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Western forecasts signal good monsoon in India - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:35 am Bolivia tells Jindal to stick to contract or goBolivia warned India's steelmaker Jindal to stick to terms of a multibillion-dollar contract it signed to develop the El Mutun iron deposit or withdraw from the project.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:32 am Twitter chases first revenue with ad serviceMicroblogging service Twitter introduced a new advertising program on Tuesday, in a first step to prove that its popularity among web users can translate into a self-sustaining business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:23 am Iran's Entekhab wins bid for S.Korea Daewoo ElecSEOUL (Reuters) - Iranian appliance maker Entekhab Industrial Group has been named as the buyer for South Korea's Daewoo Electronics in a deal reportedly worth more than $540 million, beating Swedish giant Electrolux.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:22 am POLL - Nokia Q1 EPS seen up 50 pct at 0.15 eurosHELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia is expected to report a 50 percent rise in underlying first-quarter earnings per share as economic recovery boosts demand, a Reuters poll of 43 analysts showed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:22 am CII seeks RBI's intervention in currency marketsThe Reserve Bank of India should intervene in the currency market to stabilise the appreciating rupee that is threatening to derail the nascent recovery in exports, the CII said on Wednesday. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:16 am Storm in West Bengal, Bihar leaves 60 deadRaigunj/Purnia/Kishangunj: At least 60 people were killed and over two hundred injured when a severe storm with a windspeed of 125 kmph ripped through North Dinajpur district in West Bengal and four neighbouring districts of Bihar. Thirty-one people were killed and one hundred injured when the storm tore through four blocks of North Dinajpur district at midnight last night, official sources said. North Dinajpur additional district magistrate P.K. Dutta said 18 deaths occurred in Karandighi block and eight in Raiganj, while three people were also killed at Hemtabad and two others at Kaliaganj. Over 100 persons who were injured have been hospitalised. West Bengal civil defence minister Srikumar Mukherjee said that the storm had a windspeed of 125 kmph. Around 50,000 dwellings were destroyed rendering hundreds of people homeless in the district while the police barracks in Raiganj was razed. Reports from Araria and Purnia in Bihar, quoting official sources, said at least 29 people were killed and 125 injured in several blocks in four districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul and Purnia bordering West Bengal. Araria alone accounted for 19 deaths, while six persons died in Purnia and two each in Supaul and Kishanganj districts, officials said. Thousands of trees were uprooted affecting traffic and the National Highway 34 was blocked for several hours, the minister said. The storm struck when the people had retired for the night and the casualties were high because most of the houses that were razed were built with mud. The ADM said the toll might rise as detailed information was not immediately available from the far-flung areas. In Araria district of Bihar, which was worst-affected, the storm devastated Jokihat, Forbesganj and Araria blocks where telecommunication failed and trees and houses collapsed, sources said. Bihar Disaster Management department principal secretary Vyasji said chief minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs1.50 lakh to next of kin of each of the deceased, besides ordering construction of pucca houses under the Indira Awas Yojana and food-grains. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:15 am Lilliput to dilute more stake to raise funds for expansionNew Delhi: Kidswear maker and retailer Lilliput on Wednesday said the company will further sell stake to raise funds to finance its planned expansions as it aims to double turnover to Rs800 crore by 2011-12. Promoter Sanjeev Narula and private equity player Everstone Capital had on Tuesday agreed to sell a combined stake of 31% in the company to Bain Capital, raising around Rs270 crore, thus putting the total valuation of the firm to around Rs870 crore. “We are in talks with two more players and something will be finalised within the next couple of days,” Lilliput Kidswear Ltd managing director Sanjeev Narula told PTI. While he did not comment on the present details, Narula said after the final share sale, he will continue to hold at least 55% stake and remain the chief promoter. He said the stake sale has been undertaken to raise funds to finance its expansion plans. “We are looking at an aggressive expansion of our chains. Our aim is to almost double our turnover to Rs800 crore by 2011-12, from Rs415 crore last fiscal,” Narula said. Regarding the purchase of 31% stake by Bain Capital, Narula said, “Bain Capital will pick up 31% stake in our company, including some share from one of the shareholders, Everstone. They will pay around Rs270 crore under the deal.” Bain Capital has expertise in various retail ventures in the US market and Narula said Lilliput wants to capitalise on it. Lilliput will invest the amount secured from the stake sale to fund expansion plan, including opening 18 new stores of its large-format chain ‘Lilliput World’ by the end of this year. Currently it has only one store, located in the Capital. Lilliput currently operates 235 regular format stores in India, and another 30 outlets in nine foreign countries, which specialises in apparels. “We will open 18 more large format outlets which will sell our entire range including apparels, ethnic wear, toys and baby care items across the country this year. In addition, we will also expand our regular format by adding 40 outlets in 2010,” Narula said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:13 am Tata Communications launches Trueroots service in Singapore, Hong Kong, France and GermanyTata Communications has announced that residents of Singapore, Hong Kong, France and Germany can now call their loved ones using the Trueroots International Calling Service.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 3:00 am Export-Import Bank sets guidance on bonds - sourceHONG KONG (Reuters) - State-owned Export-Import Bank of India is seeking a yield of around 200 basis points (bps) against comparable U.S. Treasuries for its planned 5-year dollar bonds, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:58 am Infosys IT Inc's biggest paymaster in 2009 - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:56 am ANALYSIS - China fuel price hike won't brake scorching demandBEIJING (Reuters) - China's most recent hike in fuel prices is not enough to boost inflation or dent demand from the country's massive auto market, meaning its refineries will continue to run at full tilt as margins have been lifted.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:51 am UBS CEO tells shareholders outflows to continueBASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Oswald Gruebel, the chief executive of UBS, expects the Swiss bank will continue to haemorrhage clients, though less client money jumped ship in the first quarter.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:45 am Master of all tradesGet set now to usher in the future — Ducati-style. The Italian manufacturer has for long designed flamboyant-looking motorcycles and the 2010 model Multistrada 1200 proves that they haven’t taken a break.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:43 am GLOBAL MARKETS - Intel boost stocks, weakens dollarLONDON (Reuters) - Equities rose on Wednesday, pushed higher by expectation-beating results from chipmaker Intel, a bullish mood that also rolled into currencies, weakening the dollar.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:43 am Ride in E-ClassMercedes Benz India has unveiled the new Mercedes E-Class Coupé. The two-door E-Coupe has a distinctive sporty design, with its lean build and fully retractable side windows.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:39 am Limited edition AudiAudi has announced a special price for the Audi Q7 4.2 TDI quattro — the latest and more powerful diesel version of the SUV.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:36 am European shares rise; Intel result boosts tech stocksLondon: European shares bounced back in early trade on Wednesday, with technology shares advancing after strong results from Intel, the world’s top chip maker, but banks eased ahead of results from JPMorgan Chase. At 0757 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3% at 1,101.26 points after falling 0.3% in the previous session. The index, which has jumped 70% since a record low in March 2009, traded near its 18-month highs of 1,105.08 hit on Monday. Technology shares gained ground, with the STOXX Europe 600 tech index rising 1%. Infineon, Nokia, STMicroelectronics , Logitech and Aixtron climbed 0.8 to 2.8%. Dutch chip equipment maker ASML gained 1.6% after it said first-quarter orders beat even the most optimistic expectations. It expressed confidence in a prolonged recovery of the chip industry. ASML results came a day after Intel’s sales and margin forecasts trounced Wall Street expectations, reinforcing hopes for an acceleration in the tech sector’s recovery. “Intel smashed market expectations -- further evidence of a strong rebound in technology which has been boosted by capital expenditure from businesses and product launches at (the) retail level,” said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth. Banks gave up early gains and turned negative as investors traded cautiously ahead of results from JPMorgan later in the session. HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Commerzbank fell 0.2 to 1.1%. “We have got some big companies reporting over the course of the next couple of days and that’s rally going to determine where markets go from here, but so far so good in terms of reporting season,” Potts said. Other big US companies to announce results this week include Google, Bank of America and General Electric. Risk appetite rises Investor appetite for risky assets such as equities rose, with the VDAX-NEW volatility index falling 1.9% to two-week lows. The lower the index, which is based on sell and buy options on Frankfurt’s top-30 stocks, the higher the market’s desire to take risk. Energy shares rose as crude oil climbed to trade above $84 a barrel, ending a five-session losing streak, with rising stock markets and a weaker dollar offsetting an industry report showing gains in US inventories of every fuel category. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil, Repsol, Total and StatoilHydro added 0.2 to 1%. Among individual stocks, cash-rich Dutch supermarket group Ahold NV rose 0.7%. It is mulling a roll out of its successful Albert Heijn chain into Belgium as it looks for ways to bolster its growth, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all up 0.4%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:26 am Done dealThere are car deals and then there are the deals you just shouldn’t miss. Our experts pick out the best bargains for you.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:24 am The best family carI drive a Maruti 800 but am planning to upgrade to a higher model within a Rs 7—8 lakh budget.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:18 am An E-Class actIn spite of being priced cheaper than the Mercedes E350, the newest E250 manages to flaunt class with great elan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:12 am Infosys bags three-year Microsoft outsourcing dealIndia's Infosys Technologies has bagged a three-year IT outsourcing deal with technology giant Microsoft that covers 104 countries.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 2:05 am Four wheeled wondersRub elbows with the Figo, Swift, Ritz and Vista as they battle it out for the top spot in a clash of the hatches.