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To use rights issue proceeds for expansion: VideoconVideocon will use rights issue proceeds for expansion, debt repayment, CMD Venugopal Dhoot said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 6:39 am Wanted: A Financial Regulator for IndiaAn overall financial regulator for the country has the potential to ease the ride for the average investorSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:09 am P Chidambaram\'s efforts to make India safeThe home ministry has initiated an overhaul of the policing and intelligence appartus to tackle the twin threats from jihadis and Naxals. The aggressive stance is showing resultsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:09 am SingTel says to be part of Bharti/Zain deal fundingSingapore Telecommunications (SingTel) may help with the funding for Bharti Airtel\'s USD 9 billion acquisition of Zain\'s African assets, a senior SingTel executive said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 5:02 am ExUBS banker Kandiah to join India`s ReligareSutha Kandiah, formerly UBS\'s joint head of equity capital markets for Asia, will join India\'s Religare Capital Markets to build its regional equities business, IFR said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:44 am Jubilant Foodworks plans to open 65 new stores in FY11Jubilant Foodworks, that runs the fastfood chain Dominos Pizza in the country, plans to open 665 new stores in FY11, said Ajay Kaul, its Chief Executive Officer. The industry, he said was growing at 2025% and the company was expected to grow at 50% in FY10.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:22 am Domino\'s bets big in India, targets in top 5 mktsPatrick Doyle, Global President and CEO of Domino\'s, says that India is among the top ten markets for the pizza company. He is confident of seeing India amongst the top five in a few years.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 4:21 am Promoter\'s stake to come down to 22% from 28% post QIP: BoRPK Tayal said Bank of Rajasthan had received the shareholders approval for a QIP upto Rs 250 crore. However, clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India was awaited.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 3:18 am Industrial production grows 16.7 per cent in January - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:52 am HDFC Securities sees good demand for IL FS Trans IPO - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:31 am Pranab Mukherjee wants tax collection to be more humane - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:30 am Tax collection has to be more humane: Pranab MukherjeeTax collection has to be more humane, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said, asking revenue officials to consider tax payers as important stake-holders in nation-buildingSource: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:27 am Mukherjee: hopes industrial growth momentum to continueNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said he hoped the growth momentum in industrial output would continue.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:25 am Fortis to consider continents beyond Asia with Parkway deal - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:23 am ITC Infotech looks to hire over 1 800 people by March 2011IT services and solutions firm ITC Infotech is looking to hire over 1,800 employees by March next year in its various offices across the country.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:21 am Bayer healthcare unit eyes takeovers in IndiaSingapore: Bayer, Germany’s largest drugmaker, is looking for acquisitions to bolster its fledgling healthcare business in India, it said on Friday. Bayer’s healthcare division generated more than 20% of 2009 sales in the Asia Pacific region, where it saw faster growth than in any other region. While it is one of the largest pharmaceuticals suppliers in China, its presence in the Indian drug market has been of little significance. “In India we are open to businesses to strengthen our position,” said Alok Kanti, in charge of Bayer’s Asia Pacific prescription drug division, adding the company was “looking for the right opportunity and evaluating every opportunity.” Consultancy McKinsey & Co expects India’s drug market to swell to about $20 billion in revenues in 2015, growing at an annual 12-14%. Bayer’s business in India has so far been dominated by its CropScience pesticides unit. Chief executive Werner Wenning has repeatedly said he was looking for takeovers to strengthen Bayer’s healthcare division but larger deals were seen as unlikely before he hands over to his successor Marijn Dekkers in October. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:21 am Industry grows by 16.7% in JanuaryManufacturing, which has around 80% weight in the Index of Industrial Production -- a measure of factory output in the country -- rose by 17.9% during the month against 1% a year ago.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:18 am China warns Google not to stop filtering web searchesChina on Friday warned Google of facing "consequences" if it stopped filtering its search results, after the firm threatened to leave the country over cyberattacks and web censorship.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:18 am FTSE flat; weak oils, miners balance firm banksLondon: Britain’s leading shares were flat in early deals on Friday, consolidating after losses in the previous session with weakness in commodity issues, on China tightening concerns, balanced by strength in banking issues. By 0913 GMT the FTSE 100 index was 2.44 points higher at 5,619.70, having closed 23.31 points, or 0.4% lower on Thursday. “America did well last night, with the S&P 500 at a 17-month closing high, which has helped us a touch today,” said Sam Wright, a trader at Spreadex. “But with a quieter end to the week on the corporate results front and US retail sales figures this afternoon there is little to provide real interest,” Wright added. Commodity issues once more provided the main curb on the blue chip index’s progress after above-forecast Chinese consumer inflation data revived concerns about monetary tightening in the world’s biggest commodities consumer. Miners were the main FTSE 100 fallers with Xstrata, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American losing 0.6 to 1.2%. Energy issues also suffered as crude prices stagnated around $82 a barrel, with BP, BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy down 0.1 to 0.3%. Firm Banks Global banking heavyweight HSBC was also a big blue chip faller, down 1.0% unsettled by Thursday’s news of data theft by a former employee at its Swiss private bank. But other banks were firmer, boosted by overnight strength in their US peers, helped in part by the possibility that new banking regulations being studied by US Congress could be watered down. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Standard Chartered added 1.0 and 2.8%. Life insurers also added some strength to the blue chip index as the sector rallied after recent falls. Standard Life and Old Mutual gained 1.6% and 1.1% respectively on further consideration of recent results from both, while Legal & General, Aviva and Prudential took on 0.9 to 1.3%. Hedge fund manager Man Group also saw good support, up 1.4%. British Airways was a strong individual gainer, up 2.9% on increasing hopes that strike action at the airline could be avoided, with unions having until 15 March to notify BA of their intentions. And mobile telecoms heavyweight Vodafone added its strength to the blue chips, gaining 0.4% helped by recent broker comment. With no domestic data due for release on Friday, investors’ macro attention was directed across the Atlantic, with US retail sales data due at 1330 GMT and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey at 1455 GMT. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:17 am Industrial production grows 16 7 per cent in JanuaryIndia's industrial production rose 16.7 per cent in January from one per cent a year earlier, official data showed on Friday.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:13 am ANALYSIS - Watches may signal time for dental implant recoveryZURICH (Reuters) - Dental implant makers lost their shine as a recession-proof investment during the global crisis, which turned fixing smiles into a luxury for consumers who struggled to pay for non-essential work on their mouths.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:11 am Rupee trims gains mirroring moves in shares - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 2:06 am Tata Steel sees India volumes up 20% in Q4Tata Steel Ltd said on Thursday it expects sales volumes in India in the current quarter to be 20% higher than a year ago.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:59 am Russia\'s Alrosa eyes $1 bn diamond sales to IndiaRussian state diamond monopoly Alrosa plans to supply about USD 1 billion worth of unpolished stones to India this year, enough to generate almost a third of its total revenues, an Alrosa spokesman said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:59 am Russia's Putin pledges to develop India banking tiesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday pledged to develop banking ties with India to boost co-operation between the two countries.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:51 am Nissan launches first Thai-promoted "eco-car"BANGKOK (Reuters) - Nissan Motor launched its much-awaited, low-cost compact car on Friday, aiming to become a major force in the fast-growing segment with a global sales target of one million units a year by 2013.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:50 am ITC Infotech looks to hire over 1,800 people by March 2011New Delhi: IT services and solutions firm ITC Infotech is looking to hire over 1,800 employees by March next year in its various offices across the country. “We are looking to ramp up our headcount by more than 50% to 5,000 employees by March next year,” ITC Infotech HR head Anand Talwar said. The Bangalore-based company’s current employee strength is 3,200 across its offices in various cities, including Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad. ITC Infotech, a fully-owned subsidiary of the $5 billion conglomerate ITC group, provides outsourced IT services and solutions to leading global customers, apart from that to the parent group’s companies in the country. The company has established a service delivery footprint across more than 140 countries worldwide and provides end-to-end solutions through dedicated development and delivery centres and offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In addition, the company has two massive delivery hubs based out of Bangalore and Kolkata. With the economic scenario improving globally, a host of IT companies have recently announced hiring plans, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:50 am Sleepy beach town of Gokarna wakes up to tourists, businessGOKARNA, India (Reuters Life!) - German tourist Oliver Krupke has travelled to India every year for the past three years, but it's not the Taj Mahal, the beaches of Goa or the bustle of Mumbai that keep bringing him back.