Indian Business Headlines for May 1, 2010

Azim Premji is India`s Bill Gates: Forbes!

Much like Bill Gates, Premji also plans to give away most of his money during his lifetime.
Source: Zee News : Business | 1 May 2010 | 6:30 am

Paper firms hike prices on rising input costs

Paper makers Ballarpur Industries and West Coast Paper have raised product prices by Rs 2,500 to 3,000 (USD 56.5 USD 67.8) a tonne as cost of pulp, a key raw material, rises globally
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 6:22 am

TVS Motor April vehicle sales rise 28%

TVS Motor Co, India\'s third largest two wheeler maker, said on Saturday that total two wheeler sales in April rose 28% to 144,689 units from 113,119 units
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 5:28 am

Apple stops Lala's music, Web-based iTunes expected

Apple is widely expected to use Lala's 'cloud' technology to integrate a Web subscription service into its popular iTunes Music Store. Such a service could also be used for other digital entertainment like TV shows and movies.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 4:07 am

Markets shed 136 points in week; fag-end buying caps losses - Hindustan Times

Indian Express

Markets shed 136 points in week; fag-end buying caps losses
Hindustan Times
PTI The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex that had tanked by over 300 points on Wednesday on account of jitters sent by Greece's sovereign debt crisis, recovered on fag-end buying support, ending the week with a moderate loss of 136 points. ...
Benchmarks lose way, mid-caps outperformEconomic Times
Minnows help BSE catch up with NSE in volumes playEconomic Times
Stocks rise for second day as investors' confidence returnsThe Hindu
Sify -New Tiger (blog) -Press Trust of India
all 44 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 1 May 2010 | 3:49 am

Maruti Suzuki April sales soar 30% - Daily News & Analysis

Deccan Herald

Maruti Suzuki April sales soar 30%
Daily News & Analysis
New Delhi: The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, Saturday said sales in April rose around 30 percent to 93058 units, compared to the corresponding month last year. The company sold 71748 vehicles in April 2009. Exports were about 13024 units, ...
Maruti April sales jump 30% yoyIndia Infoline.com
Maruti's sales in month of April soar 30 per centPress Trust of India
Maruti Suzuki sales in April 2010 rise 30 per centOrissadiary.com
Calcutta Telegraph -MSN India -TopNews
all 24 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 1 May 2010 | 3:46 am

Maruti Suzuki April sales soar 30%

The rise in sales took place despite a hike in prices of all cars of the company by up to Rs10,000 on April 2 following an increase in input costs and introduction of new emission norms.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 3:45 am

Markets shed 136 points in week; fag-end buying caps losses

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex that had tanked by over 300 points on Wednesday on account of jitters sent by Greece's sovereign debt crisis, recovered on fag-end buying support, ending the week with a moderate loss of 136 points.
Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 3:36 am

Greek crisis highlights shaky role for ratings agencies

New York: Standard and Poor’s starring role in the latest chapter of the European debt crisis has rekindled criticism on Wall Street about the role of rating agencies in credit markets.

S&P downgraded Greek debt to junk status on Tuesday and also cut ratings for Portugal and Spain this week in a series of swift moves that pressured the euro and drew ire from European officials.

Even some Wall Street analysts were puzzled over the timing of S&P’s moves.

“I don’t know what happened -- the timing of their announcements I thought was peculiar,” said Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies & Co in New York.

“Why this week and not last week or even months ago? I don’t know that there are any particular events that warranted a downgrade.”

The agencies are no strangers to controversy.

Investors and lawmakers have claimed they contributed to the 2008-09 financial crisis by inflating ratings on risky mortgage-backed bonds before downgrading them as the underlying subprime loans began to default in large numbers.

This time, top European officials have chided S&P for acting too hastily, saying the EU and IMF had already agreed to an emergency aid plan for Greece and were in negotiations with Athens about its size and conditions.

“We’re seeing ... these questions again of the role of ratings agencies and the reliance on them,” said Jacques Cailloux, chief European economist at RBS Securities in London.

A Spiral for Europe

Investors have been selling Greek assets for months, a trend that began when the country revealed last year that its 2009 budget deficit was twice as high as markets thought.

Even before S&P acted, yields on Greek two-year bonds had climbed into the high teens -- representing a higher cost of borrowing than for many emerging markets. After the country’s downgrade to junk status, the two-year yields briefly rose as high as 25% from around 12% on Monday.

Being labelled junk also raised the risk of a new and more severe problem: that the European Central Bank may soon not be able to accept Greek government bonds as collateral.

“The ECB will probably have to revise its collateral policy,” Cailloux said. Otherwise, if Greek debt were to be rendered unacceptable, “you have a full-blown crisis that wouldn’t have happened without the downgrades.”

In a BBC interview on Thursday, David Beers, S&P’s global head of sovereign risk, defended the agency’s decision.

“We’ve actually been looking very closely at the economic as well as fiscal divergences in the eurozone and taking ratings actions based on that analysis going back six years now,” Beers said. “So this has been a problem that the markets have been ignoring for a very long time.”

CDS Alternative?

Some analysts consider credit default swaps a more accurate measure of credit-worthiness for a market weary of the ratings agencies.

At the height of Greek default fears, a five-year Greek CDS -- which insures a Greek bondholder against default -- cost nearly seven times that of comparable insurance against a default by Brazil.

