|
|
|
|
Sovereign wealth funds urge global financial reformSovereign wealth funds meeting in Australia issued a call on Saturday for governments worldwide to take coordinated and urgent action to introduce financesector reforms and shore up confidence in global investment markets.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 7:38 am POSCO offers nearly $3bn for Daewoo InternationalPOSCO offered nearly 3.5 trillion won (USD 3 billion) to buy South Korean energy developer Daewoo International, higher than a proposal by rival bidder Lotte, JoongAng Ilbo reported on Saturday, citing a source.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 7:11 am Citigroup says rumors of trading error untrueCitigroup Inc said there was no basis for rumors that it was responsible for a massive trading error that caused the markets to plunge on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 6:18 am SC verdict a big win for RIL, says Purven GertzIn a severe blow to the Anil Ambani group seeking cheap gas from Reliance Industries, the Supreme Court ruled that the government will have the last word on pricing.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 4:08 am Sovereign wealth funds urge global financial reformThe forum felt that the current conditions in the financial markets and the uncertainties relating to sovereign credit risk assessment, were presenting a less certain investment environment.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 4:00 am StanChart shareholders approve shares for India listingStakeholders in UKbased bank Standard Chartered have approved plans to allot shares in connection with a planned India listing, the company said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 3:58 am Greece crisis casts shadow on Indian mkts; Sensex tanks 790pts - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 3:56 am Supreme Court order on RIL-RNRL gas row - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 3:55 am Ash cloud seen reaching Portugal - EurocontrolBRUSSELS, May 8 (Reuters) - The area affected by volcanic ash from Iceland is expected to extend south to Portugal and possibly as far east as Barcelona and Marseille on Saturday, European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 3:30 am Finnish PM: no economy safe if crisis not containedHELSINKI (Reuters) - The euro zone is facing its worst crisis and, if the crisis sparked by Greece is not solved, there is a risk of a new recession, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 2:49 am Oil workers describe methane 'explosion' on Gulf rig - BBC News
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 1:04 am The euro strikes back as leaders demand radical reforms - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 12:56 am Tough days ahead for cement firmsCement makers' profits could come under pressure this fiscal due to rising coal and freight costs coupled with excess capacities which could weaken pricingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Flight to safety helps Gold Exchange Traded FundsGold exchange traded funds are moving up, like the underlying yellow metal as a “safe heaven” for investment compared to the equity assets. Reflecting the recent upheavals in the financial markets, caused by sovereign debt crisis andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Renegotiation may start next week: PrasadRenegotiation of gas supply agreements with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) would be in line with the Supreme Court verdict and could start next week, said Mr P.M.S.Prasad, Executive Director, Reliance Industries LtdSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Grey areas in taxing derivativesThe income-tax law is not very clear on the tax treatment of derivatives except that clause (d) of sub-section (5) to Section 43 says transactions in the derivatives segment in the recognised stock exchanges in India will not be treated asSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am India most resilient among BRIC nationsAmong the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), Indian markets was the best performer in May so far. While, the BSE Sensex and the NSE's Nifty moved down by 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, Russia was the worst performer as theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am RNRL vs RIL Government, the real victorThe real victor in the RNRL vs RIL case is not Reliance Industries or Mr Mukesh Ambani. It is the Government. The May 7 Supreme Court judgment underlines the extraordinary powers of the Government as the trustee of the country's naturalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Reliance Industries wins apex court verdict in gas rowNatural gas belongs to the Government of India and is not subject to private interests, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday in a crucial verdict in the case between the two Ambani brothers — Mukesh and Anil — on gas supply andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am BSNL lowers bar for Defence cable projectBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has diluted the eligibility conditions for supplying optical fibre cables for the Rs 10,000-crore Defence networkSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Nuclear liability Bill introducedAmid protests and walkout by the Opposition parties, including the Left and the NDA, the controversial Bill, prescribing the liability of an operator in a nuclear accident and relief to the victims in such mishaps, was introduced in the Lok SabhaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Reliance Natural leads market downThe Supreme Court verdict on the gas sharing dispute between RIL and RNRL saw the former's stock surge more than three per cent on the exchanges on Friday, arresting its 11-per cent slide over the last month. The stock gained Rs 32.15 on the NSESource: Business Line - Home Page | 8 May 2010 | 12:00 am Containment dome suspended just above US Gulf leakROBERT, La. (Reuters) - BP Plc engineers using undersea robots had a massive metal chamber hovering just above a gushing, ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday in a mission seen as the best chance yet to contain what could be the most damaging U.S. oil spill.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 11:11 pm Moody's says got Wells Notice from SECNEW YORK (Reuters) - Moody's Corp disclosed on Friday that its credit rating unit could face enforcement action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading regulators in a 2007 application to remain a nationally recognized rating agency.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 10:54 pm New regulations likely as U.S. probes big stock diveNEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday that regulators would look for ways to prevent a repeat of Thursday's mysterious stock market meltdown, adding to expectations the U.S. government will make new regulations to curb runaway computer trading.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 8:40 pm Euro zone agrees emergency steps to contain crisisBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone leaders agreed on Friday that they would have special measures ready before financial markets open on Monday to prevent financial turmoil in Greece spreading to other countries such as Spain and Portugal.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 5:50 pm Stock shock roils U.S. Congress amid Wall Street debateWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shock waves from the stock market plunge rippled through Washington on Friday, prompting lawmakers to call for an amendment to a Wall Street reform bill that could lead to safeguards against technology glitches.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 5:05 pm 3G bid for Mumbai and Delhi crosses Rs 2k cr - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 4:35 pm Buffett's Berkshire has highest profit since 2007NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday reported its largest quarterly profit in two and a half years, helped by an improving economy, investment and derivative gains, and the takeover of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 4:16 pm Court verdict disappoints supporters of free gas pricingThe Reliance gas dispute has ended by strengthening government control on the way natural gas is sold in IndiaSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 4:05 pm Ansal Properties plans fundraising via QIP, pref allotmentAnsal Properties and Infrastructure on Friday said its board approved raising up to Rs 1,000 crore via share sale to institutions and preferential allotment to raise about Rs 71 crore.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 3:32 pm RILRNRL: How do legal, sector experts read the verdict?In an interview with CNBCTV18, Hitesh Jain, Partner, ALMT Legal; Pradip Baijal, Former Disinvestment Secretary, Former Power Secretary; RS Pandey, Former Petroleum Secretary gave their perspective on the Supreme Court\'s judgement.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 3:25 pm Gas row: This round goes to Mukesh AmbaniA toxic, no-holds-barred battle between two estranged brothers that sucked in the Indian government ended on Friday with the Supreme Court ruling in favour of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 3:22 pm Ambani row: Lawyer Harish Salve applies salveAs RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani stayed conspicuously silent through the day, Harish Salve, senior lawyer and RIL counsel, fielded questions and took pains to express hope that the verdict would help better the bitter relations between the brothers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 3:16 pm Sensex sees worst week since OctoberAt the end of trade on Friday, the Sensex was down 789.60 points, the worst weekly fall since October 30. It closed at 16769.11 points (down 4.5%), while the Nifty lost 259.95 points to close the week at 5018.05.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 3:15 pm Goldman annual meeting brings few fraud queriesNEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc held its longest-ever annual investor meeting on Friday, but Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein faced few questions about civil fraud charges against the company.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 3:08 pm Vodafone, others to launch Italy fibre optic gridTelecoms groups Vodafone Group Plc, Fastweb and Wind agreed to build a 2.5 billion euro (USD 3.4 billion) fibre optic network in Italy, they said on Friday, taking the lead away from former monopoly Telecom Italia.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 3:02 pm Nokia broadens legal battle vs Apple, includes iPadNokia, the world\'s top handset maker, broadened its patent battle against Apple on Friday to include the iPad, deepening the legal battle between the two smartphone rivals.