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:47 am India to gradually move to rupee convertibility: Finance ministerFuller convertibility is expected to facilitate rapid growth through higher investment and improve efficiency in the financial sector through greater competition.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:47 am Fortis to fund Parkway buy via loan, rightsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare plans to fund its stake buy in Singapore's Parkway Holdings through a short-term loan and money raised through its recent rights issue, a top official said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:42 am INTERVIEW - SingTel may help Bharti/Zain deal fundingSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) may help with the funding for Bharti Airtel's $9 billion acquisition of Zain's African assets, a senior SingTel executive said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:33 am Nissan launches first Thai-promoted ‘eco-car’Bangkok: Nissan Motor launched its much-awaited, low-cost compact car on Friday, aiming to become a major force in the fast-growing segment with a global sales target of one million units a year by 2013. Nissan executives said the company would produce 90,000 of the five-door hatchbacks, built on new “versatile platform” vehicle underpinnings, at its suburban Bangkok plant in the year starting 1 April, of which 70,000 would be for export. The 1,200-cc engine compact, called March in Thailand, China and Japan, and Micra in India, Europe and other markets, is being sold in a price range of 375,000-537,000 baht ($11,500-$16,500), about 20% cheaper than similar cars from rivals. Chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga said at the global launch that the compact would be sold in more than 160 countries, with Thailand one of four main manufacturing and export hubs along with China, India and Mexico. He expected production in China to begin in the second half of this year, but declined to provide other details, including its pricing in key Asian markets. Shiga did not say when his firm would introduce the vehicle in India, where Nissan is looking to take on market leaders Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motor Co. Double production Production of the March model would nearly double Nissan’s Thai car output to 200,000 units a year. The Micra/March is the Japanese car maker’s most important model in years, the culmination of extensive experimenting with new materials and component designs for production in low-cost countries, Chief executive Carlos Ghosn said at its unveiling at the Geneva car show in early March. Nissan is the first of six global car makers to obtain generous Thai government incentives to produce small vehicles under the country’s “eco-car projects”. Other companies licensed to compete with Nissan in the same segment are Toyota Motor, Mitsubishi Motors, Honda Motor, Suzuki Motor and India’s Tata Motors Ltd. According to the state-run Board of Investment, “eco-cars” are passenger cars that must meet safety, low fuel consumption and “EURO 4” emission standards. The BOI offers these companies corporate tax exemption for at least five years provided their production reaches 100,000 a year within the first five years of operation. It said last year the licensed car manufacturers would enjoy cuts of up to 90% in import tariffs for foreign car parts and material used for producing the vehicles. The parts entitled to low tariffs must not yet be produced by local producers, it said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:23 am Sensex slips into red on profit taking - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:18 am SingTel may help Bharti-Zain deal fundingSingapore: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) may help with the funding for Bharti Airtel’s $9 billion acquisition of Zain’s African assets, a senior SingTel executive said on Friday. SingTel, Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms firm that owns 32% of Bharti, said the acquisition would be financed by debt, and there was no need to inject money directly into its Indian affiliate since the deal would not dilute its stake. “In one way or the other we will be part of the funding, we are a very substantial shareholder of Bharti,” SingTel’s CEO International Lim Chuan Poh told Reuters in an interview. Bharti and Zain are in exclusive talks until 25 March for the Kuwaiti firm’s operations in 15 African countries and have agreed on an enterprise value of $10.7 billion for the assets, including $1.7 billion of debt on Zain Africa books. Bharti’s bid is in line with the ambitions of SingTel, which is sitting on over $1 billion in cash and wants to enter the fast-growing African market to offset its presence in more saturated telecoms markets such as Singapore and Australia. But the market value of Bharti, the leading Indian mobile operator, has plunged since it confirmed the deal on concerns that possible high debt for funding the transaction could stretch its balance sheet. “It will definitely be through debt for the amount that we are talking about,” said Lim, a former Singapore government bureaucrat who joined SingTel in 1998. SingTel, 54% owned by Singapore state investor Temasek, has spent S$18 billion in recent years to buy stakes in fast growing telecoms markets such as India and Indonesia. The company has previously said it is also interested in Vietnam, where it has no presence, but Lim said costs were now outweighing revenues in the mobile market there because of price competition among operators. “The prospect has gone from very good to pretty dicey,” he said, adding it was still a country that interested SingTel given the growth outlook for providing broadband and data services. Divesting Possible Lim, just back from a trip from Vietnam, said he travelled so much for his job he avoided going overseas in his free time. Lim runs the firm’s international operations while Allen Lew heads SingTel’s domestic business, both reporting to Group CEO Chua Sock Koong. Lim said the firm was not necessarily looking to buy further assets directly, if it felt its associate firms could execute deals and operate in target countries more effectively. “We are not egotistical about it. We have to be pragmatic...We do not believe in competing with affiliates.” Lim said divesting assets was also a possibility, but not for its core business. He declined to comment on the possibility of an IPO for its fully-owned Australia unit Optus, and said this was a core asset that had been doing well. “One potential consideration would be Bangladesh. We are not divesting to exit, we are divesting to consolidate,” he said, adding the company is open to divesting its Bangladesh holdings if Bharti approached it with an offer. In January, Bharti agreed to acquire 70% of Bangladesh’s Warid Telecom, while SingTel already has a 45% stake in Pacific Bangladesh Telecom. SingTel’s shares traded flat by 0756 GMT. The stock, the biggest by market cap in Singapore, has risen 1.6% so far this year, outperforming the 0.5% dip in the broader Singapore index. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:13 am India open to fresh talks with PakNew Delhi: India signalled on Friday it was open to a new round of talks with Pakistan, raising fresh hopes of a thaw in relations after last month’s official dialogue between the nuclear-armed rivals produced no breakthrough. The two nations’ top diplomats - their foreign secretaries - met in New Delhi for their first official talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, but just agreed to “keep in touch” without mentioning if there would be another round of talks. What followed the meeting was a bout of acrimonious exchanges between the two sides over what the focus of the dialogue was - India on terrorism, Pakistan on the disputed region of Kashmir - worsening the atmosphere for any future talks. “We tried to make a beginning with the foreign secretary talks, but nothing came out of it am afraid,” home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a conference in New Delhi. “But I am told we are still open to another round of talks between the foreign secretaries.” An easing of tension between the neighbours is important for stability in Afghanistan, where India and Pakistan have long battled for influence, complicating efforts by the United States to defeat militancy in the region. India broke off a four-year-long sluggish peace initiative with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, saying dialogue could resume only if Islamabad acted against militants on its soil. It blamed the attacks, which killed 166 people, on Pakistan-based militants. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 77, seen as searching for a legacy in his last political years, has pushed talks. Such a move is politically difficult given strong public opinion against a country India has fought three wars with. Many say India could also be backing talks now because of a nudge from Washington and dwindling diplomatic options. What will limit the government’s ability to push talks are a repeat of attacks like last month’s bombing in Pune, which killed 16 people and sparked a sense of foreboding that it could herald more attacks. Police have not identified any group behind the attack, but Indian analysts suspect home-grown militants could have been responsible. Chidambaram’s comments were echoed by Pakistan’s high commissioner to India Shahid Malik. “Yes, we have suggested a roadmap for future interaction and we hope India will respond to that,” he told the conference. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:10 am March qtr growth seen topping 8.5 pct - adviserNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's economy could expand over 8.5 percent in the March quarter, the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:08 am Rupee trims gains mirroring moves in sharesMumbai: The Indian rupee trimmed gains in afternoon trade on Friday as domestic shares briefly turned negative but stronger regional peers and weakness in the dollar versus major currencies supported sentiment. At 1:55pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.48/49 per dollar, off the day’s high of Rs45.4225 but still stronger than its close of Rs45.61/62 on Thursday. Dollar sales by a large corporate had helped the rupee in early trade, dealers said. India’s annual industrial output growth eased in January, in line with market forecasts, and analysts said it could further weaken with the withdrawal of stimulus measures and an expected rate hike. Indian shares were seesawing in afternoon trade, failing to provide clarity on the direction of capital flows. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at Rs45.47, 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 Rs45.5175, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $4 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:07 am Domino's bets big in India, targets in top 5 mkts - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:06 am Motor racing: Indian GP debut on cards for 2011, says EcclestoneManama: India will be on next year’s Formula One calendar, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told the sport’s governing body on Thursday. India’s debut was cast into doubt last year when the country’s sports ministry rejected a request by promoters JPSK Sports to pay $36.5 million in foreign currency to Ecclestone’s British-based Formula One Administration (FOA). The country is subject to strict exchange control regulations. “Subject to final approval of the calendar by the world council ... Ecclestone has informed the FIA that India will host a Formula One event in 2011,” the International Automobile Federation said in a statement at the Bahrain Grand Prix. India has a Formula One team with Force India, owned by aviation and liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, and a driver in Karun Chandhok who makes his debut for the new HRT (Hispania) team on Sunday. The FIA said Chandhok, whose team have not tested their car, had been granted the mandatory super licence on the basis of previous test mileage and participation in the GP2 series last year. India could also host the annual FIA prizegiving and accompanying meetings at the end of next season, instead of traditional venue Monaco. The governing body said FIA president Jean Todt had suggested the awards ceremony should be hosted by a different country each year and Mallya had asked the world council to consider India as a potential host in 2011. “This offer was warmly welcomed by the world council,” it added. “However the FIA president confirmed the opportunity to host the event must be open to all the FIA’s membership throughout the world,” said the statement. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 1:03 am How do rating agencies assess countries?Earlier this week, Mint reported that the Indian government’s fiscal policy would have a direct bearing on India’s sovereign rating, and it is to this subject that we peg our podcast today. What precisely does a sovereign rating assess about a country? How is it determined? What are the challenges in assessing a country’s rating as compared to a company’s? And how, if at all, does a country’s sovereign rating assess the companies within that country? Our guest on the show today is Renu Kohli, who used to work with the Reserve Bank of India and the International Monetary Fund, and who is now an independent consultant. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:35 am McNally sees FY11 revenue at Rs 35 bn - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:32 am India to gradually move to rupee convertibilityNew Delhi: India will take gradual steps to full convertibility of the rupee but not in one go, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament on Friday. “The full convertibility of rupee is our ultimate destination and we are taking gradual steps towards this. However, it is felt that it is not time to jump to that destination at one go now,” Mukherjee said in a prepared answer to Parliament. “Considering the risks involved in opening the Indian economy fully by allowing complete convertibility of the rupee, the government and the (central bank) have adopted a calibrated approach.” Fuller convertibility is expected to facilitate rapid growth through higher investment and improve efficiency in the financial sector through greater competition. India has drafted a plan on fuller capital account convertibility. This includes a three-phase plan extending to 2010-11 and would allow greater movement of capital in and out of the local currency, but progress has been limited so far. Issues related to the full convertibility of the rupee was one of the roadblocks in a scuppered deal with telecom firm Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN. The rupee has been convertible on current account since 1994, meaning it can be changed freely into foreign currency for purposes like trade-related expenses. But it cannot be converted freely for activities like acquiring overseas assets. Though India is returning to high growth, the government is grappling with a bulging fiscal deficit and inflation which rose to an annual 8.56% in January. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to raise its key lending rate in April. “Fiscal consolidation, lower inflation and a stronger financial system were seen as crucial signposts for India,” Mukherjee said about the approach to the liberalization of India’s capital account. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:29 am Industry grows by 16.7% in JanuaryIndustrial production grew by a robust 16.7 per cent in January compared to just one per cent in the same month a year ago, led by a good show from the manufacturing sector.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:06 am Fuel inflation surges; food prices softenThe annual Wholesale Price Index-based food inflation dipped marginally to 17.81 per cent in end-February, even as fuel inflation shot up due to the hike in duties on petroleum products in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Mukesh Ambani is world's 4th richest manThe global economic crisis does not seem to have affected the fortunes of some Indians including the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mr Mukesh Ambani, and the NRI steel magnate, Mr LakshmiSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am British MP appeals to Ratan Tata on CorusMr Kirby Adams, Chief Executive of Tata Steel Europe, received a bit of a tongue-lashing from a British politician, albeitSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideWe re-affirm our prior view that fresh long position can be initiated if the stock moves above Rs 319, with tightSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Bombay Rayon Fashions (Rs 222.7): BuyTraders with short-term trading perspective can buy the stock of Bombay Rayon Fashions. Since August 2009, the stock has been on a broad sideways consolidation in the range of Rs 180 and Rs 220. Though the stock tested the upper boundary inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Sugar stocks turn bitterSugar stocks have been one of the worst performers this week. Some stocks such as Bajaj Hindusthan and Balrampur Chini have dropped by over 10 per cent in the last three trading sessions. Since the beginning of the year, sugar stocks haveSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Yuan revaluation looks a 2010 cert‘In the long run, we're all dead', said John Maynard Keynes, the fountainhead of the school of economic thought and theory which goes by the name ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Banks move to garner funds with deposit rate hikesBanks have started offering higher deposit rates to shore up resources as they anticipate pressure on liquidity in the comingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Hero Honda to decide on site for new plant by SeptThe country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, said, on Thursday that by around September this year it would finalise the location to set up its fourth manufacturingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Fortis buys 23.9% stake in Singapore's ParkwayFortis Healthcare Ltd on Thursday announced the acquisition of a 23.9 per cent strategic stake in Singapore-based healthcare service provider, Parkway Holdings Ltd. The deal size is estimated to be about $685.3Source: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Jan industrial output edges up, RBI action seenNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's annual industrial output growth eased in January, in line with market forecasts, and analysts said it could further weaken with the withdrawal of stimulus measures and an expected rate hike.Source: Reuters: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:53 pm Markets turn negative on profit salesMumbai: Indian shares turned negative early on Friday afternoon on profit sales in select counters, with HDFC Bank and Infosys Technologies leading the decline. At 12:20 pm, the BSE 30-share index Sensex was down 0.01% at 17,166.47 points, with 13 of its components declining. The NSE 50-share index Nifty was up 0.1% at 5,136.75 points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:43 pm January industrial output edges up, RBI action seenNew Delhi: India’s annual industrial output growth eased in January, in line with market forecasts, and analysts said it could further weaken with the withdrawal of stimulus measures and an expected rate hike. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee raised factory gate taxes in the Budget for 2010-11, the beginning of the unwinding of measures taken to shore up domestic demand and protect growth in the wake of the financial crisis and the economic slowdown. Analysts expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise its key lending rate by as much as 50 basis points in April to tame inflation that rose to 8.56% in January. Industrial output grew 16.7% in January, below the upwardly revised 17.6% record growth in December and a tad higher than a Reuters poll forecast for 16.65%. Between April and January, industrial growth expanded 9.6%. Manufacturing output grew an annual 17.9% in January, easing from 18.5% recorded in December. The expected rate hike, coupled with a record $100 billion government borrowing plan for the year to March 2011, could harden interest rates and hurt industry which is looking to expand and grow along with the recovering economy. India is seen growing over 7.2% in the year to March 2010, accelerating to 8.5% the year after and to 9% in 2011-12. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:29 pm Media heavyweights spar over charging for news onlineNew York: With The New York Times and Rupert Murdoch poised to start charging for newspapers online, media heavyweights sparred on Thursday over whether readers will pay for news on the Web. The Times plans to require payment for full access to NYTimes.com in early 2011 and Murdoch, who already charges for The Wall Street Journal online, has pledged to begin charging Web readers of his other News Corp. newspapers. Keynote speakers and panelists at the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Media Summit here differed sharply on whether Internet users would be ready to shell out money for what they have become accustomed to getting for free. Click hereto watch a Livemint slideshow about publications that are attempting to go beyond advertising to monetize their content. New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger said the time is right for his newspaper to start charging for its website and the move will provide a “critical” new revenue stream to add to print and online advertising revenue. “There is an opportunity, I think, for us to gain a great deal of revenue from this paid model going forward,” Times Co. president and chief executive Janet Robinson said. Merrill Brown, chief strategist for Journalism Online, said more than 1,300 publications around the world have expressed interest in the services offered by the company founded last year to help news outlets make money on the Web. “Everyone of them is contemplating a paid strategy of one kind or another,” Brown said. Readers will not pay for “commoditized headlines,” he said, but they will pay for very specialized news. “They will pay for deep coverage of their favorite sports teams, they will pay for content which only local newspapers have in their communities,” Brown said. “If (publishers) market it smartly to their most engaged users they have a chance to add at least incremental revenue.” Brown said that although the data is “inadequate,” studies suggest that in the United States, over 20% of regular visitors to a particular news website may be willing to pay. “That would be a pretty good thing at any large publication in the country,” he said. Andrew Keen, author of “The Cult of the Amateur,” a book which takes a critical look at the impact of the Internet on culture, said the newspaper industry “shot itself in the foot” by not charging on the Web in the first place but has every right to do so now. “We do need to fight the culture of free, the culture which suggests that large media companies or for that matter small media companies don’t have the right to charge for their content,” he said. “Media companies if they choose can give their stuff away for free but they shouldn’t be vilified if they choose to build pay walls around it and sell it,” Keen said. Michael Wolff, founder of news aggregator website Newser and the author of a book on Murdoch, said any attempt to make readers pay online is doomed to fail. “We’re in a moment of destruction, transformation beyond all imagination,” Wolff said. “Newspapers are going out of business, every big city newspaper will be out of business or will be owned by a rich man hobbyist within the foreseeable future,” he said. “It’s not going to happen that The New York Times is going to successfully charge or that anyone else is going to successfully charge,” Wolff said. “You’re not going to pay for news because it’s something you already get, it’s everywhere,” he said. “If you’re connected in any way the news comes to you.” Richard Gingras, chief executive of online arts and culture magazine Salon, said media companies “clearly have to look for alternate revenue streams and not just rely on advertising” but expressed skepticism readers would be willing to open their wallets to get news online. “They won’t pay for local news content, not in sufficient numbers,” he said. “It’s very hard to convince anyone that the value is such that they should pay to get it.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:28 pm Daiichi Sankyo aims to double profit in 3 yearsTokyo: Daiichi Sankyo, Japan’s third-largest drugmaker, said on Friday it aims to nearly double its annual operating profit and increase revenue by a fifth in three years as it expands sales, especially overseas. Daiichi Sankyo bought a majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2008 to diversify its operations into generic drugs and emerging markets, and is also looking to blood thinner Effient, developed with Eli Lilly, to fuel further growth. Its shares rose 1.3% on the news, roughly in line with Tokyo’s pharmaceutical subindex. The company is targetting ¥180 billion ($2 billion) in operating profit for the year ending March 2013 on revenue of ¥1.15 trillion. It expects overseas sales to account for 56.5% of overall revenue, a climb of almost six percentage points. “The numerical targets gave me the impression of being a bit aggressive, although I don’t think it’s impossible to achieve them,” said Kenji Masuzoe, analyst at Deutsche Securities. Analysts on average expect Daiichi Sankyo to generate an operating profit of ¥138 billion on revenue of ¥1.06 trillion in the year to March 2013, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. “The company’s mid-term targets are definitely not an incentive to sell Daiichi Sankyo shares, while the question of when to buy the shares at what levels depends on more details,” he said. Daiichi Sankyo president Takashi Shoda will brief on the company’s business plan later on Friday. The firm also said it is aiming for a return on equity of 10% or more and earnings per share of ¥140 or more in that financial year, against 5.2% and ¥63.9 estimated for the current year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:25 pm Daiichi Sankyo aims to double profit in 3 yearsTokyo: Daiichi Sankyo, Japan’s third-largest drugmaker, said on Friday it aims to nearly double its annual operating profit and increase revenue by a fifth in three years as it expands sales, especially overseas. Daiichi Sankyo bought a majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2008 to diversify its operations into generic drugs and emerging markets, and is also looking to blood thinner Effient, developed with Eli Lilly, to fuel further growth. Its shares rose 1.3% on the news, roughly in line with Tokyo’s pharmaceutical subindex. The company is targetting ¥180 billion ($2 billion) in operating profit for the year ending March 2013 on revenue of ¥1.15 trillion. It expects overseas sales to account for 56.5% of overall revenue, a climb of almost six percentage points. “The numerical targets gave me the impression of being a bit aggressive, although I don’t think it’s impossible to achieve them,” said Kenji Masuzoe, analyst at Deutsche Securities. Analysts on average expect Daiichi Sankyo to generate an operating profit of ¥138 billion on revenue of ¥1.06 trillion in the year to March 2013, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. “The company’s mid-term targets are definitely not an incentive to sell Daiichi Sankyo shares, while the question of when to buy the shares at what levels depends on more details,” he said. Daiichi Sankyo president Takashi Shoda will brief on the company’s business plan later on Friday. The firm also said it is aiming for a return on equity of 10% or more and earnings per share of ¥140 or more in that financial year, against 5.2% and ¥63.9 estimated for the current year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:25 pm India set to return to 8.5 pct growth in FY11 - AhluwaliaMUMBAI (Reuters) - India is well-set to go back to 8.5 percent growth in the next fiscal year, a top policy adviser said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:13 pm Gold ETF collection in Feb up 86% to 9.622TMumbai: Gold collections under exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose 86% on year to 9.622 tonnes in February on increased retail investor participation, data from the funds showed. Gold futures were trading 0.10% higher at Rs16,542 per 10 grams at 11:55 am, after losing 1.6% since the start of March. The contract gained over 3% in February. Though gold collections under ETFs are growing, they remain miniscule against India’s imports of about 400-700 tonnes annually. Gold ETFs - instruments that can be traded like shares and are backed by physical gold holdings - are more than three-years old and the segment may get crowded with some other funds planning to enter. Religare Mutual Fund and Tata Asset Management are seeking regulatory approval to launch the product. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:11 pm Subscribe to NMDC FPO at Rs 300: Maximus Securities - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:45 pm US small, mid-sized banks may catch investors' fancyThe KBW Regional Bank Index has shot up 13% so far this year, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which has risen only 2%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:30 pm US small, mid-sized banks may catch investors’ fancyBangalore: A slowly recovering US economy and waning credit costs may help the stocks of small- and mid-sized banks show up again on investors’ radars. Margins at regional banks such as Western Alliance Bank, Private Bancorp, Comerica, Huntington Bancshares and several others are expected to get a boost from stabilizing non-performing assets and lower costs of funding in the coming quarters. “Following five years of underperformance relative to the S&P 500, we now expect a multi-year recovery in the stocks of small- and mid-cap banks,” analyst Terry McEvoy of Oppenheimer & Co said. The KBW Regional Bank Index has shot up 13% so far this year, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which has risen only 2%. Although these banks may not return to profitability until at least next year, revenue trends for them are expected to improve in the second half of the year and into 2011, backed by improving macroeconomic trends, analysts say. The biggest concern for these institutions is their exposure to commercial real estate (CRE), but to a large extent it has already been discounted in their stock prices, Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, said. Industry watchers are keeping a close eye on losses stemming from the CRE portfolio of financial institutions and will use it to determine the health of the banking industry. These banks could lose more money in the event of a higher-than-expected