|
|
|
|
Order book for construction biz stands at Rs 60K cr: LTLT has bagged an order worth Rs 1,017 crore. In an interview with CNBCTV18, KV Rangaswami, President Construction Member of Board, LT spoke about the new order and the road ahead for the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 8:09 am Godrej Prop to transfer 49% stake in unit to HDFC PMSGodrej Properties Ltd said on Wednesday it has entered into agreements to transfer 49% equity share in unit Godrej Sea View Properties Pvt Ltd to HDFC PMS for Rs 550 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:51 am Elcoteq unveils financing plans, ends Videocon talksFinnish electronics company Elcoteq SE unveiled moves to stabilise its finances alongside a steep fourthquarter loss, and said equity stake talks with Indian group Videocon had ended.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:44 am Reliance to tighten grip on world fuel marketsIndia\'s top privately run refiner Reliance is expected to raise crude oil imports by about 22% this year as it ramps up production at its giant complex, further stamping its mark on world marketsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:44 am Petrol, diesel rates to go up by Rs 0.50/litre from tonight!Petrol and diesel prices will go up by 50 paise a litre from tonight in 13 big cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, where cleaner Euro-IV grade fuel will be supplied from Thursday, a government official said.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:40 am Govt delays mobile number portability to end-June!The government has further delayed the introduction of mobile number portability to end-June, it said on Tuesday, as operators need to be ready for it by upgrading their networks.Source: Zee News : Business | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:40 am Bharti Airtel shares up on Zain but execution a challengeBharti Airtel now needs to work on getting regulatory clearances for its USD 9 billion deal to buy 15 African operations of Kuwaiti telecom Zain, and turning around the lossmaking assets would be its priority.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:17 am Ericsson wins $1.3 bn deal from Bharti AirtelEricsson said on Wednesday it had won a USD 1.3 billion network expansion contract from top Indian operator Bharti Airtel, the third major order for the Swedish firm in three daysSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:17 am Ambanis Problem of PlentyUnlike others in the oil business, Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani isnt running short of cash. The issue facing him is, how to use itSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:17 am Subhash Projects to start mining production next monthCivil engineering and industrial construction firm Subhash Projects might now foray into the mining space. Its Executive Director, Rishabh Sethi expects to start commercial mine production in Indonesia in the first quarter of financial year 2011.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 6:13 am Tube Invest to bear 50% of Murugappadeal cost: DBS CholaMA Alagappan, Chairman, Cholamandalam DBS said the JV was to get an expertise on personal loan as we were looking at that business then. \"But later the portfolios ran into problems and we stopped lending on personal loans in September 2008.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 5:28 am ITC Foods to raise prices by 78%As food inflation continues to remain high, food companies are no longer able to absorb price rise.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 5:00 am Should you invest in Bharti now? - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:50 am HDIL to invest in BKC Developers, to make it unitMUMBAI (Reuters) - Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd said on Wednesday its board has approved making investments in BKC Developers Pvt Ltd and making it a subsidiary company.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:45 am BA still plans to sign Iberia deal by end-MarchLONDON (Reuters) - British Airways is sticking to plans to sign a merger accord with Spanish airline Iberia by the end of March to create the world's third largest airline by revenue, a BA spokesman said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:41 am Harley-Davidson announces dealers, bike booking to start AprilIconic US cult bike maker Harley- Davidson today said it has appointed the first batch of five dealers in India as it looks to start bookings of bikes in the country by April.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:40 am Govt to raise fuel prices in major cities - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:40 am Over 110 nations back Copenhagen climate dealOSLO (Reuters) - More than 110 nations including top greenhouse gas emitters led by China and the United States back the non-binding Copenhagen Accord for combating climate change, according to a first formal U.N. list on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:38 am Elcoteq unveils financing, board moves; shares sinkHELSINKI (Reuters) - Loss-making Finnish electronics company Elcoteq unveiled a major financing and management shake-up and said on Wednesday a cash infusion from India's Videocon was off the table.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:35 am MNP delayed again by 3 months - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:32 am Govt to raise fuel prices in major citiesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will raise the prices of petrol by 1.1 percent from Thursday in major cities that will migrate to Euro IV-compliant fuel, a government official said, to help oil firms recover investment made for plant upgrade.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:29 am USFDA accepts Glenmark's NDA for pain killer - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:23 am SpiceJet promoters not interested in selling stakeKalanithi Maran, promoter of Sun TV is interested in buying a 51%t stake in the airline while Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Religare Enterprises have also shown interest.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:20 am Sony to sell liquid crystal display plant to KyoceraTokyo: Sony is to sell a Japanese factory that makes small liquid crystal displays to manufacturer Kyocera as it restructures in a bid to improve profitability after the global slump, the firms said on 31 March. Subsidiary Sony Mobile Display Corp. will sell the plant in Yasu, Western Japan, to Kyocera, with existing employment contracts assigned to Kyocera and employees transferred June 1, when the takeover commences. Sony bought the factory in 2005 for 118.5 billion yen ($200 million) from Taiwan’s Chi Mei Optoelectronics, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The price for the sale to Kyocera was not immediately known, but a statement from Sony said it had incurred a “loss on the fixed assets” as a result of the transaction. It added that “no material impact is anticipated on Sony’s consolidated financial results forecast for the current fiscal year”. Sony has been undergoing major restructuring -- including slashing jobs, selling facilities and turning to suppliers for parts -- after losing an estimated 70-95 billion yen due to falling demand amid the financial crisis. The electronics giant said the Kyocera deal would not affect its planned acquisition of “certain business assets” of Epson Imaging Device Corporation at its Tottori plant, also in Western Japan, due to be completed on 1 April. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:17 am Coal India targets output of 461.5 m T in 2010/11 - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:15 am Nifty volatile; NTPC, SAIL, HDFC, HDFC Bank, GAIL up - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:10 am Rupee edges up as exporters sell dollars - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 3:09 am Ericsson wins $1.3 bn Bharti Airtel deal - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:58 am Order book for construction biz stands at Rs 60K cr: L&T - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:55 am Airbus clinches $3.6 bn Malaysia orderParis: European planemaker Airbus won a plane order worth $3.6 billion at list prices from Malaysia Airlines, more than doubling its 2010 tally in a year where deals have so far proved scarce. Malaysia Airlines firmed up a memorandum of understanding for 15 A330-300 passenger aircraft and an additional order for two A330-200F freighters for operation by its MASkargo unit, Airbus said in a statement on Wednesday. These were the first firm orders for more lucrative widebody aircraft for Airbus so far this year. Previously it had only sold 11 of its A320 family of single-aisle aircraft. State-controlled Malaysia Airlines is modernising its fleet to capitalise on air travel growth in Asia. It said in December it would use the 283-seat A330s to serve the growing markets of South Asia, China, North Asia, Australia and the Middle East. “The ability to add capacity will enable us to offer more frequencies to key destinations and fly to new destinations,” Malaysia Airlines chief executive Azmil Zahruddin said in the Airbus statement, adding that it was “in high gear for growth”. The airline, which doubled net profit in 2009, said last week it would look at debt financing, possibly including corporate bonds, to fund its fleet renewal. It has also unveiled a one-for-one rights offering. Deliveries of the new A330 passenger aircraft will begin in the first half of 2011, with the first freighter joining the MASkargo fleet later next year, Airbus said. The initial agreement signed between Airbus and Malaysia Airlines late last year also included the option to buy another 10 A330s. Airbus posted a 66% drop in gross orders last year to 310 planes worth $34.9 billion at list prices. It said earlier this month it was targeting 250-300 new plane orders this year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:50 am Harley-Davidson announces dealers, bike booking to start AprilNew Delhi: Iconic US cult bike maker Harley- Davidson said on 31 March it has appointed the first batch of five dealers in India as it looks to start bookings of bikes in the country by April. The company will offer 12 models from its 2010 line-up. Bookings of the bikes will open on 20 April and deliveries will begin by June. The motorcycles will be priced between Rs6.95 lakh and Rs34.95 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). The cities covered under the dealerships are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Hyderabad, Harley Davidson said in a statement. “Today, I am delighted and proud to welcome on-board the first dealers in India to the Harley-Davidson family...Our aim is to create a strong network that will provide our customers a world-class Harley-Davidson ownership experience, and we are off to a great start,” Harley-Davidson India managing director Anoop Prakash said. The company said the appointed dealers will act as sole retailers for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, parts and accessories and apparels and will operate authorised service centres across the five cities in India. It had started the process of dealer selection since September last year and said the process received good response with over 100 applications being received. “The Harley-Davidson India dealerships are being designed to the company’s global standards and will reflect the essence of the brand, offering customers the opportunity to experience what riders across the world have experienced for over a century,” the company said. Harley-Davidson was first granted permission to start operations in India in 2007 but it had to hold back on its plans because of a crushing import duty of over 100%. It finally commenced operations in August 2009. All its bikes would be imported from the US facilities as completely built units (CBU). The company has globally 43 models. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:46 am Volkswagen launches Passat TSI in IndiaMumbai: Car-maker Volkswagen, Wednesday launched its Passat TSI model and the Jetta common rail diesel engine in India. The Passat 1.8 L TSI is priced at Rs19.20 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) while the Jetta 2.0 L diesel Comfortline is priced at Rs15.92 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). The Passat will now come with the TSI Petrol Engine. This engine from Volkswagen is known for maximum power with minimum fuel consumption, a company release said. TSI engines are compact, high-powered and use less fuel thereby offering an enjoyable and involving drive, while cutting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, the release said. “The Passat TSI and the Jetta common rail diesel engines are so well refined that not only will they provide superior driving experience but also decrease fuel consumption and lower emissions,” member of board and director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, Neeraj Garg, said. Volkswagen is largest car-maker in Europe and has a presence in 150 countries world-wide. Last month, the car-maker said it would scale-up production upto 1,10,000 units in the next three-years at its Chakan facility near Pune to serve Indian consumers. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:42 am Ericsson wins $1.3 bn deal from Bharti AirtelStockholm: Ericsson said on Wednesday it had won a $1.3 billion network expansion contract from top Indian operator Bharti Airtel, its third major order in three days, and its largest deal in eight months. Ericsson said it will expand and upgrade Bharti Airtel’s GSM network in 15 of India’s 22 telecom circles during 2010-2011. “In addition, Ericsson will ensure that Bharti Airtel’s core and transport network is 3G-ready in order to reduce time to market and enable the fast rollout of 3G services at a later date,” Ericsson said in a statement. Nokia’s NSN unit in February won a $700 million deal for the remaining circles. The deal boosted shares in Ericsson 0.8% to 74.70 crowns by 0810 GMT, outperforming slightly firmer European technology shares. “It is clear the deal on the screen helps to create a positive sentiment,” said analyst Hakan Wranne from Swedbank. The telecom equipment market has seen cut-throat competition for new business during the past few years, driven by Asian vendors, and the outlook remains tough. Ericsson, the world’s top mobile telecoms gear firm on Monday signed two deals with China’s top operators — a $1 billion deal with China Mobile and an $800 million contract with China Unicom. Ericsson’s last deal larger than $1.3 billion was an up to $5 billion services contract with Sprint, unveiled last July. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:36 am POLL - MFs see stocks rising; eye financials, energyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian shares, which touched a 25-month high on Monday, could rise further in the June quarter with financials and energy stocks finding favour among domestic fund managers, a Reuters poll showed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:35 am Right to Education law comes into force from ThursdayNew Delhi: A historic law making education a fundamental right of every child will come into force from Thursday, directly benefiting close to one crore children who do not go to schools at present. The importance attached to the legislation could be gauged from the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an unprecedented move will address the nation tomorrow highlighting the various aspects of the law. Nearly 92 lakh children, who have either dropped out from schools or have never been to any educational institution, will get elementary education as it will be binding on part of the local and state governments to ensure that all children in the six to 14 years age group get schooling. The law is coming into force after the Centre and states resolved all issues for its implementation and agreed to share of funds in the ratio of 55:45. Education became a fundamental right of every child in the age of six to 14 years through the 86th amendment by inserting a clause in the Constitution in 2002. Parliament passed the enabling law last year. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act has been notified with effect from Thursday. The Right To Education is being touted by the UPA government as another major achievement after Right To Information Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. At present, there are nearly 22 crore children in the relevant age group. However, 4.6% of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are out of school, a ministry official said. The Act makes it a right of every child to get education. The Act makes it obligatory for the appropriate governments to ensure that every child gets free elementary education. The Act mandates that even private educational institutions have to reserve 25% seats for children from weaker sections. The Finance Commission has provided Rs25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the Act. As per the government’s estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs1.71 trillion in the next five years for implementation of the Act. Certain schools have already challenged the law in the Supreme Court as being “unconstitutional” and violating fundamental rights of unaided private educational institutions. However, HRD minister Kapil Sibal has said that legal process would not affect the implementation of law. The school management committee or the local authority will identify the drop-out or out of school children above six years of age and admit them in classes appropriate to their age after giving special training. The provisions of the Act says no school can deny admission to a student and all schools need to have trained teachers. In case of schools not having trained teachers, they will have to comply with the provision within three years. As per the Act, the schools need to have certain minimum facilities like adequate teachers, playground and infrastructure. The government will evolve some mechanism to help marginalised schools comply with the provisions of the Act. Through the 86th Amendment, the Article 21(A) was inserted in the Constitution providing for free and compulsory education to all children in the 6-14 age group in such manner as the state may, by law, determine. The amendment requires a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his ward between the age of 6 and 14 years. The government has already prepared model rules which have been circulated to the states for preparing their own rules for implementation of the Act. The Centre has also prepared separate rules for the Union Territories which will be notified by the Law Ministry tomorrow. As per the Model rules, the local bodies and the state governments will undertake household surveys and neighbourhood school mapping to ensure that all children are sent to school. The rules say that the state governments or local authorities will determine the neighbourhood schools by undertaking school mapping. Such agencies shall ensure that no child is subjected to caste, class, religious or gender abuse in the school. The local authority will conduct a household survey and maintain a record of all children in its jurisdiction. The record will contain detailed information about the child and the parents and will specify whether the child belongs to the weaker section or disadvantaged group or having any disability. The state government or local authorities will identify children with disabilities and children from disadvantaged groups every year. Unaided and private schools shall ensure that children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups shall not be segregated from the other children in the classrooms nor shall their classes be held at places and timings different from the classes held for the other children. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:34 am Ericsson wins $1.3 bln deal in IndiaSTOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ericsson said on Wednesday it had won a $1.3 billion network expansion contract from top Indian operator Bharti Airtel, its third major order in three days, and its largest deal in eight months.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:33 am SpiceJet promoters not interested in selling stake - directorMUMBAI (Reuters) - Promoters and larger shareholders of budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd are not interested in selling stake at current valuations, Ajay Singh, director, said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:27 am Oil prices mixed ahead of US energy reserves reportOil prices were mixed in Asian trade ahead of the release of a widely monitored US energy reserves report, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:25 am World stocks steady, set for 4th quarterly riseLONDON (Reuters) - World equities ticked down on Wednesday though they were headed for their fourth consecutive quarterly rise, while the dollar hit a three-month high against the yen and the Australian dollar fell.