“The CDS market is in essence an expression of credit risk, and is a better expression of market sentiment than ratings are,” said David Gilmore, partner at Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex, Connecticut. “And it’s clear the ratings agencies are late to the game.”

But relying on CDS has its own pitfalls.

The market can be manipulated, and it may be too volatile to be used as a stable measure of credit-worthiness. The changes in CDS costs have been swift -- they move at the pace of other expressions of market sentiment, such as changes in bond yields -- and even more dramatic in scale, in some cases, than the ratings downgrades.

But Gilmore sees the larger CDS moves as an advantage.

“If we look at what happened in CDS and then what was done on the ratings front, I would argue that the ratings agencies are being very conservative,” he said.

One piece of evidence that suggests financial markets may already put more weight on CDS spreads than on credit ratings was the muted reaction to S&P’s downgrade of Spain on Wednesday. The gap between yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds and comparable German debt widened only slightly after the move.

“The market has in a lot of cases already discounted the ratings agencies’ movements,” Cailloux said.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 May 2010 | 3:30 am

South Indian Bank net profit up by 20%

The bank, which had made a net profit of Rs194.75 crore in 2008-09, attributed the increase to 'sterling performance in all aspects of operations.'
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 3:28 am

Tech Mahindra Q4 net down 1.3% on interest costs

Indian IT services firm Tech Mahindra Ltd on Friday reported a 1.3% fall in quarterly profit, weighed down by interest costs on borrowings to fund its acquisition of Satyam Computer Services.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 3:19 am

The Forbes India aquasail regatta

A sailing regatta is the perfect way to introduce people to the amazing sport of sailing
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 3:19 am

ADB economist plays down Asia impact from Greece

Tashkent: Capital inflows into Asia will not be significantly affected by European debt woes due to the region’s high and widening interest rate differentials, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) chief economist said on Saturday.

Asia’s economies have been recovering much faster than the rest of the world from the global crisis, resulting in interest rates in the region rising faster than elsewhere, providing better investment returns without any increase in risk, he said.

“It’s true that the risk aversion is growing, but capital flows into Asia will not be significantly affected unless the European banking system as a whole gets hit,” Jong-Wha Lee of the Manila-based multinational lender told Reuters in an interview.

Concerns about fiscal problems in Greece and several other euro-zone economies have rattled global financial markets since late last year, sparking concerns of a repeat of massive capital flight out of Asian emerging markets.

“Asian economies are growing fast and interest rate differentials (with the rest of the world) are big and will get bigger, and so, I don’t think there will be a serious impact on capital flows,” he said on the sidelines of the ADB’s annual meetings in Tashkent.

He said Japan and a few other fiscally weak economies in the region may come under closer scrutiny from investors, but high domestic savings and stronger current account positions kept them in better shape than the southern European economies.

“In the case of Greece, they have no such thing as local-currency bonds and much of their bonds are owned by foreign investors, whereas in Japan, it issued a big amount of local currency bonds and domestic households own much of them,” he said.

On China’s foreign exchange policy, Lee repeated the ADB’s stance that it is in China’s interest to end the yuan’s peg to the US dollar and to allow the currency trade in a broader band.

“The biggest risk (from keeping the peg for a long time) is the increasing pressures on the domestic inflation and asset price growth because no country can completely sterilise capital inflows,” he said.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 1 May 2010 | 2:29 am

Essar raises £1.2bn in LSE's largest listing since crisis onset - Financial Times

Times Online

Essar raises £1.2bn in LSE's largest listing since crisis onset
Financial Times
India's Essar Energy has raised £1.2bn in London's largest stock market flotation since the onset of financial crisis shuttered the market for new listings. The power, oil and gas company being spun out of India's sprawling Essar ...
Essar raises $1.27 bn; Biggest offer to hit LSE since ?07Economic Times
Essar Energy raises close to USD 2 billion in London IPOSteelGuru
Essar raises nearly $2 bn in London IPOBloombergUTV
Hindu Business Line -Business Standard -Calcutta Telegraph
all 112 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 1 May 2010 | 1:53 am

BP Is Criticized Over Oil Spill, but US Missed Chances to Act - New York Times

Newsweek

BP Is Criticized Over Oil Spill, but US Missed Chances to Act
New York Times
A team from Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research treated an oil-covered Northern Gannet on Friday in Fort Jackson, La. By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and ERIC LIPTON NEW ORLEANS — As oil edged toward the Louisiana coast and fears continued to grow that the leak ...
Wildlife rescue teams ready for US oil spill victimsReuters
Obama calls for 'responsible' oil productionBBC News
Obama Orders Review, Says New Oil Leases Must Have SafeguardsBloomberg
CNN International -Wall Street Journal -Forbes (blog)
all 17,061 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 1 May 2010 | 1:24 am

Paper firms hike prices on rising input costs

Ballarpur Industries, India's largest paper maker, has increased product prices by Rs3,000 rupees a tonne from Saturday.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 1:09 am

TVS Motor April vehicle sales rise 28%

TVS Motor Co's sales rose about 22% in April to 125,471 units from 102,985 units in the same period a year ago.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 12:59 am

Maruti's sales in Apr soar 30 pc

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported a jump of 29.70 per cent in its sales for April this year at 93,058 units over the same month last year.
Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 1 May 2010 | 12:44 am

