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Falling valuations may hit JFEJSW Steel deal: SourcesThe JFEJSW Steel deal may get delayed over falling valuations, reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 7:35 am Will save Rs 200250cr in excise this year: Ashok LeylandAshok Leyland would save Rs 200250 crore in excise duty in FY11, its CFO K Sridharan told CNBCTV18 in an exclusive interview. He said the Pant Nagar plant has a capacity of 15,000 units. \"In FY12, we expect production from the Pant Nagar to touch 35,000 units per annum.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 7:00 am Open to giving over 15% stake to int\'l players: Jai BalajiJai Balaji is looking at international players for equity participation and is open to offer up to 15% stake in the company.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 6:39 am Wheat procurement down 3.5 pc so far at 21.89 mn tons - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 4:15 am StanChart to issue first ever IDR to raise resources - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 4:14 am India, China emerge as new money hubs: studyThe depth of the financial crisis and the various speeds at which different regions are recovering will accelerate the tectonic shift in global wealth distribution to the East, with China, India and the Middle East emerging as new wealth centres, according to a study.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 4:03 am Motherson net up 84 percent, shares soar - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 4:00 am Standard Chartered to issue first ever IDR to raise resourcesUK based global bank Standard Chartered (SC) Plc today said it will come out with the first ever Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) issue to enhance its market visibility and brand profile in India.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 3:59 am NTPC to float $4.2 bn equipment tenderIndia\'s top power producer NTPC Ltd, plans to float a USD 4.2 billion tender for the supply of super critical equipment manufactured in India, the Mint newspaper reported on Tuesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 3:49 am Shree Renuka renegotiating Brazil Equipav dealIndia\'s largest sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars is renegotiating the price of its proposed Rs 1530 crore acquisition of Brazilian sugar and ethanol maker Equipav, The Economic Times said on Tuesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 3:48 am Tata Motors in talks to make cars in MexicoTata Motors, India\'s largest vehicles maker, is in talks with a Mexican firm to make its cars there, the Mint reported on Tuesday, citing two unidentified people familiar with the development.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 3:48 am Rupee pulls away from 2-month lows, shares help - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 3:36 am Vodafone signals frustration with Indian marketLONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc signalled increasing frustration with its key Indian unit on Tuesday, taking a charge of 2.3 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) due to fierce competition and rapidly escalating spectrum costs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:31 am Unite union in court to challenge BA strike rulingLONDON (Reuters) - The union for British Airways cabin crew is in London's High Court to challenge a ruling that blocked a new wave of walkouts by the airline's staff as peace talks between BA and the union continue.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:28 am Cyclone won't impact India's monsoon progress - officialNEW DELHI (Reuters) - A cyclone in Bay of Bengal is unlikely to impact the progress of India's monsoon rains, expected to arrive on May 30, the country's top weather official said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:24 am G-15 for effective monitoring of global financial centresThe Group of Fifteen (G-15) developing countries, including India, have called for effective supervision of major financial centres and institutions to prevent repeat of recent global economic crisis.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:20 am See no more room for tariff cuts: BhartiThere is no more room for tariff cuts, said Rajan Mittal, ViceChairman, Bharti to CNBCTV18. \"The industry has always had and will find its level.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 May 2010 | 3:18 am BP siphoning off 40 pct of Gulf of Mexico oil leakLONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc doubled the estimate of how much oil it was managing to siphon from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico, as it lifted the total bill for the clean-up to $625 million.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:15 am Sensex trades with marginal gains; oil & gas, FMCG up - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 3:15 am Fuel pricing to be reviewed in June - govt sourceNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government will review its fuel pricing system next month and may allow state-run firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corp to gradually raise the price of natural gas to level charged by Reliance Industries, a top government official said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:09 am Emerging Asia should act on potentially destabilizing capital inflows: Asian Development BankEmerging Asia's capital markets have posted rapid gains as economic recovery in the region has gathered pace, drawing massive investment from overseas.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 3:08 am Rupee pulls away from 2-mth lows, shares helpMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee pulled away from more than two-month lows on Tuesday as higher share prices raised expectations of more capital inflows, but lingering worries about euro zone's debt problems checked the local currency's gains.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 2:58 am Global stocks rise on optimism over euro zone progressLONDON (Reuters) - Global stocks edged higher on Tuesday after a late rally on Wall Street and on cautious optimism that progress is being made on the euro zone rescue plan, but the euro itself remained under pressure.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 2:55 am Flush Asians splash out on luxuriesSingapore: Things are looking up in the Asia Pacific, a new survey shows, with most consumers saying they’re confident about their jobs and the economy in the next six months, which is encouraging them to spend on luxury items. The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence for the region was higher in eight of the 14 markets surveyed as robust economic growth ignited a sense of optimism. “The Asia/Pacific region rebounded in economic growth as early as the second half of last year, and regional recovery has continued to gain traction this year,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, MasterCard Worldwide’s economic adviser for the Asia/Pacific. “While consumers in this region were amongst the first to cut back drastically on discretionary spending 18 months ago, they now seem confident and ready to significantly increase their discretionary expenditures ... thereby contributing to the momentum of recovery,” he said in a statement. The survey, which in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific involved more than 10,500 people, gave the Asia Pacific an index score of 69.1 compared to 66.3 six months ago. Leading the uptrend were China, Vietnam and Singapore, which showed the highest levels of consumer confidence in the region. Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines were the most confident their incomes would increase within the next six months and even pessimism levels in Japan, which is struggling to shake off an economic recession, were declining. The survey, which was conducted from March to April this year, also found that younger respondents, aged below 30, were more optimistic than their older counterparts. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 May 2010 | 2:21 am Vodafone 2009 profits double - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 2:20 am India asks Pakistan to come out with negative list of importsAt present, Pakistan has a positive list of items of imports from India. This creates a major problem for bilateral trade since it becomes difficult to identify items in which Indian exports are not allowed.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 2:06 am Govt under pressure to send Army to quell MaoistsNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is under pressure to look at whether to send in the military to quell a growing Maoist insurgency in central India after an attack left 35 police and civilians dead. A string of deadly attacks this year has undermined the government’s claim to be winning the war on the Maoists. The rebels blew up a bus in the mineral-rich state of Chhattisgarh on Monday, a month after 76 police were killed in another attack. The decades-old movement is now present in a third of the country and while they have made few inroads into cities, they have spread into rural pockets of up to 28 states and now hurt potential business worth billions of dollars. The Congress party, which heads a coalition union government, has long opposed using the military against the militant left-wing movement because of the support the Maoists have in parts of India and for fear any severe crackdown will lead to a loss of votes from Congress grass-roots support base. India has a record of inflicting a disproportionate number of civilian deaths when using the military to crush insurgencies. But Singh is now facing a dilemma because if he continues the current policy of using the police he risks being seen as weak. “A military offensive could lead to large-scale civilian deaths, and it will create a perception that the government is hitting its own people, which will have adverse political impact on the Congress,” said D H Pai Panandikar, head of New Delhi-based private think tank RPG Foundation. “And the Congress knows whatever the stand of the opposition parties -- some seem to support the use of military -- they will not be part of the action and will not be held accountable if there is large-scale casualty.” Differences over Strategy Some of the key government allies face local elections in the coming months, including in West Bengal, one of the affected states where the Trinamool Congress party is hoping for power and is unlikely to support any military action by the coalition. Only last month the Trinamool helped Singh scrape through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in New Delhi. There are sharp differences within the Congress on how to tackle the four-decade-old insurgency that has fed off the resentment of those in the countryside left out of India’s economic boom. Union home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram suggested on Monday he favoured using the military to defeat the insurgency, which Singh considers India’s greatest internal security threat. Because of the political implications, the final decision in the matter will most likely be taken by Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party chief. But Monday’s attack may be strengthening the demand for involving the military. “I was given a limited mandate,” Chidambaram told NDTV in an interview late on Monday when asked about the possibility of involving the military in the offensive against the rebels. “We will go back to the cabinet to revisit that mandate in light of (the changed Maoist tactics),” he said adding the chief minister of the affected states wanted air force support. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 May 2010 | 1:55 am Flush Asians splash out on luxuries - surveySINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Things are looking up in the Asia Pacific, a new survey shows, with most consumers saying they're confident about their jobs and the economy in the next six months, which is encouraging them to spend on luxury items.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 1:41 am Euro dips on persistent fears, Asian stocks shakyTokyo: The euro dipped on Tuesday, struggling to pull away from four-year lows hit on Monday, and Asia stocks fell to three-month lows as persistent worries about the euro area’s fiscal health weighed on investor sentiment. China’s key stock index, among the world’s worst performers this year due to fears of monetary tightening, rose more than 1% in seesaw trade that took it in and out of negative territory after Monday’s 5% tumble, its biggest one-day fall for eight months. European shares were set to edge higher, boosted by late buying on Wall Street that left indexes steady on the day. Financial spreadbetters called Britain’s FTSE 100 to open as much as 0.4% higher and Germany’s DAX to rise as much as 0.6%. News that the US Senate had voted on Monday for the US government to oppose International Monetary Fund bailouts to countries unlikely to repay was the latest news to weigh on the beleaguered euro. “Even small factors can prompt selling of the euro on rallies at the moment. After its failure to clearly break above $1.2400 yesterday and today, the market may have taken the news as a factor,” said Daisuke Karakama, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. “But if the market had taken this to mean the United States will really exercise veto power, the euro could have fallen further,” he said. The euro fell 0.3% to $1.2360 , having pulled up from a four-year low of $1.2234 on Monday. Against the yen, the euro fell 0.3% to ¥114.41. Euro zone finance ministers said they will try at a meeting on Friday to iron out wrinkles in a €750 billion ($929 billion) emergency plan they hatched last week. Traders said that while the euro’s sharp fall made it ripe for a bounce, it would stay under pressure over the longer run due to concerns that belt tightening needed to prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading could stunt European growth. “It’s still hard to see how the problems in Europe stemming from Greece will come to an end. It’s hard to say what would convince everyone that it’s over,” said Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of FX trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Shioiri noted that costs of insuring Portuguese and Greek government debt jumped on Monday. China troubles Increasing worries about China were also troubling Asian markets after a Chinese leading economic indicator on Monday showed that growth may already have peaked in the world’s third-largest economy. China’s main Shangahi stock index fell 5.1% on Monday to its lowest close in a year and marking its biggest one-day fall in eight months. It was up 1.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade after hitting a one-year low earlier. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan was down 0.1% after earlier touching a three-month low and falling roughly 3.3% the day before. In choppy trade, many markets swung between losses and gains. The Nikkei dipped into negative territory during the last hour of trade as losses in Asian shares picked up steam, before finally closing up on the day just 0.1%. Seoul shares shed 0.5% but Australian shares edged up 0.2%. Singapore and Hong Kong showed modest gains, while Taiwan and Mumbai were lower. Fund managers said European woes were weighing on markets, with materials and consumer discretionary shares the worst-hit. “I can’t see a catalyst that’s going to drive the market much higher in the next couple of months,” said ATI portfolio manager Simon Burge. “It’s going to be a long time before we get an earnings recovery in Europe, and US companies have a massive exposure to Europe.” Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, said it will invest a record $16 billion this year to boost output of chips and flat screens. The move slightly boosted Japanese chip-gear makers, such as Advantest Corp, but weighed on Hynix Semiconductor and LG Display, on expectations the new investment would widen Samsung’s gap with smaller rivals. Gold edged up to stand around $20 below a lifetime high struck last week. Spot gold was at $1,225.80 an ounce by 0553 GMT. Crude oil rose from 5-month lows hit on Monday but the trend remained uncertain due to investor jitters about the euro currency and swollen US oil inventories. Nymex crude for June delivery gained 59 cents to $70.66 a barrel. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 May 2010 | 1:20 am Dell Studio XPS 7100 desktop unveiledThe desktop delivers a seamless intersection of social networking, entertainment and multimedia creation, the company said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 1:05 am Fire at Delhi Metro station, no casualties - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 12:43 am SAIL in initial talks with Tata Steel to set up steel plant - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 18 May 2010 | 12:32 am Vodafone meets forecasts but takes hit on IndiaLondon: Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s second largest mobile operator by revenue, posted full-year earnings in line with forecasts on Tuesday and raised its dividend policy despite taking a hit on its key Indian business. The UK-based group, which has 341 million subscribers including its share of those from affiliates, said it would take an impairment charge of £2.3 billion ($3.3 billion) on its fast-growing Indian unit after facing new licence costs. Higher spectrum costs in India and a fierce price war in the market had weighed on Vodafone ahead of the results, but its financial performance for the year was either in line or slightly ahead of forecasts. Vodafone said its £1 billion cost savings programme was delivered a year ahead of schedule and a new two-year, £1 billion cost savings programme would begin. It reported revenue and adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of expectations and core earnings in line with forecasts. Group revenue declined 2.3% to £44.5 billion after excluding benefits from foreign exchange and acquisitions. Full-year core earnings or EBITDA reached £14.7 billion against an average forecast of 14.8 billion. Dividend Growth In the more mature European and central European operations, voice and messaging revenue declined and roaming revenue fell due to lower business and leisure travel. Enterprise revenue also declined in Europe as business customers reduced activity and headcount. However, results in Africa and India remained solid due to continued growth and increasing market penetration. On the outlook for 2010-11, it said it would target a three-year dividend growth of 7% per year. Its target for 2011 adjusted operating profit was also in line with analyst expectations. “Vodafone’s financial results exceeded our upgraded guidance on all measures,” chief executive Vittorio Colao said. “We are creating a stronger Vodafone which is positioned to return to revenue growth during the 2011 financial year, as economic recovery should benefit our key markets.” Vodafone is engaged in a spectrum auction in India which has exceeded most expectations. Bids for one set of nationwide third-generation mobile spectrum licences reached $3.54 billion on Monday, the 32nd day of the auction. Most analysts had expected all-India spectrum to cost between $1.3 billion to $2 billion. The third generation, or 3G, spectrum would allow firms to offer high-speed Internet and other premium services in the highly competitive market, which would prove highly attractive to major operators. But on top of the auction, the Indian telecom regulator has called for mobile operators to pay a one-time fee for the 2G radio spectrum with high bandwidth which they won several years ago, a move that has drawn fierce criticism from all involved. The combination could put pressure on Vodafone’s cash generation and raises the stakes for operators who will still have to spend billions more on equipment to build 3G networks in a market where call rates are among the cheapest in the world. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 May 2010 | 12:25 am Q+A - How much money does the IMF have?REUTERS - The International Monetary Fund has committed a record $188 billion to crisis-hit countries since 2008, including nearly $40 billion for Greece, raising questions over whether it has enough resources should more euro zone states need a financial lifeline.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 May 2010 | 12:01 am GAIL hopeful of relief from subsidy mechanism - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 May 2010 | 11:45 pm Rupee dips as dollar up vs majors, lower sharesMumbai: The Indian rupee weakened towards more than two-month lows on Tuesday as the dollar continued to gain versus the euro and lower domestic shares fueled concerns of foreign fund withdrawals. At 10:05am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs45.65/66 per dollar, after dropping to Rs45.6950. It had closed at Rs45.62/63 on Monday after falling to Rs45.77 during trade, its weakest since 5 March. “Thought we will see some selling resuming today, but markets are stuck now. We should see a range of 45.55-45.75 unless the euro tanks again,” said Vikas Chittiprolu, a senior foreign exchange trader with state-run Andhra Bank. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.3%. However, most Asian currencies were stronger compared to the dollar, helping limit the rupee’s drop. The euro dipped on Tuesday, its trend seen weak despite a rebound from a four-year trough, due to persistent investor jitters over the euro zone’s fiscal woes and concerns that austerity steps could hurt the region’s growth. “The rupee has had a more or less flattish open and action so far but expected to remain biddish till the fixing as there is some squaring off of non-deliverable forward positions,” said Madhusudan Somani, head of foreign exchange dealing at Yes Bank. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.72, weaker than the onshore spot rate. Indian shares fell 0.3% early, with financials leading the decline, amid mixed Asian markets. The benchmark has dropped over 4% so far this month, with foreign funds pulling out around $665 million from Indian equities. Still, they have invested a net of about $5.9 billion so far in 2010, adding to a record $17.5 billion last year. The rupee’s fortunes are closely linked to these flows and the unit is down about 2.8% so far this month, trimming its gains in 2010 to just around 2%. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were at 45.6650 and 45.6625 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.3 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 11:45 pm Shares choppy; banks down, telecoms upMumbai: Indian shares were choppy with a negative bias on Tuesday as euro zone debt woes continued to hobble investors in the region, but traders said they expected the market to perk up on strong domestic growth. Export-focused outsourcers climbed on hopes their limited exposure to the debt-ridden countries in Europe would not seriously dent their outlook, traders said. However, financials eased on the shaky sentiment in the region. By 10:59am, the 30-share BSE index was trading down 0.39% at 16,769.22, with two-third of its components declining. “I think the Asian markets will rise above the European crisis,” said Gajendra Nagpal, CEO of Unicon Financial. “The euro zone woes are already factored in the price of Asian stocks and investors know the Asia story is on.” Foreign funds have pulled out $665 million from Indian equities so far this month, sending the benchmark nearly 4% down. Infosys Technologies and Wipro were up 0.3% and 1.7% respectively after BNP Paribas Securities said on Monday only a fraction of 13-57% revenue that large Indian IT companies get from Europe came from the debt-affected countries there. “We are therefore leaving our forecasts and our positive sector view unchanged, but will closely watch the developments in Europe,” BNP Paribas said in a note. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank shed 1.8% and 1.5% respectively, while mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp was down 1.1%. But top lender State Bank of India edged 0.4% higher. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, was down 0.3% at Rs1,013.60. Leading mobile operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, which have been battered by a call tariff war, climbed 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. The stocks, the only two in the benchmark index that declined in 2009, are down 18.3% and 17.5% so far this year. The telecom sector has been hammered by a tariff war, rising competition, high bids for third-generation licences and recent recommendation from the regulator over one-time spectrum fee. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.7:1 on volume of 115 million shares. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.4% at 5,038.60. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 11:17 pm L&T sees over 25% uptick in orders in FY11, may up outlook - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 17 May 2010 | 11:15 pm Oil bounces back in Asia, NY crude above USD 70Oil bounced back from seven-month lows in Asian trade today as cheaper prices spurred investors back into buying mode, analysts said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 11:07 pm Sensex opens 73 points lower on selective sellingThe wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also eased by 24.40 points, or 0.36%, to 5,035.50.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 10:49 pm Rupee weakens by 6 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee depreciated by six paise to 45.67 a dollar in early trade on Tuesday on continued capital outflows by foreign funds.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 10:44 pm Sensex opens 73 points lower on selective sellingThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Tuesday fell by 73 points, or 0.43 per cent, in opening trade, taking cues from other Asian bourses.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 10:39 pm Rupee inches down on weak shares; dlr eyedRupee edged lower todayon Tuesday morning as a weak start to local shares weighed on sentiment, while the dollar's gains against major currencies added to the pressure.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 10:33 pm Wall Street recovers late to edge up on bargain huntingNew York: US stocks staged a comeback in late trading on Monday as bargain hunters snapped up beaten-down shares, setting aside concerns that efforts to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis could stifle the global economy. Retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp also rose ahead of earnings later in the week. The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, is expected to post a rise in profit from a year ago, though it is also expected to show it is losing shoppers as the economy improves. “Things got a little oversold and things were getting a little overdone on the downside recently,” said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 1.2% to $52.73 and Target gained 1.6% to $56.05. The euro slid to a four-year low at one point before rebounding, helping take indexes down more than 1% earlier in the day as investors fretted that the steps some euro-zone nations are taking to cut their budgets will hinder economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 5.67 points, or 0.05%, to end at 10,625.83. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1.26 points, or 0.11%, to 1,136.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7.38 points, or 0.31%, to close at 2,354.23. Adding to apprehension over the still fragile recovery, a gauge of manufacturing in New York state showed growth advanced at a slower pace in May, while a Chinese leading economic indicator showed the country’s growth may have already peaked. Oil sector slides, but builders rise Demand worries hit commodities, including oil, which fell more than 2%, or $1.53, to settle at $70.08 a barrel. Energy companies were the S&P 500’s biggest laggards with Exxon Mobil off 0.5% at $63.27. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold lost 2.5% to $67.97, as copper prices tumbled 5.6%. Shares of manufacturer Caterpillar, down 1.7% at $63.78, weighed on the Dow. Shares of major US home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos fell 3.1% to $25.26 after giving a disappointing profit forecast for the year. But the Dow Jones US home construction index reversed course to gain 0.5% after data showed that US home-builder sentiment increased in May to the highest level in more than two years. About 10.68 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, beating last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65 billion. Declining stocks slightly outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, about 14 stocks fell for every 13 that rose. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 10:22 pm BSE Sensex drops 0.3 pc; financials fallThe BSE Sensex fell 0.3 per cent early on Tuesday, with financials leading the decline, amid mixed Asian markets. At 9 am, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.33 per cent at 16,780.35 points, with 21 components declining, after opening a tad higher. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 9:57 pm Asia may need capital controls to curb fx rise - ADBHONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia's strong growth outlook and prospects for better returns will lift capital inflows into the region but that could increase appreciation pressure on currencies which may require authorities to impose capital controls, a report from Asian Development Bank said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 6:19 pm Welspun Ind to spend Rs 300cr in FY11Welspun India Ltd which sells terry towels and home textiles, plans to spend Rs 300 crore in FY11 mainly to enhance capacity in towels, bed linen and bath rugs, a top official told Reuters.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 4:24 pm CDMA operators back TRAIs spectrum proposalAs opposed to the GSM operators, CDMA operators association have praised the telecom regulator TRAI\'s spectrum proposal stating that it is \"balanced, progressive and transparent\".Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 4:20 pm See clear shift in demand trend for 3G: Diamond ConsultantsIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Vinod Nair, Managing Partner (India) at Diamond Consultants, spoke about his reading of the auction so far and the road ahead.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 3:07 pm 3G spectrum allocation auction transparent: Pitroda'There is a need for re-look at policies pertaining to the allocation of 3G spectrum,' prime minister's advisor on infrastructure and innovation, Sam Pitroda said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 2:59 pm DMA to make up a third of institutional trades by '12But a shortage of tech vendors could play spoilsport.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 2:56 pm SAIL looks to ink JVs with Posco, Tata Steel and ArcelorMittalState-owned firm may set up a 2 mt plant with Posco in Jharkhand.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 2:53 pm States may steer expresswaysGovt wants them to have a say in pvt participation and alignment.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 2:35 pm New Confederation of Indian Industry president all for transparent advocacyThe young and dynamic newly-elected president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Hari S Bhartia said what are legalised in the US as lobby firms are essentially legal firms.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 17 May 2010 | 2:19 pm Expats seek India exposureBangalore: Five years ago, Briton Robert Mackie, 36, asked his employer Jaguar Cars Ltd for a transfer to China, but was turned down. In August 2008, some five months after the luxury car maker had been bought by Tata Motors Ltd, his boss told him there was a job opening in India and asked him if he was interested.  