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Bain Capital to make open offer in Himadri ChemBostonbased Bain Capital has acquired 16% stake in Kolkatabased Himadri Chemicals Industries for Rs 252 crore and would make open offer for 20% stake.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 6:29 am Auto cos end 2009 with superlative growthAuto sales in December continued to grow at an unprecedented rate, mirroring the health and resilience of the Indian economy. Most companies registered high doubledigit growth in the month.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:25 am Gold ends at $1,096.20, up 24.8 percent in 2009!Gold prices sealed their biggest yearly gain in three decades, rising for an unprecedented ninth consecutive year as dollar-hedging traders and central banks joined the rally.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:08 am `Mahindra Renualt trims to cope with low sales`!Mahindra Renualt, a joint venture between France`s Renault and India`s Mahindra, has scaled back some business operations to adjust to lower sales of its Logan car, a newspaper reported.Source: Zee News : Business | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:08 am Bitten by the zuckerbugThe Facebook effect: Why a billion people like this siteSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:04 am Three financial instruments to be suspicious ofThe financial market can be a gold mine or a treacherous trap, depending on the investments you pick.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:04 am POSCO gets forest land approval for Orissa plantSouth Korean steelmaker POSCO has received final approval to acquire forest land needed for its longdelayed USD 12 billion India project, a company spokesman said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am Washington, DC sues ATT over calling cardsThe attorney general for Washington, DC has filed a lawsuit against an ATT Inc unit, seeking to recover consumers\' unused balances on prepaid calling cards.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am PepsiCo reveals forecast bottler used for mergerPepsiCo Inc made public on Thursday a financial forecast prepared by PepsiAmericas Inc when considering PepsiCo\'s unsolicited USD 7.8 billion takeover bid for its two largest bottlers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am Air India targets upto Rs900 crore savings through fuel efficiency programmeThe airline is currently implementing various initiates to enhance its fuel efficiency in association with global airlines body, International Air Transport Association.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2010 | 3:16 am Markets end in green for 2nd consecutive weekMarkets continued to rule firm for the second consecutive week on sustained buying in select counters and hectic short-covering following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's encouraging comments about economic growth.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 2 Jan 2010 | 3:08 am Air India ups passenger load by 10%: Chairman - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Jan 2010 | 2:59 am Air India ups passenger load by 10%: ChairmanFlag carrier Air India improved its passenger load by over 10% and reduced costs in 2009 by deploying new aircraft and rationalising routes, the airline said Saturday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 2 Jan 2010 | 2:50 am India eyeing Gulf market for horticulture exportA total of Rs1,200 crore has been allocated for the National Horticulture Mission out of which Rs700 crore has already been spent by different states.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 2 Jan 2010 | 1:47 am Hero Honda ends year on a high - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Jan 2010 | 1:37 am North India plunges into darkness as grid trips due to fog - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:50 am India economy to grow 8 pct in FY 11 adviser says reportThe Prime Minister's Economic Adviser C. Rangarajan has said that the Indian Economy is likely to expand by 8 percent in 2011/12 after growing between 7 and 7.5 percent in the current fiscal year to end-MarchSource: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:05 am 2 billion SMSes fly on New Year-eveSMS traffic on New Year's eve hit an all-time high as an estimated 2 billion messages were sent out by the over 500 million mobile subscribers in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Pharma cos see opportunity in IndiaThe year had just begun, when Pfizer announced its $68-billion deal to acquire Wyeth, in January. On its heels came Merck & Co's $ 41-billion deal to acquire Schering-Plough Corporation, inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Mahindra Renault to live with Logan realityMahindra Renault, the 51:49 joint venture of Mahindra & Mahindra and Renault of France, has redefined its business plan to keep in line with the production numbers of the LoganSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Car sales retain pace through DecemberWith the sales scaling new heights every month, component vendors had a tough time meeting the demand from original equipment manufacturers.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Temporary relief from cold wave likely for north-westIndia Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that cold wave conditions would prevail over isolated pockets of Punjab and Haryana for another 24 hoursSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am A New Year dampener for the coffee cropThe unseasonal rains over the past one week in key coffee growing areas of Karnataka have not only spoiled the ongoing harvest of the current year's crop but have also marred the prospects for the next year i.e, 2010-11. Karnataka accounts forSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Home loan demand to build up in 2010The year 2009 was a good one for home loan borrowers. Banks rolled out the goodies for them in the form of low interest rate offers and special home loan packages. Stable property prices also helped. So, the demand for home loans wasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am India-made Anant diamond jewellery to sparkle in W AsiaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Sub-standard oil being sold as refined palm oilThe mystery surrounding India's excessive imports of vegetable oils during the crop year 2008-09 may possibly be unravelling to the embarrassment of the industry and the Government alike, if one goes by anecdotal evidence from the country's foodSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am With 18% growth, exports turn the corner in NovemberAt the close of 2009, the country appears to have put the worst behind it on the foreign tradeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 2 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Economy to grow 8% in FY ’11: RangarajanNew Delhi: The Indian economy will expand 8% in 2010-11 after growing between 7 and 7.5% in the current fiscal year to end-March, The Times of India reported on Saturday, quoting the Prime Minister’s economic adviser C Rangarajan. “There is reason why I expect 8% growth in the next fiscal (year). Agriculture would improve with normal monsoon and it would add 0.5-1% in the GDP growth,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. India’s economy grew an annual 7.9% in the quarter through September, its fastest in 18 months, prompting the finance ministry to revise the growth forecast for the current fiscal year to around 8% from 7.0%. The economy expanded 6.7% in 2008-09 (April-March), slower than the 9% or more in the previous three years. Rangarajan also said the economy would return to an annual growth rate of 9% in the fiscal year to end-March 2012 on the back of an improvement in the world economy and global trade. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:48 pm U.S. business group accuses Obama of shorting TaiwanWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of a prominent U.S. business group accused President Barack Obama of compromising Taiwan's security to promote U.S. ties with China.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:46 pm Economy to grow 8 pct in FY '11, adviser says - reportNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The economy will expand 8 percent in 2010/11 after growing between 7 and 7.5 percent in the current fiscal year to end-March, The Times of India reported on Saturday, quoting the prime minister's economic adviser C. Rangarajan.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:35 pm Mahindra Renualt trims to cope with low sales: ReportA trimming exercise within the JV is underway, which means that critical functions such as purchase, sales and engineering have been restructured to manage lower volumes.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:28 pm Taiwan's Asustek to free up subsidiary by June: ReportTaiwan netbook PC pioneer Asustek has approved plans to simplify cutting investment in its subsidiary Pegatron.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:51 pm Mahindra Renualt trims to cope with low sales - paperMUMBAI (Reuters) - Mahindra Renualt, a joint venture between France's Renault and India's Mahindra, has scaled back some business operations to adjust to lower sales of its Logan car, a newspaper reported.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:32 pm BAE Systems bribery suit may be taken to US: Supreme CourtA US appeals court ruled this week against the fund for employees of the city of Harper Woods, Michigan.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 9:06 pm Fox, Time Warner Cable reach deal to avoid blackoutNEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable on Friday reached a deal to keep carrying Fox Networks programming after the companies negotiated through New Year's Day to avoid a blackout of TV shows like "The Simpsons" and college and NFL football games in 13 million U.S. homes.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 6:42 pm DoT plans country-wide MNP launch by March 31 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Jan 2010 | 4:39 pm No slowdown seen in December car sales - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Jan 2010 | 4:16 pm CAT retest on Jan 30 & 31 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Jan 2010 | 3:42 pm November exports grow 18%, turn positive after 13 months - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Jan 2010 | 2:11 pm Approval of new TV channels dropped in 2009only half the number of channels that were cleared in 2008 got the nod last year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:57 pm Radio ga gaDNA talks to experts, who expect radio to grow 17% each year over the next five years, at which point it will account for 5% of all advertising in India.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:53 pm Car sales roar on Day 1 of 2010Domestic Car sales have started the New Year with a bang, backed by strong growth numbers in December, 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm New Year will be challenging: Tata Steel MDTata Steel managing director H M Nerurkar said the new year would be equally challenging as last year as the global recession is still continuing.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:50 pm Plan to buy a house in Mumbai? Be ready to pay higher taxThe civic body has already decided to levy property tax on capital value system taking into rates notified in the ready reckoner.