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Praful Patel: Clearing clouds surrounding Air IndiaPraful Patel has been responsible for more revolutions in the aviation ministry than perhaps any of his predecessors. In a special show, Off The Record, on CNBCTV18, Praful Patel, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, talks about Air India and various other issues.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 9:05 am LIC raises stake in Welspun Gujarat by 5%Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren said on Friday staterun Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) has raised its stake in the steel pipemaker by nearly 5%Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 6:12 am Rajaratnam faces new charges in Goldman Sachs `fraud`!Prosecutors alleged Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam had received confidential tips about Goldman`s stock from three Indian American executives.Source: Zee News : Business | 17 Apr 2010 | 5:30 am Mahindra to buy out Renault stake in JVMahindra Mahindra will buy out its partner Renault\'s 49% stake in a joint venture that makes and sells the Logan sedan in India, the companies said on FridaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 4:13 am SEBI allocates unutilised FII debt limitIndia\'s capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday allocated Rs 20000 crores (USD 4.4 billion) of unutilised debt limit to foreign institutional investors (FII)Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 4:13 am Toyota recalls 870,000 minivans over corrosion problemsEmbattled Japanese automaker Toyota has decided to recall 870,000 Sienna minivans in the United States and Canada because of corrosion problems.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 3:42 am IndusInd Bank aims at 25-30% loan growth in FY11: MD - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Apr 2010 | 3:30 am Lenovo India makes key additions to India teamPC maker Lenovo announced key appointments to its India team today in a bid to strengthen its operations in the country.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 3:29 am HIGHLIGHTS - EU finance ministers, central bankers' meetingMADRID (Reuters) - The following are comments by European Union finance ministers, central bankers and other officials on Saturday in connection with their meeting in Madrid.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Apr 2010 | 3:06 am China faces challenge hitting CPI target - economistBEIJING (Reuters) - China may find it difficult to contain consumer price inflation within the government's target of 3 percent this year due to mounting inflationary expectations and rising commodity prices, a senior government economist said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Apr 2010 | 3:01 am Lenovo India makes key additions to India teamNew Delhi: PC maker Lenovo announced on 17 April key appointments to its India team in a bid to strengthen operations in the country. It has appointed Rahul Agarwal, who is the architect of Lenovo’s global marketing communications and services business, as executive director for Key Account Business (KAB) in India, Lenovo India said in a statement. Prior to Lenovo, Agarwal managed the commercial desktops business at IBM. The company has also appointed Rajesh Lakhani as head (services support) and he would be responsible for service delivery operations, parts management and service sales. Lakhani would also be responsible for growing and overseeing Lenovo’s services network in India. “We are focused on driving speed, performance and efficiency with a corporate structure that makes us even faster and even more customer-focused. Going forward, we will continue to introduce game-changing products, quality service and support and enhance our go to market strategy through channels,” Lenovo India managing director Amar Babu said. Over the last couple of quarters, Lenovo has achieved considerable success in terms of market share and product innovation and with the new executive team in place, it is poised for growth in the Indian PC market, the statement added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:57 am Lenovo India makes key additions to India teamNew Delhi: PC maker Lenovo announced on 17 April key appointments to its India team in a bid to strengthen operations in the country. It has appointed Rahul Agarwal, who is the architect of Lenovo’s global marketing communications and services business, as executive director for Key Account Business (KAB) in India, Lenovo India said in a statement. Prior to Lenovo, Agarwal managed the commercial desktops business at IBM. The company has also appointed Rajesh Lakhani as head (services support) and he would be responsible for service delivery operations, parts management and service sales. Lakhani would also be responsible for growing and overseeing Lenovo’s services network in India. “We are focused on driving speed, performance and efficiency with a corporate structure that makes us even faster and even more customer-focused. Going forward, we will continue to introduce game-changing products, quality service and support and enhance our go to market strategy through channels,” Lenovo India managing director Amar Babu said. Over the last couple of quarters, Lenovo has achieved considerable success in terms of market share and product innovation and with the new executive team in place, it is poised for growth in the Indian PC market, the statement added. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:57 am Rajaratnam faces new charges in Goldman Sachs 'fraud'As US authorities charged Goldman Sachs with defrauding investors in a sale of securities tied to sub-prime mortgages, prosecutors alleged Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam had received confidential tips about Goldman's stock from three Indian American executives.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:56 am Bulls take a break after 9 weeks, Sensex down 342 ptsThe BSE benchmark Sensex snapped its nine-week winning spree by slipping 342 points on account of profit booking in front line stocks.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:37 am Mahindra to buy out Renault stake in JVMUMBAI (Reuters) - France's Renault is bailing out of a loss-making joint venture with India's Mahindra & Mahindra after disappointing Logan sales, and is expected to focus on other projects in the potentially high-growth market.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:04 am Rajaratnam asks U.S. judge to strike trial evidenceNEW YORK (Reuters) - Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, accused of illegal insider trading, asked a judge on Friday to exclude from trial any evidence on more than 20 stocks newly identified by prosecutors as part of its case.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Apr 2010 | 2:04 am 3G auction...pan-India bid up 46% at Rs50.96bn - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Apr 2010 | 1:50 am Delhi Police to buy radiation meters - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Apr 2010 | 1:42 am Greece to decide on EU/IMF aid within weeks - reportATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will decide within weeks on whether or not to activate a European Union and International Monetary Fund aid mechanism, Prime Minister George Papandreou told Newsweek.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 Apr 2010 | 1:16 am Volcano illustrates world’s interconnectednessChicago: A volcano erupts in Iceland, and the effects ripple around the globe: A mom in Romania frets about making her son’s wedding in Texas. A florist in New York worries shipments won’t arrive. Patients awaiting treatment in Nigeria have to wait another week for the doctors. The fallout from the ash cloud looming over Europe illustrates just how interconnected our world has become. Thousands of planes fly millions of passengers and tons of cargo each day, providing the economic lifeblood of nations and businesses. The flights deliver products for sale or items as small as a specialized tool that lets a factory keep operating. The planes also bring medicines to hospitals and food aid to earthquake or hurricane victims. And they bring war and peace. Soldiers are often transported to and from hot spots by air. Tales of woe and inconvenience span every social level, from the Norwegian prime minister who got stuck in New York and had to govern using his iPad, to ordinary people who saved money for trips of a lifetime, then had to abandon those plans. The eruption was a single act of nature, but it stopped the world in countless ways. A Texas mom stranded in Europe fears that the travel disruptions could force her to miss her son’s wedding. San Antonio native Nancy Price is due to fly from Bucharest to Munich, on to Chicago and then south to Texas for the Saturday nuptials in San Antonio. There’s no other way for her to get home. Planning for the wedding is further complicated because the couple is being married by Price’s brother, Rev. Bert Clayton, a Methodist minister. Clayton is in London with his wife. He’s due to fly to the US on Wednesday, so he’s watching whether the travel disruption will continue. Price has lived with her husband in a village north of Bucharest for the past 15 years. Ever the optimist, she says: “We are packing anyway.” Marathoners train for months to be ready for race day. They’re seasoned to overcome obstacles, but no one can outrun this volcano. Many runners who have trained for Monday’s Boston Marathon may not get the chance to compete after being stranded by flights that never left the tarmac. David Gray missed last year’s race because of injury, and this was supposed to be the year he got the chance to climb Heartbreak Hill. Instead, he’s stuck in hotel room in Brussels, Belgium. “To have an act of God like this happen is really frustrating,” Gray said. A 41-year-old television producer from New York City who has run twice in the New York Marathon, Gray has tried everything: He’s asked to be rerouted through Italy or Spain, figuring they were far enough south to avoid the ash cloud. But the only way he can get to those countries is by train or rental car, and they are all booked. He’s asked about flying out of Moscow, and going over the North Pole rather than the North Atlantic, but to no avail. Anissa Isker arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris in hopes of taking her son to Miami for specialized treatment that could help him walk. He has a rare genetic disease that keeps him in a wheelchair. The hard-to-schedule treatment costs $3,000, a sum she is set to lose if they cannot leave this weekend. The French civil aviation authority is keeping airports in northern France closed until at least Saturday. “When I told him we cannot leave, he got nervous, because he understood the situation,” Isker said. Across the Atlantic, Babafemi Adenuga faced a medical predicament of his own. The family physician and medical professor at Howard University was supposed to lead a team of around 30 medical personnel to Nigeria to provide free care where it is badly needed. But their flight to Nigeria connects in Frankfurt, and it was canceled because of the volcanic ash. Adenuga was scrambling Friday to get to Nigeria as soon as possible. In Europe, potentially lifesaving organs were also stranded. A spokeswoman for the German Foundation for Organ Transplant said all organs that usually get flown out to patients were instead being distributed regionally. With the airlines stalled, organs must now be delivered by land _ and their recipients are chosen by distance. Oliver Dragojevic, a Croatian singer who has been hugely popular in the Balkans for 40 years, had a dream: To follow the steps of Sinatra, Clapton and Pavarotti and sing in the Royal Albert Hall. And he might have made it if flights into London hadn’t been grounded _ meaning that he and his band probably won’t reach London in time for Monday’s concert. Ictinus Grupa, the agency that organized the concert, said the concert is “very much in question.” Booking another show at the Royal Albert Hall hasn’t happened yet. “Of course I’d be very disappointed” if the concert is eventually canceled, Dragojevic said in a phone interview. “It was supposed to be a big thing for me.” Fans from Croatia are devastated, too. Merlin Tours, a travel agency that was