Mackie had been bitten by the travel bug and was craving excitement and new career opportunities. India offered an additional incentive—it’s the country where his mother was born (in Darjeeling) and he was curious to discover it. What clinched his decision was that work experience in India would look “very, very good” on his resume. That was also the time when turmoil in Western markets was starting to peak; the month after Mackie accepted the India job offer, Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed, triggering a global credit crunch. The US, Europe and Japan tumbled headlong into the first simultaneous recession since World War II. The opportunity of working in the world’s second fastest growing major economy, and declining overseas industries and job insecurity in their home markets are driving an increasing number of expatriates to employment in India and Indian companies, which are trying to tap readily available foreign expertise in their quest to expand. Executive search firm Amrop, which has done a research study on expatriates in Indian companies, found that an “India or India-like experience” is the biggest attraction for foreigners moving to jobs in local firms. The larger playing field and challenging role content that employment in the country offers are other key allures, it said. Also Read Indian firms turn to expats  New experience: Brianna Dieter (second from left) has gone from being an intern to a programme manager at Infosys. Foreigners often find the Indian work culture very different from what they are used to. Hemant Mishra/Mint “I have seen very good friends of mine either lose their jobs or getting downgraded,” said Mackie, who oversees product development for Jaguar. “It was very sad watching from the sidelines.” The India experience Hikaru Kono, 24, graduated from Japan’s Rikkyo University in April 2009 when the world’s second biggest economy was battling the crisis and jobs were scarce. Fortunately for Kono, the Japanese arm of Indian software services firm Tata Consultancy Services Ltd was hiring. He joined the company and nine months ago moved to its Kolkata office. The information technology analyst says he came to India because a large part of the project he was working on was being run out of Kolkata. “If I come to India it is good for my career… It is the centre of outsourcing,” says Kono, who lives in a paying guest accommodation in Kolkata which his employer’s human resources department helped him find. His term in India will expire in another three months. “If I get another opportunity in India I would like to come back,” says Kono, who has a bachelor’s degree in physics. The Amrop study, titled To be or not to be: Expatriates in Indian Companies, cites the case of an expatriate hired for his “special knowledge of an industry (who) handled a scale of almost 30 times higher than his last job” and gained “unparalleled exposure”. There are minuses, of course, and a price to pay. From the point of view of expatriates, shortcomings could range from an inadequate induction programme to differences in operating and decision-making styles and companies’ urge to cut costs once a “learning” benefit is extracted from a foreign employee, the Amrop study found. Long hours, lower productivity and quality orientation, unfocused agendas of meetings and a lack of respect for privacy and personal space were some other complaints, it said, adding: “This is further marred by a relatively higher political environment at work.” According to Amrop, companies that took part in its study expressed “greater overall satisfaction”, rating their experience of expatriate leaders 6.5 on a scale of 10. The expatriate leaders themselves ranked it 3.5 on 10. Working in India often can be exacting for foreigners. “It is a six-day week... Days are from daybreak to sunset,” said Julian Groom, a Briton who is chief operating officer and executive director at Mumbai-based real estate company DB Group. No time to play Groom, who has been in India for 12 years, says he works 100-110 hours a week. “What were hobbies once are gone now,” says Groom, who used to sail in the UK in his spare time. Steve, 30, who did not want his second name to be revealed, says Indians work such long hours that they have no time left for hobbies. A Swiss national, he used to work with a multinational construction company until February, when he quit, and has dealt closely with engineers in Indian construction companies. He thinks Indians often work long hours, but perhaps not so efficiently. He finds the work culture in Indian firms to be strict and hierarchical. “The higher you go in the hierarchy they take advantage of their status and don’t do their own work any more,” says the mechanical engineer. Brianna Dieter, 27, has grown from being an intern in the global academic relations department at India’s second largest software services exporter, Infosys Technologies Ltd, to programme manager at the same department over five years. “I don’t blend in. I’m white-skinned; I have blonde hair and blue eyes,” says Dieter, who, like many Caucasian women, complains of being stared at. “There’s no hostility. It’s more curiosity,” adds Dieter, a Fulbright scholar with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, who has learnt not to take the staring personally. Dieter, an American from Seattle, now handholds Infosys’ 150-odd interns from 30 countries through the same challenges she faced first-hand, doling out advice on how to deal with spicy Indian food and how to travel safe. Career growth Neither Dieter, nor Steve nor Groom, has any regrets about the choice they made of coming to work in India. Dieter says she loves her job while India is an embellishment for Steve’s resume and has been a learning experience, both professionally and personally in the two years he has been here. Groom, who set up the DB Group’s hospitality arm, DB Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, recently unveiled the luxury hotel Grand Hyatt in Goa and has plans to open two-three new hotels every year for the next five years. Hard work apart, career growth in India can be jump-started if you’ve been to the right schools. “My Stanford degree matters a lot more here than it does in the US,” says Valerie Rozycki, an American who holds a master’s in economic sociology from Stanford University and heads strategic initiatives at Bangalore-based mobile payments start-up mChek India Payment Systems Pvt. Ltd. While she says mChek is much like the Bay Area start-ups of California, two of which she has worked with, “I may not have reached a leadership position (in a US-based, start-up) as I have here.” Rozycki feels it pays to be different. “In the US, I’m one of many.” Next: Of culture shock and cows Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 1:45 pm BCCI, IMG officials meets over IPL issuesMumbai: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials met senior executives from sports marketing firm IMG in Mumbai today to discuss the Indian Premier League, including the award of global broadcast rights to Multi Screen Media Ltd for the tournament. IMG has been managing the IPL since its inception in 2008. The meeting was attended by senior BCCI officials including president Shashank Manohar, secretary N. Srinivasan and interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin. Andrew Wildblood, senior vice president, IMG, was accompanied by senior legal counsel Paul Manning and John Laffhagen. “It’s a routine meeting. IMG has a contract with IPL so it’s a routine meeting with them,” said Srinivasan. Dismissing media reports that IMG could stand to lose the IPL contract, he said that “nothing sensational” happened at the meeting and IMG would continue as logistics company for IPL. “We had a friendly and constructive meeting with the BCCI. We are hoping to have good relations with the BCCI,” Wildblood told reporters at the end of the meeting. IMG’s role in the running of the league had come under a cloud following the suspension of Lalit Modi as IPL chairman and commissioner. The meeting had apparently been convened by the board to clarify whether IMG had been aware of Modi’s alleged misdemeanours, including charges related to the rigging of the initial bids for a couple of franchises in 2008. Professor Ratnakar Shetty, appointed by the board to look into all documents and records related to the league, also maintained it was a “routine meeting.” He refused to comment on whether the board had discussed allegations levelled by English Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke that the sports management firm was involved in Modi’s alleged plan with three other English counties to start a rebel league. A PTI report said the sports management firm had filed a defamation suit against Clarke over the claims. PTI contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 1:45 pm Government seems stalled, it is time to act How should one evaluate its performance? An objective report card is never easy to compile. A lot would depend on how allowances are made for coalition-era politics. More importantly, how much one overlooks failures to harmonise differences among the allies and, more importantly, the cost of missed opportunities. On the whole, the economy has done well, with a robust rebound following the global financial meltdown. Successive rounds of stimuli to inject additional liquidity, an accommodative monetary policy, increased disposable income through tax breaks and incentivizing of consumer spending, particularly through a new pay package to government employees, did create a virtuous circle. Also See The Highs and the Lows (Graphics) Mint’s deputy managing editor Anil Padmanabhan on why Mint decided to run a series evaluating the UPA government’s first year in power (read now) The emergence of inflationary pressures was not necessarily a direct contribution of the stimulus package. Food inflation reflects both demand and supply factors, domestic and global, and equally a distortion of distribution mechanisms. The inability to enact some stalled but important legislations in the first year of its office has, however, important implications for the next four years of UPA-II. Listen to chief statistician of India Pronab Sen talk to Mint’s Asit Ranjan Misra about the state of the Indian economy at present, and what lies ahead So what are the positives? First and foremost, the economy. This is no mean achievement considering that the developed world has yet to emerge from the unprecedented financial meltdown. The recovery of the US economy remains fragile. Europe, following