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SEBI, IRDA to file joint plea on ULIPs in 12 days: SourcesThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) plan to file a joint plea on unitlinked insurance products (ULIPs) in the court in 12 days, reports CNBCTV18, quoting NewsWire18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 8:46 am South Asia monsoon seen normal: IMDMonsoon rains in south Asia are expected to be normal this year, A.K. Srivastava, director of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters on the sidelines of South Asia Climate Outlook Forum.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 8:42 am Tata Motors March global vehicles sales up 39%Tata Motors said on Thursday that the global sales of its vehicles in March rose 39% from a year ago to 101,712 unitsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 8:42 am Airlines in India eye turnaround, funding woes lingerIndia\'s aviation industry, which is expected to lose USD 2.1 billion in 2009/10, is cautiously expanding routes and adding capacity as an economic recovery sets in, but fund raising continues to pose a challengeSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 8:27 am Essar Steel holds meetings for dollar bond: sourceEssar Steel is meeting investors ahead of a possible US dollar bond sale, a source close to the deal said on ThursdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 8:27 am ONGC says to pump east coast natural gas in 2015/16Staterun explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) expects natural gas production from its deepsea block in the KrishaGodavari basin to start in 2015/16, Chiarman R.S. Sharma said on ThursdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 7:48 am Budget session of Parliament reconvenes, hits snagOpposition protests over a raft of issues briefly shut the reopening of the parliament on Thursday, signalling a difficult session ahead for the government as it seeks to pass the budget and other key billsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 7:48 am Will maintain spreads at 275300 bps, says RECSpeaking exclusively to CNBCTV18, HD Khunteta, Director of Finance of REC said the new RBI norms will help bring down the overall cost of capital. \"We will maintain spreads at 275300 basis points.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 6:13 am Tribal project in Bengal lends a hand to education aimsIt\'s an ambitious plangiving all children under the age of 6 a free education among India\'s 1billion plus populationbut at least one local initiative is making sure millions of tribal people with oral traditions don\'t get left behindSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 6:07 am ONGC says Petrobras keen to exit Indian blockBrazil\'s Petrobras is keen to exit from an exploration block operated by staterun Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the Indian firm\'s director for finance, D.K. Sarraf, told reporters on ThursdaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 6:07 am Expect to end yr with inflation at 4-5%: Saumitra Chaudhuri - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:50 am Ranbaxy recalls antibiotic drug from US market - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:49 am Mature position taken by FM in ULIP row: Fmr Fin Secy - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:40 am Rupee trims gains on share losses; dollar rise - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:35 am SP Tulsian's take on Tata Motors differential voting rights - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:35 am Toyota to test all SUVs, suspends Lexus GX outputTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor said on Thursday it would conduct safety tests on all its sport utility models after a report claiming that a handling problem in a new version Lexus put drivers at risk of rollover accidents.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:28 am Nakheel to pay $8.2 bln to creditors in June - sourceDUBAI (Reuters) - Nakheel aims to pay about $8.2 billion to its creditors in June, but the Dubai developer needs approval for its March debt proposal before making the payment, a source familiar with the matter said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:27 am India gold demand remains slack; traders await fallsMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's gold demand remained slack on Thursday as prices traded above $1,150 an ounce, and as traders sought lower prices to stock up for the ongoing wedding season and festivals, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:24 am Nifty breaks 5300 on sell-off in heavyweights - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:23 am Bank of India slashes rates for large FDsNew Delhi: Contrary to expectations of a hike in interest rates, Public sector lender Bank of India (BoI) on Thursday slashed rates by up to 75 basis points on fixed deposits of Rs1 crore and above. “The revised interest rates on Domestic Rupee Term Deposits of Rs1 crore and above will be applicable for various periods on fresh deposits and on renewal of maturing deposits wef 15.04.2010, other rates remaining the same,” the bank said in a statement. For deposits of at least Rs1 crore for one or two year maturity, the bank cut the rate to 6% from 6.75%, while for those with a maturity period of 2-3 years, the rates have been lowered from 6.75% to 6.25%, it said. With inflation nearing the double digit mark, analysts expect RBI to further tighten its monetary stance in its annual policy on 20 April that may lead to a hike in both lending and deposit rates. The Reserve Bank has already raised the cash reserve ratio or the amount banks have to park with the apex bank in its January policy review besides hiking its short-term rates by 25 basis points. The state-owned Union Bank of India also recently hiked deposit rates by up to 0.5% across various maturities. Other banks are waiting for RBI policy to take a call on the issue. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:23 am Index futures launch a milestone for China reformsSHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's launch of trading in stock index futures on Friday will mark a milestone in making its financial markets more professional and less speculative, even though they are likely to get off to a slow start.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:17 am Areva T&D wins 630 million rupee ordersMUMBAI (Reuters) - Areva T&D India said on Thursday it won three orders worth 630 million rupees from various Indian utilities.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:08 am Gold demand remains slack; traders await fallsMumbai: India’s gold demand remained slack on Thursday as prices traded above $1,150 an ounce, and as traders sought lower prices to stock up for the ongoing wedding season and festivals, dealers said. “Buyers simply won’t want to get stuck with high cost inventory, demand is weak since prices moved to hover around $1,150 mark,” said a dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai, which deals in bullion. Gold firmed on Thurday on bargain hunting driven by early gains in the euro, with strong China economic growth underpinning sentiment, while palladium slipped from a two-year high hit the previous day. International gold, which guides the domestic market, was trading at $1,153.55/1,154.35 an ounce as against the previous close of $1,153.90/1,155.90. It struck a high of $1,158.10 earlier in the session. “$1,120-1,130 could be good level to enter for them,” said another dealer with a private bank in Mumbai. 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. Currently, the wedding season is underway in the world’s largest consumer of the yellow metal, with gold-buying festivals like Akshaya Tritiya slated in May. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 3:06 am South Asia monsoon seen normal - IMDPUNE, India (Reuters) - Monsoon rains in south Asia are expected to be normal this year, helped by weakening El Nino weather phenomenon, a senior Indian weather official said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:58 am Petrobras keen to exit Indian block: ONGCPetrobras holds 10% in the deep-sea exploration block in India's gas-rich Krishna-Godavari basin.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:53 am Citi to sell hedge fund biz to SkyBridgeNew York:Citigroup will sell its hedge fund business with $4.2 billion of assets to alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital, as part of an effort to shed its non-core assets. However, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Citigroup said it will sell its hedge-fund business to alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital,” the alternative investment firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The deal includes Citi Alternative Investment LLC’s fund of hedge funds, hedge fund seeding and hedge fund advisory businesses, it added. The transaction would position SkyBridge as “one of the leading global alternative asset managers,” with $5.6 billion in assets under management. “The integration of a fund of hedge funds business is a natural fit with the SkyBridge platform,” SkyBridge managing partner Anthony Scaramucci said. Raymond Nolte, who has been at the helm of Citi Alternative Investment since its inception in 2005, would join SkyBridge as a managing partner and chief investment officer. He would be taking a team of over 20 professionals to SkyBridge, which focuses on acquiring stakes in hedge funds and other asset managers. Citigroup, in which the US government holds a 27 per cent stake following a bailout in 2008, is understood to be shedding almost a third of its holdings of about $1.86 trillion under regulatory pressure to shrink. Last year, Citi earmarked $715 billion in non-core assets to be sold. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:49 am Citi to sell hedge fund biz to SkyBridgeNew York:Citigroup will sell its hedge fund business with $4.2 billion of assets to alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital, as part of an effort to shed its non-core assets. However, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Citigroup said it will sell its hedge-fund business to alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital,” the alternative investment firm said in a statement on Wednesday. The deal includes Citi Alternative Investment LLC’s fund of hedge funds, hedge fund seeding and hedge fund advisory businesses, it added. The transaction would position SkyBridge as “one of the leading global alternative asset managers,” with $5.6 billion in assets under management. “The integration of a fund of hedge funds business is a natural fit with the SkyBridge platform,” SkyBridge managing partner Anthony Scaramucci said. Raymond Nolte, who has been at the helm of Citi Alternative Investment since its inception in 2005, would join SkyBridge as a managing partner and chief investment officer. He would be taking a team of over 20 professionals to SkyBridge, which focuses on acquiring stakes in hedge funds and other asset managers. Citigroup, in which the US government holds a 27 per cent stake following a bailout in 2008, is understood to be shedding almost a third of its holdings of about $1.86 trillion under regulatory pressure to shrink. Last year, Citi earmarked $715 billion in non-core assets to be sold. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:49 am Three signs of a coming equity market correctionLONDON (Reuters) - Signs are appearing, at least to those who like to study financial market runes, that equities could be in for a short-term fall.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:48 am Essar Steel holds meetings for dollar bondThe company is meeting investors in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York, Boston and Los Angeles from April 12 to April 22.