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Double your luck to get closer to Kareena! - Financial Express
Source: Business - Google News | 9 May 2010 | 3:32 am I-Pru posts maiden profit of Rs 258 cr in FY'10: Vaidyanathan;ICICI Prudential Life Insurance posts its maiden profit of Rs 258 crore after launching a slew of low-charge products.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 3:11 am Tea export jumps by 14% in FY’10New Delhi: Tea exports from India, the world’s largest grower, rose by 14% to Rs2,721 crore in 2009-10 fiscal on high global prices and downfall in shipments from other exporting countries, according to the Tea Board. In terms of volume, overseas shipments increased to 200 million kg from 190 million kg in the review period, it said. “The exports jumped to Rs2,721 crore in FY’10 from Rs2,381 crore in the previous year, as shortages in tea exporting countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka accounted higher demand for Indian tea,” a Tea Board official told PTI. The export value rose also due to higher unit price. A premium quality Indian tea fetched as much as Rs160 per kg, against Rs146 per kg in the review period, he said. The official also observed that the exports from South India was much better than Northern states, as supply in the former had improved due to good monsoon. According to official data, the shipments from plains of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala surged by almost 17% to 98.42 million kg in FY’10, compared to .33 million kg in the year-ago period. However, the shipments from Assam and West Bengal, which harvest the best quality tea leaves in the world, declined to 101 million kg from 106 million kg in the review period. India exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) variety of tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK and the premium orthodox variety of tea to Iraq, Iran and Russia. Presently, India is facing competition in exporting CTC from Kenya and other African countries, while for orthodox variety from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 3:09 am Global biz focusing more on sustainable technologies: DeloitteNew Delhi: Faced with the menace of climate change, most of the corporate entities worldwide are turning towards business models based on sustainable and eco-friendly technologies, according to global consultancy Deloitte. Sustainable technologies are generally those which minimises the adverse environmental impact and helps in cutting down carbon dioxide emissions, among others. “This heightened awareness (about sustainability) is leading to significant shifts in business models and whole new segments are emerging — organic foods, organic cotton, sustainable products, green energy, energy labelling of white goods, environmentally friendly hotels...,” Deloitte’s Global Climate Change & Sustainability leader Nick Main told PTI. “I believe this is a dramatic and permanent shift and one that all organisations should be aware of,” he noted. According to him, “sustainability” has become a frequent topic of conversation in senior corporate leadership meetings. “Everywhere executives are working out what it means for business and how can they manage the risks and seize the opportunities from this fundamental change in business and society,” Main asserted. When asked about the funding issues faced by various countries in tackling climate change, he said problems related to funds could be more severe for developing countries including India. “Funding is a problem everywhere. The investments needed to make the transition to a low carbon economy are substantial... And for developing countries this issue can be particularly severe,” Main noted. However, he pointed out that cutting down on emissions could help businesses to save on costs. “The opportunity must be not to make investments in old technologies but more straight to the new,” he added. Last year’s Copenhagen summit on climate change had proposed to create an $100 billion global fund, to assist in tackling various issues related to this menace. Further, Main said that partnerships between governments and businesses would surely help in evolving better strategies to fight climate change. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:57 am Global biz focusing more on sustainable technologies: DeloitteNew Delhi: Faced with the menace of climate change, most of the corporate entities worldwide are turning towards business models based on sustainable and eco-friendly technologies, according to global consultancy Deloitte. Sustainable technologies are generally those which minimises the adverse environmental impact and helps in cutting down carbon dioxide emissions, among others. “This heightened awareness (about sustainability) is leading to significant shifts in business models and whole new segments are emerging — organic foods, organic cotton, sustainable products, green energy, energy labelling of white goods, environmentally friendly hotels...,” Deloitte’s Global Climate Change & Sustainability leader Nick Main told PTI. “I believe this is a dramatic and permanent shift and one that all organisations should be aware of,” he noted. According to him, “sustainability” has become a frequent topic of conversation in senior corporate leadership meetings. “Everywhere executives are working out what it means for business and how can they manage the risks and seize the opportunities from this fundamental change in business and society,” Main asserted. When asked about the funding issues faced by various countries in tackling climate change, he said problems related to funds could be more severe for developing countries including India. “Funding is a problem everywhere. The investments needed to make the transition to a low carbon economy are substantial... And for developing countries this issue can be particularly severe,” Main noted. However, he pointed out that cutting down on emissions could help businesses to save on costs. “The opportunity must be not to make investments in old technologies but more straight to the new,” he added. Last year’s Copenhagen summit on climate change had proposed to create an $100 billion global fund, to assist in tackling various issues related to this menace. Further, Main said that partnerships between governments and businesses would surely help in evolving better strategies to fight climate change. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:57 am Zain shareholders get offers for majority stakeThe Kuwait Investment Authority and family-owned conglomerate Kharafi group are among Zain's biggest stakeholders.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 2:53 am Pavers England to open 19 exclusive franchisee stores by FY 11Mumbai: With an aim to expand its footprint further in India, British footwear brand, Pavers England, plans to open 19 exclusive franchisee stores by the end of this fiscal, a top company official said. The company presently has six exclusive franchisee stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. “For us, India is the biggest opportunity and we plan to increase our number of exclusive franchisee stores to 25 by end-this fiscal,” Pavers England Footprints Limited (PEFL) president and chairman, Stuart Paver, told PTI here. The footwear retailer would be opening six exclusive franchisee stores in the next six weeks in the existing cities and one in Bangalore, he said. Footwear market in India is growing rapidly and is poised to reach the Rs40,000-crore mark in the next five-years, Paver said. Pavers England also plans to double its point of sales by end-FY 11, he said. “Presently, we have 100 point of sales and plan to add 100 more by the end-this fiscal,” Paver said. The company, which started its operations in India in 2008, caters to a niche market and has a range of footwear in both the men and women segments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:42 am CAG raps DoT for idling Rs 18K cr rural telephony fundThe government auditor CAG has pulled up the department of telecommunications (DoT) for not utilising funds of over Rs 18,000 crore collected for promoting rural telephony and giving false picture about the unused sums.