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Patel Airtemp bags Rs 5.5cr orderPatel Airtemp India has recently won two big orders aggregating about Rs 5.5 crore. In an interview with CNBCTV18, NG Patel, Chairman and Managing Director of Patel Airtemp India, discusses it.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 8:42 am No plans to sell stake in SCI, Dredging Corp: GovtIndia\'s Shipping Secretary K. Mohandas said on Thursday there are no plans for a share sale in staterun firms Dredging Corp of India and the Shipping Corp of India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 8:17 am Trent to add up to 11 stores by FY11Retailer Trent expects to add upto 11 \'Star Bazaar\' stores by March 2011 taking its store count to 18 from the current seven, a senior official told reporters on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 8:17 am Cabinet nod to Alstom, Bharat Forge JVsA Cabinet panel on Thursday approved setting up of joint ventures by a consortium of France\'s Alstom and Bharat Forge to manufacture super critical and subcritical power plant equipment in India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 7:46 am HOV Services to restructure biz, sees better margins aheadBPO solutions provider HOV Services is in the process of restructuring its business. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Surinder Rametra, Chairman, HOV Services spoke about the company\'s restructuring plans and the road ahead.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 7:44 am Global IT spend to rise 4.6% in 2010: GartnerGlobal research firm Gartner Inc said on Thursday worldwide IT spending would rise 4.6% to USD 3.4 trillion in 2010, on the back of an economic recovery and declining dollar.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:55 am FACT expects Rs 2100cr revenue this yearIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Ashokan A, Chairman and Managing Director of Fertiliser Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), discusses his outlook for the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:42 am Oil prices down in Asian trade ahead of US energy report!Oil prices were down on Thursday ahead of the release of a widely monitored US energy reserves report, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Sensex down 104 points in early trade!Continuing to slide for the third straight day, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday fell by another 104 points in early trade following weak trends in the overseas bourses.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am China`s growth accelerates to 10.7 percent in 4Q!China`s economic growth accelerated to 10.7 percent in the final quarter of 2009, adding to pressure on Beijing to cool inflation pressures while keeping the country`s recovery on track.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am New York Times to begin charging Web readers in 2011!The New York Times, in a move that will be closely watched by other newspapers suffering from plunging print advertising revenue, announced it will begin charging online readers next year.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Ashok Leyland, Alteams enter into JV!Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland and Finnish light cast metal components manufacturer Alteams Group inaugurated their joint venture manufacturing unit at Sozhavaram.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Global economy to grow 2.7% in 2010: World Bank!The global economy is poised to grow 2.7 percent this year, but the recovery will be slow as the impact of fiscal stimulus wanes, the World Bank has said in a report.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am China `becomes` world`s 2nd largest economy !China`s economy expanded by 8.7% in 2009, overtaking Japan to become the world`s second largest economy.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Kingfisher Airlines Q3 net loss at Rs 419 cr!Private carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said its net loss for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 has widened to Rs 419.96 crore.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am China can overtake US economy by 2020: PwC!China could overtake the United States to become the world`s largest economy as early as 2020, a top business consultancy said on Thursday, underlining the impending change in global economic power.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Mauritius to revoke licences of firms who round-trip funds!Mauritius Government on Wednesday said it would revoke the licences of the island-based companies which misuses treaty with India to evade taxes.Source: Zee News : Business | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:17 am Bharti, US firm partner for CDN services in IndiaBharti Airtel said on Thursday it was partnering with US based Limelight Networks Inc for content delivery network (CDN) services in India.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:15 am Divestment Secy: To sell shares in Coal India in FY11India secy: to sell shares in Coal India in FY11 TVSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:50 am May refuse if Volkswagen seeks larger stake: SuzukiSuzuki Motor Corporation CEO Osamu Suzuki said on Thursday he would probably refuse any approach by German carmaker Volkswagen for a bigger stake in his company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:50 am Nifty closes below 5100; L&T, Siemens down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:25 am Hitachi launches new range of air-conditioner in IndiaKAZE's launch marks Hitachi's foray into tier-2 and 3 cities through its competitive pricing.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:14 am AI-IA merger done without homework: Parliamentary panelA Parliamentary Committee today said the decision to merge national carriers Air India and Indian Airlines was taken in haste, without required consultation and homework.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:06 am ICICI Bank Q3 net profit dips to Rs1,101 croreIts total income in the reporting quarter stood at Rs7,763 crore as against Rs10,351 crore in the year-ago period.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:02 am China plays down Google spat before Clinton speech - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am SCENARIOS - Policy tightening expected at RBI reviewMUMBAI (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to tighten monetary policy at its Jan. 29 review, most likely by increasing banks' reserve requirements, as it unwinds policies aimed at shoring up the economy against the global crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:58 am ‘Avatar’ gets 8 nominations for BAFTA London: Sci-fi extravaganza Avatar, Iraq drama The Hurt Locker and coming-of-age story An Education earned eight nominations apiece Thursday in the race for the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. The three films are up for best picture alongside Up in the Air and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. BAFTAs are handed out two weeks before the Academy Awards in Hollywood and considered an important indicator of likely Oscar success. South African alien thriller District 9 received seven BAFTA nominations, while Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air got six each. The nominations boost the Oscar hopes of James Cameron’s Avatar, an astronomically expensive eco-adventure that has already taken more than $1.6 billion (€1.13 billion) at the global box office. Avatar, Cameron’s first narrative feature since the Oscar-sweeping Titanic in 1997 has already won Golden Globes for best drama and director. At the British awards, Cameron is competing for best director against his ex-wife, The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow. The other director nominees are Neil Blomkamp for District 9, Lone Scherfig for An Education and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. The best actor race pits George Clooney, for Up in the Air, against The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner, Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, Colin Firth for A Single Man and Andy Serkis for his portrayal of musician Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Meryl Streep received her 13th BAFTA nomination for Julie & Julia. The other best-actress nominees are Carey Mulligan for An Education, Audrey Tautou for Coco Before Chanel, Irish actress Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe for Precious. Nominees for outstanding British film are An Education, Fish Tank; In the Loop, Moon and Nowhere Boy. Five films are competing for best foreign-language film, fashion biopic Coco before Chanel, Pedro Almodovar’s lush Broken Embraces, Swedish vampire story Let the Right One In, Jacques Audiard’s prison drama A Prophet and Michael Haneke’s chilling The White Ribbon. The British prizes, officially the Orange British Academy Film Awards will be awarded at a ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on 21 February. Last year, Danny Boyle’s underdog picture Slumdog Millionaire won seven BAFTAs, including best film. The movie went on to win eight Oscars. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:55 am ICICI Bank Q3 net dips 26% to Rs 1101 cr - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:52 am Oil slips toward $77 on China growth worriesSingapore: Oil fell towards $77 a barrel on Thursday as worries that China will take more measures to temper its booming economy overshadowed its return to double-digit growth for the first time since 2008. US crude oil for March delivery, the new front-month contract, fell 10 cents to $77.64 a barrel by 1012 GMT on fears that tightening in China would slow consumption growth in the world’s second largest oil consumer. London Brent crude fell 24 cents to $76.08. China’s annual gross domestic product growth accelerated in the fourth quarter to 10.7% -- the fastest in two years -- from a revised 9.1% in the third, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday. For all of 2009, China grew 8.7%. “Investors will soon have to assess whether this report -- and others like it -- will be strong enough to allow the commodity rally to continue without alarming the authorities even further,” MF Global analyst Edward Meir said. World growth could falter as governments pull back some of the extraordinary liquidity they pumped into markets, the World Bank said on Wednesday. In China, a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package was complemented by an unprecedented surge in lending by predominantly state-owned banks last year. But the government has signalled it will tighten credit in 2010, calling on banks to increase reserves and curb lending. On Chinese oil data, the country’s December crude runs, or the amount of crude processed by refiners, jumped 24.8% from a year earlier to a record 8.15 million barrels per day. Runs were up 7.9% overall in 2009. “For all of this year we are going to have a big focus on China because it will be the main driver of demand,” said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp. “Because it is a command-style economy, things can change quickly. If the Chinese economy just goes boom, then we could go another step higher. For now, we still have too much inventory around and too much spare capacity.” US crude reached a 15-month high of $83.95 a barrel on 11 January. Prices are 47% below their July 2008 record high near $150, but have more than doubled from lows near $32 reached by the end of that year. The dollar was boosted by the Chinese GDP data, rising to a five-month high against the euro. A stronger dollar tends to weigh on commodities like oil priced in the greenback as they become more expensive for holders of other currencies. US inventories In the US, an unexpected drop in crude stockpiles shown by an industry report had little impact on prices. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said inventories fell 1.8 million barrels last week against forecasts for a 2.4 million gain. The nation’s distillate inventories, which include heating and diesel, dropped a larger-than-expected 3.4 million barrels. Supplies were forecast to have slid by 100,000 barrels, a Reuters survey showed. Inventory data from the government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be published on Thursday at 1600 GMT. Both weekly reports were delayed by a day because of a U.S. holiday on Monday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:52 am Nokia to offer free navigationHELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia will follow Google, offering free maps on its cellphones, in a move to boost handset sales but one that will hit other satnav players, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday, citing the Finnish company.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:51 am Sensex falls on rising food prices, Nifty break 5,200 levelThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex that had opened on a weak note on Thursday, fell further by over 223 points at mid-session on fund-based selling in heavy- weight stocks, led by the banking shares.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:50 am Goldman Sachs results due after banks disappointWashington: Goldman Sachs was set to post closely watched results Thursday after losses reported by two big banks dampened the mood for a sector struggling to get out from bailouts and the financial crisis. Bank of America reported worse-than-expected results, while Wells Fargo topped expectations for profits, although analysts said the overall banking sector appeared to be still hampered by difficult economic conditions. After the mixed results, investment giant Goldman Sachs was set to report its earnings for the fourth quarter and full year early Thursday, amid speculation it may post record profits. The Goldman results “will be highly scrutinized as a barometer for the financial sector as a whole,” said Beth Gaston Moon at Options News Network. “In the past, Goldman Sachs has been regarded as a silver lining surrounding its cloudy and troubled peers.” Bank of America, the largest US bank by assets, posted a loss of $194 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, but repayments of government aid boosted the loss for shareholders to $5.2 billion. For all of 2009, the bank listed a profit of $6.3 billion, but for shareholders the results were a loss of $2.2 billion. Bank of America results were affected by a charge of $4.0 billion to repay the US government for its capital aid under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp), a massive effort to stabilize the banking system. “While it’s disappointing to report a loss for the fourth quarter, there were a number of important accomplishments worth noting,” said Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan. “First, we repaid the American taxpayer, with interest, for the Tarp investment. Second, we have taken steps to strengthen our balance sheet through successful securities offerings. And third, all of our non-credit businesses recorded positive contributions to our results.” Moynihan added that the bank was “encouraged by signs the economy is improving,” but noted that “conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment levels to continue, creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth.” Analysts at Deutsche Bank called the Bank of America results “lumpy,” and cited “disappointments” in areas such as fee income. Morgan Stanley meanwhile reported a profit of 617 million dollars in the fourth quarter, but little was left for shareholders of the investment giant that was rescued by an infusion from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The profit applicable to common shareholders was $376 million in the quarter. For all of 2009, the posted profit was $1.346 billion but shareholders suffered a loss of $907 million. Morgan Stanley’s chief executive and president James Gorman said he was confident that the bank would improve its position further as the economy recovered from the worst recession in decades. Gorman, along with chairman John Mack, agreed to forgo bonuses for 2009 due to the sector’s woes. Joe Weisenthal, analyst at the financial website Clusterstock, said the results followed a pattern set by JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, which reported losses for their lending operations offset by gains in other areas such as trading and investment banking. Another major bank, Wells Fargo, posted net income of $2.82 billion in the fourth quarter on record revenue of $22.7 billion. For the full year, Wells Fargo said it had net profit of $7.99 billion on record revenue of $88.7 billion. The results partly reflected the California-based bank’s takeover of Wachovia in December 2008, making Wells Fargo the fourth-largest US bank by assets. The bank said it had $1.2 trillion in assets at the end of 2009. Most major banks have repaid the government’s Tarp injections, although Citigroup has converted some of that to common stock, leaving the Treasury with a major stake. According to Treasury officials, about $205 billion was pumped into 707 banks under the rescue plans. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:48 am No share sale plans for SCI, Dredging Corp: OfficialIndia's shipping secretary K Mohandas said India is targeting 816 million tonnes of cargo handling in major ports by March 2012.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:44 am Phillips Carbon to set up $50-million plant in VietnamPhillips Carbon Black will hold 80% in the plant, which will be commissioned in 2011.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:42 am Trent to add upto 11 stores by March 2011: OfficialRetailer Trent Ltd expects to add upto 11 'Star Bazaar' stores by March 2011, taking its store count to 18 from the current seven, a senior official told reporters on Thursday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:40 am Revenue should grow much more nonlinear in context to people: Wipro Ltd - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:30 am L&T shares drop 5% on quarterly sales fallL&T's net sales fell to Rs80.71 billion in the three months ended December from Rs85.93 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:29 am L&T says project delays impacted Q3, vows better show ahead - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:26 am Cabinet panel approves Alstom, Bharat Forge joint ventureThe joint venture by a consortium of France's Alstom and Bharat Forge Ltd will manufacture super critical and sub-critical power plant equipment in India.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am CEPT to offer masters programme on climate change Ahmedabad: “The Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) is planning to introduce a masters programme in climate change from July this year,” CEPT director R.N. Vakil said. “We have constituted a faculty group recently for environment and climate change studies and we expect to offer a masters programme in climate change from July 2010,” Vakil said. “The global warming which is happening due to climate change is a relevant topic in present scenario as it impacts every individual and it is significant for CEPT also,” he said. “CEPT has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a NGO, Indian Society for Community Education to study the impact of climate change on the communities, especially in rural areas,” Vakil added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am China economy soars, sets stage for policy tighteningBeijing: China easily beat its 2009 growth target after a blistering fourth quarter performance that set the stage for further monetary tightening and put it on course to overtake Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. Gross domestic product surged 10.7% between October and December, compared with a year earlier, a tad below market forecasts of 10.9%, but up sharply from a revised 9.1% in the third quarter. China’s fastest quarterly growth in two years raised expectations that Beijing will lift interest rates sometime in next few months after a series of smaller steps taken to contain buoyant lending and prevent the economy and its markets from overheating. “Obviously the month-on-month growth momentum is very strong,” said Xing Ziqiang, an economist at CICC in Beijing. “So I think the chances for us to see an interest rate rise in the first quarter are increasing.” For all of 2009, the economy grew 8.7%. That handily exceeded the official target of 8%, a goal deemed the minimum needed to create jobs and preserve social stability. That has instilled confidence in markets and consumers and paid off with growth