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GM has a permanent CEO: Ed Whitacre!General Motors Co Chairman Ed Whitacre would stay on as chief executive of the automaker indefinitely, ending an eight-week search for his successor in a bid to bring stability to GM`s turnaround plans.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am Obama to seek 3-year freeze on US domestic spending!US President Barack Obama, under pressure from deficit hawks, will seek a three-year freeze on domestic spending in his 2011 budget that would save $250 billion by 2020, administration officials said on Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am FinMin asks ministries, deptts to curb excess spending!The Finance Ministry on Monday asked ministries and departments to ensure that excess expenditure does not happen in the wake of the the Public Accounts Committee criticising the Government on this.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am 32% American IT firms plan to hire more: Survey!A third of the American IT employers are planning to increase hiring this year, says a survey.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am Boss of Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover steps down!The chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, the Indian-owned British luxury carmaker, has stepped down from his post, the firm has announced.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am Jet Airways to raise USD 150-200-mn over next 3-4-weeks!Jet Airways plans to complete its first tranche of fund-raising of around USD 150-200-million over the next 3-4-weeks, a senior company official said.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am Vancouver most expensive city in the world to own house !Vancouver is the most expensive city in the world to own a house Tuesday, says a report on worldwide housing markets released Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 26 Jan 2010 | 5:13 am Toyota sees 2010 sales up 6 pct; to keep No.1 spotTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp expects its group-wide sales to climb 6 percent to 8.27 million vehicles in 2010, likely giving it a comfortable lead over Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co as the world's biggest automaker.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 2:43 am Gold falls on investors’ cautionTokyo: Gold wiped out its earlier gains to fall below $1,100 an ounce on Tuesday as a firming dollar triggered a wave of fund selling, but key events including a US interest rate decision later in the week kept investors cautious. The dollar was buoyed after news that China had implemented a previously ordered rise in some banks’ reserve requirements, helping investors become risk averse. But gold stayed well above a near five-week low of $1,081.90 hit on Friday, when news of US President Barack Obama’s proposal to limit financial risk-taking hit the broader commodities markets. Retail demand for the precious metal was solid, particularly from China, at a level below $1,100 per ounce, said Koichiro Kamei, managing director at financial research firm Market Strategy Institute in Tokyo. “Signs of tightening in China have fuelled fears that demand in commodities would be hit and caused repercussions in financial markets. That is happening again on the news about Chinese banks today,” Kamei said. “But regardless of tightening affecting the financial sector, retail demand in China for investment and jewellery picks up on price dips. Also, there is seasonal demand as the Chinese New Year is approaching,” he added. Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,093.35 per ounce as of 0628 GMT after reversing earlier gains to a high of $1,103.15, compared to New York’s notional close of $1,097.95. US gold futures for February delivery fell 0.2% to $1,093.10, compared to Monday’s close at $1,095.70 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The market was basically waiting for key events such as the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision and the State of the Union address by President Obama, both on Wednesday, as well as Tuesday’s US S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for November. “The market does not have much interest (in activity) ahead of the Fed rate decision,” said Louis Lok, a senior dealer at Bank of China in Hong Kong, adding that gold prices were likely to stay in ranges between $1,085 and $1,110 until the rate outcome. After wide-ranging trade last week and a correction from gold’s high prices, some physical buying has been cited this week, he said. Coming under pressure from gold entering into negative territory, spot platinum fell 1.5% to $1,524 per ounce. Spot palladium was down 1.6% at $433.75. Platinum and palladium, valued for their use in automobile catalytic converters, had been rising and hit multi-month highs last week on strong demand for US-based exchange-traded funds backed by the metals launched earlier this month. Holdings of ETF Securities’ US-based platinum exchange-traded fund rose 10% on Friday, while those of its US palladium product climbed by a third, the company said on Monday. In contrast, the holdings at the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, have been unchanged since 19 January at 1,111.922 tonnes as of 25 January. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 26 Jan 2010 | 2:34 am Ford to build Explorer in Chicago, add jobsFord already builds the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans at the Chicago plant, which currently has about 1,300 hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 2:08 am Toyota sees 2010 sales up 6% at 8.27 million vehiclesToyota Motor Corp said it expected its group-wide sales to grow 6% to 8.27 million vehicles in 2010, likely giving it a comfortable lead over Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 2:03 am With AIG, US taxpayers in for long waitAmerican International Group Inc, which is trying to pay back the government after being propped up by a $182.3 billion aid package, is in talks to sell its American Life Insurance Co.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 2:01 am General Motors puts its money into electric motor businessThe move is part of a push by GM and the Obama administration to develop technology for electric cars in the United States and cut into the lead by Asian automakers.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:53 am S&P cuts outlook on Japanese bonds, cites heavy debtTOKYO (Reuters) - Standard and Poor's ratings agency cut its outlook for Japanese government debt on Tuesday, citing reduced wiggle room on fiscal policy and voicing disappointment with the new government's budget consolidation plans.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:43 am Asia shares slump on China loan curb fearsHONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks slid on Tuesday, with Taiwan suffering its worst one-day fall in six months, as fears mounted that China could impose further measures to curb soaring loan growth, potentially dampening a global recovery.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:35 am China tightening fears spook investors, hit stocksSHANGHAI (Reuters) - China implemented a planned increase in required reserves for some banks on Tuesday, sources said, sparking knee-jerk selling of Asian stocks which underscored how sensitive global investors are to Beijing's tightening of monetary policy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:31 am Google doodle goes tricolourThe doodle on Google's homepage showcased the India colours -- saffron, white and green -- on the country's 61st Republic Day. The graphic shows three aircraft leaving behind delicate trails of saffron, white and green, gracefully looping to alphabets spelling Google.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:27 am Orissa CM rushes to Delhi to meet S.Korean President - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:19 am With AIG, U.S. taxpayers in for long waitNEW YORK (Reuters) - AIG's talks to sell its foreign life insurance business offer hope that U.S. taxpayers might recoup their investment in the bailed-out insurer, but it is far from getting off federal life support.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:12 am Siemens Oct-Dec net income rises 24% to $2.12 bnFrankfurt: German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said on Tuesday its fiscal first quarter net income rose by 24% to €1.5 billion ($2.12 billion) while some of its businesses saw stabilizing demand. Siemens, based in Munich, reported net income of €1.2 billion for the same quarter a year ago. The company’s fiscal year begins in October. The company reported that revenue for the period, however, fell 12% to €17.4 billion from €19.6 billion a year ago. Siemens, which builds products ranging from light bulbs to high-speed trains, said its orders of near €19 billion were 15% lower than the year-earlier period and included the expected contraction in industrial and energy infrastructure markets that typically lag behind macroeconomic cycles. “Siemens anticipates that conditions in the manufacturing sector and world financial markets will remain challenging in fiscal 2010,” Siemens said in its report. “Following a double-digit decline in orders in fiscal 2009, we expect only a mid-single-digit percentage decline in organic revenue in fiscal 2010 due to the stabilizing effect of our strong order backlog. We expect total sectors profit between €6 and €6.5 billion in fiscal 2010, and an increase of approximately 20% in income from continuing operations compared to €2.5 billion in the prior year.” Analysts surveyed by Thompson Reuters expected Siemens to report net income of €1.1 billion and revenue of €18.4 billion. In a recent research note, Bernstein analysts said Siemens’ recent corruption scandal and the recession passing are catalysts for future progress. Bernstein said other positives at the company include underlying operating performance, a portfolio restructuring to less-cyclical business, and clean energy growth potential. Bernstein rates Siemens at “Outperform” with a target of euro73. Shares of Siemens closed about a quarter percent lower at €64.60 in Monday trading. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Jan 2010 | 1:06 am Novartis Dec quarter net profit up 54% on strong salesGeneva: Drug maker Novartis AG on Tuesday reported a 54% rise in fourth-quarter net profit to $2.32 billion on strong sales and favorable exchange rates, and announced the appointment of Joe Jimenez as its new chief executive. Earnings per share rose 53% to $1.01 from $0.66 in the same quarter of 2008, when Novartis posted a net profit of $1.51 billion, the company said. Sales of its products, which include the hypertension drug Diovan and anticancer drug Glivec, known as Gleevec in the United States, rose 28% to $12.93 billion in the September-December period from $10.08 billion the previous year. “The fourth quarter has been especially strong,” outgoing CEO Daniel Vasella told reporters in a conference call, noting that Novartis benefited from better exchange rates and the shipment of large orders of swine flu vaccine in the final three months of 2009. Vasella said the planned takeover of eye-care company Alcon Inc., which has met with resistance from some minority shareholders, would “propel Novartis to the global leadership position in eye-care and create a new growth platform.” Novartis said it has appointed Jimenez, the head of its global pharmaceuticals division, to succeed Vasella effective from February. “After 14 years as CEO it is the right time to complete the carefully planned CEO succession process, which started over a year ago,” Vasella said. The company offered a positive outlook for 2010, but Vasella said much would depend on whether the Alcon deal proceeds as planned. “That is the swing factor,” he said. Novartis, which already owns 25% of Alcon, has said it will buy Nestle SA’s 52 percent stake for $28 billion in cash before carrying out a merger with Alcon that would give it control of the remaining 23% held by minority shareholders. Some minority shareholders have launched legal action in protest against what they perceive as an unfairly low offer to them of approximately $153 per share, compared with $168 per share that Novartis is paying Nestle. Vasella also gave a cautious outlook on future orders for the swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine, saying demand may not hold up now that many countries perceive the pandemic to be milder than previously thought. “I don’t know what the demand will be for new products, but it will be fairly moderate,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:57 am GM puts its money into electric motor businessDETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Tuesday it will set up a $246 million facility backed by funding from the U.S. government to build electric motors to power future hybrids and possibly pure electric vehicles.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:16 am Apple smashes Mac iPhone sales records againAhead of a widely anticipated announcement of a new tablet computer on Wednesday, Apple Inc has reported another strong quarter with record sales of iPhones and Macintosh computers.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:10 am RBI likely to raise key rates E amp YAhead of the Reserve Bank's quarterly monetary policy, global consultancy firm Ernst & Young on Tuesday said the central bank is likely to signal interest rate hikes to suck out liquidity from the market and check prices from spiraling further.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:07 am U.S. bailout watchdog probes NY Fed on AIG disclosureWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. bailout watchdog has launched two new investigations into the New York Federal Reserve Bank's actions on insurer AIG's disclosure of payments to banks after its 2008 rescue, excerpts of prepared congressional testimony showed on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:05 am Tata Ambanis in FT s 50 emerging mkt biz leaders listNine Indian corporate honchos, including Ratan Tata and the Ambani brothers, have been named among the 50 emerging market business leaders in a list compiled by the British financial daily the Financial Times.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:01 am GST: Centre, States differ on taxing alcohol, petro goodsThe Centre has rejected the States' suggestion that alcoholic beverages may be kept out of the purview of proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) system. The Revenue Department has taken a stance that alcoholic beverages should be brought under theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am HCL Tech profit tanks 20% in Q2 on higher costs, lower other incomeIT service company HCL Technologies posted a 20.5 per cent fall in consolidated net profit for second quarter ended December 2009, hurt by declining ‘other income' and higherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am India Inc may soon be trading energy-saving certificatesThe Government is readying the blueprint for a new market-based mechanism that will use energy saving certifications to spur efficiency improvements across large, energy-intensiveSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am NMDC to offer 8% equity in follow-on issueNMDC will offer 33.2 crore shares, constituting 8.38 per cent of its equity, through its follow-on publicSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am SBI net flat in third quarterLoss on account of treasury operations and surplus liquidity led State Bank of India to report a flat net profit of Rs 2,479 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 as against Rs 2,478 crore in the corresponding period last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Why not consume less sugar for a change?The Government is completely on the defensive over ever-rising sugarSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Centre keen to resolve hurdles for Posco's Orissa project in 4-5 monthsThe Union Government said on Monday that it is keen to resolve the land acquisition and regulatory hurdles for Posco's Rs 54,000 crore project in Orissa, within 4-5Source: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Jet wings to profit on better load factor, lower fuel billJet Airways reported its first quarterly profit for this fiscal on lower operating costs, improvement in yields and higher load factors. The net profit stood at Rs 106 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2009, against a loss of Rs 214 croreSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am ‘India, China No. 1 strategy for next 5 years for HCL Tech'HCL Technologies believes it is well-positioned to leverage the structural shifts in the marketplace which, in turn, has started showing signs of economic recovery. With the action building-up, the company sees India and China contributingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Recession and India's balance of paymentsFollowing on figures pointing to a robust recovery in GDP growth, the evidence that India's month-on-month export growth has returned to positive territory after 13 months has generated much optimism. The value of aggregate merchandise exportsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 26 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am Samsung to launch 3D televisions by JuneSamsung India on Tuesday said it is planning to introduce 3D (three dimensional)-enabled flat screen televisions in the country, besides increasing its LED display range.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:47 pm Record number of young Americans jobless - researcherCHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. economic recession has taken a particularly heavy toll on young Americans, with a record one out five black men aged 20 to 24 neither working nor in school, according to research released on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:34 pm Chinese media scorn U.S. for 'politicising' Google affairBEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state media stepped up their war of words with the United States over Internet control on Tuesday, with a top newspaper claiming a U.S. conspiracy and saying China can live without Google.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:26 pm Military might, cultural heritage on display at R-Day paradeNew Delhi: The country’s vibrant cultural heritage, its impressive achievements and military might were on a majestic display on Tuesday as the country celebrated the 60th Republic Day. Marching down from the Raisina Hills, the Republic Day parade showcased the country’s ‘unity in diversity’ as well as the armed forces in full battle regalia. Despite the heavy fog, well turned out and synchronised military contingents marched proudly through the Rajpath where President and Supreme Commander of armed forces Pratibha Patil took the salute. The march-past was watched by the Republic Day chief guest South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and the country’s top political and military brass, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Patil and her South Korean counterpart arrived at the Rajpath escorted by the President’s 46 bodyguards riding well-trained, impeccably-bedecked horses. Minutes before the parade began, Singh, Antony and chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force laid wreaths at ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’, the British-era World War-I memorial at India Gate, where an eternal flame burns in memory of those who laid down their lives while defending the nation’s frontiers. A heavy security blanket was thrown around the Capital for the Republic Day celebrations in the backdrop of intelligence inputs about militant outfit LeT acquiring over 50 para-gliding equipment which could be used to launch an air-borne suicide attack. After the President unfurled the tricolour and a customary 21-gun salute, the parade led by Major General KJS Oberoi, General Officer Commanding of Delhi Area of the Army, started. The fog played spoilsport as four Mi-17 helicopters, which were scheduled to shower flower petals on the spectators, failed to do so due to the weather conditions. The first to walk were the winners of the Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra followed by mounted columns of 61 Cavalry. The Army then showcased its impressive armoury before the nation which included the indigenous MBT Arjun, SMERCH Multiple Launch Rocket System and Armoured Engineer Recce Vehicle and Sarvatra Bridge. The army also brought its state-of-the-art ICV Communication Vehicle besides Samyukta Electronic Warfare System, Infantry Fighting Vehicle ‘Sarath’ and Ambulance Tracked to the parade. The army contingent included personnel from Madras Regiment, Jat Regimentry, Sikh Regiment, Dogra Regiment, Garhwal Regiment, Bihar Regiment, Gorkha Regiment and Territorial Army. They marched to the tunes ‘Pragati’, ‘Sam Bahadur’, Hanste Lushai and General Tappy