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CESC wins 140 MW hydro power project in HimachalPower utility CESC Ltd has been awarded a hydro power project by the Himachal Pradesh government, a top official said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 7:55 am Dewan Housing to offer home loans upto Rs 5lk at 8%Dewan Housing Finace Ltd now offers 8% interest rate scheme on home loans upto Ts 5,00,000. This scheme will be valid upto January 2010.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 7:48 am Will RIL rethink LyondellBasell offer?With new facts emerging on LyondellBasell\'s state of debt, will RIL rethink its offer to take over the Dutch petchem giant? Sources say it will decide today.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 7:29 am Reliance Comm selling FLAG, US business units: SourcesReliance Communications is looking to sell an undersea fiber optic network and a related U.S. business, hoping to raise around USD 3 billion in cash, sources familiar with the matter said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 7:13 am Reliance Comm puts telecom units up for sale: SourcesReliance Communications is looking to sell an undersea fiber optic network and a related U.S. business, hoping to raise around USD 3 billion in cash, according to sources familiar with the matter.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:58 am ArcelorMittal could cut 10,000 jobsArcelorMittal, the world\'s biggest steelmaker, could cut 10,000 jobs worldwide next year to boost productivity and reduce general expenses by around USD 500 million, French newspaper Les Echos said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:58 am DLF to buy DLF Assets for $2.15 bnIndia\'s largest listed developer, DLF Ltd, is set to acquire a property trust owned by its founders K.P. Singh and family for around Rs 100 billion (USD 2.15 billion), the Economic Times reported on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:51 am Rajiv Bajaj: The comeback kidAfter being in the dumps for over a year, Rajiv Bajaj tried a whole new strategy to take on Hero Honda.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:49 am Chennai\'s month of melodyIt first comes in a trickle. Then a stream. Finally, the December music season in Chennai bursts into a torrent, engulfing everyone in its wake.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:49 am Music helps Me in my Work: S RamadoraiS. Ramadorai, vice chairman, Tata Consultancy Services believes music has a therapeutic effectSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:49 am China not likely to raise rates in Q1: Economist!China is unlikely to raise interest rates in the first quarter of 2010, a senior government economist said in remarks published on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Real estate firm Fairfield files for bankruptcy!Privately-held real estate company Fairfield Residential LLC filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Sensex up 105 pts in early trade!In volatile trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today rose nearly 105 points in morning trade on emergence of buying by funds and investors, driven by recovery in some Asian markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Woodside Petroleum announces share sales!Australian energy giant Woodside Petroleum on Monday said it would raise 2.5 billion dollars (2.3 billion US) by selling new shares to pay for a push into the growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Japan business mood up more than forecast!Japanese business confidence edged up more than expected in the three months to December but remained negative for the sixth quarter in a row, a Bank of Japan survey showed.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Nokia plans job cuts through 2010 at Finnish plant !Nokia, the world`s top cell-phone maker, plans to cut jobs at its only Finnish plant in Salo through 2010, a company spokesman said on Sunday.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Gulf summit to tackle economic crisis, conflicts!Gulf states open a two-day annual summit in Kuwait City on Monday with the global recession`s impact on their energy-rich economies and regional conflicts high on the agenda.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Abu Dhabi gives Dubai USD 10 bn bailout!The move was the least expected of all options the cash-strapped Dubai had on the table.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am Oil under pressure from strengthening dollar!Oil fell in Asian trade today as prices came under continued pressure from a strong dollar and US demand concerns, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am White House says lagging job growth key to recovery!The White House warned that the recession-plagued US economy, while somewhat improved in recent weeks, will not turn a corner until the soaring unemployment rate declines.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am DLF to buy DLF Assets for $2.15 bn - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:20 am Sensex ends lower; HUL, HDFC Bank, R Com down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:18 am Subscribe to DB Corp IPO: Hem Securities - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:10 am TRANSCRIPT-Abu Dhabi gives Dubai $10 bln bailout - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:08 am ArcelorMittal could cut 10,000 jobsThe company, which currently employs 285,300 people, wants to regain lost market share and has a goal for general expenses to account for less than 3.5% of revenue.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:06 am November wholesale price index inflation at 4.78%: GovernmentThe wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index because it covers a higher number of products.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:05 am Dewan Housing offers 8% interest ratesMortgage lender Dewan Housing Finace Ltd will offer 8% interest rate on home loans.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 3:03 am Reliance Comm selling FLAG, US business units: sourcesBeijing/Mumbai: Reliance Communications is looking to sell its undersea fiber optic network and US network businesses, hoping to raise around $3 billion in cash, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Reliance acquired the FLAG network, which lies at the heart of its global operations, in 2003 for $207 million, and now sells both capacity on the network as well as more lucrative telecoms services to other carriers and companies around the world. The sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the deal, said that Reliance had hired Deutsche Bank to advise on the sale and that bids were due in late January. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. “It is an extreme option ... selling its overseas operations,’ said Yogesh Kirve of Anand Rathi Securities. Analysts said the large debt of the company and its ongoing capital expenditure for GSM expansion in India had required it to scout around for various options to raise funds. “They have very few choices to raise funds,” said Hitesh Kuvelkar, research head at brokerage First Global. “Their capex requirement for expanding their GSM network is huge and they have to raise that from somewhere,” he said. A Reliance spokesman, who did not want to be named, said: “We vehemently deny these speculations and rumours.” The FLAG business, which stands for Fiber-optic Loop Around the Globe, is run by Reliance Globalcom, the company’s overseas arm. Reliance is also selling Yipes, a California-based ethernet service provider it bought in 2007. Yipes, which was renamed Reliance Enterprise Solutions, provides managed services for companies in the US. The adviser is shopping the assets to Japan’s KDDI and US operators AT&T and Verizon, the sources said. First Global’s Kuvelkar said other funding options for Reliance included diluting the founder’s holding or selling a stake in its tower arm Reliance Infratel, which has filed for an initial public offering. Reliance Communication shares, valued at around $8.1 billion, were down 1.3% at Rs181.35 in the afternoon. The stock has fallen about 19% so far this year while the main index has risen nearly 80%. Investment, Competition Last month, Reliance Globalcom, the