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IDFC fund to buy 27% in Adhunik Power for Rs 250crIDFC Project Equity Fund will buy a 27% stake in Adhunik Metalik\'s power unit, Adhunik Power for Rs 250 crore. Adhunik Metaliks owns about 98% in Adhunik Power. The entire investment will go towards setting up a 540megawatt coal fired thermal power project in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand over the next two years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 8:52 am Maruti sees 1820% sales growth in FY10India\'s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki expects its sales for the fiscal year to March 2010 to rise by about a fifth, a senior company official said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 8:05 am Will look at QIP issuance over next 12 mths: Yes BankNew age private sector bank, YES BANK is poised for more growth. The company posted a 30% growth in net interest income and its net profit surged 75% in Q2FY10. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Rana Kapoor, Founder/MD CEO, YES BANK spoke about the companys diversification plans and gave a prognosis of the business and targets going ahead.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:58 am Adani Power expects to win Maharashtra dealA unit of Adani Power expects to receive a letter of intent (LoI) from a Maharashtra utility to purchase 1,200 MW power on a longterm basis, it said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:33 am Expect IT budget to be flat in 2010: WiproIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Girish Paranjpe, Executive Director and Joint CEO of Wipro\'s IT Business spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:30 am Saudi SABIC sees end to India, China dumping rowSaudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) sees an end to disputes with India and China over antidumping measures against the world\'s biggest petrochemicals firm.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:26 am Zee Entertainment board okays merger with unitZee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd said on Wednesday it has approved the merger of unit ETC Networks Ltd with itself.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:07 am IDFC fund to invest Rs 2.5 billion in Adhunik unitAdhunik Metaliks Ltd said on Wednesday IDFC Project Equity Fund will invest Rs 2.5 billion in its unit Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:07 am Shriram EPC group wins Rs 1.56 billion ordersShriram EPC said on Wednesday the group won orders worth Rs 1.56 billion.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 7:07 am Microsoft ordered to stop selling Word software by Jan 11 !Upholding patent-infringement charges by a small Toronto firm against Microsoft Tuesday, a US appeals court ordered the software giant to stop selling Word by January 11 and pay USD 290 million in damages.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Wall Street rises for 3rd day after jump in home sales!Stocks pushed higher for a third straight day after a surprisingly strong report on housing provided the latest evidence that the US economy is picking up speed.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am India to return to 9% growth rate in 2-3 years: Mukherjee!Buoyed over good quarterly figures, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday hoped that the economy can achieve 9 percent growth rate in 2-3 years. India has recorded a robust 7.9 percent growth rate in the third quarter this year.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Sensex regains 17K level, surges by over 310 pts!Sensex shot up by over 310 points to regain the psychological 17,000-point level in late morning trade on Wednesday on the back of strong rally in IT and oil and gas stocks.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Cargo volumes up 13% in Indian ports in November!Cargo volumes in Indian ports grew by 13 percent in November to 48.2 million tonnes against 42.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period, mainly powered by iron and coal cargo traffic.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Vietnam set for middle income status: World Bank!The World Bank said it had approved its biggest ever loan to Vietnam as it virtually endorsed the once war-ravaged Southeast Asian nation`s impending elevation to middle income status.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Economic reforms has gains for rural, urban poor: Study !Amid signs of growing inequality, India`s economic reforms since the early 1990s have brought significant gains to the rural poor as well as the urban poor, according to a new world Bank research paper.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:36 am Maruti\'s new vehicle to launch on Jan 7Maruti Suzuki, the country\'s top carmaker, will launch a new multipurpose vehicle EECO on January 7, a senior executive said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 6:21 am Fin Min may withdraw fiscal incentives given to exportersThe Finance Ministry may withdraw fiscal incentives given to exporters to fix the budgetary hole, Commerce Secretary Rahul Kullar said in New Delhi on Wednesday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 3:22 am Sensex ends 550 points higher; Hindalco, NTPC up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 3:16 am Tata Teleservices adds 3.3 million mobile users in NovemberTata Tele, in which Japan's NTT DoCoMo owns a 26% stake, was the first mobile operator to introduce per-second billing and unlimited calls for a fixed price.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 3:13 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes up 3.3 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex provisionally closed 3.26 percent higher on Wednesday as investors placed bets on better outlooks for banks and metals stocks and as firm global markets underpinned sentiment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 3:06 am Major hurdles cleared in Geely bid for Volvo - sourceHONG KONG (Reuters) - Ford Motor and Zhejiang Geely have addressed most of the big issues in the pending sale of Ford's Volvo car unit to the Chinese automaker, a source with knowledge of the talks said on Wednesday, paving the way for the biggest acquisition of a foreign automaker by a Chinese company.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 3:03 am Oil holds above $74 on US inventory data - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:59 am Toyota launches new Prado Diesel in IndiaWith the launch of new Prado diesel Landcruiser in India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd is looking at a 10 per cent market share in the SUV segment, its top official said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:53 am INTERVIEW - Kotak PE eyes exit windows after mkt surgeMUMBAI (Reuters) - The private equity unit of India's Kotak Mahindra Bank is getting set for IPOs and the sale of some portfolio firms as exit opportunities are opened up by this year's strong market rally, a top official said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:50 am BoE voted 9-0 to keep rates, QE steady in DecLONDON (Reuters) - All nine members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent and maintain the 200 billion pound asset buying programme in December, as expected.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:45 am Toyota hopes to cruise with new Prado, compact carBangalore: Japanese car major Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Pvt. Ltd hopes to capture 10% market share in the SUV segment with the launch of new Prado diesel Landcruiser in India, the company’s managing director said on Wednesday. The firm would also come out with a compact car before the year ends. Unveiling the new vehicle, TKM managing director Hiroshi Nagakawa told reporters that Prado has sold over 1.56 million units in over 170 countries so far and that customer response in India since its launch in 2004 has exceeded expectations. “We are looking at 10% market share in SUV segment with the launch of the new diesel version.” The redesigned Prado would appeal to both genuine SUV buyers and car owners who are looking to upgrade manoeuvrability with interior luxury, he said. Improvements include a 3.0 litre diesel engine,adoption of Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System for driving stability at city and highway speeds.It has features like 3 zone automatic climate control, multi-information display and DAC (Down-hill Assist Control) and VSC (Vehicle Stability Control). “Our target audience is active businessmen,industrialists and socialities who want to make a style statement and are in the 35-45 year age group,” Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director TKM said. “We are looking at all major metro cities like Mumbai,Bangalore and Kochi and states of Karnataka, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh for our sales,” Singh said. “Bangalore is a big market for us and we are looking at a sale of 10-15 vehicles per annum.” Giving an insight to the company’s compact car plans, the deputy managing director said,“To begin with we will be manufacturing 70,000 units of the compact car and are looking at a 10% market share within one year of its release.” Toyota is coming out with compact car by December 2010 in India. Singh said the compact car would be 70% indigenous except for the engine which will be imported from Japan, “unlike the present cars which is only about 30% indigenous”. He however declined to reveal the price immediately. Both the hatchback and sedan version of the concept vehicle of the compact car will be showcased at the Auto Expo to be held in New Delhi from 5 -11 January. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:43 am India can clock 10% growth in 2-3 years: FM - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:41 am Govt asks Sebi for more details on RIL share allotment probeThe government has asked capital market regulator Sebi for more details of a probe into a case of alleged routing of funds by RIL to dummy companies for buying its own shares in 2000.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:34 am No withdrawal of stimulus before budget PranabThe government on Wednesday said the fiscal stimulus given to the industry to combat the adverse impact of the global financial meltdown will not be withdrawn before the budget to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in February.