, for example, would have liability for this,” he says. “In the US, it is very, very different—it isn’t comparable at all. There, everything is tried by jury, and it goes by sentiment. Here there are statutes and caps on liability.” Kadam also points to a less pronounced tendency to sue in India. “Nobody would have even thought of filing against the Taj or the Oberoi,” he says. The centrepiece trial of 26/11 is, of course, that of Ajmal Kasab, the only one of the 10 terrorists to be apprehended last year; that trial began mere months after his arrest. The centrepiece trial of 9/11, of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the attacks, began in June 2008 and is expected to move into a federal court in New York later this year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am Srei, partner buy 57% of power distributor DPSCKolkata: Non-banking finance company Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd and a partner on Friday bought a 57.18% stake in power distribution firm DPSC Ltd for Rs171.85 crore. DPSC is one of the country’s oldest power distribution firms—it supplies 125MW of power in a 620 sq. km area in an industrial belt in West Bengal and Jharkhand, and produces 42MW of power. DPSC owns 200 acres of land and has “some approvals” for setting up a 500MW power plant, according to the tender document circulated among bidders. The stake in DPSC, for which an auction was held on Friday, is jointly held by government-owned Andrew Yule and Co. Ltd, Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Andrew Yule and its subsidiaries own 15.21% in DPSC, while LIC and United India own 30.61% and 11.36%, respectively. The winning bid was made jointly with India Power Corp. Ltd (IPCL), a 50-50 joint venture between Srei and Bhaskar Silicon Pvt. Ltd, a green energy producer. They offered Rs710 per share, outbidding DPSC’s subsidiary Descon Ltd, which offered Rs705. Kolkata-based power utility CESC Ltd was also in the fray, opting out after the ninth round, according to Andrew Yule chairman Kallol Dutta. CESC offered Rs625 a share, he said. The IPCL-Srei combine emerged as the highest bidder after 16 rounds. DPSC’s shares jumped 12% on the National Stock Exchange to Rs682, while the bourse’s benchmark Nifty index gained 1.27% to close at 5,052.45 points. In keeping with Indian takeover laws, the Srei-IPCL combine, which holds about 8% of DPSC already, will make an open offer for at least 20% more of the company’s shares. Descon has pledged its 32.31% stake with JSW Energy Ltd. A Descon official, who declined to be named as he isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said his company was “very likely” to sell its stake in DPSC if the Srei-IPCL combine made an offer for its holding. aveek.d@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am UPA blinks, rolls back price ruleNew Delhi: The government, under pressure from a united Opposition as well as an aggressive farm lobby, finally blinked and rolled back contentious rules it had effected on sugar cane pricing, clearing the decks for the crushing season to resume in earnest in Uttar Pradesh (UP). While this is a setback for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), it allowed the Opposition to score vital political brownie points. At the same time, the resumption of crushing will ease the supply situation and reduce pressure on the government to seek sugar imports. The three-week-long protests by farmers from UP, which produces almost half the country’s sugar cane, had hampered crushing. The Opposition stalled the first two days of the winter session of Parliament over the issue. This deadlock ended after the government agreed to make changes in the sugar pricing ordinance, though experts aver that the underlying issue on pricing is yet to be resolved. The farmers are yet to formally call off the agitation. A statement issued by parliamentary affairs minister P.K. Bansal after an all-party meeting on Friday said, “It is proposed to delete the clause. Consequently, if the state announces an SAP (state-assured price for sugar cane), it will be the responsibility of the sugar mills to pay the SAP to the farmers.”  New front: D. Raja of CPI (extreme right) and RLD chief Ajit Singh at the farmers’ rally on Thursday. Shabaz Khan/PTI Crushing can now start, said Vinay Kumar, managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. “The delay of almost six weeks has tightened supplies further. Everyone was depending on UP mills to start on time to tide over the situation,” said Yatin Wadhwana, head of Sucden India. India, the world’s top consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, has placed an import order of a record five million tonnes of raws, pushing New York-traded raw sugar to 28-and-a-half-year highs. A massive demonstration by farmers in the Capital on the first day of the winter session on Thursday raised the profile of the agitation, especially after political parties turned up in support. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday to seek “pro-farmer” changes in the ordinance. After the adjournment of both houses of Parliament for two consecutive days, the government advanced an all-party meet convened for Monday and announced the decision to amend the ordinance. The UPA allies held a separate meeting before the all-party meet. A Bill to replace the ordinance will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday and will contain the revised provisions, said minister of state for parliamentary affairs V. Narayanswamy. “In view of certain judgements of the Supreme Court, it was necessary to determine the price of levy sugar and to validate the actions taken by the Centre in the past,” Bansal said, underlining the need for the Sugarcane Bill. The Opposition said it will ensure speedy passage of the Bill. “No single party or individual could be given credit as it goes to the farmers. This is a victory of the farmers’ rights and strengthens the democratic process,” said Sushma Swaraj, deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha. Gandhi’s intervention has been cited by the media as being key in persuading the government to change its mind. The farmers’ agitation is only “partly over”, according to its leaders. “We have not called off our agitation, the struggle would now shift from Delhi to Lucknow. The damage that could have been made by the ordinance has been averted, but we still want a higher price for the farmers’ sugar cane produce,” said Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and member of Parliament Ajit Singh. The government had fixed the purchase price at Rs129.84 a quintal for the current season. Farmers in UP are demanding a rate of Rs280 a quintal, while sugar mills in the state have agreed to pay Rs180-185. Sudhir Panwar, a professor at Lucknow University and president of the Kisan Jagriti Manch, said, “The government’s decision will give limited relief to the farmers. The new FRP of Rs129.84 per quintal declared by the Centre, which replaced the earlier statutory minimum price (SMP), is neither fair nor remunerative as it is much less than the market price of sugar cane, which is Rs172-230. So, either the government should hike the FRP or should go back to the earlier SMP because state governments will have no authority to hike the price above FRP. The new provision also could be spiked by the judiciary, if challenged.” Sugar stocks showed mixed reactions on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), with Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd rising 1.61% to end at Rs230.25, while Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd fell 3.18% to close at Rs134.05. EID Parry (India) Ltd fell 1.56% to finish the day at Rs 315.20. BSE’s benchmark index, the Sensex, rose 236.20 points, or 1.4%, to end at 17,021.85 on Friday. The National Stock Exchange sugar sector index gained 10.05 points, or 0.3%, to close at 3,333.02. Asit Ranjan Mishra and Shauvik Ghosh of Mint, Reuters and PTI contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am Ranbaxy recalls acne drug from US marketNew Delhi: Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd is withdrawing a single batch of a version of Roche Holding AG’s Accutane acne medicine from the US market for the second time this year. Gurgaon-based Ranbaxy voluntarily recalled 40 mg capsules of isotretinoin, the chemical ingredient in Accutane, the company said in a statement on Friday. “A single batch was withdrawn from the US market earlier this year,” Atul Sobti, chief executive officer, said in a July investor call. Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland, said in June that it was pulling Accutane from the US market because of competition from generic versions. The decision came after juries awarded at least $33 million (around Rs155 crore) in damages to users who blamed the drug for causing bowel disease. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:36 am The Week in review for 20 Nov 2009New Delhi: The founder of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, may have to reduce his stake in the struggling airline so it can raise more money. Goyal currently owns 80% of Jet Airways, but could cut that figure down to 65%. Jet plans to raise $400 million through a qualified institutional placement and use the money to renegotiate contracts and buy crucial equipment. Operators of the airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad are proposing an increase in their airport charges. While the Delhi and Mumbai airports want to increase aeronautical charges like passenger services by 10%, Hyderabad airport wants to hike its user development fee. Airport operators say they are trying to cope with lower-than-expected revenues ever since the economic slowdown. Also in aviation news, troubled airline Air India now has a cost-saving plan for the future. Nacil, which runs Air India, has joined hands with Booz Allen Hamilton and prepared at least 70 cost-cutting schemes that could save Air India Rs5,000 crore. Mint has learnt that the measures include eliminating non-core activities, phasing out foreign pilots, reducing the fleet network and rationalizing routes. And while Air India struggles to implement its cost-cutting measures, at least 140 people have applied to become the airline’s chief operating officer. Mint has learned that the applicants include several non-resident Indians as well as senior managers from airlines around the world. Mukesh Ambani laid out his plans for the future of RIL on Tuesday. Talking