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:14 am Bank of Ireland makes 9-month loss of $2 billionBank of Ireland on Wednesday reported a loss of €1.47 billion ($2 billion) for the final nine months of 2009 as it booked impairment charges of just over euro 4 billion on bad loans.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:11 am Rupee edges up as exporters sell dollarsMumbai: The Indian rupee edged higher in afternoon trade on Wednesday on dollar sales by exporters to take advantage of the higher exchange rate, while buying by oil firms and importers to meet month-end demand also subsided. At 1:45pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.01/02 per dollar, stronger than Rs45.08/09 at close on Tuesday. It rose as much as 44.88 at the last session, its strongest since 10 September, 2008. Over the next 12 months the rupee is expected to climb as buoyant growth in the Indian economy attracts foreign inflows, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Shares were trading up 0.2% with software companies leading the gains after a steep fall in the previous session. The index of the dollar against six major currencies which was up earlier in the day, also turned negative and was down 0.1%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at Rs45.07, weaker than 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 at Rs45.08 and Rs45.1075 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $4.1 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:11 am India poised to overtake China’s growth rate: ChidambaramMumbai: Having shrugged off the impact of the global economic crisis, India appears poised to overtake China’s high growth rate in the next ten years, feels home minister P Chidambaram. “While the last decade was remarkable and exciting, this decade will be more exciting for India. There is more possibility that India could overtake China’s growth rates,” he said at a Business Standard-organised function on Tuesday night. China, the world’s sixth largest economy, has recorded an average 9% growth over the last two decades, while India has seen growth touch 9% only in the three years till 2007-08. But the global financial crisis ate into this progress and growth slipped to 6.7% in 2008-09. The Planning Commission, at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month, scaled down India’s growth target for the 11th five-year plan period (2007-12) to 8.1% from the previously estimated 9%. “We are young and will continue to grow...corporate India will continue to grow in the current decade. The young CEOs and executives must help to take India to the next level,” Chidambaram said. The minister’s confidence also stems from the fact that Foreign Direct Investment inflows — key to growth — have been increasing rapidly, although they slowed during 2008-09 at the height of the financial crisis. Chidambaram also said that India “will become a part of the United Nations Security Council in this decade” and added that there was a urgent need to make India a secure place so that the country’s economic growth remained unblocked. “There was a fear...but it is over. We are marching ahead to compete with others in every aspect,” he said. Chidambaram said human resources will not be a burden for India in this decade--rather they will count as assets. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:03 am Mutual funds see stocks rising; eye financials, energy: pollNew Delhi: Indian shares, which touched a 25-month high on Monday, could rise further in the June quarter with financials and energy stocks finding favour among domestic fund managers, a Reuters poll showed. Five of the nine respondents to a Reuters Asset Allocation Poll conducted between 23 March and 30 March said India’s benchmark stock index could rise further in the next three months. Two said the index could rise more than 5%. Foreign funds have pumped around $3.9 billion in Indian shares this year, most of it in March, helping the BSE Sensex rise by about 7% in the current month. “The (FII) flows are too strong, there is risk appetite and the concerns regarding sovereign debt are not so high,” said David Pezarkar, head of equity at Shinsei’s Indian mutual fund unit. “There will be bouts - but I don’t think that is going to change the underlying trend.” Five fund managers said the BSE Sensex, which currently trades at one-year forward price to earnings multiple of around 17 times, is fairly valued, while three said it was overvalued. Four fund managers said they would decrease the cash levels in their portfolios, whereas three said they would sell equities. Overall, nearly 7% of assets under India’s equity diversified funds were held as cash at February end, data from fund tracker ICRA Online showed. Though five managers are of the view that market would continue its northward journey, some believe it could fall in the next quarter. A further rise in the equity markets could give way to profit booking opportunities, Tridib Pathak, director equity at IDFC Asset Management, said. Sectoral picks Most fund managers are optimistic about the financial services space, which accounted for 18% of diversified equity fund assets in February, their biggest sectoral bet. Six respondents said they would scale up exposure in the sector while two said they would maintain their current exposure. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised markets by raising its key lending and borrowing rates by 25 bps on 19 March. However, bankers said last week that Indian banks see stable lending rates and profits in the near term despite RBI’s recent move. The energy sector, which is the second most preferred space, would also be in focus with five fund managers looking at further increasing their allocation. A recovering Indian economy might also prompt money managers to raise exposure to basic engineering sector, which controlled more than one tenth of diversified equity assets in February. Five fund managers said they would increase investments in the sector while four would retain exposure, the poll showed. Three of the poll respondents said they would increase their allocation to shares of construction companies, while four said they would maintain their holdings. If targets have to be met, the country would require accelerated spending on infrastructure, which should benefit the construction space, said Sanjay Sinha, chief executive at L&T Mutual Fund. “The outlook for the 12th Five Year Plan to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure is an even bigger space,” he added. However, autos, consumer non-durables and healthcare stocks could face some selling pressure in the next three months, the poll showed. Balanced fund managers, those who invest in both stocks and bonds, are also looking at reducing their allocation to cash. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:01 am Obama, Sarkozy push for UN sanctions against IranWashington: With the president of France at his side, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday he hopes to have international sanctions against Iran in place “within weeks,” not months, because of its continuing nuclear program. He acknowledged he still lacks full support at the United Nations. “Do we have unanimity in the international community? Not yet,” Obama said. “And that’s something that we have to work on.” Obama said he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are “inseparable” in their thinking on the subject. For his part, Sarkozy told reporters, “Iran cannot continue its mad race” toward acquiring nuclear weapons. “The time has come to take decisions,” Sarkozy said. Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, not nuclear weapons. On the UN Security Council, veto-holding permanent members Russia and China have expressed reservations toward a tougher set of sanctions, as have several of the rotating members who do not have veto powers. Obama said he understands that countries that have business ties with Iran, especially those who depend on Iran for oil, might have reservations. Still, Obama said that, while “the door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk though it,” there have been no signs that they are close to moving back from their nuclear program, and patience has all but run out. “My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring. So I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks.” Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton predicted new sanctions would be forthcoming, hinting that skeptical nations such as China and Russia eventually would come along. At the conclusion of an international meeting of eight major powers in Quebec, Clinton cited a growing alarm around the world about the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran. A senior French official said after the White House meeting that major Western players, including France, are ready to consider unilateral sanctions if they cannot get a strong enough U.N. resolution passed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the French president’s office rules. Obama said he and the French president discussed a wide range of global issues, including the financial regulatory overhaul and peace negotiations in the Middle East. Sarkozy also said he stands with the United States in condemning recent Israeli settlement activity in east Jerusalem. While his own commitment to Israel’s security is well known, Sarkozy said, the settlement activity in lands claimed by the Palestinians “contributes nothing.” Sarkozy praised Obama for trying to engage the two sides in peace talks. Sarkozy said that the “absence of peace” in the region “is a problem for all of us” that feeds terrorism around the world. On a touchy subject, Sarkozy was asked about a widespread European contention that a $35 billion contract to build refueling tankers for the US Air Force was rigged to favor US aerospace giant Boeing Co. over an alliance of the parent of Europe’s Airbus, EADS and the US company Northrop Grumman. This month, EADS and Northrop Grumman withdrew from the bidding. Sarkozy said, however, he trusts Obama’s assurance that any new bidding would be “free, fair and transparent” and said that under those conditions, EADS would bid on the contract. For his part, Obama reiterated that while “the process will be free and fair,” the final decision would be made by defense secretary Robert Gates. Obama hailed France as one of the United States’ oldest and best allies, noting the two countries have fought together on battlefields from Yorktown in the US Revolutionary War to Afghanistan now. However, the two have had clear differences on Afghanistan, with the Obama