selling a four-day package to London starting Saturday, said they are flooded with calls from about 50 people who were scheduled to go. Mourners from across the world are expected in Poland on Sunday for the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. But Alexander Lacherbauer-Lynn won’t be among them because no flight will take off in time. Lacherbauer-Lynn grew up in Chicago, steeped in his Polish ancestry. His mother and father emigrated from Poland, he spoke Polish at home, and he’s spent many of his summers in Poland. So the 20-year-old political science major at Loyola University jumped at the chance when a Polish parliamentarian invited him to attend the funeral of Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash in eastern Russian earlier this month. Lacherbauer-Lynn said the pageantry and gathering of dignitaries for the state ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “It would have been very historic,” he said. “I don’t think anything like that will occur again.” Other world leaders were inconvenienced, too. After getting stranded in New York City, the Norwegian prime minister discovered a new tool for governing from afar: Apple’s iPad. A spokeswoman for Jens Stoltenberg said the prime minister’s return flight was canceled, so he began using his newly purchased device to keep in touch with his office back in Norway and to do work. Salmon and flowers are just two of the many products that are transported through Europe to destinations around the world. But the ash cloud meant many restaurants, supermarkets and florists might not get their shipments. In New York City’s Flower District, the Friday night flights from the Netherlands are a big deal. Thousands of dollars worth of tulips, peonies, daffodils and hundreds of other varieties come in by air, to be distributed starting Saturday morning. This weekend’s weddings won’t have Dutch flowers. “This is the beginning of our busy season,” said Andrew D’Amore at wholesaler Fischer and Page. “We just hope it doesn’t go too much longer.” David Pilat, designated seafood buyer for the giant Whole Foods Market, is worried about a silvery pink delicacy Atlantic salmon. The problem is that all of the suppliers of the fish are in Norway, Scotland, the British Shetland Islands and in Iceland. Ironically, only the salmon farms in Iceland were able to ship fish because the ash cloud is blowing away from most of the island, Pilat said. “I’ve been staying in constant touch with our logistic folks, and we have freight booked at London’s Heathrow Airport ready to go when they can,” he said. Associated Press writers Mark Pratt in Boston, Warren Levinson in New York, Matt Barakat in Fairfax, Virginia, and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 Apr 2010 | 1:00 am Goldman CDO case could be tip of iceberg - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:11 am Gem & jewellery exports rise 16% in FY10 - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:05 am Reliance Ind picks stake in logistics firm Deccan 360The Indian air-cargo sector received a major boost, with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) picking up a stake in Deccan 360, a start-up cargo venture promoted by Capt. G.R. Gopinath. The deal amount was not undisclosed.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Chennai Petro puts Ennore refinery plan on holdChennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL) has put on hold its plans for setting up a 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) refinery at Ennore, as it had not received environmentalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Volcanic cloud over European airspace grounds thousands of flightsThe chaos brought to European airways showed no signs of abating on Friday, as more flights were cancelled as a cloud of ash from Iceland's Eyjafjoll volcano closed more air space across Europe and even disrupted transatlanticSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am ‘Only quality IPOs will be subscribed to'There are many changes that the SEBI is trying to bring in. Debates are on. Here we bring a market player's opinion on theseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am M&M to buy out Renault stake, make Logan on its ownMahindra & Mahindra will buy out Renault's 49 per cent stake in the five-year-old joint venture which produces the Logan at Nashik. In the process, Mahindra Renault will now become a wholly-owned arm ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Brand IPL may get dented ...The high-voltage drama involving Mr Lalit Modi and Mr Shashi Tharoor is likely to boomerang on BrandSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am 3G spectrum price crosses Rs 5,000-cr markThe value of pan India spectrum for third generation mobile services has touched Rs 5,095.91 crore after 34 rounds of bidding spread over sixSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Economics of honey, flies and IPLNearly 20 years ago, the head of the Department of Telecommunications famously told a private meeting of journalists at the newspaper where I was working then that his job was to ensure that the waiting list for phones remained long. ThatSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am JSW Energy to buy majority stake in S. Africa coal mineJSW Energy will acquire a majority stake in South African Coal Mining Holding (SACMH) for about Rs 382 crore ($85 million) besides making an open offer to the minority shareholders.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Volcano effect: More flights cancelledFlight operations from India to Europe have been severely affected due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, creating bad weather conditions over parts of theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 17 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Wall Street to be driven by tech, financial sectorsNew York: US stocks ended the week on a sour note after top firm Goldman Sachs was charged with fraud but analysts see a buoyant Wall Street amid positive outlook for the technology and financial sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the psychological 11,000 point level for the first time in 18 months and closed Friday at 11,018.66, eking out a slim gain of 0.2% for the week. The tech-rich Nasdaq posted a weekly gain of 1.1% to 2,481.26 while the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped 0.2% to end the week at 1,192.13. Financial stocks led a broad selloff Friday after Goldman was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud related to mortgage securities, ending six consecutive sessions of gains on Wall Street. Still, analysts said the market had not lost its upward momentum with bouts of healthy profit taking. “The big question is whether this is the beginning of a normal pause-to-refresh or just a little churn before going higher,” said Wells Fargo Advisors chief market strategist Al Goldman. “Well, bull markets give ground begrudgingly and this bull is surely following that pattern,” he said. With key companies such as chipmaker Intel and JPMorgan Chase both posting profits that easily exceeded expectations, analysts at Charles Schwab & Co said the technology sector could continue to help pace the recovery while the financial sector might be set to contribute more to the economic prosperity. “The trend in the economy has shown continued improvement, and investors are looking to earnings reports for further moves in the market, trying to discern whether earnings will be strong enough,” they said in a client note. Analysts expect economic indicators the coming week, such as producer prices, and sales of new and existing homes, to add support to forecast of continued non-inflationary economic growth in the first half of 2010. “The rising crescendo of positive economic signals in the past several weeks is definitely encouraging for the sustainability of the recovery,” IHS Global Insight US economists Brian Bethune and Nigel Gault said in a report. “But recent sharp fall backs in consumer and small business confidence are potential speed bumps in the short-term spending and hiring outlook,” they cautioned. On Friday, a key barometer, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index’s preliminary reading for April fell to 69.5, from a final March reading of 73.6, the lowest level since November 2009. Economists had forecast the index to climb to 75.0. Both the critics and the sympathizers of the American consumers are “missing a very big and bullish story,” said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni research. He cited the “real” pay per worker in the United States, which he said had been hovering at a record high over the past six months, based on the monthly personal income data released by the government. “It is highly correlated with productivity, which soared to a new high at the end of last year. This suggests that real pay will soon do the same,” Yardeni said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:57 pm WHAT AN IDEA,3GIt's not just about downloading a song in seconds or watching a football match live in the loo.3G mobile technology will bring essential services like healthcare,education and banking to the yet unserved folks in India's remote villages.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 9:57 pm Toyota recalling 870,000 minivans over corrosion problemsEmbattled Japanese automaker Toyota said on Friday it will recall 870,000 Sienna minivans in the United States and Canada because of corrosion problems.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 8:32 pm Bernanke, Geithner to testify on Lehman next TuesdayWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify before Congress on Tuesday on the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers at the peak of the financial crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 8:05 pm U.S. regulators seize eight banksWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday seized eight banks with assets totalling more than $6 billion, raising the tally this year to 51 failed banks and adding to the carnage of small institutions that is expected to peak this year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 8:02 pm Toyota duplicates SUV problem; new U.S. hearing setDETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp confirmed results of a Consumer Reports test revealing a handling problem in a Lexus sport utility vehicle and sales will not resume until it is fixed, the automaker said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 6:38 pm UK's Whitbread plans 3,200 hotel roomsThe hotel company's subsidiary, Premier Inn India Pvt, which made its debut with a 105-room Bangalore hotel in November 2009, plans to add nine hotels in the next 3-5 years.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:50 pm Ulips are second-rate at best, in long termAn equity Mutual fund plus term insurance combo offers both better returns and cover.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:37 pm Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SECNEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product, igniting a battle between Wall Street's most powerful bank and the nation's top securities regulator.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:31 pm Steel countImproved economic scenario led to higher demand for steel, as demand from automobile, consumer goods and construction sectors increased.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:22 pm Core Projects closes in on overseas buyThe capital will be utilised to fund its expansion plans and delivery of orders.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 4:48 pm Agony over: Mahindra buys Renault out of JVThe buyout will be done within couple of months and Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd will be renamed thereafter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 4:34 pm IPL calling: It's a whole new game playing out thereFrom players to cricket buffs, franchises to failures, the business has something for allSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 4:30 pm Cipla shows yet again how innovators are profiteeringThe question is bound to arise after Cipla evidenced to the world yet again that prices of life-saving medicines are bloated unimaginably by patent holders.