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:47 am Aviva Life appoints Sandip Mallik as director-HRMallik will be responsible for the development and implementation of strategies, policies and practices, the company said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:42 am European shares up on China growth; pharmas gainLondon: European shares rose on Thursday as confidence in the economy was boosted by strong growth in China and upbeat US corporate earnings, while drugmakers gained after sales at Roche beat forecasts. By 0827 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.3% at 1,108.82 points, having briefly touched a 19-month high at 1,109.47 earlier in the session. The index is up almost 72% since hitting a lifetime low in March last year, and is on track to post its seventh straight week of gains. Roche Holding rose 1.8% after the Swiss drugmaker beat first-quarter sales forecasts and confirmed its full-year outlook. Within the sector, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis gained 0.1 to 0.4%. An unexpected 11.9% year-on-year growth for China in the first quarter as well as upbeat corporate earnings from JPMorgan and rising retail sales in the United States on Wednesday helped boost confidence in the pace of economic recovery. “People are taking a more optimistic view and there are green shoots but we have to put these shoots into context,” said Justin Urquhart-Stewart, investment director at Seven Investment Management. “Some of these have been forced green shoots because of the amount of investment and incentives that have been put into the economy.” Banks were higher, with Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank up 0.5 to 2.2%. Oil majors were boosted as crude prices hovered near $86 a barrel after the strong growth numbers from China. A broadly positive note by Credit Suisse on the integrated oil and gas sector also helped lift sentiment. BP and Statoil gained 0.4 and 0.9% respectively, with Credit Suisse upgrading the companies’ ratings. BG Group, Total and Repsol added 0.1 to 0.7%. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 to 0.2%. US earnings awaited Investors are expected to focus on further corporate results from the United States, with Google set to release quarterly earnings after US markets close on Thursday. General Electric and Bank of America Corp are expected to report first-quarter figures on Friday. Among individual movers in Europe, Deutsche Post gained 2.5% after US peer United Parcel Service said its first-quarter earnings per share would be much higher than it had expected and raised its outlook for the year. Cruise operator Carnival adds 2.9%, making it the top FTSE 100 gainer after Morgan Stanley lifted the company’s price target and kept its “overweight” rating. A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world’s No.1 container shipping line, rose 2.1%, boosted by China’s growth numbers which signalled an increase in demand for shipping. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:35 am GE, Triveni in steam turbine JVNew Delhi: A unit of General Electric Co and India’s Triveni Engineering & Industries have formed a joint venture to manufacture steam turbines in India, the two firms said on Thursday. The partnership between the diversified Indian firm and GE Oil & Gas will design advanced technology steam turbines in the 30 to 100 megawatts range, and sell to Indian customers as well as export to global markets under the GE brand name. “Our strategic alliance reflects GE’s continued commitment to India and strengthens our local market presence through technology transfer,” GE India’s president and chief executive John Flannery said at a news conference. GE Triveni Ltd will be headquartered in Bangalore. GE will exclusively transfer technology and provide R&D support at Triveni’s Bangalore turbine manufacturing facility, the companies said. The two firms did not disclose the financial terms of the venture, but Triveni said it will hold one extra share in the JV, with both partners having equal board representation. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next few months. Shares in Triveni Engineering rose nearly 4% on the news. At 1 pm (0730 GMT), the stock was up 1.7% at Rs132. Earlier this year, a senior official at Triveni had told Reuters the firm was in talks to find a strategic partner for its turbine business and would make an announcement soon. GE, the world’s biggest maker of jet engines and electricity-producing turbines, aims to boost its growth in the fast-growing Indian economy by developing lower-cost products that will appeal to emerging market customers. In October last year, it named Flannery as head of its Indian operations, in a test of a new country-specific management style for the largest US conglomerate. GE’s energy arm has announced plans to set up a wind-turbine-generator plant in southern India, due to start production in the second half of 2010. GE also hopes to build at least one nuclear power plant in India following the 2008 US-India civil nuclear cooperation pact. “I think, as a mechanism to growing our business in India partnerships are key,” Flannery told reporters, when asked about the likelihood of more joint ventures in the country. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:29 am Airlines eye turnaround, funding woes lingerMumbai: India’s aviation industry, which is expected to lose $2.1 billion in 2009-10, is cautiously expanding routes and adding capacity as an economic recovery sets in, but fund raising continues to pose a challenge. “Return to growth was sharper than we expected because of impressive economic growth and significant capacity reduction by airlines, especially Jet and Kingfisher,” said Kapil Kaul, chief executive Indian subcontinent and West Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), an aviation consulting firm. In the last two years, the airlines sector in India and globally had been battered by a spike in fuel prices and economic slowdown resulting in lower travel spends. The past few months though have thrown up evidence of a turnaround with travellers returning and passenger traffic grew 20.54% in January-March over a year ago, government data showed. All private carriers posted seat factors of over 72% in February-March, while three budget airlines- SpiceJet, Indigo and Paramount - recorded over 75%. Jet Airways, India’s top private carrier by sales, reported around 80% load factor for international routes. “We are happy with the bookings we have received for April to June. Volume driven yields will go up,” said Raj Sivakumar, vice president, revenue management, Jet Airways. The new-found confidence is prompting airlines to reach out to newer overseas locations though the pace of expansion is more measured now than what was seen in 2008, before the slowdown hit. While Jet has launched a daily Mumbai-Johannesburg flight, Kingfisher has received approval for seven new international routes and budget carrier SpiceJet is getting ready to make its international debut. The airlines are also adding seats and planes to service new routes after having slashed capacity by 15 percent during the slowdown, analysts said. Capa estimates the domestic aviation industry to add 7-8% capacity in a year, but expects a capacity crunch in the third quarter this year. Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya said the firm may look at inducting new aircraft sooner than planned to capitalise on the upturn. Ravi Nedungadi, chief financial officer of the UB group, which has a controlling stake in Kingfisher, said the carrier would become profitable from fiscal year 2012. Fund Raising Roadblocks But airlines’ plans to raise funds and de-leverage their balance sheet has hit an air pocket as both Jet and Kingfisher have delayed their fund raising plan through share sale and a rights and GDR issue respectively to the current fiscal. “A persistent problem is that domestic investors are reluctant to invest in this industry as it’s a risky industry,” said an aviation analyst from a local brokerage. “Crude (oil) has played havoc with them in the past, the rupee-dollar movement has effects and demand is very elastic. The confidence level is low,” he said. SpiceJet, in which US investor Wilbur Ross holds foreign currency convertible bonds worth $68 million, too is looking to raise $50-75 million. It has been approached by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group and the founder of Sun TV Networks for a majority stake, according to media reports. SpiceJet CEO Sanjay Aggarwal refused to comment on the stake sale reports but said the airline would make a preferential allotment of shares later this year to raise the funds. He also said Ross had not yet taken a decision on whether he would convert his bond holdings into equity. “They will make a decision at any point in time. The options are in the money, based on the current stock price so it’s up to them”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:25 am Rupee trims gains on share losses; dollar riseMumbai: The Indian rupee retreated from the day’s highs on Thursday afternoon as losses in the domestic sharemarket weighed as did gains in the dollar against major currencies overseas. At 2:10pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs44.38/39 per dollar, off the day’s high of Rs44.18, revisiting a 19-month high that was reached on Monday. The rupee had closed at Rs44.48/49 on Tuesday. The market was closed on Wednesday for a local holiday. Bids from oil firms and other importers were also checking the rupee’s gains. Oil is India’s biggest import and refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the local currency market. Indian shares which rose 0.9% in early trade on Thursday were trading down 0.3% after sentiment turned cautious post the inflation data. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.4%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 44.43, marginally weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 44.4550, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $5.2 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:25 am Airlines in India eye turnaround, funding woes lingerMUMBAI (Reuters) - India's aviation industry, which is expected to lose $2.1 billion in 2009/10, is cautiously expanding routes and adding capacity as an economic recovery sets in, but fund raising continues to pose a challenge.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:19 am Mazda may fix 280,000 Mazda3/Axelas worldwideTOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall 89,822 Mazda3/Axela compact cars in Japan and China to fix a problem with the oil hose, and a further 191,503 sold elsewhere could be subject to repairs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:07 am GE, India's Triveni in steam turbine JV - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:07 am Inflation inches up to 9.9% in MarchAccording to the monthly inflation data, sugar prices rose by 48.75% in March year-on-year while pulses turned costlier by 31.40%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 2:03 am Soros sees risk to euro without German shift -report - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:51 am Mazda to recall nearly 90,000 compact cars in Japan, ChinaJapan's Mazda Motor will recall nearly 90,000 passenger cars domestically and in China due to an oil hose defect, the company said on Thursday.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:49 am Castrol India Q1 net profit up at Rs 117 cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:40 am Heat wave kindles hopes of good Indian harvestPune: Summer temperature in India is set to remain above average, weather officials said, raising hopes of heavy rains at the start of the monsoon season that will help early sowing of rice, soybeans and lentils. Early sowing and the subsequent early harvest insulates crops from weather risks such as weak rains towards the end of the June-September monsoon season that delivers 75-90% of the rainfall in most parts of India. It also calms market sentiment as early harvests quickly boost supplies and quash inflationary expectations. Last year, India saw its driest June in 83 years. The weak rains triggered a rise in inflation and India’s food price index rose about an annual 17% in March, 2010, leading to widespread protests and pressure on the federal government. Rice output in India, the world’s second-biggest producer, fell 14% last year, while plunging cane output turned India into a big sugar importer, sending New York raw sugar futures to their highest in 29 years and encouraging the government to freeze exports of most farm commodities. Most parts of India saw record-high temperature in March, usually a month of gradual transition from winter to summer, while a severe heat wave has gripped many states in April. “Higher temperatures during pre-monsoon phase are likely to help initial monsoon rains,” said N. Chattopadhyay, director of agricultural meteorology division of India’s weather office. If the weather remains warmer than normal, the country can expect heavy rainfall when the monsoon season begins, he said on the sidelines of the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum. Normal rains On Wednesday, Indian and Western weather experts said they expected normal monsoon rains in India this year, while a forecaster from Japan said rainfall may be weak. M. Vellinga of the UK weather office said warm weather would continue. “We expect above normal temperature before monsoon and near normal temperature during monsoon,” he told Reuters. Chattopadhyay said crop output would also depend on the distribution of rainfall, particularly in July, in the key crop areas such as soybean in central India and rice in other parts. Last year, a drop in soybean output helped India topple China as the world’s biggest edible oils importer. B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, said good rain in the early phase was vital. “Early monsoon has two crucial aspects. One is sentiment. In case of hoarding, stocks start getting offloaded and supplies suddenly improve,” he said. “The second is planting. Early sowing means early harvest and even if there is early withdrawal of monsoon, crops are safe,” Mehta told Reuters. The weather department said temperatures were expected to remain 2-4 degrees higher than normal in April and in the short term, heatwave conditions would continue over parts of central, east and northwest India. Predicting monsoon rains, vital for India’s farm output and economic growth, remains a challenge for the country as its forecasting skills are inadequate, scientists and weather officials said on Tuesday. [ID:nSGE63C0GS] A second straight poor summer monsoon is unlikely, India’s weather office chief said ahead of an official forecast for the rains that are crucial to the economy of the world’s second-most populous nation. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:39 am Inflation inches up to 9.9% in MarchWholesale price-based inflation remained below the psychological two-digit scores inching up marginally to 9.9% in March from 9.89% in the previous month.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:31 am Inflation inches up to 9.9 per cent in MarchWholesale price-based inflation remained below the psychological two-digit scores inching up marginally to 9.9 per cent in March from 9.89 per cent in the previous month. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:30 am KG basin block: ONGC in talks with ExxonMobil, others - Press Trust of India
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:21 am Inflation nears 10 pct in MarchNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's wholesale price inflation rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March following an easing in manufacturing inflation, although a rate hike by the Reserve Bank at its policy review next week remains a near certainty.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:05 am ONGC in talks with ExxonMobil, others for KG basin blockNew Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks with supermajors like ExxonMobil to replace Norway’s Statoil and Petrobras of Brazil who have decided to quit its KG basin gas block. “We are talking to a lot of people,” ONGC chairman and managing director R.S. Sharma said. The companies ONGC is talking to includes Exxon but Sharma refused to divulge details. “We are looking at firms for technology (to produce gas from ultra deep sea) and risk sharing,” ONGC director (Finance) Dinesh K. Sarraf said. The two specialist in deep-sea production technologies decided to quit block KG-DWN-98/2 due to government delays in approving their participation in the deepwater acreage. Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm, has offered ONGC its 15% interest in the Krishna Godavari basin block that sits next to Reliance Industries prolific KG-D6 fields without any cost. Similarly, Statoil has decided against participating in future drilling in the acreage off the Andhra coast. This follows apparent unwillingness of the Petroleum Ministry and its technical wing DGH to accord approvals for equity participation by foreign companies and the inordinate delays in clearing the drilling programmes. ONGC now wants another foreign partner to share risks in developing the acreage, which is estimated to have an in-place gas reserve of 14 trillion cubic feet. The state-owned firm does not have the production technology to produce gas from such water depth in the geologically hostile KG basin. ONGC, a few years back, had bought 90% stake in the block from Cairn India. In 2007, it farmed out 15% interest in the block to Petrobras and 10% to Norsk Hydro (now StatoilHydro). Cairn India currently has 10% stake in the block while ONGC has 65% interest. The block now has 10 discoveries and appraisal drilling is now required to be carried out to assess the potential before finalising development of gas fields. Sharma said gas production from the KG block will begin in 2015-16, instead of 2013 as anticipated earlier. Peak output from the field is seen at 20-25 million standard cubic meters per day, he said. Sharma had previously written to oil secretary saying red tapism was making international oil majors apprehensive about sharing exploration risks in acreages where they pick up stake. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 1:00 am Infosys touches new high on strong sales outlookAnalysts say Infosys' stronger-than-expected sales forecast for the fiscal year to March 2011 suggests a gradual recovery for India's $60 billion software services sector.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:53 am Techs lift markets; Infosys hits record highMumbai: Export-driven outsourcers propelled Indian shares higher on Thursday, with bellwether Infosys Technologies racing to an all-time high on the back of a recovery in global spending on technology. Investors were also upbeat after the Indian economy was seen growing at a faster pace in 2010/11 than earlier expected, helped by double-digit expansion in factory output, robust domestic demand and improving exports. Asia’s third-biggest economy will grow at annual rates above 8 percent in coming quarters and is seen expanding 8.4 percent for the 2010/11 fiscal year, a Reuters poll 20 analysts released on Wednesday showed. A similar quarterly poll in January had forecast growth of 8%.The poll showed that growth would accelerate in the fiscal year 2011/12 to 8.6%. Shares in Infosys, which gets more than half of its revenue from the United States, rose as much as 1.5 percent to an all-time high of Rs2,823.80. The No.2 outsourcer had forecast stronger-than-expected annual sales forecast on Tuesday, suggesting a gradual recovery for India’s $60 billion information technology services sector, though a stronger rupee and higher pay could check profit growth. Bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services and and No. 3 Wipro rose 1.3% each, lifting the sector index to its highest in three years. By 11:02am, the benchmark 30-share BSE index was up 0.33% at 17,880.90, with 23 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.4% at 5,343.25. Sanjeev Patkar, director of research at Almondz Global, said strong foreign fund inflows should underpin the market in the near term. “We do not see downside risk to the market, unless global cues turn very negative,” he said. Foreign funds have poured nearly $5.3 billion into equities so far this year, including in primary market offerings. Financials were mixed ahead of wholesale price inflation data for March that is forecast to top 10% and reinforce expectations for another rate rise next week, the second in as many months. The data is due by noon/ State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 0.7% each, while HDFC Bank gained 0.8%. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, slipped 0.2% to Rs1,118.85. Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries rose 1.2% as Shanghai copper edged up supported by Chinese economic data that met expectations. Aluminium maker Hindaclo rose 1.4% while Tata Steel, the world’s eighth-largest steel maker by output, climbed 1.1%. In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers in a ratio of 2.1:1 on volume of 178 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:51 am Infosys shares surge to new highShares in Infosys Technologies surged to a new all-time high on Thursday after strong sales forecast by India's No. 2 software services exporter boosted the demand outlook for outsourcing services.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:47 am Threat to Tharoor: forged documents used to procure SIMNew Delhi:Forged documents in the name of a city gym trainer were used by an unknown man to procure a SIM card from which “malicious” and “threatening” messages were sent to Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and others. After tracing the number to west Delhi’s Hari Nagar, police detained the gym trainer but investigators found him an “innocent victim as of now” and released him after lengthy interrogation. According to sources, the same number was also used to send a “filthy” SMS to senior CPI(M) polit bureau member Brinda Karat. Manic Verma, the gym trainer at the elite Constitution Club, was detained. However, sources said, it came to light during investigations that the mobile number was procured using forged documents in the name of Verma, residing in Hari Nagar. The detention came following investigations after Tharoor’s officer on special duty, Jacob Joseph, received an SMS last morning from the ‘henchmen’ of Karachi-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim threatening the Minister to stay out of IPL Kochi team or face death. Police had earlier received a complaint from Karat about a “filthy” SMS to the Rajya Sabha MP and CPI(M) polit bureau member, saying “you (Karat) are harming the country by your politics.” Delhi Police spokesperson, Rajan Bhagat, said they registered separate cases in connection with Tharoor and Karat following the receipt of complaints. During interrogation, sources said, Verma told investigators that a police team from Sonepat had come to his west Delhi residence recently in connection with a probe into a “filthy” SMS sent from the same number. Sources said Verma was told by the team that a “filthy” SMS was sent to someone in Sonepat from “his mobile number”. However, they said, the investigations later cleared him. Verma also told police he had lost his driving licence about seven years ago and had filed a complaint in this regard with Delhi Police. Sources said Verma suspect that this licence is being misused by someone to procure the SIM card. “As of now, it looks like Verma is innocent. He is also a victim. It appears that he has nothing to do with these text messages. Further investigations are on,” a senior police official said. Soon after the news of Tharoor getting threat SMS became public, police sent a four-member team from Tuglaq road police station to the minister’s 97-Lodhi Road residence and took details from his office. Later, an inspector and sub inspector of elite Special Cell also visited the minister’s residence in the evening and spoke to the officials there. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:43 am Inflation nears 10% in MarchNew Delhi: India’s wholesale price inflation rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March following an easing in manufacturing inflation, although a rate hike by the central bank at its policy review next week remains a near certainty. India’s wholesale price index rose 9.90% in March from a year earlier, below a median forecast for a 10.39% rise in a Reuters poll, and slightly higher than the previous month’s annual rise of 9.89%. The figure was still the highest since October 2008. At its January policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its WPI inflation projection for end-March 2010 to 8.5% from its earlier 6.5% with an upside bias. Manufacturing inflation eased to 7.13% in March from 7.4% in the previous month. Fuel inflation, however, quickened to 12.71% in the same month from 10.2% in February following a hike in domestic fuel prices and an upswing in world crude prices. With the RBI’s policy focus increasingly shifting towards containing inflation, investors are betting on at least a 25 basis point rate hike on 20 April. That would follow the RBI’s surprise 25 basis point hike on 19 March. “The headline WPI number is slightly lower than expected, remains below the 10% and has peaked now. High base effect will start to drag the headline inflation rate lower from next month onwards,” said Gaurav Kapur, senior economist at Royal Bank of Scotland in Mumbai. “The WPI inflation rate may not fall below 7-7.5% over the first half of the current fiscal year. This data, however, will not change the course of monetary policy normalisation,” he added. The RBI had cited increased capacity utilization as one of the principal factors driving up inflation and analysts expect the central bank to try to cool demand until companies boost their output potential. The latest Reuters poll shows analysts expect rates to go up by further 100 basis points between now and the end of the year. Rising Political Pressure Rising inflation has put the Congress-led ruling coalition on the back foot, forcing it to defer key economic reforms including market-determined fuel prices as it gears up to take on an emboldened opposition in Parliament. The main opposition parties have said they would seek a special vote on the Budget for the financial year that began on 1 April, demanding a rollback in petroleum and fertilizer price hikes. If the government loses the vote, it will have to resign. The parties have also called for country-wide strikes to protest against rising prices. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:41 am India to receive $4.5 mn US assistance to fight terrorismWashington: With India requesting for higher-level training from the United States in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Obama administration has asked the Congress to double its anti-terrorism budget to India to $4.5 million for the fiscal 2011. Testifying before a Congressional committee, Coordinator for Counter-terrorism in the Department of States Daniel Benjamin on Wednesday said such a decision by the Obama administration follows a request from India in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attack that killed more than 166 people, six of whom were Americans. “Under our FY 2011 request, India’s ATA bilateral budget would almost double, to $4.5 million, to meet the increasing political will on the part of the Indian government, which has requested more and higher-level training in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks,” Benjamin said. Anti-terrorism assistance or ATA continues to be US’s flagship counter-terrorism law enforcement capacity-building programme, and its partner nations have registered several concrete successes over the last year, he said. Benjamin said the Obama administration’s request for Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) is $1.2 billion for the fiscal 2011; which will be the first year the Department of State assumes full management of this fund. Funds will continue to be targeted at building the capability of Pakistan’s security forces directly engaged in counter-insurgency efforts in contested areas throughout the northwest frontier province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, he said. “A more capable Pakistani military will diminish extremist access to safe havens from which attacks on Pakistan and on US international forces operating in Afghanistan are planned and executed,” he said, adding a better trained and equipped Pakistani security force will facilitate efforts to execute its $7.5 billion five-year US civilian assistance strategy, which includes efforts to improve basic government services in areas vulnerable to extremists. The official said a major difference in the management of PCCF in the FY 2011 will be the increased State Department oversight and involvement throughout the execution process, which will ensure that this major assistance programme aligns with US’s broader policy objectives and complements its other foreign assistance programs in Pakistan and the broader region. “We are actively working to ensure that the transition of PCCF management from the defence department to the state department is a smooth one,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:34 am Nakheel to pay $8.2 billion to creditors in JuneDubai will spend up to $9.5 billion restructuring its debt-laden Dubai World conglomerate in a plan to give back lenders their money in five to eight years and to repay two key bonds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:29 am Carbon market to thrive despite political failings: EUBeijing: The global carbon market will still have enough momentum to survive even if the international community fails to come up with a new deal to combat greenhouse gas emissions, a European policy coordinator said on Thursday. Jurgen Lefevere told a conference in Beijing the European Union was pushing forward with plans for an international carbon trading platform that could exist independently of any new global climate accord. “Even after the failure of Copenhagen, the EU is moving ahead in building an international carbon market,” said Lefevere, the European Commission’s policy coordinator for international climate change negotiations. “The next meeting is at Cancun (in Mexico) and we recognise the negotiations are very difficult, but the EU market is not dependent on what happens internationally,” he said, referring to a major UN climate meeting to be held at end-2010. Carbon traders and project developers at the Beijing conference expressed concern that the failure to secure a binding agreement at UN-led climate talks in Copenhagen last December was sucking the energy out of the market. Copenhagen failed to provide any clarity on whether the Kyoto Protocol, the UN’s main weapon in the fight against climate change and a key driver of the carbon market, would be extended or absorbed into a broader new treaty. Kyoto’s first commitment period for rich nation emission targets expires in 2012. The protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) helps industrialised countries meet their mandatory UN emission targets by investing in clean energy projects in developing countries such as China and earn internationally tradeable carbon offsets in return. Demand remains key issue Lefevere said the legal infrastructure behind the CDM, which underpins a carbon market worth billions of dollars a year, would continue to exist after 2012, and that it would take “positive action” from the countries involved to abolish it. “CDM institutions will still be funded after 2012 -- the only thing that ends is the targets,” he said. The key issue was demand for carbon credits, but Lefevere was optimistic it would remain intact. “Demand is not driven by international targets but by national targets -- and there will be targets in the EU regardless of the international negotiations.” Europe has agreed to cut emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. The EU will also ramp up its emissions trading scheme from 2013 and will continue to allow offsets from CDM projects to be used in the scheme. Lefevere said Europe was continuing to push for a “sector-based” system that would eventually replace the current CDM, which works on a project-by-project basis. “We want to focus not on the CDM but on evolving a more complex and complete set of mechanisms,” he said. He conceded that the EU had not yet successfully persuaded countries such as China to back their scheme, which Beijing regards as a attempt to impose mandatory cuts by stealth. Lu Xuedu, the deputy director of China’s National Climate Centre, which is involved in the country’s climate negotiations, said while the country was keeping an eye on alternative solutions such as bilateral emission trading, an international accord would remain the priority. “Our first choice is a multinational framework but if it doesn’t work, then we will look for an alternative,” he said. Lu said the negotiations remain “intense”, and that while Europe was looking towards the United States for a breakthrough, Washington was continuing to look to China. “If there is no deal next year it will be a disaster, and an agreement is crucial whatever form it takes,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:28 am Oil extends gains, climbs above $86New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May rose 25 cents to $86.09 a barrel.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:01 am Conservative Party's immigration policy plan has British biz leaders worriedThe Conservative Party is the latest to come under fire from British business over campaign policies unveiled in the run up to the May 6 General Election – this time over the potentially damaging impact that the party's immigration policiesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Unique ID's biometric deal draws IT cos, vendorsAfter the first IT tender for application development services, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has set the ball rolling for anotherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Kochi team ownership not clear, says ModiThe war of words between Mr Lalit Modi, Indian Premier League Commissioner, and the Kochi team entered a new round on Wednesday, after Mr Modi cited lack of clarity in the team's ownership structure. “So far, all of us at least knew who theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am ‘I will pay by my cell phone'To the ubiquitous ‘cash or card?' query, soon you may be able to say, “no,Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am The iPad, another pleasant work experience from AppleThe Apple iPad: It was probably the product that created the most expectation; so much expectation that there were the flame wars between the fan-boys and the rest of the world even before members of either camp could even getSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Solar power scheme draws Rs 2.29-lakh cr proposalsIndia's Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS), aimed at galvanising investments in semiconductor fabs, ecosystem units and solar PV projects, has attracted 26 proposals, together worth more than Rs 2,29,000Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Mahindra bets big on USMahindra & Mahindra believes its global vehicle volume sales could contribute to 20 per cent of total business bySource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Life insurers await outcome of IRDA, SEBI stand-offLife insurance companies are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the stand-off between the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and the Securities and Exchange Board of India on unit-linked insurance plansSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe analysis and opinion expressed in these columns are based on the technical analysis of the past price behaviour. The stop-loss level provided with the recommendation is important. The original view would stand negated if the stop-loss levelSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Puravankara Projects (Rs 113.8): BuyPuravankara Projects has not done much over the last five months and has meandered sideways in the range between Rs 82 and Rs 126. This band would however have provided ample opportunity for swing traders to make money. The series of higherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am IT department to probe IPL teams' tax returnsFinance ministry sources have said that the Income Tax dept will probe the tax returns of IPL teams.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 11:54 pm Infosys touches new high on strong sales outlookMumbai: Shares in Infosys Technologies surged to a new all-time high on Thursday after strong sales forecast by India’s No. 2 software services exporter boosted the demand outlook for outsourcing services. Analysts say Infosys’ stronger-than-expected sales forecast for the fiscal year to March 2011 suggests a gradual recovery for India’s $60 billion software services sector, though a stronger rupee and higher pay are worries. At 11:30am, Infosys shares were trading up 1% at Rs2,810, after having risen as much as 1.5% to a record high of Rs2,823.80. The main Mumbai market was trading 0.3% higher. The IT sector index rose as much as 1.5% to its highest since February 2007. Shares in sector leader Tata Consultancy Services, which is expected to report a 38% rise in March quarter net profit on Monday, rose as much as 1.8% to Rs834.90. Deutsche Bank said Infosys’ dollar revenue outlook for fiscal year 2010-11 was higher than the 12-15% range expected by the Street, and that the growth momentum for the company was expected to continue in the coming quarters. Infosys, which counts Goldman Sachs, BT Group and BP among its customers, on Tuesday forecast revenue for fiscal 2011 to rise 16% to 18% in US dollars. Tata Consultancy, Infosys and No. 3 Wipro have revived hiring and are competing for staff and orders with IBM, Accenture and Hewlett-Packard as demand for outsourcing picks up. Infosys is well placed to beat its outlook for this year due to the strong recovery in demand in the second half of the year to March 2011, Deutsche Bank said in a note, maintaining its “buy” recommendation on the stock. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 11:52 pm Toyota to test all SUVs after Lexus sales haltTokyo: Toyota Motor said on Thursday it would conduct further safety tests on all its sport utility vehicles after it suspended sales of the Lexus GX 460 model following a report of a risk of rollover accidents. Toyota had taken the unusual step of stopping sales of the SUV model in the United States earlier this week after Consumer Reports magazine warned against buying it, calling it a ”safety risk” because of a potential handling problem in certain turns. The world’s biggest automaker has now also decided to suspend sales in the Middle East and Russia, the only other markets where the car is sold. The model has sold 5,400 units in the United States and Canada in the four months since it has been on the market, and a total of 580 units in the Middle East and Russia. Toyota is now conducting a string of tests on the stability control systems of all its SUVs in a bid to allay any concerns that drivers may have over their own derivate models, a Toyota spokeswoman said. ”The foremost reason for doing the extra tests is to put customers’ minds at ease,” spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said. She added that Toyota had received no reports of the problems described by Consumer Reports from GX 460 drivers. Takeuchi also denied a Kyodo News report that Toyota would voluntarily recall the Lexus GX 460. Separately, the Nikkei business daily said in its online edition that Toyota would modify the electronic stability control systems and other aspects of the vehicle after the influential, non-profit magazine’s findings. ”There is no way of recalling a car -- voluntarily or otherwise -- unless we find something wrong with the car, and we haven’t done that yet,” Takeuchi said. ”It’s premature to talk about any recall steps at this point.” Toyota has said its engineers were ”vigorously testing” the SUV to identify the risk cited by Consumer Reports, and has offered to provide a loaner vehicle for any concerned driver of the 2010 GX 460 model until a remedy was available. Shares in Toyota reacted little, losing 0.7% in mixed trade for Japanese auto stocks. Tokyo’s Topix index rose 0.8%. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for problems related to unintended acceleration, and has been penalised by US safety regulators for knowingly delaying one of the recalls. The US government has mandated that electronic stability control be standard on all vehicles by the 2012 model year. Electronic stability control is especially important on SUVs because taller vehicles are at greater danger for potentially lethal rollover crashes. Consumer Reports has called electronic stability control the most important development in auto safety since the seatbelt. The systems use computers linked to sensors to detect when a car starts to drift in turns and then apply more brake power or less engine power to keep the vehicle on track. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 11:50 pm Sensex rises 153 pts in early trade on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 153 points in early trade today on fresh capital inflows from foreign funds and strong gains in global markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 11:46 pm Asian stocks mostly gain on China economic growthSingapore: Asian stock markets mostly gained Thursday after China reported strong first quarter economic growth and earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co exceeded expectations. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average led gainers, rising 72.14 points, or 0.7% to 11,277.04. India’s benchmark index also advanced 0.4%, Indonesia gained 0.5% while Hong Kong and Singapore added 0.4%. South Korea and Australia rose 0.1% while China and Malaysia were little changed. Equity investors took heart from signs of strong economic growth in Asia. China said its gross domestic product grew 11.9% in the first quarter from a year earlier while Singapore’s economy jumped 13% from a year ago. Traders are eyeing first quarter corporate earnings reports which began this week. “The overall world economy is recovering, and our advice is to stay long the market,” said Tey Tze Ming, a trader with Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore. “The earnings we’re going to see over the next couple weeks will set the tone, and I think there’s upside from here.” In New York overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 103.69, or 0.9%, to 11,123.11, the highest finish since September 2008. The Dow closed higher Wednesday for a fifth day, buoyed by upbeat earnings from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase. Investors also chased Wall Street gains on Wednesday on a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales increased in March for the third straight month - a fresh sign that American consumers are starting to spend more. In currencies, the dollar edged up to ¥93.40 Thursday from ¥93.21 late Wednesday. The euro stood at $1.3638 from $1.3651. Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 25 cents to $86.09 a barrel Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 11:02 pm Rupee gains 23 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee appreciated by 23 paise to 44.25 a dollar in early trade today as foreign funds poured money into equities.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:48 pm Sensex rises 153 points on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 153 points in early trade today on fresh capital inflows from foreign funds and strong gains in global markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:41 pm Sensex rises 153 pts in early trade on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 153 points in early trade today on fresh capital inflows from foreign funds and strong gains in global markets.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:37 pm ORRA Diamonds draws up Rs75 cr retail expansion planThe company already has 29 stores in 19 cities and are adding four new stores at Baroda, Lucknow, Jalhandhar and Amritsar in the current year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:32 pm Death toll in China earthquake rises to 617Beijing: The death toll from the earthquake in China’s remote and mountainous Yushu county, Qinghai province, has risen to 617, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday. Convoys with food, tents and medicine are rumbling into Yushu, where most buildings were ruined by the 6.9 magnitude quake early on Wednesday morning. Survivors in the ethnic Tibetan town spent the night huddled under blankets while temperatures dropped below freezing. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:11 pm Oil tops $86 as Chinese economy roars aheadSingapore: Oil rose past $86 on Thursday, putting it less than a dollar short of 18-month highs as surging Chinese economic growth cemented expectations of a rebalancing of a market awash with supplies. China’s economy grew at the fastest pace since 2007 in the first quarter, although the scorching growth does raise the prospect of further monetary tightening to counter risks of overheating. The data followed a surprise drop in US crude inventories by 2.2 million barrels last week reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, snapping ten straight weeks of gains. Appetite for riskier assets including commodities also increased after stronger-than-expected company results, including from JPMorgan Chase and Intel, drove US stocks to a fifth straight day of gains. Front-month US crude rallied 30 cents to $86.14 a barrel at 0300 GMT, just shy of the $87.09 peak reached last week, while ICE Brent gained 30 cents to $86.45. “The market is relieved that at least on the supply side the fundamental picture is looking better after the largely unexpected US inventory draw,” said Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at the National Australia Bank. “The demand side is going to get more attention with the macro data coming out of the big consuming countries. Non-OECD demand, especially from China and other east Asian countries, has been very strong and the market is waiting for North America to catch up,” Westmore said. Oil prices rallied more than 2% on Wednesday, ending a five-day losing streak, helped by positive corporate earnings and upbeat retail sales data for March - fresh indications that the US economic recovery was taking hold. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in its monthly report, said economic optimism was driving prices and that it saw a “very comfortable outlook” for oil fundamentals. The group also nudged up its forecast for 2010 oil demand growth. Investors will watch data on weekly jobless benefit claims to gain further insight into how the labor market is faring as the economy stages a gradual recovery. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:02 pm China's economy surges 11.9 per cent in first quarterChina's economy grew a blistering 11.9 per cent in the first quarter, the government said on Thursday, increasing pressure on Beijing to raise interest rates and loosen controls on its currency.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 9:44 pm US is coming out of recession faster and stronger: GeithnerThe US, which witnessed one of the worst economic crisis in recent times, is coming out of recession faster and stronger than many countries of the world, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 9:11 pm Speed of global economic recovery is not enough: Manmohan!Observing that the speed of the global economic recovery is not enough, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said the G-20 countries has a crucial role to play in the post-crisis period.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2010 | 6:03 pm Toyota suspends Lexus GX 460 sales after safety warning!Embattled Japanese automaker Toyota announced it was temporarily suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after a safety warning by a respected US consumer magazine.Source: Zee News : Business | 14 Apr 2010 | 6:03 pm Language barrier | Cracking the English to Hindi codeNew Delhi: For the seven men seated around a conference-room table, the most contentious subject of the afternoon turns out to be cracked feet. “Are they very different from cracked nails?” asks O.P. Varma, a cap perched on his head even indoors and one lens of his spectacles smoked over for what appears to be a medical reason.  Testing ground: Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology members debate what words will make it to an English-Hindi glossary. The commission’s philosophy is: to replace English completely, it’s necessary to convert its technical terms into Indian languages. Priyanka Parashar / Mint “It is. In cracked nails, the nails just go brittle,” replies Bhim Sen Behra, the youngest of the group and a physician. “In cracked feet, the skin breaks up. It’s very different.” “So we call cracked nails nak-bhed, but we can’t just call cracked feet pad-bhed?” Varma says thoughtfully. “And pad-vikar could be any type of disease of the feet. Do we have another word for ‘cracked’?” The group thinks for a few seconds, before S.C. Saxena says: “There’s bhanjan. We use that in the term for ‘catalytic cracking,’ but we can’t use that here. Pad-vidaran, perhaps we can use. Or maybe pad-vidaaran.” Saxena carefully enunciates the difference. The discussion persists in this vein. The men frequently pick up one of the many dictionaries—Sanskrit, Hindi or English—from the table and riffle through their pages, or they ransack their memories for previously encountered words. These deliberations are, in a way, momentous. Final decisions will enter the updated version of the heavy English-Hindi scientific glossary, published by the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT), and they will form a part of CSTT’s continuing, slightly quixotic campaign: To expand the vernacular lexicon, and thereby safeguard India’s languages from obsolescence. CSTT was founded, within the ministry of human resource development, by a presidential order in 1960, and for the first few decades of its existence, it focused almost overwhelmingly on Hindi. The current chairman, a professor of biotechnology named K. Bijay Kumar, says that he was appointed to the post after he insisted on working more in other languages. The ambition at the time, Kumar says, was uncomplicated: “They felt that, in order to replace English completely, it was necessary to convert its technical terms into our own languages.” Largely, this consists of many, many variations on the cracked-feet conversation. Assorted subject experts and linguists are convened by CSTT to construct banks of words in every possible discipline. (Saxena, who has been with the CSTT since its