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IOC wins first battle over Jones Sydney relay medalsThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday won the first legal battle in favour of its decision to strip the Sydney 2000 Olympics relay medals from team mates of disgraced sprinter Marion Jones.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:56 am State Bank of India raises $100 mn senior debtState Bank of India, India\'s top lender, said late on Friday it had raised a USD 100 million fiveyear senior debt carrying a 4.5% coupon.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:56 am Suzlon repays acquisitionrelated $780mn 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 | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:50 am Tata urges simultaneous spectrum allocation to 3G winnersRatan Tata, chairman of conglomerate Tata group, has urged the government to allocate spectrum simultaneously to all winners of a forthcoming thirdgeneration wireless auction, the Economic Times said on Saturday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:48 am Copenhagen: Deal or no real deal?The final draft proposal is not a legally binding document. It has no compliance mechanism in place for the mitigation proposals of developed nations, worse, no mention of penalties for noncompliance of Annex 1 countries in the first term of commitment under Kyoto ProtocolSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:05 am Distressed hotels could find buyers in 2010The recessionravaged U.S. lodging industry will offer opportunities next year for wouldbe hotel investors interested in picking up plum properties suffering from falling revenue and high debt.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Dec 2009 | 4:18 am Sensex falls nearly 400 pts during the weekThe market corrected after two-weeks of gains as the benchmark Sensex tumbled by nearly 400 points during the week under review on selling in the frontline counters.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:11 am Sensex set for slower rise in 2010 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:54 am Dubai World's banks expect formal standstill requestLONDON (Reuters) - Bankers expect Dubai World to make a formal request for a standstill on its $26 billion debt at Monday's creditor meeting, but it could be more than a month before banks agree, bankers said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:42 am State Bank of India raises $100 million senior debtState Bank of India, India's top lender, said late on Friday it had raised a $100 million five-year senior debt.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:16 am POLL - Sensex set for slower rise in 2010MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex is likely to extend its recent rally into 2010, underpinned by strong economic growth and an improving earnings outlook, but it is unlikely to repeat 2009's spectacular rise, a Reuters poll showed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:02 am Merger activity to show tepid recovery in 2010PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The energy, finance, technology and healthcare industries are expected to be the hottest areas in a dealmaking market that in 2010 is likely to expand gradually from this year's depressed levels.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:59 am Rate talk swirls around RBI, finmin meetNEW DELHI (Reuters) - A meeting of India's central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee fuelled speculation on Friday that the bank may tighten monetary policy earlier than expected to stem rising prices.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:58 am Dhoni banned for next two ODIs, Sehwag named captainNagpur: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Saturday slapped with a two ODI ban for slow over-rate during the second cricket one-dayer against Sri Lanka here, dealing a huge blow to the home team’s prospects in the ongoing five-match series. International Cricket Council’s match referee Jeff Crowe imposed an immediate two match suspension on Dhoni for slow over-rate after conducting a hearing last night. In the absence of Dhoni, dashing opener Virender Sehwag has been named the captain for the next two one-dayers in Cuttack on 21 December and Kolkata on 24 December. “ICC match referee, Jeff Crowe, has imposed an immediate two match suspension on M S Dhoni for slow over-rate after conducting a hearing last night,” the BCCI said in a statement. The Indian players have been penalised 40% of their match fees. “The Indian team for the next two ODIs will be led by Virender Sehwag,” the brief statement added. The thrilling second one-dayer ended about 45 minutes after the scheduled finish time because of frequent discussions between the Indian players during the closing stages of Sri Lanka’s chase. The decision to ban Dhoni was taken by match referee Crowe of New Zealand, considering the quantum of extra time the Indians took to complete their alloted overs. Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik, who featured in India’s Twenty20 squad against the Lankans, is to be inducted in the team as a replacement for the charismatic Dhoni. The five-match series is currently tied 1-1 after India won the first match in Rajkot by three runs, while the Sri Lankans snatched a thrilling three wicket victory in the second game here on Friday. Dhoni’s unavailability will be a big setback for the Indians as he has been in great touch in the recent series against the islanders, scoring 72 and 107 in two matches played so far. With flamboyant middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh being a doubtful starter as he is still recovering from a finger injury and flu, the Indian batting will be weaker in the next two games. The ICC is yet to make an official announcement under what clauses Dhoni had been banned. “Once we get a detailed report from the match referee Jeff Crowe we will issue a statement giving all the details,” an ICC spokesman told PTI from Dubai. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:56 am Hyatt to operate five new properties in India Chicago: Hyatt Hotels on Saturday said that it will partner with Indian real estate developer DB Hospitality to operate five new hotel properties in India as the global hospitality company seeks to expand its footprint in the world’s most vibrant emerging market. Under the management pacts between city-headquartered Hyatt and Mumbai-based DB Hospitality, part of DB Group, the five properties are slated to open between mid-2010 and early 2014. The properties are Park Hyatt Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Goa, Grand Hyatt Pune, Hyatt Place Pune and Hyatt Place Mundra. DB Hospitality would develop and own the properties, which would include luxury and upscale guest accommodations, serviced apartments, authentic dining options and banquet / meeting facilities. “The introduction of five new Hyatt properties in India, one of the world’s most vibrant emerging markets, illustrates our commitment to expanding our global footprint,” senior vice-president of real estate and development for Hyatt Ratnesh Verma said in a statement. Park Hyatt Mumbai is projected to open in the first quarter of 2014 and will include 255 guest rooms and 55 serviced apartments. The full-service hotel would house exclusive banqueting and meeting facilities and be part of the iconic 125-story India Tower in South Mumbai. Grand Hyatt Goa is under construction and is slated to open in the third quarter of 2010. It would include 314 guest rooms. Grand Hyatt Pune would open in the third quarter of 2011 and include 325 rooms and multiple dining, banquet and meeting facilities, while Hyatt Place Pune is projected to open in the first quarter of 2012 and have 130 rooms. The 150-room Hyatt Place Mundra is slated to open in the third quarter of 2013 and would be located in the Special Economic Zone at the Mundra Port. Hyatt has operated properties in India since 1983. Currently, it manages five hotels in India, including one in Goa, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata each. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am ‘Avatar’ midnight screenings pull in $3.5 mnLos Angeles: Director James Cameron’s big-budget film “Avatar” took in $3.5 million at its initial midnight screenings on Friday in the United States and Canada, ticket tracker Hollywood.com Box Office said on Friday. That figure pales in comparison to other, recent openings of highly anticipated films like “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which raked in a record $26.3 million for its debut midnight screenings in November. But “New Moon” already had a large fan base from 2008’s first “Twilight” movie and the best-selling vampire romance novels by Stephenie Meyer on which the films are based. “Avatar,” by comparison, has no predecessor film or book and is based on an original idea from “Titanic” director Cameron. Box office watchers will be following its full weekend debut to begin charting its financial success or failure. The movie, backed by News Corp’s 20th Century Fox studio, is among the most expensive made. Fox has said it cost $237 million to make, but media reports have speculated its true pricetag is around $300 million. Fox has said it will spend another $150 million to market the movie worldwide. Box office watchers expect it will rake in more than $75 million at US and Canadian theaters this weekend, which would be a solid start for the movie that will also play in 3-D. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am BSNL to expand network in Bihar’s naxal-affected areas Patna: “State-run telecom operator BSNL would expand its network in naxalite-affected areas of Bihar and update facilities in the region bordering Nepal,” Union MoS for communications Sachin Pilot said on Saturday. “We will lay thrust on expanding our network in the naxal-hit areas of Bihar, besides updating communication facilities in the areas bordering Nepal,” Pilot said. He said that BSNL would install 2000 mobile phone towers in the state in the next two years. “BSNL is firm in its resolve to increase and expand its connectivity and for the purpose, it will set up the mobile towers in Bihar,” he said, adding that it had set a target of adding eight lakh new customers for various BSNL services within a year. After reviewing the works undertaken by BSNL in the state, Pilot said that he wanted to make the services more effective and customer-friendly. “Our goal is to ensure that our services reach people living in far-flung areas,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:29 am Investors seem unmoved by Kraft bid, says Cadbury CEONew York: Cadbury Plc executives are finding that a significant number of major shareholders do not believe Kraft’s hostile takeover bid reflects the British chocolatier’s stand-alone value, Cadbury’s CEO said on Friday. Cadbury chief Todd Stitzer told Reuters in an interview that “it appears that the stand-alone value of the company has risen in the eyes of shareholders” since the company posted a defense to Kraft’s $16.2 billion (£10 billion) bid earlier this week. “They seem to be unimpressed by the current level of the Kraft offer as compared to our stand-alone value,” he said. Stitzer was in New York to hold talks with major Cadbury investors and analysts, as executives on both sides of the Atlantic aimed to shore up the company’s promise of improved growth and margins in the face of Kraft’s takeover effort. At least one investor present at a meeting with UK shareholders said Cadbury also expressed its concern about the growing stakes being built up in the company by arbitrageurs. “We remain convinced that Cadbury is worth far more than the current share price,” the investor told Reuters. Kraft made its cash and shares offer for Cadbury public on 7 September, with the current value of the bid at about 730 pence. Cadbury’s shares closed just above 790 pence on Friday, partly held aloft by hopes that another bidder will enter the fray. Some investors and analysts say Kraft would need to raise its offer to around 820-850p to seal a deal. Hershey Co and Italy’s Ferrero have said they were contemplating bids, and some analysts believe that a joint bid from the two would involve splitting Cadbury’s chocolate business from its candy and gum operations. Stitzer said that Cadbury had received “interesting, I would say unique, approaches” from potential suitors, but had not been presented with that particular scenario. “I don’t think there’s anything to really share because there’s been nothing of compelling value in the context of our judgment that is worth sharing with shareowners,” he said. Kraft stood by the value of its bid. “Clearly, shareholders need to make up their own minds, but we remain convinced that our offer provides immediate value and significant longer-term potential upside,” Kraft spokeswoman Perry Yeatman said when asked for comment on Stitzer’s remarks. Cadbury to convey more to investors Stitzer said that Cadbury intended to communicate again with investors in time for a 12 January deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel to convey additional information about its performance in 2009. It will be very difficult for the company to present a forecast for 2010 due to Takeover Panel rules, he said, adding that some details about 2010 may be made available. Stitzer said that Cadbury had not had direct talks with Kraft since the US food maker’s CEO Irene Rosenfeld initially approached the company in late August about a potential deal. While Cadbury has rejected the offer as derisory, Kraft has refused so far to offer a sweetener. “I think there are different, more elegant and subtle ways to approach a conversation like this,” Stitzer said of Kraft’s approach. On Monday, Cadbury raised its underlying annual sales growth target to between 5 and 7% from its previous 4 to 6% range. It sees operating margins by 2013 in a range of 16 to 18% after looking for good mid-teens margins by 2011, compared with 11.9% in 2008. According to a timeline dictated by UK takeover rules, Cadbury has until 12 January to update investors and Kraft has until 19 January to raise its offer further. Cadbury shareholders have until 2 February to respond to the Kraft offer. On Friday, Kraft said it would hold a shareholder meeting on 1 February, seeking approval to issue up to 370 million new shares as part of the bid. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:25 am Investors seem unmoved by Kraft bid, says Cadbury CEONew York: Cadbury Plc executives are finding that a significant number of major shareholders do not believe Kraft’s hostile takeover bid reflects the British chocolatier’s stand-alone value, Cadbury’s CEO said on Friday. Cadbury chief Todd Stitzer told Reuters in an interview that “it appears that the stand-alone value of the company has risen in the eyes of shareholders” since the company posted a defense to Kraft’s $16.2 billion (£10 billion) bid earlier this week. “They seem to be unimpressed by the current level of the Kraft offer as compared to our stand-alone value,” he said. Stitzer was in New York to hold talks with major Cadbury investors and analysts, as executives on both sides of the Atlantic aimed to shore up the company’s promise of improved growth and margins in the face of Kraft’s takeover effort. At least one investor present at a meeting with UK shareholders said Cadbury also expressed its concern about the growing stakes being built up in the company by arbitrageurs. “We remain convinced that Cadbury is worth far more than the current share price,” the investor told Reuters. Kraft made its cash and shares offer for Cadbury public on 7 September, with the current value of the bid at about 730 pence. Cadbury’s shares closed just above 790 pence on Friday, partly held aloft by hopes that another bidder will enter the fray. Some investors and analysts say Kraft would need to raise its offer to around 820-850p to seal a deal. Hershey Co and Italy’s Ferrero have said they were contemplating bids, and some analysts believe that a joint bid from the two would involve splitting Cadbury’s chocolate business from its candy and gum operations. Stitzer said that Cadbury had received “interesting, I would say unique, approaches” from potential suitors, but had not been presented with that particular scenario. “I don’t think there’s anything to really share because there’s been nothing of compelling value in the context of our judgment that is worth sharing with shareowners,” he said. Kraft stood by the value of its bid. “Clearly, shareholders need to make up their own minds, but we remain convinced that our offer provides immediate value and significant longer-term potential upside,” Kraft spokeswoman Perry Yeatman said when asked for comment on Stitzer’s remarks. Cadbury to convey more to investors Stitzer said that Cadbury intended to communicate again with investors in time for a 12 January deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel to convey additional information about its performance in 2009. It will be very difficult for the company to present a forecast for 2010 due to Takeover Panel rules, he said, adding that some details about 2010 may be made available. Stitzer said that Cadbury had not had direct talks with Kraft since the US food maker’s CEO Irene Rosenfeld initially approached the company in late August about a potential deal. While Cadbury has rejected the offer as derisory, Kraft has refused so far to offer a sweetener. “I think there are different, more elegant and subtle ways to approach a conversation like this,” Stitzer said of Kraft’s approach. On Monday, Cadbury raised its underlying annual sales growth target to between 5 and 7% from its previous 4 to 6% range. It sees operating margins by 2013 in a range of 16 to 18% after looking for good mid-teens margins by 2011, compared with 11.9% in 2008. According to a timeline dictated by UK takeover rules, Cadbury has until 12 January to update investors and Kraft has until 19 January to raise its offer further. Cadbury shareholders have until 2 February to respond to the Kraft offer. On Friday, Kraft said it would hold a shareholder meeting on 1 February, seeking approval to issue up to 370 million new shares as part of the bid. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:25 am Work on longest road tunnel to begin next year: Govt Dharamsala: The work on the longest road tunnel in the country to be built under Rohtang Pass on the Leh-Manali Highway will start from April next year after snow melts, Himachal Pradesh government said on Saturday. PWD minister Gulab Singh Thakur told the state assembly that the tender for the project has already been approved by the Centre and work will begin from April under supervision of Border Road Organisation (BRO). “The estimated cost of the project is Rs1700 crore,” he said in reply to a question. “The 9 km long tunnel would be double-lane and connect Palchans near Solang Nullah in Kullu district to Koksar in Lahaul and Spiti district, facilitating the movement of vehicles at a high speed of 80 km per hour, he added. The foundation of the tunnel was laid by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May, 2002. The tunnel would not only facilitate all-weather movement to the state’s tribal Lahaul and Spiti district but also to Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir. The tunnel, expected to be ready by 2014, will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir by 40 km, from 475 km at present. Movement of traffic to Leh through Rohtang pass situated at a height of 13,050 ft is affected in winter because of snow. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:13 am Google in talks to buy review site Yelp: reportsSan Francisco: Google Inc. is in talks to buy Yelp Inc, the popular website for reviews of local businesses, in a deal that could help the Internet search leader tap a lucrative local ads market, media reports say. Google may pay more than $500 million for Yelp, according to reports confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the situation. It came as the Web giant embarked on an acquisition spree that has netted at least five companies since August. By swallowing privately-held Yelp, Google would own one of the Web’s most popular repositories of local restaurant and small-business information, including more than 8 million reviews penned by Yelp’s users. That trove of content and a heavy focus on local businesses could provide a valuable foothold for Google as it seeks to convince local merchants to shift their advertising spending to the Internet. “The local advertising market is a multibillion dollar market that for all intents and purposes is still untapped on the Web,” said Needham & Co analyst Mark May. In July, Internet portal Yahoo Inc. teamed up with AT&T Corp. in a partnership that involved the phone company’s 5,000 sales people selling Yahoo advertising inventory to local businesses. News of the recent talks between Google and Yelp -- backed by Benchmark Capital and other venture capital firms -- and the $500-million price tag were first reported by the blog TechCrunch. The source familiar with the situation said talks were currently bogged down by concerns among some Yelp investors that the company could be selling itself prematurely, and that it could be worth far more than $500 million if it had a chance to develop its business. The source added that Friday’s news stories may have been floated to put pressure on for the deal to be consummated at a price that was too low. Second-time suitor Yelp said in an emailed statement that it is frequently approached to discuss “partnerships, investments and more, and the company does not comment on private discussions that may occur.” A Google spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Google has had its eye on Yelp for some time. According to one former Google executive, the Internet company had had “early discussions” with Yelp about an acquisition several years ago, but ultimately passed on the deal. “Yelp doesn’t monetize very well, so it’s always a bit hard to justify an acquisition,” the person said. The local businesses that Yelp sells online advertising to are more interested in promoting their businesses through coupons than online ads, he added, noting he believed Yelp was still an unprofitable business. Yelp was founded in 2004 and has received $30 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The acquisition talks are the latest in a string of recent deals by Google, including the $750 million acquisition of mobile ad firm AdMob announced in November, that are designed to extend Google’s reach into new advertising markets. The world’s No. 1 Internet search engine generated roughly $22 billion in revenues last year, but it has seen its top line growth slow from the 40% plus clip it was managing as recently as early 2008. Google has stepped up efforts to court local merchants recently, encouraging businesses to register their information on its small-business online directory. But some analysts say Google will have its work cut out trying to sell online ads to local merchants more comfortable with traditional channels like local television, newspapers and the Yellow Pages. Needham’s May estimated that Yelp, which had 8.9 million unique visitors to its site in November according to comScore, is generating revenue at an annual rate of $15 million to $20 million. “That’s a pretty tough nut to crack,” May said about selling online ads to local merchants. “Whether Google can crack the code on it, is still to be seen.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:12 am Google in talks to buy review site Yelp: reportsSan Francisco: Google Inc. is in talks to buy Yelp Inc, the popular website for reviews of local businesses, in a deal that could help the Internet search leader tap a lucrative local ads market, media reports say. Google may pay more than $500 million for Yelp, according to reports confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the situation. It came as the Web giant embarked on an acquisition spree that has netted at least five companies since August. By swallowing privately-held Yelp, Google would own one of the Web’s most popular repositories of local restaurant and small-business information, including more than 8 million reviews penned by Yelp’s users. That trove of content and a heavy focus on local businesses could provide a valuable foothold for Google as it seeks to convince local merchants to shift their advertising spending to the Internet. “The local advertising market is a multibillion dollar market that for all intents and purposes is still untapped on the Web,” said Needham & Co analyst Mark May. In July, Internet portal Yahoo Inc. teamed up with AT&T Corp. in a partnership that involved the phone company’s 5,000 sales people selling Yahoo advertising inventory to local businesses. News of the recent talks between Google and Yelp -- backed by Benchmark Capital and other venture capital firms -- and the $500-million price tag were first reported by the blog TechCrunch. The source familiar with the situation said talks were currently bogged down by concerns among some Yelp investors that the company could be selling itself prematurely, and that it could be worth far more than $500 million if it had a chance to develop its business. The source added that Friday’s news stories may have been floated to put pressure on for the deal to be consummated at a price that was too low. Second-time suitor Yelp said in an emailed statement that it is frequently approached to discuss “partnerships, investments and more, and the company does not comment on private discussions that may occur.” A Google spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Google has had its eye on Yelp for some time. According to one former Google executive, the Internet company had had “early discussions” with Yelp about an acquisition several years ago, but ultimately passed on the deal. “Yelp doesn’t monetize very well, so it’s always a bit hard to justify an acquisition,” the person said. The local businesses that Yelp sells online advertising to are more interested in promoting their businesses through coupons than online ads, he added, noting he believed Yelp was still an unprofitable business. Yelp was founded in 2004 and has received $30 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The acquisition talks are the latest in a string of recent deals by Google, including the $750 million acquisition of mobile ad firm AdMob announced in November, that are designed to extend Google’s reach into new advertising markets. The world’s No. 1 Internet search engine generated roughly $22 billion in revenues last year, but it has seen its top line growth slow from the 40% plus clip it was managing as recently as early 2008. Google has stepped up efforts to court local merchants recently, encouraging businesses to register their information on its small-business online directory. But some analysts say Google will have its work cut out trying to sell online ads to local merchants more comfortable with traditional channels like local television, newspapers and the Yellow Pages. Needham’s May estimated that Yelp, which had 8.9 million unique visitors to its site in November according to comScore, is generating revenue at an annual rate of $15 million to $20 million. “That’s a pretty tough nut to crack,” May said about selling online ads to local merchants. “Whether Google can crack the code on it, is still to be seen.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:12 am Your perks will be taxed w e f April 1 2009 - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:38 am United States trade court rules for Kodak in patent fightAn International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled after an administrative proceeding that Samsung had infringed two Kodak patents.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:19 am Tata group urges for level playing spectrum to all: ReportIndia, the world's fastest growing mobile market, is to hold an auction for 3G wireless spectrum in mid-January.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:06 am Rains relent as south-west Bay of Bengal cools downHeavy rains have relented over coastal Tamil Nadu after the convective activity over southwest Bay of Bengal becameSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Retail investors shun market for most of 2009Retail investors have taken out over Rs 14,000 crore from the secondary market this year and have left half the initial public offeringsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Sun Pharma fires next salvo against TaroSun Pharma has written to Taro Pharmaceutical's shareholders urging them to vote against the election of Taro's proposed board of directors at the latter's annual meet scheduled for DecemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Economy poised to hit high growth path, says mid-year reviewThe Indian economy is well on course to return to high growth trajectory. But this broad-based recovery is likely to be accompanied by somewhat higher inflation, mainly on account of food price rise, the Government's Mid-Year Review 2009-10 hasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Ratan Tata demands level field in 3G spectrum allocationAdding a new twist to the ongoing parleys over third generation spectrum, Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, has written to a top Government functionary saying that all successful bidders should be given air waves simultaneously to keepSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Tata Sky turns teacher, starts spoken English lessonsMothers, who are ignored by their English speaking children, need not worrySource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am A year of reforms for the MF industryIn many respects, 2009 will be remembered as a watershed year for Indian mutualSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am RBI in ‘exit' modeAll discussions about the economy right now centre around if and when the government should exit from its stimulus. While the major levers of monetary policy such as a hike in Cash Reserve Ratio, policy rate hike (repo and reverse repo), orSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Accounting changes inflated Rlys' cash surplus: MamataMr Lalu Prasad, the former Railway Minister, took a less than rigorous approach to the Railways accounts. This is the burden of the song sung by the current Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, who presented a “white paper on IndianSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am `Home loan rates unlikely to move up'Home loan interest rates are unlikely to move up even if the Reserve Bank of India hikes the cash reserve ratio (CRR) as there is ample liquidity in the system, said Mr Keki Mistry, Vice-Chairman and CEO, HDFC.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Tata says need level playing 3G field - reportMUMBAI (Reuters) - Ratan Tata, chairman of conglomerate Tata group, has urged the government to allocate spectrum simultaneously to all winners of a forthcoming third-generation wireless auction, the Economic Times said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:39 pm State Bank of India raises $100 mln senior debtMUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India, India's top lender, said late on Friday it had raised a $100 million five-year senior debt carrying a 4.5 percent coupon.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:35 pm Jury awards $100 million verdict against BP in Texas caseBP is serving a three-year probation as part of the company's criminal penalty, and compliance with that 2005 agreement with OSHA is a key part of the probation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:28 pm Now, buying gold jewellery as easy as picking up a microwaveThe jewellery market has introduced other strategies to increase consumption, like discounts in labour charge, lucky draws, buy-back schemes and gifts.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:07 pm Rate talk swirls around Reserve Bank of India, finance minister meetWhile 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.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:58 pm Industry takes a big bite out of agricultureThe past century has seen a series of radical changes in the way mankind provides food for itself through agriculture...Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:19 pm Google in talks to buy review site Yelp: ReportsGoogle may pay more than $500 million for Yelp, according to reports confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the situation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:59 pm Rate talk swirls around RBI, finmin meet - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:03 pm IT biggies slash subcontracting orders to safeguard marginsLower volumes, pricing force them to do much of the project inhouse.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:12 pm Reliance Industries's Mukesh Ambani is CEO extraordinaireRIL honcho is ranked the fifth best performing CEO in Harvard Business Review's pecking order. It ranked the CEOs of large publicly-traded companies in a study conducted worldwide.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:07 pm Investors give cautious thumbs up to climate dealCOPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Businesses and investment analysts cautiously welcomed a climate deal struck in Copenhagen on Friday, but complained that it was unclear how its commitments would be translated into law.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:01 pm Google in talks to buy review site Yelp - reportsSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is in talks to buy Yelp Inc, the popular website for reviews of local businesses, in a deal that could help the Internet search leader tap a lucrative local ads market, media reports say.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 7:17 pm ANALYSIS - Stressed solar looks beyond Wall St. for capitalSAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The solar industry needs $2 billion to expand next year, but with Wall Street still nervous about backing risky and capital intensive ventures, companies are looking beyond to boutique banks and other sources of funding to avoid falling behind.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 7:14 pm GM to shut down Saab, talks with Spyker failDETROIT/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - General Motors Co said it would begin shutting down its money-losing Saab brand after last-ditch talks to sell it to a small Dutch sports car builder collapsed on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 4:11 pm Sun blazes away at Taro Pharma - Calcutta Telegraph
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:46 pm Wockhardt unit, Hyderabad ally at daggers drawnHospitals files arbitration case against Kamineni.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Dec 2009 | 3:12 pm Meet C Achuthan, Satyam\'s Man FridaySatyam is out of danger but things could all have been very different had salaries were not paid on 14th of January that\'s the word coming in from C Achuthan who was part of the initial team which was constituted to rescue Satyam.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:51 pm Lalu squirms as white paper drills holes in his claims - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:14 pm SC reserves verdict on RIL-RNRL gas dispute - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 2:08 pm CBM auction: Essar wins 3, Arrow 2 blocksRuias-promoted Essar Oil has bagged three more CBM (or gas trapped in layers of coal) acreges and Australia's Arrow Energy two such concessions after a panel rejected bids by a Deep Industries-led consortium.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:52 pm 25% solar power must for SEZs soonIn a quiet move for greening its rapid industrialisation plan, the government is making it mandatory for all SEZs to power at least a quarter of their lighting needs with solar energy.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:50 pm SC reserves verdict on RIL-RNRL gas disputeThe Supreme Court reserved the verdict on the high-stake showdown between industrialists - Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani - over gas supply from RIL to RNRL, arguments for which lasted an unusually long 57 days.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:48 pm NHAI may get new chief soonThere is a strong possibility of another change of guard in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) soon.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:45 pm With 267 deals, mergers and acquisitions cross $10bnMergers and acquisitions (M&As) crossed a little over $10 billion with a total of 267 deals for the period January-December (till December 13) this year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:44 pm ONGC makes two gas findsState-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Friday said it has made two gas discoveries while declaring Rs 18 per share interim dividend for this fiscal.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:38 pm Suzlon reduces debt by $350mWind turbine major Suzlon Energy has achieved a gross 15% reduction in its overall debt by around $350 million or Rs 1,700 crore by completing payment of its entire outstanding acquisition loan facility of around $780 million.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:36 pm Mobile phone number portability faces delay by up to 6 monthsMobile phone users would have to wait anywhere from three to six months for the freedom to switch operators without losing their existing number, as companies are yet upgrade their networks.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:36 pm Top journal rates Mukesh world s 5th best CEOMukesh Ambani, who heads India’s most valuable company, Reliance Industries, has been ranked among the top five best performing CEOs in the world by the Harvard Business Review.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:33 pm Suzlon repays $780 mn loan, lowers debt by 15% - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 1:18 pm Hackers wreak havoc on TwitterHackers briefly blocked access to the popular Internet messaging service Twitter, steering traffic to another website where a group reportedly calling itself the “Iranian Cyber Army” claimed responsibility. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:49 pm Govt sees rosy 7 75 growthShrugging off the after-effects of a bad monsoon and a global financial meltdown, the government said in a mid-year review on Friday that the economy could grow close to 7.75 per cent in this fiscal year. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:46 pm Scorpene tangled in govt webAn air of resignation hangs over the East Yard, a giant workshop shed in Mumbais Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL), where six Scorpene submarines are to be fabricated for the Indian Navy.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:08 pm Markets raise eyebrows at DLF, Caraf deal valuationsThe deal to integrate two of the countrys largest lease-rental entities, DLF Cyber City (a subsidiary of DLF) and Caraf Builders (majority owned by DLF promoters), hasnt gone down well with the markets.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:06 pm PM sticks to Kyoto ProtocolWith no signs of a possible deal at the climate summit in the Danish capital, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made it clear that future negotiations on tackling the menace should be based on equitable burden sharing as enshrined in Kyoto Protocol and Bali mandate.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:04 pm Perks tax rules replace FBTValuation of cars goes through a revision.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 12:03 pm Quick Edit | Turbulence in Nepal, againRecent events point to the continuing turmoil in Nepal. The peace process between the Maoists and the government is close to being a dead letter. The former declared Kathmandu an “autonomous region” on Wednesday. This was in addition to setting up parallel governments in nine districts of the country. More such acts are in the offing. The problem, clearly, is that the Maoists want a settlement on their terms only. One big sticking point is the “integration” of their cadre, which has been politically indoctrinated, into the neutral Nepal Army. This is not agreeable to most Nepalese political parties. It was one of the motivating factors that led to the demise of the government led by Prachanda, the Maoist boss. These developments need to be observed, and acted upon, carefully. The potential for armed conflict, never below the radar, is high again. It is not clear if a solution can be found in a situation that resembles more and more a battle of nerves. India needs to be watchful of these troubling developments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:48 am A promise unlikely to be keptCopenhagen/New Delhi: The pledge of the world’s 17 most powerful nations that they won’t allow temperatures to rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius is unlikely to be met. A leaked United Nations (UN) internal document predicts that even at the most optimistic, current pledges on emission cuts are not enough to protect the planet from warming exceeding this limit. Also See Emission Pathways (Graphics) The difference in degrees means changes in rainfall patterns, crop yields, water availability and sea levels rising, apart from a surge in the cost of adaptation. The UN document comes in the wake of a study authored jointly by Nicholas Stern and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which had reached a similar conclusion (Mint, 8 December). The UNEP report, released just before the beginning of the climate summit, had at the time been hailed as an optimistic statement. “For those who claim a deal in Copenhagen is impossible, they are simply wrong,” UNEP director Achim Steiner had said at the time of the release of the report. “We are within a few gigatonnes of having a deal. The gap has narrowed significantly.” But the more recent UN report has disappointed many as the two-week-long talks drew to an end. “We are not there,” said R.K. Pachauri, who heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “The targets are not in line to restrict temperature rise by 2 degrees. We need faster cuts in emissions by 2020 to prevent global catastrophe.” Both the reports say that there is a gap of 2-5.2 gigatonnes between the current estimates and the requirement to contain global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. “Unless the remaining gap is closed 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 or above 550 ppm (parts per million), with the related temperature rise around 3 degrees Celsius,” the UN document said. IPCC estimates that developed nations will have to cut up to 40% of their emissions below 1990 levels by 2020 if they want the limit to stay unbreached. Current pledges from such nations only add up to 9-17%. The estimates, however, don’t take into account any mechanism that may come into force later on measuring reduced emissions from avoided deforestation. The reports urge that both developed and developing