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FDI ban on tobacco: How will it impact ITC?Tobacco giant ITC expects cigarette volumes to fall this year as a result of the sharp increase in taxationexcise and state levied VAT. In an exclusive interview to CNBCTV18\'s Menaka Doshi, ITC\'s Executive Director, Kurish Grant says traditionally in such years, a revival is possible in the second half of the fiscal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:50 pm Bharti\'s Minutes Factory moves to AfricaBharti Airtel changed the Indian mobile scene with its prepaid minutes model. It faces a tough challenge as it tries to take it to Africa through ZainSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 6:05 am G20 hails economic recovery!G20 finance ministers said it was time for plans to unwind measures to tackle the waning global crisis.Source: Zee News : Business | 24 Apr 2010 | 5:31 am Life Healthcare to list, eyes India, TurkeySouth African private hospital operator Life Healthcare plans to list on the Johannesburg stock exchange by the end of June to help fund asset buys in key growth markets India and Turkey.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am RBI removes rupee export credit rates ceilingThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday it has removed the ceilings on interest rates on preshipment rupee export credit up to 270 days and postshipment rupee export credit up to 180 days.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am India\'s 2009/10 steel output up 4.23%India\'s steel output in the 2009/10 financial year that ended last month was at 59.58 million tonnes, up 4.23% from 57.16 million tonnes produced a year ago, Minister of State for Steel A. Sai Prathap saidSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am RBI makes change in banks buying infra bondsThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday banks\' investments in longmaturity bonds of infrastructure companies with a minimum residual maturity of seven years may be classified under held to maturity categorySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am Areva close to India solar dealsAreva Renewable, a unit of France\' Areva, is considering solarthermal projects in India, its chief executive officer said on FridaySource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am IAF chief says India to have fifthgeneration jets in 2018India will introduce an advanced fighter jet it is building with Russia in 2018, a move that will bring sophistication to its air power but could also spark unease among neighbours China and PakistanSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am India 2010/11 sugar crop seen up 27%: attacheFollowing are selected highlights from a report issued by a US Department of Agriculture attache in IndiaSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:19 am ICICI, HDFC Bank Q4 net up by a third - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Apr 2010 | 4:08 am Maruti sees 20-30% decline in sales to European marketWe hope demand will once more pick-up and we will export more cars to Europe. Europe is a good market for us," Maruti Suzuki's managing director and CEO, Shinzo Nakanishi said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:39 am ICICI, HDFC Bank Q4 net up by a third on credit demandMUMBAI (Reuters) - ICICI Bank, the country's second-largest lender, posted its best quarterly profit growth in two years, helped by an increase in fee income and reduction in operational costs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:30 am Live updates: IPL controversyBCCI sources: Lalit Modi has agreed to step down as IPL commissioner, reports CNBCTV18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to The Telegraph report, Union minister Sharad Pawar has asked Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, who has become increasingly isolated, to step down. Also See | IPL III (Full Coverage) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BCCI top brass on Saturday held a series of meetings to draw up a strategy for Monday’s crucial governing council meeting amid intense speculation that beleaguered IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is being persuaded to step down voluntarily from the high-flying post.(PTI) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources: BCCI won’t entertain Lalit Modi’s request to postpone meeting. 26 April meeting to go on as per schedule, reports NDTV 24X7 Informal meeting of top BCCI brass currently on in Mumbai. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beleaguered IPL chairman Lalit Modi made an emotional speech at the Twenty20 Leagues’ inaugural awards function in which he thanked BCCI, among others, for making his seven-year-old dream come true.  (L to R) Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta, Shamita Shetty and Mugdha Godse for the IPL Awards Night in Mumbai on Friday. Shashank Parade / PTI photo Sources, who attended the function last night in which media was kept out, quoted Modi as saying, “It’s been a seven-year-old dream. There have been many people I have to thank for making this dream come alive. I thank the BCCI, the franchises, the players, the sponsors and most of all the millions of fans helping create the most successful cricket league in the world, for making the IPL what it is today.”(PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shah Rukh Khan made a delayed entry, Shane Warne decided to leave for Melbourne, Sachin Tendulkar prepared for his 37th birthday party on Saturday while Mahendra Singh Dhoni hung around with friends in Mumbai. But Rahul Dravid made up for their absence at the IPL awards night by draping a sari around a model on stage and Adam Gilchrist and Yuvraj Singh joined a belly dancer in an attempt to copy her moves, reports The Telegraph. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Royal Challenger Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya threw his weight behind beleaguered Lalit Modi and said the IPL commissioner should be given a chance to defend himself in the wake of the raging controversy. “Lalit Modi is a friend of mine and I met him at the awards function last night. But we did not discuss the current controversy. I think Modi must be given some opportunity at some point of time to explain himself,” Mallya told reporters after meeting former BCCI president Sharad Pawar. (PTI) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Responding to the Income Tax department’s summons, the BCCI has furnished before it complete details, including share holding pattern, player auction and bidding process of all eight original IPL franchisees. (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  (L to R) Delhi Daredevils’ Virendra Sehwag, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Sourav Ganguly, Kings XI Punjab’s Yuvraj Singh and Mumbai Indians’ Harbhajan Singh for the IPL Awards Night in Mumbai on Friday. Shashank Parade / PTI photo --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Modi is not going to Courts to challenge the governing council meeting on 26 April and is requesting for more time. (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt probing ‘benami’ holdings in IPL teams.Sources on Modi’s modus operandi: 60% owners and 40% benami holdings. Of benami holdings, 20% back to Modi. Modus operandi attempted with Videocon and Adanni Bids. 20% benami holdings given to proxies, businessmen and politicians. 40% traced back to Maruitius Cayman Island, British Virgin Islands. (NDTV 24X7) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I-T report, submitted to finance ministry, lists preliminary areas of investigation against Modi. 3 IPL teams in which ’Modi has interested’ under I-T scnaner. Businessman Samir Thukral being probed for ties with Lali Modi. According to the report, he may be the betting front for Modi. Also, reports that some matches were fixed in IPL2. It quotes a complaint by Sir Paul Condon against match-fixing. (NDTV 24X7) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSM, the company which holds the telecast rights for the IPL, has said all deals related to the tournament have been conducted in an ‘open and transparent manner’ complying with applicable laws. (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maharashtra government lost Rs4.99 crore by not levying tax on IPL, says CAG report tabled in the state legislature (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day following uproar over demand for JPC probe into IPL scam. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt sources on IPL: No question of JPC, reports NDTV 24x7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt sources: The perception that we are after our allies is not true (NDTV 24x7) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla has briefed union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the ongoing IPL controversy. Shukla, a Congress MP, met Mukherjee in his Parliament office to discuss the IPL issue and briefed him on the latest developments. (PTI) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wading into the ongoing IPL controversy, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has accused Union minister and former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar for the mess in the Twenty20 league.(PTI) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A decision on setting up of a joint parliamentary committee to go into the IPL will be taken after due diligence, says Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee while responding to opposition in the Lok sabha (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ JD (U) : IPL is run by people with double standard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi smokes a cigarette inside his car on his way to meet Mukesh Ambani, a top industrialist and owner of the IPL team Mumbai Indians, in Mumbai on Thursday. AP Photo Pranab Mukherjee: Have instructed concerned department to investigate. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not asked home minister P Chidambaram to head the Indian Premier League probe, a PMO spokesman said on Friday. (PTI) ------------------------------------------------------------------- BCCI officials likely to boycott IPL function tonight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United Opposition demands joint parliamentary probe into IPL. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Left parties: Govt slept while murky deals were going on. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunanda Pushkar, whose links with Shashi Tharoor and IPL Kochi triggered a big controversy, admitted she has helped the franchise to raise a lot of money but denied acting as his proxy in getting sweat equity worth Rs70 crore. (PTI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sachin Tendulkar feels the hurdles confronting Indian cricket will be overcome and that the sport is strong enough to see through the rough patch. (PTI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Questioning the tax exemptions given to BCCI, Union sports minister M S Gill has said the sports body cannot be the regulator as also owner of the Indian team as there is a conflict of interest.(PTI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The war in the cricket board intensified with Lalit Modi planning to move court against the Governing Council meeting that may oust him from the post of IPL Commissioner as BCCI accused him of hiding details of stakeholding by his relatives in franchises. (PTI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cricket Association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya has said the state body received Rs2 crore from the KKR for hosting IPL matches at the Eden Gardens but he did not know from where the money came.(PTI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Former cricketer and IPL governing council member, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi today said Lalit Modi may be ousted from his post if he keeps away from the Monday meeting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:29 am Crude prices rise as US home sales surgeCrude prices also rose as the euro rebounded from one-year lows against the dollar after Greece sought to activate the financial aid package.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:19 am Russian gas exports increase 120% in first quarterHit by the economic crisis, Russia's gas exports dropped 13.5% to 15 billion cubic meters last year, with export income falling 41% to $39.4 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:17 am ICICI, HDFC Bank Q4 net up by a third on credit demandMumbai: ICICI Bank, India’s second-largest lender, posted its best quarterly profit growth in two years, helped by an increase in fee income and reduction in operational costs. Smaller rival HDFC Bank reported a 32.6% rise in its quarterly profit, beating market estimates, bolstered by a pick-up in credit demand in Asia’s third-largest economy. Bank credit in India grew an annual 17.05% in early April, according to the central bank’s provisional data, in tune with a rise in business and consumer confidence, from a low 9.7% in October and compared with 16.7% at end-March. Analysts expect loan demand to pick up further in the first half of 2010-11 that started on 1 April as industries will need more funds to expand operations in an economy forecast to grow more than 8% in this fiscal year. The central bank sees non-food credit growth of commercial banks at 20% in 2010-11, still a far cry from growth rates of above 30% in the pre-crisis period. ICICI Bank said its fee income increased 13% in the March quarter to Rs15.21 billion and operating expenses fell 6% to Rs15.04 billion. The bank’s earnings were also helped by an increase in low-cost deposits. But the bank’s loan book fell 17% from a year ago to Rs1.81 trillion at end-March. ICICI said its January-March net profit rose 35% to Rs10.06 billion ($227 million) from Rs7.44 billion. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast net profit of Rs10.89 billion. New York-listed HDFC Bank said its January-March net profit rose to Rs8.37 billion ($188 million) from Rs6.31 billion. A Reuters poll had projected net profit at Rs8.15 billion. Shares in ICICI Bank, valued at nearly $24.5 billion, have risen 11.4% this year and HDFC has gained over 14%, beating the sector index. The main Mumbai market is up 1.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:14 am Markets bounce back on Q4 earnings - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:13 am ICICI Q4 net up 35%; lags forecastJanuary-March net profit rose to Rs10.06 billion ($227 million) from Rs7.44 billion a year earlier, ICICI said on Saturday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:08 am HDFC Bank Q4 net up by a third, beats forecastThe New York-listed bank said on Saturday its January-March net profit rose to Rs8.37 billion ($188 million) from Rs6.31 billion a year ago.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:06 am Maruti sees 20-30% sales decline in European market - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Apr 2010 | 3:05 am DLF buys stake in DLF Assets for $696 millionAfter the deal, the DLF unit's stake in DLF Assets has risen to 91.9%, while SC Asia through its investment arm would continue to hold a 4.59% stake.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 2:49 am Wipro not bothered about Infosys: Premji - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Apr 2010 | 2:43 am HDFC Bank Q4 net up a third, beats forecastMUMBAI (Reuters) - HDFC Bank, the country's No.2 private sector lender, reported a 32.6 percent rise in quarterly profit, beating estimates, bolstered by a pick-up in credit demand in Asia's third-largest economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 2:34 am Greece presses 'help' button, markets still waryATHENS (Reuters) - Debt-stricken Greece appealed to its European partners and the IMF for emergency loans on Friday, yielding to overwhelming market pressure to start the first financial rescue of a member of the euro zone.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 2:15 am Monsoon boost to economyNew Delhi: In what should be a welcome relief to policy planners, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a normal monsoon. The forecast had been keenly awaited given the context of the drought of last year and double-digit food inflation prevailing over the last 17 months. Though IMD did not indicate the onset, spread and monthly rainfall distribution of the monsoon, it points to a consensus among weather agencies—local and international—of a slim chance of drought. “Last year, we’d indicated monsoon to be 96% of the normal. That was an indicator of a weak monsoon spell. 98% is two percentage points more and in rainfall terms a significant, positive difference,” said Ajit Tyagi, director general of IMD. This year IMD, in its first rainfall forecast for the monsoon months of June to September, has said that rainfall will be “normal”, or 98% of the 50-year average. Listen to an explainer podcast on how a monsoon is formed and what makes a monsoon succeed and fail The June-September monsoon generates nearly 80% of the annual rainfall over the country and is vital for the economy, being the main source of water for agriculture, which generates about 17% of India’s gross domestic product. Other than the 60% of the country’s workforce that depends on agriculture, the rains are also important for traders dealing in food and cash crops as any shortfall can inject volatility in the markets.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan/Mint Abhijit Sen, member, Planning Commission, who is in charge of agriculture, said, “The likelihood is that there will be an early monsoon due to the (high) temperature. But the problem with an early monsoon is that it peters out soon like last year. If the monsoon becomes normal, then I expect agricultural output growth by 5-6%.” The drought of 2009, when the rains were 33% lower than their long-term average, had affected crop yields and farm incomes, and stoked food price inflation. This worsened after the government hiked fuel prices. Inflation stood at 9.9% in March. Last year’s drought also forced India to import a record five million tonnes of sugar and become the world’s top edible oil importer as it shipped in more oils than China. The sowing of rice, India’s key summer crop, was down by 20% and water levels in reservoirs were down to 60% of their 10-year average during the monsoon months. The agency defines normal rainfall as when the country, between June and September, gets an average of 89cm of rain, called the long period average (LPA), or a 50-year average of rainfall. Anything between 85.4-92.5cm (or 96-104% of LPA) is classified “near normal”, as this year’s forecast says. Rains less than 90% are called droughts. Importantly though, IMD’s forecast models have an in-built error range of 5%. To be sure, the April forecast is yet to prove its dependability and is at best an initial indicator. Since 2007, when it was first introduced as part of a new forecasting approach introduced by IMD, it has only once—in 2008—accurately anticipated the monsoon performance. Last year too, the weather agency on 17 April said that the monsoon would be 96% of the normal, then downgraded it to 93% in late June and finally had to register a 23% deficit in rainfall by September-end. “There is a lot more confidence this time. Last year’s El Nino conditions began to manifest only in late June, and none of the models picked it up. This time all models indicate a weakening of El Nino conditions by June, so chances of a normal monsoon are much higher,” said D.S. Pai, director (forecasting) at IMD, Pune. Two key meteorological phenomena, such as a weakening El Nino and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, both relating to temperature swings caused by excessive heating or cooling of the waters in the Eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean, were favourable for a good monsoon. “Both of these indicators manifest only during the monsoon months, but early indicators from ours as well as international weather models show these factors developing favourably,” said Tyagi. At the same time, weathermen say only twice in a century has the Indian monsoon failed in consecutive years.  