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Chennai Petro hunting new site for Ennore projectChennai Petroleum Corp is scouting for alternate site for its new refinery project in Tamil Nadu state following difficulties in land allocation at Ennore, its managing director said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 6:51 am Tata Consultancy wins RollsRoyce dealTata Consultancy Services Ltd, India\'s top software services exporter, said on Wednesday it has won a contract to provide design and engineering services to British enginemaker RollsRoyce.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 6:51 am Bharat Forge redeems FCCBS worth $131 millionBharat Forge Ltd said on Tuesday it redeemed Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds worth USD 131 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 6:51 am RBI\'s credit policy: What it means for infra sector?Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of India announced its annual credit policy. The policy was positive for infrastructure companies. In an exclusive interview with CNBCTV18, Pervez Umrigar, MD, Gammon Infrastructure and Hemant Kanoria, MD, SREI Infra Finance, discuss how big the positives could be for the infrastructure sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 6:26 am Azim Premji looks to sell 4.17% stake in WiproWipros Chairman, Azim Premji is in exploratory talks to cut his holding in the company and is looking to reduce his stake by 4.47% from 79.61% to 75.14%. At the current market price, 4.47% stake in Wipro is valued at Rs 3,993.4 crores.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 5:34 am Gas sales to lift Reliance results; MA keyEnergy major Reliance Industries should post a second straight increase in quarterly profit, lifted by higher gas output from fields off India\'s east coast and a nascent recovery in refining marginsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 5:18 am Zee Entertainment to buy INX Media\'s 9X channelZee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, India\'s top listed television broadcaster, has secured an inprinciple approval from its board to acquire 9X, a general entertainment channel owned by INX Media Pvt LtdSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 4:26 am Don\'t rule out monetizing Unitech Infra assets: UnitechRealty major Unitech plans to demerge its arm Unitech Infra that houses infrastructure and telecom operations into a separate company. Speaking to CNBCTV18, Sanjay Chandra, MD, Unitech said the infra arm can be listed by yearend and the company may monetise a lot of Unitech Infra asset going forward.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am RBI may raise key rates by 25 bps by June end: DBS - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:56 am RBI may not issue MSS bonds right now: Ministry officer - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:55 am Zee Board Approved 9X Acquisition - VC Circle
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:48 am Marsons net up, says product mix led to turnaround in Q4 - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:45 am Rupee stays strong on share gains; dollar eyedMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee continued to trade stronger on Wednesday afternoon helped by gains in the domestic sharemarket and the dollar's drop against some major currencies.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:40 am Revenues from 3G auction may touch Rs.45000 crore: Raja - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:38 am India spot gold edges higher; traders look for fallsMUMBAI (Reuters) - India spot gold prices edged higher on Wednesday afternoon on expectations of limited supplies of the yellow metal ahead of festivals next month, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:37 am TCS inks global engineering services - Moneylife Personal Finance Magazine
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:36 am Unitech to list demerged infra entity on stock exchangesSeeking to leverage from its demerged infrastructure businesses, including telecom venture, Unitech on Wednesday said it would list the new entity on the stock exchanges within 2010.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:31 am RIIL Q4 net profit dips 15 pcMukesh Ambani Group firm Reliance Industrial Infrastructure said its net profit declined by 15.78 per cent at Rs 5.44 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, over the same period last year.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:30 am TVS Motor Jan-March net at 202.9 mln rupeesMUMBAI (Reuters) - TVS Motor Company Ltd reported a net profit of 202.9 million rupees on net sales of 11.92 billion rupees for the Jan-March quarter.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:28 am Rupee stays strong on share gains; dollar eyedMumbai: The Indian rupee continued to trade stronger on Wednesday afternoon helped by gains in the domestic sharemarket and the dollar’s drop against some major currencies. At 2:30pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs44.41/42 per dollar, stronger than its previous close of Rs44.52/53. The Reserve Bank of India hiked its key interest rates by 25 basis points each at a scheduled review on Tuesday, in line with market expectations, and called for a “calibrated” pace of monetary tightening. The main share index was trading slightly higher, after snapping a 5-day fall the previous day and joining Asian peers as signs of a global recovery in corporate earnings lifted investor appetite for riskier assets. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.04%. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at Rs44.46, largely in line with the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at Rs44.4550, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.8 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:27 am Oberoi renovation cost for EIH at $35-40 mln - officialMUMBAI (Reuters) - EIH Ltd estimates the total cost of renovation for its Oberoi property in south Mumbai to be $35-40 million, a senior official said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:19 am Thousands march in New Delhi over food pricesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Indians backed by opposition parties denounced steep price rises in one of the biggest marches in years in New Delhi, demanding the ruling Congress-led government quit over food inflation.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:16 am 3G bids up 81.5% from base on auction 9th dayBids for a nationwide thirdgeneration (3G) mobile spectrum licences rose 81.5% above the base price to Rs 63.54 billion (USD 1.43 billion) on the ninth day of an auction, government data showed on Tuesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:12 am Unitech to spin off biz including telecomsUnitech Ltd, India\'s secondlargest listed real estate firm, said late Tuesday it would spin off its infrastructure businesses including its investment in a telecoms firm into a separate company as it aims to unlock value.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:12 am Revenues from 3G auction may touch Rs.45,000 crore: RajaThe government hopes to net around Rs 45,000 crore from the ongoing auctions to award radio frequency spectrum for 3G telecom services and for rolling out broadband wireless internet services, Communications Minister A Raja said on Tuesday.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:10 am Airline industry will take 3 years to recover - IATABERLIN (Reuters) - The airline industry will take at least three years to recover from a crisis aggravated by airspace closures in Europe linked to volcanic ash, IATA head Giovanni Bisignani said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 3:07 am Goldman plays down SEC worries - Financial Times
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:57 am Airlines lost more than $1.7 bln by Tuesday - IATAFRANKFURT (Reuters) - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the crisis caused by a volcanic ash cloud above Europe cost airlines revenues of more than $1.7 billion by Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:51 am Construction firms to post double digit Q4 growthMumbai: Construction and building firms are expected to post double digit growth in January-March as an economic rebound and government spending boosts India’s realty sector, industry experts and analysts said. Between 2007 and 2012, India plans to spend $514 billion -- with private firms contributing 36% -- to overhaul its creaky infrastructure that is an obstacle to achieving faster growth in Asia’s third largest economy. India’s 2010-11 budget allocated 46% of the total plan allocation amounting to Rs17 trillion for infrastructure development in the country. According to a Reuters’ poll of 16 brokerages, IVRCL Infrastructures is expected to post a 11.20% rise in net profit and Lanco Infratech a 58.63% jump. However, engineering firm Engineers India is slated to post 19.25% drop in profit. “Normally, January-March is always the strongest quarter for construction companies,” Shailesh Kanani, an analyst with Angel Broking said, adding that the order inflow “has been good”. Kotak Securities, in its report, said strong order backlogs will drive revenue growth for construction sector. HCC’s order book should drive revenues up 22% over fiscal 2010-2012, Motilal Oswal said in a report. HCC, which won Rs490 crore from tunnelling contracts and metal sector clients this quarter, is expected to post a 10.7% year-on-year growth in sales, brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said in a note. Kotak Securities said a pick-up in airport traffic and operating power plants would boost revenue growth for GMR Infrastructure and GVK Power and Infrastructure, but higher interest and depreciation costs will hurt profits. Outlook Bright After Rains Analysts see robust orders driving revenue growth in FY11, though the first two fiscal quarters are low revenues ones because the monsoon halts building works. “The first quarter could be good, but the second quarter could be a dampner in terms of quarter-over-quarter. From a year-on-year point of view, we are expecting around 20-25 CAGR in both the first and second quarter in terms of execution,” Abhinav Bhandari, analyst at Elara Securities, said. “Over the next few quarters, we expect healthy order backlogs of the companies in our universe to translate into earnings growth,” Angel Securities said. Motilal Oswal said it expects margins to stay stable through fiscal 2011, impacted by increased commodity prices and higher mobilisation expenses, given bunching up of orders. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:45 am Bharat Forge redeems FCCBS worth $131 millionIn 2005, the company had issued the FCCBs in two tranches of $120 million to finance capital expenditure and global acquisitions, it said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:43 am ‘RBI will continue to use CRR tool’Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will continue to use cash reserve ratio (CRR) as a monetary tool as policy transmission is less effective if only rates are used, a deputy governor said on Wednesday. Subir Gokarn, who was speaking to reporters a day after the annual monetary policy was announced, said the central bank prefers to act in small steps, non-disruptively. The RBI on Tuesday raised key interest rates and CRR by 25 basis points each and said further rises were likely, as it moves to return monetary policy towards pre-crisis settings and battles near double-digit inflation. “If pricing is not going to achieve what you want, then why deny yourself the need of using quantity instruments if (the) need arises? That’s really the pragmatism with which we are looking at the CRR now and I think it will continue to be the tool that we will use,” Gokarn said. Gokarn said a single instrument was not adequate as there were issues of transmission, time lag and uncertainty. The price mechanism on which rates implied was heavily dependent on the transmission mechanism, which was not as efficient as required. Policy rate moves in India can take as long as a year to transmit to bank rate changes, while increases in the cash reserve ratio immediately sucks out liquidity from the system. A poll by Reuters after the policy announcement on Tuesday showed that a majority of analysts expect the central bank to raise interest rates again before its next quarterly review, with rises totalling 100 basis points in both key policy rates forecast by the end of the fiscal year. Gokarn also said that the RBI would not look to use the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) as a monetary policy tool, calling any increase in this measure retrogressive, as it is a safety pool of money and not a policy instrument. The SLR is the proportion of deposits banks need to hold in government securities, and currently stands at 25%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:34 am Yahoo! Q1 profit surges on search deal, upturn in ad businessNew York: Internet major Yahoo! has registered nearly three-fold growth in its net income to $310 million during the three-month period ending 31 March 2010, helped by an uptick in the online advertising business and its search deal with Microsoft. The company had a net income of $118 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Yahoo! said in a statement. Revenue was $1.59 billion for the first quarter of 2010, a 1% increase from the same quarter last year, it said. “We had a good quarter, delivering income from operations higher than our outlook,” Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz said. “Thanks to our efforts, our search share has stabilised and we grew display advertising by 20% year-on-year. More importantly, guaranteed display grew by 24% as advertisers took advantage of the science, art and scale that only Yahoo! can offer,” she added. The company’s first quarter profits reflect Yahoo!’s revenue-sharing search deal with Microsoft, which launched in February. As per the agreement, Yahoo’s website uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine and the two companies share the revenues. Yahoo! gained $43 million from Microsoft as one-time “net transition cost reimbursement” for expenditure the company incurred in 2009 as well as in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, Yahoo! received $35 million from Microsoft for search operating costs during the quarter. Revenues of $875 million from Yahoo!’s owned and operated sites were flat compared to the figure of $872 million for the same period of 2009. This was despite a 20% increase in display advertising revenue. Further, Yahoo!’s revenues from affiliate sites rose 7% in comparison to the previous year to $548 million in the January-March period of 2010. The Internet company expects revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.68 billion in the second quarter of the year. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:29 am Yahoo! Q1 profit surges on search deal, upturn in ad businessNew York: Internet major Yahoo! has registered nearly three-fold growth in its net income to $310 million during the three-month period ending 31 March 2010, helped by an uptick in the online advertising business and its search deal with Microsoft. The company had a net income of $118 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Yahoo! said in a statement. Revenue was $1.59 billion for the first quarter of 2010, a 1% increase from the same quarter last year, it said. “We had a good quarter, delivering income from operations higher than our outlook,” Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz said. “Thanks to our efforts, our search share has stabilised and we grew display advertising by 20% year-on-year. More importantly, guaranteed display grew by 24% as advertisers took advantage of the science, art and scale that only Yahoo! can offer,” she added. The company’s first quarter profits reflect Yahoo!’s revenue-sharing search deal with Microsoft, which launched in February. As per the agreement, Yahoo’s website uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine and the two companies share the revenues. Yahoo! gained $43 million from Microsoft as one-time “net transition cost reimbursement” for expenditure the company incurred in 2009 as well as in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, Yahoo! received $35 million from Microsoft for search operating costs during the quarter. Revenues of $875 million from Yahoo!’s owned and operated sites were flat compared to the figure of $872 million for the same period of 2009. This was despite a 20% increase in display advertising revenue. Further, Yahoo!’s revenues from affiliate sites rose 7% in comparison to the previous year to $548 million in the January-March period of 2010. The Internet company expects revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.68 billion in the second quarter of the year. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:29 am Construction firms to post double digit Q4 growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - Construction and building firms are expected to post double digit growth in Jan-March as an economic rebound and government spending boosts realty sector, industry experts and analysts said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:27 am Govt may earn up to Rs 45,000cr from spectrum auction: Telecom ministerThe government is likely to earn up to Rs 45,000 crore from the auction of 3G and broadband spectrum, telecom minister A Raja said on Wednesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:27 am Airlines lose $1.7 bn due to ash chaos: IATABerlin: Airlines have lost around $1.7 billion after a “week without revenue” because of the chaos caused by volcanic ash, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday. At the height of the upheaval on Saturday and Sunday, carriers were losing $400 million per day, Giovanni Bisignani told reporters in Berlin, calling an earlier estimate of 200 million dollars per day “conservative.” Including costs to the airlines such as providing accommodation to stranded customers, food and alternative modes of transport like buses, the sector is left with a bill of around $1.7 billion, Bisignani said. “We’ve seen a week without revenue but that has not stopped the costs,” he said. He said that in Europe “governments must take their responsibility” and help the carriers, calling the firms victims of “an act of God, completely out of the power of the airlines.” European air travel was slowly returning to normal on Wednesday after volcanic ash drifting from an eruption in Iceland prompted a shutdown last week that left millions of passengers stranded and hit the economy. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:26 am Will see decline in BPO rev next few quarters: HCL Tech - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:25 am India may earn Rs45,000 crore from 3G auction: RajaNew Delhi: The government is likely to earn up to Rs45,000 crore from the auction of 3G and broadband spectrum, Union telecom minister A Raja said on Wednesday. The amount is much higher than the earlier target of up to Rs35,000 crore. “The auction of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum put together is likely to fetch Rs 44,000 to Rs 45,000 crore for the government,” Raja said on the sidelines of a telecom event. After Tuesday’s round of bidding for 3G, which began on 9 April, the government would get at least Rs25,770 crore from the sale of third generation (3G) spectrum alone. On Tuesday, which was the 9th day of bidding, the base price increased to Rs6,355 crore for pan-India frequency from Rs3,500 crore. Delhi continues to be on top, with a bid of Rs733.71 crore against the base price of Rs320 crore. Mumbai attracted the second highest quotation of Rs667.77 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs643.37 crore. So far 52 rounds of bids have been completed and there is no excess demand in major circles like Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, indicating that the price may not go up further in these circles. However, going by the rules of the auction, any operator can come back and bid for any of the circle till the government discovers price in all the areas simultaneously. Kolkata is the only circle with excess demand and there are 11 service areas with negative demand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:21 am India water crisis laid bare by clash with cola giants - AFP