becoming more robust and broad-based. “Confidence is the spark setting fire to the plain,” Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, told a news briefing. The data prompted JPMorgan and RBS economists to lift their 2010 growth forecasts to 10% from 9.7% and 9.5% respectively, but expectations of policy tightening outweighed optimism about China’s contribution to global recovery. The US dollar briefly rose to its highest in four months after the Chinese figures, as investors cut their exposure on riskier bets. Shares in most of Asia-Pacific eased, though stocks in Shanghai were up 0.3%. The fourth-quarter flourish was flattered by a low base of comparison in the same period a year earlier, when China’s export-orientated economy was dragged down by the global financial crisis, costing more than 20 million migrant workers their jobs. But the double-digit growth is also testimony to the government’s rapid response to the downturn. A 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) fiscal stimulus package was complemented by an unprecedented surge in lending by the nation’s predominantly state-owned banks, ensuring that China was the first major economy to recover decisively from the credit crunch. INFLATION ALERT Indeed, banks have been lending so freely of late that policymakers have turned their attention to nipping inflation in the bud. The statistics bureau, which released the GDP figures, also reported that consumer prices rose 1.9% in the year to December, a marked acceleration from November’s reading of 0.6%. Alarmed by a new burst of credit at the start of January, the central bank last week increased the proportion of deposits that banks must hold in reserve, rather than lending out, and followed through this week by ordering some of them to sharply curtail lending for the rest of the month. The central bank has also been lifting yields on its bills over the past few weeks and on Thursday nudged up the yield on three-month bills for the second time this year. So far China has resisted international pressure to let the yuan resume its rise after an 18-month pause, but expectations are growing that Beijing will relent in coming months. “Yuan appreciation is likely to resume in March or April, though the rise will be gradual, say about 3-5% a year,” said Xing at CICC. A stronger exchange rate would dampen inflation and encourage domestic demand, thus helping to rebalance the Chinese as well as the global economy. China has taken a slew of steps to spur spending, including subsidies for rural buyers of domestic appliances and tax breaks on fuel-efficient cars, a measure that helped China to overtake the United States in 2009 as the world’s largest car market. Retail sales grew 17.5% in the year to December, accelerating from 15.8% in November and compared with forecasts of a 16.4% rise. Industrial production growth slowed to 18.5% from 19.2%, undercutting market forecasts of a 20.0% increase. Growth of 8.7% in 2009 fell short of the previous year’s rate of 9.6%, but economists polled by Reuters expect a rebound this year to around 9.5%. That would be enough for China to relegate Japan to number three in the world economic rankings. Goldman Sachs expects China to eclipse the United States as the biggest economy in the world by 2027. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am Kingfisher Airlines reports Q3 net lossMumbai: Private carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said its net loss for the third quarter ended 31 December, 2009 has widened to Rs419.96 crore. The company had a net loss (loss from ordinary activities after tax) of Rs413.39 crore for the quarter ended December 2008, Kingfisher Airlines said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Vijay Mallya-promoted private airline also reported a decline in its income from operations at Rs1,352.45 crore for the December quarter, from Rs1,447.83 crore in the same period previous fiscal. For the nine-month ended 31 December, the company has posted a net loss of Rs1,075.32 crore, while it had a net loss of Rs1,054.51 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Shares of Kingfisher Airlines were trading at Rs60.95 on the BSE, down 2.56% from its previous close. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:24 am India gold buying continues; rupee weighsMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's gold traders continued with their purchases on Thursday afternoon as prices stayed near their two-week lows, but a weaker rupee weighed on sentiment, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:22 am Rising food prices worry cabinet panel - govtNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Cabinet Committee on Prices is concerned about rising prices of agricultural commodities, the government said in a statement on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:19 am Noon: Markets extend losses to 2%; L&T fallsMumbai: Indian shares extended losses to 2% on Thursday afternoon, led by losses in top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro and lender ICICI Bank. At 2:17pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 1.97% at 17,130.70 points, with only four components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was down 1.9% at 1,057.50. Markets were trading 0.4% lower in the morning, in line with the decline in most Asian shares, with banks leading losses ahead of ICICI Bank’s quarterly results. Index heavyweight ICICI Bank was down 2% at Rs859.60. According to a Reuters’ poll, the lender may post a 17% decline in December quarter net profit. Rival HDFC Bank was down 1.7%, while top lender State Bank of India dropped 0.4%. By 09:42am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading down 0.4% at 17,405.45, with half of its components declining. “Market is not really going anywhere. It has just been in a range,” said Daljeet Kohli, head of research for private client group at Emkay Global. “We will see such rangebound trade until earnings get over and will have clarity as to where we (markets) are headed,” Kohli added. State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp recouped some of Wednesday’s losses and was trading 0.7% higher at Rs1,171.10, ahead of its quarterly earnings release scheduled for after market hours. The state-run explorer is likely to report a 92% jump in its quarterly net profit, a Reuters poll showed. Software companies led the gainers. Sector leader Tata Consultancy topped the list with a 1% rise, while Wipro gained 1.1%. On Wednesday, India’s No. 3 software services exporter Wipro announced an upbeat outlook and forecast-beating quarterly profit, as a global recovery boosts demand from key financial clients. “With decent Q3 results and Q4 guidance, good margin trends and decent hiring, we expect consensus upgrades to continue,” Citigroup said in a note on Wednesday. “But given the stock’s recent sharp run-up, we expect its upside momentum to slow in the short term. TCS and Wipro remain our top picks on a relative basis,” the note added. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.8:1, while 80 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.6% at 5,192.25. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:13 am ICICI Q3 net falls 13.4 pct; smaller than f'castBANGALORE (Reuters) - ICICI Bank, India's No.2 lender, reported a smaller-than-expected 13.4 percent drop in quarterly net profit, as demand for retail loans helped offset the impact of a drop in treasury income.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:07 am India may grow 8.5% in FY11: Yes BankMumbai: India may grow 8.5% in 2010/11 on increased infrastructure and rural spending and higher revenue that a proposed improvement of the tax system could generate, Shubhada Rao, chief economist of Yes Bank said. The government’s plan to divest stakes in public firms could add to the income streams, said Rao who expects the economy to grow 7.3-7.4% in the fiscal to March 2010. “Higher spending in infrastructure projects, a systematic disinvestment program and the rolling out of GST (Goods & Services Tax) will be the key highlights of the FY11,” Rao said. Asia’s third largest economy grew 7.9% in the quarter through September from a year earlier, shattering forecasts, as stimulus measures boosted demand and manufacturing activity surged. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said earlier in the month that the government was aiming to bring in GST in the second half of this year, although debates between federal and state governments are continuing. The tax is expected to ease the burden of industry by replacing a multitude of levies such as excise duty, service tax and value-added tax. Wholesale price inflation is expected to be near 10% year-on-year in March, mainly due to high food prices. However, prospects of better rabi output keep the likelihood of a reversal of trend in the food prices thereafter, Rao said. The bank also sees sustained growth in the industrial output helped by strong domestic demand and improving conditions in global markets. It expects the central bank to announce measures to tighten cash at the policy review this month and continue to use its monetary tools to fight inflation and inflation expectations. “I expect the RBI to hike the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points at this policy and see hike in repo and reverse repo rates by up to 125-150 basis points by end-March 2011,” Rao said. The CRR — the share of deposits banks must keep with the central bank — is now at 5% and the key lending (repo) and borrowing (reverse repo) rates are at 4.75% and 3.25% respectively. The bank added that its growth expectations are based on an assumption that the monsoon next year would be normal. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:07 am BSE Sensex extends losses to 2 pct; L&T fallsMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex extended losses to 2 percent on Thursday afternoon, led by losses in top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro and lender ICICI Bank.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:06 am Govt lifts ban on pre-paid phones in J& K - IBNLive.