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 2:39 am Yamaha plans rural blitz through launch of affordable bikesHaving achieved a substantial presence in urban markets, two-wheeler major Yamaha now plans a major initiative in rural India by launching more models in the affordable price range this year, a top company official has said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 2:37 am Yamaha plans rural blitz through launch of affordable bikesMumbai: Having achieved a substantial presence in urban markets, two-wheeler major Yamaha now plans a major initiative in rural India by launching more models in the affordable price range this year, a top company official has said. “We are very strong in Tier 1 and Tier II cities. Now onwards, our focus will be rural India (Tier III towns). We will launch more models in the affordable price range to dominate the rural market,” India Yamaha Motor’s national business head Pankaj Dubey told PTI. At present, around 15% of its sales comes from the rural market and Dubey sees this demand increasing substantially this year. The rural market, at present, accounts for 70% bike sales in the country and Yamaha now plans a major initiative to capture a significant marketshare in this segment. “We are seeing a huge demand for Yahama bikes in rural India,” he said, adding that Yamaha has optimum resources to tap this demand. The company plans to strengthen its network in Tier III destinations and increase its sub-dealers in these areas, he said. The firm launched its new motorcycle YBR 110 for the rural markets last month and has already sold 4,000 units. Its Crux model already enjoys a good demand in the rural market. “Our main product Yamaha Crux is well accepted in the rural market and we are confident that the recently-launched YBR 110 will also contribute significantly to our sales numbers,“ Dubey said. Both the models belong to the standard segment, which, Dubey described as “very crucial” in the company’s strategy to tap the rural market. “It (standard segment) is one of the the main growth drivers for our company,” he said. The company’s domestic sales in April jumped 11.51% to 16,861 units as against 15,120 units in the same month last year. The company plans to increase its compact dealerships named ‘Yamaha Bike corner´ from the present one to 250 by the end of this fiscal, which will help to improve its presence in Tier III cities. “We have come up with a new initiative called ‘Yamaha Bike Corner’(YBC) to reach out to customers in rural and semi-urban areas. We will open 249 more YBC by the end of this fiscal,” he said. “We are also focusing on our ‘Yes Yamaha´ strategy to give -- Yes products, Yes partners and Yes promotion to realise our goals. Getting customer smile at Yamaha is the key strategy,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:35 am Mitsubishi to launch Evolution series, new Pajero this fiscNew Delhi: Japanese automaker Mitsubishi will launch its Evolution series of cars and a new variant of its sports utility vehicle Pajero in the domestic market as it looks to double sales this fiscal. The company, which has a technical collaboration with Hindustan Motors, is also aiming to sell nearly 10,000 units by 2011-12. In the past fiscal it sold 2,200 units. “We have just launched the new Outlander and our next plan is to launch a new Pajero, which will hit the market by the end of this fiscal,” Hindustan Motors executive vice-president and business head Vijay Kumar said. The company, which has been in India since 1998, is looking to strengthen its presence in the passenger vehicle market and will continue to add more products in its portfolio, he said, adding, “we will also introduce our Evolution series of cars this fiscal.” Mitsubishi had planned to introduce one or two models from the Evolution series in last year, but put off the decision due to the global downturn. Last week it launched a variant of its sports utility vehicle Outlander with a 2.4-litre petrol engine, which is Bharat Stage IV emission norms-compliant. The company has set a monthly sales target of 80 units for the new machine against the current volume of only 35-40 units a month. “Our target is to reach 300 units a month,” Kumar said. The new launch comes for Rs19.95 lakh (ex-showroom), while the older version was costlier by over Rs70,000. Kumar said the new Outlander and the proposed two new launches will help in doubling its sales this fiscal. “In the next fiscal (FY12), our target is to again double, which means to sell nearly 10,000 units,” he added. Besides Outlander, HM-Mitsubishi currently sells sedans Lancer and Cedia and the SUVs Pajero and Montero, in the country. The partners jointly have 40 dealerships across the country. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:33 am India may gain from moderate debt crisis in Europe: BasuNew Delhi: Chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu has said the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe may, in fact, turn advantageous for the country’s capital markets if it is contained at the present level. But if the crisis snowballs into an overall global meltdown, then we cannot remain immune to its impact as the country is now integrated with the world, Basu told PTI in an interview. “If a crisis in another industrialised country is a relatively small crisis, in fact, we get some very unusual advantage. More money flows into India,” Basu said, adding people look for safer havens to park their money. However, if the trouble gets very big, people get nervous about the world economy itself and there may be an outflow of money as people then put money into gold and other assets, rather than into stock markets anywhere in the world, he pointed out. Basu’s views are corroborated to a large extent by the movement of foreign capital into the country since the start of 2010, the time when fears of sovereign debt crisis in Europe, particularly in Greece, began to come appear. There was net inflow of foreign institutional funds into the domestic capital markets since the start of 2010 till April-end, which was Rs54,606 crore and the stock market barometer Sensex rose 93.9 points in the four months to close at 17,558.71 on 30 April. The fears of worsening crisis, however, led to the announcement of a massive $147-billion bailout package for the debt-stricken Greece last week by the Eurozone nations and the International Monetary Fund. And following this the domestic market, too, started feeling the heat and began to tumble down. The domestic markets got battered last week as sentiment was hit due to the reports of worsening sovereign debt crisis in two other EU nations-- Portugal and Spain-- on the one hand and the Greek problem escalated on the other. The Sensex fell all the five days last week, shedding a whopping 789.6 points to close at 16,769.11 on Friday, 4.5% down over the preceding week. In the first week of May, the FIIs were net sellers in the market, decreasing their exposure by Rs 840 crore. Though the net outflow may not be large, the impact on the domestic market was massive. Basu said the country is now sufficiently interconnected with the world that a serious global crisis will wash ashore into our country and we will have to be prepared for that. The chief economic advisor, however, said, “if the astronomical figure of over $140 billion bailout package helps contain the crisis and stop it at Greece, I think we will be fine. In fact, we may get some additional capital inflows in search of a safer haven.” Basu pointed out that debt contagion is always a risk in financial markets and very often it can fly from one country to another through the psychological behaviour of investors and peculators. They begin to play the game differently, he said. “Lot of the reasons, I think, the IMF and European Union have stepped in so aggressively into Greece is they want to stop the contagion. But financial markets contagion is always a bit of a risk. We have to live with that,” he said. “So, a lot will depend on the size of the crisis that comes out of the Greek sovereign (debt) problem,” he added. There are already fears that many other European countries like Portugal and Spain may also face similar sovereign debt problems. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:32 am Expect no climate deal this year: Jairam RameshBeijing: The chance of a climate change agreement this year is remote because the United States and China are unwilling to make more commitments during the talks, India’s environment minister said on Sunday. The last UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen last December was seen as deeply disappointing as a deep rift showed between industrialized nations and developing countries. The toughest issues — cutting greenhouse gases, creating a system of financial aid from rich to poor countries, and measuring both— still need consideration. The next major UN climate conference is in Cancun, Mexico, in December. “The prospect of a breakthrough in 2010 is very, very remote,” Jairam Ramesh told reporters in Beijing after finishing talks with his Chinese counterpart. India is the world’s fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases and one of the largest players in securing any deal. “We’ve reached virtually a dead end” with neither the United States nor China — the world’s top two emitters of heat-trapping greenhouse gases — unwilling to make any firm commitments, Ramesh said. A UN panel of scientists says greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide — emitted mostly by burning fossil fuels for electricity and transportation — are causing climate change that threatens potentially catastrophic environmental damage such as floods, droughts and rising sea levels. The Copenhagen conference failed to reach a new legally binding treaty after two years of UN-sponsored negotiations. Instead, it ended with a political declaration called the Copenhagen Accord, brokered at the last minute by President Barack Obama, but many of the 190 or so countries that attended were unhappy with it and some dismissed it outright. China’s top climate change negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, twice shouted and thumped the table when the agreement was signed, Ramesh recalled Sunday. Obama, US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao were all in the room during the outburst. “What did he say?” Ramesh quoted Clinton as saying. “He’s congratulating us,”’ Obama said, according to Ramesh. Ramesh said he never found out what Xie was shouting about. “I think he was saying the Americans were not fulfilling their part of the bargain. That’s my guess,” Ramesh said. The United States emits about a fifth of all the world’s greenhouse gases. China has edged past the United States as the planet’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter mainly from fossil fuel burning, but emits far less than the US on a per-capita basis. Last week, some 40 nations agreed to take individual steps to fight global warming but made little progress during a three-day meeting near Bonn, Germany toward a new international climate change treaty. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 2:23 am LG Electronics eyes selling flat TV in Japan againLG competes with Japanese manufacturers such as Sharp Corp, Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp in flat screen TVs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 2:07 am RCom to launch Internet Protocol Television service in Mumbai, Delhi in next 3-monthsIPTV operates on video signals received via the Net using a set-top box that will make TV viewing more interactive, RCom's chief executive officer (DTH and IPTV), Sanjay Behl, said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 2:05 am Airlines restore capacity on international sectors post-recessionAirlines are bringing capacity back into international air travel and air freight markets, 'but still at a much slower pace than the expansion in demand,' the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 1:49 am New inflation basket to have 676 items; likely from JuneThe new wholesale price-based inflation basket will have as many as 676 products, including LCD TVs, mobile phones, and packaged drinking water among others, and is likely to be rolled out in June or July.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 1:49 am India may gain from moderate debt crisis in Europe: BasuChief economic advisor Kaushik Basu has said the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe may, in fact, turn advantageous for the country's capital markets if it is contained at the present level.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 1:40 am Ethos Swiss Watch Studios eyes 50% revenue growth in FY11Mumbai: Ethos Swiss Watch Studios, India’s largest multi-brand retail chain for premium and luxury watches, said on Sunday it is eyeing close to 50% growth in its revenue to Rs110 crore in the 2010-11 fiscal. The company also plans to expand its pan-India footprint this fiscal. The firm’s revenue during FY10 fiscal stood at Rs74 crore. “We are confident of crossing the Rs100-crore revenue mark this fiscal and post around Rs110 crore,” Ethos Swiss Watch Studios’ CEO Yashovardhan Saboo told PTI. At present, the firm stocks around 34 international brands, mostly from Swiss companies, with their prices ranging between Rs5,000 and Rs20 lakh, he said. The company, which currently has a store network of 22, plans to add six to seven more outlets this fiscal, he said, adding “the first of these has already been opened at the Mumbai domestic airport recently.” The company’s main customer target is the travel retail market at airports, currently estimated at around $30 billion globally, Saboo said. International travel is expanding globally at around 7% while the travel retail business is growing at almost 10% per year, which implies that per head spending at duty free retail locations is increasing steadily, he noted. On Indian buyers and their preferences, Saboo said that watches and jewellery account for the sixth most important product category purchased from duty free stores. Going forward, Ethos also plans to bid for watch stores at international airports outside India, especially at those destinations frequented by Indian travellers. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 1:40 am Zain shareholders get offers for majority stake - paperKUWAIT (Reuters) - Shareholders of Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain, which is selling most of its African assets to India's Bharti Airtel, have received offers to sell a majority stake in the group, a newspaper reported on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 1:38 am Paramount to invest Rs400 cr on housing projectNew Delhi: Realty firm Paramount on Sunday said it will invest Rs400 crore to develop a housing project in Noida over the next 30 months. “We have started construction of the housing project that comprises 1,500 units and it will require Rs400 crore to develop it,” Paramount Group of Companies executive director Ashwani Prakash told PTI. He further said, the funding will be a mix of internal accruals and debt. The 12-acre project will offer flats ranging between Rs25 lakh and Rs50 lakh, Prakash said, adding “we are expecting a sales revenue of about Rs500 crore from the project, which will be completed within next 30 months.” On its hospitality project, he said the company is developing a luxury hotel in partnership with Ajnara within the Crossings Republic township in Ghaziabad at an investment of Rs60 crore. It is expected to have 75-10 rooms. “We have tied up with the renowned Clarks Group for managing the five-star hotel,” Prakash said. “We have also recently acquired land for developing an IT park in a 25-acre land in Greater Noida in association with the Ajnara Group,” he said. Besides, the company is also scouting for land in the National Capital Region to launch a new residential project. “We are looking for land in NCR and currently negotiating with land owners. Soon we may come out with another residential project in Rs25-50 lakh range,” Prakash said. Paramount is currently developing a 1,200-unit housing project in the Crossings Republic township, which is being developed by seven realty firms. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 1:30 am Organised restaurant market to touch Rs28,000 cr by 2015New Delhi: The organised restaurant market in India may grow nearly four-fold to around Rs28,000 crore by 2015, as several foreign players like Starbucks and Burger King are looking to enter India, an industry body said. Quoting Technopak, a consulting firm, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said the organised restaurant sector currently enjoys 16% market share in the estimated Rs43,000-crore restaurant industry. This is likely to increase to 45% of the total pie by 2015, it said. “Given the faster growth of the organised segment, its share of the pie will increase from 16% currently to 45%, or from Rs7000-8500 to Rs28,000 crore (by 2015),” NRAI said in its report ‘White Paper on the Indian Restaurant Industry 2010’. The report also said that several international brands, including Starbucks, Hooters, Burger King and Grand Canyon Coffee, are eyeing India to expand its footprint globally. According to the report, the total restaurant industry (inclusive of both the organised and the unorganised segment) is expected to grow at over 5% in the next three years and is likely to touch Rs62,500 crore by 2015. The apex body on restaurant chains said the growth is owing to the current and new organised players, and some of the unorganised operators becoming organised. Besides, rise in the disposable income of individuals and changing lifestyle among young Indians are some of the factors contributing to the growth of the sector. “A large proportion of the Indian urban population has already moved into an income bracket with a sufficient amount of disposable income and has just started enjoying a lifestyle where eating out is one of the main forms of leisure,” it said. “Most multinational companies are expected to initially set up restaurants in the metro cities in order to test the waters for acceptance of their products and prices before moving on to establish restaurants in the Tier II and Tier III cities,” it added. Though it did not mention when these international brands are likely to come, it said their entry would bring in standardised “processes, procedures and technology”. “While most multinationals are expected to establish their own brands, some could also grow via the inorganic route by buying out established domestic brands,” the report said. Besides, interest by several private equity firms to invest in the restaurant space is likely to boost the sector. The most recent private equity deal concluded was for Coffee Day Holdings, where three PE major New Silk Route, KKR and Standard Chartered private equity invested around Rs800 crore for around 25% stake in the company. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 1:23 am BP seeks solution after U.S. Gulf spill plan glitchROBERT, La. (Reuters) - BP Plc engineers will search for a solution on Sunday after suffering a setback in an attempt to contain oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with a huge metal dome, dashing hopes for a quick, temporary solution to a growing environmental disaster.Source: Reuters: Money News | 9 May 2010 | 1:15 am 9 of top-10 cos lose Rs40k cr in m-cap, RIL lone gainerMumbai: Volatile trade this past week saw nine of the top-10 firms lose a sum of over Rs40,000 crore from their market capitalisation, with Reliance Industries Ltd being the sole exception to the trend by adding to its kitty. The country’s most valued firm, Reliance Industries Ltd, the numero-uno in the list, saw its market capitalisation (m-cap) swell by Rs441.5 crore, taking its total valuation to Rs3,38,107.2 crore for the week ended 8 May. On Friday, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgement in the case related to RIL-RNRL gas price tussle, rejecting a plea for cheap gas by the RNRL saying a national asset should be priced only by the government. Prior to the judgement being delivered, RIL’s shares witnessed a consistent downfall after closing at Rs1,032.50 on 30 April. The company’s share price dwindled to Rs1,023.55 on Monday and then declined further over the course of the next few days’ trade to settle at Rs1,010.90 on 6 May. However, once the ruling was made in its favour, shares of RIL surged 2.27% to close at Rs1,033.85 on the BSE. As a result, for the entire week, shares of RIL had gained 0.13% to close at Rs1,033.85 by the end of Friday’s trade. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex fell 789.6 points during the week, or 4.49%, to settle at 16,769.11 points at the end of Friday’s trade. State-run firms — ONGC and NTPC — together lost Rs6,476.87 crore from their market valuation. ONGC, the second most valued firm, saw its m-cap fall by Rs2,106.78 crore to Rs2,23,565.39 crore and NTPC, at third place, witnessed a value erosion of Rs4,370.09 crore from its m-cap, taking its total valuation to Rs1,66,269.7 crore. IT bellwether Infosys Technologies, at 4th spot, lost Rs6,685 crore from its m-cap, taking its total valuation to Rs1,50,320.76 crore, while trading firm MMTC, at 5th place, saw its valuation eroded by Rs6,458.25 crore to Rs1,49,986.25 crore. Top software outsourcing firm TCS, at 6th spot, witnessed a value erosion of Rs4,667.92 crore, reducing its m-cap to Rs1,45,253.6 crore. Public sector lender, SBI, saw its valuation fall by Rs4,545.74 crore to Rs1,41,346.51 crore. Power equipment maker BHEL, at 8th spot, lost Rs5,154.65 crore and NMDC, at 9th place, saw its m-cap fall by Rs1,982.35 crore. At the end of the week, BHEL’s m-cap stood at Rs1,16,838.63 crore and NMDC’s valuation fell to Rs1,16,324 crore. Private telecom services provider Bharti Airtel, ranked the 10th largest firm by m-cap, witnessed a value erosion of Rs4,063.35 crore, reducing its total market capitalisation to Rs1,09,254.65 crore. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 1:13 am StanChart shareholders approve India listing planLondon/New Delhi: Global banking major Standard Chartered Plc has said its shareholders have approved the sale of shares for a planned India listing to raise up to $1 billion. Standard Chartered Bank in March said it plans to raise between $500 million and $1 billion by June through Indian Depository Receipts issued by parent entity Standard Chartered Plc. The bank has said that its shareholders have approved plans to allot shares in connection with a planned India listing at the company’s Annual General Meeting on 7 May. “We remain keen to pursue our intent to have an IDR offering ... we are looking at quarter two (April-June 2010) and we are looking at $500 million to $1 billion,” Standard Chartered Bank (South Asia) chief executive Neeraj Swaroop had said. The foreign banking major, which has its presence in India for 150 years, is the first entity to seek to list IDRs. StanChart is also believed to be looking at roping in anchor investors for its IDR issue. IDRs are depository receipts that enable foreign companies to raise money from India. According to Sebi guidelines, IDRs can be issued by companies that have been listed in the home market for a minimum of three years and running in profit for at least three of the five years before the issue. The bank had filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for its IDR with capital market regulator Sebi in March. StanChart has appointed a host of investment bankers, including Goldman Sachs, UBS, JM, Kotak Mahindra, SBI Capital and DSP Merril Lynch, to advise it on the proposed IDR issue. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 1:05 am HDFC Bank to start silver bar trade from May 16First in the country to retail silver bars through its branches: HDFCSource: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 1:04 am Germans vote in state poll, big test for Merkel - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 9 May 2010 | 12:52 am Industry does not favour 100 pc FDI in defence: CIIThe Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today said that the industry is opposed to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector, even as an inter-ministerial debate raged on the matter.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 12:48 am 9 of top-10 cos lose Rs 40k cr in m-cap, RIL lone gainerVolatile trade this past week saw nine of the top-10 firms lose a sum of over Rs 40,000 crore from their market capitalisation, with Reliance Industries Ltd being the sole exception to the trend by adding to its kitty.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 9 May 2010 | 12:40 am Led by Wipro, Indian ADRs lose $12 bn in a weekNew York: Indian stocks trading on the American bourses collectively lost over $12 billion last week, with IT major Wipro topping the losers’ chart. For the week ended 7 May, the 16 Indian companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq together lost $12.55 billion from their market capitalisation, with Wipro alone shedding a staggering $3.14 billion to settle at $29.82 billion as Wall Street saw one of its worst weeks in many months. Wipro is followed by copper major Sterlite Industries whose market capitalisation tanked by $2.39 billion to $12.85 billion during the week when the main American indices plunged more than 5% as the escalating Greece debt crisis rattled the global markets during the week. Software major Infosys Technologies’ valuation fell by $1.97 billion to $32.25 billion, while the market value of private sector lender HDFC Bank decreased by $1.57 billion to $21.05 billion. Auto major Tata Motors also saw its market valuation falling by $1.26 billion to $7.91 billion. ADRs are bought and sold on American markets just like stocks and are issued in by a bank or a brokerage firm. Another private sector lender ICICI Bank and pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories too saw significant erosions in their market valuation. ICICI Bank’s valuations declined by $927 million to $21.37 billion, while that of Dr Reddy’s’ dropped $471 million to $4.2 billion. Market value of Mahindra Satyam and BPO company Genpact slipped by $310 million and $305 million respectively. However, IT firm Patni Computers and outsourcing company EXLservice Holdings managed to increase their valuation.During the week, Patni’s valuation rose by $65 million, while that of EXLservice by $4 million. But outsourcing company WNS Holdings, Internet firms Sify Technologies and Reddif.com, telecom majors Tata Communications and MTNL also saw their valuations dipping in the range of $5 million to $113 million. On Friday the US markets ended in deep red, with the Dow Jones plummeting by 140 points at 10,380.43 and S&P 500 falling by 17.27 points to 1,110.88. Besides, tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 54 points at 2,265.64. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 12:40 am Indian, foreign industries divided over raising FDI cap: CIINew Delhi: Indian and foreign industries in defence sector are divided over raising the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to 100% , a survey has found. While the Indian industry, including the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are in favour of hiking the FDI limit to 49%, foreign companies feel limiting it would make it an “unattractive proposition”, the study found. The study ‘FDI in Defence - A Case for Review’, released on Sunday by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said the demand was for a higher FDI cap in defence industry over the existing 26%. “The major proponents for increasing FDI cap, apart from the foreign vendors, are the SMEs and larger organisations seeking to diversify into defence production,” the study said. They believe that increasing FDI limits would help to secure the transfer of key technologies to India, and would boost the foreign capital investment available to them. “Despite attractive defence projects in the pipeline, certain foreign vendors felt that where Transfer of Technology (ToT) was involved, the returns likely to be generated on the basis of the current FDI regulations — coupled with the lack of control they would have over the technologies and know-how they are being asked to provide — makes entry into the Indian market an unattractive proposition,” it said. The CII found that the FDI issue was driven by a number of factors. These were sovereignty concerns in respect to the ownership of core strategic industries like defence; government’s desire to rapidly acquire more advanced technologies; and the assistance foreign players can provide to SMEs. That apart, there were concerns of the larger players, both private and defence ublic sectors units, which felt greater foreign involvement would be at the expense of their own businesses. Further, a number of foreign companies were keen on making India their “home market” -- both a major domestic sales market and a global manufacturing hub. “But the current FDI restrictions constrain their ambitions in this regard. The result is it has limited FDI inflows to India with a total of only Rs70 crore between April 2000 and February 2009,” the study said. Among the other key findings were that the industry was not in favour of 100 % FDI in defence segment, though more than 50% of CII members wanted an increase in the FDI limit to 49%, which they felt would be beneficial. “The FDI should not exceed 49%,” the study said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 9 May 2010 | 12:11 am Led by Wipro, Indian ADRs lose $12bn in a weekIndian stocks trading on the American bourses collectively lost over $12 billion last week, with IT major Wipro topping the losers' chart.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 9 May 2010 | 12:07 am Modi submits ‘some' documents to BCCIAnother turning point in the Indian Premier League saga is around the corner, as the May 10 deadline approaches for the now suspended IPL Commissioner, Mr Lalit Modi, to make his submissions before the Board of Control for Cricket inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am Price curbs may lead to cottonseed shortage: seed bodyReiterating its stand against the Government's control on seed pricing, the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) has cautioned that such restrictions could lead to severe shortage of cotton seed in the next year and restrict investments inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am Commodity firms boost India Inc's Q4 profit growthThe latest results of nearly 1,100 companies paint quite a bright picture of India Inc's earnings, showing an impressive 28.5 per cent net profit growth and a 31 per cent expansion in sales in January-March 2010 quarter, over a yearSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am Euro worry, wobbly US turn global funds to IndiaGlobal pension funds, multilateral investors and sovereign funds are turning to India with firm funding commitments, especially in the infrastructureSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am Foreign institutions bond with debt, shed equityForeign institutional investors have stepped up their investments in the Indian bond market, prompted by the recent weakness in the global equitySource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am Euro loses currency for exportersThe share of the euro in the Indian foreign exchange markets has shrunk sharply with the crisis inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am 3G spectrum price nears Rs 13,000-cr markValue of pan India third generation (3G) spectrum has reached Rs 12,850 crore riding on an intense bidding for Delhi and MumbaiSource: Business Line - Home Page | 9 May 2010 | 12:00 am India not a happy place for mothers: reportNew Delhi: At a time when the world celebrates Mother’s Day, it