the Greece crisis and economic troubles in Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal—not necessarily in that order—will make global recovery problematic. In comparison, India’s economic performance is robust, with optimism for the near term. However, our continued attractiveness, leading to inward capital flows and appreciation of the rupee, has consequences for retaining export competitiveness and managing a growing current account deficit. Second, spending on important social sector initiatives such as free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6-14 under the Right to Education Act, and rural development programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been enhanced, along with increased allocations for various components of the Bharat Nirman programme. There is a new spurt in the road building programme and several measures have been initiated to improve infrastructure. Third, the mid-term review of the 11th Plan has been completed and preparatory work for the 12th Plan commenced in earnest. Despite the time lost due to the global slowdown, high medium-term growth, with emphasis on inclusive growth, looks achievable. What are the negatives? Inflation, particularly of food prices, has yet to evoke a coherent policy response. The food security Bill is being tossed around with lack of clarity either on the methodology or the number of intended beneficiaries. Key economic legislations dealing with issues such as resettlement and rehabilitation, land use, labour, reform of the banking and financial sector, to mention a few, remain stalled. There is a lack of consensus within the Congress party and it is now increasingly clear the Left was only an excuse for postponing many important decisions needed to accelerate growth. The difficulty experienced by government in getting the Finance Bill enacted by reaching out to new allies does not augur well for governance and much less for enactment of stalled legislations. A key feature for durable fiscal consolidation is credible action in rationalizing anti-poverty measures and better targeting of subsidies. The inability to act on the Kirit Parikh report for de-administering the prices of petroleum and oil products will cast an even heavier burden if oil prices head northwards. The government increasingly looks a house divided with a multiplicity of power centres. It is also divided in its strategy of managing its allies. Too many scandals add to growing public cynicism. Inability to rein in errant ministers weakens its resolve to improve governance. This is at a time when there are serious challenge, both external and internal. External in terms of our dangerous neighbourhood; internal in terms of our inability to contain the continuing haemorrhaging of sovereign authority by the expanding reach of the Maoist insurgency. In short, the government, and more importantly governance, seems stalled. Fresh initiatives and political resolve are an inescapable need both in its economic strategy and political management. It is time to act. N.K. Singh is a member of the Rajya Sabha. Respond to this column at feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 1:45 pm ABB plans Rs 4,400-cr buyback offer to raise stake to 75%ABB, a global power and automation technology group, will offer shareholders of ABB Ltd, its listed subsidiary in India, Rs 900 per share to increase stake in the company to 75 per cent from the present 52.1 per cent. The aim is to facilitate the long-term development of ABB's business in the country, the company said in a filing today.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 1:28 pm China leads Asian stocks tumbleAsian stocks fell on Monday, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down the most in almost six months, on concern that measures to reduce fiscal deficits in Europe will hurt economic growth and China will act further to contain property price rises.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 1:26 pm DoT may reject Trai's 2G pricing recommendationThe Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to reject the telecom regulator's proposal to charge operators holding excess spectrum at a rate determined on the basis of the ongoing 3G bids.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 1:25 pm Multiplexes to screen 30 shows of Kites on first weekendThe much-hyped Bollywood film featuring actor Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actor Barbara Mori, Kites, is set for a Friday release, with some multiplexes screening as many as 30 shows a day, making it the film with possibly the most screenings on one day.  Extended showing: A still from Kites. The film is shorter than usual Bollywood fare, allowing exhibitors to run six shows a day per screen. The trend, seen with some other recent releases as well, reflects the strategy of film distributors and exhibitors to reach the largest possible audience during the very first weekend of a film’s release. Here’s why: according to industry estimates, nearly 80% of a film’s theatrical collections happen during the first two weeks of its release, with the first weekend being critical. “It really is up to marketeers to ensure that there is enough hype to draw in the crowds on Friday; then the content has to follow,” says Tushar Dhingra, chief operating officer, BIG Cinemas. With the growing reach of television channels, social networking sites and new media, “word of mouth” plays a pivotal role in deciding the fate of a film, Dhingra adds. Needless to say, distributors and exhibitors prefer to maximize their returns on investment during the first weekend, before word of mouth can—should things go wrong—break a film. Reliance Big Pictures is distributing Kites and the company’s multiplex chain is also likely to schedule 25-30 shows a day at its theatres in Mumbai, Nodia and Ahmedabad. The smaller multiplexes will run 18-24 shows each day. Cinemax India Ltd, a Kanakia Group company, which owns the multiplex chain Cinemax, will have 30 shows of Kites daily, starting Friday. The last time it screened 20 shows a day in a multiplex was for 3 Idiots, which became the biggest hit in Bollywood. Introducing more shows helped Cinemax push up audience numbers by more than 100% then. Just a few years ago, a big film like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham would be screened 28 times a week. The trend changed with films like Singh is Kinng and 3 Idiots, where producers, distributors and exhibitors decided to schedule up to 28 shows a day. Kites is now set to break that record. According to Gaurav Verma, vice-president (distribution) at UTV Motion Pictures, people go out on weekends rather than on weekdays, “which is why most exhibitors capitalize on the hype and urgency of consumers to watch a particular movie by increasing the number of screenings”. Gautam Dutta, chief executive officer, PVR Cinemedia, a division of PVR Ltd, agrees: “If there is a lot of hype (around the film), you want to maximize the footfalls.” PVR is likely to allocate maximum number of shows to Kites and Shrek 4, both of which release this week. In the case of Kites, distributors and exhibitors clearly wish to exploit the media hype around the film. With a duration of two hours and five minutes, Kites is shorter than usual Bollywood flicks, allowing exhibitors to run six shows a day per screen. Anything over two hours and 35 minutes can be shown only five times a day. Increasing the number of screenings also helps cater to and draw in different audience segments. The early morning shows, for instance, appeal to both price-sensitive as well as time-sensitive audiences. Tickets to the early morning shows at Cinemax come at a discount of more than 40% discount and tend to attract college students and senior citizens. Another reason why both distributors and exhibitors are keen that the film rakes in its maximum revenue over the first weekend is piracy. In certain cases, pirated DVDs or VCDs are available within hours of the release. “If consumers don’t get to watch the film when they want to, there is a tendency to opt for pirated copies. So, expanding the reach of the film helps minimize the loss of revenue (to piracy),” says Dhingra. gouri.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 1:12 pm GAIL Q4 profit increases 45%State-run gas utility GAIL posted a 45% rise in net profit in the quarter ended March 2010, even as chairman B C Tripathi estimated the capital expenditure at about Rs 8,000 crore in 2010-11 and said the company is examining a Rs 500 crore bond float and issue foreign currency bonds for $150 million this fiscal as part of plans to borrow up to Rs 30,000 crore in the next 3-4 years.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 1:07 pm I-T dept suspends e-filing of returnsNew Delhi: The income-tax (I-T) department has temporarily suspended the e-filing of returns until it has renewed the website’s security certificate, which expired on 8 May, it said in a press release. The clarification, issued following a story in Mint on 17 May, also stated that the process for renewal had been started well before the certificate had lapsed. “Pending completion of certification procedure, the e-filing facility for AY (assessment year) 2010-11 has been temporarily suspended. This will not affect taxpayers in any way, as the earliest income-tax return for AY 2010-11 falls due on 31 July 2010. The facility is expected to be renewed very shortly,” the press release said. Interestingly, the release added that “the e-filing portal of the income-tax department remains fully secure, and lapse of the security certificate does not mean that its security features are slackened or compromised”. A senior official from Entrust, the agency that issued the security certificate to the I-T department, on Monday said the renewal procedure had been concluded. A security certificate guarantees the authenticity of a website and ensures that all transactions are encrypted and, hence, secure. Mint had earlier reported that due to the lapse of the security certificate, filing tax returns online could be risky as it could potentially compromise confidential information of tax assessees. surabhi.a@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:56 pm Silver lining: Exports of textiles to US on the riseAfter declining for several months because of the global financial meltdown, textile exports to the US are finally back on track, recording growth in February and March.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:51 pm Infy keen to boost corporate governanceInfosys is raising the bar on the corporate governance front. After a Nasscom ethics panel led by its chairman & chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy mooted a proposal that listed Indian IT companies have independent directors in unlisted overseas subsidiaries also, Infy said it was open to trying out this concept at more of its foreign entities.