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Railway cash surplus inflated in last 5 years: MamataRailway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented a white paper document in the Parliament on Friday, giving details of the finances of the Indian Railways raising concerns over the irregularities perpetrated during Lalu Prasad Yadavs tenure.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:27 am See 50% growth in ad revenues this year: Jagran PrakashanIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, RK Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer, Jagran Prakashan, speaks about the company and his outlook going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:00 am Court issues production warrant against Ramalinga Raju!A local court issued a production warrant against former Satyam Computer chairman Ramalinga Raju.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am Sensex down 80 points in early trade !The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by over 80 points in early trade amid capital outflows by foreign funds on weak global cues.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am UK court declares British Airways strike illegal !Passengers and British Airways management heaved a sigh of relief as the 12-day strike by cabin crew of the airlines over the Christmas period was declared illegal by the high court here.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am US stocks tumble over concern for global recovery!US stocks tumbled across the board on Thursday over concern about global recovery as the US dollar rose.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am Tata Motors global sales zoom 62% in Nov!Tata Motors today reported a 62 per cent jump in its total global sales in November on the back of strong performance by its British marquees Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR).Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am Japan central bank leaves rate unchanged !Japan`s central bank held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent as it seeks to support an economic recovery.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am RIM profit up 59 pct on record BlackBerry sales!BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has reported a 59 percent increase in third-quarter income, boosted by new subscribers and record sales of its smart phones.Source: Zee News : Business | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:59 am 3G EGoM meet deferred to Dec 21On the long standing 3G spectrum issue, CNBCTV18 learns that the empowered group of ministers (EoMs) meet on 3G has been deferred further. The meet is not scheduled for December 21 to try and break the impasse on 3G spectrum availability.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:12 am SAIL chairman says steel prices may rise in JanStaterun Steel Authority of India Ltd expects steel prices to go up next month following a rise in global prices, its chairman said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 5:54 am IPG sells Reliance fuel to Iran despite restrictionKuwaitbased trader Independent Petroleum Group has sold gasoline produced by Reliance into Iran, even though the Indian refiner has asked traders not to ship its fuel to the Islamic Republic, trade sources said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 5:52 am Suzlon repays acquisitionrelated debtWind turbine maker Suzlon Energy said on Friday it has repaid loans taken to fund acquisitions and reduced overall debt by USD 350 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 5:50 am Prakash Industries plans 625MW power capacity expansionIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Vipul Agarwal, Director of Finance, Prakash Industries, speaks about the company and his outlook going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 5:40 am Essar block holds 43% higher reserves: ReportIndia\'s Essar Oil is estimated to hold around 43% more recoverable reserves in its coal bed methane block in eastern India than previous estimates, according to an analyst report.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 5:09 am To maintain CAGR at 36%: Cox and KingsIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Anil Khandelwal, Chief Financial Officer of Cox and Kings India Limited, spoke about the companys growth.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 4:59 am Sensex closes below 16700; realty, banks down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:23 am FY10 growth may exceed 7.75%: Finance Ministry - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:15 am Railway cash surplus inflated in last 5 years: Mamata - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:15 am Rupee rangebound; stocks offset weak dollarMumbai: The Indian rupee traded in a narrow range on Friday as a weaker local stock market offset support from a weaker dollar overseas. At 3:20pm,the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.85/86 per dollar, having traded in the Rs46.79/92 range throughout the day. It had closed at Rs46.88/89 ion Thursday. Indian shares were down 0.95%, with energy giant Reliance Industries and IT bellwether Infosys Technologies leading the fall. The dollar stayed pressured, and the index of the dollar against six majors was down 0.25%. Dealers said the Indian currency is likely to stay stronger than Rs47 per dollar on Friday, with dealers watching for any action or hawkish comments from the central bank or finance ministry after their meeting on Friday evening. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at Rs46.91/47.01, pricing in a slightly weaker rupee than the spot rate. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:02 am Tata Motors November global sales up 62% YoYTata Motors Ltd, India\'s top vehicles maker, said its group\'s global sales in November rose 62% from a year earlier to 75,775 units.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:50 am Rate talk swirls ahead of RBI, fin min meet - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:42 am DAL in talks with Ascendas, Capital for Int'l REIT merger - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:35 am 12 deals Satyam lost in 2009 - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:34 am Fortis completes acquisition of Wockhardt hospitalsNew Delh: Fortis Healthcare on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of 10 Wockhardt hospitals in metro cities of Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata for Rs909 crore. Fortis completes the acquisition of greenfield hospitals division of Wockhardt Hospitals comprising 10 hospitals in metro cities of Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata (including two under construction) for Rs909 crore, on a going-concern basis, Fortis said in a statement. The acquisition was made under a wholly-owned subsidiary, Fortis Hospitals and was funded partly by the recently concluded rights issue, internal accruals and debt. The acquisition expanded Fortis bed capacity by 1,902 (including 534 beds in two under construction projects) and provides significant presence in south, west and east India. The aggregate bed capacity of Fortis Network now stand at 5,180 beds, the company said. “Fortis is now poised to leverage its national footprint and leadership position to take healthcare delivery in India to another level. We will be able to demonstrate the benefit of scale to our customers through quality, cost and accessibility,” Fortis Healthcare Managing Director Shivinder Mohan Singh. With the addition of the 10 Wockhardt hospitals, Fortis would now have six hospitals in Bangalore, four in Mumbai and three in Kolkatta apart from a vast presence in national capital region and a major facility in Chennai. “We are confident that shared values of Wockhardt Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare will form the basis for our continued success in the future,” Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises Group chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh said. Earlier in August, Fortis executed a biding deal with Wockhardt Hospitals to acquire the latter’s 10 hospitals . Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:34 am Nokia picks ST-Ericsson as key China 3G supplierThe partnership will accelerate the pace of TD-SCDMA development, shorten time to market, and boost the TD market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:29 am FY10 growth may exceed 7.75%: Finance ministryThe Economic Survey 200809 in July had projected GDP growth could be around 7.0%, with an allowance of 0.75% points on either side.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:26 am American Airlines says still in talks with Japan Airlines CorpAccording to reports on Friday JAL was likely to choose Delta as its overseas alliance partner, leaving behind its current partner American Airlines and Oneworld.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:19 am Gold prices down on sluggish demandMumbai: India’s spot gold prices fell on Friday afternoon as buyers continued to stay away expecting a further dip in prices, dealers said. “Prices have to come down to Rs16,500 levels before significant buying takes place,” said a dealer with a private bank based in Mumbai. Dealers said an expected jump in December imports will also keep prices at lower levels. India’s December gold imports are likely to spurt to 15-20 tonnes from 3 tonnes a year earlier, mainly on the back of the wedding season demand and easing prices, the head of the Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said in an interview on 9 December. However, a major drop in prices is overruled as the wedding season will last till December-end, dealers said. Gold prices rose 0.8% in Europe on Friday, recouping some of the previous session’s hefty 3.5% losses, as the dollar ceded ground to the euro, boosting interest in the metal as an alternative asset. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:13 am Govt’s green SEZ policy favours solar powerNew Delhi: The government has proposed that all SEZs should meet at least 25% of their lighting needs through solar energy, a move that will go a long way in making SEZs green, even as consensus eludes climate change talks in Copenhagen. “At least 25% of the installed external lighting load should be solar powered,” the draft guidelines for Green Special Economic Zones said. The government also wants at least half of the requirement for bill boards to be solar-powered. The draft proposals intend to make all new and existing SEZs green as the government wants existing SEZs to go for green certification. In addition to lighting requirements, the draft proposals also call for a minimum of 2% of estimated energy consumption for each zone from solar or other forms of renewable energy and scale it up gradually. “Over a period of 10 years, the solar/ other forms of renewable energy must be extended from 2% to a minimum of 20% of total estimated energy consumption,” it says. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before leaving for Copenhagen Summit had said India, as a responsible member of the international community, has announced that it will reduce the emissions by 20-25% in 2020 compared to 2005. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:13 am IndusInd Bank sees consumer fin loanbook up 20%Mumbai: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank expects its consumer finance loan book to rise 20% in 2009/10 and 25% in 2010/11 on robust growth in the vehicle finance segment, a top official said on Friday. “Our vehicle finance is picking up and we are seeing growth in auto, two-wheeler and three-wheeler segment,” said Romesh Sobti, managing director and chief executive officer. The bank also expects to maintain its target of 25-30% credit growth in FY10, he said. “Demand from corporates for working capital loans and pick-up in vehicle finance segment will help (loan) growth,” Sobti said. The lender has a total loan book of Rs18, 500 crore . Consumer loans make up 44% of the loan book, while the rest is corporate loans. IndusInd will bring more loans under coverage to raise coverage ratio, a key indicator of asset quality of banks, to 60% by March 2010, from 35% now to meet regulatory norms, Sobti said. Provision coverage ratio is a measure indicating the extent to which the lender has provided against the troubled part of its loan portfolio. The Reserve Bank of India in its recent monetary policy asked banks to raise provision coverage ratio to 70% by September 2010. IndusInd also expects net non-performing assets to be below one percent in the current fiscal, Sobti said. At 1.55 p.m., shares in the bank, with a market capitalisation of Rs5770 crore, were down 0.71% at Rs139.75 in the Mumbai market that was down 0.25%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:07 am RCom mobile user base at 91 mn; adds 2.8 mn in NovNew Delhi: The country’s second largest mobile operator, Reliance Communications, added 2.8 million subscribers in November, expanding its user base to 91 million in both the GSM and CDMA platforms. The Anil Ambani led company said its November subscriber addition is 32% higher than that of October. The company attributed this to the three variants of ‘Simply Reliance’ plan across the CDMA and GSM services which follow a per second billing. This has four plans — 1paise/sec, 50 paise/ min, Rs 1/ 3min and 1paise/sms. On the GSM front, Bharti Airtel, the largest service provider in the country, added 2.8 million new users in November, while Vodafone Essar added 2.7 million, according to figures released by the Cellular Operator’s Association of India (COAI). Idea Cellular move to the third position from the fourth in terms of subscriber addition, notching up 2.5 million users in the month. Reliance Communications shares were trading at Rs173.50, down 0.05%, in the afternoon trade at the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:03 am Markets fall 1%; Reliance, Infosys downMumbai: Indian shares extended losses to 1% on Friday afternoon, with energy giant Reliance Industries and IT bellwether Infosys Technologies leading the fall. At 2:20pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 1.025 at 16,722.67 points, with 24 components declining. The 50-share NSE Index was down 1% at 4,990.15. Markets were trading 0.2% lower late morning tailing weak global markets, with Infosys Technologies and financial stocks leading the losses. IT bellwether Infosys Technologies shed 1.1% to Rs2,532.50, as traders booked profits after the recent sharp gains. It was still up 3.2% this week. Top private lender ICICI Bank dropped 0.7% to Rs820 while smaller rival HDFC Bank declined 0.7% to Rs1,660.95. “Investors are not positive on banks from a near-term perspective, due to concerns over likely rate hike and credit offtake issues,” said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional equities at Asian Markets Securities. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp was down 1.2% at Rs2,569.60. By 12:14pm, the 30-share BSE Index was trading down 0.24% at 16,853.09, with 18 of its components declining. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.2% at 5,030.60. The benchmark is down 1.6% this week, and is likely to post its first weekly fall in three weeks. However, it has rallied nearly 75% in 2009, helped by strong inflows from foreign funds. Leading vehicles maker Tata Motors climbed 3.2% to Rs732.90, after its global sales in November rose 62% from a year earlier to 75,775 units, with sales at its Jaguar Land Rover unit up 30%. “The sales numbers reinforce our positive view on the stock,” Macquarie said in a note. The brokerage expects the company’s domestic commercial vehicle sales to grow around 23% in the next couple of years on a revival in the overall economy, pickup in industrial activity, easier availability of finance, improvement in freight rates, and changes in emission norms. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.4:1. while 146 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:01 am Dr Reddy’s reaches 3rd stage of trial of anti-diabetic drugHyderabad: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on Friday said it has reached the third stage of clinical trial for an anti-diabetic drug, which could become the first innovative molecule from India. The company also said it has completed the first stage of human trials for an anti-cholesterol compound with promising results. The anti-diabetic compound ‘Balagletazone´ has reached phase III clinical trial stage and has the “potential to become the first innovative molecule from India,” Dr Reddy’s Laboratories founder K Anji Reddy told reporters here today. He said the company is also working on a new cholesterol lowering compound. “We are developing an anti-cholesterol compound, which is showing a very promising potential. We have just concluded our Phase I clinical trials,” Reddy said. He, however, did not specify where the trials are being done and by when it could go to the next stage. Phase I clinical trials are the first stage of testing in human subjects on a select small number of volunteers (20-50), while the phase III trials are conducted on larger randomized sample of up to 3,000. He claimed that the new anti-cholesterol compound has the potential of becoming a blockbuster drug and many other multinational firms were also working on it. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:00 am Gas case: Jethmalani trains guns on RIL, again - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:55 am Mukesh Ambani ranked 5th best CEO in the worldNew Delhi: Mukesh Ambani, who heads India’s most valuable company Reliance Industries, has been ranked among top five best performing CEOs in the world by the prestigious Harvard Business Review. Ambani, the only Indian to feature among top 50 CEOs, is in the same league as Steve Jobs of Apple, Yun Jong-Yong of Samsung Electronics, Russian energy firm Gazprom’s Alexey Miller and John Chambers of Cisco Systems. He is also ranked number two among the top 10 emerging market CEOs with Miller at the top. K V Kamath of ICICI Bank is the other Indian in the list of Top 10 Emerging Market CEOs. He is ranked at number 9. The Harvard Business Review said it ranked CEOs of large public traded companies in a study conducted over 2000 CEOs worldwide. The entire group represented 48 nationalities and companies based in 33 countries. It put Ambani in the list of “up-through-the-ranks leaders” along with the Samsung boss. “Among the up-through-the-ranks leaders on our list are Yun Jong-Yong, who joined Samsung straight out of college and worked there 30 years before becoming CEO, and Mukesh Ambani, who joined RIL in 1981, when it was still a textile company run by his father. “These CEOs may not all be household names, but here’s an objective look at who delivered the top results over the long term,“ HBR said, ranking Steve Jobs as the top CEO in the world. Jobs, it said, delivered a whopping 3,188% industry-adjusted return (34% compounded annually) after he rejoined Apple as CEO in 1997, when the company was in dire strait. From that time until the end of September 2009, Apple’s market value increased by $150 billion. He was followed by Yun Jong-Yong, who ran South Korea’s Samsung Electronics from 1996 to 2008. “Yun is an example of a leader who has stayed out of the limelight. During his tenure he capably transformed Samsung from a maker of memory chips and me-too products into an innovator selling digital products such as leading-edge cell phones.” Miller was number 3 followed by Chambers. HBR said none of the top three CEOs had a MBA. Ambani and Chambers were the only two on the top five to hold degrees in business administration. “CEOs who were promoted from inside the company tended to have stronger performance