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:19 am HCL Technologies to hire 5,000, hike salariesIT services provider HCL Technologies today said it will hire 5,000 people this year.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:13 am HCL Tech Jan-March net up 73 pct; shares gainNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Software services firm HCL Technologies said on Wednesday its quarterly net income rose by 73 percent on year, in line with its largeer peers, on strong volume and revenue growth.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 2:08 am Tata Consultancy Services bags Rolls-Royce dealUnder the agreement, Tata Consultancy will set up a technology centre in Bangalore to provide design and engineering services to Rolls-Royce.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:55 am BCCI ready to take harsh decisions: Rajiv ShuklaNew Delhi: Faced with a defiant Lalit Modi who is refusing to step down as IPL commissioner, the BCCI talked tough on 21 April and said it would not hesitate to take harsh decisions to protect its image which has taken a hit due to allegations of financial irregularities. BCCI’s media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla said if situation demands tough decisions, they would be taken when the IPL’s Governing Council meets on 26 April. “The question of people refusing to back down or not, they don’t matter. After the meeting between BCCI president Shashank Manohar and Sharad Pawar on 20 April, it has been decided that in the 26 April Governing Council meeting, we will sit together and unanimously decide what to do,” Shukla told reporters. “These decisions would in the interest of cricket and the BCCI. No matter how harsh they might seem, decisions would be taken to protect the BCCI and cricket’s image in the country. We have never compromised on our image in the past 60 years and there would be no compromise this time too,” he added. Modi, who is facing allegations of financial irregularities and favouring family and friends in franchise bids, has so far refused to step down from his post despite mounting pressure. The skeletons started tumbling out after Modi’s tweets on the shareholding pattern of the new Kochi franchise disclosed that former junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor’s close friend Sunanda Pushkar had a ‘sweat equity’ worth Rs70 crore in the team. Tharoor had to resign as a result but Modi is also in trouble after damaging revelations of his alleged ‘silent´ stakes in at least three IPL teams. Besides, Modi is also facing accusations of money laundering and betting in the IPL. A concerned BCCI has been in damage control mode ever since and there are indications that the Board’s top brass wants Modi out after the IPL ends on 25 April . Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:54 am Chennai Petro hunting new site for Ennore projectThe company plans to spend about Rs100 billion over next 4-5 years, managing director K Balachandran said when asked about the company's capex plans.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:48 am RBI says will continue to use CRR toolMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India will continue to use cash reserve ratio (CRR) as a monetary tool as policy transmission is less effective if only rates are used, a deputy governor said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:47 am I-T raids at offices of firms associated with IPLMumbai: The Income Tax Department on Wednesday raided the premises of companies associated with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the wake of allegations that telecasting agency Multi Screen Media had paid a facilitation fee of $80 million to marketing agency World Sports Group. The searches, which started this morning, were on in the office premises of Multi-Screen Media (MSM) in suburban Malad, the telecasting agency of IPL, World Sports Group (WSG), the marketing agency of IPL, International Management Group (IMG), the organizing agency, and the Bandra house of Venu Nair, CEO of WSG. The raids are related to a “facilitation fee” of $80 million paid by MSM (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) to WSG, a source close to the development said. A group of more than 20 I-T officers are participating in the raid, the source said. Faced with the allegation, WSG had on Tuesday claimed that it had done no wrong and would take appropriate action to uphold its reputation. “Any allegation that WSG has used any funds received in connection with its sub-licence of these rights for inappropriate or unlawful activities is completely unfounded and without substance,” World Sports Group (WSG) had said in a statement. In 2008, WSG bagged IPL television rights for 10 years with a $918 million bid and a promise to spend $108 million on the event. It also signed a deal with MSM making Sony the official broadcaster. However, two months before IPL-2, the deal was scrapped. It was recast with MSM agreeing to pay $1.63 billion for nine years. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:46 am Tata Consultancy says wins Rolls-Royce dealTata Consultancy Services Ltd, India's top software services exporter, said on Wednesday it has won a contract to provide design and engineering services to British engine-maker Rolls-Royce.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:39 am Small car, big dreamVolkswagen has put all of its marketing muscle to sell the Polo, a premium hatchback, as the car of the discerning owner. The competition, eyeing the same pie, won’t give up without a fight. Who wins the race?Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:18 am Playing up luxuryThe new 5-series BMW is actually a highly suave, scaled down 7-series mean machine. And there’s little about it that we don’t like.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:04 am Videocon may sell 26 pc stake to foreign playersDiversified group Videocon Industries on Wednesday said it may sell up to 26 per cent stake in the company to foreign players.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 1:03 am Unitech up 4 pct on spin off plan - Financial Express
Source: Business - Google News | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:59 am India's Unitech shares rise 4 pct on spin off planShares in Unitech Ltd rose more than 4 per cent today after the second-largest listed Indian real estate firm said it would spin off some businesses, including telecoms into a separate company.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:56 am G20 labour ministers stress job creationLabour ministers of the G20 group of leading economies, including India, have stressed the need for their governments to keep job creation and preservation high on the agenda as the global economy recovers.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:48 am HCL Tech Jan-March net up 73%; shares gainNew Delhi: Software services firm HCL Technologies said on Wednesday its quarterly net income rose by 73% on year, in line with its larger peers, on strong volume and revenue growth. Shares in HCL Technologies, which the market values at about $5.5 billion, rose as much as 6.8% after the results and were trading up 6.25% at Rs366.95 at 10.08 am. Net income rose to Rs263 crore for January-March quarter, while sales increased 23% to Rs1287 crore as the company witnessed revenue growth across all IT services offerings and geographies led by US. Net income increased 78% on year to $43 million and revenue rose 21.4% $564.4 million under US accounting norms. The company added about 2,500 employees in the March quarter, it said in a statement. The results were in sync with street-topping performances at larger peers including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies, strengthening belief that IT services sector was fast recovering from the global downturn. HCL, among India’s top five software services firm, won 13 new deals from diverse verticals across the world, including Vodafone, Advanstar and Malaysian Airlines. The software services firm plans to hire 5,000 fresh college graduates on a net basis in 2010, Anant Gupta, president, HCL Infrastructure Services division said on Wednesday. Operating margins in IT services expanded 130 bps from a year ago and 40 bps from the last quarter, CFO Anil Chanana said in a statement. Research firm Gartner has forecast a 5.3% rise in global IT spending in 2010 to $3.4 trillion, after a 4.6% fall last year. The strengthening rupee, which rose 3.6% against the dollar in the March quarter after a 4.7% gain in 2009, higher wages and competition from global firms such as IBM, Accenture and Hewlett-Packard are key risks for the nearly $60 billion sector. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:44 am Reserve Bank will continue to use cash reserve ratioDeputy governor Subir Gokarn said the Reserve Bank prefers to act in small steps, non-disruptively.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:23 am Rupee gains 14 paise to 44.38 a dollarThe Indian rupee appreciated by 14 paise to 44.38 a dollar in early trade today as foreign funds poured capital into equities.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:15 am Google in talks to buy ITA Software: ReportCambridge, Massachusetts-based ITA Software may seek about $1 billion, two of the people told the news agency, adding that the talks may not lead to a transaction.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:14 am Sensex opens 95 points up on global cuesSensex gained close to 95 points in opening trade today, extending yesterday's gains on continued capital inflows by foreign funds amid a firming global market.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:14 am Ericsson to buy LG-Nortel joint venture stake for $242 millionNortel, once North America's biggest maker of telephone gear, filed for bankruptcy protection in January and was looking for a buyer for its 50% plus one share in LG-Nortel, a joint venture with South Korea's LG Electronics Inc.