to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting, Ambani said RIL would return to its project of setting up a new refinery in Jamnagar that will produce 580,000 barrels a day. He added that RIL would also increase its gas exploration programme in the KG D6 block and elsewhere. Ambani also announced a new initiative into renewable energy with research into biofuels, solar energy and fuel cells. RIL also got a boost in its gas supply dispute with RNRL this week. On Thursday the Supreme Court allowed the petroleum ministry to become a party to the dispute between the two companies. RNRL has opposed the inclusion of the petroleum ministry after it filed a special leave petition against a Bombay High Court judgment favourable to RNRL. Mukesh Ambani has another reason to celebrate. According to Forbes magazine, he remains India’s richest man, with a net worth of $32 billion. Lakshmi Mittal come second with $30 billion and Anil Ambani is at third place with $17.5 billion. Even more significantly, India has 52 billionaires in 2009 compared to just 27 in 2008. The government’s new pricing policy for sugarcane has left many feeling bitter. Thousands of farmers from UP thronged the streets of Delhi on Thursday demanding better prices for their sugarcane. Several senior politicians also joined them, criticizing the new ordinance that puts the burden for increased sugarcane prices on state governments. On Friday, the government announced it would modify its ordinance by once again allowing state governments to declare their own state advised price or SAP. The modified ordinance also restores the burden for increased prices to sugarcane mills rather than state governments. The UPA has decided not to introduce its food security bill in the winter session of Parliament, which began on Thursday. The UPA is concerned about the size of the commitment and lack of consensus on defining below poverty line families. India still scores a low 3.4 out of 10 in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perception Index. But India’s ranking has gone up to 84 out of 180 countries. Last year India’s rank was 85. Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata group, has indicated that he’slooking for a successor all over the world and not just in India. Ratan Tata’s tenure as chairman will end in 2012. JSW Steel of India announced an alliance with Japanese steel maker JFE Holdings on Thursday. The two companies will collaborate to make automotive steel in India. The new video game titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is attracting controversy. Some gamers are claiming one of its levels bears striking resemblance to images from last year’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The controversial level in the videogame involves a shoot out in Moscow’s airport in which gunmen kill several travelers… The game’s publisher Activision has defended the level, saying it motivates players to stop the terrorists. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:26 am CNBC-TV18, Awaaz merge operationsNew Delhi: Broadcasting group Network 18 said it was merging the operations of business news channels CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz to save on costs. “This move will realize significant cost synergies between the operations, and about 12% permanent positions in the company would be rendered surplus,” the company told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. There are 1,100 employees in the two channels, according to a person familiar with the development, who declined to be named. That would put the number of job losses at 132. The company didn’t say how many employees would lose their jobs. Founder and managing director Raghav Bahl said in a phone text message that the company didn’t have any information beyond what was available in the press release. Those rendered jobless by the move, which will merge the logistics and back-end operations of the two channels, are being offered an average severance payment amounting to at least three months’ salary, the person cited above said. Some will move from direct employment to being freelancers, he said. The firm will save around Rs65 crore a year on operational costs and interest, it said in the release. Mint has a content-sharing agreement with CNBC-TV18. — Ishita Russell Shiv Sena activists attack TV channel office New Delhi: A group of 20-25 Shiv Sena activists on Friday attacked journalists and damaged property at the Mumbai office of IBN7 and IBN Lokmat, the Hindi and Marathi news channels of the IBN Network for their reportage against the party. The attack comes a day after a wing of the Shiv Sena staged protests against UTV Bindass channel’s reality show Big Switch. According to the activists, one of the tasks that the contestants were given on the show hurt the sentiments of a community, resulting in a public apology released by the channel. State chief minister Ashok Chavan said strict action will be taken against those involved in the attack. — Ishita Russell Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am Navi Mumbai land auction prices rise, more to followBangalore: The sale of two land parcels by City and Industrial Development Corp. of Maharashtra Ltd (Cidco) in Navi Mumbai