inception, once supervised the assembly of Glossary of Steel and Non-Ferrous Metallurgy, a book fatter than most novels.) “We decide on, literally, thousands of words a year,” Kumar says. “The only field we don’t touch is law. That’s outside our purview.” Fifty years after its formation, however, CSTT operates in a very different world. Even as the universe of technical terms swells with the burgeoning knowledge in niche new disciplines, English has come to be the default language of not only scientists but also pragmatists, and Hindi newspapers reach often for English words. The staff in CSTT has dwindled, from nearly 500 in 1960 to 14 today because, as one employee puts it, “the salaries aren’t great, and junior officers who know science would rather work elsewhere.” CSTT’s publications are in weak demand; 5,000 copies of the science glossary were published in 1993, and 500 remain unsold and unwanted. Most poignantly, even other wings of the government now express impatience with the reams of words flooding out of CSTT. A standing joke within bureaucratic circles holds that CSTT’s supposed translation of “train” is lohpathgamni agnirath which translates into the literally absurd “ fiery chariot that travels on iron tracks”. It isn’t, of course, but the joke itself is telling. Kumar refuses to accept that the battle is being fought in vain. “I don’t think there should be a divide between the English-speaking elite and the others,” he says. “And I don’t think it’s impractical to use Hindi scientific terms. Japanese and Chinese scientists do it all the time. They write their papers in their own language, and have them translated for English publication. Why shouldn’t we do the same?” In his five years as chairman, Kumar has tried to introduce a certain robustness into CSTT’s processes. A word is first selected from the existing English vocabulary; its Hindi equivalent, once suggested by academics, will be reviewed by a diverse focus group, and it must pass their scrutiny to be then tweaked and confirmed. This cycle can take as long as one year. “Words aren’t rejected very often,” Kumar says. “Once we’d put down jaalika for (the cell organelle) reticulum, because it looks like a tiny net. The testers said it was absurd.” CSTT’s best-selling publication is a glossary of administrative terms, because it is an automatic purchase for Central government departments, which must conduct their business in both English and Hindi. The department of official language, a home ministry body charged with enforcing the Central government’s bilingual nature, defends CSTT’s mission—and its own—stoutly. But its joint secretary, D.K. Pandey, admits that keeping up with the lexicon can be wearying. “We often allow, for instance, documents from the ministry of science and technology to include English terms simply written in the Hindi script,” Pandey says. “And why not? English has picked up words like hartal and satyagraha after all.” In strictly official documents, no quarter is given; CSTT’s terms must be used. “But in correspondence and files and so on, we are flexible. We allow more English words.” Within the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), more caustic views prevail. In 2004, the Supreme Court directed NCERT to use CSTT’s terms in its Hindi textbooks. “[T]he setting up of the [CSTT] and the expenditure incurred…would be meaningless if the terminology…were not in fact used by the government and bodies under its control,” the court decided. R.J. Sharma, who heads NCERT’s department of language, was present at the Court on the day this judgement was pronounced. It has meant, he observes, a small quantum of work added to NCERT’s other duties. “We find that teachers sometimes complain that the Hindi words are too difficult,” Sharma says. “So we have to explain a word further, in two or three other words. We have to simplify where possible.” To illustrate his point, Sharma brings up the word “semiconductor”, but even he, a professor of Hindi, must pull down CSTT’s dictionary to find its counterpart: ardhchalak. “This isn’t an easy word to immediately understand,” he says. “It would be more suitable to at least add, in brackets, the word ‘semiconductor’ in the Hindi script.” CSTT isn’t wholly opposed to transliteration; in its glossaries, Saxena estimates, 25% of the words are English terms written in Hindi, another 10-12% hybrids of English and Hindi, and the remainder pure Hindi. The names of chemical elements are always retained, as are units of weights and measures. “Although we still need to discuss them,” Saxena points out. “In the Hindi script, ‘aluminium’ can be written in five different ways, so we need to fix on which is best.” But Kumar questions the larger perception that Hindi terms should be self-explanatory. “Technical terms are complex. They’re usually not straightforward or easily understood.” At a lecture in Dehradun, he recalls, he once hammered home this point with the word “orthopaedics”, noting: “the roots of the word are ‘straight’ and ‘child’, because Greek orthopaedists spent their time straightening out the limbs of polio-afflicted children. Is that self-explanatory? Not at all.” Saxena insists that “no word is difficult or easy, but merely unfamiliar or familiar”, and he and Varma are armed with examples of how their process is both logical and aesthetic. “When I was working in All India Radio, we were stuck once because Voltas was sponsoring a programme and we didn’t know how to say that in Hindi,” Varma remembers. “Then we reasoned that the sponsorship was serving a sponsor’s purpose, so from the Hindi word for ‘purpose’—prayojan—we derived prayojak for ‘sponsor’. And now that word is used all the time.” Back in the conference room, pad-vidaran and pad-vidaaran have both been dismissed. (“Vidaran means an internally caused affliction, and vidaaran indicates that it’s caused by an external agency,” Saxena clarifies. “We can’t use either.”) Behra has now suggested pad-vidar, and he meets no immediate murmurs of dissent. “So I’m putting down pad-vidar, then,” Varma says. A companionable silence sets in, until Varma interrupts himself, looks up, and asks of his colleagues, in all earnestness: “Wait a minute. What if we want to say that somebody has a cracked mind? What do we use then?” samanth.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:45 pm Great Scott! Indian single malt whisky going globalThe young and the happening are moving to a new love, laced with heavy, thick oak and barley-sugar notes shrouded in soft smoke, with a gentle hint of cool mountain air.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:27 pm Record redemptions push equity mutual funds into redDespite a good growth in sales, record redemptions in March, the highest in more than two years, pushed the diversified equity mutual funds (MFs) into the red with the category registering net outflows after a gap of two months.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:25 pm Convertible bonds may hit profitsThough the recent rally in stocks and rupee appreciation have helped companies that had raised money though foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), the effective conversion price for these bonds is still at a significant premium to stock prices in most cases.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:22 pm M&As gather pace, value shoots up in MarchMergers and acquisition (M&As) values gathered momentum and registered a sharp increase in March, primarily in the wake of Bharti Airtel's acquisition of Zain Africa.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:20 pm Godrej to merge its African buysGodrej Consumer Products (GCPL), which has acquired as many as three companies in Africa since 2006 - Rapidol, Kinky and Tura - is now looking at a consolidation plan which will involve the merger of Rapidol and Kinky.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:18 pm India Inc may get boost from positive cash flowsIs Corporate India headed for a period of good growth as well as decent cash flows?Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:16 pm Tharoor asked to clarify positionThe Congress leadership has asked Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor to clarify his position publicly. Tharoor will give a statement in Parliament on Thursday. He has been instructed to furnish all facts and details about his involvement in the IPL franchisee auction.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 1:00 pm India Inc embraces solar powerLines up investments worth Rs 1,00,000 crore.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:54 pm Chawla sides with Sebi, Montek for stability councilLutyens Delhi today took centrestage in the standoff between Mumbai-based markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Hyderabad-based Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:51 pm IPL to come cleanShareholding of all franchisees to be made public, says Lalit Modi.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 12:50 pm ‘Liquidity is high, thanks to good crop’Even as the country, grappling with a hardening currency and runaway food prices, looks towards the Reserve Bank of India’s credit policy, due on April 20, the chairman and managing director of Indian Bank, T.M. Bhasin, told Hindustan Times that interest rates typically rise when liquidity dries up.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:48 am CII urges RBI to rein in rising rupeeThe industry, which is bearing the brunt of a strong rupee while facing the prospect of an interest rate hike, has sought immediate action from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to stabilise the currency.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:46 am China’s realty zoomsChinese property prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years in March, according to official data released on Wednesday. This is likely to add to concerns of a bubble developing in the real estate market.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:44 am Haier looks to triple india sales in 2010Chinese consumer durables manufacturer Haier Appliances India is eyeing a 200 per cent sales growth in 2010 as compared to 2009. The ambitious target comes in the backdrop of 216 per cent growth by the company during January-March, 2010.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:41 am From Washington to Wall Street: lawmakers regulate banks, then flock to themRepresentative Barney Frank publicly rebuked a former aide this month for taking a job with a big Wall Street firm right after drafting a regulation that could affect the way the firm does business.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:38 am Artificial pancreas to monitor, control blood sugar levelsBangalore: Almost nine decades after insulin was discovered, the hormone remains the mainstay of type 1 diabetes treatment, even as the treatment resembles a tightrope walk—keeping blood sugar levels from dropping too low or surging too high. Now scientists have developed an artificial pancreas that uses a computer programme to balance sugar levels in the body and could help patients maintain near-normal sugar levels. Reporting in Wednesday’s issue of Science Translational Medicine, scientists from Harvard Medical School, Boston University, and Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, who have tested the device in humans with type 1 diabetes, say it will eventually run on a computer chip as part of a wearable artificial pancreas system, somewhat like the insulin pump that’s currently used. Type 1 diabetes involves two hormones—insulin, which lowers blood sugar, and glucagon, which raises it—both of which are needed for proper sugar control.