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:14 am Manmohan says urgent action needed to root out NaxalismNew Delhi: Against the backdrop of a string of Maoist attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday pitched for urgent and considered action to root out the problem of Left-wing extremism and asserted that no quarter can be given to those challenging the authority of the Indian state. Singling out Left-wing extremism as the gravest internal security threat faced by the nation, he said, “Recent events have underscored the need for urgent and considered action to root out this problem”. “No quarter can be given to those who have taken upon themselves to challenge the authority of the Indian state and the fabric of our democratic polity,” he said, inaugurating the Civil Services Day function in New Delhi. The Prime Minister’s remarks come in the wake of the worst-ever Maoist attack at Chitangufa in Chhattisgarh on 6 April in which 75 CRPF men and a policeman were killed. The Naxalites had also opened fire on five separate CRPF camps in quick succession in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday night. Underscoring the fact that Left-wing extremism was flourishing in under-developed areas of the country, Singh asked the civil servants to ensure that no area of the country is denied the benefits of the government’s developmental programmes. “But we cannot overlook the fact that many areas in which such extremism flourishes are under-developed and many of the people, mainly poor tribals, who live in these areas have not shared equitably in the fruits of development. “It is incumbent upon us to ensure that no area of our country is denied the benefits of our ambitious developmental programmes,” Singh said. He asked them to devise innovative ways and means to harness the tools of information technology and to involve the intended beneficiaries in implementation so that complaints of leakages, corruption and lack of transparency get addressed. Singh said that inclusive growth was the centerpiece of the developmental agenda of the UPA and fast economic growth provided the government with the resources to address the problems of poverty, ignorance and disease. “Rapid growth will have little meaning, however, unless social and economic inequalities, which still afflict our society, are not eliminated quickly and effectively,” he said. The Prime Minister said that despite the global economic slow down, India was able to post a respectable growth of 6.7% in 2008-09. “The growth rate for 2009-10 is now estimated at 7.2% and the forecast for 2010-11 is 8.25%,” he said, adding the medium term target set by the government was to return the economy to an annual growth rate of 9%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:09 am Talwalkars Better Value Fitness: InvestInvestors with a high appetite for risk may subscribe to the initial public offering of Talwalkars Better Value Fitness, which owns and operates a nationwide chain of fitnessSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am IPL franchises under lens of Registrar of CosAll the eight franchises of the Indian Premier League, as well as the controversial Kochi franchise, are under the lens of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. This is even as the Income-Tax Department is probing the contracts of entities behind theseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Unitech board okays de-merger of infra armReal estate major Unitech Ltd on Tuesday announced a demerger swap ratio of 1:1, following its decision to hive off non-core operations such as telecom, SEZs, logistics, hotels, transmission towers and others into a separate entity called UnitechSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Gujarat State Petronet (Rs 93.1): BuyTraders with short-term perspective can consider buying the stock of Gujarat State Petronet. The stock was in a medium-term correction from its 52-week high of Rs 104 recorded in December 2009 till February 2010 low of Rs 82. Recently, the stockSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideFresh long position can be initiated only if the stock exceeds above Rs 946, with stiffSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Home, auto loan rates not to go up nowHome and auto loan EMIs may not go up now. Bankers say they will not look at hiking rates at least in this quarter. But with the hike in key rates by the RBI, there is clearly an upward bias in interest rates. The lending rate could go up whenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Nod for banks to reclassify investments in non-SLR bondsIn a bid to boost infrastructure financing, the Reserve Bank of India has permitted banks to classify their investments in non-SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) bonds, issued by companies engaged in infrastructure activities, under the ‘heldSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Govt suspends registration of cotton export contractsThe Government is further tightening the screws on cotton exports, coming on top of an export duty of Rs 2,500 a tonne imposedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Moisture incursion sets up heavy weather over eastMoisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal and the North-eastern States due to strong southerly to south-westerly winds has been triggering heavy to very heavy overnight rains over theseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am RBI hikes key rates to battle inflationContinuing its battle against the rising tide of inflation, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday hiked key rates - repo, reverse repo and cash reserve ratio - by 25 basis points each.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 21 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Oil above $84 in Asian tradeNew York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, jumped 36 cents to $84.21 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for June rose 47 cents to $85.27.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Apr 2010 | 11:51 pm Unitech shares rise 4% on spin off planNew Delhi: Shares in Unitech Ltd rose more than 4% on Wednesday after the second-largest listed Indian real estate firm said it would spin off some businesses, including telecoms into a separate company. “Good thing is they can focus on the businesses separately,” said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi. “Nobody was happy with a real estate firm owning assets in telecom, hotels. They should have done it earlier. There’s no immediate short-term benefit from this, but for the long term, it’s a good move,” he said. Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra told Reuters the spin-off would help unlock value, with the infrastructure businesses expected to command a price separately. “All these assets were not being valued by the markets at all. We were primarily known as a real estate company,” Chandra said. “Now they can not cut it off in a rounding off error.” “We did have an infrastructure expertise in the past also, but we were not leveraging it in the last so many years. Now with the whole emphasis on infrastructure, we felt we can grow another Unitech equivalent in infrastructure,” he said. New Delhi-based Unitech said in a corporate presentation on its website the spin-off would help the businesses focus on growth with independent management strategies and also provides flexibility to raise financing. “Infrastructure business is not hindered by restrictions on real estate financing,” Unitech said, adding foreign investment, local and foreign borrowing norms were stricter for real estate than for infrastructure. For every one share held in Unitech Ltd, shareholders will get one share of the new firm Unitech Infra Ltd. Unitech said the spin-off would be effective 1 April, and after getting regulatory approvals, Unitech Infra would be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. Under the restrucuring plan, Unitech Infra will house telecoms, management of amusement parks, construction, hotels, special economic zones. Unitech will have a 35% stake in Unitech Infra. Unitech’s telecom joint venture with Norway’s Telenor, in which the Indian firm owns about 33%, will also be part of the new firm. Chandra said there was no plan to cut their stake in the telecom venture in the next 3-4 years. For the nine months ended last December, the businesses of Unitech Infra were estimated to have posted a profit of Rs565 million ($13 million) on revenue of Rs327 crore, Unitech said in the presentation. Unitech Infra will have a gross debt of Rs350 crore and net worth of Rs4980 crore, it said. By 0451 GMT, Unitech shares were trading 2.2% higher at Rs85.40 in a Mumbai market up 0.5%, having risen as much as 4.3% earlier. The shares had gone up 4.6% on Tuesday in anticipation of the spin-off announcement and also aided by an interest rate increase that was in line with expectations. Morgan Stanley, UBS and local investment bank IDFC Capital advised Unitech in the transaction, while Ernst & Young advised on the share entitlement ratio. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 10:59 pm Sensex opens 95 points up on global cuesThe 30-share index, which rallied by 59.90 points in the previous session, rose 94.97 points, or 0.54% to 17,555.55 points, with Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies leading the gains.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Apr 2010 | 10:51 pm Ericsson to buy LG-Nortel JV stake for $242 mnSeoul: Sweden’s Ericsson, the world’s top network gear maker, agreed on Wednesday to buy a controlling stake in a telecom system venture between Nortel Networks and LG Electronics for $242 million. Nortel, once North America’s biggest maker of telephone gear, filed for bankruptcy protection in January and was looking for a buyer for its 50% plus one share in LG-Nortel, a joint venture with South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. “This acquisition will significantly expand Ericsson’s footprint in the Korean market and provide Ericsson with a well established sales channel,” Ericsson said in a statement. The venture, which includes contracts with major Korean telecom operators such as KT Corp and SK Telecom, will also enhance Ericsson’s position in growing long-term evolution (LTE) mobile technology, the statement said. LG Electronics reiterated on Wednesday that it remained committed to maintaining its strategic investor status in LG-Nortel, which will be renamed LG-Ericsson. Nortel said previously the venture, whch was set up in 2005 and reported $650 million in sales last year, was profitable and had not filed for creditor protection. Goldman Sachs is advising Nortel on the sale. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 10:48 pm IMF proposes global bank tax for future bailouts: reportLondon: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed two new global taxes on banks and other financial institutions to cover the cost of future bailouts, the BBC reported. The measures would see all institutions pay a bank levy as well as a further tax on profits and pay, which would aim to protect against future financial meltdown, said the broadcaster on Tuesday, citing a leaked IMF report. Governments of the Group of 20 advanced and developing countries -- which account for more than 85% of the global economy -- received the documents on Tuesday, said the BBC. Finance ministers would discuss the proposals this weekend, it added. Insurers, hedge funds and other financial institutions would also be required to pay the taxes under the IMF proposals, despite the fact they were less implicated in the recent financial crisis. This was to prevent banks reclassifying activities they currently carry out as other services -- such as insurance or hedge-fund services -- in an effort to avoid the levy. The general levy, called the “financial stability contribution,” would start at a flat rate but would eventually be changed so businesses judged to be riskier paid more, said the broadcaster. Several proposals have been put forward by different governments to cover the costs of future economic rescue packages, including a tax on financial transactions. But many have been reluctant to unilaterally introduce taxes to pay for future bailouts, believing coordinated action is the only option. If governments acted alone, it is feared that institutions would simply move their operations to places with less stringent financial regulation. The IMF report, which will form the basis of a submission to the G-20 summit in June, states international cooperation in the introduction of the new levies would be “beneficial”. “Countries’ experiences in the recent crisis differ widely and so do their priorities as they emerge from it. But none is immune from the risk of a future -- and inevitably global -- financial crisis,” it said. “Unilateral actions by governments risk being undermined by tax and regulatory arbitrage.” Britain has been pressing for the introduction of a global bank tax, and finance minister Alistair Darling welcomed the contents of the leaked IMF proposals. “The recognition that banks should make a contribution to the society in which they operate is right,” he said. Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Financial Times newspaper earlier this month that the large economies were getting closer to a deal. Britain, France and Germany were broadly agreed on the need for a levy, Brown told the paper, adding he hoped the United States would join them. The leader said he wanted a deal to be struck at the G-20 summit in Seoul in November. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 10:45 pm Markets rise on strong Asia; Unitech upMumbai: Indian shares rose 0.6% on Wednesday, joining Asian peers as signs of a global recovery in corporate earnings lifted investor appetite for riskier assets. Private-sector lender ICICI Bank, energy major Reliance Industries and construction firm Jaiprakash Associates led the main index higher. Unitech Ltd, India’s second-largest listed real estate firm, rose 2.5% to Rs85.55 after it said late on Tuesday it would spin off its infrastructure businesses, including its investment in a telecoms firm, into a separate company. “Good quarterly numbers are supporting the market, and the direction the market takes in coming days will be determined by how good forthcoming results are,” Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP-Paribas Financial Services, said. “There could be some selling late in the day as foreign funds switch their portfolios amid the quarterly earnings season,” he said. By 10:09am, the 30-share BSE index was up 0.6% at 17,557.66 points, with 28 stocks advancing. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.7% at 5,265.40. On Tuesday, the benchmark had snapped a 5-day fall as financial stocks led the market higher after the central bank raised rates as expected, and investors hoped policymakers would pursue a gradual tightening without stalling growth. Investor sentiment worldwide has pricked up on the view that that earnings are showing the global economy is recovering, with big names such as Goldman Sachs and Apple reporting solid results. Reliance Industries, India’s top listed firm with the most weight in the main index, rose 0.6% to Rs1,070.10. The energy major should post a second straight increase in quarterly profit on Friday, lifted by higher gas output from fields off India’s east coast and a nascent recovery in refining margins. ICICI Bank gained 1% to Rs943.35, while Jaiprakash Associates was up 2.4% at Rs150.55. In the broader market, gainers led losers 4 to 1 on relatively low volume of 99 million shares. Asian shares on Wednesday mirrored an overnight rise in the United States, with Japan’s Nikkei up 1.5%, while MSCI’s measure of other Asian markets rose 0.9%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 10:35 pm Lateral is where heat is for TCSTCS, India's top IT firm by employee strength, is increasing the percentage of its lateral hires, or experienced workforce, to service large deals more effectively.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Apr 2010 | 6:19 pm With just 30 pages, RBI's April policy hits a 'new low'Subbarao's clarity and candour comes thru, including in 4 pages of acronym-ous explanations.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 20 Apr 2010 | 5:17 pm RBI hikes CRR, repo by 25 bpsM V Nair, CMD of government-owned Union Bank of India, said there was enough liquidity in the system to meet the credit demand. Yes Bank MD Rana Kapoor said as there is enough liquidity, interest rates are unlikely to firm up in the next couple of months since it is the lean business season, when credit growth generally remains sluggish.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 2:21 pm Mobile tariffs likely to go down furtherConsumers can look forward to further slashing of mobile tariffs, especially SMS, with the Trai opting against any tariff regulation.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 2:20 pm Mint50 sees minor changesAs we see the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) slugging it out with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority on the issue of making unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) as transparent and accountable as mutual funds (MFs), it’s hard to imagine that just about a decade back the MF industry’s reputation was tarnished when the erstwhile Unit Trust of India (UTI) collapsed. At the time, the government of India took over UTI’s flagship scheme, US-64, along with all its assured-return schemes. The remaining schemes were hived off into UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd, which became a Sebi-registered MF. It was a time when everybody was wary of MFs. Also See A Decade of Growth Nine years and a growth of Rs6,48,189 crore in assets under management later, MFs are in the news again. Today, they are hallmarks of transparency and how well a savings instrument is regulated. Of course, UTI AMC is India’s fourth largest fund house, but that is besides the point. But it you keep all the noise aside, are MFs worth your time and money? Also See Mutual funds schemes to invest in (Graphic) Sip by sip Back in January, we curated MF schemes across categories (except liquid and ultra short-term bond funds) and came up with a list of 50 schemes that we felt you should pick and choose from. Of these, 36 were equity-oriented—they invest at least 65% in equity instruments. Of the 36, 12 funds have been around for 10 years or more. There are more funds that are over a decade old, but not all of them are a part of Mint50. Also Read Our previous stories in the series If you had invested Rs1,000 in any of these 12 funds every month through a systematic investment plan (SIP), you would have gained 20-33% returns. Balanced funds or moderate allocation (equity) funds, as Morningstar India calls them, returned around 24% as these funds invest 65-70% in equities and the rest in debt. However, large-cap and equity-linked saving schemes that can invest their entire corpus in equities have returned 30% through SIP, with funds such as HDFC Equity returning 32.62%. Though a bulk of schemes in the MF industry may have underperformed their benchmark indices, a bunch of schemes stand out and if you are a patient investor, you will be rewarded.  What’s in, what’s out We don’t want to churn the portfolio since it’s been only three months since the last Mint50 was out. However, two minor changes are warranted. In the short-term bond funds category, Birla Sun Life Short Term Fund moves out because effective 20 April, this fund has been renamed as Birla Sun Life Ultra Short Term Fund. Though the objective of the fund remains the same, it’s best to use it if you wish to park—and not invest—your money for up to three to five months, keeping in tune with the fund’s strategy. The scheme’s average maturity as on March-end was about 62 days and it has been consistently managing a portfolio for a very short duration. This is way below the category average of short-term bond funds, whose average maturity as of now is 16 months. At present, ultra short-term funds have an average maturity of 96 days. Also Read How to use Mint50 Existing investors who wish to opt for a short-term fund can switch to Birla Sun Life Dynamic Bond Fund whose average maturity as per its latest portfolio is around 287 days. In place of Birla Ultra Short Term Fund, we are including ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund in Mint50. Templeton India Growth moves into the “core” category of large-cap funds. This was among India’s first schemes that followed a value-styled approach of investing. In volatile equity markets or when markets appear to be on a high as is the case at present, dedicated value-oriented funds bode well for your portfolio. On the cards? We are keeping our eye on two other funds. Franklin India Bluechip Fund (FIBF) seems to have got its mojo back. Once considered a front-runner in the large-cap space, the scheme had lost its lustre in the interim. The fund was managed by K.N. Sivasubramanian for around 15 years. The