Data from the weather office shows that out of the roughly 20 droughts India has suffered since 1901, 17 were followed by near-normal rainfall. Independent experts and economic planners say that several uncertainties still remain about the performance of the monsoon and that the June update would be vital. “I don’t see any adverse meteorological conditions that could hit the monsoon,” said Madhavan Rajeevan, former IMD director and weather expert with the Indian Space Research Organisation. “But a weak El Nino only means that it ceases to be a predictive factor for performance of the monsoon. There have been droughts during El Nino neutral conditions in the past.” Samiran Chakraborty, head of India research at Standard Chartered Bank, said, “They (IMD) have made it amply clear that El Nino condition may persist till the early part of the season. Pre-monsoon rainfall is already down 36% from normal. If on the top of it El Nino persists, it would be difficult to take a call on the monsoon. One would be slightly cautious in such a scenario.” A better monsoon is expected to have a positive impact on the price situation. With inflation already near 10%, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened its key policy rates by 50 basis points since March. However, economists believe the pace of monetary tightening will not change with the mere forecast of a normal monsoon. “The pace of tightening will depend on incoming data rather than forecasts. We expect RBI to hike key policy rates by another 25 basis points in its June monetary policy review,” Chakraborty added. The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index gained 120.21 points, or 0.68%, to close at 17,694.20 on hopes of a normal monsoon. The official annual monsoon rain forecast came after the market hours. jacob.k@livemint.com Reuters contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 24 Apr 2010 | 2:05 am DLF buys PE stake in DLF Assets for $696 mlnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - DLF Ltd, the country's largest-listed real estate firm, said on Saturday one of its units had bought 245 million compulsorily convertible preference shares in a group company, DLF Assets, from private equity firm SC Asia Pte Ltd for 30.85 billion rupees ($696 million).Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 1:56 am Toyota likely logged 09/10 operating profitThe world's biggest automaker, under pressure after a series of recalls and incidents that tarnished its once market-leading reputation for quality, would beat its forecast of a 20 billion yen loss.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 1:50 am Global brands face threat of rising China car qualityBEIJING (Reuters) - When Ric Hull first looked at launching Great Wall Motor pickup trucks in Australia last year, he considered rebranding them, worried their obvious Chinese origins would raise questions about their quality.Source: Reuters: Money News | 24 Apr 2010 | 1:33 am Reliance Industries: Meeting expectations - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:48 am Notes for the have notsFinancial exclusion is a two-edged sword. Banks wont lend money to the poor who will keep going to moneylenders, sinking deeper into debt. But this could change with new RBI recommendations kicking in.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am SBI goes green, installs windmill for captive useIt was with a sense of pride and a touch of symbolic triumph that the State Bank of India Chairman, Mr O.P. Bhatt, spoke at the inauguration of a windmill at Panapatti village, Pollachi Taluk, TamilSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Govt mulls imposing 40% Customs duty on wheatFaced with a production glut, the Centre is toying with the idea of imposing a 40 per cent Customs duty on wheat imports. The empowered Group of Ministers on Friday discussed a proposal to thisSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Refining margins drag Reliance Ind profitsReliance Industries has reported a net profit of Rs 4,710 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010 which marks a 29.9 per cent increase from Rs 3,627 crore in the same period last year. Turnover was Rs 60,267 crore, over twice the Rs 26,793Source: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Bench divided on lie-detection test for Ramalinga RajuThe Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday delivered a split verdict on a petition by the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking permission to conduct lie-detection test on Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, founder and former chairman of Satyam ComputerSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Manmohan to decide on joint Parliamentary panel probe into IPLThe Government has not ruled out a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the controversy ridden IPL, an Opposition demand that rocked Parliament today and repeatedly stalled proceedings in the LokSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am SEBI tightens norms to check misuse of ‘power of attorney'The power of attorney executed in favour of stockbrokers will not permit them to transfer securities of clients for off marketSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Wipro to add 11,000 freshersThe software-to-soaps company Wipro will add about 11,000 freshers during the current fiscal (2010-11) with 65 per cent of them being engineers and the rest from otherSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Wipro shrugs off rising rupee to post 21% jump in Q4 netOvercoming the strong influence of the rupee's appreciation and cross-currency movements, Wipro Ltd has posted a 21 per cent rise in profit-after-tax year-on-year at Rs 1,209 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. Revenues for theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Cane remunerative price for 2010-11 hiked 7.15% to Rs 139.12/quintalThe Centre has fixed the ‘fair and remunerative price' (FRP) of sugarcane for the ensuing 2010-11 sugar season (October-September) at Rs 139.12 a quintal. This marks a 7.15 per cent increase over the Rs 129.84 a quintal level for theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Higher generation, tariffs power up NTPC profitsNTPC Ltd has reported a marginal 5.6-per-cent rise in provisional net profit for 2009-10 due to lower interest income and a high base arising from an income-tax refund in the previous fiscal. The state-owned power major recorded aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 24 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Eko's SoundWith just a mobile phone and a mission to achieve greater financial inclusion, a start-up has begun a burgeoning green-backed revolution.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:56 pm Govt sees normal monsoon rains, analysts cautious - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:20 pm Techies get a reboot, IT firms, the bootMarket opens up. Wipro sees highest employee turnover in the last four quarters. Infy, TCS face high attrition rate.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:00 pm Goldman execs plan to deny trying to hurt clients: reportTop Goldman Sachs executives are preparing to tell Congress that they were unsure whether US housing prices would rise or fall and did not take any action at odds with the interests of its clients, The Washington Post reported today.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 10:54 pm YouTube at age five a growing player in online filmsYouTube turned five on Friday. In the scant time since the first video was uploaded to YouTube on April 23, 2005, the website has rocketed to global stardom and become a key player in a shift to Internet television. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 10:21 pm Toyota likely logged 09/10 operating profitTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp is expected to have posted a group operating profit of as high as 50 billion yen ($532 million) for the year that ended on March 31, Japan's business daily Nikkei reported on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 10:07 pm INTERVIEW - GM's 2010 India sales set to double - LeeBEIJING (Reuters) - General Motors expects to double sales in India this year and to double its share in that market in the longer term with the addition of commercial vehicles it plans to begin making with its joint-venture partner, China's SAIC.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 9:42 pm US stocks climb on home sales, American Express resultsUS stocks rose on Friday across the board, buoyed by resurgent home sales, a strong American Express report and a rebounding Honeywell.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 8:17 pm G20 ministers hold off on global bank taxFinance ministers of the world's 20 leading economic powers on Friday stopped short of endorsing a controversial global tax on banks, instead calling for the International Monetary Fund to conduct more research into measures that would hold banks responsible. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 8:09 pm Crude prices rise as US home sales surgeCrude prices rose above $85 per barrel Friday as strong sales of new homes in the US boosted investor confidence about an economic recovery. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 8:02 pm CAG raps Maharashtra government on IPL losses - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Apr 2010 | 6:50 pm Goldman CEO sued by shareholders over AbacusNEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other bank officials have been sued by shareholders in two lawsuits related to fraud allegations brought by the federal government.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 6:38 pm Pantaloon to hive off project, mall management opsPantaloon plans to hive off its project, and mall management operations, reports CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 5:01 pm Reliance Industries' refining margin underwhelmsProfitability was also hit by a 39% decline in other income to Rs 615 crore and a more than doubling of depreciation costs (up 134.58%) to Rs 3,392 crore.