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:57 am Oil rises above $84, breaking 5-day losing streakSingapore: Oil prices rose above $84 a barrel Wednesday in Asia, breaking a five-day slide, as rising global stock markets boosted crude investor optimism. Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 17 cents to $84.22 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 29 cents to settle at $84.05 on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose to a fresh 18-month high Tuesday. And after Intel Corp. reported better-than-expected earnings late Tuesday, most Asian stock indices were higher Wednesday. Oil traders often look to equities as a barometer of overall investor sentiment. “This market does not yet appear poised to fully decouple from the financial markets,” Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. It said sustained lower oil prices “could remain elusive as long as the stock market continues claw its way up into new high territory.” A report saying US gasoline supplies rose unexpectedly last week, which suggests demand remains weak, helped weigh on crude prices. Gasoline inventories rose last week by 1.6 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Analysts had expected a fall of 1.3 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Inventories of crude and distillates also rose, the API said. The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday. In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil was steady at $2.214 a gallon, and gasoline fell 0.59 cent to $2.303 a gallon. Natural gas fell 3.8 cents to $4.122 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was down 3 cents at $84.69 on the ICE futures exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:55 am Oil rebounds, stays above $84New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, climbed 34 cents to $84.39 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for May also was up 18 cents to $84.90.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:52 am Morgan Stanley fund may lose $5.4 billion: ReportThe $5.4 billion loss would be the biggest in the history of private equity real estate investing, according to the The Wall Street Journal.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:51 am Countdown begins for rocket launch with Indian cryo engine - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:42 am Asian stocks in Intel-led rally, forex liftedHong Kong: Asian stocks rode the rally in the technology sector trigerred by bellwether Intel Corp’s street-beating earnings and regional currencies rose after Singapore’s aggressive monetary tightening triggered speculation it heralded a yuan revaluation. The tech-heavy markets in South Korea and Taiwan got a leg-up after the world’s top chipmaker Intel unveiled sales and margin forecasts that trounced Wall Street expectations. Taiwan’s TAIEX index finished 0.8% higher. The South Korean KOSPI rose 1.45% to a 22-month closing high, with Moody’s upgrade for the sovereign rating helping add to the tech-inspired gains. European stocks followed their Asian counterparts higher with Germany’s DAX, Britains’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 all opening about 0.5% higher. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average rose 0.4% moving away from two-week lows as chip-linked exporters led the gains, although corporate earnings ahead moderated some of the optimism. “We are entering a sweet spot for equities and from a policy perspective central banks are going to be supportive,” said Mark Konyn, who oversees about $11 billion as Asia-Pacific chief executive of RCM, a unit of Allianz Global Investors. “Earnings have been strong, investors are returning to take in more risk because markets in the region have not advanced in line with earnings -- the valuations seem a little more resaonable,” he said. By late afternoon, the MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan was up 1.2% with the technology index the biggest gainer rising 1.6%. Dariusz Kowalczyk chief investment strategist at SJS Markets said the Intel news reinforced the markets’ belief the global economy is recovering at a very fast pace and this was supporting risk appetite trades across asset classes. A host of Asian currencies posted big gains after Singapore’s central bank recentered its dollar policy band upwards and switched to a policy of modest and gradual appreciation for the currency. The move, effectively a revaluation of the Singapore dollar, boosted the currency to a 20 month high of 1.3776 and triggered a rally in other Asian currencies amid widely held expectations that China will revalue the yuan. All Asian currencies, besides the yen and the yuan, rose posting gains of between 0.1% and 1% after the move which came on the heels of data that showed the city-state’s economy expanded at a record pace and faster than expected. “It’s not just a Singapore story. It’s Asia doing extremely well against the rest of the world. Singapore’s data today confirms it,” said Endre Pedersen, executive director of fixed income at MFC Global, who helps manage about $15 billion in Asian fixed income. That shift in central focus to inflation from growth in Singapore renewed expectations Beijing will allow its yuan to rise to contain inflationary pressures in an accelerating economy. Given the close links markets in Singapore have in relation to China, the Chinese central bank could take a cue from the MAS and move the currency to address rising prices as well, HSBC currency strategist Perry Kojodjojo said. “We think the initial stage of inflation is positive for Asian fx as it could mean central banks here will allow appr eciation to combat rising prices,” Kojodjojo said. This gave a leg-up especially to Asian currencies considered proxy trades for the yuan including the Malaysian ringgit and the South Korean won The growth-linked Australian dollar rose 0.3% following the Singapore central bank’s move which came after data showed the economy expanded a stronger-than-expected 13.1% in the first quarter of 2010 from a year earlier. The low-yielding yen, however, suffered losses as demand for riskier assets picked up on hopes of better earnings from the tech sector. The currency fell most against the Aussie dollar which rose 0.4% against the yen. The euro, which is still enjoying a rebound stemming from short-covering after a rescue package for Greece at the weekend, rose 0.3% to $1.3654. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:38 am March gold imports up nearly 6-times y-o-yNew Delhi: India’s March gold imports jumped nearly six times from a year ago, a trade body head said, as pent-up demand and steady prices since January revived purchases by the world’s largest consumer of the precious metal. Gold imports in March rose to 27.7 tonnes against 4.8 tonnes a year ago, Suresh Hundia, president of the Bombay Bullion Association (BBA) said on Wednesday. “Prices are down from the all-time highs we saw last year and that is why people are buying,” Hundia told Reuters. In 2009, the worst year in more than a decade for gold sales in India, gold imports were at 339.8 tonnes, down from 420 tonnes a year ago, data from the BBA showed. Record high gold prices throughout last year coupled with worst monsoon in nearly four decades and worries over the pace of economic recovery following the global financial crisis reduced the appetite for the metal in 2009, the industry members said. A brighter economic outlook and softer local prices owing to firmer rupee against the US dollar have regained buying interest, they added. Gold plays an important role in social and religious ceremonies in India. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:33 am Australia shares hit 19-mth high; eye 5,000 levelAustralian shares rose 0.9 per cent to a 19-month high on Wednesday, after US bellwether Intel posted better-than-expected earnings, boosting hopes for US profits, and local banking stocks rallied.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:26 am Daimler sees sales, revenue increasing in 2010Berlin: German car company Daimler AG has reaffirmed its revenue forecast for this year and says it expects increases in sales and revenue. Chief executive Dieter Zetsche told shareholders at its annual meeting Wednesday that Daimler plans to grow sales at about double the rate of the global car market in 2010. The company reaffirmed the outlook delivered in February. It said it expects unit sales and revenue to increase “but that they will still be significantly lower than the good levels of 2008.” Daimler forecast earnings before interest and tax from ongoing business operations of €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion). Zetsche said a platform-sharing partnership with Renault and Nissan is an important step toward a “highly efficient business system.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:26 am Daimler sees sales, revenue increasing in 2010Berlin: German car company Daimler AG has reaffirmed its revenue forecast for this year and says it expects increases in sales and revenue. Chief executive Dieter Zetsche told shareholders at its annual meeting Wednesday that Daimler plans to grow sales at about double the rate of the global car market in 2010. The company reaffirmed the outlook delivered in February. It said it expects unit sales and revenue to increase “but that they will still be significantly lower than the good levels of 2008.” Daimler forecast earnings before interest and tax from ongoing business operations of €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion). Zetsche said a platform-sharing partnership with Renault and Nissan is an important step toward a “highly efficient business system.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:26 am AIG unit raises $2 bn in aircraft sale to MacquarieSydney: The aircraft leasing unit of bailed-out insurer American International Group has agreed to sell 53 passenger jets to Australia’s Macquarie Group to raise a much-needed $2 billion in cash. International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), a top customer of Boeing and Airbus, said on Wednesday it was selling the aircraft for below their book value of $2.3 billion. The deal follows AIG’s failed efforts to offload the entire ILFC business as part of a global asset sale programme to pay back the US taxpayer after a $182.3 billion bailout during the height of the financial crisis. For Macquarie Group, the deal hoists it to the top of the second tier of aircraft leasing with a total fleet of 186, prompting investors to suggest it will look to expand further and capitalise on the recovering Asia Pacific air travel market. “We see this as a good acquisition given the price, above average credit quality as called out by the company and the scalable nature of the business,” Citigroup analyst Wes Nason said. He said the deal would eat up about $200 million of the group’s surplus capital of $4.2 billion. “For them it makes sense to have self-sufficient, large divisions. The deal could mean they are open for expansion,” said Angus Gluskie, a portfolio manager at White Funds Management. Switch to Sales AIG tried selling the ILFC business but a mountain of debt at ILFC and the challenge to meet its ongoing funding requirements amid tough capital markets meant a deal was not reached. Instead it switched to aircraft sales to fund the unit and had said last month that it was looking to sell aircraft for up to $3.5 billion. ILFC founder Steven Udvar-Hazy, who effectively invented the business of aircraft leasing, left the firm in February after failing to buy a portfolio of planes for about $4 billion. Formed in 1973, ILFC was bought by AIG for $1.3 billion in 1990. As part of AIG, ILFC for many years enjoyed easy funding, but its access dried up as its parent was brought to its knees by the financial crisis in September of 2008. “ILFCs ability to accomplish significant aircraft sales, together with recent successes in the financial markets, strongly demonstrates ILFCs ability to generate liquidity and de-lever its balance sheet,” chief executive Alan Lund said in a statement. Surplus Macquarie By contrast, investment bank Macquarie is using the global downturn to pick up assets on the cheap. It said the deal would not make a major dent in its capital surplus, sparking the talk of further aircraft purchases. A Macquarie spokeswoman declined to say anything beyond the statement, citing a blackout period ahead of its profit results. The deal expands Macquarie’s aircraft portfolio by 40%, but it remains far away from the big league dominated by ILFC and General Electric’s GE Commercial Aviation. AIG’s chief executive Robert Benmosche said ILFC and AIG are confident in the long term potential for the business and its leadership in the market. Macquarie said the planes acquired from ILFC comprised young aircraft on lease to 35 airlines in 27 countries. The weighted average age of the fleet was less than four years and the average remaining lease term was more than five years. Of the 53 planes acquired, Macquarie would buy 47 aircraft outright for $1.67 billion in cash and transfer the rights to buy the remaining six to sister company Macquarie AirFinance Ltd, which is 37.5% owned by Macquarie. Macquarie’s corporate and asset finance division already has loans and leases under management of A$13.8 billion, it said. Macquarie shares were 0.9% higher at A$50.45 in late trade in line with the benchmark index. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:21 am AIG unit raises $2 bn in aircraft sale to MacquarieSydney: The aircraft leasing unit of bailed-out insurer American International Group has agreed to sell 53 passenger jets to Australia’s Macquarie Group to raise a much-needed $2 billion in cash. International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), a top customer of Boeing and Airbus, said on Wednesday it was selling the aircraft for below their book value of $2.3 billion. The deal follows AIG’s failed efforts to offload the entire ILFC business as part of a global asset sale programme to pay back the US taxpayer after a $182.3 billion bailout during the height of the financial crisis. For Macquarie Group, the deal hoists it to the top of the second tier of aircraft leasing with a total fleet of 186, prompting investors to suggest it will look to expand further and capitalise on the recovering Asia Pacific air travel market. “We see this as a good acquisition given the price, above average credit quality as called out by the company and the scalable nature of the business,” Citigroup analyst Wes Nason said. He said the deal would eat up about $200 million of the group’s surplus capital of $4.2 billion. “For them it makes sense to have self-sufficient, large divisions. The deal could mean they are open for expansion,” said Angus Gluskie, a portfolio manager at White Funds Management. Switch to Sales AIG tried selling the ILFC business but a mountain of debt at ILFC and the challenge to meet its ongoing funding requirements amid tough capital markets meant a deal was not reached. Instead it switched to aircraft sales to fund the unit and had said last month that it was looking to sell aircraft for up to $3.5 billion. ILFC founder Steven Udvar-Hazy, who effectively invented the business of aircraft leasing, left the firm in February after failing to buy a portfolio of planes for about $4 billion. Formed in 1973, ILFC was bought by AIG for $1.3 billion in 1990. As part of AIG, ILFC for many years enjoyed easy funding, but its access dried up as its parent was brought to its knees by the financial crisis in September of 2008. “ILFCs ability to accomplish significant aircraft sales, together with recent successes in the financial markets, strongly demonstrates ILFCs ability to generate liquidity and de-lever its balance sheet,” chief executive Alan Lund said in a statement. Surplus Macquarie By contrast, investment bank Macquarie is using the global downturn to pick up assets on the cheap. It said the deal would not make a major dent in its capital surplus, sparking the talk of further aircraft purchases. A Macquarie spokeswoman declined to say anything beyond the statement, citing a blackout period ahead of its profit results. The deal expands Macquarie’s aircraft portfolio by 40%, but it remains far away from the big league dominated by ILFC and General Electric’s GE Commercial Aviation. AIG’s chief executive Robert Benmosche said ILFC and AIG are confident in the long term potential for the business and its leadership in the market. Macquarie said the planes acquired from ILFC comprised young aircraft on lease to 35 airlines in 27 countries. The weighted average age of the fleet was less than four years and the average remaining lease term was more than five years. Of the 53 planes acquired, Macquarie would buy 47 aircraft outright for $1.67 billion in cash and transfer the rights to buy the remaining six to sister company Macquarie AirFinance Ltd, which is 37.5% owned by Macquarie. Macquarie’s corporate and asset finance division already has loans and leases under management of A$13.8 billion, it said. Macquarie shares were 0.9% higher at A$50.45 in late trade in line with the benchmark index. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:21 am Govt slaps duty on cotton exports - paper - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:02 am No talks with Pak until it acts: PMWashington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday ruled out serious discussions with Pakistan until it took “credible steps” to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks to justice. Singh said he had exchanged pleasantries twice with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of a two-day nuclear security meeting in Washington, but they had not covered serious issues during their brief encounters. “I complemented the prime minister on the passage of the constitutional amendment bill which I think makes the prime minister a more powerful personality in Pakistan’s political system. But beyond that there was no serious discussion,” Singh told reporters. New Delhi has complained repeatedly about the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terrorist group responsible for the Mumbai attacks which killed 166 people. “We would like Pakistan to at least bring all of these perpetrators of these horrible crimes to book and do so effectively,” said Singh. “That’s the minimum that we expect from Pakistan,” he added. “If Pakistan does that, we will be very happy to begin talking once again about all of these issues.” Speaking to reporters on Monday, Gilani refuted India’s claims, telling reporters Islamabad had banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and frozen its bank accounts. Gilani argued that India needed to provide more evidence, to which Singh shot back that senior members of Lashkar-e-Taiba were “roaming around freely” in Pakistan and US intelligence had pointed out its ties to al-Qaeda. “I don’t see there is any need for me to provide any additional evidence to Prime Minister Gilani on this.” India has also had tensions with Washington over access to David Headley, the Chicago man who admitted in a US court last month that he scouted targets for the Mumbai attacks. “I raised that matter to the president (Barack Obama) and he did mention to me that he is aware of the legal position and that we will get access to David Headley,” said Singh. Pakistani pressure on the Obama administration to open up talks on a civilian nuclear deal, much like the one India has with the United States, has also irked New Delhi. Asked to comment on Pakistan’s wish for a nuclear deal, Singh would not be drawn on the issue. “Who am I to interfere with what goes on between Pakistan and the United States?” he said. Washington, for its part, has been dubious about even having talks about a nuclear deal, largely due to concerns over the case of a Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who transferred nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iraq and Iran. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:42 am India FX, bonds, stock markets closed for holidayTrading resumes on Thursday. The partially convertible rupee closed on Tuesday at 44.4849 per dollar, off the day's low of 44.68 but marginally below Monday's close of 44.4748.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:39 am Speed of global economic recovery is still slow: PMWashington: Observing that the speed of the global economic recovery is not enough, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the G-20 countries—a grouping of top 20 economies of the world—has a crucial role to play in the post-crisis period. The future role of G-20, of which India is an important member, in the global economy was the key issue of discussion when the Prime Minister met the US President, Barack Obama, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper, on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit here. The two-day summit attended by 47 countries concluded on Tuesday. “I had fruitful discussions with President Obama on a host of issues relating to our bilateral relations, the regional situation, and the world economy,” the Prime Minister said. “My discussions with President Sarkozy, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Harper focused largely on the future role of the G20 in the post-crisis phase of the global economic recovery. “I will be visiting Canada for the next G20 Summit in June,” Singh told reporters at a news conference winding the Washington-leg of his foreign travel. Noting that G-20 constituted an important part of his bilateral discussions, Singh said it mostly related to the future work program of the Group of 20. “This was an exchange of views as to how the work of the G-20 should proceed in the months and years to come,” he said. The Prime Minister said the world is now witnessing a recovery, though the speed of recovery is still slow. “There is still a question mark with regard to the working out of a framework for sustainable recovery and also the reform of international institutions, including the security Council and the Bretton Woods institutions, the working of the financial system, the need for regulation, whether one size fits all or there should be allowance for different stages of development,” he said. “These are all issues which have to be taken on-board and I expressed our concern about these issues,” the Prime Minister said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:37 am Strong quake kills 300; destroys homes on Tibet plateau in ChinaBeijing: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Wednesday killed about 300 people in the mountainous Tibetan Plateau in southwest China and left more than 8,000 injured as houses, schools and offices collapsed. A series of quakes and aftershocks caused low, brick buildings in Qinghai Province’s ethnically Tibetan Yushu county to collapse, residents and state media said. Troops have been dispatched to the area. About 300 had been killed in the county seat, also known as Jyeku, state television said, citing the deputy secretary-general of the Yushu government, Huang Limin. The Tibetan plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, but casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there. Many residents of the remote area could be left without shelter in temperatures that hover near freezing in Yushu, and even colder in the high mountain villages. Government officials told state media the majority of houses had been badly damaged. “I see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers,” Zhuohuaxia, a local spokesman, told the Xinhua news agency. Xinhua reported that the early morning quake had caused some schools and part of a government office building to cave in. Some vocational school students and primary school students were trapped in the rubble, it said, although residents said students at some schools had been able to flee to the playgrounds. The widespread collapse of school buildings when other surrounding buildings stayed standing, caused anger and accusations of corruption after the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, which killed 80,000 people. “A lot of one-storey houses have collapsed. Taller buildings have held up, but there are big cracks in them,” resident Talen Tashi told Reuters. People from the Yushu prefecture highway department were frantically trying to dig out colleagues trapped in a collapsed building, department official Ji Guodong said by telephone. “The homes are built with thick walls and are strong, but if they collapsed they could hurt many people inside,” Zhuo De told Reuters by phone from the capital of Qinghai province after contacting his family in Yushu. The quake was centered in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region. The foothills to the south and east of the area are home to herders and Tibetan monasteries of Yushu county, while the area to the north and west is arid and desolate. The quake was centred 150 miles (240 km) north northwest of Qamdo in Tibet and 235 miles (375 km) south southeast of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km), the United States Geological Service said. A magnitude 5.0 quake struck the same region late on Tuesday night, and aftershocks of magnitude-6 and over rattled the town Wednesday morning, sending fearful residents into the streets. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:08 am LIC stands to gain from SEBI-IRDA Ulip row - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:07 am Two Indian apparel brands launch organic lineWhen it comes to going green, two major Indian apparel brands have taken the lead. Van Heusen and Arrow have come up with 100 percent organic lines made of cotton, linen and natural dyes, doing their bit for the environment and also spreading awareness among consumers.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:01 am Fed wordcraft could surpriseThe US is reporting a string of positive economic data. Foremost was, of course, the good job numbers in March. It was a respectable 162,000, though a long way off from the millions of the mid and the lateSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Life insurers can seek nod for IPO after five years of bizLife insurance companies that have completed five years of operations can apply for permission to go public, according to the norms for initial public offerings finalised by the Insurance Regulatory and DevelopmentSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Margins may come under strainInfosys Technologies has managed to better its guidance and deliver a reasonable set of numbers for the March quarter. While the company's revenues grew by 3.5 per cent sequentially to Rs 5944 crore, net profits expanded by 2.6 percent to Rs 1600Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am New row brews over ULIPsThe dispute between SEBI and IRDA over the regulation of unit-linked products appears to be far from over with the capital markets regulator again seeking to assert authority over ULIPs onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Sensex stocks' profit growth to pick upIn the March quarter results season that was flagged off by Infosys on Tuesday, brokerages expect Indian companies to get back to strong sales growth and accelerate their profit growth compared to the DecemberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Rupee hovers around 44-markThe rupee moved close to the 44-mark against the dollar to record a high of 44.18 on Monday. But it reversed lower from those levels due to the onset of volatility in the stock market, leading to expectation that external investors could withdrawSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Phishing scam victim? You may still winIf you have ever had your identity stolen via e-mail and you have lost money, this story may warm the cockles of yourSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Infosys posts Rs 1,600-cr Q4 profit despite strong rupeeInfosys Technologies, which kick-starts the earnings season every year, forecast a dip in margins in the short term, even as it looks at healthy revenue growth for the currentSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Export duty slapped on cottonThe Government has imposed export duty of Rs 2,500 a tonne on raw cotton and 3 per cent of the free-on-board value of cotton waste. The duty comes into effect from April 9.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am S&P upgrades Reliance rating to stable from negativeStandard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has revised its outlook on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to stable fromSource: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am SBI Caps to boost equity, M&A businessMUMBAI (Reuters) - SBI Capital Markets, the investment banking unit of the country's top lender, State Bank of India, has a pipeline of 20 equity issues that it will be managing over the next 3-4 months, its CEO said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:59 pm SBI Caps focused on equity issues, M&A in 2010The investment bank is also aiming to play a larger role in mergers and acquisitions in 2010 as it intends to leverage its parent's banking relationship with Indian corporates.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:48 pm Wal-Mart to make India a major sourcing hub: ReportThe world's largest retailer wants to export products worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" from India, Scott Price said, although he didn't provide any specific export targets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:43 pm 3G auction...pan-India bid crosses US$1bn mark - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:37 pm Obama turns up pressure in financial reform pushWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S President Barack Obama will try to turn up the pressure for an overhaul of Wall Street regulations as he meets on Wednesday with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to discuss a sweeping package of reforms.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:30 pm India’s position on international terrorism vindicated at Summit: PMWashington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said India’s position about dangers of “international terrorism and clandestine proliferation” had been vindicated at the Nuclear Security Summit that recognised the threat and committed 47 countries to prevent non-state actors from obtaining atomic technology. “The intersection of international terrorism and clandestine proliferation affects our security directly. The concerns that we have been expressing for decades on the dangers of proliferation and risk of nuclear materials finding their way into the wrong hands are today finding widespread acceptance,” Singh said after the two-day Summit. He noted that when India called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons in the 1950s, its voice was not heeded. “Today the world is veering around to the vision we had put forward of a world free from nuclear weapons. The world is beginning to see merit in pursuing universal, non-discriminatory and complete nuclear disarmament,” he said, adding India would continue to persevere in this direction. “After listening to the world leaders at the Summit, I feel a sense of vindication of India’s position,” Singh said. Welcoming the initiative taken by President Barack Obama to focus the attention of the international community on nuclear security, he said it was an important issue for India “because without ensuring security we will not be able to harness nuclear energy for our developmental purposes.” He referred to his announcement to establish a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, which will be owned and managed by the government, and said “the initiative is the next logical step in India’s engagement with the world after the opening of international civil nuclear cooperation with India.” After two days of deliberations in the backdrop of particular concerns with regard to the safety of nuclear material in Pakistan, the nuclear summit issued a three-page ‘Communique´ and a seven-page ‘Work Plan´ detailing the national responsibilities and international obligations that each participating country would have to undertake. Significantly, it had no reference to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was a result of hard work by Indian negotiators. The Communique noted that nuclear terrorism was one of the most challenging threats to international security and “strong nuclear security measures are the most effective means to prevent terrorists, criminals, or other unauthorised actors from acquiring nuclear materials. Those gathered at the Summit “commit to strengthen nuclear security and reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. Success will require responsible national actions and sustained and effective international cooperation,” the communique said. It commits the participating countries, including Pakistan, to cooperate effectively to “prevent and respond to incidents of illicit nuclear trafficking” and agree to share, subject to respective national laws and procedures, information and expertise through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms in relevant areas such as nuclear detection, forensics, law enforcement and the development of new technologies. “Maintaining effective nuclear security will require continuous national efforts facilitated by international cooperation and undertaken on a voluntary basis by the (participating) states. “We will promote the strengthening of global nuclear security through dialogue and cooperation with all states,” it said. Significantly, it said that the member countries recognise that highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium require special precautions and agree to promote measures to secure, account for, and consolidate these materials appropriately. It also commits countries to convert reactors from highly enriched to low enriched uranium fuel and minimisation of use of highly enriched uranium, where technically and economically feasible. The communique also commits the countries to endeavour to fully implement all existing nuclear security commitments and work toward acceding to those not yet joined, consistent with national laws, policies and procedures. In a clause significant in the context of India, the communique says that the participating countries would support implementation of strong nuclear security practices which would “not infringe upon the rights of States to develop and utilise nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technology and will facilitate international cooperation in the field of nuclear security.” The communique said the participating countries would support the objectives of international nuclear security instruments, including the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism as “essential elements of the global nuclear security architecture”. It reaffirmed the essential role of the IAEA in the international nuclear security framework. The Work Plan says that the participating countries would strive to improve their national criminal laws to ensure that they have the adequate authority to prosecute all types of cases of illicit nuclear trafficking and nuclear terrorism and commit to prosecuting these crimes to the full extent of the law. The participating countries are encouraged to develop and apply mechanisms to expand sharing of information on issues, challenges, risks and solutions related to nuclear security, nuclear terrorism and illicit nuclear trafficking in a comprehensive and timely manner. The participating countries are “encouraged” to develop methods and mechanisms to enhance bilateral and multilateral collaboration in sharing urgent and relevant information on nuclear security and incidents involving illicit nuclear trafficking. The participating countries would also explore ways to enhance broader cooperation among local, national and international customs and law enforcement bodies to prevent illicit nuclear trafficking and acts of nuclear terrorism, through joint exercises and sharing of best practices. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:22 pm SBI Caps focused on equity issues, M&A in 2010Mumbai: SBI Capital Markets, the investment banking unit of the country’s top lender, State Bank of India, has a pipeline of 20 equity issues that it will be managing over the next 3-4 months, its CEO said. “SBI Caps was a little quiet last year as the equity market was not very active. Now that we are seeing a potential in the market, we are fully geared up for that and we have a big pipeline ahead of us,” managing director and chief executive S Vishvanathan told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday. He estimated there could be issuances worth Rs1,000 billion ($22.5 billion) in the Indian market in 2010. In 2009, Indian firms raised about $19 billion in new equity. “We have about 20 issues which are going to come up in next 3-4 months,” Vishvanathan said. Morgan Stanley and J P Morgan are the top two investment banks in India for handling both equity issues and M&As. In 2009, SBI Caps handled five major equity issues that raised 136.5 billion rupees ($3.1 billion). This included issues state-owned NHPC Ltd, which raised $1.25 billion, and Adani Power, which raised $630 million. SBI Caps is one of the managers to Standard Chartered’s India listing which is set to raise up to $750 million and Jindal Power’s $1.8 billion initial share sale. It is also banking on the nearly $9 billion worth of disinvestments planned by the government in the fiscal year which started on 1 April. Vishvanathan said SBI Caps had hired about 100 people in the last 3-4 months, boosting the total tally to about 600. M&A Player The investment bank is also aiming to play a larger role in mergers and acquisitions in 2010 as it intends to leverage its parent’s banking relationship with Indian companies. SBI Caps, which, with $29.5 billion, topped the league tables in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) in syndicated loan arrangements in 2009, has been a minor player in M&As so far. “We are not a major player in that but this year our focus is going to be in that area in a major way,” Vishvanathan said. He said the company’s ability to do M&As was high, as by virtue of being a loan arranger it had a relationship with every large corporate in the country and could also leverage its parent’s banking relationship. On the debt side the investment bank, which with $6.6 billion is the No.2 loan syndicator in Asia Pacific in the first three months of 2010, is eyeing more deals to come its way riding on the Indian government’s thrust on infrastructure. Last month the finance minister urged a doubling of infrastructure spending to $1 trillion in the five years to 2016-17. “About half of this will be in the form of debt. We are preparing ourselves for some of these funds to meet the requirements of the market,” Vishvanathan said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:03 pm Obama turns up pressure in financial reform pushWashington: US President Barack Obama will try to turn up the pressure for an overhaul of Wall Street regulations as he meets on Wednesday with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to discuss a sweeping package of reforms. Republicans are seizing on a provision that would allow regulators to step in to dismantle large, troubled firms. They argue that would set the stage for “endless” bailouts of Wall Street, a claim the White House says is false. The White House meeting, at 10:45 a.m. (1445 GMT), will include Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican leader John Boehner. Obama’s Democrats will be represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer. After a major victory securing landmark changes to the healthcare system, Obama is shifting to financial reform as his top legislative priority. Obama administration officials have argued that passing a financial reform bill is crucial to preventing a repeat of the 2008-2009 turmoil that led to the worst US recession since the 1930s Great Depression. “I do not think there is a tenable position that anyone could take ... that says we don’t need to fix the system, to reform the system,” US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said in a panel discussion on Tuesday. “Look at the devastation caused by the financial crisis. Look at the damage it did to the lives of millions of Americans.” But a big fight looms as Senate Democrats seek to pass a final bill by the end of this month. The House passed a version of the measure in December. Obama needs at least some Republican help to pass it in the Senate and is targeting moderate Republicans such as Senators Judd Gregg and Bob Corker, who have signaled some willingness to work on a bipartisan bill. “We think this is a choice that each individual Republican is going to have to make,” White House deputy communications director Jen Psaki said. Describing the purpose of Wednesday’s meeting, Psaki said, “We wanted to bring all parties to the table to have a conversation about how to move forward toward a strong bill.” ‘Too big to fail’ At stake are the shape and profitability of the financial services industry for years to come, as well as the US economy’s ability to withstand future financial crises. In addition to creating a “resolution authority” to wind down failing financial firms, the bill would toughen oversight of banks and capital markets and beef up protections for consumers of financial products. But the question of what to do about “too big to fail” financial firms has emerged as a central issue in the debate. The Obama administration says the resolution authority is needed to prevent a repeat of the global market catastrophe that followed the September 2008 collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers and the near-failure of insurer AIG. McConnell admonished his fellow Republicans against passing the Democratic version of the bill and took aim at the resolution authority provision. “It provides for an endless taxpayer bailout of Wall Street banks,” McConnell said, adding that was “the one thing the American people have said they don’t want to happen again.” In a blog posting on the White House website, Psaki labeled such criticism “false” and accused Republicans of attempting a poll-tested political strategy of trying to link the bill to the unpopular $700 billion rescue of Wall Street passed during Republican President George W. Bush’s administration. “The Senate bill explicitly mandates that a large financial firm that faces failure will be allowed to fail, and it explicitly prohibits the use of any funds to ‘bail out’ a failing firm,” Psaki said. “Large financial firms, not taxpayers, will be required to bear the costs.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:59 pm Action against Tharoor only on basis of proof: PMWashington: As a fresh controversy exploded over minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday promised to act against him, if necessary, on the basis of evidence.  Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor with Sunanda Pushkar at a book release function in New Delhi. (File photo / PTI “I cannot go by hearsay or what is appearing in the various columns of the newspapers,” he told a press conference. Tharoor is battling allegations that a beautician romantically linked to him had received Rs70-crore free equity in Kochi IPL team, which he helped set up. Also Read | IPL can of worms: Tharoor denies Modi’s charges BJP had on Tuesday demanded that the Prime Minister sack Tharoor and order a CBI inquiry into the minister’s alleged “misuse” of authority for “securing” the investment of his friend Sunanda Pushkar in the team. It had also said that Tharoor’s action was a copy book case of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act as the minister is a public servant. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:55 pm Intel's knock-out Q2 props up tech sector hopesSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's sales and margin forecasts trounced Wall Street expectations, reinforcing hopes for an acceleration in the tech sector's recovery and boosting the chip maker's stock 4 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:52 pm If all goes well, the postman will turn bankerIndia Post to name consultant for feasibility study in 2 months. To launch pre-paid shopping cards in 2-3 months.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:35 pm After a long flight, Jet Airways is 'nearing break-even'Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer of airline consultancy firm, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), backed this forecast saying his company had predicted Jet's turnaround in January itself.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:33 pm Toyota halts Lexus SUV sales after safety warningTOKYO/DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp has suspended sales of a new Lexus SUV in the U.S. market to investigate the risk for rollover accidents in the latest blow to the reputation of the world's largest automaker.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 9:31 pm Intel’s excellent Q2 props up tech sector hopesSan Francisco: Intel Corp’s sales and margin forecasts trounced Wall Street expectations, reinforcing hopes for an acceleration in the tech sector’s recovery and boosting the chip maker’s stock 3.5%. Intel, bolstering expectations that businesses and consumers will speed up spending after 2009’s belt-tightening, foresees a gross margin of 64% - plus or minus “a couple percentage points” - for both the current quarter and all of 2010. Wall Street had expected about 60%. That put the world’s top chip maker, which said on Wednesday it was seeing technology upgrades by corporations, on track to potentially surpass the record 64.7% margin chalked up in its fourth quarter. Tech sector shares rallied. Fellow chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Texas Instruments Inc rose more than 2% after hours, while Microsoft Corp was up more than 1%. “Certainly a strong indication for the rest of technology as we move through earnings season,” said Edward Jones analyst Bill Kreher of Intel’s results. “The cost control during the downturn is helping set a new norm in terms of gross margins for the company moving forward.” Intel forecast current-quarter revenue of 10.2 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, on average, expect $9.68 billion. S&P 500 and Nasdaq index futures firmed, implying gains for both indices on Wednesday. “Not only is it first to file, it’s also more upstream in the supply chain than other vendors so that bodes well for the entire downstream, the overall sector,” said Endpoint Technologies Associates President Roger Kay. Intel’s margins should expand -- defying fears that they had peaked in 2009’s final quarter -- because sales were going to more expensive chips, like servers bought by corporations now less constrained by the tight budgets of last year. “What Intel is benefiting from is the pent-up demand, because customers delayed upgrading servers and upgrading desktops over the last several years because of the downturn,” ITIC analyst Laura DiDio said. “They can’t delay anymore, so the floodgates have opened.” Broadpoint Amtech analyst Doug Freedman said Wall Street is likely to raise financial forecasts for Intel in the wake of the quarterly report. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Street estimates came up between 8 and 10%,” he said. The company said on Tuesday net income totaled $2.4 billion, or 43 cents a share, in the three months ended March 27, compared with net income of $629 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago period. That exceeded average expectations for 38 cents a share. Revenue rose to $10.3 billion, above the Wall Street target of roughly $9.84 billion. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company rose 3.5% to $23.56 in extended trading after closing at $22.76 on Nasdaq. “We’re bringing out a whole generation of ... exciting products for the industry and look to be driving more high-end demand than we were anticipating when we started the year,” Intel Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 8:41 pm US stocks fall with Alcoa; euro weakensNew York/London: US stocks fell on Tuesday as aluminum maker Alcoa Inc missed its revenue target while the euro weakened against the dollar after Greece successfully sold short-term debt, but at very high yields. US Treasury prices rose on safe-haven buying as investors remained cautious before a slew of key corporate earnings that will help gauge the strength of the economy. German government bonds also rose after Greece easily sold a total of €1.2 billion ($1.63 billion) of 6-month and one-year T-bills, passing its first borrowing test since the euro zone reached a deal on a standby rescue package for the debt-laden country. But analysts said the yields on the bills - 4.55% and 4.85% respectively - were still high, reminding investors of the high costs Greece will have to pay to further access the market. “So it does not really change the underlying position that Greece has very tough times ahead,” said Ben May, economist at Capital Economics in London. “It’s going through a deep recession, and that’s going to lead the debt-to-GDP ratio to surge higher.” In the United States, the cautious mood was reinforced by quarterly results that showed Alcoa Inc missed its revenue target, even as earnings were in line, supported by rising prices. “This will certainly be an earnings period where there is continued focus on revenues,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York. “Investors are looking for signs of revenue growth to show that the economic rebound is real and is generating real demand.” The Dow Jones industrial average lost 27.36 points, or 0.25%, to 10,978.91, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 5.04 points, or 0.42%, to 1,191.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.48 points, or 0.26%, at 2,451.39. Alcoa’s shares fell 2.4%. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.4% while emerging stocks declined 0.85%. Losses were intensified after Wall Street opened lower. Analysts said investors were wary ahead of key first-quarter earnings statements this week, including from JPMorgan Chase & Co, Google Inc, Bank of America Corp and General Electric Co. The cautious mood inspired investors to buy safe-haven US Treasuries. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 1/32 in price, with the yield at 3.836%. Euro zone debt gained after the Greece debt sale. June Bund futures hit a session high of 123.12, up 45 ticks on the day, having broken through resistance in the 123.00 area. But the euro fell to a session low as investors refocused on the fiscal problems of the euro zone, leaving aside earlier pessimism about February US trade data that had weighed on the greenback. The European single currency weakened 0.17% to $1.3561. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was flat at 93.21 as a larger-than-expected US trade deficit prompted investors to debate the strength of the recovery in US. manufacturing. Crude oil futures fell more than 2% in New York, pushing lower for a fifth consecutive session, on speculation that inventory reports will show stockpiles rose again last week. US light crude oil fell $1.65, or 2.06%, to $82.68 per barrel. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 8:19 pm How July Systems is using mobiles to connect you furtherThe company's platform lets media companies provide content through internet-enabled handsets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Apr 2010 | 5:39 pm See IT discretionary spend inch up in H2FY11: KarvyIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Harit Shah, Research Analyst, Karvy Broking gave his expectations from Infosys and a target price on the stock from a 12month perspective.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 4:00 pm Worst is over for Air India: Praful PatelThings may be slowly looking up for the national carrier. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said that Air India has cut its losses by 25% and the worst is over for the national carrier.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 3:59 pm Satyam will take two years to rejoin race against TCS, Infy & Cognizant: CEO - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Apr 2010 | 2:25 pm ULIP row: Experts react to SEBI\'s new orderSEBI on Tuesday barred the launch of new ULIPs by 14 life insurance firms until they seek permission from the capital markets regulator.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 2:23 pm Chinese carmaker muscles into GM India boardShanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, one of the top state-owned Chinese automakers which is now GM's JV partner for emerging markets, is all set to push its way into GM's India operations.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 2:18 pm India critical for global growth: Wal-Mart - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Apr 2010 | 2:11 pm Bajaj to launch cars on Renault platform - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Apr 2010 | 2:01 pm Godrej to give prime realty in MumbaiThe city's biggest landowner, Godrej Group, is set to release a prime 35-acre chunk in Vikhroli for development by the end of the year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:59 pm Govt revenue over Rs 18,672crThe block price for pan-India 3G spectrum crossed the $1 billion mark to hit Rs 4,583 crore on the fourth day of bidding on Tuesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:58 pm ADB pegs India's growth at 8.2% in '10The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday said India is poised for an economic growth of 8.2% in 2010 although rising inflation would remain a concern.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:54 pm 'Satyam may take 2 yrs to gain lost ground'A year after the Mahindras acquired the scam-hit Satyam, the new promoters have been successful in steering the company back into revival mode, but the woes of the company are far from over.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:50 pm India critical for global growth: Wal-MartCurrently working in three big economies of the world - India, China and Japan - US retail giant Wal-Mart is also keeping a close watch on South East Asia for expansion.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:46 pm Yields of G-secs touch 18-mth highA day before the second round of auction of government securities in the current financial year, the yield on 10-year government securities (G-sec) spurted to a 18-month high at 8.08%.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:45 pm Ban on sale of new Ulips to stay: SebiMumbai: A day after India’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee brokered a temporary truce between the insurance regulator and the capital market watchdog on the sale of unit-linked insurance plans, or Ulips, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday stuck to its guns and barred life insurers from selling new Ulips.  Holding ground: Sebi chairman C.B. Bhave. Ashesh Shah / Mint The industry was surprised by the latest Sebi move but a person close to the development, who did not want to be named, said this was the “arrangement” reached between the two regulators at their meeting with the finance minister on Monday. J. Hari Narayan, chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) was not available for comment. Last Friday, Sebi restrained 14 entities from issuing any offer documents, advertisements, brochures soliciting money from investors by way of new or additional subscription for any product—including Ulips—till they obtain the requisite certificate of registration from the capital market watchdog. Irda challenged this over the weekend and insurance firms continued to sell Ulips on Monday even as Mukherjee said, “To resolve any ambiguity and to ensure smooth functioning in the markets, the regulators have agreed to jointly seek a binding legal mandate from an appropriate court. Meanwhile, status-quo ante is being restored.” The Sebi clarification, issued on Tuesday evening, said old policies issued before 9 April can continue to collect premiums but no new Ulip scheme can be launched after 9 April without adhering to Sebi registration norms. This essentially means that status quo has been restored with regard to existing Ulips but the 14 entities banned from selling them cannot launch any new products without obtaining Sebi registration. Sebi’s latest move, however, has addressed Irda’s concerns raised over the financial stability of the life insurers if the renewal premiums of existing products were stopped. On 10 April, Hari Narayan said observance of the Sebi order would cause the stoppage of all renewals of insurance policies already invested by the insuring public and this “may result in forced premature surrender of policies causing substantial loss to the policyholder and to the insurers.” He also said the stoppage of sale will seriously jeopardize the financial position of insurers, destabilize the markets and upset financial stability. Before Sebi issued its latest order, Irda member R. Kannan told PTI on Tuesday the issue will be sorted out in a day or two. “It could take another one or two days to arrive at a decision.” The regulator is examining various options to deal with the situation in light of the government’s decision, Kannan said, adding, “Finance minister’s direction is absolutely clear.” The person quoted earlier said the government will ensure a verdict on the contentious issue that will be legally binding for all—the regulators, insurance firms as well as consumers. “The paper work towards this will be completed in the next two to three weeks and the issue will be sorted out in the next three to six months,” this person said. Siddarth Shah, partner, Nishith Desai Associates, a law firm, gave a new dimension to the latest development, saying since the ban was limited to 14 life insurers, nine other companies including Life Insurance Corp. of India can continue to launch new policies. “The Sebi order says life insurers cannot issue Ulips without registering with Sebi. But what will they register themselves as? In the absence of clarity on such issues, it effectively means no new Ulips can be sold until the legal issues are sorted out,” he said. Meanwhile, a public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay high court, seeking reversal of Sebi’s ban on the sale of Ulips by insurance companies. The petition, filed by an investor, is expected to come up for hearing on 15 April. Petitioner Rajesh Thacker, a Mumbai-based businessman, has claimed that lakhs of investors in the country are “suffering anxiety and uncertainty about their investments” due to the order. G.N. Agarwal, president of the Actuarial Society of India, said, “I feel Irda should now clarify on this. We will also ask Irda the status because a lot of people are asking us and there is a lot of confusion.” Actuaries mathematically evaluate the likelihood of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize losses, both emotional and financial, associated with uncertain, undesirable events. They play a key role in new product development. “On an average, Irda approves over 100 policies per year and it is possible that some policies may be pending with the regulator for approval this year,” Agarwal said. Some insurers feel the latest Sebi order will not have any major impact on the sale of Ulips. Recently, most insurers had got Irda approvals to launch new products after the regulator had told insurers to cap charges. In July 2009, Irda had put a cap on overall charges that life insurance firms can levy on subscribers of Ulips. Following this, insurers had to change the structure of their products and get fresh approvals. Most insurers had taken approvals in January to sell policies in the last three months of the fiscal year, when most salaried employees buy Ulips as a tax-saving instrument. “Following the change of rules on investment management charges, all insurers had to refile their Ulip products with Irda before 31 December. After 1 January 2010, only these new products were allowed to be sold. So most companies have refiled their products. We have filed and got Irda approvals for 10-12 products and have launched all of them,” said an official with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. “There’s no dearth of products. Each insurer has six-seven Ulip products. Between them, these 14 companies would have more than 100 products. So, business will continue as usual. But nobody will plan new products now,” said Kanwar Vivek, chief executive officer, Aditya Birla MoneyMart, a financial distribution company. n.subramanian@livemint.com PTI contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:45 pm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co to buy 68% in FirstsourceUS-based PE firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co is in talks to buy a controlling stake in back-office service provider Firstsource Solutions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:34 pm IPL bid process under a cloudThe bidding process for new franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket series has come under a cloud, with Shashi Tharoor minister of state for external affairs today alleging undue interference by commissioner Lalit Modi during the process.