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DQ Entertainment sets IPO band at Rs 7580 per shareAnimation and gaming firm DQ Entertainment (International) Ltd said on Thursday it plans to raise up to Rs 1.28 billion through an initial public offer of 16.05 million shares.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 6:14 am Ranbaxy might monetise FTFs through deals: PharmasianewsIn an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Vikas Dandekar, India Bureau Chief, PharmAsiaNews.com, speaks about the pharma sector and gives his outlook going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 6:14 am BK Chaturvedi report: See big bonanza if approved, says GMRCommenting on the report, A Subbarao, Group CFO of GMR Infrastructure said the recommendations, if accepted, will be a big bonanza. \"It would be a big push for the industry given the kind of target that we havethat would reengineer the whole sector.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 5:24 am Ashok Leyland to invest $655 m in 3 yrsAshok Leyland, India\'s secondlargest truck and bus maker, will invest 30 billion rupees (USD 655 million) over the next three years mainly for joint ventures, the Hindu Business Line newspaper said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 3:59 am Govt may set NMDC share sale at big discountIndia is likely to set the floor price for a followon share sale in staterun miner NMDC Ltd at 3035% lower than the market price, the Economic Times said on Friday, citing unnamed bankers and a government official involved in the process.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 3:39 am IBM banks on China for growth in energy divisionTechnology giants including Google Inc, Cisco and Microsoft are investing heavily in smart grids, intelligent power-distribution systems designed to be more responsive and interactive than today's traditional power grids.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 3:11 am Transport Corp buys 51% in Infinite LogisticsThe remaining 50% stake in Infinite Logistics will be held by Container Corp of India Ltd, the company said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 3:07 am Loan rate hikes by banks a \'commercial decision\': Fin MinR Gopalan, the Banking Secretary in the finance ministry has said that the loan hike by some banks is a Commercial decision and that the ministry was giving no director to public sector banks on loan rates.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:48 am India salary hikes seen highest in Asia-Pacific - survey - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:39 am Zicom to sell security system business to Schneider Electric India - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:36 am India salary hikes seen highest in Asia-Pacific - surveyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Wages in India will rise the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, going up by a tenth in 2010, a recent survey suggested, another indication local firms are more confident of growth than their regional peers.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:27 am Govt to set up 10-20 cold storages in FY 11 - minMUMBAI (Reuters) – The government will set up 10-20 cold storage units, each with an investment of 20-40 million rupees, in next financial year, Ashok Sinha, secretary, ministry of food processing, said on a sidelines of food forum 2010.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:25 am Google Transit makes your metro commute easierNew Delhi: Anyone who’s commuted in Delhi knows it’s nothing to blink at. Hour long traffic jams, choking fumes and an endless sea of cyclists, pedestrians, motorbikes, panhandlers, buses, cows, cars and carts make getting around India’s sprawling capital a challenge for even the best equipped. So when the first section of the Delhi metro opened in December 2002, it was hailed by residents as a welcome step towards a pleasant commute. That being said, even with the construction of the metro, a city as big and ever changing as Delhi makes figuring out how to get from point A to B without asking several passersby (most of whom are likely to be as confused as you are) a challenge – particularly for tourists or those new to the city. That’s why Google Transit, a partnership between Google and Delhi Metro comes as a welcome announcement. Google Maps will now provide not just driving directions, but also metro schedules and routes, offering detailed information on which metro lines to take, what time trains leave, where to switch, what the cost of the commute is, how long it the trip will take, and what services – whether these be ATMs, coffee shops or bars – are near a designated metro station. Google Transit will be available for free on data enabled mobile phones. The service will continue to be updated as the Delhi Metro updates its information. The Google/DMRC partnership comes at a good time, given that Delhi expects a surge of tourism surrounding the Commonwealth Games in October. Google has also launched the service in an experimental manner in Kolkata, as well as parts of Chennai and Hyderabad and has expressed an interest in partnering with multiple agencies in various regions. “If there are agencies out there who feel this service is useful, all they need to do is contact us and give us their data about routes and schedules,” says to Manik Gupta, product manager for Google Maps in India. To get a sense of how commuters can use Google Transit, Mint asked Gupta to walk us through the service. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:23 am Oil rises towards $81; China signals continued stimulusChinese premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual address to the National People's Congress, said that the they will continue an appropriately easy monetary stance and an active fiscal policy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:19 am Microsoft to stay its China course despite Google spatBEIJING (Reuters) - Microsoft said it will stick to its development strategy for the China Internet search market regardless of the outcome of Google's high-profile spat with Beijing.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:11 am Russian firm bags deal for 18 AN 148 aircraft from IndiaRussian manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has bagged orders for 18 An-148 aircraft from three airlines in India and it plans to start deliveries in the first quarter of 2011, company officials said on Friday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:09 am Toyota: no evidence of throttle failure in fixed carsTOYOTA CITY, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said a partial review of complaints of unintended acceleration after vehicles were repaired had found no evidence of failure in the electronic throttle system or the fixes.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:09 am Direct Tax Code Bill to be introduced in monsoon session - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:07 am China tightens belt but keeps eye on social riftsBEIJING (Reuters) - China will seek to heal social rifts and spur home-driven growth with more public welfare and rural spending even as the government tightens its belt after a burst of feverish spending, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:02 am Rupee extends gains tracking peersMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee extended gains in afternoon trade on Friday tracking higher regional peers, while a strong rupee in the offshore non-deliverable forwards also helped sentiment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:02 am Stocks back in green; Sensex reclaims 17000 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 2:01 am Rupee extends gains tracking peers; NDFsMumbai: The Indian rupee extended gains in afternoon trade on Friday tracking higher regional peers, while a strong rupee in the offshore non-deliverable forwards also helped sentiment. At 2:20pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.68/69 per dollar, off a high of Rs45.65, its strongest since 19 January and above its previous close of Rs45.80/81 on Thursday. Dealers said there would be strong resistance for the rupee to break Rs45.65, but if it did, the unit could then rise to Rs45.57 levels. The Malaysian ringgit hit a six-week peak on Friday after the central bank raised interest rates, while the South Korean won climbed on better-than-expected U.S. retail sales and a drop in jobless claims. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was also down 0.1%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at Rs45.68/78, 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 Rs45.7550, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $3.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:47 am Tax-free gratuity ceiling in private sector to go up to Rs10 lakh - domain-B