global unit of Reliance Communications, told Reuters it would more than double its data centre operations over the next 18 months, in a bid to compete with world leaders such as AT&T and BT. Reliance Communications has most of its customers on the CDMA platform. Earlier this year, it expanded the GSM business to all of India with a $2 billion investment. The company is part of the business empire of Anil Ambani, who Forbes magazine last month ranked as India’s third-richest man with wealth of $17.5 billion. It has said capital expenditure for the year to March would be lower by a third from its previous estimate. Data from Reliance Communications showed global operations contributed 31%, or Rs22.6 billion ($485 million), of revenues in the September quarter, and 26%, or Rs5.23 billion, to its operating profit. At the end of September, the company had about Rs225 billion of debt on its books, with cash reserves of about Rs45 billion. Reliance competes with the likes of Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleservices and Vodafone Essar in India’s fast-growing but increasingly competitive mobile market, where average revenue per users have been steadily falling. In addition to dealing with stiff competition, companies have also had to watch their cash as they get ready to bid on third-generation (3G) mobile licences being auctioned early next year, and then build new networks to offer services. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:46 am Inflation trebles to 4.78%New Delhi: Inflation more than trebled to 4.78% during November on account of rising prices of food items like potato, sugar and pulses, and may prompt the Reserve Bank to squeeze money supply to tame price rise. The wholesale price-based inflation jumped to nearly 5% from 1.34% in October, according to the monthly inflation data released on Monday. Attributing rising prices to supply side constraints, Suresh Tendulkar, former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), said the RBI could take steps to withdraw liquidity to tame rising prices. The apex bank is slated to announce review of its annual credit policy next month. Food inflation, according the weekly data announced earlier, had shot up by 19.04% during November recording the sharpest increase in the decade. The monthly data, which was released by the government for the second time, shows that potato prices have surged by a whooping 141% during the past eight months, followed by sugar 37%, pulses 32% and onion 20%. On the other hand, minerals, edible oils and leather products have become cheaper since March 2009. The RBI in its monetary policy review in October has revised the inflation forecast to 6.5 per cent by March-end from 5% earlier. The international raw material prices are rising so domestic prices are also seeing a movement upward, Tendulkar said, adding that the government needs to manage supply shortages. “(The) RBI may withdraw the liquidity in terms of SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) movement but I don’t see any rate changes to be done... not till the next quarterly review (in January),” he said. The central bank has been increasing money supply for industry to tide over the global financial crisis. The rising prices are an issue of concern for the government as a worried Congress President Sonia Gandhi had earlier said during the week that “price rise of essential commodities continues to be a matter of highest concern to us.” Among the manufactured products, textiles rose by 1.4%, paper and paper products by 0.1%, while chemical and chemical products increased by 0.1%. Commenting on the price rise Yes Bank chief economist Suhubhda Rao said, “a sharper rise in manufacturing clearly indicates that the pricing power is gradually returning as the broad group within manufacturing products have registered month-on-month increase in the index numbers.” Rao added that firming inflation will be on the RBI radar where the CRR could be hiked in December by 25-50 basis points. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:37 am Steel Employees Trade Union rejects wage revision of steel workersCITU affiliated Steel Employees Trade Union (SETU) today said they would resort to an indefinite strike in the steel industry from January 5, 2010.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:19 am Rupee weak tracking Asian peers; shares eyedMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee continued to trade weaker in afternoon session on Monday tracking broadly lower regional peers with small gains in the sharemarket failing to help the local unit.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:18 am November inflation driven by food prices - MukherjeeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The rise in the wholesale price index during November is mainly due to higher food prices, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:16 am Retail investors bet on gold fundsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Mutual funds investing in gold are attracting new retail clients at a heady pace, as the yellow metal surges to fresh records, giving money managers another opportunity to build assets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 2:14 am Cadbury admits to rival interest as rejects KraftLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Cadbury Plc admitted to interest from other bidders after raising its growth targets and reporting upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:53 am India gold demand retreats as prices back at 17,000MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's gold demand retreated on Monday as prices snapped a nine-day losing streak to revisit the psychological 17,000-rupees-per-10-grams mark, after offtake picked up in late Friday's trade, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:51 am Abu Dhabi gives Dubai $10 bln in surprise bailoutDUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi bailed out neighbouring Dubai on Monday with $10 billion in surprise aid for debt-laden Dubai World, driving stock markets higher, but Dubai said creditors still needed to approve a standstill on outstanding debt.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am Subscription levels in IPOs of 2009 SMC Capital - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am Goods and service tax in Gujarat not before April 2011Gujarat state government wants at least Rs20,000 crore per annum.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:39 am DLF to buy DLF Assets for $2.15 billion: ReportThe transaction will be done through DLF Cyber City, a wholly-owned unit of DLF, the paper said citing two unidentified executives involved in the transaction.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:27 am Rising Indian inflation adds to case for tightening - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:15 am Rising prices a matter of concern, says trade ministerData showed on Monday wholesale price index rose 4.78% in November from a year earlier, higher than previous month's annual rise of 1.34%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:12 am India gold futures snap nine-day losing streakThe most-traded gold February contract was 0.58% higher Rs17,063 per 10 grams at 10.50am, after losing 6.7% in the previous nine sessions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:10 am Abu Dhabi steps in with 10 bn to bail out of Dubai WorldPeer emirate Abu Dhabi on Monday had a pleasant surprise for the financial world, stepping in with a $10 billion bail-out offer for Dubai World that is caught in a multibillion dollar debt crisis.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Dec 2009 | 1:07 am Rising inflation adds to case for tighteningNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The wholesale prices rose faster-than-expected in November, and analysts said inflation worries could see the Reserve Bank withdraw more liquidity support in coming weeks and raise rates early next year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:57 am Houston eyes Asia trade as Panama Canal expandsThe prospect of bigger ships, and more of them, could be a boon for the Port of Houston, which already handles more foreign tonnage than any other US port.