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Maoists blow up Airtel, RCom mobile towers in BiharMaoist rebels blew up three mobile phone towers, destroyed railway tracks and forced shops to close during a daylong strike in Bihar on Monday, police said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 8:17 am Telenor plans expansion into India in 2010Norwegian telecoms group Telenor said on Monday it planned to expand operations in India to offer services nationwide this year, which will mean its investments in Asia will be higher than last year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 7:39 am Virgin Mobile to launch GSM svcs in South India this weekCNBCTV18s learns that Virgin Mobile is expected to launch GSM services in South India this week, using Tata Teleservices Ltds (TTSLs) network.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 6:16 am QVT files windingup petition against WockhardtQVT, a USD 9 billion multistrategy USbased fund, has dragged Wockhardt to the Bombay High Court with a winding up petition. The company headquartered in New York claims that Wockhardt\'s promoters have ignored the foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) restructuring offer put forward by the bondholders.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:51 am Hindustan Composites sells land for Rs 5.71 bnHindustan Composites said on Monday its board has approved the sale of company\'s property at Ghatkopar, Mumbai, for a total consideration of Rs 5.71 billion to Raghuleela Lessors Developers Pvt.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:38 am Surya Roshni eyes over Rs 2600cr rev in FY11JP Agarwal, CMD of Surya Roshni says 2011 will be much better year post steel pipe units coming onstream. \"Revenues will be substantially higher than Rs 2600 crore in FY11.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:35 am Lockout declared at plant from Jan 16: Mirc ElectronicsConsumer appliance maker Mirc Electronics said on Monday it has declared a lockout at its plant in Thane from January 16 due to a labour agitation.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am PennyWise: Investment tips to cut transaction costsHere are a few tips on where you should invest in order to reduce your transaction costs.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am Capital protection to override returns in 2010Investing in 2010 will lean more towards conservation of capital than seeking benchmark returnsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am LIC sells 1.29% in Great Offshore at Rs 590/shrLife Insurance Co of India (LIC) has sold 483,017 shares or 1.29% in Great Offshore Ltd at Rs 590 a share, it said in a filing to the BSE.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 4:43 am Rupee gives up gains tracking stocks - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 3:16 am Gail Q3 net jumps over three-fold to Rs. 860 cr - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 3:16 am Jaiprakash Q3 net down 39% at Rs 103 cr - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 3:10 am Sensex ends 71pts higher - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 3:04 am Wholesale sugar prices have dropped Sharad PawarWholesale sugar prices in India have dropped in the past two to three days, while retail rates are expected to fall in 10-15 days, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:59 am Markets end 0.4% higher; banks and financial stocks leadMumbai: Indian shares provisionally closed 0.4% higher on Monday, led by gains in banks and financial stocks as investors cheered robust third-quarter results. The 30-share BSE index provisionally ended up 0.42% or 74.41 points at 17,628.71 points, with 17 components gaining. The 50-share NSE index provisionally closed up 0.4% at 5,275.35. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:51 am Boeing to invest $100 million in maintenance facility in India"We will start construction of the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility this year," president Dinesh Keskar said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:47 am Baidu announces resignation of chief technology officerSHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's top search engine Baidu Inc said on Monday that its chief technology officer has resigned for personal reasons.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:46 am India gold physical demand remains dullMUMBAI (Reuters) - India gold physical offtake remained dull on Monday, extending previous week's slackness, as traders awaited a further fall in prices, but a firm rupee aided sentiment, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:42 am HDFC Bank shares rise 5% on resultsHDFC Bank reported a 32% rise in quarterly profit as it rode robust loan growth, and analysts said they expected the bank to maintain the pace in the coming quarter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:41 am Google probing possible inside help on attack: SourcesSecurity analysts said the malware used in the Google attack was a modification of a trojan called Hydraq.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:38 am Give details of perks, privileges of Air India top bosses: Central Information CommissionThe Central Information Commission today directed Air India to make public the details of all the perks and privileges enjoyed by their top-brass.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:34 am Maoists blow up mobile phone towers in BiharPATNA (Reuters) - Maoist rebels blew up three mobile phone towers, destroyed railway tracks and forced shops to close during a day-long strike in Bihar on Monday, police said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:31 am Google probing possible inside help on attack-sources - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:27 am Consumer goods cos to post robust Q3 earnings on better volumesMumbai: India’s consumer staple firms are expected to report higher profits in Oct-Dec aided by a dip in raw material costs and better volumes, with Godrej Consumer being a top pick in the mid-cap space for analysts. Personal care products maker Godrej Consumer Products’ profit is seen doubling from a year ago, rival Marico is expected to report a 24.4% jump in profits, and oral care products maker Colgate Palmolive (India) net would rise nearly 18%, a Reuters poll of brokerages showed. “Healthy volume growth and margin expansion from lower input costs, will keep earnings growth strong during the quarter,” brokerage Batlivala & Karani said in a report. Godrej Consumer Products is seen reporting a robust growth in net profit as prices of its key raw material palm oil fell and as its soaps and hair colours portfolio grew, analysts said. “The lower prices of palm oil are expected to boost the bottom-line for Godrej Consumer. Although the company has spent more on advertisements, it would post a strong bottom-line growth,” Ashish Upganlawar, an analyst at Sharekhan said. Godrej’s soaps and hair dye segments are expected to see a rise of 15% and 25% in sales, he added. Palm oil prices have fallen about 35-40% in Oct-Dec versus the year ago period, analysts said. Godrej Consumer had also taken forward covers on palm oil till Dec 2009, and this would aid margin expansion in the current fiscal, Anand Shah, an analyst at Angel Broking said. Rival Marico can expect profits to be up a quarter as sales got a boost from an increase in volumes of its flagship products Saffola and Parachute. “We expect continued traction in Parachute and Saffola. The hair care portfolio is expected to maintain double digit volume growth,” brokerage Motilal Oswal said in a report. Sharekhan’s Upganlawar expects a 3% and 9% volume growth in its Saffola and Parachure portfolios respectively, for the quarter. Colgate Palmolive (India) should see profit rising on the back of steady volume growth in toothpaste products. Colgate’s sales would be driven by “strong double digit toothpaste volume growth of 13% and continued resilience in market shares across oral care categories,” Prabhudas Lilladher said in a note. Colgate is seen reporting net profit of Rs913.1 million on sales of Rs4.9 billion. Godrej Consumer is expected to post a profit of Rs815.2 million on sales of Rs5.13 billion, while Marico may post a net of Rs633.1 million on sales of Rs6.99 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:26 am Pawar vows to bring down sugar prices in 10-15 days - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am GAIL Dec qtr net profit more than triplesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Gas transporter GAIL (India) Ltd said on Monday its December quarter net profit more than tripled to 8.6 billion rupees ($189 million) from 2.54 billion rupees a year earlier.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am Google probing possible inside help on attack - sourcesSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Google is investigating whether one or more employees may have helped facilitate a cyber-attack that the U.S search giant said it was a victim of in mid-December, two sources told Reuters on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:24 am TCS shares at record high on broker upgradesMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Tata Consultancy Services rose as much as 3.1 percent to a record high on Monday, as brokerages upgraded the stock after the top software services exporter posted forecast-beating quarterly results.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:19 am Creditors put Dubai World debt up for sale reportDubai World's bank creditors have offered their loans for sale ahead of the restructuring of the conglomerate's debts, in a bid to reduce exposure, says a media report.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:16 am Germany not to impose tax on bailed-out banksHowever, if any steps were to be taken in this area, then they have to be worked out and implemented on an international level.