Paper firms hike prices on rising input costs

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Paper makers Ballarpur Industries and West Coast Paper have raised product prices by 2,500 to 3,000 rupees ($56.5-$67.8) a tonne as cost of pulp, a key raw material, rises globally.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 12:23 am

Merkel would welcome voluntary bank help for Greece

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview to be published on Sunday she would welcome a contribution from Germany's private sector to support a Greek rescue package.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 1 May 2010 | 12:13 am

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank are ‘foreign owned, Indian controlled'

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has said that ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are ‘foreign-owned and Indian-controlled
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Japanese consultants sign pacts for DMIC project

Four Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) were signed on Friday between Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and Development Corporation (DMICDC) and six major Japanese
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Sugar stocks turn bitter on Govt restrictions

Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

ULIP issue: Apex court notice to Govt, IRDA, insurers

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), 14 insurance companies, and petitioners of two Public Interest Litigations on a petition by capital market regulator
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Fuel prices may soon be freed

Petrol is likely to be out of the ambit of price control in a fortnight, according to top sources in the oil sector.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Essar Energy cuts IPO price to 420 pence

Energy major Essar has scaled back the size of its London listing, as the Greek financial crisis plunged European markets into turmoil this
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

ArcelorMittal confident of going ahead with its projects in India

The world's largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal is happy with the recent progress in its Indian
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Super King bats for India Cements

The launch of Coromandel King brand of cement in Gujarat marks the successful entry of a “cricket crazy company that is India Cements,” says its Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr N.
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Did the Govt err in judging edible oil imports?

Did the country import an unprecedented 101 lakh tonnes of edible oil during the just concluded fiscal
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Ban on China gear may become diplomatic issue

The ban on Chinese telecom equipment seems to be snowballing into a diplomatic issue between India and
Source: Business Line - Home Page | 1 May 2010 | 12:00 am

Bank of Japan's new facility to target environment, R&D: Nikkei

The central bank announced on Friday it would consider new ways to bolster growth, saying Japan needed to raise productivity, even as it signalled deflation may end sooner than previously thought.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 11:42 pm

TVS Motor April vehicle sales rise 28 pct

MUMBAI (Reuters) - TVS Motor Co, India's third largest two wheeler maker, said on Saturday that total two wheeler sales in April rose 28 percent to 144,689 units from 113,119 units.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 11:16 pm

Booming China on show to world at Shanghai Expo

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai opened its multi-billion dollar World Expo to the public on Saturday, showcasing China's booming economy and resurgent national pride, as well as the latest green technology from 189 countries.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 11:03 pm

Pan-India 3G licence price crosses Rs 9, 500 crore mark - Hindustan Times

The Hindu

Pan-India 3G licence price crosses Rs 9, 500 crore mark
Hindustan Times
India on Friday concluded 104 rounds of an auction to award spectrum for third generation (3G) telecom services in the country, with the provisional winning price for a nationwide licence crossing Rs 9500-crore mark. At the end of the 18th day of the ...
3G revenue at Rs 38453 croreTimes of India
3G bid price up 172%, touches Rs 9521 crEconomic Times
3G bids reach 90% of eligibility criteria, inch closer to finishLivemint
MediaMughals -NDTV.com -Business Standard
all 159 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:59 pm

U.S. pushes BP to check oil spill menacing Gulf coast

VENICE, La. (Reuters) - The U.S. government pushed energy giant BP to ramp up its efforts to avert an environmental disaster that could cost billions of dollars as a huge oil spill reached coastal Louisiana, imperiling fish and shrimp breeding grounds and wetlands teeming with wildlife.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:50 pm

Pan-India 3G licence price crosses Rs 9, 500 crore mark

India on Friday concluded 104 rounds of an auction to award spectrum for third generation (3G) telecom services in the country, with the provisional winning price for a nationwide licence crossing Rs 9,500-crore mark.
Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:40 pm

Shanghai to fling open doors to World Expo

Organisers kicked off the six-month extravaganza on Friday evening with a spectacular fireworks display, the largest LED screen ever constructed and dancing water fountains.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:25 pm

Azim Premji is India's Bill Gates: Forbes

India's software tycoon Azim Premji plans to set up a world-class university to train teachers who will fan out to the teacher training institutes in India's 600 districts.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:09 pm

Greek austerity measures will work - deputy PM

SHANGHAI/ATHENS (Reuters) - The austerity measures Greece is likely to implement as part of a pending financial rescue deal will be enough to help avert default on the country's debts, Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos said on Saturday.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 10:04 pm

BOJ's new facility to target environment, R&D - Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will set up a new lending facility aimed at banks that make loans to environment business, energy business and research and development, Japan's Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 9:20 pm

TIMELINE - Global recalls in the auto industry

REUTERS - Honda Motor Co Ltd said it would recall 167,255 Acura TSX sedans sold in the U.S. market to address the risk that power steering fluid could leak and cause an under-the-hood fire.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 8:58 pm

Uninor fuels fresh tariff war - Times of India

The Hindu

Uninor fuels fresh tariff war
Times of India
NEW DELHI: Taking mobile tariffs to a new low, telecom service provider Uninor, a joint venture between Unitech and Norwegian firm Telenor, on Friday announced call charges as low as 20 paise per minute. Uninor has introduced a concept of dyanamic ...
Uninor offers users call destination based discountsEconomic Times
Uninor's new pricing formulaThe Hindu
Uninor's 'instant' discount plan set to intensify tariff warHindu Business Line
Financial Express -Sify -Livemint
all 39 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:48 pm