administration pressing France as well as other European nations to send more troops, and Sarkozy largely resisting such requests. Obama did not go into Tuesday’s meeting intending to urge Sarkozy to send more troops, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said ahead of the meeting. “There’s no specific ‘ask’ on the table,” Gibbs said at his daily news briefing. Instead of troops, France is ready to consider sending more military or police trainers to Afghanistan, according to the French official. He would not elaborate on how many could go or when, saying only, “There is no deadline. There is the certitude that there is a need for trainers.” The two presidents discussed the possibility of training Afghan forces outside Afghanistan because infrastructure there is so poor, the official said. Instead of troops, Obama will seek more French military or police trainers, according to two Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the presidential discussions were private. French trainers have been among those killed in Afghanistan this year, and polls show most French voters do not support the effort. Both presidents went to extraordinary lengths to defuse trans-Atlantic speculation of a chilly relationship. Obama repeatedly referred to Sarkozy by his first name and spoke fondly of his trip to Paris last year. “We respect one another and understand one another,” Obama said. The private dinner invitation also was a gesture rarely extended to foreign leaders. Just a day earlier in New York, Sarkozy spoke bluntly about the US role in foreign affairs, saying the world needed an America that listens. Yet when asked directly whether he thinks Obama listens to him, Sarkozy offered a long defense of his relationship with Obama. He called it candid and productive. “President Obama, when he says something, keeps his word,” Sarkozy said. “His word is his bond. And that is so important.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 2:00 am Govt borrowing in the first half is quite large: NomuraNew Delhi: Financial services firm Nomura said on 31 March the government’s decision to borrow Rs2.87 lakh crore during the first half of 2010-11 is quite large, although bond markets were expecting higher mop-up. “In our view, even as the borrowing calendar has surprised markets positively ... the absolute amount of borrowing remains large,” Nomura said in a statement. The markets were expecting the government to borrow around Rs3 lakh crore during April-September 2010, out of total Rs4.57 lakh crore pegged for the entire fiscal. The government generally borrows more in the first half to keep resources available for corporates in the second half, when the requirements for credit goes up due to busy season, including festivals. Next fiscal, however, the government will be borrowing only 63% of its total requirement in the first half against 73% this fiscal. The government is expected to borrow more in the second half next fiscal compared to this fiscal because it believes that with global financial meltdown ebbing, corporates would have more room to raise money overseas even in the busy season. While the government remained silent about RBI’s buying and selling government securities through open market operations (OMO), Nomura said the central bank could be prompted to buy back the bonds to prevent yields from rising too sharply. “We believe that the implicit tightening of monetary policy through rising long-term rates will likely prompt the RBI to buy back government bonds during the year to prevent yields from rising too sharply,” Nomura said. Even then, the yields will rise in a 10-year government paper from 7.76% now to 8.5% in the first half of next fiscal. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:54 am RBI may raise key rates to check inflation: CitiNew Delhi: With inflation spreading to non-food items, the Reserve Bank is likely to further tighten its monetary stance in its forthcoming annual policy, which may jack up interest rates, Citigroup said. “With inflation getting a bit more generalised, we expect the RBI to raise rates once again in its policy on 20 April with a minimum additional 100 bps (one per cent) this year,” Citigroup Global Markets report said. The probable RBI move will pressure interest rates to rise. “We expect (interest) rate structure to remain high,” the report added. The Reserve Bank recently raised the repo and the reverse-repo (short-term lending and borrowing) rates by 25 basis points to 5% and 3.5%, respectively, to contain inflation. Bankers had said they will wait for RBI’s annual monetary policy to decide on hiking interest rates. Even as food inflation has been moderating, it is spreading to non-food items. As such, overall inflation rate soared to 9.89% in February and is expected to cross the double-digit mark next month. Food inflation, which was nearly 20% in December, has moderated to around 16-17 per cent. RBI had earlier projected inflation to be 8.5 per cent by end of the current fiscal. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:47 am Gail to invest Rs6,000 cr on 1,000 km pipelines in FY’11Manesar: As part of plans to meet its target under the 11th Five-Year Plan of adding 5,000 km pipelines by 2013, state-run Gail (India) will invest about Rs6,000 crore in the next fiscal. The company, which has earmarked a total of Rs28,000 crore for the five-year period, will lay 1,000 km of natural gas pipelines across the country in 2010-11. “Next year we will lay and commission 1,000 km of pipelines at an investment of about Rs 6,000 crore and this is our total capex,” Gail (India) chairman and MD B C Tripathi said. The company has commissioned 600 km of pipelines during the current fiscal under a capital expenditure plan of about Rs4,500 crore. “Currently over 1,500 km of pipelines are under construction in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and some other states... We have a target to lay 1,000-1,500 kilometre of pipelines every year,” Tripathi said. After completion of its expansion programme in 2013, the company’s total gas transportation capacity will more than double from the existing of about 160 MMSCMD. It currently owns and operates about 7,200 km of pipelines. The company on Tuesday started supplying natural gas to the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India’s (MSI) Manesar plant. As per the agreement with MSI, Gail will supply 0.33 MMSCMD of R-LNG at the rate of $5.8 per mmBtu under a 10-year contract. MSI is the first customer of Gail’s newly commissioned Chainsa-Jhajjar-Hissar pipeline, which has been constructed at an investment of Rs450 crore. “So far we have signed 18 customers in Gurgaon-Neemrana- Manesar industrial area and all will be connected by April 15,” Tripathi said, adding its customers include DLF, Honda and Kajaria Ceramics. When asked about its performance this fiscal, Tripathi said the company will maintain a growth of 10-13% in its turnover. In 2008-09, Gail recorded a turnover of Rs23,776 crore. He said the company is expecting its total subsidy burden during 2009-10 to touch Rs1,200 crore, including Rs400 crore in the fourth quarter. Asked about its plans to purchase a cargo ship, Tripathi said, “We are thinking of buying one LNG cargo around June- July but it will depend on the demand from the customers. The capacity of the cargo will be around 80 MMSCMD.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:40 am Petrol, diesel rates to rise up to Rs 0.50/litre from tonightPetrol and diesel prices will go up by Rs 0.50 a litre from midnight on Wednesday in 13 big cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, where cleaner Euro-IV grade fuel will be supplied from tomorrow, a government official said today.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:33 am Elcoteq unveils financing plans, ends Videocon talksThe company said it had agreed with lenders to extend a 100 million ($135 million) revolving credit facility by 14 months to end-June 2011, and also planned a rights issue later this year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:29 am No PAN? Get reday to shell out 20% tax from tomorrowThe tax deducted at source, or TDS, could be as high as 20% for those not quoting PAN against the regular rate of 2%-10%. Even non-residents, having just one-off transaction with Indian parties, will have to obtain PAN.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:26 am Tata Motors converts $345 million bonds to sharesThe company had said last week that it was offering an early conversion of bonds into stock through an auction to help reduce the debt on its balance sheet.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:25 am Ericsson wins $1.3 billion deal in IndiaEricsson said it will expand and upgrade Bharti Airtel's GSM network in 15 of India's 22 telecom circles.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:21 am Reliance to tighten grip on world fuel marketsNew Delhi/Singapore: India’s top privately run refiner Reliance is expected to raise crude oil imports by about 22% this year as it ramps up production at its giant complex, further stamping its mark on world markets. To maximise profit margins with its sophisticated refining capability, Reliance Industries is also set to limit African crude imports this year in favour of Middle East grades, if light crude prices continue to strengthen against heavy-sour grades, traders and analysts said. “I expect Reliance refineries to run at full steam, even if in between there is a small shutdown, they can easily run at about 65 million tonnes,” said a trader familiar with refining operations. Reliance declined comment on traders’ estimates. This means that the company’s two refineries -- the largest facility in the world -- will run above their full combined capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day (bpd), higher than last year when its second plant began operating at full rate in the second half. After the world first saw increasing flows from Reliance in the summer of 2008, with the start of its new 580,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) plant, this year will see the full blast of exports of high-value diesel and gasoline made from a diverse slate of the cheapest available crudes. This will put pressure on weak Western refineries and arbitrage traders at a time oil demand is just starting to pick up, but is still in defensive mode, analysts said. “It’s a powerful refinery, and if they get the right logistics, they can probably penetrate Western markets, gain market share and push some out of the market entirely,” said John Vautrain, senior