fund house strengthened its fund management team; it added more analysts and brought in Anand Radhakrishnan (from its portfolio management services team) to manage FIBF, effective April 2007. Its holdings in healthcare and fast-moving consumer good sectors protected its downfall in 2008 and its exposure in banks and capital goods helped it ride the markets in 2009. The fund benefited from its holdings in companies such as Hero Honda Motors Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and so on. The other fund we are tracking is Principal Monthly Income Plan Plus. It can invest up to 25% in equities and the rest in debt instruments. This fund is the only one of the two funds (out of a total of 38 funds in this category) that has not skipped a single dividend (monthly dividend option) between 2005 and 2009. The quantum of dividends don’t tell much about the fund’s performance and funds can’t assure dividends. So, while it is okay for a monthly income plan (MIP) to skip an occasional dividend on account of choppy markets, a good dividend track record bodes well for MIP investors. However, much of the fund’s success has come under its previous fund manager’s regime (debt portion); we need to see evidence of continuity from the new fund management. Watch this space for quarterly updates on Mint50. kayezad.a@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:45 pm New inflation index by February, says govtNew Delhi: The proposed national Consumer Price Index (CPI) meant to measure retail inflation will be released by 20 February, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation has said. This index will combine urban and rural CPIs, both under preparation and to be released simultaneously, the ministry has informed the standing committee on finance. The panel, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, submitted a report on this in Parliament on Monday.  Fixing issues: Pronab Sen says the ministry is to decide between 2008-09 and 2009-10 for the base year for the new index. Ramesh Pathania/Mint Confirming the deadline, chief statistician Pronab Sen said data collection is proceeding smoothly. “Once we get sufficient data, we will start the trial indices,” he said. “One real use (of national CPI) could be to model inflationary expectations.” Abheek Barua, chief economist at ABN Amro Bank NV, said the unified CPI would usher in a fundamental shift in the way the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) targets inflation. At present, the central bank sets targets for WPI inflation and defines the course of its monetary policy. “We are targeting the wrong price index. The national CPI will solve this fundamental problem,” he said. On Tuesday, RBI hiked its key policy rates by 25 basis points, holding that the near double-digit WPI inflation is a worry for economic stability. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Sen said it was unlikely the new index would immediately replace WPI as the country’s main inflation measure. “Trial indices of CPI (Urban) are expected to be compiled by February and trial indices of CPI (Rural) by September,” the statistics ministry had told the committee. The National Sample Survey Organisation is gathering data for urban CPI from 120 cities and towns, and the department of posts from around 1,200 villages for rural CPI. The measures will be posted monthly. The ministry has yet to get the approval of a technical advisory committee on the base year. “We are weighing between 2008-09 and 2009-10 for the base year,” Sen said. On a proposal by the standing committee, the ministry has agreed to take up the responsibility of coordinating and releasing various price indices. The panel has asked it to pursue this with the National Statistical Commission, the nodal agency for clearing new statistical indices. “We are at present going by the amount of work allocation assigned to us. The cabinet has to take a final call if that needs to be changed,” Sen said. At present, WPI is released by the department of industrial policy and promotion, and targeted CPIs by the Labour Bureau. asit.m@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:23 pm RBI ups key rates, loans won't get costlier for nowIn a bid to tighten money supply and curb rising prices, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday hiked benchmark rates by 25 basis points each in the monetary policy for 2010-11.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:18 pm US dollar falls vs Aussie, Canadian dollars; yen offNew York: The US dollar dropped against high-yielding currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars on Tuesday, while the yen fell after strong US bank earnings stoked risk appetite. Growing expectations of interest rate hikes, and rising oil prices after some European flights resumed following five days of disruption by Iceland’s volcanic ash, further lifted the commodity-linked Australian and Canadian currencies. Goldman Sachs, charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, reported first-quarter earnings nearly doubled. That boosted optimism about the global economy and knocked the yen off three-week highs versus the dollar hit on Monday. “It seems like we’re seeing a bit of a risk-on approach again. So the commodity currencies like the Aussie and Canadian dollars in particular...are doing quite well,” said Gareth Sylvester, senior currency strategist at HiFX in San Francisco. In afternoon trading, the dollar rose 0.8% to ¥93.21, after hitting a three-week low of 91.58 on Monday . The euro gained 0.5% to ¥125.27. The yen also fell on the crosses, with Aussie/yen rallying 1.4% to 86.75 and sterling/yen rising 1% to 143.13. The Australian dollar rose 0.7% against the greenback to US$0.9306 . A coming boom in export earnings meant it could not delay a hike in interest rates, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s April meeting showed. The hawkish tone to the minutes led some investors and analysts to bet it may raise rates yet again by another 25 basis points as early as May. The Canadian dollar soared, with the greenback last trading 1.6% at C$0.9986, after the Bank of Canada signaled it may raise interest rates as soon as June, making it the first G7 central bank willing to unwind emergency stimulus measures as the economy roars back after the recession. In terms of technicals, traders said the currency pair formed a double bottom at around C$0.9950, a break of which would see an extension of a decline towards C$0.9830. Financial markets have fully priced in a rate hike at the June meeting and have also factored in a 50 basis-point increase in July. “It is clear that the bank has determined that the conditional commitment was not as sacred as the market had once imagined, and is instead paying tribute to the undeniable economic reality in Canada of robust economic growth and surprisingly high inflation,” said Eric Lascelles, chief Canada macro strategist, at TD Securities in Toronto. The euro last traded down 0.4% at $1.3436, after rising to session highs on stronger-than-expected German ZEW economic sentiment data. Concerns about debt troubles in Greece and other peripheral euro zone economies like Portugal continue to dog the euro, analysts said. European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said Greece may require assistance of up to 80 billion euros to avoid default, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. That would be far larger than the €30 billion aid mechanism agreed by euro zone officials earlier this month. Weber, however, denied he had said Greece might need as much as 80 billion euros, saying the numbers had been based on false interpretation of what he had said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:17 pm Off-field bouncers dont bother brand IPLA strong emotional bonding with consumers and robust ad revenue flow are expected to help Brand IPL tide over the current crisis.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:15 pm RBI wants holding cos for banksThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to implement some structural changes in banks soon, like introducing holding companies to insulate banks from the risks of their subsidiary companies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:13 pm India will take EU to WTO on generics seizureIndia will launch a formal dispute against the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over EU seizures of Indian generic drugs, a senior trade ministry source said on Tuesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:12 pm E&Y to value shares of Cadbury: HCIn a relief to over 8,000 investors, the Bombay High Court has appointed Ernst & Young as independent valuers to evaluate shares of Cadbury India whose promoters have proposed to acquire 2.5% minority shareholding.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:10 pm European stocks close higherLondon: European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by strong US corporate results, notably from under-fire US investment bank Goldman Sachs, and positive German data, dealers said. They said that after recent losses and a hesitant start, investors were happy to take their lead from Goldman Sachs which reported that it nearly doubled its first quarter earnings, easily beating market forecasts. That lead was enough to at least allay some concerns over US and British probes into alleged fraud at Goldman Sachs, charges the company has forcefully rejected. News of a sharp pick-up in German investor confidence in April also helped after recent worries that Europe’s powerhouse economy might have faltered in the first quarter. The closely watched ZEW economic research institute said its financial sector indicator jumped eight points to 53 points on the back of strong exports, well above the 46 points forecast by analysts. Dealers said the prospects of European airlines getting back to normal after unprecedented disruption caused by the Iceland volcano eruption remained very uncertain but there appeared at least to have been more flights on Tuesday. In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 0.97% at 5,783.69 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 index jumped 1.41% to 4,026.65 and in Frankfurt, the DAX gained 1.65% to 6,264.23 points. “The (Iceland) ash cloud situation seems to have abated somewhat over the last 24 hours