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:14 am TCS shares at record high on broker upgradesMumbai: Shares in India’s Tata Consultancy Services rose as much as 3.1% to a record high on Monday, as brokerages upgraded the stock after the top software services exporter posted forecast-beating quarterly results. India’s export-driven software services companies have seen a slew of brokerage upgrades in recent months as the sector showed signs of resurgence after the global economic slowdown had shut the tap on technology spending and put pressure on fees. The strong earnings by Tata Consultancy and No. 2 Infosys Technologies in the latest quarter have spurred hopes of a recovery in the sector, but analysts say margins could be under pressure due to a firmer rupee and annual wage hikes. “Things are looking better for software companies, but we have to wait and see if this momentum can be maintained,” said A.N. Sridhar, a fund manager at Sahara Mutual Fund. “Rupee is going to be the most important thing to be watched.” JPMorgan said Tata Consultancy’s strong performance, which followed Infosys robust results, reflected a sharp increase in outsourcing demand. By 2:20pm, shares in Tata Consultancy, valued at $34 billion, had gained 1.2% at Rs801, after having risen to an all-time high of Rs816.40, in a broader market up 0.4%. JPMorgan raised its target price on Tata Consultancy to Rs850 from Rs725 earlier, saying the outlook was positive with the management indicating better deal pipeline and positive sentiment on technology spending. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to buy from underperform, saying it should benefit from stabilisation in IT budgets and a pick up in demand particularly from the banking, financial services and insurance sectors. The country’s $60 billion outsourcing industry, which manages computer networks and maintains technology operations for global firms, has resumed hiring and is raising salaries -- reflecting a surge in demand. Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy expects to lift a freeze on wage hikes in April-June, Ajoy Mukherjee, vice president and head of global human resources told reporters on Monday. The company added a net 7,417 staff in Oct-Dec, its biggest pace of quarterly addition in a year and taking the total headcount to more than 130,000. In the current quarter to March, Tata Consultancy will add 8,300 trainees and 3,000 experienced staff, Mukherjee said. Earnings surprise Tata Consultancy, part of the Tata Group that spans autos, commodities and services businesses, posted a 33% rise in quarterly profit on Friday and said it was seeing increased demand for services. Earlier last week, smaller rival Infosys, a trendsetter for the Indian outsourcing sector, raised forecasts for this year as large financial services clients boost orders in an improving global economy. Many brokerages, including Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, had upgraded Infosys after its results. StarMine’s SmartEstimates shows a predicted earnings surprise of 6.3% for Infosys’ earnings per share for the quarter ending March 2010. SmartEstimates predict earnings more accurately than consensus estimates by putting more weight on the recent forecasts of StarMine’s top-rated analysts. India’s No. 3 outsourcer Wipro should report a 15% rise in December quarter net profit on Wednesday, according to a Reuters poll. Shares in Infosys, which the market values at $34 billion, were up 0.2% at Rs2,680 and Wipro traded 0.8% higher at Rs740.25. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 2:02 am Sterlite Tech Q3 net up 134%, 1:1 bonus - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:54 am Timing of easy policy exit a challenge: Reserve Bank of IndiaThe timing and sequence of exit from an easy policy is still a challenge, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Monday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:52 am Rupee gives up gains tracking stocksMumbai: The Indian rupee gave up some early gains in afternoon trade on Monday, as domestic stocks were trading off highs. At 2:30pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.63/64 per dollar, off a high of Rs45.545, but stronger than Friday’s closing of Rs45.78/79. It had hit Rs45.84 in early deals, the lowest since 8 January. India’s benchmark share index was up about 0.33%, after rising as high as 0.9%. Foreigners have bought about $1.6 billion worth of local stocks so far this month and a rising local sharemarket boosts hopes of more capital inflows into India. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at Rs45.62/66, close to the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 45.67. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:48 am Boeing to invest $100 mln in maintenance facilityNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Boeing will invest $100 million this year in building a maintenance unit in India, its India chief said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:42 am TCS surges to record high on brokerage upgrades - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:26 am Dadri land acquisition: No relief for Reliance Energy LtdThe supreme court did not pass any order on a petition filed by ADAG challenging the Allahabad high court verdict quashing Uttar Pradesh government's notification to acquire land for the company's 8,000-MW Dadri power project.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:18 am Wholesale sugar prices dip: Sharad PawarNew Delhi: India’s wholesale sugar prices have fallen 10-12% in the past two to three days, the farm minister said, but analysts expect the dip to be temporary as the country needs imports and the global market is bullish. The Indian government is struggling to contain inflation, which jumped to a one-year high of 7.3% in December, driven by a near 20% annual jump in food prices after the worst monsoon in 37 years damaged rice and cane fields last year. “There is a drop in wholesale prices of sugar.... Retail prices will start falling in 10-15 days,” agriculture minister Sharad Pawar told reporters on Monday. He said wholesale sugar prices had fallen to Rs37-38 (81-82 cents) per kilogramme from Rs42. New York’s March raw sugar contract, which hit a 29-year peak at 28.95 cents per lb on 7 January, slipped 0.14 cent to settle at 27.62 cents per lb on Friday, but analysts said the market may soon touch a 30-year high. Sugar deficit in India, the world’s top consumer, for two consecutive years is a key contributor to the global rally. N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at India’s National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said imports would be costly. “Even at the international level, the demand set prices are going up. So even if you are importing, you are not going to import at a lesser price,” he said. India’s sugar prices may fall in the short term, but the commodity do not have a big weightage in the price index, Bhanumurthy said. In the keenly watched wholesale price index, sugar has 3.62% of weightage unlike fuel and power, and chemicals, which have 14.23 and 11.93% respectively. “In that sense, I do not really see it will have a big impact. It will not bring down inflation in a big way.” Pawar also said cold weather in northern India was beneficial for the wheat and rapeseed crops. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:16 am Abu Dhabi $10 bln Dubai aid included $5 bln from banksDUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai's $10 billion aid from Abu Dhabi in December, which helped the emirate avoid default on a state-linked developer's bond, included $5 billion previously lent by two Abu Dhabi banks, a Dubai government spokeswoman said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 1:05 am Asian shares ease on signs of weak US consumerHong Kong: Most Asian stocks fell on Monday following No. 2 US bank JPMorgan’s heavy losses on mortgage and credit card loans which cast doubt on consumer demand in the region’s largest export market. But European shares are seen recouping Friday’s losses, with the DJ Euro Stoxx futures are rising 0.5%. The US dollar and the yen fell after strengthening initially when investors unwound riskier trades. The euro remained under pressure, hurt by concerns about fiscal problems buffeting Greece, which has seen its budget deficit balloon and its credit ratings cut. Euro zone finance ministers had little patience left for Greece after it misled them about the size of its deficit and would be ready to impose sanctions on Athens if needed, euro zone sources said. Sentiment in Asia remained cautious. “We are quite cautious still considering the environment we are in -- some companies are doing better but the reality is it is a tough environment,” said Alex Boggis, fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, which oversees about $240 billion. “The hard work is still to be done in terms of exporters not really kicking in and Asia still being geared to exports. It takes a long time to convert exports into consumption.” The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan, which fell as much as 0.8%, was down 0.1%. The Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was down 0.23%. US stocks fell around 1% on Friday as JPMorgan’s results raised concerns about profits at banks and on data showing American consumer sentiment was weaker than expected, which followed a poor retail sales report earlier in the week. US markets will be closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King day holiday. Japan’s Nikkei average fell 1.2%, coming off a 15-month high struck last week, with bank shares leading declines over fears the market’s recent rally was over done. Hong Kong shares were under pressure as the property and banking sector lead the decline. Although Chinese banking shares were weak in the mainland market, the Shanghai benchmark ended up 0.4% on gains in airline stocks. Fears that Beijing is moving to curb credit growth to avoid inflation and economic overheating rattled shares in China and the rest of Asia last week. Traders say a raft of Chinese data this week, ranging from fourth-quarter gross domestic product to December retail sales and industrial production could give clues on whether domestic consumption in China is helping offset persistent weakness in US demand and if monetary policy tightening is around the corner. “It will be important to see if China is beginning to experience inflation and whether there will be any tightening,” said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader with broker MainFirst Securities in Hong Kong. “If there isn’t then obviously it is happy days. If there is -- it will put further strain on market valuations.” Worries over Greece spark exits from risky trades The euro slid to a four-month low against sterling as the British currency gained ground on the dollar and the yen following a rise in UK house prices and as the euro continued to be weighed down by concerns about Greece’s fiscal woes. The euro fell as far as 88.03 pence, its lowest since mid-September, down 0.5% on the day. The US dollar and the yen were firm while currencies leveraged to global growth like the Australian dollar ran into a bout of profit-taking after an impressive run up since the start of the new year. Investors will also be closely watching more US earnings this week, with the financial sector in focus, traders said. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley should report on Wednesday and Goldman Sachs is expected on Thursday. Tech companies such as IBM and Google Inc are also expected this week. Oil prices tumbled, extending losses for a sixth session to below $78 a barrel, after the International Energy Agency cut its view on 2010 global oil demand growth. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:35 am DBS ups India’s FY10 growth forecast to 6.8%Mumbai: The Indian economy may grow at 6.8% in 2009-10, higher than an earlier forecast of 6.5%, driven by strong manufacturing growth, DBS said in a note on Monday. Manufacturing production rose 12.7% in November from a rise of 2.7% a year earlier, the government said last week. Industrial output grew at its fastest pace in two years in November, strengthening the case for the central bank to tighten policy to temper inflation expectations. “Stronger-than-expected manufacturing growth is the main reason for the upward revision,” Ramya Suryanarayanan, economist at DBS Singapore, wrote in the report. However, the manufacturing growth was largely an outcome of low interest rates and pent-up demand, she said in the note, adding that sustainability of the sector’s growth in calendar year 2010 is a concern. “Already manufacturing has begun to moderate. It has not moderated as much as I thought,” Suryanarayanan said over the telephone to a query on why the bank revised GDP growth even as it sounded concerns about the sector’s prospects in 2010. DBS also revised its 2010-11 growth forecast for to 7.9% from 7.5% earlier. The note also said that chief risks to growth in 2010-11 comes from monetary tightening that would be needed to control the price rise. Indian inflation jumped to a one-year high in December, reinforcing views the central bank will start increasing reserve requirements later this month to contain price pressures as the economic recovery strengthens. DBS expects a 200 basis points of rate hikes in January-December 2010 and 150 basis points of cash reserve ratio hikes. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:31 am Double-dips a threat if exits come too soon - IMF chiefTOKYO (Reuters) - Developed countries may slip back into recession if they exit strategies taken to battle the global financial crisis too early, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:25 am BofA-Merrill raises TCS rating to "buy"Late on Friday, Tata Consultancy reported a 33% rise in quarterly profit, beating street estimates as demand for outsourcing surged and prices stabilised.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:16 am Timing of easy policy exit a challenge: Reserve BankThe timing and sequence of exit from an easy policy is still a challenge, Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Monday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:14 am Timing of easy policy exit a challenge - RBIGOA (Reuters) - The timing and sequence of exit from an easy policy is still a challenge, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:13 am Mirc Electronics says lockout at plant from Jan 16Consumer appliance maker Mirc Electronics said on Monday it has declared a lockout at its plant in Thane from January 16 due to a labour agitation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:13 am Farmers in Punjab, Haryana shift from wheat to other cropsLast year, wheat coverage in Punjab was 34.59 lakh hectares (lh). This year, it has declined to 33.91 lh. Similarly, the acreage in Haryana has dropped to 24.01 lh (24.50 lh) and Rajasthan to 16.92 lh (17.39Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am A unique political figureIn Indian political scene, Jyoti Basu was a unique figure in many ways. He preferred to call himself a communist, but was never a dogmaticSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am His life's journeyEducated at St. Xavier's School and Presidency College, Calcutta. B.A Honours in English, Bar at Law from Middle Temple,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am India Cements undertone positiveI bought Mercator Lines futures at Rs 71. Please advice me on F&O strategy – MrSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am All moves tied to bank ratesDalal Street may show an upward bias in the short-term. The market has shed its apprehension over an imminent rate hike by the central bank. Players seem to expect that the RBI will not hike policy rates in the Credit Policy, scheduled on JanuarySource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe stock is experiencing selling pressure at higher levels. Fresh short position can be initiated if it slips below Rs 380 with tightSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Gold vulnerable to dollar shocksTwo weeks into 2010, the global commodity markets have witnessed decent gains on the back of a severe winter in the northern hemisphere and positive macroeconomic data flowing from China. Importantly, rising confidence level over global economicSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Cinemax India - BuyInvestors with medium-term perspective can consider buying the stock of Cinemax India (RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am More cos enter power arenaWhat started as an insurance policy against escalating costs now seems to be turning into a revenueSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Jyoti Basu passes awayVeteran Marxist leader and former Chief Minister of West Bengal Mr Jyoti Basu died in a local private hospital on Sunday. He wasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 18 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am HDFC Bank gains 2 pc after good Q3 earnings nosHDFC Bank shares surged over two per cent in the early trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the private sector lender posted 31 per cent jump in third quarter net profit.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:45 pm Timing of easy policy exit a challenge: RBI - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:39 pm Krishna, Prachanda meet to improve Indo-Nepal tiesKathmandu: Nursing “serious suspicions” on India’s role in Nepal’s political process, Maoist leader Prachanda has said the Indian establishment had failed to “grasp the verdict” of the historic 2008 election and he is keen to discuss his concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Former premier Pushma Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who has recently carried out a series of stinging attacks on India, said the discussions with such high-level Indian leadership were essential for creation of a “positive atmosphere”. India, he claimed, had failed to “grasp the verdict” of the elections and “expectations of people” and wanted continuance of “status quo” wherein the “old political parties” would run the government. The 56-year-old chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) contended there were sections in the Indian establishment who did “not want to understand the dynamics of change” brought about by the 2008 elections in Nepal. “I am not saying everybody in India is against Maoists but there may be tendency in bureaucracy, or (intelligence) agencies or part of political leadership... There may be some people who don’t want to understand the dynamics of change,” Prachanda said. He said India played a positive role when the Maoists and political parties reached the 12-point understanding, as also during the Constituent Assembly elections. Prachanda said he had tried to convey his concerns and suspicions to external affairs minister S.M. Krishna during their meeting on Saturday. On his recent allegations that India was interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs, he said it was a result of reported comments by the Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor opposing the proposed integration of former Maoist combatants in the Nepalese Army. He said he raised this issue with Krishna who “explained” that the comments that appeared in media were “not authentic”. The “clarification” by the external affairs minister had satisfied him “to some extent”, Prachanda said but suspicions continue. During that meeting, Krishna conveyed India’s unhappiness to Prachanda and said his “baseless propaganda” was vitiating the relations. Insisting that his party wanted to have “good relations” with India, Prachanda said it needed a “new basis” which cannot happen till there is an understanding about the “expectations” of the people of Nepal, implying restoration of power to the Maoists. “If we are able to convey our concerns to the Indian leadership, it will be very helpful for development of new relationship with India,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:32 pm ‘Avatar’ wins top honours at Golden GlobesBeverly Hills, California: Science-fiction blockbuster Avatar took top honours at the 67th Golden Globes on Sunday, winning best picture and director to cement its status as an Oscars front-runner. The ground-breaking epic from Titanic director James Cameron -- on course to become the highest-grossing film