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 4:30 pm Sub-prime lending rate risingThey generally lend to potential customers, primarily corporate clients, at much lower rates below their benchmark prime lending rate (PLR), which is often termed as sub-PLR rates.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 4:29 pm NTPC FY10 net up 5.6% to Rs 8657 cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Apr 2010 | 3:36 pm EXCLUSIVE - Abacus might have had other benefits for GoldmanNEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group may have used a subprime mortgage-linked security that is the focus of a U.S. civil fraud lawsuit against the bank to unload other complex bonds it created, according to a deal document obtained by Reuters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 3:12 pm Goldman Sachs’ Gupta linked to tainted tycoonRajat Gupta, director of Goldman Sachs and an icon of Indian American success in US business, may have tipped off hedge-fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway before the deal was made public in 2008, the Wall Street Journal said in a report on Friday.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 2:18 pm Now Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa attract 3G spectrum biddersJammu and Kashmir and Orissa attracted bidders for the first time Friday as India concluded 70 rounds of spectrum auction for third generation telecom services in the country. The provisional winning price for a nationwide licence reached Rs 7,599.08 crore (USD 1.71 billion).Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 1:52 pm Govt to infuse Rs 15000 cr in PSU banks in 2010-11 - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Apr 2010 | 1:35 pm IMD predicts normal monsoonThe India Meteorological Department (IMD) today forecast a normal monsoon across the country this year.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 1:11 pm Film Review | City of GoldEarly on in Mahesh Manjrekar’s City of Gold, the camera pans above what was once Mumbai’s mill district—the neighbourhoods that thrived in Parel and Lalbaug. Now it is a bustling industrial precinct. From the terrace of a high-rise, we see skyscraper domes piercing the sky, rows and rows of blue, reinforced glass windows reflecting sunlight, patches of brown land and matchbox chawls punctuating concrete towers. It’s a part of the city we see from flyovers that have dwarfed the neighbourhoods—from where the history is lost to the eyes. When we see it from a height, through the eyes of one of the film’s lead characters (Shashank Shende) who has left the neighbourhood and the chawl he grew up in, while he narrates his family’s story to his girlfriend (Anusha Dandekar), we take notice of this sprawling cityscape. It’s an ever-changing skyline, hiding the stories of many displaced mill workers. From the terrace, we move, in flashback, to one household in Lakshmi Kutir, part of a mill workers’ chawl in Parel. It’s the late 1980s, and after a nexus of mill owners, politicians and the mafia has shut down Mumbai’s cotton mills, the Dhiru family is struggling to survive. Three sons, a daughter, the father, who was a mill worker, and his dogged, embittered wife (movingly and authentically portrayed by Seema Biswas) tackle penury and petty crimes. There is no reprieve in this story. One of the sons get embroiled in a mafia-industrialist conspiracy to kill mill worker union leaders, the daughter is cruelly betrayed in love, another son is an angry, failing playwright simultaneously battling writer’s block and poverty. Outside this household, and on the streets, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. While union leaders led by an elderly leader and his young protege (Sachin Khedekar) rouse the hopes of unemployed workers with impassioned speeches, youngsters brawl over money and ego. There are some powerfully intimate moments in the film, and some are blatantly brazen. In a world seething with frustration and deprivation, almost every conversation can be fuel for violence and breakdowns. Manjrekar knows his turf well. He is a Maharashtrian, who has directed and produced many Marathi films, including the blockbuster Mee Shivaji Raaje Bhosale Boltoy (2009). His earlier Hindi films, including his finest, the award-winning Vaastav (1999), was also set in a chawl at a time when the underworld’s power over the city was at its peak. Manjrekar knows the language and manners of the chawl Mumbaikar and what makes life here vibrant and precarious. All his best films have pluck and a loud dynamism, almost always bordering on melodrama. City of Gold is no different, although it’s far inferior to Vaastav—Manjrekar made City of Gold in Marathi as Lalbaug Parel, which released earlier this month and has been a success.  Ground reality: Mahesh Manjrekar’s City of Gold is based on a real and relevant subject. But when it comes to executing the story, Manjrekar is unsure and inconsistent. He begins by establishing, in detail, the character of each member of the family, in turn lending a distinct character to the family and their home. But even before the second half begins, the loud histrionics typical of bad Hindi films of the 1980s begin to drag the film down. Towards the end of the second half, it is so uneven in pitch and pace that I began to disconnect with the characters. The end is ludicrous and takes away much of the spunk it began with. This week, seven Hindi films released in theatres—six of them are concerned with some aspect of life in Mumbai. City of Gold is based on a subject so real and relevant that just attempting it deserves some kudos. Manjrekar, who co-wrote the film, is unequivocally sympathetic to the wronged mazdoor (labourer), making the “capitalist” look like a facile, money-mongering monster—a valid position to take, as long as the art which drives it is not hurried, confused and within headache-inducing limits. Watch City of Gold only if you can get past the noise to appreciate a subject that deserves much more than a film. sanjukta.s@livemint.com City of Gold released in theatres on Friday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 1:04 pm Lounge podcast | Of revolutionaries: artists, mill workers and capitalistsWelcome to the Lounge podcast. This week we have Rahul Bhattacharya, editor, Art & Deal magazine as our guest. Bhattacharya was one of the 20 art world pundits we interviewed for our Lounge cover story this week. In “Five (more) reasons to update your art” we profile artists who’re on a critical and commercial success path: Rohini Devasher, Sandip Pisalkar, Hemali Bhuta, Charmi Gada Shah and Shine Shivan. Bhattacharya evokes the market aspect of the story—how the economic boom and the recession created conditions that favour emerging talent. In our regular film and book review segments, Sanjukta Sharma reviews Mahesh Manjrekar’s bilingual film City of Gold and tells us that the film is an inconsistent mish mash of styles and genres. But the weighty issue that it covers—The plight of the erstwhile textile mill workers in Mumbai—still makes it worth a watch. Next, Chandrahas Choudhury gives us his take on The Relentless Revolution by Joyce Appleby. In her book Appleby argues that capitalism is a cultural—rather than a purely economic—phenomenon. She traces its trajectory through European, American, and Asian successes and setbacks, and speaks about its foray into contemporary India and China. 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 | 23 Apr 2010 | 1:04 pm SBI goes green, installs windmill for captive use - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:56 pm UPA on the back foot as IPL pressure ratchets upNew Delhi: Even as political pressure mounted on the government and it expanded the scope of its investigation into the Indian Premier League (IPL), there were indications that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is now overseeing the process, said a person familiar with the developments. Meanwhile, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi blinked and made a plea to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the apex cricket authority, for five more days to respond to all the questions raised against him. Opposition parties stalled proceedings in the Lok Sabha and only allowed it to resume after Pranab Mukherjee, leader of the House and finance minister, assured members that the government would look into their demand. They sought the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into IPL. An official in the Prime Minister’s Office, who asked not to be identified, said, “The Prime Minister is keen to have a transparent and proper investigation taking place.” Also Read | Muthiah moves SC against rule change The government may come under fresh political pressure after Outlook, the weekly current affairs magazine, reported that the government had been tapping the phones of senior politicians. This included conversations between Sharad Pawar, agriculture minister, and IPL chief Modi. It also reported that phone calls of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, general secretary Prakash Karat, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh had been tapped in the last three years. The JPC demand comes at a time when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is struggling to ensure a majority in the Lok Sabha to defeat cut motions on budgetary proposals expected to be moved by the Opposition on 27 April. The initial signals from Congress leaders were mixed. “A JPC probe will block all other investigations. So why should we have it?” asked a minister in the government. In the Lok Sabha, finance minister Mukherjee said the government could take a decision only after “due diligence”. Alleging that two ministers— Pawar and civil aviation minister Praful Patel, both of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) —were under a cloud for “gross misuse of power”, the Opposition sought a JPC probe. “The whole issue should be probed. We feel investigating agencies will not be able to bring the truth to the fore,” said Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition. Some opposition members even sought the resignations of the ministers. Similarly, CPM leader Basudeb Acharya also asked for the JPC to be constituted