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Rs 12.4cr: RIL\'s daily loss for underproduction at KG D6Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries notional loss for not ramping up capacity at the D6 block in KG Basin stands at USD 2.7 million (approx Rs 12.4 crore) per day, according to sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:37 am Power plant on track, to be completed by Aug: ISMTISMT has many expansion plans from its seamless tubes capacity expansion to power as well, and it has lots lined up for itself. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Rajiv Goel, Chief Financial Officer, ISMT, speaks about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:35 am Wipro tops list of H-1B visa professionals in 2009 !With 1,964 H-1B visas in 2009, Indian IT major Wipro has topped the list of firms that got the coveted US visas for highly skilled professionals.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am Volkswagen unveils Rs 75 lakh Phaeton, to hit roads in March!Volkswagen unveiled its high-end luxury car Phaeton with sticker price of Rs 75 lakh.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am Indian auto market – a war zone of small cars !The 10th Auto Expo, started here on Tuesday, set the stage for a prolonged war between global auto giants such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda in India, one of the fastest growing auto markets in the world.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am Rupees one crore designer Nano to hit the roads soon!DC will unveil redesigned version of the Nano, world`s cheapest car within the next two months with premium price tag of Rs 1 crore.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am HP unveils new PCs, with focus on touch!Hewlett-Packard is releasing a host of new laptops and netbooks as the technology giant looks to build on its recent momentum in the personal computer market.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am DB Corp lists at 20 pct premium to issue price!DB Corp made a sparkling debut on the BSE on Wednesday, by listing at 254 rupees, or at premium of 19.81 percent, versus its issue price of 212 rupees a share.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am Electrotherm India plans expansion worth Rs 600crIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Mukesh Bhandari, Chairman Chief Technology Officer, Electrotherm India, spoke about the company\'s expansion plans.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:11 am Tata Motors sees strong commercial vehicle salesTata Motors, India\'s largest vehicle maker, expects sales of commercial vehicles to remain strong this year, a senior company official said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 8:00 am Consolidated order book around Rs 3,300cr: PSLIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Ashok Punj, Managing Director, PSL, spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 7:37 am Sunil Hi Tech bags Rs 487 cr contractSunil Hi Tech Engineers Ltd has been awarded the Balance of Plant (BOP) contract for Mahagencos Parli TPS Project Unit No. 8, 1 * 250 MW. The total value of the contract is Rs 487.82 croreSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 7:08 am LT bags new orders worth Rs 2325 croreLarsen Toubros Buildings Factories Operating Company part of its Construction Division has bagged new orders aggregating Rs 2325 crore during the third quarter of the year 200910 for the construction of residential towers, hospital, exhibition centre, IT Park factory building projects.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 7:04 am Network18 gets RBI nod to hike FII participation up to 40%In an interview with CNBCTV18, Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of Network18 spoke about the companys plans going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 7:02 am Videocon Ind sees 25% sales growth in H2 FY10: CMDVideocon Industries expects 25 percent sales growth in the second half of the year to March 2010, over the first half, its chairman and managing director V.N. Dhoot said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 6:30 am Hyundai expects to stay on top in tougher India marketHyundai Motor Co is bracing for tougher competition in India as more global rivals attack the smallcar segment, but said it would continue to be a top player due to its big volumes and sprawling sales network.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Jan 2010 | 6:30 am BHEL bags order to set up solar plant in KarnatakaThe contract is for setting up of a solar photovoltaic power plant at Yapalaniddi village in Raichur district of North Karnataka.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 3:06 am Markets shed day’s gains to end flatMumbai: Indian shares closed 0.1% higher on Wednesday, led by gains in Reliance Industries and financial stocks. The 30-share BSE index ended up 0.08% or 14.89 points at 17,701.13, with 14 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index closed up 0.07% at 5,281.80 points. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 3:01 am DB Corp up over 25% on debut - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am Study figures best job in 2010 is ... ActuaryNEW YORK (Reuters) - Being an actuary, calculating statistics to determine probability and risk, is the best job to have in 2010, while working on an oil rig as a roustabout is the worst, according to a study released on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:59 am Asian consumers most upbeat, American sentiment dips: NielsenHong Kong: Consumer confidence is strongest in emerging Asia, Brazil and Australia, but weakened slightly in the United States in the fourth quarter as Americans worried about job security, a survey showed on Wednesday. Consumer sentiment was highest in Indonesia, followed by India and Brazil, and was weakest in Japan and South Korea, according to the survey conducted by the New York-based Nielsen Company a month ago. Globally, the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index averaged a reading of 87 points in the fourth quarter, little changed from the third quarter but 5 points higher than the second quarter. The US reading dipped to 82 in the fourth quarter from 84 three months earlier, reflecting concern about rising unemployment and ranking US confidence at 18th among the 29 markets surveyed worldwide. Many analysts believe a decisive rebound in US consumer spending is vital for a sustained global economy recovery. Consumer confidence was relatively high in Australia, the Philippines and China and in other markets that are recovering fastest from the global economic slump. The survey, which covered more than 17,500 consumers, showed the United Arab Emirates suffered the biggest drop in confidence, by 10 points to 92, as a debt crisis erupted in Dubai. Asia-Pacific economies are rebounding much more quickly than Western economies and Brazil and Canada were the only countries outside the Asia-Pacific that ranked in the top 10 most confident markets. The top readings, though, were well below India’s record 137 index reading in the second half of 2006, the highest reading since the index’s launch in 2005. “The Nielsen survey shows that in the past six months, consumers have become more optimistic about their countries emerging from recession with better job prospects and personal finances. This is another sign that global recovery is heading in the right direction,” said James Russo, a vice president of Nielsen. “However, while purse strings may be loosening in some markets, there is clearly a big difference in the pace of expected recovery between the emerging and developed markets, and consumers’ increased confidence is not yet translating into a widespread readiness to start spending.” Confidence in Japan was weakest at 47 points, down from 49 in the third quarter. Sentiment in Korea dropped 5 points to 48 points by the fourth quarter although recent economic data has suggested Asia’s fourth-largest economy is on a firm recovery path. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:57 am Kraft Gets Cadbury Acceptances From Just 1.5% Of Shareholders - CNNMoney.com
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:55 am Videocon Ind sees sales up 25 pct in H2 FY10KOLKATA (Reuters) - Videocon Industries expects 25 percent sales growth in the second half of the year to March 2010, over the first half, chairman and managing director V.N. Dhoot said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:53 am India's Chawla Says Too Much Stimulus 'Not Good' for Economy - Bloomberg
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:53 am Q+A - India's proposed goods and services taxMUMBAI (Reuters) - India plans a nationwide goods and services tax, which would streamline its complex and overlapping revenue system, but has delayed the targeted April 1 launch as it looks to iron-out differences with the states.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:52 am Kraft reveals takeover snub by Cadbury shareholdersLondon: Kraft Foods said on Wednesday that only 1.5% of shareholders in British confectioner Cadbury had accepted the US group’s hostile takeover approach. The result comes as no surprise as the Cadbury board has repeatedly rejected Kraft’s cash and shares offer worth about £10.5 billion (€11.7 billion, $16.8 billion). Kraft Foods said in a statement published on Wednesday that it had received valid acceptances “representing approximately 1.52% of the existing issued share capital of Cadbury”. Late last year, Kraft offered to buy Cadbury for 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft Foods shares — an offer deemed “derisory” by the British company’s board. In a bid to win over Cadbury, Kraft sweetened its hostile offer on Tuesday by proposing a bigger cash component — but faced a fresh rejection from the British firm and objections from its largest shareholder. Kraft made its latest move with the sale of its North American pizza division to Swiss rival Nestle for $3.7 billion, enabling the US firm to put more cash behind its struggling bid for the British-based confectioner. In a twist to events, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway said that it opposed a plan by Kraft to raise cash needed to buy Cadbury via a new share issue. Kraft is the world’s second-biggest snacks group after Nestle. Cadbury is meanwhile the second largest confectionery company behind Mars. A tie-up between Kraft and Cadbury would merge leading Kraft brands Oreo