vice president of Purvin & Gertz Inc. DIVERSITY OF CRUDE The refiner’s 2009 crude shipments from Africa including Egypt and Sudan rose more than fivefold to over 200,000 bpd, making the continent its No. 2 supplier, overtaking Latin America. This is in line with a 74% jump in total imports. It bought crudes as varied as Cameroon’s Lokele, Chad’s Doba, Venezuela’s Corocoro, and China’s Penglai, while resuming Iraqi crude imports that it shunned in 2006. Reliance for the first time imported Gimboa crude from Angola, which positioned itself as the fourth-biggest supplier, surpassing Venezuela. It also took crude from Gabon, Ivory Coast, Congo, Colombia, Ecuador, Syria and Yemen into its roaster. Though Middle East crude remains Reliance’s main staple, OPEC supply cuts in end-2008 -- around the time the refiner started its new plant -- prompted it to turn to African crude to make up for the gap when Gulf grades became costlier last year. This was made possible after the Brent-Dubai price spread, an approximation of the premium at which Atlantic basin light-sweet crude trades to Gulf heavy-sour grades, reversed into steep discounts three times last year, making some West African crudes cheaper, traders said. The structure has returned to normal this year. The front-month Brent/Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps (EFS) for May rose to $2.50 a barrel on 18 March, the highest since OPEC producers began record supply curbs. Though the EFS has since eased to about $1.68, its premium continues to make Middle East crude attractive to Indian refiners, traders said. “I believe they will definitely try to process more Middle East heavy crude because we do not expect light-heavy differentials to maintain at these levels,” said Sushant Gupta, a senior analyst with energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. “They are expected to widen from current levels and Reliance will go back to its old strategy of processing heavier crudes and discounted crude so that they can get the advantage of complexity of their refineries,” he said, adding that Reliance might also be buying some of the lighter grades to blend with heavy crudes. MIDEAST CRUDE REGAINS LOST GROUND Last year the share of Middle East crude in relation to Reliance’s overall imports declined to 63.3% from 75.3% in 2008, though overall shipments from the Gulf rose almost 46%. “If everything remains as it is, Reliance’s imports from the Middle East will be slightly higher than last year, and its dependence on tough Latin Amrican crude is also likely to grow, limiting the African imports to about 15 percent of total crude intake,” the trading source said. At a time of slow global demand during the deepest recession of the postwar era, Reliance still managed to obtain refining margins of $5.90 a barrel in the December quarter of fiscal 2009, as it diversified its crude sources and markets for its products. Though these almost halved the year-earlier levels, they exceeded market estimates and outperformed average Asian complex refining margins of $3.50 over the past year, and Reliance’s chief financial officer said the firm expected better refining margins in 2010. Analysts also forecast margins to improve this year on the rebounding global economy, which is expected to stir moribund fuel demand, and on Reliance’s ability to capitalise on its crude processing flexibility. Traders and analysts estimate Reliance’s margins to range between $7 and $10 a barrel, as its new export-focused plant can produce premium fuels to meet tighter Western standards. Reliance has already stepped up fuel exports to Africa, the Middle East and Asia, while venturing further into the United States. The focus on developing countries is crucial as the International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised forecasts for global oil demand based on growth in emerging markets, even as demand in Europe will weaken. “What benefits the refinery the most is when it runs heavy, sour, cheap low-quality crude and produces almost nothing but gasoline, jet fuel and diesel,” Vautrain said. “This is a year when Reliance will make good progress because the market is not in freefall anymore, now it is somewhat easier. Having low freight rates is favourable to them.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:14 am Mantri Realty to set up SEZ at NagpurThe SEZ to be set up in Nagpur by Sunil Mantri Realty will have a rental as low as Rs16 per sq ft while for long-lease, it would be Rs1,600.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 1:06 am Sun Life CEO gives up bonus, compensation slashedSun Life reported quarterly profit in February that was below analyst expectations, even though it was double the year-earlier figure.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:56 am Oil prices mixed ahead of US energy reserves reportNew York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was down six cents to $82.31 a barrel.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:54 am Geely to leapfrog into China luxury market with VolvoGeely hopes to use its takeover of Volvo to crack China's fast-growing luxury car market and vault into global contention using the Swedish brand's cutting-edge technology, analysts say. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:47 am Reliance to tighten grip on world fuel marketsNEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India's top privately run refiner Reliance is expected to raise crude oil imports by about 22 percent this year as it ramps up production at its giant complex, further stamping its mark on world markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:45 am Sensex sheds 57 points on sellingErasing early gains, the Bombay Stock Exchange Benchmark Sensex fell by over 57 points in late morning trade today on profit-booking by speculators at higher levels.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:34 am Ericsson wins $1.3bn Airtel deal to expand networkEricsson said on Wednesday it had won a $1.3 billion network expansion contract from top Indian operator Bharti Airtel , the third major order for the Swedish firm in three days.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:32 am Raheja Universal plans $188.5 mn IPO, say sources Mumbai: Indian real estate firm Raheja Universal plans to raise about Rs850 crore ($188.5 million) through an initial public offering of shares, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday. The Mumbai-based firm has filed initial papers with the stock market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, said one source, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Raheja joins other property firms such as Godrej Properties and DB Realty, which have listed this year. Shares of Developer DB Realty, which fell on debut, did not attract much retail interest though the issue was almost thrice covered on strong demand from institutions. Godrej Properties, which rose by a fifth on debut, also saw poor retail demand for its offering in January. Other real estate IPOs in the offing include those of Lodha Developers, Oberoi Realty, Neptune Developers, BPTP and Nitesh Estates. Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Kotak and Enam Securities are the arrangers to the Raheja deal. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:21 am India offers stakes in petrochemical plants to KuwaitMoving beyond supplier-buyer relationship, India has offered Kuwait a stake in ONGC's Rs 12,440-crore petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat and Indian Oil Corps proposed chemical unit at Paradip.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:18 am Tube Invest to bear 50% of Murugappa-deal cost: DBS Chola - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:13 am Bharti shares up on Zain but execution a challengeNew Delhi / Mumbai: Bharti Airtel now needs to work on getting regulatory clearances for its $9 billion deal to buy 15 African operations of Kuwaiti telecom Zain, and turning around the loss-making assets would be its priority. The acquisition, which would help Bharti become the world’s No. 5 wireless firm by subscribers with presence in 18 countries, also comes with tough financial and management challenges for the Indian mobile market leader already battling a highly-competitive home turf. “A big challenge is streamlining operations across all these countries with limited resource availability,” said Kamlesh Bhatia, principal analyst at research firm Gartner. “They also have to turn the company around in the fastest time possible.” Bharti shares rose as much as 2.7% on Wednesday morning after the company signed definitive agreements with Zain late on Tuesday. At 10.50 a.m., the shares were trading 1.3% up in a Mumbai market that was down 0.1%. The deal would give Bharti 42 million subscribers in 15 African countries, which have a combined estimated annual revenue of $3.6 billion, but are currently making losses. “The main challenge for Bharti lies in raising revenues and adding subscribers as Zain has been losing both in some of the countries,” said Amit Ahire, analyst with Ambit Capital. Also, issues in Gabon and Nigeria are examples of what Bharti is going to face in a new continent. The government of the small central African nation of Gabon weighed in on Monday against the deal, saying Zain Gabon had not complied with regulations and that it reserved the right to take “all necessary measures”. Minority ownership of Zain’s operations in Nigeria, the biggest market in the deal, is also in dispute. “Gabon is a very small market and in most cases regulators can always be dealt with. But Nigeria is a bigger stumbling block, because it is a key market and shareholders are always tricker to deal with,” said Gartner’s Bhatia. Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal has said the company would work with regulators and expected “tremendous support” in countries including Gabon. Bharti would also talk to the minority shareholders in Zain Nigeria. Bharti is paying $9 billion in cash to Zain, what many regard as a full price, and after assumption of $1.7 billion of debt on the target firm’s books, the deal is valued at around 10 times EBITDA, more than Bharti’s own valuations. Bharti has secured debt of up to $8.5 billion from a clutch of lenders to fund the deal and may have to spend more to expand the networks, which analysts say have been under-invested for years. And adding to that would be spending for next month’s 3G spectrum auction in India, which analysts estimate could cost a firm up to $2 billion just for the licence. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:02 am Govt to review Reliance's gas allocation from KG basinThe Government intends to review the allocation of Reliance's gas produced from the Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin D6 field. It could re-fix allocation as per the amounts drawn so far by theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Forster made MD of Tata MotorsMr.Carl-Peter Forster will take over as Managing Director and Group CEO of Tata Motors from April 1. This follows a decision by the Board of Directors onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Will India benefit from the West's standoff with China?The past couple of weeks haven't been pretty for China's reputation abroad – firstly the news that search engine giant Google was shutting its China Web search site and routing inquiries through Hong Kong, while the 10-year sentence givenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am StanChart files for IDR issue to raise over $500 millionStandard Chartered PLC on Tuesday filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the SEBI for its Indian Depository ReceiptsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideNote: In a buy recommendation, the resistances would be the targets and the nearest support would be the stop loss; In a sell recommendation, the supports would be the targets and the nearest resistance would be the stop loss; The recommendationSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am United Phosphorus (Rs 148): SellThe stock's medium-term uptrend that started in March 2009 low of Rs 71 prolonged until it encountered a significant resistance at Rs 185 in August 2009. However, the stock failed to surpass this resistance and is in a medium term down trendSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Murugappa group buys out DBS in NBFC ventureThe Murugappa group is to buy back its partner, the Singapore-based DBS Bank's entire 37.48 per cent stake in their joint venture, Chola DBS Finance, for Rs 376Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am IDR issue signals ‘commitment' to IndiaStandard Chartered Bank PLC, the first entity to go in for an Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) issue in India, filed the prospectus with SEBI on Tuesday. Mr Neeraj Swaroop, Regional Chief Executive, India and South Asia, spoke to Business Line,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am New pricing policy brings cheer to Indian iron ore companiesThe stock price of Sesa Goa has shot up 5 per cent in the last two weeks and that of NMDC, which was trading at below its FPO price in the BSE on Monday, went up by 3.5 per cent in Tuesday's tradingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Auto sector seeks more supply of BS-IV fuelWith the Bharat Stage-IV road map in place from April 1, the automobile industry is seeking additional fuel supplies at retail outlets located up to 250 km beyond the 13 stipulatedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 31 Mar 2010 | 12:00 am Bharti shares open strong after Zain Africa dealThe shares of India's top telecom company Bharti Airtel opened strong on bourses in Mumbai on Wednesday, a day after it sealed a $10.7 billion deal to acquire the African assets of Kuwait's Zain. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:59 pm Markets turn negative on weak AsiaMumbai: Indian shares, which seem on course to post their fifth straight quarterly rise with a modest gain, were trading up 0.1% in seesaw trade on Wednesday morning. Top mobile operator Bharti Airtel led the gains. Bharti Airtel rose as much as 2.7% after it clinched a deal late Tuesday to buy most of the African operations of Kuwait’s Zain for $9 billion. “Africa is the next region set for industrial growth. It is all about getting hold of an asset when an opportunity arises,” said Sandeep Sabharwal, CEO of portfolio management services at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. “Bharti’s Zain assets buy is similar to Tata’s move to acquire Corus, Jaguar and Land Rover,” he said, adding, concerns of crowding in the domestic market and price wars will continue to weigh on Bharti’s margins in the near term. The stock pared some of the early gains and was up 1.6% at Rs315.80. By 10:43am, the 30-share BSE index was trading up 0.09% at 17,605.40, with 17 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index were barely changed at 5,261.95 points. The benchmark is up 0.8% so far this year, and is up around 7% in March. It is up 81% in the fiscal year to March. Foreign funds have poured in around $4 billion in Indian stocks this year, most of which came in the current month. “For the next quarter, the factors within India look decent, but it remains to be seen how things pan out globally,” said Sanjeev Patkar, director of research at Almondz Global. Patkar expects banking and pharmaceutical stocks to lead the market in the April-June quarter. The BSE IT index was up 0.5% after declining 4.5% in the previous three sessions. “IT stocks should be stable in the next quarter. If the rupee appreciates, the companies are well placed to manage the scene,” said Patkar. “They now have the ability to manage prices better and also there is better visibility of order flow,” he added. Sector leader Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.2% while rivals Infosys Technologies and Wipro were up 0.7% and 1% respectively. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, dropped 0.9%. Financials edged higher on promising long-term outlook. Top lender State Bank of India and private lender HDFC Bank rose 0.7%. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.8:1 in a volume of 89 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:53 pm Zain to distribute majority of Bharti payment as dividendNew Delhi: In a major cash bonanza for its shareholders to celebrate sale of its African assets, Kuwaiti telecom major Zain on Wednesday announced that it will distribute “a large proportion” of upfront payment from Bharti as dividend. Zain on Wednesday announced signing definitive agreement for sale of 100% stake in its African business, excluding Morocco and Sudan, to Bharti Airtel for $10.7 billion. After repayment of a $4 billion debt, Zain would distribute a majority of the upfront proceeds from the sale as dividend among its shareholders, the company said in a statement from Amsterdam. The deal involves payment of $8.3 billion immediately upon closing of the deal and $700 million to be paid one year after closing. Besides, Bharti Airtel will assume $1.7 billion of consolidated debt obligations. “Subject to shareholder approval, the size of available distributable reserves and the repayment of the $4 billion Revolving Credit Facility, Zain intends to distribute a large proportion of the upfront net proceeds to shareholders in the form of dividends,” Zain said. “The transaction is expected to close as soon as reasonably practicable subject to the satisfaction of certain approvals,” it added. Commenting on the transaction, Mr Asaad Al Banwan, chairman, Zain Group, said: “This transaction crystallises the significant value we have created for our shareholders over the last 5 years.” Zain Group CEO Nabeel Bin Salamah said: “The transaction allows Zain to focus on its highly cash generative operations in the Middle East and to substantially improve its balance sheet. We are excited about the growth prospects of the Middle East and we believe Zain is well positioned to capture this opportunity.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:36 pm Mittal thanks SingTel for ‘support’New Delhi: Telecom major Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal on Wednesday thanked partner SingTel for extending the much-needed “support” for sealing the $10.7-billion takeover of Kuwaiti telecom giant Zain’s African business. “The extremely tight time lines and the enormity of the task posed a real challenge. Bharti was able to achieve this important milestone through much hard work and support from SingTel and the external advisors,” Bharti Airtel chairman and managing director Sunil Mittal said after signing the deal in Amsterdam. Mittal also thanked “all the team members” involved in the landmark deal which makes Bharti the world’s fifth largest mobile operator in terms of subscriber base and second largest in terms of population covered by its services. SingTel holds 31% stake as a co-promoter in India-listed Bharti Airtel and therefore its support is critical to any major M&A deal by the company. After announcing the deal, Mittal said SingTel has been very supportive of the deal from the beginning “ whenever we require resources for our Africant operations, SingTel has exptertise in international operations, will never hesitate. Representatives of the Singapore based telecom giant have been present in almost all the board meetings discussing the transaction. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:29 pm Oil above $82, heads for 5th straight quarterly gainSingapore: Oil, steady above $82 on Wednesday, was headed for its fifth consecutive quarterly gain as recovering demand outweighs ample supplies and concern over monetary tightening in leading economies. “What will support the oil market from a fundamental point of view will be demand growth,” said John Vautrain, senior vice president of Purvin & Gertz Inc in Singapore. “By and large Asia is pretty good. There are islands of weakness and a sea of strength.” Front-month crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have gained almost 4% since 31 December, 2009, trading at $82.30 a barrel at 10:!5am, down 7 cents from Tuesday. Brent crude for May declined 13 cents to $81.15 in London. Prices traded as low as $69.50 this quarter in February, having touched $83.95 a barrel in January, the highest since October 2008 at the peak of the financial crisis. That range of less than $15 is much more stable than the wide price swings of the previous two years. Implied volatility for US crude is now at its lowest level since prices surged to a record $147.27 a barrel on 11 July, 2008, before plummeting to $32.40 in December of that year. Officials from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) on Tuesday appeared undecided on how to respond if oil prices rose definitively above the $70-80 a barrel range they have praised this month. Some major consumers at the biannual International Energy Forum (IEF) being held in Cancun, Mexico this week agreed with Opec members’ claims that a price of $70-80 price was good for both sides, providing sufficient revenues for producers and incentives to build new