in history -- was the big winner on a night when honours were largely spread across several films. The movie has been hailed as a cinematic milestone for its use of state of the art 3-D cameras and motion capture technology which Cameron was instrumental in helping to develop. “This is the best job in the world,” Cameron told a star-studded audience at the Beverly Hilton Hotel after accepting the best motion picture drama award. “What we do is we make entertainment for a global audience, and that’s what the Golden Globes mean.” Since its release in December, Avatar has earned an astonishing $1.6 billion worldwide and is rapidly closing in on the $1.8 billion record of Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winner Titanic. Accepting the best director award earlier, a delighted Cameron said he had been expecting to lose out to ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, who had been nominated for her powerful Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker. “I’m unprepared. Frankly I thought Kathryn was going to get this,” Cameron said. “But make no mistake I’m very grateful.” Part of Cameron’s speech was also made in Na’vi -- the language spoken by the blue-skinned peace-loving alien heroes of Avatar. The Golden Globes are seen as a key staging post in the sprint towards the ultimate prize of the Oscars, which take place on 7 March this year, and often help shape the field of likely best picture contenders. However Hollywood awards shows rarely honour fantasy films, and Avatar was expected to face stiff competition from Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up In the Air. Up In the Air had started the night as one of the hot favorites with six nominations but in the event had to settle for one -- best screenplay. Another big loser on the night was musical Nine, which started the night with five nominations but finished empty-handed. Nine was pipped for best musical or comedy by the raucous The Hangover. The acting awards saw popular honours going to veterans Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock. Bridges, 60, won the best drama actor prize for his portrayal of a washed up country singer in Crazy Heart. Bridges, who had been nominated for a Golden Globe on three previous occasions but never won, has earned widespread acclaim for the role and received a lengthy standing ovation as he walked to the stage. “You’re really screwing up my under-appreciated status,” he quipped before dedicating the award to his wife and family. Bullock took best drama actress prize for her portrayal of an inspirational mentor in The Blind Side. The 45-year-old veteran beat out fellow nominees Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan, (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). Elsewhere, Hollywood icon Meryl Streep scooped a record seventh Golden Globe win for her portrayal of television chef Julia Child in Julie & Julia. The 60-year-old won in the best comedy actress category, where she was also nominated for It’s Complicated. The best comedy actor prize was taken by Robert Downey Jr for his performance in Sherlock Holmes as the legendary Victorian super-sleuth. The supporting acting awards went to Austria’s Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds and Mo’Nique for Precious. Australian screen icon Nicole Kidman had got Sunday’s awards under way with an appeal for donations to the Haiti earthquake relief effort. “I just want to say on a serious note a lot of people are wearing ribbons tonight in support of the people of Haiti, and you can go to NBC.com to make your personal contribution,” Kidman said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:30 pm Ban says Haiti worst disaster in decadesPort-Au-Prince: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that Haiti was the worst humanitarian crisis in decades as he surveyed the devastated quake-hit capital for himself. After an emotional reunion in Port-au-Prince with Michele Montas, a Haitian who until late last year was his spokeswoman, Ban was to meet President Rene Preval and receive a helicopter tour of the disaster zone. “I am going to Haiti with a very heavy heart to express solidarity and full support of the UN to the people of Haiti,” Ban told journalists accompanying him on the day-long trip. Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude quake has killed tens of thousands of Haitians and was also the worst ever disaster to befall the UN with 40 staffers confirmed dead and nearly 330 others still unaccounted for. “We have to prepare for the worst,” Ban said as he flew out of Newark, referring to UN employees still missing after the disaster that flattened much of Port-au-Prince and nearby towns in western Haiti. Ban said the three top priorities were: to save as many people as possible, to bring emergency humanitarian aid in the form of water, food and medication, and to coordinate the massive aid effort. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:25 pm Sensex recovers by 100 points in early tradeThe BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by 100 points in late morning trade on Monday on renewed demand from investors in select counters, mainly banking and IT sectors, after IT giant TCS reported strong-than-expected December quarter results.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:17 pm Sensex down 49 points in early tradeThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday fell by almost 49 points in early trade on continued selling by funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 9:43 pm Oil tumbles in Asian trade on economic concernsSingapore: Oil fell in Asian trade on Monday as economic concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery fell 70 cents to $77.30 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February delivery was down 71 cents to $76.40. “Oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations,” said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz. “Some of the economic data out of the US were not really robust and so these data raised doubts about the health of the US consumer and the strength of the US economy.” The US is the world’s biggest energy consumer and global demand for oil has been affected to a large degree by the US economic slowdown. Data released Friday showed US consumer prices barely rose in December and was interpreted by economists as a sign of lingering weakness in the economy, where consumer spending is a major driver of economic activity. “The US is still in the grip of intense disinflationary forces, despite the basis effect lifting the headline year-on-year rate. Deflation risk is real,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency on Friday said oil demand in 2010 would be “sluggish” in the developed world, with emerging markets accounting for any increases. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 8:59 pm Panasonic eyes $1 bn revenue from India;to enter auto segment!Consumer durables major Panasonic today said it is aiming for a billion-dollar revenue from its India operations by 2012 and is looking to foray into the automobile sector.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm Over 50% consumers will be in mobile banking ambit by 2015!With the Reserve Bank hiking the mobile banking transaction limit to Rs 50,000, more than 50 percent of bank account holders are expected to come under this platform by 2015, a leading service provider said.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm Deora, Ramesh dedicate HPCL`s `clean petrol` refinery to India!Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today dedicated the "cleaner" petrol producing facilities of Hindustan Petroleum Corp`s Mumbai refinery to the country.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm Saudi billionaire eyes new links with News Corp!The Saudi billionaire whose investment firm is one of the biggest stakeholders in Rupert Murdoch`s News Corp. said he is looking to expand his alliances with the media giant.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm China asks banks to be cautious on lending!China`s banking regulator has asked banks to be cautious on their lending strategies this year, as Beijing seeks to avoid high inflation and overheating the world`s third-largest economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm FIIs pump in Rs 8,100 cr in market in first fortnight of 2010!Foreign fund houses infused a net Rs 8,191 crore (USD 1.7 billion) in the Indian stock markets during the first fortnight of 2010, signaling a good start for the year, in terms of fund inflow.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm Bharti Airtel eyes Bangladesh mobile market leader!Leading telecom Bharti Airtel wants to be a market leader in Bangladesh`s rapidly growing mobile market after acquiring 70 percent in no. 4 operator Warid Telecom, Chief Executive Manoj Kohli said on Sunday.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm Google denies leaving China, seeks negotiations!Google Inc enters a second week of high stakes brinkmanship with China`s government, amid speculation the firm has decided to pull out of the world`s biggest Internet market over cyber-spying concerns.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm IT sector starts Q3 on positive note; TCS, Infy bullish!With demand improving and new deals flowing in, Indian IT companies have started the third qarter earning season on a good note, indicating that the sctor is coming out of financial meltdown last year.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm 'Kraft must up Cadbury offer'Kraft Foods must raise its hostile 11 billion ($17.9 billion) bid for Cadbury Plc by at least 10% to stand a chance of capturing the UK maker of Dairy Milk chocolate, an investor survey shows.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:57 pm Rio Tinto, Massey ready to partner CILRio Tinto, Massey Energy and seven others have evinced keen interest in partnering with the state-run Coal India.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:54 pm Luxe cars raring to set Indian roads on fireSmall may be mighty in the Indian car market, but big by no way is bereft of action.