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint This works like “techno-biological” software for controlling diabetes, said A.G. Unnikrishnan, professor of endocrinology at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kerala. Unnikrishnan and his colleague Bipin Nair, professor and dean at Amrita School of Biotechnology, say such an experiment combining insulin and glucagon infusion to achieve normal glucose levels in diabetics without hypoglycemia, or dangerously low levels of blood sugar, has not been achieved before. In earlier attempts, artificial pancreas have only focused on supplying insulin, which hasn’t succeeded in preventing hypoglycemia. The present “pancreas” comprises a continuous blood sugar monitor, two pumps that inject the hormones under the skin and a laptop that runs the algorithm which facilitates communication between the two pumps. Study authors Steven J. Russel and Edward R. Damiano, who are currently testing a more portable system where the computer program runs on a chip, believe this kind of a “closed loop” artificial pancreas will become the standard care for type 1 diabetes. “It will likely first be adopted by current users of insulin pumps and continuous monitors, but this will likely be followed by a more widespread adoption among the type 1 population,” they wrote in an email. The device could also potentially treat those persons whose pancreas have been destroyed due to pancreatitis or surgically removed. Misra is currently experimenting with stem cells for treating diabetes but experts say such cellular therapies are a long way off. Additionally, several recent studies have shown that even type 2 diabetes, which has reached epidemic levels in India afflicting at least 50 million people, should be considered for insulin therapy. The authors say they will soon begin studying the use of artificial pancreas in type 2 diabetes. In such instances, say experts, devices like these could provide insight into disease processes. While it is now commonly believed that the Indian population is prone to diabetes, even manifesting an earlier onset of the disease compared with Western populations, little is known why this could be so. “Systems (such as these) that can sense biological metrics and delivery (of) multiple hormones may be a powerful tool in studying the pathophysiology of disease, and in particular, in groups with specific genetic predisposition,” said Elazer R. Edelman, a professor at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is not associated with the study. Still, many worry that new healthcare technologies come with a hefty price tag and widespread adoption may prove elusive; insulin pumps in India being one such case. The study’s authors say this need not necessarily be the case. “We think it will be very cost-effective because it will reduce complications, the care of which is the most expensive thing about diabetes,” said Russell and Damiano, adding that one way out could be for national health services to invest in providing an artificial pancreas to all people with type 1 diabetes. Before such targets can be considered, many challenges confront the device. Fortis’ Misra said the artificial pancreas needs to be always on, akin to a body part, and for this the glucose sensor, which should be in permanent touch with bloodstream, should be robust and not prone to deterioration over time. Nair, who is commercializing a locally developed insulin pump, said: “The reliability and the user-friendly interface for such devices, in terms of patient acceptability, is a critical component”. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:20 am Cartoonist breaks new ground for online journalismMark Fiore, whose animated political cartoons appear on SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, admitted that he was as surprised as anyone when he became the first editorial cartoonist to win a Pulitzer Prize for work that does not appear in print. The Pulitzer jury, in announcing the award on Monday, said Fiore’s “biting wit, extensive research and ability to distil complex issues set a high standard for an emerging form of commentary”—online video cartooning.  Punch line: An example of Fiore’s work seen in an undated cartoon. Reuters Fiore, 40, reached at his home in Marin County, California, said he had been caught off guard by news of the award, which is given by the Columbia University School of Journalism. “This is my ideas morning and I’ve had my head stuffed in my notebook all morning long,” Fiore said. “I’ve been specifically avoiding all talk about the Pulitzer for the past week to avoiding getting prize fever.” Fiore was one of the first print editorial cartoonists to make the transition to the online medium when he began doing work for SFGate.com in 2001. Like traditional editorial cartoons, his work pokes fun at politicians and societal hypocrisy, but Fiore delivers his messages in animated videos that last between 45 seconds and 2 minutes. “No one had ever seen what he was doing,” said Vlae Kershner, news director of SFGate.com. “Nine years later, there’s still no one who does what he does.” Fiore’s winning entry included Science-gate, which adopts the voice-over tone of a mudslinging political ad to lampoon sceptics of global warming. Obama Interruptus portrays the US President as a focused orator despite the distracting realities of the world around him. Credit Card Reform in Action spoofs new credit card regulations that are as confusing. “What I really try to do is make it accessible, avoid the wonky and have something to say,” Fiore said. “I’d rather get people thinking a little bit (first), then laughing. But ideally, do both.” Fiore grew up in California, where as an eighth-grader he aimed his illustrated commentaries at teachers and school administrators, sometimes landing him in trouble. “I was the kid that was always drawing,” he said. “I learnt to focus my talents into a more positive direction.” He majored in political science at Colorado College. In the biography he submitted to the Pulitzer jury, Fiore wrote that his 1991 graduation ceremony was “a perfect send-off for a cartoonist” because he received his diploma “as commencement speaker Dick Cheney smiled approvingly”. Fiore worked at the San Jose Mercury News for nine months as a staff cartoonist before he started freelancing editorial cartoons to the Chronicle around 2000. SFGate.com was his first online venue. His work is now syndicated and also appears on Slate.com, MotherJones.com and CBSNews.com, among others. “The Gate has been very supportive and took a chance on me early on,” Fiore said. “They’ve stuck with it, and I’m glad I won this for the Gate.” Fiore said he would probably spend the $10,000 (around Rs4.5 lakh) that accompanies the Pulitzer Prize on a remodel of the bathroom of the home he and his wife, Chelsea Donovan, purchased in December. He’ll probably also have a nice dinner with friends, but he knows that deadlines loom: Fiore’s next piece to SFGate.com is due 21 April. “What do you do when you win a Pulitzer?” Fiore asked. “Do you work hard or do a big blowout and take the week off?” ©2010 / THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:16 am Apple’s iPad to debut outside US in late MayNew York: Apple Inc.said demand for its iPad tablet computer is far higher than it expected, prompting the company to delay the device’s introduction outside the US by a month. The company shipped more than 500,000 iPads during the first week and expects demand to exceed its supply for the next several weeks, according to a statement on Wednesday. Apple postponed the device’s international debut until the end of May. Initial sales signal Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may be succeeding in building a new product group at Apple between smartphones and laptop computers. The delay outside the US may not hurt Apple because there aren’t any competing products consumers can buy, said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham and Co. in New York. The iPad went on sale April 3 in the US. Apple said it sold more than 300,000 iPads on the first day. Apple is betting the device, which starts at $499 (around Rs22,255), is enticing enough that consumers are willing to pay a premium over low-cost notebooks. Apple said it will announce international pricing and begin taking online preorders on 10 May. Katie Hoffmann contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:15 am Apple’s iPad to debut outside US in late MayNew York: Apple Inc.said demand for its iPad tablet computer is far higher than it expected, prompting the company to delay the device’s introduction outside the US by a month. The company shipped more than 500,000 iPads during the first week and expects demand to exceed its supply for the next several weeks, according to a statement on Wednesday. Apple postponed the device’s international debut until the end of May. Initial sales signal Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may be succeeding in building a new product group at Apple between smartphones and laptop computers. The delay outside the US may not hurt Apple because there aren’t any competing products consumers can buy, said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham and Co. in New York. The iPad went on sale April 3 in the US. Apple said it sold more than 300,000 iPads on the first day. Apple is betting the device, which starts at $499 (around Rs22,255), is enticing enough that consumers are willing to pay a premium over low-cost notebooks. Apple said it will announce international pricing and begin taking online preorders on 10 May. Katie Hoffmann contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:15 am Countdown for India’s ambitious rocket mission beginsSriharikota (AP): Countdown began on Wednesday for the first flight-testing of indigenous cryogenic engine on homegrown rocket GSLV-D3, the success of which would take India into the elite club of space-faring nations with such capabilities. For the first time, India would be using indigenously built cryogenic stage and engine technology, which is crucial to put communication satellites weighing more than two tonnes into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The Indian Space Research Organisation’s GSLV-D3 would put in GTO the country’s latest communication satellite. The 2,220 kgs GSAT-4 satellite has a seven-year mission life. The 29-hour countdown began at 11.27 am and “things were progressing as per countdown”, an Isro spokesperson said. The 50-metre tall GSLV-D3 with GSAT-4 is scheduled to blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.27 pm on Thursday. It took nearly two decades for Indian scientists to go in for a home-made cryogenic technology after its bid to acquire cryogenic propellant from Russia in 1992 failed in the face of US opposition. It did not materialise due to strong US opposition and “technology denial regime of big powers”, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre M C Dathan said. “Often in the past, we have purchased completed cryogenic engines from Russia and five of them had been used for our GSLV missions. But we felt that it was important to develop indigenous capability as cryogenic technology is crucial to take our space programme to new heights,” he said. “It was a ‘milestone´ for Indian space programme in many ways and proved ‘our capabilities and reflects our scientists´ determination to take up any challenge,” he said. Developed by a dedicated team of scientists of Isro’s Liquid Propulsions System Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, the success of this technology will put the country in the elite club comprising the US, Russia, certain European countries, Japan and China which possess the complex cryogenic technology. Isro had used Russian cryogenic stages for the last five GSLV flights. According to an Isro spokesperson, GSAT-4 is India’s 19th geostationary satellite built by the space agency and the fourth in GSAT series. The previous GSAT series were launched by GSLV vehicles in 2001, 2003 and 2004. After its commissioning, GSAT-4 will join the group of India’s 11 operational geostationary satellites, the spokesperson said. G Ravindranath, Project Director, GSLV-D3, was quoted in an official statement as saying that reaching the testing of the indigenously developed cryogenic stage was a “big struggle.” Former Chairman of Isro, Dr G Madhavan Nair, who has been involved in the project said that India managed to achieve its goals on developing indigenous cryogenic technology without anybody’s assistance. “We have set our goals and worked for it and we have achieved it. (It’s) Not to show about our strength and things like that,” he said. Nair said development of cryogenic technology was a challenging job. “Our engineers and scientists have toiled and they have really mastered the technology. This is the highest levels of technology in rocket,” he added. “So, that way we are mastering that. I think we are becoming one of the world leaders in rocketry,” he said. The ‘desi´ version of the technology has given India the coveted status of total self-reliance in launch vehicle technology and would help Isro in its future GSLV missions to carry heavier payloads, Dathan said. There has been a growing demand for communication satellites in India and abroad. The greatest advantage of cryogenic propellant will be the greater energy, thrust and velocity to the launch vehicles as compared to the conventional solid or liquid propellants. “The technology has already come through a lot of ground tests and faults found during the process have been corrected. It has also been evaluated by national-level experts. What is going to happen tomorrow is its flight worthiness test,” Dathan said. The development of cryogenic engines involves mastering several complex disciplines such as materials technology, operating rotary pumps and turbines that run at 42,000 rpm at cryogenic temperatures. “This flight is going to be very critical since we are going to demonstrate a major technology. So we have had no stone unturned to ensure it as a success,” he said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 10:13 am Intel forecast signals rebound in IT spendingSan Francisco: The world’s biggest chip maker, Intel Corp., has forecast rising sales this quarter and record profit margins for the year, signalling a rebound in technology spending after revenue rose 44% in the first three months. Second quarter revenue will climb as high as $10.6 billion, (Rs47,276 crore) exceeding analysts’ predictions, and 2010 gross margins will widen to a record, Intel said on Tuesday. Net income surged almost fourfold in the three months through March. Consumers served as a big driver of computer demand and corporate executives, more confident about their prospects, are replacing ageing machinery, Intel chief executive officer Paul Otellini said. The report signalled that the economic recovery is taking hold, lifting Intel and companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. in extended trading. “We’re talking about the best quarter in company history and the economy has not normalized,” said Patrick Becker Jr., chief investment officer at Becker Capital Management in Portland, Oregon, who owns Intel stock as part of $2.3 billion he has under management. These are not peak earnings.  