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:53 am Asian stocks rebound on Dubai bailoutSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks rebounded on Monday after Dubai said it had received $10 billion from Abu Dhabi to repay debt, which pushed down the yen and boosted the euro and emerging Asian currencies as risk appetite improved.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:52 am Reliance Comm selling FLAG, US business units: SourcesReliance acquired its FLAG network in 2003 for $207 million, and now sells capacity on the network and telecoms services to other carriers and companies around the world.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:44 am CBI seeks nod to prosecute Tytler, Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riots - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:37 am CAT Confusion - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:20 am Inflation jumps to 4.78% in Novemberinflation jumped to 4.78 per cent in November, driven by rising prices of essential food items like pulses, fruits and vegetables.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:14 am Tata Steel shines on fund raising plan - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:08 am Reliance Comm selling FLAG, U.S. business units - sourcesBEIJING/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Communications is looking to sell an undersea fiber optic network and a related U.S. business, hoping to raise around $3 billion in cash, sources familiar with the matter said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Berger Paints (Rs 63.4): BuyWe recommend a buy in Berger Paints India from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts of the stock that after bottoming in October 2008 low of Rs 25.7; it has been on a long-term uptrend forming higher trading zones. However,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Currency movements hold the key to gold pricesThe year 2009 that started amid serious global financial turmoil is expected to end with cautious optimism about improved growth in the New Year, signals for which have emanated from the latest OECD composite leadingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am An empire threatened by debtAn interesting debate is taking place in the US between Keynesians like Prof. Paul Krugman and economic historians like Professor Niall Ferguson, about the rise of US debt and its impact on US' imperial ambitions. In an article in Newsweek ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Gold fails to shine in metals rallyGold may have hogged all the headlines in 2009, but in reality, other precious metals didSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if the stop-loss levelSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am INOX Leisure – BuyInvestors with medium-term perspective can consider buying INOX Leisure (RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Sideways movement in RNRLI have a long position on RNRL futures, which I entered at 72.5. What is the short-term outlook for the counter and let me know the stop-loss? – Mr Balaji,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am How small packs pay off bigYou are at a bus station and feeling peckish, not ravenous, and want to grab a quick bite before you board yourSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am India: A flawed democracy?Mr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, has stated that Pakistan is in no danger of collapsing. We cannot say how important it is for Pakistan to get such a certificate from a junior minister in India, but the minister would doSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Ban on illegal Chinese handsets, boon for local brandsThe ban on illegal Chinese handsets is proving to be a boon for local Indian mobile brands such as Airfone, Karbonn, Fly andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Oil under pressure from strengthening dollarOil fell in Asian trade on Monday as prices came under continued pressure from a strong dollar and US demand concerns, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:41 pm Andhra crisis forces Visakhapatnam ODI out to NagpurNew Delhi: The Indian Cricket Board on Monday shifted the second one-dayer of the five-match series between India and Sri Lanka to Nagpur after police in Visakhapatnam expressed inability to provide security for the tie in the wake of political crisis in Andhra Pradesh. Agitations are on in Andhra Pradesh over the issue of the formation of a separate Telangana state. “The second ODI of the five-match series between India and Sri Lanka has been shifted to Nagpur. The match will be a day-night affair, and will be played on the scheduled date of 18 December 2009,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement. Visakhapatnam police commissioner Sambhasiva Rao said it will be difficult for the police to provide the required security staff for the hosting of the match. “The prevailing situation is such that all the city police are deployed in the maintenance of regular law and order. And to conduct the match in ordinary circumstances we need to deploy 80% of the city force “We have mentioned it to organising locals here that it not possible for us to commit any amount of force for the conduct of the match at this stage,” Rao told reporters in Visakhapatman. Saurashtra Cricket Association which is hosting Tuesday’s series-opener in Rajkot had also offered to host the match. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:32 pm ArcelorMittal could cut 10,000 jobs - reportPARIS (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, could cut 10,000 jobs worldwide next year to boost productivity and reduce general expenses by around $500 million, French newspaper Les Echos said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:24 pm Sensex up 105 pts in early tradeSensex on Monday rose nearly 105 points in morning trade on emergence of buying by funds and investors, driven by recovery in some Asian markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:14 pm Upaid investors concerned over Mah Satyam settlement amount - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:10 pm Sensex up 105 pts in early tradeIn volatile trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday rose nearly 105 points in morning trade on emergence of buying by funds and investors, driven by recovery in some Asian markets.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:07 pm Oil under pressure from strengthening dollarOil fell in Asian trade Monday as prices came under continued pressure from a strong dollar and US demand concerns, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 10:47 pm Rupee down 20 paise at 46.73 a dollarThe rupee on Monday depreciated by 20 paise to 46.73 against the US dollar in opening trade largely on fears of fresh capital outflows by foreign funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:37 pm NHAI to auction toll plazas to pvt partiesPutting its act together to generate more revenues to push the investment in highway development, the National Highways Authority of India is now auctioning its toll plazas.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:25 pm The heart of our talent is in India: Thomson Reuters CEOThomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer spoke exclusively to ET NOW on the media business, adapting to the internet, and the benefits his global news organisation gets out of having a nerve-centre in India.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:21 pm GSK, HSBC arms halt ops in Andhra PradeshIn a setback to Andhra Pradeshs image as an investment destination, GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare announced its decision to temporarily suspend operations.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:18 pm Insurers tap post offices, malls to boost salesAfter agents and banks, insurers are looking at other channels such as post offices, kirana stores and even malls to sell policies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:14 pm Brokers woo investors via SMSSeveral brokers are trying to woo investors through emails, SMS and tele-marketing, trying to induce them into intra-day trading.