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:32 pm PMEAC pegs growth at 8% in '10-11Indian economy would expand by 8% during 2010-11 and return to the high growth trajectory of 9% a year later, Prime Ministers economic adviser C Rangarajan said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm Posco gets nod to acquire land in OrissaSouth Korean steel maker Posco has received final approval to acquire forest land needed for its long-delayed $12 billion India project, a company spokesman said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:28 pm 10-year gilt yield seen touching 8.5% this yearSt sees benchmark trading at 8-8.25% for most of the year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:25 pm Fall in imports slows to 2.5% in NovemberAfter exports, imports start catching up with last yearSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:22 pm IPO guidelines within 15 days, says IRDASeveral private sector insurance companies, including Reliance Life, have shown interest in tapping the capital market to augment its resource base.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:21 pm Raju made gardeners, drivers rajasNot only this, these workers were also made directors of several fictitious companies floated by Raju. And a majority of these lands are situated in a single village called Loyapalli of Ibrahimpatnam mandal in Ranga Reddy district.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:17 pm SBI revises foreign currency deposit ratesThe State Bank of India revised its interest rates on foreign currency non-resident (b) account deposits and non-resident external term deposits with immediate effect.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:14 pm No rate hike in near future, say bankersAhead of the RBI's third quarterly review of the monetary policy later this month, heads of some of the public sector banks have predicted a stable policy rate while seeing no hike in the interest rates for consumers till June next.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 1 Jan 2010 | 1:08 pm Switch over to 3 yearly rolling budget PanelThe anxiety that grips companies and individual taxpayers ahead of the Union budget every year may soon become a thing of the past, if the government adopts a key recommendation of the 13th Finance Commission. The commission has asked Govt to stop tweaking tax and duty rates annually and switch to a three-year rolling budget, said an official tracking the matter.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:58 pm Lounge review | Botticino, Trident Hotel, Mumbai The Oberoi group of hotels made its first move into Mumbai’s suburbs last month with the launch of the Trident brand in the sprawling commercial district of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). Given BKC’s proximity to the airport, it was only a matter of time before the area got itself a hotel. There are a couple of others in the pipeline, but this tastefully designed hotel has the first-mover advantage. Also, the Oberoi brand of hospitality is hard to beat.  The good stuff Most of the dishes on the Vetro menu have been repeated here. The meal began with the Italian restaurant staple of Parma ham and melon and the beautiful meat deserved to be enjoyed in reverent silence. The pan-fried Tuscan goose liver with potato galette and Barolo wine sauce was perfect in the combined soft textures of the mashed potato and the goose liver. The risotto with porcini mushrooms and castelmagno cheese had combined flavours that were rich and thick enough to bite into. The entree was the yellowfin tuna and prawns with lemon butter sauce and chargrilled tenderloin with porcini mushrooms and asparagus, both cooked medium rare. Lightly flavoured with lemon butter sauce is how the fresh fish should be eaten. The juicy tenderloin will pass any carnivore’s test. Herbivores won’t be disappointed with the spinach and ricotta crepes with bell pepper reduction and parmesan glaze. The tiramisu was just as fabulous as at Vetro. The dessert, creamy without being too rich, will help end your meal on a high note. If you still need something more, Botticino is promoting grappa, the traditional Italian drink, and has an impressive display of bottles; the potent, clear liquid is believed to aid digestion. Beige and white with a touch of lavender, the decor is minimalistic but doesn’t match the chic Vetro. However, the overall experience with excellent food and a variety of wine definitely does. Although the service at Vetro tended to be slow, here the staff is attentive and prompt. Those who have been missing a fine-dining Italian space for a year now have something to look forward to. The not-so-good When everything is going well, it’s the little things that make the difference. The meal at the restaurant started on a low note with a very average bread basket of multigrain baguette, a hard roll and tomato and basil roll. The calamarata pasta with prawns, clams and porcini mushrooms could have been the star of our meal but the pasta, shaped to resemble calamari rings, was chewy and disappointing. Talk plastic The antipasti is priced from Rs550 to Rs1,050, pastas are between Rs675 and Rs850, entrees from Rs750 to Rs1,950 and desserts at Rs350, inclusive of taxes. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm What is the point of tipping?I still cringe at the memory. I was a Japan newbie then, on my first trip to Tokyo a decade ago. The porter brought my bags up to my hotel room. I thanked him and offered a tip, which he politely refused. I thought he was just being shy and offered it again with renewed vigour. A flurry of embarrassed bowing followed until yours-truly-from-bakshish-land realized she was committing a cultural crime.  Cultural crime: Japan is a no-tipping zone and yet the quality of service is excellent. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP Japan is strictly a “no tipping” zone, and here’s the wonder—I find the quality of service amazing. I have been back several times on work and holiday—our family is head over heels in love with Japan—and every time it is a joy to experience the exquisite service, whether it’s a five-star hotel or a small humble restaurant, a fancy hair salon or getting your nails painted at a busy department store. The job is done to perfection and the service is always kind, unhurried, knowledgeable, and charming. Switch tracks to the US, with its tip-till-you-drop culture. It has the highest tipping norm in the world—it used to be 15%, now more like 20%—and you are expected to tip the widest number of people. But despite leaving generous tips left, right and centre, the overall service level is sometimes great, sometimes awful. Providing fabulous service is of course at the heart of any luxury experience, so it leads me to the rather counter-intuitive question: Does tipping come in the way of excellent service? Why does zero-tipping Japan score an A+, while hefty-tipping US does not? Also Read Radha’s previous Lounge columns The concept of tipping has thrived in the US, as indeed in most of the world, because all three parties in the equation—the customer, the server, and the owner of the service establishment—have a stake in it. The customer feels he will get better service as the tip carrot dangles unsaid throughout the meal, egging on the server to do his best. (“Tip”, some say, is an acronym for “to insure promptitude”.) The server feels that if he provides better service he will get a fatter tip. And the restaurant owner feels this is a good way to have his staff paid and happy. In reality none of these three hopes work quite so. Sadly enough, extensive research by Cornell University’s Michael Lynn shows that the tip amounts have very little correlation to quality of service. While tipping no doubt adds to the income of the front staff—in the US, the servers get very low hourly wages and depend on tips to make ends meet—the whole issue is fraught with perceptions of unfairness. Why should the front staff corner all the tips, doesn’t the kitchen staff and others play a role too? This leads to tension and bickering, which doesn’t help service levels. Tipping aside, the culture of the host nation plays a crucial part in the guest experience. The nations of the East, generally speaking, have an inborn service attitude, while the West is more about “I” than “serving you”. This is most visibly illustrated by the service on airlines—the quality on Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific or Emirates is totally different compared to any airline from the US. Flights, thank goodness, are tip-free, and the service I believe reflects the national culture. India admittedly doesn’t do too well with its national airline but Jet Airways is a delight with its contemporary, courteous, concerned brand of service. And our five-star hotels send back atithis feeling like gods. The Trident, Gurgaon, is an example of excellent service and no tipping. I have stayed there a lot and always marvelled how the hotel consistently delivers such a high level of service across the board. How do they ensure that a young unsupervised attendant—with no tip in sight—does his job so well? I suppose what makes the Trident special is that it is able to go beyond warmth and hospitality—which they also have in oodles—to create a sense of home, of genuineness, of affection and trust. If your daughter is unwell, it seems the whole hotel is working in concert to make sure she gets better. Or if she is partial to mangoes, from room service to the restaurants, they all seem intent on sending mangoes her way. Kapil Chopra has been the Trident’s general manager from day one (now senior vice-president, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts) and I asked him why they chose to go the “no tipping” way. Chopra says the main motive was to “not put pressure on guests”. Typically, foreign guests arrive in the middle of the night, and the first thing they have to do is exchange money, and then at every transaction they have to tip, tip, tip. The Trident takes away the hassle, and tells guests instead that if they wish they could leave a consolidated tip when they check out, which is distributed among the entire team. The Aman Resorts are fabled for their outstanding service, and they go a step further, making the entire stay a cashless transaction. They take your money three months in advance! I thought that was pretty arrogant till I fell under their spell in Bhutan. It was fabulous not having to think about money for a week; everything—food, drinks, laundry, cars, guides, sightseeing—was taken care of. Perhaps the Oberoi dharma, “Guests come first, colleagues and company next, self last”, holds the answer to why the Japanese excel at service sans tipping, while the Americans don’t. With tipping, the self comes first. Without it, you can focus single-mindedly on your guest, no dollar signs to distract you, no ulterior motives to pull you astray. Excellent service becomes a reward in itself. Radha Chadha is one of Asia’s leading marketing and consumer insight experts. She is the author of the best-selling book The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair With Luxury. Write to Radha at luxurycult@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm Royal winnerThe World Travel Awards are often referred to as the Oscars of the travel industry. On 19 December, The Raj Palace hotel in Jaipur won the World’s Leading Heritage Hotel award beating competition from the likes of Raffles Hotel, Singapore; Hotel Ritz, Paris; The Ritz, London and Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur. “Not only is it the only Indian hotel to win the award, it is also the only hotel in the world to win three times in a row,” says Ankur Rara, general manager, The Raj Palace.  