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:12 pm Worst is over for Air India, says Praful Patel - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 13 Apr 2010 | 1:08 pm KKR in talks for control of Firstsource: SourcesUS privateequity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Indian backoffice service provider Firstsource Solutions, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 12:36 pm IPL spat turns nastier, gets political hueNew Delhi: The spat between Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi and the owner of the new Kochi team became nastier on Tuesday and is rapidly acquiring political contours. On a day of rapid developments that saw a fusillade of allegations and counter-allegations, a public interest litigation was filed before the Supreme Court asking it to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the issue. Meanwhile, IPL’s owner, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has convened a special meeting to defuse the problem. The conflict has already put minister of state for external affairs and Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on the defensive, forcing him to issue a statement denying Modi’s allegations about his involvement with the Kochi team. Joining the issue, the Congress’ main rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has, just two days before Parliament is to resume the Budget session, termed Tharoor’s alleged association with team owner Rendezvous Sports World Ltd a “copybook case of corruption” and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to “sack” Tharoor. The party also demanded that the “entire nature” of the transaction be investigated by CBI. In a statement posted on his website (www. tharoor.in), Tharoor, who has maintained that he has no shareholding in the consortium that won the Kochi franchise and is a sort of patron of the team, said: “Various attempts were made by Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state. Modi raised assorted objections to the bid documents, but finally had no choice but to approve them.” Taking strong exception to the insinuations that Tharoor had more than just a friendly association with the owners of the Kochi team, the minister added: “His (Modi’s) extraordinary breach of all propriety in publicly raising issues relating to the composition of the consortium and myself personally is clearly an attempt to discredit the team and create reasons to disqualify it so that the franchise can be awarded elsewhere.” Neither Modi nor IPL chief executive Sundar Raman responded to phone calls seeking comment. The controversy erupted on Friday after questions were raised on the shareholding structure of the Rendezvous consortium. Although the team signed the agreement with BCCI the next day, Modi posted the details of the consortium’s shareholding on his Twitter account, allegedly breaking a confidentiality clause. The tweet triggered heated email exchanges between Modi, Vivek Venugopal of Rendezvous and BCCI officials. The controversy acquired a sharper hue when in a tweet, Rajasthan Cricket Association secretary Sanjay Dixit asked Modi to “disclose the details about your brother-in-law and step-son and their back-door entries into (the ownership of the) Jaipur IPL (team).” Dixit is a long-time Modi rival and won an election against the IPL commissioner last year. Meanwhile, the Kochi team has threatened legal action against Modi if his statements on Twitter are “not retracted” and the ownership structure of other teams is not “disclosed”. In an attempt to defuse the crisis, Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the finance and media committee, BCCI, and Congress lawmaker said that “everybody was free to take anybody to court” and that the issue would be resolved “at the next governing council meeting (of BCCI) to be convened within 10 days.” With the issue acquiring a political hue with the involvement of the high profile minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi held separate meetings with Shukla and S.M. Krishna, Tharoor’s senior minister. Shukla said the meeting had nothing to do with the current controversy over the IPL team, though in his statement to reporters immediately after he exited, he said, “BCCI president (Shashank Manohar) has decided to convene an IPL governing council meeting within 10 days to discuss all the issues and take a decision.” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed rejected BJP’s demand for Tharoor’s resignation and denied the controversy was an embarrassment to the party. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court advocate, Ajay Agrawal, filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court alleging that Tharoor used his influence to obtain a 5% stake (valued at Rs70 crore) in the Kochi team for Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend. No date has been fixed for the hearing. liz.m@livemint.com Santosh K. Joy and Manish Ranjan of Mint, and PTI contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 12:12 pm Mastek net slumps on currency fluctuations, delayed ordersSoftware services firm Mastek Ltd posted a 54.19% fall in net profit to 153 million rupees in JanMarch quarter, impacted by currency fluctuations and delayed orders, a top official said on TuesdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 12:02 pm BSE Sensex falls 0.2%; Infosys ralliesThe BSE Sensex dropped 0.2% on Tuesday, tracking weak global equities, but Infosys Technologies bucked the trend and rose nearly 4% in the day on bullish annual revenue growth forecastSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 12:02 pm Google-Microsoft rivalry heats up over office softwareSan Francisco: As Microsoft Corp. gears up to launch the latest version of its Office software suite next month, Google Inc. showed off slick upgrades to its competing online product on Monday—and wasn't shy about drawing comparisons. "When they come knocking saying that you need to upgrade to Office 2010, you should know that you now have a choice, a viable replacement," said Anil Sabharwal, product manager of Google Apps, during a cloud computing conference at the company's campus. Productivity software is an increasingly bloody battleground for the two technology behemoths. Google's pure cloud computing approach—meaning documents are created and stored online and accessible via personal computers or mobile devices—gave it an early leg up in enabling workers to easily collaborate on projects. But Google Docs has lacked the sophisticated features and stability of Microsoft's pricier tools. Google's Monday announcement represents an effort to close the gap, even as Microsoft is battling to widen it and defend its premium with major cloud and collaboration upgrades. “Microsoft is coming out of the old world, the client-server model, and Google is in the new world, the always-on model," said Katherine Egbert, software analyst at Jefferies and Co. “They’re heading to the same place but coming from different directions.” Docs is free for consumers and runs $50 (Rs2,230) per business user per year, while Office 2010 will range from $99 to $499 at retail, depending on the variant. It's a huge moneymaker for Microsoft, with the business division contributing nearly 25% of the firm’s $19 billion in revenue in the fiscal second quarter. So, any competitive threat is serious. The next generation of Google Docs adds a number of frequently requested features such as a margin ruler in documents and drag-and-drop columns in spreadsheets; improves the so-called fidelity of imported documents, meaning formatting like spacing and centering is retained; and adds a collaborative drawing application for creating flowcharts and diagrams. Google also bought DocVerse in March, a small firm that will allow users of older Office applications to collaborate through Google's cloud without having to upgrade to the latest version of the suite. But Microsoft is firing back with Office 2010, available to businesses on 12 May and consumers sometime in June. Notable advances include improved collaboration capabilities, such as social-networking features in the new version of SharePoint, and broader support of cloud computing across devices, including free online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. ©THE NEW YORK TIMES / 2010 Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:53 am Thermax eyes diversification in solar, geothermal energyThermax Ltd, energy and environment solution provider, plans to diversify into renewable energy, a top official told the Reuters Trading India chat room on TuesdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:48 am Auto companies likely to post sharply higher sales, profit New Delhi: Auto companies are set to report a surge in earnings for the fiscal year ended March, boosted by resurgent sales and lower commodity prices. The auto earnings season, which kicks off on 19 April with Hero Honda Motors Ltd reporting results, is likely to see four companies more than double profits, according to a Mint poll of five brokerages.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint The brokerages—Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd, Centrum Broking Pvt. Ltd, Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd and India Infoline Ltd—also estimate an increase in sales for each of the six listed companies. Auto makers benefited last fiscal from a revival in demand. Helped by easier availability of financing and improved consumer sentiment, car sales in India grew the fastest in six years in the fiscal year ended 31 March to 1,526,787 units, up 25%. As a result, analysts forecast Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest car maker, to post a 41% increase in revenue to Rs29,542 crore. The company has also gained through a strong showing in the export market. Exports more than doubled mainly due to demand for the A-Star hatchback in Europe. The company has a contract manufacturing arrangement with Nissan Motor Co. for the model. Healthy demand for its Gio small truck is expected to help Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd more than double profit to Rs1,975 crore. Another key contributor to increased profit will be the decline in raw material costs, which typically form as much as 20% of revenue. Prices of steel and zinc, two key inputs, were lower than in fiscal 2009. The industry’s performance may have peaked as it may become harder for companies to match the present rate of growth in the months to come. “Growth rates will come off,” said Joseph George, an analyst at BNP Paribas. “Big volume growth and margin expansion will become harder.” The markets have given a thumbs down to auto stocks lately. The 14-share auto index on the Bombay Stock Exchange, which rose 67% last year, has risen barely 1% so far this year to 7,435 points. Raw material prices have been rising and George says he’s building in margin contraction for all his stocks except Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland Ltd. Still, Motilal Oswal also expects margins to moderate, but remain higher than the historical average that generally ranges between 11% and 13%. Increased spending on infrastructure, particularly in highway construction, has prompted fleet operators to step up purchases. Truck sales were the last to revive and analysts expect them to continue to remain strong in the first few months of this fiscal even as the growth in car and two-wheeler sales tapers off. Analysts surveyed expect Ashok Leyland, which recently inaugurated its Uttarakhand facility, to post a profit almost double to Rs377 crore while that of rival Tata Motors Ltd is forecast at Rs2,098 crore. Tata Motors makes about two-thirds of its profit from truck sales and the revival in Jaguar Land Rover sales also bodes well for the company. Both firms have also recently launched truck models based on new platforms that allow operators to order the entire vehicle and not just the chassis. This is likely to boost margins, according to analysts. Hero Honda, which sold at least four million motorcycles and scooters last fiscal, is set to cross the Rs15,000 crore revenue mark, powered by rural demand. Sales in such areas account for four out of every six bikes the company sells. Rival Bajaj Auto Ltd is forecast to post sales just shy of Rs12,000 crore. samar.