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:50 pm ABG may sell 15% in Great OffshorePrivate shipbuilding major ABG Shipyard is in talks with global private equity players to sell its entire 15.2% stake in Great Offshore Ltd, a top company official said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:46 pm Gross budgetary support may riseCaught in a dilemma of adhering to fiscal prudence and ensuring funds for promised pro-aam aadmi schemes, UPA government is expected to go for a moderate hike in total gross budgetary support.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:45 pm RBI may hold rates: CMIEThe Reserve Bank could retain the key rates in its forthcoming monetary policy even as inflation has breached the seven-per cent mark in December.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:42 pm Funds fetched 100% returns in 2009Equity mutual fund investors earned handsome returns on their investment last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 1:39 pm 'It's complex to suck liquidity, ensure credit'The Reserve Bank has said it is a complex issue to suck out liquidity from the system and at the same time ensure credit to crucial sectors, amid speculations that the central bank may squeeze money supply later this month to tame inflationary expectations.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 12:59 pm Equity MFs see big redemptionsInvestors of equity mutual funds (MFs) continue to cash in on the buoyancy in markets. With the markets on a roll, equity MFs continue to face huge redemptions, which stood at Rs 6,232 crore in December, the second highest in nearly two years.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 Jan 2010 | 12:56 pm There’s much more to deductions than 80CThe most popular deduction is the Rs1 lakh knock out under section 80C. But there are six other deductions under section 80 that you may need to use to reduce your taxable income. And, of course, using your home loan as a tax deduction tool is always a great idea. Not only do you get a deduction of up to Rs1 lakh under the 80C umbrella on the principal, but the interest up to Rs1.5 lakh is tax deductable too. If you rent the house out, the entire interest is a deduction. 80D  Tip: Cash payments don’t work. You need to pay by cheque to get the deduction. 80DD  Tip: You need to submit a medical certificate (issued by a specified medical authority) with your tax return. 80E  Tip: Remember, the loan should be from the “approved” list of charitable institutions or a notified financial institution. 80G  Even charity gets your money back. Depending on who you give to, half or the entire donation can become a deduction from your income. Tip: You need a receipt from the eligible institution to get this deduction. 80GG  • Rs2,000 per month, or • 25% of your total income, or • Excess of rent paid over 10% of total income Tip: Remember that you will need receipts to go with the return to get this deduction. 80U  Tip: You can’t claim under this if you have already used section 80DD. 80C and 24(B) Your home on loan: the biggest deduction of them all  An additional Rs1.5 lakh each can be claimed by your spouse and you on the interest due on the loan, if you live in the house. Already, on a joint loan and property, the deductions are at Rs5 lakh. It gets even better if the house you own is on a loan and is rented out. The entire interest due on the loan becomes a deductible expense for you and your spouse. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm A pep talk to keep leaders motivatedYou've written about how leaders can motivate their people, but how do leaders motivate themselves, especially in challenging times? —Addakula Balakrishna, Pune  Your question brings to mind William Thackeray’s novel The Virginians, which poignantly describes George Washington’s fortitude as he led his disheartened soldiers during the most daunting days of the American Revolution. “Through all the doubt and darkness, the danger and long tempest of the war, it was only the leader’s indomitable soul that remained steady,” Thackeray wrote, noting later that Washington kept heart when all others had lost it. Washington, of course, faced extraordinary, life-or-death situations on the battlefield, but business leaders at every level sometimes need to tap into the kind of inner strength that he so valiantly displayed. In these difficult times, for instance, one day you can be dealing with collapsing sales forecasts and the next letting go employees you’ve come to consider family. The future can seem bleak at best, and yet you know you must stay upbeat to set the right example for the troops. To answer your question: You don’t always know how. Also See Jack and Suzy Welch videos Now, every person is wired differently, but over the years and through several recessions we’ve seen five “methods” of self-sustenance that work particularly well for leaders who, like you, realize how important it is to keep themselves motivated so they can continue to do the same for their people. The first two have to do with pride. In any uncertain environment, it’s only natural to feel that you don’t have all the answers, and humility certainly has its place. It galvanizes a leader to stay open-minded to ideas from every quarter, regardless of rank. But to stay motivated as a leader, you can’t just surrender your confidence. You need to look yourself in the mirror every morning and get yourself going, saying, “I’m not going to be the one who lets this place fail. It won’t happen on my watch.” Even if there are days when such chutzpah is hard to come by, you still have to do this, because the minute you start to doubt yourself, you run the risk of falling into a self-created vortex of defeat. The second type of pride is institutional. We’ve seen leaders motivate themselves by periodically looking up from the scrum of everyday operations and instead dwelling on the big picture of their organization’s mission. Just as Washington must have drawn resolve from the overarching purpose of the American Revolution, so too can leaders revive their energies by remembering where their companies have been, what they’ve done right, and where they are going when the fog finally clears. Recessions almost always involve layoffs, and some leaders respond with increased remoteness, feeling that it’s too painful or awkward to engage with people they might have to let go. Don’t do it. You can gain immense energy from embracing your people’s concerns and hearing how much they need leadership. So fight to stay connected. Your people—and your hopes for them—can only add to your determination to survive for their sake. Another way we’ve seen leaders motivate themselves is by tapping into their intellectual curiosity—envisioning their challenge not as an intractable problem but as an exciting puzzle to be solved. Take the case of Steven Heydt, president of Elite Island Resorts. When hotel bookings started to fall off this past winter, he came up with an innovative plan to allow customers to exchange their stock at its pre-collapse, July 2008 value for credit at his hotels. When things are so quiet, “You have to do things out of the box,” he told The New York Times. “I’ve been thinking about what could I do to turn things around.” Such creativity and can-do spirit provides a great example of how leaders can energize themselves: not just by unleashing their emotions, but by igniting their brains. Finally, leaders can energize themselves by letting others inside—reaching out to supportive friends and colleagues and spending real time with them. Let their belief in your innate abilities feed your confidence and spirit. The old saying, “It’s lonely at the top,” is pabulum. It’s only as lonely at the top as you let it be. Your question is a good reminder that leadership has different seasons. It’s pretty straightforward to find personal motivation during an upswing. In the heat of battle, however, you need to dig deeper and find your “indomitable soul” so that you can share your motivation and spirit with the people who need your leadership most. Adapted from Winning. (HarperBusiness Publishers, 2005), by Jack and Suzy Welch. Write to Jack & Suzy Jack and Suzy are eager to hear about your career dilemmas and challenges at work, and look forward to answering some of your questions in future columns. Jack and Suzy Welch are the authors of the international best-seller, Winning. Their latest book is Winning: The Answers: Confronting 74 of the Toughest Questions in Business Today. Mint readers can email them questions at winning@livemint.com. Please include your name, occupation and city. Only select questions will be answered. ©2010/By NYT SYNDICATE Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm A political hero, honest to the coreKolkata: Jyoti once told me he wanted to meet Indira Gandhi. It was 1971—she was then the prime minister and I was a minister in the Union government. Jyoti was then the leader of the opposition in West Bengal and though he belonged to a rival party, he was a very dear friend whom I had known since 1947. So, even at the height of political rivalry between us, I couldn’t say no to him. I called him over for dinner at my house in Delhi, and from there we went to meet Indira. I drove him to her house in my Standard Herald car, and met her together. On our return, we lost our way. Neither Jyoti nor I knew Delhi that well. We kept going round and round for a long time, but couldn’t find our way. Finally, I saw a police station and pulled up in front of it. I told Jyoti I would go inside and ask the police for help. “You are an idiot,” he shouted immediately. “If you ask the police for help, the whole world would know you and I were driving around in Delhi (together),” he said. Such was his presence of mind.  