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:12 pm ONGC, OIL look for graded subsidy shareState-run explorers have suggested a graded structure for sharing losses suffered by public sector oil marketing companies on fuel sales.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:09 pm GST to have four slabs, says Asim DasguptaThe Goods and Services Tax, the new tax regime, would have four slabs and they are likely to be unveiled within 15 days.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Dec 2009 | 5:08 pm Indian CEOs take a bus past ShanghaiOn a chilly December 1 morning, a busload of shivering Indian business leaders made their first journey from Shanghai to a southeast city nicknamed ‘dragon city’, which makes every car part except tyres and the chassis.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 1:19 pm Inside the mind of GoogleSix simple letters on a plain white page—that is the face of the most powerful technology company in the world. Revered, envied and sometimes scorned. Google Inc.’s co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page started the company as graduate students in 1998. It has made them astoundingly rich. Today, they stand atop an empire, audacious, ambitious and often controversial. What makes them ‘audacious’?  Food for thought: Google employees gather for lunch in the courtyard of the firm’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. The Web giant’s cafes offer the best of the world’s cuisine to its employees, free of cost. Erin Lubin / Bloomberg In 1998, the thought of downloading the World Wide Web was audacious in itself. But what started out as a research project has now become a high tech juggernaut. In the late 1990s when other Web search engines such as Lycos, AOL, Yahoo and AltaVista crammed their websites with links and ads, Google’s plain blank look was actually a problem for the students who first tested it. Google’s vice-president for search products and user experience, Marissa Mayer, says, “They would go to Google.com, load up the page and it would be blank. And they would just wait and 15 seconds later we would be wondering, ‘what are they waiting for’, ‘maybe, they are thinking of searches’. 30 seconds later or even 45 seconds later, we would think we need to ask what are they waiting for and the answer would be the same all 16 times a day, ‘we are waiting for the rest of it’.” Their working style is a culture by itself, too. Google’s success comes from attracting the best possible employees and then making work irresistible and that means making it lots of fun. There are gyms if you are restless, massages if you are stressed and then there is the food. “We have a team of seven executive chefs here in Mountain View (California) and we have about 18 cafes in all that we all oversee,” says one of the Google chefs. There is Indian cuisine as well as Sushi, no problem. Google has it all and best of all, everything is free, for employees that is; it costs Google a fortune. As chief executive officer Eric Schmidt puts it, “We work hard to maintain that—what you see is the culture where people feel that they can build things and accomplish what they want and ultimately people stay in companies because they can achieve something.” What makes them ‘ambitious’? Mayer puts it aptly, “There are two key factors in my decision (to join Google). One is that you usually work with the smartest people you can find and, two, you should do things that you are not ready to do.” For Google, product and user were at the core. A basic search engine crawls the Internet bouncing from link to link indexing as many Web pages as it can. When you do a search it tracks your results based on the number of times the search term appears on each side. Google’s masterstroke was to track every website’s importance by counting the number of other websites linking back to it. Google figured the more links to a site the more important it must be and the higher it should show up in your search result. They called this approach page rank after Larry Page and it worked brilliantly. Journalist John Battelle says, “I was being told—hey, you have to check this out and when you go there and use it for the first time it just works and something happens between your ears that makes that brand valuable to you instantly.” Google is no longer a start-up. Larry Page and Sergey Brin are no longer graduate students living on fast foods and credit cards. Today, they are worth $15 billion (Rs69,750 crore) each. According to Forbes magazine, Brin, who immigrated from Russia at age 6, never thought Google could be successful. And now, they are venturing into the mobile territory. Mobile phone use is skyrocketing, at least 4 billion worldwide, with a billion sold in 2008 alone. Brin wants to make sure Android, Google’s operating system for mobile phones, get a big piece of that market. And, finally, what makes them ‘controversial’? Kevin Bankston, of Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, points out, “People turn to the search engine box and admit things to it that they would not admit to their doctor, to their shrink, their priest, their wife or husband and without a thought that all of these queries are being stored.” Google keeps every search query you type into the box for ever. But Schmidt explains, “We do not use it and we do not misuse it. We could misuse it, but if we did we will quickly become much less powerful because everyone will flee to our competitors. So part of the answer to the criticism implied by your question is that if we broke our trust with our end users they would leave and then we wouldn’t be very important.” What next for Google? A little over a decade ago, most people hadn’t even heard of Google. It is a stunning indication of how one firm, once an unknown start-up, has moved to so many aspects of our lives. Research for the phrase, ‘Google’s future’, and you will get more than a million results but none of them can answer it’s most pressing question. Could it become too big for its own good and how much more can it improve its search engine? Can it continue to protect our privacy and its future? One thing is for sure, this is Google and everyone will be watching. Edited excerpts of CNBC’s discussion with the folks at Google. cnbctv18@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Nakheel’s possible default to affect $5.25 bn debtDubai: Nakheel PJSC’s possible non-payment of its Islamic bond due on Monday will trigger defaults on two other securities, bringing the total of affected securities to $5.25 billion (Rs24,412 crore), bond documents show. Investors are waiting to see if the Dubai state-controlled developer will pay the maturing $3.52 billion Islamic bond, known as sukuk. The Dubai government said on 25 November that state-run holding company Dubai World is seeking a “standstill” agreement on its debt, including for the Nakheel unit. The default would be triggered by failure of Nakheel, or the guarantor, Dubai World, to make payment at the end of a grace period, the documents said. Nakheel has two weeks to remedy a default and prevent bondholders from starting legal proceedings. Nakheel’s other two bonds are a 3.6 billion dirham ($980 million) floating-rate note due in May and a 2.75%, $750 million sukuk maturing in January 2011.  