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:31 am Winter-sown crop prospects encouraging - PMNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's winter-sown crop prospects are "very encouraging", but the country needs to pay farmers a good price for their produce to boost output further, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:30 am Govt to launch direct tax code in monsoon sessionMUMBAI (Reuters) - The government will introduce legislation for a direct tax code in the monsoon session of parliament, Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:28 am Boeing to offer revamped 767 tanker in US air force bidThe 767-based tanker that Boeing offered in the last competition lost to the larger Airbus A330 offered by Northrop Grumman Corp and its European partner EADS.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:26 am SpiceJet to raise $5070m in 36 monthsIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Sanjay Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer of SpiceJet, spoke about the airlines fund raising plans.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:12 am Indian economy to grow at least 8% in FY11: Manmohan SinghThe prime minister announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs2 lakh to next of kin of each of those killed in Pratapgarh stampede.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 1:09 am Will take steps to insulate people from high food prices: PMManmohan Singh said the govt was working to overcome the twin impact of failure of monsoons and global economic crisis. All practical measures would be taken to provide relief to people, he said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:58 am Will take all steps to check soaring food prices ManmohanNoting that the government has been concerned over high food prices over the last one year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said all practical measures would be taken to provide relief to people. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:57 am Ultra low-cost car project with Nissan on track: Bajaj - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:29 am PM says economy to grow at least 8 pct in FY11NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday the economy would grow by at least 8 percent in the year that begins April 1. Asia's third largest economy would expand 7.2-7.5 percent in 2009/10, he told parliament.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:21 am Gold buying abates as traders await dipsMumbai: India gold demand abated on Friday afternoon as traders awaited price dips after a late-evening pick-up in offtake in the previous session, dealers said. “We had some export covering yesterday and some domestic deals as well at $1,129-1,133 (an ounce), but today, I am not hearing anything from them,” said a dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. International gold, which guides the domestic market, was $1,132.85/1,133.85 an ounce as against the previous close of $1,131.45/1,132.25 an ounce. “People are still away from new indents and could come in at around $1,115 and if the rupee stays at the same level,” said the state-run bank dealer. “They are looking at $1,110 to buy for weddings,” said a private bullion dealing bank dealer. Gold tracked the euro higher before the release of US payrolls data, which could raise concerns about the pace of the economic recovery, hurt the dollar but lift bullion’s allure as an alternative investment. India’s gold imports 1-25 February were provisionally at 30-35 tonnes, about four times the level of a year ago as lower prices encourage demand, the head of Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:13 am Tokyo pins IPO hopes on Dai-ichi Life bumper offerThe IPO, potentially the world's largest after credit card firm Visa Inc's $19.7 billion offering in 2008, is so big that Tokyo's stock exchange has amended trading rules for the shares on their debut.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:11 am Govt may allow higher FDI in Defence sectorThe Government is inclined to allow an increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit beyond the existing 26 per cent in the defence sector on a case-to-caseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am ATMs turning faster, smarterThe next time you visit an automatic teller machine to draw cash, you may not need to wait in a long queue thanks to the introduction of ‘faster' ATMs by someSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Cabinet nod for raising gratuity cap for private sectorThe Union Cabinet on Thursday approved raising the ceiling for payment of gratuity for private sector employees from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 10Source: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Bharati Shipyard (Rs 278.6): BuyBharati Shipyard can be bought with a short-term trading perspective. This stock was in a corrective phase since January 15 during which it moved in the range between Rs 255 and Rs 355. The stock made a low of Rs 255 in the pre-Budget session andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am ‘Advection' causing mercury to rise over north-westThe India Meteorology Department (IMD) has said that ‘warm air advection' is causing maximum and minimum temperatures to continue to remain appreciably above normal over many parts of northwest and centralSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Home, auto loans turn costlierLeading lenders such as ICICI Bank, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank have discontinued the so-called “teaser home loans” (fixed-cum-floating rate) which were offered at rates as low as 8.25 perSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am ANZ all set for comebackAustralian banking major, ANZ, on Thursday said it has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to establish a bank branch inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Ban on rice exports lifted partiallyAfter almost close to two years of the ban on export of non-basmati rice in the wake of fears of domestic shortage of rice from early 2008, the Government has partially lifted the ban on export of non-basmati rice by permitting its exports to SriSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Wipro Infotech betting big on cloud computingWipro Infotech is betting big on cloud computing and will mainly target the $4.5-billion SME segment to drive itsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am General insurers face higher liabilitiesFor the first time, global reinsurers have turned their back on primary general insurers in the country by under-subscribing treaty obligations. That means general insurance companies in India will have to absorb liabilities themselves and willSource: Business Line - Home Page | 5 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Geely's Volvo bid on track; no deal yet: ChairmanZhejiang Geely Holdings had previously indicated it expected to reach a formal deal last month, but company chairman Li Shufu said an official agreement had not been signed yet.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:59 pm Zicom to sell business units to Schneider ElectricMUMBAI (Reuters) - Zicom said on Friday it has agreed to sell two of its electronic security system business units to the Indian arm of Schneider Electric for about 2.25 billion rupees, boosting its shares.Source: Reuters: Money News | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:51 pm Gold tracks euro higher ahead of US payroll dataLight buying from Chinese dealers also lifted prices but volumes were thin ahead of the US data, which is expected to show a big loss of jobs due to major snowstorms last month.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:49 pm No evidence of throttle failure in fixed cars: ToyotaUS regulators are reviewing more than 60 complaints that fixes made on recalled Toyota cars for unintended acceleration had not solved the problem.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:44 pm No evidence of throttle failure in fixed cars: Toyota Motor CorpThe US regulators are reviewing more than 60 complaints that fixes made on recalled Toyota cars for unintended acceleration had not solved the problem.