Close friends: A 1993 photo of Siddhartha Shankar Ray (left) along with Jyoti Basu in Kolkata. Mona Chowdhury He had become a barrister in 1940—six years before I did. Both of us went to St Xavier’s before going to the UK to read law. As politicians, we had a lot of differences, but we were such close friends that even on the floor of the assembly, we always addressed each other by first names—in fact, he would call me by my nickname, Manu. Jyoti became a political hero much before he became the chief minister in 1977. This I realized soon after I had won my first election as an independent candidate in 1958—I had resigned from the Congress the year before. He and I had gone to Chandernagore to address a public meeting together. When we were leaving, a group of very beautiful girls approached us for autographs. I readily obliged, but I wasn’t that important. Jyoti being more popular than me, they were more interested in getting him to write something for them. They persuaded Jyoti a lot, but he stubbornly refused. I asked him on our way back to Kolkata why he had refused to write something for them. He said, “How could I? I can’t write Bengali.” He hadn’t read Bengali in school because in those days, it wasn’t taught at St Xavier’s. It isn’t, however, surprising at all that someone who couldn’t write Bengali ruled West Bengal for 23 years. He was India’s longest serving chief minister because he was honest to the core—not for once did he change his stance on any issue—and had a tremendous amount of control over his party. While we always remained very good friends, he and I have had a lot of differences. In 1962, he and I fell out for the first time on the Chinese invasion. In a heated debate in the legislative assembly, I told him I would stop calling him the leader of the opposition. “I have no private quarrel with the opposition, but I quarrel with them today on the ground that I am an Indian,” I had said in my speech. When eventually the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPM, came to power in 1977 led by Jyoti, they had already created a lot of problems for themselves. The flight of industries from the state started in the early 1960s, when Jyoti, despite his control over the party—the undivided Communist Party of India and later the CPM—chose not to oppose militancy by trade unions. In those days, all foreign airlines had offices in Kolkata—they had thought the city was to become the main hub in South Asia. But it didn’t. People started moving manufacturing units from Kolkata because the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu) made life miserable for businessmen. The CPM forgot that industry was just as important as agriculture. Now Mamata Banerjee, the state’s main opposition leader, is saying she will strike a balance between the two, but I don’t know what she will achieve in the end. Not just over China, Jyoti and I had a lot of differences on many other issues such as education—the CPM built a complete stranglehold on education in West Bengal by getting its people to control all key positions. Such control by politicians or bureaucrats is unthinkable at the world’s leading universities such as Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard. But despite differences, Jyoti and I continued to be very good friends. He was very close to my wife, too. I last met him in the US, when I was India’s ambassador. We got industrialists and non-resident Indians based in the US to commit investments worth $1.3 billion (Rs5,941 crore today) in West Bengal, and Jyoti had gone there to oversee the signing of agreements, but unfortunately, very little materialized. As a chief minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy, who built West Bengal almost from scratch after independence, was far ahead of Jyoti, but besides him, no one comes even remotely close. I will remember Jyoti as a great friend, a good human being and an impeccably honest man. The author was West Bengal’s chief minister from 1972-77, governor of Punjab from 1986-89 and India’s ambassador to the US from 1992-96. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 12:20 pm Young, single, and willing to spendLast week, we took up A5—highly educated, elderly, living alone, either single or married couples whose children have moved away from home. This week, we come down the scale of age and narrow the occupational focus on executives and managers segment—B1. The B1 segment includes households where the chief wage earner is young, could be single or married, living in a nuclear or joint family, but has no children. The defining attribute of this segment is that the chief wage earner holds a graduate or postgraduate degree and is in a regular salaried job. Given the stringent narrowing in focus in life-stage and occupation, these households are a small minority—0.17% of urban Indian households, made up of a little more then 300,000 people. Yet, the household profile gives clear indications of the income and consumption patterns that are quite cohesive within the segment. With high educational qualifications of the chief wage earner—70% are postgraduates, the average household income in this segment is also high—Rs6.01 lakh. Also See | Indicus Analytics Research (Graphics) The savings rate of 29% is greater than the average, and with low current family commitments and high incomes, these households would be using their savings as a cushion for later years. Not only are these households prime consumers of financial products, with less than 20% of the households owning the house they live in, they would also be potential consumers of housing loans. The boom in the services sector in the last decade is reflected clearly in the employment profile of these young, educated chief wage earners. Financial intermediation—banking, insurance, financial service companies etc. —is the industry that dominates these young graduates. In all probability, the master of business administration degree with finance or human resources would be the main educational qualification here. Manufacturing does take the second rung, while government service and defence runs third in the list. Telecom, logistics, computers and information technology are the other industry types that have drawn in the chief wage earners in this segment. Also See | B1 Segment (young, educated and earning) (Graphics) There is still a greater dominance of government or public sector employment here, 41%, compared with 31% in public or private limited companies. As many as 52% of the chief wage earners are still single and of those who are married, the educational profile of the spouse is in sync with the urban, well-educated household profile—80% are graduates and above. These small and well-to-do urban households are exposed to Western lifestyles and would be open to foods and gadgets that help save time—11% of their consumption is on processed foods and 8% on high-value foods, while services take up the bulk of their household budgets. Recreation and entertainment, along with conveyance, are the major items of consumption. Why would marketeers be interested in B1? This is a young and upwardly mobile segment. They have aspirations and the means to realize the aspirations. This rapidly expanding group should be of particular interest to marketeers of value-added products and services. Let’s take a look at the spread of B1 segment in the top 135 districts of the country, which account for two-thirds of the urban population. The top 12 districts with B1 concentration are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Kanpur Nagar, Bardhaman and Lucknow. These 12 districts account for 58% of the B1 segment population in these 135 districts, which is 239,000. The other 455 districts account for only 103,000 people of the B1 segment. This series is brought to you by research firm Indicus Analytics Pvt. Ltd Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:56 am HPCL plans Rs 20000 cr refinery - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:44 am HPCL plans Rs 20,000 cr refineryTo refine 9-15 million tonnes of crude oil every year, the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) plans to set up a plant in the Konkan region. It is looking to invest over Rs 20,000 crore for a greenfield project in Raigad or Ratnagiri districts of Maharashtra.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:41 am Appraisal without consent under SC lensThe Supreme Court has decided to examine the contentious issue that haunts lakhs of government employees across the country each year, as bosses often appraise the performance of their subordinates without consulting them.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:38 am More funds for social sectorDespite fiscal deficit touching 6.8 per cent and rising, the second United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will make social sector spending the centrepiece of Budget 2010-11. To pay for this, more disinvestment of state-run enterprises would become necessary in the next financial year, top government sources said.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:37 am Why Indian IT should engage HaitiThe horrible earthquake in Haiti has left the Carribean island nation devastated, with an estimated 200,000 people dead. I do think the rehabilitation of victims and the subsequent rebuilding of the country could mean an opportunity for India — especially its information technology sector that has global ambitions — to combine urgent humanitarian work with business development, writes N Madhavan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:28 am Anand sharma and FICCI team to visit BeijingA business delegation is travelling to Beijing with minister for commerce and Industry Anand Sharma to take up the need for a level-playing field with China in various sectorts, who will meet its Chinese counterparts on January 19, 2010.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:26 am Private investors wooed for mega food parksIn a bid to immensely involve the farmers and the retailers in the supply chain the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is looking at setting up mega food parks and cold storage chains. It is also looking at setting up research and development divisions on the same line reports HT Correspondent.