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:47 pm Cellphones, cloud take self-analysis to a new levelBangalore: A mathematician at the Chennai Mathematical Institute, K. Narayan Kumar has always been a meticulous account keeper. Now he wants to turn an efficient self-tracker, starting with quantifying the time he “wastes” in coffee breaks at work.  Rolling the dice: LimberLink’s chairman V. Vinay (left) and managing director Swami Manohar have developed perhaps the first solution in the personal analytics space in India with Alltrack. Hemant Mishra / Mint He’s been testing a new bookkeeping system called Alltrack for the last six months, tracking expenses by sending SMSes (Short Message Service) to his account with the start-up that offers to track almost everything that one can put a number to. As the pilot ended two weeks ago, when Alltrack went live, Kumar realized he could track his food, mood, productivity, health, habits and coffee breaks—virtually break up his personal life into elements and have it machine-analysed. Founders V. Vinay and Swami Manohar, former computer science professors at the Indian Institute of Science, developed the Simputer in 2000 and they wanted their next venture to be as far away from the hand-held device as possible to avoid appearing to be in competition with it. The ubiquity of mobile phones beckoned and LimberLink Technologies Pvt. Ltd was set up with ValueFirst and SMS Gupshup as two messaging service providers for Alltrack, perhaps the first solution in the personal analytics space in India. “Alltrack is trying to make sense of the enormous amount of data that is now generated in the hugely successful mobile market in India,” said Kartik Kumaramangalam, a former Boston Consulting Group consultant and a New York-based entrepreneur who runs advisory firm Tuva Ventures. “The entrepreneurs are looking at changing human behaviour at the grass-roots level at a time when most of the attention of the regulator and the entrepreneurs is towards banking and financial inclusion in general.” Users can send data tagged with a keyword of their choice to Alltrack for a monthly subscription fee of Rs100. Even short sentences or “notes” can be stored. At the end of the month, the data as well as its graphic analysis can be retrieved, either via SMSes or on the Web. In existing SMS-based services, the data transfer is predominantly from the cloud (virtual servers on the Internet) to the phone, be it bulk messaging or a response to an action such as an automated teller machine cash withdrawal. In Alltrack, the subscriber creates or uploads data to the cloud to be processed, analysed and later accessed by the user. Kumaramangalam said personal analytics has been “massively successful” in the US, where consumers are now going to the next level of sharing data. Business prospects are so ripe that venture capitalists such as New York-based IA Ventures are funding start-ups that handle large amounts of data, he added. “Some 90% of the business ideas in India are a replica of the US (market), this one is no different,” said Sanjay Tiwari, an analyst with JuxtConsult in New Delhi. “This is a brilliant idea, but will people be willing to use it, submitting enough data points to be meaningfully analysed?” Arguably, the founders could be rolling the dice with a data-driven service. “The challenge really comes about because SMS services in India are currently synonymous with jokes, astrology, news and the like,” said Vinay and Manohar. “We’ll have to spend some time developing this analytics category.” Still, they are looking at a user base of at least 100,000 in India before moving to other regions, particularly the Far East, where SMS usage is high and people are used to paying for services. Experts say besides consumers, the enterprise segment could find it useful, too. “It has the potential to turn into a big value add for the HR (human resource) department in an enterprise for health and appraisal systems due to its strong personal analytics” capability, said Kiran Kulkarni, managing director of Geodesic Ltd, a mobile and wireless application provider that also happens to be the owner now of the Simputer that Vinay and Manohar developed. seema.s@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:45 pm Tata Motors may take Mexico road to North AmericaMumbai: In a move that will enable Tata Motors Ltd to establish a beachhead in North America and a few other emerging markets, India’s largest auto maker by revenue is in talks with Mexico-based Metalsa SA de CV for a contract manufacturing arrangement, two people familiar with the development said. If the talks lead to an arrangement, the unit will manufacture the Indica Vista, Indigo Manza and the Nano.  New initiatives: Tata Motors’ CEO Carl-Peter Forster. Adam Berry / Bloomberg “A team from Tata Motors consisting of senior officials, recently visited Mexico for the purpose,” said one of the two people. Tata Motors’ move to enter new markets through a contract manufacturing arrangement mirrors its past moves of making a low-cost entry into new markets. In 2008, it bolstered its presence in South Africa by acquiring a used assembly plant owned by Nissan Motor Co. in that country. Metalsa, a subsidiary of Grupo Proeza, manufactures components for the passenger car and commercial vehicle makers. Grupo Proeza is a privately-held Mexican group with diversified interests in automotive, foundry, juices and fruits, information technology and healthcare. Metalsa India Pvt. Ltd, Metalsa’s wholly owned subsidiary, supplies critical parts such as chassis and oil pump to Tata Motors’ heavy- and medium-duty trucks from its manufacturing unit in Jamshedpur. Analysts said a manufacturing presence in Mexico is a significant step forward for Tata Motors that has in the past expressed ambitions to enter the Latin American markets. Whether the proposed agreement with Metalsa will extend to all areas it is present in is not clear as yet, but Metalsa’s diversified presence in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the US and the UK bodes well for Tata Motors as it can have its footprints in these markets, analysts said. Yezdi Nagporewalla, national industry director, industrial markets at global consulting firm KPMG, said: “Having a manufacturing footprint in Mexico will also help the company address the South American market.” Tata Motors has asked some of its key suppliers to study the possibility of setting up bases in Mexico and a few other markets, and submit a proposal to the company in two to three months, said one of the two sources quoted earlier. In an email response, Debasis Ray, spokesman at Tata Motors said: “Given its wide product portfolio and its objective to expand its international business, Tata Motors continuously explores both what could be relevant markets and within them relevant business opportunities. But the company has not arrived at any decision or timeframe for any of the markets you refer to.” Mahantesh Sabarad, senior analyst at Fortune Equity Brokers (India) Ltd, said: “Potentially the move will lead to an indirect entry into the US market,” as the company would be able to leverage the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). The trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico eliminated duties and quantitative restrictions and created the world’s largest free trade area. With the US being world’s largest pick-up market, Tata Motors may also consider launching the Xenon, its pick-up offering based on the Tata Safari platform, and smaller commercial vehicles such as the Ace there, Sabarad said. According to the two people cited in the first instance, Carl-Peter Forster, appointed earlier this year and given charge to “internationalize” the country’s biggest auto maker, is driving these initiatives. In an interaction with Mint on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor show in March, Ravi Kant, vice-chairman (non-executive) at Tata Motors, had said: “We have to take Tata Motors to the next logical level and enter newer geographies.” The company, however, will only look at “select geographies”. Meanwhile, the company is also looking at fortifying its presence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets. It has a contract manufacturing agreement with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co. Ltd, the Thailand-based independent assembler of automobiles. The unit manufactures pick-ups and vehicles based on the Ace platform. It’s now considering launching the Nano in the region. South Africa, where Tata Motors has a manufacturing presence, and a few more markets in Africa region are also on the company’s radar for the Nano launch. “Brazil, Romania, Turkey and some markets in Eastern Europe have also been identified by the company, ” said one of the two persons. “In a few years from now, the Nano sales in the overseas markets will exceed the domestic market,” he said, with two out of every three of the cars selling outside India. While the company’s unit in Sanand near Gujarat, will address the export requirements, the unit in Pantnagar will cater to the domestic market, this person added. Tata Motors’ commercial and passenger vehicles are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, West Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia and South America. The company also has presence in the UK, South Korea and Spain through subsidiaries and associate companies. shally.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:44 pm The Mint Report for 17 May 2010NTPC, India’s biggest power company is all set to float a new tender for so-called super-critical equipment. The order is going to be worth some 19,200 crores. It’s going to be floated after NTPC’s earlier Rs18,000 crore tender for super critical equipment is picked up. Larsen and Toubro has beaten forecasts. The company’s fourth quarter profits shot up 44% to Rs1,438 crore. Its net sales for the same period jumped 28% to Rs13,375 crore. Also, Larsen and Toubro’s board proposed a dividend of Rs12.50 per equity share on a face value of Rs2 each to shareholders. Maruti Suzuki is going to unveil its second expansion plan in as many months. Company chairman R.C. Bhargava it will increase its capacity to produce an extra 250,000 vehicles a year. This is over and above March’s announcement of a 250,000 units-a-year expansion. At present, Maruti can churn out a total of a million vehicles a year at its two facilities in Haryana. Markets got off to a bad start this week. Taking their cue from Asian markets, Indian equities fell to a two-month low during early hours of trading. But after European markets opened strongly, they made a partial recovery. The Sensex ended the day 159 points down at 16,836. And the Nifty closed with a loss of 34 points at 5,060. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:43 pm Gold touches all-time high, retreats to Rs 18,265After hitting an all-time high at the onset of trading, gold prices fell back on emergence of heavy profit-booking towards the close and ended with a modest gain at the bullion market here on Monday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:42 pm L&T Q4 net increases 44%, offers dividendEngineering firm Larsen & Toubro on Monday posted a growth of 44% in its net profit to Rs 1,438 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2010, over the same period last year.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:37 pm Sensex down 159 points on Eurozone crisisSensex continued its losing streak closing lower for the second consecutive session. With this, the benchmark index has declined in 8 out of 11 sessions in the month so far.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:34 pm NTPC to float new order for $4.2 billionNTPC Ltd plans to float a tender to supply super critical equipment valued at $4.2 billion (around Rs19,200 crore) in a move that should bring some cheer to power equipment makers, but only those who manufacture in India because that will be a condition in the tender. By doing so the tender rules out imports from China; over the past year, Indian power equipment makers have lobbied against cheaper imports from China. The equipment NTPC wants to buy will help NTPC achieve higher plant efficiencies and economies of scale, besides being environment-friendly. The tender will be for around eight units of 800MW. “The specifications are ready. We will send the notice inviting tender documents to the power ministry for their approval, who in turn will take a cabinet approval for this,” said a senior NTPC executive who did not want to be identified. NTPC had recently floated another tender worth around Rs18,000 crore for supercritical power projects, inviting bids to supply 11 boilers and 11 turbines of 660MW each. “The 800MW unit size tender will be on the lines of the previous tender. It will be a two-stage tender involving technical and commercial bids. For the earlier tender the scrutiny is on and we expect to award it by July,” said a second NTPC executive who also did not want to be identified. The earlier tender had specified that the winner would have to set up factories in India to develop the local power generation equipment manufacturing industry. It also guaranteed state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) an assured order. The tender stated that the lowest bidder for boilers would be given an order for six units. If Bhel was not the lowest bidder, the government would award it the order for the remaining five units, provided it agreed to match the lowest bid, said that tender. If it did not, the option would be given to others in the order of bid ranking. The same system would be followed for ordering turbines. The “domestic manufacturing” clause helps the cause of Bhel and joint venture companies such as Toshiba Corp. of Japan along with JSW Group; Ansaldo Caldaie SpA of Italy and GB Engineering Enterprises Pvt. Ltd; Larsen and Toubro Ltd and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd of Japan; and Alstom SA of France and Bharat Forge Ltd. It, however, is to the disadvantage of Chinese companies such as Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd, Dongfang Electric Corp. and Harbin Power Equipment Co. Ltd. “A lot of private firms have plans to enter the power generation equipment manufacturing space. Such orders will help expand the domestic capacity. Of 100,000MW capacity planned for the 12th Plan (2012-17) around 40% is super critical,” said Rupesh Sankhe, an equity research analyst at Angel Broking Ltd. In a related development, the utility announced on Monday that it registered a nearly 5% drop in fourth quarter net profit to Rs2,017.65 crore compared with Rs2,113.35 crore in the year-ago period. The utility’s net sales increased to Rs12,353.39 crore during the March quarter from Rs11,445.78 crore during the corresponding period last year. For the year ended 31 March, profit rose 6.42% to Rs8,728.20 crore on revenue of Rs46,322.59 crore. PTI contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:34 pm SAIL, Tata in talks to set up steel unitSteel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) chairman S K Roongta on Monday said the company is having initial discussions with the country's largest private sector steel producer Tata Steel for setting up a manufacturing unit in the country.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:31 pm Swiss parent hikes stake in ABBSwiss-based parent firm of ABB Ltd on Monday made an open offer to raise its stake in its Indian unit by acquiring an additional 23% stake from the public shareholders for Rs 4,366 crore.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 17 May 2010 | 12:30 pm Travel agents move court against airlinesMumbai: Travel agents have once again moved court against 16 foreign airlines that are not paying them commissions due on ticket sales, and have asked India’s civil aviation regulator to intervene on their behalf.  Commission row: The downed shutters of a travel agency in Delhi during the 2008 strike to protest the implementation of zero commissions.Madhu Kapparath/Mint The court had then asked the ministry of civil aviation and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that the payment was made. Following the order, DGCA directed the airlines in March to pay the commission, saying it was rightful remuneration. But the airlines are yet to comply, said IAAI. “In stark defiance, the 16 airlines have not cared to follow the (DGCA) directive,” IAAI president Biji Eapen wrote in a letter dated 13 May to S.N.A. Zaidi, the director-general of civil aviation. Mint has reviewed this letter. The association now wants DGCA to apprise the court about the situation. “The high court will reopen next week after the annual vacation and it is expected that the contempt of court case will be disposed (of) as soon as the DGCA compliance report is submitted,” Eapen said. Mint could not contact DGCA. “We are still reviewing the order. We have not taken any decisions yet,” said a spokesperson of Singapore Airlines, the first carrier to stop paying 5% commission to agents in late 2008, as part of a global move by airlines to cut costs. They suggested that travel agents charge passengers directly. In India, Singapore Airlines was joined by Air Canada, Air France, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Finnair, Japan Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Qatar Airways, Silk Air, Swiss International Airlines Ltd and United Airlines. In retaliation, at least half a dozen associations of travel agents boycotted the carriers. Indian carriers such as Air India, run by the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, and Jet Airways (India) Ltd also joined the “zero commission” regime initially, but restored the payments after the boycott. About 85% of airline bookings in India are done through travel agents, including online agencies. Eapen said travel agents are seeking 5% commission with retrospective effect from 5 March 2010. He also said airlines such as Emirates Airline, Royal Jordanian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airlines have been paying the commission all along. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:30 pm Markets yo-yo on Europe growth fearsMumbai: Indian equities fell to a two-month low soon after trading began on Monday, tracking other Asian markets, on concerns that austerity measures in debt-ridden European nations and a slowdown in China would crimp the global economic recovery. However, a strong opening in European markets revived Indian shares that recouped most of their losses by close of trading.  Graphic: Paras Jain / Mint Analysts said the direction of India equities in the medium term will be driven by Europe. With the earnings season coming to a close, the next big local factor that can move the market will be the monsoon, which is expected to hit India by the end of May. Despite the euro zone’s common currency sinking to a four-year low against the dollar, European stocks were trading strongly and helped reduce losses in Asian markets. At 8.30pm Indian time, the UK’s FTSE 100 index was up 31.11 points, or 0.6% at 5239.96, while Germany’s Dax was up 1%. US markets opened flat and the Dow shed 73 points, or 0.7%, to 10,548 in early trading. The euro sank on Monday, taking with it all Asian currencies, including the rupee that lost about 40 paisa against the dollar and fell to a 10-week low of 45.62 to a dollar from 45.205 on Friday. Importers from the euro zone rushed to buy euros and hedge their future receivables at the present level, taking a bet that the sovereign crisis would not last long and the common currency of Europe would soon start to strengthen. One euro fetches around Rs56. In December its value was close to Rs70. The 30-share Sensex, India’s benchmark index, plunged 443.6 points in intraday trading as investors dumped shares in markets across Asia, but pared losses to close 0.94% down to 16,835.56, a drop of 159.04 points. The broader 50-share Nifty fell 0.66% to close at 5,059.90. The Shanghai index lost 5.07%, hammered by Europe and local problems of overheating in the Chinese economy while Japan’s Nikkei index shed 2.17%. “There is no catalyst for India to go higher on its own, so we are going to follow Europe,” said Andrew Holland, head of equities at Ambit Holdings Pvt. Ltd. “When Europe opened better than expected, people started buying again.” Also Read Greece: Not a foregone tragedy “The triggers driving the markets are global now,” said Apurva Shah, vice-president of research at Prabhudas Lilladher Ltd. “Locally it’ll be the monsoons, but that will take some time.” India VIX, the volatility index of the National Stock Exchange, rose 2.41% on Monday to close at 27.17. Europe has been in the eye of a storm that has engulfed global markets this past month as Greece threatened to default on its debt. Last week, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund put together a nearly $1 trillion (Rs45.7 trillion) package to rescue the continent from financial contagion. While markets initially cheered the move, investors are worried that the austerity measures which form part of the bailout package will derail economic recovery. “The biggest problem