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:42 pm Speed surfing: The mechanics behind the world’s fastest browsersEarlier this week, Opera Software launched what it claimed was the fastest browser in the world, the 10.50 version of its eponymous browser. But at least two other browsers – Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome – claim that title, and there are still two more major browsers out there in the market, Mozilla’s Firefox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. On Just to Clarify this week, we examine exactly how browser speeds are improved incrementally. What did Opera 10.50 do differently, for instance, as compared to its previous versions? And really, how perceptible is this speed difference to us, the end users? Our guest on the show today is Charles McCathieNevile, the chief standards officer at Opera Software. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:35 pm Zicom to sell biz units to Schneider ElectricMumbai: Zicom said on Friday it has agreed to sell two of its electronic security system business units to the Indian arm of Schneider Electric for about Rs225 crore, boosting its shares. Zicom Electronic Security Systems Ltd will sell its security business catering to the governmental and institutional markets, it said in a statement to the BSE. Projects in these areas are capital intensive with high gestation periods and demand a high level of integrated building management technology that required high investments by Zicom, it said in the note. “In view of this change, it seemed best to exit the business when the value is attractive and to focus on building the remaining retained business,” Zicom chairman Manohar Bidaye said in the note. The Mumbai-based electronic security systems provider will retain its retail security and fire protection businesses, which together contributed 52% of the group’s revenue of Rs375 crore for the nine months ended 31 December, it added. Zicom said the deal was at a premium to the market price, which values the entire company at Rs143 crore, based on Thursday’s close. The sale would allow Zicom to diversify into new businesses and has identified alternative energy and aerospace engineering as potential sunrise sectors, it added. The deal, subject to shareholders’ approval and other conditions, is likely to close in April, Schneider said in a separate statement. Shares in the company, which surged as much as 19% to a 52-week high of Rs133.60 on the news, eased to trade 15.1% higher at Rs129.30 at 12:06 p.m. in a firm Mumbai market. On Wednesday, Schneider Electric India had said in a statement it would announce a major acquisition on Friday. In FY10, Schneider Electric India acquired two firms in India, and in January its managing director told Reuters it wants to buy more firms if they prove to be a strategic fit. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:23 pm Markets rise 0.5%; financials, metals upMumbai: Indian shares were trading 0.5% higher on Friday, on track to post their best weekly gain this year, supported by firmer Asian peers and a rise in financial stocks. Traders said a revival in portfolio inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) was underpinning the market. Latest data showed foreign funds had bought $791 million of Indian equities in the last three sessions. By 10:56am, the 30-share BSE index was trading up 0.49% at 17,059.37. Twenty-four of its components were trading in the green. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.5% at 5,106.50. If the market holds on to the rise till close, the index would notch a gain of 3.8% on the week. “Global cues are helping the market,” said Mehul Dedhia, assistant vice-president of sales at brokerage Sharekhan. “Flows from FIIs seem to have resumed. So any steep downside is ruled out for now.” Financials led the rise on optimistic long-term outlook in an expanding economy. Leading lender State Bank of India and rival ICICI Bank gained 0.5% each. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp rose 0.2%. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the main index, gained 0.2% to Rs1,015.55. Non-ferrous metals maker Sterlite Industries rose 0.6% as London copper rose ahead of a US jobs report, which should provide further clues on the pace of economic recovery. Aluminium maker Hindalco and Tata Steel, the world’s eighth-largest steel maker by output, firmed 0.8% and 1.1% respectively. In the broader market, gainers were more than twice the number of losers on volume of 146 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:35 pm Rupee up 4 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee gained 4 paise against the dollar in the early trade in line with other firming Asian currencies amid continued capital inflows by foreign funds into equity markets. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:16 pm Sensex up 124 pts Nifty regains 5 100 level in opening tradeThe benchmark index Sensex today opened over 124 points up while the wide-based Nifty regained the 5,100-points mark on heavy buying, particularly in blue-chip stocks.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:04 pm Consulting cos offer 20% more to IIM-B - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:53 pm Rupee up 4 paise to 45.77 a dollarThe rupee gained 4 paise against the dollar in early trade on Friday in line with other firming Asian currencies amid continued capital inflows by foreign funds into equity markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:29 pm Sensex up 124 pts, Nifty regains 5,100-level in opening tradeThe Sensex, which had ended lower by 28.31 points yesterday, gained 124.19 points or 0.73 per cent to 17,095.89 points.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:26 pm Asian shares surge on US data, euro slipsSingapore: Asian shares surged on Friday after encouraging retail sales and jobs data from the United States suggested Asia’s biggest export market was stabilising, while the euro fell on worries about heavily indebted Greece. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average was up 2.07% at 10,355.63 at 8:00am, while the broader Topix gained 1.53% to 911.34. The MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan was up 0.77% at 405.86. Also boosting share sentiment in Tokyo, the Nikkei newspaper said that the Bank of Japan was examining a further easing of its already ultra-loose monetary policy and may make a decision on such a move as early as this month. “In addition to a solid performance from the US stocks, investors are welcoming a halt in the yen’s advance against the dollar after a media report that the BOJ is considering additional easing measures,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities. The dollar index rose to 80.58, with near-term resistance seen around 81.30, this week’s high. The dollar also rose against the yen, inching up to ¥89.15 from around ¥89.07 late on Thursday in New York. “If dollar/yen climbs back above ¥90,” Shimizu said, “the Nikkei could break out of range-bound trade, with the next target likely being around 10,500.” US stocks rose on Thursday on the stronger-than-expected retail sales and a fall in first-time jobless claims. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 47.38 points, or 0.46%, at 10,444.14. February’s monthly sales performance among US retailers was the strongest since just before the recession started in 2007. The United States reported that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 469,000 in the latest week. On Friday, it releases its comprehensive monthly report on non-farm payrolls, the most closely watched figures on the US labour market. The report is expected to show a loss of 50,000 jobs in February, compared with 20,000 job cuts in January, a Reuters poll shows. In the commodities markets, spot gold was at $1,132.40, down slightly from New York’s close and it is expected to trade in a tight range ahead of the US payrolls data due at 7:00pm. US NYMEX crude was up 39 cents at $80.66 a barrel. A short squeeze in the euro appeared to have run its course, with investors once again fretting about Greece. Traders said the market was likely to stay cautious, steering clear of higher-yielding currencies, ahead of the US jobs data. “Greece worries continue and with investors still cautious about risk, I would have a bias towards the US dollar ahead of the payrolls data,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, currency strategist at Westpac. The euro was down at $1.3572 from $1.3589 late in New York on Thursday when it lost 0.8%. It had risen above $1.37 following a robust response to a Greek debt auction on Thursday. But if fell after the chief of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet, said recovery in Europe would be uneven, squashing any outside chances of a near-term rise in record low euro zone interest rates. The ECB, as expected, kept rates unchanged on Thursday, but took a small step in unwinding some its extraordinary support for the economy.. Investors also fretted whether Greece’s fresh plans to address its debt woes would win wider support in the European Union ahead of a meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Greek prime minister later on Friday.. The single currency has lost nearly 10% since November last year when sovereign debt problems surrounding Greece and other peripheral euro zone economies emerged. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 8:58 pm China expects 8 per cent economic growth this yearChina said on Friday that it will target economic growth of 8 per cent this year, increase spending on social programs and direct more development money at ethnic areas. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 8:52 pm Oil rises towards $81 as China signals continued stimulusSingapore: Crude edged up on Friday, capping two consecutive weeks of trading above $80, after China signalled it would maintain its economic stimulus, rekindling hopes for accelerating growth to drain excess oil supplies. China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual address to the National People’s Congress, said the world’s second-largest oil consumer will continue an appropriately easy monetary stance and an active fiscal policy. US crude for April gained 38 cents to $80.59 a barrel by 8:55am, after touching a seven-week high of $81.23 two days ago. London ICE Brent for April advanced 37 cents to $78.91. Japan’s Nikkei average rose 2.1% after better-than-expected US monthly retail sales, but analysts anticipate a report later on Friday to show US non-farm payrolls fell in February because of severe snowstorms. “Fundamentally, thanks to the cold weather in the northern hemisphere, stocks, including floating storage, are decreasing,” said Keichi Sano, general manager of research at SCM Securities in Tokyo. “But the market doesn’t look so strong to break above the $85 level,” Sano said. “Oil is trading in a very tight range despite recent fear of tightening monetary policy in China or Greece troubles, or upside potential because of Iran tensions.” The euro fell versus the dollar on Thursday, sending crude prices lower, as comments by the European Central Bank reinforced the view interest rates in the region will remain low in the foreseeable future. A stronger dollar tends to pressure oil because it makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for other currency holders. New York crude has traded in a $69-$84 range over the past few months amid uncertainty about the speed of the global economic recovery. Some traders and analysts say currency movements may play an important role in pushing prices out of those limits. “I don’t think the market can break the range yet, but the euro-dollar is moving quite crazy, so it can eventually give some reason to break,” said Sano. Friday’s US employment report is expected to show a loss of 50,000 jobs in February, compared with 20,000 job cuts in January, a Reuters poll of economists shows. But some market watchers said an even greater number of job losses was already priced in to the oil market. A militant faction in Nigeria’s Niger Delta said on Thursday it had blown up an oil facility operated by Italy’s Agip, its second attack in as many days, and warned foreign oil companies to leave the region. There was no independent confirmation of the attack. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 8:28 pm ICICI Bank raises auto home loans ratesICICI Bank, India's No. 2 lender, has raised auto loans by 25-50 basis points for different tenors and segments, effective from March 5, a spokesman said on Thursday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 7:39 pm Aviation biggies buoyed about India - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Mar 2010 | 5:40 pm Mint exclusive: Ranbaxy may still gain from FlomaxRanbaxy may still gain from Flomax, reports CNBCTV18, quoting Mint. Brokerage CLSA says Ranbaxy could get substantial part of upside from Flomax sales.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 4:40 pm March 5: Events to watch out forMarch 5: Events to watch out forSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 3:46 pm Hewitt study projects India pay hikes at 10.6% in 2010Salary increases for 2010 in India are projected to be at 10.6% and Indianowned companies are expected to outperform multinational companies. In an interview with CNBCTV18, Sandeep Chaudhary, Hewitt Associates gave comparative figures on pay hikes.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 3:00 pm India to lead salary hikes in Asia-PacificIn a sure sign that the economy has returned to the path of high growth, India Inc will give its employees an average pay raise of 10.6% in 2010 -- the highest in the Asia-Pacific region -- according to a survey.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 2:42 pm HDFC Bank, ICICI, Kotak hike rates for home, car loans - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Mar 2010 | 2:36 pm Infra, energy cos to step up hiring driveA survey conducted by global HR consultancy firm Hewitt Associates said technology and outsourcing sectors had shown tremendous recovery over 2009, but were still likely to play cautiously with single digit increases in the range of 8.5% to 8.9%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:25 pm Wipro bags 7-yr deal from US-based coWipro said it has entered into a seven-year strategic agreement with the US-based insurance firm Main Street America Group for software solutions.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:24 pm ANZ coming back to IndiaAustralia and New Zealand Banking group (ANZ) is making a comeback into India after exiting the country 10 years ago. The banking group has received approval from RBI and is expected to set up its first branch in Mumbai within a year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:13 pm 'India, EU should conclude FTA by Oct'India and EU should speed up talks to conclude the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) by October, said EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht, after meeting commerce and trade minister Anand Sharma.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:12 pm Brace up to pay more service tax in 2011-12Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister may be fussing over imposition of service tax on rail freight on non-essential commodities but by next year, the government has plans to bring all services, including passenger fare and all freight under the tax net.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:09 pm Ashok Leyland set to invest Rs 3000 croreAfter being in the grip of a massive slowdown, the commercial vehicle industry is looking up. And the resurgence in demand is prompting companies to resume investments and engage in expansion.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 4 Mar 2010 | 1:07 pm Shah Rukh Khan: the man India can’t ignore No doubt the Shiv Sena’s campaign against SRK was provocative. While this deserved to be in the news and debated, the prominence given to the issue and the film in this coverage was quite distinctive. It’s interesting to note how television served to raise the pitch, thus unwittingly marketing the film. The table below shows the prominence given to the ‘real-life’ drama, which fizzled out immediately after the film’s release. Given that films make most of their money in the first weekend, the controversy breaking out two weeks before the film’s release on 12 February ensured that Khan and the film were in the headlines throughout. Also Read | Earlier columns by PN Vasanti The table shows coverage of the film from 29 January to 9 February. The debate received a total of 1,441 minutes on six prominent national channels (CNN-IBN, NDTV 24x7, Star News, Aaj Tak, Zee News and DD News), with daily 20 minutes on average on each channel. Except for DD News, which had eight stories during these 12 days, all other channels gave more than 10% of prime time space to this issue, with news stories, special programmes and discussions. In fact, most channels treated the story as a law and order issue of national prominence. During that period, the 7 February meeting of chief ministers on internal security was completely overshadowed, receiving less than 50 minutes of total prime time coverage on all six channels (compared with almost two hours of coverage on average for the SRK-Shiv Sena controversy). Home minister P. Chidambaram’s special meeting on 9 February with the chief ministers of states hit by Maoist insurgency was also given short shrift, with a few channels such as Aaj Tak and Zee News having no coverage at all. On the day of the release, three out of every four headlines on almost all news channels were on the film—featuring Khan’s appeals or the Shiv Sena’s comments.