turns out that India scores poorly among the middle-income countries when it comes to health care and well-being of mothers. The country is ranked 73 in the list of 77 nations rated for the “best place to be a mother”, according to a report by child rights organisation ‘Save the Children’. What is more shocking in the ‘State of the World’s Mothers 2010’ report is that India is rated much lower than a host of conflict-ridden African countries like Kenya and Congo. Cuba tops the Mother’s Index ranking followed by Israel, Argentina, Barbados, South Korea, Cyprus, Uruguay, Kazakhstan, Bahamas and Mongolia. Among the neighbours, China is at 18th place, Sri Lanka at 40, while Pakistan lags behind India at 75th place. Bangladesh, featured in the list of 40 least developed countries, is ranked 14. The report analysed a total of 166 countries, among which Sweden is placed at the top while Afghanistan is at the bottom. The report has highlighted the shortage of trained health workers, mostly in the semi-urban and rural villages that house majority of Indian population, as the main reason behind the country’s sorry state of health care system. It says that there is an estimated shortage of 74,000 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in India, while the figure is pegged at 21,066 in the case of Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes. As per government norms, there should be one Asha worker for 1,000 population and one ANM for 5,000 people in plain areas and 3,000 in rural areas. Shireen Vakil Miller, director of advocacy, Save the Children, pointed out that though India’s flagship National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) has prioritised female health workers from the communities, there still remains an acute shortage and training requirement. “We have to close the health worker gap and women have to be part of the equation to save the lives of other women and their children,” she said. “The health of a woman is closely linked to her educational status and socio-economic status. Despite maternal mortality rates showing a decline in India, thousands of women are still dying every year because they cannot access the most basic health care facilities or if these are available, are of poor quality.” India’s child mortality rate, the number of deaths in every 1,000 children below five years of age, was 68 in 2008, while the current maternal mortality rate (MMR) is 254 deaths per one lakh live births. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2010 | 11:53 pm New inflation basket to have 676 items; likely from JuneThe new index, with 2004-05 as the base year, will have 241 new items and is expected to provide a more realistic picture of price rise and its impact on the common man.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 11:49 pm Prolonged debt crisis in Europe could impact India: S&PGlobal credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has said that a prolonged and widespread debt crisis in Europe could have a substantial negative impact on the Indian economy.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2010 | 11:42 pm ‘Toyota set to post billion dollar annual profit’Tokyo: Japan’s embattled auto giant Toyota will likely post an operating profit of around $1 billion for the year to March despite worldwide safety recalls, a local newspaper reported Sunday. Toyota, which is to release its annual results on Tuesday, may report an operating profit of up to ¥100 billion ($1.09 billion ), the Yomiuri newspaper reported, without citing sources. The world’s top automaker posted a net loss of $4.4 billion in the year to March 2009, the first time ever it had sunk into the red, as global car sales collapsed during the recession. Its annual operating loss that year was ¥461 billion. Announcing those results in May last year, Toyota warned that it faced a net loss of ¥550 billion and an operating loss of ¥850 billion in the year to March 2010. In addition to the industrial slump, Toyota’s reputation has taken a severe battering after it recalled about 10 million vehicles worldwide, mostly for problems with sudden acceleration. But its global sales have nevertheless been recovering steadily. In March, worldwide sales surged 26% year-on-year while global production jumped over 80% compared with a year ago, when the industry scaled back to cope with evaporating demand. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2010 | 11:39 pm Fortunes of Ambassador carmaker hit potholeNew Delhi: Losses at Hindustan Motors, maker of the Ambassador car — easily India’s most recognisable vehicle — have been mounting, raising questions about the company’s survival. The snub-nosed Ambassador once ruled India’s potholed roads, but last week Hindustan Motors reported that losses widened in the last fiscal year to Rs42.9 crore ($9.5 million) from Rs37.8 crore the previous year. In addition, India’s oldest automaker said its net worth has tumbled by over 50% and it must now report to the state-run Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction — part of India’s socialist-style bureaucracy that oversees revival of “sick companies” as financially troubled firms are known. But the company remains upbeat, insisting the future appears much brighter, helped by an improving outlook for sales which took a hit during the financial downturn. “Our operations are looking up,” Ravi Kathuria, Hindustan Motors’ senior vice president, told AFP, adding that the company has extensive land assets “which can be leveraged.” “We’re not in a bankruptcy situation,” Kathuria said. In a boost to the company’s spirits, the Ambassador also has been chosen as the official car to ferry athletes around at the October Commonwealth Games. But analysts are doubtful about longer-term prospects for the company, whose shares have nosedived. It “could hang on tenaciously to some small corner of the market, but it’s no longer the purchase of choice,” says Murad Ali Baig, one of India’s leading independent automobile analysts. The woes engulfing Hindustan Motors come as the rest of India’s vehicle industry booms with firms such as automaker Maruti Suzuki doubling profits in the world’s fastest-growing automobile market. Hindustan Motors, flagship company of the CK Birla Group, joined forces with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors in the 1990s to manufacture Lancer sedans and Pajero sports utility vehicles (SUVs). But it has never returned to its glory days in the 1970s when “the Amby,” as it was affectionately known, held a market stranglehold of around 70%. For much of independent India’s history when the economy was closed to foreign manufacturers, “the joke was you could buy any car in India so long as it was an Ambassador,” Hormuz Sorabjee, editor of automobile magazine Autocar, said. The Ambassador was muscled out by sleek new cars that made its plump contours look dowdy when India began opening its markets to the world. Kathuria said he sees a rebound in demand for the Ambassador, with sales expected to double to 1,000 units a month in the coming year, but this represents just a fraction of India’s total annual car market of 1.53 million units. The Ambassador’s bulky design, based on the 1950s British-built Morris Oxford, has changed little since it first rolled off the assembly line in 1957, although the engine is now more powerful. For years the Ambassador was the only car driven by senior government officials and people always knew when a “power do” was on in the national capital because of the fleet of Ambassadors outside. The car’s “power status” allowed Islamist terrorists to drive an Ambassador past security and attack parliament 10 years ago, bringing nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan to the brink of war. But now many bureaucrats have abandoned the 9,460-dollar Ambassador in favour of sportier sedans or SUVs. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is ferried around in an armoured black BMW. Even taxi drivers -- who were among the Ambassador’s most loyal buyers -- are opting for more fuel-efficient compacts. “This is cheaper to run, it’s more reliable and it’s easier to drive,” said New Delhi taxi driver Rajiv Singh, who drives a small Maruti hatchback. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2010 | 11:36 pm LG Elec eyes selling flat TV in Japan again - NikkeiTOKYO (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Electronics is eyeing re-entering Japan's flat TV market as early as this year, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday, as the world's No.2 TV brand aims to surpass rival Samsung Electronics.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 11:34 pm Led by Wipro, Indian ADRs lose $12bn in a weekIndian stocks trading on the American bourses collectively lost over $12 billion last week, with IT major Wipro topping the losers' chart.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2010 | 11:33 pm Indian, foreign industries divided over raising FDI cap: CIIIndian and foreign industries in defence sector are divided over raising the Foreign Direct Investment to 100%, a survey has found.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2010 | 11:17 pm Bids for one all-India 3G licence reach $2.82bn - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 11:00 pm Ash cloud closes 19 Spanish airports, could spreadMADRID/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain shut 19 northern airports including Barcelona on Saturday because of the cloud of abrasive ash blowing south from a volcano in Iceland.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 10:24 pm Qatar investor buys UK department store HarrodsThe country's prime minister, who is also chairman of Qatar Holding, said there were plans to upgrade the luxury store, popular with tourists and an historic landmark in the upmarket Knightsbridge area of London.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:51 pm Obama makes rare comment about dollar - on Russian TVWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said if the United States has a strong economy it will have a strong dollar, in rare comments about the U.S. currency in an interview with Russian television broadcast on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:50 pm Toyota 2009/10 profit may reach 100 billn yenToyota slashed its operating loss forecast to 20 billion yen from 350 billion yen in February after it posted an operating profit of 189 billion yen in the three months to December.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:34 pm Qatar investor buys UK department store HarrodsLONDON (Reuters) - The investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has bought the famous London department store Harrods from Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:15 pm Ethos Swiss Watch Studios eyes 50% revenue growth in FY 11'We are confident of crossing the Rs100 crore revenue mark this fiscal and post around Rs110 crore,' Ethos Swiss Watch Studios' CEO, Yashovardhan Saboo said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:14 pm FACTBOX - Former Harrods owner Mohamed al-FayedREUTERS - Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed has sold prestigious London department store Harrods to Qatar Holding, the investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:07 pm U.S. regulators eye curbs to slow stock price dropsNEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators are considering new curbs to slow stock trades when markets are plunging following Thursday's dramatic sell-off, two people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 8:54 pm Toyota '09/10 profit may reach 100 bln yen - YomiuriTOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's group operating profit for the year that ended on March 31 could reach around 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion), the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday, days ahead of the firm's May 11 earnings report.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 8:50 pm Pranab denies printing of currency notes outside country - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 7:17 pm New Setback in Attempt to Contain Gulf Oil Spill - New York Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 6:33 pm Tax plan for IPL tickets - Calcutta Telegraph
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 3:20 pm Govt pumped in Rs80,000 crore to perk up economy: Pranab MukherjeeThe finance minister said that the plan expenditure rose to Rs2.45 lakh crore from Rs2.27 lakh crore and then to Rs3.20 lakh crore and now is at Rs3.73 lakh crore.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 2:19 pm Gulf states to scrap steel duty, says officialFinance ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) examined the proposed measure at a meeting on Saturday. A final decision is expected at a summit next week.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 2:12 pm US amendment could curb rating agencies\' power: ReportThe Big Three US credit rating agencies looked set to survive Washington\'s push for financial reform with only minor damage, until Democratic Senator Al Franken came along.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 2:09 pm Revealed: How canceled trades may affect other securitiesExchanges and trading venues agreed to cancel some stock trades that took place during the worst of Thursday\'s intraday meltdown in US equity markets.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 1:13 pm Tata-Corus basher loses electionTata Steel can find reason to cheer this weekend from the results of the elections in the United Kingdom; more precisely from the north east corner of the country where Corus has a steel plant.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 12:57 pm Al-Fayed sells Harrods for pound 1.5 bnHarrods, the iconic London store, has been sold by Mohammed Al-Fayed to Qatars royal family for pound 1.5 billion. Al-Fayed, 77, had bought Harrods in 1985 for pound 615 million. According to media reports here, he will go into retirement once the sale is completed.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 12:54 pm K-G gas fully sold for five yearsThe Ambani brothers may soon begin to renegotiate the gas supply agreement between them, but it may not result in much for Anil Ambanis Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL). The government has already allotted up to 90 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) of gas from the D6 field in the Krishna-Godavari basin of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for a period of five years, which leaves hardly any gas for RNRL.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 12:52 pm CAG report slams states for ‘failed’ irrigation schemeAfter spending over Rs 26,000 crore in the last 15 years, India’s flagship irrigation programme has covered only half of the area envisaged, a report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 12:46 pm Production picks up, sugar crisis on its way outIndia’s sugar production has shown signs of picking up, prompting the government to consider reversing some sharp measures it had taken to bring down the prices, reports Zia Haq.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 12:43 pm KG gas fully sold for five years - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 12:41 pm Moody\'s says got Wells Notice from SECMoody\'s Corp disclosed on Friday that its credit rating unit could face enforcement action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading regulators in a 2007 application to remain a nationally recognized rating agency.