default rate on CRE loans. “Frankly, I do not expect that to happen because the US economy appears to be coming back quicker than many other forecasters had expected,” Baumohl said. Any improvement in the macro indicators such as jobs data or even the housing market trends will bode well for these banks, which rely on the well being of the economy for healthy growth. February data showed the United States lost 36,000 jobs, better than consensus expectations of a 75,000 decline. US housing starts rebounded more strongly than expected to their highest level in six months in January, while permits fell slightly less than forecast. William Cheney, chief economist for John Hancock Financial Services, said he expects the overall US economic growth to be 4% to 5%, outpacing the consensus expectation of 3 percent to 3.5%. “And if we get those kinds of numbers, then all the issues which are weighing on particularly small- and medium-sized banks will be a little less severe.” Buyers on the prowl Consolidation is going to be the buzzword in the small- and mid-cap banking space over the next two years, as buyers get more clarity on the troubled balance sheets of possible target companies. “We will probably see a lot more M&As take place in the Southeast and Southwest,” Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group said. While regulator-assisted buying of failed institutions is expected to gain ground in the coming months, analysts do not rule out purchase of weaker banks by the more healthier ones. Earlier, banks were very worried about acquiring other banks whose credit quality they could not really understand, but now they have a better idea of what they are getting into, said Erik Oja, banking analyst at S&P Equity Research. Oja said banks like TCF Financial Corp, which have repaid funds received under the US government’s financial bailout, will be in a better position to do some shopping. Oppenheimer’s McEvoy sees FirstMerit Corp and Prosperity Bancshares Inc as potential buyers. However, industry experts believe those who are risk averse may want to wait until there is little more information out there on the default rates on CRE and on the strength of the recovery. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:29 pm US small, mid-sized banks may catch investors’ fancyBangalore: A slowly recovering US economy and waning credit costs may help the stocks of small- and mid-sized banks show up again on investors’ radars. Margins at regional banks such as Western Alliance Bank, Private Bancorp, Comerica, Huntington Bancshares and several others are expected to get a boost from stabilizing non-performing assets and lower costs of funding in the coming quarters. “Following five years of underperformance relative to the S&P 500, we now expect a multi-year recovery in the stocks of small- and mid-cap banks,” analyst Terry McEvoy of Oppenheimer & Co said. The KBW Regional Bank Index has shot up 13% so far this year, significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which has risen only 2%. Although these banks may not return to profitability until at least next year, revenue trends for them are expected to improve in the second half of the year and into 2011, backed by improving macroeconomic trends, analysts say. The biggest concern for these institutions is their exposure to commercial real estate (CRE), but to a large extent it has already been discounted in their stock prices, Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, said. Industry watchers are keeping a close eye on losses stemming from the CRE portfolio of financial institutions and will use it to determine the health of the banking industry. These banks could lose more money in the event of a higher-than-expected default rate on CRE loans. “Frankly, I do not expect that to happen because the US economy appears to be coming back quicker than many other forecasters had expected,” Baumohl said. Any improvement in the macro indicators such as jobs data or even the housing market trends will bode well for these banks, which rely on the well being of the economy for healthy growth. February data showed the United States lost 36,000 jobs, better than consensus expectations of a 75,000 decline. US housing starts rebounded more strongly than expected to their highest level in six months in January, while permits fell slightly less than forecast. William Cheney, chief economist for John Hancock Financial Services, said he expects the overall US economic growth to be 4% to 5%, outpacing the consensus expectation of 3 percent to 3.5%. “And if we get those kinds of numbers, then all the issues which are weighing on particularly small- and medium-sized banks will be a little less severe.” Buyers on the prowl Consolidation is going to be the buzzword in the small- and mid-cap banking space over the next two years, as buyers get more clarity on the troubled balance sheets of possible target companies. “We will probably see a lot more M&As take place in the Southeast and Southwest,” Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group said. While regulator-assisted buying of failed institutions is expected to gain ground in the coming months, analysts do not rule out purchase of weaker banks by the more healthier ones. Earlier, banks were very worried about acquiring other banks whose credit quality they could not really understand, but now they have a better idea of what they are getting into, said Erik Oja, banking analyst at S&P Equity Research. Oja said banks like TCF Financial Corp, which have repaid funds received under the US government’s financial bailout, will be in a better position to do some shopping. Oppenheimer’s McEvoy sees FirstMerit Corp and Prosperity Bancshares Inc as potential buyers. However, industry experts believe those who are risk averse may want to wait until there is little more information out there on the default rates on CRE and on the strength of the recovery. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:29 pm Ranbaxy says to achieve 3bn turnover by 2012Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Friday it was planning to achieve $3 billion in consolidated turnover by 2012 as part of its medium-term business plan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:24 pm Boutique boom fading as Wall Street banks expandDuring the financial crisis and its aftermath, bidoffer spreads, or the gap between the price for selling or buying a bond, widened dramatically, offering opportunities for middlemen.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:21 pm Rupee gains 17 paise against dollar in early tradeAt the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee appreciated by 17 paise to Rs45.44 a dollar. The domestic currency had closed 23 paise lower at Rs45.61/62 in the previous session.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:14 pm Oil prices above $82 a barrelNew York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, added nine cents to $82.20 a barrel. London's Brent North Sea crude for April was up nine cents to $80.37.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:13 pm LyondellBasell to raise $3.2 bn via debtNew York/New Delhi: Global petrochemical major LyondellBasell on Friday said it will raise $3.2 billion (nearly Rs14,745 crore) through debt and issue of securities on private placement basis, which will be used by the company to come out of bankruptcy. The company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lyondell Chemical Company, plans to raise $3,250 million by first priority debt, including an offering of senior secured notes on a private placement basis and borrowings under a senior term loan facility, LyondellBasell said in a statement. Earlier this week, LyondellBasell rejected $14.5 billion takeover offer from Indian giant Reliance Industries, preferring its own restructuring plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The net proceeds from the sale of the notes, together with borrowings and proceeds from a $2.8 billion (nearly Rs12,703 crore) rights offering, would be used to come out from bankruptcy, to repay and replace certain existing debt, the company said. Last month, it reached a settlement with creditors paving the way for coming out of bankruptcy. As part of the agreement, the Unsecured Creditor’s Committee and holders of the company’s substantial debt have agreed to support its reorganization plan. Weighed down by massive debts, LyondellBasell’s US operations and one of its European holding companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:06 pm Sensex up 66 points in early tradeA benchmark index for Indian equities on Friday opened in the green and was ruling about 66 points higher than its previous close, about half an hour into trade.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:35 pm Rupee gains 17 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee appreciated by 17 paise to 45.44 dollar in the early trade on Friday in line with other firming Asian currencies amid increased capital inflows by foreign funds into equities.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:30 pm Sensex rises by 77 points in opening trade on global cuesExpectations of positive Industrial output data for the month of January also supported the upside in stock prices.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:28 pm Sensex up 77 points on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained 77 points in the opening trade on Friday on continued capital inflows by foreign funds, taking cues from global markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:27 pm Examiner sees accounting gimmicks in Lehman bankruptcyIn a 2,200-page report made public on Thursday, examiner Anton Valukas, chairman of law firm Jenner & Block, reported the results of his more than year-long investigation into who could be blamed for the firm's collapse.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:08 pm Warren Buffett, world's third-richest person, gets pay riseAccording to Berkshire's proxy filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett's salary was $100,000, as it has been for more than a quarter century.