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 3:02 pm No trail commission if distributor changed: AmfiThe national distributors will now have no incentives to fleece lay investors for the lure of trail commissions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:49 pm Spencer's goes Hyper with 10 storesThe RPG Group's arm that had shut down over 100 supermarket stores last year in order to consolidate the retail business, is focusing on growing its hypermarket format Spencer's Hyper, senior company official said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:47 pm Sintex Industries to ride on textile recoveryThe company is hoping to up margins from 19% at the end of last fiscal to 25% this year.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:44 pm Satyam revenues hit $1.3 billionAlmost a year ago, Tech Mahindra took over the once-fourth-largest IT major following the government's intervention to protect the interests of the shareholders and employees of the company.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:42 pm Vedanta's capex overshoots $500mCosts for two of its projects - the 500 ktpa smelter at Jharsuguda in Orissa and a copper smelter in Zambia - have shot up by $200 million and $303 million, respectively.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:40 pm Bombay HC committed 'serious error'B Sudershan Reddy, the 'dissenting' judge in the RIL vs RNRL case, came down heavily on the Bombay High Court for the decision it gave on June 15, 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:29 pm Negotiations not easy, mother trump cardWhile the two Ambani brothers may both have welcomed the suggestion to 're-negotiate' a new supply agreement, it won't be easy going at all.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:27 pm Supreme Court makes a scathing attack on energy policyB Sudershan Reddy, the judge who gave a second verdict, has made a scathing attack on the government's energy policy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 2:25 pm Cipla, Pfizer in talks for supply & production pact - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 2:04 pm AB Nuvo posts Rs 180-cr net on fin services growth - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 1:53 pm Dr Reddy's net at Rs 166.7 cr - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 1:26 pm RIL saves market from global heatOn Friday, local factors, to some extent, overshadowed global cues on Dalal Street as index heavyweight Reliance Industries rallied to cushion the market's fall, while most others ended in the red.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:18 pm It's a win-win for Mukesh & govtWhile the Supreme Court judgment brings fortunes for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), in case of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) it's just the opposite.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:15 pm Will Dadri plant get any gas at all?RNRL, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company, may not get any gas supply from RIL's K-G basin after the Supreme Court's verdict on dispute between Ambani brothers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:13 pm Spot Light | Lost in the JungleReviewer:Emmanuel Upputuru  Get creative: Upputuru. Campaign The new campaign for Sprite shows the characters walking through a jungle when they are accosted by tribals. As usual, the Seedhi baat works, with the hero offering the tribal chief some Sprite. Needless to say, Sprite saves the day. What did you think of the ads?  Off the mark: But the big fellow’s dancing is memorable. I feel there was no need to go the jungle (way). There are so many interesting things happening in today’s life. So why borrow from a clichéd location and storyline? And that too for a brand like Sprite. Having said all that, what I remember of the film is the main cast: the big fellow’s dancing. Do you think this campaign matches up to the previous ‘Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas’ campaigns? Sprite has built its brand on the 1990s campaign Sprite Bhujaye Pyaas, Baki All Bakwaas done by Shiven Surendranath and his team. People still remember them. And I feel nothing, including some done by this reviewer (three spots with and on Sania Mirza and the questions people keep asking her and a spoof on the Pepsi TV campaign), lives up to those original ones. What are the biggest challenges while working on a brand like Sprite? The challenge is obviously the great advertising done in the past. Having chosen this strategy it boils down to basically how seriously you take the nonsensical approach. And how well you walk the thin line between selling a soft drink and selling a philosophy. And when you have international benchmarks, it becomes either easy or tough. For example, the television commercials done in Latin America are simply brilliant and award-winning. Who do you think has done the job perfectly in this category? I see there are two categories: One is the product category and here you compete with soft drinks. I quite like the new Limca film. I like the LMN spots selling on thirst. And the other category would be the kind of message you are selling: no-nonsense. John Smith’s Beer is a brand which uses a similar kind of humour, but does it beautifully. The characters are pretty straightforward (seedhi baat?) and the humour is quite understated. As told to Gouri Shah. gouri.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 1:12 pm Analysts upgrade RIL, ADAG cos face bruntThe Supreme Court verdict in favour of Reliance Industries has prompted most oil and gas sector analysts to upgrade the target price for RIL.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:10 pm Split verdict? Dissent judgment even more harsh on Anil groupDid someone say it was a 2:1 split verdict from the Supreme Court in the Reliance case?Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:10 pm 'Ruling won't impact NTPC-RIL case'The power ministry does not see the Supreme Court judgment on the Ambani gas dispute having any bearing on state-run generation utility NTPC's case against Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:09 pm The Week in Review for 07 May 2010On Friday the Supreme Court announced its ruling in the dispute between Mukhesh Ambani’s RIL and Anil Ambani’s RNRL. It ruled that the two sides have to renegotiate their deal over gas supplies. The ruling also effectively gives the government control over the pricing of gas. The judgment is bad news for RNRL, which wanted RIL to honour a private agreement to sell it 28 million standard cubic metres of gas for 17 years. That’s was at a low price of $2.34 per unit. But Friday’s judgment upholds the government’s higher price of $4.20 per unit. The Budget Session of Parliament came to an end on Friday. The government played it safe by not introducing the Women’s Reservation Bill during the week. But it did introduce two other controversial bills. On Monday it brought in one which allows foreign universities to set up shop in India. And on Friday it introduced the nuclear civil liability bill. Also, after mounting opposition pressure, the government said it would consider recording people’s castes as part of the census. Standard Chartered is looking for anchor investors for its Indian Depository Receipts or IDRs. Financial firms handling the bank’s IDR issue have started talking to 50 potentials including mutual fund houses, domestic banks and FIIs. Chartered expects to raise up to $750 million from its IDRs. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 1:09 pm Ideally, PSUs should handle gas exploration business: SCThe Supreme Court does not appear to wholly share the popular corporate sentiment that `the government has no business to be in business'.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:08 pm No plan to seek review: AnilThe Anil Ambani group on Friday said it will not seek a review of the Supreme Court judgment that rejected its contention for gas supplies at a price lower than decided by the government.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 7 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Foreign investors may rethinkForeign energy majors waiting to enter India may have to redraw their plans in light of the Supreme Court judgment on Thursday that gives the government sole ownership rights of gas fields.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 1:00 pm Sensex falls on worries Greek contagion could spread furtherMumbai: Fears of another global credit crunch triggered by the unspooling Greek crisis rattled the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday. Its benchmark index, Sensex, slumped to a two-month low on Friday after losing 218.42 points, or 1.3%, to close at 16,769.11 points. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange lost 1.4% to end the day at 5,018.05 points. The fall echoed, albeit in a lower key, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which on Thursday dove almost 1,000 points in its biggest intraday fall since 1987, briefly dipping below the 10,000-point mark. It recovered later to close with a 3.46% loss for the day at 10,520 points. Early on Friday, the US Department of Labor said 290,000 payroll jobs were added in April, the fastest growth in four years. Though the Thursday downslide was later attributed in part to a technical glitch, market experts say it is testimony to a lack of confidence among investors, who are becoming increasingly averse to risky assets such as equities as Greece and other weak European Union economies stumble under the weight of their debt. Motilal Oswal, chairman and managing director, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said Indian equities cannot stay insulated when the overall global environment is shaky but maintained that they were sound. “Our markets are doing very well on all fundamentals like corporate earnings, inflation and overall macro environment. Even if things get worse, I don’t see a downside in excess of 5-7%,” he said. The Sensex has already declined 4.5% this week, its worst weekly performance in at least six months. On Friday, conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, which carries a 13.22% weight on the 30-stock Sensex, rose 2.27% to Rs1,033.85, the most in four weeks, after the Supreme Court ruled in its favour in a three-year dispute over the marketing and pricing of natural gas. Gaurav Dua, head of research, Sharekhan Ltd, a Mumbai-based brokerage, said if the risk aversion continues, the Nifty could fall to its October 2009 lows. “Between October and now, the Nifty has traded in a tight range of 4,550 to 5,400 (points). After the fall, we have now come to the mid-point of the range. I expect a global contagion causing further downside leading to those (October) lows,” he said. Dua, however, was confident the 4,550-level on the Nifty index would not be breached, “unless things get really bad”. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have turned negative in the first week of May, selling shares worth at least Rs3,800 crore net of purchases through Thursday. On Friday, they net sold shares worth Rs1,308 crore, according to provisional figures from NSE. FIIs were big buyers of Indian shares, picking up Rs19,928 crore in March and Rs9,361 crore in April. Domestic institutions, on the other hand, have been big buyers, netting Rs654 crore, according to provisional figures available on Friday. Navneet Munot, chief investment officer, SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd, which manages at least Rs37,000 crore in assets, said the future course will largely depend on daily developments. “India should show more resilience given that the genesis of this crisis is in the developed world and domestic institutions will come in to support at lower levels,” he said, adding that even foreign institutions who missed out on the earlier rallies will come when there is a correction. Hours before the Dow tumbled on Thursday, global ratings agency Moody’s warned that potential contagion of the Greek debt crisis could hit banking systems in some European nations, including the UK, Portugal and Spain. The statement came a day after the agency placed ratings for Portugal’s government bond under review for a possible downgrade due to weak public finances. As for another global financial crisis of the nature that followed the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Dua of Sharekhan said the possibility exists. “But I won’t bet on that,” he added. “I think the world has learnt its lessons from the Lehman collapse and they wouldn’t allow Greece to go down.” n.subramanian@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:44 pm Aegis puts on hold India listing; plans to buy 3 firms insteadAegis Limited, the business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of the Essar Group, has put on hold its plans to list on the Indian bourses. Instead, the company is planning to acquire at least three companies two overseas and one in India.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 12:43 pm RIL flares, but R-Adag singedThe Supreme Court verdict had a more material impact on the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-Adag) power companies than on the victorious Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).  RIL gets a booster shot RIL’s victory will allow it to sell gas at the government approved rate of $4.2 (Rs191.52) per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) instead of $2.34 per mmBtu. That will add to the overall earnings from its natural gas output. The judgement removes one key overhang for the stock, which has underperformed the market ever since the Bombay high court judgement last June.  Graphic: Paras Jain/Mint The difference can be explained because of two major factors. Last year, analysts were assuming that gas supply to R-Adag’s Dadri plant would commence from FY12. It’s now assumed that the plant won’t begin operations before FY15 and hence the extent of impact would be relatively lower if the gas were sold at a lower price. Besides, last year it was not clear whether RIL would get a marketing margin on the gas it sold. But now it is clear that it would get a marketing margin, and this has increased the value of the gas block and simultaneously reduced the extent of the impact on the company if the gas were to be supplied at lower prices. With this uncertainty out of the way, there is better earnings visibility for RIL. Now, the focus will shift to an improvement in its refining business outlook. Power firms of R-Adag RNRL was a special purpose vehicle for the gas supply arrangement between its affiliates and RIL. “Uncertainty in respect of the Gas Supply Agreement(s) with RIL may severely impact the Company’s entire operations and assets, and even leave the company with no business at all, which may seriously jeopardize, if not completely destroy, the interests of over 20 lakh Reliance shareholders, who have become shareholders of our company.” This risk factor, mentioned in the information memorandum document, is very real now. RNRL’s future is now dependent on the renegotiations between the two groups. One of the key projects taken up by Reliance Power was the gas-based Dadri power project. Its power cost was very competitive since it was based on a gas price of $2.34 per mmBtu (excluding transportation and marketing margins). According to a report by a domestic brokerage, Reliance Power’s landed cost of fuel would go up to about $6.5 per mmBtu, assuming the base price of $4.2 per mmBtu. What impact that has on this project remains to be seen. According to analysts, compared with projects such as Sasan, the Dadri project offered higher returns and played a more crucial role in valuations. That may be the reason for the sharp fall in Reliance Power’s share price, despite Dadri being just one of the several projects in its approximately 30,000MW power project portfolio. On the positive side, its other projects are in various stages of completion and it has adequate cash, about Rs9,400 crore. Reliance Infra has been hit because it owns a 45% stake in Reliance Power. But the firm also has its own power and infrastructure business, which are unaffected by this development. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:42 pm Markets test lowest levels in more than two monthsA sharp fall in the overnight US markets and fresh concerns related to the European credit crisis played havoc on Friday, as both the Indian benchmark indices fell to their lowest levels in more than two months. The Indian indices lost nearly 5 per cent in the last five trading sessions, making the week one of the worst in more than six months.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 12:41 pm Quick Edit | Try some Indian, EnglishThe elections in the UK are complete. The Tories have an inconclusive majority, Labour is smarting and the Liberal Democrats flattered to deceive. While Gordon Brown has expressed disappointment, he hasn’t quite ruled out a last ditch attempt at coalition. Adding to the uncertainty was the news that high turnout and mismanagement led to long queues of voters left without paper ballots, by the 10pm closing time. At least one BBC news anchor was heard comparing the chaos to Third World elections. May we recommend electronic voting machines? In the 2009 general election in India, over 400 million voters cast votes in 800,000 booths, all officially open to voters for 10 hours. UK booths were open for 15 hours and dealt with around 30 million voters. But that advice can wait till the next elections. For now, Indian expertise can be counted on for a more immediate concern: a hung parliament. The English may have helped invent democracy. But the modern masters may be found in New Delhi. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:40 pm UPA blinks, may include caste count in CensusNew Delhi: The government may reconsider its decision and include caste as a parameter in the ongoing Census to ensure a fresh count for the various groups, including the key electoral constituency of the other backward classes (OBCs).  Practical difficulties: Union home minister P. Chidambaram says it will be difficult for the enumerators to classify and verify answers on caste. Shahbaz Khan/PTI While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hedged the government’s options in his statement in Parliament, a senior government official who did not want to be identified said, “The caste census would be included in population census 2011. Tabulation of data will take two years and then another three years to verify claims.” Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj signalled the government’s change of mind. In his reply to a debate on the issue, home minister P. Chidambaram listed the “practical difficulties in counting caste while conducting the census”, which has already begun. Chidambaram said it would be difficult for the enumerators, who are meant to collect observational data, to “classify” and “verify” answers on caste. With members expressing dissatisfaction over the home minister’s statement, Singh intervened and said the cabinet would take a decision on the matter shortly. The census, first conducted in 1881, collected caste-wise data until 1931. While the census continues to count scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, OBCs have not been enumerated for 80 years. Parties with strong OBC constituencies argue that this led to undercounting and consequently affects their entitlement. Their opposition, as Mint reported on 5 May, could hurt the prospects of the Congress in elections to key states such as Bihar this year and Uttar Pradesh in 2012. Separately, the UPA government played it safe by not taking up the controversial Women’s Reservation Bill but introduced the nuclear civil liability Bill, which Singh is believed to be keen on. Science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan introduced the Bill, which invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties. The opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Biju Janata Dal and the Left parties tried to prevent the introduction of the Bill—essential for the operationalization of the Indo-US nuclear deal—saying it violated Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees right to life. “It compromises the right of the citizen to go to court claiming compensation because the payment is capped in the proposed legislation,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Basudeb Acharia said, raising objections to the Bill. The proposed legislation caps the maximum liability at Rs500 crore on the part of the operator in the case of a nuclear accident and the overall liability at Rs2,200 crore (or 330 million Special Drawing Rights). However, the legislation “empowers the Central government to increase or decrease the amount of liability of the operator depending on the extent of risk involved”. Bharatiya Janata Party member Yashwant Sinha accused the government of succumbing to “US pressure” even as other MPs shouted “India is sold out” and “shame, shame”. However, the Congress-led coalition government did not take up the Women’s Reservation Bill despite indications that party chief Sonia Gandhi was keen on it. Passed by the Rajya Sabha amid vehement protests on 8 March, the government had antagonized many friendly parties including the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the RJD, all of which had extended support to the UPA government from outside. liz.m@livemint.com Santosh K. Joy contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:38 pm Kohlberg Kravis to invest Rs 750 cr in Dalmia Cement - Hindu Business Line
