|
|
|
|
Sunteck Realty sees 1520% hike in residential prices aheadIn an interview with CNBCTV18, Kamal Khetan, Chairman and Managing Director of Sunteck Realty, speaks about his outlook on realty prices and the company\'s future projects.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 8:17 am Steel output to reach 120MT capacity by 2012: MinistryIndia will reach 120 MT steel production capacity by 2012, the ministry said on Friday. The industry has acted responsibly as far as prices are concerned, the ministry said, adding that there was no immediate need seen for a regulator in the sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 7:59 am Britannia Ind to hike bakery products capacity in FY11: MDBakery and dairy products maker Britannia Industries Ltd is planning to expand manufacturing capacity in bakery products by setting up one or two new plantsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 7:29 am Amtek Auto buys into Amtek India; to make open offerAmtek Auto Ltd on Friday said it bought 26.25% stake in group firm Amtek India Ltd through several block deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange at an average price of Rs 64.83 a share.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 7:15 am StanChart India offer 21% covered by Friday noonUK bank Standard Chartered\'s offer of up to USD 590 million worth of Indian depositary receipts was 21% covered as of noon on Friday, on the last day of bookbuilding in a deal that drew a sluggish response on its first three days, exchange data showed.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 7:14 am Govt agrees to hike FDI in retail and defenceMinister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that the ministry will move forward on the foreign direct investment (FDI) on retail and defence, reports CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 7:11 am Goldman eyes avoiding fraud charge in SEC settlement: WSJGoldman Sachs Group Inc hopes to avoid the fraud charge as part of any settlement of the lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 6:27 am Reliance discovers oil for the fifth time in Cambay BasinEnergy major Reliance Industries (RIL) has discovered oil in one of its exploration blocks, awarded under the NELPV round of bidding, in the Cambay Basin on the western coast.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 6:27 am Daiichi Sankyo says to keep Ranbaxy listedJapan\'s No.3 drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo intends to keep its Indian subsidiary Ranbaxy Laboratories listed, Daiichi\'s incoming president said on Friday, denying persistent talk that Daiichi may turn Ranbaxy into a fully owned unit.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 6:00 am Reliance Power buys 433 MW assets from Rel InfraReliance Power said on Friday it had acquired 433 megawatt of generation assets from group firm Reliance InfrastructureSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 5:07 am Sensex ends up 177pts - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 4:04 am Report: BP resumes top-kill oil leak effort - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 4:02 am RBI reference rates for US dollar, euro - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 3:52 am Mukesh Ambani venturing into telecom?Within days of revoking a non-compete agreement that his group had with his younger brother Anil, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani is believed to have held a long-drawn-out discussion with telecom czar Sunil Mittal.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 28 May 2010 | 3:51 am Opera says 2.6 million browser downloads on iPhoneOn April 13 Apple accepted distribution of Opera's browser for its iPhone after a long review, opening a new and potentially lucrative market it has so far closely guarded.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 3:30 am Societe Generale says RBI should tighten but graduallyThe Reserve Bank however, should not pause on its tightening mode as it may widen the gap between policy rates and inflation and add to price pressures, Veronique Riches-Flores, head of thematic research at Socgen said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 3:29 am Omaxe infrastructure unit FY11 order book seen at Rs20 billionOmaxe undertakes construction activities through its unit, Omaxe Infrastructure and Construction. The unit had an order book position of Rs7.6 billion as on March 31.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 3:28 am Renault submits prelim bid for Ssangyong: SourceSsangyong, the smallest South Korean carmaker, has been in court-led restructuring since early 2009 and was put up for sale this month, following two consecutive years of shortfalls.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 3:28 am Luthra & Luthra to advise EIL on stake saleNew Delhi: The government has appointed law firm Luthra and Luthra as legal advisors for the public offering of state-run consultancy firm Engineers India Ltd (EIL). It had previously appointed HSBC Holdings Plc, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets and IDFC Capital as merchant bankers to manage the consultancy’s further or follow-on public offering (FPO). “The financial and legal advisors will now work with the company to prepare a red herring prospectus, which is likely to be filed with market regulator Sebi by mid-June,” a source in the know of the development said. Sebi approvals may take about a month and the FPO is likely to hit the market in the third or the fourth week of July, he said. At the current market price, the government is expected to raise about Rs1,100-1,200 crore through sale of 10% stake in EIL, which provides design and engineering services for petroleum, power and fertilizer companies. EIL, on Thursday, reported a 25.43% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs440.47 crore for the 2009-10 fiscal. As a prelude to divestment, EIL paid a 1,000% (Rs100 per share) special dividend totaling Rs561.65 crore. Of this, the government, which holds 90.4% equity, got Rs507.65 crore, in addition to a dividend tax of over Rs96 crore. He said the company will now issue two bonus shares for every one held and subsequently split the Rs10 share into two of Rs5 each. The process would be completed by May-end. EIL, which had a cash reserve of Rs1,320 crore as on 31 March 2009, has till date given Rs600 crore in dividend to the government on a Rs25 lakh share capital that formed the company in 1965. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 3:12 am Idea to roll out 3G services by third quarterAditya Birla Group company Idea Cellular, on Friday, said it expects to start 3G services in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 3:08 am StanChart IDR issue subscribed 24 per cent - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 3:04 am Rupee extends rise as dollar sheds gains vs majorsMumbai: The Indian rupee extended its gains on Friday afternoon as the dollar shed all its gains versus major currencies while a firm sharemarket also cheered sentiment. At 2:15pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.36/37 per dollar, after touching Rs46.35, its strongest since 20 May and stronger than Rs47.29/30 at close on Wednesday. The market was closed on Thursday for a local holiday. The People’s Bank of China said a Financial Times report that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) was concerned about its exposure to euro zone debt was groundless, lifting global stocks. Most emerging market currencies were higher compared to the dollar. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.2%. It had been up half a percent earlier. Indian shares rose more than 1%, with Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank leading the rise, taking cues from firm world markets. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at Rs46.4950, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $5.6 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 3:04 am IOC's Q4 net declines 16% to Rs 5556.77 cr - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 2:59 am India's food inflation eases further - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 2:45 am Socgen says RBI should tighten but graduallyMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India should not tighten policy rates aggressively as it may hurt economic growth, and price pressures are mostly emanating from high commodity prices, a senior Societe Generale economist said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:40 am Goldman eyes avoiding fraud charge in SEC settlement: ReportGoldman Sachs Group Inc hopes to avoid the fraud charge as part of any settlement of the lawsuit filed by the US.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:39 am StanChart India offer 17% covered by Friday morningStandard Chartered's IDR issue is the first, and the bank has said the offering is intended more to build its brand and presence in its second-largest market than about raising funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:38 am Renault submits prelim bid for Ssangyong - sourceSEOUL (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault SA has submitted a preliminary bid to buy troubled SUV maker Ssangyong Motor, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:35 am Bharti sounds its bankers for funds for Zain buyAirtel, on Friday, said it has sounded its bankers for funds to pay for the acquisition of Zain's African operations, bringing it closer to concluding the USD 10.7 billion deal.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 2:32 am Gold futures decline on profit sellingGold prices declined by Rs 108, or 0.58% to Rs 18,490 per ten gram in futures trading on Friday, as traders reduced their positions at existing higher levels amid less demand in spot markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 28 May 2010 | 2:32 am China fakes beg for attention as Apple's iPad goes globalSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese pirates hawking a new crop of Apple Inc iPad knock-offs are hoping the real product's global launch will provide much-needed publicity for their slow-selling wares.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:28 am Shree Renuka shares jump on Brazil buy failure reportMUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in India's top refiner Shree Renuka Sugars jumped as much as 7.3 percent on Friday on a newspaper report talks to buy Brazilian Equipav has fallen through with a slide in sugar prices, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:21 am Naxals suspected of sabotaging train; 65 dead, 200 injuredJhargram (West Bengal): Maoists blasted rail tracks in west Midnapore district in the wee hours on Friday, derailing 13 coaches of a Mumbai-bound express train, five of which were hit by a goods train, leaving 65 dead and 200 others injured, the second attack on civilians by Naxals this month. The blast occurred at 1:30 am when the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, about 135 km from here, south eastern railway officials said. Also Read | Timeline: Red Terror “So far we have recovered 40 bodies but the toll will rise further,” N S Nigam, a senior local government official, said.  Rescue workers gather at the blast site in Sardiha, West Bengal, early on Friday. Bikas Das / AP photo Railway minister Mamata Banerjee said a bomb had hit the train, but police said they were also looking at other sabotage methods such as the removal of the tracks’ “fish plates”. “From whatever I have been told the apprehension is the Maoists were involved,” Banerjee said. She announced Rs5 lakh for the next of kin of each of the dead and Rs1 lakh for the injured. “The driver heard a loud noise which indicates there could be a blast. A detail investigation will reveal more, but definitely there was lot of tinkering done to the tracks,” Vivek Sahay, a senior railway offical, told reporters. “It was definitely sabotage.” Indian Air Force helicopters have been pressed into service at the accident spot and have airlifted some of the injured to hospitals. This is the second Maoist attack on civilians this month. Naxals had blown up a civilian bus in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on 17 May, killing at least 36 people, including 12 Special Police Officers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as India’s biggest internal security challenge and his Congress-led government has been under increasing political pressure to deal with the insurgents. South eastern railway PRO Soumitra Majumdar said the train had 24 coaches. After the explosion, 13 including 10 sleeper coaches, derailed of which five were hit by the goods train coming on the opposite track. An unreserved coach, the pantry car and luggage van also derailed, he said. Nine of the coaches which were not damaged in the blast took the injured and the other passengers to Kharagpur where they were admitted to hospital.  