immediately. The NCP, however, ruled out the resignation of their leaders. Congress leaders admitted that the party and the government were “disturbed” over the developments that have “completely taken away the focus of the government from its policy initiatives and agenda”. Said a Congress general secretary: “The focus in the budget session should have been the economic policies of the government and its commitment to welfare measures.” A crucial meeting of the IPL governing council has been called on 26 April by BCCI to discuss the issue. It is not clear whether the council will hold the meeting as scheduled or give Modi the extra time he has requested. Modi did not respond to repeated telephone calls and Sundar Raman, IPL’s chief operating officer, said he wanted to remain out of the controversy and “focus on the IPL finals”. However, according to television reports, Raman was at the income tax office in Mumbai on Friday to submit documents relating to the owners of IPL teams, their balance sheets, income earned during the various tournaments and the money paid to players. The I-T department had asked IPL for the information some 10 days ago. Mint could not independently confirm if Raman was at the I-T office as he did not respond to phone calls and text messages during the day. Meanwhile, World Sports Group (WSG), the co-owner of broadcast rights with Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd (MSM), which is supposed to have received $80 million (Rs356 crore today) as “facilitation money” from the broadcaster, clarified that its business deals were above board. “MSM strongly refutes all unsubstantiated allegations of any impropriety in this matter, as incorrect and inaccurate,” MSM Satellite (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. said in a release. It said the facilitiation fee of Rs425 crore covered the extension of rights and compensation to “WSG Mauritius for returning its rights for IPL Season 2–10 to BCCI in favour of MSM.” “As a consequence of these commercial negotiations, the net incremental amount attributable to WSG Mauritius giving up its IPL Indian subcontinent rights is Rs150 crore,” MSM said. A statement issued by WSG’s public relations agency said that WSG “totally rejects unsubstantiated comments and innuendos about its business transactions... WSG denies reports that any executive or employee has received or admitted to receiving any monies other than in the normal course of business, or that WSG has used any funds received in connection with its sublicence of broadcast rights for inappropriate or unlawful activities.” liz.m@livemint.com Gouri Shah in Mumbai and PTI contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:55 pm Hopes of Meghalaya villagers trapped in legal minefieldGreen preservation gets a thumbs down, as Lafarge project a livelihood issue.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:51 pm Mint 50 -Canara Robeco Monthly Income PlanCanara Robeco MIP underwent a change in strategy and portfolio a couple of years back and this change has yielded results. The fund’s equity and debt component is deftly managed to help the fund pay dividends as regularly as possible, though mutual funds are not allowed to assure dividends or returns. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:48 pm RIL net rises 30%, below Street forecastMumbai: The oil-to-yarn and retail conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) posted a 30% rise in net profit for the last quarter of fiscal 2010, on the back of its new refinery and gas production, to Rs4,710 crore, but fell short of Street expectations as its costs more than doubled and so-called other income nearly halved. The comparable quarter’s net profit of Rs3,627 crore does not include an exceptional income of Rs328 crore. Factoring this in, the rise in net for the January-March quarter is 19%. The most valuable Indian company by market capitalization clocked revenue of Rs57,570 crore for the January-March quarter, up 121% from Rs26,082 crore during the corresponding period last year. For the full year, RIL’s net profit was Rs16,236 crore on revenue of Rs1.92 trillion. RIL has turned in a steady increase in profit for the second quarter in a row after several quarters in which profit fell from the year-ago period. Shares of RIL, which has the highest weightage in the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex, closed 1.10% higher at Rs1,087.35 on Friday, outstripping the 0.68% rise in the bellwether index that ended the day at 17,694.20 points. The results were announced after the market closed. The stock has risen 23.4% in the past year, trailing the 58.9% increase in the Sensex. “The results are slightly below our expectations. We were factoring in refining margins of $8.5 (Rs378.25) (a barrel) and expecting slightly higher profitability from its business segments,” said Deepak Pareek, analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Angel Broking Ltd. “The depreciation is certainly higher, but the tax provision is lower than expected,” he said, adding that much of this would get clarified in the company’s analyst interactions. Sector analysts were expecting a strong Q4 at the Mukesh Ambani-owned firm. A Mint poll of seven brokerages had thrown up average estimates of Rs5,078.17 crore in net profit, Rs59,780 crore in revenue and $8.13 a barrel gross refining margins (GRMs), or earnings from turning crude into a variety of fuels in the quarter. RIL’s GRMs for the quarter too were below expectations at $7.5 per barrel, but has maintained a lead of $2.6 per barrel over the Asian benchmark— Singapore GRMs.  PetroChina Co. Ltd, the world’s biggest company by market value, reported lower profit that missed estimates in the year ended 31 December after oil prices declined. RIL chairman Ambani called FY10 “a transformational year at Reliance”, with “successful completion of the upstream and refinery projects”. The energy firm will “continue to seek growth opportunities within India and globally to accelerate further value creation”, he said in a statement. RIL sealed a 40:60 joint venture with Philadelphia-based Atlas Energy Inc. two weeks ago, forking out $1.7 billion for the minority stake in its portfolio of shale gas reserves—an indication that it wants to learn the ropes of this disruptive, new technology of mining hydrocarbons. Its bids for bankrupt Dutch petrochemicals maker LyondellBasell Industries AF and Canadian debt-strapped Value Creation Inc.—also involved with shale gas production— fell through in the last three months before it clinched the deal with unlisted firm Atlas. Costs have soared under every head in the January-April quarter. Overall costs, including raw material consumption, depreciation and staff expenses, have jumped more than twofold from Rs21,821 crore to Rs51,826 crore. RIL attributed the cost jump in raw material to “higher crude oil processed in the SEZ (special economic zone) refinery” and higher depreciation to a “higher depletion charge in oil and gas, and increased depreciation in the refining business segment”. Other income—or earnings from sources other than usual business operations—fell from Rs1,020 crore to Rs615 crore. RIL will have to find out ways of deploying some $25 billion of excess cash in FY11-14 as well as harness new avenues for future growth, according to estimates by sector analysts at the Indian arm of Goldman Sachs. Since December, RIL has sold nearly 74 million of its own shares, called treasury stock, and raised about Rs12,979 crore. It had cash and cash equivalents of Rs21,874 crore and outstanding debt of Rs62,495 crore as on 31 March. RIL’s new 580,000 barrel a day refinery and its prolific gas block D6 in the Krishna-Godavari basin became fully operational in the beginning of fiscal 2010. Revenue from exploration and production rose 487% in the quarter to Rs4,318 crore, refining business increased by 165% to Rs51,250 crore and petrochemical manufacturing by 59% to Rs15,448 crore. Ebit, or earnings before interest and taxes, margins fell steeply to 39.4%, 3.9% and 14.4% for these businesses, respectively. Rakteem Katakey of Bloomberg contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:48 pm No place for Big 3 in first UID projectIndia's top three IT companies are understood to have been rejected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for a project related to the country's biggest biometric count.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:44 pm Gupta gave tip on Buffett deal: ReportGoldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta told hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Berkshire Hathaway before the deal was made public, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person close to the situation.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:43 pm Govt fails to collect tax of Rs 2L cr: CAGEfficiency in tax collection went down in 2008-09 financial year resulting in a total uncollected demand of Rs 2 lakh crore, the apex auditor CAG has said.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:42 pm GSK net rises 15% to Rs 96cr for Jan-MarGlobal FMCG firm GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare on Friday said its net profit rose by 14.6% to Rs 96 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, over the same period last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:41 pm IPL probe limited to money trailGovt says investigations only into financial irregularities, no plan to get into business of sport.