biscuits and Maxwell House coffee with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:52 am Kraft reveals takeover snub by Cadbury shareholdersLondon: Kraft Foods said on Wednesday that only 1.5% of shareholders in British confectioner Cadbury had accepted the US group’s hostile takeover approach. The result comes as no surprise as the Cadbury board has repeatedly rejected Kraft’s cash and shares offer worth about £10.5 billion (€11.7 billion, $16.8 billion). Kraft Foods said in a statement published on Wednesday that it had received valid acceptances “representing approximately 1.52% of the existing issued share capital of Cadbury”. Late last year, Kraft offered to buy Cadbury for 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft Foods shares — an offer deemed “derisory” by the British company’s board. In a bid to win over Cadbury, Kraft sweetened its hostile offer on Tuesday by proposing a bigger cash component — but faced a fresh rejection from the British firm and objections from its largest shareholder. Kraft made its latest move with the sale of its North American pizza division to Swiss rival Nestle for $3.7 billion, enabling the US firm to put more cash behind its struggling bid for the British-based confectioner. In a twist to events, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway said that it opposed a plan by Kraft to raise cash needed to buy Cadbury via a new share issue. Kraft is the world’s second-biggest snacks group after Nestle. Cadbury is meanwhile the second largest confectionery company behind Mars. A tie-up between Kraft and Cadbury would merge leading Kraft brands Oreo biscuits and Maxwell House coffee with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:52 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Greek worries hit euro, world stocks flatLONDON (Reuters) - The euro took a brief battering on Wednesday on worries the European Union would not rescue fiscally struggling Greece while global stocks ticked over with investors eyeing major U.S. data due later in the week.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:45 am Tata Motors sees strong commercial vehicle sales - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:45 am Fiat plans to unveil small car in India in 2012"This small car is a very important step for the Indian market. Fiat has the technology to make small cars and we want to bring it to India," Rajeev Kapoor, president and CEO Fiat India Automobiles said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:44 am Rupee at 11-wk high in line with Asian peersMUMBAI (Reuters) – The rupee strengthened to its highest level in 11 weeks on Wednesday afternoon boosted by a report calling for a yuan revaluation and following the domestic stock market's rise to a 22-month peak early.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:37 am Tata Steel sees slow recovery at CorusMumbai: “Tata Steel Ltd, the world’s no. 8 producer of the alloy, sees a slow recovery at its European unit Corus as the western economies limp out of a recession,” Koushik Chatterjee, chief financial officer of the group firm said on Wednesday. Corus, Europe’s second biggest steelmaker, announced in December plans to close sites in northeast England and a further 1,700 job losses, having already cut 4,500 British jobs earlier in 2009. “The pace of recovery in western Europe and the U.S. is much slower than in China and India,” Chatterjee told television channel ET Now. “There has been a recovery from what it was 9-10 months ago, but the recovery rate is much slower than in Asian economies and I think that’s how it will pan out over the year,” he added. On Tuesday, Tata Steel said that sales from its Indian operations, which account for a quarter of the group’s global capacity, rose 73% in December, and overall sales for the December quarter rose 49% to 1.60 million tonnes. By comparison, Corus has struggled as the global downturn has hit demand from key sectors such as construction and automakers and is operating at about 80% of its capacity in Europe. Chatterjee expects utilisation levels to improve only after demand picks up in the next fiscal year. “Going forward, from April onwards we would like to see demand coming back slowly,” he said. Chatterjee expects steel prices to remain stable on robust demand and as mills await annual price negotiation with miners. Tata Steel has access to cheaper iron ore from its own mines, but is working on securing raw material sources to save costs. “The firm, which owns a coal mine in Mozambique and an iron ore mine in Canada, will concentrate on getting these projects on-stream in the next couple of years,” Chatterjee said. “These are large projects and our concentration is in getting these projects on stream in the next one year or two years,” he added. At 0803 GMT, shares were down 0.92% at Rs643 in choppy Mumbai trading, with the 30-share benchmark BSE index inching up 0.08% at 17,701.21 points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:31 am BrahMos missile to be inducted into Air Force in 2012Thiruvananthapuram: The country’s prestigious ‘BrahMos’ missile would be inducted into the Air Force in 2012 that would ensure all the three wings of the military are equipped with the supersonic cruise missile, a top Defence official said today. “We have developed the airborne missile part, and process of integrating it with the Aircraft ‘Sukhoi’ was progressing’, BrahMos Aerospace Ltd CMD A Shivathanu Pillai said at the BrahMos Aerospace’s facility here. Trial run of Airborne BrahMos missile would be held next year and the target was to integrate it with the Aircraft in 2012, he said. As far as integration of the missile was concerned, the original designers of the aircraft were also involved, he said. “We are working with them (Sukhoi). Some changes are necessary and once the alteration is identified, we will introduce the same in the aircraft,” Pillai said. With that, all the three wings of Indian military — Air Force, Navy and Army — would have the supersonic missile ‘BrahMos’, he said. Development of a new version of BrahMos missile, involving a technology that would discriminate the target and attack, in 2009 was a major achievement, he added. Three flights on the new version had proved successful and the army would be inducting two more of this version shortly, Pillai said. On the next generation cruise missile, he said hypersonic BrahMos missile was in design stage. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:26 am FTSE retreats as energy stocks slide, Marks & Spencer dropsLondon: Britain’s top share index fell 0.2% early on Wednesday, dented by weaker energy stocks and a decline in Marks and Spencer after a disappointing trading update. By 0859 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 12.56 points at 5,509.94, after gaining 0.4% on Tuesday to set its highest close since 2 September 2008, the month when Lehman Brothers collapsed. Energy stocks were the biggest drag on the index as a rally in crude prices faltered. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy fell between 0.7 and 0.9%. The FTSE 100 has gained 59% since touching a six-year trough last March, but analysts were cautions on whether there is scope for further gains. “I am wary about too much interest and am not entirely convinced about it, there’s a high degree of trepidation and investors are concerned about the removal of liquidity,” said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, analyst at Charles Stanley, referring to Bank of England measures to boost the economy. By next month, the Bank will have pumped £200 billion ($319.1 billion) into the British economy, but this will be withdrawn as the year proceeds. M&S misses Marks and Spencer fell 4.8% after it posted its first rise in quarterly underlying sales for over two years but missed analysts forecasts and joined rivals in warning of an uncertain 2010. Elsewhere in the retail sector, Sainsbury was also under pressure, down 0.6% amid anxiety ahead of a trading update due on Thursday. Emphasising crumpling confidence among UK shoppers, consumer confidence suffered its sharpest fall in over a year in December, according to a survey, even as separate figures showed both job placements and wages rose last month. The Nationwide Building Society’s consumer confidence index fell to 69 from an upwardly revised 74 in November, after respondents sharply scaled back their expectations for the coming year. Banks were the biggest support for the FTSE 100 as sentiment on the sector remained firm after sharp gains the previous session. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group all gained. Investors will be eyeing the CIPS Services PMI for December, scheduled for release at 0928 GMT. Later in the session, US ADP National Employment figures for December, due at 1315 GMT, will be a focus, as investors look for clues on the closely watched non-farm payrolls data due for release on Friday. ICAP and Burberry were in negative territory after going ex-dividend. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:14 am Rupee at 11-week high in line with Asian peersMumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened to its highest level in 11 weeks on Wednesday afternoon boosted by a report calling for a yuan revaluation and following the domestic stock market’s rise to a 22-month peak early. At 3:00pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.97/98 per dollar, its strongest since 20 October, and above Tuesday’s close of Rs46.24/25. Rupee rose for a third straight, rising to a seven-week high, helped by a report calling for a yuan revaluation and tracking early gains in the domestic shares. Most Asian currencies got a lift after a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the top government think tank, said China should increase the yuan’s exchange rate by 10% in a one-off revaluation. “Stock markets have played a major role in the last two days. The trend is likely to continue. The report of yuan revaluation also is likely to help rupee to strengthen,” said V.Kumar, chief dealer with State Bank of Travancore. At 11:05am the partially convertible rupee had risen to Rs46.11/12 per dollar, up 0.3% from Rs46.24/25 at Tuesday’s close. In early trade, the rupee rose as high as Rs46.04, its strongest since 16 November. The onshore one-year dollar premium edged down for the third straight session to 119 points from around 131 points at the end of last year. “Premiums have come down due to likely covering by exporters,” Kumar added. Dealers said they would closely monitor the share market for directions on capital flows. Indian shares climbed as much as 0.6% in early trade, rising to their highest level since February 2008, mirroring a rise in Asia and on hopes of higher corporate earnings for the December quarter. However, some profit-taking kept the market choppy thereafter. In 2009, foreign portfolio buying of more than $17 billion of domestic stocks helped the rupee rise 12.2% from a record low of Rs52.2 hit in early March. The rupee gained 4.7% last year. The dollar edged up against the yen on Wednesday in choppy trade, recovering from the previous day’s sharp fall when traders locked in gains on its rally over the past month ahead of US jobs data later this week. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at Rs46.09/19, little changed from the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at 46.1750 and 46.1725 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.3 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:13 am Fiat plans to unveil small car in India in 2012NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Fiat plans to launch a small car in India in 2012, designed specifically for the local market, a senior company official said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:03 am India gold buying continues as rupee supportsThe Indian rupee rose for a third straight session, rising to a seven-week high, helped by a report calling for a yuan revaluation and tracking early gains in domestic shares.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 2:01 am Govt unlikely to offer more stimulus to textile - secyNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government is unlikely to offer more stimulus to the textile sector as data points to a pick-up in exports, mainly to developed countries coming out of an economic slump, the finance secretary said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:54 am I don’t make films based on regions: Steven Spielberg New Delhi: Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg hopes that the partnership with Reliance group will make it easy to release films in India but the director has no immediate plans to make a film based on the country. Spielberg’s DreamWorks SKG has signed a deal with Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-Adag), who will invest $825 million to produce five to six films jointly. “The deal will impact both India and Hollywood. In India we would be able to release our films in a more convenient way because of direct distributor. They will retain distribution rights of DreamWorks productions in India,” Spielberg said in an e-mail interview. The director, however, says that he has no plans of making a film based on India, the way Danny Boyle did with Slumdog Millionaire. “I don’t make films based on regions. It is the script and characterisation that demands area to be specific,” Spielberg said. The multiple-Oscar-winning filmmaker, who suggested the end to Oren Peli’s horror ‘Paranormal Activity´, believes that it is the best scary movie that he has seen in recent time. The film is releasing in India on 8 January. Made on a budget of $15,000, the film has made over $100 million. Spielberg said he was convinced by a DreamWorks executive to watch the movie. When asked whether it was easy to scare someone, who has made a movie like ‘Jaws´, the director admitted that the film astonished him. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:51 am Allen Stanford's lawyers appeal bail decision againLast month, US district judge David Hittner issued an order denying pleas from Stanford's lawyers and family that he be released from jail due to his deteriorating mental and physical health.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:49 am Sportech to relaunch football pools in London tabloidsThe pools is a game where players guess the outcome of football matches, scoring points for draws, while in Spot the Ball players guess the location of the ball from a stock photo with the ball erased.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:38 am Euro falls on ECB comments, Asia stocks upHong Kong: The euro fell sharply on Wednesday after an ECB official reportedly said the EU would not rescue Greece, while concern about a big drop in US home sales limited gains in Asian stocks. Rising oil and commodity prices helped drive resource-related Asia shares slightly higher. European share markets, however, were set to open weaker, according to financial spreadbetters, while US equity futures were down 0.3%. The euro fell to $1.4290 after European Central Bank Executive board member Juergen Stark was quoted in a media report as saying the European Union would not bail out Greece, which is heading towards becoming the eurozone’s most indebted economy. The euro later edged back up to $1.4300, still down 0.5% on the day. The dollar was up 0.4% against a basket of major currencies as it also regained ground against the yen by midafternoon, after falling to as low as 91.25 in New York trade on an unexpected decline in November pending US homes sales. It was quoted at 92.12 yen but remains well below a three-month high of 93.22 yen hit earlier this week. The yen could come under further pressure if Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii were to resign due to poor health, as widely expected, traders said. That would deal a fresh blow to the government as it struggles with a weak economy and huge public debt, but Japan’s stock and government bond markets remained calm. “Fujii’s resignation might be expected to lead to a weaker yen, but since this hasn’t happened, the stock market is unlikely to respond much at this point either,” said Masayoshi Yano, an analyst at Meiwa Securities in Tokyo. The benchmark Nikkei share index edged up 0.5% to a fresh 15-month closing high with resource-related shares continuing to rise on the back of a surge in commodity and oil prices since the start of the year. Shares of Japan Airlines, however, tumbled 6.7% on a report a government-backed turnaround fund is seeking bankruptcy proceedings for the struggling carrier. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan, which is trading at 17-month highs, rose 0.6%, extending gains over the past few days. Investors were cautious after data on Tuesday showed an unexpected drop in pending US homes sales in November, but other data pointed to upbeat factory orders. Markets were awaiting the December ADP employment data and the minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting, due later on Wednesday, for any clues about the health of the U.S. economy and when the Federal Reserve might start to raise interest rates. Investors are also awaiting key US non-farm payroll data on Friday. If the economy actually added jobs, as a minority of economists predict, it would provide a powerful jolt to what has been a sluggish recovery. Oil prices eased slightly to $81.60 a barrel following an unexpected increase in US oil stocks. Frigid temperatures in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia had pushed crude to its highest settlement in nearly 15 months on Tuesday. Copper futures rose in Shanghai to 61,600 yuan ($9,019) a tonne, their highest level since July 2008, buoyed by recent positive economic data from the United States and China and aided by concerns over harsh weather in China that could disrupt the supply of base metals. “Some investors who closed their positions before the New Year’s Day holiday are now back buying again,” said Wang Zhouyi, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures in Shanghai. Gold which has see-sawed this week in inverse relation to the dollar, rose to $1,123.70 an ounce from $1,118.10 at the New York close. The precious metal rallied 25% last year as investors bought it as a safe haven and as a hedge against a declining dollar and inflation risk. But it is now well off a record high $1,226.10 on 3 December amid uncertainty about the dollar’s direction and on signs the global economy is improving. Asian currencies continue to benefit from rising risk appetite and South Korean authorities were spotted intervening for a second day to rein in the surging won which hit a 15-month high on expectations interest rates may soon rise. Japanese government bonds edged lower, with the 10-year yield hitting a seven-week high at one point before dipping after the sale of 10-year debt. Prices at the auction, the first supply hurdle for the market this year, were in line with expectations. There was little immediate reaction to reports that Finance Minister Fujii will quit. Traders said the focus is now shifting to whether his successor can maintain the same kind of fiscal restraint in face of political pressure to spend more on economic stimulus projects, which would further inflate the country’s mountain of debt. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:38 am In pics: Google Nexus One - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:33 am Hyundai expects to stay on top in tougher India marketHyundai, South Korea's top automaker, is the No.2 brand in the fast-growing Indian market with about a 16 percent share, thanks to a strong line-up of compact cars such as the i10 and i20 hatchbacks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:14 am Amar Singh quits Samajwadi Party postsNew Delhi: Amar Singh on Wednesday resigned as general secretary and from other posts in the Samajwadi Party citing “health reasons” amid speculation over deepening differences with party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Singh, who is in Dubai, told PTI over phone that he has resigned as national general secretary, spokesman and member of the Samajwadi Party Parliamentary Board. He faxed his resignation from all the three posts to Yadav, he said. “I have resigned from all the three posts with immediate effect and I have faxed my resignation to Mulayam Singh Yadav,” said the 54-year-old high-profile spokesman of the party. Shortly after the party’s humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha by-election in Firozabad in November, Singh had criticised Yadav, saying the defeat was because of the over confidence of the SP chief and his family. Yadav’s daughter-in-law Dimple was the SP candidate who lost to Congress nominee Raj Babbar, who was earlier with SP. Even during the Lok Sabha elections, Singh’s ties with the party leadership had come under strain over Jaya Prada’s candidature in Rampur which was opposed by Azam Khan, who later exited the party. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 1:13 am L&T bags orders worth Rs 2325 cr in Q3 - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:52 am Nintendo shares jump on strong holiday salesNintendo's US Wii sales exceeded 3 million units last month, up sharply from 2.14 million units a year earlier, thanks to a series of strong new game titles and a price cut.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:48 am HSBC InvestDirect to discontinue IL&FS insurance businesHSBC InvestDirect owns 45% of the total paid-up capital of Investsmart Insurance Brokers Ltd.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:43 am Japan prime minister wants finmin Fujii to stay in postFujii has been reported as telling prime minister Hatoyama he wants to resign because he is suffering from health problems.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:36 am Sensex lacklustre; Midcaps shine, IT, auto down - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:35 am Ashok Leyland to hike prices of CVs soon New Delhi: Hinduja Group-promoted Ashok Leyland on Wednesday said that it will hike prices of its commercial vehicles (CVs) shortly due to rising input costs. “Commodity prices are going up and we are already considering to hike the prices of our products. It will happen shortly, before March,” Ashok Leyland managing director R. Seshayee said at the 10th Auto Expo. He, however, said that there has been a surge in demand of commercial vehicles in the last two quarters and the company expects to close this fiscal at a total sales of about 62,000-63,000 units. When asked about the sales prospects for next fiscal, he said: “Growth should be in double digits.” Seshasayee also said that the government must not withdraw the stimulus package provided by it in the wake of the economic downturn. He said that excise duty reduction, especially in the commercial vehicle segment should not be treated as stimulus. The government has cut excise duty on commercial vehicles to 8% in phases to spur growth. “Commercial vehicles (segment) deserve lower excise duty, therefore that must continue,” he said. Ashok Leyland also said that it would execute orders received from 21 state transport bodies for supply of buses by 31 March this year under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission. Of the 11,000 orders placed by different state bodies, 51% were bagged by the company. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:34 am Hyundai expects to stay on top in tougher India marketNew Delhi: Hyundai Motor Co is bracing for tougher competition in India as more global rivals attack the small-car segment, but said it would continue to be a top player due to its big volumes and sprawling sales network. Hyundai, South Korea’s top automaker, is the No.2 brand in the fast-growing Indian market with about a 16% share, thanks to a strong line-up of compact cars such as the i10 and i20 hatchbacks. While big global players such as Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co have announced plans to attack the dominant compact segment, Hyundai Motor India director Arvind Saxena said having a product was just one part of the equation, with a solid sales network being vital to becoming a big seller. “Especially in a market (as big as) India, it’s very difficult to cover,” Saxena said on the sidelines of the Delhi auto show on Wednesday. “Today we are spread out in 260-odd cities with 286 dealerships and 80 sales branches. We have deeper penetration,” he said, adding that Hyundai planned to expand that further to 320 dealerships and about 130 branches this year. Saxena conceded, however, that profitability will come under pressure as competition heats up. But he was optimistic that India’s car market would “remain strong” this year if excise duties and interest rates stayed stable, although last year’s growth rate of 17-18% would be difficult to match. For Hyundai, Saxena said exports would be “more challenging” than in 2009, echoing views from local rival Maruti Suzuki India, which expects tough exports due to a likely drop in European demand this year. Hyundai would explore exports from its Indian factory to new markets such as Australia and New Zealand, Saxena said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:33 am MMTC to sell 4,000 tonnes of imported pulses New Delhi: State-run MMTC has invited bids for sale of 4,000 tonnes of imported pulses such as tur, chana and masoor dal in the domestic market. Bids will close on 11 January and the decision on the tender will be taken by 15 January, the company said on its website. According to a tender notice, MMTC will sell 2,000 tonnes of tur and 1,000 tonnes each of chana (desi chick peas) and masoor dal (red lentils). Currently, red lentils are lying at Kolkata port, while the rest are in Mumbai, it said, adding that bidders have to quote in Indian rupees. The pulses offered for sale are from the 2009 crop year and grown in Tanzania, Malawi, Australia and Canada, it added. MMTC imports pulses in order to meet domestic shortages. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:22 am Ashok Leyland unveils hybrid bus New Delhi: Hinduja group’s flagship company Ashok Leyland on Wednesday unveiled the country’s first electric plug-in CNG hybrid bus, HYBUS, at the Auto Expo here. Unveiling the bus, Ashok Leyland managing director R. Seshasayee said that the government should encourage public transportation and asked for support for production of hybrid buses. “The government must bring down duty on lithium ion batteries,” he said. At present, duty on lithium ion batteries, that powers the drive system of a vehicle, is 18%. According to Seshasayee, compared to conventional bus, powered by IC engine, HYBUS offers significant fuel savings of 20-30%. These buses will be used during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “We are happy to lead with green bus technology once again following CNG buses in 1997 and hybrid electric vehicle in 2002,” he added. The company also unveiled ESSI 20, truck with emphasis on green and efficient transportation. Seshasayee said that the truck embodies 20 innovative ideas that together deliver 20% better fuel efficiency and correspondingly over 20% reduction in CO2 emissions. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:17 am India gold almost flat; eyes rupee, overseas marketsThe most-traded February gold contract was 0.09% higher at Rs16,848 per 10 gm at 10.39am.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:12 am Mercedes-Benz India launches luxury bus at Rs 85 lakhAutomobile maker Mercedes-Benz India on Wednesday launched its multi-axle luxury bus at a price of Rs 85 lakh in the domestic market.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:08 am Realty, automobile sectors put steel industry back on recovery pathStrong demand from the automobile and realty sectors appears to have put the steel industry on the revivalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideNote: In a buy recommendation, the resistances would be the targets and the nearest support would be the stop loss; In a sell recommendation, the supports would be the targets and the nearest resistance would be the stop loss; The recommendationSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Upper Ganges Sugar (Rs 104.2): BuyWe recommend a buy in the stock of Upper Ganges Sugar and Industries from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts of the stock that the stock found support in the range of Rs 76 and Rs 80 during early November 2009 and bounced.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Corporate tax collections rise 44% in DecemberThe Centre's corporate tax collections grew 44.03 per cent in December to Rs 53,293 crore (Rs 37,002Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Top cos may see lower profits in December quarter over Q2Top software companies may log a 3.7 per cent dip in sequential net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 due to salary hikes, marginal increase in selling expenses and appreciation of the Indian rupee vis-à-vis major currencies,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Rush for FCCB buybacks in DecSeveral companies appear to have capitalised on the relaxed RBI norms for foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) buyback in December as the deadline expired on DecemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Sharp appreciation in rupeeRupee held steady in the last week of 2009 to end the year at 46.4 against the dollar, with 4 per cent yearly gain. The strong movement in the equity market since the beginning of 2010 has resulted in rupee appreciating to the 46-mark once again.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Auto cos may see 40% top line growthThe December 2009 quarter has been yet another smooth ride for automobileSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Bangladesh telecom regulator clears Bharti-Warid dealBangladesh's telecom regulator has approved Bharti Airtel's proposal to buy a 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom for about $300 million. Warid Telecom is the fourth largest mobile company in Bangladesh and is currently owned by the Abu DhabiSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Toyota, Honda entry set to change the small-car gameIt is the most clichéd adage, but the Auto Expo clearly showed that small is indeed beautiful. And big in the IndianSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Tata Steel India sales jump 73% YoY in December - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:56 pm Polo Unveiled - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:47 pm Hyundai expects to stay on top in tougher India marketNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co is bracing for tougher competition in India as more global rivals attack the small-car segment, but said it would continue to be a top player due to its big volumes and sprawling sales network.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:45 pm DB Corp jumps on trading debutMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares of Indian media firm DB Corp surged nearly a quarter on the BSE on Wednesday, making it the third successful debut in 2010. The shares listed up 19.81 percent at 254 rupees before extending their rise.