Police officials and rescue workers gather at the scene of a train crash near Sardiha, West Bengal on Friday. Bikas Das / AP photo West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has asked state finance minister Asim Dasgupta to immediately rush to Sardiha, the site of the accident. “I have been asked by the chief minister to rush to the accident site with six special rescue teams and three mobile ambulances,” Dasgupta told PTI before leaving for the accident spot on Friday morning. The state government would bear the treatment cost of the injured passengers, chief minister’s secretariat sources said. “State government has already rushed preliminary rescue teams with doctors and ambulances and more will follow,” the sources said. Trapped Passengers “The cries of women and children from inside the compartments have died down. They (railway staff) are still struggling to cut through metal and bring out those trapped inside,” Amitava Rath, a local journalist at the scene of the crash, told Reuters.  An injured passenger reacts as she stands with others at the accident site. Samir Mondal / AP photo Angry passengers said the first signs of relief came only around 5 am, three-and-a-half hours after the incident. A reporter of the Telegraph newspaper described a scene of chaos and panic at the site. “Rescuers are struggling to save the survivors and get the bodies out,” Naresh Jana told Reuters. “I can see body parts hanging out of the compartments and under the wheels. I can hear people, women, crying for help from inside the affected coaches.” The incident comes days after a passenger airliner crashed in Mangalore, killing 158 people, underscoring safety issues and concern that India’s ageing infrastructure was failing to keep pace with an economic boom. The Maoists had called a “black week” to condemn what they call police atrocities against innocent villagers and for an immediate halt to an armed campaign against them in India. In March, police suspected their hand in the derailment of India’s most prestigious high-speed Rajdhani Express. Maoists have also taken over trains in past years in a show of strength, holding them for hours. The rebels, who often attack police, government buildings and infrastructure such as railway stations, have in recent months stepped up attacks in response to a government security offensive to clear them out of their jungle bases. The decades-old movement is now present in a third of the country. They are mostly spread in rural pockets of 20 of India’s 28 states and hurt potential business worth billions of dollars. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 2:18 am India gold buying picks up slightly as prices fallMUMBAI (Reuters) - India gold buying picked up slightly on Friday afternoon as prices fell further from Wednesday's all-time high, dealers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:16 am Food inflation eases to 16.23 percentIndia's annual food inflation has dipped to 16.23 percent for the week ended May 22 from 16.49 percent in the previous week, official data released on Thursday showed.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 2:14 am After 2-day strike, all AI operations restored to normal - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 2:12 am Food inflation eases to 16.23%The fall was mainly owing to a 4% slide in masur prices, 2% fall in prices of fruits and vegetable each, and 0.20 per decline in prices of cereals and pulses over the week.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 2:01 am How big is the Maoist threat in India?New Delhi: Suspected Maoist rebels sabotaged a high-speed train in west Midnapore district on Friday, killing at least 65 people when the crowded train derailed and smashed into the path of a goods train, officials said. Maoists rebels have in recent months stepped up attacks in response to a government security offensive to clear them out of their jungle bases. Here are some questions and answers about the Maoists and their threat in India: Who are the Maoists? The Maoists want to overthrow the Union government through armed struggle. Indian officials say the rebels have plans to overthrow the government by 2050. Also See |Timeline: Red Terror  Indian Army jawans conduct rescue operations at the site of a train accident at Jhargram area in West Bengal on Friday. Parth Sanyal / Reuters They started their armed struggle in 1967 with a peasant revolt in Naxalbari village in West Bengal state but were initially crushed. After regrouping in the 1980s, they began recruiting hundreds of poor villagers, arming them with bows and arrows and even rifles snatched from police and government armouries. Also Read |65 killed as Naxals attack train The rebels now buy weapons from Chinese smugglers and are in touch with other terrorist groups operating in India, including groups in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, says the government. They are equipped with automatic weapons, shoulder rocket launchers, mines and explosives. Indian authorities say they are led by Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishanji, who is in charge of militant activities, and Ganapati, the political leader. How big is the movement? The rebels have an estimated 20,000 combatants, including 6,000-8,000 hardcore fighters. Maoist rebels have made inroads in nearly a third of the country’s 630 districts, according to the government. They operate across a “red corridor” stretching from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to the central state of Chhattisgarh and into West Bengal, bordering Nepal and Bhutan.  Rescue workers gather at the site of a train accident at Jhargram area in West Bengal on Friday. Bikas Das / AP They remain hidden in dense forest bases and move around villages in remote areas. How big a threat are they to India’s stability? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as the biggest internal security challenge since Independence. More than 1,000 attacks were recorded in 2009 and 600 people were killed. The Maoists regularly attack railway lines and factories, aiming to cripple economic activity. How big is the risk to investors? While the economic impact may be small compared with India’s trillion dollar economy, the insurgency and the sense that it is worsening signals that India does not fully control its territory and adds to risks for companies considering investments. With the rebels controlling vast swathes of mineral-rich areas, the government has often struggled to transport coal to power and steel firms. The rebels extort about $300 million from companies in India every year to fund their movement, police and officials say. What companies have been impacted? The effect of the Maoist insurgency has already taken its toll on business. Work on a $7-billion steel plant by India’s third largest steel producer, JSW Steel Ltd, has been delayed. Frequent rebel strikes have hit production and shipment at firms such as India’s largest miner of iron ore, NMDC Ltd’s and state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd. Rebels sided with farmers during violent protests against government moves to acquire farmland for industry, forcing the scrapping of a Tata Motors’ Nano car plant and a $3 billion chemicals hub complex in eastern India. Protests by farmers have also delayed work on two separate plants by the world’s leading steelmakers Arcelor Mittal and Posco in eastern India. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 1:57 am Gold buying picks up slightly as prices fallMumbai: India gold buying picked up slightly on Friday afternoon as prices fell further from Wednesday’s all-time high, dealers said. “There has been a little buying, but I am not seeing big deals at the moment,” said a dealer with a state-run bank, adding that the Indian rupee is acting as a support.” Gold prices on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) extended losses for a second day weighed down by a strong rupee, which made the dollar-quoted asset cheaper. The Indian rupee strengthened as shares climbed after risk appetite got a boost from China’s calming comments on its investments in debt-ridden Europe, but the dollar’s gains against majors limited the rise. The benchmark gold June contract was trading 0.39% lower at Rs18,317 per 10 grams at 1:38pm, after losing 0.8% in the previous session, falling from an all-time high of Rs18,648 struck on 26 May. Dealers said demand is likely to face the seasonal monsoon slackness for the next two months. “We might have to see little buying in June and July due to monsoons,” said another dealer with a private bank. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 1:50 am After 2-day strike, all AI operations restored to normalAll operations of Air India have been restored to normal two days after a crippling strike by some 15,000 employees was called off, the national carrier announced today.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 1:44 am Markets rise third day, metals climbMumbai: Indian shares climbed 0.6% on Friday and were on course to post their first weekly rise in two weeks, as China’s assertion that Europe will remain a major investment market boosted world equities. Firm base metal prices in Shanghai bolstered stocks such as Tata Steel, Hindalco and Sterlite Industries. By 11:08am, the 30-share BSE index was trading up 0.55% at 16,756.95, with 24 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.5% at 5.025.85. Tata Motors rose as much as 4.2% after the top vehicle maker beat market estimates with a surge in March quarter earnings, helped by rising sales and profitability at its Jaguar Land Rover unit. The stock, however, trimmed gains to 0.4%. Focus will shift to the June-September monsoon, which is vital for farm output, rural income and demand for a wide range of manufactured goods, traders said. “It all depends on monsoon now. The Europe issue is already priced in,” said Rajen Shah, chief investment officer of Angel Broking. The annual monsoon, halted by cyclone Laila last week, is likely to hit the country’s southern coast on schedule in the next three to four days, weather officials said on Thursday. Shah said foreign fund withdrawals of $2.3 billion so far in May should be seen in the context of their heavy investment in Indian equities. The funds are still net investors of $4.3 billion since the start of January, after record inflow of $17.5 billion in 2009 that had propelled the main index up 81 percent last year. The benchmark index is up 1.9% this week. But it is down 4.6% so far in May, and in line for its first monthly loss since January. It has, however, fared better than its peers on strong economic growth projection and mostly robust company results, dealers said. The MSCI’s measure of Asian shares other than Japan is down 13% so far this month. Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries and aluminium maker Hindalco rose 3.3% and 1.1% respectively. Tata Steel, the world’s eighth largest steel maker by output, was up 0.6% while Jindal Steel & Power was up 2.9%. Late on Thursday, Tata Steel said its founder Tata Sons is hiking its stake in the steel maker and the company has approved issuing up to 15 million shares and 12 million convertible warrants. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, dipped 0.2% to Rs1,019.70. In the broader market, gainers were more than double the number of losers on volume of 14 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 1:42 am Oil leak costs rise to $930 millions: BPBritish energy giant BP said today that its response costs linked to the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill have risen to about 930 million dollars (753 million euros).Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 1:41 am Food inflation slows; rates seen steadyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's food inflation rate slackened in mid-May, after picking up pace for two weeks, giving the Reserve Bank more leeway to hold rates until its July review and gauge the impact of euro zone debt woes on the domestic economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 1:34 am Reliance Infra transfers 433 MW capacity to Reliance Power - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 1:33 am ‘Sex and the City 2’ stars brave bad press for British premiereLondon: Actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her fellow stars from Sex and the City 2 braved bad press reviews to step out on Thursday for the movie’s British premiere. Parker, who reprises her role as New York columnist Carrie Bradshaw in the sequel, walked down the red carpet in London’s Leicester Square in a dress by late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. She was joined by Kim Cattrall, who plays publicist Samantha Jones, Cynthia Jones, who portrays Miranda Hobbes, and Kristin Davis, whose character is Charlotte York Goldenblatt. Australian pop star Kylie Minogue was among other stars attending the premiere. The latest installment of the saga, released in British cinemas on Friday, sees the foursome swap the metropolis of New York for the dry deserts of Abu Dhabi, in scenes which were shot in Morocco. The movie had its world premiere in New York on Monday. “It was wonderful. We had the best experiences we have ever had -- we lived together, ate together, even slept on couches together,” said Parker at Thursday’s premiere. Despite much of the film taking place outside the Big Apple, she insisted the city still played a central role. “The heart of the movie remains New York,” she told the BBC. She also paid tribute to McQueen, one of the world’s most high-profile designers, who committed suicide in February. “There’s only one person I could have worn tonight and that was Alexander McQueen. Lee, this is for you. I miss you very much,” she said. While the television series “Sex and the City” was hugely popular, the latest film has disappointed the majority of critics. Britain’s Times newspaper said: “Sadly this sequel is not ‘Sex and the City´ -- it is ‘Menopause in the Desert,’ and a waste of four great characters.” The New York Times was also unimpressed, saying: “Your watch will tell you that a shade less than two and a half hours have elapsed, but you may be shocked at just how much older you feel when the whole thing is over.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 1:26 am Food inflation slows; rates seen steadyNew Delhi: India’s food inflation rate slackened in mid-May, after picking up pace for two weeks, giving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) more leeway to hold rates until its July review and guage the impact of euro zone debt woes on the domestic economy. The food price index rose to 16.23% in the year to 15 May, government data showed, lower than the previous week’s annual reading of 16.49% as the fruit and vegetable declined marginally. A forecast of normal June-September monsoon, vital for farm output and rural incomes, should help calm inflation expectations. “If there is normal monsoon, and as base effect plays its role, I see food inflation coming down to single-digit by July-August,” said N R Bhanumurthy, an economist with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. “However, if the government decides to raise the procurement price of agricultural commodities in a big way, it can lead to second round of food inflation,” he said. The fuel price index rose 12.08%, while the primary articles index was up 15.90%, both slower than the rise a week earlier. Analysts said if the government decides to raise petrol and diesel prices at a ministerial panel meeting expected on 7 June, it would have a cascading effect on food prices as well. On Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the headline inflation was likely to come down to 5-6% by December, and the economy could grow at 8.5% in the current financial year that began on 1 April. Wholesale prices, the most closely watched inflation gauge in India, climbed an annual 9.59% in April, slower than 9.9% rise in March. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was steady at 7.60% after the data release. While food and fuel inflation remain in double digits, manufacturing inflation, which the central bank has said would determine its policy response, slowed in April to 6.70% from 7.13% in March. The markets expect the central bank to raise rates by 25 basis points in the policy review on 27 July. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 12:59 am Amtek Auto buys into Amtek India; to make open offerMUMBAI (Reuters) - Amtek Auto Ltd on Friday said it bought 26.25 percent stake in group firm Amtek India Ltd through several block deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange at an average price of 64.83 rupees a share.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 12:55 am RIL makes fifth oil discovery in Gujarat blockReliance Industries said it has made a fifth oil discovery in a block in Gujarat, but did not give reserve estimates.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 28 May 2010 | 12:51 am Reliance finds more oil in India's Cambay basin - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 28 May 2010 | 12:50 am GSPL Q4 net jumps two-fold to Rs 107 crGujarat State Petronet Ltd today said net profit jumped two-fold to Rs 107.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, over the same period last year.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 12:49 am LIC can't charge fee for transfer of policy: HCLife Insurance Corporation of India, the market leader in insurance sector, cannot charge any fee for transfer or assignment of its policies, the Bombay High Court has held.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 May 2010 | 12:31 am Buyers flock as Apple's iPad hits AsiaTOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPad launched in overseas store shelves on Friday, with buyers storming Japanese and Australian shops to be among the first outside the United States to snap up the long awaited tablet PC.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 12:30 am Daiichi Sankyo to keep Ranbaxy listedTokyo: Japan’s No.3 drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo intends to keep its Indian subsidiary Ranbaxy Laboratories listed, Daiichi’s incoming president said on Friday, denying persistent talk that Daiichi may turn Ranbaxy into a fully owned unit. Daiichi Sankyo bought a 64% stake in Ranbaxy, a generic drug maker, in 2008 for ¥488 billion ($5.37 billion). Indian media have reported that Daiichi Sankyo may be seeking to buy all the other shares in Ranbaxy to better control the subsidiary, which has had exports of some of its products to the United States banned due to alleged data falsification. “Ranbaxy has a strong brand and is highly respected as a good firm, and I think one reason for this is the fact that it is recognised as a good drugmaker listed in India. And we do not find any inconvenience in operating it listed and as it is,” Daiichi Sankyo executive vice president Joji Nakayama told Reuters in an interview. Nakayama will replace Takashi Shoda as the company’s president and CEO on 28 June, if approval is given by shareholders. He also said Daiichi Sankyo seeks to rely on external resources, such as through an acquisition or joint venture, to strengthen its cancer drug business. Japanese drugmakers, hampered by rising hurdles to develop next-generation blockbuster products, have been active in the global acquisition market, seeking to beef up their product pipelines and portfolios. Most recently, Japan’s No.2 drugmaker Astellas Pharma, which expects a slump in earnings this year amid a lack of flagship next-generation drugs, agreed to buy US cancer specialist OSI Pharmaceuticals. “We are looking very hard for acquisition targets. Everyone in the industry is basically doing the same,” Nakayama said. “We do not limit our options to acquisitions, but we need a measure, including such as joint ventures, to adapt external resources and accelerate growth when it comes to the area of cancer,” he said, adding that there were other areas in which it could adapt external resources. Nakayama did not specify the size of possible acquisitions. After the pricey Ranbaxy deal, Daiichi Sankyo needs to repay debt and enhance its ability to raise funds so as to make other acquisitions. “Looking for acquisition targets and improving acquisition capability don’t go together, but we will proceed always with both in mind,” Nakamaya said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 May 2010 | 12:30 am Reliance Power buys 433 MW assets from Rel Reliance InfrastructureThe transfer of assets has been valued at Rs10.95 billion ($234.5 million), Reliance Power said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 12:25 am Reliance finds more oil in Cambay basinMUMBAI (Reuters) - Energy major Reliance Industries said on Friday it had discovered oil in one of its exploration blocks in the Cambay Basin on the western coast.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 12:23 am Apple's iPad hits Asia in international debutThe device, which has a 9.7-inch colour touchscreen for surfing the Web, watching movies, playing games and reading e-books, goes on sale in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Britain and Canada later on Friday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 May 2010 | 12:16 am ZF Steering (Rs 255): BuyInvestors with a short term trading perspective can consider buying the stock of ZF Steering. This stock is in an extended sideways moving consolidation pattern in the range between Rs 290 and Rs 220 since January this year. The zone around RsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Infosys pegs acquisition size at $500 mInfosys Technologies has said it is looking for acquisitions in the order of $500 million. “We are looking at small companies so that their integration would be easy,” Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer and ManagingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Core inflation surge could prompt rate hikesDespite headline inflation easing since February, a further tightening of the RBI's monetary stance looks increasingly imminent in the light of the runaway coreSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Pvt equity firms clinch deals worth $225 m in IT-BPO spaceInvesting with vigour in a reviving tech market, the Private Equity (PE) funds snapped up deals worth over $225 million in the IT and BPO space between January and April, more than double the levels seen the same time last year, according to dataSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Monsoon onset likely in next 3-4 daysConditions are becoming favourable for the onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala during the next three to fourSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Air India management cracks the whip on unionsComing down heavily on the unions who went on a flash strike on Tuesday, the Air India management on Thursday said it has derecognised the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) and the All India Aircraft Engineers AssociationSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Govt voices concern over M&A deals in pharma sectorConcerned by the trend of pharmaceutical multinationals acquiring Indian drug majors, the Health Minister, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, has called for a meeting with Indian drug companies to find out the impact of such deals on the availability of cheapSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Tata Motors' turnover doubles in Q4, but net profit remains flatTata Motors' standalone fourth quarter net profit was almost flat from a year ago as soaring expenditure reduced profitability despite doubling ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am GM India board to have three members from Chinese partnerWith General Motors India appointing three Chinese nationals on the company's board, the world's largest auto manufacturer - China - may have now gained a firm foothold in the second fastest growing autoSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Malaysia's Khazanah queers Fortis pitch for ParkwayWill a two-horse race emerge between India's Fortis Healthcare and Khazanah, the Malaysian Government's investment arm, for control over Singapore's healthcare provider ParkwaySource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 May 2010 | 12:00 am Oil jumps to 2-week high above $75 as equities rallySingapore: Oil extended gains to touch a two-week high above $75 on Friday, heading for the first weekly gain in almost a month, aided by rallying stock markets and expectations of rising US consumption as vacationers take to the roads. Prices posted their biggest two-day gain since mid-August over the past two days following data that showed an increase in fuel demand in the world’s top consumer, the United States, and China’s assurance that Europe remains a key investment market for its foreign-exchange reserves. US crude for July delivery rose 86 cents to $75.41 a barrel at 7:33pm, reasserting a premium over ICE Brent, which climbed 58 cents to $75.24. Prices were up 7% so far this week. Prices dropped to $67.15 just three days ago, the lowest level since September, excluding a May 20 trough below $65 as the June contract expired. “Given where we are in the cycle of the demand for crude, we are at the beginning of a recovery in the price,” said Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services in Sydney. “I feel that given the velocity of the move, the market will look to buy crude. Dips will be well supported at $72.” Oil prices were also being supported by a rally in stock markets. Exporters led the Nikkei up 1.8% on Friday, following a Wall Street rally the previous day on China’s reassurance that Europe remains a key investment market. Traders also focused on forecasts for an intense Atlantic hurricane season, which revived concern of disruption to supplies in the Gulf of Mexico, where BP’s attempt to plug a gushing oil well was proceeding to plan. In its first outlook for the hurricane season that begins in June, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 14 to 23 named storms, with eight to 14 turning into hurricanes, nearly matching 2005’s record of 15. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated offshore oil fields and refineries across Louisiana and Texas in 2005, causing the most severe disruption to US supplies related to a natural disaster. The US driving season, when motor fuel demand reaches its annual peak, starts this weekend with the US Memorial Day holiday, running until Labour Day in early September. “From the fundamental point of view, it’s gasoline demand and forecasts that the hurricane season may be more active than expected” that are boosting prices, Barratt said. US diesel demand for trucking and industry is also rising, a weekly government report showed on Wednesday. Oil demand in the US climbed almost 7% over the past four weeks, the Energy Information Administration said, led by a 16% jump in demand for distillates, a category that includes diesel and heating oil. The US economy grew at a slightly slower pace than previously estimated in the first quarter but the recovery still appeared solid, suggesting the economy could withstand fallout from the European debt crisis. China’s central bank on Thursday said a Financial Times report on Wednesday that Beijing was concerned about its euro-zone bond holdings was groundless. Industry data provider Genscape on Thursday said crude inventories at the US pricing point of Cushing, Oklahoma hit another record high in the week to 25 May, rising 478,000 barrels to 39.9 million barrels, from a week earlier. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 11:13 pm Rupee up by 57 paise against dollar in early tradeThe domestic currency had closed 41 paise higher at 47.29/30 to the dollar in the previous session on Wednesday. The market remained closed yesterday on account of Buddha Purnima.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 May 2010 | 11:02 pm Asian stocks extend gains, euro slips backHong Kong: Asian stocks rallied for a third straight day on Friday as China’s pledge to remain invested in Europe lifted sentiment but the euro surrendered some of its gains after rebounding from near four-year lows the previous day. Higher yielding currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars surged on demand for riskier assets and the Japanese yen, which benefits from risk aversion, lost ground, boosting exporter shares in Tokyo. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei, rebounding from a six-month low on Thursday, rose over 1.7% to its highest this week while the recovery in commodities support a rally in the Australian stock market. “The phase of sharp erosion in sentiment may now be behind us, though unstable stock moves will likely continue for a while,” said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo, adding seasonal position unwinding in May by hedge funds would add to the volatility. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 1.9% adding to the previous day’s 2.2% gains. It is on track for its biggest weekly percentage gain since early March. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 0.7 % as foreigners turned net buyers of stocks after a nine-session selling streak, which was the longest since March 2009. The People’s Bank of China said on Thursday a Financial Times report that Beijing was concerned about its euro-zone bond holdings due to the European debt crisis was groundless. The report had driven the euro to a near four-year low against the dollar and near an 8-1/2-year low against the yen, and soured risk appetite globally as investors worried that Europe’s debt woes would grow into a larger financial crisis. Beijing’s denial fuelled a rally on Wall Street, with the benchmark S&P 500 marking the biggest percentage gain in nearly three weeks. In Asia, energy and financial services sectors were the main outperformers while defensive sectors like utilities were laggards. The euro initially got a major lift from short-covering following China’s denial, but slipped back as worries about Europe’s debt problems returned to haunt investors who sold into the single currency’s strength. In Asian trade, the euro was down 0.6% from late New York at $1.2292 against the dollar and is down 0.5% against the yen at ¥112.02. “In our view, uncertainty remains in Europe and the sources of worries could resurface,” said a note from Credit Agricole CIB. “It could come from the negative economic impact of the fiscal adjustment or from the sometimes difficult coordination between the Eurozone’s members. There could also be market talks coming back about the issue of government debt restructuring.” The improved market sentiment supported the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar, which held on to Thursday’s steep gains of 3.5% and 3.1% against the dollar, respectively. Metals were steady to marginally higher with copper hitting a two-week high on the heels of the flight to riskier assets while the jump in oil prices was additionally helped by speculations about supply disruptions due to the Atlantic hurricane season. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 10:26 pm Rupee up by 57 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee shot up sharply by 57 paise to 46.72 a dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today, supported by the firm opening on the stock market and the US currency's weakness against other Asian currencies.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 10:23 pm Oil rebounds as stocks surge, euro gains groundOil prices inched above $75 a barrel on Friday in Asia as investors set aside worries for now about the European debt crisis and focused on rising stock markets and improving economic data.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 10:09 pm Sensex up 204 points in opening trade on funds buyingThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today surged by over 204 points in opening trade, extending its winning streak for the third straight session on continued buying by funds, driven by firming trends in global markets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 10:06 pm iPad-mania: thousands queue for global roll-outThousands of excited and sleep-deprived gadget fans mobbed shops in Australia and Japan on Friday as Apple's iPad, touted as a revolution in computer use and publishing, began its international launch.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 9:50 pm Sensex slips from early highsBSE's Sensex, which opened in the green Friday, slipped a bit as pressure built on some frontline stocks a couple of hours into trade.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 9:49 pm Mahindra eyes global electric car entry with Reva buy - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 27 May 2010 | 9:28 pm No 2008 action replay for FIIsForeign funds investing in India are in the exit mode again. So far this month, FIIs have taken out over $2.1 billion from the stock market, the highest monthly outflow in 18 months.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 6:59 pm Roads need $40bn pvt investmentIndia needs $60 billion over the next five years to build 35,000 km of roads and the government expects $40 billion of this to come from private investors, said road and transport minister Kamal Nath on Thursday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 6:57 pm E-major : Desi IT strikes cautious noteThe IT sector, which was just beginning to report some robust numbers, is likely to turn cautious again given the debt crisis in several countries of the European Union and the sharp cuts in budgetary spends announced by governments in those countries.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 6:51 pm India can turn euro crisis into opportunityAs the global and Indian markets feel the jitters of Europes debt crisis, investors are keeping their fingers crossed, trying to gauge the possibility of another downturn of the global economy, which is recovering slowly from the impact of the 2008 subprime crisis in the US.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 6:48 pm Cargo traffic rises 2.7% in AprilThe shipping industry seems to have steered clear of the choppy waters. For the ninth consecutive month, the sector has seen growth in cargo traffic across the major ports in the country.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 27 May 2010 | 6:45 pm An evening in CatalunyaFlorian Porsche marinated the leg of lamb in olive oil, rubbed some salt and popped it into his spacious oven, basting it generously with lime juice. That was it. Indian cooking only rarely tends towards minimalism. But I was in Catalunya in northern Spain, being reminded there is a lot to be said for fresh ingredients and simple food. Less than an hour later, Florian presented the leg of lamb—succulent and quite delicious—as part of a four-course dinner. Also Read | Samar’s previous Lounge columns I spent two days at a country home called Cal Ruget where Florian, his wife Veronica and beagle brothers Unox and Urox host guests and treat them to food that marries the couple’s 20 years of diverse international hospitality experience with the traditional meats, sausages, cheeses and vegetables of Catalunya, a Spanish region with French influences, open skies and rolling acres of vineyards. Unsurprisingly, my 15-day trip to Spain involved a lot of wine. From humblest tavern to railway station to park kiosk, a decent bottle is available for less than Rs200. Since it is so deeply ingrained in Spanish culture, wine is used liberally in food and, of course, with food. Florian, a genial German, did all the cooking, and Vernonica, a precise, fastidious Catalan, served most meals, apart from keeping a house where guests are encouraged to feel at home, borrow music or books, swim in their pool, ramble through their vegetable patch or walk down the mostly empty country roads.  Mouthful: (clockwise from above) The Cal Ruget farmhouse; let the fish speak for itself; and spices have their place, as in this seafood paella. Photographs by Gitanjali Mehta Anand. Let me admit that I prefer the way we make our fish in the Konkan—bursting with spice and obvious flavours. Still, I ate a lot of ultra-fresh fish in Spain (apart from rabbit, oxtail and lamb) and was inspired on my return to attempt their minimalist style. In the West, they always say top-quality meat reveals its own flavour; you don’t need spices, sauces and curries. Over the years, my spice-addled taste buds have partially succeeded in adopting this philosophy. One meal of roasted rabbit—spiced with nothing more than salt and olive oil—in Catalunya was particularly memorable. The Spaniards do use a reasonable amount of spices though. Nowhere was this more evident than in the paellas: seafood pulaos really, with fish, squid, clams cooked together with the rice, spices and saffron. In Cal Ruget, a 40-minute train ride from Barcelona to the town of Villafranca and a 20-minute taxi ride from there into the country, I enjoyed watching Florian craft his food every day. One crisp evening (day temperatures were around 17 degrees Celsius; nights were 5 degrees Celsius), he let me help a bit. I chopped onions and made a salad dressing, drops in the ocean of food he turned out. Back in broiling Delhi, I headed eagerly to the market to buy fresh fish and try in earnest my renewed appreciation of natural flavours. The result is below. How did it turn out? Well, after sweating it out at 45 degrees Celsius that day, it was all a sweaty blur. If you try it, let me know. Fish with cognac and saffron sauce Serves 1 Ingredients 1 thick fillet of fish, preferably white and flaky with skin intact, 150-200g (I used tilapia, but I don’t recommend it; you can try kingfish, or surmai, sole and pomfret) For the sauce 3 tbsp cognac (I used Hennessey, to my wife’s horror) or wine 2 tsp olive oil 6-7 saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk 2 large garlic pods with skin, cleaved in half 1 green chilli split 2 tbsp fish stock Method Pat dry fillet of fish. Rub salt all over. Poach the fish, or fry in a little olive oil, removing just before it is fully done. Reserve liquid, or, if frying, use fish stock (boil some fish heads in water). Heat olive oil gently in a saucepan. Fry garlic for a minute or two. Add fish stock, stir. Keep heat at minimum. Add cognac, stir for 30 seconds. Add milk with saffron. When the sauce starts to bubble, gently add the fillet. Spoon sauce over fish. Turn and repeat till done. Remove fish and set on plate. Pour the sauce over. This is a column on easy, inventive cooking from a male perspective. Samar Halarnkar writes a blog, Our Daily Bread, at Htblogs.com. He is