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 4:28 pm RIL steps on board Deccan 360, makes strategic investmentReliance Industries has made a foray into the aviation space as a \"strategic investor\" with over 26% stake in Captain Gopinath\'s cargo airline Deccan 360. While the companies did not disclose the quantum of investment, Captain Gopinath said the investment is more than 26% and below 49%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 4:20 pm Dr Reddy's recalls drug from US marketAccording to the company, the voluntary recall was made due to out of specification results observed during stability tests of the drug.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 3:49 pm I have never had any issue with stake dilution, says GR GopinathGR Gopinath, pioneer of India's low cost aviation, has done it again - got in a strong ally as "strategic investor" into his express logistic business Deccan360.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 3:44 pm Mahindra Lifespaces plans 2 SEZsBegins acquisition for 4,000 acres for World City projects in Pune, Chennai; lines up 8 m sq ft development across the country.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 3:43 pm Alto stays No. 1, Maruti 800 falls offMaruti Alto retained its number one position on the list of 10 top selling automobile models for the sixth year running in 2009-10, while the iconic Maruti 800 fell off the list altogether for the first time since it was launched in 1983, according to figures obtained from automobile companies. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 2:32 pm 'Interest rates unlikely to rise sharply in 2-3 months' - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 16 Apr 2010 | 2:27 pm Europe grounded, no flights from India to UK and USThe giant no-fly zone over Europe, caused by flying ash from an erupting Iceland volcano, continued to grow on Friday, grounding thousands more flights across the world. Tushar Srivastava reports.See pics Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 2:03 pm RIL picks up majority stake in Deccan 360 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:59 pm Renault sees Logan thriving under MM: Anand MahindraRenault sees Logan thriving under the MM umbrella, said Anand Mahindra, ViceChairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Mahindra, in an exclusive interview to CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:44 pm Sensex snaps 9-week gaining streak, sheds 48 points - Financial Express
Source: Business - Google News | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:42 pm 'No sharp rise in rates in 2-3 months'State Bank of India (SBI) does not see interest rates rising sharply in the next 2-3 months as the credit off-take is slow and may continue to remain low in April-June quarter.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:40 pm 'Car needs a 2nd chance'With Mahindra & Mahindra buying out Renault's 49% stake in their JV, Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd, TOI caught up with group vice-chairman and MD Anand Mahindra for a chat to discuss the way forward.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:37 pm RIL buys stake in Deccan 360Reliance Industries (RIL) has picked up a strategic stake for an undisclosed sum in captain Gopinath-founded logistics company Deccan 360.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:35 pm Discussing intellectual property rights with MM: RenaultFrench carmaker Renault and homegrown Mahindra Mahindra\'s (MM) union has come to an end with the latter buying 100% stake in the joint venture. In an exclusive interview on CNBCTV18, Marc Nassif, Country GM, Renault India and Katsumi Nakamura, Exec VP, Renault spoke about the agreement.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:32 pm M&M to buy out Renault stake, make Logan on its own - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:32 pm Renault to exit Logan JV with MahindraAfter months of deliberations, Carlos Ghosn-led French carmaker Renault has finally decided to exit its loss-making joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) for the Logan, handing out full control to the Indian auto major that will now reposition the car with a new branding and name along with lower price.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:31 pm Mahindra buys out Renault in JVMahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will buy out its French partner Renaults 49 per cent stake in the joint venture Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount. The joint venture manufactures the no-frills Logan, an entry level sedan.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:29 pm Move to ease customer fears on Logan\'s future: Pawan GoenkaFrench carmaker Renault and homegrown Mahindra Mahindra\'s (MM) union has come to an end with the latter buying 100% stake in the joint venture. In an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Goenka spoke about the agreement with Renault and outlined the future plans for Logan.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:27 pm RIL acquires stake in Deccan 360Mumbai: In a purchase that could bolster its retail operations, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India’ most valuable company, bought a stake in aviation entrepreneur G.R. Gopinath’s logistics venture Deccan 360.  Strategic move: Deccan 360 chairman and managing director G.R. Gopinath at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday to announce Reliance Industries’ investment in the logistics venture. PTI Gopinath announced the transaction on Friday, saying RIL’s stake was above 26%, but less than 50%. A senior consultant who advised Gopinath said RIL could have invested a maximum of $50 million (Rs222.5 crore) for the stake. Gopinath did not disclose the deal size. The consultant declined to be named. “We were talking to many investors but we chose Reliance because of what it brings to the table. Express logistics require massive network and investment. I’m trying to build twice the size of the current network express logistics capability,” Gopinath said, adding that RIL had a “proven track record of executing massive projects at lightning speed” and brought to the table its “IT systems and managing capabilities”. It is a “a win-win deal”, a senior airline consultant said on condition of anonymity. “Deccan Cargo will have assured cargo and capital support to expand its network. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries can get the services at comparatively lower prices and do away with start-up pains.” In return for being a so-called strategic consultant, RIL will get a logistics backbone that can cut costs for its retail operations. Deccan moves up to 300 tonnes of goods daily across the country. An RIL spokesperson declined to comment on the financial aspects of the deal, which company chairman Mukesh Ambani said will mark “a transformation in the logistics domain in India”. RIL shares ended the day 0.64% lower at Rs1,083.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange while the bellwether Sensex index closed almost flat at 17,591.18 points. The logistics deal marks RIL’s second venture in a week into new areas. On 9 April, RIL had signed a joint venture for 40% stake in Philadelphia, US-based Atlas Energy Inc.’s Marcellus shale assets, forking out $1.7 billion for access to a new technology for extracting natural gas from sedimentary rock layers. An RIL official close to the development said the company’s retail operations—1,000 stores spread across 80 cities—continuously need backend synergies for the movement of goods. “This acquisition fits the bill,” the executive said, declining to be named. “Moreover, Deccan is focusing on building huge warehouses with a 50-acre facility in Nagpur as the hub, where companies can store their goods on hire. RIL can do the entire infrastructure fit for them in terms of fast execution at lowest prices.” Deccan 360 is the first logistics company in India to adopt and develop a hub-and-spoke model. It has appointed national service providers on a franchisee model and has already set up over 80 service centres and eight surface hubs to service operations using its eight freighter aircraft and a fleet of over 300 trucks and 850 vehicles nationwide. bhuma.s@livemint.com Reuters contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:26 pm A third of flights from India hitAirlines in India today cancelled about 70 outbound flights, most of them destined for Europe, as airspace remained shut over the continent for a second day in a row. Some flights to the United States and Canada were also grounded as a drifting volcanic ash cloud over Europe threatened to disrupt air travel across the world.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:25 pm Goldman fraud charge drags European shares downLondon: European shares fell sharply on Friday, led lower by banking stocks, after investment bank Goldman Sachs was charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charged Goldman in relation to the structuring and marketing of a debt product tied to subprime mortgages. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.5% to close at 1,095.30 points. Over the week, the index fell 0.6%, ending six straight weeks of gains. The European benchmark is up more than 69% from its lifetime low of 9 March 2009. “If someone like Goldman Sachs is being sued this is painful for the entire industry,” said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research, in Frankfurt. “But this is a one-time event. I don’t think it will carry into next week, as there is a lot of data and earnings for investors to focus on.” Goldman Sachs shares fell 15% in New York. European banks to fall included BNP Paribas, Banco Santander, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole and HSBC, down between 2 and 7.3%. Royal Bank of Scotland bucked the trend in the sector, rising 5.1% after BofA Merrill Lynch hiked its target and said the shares could double on a two-year view. Commodities stocks fell on lower metals and crude prices slipped, as the dollar strengthened. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys , Lonmin, Rio Tinto, and Xstrata fell between 3 and 4.4%. Total, BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell between 1.1 and 1.7%. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 ended the day 1.4% lower; Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC40 fell 1.8 and 1.9%, respectively. Wall Street was lower around the time European bourses were closing. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down between 1 and 1.5%. Both General Electric and Bank of America fell, despite strong results, as the Goldman issue hurt sentiment. US economic news was mixed. Permits to build new US homes unexpectedly surged in March to their highest level in more than 1-1/2 years, but a surprise dip in consumer confidence tempered optimism. Carrefour rises Among individual stocks, retailer Carrefour gained 1.4% after it posted its first rise in underlying quarterly sales for 18 months and unveiled a €1.6 billion share buyback to reflect confidence in its recovery plan. But British supermarket giant Tesco, which reports on Tuesday, fell 1.8%. SKF, the world’s biggest bearing maker, jumped 5.8% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results. Its peer engineering group Sandvik gained 4.7%. Airline stocks were hurt as a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano caused further air travel chaos across Europe on a scale not seen since the 11 September attacks, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and Ryanair fell between 2.5 and 4.1%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:01 pm Mahindra to buy out Renault’s stake in India, revive Logan salesMumbai: Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, (M&M), will buy out Renault SA from its five-year- old joint venture and try to revive the flagging sales of the Logan, the no-frills sedan that has failed to make a mark in the booming Indian car market. The Indian company did not disclose how much it would be paying to buy its partner’s 49% share in Mahindra Renault Pvt. Ltd, the loss-making joint venture.  