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Volkswagen, Suzuki agree to partnershipVolkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and Suzuki Motor Corporation have reached a common understanding to establish a close longterm strategic partnership. A framework agreement has been signed by representatives of both companies today.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:52 am Dishman Pharma to invest 3 bn rupees on expansionDishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to invest about 3 billion rupees on expansion.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:50 am Bajaj Auto launches Pulsar 135LSBajaj Auto has launched the new Pulsar 135LS bike. The Pulsar 135LS is powered with a state of the art 4valve DTSi engine delivering 13.5 Ps power. With its chiseled lines and aggressive stance, a sporty splitseat, aluminum clipon handlebars and a host of other features this power packed 135ccSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:48 am LT wins Rs 844 cr order from NPCILLarsen Toubros Infrastructure Operating Company has secured one of the single largest construction orders in Indias Nuclear Power sector by winning a contract valued at Rs 844 crores from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited for construction of the Main Plant Civil works of Reactor 34 at Kakrapar Atomic Power Project, Tapi.Gujarat.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:25 am Reliance says no plans to buy LyondellBasell debtReliance Industries said on Wednesday it had no plans to buy any debt of LyondellBasell Industries.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:08 am VWSuzuki deal: No case for open offer in MarutiRC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki said there was no need for an open offer in India. However, he added, \"Maruti Suzuki may look at an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) deal like one with Nissan.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:05 am Volkswagen to acquire 19.9% stake in Suzuki for $2.5bnAuto major Volkswagen is set to buy 19.9% stake in Suzuki Motors, reports CNBCTV18, quoting Dow Jones. The deal is expected to close in January 2010.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 8:04 am Ansal Housing Cons eyes Rs 2025cr of sales every monthIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Kushagr Ansal, Wholetime Director of Ansal Housing and Constructions spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 7:44 am ICICI Bank cuts home loan rates to 8.25%India\'s major private banks ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have entered the interest rate war in the homeloan market with their fixedcumfloating rate schemes.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 7:40 am Kiri Dyes Chemicals acquires Germany\'s Dystar GroupKiri Dyes and Chemicals Ltd through its SPV Kiri Holding Singapore Pvt Ltd has executed purchase agreement for acquisition of DyStar Group its selective AssetsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 9 Dec 2009 | 7:30 am AOL ends ties with Time Warner!America Online Inc (AOL), one of the firms that pioneered the Internet access business during the dial-up era, will officially return to its independent roots Thursday when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Dec 2009 | 5:05 am Japan GDP revised down, policy response in doubt!Japan`s economy grew at a far slower pace in the third quarter than first thought as capital spending fell, but a double-dip recession is seen as unlikely as exports rebound and corporate spending shows signs of bottoming out.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Dec 2009 | 5:05 am Volkswagen eyes 20% Suzuki stake: Report!German auto giant Volkswagen AG and Japan`s Suzuki Motor Corp are negotiating an alliance, Suzuki`s chairman said on Wednesday according to the Nikkei newspaper.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Dec 2009 | 5:05 am India`s aviation sector grows despite global eco downturn: US!Despite the global economic downturn, India`s aviation sector in particular continues to grow, a top Obama Administration official on Tuesday said as the US-India Aviation Partnership Summit started here.Source: Zee News : Business | 9 Dec 2009 | 5:05 am Volkswagen, Suzuki agree to partnership - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 3:15 am DB Corp IPO price band at Rs 185-212/share - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 3:10 am Sensex ends down 105pts - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 3:04 am India gold extends losses, triggers buyingMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's gold physical offtake picked up on Wednesday as prices fell for a fifth day in a row, when a strong dollar overseas weighed on the yellow metal, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 3:02 am Volkswagen buys $2.5 billion stake in Suzuki; eyes world No 1 spotWith the global car industry facing still fragile demand, chronic overcapacity and stricter environmental regulations, pressure has grown on automakers to join together to reduce costs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 3:02 am ANALYST VIEW - Volkswagen, Suzuki agree strategic tie-upFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Japan's Suzuki Motor said on Wednesday it will sell a 19.9 percent stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 billion and use half the proceeds to buy shares in the German automaker.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:54 am Gold extends losses, triggers buyingMumbai: India’s gold physical offtake picked up on Wednesday as prices fell for a fifth day in a row, when a strong dollar overseas weighed on the yellow metal, dealers said. “Demand has definitely picked up now, but traders are still doing small ticket sizes,” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. The most-traded February contract was trading 1.24% lower at Rs17,228 per 10 grams at 3:20pm, after losing more than 4% in the previous four sessions. The euro fell to a one-month low against the dollar on Wednesday as investors unwound positions in riskier assets ahead of the year-end, prompted in part by rising debt woes for Greece and Dubai. A strong dollar dims the yellow metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. Dealers said a slight price correction could spur additional wedding demand. “I have orders all the way.... some below $1,120 (an ounce) and bulk below $1,100,” said another dealer with a state-run bank. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:40 am HCL Tech rallies on back of 5-year multi million pound deal - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:31 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Stocks slip; crude, euro recoversLONDON (Reuters) - Global equities slipped on Wednesday with Japan leading the falls on concerns over the pace of recovery, while crude oil prices recovered and the euro picked up from a one-month low on bargain hunting.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:27 am Dubai debt confusion, Nakheel results dent confidenceDUBAI (Reuters) - Concern over debts at Dubai's utility provider and losses at Nakheel, builder of the emirate's palm-shaped islands, hit markets on Wednesday, drowning out assurances by top officials that Gulf economies were sound.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:25 am ICICI Bank cuts home loan rates to 8.25% - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:25 am Rupee rises as dollar loses ground versus majorsMumbai: The Indian rupee bounced off near two-week lows on Wednesday afternoon as the dollar’s slide against major currencies supported the local unit ,but losses in shares prevented further gains. At 3pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.64/65 per dollar, off an early low of Rs46.87, which was its weakest since 27 November, and marginally above Tuesday’s close of Rs46.68/69. The dollar index, a gauge of the US unit’s performance versus six majors, was down 0.5%. Traders were closely watching the sharemarket for cues. The main share index was trading 0.8% lower, limiting the rupee’s upside. Foreign buying of about $16 billion worth of local equities this year up to early December has helped the rupee rise about 11.5% from its record low of Rs52.2 touched in early March. Last year outflows of more than $13 billion had pushed the rupee down by a fifth. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs46.7350 and Rs46.72 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $3.6 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:25 am Infomedia 18 to offer 3-for-2 shares on rights basisMUMBAI (Reuters) - Infomedia 18 Ltd said on Wednesday it will offer three equity shares for every two held in the company on rights basis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:22 am Kiri Dyes & Chemicals acquires Germany's Dystar Group - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:20 am ONGC to bid for Iraqi oilfield New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), along with state-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO), is likely to bid for Iraq’s giant Halfaya oilfield under that country’s second licensing round this week. “Russia’s Gazprom or Rosneft may also join ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas arm of the state-run explorer, in Iraq’s second post-war bid round on 11-12 December,” industry sources said. Turkish Petroleum will have 50% interest in the consortium, while OVL would hold 30%. OIL would keep the remaining 20%. In case the Russian firm joins the consortium, the shareholding of TPAO and OVL may be reduced. Baghdad has put 10 groups of fields on offer in the second tender. Halfaya field has 4.60 billion barrels of reserves with a projected 13-year peak output of 4,00,000 barrels per day (20 million tonnes a year). “The Indians may face competition from French energy major Total SA while Royal Dutch / Shell is believed to have studied the Halfaya field, which would require an investment of $8-10 billion for beginning production,” the sources said. OVL along with OAO Gazprom and TPAO had bid for Zubair oilfield in the first Iraqi licensing round in June but lost it as the remuneration it sought was much higher than $1.90-2 a barrel that Baghdad was willing to pay. Iraq is seeking bids from 45 pre-qualified oil firms on the dollar-per-barrel remuneration fee they want for developing the fields and the targeted plateau production. While the first post-war Iraqi licensing round in June was focused on increasing output from huge oilfields already in production, the second is about bringing on stream massive undeveloped fields such as Majnoon and West Qurna Phase 2. “As in the first licensing round, all contracts will be technical service contracts (TSCs), rather than the production sharing contracts (PSCs) favoured by the interested international oil firms. Baghdad is looking at signing 20 year TSCs for the fields,” sources said. The service fee paid to foreign companies will reportedly be higher than in the first bidding round when it was $1.90-2 per barrel, because the fields are undeveloped. Sources said that the scoring formula for the two bidding parameters—the dollar-per-barrel remuneration fee and plateau production target—has been weighted 80% toward the fee, with the aim of dissuading companies from promising unrealistically high output targets. West Qurna-2 and Majnoon may be the most sought after fields and may see bids from the consortiums of Russia’s Lukoil and ConocoPhillips, Total of France and Chevron Corp. The 8.2-billion-barrel Majnoon field, which hugs the border with Iran, may attract big players who will challenge Total, which negotiated for the field alone under Saddam. State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) may also pitch for the bigger West Qurna-2 which holds an estimated 13.5 billion barrels of reserves. Total may bid against CNPC. Of the 45 companies that have pre-qualified for the licensing round, 40 firms have paid the $250,000-500,000 participation fees, with the exact sum depending on the field. Although fraught with risk, many companies are loath to miss out on a rare opportunity to tap easy oil and quadruple Iraqi flows of 2.5 million barrels per day, but will want to tie up negotiations and contracts before elections early next year. The 10 groups of fields that Baghdad has put on offer in the second tender are: Najmah, Qaiyarah, East Baghdad (central and north), the Eastern Fields (Gilabat, Khashem Al-Ahmar, Nau Doman, Qumar), Badra, Middle Furat (Kifl, West Kifl, Merjan), Halfaya, Garraf, Majoon and West Qurna phase 2. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:20 am Rich-poor countires divide disrupts climate summit Copenhagen: A leaked Danish document at the UN climate conference provoked angry criticism on Tuesday from developing countries and activists who feared it would shift more of the burden to curb greenhouse gases on poorer countries. Negotiators, meanwhile, displayed charts of data that said the current decade is on track to be the hottest on record for planet Earth. At the heart of Tuesday’s clash stemming from draft texts attributed to Denmark and China is the determination by the more impoverished states to bear a lesser burden than wealthy, more industrialized countries in the effort to slow global warming. Diplomats from developing countries and climate activists also complained the Danish hosts had pre-empted the negotiations with their draft proposal, prepared before the two-week conference began. Read full coverage ofCopenhagen Summit “The behind-the-scenes negotiation tactics under the Danish presidency have been focusing on pleasing the rich and powerful countries rather than serving the majority of states who are demanding a fair and ambitious solution,” said Kim Carstensen, head of the climate initiative for the environmental group WWF. The Danish draft proposal circulating at the 192-nation conference chips away at the wall between what developed and developing nations can be expected to do to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The Danish proposal would allow rich countries to cut fewer emissions while poorer nations would face tougher limits on greenhouse gases and more conditions on money available to adapt. A sketchy counterproposal attributed to China would extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required 37 industrial nations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by an average 5% by 2012, compared with 1990 levels. The Chinese text would incorporate specific new, deeper targets for the industrialized world for a further five to eight years. Developing countries, on the other hand, including China, would be covered by a separate agreement that envisions their taking actions to control emissions, but not in the same legally binding way. No targets would be specified for them. Poorer nations believe the two-track approach would best preserve the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ recognized by the Kyoto Protocol. Such draft ideas are usual grist early in such long, difficult international talks. These two proposals were not yet even recorded as official conference documents. “It has no validity,” key European Union negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger said, speaking specifically of the Danish proposal. “It’s only a piece of paper. The only texts that have validity here are those which people negotiated,” he said. Earlier Tuesday, the UN’s weather agency boosted the sense of urgency surrounding the conference with data showing this decade is on track to be the hottest since records began in 1850, with 2009 the fifth-warmest year ever. The second warmest decade was the 1990s. “Only the US and Canada experienced cooler conditions than average, the World Meteorological Organization said, though Alaska had the second-warmest July on record. In central Africa and southern Asia, this will probably be the warmest year, but overall, 2009 will be about the fifth-warmest year on record,” said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the Swiss-based agency. The last few decades are the warmest period in at least 400 years and probably 1,000 years, based on evidence from tree rings, retreating glaciers and other scientific methods to track climate before record-keeping, according to a 2006 report by the US National Academy of Sciences. Although temperatures have fluctuated, the causes were natural. The difference now is that they are being driven up by human activity, that modern civilization has many more coastal cities and needs to feed far more people, and that scientists believe humans can head off such dangerous warming. “Without a global deal stopping climate change, the planet’s average temperatures will rise by more than 2 degrees celsius well before the end of the century,” Jarraud said. “What we want is to provide the best possible data for negotiators,” said Jarraud, who called the WMO data evidence. He said: “This is indeed globally the warmest period for more than 2,000 years.” The current decade has been marked by dramatic effects of warming. In 2007-2009, the summer melt reduced the Arctic Ocean ice cap to its smallest extent ever recorded. In the 2007-2009 International Polar Year, researchers found that Antarctica is warming more than previously believed. Almost all glaciers worldwide are retreating. Destructive species such as jellyfish and bark-eating beetles are moving northward out of normal ranges, and seas expanding from warmth and glacier melt are encroaching on low-lying island states. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and his colleagues defended climate research amid an uproar over a cache of e-mails stolen from a British university that global warming skeptics say show scientists conspired to hide evidence that doesn’t fit their theories. Panel members noted Tuesday that their authoritative reports, representing the work of some 2,500 international climate experts, included specific papers referenced in the e-mails, such as research into tree rings in Siberia that were discussed at length and had accompanying figures. “Our processes are so robust, and the manner in which we function is so inclusive, that there is absolutely no question about the integrity of research,” Pachauri said adding: “They were clearly private communications. And if they express a level of passion all of us are guilty of at times, I think we should leave it well enough alone.” He said that IPCC has begun looking into the matter, but stopped short of launching a full investigation. “From what we’ve done so far, on a preliminary basis, we are completely satisfied that the IPCC procedures have not in any way excluded any material that’s been peer-reviewed,” he said. Carbon dioxide concentrations are expected to peak next year at a record high above 390 parts per million, up from 315 ppm when the first such measurements were taken a half-century ago. “We are really on the higher end, at the pessimistic part of these ranges,” Jarraud said adding: “So if nothing is done, we are going for much more than 2 degrees.” Swiss climatologist Thomas Stocker of the University of Bern noted that carbon dioxide levels are higher than ever in the last 800,000 years, based on comparisons with ancient pockets of carbon dioxide trapped in polar ice core samples. He said that the C02 atmospheric concentrations have risen at a rate at least 10 times faster than ever before seen in paleoclimatic history. The WMO also noted an extreme heat wave in India in May and a heat wave in northern China in June. It said parts of China experienced their warmest year on record, and that Australia so far has had its third-warmest year. Extremely warm weather was also more frequent and intense in southern South America. According to the US space agency NASA, the other warmest years since 1850 have been 2005, 1998, 2007 and 2006. NASA says the differences in readings among these years are so small as to be statistically insignificant. The UN agency reported that the global combined sea surface and land surface temperature for the January-October 2009 period is estimated at 0.44 degrees celcius above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00 degrees celcius, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.11 degrees celcius. Final data will be released early in 2010. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:14 am Software industry is high on terrorists' target list:Home Secy - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 2:07 am VW buys $2.5 bln Suzuki stake; eyes world No.1 spotTOKYO (Reuters) - Germany's Volkswagen will buy a one-fifth stake in Suzuki Motor for $2.5 billion, giving it access to the Japanese firm's expertise in small cars and dominance in India as it seeks to become the world's top automaker.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:59 am CA Technologies' appoints new sales director for South India, Sri LankaBased out of the CA sales office in Bangalore, Arun Balasubramanian will be responsible to drive the comanys' business in South India and Sri Lanka.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:52 am J&K registers 34.73 per cent increase in VAT collectionsJammu and Kashmir has registered a 34.73 per cent increase in Value Added Tax collections by the end of October, 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:52 am Google bundles coverage from NYT, Washington Post Mountain View, California: Internet search leader Google Inc. is teaming up with The New York Times and The Washington Post in an attempt to help out the ailing newspaper industry. The new project, called ‘Living Stories’, debuted Tuesday in the experimental labs section on Google’s web site. The service is supposed to make it easier for readers to follow evolving news stories. It will package stories from both the Times and the Post so the coverage can be more easily updated to include new developments. Some of the initial topics featured on the service Tuesday included health care reform, executive pay and the Washington Redskins football team. “Google isn’t paying the newspapers to feature the content, and there aren’t any immediate plans to sell advertising alongside the material,” said Josh Cohen, a Google product manager overseeing the project. Still, Google thinks Living Stories can help newspapers adapt to a shift that is causing millions of people to get their news from online sources instead of print. That’s a huge problem for newspapers because they make most of their money from ads appearing in print. As print advertising has been crumbling, some newspaper publishers have lashed out against Google, which is based in Mountain View. They depict Google as a leech that has profited by showing snippets of their online stories and photographs. Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., has been among the most outspoken critics. He has even threatened to block Google from listing News Corp.’s publications, including The Wall Street Journal, in its search index. The New York Times, though, regards Google as an ally, according to Martin Nisenholtz, who oversees the newspaper’s online operations. “We have a very successful, significant relationship with Google,” Nisenholtz told investors and analysts on Tuesday at a media conference in New York. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am Google bundles coverage from NYT, Washington Post Mountain View, California: Internet search leader Google Inc. is teaming up with The New York Times and The Washington Post in an attempt to help out the ailing newspaper industry. The new project, called ‘Living Stories’, debuted Tuesday in the experimental labs section on Google’s web site. The service is supposed to make it easier for readers to follow evolving news stories. It will package stories from both the Times and the Post so the coverage can be more easily updated to include new developments. Some of the initial topics featured on the service Tuesday included health care reform, executive pay and the Washington Redskins football team. “Google isn’t paying the newspapers to feature the content, and there aren’t any immediate plans to sell advertising alongside the material,” said Josh Cohen, a Google product manager overseeing the project. Still, Google thinks Living Stories can help newspapers adapt to a shift that is causing millions of people to get their news from online sources instead of print. That’s a huge problem for newspapers because they make most of their money from ads appearing in print. As print advertising has been crumbling, some newspaper publishers have lashed out against Google, which is based in Mountain View. They depict Google as a leech that has profited by showing snippets of their online stories and photographs. Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., has been among the most outspoken critics. He has even threatened to block Google from listing News Corp.’s publications, including The Wall Street Journal, in its search index. The New York Times, though, regards Google as an ally, according to Martin Nisenholtz, who oversees the newspaper’s online operations. “We have a very successful, significant relationship with Google,” Nisenholtz told investors and analysts on Tuesday at a media conference in New York. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am Google bundles coverage from NYT, Washington Post Mountain View, California: Internet search leader Google Inc. is teaming up with The New York Times and The Washington Post in an attempt to help out the ailing newspaper industry. The new project, called ‘Living Stories’, debuted Tuesday in the experimental labs section on Google’s web site. The service is supposed to make it easier for readers to follow evolving news stories. It will package stories from both the Times and the Post so the coverage can be more easily updated to include new developments. Some of the initial topics featured on the service Tuesday included health care reform, executive pay and the Washington Redskins football team. “Google isn’t paying the newspapers to feature the content, and there aren’t any immediate plans to sell advertising alongside the material,” said Josh Cohen, a Google product manager overseeing the project. Still, Google thinks Living Stories can help newspapers adapt to a shift that is causing millions of people to get their news from online sources instead of print. That’s a huge problem for newspapers because they make most of their money from ads appearing in print. As print advertising has been crumbling, some newspaper publishers have lashed out against Google, which is based in Mountain View. They depict Google as a leech that has profited by showing snippets of their online stories and photographs. Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., has been among the most outspoken critics. He has even threatened to block Google from listing News Corp.’s publications, including The Wall Street Journal, in its search index. The New York Times, though, regards Google as an ally, according to Martin Nisenholtz, who oversees the newspaper’s online operations. “We have a very successful, significant relationship with Google,” Nisenholtz told investors and analysts on Tuesday at a media conference in New York. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am Develop large SEZs to make India major consumer durables market: Ficci, PwC New Delhi: India can emerge as a more attractive market for consumer durables than China if the government provides tax benefits and develop large multi- product special economic zones, says a study. The study by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (Ficci) and financial consultancy company Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) suggested tax rebates for high-end technology companies that set up research and development (R&D) centres in India. Tax incentives could include exemption of customs duty on any import, exemption of excise duty and VAT on inputs required for setting up R&D centres, the study said. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has entrusted PwC and Ficci to conduct the study. “During the last decade, China has been successful in developing large home-grown companies and has grown into a large manufacturing hub for consumer durables,” NMCC chairman V. Krishnamurthy said. “Consumer durables manufacturing in India is constrained by absence of well-developed supplier base,” he said adding: “We have to incentivise domestic value addition and focus on developing vendor base and raw material supply.” The study said that the government should reduce overall tax levels and simplify tax structure. It also said that large SEZs similar to China’s with good infrastructure should be encouraged by the government. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:37 am Reliance says no plans to buy LyondellBasell debtMUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries said on Wednesday it had no plans to buy any debt of LyondellBasell Industries.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:36 am Godrej Properties IPO looks expensive: Sanju Verma - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:20 am Govt revs up plans to expand road networkMumbai: Manufacturers who set up shop in India in the 1990s often joke they didn’t just have to build factories back then, but also roads because it was faster than waiting for the state to build them. Today, India has the world’s second largest road network at 3.4 million kilometres. And the national highway network, which doubled in size between 1997 and 2007, stands at an impressive 70,000 kms. Some say it isn’t enough: transporters complain the quality of roads isn’t up to scratch; most highways still have just two lanes and many roads are just paved and not made of concrete. “We have the best trucks, the most advanced technologies, but what is the use when our roads are so bad?” said Ashwin Agarwal, a transporter with a fleet of more than 80 trucks that criss-cross the country. “I can never accurately say when the trucks will reach. Invariably, there are delays because our roads are so bad. We need better roads, better infrastructure, it’s the need of the hour.” Agarwal’s trucks, packed with auto parts, cover about 350 kms a day, or roughly half the distance trucks can normally do on good roads. But he says his expenses are much higher because of greater wear and tear on those roads. After years of neglect, the Congress-led government voted back to power in May is pushing to build 20 kms of roads each day as part of its plans to improve infrastructure in Asia’s third-largest economy. Analysts estimate poor infrastructure shaves an estimated 1 or 2 percentage points off India’s annual economic growth, which slowed to 6.7% in 2008/09 after three years of 9% or more growth. India needs to spend $500 billion in the five years to 2012 to overhaul its congested ports and airports, fix its potholed roads and generate more power, the government has said. Power and roads are expected to lead infrastructure growth, but road construction has been hamstrung by bureaucratic red tape, funding difficulties and land acquisition hassles, which have put off investors and slowed movement of goods and people in a country where roads carry 70% of freight and passengers. “Nobody doubts the size of the road development opportunity, but there are challenges at every stage,” said analyst Nitin Bhasin at Noble Group, which rates state highways and roads a better investor bet because of better planning and execution. “Building 20 kms a day is highly ambitious, given the lack of an enabling ecosystem, and especially when considering even China fell short of that with decades of building experience.” The World Bank says infrastructure limitations are India’s most serious constraint to growth, and the most serious limitation to rapid poverty reduction. About a decade ago, about 40% of India’s 825,000 villages lacked all-weather roads. Under a $34-billion programme partly funded by the World Bank, some 375,000 km of new rural roads will be built until 2010 and nearly the same length improved. The results are showing already, said Ashok Kumar, senior highways engineer of the World Bank in India: household incomes have jumped by half or even doubled, crop yields have nearly tripled and literacy rates have improved. For every Rs1 million ($22,000) spent on rural roads, 163 people are lifted out of poverty, the World Bank estimates. “Rural roads are a primary requirement for overall growth and development. We cannot afford to neglect them,” Kumar said. But the roads sector is plagued by poor planning and execution, corruption, and huge time and cost overruns: the outer limit of time extension for contracts in the UK is 25% while in India it is about 70%, the World Bank estimates. About 40% of road contracts have cost overruns of 25-50%, and about 90 billion rupees are locked up in disputes and arbitration. There is also a shortage of labour: India has 110,000 highway engineers compared to more than 500,000 in China in 1989-97. Land acquisition is a big challenge, with most tracts of land in India lacking clear title deeds, and growing opposition from farmers against use of land for industrial purposes. The other major issue is funding; India needs $70 billion for building roads over the next three years, the government says. About half of that is expected to come from foreign investors. After a series of roadshows abroad, the National Highways Authority aims to get in bids for 6,563 kms of road projects worth $12 billion in the year to March. An improving economy and revived interest from foreign and local investors augur well, and developers will gain in experience and confidence as they build more roads, said Tushar Poddar, economist at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, Macquarie, and private equity giants Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and 3i are among the global firms with investments in Indian infrastructure. Transport minister Kamal Nath has announced a slew of measures including reviewing the process of offering and bidding, changes to the concession and land acquisition agreements, faster approvals and more public-private partnerships. These have gone down well with Ajit Gulabchand, chief executive of Hindustan Construction Co, which has built more than 2,300 kms of highways and 300 bridges, including a cable-stayed bridge in the sea off Mumbai, inaugurated earlier this year nearly 10 years after it was first conceived. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:20 am Sensex slips after briefly breaching greenA key index of Indian equities slipped back into the negative zone around noon Wednesday after breaching green briefly even as smaller company scrips saw buying interest.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 9 Dec 2009 | 1:04 am Suzuki sells stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 bnTokyo: Japan’s Suzuki Motor on Wednesday said that it will sell a 19.9% stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 billion and use half the proceeds to buy shares in the German automaker, as the two firms form a formidable force in the auto industry. Shares in Suzuki bucked a sharp fall in other Japanese auto stocks to end up 3.5% at ¥2,370 on Wednesday in Tokyo, a day after sources informed of Volkswagen’s impending stake purchase. “Two of the world’s leading carmakers are joining forces and preparing to meet the growing challenges that lie ahead,” Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement. “Together we can maximise our opportunities for growth,” Winterkorn said. Winterkorn and Suzuki chief executive Osamu Suzuki will hold a news conference at 1.30pm in Tokyo. Suzuki will allocate 19.9% of itself to Volkswagen from its treasury stock. Executives at Volkswagen, the world’s third-largest automaker, have publicly said over the past half year that Suzuki would be an interesting target given its expertise in small cars—a key segment to compete in emerging markets. “Financially speaking, it’s helpful for Suzuki to have a partner to invest in future technologies,” said Chizuko Satsukawa, an autos analyst at Standard & Poor’s. News of the Volkswagen-Suzuki alliance comes days after PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corp said that they were exploring deepening their ties, which have been limited to a project-based partnership so far. Reports that the French carmaker could take a controlling stake in ailing Mitsubishi Motors have triggered the inevitable question of ‘who’s next’, as the industry faces fragile demand, chronic overcapacity and mounting pressure to join hands to tackle stricter environmental regulations. Suzuki lost its equity ties to General Motors Co. a year ago, having bought back the US automaker’s 20% stake in it, now worth about ¥257 billion ($2.9 billion). Volkswagen, with its 10 brands including Audi, Skoda, Seat and now Porsche, has said that it wanted to become the world’s no.1 automaker by 2018—a goal it would reach with relative ease if Suzuki became a subsidiary. In the first six months of 2009, Volkswagen sold 3.265 million vehicles and Suzuki sold 1.15 million. Their combined sales of 4.415 million units would be larger than top-ranked Toyota’s 3.564 million. In contrast to a potential pair-up between PSA and Mitsubishi Motors, which many regard as a union of the weak, Volkswagen and Suzuki are both regarded as being amongst the strongest automakers thanks to their big exposure to the fast-growing markets of China and India, respectively. The other Franco-Japanese alliance, between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co, is stepping up its push to achieve bigger synergies after 10 years of partnership, considered one of the few success stories in the industry. “This (Volkswagen-Suzuki negotiations) comes right after the Mitsubishi Motors deal and shows that foreign carmakers are coming to take stakes in Japanese firms, raising expectations of a reorganisation in the autos sector,” said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities. The bankruptcy of Chrysler this year was twinned with a link-up with Italy’s Fiat SpA, while Chinese automakers are looking to buy into brands on sale from General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. Still, Suzuki’s agreeing to join hands with Volkswagen comes as a surprise after its chief executive officer had categorically denied any talks as recently as November. Analysts said that the move could benefit Suzuki by giving it cash and a partner to develop clean-car technology, where it lags, while giving Volkswagen a minicar platform, as well as a foothold in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia. “It is probably a good move for both parties,” said Koji Endo, an autos analyst at Advanced Research Japan. Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp has also come under some scrutiny given its diminished equity ties with Ford, whose stake has dropped to 11% from one-third. But Mazda is fresh from raising about $1 billion in a share sale to fund the development of hybrid and other technologies, indicating that it could maintain the status quo. Analysts are particularly upbeat about a new generation of fuel-efficient engines and transmission to be rolled out from 2011 as a cost-effective technology that could contribute immediately to Mazda’s bottom line. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:59 am Suzuki sells stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 bnTokyo: Japan’s Suzuki Motor on Wednesday said that it will sell a 19.9% stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 billion and use half the proceeds to buy shares in the German automaker, as the two firms form a formidable force in the auto industry. Shares in Suzuki bucked a sharp fall in other Japanese auto stocks to end up 3.5% at ¥2,370 on Wednesday in Tokyo, a day after sources informed of Volkswagen’s impending stake purchase. “Two of the world’s leading carmakers are joining forces and preparing to meet the growing challenges that lie ahead,” Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement. “Together we can maximise our opportunities for growth,” Winterkorn said. Winterkorn and Suzuki chief executive Osamu Suzuki will hold a news conference at 1.30pm in Tokyo. Suzuki will allocate 19.9% of itself to Volkswagen from its treasury stock. Executives at Volkswagen, the world’s third-largest automaker, have publicly said over the past half year that Suzuki would be an interesting target given its expertise in small cars—a key segment to compete in emerging markets. “Financially speaking, it’s helpful for Suzuki to have a partner to invest in future technologies,” said Chizuko Satsukawa, an autos analyst at Standard & Poor’s. News of the Volkswagen-Suzuki alliance comes days after PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corp said that they were exploring deepening their ties, which have been limited to a project-based partnership so far. Reports that the French carmaker could take a controlling stake in ailing Mitsubishi Motors have triggered the inevitable question of ‘who’s next’, as the industry faces fragile demand, chronic overcapacity and mounting pressure to join hands to tackle stricter environmental regulations. Suzuki lost its equity ties to General Motors Co. a year ago, having bought back the US automaker’s 20% stake in it, now worth about ¥257 billion ($2.9 billion). Volkswagen, with its 10 brands including Audi, Skoda, Seat and now Porsche, has said that it wanted to become the world’s no.1 automaker by 2018—a goal it would reach with relative ease if Suzuki became a subsidiary. In the first six months of 2009, Volkswagen sold 3.265 million vehicles and Suzuki sold 1.15 million. Their combined sales of 4.415 million units would be larger than top-ranked Toyota’s 3.564 million. In contrast to a potential pair-up between PSA and Mitsubishi Motors, which many regard as a union of the weak, Volkswagen and Suzuki are both regarded as being amongst the strongest automakers thanks to their big exposure to the fast-growing markets of China and India, respectively. The other Franco-Japanese alliance, between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co, is stepping up its push to achieve bigger synergies after 10 years of partnership, considered one of the few success stories in the industry. “This (Volkswagen-Suzuki negotiations) comes right after the Mitsubishi Motors deal and shows that foreign carmakers are coming to take stakes in Japanese firms, raising expectations of a reorganisation in the autos sector,” said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities. The bankruptcy of Chrysler this year was twinned with a link-up with Italy’s Fiat SpA, while Chinese automakers are looking to buy into brands on sale from General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. Still, Suzuki’s agreeing to join hands with Volkswagen comes as a surprise after its chief executive officer had categorically denied any talks as recently as November. Analysts said that the move could benefit Suzuki by giving it cash and a partner to develop clean-car technology, where it lags, while giving Volkswagen a minicar platform, as well as a foothold in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia. “It is probably a good move for both parties,” said Koji Endo, an autos analyst at Advanced Research Japan. Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp has also come under some scrutiny given its diminished equity ties with Ford, whose stake has dropped to 11% from one-third. But Mazda is fresh from raising about $1 billion in a share sale to fund the development of hybrid and other technologies, indicating that it could maintain the status quo. Analysts are particularly upbeat about a new generation of fuel-efficient engines and transmission to be rolled out from 2011 as a cost-effective technology that could contribute immediately to Mazda’s bottom line. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:59 am New Pulsar 135LS launched! - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:54 am Japan stocks lead Asia lower on recovery concernsHong Kong: Japan led a slide in Asian stock markets on Wednesday as worries about the strength of a global recovery prompted investors to trim some bets ahead of the year end, while the euro picked up from a one-month low on bargain hunting. Major European stocks were expected to open roughly steady, according to financial bookmakers, after a 1.6 percent decline in the FTSEurofirst 300 index on Tuesday after Greece’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded. Focus among investors was shifting from disappointing US results and debt rating concerns to November US retail sales and a deluge of Chinese economic data due on Friday to gauge how strong the global recovery really is. Though a large downward revision to Japanese economic growth in the third quarter was not expected to herald another recession, it was a sobering reminder of how weak demand and deflation are hounding Asia’s largest economy. “Japan’s GDP data came in below expectations, and this does give the impression that things aren’t looking too good for the economy just down the road,” Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities in Tokyo. Japan’s Nikkei share average finished 1.3% lower, down a second day after a blistering rally in the first week of December lifted the index to its highest in about five weeks. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan slipped 0.6%, with the materials sector the biggest drag. The Thomson Reuters index of Asia ex-Japan equities was also down 0.6%. Stock markets in both South Korea and Taiwan bucked a declining trend and rose 0.4%. Exporters in both economies have been adding to market share and have seen exports grow on an annual basis in November for the first time in more than a year. The euro traded in a narrow range after a three-day decline against the US dollar. It was steady at $1.4703. Greece’s rating downgrade gave dealers enough of a reason to push the euro to a one-month low below $1.4680, but dealers in the Asian session were quick to support it. Since hitting a 15-month low on 26 November, the ICE Futures US dollar index, a measure of its value against six other major currencies, has risen 3%. The index was steady on the day at 76.235. Government bonds in the region rose as money flowed from falling equity markets and investors chose safety after Moody’s cut ratings on six government-run companies in Dubai. “The news increased nervousness surrounding Dubai, with its credit default swaps widening, but we continue to believe that any major problems there will be of local or regional nature and will not shake global markets,” Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist with SJS Markets in Hong Kong, said in a note. Ten-year Japanese government bond futures rose 0.3 point to 140.36, withing striking distance of a 20-month high reached on 1 December. US crude futures rose 73 cents to $73.15 a barrel after industry data showed a surprise drawdown in US inventories, after a five-session streak of losses chopped $6 off oil prices. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:40 am India revs up plans to expand road networkMUMBAI (Reuters) - Manufacturers who set up shop in India in the 1990s often joke they didn't just have to build factories back then, but also roads because it was faster than waiting for the state to build them.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:04 am FICCI bats for foreign firms operating in IndiaThe Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) wants transactions in respect of Indian assets of foreign companies to be excluded from the capital gains taxSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Mahindra Systech to consolidate auto parts businessMahindra Systech, the auto components arm of the Mahindra group, plans to consolidate its business by bringing it under oneSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Govt's new spending plan stimulates marketThe equity markets rose sharply in mid-session on Tuesday after the Government said it planned an additional Rs 25,725 crore in public expenditure during the current fiscalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideInitiate fresh short-position only if DLF slips below Rs 372, with tight stop-loss. Fresh long position can be initiated if ICICI Bank exceeds Rs 885 and Infosys surpasses Rs 2458 with stiff stop-loss. We reiterate our buy recommendation inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am MFs online trading takes place only on fund transferRetail investors without online banking facility are finding it difficult to transact in mutual fund units on the trading platforms recently launched by NSE andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am RBI may bring back Market Stabilisation SchemeThe Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) is likely to make a comeback as the Reserve Bank of India moves to remove excess liquidity from the bankingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Venus Remedies (Rs 242.6): BuyWe recommend a buy in Venus Remedies stock from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts that in early August it encountered resistance around Rs 300 and began to decline. This medium-term downtrend continued till the stock foundSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am 6-year-high car numbers raise Nov vehicle sales 46%Climbing a steep incline from the extremely low base of last year, the sales growth in the commercial vehicle and the passenger car segments in November have been among the strongest in recentSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Viva la inequalities and ‘asset bubbles'Believers in free markets set much store by it. For them, every policy and change must pass the ParetoSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Doubts over launch of system to trace origins of organic foodsThe Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is preparing to roll out Tracenet, a ready-reckoner through the click of a mouse to establish the traceability, for organic foods being exported from the country.