Balancing act: A file photo of one of Nakheel’s projects in Dubai. Investors are waiting to see if the Dubai state-controlled developer will pay the maturing $3.52 billion Islamic bond, known as sukuk. Charles Crowell / Bloomberg Avoiding default Nakheel’s bond maturing on Monday rose 1% to 53 cents on the dollar on 11 December, on speculation the developer may seek to avoid a default. The bond has dropped at least 50% since the 25 November announcement. Dubai World began talks with banks this month to restructure $26 billion of debt. Nakheel’s bond repayment is the biggest maturity for a Dubai entity since the global credit markets froze after the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Nakheel accumulated debt during a six-year real estate boom in Dubai, when the sheikhdom borrowed $10 billion and its state-controlled companies $70 billion to help diversify the economy. BNP Paribas SA and EFG-Hermes Holding SAE analysts said last week that Nakheel may repay bondholders as much as 70 cents on the dollar and issue new securities to restructure the remainder of the debt. “Such an outcome would be beneficial for both parties involved,” EFG’s Dubai-based strategist Fahd Iqbal wrote in a research report. “Creditors would receive a portion of their money back with a promise for the remainder to be delivered at a later stage while Dubai World, along with other government-related parties, would have continued access to capital markets.” Debt restructuring While Dubai’s government owns 100% of Dubai World, it hasn’t guaranteed the company’s debt and creditors must help it restructure, Abdulrahman Al Saleh, director general of Dubai’s department of finance, said on 30 November. Dubai World may need more than six months to complete its debt restructuring, Al Saleh told the Al Arabiya news network. Nakheel, the developer of palm-tree-shaped islands off the Dubai coast, had a first-half loss of 13.4 billion dirhams as real estate prices crashed in the Gulf business hub. “Certain of the Nakheel Group’s financing arrangements may contain cross-default clauses whereby a default under one of the Nakheel Group’s financing arrangements may constitute an event of default under other” obligations, according to an offering circular for the Nakheel 2011 bonds on Bloomberg. Nakheel’s 2.75% bonds due in January 2011 were unchanged at 46.50 cents on the dollar on 11 December. Prices for the $750 million notes have dropped from 88.37 cents on the dollar on 24 November. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Relaxed salary, visa norms to boost human capital mobilityIn the last few months, the Indian government/regulators have taken steps to facilitate free mobility of executives, from an exchange control or social security or immigration visa perspective. This article seeks to provide an overview of some of the recent changes in these areas. Salary receipt  Now, such deputed employees are allowed to receive their entire salary abroad, subject to payment of Indian taxes on it. Thus, for example, an expatriate deputed to the Indian operations by a foreign multinational will have the option to receive the entire take-home component of his salary either in India or in his home country. This provides him further flexibility, including in terms of providing him exchange rate protection. Also Read Ketan Dalal’s earlier columns Interestingly, the language of the above provisions dealing with direct receipt of salary overseas (whether 75% earlier or 100% after the liberalization) is such that it applies only to an expatriate whose primary employment contract is with a foreign company and is then deputed to the Indian office or subsidiary or venture. The same does not seem to apply to employees deputed to other group companies, which do not qualify as either a subsidiary or venture of the foreign employer company. Also, the rules do not apply to a foreign national who takes up primary employment with an Indian company, say, a foreign national appointed as the chief executive officer of an India-based corporate group and exercising employment in India. In other cases, a deputation could have tax implications for the foreign employer company in India and in such cases, the employees take up direct employment with the Indian subsidiary/venture. In all such cases, the option to receive the salary in India or abroad is not available. Such expatriates would necessarily have to receive salary in India. However, in most cases (for example, where employment in India is less than three years), such expatriates are allowed to later remit the net salary (take-home component) to their home country for maintenance of close relatives under the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transaction) Rules. In all other cases, specific RBI approval would be required. The government should consider clarifying and widening this liberalization, so that it is applicable to a person deputed to India but comes from an associate company, and not restricted to a situation of just the parent firm. On the other hand, for an Indian national taking up employment abroad or who is deputed overseas, the regulations allow receipt of the entire salary abroad or in India, at the choice of the individual. Besides, upon returning to India, the rules allow retention of salary earned abroad in a foreign bank account in foreign currency. Alternatively, such salary can be brought back into India and held in a resident foreign currency (RFC) account or a normal savings account with an Indian bank. Social security A typical issue faced in cross-border movement of executives is the applicability of social security laws in both the home country and the host country. Generally, such employees do not derive any real benefits from social security contributions in the host country and, thus, would not agree to the deductions thereof from their salaries. Often, therefore, the employer has to foot the additional bill, thereby increasing costs. In order to mitigate dual contribution of social security both at home and overseas, countries can (and do) enter into bilateral social security agreements. The concept is akin to a double tax avoidance agreement (entered into by countries to mitigate double taxation of the same income in both the home and host countries). In the last three months, the Indian government has entered into such agreements with a host of nations within the European Union —Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, to name the prominent ones. Typically, such agreements protect the interests of Indian professionals deputed on short-term contracts (typically, less than five years) to the host country by securing exemption from social security contributions in the host country and vice versa for foreign professionals deputed to India. Obviously, the employee continues to make social security contributions in his home country (while on deputation). In case of longer-term contracts, the agreements provide for the export of benefits (from social security contributed in the host country) upon relocation back to the home country. Thus, for instance, the balance lying in the employee’s provident fund account of an expatriate can be transferred to his social security account in the home country upon completion of his deputation/employment term in India. For instance, the social security agreement between India and the Netherlands provides for benefits to Indian and Dutch expatriates working in each other’s countries. As per the agreement, those working on a short-term contract of up to five years are exempted from social security contributions in the host country provided they continue to make social security payments in their home countries. It also envisages that those who live and work for periods longer than five years and make social security contributions under the host country laws will be entitled to the export of the social security benefits should they relocate to the home country on completion of their contract or on retirement. In the case of executives directly employed by an employer in the host country (and not deputed by an employer from another country) or self-employed persons, the agreement provides for contributions in the host country, with subsequent export (portability) benefits as in the case of long-term deputation of employees. Visa rules The ministry of home affairs, in a release dated 25 September, has clarified various issues relating to the issue of business visa (BV) or employment visa (EV) to foreign nationals immigrating into India. Executives and professionals deputed into India would necessarily need to have an EV and cannot continue to work in India under a BV. Besides, the rules also allow for dependent visas to be issued to family members. While the changes/clarifications have led to certain hiccups in the short term, the rules would help rationalize the visa requirements going forward. Summing up The above steps of the government and ongoing efforts in that direction on various fronts (exchange control, social security agreements and immigration visa rules) should provide flexibility/clarity for executives deputed to or from India and, indeed, pave the way for cross-border mobility of human capital, which India is witnessing. This should spur economic growth in terms of the ability to further facilitate expatriate talent coming into India. Ketan Dalal is executive director and Vishal Shah is associate director, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Your comments, feedback are welcome at groundrules@livemint.com. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Foreign trade set to recover marginally, deficit may shrinkAfter 13 months of decline, India’s export growth is set to turn positive for November. Imports, too, might turn around. A strong rebound in foreign trade, however, seems far off. Meanwhile, India’s trade deficit is likely to shrink substantially in FY10. Exports contracted 6.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October—the smallest decline since January—while imports declined 15% y-o-y. October was the 13th straight month in which exports registered a decline. For FY10 year-to-date (April-October), exports and imports contracted 26% and 29.6%, respectively.  Oil imports (value) have been rising after reaching a four-year low of $3.3 billion (Rs15,345 crore) in February. In October, oil imports rose to $6.6 billion—double the February level—as crude oil prices had increased around 70% since then. Non-oil imports contracted by 17.2% in October, after declining 30% in September. Though much of it comes from the relatively low base in October 2008, this category seems to be stabilizing as domestic demand improves. Trade deficit inching up Trade deficit started moving up after shrinking to a mere $2.2 billion in February. A sharp correction in global commodity prices along with feeble global demand played a major role in reducing the trade deficit earlier. As global commodity prices have started moving up, trade deficit is likely to increase, though gradually. We, however, expect India’s FY10 trade deficit to be much lower than the FY09 level. Outlook As most developed countries emerged from the recession in the September quarter, global demand is likely to improve, albeit at a slow pace. This, coupled with a rebound in global commodity prices, could improve the outlook for India’s exports. The sharp fall followed by the strong run-up in international crude prices are pushing up oil imports ahead of non-oil imports. India’s robust growth in the second quarter of FY10, 7.9%, indicates a likely spurt in non-oil imports as well. Barring a large revision in past data, we expect both export and import growth to turn positive from November. A strong recovery in foreign trade, however, seems far away. —Anand Rathi feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm How much is two much? Pen friend: Ravi Subramanian heads consumer assets division, HSBC India, and is an author. Ashesh Shah / Mint Being an author may not be a full-time second job for this banker, but it is one he enjoys as much as his banking job. “I find writing to be a great stress-buster. I normally write late at night, sometimes even from 11pm to 2am,” he says. His idea of after-work bliss? “An incomplete manuscript in my hand.” Juggling two jobs (even if the second seems more of a hobby) can be taxing—there are deadlines to meet for both, schedules to juggle, and efficiency that could take a beating if you push any one of them down the priority ladder. Organizations, though, need to clearly define these differing universes employees inhabit, says K. Pandia Rajan, Ma Foi Group and Randstad India’s managing director. “There are three universes. One is of dual careers where the jobs the employee does in different organizations leads to conflict of interests and is also unethical. I would proactively ban it. The other universe is where an employee carries out an activity which is different from his area of work and, consequently, enhances his efficiency at work. I would encourage it. The third category is where an employee takes away energies from his job and transfers it to another job—for instance, a teacher who lends his expertise to another school or college and earns from it. He does not add anything to his present job. I would put a regulatory mechanism and stipulate the hours he can devote to this activity.” Click here to listen to Yeshavini Ramaswamy, MD, E2E People Practices on the ethics of having two jobs at the same time Worthwhile effort Pankaj Khanna, 30, regional head, Bloomberg UTV, has two assignments and each needs equal commitment. He teaches sales management, media planning and public relations at Mumbai’s Event Management Development Institute on weekends and looks forward to it because “there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that I’m shaping young minds”.  Shaping minds: Pankaj Khanna works with Bloomberg UTV and is a teacher. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint Subramanian, Khanna and Coelho are just three of an ever-growing number of professionals taking out time from their busy schedules to indulge in pursuits that not only help hone their skills in fields other than their work area but also bring in extra money. Dual careers push personal boundaries for some and they emerge the better from it. Says N.S. Rajan, partner and global leader, human resources (HR) advisory, Ernst and Young, “It is an interest. The primary career of such individuals are their 9-5 jobs. No company can fault them, provided the work they do doesn’t clash with the company’s interests and doesn’t take the employee away from his work.” Work-life balance  Fair game: Arkid Mitra is a technical consultant and Web solutions expert. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint All four men admit that the activities they chase after regular work hours lend clarity to their regular jobs. “When I am teaching students,” says Khanna, “I am sharing knowledge and practical experience of my work. To be able to answer the myriad questions put forth by them, I have to be on top of my job. This compels me to read widely on the subject, source information through discussions with other professionals. This helps enhance my knowledge and keeps me abreast with the latest developments in my weekday job.” Adds Subramanian: “If I did not have a de-stresser such as writing novels, I would lose focus at work. One can become drab, dull and boring doing the same thing every day. Writing helps break the monotony.” In fact, Khanna takes it a step further. He is always on the lookout for talent in the classroom and then brings it to the notice of his bosses at his office. “These talented kids can then be employed in the company where we need them,” he says. Support systems  Life’s a stage: Anthony Coelho, trainer with DHL and theatre enthusiast. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint Plus, in times of an economic downturn, an extra income can be a bonus. “That is purely incidental,” says Khanna. “When you do something out of love, money is not a consideration at all.” His earnings from the teaching assignments are in the Rs1,000-2,000 range. Subramanian says what he earns through writing is “reasonable but not significant compared to the salary at the workplace. I would write, irrespective of the money”. Mitra, however, gets “rarely paid. I am honing my skills when I or my team help other start-ups. We get paid Rs20,000 to Rs1 lakh depending on the projects and the nature of work”. None of the firms these professionals work for wanted to go on record with regard to their HR policies on these individuals having a second source of income. However, the professional-cum-alternate-career-fulfilling individuals say their firms have no issues with it. “As long as what I do has no clash of interests with the company, the work is not done during office hours and does not affect the workplace, no company will have any problems with individuals devoting time to their passions,” says Khanna. Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm PACking a punch: look for hidden costs in UlipsMuch like other statutory warnings that manufacturers of harmful products hope you won’t really listen to, ads for unit-linked insurance policies (Ulips) are followed by a jaded voice, chanting: “Please read the policy document before investing”. And, there is a very good reason for you to heed that voice. Insurance companies are removing costs that you recognize and are stuffing them in places that you don’t see yet. To understand the issue fully, we need to understand all the Ulip costs first. The costs  The third cost is fund management charge, which is now capped at 1.35% of the fund value. You pay this charge to your fund manager to invest your money well. The fourth is the policy administration charge. Traditionally, this was as little as Rs50 a month or Rs600 a year, irrespective of the insurance amount or the premium you paid. It was a fixed cost that took care of expenses of an insurer such as paper work, stamp duty, welcome kit and policy brochures (note that mutual funds take care of all these costs plus fund management from the 2% annual charge). Now, here is the rub. Some insurance companies are linking this administration cost to either the premium or the sum assured and using the cash to pay commissions, medical underwriting cost and marketing cost, while keeping the PAC either zero or less than 10%. Says Andrew Cartwright, chief actuary, Kotak Life Insurance: “At least 40% of the first-year premium is required to recover the cost of a Ulip. This cost was recovered through PAC. But now with PAC gaining visibility, this cost is recovered through the administration charge.” The agent, while selling the plan, usually forgets to point out the cost padding in the administration charge, but does highlight the 100% allocation feature quite well. Also See Look Behind The Hoarding (Graphics) How it hurts But how do we know that the 100% allocation Ulips cost as much, if not more, than those that do not use administration costs in this manner? The only way to see what a policy will finally cost is to look at its return, net of costs, on an illustration (or example) of an assumed return of 10% per year. This means that if the policy returns 10% per year, post accounting for costs, it would return, say, 8%. The 2 percentage points gap is the cost that you pay each year. Our research shows that an efficient Ulip returns 8% or more net of costs (on an assumed 10% return). We examined four Ulips with less than 10% PAC in the first year and looked at their net return (on a 10% illustration). We found that in all cases, the net return was below 8% (see chart). But do note that the net returns are within the regulatory cost limit fixed by the regulator. But also note that in a competitive market, regulatory caps are ceilings and not floors. The insurers are themselves divided on the correctness of linking administration costs to the sum assured. Says Paresh Parsnis, managing director, HDFC Standard Life Insurance: “We like to treat customers paying a higher premium differently by providing value-added services, especially in the case of high net-worth individuals. Hence, the administration charge is linked to the premiums. However, there is no argument to link this charge to the sum assured.” Agrees Pranav Mishra, senior vice-president and head (products), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: “Differentiated service experience includes a basket of services such as welcome calling, separate queues at our call centre and a quarterly lifestyle magazine.” Of course, it is debatable whether you will want to pay for, or even, get this preferential treatment. But since this cost is not negotiable, you end up paying for services which you may not want or even get. Our advice: don’t get taken in by the 100% allocation sales smart talk, ask for the net return (also called an internal rate of return) on a 10% illustration. If the return is less than 8%, avoid the plan. Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Copenhagen, the Woodstock of our timesCopenhagen: The ear-biting 1-degree-Celsius chill did not dim the enthusiasm of the beaming Japanese campaigners handing out vegan sandwiches to the thousands pouring out of the Bella Convention Centre and heading for its modest metro station on Saturday night. “Please, have,” the Japanese said, as other groups sang, danced and staged skits. They are among more than 50,000 people who have poured into the orderly Danish capital of Copenhagen, straining its hospitality and abilities as negotiations to decide the earth’s future enter a critical second week. Next to the Japanese, decidedly more aggressive Dutch anti-meat campaigners taunted grey-haired executives who refused to accept their leaflets. “Old men can’t read, eh?” one bear of a man hollered, flinging a leaflet at them. Up the stairs of the metro station, it looked like a Mumbai peak-hour train station. Only, instead of dealing with the crush, the four-coach, driverless Copenhagen metro train was stalled at the station, its coaches jammed to beyond capacity, its doors refusing to close. Click here to read Mint’s complete coverage of the Copenhagen Summit  Raising concern: Demonstrators march through the centre of Copenhagen during the UN Climate Change Conference on Saturday. Danish police said on Sunday they had released almost all of the nearly 1,000 protesters arrested during a weekend mass rally. Anders Debel Hansen / Reuters In line with liberal Danish attitudes, visas have been issued to all manner of activists, NGOs, musicians and others. If the weekend was any indication, the severest test for Copenhagers—struggling with those slow-moving trains, trash, marches, and unruliness on its streets—lies ahead. Up and down the tracks from the Bella Centre, a series of trains was stationary, and electronic indicators train timings had collapsed. “There is nothing we can do,” shrugged a harassed metro employee, as she hurried to pull some people off a train. Journeys that normally take 10 minutes lasted more than an hour. Trains lurched along, stopping frequently for signals and crowds. Copenhagers bore it all stoically, but the strains are especially evident on one-third of the population (about two million) that uses only cycles. “Trains are packed, the streets are looking filthier and people walk on the cycling tracks,” said Abastha Veenegard (24), a postgraduate student at the city university. Cycling is the most popular form of transport after the metro in Copenhagen, where people travel 1.2 million km by cycles every day. This is the equivalent of cycling to the moon and back—twice. There are 350km of cycle tracks, each 2m wide. That’s about 60% of the total road length in Delhi. This helps the city save 80,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every day, and the city’s 2015 goal is that 50% of travel will be on cycles. Veenegard travels more than 15km every day on her cycle, like most of her friends, young and old. Even executives and civil servants cycle. You can park cycles everywhere, even take them on the trains. Copenhagen lives its earth ideals, and that is a strong draw for the bewildering range of people gathering here. On Saturday, climate parties merged with pre-Christmas nights of carousing, and on Sunday, South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu joined campaigners from across the world—and on the Net by many thousands—in a march to present a global petition to UN climate chief Yvo de Boer. On Saturday, a shopping day, police asked shopkeepers in the main city centre to close down after some of at least 30,000 marchers from a “Climate Walk” broke window panes of several shops and stole drinks from a few. “They have forced us to take a day off,” said grocery shop owner Andel Richel at Christianshavn in central Copenhagen. Some participants eased themselves on the road, common in India, but a rarity in any part of Europe. The route had banners, placards, beer bottles and garbage spilled all along. Bottles and trash littered the metro and pavements through the weekend. samar@hindustantimes.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Govt considering norms for municipal service regulatorsNew Delhi: The ministry of urban development is considering guidelines for states to set up municipal services regulators—a move that could remove utility pricing from the ambit of politicians, while also ensuring standards. The guidelines will provide a framework to oversee municipal services such as water, solid waste management and sewage. The draft is expected to be ready by March next year, after which the ministry will work with cities to refine the draft, said a senior urban development official.  