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:30 pm DB Corp jumps on trading debutMumbai: Shares of Indian media firm DB Corp surged nearly a quarter on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, making it the third successful debut in 2010. The shares listed up 19.81% at Rs254 before extending their rise. The publisher of seven news papers had raised $83.56 million by issuing 18.2 million shares to investors at a upper end of its price band of Rs185-212, in an initial public offering (IPO) that saw subscription of 40 times its size. “They left something on the table for investors. 260-265 is more or less a fair value,” a Mumbai-based analyst from an overseas brokerage told Reuters, adding that a wider readership base gives DB corp an edge over its peers like Jagran Prakashan. The year began with the positive listing of power firm JSW Energy on Monday, followed by a 20% premium on debut for realtor Godrej Properties on Tuesday, reversing the trend of weak starts by large Indian IPOs in 2009. DB Corp’s issue attracted anchor investors such as Nomura Funds Ireland, Government of Singapore, BNP Paribas, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co and Reliance Capital Trustee. “We had a very warm December compared to the chills IPOs have been receiving in 2009. Retail (investors) came in at about 4 times...that really helped,” Girish Agarwaal, director, DB Corp told reporters after the stock was listed. DB Corp’s flagship newspapers, Hindi-language Dainik Bhaskar and Gujarati-language Divya Bhaskar and Saurashtra Samachar, have a combined average daily readership of 15.5 million readers. It also runs 17 FM radio stations. “The trigger clearly for print media companies would be rate hikes... you will see some advertisement rate hikes in next 3-6 months,” said Anand Shah, analyst at Angel Broking. “You can expect a topline growth of 12-15% (for DB Corp) and a bottomline growth of 15-20%,” Shah said. The firm registered a 14% growth in advertising revenue in the first half of FY10 and is looking to expand its radio business by winning more FM radio stations in the next round of government mandated bidding, said Agarwaal. At 11.40am , shares were trading up 25.52% at Rs266.10 in a weak Mumbai market that was down 0.14%. It had risen as much as 29.2% or Rs273.9 in early trades. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:27 pm Services grow fastest in 15 months in Dec: HSBC Mumbai: Business activity among Indian services companies expanded at its fastest pace in 15 months in December and helped create more jobs, but the outlook for 2010 is wary, a survey released on Wednesday showed. The HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of 400 firms, rose to 57.41 in December, its highest since September 2008, after slowing to 55.20 in November. The index has been above 50, which separates expansion from contraction, for eight months as the economy shakes off the impact of the global slowdown. Before that, it shrank for six months, hitting a trough of 40.3 in February. “As with the manufacturing output index, the services equivalent showed an encouraging bounce in December, suggesting that the economy is picking up steam and that the strong July-September GDP release was no flash in the pan,” said Robert Prior-Wandesforde, senior Asian economist at HSBC. The rate of growth in Indian manufacturing rose for the first time in three months in December, with activity reaching its highest since May on sharp rises in new work and output, a survey showed. “Wage increases for government workers, lagged effects of policy stimulus and the recovery in external demand will help offset any spillovers on industry and services from a drop in farm output in the coming months,” Prior-Wandesforde said. However, the business expectations sub-index slowed for a second straight month to 65.56 in December, to its lowest level in 10 months. It stood at 71.58 in November. “The degree of positive sentiment fell sharply since November, as a greater proportion of companies reported that they expect activity in 12 months’ time to be broadly similar to current levels,” HSBC Markit said in the report. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:13 pm Wipro tops list of H-1B visa professionals in 2009With 1,964 H-1B visas in 2009, Wipro has topped the list of firms that got the coveted US visas. Microsoft with 1,318 visas came next, with Intel (723) in third place, while Google with 211 in 25th place brought up the rear.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:59 pm Google, Apple spar in high-tech heavyweight battle Mountain View, California: The once-cuddly relationship between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is morphing into a prickly power struggle as the ambitions and ideas of the technology trendsetters increasingly collide. The growing use of high-powered phones for web surfing has become a flash point in the brewing battle because both Google and Apple view the mobile market as a key to their continued success in the next decade. The rivalry also is spilling into other products, including web browsers, computer operating systems and digital music. The tensions rose further Tuesday when Google unveiled its plans to sell its own cell phone in its latest bid to upstage Apple’s hottest gadget, the iPhone. Google is billing its phone, called the ‘Nexus One’, as a super phone, a device designed for people looking for something more advanced than the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and other devices that serve as pocket-sized computers. “The ‘Nexus One’ is the closest thing to an iPhone challenger that I have seen so far,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney. “It’s a very good piece of hardware,” Gartner said. Meanwhile, Apple is taking a stab at Google’s heart by expanding into advertising sales. Apple let it be known that it had bought a mobile advertising service, Quattro Wireless, just before Google held a news conference at its Mountain View, California, headquarters to announce the ‘Nexus One’. Quattro gives Apple its own platform for distributing ads on the iPhone, and conceivably could serve as a marketing vehicle for a computing tablet that Apple is expected to be introducing near the end of the month. The acquisition also serves as a counterpunch to Google’s proposed $750 million acquisition of Quattro rival AdMob, a deal that may be tied up in a regulatory review for several more months. Apple didn’t disclose Quattro’s sales price, but the technology blog All Things Digital pegged it at $275 million. Google hopes AdMob can help it become as dominant selling ads for mobile phones as it has been in placing ads on internet-connected computer screens during the past six years. Most of Google’s ads are tied to search requests on personal computers, a system that has propelled Google’s annual revenue from $1.5 billion in 2003 to more than $22 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the iPhone has turned into a gold mine for Apple, with more than 30 million of the handsets sold in the past 2 1/2 years and demand still growing. It has helped boost Apple’s annual revenue from $24 billion in its fiscal year 2007 to $36.5 billion in its most recent year ending last 26 September. The iPhone’s success also has spawned the development of more than 100,000 applications that make it easier to play games, read news, check the weather, get directions and shop on the handset. Google acknowledges it also has benefited from the additional traffic that the iPhone has brought to its search engine and other services. “But the revenue that Google gets from the iPhone may diminish as the array of applications that consumers put on their handsets decrease the need to use search engines to find popular services,” Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said in a recent research note. By designing and selling its own phone, Google will have another way to ensure its services remain within easy reach of people on the go. Besides their technical prowess, Google and Apple are packing plenty of financial artillery. They are Silicon Valley’s two most prized companies, with each of their market values hovering near $200 billion. In another reflection of their power and influence, neither Google nor Apple are joining the high-tech herd at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this week. They don’t have to because the media flocks to them whenever they want to show off a new product. A looming showdown between Google and Apple seemed improbable just a few years ago when they had a common disdain and fear of software maker Microsoft Corp. “Now I think Google might be more focused on Apple than Microsoft,” said technology analyst Rob Enderle. Google and Apple also publicly fawned over each other’s elegantly designed products. The companies even shared personal ties, with Apple board members Bill Campbell and Al Gore, the former US vice-president, serving as advisers to Google in its early days. The companies’ kinship culminated in Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, joining Apple’s board in 2006. Schmidt resigned as an Apple director five months ago, with Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs citing Google’s expansion into ‘Apple’s core businesses’ as the main reason for the departure. The Federal Trade Commission had been looking into whether Schmidt’s dual roles on the boards of Google and Apple might stifle competition between the two companies. That now appears to be a dead issue. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:50 pm Google, Apple spar in high-tech heavyweight battle Mountain View, California: The once-cuddly relationship between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is morphing into a prickly power struggle as the ambitions and ideas of the technology trendsetters increasingly collide. The growing use of high-powered phones for web surfing has become a flash point in the brewing battle because both Google and Apple view the mobile market as a key to their continued success in the next decade. The rivalry also is spilling into other products, including web browsers, computer operating systems and digital music. The tensions rose further Tuesday when Google unveiled its plans to sell its own cell phone in its latest bid to upstage Apple’s hottest gadget, the iPhone. Google is billing its phone, called the ‘Nexus One’, as a super phone, a device designed for people looking for something more advanced than the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and other devices that serve as pocket-sized computers. “The ‘Nexus One’ is the closest thing to an iPhone challenger that I have seen so far,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney. “It’s a very good piece of hardware,” Gartner said. Meanwhile, Apple is taking a stab at Google’s heart by expanding into advertising sales. Apple let it be known that it had bought a mobile advertising service, Quattro Wireless, just before Google held a news conference at its Mountain View, California, headquarters to announce the ‘Nexus One’. Quattro gives Apple its own platform for distributing ads on the iPhone, and conceivably could serve as a marketing vehicle for a computing tablet that Apple is expected to be introducing near the end of the month. The acquisition also serves as a counterpunch to Google’s proposed $750 million acquisition of Quattro rival AdMob, a deal that may be tied up in a regulatory review for several more months. Apple didn’t disclose Quattro’s sales price, but the technology blog All Things Digital pegged it at $275 million. Google hopes AdMob can help it become as dominant selling ads for mobile phones as it has been in placing ads on internet-connected computer screens during the past six years. Most of Google’s ads are tied to search requests on personal computers, a system that has propelled Google’s annual revenue from $1.5 billion in 2003 to more than $22 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the iPhone has turned into a gold mine for Apple, with more than 30 million of the handsets sold in the past 2 1/2 years and demand still growing. It has helped boost Apple’s annual revenue from $24 billion in its fiscal year 2007 to $36.5 billion in its most recent year ending last 26 September. The iPhone’s success also has spawned the development of more than 100,000 applications that make it easier to play games, read news, check the weather, get directions and shop on the handset. Google acknowledges it also has benefited from the additional traffic that the iPhone has brought to its search engine and other services. “But the revenue that Google gets from the iPhone may diminish as the array of applications that consumers put on their handsets decrease the need to use search engines to find popular services,” Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said in a recent research note. By designing and selling its own phone, Google will have another way to ensure its services remain within easy reach of people on the go. Besides their technical prowess, Google and Apple are packing plenty of financial artillery. They are Silicon Valley’s two most prized companies, with each of their market values hovering near $200 billion. In another reflection of their power and influence, neither Google nor Apple are joining the high-tech herd at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this week. They don’t have to because the media flocks to them whenever they want to show off a new product. A looming showdown between Google and Apple seemed improbable just a few years ago when they had a common disdain and fear of software maker Microsoft Corp. “Now I think Google might be more focused on Apple than Microsoft,” said technology analyst Rob Enderle. Google and Apple also publicly fawned over each other’s elegantly designed products. The companies even shared personal ties, with Apple board members Bill Campbell and Al Gore, the former US vice-president, serving as advisers to Google in its early days. The companies’ kinship culminated in Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, joining Apple’s board in 2006. Schmidt resigned as an Apple director five months ago, with Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs citing Google’s expansion into ‘Apple’s core businesses’ as the main reason for the departure. The Federal Trade Commission had been looking into whether Schmidt’s dual roles on the boards of Google and Apple might stifle competition between the two companies. That now appears to be a dead issue. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:50 pm Google, Apple spar in high-tech heavyweight battle Mountain View, California: The once-cuddly relationship between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is morphing into a prickly power struggle as the ambitions and ideas of the technology trendsetters increasingly collide. The growing use of high-powered phones for web surfing has become a flash point in the brewing battle because both Google and Apple view the mobile market as a key to their continued success in the next decade. The rivalry also is spilling into other products, including web browsers, computer operating systems and digital music. The tensions rose further Tuesday when Google unveiled its plans to sell its own cell phone in its latest bid to upstage Apple’s hottest gadget, the iPhone. Google is billing its phone, called the ‘Nexus One’, as a super phone, a device designed for people looking for something more advanced than the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and other devices that serve as pocket-sized computers. “The ‘Nexus One’ is the closest thing to an iPhone challenger that I have seen so far,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney. “It’s a very good piece of hardware,” Gartner said. Meanwhile, Apple is taking a stab at Google’s heart by expanding into advertising sales. Apple let it be known that it had bought a mobile advertising service, Quattro Wireless, just before Google held a news conference at its Mountain View, California, headquarters to announce the ‘Nexus One’. Quattro gives Apple its own platform for distributing ads on the iPhone, and conceivably could serve as a marketing vehicle for a computing tablet that Apple is expected to be introducing near the end of the month. The acquisition also serves as a counterpunch to Google’s proposed $750 million acquisition of Quattro rival AdMob, a deal that may be tied up in a regulatory review for several more months. Apple didn’t disclose Quattro’s sales price, but the technology blog All Things Digital pegged it at $275 million. Google hopes AdMob can help it become as dominant selling ads for mobile phones as it has been in placing ads on internet-connected computer screens during the past six years. Most of Google’s ads are tied to search requests on personal computers, a system that has propelled Google’s annual revenue from $1.5 billion in 2003 to more than $22 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the iPhone has turned into a gold mine for Apple, with more than 30 million of the handsets sold in the past 2 1/2 years and demand still growing. It has helped boost Apple’s annual revenue from $24 billion in its fiscal year 2007 to $36.5 billion in its most recent year ending last 26 September. The iPhone’s success also has spawned the development of more than 100,000 applications that make it easier to play games, read news, check the weather, get directions and shop on the handset. Google acknowledges it also has benefited from the additional traffic that the iPhone has brought to its search engine and other services. “But the revenue that Google gets from the iPhone may diminish as the array of applications that consumers put on their handsets decrease the need to use search engines to find popular services,” Broadpoint.AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said in a recent research note. By designing and selling its own phone, Google will have another way to ensure its services remain within easy reach of people on the go. Besides their technical prowess, Google and Apple are packing plenty of financial artillery. They are Silicon Valley’s two most prized companies, with each of their market values hovering near $200 billion. In another reflection of their power and influence, neither Google nor Apple are joining the high-tech herd at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this week. They don’t have to because the media flocks to them whenever they want to show off a new product. A looming showdown between Google and Apple seemed improbable just a few years ago when they had a common disdain and fear of software maker Microsoft Corp. “Now I think Google might be more focused on Apple than Microsoft,” said technology analyst Rob Enderle. Google and Apple also publicly fawned over each other’s elegantly designed products. The companies even shared personal ties, with Apple board members Bill Campbell and Al Gore, the former US vice-president, serving as advisers to Google in its early days. The companies’ kinship culminated in Google’s chief executive, Eric Schmidt, joining Apple’s board in 2006. Schmidt resigned as an Apple director five months ago, with Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs citing Google’s expansion into ‘Apple’s core businesses’ as the main reason for the departure. The Federal Trade Commission had been looking into whether Schmidt’s dual roles on the boards of Google and Apple might stifle competition between the two companies. That now appears to be a dead issue. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:50 pm Global financial regulation overhaul seen in 2010WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Global financial regulation has changed little since the 2008 banking crisis, but that won't be the case much longer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:48 pm Sensex gains 104 pts in opening trade on firm Asian cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday rose by 104 points in opening trade on sustained buying by foreign funds, tracking firming Asian bourses. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:39 pm Sabo-Hema showcases range of shock absorbers at Auto ExpoSabo-Hema Automotive Pvt Ltd., a new joint venture between Hema Engineering Industries Ltd & Sabo of Italy, is showcasing its complete range of shock absorbers for commercial vehicles, trailers and buses at the Auto ExpoSource: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:36 pm India, a global hub for small car market? - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:30 pm Google unveils new smartphoneMountain View, California: Google unveiled its new Nexus One smartphone on Tuesday in a direct challenge to heavyweight Apple’s iPhone handsets. The Internet giant billed the touch-screen device, the culmination of collaboration with Taiwanese electronics titan HTC, a “superphone” that marked the next step in the evolution of its Android software. “I think you will see it pushes the limits of what’s possible on a smart phone,” HTC chief executive Peter Chou said as the smartphone debuted at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. “It is very thin and feels good in your hand.” Nexus One handsets are no thicker than pencils and no heavier than keychain Swiss Army knives, Google engineer Erick Tseng said while demonstrating one of the smartphones. “It is a great marriage of form and function,” Tseng said. Nexus One smartphones are built on the same Android 2.1 software that runs Droid smartphones that recently hit the market with innovations like 3D graphics, according to Tseng. The handsets feature new speech command capabilities that allow users to speak emails, text messages or Internet search queries. Nexus One devices can provide turn-by-turn spoken driving directions from a Google mapping program. Google launched its own online store at google.com/phone where the Nexus One will be sold. “This is really a Google phone,” said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg. “A lot of the Android phones that came to market are kind of lackluster. One of the ways to avoid mediocrity is to kick things up a couple of notches yourself.” Nexus One smartphones will be sold at the Google-hosted Web store for $529 “unlocked,” without ties to a telecom carrier. Nexus One handsets will be offered starting at $179 if paired with T-Mobile service contracts in the United States. Google has made “strategic partnerships” with telecom firm Verizon in the United States and Vodafone in Europe. Nexus One devices linked to service from Verizon in the US and Vodafone in Europe should be available by mid-year, according to Google. Google said it will ship Nexus One devices to buyers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States. The smartphones are designed to work with a variety of telecom carrier networks. “You can take out your SIM card from any provider and put it in the phone,” said Google vice president of product management Mario Queiroz. The Internet search and advertising giant has a foothold in the market with its Android mobile operating system, featured in more than 20 phones since starting with T-Mobile’s G1 in October 2008. “Google made it very clear that all Android devices are created equal, but some devices are created more equally than others,” Gartenberg said. “They’ve raised the bar for their partners and they’ve tried to raise the bar for the ecosystem. They’ve clearly shown how they want to be a player.” Analysts have expressed concern that Google’s move could irk partners backing handsets based on the Internet firm’s open-source Android software. “I don’t see it as a threat,” said Sanjay Jha, chief of mobile devices at handset titan Motorola, which recently brought to market a Droid smartphone based on Android software. “I think the Nexus One is a good phone. I think we will upgrade Droid to the software available on Nexus One.” Chou and Jha said they support Google’s new phone and Web store as a “healthy” expansion of the mobile phone ecosystem. Google executives sidestepped questions about whether the Nexus One is intended as an “iPhone killer,” but acknowledged it should prove a powerful competitor. Like iPhones, Nexus One devices feature “accelerometer” capabilities allowing images or games on handsets to be controlled with twists or turns. “The message isn’t to the iPhone specifically, it is to consumers,” said Google vice president of engineering Andy Rubin. “Choice is a good thing.” Google has an online Android Marketplace stocked with about 20,000 functional or hip applications for smartphones running the software. With a far greater stockpile of applications, Apple’s online App Store is considered among the reasons iPhones have become globally coveted devices. Apple meanwhile announced that more than three billion mini-applications for iPhone and iPod Touch devices have been downloaded from the App Store in less than 18 months. “We see no signs of the competition catching up any time soon,” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:22 pm Amazon unveils global version of Kindle DXSeattle: Amazon.com Inc. will start selling an international version of its larger-screen e-reader, Kindle DX, in an effort to snag more sales around the world. The company already offers an international version of the Kindle. The online retailer said Wednesday that customers in over 100 countries can pre-order the latest version of the $489 Kindle DX, which has a 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter) screen and will wirelessly download books in many places around the globe. The latest Kindle DX will begin shipping on 19 January to countries including Italy, Japan and Spain. In October, Amazon introduced an international version of the Kindle, which has a 6-inch (15-centimeter) screen. Amazon said it has shipped to more than 130 countries so far. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:21 pm Rupee gains 15 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee today appreciated by 15 paise to 46.09 a dollar in early trade on sustained capital inflows into stock markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 9:40 pm Sensex gains 104 points in opening trade on firm Asian cuesThe Sensex today rose by 104 points in opening trade on sustained buying by foreign funds, tracking firming Asian bourses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 9:18 pm Oil under $82, snaps 9-day rise on US stock buildSingapore: Oil eased to below $82 a barrel on Wednesday, snapping a nine-day winning streak, after industry data showed a surprise rise in US distillate inventories last week even though heating oil supplies fell. Cold weather in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia boosted demand for heating fuel, pushing crude to its highest settlement in nearly 15 months on Tuesday. But sentiment was dented after data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), released after the close, showed US distillate supplies rose 962,000 barrels last week, against expectations for a 1.9 million barrel drop. The market is eyeing weekly inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), due later in the day, for further clues on the outlook for demand from the world’s top energy user. US employment data and a gauge of December non-manufacturing activity, also scheduled for release on Wednesday, could confirm that the world’s largest economy is on the road to recovery, albeit a patchy one. US crude for February delivery fell 19 cents to $81.58 a barrel by 8:10am, after settling up 26 cents on Tuesday at $81.77, its highest settlement since early October 2008. London Brent crude eased 12 cents to $80.47. “The market’s biggest worry right now is the US inventory levels, but overall, I think the firm tone can be sustained, and we should see a range of $75-$85 in the near term,” said Keiichi Sano, general manager of research at SCM Securities in Tokyo. “The rally has been driven by cold weather, and this will continue for the next one to two weeks. We’re seeing covering of speculative short positions after the cold snap set in.” Frigid temperatures in the United States were expected to boost the country’s heating demand to 21% above normal, with consumption in the US Northeast -- the largest heating oil market -- seen 11% above average levels. Freezing temperatures in Britain are expected to continue into the second half of January after the coldest December since 1995, while colder temperatures in Europe are seen gradually spreading from the northeast to the southwest over the next few days. API data unveiled on Tuesday showed US heating oil stocks, a major part of distillates, fell 1.3 million barrels for the week to 1 January, while crude stocks fell a larger-than-expected 2.3 million barrels. Gasoline inventories, however, jumped 5.6 million barrels. Investors are also watching for further developments between Russia and Belarus after an oil dispute saw Russia briefly cut off supplies to the Eastern European nation. Belarus sent a delegation to Moscow on Tuesday for talks to resolve the dispute that has raised the spectre of winter supply problems for the European Union. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 9:02 pm Apple announces 3 billion iPhone applications downloadsApple on Tuesday said that customers had downloaded over 3 billion applications from the company's App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 8:53 pm Markets rise to highest level since Feb 2008Mumbai: Indian shares climbed 0.3% in early trade on Wednesday and were trading at their highest level since February 2008, mirroring the rise in Asia and on hopes of higher corporate earnings for the December quarter. At 9:02am, the 30-share BSE index was up 0.34% at 17,745.96 points, with 21 components advancing. The 50-share NSE Index was up 0.4% at 5,296.75. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 8:37 pm S&P, Nasdaq rise on factory orders, Ford salesNew York: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Tuesday as better-than-expected factory orders and a surge in vehicle sales at Ford Motor Co provided more evidence of an economic recovery. But a big decline in pending home sales, which fell in November for the first time in nine months, increased concerns about the housing market. That capped the broad market’s gains and pushed the Dow industrials into the red a day after all three major US stock indexes rose to their highest levels in over a year. For the past month, stocks have advanced as investors bet on a series of better-than-expected economic indicators. Much of that optimism appeared to remain intact on Tuesday as S&P indexes for the financial, materials and energy sectors ended the day higher. Tuesday marked a new 15-month closing high for the S&P 500 and a 16-month closing high for the Nasdaq. “There is nothing in here to suggest that investors are backing away at all from the sentiment expressed yesterday, which is one of increased optimism about the global recovery,” said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Company in New York. Peckham pointed to what he termed a “slow and measured march higher” in expectations for a better reading in Friday’s non-farm payrolls report. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 11.94 points, or 0.11%, to end at 10,572.02. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.53 points, or 0.31%, to finish at 1,136.