Partnership ends: A file photo of Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn and M&M chairman, managing director Anand Mahindra at the Logan’s launch. Indranil Mukherjee / AFP Renault will continue to supply key components to M&M while the latter will pay the French company a royalty for every Logan it sells after the two firms part ways. The Logan will be repositioned and re-engineered in the coming months. A senior M&M official said that full ownership will allow the company greater flexibility to meet the changing needs of the Indian car market. “The new arrangement allows us to bring changes faster and capture the needs of the Indian market effectively,” said Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment sectors at M&M. The Anand Mahindra-led company says it will adopt a three-pronged strategy to revitalize the Logan. Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive officer of the automotive division at M&M, said the company would immediately take steps to restyle the Logan, cut its dependence on imported components (currently at 60%) and reduce the length of the vehicle to get excise duty benefits. Industry experts say the higher excise duty on sedans compared with small cars helped car makers such as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd and harmed the likes of M&M. As sales volumes of the Logan plummeted, losses at the joint venture firm mounted. In fiscal 2008-09, Mahindra Renault posted a loss of Rs490.21 crore on a gross turnover of Rs741.17 crore. Renault is pursuing other ventures in India. Renault and its Japanese alliance partner Nissan Motor Co., in which it has a 44% stake, are investing Rs4,500 crore over seven years in a manufacturing unit in Chennai, while Nissan will roll out its Micra hatchbacks from the plant in July. The Renault-Nissan alliance is also partnering with Indian two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto Ltd to make a low-cost car. For Mahindra, this is the second occasion when a joint venture for manufacturing cars with a foreign car maker has folded up. Almost a decade ago, the company made an attempt to enter the car market through a 50:50 joint venture with Ford Motor Co. The joint venure sold the FordEscort model. The Indian company first decided to cap its investment before finally exiting the venture. M&M now hopes to build on the Logan platform by designing more vehicles. “We are in discussion with Renault to see whether we can build another vehicle on the Logan platform,” Goenka said. The new variants developed on the Logan platform will sport the Mahindra badge. As part of the agreement, while Mahindra will take over the management of the firm, Renault will continue to support M&M and the Logan through a licence agreement and the supply of key components, including engine and transmission. The Renault name and logo will continue to be used on the Logan till the end of this calendar year and the sedan will be sold through the Mahindra dealer network. Over the next 18 months, M&M will rebadge the car to a Mahindra-owned brand name. Analysts said the deal augurs well for M&M. “It gives the company independence to launch price competitive, contemporary models. As in utility vehicles, they can now succeed in the car market,” said Umesh Karne, an analyst at Bric Securities India Ltd. The joint venture launched the Logan in 2007, but sales did not meet expectations. In the 12 months to 31 March, Logan sales more than halved to 5,332 units from 13,423 units in the previous fiscal. Industry observers believe the choice of the Logan for the Indian market was flawed. Deepesh Rathore, managing director at IHS Global Insight, a market research firm, says while the car might have caught the fancy of European buyers as a low-budget offering costing €6,000 (Rs3.6 trillion), “in India, the customer characteristic changes at that level and she looks for an aspirational product”. The Logan failed on that account, he said. M&M expects the legal formalities and financial transactions to be concluded in two months. The valuation will be done on the basis of impaired value of the assets, Jejurikar said. Janaki Krishnan of Reuters contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 1:00 pm The Week in Review for 16 April 2010New Delhi: Parliament got started again Thursday, with tempers running high. Opposition leaders condemned the government’s handling of the Naxal rebels. Yashwant Sinha of the BJP led the attack. He said the government was divided over how to deal with the rebels who killed 76 policemen last week. Later, home minister P. Chidambaram responded to the criticism. He also read out a statement describing the government’s strategy for dealing with the rebels. Parliament didn’t get any quieter Friday. The big issue was Shashi Tharoor, the minister of state for external affairs and the man in the middle of a controversy over the Kochi IPL team. Tharoor was supposed to make a statement in the Lok Sabha answering his critics. But opposition members shouted him down. The house was adjourned until Monday. The turf war over who gets to regulate Ulips remained unresolved this week. On Monday, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee brokered a truce between market regulator Sebi and insurance regulator Irda. The two regulators agreed to seek for a legal mandate from a court. But the story didn’t end there. On Tuesday, the Sebi made it clear that its ban on fourteen companies continues from selling Ulips. But it also said Ulips policies issued before the ban could continue to collect premiums. Sebi and Irda are fighting over which of them gets to regulate Ulips, which are like mutual funds that have life cover. It’s the end of the alliance that made the Logan car. On Friday, Mahindra and Mahindra announced it’s buying out Renault’s stake in their joint venture. The Logan will continue to be made in India for now. Renault’s will still supply major components and Mahindra will still use Renault’s name on their Logan cars until the end of the year. Mahindra Renault rolled out the Logan sedan in India back in 2007. But sales never took off and losses mounted. This is the second time a Mahindra and Mahindra joint venture has failed. Nearly a decade ago, its partnership with Ford Motor failed to get off the ground. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:59 pm US SEC charges Goldman Sachs of civil fraudNew York: Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a debt product tied to subprime mortgages that was designed to fail. The lawsuit is the biggest crisis in years for Goldman, which emerged from the global financial crisis as Wall Street’s most influential bank. It is also a huge test for Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, who has faced a firestorm of criticism over the bank’s pay and business practices. It comes as lawmakers in Washington debate sweeping reform of financial industry regulation. Goldman shares fell as much as 15.6% and broader stock markets fell after the news.  Graphic: Yogesh Kumar/Mint Fabrice Tourre, a Goldman vice president who the SEC said was principally responsible for creating the product, was also charged with fraud. Paulson was not charged. “The SEC has come out swinging,” said Cary Leahey, senior managing director of Decision Economics in New York. “This will be a difficult case to prove. Even supposed experts on Wall Street with years of experience in this area are still scratching their heads trying to figure out who did what.” Goldman defends itself Goldman vowed to fight the SEC civil suit. “The SEC’s charges are completely unfounded in law and fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation,” it said. Paulson and Tourre were not immediately available for comment. It is a regulatory and public relations nightmare for Blankfein, who has spent 18 months fending off complaints that Goldman is an unfair beneficiary of taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street. He became CEO less than a year before the product challenged by the SEC was created. “This could be the beginning of a period where you have a regulatory cloud over Goldman Sachs, and perhaps even the entire investment banking industry,” said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co in Philadelphia. The lawsuit represents an aggressive expansion of regulatory efforts to hold people and companies responsible for activity that contributed to the nation’s financial crises. Other investigations may be in the offing. Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc in Chicago and author of a book on synthetic CDOs, said it may have been quite common on Wall Street for hedge funds to play major roles in picking mortgage-backed securities to be put into portfolios used in CDO transactions. “Many investors were not aware of how disadvantaged they were by these CDO structures,” she said. Robert Khuzami, head of the SEC’s enforcement division, said John Paulson was not charged because it was Goldman that made misrepresentations to investors, not him. It is unlikely that criminal charges will be brought, a source close to the matter said. Representatives for the Justice Department declined to comment. In afternoon trading, Goldman shares sank $24.92, or 13.5%, to $159.35 on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier falling to $155.57. The news sent broader US stock indexes down more than 1%, and major bank indexes down more than 3%. E-mail trail In its lawsuit, the SEC alleged that Goldman structured and marketed a synthetic CDO, ABACUS, that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities. It alleged that Goldman did not tell investors “vital information” about ABACUS, including that Paulson & Co was involved in choosing which securities would be part of the portfolio. It also alleged that Paulson took a short position against the CDO in a bet that its value would fall. According to the SEC, the marketing materials for the CDO showed that a third party, ACA Management LLC, chose the securities underlying the CDO, without revealing Paulson’s involvement. The complaint quotes extensively from internal emails and memos, noting that in early 2007 it had become difficult to market CDOs tied to mortgage-backed securities. For example, the complaint quotes a 23 January 2007, email from Tourre to a friend sent in English and French and translated by the SEC, as saying: “The whole building is about to collapse anytime now ... Only potential survivor, the fabulous Fab ... standing in the middle of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades he created without necessarily understanding all of the implications of those monstrosities!!!” Another email to Tourre from the head of Goldman’s structured product correlation trading desk complained: “The cdo biz is dead we don’t have a lot of time left.” Other communications detail the importance of hiring ACA for independent portfolio selection. “We expect the strong brand-name of ACA as well as our market-leading position in synthetic CDOs of structured products to result in a successful offering,” a 12 March e-mail said. Paulson & Co paid Goldman $15 million to structure and market the ABACUS CDO, which closed on April 26, 2007, the SEC said. Little more than nine months later, 99% of the portfolio had been downgraded, the SEC said. “In sum,” the complaint said, “Goldman Sachs arranged a transaction at Paulson’s request in which Paulson heavily influenced the selection of the portfolio to suit its economic interests, but failed to disclose to investors ... Paulson’s role in the portfolio selection process or its adverse economic interests.” Impact The SEC charges are expected to fuel anti-Wall Street sentiment on Capitol Hill, where sweeping financial industry reforms are expected to soon arrive on the Senate floor for a vote. A Democratic bill, strongly supported by President Barack Obama, would slap new restraints on major banks, likely curtailing their opportunities for profit and revenue growth. Similar legislation was approved in the House of Representatives in December. Analysts believe a bill could be signed into law by Obama by mid-year. The SEC lawsuit was assigned to US District Judge Barbara Jones, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton. She presided over the 2005 criminal trial of former WorldCom Inc chief executive Bernard Ebbers over an $11 billion accounting fraud at the phone company. The case is SEC v. Goldman Sachs & Co et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-03229. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:56 pm US SEC charges Goldman Sachs of civil fraudNew York: Goldman Sachs Group Inc was charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a debt product tied to subprime mortgages that was designed to fail. The lawsuit is the biggest crisis in years for Goldman, which emerged from the global financial crisis as Wall Street’s most influential bank. It is also a huge test for Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, who has faced a firestorm of criticism over the bank’s pay and business practices. It comes as lawmakers in Washington debate sweeping reform of financial industry regulation. Goldman shares fell as much as 15.6% and broader stock markets fell after the news. Graphic: Yogesh Kumar/Mint Fabrice Tourre, a Goldman vice president who the SEC said was principally responsible for creating the product, was also charged with fraud. Paulson was not charged. “The SEC has come out swinging,” said Cary Leahey, senior managing director of Decision Economics in New York. “This will be a difficult case to prove. Even supposed experts on Wall Street with years of experience in this area are still scratching their heads trying to figure out who did what.” Goldman defends itself Goldman vowed to fight the SEC civil suit. “The SEC’s charges are completely unfounded in law and fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation,” it said. Paulson and Tourre were not immediately available for comment. It is a regulatory and public relations nightmare for Blankfein, who has spent 18 months fending off complaints that Goldman is an unfair beneficiary of taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street. He became CEO less than a year before the product challenged by the SEC was created. “This could be the beginning of a period where you have a regulatory cloud over Goldman Sachs, and perhaps even the entire investment banking industry,” said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co in Philadelphia. The lawsuit represents an aggressive expansion of regulatory efforts to hold people and companies responsible for activity that contributed to the nation’s financial crises. Other investigations may be in the offing. Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance Inc in Chicago and author of a book on synthetic CDOs, said it may have been quite common on Wall Street for hedge funds to play major roles in picking mortgage-backed securities to be put into portfolios used in CDO transactions. “Many investors were not aware of how disadvantaged they were by these CDO structures,” she said. Robert Khuzami, head of the SEC’s enforcement division, said John Paulson was not charged because it was Goldman that made misrepresentations to investors, not him. It is unlikely that criminal charges will be brought, a source close to the matter said. Representatives for the Justice Department declined to comment. In afternoon trading, Goldman shares sank $24.92, or 13.5%, to $159.35 on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier falling to $155.57. The news sent broader US stock indexes down more than 1%, and major bank indexes down more than 3%. E-mail trail In its lawsuit, the SEC alleged that Goldman structured and marketed a synthetic CDO, ABACUS, that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities. It alleged that Goldman did not tell investors “vital information” about ABACUS, including that Paulson & Co was involved in choosing which securities would be part of the portfolio. It also alleged that Paulson took a short position against the CDO in a bet that its value would fall. According to the SEC, the marketing materials for the CDO showed that a third party, ACA Management LLC, chose the securities underlying the CDO, without revealing Paulson’s involvement. The complaint quotes extensively from internal emails and memos, noting that in early 2007 it had become difficult to market CDOs tied to mortgage-backed securities. For example, the complaint quotes a 23 January 2007, email from Tourre to a friend sent in English and French and translated by the SEC, as saying: “The whole building is about to collapse anytime now ... Only potential survivor, the fabulous Fab ... standing in the middle of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades he created without necessarily understanding all of the implications of those monstrosities!!!” Another email to Tourre from the head of Goldman’s structured product correlation trading desk complained: “The cdo biz is dead we don’t have a lot of time left.” Other communications detail the importance of hiring ACA for independent portfolio selection. “We expect the strong brand-name of ACA as well as our market-leading position in synthetic CDOs of structured products to result in a successful offering,” a 12 March e-mail said. Paulson & Co paid Goldman $15 million to structure and market the ABACUS CDO, which closed on April 26, 2007, the SEC said. Little more than nine months later, 99% of the portfolio had been downgraded, the SEC said. “In sum,” the complaint said, “Goldman Sachs arranged a transaction at Paulson’s request in which Paulson heavily influenced the selection of the portfolio to suit its economic interests, but failed to disclose to investors ... Paulson’s role in the portfolio selection process or its adverse economic interests.” Impact The SEC charges are expected to fuel anti-Wall Street sentiment on Capitol Hill, where sweeping financial industry reforms are expected to soon arrive on the Senate floor for a vote. A Democratic bill, strongly supported by President Barack Obama, would slap new restraints on major banks, likely curtailing their opportunities for profit and revenue growth. Similar legislation was approved in the House of Representatives in December. Analysts believe a bill could be signed into law by Obama by mid-year. The SEC lawsuit was assigned to US District Judge Barbara Jones, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton. She presided over the 2005 criminal trial of former WorldCom Inc chief executive Bernard Ebbers over an $11 billion accounting fraud at the phone company. The case is SEC v. Goldman Sachs & Co et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-03229. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:56 pm Tharoor, Modi future on the lineNew Delhi: Minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor was politically isolated in Parliament even as his adversary, Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), continued to face enquiries from the income-tax (I-T) department regarding the bidding process for the two new IPL clubs.  Under pressure: Shashi Tharoor speaks to the media on Friday. Atul Yadav / PTI The IPL commissioner, however, sought to allay fears in an email communication to the franchisees of the eight clubs as well as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the queries by the income-tax authorities were no cause for worry and had concluded. However, a BCCI official maintained on condition of anonymity that the investigation by the tax sleuths was continuing. Tharoor was forced to make his defence to Parliament in a “personal” capacity as a law maker and not as a minister. In a further signal of his political isolation, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who personally orchestrated the defence of the government on Thursday in the debate over the recent Maoist attack in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, was not present in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Opposition, which forced repeated adjournment of proceedings in the Lok Sabha, did not allow Tharoor to speak; he had to eventually table his statement in the House. The Lok Sabha, which reconvened again at 2pm, was adjourned immediately afterwards following protests from the Opposition. Tharoor’s fate will be decided after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns to the country on Saturday. According to a senior Congress minister, the party leadership is unlikely to force a resignation. “We have sent a copy of (Tharoor’s) statement to the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh, who is in Brazil),” finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters outside Parliament. Meanwhile, in an email communication, the contents of which were read out to Mint by the BCCI official cited above, Modi assured the board that the checking by the I-T department was part of a process. The I-T department was “satisfied” with its inquiries, according to the communication. But according to an official in the I-T department in Mumbai, who declined to be named, the department is yet to conclude its investigation into BCCI. Meanwhile, the BCCI official maintained that the senior officials of the board have been summoned to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, where matches are being held on Friday and Sunday, for an unofficial meeting to settle the controversy. “There is news that the top BCCI bosses are meeting in Dharamshala this weekend to sort out all the issues pertaining to Tharoor, the handling of the Kochi team and Lalit Modi’s tweets,” the official said. “The governing council meeting is usually just a formality. All matters discussed there are usually decided beforehand.” However, Niranjan Shah, IPL vice-chairman, who was in Dharamshala, denied any meeting planned this weekend.  Shah shrugged off any involvement of BCCI in the controversy. “I won’t comment on Kochi team or Modi because as far as the board (BCCI) is concerned, we are absolutely fine with the Kochi team owners and the consortium as it is,” he said. NDTV news channel reported that income-tax searches were conducted at the offices of the Punjab Cricket Association and a member of the Kochi consortium. The reports couldn’t be independently verified. Tharoor, meanwhile, faced a hostile Lok Sabha with the Opposition, Left parties and some of the friendly parties of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) demanding his resignation. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha, which was also adjourned without transacting any major business. “Tharoor explained his innocence to (Sonia) Gandhi on Thursday,” a minister familiar with the development said, but wished to remain unnamed. “The government does not seem to be in a mood to sack him at the demand of the Opposition.” Tharoor said his official position gave him “no advantage” in his attempts to mentor an IPL team for Kerala, won by Rendezvous Sports World Ltd by bidding $333.33 million (Rs1,483.2 crore). The “allegation is particularly wounding because I have had a three-decade career in international public service that has never been sullied by the slightest taint of financial wrong doing,” he said. The minister’s critics within the Congress were not satisfied. “The only one clarification sought by everyone is what’s the source of equity his friend Sunanda Pushkar has. If he or she is able to explain it, the matter will be finished there,” said a senior Congress minister, who did not want to be identified. Pushkar, a close friend of Tharoor, was given a stake valued at Rs70 crore in the Kochi team for free. Defending her, Tharoor said in his statement: “It is unworthy of any member of this august House to imply that a reputed business professional and entrepreneur with a long track record of business success can, because of her gender, only be seen as a front for someone else.” Critics within the Congress are particularly unhappy about the distraction that the entire episode has caused, forcing the government to backpedal on its policy agenda. “I do not understand why we have to tolerate him. He has been an embarrassment for the party ever since he joined the government,” said a senior Congress MP, who claimed a majority of the party has become “hostile” to Tharoor. “He has taken away the focus of the government from its core agenda. The party and the government is in the news for wrong reasons,” he added, requesting anonymity. Similarly, some Opposition MPs were heard saying inside the Lok Sabha that the House should not waste time on the “IPL issue” but should take up the issue of “price rise”. BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad, who sought an explanation from the Prime Minister on why Tharoor has not been dropped from the council of ministers, said the Opposition would not divert its attack against the government on key issues. “We are determined to take up the issue of price rise and a nationwide strike is planned on 21 April. But this issue (of Shashi Tharoor) is also important as it pertains to the conduct of a Union minister. We will raise this issue again on Monday and we expect a reply from the Prime Minister,” Prasad said. liz.m@livemint.com Santosh K. Joy and from Mumbai Khushboo Narayan contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:55 pm Unusually hot, dry weather hit premium Darjeeling teaThe unusually hot weather and lack of rainfall in the West Bengal hills have ruined the first-flush Darjeeling tea crop. Amitava Banerjee reports.