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Navin Fluorine wins 5 lakh carbon credits from UNIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Satish Kakde, MD, Navin Fluorine International, speaks about the carbon credits, which the company got from United Nations.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 6:42 am Sayaji Hotels eyes Rs 250cr topline next yearIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Sajid R Dhanani, Managing Director, Sayaji Hotels, speaks about the company and his outlook going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 6:15 am Infosys to boost 4 business segments revenueInfosys Technologies, India\'s No 2 outsourcer, expects four business segments it entered in the past three years to each contribute at least USD 1 billion in revenue by 2013, the Mint newspaper reported on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 6:00 am ComcastNBC deal faces regulatory hurdlesComcast Corp\'s NBC Universal deal faces a long and intense regulatory review that will likely end in approval only after the cable giant agrees to give rivals access to NBCU\'s television shows and movies, experts said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 6:00 am GM sees the driving future: it\'s a video gameGeneral Motors Co, battling for survival for much of the past year, has cut loose designers to sketch out a vision of the ultimate youth car of the future a virtual onewheeled wonder that would match wits with its driver.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 5:58 am Japan\'s Suntory buys US Pepsi bottler, may buy moreJapanese brewer Suntory Holdings, which is in talks to merge with domestic rival Kirin Holdings, said on Friday it will buy a US Pepsi bottler and may consider more such acquisitions.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 5:58 am Google sees growth in online video adsGoogle Inc is banking on significant growth in online video ads as marketers become more sophisticated at targeting consumers interactively, a senior executive at the Web search giant said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 5:57 am SBI Amendment Bill cleared, bank can now raise capitalThe Cabinet cleared the State Bank of India (SBI) Amendment Bill yesterday paving the way for the government to lower its stake in to 51%. India\'s largest public bank can now go in for a followon or rights issue.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:59 am Vivendi to sell NBCU stake to GE for $5.8 bnVivendi said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its 20% stake in US media group NBC Universal to majorityowner General Electric for USD 5.8 billion, clearing the way for a separate deal under which GE would give Comcast Corp control over NBCU.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:58 am Volkswagen looks to buy Porsche AG stake next weekVolkswagen will likely complete the first stage of its planned integration with indebted Porsche SE when VW buys a 49.9% stake in Porsche\'s profitable sports car business next week.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:58 am Reliance Media World lists at Rs 89.75 on BSE!Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Media World, on Friday got listed at Rs 89.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am Sensex down 132 points in opening trade on weak global cues!The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by over 132 points in opening trade on fresh capital outflows by foreign funds, triggered by weak global markets after subdued US data.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am BSE launches MF trading platform!Close on the heels of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) launching its mutual funds trading platform, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has started trading in MFs on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am Obama calls for new ideas for creating jobs!President Barack Obama promised at a White House jobs forum on Thursday to take "every responsible step to accelerate job creation," including some ideas he said could be put into action quickly.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am Infosys among 3 IT vendors picked by Wal-Mart: Report!Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world`s largest retailer, has picked three IT vendors including Infosys Technologies for multi-year contracts worth over USD 600 million, an Indian financial daily said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am Bernanke admits mistakes, urges Fed independence!Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has admitted "mistakes" leading up to the economic crisis but argued the central bank`s independence should not be limited in financial system reforms.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am Cisco to go ahead with Tandberg deal!US networking giant Cisco said it plans to go ahead with its 3.4-billion-dollar takeover of Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am There are challenges, but we will reclaim top slot: Star!Undeterred by stiff competition posed by new entrants like Colors and NDTV Imagine in the general entertainment segment, Star India on Friday said it has challenges but would reclaim the top slot.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am US stocks dip on recovery concerns!US stocks dipped as investors mulled a mixed batch of economic data that cast a cloud over hopes for an improved recovery from recession and braced for a key jobs report.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Dec 2009 | 4:50 am China to surpass India as world's top gold marketChina's appetite for gold could offset a slump in demand from India, which last year accounted for more than 20% of global consumption.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:23 am Nifty ends lower; GAIL, Maruti, Reliance Power down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:20 am Excess liquidity driving up food prices - World BankNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Excess liquidity in global markets is driving up prices of farm commodities, which could be potentially dangerous in the near term, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:13 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes down 0.3 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally dropped 0.34 percent on Friday, led by losses in Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. Weak global markets after soft U.S. data raised worries over the pace of recovery weighed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:12 am Slow start to India international fashion weekEmpty seats, few buyers and technical glitches -- the Oxybleach India International Fashion Week (OIIFW) got off to a rather disappointing start here. But the organisers hope the event will lead to exchange of ideas among designers.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:04 am Sensex ends down 58pts - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:03 am Sensex slips, 49 points in redA key Indian equities index slipped into the red Friday afternoon after staying positive through the morning session.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:03 am General Motors, Chinese partner to make commercial vehicles in IndiaGM will also sell majority control of its China car venture to SAIC in a series of deals that give the car major, a timely cash injection as it restructures after emerging from bankruptcy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:03 am India to grow at 8 percent next fiscal: Goldman SachsInvestment banker Goldman Sachs Friday said India would post a growth of over 8 percent in 2010-11 and 8.7 percent the following fiscal, thanks to strong domestic demand and greater global liquidity.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:02 am Mizoram government employees to get pay hikeMizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla announced that the government will implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) for its 50,000 employees with retrospective effect from January 2006.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:02 am Bihar to get 200 MW from paddy huskThe central government, which is trying to expand its renewable energy capabilities, Friday unveiled plans to generate 200 MW electricity from paddy husk in Bihar.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 3:00 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Jobs data to give steer on U.S. recoveryLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks slipped slightly and the dollar was steady on Friday as investors waited for U.S. jobs data, the latest signal about how far the U.S. economy is recovering.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:57 am SBI to consider State Bank of Indore's share swap ratio - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:50 am GM, China partner take aim at booming India market - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:45 am GM, China partner take aim at booming India marketSHANGHAI/DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors and Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp are to team up to make commercial vehicles in India, taking their successful Chinese partnership into one of the world's fastest growing auto markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:42 am Can raise upto Rs12,000 crore after bill amendment: State Bank of IndiaWith the amendment of the State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, the government can now reduce its ownership in the bank by around 8% to up to 51%Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:39 am China to pass India as world's top gold market - GFMSSHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will overtake India as the world's largest gold consumer in 2009, with total demand forecast at 432 tonnes as wealthy investors defy record bullion prices, metals consultancy GFMS said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:34 am India economy could grow 8-9 pct in 2 years - World BkNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India could return to a higher growth trajectory of 8-9 percent in two years, but it needs to invest more in infrastructure for sustaining such growth, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:29 am Reliance in deal with Colombia's EcopetrolMUMBAI (Reuters) - Energy major Reliance Industries said on Friday one of its units signed a deal with Colombian state oil firm Ecopetrol for two deepwater blocks in Colombia.