nations need to step up their emission cuts if the promise has to be kept. Rich nations also need to pledge financial and technological help for mitigation action more than pledged at present. A 3 degrees Celsius rise would cause human casualties because of the dramatic changes in climate. Around 170 million additional people will suffer from coastal floods and another 550 million from hunger with the 1 degree Celsius variation. It will hit agriculture in areas such as India, leading to a fall in production of up to 20% by 2050. The fourth assessment report of IPCC concludes that Asia is a particularly vulnerable region of the world to rising temperatures. “The stresses of climate change are likely to disrupt the ecology of mountain and highland systems in Asia,” according to IPCC. “Sea-level rise would cause large-scale inundation along the vast Asian coastline and recession of flat sandy beaches. The ecological stability of mangroves and coral reefs around Asia would be put at risk.” India is especially vulnerable due to its dependence on the river system originating from the Himalayas and because a significant proportion of its population depends on agriculture, for which the main source of water is the monsoon. A World Bank study released this year estimated that adaptation will cost developing nations up to $90 billion (Rs4.2 trillion) annually from 2010 to 2050, that too only for a 2 degrees Celsius rise till 2050. Out of this, a major proportion of the cost will have to be borne by countries in the Asia-Pacific, to the tune of $25 billion per annum and all countries will have to spend a major chunk of adaptation money on infrastructure and coastal zones ($29-30 billion annually). India already spends about 2.3% of its gross domestic product on adaptation. Some scientists are sceptical about the probability of the global warming models. They say there’s far less uncertainty in the relationship between carbon dioxide concentration and temperature, than how well those temperatures correspond to climate change effects. “I think that the science is well-grounded, of the temperature rise associated with a fixed quantity of carbon dioxide. But does a 1 degree rise mean less severe rainfall over India, or certain islands submerging. That’s still not firmly grounded,” said K. Krishna Kumar, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, and a contributor to the IPCC reports. Others say there’s still uncertainty on the levels of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere and reported by countries. In “several parts of the developing world—India and Africa especially—we really don’t know how much carbon dioxide is actually being emitted by say, vehicles”, said B.N. Singh, a researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. “They are highly approximated values.” Singh’s scepticism finds mention even in the latest IPCC reports. A chapter on the uncertainties in climate models says that Asia, with its large climate variability, adds a “further level of uncertainty” in simulating climate change. “The emission scenarios of greenhouse gases (GHG) and aerosols are strongly related to the socio-economics of the countries in the region and could be strongly dependent on development pathways followed by individual nations,” IPCC says. “Inaccurate description on future scenarios of socio-economic change, environmental change, land-use change and technological advancement, and its impacts will lead to incorrect GHG emission scenarios.” Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar/Mint feedback@livemint.com Mint’s Jacob Koshy in New Delhi contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:48 am R-Adag firm pays duty, reclaims yachtMumbai: An Anil Ambani-owned firm that was fighting a court case against the Indian customs authorities for the release of a luxury yacht, seized by customs, has settled the case out of court, paying Rs28 crore and offering a bank guarantee worth Rs15 crore. Ammolite Holdings Ltd, an unlisted Channel Islands-based associate firm of Reliance Capital Ltd, has withdrawn the case it had filed in the Bombay high court to get back the yacht, after the settlement, confirmed officials from both the sides. The Channel Islands are located off the French coast of Normandy. The luxury yacht Tian, purportedly a gift for Tina Ambani from her husband and Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-Adag) promoter Anil Ambani, was seized in February by the central intelligence unit of the customs department in Mumbai in the wake of a probe that had began in January “due to non-payment of duty”. The government agency had claimed that the yacht was illegally brought to India, flouting norms, and was used without paying the duty. A senior customs official, who has been part of the probe but did not want to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Mint that Ammolite has “agreed to pay customs duty. We will release the yacht as soon as we receive the money”. An update on the Bombay high court website listing this case has marked it with a “For Withdrawal”, but doesn’t give details of the settlement. An email questionnaire sent to an R-Adag spokesman on Wednesday remained unanswered. A person close to the development confirmed that the business conglomerate with interests in telecommunication, power, infrastructure, financial services and entertainment sectors has agreed to pay an additional Rs3 crore to the customs department along with a Rs15 crore bank guarantee to get the yacht back. The company has conceded all conditions set out by the government agency, added this person, who did not want to be identified. “The provisional order came Thursday evening.” In a 21 April story, Mint had reported that the agency had received a draft of Rs25 crore from R-Adag. The bank guarantee is to cover any additional duty that the customs authorities may decide to levy in the future, in excess of Rs28 crore. Tian was, according to the customs department’s investigation, purchased in mid-2008 from Italian luxury yacht builder Ferretti SA by Ammolite Holdings. The yacht—a Custom Line 112 Next, 34m flying-bridge fibre glass vessel—has been valued at about Rs100 crore by customs authorities. It was brought to India on 31 October 2008 under a charter agreement with Reliance Transport and Travels Pvt. Ltd, another group company. The customs department had alleged that the yacht’s final destination, according to its shipment papers, was Colombo. It was to be unloaded at Mumbai before sailing off to the Sri Lankan capital. While Reliance Transport and Travels took permission from port authorities to park the yacht in Mumbai for a few days, the customs department found that the yacht did not leave for Colombo for over three months. Instead, it was being used in India without paying duty. Duty is usually paid at the destination—in this case, Colombo—but the Indian customs department took the view that the yacht was meant for use in India, and hence the duty was payable here. The funds for the charter came from Singapore-based Gateway Net Trading Pte Ltd, an associate firm of Reliance Communications Ltd. Ammolite Holdings, according to the customs department, is a small firm with a share capital of $100,000 (Rs46.9 lakh). Ammolite Holdings had contested the customs department’s claims back then, but seems to have changed its stance since. In a letter to the department dated 18 February and reviewed by Mint, Ammolite Holdings and Reliance Transport and Travels had denied evading customs duty. Ammolite Holdings had said that “the yacht was duly and validly brought into Indian waters in compliance with all laws and regulations with the permission of the customs department”. Ammolite Holdings and Reliance Transport and Travels had also said the Rs25 crore paid was a voluntary deposit “to demonstrate bona fides and to avoid any unwarranted or unpleasant consequences”. bhuma.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:45 am GM to wind down Saab operationsGeneral Motors' announcement on Friday that it will wind down its lossmaking brand Saab Automobile brings an end to the iconic Swedish brand after six decades of car manufacturing. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:44 am You may have to wait till April 2010 for mobile number portability - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:44 am Advani steps down as leader of OppositionNew Delhi: Stepping down as leader of the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani on Friday made way for his deputy Sushma Swaraj.  Making way: L.K. Advani.Harikrishna Katragadda/Mint Advani was simultaneously elected chairman of the BJP parliamentary party on Friday, a post created for him by amending the party constitution. While this was generally viewed as allowing him a graceful exit, the octogenarian leader reiterated he had not “quit politics”. “My yatra (journey) is not over. I have not retired,” he said. “I feel this is a new beginning for me.” A senior party leader said on condition of anonymity that Advani’s exit would pave the way for a “paradigm change” in the way the BJP functioned. “The parliamentary and organizational functioning of the party would be clearly divided,” he said. “There will be greater stress on cadre building.” The significance of Advani’s stepping down as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha is obvious from the fact that he held the position for nine of the 20 years that he has been in the Lower House of Parliament. The demand for his resignation began in the wake of the party’s second successive defeat in Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Top party leaders such as Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie—cabinet colleagues of Advani when the BJP was in power from 1998 to 2004— openly demanded his resignation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent, also joined the clamour. Ironically, even though Advani has always been viewed as closer to the RSS’ Hindutva ideology than some other BJP leaders, this is the second time that the organization has succeeded in bringing him down. Also See Sixty years of Advani (Graphics) The first instance came in 2005, when the RSS forced him to quit as the BJP president after he made positive remarks about Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah during a visit to the neighbouring country. That was Advani’s third tenure as BJP president, following earlier stints from 1986 to 1990 and 1992 to 1998. “Advani’s career has two distinct parts. One is that of a popular Hindutva leader who brought the BJP to the centre stage of Indian politics in 1989. The second is that of a drifting politician after the 2004 Lok Sabha defeat,” said Vivek Kumar, associate professor at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. Indeed, Advani’s reference to “my yatra” on Friday was a throwback to his 1989 rath yatra (chariot trip), during which he toured the nation to rouse Hindu sentiments for the creation of a temple in place of a 16th century mosque on a disputed site at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Riding on a popular wave, Advani—who had been in the Rajya Sabha since 1970—entered the Lok Sabha along with a slew of BJP MPs. Nine years later, the party formed a coalition government at the Centre, and Advani eventually became deputy prime minister. But the tag of a Hindutva mascot came to haunt him in later years. Since 2004 in particular, he has struggled to shed this image in an effort to become prime minister, adds Kumar. “Whereas Atalji (former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) was seen as a liberal, I was labelled as a Hindu hardliner,” Advani writes in his autobiography My Country, My Life. “It hurt me initially, as I knew that the reality was entirely contrary to the image that I had come to acquire.” Jyotirmaya Sharma, a professor of political science at University of Hyderabad, echoes Kumar in saying Advani’s legacy will be viewed as a mixed bag. “He had a role to play in the removal of many leaders with a mass base from the party, such as Uma Bharti,” says Sharma. “Ultimately, he will also be known for having left the party in confusion, with the second line (of leadership) pitched against each other.” Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar/Mint Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:44 am Bourses' battle riles brokers - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:31 am World hammers out draft accordCopenhagen: After intense bickering over 12 days and a last-minute call for consensus by world leaders, the Copenhagen climate summit sought to reach agreement over a draft “political statement” termed by climate activists as “not enough to save the planet”.  Expectations: Barack Obama at the Copenhagen conference. Larry Downning / Reuters It aims at a 2 degrees Celsius limit to global warming by reducing emissions 50% by 2050, a global emission peaking year (without specifying the year) and $130 billion (Rs6.1 trillion) for mitigation and adaptation by 2020, and the resolution of differences on the Kyoto Protocol and the long-term cooperative action by 2010 in Mexico. Dubbed as the Copenhagen Accord, the draft statement makes it binding on countries to list their targets—emissions reduction for rich nations and domestic mitigation for developing countries—thereby making compliance mandatory. But there is no penalty clause for nations failing to meet commitments. The $130 billion fund Copenhagen Climate Fund—with contribution from the public and private sectors—is aimed at helping poor nations fight climate change, clean technology transfer and reducing emissions from forestry and related sectors. Till the time of going to press, the negotiators were working on the fine print of the Copenhagen Accord. The final scheduled day of talks was marked by a leaked United Nations (UN) document, which implied that the world would have to look to Mexico next year to make any meaningful progress on global warming.  The document said the draft pact would most likely fail in its attempt to stem warming, threatening the vulnerable with catastrophe as temperatures rise 3 degrees Celsius by 2050. This could lead to the inundation of coastal cities such as 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 UN report said. There’s “nothing to cheer about Copenhagen”, said a dejected Kumi Naidoo, executive director of non-governmental organization Greenpeace International, who hails from Africa, likely to be the worst hit by climate change. A Greenpeace analysis damned the draft document, saying it was not “based on latest science” and was “very empty”. The Copenhagen summit was only remarkable for lack of progress. “It does not help even the developing countries such as India because Copenhagen has failed to take the negotiations ahead,” said Sirish Sinha, climate policy expert at WWF-India. For progress in Mexico, widely divergent views will need to be aligned in the next few months. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked about “commitment” to the Kyoto Protocol and were dismissive of efforts to replace it with a “weaker instrument”. “We have a difficult task ahead,” Prime Minister Singh said. “Play positive and be constructive.” US President Barack Obama, whose speech was predictably described as a “shame” by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, called on emerging economies India and China to be more “transparent” in their domestic mitigation actions. “To reach a global accord, we have to hold each other accountable for some commitments,” Obama said. Both India and China said that their domestic mitigation efforts are much more than mandated under the UN’s climate convention and offered to do more, if the rich countries provided financial support. But they disagreed with Obama on mandatory verification and reviews of domestic mitigation action, one of the key points of contention between emerging economies and rich nations.  The leaked UN report led on Friday to the outbreak of fresh arguments among negotiators, whose discussions had focused on how to hold the temperature line at 2 degrees Celsius, and renewed dismay from the small island nations, who want warming held to 1.5 degrees Celsius or say they risk annihilation by rising oceans. The leaked UN document indicates how negotiators became bogged down in procedure and mutual suspicion that the actual targets needed to save the earth may have been ignored. “The procedure should be transparent and inclusive,” Shyam Saran, Singh’s special envoy on climate change, said earlier in the day. He also accused host country Denmark, as the African bloc of 53 nations had done earlier, of consulting only a few countries on the final statement to be adopted in Copenhagen. Graphic by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:31 am Sun Pharma seeks Taro shareholders’ helpMumbai: Dilip Shangvi, chairman and managing director of India’s largest drug maker by market value, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, has urged the shareholders of its takeover target, Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, to vote against the resolutions proposed by Taro’s board. According to Sun Pharma, which owns a 36% stake in Taro, re-election of the directors on Taro’s board as proposed in the resolutions would only help protect them from taking responsibility for hiding facts of the company’s financials from its shareholders. Taro’s board, which is resisting a merger it agreed with Sun Pharma in 2007, has proposed the resolutions for voting at the company’s annual general meeting on 31 December.  War of words: Sun Pharma chairman Dilip Shanghvi has urged Taro shareholders to vote against the resolutions proposed by Taro’s board. Ashesh Shah / Mint “This failure is a result of the performance of these supposedly independent directors in discharging their fiduciary duties towards shareholders. Instead of correcting the situation they now want all Taro shareholders to pay for any damage claims made against them for this failure,” he said. Taro could not be reached for comments. Shangvi’s letter was in response to a similar appeal from Taro’s key promoter and chairman, Barrie Levitt, to the shareholders earlier in December, seeking their support against Sun’s “proxy fight” to gain control of the company. Levitt’s letter had followed a statement by another Taro shareholder, Templeton Asset Management Co. Ltd, that Sun’s attempts to take control of Taro had to be expedited as it had lost faith in the existing management. Templeton had lost faith as Taro’s board had failed to share the audited financials of the company with the shareholders for several years. Templeton had also withdrawn its appeal against Sun’s tender offer to acquire more shares in Taro. This sudden change in Templeton’s stand, which until recently supported Taro’s management, had irked Levitt. In his letter to Taro shareholders, Levitt warned that Sun Pharma could not manage its US subsidiary Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd from being raided by the US regulators—leading to the closure of Caraco’s manufacturing operations last year—and Taro could face the same fate if the Indian firm took control. Shangvi said Levitt is “spreading lies and misrepresentations” about Sun Pharma to distract Taro shareholders from the “encompassing protection being proposed to be given to independent directors as part of a payback for their complicity in illegally perpetuating control by the Levitt and Moros family over Taro in violation of contracts signed by the family.” The Moros family is the other promoter stockholder in Taro, which is listed on the Pink Sheet in the US, a stock exchange that deals with penny stocks. Sun Pharma shares rose 1.12% on Friday to close at Rs1,497.85 a piece on BSE. The exchange’s benchmark index, Sensex, slipped by around 1% to close at 16,719.83 points. Sun Pharma had in 2008 launched a share tender offer in the US to acquire a controlling stake in Taro, following a unilateral decision of the Israeli firm’s management to terminate a $454 million (Rs2,129 crore) merger agreement signed by Sun Pharma and Taro in May 2007. Taro’s management challenged this tender offer. It sought orders from an Israeli court to force Sun Pharma to make a special tender offer that would require support from Taro’s majority shareholders. A lower court in Israel had ruled in favour of Sun, but a judgement on an appeal filed by Taro is still awaited from the Israeli Supreme Court. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:25 am Mamata unveils vision for railwaysNew Delhi: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled her grand vision for Indian Railways even as she took a swipe at predecessor Lalu Prasad, much feted for having turned around the state-run monopoly and racked up a Rs90,000 crore cash surplus to boot. While suggesting that the claimed surplus may have owed more to accounting sleight of hand than anything else, Banerjee presented Vision 2020—a 10-year, Rs14 trillion programme targeting an annual growth rate of 10%.  Grandiose scheme: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee. Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg While Rs9 trillion of the amount can be raised internally, Banerjee wants Rs5 trillion from the Union government, in the form of an Accelerated Railway Development Fund “Indian Railways was No. 2 in the world at one point. Now, it has slipped to fourth position. We want it to become No. 1,” PTI cited Banerjee as saying. “We want to reach out to interior areas and increase our line capacity, but there are no funds.” The railways should look at critical problems rather than focusing on grandiose projects, an analyst said. “The way government finances are, to say the government should give budgetary support year after year is not the right approach at all,” said Amrit Pandurangi, who heads the transport and infrastructure practice for consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers. “Freight rates today are very high. So you should start reducing them over a period of time if you want the economy and the transport sector to remain competitive, which actually means there will be less surplus.” Pandurangi said the vision should be to get the priorities right, rather than spend money adding new track. Also See Mamata’s makeover for Indian Railways (Graphics) “I would be interested in knowing if, anywhere in the vision, does it say she (Banerjee) will make it a more competitive railways.” Setting inclusive development, large-scale employment generation, environment sustainability and strengthening national integration as the broad strategic goals of Vision 2020, the minister also proposed a multi-disciplinary committee to work out the details of short-term and long-term action plans. “In doing this analysis, we have found areas of concern that we want to address in the coming years,” said Samar Jha, additional member (budget), Indian Railways. “A committee of experts would be formed, who will plan out how to implement this vision.” The document spoke of the need for targeted subsidies in the passenger business—the railways lost about Rs14,000 crore carrying people in 2008-09—while addressing supply shortages. Prasad’s record was examined in a white paper that dwelt on possible changes to the way in which the railways presents its accounts. As Mint reported on 6 July, doubts arose over the claim of a turnaround and the cash surplus under the previous minister, following a decline of the railways’ accumulated fund balances from Rs22,279 crore in 2007-08 to Rs8,361 crore in 2009-10. The white paper said the concept of cash surplus before dividend “requires review as dividend is a committed liability of the railways” towards the Central government. The document said at least four accounting changes led to money that would ordinarily not be shown as part of the cash surplus to be marked as such, leading to the inflated number of Rs88,669 crore. If it weren’t for these, the cash surplus would have been Rs71,663 crore and the investible surplus Rs52,520 crore, the document showed. The white paper further cites a consultant hired by the railways to look at its accounting methodology as saying that if the railways had followed commercial accounting principles, cash surplus before dividend would have stood at Rs39,411 crore. Railway officials and analysts stressed that the revised numbers only reflected changes in the surplus claimed by Prasad, and not on the actual performance of the railways. Accounting changes “contributed significantly in inflating the figures of cash surplus before dividend, a new way of portraying surpluses generated, introduced in 2007-08,” according to the white paper. “The figures remain the same,” the railways’ Jha said. “It’s the manner of presentation.” Jha added that the railways would look at the recommendations made in the report. “We would definitely move towards much tighter accounting,” he said. Railway officials said the administration under Prasad should have also accounted for liabilities arising out of the pay commission’s recommendations, which were effective from 2006. The document showed that, by several indicators, the railways’ best period may have been 1991-96 under minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief and not Prasad. Average operating profit margins in 1991-96 were 15.47% versus 13.66% in 2004-09. The railways returned an average of 8.63% in 1991-96, compared with 6.26% in 2004-09. Photo by Rajkumar/Mint; Graphic by Yogesh Kumar Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:13 am Wipro gains 2.9% on Telefonica agreementMumbai: Wipro Ltd gained as much as 2.9% in trading after saying it entered into an agreement with Telefonica O2 Germany for out-tasking testing services. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 11:03 am Investors seek high yield on RBI’s floaterMumbai: Investors sought higher yield for Reserve Bank of India’s floating rate bond auctioned on Friday, the first after a gap of four years. There were 50 bids worth Rs3,025 crore for the Rs2,000 crore issue, according to the central bank’s website. The cut-off yield was higher-than expected as investors bid for the bond at a steep discount to its face value. They offered Rs91 for each bond of Rs100, which translated into a yield of 4.8557%, higher than a Reuters’ poll of 4.34%. According to S. Raghavan, head of treasury at IDBI Gilts Ltd, the low coupon of a floating rate bond diminishes its attractiveness. “Banks would prefer this bond as a risk mitigation tool. But when their cost of fund is above 5%, they cannot fully depend on such low yield bonds for long term investment,” said Raghavan. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:58 am SC reserves order in Ambani gas disputeNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it will give its verdict on the gas dispute between Reliance Industries Ltd and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd at a later date after both the parties concluded their oral arguments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:53 am Iron ore exports to rise 20% on Chinese demandMumbai: Iron ore shipments from Goa, the nation’s largest exporter of the steelmaking ingredient, may rise by at least 20% on demand from the largest consumer, China. Exports from Mormugao Port may reach 40 million tonne (mt) in the year ending March, P.C. Parida, vice-chairman of the port, said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:34 am To execute 40% of Rs 3,000cr order book by FY10: CC ConstCC Constructions The company has cleared the technical qualification round to build several highway projects of the National Highways Authority of India. It has qualified to bid for orders up to Rs 20,000 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 10:14 am Karl-Ulrich Kohler is new CEO of CorusMumbai: Corus Group Ltd, the European arm of Tata Steel Ltd, has appointed Karl-Ulrich Kohler its chief operating officer from 1 February. Kohler was until recently chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, the holding company for the steel operations of the Germany’s ThyssenKrupp AG. “Kohler succeeds Rauke Henstra, who held the position until his retirement last year. He will report to Kirby Adams, managing director and CEO of Tata Steel Europe,” Tata Steel said in a filing to BSE. Tata Steel had acquired Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus in 2007. According to the filing, Kohler, 53, would be based at Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. “This appointment demonstrates Tata Steel’s ambition to further enhance its European business, as well as the determination of this management team to emerge from the financial crisis in a strong and highly competitive position,” Adams said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:47 am Touch and GoACER launched the first touch screen laptop that runs on Windows 7 in India. A keyboard junkie is not really charmed.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:39 am Current order book over Rs 700cr: Titagarh WagonIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTv18, JC Choudhary, Chairman, Titagarh Wagon, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:38 am Suzlon Energy reduces debt by around 15%Mumbai: Suzlon Energy Ltd, India’s largest wind turbine maker, has reduced its debt by around 15% or $350 million (Rs1,642 crore). Suzlon cleared the $780 million loan it had taken to buy a 90.72% stake in Hamburg’s Repower Systems AG, using proceeds from its 35% stake sale in Belgium-based Hansen Transmissions International NV. It also took a new five-year, $465 million foreign line of credit from State Bank of India. This has helped Suzlon reduce its net outstanding debt to Rs11,800 crore from the Rs13,500 crore it had at end-September, a spokesman said. The firm has cleared Rs3,500 crore worth of debt but the net reduction after the fresh loans is Rs1,700 crore. “This transaction concludes the first phase of our refinancing exercise. We have achieved an overall improvement in our debt profile with a reduction of nearly 15%, or approximately $350 million,” Sumant Sinha, Suzlon’s chief operating officer said in a statement on Friday. Abhineet Anand, an analyst with Mumbai-based Antique Stock Broking Ltd, said the new funds will not reduce the company’s debt to a very large extent but ease its cash flows. “Any deal is a good deal for Suzlon currently,” said another analyst at a private broking firm. “But the company still can’t do much till a global economic recovery happens because the wind turbine business is very capital intensive.” Suzlon had paid €270.2 million (Rs1,821 crore) to buy the Repower stake in three tranches, the last of which was executed in June. The new five-year loan offers the company a two-year moratorium on repayment of principal amount. Suzlon’s shares lost 0.72% a piece on Friday to close at Rs82.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The benchmark index Sensex lost a little over 1%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:26 am Ingersoll Rand earmarks $100m outlay for Indian opsIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Venkatesh Valluri, President of Ingersoll Rand spoke about the companys ambitious plans and strategy going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 9:20 am India has big potential, but is very unexploredNew Delhi: Mirko Bordiga, chief executive officer of Ducati Asia Pacific, is no stranger to the luxury auto business. He’s spent almost all his career selling Ducati bikes and Ferrari and Maserati cars.  