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 11:12 am UK department store Harrods sold to Qatar investorEgyptianborn businessman Mohammed Al Fayed has sold prestigious London department store Harrods to the investment vehicle of the Qatar royal family in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 8 May 2010 | 11:11 am Bids for one all-India 3G licence reach $2.82 blnNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bids for one set of nationwide third-generation (3G) mobile spectrum licences in India reached 128.51 billion rupees ($2.82 billion) on the 25th day of an auction, government data showed on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 8 May 2010 | 9:42 am Spectrum revenue tops Rs 51,000-cr mark on Day 25At the current all-India bid price, the government is assured of at least Rs 51,833 crore over an estimated revenue of Rs 35,000 crore from sale of spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless access services.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2010 | 9:12 am No excise duty waiver in hill states beyond 2010: Anand Sharma - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 9:12 am Gold dulls, silver dazzles by Rs 735Gold prices declined marginally by Rs 10 to Rs 18,100 per ten grams in the bullion market here today on reduced offtake at existing levels, but silver skyrocketed by Rs 735 to Rs 28,900 per kg on high demand.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 8 May 2010 | 7:51 am 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 New regulations likely as US probes big stock diveNew York/Washington: President Barack Obama has said that regulators would look for ways to prevent a repeat of Thursday’s mysterious stock market meltdown, adding to expectations the US government will make new regulations to curb runaway computer trading. More than a day after a nearly 1,000-point drop in the Dow, the government had not publicly pinpointed the reasons. Growing concern about the Greek debt crisis, exacerbated by a spike in the Japanese yen, may have caused computerized trading programs to dump US stocks. Initial theories had focused on an individual trader erroneously entering an order, known as “fat finger” on Wall Street. “The regulatory authorities are evaluating this closely with a concern for protecting investors and preventing this from happening again,” said Obama, who called the selloff “unusual market activity” when he spoke to reporters. More than 50 people were working on the investigation into the night on Friday -- some who have slept for only two hours since Thursday’s plunge -- but regulators still do not know whether it started outside or within equity markets, a government source close to the probe told Reuters. Politico, a news organization that covers US politics and government, said regulators were eyeing a series of high-volume trades in S&P futures in Chicago as the trigger. Whatever the cause, the biggest-ever intraday point drop in the Dow stoked outrage among investors and politicians already up in arms over Wall Street’s role in the global recession. “We should expect the regulators to use every tool available to them to lower the speed limit on financial markets, and especially on banks,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of Pacific Investment Management Co, told Reuters Insider. “You will see regulation, taxation and enforcement all being used.” Two Democratic senators called for an amendment to the financial reform bill, asking US regulators to report on the causes of Thursday’s market plunge and whether circuit breakers are needed for computer-driven trading. The selloff came as the US Senate debated Obama’s proposed crackdown which, like recent civil fraud allegations against Goldman Sachs Group Inc, could fuel enthusiasm for the legislation. Indeed, Senators Ted Kaufman and Mark Warner asked Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, to add their amendment to the bill, according to a copy of a letter obtained by Reuters. “A temporary $1 trillion drop in market value is an unacceptable consequence of a software glitch,” Kaufman and Warner said in the letter. European Union market supervisors agreed on Friday to intensify monitoring due to wild stock and derivative swings. The Dow industrials finished down 3.2% on Thursday. The index lost 1.3% on Friday but there was no sign of the kind of selling that wracked the market on Thursday. “It’s a day that no one in the markets should be proud of,” said William O’Brien, chief executive of Direct Edge, a trading venue operator that handles more than 10 percent of all US stock trading. “While a lot of regulation worked to mitigate the risks that became really evident yesterday, there’s clearly more that we can do.” While the reasons behind the market swoon remained unclear, one senior portfolio manager at a large corporate pension plan speculated the move could have been set off by an algorithm responding to a spike in the Japanese yen, first against the euro, then against the dollar. That in turn may have touched off computer orders to dump large amounts of stock more or less instantaneously, the portfolio manager said. “That set off a nuclear process of one order banging into the next and exploding,” he said. “At the end of the day, the fault lies with poor programming and lack of intelligent human override.” Circuit Breaker Sought The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission reiterated that they were examining the reasons behind the selloff, and “scrutinizing the extent to which disparate trading conventions and rules across various markets may have contributed to the spike in volatility.” There are two issues for regulators and exchanges. One is to ensure that the same kind of rapid selloff does not happen again; the other is to determine if someone in the market was trying to take advantage of the situation. Even before Thursday’s meltdown, the SEC had been probing high-frequency trading and the structure of the mostly electronic marketplace, which has undergone a high-tech transformation over the past decade. High-frequency trading, where firms use lightning-quick algorithms to capitalize on tiny market imbalances, accounts for an estimated 60% of all volumes. Investors and exchanges have come to rely on those short-term traders to keep markets flowing. There was no shortage of proposals to avoid a repeat, and leading exchanges sniped among themselves over where the blame lay and what the best solution was. Nasdaq OMX Group will push for a marketwide circuit breaker based on individual stocks, chief executive Robert Greifeld said. Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE parent NYSE Euronext, touted his exchange’s use of a lever that slows down floor trading. The New York Stock Exchange’s use of its “mini circuit breaker” on Thursday afternoon was akin to abandoning its listed stocks, Greifeld said. “That signal is a negative signal that there is something wrong with (NYSE’s) stocks. Instead of standing behind it, they basically walked away from that,” Greifeld said on CNBC. Niederauer defended the use of the so-called Liquidity Refreshment Point, which kicks in at pre-established times based on market activity. “We’re simply slowing down the race car when we think it’s dangerous,” he told CNBC. Cancelled Trades The Nasdaq Stock Market early on Friday widened its list of stocks facing cancelled trades, and the focus turned to derivatives and regulators. Trades that took place during the worst of the meltdown have been cancelled for more than 250 stocks, Nasdaq OMX said, adding to the long list of “busted” transactions on NYSE Euronext’s Arca, other exchanges and trading venues. A record number of options contracts traded on Thursday. A handful of high-frequency firms told Reuters they had temporarily stopped trading on Thursday, citing the heavy market plunge and uncertainty over which trades would be cancelled. “We were concerned there would be trade breaks, and as a result, we would be left with an unpredictable position at the end of the day,” said Manoj Narang, CEO of Tradeworx, a New Jersey-based hedge fund that also runs a high-frequency unit. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 8 May 2010 | 6:41 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 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 Europe debt crisis engulfs world bourses - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 8 May 2010 | 3:20 am
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