BMW rolls out new-generation 5-series

BMW drove in its new-generation 5-Series sedan into India, almost maintaining the price line on the model and signalling its aggressive stance for the market.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:37 pm

ICICI scraps teaser rates

Despite money supply tightening by RBI in its credit policy, the country's largest lender SBI has extended its special home loan scheme by two months till June 30. However, ICICI Bank allowed the product to expire on Friday.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:36 pm

Uninor fuels fresh tariff war

Taking mobile tariffs to a new low, telecom service provider Uninor, a joint venture between Unitech and Norwegian firm Telenor, on Friday announced call charges as low as 20 paise per minute.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:35 pm

'ICICI, HDFC not Indian-owned' - Times of India

The Hindu

'ICICI, HDFC not Indian-owned'
Times of India
NEW DELHI: Institutions like ICICI Bank and HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank will no longer be termed as Indian-owned companies, considering the new guideline to calculate foreign direct investment in a company. Clarifying this, RP Singh, secretary of Department ...
SBI extends teaser rate scheme by two monthsEconomic Times
ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank are 'foreign owned, Indian controlled'Hindu Business Line
SBI extends teaser rates to June 30; ICICI discontinuesNDTV.com
Business Standard -Calcutta Telegraph -Financial Express
all 49 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:34 pm

ICL, Dalmia exit Bharathi Cements

The India Cements Ltd and Dalmia Cements - both of whom held token minority stakes as promoters in Bharathi Cements - have exited the company.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:33 pm

Buffett may push, or be pushed, on Goldman

OMAHA, Neb., (Reuters) - When Warren Buffett speaks on Saturday to what could be 40,000 shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc, a major topic is sure to be what America's most famous investor thinks about Goldman Sachs Group Inc, perhaps its most infamous bank.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:32 pm

Sebi moves SC over ULIP row

While SC has issued notices to the Centre and 14 life insurers on Sebi's petition, it also asked that "Do we need a super regulator?" The Bench also asked why not club all petitions at a Mumbai civil court as most parties are located at the financial capital.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:32 pm

'ICICI, HDFC not Indian-owned'

Institutions like ICICI Bank and HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank will no longer be termed as Indian-owned companies, considering the new guideline to calculate foreign direct investment in a company.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:30 pm

HP tablet plans draw interest after Palm deal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co hopes its planned $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm Inc will not only give it solid foundation in the growing smartphone market, but also provide it with a platform for other mobile devices, including tablets.

Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:29 pm

Bickson rebuilds Taj brand architecture

He preferred rustling up delicacies to sweating it out in his father's workshop. From being an apprentice chef at the Berlin Hilton to heading Asia's largest hospitality chain, Taj, the Hawaiian-born Raymond Bickson has come a long way.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:28 pm

ET, TOI make history, shine at INMA Awards

Even as newspapers in the West reel under declining sales and readership, Indian newspapers are enjoying a period of rapid growth, characterised by intense competition and exciting innovations.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:25 pm

3G revenue at Rs 38453 crore

The total revenue accruing to the government from the sale of four pan-India 3G slots and five extra slots in Punjab, WB, HP, Bihar and J&K is Rs 38,453 crore.
Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 30 Apr 2010 | 7:23 pm

SC notice to Centre, IRDA on SEBI plea - Economic Times

The Hindu

SC notice to Centre, IRDA on SEBI plea
Economic Times
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, the insurance regulator and insurance companies seeking their response on allegations that some insurers mis-represented features of the popular unit-linked insurance plans, or Ulips, ...
ULIP issue: Apex court notice to Govt, IRDA, insurersHindu Business Line
Apex court issues notice to IRDA, 14 insurance companies on ULIPsThe Hindu
Ulip row: SC issues notices, hearing after two monthsBusiness Standard
NDTV.com -Livemint -Indian Express
all 134 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 30 Apr 2010 | 6:01 pm

Wall St sinks on Goldman angst, but ends up for April

New York: US stocks tumbled on Friday to close out the worst week since January as news of a criminal probe into Goldman Sachs unnerved investors already anxious about the prospects for heavy regulation from Washington.

US prosecutors in New York began an investigation into the investment bank, a source told Reuters, raising the possibility of criminal charges two weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the bank of fraud.

Goldman’s stock fell 9.4% to $145.20, and the company has lost more than $20 billion of its market value since the SEC charges were filed. The S&P financial index slid 2.5%.

“It’s scary, it’s taking down the whole market,” said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams in New York. “We’re back in the uncertainty phase and whenever there is uncertainty, it’s never good.”

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 158.71 points, or 1.42% to 11,008.61. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 20.09 points, or 1.66% to 1,186.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 50.73 points, or 2.02% to 2,461.19.

This week’s losses, which took place against a backdrop of growing concerns over the potential for sovereign debt defaults in Greece, Spain and Portugal, cut short eight weeks of gains for the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq.

For the week, the Dow fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 lost 2.5%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.7%. The week was the worst since the week ending 24 January.