has fetched higher prices than three months ago, signalling a revival of interest in a market that has largely been frozen since mid-2008. A 5,000 sq. m plot in Kharghar was sold through tender on Friday at Rs75,515 per sq. m, more than the Rs68,000 per sq. m that Piramal Sunteck Realty Pvt. Ltd paid in a Cidco land sale in August. The other plot, of 1,500 sq. m, also in Kharghar was sold at Rs61,000 per sq. m, higher than the current market price by Rs5,000-7,000 per sq. m. “Like property prices, land prices have also risen in the past three months, though they still haven’t reached the 2007-early 2008 peak levels. Land sales are still slow but demand has returned,” said Mohan Ninawe, Cidco spokesperson. According to the official, land prices that crashed by nearly 60% in the past one year have gone up 20-25% in the recent two-three months. Land prices started cooling down from mid-2008, when both land and home sales slowed and developers, struck by a credit crunch, stalled expansion and land-buying plans. State-owned bodies, such as National Textile Corp. Ltd (NTC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which failed to sell land parcels in the past few months, even at reduced prices, are firming up new sale plans for the next few months. “There is always interest for such land sales, but there is also a need to unlock the huge amount of land which belongs to government bodies to make valuations become reasonable,” said Akshaya Kumar, CEO of Parklane Property Advisors. NTC intends to sell textile mill land estimated at around Rs4,000 crore in a phased manner in cities such as Kanpur, Indore and Mumbai. Nine mills, located on an estimated 100 acres, are in Mumbai alone. In its only attempt at land sales this year, NTC had tried to dispose of the 10.4 acre Finlay Mill in central Mumbai for a reserve price of Rs710 crore but cancelled it twice because it wasn’t satisfied with the bids. Lodha Developers Ltd, which had raised its bid to Rs710 crore from Rs657 crore to qualify, filed a petition in the Delhi high court, which has stayed NTC from issuing fresh tenders for the property. That hasn’t deterred NTC from being aggressive on the pricing front. “We are ready with the land for our remaining mills and we need to speak to property consultants to know how soon we can put them on sale. But we are very clear that we will not compromise on the market price and will not lower rates,” said K. Ramachandran Pillai, chairman and managing director, NTC, for which the sale of mill land is a large source of revenue. After a hiatus of at least a year, MMRDA, which has put up plots for sale at a premium in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) business district in suburban Mumbai, now plans to auction land earmarked for residential homes. In the last such auction by MMRDA (in September 2008, the early days of the downturn), a BKC site fetched Rs1.55 lakh a metre, half that of an auction in March. “We have about 20 hectares that can be sold. We are finalizing the tender because the market is picking up pace again,” said an MMRDA spokesperson. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:13 am Indian economy likely to grow 8 pc next fiscal NomuraThe Indian economy is likely to grow by eight per cent in the next fiscal, propelled by domestic demand, financial services firm Nomura has said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:12 am Markets | Tata Steel completes convertible debt swapMumbai:Tata Steel Ltd, aiming to cut funding costs, received 56% acceptance for a bond exchange on debt raised to fund its purchase of Corus Group Ltd. India’s biggest steel producer sold $546.9 million (around Rs2,550 crore) of new 2014 convertible bonds to repay investors who agreed to take $493 million of the $875 million of 1% convertible alternative reference securities due 2012, according to a statement to the Singapore stock exchange on Friday. Around $382 million of bonds remain outstanding, the Mumbai-based company said. — Bloomberg Emaar India unit to sell shares in coming weeks Dubai:Emaar Properties PJSC, the developer building the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai, plans an initial share offering in India in a few weeks, chairman Mohammed Alabbar said. “India has done extremely well for us, and that’s why we are going public in India, probably in a few weeks,” he said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Dubai. “The banking system is solid and India is still a conservative environment that suits us well.” New Delhi-based Emaar MGF Land Ltd plans to raise Rs3,850 crore in the offering. — Bloomberg Galleon sells its entire stake in Edelweiss Mumbai:Galleon Group Llc, the US hedge fund whose founder Raj Rajaratnam has been charged with insider trading, sold its stake in Edelweiss Capital Ltd, fetching Rs260 crore. New York-based Galleon sold 5.27 million Edelweiss shares at Rs485, according to the Bombay Stock Exchange. — Bloomberg Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am Europe names Belgian PM as first PresidentBrussels: European Union (EU) leaders picked little known Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe’s first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile. Catherine Ashton of Britain became EU’s