editor-at-large, Hindustan Times. Write to Samar at ourdailybread@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:45 pm Better late than never: it’s always the right time to start a planWhen Mukul Kulkarni realized he needed a plan, he was already in his late 40s, but the fact didn’t deter him. He knew he was late entrant, but also believed that it’s better late than never. Says he: “See if you want to enjoy the fruits of a tree you should have planted it long ago, but if you haven’t then, now is the best time. Don’t procrastinate and waste time or else the error will turn into a blunder.” An architect, who has not only built his own house, but also helped many others design their houses, never had a cash flow problem in terms of expenses or savings. But as he advanced in age, he increased his insurance and with it went up the premiums. That bothered him somewhere. “The agent would take away obscene sums as premiums. I didn’t see the benefits coming back in the proportion I was paying for it. Some where at the back of my mind I also knew that I was losing time,” says Kulkarni, explaining what led him to the plan finally. A chat about these anxieties with a few friends and a certified planner was on his way to meet Kulkarni. “I know a lot of people who feel that since they earn the money, they are the best judges of how to manage it, but that’s not true. We can’t be better than a qualified professional,” he says. A professional check found many problems in his portfolio but along came the much-needed solutions, too. Problems Interest and credit: Kulkarni never realized how much he was paying in interest on his credit cards. “The minimum dues on a credit card is a very small amount. So it’s quite tempting to just pay that bit. And we fell for the temptation despite being in a comfortable financial position.” It was only when the planner showed him how his dues would mount in due course that he realized his folly. “Now, I use credit cards only for online bookings,” he says. Lack of experience: When Kulkarni first started earning, he had no idea how to go about managing money. “I opted for the avenues I had seen my father use without trying to understand what they were meant for,” he adds. So, he had bank fixed deposits (FDs) and insurance policies that were not really tailored to his needs. Tax savers: He dabbled in a manufacturing business for a while and directed his investments to save taxes on the advice of a chartered accountant. This didn’t generate good returns. Now he has realized that investing to save taxes doesn’t really work for his portfolio. Solutions Getting rid of FDs: His planner, Ranjit Dani, brought about changes in his portfolio according to his needs and risk appetite. He suggested Kulkarni to withdraw the bank FDs. “FDs don’t earn a very high interest so they were neither inflation-proof nor were they tax savers,” says Kulkarni. Insurance: He substituted his money-back and endowment insurance policies with term plans. Now, he is saving nearly 50% of the money he spent on premiums, but is covered for a higher amount. Equity investment: “I had burned my fingers when the markets crashed in the late ’80s and ever since never invested in the markets. But Dani got me to invest in the markets both directly and through mutual funds,” he says. Even during last year’s recession, Kulkarni didn’t withdraw from the markets. “Had I been on my own I would have panicked and withdrawn the money.” Spending habits: From saving what remained after spending, Kulkarni has switched to spending what remains after saving. “Earlier expenses were not really segregated; now our priorities have changed,” he says. Goals in place: Although he knew that he would need money for his children’s education and marriage, and retirement, planning put everything in perspective. “I am now aware of exactly how much money I need, when and why. And I also know where it will come from,” he says. Everything seems to be in order for Kulkarni now—from his paperwork to his family’s involvement in money matters. harshada.k@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:32 pm Omaxe in black, but margins under pressureNew Delhi: New Delhi-based property developer Omaxe Ltd reported a profit of Rs45.12 crore in the three months ended 31 March, compared with a loss of Rs41.62 crore a year earlier, as it benefited from increased demand from buyers in small cities. Net sales increased almost sixfold to Rs378.20 crore in the term from Rs64.01 crore in the year-ago period, Omaxe said on Thursday. For the full fiscal, Omaxe’s net profit more than doubled to Rs112.54 crore from Rs46.72 crore in the previous 12 months. Net sales for the year ended 31 March rose to Rs1,001.2 crore from Rs798.7 crore in the previous fiscal. “Fiscal 2010 has been comparatively much better from fiscal 2009 for various reasons. The sales have improved considerably and especially in the tier II and III cities..,” said chairman and managing director Rohtas Goel. Property developers are emerging from the downturn of 2008-09 that hurt demand for houses and apartments and caused prices to drop. Accelerating economic growth has led to renewed demand in the real estate sector. Omaxe’s Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin, a key measure of operating profitability, rose to 19.6% in 2009-10 from 18.5% in 2008-09. Still, margins have been under “a slight stress”, said Goel. He said consumer demand had prompted the company to restructure its property portfolio and convert proposed high-rise developments into so-called independent floors that typically consist of the ground plus two or three floors. The low-level developments offer lower margins. “Moreover, cost of some of our projects launched in 2006–07 have gone up due to addition of interest, which added to the stress on the margins,” Goel said. Omaxe shares rose 0.61%, or Re0.55, to Rs91 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day when the benchmark Sensex gained 278.56 points, or 1.7%, to 16,666.40. devesh@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:27 pm Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai look to diversify export marketsNew Delhi: India’s two largest car makers, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said they plan to reduce dependence on European exports this fiscal and sell vehicles in more overseas markets. Both firms ship a majority of their export models to Europe but a withdrawal of scrappage schemes, which provided incentives to consumers to shift to smaller, fuel-efficient cars, and the recent Greek crisis are likely to reduce demand for such vehicles this year. The reduced demand is expected to take effect in the next two-three months as, unlike domestic orders, export orders are decided in advance. “Yes, orders have come down after the withdrawal of the scrappage schemes and we expect to start seeing the impact of the present crisis from July or August,” said Arvind Saxena, director, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India. Hyundai’s exports rose 12.75% to 285,658 units last fiscal, with the vast majority sold in Europe. This year, it plans to increase shipments to South Africa and Australia as well as markets in West Asia and north Africa to make up for the anticipated drop in European numbers. The company exports models such as the i10, the i20 and the Accent from its plant at Irungattukottai, near Chennai. Later this year, i20 production for the European market will shift to Turkey. Maruti, which shipped 147,575 units last year, said it plans to stick to its 140,000 units export target this year. To achieve this, it plans to export to Chile, Australia, South Africa and West Asia. “We’re watching the situation and so far we haven't seen any change,” said a spokesperson, adding that orders come with a lag. Maruti also hedges currency requirements every six months and for the time being hasn’t seen any impact of the depreciating euro. The decline in the value of the currency would result in cars becoming more expensive in Europe. The euro closed at Rs57.22 against the rupee on Wednesday. The foreign exchange market was closed on Thursday. “With domestic demand being strong, a slight hit in exports is not going to matter,” said Puneet Gupta, market analyst at CSM Worldwide Inc. Maruti exports the A-Star as the Alto to Europe. It also has a contract manufacturing deal with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd to export the A-Star under the Pixo badge. In addition to the A-Star, the firm has also started exporting the Ritz and the Estilo models that have seen sluggish demand in India. samar.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:21 pm The Mint Report for 27 May 2010Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:15 pm Renuka-Equipav talks turn sourShree Renuka Sugars billion-dollar acquisition of the worlds largest sugar production in Brazil is on the verge of turning bitter.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 1:09 pm Apple beats Microsoft as No. 1 in technologySan Francisco: Wall Street has called the end of an era and the beginning of the next one: The most important technology product no longer sits on your desk, but rather fits in your hand. The moment came on Wednesday when Apple Inc., the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, shot past Microsoft Corp., the computer software giant, to become the world’s most valuable technology firm. This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history for Apple, which had been given up for dead only a decade earlier, and its co-founder and visionary chief executive, Steven P. Jobs. The rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds an important cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology. Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades, and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swipe of a finger across a smartphone’s touch screen. And Apple is in the right place at the right time. Although it still sells computers, twice as much revenue is coming from hand-held devices and music. Overall, the technology industry sold around 172 million smartphones last year, compared with 306 million personal computers, but smartphone sales grew at a pace five times faster. Also Read |Microsoft still most profitable: Ballmer  Stunning turnaround: Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the launch of the iPad. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg As of Wednesday, Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion (Rs10.6 trillion) and Microsoft at $219.18 billion. The only American firm valued higher is Exxon Mobil Corp., with a market cap of $278.64 billion. On Thursday, at 8pm India time, Wall Street valued Apple at $228,380.90 million and Microsoft $228,911.50 million. The revenue of the two firms are comparable, with Microsoft at $58.4 billion and Apple at $42.9 billion. Microsoft is sitting on more cash and short-term investments, $39.7 billion, to Apple’s $23.1 billion, which makes the value assigned by the market to Apple—essentially a bet on its future prospects—all the more remarkable. Microsoft and Apple declined to comment. Apple’s climb to the top of the heap cements the reputation of Jobs, who once operated in the shadow of Microsoft’s co-founder, Bill Gates. “It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful tech firms. While Apple is at the top of its game, it faces a new and powerful rival in Google Inc., which is battling the company in mobile devices with its Android operating system, and mobile advertising. Google, with a market cap of $151.43 billion, also appeared to leap ahead of Apple in a new potentially important area, Internet-connected televisions. And Google is steering consumers towards a yet new model of computing in which Internet applications, rather than iPhone or desktop applications, rule. “The battle has shifted from Microsoft against Apple to Apple against Google,” said Tim Bajarin, a technology analyst who has been following Apple since 1981. “Apple has a significant lead. But Google is going to be a powerful competitor.” Apple and Microsoft initiated the personal computing revolution in the late 1970s, but Microsoft quickly outflanked Apple and grew to be one of the most profitable businesses ever created. A little more than a decade ago, Apple, which had pushed out Jobs in 1985, was widely believed to be on the path to extinction. Michael S. Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., went so far as to suggest that Apple should shut down and return any money to shareholders. (The computer maker is now worth around one-10th of Apple.) Around the same time, Microsoft’s chief technology officer called Apple “already dead”. But with the return of Jobs to Apple in 1996—and an investment by Microsoft of $150 million—the firm began a slow path to recovery. Apple’s rebirth began in earnest with the introduction of the iPod music players, and Jobs began to gain a reputation for anticipating what consumers want. It elbowed aside Sony Corp. and came to dominate the music distribution business with the iTunes online music store. Apple later upstaged Nokia Corp., the dominant brand in mobile phones, by introducing the iPhone in 2007. And this year, Jobs shook things up again with the introduction of the iPad, a tablet computer that has the potential to create a new category of computers and once again reshape the way people interact with their devices. Jobs helped create “the best desktop computer, the best portable music device, the best smartphone and also now the best tablet”, said Steve Perlman, a serial entrepreneur who was an executive at both Apple and Microsoft and is now CEO of OnLive Inc., an online gaming company. As Apple grew increasingly nimble and innovative, Microsoft has struggled to build desirable updates to its main products and to create large new businesses in areas such as game consoles, music players, phones and Internet search. Microsoft, which is a component stock of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, has lost half its value since 2000. Still, Microsoft is a hugely powerful and profitable company in the tech world. Its Windows software runs nine out of every 10 computers, while at least 500 million people use its Office software to perform their daily tasks, such as writing letters or sending email messages. These two franchises account for the bulk of Microsoft’s annual revenue. But it is Apple that has the momentum. “Steve saw way early on, and way before Microsoft, that hardware and software needed to be married into something that did not require effort from the user,” said Scott G. McNealy, co-founder and long-time CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc., which almost merged with Apple. “Apple’s products are shrink-wrapped and ready to go.” ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Apple beats Microsoft as No. 1 in technologySan Francisco: Wall Street has called the end of an era and the beginning of the next one: The most important technology product no longer sits on your desk, but rather fits in your hand. The moment came on Wednesday when Apple Inc., the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, shot past Microsoft Corp., the computer software giant, to become the world’s most valuable technology firm. This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history for Apple, which had been given up for dead only a decade earlier, and its co-founder and visionary chief executive, Steven P. Jobs. The rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds an important cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology. Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades, and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swipe of a finger across a smartphone’s touch screen. And Apple is in the right place at the right time. Although it still sells computers, twice as much revenue is coming from hand-held devices and music. Overall, the technology industry sold around 172 million smartphones last year, compared with 306 million personal computers, but smartphone sales grew at a pace five times faster. Also Read |Microsoft still most profitable: Ballmer Stunning turnaround: Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the launch of the iPad. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg As of Wednesday, Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion (Rs10.6 trillion) and Microsoft at $219.18 billion. The only American firm valued higher is Exxon Mobil Corp., with a market cap of $278.64 billion. On Thursday, at 8pm India time, Wall Street valued Apple at $228,380.90 million and Microsoft $228,911.50 million. The revenue of the two firms are comparable, with Microsoft at $58.4 billion and Apple at $42.9 billion. Microsoft is sitting on more cash and short-term investments, $39.7 billion, to Apple’s $23.1 billion, which makes the value assigned by the market to Apple—essentially a bet on its future prospects—all the more remarkable. Microsoft and Apple declined to comment. Apple’s climb to the top of the heap cements the reputation of Jobs, who once operated in the shadow of Microsoft’s co-founder, Bill Gates. “It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful tech firms. While Apple is at the top of its game, it faces a new and powerful rival in Google Inc., which is battling the company in mobile devices with its Android operating system, and mobile advertising. Google, with a market cap of $151.43 billion, also appeared to leap ahead of Apple in a new potentially important area, Internet-connected televisions. And Google is steering consumers towards a yet new model of computing in which Internet applications, rather than iPhone or desktop applications, rule. “The battle has shifted from Microsoft against Apple to Apple against Google,” said Tim Bajarin, a technology analyst who has been following Apple since 1981. “Apple has a significant lead. But Google is going to be a powerful competitor.” Apple and Microsoft initiated the personal computing revolution in the late 1970s, but Microsoft quickly outflanked Apple and grew to be one of the most profitable businesses ever created. A little more than a decade ago, Apple, which had pushed out Jobs in 1985, was widely believed to be on the path to extinction. Michael S. Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., went so far as to suggest that Apple should shut down and return any money to shareholders. (The computer maker is now worth around one-10th of Apple.) Around the same time, Microsoft’s chief technology officer called Apple “already dead”. But with the return of Jobs to Apple in 1996—and an investment by Microsoft of $150 million—the firm began a slow path to recovery. Apple’s rebirth began in earnest with the introduction of the iPod music players, and Jobs began to gain a reputation for anticipating what consumers want. It elbowed aside Sony Corp. and came to dominate the music distribution business with the iTunes online music store. Apple later upstaged Nokia Corp., the dominant brand in mobile phones, by introducing the iPhone in 2007. And this year, Jobs shook things up again with the introduction of the iPad, a tablet computer that has the potential to create a new category of computers and once again reshape the way people interact with their devices. Jobs helped create “the best desktop computer, the best portable music device, the best smartphone and also now the best tablet”, said Steve Perlman, a serial entrepreneur who was an executive at both Apple and Microsoft and is now CEO of OnLive Inc., an online gaming company. As Apple grew increasingly nimble and innovative, Microsoft has struggled to build desirable updates to its main products and to create large new businesses in areas such as game consoles, music players, phones and Internet search. Microsoft, which is a component stock of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, has lost half its value since 2000. Still, Microsoft is a hugely powerful and profitable company in the tech world. Its Windows software runs nine out of every 10 computers, while at least 500 million people use its Office software to perform their daily tasks, such as writing letters or sending email messages. These two franchises account for the bulk of Microsoft’s annual revenue. But it is Apple that has the momentum. “Steve saw way early on, and way before Microsoft, that hardware and software needed to be married into something that did not require effort from the user,” said Scott G. McNealy, co-founder and long-time CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc., which almost merged with Apple. “Apple’s products are shrink-wrapped and ready to go.” ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Apple beats Microsoft as No. 1 in technologySan Francisco: Wall Street has called the end of an era and the beginning of the next one: The most important technology product no longer sits on your desk, but rather fits in your hand. The moment came on Wednesday when Apple Inc., the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, shot past Microsoft Corp., the computer software giant, to become the world’s most valuable technology firm. This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history for Apple, which had been given up for dead only a decade earlier, and its co-founder and visionary chief executive, Steven P. Jobs. The rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds an important cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology. Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades, and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swipe of a finger across a smartphone’s touch screen. And Apple is in the right place at the right time. Although it still sells computers, twice as much revenue is coming from hand-held devices and music. Overall, the technology industry sold around 172 million smartphones last year, compared with 306 million personal computers, but smartphone sales grew at a pace five times faster. Also Read |Microsoft still most profitable: Ballmer Stunning turnaround: Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the launch of the iPad. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg As of Wednesday, Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion (Rs10.6 trillion) and Microsoft at $219.18 billion. The only American firm valued higher is Exxon Mobil Corp., with a market cap of $278.64 billion. On Thursday, at 8pm India time, Wall Street valued Apple at $228,380.90 million and Microsoft $228,911.50 million. The revenue of the two firms are comparable, with Microsoft at $58.4 billion and Apple at $42.9 billion. Microsoft is sitting on more cash and short-term investments, $39.7 billion, to Apple’s $23.1 billion, which makes the value assigned by the market to Apple—essentially a bet on its future prospects—all the more remarkable. Microsoft and Apple declined to comment. Apple’s climb to the top of the heap cements the reputation of Jobs, who once operated in the shadow of Microsoft’s co-founder, Bill Gates. “It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful tech firms. While Apple is at the top of its game, it faces a new and powerful rival in Google Inc., which is battling the company in mobile devices with its Android operating system, and mobile advertising. Google, with a market cap of $151.43 billion, also appeared to leap ahead of Apple in a new potentially important area, Internet-connected televisions. And Google is steering consumers towards a yet new model of computing in which Internet applications, rather than iPhone or desktop applications, rule. “The battle has shifted from Microsoft against Apple to Apple against Google,” said Tim Bajarin, a technology analyst who has been following Apple since 1981. “Apple has a significant lead. But Google is going to be a powerful competitor.” Apple and Microsoft initiated the personal computing revolution in the late 1970s, but Microsoft quickly outflanked Apple and grew to be one of the most profitable businesses ever created. A little more than a decade ago, Apple, which had pushed out Jobs in 1985, was widely believed to be on the path to extinction. Michael S. Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., went so far as to suggest that Apple should shut down and return any money to shareholders. (The computer maker is now worth around one-10th of Apple.) Around the same time, Microsoft’s chief technology officer called Apple “already dead”. But with the return of Jobs to Apple in 1996—and an investment by Microsoft of $150 million—the firm began a slow path to recovery. Apple’s rebirth began in earnest with the introduction of the iPod music players, and Jobs began to gain a reputation for anticipating what consumers want. It elbowed aside Sony Corp. and came to dominate the music distribution business with the iTunes online music store. Apple later upstaged Nokia Corp., the dominant brand in mobile phones, by introducing the iPhone in 2007. And this year, Jobs shook things up again with the introduction of the iPad, a tablet computer that has the potential to create a new category of computers and once again reshape the way people interact with their devices. Jobs helped create “the best desktop computer, the best portable music device, the best smartphone and also now the best tablet”, said Steve Perlman, a serial entrepreneur who was an executive at both Apple and Microsoft and is now CEO of OnLive Inc., an online gaming company. As Apple grew increasingly nimble and innovative, Microsoft has struggled to build desirable updates to its main products and to create large new businesses in areas such as game consoles, music players, phones and Internet search. Microsoft, which is a component stock of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, has lost half its value since 2000. Still, Microsoft is a hugely powerful and profitable company in the tech world. Its Windows software runs nine out of every 10 computers, while at least 500 million people use its Office software to perform their daily tasks, such as writing letters or sending email messages. These two franchises account for the bulk of Microsoft’s annual revenue. But it is Apple that has the momentum. “Steve saw way early on, and way before Microsoft, that hardware and software needed to be married into something that did not require effort from the user,” said Scott G. McNealy, co-founder and long-time CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc., which almost merged with Apple. “Apple’s products are shrink-wrapped and ready to go.” ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:07 pm Khazanah bids for Parkway control, challenges FortisThe battle for control of Parkway Holdings, Asias largest hospital chain, is set to be fought in Singapore. Khazanah, the Malaysian government-owned investment fund, which is the second largest shareholder in Parkway through Integrated Healthcare Holdings, has fired the first salvo by offering S$1.18 billion (US $710 million or over Rs 3,900 crore) for a majority stake in the company that is currently controlled by the Singh-family promoted Fortis Healthcare.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 1:05 pm AI continues dismissals, derecognises unionsAir Indias (AI) management and staff unions are again set for collision, with the former today declaring derecognition of the two unions involved in the two-day strike which had ended last evening.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 May 2010 | 1:05 pm Left backs independents in municipal pollsKolkata: The Left Front’s support in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district has eroded so much that the alliance led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, could not field a full slate of candidates for elections to two civic bodies in the district. This is a first in 33 years of Left rule in West Bengal. Even in 2008, a year after the controversy over land acquisition for a proposed special economic zone (SEZ) in the district’s Nandigram area, the Left could field candidates for the panchayat, or village council, polls. But for the municipality elections due on Sunday, it couldn’t persuade people in Tamluk and Contai—two small towns in East Midnapore—to contest as Left candidates in all the wards. The Left has fielded candidates in only five out of 20 wards in Contai, and in 11 out of 22 wards in Tamluk, the district headquarter. Listen to Romita Datta talk about why support for the Left is eroding, while that for Mamata Bannerjee appears to be rising in West Bengal The Left isn’t yet giving up the fight though—they are supporting two local political groups: Pragatisheel Mancha (literally: progressive forum) and Nagarik Mancha (citizens’ forum) in polls to the civic bodies in these two towns. “We are not in a position to contest on our own in Contai and Tamluk,” said Haraprasad Tripathi, the CPM’s zonal committee member from Contai. The Left parties were forced to back independent candidates because their own supporters were being intimidated by the Trinamool Congress, he said. “So we have agreed to a conditional alliance with independent candidates,” he added. Elections to 81 municipalities in 16 out of 19 districts of the state are going to be held on Sunday. These are the last scheduled elections to be held ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the state next year. In the 2006 assembly elections, the Left Front had won in 13 of the 16 seats in East Midnapore, but in the 2009 general election it lost in both the parliamentary constituencies in the district. The district used to be one of the CPM’s strongholds until early 2007, when the state government’s proposal to build a petrochemical SEZ in Nandigram led to a stand-off between the administration and the locals, who refused to give up their land for the project. Led by the Trinamool Congress—West Bengal’s main opposition party—and supported by the Maoists, locals laid siege to Nandigram for months, triggering political clashes with CPM supporters. Eventually, when the administration tried to regain control of Nandigram on 14 March 2007, at least 14 people were killed in police firing. The proposal to build an SEZ there was scrapped. “We have joined forces with the Left parties to end the stranglehold of the Trinamool Congress on Contai and Tamluk,” said Kanishka Panda, East Midnapore district secretary of the Pragatisheel Mancha. Panda, who till last year was a youth leader of the Congress party, said the Pragatisheel Mancha had brought together disgruntled people from different political parties, even the CPM and the Trinamool Congress. Interestingly, the Pragatisheel Mancha is using twin leaves as its poll symbol, which is very similar to the Trinamool Congress’ flowers-and-grass symbol. “They (Left parties) don’t have the courage to fight the election with their own symbols,” said Shishir Adhikari, a Trinamool Congress leader from Contai and a Union minister. “So they are hiding behind independents. You could expect a similar scenario in the 2011 assembly election also.” The CPM, however, says it’s going to be different next year. “This strategy (of supporting independent candidates) is for this election only,” said CPM state secretariat member Rabin Deb. “Municipality elections are fought on local issues. So we are supporting candidates who are popular with the local people, even those who do not normally vote for the CPM.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:02 pm Liquidity measures to stabilize money market rates: bond dealersMumbai: The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday night to ease liquidity pressures will keep money market rates in check and may even bring down bond yields, bond dealers say. Banks can borrow up to 0.5% of their deposit base from RBI, apart from which they can borrow twice a day for four days using the so-called liquidity adjustment facility, or LAF. Currently, LAF is conducted once a day except on Friday. Banks can borrow from RBI at 5.25% to take care of their temporary liquidity mismatches. If they have excess money, they can park that at the LAF window and earn 3.75%. “These measures are ad-hoc in nature and the additional liquidity support under this scheme and the daily SLAF (second LAF) will be available with effect from 28 May and up to 2 July,” RBI said. This is a de-facto cut in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), or the portion of a bank’s deposits required to be invested in government bonds. Currently, banks need to invest 25% of their deposits in bonds. Now, they can bring it down to 24.5%. The last time RBI cut banks’ SLR was in November 2008, to help them tide over an acute liquidity crunch following the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers’ Holdings Inc. The central bank had restored banks’ SLR to 25% by October 2009 as liquidity improved. The latest relaxation will allow banks to borrow Rs21,000 crore from the central bank. “It gives an impression to the market that RBI is always there to save banks, which is a positive sentiment,” said a bond dealer with a foreign bank, who did not want to be named. Telecom companies that successfully bid for third-generation (3G) spectrum have to pay Rs68,000 crore to the government by Monday and the banks’ share in this is expected to be at least Rs45,000 crore. Besides, advance tax outflow is also expected to be in the range of Rs35,000-45,000 crore. Indian corporations pay income tax every quarter on their projected profit. If banks suffer from any liquidity crunch, they will have to access the overnight call money market to meet the demand for funds from telecom firms. Call money rates rose to 4.25% on Monday after banks parked only Rs4,750 crore with the central bank. They are parking less money with RBI as liquidity is drying up. The liquidity in the banking system has fallen to an average of Rs6,371.67 crore in the first three days of this week from an average of Rs52,197 crore per day till last week. There are fears that demand from telecom firms and advance tax outflow will cripple the banking system and make call money rates shoot up. The concern was also evident in bond yields that shot up by 20-40 basis points across tenures in the last two days. The yield on the benchmark 10-year paper closed at 7.52% on Wednesday after dropping to 7.30% last week. According to bond dealers, the yields would have risen further without RBI’s latest measures. “After these measures, I expect the call money rates to remain within a range of 3.75-5.25%,” said S. Raghavan, head of treasury at IDBI Gilts Ltd, a primary dealer that buys and sells government bonds. According to Raghavan, the bond yields should come down after Friday’s bond auction and should range at 7.40-7.55%. The money markets were closed on Thursday on account of a religious holiday. anup.r@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 1:01 pm Staff union wants sacked employees taken backMumbai/New Delhi: There could be further trouble at Air India as an employees’ union demanded all dismissed workers be taken back, hours after the national carrier sacked 23 employees and withdrew recognition of two unions that led a strike on Tuesday.  Long wait: Stranded passengers at Delhi airport on Wednesday after many flights were cancelled due to a strike call given by Air India’s ground and technical staff. Vijay Kumar Joshi/PTI Y.V. Raju, general secretary of one of the two unions, the All India Air Engineers Association (AIAEA), said it would take industrial action if Air India does not reinstate sacked workers and withdraw its de-recognition order within 14 days. Raju is one the 40 employees whose services have been terminated. “At present, I have not yet received any strike notice from employee unions,” said Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, which runs Air India. At least 13,000 employees went on a flash strike on Tuesday to protest a gag order purportedly issued by the management, days after an Air India Express plane crashed at Mangalore airport, killing 158 people, It was India’s worst air disaster in a decade. Air India said in a statement on Thursday that it has withdrawn recognition granted to AIAEA and the Air Corporation Employees Union (Aceu) as they resorted to an illegal strike on 25 May, “causing harassment to the innocent passengers, causing revenue loss and disrupting flights nationwide and to international destinations.” Union leaders were unmoved by the airline’s action. “AIAEA is a registered trade union body. We had consulted with our lawyers, there is no word such as derecognition in the law,” Raju said. Both Raju and Aceu’s J.B. Kadian, who has also been dismissed, said they will take legal recourse to battle Air India’s decision and were talking to other trade unions for help to solve the crisis. “Such crackdown on employees is always uncalled for and we condemn it,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions. “However, since the Air Indian unions are independent unions and they have not discussed the matter with us, we are not doing anything about it. If they come to us, we will surely help them.” “There is no proposal on our part to take any joint action against this move, though we do oppose such high-handed action against employees,” said H. Mahadevan, deputy general secretary, All India Trade Union Congress. The strikes are an additional burden on the embattled carrier which is dealing with losses of Rs8,461.88 crore in the past three years through fiscal 2009 and outstanding debt of Rs16,000 crore, apart from the fallout of the Mangalore crash. Most of the 13 unions at the airline have been up in arms over wage issues, while the airline has made a radical restructuring exercise its key priority. In its budget for fiscal 2011, the government has made a provision of Rs1,200 crore towards equity for this fiscal, conditional on specific cost-cutting targets. Strikes such as this, experts said, will make it harder for the carrier to achieve those targets. Air India runs a monthly cash deficit of Rs400 crore. The looming crisis could partly explain the swift and forceful response from the civil aviation ministry after the Delhi high court’s decision. “Government wants to clean it up once and for all,” a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “We can’t go on suffering this blackmail; its been going on for 20-30 years.” Passengers will be inconvenienced if another strike takes place. “If there is another strike, passengers had better brace themselves for a hard time,” said Ajay Prakash, national general secretary, Travel Agents Federation of India. “The other domestic airlines simply do not have the capacity to carry Air India’s passengers.” pr.sanjai@livemint.com Ruhi Tewari and Manish Ranjan in New Delhi contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 12:58 pm Look, mom’s onlineMothers in India