Riding on hope: Ducati expects it will sell 150 bikes in India in 2010.. Ramesh Pathania/Mint Global luxury bike makers have become more aggressive in the Indian market of late. Harley-Davidson announced its entry a few months ago. Are you also getting more aggressive as a result of this? To be honest, it’s the others who became more aggressive because of our actions. We entered India in 2008 and we’ve been searching for the best way to grow the brand in India. We’ve been making sure we took the right steps in the beginning. So, we found a very good location in Mumbai and now this location in Gurgaon and we’re very positive about the future. You see things are moving very fast in India in our sector. Ducati is going through the franchise route through Precision Motors India Pvt. Ltd as your sole importer. Other bike makers have set up wholly owned subsidiaries. Why have you chosen this model and what are its advantages? The Indian market is not an easy market and our company is used to operating with partners outside of the major markets. At the moment, we have subsidiaries in Europe, USA and Japan, but each one of these markets is over 2,000 units (a year). India has a huge potential but we still need to make the right steps first. In a market like this you need a local partner who knows what they’re doing. Ducati sold about 20 bikes in calendar 2008. What are your targets in 2010? We forecast a (sale of) 150 bikes. What are your plans for expanding your presence in India? We do have a plan to be present in all metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. In the past you’ve sold luxury cars as well, such as Ferrari and Maserati in China. How is the Indian luxury car or bike customer different from a Chinese customer? Indians are showing a much bigger interest and much bigger (car and biking) culture than the Chinese. India has been a producer of big bikes like the Royal Enfield. So, in your mind, the concept is not as strange. But the Chinese market is much larger than the Indian market at present. No. In our plans, India will be ahead of China for a while because it is easier to sell in India than in China due to regulations. In many cities in China, you cannot register motorcycles that have an engine capacity of more than 250cc. Now, they’ve opened up registrations in Beijing and Shanghai, but there is a lot of work to do not only in terms of brand building but creation of motorcycle culture. How does the Indian market compare with other global markets? It is totally different. Big motorcycle markets in the West have been around for many decades. In India, we’ve just started a few years ago in the late 1990s. So, in terms of evolution, those are mature markets. We know what to expect. India, we know, has a big potential, but is very unexplored. But we know that if we do the right things in terms of customer service, brand positioning, after-sales, we think we can cut out a significant share for our products. Where do you see the Indian market in five years? Good question. It’s very difficult to say, to be honest. I think in five years, if the pace of change goes on like this, India can be a major market in my area of operations. What are your favourite bikes to ride? My favourite bikes are always the future models. I think among the new bikes the Hypermotard 796 will be a hit. I like it a lot. At the moment, I am riding a Monster 696 in Italy. In China, I don’t have a bike as yet. Your favourite luxury car? Very difficult question. The Ferrari 458 is very beautiful. They’ve done a great job in designing it. Indians have always been very discerning buyers and always look for value. They’re willing to pay a price but only if they think the product is worth that much. After having done business in India do you also get that impression? Well, I’ll tell you, after the crisis everybody has started thinking like that. People have become more aware of the money they spend. But, our motorcycles have a technological content that competitors cannot match not only in terms of speed but also in terms of safety, rideability and so on. Very difficult to answer regarding India, as we don’t have a large enough base of customers to establish any trend for the Indian market. At the moment, the people who buy the bike in India are people with a big passion for the brand… and the people that I’ve met have the same amount of passion as bikers in Europe. Indians travel a lot and so they’re well acquainted with the Ducati brand. In the West, there is a lot more segmentation. Every family of bikes can be sold to different people. Did you always want to get into the car and bike industry? I always wanted to get into this. But in Italy everyone wants to get into this industry. I’d say I’ve been lucky to get in, but in terms of desire I always had the desire. I’ve been really lucky to work with the top companies for more than 10 years. With global economies picking up, how long before your sales in Asia pick up? In 2010, I expect a slight drop. I don’t think there will be a boom like the one we experienced three-four years ago. Who are your main competitors in the Indian market? At the moment, nobody. Harley-Davidson has not set up dealers. Ours are the only shops that sell big bikes. The Japanese bikes are not comparable to ours—Suzuki’s Hayabusa is sold through its existing dealers and so the customer experience is not the same. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:53 am SC reserves verdict in gas rowThe Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on the high-profile legal dispute between the Ambani brothers on the issue of gas supply involving Mukesh Ambani-led RIL and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL). Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:29 am C wealth club for PPP in sports bizThe Commonwealth Business Club of India (CBCI) and the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi has urged business leaders worldwide to come forward and develop public-private partnerships to build sports in India. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:27 am Farm lending cheerful despite difficult monsoonA weak monsoon and a drought-like situation in some parts of the country have not affected the flow of agricultural credit in the current fiscal year. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:26 am Anchor led IPOs lack listing punchContrary to the expectation of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), public offers that attracted investment by anchor investors have been under-performing.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:24 am Oil firms lag in race for Euro IV normsThe domestic car industry has threatened that implementation of new emission norms from April 1, 2010 may come a cropper if the required grade of fuel is not made available by that time.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Dec 2009 | 8:23 am SAIL may hike prices by up to Rs 1500 a tonne in January - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Dec 2009 | 6:57 am Qantas, AirAsia in talks on cost-saving JVSydney: Two of Asia’s major low-cost airlines, Malaysia’s AirAsia and Qantas Airways-owned Jetstar, are in talks to form a joint venture, in a sign budget carriers are under pressure to drive costs even lower. AirAsia, the region’s biggest low-cost carrier, and Jetstar have grown rapidly and now fly routes across Southeast Asia and Australia, serving some of the same destinations such as Cambodia’s Siem Reap and Australia’s Gold Coast. Qantas, seeking regional alliances to exploit Australia’s growing ties with Asia, said a joint venture would look to cut costs. Airlines worldwide have been grappling with falling demand, higher funding costs and volatile fuel prices. “Qantas confirms that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jetstar, and AirAsia have entered discussions regarding a potential cost-saving joint venture,” Qantas said in a brief statement, adding that discussions were at a preliminary stage and nothing had yet been agreed. Earlier this week, Australia unveiled plans to scrap some foreign-ownership rules for Qantas in a move aimed at helping it play a bigger role in global airline consolidation. For several years a takeover target, Qantas has emerged from global recession in relatively strong shape and is now seen as more of a predator than prey - with a keen interest in Asia. Despite the government’s move to relax some ownership restrictions on Qantas, and allow foreign airlines to take major minority stakes, the national carrier remains subject to an overall cap of 49 percent on total offshore ownership. Shaw Stockbroking senior dealer Jamie Spiteri said an AirAsia deal might only be the beginning for Qantas’s ambitions in Asia. “There’s a number of different potential partnerships, but there will be delicacy over those negotiations because Qantas themselves hold dominance over some quite profitable routes within Australia and to London and west coast USA,” he said. “Some potential alliance partners would like to get involved in those profitable routes as well.” AirAsia, headed by CEO Tony Fernandes, has said it plans to list in both Thailand and Indonesia in a bid to tap into other liquid Asian stock markets. In September, the carrier raised $144 million in a new share placement as it sought to reduce debt. AirAsia and Jetstar compete regionally with Tiger Airways, which is 49 percent-owned by Singapore Airlines and this week halved the size of a planned initial public offering due to a lukewarm response from potential investors, sources told Reuters. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 4:45 am Twitter hacked by ‘Iranian Cyber Army’Washington: Popular microblogging site Twitter was briefly shut down overnight, its home page replaced with an image claiming the site had been hacked by the “Iranian Cyber Army.” The website’s official blog acknowledged the disruption but gave no details as to how the site had been disrupted and who was responsible. “As we tweeted a bit ago, Twitter’s DNS records were temporarily compromised tonight but have now been fixed,” the site’s co-founder Biz Stone wrote on the blog. “We will update with more information and details once we’ve investigated more fully,” he added. Technology blogs including TechCrunch said Twitter went down around 0600 GMT for about an hour. Visitors to the site at that time reached a page with an image of a green flag under red text reading “Iranian Cyber Army” and “This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army.” Screengrabs posted on Flickr clearly showed additional text below the image in English. “USA. Think They Controlling And Managing Internet By Their Access, But They Don’t, We Control And Manage Internet By Our Power, So Do Not Try To Stimulation Iranian Peoples To,” the text said. “NOW WHICH COUNTRY IN EMBARGO LIST? IRAN? USA? WE PUSH THEM IN EMBARGO LIST. Take Care,” it read. TechCrunch reported that the disruption also affected Google searches for Twitter. It posted a screengrab showing that searches for a time returned a result reading “This Web Site Has Been Hacked by Iranian Cyber Army,” above Farsi script. TechCrunch translated the text as saying that it was a reaction to Twitter’s interference in the internal affairs of “my country”, which it said the US authorities had ordered. Iranian demonstrators protesting the results of June presidential elections used Twitter extensively, both to organize marches and to release information about their movement. Their use of the microblogging site led some to dub the pro-democracy action against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a “Twitter revolution” and made the Iranian election one of the top “trends” on the site this year. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 18 Dec 2009 | 4:42 am
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