A Winning April

But the three major US stock indexes have racked up gains for the last three months.

Stocks climbed in April, with a boost from strong earnings. So far almost 80% of S&P 500 companies have beaten earnings estimates.

For the month of April, the Dow rose 1.4%, the S&P 500 gained 1.5%, and the Nasdaq climbed 2.6%.

In Friday’s session, a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continued to weigh on the market as investors worried about the potential economic and regulatory impact if the disaster escalates. The White House said it will halt new US offshore oil drilling until a review is conducted into the spill.

The PHLX oil services sector index fell 2.9%, with Halliburton Co off 3% at $30.65 and Transocean Ltd down 7.7% at $72.45.

Chip Makers Fall on Glut Fears

US chip makers’ shares slid after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world’s largest maker of memory chips and flat-screen TVs, said it will “substantially increase” capital spending in 2010, stoking fears about excess semiconductor supply.

The semiconductor index dropped 4.5%, dragged lower by Intel Corp, the world’s top chip maker, and Micron Technology, one of the world’s largest memory chip makers.

Intel fell 2.8% to $22.84 while Micron Technology tumbled 8.4% to $9.35. The stock of another chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices, lost 6.8% to $9.06.

Shares of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, which provides silicon wafers to semiconductor makers, plummeted 18.6% to $12.97 a day after reporting worse-than-expected results. Two brokers cut their price targets on the stock and another investment firm cut its recommendation following MEMC’s results.

McAfee Inc shares tumbled 12.1% to $34.75 a day after the security software maker said the cost of fixing a bug that shut down PCs at more than 100 large corporate customers will help push second-quarter earnings below expectations.

About 11.03 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, above last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 3 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about seven stocks fell for every two that rose.

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Apr 2010 | 4:51 pm

Rising rupee, costs pull down TechM profit 1.4% to Rs 227 crore - Economic Times

Stock Watch

Rising rupee, costs pull down TechM profit 1.4% to Rs 227 crore
Economic Times
MUMBAI: Tech Mahindra, which counts BT as its top customer, reported a 1.4% fall in its fourth quarter net profit as it battled impact from a rising rupee and higher selling and general administrative costs. A one-time Rs 27 crore project from top ...
Tech Mahindra Q4 net down 1.3pct on interest costsReuters
Tech Mahindra plans overseas BPO centresHindu Business Line
Tech Mahindra Q4 net up, non-BT biz crosses $500mn markMoneycontrol.com
Wall Street Journal -Financial Express -Calcutta Telegraph
all 100 news articles »

Source: Business - Google News | 30 Apr 2010 | 4:15 pm

EGoM to decide on freeing fuel prices

An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been constituted to consider a plan to free up retail prices of petroleum products, reports CNBCTV18.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 4:09 pm

Indian, Cypriot firms bid for Serbia\'s Galenika

Two companies, from India and from Cyprus, submitted prequalification bids to purchase a controlling stake in Serbian drugmaker Galenika, the Privatisation Agency said on Friday
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 4:05 pm

AllBank eyes 25% growth, to shed high-cost deposits

For Jan-Mar, bank's bottomline falls 15% to Rs 224 cr, full-year profit up 57%.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:51 pm

RBI open to continuity of zerocost products: Dy Gov

Speaking exclusively to CNBC TV18, Shyamala Gopinath, the RBI Deputy Governor said that companies and banks have become wiser after their experience and hence they are open to the product continuing.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:43 pm

Why you don't get your full claim amount

Mediclaim providers have sub-limits and co-pay clauses that curtail the amount to be paid.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:35 pm

Global mkts weekahead: Losing faith in the euro zone?

Whatever ultimately happens in the Greek debt crisis, investors are having to come to grips with an unstable euro zone they had not bargained for.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:18 pm

Kuwait\'s Zain says Gabon approves sale to Bharti

Kuwait\'s telecom group Zain said on Thursday that the Gabon government has approved the sale of Zain Gabon to India\'s Bharti Airtel.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:18 pm

May gold festival demand seen robust this year

Indian gold refineries are busy again after a long lull as a popular festival next month is likely to see more sales than last year\'s 45 tonne with stable prices and higher economic growth boosting consumer confidence.
Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 3:18 pm

GVK sees power sector margins improving

The company in FY10 had revenues of Rs 1,787 crore, of which 90%, or Rs 1,603 crore, came from power. In 2008-09, the power sector's contribution was at about 69%.
Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Apr 2010 | 2:59 pm

SBI extends teaser rates till June

The countrys largest public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has extended its special home loan scheme, popularly known as teaser rates, by two months even as the two largest private lenders, ICICI Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), decided to let their similar schemes lapse.
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 1:09 pm

Nano proving an expensive dream for Tata

Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata did live up to his promise of delivering a Rs 1 lakh car. But, that promise is now costing Tata Motors dear.
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 1:08 pm

Hindujas may acquire KBC arm

The Hinduja group is set to acquire the private banking arm of Belgium's KBL for 1.5 billion (Rs 8,900 crore). KBL European Private Bankers has 47 billion in assets under management.
Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 30 Apr 2010 | 1:06 pm

Company Results | HCC Q4 net at Rs43 cr; FY10 profit at Rs81 cr

Mumbai: Engineering and construction firm Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd (HCC) on Friday posted a net profit of Rs42.97 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, compared with Rs51.36 crore in the year-ago period.