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:31 am World Stocks, dollar rise after strong U.S. dataLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks rose for a third straight session on Wednesday and the dollar set a two-month peak against the yen after upbeat U.S. housing market data fanned expectations for a solid recovery in the U.S. economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:23 am Toyota launches new Prado Diesel in India - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:22 am Oil rises to near 75 amid US crude supplies fallOil prices rose to near $75 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia after a report showed US crude inventories fell last week and a jump in housing sales suggested the world's biggest economy is picking up speed.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:15 am Saudi Basic Industries Corp sees end to India, China dumping rowIndia and China have both launched anti-dumping measures againt Gulf firms including Saudi Basic Industries Corp.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:11 am Spot gold down on sluggish demandMumbai: India’s spot gold prices fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday as buyers stayed away expecting prices to fall further, dealers said. “Most buyers expect prices to come down further...they will be interested when prices stay below Rs16,500 levels (per 10 gm),” said a dealer with a private bank based in Mumbai. Dealers, however, said the Hindu wedding season, which will last till December-end, has already helped boost demand with most buying happening earlier in the month. December has been good so far in terms of demand, said a dealer with another private bank. India expects a jump in December gold imports to meet the demand. 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. International gold prices edged higher in Europe on Wednesday, recovering some of this week’s heavy losses, as investors took advantage of the price drop to buy into the market. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:11 am Maruti sees 18-20 pct sales growth in FY10NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's top carmaker Maruti Suzuki expects its sales for the fiscal year to March 2010 to rise by about a fifth, a senior company official said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:10 am Adani Power expects to win Maharashtra dealAnother unit won a similar deal from a Rajasthan utility to supply 1,200 MW power.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:09 am ONGC raises Rs 1970 cr through bonds - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:07 am Markets extend gains to 3% led by RelianceMumbai: Indian shares extended gains to 3% on Wednesday afternoon, with Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies leading as sentiment was supported by a rise in global markets. At 2:23pm the 30-share BSE index was up 2.86% at 17,169.04 points, with all components advancing, having risen 3 percent earlier. The 50-share NSE Index was up 2.7 percent at 5,118.35. Shares extended their gains to more than 2% in afternoon trade. At 12:19pm, the 30-share BSE index was up 2.13% at 17,048.73 points, with all components advancing. The 50-share NSE Index was up 2.2% at 5,098.50. Leading lender State Bank of India rose 0.75 to Rs2,181.30 and ICICI Bank climbed 1.9% to Rs842, although both stocks are still down in December. “People were expecting that RBI (Reserve Bank of India) may tighten liquidity after the inflation data. But that has not happened as yet. So the bank stocks are just recovering,” said Daljeet Kohli, head of private client group at Emkay Global. At 10:58am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading up 1.125 at 16,879.66, with only three of its components declining. It later extended gains to 1.8%. The 50-share NSE index was up 1.1% at 5,042. “It is just bouncing back after the recent consolidation, with positive global cues helping it,” said Hitesh Agrawal, head of research at Angel Broking. “From the long-term view, we all know India is a good story,” he added. Energy giant Reliance Industries was up 1.7% at Rs1,036.30. The company said on Tuesday it had made a gas discovery in one of its exploration blocks in the Krishna Godavari basin off the country’s east coast. “While we await the regulator’s decision on commerciality of the discovery, we believe this discovery reiterates the exploration upside potential of RIL from eastern India offshore,” Goldman Sachs said in a note. “Going into 2010, we expect more news flow to come from RIL’s other exploration blocks, as two more rigs add to RIL’s current count of three in India,” the note said. Metals stocks extended Tuesday’s gains on strong demand outlook for metals in 2010. Tata Steel rose 1.9%, while Sterlite Industries and Hindalco climbed 2.3% and 1.4% respectively. In the broader market, gainers were nearly four times the number of losers on a volume of 125 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 2:04 am Indian rupee held in tight band; dlr gains weigh - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:59 am Reliance Life s new brand promise is All is WellReliance Life Insurance has entered into an association with the makers of '3 Idiots', as per which the insurance firm will use the thought 'All is Well' -- one of the themes of the film -- to promote its products. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am IDFC fund to invest Rs2.5 billion in Adhunik unitThe fund would help part finance equity of its ongoing 540 megawatt coal based merchant power project in Jamshedpur.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:33 am Zee Entertainment board okays merger with unitZee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd said on Wednesday it has approved the merger of unit ETC Networks Ltd with itself.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:26 am China's central bank affirms appropriately loose policyThe People's Bank of China, in a statement after its quarterly monetary policy committee meeting, added that it would improve the flexibility of its policies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:22 am Shriram EPC group wins Rs1.56 billion ordersThe first order, worth Rs900 million, is to set up a cooling tower for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:20 am Economy could grow by 8 pc in current fiscal PranabFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the economy could grow by 7.5 to 8 per cent during the current financial year, though price rise and fiscal consolidation remained areas of concern.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:19 am Sensex regains 17K level surges by over 420 ptsThe Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex shot up by over 420 points to regain the 17,000-point level in late morning trade on Wednesday on the back of strong rally in IT, oil and gas stocks. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:18 am Pranab expects India to grow at 7.75% in FY10New Delhi: The Indian economy could grow at a faster pace in 2009/10 compared with the previous year although inflation and high fiscal deficit are major challenges for the government, the finance minister said on Wednesday. Surging food prices and faster industrial growth have pushed up headline inflation, putting pressure on authorities to take steps such as importing food items and raising the cash reserve ratio for banks and interest rates to check inflation. The outlook for economic growth during the December and March quarters looked better than previous quarters, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said, adding the economy could expand around 7.75% for the full fiscal year that ends in March 2010. “It would be more appropriate to say that it (growth) would be around 7.5 to 8%,” Mukherjee told an industry conference. A 16-year high fiscal deficit of 6.8% of gross domestic product projected for 2009/10 (April-March) increased borrowing needs to a record Rs4.51 trillion and kept bond yields firm this year. “Some of the important issues and challenges in the short-to-medium term include price rises, (and) return to the path of fiscal consolidation,” the minister added. The worst monsoon since 1972 and flooding in some parts of the country have pushed up food inflation to near 20% by early December, while the headline inflation accelerated to 4.78% in On Tuesday, the government cut the open sale price of wheat, while ministers have pledged in parliament that the government would import food items that are in short supply to boost local supplies and stem inflation. Mukherjee said farm output must grow 4% for the economy to expand 9-10% annually in the coming years. For the government, “sustained economic growth remains a high priority,” he said. A series of stimulus measures such as cut in policy lending rate by 425 basis points by the central bank between October 2008 and April 2009, and duty cuts and additional expenditures by the government helped the economy turn the corner from March quarter. Asked if faster economic expansion could bring forward the time for withdrawing fiscal stimulus, the minister said: “You have to wait till the budget.” The economy grew 7.9% in the September quarter, accelerating from 6.1% in the June quarter and 5.8% each in the December and March quarters, as India weathered the impact of global financial crisis faster than many other nations. The economy expanded 6.7% in 2008/09, slower than 9% or more in the previous three years. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 1:03 am Gold futures down on global cuesGold futures prices declined by Rs 56 or 0.34% today on selling by traders influenced by a weakening global trend.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:46 am Economy can grow 7.75 pct in FY10, inflation a challengeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The economy could grow at a faster pace in 2009/10 compared with the previous year although inflation and high fiscal deficit are major challenges for the government, the finance minister said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:46 am Economy will grow 9-10% in a few years: PranabFinance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday that India's economy would grow at 9-10% in the coming two to three years.