foreign policy supremo in the new team after Britain dropped its campaign for former prime minister Tony Blair so that Van Rompuy got unanimous approval at a special leader’s summit called to make the appointments. US President Barack Obama welcomed the appointment of an EU president saying it would make Europe an “even stronger partner” to the US. “This is the new leadership team of Europe,” said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld, flanked by Van Rompuy and Ashton, speaking after the dinner summit. Van Rompuy said he regretted giving up the Belgian premiership, but accepted the challenge of managing member states frequently at odds over competing national agendas. He said he would be a president “with conviction”. The nominations prompted accusations that the EU leaders had chosen lightweight representatives for the heavyweight bouts that lie ahead on issues such as the economy, climate change, nuclear power and the war in Afghanistan. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, rejected the suggestions at a post-summit press meet. “It is so important that Britain remains at the heart of the European project and Cathy Ashton brings the global visions that Britain has,” he said. “She is our foreign minister.” Ashton, who only became the EU trade commissioner in 2008 but has swiftly earned a reputation as an effective negotiator, said: “Judge me on what I do and I think you will be pleased and proud of me.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:55 am Lounge podcast | Remembering 26/11, rejecting KurbaanWelcome to the third edition of the lounge podcast with your host Anindita Ghose. We hope you had a great week following up on our weekly artsy recommendations. Today we’re going to move to something more somber than what usually qualifies as Lounge. This Thursday, as you all know, marks the first anniversary of the terrible, terrible tragedy that unfolded in Mumbai last year with the terrorist siege. This week’s Lounge issue is almost entirely dedicated to that. And it’s only appropriate that the podcast is as well. We’re going to start off by speaking with Lounger Parizaad Khan from our Mumbai bureau about the process of putting this issue together—it’s really a job well done. As Parizaad will tell you, several of the people featured in the issue, have never spoken to the media before this. Their stories offer new and more humane insights to the 26/11 events. We’re also going to have Mumbai writer Altaf Tyrewala, who’s written a special column for the issue speak to us about the impotency of people’s reactions straight after the attacks. Another regular Lounge columnist, Aakar Patel, will offer his insights on Pakistan’s state of denial in the days that followed. And then we have our regulars for you. Book critic Chandrahas Choudhury will review “The Ayatollah begs to differ: The paradox of modern Iran” by Hooman Majd. And ofcourse we have our inhouse cinephile Sanjukta Sharma tackling terrorism’s embrace on the big screen, with her review of the release of the fortnight — Kurbaan. Getting back to the Mumbai attacks, there are several tribute events and discussions in Mumbai and other cities. For those who’d like to stay home, you can catch National Geographic’s documentary on 22 November at 10 pm. Discovery channel will also air a documentary chronicling first person accounts of those caught in the siege on 26th November at 8 pm. That’s all from us this week. In the next podcast we’ll be rounding up the French festival that takes off across India in December amongst other things. Have a great week! Did you absolutely love the film we thought was the worst thing ever to grace celluloid? Or did anyone have the chance to visit Delhi’s new Mocha arthouse? We’d love to hear from you at feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am Nokia to axe 330 jobs in Finland DenmarkHandset giant Nokia on Saturday said it will cut around 330 jobs in Finland and Denmark, as part of streamlining research and development operations.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am India to have guidelines for probiotic food by 2010Scientists Friday said that the government was in the process of formulating guidelines for regulation of probiotic foods, which have flooded the Indian markets, and the guidelines would be in place by January 2010.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am India may miss 2009/10 power addition target - minNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is likely to add only 78 percent of its targetted 14.5 gigawatts power capacity in the 2009/10 financial year ending March, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told lawmakers on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 9:01 am Name similar to terrorist You may not get insuranceIf your name happens to be Abdur Razzaq or a Mohammad Selim, you may have a harrowing time buying an insurance policy, report Jaidev Majumdar & Falaknaaz Syed.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am Indian consumers still cautious playing safeWith bitter experience of slowdown still etched in their memory, and expecting Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hike interest rates in early 2010, cautious Indian consumers are refusing to loosen their purse strings, reports HT Correspondent.