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 9 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am StanChart shrugs off Dubai, set for record profit London: Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered said any losses it suffers in Dubai were unlikely to be material and it was on track for a record profit this year. The London-based bank said on Wednesday that in the 11 months to the end of November it had delivered a strong performance with record levels of income and operating profit before tax. Income growth has been driven by a ‘very strong’ performance in wholesale banking, offsetting lower income in consumer banking. It expected 2009 income growth to exceed cost growth. “Our markets are returning to growth as economic conditions improve, although it is still too early to forecast a sustained recovery and we therefore retain a degree of caution as to the macroeconomic outlook,” chief executive Peter Sands said in a statement. Standard Chartered’s shares have fallen 12% since 25 November when Dubai announced it would ask creditors for a debt standstill for two of its flagship firms, which raised concerns about the bank’s exposure to Dubai and the Middle East. With regard to recent developments in the United Arab Emirates, the situation remains in its early stages and is fluid. However, given the profile of our exposures in Dubai, we do not believe any impairment would be material, the bank said. There is little clarity on where exposures to Dubai World lie and how wide the issue will spread. British banks have loans totaling $50 billion into the UAE, out of total loans of $123 billion by international banks, according to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Standard Chartered has weathered the financial crisis better than most rivals, thanks to relatively healthy capital and liquidity and its exposure to faster growing and less troubled Asian economies. It made a first-half pretax profit of $2.8 billion, up from $2.6 billion a year earlier, fuelled by its wholesale arm where first half-profit jumped 36%. Net interest margins had fallen ‘fractionally’ since June, it said, while a one-off tax charge of up to $200 million announced in October was now expected to be slightly lower. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:49 pm StanChart shrugs off Dubai, set for record profit London: Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered said any losses it suffers in Dubai were unlikely to be material and it was on track for a record profit this year. The London-based bank said on Wednesday that in the 11 months to the end of November it had delivered a strong performance with record levels of income and operating profit before tax. Income growth has been driven by a ‘very strong’ performance in wholesale banking, offsetting lower income in consumer banking. It expected 2009 income growth to exceed cost growth. “Our markets are returning to growth as economic conditions improve, although it is still too early to forecast a sustained recovery and we therefore retain a degree of caution as to the macroeconomic outlook,” chief executive Peter Sands said in a statement. Standard Chartered’s shares have fallen 12% since 25 November when Dubai announced it would ask creditors for a debt standstill for two of its flagship firms, which raised concerns about the bank’s exposure to Dubai and the Middle East. With regard to recent developments in the United Arab Emirates, the situation remains in its early stages and is fluid. However, given the profile of our exposures in Dubai, we do not believe any impairment would be material, the bank said. There is little clarity on where exposures to Dubai World lie and how wide the issue will spread. British banks have loans totaling $50 billion into the UAE, out of total loans of $123 billion by international banks, according to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Standard Chartered has weathered the financial crisis better than most rivals, thanks to relatively healthy capital and liquidity and its exposure to faster growing and less troubled Asian economies. It made a first-half pretax profit of $2.8 billion, up from $2.6 billion a year earlier, fuelled by its wholesale arm where first half-profit jumped 36%. Net interest margins had fallen ‘fractionally’ since June, it said, while a one-off tax charge of up to $200 million announced in October was now expected to be slightly lower. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:49 pm NDTV sells stake in NDTV Imagine - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:45 pm Telecom tower cos aim higher, merge to reach outMumbai: India’s telecom tower industry is set for a wave of consolidation with small and medium sized firms opting for mergers or alliances to take on larger rivals and hasten rollouts in the face of rising demand. India’s position as the fastest growing wireless market in the world has attracted several global players such as UK’s Vodafone Plc, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and UAE’s Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat). “Under the current circumstances, when competition is so severe at operators’ end, the tower companies have to become much more efficient,” said Ravi Sharma, executive chairman of industry body CMAI Association of India. “They will only survive, provided they have more than three tenants per tower,” he said. “Now to get to that, there will be consolidation amongst companies.” Earlier this month, two sources had told Reuters that GTL Infrastructure Ltd was leading the race to buy the tower holdings of Aircel, the Indian unit of Malaysia’s Maxis, in a deal valued at $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion. Private equity firm New Silk Route, which owns a stake in tower leasing firm Aster Infrastructure, is reportedly in talks with Essar Telecom Infrastructure to buy a stake in the latter. The consolidation spree was kicked off in 2007 when India’s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular decided to pool their resources and hived off their towers into an independent firm, Indus Towers. In January, Tata Teleservices agreed to sell a 49% stake in its telecoms tower arm to Quippo Telecom Infrastructure. Quippo, in which India’s SREI Infrastructure and Government of Singapore Investment Corp own stakes, paid Rs24 billion and transferred 5,000 towers to the merged entity. In March, Boston-based American Tower Corp agreed to acquire unlisted Indian telecom tower firm Xcel Telecom. “Sharing is profitable for everyone,” said J Gopal, executive director (Mumbai circle) of state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. “Consolidation will definitely help in reducing costs and increasing penetration.” Rising demand India added a record 16.7 million mobile users in October, upsetting the trend of 10 to 12 million average monthly additions seen till then. The newer users are coming in from smaller cities, or what are termed ‘B´ and ‘C´ circles, industry players said. “Companies are also looking at entering into B and C centres, as metros are getting more and more saturated,” said Manish Dixit, Frost & Sullivan’s analyst, Information & Communication Technology Practice, South Asia and Middle East. “However, putting up towers in these circles is costly as many issues like lack of continuous power supply hamper operations,” Dixit said. “In order to sustain and survive, they need to form a cartel or enter into strategic alliances for their rural foray.” In two years, India’s tower slot demand may rise to over 700,000 from 320,000 now, as demand from existing and new 2G operators rises and operators begin rolling out 3G and WiMax services, Inder Bajaj, Reliance Infratel’s president said on a call recently. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:24 pm BSE Sensex down; metals shares lose groundMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex was down slightly in morning trade, with metals companies among the losers as global equity markets weakened after heightened risk aversion saw investors shift funds to safe-haven assets and markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:20 pm Markets trade in red; metals shares lose groundMumbai: Indian shares were down slightly in morning trade, with metals companies among the losers as global equity markets weakened after heightened risk aversion saw investors shift funds to safe-haven assets and markets. Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel were down 2.1% and 1.9% respectively, and Hindalco shed 1.1%. “The dollar has changed its direction, hurting base metal prices and in turn metal stocks,” said R. Ganesh, director of Systematix Shares. Shanghai copper fell to one-week lows and London futures dropped for a fifth day running as investors trimmed positions in riskier assets and pushed the dollar higher on rising sovereign debt troubles. At 11:56am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading down 0.17% at 17185.66, with 14 of its components declining. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.3% at 5133.50. Pointing to Fitch’s downgrade of Greece and downwardly revised third-quarter GDP data in Japan, Ganesh said the news flow had been bad around the globe, hurting sentiment. “But there is a feeling that investors may prefer India as an investment destination as things have turned bad at other geographies like Dubai,” he said, citing Tuesday afternoon’s buying of frontline stocks by funds. “After all, the money has to go somewhere. The long-term story of India is intact,” Ganesh said. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki erased steep opening losses and climbed 0.8%. Sources told Reuters Volkswagen AG plans to take a stake of up to 20% in its Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Corp. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.5:1 in a volume of 142 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:13 pm 300,000 tonnes of bauxite deposits found in ChhattisgarhA new reserve of about 300,000 tonnes of bauxite ore has been found in Chhattisgarh's Maoist stronghold of Bastar, mining officials said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:04 pm Sensex moves down 0.4 percent in morning tradeA key Indian equities index slipped 0.4 percent in early trade Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:02 pm Hearing on Reliance gas dispute cancelled for WednesdayThe hearing on the high-profile Krishna-Godavari gas dispute between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) was cancelled Wednesday, as Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan was indisposed.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:02 pm India revs up plans to expand road networkToday, India has the world's second largest road network at 3.4 million km (2.1 million miles).Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:46 pm Rupee falls by 19 paise to two-week lowThe Indian rupee today depreciated by 19 paise against the US currency to fall to a two-week low in early trade.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:36 pm Suzlon to supply wind turbines to RSMML Mumbai: Wind power turbine maker Suzlon Energy on Wednesday said that it has bagged an order from Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd (RSMML) for suppling 15 units of wind turbines to be installed at the Tejuva site in Jaisalmer, for an undisclosed amount. The company would supply 15 units of S88-2.1 MW wind turbines, which would generate 31.5 MW of energy, Suzlon said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This is the seventh order secured by the company from RSMML. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Suzlon. Their turbines are reliable and they provide satisfactory service,” RSMML managing director Sanjay Malhotra said. RSMML is a public-owned company involved in production and marketing of non-metallic minerals. The company entered the renewable energy sector to achieve 100 MW of wind power capacity by 2010. Shares of Suzlon Energy were trading at Rs86.05 on the BSE, up 1.24% from its previous close. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:30 pm Watch/Listen: Mint in Multimedia 9 DecemberPodcast: Getting the crowd to participate Listen to brand consultant, Anand Halve, talk about crowd sourcing: how it can best be done, what its limitations are and who’s getting it right. Podcast: Small czars Listen to Kumar Kandaswami, senior director at consulting firm Deloitte talk about India’s car market Video: The Mint report for 8 December 2009 RBS finds a buyer for some of its Indian businesses; India’s job market brightens up Video: India breaks into elite science club The US, the UK, China, Canada and South Korea are the five other countries to map the genetic code Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:17 pm Sensex declines by 117 pts in early tradeThe Sensex fell by nearly 117 points in early trade on fresh selling by retail investors and foreign funds triggered by weak global cues.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:10 pm Cisco targets 12-17% growth on firmer economy, merger and acquisitionCisco has fallen short of such growth rates in the past year as customers cut back on technology spending, but conditions had improved in recent quarters.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:08 pm The tech behind electronica, sliding levels & a return to more tweepleOn this weeks playcast, we find out a little bit more about the technology it takes to create those blips and beats that have everyone dancing up a storm in Indian night clubs. Gaurav Malikar from the Electronica band Basic Love of Things (B.L.O.T) talks to Krish Raghav about the different kinds of editing suites and softwares used by artists to create Electronica music, and why the Internet is the preferred medium for its distribution. We also explore a new “platform game” (a simple game where you run, jump and collect keys to enter doors) with a twist. Continuity – accessible on Continuitygame.com comprises 30 levels, which are also broken into rearrangable tiles which can be moved around. And finally Sidin Vadukut returns with (what he insists to be) the most incisively researched and thought provoking segment of the Playcast: “beautiful tweeple” – where he recommends three twitter accounts that are fun to follow. This week he features two non human accounts and one human account that are both fun and useful. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:37 pm In Bhutan, a stock trade a day keeps stress awayTHIMPHU (Reuters Life!) - Traders seeking a break from volatile global markets may want to head to Bhutan's bourse, where stocks are traded on just four computers -- when they have not crashed -- only twice a week.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:11 pm Oil recovers to above $73 on surprise inventory dropSingapore: Oil moved up above $73 a barrel on Wednesday, after falling more than $1 the previous day, supported by industry data showing an unexpectedly large drop in US crude stocks, but gains were curbed by the steady dollar. Crude inventories in the world’s largest oil consumer fell 5.8 million barrels last week, bucking expectations for an increase, as refiners boosted fuel production, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. US crude for January delivery rose 50 cents to $73.12 a barrel by 8:28am, after falling by $1.31 on Tuesday. NYMEX crude hit its lowest level since late November at $72.43 in the previous session, and has lost 7.3% since prices last rose on 1 December. London Brent crude edged up 26 cents to $75.45. The last five days’ losses are the biggest since prices fell 7.9% on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, partly driven down by the recovery in the dollar. “The draw in crude stocks is huge, even though oil imports have been rising,” said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Astmax Co Ltd. “Refining rates were up 1.3%age points and we could be seeing the first signs of a recovery in fuel demand in the United States,” he said, adding that some support may come from the products side as refinery margins may be improving as crude prices weaken. API data also showed gasoline inventories fell 753,000 barrels, while distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, rose 1 million barrels. However, crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for crude traded on NYMEX, rose 1.5 million barrels, rising steadily for several weeks and helping to push down the price of front-month crude futures and creating the deepest front-month contango discounts since August. Despite hopes of emerging recovery in oil consumption, crude continued to be under strain as the EIA revised downwards its forecast for 2010 global demand growth. Further pointers on US stockpiles will come from the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) data due later on Wednesday, with an expanded Reuters poll calling for a 600,000-barrel rise in crude stocks. Distillates stockpiles are expected to have fallen by 600,000 barrels, with demand up for heating oil due to colder weather in the US Northeast, a major market for winter heating oil, while gasoline was expected to have risen by 1.5 million barrels. Oil has surged to a high for the year of $82 a barrel in October, from below $33 last December, and Wednesday’s price rebound was limited by the recovering U.S. currency. The dollar index hit a one-month high of 76.331 in early Asian trade before easing back by 0.2%, and the euro fell to a one-month low versus the greenback, as investors sold positions in riskier assets ahead of the year-end, partly due to rising debt problems for Greece and Dubai. The firm UScurrency makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other units, and also pressured gold, which made some gains on Wednesday but hovered near three-week lows, while Asian equities fell on fears over the spluttering economic recovery. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 8:49 pm Wall Street ends down on recovery jittersNew York: US stocks fell on Tuesday after disappointing corporate news from 3M Co and McDonald’s, while negative developments in global credit markets caused a shift to safe-haven assets. Equities faced pressure from a stronger US dollar after Dubai’s unresolved debt problems and Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Greece’s bond rating dented risk appetite. US corporate news raised some doubts about consumer spending, a key requirement for the recovery to take hold. Diversified manufacturer 3M fell 1% to $77.11 after a weaker-than-expected outlook, while McDonald’s closed down 2.1% at $60.61 after reporting disappointing sales for a second straight month. “We are seeing signs that indicate the global economy is not recovering as fast as expected, and at times of uncertainty, people run to the safe dollar,” said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.14 points, or 1.00%, at 10,285.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed down 11.31 points, or 1.03%, at 1,091.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 16.62 points, or 0.76%, at 2,172.99. After the closing bell, Texas Instruments Inc raised its fourth-quarter earnings target and said revenue would be at the high end of its forecast range, but shares of the chipmaker fell 2.4% to $25.71 as some investors had even higher expectations. In another sign on Tuesday of weak consumer spending, Kroger Co shares dipped 11.9% to $20.13 after the supermarket operator reported quarterly results far below expectations and cut its full-year forecast. The S&P Consumer Staples index slipped 1.2%. The greenback gained 0.5% against a basket of six other major currencies, pressuring risk-associated assets such as US crude oil, which dipped 1.4% to $72.96 a barrel. Energy shares were among the top drags. Exxon Mobil was down 1.1% at $72.95 and Chevron fell 1.8% to $76.76. The S&P energy index shed 1.7%. Another source of nervousness about the global recovery was an unexpected decline in German industrial output. The disappointing earnings news overshadowed optimism late Monday from FedEx Corp, which gained 2.7% to $89.88 after forecasting second-quarter earnings would easily beat analysts’ estimates. Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.18 billion shares changing hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on the Nasdaq, about 1.97 billion shares traded, also below last year’s daily average of 2.28 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 8:24 pm Bank of England to sit tight over monetary policy analystsThe Bank of England is expected to keep British interest rates at a record low level and maintain its credit-easing plans on Thursday after holding its last monetary policy meeting of 2009, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 7:12 pm Car sales surge to 6-year highThe positive economic environment saw car sales register their highest growth rate in nearly six years in November as sales were up a massive 61%, though a lower base also contributed to the numbers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 5:26 pm Only 25% 3G money likely this yearGovernment is targeting Rs30,000-35,000 crore from the auction. The Union Budget presented earlier this year had kept a provision of raising Rs25,000 crore from 3G auction this fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 3:37 pm Life insurers bet on renewal premiums for 15% growthPlayers rejig portfolios to include protection and capital guarantee products.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 3:35 pm Mahindra Satyam to induct 200 every month from virtual poolMahindra Satyam currently has about 35,000 employees, and the firm looks to complete the restatement of its accounts before the deadline of June 30, 2010.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 3:30 pm The IT phoenix is a shadow of its pastRecovery will not be enough to take IT sector to its glory years, Som Mittal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 Dec 2009 | 3:08 pm India signs oil deal with Russian firmONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) signed an agreement with Systema, the Russian telecom-finance-oil-gas behemoth, to jointly bid for oil and gas assets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, reports Arnab Mitra.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 1:11 pm Now, ICICI takes on SBI, HDFCWhile ICICI Bank is offering home loans for 8.25% per annum, Kotak Mahindra Bank is giving a special category loan to salaried customers at as low as 7.99% and at 8.49% to others.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:47 pm India blames US for delay in Doha dealIndia has blamed the Obama administration for delaying the conclusion of the Doha round by failing to appoint its negotiators at the WTO and described it as an indication of Washington's non-serious attitude towards completing the trade talks.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm LIC launches Jeevan Aastha planMumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched its close-ended single premium product, Jeevan Aastha, which offers guaranteed benefits to customers. “The plan has a maximum shelf life of 45 days and offers five and ten year maturities to customers,” LIC Chairman T.S. Vijayan said. Also Read Jeevan Aastha : What a bad idea, sirji “The scheme has fixed the minimum age at entry as 13 years which would enable parents to make provisions for higher education of their children,” Vijayan said. Similarly, the maximum age at entry has been fixed as 60 years. The plan offers guaranteed addition of Rs100 for every thousand of maturity sum assured for 10 years term and Rs90 per annum for policies with five year term. “The policy holder can also avail the benefits of tax exemption and has the options of surrendering the policy or to raise loan under the policy,” the Chairman said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm NDTV offloads 76% in Imagine to Turner AsiaConcluding its four-stage restructuring, New Delhi Television (NDTV) on Tuesday inked a deal with Turner Asia Pacific for selling its 76% holding in NDTV Imagine for $67 million (Rs 315 crore).Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:41 pm Kaushik Basu named chief economic advisorKaushik Basu was appointed chief economic advisor in the finance ministry on Tuesday in place of Arvind Virmani who has joined the International Monetary Fund as an executive director.