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 12:36 pm Getting foreign visitors may be a challengeNew Delhi: Le Passage to India Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd, a travel company in a 50:50 joint venture with TUI AG of Germany, has won the bid for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) travel office. Arjun Sharma, managing director of Le Passage and chairperson of the Indian Initiative of the World Travel and Tourism Council, explains the role of the CWG travel desk and talks about trends in tourism. Edited excerpts: What does being the travel office of the CWG entail?  Centre stage: Arjun Sharma at Select Citywalk in Delhi. The mall is part of the family’s other businesses that also include hotels in Manesar and Goa; by his own admission, Sharma has a passion for all three and tends to do slightly more than his fair share of work. Pradeep Gaur/Mint Are there any estimates on the number of people expected? The final list of participants from various federations will only come by early September. Then the rush will start. Officials and athletes would make up about 12,000 to 14,000 people. The government estimates 100,000 tourists will arrive—a mix of domestic and international visitors. What is your expectation? Getting foreign visitors may be a challenge. Even the Beijing Olympics only had 50- 55% occupancy. Sports is now in your bedrooms on high-definition TV. Only those really interested in the Games will come. However, we feel there may be a lot of Indian and domestic visitors. Will the action be confined to Delhi? No, our endeavour is to take people who come to Delhi to other parts of the country such as Rajasthan, the North-East, Ladakh and Kerala. Has the tourism sector recovered? (Last year) was the most challenging year for most businesses. However, tourism saw a revival at the fag end of November-December. The first quarter of 2010 was good and the country’s arrivals grew by around 7% to 8%. But the summer months look challenging. Clouds of recession seem to be looming again in Europe. India’s predominant share of tourists comes from Europe. The euro has weakened and lost close to 13% in the last five to six months. It takes away the purchasing power of the customer there. It is not clear how the economies of countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy will do going forward. Has terrorism affected tourism? When there is a targeted incident like the one in Mumbai, it affects tourism big time. The effect takes six to 12 months to wear out. But otherwise the customer is getting more resilient to these situations. What is the actual number of foreign tourists in India—one million or the five million that’s flaunted and actually includes the non-resident Indians (NRIs) who come visiting? There is nothing wrong in including the NRI. Ultimately, he is spending his dollars and adding to the economy of the country. India is no different from other nations who define a tourist as someone spending more than 24 hours at a location more than 200 miles away. So the tourist numbers in China are equally inflated. We are happy with the five million figure per se. But of this number, only 18% to 20% would be genuine tourists. A country of our nature has to stop worrying about the numbers really. We have to start looking at the contribution that a tourist—domestic or international—makes to the economy. How much do they spend per head? It’s a tricky question. The contribution of tourism to the Indian economy is nearly 6.2% of the GDP (gross domestic product), which is a very high number. Tourism globally is probably the biggest industry in the world. Our share of world tourism is less than 1%. So, I guess we have a lot to catch up with. In terms of foreign exchange earning, the industry earns around $12 billion (Rs54,720 crore). The contribution of domestic tourism to the economy will be much higher. We cannot discount those numbers today. What about yield per person? Yields are attractive. India is one country where the average stay of a foreign tourist is 16 to 17 days. The spend per tourist is high compared to other countries—though I don’t have the numbers off-hand. But Le Passage is in inbound tourism No, we now have an outbound business which contributes 20% to the turnover. Today, India’s outbound is around 13 to 14 million. By 2025, we expect it to be 50 million. What is your favourite travel destination in India and abroad? Goa, for us, remains supreme. We have a small home there. I am a big city person, so I like London and New York. But there is little charm in an international city. For me, the best holiday is a weekend at home with my daughter, who is 16 months old. You also have a presence in retail and hospitality. Which business interests you most? Travel is in the DNA so I enjoy that the most. But there are other family businesses—our mall Select Citywalk in Delhi, and two hotels, Heritage Village Manesar and Heritage Village Goa, which are run by CEOs (chief executive officers). But I have a passion for all three and tend to do slightly more than my fair share of work. Will you expand the retail business? Select Citywalk, which completes three years this October, is giving good returns on investment. The project cost was in excess of Rs500 crore. Of course, getting all the money back will take time. For retail, Mumbai is hot on our horizon. We could also look at the National Capital Region for another mall. But nothing immediately. Early next year, we will start building a hotel in Jaipur. You are also an avid art collector. I have never viewed art from an investment perspective. For me, it’s the pure joy of looking at it. I pick random as well as established artists but I don’t like viewing art through a cocktail reception. I saw a very nice show of Paresh Maity at Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi. But what I bought were not his works but the 15 photographs of Maity at work. It has Maity on the ghat of Banaras, at the Qutab Minar and at the Madurai temple. The thing I am trying to do is to bring art in the public domain through Select Citywalk. Too much art lies in the private domain—in people’s farm houses, bedrooms and drawings rooms. The fabulous shows at the Lalit Kala Academy and the India Habitat Centre attract only the diehard art fans. They don’t attract mainstream India. When you take art to a public building you open it to a whole new set of viewers. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:35 pm SC has protected the interest of RNRL stakeholders: AnilThe Chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Anil Ambani, today said he was looking forward to an expeditious and successful renegotiation with RIL within six weeks to secure gas for the groups power plant.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 12:35 pm Supreme Court says no to cheaper gas for RNRLAsks brothers to renegotiate the agreement within six weeks.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 12:33 pm Of public fights and private agreementsAnil is like my son,” Mukesh Ambani had told a television channel about his younger brother Anil Ambani shortly after the death of their father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 2002. That filial feeling lasted for a little over two years. In late 2004, Mukesh admitted to a television reporter that there were “ownership issues”, the first indication that all wasn’t well between the two. Since then, India has witnessed a corporate battle of the kind it probably will never see again, as two brothers, with considerable money, and more-than-considerable media and political influence, took each other on.  Seen in the narrow context of the case the two were fighting, this means that Anil’s Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) doesn’t get gas at the price at which it wanted from Mukesh’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), a blow to the former’s aspirations for his power generation business. Whether RNRL gets any gas at all from RIL will have to be seen. In a broader context, it could mean that because the agreement isn’t valid, either brother is free to enter businesses in which the other has interests—the agreement, which has never been made public, was reported to have a strong non-compete clause. It remains to be seen whether SC’s dismissal of the agreement between the brothers is absolute or relative, in the rock-scissors-paper sort of way—as in, where the agreement and a government contract are concerned, the latter wins, but if it is about the agreement and something else, than the agreement wins. The court’s decision comes at a time when the groups headed by the brothers are in very different positions, in terms of the portfolio of businesses they run. RIL is generating a lot of cash; Anil’s R-Adag (Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) isn’t, and its flagship Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) will probably need a lot of money to fulfil its aspirations in the data-rich 3G (third-generation telecom services) space. Yet, this writer is loath to club Anil along with other notable businessmen who have taken on a unified Reliance in the past, only to fail. The man, after all, has been in this position before, most recently in 2005, when the brothers divided the businesses of the unified Reliance empire between themselves. At the time, it looked like Mukesh would end up with most major businesses. But when the settlement was done, it was Anil who ended up with RCom, a business that Mukesh had nurtured. Interestingly, that company’s marriage with South Africa’s still-single MTN was called off on account of the latter’s concerns about the rights of RIL over the telecom business, rights that had presumably been articulated in the same agreement that SC has dismissed. This writer has a feeling we haven’t heard the last of that agreement. Maybe it should be made public. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:28 pm Verdict’s shadow over NTPC-RIL spatNew Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) ruling, especially its references to the government’s prerogative in the pricing of gas, could well impact the outcome of the ongoing dispute between NTPC Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in the Bombay high court. The utility’s executives as well as the government’s leading law officer maintained the case in the high court was different from the one RIL and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) fought in the apex court, as it pertained to the sanctity of a commercial contract signed between the two firms and also because NTPC is owned by the government. The lawsuit between NTPC and RIL in the high court dates back to December 2005, with the point of contention being the existence and terms of a valid contract between the two. NTPC claims there is one in which RIL promised to supply 12 million standard cu. m a day (mscmd) of gas for the expansion of the state-owned power generator’s Kawas and Gandhar power plants, both in Gujarat, for 17 years at a price of $2.34 (Rs106.70) per million British thermal unit (mmBtu). RIL claims otherwise. SC, in its judgement in the RIL-RNRL case, stated that “the government owns the gas till it reaches its ultimate consumer”, and “the parties must restrict their negotiations within the conditions of the government policy, as reflected by the “gas utilization policy and eGoM (empowered group of ministers) decisions”. RIL had amended its petition in the Bombay high court and added the decision of the eGoM to support its case on pricing. An eGoM constituted on gas had fixed on 12 September 2007 the price of the fuel from RIL’s D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin at $4.2 per mmBtu. This was endorsed by the SC ruling on Friday. NTPC executives disagree. “We’ve always been maintaining our case has to do with the interpretation of the contract. Government is the owner of the gas and since we are owned by the government, they can go for dual pricing in NTPC’s case,” said a senior executive, who did not want to be identified. Arguing similarly, Gopal Subramanium, solicitor general of India, said “both the cases are on a different footing”. While Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told Mint that “it has been decided by the eGoM to take decision on NTPC’s case after the judgment of the Bombay high court”, another NTPC executive, who also did not want to be identified, admitted that its case was “complicated” and hence open to interpretation. “There is status quo with reference to our case. The gas is the government’s property and eGoM has the power to approve. The Supreme Court judgment has maintained the government’s authority and the government can approve the price quoted to NTPC. The ball is in the government’s court. We’ll speak to the solicitor general regarding our case,” the second NTPC executive said. Manish Ranjan contributed to this story. utpal.b@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:27 pm BCCI builds up case against Modi over rebel leagueNew Delhi: Even as Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), dismissed the second show-cause notice issued to him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as “fiction” on the Times Now TV channel, the game’s administrator in the country is building up its case against him. The second show-cause notice accuses Modi of trying to split the cricket world by starting a rebel league. The first show-cause notice is over allegations of wrongdoing in conducting of IPL. The emailed minutes of a meeting supposed to have been held by Modi on 31 March in New Delhi shows that Modi may have discussed a plan to start a parallel 20-over cricket league in the UK that mirrors the IPL format. The email was shown to Mint by a BCCI official, who didn’t want to be identified, after Modi dismissed the show-cause notice issued to him on the TV channel. The email, marked highly confidential, was purportedly sent by Stewart Regan, chief executive of Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC), and gives details of a meeting held by Modi and senior officials of various county cricket clubs in the UK. “BCCI has proof that Modi is in advanced stages of planning and discussion with the three county clubs to create a rebel league,” said the BCCI official. In the second show-cause notice, Modi has been accused of negotiating a parallel league in the UK without the knowledge and consent of the respective governing bodies, including BCCI. Giles Clarke, president of the English Cricket Board (ECB), brought the matter to the Indian board’s notice by copying the contents of Regan’s email to BCCI president Shashank Manohar. Modi could not be reached for comments. However, PTI reported on Friday that Yorkshire, one of the three county clubs allegedly in talks with Modi, denied the allegations, insisting that there was “nothing underhand” about the meeting. YCCC chairman Colin Graves dismissed the allegations and said the meeting was merely about discussing an idea and ECB had been informed. The email includes detailed information on meetings, attendees, the vision of the proposed league, the deal structure, revenue models and compensation plans. The discussion also suggests that if the governing bodies try and block the development of the league, “the franchises could, if they wished, simply buy out the players and create their own cricket structure”. priyanka.m@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:27 pm Ambani vs Ambani | Oh brother!New Delhi/Mumbai: On Friday, after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in its case with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL), the latter’s chairman Anil Ambani smiled and shook hands warmly (it was almost a hug) with RIL’s lawyer Harish Salve. Anil Ambani’s mood, and his statement later in the day claiming a legal victory for RNRL, can be attributed to that part of the court’s judgement which says that the two companies renegotiate their agreement over the supply of gas within the following 14 weeks, although it maintains the base price for this transaction at the government-mandated one.  Graphic: Paras Jain / Mint In a late evening release, Standard & Poor’s said its credit rating of RIL would remain unaffected, but added that it sees the ruling as “positive for RIL” because it “removes the uncertainty associated with the cash flows from RIL’s gas business”. Also See Keeping Track (Graphic) Harmony to Discord (Graphic) “This is a total vindication of what RIL has been saying all along,” said P.M.S. Prasad, RIL’s executive director, referring to the judgement. The loss significantly hurts Anil Ambani’s plans for his power generation business. “This is certainly a positive for RIL, negative for RNRL and for R-Power (Reliance Power Ltd) because it was depending on gas for its Dadri plant and it could have had the first right of refusal on 40% of all future discoveries by RIL,” said Deepak Pareek, sector analyst at Angel Broking Ltd. The markets seemed to echo these sentiments. Shares of RIL rose Rs22.95, or 2.27%, to Rs1,033.85 each on the Bombay Stock Exchange at the close on Friday. Those of RNRL fell Rs15.60, or 22.82%, to Rs52.75 each. The Sensex fell 1.29% to 16,769.11 points. And, looking at what RNRL wanted when it approached the Supreme Court, the judgement was indeed a loss for it.  What next? Anil Ambani comes out of the Supreme Court after the verdict was announced. RNRL says it has no plans to file a review petition. Raj K Raj / Hindustan Times An earlier Bombay high court ruling had recognized the agreement between the two brothers and asked RIL to supply gas to RNRL. But that was before the government entered the fray. In the apex court, the government argued that it owned all natural resources in the country, and that firms such as RIL, which operated blocks, were merely contractors who enjoyed certain rights under a production sharing contract. Pricing was not one of those rights and was a government prerogative. The court, as evident from its ruling, seems to have agreed. The impact of this on other contracts for oil and gas exploration—RIL’s gas find was in a block auctioned under the first round of India’s New Exploration Licensing Policy in 1999; the country has just finished the eighth round of these auctions—wasn’t immediately clear. Nor was its impact on the production of other natural resources. With regard to the agreement between the brothers on the division of assets, while the memorandum of understanding (MoU) “may be kept in mind during the process of renegotiation, it is clearly held that the MoU is not binding,” RIL said in a statement issued late on Friday. RNRL currently has no plans to file a review petition in the Supreme Court, Anil Ambani said in a release. “RNRL looks forward to an expeditious and successful renegotiations with RIL.” The judgement is also likely to have a significant impact on RNRL. “RNRL was existing (on the basis) of the agreement (between the Ambanis). Now, I don’t know what it will do unless R-Adag (Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) finds another role for it. It was always a bit of a black box,” said an analyst at a Mumbai-based foreign brokerage, who did not want to be identified. Even if RIL and RNRL manage to negotiate a deal at $4.2 per mmBtu of gas, the latter will only make a margin of $0.14 per mmBtu, said Angel’s Pareek. “This should mean a share price of around Rs32.” The downstream impact on his power generation business (on Reliance Power, for instance) could explain the intensity with which Anil Ambani fought his battle with RIL—in court and outside it. Last year, he took on Murli Deora, the powerful minister for petroleum, effectively accusing him of bias through a series of front-page advertisements in mainstream newspapers, including Mint. The government’s intervention would appear to have swung things RIL’s way, and Anil Ambani will have to look to negotiate a new gas supply deal with RIL, although it is clear that the base price for this will be $4.2 per mmBtu. He will also have to raise money for power plants Reliance Power is building at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand, which were won by the company under the so-called ultra mega power plant programme. And if Reliance Power is still keen on building the Dadri plant in Uttar Pradesh, it will have to line up an alternative supply of gas (even if this is through a new deal with RIL). In doing these, and in growing his other businesses in finance, entertainment, media and telecommunications, the big problem Ambani will face will be financing, say analysts. In 2009-10, companies that are part of R-Adag generated Rs5,449.54 crore of cash. In the same year, RIL alone generated Rs18,245.86 of cash. The men who made the difference  • Memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Ambani brothers is legally and technically not binding, and government gas utilization policy overrules family MoU • Renegotiate gas supply master agreement (GSMA)  • Though MoU is not binding, the parties should consider it while negotiating GSMA • Production sharing contract is supreme  • Bring a comprehensive policy on energy security • Stated that the Bombay high court judgement in favour of Anil Ambani was incorrect The Road Ahead Review: RNRL currently has no plans to file a review petition in the Supreme Court. Anil Ambani’s future: The economics of the group’s 8,000MW gas-based power projects will become more challenging. Government’s right to price scarce resources: The judgement is clear—the government has the authority to price scarce resources. Validity of MoU: The court termed the secret 2005 memorandum of understanding between the Ambani brothers, when the two parted ways, not legally binding. Graphics by Ahmed Raza Khan / Mint manish.r@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:25 pm Pet inspectors may check on animalsNew Delhi: Do you have a pet? You could soon have a pet inspector knocking at your door checking on its well-being, according to the terms of the draft Pet Shop Rules, 2010. The rules, published by the environment ministry on Friday and have a 30-day objection period, also stipulate that every pet shop owner and pet buyer will need to get a licence from the concerned municipal authorities that needs to be renewed annually. “I am really glad that these rules are being brought in. There is an entire uncovered section in the Indian trade, which has grown by hundreds of crores in the last 10 years. It has remained