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:48 am Congolese official says Zain deal breaks lawBrazzaville, Congo: The Republic of the Congo has said it had not been informed of Bharti Airtel Ltd’s $9 billion (Rs40,140 crore) deal to buy Kuwaiti telco Zain’s African assets in what it said was a contravention of Zain’s licence. Telecom minister Thierry Moungalla said the parties had 30 days to remedy the situation or face sanctions that include fines or ultimately the withdrawal of the local licence. “This is a clear violation of the law in our country,” Moungalla said, adding that the government “had within its legal arsenal the right to be informed and to give its agreement in principle” to such deals. A Bharti spokesman in New Delhi declined comment when contacted by ‘Reuters’, as did Zain’s Congo unit. Congo is at least the second country to object to the deal after Gabon voiced similar complaints on 29 March—something which did not stop the accord being signed two days later. Bharti is currently in the process of getting regulatory approval for the accord. Zain is the dominant mobile operator in Congo with an estimated 1.5 million subscribers, Congolese officials said. Fines could run to 1 percentage point of local turnover, with other sanctions being a reduction in the duration of the operating licence, a suspension or outright withdrawal of the licence. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 11:22 am De Beers sees India feed postdownturn global sparkleThe world\'s top diamond producer De Beers expects India to maintain its double digit growth in demand and hopes to globally raise production by about a quarter on the back of better outlook, a top official saidSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:57 am Textile firms in a bind over soaring cotton priceSoaring exports of raw cotton and a sharply appreciating rupee may hit textile exports in FY11, though the impact may be limited due to a recovery in global demand and competitive pricing, industry players saidSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:57 am Tourism Finance plans to foray into infra financingTourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) announced that it will now be entering infrastructure financing as well. In an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Archana Capoor, CMD of Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI), speaks about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:47 am Lehman channelled risks through ‘alter ego’ firmIt was like a hidden passage on Wall Street, a secret channel that enabled billions of dollars to flow through Lehman Brothers. In the years before its collapse, Lehman used a small company—its “alter ego”, in the words of a former Lehman trader—to shift investments off its books. The firm, called Hudson Castle, played a crucial, behind-the-scenes role at Lehman, according to an internal Lehman document and interviews with former employees. The relationship raises new questions about the extent to which Lehman obscured its financial condition before it plunged into bankruptcy. While Hudson Castle appeared to be an independent business, it was deeply entwined with Lehman. For years, its board was controlled by Lehman, which owned a quarter of the firm. It was also stocked with former Lehman employees. None of this was disclosed by Lehman, however. Entities such as Hudson Castle are part of a vast financial system that operates in the shadows of Wall Street, largely beyond the reach of banking regulators. These entities enable banks to exchange investments for cash to finance their operations and, at times, make their finances look stronger than they are. Critics say that such deals helped Lehman and other banks temporarily transfer their exposure to the risky investments tied to subprime mortgages and commercial real estate. Even now, a year and a half after Lehman's collapse, major banks still undertake such transactions with businesses whose names, like Hudson Castle's, are rarely mentioned outside of footnotes in financial statements, if at all. The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining various creative borrowing tactics used by 20 financial firms. A congressional panel investigating the financial crisis also plans to examine such deals at a hearing in May to focus on Lehman and Bear Stearns Companies Inc., according to two people knowledgeable about the panel's plans. Most of these deals are legal. But certain Lehman transactions crossed the line, according to the account of the bank's demise prepared by an examiner of the bank. Hudson Castle was not mentioned in that report, released last month, which concluded that some of Lehman's bookkeeping was “materially misleading”. The report did not say that Hudson was involved in the misleading accounting. At several points, Lehman did transactions greater than $1 billion (Rs4,460 crore today) with Hudson vehicles, but it is unclear how much money was involved since 2001. Still, accounting experts say the shadow financial system needs some sunlight. The story of Lehman and Hudson Castle begins in 2001, when the housing bubble was only just starting to inflate. That year, Lehman spent $7 million to buy into a small financial company, IBEX Capital Markets, that later became Hudson Castle. From the start, Hudson Castle lived in Lehman's shadow. According to a 2001 memorandum given to The New York Times, as well as interviews with seven former employees at Lehman and Hudson Castle, Lehman exerted an unusual level of control over the firm. Lehman, the memorandum said, would serve “as the internal and external ‘gatekeeper’ for all business activities conducted by the firm”. The deal was proposed by Kyle Miller, who worked at Lehman. In the memorandum, Miller wrote that Lehman's investment in Hudson Castle would give the bank and its clients access to financing while preventing “headline risk” if any of its deals went south. It would also reduce Lehman's “moral obligation” to support its off-balance sheet vehicles, he wrote. The arrangement would maximize Lehman's control over Hudson Castle “without jeopardizing the off-balance sheet accounting treatment”. Miller became president of Hudson Castle and brought several Lehman employees with him. Through a Hudson Castle spokesman, Miller declined a request for an interview. The spokesman did not dispute the 2001 memorandum, but said the relationship with Lehman had evolved. After 2004, “all funding decisions at Hudson Castle were solely made by the management team and neither the board of directors nor Lehman Brothers participated in or influenced those decisions in any way”, he said, adding that Lehman was only a tenth of Hudson's revenues. Still, Lehman never told its shareholders about the arrangement. Nor did Moody's choose to mention it in its credit ratings reports on Hudson Castle's vehicles. Former Lehman workers, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because of confidentiality agreements with the bank, offered conflicting accounts of the bank's relationship with Hudson Castle. ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 10:04 am Acino warns Plavix recall to hit 2010 resultsZurich: Swiss drugmaker Acino said its 2010 figures would be hit hard after various European countries recalled batches of its generic heart drug Plavix made at a factory in India. “At this point in time, the value of goods subject to the recall is difficult to quantify. Acino will make a one-time provision for this in the current financial year,” the group said in a statement. “Overall, this recall will have a significant negative impact on the 2010 result of Acino,” it said. The decision by various European health authorities comes after Europe’s drugs watchdog recommended the recall in March because of a failure of good manufacturing practice (GMP) a factory in Visakhapatnam, India, where the active substance for the affected Acino product is produced. Plavix, or clopidogrel, is sold as a brand by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and is the world’s second biggest-selling medicine, with worldwide sales of more than $9 billion a year. But the medicine is off patent in some European markets, where Acino is among companies supplying a cheaper generic version. Clopidogrel is the Swiss group’s top seller. At 1025 GMT, shares in the group were trading near flat at 146 Swiss francs, recovering from an earlier slip of about 2%. Acino said independent analyses had confirmed the quality of its clopidogrel, while inspecting regulatory authorities had also concluded the shortcomings found at the manufacturing site did not represent a health hazard. “Acino explicitly points to the fact that the recall was ordered as a precautionary measure since, also in the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), no suspicion of a health hazard could be substantiated,” Acino said. “As such, clopidogrel-containing medicines already supplied to patients can be used without restrictions,” the group added. Acino also said Ratiopharm and Hexal, its marketing partners in its main market Germany, had decided to withdraw their clopidogrel-containing medicines using active ingredients from the Indian manufacturing site. But both companies had been supplied with products containing an active ingredient from another source that is authorised across Europe. Hexal and Sandoz are units of Novartis, while Ratiopharm is an unlisted German drugmaker that was sold recently to Israeli generic drugs group Teva. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 5:29 am Twitter to unveil advertising plan: reportLondon: Twitter users will see ads on the site for the first time, as the microblogging service unveils its long-awaited plan to transform itself into a profitable business, says a media report. The four-year-old company would on Tuesday announce a new service called ‘Promoted Tweets´, which would allow businesses to buy keywords, The Times reported. “Tweets” written by the company would then appear at the top of the page when a user has searched for that word, much like on Google, it added. Further, the report said that the adverts, which would be limited to 140 characters like all messages on the site, would only show up in search results. This means users who do not search for something would not see them in their regular Twitter streams. Over time, they may appear in the stream of posts users see when they log on. According to the publication, Twitter would reveal the first adverts to around 10% of users. They would include “tweets” from companies such as Starbucks, Virgin America and Best Buy, the electronics retailer. Although Twitter was recently valued at $1 billion and has around 45 million regular users, it made almost no revenue until it began selling real-time search results to Google in December. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Apr 2010 | 4:33 am
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