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:42 am Trade extension: Brokers urge exchanges to rethink move - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:35 am Pledges for emission cuts on track to meet 2 degrees Celsius goalNew Delhi: A deal at Copenhagen is well within the realm of the possible, according to a study released before the climate conference, which began on Monday, that adds up existing proposals and pledges from countries on emission reduction, and sees whether this fits in with the articulated goal of limiting global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. The study, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), shows a small gap between what is needed, and what has been promised or pledged, in terms of emission reduction, for this target to be met. The 2 degrees target is consistent with what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recommended as the maximum allowable limit for global warming. The Group of Eight economies has also pledged that it will work towards the same goal.  Graphics: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint The study takes into account recent declarations made by emerging economies such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil, and their associated emission reduction targets. India, for instance, announced on 26 November that it will domestically cut its emission intensity by 20-25% below 2005 levels by 2020. China had earlier put forth its own target in terms of a cut in carbon intensity. According to the UNEP report, a 2 degrees goal translates into 44gt of carbon dioxide, or CO2, equivalent. If the declarations by countries are taken at face value, the total works out to 46gt in 2020, leaving a gap of 2 tonnes, compared with today’s 47gt. The analysis takes into account the fact that the pledges of some countries are contingent on action by other countries. The emission reduction pledges from Brazil and Indonesia, for instance, are dependent on international help. The report also assumes the creation of a system of rules which will account for emissions in the land use, land use change and the forestry sectors. Also See | Mint’s complete coverage on Copenhagen According to the report, “current proposals will take developed countries to around 16gt and around 16% below 1990 levels”. But it adds that reductions only from developed countries are not adequate to meet the 2 degrees target.  Details of how emission reduction targets will be split between developing countries and developed ones have formed the basis of climate talks. Developing nations that are not historically responsible for most of the emissions have demanded that rich countries take deep cuts in emissions and also compensate developing countries through finance and transfer of technology. The UNEP report explained that developed nations should deliver substantial financial resources to support the willingness of some developing nations to implement ambitious policies, because without these, the world would be unable to control its emissions. AP contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:34 am India tightens tourist visa rulesNew Delhi: “India has tightened its rules for long-term tourist visas in a move that will hit thousands of foreigners living in the country or planning lengthy stays,” a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. Under previous rules, tourists on five- or 10-year visas were required to leave the country every 180 days. But many would simply fly to a neighbouring country such as Nepal for a brief stay before returning. Now they will still face the same 180-day deadline, but will have to stay out of the country for two months before they can re-enter. “We have changed the rules to prevent the misuse of the long-term tourist visa,” a senior official at the foreign ministry said, asking not be named. The new rules have been implemented since 4 November he said, although the US embassy in New Delhi said that the changes were being applied inconsistently and had caused problems for a number of its nationals. In a posting on its website, the embassy detailed a number of tourists who had left the country to visit a neighbouring country for a holiday but who were then denied entry back into India. “These new visa and registration regulations are being implemented inconsistently and are not finalized,” the advisory stated. Over 100,000 tourists apply for long-term visas a year, according to the foreign ministry. Nationals from 14 countries are eligible for the visas and they are particularly used by US and British citizens who bypass the complicated process of acquiring a business or employment visa. “We realised that most countries follow the two-month gap rule and India needs to do the same,” the official said. The ministry has made no change to short-term visa rules, which most visitors to the country use for their holidays, but it has recently tightened up business visa rules. In October, India announced a crackdown on the misuse of business visas— short-term visas meant for a specific trip to India—which meant thousands of expatriate workers had to leave the country. A final draft of the visa regulations for both long-term tourist visas and business visas is expected to be issued in December and will be made public by Indian embassies across the world. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:32 am Inflation, deficit are main challenges: Pranab MukherjeHe said sustaining high economic growth remains a priority for the federal government.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:29 am Government open to changing direct tax code: Pranab MukherjeeThe draft code proposed various reform measures, including cutting in corporate tax rate to 25% and streamlining tax laws.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:27 am No roll back of fiscal stimulus until budget - MukherjeeNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will wait until the February budget to consider withdrawing some of the fiscal stimulus measures, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:26 am Economy can grow 7.75% in FY10: Pranab MukherjeeHe also told an industry conference farm output must grow 4 percent for the economy to expand 9-10% annually.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:25 am Lupin may launch 6-7 products next quarter - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:20 am Sensex extends gains, breaches 17,000-point markThe Sensex opened at 16,723.96 points and was ruling at 17,007.48 points, up 315.48 points.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Reliance makes another gas find in KG BasinReliance Industries Ltd announced its third successive gas discovery in the exploration block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, about 45 km off the Andhra Pradesh coast in the Bay ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am HDFC Property holds back funds on ‘ground reality'HDFC Property Fund has held back from investing over 50 per cent of its $800-million (Rs 3,800 crore) corpus due to adverse market conditions as also unrealistic valuations sought bySource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Nava Bharat Ventures (Rs 420.7): BuyWe recommend a buy in the stock of Nava Bharat Ventures from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that it has been on a long-term uptrend since its November 2008 low of Rs 90, forming higher highs and troughs. InSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Cognizant picks up 700 Anna varsity studentsThe US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions offered jobs to over seven hundred students of Anna University on Tuesday. Though this was less than the 1,000 offers that Cognizant made last year, Dr P. Mannar Jawahar, Vice Chancellor, AnnaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Top public sector banks see robust growth in profitsContrary to the international trend, large public sector banks (PSBs) expect a quantum jump in bottomline growth in the December and the subsequent quarter this fiscal, going by their advance tax payouts up to the December 15Source: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Telecom operators may skip 3G, dial 4G directlyWith the Government deciding to allocate spectrum for third generation (3G) mobile only by August next year, some Indian operators are reviewing their strategy and looking at the possibility of leapfrogging straight to the fourth generation (4G)Source: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Muddle on food inflationThe weekly data on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) became a bit of a joke. Even as it reported inflation had fallen to sub-zero levels, food prices and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) were transmitting entirely different signals. It has becomeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe re-affirm our prior view of utilise rallies to sell DLF stock with stop-loss at Rs 362. Fresh long position can be initiated if ICICI Bank moves above Rs 836 and SBI surpasses Rs 2180 with stiff stop-loss. We reiterate our sell recommendationSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Microsoft to position Bing as decision engineWhen Microsoft-Yahoo search engine deal gets statutory approvals in the United States a few months from now, about 400 engineers, working on the second largest online search engine Yahoo, would move onto Microsoft. The Yahoo engineers in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am Hotel Leelaventure promoters raising stake to 55% via creeping routeThe promoters of Hotel Leelaventure are increasing their stake in the company through creepingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am PM to discuss fuel subsidy issue with FM Oil Min - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 22 Dec 2009 | 11:46 pm Schumacher set to return with MercedesBerlin: Retired seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has agreed a one-year deal to drive for Mercedes in 2010, Bild newspaper reported on Tuesday. The newspaper said the German, who retired in 2006, signed the deal at the team’s offices in Brackley, England, after a month of talks. Schumacher will reportedly earn 7 million euros ($10 million). Mercedes, who have taken over champions Brawn, have signed Germany’s Nico Rosberg for 2010 and Schumacher, who will be 41 in January, will return to F1 after aborting plans for a comeback with Ferrari this year as a stand-in for injured Brazilian Massa because of fitness concerns. Ross Brawn guided Schumacher to all his seven titles as technical director and master strategist at Benetton and then with Ferrari. Schumacher also drove for the Mercedes sportscar team before breaking into Formula One. Since his retirement the German has worked as a consultant for Ferrari. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 11:26 pm GVK Power May Buy Siemens' 40% in Bangalore Airport - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 22 Dec 2009 | 11:22 pm Rupee falls by 4 paise in opening tradeThe rupee today depreciated by 4 paise to 46.84 a dollar in opening trade on increased demand for the US currency from importers.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 22 Dec 2009 | 11:09 pm Sensex rises by 155 pts in opening trade on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 155 points in opening trade on Wednesday on buying in metals and IT stocks by funds driven by firm global cues.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 22 Dec 2009 | 10:47 pm Sugar output in 2010/11 seen up by 44%New Delhi: India’s sugar output is expected to rise by 44% to 23 million tonnes in the crop year that starts from October 2010, an industry official said, as higher prices are likely to support cane cultivation. The output in 2010/11 would be substantially higher than an expected 16 million tonnes during 2009/10, Vinay Kumar, managing director of the National Cooperative Federation of Sugar Factories Ltd, told reporters on Tuesday. India’s annual sugar demand is pegged at around 23 million tonnes. “Bumper planting is going on in Uttar Pradesh because of higher prices. Producers are raising price of cane every week,” Kumar said. India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state is the biggest producer of cane. Millers in the state have agreed to pay Rs190-195 ($4.06-4.17) per 100 kilogrammes for cane, compared to Rs140 a year ago. Falling output forced India, the world’s top consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, to allow tax-free imports of raws and whites in April to improve supplies in domestic markets, spiking benchmark prices in New York and London. After being a net importer for two straight years, India may become self-sufficient in 2010/11, Narendra Murkumbi, managing director of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, the country’s biggest refiner, said on Monday. India turned into a net importer last year, after exporting a record 5 million tonnes of sugar in 2007/08, as lower cane output triggered by a glut in the previous two years hit sugar production. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 10:28 pm CW Games challenge, dwindling revenue haunt Delhi government in 2009 New Delhi: The euphoria of retaining power for the third consecutive term faded away during the course of the year for the Congress government in Delhi as it had to grapple with challenges like completing projects linked to the Commonwealth Games and dealing with dwindling revenue forcing it to hike bus fare and water tariff. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit faced severe criticism for capital’s tardy preparation for the mega sporting event next year and it became a single-point agenda for the government from September onwards to focus mainly on speeding up work on infrastructure projects worth over Rs15,000 crore. “My single point agenda now is to ensure successful hosting of the Commonwealth Games,” Dikshit said. Skyrocketing prices of vegetables and other essential commodities also kept the government on its toes as it opened over 100 special outlets across the city to sell pulses and wheat flour at subsidised rates to help the poor but failed to rein in the shooting prices in the retail market. The government also felt the blues of the global financial crisis as the tax collection declined by Rs400 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, prompting it to take up several measures to shore up its revenue generation. In view of the dip in tax collection, the government decided to withdraw the annual power subsidy of Rs200 crore to certain categories of the consumers besides substantially increasing the bus fare and, water tariff which will come into effect from 1 January. The little silver lining for the government was that the opposition BJP was in disarray and failed to create public pressure on the government against these decisions. Facing financial crunch for several projects related to the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi government had requested the Centre to allocate more fund and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee enhanced the allocation from Rs2,112 crore in the interim budget to Rs3,472 crore in the main budget. The Delhi government, in its ‘thanks giving´ budget had earmarked Rs2,105 crore for the financial year 2009-10 for projects related to the Games. The government did not levy any new tax in its budget as it wanted to thank the people of Delhi for electing the government for third time in a row. Another area of concern was the increasing cases of swine flu. The government took a series of measures including enhancing the health infrastructure to offer proper treatment to the patients. In view of the ‘green vision´ of the Commonwealth Games, the government has also taken a series of measures including carrying out large scale afforestation, developing city forests to ensure that the environmental impact of the event is minimised. The government, in a significant decision, in January had banned use of plastic bags in shopping malls, retail markets, hospitals and hotels and decided to impose a maximum penalty of Rs1 lakh or five years’ imprisonment or both against the violators. The government also initiated massive efforts to beautify areas near the venues of the CW Games and streetscapping of all major roads besides modernising the transport network in the city. As part of modernisation of the transport system, the government had inducted over 900 low floor buses into the DTC fleet and ordered another 3,000 such vehicles so as to totally phase out the ‘killer´ Blueline buses which claimed around 120 lives in 2009 so far. However, government faced severe criticism after six low floor buses caught fire raising questions on passenger safety prompting the transport department to slap a fine of Rs4 crore on supplier Tata Motors and order a bumper to bumper checking of all the vehicles of the new fleet. In the month of July and August, massive power cuts coupled with water scarcity generated huge public outcry against the government which promptly warned the discoms to improve its distribution network and procure power even at higher rates to meet the increased demand. Dissatisfied by the performance of the power discom BSES, the government had even warned the company of stringent punishment if it failed to improve the situation. Delhi’s power regulator DERC had even imposed a fine of Rs1.68 crore on discom BSES for overdrawing heavily from the Northern Grid during summer. In yet another significant development in the year, the government after a long delay, framed its own excise law which provides for a regime of more stringent punishment for all liquor-related offences, including enhanced fine for consuming alcohol at public places. Till now, the excise related offences were considered under the Punjab Excise Act 1914, provision of which was extended to Delhi in 1939. Chief minister Dikshit also came under attack for recommending parole to Manu Sharma, serving life imprisonment in the Jessica Lall murder case after it emerged that he violated parole norms. However, Dikshit defended the move saying it was within the ‘legal purview’. The ruling Congress in September received a jolt when it lost two assembly seats earlier held by it, as BJP wrested one while the RJD opened its account in the city. In November again, the capital joined an elite group of cities like New York, London and Paris when the government unveiled a unique portal comprising all the over ground and underground utilities like hospitals, schools, telephone lines and water pipes in three dimensional digital format. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 10:24 pm Rupee edges down, stock gains to supportMumbai: The Indian rupee eased in early trade on Wednesday, tracking weak regional currencies, but a firm start to the domestic sharemarket is expected to arrest the fall and could push the local unit up later in the session. At 10:30am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.83/84 per dollar, a little below its previous close of Rs46.80/81. Last Thursday, the rupee fell to a low of Rs46.97, its weakest since 27 November. So far the rupee has traded in a band of Rs46.8175 to Rs46.84. Most Asian units were weaker compared to the dollar. Activity was thin ahead of year-end, with Monday being declared a holiday for the markets in addition to Friday. “Gains in the stock market are getting offset by the dollar’s rise versus the euro, which is quite significantly down,” said Naveen Raghuvanshi, an associate vice president with Development Credit Bank. “Had it been for the euro’s move alone, then the rupee should have crossed 47 by now. But it would continue to be in Rs46.75-46.87 range for the rest of the month. There is very little impetus for any movement and only in the New Year we could see some fresh triggers,” he added. Shares rose 1% in morning deals, supported by gains in Asia, but they may lack further momentum for a sharper move. “We may see the dollar-rupee drifting lower towards Rs46.75 tracking shares later today,” said R.K. Gurumurthy, head of treasury, at ING Vysya Bank. The US dollar notched a two-month top on the yen in Asia on Wednesday, with buyers enticed by US yields at four-month highs and the steepest yield curve on record. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward rupee contracts were quoted at 46.82/92, little changed from the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at Rs46.85 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $400 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm Asian shares edge up, dollar off highsSeoul: Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday led by a spurt in Australian stocks to a three-week high, while the US dollar came off highs as traders digested recent steep gains. Oil prices ticked higher amid expectations in a Reuters poll that US weekly inventory data will show a draw down in crude stocks of nearly 1 million barrels, but the dollar’s rally is keeping a lid on the market’s upside potential. The US dollar hit a two-month high of 91.86 yen in early Asia trade, before edging back. But the currency remains in demand even after jumping more than 8% in less than a month against the Japanese currency. Australian stocks rose as much as 0.8% to a three-week high, helped by miners such as BHP Billiton Ltd, pushing the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan up by 0.2%. In Australia, Gloucester Coal jumped more than 25% higher after rival Macarthur Coal offered to buy the company in an all-share deal for $591 million. The shares resumed trading on Wednesday after being halted a day earlier pending the bid. Key stock indexes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were all modestly higher on the day. Tokyo’s stock market was closed for the Emperor’s birthday holiday, dampening activity in the region. Spot gold was quoted $1,086.65 an ounce at 8:00am, bouncing back after touching a seven-week low of $1,074.10 in New York trade overnight. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:43 pm ONGC unit raises $420 mn via bonds Mumbai: “The overseas arm of India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has raised Rs1970 crore ($420 million) via bonds,” two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. “ONGC Videsh (OVL) sold five-year bonds with an 8.40% coupon, versus an indicative upper limit of 8.50%, and had aimed to raise up to Rs2400 crore,” the sources said adding “The bonds are rated ‘AAA´ by Indian rating agency Crisil and carry a guarantee from OVL’s parent.” For the bond sale, 10 arrangers were appointed: Standard Chartered Bank, Trust Investment Advisor, AK Capital, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, SBI Capital Markets, Citibank, Axis Bank, HSBC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank. Pay-in is scheduled for Wednesday. Separately, Reuters Basis Point, citing sources, reported OVL has signed a $200 million three-year refinancing priced at around 145 basis points all-in, with a margin slightly below 100 basis points. It said that the deal would help refinance some outstanding rupee borrowings taken for the acquisition of Imperial Energy Corp PLC last year. OVL had early this year raised Rs5000 crore via one-year commercial paper, and last month ONGC’s chairman said ONGC was looking to refinance OVL’s debt. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:42 pm Rupee falls by 4 paise in opening tradeThe rupee today depreciated by 4 paise to 46.84 a dollar in opening trade on increased demand for the US currency from importers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:31 pm Wall St advances on optimism about housing sectorNew York: The S&P 500 logged another 14-month high on Tuesday as stocks rallied on a surge in existing home sales, which indicated more stabilization in housing and boosted optimism about the economic recovery. Housing stocks led the way up with the Dow Jones US home construction index up 3.9% following data that showed US existing home sales rose in November at the fastest pace since February 2007. Shares of D.R. Horton Inc rose 3.8% to $11.15, while Toll Brothers Inc gained 4.5% to $19.21. “We definitely had a positive reaction off the housing numbers,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati. Any sign of stabilization in housing lends a big boost to investor sentiment. It was the fallout from that sector’s downturn that recently drove the economy into its worst recession since the 1930s and propelled the US unemployment rate above 10% to a 26-year high. “The housing numbers were very, very strong,” Detrick added, “and that’s what we’ve been seeing for several months.” The Nasdaq hit a 15-month high, buoyed by technology bellwethers. International Business Machines Corp shot up 1% to $129.93 on the NYSE after the blue-chip company scored a 10-year outsourcing deal valued at $83 million. Among the Nasdaq’s main advancers, Microsoft Corp was up 1% at $30.82. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.79 points, or 0.49%, to end at 10,464.93. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 3.97 points, or 0.36%, to 1,118.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 15.01 points, or 0.67%, to close at 2,252.67. After the closing bell, shares of Micron Technology rose 2.2% to $9.62 as the company reported its first quarterly profit in more than two years on improving demand and rising prices for memory chips. Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 hit a technical milestone, surging to an intraday high of 1,120.27. The index failed to hold that level, but it did reach a 14-month closing high. Year-end window dressing - where portfolio managers sell laggards and buy shares that have gained recently - gave an extra boost to stocks that have led the rally. Market technicians have said a breakout in the S&P 500 above the 1,120 level would signal more gains for the broader market and could help the S&P 500 take aim at the 1,200 level. The S&P 500 has risen 65.3% since hitting a 12-year closing low on 9 March. For the year, the S&P 500 is up 23.8%. Apple Inc, which has surged 134.8% this year, was up 1.1% at $200.36, not far below its 52-week high set on Oct. 21. Boeing Co gave the Dow one of its biggest lifts, rising 1.5% to $55.10 after it bought a stake in a US plant that assembles the fuselage for its 787 Dreamliner. A separate economic report that gave the final estimate of gross domestic product showed that GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.2% in the third quarter -- below the forecast for a gain of 2.8%. Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with only about 955.5 million shares changing hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 1.75 billion shares traded, below last year’s daily average of 2.28 billion. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:25 pm Cargo volumes up 13% in Indian ports in November Mumbai: Cargo volumes in Indian ports expanded 13% in November at 48.2 million tonnes as against 42.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period, mainly powered by iron and coal cargo traffic. Cargo traffic also grew 3.4% in November over the previous month. “December is likely to witness a marginal growth due to Christmas and New Year, for which orders have already been despatched to foreign countries. But the volume growth has not been substantial,” a top official of the Indian Ports Association (IPA) said. November witnessed the second-highest monthly cargo traffic since April 2008. Driven by a 41% growth in coal traffic, Paradip Port, Orissa, witnessed the highest growth year-on-year at 43%, followed by Chennai Port at 27%, where increase in container traffic pushed growth. Overall, 12 ports registered a cargo traffic growth in November with Visakhapatnam posting a 19% and Mumbai an 18% growth. Solid cargo constituted 50% of the total cargo at major ports followed by liquid cargo (32%) and containers (18%), according to IPA data. Three ports on the east coast—Chennai, Tuticorin and Kolkata—clocked a growth in container traffic, while JNPT’s container traffic declined by 4.4% in the year-to-date FY 10 period. JNPT is in close proximity to Mumbai. The four ports cumulatively account for 57.8 million tonnes (89%) of the total container traffic in the country, the data said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:14 pm EXCLUSIVE - U.S. business investment showing life - ELFACHICAGO (Reuters) - A trade group for the lenders that finance half the capital equipment investment in the United States said on Tuesday the sharp pullback in business borrowing that marked the recent downturn moderated markedly in November -- an encouraging sign companies may be growing more confident in the sustainability of the recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:11 pm UN climate talks open, deal ‘within reach’Copenhagen: The biggest climate meeting in history, with 15,000 participants from 192 nations, opened in Copenhagen on Monday with hosts Denmark saying an unmissable opportunity to protect the planet was “within reach”. “The world is depositing hope with you for a short while in the history of mankind,” Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told delegates at the opening ceremony of the talks, seeking to agree the first UN climate pact in 12 years. He said that 110 world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, would attend a summit at the end of the 7-18 December meeting to agree deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for the rich by 2020 and raise billions of dollars for the poor in aid. “A deal is within our reach,” Rasmussen said. The presence of so many world leaders “reflects an unprecedented mobilization of political determination to combat climate change. It represents a huge opportunity. An opportunity the world cannot afford to miss,” Rasmussen said. Also Read | Copenhagen Summit (Full Coverage) “The ultimate responsibility rests with the citizens of the world, who will ultimately bear the fatal consequences, if we fail to act,” he said. But the summit will have to overcome deep distrust between rich and poor nations about sharing the cost of emissions cuts. Activists asked delegates arriving at the conference centre, with a large wind turbine nearby, to go through a green gateway marked “Vote Earth” or a red one marked “Global Warming”. They told off anyone choosing red. Others handed out free coffee to delegates, pamphlets about global warming and buttons urging wider use of public transport. The attendance of the leaders and pledges to curb emissions by all the top emitters - led by China, the United States, Russia and India - have raised hopes for an accord after sluggish negotiations in the past two years. South Africa added new impetus, saying on Sunday it would cut its carbon emissions to 34 percent below expected levels by 2020, if rich countries furnished financial and technological help. World leaders did not attend when environment ministers agreed the existing UN climate pact, the Kyoto Protocol, in 1997. Plans by world leaders to attend have brightened hopes since Rasmussen said last month that time had run out to agree a full legal treaty in 2009. The aim for Copenhagen is a politically binding deal and a new deadline in 2010 for legal details. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, writing in the Guardian newspaper on Monday, said: “The British government is absolutely clear about what we must achieve. Our aim is a comprehensive and global agreement that is then converted to an internationally legally binding treaty in no more than six months.” He added: “If by the end of next week we have not got an ambitious agreement, it will be an indictment of our generation that our children will not forgive.” Some 56 newspapers from 45 countries including The Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and Toronto Star on Monday published a joint editorial urging world leaders to take decisive action. “Humanity faces a profound emergency. Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet,” it said. “The politicians in Copenhagen have the power to shape history’s judgment on this generation: one that saw a challenge and rose to it, or one so stupid that we saw a calamity coming but did not avert it.” A Pinprick in Rising Temperatures The Kyoto pact binds industrialised nations to cut emissions until 2012 and even its supporters admit it is only a pinprick in rising world temperatures, especially since Washington did not join its allies in ratifying the pact. This time, the idea is to get action from all major emitters including China and India to help avert more droughts, desertification, wildfires, species extinctions and rising seas. The meeting will test how far developing nations will stick to entrenched positions, for example that rich nations must cut their greenhouse gases by at least 40% by 2020 - far deeper than targets on offer. The United Nations wants developed nations to agree deep cuts in greenhouse emissions by 2020 and come up with immediate, $10 billion a year in new funds to help the poor cope. He wants developing nations to start slowing their rising emissions. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pm Oil dips towards $74 on firm dollarSingapore: Oil eased towards $74 in thin pre-holiday trade on Wednesday, as the firm dollar outweighed bullish data showing a hefty drawdown in US crude stocks and an unexpected fall in gasoline supply. Crude inventories in the world’s biggest oil consumer fell 3.7 million barrels last week, against analysts’ expectations of a 900,000-barrel drop, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday. US crude for February delivery edged down 9 cents to $74.32 a barrel by 9:00am, after rising 68 cents to settle at $74.40 a barrel on Tuesday. Prices have risen almost $6 since hitting a more than two-month low of $68.59 a barrel on 13 December. London Brent crude for February fell 16 cents to $73.30. “The API data (is bullish) and the market anticipates EIA data tomorrow to show resonably significant drawdown in the crude stocks as well as in some of the oil products stocks,” said Ben Westmore, commodities economist at National Australia Bank. “That’s sort of positive short-term sentiment,” Westmore said. Gasoline inventories fell 1.1 million barrels as imports also slipped, API data showed, after a Reuters poll forecast a 1.2 million-barrel build. Inventories of distillate fuels fell by just 745,000 barrels, against forecasts for a 1.9 million-barrel drop, despite cold weather in the US Northeast, the biggest heating oil market in the world. Total US heating oil inventories fell by 993,000 barrels. The US Energy Information Administration’s weekly report is due at 09:00pm on Wednesday. The recovery on oil was curbed by the strengthening dollar which hit a two-month high versus the yen, with buyers attracted by US yields at four-month highs and the steepest yield curve on record. The US currency also held firm against currency basket. Oil prices have often retreated this year when the dollar rises, making crude more costly for holders of other currencies. A firmer dollar can also signal investors plowing funds into safe havens and away from assets considered more risky, including commodities. Gold edged up on Wednesday as bargain hunters resurfaced after the price dropped to its weakest in seven weeks the previous day, but a firmer US dollar was likely to cap gains. Further optimism about an economic recovery was reflected by surprisingly strong sales of previously owned US homes, which boosted US and European shares closed around 14-month highs on Tuesday. US existing home sales jumped 7.4% in November to an annual rate of 6.54 million units, the fastest pace since February 2007. “Obviously there is some macro indicator in the US that also looks quite supportive as it continues to show the recovery is in good feel,” said Westmore. As expected, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) left output policy unchanged with the implied target for members’ output, excluding Iraq, at 24.84 million barrels per day (bpd). But concerns remain about compliance and the organisation’s ability to persuade members to stick to quotas. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 8:51 pm Aviation ministry unhappy with BIALThe aviation ministry has expressed its serious disappointment with the project (BIAL) that was frozen and awarded way back in 2001.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:24 pm More trading hours face oppositionThe opposition to the proposal by the two exchanges to extend trading hours is growing by the day.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:22 pm Concept cars to drive Auto ExpoGet set for a dose full of high-adrenaline action as the biennial Auto Expo kicks off on January 5, promising a week full of new vehicle launches and unveilings.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:22 pm AP-exposed stocks feel heatWhile a political solution to the Telengana imbroglio is being hammered out, stocks of companies which have a large exposure to Andhra Pradesh are at the receiving end at the bourses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:21 pm IBM inks deal with Digicable for Rs 380crIBM signed a 10-year strategic outsourcing agreement with cable and broadband distribution player, Digicable for an initial outlay of Rs. 380 crore ($83 million).Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:20 pm Divided telcos to hit policy-makingA serious difference of opinion between telecom operators on key issues like spectrum and M&A's is posing a significant challenge for policymakers, particularly Trai.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:19 pm The Mint Report for 22 DecemberInfrastructure company GVK has resumed its efforts to acquire more stake in Bangalore International Airport Limited or BIAL. It is talking to Siemens Project Ventures to pick up either a part or a complete stake in the company. GVK already holds a 29% stake in BIAL, which it acquired in separate deals with Zurich Airport and Larsen and Toubro. Siemens holds a 40% stake and has to remain invested in the project for three years before it can cut that number down to as little as 14%. A new report suggests there could be good news for private domestic airlines in 2011. Consulting firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation says both Jet Airways and SpiceJet could make a full-year profit in 2011. It says Kingfisher airlines will also become profitable in 2011, but only in its domestic operations. But things aren’t as good for Air India. According to the study, the national carrier will continue to post losses in 2011 as it struggles with restructuring itself. Reliance Industries Limited says it has struck gas. The company claims to have made found gas in its D3 block in the KG basin off India’s east coast. This is its third discovery in the D3 block covers more than 3,000 square kilometres of area. RIL says it is still evaluating the potential of its new discovery. The company may be bidding for bankrupt firm LyondellBasell, but analysts and bankers say a deal is not likely in 2009. Last week LyondellBasell filed a modified reorganization plan with an American court that will help it streamline its structure and cut its debt when it comes out of bankruptcy protection. India will get loans worth a total of $850 million from the Asian Development Bank. A $700 million loan will go to Indian Infrastructure Finance Company and another $150 million will go to the traditional khadi fabric industry. The deputy head of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that while India’s food inflation is a concern, it is likely to fall in January. Ahluwalia also said food inflation cannot be tackled through monetary policy. India’s food prices rose nearly 20% in the week ending 5 December. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:25 pm 8 things for markets to watch out for in 2010No one can complain that the last two years have been light on drama. We had the worst financial crash in living memory, and some of the biggest banks in the world effectively came under state control.  Unless Tiger Woods is voted Husband of the Year, it is hard to see how 2010 can offer anything more surprising. Bearing in mind that any predictions made here are about as reliable as the repayments on a Dubai bond, here are eight things that might grab our attention in the next year. Tax cuts Every government in Europe faces a fiscal crunch. They have tried spending their way out of the recession and run up huge deficits. By the middle of 2010, governments will start to realize that only rapid economic growth will dig them out of the budgetary hole. The only way they can do that is with pro-business policies and lower taxes. Germany is leading the way, with an €8.5 billion package of tax cuts aimed at companies and individuals. As the year progresses, rest of Europe will catch up. BT, Vodafone merge In a world marked by low growth and fierce competition, companies will be calling their mergers-and-acquisitions bankers to help them out. Only a big deal that allows them to strip out costs will keep profits rising. How about a link-up between the British telecommunications companies? Fixed line operator BT Group Plc and mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc both face rapid technological change and pressure on their earnings. Like two drunks in a bar, they could prop each other up. News Corp. sells The Times Rupert Murdoch has always been the smartest, least sentimental player in the media industry. Now, he’s considering putting up pay walls on his UK newspaper websites. By the middle of the year, he will realize that’s crazy. No one wants to pay for papers online. If he wanted to go down that road, he should have done so 10 years ago. Murdoch didn’t become a billionaire without knowing when to fold a losing hand. The Times is still a prestigious name, so there should be a Russian oligarch or West Asian oil sheikh willing to pay something for it. Why not sell now while it is still worth money? An Italian head for European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet’s