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Maruti sees no major liability on a/c of Astar recallRC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India said the company is acting as a responsible car manufacturer. \"We have been replacing the gaskets for all customers.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 5:25 am Expect clarity on Parikh report in Budget: ONGCCMD of Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Ltd, RS Sharma, said clarity on Parikh report was expected in the Budget. \"A consensus on deregulating petrol prices has been reached upon.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:54 am Deploying OS images on Dell Business Client SystemsIT departments typically manage a mix of decentralized client hardware and software applications. I/T administrator activities include deploying standardized corporate operating system images to client hardware.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:43 am Will Tata Steel ride Corus to revival?Tata Steel, the world\'s eighthlargest steelmaker, has been among the best performers in the past year, and reviving growth at its European unit Corus is expected to further fire that rally.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:36 am How startups can benefit from BYSTBYST has been funding and mentoring struggling startups to stardom. Can you benefit from it, too?Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:33 am Pantaloon taking over home business from unitPantaloon Retail, India\'s largest listed retailer, said on Wednesday it was taking over the consumer durables and home furnishing and furniture business from its subsidiary.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:16 am Verdict due in Google defamation case in ItalyVerdicts were expected on Wednesday on Google executives charged over a bullying video posted on the company\'s Italian website.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:07 am Obama backs repeal of insurer antitrust exemptionThe Obama administration said it has thrown its weight behind a bid to repeal an antitrust exemption that has protected US health insurers for about 65 years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:07 am Barnes Noble sales weak, pins hopes on ebooksTop US bookseller Barnes Noble Inc said sales at its stores dropped sharply during the holiday quarter and forecast continued weak sales, sending its shares down 6%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:07 am Apologetic Toyota vows safety shakeupToyota Motor Corp promised a quality shakeup and apologized for safety mistakes that it blamed on rapid growth.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am ANALYSIS - RBI seen as potential buyer for IMF goldNEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has increased its gold holdings to diversify its reserves, looks set to be a buyer again when the International Monetary Fund begins selling 191.3 tonnes of the precious metal amid volatility in major currencies.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:47 am Food grain prices may ease on rail freight cutMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian railway's plan to cut freight rate slightly for food grains is unlikely to bring down prices sharply, but will help in price moderation, analysts and traders said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:40 am No hike in fares, freight charges in Rail BudgetNew Delhi: New Delhi: The Railway Budget for 2010-11 on Wednesday proposed no increase in passenger fares and freight rates while reducing the tariff by Rs100 per wagon in transportation of foodgrains, kerosene and fertilizers to tackle the price rise. The budget, presented by Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha, also proposed to reduce the maximum limit of service charge on e-booking of tickets to Rs10 for sleeper class and Rs20 for AC class. The present maximum charge is Rs15 and Rs40 respectively. This is the seventh year in a row that passenger fares have not been raised. Announcing a slew of concessions for passengers, Banerjee proposed free travel for cancer patients going for treatment in three-tier AC and sleeper class and continuance of concessions for students of madrassas and journalists. Also Read | Mint’s coverage on Budget 2010 The minister said 101 new suburban services will be introduced in Mumbai and more services will be launched in Kolkata and Chennai. A special train ‘Sanskriti Express’ to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore will run across the country and also to Bangladesh. Special tourist trains called ‘Bharat Teerth’ will be started on 16 routes while six long-distance non-stop Duronto Express and four short-distance Duronto day trains will be introduced, the railway minister said. The budget estimates for 2010-11 pegs the freight loading target at 944 million tonnes, an increase of 54 million tonnes over current year’s revised estimates. The passenger traffic is likely to grow by 5.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:33 am FM confident of ironing out differences over GST soon - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:28 am Obama dose for healthcare in the budgetGujarat being a progressive state with its GDP in double digits, the state can do wonders in healthcare sector by giving special exemptions and subsidies for developing medical tourism in Gujarat.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:21 am Google scraps China leg of Nexus One event - sourceBEIJING (Reuters) - Google Inc has scrapped the China leg of a regional event to show software developers its first smartphone, the Nexus One, in Beijing, its second such move following its threatened pull-out from the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:20 am India rail to spend 11.24 bln rupees on telecom, signalsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian railways plans to spend 11.24 billion rupees on telecom and signalling in fiscal 2010/11, according to the railway budget document presented on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:16 am REpower wins 51mw order from Akuo Energy - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:15 am India is top export market for Dubai for second yearIndia has topped the list of export markets for Dubai for the second consecutive year with a share of 40.6 per cent at 21.3 billion dirhams (Rs 268.348 billion).Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:13 am 3 Google executives convicted of privacy violationsMilan: Three Google executives were convicted of privacy violations Wednesday in allowing a video of an autistic boy being abused to be posted online — a case that has been closely watched for its implications on Internet freedom. Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges. A fourth defendant was acquitted altogether. The trial had been closely watched since it could help define whether the Internet in Italy is an open, self-regulating platform or if content must be better monitored for abusive material. Google, based in Mountain View, California, had said it considered the trial a threat to Internet freedom because it could force providers to attempt an impossible task — prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto sites like YouTube. Prosecutors insisted the case wasn’t about censorship but about balancing freedom of expression with the rights of an individual. The charges were sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome. The group alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down. Google Italy, which is based in Milan, eventually took down the video, though the two sides disagree on how fast the company reacted to complaints. Thanks to the footage and Google’s cooperation, the four bullies were identified and sentenced by a juvenile court to community service. The events shortly preceded Google’s 2006 acquisition of YouTube. All four executives denied wrongdoing. None was in any way involved with the production of the video or uploading it onto the viewing platform, but prosecutors argued that it shot to the top of a most-viewed list and should have been noticed. Convicted of privacy violations were Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer. Senior product marketing manager Arvind Desikan was acquitted. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:10 am 3 Google executives convicted of privacy violationsMilan: Three Google executives were convicted of privacy violations Wednesday in allowing a video of an autistic boy being abused to be posted online — a case that has been closely watched for its implications on Internet freedom. Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges. A fourth defendant was acquitted altogether. The trial had been closely watched since it could help define whether the Internet in Italy is an open, self-regulating platform or if content must be better monitored for abusive material. Google, based in Mountain View, California, had said it considered the trial a threat to Internet freedom because it could force providers to attempt an impossible task — prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto sites like YouTube. Prosecutors insisted the case wasn’t about censorship but about balancing freedom of expression with the rights of an individual. The charges were sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome. The group alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down. Google Italy, which is based in Milan, eventually took down the video, though the two sides disagree on how fast the company reacted to complaints. Thanks to the footage and Google’s cooperation, the four bullies were identified and sentenced by a juvenile court to community service. The events shortly preceded Google’s 2006 acquisition of YouTube. All four executives denied wrongdoing. None was in any way involved with the production of the video or uploading it onto the viewing platform, but prosecutors argued that it shot to the top of a most-viewed list and should have been noticed. Convicted of privacy violations were Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer. Senior product marketing manager Arvind Desikan was acquitted. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:10 am 3 Google executives convicted of privacy violationsMilan: Three Google executives were convicted of privacy violations Wednesday in allowing a video of an autistic boy being abused to be posted online — a case that has been closely watched for its implications on Internet freedom. Judge Oscar Magi sentenced the three to a six-month suspended sentence and absolved them of defamation charges. A fourth defendant was acquitted altogether. The trial had been closely watched since it could help define whether the Internet in Italy is an open, self-regulating platform or if content must be better monitored for abusive material. Google, based in Mountain View, California, had said it considered the trial a threat to Internet freedom because it could force providers to attempt an impossible task — prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto sites like YouTube. Prosecutors insisted the case wasn’t about censorship but about balancing freedom of expression with the rights of an individual. The charges were sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome. The group alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down. Google Italy, which is based in Milan, eventually took down the video, though the two sides disagree on how fast the company reacted to complaints. Thanks to the footage and Google’s cooperation, the four bullies were identified and sentenced by a juvenile court to community service. The events shortly preceded Google’s 2006 acquisition of YouTube. All four executives denied wrongdoing. None was in any way involved with the production of the video or uploading it onto the viewing platform, but prosecutors argued that it shot to the top of a most-viewed list and should have been noticed. Convicted of privacy violations were Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer. Senior product marketing manager Arvind Desikan was acquitted. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 2:10 am ITC plans to enter UAE food market through partnershipDubai: ITC, a multi business conglomerate, is planning to enter the food market of the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) through a partnership with the Al Seer Group, a news report has said. “We are currently not marketing any of our food products in the UAE but we plan to enter the market in a big way. There is an alliance with the Al Seer Group to distribute our confectionery products in the market,” a company source was quoted as saying by Emirates Business, a local newspaper. The products ITC plans to market in the UAE and GCC include wheat biscuits under brand its Sunfeast, cream and tea biscuits cookies, crackers, candies, eclairs and chews etc. The company forayed into the biscuits segment in India in 2003 with its brand Sunfeast and has managed to capture nearly 10% of the market. ITC, with a turnover exceeding $5 billion and market capitalisation of $19 billion, is participating for the first time in the Gulfood exhibition. The firm displayed a number of its confectionery products in Dubai World Trade Centre. ITC has a strong foods division supplying packaged foods, snacks, confectionery and biscuits. The group has diversified its presence, from tobacco manufacturing, into packaged foods, consumer goods, hotels, information technology, branded apparel and agri business. The company officials attending Gulfood were tight lipped about their plans in the GCC market. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:49 am India says fired at by Pakistan guards ahead of talksSrinagar: Border Security Force (BSF) guards said their troops came under fire from Pakistan on Wednesday, a day before the two nuclear-armed neighbours are set for the first official talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “The firing from across the border started early morning. A BSF personnel was injured,” Vinod Sharma, a spokesman for the border guards, told Reuters. Pakistan denied any shooting by its troops. “Our troops were not involved in any firing. There may be some problem on their own side,” said Nadeem Raza, a spokesman for Pakistan’s paramilitary Rangers. Area commanders from the two sides were due to meet later in the day to settle the matter, Raza said. The shooting took place in the Samba area of south Kashmir, the Himalayan region at the core of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan and the cause of two of their three wars since independence from British rule in 1947. The foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet on Thursday for talks that could eventually pave the way for the resumption of the formal peace process broken off after the 2008 Mumbai strike that killed 166 people. There has been a spate of clashes in the past few months along the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing mostly Muslim Kashmir between Hindu-majority India and Pakistan, an Islamic nation. But the clashes are not expected to blow up into a major conflict. India accuses Pakistani troops of cross-border firing to help militants cross the disputed border to join a 20-year revolt in Kashmir and violate a 2003 ceasefire agreement reached between the two armies. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since the revolt against New Delhi’s rule broke out in 1989. Both claim the region in full but rule it in part. Tension ran high on the Indian side in February as a series of civilian deaths — blamed on the heavy-handedness of Indian security forces — sparked renewed protests against New Delhi’s rule. In the latest violence related to the revolt, three Indian soldiers and three militants were killed in a 24-hour gunbattle in the Sopore area of north Kashmir that ended on Wednesday, police said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:31 am Bharti, SBI in talks over Zain deal fundingMUMBAI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel has shown interest in obtaining funding from the country's top lender, State Bank of India, for its $9 billion offer to acquire Kuwaiti Telecom Zain's African assets, the bank's chairman said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:28 am Hyundai recalls new Sonata due to lock faultsSEOUL/DETROIT (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor will recall 47,000 of its new Sonata sedans to fix faulty door latches, seeking to avoid the damaging criticism Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp faces for its handling of a series of safety problems.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:24 am SBI to raise up to $4.3 bn in rights issueMumbai: State Bank of India, India’s largest lender, plans to raise up to $4.3 billion through a rights equity issue in 2010-11, about half the amount it needs to sustain growth over the next five years, its chairman said. O.P. Bhatt said on Wednesday the bank would need to raise Rs40, 000 crore ($8.6 billion) to Rs50, 000 crore to feed demand for loans over five years in the fast-growing economy. “If we can raise half of it anytime during the next 12-18 months, it will be great,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a banking technology summit. The Rs10,000 crore to Rs20,000 crore rights offering will need the support of the government, which owns about 60% of the bank. “Our rights issue can be successful only if government subscribes to it,” Bhatt said, adding the bank will start working with the government after the national budget on Friday that is expected to provide clarity on capitalisation plan for state-run banks. Shares in the bank, which has a market value at $26.3 billion, have dropped 15.5% so far this year, more than a 6.8% fall in the main index. The shares had rallied 76.2% in 2009, just behind the 81% jump in the index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:23 am Maruti sees no major liability due to A-star recall - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:15 am SJVNL IPO put on hold until next fiscalNew Delhi: The initial public offering of state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam has been put on hold by the government after a lukewarm response to the follow-on offers of NTPC and Rural Electrification corp. “The IPO is slightly delayed, looking at what happened to REC and NTPC, the market is not conducive and it (IPO) could come in the first half of 2010-11,” SJVNL CMD HK Sharma told reporters. The Centre holds 75% stake in SJVNL—a joint venture between the Centre and Himachal Pradesh while the remaining stake remains with the state government. The Government is disinvesting 10% of its 75% stake in SJVNL and is expecting to raise around Rs1,200 crore from the stake sale. The Board of the company has cleared the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the IPO. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in October last year approved 10 % disinvestment in SJVNL. The follow-on offers of NTPC and REC were subscribed 1.2 and 3.12 times, respectively. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:10 am Behuria may head Petronet after IOC tenureNew Delhi: Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) chairman S. Behuria is unlikely to get an extension of service when his five-year term comes to an end this month and he is being offered a position at a joint venture firm of oil PSUs. IOC director (business development) B.M. Bansal, whose term like Behuria is coming to an end this month, has, however, earned an extension of service till he retires next year and is likely to be appointed acting chairman. Behuria’s five-year term as head of the nation’s largest oil firm ends on 28 February and is eligible for extension of service till he reaches the age of superannuation - 60 years - in March 2012. Sources in the know said the oil ministry was not inclined to give Behuria an extension and a clear indication of this emerged when Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), a joint venture firm of state owned oil firm, created a new post for him. The board of PLL, whose chairman is petroleum secretary S. Sundareshan, offered Behuria the job of advisor in the rank and the pay of managing director. Behuria may eventually suceed P. Dasgupta who is rumoured to be putting in his papers on health grounds before his term comes to an end in August. Behuria’s performance as chairman of IOC had been rated as “outstanding” by outgoing oil secretary R.S. Pandey and there were no known corruption charges against him, sources said adding it was not clear why he was being denied an extension. During his term, IOC saw revenues rise over 89% to Rs285,337 crore from Rs150,729 crore. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:08 am India rupee in a tight range, pares early losses - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:06 am UPDATE 1-India 3G auctions to start from April 9 - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:02 am Toyota chief faces grilling by US congress Tokyo / Washington: Toyota Motor Corp’s president braced for tough questions from a US congressional panel on Wednesday after the Japanese automaker conceded it had let safety standards slip and could still not explain most incidents of unintended acceleration. President Akio Toyoda again apologised for safety issues that have led to the recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles, been blamed for at least five deaths and set off fierce criticism of both the world’s largest automaker and US regulators. Toyoda’s congressional hearing and the car maker’s deepening woes are also front page news in Japan, where politicians are publicly expressing worries over the potential impact on economic growth, exports and the country’s overall image. It has also dented the attractiveness of the stock market, according to a Reuters poll of retail investors. “We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that,” Toyoda said in written testimony ahead of his appearance on Wednesday. On the first day of congressional hearings, Rhonda Smith, driver of a Toyota Lexus in a 2006 incident where her car reached 100 mph (160 kph), said that she felt Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had dismissed her belief that the vehicle’s electronics were to blame. “Shame on you, Toyota, for being so greedy. And shame on you, NHTSA, for not doing your job,” a tearful Smith told a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Lost sight of customer Tuesday’s hearing was mostly measured in tone. Toyoda, grandson of Toyota’s founder, may not fare as well before the often more vocal House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. That hearing is due to begin at 9.30 pm. The tough stance taken by US politicians has triggered mixed feelings among many Japanese. “Toyota had some problems in its response. At first it didn’t pay respect to the American standard where a lot is based on rules, and lawsuits are common. It also relied too much on its no.1 position,” said Susumu Saito, a retired man in his 60s who lives in Tokyo. “But at the same time I think the US is doing too much now, and that is because they are having the election later this year and the lawmakers need to boost their image,” he said. Toyoda had already pledged to focus more on quality and less on growth when he took over the reins last June, aiming to reduce the number of models sold worldwide and get back to basics. “I think we outgrew our engineering resource,” Toyota’s top-ranking US executive, Jim Lentz, told the hearing adding: “And the most important thing is that we lost sight of the customer.” Lentz agreed that 70% of complaints about unintended acceleration remained unexplained. “That is probably fair to say,” he said adding: “There are many factors that lead to it.” Aizawa Securities analyst Toshiro Yoshinaga said that slowing down car development and product launches to focus more on safety and quality would not necessarily dent Toyota’s competitiveness, as it would be in line with the industry trend. “I don’t see any need for them to speed up their development anyway. The replacement cycle for automobiles is getting longer globally. It is quite natural if the development cycle gets a little longer as well,” he said. Following the congressional hearing on Wednesday, Toyoda plans to hold a briefing in Washington at 3.30 am. Electronics questioned Toyota’s recent recalls have focused on loose floor mats that can pin down the accelerator, sticky accelerators and a braking glitch affecting its Prius and other hybrid models. But many lawmakers, some Toyota owners and safety experts, fear Toyota’s electronic throttle control system can be subject to electromagnetic interference. “It’s a matter of safety and quality, so it is important for them to gain the understanding of the American people and work to rebuild trust,” Japanese government spokesman Hirofumi Hirano said adding: “The fact that there was a fault in quality must be accepted gravely.” While Toyota’s problems have damaged its once gold-plated reputation for quality, auto industry recalls are commonplace. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co stopped US sales of its 2011 Sonata sedan due to potential faults in the front door latches, and said it would recall 47,300 cars, nearly all in the South Korea. India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, 54%-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor, is recalling 100,000 of its A-Star hatchbacks to fix a possible fuel leak. UBS Securities auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said Toyota’s plan to localise decision-making on recalls—one of the key action points of its new strategy—would raise standards for the industry, forcing other makers to follow suit. “As Toyota is best-positioned to adopt this system, the plan would eventually help enhance its relative competitiveness. On the other hand, it will create a high hurdle for smaller players, those without local bases,” Yoshida said. Shares in Toyota fell 1.5% in Tokyo, having lost about a fifth of their value since 21 January, when it expanded its recall to deal with sticking accelerators. Hyundai lost 2.6% in Seoul, while Maruti shares rose 1.3%. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Toyota chief faces grilling by US congress Tokyo / Washington: Toyota Motor Corp’s president braced for tough questions from a US congressional panel on Wednesday after the Japanese automaker conceded it had let safety standards slip and could still not explain most incidents of unintended acceleration. President Akio Toyoda again apologised for safety issues that have led to the recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles, been blamed for at least five deaths and set off fierce criticism of both the world’s largest automaker and US regulators. Toyoda’s congressional hearing and the car maker’s deepening woes are also front page news in Japan, where politicians are publicly expressing worries over the potential impact on economic growth, exports and the country’s overall image. It has also dented the attractiveness of the stock market, according to a Reuters poll of retail investors. “We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that,” Toyoda said in written testimony ahead of his appearance on Wednesday. On the first day of congressional hearings, Rhonda Smith, driver of a Toyota Lexus in a 2006 incident where her car reached 100 mph (160 kph), said that she felt Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had dismissed her belief that the vehicle’s electronics were to blame. “Shame on you, Toyota, for being so greedy. And shame on you, NHTSA, for not doing your job,” a tearful Smith told a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Lost sight of customer Tuesday’s hearing was mostly measured in tone. Toyoda, grandson of Toyota’s founder, may not fare as well before the often more vocal House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. That hearing is due to begin at 9.30 pm. The tough stance taken by US politicians has triggered mixed feelings among many Japanese. “Toyota had some problems in its response. At first it didn’t pay respect to the American standard where a lot is based on rules, and lawsuits are common. It also relied too much on its no.1 position,” said Susumu Saito, a retired man in his 60s who lives in Tokyo. “But at the same time I think the US is doing too much now, and that is because they are having the election later this year and the lawmakers need to boost their image,” he said. Toyoda had already pledged to focus more on quality and less on growth when he took over the reins last June, aiming to reduce the number of models sold worldwide and get back to basics. “I think we outgrew our engineering resource,” Toyota’s top-ranking US executive, Jim Lentz, told the hearing adding: “And the most important thing is that we lost sight of the customer.” Lentz agreed that 70% of complaints about unintended acceleration remained unexplained. “That is probably fair to say,” he said adding: “There are many factors that lead to it.” Aizawa Securities analyst Toshiro Yoshinaga said that slowing down car development and product launches to focus more on safety and quality would not necessarily dent Toyota’s competitiveness, as it would be in line with the industry trend. “I don’t see any need for them to speed up their development anyway. The replacement cycle for automobiles is getting longer globally. It is quite natural if the development cycle gets a little longer as well,” he said. Following the congressional hearing on Wednesday, Toyoda plans to hold a briefing in Washington at 3.30 am. Electronics questioned Toyota’s recent recalls have focused on loose floor mats that can pin down the accelerator, sticky accelerators and a braking glitch affecting its Prius and other hybrid models. But many lawmakers, some Toyota owners and safety experts, fear Toyota’s electronic throttle control system can be subject to electromagnetic interference. “It’s a matter of safety and quality, so it is important for them to gain the understanding of the American people and work to rebuild trust,” Japanese government spokesman Hirofumi Hirano said adding: “The fact that there was a fault in quality must be accepted gravely.” While Toyota’s problems have damaged its once gold-plated reputation for quality, auto industry recalls are commonplace. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co stopped US sales of its 2011 Sonata sedan due to potential faults in the front door latches, and said it would recall 47,300 cars, nearly all in the South Korea. India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, 54%-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor, is recalling 100,000 of its A-Star hatchbacks to fix a possible fuel leak. UBS Securities auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said Toyota’s plan to localise decision-making on recalls—one of the key action points of its new strategy—would raise standards for the industry, forcing other makers to follow suit. “As Toyota is best-positioned to adopt this system, the plan would eventually help enhance its relative competitiveness. On the other hand, it will create a high hurdle for smaller players, those without local bases,” Yoshida said. Shares in Toyota fell 1.5% in Tokyo, having lost about a fifth of their value since 21 January, when it expanded its recall to deal with sticking accelerators. Hyundai lost 2.6% in Seoul, while Maruti shares rose 1.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am Aircel plans $1.4 bn investment this yearNew Delhi: Telecom service provider Aircel on Wednesday said it plans to invest $1.4 billion (over Rs6,474 crore) this year on expanding its operations and become a pan -India GSM operator by June. “We plan to invest $1.4 billion this year for expanding our networks and on existing operations. By June 2010, we plan to have operations in all 23 telecom circles in the country,” Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh told PTI. Talking about the company’s future investment plans, Singh said Aircel will invest another $2.6 billion in the next two years (2011 and 2012). At present the telco operates in 18 telecom circles across the country. It plans to launch its service in the remaining circles of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab by June, making it a pan-India operator. Aircel is also aiming to triple its subscriber base to a record 100 million users by 2012, said Aircel director Sandip Das, who is also the chief executive officer of Maxis Communications. Malayasia’s Maxis Communications controls Aircel. At the end of January, Aircel had a subscriber base of 33 million. Aircel is at the fifth place among pure GSM operators, with a market share of 8.38% after Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and BSNL. Asked whether Aircel has plans to go for an Initial Public Offering and list the company on bourses, Das said there was no plan this year to raise funds through this route. “The company’s growth is not restricted for lack of funds,” he added. “The tower hive off had given us liquidity of around $3 billion. We will reinvest (it) in the current business,” Singh said. Last month GTL had acquired 17,500 towers from Aircel for $1.8 billion (Rs8,400 crore) with rights to roll out 20,000 more towers for Aircel. Apart from speeding up its pan-India growth, Aircel plans to foray in enterprise business and target corporate and SMEs. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:59 am TCS seeing demand from financials, pharmaMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services, India's top software services exporter, is seeing strong demand from clients in sectors such as financial services, utilities and pharmaceuticals, its chief executive said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:55 am Oil rises above $79 after US crude supply dropOil has bounced between $70 a barrel and $80 for most of the last six months as investors wait for signs that US crude demand is catching up.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:54 am Govt says 3G auctions to start from April 9NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's long-pending auction of third-generation wireless spectrum will start on April 9, the government said, in a project it hopes will raise more than $7 billion.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:43 am Google accused of not playing fair in EuropeGoogle on Tuesday said that the European Commission is looking into complaints filed by three companies that contend the US Internet giant is not playing fair.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:29 am Markets unmoved, railway stocks slip - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:28 am Indian banks exposure to Dubai World limited RBIExposure of Indian banks to crisis-hit Dubai World is in the range of USD 275-300 million and it will not have any material impact on the sector's performance this year, a senior official of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:24 am Budget to underline slow pace of reformNew Delhi: The government presents its first full post-election budget on Friday, with a lack of political appetite for big-bang reform set to disappoint those looking for bold moves to open up the economy. The ruling Congress party had frequently blamed its Communist partners for thwarting attempts to reduce state control of the economy during its last term, when it led a fragile coalition from 2004 to 2009. But although the left-leaning Congress is now firmly in control, it will shy away from contentious moves to liberalise India’s still inward-looking economy in the budget for the fiscal year ending in March 2011, analysts say. Although growth has rebounded—it is seen hitting 7.5% this year, then accelerating to 8% or more—the Congress is unwilling to chart a reformist course for as long as the global outlook remains uncertain. More broadly, there also still appears to be a lack of consensus in the ruling party and its coalition partners in favour of deeper reforms in Asia’s third-largest economy. “There’s a substantial body of opinion that believes India was saved from the worst ravages of the global slump because its economy is not so integrated with the rest of the world,” said economic analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. And 74-year-old finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, known as one of India’s canniest politicians and firmly in the left wing of the Congress party, is not generally viewed as an advocate of economic liberalisation. India’s growth slowed to 6.7% last year from boom levels of 9% as a result of the worldwide downturn, but that was seen in the country as a good performance compared to anaemic expansion or recession in the west. Most economists tout liberalisation to pull in foreign investment as the best way to boost growth and ease grinding poverty. More than 40% of India’s 1.2 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day. But moves such as opening the vast retail and financial sectors to foreign investors, privatisation and introducing flexible hiring-and-firing laws appear a step too far for the government. “What happened in the US and Europe has made politicians in India and everywhere more guarded about introducing measures to liberalise the economy,” said HSBC senior economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde. The country could expand faster with more reforms but even without them, he said, “India can grow at 7-8% or higher (annually) over the course of an economic cycle.” Political commentator Parsa Venkateshwar Rao added: “With the international financial crisis, this is the wrong time for anyone to talk about reform.” India’s robust upturn, fuelled by buoyant domestic demand, will give Mukherjee leeway to start rolling back stimulus steps put in place to help shield the economy from the slump, analysts say. But the government has repeatedly stressed that stimulus exit will not be at the cost of growth. Mukherjee will seek to satisfy political allies with populist policies while also pacifying the debt market by taking the first steps to rein in the ballooning deficit by re-embracing fiscal discipline, analysts say. Big public spending schemes will be kept, including hikes to a flagship rural sector jobs scheme, along with heavy investment in infrastructure and education—seen as cornerstones of development. Most of the avenues for fiscal consolidation are expected to be through bigger tax collection due to faster growth, a widening of the service tax net, divestment of stakes in state-run enterprises and the sale of spectrum for third-generation telephony. Analysts are betting the budget deficit will fall to 5.5-5.9% of gross domestic product from its current 6.8%, a 16-year high. Still, if the government fails to take any bold steps now, some say a window of opportunity might shut. This year is the only one in which there are no major state elections to preoccupy the Congress party. “If they don’t do it now, they won’t do it (at all)—elections will start coming into the picture and voter considerations will take over,” said D.K. Joshi, principal economist at Crisil Ratings. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:24 am Stimulus helped economy withstand slowdown: Pranab New Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that the fiscal stimulus greatly helped the economy withstand the impact of the slowdown and gave no hint of its possible rollback in the budget. “Central excise has been used as a fiscal tool to cushion the impact of the global recession. It is reassuring to note that stimulus measures, including reduction in central excise duty, have had a positive impact on the Indian economy,” the finance minister said at the Central Excise Day. Mukherjee also said that an impressive industrial growth of 16.8% in December suggests the economy will grow by over 7.5% in 2009-10 and over 8% in the next fiscal. He said that the economy needs to grow by double digits to eliminate poverty and illiteracy. To blunt the impact of the slowdown, the government had cut excise by 6% and service tax by 2% besides stepping up planned expenditure to provide a Rs1.86 lakh crore stimulus to the Indian economy. However, with the economy back on the growth path, speculations are rife that the emergency measures may be be partially withdrawn by raising excise duty in the budget on Friday. The finance minister, though provided no indication to that effect. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:22 am Want news about United Bank of India to land in your mailbox? - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am REC follow-on offer makes it on institutional propAlthough retail participants gave it a wide berth, the follow-on public offering of state-run REC sailed through on institutional support and was oversubscribed 3.12Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Marketing margins not decided by Govt: DeoraThe Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, has informed the Rajya Sabha, that the rate of marketing margin is neither decided nor approved by theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am UK firm teams up with S&P for carbon emission indexWill pension funds and institutional investors be able to persuade companies across the world to change their approach to greenhouse gasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Coffee export trends point to better crop prospectsCoffee exports are expected to touch the 2008-09 level of 1.97 lakh tonnes this fiscal on account of encouraging arrivals of the current season's (November 2009-October 2010) crop. Industry observers say that while the previous year's crop wasSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Maruti Suzuki recalls 1 lakh A-Stars with fuel tank problemThe country's leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki has recalled around one lakh units of the A-Star hatchback, following a problem in its fuel tank that may cause a leak when the filled to theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am BSNL broadband @ 24 MbpsThe broadband segment in the country seems to be hotting up. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has launched the fastest broadband connection in the country, offering speeds of up to 24 Mbps. This comes after Bharti Airtel claimed to be offering theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Mamata's moves on fares will be the keyWhether the Union Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, will succumb to the pressure from the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, to raise passenger fares will be the key issue in the Railway BudgetSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Skidelsky revisits KeynesRobert Skidelsky wrote the definitive biography of John Maynard Keynes in threeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Welspun India (Rs 78.9): BuyInvestors with a short-term perspective can buy the stock of Welspun India. The down-move from January 18 peak halted at Rs 73 and the stock has been moving sideways with a positive bias, over the last three weeks. That the stock halted above itsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Rane group chief favours additional 20% duty on Chinese importsMr L. Ganesh, Chairman of the Chennai-based Rane group, an auto component manufacturer, is in favour of the Centre levying an additional import duty on Chinese autoSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am Court relaxes VRS application withdrawal normMumbai: The Bombay high court has held that an application under voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) can be withdrawn before the employer accepts it. Division bench of justices S.A. Bobade and Vasanti Naik held in the recent judgement that even though the VRS rules do not provide for withdrawal of application, it can be allowed. Petitioner Madhusudan Trivedi, who was working with UCO Bank, Nagpur, had sought voluntary retirement under the scheme that was announced by the bank in November 2000. He applied for VRS on 1 January 2001. However, he contended in his petition that at the time of applying for it, he was not aware of all the provisions of the scheme. On realising that some provisions did not suit him, he wrote to the bank that he wanted to withdraw his application. However, the bank said that according to the rule, an application once made could not be taken back. Trivedi then moved the Nagpur bench of the high court. The high court observed that the bank was yet to approve Trivedi’s VRS application when he sought to withdraw it. Therefore, relying on a Supreme Court ruling, the high court held that as long as his application was not accepted Trivedi was free to withdraw it. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 11:56 pm REpower gets wind farm project from French firm Mumbai: REpower Systems, in which wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy holds a majority stake, has received three orders from France-based Akuo Energy SAS for supplying wind turbines. REpower has signed three agreements for the supply of 25 wind turbines from Akuo Energy SAS that would generate 51.25 MW of power, Suzlon, which holds 90.71% stake in REpower, said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday. The company has not disclosed the financial details of the order. “France is a very important market for the wind industry, where REpower is a strong and key player. We are pleased with REpower’s new order with Akuo, and are confident that this will be the foundation for a strong long-term relationship,” Suzlon Energy chairman and managing director Tulsi Tanti said. The project would be executed by the French subsidiary REpower SAS. The company would be responsible for delivery, commissioning and services of the turbines. “We have already set up several wind farms in the region (France) and are pleased to work with Akuo for the first time. We are confident that this will be the first step towards a global partnership,” REpower chief executive officer Per Hornung Pedersen said. The first set of wind turbines for the wind farm would be delivered and commissioned by August 2010. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 11:55 pm Stimulus helped economy withstand slowdown: FMMukherjee also said an impressive industrial growth of 16.8% in December suggests the economy will grow by over 7.5% in 2009-10 and over 8% in the next fiscal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 11:35 pm Pantaloon to merge consumer durable biz of arm with itself Mumbai: Retail major Pantaloon Retail (India) on Wednesday said that it will merge the consumer durable business of its subsidiary with itself. The board has approved demerger of consumer durables and home improvement business from Home Solutions Retail (India) Ltd, Pantaloon said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Following the demerger, the said units would be merged with Pantaloon Retail (India). Further, the company would acquire the sports retail business from its wholly-owned subsidiary, Winner Sports Ltd. The scheme of arrangement is subject to approval from the shareholders, the filing added. Shares of Pantaloon Retail (India) were trading at Rs395 on the BSE, up 1.46% from previous close. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 11:16 pm Stimulus helped economy withstand slowdown PranabFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the fiscal stimulus greatly helped the economy withstand the impact of the slowdown and gave no hint of its possible rollback in the Budget.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 11:02 pm M&A activity in India more than doubled to $3 bn in Jan 2010New Delhi: Merger and acquisition activity in the country more than doubled in the first month of 2010 as deals worth nearly $3 billion (about Rs13,950 crore) were announced amid improved signs of liquidity, a study said. According to the monthly deal report of VCEdge, a financial research provider, the M&A deal value during January 2010 stood at $2.8 billion, a whopping 126% rise over the same period last year. In terms of deal count there was also an upward trend, as there were around 53 deals in the first month of the year, as compared to 32 deals witnessed during a year-ago period, the report added. Domestic deals were in fervour during January 2010, as there were as many as 29 domestic deals worth $2,303 million as compared to 14 transactions worth $589 million in January 2009. Meanwhile, the number of outbound deals more than doubled from 6 in January 2009 to 13 in January 2010. Besides, the average deals size also grew to $111.30 million in the first month of 2010 from $84.28 million, the report said. A sector wise analysis shows that telecom, logistics and banking, finance and insurance were the most targeted sectors for investments with deals worth $2,180 million, $164 million and $117 million respectively. Together, these sectors accounted for more than 85% of total private equity deal value during the month. The largest deal was GTL Infrastructure’s acquisition of the telecom tower assets of Aircel Ltd for Rs400 crore through a Special Purpose Vehicle. The deal makes GTL Infra the world’s largest independent telecom tower firm and will give the company an additional 17,500 telecom towers taking its total portfolio to 32,500. Besides, the GTL-Aircel deal, some of the other major M&A deals include — Telenor’s third and penultimate round of investment of $326 million in Unitech Wireless Ltd for 11.1% stake and SHV Energy which acquired Chennai-based Caltex Gas India for $109 million from Chevron Corp. The top 5 M&A deals accounted for more than 85% of the total M&A deals in January 2010. In January 2009, top 5 deals accounted for more than 98% of total value for the month, the report added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:55 pm BSE Sensex see saws; Maruti down; Reliance gainsMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex struggled on Wednesday morning, with Reliance Industries one of the few blue-chip outperformers, as investors grew cautious about staking out new positions ahead of Friday's budget.