projects, but not so high as to choke off growth in importing nations. The IEF aims to produce a statement when the meeting concludes on Wednesday outlining measures to minimize oil price volatility, including steps to increase market transparency. US oil demand in the past few weeks has posted its first year-on-year gains in 18 months, while Chinese imports are surging, reflecting sustained growth for the world’s top two oil users. And oil-product inventories in the US have been shrinking. Stockpiles of distillate fuels including heating oil and diesel decreased by 1 million barrels last week to 147.5 million barrels, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday. Gasoline stocks dropped by 946,000 barrels, falling to 223.2 million barrels, the API said. Crude supplies rose 421,000 barrels, compared with a Reuters survey forecasting an average increase of 2.4 million barrels. Weekly government statistics from the Energy Information Administration will follow later on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei average briefly hit an 18-month high on Wednesday, with further gains expected in the new quarter as the global economic recovery picks up strength. US non-farm payrolls probably increased in March, boosted by temporary census hiring and a snapback from February’s weather-related losses, a Reuters survey showed ahead of Friday’s key report. This would mark only the second time payrolls have increased since the recession started in December 2007. “The central banks have flooded the market with liquidity. Unemployment growth in the US has tapered off, equity markets have stabilised and all this money floating around pushes up the price of commodities,” Vautrain said. US stocks ticked higher on Tuesday as optimistic data prompted the view the economy is stabilising. Consumer confidence rebounded in March while a closely watched housing index showed home prices rose in January for the eighth straight month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:09 pm Sensex down by 57 points on sellingErasing early gains, the Bombay Stock Exchange Benchmark Sensex fell by over 57 points in late morning trade on Wednesday on profit-booking by speculators at higher levels. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:05 pm Petrol, diesel rates to go up by Rs 0.50/litre from tonightPetrol and diesel prices will go up by Rs 0.50 a litre from midnight tonight in 13 big cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, where cleaner Euro-IV grade fuel will be supplied from tomorrow, a government official said today.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:04 pm Rupee falls by 3 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee depreciated by 3 paise to 45.12 a dollar in early trade due to demand for the US currency from importers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Mar 2010 | 10:23 pm Sensex opens higher by 110 ptsThe wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty moved up by 31.45 points, or 0.59%, to 5,293.90 points.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Mar 2010 | 10:21 pm Asia shares dip; Nikkei hits 18-month highTokyo: Japanese shares rose to 18-month highs on Wednesday, continuing to eclipse their peers elsewhere in Asia, as a rebound in US consumer confidence boosted hopes that a global economic recovery will prove to be sustainable. Japanese stocks have climbed around 8% in the January-March quarter, outperforming a roughly 2% gain in the rest of Asia-Pacific, as measured by MSCI indexes. That puts the performance of Tokyo shares on a par with those in Indonesia, which have been the top performer in MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index so far this year. Healthy buying by foreign investors has supported both Indonesian and Japanese equities this quarter and further gains are expected in the coming months, with Jakarta shares seen buoyed by strong economic growth and improving corporate earnings giving a boost to Tokyo shares. “Improvement in the global economy and world stock markets -- the Dow is nearly back at the level it was when Lehman collapsed -- will mean still further improvement in the Nikkei over the April-June quarter,” said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, group manager at SMBC Friend Securities. “Investor sentiment is likely to improve still more from April, when we have things like the Bank of Japan’s tankan survey (of business sentiment.) We (the Nikkei) may try 12,000 in April.” In Japan, the Nikkei share average rose 0.3% and hit an 18-month intraday just below 11,140 on Wednesday. The Nikkei has climbed 5.5% in the January-March quarter. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index dipped 0.2%. Data on Tuesday showed US consumer confidence rebounded in March and U.S. home prices rose in January for the eighth straight month. Steady buying by overseas investors, who were underweight Japanese equities last year, has contributed to the rally this quarter. Foreign investors have bought a net 1.9 trillion yen ($20.48 billion) worth of Japanese shares so far in 2010, according to government data. All of the world’s major stock indexes are expected to finish the year higher than current levels, Reuters polls showed in mid-March. Emerging stock markets are again expected to easily outpace their rich world counterparts despite stumbling early in the year. The S&P 500 could gain 10% over all of 2010, outperforming its rivals in Europe which are being dogged by worries about high debt levels in Greece and other parts of the euro zone. Indonesia’s index has already climbed more than 10% this quarter, nearing a record high set in January 2008. “Indonesia has emerged as the next growth story, supported by strong macro indicators, a large domestic market and rising per capita income,” Salman Ali at Citi Investment Research said in a recent research note. “Investor expectations are that economic growth will move up from 5.5-6% to 7-8%, approaching the levels of India/China.” The Australian dollar fell after retail sales there surprised by falling a steep 1.4% in February, more than unwinding January’s jump and casting doubt on market expectations for an increase in interest rates next week. The yen fell and hit a three-month low against the dollar as short-term players unwound yen long positions before the Easter holidays. The dollar rose 0.5% to ¥93.23, having trimmed some gains after rising to ¥93.35 on trading platform EBS, its highest since early January. The euro held steady at $1.3408. Oil prices were little changed at $82.34 per barrel, while gold ticked higher to $1,106.20 an ounce. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 9:50 pm India to witness 'exponential' computer growth: OfficialIndia is about to witness an explosion in the spread of personal computers and Internet connectivity, visiting Minister of State for IT and Communications Sachin Pilot said on Tuesday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 8:22 pm Journalists in China say Yahoo accounts hackedYahoo e-mail accounts belonging to foreign journalists appeared to have been hacked and Google's Chinese search engine was intermittently blocked, the latest troubles in China's heavily censored Internet market. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 8:01 pm From April 1, pay more for driving on toll roadsAs per revised toll notifications issued by NHAI for about two dozen sections of national highways, the increase in toll rate per km for the year 2010-11 is approximately double than the average increase in the past two years.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Mar 2010 | 4:21 pm India is No. 2 in mobile Net useFew takers for smartphones, majority use cheaper handsets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Mar 2010 | 4:01 pm Coal India mulls joint venture with Rio Tinto and PeabodyMinistry revoking licenses of firms not mining in allocated mines; coal block allocation to changeSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Mar 2010 | 3:17 pm Bharti signs $10.7bn deal for Zain Africa opsBharti Airtel, on Tuesday, entered into a legally binding definitive agreement with Zain Group to acquire Zain Africa BV based on an enterprise valuation of $10.7 billion.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Mar 2010 | 2:05 pm Bharti throws price gauntlet at AfricaBharti's agreement with the Zain group to acquire the latter's Africa operations could well set the cat among the pigeons.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Mar 2010 | 2:04 pm Permanent seat at Security Council this decade: ChidambaramHome Minister P Chidambaram today said India would be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in the current decade.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 1:11 pm Govt to woo retail investorsUp to 10% discount likely in all future divestment issues.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 1:10 pm Bharti becomes 2nd largest telco in terms of coverage: MittalAfter inking the landmark deal with Kuwait-based Zain Telecom, Sunil Mittal today said that the Indian operator has become the second largest telco in terms of coverage of population.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 12:08 pm Ulips getting popular in tier II & III citiesWith life insurance companies shifting their focus in selling insurance in tier II and III cities, the Unit Linked Insurance plans (Ulips) are also fast gaining popularity there, reports Falaknaaz Syed.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Mar 2010 | 11:37 am Atom smasher breaks high-energy recordsGeneva: Scientists smashed sub-atomic particles into each other with record energy on Tuesday, to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang that gave rise to the universe 13.7 billion years ago. The experiment at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) drew applause from the 80 scientists in the tracking room at the sprawling research complex on the French-Swiss border.  Powering ahead: Scientists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research near Geneva celebrate after they collided protons at record power. AFP The collisions, the high point so far of the 10 billion Swiss franc (about Rs42,400 crore) experiment, which will continue for years, marked a significant step forward for physics and could be seen as a giant leap for mankind, he said, speaking in a video relay from Tokyo. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s biggest machine, slammed beams of particles together at a record collision energy of 7 tera-electron volts (TeV), or seven billion billion electron volts—three and a half times faster than previously achieved in a particle accelerator. Data from the collisions over the coming years will be analysed by thousands of scientists around the world linked by a computer network known as the Grid to gain insights into the nature of matter and the origins of stars and planets. “This is a step into the unknown...We hope we find things that are really new,” said CERN research director Sergio Bertolucci. “There are known unknowns out there, like dark matter and new dimensions about which we hope to learn. But it is possible that we will find some unknown unknowns which could be hugely important for mankind. With the LHC, we have the tool that we need.” The collisions took place at a nano-fraction of a second slower than the speed of light in the LHC’s 27km tunnel about 100m below ground. CERN scientists expect the project to lift the veil on some of the mysteries of the cosmos—how matter was converted to mass after the fireball of the Big Bang and what is the dark, or invisible, matter that makes up an estimated 25% of the universe. “In the course of 2010 and 2011 we will be compiling the data and we expect to make real discoveries,” said Oliver Buchmueller, one of the key figures in the experiment. “By the end of 2010 we think we will find evidence of dark material and confirmation that it is there and what it is.” Buchmueller said he thought the experiment would only find the theoretical particle known as the Higgs boson after 2013, when the collider is boosted to collision energy of 14 TeV. The Higgs boson, named after the Scottish physicist who proposed it three decades ago to explain the origin of mass in the universe, is believed to have made possible the emergence of stars, planets and eventually life from the matter spewed out of the Big Bang. The experiment was delayed for a few hours by technical glitches with the power supply and an over-sensitive magnet safety system. CERN officials were quick to dismiss any suggestion that it was a repeat of a major incident in September 2008 that had seriously damaged parts of the experiment and delayed the full launch of the project. Satyaki Bhattacharya, who is part of a contingent of Indian scientists participating in experiments at CERN, said the collisions are expected to add to new information on the origin and structure of matter. “We are already getting good data and this is expected to continue for the next 18 months. So we are on our way to realising the potential of these experiments.” The accelerator will be shut after 18 months and undergo further modification to be able to smash particles at even higher energy levels. Bhattacharya, a professor in Delhi University’s physics department, is part of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, a subsidiary experiment at CERN. At CMS, scientists are expected, among other things, to collect evidence of dark matter, believed to make up nearly 26% of the universe. India, which has contributed $25 million worth of equipment, has representation from several of its institutions, including the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Mint’s Jacob P. Koshy in New Delhi contributed to this story. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 10:44 am Atom smasher breaks high-energy recordsGeneva: Scientists smashed sub-atomic particles into each other with record energy on Tuesday, to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang that gave rise to the universe 13.7 billion years ago. The experiment at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) drew applause from the 80 scientists in the tracking room at the sprawling research complex on the French-Swiss border. “It just shows what we can do in pushing knowledge forward on where we came from, how the early universe evolved,” CERN director-general Rolf Heuer said. The collisions, the high point so far of the 10 billion Swiss franc (about Rs42,400 crore) experiment, which will continue for years, marked a significant step forward for physics and could be seen as a giant leap for mankind, he said, speaking in a video relay from Tokyo.  Powering ahead: Scientists at the European Centre for Nuclear Research near Geneva celebrate after they collided protons at record power.AFP Data from the collisions over the coming years will be analysed by thousands of scientists around the world linked by a computer network known as the Grid to gain insights into the nature of matter and the origins of stars and planets. “This is a step into the unknown...We hope we find things that are really new,” said CERN research director Sergio Bertolucci. “There are known unknowns out there, like dark matter and new dimensions about which we hope to learn. But it is possible that we will find some unknown unknowns which could be hugely important for mankind. With the LHC, we have the tool that we need.” The collisions took place at a nano-fraction of a second slower than the speed of light in the LHC’s 27km tunnel about 100m below ground. CERN scientists expect the project to lift the veil on some of the mysteries of the cosmos—how matter was converted to mass after the fireball of the Big Bang and what is the dark, or invisible, matter that makes up an estimated 25% of the universe. “In the course of 2010 and 2011 we will be compiling the data and we expect to make real discoveries,” said Oliver Buchmueller, one of the key figures in the experiment. “By the end of 2010 we think we will find evidence of dark material and confirmation that it is there and what it is.” Buchmueller said he thought the experiment would only find the theoretical particle known as the Higgs boson after 2013, when the collider is boosted to collision energy of 14 TeV. The Higgs boson, named after the Scottish physicist who proposed it three decades ago to explain the origin of mass in the universe, is believed to have made possible the emergence of stars, planets and eventually life from the matter spewed out of the Big Bang. The experiment was delayed for a few hours by technical glitches with the power supply and an over-sensitive magnet safety system. CERN officials were quick to dismiss any suggestion that it was a repeat of a major incident in September 2008 that had seriously damaged parts of the experiment and delayed the full launch of the project. Satyaki Bhattacharya, who is part of a contingent of Indian scientists participating in experiments at CERN, said the collisions are expected to add to new information on the origin and structure of matter. “We are already getting good data and this is expected to continue for the next 18 months. So we are on our way to realising the potential of these experiments.” The accelerator will be shut after 18 months and undergo further modification to be able to smash particles at even higher energy levels. Bhattacharya, a professor in Delhi University’s physics department, is part of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, a subsidiary experiment at CERN. At CMS, scientists are expected, among other things, to collect evidence of dark matter, believed to make up nearly 26% of the universe. India, which has contributed $25 million worth of equipment, has representation from several of its institutions, including the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Mint’s Jacob P. Koshy in New Delhi contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 9:45 am RBS fined 28.59 mn pounds for breaching competition lawLondon: Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has been fined £28.59 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for breaching competition laws by some of its employees, who handed over price sensitive information to a rival. The fine has been reduced from £33.6 million as RBS itself admitted to breach of competition law between October 2007 and March 2008 and agreed to cooperate with OFT, the UK’s consumer and competition regulating authority. “The agreement follows an OFT investigation which found that individuals in RBS’ Professional Practices Coverage Team had unilaterally disclosed generic as well as specific confidential future pricing information to their counterparts at Barclays Bank,” the OFT said in a statement. The OFT also found evidence that the information was taken into account by Barclays in determining its own pricing. The matter was brought to attention by Barclays under the OFT’s leniency policy, where a company which is the first to report its participation in an infringement may qualify for immunity from penalties. Thus, Barclays is not expected to pay a fine in this case, provided it continues to cooperate, it added. “Any company that discloses confidential future pricing information to its competitors risks a substantial penalty. It is important that companies operating in the UK understand the seriousness of such conduct and ensure effective competition compliance throughout their organisation,” OFT Senior Director of Cartels and Criminal Enforcement Ali Nikpay said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 9:18 am Geely to plow further $900 million into VolvoBeijing: Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group expects to spend hundreds of millions of dollars beyond the $1.8 billion purchase price for Volvo Cars to make the Swedish car company profitable, Geely’s chairman said on 30 March. Geely is projecting a total tab of $2.7 billion for its takeover of Volvo, with money beyond the purchase price to be spent on expanding production, chairman Li Shufu told reporters. Li said three quarters of the new financing would come from Chinese banks and overseas capital markets while the rest would come from Geely. In studying Volvo, Geely found the company had high research and development costs but made cars on a much smaller scale than high-end rivals Daimler AG and BMW AG, said Li. “We will find a way to let Volvo’s technology play a better role and to expand their scale in order to lower the costs,” Li said. Geely’s acquisition of Volvo from Ford Motor Co. has been heralded as breakthrough deal for China’s auto industry, giving one of its most ambitious automakers a well-known, prestigious global brand and access to top-tier technology. Li said Geely would not seek to impose its own corporate culture on Volvo but rather find ways to let the Swedish company exploit its strengths. “Geely is Geely, Volvo is Volvo. Geely will not produce Volvo, and Volvo will not produce Geely,” Li said. He compared Geely’s and Volvo’s relationship to two brothers, not to a father and son. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Mar 2010 | 4:53 am
|