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:19 am American International Group to raise up to $10 billion in IPOA Group Ltd, the Asian life insurance unit of American International Group Inc, could raise between $5 billion and $10 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:14 am Markets find footing after weaker openingMumbai: Indian shares recovered their footing on Friday after they had opened weaker on losses in Asian markets following an unexpected contraction in the vast US services sector spurred worries about the economic recovery. Export-focused software services companies led the gainers, with Infosys Technologies up 1.8% after a newspaper report it was one of three IT vendors selected by Wal-Mart Stores for multi-year contracts worth more than $600 million. Sector leader Tata Consultancy and Wipro gained 0.8% and 2.5% respectively. “We remain positive on the overall demand environment for the IT Services business,” Prabhudas Lilladher analyst Shashi Bhusan said in a note, saying Wipro was better placed to grow than the industry average. At 11:57am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading up 0.4% at 17,248.65, with two-thirds of its components gaining. It fell as much as 0.8 percent early. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.3% at 5,148. Local sentiment has been mostly upbeat this week following stronger-than-expected September quarter growth data, with the market hitting six-week highs on Thursday. “The market is in the consolidation phase right now. Liquidity is what is keeping the interest in the market,” K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management services at Globe Capital said. “It could test its recent peaks in days to come, but a huge upside in unlikely unless we have strong positive triggers to drive it up,” he added. The benchmark has risen 79% so far in 2009, fuelled by foreign fund inflow of almost $16 billion in Indian equities. The country’s second largest lender, ICICI Bank, extended Thursday’s losses, dropping 0.6 percent to 878.50 rupees, after rising nearly 5% earlier in the week. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.7:1 as 161 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:13 am British airways to compensate passengers who booked $40 ticketsThe airline will compensate 2,200 people, who had bought the $40 tickets on October 2 after the carrier had mistakenly posted the wrong fare on its website.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:11 am INTERVIEW - GHCL to raise retail store tally to over 200MUMBAI (Reuters) - GHCL's retail arm Rosebys plans to raise its stores to over 200 in India from 80 now by 2010/11 and spend 1.5 billion rupees over the next two years to build its brand, a top executive said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:10 am General Motors India to tie-up with China's Shanghai AutomotiveThe collaboration, to be finalised shortly, would give the Indian unit access to mini-commercial vehicles and other products from GM's joint venture in China.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 2:04 am Gold prices ease; traders eye fallsMumbai: Gold prices eased on Friday as investors booked profits, but traders sought further falls to stock up for the wedding season that would last till December-end, dealers said. “Demand is dull since morning and traders are looking for dips to $1,170-1,185 (an ounce),” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. Overseas gold traded at $1,204.30/1,205.30 an ounce, as against 1,207.10/1,207.90 an ounce in the previous session at 2:42pm. However, a weaker rupee, which makes the dollar-quoted asset expensive, weighed on sentiment. The Indian rupee fell, pulling back from more than two-week highs in the previous session, as weakness in the local sharemarket and a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment. However, dealers said, there had been a slight pick-up in offtake till early this week, when prices fell to a low of about Rs17,200. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:59 am No reason for computerised CAT to be scrapped, says convener - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:38 am Stake sale funds not for cutting deficit: GovtNew Delhi: The government has no intention of using the proceeds of stake sales in state-run firms to cut its fiscal deficit, but would use them to fund social support programmes, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament on Friday. Mukherjee said the government would use a quarter of the stake sale funds for to revive ailing state-run firms and the rest for social schemes. “I can assure the members, the intention is not to utilise the disinvestment proceeds to reduce the fiscal deficit but to utilise them for expenditure on the social sector schemes,” he said. Last month, the cabinet approved a rule change to use proceeds from divestments up to the end of 2011-12 to fund social schemes, in contrast to the previous practice of putting them in a National Investment Fund. It was aimed at easing the pressure off the government as it struggles to manage a bloated fiscal deficit that is estimated to touch 6.8% of gross domestic product by March 2010. The government would return to the status quo after March 2012, Mukherjee said on Friday. Last month, a senior finance ministry official said the government has identified 10 listed and about 50 unlisted firms as candidates for stake sales. Since its re-election in May, the Congress-led coalition has revived divestment plans. It has had initial success with public offers in NHPC and Oil India that raised $1.8 billion. The government plans to sell shares in NTPC, Rural Electrification Corp and Satluj Jal Vidyut by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2010. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:11 am Educomp unit in pact with Shri Educare to set up schools Mumbai: Educomp Solutions Ltd’s unit Educomp Infrastructure and School Management Ltd has signed a pact with Shri Educare Ltd to set up five schools over the next 2-3 years. “The first two schools would come up in Noida and Faridabad and will be open for admissions by the next academic session,” Sharad Agarwal, managing director, Educomp Infrastructure and School Management Ltd, said in a statement to the National Stock Exchange. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:10 am Godrej Properties fixes IPO price band at Rs 490-530 - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:07 am Gujarat permits 21-floor buildingsBuildings of up to 70 metres height or equivalent of 21 floors can now be constructed across Gujarat.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:05 am Himachal restrains pharma firm from using brand nameThe Himachal Pradesh government has restrained pharmaceutical firm Fizikem Laboratories from using the trademark Beplex Forte tablets that is similar to an Anglo-French's brand product.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:04 am Rural Electrification Corp files draft prospectusState-run Rural Electrification Corp (REC) Friday filed a draft red herring prospectus with the markets regulator for a follow-on public offer to offload 20 percent of the government's stake.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:03 am Over 20,000 trees face the axe in HimachalHimachal Pradesh could lose as many as 20,000 trees, thanks to apparent lapses on the part of the state forest department, which has given the green signal to a power transmission corridor in a highly eco-sensitive zone.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:02 am Infosys among 3 IT vendors picked by Wal MartWal-Mart Stores Inc the world's largest retailer, has picked three IT vendors including India's Infosys Technologies for multi-year contracts worth over $600 million, the Business Standard said on Friday. The others being Cognizant Solutions and UST Global.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:01 am India to grow 8-9 percent in next two years: World BankIndia's growth rate over the next couple of years will be 8-9 percent, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said here Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:01 am India follows China, US in setting carbon targets - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am Govt says stake sale funds not for cutting deficitNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has no intention of using the proceeds of stake sales in state-run firms to cut its fiscal deficit, but would use them to fund social support programs, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the parliament on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:58 am Rupee pulls back from two-week highs on dollar gains - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:55 am Reliance Media World lists at Rs 89.75 on BSEMumbai: Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Media World, on friday got listed at Rs89.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The shares of the company, which operates radio station Big 92.7 FM, opened at Rs89.75 and soon gained momentum to touch a high of Rs138.40 on the BSE. Explaining the surge in the counter, marketmen said the uptrend was largely due to the fact that the stock is yet to find its actual price, post demerger. Reliance Media World, was demerged from Reliance MediaWorks in August. The company runs 45 radio stations, enjoying a 22% market share in terms of advertisement-share volume. Reliance Media World’s CEO Tarun Katial has said the firm is getting listed to unlock shareholder value, and will break- even this fiscal at EBITDA level and start clocking profits from FY’11 onwards. The company is the second radio station to be listed on the bourses after Entertainment Network, which runs Radio Mirchi. The surge in the counter assumes significance as the broader market was almost flat in late morning trade. “Reliance Media World takes forward the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s establishment in the media space. We are now part of a strong framework which will benefit us in terms of strengthening our leadership position, in the media and entertainment business,” Katial had said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:40 am Indian economy could grow at 9%: World BankIndia could return to a higher growth trajectory of 8-9% in two years, but it needs to invest more in infrastructure for sustaining such growth, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:32 am Sensex back in positive zone, up 72 pointsStock Exchange bounced back to trade over 72 points higher at 1130 hrs on emergence of buying by funds as well as retail investors in select stocks, especially IT and healthcare.