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index crept up just 0.29 of a point, or 0.01%, to close at 2,308.71. Ford Motor Co surged 6.6% to $10.96, hitting a 4-1/2-year closing high following its report that its December sales shot up 33% year-over-year, ending a tumultuous 12 months when rivals GM and Chrysler collapsed into bankruptcy. Earlier in the session, Ford’s stock climbed to an intraday high of $11.23. Earlier Tuesday, the government said US factory orders rose more than expected in November. The report, which suggested the manufacturing sector will continue to support a recovery, was released one day after the Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity beat estimates. Financials, energy, materials and consumer discretionary stocks gave the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 in a muted rerun of Monday’s rally. The S&P financial index led the wider market higher, rising 1.7%, with Citigroup ending up 3.8% at $3.53 on the New York Stock Exchange. Pending home sales from the National Association of Realtors fell 16% in November compared with economists’ expectations for a 2% drop. But stocks of most home builders rose, sending the Dow Jones home construction index up 1.8%. Some analysts said the home sales numbers may have been skewed due to confusion caused by the government’s home tax credit, which was set to expire in November, but it was eventually extended to April. “I think people are more willing to shake off these November pending home sales numbers and focus more on that factory orders number,” said Marc Pado, US market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. in San Francisco. The US dollar edged up 0.15% against a basket of major currencies, curbing gains in the materials and energy sectors. The S&P materials index advanced 0.5%, while an S&P energy index rose 0.8%. US oil futures rose 0.32%, or 26 cents, to settle at $81.77 a barrel, the highest closing price since 9 October, 2008. This marked the ninth day of gains for oil futures prices. The Dow’s top performer was Kraft Foods Inc, which gained 4.9% to $28.77 after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway voted “no” on the company’s proposal to issue 370 million shares to help finance its proposed purchase of British chocolate candy maker Cadbury Plc. Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1.19 billion shares changing hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 2.18 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.39 billion shares traded. Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 3 to 2. On the Nasdaq, the opposite trend prevailed, with five stocks falling for every four that rose. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 8:30 pm Tatas seek Singur compensationOn Tuesday, the Tatas, who had maintained a discreet silence throughout the tamasha being played out over the last few months, made it clear that they had not budged an inch on their stated position on the issue.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 4:38 pm Toyota leads rush into IndiaThe world’s largest car-maker, beleaguered Toyota Motor Corp, revealed its latest small car in India, one of an unprecedented 10 global launches on Tuesday of 50 unveilings expected at the 10th Delhi Auto Expo, reports Samar Halarnkar. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 1:27 pm Alcon directors oppose Novartis takeover bidAlcon's independent director committee has termed the bid as "a coercive takeover'' and said it is disappointed that Novartis is trying to circumvent certain protections drawn up for Alcon's minority shareholders.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 1:21 pm Stimulus should stay: India IncThe industry leaders also impressed upon the Pranab Mukherjee to empower the middle class by giving them more tax sops on personal income tax.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 1:19 pm Increasing truck rentals spell strong eco revivalThe rental stood at Rs 63,500 between Delhi and Chennai on December 5,2009, while it was at Rs 65,500 on Jan 4, compared to Rs 60,000 on Jan 4, 2008.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 1:11 pm Direct tax collection rises 44%Revenue collection is looking up with the corporate direct tax mop up registering a 44% growth year-on-year in December 2009 and 14% in April-December 2009 period.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Jan 2010 | 1:08 pm Telangana issue forces IT firms to eye neighboursPolitical disturbance over the demand for a separate Telangana state is forcing information technology (IT) companies to shift. The process to shortlist office space in neighbouring states, like Tamil Nadu, is underway.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 12:29 pm Maha SEZ plan put offMukesh Ambani and Anand Jain promoted Mumbai SEZ Ltd has suspended, for an indifinite period, its land acquisition for the MahaMumbai special economic zone (SEZ) in coastal Raigad. The company may drop the project altogether, as it was not able to acquire a minimum of 1,000 hectares of contiguous land as mandated by the SEZ Act.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 12:27 pm Global compact cars' India catwalkIndia today set the stage for global car giants Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda to unveil to the world their strategy and models for the high-growth small-car market. The platform was the 10th Auto Expo being held in the national capital.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 12:24 pm Satyam s technology army rides out a roller coasterShock. Anger. Anxiety. And finally, some relief and motivation. Employees in the grassy lawns and glassy buildings of Satyam’s software campuses saw it all in 2009 after Chairman Byrraju Ramalinga Raju dropped a corporate bombshell in his confession letter last January, when he admitted to fraud, reports Gaurav Choudhury. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:12 am Godrej Prop lists at premium stock ends 9 per cent upBecoming the first real estate firm to list in two years, shares of Godrej Properties debuted on bourses at around 5 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 490. The scrip gained 20 per cent to Rs 586.7 per share before ending the day over 9 per cent up at Rs 534.5 per share.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 11:03 am Yeti will create a new segment in IndiaComing in from the middle of Eastern Europe, Czech Skoda has managed to carve itself a strong niche in India. Reinhard Fleger, member, board of directors, Skoda, says India, Brazil and China will be key markets.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:43 am Honda Yamaha seek to leave a mark on two wheelsJapanese two-wheeler major Yamaha it is looking at capturing 10 per cent market-share in the Indian motorcycle market by 2012.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:41 am Nano shows the way for global local carThe world's cheapest car Tata Nano showcased India low cost manufacturing prowess and now everybody else in the automotive world is following it, reports Sumant Banerji.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:39 am Volvo Eicher to put in Rs 500 crVolvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) plans to invest around Rs 500 crore over the next three years to raise its production capacity and for developemnt of new technology for commerical vehicles. VECV is a 50:50 joint venture between Eicher Motors and the Sweden-based Volvo group.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:38 am Maruti feels pressure to ramp up small carsAs all eyes turn to the Indian small car segment and biggies like General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota launch their small cars, Maruti Suzuki, the leader in the segment, is feeling the pressure to hold its fort. The company plans to ramp up its production to hold its market share at 50 per cent.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Jan 2010 | 10:35 am Google to unveil Nexus One, a rival to the iPhoneSan Francisco: Google Inc.’s expected unveiling of a rival to the iPhone is part of its careful plan to try to do what few other technology companies have done before: retain leadership as computing shifts from one generation to the next.  New entrant: The Nexus One. NYT As people increasingly rely on powerful mobile phones instead of PCs to access the Web, their surfing habits are bound to change. What’s more, online advertising could lose its role as the Web’s primary economic engine, putting Google’s leadership role into question. Top Google executives, including Eric E. Schmidt, the chief executive, have long said that the mobile Internet was Google’s biggest opportunity for new growth. They orchestrated a string of acquisitions of companies with mobile-related technology. Google also invested far more aggressively than its competitors in mapping technologies and services tied to a user’s location, which are likely to become the vital underpinnings of new advertising systems on global positioning system-equipped mobile phones. The expected unveiling on Tuesday of the Nexus One, a thin, touch-screen handset built to Google’s specifications and made by Taiwanese company HTC Corp., is a challenge to a newly minted industry power: Apple Inc., whose iPhone dominates the high end of the smartphone market. While the iPhone sends millions of people to Google’s search and other services, some of the company’s applications, like Google Voice, have not been allowed to run on the phone. Analysts say that with Nexus One, which Google plans to sell to consumers directly, the company is trying to free itself from Apple’s growing influence. It also wants to broaden the appeal of Android’s technology. The phone is expected to be sold unlocked, allowing consumers to buy service plans separately. ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 9:42 am Nokia files new patent suit against Apple Helsinki: The world’s top mobile phone maker, Nokia, has launched another court case against Apple for alleged patent violations, in an increasingly fierce legal battle between two leaders of the smartphone market. Nokia filed the case at a Delaware court in the US on 29 December seeking damages for Apple’s alleged infringement of seven Nokia patents in most of its products, court documents showed. The suit coincided with a claim filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) over the same patents, which Nokia alleged Apple infringed in ‘virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers’ sold. The seven patents at issue relate to Nokia technology being used by Apple to create features in user interface, camera, antenna and power management technologies, it said in a statement. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 5 Jan 2010 | 3:37 am
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