Due to the adoption of new accounting standards, the results are not comparable with figures of the previous period last year, HCC said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange.

For the year ended March, HCC posted a net profit of Rs81.43 crore, down from Rs125.34 crore last year.

PTI

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Allahabad Bank net falls on treasury income drop

Mumbai: State-run Allahabad Bank reported a 15% drop in Jan-March profit, while expecting loans and deposits to grow 25% this fiscal, a top official said on Friday.

For the January-March quarter, the bank earned a profit of Rs225 crore, down from Rs264 crore a year ago.

“Net profit for the quarter was down mainly due to the impact of the treasury income, which stood at Rs61 crore during the fourth quarter, compared with Rs245 crore in the corresponding period last year,” J.P. Dua, chairman and managing director, said.

Allahabad Bank earned Rs164 crore profit from core operations during the Jan-March quarter against Rs20 crore last year.

Reuters

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Source: PTI. Graphic by Paras Jain/Mint

TTML posts net loss of Rs318 cr for FY10

Mumbai:Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd on Friday posted a consolidated net loss of Rs318 crore for the year ended 31 March.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs169 crore for the previous fiscal, it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Total income stood at Rs2,309 crore for the year ended 31 March, compared with Rs2,058 crore for the corresponding period in the last fiscal, the filing added.

PTI

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BEL Q4 net falls 64%; FY10 profit at Rs734 cr

Mumbai:Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) on Friday said its net profit declined 64.29% to Rs199.74 crore for the quarter ended 31 March over the same period in the previous fiscal.

Total income decreased to Rs1,914.50 crore for the quarter, compared with Rs2,753.48 crore in the same period last year, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

For the year ended March, BEL posted a net profit of Rs733.67 crore, compared with Rs745.75 crore in the last fiscal.

PTI

ABB net slumps on forex losses, cost overruns

Mumbai: Electrical equipment maker ABB Ltd’s net profit fell 92% for the March quarter, owing to foreign exchange and derivative losses and cost overruns in select large projects, the company said on Friday.

ABB’s revenue rose a nominal 5% to Rs1,456 crore, while the order backlog at the end of March stood at Rs8,754 crore, it said in a statement.

The Banglore-based capital goods firm won new orders worth Rs1,689 crore in the quarter, compared with a higher order intake of Rs2,303 crore in the year-ago period.

Reuters

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GVK Power posts FY10 profit of Rs21.68 cr

Mumbai:GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd on Friday posted a marginal rise in net profit to Rs21.68 crore for the fiscal ended March, compared with Rs21 crore the year ago.

Net sales rose to Rs45.37 crore during the year from Rs26.14 crore in fiscal 2009, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

PTI

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Bharati Shipyard net for Jan-Mar at Rs35.58 cr

Mumbai: Bharati Shipyard Ltd on Friday reported a net profit of Rs35.58 crore on net sales of Rs349 crore for the quarter ended 31 March.

The year-ago numbers were not immediately available.

Reuters

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Apr 2010 | 12:49 pm

Ratnagiri mango growers go green

Chennai: If it is mango, it’s got to be Alphonso. Or so it would be for most Mumbaikars. Barring a few atheists who disbelieve in the Alphonso’s heavenly taste, this golden, juicy variant with its intense sweetness is the undisputed champion of the 1,500 Indian varieties—the Tendulkar of mangoes.

Alternate remedy: Pictured is a pest control system. Farmers are going organic to combat deteriorating yield caused by the use of chemicals. K. Ganesh/Mint.

Still, many Alphonso growers spread over in south-western Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, with its red loamy soil and a salty sea wind ideal for fleshy and sugary Alphonsos, are facing bitter times. Over the past decade, input costs have spiked, while fruit quality has faltered. But some farmers are bent on restoring the glory of Ratnagiri’s Hapus, the local name for Alphonso, by switching to organic farming.

With 50% of the world’s annual mango production, India is the biggest mango producer in the world. Maharashtra produced just 5.6% of the mangoes in the country in 2008-09, behind Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. But Maharashtra’s 1.6 million acres of Alphonso plantations make it the largest producer of this expensive variant.

Also Read Tamil Nadu eyes slice of Alphonso pie

With 3,000 Alphonso trees, Umesh Lanjekar is one of the biggest growers in Ratnagiri. The 46-year-old, third-generation farmer was previously known for his penchant to pick up the latest farm gadgets, pesticides and fertilizers.

In 1998, he bought a German-made, shoulder-strap-on grass cutting tool and wandered around a part of his 70-acre estate slicing weeds that he intended to use for compost—decomposed plant and animal material that over time becomes fertile black soil that improves pest and disease resistance of the crop. This was Lanjekar’s first step towards organic farming as he tried to steer clear of synthetic chemicals he had used for nearly two decades to feed nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to his trees for maximum yields.

The catalyst for this farmer’s switch? “Bekaar (useless)”, says Lanjekar to describe the deteriorating quality of fruit. Over a decade, not only did a single fruit’s weight halve to 125g, but it was also losing its sweetness and aroma.

Alphonsos have been in the Konkan area of Maharashtra—sandwiched between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats—for nearly 300 years. But it was only in the late 1980s that the business got a boost thanks to increasing government subsidies. During this period, Cultar, a growth regulator marketed by Swiss agribusiness company Syngenta, became widely popular.