played by several bands drawn from various regiments of the Army. Smartly-dressed 148 Navy personnel then marched to the tunes of ‘Jai Bharati´ along with a tableau of INS Shivalik, which will be inducted shortly into the Indian Navy. The Air Force contingent followed the Navy men marching to the tunes of ‘Space Flight’ played by its band. A tableau of ‘The Air Warrior´ was also displayed. DRDO’s Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Agni-III missile, surface-to-surface Shourya missile and Rohini Radar were also displayed. Other marching contingents included camel-mounted BSF, Assam Rifles, Coast Guard, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, SSB, RPF, Delhi Police, NCC and NSS. Following the country’s armed and police forces came the country’s rich cultural diversity in full display in 21 tableaux -- 13 from states and eight from ministries. Rajasthan came out with the Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory in Jaipur displaying sophisticated instruments while Manipur came up with Hiyang Tanaba -- the traditional boat race of Meiteis tribe. The lovely silk from Bhagalpur was what Bihar brought to the parade. Bihar’s ‘Bhagalpur Ki Lok Sanskriti: Resham Udyog’ tableau displayed the sleek and lustrous silk made by Bhagalpur weavers. One of the eye-catchers was Maharashtra’s float ‘Dabbawala’, a common sight in umbai which showcases the life of Mumbai’s signature office tiffin suppliers. Dabbawala in CST railway station and an MBA student learning the working skills from the Dabbawala are some of themes in the tableau. Karnataka showcased ‘Pattada Kal’, a world heritage site which is a fine example of temple architecture while Meghalaya’s tableau showed its ingenious system of tapping of stream and spring water by using bamboo pipes. India’s melody maestro SD Burman was Tripura’s theme eulogising the musician’s contributions to the world of music while Jammu and Kashmir came up with a tableau depicting its handicraft, wood carving, willow-work and carpet weaving. Goa chose to showcase the international film festival in its tableau while 2,500-million-years-old stalagmite caves in Kotumsar was showcased by Chhattisgarh. Padayani, a ritualistic festival of central Kerala dedicated to Goddess Kali Padayani was Kerala’s theme. A combination of music, dance, painting and satire, the folk form had its origin in the ancient Dravidian concept of God. Mizoram’s tableau was about its handicrafts. Uttarakhand has ‘samudra-manthan´ or the churning of the divine sea, Har-ki-Pauri and Kumbh Mela as its theme. Culture ministry and Sangeet Natak Akademi showcased the rich tradition of Indian music through musical instruments veena, shankha, dhumsa etc. Rural Development depicted Indira Awaas Yojana through Gujarati style house under construction besides low cost homes from various parts of the country while Railways displayed its glorious past and triumph of new era through its steam locos and the latest Duronto Express trains. Central Public Works Department (CPWD) highlighted the concerns about global warming through its tableau while Power Ministry focussed on Green energy through its tableau. Agriculture Ministry had traditional ploughing to modern farm implements in its tableau while Tribal Affairs Ministry had come up with a float on Forest Rights Act, 2006 and empowerment of tribal people. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:07 pm Maruti production surpasses parent Suzuki's in 2009The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has surpassed its Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corporation in overall production during 2009.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:22 pm Extra reserves for some China banks take effect: SourcesSeveral Chinese banks, which were selected to raise their reserve ratios for excessive lending, will see their extra reserve ratios take effect on Tuesday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:46 pm Obama to seek 3-year freeze on U.S. domestic spendingWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, under pressure from deficit hawks, will seek a three-year freeze on domestic spending in his 2011 budget that would save $250 billion by 2020, administration officials said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 7:00 pm M&M: Farm equipment division may be a growth driver - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 6:24 pm Jet Airways: Price war a hurdle, but passenger growth could help - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 6:07 pm Salary hikes, foreign currency losses pull HCL net down 21% to Rs 297 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 5:59 pm Centre pitches for petroleum, alcohol in GST list - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 4:59 pm 3G winners to get easy overseas loans - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 4:18 pm ISB 12th among top B-schools - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:34 pm ISB 12th among top B-schoolsIndian School of Business, Hyderabad, achieved a hat-trick of sorts after making it to the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA ranking of the top 100 B-schools around the world for the third consecutive year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:25 pm Hero Honda Q3 profit soars 78% to Rs 536 crore - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:23 pm Hindalco Q3 net dips 22% to Rs 427 crore - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:23 pm PVR, DT Cinemas deal delayed but on track: SourcesThe PVRDT Cinemas deal is on. Amidst reports of the deal being called off, sources told CNBCTV18, both parties are committed to closing the deal, which was inked on the 13th of November last year. We learn delay in the deal closure is on account of legalities.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 3:22 pm Move proactively as world pressure on tax havens mountsSans a firm stance, we may be hurt by the dirty money or by activists out to throttle these jurisdictions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:26 pm Price rise in rural India alarmingIn December, the consumer index for agricultural labourers rose by 17.21% on a year-on-year basis while the similar index for rural labourers was up by 16.99%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:24 pm Volume gains for Maruti SuzukiThe company's total operating revenues increased 62.2% year on year to Rs 7,502.85 crore, due mainly to a lower base.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 2:21 pm Tesco kicks off in Mumbai this yearUnlike its bigger US rival Wal-Mart, which has tied up with the Bharti Group for its wholesale business in the country, Tesco is planning to enter the cash-and-carry business on its own.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:49 pm Will cloud change India's IT story?HCL CEO Vineet Nayar sees Google, Amazon as the new IT services firms; says business model will transform completely in five years.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:48 pm Hotel Leela board okays raising up to $130 mnHotel Leelaventure said on Monday its board approved raising up to USD 130 million through a mix of a qualified isntitutional placement and issue of foreign currency convertible bonds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:46 pm SBI needs $2.2 bn infusion in 2010State Bank of India, the No 1 Indian lender, needs a capital infusion of Rs 10,000 crore (USD 2.2 billion) in 2010, its chairman said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:46 pm Jet Airways to raise $200 mn in share saleJet Airways, the country\'s largest private carrier, aims to raise up to USD 200 million initially through a share placement with institutions to help reduce its debt, a company official said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:46 pm M&M net profit revs up ten-foldMahindra and Mahindra (M&M) on Monday reported a near ten-fold increase in net profit for the third quarter (October-December).Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:32 pm Vindi Banga, K P Singh get Padma BhushanFormer RBI governor Y V Reddy, Apollo hospital group chairman Prathap Chandra Reddy were conferred the Padma Vibhushan.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:31 pm Hero Honda net profit jumps 79% to Rs 536crHero Honda, the country's biggest bike maker, posted a 79% jump in third quarter net and said higher demand may see the company go in for a new manufacturing plant.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm ECB norms relaxed for 3G bidThe government on Monday allowed prospective bidders to raise short-term funds from domestic market, which could be refinanced through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) within 12 months.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm SBI Q3 profit remains flat at Rs 2479 croreSBI reported a flat net profit for the quarter ended December 2009 (Q3FY10), at Rs 2,479 crore, compared to Rs 2,478 crore it had earned during the same quarter of the previous year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:28 pm Hindalco profit dips 22% in Q3Aditya Birla group company, Hindalco Industries reported a 22% decline in net profit to Rs 427 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, compared to Rs 545 crore in the correponding quarter last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:27 pm Jet flies into black with Rs106cr netLed by a spurt in the domestic air traffic and massive cost cutting, Jet Airways returned to black in the December quarter with a Rs 105.8 crore net profit against Rs 214.2 crore loss in the year-ago period.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:26 pm UPA-II a boost for public sector stocksTotal market capitalisation (m-cap) of the 71 listed public sector undertakings has increased by Rs 3.6 lakh crore to Rs 21 lakh crore till last week, from the time the Manmohan Singh government returned to power.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 25 Jan 2010 | 1:23 pm Raw sugar piles up at portsNearly 750,000 tonnes of imported sugar are stuck at the Kandla and Mundra ports even as prices skyrocket in the domestic market. Thats because the sugar importing mills in Uttar Pradesh have still not been able to arrive at an agreement on processing imported raw sugar by millers in Maharashtra and Gujarat.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 12:05 pm Finance ministry pushes for single-rate GSTThe finance ministry has rejected the two-rate goods and services tax (GST) structure proposed by the states, adding further doubts to the April 2010 deadline for the roll-out of a unified indirect tax system for Indian states.