unregulated and (the country) is now a major smuggling centre,” said Maneka Gandhi, a lawmaker belonging to the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and a well-known animal rights activist. The rules, mainly meant for pet shops, also mandate infrastructure, housing and handling rules. The norms are meant to regulate operational standards for pet stores regarding sanitation, ventilation, heating, cooling, humidity, special and enclosure requirements, nutrition and medical treatment, besides providing grounds for action against those who break the rules. Gandhi said the number of pet shops have increased over the past six years, putting them at more than 100,000 in just the metros. Ambika Shukla, director, People for Animals, an animal protection non-governmental organization, said “These rules have been in the pipeline for a very long time. Pet shops are mushrooming everywhere and there are no rules on who can sell, with what expertise. Animals are not products.” The pet business is thriving, say shop owners. “Most families nowadays are single-child ones, so they want a companion for their kids. Every lane in Delhi today will have a household dog breeder. There are more than 100-150 breeders in east Delhi itself,” said Karan Gupta, owner of Pet Club India, a networking platform for pet shops, breeders, buyers and veterinarians. Even though there are certain regulations governing pet shops, they are hardly followed, said a store owner who did not want to be identified. Many shops start by selling pet products, which have wide profit margins, and then start selling pups. Besides the pet shop rules, the ministry has also circulated draft Dog Breeding and Sales Rules for discussion. These stipulate the licensing and management of professional breeders. Gandhi said the two need to be notified together as they are closely linked. padmaparna.g@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 12:12 pm Negotiations to start next weekSometime next week, warring brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani will sit across the table for renegotiations on the gas agreement as ordered by the Supreme Court, an official close to Mukesh told Hindustan Times.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 12:09 pm Film Review | Curry killer and con manIt’s a Wonderful Afterlife Grey-painted spirits, peeling dead skin, rotting intestines and kidneys dangling out of the stomach—there are enough macabre stunts in Gurinder Chadha’s new film It’s a Wonderful Afterlife. They are meant to be silly. In fact, the entire film is pure silliness, hinged on a typical story of a desi British mother (Shabana Azmi) going to murderous lengths to get her daughter (Goldy Notay) married.  Other-worldly: The ghost entourage in Chadha’s movie adds a comical, supernatural twist to the story. In It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, Chadha experiments with the genre of comedy called the Ealing comedy, named after a series of British comedies produced by the Ealing Studios from the late 1940s to 1950s, most of which satirized bourgeois English life. The best of Ealing comedies had elements of horror meant not for suspenseful twists, but for humorous effect. Chadha’s film follows the same idiom, but it isn’t quite as humorous as it could have been. The writing is mediocre, leaving most of the work to actors and technicians. A series of murders by a mysterious “curry killer” rattle the police force of a suburban English neighbourhood. The opening scene is that of a gory curry spurt from the stomach of a dying Indian man. The story then shifts to the family of Mrs Sethi, a distressed widow who is obsessed with finding a man for her daughter Roopi, a social worker who is nursing a heartbreak and whose weight is the subject of constant mockery by all the Indians known to the family. Mrs Sethi’s son is a deejay, with “no real job”, who walks in and out of the frame in marijuana-induced stupor. A prime suspect for the murders is Roopi, who is being investigated by a tall-dark-and-handsome Indian cop D.S. Murthy (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Mrs Sethi is followed by some ghosts, who she can talk to and who are going to benefit from her death. The ghost entourage lends a comical, supernatural twist to the story, boosted by the bizarre antics of Roopi’s friend, a British girl (Sally Hawkins) who is enamoured of mumbo-jumbo Indian mysticism. She thinks she can feel spirits and cleanse auras. Murder and gore are treated like child’s play, which have the potential to be very effective tools if the bizarreness of it is eventually meant to be ironical. In Chadha’s film, they are justified by ordinary motherly worries. The entire story is finally pointless because as Hindu belief goes, after death we become spirits and we reincarnate as worms or saints, based on our actions in this life. There are some funny moments in the film but most of what happens is so silly that you can neither laugh out loud nor cringe. Azmi is at her best, giving the character of Mrs Sethi dignity and a ruthless edge which is somewhat justified by the climax. Notay makes Roopi believable and endearing. Don’t expect more than a few laughs from It’s a Wonderful Afterlife. Sanjukta Sharma Badmaash Company These days one goes to watch a Yash Raj Films production with a degree of trepidation. After all, their track record over the last few years has been less than satisfactory. But with Badmaash Company they somewhat redeem themselves and Shahid Kapoor gets a better canvas than his earlier outing with them in Dil Bole Hadippa!  Fun story: The acting in Badmaash Company is impressive. It’s circa 1994. Three friends— Karan (Kapoor), Chandu (Vir Das) and Zing (Meiyang Chang)— who have just finished college get a freebie trip to Bangkok as carriers for a small-time smuggler. Accompanying them is Bulbul (Anushka Sharma), an aspiring model and a carrier. Together they paint Bangkok red. Getting a taste of the good life, the ambitious and intelligent Karan rejects his father’s middle-class life and ideals, and dreams of fast cars, mansions and designer wear. He is focused on entrepreneurship and a fast track to fortune. Enlisting Chandu, Zing and Bulbul, Karan leads the group as he hatches ingenious scams and plots to make quick and big bucks. Karan often says it’s all about the big idea. Determined, he even forsakes his family in order to pursue his dreams, which take him to New York. Here, as con upon con works, things begin to unravel for the foursome and Karan becomes a victim of the corrupting nature of power. With the message that there’s no short cut to success and only hard work and honesty win respect, Badmaash Company is a fun story with some smart cons and impressive performances. However, the absence of any truly interesting twists and a sluggish second half dilutes the impact. The over-used stylized camerawork and tuneless songs tend to grate. Sethi manages to get the best out of Sharma and Kapoor. Kapoor brings arrogance, tenderness and pathos to the part. Das and Chang offer solid support. Badmaash Company will appeal mostly to Kapoor’s fans. Udita Jhunjhunwala feedback@livemint.com It’s a Wonderful Afterlife and Badmaash Company released in theatres on Friday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:58 am Why do we make sacrifices?The Cult of Theoi: Economic Uncertainty and Religion By Paul Frijters, University of Queensland and Juan D. Baron, Australian National University, Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA, Bonn) We’re all familiar with our tendency to invoke divine intervention whenever we are faced with uncertainty. An important exam, a job interview, the illness of a loved one, is often the reason we rush to places of worship. It’s also commonplace, at these times, to offer something as a sacrifice to the deity, as a kind of bargain. Frijters and Baron point out that sacrifices to please the gods occur in all religions—from the human sacrifices among Maya Indians to burning bits of beef in Greece.  Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint To test their hypothesis, the researchers set up an experiment using students from the Queensland University of Technology. The students did not know each other and were taken from a variety of disciplines, to eliminate bias. In the first phase of the experiment, a group of students played a game in which they were given 100 tokens which they are told would be convertible to money and then asked to play a game that aimed at accumulating these tokens. Everybody was left with some tokens at the end of the game. The actual game is not important—the idea was simply to give the participants a sense of ownership about the tokens. It’s the second phase that’s important for the purposes of this paper. This was how Frijters and Baron set up Phase two: “In Phase II (the sacrifice towards uncertainty), each individual was told that “Theoi”, “the Market Maker”, decides on the actual monetary value of the good earned in Phase I. Participants were deliberately kept ignorant about Theoi’s decision rule and were simply told that the way Theoi decides is unknown. Participants were then given the option to contribute any number of units of the good between 0 and what they earned in Phase I to “Theoi”. The final decision about what value to assign to each token was taken randomly. The results are fascinating. What was immediately striking was the high level of sacrifice, with participants starting off by opting to sacrifice 50% of their tokens, almost as if they were sharing 50-50 with the unknown entity. But even after playing the game 20 times, players were still sacrificing a high 27% of their winnings. The researchers then removed the uncertainty, giving a value of 1 to each token. This time the level of sacrifice in the last five periods (of the 20 games) was only 7.36%. In other words, under conditions of certainty, sacrifice reduces dramatically. They next tested whether the uncertainty needed a human name to sustain sacrifices. Players were told that it wasn’t Theoi who made the decision about the value of the token, but that it depended on the weather. In this case, although the initial sacrifices were similar, they soon dropped off in subsequent games. That indicates labelling matters. And finally it was found that even if people were given the opportunity to share their levels of sacrifice with others, it made no difference to the sacrifices made by people. In short, people didn’t learn from others. What can be concluded from the experiment? Frijters and Baron write: “individuals sacrifice towards a source of economic uncertainty and that they sacrifice more when the uncertainty is higher and when it has a human name. Our interpretation is that, when faced with an incomprehensible phenomenon, individuals anthropomorphize the unknown.” Organized religion, in this view, has an intermediary role “between the innate wish for certainty and the ultimate suppliers (the reciprocal supernatural entities)”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:35 