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:05 am Gold buying continues; rupee weighsMumbai: India’s gold traders continued with their purchases on Thursday afternoon as prices stayed near their two-week lows, but a weaker rupee weighed on sentiment, dealers said. “I did about 200-300 kgs yesterday at $1,108-1,120 (an ounce) as markets came to the much awaited levels. Even today there is activity, unfortunately rupee is not in supportive mode,” said a dealer with a private bank in Mumbai. International gold was $1,109.55/1,110.35 an ounce as against the previous close of $1,111.10/1,111.90. Overseas gold struck a two-week low of $1,107 an ounce, a level last seen on 4 January. “Yesterday’s sales were highest in the month. There were deals till late night,” said another dealer with a state-run bank. The Indian rupee retreated a bit from new two-week lows touched in initial trade as exporters stepped up dollar sales around the psychological Rs46-per-dollar mark while the U.S. unit stayed steady at morning levels. A weak rupee makes the dollar-quoted yellow metal expensive. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:02 am ICICI Q3 net falls 13.4%; smaller than forecastBangalore: ICICI Bank, India’s No.2 lender, reported a smaller-than-expected 13.4% drop in quarterly net profit, as demand for retail loans helped offset the impact of a drop in treasury income. ICICI said its October-December net profit fell to Rs11.01 billion ($239 million) from Rs12.72 billion a year earlier. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast net profit of Rs10.55 billion. Indian banks were mostly insulated from the direct impact of the global credit crisis, but the world downturn hit the country harder than expected leading to a sharp slowdown in credit growth in the current financial year. Demand for credit is expected to pick up in the near future, as improving business and consumer confidence brings back corporate, housing, auto and retail demand in Asia’s third-largest economy. Shares in ICICI Bank, valued at $21 billion, fell 3% in October-December, lagging a small gain in the sector index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am Nokia to offer free navigationHelsinki: Nokia will follow Google, offering free maps on its cellphones, in a move to boost handset sales but one that will hit other satnav players, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday, citing the Finnish company. “Nokia used to charge for navigation packages that included turn-by-turn directions. That all goes away now. Now you can get turn-by-turn directions covering 74 countries in 46 languages,” the report said. A spokesman for Nokia declined to comment. The firm is scheduled to hold news conferences related to its services offering around the world from 0930 GMT onwards. In 2008 Nokia bought for $8.1 billion digital mapping firm Navteq — a rival to navigation specialist TomTom’s Tele Atlas unit. Analysts said free navigation could enable Nokia to support its flagging position in the global smartphone market. It still sells more smartphones than any of its rivals, but it has lost ground to Apple and RIM. “Nokia wants to maintain a high market share in devices, and this is one way of doing it, by linking them to services,” said Nordea analyst Martti Larjo. “Navigation originally was one of the services they thought they could get money from, but Google is coming (with turn-by-turn navigation), as are other competitors, so they have to do it,” he said. Google started in late 2009 to offer free navigation on Motorola’s Droid model smartphones in the North American market. Nokia offering free navigation on some 20 million smartphones is set to hurt key players on the global navigation market, including TomTom and Garmin. Shares in TomTom fell 3.5% by 0830 GMT, while Nokia stock was up 1.2%, inline with stronger stock markets. Turn-by-turn navigation has been one of the key revenue sources for Nokia’s services offering, and the company had said it expected one third of its targeted 2 billion euros ($2.84 billion) services revenue next year to come from navigation. “The big question is — can Nokia generate revenue enough to compensate for the revenue streams they kill,” said John Strand, chief executive of Danish telecoms consultancy Strand Consult. “The only way to do that short-term is through extra hardware sales and a higher average sales prices. It will take time to develop all the new revenue streams — years,” he said. Writedown Coming? But one analyst said the move, when looked at alongside the moves of Google, could mean Nokia is readying to write down Navteq goodwill when reports fourth quarter results on 28 January. “Looking at what has happened in the last 12 months ... the environment has become more challenging for Nokia and navigation services,” said FIM analyst Michael Schroder. “There is a risk that they will make a writedown on Navteq when they report fourth-quarter data next week, but it is impossible to speculate on the size,” Schroder said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:50 am Nokia to offer free navigationHelsinki: Nokia will follow Google, offering free maps on its cellphones, in a move to boost handset sales but one that will hit other satnav players, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday, citing the Finnish company. “Nokia used to charge for navigation packages that included turn-by-turn directions. That all goes away now. Now you can get turn-by-turn directions covering 74 countries in 46 languages,” the report said. A spokesman for Nokia declined to comment. The firm is scheduled to hold news conferences related to its services offering around the world from 0930 GMT onwards. In 2008 Nokia bought for $8.1 billion digital mapping firm Navteq — a rival to navigation specialist TomTom’s Tele Atlas unit. Analysts said free navigation could enable Nokia to support its flagging position in the global smartphone market. It still sells more smartphones than any of its rivals, but it has lost ground to Apple and RIM. “Nokia wants to maintain a high market share in devices, and this is one way of doing it, by linking them to services,” said Nordea analyst Martti Larjo. “Navigation originally was one of the services they thought they could get money from, but Google is coming (with turn-by-turn navigation), as are other competitors, so they have to do it,” he said. Google started in late 2009 to offer free navigation on Motorola’s Droid model smartphones in the North American market. Nokia offering free navigation on some 20 million smartphones is set to hurt key players on the global navigation market, including TomTom and Garmin. Shares in TomTom fell 3.5% by 0830 GMT, while Nokia stock was up 1.2%, inline with stronger stock markets. Turn-by-turn navigation has been one of the key revenue sources for Nokia’s services offering, and the company had said it expected one third of its targeted 2 billion euros ($2.84 billion) services revenue next year to come from navigation. “The big question is — can Nokia generate revenue enough to compensate for the revenue streams they kill,” said John Strand, chief executive of Danish telecoms consultancy Strand Consult. “The only way to do that short-term is through extra hardware sales and a higher average sales prices. It will take time to develop all the new revenue streams — years,” he said. Writedown Coming? But one analyst said the move, when looked at alongside the moves of Google, could mean Nokia is readying to write down Navteq goodwill when reports fourth quarter results on 28 January. “Looking at what has happened in the last 12 months ... the environment has become more challenging for Nokia and navigation services,” said FIM analyst Michael Schroder. “There is a risk that they will make a writedown on Navteq when they report fourth-quarter data next week, but it is impossible to speculate on the size,” Schroder said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:50 am L&T shares drop 5 pct on qtrly sales fallMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Larsen & Toubro, India's largest engineering and construction firm, fell 5 percent on Thursday afternoon after its quarterly sales dropped 6.1 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:39 am No PAN card? pay more income tax from April 1 - IBNLive.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:38 am Food inflation eases to 16.81%On weekly basis, the price index for food articles fell marginally by 0.1% on account of decline in prices of vegetables (2.6%) and other food articles (2%).Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:38 am Funds for climate change missions in union budget: SaranNew Delhi: India’s eight ambitious missions to address climate change may get funds in the union budget that will be presented in Parliament next month. “The ministries implementing the missions will be provided the necessary budget for it. We are tying up funds domestically,” Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran said when asked whether there would be any allocation for the eight missions in the Union Budget. He said each of the missions would be discussed at the Planning Commission and will be incorporated in the Plan. “Government has taken a decision on implementing it. Of course, they will provide funds,” Saran said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the National Solar Mission that aims to generate 20,000 MW solar power by 2022 recently. The mission is one of the eight announced as India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Besides solar mission, India plans to deal with global warming through achieving enhanced energy efficiency, promoting a sustainable habitat, efficient use of water, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, increasing forest cover, adapting to sustainable agriculture, and developing strategic knowledge on climate change. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:35 am Biocon Q3 net jumps three-fold to Rs 81 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:22 am See stable prices on new capacities in Q1FY11:Shree Cements - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:15 am May refuse if Volkswagen wants bigger stake: SuzukiMany industry watchers expect Volkswagen to eventually plan to amass a controlling or majority stake in Suzuki as it aims to topple Toyota Motor Corp.