Golden facade: The 18th century palace is now fully renovated. Photo Courtesy The Raj Palace The World Travel Awards, conceived in 1993, are given out on the basis of votes cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in more than 160 countries. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm Drink a flower bud insteadIf the after-effects of a hectic week of Christmas and New Year parties left you feeling drained, we have three soothing words for you—flower, bud and tea. Put them together, add hot water and brew to taste. Flowering tea, or “bud teas” as they are popularly called, are made by hand sewing tea leaves and flowers like jasmine in the shape of buds. The bud blooms when immersed in hot water. “These are fresh herbal teas made from flower buds sewn together. They are usually served with lemon and honey. We generally serve them in see-through decanters and pass through a strainer afterwards,” says executive chef Jagjit Singh Kandhari of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Select Citywalk mall, New Delhi. High on the health quotient, “this type of tea contains antioxidants and is good for the nervous system. It is recommended that you drink the tea when you’re tired. It helps cleanse your system and is best taken first thing in the morning,” he adds.  Flower Pot: The bud blooms into a beautiful flower in the tea pot. Photo courtesy: Numi Tea Jasmine, rose and daisy bud teas need to be brewed at temperatures of around 120 degrees Celsius. The hot water makes the bud bloom inside the pot. Most teas in this range, such as hand-tied jasmine wrapped around a red amaranth flower, can be used for a number of servings. Thai High insists that the flavour of the bud stays intact and multiple servings even enhance the potency of the flavour. Apparently, Amaranth flower tea can help regulate breathing, reduce body heat, balance the liver function and even aid vision. Jasmine tea is fairly popular among the flower tea varieties, possibly since the strong fragrance of the jasmine remains intact despite the drying process. Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearl is a full-bodied variety sold at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Another popular variety is the Formosa Dragon Oolong, hand plucked during winter and spring, with a subtle floral aroma. The rose bud is a suitable afternoon or evening tea. The buds themselves can be added to white, green or black teas as well and work to reduce body aches. However, ad man and tea connoisseur Prahlad Kakkar has a different take. “These are essentially green teas,” he says. “It’s okay if you want a nice decorative tea. But it can’t have a strong flavour. When you want a more delicate tea, you can have this but I personally think they are a little gimmicky. The only reason they are probably popular is because the bud blossoms inside hot water.” Kakkar, who is quite particular about his teas, says that shamong tea has a great lingering finish. Given a choice, he would have a blend of Assam and Darjeeling tea throughout the day. Thousand Years Tea, the most popular in the Dragon Ball variety, is available for Rs175 a bud at Thai High. You can also have a cup from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for Rs115 or buy a retail pack with 20 flower bud tea bags for Rs700. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm IT, cement and steel to drive India's growth - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:32 pm Star chef returns homeA Michelin star is not a title awarded by the government, unlike a “Lord” or a “Sir”, but when a chef receives a star, the honour tends to precede his name. In a rare feat, Michelin star chef Vineet Bhatia has had two of his restaurants awarded the coveted star—Rasoi Vineet Bhatia in London and Rasoi by Vineet at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Geneva.  Star power: Bhatia often uses ingredients of various European cuisines in his dishes. Shriya Patil Shinde / Mint It’s been more than a decade since Bhatia took Indian food to Europe and now he’s bringing it back to his homeland. Oakwood Premier, a luxury service apartment at Juhu, Mumbai, has roped in the chef to lend his culinary artistry to their rooftop lounge and restaurant Azok. Bhatia’s menu doesn’t read like any ordinary menu at an Indian restaurant. Uttapam lasagne layered with masala paneer, vegetable coconut masala, south Indian-style lamb nalli korma and coconut khichdi are just some of his experiments. Edited excerpts from an interview: How would you explain your style of cooking? I am a global traveller. I pick up influences from wherever I travel and try to blend them into Indian food, as long as the ingredients don’t overpower the dish. India is one big state without borders and I combine cooking styles from everywhere. I make classic Indian dishes but present them in a different way. I don’t want my food to be compared to Dum Pukht or Bukhara. Why is this the right time for you to come to India? Why Mumbai? I left India in 1992 because I wasn’t happy with the way my profession was perceived here. I was called a bawarchi. But things changed over the years. I came to India and opened a restaurant in a hotel nine years ago in Delhi. But it was badly managed. I packed up the place in some months and decided that I would return only when I was sure of the dedication of the people involved with my restaurant. When this offer came by, I took it up because I was born and brought up in Mumbai. People of Mumbai are more open to adventurous cooking styles. How do you deal with the pressure to maintain your Michelin stars? My aim is to stay humble and go on like this every day without getting complacent. I have always wanted to cook Indian and my restaurant has helped put Indian food in the highest league and that is most important to me. What was the biggest misconception about Indian food in London? For them, Indian food was about curry and rice. You go to a bar, get drunk and have some cheap Indian food. Everyone thought only chicken tikka and samosas were Indian food. You could find silly things like prawn dhansak and lamb vindaloo on some menus. I wondered why Indian food could not be like a French fine dining experience. It took me many years to break the mould. I stopped calling the dishes by their Indian names on the menu. I would serve classic Indian dishes but give one-line descriptors in English instead. Soon I started doing specials of the day using lobster, duck, quail, giving them an Indian touch. That’s how my style of cooking evolved. Where in the world is Indian food most popular? In London, mostly because of the British association with India. Otherwise, Dubai has a lot of good Indian restaurants. There’s a large variety of restaurants—you can get Indian food from 2 dirhams to 350 dirhams (approx. Rs25 to Rs4,375) Surprisingly, my restaurant in Geneva is doing well. I was sceptical about having an Indian restaurant there but we cracked it. The tourism is fantastic and spending power is phenomenal. What are the ingredients that you cannot do without? Ginger, curry leaves, jeera and mustard. They are vital and can change a dish dramatically. I can make a mustard flavoured chicken tikka with curry patta, rai tadka and garlic. Your forthcoming book is called Rasoi: New Indian Kitchen. What according to you is the new Indian kitchen? Indian food presented in a new avatar—the thought process behind the dish, the way it’s plated and the ingredients that go into it. One example of this is black chicken breast that’s my take on the bhatti murgh. I make it black using squid ink, which is used in risotto. I marinate it in a mix of saunf, dhania, jeera, imli and cook it in the tandoor, cover it in gold leaf and then serve. What are the three classic Indian dishes that you would never tamper with? Rogan josh, maa ki daal and lamb biryani. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 12:06 pm Distance education Movies such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Main Hoon Na created a template for the college as a peppermint-coloured set, but the colleges are recognizably fictional. What’s funnier is when Hindi movies relocate lock, stock and barrel to cities such as London and New York, and manage to find the Bollywoodian side of these cities—spaces that the local residents will have trouble recognizing themselves. Bollywood’s predilection with spectacle has gone global with a vengeance. Whole films are now set in foreign cities without providing even a whiff of what life in those places is actually like. How South African was last year’s Race? It could have been shot in Amby Valley in Lonavala for all we care.  Fantasy world: Pyaar Impossible has an un-Indian backdrop. Despite its much-vaunted recent turn towards more realistic stories and characters, Bollywood is still mostly about creating fantasy zones within which romance is nurtured and morality is tested. Giving a story local colour and flavour requires conviction, hard work and research. Several Hindi film-makers privately sneered at Danny Boyle’s depiction of the slums and streets of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire, but it’s one of the few movies in recent times to accurately capture the city’s febrile rhythms. The years our film-makers have spent in studios and on artificially created sets have closed off knowledge of what the real world looks like. We go to New York and hang around Times Square, just like we have reduced all of Mumbai to Marine Drive and all of Delhi to India Gate. Shyam Benegal’s Welcome to Sajjanpur beautifully captures Bollywood’s ambivalence towards venturing into the so-called real India. The whole movie is shot on an identifiable set and the “happy ending” is revealed to be a fiction behind which lies harshness and brutality. In Bollywood’s defence, most Hindi filmgoers don’t seem to be interested in realism either. Movies such as Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Kaminey may be exciting because they are identifiably set in Delhi and Mumbai, but the box-office successes last year included Love Aaj Kal, which criss-crosses the globe in its pursuit of pretty locations, and Blue, which plays out in the most gorgeous part of the Bahamas. For films that make the city a character in the plot, tune your television set to World Movies. Nandini Ramnath is the managing editor of Time Out Mumbai (www.timeoutmumbai.net). Write to Nandini at stallorder@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:52 am Walking the chadar For eight long winter months, mounds of snow block the single road that connects the remote Zanskar valley in Ladakh to the rest of the world. But by early November, as daytime temperatures plummet to below –15 degrees Celsius, the Zanskar river starts freezing. And by late November, a thick layer of ice—as thick as 10ft in places—forms on the river. Click here to view a slideshow on how the frozen Zanskar river or the Chadar becomes the main highway to Leh. For the next three months, the Chadar, as the frozen Zanskar river is known, becomes the main highway to Leh. The 145km journey on the river from Padum, the district capital of Zanskar, to Chilling on the main Srinagar-Leh highway takes anywhere between three and 10 days. Traders carrying goatskins and barley, children going back to school in Leh after their holidays and people travelling to meet relatives waddle up and down the river, spending freezing nights in caves along the way. Over the last few years they’ve been joined on this treacherous journey by adventure travellers who fly to Ladakh just to walk the Chadar. The year photographer Sankar Sridhar went, in 2007, it was warmer than usual. The river hadn’t frozen completely and a little more than halfway through the journey, a large patch of ice had thawed, making walking on it impossible. The only way forward was to ascend the steep wall of the gorge. After having “duck-walked” on ice for three days, Sridhar wasn’t used to solid ground any more. Suddenly, 60ft above the river, his wobbly knees gave way. He tumbled all the way down, bouncing off the rock face, on to the river. The ice along the river’s edge cracked with the impact, pitching him into the icy water. “Luckily,” says Sridhar, “the padding on my camera bag kept me afloat.” According to him, local legend has it that the restless spirits of the river will try to kill you once. “However, if you survive that,” he says, “walking the Chadar will certainly be the most stunning journey you’ll ever make.” akshai.j@livemint.com Sankar Sridhar won the Mountain Adventure prize at the Banff Mountain Photography Competition 2009 for a Chadar photograph. He is the author of Ladakh: Trance Himalaya. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:42 am Trai likely to propose auction of 2G spectrumThe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is likely to propose the auction of second generation (2G) spectrum, delinking spectrum from unified access service licence (UASL).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:41 am Doctors question impact of code of conduct without punishmentThe code of conduct of the Medical Council of India (MCI) for doctors barring acceptance of gifts and other benefits from drug companies is not likely to have any impact until it imposes severe penalty on those found flouting it, say senior medical professionals.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:40 am Dalmia in control at GHCLGHCL promoter Sanjay Dalmia appears to be in control of the countrys largest soda ash maker, and is believed to have increased his shareholding significantly above the 18.5 per cent he held till recently when a battle for control of the company raged.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:39 am Maha realty to cost more with new ready reckonerBuilders feel move may hinder development.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:37 am Meet on tweets to chatter on TwitterCome January and New Delhi will play host to India’s first ever Twitter Conference to promote Twitter in India and raise awareness about the social networking and micro-blogging site, reports Pranav Dixit.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:35 am Wheels of desireBig names debut at the biggest auto show ever in India. Bikes apart, this year will see a long line-up of cars — new, small and eco-friendly, reports Sumant Banerji.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Kingfisher in deals for bio jet fuel R&DMumbai: India’s second largest airline by passengers carried, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, has signed an agreement with three international firms to explore development and production of an alternative jet fuel to reduce carbon emissions.  Power backup: Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya. Pankaj Nangia / Bloomberg Regular jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF), a colourless refined kerosene, accounts for up to 40% of the total operating cost of airlines in India. “We have already signed up with three companies to develop the biofuel. We are working on the cost-benefit analysis for the project,” said a senior Kingfisher Airlines executive who did not want to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media. He did not disclose the names or details of the international companies that will develop the bio jet fuel for his carrier. If the experiment succeeds, the airline will be able to reduce its dependence on high-cost ATF and pare its carbon footprint or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Rival carrier and the country’s largest airline Jet Airways (India) Ltd said it is closely monitoring global research and development (R&D) into alternative fuels while national carrier Air India is not immediately looking at bio jet fuel, but is reducing carbon emissions through various operational techniques. In an unrelated development, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. NV (EADS), the parent company of aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS, is in talks with a few Indian biotech firms to explore joint partnerships in biofuels. Jean Botti, chief technology officer at EADS, had told Mint in December his company is talking to some institutions in India but declined to name them.  Green craft: A February 2008 photo of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane that was partially powered by biofuel derived from a mix of babassu and coconut oil, a first for commercial aircraft. Gill Allen / Bloomberg Many international carriers have been in talks with specialized firms that are developing alternative jet fuel using renewable oils including those derived from agriculture, algae, animal fat and waste greases. On 15 December, 15 international airlines including American Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Deutsche Lufthansa AG signed a pact with AltAir Fuels Llc and Rentech Inc. for the supply of alternative aviation fuel by 2012. Indian carriers, however, have not reached such a stage as yet. AltAir Fuels, set up in 2008 to develop projects for the production of jet fuel from renewable and sustainable oils, said there is no specific interest from Indian carriers. Julie Dawoodjee, vice-president, investor relations and communications at Rentech would only say that members of the International Air Transport Association, or Iata, have expressed interest in alternative aviation fuels and the association would like its 230 member carriers to use 10% alternative fuels by 2017. Air India, Jet Airways, JetLite (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines are members of Iata. Sanjay Agarwal, chief executive officer of Delhi-based low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd, said developing alternative fuel is “not a priority as of now” for his carrier. Another executive of a private airline, who did want to be named, has reservations about bio fuels as the cost could be more than that of ATF. In February 2008, a Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd Boeing 747 jumbo jet flew between London and Amsterdam using a fuel made from coconuts and Brazilian babassu nuts. European plane maker Airbus, too, experimented with an alternative fuel made of a synthetic mix of gas-to-liquid for its A380, the world’s largest civilian plane. Kingfisher Airlines has placed orders for five Airbus A380 planes, to be delivered in 2014. In an email response to Mint’s query, John Williams, at Scoville Public Relations, a consulting firm for AltAir Fuels, said on Thursday: “The company projects that it can produce renewable jet fuel for approximately $2.50 (Rs117) per gallon beginning in 2012. It’s unknown at this time...what petroleum-based jet fuel will cost in 2012. Also unknown is whether or not, and what additional cost may be put upon petroleum jet fuel in the form of carbon emissions tax.” “The company believes it will be able to make its bio jet fuel price competitive with petroleum fuel in either case,” Williams said. “The facility is projected to begin producing the bio jet fuel in late 2012.” According to Rentech’s Dawoodjee, even though the bio fuel price is expected to be competitive with traditional jet fuel, her company is working on a pricing mechanism to protect the carriers from extreme crude price volatility. Jet Airways, though clarifying that it has no plans for forming alliances for carbon emissions, said it has a very young fleet of aircraft—with an average fleet age of approximately 4.5 years—making it one of the most emission-friendly airlines in the region. “In the meantime, Jet Airways’ carbon emission monitoring plan has been accepted by EU (European Union) for our flights into EU states,” a Jet spokesperson said in an email. Air India is not looking for alternative fuels but is reducing the usage of ATF. It has registered a 12.5% reduction in fuel consumption in 2008-09 from 2007-08. This could be possible through changes in operational techniques, equipment settings and use, fuel management, flight planning, engine maintenance, cabin weight management, etc., an Air India statement said. “Every sector is responsible for reducing its share of carbon emissions in the fight against climate change. The aviation industry is expanding rapidly in part due to regulatory and taxing policies that do not reflect the true environmental costs of flying,” Ankur Toby Ganguly, communications manager at Greenpeace India, told Mint. “Alternative jet fuel, if it helps in reducing the carbon footprint of a flying aircraft, is a welcome step,” he said. “Passengers flying more due to ‘cheap fares’ or due to the fact that alternative jet fuel has reduced carbon emissions, could result in increased gross GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from the aviation sector. This would be more detrimental to the climate.” According to Greenpeace, a non-government organization that lobbies for the protection and conservation of the environment, the aviation sector accounts for at least 4% of total GHG emissions globally. But Iata, whose members account for 93% of scheduled international air traffic, said aviation is responsible for 2% of global manmade carbon dioxide emissions. It has committed to 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Reduction in carbon emission is becoming increasingly important as the European Union Trading Scheme (ETS) has mandated that all flights with their origin or destination in the EU have to be covered by the scheme. pr.sanjai@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Learning to live with the fire down belowSandi, West Bengal: Sixty-year-old Manju Rui Das, who works at an illegal coal mine in West Bengal’s Ranigunj area, usually finds it difficult to sleep at night. Still fresh in her mind is the explosion in an abandoned coal mine nearby in 2008 that she survived but wrecked her home.  