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:40 pm 3G bids: Govt expects to raise Rs 50k crIndia now expects its third-generation (3G) and broadband spectrum auctions to raise Rs 50000 crore ($11.2 billion), much higher than the governments budget estimates of Rs 35000 crore, telecommunications minister A Raja said on Friday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:39 pm Techies line up to join UID projectYoung techies seem to have been bowled over by the prospect of being associated with the governments unique ID project, with over 500 applications pouring in till date for voluntary or sabbatical roles with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chaired by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:38 pm Sequoia exits from Manappuram with 5x returnsBangalore: In the biggest venture capital exit in India over the last one year, Sequoia Capital has exited out of Kerala based non-banking financial company Manappuram General Finance & Leasing with returns of five times. In early 2007, Sequoia had invested $14 million in the firm for nearly 14% stake. Sequoia has now sold its entire stake for $70 million in the open market. “It’s a landmark exits. It emphasizes that VC model works well in India. Also, it shows that non-tech investments in India can do well and give good returns,” said Sumir Chadha, managing director, Sequoia, adding that the exit was a planned move, for which they had been thinking for a while. The Manappuram exit is the first exit for Sequoia this year, whose another portfolio company SKS Microfinance Ltd has filed for an initial public offering. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:36 pm G-20 officials convene for talks on global economyWashington: Global finance officials worked Friday to resolve differences in overhauling bank regulations, even as they wrestled with a pressing debt crisis in Greece that threatens to unravel gains in steadying the fragile world economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a statement stressing that the 186-nation lending agency was prepared to process Greece’s request for emergency loans quickly, and IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn scheduled one-on-one discussions for the weekend with Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou. Greece’s call for help came as finance ministers and the heads of central banks from the Group of 20 major economies held closed-door discussions at IMF headquarters with the goal of resolving differences over various bank reform agendas being pushed by the United States and other nations. The group was to issue a joint statement late Friday. “Financial reform remains for us the essential theme for the G-20,” German Deputy finance minister Joerg Asmussen told reporters before the talks began. The G-20 is composed of the world’s richest industrial countries as well as fast-growing developing nations such as China, Brazil, India, South Korea and Russia. It has taken over as the prime policy-setting body for the global economy. The United States was being represented by treasury secretary Tim Geithner and federal reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The talks on Friday were in advance of weekend meetings of key policy boards of the IMF and its sister lending institution, the World Bank. All the discussions were being overshadowed by Greece’s debt problems, which have roiled global financial markets for weeks. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Friday called for the activation of a joint eurozone-IMF financial rescue for his debt-ridden country. In response, Strauss-Kahn issued a statement saying his organization was ready “to move expeditiously” on Greece’s request. IMF officials said emergency talks between an IMF team that arrived in Athens at the beginning of the week and the Greek government were continuing. Greek officials said that Papaconstantinou, while in Washington, would have one-on-one discussions with finance ministers of Russia, Brazil and China over the weekend and would have a joint meeting with Strauss-Kahn and European officials on Saturday followed by one-on-one talks with Strauss-Kahn on Sunday. “It’s clear that the Greek situation is a very serious one,” Strauss-Kahn told reporters on Thursday. “There is no single way, no silver bullet to solve it in an easy manner.” At the White House, presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that the United States, the biggest shareholder in the IMF, supported an IMF loan package for Greece. He said the US treasury department was closely monitoring the situation. French finance minister Christine Lagarde, speaking to a Washington think-tank late Thursday, said she was confident Greece would be able to successfully implement an austerity program full of “very hard and harsh measures” being demanded by the other governments as a condition for support. The Obama administration is hoping the G-20 will endorse a set of financial reforms that will complement the sweeping overhaul that President Barack Obama is seeking to get approved in Congress. That measure was scheduled for an initial showdown vote in the Senate on Monday. The administration believes the United States, the world’s largest economy, must show resolve in fixing the flaws exposed by the financial crisis or the momentum for global reform could falter. However, the G-20 nations were finding it tough to reach a consensus in a number of key areas, including a call by the IMF to boost taxes on financial institutions to pay for future bailouts. Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday, “I’m not going to impose a tax on our banks that performed well during the crisis.” In addition to overhauling rules governing banks’ capital and liquidity standards and the regulation of exotic financial instruments such as derivatives, the finance officials were also scheduled to discuss efforts to assemble the IMF support package for Greece. The G-20 talks were being held at a time when the global economy is showing signs of improvement. The IMF released a new outlook for the meetings that forecast growth this year of 4.2%, significantly better than the 0.6% drop in activity last year, the biggest plunge in the post-World War II period. Strauss-Kahn, however, cautioned that the recovery was still “fragile,” with wide discrepancies between different regions. China, now the world’s third-largest economy, and other emerging Asian economic powers are surging ahead, followed by more moderate growth projected for this year in the United States and sluggish growth expected in much of Europe. The Group of 24, composed of finance officials from developing nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia, issued its own communique on Thursday, calling on the rich nations to avoid erecting protectionist trade barriers to deal with the economic slump. The G-20 leaders will meet again in June in Toronto. The discussions among the finance officials were designed to make progress on the financial reform plan that will be presented to the leaders. The finance officials were also debating ways to meet another goal set by leaders of pursuing more balanced global growth. Countries such as the United States are expected to show how they plan to narrow their trade and budget deficits while surplus countries such as China were expected to present plans for boosting domestic growth and relying less on exports. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:36 pm HC split on lie detector test on RajuA two-member bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday delivered a split verdict on a plea by CBI for conducting a lie detector test on former Satyam Computers chairman B Ramalinga Raju.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:32 pm New WagonR to escalate price warIt's a price war in the fiercely-competitive compact car market. The biggest in terms of sales volume, the segment is also witnessing high action from carmakers, all of whom seem to be getting in more sharper with their pricing to woo customers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:31 pm ICICI brings teaser rate backICICI Bank has brought back its special home loan offer, popularly known as the teaser rates, following mortgage major HDFC relaunching a similar product last week. Banking major SBI is still continuing with a similar product in the market.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:30 pm Pantaloon to demerge mail, food businessesMumbai: Future Group promoted-garment retail chain Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd will demerge its mail management and food services businesses into its subsidiaries. The company will issue one equity share of Rs10 from the subsidiary company for every 20 shares of Rs2 each held in Pantaloon, the company told the stock exchanges. The scheme will need the approval of majority shareholders and creditors of the Pantaloon and its subsidiaries, together with a favourable order from the Bombay high court, besides other regulatory approvals. On Friday, Pantaloon declared a net profit of Rs32.5 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, down from Rs34.3 crore last year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:27 pm EC issues notice to 15 parties on poll spendingNew Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) has issued a showcause notice to 15 political parties for not furnishing their expense statements for the expenditure incurred by them during the 2009 Lok Sabha election. The parties—which include the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the All India Forward Bloc—have to submit their responses to the commission by next Thursday. Thirty-one political parties had submitted the required statements. It is mandatory for the parties to file the details of expenses incurred by them within three months of the general elections. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:23 pm Markets | RBI auctions FY11’s first floating rate bondsMumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday sold the first floating rate bonds in fiscal 2011 as part of its Rs12,000 crore bond auction that was fully subscribed by investors. Investors offered Rs92.30 for each floating rate bond with a face value of Rs100. RBI auctioned Rs3,000 crore of such bonds along with Rs6,000 crore worth of a six-year bond and Rs3,000 crore of a 17-year bond. Floating rate bonds are preferred by investors as the coupon is adjusted every six months, allowing them to avoid booking nominal losses in their books. Separately, RBI said banks can now offer pre- and post-shipment export credit to certain sectors at their prime lending rate (PLR) minus 4.5% against PLR minus 2.5% earlier. The sectors notified are handicrafts, carpets, handlooms and certain small and medium enterprises. However, the export loan rate should not fall below 7%, which is the rate applicable for agriculture credit, RBI said. “The banks may ensure that the benefit of the 2% interest subvention is passed on completely to the eligible exporters,” the notification said. In a separate notification, RBI extended the special export credit compensation of PLR minus 2.5% to 30 June from 30 April earlier. —Anup Roy ********* Sebi tightens power of attorney clauses Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday warned brokers and depository participants not to exercise power of attorney (PoA) for off-market trades. The regulator ordered brokers not to deny services to clients if they refused to execute a PoA in the broker’s favour. Sebi noted that clients were compelled to give irrevocable PoA to manage their demat accounts, whereby such powered even allowed brokers to open and close client accounts or trade on the clients’ account without consent. Sebi ordered brokers to limit the scope of such a PoA for transfer of securities of clients towards margin or delivery obligations, pledging securities in favour of brokers for margin requirements for transactions in equity-related instruments such as mutual funds, public issues, rights, etc., and for meeting settlement obligations of the clients. —Anirudh Laskar Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:18 pm 3G spectrum bids reach Rs7,570 cr on Day 12New Delhi: Bids for an all-India licence to offer faster wireless services reached Rs7,570 crore on the 12th day of the auction, according to a statement on the website of the department of telecommunications (DoT).  Pan-India license: The government is auctioning spectrum for operating 3G services in 22 designated telephone zones. Hemant Mishra/Mint The government is auctioning spectrum for operating 3G services in India’s 22 designated telephone zones. It plans to sell 93 licenses to provide high-speed data to mobile phones and computers that may raise an estimated Rs50,000 crore, helping reduce the nation’s fiscal deficit. The Internet-based auction could take as long as two weeks, according to Dan Maldoom, an economist at DotEcon Ltd, one of the two advisers to the government. NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd is the other adviser. A pan-India license could cost bidders as much as $2 billion (Rs8,900 crore), Shubham Majumder, regional head of telecommunications research at Macquarie Group Ltd, had estimated on 7 April. The government will issue daily updates on the bidding and all data collected from bidders will be made public after the auction is over. The amount for an all-India license does not include Assam, which has received no bids so far. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:08 pm Wipro profit up 20%, sees 4.3% revenue growthBangalore: India’s third largest software firm Wipro Ltd said on Friday that fourth quarter net profit rose 20% from a year ago and forecast a 4.3% revenue growth for April-June over the preceding three months, in line with peers as customers overseas increase IT (information technology) outsourcing. Indian software firms are back to double-digit growth after nearly 18 months of sluggish business during the downturn that had forced customers, most of them in the US and Europe, to slash technology budgets and freeze spending. With the economy recovering, Indian IT firms are seeing a surge in orders again. “We expect IT budgets to be more, but more importantly, we expect budgets to be spent,” said Azim Premji, Wipro’s chairman. In the three months to 31 March, the firm’s net profit climbed to Rs1,209 crore from Rs1,006 crore a year ago. Between January and March, Wipro won $1 billion (Rs4,450 crore today) worth of deals from 27 customers such as Best Buy Co. Inc. and Main Street America Group. The firm said it has a good pipeline of deals that would increase business in the year ahead. But not everyone is impressed with Wipro’s outlook of $1.19-1.21 billion in IT services revenue for the three months to June, up from $1.16 billion in January-March. “We believe that a more plausible reason for modest 1Q (first quarter) guidance could be the slow ramp up from the large telecom deals won by the company in the Asia-Pacific region,” Kawaljeet Saluja, head of research for telecom and technology at Kotak Securities Ltd, a Mumbai brokerage, wrote in a note to clients after the results were announced. “We maintain our positive stance from a 12-month perspective, though it may trade weak in the immediate terms.” On Friday, Wipro’s stock lost 1.42% to end at Rs692.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, on a day the exchange’s benchmark Sensex index gained 0.68%, or 120.21 points, to close at 17,694.20. Wipro rewarded its shareholders with two bonus shares for every three shares held. Premji and his family are the largest shareholders in the firm with a 79.57% stake. Fourth quarter revenue grew 8% over a year ago to Rs6,983 crore. “The funnel we are looking (at) now is far better than what we saw a quarter back,” said Suresh Vaswani, joint CEO at Wipro. Indian technology service companies are witnessing robust demand for their services across geographies as global firms such as General Motors Co., General Electric Co. and BP Plc increasingly outsource technology work to them. But as business improves, the software exporters also face the twin challenges of the rupee strengthening against the dollar and increasing attrition. Wipro added 5,325 people in the fourth quarter to take the total number of its employees to 108,071. But attrition was at 17% in this period, the highest in two years. The firm hiked salaries in February and plans employee promotions by June. “We are taking measures. We may also look at employee stock options,” said Suresh Senapaty, CFO at Wipro. The firm had suspended issuing employee stock options in 2009 as people stayed in their jobs during the slowdown. “We had a satisfying quarter. We have driven up margins by 60 basis points despite headwinds of wage increases, rupee appreciation and the impact of cross currency,” said Senapaty. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. For the year ahead, Wipro plans to increase the percentage of science graduates it hires to 30% of its target of 11,000 freshers, as against 10% in the previous year. The rest of its fresh hires have engineering degrees. “It’s back to normalcy from the results of the big four,” said Rohit Anand, information technology analyst at Pinc Securities Ltd, a Mumbai-based brokerage. “The biggest challenge is (the) rupee. If it appreciates a lot, then it may have (an) impact on margins. If the dollar is at Rs43-44, it is manageable by them.” On Friday, the rupee stood at 44.50 against the dollar. The Indian currency had started fiscal 2010 at 50.35 against the greenback, but strengthened about 12% to end the year at 44.91. Wipro has hedged a total of $1.7 billion against foreign exchange. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:00 pm Asset bubble situation most likely to happen in real estateMumbai: In its recent financial stability report, the International Monetary Fund said while there is no asset bubble now in emerging markets, the threat exists. I.V. Subramaniam, a director at Quantum Asset Management Co. Pvt. Ltd, spoke in an interview about the risks for India. Edited excerpts: What are the risks of asset bubbles forming in India? When excess liquidity in the system winds its way through banking channels to non-productive use, the price of assets is driven higher and higher. Beyond a certain stage, there is no fundamental reason for the asset prices to go up, and this leads to a bubble-like situation, which is waiting to burst. Currently in India, asset prices are nowhere near this territory and, as such, there is no real risk to asset bubbles forming. Credit in the country is not growing aggressively and that is an added conviction that the risk to asset bubbles forming in India is low. However, this does not mean that asset prices cannot decline. As part of normal market functioning, one could expect asset prices to decline or make an upward move based on (a) normal demand and supply situation. There may also be pockets of asset bubbles formed.  Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan/Mint As explained earlier, there is no imminent risk of asset bubbles (forming). However, if an asset bubble does form, in all due probability it may happen in real estate. Even so, it will most probably not break out in all parts of the country, but rather in certain pockets. The reason for shortlisting the real estate sector as the most probable one to witness an asset bubble is the excess liquidity flow in the past to this sector. Do you think global liquidity is a more important factor for asset price inflation than local money? Excess liquidity in any form, local or global, may lead to asset price inflation. At any point in time, on a relative basis, one of them, global or local liquidity, could be more important than the other. Currently, global liquidity is probably a more important factor for asset price inflation than local money. Given that the accommodative monetary policy of advanced economies is likely to continue, does the risk of asset price inflation in India increase? The accommodative monetary policy of advanced economies puts us in a situation where we have to grapple with two issues: liquidity and (the) exchange rate. If we focus on not allowing the currency to appreciate, then we may have excess liquidity in the system. In such a situation, if the banks also follow an aggressive loan growth philosophy, it may potentially lead to all kinds of inflation, including asset price inflation. Presently, the US dollar has risen against the euro and (pound) sterling but not against the Asian currencies. In hindsight, we may be able to gauge whether the West was recovering. However, currently available data shows that the recovery in the West is not really happening—both in America and in Europe. This means that interest rates are unlikely to move up rapidly in the Western world in the immediate future. Hence, it can increase the risk of asset price inflation in India. While the risk is there, I do not see any asset bubble-like situation yet. The central bank in India is slowly tightening liquidity, so excess liquidity and any resultant credit growth may not be an issue at this point in time. However, just to reiterate, while there is no bubble-like situation, the normal cyclical movement in asset prices would happen, and as liquidity is tightened in India, prices are likely to decline in certain asset classes and in certain categories with the asset class. For instance, real estate prices may decline (more) sharply in certain cities than in others. ravi.k@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 12:00 pm EGoM asks for detailed data on BPL familiesNew Delhi: An empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on Friday asked the Planning Commission to come out with comprehensive data on families living below the poverty line (BPL) to enable it to finalize the Food Security Bill.  