Cultar, or paclobutrazol, was used to catalyse early flowering, inducing fruits sooner. This supported an early market entry, earning premium prices from traders. Cultar stunted the growth of existing stems, but induced new shoots that developed flowers.

This was also the time the south-west monsoon, in what may have been a sign of global warming, was hitting this belt in May instead of June. So it seemed imperative to get the trees to fruit sooner. If it rained as the Alphonsos developed white spots—signalling the ripening stage when the shoulders of the fruit arched nicely to leave a dimpled top—it would result in a fungal attack and crop losses.

There was another reason for Lanjekar’s jump towards Cultar that he tested on about 50 of his trees. Though young Alphonso trees bear fruits every year, they may do so only once in two years as they grow older. The trees in his farm averaged 50 years and to get them to flower year after year he started using the growth regulator. But after a 200% jump in yield the first year, things looked bleak.

“The trees that now flowered more than usual and every year were turning weaker and more prone to disease and pest attacks,” says Lanjekar in Marathi.

A Syngenta agent, who didn’t want to be named, said that the weakening of the trees may have happened because the farmer may not have increased fertilizer usage by one-and-a-half times every year he applied Cultar to provide adequate nutrients for the plant.

Efforts to reach Syngenta were unsuccessful.

“The growth regulators cannot be blamed for the dangers posed to the Alphonso crop in the Konkan region,” says Bharat Salvi, a horticulturist at Regional Fruit Research Station at Vengurla near Ratnagiri. Nearly 24,000 litres of Cultar worth about Rs12 crore was sold in the Konkan region last year, he says. “The key threat to Alphonso plantations in the region are the changes in weather that has reduced yield this year to just 20%.” Cyclone Phyan that struck this region in November during the peak flowering season uprooted more than 46,000 mango trees in the area, causing a dramatic drop in output this year.

Towards the mid-1990s, Lanjekar’s fertilizer costs were increasing by 10% every year. Pests, such as the mango hopper that attacks during the key flowering season hurting yield, became resistant despite doubling the rate of pesticide sprays and employing more people to do so. “It won’t be long before you hear about suicides in the Konkan belt similar to those in Vidarbha,” says Lanjekar. “For my long-term survival I had to control costs because the market price of the mangoes fluctuates.”

He now uses compost produced in his farm as a fertilizer and organic repellents with garlic and basil as a base to ward off the pests pushing down input costs by 75%. Indian mango imports were until recently prohibited in several developed countries because of poisonous pesticide residue on the fruits. Three years ago, Lanjekar started exporting to countries such as Germany and Switzerland.

For nearly five years after switching to organic farming in 1998-99, Lanjekar saw his farm take a beating with one-fourth the previous yield, a minuscule 40-50 tonnes. This initial slide in production is one of the key deterrents for many farmers to make the switch to organic.

But his efforts truly bore fruits starting 2004 as the kidney-shaped produce in his farm looked, smelled and tasted better. Now just 1,500 of his trees, or half his plantation, bear fruits every year. But with a yield of 145kg a tree, which adds up to more than 200 tonnes every season to log more than Rs1 crore in sales, Lanjekar is relieved.

“Farmers understand that they will earn a premium for organic produce, that profits are higher in exports,” says Vivek Bhide, who has a 50-acre farm with 2,000 trees in Ratnagiri, but hasn’t shifted to organic measures as he cannot afford losses for three-five years during the transition from chemical to organic farming. “But the government needs to offer compensation to the farmer for his survival during his transition years into organic farming,” he adds.

anupama.c@livemint.com

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Apr 2010 | 12:42 pm

Irda, insurers and Centre get SC notice

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Union government, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) and 14 life insurers on a petition filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seeking transfer of cases from high courts relating to unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips).

This came after attorney general G.E. Vahanvati submitted that the jurisdictional dispute between the two regulators had to be settled by India’s highest court.

Sebi had independently moved the Supreme Court through a transfer petition asking it to settle the dispute with Irda over jurisdiction. Whenever a government agency files a transfer petition in the apex court, the attorney general usually appears on behalf of the petitioner.

Typically, the apex court’s notice requires the recipients to reply to the legal questions involved in the case.

Sebi’s petition sought the transfer of two pending cases before the Allahabad and Bombay high courts, which had named the insurance regulator and the Union government among the respondents.

The Supreme Court said the next hearing would be held on 8 July.

During the course of the hearing on Friday, the apex court bench headed by justice S.H. Kapadia questioned Sebi’s move to file the petition before the apex court. Kapadia asked why the cases should not be heard in the Bombay high court since Sebi and most life insurance companies are based there.

Vahanvati submitted that the issue of jurisdiction too has to be settled by the apex court. The bench also asked Vahanvati why a super regulator can’t be appointed to settle the case.

The dispute between the regulators needs a quick resolution, legal experts said.

“Nothing could be more detrimental to the economy than two regulators fighting over the issue of jurisdiction,” said K.K. Rai, senior advocate, Delhi high court. “The global economic crisis happened because of lack of effective regulation.”

Settling the case will bring relief to consumers who are unsure of the status of Ulips.

The turf war between the two regulators broke out after Sebi on 9 April barred 14 insurance firms from selling Ulips on the ground the instrument had an investment component, which brought them under its jurisdiction.