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:49 pm Sensex see saws; Maruti down; Reliance gainsMumbai: The BSE Sensex struggled on Wednesday morning, with Reliance Industries one of the few blue-chip outperformers, as investors grew cautious about staking out new positions ahead of Friday’s budget. By 10:45am, the 30-share BSE index was up a scant 0.04% at 16,293.59 points, with 12 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.1% at 4,867.15. ”People do not want to take any directional calls with so many events lined up this week,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital. Traders were awaiting the railway budget to be presented later in the day, the expiration of monthly derivative contacts on the National Stock Exchange on Thursday and the federal budget on Friday. Enery giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weighting in the main index, rose 0.8%. The stock had declined 5.5% over four previous sessions. Automakers were the biggest drag on the market after India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki said on Tuesday it was recalling 100,000 of its A-Star hatchbacks sold overseas and in India. Shares in Maruti dipped in and out of negative territory in early trade on Wednesday but were up 0.5% by late morning. “I think, people are awaiting more details on the costs and the full impact of it before they take a definitive view,” said Arun Kejriwal, director of research firm KRIS. “It seems to be a one-off event,” he said. Rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra were down 2% and 2.2% respectively. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.7:1 in a volume of 116 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:49 pm Hyundai to recall Sonata sedan in US and S.Korea Seoul: South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Wednesday said that it would recall its flagship Sonata sedan in the US and the domestic market due to a door lock problem. The firm said in a statement that 1,300 Sonata sedans already sold in the US and another 46,000 cars in South Korea would be recalled. Hyundai said that the move was in response to reported defective front-door locks on some of its modified Sonatas launched last September. It said that it ordered its US dealers on Tuesday to stop selling the model. The recall was announced on the same day that Toyota’s top US executive admitted that global recalls by the Japanese giant had not totally fixed dangerous safety flaws. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:46 pm Hyundai to recall Sonata sedan in US and S.Korea Seoul: South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Wednesday said that it would recall its flagship Sonata sedan in the US and the domestic market due to a door lock problem. The firm said in a statement that 1,300 Sonata sedans already sold in the US and another 46,000 cars in South Korea would be recalled. Hyundai said that the move was in response to reported defective front-door locks on some of its modified Sonatas launched last September. It said that it ordered its US dealers on Tuesday to stop selling the model. The recall was announced on the same day that Toyota’s top US executive admitted that global recalls by the Japanese giant had not totally fixed dangerous safety flaws. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:46 pm Nifty opens lower; metals, realty, auto down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:30 pm Citi in advanced talks to sell hedge businessCiti said last year it planned to offload billions worth of non-core assets amidst the global financial crisis and the US government taking an ownership stake in the bank.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:23 pm Cheques to have more security features: RBICheques will have more security features like water marks and invisible logo with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deciding to ask banks to take additional measures to prevent forgeries and frauds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:23 pm Toyota chief faces US congress spotlightToyota Motor Corp's president braced for tough questions from a US congressional panel on Wednesday after the Japanese automaker conceded it had let safety standards slip.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:22 pm Air India to connect Washington with Indian cities via MilanIndia's national carrier Air India will soon launch daily flights between Washington and Indian cities with a stopover in Milan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:20 pm Official denies China has rejected Tengzhong's Hummer bidWang Chao, an assistant commerce minister, said at a briefing that the ministry had yet to receive an application from Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machiner Co.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:17 pm Toyota sticks with plan to end California productionToyota is ending production next month at the Fremont plant where for 25 years it jointly produced vehicles with General Motors Co under the venture known as New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:15 pm Thermax settles legal dispute with PuroliteThermax will play Purolite $38 million in four instalments over the calender year as part of the out of court settlement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:13 pm Sensex pares early morning lossesA benchmark index of Indian equities pared its early morning losses on Wednesday and was flat about half an hour into trade.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pm Hyundai stops 2011 Sonata sales due to lock issueHyundai, which received complaints from customers but no reports of accidents or injuries, notified dealers late on Monday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pm China rejects Tengzhong's Hummer bidSichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co, based in China's Sichuan province, was believed to be lobbying behind the scenes for regulatory approval.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:08 pm DB Realty lists at discount on NSE - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:59 pm Maruti shares hit 6 mth low pull back on recallShares in Maruti Suzuki pulled back after sliding to a six-month-low early on Wednesday, a day after India's top carmaker said it was recalling 100,000 of its A-Star hatchbacks sold overseas and in India.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:55 pm Toyota chief faces US congress spotlightToyota Motor Corp's president braced for tough questions from a US congressional panel on Wednesday after the Japanese automaker conceded it had let safety standards slip and could still not explain most incidents of unintended acceleration.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:44 pm Air India to connect Washington with Indian cities via MilanIndia's national carrier will soon launch daily flights between Washington and Indian cities with a stopover in Milan so as to attract the European traffic.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:41 pm Twitter tweets fly into Yahoo! search resultsSan Francisco: Yahoo! on Tuesday began weaving real-time Twitter messages into its search results and said tweets will migrate to its other online properties later this year. “The information in one single tweet can travel light-years farther with this Yahoo! integration,” Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said in a statement. “Tweets in more places brings relevance where and when you need it most,” Stone said. “A partnership with Twitter will let Yahoo! integrate the popular microblogging service into its online network used by more than 600 million people worldwide,” said Yahoo! consumer products group vice-president Bryan Lamkin. “We’re turning the key to the online social universe you will find the most personally relevant experiences through Yahoo!,” Lamkin said, trying to capture the significance with Twitter’s trademark 140-character message limit. “We’re also simplifying people’s lives by bringing their social worlds - and the world - together for easy access.” People will be able to access their personal Twitter feeds across Yahoo! properties including its free email and homepages. Yahoo! pages such as news, finance, entertainment and sports will serve up real-time public Twitter results. The feature went live in Yahoo! search late on Tuesday. In October, Microsoft began integrating Twitter messages into its internet search engine Bing and arch rival Google announced a deal to do the same. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:39 pm Rupee recovers early losses, shares eyedMumbai: The Indian rupee recovered early losses on Wednesday tracking a rebound in domestic shares to trade almost flat. At 10:02 a.m. (0432 GMT), the rupee was at 46.24/25 per dollar compared to Tuesday’s close of 46.23/24. It opened at 46.31/32 and touched a low of 46.35 in early trade. Dollar demand from importers was muted in early trade, dealers said, adding that no big dollar inflows are expected from the share sale of Rural Electrification Corp. “I expect the rupee to trade in 46.15-46.35 band. We are not seeing any (dollar) flows at the moment. Will have to wait and see if any residual flows from the REC (Rural Electrification Corp) public issue remains,” said R.K. Gurumurthy, treasurer, ING Vysya Bank. A sale of shares in Rural Electrification Corp was covered more than three times, helping raise about $760 million and easing concerns that interest in government stake sales was waning. The rupee is expected to track shares, which turned positive after opening lower. The 30-share BSE index was up 0.2%, after falling 0.8%t in early trade, led by drop in shares of India’s top car maker Maruti Suzuki. Most Asian units were weaker compared to the dollar, providing some support to the rupee. The dollar index against six majors was down 0.1%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 46.24/34, little changed from the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market , the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 46.2550. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:24 pm Oil climbs above $79 on unexpected US stock-drawSingapore: Oil rebounded to trade above $79 on Wednesday as it was aided by an industry report that showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories, after sliding almost 2 percent a day earlier on renewed economic concerns. Prices broke a five-day rally on Tuesday after a drop in U.S. consumer confidence and German business sentiment sent commodities lower, prompting investors to flee to safer havens such as the dollar. Crude prices were dragged down $1.45 and spot gold prices were weaker. However, US crude for April gained 38 cents to $79.24 a barrel at 0250 GMT, while London ICE Brent rose 34 cents to $77.59. Gold also regained some ground on Wednesday, with spot gold at $1,106.45 an ounce, up $3.50 from New York’s notional close on Tuesday. Markets will seek direction Wednesday from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony to the United States Congress and Chinese trade data for January. “Consumer confidence fell yesterday and that led to the high prices facing some pressure, but then the API showed some unexpected data,” said ANZ Bank commodities analyst Serene Lim, referring to the drop of 3.1 million barrel in US crude inventories last week reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday. Stockpiles were expected to have gained 2 million barrels, according to a Reuters poll. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will publish government stockpile data for last week later on Wednesday. “The market is looking at reading between the lines of what Bernanke says, and if the statement is positive, prices could rise above $80 again,” Lim said from Singapore. US refiners increased the proportion of total capacity they used the week ended 19 February, the API said, signalling their crude intake was larger, which partly accounted for the inventory drop. Refinery utilization rose 0.9 percentage points to 80.8% of capacity, from 79.9%. This also meant refiners produced more fuel. Gasoline inventories rose 1.7 million barrels compared with estimates for a 400,000 barrel increase, the API said, while supplies of distillates including heating oil and diesel fell 834,000 barrels, compared to the 1.6 million barrel decline expected by analysts. Total has pledged not to close or sell any French refineries other than its Dunkirk plant for five years, which unions say clears the way to end a week-long strike at the companies refineries in France. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:16 pm Sensex falls 99 points on weak global cuesMarketmen said sentiments were mainly dampened by weak trends on the global markets after a fall in the US consumer confidence and the German business confidence.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 9:14 pm General Motors starts hiring againBad times for General Motors started to wane on Tuesday when the company announced it would add 1,200 jobs at an Ohio plant manufacturing the new Chevrolet compact, the Cruze.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 8:49 pm Maruti shares hit 6 month low, pull back, on recall Mumbai: Shares in Maruti Suzuki pulled back after sliding to a six-month-low early on Wednesday, a day after India’s top carmaker said it was recalling 100,000 of its A-Star hatchbacks sold overseas and in India. Maruti, in which Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp has 54.2% stake, said on Tuesday that a faulty gasket leading to a potential fuel leakage problem had been identified and the company had fixed about half of the cars. “As expected initially the stock opened lower, as any recall involves costs,” said Arun Kejriwal, director at research firm KRIS. “But, I think, people are awaiting more details on the costs and the full impact of it before they take a definitive view. It seems to be a one-off event,” he said. Maruti shares initially fell about 2% to Rs1,310, their lowest since 19 August last year, but quickly pulled into positive territory and then eased again. At 9.33 am the shares were up 0.05% at Rs1,336.90. The stock has fallen 14.3% this year, lagging the main index which has lost 6.7%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 8:47 pm Foreign funds save the day for REC's follow-on issue - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:33 pm Kingfisher to join oneworldVijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines has announced that it will be joining the global airline grouping 'oneworld' that would enable it to offer passengers an enhanced choice of routes serviced by member airlines and vice-versa.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:26 pm Satyam moves court against UK's UpaidMahindra Satyam has now dragged the British mobile and online payment services provider to court over the issue of tax liabilities arising out of the settlement payment.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:24 pm Religare to buy US firm for $200 millionReligare Enterprises said on Tuesday it will acquire US-based investment company Northgate Capital, in a deal estimated at $200 million.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:23 pm RBI to set norms for card billsRBI is framing guidelines telling banks not to declare someone a defaulter if the person has settled his or her account with the bank after paying the negotiated amount.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:22 pm 'Bharti wants to lead in many emerging mkts'Bharti Airtel has been in the global spotlight ever since its attempt to acquire Johannesburg-based MTN Telecom last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:22 pm Consumer goods prices risingMost consumer goods companies have announced price hikes across categories over the last one month or so prompting questions on their move just ahead of the Budget.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm Union Bank IPO gets good responseAttractive pricing, backed by strong fundamentals, helped the Union Bank of India (UBI) IPO sail through comfortably on the first day itself.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm Maruti to change fuel tanks in 1 lakh A StarsThe global wave of automobile recalls hit India in a major way on Tuesday, with the country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, announcing the recall of around 100,000 units of its hatchback A-Star following fuel tank problems, reports Sumant Banerji.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 12:29 pm Nariman Point rises againAfter years of playing second fiddle to newer areas such as Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Andheri in Mumbai, Nariman Point, once the most coveted address in Mumbai and the countrys first central business district (CBD), is bouncing back with a vengeance.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 12:10 pm Institutions save the day for REC FPOAfter lacklustre investor response on the first two days, public sector banks and insurance majors stepped in to salvage the follow-on public offer (FPO) of state-owned Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) which closed with the issue subscribed over three times.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 12:08 pm Maruti recalls 100,000 A-Stars for faulty partsMaruti Suzuki, the countrys largest car producer, today admitted that it has recalled all the 100,000 A-Stars manufactured before August 22, 2009 to replace faulty components that could cause fuel leakages. The A-Star was launched in November 2008 and the recalls began in December.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Feb 2010 | 12:06 pm Gartner sees 13% growth in handset arenaHelsinki: The cellphone market will rebound more strongly than expected this year as improving economies boost spending on new gadgets and handset vendors push cheap smartphones, research firm Gartner Inc. said on Tuesday. The market fell 1% in 2009, the first decline in eight years as consumers cut spending amid recession. But Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said she now expects the market to grow 11-13% this year, compared with the firm’s December forecast for a 9% increase. “Sales will return to low double-digit growth, but competition will continue to put a strain on vendors’ margins,” she added. Gartner is more optimistic than the top cellphone maker Nokia Oyj, which has forecast growth around 10%, and also slightly ahead of analysts consensus of 11% in a Reuters poll. Gartner sees smartphone market volume growing a whopping 46% from 172.4 million units sold last year, boosted by cheaper models. The most affordable now cost just over $100 (Rs4,600), excluding operator subsidies. Gartner said it expects average sale prices in 2010 to fall more slowly than last year— when intense competition hurt pricing in markets such as China and India—helped by an improving economy and consumers upgrading to cheap smartphones. Nokia saw its market share slip last year to 36.4% from 38.6% a year ago, and Gartner said more challenges lay ahead. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics gained last year, up to 19.5% and 10.1% respectively. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 10:08 am Passenger fare hike unlikely in Rail Budget!Passenger fares are unlikely to be revised in the Railway Budget to be presented Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 23 Feb 2010 | 5:14 am China says Google hacking claims ‘groundless’ Beijing: Google’s assertion that its computers were attacked by hackers based in China was groundless, Beijing said on Tuesday, hardening its rhetoric in a spat with Washington over internet freedom. The remarks from foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang were the first direct rejection of the firm’s allegations. China had previously defended its right to censor content on the internet and brushed aside the hacking accusations, saying Google must abide by Chinese law. “Google’s statement from 12 January is groundless, and we are firmly opposed to it,” Qin said, when asked if there had been any development in a dispute that is now more than a month old. “China administers its internet according to law, and this position will not change. China prohibits hacking and will crack down on hacking according to law,” he added. Google, the world’s top search engine, said in January that it had uncovered sophisticated China-based attacks on human rights activists using its Gmail service around the world. Google said other firms had also been affected, and after checks into the attacks, the firm had decided it was no longer willing to tolerate censorship on its Google.cn search engine. Google also threatened to shut its China offices. Washington backed Google and urged Beijing to investigate the hacking complaints thoroughly and transparently. The dispute about internet censorship has added to tensions about issues ranging from trade and the Chinese currency, to a meeting last week between US President Barack Obama and exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. The issue was pushed back into headlines by recent reports in the Western media that the attacks had been traced to two schools in China, and the writer of the spyware used had been identified as a Chinese security consultant in his 30s with government links. The prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University and previously unknown Lanxiang vocational college, a high-school level institution, have both denied any role in the attacks. The foreign ministry’s Qin said that the schools’ comments showed the reports were false, as were claims of a link with Beijing. “Reports that these attacks came from Chinese schools are totally groundless and the accusation of Chinese government involvement is also irresponsible and driven by ulterior motives,” Qin said. Google-China talks The official Xinhua news agency lashed out as well, with a commentary saying that the stories were arbitrary and full of bias. Chinese people know little about online security, and so their computers can easily be taken over by hackers to give the impression that the hackers are based in China, it said. Google’s Chinese-language search engine is still censoring results, but talks between the firm and the Chinese government, on whether the firm might be able to run an unrestricted search service within Chinese law, have restarted, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. They had taken a break over Chinese New Year, the biggest holiday of the year when most of the country grinds to a halt. Qin declined to comment directly on any negotiations, saying that he had no details but said that relevant officials are having smooth communication with relevant internet companies. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 4:37 am Handset market rebounding in 2010: Gartner Helsinki: The cellphone market will rebound more strongly strongly than expected this year as improving economies boost spending on new gadgets and handset vendors push cheap smartphones, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday. The market fell 1% in 2009, the first decline in eight years as consumers cut spending amid recession. But Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said that she now expects the market to grow 11-13% this year, compared with the firm’s December forecast for a 9% increase. “The economy seems to be stabilising more into a recovery trend than we forecast back in December,” Milanesi said. “Sales will return to low-double-digit growth, but competition will continue to put a strain on vendors’ margins,” she said. Gartner is more optimistic than the top cellphone maker Nokia, which has forecast growth around 10%, and also slightly ahead of analysts consensus of 11% in a Reuters poll this month. Gartner sees smartphone market volume growing a whopping 46% from 172.4 million sold last year, boosted by cheaper models. The most affordable now cost just over $100 excluding operator subsidies. Gartner said that it expects average sale prices in 2010 to fall more slowly than last year—when intense competition hurt pricing in markets such as China and India—helped by an improving economy and consumers upgrading to cheap smartphones. Nokia H1 tough Industry leader Nokia saw its market share slip last year to 36.4% from 38.6% a year before, and the research firm said more challenges lay ahead. “Nokia will face a tough first half of 2010 as improvements to Symbian and new products based on the Meego platform will not reach the market before the second half of 2010,” Milanesi said. “Its very strong mid-tier portfolio will help it hold market share, but its ongoing weakness at the high end of the portfolio will hurt its share of market value,” she said. Korean vendors Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics gained handset market share last year, up to 19.5% and 10.1% respectively. Android gaining BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion and Apple controlled 19.9% and 14.4% of the smartphone market in 2010, but both lost some share in the fourth quarter to phones with Google’s Android software. All vendors in total sold 6.8 million Android phones last year, giving it a 3.9% share of the smartphone market, compared with just 0.5% a year before. Gartner said that Android’s success should continue into 2010 as more manufacturers launch Android phones, but noted some manufacturers have expressed growing concern about Google’s intentions in the mobile market. If such concerns cause manufacturers to change their product strategies or operators to change which devices they stock, this might hinder Android’s growth in 2010, Gartner said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am Handset market rebounding in 2010: Gartner Helsinki: The cellphone market will rebound more strongly strongly than expected this year as improving economies boost spending on new gadgets and handset vendors push cheap smartphones, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday. The market fell 1% in 2009, the first decline in eight years as consumers cut spending amid recession. But Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said that she now expects the market to grow 11-13% this year, compared with the firm’s December forecast for a 9% increase. “The economy seems to be stabilising more into a recovery trend than we forecast back in December,” Milanesi said. “Sales will return to low-double-digit growth, but competition will continue to put a strain on vendors’ margins,” she said. Gartner is more optimistic than the top cellphone maker Nokia, which has forecast growth around 10%, and also slightly ahead of analysts consensus of 11% in a Reuters poll this month. Gartner sees smartphone market volume growing a whopping 46% from 172.4 million sold last year, boosted by cheaper models. The most affordable now cost just over $100 excluding operator subsidies. Gartner said that it expects average sale prices in 2010 to fall more slowly than last year—when intense competition hurt pricing in markets such as China and India—helped by an improving economy and consumers upgrading to cheap smartphones. Nokia H1 tough Industry leader Nokia saw its market share slip last year to 36.4% from 38.6% a year before, and the research firm said more challenges lay ahead. “Nokia will face a tough first half of 2010 as improvements to Symbian and new products based on the Meego platform will not reach the market before the second half of 2010,” Milanesi said. “Its very strong mid-tier portfolio will help it hold market share, but its ongoing weakness at the high end of the portfolio will hurt its share of market value,” she said. Korean vendors Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics gained handset market share last year, up to 19.5% and 10.1% respectively. Android gaining BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion and Apple controlled 19.9% and 14.4% of the smartphone market in 2010, but both lost some share in the fourth quarter to phones with Google’s Android software. All vendors in total sold 6.8 million Android phones last year, giving it a 3.9% share of the smartphone market, compared with just 0.5% a year before. Gartner said that Android’s success should continue into 2010 as more manufacturers launch Android phones, but noted some manufacturers have expressed growing concern about Google’s intentions in the mobile market. If such concerns cause manufacturers to change their product strategies or operators to change which devices they stock, this might hinder Android’s growth in 2010, Gartner said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am Amazon, Microsoft ink patent dealSan Francisco: Microsoft on Monday said that it has signed a deal with Amazon.com that lets each company tap into the other’s patented technology, including that for hot-selling Kindle electronic readers. Microsoft said that Amazon will be paying the software giant as part of the agreement, but declined to specify the amount. “We are pleased to have entered into this patent license agreement with Amazon.com,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice-president and deputy general counsel for Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. “Microsoft’s patent portfolio is the largest and strongest in the software industry, and this agreement demonstrates our mutual respect for intellectual property as well as our ability to reach pragmatic solutions to IP issues,” Gutierrez said. The agreement clears the way for Microsoft’s proprietary software and open-source programs used by Amazon.com to be woven together more tightly without concerns about patent violations. Each company gets access to the other’s patent portfolio under the terms of a deal covering a broad range of products and technology, Microsoft said. Microsoft said that it has struck 600 such licensing deals since December 2003 with companies including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, Novell, and Samsung Electronics. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 23 Feb 2010 | 1:29 am
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