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:27 pm Indian shares may open flat; factory data eyed - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:21 pm Satyam makes a U-turn, sues UpaidMumbai: In a U-turn of sorts, Indian information technology services firm Mahindra Satyam has filed a lawsuit in a New York court against British telecom software maker Upaid Systems Ltd, seeking enforcement of a legal settlement agreement between the two signed in December. At issue is the tax liability on the settlement amount—estimated to be in the range of $21 million (Rs97 crore), and which Satyam claims is Upaid’s responsibility under the December agreement. Upaid couldn’t be reached for comment late Tuesday evening. In the lawsuit, filed on Monday, Satyam has asked the court to confirm that Upaid is responsible for any tax liability arising from the settlement. On 9 December, Satyam agreed to pay $70 million—an initial payment of $45 million and another $25 million after necessary regulatory approval of the agreement—to settle all outstanding legal disputes with Upaid. According to a Satyam spokesperson, the firm approached the court after trying and failing to reach an agreement on the matter through talks with Upaid. As part of implementing the December agreement, Satyam claims to have entered into an escrow agreement with Upaid on 10 December and to have deposited the entire settlement amount of $70 million into an escrow account. “Normally, in such settlements, a final amount that is arrived with no separate tax liability over and above that,” said an analyst with a Mumbai based institutional investment advisory firm that tracks Satyam. “However, if the liability falls on Satyam, that means further outgo, which is negative news. In any case, legal charges in the US are expensive,” added the analyst who did not want to be identified. In its fresh lawsuit, Satyam also sought the court’s assistance in ensuring that it gets what it is entitled to as part of the agreement—release of claims, licence to certain disputed intellectual property and dismissal of all pending litigation. Satyam has not sought any compensatory damages against Upaid but expects the same to be determined during the trial. “Usually, in out-of-court settlements, the issue of tax liability is dealt with in the settlement agreement,” said Anand Prasad, partner at Trilegal, a New Delhi-based law firm. “If the agreement is that the payer would bear the tax liability, then the settlement amount should have been paid after deducting the tax amount.” The original legal dispute between Upaid and Satyam goes back to April 2007 when Upaid filed a lawsuit against Satyam in the US, alleging fraud, forgery, misrepresentation and breach of contract relating to transfer of intellectual property rights. The disputes related to a project that the firms jointly worked on in the late 1990s. Upaid had sought damages of at least $1 billion for the cumulative losses it claimed to have suffered as a result of Satyam’s actions. Satyam was an outsourcing vendor for Upaid at that time. Since then, Satyam has been jolted by a corporate fraud perpetrated by its founder Ramalinga Raju, and has changed hands—it is now controlled by Tech Mahindra Ltd. The regulatory filing regarding the fresh lawsuit was made to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after trading hours on Tuesday. Shares of the firm remained flat on Tuesday and closed at Rs96.85 on BSE, a gain of 0.1% on a day when the Sensex gained 0.3% to close at 16286.32. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 7:57 pm Raju moves SC for bail in Satyam scam caseAfter spending more than a year behind bars in the Rs 7,100 crore Satyam financial scam, key accused B Ramalinga Raju moved SC seeking bail saying the CBI had completed its investigation and had filed chargesheet.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:37 pm Fortis buys 23% stake in Parkway for Rs3,100 crGets control over Singapore firm by acquiring TPG's stake.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Mar 2010 | 1:59 pm Pharma | AstraZeneca signs drug supply deal with TorrentMumbai: European drug maker AstraZeneca SA on Thursday said it has signed a license and supply agreement with Ahmedabad-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, under which Torrent will supply generic medicines for which it has licenses in global markets. Under the agreement with Torrent, AstraZeneca will initially purchase the licenses and market authorizations for 18 products in nine countries, and will have the option to add further products and new countries. Also, Torrent will manufacture the medicines under AstraZeneca’s quality and process standards. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Money rules for the Mr and MrsWill you pay that car insurance premium?” Aditi never thought that a simple question like that would bring her to the doorstep of a split. The D word was for others and had no place in her eight-year-old marriage. For a couple who had enough money in their accounts to pay this premium, the issue became the beginning of a huge row, with each partner accusing the other of spending too much and on unnecessary things. The argument led to other issues and in an hour’s time the entire eight years of their life together almost lay in ruins.  A fine balance: It’s important to shift focus from ‘his’ or ‘hers’ to ‘ours’. iStockphoto Though not at a stage where the issue derails marriages, it is one of the factors in marital discord. Says Srividya Rajaram, clinical psychologist, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, money can “lead to a power struggle, especially when both partners are earning well and neither wants to pitch in more than the other”. Though our attitudes towards money are formed during childhood and depend on what sort of values we grow up with, the challenge is for these values and attitudes to shift from “his” and “hers” to “ours”. Also See Apartment (PDF) According to Rajaram, some of the common misunderstandings between couples over money are who spends how much and on what, whether the investments are prudent, and what is a luxury and what is a necessity. If you are one of the lucky minority to have a spouse who is a value clone, don’t read any further. But most people take time to fall into a pattern around their money lives. But what if the pattern is all wrong? With two incomes coming in, the stakes are now higher and the opportunity cost of losing out on the efficiency of a well-managed marital money attitude large. Says Sumeet Vaid, financial planner and founder and managing director, Ffreedom Financial Planners: “When both partners are working, the potential income can be higher and can also enable you to take more risks in terms of aggressive goals and timelines.” Joint but separate A couple living together sharing expenses, liabilities and investments, all planners agree, need to have all their bank accounts in joint name. But it is prudent to operate them as single, with the option of the spouse dipping into the other account in times of an emergency. Says Suresh Sadagopan, financial planner, Ladder7 Financial Advisories: “It is a good idea that each person (with spouse as co-applicant) has separate accounts, from where the investments are done. This will be useful from the compliance viewpoint and is totally desirable from the income-tax viewpoint.” So, decide to make one “his” and one “hers” and operate them like single accounts with just one person using the account on a regular basis. However, Harsh Roongta, CEO, ApnaPaisa.com, has a word of caution, “Divorces are not unheard of nowadays as they were earlier. So, one needs to be careful with joint accounts and has to be absolutely sure of the spouse. There have been cases, where one spouse has polished off the balance in a joint account. But, I agree, that in India the trend is not that common yet.” Divvy up expenses There are couples, where one is a lavish spender viewing the model of car she drives as the statement she makes about who she is, while for the other it is something that gets him from point A to point B. Which car they will buy then becomes a bone of contention. And this dichotomy could translate into everyday expenses as well, causing constant acrimony. One way to fix this is to decide on a savings target and then split the expenses two ways. This takes care of the major issue of one partner thinking the other is spending too much, since whatever is left in the account is actually available for spending, after the savings target has been met. The key to this is sticking by the rule and not making exceptions, because if you do, the exceptions will soon become the rule. Both build assets There are two extreme ways of expense and saving management seen in urban Indian houses. The first sees the woman looking at the money she earns as hers alone and leaves the husband carrying the entire burden of the home and asset building. Says Roongta: “In India, a lot of times women tend to treat their salary as pocket money and the entire burden is on the man.” The opposite is equally true, where the woman ends up spending her entire salary on household expenses, leaving the man’s salary for asset creation. All is well if they live together forever, but in case of a split, the assets belong to the person who paid for it, leaving the non-asset-creating spouse with nothing. “While a lot of couples save one spouse’s salary, and spend the other’s, that should not be the case. A lot depends on the understanding between the two. So, it would really depend from case to case,” says Sadagopan. He suggests that for this approach to work, the asset creation can be done in a joint name, with the non-asset-creating spouse’s name at the first holder in half the assets. Co-own a house The first house is always a big decision for a couple—there is something about home buying that cements a family together. And while simple money math may push you towards registering the house in the woman’s name due to lower stamp duties, it is a financial planning best practice to make the purchase joint. “Though the stamp duty for registering a house in the name of a woman is cheaper, it makes sense to go for co-ownership of a house. In case of working couples, it would offer tax benefits under section 80C to both spouses. Also, in case of death, the succession process becomes smoother,” says Roongta. Remember, both get the Rs1.5 lakh deduction on interest paid on a home loan if the loan and the house is in a joint name. Insurance for both It was a man thing to get a life insurance cover 20 years back. No longer. Both spouses need to be covered not just to protect the future of the dependants, but also to cover the debts that may be in the name of the spouse. “If both partners are working then insurance needs should be shared in the ratio they are contributing to goals and savings,” says B. Srinivasan, Bangalore-based financial planner. Basics include medical insurance, a critical illness and accident cover, plus a life and household cover. While life insurance premium would have to be paid by the spouse in whose name the cover is, medical and household insurance premiums can be split up. Paper trail There are thousands of crores of unclaimed insurance amounts and fixed deposits lying with companies in India. The person buying forgot to tell his wife what he bought and where the papers were. With responsibility now getting split two ways, both need the other in the loop on what financial products they are buying, what insurance covers they have, which locker they operate and where the papers, keys and other documents are. Leaving one spouse responsible for all the paper work leaves the one who is fancy free at great risk. If she dies, he won’t know where to look. But remember that all the above rules will break down unless the marriage is based on discussion, disclosure and a sharing of money-linked responsibilities. “Discussion and open communication only strengthens a relationship. After all, money is not what a relationship should be based on,” says Rajaram. And women need to listen up. Says Sadagopan, “I often see that women are not really interested in the finances of the family. This should not be the case. Both spouses should have detailed knowledge of their finances and should participate equally. You never know when one would actually need to take charge.