term as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) will expire in 2011, but by the end of 2010 the jockeying for his job will already have started. They can’t have another Frenchman, nor can they go for the European Union’s default option of appointing an obscure Dutchman. They have already done that. Why not an Italian? True, it’s not a nation one associates with sound financial management, but Mario Draghi has impressed the markets as Bank of Italy governor. And, hey, he worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Goldman alumni already run the rest of the world, so they might as well add ECB to the list. UK strikes In May, Britain will get its first Conservative government since Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979. The country is in an economic hole now, just as it was then. Conservative Party leader David Cameron will want to get the pain in early, cutting public spending and slashing corporate taxes to revive enterprise. With that kind of provocation, he will find the unions are still a force to be reckoned with. Expect some long, bitter strikes and plenty of wobbles for the pound as currency markets wait to see who wins. Irish economic comeback The Irish are in the doldrums. The economy has shrivelled. The budget deficit will be catastrophic at 11.7% of gross domestic product this year. But remember, the phrase “the luck of the Irish” wasn’t coined for nothing. Alone among the developed economies, the Irish have been ruthlessly purging the excesses of the bubble. They have cut public spending, let house prices fall to a level where people can actually afford them, and kept corporate taxes low. By the end of 2010, while the rest of the world tries to figure out why taking on more debt isn’t the best way to fix a debt crisis, the Irish economy will come roaring back. The lawsuits start flying When the going gets tough, the lawyers get busy. There were plenty of deals struck during 2006 and 2007 that have about as much chance of making a profit as Bernard Madoff does of spending Christmas at home with the family. Funnily enough, no one ever rings their lawyer to complain about a deal that made money. When it loses money, it turns out that it was fraud. Expect a wave of lawsuits as dozens of private-equity managers, hedge-fund investors and bank traders decide that big deal they did in 2007 was illegal—and they want their money back. Long fuses drive us all crazy In the aftermath of any debt crisis, it takes a long time for the problems to become apparent. It depends on when debts come up for rescheduling, or how much cash companies have tucked away. Like Dubai, they will detonate, but they are on a long fuse. The trouble is that there are lots of long fuses out there and quite a few explosions to come. So, while it’s a perfectly good phrase right now, by the end of 2010 we’ll be fed up with it. We’ll probably be fed up with the debt explosions as well. BLOOMBERG Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:24 pm GVK in talks with Siemens for Bial stakeMumbai: GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd is in talks with Siemens Project Ventures GmbH on picking up some or all of the German company’s stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd, or Bial, which runs the new Bengaluru International Airport, according to two GVK executives.  Graphic: Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint Siemens holds a 40% stake in Bial, but is required to stay invested for a specific period in accordance with the terms of the ownership agreement. GVK, therefore, plans to enter into an understanding with Siemens on buying the stake at a future date at a predetermined price, one of the executives said. The Hyderabad-based infrastructure firm that also runs the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, through Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd (Mial), may appoint a new managing director for the Bangalore airport. GVK is also planning to buy Bidvest Group Ltd’s 27% stake in the Mumbai airport to add to the 37% it holds in Mial. If the plan to buy the Siemens stake succeeds, GVK will have majority control over two of India’s top airports, and compete with GMR Infrastructure Ltd, which runs the Delhi and Hyderabad airports. GMR also runs the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. After acquiring a 17% stake in Bial from India’s largest engineering firm Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) earlier this month for Rs686 crore, GVK has emerged as the second largest stakeholder in the company with a 29% stake. In November, GVK had acquired 12% of Zurich Airport’s stake in Bial for Rs484.6 crore. Both the deals priced Bial shares at Rs105 apiece. “I cannot comment on this transaction at this point. We are holding our board meeting in the third week of January and we will take a call then,” said another GVK senior executive. Sanjay Reddy, vice-chairman of GVK, is travelling abroad and did not offer any comments for this story. Siemens Project Ventures declined to comment on selling its stake in Bangalore airport, India’s third busiest, that claims an average check-in time of 2.5 minutes for domestic passengers and 4 minutes for international ones. A spokesman for Mial confirmed that Bangalore airport would have a new managing director in early 2010. Marcel Hungerbuehler, Bial’s current chief executive officer, is travelling to Zurich. Mint could not contact him for his comment. The next head of the company will be redesignated as managing director, the Mial spokesman said. As the largest shareholder in Bial, Siemens needs to stay invested for at least three years before it can dilute up to 14% and seven years before it exits the venture. With Bangalore airport having opened in May 2008, the first phase of selling by Siemens can take place only by May 2011. Hence, GVK’s plans to enter into an agreement to buy Siemens’ stake in phases. Bangalore airport handled 8.7 million passengers in the first year and is valued at around $1 billion (Rs4,680 crore). L&T and Zurich Airport both earned a return of at least 10 times on their investments in five years. Nearly three-fourths of the equity in the public-private partnership project was held by a Siemens-led private consortium. Siemens invested Rs130.68 crore in the project, while Zurich Airport and L&T invested Rs55.54 crore each. While L&T has sold its entire stake, Zurich still holds a 5% stake after selling 12% in November. The Airports Authority of India, representing the Union government, and a local government body, the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corp. Ltd, own 13% each in the firm. Not everyone seems to be happy with GVK’s plan for a bigger role in airport infrastructure. On Monday, the Karnataka state legislative panel suggested a five-year ban on L&T, Siemens and Zurich Airport getting any government contracts, saying the firms had traded their shares in Bial for mere profit and suggested reopening the old airport in Bangalore. “In my opinion, there is no violation of any rules. I presume Siemens and L&T had completed their work. It makes lot of sense to hand it over to another operator with airport operations as core strength,” said Sanat Kaul, India chapter chairman for the International Foundation for Aviation and Development. A Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, or Capa, report released on Tuesday said domestic traffic is expected to post expansion of 15% or more in 2010-11 as the industry returns to its long-term growth trajectory. This is higher than the expected increase in capacity of just under 10%, which should assist carriers in achieving higher load factors. “International traffic (which has remained positive even during the downturn, particularly outbound travel) is expected to grow at 10-12%,” the Capa report said. GVK Airport Developers Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of GVK, is in the process of raising money via bonds to fund the acquisition of the Bial stake from Zurich Airport and L&T. pr.sanjai@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:14 pm Steel firms play the retail game, plan major expansionSteel trader Kunal Gandhi has stopped going to metal yards he now buys 80 per cent of his monthly steel requirement of 2,500 tonne from JSW Shoppe at Mumbais Vile Parle, which opened three months back.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:08 pm Govt stops coal blocks allocationThe Centre has stopped allocating coal blocks to state governments till the Mines and Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act is implemented with the amendments.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:06 pm Cash for OMCs to cut lossesThe Centre has indicated that it would consider giving direct cash subsidy to state-owned oil marketing companies this year, instead of bonds, to compensate them for selling cooking fuel at lower than market price.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:04 pm Government’s madrasa reform plan hits theological hurdleNew Delhi: The impasse over a government proposal to modernize madrasas, or traditional Islamic schools, illustrates how a “minority mindset” imposed by the ulema, or clergy, and politicians could draw Muslims deeper into the morass of conservatism, poverty and unemployment.  