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 8:49 am US lawmakers threaten sanctions on China over currencyUS lawmakers criticised US President Barack Obama’s administration for not pressuring China enough over its rigid currency as they set the stage for slapping import duties on Chinese goods.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am India to have mobile number portability from Dec 31NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will introduce mobile number portability on Dec 31, a move that could further intensify the stiff competition in the world's fastest-growing wireless market and push call charges lower.Source: Reuters: Money News | 20 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am Ferrero, Hershey would likely break up CadburyLondon / Milan: Cadbury suitors Ferrero and Hershey would likely break the UK confectioner up into separate businesses if a mooted bid for the company succeeds, an Italian newspaper reported. Italian chocolate maker Ferrero and US-based Hershey said on Wednesday they were reviewing a possible offer for Cadbury, which is the subject of a hostile £9.9 billion ($16.5 billion) bid by US food group Kraft. Unlisted Ferrero is mainly interested in Cadbury’s gum and candy division, a unit worth about €5 billion ($7.4 billion), business daily Il Sole 24 Ore said on Friday. It said the family that controls the Italian firm has historically shown little interest in sharing management. A source close to Ferrero told Reuters on Friday the company was still evaluating all options concerning Cadbury. Any bid would have to be friendly, an Italian source close to the matter had said on Thursday. A London trader said traditionally conservative Ferrero would not want to go hostile and would prefer to proceed with the support of Cadbury’s board. A friendly offer would also give Ferrero access to Cadbury’s books so it could do due diligence, something its financing banks may demand because the company is not active in the gum and candy market, the trader said. A Ferrero spokesman declined to comment. The Ferrero family should meet advisers Mediobanca and Rothschild in coming days to discuss a possible deal, the newspaper said. Ferrero has about €2 billion in cash that could be used in a bid, it added. Italy’s two biggest banks, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and UniCredit SpA, could be among those interested in financing the deal, the newspaper said. The banks declined to comment. However, Ferrero would like to take on little debt in a possible takeover, Il Sole 24 Ore said. Bank financing would pay for about half of Ferrero’s bid. Newswire Dow Jones cited people with knowledge of the situation as saying Ferrero and Hershey are still deciding whether to bid for all of Cadbury or only a large stake. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 4:40 am Investors ask Goldman to be less greedyZurich: Big shareholders at Goldman Sachs have asked the US bank, on track to deliver $20 billion in bonuses, to pass more profit to investors after it quadrupled quarterly net profit, the Wall Street Journal reported. Although investors are not pushing for a huge cut, they feel Goldman, which received $10 billion of taxpayer help during the credit crisis, should better reward them for this year’s rebound, the paper said, quoting people familiar with the situation. A year after the implosion of former US bank giant Lehman Brothers, there is concern among regulators and politicians that bankers’ bonuses are climbing back to pre-crisis level and shareholder rights’ lobbies have called for closer scrutiny of pay. “This is particularly of psychological importance because it is self-imposed and not government-imposed. We have to try to all move toward the same approach to maintain the talent pool,” Lutz Raettig, Morgan Stanley’s chairman in Germany, said when asked about investor action at Goldman. Reacting to public outrage to bankers’ greed and fat-cat pay cheques in the run-up to the crisis, the Group of 20 nations agreed on guidelines for bankers’ pay that would put the focus more on long-term performance rather than short-term gains. The US bank has repaid the government cash it received, but its robust performance this year is pushing investors to ask for higher returns. Goldman generated net income in in excess of $3 billion in the third quarter. The shareholders are also concerned about a change in the company’s financial statements that increased the firm’s total headcount by adding temporary employees and consultants, the Wall Street Journal said. Due to the change, it looked like Goldman employees are on pace to earn $717,000 per person in 2009, the Journal said. The United States in June appointed “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg to review pay at some of America’s biggest companies. Regulators in European countries such as Britain, France and Switzerland are already taking steps to introduce new new rules on bankers’ compensation. Some banks, like Swiss lender Credit Suisse, moved fast to adapt their pay structure to fit with the new international guidelines. But Swiss-based investment fund Ethos, which has a keen interest in corporate governance practice, says the key to changing compensation schemes is empowering shareholders. Ethos and eight Swiss pension funds are planning to repeat this year initiatives they undertook in the aftermath of the crisis to force large companies to accept a “say on pay” by shareholders. The Wall Street Journal quoted a Goldman spokesman saying shareholders “have historically been more focused on the absolute return on equity and on book value per share growth” than per-share earnings. Goldman could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular US business hours. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 4:34 am Bhuvan should be accessed by different organisations: ChavanNew Delhi: Bhuvan, an indigenously developed satellite mapping tool similar to Google Earth, should be widely accessed by different organisations and agencies for their programmes, Science and Technology minister Prithviraj Chavan said Friday. He said spreading its appeal among different sections is a major task before the Government. Bhuvan was launched in August this year by Indian Space Research Organisation. “The biggest challenge before us today is how to make it popular and create a business model model like google earth out of Bhuvan,” he said at a seminar here. He also asked the industry to talk to the space department under his ministry for its wider use. Inaugurating the seminar on ‘Geospatial technologies for utilities in infrastructure´, he said geospatical technologies holds immense relevance for various fields in this technology driven world. According to industry, this segment will grow into a Rs8 billion market in the coming years. New initiatives by the Government in sectors such as urban planning, power, land records, agriculture and forests will be the major drivers for growth of geospatial industry, he said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 3:29 am India, China add big buzz to wireless broadbandHong Kong: The launch of 3G in China and India by the likes of China Mobile and Bharti Airtel could boost wireless broadband worldwide, sparking a boom in new offerings as millions of users sign up for services. The move to 3G and its likely follow-on, fourth-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, is also set to help Chinese network equipment makers such as Huawei better challenge Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks. “A lot of people in China and India don’t have fixed line connectivity, so they will look to wireless broadband for their future online access,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer of the GSM Association, a mobile industry group, on the sides of a telecoms industry event this week in Hong Kong. India, the world’s fastest-growing wireless market, with about 490 million users, has been adding about 14 million subscribers each month. The government has pencilled in revenue of Rs35,000 crore ($7.6 billion) from the auction of 3G spectrum. O’Hara said some 169 million people worldwide have access to broadband-quality wireless service using a 3G technology known as HSPA, generally considered one of the first technologies to provide such speed. That number is expected to swell to 1 billion by 2012, as operators upgrade their systems and start rolling out 4G, especially in the massive China and India markets, he said. China took a long-delayed 3G plunge in January when Beijing awarded licenses to its top three mobile operators in the world’s largest mobile phone market, which now has about 700 million subscribers. Since then, China Mobile and its two rivals, China Unicom and China Telecom have aggressively built their 3G networks, which now have several million users. “Our big commitment is to HSPA,” Manoj Kohli, CEO of Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile carrier, told Reuters on the sidelines of the event. Looking to 4G Less than a year after getting its 3G licenses, China Mobile, the world’s top mobile carrier with 500 million subscribers, is already looking past 3G to the next generation, planning to build a trial LTE network in multiple cities next year, Chairman Wang Jianzhou told reporters this week. Those trials could be followed by the roll-out of a commercial LTE network as early as 2011, said O’Hara of the GSM Association. The looming explosion of wireless broadband is fuelling a parallel rise in smartphones and other devices and applications optimised to take advantage of the high data speeds with functions such as TV streaming and video downloads over cellphones. Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of cellphone chips, is aggressively promoting its new Snapdragon chip optimized for smartbooks, a new category of cellular devices it hopes to pioneer. These devices are larger than smartphones but smaller than laptop PCs. The company hopes to sell millions of the chips worldwide, Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs said on the sidelines of the show this week, declining to give a timeframe. The push to 3G and beyond has also added new impetus to China’s Huawei, which has risen from relatively obscurity just a decade ago to become the world’s No. 2 networking equipment provider this year, passing Nokia Siemens Networks. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Nov 2009 | 3:17 am
|