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:09 am 11 tax savers to pick fromDid you know that there are several other—non-insurance—products that can get the same tax benefit that an insurance policy does? Even within insurance, there are plans that get tax deduction and work better as a life cover. But these remain the financial world’s best kept secrets reports Monika Halan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 11:06 am The shop operaIndia’s organised modern retail, which took a fair whipping over the last year thanks to the economic slowdown, is still looking forward to a good two-three years starting 2010. The retail industry is projecting Rs 53,500 crore in revenues by 2013, of which organised retail expects to capture 20 per cent. Its current share is a mere five per cent of the Rs 41,000 crore pie, reports Rachit Vats.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:54 am Attacks put spotlight on cyber espionageWashington: Cyber attacks on Google and other firms are part of a shadowy campaign in cyberspace being waged by China and other nations that goes largely undetected, according to cyber security experts and analysts. “China is not the only place to engage in this kind of espionage, but they are certainly busy,” said James Lewis, a cyber security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) here. “They’re probably the biggest actors when it comes to economic espionage,” Lewis said, and the hacking of Google and other firms “fits in with all the complaints you’ve heard about intellectual property and piracy”. Web security firm McAfee said in its Virtual Criminology Report released in November that China, France, Israel, Russia and the US were among the countries which have developed “advanced offensive cyber capabilities”. “China’s at the top of the list,” Dmitri Alperovitch, vice-president of threat research for McAfee, said. “They have great focus on espionage activities and penetration of organizations,” he said. “They’ve been very successful in penetrating the US government in a variety of ways in recent years and exfiltrating valuable classified data about ongoing military operations, military hardware specs, that sort of thing.”  Concern mounts: People at an Internet cafe in Fuyang, China. The country is said to be one of the biggest players when it comes to economic espionage. AP “It fits the pattern of a very sophisticated cyber espionage programme that’s been under way for years,” said CSIS’ Lewis, that involves “more than just the Chinese government”. “There’s probably a centrally directed programme, an espionage programme,” he said. “But there’s other people who do it as freelancers, or companies do it, or ministries do it.” Ronald Deibert, director of Citizen Lab at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, agreed that China-based hackers are by no means the only ones probing the computer networks of business and political rivals around the world. “It’s not just China that’s doing it although China’s very aggressive,” said Deibert, an author of the GhostNet report, which uncovered a China-based network that had compromised 1,295 computers in 103 countries including those of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. “Espionage attacks we’ve seen, that seem to come from mainland China are consistent with China’s strategic doctrine in this area and also consistent with what a lot of other countries are proposing to do in this area,” he said. “For example, if you look at the US, the director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, said that we need to be more aggressive stealing other countries’ secrets.” “In (US President Barack) Obama’s cyber security review, among the things that were underlined was the need to develop operational capabilities to fight and win wars in cyberspace including cyber espionage attacks of this sort.” Web security experts and analysts said it is almost impossible to prove who is behind a particular cyber attack and noted that firms rarely come forward and admit they have been targeted. “We’ve conducted a three-year research project on surveillance and one of the things we’ve learned is how absolutely very difficult it is to study,” said Colin Maclay, managing director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. “Google did us a favour by coming out of the closet,” said CSIS’ Lewis. “Most companies won’t do it.” Only one other firm, Adobe, has acknowledged it was targeted in the attack which Google said originated from China. While the probing of Google’s computer systems was “not unusual”, said Citizen Lab’s Deibert, what was extraordinary was their “public response”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:54 am Attacks put spotlight on cyber espionageWashington: Cyber attacks on Google and other firms are part of a shadowy campaign in cyberspace being waged by China and other nations that goes largely undetected, according to cyber security experts and analysts. “China is not the only place to engage in this kind of espionage, but they are certainly busy,” said James Lewis, a cyber security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) here. “They’re probably the biggest actors when it comes to economic espionage,” Lewis said, and the hacking of Google and other firms “fits in with all the complaints you’ve heard about intellectual property and piracy”. Web security firm McAfee said in its Virtual Criminology Report released in November that China, France, Israel, Russia and the US were among the countries which have developed “advanced offensive cyber capabilities”. “China’s at the top of the list,” Dmitri Alperovitch, vice-president of threat research for McAfee, said. “They have great focus on espionage activities and penetration of organizations,” he said. “They’ve been very successful in penetrating the US government in a variety of ways in recent years and exfiltrating valuable classified data about ongoing military operations, military hardware specs, that sort of thing.” Concern mounts: People at an Internet cafe in Fuyang, China. The country is said to be one of the biggest players when it comes to economic espionage. AP “It fits the pattern of a very sophisticated cyber espionage programme that’s been under way for years,” said CSIS’ Lewis, that involves “more than just the Chinese government”. “There’s probably a centrally directed programme, an espionage programme,” he said. “But there’s other people who do it as freelancers, or companies do it, or ministries do it.” Ronald Deibert, director of Citizen Lab at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, agreed that China-based hackers are by no means the only ones probing the computer networks of business and political rivals around the world. “It’s not just China that’s doing it although China’s very aggressive,” said Deibert, an author of the GhostNet report, which uncovered a China-based network that had compromised 1,295 computers in 103 countries including those of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. “Espionage attacks we’ve seen, that seem to come from mainland China are consistent with China’s strategic doctrine in this area and also consistent with what a lot of other countries are proposing to do in this area,” he said. “For example, if you look at the US, the director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, said that we need to be more aggressive stealing other countries’ secrets.” “In (US President Barack) Obama’s cyber security review, among the things that were underlined was the need to develop operational capabilities to fight and win wars in cyberspace including cyber espionage attacks of this sort.” Web security experts and analysts said it is almost impossible to prove who is behind a particular cyber attack and noted that firms rarely come forward and admit they have been targeted. “We’ve conducted a three-year research project on surveillance and one of the things we’ve learned is how absolutely very difficult it is to study,” said Colin Maclay, managing director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. “Google did us a favour by coming out of the closet,” said CSIS’ Lewis. “Most companies won’t do it.” Only one other firm, Adobe, has acknowledged it was targeted in the attack which Google said originated from China. While the probing of Google’s computer systems was “not unusual”, said Citizen Lab’s Deibert, what was extraordinary was their “public response”. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:54 am NTPC, SCI discuss deal to ship coalNational Thermal Power Corp. Ltd (NTPC), India’s largest power producer, has started talks with the Shipping Corp. of India Ltd (SCI) for a long-term contract to ship the coal it imports to fire its power plants. Top executives at the two state-run firms discussed the plan at a meeting last week, two persons briefed on the subject said. The plan involves shipping thermal coal sourced by NTPC from abroad to ports in India for periods ranging from 5 to 10 years. “NTPC has approached us with a proposal for long-term contract for shipping their coal imported into India,” said K.S. Nair, a director looking after SCI’s bulk carrier and tanker division. India currently imports about 28.5 million tonnes (mt) of thermal coal, with NTPC alone accounting for some 12.5 mt of it. The government estimates the power industry will grow by 9.5% annually until March 2012, as it aims to end blackouts and sustain economic expansion. India, one of the world’s five biggest buyers of coal, uses the fuel for more than half of its power generation capacity. India’s biggest ocean carrier is seeking long-term tie-ups with steel makers and coal producers that ensures steady business for a number of years. “There is so much volatility in the shipping freight market that companies are looking at having their own shipping divisions or getting into joint ventures with shipping firms to control costs,” Nair said. SCI and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) have decided to form an equal joint venture company to provide various shipping-related services to SAIL, such as importing coking coal required for its steel plants. SCI has also flagged off talks with state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) to float a joint venture shipping company to cater to the requirements of CIL. Other Indian steel makers and power producers, including Tata Steel Ltd, Tata Power Ltd and the JSW Group, have also forged joint ventures or tied up long-term contracts with shipping firms to have strategic control over logistics. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:41 am Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu deadKolkata: Jyoti Basu, whose unbroken 23-year stewardship of West Bengal’s Left Front government made him the longest reigning chief minister of an Indian state, died on Sunday after suffering multiple organ failure. He was 95 years old. Basu, who came close to becoming prime minister in 1996, died at 11.47am in Kolkata’s AMRI Hospital, where he was admitted with pneumonia on New Year’s Day. His condition worsened on 12-13 January after which he was put on life support.  Towering personality: Jyoti Basu. Bikas Das / AP “I have a sad announcement to make. Jyoti Basu is no more with us,” a teary-eyed Left Front chairman Biman Bose said. “He has left us.” The eyes of Basu, who had donated them, were removed by doctors of an eye hospital and his body was placed at a funeral parlour after being carried there on a hearse from which red flags fluttered. The West Bengal government declared a holiday on Monday as a mark of respect to the Marxist patriarch, who has donated his body, too, to a state-run hospital for the cause of medical research, making Tuesday’s cremation a largely symbolic ceremony. Basu, West Bengal chief minister from 21 June 1977 to 6 November 2000, almost became the prime minister after the 1996 Lok Sabha elections as the head of a Centre-Left coalition. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, spurned the offer of the post to Basu on grounds that it did not want to be part of a government in which it did not have a majority—a rejection that Basu later described as a “historic blunder”.  Basu, known for a staid and sometimes brusque style that earned him the sobriquet of “a field marshal in a gentleman’s garb”, influenced his party to extend outside support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre after the 2004 general election. The CPM eventually parted ways with the coalition in 2008 over the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. Also Read | A political hero, honest to the core “Jyoti Basu did not go gentle into the good night.” Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in a message. “He fought bravely till his last breath, just as he did throughout his life... He served his country, his party and his state with whole-hearted dedication for over half a century.” Congress party officials said finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, also chief of the Congress’ West Bengal unit, will attend the cremation on Tuesday as the representative of the Union government and the party. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat credited Basu with the land reforms that gave security to millions of farmers, the rejuvenation of panchayat institutions and the “creation of an enduring atmosphere of secularism” in West Bengal.  Popular leader: Former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu’s body being taken to Peace Haven funeral parlour in Kolkata on Sunday. Basu was the longest reigning chief minister of an Indian state. Ashok Bhaumik / PTI Born on 8 July 1914 in an affluent family in Kolkata, Basu started taking interest in politics when he was a student of law in the UK in the late 1930s. He became a barrister and returned to India in 1940, and almost immediately got involved with the then banned Communist Party of India (CPI), despite strong resistance from his parents. By 1944, he started leading trading union activities of the CPI, and in 1946, he was elected to the newly created Bengal legislative assembly. When in 1964 the CPM was founded with the defection of 31 national council members from the CPI, Basu became one of the nine members of the CPM’s politburo, the party’s highest decision-making body. After stepping down as chief minister in November 2000, Basu withdrew himself from active politics. Until then, he and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, whose party is the main opposition group in West Bengal, were bitter political adversaries. Banerjee described him on Sunday as the “first and last chapter of the Left Front government”. “After he stepped down from office as chief minister I had gone to see him 10 times. Towards the end, a deep bond had developed between us,” she said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:32 am Quick Edit | Another law, more troubleWhen governments say they want to protect wages, they often end up killing employment. They, of course, deny that, but that is what minimum wages and legalized job security imply. As detailed in a Mint story today, the Union labour ministry plans to amend the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. This amendment will allow labour commissioners and other officials to fix minimum wages for seasonal workers. You may say that a law that prescribes minimum wages will only make people get their due. Instead, it leads to incentives that are detrimental to the workers. It will permit appointed officials to harass employers. Worse, it will permit collusion between firms and officials. If you take the law and the officials out of the equation, then wages are set by the market. A firm requiring labourers will have to pay market wages if it wants to get workers. But with officials in the picture, as the new amendment will ensure, chances are that they will pay much less. Official collusion and loopholes will ensure that. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:20 am Firms put up best show in 10 quartersMumbai: The net profit of 100 firms that have so far reported their earnings for the three months ended December grew at the fastest pace in at least 10 quarters. Unlike in the last few quarters, when profit growth was led by cost cuts and lower input costs, increased sales, too, contributed to the higher profit. The net profit of this bunch of firms increased at an average 42.09%, reinforcing the economic growth story. While the results beat street expectations, analysts cautioned that these were early days yet, given that the first week of the so-called earnings season typically sees the best numbers. They also said that the next set of significant earnings upgrades will happen only for fiscal 2012. According to the analysts, investors will seek cues from policy announcements apart from earnings to determine the future direction of the stock market. “The results were much better than expected,” said Andrew Holland, chief executive officer of equities at Ambit Holdings Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based investment management and brokerage firm. “Volumes have grown and the margin expansion was much better. The operating cost of Indian firms is quite strong and the cost reductions from the first half of this year are paying off.”  Graphics: Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint These measures continued to help the firms in the three months ended December, too, even when input material prices were starting to rebound. Sales for the set of 100 companies grew 14.9%. “Revenue growth is coming in,” said Apurva Shah, vice-president of research at Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd, a local brokerage. “Broadly, the numbers are in line (with) or above expectations.” Economic indicators support the revenue numbers. For instance, the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index, a leading indicator of demand, increased to 55.6 in December. A reading of 50 indicates expansion. India’s factory output gained 11.7% in November, the most in 25 months. “We are going to have an earnings boom,” said Raamdeo Agarwal, a director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Group. “The underlying economic recovery is good, look at the industrial output or exports. That’s reflecting in the results.” The bunch of 100 firms includes four companies that are part of the National Stock Exchange’s 50-stock Nifty index. Like the broader set, all of them beat market expectations by a wide margin, though their earnings growth was modest compared with smaller firms. These four companies—Infosys Technologies Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS)—posted an average 14.42% net profit growth, the fastest in eight quarters. Sales of these companies grew 3.52%, the fastest in a year. The Mint analysis counted net interest income (interest earned on loans minus the cost of deposits) and non-interest income as net sales of banks. For manufacturing and services sector firms, income generated from their non-core activities was excluded from profit calculations. TCS, India’s largest software exporter, beat forecasts with a 2.9% rise in its December quarter revenue over the September quarter and 33.9% growth in net profit. Information technology bellwether Infosys Technologies’ December quarter earnings signalled a strong revival in the Indian IT services business and the company also raised its forecast for this fiscal. Private sector lenders Axis Bank and HDFC Bank managed hefty profit growth on higher fee income as well as rising demand for loans from individuals and companies. Axis Bank reported a 30.97% increase in net profit and HDFC Bank declared a 31.6% gain. Unlike in the past two quarters, when robust earnings were accompanied by a boom in the markets, analysts are cautious when it comes to forecasting the market’s movement ahead of events such as the monetary policy review this month and the Union budget in February. “We can only rely a bit on the past for forecasting the future,” said G. Chokkalingam, head of equities at Barclays Wealth India. “For example, there could be a reversal of the monetary policy. So investors have to be cautious.” The Sensex, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark equity index, has gained 80.81% since the start of this fiscal year. In the past one month, it has risen only 4% and is trading at 21 times estimated earnings for fiscal 2010, according to Bloomberg. ravi.k@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 Jan 2010 | 10:14 am
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