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan/Mint; Photo: Rajanish Kakade/AP On the one hand, the news channels don’t want to lose out on the celebrity value of stars or the immense popularity of cinema in our film-crazy nation. Then again, the media is held up as one of the pillars of India’s democracy, setting the agenda and enjoying a privileged position. Unlike the West, we still do not have niche news channels providing exclusive celebrity gossip or even entertainment news. That gives Indian news channels an added area to cover, although they need to balance that with the need to maintain the credibility that sustains them. There are lessons and implications in the conversion of a political storm into a marketing opportunity, irrespective of how the film fared at the box office. The episode goes to show that the country’s news media needs to think about whether it was used to raise the pitch of the controversy to sell a film. The news channels need to have stronger and clearer editorial guidelines that will help them make the right judgement calls and serve a discerning audience. P.N. Vasanti is director of New Delhi-based multidisciplinary research organization Centre for Media Studies. Your comments and feedback on this column, which runs every other Friday, are welcome at fineprint@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Strides adds heft with Latam buy Strides’ specialty division’s revenue rose 27% to Rs374 crore in calendar 2009, over the previous year. It is the company’s smallest division, accounting for 27% of sales, but contributing 44% of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda). The Brazilian facility will add around $40 million in revenue. Its profitability has not been disclosed, but Strides has said that it does not expect margins to get affected by the deal. Strides will have to work hard for that to happen, as Aspen’s reason for selling this facility is its underperformance. Strides says profitability will improve due to synergies with its existing operations and technical capabilities.  Graphic: Yogesh Kumar/Mint In 2010, Strides had projected revenue rising by 25-30%, led by a 50% growth in its speciality business. After this acquisition, this division will see revenue nearly double and overall growth will increase 38-44%. That is good, but the uncertainty lies on the margin front. The specialty division’s Ebitda margins were expected to be around 30% and overall margins at around 19%. The Brazilian facility’s impact on profitability and valuations will be known only after the acquisition is completed. Strides will fund the acquisition through debt and internal accruals. While that will see interest costs go up, the debt to equity position in 2009 is more comfortable at 1.9 times compared with 3.6 times in the previous year. Strides’ share price rose nearly 11% over a week ago, and did not react to Thursday’s announcement, indicating the market may have been aware of this development. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Begin with yourself, get kids moneywiseKids do what parents do and not what they say. The best financial education for kids is to see the parents planning and executing a financial plan. But sometimes it doesn’t work like that and special education is needed. Subramanian Iyer doesn’t want his children to miss out on understanding money—something that he regrets learning too late. It didn’t help that as the first-born, he was shielded from serious issues. “Though I was the eldest of three children, I was always pampered. In fact, I am still treated like a kid,” says Iyer, now 45. Iyer wants to inculcate the value of money and the importance of managing finances in his two sons—Varun, 17, and Pranav, 12. “My elder son is well within that age when he needs to know these things,” he says. The earlier, the better for the younger one.  Photo: Ashesh Shah/Mint Curiously, he remembers his parents as financially organized. “They didn’t have a financial plan as such, but used to follow the time-tested tenets of saving,” says Iyer. But the marketing professional doesn’t seem to have taken a leaf from this in his early life. “I was highly disorganized about my finances. Though I did save occasionally, there was no logic or pattern to it. Whatever I saved, I thought, was so little that I blew it up from time to time,” he says. With children growing up, family responsibilities increased. Though his wife is an information technology (IT) professional, she devotes a lot of time to the kids and doesn’t really have the time to worry about the finances. So, good sense prevailed and Iyer went for a plan three years back. “I realized that I hadn’t saved enough to secure the future of my family. With prices of even the essentials hitting the roof, I had to sit up and get into action at some point in time,” he says. Problems Irregular savings, lack of goals: The biggest problem was that there was no pattern that Iyer followed in his savings. “My savings were erratic. Moreover, there was lack of clarity on what instruments to invest into,” says Iyer. He had invested in a few stocks and mutual funds, but due to lack of clarity he couldn’t sustain the investments and withdrew for small needs whenever needed. “I would call them ad hoc investments, which were made without any particular goal or purpose in mind,” says Iyer. Unreasonable: Like a lot of other investors, he had no idea whether the returns from an instrument he was investing in would be able to meet his financial requirements. “For example, I invested in, say, a house without thinking how the returns from that would actually help me reach any of my goals,” says Iyer. Equity-oriented: Though he had some money in fixed deposits and post office schemes, most of his savings were in equity instruments, such as stocks and mutual funds. Solutions Systematic savings: Iyer started investing systematically in mutual funds through systematic investment plans as advised by his Mumbai-based financial planner, Suresh Sadagopan. He has now no exposure to direct equity through stocks as was the case earlier. Goals: “Providing for my family without affecting the current lifestyle is my primary aim,” says Iyer. Other issues, such as saving enough for his children’s education, automatically falls into his radar. “My son is in class XII now and soon I would be needing money for his studies,” he says. He also wants to buy property for his children, but has not started saving for their marriage yet. “That can still wait as they are still young. The immediate need is their education,” says Iyer. Though he had broad goals earlier, he had no financial road map to achieve them. “The plan demystified the concept of goals and now they seem more achievable somehow,” he says. Diversification: The planner made him invest in mutual funds and even unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) to maintain the equity part of the portfolio. But he ensured that a larger portion of his savings were in debt instruments to lend stability to the portfolio. Insurance: Fortunately for Iyer, he was not short on insurance when he met the planner. “That’s something basic and I had that in place,” he says. However, the planner did top up his cover by making him buy a term plan. He had only Ulips and endowment insurance policies. Having a plan has assured Iyer that even huge goals are achievable through systematic savings. “Earlier, I was a spendthrift. The plan has curbed that and made me think about my consumption pattern,” he says. Ask him what his money life looks like now and he says with confidence, “More controllable.” And he wants his kids to be in control, too. Best Advice Getting into a system rather than make ad hoc investments nidhi.