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:14 am Biocon Q3 net jumps three-fold to Rs81 crMumbai: Biotechnology firm Biocon on Thursday said its consolidated net profit witnessed nearly three-fold jump at Rs80.8 crore for the third quarter ended 31 December 2009, over the same period previous fiscal. As per the Indian accounting standards, total income rose to Rs641.5 crore for the quarter ended December, against Rs452.4 crore in the same period last year, Biocon said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. “The company has delivered strong growth in all business segments and we are confident of maintaining this momentum in the next quarter,” Biocon chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said. On standalone basis, the company has posted a net profit of Rs65 crore for the December quarter, a two-fold jump over the year-ago period. Shares of Biocon were trading at Rs292.85 on the BSE, up 0.24% from previous close. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:13 am Microsoft to issue 'Google attack' browser patchMicrosoft Corp said it will issue a patch to fix the old version of its Internet Explorer browser that allowed recent attacks on Google Inc's network in China.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:12 am Rupee trims fall; stocks, dollar continue to hurtMumbai: The Indian rupee retreated a bit from new two-week lows touched in initial trade on Thursday as exporters stepped up dollar sales around the psychological 46 per dollar mark while US unit stayed steady at morning levels. At 1:30pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.99/46.00 per dollar, after falling to Rs46.06 in early deals, which was its lowest since 6 January. It had ended at Rs45.93/94 per dollar on Wednesday. The euro hit a five-month low on the dollar, ground down by worries about Greece’s deteriorating finances, while the Australian dollar remained on the defensive after strong Chinese data raised the risk of tightening there. The index of the dollar against six majors was little changed from morning levels. It was up 0.1%. Dealers said exporters had stepped up dollar sales around the Rs46 per dollar mark helping prevent further losses in the unit. However, stocks were being watched for cues on foreign fund flows. Indian shares were down 1.4% in line with mostly lower Asian markets. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 46.00/10, near 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 46.0225, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $3.3 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:09 am Food prices ease, rate expectations unchangedNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's annual food prices eased in early January for the third week running, but the Reserve Bank of India is still expected to tighten monetary policy by increasing cash reserves held at banks at its Jan. 29 policy review.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:06 am L&T Q3 net up 26%, beats forecastMumbai: Larsen & Toubro Ltd, India’s largest engineering and construction firm, beat forecasts with a 26% rise in quarterly profit thanks to a one-time gain. Net profit rose to Rs7.59 billion ($165 million) in its fiscal third quarter ended December from Rs6.04 billion a year ago. The earnings were helped by a reversal of provision on sale of shares in Mahindra Satyam. Net sales fell to Rs80.71 billion from 85.93 billion. A Reuters poll of 12 brokerages had forecast net profit of Rs7.44 billion on net sales of 100 billion. Shares in the company, valued at $21.6 billion, jumped 117% in 2009, outshining the 81% rise by the benchmark index in the same period. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am Global IT spend to rise 4.6% in 2010: GartnerMumbai: Global research firm Gartner Inc said on Thursday worldwide IT spending would rise 4.6% to $3.4 trillion in 2010, on the back of an economic recovery and a declining dollar. In 2009, spending on information technology fell 4.6% to $3.22 trillion, the firm said in a note. “Much of the increase in our revised 2010 forecast can be attributed to a projected decline in the value of the US dollar compared to 2009,” Richard Gordon, research vice president, said in the note. All major segments such as computer hardware, software, IT services would contribute to the growth, with emerging markets leading the recovery, Gartner said. Recovery in western Europe, the United States and Japan is expected to start more slowly than the emerging markets of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Garter said. “Although recovery will be slow, over the next 12 to 18 months, gross domestic product is projected to increase, consumer confidence is expected to improve, and the availability of credit should increase,” Gordon said. “At the same time, pent-up demand for new technologies will be released as enterprises focus on new growth opportunities and increase spending plans,” he said. Leading Indian software services companies Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro beat quarterly forecasts and indicated a recovery in the global economy was boosting demand for outsourcing. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:47 am Global IT spend to rise 4.6% in 2010: GartnerMumbai: Global research firm Gartner Inc said on Thursday worldwide IT spending would rise 4.6% to $3.4 trillion in 2010, on the back of an economic recovery and a declining dollar. In 2009, spending on information technology fell 4.6% to $3.22 trillion, the firm said in a note. “Much of the increase in our revised 2010 forecast can be attributed to a projected decline in the value of the US dollar compared to 2009,” Richard Gordon, research vice president, said in the note. All major segments such as computer hardware, software, IT services would contribute to the growth, with emerging markets leading the recovery, Gartner said. Recovery in western Europe, the United States and Japan is expected to start more slowly than the emerging markets of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Garter said. “Although recovery will be slow, over the next 12 to 18 months, gross domestic product is projected to increase, consumer confidence is expected to improve, and the availability of credit should increase,” Gordon said. “At the same time, pent-up demand for new technologies will be released as enterprises focus on new growth opportunities and increase spending plans,” he said. Leading Indian software services companies Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro beat quarterly forecasts and indicated a recovery in the global economy was boosting demand for outsourcing. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:47 am Food price index for 9 Jan eases to 16.81% from 17.28%New Delhi: India’s annual food prices eased in early January for the third week running, but the central bank is still expected to tighten monetary policy by increasing cash reserves held at banks at its 29 January policy review. Although a rise in fuel prices runs the risk of offsetting the decline in food prices, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not expected to raise rates. Markets have mostly factored in a 50-basis point rise in the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the level of cash banks must keep with the central bank. Analysts expect a rise in key rates as early as March, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. “Rate action is warranted only when two conditions are fulfilled. One, when the generalised WPI goes beyond 10 percent. Second, when credit growth picks up substantially,” Rajiv Kumar, an economist New Delhi-based think tank ICRIER. “As of now, RBI should signal change in monetary stance by going for a hike in CRR.” The food price index rose 16.81% in the 12 months to 9 January, lower than an annual rise of 17.28% the previous week. The fuel index rose to an annual 6.43% in early January. The index has risen over 9% since the end of March 2009, following an upswing in world crude prices amid signs of a global recovery. “Whether rise in fuel prices will offset easing food prices is an open question, but there is a risk,” said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi. Food prices have risen on supply shortages after the worst monsoon in nearly four decades, followed by floods in some regions that hit crops. Higher government prices paid to farmers were also a contributory factor. Last week, India’s federal government ordered the sale of stocked grain and extended duty-free sugar imports by another nine months. Duty-free imports of white sugar were earlier allowed up to 31 March, while raw sugar shipments, without any import duty, are already allowed up to 31 December. Annual wholesale inflation rose to 7.31% in December, higher than 4.78% in November, on higher food prices, with a government official predicting the headline number to touch double digits by March. Prices of some essential food items like rice and wheat were up over 12% on year in December, while sugar prices rose about 54%. However, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday sugar prices fell 10 to 12% in the past two to three days. While supply-side bottlenecks have driven inflation to date, demand side factors are beginning to surface. In late November, cement companies raised prices by between Rs8 and 10 rupees ($0.17-$0.22) per 50 kg (110 lb) bag, reflecting infrastructure demand. Steel companies are likely to follow suit this month on a revival in demand and a sharp increase in input prices globally. Although the government officials sound concerned about rising inflation, they seem to be wary of any sharp monetary tightening, worried it could choke off economic recovery. The finance ministry’s chief economic advisor was quoted as saying on Tuesday food prices will cool off in one to two months, leading to a turn around in inflation, which will render “tampering” with interest rates unnecessary. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:39 am Food inflation drops marginally to 16.81 per cent - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:36 am L&T Q3 net up 26 pct, beats forecastMUMBAI (Reuters) - Larsen & Toubro Ltd, India's largest engineering and construction firm, beat forecasts with a 26 percent rise in quarterly profit thanks to a one-time gain.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:34 am Food inflation eases to 16.81%Food inflation softened to 16.81 per cent for the week ended January 9, led by lower fruit and vegetable prices, although pulses and potatoes continued to cost dearer.