Sebi asked the 14 private life insurers to stop selling Ulips unless they got themselves registered with the capital markets regulator.

Sebi’s 9 April order was preceded by disagreements between the two regulators for a few months on the issue. Sebi issued the order following legal opinion that it had jurisdiction over Ulips.

Ulips are hybrid products sold by life insurers that mix a large investment component structured on the lines of a mutual funds with insurance. Ulips have been the insurance industry’s largest selling product for the last few years.

Data from Irda shows that there were 70.3 million Ulips involving premiums worth Rs90,645 crore in 2008-09. Subsequently, between April 2009 and February, the insurance industry sold another 1.67 million Ulips, which brought it premiums worth Rs44,611 crore.

Following the 9 April order, Irda told insurers to ignore the market regulator’s notice. A truce was brokered between the two by the finance ministry on 12 April. The regulators were to jointly seek a legal mandate on the issue from an appropriate court. In the interim, Irda would not approve new Ulip products, but existing products and Ulip customers would not be adversely affected by the dispute.

manish.r@livemint.com

Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Apr 2010 | 12:40 pm

China telecom equipment hits roadblock

New Delhi: India has stopped giving clearances to telecom equipment imported from China after the ministry of home affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office issued advisories expressing security concerns.

“They (home ministry) had issued an advisory saying that there were security concerns, so we have stopped giving any approvals to equipment that is being imported from China, temporarily,” a senior department of telecommunications (DoT) official said, asking for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The department was also asked, on Friday, for its views on an overall policy decision regarding a ban on equipment originating from China, another DoT official said, also requesting anonymity.

The move comes amid verbal skirmishes between the two nations over border territories, besides other irritants in the relationship. India had last year imposed anti-dumping duties on equipment coming from Chinese vendors, saying the products were being sold at below market prices.

“The Chinese companies can go to the WTO (World Trade Organization) protesting restrictive trade practices, but over and above that, it is well within the sovereign right of India to put in place such a ban citing security concerns,” said a regulatory expert working with some telecom operators and who has contributed to a number of studies on the sector by the government.

DoT had issued a notification earlier saying that all equipment from China needed the home ministry’s approval and if the government did not respond on the clearances within 30 days, the operator could consider the equipment cleared.

“Chinese equipment makers like ZTE and Huawei have been offering very competitive prices to India’s telecom service providers as well as long-term payment options, which cannot be matched by European counterparts Ericsson and Nokia Siemens,” said a telecom company official on condition of anonymity. “Not only will the cost go up, but also the time to roll out our services will get longer if this ban remains. This may also lead the other vendors to hike their prices” amid a tariff war in the Indian market.

“They have not given clearance to any equipment to at least four of the operators that buy from Chinese vendors,” an official with a telecom operator added.

At least 10% of ZTE’s revenue came from India, its largest market outside China. ZTE’s first quarter net profit rose 39.7% over a year ago to 109.9 million yuan (Rs72 crore).

Huawei’s 2009 profit rose to 18.3 billion yuan from 7.85 billion in 2008, on sales of 149.1 billion yuan.

India is the fastest growing telecom market and is second to China in the number of total subscribers. India added more than 20 million new connections in March, taking the total to 621.28 million, including 584.38 million mobile connections.

Huawei India said it had not received any official communication. The firm “is currently evaluating and understanding the latest development and seeking clarifications from the concerned authorities,” it said in a release. “Huawei is being used in telecom operators worldwide, including 45 of the top 50 global telecom operators in over 120 countries.”

The government informally asked telecom operators recently to avoid Chinese equipment. It also dissuaded Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, a state-owned telecom service provider, from awarding any part of a 93-million GSM line tender to Huawei in zones with international borders.

In December, a ban on Chinese-made handsets without IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) numbers came into effect, disconnecting some 20 million connections. However, India has seen a number of “local” handset brands mushroom in the past two years, selling handsets made in factories based in China and Taiwan.

Ross Gan, a Huawei spokesman, said in December that the closely held Chinese firm had $1.7 billion (Rs7,548 crore today) in contract sales from India in 2008.

ZTE, China’s second biggest phone equipment maker, fell 4.2% to HK$28.30 (Rs161) in Hong Kong, after dropping as much as 9.9% earlier, after the Financial Times reported India blocked phone carriers from buying gear from Chinese vendors, Bloomberg reported.

In another alleged aggravation, hackers traced back to China infiltrated computers, including those of India’s government, underscoring the growing threat of cyber attacks, according to an April report by Information Warfare Monitor, a research group associated with the University of Toronto. The Indian government had said it was investigating the matter, while China’s foreign ministry said it doesn’t condone Internet attacks.

China and India, which fought a war in 1962, also vie for global energy resources. India’s trade deficit with China widened more than 40% to $15.8 billion in 2009.

Senior Indian security officials also said they were not aware of any ban on Chinese equipment, Reuters reported.

“I’m not aware of any such blanket ban. In fact, Chinese equipment is coming in,” G.K. Pillai, India’s home secretary, said.

“We want stringent security in place so the country’s security is not compromised. But we have not heard of any blanket ban on Chinese equipment,” said U.K. Bansal, India’s internal security chief.

shauvik.g@livemint.com

Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this story.

Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Apr 2010 | 12:14 pm