Food security: Pranab Mukherjee is heading the ministers’ panel discussing the proposed Bill. Pradeep Gaur/Mint In the backdrop of an estimated bumper wheat harvest this year, the eGoM also discussed ways to step up storage capacity. Involvement of the private sector in storage is also being looked into, he said. Even for implementing the food security law, which aims to provide wheat or rice at Rs3 per kg to each BPL family, the government would need to ensure adequate storage capacity. Earlier, the eGoM was asked to revisit the proposed food security law to finalize the quantity of foodgrains to be supplied to BPL families as well their numbers. The Planning Commission is working on fresh numbers as well as the financial implication of implementing the proposed law. The eGoM also deferred a decision on the proposal for imposing import duty on wheat in view of over 17% food inflation. A decision on raising the quantity from 10kg to 15kg for the above poverty line families through public distribution system was also deferred. The eGoM has also decided to extend the open market sales scheme in wheat till September. feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:58 am Microsoft Jan-Mar profit zooms 35 per centSoftware giant Microsoft on Friday posted a 35 per cent jump in profit at $4.1 billion in the quarter ended March 31, primarily driven by strong demand for its Windows 7 operating system.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:36 am IMF responds to Greek PM’s call for rescue packageThe International Monetary Fund said on Friday that it would act quickly in response to an appeal by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou for an international bailout.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:34 am Maruti launches BS-IV WagonRDomestic car major Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Friday launched a new version of its second largest-selling compact car, WagonR, priced between Rs 3.28 lakh and Rs 3.81 lakh.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:33 am Areva close to India solar dealsMumbai: Areva Renewable, a unit of France’ Areva, is considering solar-thermal projects in India, its CEO said on Friday. “We are discussing it with at least nine serious developers in India. We hope to close few MoUs (memorandum of understanding) in the coming weeks,” Anil Srivastava said. Most of the Indian power developers are discussing setting up 50MW solar-thermal power stations and Areva would be able to offer these projects at a cost of $3 million-$3.3 million (Rs13.35 crore-14.68 crore today) per MW, Srivastava said. “If we were to make the plant today, we think we can achieve 70% localization in India, and we can achieve up to 90% localization going forward,” reducing that cost, he added. India’s National Solar Mission aims to increase grid connected solar power generation to 1,000MW by 2013 from 3MW at present and add another 3,000MW by 2017, government website showed. It also aims to achieve market leadership by locally producing solar-thermal gears. “Solar is the new activity, which is absolutely a game changer for the country, and I believe for Areva as well.” It is also planning to use solar generated steam technology to bring down the capex for coal-fired power plants—the mainstay of Indian power sector—as it has done for Macquarie Generation’s coal-fired station in Australia, the India-born Srivastava added. Areva Renewble will invest $15-20 million per mobile assembly units used for setting up the solar-thermal projects depending on the number of project wins and would double the headcount for the firm in next 6-18 months from 165 now, he said. It has been involved in India’s renewable energy sector since 2004, supplying turnkey biomass based power plants from Chennai and completed five such power projects, a company handout showed. Indian offshore wind farm development would also require Areva Renewable to develop supply chain as the logistics and manufacturing of heavy-engineering parts is favourably done locally with Indian partners, Srivastava added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:17 am An iron town called Mandi GobindgarhMandi Gobindgarh, Punjab: Local fables credit Mandi Gobindgarh’s alias ‘loha mandi’ to a 17th century battle between a Sikh saint and a local ruler. Tales tell that a paucity of iron and metal for emergency horseshoe repairs in the 1600s war instigated the saint to bless the town with “iron that will never run out”. Click here to view a slideshow on Mandi Gobindgarh. Iron now runs this town. With more than 500 medium and small sized steel and iron scrap recycling industries, Gobindgarh is still one of India’s largest secondary steel producing areas. Discard from practically all around the world lands up in this small town of about 150,000 people. The approach road to the town is dotted with chimneys and tin sheds amid lush green fields, while truckloads of junk, from old train wheels to car parts and defunct machines finish their last journey at Mandi. Around 150 induction furnaces in Gobindgarh work day and night for five days a week to churn out thick slabs of iron called ingots, which go on to feed re-rolling mills. These mills employ thousands of migrant labourers everyday, who manually swing and shape gleaming red ribbons of steel into final products. With practically a zero margin for human error, labourers mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar toil near furnaces, which reach upto 1,600 degrees of heat. The brutal conditions in the factories ensure that the labour force nearest to the furnaces get an hour’s break after each hour. An hour in any of these factories and you will find your skin tinged with a persistent layer of black carbon. Outside labourers lounge with blackened faces, not bothering to try to scrub it away. Lorries lumber past, many from Gujarat, which bring in thousand ton ships, whittled down to manageable pieces. Town traders and factory owners, however, beg for iron of a different kind; the kind that makes train tracks. “When businessmen come here, they have to get off at the next town as we don’t have a big one. It is a little embarrassing,” said a factory owner. padmaparna.g@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:11 am Economic crisis adds 53 mn to poverty rankJohannesburg: Last year’s global slump will condemn 53 million more people to extreme poverty and contribute to 1.2 million child deaths in the next five years, the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Despite these setbacks, the joint report released on Friday said the overall number of people living on less than $1.25 a day, the definition of extreme poverty, would fall to 920 million by 2015 compared with 1.8 billion in 1990. This puts emerging nations broadly on track to achieve a United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving 1990 rates of extreme poverty by 2015. However, the 2008-09 financial and economic turmoil and the food price crisis that preceded it in early 2008 mean the prognosis is not so good for a similar drive to cut global rates of hunger and malnutrition. More than a billion people, or one in six people on the planet, are still struggling to meet basic food needs, leading to increased instances of disease—and ultimately death— in young children and pregnant women, the report said. WB projections cited in the report said 1.2 million children were likely to die between 2009 and 2015 as a result of the two crises. However, the two institutions concluded the fallout would have been more serious had developing country governments not followed sound macro-economic policies before the crisis, giving themselves room to maintain social safety nets in hard times. “The financial crisis was a severe external shock that hit poor countries hard. Its effects could have been far worse were it not for better policies and institutions in developing countries over the past 15 years,” IMF deputy managing director Murilo Portugal said in a statement. “The crisis in the developing world has a potentially serious impact in everyday life since the margin of safety for so many people is so slim in even the best of times.” The extra millions condemned to hardship come despite a strong recovery forecast in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. IMF is forecasting growth of 6.3% for emerging and developing economies this year and 6.5% for next, with much of the impetus coming from Chinese expansion of around 10%, and strong performances by India, Brazil and Indonesia. Sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region, is likely to expand 4.7% in 2010 and 5.9% the year after, putting it back on the growth trajectory it enjoyed in the years leading up to the crisis. Despite its post-millennial spurt, Africa has still lagged behind Asia in cutting poverty, with extreme hardship rates falling only to 51% in 2005 from 58% in 1990, the report said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 23 Apr 2010 | 11:09 am Govt sees normal monsoon rains, analysts cautiousNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's summer monsoon is likely to be normal this year, the government said on Friday, allaying fears over an event crucial to the economic fate of the world's second-most populous nation.Source: Reuters: Money News | 23 Apr 2010 | 8:25 am
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