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:59 am Top of the Mind Ad Survey | Total recall: Zoozoos sweep the Top 10 The Zoozoo craze continues to grow. A new set of commercials for mobile operator Vodafone Essar Ltd, featuring the comic characters who speak in funny gibberish, virtually swept the charts for brand awareness and recall in December, according to the Mint-Synovate-TVAdIndx survey. The survey, conducted by Synovate India and supported by ad monitoring firm TVAdIndx, covered 902 respondents from high-income groups—300 each in Delhi and Mumbai, and 302 in Bangalore. The Vodafone commercials, created by advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather, claimed the top eight positions, as well as the 10th and 11th positions in the survey—with seven of them scoring 100% on brand recall. This was a remarkable performance even compared with November, when Zoozoo ads claimed the top three positions. Also See Top Ads (Graphics) “The storytelling is as sharp and the execution continues to be as inspired as the last time around,” says Santosh Desai, chief executive of Future Brands. “The problem, if any, is that there is an overwhelming sense of familiarity around the campaign, given the number of creative units we have seen.” “It’s amazing how expressive the expressionless Zoozoos can be,” says D. Ramakrishna, director, Cartwheel Creative Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. The only other ad in the top 10 is for another cellphone operator—Reliance Mobile. Actor Hrithik Roshan extols the virtues of sending text messages at 1 paisa each, because “saying things isn’t always easy”. Ads for one more mobile service, Tata Docomo, take up the 12th and 15th positions. A commercial for Maggi Masala-e-Magic, made by Publicis Ambience, claimed the 13th spot. Surprisingly, cricket stars are absent from the top 20 ads for December. The Zoozoos perform even better on ad diagnostics, which rates commercials on parameters such as likeability, enjoyment, believability and claim. Here, they claim the top nine positions, and all of them score 80% or above on likeability. But the likeability factor of ads appears to be declining overall. Not a single ad scored 100% on this measurement, compared with three of the top 15 ads in November and as many as 11 a month earlier. Ogilvy and Mather With a high brand recall, Vodafone’s Zoozoos, which appear in the mobile phone operator’s television commercials, claim the top eight places, as well as the Nos. 10 and 11 spots, in the Mint-Synovate-TVAdIndx survey for the month of December. The services advertised include live counselling, Vodafone Magic Box, musical greetings, bills in your language, Vodafone BlackBerry, Vodafone Music Junction, SMS Bonus Card, MMS and X’mas caller tunes. The tag line: Power to you. Cartwheel Creative Actor Hrithik Roshan fiddles with his phone but can’t bring himself to make a call, since “saying things isn’t always easy”. He finds an easier way out and sends an SMS instead, saying, “cnt stp thnkng abt u :)”. The tag line: SMS now at just 1 paisa. 15. Tata Docomo Voice Mail Draftfcb+Ulka Two Tata Docomo ads feature at Nos. 12 and 15. Both ads use animated shapes in Docomo colours to get the messages across: Pay per second even on ISD, and free voice mail, respectively. The tag line: Do the new. Publicis Ambience A woman displays a trophy won by her son on a shelf and dreams of him winning many more. Later, when she’s cooking for him, she adds a sachet of Maggi Masala-e-Magic to the dish, because it has iron, vitamin A and iodine. The tag line: Taste bhi, health bhi, khushiyan bhi (Taste, health, and happiness). McCann Erickson The Dish TV commercial features actor Shah Rukh Khan playing the role of an elderly man. The man’s family, peering in from outside, looks on in amusement as Khan romances his wife, with the couple dancing to old Hindi film songs playing on Dish TV in the background. The tag line: Ghar aayi zindagi (Bringing home life). Publicis India A woman serves the new Maggi Nutri-licious Pazzta to her family. Everyone loves the taste and the reaction is, “new pinch”. Grandmother, who had been resisting the Pazzta, decides to join in. Soon, she too goes “new pinch”. The tag line: Nutritious and delicious. JWT A neighbour comes to actor Rani Mukherjee’s house to borrow some sugar. She asks Mukherjee if the mosquito coil she is using is real, since there isn’t much smoke in the house. Mukherjee tells her it is: Good Knight Advanced low-smoke coil. The tag line: Khushiyon ke palbarkarar (Holding on to happiness). Ogilvy and Mather A young boy gets caught in the rain. He looks for shelter and finally finds it—he sees an elephant and its calf, and seeks refuge by sitting under the elephant. The tag line: Not just for the big boys. Interface Communications A montage of people driving Mahindra tractors: farmers on tractors; a farmer who has the tractor tattooed on his back; a goods train carrying the tractors; and a Mahindra outlet. The tag line: Peediyon se No. 1 (No. 1 for generations). Leo Burnett Some women complain about washing powders leaving their hands dry. What’s more, the detergents don’t come cheap. The alternative: Tide Naturals, with lemon and chandan(sandalwood), which is not only affordable (Rs10 for 200g), but also keeps hands soft. The tag line: Bada pack, chota daam (Big pack, low price). Graphics by Yogesh Kumar / Mint feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:56 am Securities tribunal gives boost to private equity investorsA recent ruling by the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) saying the veto rights of shareholders do not classify control over the company is all set to change the way investment agreements are drafted between companies and private equity or venture capital entities.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:53 am Maruti Suzuki: Margin surprise - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:38 am Congress lets Pawar take the rap for food inflationNew Delhi: The Congress party seems content to let Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar shoulder much of the blame for high food prices. Analysts and members of Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), one of the oldest partners of the Congress, see behind this a game of one-upmanship between allies.  Facing flak: A file photo of agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. A leader of Pawar’s party—the NCP—said the Congress wanted to hurt the NCP because ‘we share their support base in Maharashtra’. Atul Yadav/PTI Tewari said: “There is no ambiguity in the doctrine of collective responsibility, but within its ambit the responsibilities are divided into specific ministries which have specific remits. It’s obvious that the ministry of agriculture, food and consumer affairs needs to play up a proactive role in conjunction with the states.” The NCP is part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. A top NCP leader, who did not want to be identified, said the Congress’ plan was “clear” to the party. “It is a part of its larger game plan to establish a single party rule,” added this person who also said the Congress has “gained in confidence” after its success in both the general election and subsequent assembly elections. The Congress won 206 seats, more than it was expected to, in the general election in May, and has only built on this success in assembly elections held since in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. An analyst said that Congress’ moves also indicated that it was working towards a “clear mandate” to form the government of its own in the future. “Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to strengthen the organization in key states and efforts to rebuild party all across the country indicate this,” said B. Venkatesh Kumar, professor of political science, Mumbai university. The NCP leader added that the Congress wanted to hurt the NCP because “we share their support base in Maharashtra and are emerging as a strong alternative to it in many north-eastern states. Citing the NCP’s poor performance in the general election—it won only eight of the 22 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Maharashtra, while the Congress won 17 of 26 contested—the Congress forced the party to contest only in 114 seats in the 13 October assembly elections in the state. This number was 10 less than the number of seats the NCP had contested in the previous assembly elections. The Congress contested 174 seats in the 288-member assembly and won 82. The NCP won 62. In Arunachal Pradesh, the NCP has increased its vote share from 4.28% in 2004 to 19.23% in 2009 and it also won five seats in the 60-member assembly. In Meghalaya, the party has increased its share of votes to 24.38% in 2008 from 19.40% in 2003 and heads the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance that rules the state. The NCP leader also claimed that the Congress had been trying to “demoralize” the party’s members and workers and cited Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh’s call, during the run up to the elections in Maharashtra, for a merger of the NCP and the Congress. Mumbai-based political analyst Jai Mrug said big parties have typically tried to strong-arm smaller allies: “In 1967, when the CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) came to power in West Bengal, it gave troublesome ministries to its ally Bangla Congress; its party workers would protest before the(se) ministries to mount pressure on the ally.” Mrug added that despite Pawar being in a “weak” position, he and his party have a strong base in Maharashtra and that the Congress wouldn’t find it easy to swallow its smaller ally. Not everyone is convinced the attacks against Pawar are orchestrated. Kumar Ketkar, editor of Marathi daily Loksatta described these as “routine antagonism”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:28 am ‘Refining profit stays weak on overcapacity’Singapore: Profits from turning crude oil into petroleum products may remain weak for refiners over the next few years on the back of rising crude prices and limited demand, Ernst and Young Llp said. Overcapacity in refining will be the biggest issue facing integrated oil and gas companies globally and particularly in Asia, Sanjeev Gupta, Ernst and Young’s co-leader for oil and gas in the Far East, said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:24 am Tech Mahindra irks analysts on accountsMumbai: Tech Mahindra Ltd, the software company that took control of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd in a government-backed rescue, has come under attack from analysts over an accounting decision separate from the acquisition.  