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:54 pm Quick Edit | The umpire strikes backThe political career of minister Shashi Tharoor bears a striking resemblance to the cricketing career of S. Sreesanth. No one can deny the obvious talents of the duo, but the two also have that rare knack for trouble. And there’s the common link to cricket, Kerala, and cricket in Kerala. While the cricketing establishment seems to have given up on the breakdancing cricketer, the political one appears to be willing to give the cricket-playing minister another chance. This, despite his failure to disclose the interest of friend Sunanda Pushkar in the Kochi IPL team, an omission he hasn’t explained even in his statement to Parliament. While the Prime Minister is yet to decide on how to deal with the errant minister, it looks like he will get away with a rap on the knuckles. Meanwhile, the empire seems to have struck back at IPL chief Lalit Modi who highlighted Tharoor’s link with the Kochi team, though, to be sure, he has a lot to answer for. Cricket may be at stake but the situation is strongly reminiscent of baseball’s double-play. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:53 pm Plan panel likely to give conditional nodNew Delhi: The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will move a step closer to the realization of its poll promise to promulgate a food security law if the Planning Commission, as is expected, conditionally approves the findings of the poverty panel report estimating the number of poor in the country at its meeting on Saturday.  In preparation, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia met senior government officials and some members of the Planning Commission on Friday. “It was a fruitful meeting and we will meet again on Tuesday (20 April),” said Ahluwalia. “We will give the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) some options to choose from and then we will also doing costing associated with different options,” he added. According to a person familiar with the development, but who did not want to be identified, the commission will only conditionally accept the Tendulkar report. That is, the estimates for poverty can be used for the food security Bill, but will not be employed while effecting government spending on anti-poverty programmes. “In effect this means that there will be two estimates of poverty,” the same person said. Ahluwalia confirmed that the Tendulkar report would be discussed, but declined to comment on whether the commission’s acceptance would be conditional. Also Read Our previous stories in the series The eGoM had asked the commission to submit the latest estimate on poverty so that it could proceed to finalize the contours of the food security Bill. The draft Bill proposed by the eGoM had stopped short of assuring an entitlement as had been previously pledged. Following an intervention by Sonia Gandhi after she was appointed chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), the eGoM decided to revisit its proposals. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had said after the meeting on 6 April that the eGoM would meet three weeks later after it receives more information it had sought from the Planning Commission. Incorporating the new poverty estimates and at the same time raising the entitlement per family from 25kg to 35kg a month would increase the food subsidy bill. The government, which is already facing an adverse fiscal situation, was seeking to minimize the outgo and was hence reluctant to increase the allocation and extend it as an entitlement to all. Those who attended the meeting included expenditure secretary Sushma Nath, food secretary, Alka Sirohi and Planning Commission members Arun Maira and Saumitra Choudhury. An official said the internal Planning Commission meeting will discuss the details of poverty figures as estimated by the Tendulkar committee report submitted to the Planning Commission last year. The report was authored by an expert group appointed by the Planning Commission and chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, former chairman of the National Statistical Commission. According to this new report, the number of rural poor, based on a revised definition of poverty, was 41.8% of the rural population in 2004-05 as opposed to the existing official estimate of 28.8% for the same year. The report showed that between 1993-94 and 2004-05, there has been a dramatic shift in the ranking of the states with the most rural poor; the six states with the most rural poor in 2004-05 are Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. It also showed that the proportion of poor in urban areas is substantially lower than that in rural India; while a little over one in four people are poor in urban India, the proportion is four out of 10 in rural areas. The Planning Commission, say those familiar with the developments, would accept the recommendations. Y.H. Alagh, an economist who defined poverty in the 1970s, said that accepting the Tendulkar committee report may not be sustainable as factors such as malnutrition have not been dealt with. “Tendulkar essentially is saying that urban poverty line as it existed in the earlier definition of poverty be made the national poverty line which may not be acceptable to many,” he said. sangeeta.s@livemint.com The Hunger Project is a joint venture of the Hindustan Times and Mint to track, investigate and report every aspect of the struggle to rid India of hunger. Mail your suggestions at thehungerproject@livemint.com. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:45 pm Ulip turf war: Sebi files caveats in 4 high courts - Financial Express
Source: Business - Google News | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:35 pm Riding on big money: IPL and its chief Lalit ModiThe Indian Premier League (IPL), where Lalit Modi has been the undisputable king until now, is expected to earn more than Rs 500 crore this year as profit from the ongoing 45-day cricketing extravaganza. Considering the high stakes, it is no surprise the tournament often attracts controversy.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:33 pm RIL takes to the air; buys into Deccan 360Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will buy a strategic stake in freight services firm Deccan 360, owned by G R Gopinath, for an undisclosed sum. The investment is being made through a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:32 pm 'Objective is to regain top spot'The car industry is limping out of a slump and auto makers across the world are hoping that the comeback maintains its momentum, and is not impacted by fresh jitters.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:28 pm 3G bid rises 43% to over Rs 5000 croreThe government is all set to reap handsome revenues from the 3G spectrum auction with the pan-Indian licence bid crossing Rs 5,000 crore mark on the sixth day of the bidding process.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:25 pm ULIP: Sebi, IRDA to work togetherCapital market regulator Sebi on Friday said it was working together with the insurance watch dog to expeditiously find a "legally binding" resolution to who controls unit linked products and there are no restrictions on investment in existing schemes.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:23 pm CIL, unions agree on selloffState-run Coal India Ltd has ensured smooth sailing for its disinvestment programme by reaching an agreement with trade unions for the proposed offloading of 10% government equity through an initial public offering.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:19 pm Mint 50 Benchmark Nifty BeES comes with a low tracking error and is a low cost fund Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 12:04 pm Stocks slide; Google, economic reports disappointFinancial shares led the stock market lower on Friday after federal regulators filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs over its dealings in the subprime mortgage market. Analysts say the market was poised to fall after a steady run of gains in the past two months, and the Goldman news gives investors that reason to sell and take some profits. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:54 am It’s time to take the bull by its horns Sonal Varma: Vice-president and India economist, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd In our view, normalizing policy rates quicker is a more prudent approach. First, private demand is ready to take off. Consumer sectors have benefited from the government’s fiscal stimulus and strong employment prospects indicate resilient consumption demand. Meanwhile, capacity utilization rates are fast ratcheting up in line with the acceleration in industrial production. With spare capacity shrinking and demand getting stronger, the next step should be increased investment. This is already starting: Non-oil imports rose 40% during the first two months of 2010, and capital goods output growth rose 50% over the same period. We think the risk is that this acceleration is being underestimated. While banks are still being cautious regarding the strength of the credit off-take, the order books of construction companies are rising. As these orders translate into execution, capacity constraints will become even more telling. Second, stronger core inflation indicates that inflation will persist at higher levels for longer. Non-food manufactured inflation has risen from -0.3% last November to 4.7% year-on-year in March. From oil to metals, coal, iron ore and other raw materials, input cost pressures have skyrocketed. High input costs and rising aggregate demand is the perfect recipe for higher output prices, or else firms will face margin pressures. RBI’s own analysis suggests that higher oil and metal prices transmit to other commodities within a quarter, while the full transmission of higher food prices takes almost a year. Third, current inflation rates are suppressed. At current oil prices, losses at oil marketing companies are running at more than Rs80,000 crore, making another fuel price hike inevitable. Even excluding oil, higher prices of a number of minerals and metals are still not reflected in the current wholesale price index, making a one-shot adjustment very likely. Therefore, our base view is that wholesale price-based inflation will remain above 9% at least until July and above 8% till October—essentially remaining above the tolerable limits for an extended period. Fourth, the risk of economic overheating is real. Barely a year into the crisis, apart from a double-digit inflation rate, India’s current account deficit has widened to more than 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest in many years, as consumption-related imports have held up fairly well. Given the domestic supply side constraints, it is no surprise that higher demand is leaking out in the form of rising import growth. Fifth, from a medium-term perspective, it has to be kept in mind that India’s economy is in a take-off mode and most economies during their take-off had to grapple with higher inflation initially as investments always add to demand immediately, while they lead to higher supply only with a lag. The trick for RBI is to not let inflation derail long-term growth prospects, even if it means sacrificing some near-term growth. Sixth, as far as tightening liquidity is concerned, fiscal policy has hijacked monetary policy. To manage both higher credit growth and the government’s borrowing programme, RBI will have to tolerate higher money supply growth, with the side effect of higher inflation. Tightening liquidity too sharply would derail bond auctions, thus implying that it will be difficult for RBI to shift the operating corridor from the reverse repo rate to the repo rate. Therefore, raising overnight rates from their current crisis levels calls for more aggressive hikes in the reverse repo rate. All said, we believe that RBI should front-load its rate hikes, given the time lags in policy transmission and the main economic uncertainty shifting from downside growth risks to upside inflation risks. We pencil in a 50 bps rate hike in the second quarter of the year and another 50 bps in the third quarter. If caution gets the better of RBI and it delivers a 25 bps repo and reverse repo rate hike on 20 April, then we judge that another inter-meeting hike will be on the cards. As far as policy normalization is concerned, we believe it is time to step up and take the bull by its horns. This is the third in a series of columns by four top economists on their expectations from the Reserve Bank of India’s annual monetary policy announcement scheduled for 20 April that comes against the backdrop of rising inflation and a resurgent economy. Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com To read the previous columns in this series, go to www.livemint.com/policyprescription Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:53 am Wheel in the bestAnalyse the features of the Figo, Swift, Ritz and Vista, as they battle it out for the buyer’s attention.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:52 am Trio of Indian lenders win Malaysian bank licenceMalaysia will grant a commercial banking licence to a trio of Indian lenders as it gradually opens up its finance sector to more international competition. A single permit will be issued to a new locally incorporated lender that will be jointly set up in Malaysia by Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Andhra Bank, the country’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement on Friday. The presence of the new Indian commercial bank will further strengthen the economic and financial linkages between Malaysia and India, BNM said. IOB is returning to Malaysia after the state-linked lender’s previous licence was withdrawn because of its government ownership. A requirement prohibited any commercial bank under the effective control of a foreign government from holding a permit. Malaysia and India have been discussing the issue since 2003, said BNM. IOB will have a 35% stake in the new joint venture, which hasn’t been given a name yet. Bank of Baroda will own 40% and Andhra Bank will have a 25% stake, it said. The central bank views this as a reinstatement of a licence. As such, it’s not part of the quota of new licences to be granted to foreign lenders. The southeast Asian nation will give as many as nine new financial-services licences to overseas firms, Prime Minister Najib Razak said in April 2009. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd was the first overseas firm to be awarded a Malaysian bank licence in nine years when it was granted a permit in November. As it was under a special bilateral agreement with Beijing, it was also not part of the quota. Stephanie Phang in Singapore also contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:37 am Lounge podcast | ‘Maximum Vacations’ and bad school moviesFellow Lounger Seema Chowdhry joins in to take us through the special 6-page spread in this issue of Lounge. We spoke to eight families in six cities to figure what parents are planning for their kids this season. And we found that dance and theatre classes were way passé—it’s robotics, aero-modelling and baking now. Chandrahas Choudhury reviews a lovely translation of Tamil Sangam Poetry called “Love stands alone”. And our film critic Sanjukta Sharma does not have nice things to say about the Shahid Kapoor starrer Paathshaala. It’s not just because the press screening was at 7:30 a.m, she insists. That’s all from us this week. We love to hear from you so do write to us at feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:34 am Apex court refers entry tax issue to larger bench New Delhi: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the validity of entry taxes levied by states would have to be decided by a larger bench. The case will decide an issue that has led to conflicting judgements by various high courts, even as the Union government has said that it wants a goods and services tax to be imposed across the country on 1 April 2011 to rationalize state levies such as entry tax. While some high courts have held the entry tax to be unconstitutional, others have upheld it, leading to appeals and cross appeals by the states and companies to the apex court. Some high courts said the levy was unconstitutional as they considered it a violation of the freedom of trade and commerce. “The apex court’s decision shows that more clarity was required on the issue and that earlier judgements may need to be revisited,” said C.A. Sundaram, a senior Supreme Court advocate. A bench headed by former apex court justice Arijit Pasayat had referred the matter to the five-judge bench in 2008. Orissa and Uttar Pradesh are among the states that have appealed to the apex court against high court verdicts that held the entry tax to be unconstitutional. Orissa’s appeal came in 2008 after the Orissa Entry Tax Act, 1999, was called into question. A batch of cross appeals were filed by Tata Sponge Iron Ltd, Vedanta Aluminium, Bhushan Steel and Strips Ltd and others challenging the imposition of tax on goods entering Orissa. The Orissa high court had given the verdict after Reliance Industries Ltd and others had in May 2006 challenged the levy for restricting the free flow of trade and because the state was not providing the required facilities in return. Another batch of petitions was filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against firms including Honda Siel Cars India, Xpro India Ltd and LG Electronics. This was in challenge to the Allahabad high court judgement that asked the state to refund around Rs4,000 crore collected as entry tax. The state government had challenged the high court judgement, according to which there was no material to establish that the amount collected as tax was in proportion to facilities provided to the traders. On the other hand, several firms challenged the Madhya Pradesh high court judgement that upheld the Entry Tax Act of 2006. Their contention was that the state hadn’t provided infrastructure and facilities in line with the taxes paid. manish.r@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:32 am Indian banks get Malaysian banking licenceMalaysia awarded on Friday a commercial banking licence to a locally incorporated bank to be owned by Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:22 am Market share is a tool for profit New Delhi: Star Plus, the flagship channel of Star India Pvt. Ltd, has returned to the leadership position in the Hindi general entertainment category (GEC). For the fifth consecutive week, the channel has ranked No. 1 after lagging behind Colors from the Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd stable for nearly 22 weeks. Star India chief executive officer Uday Shankar underplays the revival of Star Plus but airs his views on the corrections needed in the broadcast industry. Edited excerpts from an interview:  Wider view: Though all kinds of performances should be measured, Shankar says one need not have to look at them week to week. Ashesh Shah / Mint What do you attribute the spike in the Star Plus ratings to? Primarily, fiction. Some of the new shows are doing well and the old shows are holding on. We have launched a new show at 7.30pm (Sasural Genda Phool) and it has opened at a television rating of 1.7 and 1.8, which is very good for that time slot. Man ki Awaaz Pratigya gets 4.6 and 4.8 and is the leader in the 10.30 category. Yeh Rishta, Bidaai and Sabki Ladli…are still doing well. In a news television cliché, “how does it feel to be No. 1 again”? When you have been the leader of a category for 10 years, then losing the leadership for a few weeks and coming back is not exceptional. Star’s leadership is far deeper than weekly GRPs (gross rating points). Leadership is a combination of the ability to set the agenda, innovate and get a premium over every other competitor. Regardless of the weekly ratings fluctuations, we have done well. I am very cynical about the way the entire industry—including the media that reports on it—has got so focused on the weekly performance of channels. So you are not in favour of measuring weekly performance? All kinds of performances should be measured, but you don’t have to look at it week to week. The business we are in is a marathon. What’s the point of measuring who was ahead after 10m or 20m? The gross rating points are an extrapolation based on data that TAM (Media Research) has. Assuming the data is accurate, it doesn’t tell you anything. If one location does not have power for sometime, it would get reflected (in ratings). But that doesn’t mean that the strength of the channel is down or the story is poor. But these issues were not raised when Star Plus was the market leader. You have to bring up issues sometime or the other. Let me debunk this whole notion (about leadership). Star continues to be the leader. Our leadership is way beyond the leadership of Hindi. We are in news, sports and have English channels. What are the issues with TAM research? My issue is not with TAM. The issue is what do you do with ratings. The standard deviation on the sample can be significant. We need to look at data with some maturity. aMap (Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd) delivers data on a daily basis, which is leading people to even more tactical responses. Such as? For instance, a channel killed two of its most important protagonists in serials because Star Plus GRPs were growing. And since they needed the characters, they were also revived. These short-term tactics are employed even if they are not relevant to the stories. News channels resort to popular ghost and snakes stories when their weekly ratings are down. Will the new Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) solve the problem? Look, BARC is just an agency. It can be as good or as bad as we make it. BARC is focused on having a much larger database. Are the entertainment channels also setting up a complaint redressal body on the lines of news channels? We definitely need a body since we have a very active relationship with the consumer. The content that we deliver has an influence over people. As responsible members of the business community, we should be prepared to put ourselves to scrutiny. The GEC content continues to be regressive. Once in a while you may see stuff that is regressive. But what do you mean by regressive? At the end of day, it is entertainment. Also, media mirrors society. But you just said that television influences the viewers. It works both ways. Where do you get your stories and characters from? The point I am making is that I don’t believe that content is all regressive. There is a range of studies that has shown the positive impact of soaps. The average Indian woman is a lot more aware and empowered and that’s what satellite TV has achieved in the last 10-12 years. It has worked better than the effort made by the government agencies. So we should not be hasty in sticking these labels… Our 10.30 show is about an educated woman who marries into a conservative and feudal family. It’s about her fight. It’s an extremely empowering story. Obviously when you are telling a story there would be the good and the bad. We are not doing propaganda. We are doing content. It has to look believable. What do you watch on television? I have a rule—I only watch my own channels. When you are running, you don’t look over your shoulder to see who else is running. You focus on your steps. As a matter of discipline, I only watch my own channels. During the 22 weeks of leadership of Colors, were you under pressure from News Corp.? News Corp. didn’t have to put pressure. If they didn’t like what I did, they would have asked me to go. News Corp. has enough depth of understanding of (the) media business to know it’s a business where, like many other businesses, your leadership creates challengers. Overall, my bosses are confident of the ability of the team we have in India. Star had announced a 24-hour home shopping channel. What happened? The 24-hour channel did not happen as the licence did not come through. There were some queries and by the time we replied, the ministry suspended