than those brought in from the outside,” said HBR. Several CEOs that were ”most respected” according to other reviews were nowhere in HBR’s top 50. These include Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Satoru Iwata of Nintendo, Sam Palmisano of IBM and Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil. Many other celebrity CEOs also failed to make the cut. They include Carlos Ghosn of Renault-Nissan, Sergio Marchionne of Fiat, John March of Morgan Stanley, Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric, Daniel Vasella of Novartis and Robert Iger of Walt Disney. “Some of these well-known CEOs have not necessarily done poorly; they are just not among the top performers in the world according to the total shareholder return they have delivered so far,” HBR said. The likes of Jack Welch, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates do not find mention in the list as HBR considered CEOs who assumed the job no earlier than January 1995 and no later than December 2007. “On an average the top 50 CEOs increased the wealth of their shareholders by $48.2 billion,” it said. They delivered a total shareholder return of 997% during their time in office. That translates into a spectacular annual return of 32%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:51 am No U.N. deal on carbon cuts, last day of talksCOPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Two years of U.N. climate talks reached their climax in Copenhagen on Friday without a deal on carbon emissions cuts, as world leaders tried a last push to agree a new global climate pact.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:48 am Reliance communications tie-up with phone retailer UnivercellThrough this tie-up, Univercell would retail Reliance Netconnect Broadband Plus in all the 42 stores in Chennai.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:44 am Nokia picks ST-Ericsson as key China 3G supplierHELSINKI (Reuters) - Chip maker ST-Ericsson will be the key supplier of chipset platforms for Nokia's Symbian-based devices using China's 3G technology, the two companies said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am India FY10 growth may exceed 7.75%: finmin reportNew Delhi: The Indian economy could grow more than 7.75% in the fiscal year to March 2010, the finance ministry said in a report to parliament. The ministry said the Economic Survey 2008/09 in July had projected GDP growth could be around 7%, with an allowance of 0.75 percentage points on either side. “With the latest GDP data on Q2 (July-Sept) of 2009/10 being higher at 7.9%, the growth outlook for the next two quarters and for the whole year is likely to be in the upper bound of the range predicted; and may even exceed it,” the report said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:37 am FY10 growth may exceed 7.75 pct - finmin reportNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The economy could grow more than 7.75 percent in the fiscal year to March 2010, the finance ministry said in a report to parliament.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:36 am Economic growth in current fiscal to exceed 7.75%: FinminIndia's economic expansion could exceed 7.75% during the current fiscal, helped by high GDP growth numbers recorded during the July-September quarter, the government informed Parliament today.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:21 am Mukesh Ambani ranked world's 5th best CEOMukesh Ambani, who heads India's most valuable company Reliance Industries, has been ranked among top five best performing CEOs in the world by the prestigious Harvard Business Review.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:19 am Rate talk swirls ahead of RBI, fin min meetNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao will meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday evening, sources said, amid speculation the bank would tighten monetary policy to help stem rising prices.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:06 am Rate talk swirls ahead of RBI governor and finmin meetingBy * Central bank governor, finance minister to meet 1045 GMT * Speculation of policy action to contain inflation pressure (Adds detail) By Rajkumar Ray New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao will meet finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday evening, sources said, amid speculation the bank would tighten monetary policy to help stem rising prices. The meeting is due to start at 4:15 p.m. (1045 GMT) and while it is not unusual for the two officials to discuss the economy, analysts said the meeting could be a prelude to an earlier-than-expected interest rate rise. The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond rose to 7.70%, matching a 13 -month high hit on 11 December. It had ended at 7.64% on Thursday. “Inflation could be on the agenda,” said a government official, who asked to remain anonymous. Data released on Thursday showed that food prices surged an annual 20% in early December, reinforcing market views a tightening was coming. The central bank’s next scheduled policy review is at the end of January, but it can change policy settings at any time. Of the six cuts in the repo rate between Oct 2008 and April, only the last came at a scheduled review. Setting the Stage “Headline inflation numbers have indeed caused an agitation in political circles as well, and it is not surprising that monetary authorities and the finance ministry would meet to discuss the issue on a more urgent basis,” said Atsi Sheth, chief economist at Macro-Sutra in Mumbai. “I think the stage is slowly being set for a tightening in the next few weeks rather than at the end of January.” In a report to parliament on Friday, the finance ministry said pressure on food prices was likely to continue, and food imports could help stem price rises. It also said a surge in capital inflows could lead to an inflationary spiral. “Government is monitoring price situation on regular basis and containment of inflation is high on its agenda,” Mukherjee said in a written reply to a lawmaker’s question. Food prices are soaring because of shortages after crops were hit by the weakest monsoon rains in 37 years, followed by flooding in parts of the country. The price rises come as the economy is picking up strength after a dip in late 2008 and early 2009. Markets had expected that the central bank would first raise the cash reserve ratio for banks, or CRR, to drain excess funds from the market, with rate rises to follow. Subbarao has said that monetary policy is not the right tool to fix supply problems such as food shortages, but has also noted the risk that if soaring food prices were factored into expectations for other prices it would create inflation pressures throughout the economy. “We are all aware that currently inflation is a supply-side situation, but we are also seeing inflationary expectations go up,” said Harihar Krishnamoorthy, treasurer at First Rand Bank in Mumbai. “So rates have to go up, but the question is by how much.” The RBI cut its main lending rate, the repo rate, by 425 basis points between October 2008 and April, slashed the CRR and pumped cash into markets to shore them and the economy up against the global financial crisis and slowdown. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:01 am Current figures spell doom for coastal areas: confidential UN draftCopenhagen: Amid intense overnight bickering, the watered-down agreement likely to be signed in Copenhagen on Friday is a partial death knell for the planet, a confidential United Nations draft, now in the possession of the Hindustan Times, has warned. In its current form, the agreement could lead to a temperature rise that could inundate coastal cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, New York, Cairo and London, destroy the Amazonian rain forests, desertify vast tracts of land and wipe out most of the world’s small island nations. The document, marked ‘confidential’, ‘do not distribute’ and dated December 15, warns that all the pledges on the table right now, in the form of emission cuts from the developed countries and voluntary actions from developing countries, like emissions intensity reductions by India and China will send global temperatures on a spiral that will reach 3 degree Celsius by 2050. Also See | The leaked UN document (pdf) The world awoke on Friday to news of fresh anger and arguments among negotiators, whose discussions have focussed on how to hold the temperature line at 2 degrees Celsius dismayed small island nations who demand 1.5 degrees Celsius. Now, the leaked UN document indicates how negotiators have become so bogged down in procedures and suspicion that the actual figures needed to save the Earth have been ignored. The document said with the current pledges global carbon emissions will be 10.5 gigatonnes above the 44 gigatonnes that will likely hold temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. “This gap could be partly covered by the emission savings that could result from minimum pledges and maximum pledges,” the document said. “Unless the remaining gap of 1.9 to 4.2 gigatonnes and parties commit themselves to strong action prior and after 2020, global emissions will remain on an unsustainable pathway that could lead to concentrations equal of above 550 ppm (parts per million) with the related temperature rise around 3 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, as negotiations for a final political agreement, a treaty that commits the world to urgent action will be discussed only in Mexico in November 2010, continued through the night and into early Friday, the G77 group of 133 developing nations and India alleged they were being stage-managed by the West. The whole thing was stage-managed to show that they had consulted everyone, said an angry Jairam Ramesh, Indian environment minister after meeting Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Press Trust of India reported. Ramesh, who was on his way to a meeting of BASIC (Brazil, South Africa and China), implied that the Danes and other developed countries had already prepared a text to be signed. “In one hour’s time, somehow miraculously, a text will appear,” Ramesh was quoted as saying. The co-chair of the G-77, Sudanese diplomat Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aiping, too alleged the text was prepared from before. Rasmussen is the chairman of the Conference of Parties (COP) 15, as the summit is officially called. On Thursday, he told the final meeting of countries that any political statement will be based on two texts being negotiation on Long Term Cooperative Action and on the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Copenhagen on Thursday. He will be joined by US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as part of 113 national leaders who hope to sign at least a weak political agreement. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:53 am Breaking news: Economic growth may exceed 7.75% during 2009-10Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:47 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Euro recovers, shares fall on earnings jittersHONG KONG (Reuters) - The euro recovered from early losses on Friday after Pakistan dismissed rumours of a coup while Asian stocks fell as investors fretted about the outlook for corporate earnings.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:42 am Suzlon repays $780 mn of acquisition loans - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:41 am SAIL chairman says steel prices may rise in Jan - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:35 am China to stay a plodding "ox" in year of the tigerBEIJING (Reuters) - After blasting to recovery from the global financial crisis, China will enter next year wrestling with unwelcome expectations for it to shoulder a bigger role in insulating the world economy against more turmoil.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:23 am BSE Sensex sheds 0.2 pct; Infosys, banks downMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex was trading 0.2 percent lower on Friday, tailing weak global markets, with Infosys Technologies and financial stocks leading the losses.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:15 am Suzlon repays acquisition-related debtWind turbine maker Suzlon Energy said on Friday it has repaid loans taken to fund acquisitions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:13 am Current capital inflows manageable - reportNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Current levels of capital inflows into India can be managed without "significant costs," the finance ministry said in a report to parliament.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:12 am IndusInd Bank sees consumer finance loanbook up 20%The bank also expects 25%-30% credit growth in FY10.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:09 am Banks replace companies as key borrowers in 2010Global corporate bond sales of $1.02 trillion were the biggest ever and a 42% jump on 2008, while high yield issuance reached a three-year high at $153 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:05 am Sanghvi Movers (Rs 224.7): BuyWe recommend a buy in Sanghvi Movers stock from a short-term horizon. It is apparent from the charts of the stock that from its 52-week low of Rs 59.6 recorded in March, it has been on a steady intermediate-term uptrend. Moreover, the stock'sSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe recommend a sell in DLF with stop at Rs 374. Initiate fresh short-position only if ICICI Bank declines below Rs 815 and SBI dives below Rs 2150, with stiff stop-loss. We recommend a buy in Infosys with tight stop at Rs 2,545. We recommend aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Bank of Baroda to recruit 3,000 this yearMany IIM & IIT graduates are actively considering careers with public sector banks. Bank of Baroda managed to recruit nearly 50 officers last year from these premier institutions, according to Mr M.D.Mallya, Chairman and ManagingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Fiscal deficit: The Achilles' heelThe countdown for the Union Budget for 2010-11 is under way. With a growth rate of 7 per cent for 2009-10, the growth cheerleaders would be rooting for an 8-8.5 per cent growth rate for 2010-11. Fiscal policy, it would be claimed, shouldSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am New trading timing to take effect only from Jan 4The high drama over extended trading timings at NSE and BSE spilled over into ThursdaySource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Panel pulls up Govt for surge in sugar prices, seeks probeAs food inflation soared to a decade's high of 19.95 per cent in the week to December 5, a Parliamentary panel has sought a “thorough investigation” into the “unduly high retail prices” ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Traders unsure of early trading taking offMarket players who were left bewildered by the flip-flop on the part of BSE and NSE to advance trade timings, are still not too sure that a 9 a.m. opening will take off from JanuarySource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am 50 paise/unit sop for wind projects feeding power to gridThe Ministry for New and Renewable Energy has announced generation-based incentive scheme for grid-connected wind powerSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Public sector general insurers grow 11% in April-NovemberThe four public sector general insurance companies — United India Insurance, National Insurance Company, New India Assurance and Oriental Insurance Company — have together grown at a slightly faster rate than the private playersSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Whose profit was sweeter from the sugar price rise?As cane growers and sugar producers tussle over a “fair” price for sugarcane, who has benefited from the soaring sugar prices and expanding by-product sales over the past few years? If you look at share of profits, it would be theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Govt sees short-term food price pressure - finmin reportNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government expects continued short term pressure on food prices and easing of food imports could help stem prices, the finance ministry said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:55 pm Rupee recovers modestly against dollar in early tradeOvercoming resistance, the rupee recovered marginally by three paisa to 46.85/86 against the US currency in the late morning trade on Friday amid alternate bouts of buying and selling of dollar by exporters.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:48 pm D Subbarao to meet Pranab Mukherjee on FridayA government official, who did not wished to be named, said the Reserve Bank of India governor and the finance minister could talk about inflation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:48 pm Accenture sales outlook disappointsAccenture estimated net revenue of $5.1 billion to $5.3 billion in its fiscal second quarter. Analysts expected $5.4 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:38 pm Taming inflation high on govt's agenda - MukherjeeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Containing inflation is high on the government's agenda and it is monitoring the price situation, the finance minister said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:37 pm Recession battered India retail in 2009New Delhi: India’s retail industry boom gave way to despair in 2009 as consumers held back big spending, forcing some companies to restructure finances, while recession-battered western retail chains would have felt glad they were not allowed to set shop. Although the UPA government returned to power, minus the push and pulls of Left parties, it decided to keep western multi-brand retail chains off from the country’s $450 -billion retail market. But nobody was complaining, as the recession-battered global majors were busy securing existing operations elsewhere. One estimate suggests that nearly 5,700 retail stores would close down this year in the US alone. That slowdown had got to the domestic retail trade became evident when one of the earliest players, budget-retail chain Subhiksha, went bust. Not long after, north Indian chain Vishal Retail went for corporate debt restructuring. Others such as Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Retail and Kishore Biyani- led Pantaloon went slow on expansion or even downsized operations. Though the last quarter saw a bit of marketplace confidence returning, overall, the year remained challenging. There were no estimates, however, of how mom & pop stores fared through the year. While Indian companies tread cautiously, the world’s largest furniture maker Ikea scrapped plans to enter the country, citing government’s restrictions on FDI. The Swedish retailer was planning to enter the single- brand retail segment, where 51% FDI is allowed but it wanted further relaxation of the rules. The last quarter, around the festive season, saw a bit of consumer confidence returning, with some retailers player announcing expansion plans for the coming year. The year started with Chennai-based retailer Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd going bankrupt and downing the shutters of all its 1,600 odd stores across the country due to severe liquidity crunch. With its lenders running for the company’s skin and over 5,000 employees on the street, Subhiksha sought a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) exercise. But, that remains inconclusive and the firm now faces a slew of cases by its suppliers in the Madras High Court on winding up petitions. Reeling under Rs730-crore debt, Delhi-based supermarket chain Vishal Retail also went in for a