Cleaning up: A garbage dump in Ghazipur. A watchdog agency for municipal utlities would provide much-needed direction to services such as solid waste management, water distribution and sewage. Madhu Kapparath / Mint Currently, most Indian states do not independently regulate municipal services. Analysts say some, such as Gujarat and Karnataka, are considering the establishment of water regulators. “The regulator will help you define (service) parameters,” said the official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The official said that typically municipalities within a state could agree on a certain service target—such as the number of hours of water to be delivered to a household every day—and if the municipality does not meet service levels, then “they face the consequences”. The official said the consequences need not necessarily be punitive. “At the moment, the biggest problem is that there is no definition of service levels,” the official said. This, coupled with the “over-emphasis” on creating assets as opposed to maintenance, is leading to sub-standard municipal service delivery, the official said. The official said any such regulator need not necessarily increase prices and that municipalities could achieve a lot by just rationalizing pricing models. The move comes even as the urban development ministry completes a benchmarking exercise to ascertain current service levels of utilities such as water, solid waste management and sewage in 27 cities across the country. The benchmarking, which the ministry touts as the first of its kind, reveals actual service levels provided by these municipalities and identifies areas for improvement. The results are surprising, said the official. Half the water supplied by utilities across the country does not bring them any revenue, leading to losses. “Today, there are many frameworks that are missing in the urban sector, for example, how does one move towards investment and pricing in relation to current service levels,” said S.R. Ramanujam, chief executive officer of ratings firm Crisil Risk and Infrastructure Solutions Ltd. “A regulator puts these in place—sector performance, and how it should be improved, measured, rewarded or penalized.” A watchdog agency could also provide much-needed direction. “I think it (municipal services regulator) is needed in the urban sector,” Ramanujam said. “Many people are at a crossroads and they need somebody to tell them the right way. A regulator can provide this guidance.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Oceans turning acidic, may have global impactCopenhagen: As deadlocked climate talks in Copenhagen prepared to enter a critical, fractious second week, a major new United Nations’ study showed how quickly the world could be running out of time. The world’s biggest insurance policy against rapid warming, the oceans are soaking up atmospheric carbon dioxide at such a rate that their acidity—and so their ability to nurture an intricate planet-wide web of life—could increase 150% by 2050. This dramatic increase, 100 times more than at any time in the last 20 million years, could cause “irreversible damage”, and highlights the direct link between climate change and the health of the oceans, said the study, released by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or CBD. Click here to read Mint’s complete coverage of the Copenhagen Summit  Critical issue: A file photo of the ocean off the Australian Antarctic territory. Seas and oceans absorb about one quarter of the carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere. AFP Djoghlaf said this was a “critical issue” that now needed to be included in the climate-change debate. That may not be easy with rich and poor countries failing to agree even on the language of a possible joint statement at the end of the week, much less key points such as cutting emissions and allocating money. Seas and oceans absorb about one quarter of the carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities. Without this absorption, the global-warming crisis would be greater than it is now. “This CBD study provides a valuable synthesis of scientific information on the impacts of ocean acidification, based on the analysis of more than 300 scientific literatures, and it describes an alarming picture of possible ecological scenarios and adverse impacts of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity,” Djoghlaf said. The study predicts direct impact on commercial fishing. A more acidic ocean could mean that by century’s end some 70% of cold-water corals, a key refuge and feeding ground for species that fishermen catch, will be exposed to these corrosive waters.  Scientists say some species might benefit from such changes to the ocean, but overall the effects are likely to be negative, with attendant effects that could range from livelihood of coastal communities to planetary regulation of carbon dioxide. “This publication...confirms again how great the stakes of sustainability are in the climate-change negotiations,” said Thomas E. Lovejoy, biodiversity chair of Washington DC’s Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, in the preface to the publication, officially titled Scientific Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biological Diversity. samar@hindustantimes.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:45 pm Divestment to gain steam from AprilThe disinvestment programme is set to enter an ambitious phase in the next financial year with the Department of Disinvestment planning to seek Cabinet approval for a host of companies from January.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:27 pm Slide and glide through the newsThe New York Times has unveiled a brand new interface that, in a sense, makes reading the news even simpler. Called the Times Skimmer, the interface lets you skim through dozens of headlines across several sections using just your keyboard. It is fast, easy and a treat on the eyes. In a sense the Skimmer undoes all the flashy content shenanigans that news websites had got obsessed with over the last few years. I am talking about videos, slideshows, audio and all the other multimedia elements that were supposed to make news browsing a richer experience. But sometimes just made it more complicated. The Skimmer shorns all such adornments for a simple, yet pleasing interface. Skimmer uses a grid of headlines of blurbs, arranged in one of a handful of themes you can choose from, and then lets you Skim through them using just your arrow buttons. Hold the ’A’ key down to select a story. Hit enter to read it. And so on and so forth. It is an interesting rethink of the news website interface. For a full demo of the Times Skimmer interface, see the latest episode of PlayStream. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2009 | 12:05 pm Scooters on fast trackHamara Bajaj may have walked into the sunset, but the sun is shining bright for other scooter manufacturers in the country.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 11:30 am Why Infosys wins an award in a bad yearThe expression was grim, but then, I could have mistaken a sign of determination for worry. Read on...Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:18 am Uttam Galva in steel export pushUttam Galva Steels Limited crossed the three million tonne mark in the export of value added steel. The company currently exports its products to 142 countries including Australia, France, Germany, Greece, UK and the US.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:16 am RPower against UMPP bid curbThe Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Power has opposed a restriction the government has proposed to impose on the number of UMPP to be awarded to any single developer.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:13 am Financial wizards look within to aid brethrenTwo of India’s finest financial wizards, Nimesh Kampani and Vallabh Bhansali who have been enabling India Inc to raise resources for decades, are now turning inward to help their own Jain community to tap the markets with small-sized share issues.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:11 am Govt to award 17 ports to private sectorThe government is planning to award 17 major port development projects to private players, under the ambitious National Maritime Development Programme. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 13 Dec 2009 | 9:09 am
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