with some flights in Europe taking off this morning,” said analyst Joshua Raymond at financial spread-betting firm City Index. “This improvement, along with the late gains in the US markets (overnight), has helped to settle some investor nerves and this has triggered some small bargain hunting,” Raymond added. In Paris, dealers noted that continued troubles for Greece in raising fresh funds and coping with its massive debt and budget deficit had little impact on sentiment. “If the market had been in a down mood, it could easily have got caught up on this (Greek news),” said Guillaume Garabedian of Meeschaert Gestion Privee. On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.32% at around 1600 GMT while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 0.59%. “The Goldman Sachs situation is still front-and-center, particularly with Goldman reporting much better-than-expected earnings,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com. Goldman’s SEC woes aside, investors appeared to be reassured by the firm’s earnings, transferring gains to other players in the sector while the other banks did well on the back of strong figures and growing hopes the economy is emerging from the recession. “Our performance in the first quarter reflects more signs of growth across the economy and the strength of our client franchise,” said Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam gained 1.80 percent, Brussels was up 0.49% Madrid added 0.95 %, Milan jumped 1.94% and Swiss stocks put on 0.56%. In Asian trade earlier Tuesday, Tokyo closed flat, Hong Kong added 1.02% and Shanghai was virtually unchanged as investors there continued to be wary of any further clampdown on the property market by Beijing. Sydney dropped 0.22%. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:09 pm Nuance to exit duty-free shop JV at Hyderabad airportMumbai/New Delhi: The world’s leading airport retail firm,Nuance Group AG, is exiting its duty-free shop at the Hyderabad international airport due to sluggish sales, said a senior executive of the group’s local arm and a top airport official. The group is considering exiting its duty-free store at the Bangalore international airport as well, the senior executive said on condition of anonymity. This will effectively put an end to Nuance Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture (JV) it formed in 2007 with India’s second largest listed retailer Shopper’s Stop Ltd, which runs both the duty-free outlets.  Photo: K. Sudheer/Mint The move was confirmed by two other executives who work for the JV partners, who did not want to be identified. Faced with Switzerland-based Nuance’s impending exit, the GMR Group, which also operates the New Delhi international airport, is planning to float fresh tenders for a duty-free shop at the Hyderabad airport. “We are going to issue by this week an expression of interest and request for proposals for this duty-free shop,” Sripathy said. Nuance Group (India) does not reveal sales figures, but it had been expecting revenue of up to $240 million (around Rs1,070 crore) over seven years. “But the business model went out of gear as the slowdown hit the airline industry. The parent company was not too happy about the footfalls at Hyderabad international airport…revenue kept falling while the inventory was going up,” the Nuance executive quoted above said. “Pulling out from Hyderabad international airport may mean the end of the 50:50 owned joint venture formed between Shopper’s Stop and Nuance Group,” he added. This is because the group is also considering exiting the JV at the Bangalore airport, as operating just one store is economically not feasible for it, he said. Nuance is already talking to potential buyers for its stake in the JV, the executive said. “But it is too premature to comment about the same.” B.S. Nagesh, vice-chairman and customer care associate at Shopper’s Stop, declined to comment. An email sent to Ivo Favotto, executive vice-president, strategy and business development, at Nuance Group, on 23 March remained unanswered. Repeated efforts to reach him at his office did not yield any response. Rolf Blaser, chief operating officer and India country head at Nuance Group, also declined to comment. This is not the first time that a JV venture for duty-free shops at airports has fallen through. In November 2008, Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, which runs the Big Bazaar chain of retail stores, pulled out of a 50:50 JV with UK-based airport retailing firm Alpha Airports Group Plc after two years of operations at the New Delhi international airport. Hyderabad airport had been looking at retail as a large part of its overall business, but sales have been lacklustre, according to New Delhi-based independent airport retail consultant Rakesh Chopra. He said most of the flights from Hyderabad are from or headed to West Asia. This indicates many of the travellers are Indians working there, and they are likely not inclined to shop at the airport. “Also, a large percentage of the travellers to the West Asian countries are from the Muslim community and they abstain from liquor, and liquor constitutes almost 70% of duty-free volume,” Chopra said. pr.sanjai@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 1:04 pm UK regulator to investigate Goldman SachsThe market watchdog in UK, Financial Services Authority (FSA), today said it would investigate the London units of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Apr 2010 | 12:55 pm Sovereign risk may prolong crisis: IMFWashington: Concern over public debt could prolong the credit crisis though Greece is a special case and should not be compared with other euro zone members, the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, said on Tuesday. IMF said the health of the global financial system had improved alongside a fragile recovery in the world economy, but that investors’ nerves over rising levels of public debt could undermine stability gains made so far. “Advanced country sovereign risks could undermine stability gains and take the credit crisis into a new phase,” IMF said in an update of its Global Financial Stability Report. IMF said there was a danger that deteriorating sovereign credit risk could quickly spill over to domestic banking systems and feed through into the real economy, triggering fresh financial instability. The concern is that investors will demand higher interest rates to buy government debt, driving up borrowing costs for both the public and private sector. Jose Vinals, director of IMF’s monetary and capital markets department, said IMF was not indicating another crisis was imminent. “We’re saying that as a result of the crisis, the accumulation of public debt has been significant and there is concern now in the market with sovereign risk,” he told reporters. He said countries must act now and design credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plans that have public support. But he dismissed concerns that problems in Greece could be replicated in other countries such as Portugal and Spain. “Greece is a special case and we can’t say other countries are in that situation,” he said. “These other countries have solid fiscal institutions and don’t have the fiscal uncertainties that Greece had,” he added. IMF reduced estimates of global bank write-downs to $2.3 trillion (Rs102.58 trillion) from the $2.8 trillion it forecast in October, a reduction that reflects improvements in the global economy and in bank balance sheets, it said. This is significantly below previous estimates as high as $4 trillion a year ago. However, that figure included losses for insurance firms as well, and also reflected a point when the stock market and other assets were in the doldrums. Asset prices have rallied since then, allowing banks to recoup some of those predicted losses. The report said banks, however, face new challenges including from more stringent regulation that may require them to raise further capital and make their balance sheets less risky. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 12:50 pm Key rates raised by 25 bpsIn a bid to tackle rising inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today raised policy rates for the second time in as many months and also announced an increase in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to squeeze out excess liquidity from the system.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 20 Apr 2010 | 12:45 pm World Steel sees demand at pre-crisis levels in 2010London: World steel demand is growing faster and earlier than expected, driven primarily by China’s runaway growth, and is now expected to hit pre-crisis levels this year, the World Steel Association said on Tuesday. The $500 billion steel industry is recovering from one of the worst downturns it has seen in its history, which cut demand by 6.7% last year, according to Worldsteel estimates. The group now expects apparent steel use to rise by 10.7% to 1.241 billion tonnes this year, an improved estimate compred with late 2009 forecasts, while demand is expected to hit a historical high at 1.306 billion tonnes in 2011. “The world steel industry now seems firmly set on a path to recovery,” Daniel Novegil, chairman of the association’s economics committee said in a press release. “The recovery is not only earlier, but also stronger than expected. It was driven in large part by government stimulus packages and recent inventory re-stocking,” he added. China’s apparent steel use in 2010 is expected to increase by 6.7% to 579 million tonnes. In 2009, it was estimated to have risen to 542.4 million tonnes. The forecasts are from Worldsteel’s short range outlook, which its board, where steel giants like ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest producer, hold a seat, approved in Vienna over the weekend. While the growth picture for this year and next was looking robust, Novegil noted a much slower pace of recovery in key developed economies. “The emerging economies, who in total maintained positive growth through the crisis, will continue to show strong growth, driving world steel demand in the future,” he said. “However, the current recovery in major developed economies is slower and the projected steel demand for them in 2011 is well below 2007 levels,” he added. Raw material pain But despite the stronger-than-expected recovery