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:22 am Godrej Properties IPO price band at Rs490-530Mumbai: Godrej Properties Ltd, a unit of Godrej Industries Ltd, may raise up to Rs498 crore on the upper end of the price band for its 9.4-million-share public issue, the parent said on Friday. The price band for the offering has been fixed at Rs490-530 a share, Godrej Properties said in a statement to the BSE. The issue opens on 9 December and ends on 11 December, according to a newspaper advertisement on Thursday. The funds will be used for new projects, debt repayment and for joint development projects, Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej said at a briefing. About Rs203 crore will be used for land acquisition, Rs750 million for construction and Rs172 crore to cut debt. The issue will constitute 13.5% of the company’s post-issue capital, with at least 60% of this reserved for institutional buyers and a minimum of 30% set aside for retail investors. A minimum of 10% is reserved for non- institutional buyers. ICICI Securities, Kotak, IDFC-SSKI and Nomura will manage the issue. So far this year, 15 Indian companies have raised over $3 billion in IPOs. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:16 am Costlier vegetables, pulses raise inflation to 17.5%The annual food price inflation at the wholesale level rose 17.47 per cent for the third week of November, up from the previous week's yearly rise of 15.58 per cent. This followed a surge in the prices of potatoes and onions, which were up 94.17Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Sasken Communication Technologies (Rs 167.5): BuyWe recommend a buy in Sasken Communication Technologies stock from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that following a medium-term downtrend from Rs 184 to Rs 127 between August and early November, it foundSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am No time-frame for Salboni steel project, say JindalsThe Jindals have set no time-frame for working out the details of West Bengal's Salboni steel project, according to companySource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideUtilise rallies to sell DLF with tight stop at Rs 393. Fresh short position can be initiated if ICICI Bank declines below Rs 870 and Infosys slips below Rs 2,354 with stiff stop-loss. Desist trading in L&T as the stock is trending sideways.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Time to begin monetary exitThe media and policymakers' attention is, no doubt, focussed on Dubai's sad slide into a debt trap. There are legitimate fears of a domino effect which could escalate into a full-blown international crisis. Memories go back to Russia (1998) andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am India may net $50 b foreign investments this fiscalNet capital inflows into India during the current fiscal will be about $50 billion, Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), has said. Capital flows cover portfolio inflows from foreign institutionalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Milk the ‘cow belt' betterAfter sugar, it is milk that could be heading for a domestic supply crisis in the not-too-distant future. And just as in sugar, flawed policies benefiting neither consumers nor producers are to blame hereSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Govt likely to place 8 sick fertiliser units on the blockThe Government may put on the block eight State-owned fertiliser units that were closed down years ago due to feedstock and otherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Uninor's 29 paise/min rate to heat up cell warIntensifying the competition in the world's fastest growing mobile market, Unitech Wireless Ltd, on Thursday, announced the launch of its GSM services. The services include a scheme that offers consumers the lowest tariff on a per minuteSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am India will cut carbon intensity by 20%India has announced its willingness to cut its carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for every unit of GDP, by between 20 and 25 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels, the Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 4 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am US double-dip, stronger yen are concerns: ToyotaA top executive at Toyota Motor Corp on Friday expressed concerns about a possible double-dip in the US market and a stronger yen.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:55 pm Infosys among 3 IT vendors picked by Wal-Mart: ReportWal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has picked three IT vendors including India's Infosys Technologies for multi-year contracts worth over $600 million, the Business Standard said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:23 pm RBI unlikely to lift rates soon despite strong growth: POLL - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:20 pm Global warming scepticism on rise in USDallas/Kansas City: Sharon Byers is unconvinced that human activities such as the burning of coal and other fossil fuels are behind climate change. “There have been times in the past when there was global warming in the absence of man. It is all part of a natural cycle. I think it is a little vain to think man could destroy this great planet,” said Byers, a former nurse who lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Also Read UPA bites the bullet on climate change In the US heartland, global warming talk is often seen as hot air and opinion polls show skepticism on the rise, fueling conservative opposition to a climate change bill that is a priority for president Barack Obama and making some Democrats vulnerable in the November 2010 congressional elections. America will pledge at UN climate talks in Copenhagen that begin next week to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, which most scientists say are the main agents of climate change, by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. In global scientific circles, that is seen as vital as America accounts for around a fifth of global emissions. But for some conservative US activists it all seems sinister. “We’re not interested in one-world government, which seems to be the direction of this summit,” said Dale Robertson, the founder of the Tea Party organization which has held rallies across the country to protest Obama’s agenda. A constant theme on conservative and Christian talk-radio stations, which reach tens of millions of Americans, is the notion that the global warming scare is a “hoax” aimed at crippling the US economy and way of life. This all strikes a chord in these tough economic times and opinion polls show Americans cooling to the issue. A Washington Post-ABC News poll in November found that 72% of Americans surveyed believed global warming was happening, down from 80% last year. But even among Americans who accept that temperatures are climbing there is reluctance to pin the blame on humans. A Pew poll in October found 57% of Americans felt there was evidence that the earth was warming, down from 71% in April 2008. But only 36% attributed this to human activities, compared with 47% last year. Tough sell, electoral risks This makes the task of selling legislation to the US public to cap emissions more difficult. Getting legislation to this effect next year in the US Senate is high on Obama’s agenda. The House of Representatives has narrowly passed its own version and Republicans see opportunities here in next year’s congressional contests when the Democrats will be fighting to maintain their majorities. In the House of Representatives, Republican strategists have said that Harry Teague of New Mexico and Betsy Markey of Colorado are among the many Democrats seen vulnerable on this issue in 2010. In the 100-seat Senate, some Democrats who are up for reelection next year will be in a bind on the issue, much as some are now with the healthcare debate. “If the Senate does vote on climate change at some point next year, certainly Sens. Barbara Boxer (California), Michael Bennet in Colorado, Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Harry Reid in Nevada could all be vulnerable, depending, of course, on how they vote,” said Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, said on Thursday negotiators in the Senate are nowhere close to writing details of a compromise climate change bill and that at least two key Senate committees, Finance and Agriculture, have not yet worked on their portions of a bill. Until then, a compromise bill will not be drafted, he said. Analysts say growing public skepticism on the issue is explained in part by the recession and job losses. “Up until a couple of years ago when people felt relatively wealthy and secure, they were willing to consider climate change as a problem we should address. But now that they feel more poor and vulnerable they are skeptical,” said Cal Jillson, a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. There are other uniquely American cultural traits that drive views on the issue, such as an enduring love affair with big vehicles which has been dented though hardly crushed by last year’s record-high gas prices. One in four US adults is also an evangelical Christian and, while secular Europeans may find this odd, many really do believe that biblical prophecy foretells the planet’s end. “If you are an evangelical Christian in the American vein then you believe it is our responsibility to look after the planet but it will be ultimately destroyed no matter what we do,” said Bart Barber, a Southern Baptist Convention preacher in the small north Texas town of Farmersville. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:09 pm Dubai debt crisis has limited impact on fund flows: EPFRMoney market funds, the traditional safe-haven for cash, had a net outflow of $838 million, bringing its current outflow streak to eight weeks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:04 pm Godrej Properties sets IPO price band at Rs490-530The company is offering 9.4 million shares in the offer.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:03 pm Sensex down 132 points in opening trade on weak global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by over 132 points in opening trade on fresh capital outflows by foreign funds, triggered by weak global markets after subdued US data.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:01 pm India economy could grow 8-9% in 2 years: World Bank New Delhi: “India could return to a higher growth trajectory of 8-9% in two years, but it needs to invest more in infrastructure for sustaining such growth,” World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Friday. Asia’s third largest economy expanded 6.7% in the fiscal year that ended in March 2009, slower than 9% or more in the previous three years. Government officials forecast growth between 6.5-7% percent for 2009-10. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:59 pm Rupee down 13 paise at 46.24 a dollar in opening tradeAt the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit traded 13 paise down at 46.24 a dollar.