am Bill to make Wakf Act more stringent passedNew Delhi: A Bill providing stringent penal provisions for encroachment of Wakf properties was passed by Lok Sabha on Friday, the last day of the Budget session. The Bill, which seeks to amend certain provisions of the Wakf Act 1995, addresses issues like encroachment of Wakf properties, indadequacy of data on Wakf properties and gives more teeth to the Central Wakf Council and Wakf Boards and also streamlines the process for removal of encroachments. The legislation also seeks to reduce the scope of alienation of Wakf properties by prohibiting their sale and gift. ********* CPM plenum to be held from 7 to 10 August New Delhi: The central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM has decided to hold its extended meeting or ‘plenum’ from 7 to 10 August. At the end of its three-day meet, the central committee—the party’s apex decision making body—worked out the schedule for the preparations for this extended meeting at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. A ‘plenum’ is a rare meeting of its senior leaders. During this meet, the party is expected to prepare for next year’s assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala. Ruhi Tewari Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:29 am NIIT Limited net up 40% - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 7 May 2010 | 11:24 am Unless contagion spreads, bonds may reverse gains on supplyRapid Fire | Greek Crisis and Bonds Mumbai: The Greek debt crisis and easy liquidity have boosted bonds in the past week. The European crisis and the monsoon could be two key factors that determine the direction yields will take, Jayesh Mehta, managing director and country treasurer, Bank of America NA, said in an interview. Edited excerpts:  Graphic: Paras Jain/Mint The local debt market has reacted positively with the yields coming down (due to) rising risk aversion. The local currency market has reacted in consonance with its Asian peers with the rupee depreciating against the dollar by almost 2-2.25% in this week. The fiscal deficit in Asia is well under control and thus there is less fear of money flowing out of the Asian economies and rates should remain soft. If the contagion effect spreads, then India too will be affected and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would have little incentive to maintain a hawkish monetary policy stance by tightening rates. What could potentially destabilize the government’s fiscal deficit projections and the borrowing programme? On the revenue front, we could face challenges if growth falls, leading to a shortfall in tax collections and disinvestment proceeds. In the current budget forecasts, there is no provision for oil subsidy. The oil deficit is expected to be substantial at current prices. In case the current crisis spreads, oil prices could move south and hence reduce the impact of this potential oil subsidy on the deficit numbers. Overall, there is a relative risk of missing fiscal deficit targets this year. What will be RBI’s most preferred tool for managing the government borrowing programme? Liquidity management will be the most preferred tool. RBI would like to maintain sufficient liquidity in the system to incentivize the market so that the borrowing programme sails along smoothly. RBI is also not expected to be aggressive in hiking rates. Quite likely, RBI will hike rates in steps of 25 basis points each, leaving enough potential carry income for the bond holders. (One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.) Foreign funds have been huge participants in the local bond market recently. What do you think has triggered this surge and is this interest likely to continue in the long term? Globally, huge amounts of funds have flown into the emerging markets in search of higher yields, the main reason being the interest-rate differential between the emerging markets like India and the developed markets like the US. There is genuine interest, too, to invest in India owning to its macroeconomic factors and growth story. The interest is likely to continue and grow. There are real money funds which are looking for higher limits to invest in the country and the relative stability of the Indian economy is an added attraction, although withholding tax is a deterrent for long-term investors—that is, in 10-15 years’ bracket. What’s your outlook for bond and rupee for the next three-six months? Despite the heavy government borrowing programme schedule, bonds have rallied in the past couple of weeks. Unless the contagion effect spreads, bonds could reverse some of these gains in the short term due to continued, strong supply pressures. However, once the supply pressure eases, and if the monsoons are normal, the yields should come down later in the year. anup.r@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:23 am TCS, Infosys credit rating raised by S&PMumbai: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys Technologies Ltd had their debt ratings raised by Standard and Poor’s Financial Services Llc (S&P), which cited an improving outlook for industry demand. TCS and Infosys had their long-term corporate credit ratings raised to BBB+, the third-lowest investment grade, from BBB, S&P said in separate statements. Wipro Ltd, India’s third-largest software exporter, had the outlook on its BBB rating changed to positive from stable, S&P said. Bloomberg Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:22 am Jubilant RIL says will renegotiate gas supply pactBuoyed by the Supreme Court verdict on the the legal dispute over the gas supply with Anil Ambani-led RNRL, Reliance Industries on Friday said it can sell gas only at a price approved by the Centre and to users identified by the government.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 11:18 am India needs $100 bn in PE/VC funds: CII-KPMGMumbai: The Indian economy needs between $60 billion (Rs2.73 trillion) and $100 billion worth of private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments over the next three years, according to a report by consulting firm KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) that was released Friday. “Over the past five years $50 billion worth of PE investments has come into the country with 1,400 companies being the recipients of this money,” said Sri Rajan, partner, Bain and Co. India Pvt. Ltd. By December 2010, PE investments are expected to touch $10 billion, the report says. It adds that the largest recipients of PE/VC funds will be micro, small and medium enterprise. ********* ABG Shipyard unit to borrow $168 mn Singapore: PFS Shipping (India) Ltd, a Singapore-based unit of Indian ship-builder ABG Shipyard Ltd, hired State Bank of India to help it borrow $168 million (Rs766 crore) to buy new vessels, according to a person familiar with the matter. The 8.5-year so-called club loan, which is guaranteed by ABG Shipyard, will pay an all-in fee of about 5.1 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. Bloomberg ********* Jindal Steel says Bolivia claim limit is $18 mn Mumbai: Jindal Steel and Power Ltd said its contract with the Bolivian government doesn’t have a provision for damages of $800 million (Rs3,648 crore) after state newswire ‘ABI’ reported the company may have to pay if their mining venture collapses. Jindal Steel said any claim from the government is limited to $18 million, the New Delhi-based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The amount can only be claimed if there’s an investment shortfall by the end of fiscal 2014, the company said. Jindal Steel signed a commitment with the Bolivian government in 2007 to develop the El Mutun mine. Bloomberg ********* Exim Bank profit up 8%, bad debt limited to 1% Mumbai: Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on Friday said its annual profit after tax rose 8% to Rs513.5 crore from Rs477 crore a year ago. Last year’s profits included a tax refund of Rs75 crore but there was no extraordinary gain this year. Advances of the export promotion body floated by the Reserve Bank of India increased by 14% to Rs39,371 crore in the year. Bad debts of the bank remained limited to 1.05% of the credit disbursed from 1.24% a year ago. During the year, the bank extended 22 lines of credits worth $753.31 million to 20 countries to support export of projects, goods and services from India. Anup Roy Source: Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:13 am Analysts’ take on the verdict, RNRLMumbai: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the government-fixed price for buying natural gas from Reliance Industries Ltd(RIL), analysts across the board are crunching numbers, reviewing their target prices and recommendations on RIL and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, which found itself on the losing side of the legal battle. Mint spoke with some of those analysts for their views on the verdict and its implications. Analysts’ take on the verdict “This is certainly a positive for RIL, negative for RNRL and for R-Power because it was depending on gas for its Dadri plant and it could have had the first right of refusal on 40% of all future discoveries by RIL. It should be negative for R-Infra too since it holds a 45% stake in R-Power,” said Deepak Pareek, sector analyst with Angel Broking Ltd, who estimates that the Friday ruling will drive up RIL shares by Rs30-Rs40 each. “This brings clarity for RIL. It can plan better now and the management bandwidth can be fully focused on the exploration and production front now,” he said, adding that the verdict, by establishing government’s complete say over marketing of gas, could have a negative impact on future foreign investment in India’s oil and gas assets. “Companies may not be sure what sort of pricing will prevail at the end? So there is a risk in that sense.” Another Mumbai-based analyst with a foreign brokerage who was “relieved” that the “huge sentimental overhang on RIL was finally over”, sees a 7% impact on its stock price. But doubts remain, he said. “I’m not very clear what this renegotiation was all about? RIL in a previous earnings call had told us that they cannot deviate from government’s gas utilization policy and the users that were lined up. Even if RNRL agrees to buy at $4.2 per mBtu (million British thermal unit) how will it jump the queue?” However, he dismissed the notion that entire memorandum of understanding (MoU) -- the elusive family pact that formed the basis of the de-merger of Reliance businesses in 2005 -- and all its terms such as the non-compete clause between the warring Ambani brothers, could be revoked. “This is not a judgment on the overall MoU. It is just on the gas part that was colliding with the provisions of the PSC (production sharing contract),” he explained. A Mumbai-based analyst with a domestic brokerage disagreed that the verdict could adversely impact investment in Indian energy and hydrocarbon exploration sector. “I don’t see it as a blanket judgment. Cairn is allowed free pricing. It (ruling) has just voted against private agreements that are below the government price,” said this analyst. Analysts’ take on RNRL Most analysts are at sea on the future of RNRL that has so far traded on faith that it will one day get cheap gas from RIL -- a hope that is now all but dashed. “RNRL was existing on this family pact. Now i don’t know what it will do unless ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) finds another role for the company. It was always a bit of a black box,” said the analyst at the foreign brokerage mentioned earlier. “If they get gas from RIL at $4.2 per mBtu, they can still make a marketing margin of $0.14 per mBtu, just as much as GAIL is making. This should mean a share price of Rs32 or so and that’s where it could settle at. They have some CBM (coal bed methane) blocks and some distribution business but without cheap gas (from RIL), there is no visibility on its future,” said Angel’s Pareek. bhuma.