Restructuring issue: Vice-chairman of Tech Mahindra Vineet Nayyar. At issue is £126 million (Rs938.7 crore) that the firm received in the third quarter from its largest client BT Group Plc for restructuring a long-term contract that both had entered into in December 2006. Analysts said the amount should “ideally” have been accounted for in a single quarter as a one-time event. Tech Mahindra’s management maintains that the company is well within permitted accounting practices to recognize the revenue in parts, spread evenly across every quarter across the remaining four years of the contract. Indian information technology companies have traditionally enjoyed flexibility in recognizing revenue over the several quarters and years that contracts run. The rules on how the money should be accounted for are clear, said Kanu Doshi, managing partner at Kanu Doshi Associates, a Mumbai-based corporate audit services firm. “What is critical is whether the payment is a compensation for restructuring the contract or an advance payment for future services to be delivered,” Doshi said. “If it is compensation, then it has to be accounted for in the current fiscal and if it is advance payment, then accounting rules permit amortising the amount over a period of time.” Tech Mahindra has recognized Rs150 crore of the payment—unveiled on Saturday along with earnings for the three months ended December—in the first three quarters of the current fiscal year. The rest will be accounted for at Rs50 crore each in the coming quarters until the contract ends in 2014. Analysts said this will inflate revenue and profit margins in a way that is not an accurate representation of performance. Tech Mahindra rejected the contention in an emailed response to questions. “Certain long-term contracts have been restructured and the restructuring fee we have received is for modifying these contracts,” the company said. “Services will continue to be provided over the life of the contract and our auditors, after reviewing the transaction, have advised us that as per accounting standards the appropriate treatment is to amortize the fee over the life of the contract.” As the payment from BT is a one-time payment of a non-recurring nature, amortizing it over several quarters and including it in the “operating revenue line, which also reflects in the profits” is “a slightly aggressive accounting policy”, Hitesh Shah, an analyst with IDFC-SSKI Securities, said during an earnings call with the company management on Saturday. Shah didn’t want to comment further. Tech Mahindra executives spent nearly an hour on the call with analysts fielding queries on the issue, offering to discuss the matter “off line”. “I’m sorry that this BT restructuring issue clouded the entire discussion,” Tech Mahindra vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar said in his concluding remarks. “I do recognize that it has not yet been fully comprehended by some of the analysts. Perhaps we have fallen short in making an explanation.” All five analysts that Mint spoke with on Sunday, four of whom had second conversations with the management, were still unsatisfied with the explanation. One of them said that such accounting may “inflate revenues and profitability in the coming quarters”. The analysts requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “When you amortize this amount over the next five years, it comes straight down from the revenue to profits, because you are not incurring any expenses on that,” said an analyst with a Mumbai-based brokerage. “That skews the revenue and margins and may not be an accurate representation of the firm’s operational aspects.” Analysts also point to two advance payments to BT of about Rs400 crore each in fiscal 2007 and 2008 that were not amortized over several quarters. They were upfront payments towards the savings that Tech Mahindra promised BT. Tech Mahindra chief executive Sanjay Kalra said the two were separate events. Analysts Bhavtosh Vajpayee and Nimish Joshi of CLSA Asia Pacific Markets recommended in a 25 January note that investors sell the stock. “While this payment does ease certain near-term cash flow concerns for Tech Mahindra (Rs450 crore has been used to repay debt), the longer-term implications of this seem adverse,” as the firm “has agreed to severe pricing discounts against this payment and this will likely cloud future finance,” they said. According to CLSA analysts, if the one-time payment was considered as an exceptional item and not as a revenue item, revenue for the December quarter would have declined 0.4% sequentially as opposed to the reported growth of 4%. Similarly, operating profit margins would have shrunk by 5% sequentially as opposed to the reported 2% decline. Analysts said they would make their own adjustments on revenue and margins to make growth forecasts and investment recommendations. “Investors should ideally look at operating cash flow rather than the profit and loss account to evaluate operational performance,” said Saurabh Mukherjea, head of Indian equities at Noble Group Ltd, who was speaking in general and not with specific reference to Tech Mahindra. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:24 am PNB set to start banking operation in BhutanStaterun Punjab National Bank (PNB) is set to open a bank in Bhutan, through a joint venture, and a whollyowned subsidiary in Canada to boost its overseas business, a top official told reporters.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:17 am Pantaloon registers 51.07% rise in netNew Delhi: Inline with market expectations, India’s largest listed retailer Pantaloons Retail India Ltd registered a consolidated net profit increase of 51.07% for the quarter-ending December 31, 2009 to touch Rs 50.67 crore as compared to Rs33.54 crore in the corresponding quarter last financial year. The revenue for the third quarter increased by 25.37% to touch Rs 1912.84 crore as compared to Rs1525.68 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last year. During the quarter the company had received shareholder approval for transferring its Value Retail Business through slump sale to its wholly owned subsidiary, ”Future Value Retail Limited” (FVRL) with effect from January 01, 2010. “The performance of the company has been inline with our expectations. There is also a 33 basis points improvement in operating margins quarter-on-quarter which shows that the company has maintained its costs and its cost cutting measures are showing results,” says Viraj Nadkarni, analyst with Angel Broking Ltd. The company’s stock on the Benchmark Sensex closed at Rs409.05, 1.85% lower than its previous close on Friday at Rs416.75 Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:17 am Jet Airways plans to raise $150200 mnJet Airways, India\'s largest private airlines operator, is looking to raise USD 150 million to USD 200 million through placement of equities to institutions, a senior official said on Monday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:11 am Jet Airways, Virgin spar over seat design for first class Mumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd has objected to a patent claim filed in India by British airline Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd for the design and technology used in its upper-class seats.  Hot seat: A Jet Airways first-class cabin. The airline, with flatbeds in its first and business class in overseas flights, will have to reconfigure its premium sections in case Virgin gets a patent for the seat design in India. AFP In a pre-emptive action, Jet Airways has moved a pre-grant opposition to a patent application filed at the Chennai patent office by Virgin Atlantic for the design and technology of the flatbed seat and the so-called herringbone configuration used in its upper class. Brtish Airways (BA) was the first to introduce a herringbone layout, with seats facing outwards. Virgin introduced an inward-facing herringbone layout, in which the seats faced the aisle of the aircraft. The upper class of Virgin is the equivalent of first class and business class on other carriers. Virgin Atlantic, promoted by Richard Branson, holds a patent and design rights for the flatbed seating system in several countries, including the UK. Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways offers similar flatbed and wider seats in its first and business classes on long-haul international routes to the UK, the US and Singapore. A Jet Airways executive confirmed the carrier has moved against Virgin Atlantic’s patent application. He did not want to be identified as the case is before the authorities. An email sent on 21 January to Virgin remained unanswered; the India representative was unavailable in subsequent phone calls, while calls made to her mobile phone were also not answered. A Jet Airways spokesperson declined to comment. Jet Airways had unveiled its new first-class seats in 2007. Being the priciest, first and business classes are critical revenue earners for airlines that try to provide such fliers with the best possible amenities, including more space. For example, each first-class suite on Jet Airways—made by Britain’s BE Aerospace Plc—has 26 sq. ft of usable space, and has sliding doors for privacy. Virgin Atlantic’s fight over the seats goes back to 2007, when it initiated legal proceedings against Premium Aircraft Interiors UK Ltd, known as Contour, the firm that designed the airline’s flatbed seats. The airline alleged that Contour had sold copies of the design to rivals, including Jet Airways, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, and that it was suing for infringement of patent. Contour had also made the flatbeds for BA. A UK patents court on 21 January 2009 ruled against Virgin Atlantic, saying it had “failed to prove that Contour copied its designs”. In October, however, an appellate court reversed that order, saying the patent was valid and had been infringed. A patent grant to Virgin in India will be a setback for Jet as it will have to reconfigure its first-class and business-class sections. Any change in first-class configuration will take at least three-four months. Jet Airways has 22 aircraft, comprising 10 Boeing 777s and 12 Airbus A330s, which use such seats, with eight first-class seats on the Boeings and