Fostering education: (from left) Shafiqur Rahman, Abdul Khan, Afaque Rahmani and Salim Akhtar Bellali at a New Delhi hotel in September after receiving the national award for best Urdu teachers. Ramesh Pathania / Mint Since taking over as the human resource development minister in May, Kapil Sibal has been driving reforms in all areas of education. Among his initiatives is a renewed push for the 2004 Madrasa Modernisation Scheme, which aims to include the teaching of modern subjects in the largely theological curriculum and centralize the management of the thousands of Islamic seminaries spread all across India. “It’s a big step for Muslim education,” says Firoz Bakht Ahmed, the grandnephew of one of independent India’s founders, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and a writer on minority issues and madrasa education. The scheme will enable students from various parts of the country to seek jobs of their choice, he says. Changes are urgently needed to improve the state of the community. A committee under former Delhi high court chief justice Rajinder Sachar, which conducted independent India’s first exhaustive study on how Muslims fare in education and employment compared with others, established that the community was lagging behind in education and government jobs. Some 25% of Muslim children in the age group 6-14 have never been to school, though the national average primary enrolment rates are above 95%, the committee found. The Sachar committee also found that only 3% of Muslim children went to madrasas, denting the government’s argument for using the modernization of religious schools as a means to improve the community’s primary education. Sibal promised a consensus within 100 days on the scheme, which the government views as crucial for the long-term uplift of the community. Modern education will provide Muslim youth from these seminaries a progressive socio-political outlook as well as help them find jobs and assimilate into the Indian success story. But the consensus deadline passed in August, and there is still no agreement on reforming madrasa education. The reason? Many madrasas find the teaching of modern subjects such as science and mathematics alongside the Quran too much of a dichotomy. Sections of the ulema and politicians belonging to the community also view the move as government intervention that will dilute the essentially theological nature of the madrasas. Elusive consensus The Madrasa Modernisation Scheme was proposed in 2004 by the newly set-up national monitoring committee for minorities education, effectively formalizing a 1986 government initiative to improve the quality of education at the schools. It provides for setting up an All-India Madrasa Board to monitor the implementation of the modernization programme as well as help them upgrade infrastructure and facilities. The Central Madrasa Board Bill 2009, which is yet to be moved in Parliament due to a lack of consensus, empowers the board to take steps for the standardization of the non-theological aspects of seminary education and its comprehensive, systematic and integrated development. The board can promote education in non-theological subjects such as science, social science, mathematics, English and Hindi without interfering in any manner with the theological content and evaluation of madrasa education. The scheme will also devise ways to promote education of Muslim girls to eradicate gender-based educational disparities. About 6,000 madrasas, 1,800 teachers and 700,000 children will be covered under the scheme for qualitative improvement, which would enable the children to attain standards prescribed by the national education system in formal subjects. During 2008-2009, Rs27 crore was released for 4,597 madrasas in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The scheme will also provide augmented infrastructure in private aided/unaided minority schools/institutions, estimated at around 400 across India, in order to enhance the quality of education. But most of the 18 members of Parliament (MPs) from the Muslim community, who met ministry officials to discuss the issue in October, opposed the terms for the constitution of the national madrasa board. The MPs said the proposal, which stipulates certain appointment norms, may lead to interference by the government in the functioning of madrasas and not adequately represent the Muslim community. Caught in the middle The impasse has disappointed people such as Afaque Rahmani, who operates from the ill-equipped Madrasa Ahmadia in Bihar’s Madhubani district. Rahmani, a 54-year-old postgraduate in botany, is pro-reform and looks at modernization as crucial to the progress of the community at large. He already teaches science at the madrasa of his own accord, but was banking on the policy change to get state-of-the-art infrastructure and faculty for his students. For 23 years, Rahmani has managed to cope with the challenge of teaching science along with the religious teaching of the Quran with rudimentary facilities. But in September, when the human resources development ministry proposed Rahmani’s name with three others as the country’s best Urdu teachers for the President’s medal, he joined the emerging chorus from the seminaries to be heard. The discontent is not just due to the dilemma over integrating modern subjects with religious texts; it pertains to the very rudimentary, day-to-day needs of the madrasas. One computer has been procured to impart vocational training to children. But apart from that, Rahmani has just a few pieces of chalk and a blackboard. Typically, he says, the hurdles are basic—such as how to show his students chemical reactions or the dynamics of a spring balance as listed in textbooks. “Unless your students see the chemicals turning yellow, blue or red in a beaker, how much fun can they have studying science?” Rahmani’s love for science and the joy of teaching, despite the resource crunch, keep him going. Back in 1976, when Rahmani had just joined the madrasa after his postgraduation at a local college in Madhubani, he had gone on a door-to-door campaign to get children to attend the school. “There was much resistance and disbelief,” he recalls. Enrolment has risen to 500 over the years, he says. Since 2003, the pass percentage has also gone up steadily. “In the beginning, it was a dismal 20-30%. Now, 80-90% of children pass out with good marks,” he adds. Pay, faculty problems With enhanced enrolment, what remains dismal is the salaries paid to madrasa teachers, says Maulana Shafiqur Rahman, superintendent of the Deorail Madrasa in Assam, who was recognized as the best Urdu teacher of the year last month along with Rahmani. “Worse, the salaries never come on time.” In Bihar, madrasa teachers get Rs2,000-3,800, while a recent hike in dearness allowance raised the salary of principals in seminaries aided by or affiliated to the state madrasa board to about Rs11,000 a month. In Assam, apart from the meagre pay, there is an acute shortage of teachers, especially for science. The last appointment of teachers happened in 1999. “Thousands of teaching posts have been lying vacant since then. The government is neglecting minority education in the state, even as education standards keep falling,” says Rahman. Vacant faculty positions have now become a challenge for these seminaries, says Rahmani, who has been aggressively trying to hire teachers for science and mathematics for the last two years. “For years, we have not taught modern subjects at the seminaries. Hence, there are no teachers good enough to be hired,” he says. Much of this could be taken care of by the setting up of the national board under the Madrasa Modernisation Scheme. Question marks But questions about the scheme have been raised even by those who don’t necessarily fear its secular impact. A section of detractors fears the introduction of a separate board for madrasas would alienate the Muslim community. “Ideally, there should be some provision in the existing education boards,” says Salim Akhtar Bellali, principal of Faazil Madrasa in Darbhanga, Bihar. The agenda for reforming madrasas is also being linked with the question of countering “terrorism”, says Rahman. In Assam, where his seminary imparts education to 350 Muslim children from economically backward sections, classes are often interrupted by police carrying out security checks. “We have computers, we have books in English, we have students who can converse in English—but no militants. The allegation that madrasas breed militants is completely baseless,” he says. The government reserves the power to appoint the panel that would run the board, remove any member, and monitor the way funds are used. This provision has also caused the Muslim community to accuse the government of trying to control madrasas. “The hurry with which the government is trying to implement things, it appears that it wants to regulate madrasas,” says Khalid Hamidi, professor of Arabic at Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi. “A madrasa means Islamic school. Universities like Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia recognize madrasa certificates. Then, what is the need for such modernization programmes?’’ Hamidi’s question relates partly to the concern that reforms may alter the “Islamic nature” of the madrasas, with some Muslims viewing the schools as an expression of identity rather than as seminaries where a young generation can be trained to meet the challenges of tomorrow. pallavi.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 11:51 am BCCI to revive online video streamingMumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to relaunch its website www.bcci.tv and offer live video streaming of the national team’s upcoming matches with South Africa scheduled for early 2010. The website, launched during the Champions Trophy in 2008, was hobbled by technical glitches. It would be premature to disclose details on advertising, said Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI’s chief administrative officer, who confirmed the move to revive the video-streaming effort. “In all probability, the BCCI itself would take care” of ad sales, he said. Since Bcci.tv faced technical problems earlier, “this time we want to make it fairly watertight before we launch it”, he said. The relaunch may affect other cricket websites and channel partners that have access to BCCI’s content. The estimated Internet audience for cricket is between 300,000 and one million, said Saurabh Bhatia, chief business officer and co-founder of Vdopia Media and Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd, an online and mobile advertising services firm. “The online medium may get one-tenth of the advertising revenue of cricket on TV but it is growing,” he said. The total advertising expenditure on cricket added up to Rs1,300 crore in the calendar year 2009, according to Nandini Dias, chief operating officer at Lodestar Universal Pvt. Ltd. Ten Sports, owned by Taj Television Ltd, and NBC Universal Inc. teamed up to launch a site to webcast the series involving India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in September. Ten Sports said it plans to bring exclusive footage from other nations, including Pakistan, South Africa and Zimbabwe. BCCI’s website won’t have a significant impact because “BCCI has the online rights to their home games, and not away games,” said Peter Hutton, chief operating officer of Ten Sports. BCCI and the other cricket boards need to crack down on illegal feeds available on the net that cause revenue loss, he said. anushree.M@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 22 Dec 2009 | 10:51 am
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