Mining menace: (clockwise from top left) Locals watch as smoke and methane gas emanate from a huge crack in the ground as a result of excessive mining; cracks such as these abound in West Bengal’s Samdi region; a family squats at the place where once its dwelling stood; and an abandoned mine at Sangramgarh near Asansol. Photographs: Indranil Bhoumik / Mint That blast rocked the entire neighbourhood of Sangramgarh, recalls Das. “With the area caving in, thousands of people became homeless overnight,” she said. “A lot of people continue to find it difficult to sleep.” While she knows the life-threatening incident was caused by illegal coal mining, Das continues to work at such a mine. “It’s scary and I lost my home because of it…but I can’t stop working at the mines—it’s a question of survival,” says Das. Illegal mines have turned the topography of parts of India into a surreal landscape— fires rage under the surface fuelled by methane explosions, spewing smoke through yawning fissures. With no control on the mining activity and absence of the technical expertise needed to control the subterranean inferno, the ground simply caves in right under people’s homes. Stopping the practice may lead to catastrophes of another sort, so the government is learning to live with the illegal mines and even work around them. The administration hasn’t been able to stem the expansion of illegal mining in areas adjoining Ranigunj and Asansol towns in West Bengal’s coal-rich Burdwan district, and now mines burrowing into residential neighbourhoods are set to displace some 200,000 people, or 33,000 families, according to the Asansol-Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA)—a state government-controlled civic body. Private miners have spread across some 1,700 sq. km, said an ADDA official who did not want to be named because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media. “At least 149 neighbourhoods have been declared unsafe for dwelling, and people from these areas are being moved to safer locations,” he added. “Coal is so abundantly available in these areas that almost every household has been mining coal in its backyard,” said Partha Bhattacharyya, chairman of government-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL). “Illegal mining has thrived like a cottage industry, and there is no political will to stop it.” CIL, too, doesn’t have the resources to crack down on illegal mines on its own, Bhattacharyya said. CIL’s subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) has a licence to mine around 686 sq. km in the Ranigunj area. “But we have only 2,500 CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) jawans guarding the area. If we are to keep an eye on every household, we need many more security guards,” he added. Besides digging up vacant plots, private miners extract coal from mines abandoned by ECL or even by private companies that were dug before the nationalization of collieries. Because of poor mining techniques, excavation makes the surface unstable; cracks appear and widen with the underground combustion of methane gas trapped in coal beds. Controlling this combustion is very difficult, according to an ECL official who did not want to be named because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media. “Even for organized players such as ECL, it isn’t always possible to control the combustion of coal bed methane,” he said. “So you would see smoke coming out of cracks on the ground across the whole area.” Private miners who operate in this area enjoy political backing, and employ hundreds of thousands of people, which is why it is almost impossible to stamp out the practice. A recent CIL-commissioned study by Jamshedpur-based management school Xavier Labour Research Institute showed that stopping illegal mining would have adverse socio-economic implications for the local people, Bhattacharyya said. The coal extracted from the illegal mines sells for Rs250-300 a tonne, said the ECL official cited earlier. “The workers are forced to work for up to 12 hours a day in extremely dangerous conditions, and earn Rs50-60 a day,” he said. Hundreds of workers die every year because of accidents. Local sponge iron factories consume most of the coal extracted from these mines; some of it is sold in the retail market, too. “There’s hardly any employment opportunity here and the soil is unsuitable for agriculture,” said local Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, leader Tapan Chandra. “So if we were to stop private mining, hundreds of thousands of people would lose their livelihoods.” Malay Ghatak, a leader of the Trinamool Congress—West Bengal’s main opposition party—from Asansol alleged that private miners were doing brisk business because of the CPM’s support. “The CPM is now trying to shore up support for itself by offering to relocate the affected people, but it is the CPM which is responsible in the first place for the displacement of so many people,” he said. Unable to contain the menace of illegal mining, the state government has finalized a resettlement plan for the 200,000 affected people. Many may be left out because the number of affected people is swelling every day. It has secured a commitment from the Union coal ministry that it will provide at least Rs2,600 crore over the next 10 years for the rehabilitation of people affected by mines in the Asansol and Ranigunj areas, according to the ADDA official cited earlier. Under a 10-year programme, ADDA is to build two-three new townships to relocate the affected people. In those townships, Adda would give 100 sq. m plots free to each family losing its home, and a cash compensation equivalent to the current market price of the homes being abandoned. Those who do not want to build new homes would each get a 450 sq. ft flat. “Over and above these, one in each displaced family would get 250 days’ minimum wage (a year) for two years,” said the ADDA official. “We will also persuade government-owned companies such as Durgapur Steel Plant (a unit of Steel Authority of India Ltd) and Hindustan Cables Ltd, which have factories in this area, to employ the displaced people.” ADDA has already started relocating people to safer ground, particularly those who have lost their homes, such as those in Sangramgarh, to the staff quarters of ECL. Das and a few others from Sangramgarh refused to move into them because three-four families are being crammed into each flat. romita.d@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Sweet seductionFebruary 14 is a while away, but if you want to really spring a surprise on your chocolate-loving fiancé(e), this is the time to start planning. Elevate Destinations, those guys who subscribe to “voluntourism”—combining travel with volunteer work in the host countries—have planned a Valentine’s Day Chocolate Tour to Belize, a tiny central American country washed by the Caribbean and bordered by Mexico and Guatemala. A British colonial heritage makes it accessible to English-speakers, but it’s their cacao that talks a universal language. Focused on Toledo district and the town of Punta Gorda, the trip packs in a cacao farming tour—including a workshop on roasting, milling, winnowing, grinding and conching cacao—a volunteer day with the non-profit Sustainable Harvest International, a trip to Mayan ruins, topped by a hands-on chocolate-making workshop (and you can actually bring your creations home). Besides, there is swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving (off the Belize Barrier Reef) and horse riding on offer. In between discovering the people and places, you are put up in a cabana at the Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-lodge ensconced between a river and a rainforest.  Choco haven: The Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-lodge in Belize.Elevate Destinations ********** Walking on air The new New Zealand is best accessed not by road—traditionally regarded as the most congenial way of getting around this beautiful, foreign driver-friendly country—but by air. The spectacular landscapes— soaring peaks, crystal lakes, vast expanses of the sea—around Queenstown reveal another facet of themselves when witnessed from a twin-engine Britten Norman Islander aircraft. “Flightseeing”, as the locals dub it, lets you experience everything from glaciers to rainforests, lakes to river valleys. Fly over Milford Sound, often described as the eighth wonder of the world, or Mt Aspiring National Park, named after one of New Zealand’s highest peaks, with Real Journeys (www.realjourneys.co.nz; prices: 385-425 New Zealand dollars or about Rs12,700-14,000). Alternately, sign up with Over the Top (www.flynz.co.nz) for a helicopter flight over the Southern Alps that climaxes in a gourmet picnic in the heart of the mountains, complete with access to a private alpine hut. If exclusive for two, prices range from NZD440-4,275.  Cruiser: ‘Flightseeing’ over blue peaks. ********** Honeymoon highs Destination weddings are one thing. But when it comes to pulling out all the stops on luxury honeymoons, you could do worse than sign up with Kuoni, which has a whole array of options to choose from. In the Maldives, a three-night/four-day package for two costs a very reasonable Rs42,300 (ex-Mumbai) and Rs44,300 (ex-Delhi), inclusive of accommodation at the Paradise Island Resort (www.paradiseislandmaldives.net) and return airfares. If Australia’s on your mind, a nine-night/10-day getaway is available for Rs1,29,260 (ex-Mumbai) and Rs1,31,360 (ex-Delhi), covering accommodation at the Four Seasons, Sydney (www.fourseasons.com/sydney), and Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast (www.palazzoversace.com), a stretch limo ride in Brisbane, et al. Should you want to go the Switzerland way, six nights and seven days in the lap of luxury at the Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken (www.victoria-jungfrau.ch/en) and the Palace Luzern in Lucerne (www.palace-luzern.ch/en) will cost you Rs2,54,690, inclusive of candlelight dinners. Call Kuoni at 022-66391000 or email at luxury@kuoni.in. Write to lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Long-term retail bond set to come back after a decadeMumbai: After a decade, Indian consumers are set to have an option to buy long-term bonds maturing in 10-15 years. The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is preparing to offer this investment instrument to retail customers. The plan is to raise around Rs5,000 crore, in tranches. According to a person familiar with the development, the bank’s board discussed this at its last meeting at Neemrana, Rajasthan, in December and the issue can hit the market before the current fiscal year ends in March, provided the regulatory clearance is in place. Currently, SBI mobilizes 8-10-year deposits offering 7.5%. But it would need the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for the longer term bond. “We want to introduce a new kind of instrument in the market, offering consumers yet another choice,” said a senior State Bank official who did not want to be identified. According to the official, it could be a fixed rate instrument or a bond linked to a benchmark security and the finer details are being worked out. The prevailing AAA-rated bonds are offering around 8.70% and money market analysts said if the bank decides to go for a fixed rate instrument, it is expected to offer a similar coupon. State Bank enjoys AAA rating. The bond will have call and put options offering both the investors as well as the issuer (the bank, in this case) options to exit before the instrument matures. Typically, in a falling interest rate scenario, the issuer calls back such bonds to cut costs and if the interest rate rises, investors redeem the bond and park the money elsewhere to earn more. “Retail investors don’t have too many avenues for long-term investments and a long bond will be a good opportunity. It all depends on how the bond is marketed. Given State Bank’s branch network, it should do well,” said S. Raghavan, head of treasury at IDBI Gilts Ltd, a primary dealer that buys and sells government bonds. State Bank has about 12,000 branches, the largest branch network of any Indian bank. Although this is the first time in a decade that a bank plans to sell bonds to retail customers, corporations such as Tata Capital Ltd and L&T Finance Ltd sold such bonds in 2009, Tata Capital raised Rs2,500 crore through a five-year bond and L&T Finance raised Rs1,000 crore through five-, seven- and 10-year bonds. SBI had earlier tapped the retail market by issuing a floating rate bond of 10-year maturity to raise Rs1,500 crore in 1994. However, the bonds were redeemed in 1998 when the bank exercised the call option after five years. For floating rate bonds, the rate of interest is linked to a benchmark rate such as government paper’s yield and reset