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:54 pm YouTube makes videos Feather lightYouTube has launched an experimental “Feather” feature that slims down online videos for delivery to places where the Internet is unable to handle heavy data traffic. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:49 pm Prosecutors investigated Rajaratnam a decade ago - WSJReuters - Federal prosecutors investigated Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam on suspicions of insider trading more than a decade before he was charged with securities fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing legal filings.Source: Reuters: Money News | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:49 pm John Deere to focus on smaller tractor, increase production New Delhi: US-based farm and construction equipment maker John Deere plans to rejig its tractor business in India by focussing more on smaller segment and is looking to launch at least two models by 2011 in that category. “We started our Indian operations by focussing on high power tractors of 50 Horsepower (HP) and above. So far we have continued with the trend. However, half of the Indian tractor market is in the 31-40 HP segment and we are now going to change our strategy to target that segment,” John Deere Director (marketing and sales) Ravi Menon said. The company is also ramping up production at its Pune plant in anticipation of increased domestic demand, as it targets over 7% growth in sales in the country this fiscal. “The overall tractor industry sales are growing at 7% and we expect to grow more than that this fiscal in the domestic market,” he said. During last fiscal (November 2008-October 2009), the company sold 25,000 units in the Indian market, besides exporting another 10,500 units. Menon said that the company is working to introduce new models in the 31-40 HP segment, starting with two 35 HP tractor variants by 2011 but did not give details on price points. The company’s existing 35 HP model comes at a price of Rs3.6 lakh. John Deere’s Pune plant has an installed capacity of 45,000 units. John Deere currently sells eight models in the country across various segments. “Most of our current Indian sales are in the above 50 HP segment, where we command a market 40% share,” Menon added. The Indian tractor market was of 3.3 lakh units in 2008, of which the 50 HP and above segment had 7% share. Commenting on production increase, he said last fiscal the capacity utilisation at the Pune plant was about 80%, and the company is aiming to increase it further but did not elaborate. “Demand is likely to go up further this year as more money is reaching the farmers’ hands due to increase in minimum support prices,” Menon said. “Although domestic sales are expected to rise, exports from India are unlikely to grow over last fiscal’s 10,500 units as international demand is still low,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:40 pm Galleon chief was probed decade ago: WSJNew York: Federal prosecutors investigated Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam on suspicions of insider trading more than a decade before he was charged with securities fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing legal filings.  Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam. Bloomberg (File Photo). The investigation stemmed from suspicions that arose in the 1990s within chip maker Intel Corp that Rajaratnam was receiving tips from an Intel insider. Intel could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular US business hours. The Sri Lankan-born billionaire was arrested on 16 October and accused by prosecutors of generating millions of dollars of illegal profits in the largest US hedge fund insider trading case on record. Rajaratnam has denied the charges. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:39 pm World Economic Forum makes VNL techonology pioneer for 2010The World Economic Forum has made VNL one of the technology pioneers for 2010 for its innovative and pioneering work in developing solar-powered mobile (GSM) base stations for use in rural areas.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:33 pm There are challenges, but we will reclaim top slot: Star New Delhi: Undeterred by stiff competition posed by new entrants like Colors and NDTV Imagine in the general entertainment segment, Star India on Friday said that it has challenges but would reclaim the top slot. “We have not been dethroned. We have got challengers in the Hindi space. We do not like it, but we also know we will fight back,” Star India chief executive officer Uday Shankar said. He said that Star Plus continued to be very strong and disagreed that his Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) has been dethroned by the new entrants. “Star Plus has been the number one entertainment channel for nine years. A few weeks here and there do not make a difference,” he added. He conceded that Hindi GEC space has become very competitive, but maintained that despite slipping from the top spot, Star Plus continued to be ahead in the race. “It is no more a fight between two or even three players. It has become a fight between four and five players. All one needs is one show to create an unsettling effect,” he said. “Even in the weeks when we have not been no.1, it is barely a 10% gap and that gap changes on a weekly basis,” Shankar said. Although he did not share the line up of new serials and concepts Star Plus is working on, Shankar said that the channel would soon launch a programme based on themes around spirituality and pilgrimage. Shankar said the channel would continue to focus on women audience for viewership, although ‘saas-bahu’ serials which helped Star reach the top slot have moved to other channels. He said Star, part of the global media group owned by Rupert Murdoch, was among the few broadcasters in India that was profitable despite a host of troublesome issues facing the industry. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:19 pm Another low-floor bus goes up in flames - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:14 pm Sensex slips on opening, recovers partiallyA key Indian equities index slipped about 150 points at the opening bell on Friday but soon recovered partially.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:13 pm Watch/Listen: Mint in Multimedia 4 DecemberVideo: The Mint Report for 3 December 2009 GM close to a deal with SAIC on entering Indian market; Infosys expects windfall from four new businesses; food inflation shoots upwards Video: The four pillars of India’s position India is firm that the developing countries should follow through with their share of emission cuts first and only then ask developing nations to follow suit Podcast: Govt looks to transgenic tech to boost pulses production Listen to Bhagirath Choudhuri, national coordinator for ISAAA, talk about BT technology and its potential to increase pulse productivity Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:57 pm Rupee down 13 paise at 46.24 a dollarThe rupee on Friday depreciated by 13 paise at 46.24 against the US dollar in opening trade largely on apprehensions that foreign funds would flow outSource: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:55 pm Data storage sales starting to rebound: IDCSan Francisco: Sales of computer data-storage equipment slid 10% in the third quarter, but industry tracker IDC said signs of a turnaround are emerging. Global external disk storage revenue dropped to $4.4 billion in the July-September period, IDC said on Thursday. Market leaders EMC Corp and International Business Machines Corp both increased their market share. IDC analyst Steve Scully said signs of stability that began to appear in the enterprise storage market in the second quarter were more widespread in the third quarter. The market fell 18.3% in the April-June period. “Clearly we’re starting to see the pent-up demand in storage being fulfilled,” Scully said. “It’s encouraging to see sequential growth that’s broad-based among the vendors.” IDC said entry-level, midrange and high-end storage segments showed quarter-over-quarter gains for the first time since the final quarter of 2008. EMC grew its leading market share to 24.2% despite a 6.8% drop in revenue to $1.06 billion. Scully said EMC’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Data Domain over the summer helped boost its storage sales when compared with a year ago. IBM’s revenue fell 6.5%, but the company raised its market share to 13.2%, good for second place. Third-place Hewlett-Packard Co posted the steepest decline among the top 5 vendors, with external storage sales falling 15%. Its share fell to 11.8%. Dell sales fell 8.8% as it remained No. 4, while No. 5 NetApp Inc gained share as sales slipped a mere 3.7%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:52 pm Data storage sales starting to rebound: IDCSan Francisco: Sales of computer data-storage equipment slid 10% in the third quarter, but industry tracker IDC said signs of a turnaround are emerging. Global external disk storage revenue dropped to $4.4 billion in the July-September period, IDC said on Thursday. Market leaders EMC Corp and International Business Machines Corp both increased their market share. IDC analyst Steve Scully said signs of stability that began to appear in the enterprise storage market in the second quarter were more widespread in the third quarter. The market fell 18.3% in the April-June period. “Clearly we’re starting to see the pent-up demand in storage being fulfilled,” Scully said. “It’s encouraging to see sequential growth that’s broad-based among the vendors.” IDC said entry-level, midrange and high-end storage segments showed quarter-over-quarter gains for the first time since the final quarter of 2008. EMC grew its leading market share to 24.2% despite a 6.8% drop in revenue to $1.06 billion. Scully said EMC’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Data Domain over the summer helped boost its storage sales when compared with a year ago. IBM’s revenue fell 6.5%, but the company raised its market share to 13.2%, good for second place. Third-place Hewlett-Packard Co posted the steepest decline among the top 5 vendors, with external storage sales falling 15%. Its share fell to 11.8%. Dell sales fell 8.8% as it remained No. 4, while No. 5 NetApp Inc gained share as sales slipped a mere 3.7%. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:52 pm Rupee pulls back from 2-week highs on dollar gainsMumbai: The Indian rupee fell on Friday, pulling back more than two-week highs in the previous session as weakness in the local sharemarket and a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment. At 10:10am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.26/27 per dollar, 0.4% weaker than its Thursday’s close of Rs46.07/08, which was its strongest since 16 November. “Rupee opened with a gap due to the strong dollar, market is now watching stocks for further direction,” a senior dealer with a private bank said. “It is likely to trade in at 46.15-46.40 range today.” Dealers said a further weakness in the Indian rupee could lead to receiving interest in the forwards, pushing premiums lower. One-month forward premium was lower at 8.25 points, compared to 9.00 points on Thursday. Shares fell more than 0.7% after weak US data triggered concerns over the pace of economic recovery and pushed most Asian stocks lower. Foreign portfolio flows of almost $16 billion into Indian equities this year have helped the rupee rise more than 13 percent from a record low of 52.2 in early March. The index of the dollar, against six major currencies, was up 0.2%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts was quoted at Rs46.17/27, little stronger than the onshore spot rate. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm Al-Qaeda helping LeT to provoke conflict between India, Pak: US Washington: “Al-Qaeda is providing Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) with targeting information and helping them in plotting attacks in India, aimed at provoking a conflict between the two countries that would ultimately destabilise Pakistan,” US defence secretary Robert Gates said on Friday. “Al-Qaeda sees using the Taliban in Pakistan and groups like LeT as ways to destabilise Pakistan and even try to provoke a conflict between India and Pakistan that would inevitably destabilise Pakistan,” Gates said. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Gates said that the US has evidence which suggest that the Al-Qaeda aims at destabilising Pakistan. “We have evidence that Al-Qaeda is helping them pick targets, do operational planning, helping them in their effort to try to destabilise the Pakistani government,” Gates said. “The other piece of this that does not include the Taliban or that—apart from the Taliban is, we also know that Al-Qaeda is helping the LeT, the terrorist group that carried out the bombings in Mumbai,” he said. Earlier, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gates said: “Al-Qaeda is providing LeT with targeting information and helping them in their plotting in India, clearly with the idea of provoking a conflict between India and Pakistan that would destabilise Pakistan.” Agreeing with Gates, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen, said: “I certainly agree with the nexus between Al-Qaeda and the LeT, and I have watched it over the last year to two, that these groups are coming together secretary Gates talked about the linkage between the LeT and Al Qaeda.” “It is actually not local anymore and that is an example of the collaboration that’s going on with all these units. I was struck, as I’m sure you were, in Mumbai that a terrorist outfit could literally generate that kind of attack and then bring two nation-states closer to conflict. That is not an achievement lost on anyone that observed that,” he said. “Those kinds of plots continue: the ability to destabilise Pakistan, seeking those nuclear materials and weapons. It’s extraordinarily dangerous,” he noted. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:41 pm Russian classic inspires Salman Khan to pen script for ‘Veer’Mumbai: Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan has turned scriptwriter for the first time for a new film based on a celebrated Russian novel that explores the bond between father and son. The 43-year-old, known for his “bad boy” image, has written Veer (Brave), which was inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century classic Taras Bulba. “I have scripted this film and this is my dream project,” said Khan, who also takes a starring role in the movie. “When I was six years old, I saw the film Taras Bulba that beautifully showed the extraordinary relationship between a father and son. “I always wanted to write a script revolving around this bond. I had the whole thing 20 years back and wrote the script then. However, it was not possible to make the film then because of the cost involved.” Gogol’s Taras Bulba tells of a Ukrainian Cossack who sets out on a journey from Kiev with his two sons to go to war against the Polish. Ernest Hemingway called it one of the 10 greatest books of all time. Since it first appeared, the novel has been interpreted on screen in Russia, Britain, France and the United States, inspired an opera and orchestral score -- and even the name of a light Belgian beer. Khan’s take on the story sees him play the role of a tribal prince in 1875, defending his kingdom from India’s British colonial rulers. Industry insiders have likened the fight scenes to those in “sword and sandals” epics such as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, and Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, which both won a clutch of Oscars. Khan is the son of the Bollywood scriptwriter Salim Khan, who with Javed Akhtar penned some of the biggest hits of the 1970s, including the blockbuster Sholay, starring Amitabh Bachchan. The actor said Veer, which is said to have cost Rs500 million ($10.7 million) and is scheduled for release in January 2010, is in honour of his father. “This (scriptwriting) was my childhood dream and this film is a tribute to my father, my real hero. I call him ‘Rambo´ because in real life he is ‘veer,’” Khan told reporters last week. Khan, who broke into Bollywood in the late 1980s and cemented himself as one of the industry’s leading actors, was recently seen in Wanted, Main Aur Mrs Khanna (Me And Mrs Khanna) and London Dreams. All three were released within weeks, marking a comeback of sorts after a lean period for Khan over the previous two years. Wanted is Bollywood’s biggest hit so far this year. Khan, a distinctive figure with slicked-back hair, earrings and a bodybuilder’s physique, has a reputation for attracting controversy and spent time in jail for killing endangered Indian gazelles in 1998. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:17 pm Crude falls below $76, unsettled ahead of payrollsSingapore: US crude futures fell for a third day on Friday, to below $76 a barrel, pressured by weak US service sector data and nervousness ahead of non-farm payrolls data later in the day. Commodity markets got off to a shaky start - gold slipped back towards $1,200 an ounce after Thursday’s record highs, copper was steady but well off recent 14-month highs, and the dollar ticked up versus a basket of currencies. Equity markets were mixed, with Sydney’s ASX 200 down 1.3%, but Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.3%. NYMEX crude for January delivery fell 60 cents to $75.86 a barrel by 7:50am, after settling down 14 cents at $76.46 on Thursday. Brent crude dipped 56 cents to $77.80. Crude prices tumbled on Wednesday after the release of US inventory data, which showed crude and gasoline inventories jumped last week as the weak economy continued to batter demand in the world’s top consumer. The losses put US crude on track for a 0.25% fall this week, but Brent is headed for a 0.8% rise. “Oil is flooding into Cushing and depressing values for WTI. At this time, Brent is probably more representative of the global physical market,” MF Global analyst Edward Meir said. He added that prices would likely bounce if support at around $75 comes under scrutiny on nervousness ahead of US non-farm payrolls data later on Friday. “The payrolls data is causing a bit of nervousness and people are backing away. Expectations are for a 120,000 decline but we might see a slightly bigger decline.” The White House said on Thursday a private-sector payroll report had signalled that November’s unemployment level may tick up from 10.2% in October, but stressed it was not predicting the outcome of the government’s monthly payroll data. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the unemployment rate to be unchanged at 10.2%. Traders remain concerned about widening spreads between front and second month WTI, which stood at around a $1.80 contango on Friday versus 50 cents in the middle of November. The Brent contango was 74 cents, more or less steady since mid-May. “There are contangoes across the board, but it’s especially steep in NYMEX. This will mean more stored oil,” a trader said. “It costs about a dollar a month roughly to store crude in a tanker. If you can pick up a $1.50 or more contango per barrel, it’s the easiest money you’ll make - providing you get hold of the ship and the stock.” In the longer term, prices were expected to rise. US investment bank Goldman Sachs saw prices averaging $90 a barrel next year and $110 in 2011, as strong growth in emerging market economies boosts crude demand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:03 pm Sony signs 3D video deal for 2010 World Cup Tokyo: The 2010 World Cup is going 3D. Sony Corp. on Friday said that it has signed a deal with FIFA, the international football governing body, to record up to 25 World Cup games in 3D, a technology that gives viewers an illusion of depth on the screen. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company is one of several electronics makers planning or working on 3D technology for TVs and movies. Sony makes 3D capable video cameras, and plans to sell 3D TVs for homes next year. People wear special glasses to see 3D footage because the illusion of dimension is created by sending different images to the left and the right eye, although manufacturers are working on upgrades that will show 3D without glasses. Chief executive Howard Stringer expressed his enthusiasm for watching a soccer game in 3D in an interview this week. “I thought that was very cool,” he said at Tokyo headquarters. Most 3D releases so far have been animation films but the feature is gradually spreading to other genres, such as the soon-to-be-released sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’. Stringer said sports was definitely one area 3D could display its strengths. He also said that he wanted to see ‘thoughtful’ movies someday being made in 3D. He ruled out Michael Jackson videos and the next ‘Spider-Man movie as 3D possibilities. For now, 3D video of the World Cup in South Africa won’t be shown in TV broadcast for homes, according to Sony, which makes Bravia TVs, Walkman portable players and PlayStation3 game consoles. They will be shown at Sony booths at FIFA events in Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney in June and July. Highlights will be shown in Sony showrooms, and a video version will be sold through Sony Pictures. “It’s a great opportunity to get people to experience 3D firsthand,” said Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:01 pm Sony signs 3D video deal for 2010 World Cup Tokyo: The 2010 World Cup is going 3D. Sony Corp. on Friday said that it has signed a deal with FIFA, the international football governing body, to record up to 25 World Cup games in 3D, a technology that gives viewers an illusion of depth on the screen. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company is one of several electronics makers planning or working on 3D technology for TVs and movies. Sony makes 3D capable video cameras, and plans to sell 3D TVs for homes next year. People wear special glasses to see 3D footage because the illusion of dimension is created by sending different images to the left and the right eye, although manufacturers are working on upgrades that will show 3D without glasses. Chief executive Howard Stringer expressed his enthusiasm for watching a soccer game in 3D in an interview this week. “I thought that was very cool,” he said at Tokyo headquarters. Most 3D releases so far have been animation films but the feature is gradually spreading to other genres, such as the soon-to-be-released sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’. Stringer said sports was definitely one area 3D could display its strengths. He also said that he wanted to see ‘thoughtful’ movies someday being made in 3D. He ruled out Michael Jackson videos and the next ‘Spider-Man movie as 3D possibilities. For now, 3D video of the World Cup in South Africa won’t be shown in TV broadcast for homes, according to Sony, which makes Bravia TVs, Walkman portable players and PlayStation3 game consoles. They will be shown at Sony booths at FIFA events in Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney in June and July. Highlights will be shown in Sony showrooms, and a video version will be sold through Sony Pictures. “It’s a great opportunity to get people to experience 3D firsthand,” said Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 9:01 pm Google adds translation to main search engineGoogle on Thursday began weaving an automated language translation feature into its universal search service. A new "translated search" tool lets people direct Google to seek results from Web pages written in an array of languages and then deliver results in a searcher's preferred tongue. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 8:56 pm Asian shares sag as US jobs data awaitedTokyo: Asian stocks sagged before monthly US jobs data on Friday, with property and resource shares weighing on Hong Kong and Australia falling, after soft US data raised concerns about the pace of economic recovery. Gold slid from a record on profit-taking and crude futures fell for a third day after disappointing US service sector numbers, as investor caution reigned ahead of the November payrolls report seen as a health check of the economy. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 130,000 US jobs were lost in November compared with a loss of 190,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate is seen at 10.2%, unchanged from the prior month. The data release is due at 7:00pm. In Japan, shares were slightly lower after briefly squeezing into positive territory to top 10,000 for the first time in five weeks. The benchmark Nikkei index fluctuated after gains this week which saw it rise nearly 4% on Thursday. “For further gains, investors need to see more clarity about Japan’s economic policies, along with US jobs data that could still surprise the market,” said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities. Seoul shares rose as positive economic data and gains in shipyards and technology issues lent support. The economy grew faster than initially predicted in the third quarter and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.9%. But the MSCI index of Asia excluding Japan fell 0.8%. Australian stocks fell 1.2%, with top miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto down about 2% ahead of an expected agreement on final terms for their planned iron ore joint venture. Hong Kong stocks dropped 1.1%, undermined by the soft US data. Shares of Henderson Land fell after jumping more than 6% in the previous session and CNOOC dropped 1.3%. US stocks fell on Thursday after the unexpected contraction in the vast services sector spurred worries about the recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.8%, along with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5%. The dollar held steady at 88.25 yen, after rebounding this week from a recent 14-year trough. The euro was unchanged at $1.5063, holding near a recent 16-month high after the European Central Bank suggested it would gradually withdraw emergency liquidity from the system.. Japanese government bonds slipped as the yen took a breather from its recent surge that stoked concerns of added deflationary pressure and prompted the Bank of Japan to step up its monetary easing. Little impact was seen from the ruling parties’ efforts to finalise an economic stimulus package, with finance minister Hirohisa Fujii saying the government will stick to its principle of not raising bond issuance to fund stimulus. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 8:49 pm Japanese shares rise 0 27 per cent in morningJapanese shares gained 0.27 per cent in morning trade on Friday on a weaker yen but investors were cautious ahead of the release of key monthly US jobs data later in the day.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 8:08 pm US stocks dip on recovery concernsUS stocks dipped as investors mulled a mixed batch of economic data that cast a cloud over hopes for an improved recovery from recession and braced for a key jobs report. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 8:03 pm Posco coming again for steel unit planA delegation of South Koreas Posco, the worlds second largest steel producer, is expected to visit the state next week as a follow-up to its intention to set up a multi-billion-dollar integrated steel plant.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 1:52 pm Food inflation jumps 17 5 onions rice turn dearerInflation in the price of food articles touched a high of 17.47 per cent in the week ending November 21 according to official figures released on Thursday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:42 pm Comcast to buy controlling stake in NBC UniversalComcast Corp. announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:41 pm Food inflation at 17.5%, households pay priceHeres why your monthly budget has been going haywire all these months even while the governments overall inflation figures remained at record lows of 0% to 1.5%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:34 pm Bharati stock surges 17.5%, ABG up 3.5%When Bharati Shipyard and ABG Shipyard's open offers for Great Offshore commenced on Thursday, both the ship builders' stocks gained on the bourses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:25 pm Mitsubishi sells stake in Eicher, exits allianceMitsubishi Motors sold its stake in Eicher Motors to the company's founders, ending a 27-year partnership.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:24 pm Bridging the gap on clean technologyNew Delhi: India is clear that technology transfer should be a key part of any climate treaty. Along with more than 130 developing countries in the world, India’s checklist of demands from the rich, held responsible by the poor for the state of the environment, includes the technology element.  Meeting ground: A technician checks the voltage at a solar panel. Experts say what India needs most is collaboration with developed countries in technology development. Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters Technology transfer encompasses everything from collaboration to research, the removal of trade barriers, capacity building and financing. Experts and academics hold that, unlike the actual transfer of technology from the rich to the poor, what India needs most is collaboration with developed countries in technology development and capacity building. “What we actually need is not as much technology transfer as it is technology development. Industries need to be well developed to absorb the technologies. In the early stages, we need joint development to gain access to skills and the intangibles,” said Anand Patwardhan, professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), and former executive director, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council. Also See World View (Graphics) For instance, acquisitions are one of the main routes to gain access to technology, and while there is still a role for multilateral negotiations, it will ultimately happen bilaterally or between companies, he said.  Graphics: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint The West’s perspective is different, posing the issue as one revolving around what happens to IPRs, incentives to innovators and competitive advantage if these are going to be relaxed. So is there a meeting ground between the two sides, and can Western fears be allayed? “In many cases you need to collaborate with the innovator. The notion of tacit knowledge exists for many technologies. For instance, I can give you all the instructions on how to drive a car, but can you? It is a genuine concern to make sure you get what you need. We need the technology, not the IPR,” said Ambuj Sagar, Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi chair, professor of policy studies at IIT, Delhi. The issue of IPR translation into a product is not trivial. The drivetrain of the Toyota Prius hybrid car, for instance, has around 267 patents, said Sagar. “You have to (be) pretty sophisticated to change an IPR into a product.” Patwardhan agrees with Sagar. He says that unlike patents in the pharmaceutical sector, where the IPR is equal to the product itself, innovation won’t necessarily be at risk. “Even a cellphone will have many patents. You can’t single it out. Unless you can go through the product development cycle, it doesn’t help you. And if you want to bring down cost, you need to do the process yourself,” Patwardhan said. “Unlike in pharma, where the bulk of the cost is in upstream IP, which they exploit, here IPR is only the starting point. Maximum cost could be capital investment, or scaling up.”  “Montreal was simple. It was product substitution from one to another, though the applications were different. Here you have the entire energy sector and the points of change are very many, such as demand modification, supply-side change, distribution, etc.,” said Patwardhan. IPRs become a bigger issue when it comes to deployment of existing clean technologies in developing countries and not so much in relation to future technologies. If climate change mitigation has to be implemented immediately, then poorer countries need access to existing technologies, most of which belong to developed countries, and collaboration over the divide on big-ticket technologies such as carbon capture and storage, fuel cells, clean coal technologies and solar energy. Wess says that distribution of patent ownership of climate technology is skewed towards advanced economies. Negotiations to bring about a so-called clean revolution, which focuses just on the mechanism to transfer and not a resolution on the IPR issues, will be akin to having a pipeline in place, without the goods that will flow through it. IPRs need to be balanced between private profit and public good. “You do need IPRs as incentive. The question is how to address it—buy it out or bring it to the market cheaply?” Even in climate change, the world has a precedent in technology transfer in the clean development mechanism, or CDM. This market mechanism, under the Kyoto Protocol, was established to aid developed countries to meet their Kyoto emission cut targets. It involved investments and technology in the private sector to flow from developed to developing economies.  Wess attributes this to the involvement of foreign companies in the countries and trade policies. But a key drawback of CDM has been its limitation in terms of scale and being present only in a few countries. Similarly, all countries are not at the same level in terms of domestic capacities and investments. Though India and China have the same demands from the rich global north, the ground situations vis-à-vis technology capacity is different. “In the mid-1990s, when Russia was in chaos, the Chinese had something called a technology bank. They didn’t need it then but” it came in use in the next 15-20 years, said Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, a veteran negotiator for India. “Today, the Chinese understand that they need to get their scientists back from the US. They offer huge incentives for them to come back, such as advanced lab equipment, higher salaries, more staff. They pull out all the stops,” he said. “But the same is not possible here. If we do the same, then a researcher who hasn’t gone to the US will get one-fifth of the salary compared to one who comes back. That would be unthinkable.” Most experts agree that for deployment of technology, it is advantageous for developing nations if the learning part of the cycle is done locally. “Any new technology is costly. Over time, in a normal market, early adopters do the learning and bring the price down,” said Patwardhan. “If you want to accelerate it, you cannot wait for it to happen in developed countries, and then percolate down to developing countries.” padmaparna.g@livemint.com World View graphics by Yogesh Kumar / Mint Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:19 pm Turner to buy NDTV ImagineTurner International is close to acquiring a controlling stake in entertainment company NDTV Imagine, which runs three entertainment channels.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:18 pm 'India can cut emission intensity by 20-25%'But no binding commitments, Ramesh reiterates to Parliament.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:16 pm GM to take on SAIC as partner in IndiaShanghai: China’s largest auto maker, SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd, is close to an agreement to cooperate with General Motors Corp. (GM) on manufacturing and selling vehicles in India, two people familiar with the talks said. The companies are setting up a 50:50 joint venture (JV) that will take over GM’s Indian assets, a person familiar with the plan said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private. GM will make an announcement on Friday about the two car makers’ cooperation in the country, another person said. GM’s Indian unit said it had no knowledge of such a move. “I am not aware of any such development,” P. Balendran, vice-president of GM India, told over phone. Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India, was not reachable on the phone for comments. GM India has manufacturing facilities at Halol near Gujarat and Talegaon near Pune. It sells the Tavera, Aveo, Spark, Aveo U-VA, Optra Cruz and Captiva models under the Chevrolet badge in India and will be launching the Beat in January next year in the premium compact segment. The India venture, to be set up in Hong Kong, will also make and sell minivans, mini-trucks and small cars to tap demand for low-cost vehicles, one person said. GM and SAIC have been in talks about introducing light commercial vehicles in India, where economic growth is spurring demand for small trucks, Slym had said in September. SAIC spokeswoman Zhu Xiangjun declined to comment. Calls to Johan Willems, a Shanghai-based GM spokesman, weren’t answered. GM will also sell a 1% stake in its Chinese passenger car venture to SAIC for $84.5 million (Rs390 crore) in response to an accounting rule change, one person said. Detroit-based GM and Shanghai-based SAIC now own 50% each of the China venture. Shanghai General Motors Co. Ltd’s Friday announcement about the India venture may include the stake sale, another person said. The stake sale is in response to Chinese accounting-rule changes that will prevent companies from including in their earnings any profit from ventures in which they have a minority holding, one person said. The sale was approved by GM’s board this week, and SAIC’s board will consider the transaction on Friday, the person said. Shares of SAIC, China’s largest domestic auto maker, were halted in Shanghai trading on Thursday after the company said on Wednesday it plans to restructure its assets. GM and SAIC are targeting annual sales of 300,000 vehicles in India in five years, a person said. GM sold 65,702 units in India last year and aims to sell 75,000 vehicles this year, the company had said on 24 September. On 3 November, Bloomberg had cited SAIC as saying that it expects to reach an agreement on cooperation with GM in India by the year-end as it seeks to boost sales overseas. “Talks are still going on,” chairman Hu Maoyuan had said in Beijing, adding that the company would arrive at a decision by the year-end. GM and SAIC are discussing introducing Wuling vehicles in India as economic growth spurs demand for inexpensive vehicles, it had said at the time. Experts believe the JV will be a win-win for both. “GM India needs deep pockets to be able to launch more products and compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motor India Ltd,” said Abdul Majeed, partner at audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. He believes a JV will provide financial muscle, while SAIC will get access to GM’s technology and its knowledge of the Indian market. SAIC will also be able to leverage GM’s distribution if it decides to launch products for the Indian market, Majeed said. Given the rapid growth expected in both India and China, such partnerships will play an important role for a company such as SAIC, which has global ambitions. Alliances, he said, will be key in future because of the uncertainties regarding changing customer preferences, and cost-sharing will top the agenda at most firms. V.G. Ramakrishnan, senior director for automotive and transportation sector at consultancy Frost and Sullivan, believes the venture may result in SAIC bringing some low-cost products to India. However, he is sceptical about the success of such products given the reputation of China-made products in India. “For a consumer, perception is reality,” he said. Mint’s Shally Seth in Mumbai contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 12:15 pm India s drug industry is over Rs one lakh croreThe Indian Pharmaceutical industry has become the third largest in the world in terms of volume, valued at over Rs one lakh crore, the Parliament was informed today. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 11:46 am Comcast lands NBC in deal that reshapes mediaNew York: Comcast Corp. has struck a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co., creating a media superpower that would control not just how television shows and movies are made, but how they are delivered to the home. The deal had been discussed for months and brought to light deep divisions over the future of the media business, with some lauding Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts as a visionary and others calling it the most foolhardy acquisition since AOL bought Time Warner in 2001.  New role: Jeff Zucker, president and chief executive officer of NBC Universal, will head the joint venture. Suzanne Plunkett / Bloomberg Not only is Comcast the largest US cable distributor, it is also the leading Internet service provider to homes. Critics of the deal, including some of Comcast’s shareholders, suggest there is too little overlap between the businesses to draw out meaningful savings, and that competition regulators are bound to burden it with restrictions. Big media deals rarely work, they say, pointing to Time Warner Inc.’s breakup as an example. Once the world’s biggest media company, Time Warner has spun off Time Warner Cable Inc. and will soon do the same with AOL. “There’s no question that you really have a great little test tube here because you have one large company that said this is absolutely not the thing to do,” veteran media dealmaker Barry Diller, chief executive of IAC/InterActive Corp. told the Reuters Global Media Summit. “And you have another company that said it’s exactly the thing to do.” The joint venture will be headed by current NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker, who helped build the company’s valuable cable business, but has also presided over a prolonged slump at its flagship broadcast network. Comcast’s shares have fallen 11% since reports of the deal first surfaced in September, but were up slightly in premarket trading on Thursday, after it unveiled the transaction. The deal calls for Comcast to contribute $6.5 billion (Rs30,000 crore) in cash, its cable TV networks and other assets in return for a 51% stake in NBC Universal, which owns TV networks, a movie studio, theme parks and local TV stations. GE will keep a 49% stake. The companies said in a statement on Thursday that NBC Universal’s businesses have been valued at $30 billion. The Comcast businesses that will be part of the deal—including E!, Versus, the Golf Channel and 10 regional sports networks—are valued at $7.25 billion. For GE, the deal allows it to concentrate on its industrial business, and could be the first step in a full break with NBC Universal, ending a relationship that stretches back to the dawn of television. GE can redeem half its interest in the venture after three-and-a-half years, and the remainder after seven years, subject to certain conditions. As part of the deal, NBCU will borrow $9.1 billion from third-party lenders and distribute the cash to GE. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:42 am Peugeot may buy large stake in MitsubishiTokyo: French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen could buy a large stake in Japanese peer Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as part of a plan to deepen ties to ride out the industry’s worst ever slump. The companies said on Thursday they were in talks to strengthen an existing relationship, which would create a leader in electric vehicles, with Mitsubishi, whose shares rose 13.4%, saying a capital tie-up was possible. A spokesman for Peugeot, ranked eighth in the world by 2008 sales volume, would not comment on how long talks could last. Peugeot will face increased competitive pressure from domestic rival Renault SA which is looking to beef up its synergies with 10-year equity partner Nissan Motor. That Franco-Japanese alliance is looking to lead the industry in the unproven electric car segment, where Mitsubishi Motors is among the only players to have such a car on sale. Peugeot’s interest in Mitsubishi Motors, ranked seventh of Japan’s eight car makers by January-October production, is in line with the recent push by new chief executive Philippe Varin to create a more global car company. Varin, who took on the role in June, has said this could be achieved by various means, including alliances with car makers. Mitsubishi Motors shares closed 13.4% higher after the Nikkei business daily reported Peugeot, Europe’s second biggest car maker, may take a 30-50% stake for up to 300 billion yen ($3.4 billion). Peugeot shares were up 0.4% by 10.40 GMT. Nikkei said top management at Mitsubishi were ready to accept a majority acquisition of the company by Peugeot if conditions were right. CM-CIC analyst Guillaume Angue said in a note the alliance would make sense from an industrial viewpoint and it would allow Peugeot to solve its problems of size, but it would come a bit early in the business cycle. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a note there were “no significant areas of near-term savings,” adding that “cultural/integration risks are extremely high”, while the negotiation process, especially regarding financing, could take up to several months. Nikkei said the two car makers were in the final stages of negotiations, with Peugeot seeking a stake of more than 50% in Mitsubishi through the placement of new shares. Mitsubishi may also potentially buy an interest in Peugeot, the paper said. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 10:13 am Ensure the two Gs Green and Growth go togetherAngel Gurria, secretary-general of Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD)—an influential inter-governmental body of 30 countries—who is in India on a three-day visit, spoke to Hindustan Times on a range of issues. ExcerptsSource: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 3 Dec 2009 | 8:24 am Hindustan Times to be available globally on e-reader KindleNew Delhi: Leading English daily Hindustan Times said Thursday that it had become the first newspaper to be available globally on Kindle, Amazon.Com ’s best-selling e-reader. Readers of the newspaper in various parts of the world can now have Hindustan Times delivered daily in near-paper-like form, it said in a press release. Kindle, which has already reportedly sold more than a million units on Amazon, is an electronic reading device, which can download books and periodicals wirelessly in a very short time. These books can be read in a paper-like display. Many of the leading global newspapers and magazines are available on Kindle. Sanjoy Narayan, Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan Times said, “Putting Hindustan times on the Kindle will now enable readers across the world to get access to the paper wherever and whenever they want to, in a convenient easy-to-carry format.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 5:17 am Investors lose faith in private equity: surveyLondon: Private equity investors have lost faith in buyout houses and will refuse to back firms that fail to be transparent on their performance or do not accede to their demands on fees, a survey found. The once-booming industry, hit by falling portfolio company sales and a reliance on leverage to boost returns, has seen its performance slide, disappointing investors and prompting them to reign back investment in new funds. Some 50% of investors in Europe and Asia Pacific view the asset class less favourably than before the downturn, Coller Capital -- the world’s largest buyer of private equity fund participations from original investors -- said in its half-yearly study of the industry. “The onus is on private equity firms to be open as possible with investors -- to share the full picture of what’s happening within portfolios. That’s the way to rebuild trust,” chief investment officer Jeremy Coller told Reuters. Some 79% of investors will refuse to back new funds from private equity managers they previously backed because of dissatisfation with fees and other terms and conditions, while 76% will turn funds down due to poor transparency. Poor performance, traditionally the key factor influencing investment decisions, remains the biggest barrier to reinvestment, according to 85% of investors polled. “Investors now see many more reasons for refusing reinvestment with private equity firms” Coller said. Close to 80% of Asia-Pacific investors and 60% of European investors are unhappy with the performance of their private equity portfolios, while 60% of North American investors declared themselves satisifed, the survey found. Investors are also changing the way they manage private equity portfolios, with around half tightening their due diligence and some 40% strengthening their in-house teams, the survey found. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 3:46 am American Airlines, TPG offer $1.1 bn to JAL to block DeltaTokyo: American Airlines said it and other members of the Oneworld airline alliance along with private equity fund TPG are willing to invest $1.1 billion in Japan Airlines to prevent it defecting to Delta Air Lines and the rival Skyteam group. Debt-laden JAL faces the risk of bankruptcy unless it undergoes a major restructuring to cut costs and is seeking a capital injection from a state-backed fund on top of any money from American Airlines or Delta. Delta has said that it and other SkyTeam members are ready to offer JAL a total financial aid package of about $1 billion, including a $500 million equity investment. Delta said on Thursday it may also team with a fund to sweeten its proposal. Both US airlines are keen to gain access to Japan Airlines’ network to fast-growing Asian markets and are eyeing the expected signing this month of an “open skies” treaty that would allow for closer cooperation on routes between the US and Japan. “Our investment and our proposal would be part of an overall restructuring plan led by the government, which would restore Japan Airlines to financial health,” Tom Horton, chief financial officer of American Airlines, told a news conference in Tokyo. American had said last month it was ready to invest in JAL along with TPG but had not offered an exact figure. It estimated the total benefit to JAL of staying with Oneworld would be $1.8 billion when factoring in a projected $700 million boost from an antitrust immunity pact over 10 years. Delta and American have both said they would apply for antitrust immunity, a status that allows two airlines to coordinate closely on pricing, scheduling and marketing to increase revenues and lower costs. “Delta has far more overlapping routes with JAL, and that would mean far more cost benefits from codesharing than with American from eliminating unnecessary routes,” Takahiko Kishi, Senior Analyst, Mizuho Investors Securities. Open Skies In addition to $500 million in capital from SkyTeam members, Delta has said it would offer $300 million in guarantees on any short-term revenue loss from switching alliances and $200 million in asset-backed financing. Delta has further estimated JAL could gain $400 million in annual revenue by joining hands with the world’s biggest carrier given that it transports several times the number of passengers on trans-Pacific routes. American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, has warned JAL could lose $500 million in revenues over a two-year transition period if it left Oneworld. The two have at the same time used different numbers in the debate over antitrust immunity under open skies. American Airlines says SkyTeam carriers would control 62 percent of the US-Japan market if JAL and Delta joined hands, while Delta emphasises a figure closer to 40 percent, excluding routes to and from Hawaii and Guam. “Many alliances granted antitrust immunity in the past had combined market share much greater than JAL-Delta alliance,” Delta’s president Edward Bastian told reporters in a separate briefing in Tokyo. Third party Bastian said Delta was willing to enlist the help of an investment fund to top up its offer of financial support, and that it would consider investing in the airline even if it were restructured in bankruptcy court. “We of course want to know the form of the restructuring before we make that investment, but the company would need the financing in any event and we are prepared to work with the government in whichever the pattern it wants to pursue,” Bastian told Reuters Television in an interview after the briefing. Underscoring JAL’s woes, Standard & Poor’s cut its corporate credit rating to a “selective default” on Wednesday, citing a pact with creditors to freeze some loan payments under a mediated debt restructuring called Alternative Dispute Resolution. The suspension of those debt payments has been agreed to by JAL’s major creditors, giving it some breathing room while the state-backed Enterprise Initiative Turnaround Corp deliberates on whether to inject it with public funds. The ETIC is expected to make a decision in January. According to a previous government task force estimate, JAL needs ¥300 billion in capital, or three times the offer from Oneworld and six times the offer from SkyTeam. Shares of JAL closed unchanged at ¥92, underperforming a 3.8% rise in the benchmark Nikkei average. The stock has lost more than half its value this year while the spread on its 5-year credit default swaps, which are used as insurance against the risk of a company failing, are quoted at distressed levels above 2,300 basis points, having climbed steadily from about 800 in mid-September. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 3 Dec 2009 | 3:39 am
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