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:31 am No delay in China launch of X10 smartphone: Sony EricssonTokyo: Sony Ericsson, a cellphone joint venture between Sony Corp and Ericsson, has no plans to delay the launch of a phone in China that runs Google Inc’s Android operating system, the company’s chief executive said on Thursday. Google this week postponed the launch in China of two mobile phones which use the Android platform, in the first sign its business in the country is starting to be affected by a dispute over hacking and censorship. The manufacturers of those phones, which were scheduled for release in China on Wednesday, are Motorola and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “I don’t think that will affect us at all,” Sony Ericsson chief executive Bert Nordberg said on the sidelines of a Tokyo news conference held jointly with NTT DoCoMo Inc to mark the Japan launch in April of its Android phone. He said the 50-50 joint venture plans to launch the smartphone phone, dubbed X10, in China and the rest of the world this spring. China is the world’s largest mobile phone market. Loss-making Sony Ericsson holds high hopes for its Android phone after the company was hit by the global downturn as well as the lack of a strong smartphone offering to rival Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry. Smartphones, with advanced mobile Internet and networking functions, have been the one bright spot in an otherwise depressed handset market over the past year. Expectations are equally high at NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, after Apple Inc’s iPhone helped smaller rival Softbank Corp run ahead of DoCoMo in monthly net user growth. Softbank is the sole supplier of Apple’s iPhone in Japan. Sony Ericsson’s X10 is the second Android phone for DoCoMo, which already offers an HTC Corp phone that uses the operating system. Following Nordberg’s comments, shares in Sony closed up 4.1% at ¥3,185, outperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which gained 1.8%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:29 am No delay in China launch of X10 smartphone: Sony EricssonTokyo: Sony Ericsson, a cellphone joint venture between Sony Corp and Ericsson, has no plans to delay the launch of a phone in China that runs Google Inc’s Android operating system, the company’s chief executive said on Thursday. Google this week postponed the launch in China of two mobile phones which use the Android platform, in the first sign its business in the country is starting to be affected by a dispute over hacking and censorship. The manufacturers of those phones, which were scheduled for release in China on Wednesday, are Motorola and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “I don’t think that will affect us at all,” Sony Ericsson chief executive Bert Nordberg said on the sidelines of a Tokyo news conference held jointly with NTT DoCoMo Inc to mark the Japan launch in April of its Android phone. He said the 50-50 joint venture plans to launch the smartphone phone, dubbed X10, in China and the rest of the world this spring. China is the world’s largest mobile phone market. Loss-making Sony Ericsson holds high hopes for its Android phone after the company was hit by the global downturn as well as the lack of a strong smartphone offering to rival Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry. Smartphones, with advanced mobile Internet and networking functions, have been the one bright spot in an otherwise depressed handset market over the past year. Expectations are equally high at NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, after Apple Inc’s iPhone helped smaller rival Softbank Corp run ahead of DoCoMo in monthly net user growth. Softbank is the sole supplier of Apple’s iPhone in Japan. Sony Ericsson’s X10 is the second Android phone for DoCoMo, which already offers an HTC Corp phone that uses the operating system. Following Nordberg’s comments, shares in Sony closed up 4.1% at ¥3,185, outperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which gained 1.8%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:29 am China economy soars, sets stage for policy tighteningBEIJING (Reuters) - China easily beat its 2009 growth target after a blistering fourth quarter performance that set the stage for further monetary tightening and put it on course to overtake Japan to become the world's second-largest economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:09 am Auto industry may be heading towards excess capacity by 2012The domestic auto industry may turn into a buyer's market by 2012. This is because consumers are set to get spoilt for choice with the variety of competing products slated to be launched in the next fewSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Wipro Q3 profit rises 21% on higher volumes, steady marginsIndia's third largest software services company, Wipro said on Wednesday that the macro environment had stabilized resulting in a broad based sequential growth for the company for the third quarter of 2009-10 fiscal.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am BSNL's rural WiMax roll-out hits a bumpBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's Rs 1,000-crore rural WiMax project has hit a bump with its (BSNL's) internal vigilance officer putting a stay on giving the project to one of the four shortlistedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Big 3 in IT added nearly 17,000 to rolls in Q3The improvement in business sentiments and revival in IT spend have finally translated into robust headcount additions not seen by the top three software vendors the previous twoSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Too early to negotiate prices with clients: WiproAlthough the economic environment has improved and client confidence is returning, Wipro says it is not yet in a position where it can negotiate prices withSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Rs 53,000-cr IPOs/FPOs set to hit market this yearInitial Public Offerings for roughly Rs 6,500 crore have already received SEBI clearance and another jumbo basket of IPOs for Rs 33,000 crore is awaiting approval.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am MindTree (Rs 648.9): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of MindTree from a short-term horizon. It is evident from the charts that the stock had been on an intermediate-term uptrend from its March 2009 low of Rs 187 till its December high of Rs 729. However afterSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am NTPC to get into LNG value chainTo mitigate fuel risks, NTPC Ltd plans to get into the liquefied natural gas fuel chain by leveraging the upcoming Dabhol LNG terminal. The country's largest power generator is also setting up a dedicated coal import cell within the organisationSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideUtilise rallies to sell DLF with tight stop-loss at Rs 380. Initiate fresh short position if ICICI Bank declines below Rs 863 and SBI slips below Rs 2144 with stiff stop-loss. We re-affirm our sell recommendation in Infosys with stop at Rs 2674.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am High inflation, a concern: PranabThe Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today said that high inflation is a matter of concern and hinted that more steps are on the cards to check risingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am IPL snub: Pak threatens to respond in ‘befitting manner’Islamabad: Angry over perceived IPL snub to its cricketers, Pakistan has threatened India that it will respond in a “befitting manner”. “India or any other country that does not give respect to Pakistan will be treated the same way by us. If there is a desire to improve Indo-Pak friendship, respect should be given to Pakistani sportspersons,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted as saying in the TV channels. Twenty20 champions Pakistan was stunned after none of the country’s 11 players, including current Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi who had played for Deccan Chargers in the first season, were signed up during the IPL auction on Tuesday. “The manner in which the players were “insulted” showed that India is not serious about the peace process with Pakistan,” Malik claimed. Sportspersons are ambassadors of peace and India should have treated them with respect, he said, adding that Pakistan will respond in a befitting manner. Sports minister Ijaz Jakhrani was also too critical of the treatment meted to the Pakistani players. “The way India behaved with us is highly condemnable. We will give a befitting reply to them. When there is a question of Pakistan’s pride we are united,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 11:36 pm Rupee down 10 paise at 46 03 in early tradeThe rupee today fell by 10 paise to trade at two-week low of 46.03 a dollar in early trade following weakness in stock markets amid firm dollar overseas. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:59 pm Kingfisher Airlines Q3 net loss at Rs 419 crPrivate carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said its net loss for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 has widened to Rs 419.96 crore.