periodically. Sometimes, long-term bonds are deep discount bonds or an instrument issued at a steep discount to its face value. However, the State Bank’s bond will not be a deep discount bond, the executive said. In mid- and late-1990s when interest rates were ruling high, erstwhile financial institutions Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and ICICI Ltd issued such bonds at regular intervals. Barring one such bond issued by ICICI, all were redeemed before they matured as the institutions wanted to cut costs when interest rates started falling. IDBI issued the last deep discount bond in September 1999 and redeemed it in 2004 after five years. A deep discount bond does not have a coupon attached to it. At the end of the maturity, investors get paid the face value of the bond. While the proposed long bonds will offer the traditionally risk-averse retail investors a new avenue to invest, it will shore up the capital of State Bank. The bonds will be part of its tier II capital which consists of various reserves and long-term bonds. The tier I or core capital of a bank is its equity. Under regulatory norms, a bank needs 9% capital adequacy ratio or Rs9 worth of capital for every Rs100 worth of assets. A higher capital base allows a bank to create more assets, and even though year-on-year credit growth in the industry has been a mere 11.3%, banks are expecting higher loan growth as the Indian economy is on a firm growth path. Many Indian banks have been raising money through bonds to shore up their tier II capital but none of them as yet offered retail bonds. According to a person in the Indian central bank who didn’t want to be identified, it is taking a close look at the State Bank’s proposal to make sure that the bonds are sold in such a way that consumers are aware of the difference between long-term deposits and bonds. anup.r@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:30 am Quick Edit | India: ready for new reformThe first 100 days of a government are usually laden with immense reformist possibilities. Manmohan Singh should know. He used his first 100 days as finance minister in P.V. Narasimha Rao’s government to demolish the crumbling edifice of statist economic policy; the Congress old guard fought back once the economic crisis receded. Manmohan Singh was not able to use the first 100 days of his two stints as Prime Minister to push economic reforms. He was something of an accidental prime minister in 2004, getting the top job only after Sonia Gandhi wisely decided to stay out. He had more political confidence in 2009, but his government had to concentrate on economic stabilization rather than long term reforms. All is not lost. Manmohan Singh should use the first 100 days of 2010 for a new burst of reforms. He told Outlook recently that he has read a new biography in 2009, FDR: The First Hundred Days. “A remarkable account of how it was possible to harmonize a vibrant vision of reform with prevailing political realilties...” Go ahead, Mr PM. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 11:29 am Fresh capital dominated primary market in 2009Despite not so good primary market activity, fresh capital dominated 88 per cent of the total fund raised through initial public offers by India Inc. in 2009.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:58 am Italian coffee chain Segarfredo to enter Indian marketPremium Italian coffee chain Segafredo Zanetti has chalked out plans to enter the Indian market.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:54 am Who went where, when? On the trail of the first people in IndiaNew Delhi: The Brokpa villagers who live near Batalik in Ladakh are a colourful but confused lot. Their oral history and songs suggest that they migrated from Gilgit, now in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a few hundred years ago. But over the last 50 years they’ve come to believe that they’re remnants of an ancient Aryan population that came to India with Alexander’s army.  Tracing genetic history: Changpa herders who live along the Indus between Nyoma and Koyul in Ladakh giving their mouth wash samples. Subhadeepta Ray The “Aryan” theory was floated by a few German Indologists in the 1960s; it caught everyone’s fancy, and the Brokpas turned it into a marketing tool. The problem, however, is that nobody takes it seriously any more and the small, isolated community which had almost convinced itself about the supposition, is now unsure of its roots. So recently when a group of researchers landed up at their villages, promising to tell them about their genetic history, the Brokpas were excited. The Aryan Welfare Association in Dha village swung into action, organizing a camp at which men from different villages came together to take swills of distilled water and spit into vials. For the Brokpas, it was a solemn occasion. This, they were told, would hold the clue to their origin. In distant Madurai, Ramasamy Pitchappan is now busy analysing the spittle. As principal investigator in India for the Genographic Project, he has spent the better part of the last few years collecting samples from different tribes, castes and linguistic groups across the country. The goal of the project, a collaborative venture between the National Geographic Society, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation, was to study the patterns of human migration, from the first exodus out of Africa to more recent ones. They hoped to do this by looking at the patterns of DNA mutations across the world. The spread of these mutations or “markers”, would be indicative of human movements. The search was further narrowed to mutations in mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome, both of which, unlike other genetic material, are passed intact down the generations. A chance mutation in either of these would, therefore, also be inherited intact. One such mutation, known as the M130 marker, had provided evidence of the first migration of man from Africa to Australia, through south India. It was discovered in 2001 by Pitchappan, working in collaboration with noted geneticist Spencer Wells, in a small group of people in Jyothimanickam village near Madurai. The carrier, Virumandi Andithevar, an unsuspecting 30-year-old systems administrator, had been declared the “first” Indian. The Genographic Project was started in 2005 to assess the distribution of such markers, and discover new ones. Similar studies had been done in India, but they’d been much more localized and the sample sizes were smaller. The India operations started a year late but has already collected the 10,000 samples they’d aimed to gather, Pitchappan says proudly. Over the last four years, his small band of researchers has fanned out across the country, visiting communities that have been selected for their uniqueness, size and recorded histories. “We’ve tried to select groups that are likely to have divergent migratory histories,” explains Pitchappan. The Meitei of Manipur were selected for being the only Vaishnavites in the region; the Garo of Meghalaya by virtue of being the only tribal community that allows marriage between first cousins; the Jenu Kuruba, honey gatherers from the forests of Nagarhole, for their unique profession; and the residents of Malana in Himachal Pradesh for their self-imposed isolation. Convincing these communities to take part in the study was not always easy. It took researcher V.S. Arun a few days to persuade the residents of Malana to part with their samples. “The problem,” he says, “ was that we needed to give them distilled water for the samples, but their laws forbade them from accepting food or water from outsiders.” In the end it took the intervention of the village council to sort out the impasse. The tiny Sunni community in Nyoma, on the India-China border in Ladakh, initially accused the researchers of practising black magic. Their origins, they told the researchers, were determined by God, not by spit. Later, it emerged that the problem was neither God nor spit, but a Shia who was acting as the team’s interpreter. The coaxing and the cajoling has, however, paid off. Some of the preliminary results of the project are emerging, and the complicated knot of migration routes into, out of and within India is unravelling. The findings indicate that there have been two major migration routes into India, one along the coastal route from Africa to India and the other through the Khyber pass. “Looking at India as a whole,” says Pitchappan, “the most common marker is the H group, but we’ve found its frequency to be the highest in a few hill tribes of south India.” The implication? The first populations in India probably settled in those parts. As they migrated to other parts of the country, new markers emerged. The O group emerged in north-east India and spread in Tibet, Myanmar and parts of South-East Asia. The L group remained confined to Tamil Nadu and parts of south India, limited by small-scale local migrations. The M45 marker, on the other hand, spread to Central Asia and onwards to Europe. It also came back to India through later migrations in the opposite direction. The R1A1 marker emerged in north India, and is also surprisingly found in lower frequencies among the Brahmins of Tamil Nadu. Pitchappan believes that its distribution in the south correlates with the movement of Brahmins from north to south during the Chola period. Much more remains to be discovered. Detailed migration patterns will emerge, says Pitchappan, as more of the 10,000 samples collected so far are processed. Field trips to large parts of the country such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will also take place in the first half of 2010. By the end of the year his team is hoping to publish studies correlating migration with language and caste formation in small groups in India. “It’s an exhilarating and challenging project,” says Subhadeepta Ray, a researcher at the Delhi School of Economics who has been studying the interaction of sociology and genetics that such projects entail. “The work so far has been very thorough and detailed.” Pitchappan has yet another agenda for the project. “I hope,” he says, “that once people understand the biological basis of their differences they will become a little more sensible about issues like caste and religion.” Meanwhile, the Brokpas wait anxiously for their results. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:49 am India’s exports up after 14 months, grow 18.2% in Nov New Delhi: India’s exports rose for the first time in 14 months as recovery in the global economy boosted year-end holiday demand for the nation’s products. Overseas shipments increased 18.2% to $13.2 billion (Rs61,644 crore) in November from a year earlier after sliding an average 21% per month since October 2008, according to a trade ministry statement. Imports fell 2.6% to $22.8 billion in November, resulting in the trade deficit narrowing to $9.6 billion from $12.3 billion a year ago. Record low interest rates and at least $2 trillion in government stimulus worldwide are reviving demand for clothes made by Gokaldas Exports Ltd and Hyundai Motor Co. cars. South Korea’s exports rose 33.7% in December, the fastest pace in 17 months as Asian economies from China to Singapore recover from the worst global recession since the 1930s. “We are seeing a rebound in overseas sales mainly due to improved conditions in the US and Europe and festival demand ahead of Christmas,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in the Capital. A return to export growth may boost production at companies in India and bolster the revival in Asia’s third biggest economy, which expanded 7.9% in the three months to 30 September from a year earlier, the quickest pace in six quarters. Some sectors have started showing signs of improvement. Overseas sales of Indian gems and jewellery jumped 54.8% to $21.4 billion in November, compared with $13.8 billion in the same month a year ago, according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. Vehicle exports rose 25% in November from a year earlier, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said on 8 December. November’s increase in exports shouldn’t be seen as the beginning of a positive trend, as shipments rose mainly due to a low base in the same month last year, Bhanumurthy said. The difficulties for exporters and the Indian economy are not yet over, he said. The surge in inflation will result in increasing input costs for exporters, forcing them to raise prices and making it difficult for them to remain competitive in overseas markets, Bhanumurthy said. India’s benchmark wholesale price index climbed 4.78% in November from a year earlier, more than tripling from a 1.34% gain in October, the government said on 14 December. A stronger rupee is also affecting exporters’ earnings, according to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. The low base effect on November’s export growth means there is no need to go hoopla over these numbers, trade secretary Rahul Khullar said on 15 December. Shipments dropped almost 20% in November 2008 from a year earlier. Overseas sales declined 22.3% to $104.24 billion in the eight months to November from a year earlier. Imports fell 27.3% to $170.4 billion. Non-oil imports dropped 5.9% to $16.5 billion in November from a year ago, while oil imports rose 7.3% to $6.38 billion in the same month, the government report showed. The US returned to growth in the third quarter after a year-long contraction and France, Germany and Japan have exited recession. The US economy, India’s second biggest export market, expanded 2.2% in the July-September quarter. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:34 am To keep growing in 2010 stock markets want costs under checkA friendlier tax regime, more retail investor participation, low interest rates and inflation, and speedy government disinvestment programme — these are but some of the things that Dalal Street wishes comes true in 2010 to keep rolling.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:31 am China factories boomChina's economic growth looks set to accelerate into the new year, with booming factories driving a December manufacturing survey to a 20-month high while South Korea's exports to the country surged on strong demand.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:26 am After 13 month dip exports riseThe country's exports grew 18.2 per cent in November, entering positive territory for the first time in 13 months triggering hopes that the worst might be over for embattled traders.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:20 am IRDA to submit IPO norms to Sebi in 10 daysThe Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority will submit its recommendations on valuing insurance companies, disclosures and other requirements that insurers should fulfill in order to raise money through the Initial Public Offering, to the Securities and Exchange Board of India in the next ten days.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 Jan 2010 | 10:14 am Auto industry registers robust sales in DecemberNew Delhi: India’s auto industry ended 2009 on a strong note with car and two-wheeler makers reporting robust growth in December sales as increasing economic activity and easy availability of loans prompted buyers to rush to dealerships. December is traditionally seen as a weak month for sales as customers prefer to wait for the new year to make purchases as cars bought in December attract lower resale prices than than those bought a month later. However, in the past few years car makers have rushed to attract buyers with discounts and other rebates to shore up December sales.  Graphics: Ahmed raza Khan / Mint Sales at rival, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, rose 42% to 22,252 units. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd clocked the biggest percentage jump, with sales rising 122% to 22,754 units. Tata Motors Ltd did not release its numbers. The growth was also helped along by the base effect when muted growth in one month leads to the next year’s numbers looking stronger then they would have otherwise. Car and two-wheeler sales started falling in October 2008 and continued to do so till February. Smaller players such as General Motors India and Skoda Auto also reported brisk growth. Sales at General Motors doubled to 8,258 units. Significantly, the Spark, its small car, accounted for 4,147 units. It plans to further strengthen its offering in the small car segment with the launch of the Chevrolet Beat at this month’s New Delhi Auto Expo. Skoda sold 1,113 units compared with 732 a year ago. Car makers also benefited from buyers advancing purchases due to price hikes, which several companies have said they plan to do in the next few months. Some, such as Ford India Pvt. Ltd, have already announced an increase in prices from January. Among two-wheeler companies, Hero Honda Motors Ltd ended the year with the company selling in excess of 300,000 units every month in 2009. It sold 375,838 units in December, a 42% increase over the year-ago period. TVS Motor Co. Ltd sold 102,479 two-wheelers in December, compared with 72,355 a year ago, a growth of 42%. India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd’s sales fell 15% to 13,612 units. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 9:50 am Roche plans to tap rural market via public-private partnershipsMumbai: Roche Diagnostics India Pvt. Ltd, India’s largest diagnostics company by sales, plans to partner with state governments to market health services in the largely untapped semi-urban and rural areas. Roche Diagnostics, a 100% subsidiary of Swiss-based healthcare group F Hoffmann La Roche Ltd, is the first diagnostics solutions provider proposing to tap the rural market through a public-private partnership, though several hospital groups including Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd and Max Healthcare Ltd have explored partnerships with state and municipal hospitals. The initiative involves investment from both the company and the concerned states in sourcing products and infrastructure, and would help improve healthcare in villages by resolving the most crucial problems in traditional healthcare practices such as wrong diagnosis-led fatality, medical errors and unnecessary expenses, Bhuwnesh Agrawal, chairman and managing director of Roche Diagnostics in India, told Mint last week.  New initiative: Bhuwnesh Agrawal, chairman and managing director, Roche Diagnostics India. Carolyn Buck-Luce, global pharmaceutical sector leader of consultancy firm Ernst and Young Llp, had in an earlier interview with Mint said this emerging trend will require collaborations among all healthcare services such as diagnostics, personalized medication providers and a wider hospitals and healthcare network. According to a 2007-08 report by global consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, India’s total healthcare spend is projected to grow to $40 billion (Rs1.9 trillion) by 2012. Of this, at least 25-30% is estimated to be in the rural market. Roche Diagnostics, which has already signed a public-private partnership to develop an innovative cancer diagnostics tool in India, is currently talking to several state governments to collaborate for the rural healthcare initiative. Agrawal didn’t want to share names of the states as the talks are at a preliminary state and would involve multiple stages of negotiations. He also declined to outline the investment plans. He admitted that the initial response from certain state authorities was not encouraging. He is, however, “hopeful of taking it forward at least on an experimental basis”. A senior official from the state health ministry of Rajasthan confirmed that the department had considered a proposal from the company to install their diagnostic solutions in state hospitals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The company had in July entered into a partnership with the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) India through the department of biotechnology (DBT). The Roche Diagnostics research will focus on the changes in human genome that are responsible for oral cancer and would help improve its diagnosis, treatment and prevention. For this, a new research laboratory, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, is being set up at Kalyani in West Bengal by the company. Under the project, the company anticipates installation of modern diagnostic devices, especially the “near patient testing” machines that provides instant results for diagnosis and monitoring of diseases in the physicians’ office. At rural hospitals and clinics, the doctors normally don’t opt for proper tests or depend on outside labs, which are often far away, causing delays in starting treatment. These machines, which will be installed free of cost under the partnership, would cost in the range of Rs40,000 to Rs3.5 lakh a unit, depending on the specifications required by the hospitals. “Our solutions include a range of cardiac markers, coagulation, clinical chemistry and blood gas. With these, a physician can perform as many as 17 different tests to check symptoms related to pancreas, liver, kidney, urine and sugar, among others, instantly by testing blood samples,” Agrawal said. Roche Diagnostics has been present in India’s diagnostic equipment and reagents market since 2002. Though the company wasn’t very aggressive initially, it gained 13% market share in the Rs2,000 crore market over the period. It is now the largest firm, overtaking Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd, claimed Agrawal. The financial numbers of both these unlisted companies are not available in public. Roche is also looking to acquire novel diagnostic technologies from Indian companies and institutions, and partner with such firms for research and development in India, Agrawal said. The Swiss group also operates its drug company Roche Scientific Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd in the country, and both these entities also jointly conduct many clinical research projects here. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 9:49 am China deal start of Asia thrust: SlymNew Delhi: For General Motors India Pvt. Ltd chief Karl Slym, the expansion of the US auto giant’s 12-year alliance with its Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd to tap India’s burgeoning vehicle market is win-win for both sides. The two firms announced in December a joint venture with an initial focus on selling mini-commercial vehicles and inexpensive, entry-level cars in India that will later embrace other Asian emerging markets.  