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Discovery launches new high-definition channelNew Delhi: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific on Thursday launched its new high-definition (HD) channel, Discovery HD, its third launch in just over a month. In January, Discovery Networks had launched Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo in India. Priced at Rs25 per month, the channel is available on the only HD compliant direct to home or DTH operator, Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd. “All the advertisements at present are on standard definition technology and not high-definition, while our channel is a complete HD channel right from the equipment to the production and delivery of the content, so ads do not fit in,” said Rahul Johri senior vice-president and general manager, India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Ex Morgan Stanley India head named to JFS boardBangalore: Microfinance institution Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), founded by former Citibanker Ramesh Ramanathan, has named former Morgan Stanley India head Narayan Ramachandran to its board of directors. JFS, which focuses on the urban poor and counts over 100,000 clients, plans to start offering housing loans of up to Rs5 lakh, to cater to the potentially vast demand in the segment. It has outstanding loans of Rs85 crore, which it intends to expand to Rs300 crore by 2011. Ramachandran will focus on the execution of JFS’ financial inclusion plans. “There is a need to connect and catalyse change to address the issue of financial inclusion by microfinance institutions (MFIs),” he said. He will also take a minority stake in JFS and invest in its next round of funding. JFS now has three investors—the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Lok Capital Llc and Bellwether Microfinance Fund. “Bringing in a well-established personality from the financial services sector enhances comfort of banks with the MFI,” said Samir Bali, partner, financial services, Ernst and Young. deepti.c@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Consume to perishLast month Maruti Suzuki decided to recall one hundred thousand units of its A-Star cars to fix faulty fuel tanks. It turned out to be one of the biggest recalls in Indian history.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:42 pm Pay no tax on gratuity below Rs 10 lakhLike government employees, private sector employees will henceforth be exempt from paying income tax on the gratuity they earn up to a limit of Rs 10 lakh, the Union Cabinet decided on Thursday. Formerly, the ceiling for the private sector was Rs 3.5 lakh.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:03 pm ANZ to re-enter India after a decadeMumbai: After a gap of a decade, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is set to return to India. The Melbourne-based lender has won approval from India’s central bank to open a branch in the country, enabling it to offer retail and wholesale banking services.  Illustration: Paras Jain / Mint Re-establishing a branch presence in India is of strategic priority for ANZ as it pursues the objective of becoming a “super regional bank” focused on Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific, the bank said in a press statement. ANZ had exited India in 2000 after selling its Grindlays Bank unit to Standard Chartered Plc for $1.34 billion (around Rs6,140 crore today). At that time, Grindlays had a staff strength of 3,300 spread across 29 branches in 15 Indian cities. ANZ Grindlays faced a potential legal claim of A$461 million (Rs1,910 crore today) stemming from a long-running fight with the National Housing Bank in India, which ANZ appealed against. ANZ took an A$145 million abnormal provision in 1997 for the claim and had set aside an additional A$80 million for the case. “This is an important step for ANZ as part of a long-term commitment to progressively rebuild our presence in India.” said Alex Thursby, ANZ chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific, Europe and America. “There is a significant and growing economic relationship between Australia and India,” he said. “India is Australia’s fourth largest export market, driven by demand for natural resources with exports totalling more than $15 billion in 2008.” A senior official at a Mumbai-based headhunting firm said ANZ had already started the process of hiring people. “They are in talks with a few senior officials of Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank to run their India operations,” said the official, who declined to be identified citing client confidentiality. ANZ is targeting an A$100 million pre-tax profit from India in three-four years. “The potential and size of the Indian market is significant,” said Bobby Parikh, partner at consultancy BMR and Associates. “The Indian economy is poised to grow at over 8%, which throws up a huge potential for the banking sector. From a global perspective, a market which is to grow over 8% will be of interest to any bank looking for growth markets.” “The Australian banks may not have the scale and size compared with their counterparts in the US and Europe, but they have been largely unaffected by the recent global meltdown,” he said. Indeed the banking landscape in India has changed dramatically in the past decade. For instance, in 2000, the loan book of the banking sector was Rs11.05 trillion. That has risen to Rs52 trillion, but the market share of foreign banks has edged up from 7.49% in 2000 to just 8.53% in 2010. This is because of intense competition from a set of domestic private banks that were licensed in the early and mid-1990s and early this century, and the banking regulator’s policy of not opening the sector fully to foreign lenders. Global banks are trying to tap the potential of an economy that’s growing at a pace next only to China among major economies as firms expand and consumers buy homes and automobiles with loans. State-run banks account for around 70% of India’s banking sector. In February 2005, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had laid down a two-phase road map for foreign banks. In the first phase, ended March 2009, foreign banks could set up branches or wholly owned subsidiaries. RBI was supposed to review the road map in 2009, but the exercise was delayed by the global financial meltdown that began in the previous year. ANZ has been trying to re-enter India since 2006, when it sought to buy a stake in IndusInd Bank Ltd, but later abandoned the plan. Most recently, it bid for the Indian assets of ABN Amro Bank NV, which were acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland Plc in 2007. It decided to drop the plan as it was close to winning its own banking licence in the country. ANZ is present in India through a wholly owned arm, ANZ Capital Pvt. Ltd, a non-banking financial company. It also runs a business process outsourcing unit in Bangalore that employs 4,500 people. anita.b@livemint.com Anup Roy and Reuters contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm India Inc's overseas takeover party resumes after a yearCross-border deals are back after a brief lull in 2009. And, investment bankers say 2010 is going to be the year of outbound deals.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:58 am Auto, home loans turn expensivePrivate sector banks raise rates by 25-50 bps.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:51 am Regulator cuts rates at Mumbai container terminal by 10%Bangalore: The tariff regulator for ports has ordered a 10% cut in the rates charged by Indira Container Terminal Pvt. Ltd (ICT) after the private terminal operator at Mumbai port sought a 25% hike. The Tariff Authority for Major Ports, or TAMP, which regulates all rates at 11 Union government-owned ports, said in a 26 February order the port operator’s cost position showed it would be in a surplus at current rates and there was no justification for granting a 25% hike. “On the contrary, the tariff is to be reduced for the relevant period. This authority decides to effect a reduction of 10% in the existing rates of Indira Container Terminal,” TAMP said in the order. The terminal operator, in its proposal to the regulator, had said it would not be able to make profits even after a 25% hike in rates. “It will be barely sufficient to cover our costs,” it had said. The reduced rates, effective immediately through 31 March 2012, is expected to provide substantial savings to container lines serving the Mumbai port. The Container Shipping Lines Association had said a hike would lead to a diversion of cargo from ICT. The Indian National Shipowners Association had said a rate hike would be “unjustified”. ICT is a joint venture of Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd and Spanish port operator Dragados SPL to develop a new Rs1,015 crore container terminal at Mumbai port. It was allowed to run the existing terminal at Mumbai port till the new terminal could begin operations. Gammon declined to comment on the issue. The private operator began running the terminal in June 2008 under a licence arrangement with Mumbai port. The company had said the global trade downturn had cut the volume of containers moving through the port. It handled just 20,783 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in its first year of operations, far lower than the minimum guaranteed volume of 72,000 TEUs. Container traffic at Mumbai port has declined in recent years due to inadequate infrastructure and a shallow draught that doesn’t allow large ships to berth. Between April and January, volume dropped to 47,089 standard containers from 83,975 containers a year earlier. In December, the financially troubled Dragados decided to exit the joint venture by selling its 50% stake to Gammon in two phases. It has sold a 24% stake and can sell the remaining interest after the new terminal completes three years of operations. p.manoj@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:46 am Gratuity for pvt sector employees raisedNew Delhi: In a move that should bring cheer to private sector employees, the government on Thursday approved raising the ceiling for payment of gratuity to them from Rs3.5 lakh to Rs10 lakh. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This will bring parity between government and private sector employees in enjoying equal gratuity benefits. The Sixth Pay Commission recommendation had raised the limit for Central government employees. Labour and employment minister Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier said his ministry was holding consultations with various stakeholders to arrive at a consensus for raising the ceiling. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:42 am NMDC may offer discount to investorsWiser with the experience of the past two public issues of state-owned firms, the government is likely to be extra conservative in pricing the follow-on public offer (FPO) of NMDC Ltd for retail investors.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint Shares of NMDC, the country’s largest producer of iron ore, closed at Rs435.15 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday, but the market price will not be a benchmark for the FPO price. The market price is considered high by valuation parameters such as price-earnings (P-E), price-to-book and peer value comparison. “Considering the low free-float of NMDC shares, we are treating the issue more like an IPO (initial public offering) than a conventional FPO,” disinvestment secretary Sumit Bose said at the start of the NMDC roadshow in Mumbai. Bose termed the issue as a “re-IPO”, indicating the market price may not be a key component in the pricing to be announced on 8 March, with the issue opening on 10 March. NMDC has a free-float of only 1.62%, or 64 million shares, as the government owns 98.38% of the company. It will divest an 8.38% stake through the issue of nearly 330 million shares. Life Insurance Corp. of India is the second largest shareholder with a 0.76% stake. Only 0.23%, or 9.1 million shares, are held by companies and individuals. Although retail investors who subscribe to the NMDC offering have been assured a discount of at least 5% to the issue price, there are expectations the price band will be much lower. Given the low liquidity of the stock, the current market price of NMDC shares may not be of much relevance to the price band, Bose said. “(The) government heard it (concerns over low free-float and overvaluation) loud and clear,” said A. Rajagopal, managing director (investment banking) at UBS Securities Pvt. Ltd. “This is not a difficult business to value. There are established benchmarks.” According to Bloomberg data, NMDC’s earnings per share is Rs8.62. At current market price, its P-E multiple stands at over 50 times, which analysts say is “exorbitant”. From Rs140.30 on 9 March last year, NMDC shares rose to Rs571.80 on 19 January this year. Bose said the government had decided to resort to the conventional book-building method for the NMDC FPO after having tried the so-called French auction process in the first two issues this year. The French auction allows retail investors to buy shares at the floor price while institutions are required to bid at any price above this. In book- building, investors have to bid within a 20% price band and the final price is determined after the close of bidding. With every public issue, the government has been tweaking the norms. For the FPO of NTPC Ltd, the country’s largest power generator, the government chose the French auction route, but failed to attract both retail and institutional investors. It modified the French auction norms for the Rural Electrification Corp. (REC) issue, but that too failed to attract retail investors. Historically, FPOs of state-owned firms attracted decent retail participation through the conventional book-building process. In 2004, the government offered 15-25% discounts to the market price to retail investors, boosting their participation. Investors across the globe are keen to buy into NMDC, which produces the highest quality ore at the lowest cost, said Minakshi Ghose, joint secretary, disinvestment. “We are conscious of the fact that retail investors need to be attracted,” Ghose said. “We have increased the number of bidding centres and are holding regular meetings with bankers to ensure the maximum participation.” Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has earmarked a divestment target of Rs25,958 crore in 2009-10. According to bsepsu.com, a website of BSE, the government has raised Rs12,739 crore in the current fiscal through share sales in Oil India Ltd, NHPC Ltd and NTPC. Last week, it sold REC shares worth Rs900 crore. It needs to raise another Rs12,300 crore to meet the revised divestment target for 2009-10. This can be done if NMDC is priced at around Rs372 a share, or a 14.5% discount to the current market price. Recent FPOs of NTPC and REC were at discounts of 5% and 8%, respectively. Atul Chaturvedi, steel secretary, said the NMDC FPO should not be seen as a financial transaction alone. “For many corporations, it’s a relationship investment,” he said. “For example, for a number of steel companies NMDC is the sole supplier of ore. If NMDC doesn’t give them ore, they will have to shut shop. These entities are keen to get some shares in NMDC to help improve their business relations.” anirudh.l@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:17 am Reviewing India fund business: BNP ParibasMumbai:BNP Paribas SA said it is reviewing operations in India following a newspaper report that the regulator asked the company to resolve how it will manage the stakes it owns in two mutual fund managers in the country. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has set a deadline for BNP Paribas to choose between its holdings in Fortis Mutual Fund and in Sundaram BNP Paribas Asset Management, or to merge the two, the ‘Economic Times’ reported on Thursday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:17 am Banks hike home, auto loan costsMumbai: The interest rate cycle is changing in India even though the banking regulator has not raised its key policy rate yet. Private sector lenders ICICI Bank Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd as well as the largest mortgage player, Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC), withdrew special home loan schemes on Thursday.  Other commercial banks such as Axis Bank Ltd, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and IDBI Bank Ltd discontinued special home loan schemes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a two-phase 75 basis points hike in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) in its January review of monetary policy. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. CRR is the portion of deposits that banks are required to maintain with RBI. HDFC Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have also raised interest rates on auto loans. “The hike in rates comes after most of the banks raised their deposit rates by 75 to 100 basis points. We have just realigned the lending rates to deposit rates,” said Kamlesh Rao, executive vice-president at Kotak Mahindra Bank. IDBI Bank was the first to increase deposit rates by 50 basis points. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also hiked interest rates on their deposit products. The pressure on banks to raise lending rates will increase from April when the cost of savings bank money becomes more expensive. Banks offer 3.5% interest on savings accounts, but the actual cost is less as they offer interest on the minimum balance kept between the 10th and the last day of a month. From April, however, interest will need to be computed daily. Another game changer is the abolition of the concept of benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) and introduction of the base rate below which no bank will be allowed to offer loans. Till now, banks have been keeping a high BPLR and giving loans to 70% of their customers at below BPLR. Rising bond yields are a reflection of the changing rate cycle. The yield on the 10-year bond was 7.94% on Thursday, against 7.83% before the presentation of Budget on 26 February. HDFC said it has decided to discontinue its special home loan scheme. Still, those who have applied for loans till 27 February and avail of at least part of the disbursement till 31 March will get loans at 8.25% for two years. The country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank withdrew its 8.25% special home loan scheme and hiked auto loan rates. “Auto loan rates have been raised by 0.25-0.5% depending on segment and tenure with effect from 5 March,” an ICICI Bank spokesman said. With this hike, lending rates for new auto loans will be in the range of 9.75-11%. Public sector banks such as Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India will now disburse loans at the rates prevailing in September when the special schemes were introduced. Many bankers said the rates may rise further after RBI unveils its monetary policy at the end of April when it’s expected to raise its policy rate to fight rising inflation. Anup Roy contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:17 am Warburg Pincus India head steps downNew Delhi: Rajesh Khanna, managing director of private equity firm Warburg Pincus India Pvt. Ltd, is leaving the firm to form an independent investment business in India, the company said in a media statement on Thursday. Dalip Pathak, managing director, who established the firm’s India business in 1994 and leads the firm’s European effort, will now also head the firm’s investments in India. Warburg Pincus has invested around $2 billion (Rs9,160 crore) in Indian companies such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, Gangavaram Port Ltd, Max India Ltd, Punj Lloyd Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and WNS Global Services. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 11:16 am Party, Sonia back Budget, rule out fuel price rollbackNew Delhi: The Congress indicated its willingness to stare down both allies and rivals opposed to some of the Union Budget’s tough measures, with the party’s president Sonia Gandhi saying the government needed money to fund its social development agenda. “We have many essential social obligations and to meet them, it is necessary to raise resources. I congratulate the finance minister for a fine and delicate balancing act, which has been widely welcomed,” Gandhi told her party’s representatives in Parliament during a Congress parliamentary party meeting on Thursday. Referring to the briefing the party’s representatives had been given on the Budget, she added: “I am sure this input will help you in countering the Opposition’s propaganda.” Gandhi indicated there would be no rollback in the government’s decision to restore the basic duty of 5% on crude petroleum and 7.5% on diesel and petrol, leading to an increase in the prices of the fuels—a rise that prompted the opposition parties to walk out of the House during finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget speech. Apart from its main rivals the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party, two of the Congress’ key allies the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), as well as other parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party have been demanding that the government roll back the increase in fuel prices. Both the DMK and the TMC, however, have said that they will not exit the United Progressive Alliance government on this count. Their exit could bring down the government. A senior leader of the Congress said that his party was confident it could muster the numbers as the DMK and the TMC were with it. If they weren’t, added this person who did not want to be identified, given the seriousness of the issue, then the two parties should be prepared to face fresh elections. The Congressman admitted that even with this support, it would only have a thin majority. The Congress has 208 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha, 65 short of absolute majority. He said the party had the support of around 276 representatives, without including those from parties that are not part of the alliance. An analyst said that the Congress’ behaviour shows it is past the stage of being blackmailed by allies. “The Opposition as well as allies want more allocation for agriculture, education and health. How would the government make the money? The Prime Minister or the finance minister is not a magician who can waive a magic wand to create millions for funding the schemes. At the end of the day people would rate the government on the basis of what it has done for them,” said B.G. Varghese, political analyst and visiting professor at Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank. The Congress also indicated that it would not bend on the issue of women’s reservation Bill, a long-pending legislation to provide 33% reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies. Despite strong objections from the RJD and the SP over the proposed Bill, Gandhi said in her speech on Thursday that the Bill, which has been cleared by the cabinet last week, would be taken up in Parliament on 8 March, which is International Women’s Day. “What a gift to the women of India, if on this important day this historic legislation is introduced and passed,” she said. RJD chief Lalu Prasad said his party would not “tolerate” the Bill, while the SP’s Akhilesh Singh Yadav said his party was opposed to the Bill in its present form because it wants a separate norm on reservation for women from other backward classes. Law minister M. Veerappa Moily told reporters that the government is unlikely to make any changes to the Bill. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:59 am Facebook ads break conventionFacebook, the world’s biggest social network, is selling more ad spots to big companies like Wal-Mart Stores, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:06 am Airbus bullish on IndiaLeading commercial plane manufacturer Airbus has forecast that India’s airlines would buy 1,030 new planes in the next 20 years considering the strong GDP growth here.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 4 Mar 2010 | 10:05 am Wipro bags 7-years IT contract from US-based insurance company - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 4 Mar 2010 | 9:05 am Govt rules out fuel price hike rollback !Govt Wednesday ruled out any rollback of duty hike on petroleum products despite Opposition`s protest.Source: Zee News : Business | 4 Mar 2010 | 5:07 am Morgan Stanley strikes deal to sell China bank stake: reportBeijing: US banking giant Morgan Stanley has reached a deal to sell its 34.3% stake in investment bank China International Capital Corp., a report said Thursday, citing CICC’s chairman. The sale of Morgan Stanley’s entire stake in CICC is still pending regulatory approval in China, bank chairman Li Jiange said, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Li declined to give further details of the deal. He made the comments on the sidelines of the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a legislative advisory body. A CICC spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment on the report. Last week, a source familiar with the deal told AFP that Morgan Stanley would sell the stake in CICC to US private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and TPG Capital for an estimated $1billion. CICC is a 1995 joint venture between China Construction Bank Corporation and Morgan Stanley, which is expected to exit the venture with a windfall profit as it only paid about $35 million for the stake. The US banking giant has been eager to pursue a new securities venture in China but securities regulators said it had to first give up its CICC stake, reports have said. China Investment Corp., China’s sovereign investment fund, invested $5 billion in Morgan Stanley in late 2007. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 4 Mar 2010 | 4:44 am
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