spend an average of 28.6 hours each week on media, including some 15 hours online, reading newspapers, listening to music and even watching TV shows on the Internet, says a study by Microsoft Advertising and Starcom MediaVest Group. Also See | Look, mom’s online (Graphic) For these mothers, traditional media rank low as a source of information about products they buy for themselves or for their children. Five hundred Indian mothers took part in the study that also covered China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, aimed at providing insights into the online lives of Asian mothers. “Mothers are becoming increasingly digital-savvy and, conversely, much more cynical to overt advertising,” said Kenneth Andrew, marketing director, Microsoft Advertising, Greater Asia-Pacific. It is important for brands to create relevant online experiences that reach these mothers at the right time with the right message, Andrew said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 10:56 am Google wary of giving data to regulatorsBerlin: Google has balked at requests from regulators to surrender Internet data and e-mails it collected from unsecured home wireless networks, saying it needed time to resolve legal issues. In Germany, Google said it was not able to comply with the Hamburg data protection supervisor’s Thursday deadline to hand over data the company had collected — inadvertently, it says — while roving cars were compiling its Street View photo map archive. “As granting access to payload data creates legal challenges in Germany which we need to review, we are continuing to discuss the appropriate legal and logistical process for making the data available,” Peter Barron, a Google spokesman in London, said in a statement. “We hope, given more time, to be able to resolve this difficult issue.” Meanwhile, the privacy commissioner in Hong Kong, Roderick B. Woo, threatened unspecified sanctions after Google did not respond to his request to inspect data collected in the territory by the roving cars. Mr. Woo said Google had ignored a Monday deadline to turn over the information. A Google representative in Hong Kong could not be reached immediately for comment. The standoffs increase the chance that Google may face fines and legal action in Europe and Asia. ©2010/THE NEW YORK TIMES feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 10:42 am Facebook boosts privacy controls amid criticismBoston: Facebook is beefing up privacy protections on the world’s most popular online social network, addressing mounting pressure to better secure personal data exchanged among its nearly 500 million members. The issue has come to a head in recent months amid concerns that Facebook makes it possible for Internet stalkers, cyber criminals and even nosy neighbours to gain a wealth of information about its users without their knowledge thanks to a confusing system for setting privacy safeguards. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday his company would roll out changes over the coming weeks that would give users more powerful tools to prevent personal information from being accessed by others. For instance, Facebook will allow users to block all third parties from accessing their information without their explicit permission. It will also make less information available in its user directory and reduce the number of settings required to make all information private from nearly 50 to less than 15. Still, Zuckerberg said Facebook’s default settings will continue to make it relatively easy for users to obtain information about each other as the company walks a delicate line between protecting privacy rights and promoting social networking. “Users use the service because they love sharing information,” Zuckerberg said on a webcast presentation. Facebook is increasingly challenging more established Internet players like Yahoo Inc and Google Inc for consumers’ online time and for ad dollars. While Facebook will make it simpler for users to boost their privacy safeguards, they will have to opt out of default policies by which much of their data is publicly available. Gartner analyst Ray Valdes said he believed these steps should allay the concerns of Facebook users who were protesting its current privacy policies. He estimated they accounted for less than 1% of the site’s user base. “But there are other voices that will continue -- governments, public sector and privacy advocates,” Valdes said. “The fundamental issues won’t go away. They will reappear over time. Again and again.” Valdes said that privacy concerns will continue to crop up with Facebook and other social networks because such sites need to balance the right of users to interact safely over the Internet with the need to generate profits by sharing information with advertisers and other business partners. Facebook investors include Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft Corp, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners. Controversy about Facebook’s privacy policies has mounted over the past year as its membership has grown and criminals have increasingly used its vast data banks to access information to help them swindle its users. A month ago, four US senators told the company they objected to a recent change that made a user’s current city, hometown, likes, interests and friends publicly available. That information had previously been seen only by friends. One of those lawmakers, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said on Wednesday that Facebook’s new privacy controls represented a significant first step in addressing his concerns. “Facebook has heard the call of its users and realizes that much greater privacy protections are needed,” Schumer said in a statement. But he added that he would prefer that Facebook share its users’ information only if they opt in to doing so. “One cannot know how successful any opt-out system is until users actually experience it,” Schumer said. “We will be monitoring this carefully.” The nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center, which has asked the US government to investigate Facebook’s privacy policies, said that the new efforts do not go far enough. “We think it’s time for Congress to update the privacy laws. We can’t be dependent on Facebook to decide on how much privacy people on the Internet will have. That’s something that has to be established in law,” said EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg. California-based Facebook is a private company and does not disclose financial data, though analyst estimates for its 2009 revenue range from $500 million to $650 million, primarily from selling online ads targeted at users based on their activity and profile information on Facebook. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 4:45 am More Indian cos using S’pore springboard for global bizSingapore: An increasing number of Indian companies are expected to use Singapore as a springboard for their global operations, an industry chamber said here on Thursday. “We are seeing an increasing number of Indian companies setting up their overseas headquarters in Singapore, especially to invest in global business,” Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) chairman R Narayanamohan told PTI in an interview. Some of the Indian groups have set up holding companies with investments in agricultural and food processing land as far away as Africa, as well as within the Asia region, in Cambodia and Vietnam. Comparatively, land is much cheaper in developing countries outside India, which makes it attractive to invest in agri and food processing businesses, said Narayanamohan, who took over SICCI chairmanship about a month ago. “We have been witnessing Indian participation in the south-east Asian palm oil sector, both in the form of owning plantations and trading,” he said. Others are investing in mining and sourcing mineral resources, such as coal from Indonesia, and other raw materials for the Indian manufacturing sector. Singapore, being a global transhipment hub, facilitates such regional setups with its low taxes, infrastructure and global air connectivity. Narayanamohan said he feels the vibration of the India economy and took note of the profitability of India companies, which are making investments both at home and abroad. “The strong profits from domestic businesses back Indian companies’ globalization plans,” he said. He expects the number of Indian companies operating out of Singapore to double by 2014 from the current 4,000. “Corporate India’s globalization is inevitable,” stressed Narayanamohan, a certified public accountant by profession. As SICCI chairman, he has plans for an India-Singapore corporate collaboration and will lead a business delegation to India later this year. “Our objective is to support Singapore companies to venture into the Indian market, which has one of the biggest consumer demands in the world,” he said. “We would like Singapore companies to tap the growing business opportunities in India,” he stressed. SICCI is also expanding its presence in India. It will be opening offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai later this year, adding to its year-old New Delhi office. Next year, at least two more offices will be opened in Mumbai and Kolkata. “The offices will facilitate greater trade between Singapore and India,” Nayaranamohan said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 4:13 am Sony to launch e-reader in Japan, take on AppleTokyo: Sony Corp said on Thursday it would launch an e-reader in Japan by year-end, taking on rival Apple Inc just a day before its iPad hits shelves in the country. Sony said it also plans to launch an e-book content distribution service in Japan by year-end as it aims at a chunk of the promising electronic book market. The debut of the iPad, a portable computing and entertainment system that also functions as an e-reader, is expected to boost Japan’s still-small e-book market. Research firm Fuji Chimera Research Institute estimates the content market will double to ¥87 billion ($967 million) in four years. Sony said it will set up a planning company on 1 July for the content distribution service and will hold 25% of the firm. KDDI Corp, Toppan Printing Co, and the Asahi Shimbun newspaper will also hold 25% each. The new service will offer comics, magazines, newspapers, as well as books online, Sony said. Sony sells its e-reader Reader in the United States to vie with Amazon.com’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and Apple’s iPad, but it does not currently sell the device at home. Sony attempted to create an e-reader market in the past when it launched reading devices only to pull them from shelves after a few lacklustre years due to a lack of content. Before the announcement, Sony shares ended up 2.1% at ¥2,788, outperforming a 1.2% rise in the benchmark Nikkei average. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 3:57 am Microsoft to focus on products, profitsNew Delhi: Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer was unperturbed a day after rival Apple Inc shot past his firm as the world’s biggest tech company by market value and said his aim was on developing a good product line and making more products. “My focus is on everyday ... what we should be doing to our product line, where do we go, how do we make products more innovative,” Ballmer, who is on an Asian visit, told reporters here on Thursday. “I will make more profits and certainly there is no technology company in the planet which is as profitable as we are.” Shares in Cupertino, California-based Apple had risen as much 2.8% on Nasdaq on Wednesday, as Microsoft shares floundered, briefly pushing Apple’s market value above $229 billion, ahead of its longtime rival. Microsoft, whose operating system runs on more than 90% of the world’s personal computers, has not been able to match growth rates from its heyday 1990s. Its stock is down 20% from 10 years ago. Apple, which struggled for many years to get its products into the mainstream, resorted to a $150 million investment from the much larger Microsoft in 1997 in order to keep it afloat. At that time, Microsoft’s market value was more than five times that of Apple. “It’s a long game, we have good competitors ... we too are a very good competitor,” Ballmer said. “We are executing very well and that is going to lead to great products and great success.” He said Microsoft would have to accelerate plans for the entertainment and devices businesses. The world’s largest software maker has been brushed aside by Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc’s Android operating system in the fast-growing smartphone market. Worldwide, Google’s Android passed Microsoft’s Windows as the fourth most popular smartphone operating system in the first quarter, according to research firm Gartner, behind Apple, RIM and Nokia’s Symbian system. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 27 May 2010 | 3:20 am
|