Optimistic: Karl Slym. Ramesh Pathania / Mint In China, where General Motors entered in 1996, the Detroit-based company is the second largest auto maker, helped by its partnership with China’s biggest car maker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC. GM, which is undergoing a drastic restructuring after being bailed out by the US government, is expected to post sales in China of 1.4 million vehicles this year. But in India, Asia’s third-largest car market after China and Japan, where Japanese-owned Maruti Suzuki India Ltd holds a commanding leadership position, GM has been slower out of the starting blocks. The US auto firm, which started selling its Chevrolet marque in India only in 2003, is the fifth largest car maker in the country. It sold 67,500 vehicles last year, up 9.5% from the previous year. Analysts see the 50:50 tie-up, in which SAIC is investing cash and GM is supplying its Indian plants and sales network, as giving GM more resources to grab a bigger share of the Indian market. It also gives SAIC its first foothold in India, furthering its aspirations of being an international car maker. GM’s sales in India have been picking up with the firm clocking a 60% year-on-year increase in sales in November. “GM has really reached a point now where we’re at a tipping point in India and the SAIC tie-up will help continue this growth,” Slym said. Slym said the tie-up will allow the US company to sell in India for the first time its low-cost micro minivans and buses that GM makes now with its Chinese partners. “Heavy trucks won’t be able to go into the cities because of restrictions, you will need smaller light commercial vehicles and I expect this market to increase hugely,” Slym said. But the partnership will face big competition from local producers such as Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 8:50 am China deal start of Asia thrust: SlymNew Delhi: For General Motors India Pvt. Ltd chief Karl Slym, the expansion of the US auto giant’s 12-year alliance with its Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd to tap India’s burgeoning vehicle market is win-win for both sides. The two firms announced in December a joint venture with an initial focus on selling mini-commercial vehicles and inexpensive, entry-level cars in India that will later embrace other Asian emerging markets. Optimistic: Karl Slym. Ramesh Pathania / Mint In China, where General Motors entered in 1996, the Detroit-based company is the second largest auto maker, helped by its partnership with China’s biggest car maker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC. GM, which is undergoing a drastic restructuring after being bailed out by the US government, is expected to post sales in China of 1.4 million vehicles this year. But in India, Asia’s third-largest car market after China and Japan, where Japanese-owned Maruti Suzuki India Ltd holds a commanding leadership position, GM has been slower out of the starting blocks. The US auto firm, which started selling its Chevrolet marque in India only in 2003, is the fifth largest car maker in the country. It sold 67,500 vehicles last year, up 9.5% from the previous year. Analysts see the 50:50 tie-up, in which SAIC is investing cash and GM is supplying its Indian plants and sales network, as giving GM more resources to grab a bigger share of the Indian market. It also gives SAIC its first foothold in India, furthering its aspirations of being an international car maker. GM’s sales in India have been picking up with the firm clocking a 60% year-on-year increase in sales in November. “GM has really reached a point now where we’re at a tipping point in India and the SAIC tie-up will help continue this growth,” Slym said. Slym said the tie-up will allow the US company to sell in India for the first time its low-cost micro minivans and buses that GM makes now with its Chinese partners. “Heavy trucks won’t be able to go into the cities because of restrictions, you will need smaller light commercial vehicles and I expect this market to increase hugely,” Slym said. But the partnership will face big competition from local producers such as Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 8:50 am 2010 Investment Strategy | Allocate money into assets regardless of market conditionsMumbai: After the losses of 2008, last year was a good one for investors across asset classes such as equity, gold and commodities. The Sensex surged 81%, while gold rose by about one-fifth. Mint spoke to Krishnamurthy Vijayan, CEO of JPMorgan Asset Management Co. Ltd about how investors should look at 2010 and what their investment strategy should be. Edited excerpts: Do you think the days of sharp gains in equities and gold are over? It’s a matter of the short or long term. There will be periods…when there will be sharp gains and there will be periods when there will be sharp losses. Personally, I think the market has come into what I call a trading zone, which is that it has run up extremely sharply and investors are being a little cautious saying that, “OK, we are seeing some gains. We will come in and when we have made our little bit of gains, we will go out.” In that kind of a market you will find that sometimes five or six months, sometimes one or two months, sometime couple of years go by, when there is no major change in the stock prices. Have we entered this phase? It’s difficult to predict. The market invariably proves you wrong. I would never presume to say this is what it is, I would say this is what it may be… It’s a period when we would probably see the market ranging—in terms of the Sensex—somewhere around the 17,000 levels. Which asset classes would you advise investors to opt for? Regardless of what happens in the markets, by and large for investors—the option to invest is when you have the money. The only way to do that is to go systematically. Because, anything else—the chances are that they will get it wrong anyway. Click hereto read earlier Rapid Fire interviews It’s a question of asset allocation. Because, if a person needs to have 70% of his assets in fixed deposits because he is too old to do anything, then it doesn’t make sense to say this is a good time to go into equities. Whereas if a person has 25% of his assets in equity and he is 25 years old, it makes sense for him to go into equities even now because ultimately, if you are looking at Indian equities, you are looking in the best market place. Yes, there are noises in the world which say that maybe there will be incidents in 2010 (which could drive down stock prices and lead to volatility), but how does it matter to somebody in a salaried job, who has to plan his wealth for a longer period of time? So very clearly, asset allocation is the way to go regardless of market conditions. What do you think about gold? Gold is an extraordinarily long-term asset class. You have periods when it runs up like crazy. But the last time metals ran up like they have run up in the last year was about 12 years ago, probably 20 years ago. I don’t track metals and commodities...but would I tell my wife “don’t buy gold during Diwali”? Probably not. A small part of my assets can go into gold still. ravi.k@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 8:50 am Is the global economy rebalancing?Global Imbalances: In Midstream? By Olivier Blanchard and Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti IMF Staff Position Note No. SPN/09/29 The phrase “Global Imbalances” has been in vogue for several years now and is shorthand for describing a lopsided world economy where the US and a handful of other countries consume while countries such as China produce. The dollars earned by the export-driven countries of East Asia are reinvested in the US, financing its massive current account deficit and keeping interest rates low in the US, helping consumers to borrow more and import more. For a while, the system served both the US and China very well, but many economists have been drawing attention for years to the dangers of a “disorderly unwinding of global imbalances”. For how long would Asian countries continue to put their foreign exchange reserves in US treasurys when the dollar was rapidly depreciating? And was the big rise in the indebtedness of the US consumer sustainable? These worries about the global economy had prompted many dire warnings before the financial crisis. But now that US current account deficits have come down and US savings have increased as a result of the crisis, does it not indicate a rebalancing of the global economy? That is the question that IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard and Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti try to answer in their recent paper on “Global Imbalances: In Midstream?”  Blanchard and Milesi-Ferretti say global imbalances are forecast to decline to a significant extent in 2009 on account of several factors. These include: 1. A substantial decline in oil prices, implying a very large contraction in the surplus of oil exporters and a corresponding improvement in the current account balance of oil-importing countries; 2. Asset price busts, leading to a sharp contraction in domestic demand and thus a substantial improvement in the current account of a number of deficit countries severely affected by the crisis and; 3. a sharp contraction in exports of investment goods, affecting a number of surplus countries, in particular Germany and Japan, and leading to a large reduction in their current account surplus. Some of the changes will be long-lasting. These include higher private saving in the US, lower investment rates as tighter regulation increases the cost of capital as well as the desire for emerging markets to accumulate reserves as insurance for the kind of meltdown we saw in the last quarter of 2008. The authors say that “one important adjustment—the increase in U.S. private saving—is under way. However, other parts of the global external adjustment process are not in place yet: In response to the crisis, US fiscal deficits have increased significantly, and will need to decline substantially in the future; current account adjustment in China, while significant in 2009, may turn out to be largely temporary, particularly if the renminbi is not allowed to appreciate; and a number of other emerging market countries are still running surpluses and accumulating foreign reserves.” In other words, we are now in midstream so far as the resolution of the global imbalances are concerned. China will have to allow its currency to appreciate and increase domestic demand. In short, two more adjustments need to be implemented—lower fiscal deficits in the US, and lower current account surpluses in China and a number of other emerging market countries. The authors say that “If these do not take place, there is a high risk that the recovery will be weak and unbalanced. Staying in midstream is dangerous.” Illustration by Jayachandran /Mint Write to simplyeconomics@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 Jan 2010 | 8:50 am POSCO gets forest land approval for Orissa plantBHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - South Korean steelmaker POSCO has received final approval to acquire forest land needed for its long-delayed $12 billion India project, a company spokesman said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 7:18 am November exports up 18.2 pct y/y to $13.2 blnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's exports rose an annual 18.2 percent in November to $13.2 billion, the first rise after 13 straight months of decline indicating a partial recovery, the government said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 3:01 am Gold ends at $1,096.20, up 24.8 percent in 2009NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold prices sealed their biggest yearly gain in three decades with a small advance on Thursday, rising for an unprecedented ninth consecutive year as dollar-hedging traders and central banks joined the rally even as safe-haven buying subsided.Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 Jan 2010 | 2:20 am
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