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:45 pm Food inflation spreads to other areas: RBIFood inflation cooled a tad to 17.81% during the last week of February. But overall inflation may not see much decline soon due to costlier motor fuels.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 12:00 pm AstraZeneca teams up with Torrent for 18 generic drugsLeading UK drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc will brand and market 18 medicines manufactured by the Rs 1,600-crore Ahmedabad-based pharma company Torrent Pharmaceuticals in 9 emerging economies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:55 am Drug patents worth $60bn to expire in 4 yearsNearly $60 billion worth of patents for drugs is set to expire in the next four years across the world and Indian pharmaceutical companies are now in a position to take a major share of this pie, industry members said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:53 am 'Banks convert forex losses into term loans'A few leading banks, including some from the public sector, have been converting losses arising out of exposure to foreign exchange derivatives contracts into term loans for companies which had earlier entered into such contracts.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:50 am Fortis to buy 24% in ParkwayIn the largest overseas deal in healthcare, Fortis Healthcare will acquire nearly 24% "strategic" stake in Singapore-based healthcare group, Parkway Holdings from TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group), in an off-market deal, estimated to be around $685.3 million.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:48 am NMDC issue gets over pricing bluesAfter a sedate start yesterday, the follow-on public offer of NMDC saw interest reviving on the second day of book building, with bids for 79 per cent of the shares on offer.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:44 am Govt rejects relaxing foreign donation rulesContributions by Indian firms with over 50% foreign holding to be treated as foreign sources.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:42 am Bonus season over, job churn begins at i-banksStuart Gulliver, head of HSBCs global investment banking business, is planning to give away the 9 million bonus he received this year to charity. Many investment bankers in India, however, are charting moves of a different kind after receiving their bonuses up to 100 per cent in most cases.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:40 am Fortis buys 24% in singapore healthcare giantMalvinder to be Parkway chairman; acquisition will form Asias largest hospital chain.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 11:38 am JPMorgan’s Nakhate to be BoA-ML India headMumbai: Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA-ML)hired Kaku Nakhate, vice-chairman of JPMorgan Chase and Co.’s Indian unit, to replace Kevan Watts as head of operations in India. Nakhate, 43, will report to Brian Brille, president of BoA-ML for the Asia-Pacific region, according to an email statement. Watts, a 29-year veteran, will retire later this year, Bank of America said. Nakhate is returning to BoA-ML less than a year after leading a team of five bankers to join JPMorgan. Investment banking fees in India may rise this year as the government sells off record assets and takeovers accelerate led by Bharti Airtel Ltd’s proposed acquisition of Kuwait’s Zain. The North Carolina-based company also rehired Avinash Gupta, co-head of equity sales for India at JPMorgan, according to two people familiar with the matter. Last April, Gupta, 37, was part of the team from the global markets division at BoA-ML’s Indian unit who quit and joined JPMorgan. Manish Prasad, co-head for equity sales at JPMorgan in India, will replace Nakhate as head of equities, according to another person familiar with the matter. Mona Kwatra, a spokeswoman for Bank of America in Mumbai, and Kavita Sonawala, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan in Mumbai, declined to comment on Thursday. Nakhate, who graduated from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, had previously spent more than 18 years with Merrill Lynch and Co., rising to the head of global markets at the Indian joint venture before joining JPMorgan in April 2009. Watts was appointed as president of Merrill Lynch’s Indian unit in February 2008, before the US company was acquired by Bank of America. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 10:22 am Mumbai among world s top ten billionaire cities ForbesMumbai has been named among the world's top ten billionaire cities as it is home to as many as 20 richest Indians, according to a list compiled by the Forbes magazine.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:37 am Govt planning to reconstitute DGCAThe government is planning to reconstitute India's aviation regulatory body as an autonomous one and has asked International Civil Aviation Organisation to carry out the feasibility and advisory study in this regard. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:34 am Govt says tough cuts are the only way to dig nation out of crisisDebt-plagued Greece has faced a new wave of labour discontent since the government’s new austerity plan was introduced last week in an effort to trim its ballooning deficit and shore up the support of skeptical markets.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 9:24 am Over runs stymie infra plansA new study on “Drivers for Success in Infrastructure Projects 2010” by professional services firm KPMG and PMI, a professional membership organisation for project managers, has revealed that over 40 per cent of the 1,053 infrastructure projects completed over the last 17 years witnessed budget over-runs, while 82 per cent of them witnessed schedule over-runs.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:56 am Goldman deal maker now a regulation buffFor 18 years, Gary G. Gensler worked on Wall Street, striking merger deals at the venerable Goldman Sachs. Then in the late 1990s, he moved to the Treasury Department, joining a Washington establishment that celebrated the power of markets and fought off regulation at almost every turn.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 11 Mar 2010 | 8:51 am Smartphones will shake up paid content debateAbu Dhabi: Media companies longing to bring a paid-for culture to the Internet might just get what they want if they pay more attention to the smartphone revolution that is changing the way people access the Web. Huge numbers now use mobile phones instead of desktop computers to get online -- a development that has spawned whole new business models in China, the world’s biggest Internet market. Paying to read content on the Web, an outlandish idea as recently as a year ago, is slowly but surely establishing itself as the next business model in the Western media mainstream, spearheaded by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. But meantime, sales of smartphones — part of a telecoms economy very different from the PC Web — are set to outpace sales of desktop computers by 2012, IT research firm Gartner said this week. Some believe it could be as early as this year. And in China — which has more Internet users than any other nation — paid content is a non-starter, says Kai-Fu Lee, a former head of Microsoft’s and then Google’s China operations who recently quit to run his own company. “Chinese consumers have a stronger conviction that things should be free, so efforts to charge for premium content have basically completely failed,” Lee said at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit this week. Internet’s strengths Traditional publishing groups like News Corp, the New York Times and Axel Springer have decided recently to take the plunge and start charging for news online, risking smaller audiences for potential gains in subscription revenues. Their decisions, taken after much agonising, are as yet largely untested on consumers, but a consensus is growing that there is no alternative because advertising revenues that were devastated in the recession will not return to previous levels. “We certainly believe there needs to be dual income-stream business models — both advertising and subscription,” said Jon Miller, head of digital media at News Corp. Publishers argue that they need consumers to rethink their presumption that Web content must be free in order to fund the creation of high-quality news and entertainment. Lee, on the other hand, said the qualities of the Internet itself rather than the needs of media companies would drive how content was delivered and paid for. He cited in particular the Web’s ability to offer both marketing and sales at one click. Asked about the feasibility of generating subscription alongside advertising revenues, he said: “It’s not the single or multiple that really matters to me but whether the model leverages the growth of the Internet and the strengths of the Internet.” “It can have either premium subscription or advertising or app store or other kinds of business models.” Fifty billion connected devices App stores — online shops for small software applications that run anything from games to dictation tools to fitness aids on phones — have proliferated since Apple launched the original App Store for the