CDR in November. Earlier in the year, it had already halted all expansion. Even the country’s largest retailer, Kishore Biyani- promoted Future Group, faced crunch and went in for restructuring of its operations and merging them under six verticals. A few months ago it announced plans to hive off its supermarket chain Big Bazaar as a separate entity and list it on the market by end of the current fiscal. Biyani said the company will open 155 Big Bazaar stores by 2014, increasing its total network to 275 stores. Besides, its subsidiary, Pantaloon Retail will invest Rs360 crore this fiscal to add up to 2.4 million sq ft of retail space. The company had raised Rs500 crore in November through Qualified Institutional Placement and is looking to raise some of the money for expansion. But as the confidence began to return in the last quarter, with the economy showing signs of growth, retail players started unveiling expansion plans for the coming months and years. Biyani hopes to make Future Group a Rs25,000-crore entity with a total retail space of 30 million sq ft. Bharti’s single-brand retail chain ‘Easy Day´ continued expansion across North India. It plans to have 200 outlets by end of next year, from 70 currently. Koutons Retail, a leading apparel chain, said it will amalgamate various formats under the brand of ‘Koutons Family Store´ and plans to add another 100 outlets by March. Shoppers Stop will invest Rs250 crore in opening 15 new supermarkets in next three years. The Franchise India 2009 Summit in November saw participation of over 200 Indian and foreign retail players, with many of them unveiling plans to invest big in India. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:31 pm Sensex down 80 points in early trade on weak global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today fell by over 80 points in early trade amid capital outflows by foreign funds on weak global cues.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:33 pm Oil above $73 on economic data, colder US weatherSingapore: Oil rose above $73 a barrel on Friday, underpinned by signs of a gradual economic recovery in the United States and the prospect of increased winter demand as a cold snap gripped the US Northeast. A slight fall in the US dollar from a more than three-month high the previous day added to price support, after a slew of economic data on Thursday that seemed to show the United States on track for a recovery, albeit a patchy one. Crude for January delivery rose 46 cents to $73.11 a barrel by 8:00am, after settling down 1 cent on Thursday. London Brent crude was up 18 cents at $73.55. “We’ve seen some short-covering due to expectations of colder weather in the United States,” said Sumisho Sano, general manager of research at Tokyo-based SCM Securities. “We think oil will stay in the range of $65-$75 for the rest of the year. It will be choppy though, with the market continuing to focus on dollar movements, inventories, and economic data,” he added. On the supply front, Suncor Energy Inc said Thursday it would cut output at one of its oil sands upgraders in Canada’s Alberta Province by up to 150,000 barrels a day, or half of its capacity, for two to four weeks after a fire at the plant on Tuesday. The outage had a limited effect on world oil prices, but traders said it could mean some of the crude stocks accumulating in the US Midwest, and weighing on front-month futures, will be drawn down. The January oil contract, which expires on Monday, is on track for a 4.6% gain this week, but the second month is up just 3.1%, as the backwardation between the two narrowed to around $1 from more than $2 at the start of the week. There is no expectation of a change in output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oppec), which pumps about a third of the world’s oil, when it meets in Angola on 22 December. Factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region hit a 4-1/2-year high in December and a gauge of future economic conditions rose last month, adding to evidence of a pick-up in the world’s largest economy. However, the number of people filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week rose unexpectedly, a sign that the labour market was rebounding only gradually. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:22 pm Wall St sinks as dollar jumps, FedEx loses altitudeNew York: US stocks fell on Thursday as the dollar’s rebound spurred a safe-haven trade, cutting demand for riskier assets, while a soft profit outlook from economic bellwether FedEx sank transportation shares. Financial services stocks took a beating after influential banking analyst Meredith Whitney cut her earnings estimates on Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of major currencies, rose nearly 1% - hitting its highest level in more than three months. In recent months, stocks have risen sharply while the greenback dropped, as investors took advantage of the inexpensive currency to buy higher-yielding assets. “The dollar is starting to spook the market here a little bit,” said Terry Morris, senior vice president and senior equity manager for National Penn Investors Trust Company in Reading, Pennsylvania. An unexpected increase in new claims for jobless benefits in the latest week illustrated the bumpy road for the US economic recovery. The jobless claims offered a sharp contrast to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, whose index showed factory activity accelerated rapidly in the US Mid-Atlantic region in December. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 132.86 points, or 1.27%, to end at 10,308.26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 13.10 points, or 1.18%, to 1,096.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 26.86 points, or 1.22%, to close at 2,180.05. The market shuddered after FedEx Corp forecast third-quarter profit below analysts’ expectations, pushing its stock down 6.1 percent to $84.47. The Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.2%. Whitney trimmed earnings estimates for Goldman and Morgan for 2010 and 2011. Goldman Sachs shares dropped 2.5% to $160.93, while Morgan Stanley shed 4% to $29.12. The S&P Financial Index slid 1.8%, while the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index fell 2%. Citigroup Inc tumbled 7.3% to $3.20 after the bank’s stock and bond offering attracted weak demand and priced much lower than expected, prompting the US Treasury to delay a plan to sell its Citigroup stake, sometime within the next 12 months. Research In Motion’s stock jumped 10.8% to $70.40 in extended trade on Nasdaq after the BlackBerry maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Software maker Oracle Corp gained 4.2% to $23.84 in after-hours trade after posting adjusted earnings that topped Wall Street’s estimates. Nike Inc shares rose 3.2% to $65.25 in extended trade after the athletic shoe and apparel maker posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates of 71 cents per share by a nickel. During the regular session, the dollar’s spike coincided with a slide of nearly 3 percent in the price of gold. The sell-off in gold futures hurt the shares of U.S.-listed gold miners. The Arca Gold Bugs index, which measures the performance of 15 gold miners with US-traded shares, tumbled 5.9%. The US Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term, sending it to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. The outcome of the vote appeared to barely affect stocks. Among other factors influencing the market’s tone, analysts pointed to the impact of Friday’s quarterly expiration of December options and futures, also known as quadruple witching. This often adds high levels of volatility as players adjust and/or exercise their derivatives positions. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:19 pm Sensex down 80 points in early trade on weak global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday fell by over 80 points in early trade amid capital outflows by foreign funds on weak global cues.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:17 pm Rupee down 5 paise at 46.93 a dollarContinuing with its losing streak, the rupee on Friday fell by 5 paise in opening trade to 46.93 against the US dollar largely on fears of capital outflows by foreign funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:13 pm Asian stocks slip on earningsHong Kong: Asian stocks dipped on Friday as investors fretted about earnings, while the euro recovered from early losses after Pakistan dismissed rumours of a coup. The dollar eased 0.2% against a basket of major currencies, pulling back from an overnight rally sparked by another credit downgrade on Greece and residual effects of the Federal Reserve’s upbeat comments on the US economy this week. The euro remained under pressure on concern about the eurozone after Greece was hit by another credit downgrade but it found support after Pakistan dashed rumours of a coup, which had sent it to a nine-month low against the Swiss franc in early trade as investors sought a safe haven. By late morning the euro was up 0.3% at $1.4380, rebounding from a three-month low of $1.4304 on Thursday. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said there was no coup, dousing rumours that started after a government minister suspected of corruption was barred from leaving the country. Gold stabilised after plunging 3% in New York where the dollar’s rise reduced its appeal. It was quoted at $1,106.70 an ounce, up from a New York close at $1,097.80, but it is about 10% below a record high of $1,226.10 reached on Dec. 3. Gold’s overnight slide triggered selling of resources stocks in Asia, helping push share markets in Australia and Japan down by 1%, while banking shares were hit after international regulators proposed tough new capital protection rules from 2012. In Hong Kong, global bank HSBC fell 1.4%, extending a 3.5% slide in its London shares on Thursday. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan, and the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares, were both down 0.7%. The MSCI index has rallied more than 60% this year and investors are keen to lock-in gains ahead of the year-end, analysts say. Sentiment in Asia was dented by a weak Wall Street where financial stocks were hurt by an influential analyst’s downgrade of the earnings outlook for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Citigroup shares tumbled 7% on weak demand for its stock and bond offering while economic bellwether FedEx slumped 6% on a soft profit outlook. Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists to have accurately predicted the magnitude of the global financial crisis, warned that global markets have rallied “too much, too soon, too fast”. However, he said an imminent correction was unlikely because a cheap dollar would continue to encourage investors to see higher-yielding assets for a few months.. Roubini sees a dollar rebound in 6-12 months. In Australia, shares of phone company Telstra fell 4% after the company cut its sales revenue forecast. The country’s biggest brewer Foster’s Group, meanwhile, saw its shares drop 2.7% after warning that a strong Australian dollar and weak US demand would cut profits at its wine business. The Aussie dollar has surged 40% this year and some analysts have warned that equity investors have not sufficiently factored in its impact on Australia companies’ foreign earnings. “It’s been pushed to the back of people’s minds, but the currency is certainly coming home to roost. It is adding to the nervousness in our market,” said Daniel Manley, a dealer at Burrell & Co in Australia. The oil price edged up 0.6% to $73.06 a barrel, supported by positive US factory activity data. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:10 pm Tata Motors speeds up on strong global sales - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Dec 2009 | 10:06 pm Obama, Medvedev may get arms deal ‘in principle’Washington: President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could reach an agreement in principle on nuclear arms reduction in Copenhagen on Friday, leaving it to negotiators to finalize a deal in coming days, a senior US official said. With Washington and Moscow still grappling over a few key differences, the official insisted there was little chance the leaders would be ready to sign a finished accord when they meet on the sidelines of a global climate change conference. “But if the presidents are able to come to terms on the remaining verification issues, it might be possible to reach an agreement in principle which will still require the negotiating teams to finalize,” the official said in Washington. There were no guarantees, however, that the Copenhagen talks would yield a provisional accord, given the latest signs of tension in US-Russian negotiations in Geneva despite the White House’s insistence that “good progress” was being made. The talks in the Danish capital follow Russia’s call on Thursday for simpler verification procedures for planned cuts in nuclear weapons arsenals, while Washington insisted it wanted a deal that worked for both former Cold War foes. “It’s high time to get rid of excessive suspiciousness,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow earlier in the day. Talks between the world’s two largest nuclear powers to find a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START-1, have stumbled in recent weeks, although both sides have said they expect an agreement to be reached in the near future. START-1 was the biggest pact to cut nuclear weapons in history. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier the discussions were making good headway but that the United States was not interested in doing a deal for its own sake. “We want something that works for both sides. We’re going to work on this agreement until we get it right ... it doesn’t make sense to get something just for the sake of getting it if it doesn’t work for both sides,” he said in Washington. Obama and Medvedev had sought a new treaty by 5 December, but that deadline passed and the old accord was extended indefinitely while negotiators in Geneva try to forge a new pact. An Obama administration official said on Wednesday arms negotiations were likely to extend into 2010. On Thursday, another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive state of discussions, raised the prospect Obama and Medvedev might set parameters to guide negotiators in working out final details and set a deadline for them to do so. The official declined to elaborate. Tensions surface Tensions came to the surface on Thursday. “In the last couple of days we have noticed some slowing down in the position of U.S. negotiators in Geneva,” Lavrov said earlier. “They explain this by the need to receive additional instructions. But our team is ready for work.” Gibbs denied Washington was dragging its feet. Lavrov, whose ministry is leading the negotiations together with the US State Department, said a deal was unlikely to be signed this weekend in Copenhagen. Both sides say finding a replacement to the START-1 treaty would help “reset” relations between Moscow and Washington that had sunk to a post-Cold War low in recent years. Negotiations in Switzerland have been proceeding under unusually tight secrecy and neither side has given a clear explanation for the delay in finding a deal. The START-1 treaty, signed in July 1991 by US President George HW Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, took nearly a decade to achieve but under the deal both Russia and the United States more than halved their nuclear arsenals. Obama and Medvedev said at a Moscow summit in July they wanted a new treaty that would reduce operationally deployed nuclear warheads to 1,500 to 1,675, a cut of about a third from current levels. They also agreed that strategic delivery systems — the missiles, bombers and submarines that launch nuclear warheads — should be limited to between 500 and 1,100 units. Lavrov said he hoped the cuts in the new treaty would be as drastic as possible but added that verification procedures, which were extremely strict under START-1, should be made “less complicated and less costly.” Precise figures on deployed nuclear weapons are secret, but the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists estimated at the start of 2009 that the United States had about 2,200 operationally deployed nuclear warheads and Russia about 2,790. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 9:21 pm Coup denied as Pakistan minister blocked from leavingIslamabad: Rumours of a Pakistan coup sparked by a government minister being barred from leaving the country were dismissed on Friday after briefly causing flutters in financial markets. Political tension has risen in Pakistan since the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down an amnesty that protected President Asif Ali Zardari, several of his ministers and thousands of others from corruption charges. Zardari can still not be prosecuted because he is protected by presidential immunity, but some opposition politicians have nevertheless called on him to step down. His spokesman said he wouldn’t. The prospect of political turmoil comes as the United States is stepping up calls on Pakistan to tackle Afghan Taliban in lawless border enclaves, where suspected US drones on Thursday killed 12 fighters, Pakistani security agents said. Rumours of a coup started, apparently, when Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, told CNN in response to questioning about the defence minister being denied the right to leave that he hoped there would not be a coup. A spokesman for the state anti-graft agency said on Thursday that after the amnesty had been lifted, the names of about 248 people had been placed on a list of people barred from leaving the country. The spokesman did not identify any of those on the list but the president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, was one of them. “Of course there is no coup,” said Babar, in Islamabad, where life was normal with no sign of any unusual activity in the chilly pre-dawn hours. “The name of the defence minister happens to be on the list and he was not allowed to go,” said Babar, adding he believed Mukhtar had been on his way to China late on Thursday when stopped. The coup rumours swirled briefly in forex markets. The euro hit its lowest since March against the Swiss franc, often considered a safe-haven currency, and the yen surged against the dollar, euro and higher yielding Australian dollar as thin liquidity set a chain reaction in motion. The currencies later recovered the worst of their losses. Resignation calls The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 62-year history, last staged a coup in 1999. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has vowed to stay out of politics but analysts say the military could intervene in the event of a serious crisis. Mukhtar was not immediately available for comment but Babar said the minister had dismissed the accusations against him. Interior minister Rehman Malik is also on the list of people who were protected by the 2007 amnesty which the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional. The ministers are also facing calls to resign. Their departure from government would not have a significant impact on Pakistan’s war on militancy which is led by the army. Some legal experts say the danger for the president is that the legitimacy of his 2008 election as president could be challenged now that old cases against him have been revived. The amnesty was introduced by former President Pervez Musharraf as part of a power-sharing deal brokered with Bhutto with US and British encouragement. Bhutto returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile soon after the amnesty was introduced, but she was assassinated weeks later while campaigning for a general election she hoped to win. Instead, Zardari led her party to victory in the February 2008 polls and became president after Musharraf stepped down later that year. His image, however, has long been tarnished by allegedly shady deals during Bhutto’s terms as prime minister when Zardari also served as a minister. He says the charges were politically motivated. He has never been convicted but nevertheless spent 11 years in jail. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:49 pm UK court declares British Airways strike illegalPassengers and British Airways management heaved a sigh of relief as the 12-day strike by cabin crew of the airlines over the Christmas period was declared illegal by the high court here.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:24 pm RNRL dishing out blatant liesFiring on all cylinders against Anil Ambanis RNRL on the last lap of arguments in the gas dispute case, Mukesh Ambanis RIL accused Anil of getting cheeky with the SC and the Centre by dishing out blatant lies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:29 pm Court issues warrant against RajuA local court issued a production warrant against former Satyam Computer chairman Ramalinga Raju to produce him before it on December 30, in a case filed by Serious Fraud Investigation Office.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:21 pm Rs 380-crore subsidy for wind powerIndia will offer Rs 380 crore ($81 million) in incentives to wind power projects that feed into the national grid, the government said on Thursday, a move analysts believe will attract large companies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:19 pm Teach India campaign gets top Effie honourFrom the Grand Effie to the Big Idea Chair, from the spectacular gold award to the sizzling silver trophy, Bennett, Coleman & Co cornered them all, making a clean sweep at the Effie 2009 awards.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:17 pm Emerging markets favourite in 2010Global investors remain optimistic about emerging market (EM) equities in 2010 and have forecast 9% total return for them in New Year, above 7.7% for global markets and 5.5% predicted for US.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:16 pm Extended trade time from Jan 4Come January 4 and Dalal Street will have to wake up to a new dawn. On Thursday, under pressure from Sebi, both BSE and NSE decided to defer change in market timings to Jan 4 from Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Dec 2009 | 1:14 pm Telangana toll: Tollywood takes Rs 7 crore hit a dayThe Telugu film industry (popularly called Tollywood) is bleeding due to the spat over a separate Telangana statehood.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 12:21 pm Food inflation near 20%Wholesale food prices touched 10-year high with food inflation inching to 19.95 per cent for the week ended December 5, prompting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to commit food imports to maintain supply in the domestic market.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 12:20 pm Climate talks see green light at tunnel endWith last-ditch efforts on to save the Copenhagen talks on climate change from failure, the Danish Presidency today said there would be no Danish draft-II. The two-track process of negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol and long-term cooperation agreement (LCA) would form the basis of any political agreement signed by heads of state and government on Friday.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 12:19 pm Brokers push BSE, NSE back to 9.55The exchanges said the decision was based on feedback from market participants. Sources close to the development said the joint statement by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) followed strong opposition from market players and an informal advice from the market regulator that they should consult each other and give market participants enough time to adjust with the new timings. Some termed it as one-upmanship by the exchanges, which could lead to chaos on the trading floor.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 12:17 pm DoT questions ownership of spectrum by defence ministryNew Delhi: The ongoing battle between the ministry of defence (MoD) and the department of telecommunications (DoT) over 3G spectrum has taken a new turn. DoT has rejected the defence ministry’s claim that it holds all the spectrum (1920-1980Mhz) that is needed for the long-delayed auction of frequencies required for third-generation (3G) mobile phone services that’s set to be held next month. “DoT does not agree with the ministry of defence that the entire 60Mhz of spectrum in the 1920-1980Mhz band, pan India, is with the defence (ministry) and that only 10Mhz 3G spectrum released by the defence (ministry) on signing of MoU is available for auction,” said an internal note drafted by DoT for the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on 3G, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. A copy of the note was reviewed by Mint.  New twist: The auction of 3G spectrum, scheduled for 14 January, is likely to be postponed yet again. Hemant Mishra / Mint DoT contends that it has a minimum of 15Mhz (three slots) of spectrum available for auction in telecom operating areas, except in the North-East, West Bengal (10Mhz) and Rajasthan. 3G spectrum refers to the spectrum needed by telecom service operators to provide faster data capabilities as well as better voice capabilities. The auction of 3G spectrum has been hanging for at least two years and the auction date has been postponed four times. The next date of 14 January is expected to be postponed again by a few weeks, though the government is yet to take a final call on the issue. “The potential bidders need to know what they are bidding for—the frequencies that are up for bidding,” a senior DoT official said on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “It depends on the defence ministry and the eGoM on the date,” another senior DoT official said, also requesting anonymity. Earlier this week, the defence ministry told DoT that only 10MHz of 3G spectrum could be vacated and that it was still using the frequency allotted to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). This would mean the spectrum available for auction on 14 January can accommodate only one private operator. As per the decision of the eGoM on 3G, four private operators were to be able to get spectrum from the auction. MTNL and BSNL have already been allocated spectrum for the auction. DoT has refuted the defence claim. “There seems to be a lot of confusion within and outside the government over the auction. The constant delays and the lack of clarity over the policy has already led to many losing interest in the auction,” said a senior analyst with a Delhi-based strategy consulting firm, who didn’t want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue. “The fact that there is this much confusion so close to the auction date and that they seem to have no idea what they have to auction is just making the government look incompetent to the rest of the world.” DoT has proposed to the eGoM that it allow for an auction of three slots and not the four as was decided earlier, rather than wait for the defence ministry to vacate spectrum, senior DoT officials said. It has also proposed auction of two slots of 3G spectrum in Rajasthan and the North-East after getting 15Mhz from the defence forces. There was no slot available for auction earlier in these areas. “Good auction practice requires that only spectrum that is available should be auctioned or else the auction may result in discounted bids causing revenue loss to the government,” says the internal note prepared by DoT. The defence ministry, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in May, had agreed to vacate 10Mhz of 3G spectrum immediately, and another two slots of 5Mhz at certain trigger points or milestones reached in the building of an alternate optical fibre cable (OFC) network for the defence forces. The network is being built by BSNL and MTNL at a cost of almost Rs10,000 crore in lieu of the spectrum being vacated by the defence ministry. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:55 am Microfinance lenders to stop multiple loansKolkata: Microfinance firms, institutions that give small loans to poor people, have agreed on a voluntary credit code to ensure that the boom in lending to the unbanked does not lead to loan losses. Listen to Vijay Mahajan, Chairman of the Microfinance India Network, talk about the measures being taken by microfinance lenders Among key decisions taken at a meeting in Mumbai on 7 December were not to offer above Rs50,000 to any single borrower and not more than three lenders lending money to one individual.  