in the $500 billion industry, Ian Christmas, director-general of the World Steel Association was doubtful that all the steelmakers would be able to pass on the costs to their customers. “We’re in a different world today than 2007, when last time raw material prices were going up...I’m not sure...whether you could be so confident about passing on the costs,” he said. The world’s top three iron ore miners — Brazil’s Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto — are either in talks with their customers or have reached an agreement to supply ore priced on a quarterly basis. Miners have not dislosed the price hike they obtained so far in this year’s talks, but analysts estimate a rise of around 80-90% in iron ore, which has more than doubled in price since September in the spot market. Asked when the jump in raw material prices could derail the recovery in the steel industry, Christmas said: “I don’t think it derails the real recovery. What drives the the industry is the underlying steel demand,” he said. He said he did not know how the individual steel companies were planning to respond to the shift to quarterly pricing mechanism. He said acquiring mines to boost self-sufficiency would be one priority, while producers were still sceptical towards hedging. “But in increased volatility, naturally steel customers would be asking what protection do I have? But the CEOs don’t want to go there,” he said, referring to using hedging tools to mitigate the price risk. The association also published March global crude steel production figures, which showed a hefty jump of 30.6% year-on-year, bringing the production to 120 million tonnes. In the first quarter of this year, crude steel output rose to 342.3 million tonnes, rising 29% compared with the same period last year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 9:08 am 10 nations tell Google of privacy concern on BuzzNew York: Officials from Germany, Canada, France and seven other countries are raising privacy concerns about Google’s mapping service and the company’s fumbled foray into social networking. Although the concerns they raise are not new, the officials said the online search leader “too often” forgets people’s privacy rights as it rolls out new technologies. The bulk of the complaints are over Buzz, which Google launched in February as part of its Gmail service. Buzz quickly came under fire for automatically creating public circles of friends for users, based on their most frequent e-mail contacts. After complaints, the company apologized and made changes to the service. But in the letter sent on Monday to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, privacy and data-protection officials from the 10 countries said they are still “extremely concerned about how a product with such significant privacy issues was launched in the first place.” Google Street View, a mapping service that includes street-level photos taken by cameras mounted on cars that sweep through neighborhoods, is another area of concern. The officials complained that Google launched it in various countries without “due consideration of privacy and data protection laws and cultural norms.” “In that instance, you addressed privacy concerns related to such matters as the retention of unblurred facial images only after the fact, and there is continued concern about the adequacy of the information you provide before the images are captured,” officials said in their letter, posted on the website of Canada’s privacy commissioner. Google said it has “discussed all these issues publicly many times before and have nothing to add to the letter.” “Of course we do not get everything 100% right, that is why we acted so quickly on Buzz following the user feedback we received,” the company said in a statement, adding that it tries very hard to be upfront about what data it collects from users and how it uses the information. The other countries that signed the letter are Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. The officials called on Google to create default settings that protect users’ privacy and to ensure that privacy control settings are prominent and easy to use. “We recognize that Google is not the only online company with a history of introducing services without due regard for the privacy of its users,” the letter says. “As a leader in the online world, we hope that your company will set an example for others to follow.” Facebook is one such company, drawing the ire of officials in Canada, Germany and elsewhere for the way it handles user privacy. Canada’s privacy commissioner has been investigating changes Facebook made late last year to its privacy settings. Those had given users more granular controls but also nudged them to reveal more to the public. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 9:02 am Fiat says chairman Montezemolo stepping downTurin, Italy: Fiat chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is stepping down after seven years piloting the Italian industrial giant through tough times, the company said on Tuesday. “Luca Cordero Di Montezemolo will announce his intention to step down as chairman of the group during a press conference this afternoon,” Fiat said in a statement. The statement did not confirm reports that Montezemolo, 62, will be succeeded by vice chairman John Elkann, the 34-year-old grandson of historical Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. But the company said Elkann and chief executive Sergio Marchionne would be by his side at the press conference. Montezemolo, who will remain on the supervisory board and at the head of Ferrari, decided to step down because he believes he has “fulfilled the task that was assigned to him by the (main) shareholder in May 2004,” Fiat said. Under the leadership of Italian-Canadian Marchionne and Montezemolo, Fiat weathered the global economic crisis and became a key shareholder with 20% in US group Chrysler. The news agency ANSA said that Montezemolo had told people close to him at Fiat that he was “relaxed, content and relieved” about the decision. Elkann is currently the head of Exor, the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls Fiat. The son of Agnelli’s daughter Margherita and the writer Alain Elkann, John Elkann would be the youngest chairman in the group’s history. La Repubblica also said that in 20 days, Elkann will also be named head of Gianni Agnelli & C. Sapaz, the master holding company of the Agnelli family. Markets reacted positively to the Agnelli’s consolidation of power within the company and to growing rumors of a spin off of Fiat’s car business from the rest of the group, with Fiat’s stock posting gains of more than eight percent in mid-afternoon trade. The Fiat group, best known for its cars, owns many historical Italian brands such as Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, but also produces trucks and agricultural machines. The newspaper said the switch at the top would be officially announced at a press conference at the group’s headquarters in the northwestern city of Turin at 4:00 pm. Montezemolo, a renowned figure among Italy’s economic elite, is the president and managing director of Ferrari, and headed Italy’s powerful employers’ lobby Confindustria from 2004 to 2008. Working with Marchionne, Montezemolo helped rescue Fiat from a series of crises and put it on a sound footing before the global economic crisis struck. Fiat stepped in to save the then bankrupt US Chrysler group last year and Marchionne is now also the chief executive of Chrysler. Fiat offered its small-car and clean-car technology to Chrysler in return for a stake in the group and access to its US dealer network, without laying out any cash. The company will present its much-awaited industrial plan for the 2010-2014 period on Wednesday along with financial results for the first three months of 2010. The company is expected to present new car models and financial objectives during a six-hour presentation in Turin. Fiat lost €283 million ($380 million) in the last quarter of 2009 and €848 million for the full-year. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 7:50 am Apple says iPad 3G available on 30 AprilNew York: The high-speed mobile version of Apple Inc’s iPad will hit store shelves on 30 April, and international pricing for the tablet computer will be spelled out on 10 May, the company said on Tuesday. The popular touchscreen device has sold more than 500,000 units of its Wi-Fi model in the US in the week after its 3 April launch. Demand is expected to remain high with the launch of the version that connects to AT&T’s third generation — or 3G — wireless network. The 3G model, which also operates via Wi-Fi, will cost an additional $130, meaning that the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models will cost $629, $729 and $829, respectively. Apple said the iPad — a flat device with a color touchscreen whose uses include surfing the Web, watching movies, playing games and sending email — will be available at the end of May in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 7:34 am Nissan to halt output due to parts shipment delayTokyo: Nissan Motor Co. said on 20 April it will suspend vehicle production at two factories in Japan after a parts shipment was halted by volcanic ash disrupting international flights. Nissan’s production at a line at its Oppama plant near Tokyo and two lines at its Kyushu factory in southern Japan will stop all day Wednesday because the planned shipment of tire pressure censors from Ireland has not arrived, company spokeswoman Sachi Inagaki said. Nissan is the first known major Japanese manufacturer to be affected by drifting ash from the Icelandic volcano which has grounded flights for five days, crippling European air travel and cargo shipments. Only limited flights were allowed to resume Tuesday. The components, installed on the back of a tire valve cap, are used in three models for the North American Market — the Cube compact made at the Oppama plant, and the Murano and Rogue crossover SUV models produced at the Kyushu plant. The suspension would affect nearly 2,000 vehicles, including the three models and eight other models that are produced on the same production lines, Inagaki said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 20 Apr 2010 | 4:45 am
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