Increasing sales: Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel Corp., is optimistic about the firm’s business prospects for 2010 and beyond. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg “We are optimistic about the prospects of our business for 2010 and beyond,” Otellini told analysts on a conference call. The company, whose processors power more than 80% of the world’s personal computers, saw orders of chips used in corporate computers begin to increase for the first time since the recession, he said. Intel’s dominance in the chip industry makes it a bellwether for computer demand. Its report also kicks off earnings season for the major technology companies: Google Inc. gives its results on 15 April, International Business Machines Corp. reports on 19 April, and Microsoft delivers earnings on 22 April. While Intel’s fourth quarter results also beat analysts’ predictions, they didn’t boost the share price. The stock declined about 9% that earnings season, dragged down by concern chip orders were being driven by customers building up inventory, rather than real demand. In the first quarter, demand for chips used in laptop computers and new data centres that provide computer services over the Internet boosted sales and profit. That will continue to drive revenue, helped by sales in developing markets, according to chief financial officer Stacy Smith. Intel shows that spending dollars keep going towards technology, Doug Freedman, an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc. in San Francisco, said on Bloomberg Television. First quarter net income climbed to $2.44 billion, or 43 cents a share, from $629 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier. Analysts projected 38 cents a share. Revenue increased 44% to $10.3 billion, compared with the average estimate of $9.85 billion. Customers aren’t building up excess stockpiles of chips, a sign the industry isn’t at risk of a supply glut, Smith said. “When we look through the supply chain, what we see are healthy and appropriate inventory levels relative to how we see demand,” he said in an interview. “It was an incredible first quarter for us.” Joseph Galante contributed to this story. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 9:57 am Citi to sell funds unit to Skybridge CapitalNew York: Citigroup Inc plans to sell a hedge fund business with $4.2 billion worth of assets to SkyBridge Capital LLC, a New York firm that invests in start-up fund managers. The deal announced on Wednesday marks another step in Citi’s plan to shed assets. The unit had been languishing in Citi Holdings, the bank’s repository for businesses that it is trying to sell or wind down. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The unit includes Citi’s hedge fund business, hedge funds that it manages, and stakes in small hedge funds. The planned deal was first reported in February, when a person familiar with the talks said that SkyBridge had emerged from preliminary discussions as the final, exclusive bidder for the unit. Citigroup sold the businesses from its Citi Alternative Investments unit, which has been managing funds-of-hedge-funds since 1994. Raymond Nolte, who oversaw the businesses at Citi, will join SkyBridge as part of the deal. Nolte, who will become a managing partner and chief investment officer, will also bring a team of more than 20 people from Citi to SkyBridge. The New York firm, led by managing partners Scott Prince and Anthony Scaramucci, provides capital to hedge fund managers in exchange for a share of its fees. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 7:20 am BofA names outsider Charles Noski as CFONew York: Bank of America Corp named outsider Charles Noski its next chief financial officer, filling a key position that has been vacant for months, the Charlotte, North Carolina, bank said on Wednesday. Noski, 57, who will become CFO on 11 May, most recently was chief financial officer of Northrop Grumman Corp , a defence contractor. He left Northrop in 2005. Noski was also the chief financial officer of the telecommunication giant AT&T from 1999 to 2002. Noski has served on a number of boards, including those of Microsoft Corp, Morgan Stanley, Air Products and Chemicals Inc , Automatic Data Processing Inc, AT&T, and Northrop Grumman. Bank of America has been trying to right itself after its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co just over a year ago became mired in controversy over soaring losses and bonus payments to Merrill bankers. BofA’s former CFO Joseph Price now heads the bank’s consumer, small business and credit card units. Bank of America could not be immediately reached for further comment. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 5:39 am Opec holds oil demand forecast steady, cautious on recoveryVienna: The Opec oil producers’ cartel held steady on Wednesday its forecast for modest growth in world oil demand this year, noting uncertainty about the pace of global economic recovery. “The world economic pulse is the variable that will determine the fate of global oil demand this year,” the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its April report. “Economic activities in the US are playing the wild card for world oil demand growth. “Given the slow world economic recovery, world oil demand growth is forecast in 2010 at 0.9 million barrels per day (bpd) or 1.1% to average 85.2 million bpd,” the report said. That was unchanged from the previous report. While some “minor” improvements were being seen in US oil demand as a result of increased economic activities, the low statistical base and cold weather, “it is still too early to draw a complete conclusion about the fate of the country’s oil demand,” the cartel said. Oil consumption is traditionally low in the second quarter, but the third quarter includes the summer driving season which has a large impact on gasoline demand. “Should these two quarters not meet expectations in both industrial and transport fuels, then total world oil demand will slide from the current growth level,” Opec wrote. All of the anticipated growth in oil demand this year would come from developing countries, particularly in Asia, the report said. For many years, industrialised countries in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) region had been the main contributor to world oil demand growth until 2005. “The picture has changed since 2006 as the emerging economies became the sole contributor to world oil demand.” During the peak of the world financial crisis in 2009, OECD oil demand declined by almost 2.0 million bpd, Opec said. “OECD oil demand is forecast to bounce back; however, it will remain in the red by more than 0.1 million bpd in 2010,” it predicted. On Tuesday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its forecast for oil demand, but warned about potential risks to the economic recovery posed by high energy costs. Oil prices above $80 a barrel could hamper economic recovery, the IEA said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 5:09 am UBS sees more cash withdrawals, AGM vote loomsBasel, Switzerland: UBS will continue to bleed client money despite lower first-quarter withdrawals, CEO Oswald Gruebel told investors gathered to vote on bonuses and plans to exonerate management for the bank’s crisis. Chief executive Gruebel, hired just over a year ago to turn around UBS, told a packed shareholder meeting that stopping clients pulling cash from its key wealth management division was a priority. But the bank had not yet succeeded in restoring trust, especially in Switzerland. “We must, however, assume that we will have to accept further outflows before we can turn this trend around,” he told the annual general meeting of the bank, which has a new team of executives mainly brought in by Gruebel. More than $50 billion of writedowns on credit losses drove UBS to its biggest annual loss in 2008 and threatened its survival, prompting state intervention. The bank has also been the target of a high-profile US tax fraud investigation. UBS paid 3 billion Swiss francs in cash bonuses in 2009 despite annual net losses of 2.7 billion francs ($2.6 billion). But Gruebel, who did not take a bonus, defended the hefty pay cheques as a way for the bank to attract and retain staff during a tough restructuring. “To do so we need specialists and executives whose price is determined by the global market,” he said as investors prepare to give a non-binding vote on the bank’s 2009 bonuses. “This is a reality that we must acknowledge if we want UBS to compete globally, generate value for shareholders and remain an attractive employer.” Chairman Kaspar Villiger, a former Swiss finance minister who joined the bank in March, strongly rejected criticism of UBS’s remuneration policy, saying curbing variable pay would take away the banks’ “chances of recovery and survival.” Management exoneration in question Most investors may in the end turn a blind eye on the issue in the light of progress made, some have said, but the vote on discharging management responsibilities for 2007, the year of risky bets on subprime products, looks particularly tight. A rejection could theoretically pave the way for legal action against then chairman Marcel Ospel, who has become a hate-figure for the Swiss public, and chief executive at the time, Peter Wuffli, unless new evidence emerges. “Primitive societies would sacrifice their elite to appease the gods, and that’s what some Swiss would like to do to Ospel and company today,” said Peter Thorne, an analyst with Helvea. “It’s a human instinct but let’s hope were beyond that now.” The importance of such an historic rejection would, however, be largely symbolic, as the bank has already decided not to seek compensation from former executives, and individual shareholder action is costly. Shares in UBS traded 1.3% higher at 18.29 by 1002 GMT, up from 18.11 francs shortly after the contents of Gruebel’s speech were made public. Credit Suisse stock was down 0.6% and the STOXX European banks index was 0.2% higher. Top bankers have said Gruebel needs a few months of calm and an end to negative headlines to restore client confidence in the franchise fully and to stop an exodus of financial advisors. That will depend on the fate of a deal struck with the United States last year to end a bitter tax investigation that has shaken customers’ trust and dealt a blow to Switzerland’s traditional bank secrecy. Parliamentary approval is needed. Chairman Kaspar Villiger said in his speech that he was “very concerned” about the future of the US tax deal. The right-wing SVP, Switzerland’s biggest party, has said it will vote against the deal, while the Social Democrats, whose vote could make or break the deal, signalled on Tuesday they might back it if the government introduces tax curbs on bankers’ bonuses. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Apr 2010 | 4:37 am
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