at least 30 business-class seats in both the aircraft. “My client has opposed Virgin Atlantic patent claims here, on the ground that this design and technology has been in the public domain since long, and it is not qualified for patent grant under the restrictive provision of prior art,” said Laxmi Kumaran, a patent lawyer and partner at New Delhi-based law firm Laxmi Kumaran and Associates, which is representing Jet Airways in the matter. An early January hearing has been adjourned to February after Virgin sought more time to reply. Shamnad Basheer, professor in intellectual property law at National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, said, “Since prior art is the ground for opposition, Virgin’s claims can be disqualified due to lack of novelty, and known obviousness.” Denial on grounds of prior art means any invention that is known and in use before the date of the patent application (in India) will not be granted a patent. Similarly, if the previously known invention has been modified or innovated on later for the new claim, it can also be denied a patent right if the modification was obvious and could have been anticipated at the time of the first invention, according to Basheer. ch.unni@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:10 am Make democracy cleaner, healthier: PatilNew Delhi: President Pratibha Patil on Monday asked Indian political parties to remove with determination “the impediments, the lacunae and malpractices in the electoral process” to make democracy “cleaner, healthier and stronger”. The President’s call came at the Election Commission’s diamond jubilee celebrations that was kicked off with some of the country’s top leaders expressing concerns over issues such as the abuse of money and muscle power, electoral candidates with criminal records, and the recent controversy over news that’s paid for. The Election Commission came into existence on 25 January 1950, on the eve of India becoming a republic. The ceremony was attended by vice-president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, as well as the chief ministers of various states. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:10 am Hind National Glass to sell treasury stock for overseas buysKolkata: India’s largest maker of container glass, Hindustan National Glass and Industries Ltd (HNGI), will sell treasury stocks to have money in hand for overseas acquisitions and to build a factory. Treasury stocks are shares that are held by the issuing corporation and are available for resale. HNGI’s treasury stocks were created in 2002 when it merged with itself an American company it had bought earlier. At current market price, the firm’s treasury stocks are worth at least Rs400 crore, according to joint managing director Mukul Somany. HNGI’s shares closed at Rs211.35 each on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The trustees holding the shares for the company are planning to sell “some of the treasury stocks”, he said. “We have already spoken to four potential investors and would be speaking to more to place a part of the treasury stock.” HNGI expects to close the sale by April. HNGI could soon spend up to Rs500 crore for acquisitions abroad; it would have to invest Rs350 crore more to build the new manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the company is eyeing three potential takeover targets in West Asia, North Africa and South-East Asia. “Due diligence of at least one is going to start soon,” Somany said, adding that each of these acquisitions could cost Rs200-350 crore. Ownership of factories in these regions would enable HNGI to service its international customers better. The company exports to 23 countries in Europe, the US, Africa and Asia, and around 9% of its annual revenue of Rs1,148 crore in fiscal 2009 came from exports. HNGI is in talks with banks in Singapore to raise money through debt, according to chief financial officer Laxmi Narayan Mandhata. The overseas acquisitions could be made through HNGI’s subsidiary in Singapore, he said. The firm had Rs113 crore in “cash and cash equivalents” at the end of fiscal 2009, according to its annual report. The proposed facility in Andhra Pradesh, which would be commissioned in 16-18 months, would have capacity to produce 3.5 million bottles a day. HNGI has already acquired 150 acres for the project, and expects to sign an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government soon. Construction of the factory is expected to begin in April. “HNGI, which controls about 65% share of the domestic container glass market, seems to have exhausted scope for expansion at its existing manufacturing facilities,” said Rajesh Agarwal, director of stockbroking firm CD Equisearch Pvt. Ltd. The company is looking to fund its expansion through a debt-equity mix of 2:1, according to Mandhata. Meanwhile, a subsidiary of the company, HNG Float Glass Ltd, which is to make glass for use in cars and buildings, would start commercial production soon from its plant in Gujarat. The group has spent around Rs600 crore on building the factory. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:09 am Quick Edit | New worries for marketsThe new rules proposed by US President Barack Obama to limit proprietary trading by banks and the spectre of tighter Chinese monetary policy have jolted global markets. Most equity markets are down from their levels of 1 January. The breathtaking equities rally in 2009 was based on extraordinarily loose fiscal and monetary policies, as governments around the world fought the prospect of a total meltdown in the global economic system. This coordinated policy response has been successful in meeting its primary goal, even though there continue to be occasional shocks from countries such as Dubai and Greece. But the inevitable bill is now staring us in the face: a resurgence of inflationary pressures and public debt at levels that increase sovereign risks. Though, there is still huge debate on when countries can exit their loose policies, it is quite certain that the clock is ticking. A new financial architecture, too, will be built. Regulatory risk and monetary policy risk: the markets have good reason to be worried. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:09 am Jet Airways profit soars, erasing lossMumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the country’s largest airline by passengers, posted its first profit in three quarters as it carried more travellers, cut costs and took advantage of cheaper aviation fuel and higher income from leasing planes.  Strong recovery: Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal. The earnings underscore the recovery in the country’s airline industry as carriers that posted a combined loss of $2 billion (Rs9,240 crore today) in fiscal 2009 and were expecting a similar loss this year, have been lifted by a resurgence in passengers amid signs of a strong recovery in the world’s fastest growing major economy after China. “There was a strong recovery in operating margins. High seat occupancy, high yields and various cost initiatives led to a lower break-even seat factor,” said Jet Airways executive director Saroj K. Datta, who has been with the airline since its inception and has a total 48 years of industry experience. “We are cautiously optimistic about economic growth and its relative impact on the air travel market.” Earnings at Jet Airways were aided by the Rs106.43 crore it earned from leasing its planes, up from Rs17.44 crore in the year before. Encouraged by the results, Jet Airways rose 3.78% on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday to close at Rs539.20 as the exchange’s benchmark Sensex fell for a fifth day, losing 0.47%. In the past five trading sessions, the Sensex has shed 4.88% while Jet Airways has gained 6.36%. With 29% passenger growth in the December quarter, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd made an operating profit of Rs11 crore for its domestic operations, although it posted a net loss of Rs419.96 crore. Another listed company and low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd posted a record profit of Rs108.9 crore for the same quarter. Jet Airways, which required a seat occupancy of 77.8% to break-even during the reporting quarter, scored 80% occupancy. The required seat occupancy, or break-even load factor of the airline, was 71.6% in the December quarter of last fiscal, when it posted 66.2%. The outlook for the next 9-12 months is challenging, considering jet fuel’s price and sales tax structure, although demand has picked up and the airlines have managed to keep costs under control, said Kapil Arora, partner (aviation practice) with audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young. Airlines will have to continue to exercise stringent cost-control measures and should not resort to irrational price wars, he said. Jet Airways said, “trends for the next few months look healthy and the capacity situation seems to be under control. We expect to see premium (business and first class) demand revival in the next few quarters.” Domestic yields have risen by 24% and international yields by 9%, said K.G. Vishwanath, vice-president, commercial strategy and investor relations. However, revenue in the December quarter was down 6.4% to Rs2,722.68 crore on account of capacity rationalization on international routes. “Jet Airways has put up its most robust performance ever even as it is exposed to all vagaries of currency fluctuations and other domestic risks,” said a senior analyst with a domestic brokerage who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to media. “I would consider giving its planes for leasing as its core operating revenue, apart from selling tickets, as it has managed to find takers for its planes in tough times.” He’s not certain about the outlook over the next few quarters. “The impressive figures are largely on account of aggressive expenditure cuts,” he said. “One will have to wait and watch whether this could continue.” Jet Airways has improved its performance over the second quarter with core operating profit (before non-operating income and mark-to-market gains) for the quarter at Rs16.8 crore against a loss of Rs428.20 crore in the second quarter and an operating loss of Rs290 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2009. Among other things, it benefited from lower jet fuel cost (Rs887.86 crore, down 18.84%), a smaller employee remuneration bill (Rs289.76 crore, down 20.58%) and a decline in other operating expenses (Rs701.93 crore, down 26.04%). JetLite (India) Ltd, formerly Air Sahara and now Jet Airways’ low-fare unit, also turned to a profit of Rs3.90 crore on revenue of Rs416.40 crore against a net loss of Rs22 crore and revenue of Rs439.70 crore a year ago. JetLite also reduced core operating losses to Rs11.40 crore from Rs129.8 crore. In a separate development, the Jet Airways board gave in-principle approval for an acquisition of up to 26% (in cash and considerations other than cash) in MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Co. Pvt. Ltd, an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) venture being set up at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. MAS GMR Aerospace is an equal joint venture between Malaysian Aerospace Engineering SDN BHD, Malaysia, and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. On 16 September 2008, Mint had reported that Jet Airways is in talks with GMR Group to buy a stake of at least 24% in the MRO. Datta said the investment will help the airline get repairs done in India instead of overseas. “At this point, we have not worked out the investment details or savings on repair cost,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 11:08 am Wockhardt losses grow 215% in ’09Mumbai: Drug maker Wockhardt Ltd on Monday posted a loss of Rs435.54 crore for the fiscal year ended 31 December on sales of Rs3,629.44 crore. This is the second consecutive loss for the firm, and a 215% increase over fiscal 2008, after it incurred substantial foreign exchange and derivatives losses in the past two years. Wockhardt counts its accounting year from January. However, for the quarter ended December, it cut its losses to Rs181.23 crore from Rs357.84 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, largely on account of lower interest and tax charges. The reduction in interest and tax is because of a debt restructuring plan that its key lenders approved early last year. The losses were mainly due to exceptional items such as interest, exchange rate fluctuation and mark-to-market losses. Wockhardt shares lost 0.29% to close at Rs173.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The bellwether Sensex fell 0.47% to 16,780.46 points. The company announced results after the markets closed. Sector analysts had struck the firm from their list of analyses due to the continuous losses, which meant no brokerages made any predictions of earnings for the quarter. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:59 am Q3 better, yet Grasim not out of the woodsRevenues of Grasim Industries Ltd for the third quarter of FY10 grew by 4.4% year-on-year (y-o-y), better than our estimates. This was boosted by improvement in the viscose staple fibre (VSF) business performance as well as cement volume gain over the third quarter of FY09. Cement volumes for Grasim registered 17.3% increase as against the third quarter of FY09 while for UltraTech Cements Ltd, volumes registered an increase of 10.4% as against the third quarter of FY09. Consolidated cement volumes registered a growth of 12.1% and stood at 9.79 million tonnes for the third quarter of FY10. Blended cement realizations have also witnessed a decline of 4% over the second quarter of FY10. Ready mix concrete (RMC) volumes have witnessed an improvement sequentially due to demand recovery from the real estate segment while RMC realizations have remained flattish sequentially and down by 3% on an yearly basis. White cement volumes have witnessed an increase of 18.3% and realizations improved marginally in the third quarter of FY10 against the third quarter of FY09. Wall care putty segment has witnessed a sharp improvement in demand and volumes registered an increase of 37.5% y-o-y. Overall cement division continues to contribute a significant proportion of total revenues and is currently at 76% of the total revenues. We fine tune our estimates to factor in improvement in VSF volumes and realizations as well reduction in overall borrowings. We thus expect net profits to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8% between FY09 and FY11. At current market price, stock is trading at 7.6x and 9.4x price-earnings and 4.3x and 4.7x enterprise value/earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for FY10 and FY11, respectively. We continue to maintain reduce. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:57 am Proposed freight corridor cost doublesNew Delhi: India’s ambitious effort to connect its busiest commercial centres with a dedicated rail network remains on paper five years after the project was announced, but its cost has more than doubled to Rs57,667 crore.  In the pipeline: Freight trains at the Tughlakabad railway station in New Delhi. The project is expected to decongest existing railway lines, catalyse industrial investments of around Rs2.3 trillion and create new jobs. Rajkumar/Mint DFCCIL is a government-owned company set up to build the network. The new figure of Rs57,667 crore is around Rs30,000 crore more than the earlier estimate. A DFCCIL executive who did not want to be identified said the business plan with the new numbers has been forwarded to the Railway Board, the apex decision-making body of the Indian Railways. The proposed freight corridor has two lines being constructed by Indian Railways to transport goods and will connect India’s largest port in Mumbai to Delhi through the western corridor (1,483km) and also link Dankuni in West Bengal with Ludhiana in Punjab through the eastern freight corridor (1,806km). The project is expected to decongest existing railway lines, catalyse industrial investments of around Rs2.3 trillion and create new jobs along the rail route. The government’s plan is to build industrial corridors along the freight lines. The government has so far accepted an offer from Japan—of Rs17,700 crore in soft loans through the Japan International Cooperation Agency—for the western corridor. The two countries have already signed an agreement for a small component of this, while the main loan agreement is expected to be inked sometime in March. Indian Railways is negotiating with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for funding the eastern corridor. The DFCCIL executive said the cost of the project had increased because of several factors, including the fact that the scope of the network had not been finalized when the earlier estimate was announced. A government official familiar with how Indian Railways operates said that the increase in cost reflects how this organization works. In the case of two small construction tenders—the only ones that have been floated by DFC so far—the costs involved were as much as 40% higher than the estimates mentioned in tender documents, the official added. Mint couldn’t independently verify this claim. This person added, asking that he not be identified, that the cost of the freight network could be even higher, at least Rs65,000 crore. “What happens by the time the project is finally completed?” he asked. The DFCCIL executive cited said the cost of the project was not expected to rise further. “It doesn’t look like that. When we were making final estimates, lot of corrections were made.” The business plan further estimates that the company’s rate of return on investment—from incremental traffic alone—could range from 8.97% to 13.97% based on varying projections of traffic. The government official said the business plan was incomplete without details of the number of trains DFCCIL would be allowed to run on its tracks. The report doesn’t address the terms of the agreement between Indian Railways and DFCCIL, he added. The Rs57,667 crore estimate includes interest costs, insurance and taxes. The construction cost for the first version of the proposed project, where the eastern line terminated at Sonnagar in Bihar works out to Rs42,231 crore. The project has since been extended to Dankuni in West Bengal, current railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s home state. Lalu Prasad, her predecessor in the ministry is from Bihar. According to Indian Railways, the project could cost around Rs49,624 crore in its current configuration. This estimate, however, excludes interest costs. “If today they are saying Rs57,000 crore, I would say it would cost at least Rs75,000 crore by the time they are finished,” said Amrit Pandurangi, who heads the transport and infrastructure practice for consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. “I’m sure if you conduct an analysis, you’ll find a variation of at least 30%, if not more, for publicly funded projects.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:56 am I-T department to cross-check refundsNew Delhi: The income-tax (I-T) department will cross-check all tax refunds of over Rs1 lakh despatched in the current fiscal year after they detected their computer systems had been breached to generate fake refund orders. “The system of handling high-value refunds will be replaced with a more robust and foolproof system,” a finance ministry press release said, without giving details. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:53 am PE firms seek non-IPO exit route Mumbai: Private equity (PE) funds are increasingly opting for secondary market and strategic sales as avenues of exit, in addition to the more traditional initial public offering (IPO) route, as they seek the best returns on investment while valuations remain strong. Also See Gaining Favour (Graphic) Among the leading firms moving to exit investments are Kotak Private Equity Group, Jacob Ballas Capital India Pvt. Ltd, Tano India Advisors Pvt. Ltd and BTS Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd. Indian PE deals declined to 232 deals worth $3.8 billion in 2009 (Rs17,556 crore today), from $10.2 billion through 441 deals in 2008. Last year saw 83 exits worth $2.3 billion, compared with 36 exits worth $4.46 billion in 2008. The rush to offload stakes also stems partly from the fact that a sale ensures immediate returns, whereas an IPO might take as long as 6-12 months and even then, a PE firm might only make a partial exit. The performance of the markets has also driven such sales. The Sensex, Bombay Stock Exchange’s key barometer, fell to a low of 8,451.01 points in November 2008 before rebounding in 2009, when it gained 114.02% to reach 17,464.81 at the end of December. “When the markets are buoyant, secondary sales provide good returns,” said Bhavesh Shah, executive director at JM Financial Consultants Pvt. Ltd. “Strategic sales can fetch good returns, especially if a larger deal is possible with the buyer getting a controlling stake.” Almost 50% of the 2009 exits were through public sales when fund managers took advantage of increased buoyancy in the stock market. Of the total number of exits in 2009, 43 were through public market sales compared with seven in the previous year, and 13 were through strategic sales compared with nine in 2008, according to data from Venture Intelligence, a research service that tracks PE, and mergers and acquisitions. IPO exits clocked in at 17 in 2009, from 10 in 2008. BTS Investment Advisors, a Mumbai-based PE firm managing two funds for small and medium enterprises worth a total of $97 million, plans to exit at least four of its investments, said managing partner K. Srinivasan. Kotak Private Equity also plans to exit about five of its portfolio firms this year, said a senior executive, who declined to be named because the deals are in process. “Strategic sale is emerging as a strong option of exit, this more so from international companies who now want to expand their presence in India,” said Hetal Gandhi, managing director of Tano India. “In fact, some of our companies have got interest from foreign investors and we are in early stages of discussions with them.” Gandhi attributed the phenomenon to the fact that entrepreneurs are also now looking at such sales as being more favourable because of strong valuations. Sandeep Naik, principal at Apax Partners India Advisers Pvt. Ltd, said his firm had encountered a few deals, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, where a multinational company looking to establish or expand its presence in India would take a minority stake in an Indian company. The foreign company “would look to have an option to convert it into a majority stake in the future”, he said. IPOs have not been entirely discarded as an exit strategy as these also help in preparing for stake divestment, especially when the market is expected to remain buoyant, he said. Nearly one-third of IPOs in the December pipeline were PE-backed. “We all know that several companies were IPO-ready last year, but the markets were not very active,” said Srinivas Chidambaram, managing director of Jacob Ballas Capital. “We have some companies in our portfolio which will go for an IPO.” “While there was a backlog created due to the financial meltdown, now there is a cautious return to normalcy,” said Shah of JM Financial. Srinivasan of BTS Investment Advisors said exits— whether strategic or market-based—are an intrinsic part of the PE business. “If you need to go for fund-raising, you need to work on your track record and show some exits,” he said. Part of the rush to exit is also due to overseas limited partners—investors in PE funds—that have received lower investment returns because of a global economic slowdown and will have less money to commit to funds unless the exit market improves, according to a report by Preqin Ltd, a London-based research firm focusing on alternative asset classes. Another trend that Naik of Apax Partners points to is of inter-PE firm stake sales. “We may start seeing a wave of sponsor-to-sponsor transactions where a new set of PE ownership enters the company and supports it in its next lifecycle of growth,” he said. Recently, New Enterprise Associate (India) Pvt. Ltd and Jacob Ballas Capital India bought Carlyle Group’s stake in Financial Software and Systems Pvt. Ltd, a Chennai-based electronic payments processing firm. In 2001, Carlyle had invested $10 million in the company and had a 34% stake in it after subsequent rounds of funding. The PE arm of Goldman Sachs has also been looking to sell its investment in Punjab-based food company Cremica Group to other PE investors since February 2009. Graphic by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint Source: Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:49 am With data policy, govt aims for an information revolution New Delhi: The department of science and technology is framing a national data access and sharing policy that could change the way the government maintains and shares information, two government officials said. The policy would compel departments and publicly funded bodies to scan their records, review the kind of data they maintain and release it for public consumption. Officials involved with the initiative said that the move would, for the first time, create institutional systems to coax ministries into sharing as much information as possible, provided this does not pose a security risk. “In the next few years, if a government department doesn’t share information, it will have to give reasons why it isn’t doing so,” said one of the officials involved in framing the policy. “If it classifies some information as restricted, it will have to justify its stance. That’s an inversion of current policy.” Both the officials requested anonymity. Currently, information collected by the government is marked “restricted access”, when it’s often possible to get it off the Internet anyway, researchers say. “Take Google Earth for instance,” the official said. “The Survey of India has all that and much more. So it makes sense to release that, possibly allow other end-users to make better maps and maybe charge end-users a nominal fee.” The access and sharing policy is the brainchild of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who hinted at such a policy at the Indian Science Congress in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this month. Science minister Prithviraj Chavan had, on the sidelines of a conference on 18 January, said the first draft of the policy would be ready by May. As of now, the top officials in all Central government departments have been consulted, though the departments of space and defence are yet to give their assent, said the official cited above. The biggest beneficiaries are likely to be researchers and the geospatial industry. Private firms such as Google Inc. (in 2007) announced they would step up plans to map India by surveying down to the city and village block levels. The Indian geospatial research industry, pegged at Rs839 crore, is expected to treble by 2013, according to a 2008 industry report. The policy will help standardize data, said Rajesh Kalra, managing director, Risk Management Services India Pvt. Ltd, which uses a variety of weather and geographical data to make commercial risk assessments. “Even something as simple as an updated document on the actual number of villages in India is hard to find,” Kalra said. “When we approach ministries, they rarely have fixed rates for certain kinds of data. Better data helps us make better risk assessments.” The lack of India-specific data was one of the key weaknesses of trying to gauge the impact of climate change in the country, said N.H. Ravindranath, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science. “I’ve made several submissions to various ministries for hydrology data, soil carbon data, river flow,” he said. “All of this exists. For some reason, they are deemed classified. This (the policy) should be a welcome step.” Most studies that have estimated India’s greenhouse gas inventories, or the impact of climate change over India, have relied on so-called global circulation models prepared by research centres based out of the UK or the US, largely because of the unavailability of local research and data. Other experts see the benefits of the policy beyond map making. P. Banerjee, director of the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research body, is confident of several interesting studies involving the Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology if they release data. “There may be issues of privacy, but as long as you withhold names, I don’t see why such data should be restricted in the first place,” he said. However, government departments are unlikely to begin releasing data anytime soon as they need to work on getting their data interoperable. “Lots of interesting stuff is still in the files. Those that are digitized are not flexible across operating systems,” said another science ministry official. “That will take a minimum of two years.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:39 am Videocon sees all India presence by feburary endVideocon, which has forayed into mobile handset space, has said that it plans to achieve a pan-Indian presence by end of February and roll out 15 more models of handsets in two months.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 10:27 am Measure insurance by core yardsticksOver the last few weeks, we have seen a sharpening of what could be described as turf war between two financial regulators, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), writes Dhirendra Kumar.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:57 am NMDC files for FPO with SEBIThe state-run mining giant NMDC on Monday filed the draft prospectus with the market regulator SEBI for its follow-on public offer, through which the government expects to mop up Rs 20,000 crore.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am Banking finance bear brunt of sensex fallTracking weak global markets, the domestic market continued its southward spiral for the fifth consecutive session on Monday with the benchmark Sensex shedding over 79 points.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:52 am Corporate results a mixed bagMumbai: Growth in third quarter net profit of India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), was flat at 0.025 per cent.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:38 am Jet gets board nod to buy into MAS GMR AeroJet Airways (India) Ltd said on Monday its board has given an inprinciple approval to take a stake of up to 26 percent in Hyderabadbased MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Company Pvt Ltd.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:10 am MM to subscribe to warrants in unitMahindra Mahindra said on Monday it will subscribe to 7.3 million warrants in unit Mahindra Forgings, which will enable it to acquire shares at Rs 137 each.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 9:10 am Asian Paints to exit ops in Thailand, China by FebendAsian Paints Ltd expects to exit operations in China and Thailand by the end of February, after it sold stakes in two loss making units in Hong Kong and MalaysiaSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 8:58 am Mahindra Mahindra OKs 2for1 stock splitMahindra Mahindra Ltd on Monday approved a 2for1 stock split, a company official said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 25 Jan 2010 | 8:58 am
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