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 11:00 am MGNREGA status report | Social safety net proves elusiveKalahandi, Orissa: In October, the villagers of Miyangpadar, part of the Yougsai Patna gram panchayat, finished building a road linking their village to the main road 6km away; part of the assets created under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. They’re yet to get paid. “Nobody in the village has got any payment. Since we don’t get money, we won’t work for the scheme,” said 70-year-old Kahada Majhi, adding that the gram panchayat had taken away their job cards. Also Read Previous stories in the series The story plays out across the villages of Kalahandi, a shameful symbol of India’s hunger and poverty. There are few bank branches here, local government bodies are ineffective and there is no mechanism to spread awareness about the programme. The figures tell a sorry tale. Only 43% of the Rs50.76 crore allocated in the fiscal year that ended March has been utilized, against the national average of 71% for the 619 districts where the scheme has been implemented. Almost none (0.3%) of the tasks undertaken have been completed. Miyangpadar is lucky—at least it got a road out of the programme, which has failed to create assets in the rest of Kalahandi, let alone provide wages. Of the 1.2 million rural population of Kalahandi, only 78,000 got jobs under the programme last fiscal. Although a little over 600,000 were registered, less than 300,000 were issued job cards and women constituted 38% of the workforce.  Little to show: (clockwise from top) Inhabitants of Gadari village in Kalahandi district stock up on maize, which becomes their staple diet in the lean season. Despite extreme poverty, people here are yet to find work under MGNREGA; a group of 60-odd villagers dig a pond under the scheme in Pandakamal village, one of the few villages in the district where the Act is being implemented; and a villager in Rakeshtunda village, which still has no electricity—the people here complain of prolonged delays in wage payments for work done under MGNREGA. Indranil Bhoumik / Mint “There is no awareness about the scheme and people do not know the process for demanding jobs. The panchayats are non-responsive and do no planning,” said Sanjiv Joshi, secretary of Jan Kalyan, a not-for-profit group that works in the area, adding that the delay in wages is the greatest drawback. “The government allocates enough funds for spreading awareness about the scheme but most of it goes unutilized. MGNREGA has made no difference to the lives of the rural poor here.” Inept administration The villagers of Miyangpadar have begun to turn away from MGNREGA. “I didn’t get any money, so now, even though there is some road construction happening in the nearby village, I prefer to stick to mahua collection, even though that fetches me less money,” said Padmini Naik. The villagers earn Rs1,000-2,000 by collecting forest products such as mahua every month. In Rakeshtunda village of Sagada panchayat in Bhawanipatna block, people have a familiar complaint. They worked on a road, and haven’t been paid. The sarpanch took away their post-office account passbooks and withdrawal slips with their thumb impressions. “We all worked on the road but didn’t get any money... We are very poor... The sarpanch took away our passbooks and we do not know what is happening,” said 35-year-old Suka Dei. The village head, meanwhile, is clueless about the scope of the scheme. “I don’t know what work we’re planning under the scheme... Don’t know what work has already happened,” said Anupama Naik, the sarpanch in Sagada panchayat, while refusing to comment on allegations that she took away the passbooks. The district administration, meanwhile, blames lack of financial infrastructure for the delay in wages, the main difficulty in implementing the scheme. “Earlier, workers were paid in cash but that was susceptible to corruption,” said R.S. Gopalan, Kalahandi district collector. “Now, payments are made through banks and post offices, and in Kalahandi their penetration is very poor. Hence, the main problem is the delay in wage payments, sometimes even up to nine months.”  In Gadari village, inhabited by 20 below poverty line (BPL) tribal families, most villagers never got any work under the programme. The gram panchayat has not planned a single project under the scheme since it was launched in Kalahandi in 2006. Even a couple of villagers who have done some MGNREGA work had to travel to other villages to do so. “We were given job cards but the gram panchayat took it away and never gave it back,” said Kanga Majhi, a resident of the village. Naturally, villagers prefer working in the fields for lower wages. “Though we earn only Rs50 per day, we get our payments every day and can even take an advance. In MGNREGA, there is no guarantee of when we would get paid,” said Janabi Majhi, one of about 15 women from Ghantamal village working in a local field. The district administration blames the low participation on the lack of initiative among villagers.  Apart from the red tape, activists say the state government’s scheme of giving up to 25kg rice at Rs2 per kg to BPL card holders has also acted as a disincentive. “Also, they prefer taking up other jobs instead of wasting time first demanding work under the scheme, then waiting for payments and making several rounds to the panchayat and banks for wages,” said Joshi. The programme’s success hinges on factors such as political will and effective delivery mechanisms, not just spending money. “Even in states like Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the scheme has done well, it has been mainly because of political will, which ensures effective management and availability of infrastructure,” said Yamini Aiyar, senior research fellow and director of the accountability initiative, Centre for Policy Research. “There is no doubt that political will is the real anchor to ensure that the infrastructure required for the scheme is in place so that the money being pumped in actually reaches the poor. In Orissa, and particularly Kalahandi, the government has not done very much to address this and no effort has been made to build capacity at the panchayat level.” This is the last of a five-part MGNREGA status report. ruhi.t@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 7 May 2010 | 10:55 am In the court: crowd like a rock show, hush like a thrillerIt was the much-eagerly awaited judgment from the court of Chief Justice of India before he retires on May 12. And a sneak view into the courtroom presided by the CJI said it all.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:48 am Backseat drivingVolkswagon (VW), who follow a tradition of naming their cars after prominent wind currents, have christened the new Polo saloon the Vento —wind in Italian and Portuguese — for the Indian market. However, Vento is not a new name, and, in fact, in the early 1990s, it was the third-generation Jetta that was renamed ‘Vento’ for the European market. But the name was dropped since as it wasn’t as popular as the Jetta moniker.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:47 am Men who wrote the verdictChief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan was the first Dalit to hold this high office. Upon being appointed as a Supreme Court judge on June 8, 2000, the CJI delivered some important judgments on constitutional issues such as reservation for the OBCs in higher educational institutions.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:45 am Weak market cheers RILWhile Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources and Reliance Power saw their share prices dip significantly, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries saw its share price surge even as the Sensex fell on global cues.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:42 am As its legal troubles mount, Goldman Sachs is losing its big corporate client AIGThe American International Group, the insurance giant that planned to retain Goldman Sachs to help reorganise its businesses, has replaced Goldman as its main corporate adviser, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, which was not intended to be public.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:35 am Essar Energy makes history with £1.3-bn mop-upEssar Energy has raised £1.3 billion (Rs 8,710 crore) through its premium listing, making it the largest ever Indian float in London and the second largest Indian IPO on a public market anywhere in the world.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:34 am Lexus warning lifted, Toyota eyes profits amid crisisConsumer Reports magazine is lifting a “Don’t Buy” recommendation for a Lexus sport utility vehicle that failed an emergency handling test.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 7 May 2010 | 10:30 am NEWSMAKER - Mukesh Ambani wins over Anil in Supreme CourtMUMBAI (Reuters) - Less than two weeks ago, Mukesh Ambani watched from the stands as his cricket franchise Mumbai Indians lost to the less-fancied Chennai team in the glitzy final of the Indian Premier League tournament.Source: Reuters: Money News | 7 May 2010 | 9:36 am Ambani gas row: Chronology!Following is the chronology of events surrounding the dispute over supply and pricing of gas from Reliance Industries` eastern offshore KG-D6 fields to Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL).Source: Zee News : Business | 7 May 2010 | 6:26 am Fix accountability for sabotaging AI merger: Unions!A group of Air India unions on Friday asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to fix the accountability on those who are "sabotaging" the airlines merger process and have led to a loss of Rs 18,000 cr in the last three years.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 May 2010 | 6:26 am No cheap gas for Anil Ambani group, Govt has last word: SC!In a severe blow to Anil Ambani, the Supreme Court Friday ruled that the government has the last word on pricing and utilisation of national asset.Source: Zee News : Business | 7 May 2010 | 6:26 am
|