issuing fresh licences. Now the ban has been lifted and we will, hopefully, get the licence. However, our six-hour band on home shopping on Utsav has got a phenomenal response. Star opposed the digitization of cable for many years and now you are voting for digitization. Star had opposed CAS (conditional access system) and the way it was being pushed in 2003. We had predicted that it was full of flaws and we were correct. We are absolutely in favour of digitization. The growth of the industry is getting choked in the absence of digital distribution in cable. What in your view does the broadcast industry require today? First of all, the industry needs to focus on profits rather than on incidental things. Market share is a tool to make profits. It is the only industry where I have seen that people become loss leaders in order to chase market share. Profit consciousness is very important. Way too many people are focused on creating perceived value through fair or phony means to get money from the market rather than building a profitable entity with a robust P&L (profit and loss). Also, (a) consensus on certain basic issues within the industry is important. Telecom is a very good example. The industry players were competing with one another. But they have created this whole shared back-end model that allowed everybody to reduce costs. Unfortunately, here we have turned the fight into such personal conflicts that people don’t even talk to each other most of the time. What is also required is for the government to take a more broadbased-enabling position with the industry. Are you looking for something specific from the government? It should help us in unlocking subscription revenues. It is an absolute must. Digitization will ensure that there is transparency in billing and accounting from the ground. The advertising revenue for the television industry is nearly $2 billion (Rs8,900 crore). The under-declaration of subscription revenue itself is about $3 billion. The entire economics of the industry will change if that value is unlocked. What about foreign direct investment (FDI)? There are a lot of investment caps and the government is unnecessarily scared about some sectors. When a DTH (direct-to-home) player cannot own content according to the sector’s guidelines, what is the point of putting an FDI cap? Tata Sky (owned by the Tata Group and the Star group) seems to be the only company following it. But you have applied again to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for increasing stake. It’s only to increase from 20% equity to 30%. But nobody looks at the broadcasters who hold 100% equity in DTH when the cross-media holding restricts it to only 20%. There is pressure to raise the FDI cap in news channels. Yes, the cap must be relaxed in news. The news channels are dying. They need money. No news channel has the money to spend on news gathering. After paying salaries and carriage fee, there is no money left. With the exception of one or two news channels, everybody else is losing money. shuchi.b@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:19 am Satluj to kick off divestment in FY11Mumbai: Himachal Pradesh-based hydropower generation company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd will sell 410.8 million shares starting 29 April as part of the federal government’s plan to divest a 10% stake. The public offering, previously planned for early April, will now “go ahead as scheduled whatever the market conditions,” an official said on condition of anonymity. This will be the first state divestment in 2010-11. The government will decide, among other things, whether to offer a special discount for retail investors. According to the proposed offer document filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for approval, the company’s net asset value per equity share is Rs16.07. The government can expect to raise a minimum of Rs657 crore by selling shares at this level. The Indian government owns 75% in the firm while 25% is owned by the Himachal Pradesh government. Satluj Jal operates a 1,500MW hydroelectric plant on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh. It’s seeking to increase capacity to 3,588MW through various projects in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Nepal by 2017. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:18 am JSW Energy acquires stake in South African CoalNew Delhi: JSW Energy Ltd, a unit of India’s third largest steelmaker, has acquired a part of a company that owns shares in South African Coal Mining Holdings Ltd. JSW Energy’s shares climbed 3.85% in Mumbai on Friday. The Indian power utility acquired a 49.8% stake in Royal Bafokeng Capital (Proprietary) Ltd from Strider Holdings (Proprietary) Ltd and has the option of buying the remaining 50.2% from Royal Bafokeng Ventures Proprietary Ltd, JSW said in a statement. JSW Energy can also opt to buy the entire shareholding in Mainsail Trading 55 (Proprietary) Ltd, another investor in South African Coal, from RBH Resources Holding (Proprietary) Ltd, according to the statement.  Foreign interests: JSW Steel chairman Sajjan Jindal had earlier said the firm may spend $500 million on coal mines overseas. Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint JSW Energy’s parent company, JSW Steel Ltd, may spend $500 million (Rs2,225 crore) buying coal mines in countries including South Africa and Australia to secure supplies for expansion in India, JSW Steels’ managing director Sajjan Jindal had said in an interview in November. The purchase price of the stake is equal to 30 cents for each share held indirectly by Strider in South African Coal, according to JSW Energy. A similar rate will apply should JSW choose to buy additional shares. JSW Energy shares rose to Rs120.10 on Friday, the highest closing level since 4 January, when the stock started trading after the company raised Rs4,500 crore in an initial public offering. Meanwhile, South African Coal had its listing suspended in Johannesburg, South Africa, after failing to submit a provisional earnings report, according to a stock exchange statement on 4 May. The stock closed unchanged at 41 cents on 30 April, valuing the company at 178.9 million rand (around $24 million). The miner on 9 April had posted a loss of 94.2 million rand for the year to 31 December, compared with a net income of 111.9 million rand a year earlier. South African Coal said last year it suspended operations for three months because of lower coal prices and difficult operational conditions. The company said on 30 March it had received an offer from Wescoal Holdings Ltd to acquire its entire issued share capital. feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 11:16 am Ex-Paulson manager assisted US SEC in Goldman caseWashington: Paolo Pellegrini, who co-managed hedge fund firm Paulson & Co.’s credit opportunities funds, cooperated with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in its case against Goldman Sachs, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Earlier, the SEC charged Goldman with fraud in the structuring and marketing of a debt product tied to subprime mortgages. The SEC alleged that Paulson & Co worked with Goldman in creating a collateralized debt obligation and stood to benefit as its value fell. New York-based Paulson & Co correctly bet that housing prices would fall in 2007, which helped transform the firm into one of the industry’s most successful. Pellegrini had been instrumental in the bet, but split from Paulson in 2008, becoming the only person to leave the firm that year. He has now set up his own hedge fund. A spokesman for Pellegrini had no immediate comment. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 10:57 am IndusInd Bank declares 94% rise in net profitMumbai: IndusInd Bank Ltd on Friday announced a 94% increase in net profit to Rs97.96 crore for the quarter ended March, driven by growth in fee income and loan growth. “The bank’s advances have grown by 30%,’’ managing director and chief executive officer Romesh Sobti said. IndusInd’s net interest margin (NIM), or the difference between the rate of borrowing and lending funds, for the quarter ended March was 19% against 2.33% for the corresponding period last year. “We expect to continue to outpace the industry and grow our loan book in the range of 25 to 30%.’’ Sobti said. The bank’s operating profit grew by 33% to Rs200.48 crore against Rs151.29 crore in the previous year. Total income rose to Rs852.57 crore for the March quarter while capital adequacy was 15.33%. ”The bank is growing (at) around 30%. We will need to raise fresh capital through (the) issue of fresh equity shares, which could happen only in the third quarter of financial year 2011,’’ Sobti said. The bank’s non-performing loans for the fourth quarter dipped to 0.5% from 1.14% in the corresponding quarter last year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 10:34 am MM buys Renault\'s entire stake in JVMahindra Mahindra has bought the entire Renault stake in joint venture, reports CNBCTV18. This, however, will not stop MM from continuing with the JV product Logan.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 16 Apr 2010 | 10:23 am Rupee gains 11 paise against dollarRecovering from initial losses, the rupee today closed 11 paise higher at 44.32/33 against the US cuurency on a late dollar selling by exporters.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 16 Apr 2010 | 8:19 am Isro to analyze tomorrow cause of GSLV-D3 rocket failureBangalore: India’s top space scientists are meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday to analyze the data and find the cause for failure of GSLV-D3 rocket that was launched for the first time on Thursday using an indigenously made cryogenic engine. As per the initial indications, the problem could have been related to the ignition of the cryogenic engine leading to the rocket tumbling, losing altitude and finally plunging into sea little over eight minutes after the lift-off from Sriharikota spaceport. “Senior Isro scientists, mainly working in propulsion area, are meeting in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow afternoon to make a detailed analysis of the flight data,” an official of the Bangalore-headquartered space agency said. The meeting would be chaired by S Ramakrishnan, director (projects), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). The flight-testing of the indigenous cryogenic engine and the stage as part of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) mission was not successful, dashing India’s hopes of joining the elite club of space-faring nations possessing the complex technology required for launching heavier satellites. The Thiruvananthapuram-based VSSC is the major centre of Isro, where the design and development activities of satellite launch vehicles and sounding rockets are carried out and made ready for launch operations. “The problem may be related to the ignition of the main engine. But it (the analysis) is going to be a tricky affair as the data we got is limited,” the official said. Isro officials would analyse the flight data in terms of parameters such as pressure and temperature and hold discussions on corrective measures to be taken for the next flight test of the indigenous cryogenic engine and stage within the next one year. GSLV-D3 vehicle lifted off as planned at 4.27 pm from the spaceport of Sriharikota after a countdown procedure lasting 29 hours. The countdown went off as planned. GSLV-D3 vehicle performance was normal up to the end of the second stage lasting 293 seconds. Afterwards, the cryogenic stage was to ignite and burn for about 720 seconds to provide the necessary velocity to inject the GSAT-4 satellite, carried by the rocket, into the intended geosynchronous transfer orbit, but things did not go as planned in that phase. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:57 am Govt favours minimal rate hike as officials meetNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The chief of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) met with the finance minister on Friday ahead of the bank's monetary policy review on April 20, as the government signalled it favoured a minimal hike in rates because it believes inflation is peaking.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Apr 2010 | 5:51 am
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