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:49 pm EBay beats in quarter on PayPal, e-commerce growthSan Francisco: EBay Inc forecast 2010 results above expectations after posting double-digit revenue growth in PayPal and its main online marketplaces unit, sending shares up 8%. The company, which is in the midst of a turnaround as it battles Amazon.com and other retailers, also beat Wall Street profit estimates in its closely scrutinized holiday quarter. EBay, which connects buyers and sellers over the Internet, has been overhauling its main marketplaces division to increase transactions on its site. Revenue rose 15% at that unit during the quarter. Gross merchandise volume, which measures the total value of goods sold on eBay, rose 24%. That marked a huge improvement over the negative trends seen earlier in 2009. EBay said it expects full-year 2010 adjusted earnings of $1.63 to $1.68 per share on revenue of $8.8 billion to $9.1 billion. That was above the $1.60 per share expected, on average, by Wall Street analysts. “It’s fair to say a turnaround is taking shape,” said Morningstar analyst Larry Witt, calling the results the best in at least a year. “You’re going to see more of the same (in 2010).” “Pay Pal is hitting the ball out of the park,” he added. That fast-growing Web payments unit, which represents more than a third of overall revenue, saw a 28% revenue rise during the quarter. Gains in marketplaces, which includes Shopping.com, StubHub and other e-commerce units, were driven by more sold items and more goods purchased for fixed prices, rather than in an auction format. The company has sought to increase selection, enhance security and make it easier to buyers and sellers to conduct transactions on the site. A lower tax rate and a stronger US dollar also helped results in the quarter. “We are cautiously optimistic about slow, steady progress in the global economy,” said eBay chief executive John Donahoe on a conference call. Fourth-quarter net profit was $1.4 billion, or $1.02 per share, up from $367 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, profit was $585.8 million, or 44 cents per share — above analysts’ average forecast of 40 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue rose 16% to $2.37 billion, also beating Wall Street expectations. Revenue rose 11%in the United States and 21% internationally. EBay sold the bulk of its Skype Web telephone unit, deemed a bad fit with the company, for about $1.9 billion in November to an investor group. EBay retains a 30% stake in Skype. But litigation expenses related to Skype, together with costs from the acquisition of Korean e-commerce site GMarket, sent operating margins down. They fell to 7.6% in the quarter from 22.3% a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, margins fell to 29.3 percent from 32.8%. A 2010 Turnaround? Analysts have been looking for signs that measures taken by eBay to turn around its business are bearing fruit after years of sluggish growth. But some, including Benjamin Schachter, senior Internet analyst with Broadpoint Amtech, say the strength of any rebound is still too early to gauge. Facing eBay in 2010 is continued competition from Amazon.com and other retailers, and a consumer spending environment that is still under pressure. Shares of eBay rose 69% in 2009, buoyed by early signs of a turnaround in its marketplaces division, where growth has slowed in recent years. But they are off a year high of $25.80 in late October on concerns that a still-weak economy would weigh on growth. Shares rose to $24.05 after closing on the Nasdaq at $22.23, down 4.4% during the regular session. “The guidance here is pretty good but we have to see how the turnaround takes shape,” Schachter said. But “people are pleased to see things are actually pretty good and they are benefiting from the macro environment.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:28 pm Sensex down 104 points in early tradeContinuing to slide for the third straight day, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday fell by another 104 points in early trade following weak trends in the overseas bourses. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:18 pm Google faces China questions amid solid Q4San Francisco: Google Inc is expected to deliver stellar fourth-quarter results on Thursday, but investors will be seeking insight into a disagreement with China that has cast doubt on its future in the world’s largest Internet market. A strong online holiday shopping season, improving advertising rates and market share gains should help Google, the world’s No. 1 Internet search engine, deliver its most robust revenue growth in a year, analysts say. Some say Google’s shares, hurt by the simmering spat with the world’s No. 3 economy, have room to rise. They are down 8% since hitting a 52-week high of $629.51 on the first trading day of 2010. “The buy side is looking for pretty strong results on the quarter,” said Kaufman Brothers analyst Aaron Kessler. He noted that the unofficial “whisper” numbers among investors have Google’s fourth-quarter net revenue growing between 13% and 15% from the third quarter’s $4.38 billion. That’s slightly better than the 12.3% sequential growth expected on average, which pegs Google’s fourth-quarter revenue at $4.92 billion, excluding traffic acquisition costs. Estimates from Thomson Reuters StarMine, which places more weight on recent forecasts by top-rated analysts, also forecast revenue of $4.92 billion. Google, which beat Wall Street EPS forecasts in each of 2009’s first three quarters, has weathered the recession and ad spending slump better than many of its peers, even as its once-supercharged growth suffered a sharp slowdown. But while other Internet companies like Yahoo Inc and AOL Inc are still looking for light at the end of the tunnel, Google regained its momentum in the third quarter with a better-than-expected earnings report that sent its shares up 3.7% the following day. While Google’s share price doubled in 2009, JMP Securities analyst Sameet Sinha said he believed it could keep rising in 2010 as the economy recovers and Google expands its footprint in different types of advertising such as graphical, display ads and affiliate networking. “As people get more visibility in 2010, I think there’s room for the stock to continue going up,” he said. Google is expected to post $6.50 in fourth-quarter earnings per share, excluding special items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. StarMine SmartEstimates said Google should earn $6.52 per share in the December quarter. Magnifying Effect Google’s decision to stop self-censoring its search results in China, and to potentially shut down operations in the country, is of little financial consequence in the short term. Analysts estimate annual revenue from China of $200 million to $600 million. But executives’ comments on the potential to reach a compromise with Beijing, and their strategy for international expansion outside of China, will be closely watched by investors worried about longer-term growth prospects. On Monday, the company postponed the launch of two mobile phones in the country, manufactured by Motorola Inc and Samsung Electronics, in the first sign that its business there is starting to take a hit. While Google has been reluctant to share details about its operations outside its core Internet business, analysts and investors are expected to press for more information. The analysts will “have an opportunity to get some direct answers on these things at Google right now that are very topical,” said portfolio manager Ryan Jacob of Jacob Internet Fund which owns Google stock. “They’ll take advantage of it.” More immediately, the fourth quarter may provide further signs of improvement in Google’s cost per click -- the price advertisers pay Google when Web surfers click on an ad -- which could increase 4% year-over-year after losing ground for several quarters, according to a recent UBS note. While Google CEO Eric Schmidt has signaled that spending and hiring could soon increase, Jacob said the company would continue to manage costs judiciously, “magnifying” the effect of revenue growth. “Even a very modest exceeding of expectations on the top line could show a much larger increase in earnings,” Jacob said. But investors will be most eager for insight into Google’s expansion plans in China and in the mobile phone market. Google’s plan to sell its new Nexus One smartphone directly to consumers isn’t likely to juice the company’s revenue in the near term, analyst said. But the costs associated with wading into the electronics retailing business, as well as the longer-term sales and mobile advertising potential, will have serious implications for Google’s future performance. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:10 pm Kingfisher Airlines Q3 net loss at Rs 419 crPrivate carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said its net loss for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 has widened to Rs 419.96 crore.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 9:49 pm Rupee down 10 paise at 46.03 in early tradeThe rupee on Thursday fell by 10 paise to trade at two-week low of 46.03 a dollar in early trade following weakness in stock markets amid firm dollar overseas.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 9:35 pm Sensex down 104 points in early tradeContinuing to slide for the third straight day, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday fell by another 104 points in early trade following weak trends in the overseas bourses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 9:12 pm Global economy to grow 2 7 per cent in 2010 World BankThe global economy is poised to grow 2.7 per cent this year, but the recovery will be slow as the impact of fiscal stimulus wanes, the World Bank has said in a report. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 8:53 pm RCOM offers free local calls at nightReliance Communications on Wednesday launched two night calling packs for its GSM and CDMA users, offering free local calls between 11 pm - 6 am.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm TVS back in black, gives 70% dividendTVS Motor Company has posted a net profit of Rs 23.53 crore for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2009. The two-wheeler maker had a net loss of Rs 95.85 lakh during the corresponding period in 2008.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 1:28 pm US cos tell Modi to lift prohibitionA high-level delegation of American multinationals has urged the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to lift prohibition in the interest of business development in the state.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 1:24 pm Retailers plan R-day discounts to boost salesConsumers reeling under inflationary pressure can expect some relief on their daily consumption basket with major retail chains planning to offer attractive deals and huge discounts around the Republic Day.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Jan 2010 | 1:22 pm Govt to relax FDI normsAnother roadblock to be removed from FDI path; Load on insurance chest.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 11:37 am New Pension System courts old Rs 1 lakh limitThis year, we've got a new tax-saving vehicle to get the Rs 1 lakh tax deduction. After many near misses, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) launched the much-awaited New Pension System (NPS) in May 2008. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:20 am China warms up to more imports from IndiaChina is poised to import more of value added goods from India as the two fastest growing economies signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on Tuesday, putting behind their border and trade related disputes. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:11 am T Rowe price buys 26 in UTI asset Co for Rs 650 crIn a landmark event for the mutual fund industry, US-based T. Rowe Price Global Investment Services Ltd. (TRP), the subsidiary of US-based T Rowe Price Group has acquired 26 per cent stake in UTI Mutual Fund for Rs 650 crore. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:10 am Vikram Pandit under pressure to deliverNew York: You almost have to feel sorry for Vikram S. Pandit. For the past two years, Pandit has tried, with mixed success, to clean up the financial mess that is Citigroup Inc. But some of his employees and shareholders are starting to lose patience. After many billions of dollars in losses, Pandit, they say, must deliver profits in 2010—or risk losing his job as chief executive. The latest sobering news from Citigroup arrived on Tuesday, when the firm announced a gaping, $7.6 billion (around Rs35,000 crore) loss for the December quarter. That quarterly hole more than swallowed all of Citigroup’s recent earnings and left the company in the red for the year. Citigroup suffered more than most large banks from the financial crisis and its troubles, analysts say, are far from over. Insiders say morale is low. Some Citigroup investment bankers and traders are threatening to leave for more lucrative jobs elsewhere. Employees in Citi’s giant consumer banking division say the bank seems rudderless. It isn’t as if Pandit, 53, hasn’t tried. Since succeeding Charles O. Prince III, he has strengthened the lax risk-management practices that got Citigroup into so much trouble; cut 110,000 jobs, or around one-third of the company's workforce; and stanched red ink from toxic mortgage investments. Helped by three multi-billion-dollar US government bailouts, he also has bolstered Citigroup’s finances and slimmed down the company, selling $351 billion in assets in a challenging market. “We have made enormous progress in 2009,” Pandit insisted on Tuesday’s conference call. And while Citigroup’s share price has recovered from the panicked lows of last March, when it fetched less than $1, it is still worth a fraction of what it was before the crisis broke out. On Tuesday, Citigroup rose 12 cents to $3.54. That is down from a record high of $57 in December 2006. Given that showing, Pandit is under growing pressure to prove the company can finally make money. Saudi prince Al-Walid bin Talal, a major Citigroup shareholder, said last week in an interview with Fox Business Network that the honeymoon for Pandit was over. “2010 is for him the year to make it or break it, and he has to deliver,” Al-Walid said. Now, Pandit must lead the bank into a profitable future, rather than cope with its past mistakes. And much will depend upon the course of the global economy and the new regulations coming out of Washington—things that are beyond Pandit’s control. ©2010/The New York Times Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:10 am Govt spending hits landmark Rs 11 lakh croreFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his team of officials have started giving final touches to budget 2010-11 with government expenses set to cross Rs 11 lakh crore for the year mirroring the need for high public spending to spur growth. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:08 am What worries banks is that they can t easily get capitalMartin Feldstein, George F Baker Professor of Economics Harvard University and President Emeritus of the National Bureau of Economics Research, spoke to HT. Excerpts: Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 10:05 am LyondellBasell RIL set for formal bidReliance Industries is preparing to submit a binding financial bid directly to the management of bankrupt petrochemical firm LyondellBasell to acquire a controlling stake in the Netherlands-based company. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 20 Jan 2010 | 9:58 am JPMorgan in exclusive talks on RBS SempraLondon/Dubai: JPMorgan Chaseis in exclusive talks to buy the RBS Sempra commodities joint venture, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal expected to be worth about $4 billion. JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Australia’s Macquarie had each submitted offers worth nearly $4 billion for the RBS Sempra unit by an early January deadline. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank were seen as the front runners, but the latter was no longer in the running, sources said. JPMorgan was willing to pay a higher price for the business, sources said, although details of the likely purchase price were not immediately known. One source said RBS was also keen for a quick transaction and due diligence process. RBS Sempra is 51% owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been forced by European regulators to sell its stake. Sempra Energy is also set to sell its 49% stake in the deal. RBS, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment and RBS Sempra could not immediately be reached. RBS Sempra trades commodities ranging from oil and natural gas to metals and agricultural products and would add to JPMorgan’s existing commodities business to challenge market leaders Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital. New York-based JPMorgan has picked up assets and market share after weathering the financial crisis better than most rivals. It last week reported a fourth-quarter profit of $3.3 billion, fuelled by strong investment banking. RBS Sempra was formed in 2008 when RBS bought its controlling stake for $1.7 billion and California utility Sempra Energy invested $1.6 billion. Forced Sale RBS Sempra, whose antecedents include such colourful names as Enron and Metallgesellschaft Ltd, is a big player in the London metals market, while its energy business is largely focused around US utility Sempra Energy. Much of its business centres around Michael Hutchinson, a towering figure in the closely knit metals community, who stood down as non-executive chairman from RBS Sempra last year, after four decades in the business. RBS, which is 84% owned by the UK government, was given four years by Brussels to sell its stake, but wants to sell it quickly as chief executive Stephen Hester is keen for a streamlined RBS to take shape. RBS Sempra would also lose value if staff leave or uncertainty about the business persisted. Deutsche Bank said recently it aimed to be among the world’s top five commodities firms, from its current position of sixth. But it has said it can achieve this organically, and it has been aggressively investing in the business, including new offices in Houston and Calgary to build out its physical commodities trading to add to its commodities derivatives activity. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 6:48 am YouTube to stream IPL cricket live: Google Mumbai: Internet giant Google on Wednesday said that it would stream all the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches live via its YouTube videosharing website. Under the terms of the agreement, Google will have exclusive online rights for IPL content for two years and both Google and IPL will jointly share revenues from sponsorships and advertising. “We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner,” said Shailesh Rao, a senior manager of Google India, in a statement. “YouTube offers an open platform for sports and entertainment companies to take their content to a global audience and a great opportunity for advertisers,” Rao said. The third edition of the popular Twenty20 tournament, featuring the world’s top players in eight teams owned by rich businessmen and Bollywood stars, will be held from March to April this year. “This unique initiative by IPL to partner Google India will give the league a global reach on a single distribution platform,” Lalit Modi, chairman of the IPL said in a statement. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 3:44 am Sony to launch PS3 motion controller in autumnTokyo: Sony Corp. said Wednesday it has pushed back the release of its highly anticipated motion controller for the PlayStation 3 game console to the fall. The device will be available in North America, Europe, Japan and other Asian countries. Sony did not say how much the controller will cost. The controller was slated for a spring launch when Sony first announced details in September. But it decided to wait several months until new games were available to accompany the release, said Makiko Noda, spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in Tokyo. “We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller,” said Sony Computer Entertainment president Kazuo Hirai in a statement. Games are being developed by SCE and third party developers, he said, Sony said it will unveil its software lineup at a later date. Used with the existing PlayStation Eye camera, the controller can track players’ voices, faces and body motion. The controller, in turn, has on its end a light-emitting sphere that can be recognized by the PlayStation Eye camera. The latest announcement comes as both Sony and Microsoft Corp., maker of the Xbox 360, take aim at Nintendo Co.’s dominance in the gaming sector. Since Nintendo launched its popular Wii console in 2006, it has consistently outsold rivals. The company was the first to introduce motion-detecting controllers, which enable users to physically interact with games. Now Sony has developed its own version, as has Microsoft Corp. with its “Project Natal.” Natal, which combines a camera, depth sensor, microphone and processor, eliminates the need for any button-mashing device. Microsoft is expected to release Natal in time for the Christmas shopping season but has not set a specific date. Although demand for the Wii has slowed in recent months, it remained the most popular console among Americans in December with 3.18 million units sold. The PS3 sold 1.4 million units, while Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 came close with 1.3 million. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Jan 2010 | 2:27 am
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