may be weaning themselves off fiscal life support,” Rob Carnell, chief international economist at Dutch bank ING Group NV, told reporters in Mumbai on Monday. “Europe’s debt is all tangled up. Foreign banks have significant exposure to Greek debt market,” added Carnell. His reference is to the possibility of a default by one country resulting in the failure of some banks which, in turn, would affect other countries and banks. Greece is running a fiscal deficit at 13% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Others such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland all have government debt well in excess of 60% of GDP and have all announced fiscal austerity plans, including freezing public pay and cutting benefits. Adding to the problem is China, the world’s fastest growing economy, where a threatening asset bubble and inflation could lead to more monetary tightening and a slowing of the economy. The country’s manufacturing growth, as indicated by the purchasing manager’s index, fell to a six-month low in April. All the uncertainty led to foreign institutional investors (FIIs), one of the largest categories of share buyers in India, to sell stocks worth $665 million in the past month, as they rushed to safer assets such as US treasury’s and gold. They have so far purchased nearly $6 billion worth of Indian stocks in 2010. As FIIs withdrew from the market, the local currency sank 0.9% to 45.62 per dollar. While equity investors are uncertain, importers and exporters are convinced that the sovereign crisis will pass and that the euro and dollar will appreciate against the rupee. So far, this calendar year, the rupee has strengthened 19% against the euro but gained only 2.2% against the dollar. The euro zone is India’s second largest trading partner after China. Importers are buying cheap euros and dollars and hedging their future earnings, taking a bet that these will strengthen against the local currency. Exporters, on the other hand, are selling forwards and staying away from the spot market, said Rugved Dhumale, associate vice-president of risk management at Mecklai Financial Ltd. Exporters are selling forwards as they expect the rupee to depreciate. This will help them earn more rupees per dollar. Importers, especially those who import from the euro zone, are buying euros from the spot market as they are betting that the euro will bounce back. This means they would need to spend more rupees to buy euros in future. ravi.k@livemint.com Ashwin Ramarathinam contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:27 pm Quick Edit | Farcical proceedingsSomeone once said that history repeats itself, the first time as a tragedy and the second time as a farce. A plot of this kind is unfolding in Jharkhand. On Monday, a senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, Champai Soren, said his party wanted Shibu Soren to continue as chief minister. This comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is unable to decide on a name for chief ministership, something that has been attributed to internal squabbling in the party. Something similar had happened in 2009 when Shibu Soren was asked to step down by his alliance partner, the United Progressive Alliance. He complied reluctantly. He is showing the same reluctance again, much to the detriment of Jharkhand. At that time, too, indecision on the part of his alliance partners hit governance in the state hard. Today, the state is a bad advertisement for creating small states. Its self-obsessed political elite has forgotten the promises made when it fought for a separate state. Good governance is at a premium in Ranchi today. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:25 pm Steep hike in fee to register propertyProperties in Delhi are set to get more expensive. The Delhi cabinet on Monday approved the revision of registration fee, increasing the sum from the current Rs 100 to one per cent of the sale amount (or the circle rate of the area concerned). Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 12:19 pm European crisis may chip 2.4% off IT growthMumbai: Investment advisers in India said the weakening of the euro and the pound against the dollar as well as the strengthening of the rupee against the US currency could shave off up to 2.4% from the growth of Indian information technology (IT) exporters in the near term. “Tier-1 IT service providers with an exposure of 15-27% to Europe (invoicing-wise revenue) would be impacted by 1.3-2.4% q-o-q (quarter-on-quarter) on the USD revenue front,” IT analyst Subhashini Gurumurthy of Ambit Capital Pvt. Ltd said in a 17 May update on the sector. The euro weakened on Monday amid worries that the $1 trillion Greek bailout and austerity measures might further slow European economies. If the current pattern of cross-currency movement persists, it could have a long-term adverse impact on the growth of India’s IT sector, which is just recovering from the global economic slowdown triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. India’s largest IT services exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) declined to comment on “currency fluctuations”. The country’s third largest IT exporter Wipro Ltd had previously told Mint that it was too early to comment, but added that if the euro and the pound continued to fall, it will likely have an impact on growth. Analysts with BNP Paribas warned that the euro and the pound could continue to fall even in the longer term. “Our FX (foreign exchange) team expects the EUR/USD to weaken 20% and the GBP/USD 12% from current levels by March 2011, but the USD/INR to strengthen 9% as Asia seems ‘safer than ever’,” BNP Paribas analysts Abhiram Eleswarapu and Avinash Singh said in a 17 May note. “We calculate that if these predictions come true, our FY11-12 USD revenue estimates would be hit 4-14% and INR earning per share 5-18% across our coverage. Our TPs (target prices) could see a 23-46% cut, and stocks could head 10-25% lower from here,” BNP analysts said. IT stocks continued to fall on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday. TCS fell 2.47%, while Infosys Technologies Ltd fell 1.55% and Wipro slipped 3.30%. On a day when the Sensex fell 0.94%, the sectoral index for IT stocks, BSE-IT, fell 1.80%. Since 16 April, BSE-IT has fallen 6.33%. lison.j@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 12:14 pm ABB offer loses sheen after share surgesABB Ltd is the only subsidiary in the ABB Group that is listed. That may not be for long. Following the footsteps of several other multinationals, ABB Group is proposing to hike its stake in the local unit to 75%, from the current 52%. The stated reason is to “facilitate the long-term development of ABB’s business in India”. ABB India’s financials are already consolidated in the group’s numbers. Thus, the incremental benefit will be only to the extent of the additional 22.9% stake it plans to acquire. Given the parent company’s large size, the incremental contribution will be minuscule. The 75% limit is the maximum promoter holding allowed in a listed company. If it exceeds this limit, a delisting offer will have to be made using the reverse book-building route, where shareholders determine the price. That makes it expensive. But companies can first hike their stake to 75% through the open offer route, and then make a delisting offer for the residual stake. This two-stage process lowers the total cost of delisting. ABB Group’s offer price of Rs900 appears attractive, at a 34% premium to last week’s closing price. But it is only at a 14% premium to the floor price as per the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s regulations. Moreover, barely a month ago, ABB India’s share price was at around Rs860, before falling to Rs680 last week after disappointing March quarter results. Last quarter, sales rose by just 4.5% year-on-year while net profit fell from Rs78 crore to Rs7 crore. After adjusting for forex-related losses, its profit before tax fell 37%. Revenue was hit because the company is implementing large and long gestation projects, which haven’t reached threshold levels of completion for revenue to be booked. Profit was also affected for the same reason, apart from cost overruns in some projects. If ABB’s performance continues to be poor in the remaining quarters, then its share price will underperform. While the open offer price provides a base, the core business may not support an improvement in valuations. A few things are certain. ABB India’s business is bound to improve as investments in the country’s power and industrial sectors resume due to capacity constraints. Also, ABB India is critical to ABB’s growth plans. Revenue growth in key businesses in emerging markets has been led by India and China. The group’s capital expenditure in 2009 was highest in India, China and Poland. That is an indication of its confidence in its Indian business. Thus, while there may be some short-term blips, the longer-term picture continues to be bright. That makes it tough for ABB India’s minority shareholders to decide. Depending on the cost of acquisition and the applicable tax rate for each investor, it may make sense in some cases to sell at the market price of Rs830 in the open market, since lower tax rates apply to market transactions. But those who believe that ABB will eventually delist can wait and watch, hoping they get a better price. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 17 May 2010 | 10:53 am iPhone replaces Blackberry for some bankersBritish bank Standard Chartered is replacing the Blackberry, currently its standard corporate communications device, with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching to the Apple device for business Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 9:46 am HMVL IPO gets high gradeGiving a thumbs up to the proposed initial public offer (IPO) of Hindustan Media Ventures Limited, CRISIL Equities has assigned it an IPO grade of “4/5”. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 9:45 am $16 bn: Samsung doubles spendSamsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, will invest $16 billion (Rs 73,000 crore) this year to boost output of chips and flat screens, turning up the heat on rivals with less cash to compete. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 9:44 am Base rate could hit profits: banksAs the countdown begins for a new interest-rate regime in India, banks are concerned that the proposed “base-rate” system will squeeze profitability as they could end up paying more to depositors without a corresponding increase in their earnings.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 17 May 2010 | 9:41 am
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