iPhone in 2008. In the 18 months to January, consumers downloaded more than 3 billion iPhone applications, most of them free and the rest typically costing less than $1 each. Despite the low price, high volumes mean the market will grow to $6.8 billion in 2010, IT research firm Gartner predicts. The software creators, whether newspaper publishers or geeks in their garage at home, get a 70 percent revenue share from Apple. Sales of smartphones like the iPhone are forecast to grow by about 50% this year to 250 million units, compared with 20% growth to 366 million units for PCs. New mobile connected devices like Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and the soon-to-be-launched Apple iPad tablet computer, aimed at a market somewhere between laptops and smartphones, will also increase the scale of the opportunity. E-readers, still a nascent business, so far offer terms that publishers find friendlier than advertising-funded models. Hans Vestberg, chief executive of mobile equipment maker Ericsson, repeated his prediction this week that there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. “Mobile Web adoption is growing eight times faster than the first wave of PC Internet adoption,” Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt told the conference this week. “There may be some limits, but we’re not anywhere near them.” Aberrations In China, more than half the nation’s Internet users — who totalled 384 million by the end of last year — are already accessing the Web from a mobile device, and Lee told Reuters that would grow to 800 million in five years. China’s largest online retailer Taobao, part of leading e-commerce group Alibaba, plans to launch mobile phones preloaded with applications this year to bring more users to its online shops. And, unlike its US counterpart eBay, it does not charge sellers to list items for sale, but funds operations through advertising — although advertising will not be the answer to everything. Lee also gave the example of a Chinese browser, gaining in popularity, that removes all visuals and advertising from Web pages to cut the bandwidth needed by cost-conscious consumers. “These kinds of unusual aberrations will happen as a result of specific things that happen in each country, so if you want to develop your content for the whole world it’s important not to assume that the whole world is the same,” he said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 6:33 am Toyota to recruit 1,200 employees in FY 2010Nagoya: Toyota Motor Corp. said it plans to recruit 1,200 people for the 2010 business year starting in April, but will not hire clerical staff due to uncertain economic conditions. The figure represents a drop of more than 12% from fiscal 2009, when Toyota recruited 1,376 people including clerical staff. The planned recruitment is comparable with the level seen in fiscal 1994 after the collapse of the bubble economy, although conditions differ slightly each year depending on recruitment of mid-career employees. The Japanese auto giant is expecting to return to profit in the current financial year ending in March after logging a huge loss in the previous year, but it plans to stem personnel costs in the face of declining sales amid massive global recalls of its vehicles. The conservative recruitment plan of one of Japan’s largest manufacturers could impact other companies and exacerbate the already adverse conditions in the domestic job market. In fiscal 2009, Toyota recruited 143 clerical personnel, mainly graduates of two-year universities and professional school courses. For the next fiscal year, it is planning to hire a total of 460 administrative and engineering staff, falling below the 516 people recruited in fiscal 2009. It will recruit 240 people to enroll at a Toyota training academy for technical skills, topping the 213 people enrolled in fiscal 2009. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:49 am Samsung unveils world’s first 3D LED TV setsNew York: With the star power of hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas and Avatar director James Cameron, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics giant unveiled the world’s first 3D TV technology aimed at revolutionizing the home viewing experience. At a glitzy ceremony in New York’s Time Warner Centre on Wednesday, the leading consumer electronics maker announced the launch of a broad lineup of new sets, beginning with 46-inch and 55-inch C7000 models this month, showcasing the LED-lit TVs’ 3D picture quality with incredible depth and perfect clarity. Viewers are to wear electronic glasses that open and close rapidly in time, with images designed for the right and left eye, creating a three-dimensional effect. Samsung also announced the expansion of its strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation, the US maker of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and other hit movies to speed up the worldwide deployment of in-home 3D to mainstream consumers. This will include a first-time feature-length, 3D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks Animation’s 2009 release, Monsters vs Aliens. Growth of 3D has been slow because of a lack of programming, the need to wear special glasses and the higher prices of 3D sets, but the recent release of science fiction blockbuster Avatar, a 3D film by Titanic director Cameron, has renewed interest in the medium. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 3:36 am Lenovo aims for market-beating 2010 growthBeijing: Lenovo Group, the world’s No. 4 PC brand, said it expects revenue and shipments to grow faster than its competitors in 2010, helped by the global economic recovery and a strong showing in its home market, China. The company, which bought back its cellphone unit last year, was also aiming to become the Chinese market leader in that sector, chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. However, mobile communications would not make a meaningful contribution to the company’s bottom line for the next two years at least, as the company looked to grab market share from other established players, he said. “The (mobile communications) market is still in a preliminary stage of development, and compared to global players, we understand the Chinese market better,” Yang said. “We can also build better relationships with local distributors and retailors, which is our advantage.” Yang declined to give a forecast on shipment figures this year, but said he expects to grow in line or better than the overall market as China’s economy continues to strengthen and the effects of the global economic slowdown become less pronounced. The global PC market is expected to grow by more than 9% to about 310 million units in 2010, research firm IDC said, helped in part by a corporate refresh cycle brought about by Microsoft’s launch of its Windows 7 software in 2009. The move helped boost Lenovo shares in late afternoon trade, with the stock closing the session up 2.22%, beating the benchmark Hang Seng index’s flat performance. Lenovo will also look into expanding into providing software services and content as it pushes to expand its presence in the sector, Yang said. “What we want to focus on right now is the high-end smartphone market, netbooks, and tablet PCs. To do so, we need to provide our clients with web services and content,” Yang said. The move comes as bigger rivals such as Acer say they too want to enter the software services market, as they look to diversify away from the competitive and commoditised PC sector. Lenovo, like rivals Acer and Dell, joined a growing cast of traditional handset makers when it introduced a thin, touchscreen smartphone in January that runs on Google’s Android operating system. Most market research firms such as IDC and Gartner expect smartphones to outgrow their PC peers in 2010, leading to a flurry of new entrants into the sector once dominated by cellphone makers such as Nokia and HTC. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:59 am Lenovo aims for market-beating 2010 growthBeijing: Lenovo Group, the world’s No. 4 PC brand, said it expects revenue and shipments to grow faster than its competitors in 2010, helped by the global economic recovery and a strong showing in its home market, China. The company, which bought back its cellphone unit last year, was also aiming to become the Chinese market leader in that sector, chief executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. However, mobile communications would not make a meaningful contribution to the company’s bottom line for the next two years at least, as the company looked to grab market share from other established players, he said. “The (mobile communications) market is still in a preliminary stage of development, and compared to global players, we understand the Chinese market better,” Yang said. “We can also build better relationships with local distributors and retailors, which is our advantage.” Yang declined to give a forecast on shipment figures this year, but said he expects to grow in line or better than the overall market as China’s economy continues to strengthen and the effects of the global economic slowdown become less pronounced. The global PC market is expected to grow by more than 9% to about 310 million units in 2010, research firm IDC said, helped in part by a corporate refresh cycle brought about by Microsoft’s launch of its Windows 7 software in 2009. The move helped boost Lenovo shares in late afternoon trade, with the stock closing the session up 2.22%, beating the benchmark Hang Seng index’s flat performance. Lenovo will also look into expanding into providing software services and content as it pushes to expand its presence in the sector, Yang said. “What we want to focus on right now is the high-end smartphone market, netbooks, and tablet PCs. To do so, we need to provide our clients with web services and content,” Yang said. The move comes as bigger rivals such as Acer say they too want to enter the software services market, as they look to diversify away from the competitive and commoditised PC sector. Lenovo, like rivals Acer and Dell, joined a growing cast of traditional handset makers when it introduced a thin, touchscreen smartphone in January that runs on Google’s Android operating system. Most market research firms such as IDC and Gartner expect smartphones to outgrow their PC peers in 2010, leading to a flurry of new entrants into the sector once dominated by cellphone makers such as Nokia and HTC. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Mar 2010 | 2:59 am
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