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:40 pm Ranbaxy exits JV with NipponWith prices of branded drugs becoming a concern, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Nippon Chemiphar have agreed to dissolve their joint venture in Japan.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:38 pm HCLT bags deal from UK coHCL Technologies on Tuesday announced a five-year multi-million pound deal with UK-based News International, publishers of newspapers like The Times, Sun and The Sunday Times in the UK.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:32 pm Industry seeks more tax sops in next BudgetThe finance ministry on Tuesday held its first pre-Budget meeting for 2010-11 Budget when revenue secretary P V Bhide met an industry delegation from Ficci at North Block.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:22 pm VW, Ford, GM, Nissan to join small-car raceMumbai: India’s top three auto makers will need to start looking into their rear-view mirrors for the first time since establishing a dominant position in the small and compact car segment, which forms about 70% of the country’s market. At least four new models will start rolling out in a few months from the factories of Ford India Pvt. Ltd, Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd and General Motors India Pvt. Ltd (GM), joining a race in which Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd are clear leaders.  Fresh competition: A file photo of a Hyundai car assembly line unit in Chennai. Hyundai’s senior vice-president Arvind Saxena says sales in the smaller towns and cities are growing 20% every year, against the top 10 cities that are seeing single-digit growth, albeit on a higher base. Babu Ponnapan / Mint Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee estimates growth this year at 7%-plus, indicating a recovery from the slowdown caused by the financial crisis, after the fastest economic expansion in 15 months in the July-September quarter. India’s auto industry was in any case among the first sectors to recover from the slump. Auto sales have surged 18% to 7.8 million in the eight months from April to November. Passenger vehicles sales have gone up 21% to 1.2 million. Listen to Kumar Kandaswami, senior director at consulting firm Deloitte talk about India’s car market Download here... Kapil Arora, partner at consulting firm Ernst and Young, says a 5-10% market share target in the initial years of the launch, would be ambitious. “Factors like a strong brand reputation, wide reach and pricing advantage will give the existing players like Maruti and Hyundai, an advantage over the new ones,” he said. The new entrants will add capacity of half-a-million cars in the next two to three years, saddling the industry with excess capacity by 2012-13, according to Dilip Chenoy, director general at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, a lobby group. While the models will also be exported to other emerging markets, they will come on top of the 1.5 million cars sold locally in the year to 31 March. The slack will be picked up by 2014-15, Chenoy said. “While the big three (Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors) will lose market share, the overall market will grow.” The push into the new segment is partly thanks to government policy, which favours smaller vehicles. Cars with a length of 4m and an engine capacity of 1.2 litres for petrol and 1.5 litres for diesel are defined as compact or small cars, attracting a lower excise duty of 16% against 24% on those exceeding the limits. The new models, expected to be priced at Rs3.5 lakh- Rs4.5 lakh, will be competing with Maruti’s Swift and Ritz and Hyundai’s i10 and i20, among others. The premium compact car segment, which these cars will partly straddle, grew 48% to 182,000 units in the 10 months to October from the year earlier period. Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors have developed competitively priced products with high local content and a nationwide distribution and after-sales network. “Certainly, the new launches will eat into the dominant share of the market leaders,” said Kumar Kandaswamy, senior director at global consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. “When Hyundai launched, Maruti did lose market share.” The prospect of fresh competition doesn’t seem to be unsettling the big car makers. “New entrants do not have to necessarily grow at the cost of existing players. The pie can grow bigger,” said Shashank Srivsatav, chief general manager, sales and marketing at Maruti, the country’s largest car maker. While the company’s market share has grown marginally to 55% from 54.5% in 2002, manufacturers have doubled to 16 from eight and brands have quadrupled to 65 from 16 in the same period, he said. Hyundai also has no qualms about more rivals, although it does plan to introduce a car cheaper than its current entry level model, the Santro, priced at Rs3.14 lakh on road in Mumbai. “There is enough room for everyone in the small car segment,” said Arvind Saxena, senior vice-president at Hyundai Motor India. Right now, most manufacturers are vying for 10-12% of the market—mid-size to large cars—instead of chasing the small car segment that accounts for 70% of sales. An AT Kearney November report, titled Think Small to Grow, says the low cost small car (LCC) is an emerging segment predicted to grow globally at more than 500% by 2020. It defines LCC as a segment that includes vehicles ranging from $2,200 to $7,800 (Rs1 lakh to Rs3.6 lakh), which includes the Nano, which Tata Motors began selling this year at a starting price of Rs1.26 lakh (on road, Mumbai). Nissan and Volkswagen have thus far been fringe players in the Indian car market, with their fully imported vehicles selling at Rs14-25 lakh, making the small car critical to their prospects in the country. While the Figo, expected to be launched in March-April, will be Ford’s first entry into the segment, GM India already offers the Chevrolet Spark, starting at Rs3.42 lakh, as its entry-level model. “If you want to be in the game here in India, you have got to be in that segment,” Michael Boneham, Ford India’s president and managing director, told the Reuters India Investment Summit earlier this month. “If not, you’ll be an interesting niche player, not a mainstream player. And Ford wants to be a mainstream player here.” Rural markets could offer a way of making inroads into the market as they are not as brand conscious, except for generic knowledge about Maruti. Hyundai’s Saxena says sales in the smaller towns and cities are growing upwards of 20% every year, against the top 10 cities that are seeing single-digit growth, albeit on a higher base. With greater availability of finance facilities and growing aspirations, sales will accelerate in the smaller towns, he said. “This to some extent offers a level playing field,” Deloitte’s Kandaswamy said. A car maker that can offer a value proposition need not traverse the learning curve and can quickly become a significant player in the rural market, he said. shally.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:22 pm ONGC dials Sistema for Russian oil assetsFlagship explorer ONGC signed in Moscow an agreement with the telecom-to-oil conglomerate Sistema to jointly acquire and develop oil and gas fields in that country and the CIS.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:19 pm HSBC set to buy RBS India assetsMumbai: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd, or HSBC, is set to acquire the retail and small and medium enterprises business of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, or RBS, in India, China and Malaysia.  HSBC entered the bidding race for select Asian assets of RBS in October after talks between Standard Chartered Bank Plc and RBS broke down over differences on the valuation of assets. According to an RBS official in India, both the banks have already signed the deal and the actual acquisition depends on regulatory approvals in three countries. RBS has already approached the Indian central bank for approval. The key to the success of the Indian part of the acquisition is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clearance for transfer of RBS branch licences to HSBC. RBS has 31 branches in India and employs 10,000 people, following its 2007 acquisition of the Asian operations of ABN Amro Bank NV. ABN Amro continues to conduct business in India under its original name despite the RBS takeover. That acquisition was made through a consortium, along with Fortis group of the UK and Banco Santander SA of Spain. HSBC, which had an asset base of Rs94,620 crore in March, operates through 47 branches across India. It has three more branch licences granted by RBI. Citibank NA is the largest foreign bank in India with an asset base of Rs1.05 trillion in March, followed by Standard Chartered Bank with Rs97,492 crore. Also Read RBS Saga (Graphics) In June, RBI had declined to transfer RBS branch licences to a prospective buyer. The banking regulator based its decision on the fact that the proposed transaction is a portfolio sale and not a bank buyout. “We have signed a deal to sell our retail and small and medium enterprises business in India, China and Malaysia to HSBC,” a senior RBS official told Mint on condition of anonymity as the proposal is yet to receive the regulator’s approval. “We have sent the India proposal to the Reserve Bank of India for approval,” the official added. RBI spokeswoman Alpana Killawala said the central bank has no information regarding the deal. HSBC spokeswoman Malini Thadani declined to comment. Responding to an email query, Vasantha Kumar, head of marketing and communications, ABN Amro Bank, said: “RBS is in ongoing discussions for the remaining retail and small and medium enterprises assets it has decided to sell in Asia and will make further announcements, as appropriate, in due course.” RBS is selling businesses designated as non-core in select markets to raise funds even though it will continue and grow the corporate and wholesale banking activities of ABN Amro. Madan Menon, country head, global banking and markets, ABN Amro Bank, said, “Post the sale, the RBS group in India will focus on its core business—corporate banking, markets and treasury, equity capital markets, merger and acquisitions, syndicated loans, debt capital markets, trade finance and cash payments... For the retail and SME (small and medium enterprises) businesses, India will be the third largest employer within the RBS group in the world.” In February, RBS declared that it would move its India retail and commercial banking operations, which employ 2,500 people, into a for-sale, non-core division. Morgan Stanley is advising RBS on the sale. In August, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) acquired RBS retail and commercial banking operations in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong for around $550 million (Rs2,569 crore). It also acquired the onshore global banking and markets (GBM) and global transaction services (GTS) operations in the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan (excluding securities). The talks with Standard Chartered Bank failed as the latter was not willing to offer a little more than $100 million for the retail and commercial banking assets of RBS minus the branch licences. In fact, Standard Chartered worked on two sets of valuations—one exclusively for the assets and the other for the assets and branches. This is because there was no guarantee that RBI would permit the transfer of branch licences. “The entire deal rests on the transfer of branches and it depends on what stance RBI takes,” said an investment banker on condition of anonymity as he is associated with the deal. “The quality of the consumer banking assets is bad hence the only attraction for HSBC is the branch network that it could acquire through this deal. RBS is trying to convince the Indian banking regulator to transfer some branch licences to the prospective buyers so that its existing clients receive uninterrupted service,” added the same banker. In India, the branch network plays a critical role when it comes to valuation as foreign banks do not find it easy to secure licences even though RBI is quite liberal in granting them. Under World Trade Organization norms, RBI is required to issue 12 branch licences annually. It typically issues around 18 licences every year but foreign banks want more. ABN Amro Bank’s profits for the fiscal year ended 31 March in India dropped 93.09% to Rs19.39 crore. The bank has written off debt worth Rs962 crore in fiscal 2009, an almost three-fold increase from the previous year’s Rs360 crore. Its consumer banking operations posted an operating loss of Rs230.77 crore at the end of March. The size of its consumer banking assets is not known. HSBC India’s net profit for the fiscal year ended March 2009 rose 8% to Rs1,291 crore. Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint anita.b@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:07 pm India breaks into elite science clubNew Delhi: India has joined an elite group of six countries which have successfully decoded the human genome indigenously. The discovery, which was announced by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will bring pharmaceutical companies a step closer to designing drugs accounting for the specific characteristics of the Indian physiology. The US, the UK, China, Canada and South Korea are the five other countries to map the genetic code. Every cell in the human body consists of strands of nucleic acid, called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which are essentially made of permutations and combinations of four kinds of molecules, called bases. The sequence of base pairs are a blueprint to the millions of proteins that are made up in the body and thus, the building blocks of every physiological process. These arrangements of base pairs that play some role in a protein’s fate and are usually consistent across individuals, are called genes. A change in the base-pair sequence could mean certain proteins are not formed or some are processed in excess, causing mutations and thereby diseases. The genome, as the bases, DNA and other hereditary molecules are collectively referred to, consists of around 3.1 billion base-pairs and 25,000 known genes. If all the DNA from every cell in the body were taken out and laid out end to end, it would stretch from the earth to sun 70 times and back. Sequencing the entire genome essentially means photographing this chain of base pairs several times over, to accurately estimate an individual’s unique structure. The sequencing technique, Illumina-Solexa, used by CSIR, has been licensed from San Diego-based Illumina Inc. Doing this fast enough requires enormous computing power and qualified manpower, adding to the cost. For sequencing the genome of the Indian, the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), which is part of CSIR, chose a 52-year-old male from Jharkhand, 167cm tall and weighing 52kg. The identity was not disclosed keeping with the ethical code laid down by the Indian Council for Medical Research. Samir Brahmachari, CSIR head, said the sequencing was done in Delhi, between 25 September and 4 December, using a cluster of computers with one teraflop of processing power. A teraflop refers to the processing speed of a computer and what IGIB employed is roughly 10,000 times more powerful than desktop computers available for Rs30,000 in India. However, for scientists to be able to predict diseases, several more individuals would need to be sequenced. “This is only the first step. A decade back, we couldn’t afford to do this and had to watch other scientists work at deciphering the human genome,” said Brahmachari. “Today we’ve basically bridged the technology gap. We can do this too, is our message.” The next step would be to sequence 10 other Indians, said Rajesh Gokhle, director, IGIB, though he didn’t specify a time frame. China has an ongoing project to sequence the genomes of 100 citizens. Experts say that the benefits of human genome sequencing will become apparent only after the cost of sequencing falls to $5,000 (Rs2.34 lakh) or less. It currently costs around $50,000 to commercially sequence the genome in the US. “The good news is that just six years ago it cost a billion dollars to get a sequence done. Prices have fallen drastically since,” said Arjula Reddy, who co-chairs the genetic engineering approval comittee at the environment ministry. “When a lot of people sequence their genes, it will help scientists reliably predict disease probabilities.” CSIR’s endeavour cost around $30,000, said Brahmachari, and that didn’t include the cost of infrastructure and manpower. Science minister Prithviraj Chavan likened CSIR’s achievement to Chandrayaan, India’s indigenously crafted moon mission. “It’s in the same league as Chandrayaan. When genetic tests become commonplace in the next few year, this will be a momentous day,” he said. jacob.k@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:06 pm Japan unveils fresh 7 2 trillion yen stimulus packageJapan unveiled on Tuesday a fresh 7.2 trillion yen stimulus package to help shore up the flagging economy, troubled anew by continued price falls and the negative impact of a strong yen on exports. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:05 pm Small car maker, but big energy saverVinay Varshney, as he predicts the end of CFL lamps in a few years, points to the ceiling of the conference room at Maruti Suzukis factory in Gurgaon. It is then that we notice that the two holders, right above the two ends of the long table, have slots for three lamps, but only two are glowing.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 12:03 pm ADAG bites into food businessTo launch in BIG Cinemas in India, abroad.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:42 am RNRL assures govt on gas profitReliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that government will get its full share of profit from gas in the KG basin, even if it is sold at $ 2.34 (Rs 104.72) by RIL despite government’s valuation of $4.2 (Rs 196.35) per mmBtu. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:00 am India, Sudan ink deal on expanding energy tiesIndia and Sudan signed an agreement on expanding ties in the oil and gas sector on the last day of a two-day India-Africa Hydrocarbon conference Tuesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:00 am OVL signs deal with Russian firm in oil and gas sectorONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has entered into an agreement with Russian group Sistema for cooperation in exploration and studying oil and gas assets in Russia and third countries.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 11:00 am PSU bank chiefs may find incentives toughWith fatter pay cheques in their pockets after the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations, chiefs of public sector banks have reasons to rejoice, but the flip side is that government is out to tighten the criteria for performance-based incentives that form part of their compensation package reports Mahua Venkatesh. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:56 am Financial economy out of sync with real world GovernorsThe best financial brains in India believe that the surge in foreign capital flow, drawn by the India growth story, could vitiate the relations between the financial and real economy. HT Correspondent reports. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:52 am Rel Power fully commited to the Dadri projectWhile a recent judgement by the Allahabad High Court quashing the earlier notification of the UP government on land acquisition for Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power’s 7,400 megawatt power project at Dadri has sparked a controversy, the company’s CEO, JP Chalasani, says the verdict is only a temporary hurdle.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:41 am WTO talks No compromise on Indian interestsIndia on Tuesday insisted that services must take top priority in world trade talks. “We have our interests and there is no question of agreeing only to those sectors where the developed countries are interested,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in Rajya Sabha.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:37 am Essar arm buys Impact RetailEssar Group promoted The MobileStore has acquired Impact Retail Private Ltd for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help the company enhance its business portfolio and it will now retail consumer durables and IT (CDIT) products too.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:34 am DoT misses the beat on 3G tenderThe Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday failed to invite tenders for auction of 3G spectrum as expected. Government sources said that this was because the wireless planning cell had informed the DoT that only two blocks of spectrum of 5 MHz band were available for auction, reports HT Correspondent.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 Dec 2009 | 10:31 am VRS scheme for Airports Authority employees approvedThe government Tuesday said it has approved a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) proposal for Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees working in the Delhi and Mumbai airports.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:07 am Fog envelops Mumbai airport, 14 flights hitFourteen incoming flights were diverted from Mumbai airport Tuesday as poor visibility due to foggy conditions crippled operations for over two hours on two occasions, an official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:06 am Delhi body to aid industriesThe Delhi government has set up a Business Facilitation Council to facilitate entrepreneurs to obtain clearances from various departments to set up enterprises in a time bound manner.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:06 am West Bengal welcomes railway coach factory in SingurWest Bengal's Left Front government Tuesday sent a letter to the railway ministry asking it to set up an industry on the plot of land abandoned by Tata Motors in Singur, and promised to cooperate with the project.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 8 Dec 2009 | 9:06 am Audi, BMW report increase in November salesFrankfurt: German carmakers Audi AG and BMW AG said Tuesday their global sales improved in November as the recession eased and demand rose strongly, especially in developing markets. BMW, the world’s biggest builder of luxury cars, said its global group sales rose 11.5% to 107,686 cars in November. The company, based in Munich, said it sold 90,383 BMW-branded cars for the month, up 11%. Rival carmaker Audi said it saw an 8.9% increase in November, due particularly to demand in the Chinese market, which has more than doubled its sales from a year ago. Audi, a unit of Europe’s largest auto group, Volkswagen AG, said it sold 82,750 cars for the month, compared with 75,965 in November of 2008. Based in Ingolstadt, Audi said its overall sales for the first 11 months of the year declined 5.4%. BMW’s sales for the January-November period fell 12%. “Since September, sales have been back on the growth track,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s board member responsible for sales and marketing, said in the company’s report. “In November we achieved another substantial increase in our global deliveries. We intend to continue this trend in December,” Robertson said. For November, BMW’s Mini brand saw its sales increase nearly 14% while sales of the super-luxury Rolls Royce brand declined by 5.5%. The BMW motorcycles division saw sales drop 4.7%. BMW sales rose most in Asia, where they jumped more than 33%. Europe posted an 11% increase for the month with Eastern Europe contributing strongly. Africa reported a sales increase of more than 10% for the month. BMW sales in the US declined 7.5% to 18,272 vehicles sold in November, while other markets in the Americas improved. Brazil, for example, reported a 416% increase in sales, which helped the overall Americas region report only a 1.3% decline in November. BMW said among the overall best-sellers were the Z4 sports car and the BMW 7 Series limousine. Audi said its November gains came largely in the Asia-Pacific and Americas markets. Sales in China, including Hong Kong, rose 102% in November. In the US, sales were only slightly higher for the month at 6,810 vehicles, but still better than the competitions’ results, Audi said. Sales in Brazil and Canada, among other countries, also increased. Audi November sales in Europe declined 4.4% to 51,800 cars. The company said some of the best sellers overall were the Audi A3 sportback and the Q5 SUV. Shares of BMW were up more than 1% at €32.95 ($48.77), while Audi’s were about half a% lower at €469.47 in Frankfurt morning trading. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 8 Dec 2009 | 3:47 am
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