New code: A file photo of area managers at a weekly meeting with borrowers in a village near Mysore. Microfinance firms have decided not to offer above Rs50,000 to any single borrower to avoid loan losses.Hemant Mishra/Mint Between 2005 and 2009, the microfinance industry grew 13-fold, from Rs900 crore to Rs11,700 crore. In 2009 alone, some 230 microfinance institutions added 8.5 million borrowers, taking the total to 22.6 million. Loan assets rose 97%, from Rs5,950 crore to Rs11,734 crore, amid the credit crunch. Microfinance firms lend to subprime borrowers and these tiny loans are not backed by any collateral. Once a borrower’s overall debt to such institutions is capped, the risk of default will come down. After months of deliberation, the code of conduct was finalized at the December meeting. It will be enforced by Microfinance India Network (MFIN)—an association of microfinance lenders. In a parallel development, around 30 microfinance lenders jointly took a 5% equity interest in High Mark Credit Information Services Pvt. Ltd, a company that has obtained in-principal approval from the Reserve Bank of India to offer credit information services. Credit information will help lenders avoid exposure to multiple borrowers. Small loan borrowers take loans from multiple lenders as credit histories are not being tracked. “Proper enforcement of the code of conduct would lead to greater financial inclusion,” said Vijay Mahajan, chairman of MFIN and founder of Bharatiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd, better known as BASIX—one of India’s biggest microfinance firms. “The aim is to stop multiple lending, which leads to delinquency.” Mahajan added that he, along with the heads of two other leading microfinance firms—P.N. Vasudevan, managing director of Equitas Microfinance India Pvt. Ltd, and Suresh Gurumani, chief executive officer (CEO) of SKS Microfinance Ltd—were the key proponents of the code. Incidentally, SKS is set to enter the capital market with an equity issue sometime next year, and quite a few others will follow suit. Many of them are now being backed by private equity funds. MFIN will keep a close tab on lenders. “We will write to errant lenders and even to institutions from which they borrow if despite persuasion they do not fall in line with the code of conduct,” said Mahajan. Though microfinance lenders in India claim that non-performing assets (NPAs) are less than 1% of their loan portfolio, one in three such lenders suffered losses in fiscal 2009, according to a study of some 230-odd players by ACCESS Development Services, a not-for-profit organization that offers consulting services to the firms. Most of those that made losses were small lenders or start-ups with a portfolio of under Rs5 crore. The report says “unbridled expansion tactics” resulted in people being offered more money than they could repay. It cites defaults in the Kolar district of Karnataka, which accounts for almost half the NPAs of microfinance lenders. “A lot of people, in their bid to expand fast, lend without appraising risks,” said Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, managing director of Bandhan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. “It is not only bad for the lender, it has implications for the entire microfinance industry.” Bandhan’s borrower base as well as loan book grew by at least 90% in 2009. Even though the industry is growing at a phenomenal pace, “India remains an underpenetrated market, and there’s room for more players,” said Rajiv Sabharwal, executive director at Sequia Capital India Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a venture capital firm that has invested in the microfinance industry. “The code of conduct isn’t a corrective step... Past performance of the leading microfinance lenders is excellent. They now want to make sure that the future is just as good and that performance didn’t suffer because of indisciplined lending,” Sabharwal added. Siddharth Das, CEO of High Mark Credit, said: “We intend to develop services for microfinance lenders which would help them assess creditworthiness better.” Till now, microfinance lenders were appraising credit risks on their own, and this is the first attempt to start institutional assessment of borrowers’ creditworthiness. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 11:09 am US bakery chain Au Bon Pain enters IndiaThe US bakery cafe chain Au Bon Pain entered the country with the launch of its first cafe in Bangalore on Thursday. The Boston-based bakery chain plans to open 10 cafes in Bangalore itself and another 40 across the Southern cities with an investment of around Rs 30 crore by 2012, the company said. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 9:53 am Chip makers betting big on security technologyBangalore: Even in a country where the campuses of several technology firms are high-security areas, the revolving, turnstile door at the entrance to NXP Semiconductors bears testimony to the company’s claim that it takes security seriously. The company says this is in the interest of the security solutions it develops, including chips for a variety of secured cards. The revolving door, for instance, prevents tailgating, the first step towards monitoring unauthorized access. Claiming to be the first Western company to have set up military-grade security at its India campus, NXP, says Neeraj Paliwal, vice-president and India managing director, doesn’t just supply chips to some Indian security programmes but is also developing India-specific standards in security and banking given the unique safety threats that the country faces. Even though the company boasts having supplied chips to 80% of the 100 million e-passports issued globally, it has set aside an architecture team for the Indian e-passport project, the rollout of which is slated for early next year. However, it’s the near field communication, or NFC, technology that NXP and Sony Ericsson co-invented in 2002 that the company is now looking to deploy in devices to spur a range of services, including contactless financial transactions. NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows secure and intuitive interaction between electronic devices, such as mobile phones, computers and digital cameras. The Dutch semiconductor firm, which posted $5.4 billion in revenue in 2008, says this technology can be used for branchless banking and microfinance solutions in rural India. It has also licensed the technology to semiconductor company STMicroelectronics. Currently, only Nokia has rolled out mass market NFC-enabled phones, but market research company ABI Research estimates that by 2012, 292 million NFC-enabled phones will be shipped annually. NXP is now piloting a few programmes with some public sector banks in Karnataka and says it will announce the alliance in the first quarter. NFC has good potential but it requires secure implementation, says Rajiv Jain, vice-president and managing director of Infineon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, the Indian arm of the German semiconductor firm, which has been actively involved in the development of NFC specifications for the modular architecture and interoperability parameters. Its potential notwithstanding, analysts say that before NFC becomes a mainstream technology, several business and infrastructure challenges need to be addressed. “For NFC to work well an entire ecosystem needs to be established with buy in from mobile operators, handset makers, financial institutions and other organizations,” says Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst, communications, consumer eectronics and India research, iSuppli Corp. Rebello says all this might not be feasible in a phone system if it is tied to a limited number of services and subscribers need to choose an operator or phone for the services supported. “If a large carrier in India (or better still, several of the large carriers in India) decide to work together to develop an NFC ecosystem, then there is a chance.” Paliwal agrees that “a demand pull is needed for this to take off.” Yet, he is hopeful about the overall semiconductor market in India once various e-governance programmes that could ultimately converge on the identification-secured card system gather speed and acceptance. That’s true for NXP’s competitors as well. Infineon, which is supplying contactless security microcontrollers for the pilot launch of e-passport, says India has emerged as a “strategically important market for secured card products.” So far, there was no way to ensure whether a ‘card’, even a mobile phone SIM card, was issued to the right person, says Paliwal. Now, with a structured approach in the Unique Identification Development Authority of India, he thinks a lot of these technologies can find their feet. “But it’s not easy as there are many who don’t want this to succeed”. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Dec 2009 | 9:21 am RIL Unitech HDFC lead wealth creatorsReliance has come up as the biggest wealth creator in the country’s stock market for third time in a row while realty firm Unitech is the fastest and housing lender HDFC is the most consistent creator of wealth, said the MOSL study on wealth creation.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:27 am Govt can undo court on gas RILMukesh Ambani-led RIL told the Supreme Court that the government might even undo the judicial verdict, holding that it has no power to regulate the gas price as per the terms of Production Sharing Agreement (PSC) with RIL.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:25 am Turner gets real for India with ImagineThe board of Time Warner board has cleared the acquisition of a 92 per cent stake in NDTV Imagine by its Turner arm for $126.5 million (Rs 595 crore) helping it move forward in India’s hot entertainment TV market after its first venture Real fizzled out.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:23 am Steel prices may rise in JanuaryAfter over 12 months of decline, the steel prices may be on their way up again from next year signalling the end of winters for the commodity market.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:22 am Bounce back mode in Infy cloud biz revs upInfosys CEO S. “Kris” Gopalakrishnan told HT in an interview that the company is gradually shifting focus from the traditional ADM model that has low profit margins to new engagement models that emphasise on scale and pay-as-you-use platforms that heralds a march to computing as a service on the Internet “cloud,” much like electricity that is billed by usage than project billed by the hour.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:19 am Fed optimistic retains low ratesThe Federal Reserve on Wednesday voiced growing optimism on the US economy as job losses slow, but repeated a vow to keep interest rates unusually low for “an extended period.” Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Dec 2009 | 8:17 am
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